Do Charity Work, Get Benched And Fined

ESPN senior writer Rob Neyer discovered a great little nugget adding to the bizarreness that is the Washington Nationals baseball team in his latest Monday Mendozas blog. Apparently, Nats outfielder Elijah Dukes -- who has been one of the few players doing anything remotely good on the ball field for the team this season -- was benched, fined $500 and threatened with a demotion to the minor leagues after he showed up to the park a mere five minutes late after the team's usual reporting time. Fine, teams have rules. But here's the kicker - Dukes was doing charity work for the Nats at a local Little League. 

The worst manager in the major leagues, Manny Acta, gave this explanation: 

"He was late for work, he broke a team rule, and we are going to change the culture here — regardless of how well a guy is playing," Acta said. "And it was a bizarre situation, because he was doing something that we encourage our players to do: He was out in the community doing something for some Little League program and just showed up late to work. He was very remorseful about it. He felt bad, but we have to lay the law on whoever."

This just seems utterly ridiculous to me. Dude, you're already in a season full of embarassment, you're probably going to get fired in a few months, and you decide to bench a guy for doing something YOUR OWN TEAM INSTRUCTED HIM TO DO, and subject your team to another PR disaster that you didn't need. Listen, I know you want to lay down the law, but there are exceptions... like, you can bench and fine a guy if he comes into the clubhouse drunk, but not if he was being a good, tardy samaritan. 

RIP Harry Kalas: Baseball Loses Its Voice

Rest In Peace, Harry Kalas.

The voice of the Philadelphia Phillies for the last 38 years died a few hours ago, and I'm in shock, incredibly saddened and a little empty knowing the Phillies have lost their voice. Harry the K was such a beloved figure to the city of Philadelphia and to sports in general that his sudden passing has truly turned many worlds world upside down, and he will be deeply missed. 

Here's the video of his iconic call of the last pitch of the 2008 World Series. I'm glad he got to see another championship before he left.

The World of Tattletexting

[Link] http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=4012452

ESPN columnist Rick Reilly has shone a light on a new trend sweeping across sporting events in his most recent piece. A company called In Stadium Solutions offers a service at many stadiums, fields and arenas where angry fans can text a general number with complaints about fellow fans who are being annoying, rude or even violent. "Any fan can anonymously snitch out the overserved idiot who won't stop offering to fight Roy Williams at 120 decibels and pouring his Coke down your neck. You don't have to sit and take it anymore!" 

These are actual texts from fans who have used the service:

Lady in turquoise tank is flipping people off and cursing sec 235 row 14.

Section 446 Guy is trying to fight everyone -- send someone to remove him please.

This is ridiculous. We are being spit on from the 254 section.

Drunk guy passed out in my seat & can't wake him up sec 442.

Guy in black jacket is exposing himself to people. Section 408 row 4 seat 7. He has spikey hair.

Reilly asks: is this another form of big brother in our lives, the further creation of the surveillance state? I don't think so. This is actually an incredibly useful service that hasn't yet been abused, and it works for things like medical emergencies as well. And fans don't get thrown out of the event without proof of said altercation. At many stadiums, when a text comes in to security, a closed-circuit camera is put on the very seat in question to see what the problem is. 

I don't see this becoming a major problem whatsoever; if anything, it's helping to enhance our sporting event experience, by eliminating rude fans who sometimes ruin the games. (If you've ever been to any Philadelphia stadium, surely you know what I'm talking about.) The only way I can see it having a short lifespan is if it starts getting abused. Thoughts?

Should Jordan gets his own day?

Yes, I used the picture of MJ from Space Jam. Wanna fight about it?

[LINK] http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=jackson/090403

ESPN columnist Scoop Jackson raises an interesting question in his latest column: when Michael Jordan is inducted into the Basketball Hall Of Fame in September (after what will surely be a unanimous vote come Monday) should he really be inducted with other people on the same day? It's unprecedented for an athlete to ever get his own separate day for enshrinement, but Michael Jordan was also an unprecedented athlete, and arguably the greatest athlete of all time. Jackson argues that if the Hall Of Fame really cares about players and being true to transcendence of the game, it should induct Jordan alone. He writes:

That would be the fairest thing to do, for all involved. The distraction of MJ and the overall pageantry surrounding Jordan will be too great for any of the other inductees to enjoy themselves. For the others to get the attention and respect they deserve, Jordan must not be around on their day. Not in the crowd, not in the state, not even passing through. If he is (and he will be), for the others, it'll be like a bride getting upstaged on her wedding day … by her own mother. I'm not saying that Jordan is greater than the game of basketball. I'm just being honest about everything he did and how he changed, elevated, sustained, supported and practically financed an entire league. Nothing would be more appropriate. After playing most of his career in a league that paid him way less than market value (Jordan's salary, for all but two seasons of his career, was $4 million or less), it seems like the least that could be done to single him out.

