I am disgusted by the decisions of Major League Baseball and Marc Ecko regarding the handling of the Barry Bonds 756th home run baseball. It makes for a funny story, but it compromises the prestige of the Baseball Hall of Fame and every record ever accomplished and/or broken in baseball. Dale Petroskey, President of the Baseball Hall of Fame said he would welcome the vandalized ball;

Statement From Hall of Fame President Dale Petroskey Regarding Marc Ecko Ball Donation

“Since the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum first opened in 1939, the generosity of players, teams and fans, like Marc Ecko, has made it possible to preserve baseball history in Cooperstown. Every one of the nearly 35,000 artifacts in our collection has been donated,” said Dale Petroskey, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

“We’re grateful to Marc for donating this baseball, which represents one of the game’s most historic records. Baseball belongs to the fans — it always has and always will. The asterisk represents the voice of the fans at this moment in time. The level of interest reflects the strong bond between baseball and American culture. Our responsibility as a history museum is to present every story in proper context, and this ball allows us to do that.”

I am not a huge baseball fan, but I am a huge sports fan. I respect baseball for its rich history and the many great athletes that have played the game. My personal opinion is that their Hall of Fame (along with the NBA & NFL) should be more selective, but that is a different story. Baseball needs a salary cap and Commissioner Bud Selig completely botched and continues to mishandle the steroid problem. Dale Petroskey will only magnify this if the vandalized ball is allowed into the Hall of Fame.

Barry Bonds may have done steroids. He may not have earned his spot as the greatest home run hitter of all time. But no one knows the truth… I have more of a problem with Mark McGuire who inadvertently admitted to taking steroids during his Congressional hearings. Or Sammy Sosa who forgot how to speak English during his hearing and immediately became terrible after steroid testing began. Barry Bonds was an amazing player before the steroid era and continues to be an amazing hitter as MLB players are tested for steroids. Not to mention pitchers definitely took steroids as well, so the advantage couldn’t have been that great.

The world of baseball began to attack Barry Bonds in a witch hunt manner when it became evident that he would surpass Babe Ruth as the greatest hitter of all time. Hank Aaron maybe have held the record, but Babe Ruth is viewed as the homerun champ in mainstream America. Since Selig, Congress, and America were not able to legally prove that Bonds is a cheater, defacing the record breaking ball is the next best thing. It may not be the right analogy, but it’s similar to OJ being pronounced innocent, but he loses everything in a civil suit. It’s a loose comparison, but you get the point.

If the mutilated baseball is allowed into the Hall of Fame, the great museum of baseball history can no longer be taken seriously. Baseball does not make my shortlist, but this is just stupid. The idea of this defamed baseball being on display not only takes away from Barry Bonds legacy, but every other great honored by the Hall of Fame. The allure of Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Joe DiMaggio, and Wade Boggs loses its magic. The Hall of Fame should be held at the highest standard, not comprised by ignorance or publicity.

If the branded baseball is allowed into the Hall of Fame where will it end? What else will be accepted? Roger Clemens has been linked to steroids by multiple sources, but no one as chased after Clemens. It is interesting that after the Jason Grimsley investigation Clemens is no longer playing as if he had found the fountain of youth… What if I bought Clemens’ 1000th strike out as a New York Yankee ball and donated it to the Hall of Fame with an asterisk branded on the ball? Would it be accepted? Let’s take it one step farther. What if Bill Cosby donated Josh Gibson’s Negro League Pittsburgh Crawfords jersey to the Hall of Fame with the inscription, “If America allowed me to play I would be the single season record holder instead of Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, or Babe Ruth.” Or what if I got a hold of a Negro League Satchel Paige baseball and branded “This ball would have kept Babe Ruth to only 713 Home Runs if I was white,” then donated it? How would it be received?

What is wrong with Brian Billick?

I picked the Baltimore Ravens to start the season 11-0. After week 1 my profound prediction is down the drain. Don’t blame me, blame Billick. Why did Billick fire one of his best friends, former Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Fassel, because he wasn’t getting the job done offensively if Billick can’t do any better?

Here’s my honest opinion of Brian Billick…

Billick has… had (past tense) a reputation of being an offensive genius. From 1992-1998 he was the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings. He is the only offensive coordinator who can boast scoring league record 556 points in a season. He actually won the Baltimore Ravens head coaching job because he was thought to be an offensive mastermind. But the truth is that offense would have scored those points regardless of who the coach was. In case you forgot about the Purple People Eaters, they consisted of Randall Cunningham, Chris “all he does is catch touchdowns� Carter, Randy “I play when I wanna� Moss, and Robert “I agree with Tiki’s decision� Smith. Except for Robert Smith you had a future Hall of Famer at every skill position. Fast forward to Baltimore…

Billick’s problem is that he always tries to out-scheme himself instead of simply realizing what he has. In the back of his mind Billick feels he still has to prove to everyone that he was responsible for that insane 1998 offensive explosion not Moss, Carter, Smith, and Cunningham. So Billick tends to go pass happy at the worst possible times… for example:

In 2003, running back Jamal Lewis had a record-setting season for the Baltimore Ravens. Lewis finished with the second highest total rushing yards in NFL history with 2,066 rushing yards including 500 yards against the Cleveland Browns in two games.

Side note: Remember when Jamal Lewis said he was going to break the single game rushing record against the Browns? Then did it? He rushed for 295 yards in one game! He would have had 350 if it wasn’t for a holding call that brought back a 60 touchdown run. If I played for the Browns, I would have tried to break his leg once he reached 200. It’s weird now seeing him in a Browns jersey. I honestly don’t know if I could cheer for him if I was a Cleveland Browns fan. Think about… not only did he run all over your team in 2003, but he was also apart of Art Modell’s team that won the Super Bowl. If there was anyone to hate in the world of Cleveland football other than Modell it would be Jamal Lewis. But now you have to root for him? It just seems odd. I still feel dirty having cheered for Deon Sanders when he played for the Redskins in 2001.

Ok back to the story… The Ravens finished 10-6 in 2003 and hosted the Tennessee Titans in an AFC Wild Card game. For some odd reason Billick decided not to use Jamal Lewis in that playoff game. Lewis only rushed the ball 14 times and gained a measly 35 yards. Let me repeat myself, your running back just had the second highest rushing season in NFL history, you have one of the best defenses of all time, and your only going to run the 14 times in a playoff game? The game was close the entire contest, so there was no need for Billick to go pass crazy to catch up. Billick wanted to show everyone that he was the offense genius of 1998, so he had Anthony Wright throw the ball 37 times versus running the ball with his 2,000 yard running back. Fast forward to this season…

In the Monday Night football game last week the Ravens had first and goal within the 5 yard line with about a minute left to play. The team was down by seven points and desperately needed a touchdown against their division rival Cincinnati Bengals. The Ravens traded for star running back Willis McGahee in the off season and gave him a big contract for moments like this. But what did Billick do? Have his back up quarterback throw the ball three straight times ending the game with an interception. Stupid!

On Sunday with three minutes left in their game with the Jets, the Baltimore Ravens were up seven points and had possession. Baltimore again had their back-up quarterback in the game and their new million dollar running back behind the line, what did Billick order? Two passes