It's a really interesting question that probably won't be subject for much debate, because of its low likelihood of actually happening, but I'm more inclined than not to agree with Jackson. MJ did so much for the game of basketball and sports in general that his impact is immeasurable; this would be the least that the NBA could do for him in return. And plus, it's gonna straight up suck for the rest of the inductees to share their day with Jordan. They'd receive little-to-no attention, undeservedly so, simply because of the behemoth sitting beside them in Springfield on that day in September.

Anyway, what does everyone think? Would this be fair? Is there anyone else in other sport who would deserve this honor more than Jordan?

B-Dawk Shows Why He Will Always Be The Man In Philly

[Link] http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4041720

You might remember a few weeks ago when I posted about the situation with Dan Leone, the fired Eagles employee who was canned for badmouthing the team on Facebook following Brian Dawkins' departure. (If you're lazy, here's the original post.) In an incredibly classy and awesome move, Dawkins will give his allotment of two tickets to Leone when Denver (Dawkins' new team) visits Philly during the 2009 season.

"I thought it'd be a good gesture,'' Dawkins said, according to the Daily News. "Had I not ... signed with Denver, that guy would still have his job."

This isn't controversial at all, just a nice little nugget, so if you don't feel like commenting, you don't have to; but I thought it would be a good follow-up for those still interested in the original story.

I Don't Wanna Hear It, Michael Vick

[Link] http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4038660

Michael Vick is telling his sob story to the courts now, admitting that he "did a lot of things I wasn't supposed to be doing as a role model," and that he "can't live like the old Michael Vick" anymore. While I have no doubt that since getting sent to prison he's realized the ramifications of his heinous actions and he at least feels some remorse, I'm not buying that all of a sudden he's a changed man. Read: Vick is testifying as part of a hearing to evaluate his plan to emerge from financial ruin. He was once one of the NFL's highest-paid players, but lavish spending and poor investments, coupled with the backlash from his dogfighting case, led to his downfall. Vick filed for bankruptcy in July, claiming assets of $16 million and debts of more than $20 million. He's sorry because he wants his money back and because he wants to play in the NFL again.

Whatever, dude. Then you shouldn't have dogfought. (Is that the past tense? I'm saying it is.) Listen, there's no denying that Vick is (or at least was) an electrifying talent, but I think it would be a TERRIBLE mistake on the part of Commissioner Goodell and the NFL to reinstate the athlete. Yes, the league has welcomed back felons before (Adam "Pacman" Jones -- but look where he is now) but it never works out. And letting Vick back in would basically be like absolving Vick for dogfighting in the first place. It would be a slap in the face to animal rights supporters and NFL fans who are petowners. Go play in Canada, you shmuck.

What do you guys think? Should Vick be given another chance to come back in the NFL? Do you truly believe he's sorry for what he did?

And This Was All Over Running A Red Light

[Link] Moats: "I hope apology is sincere."

One of the most troubling stories within the last week has been the bizarre incident between Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats (shown above with his former team, where he was a waste of a roster spot, but that's beside the point) and Dallas, TX police officer Robert Powell. A quick recap: Powell stopped Moats outside Baylor Regional Medical Center in the Dallas suburb of Plano after his vehicle rolled through a red light. He was trying to get to the hospital to spend one last moment with his dying mother-in-law. Moats' wife Tamishia walked away from the scene incident to go into the hospital, even as the officer had his gun drawn. She said there was nothing Powell could have done to persuade her to stay. By the time he received a ticket and a lecture from Powell, his mother-in-law was dead.

The entire 13-minute confrontation is on tape and can be seen here, and the whole thing makes me really question the motives and ethics of authority figures such as Powell. Moats was nothing but respectable as he pleaded with Powell to let him see his mother-in-law, yet the officer acted like an irrational jerk, and deprived Moats of a moment he'll never have back. Fine, he ran a red light - so give him a ticket and be done with it. Or don't give him a ticket at all. This was a dire situation, and I think Moats had every right to be rushing to the hospital, enough to bypass a red light that he knew wouldn't cause anyone any harm if he ran it. 

Powell has since been suspended by the Dallas police force and Moats and his wife have been making the rounds in various media outlets to discuss their plight and ask for an aplogy from Powell. (The two were on Good Morning America this morning: watch the video HERE.)

As one YouTube commenter puts it, "half of america's cops are respectable members of society who don the badge because they want to help people and enforce the law. The other half are jackasses like this Powell." What do you think about this situation? Was Powell right in his behavior, because he was enforcing a law and he had no other choice? Or did he act out of line, and should punishments be disregarded in extranneous circumstances like this one?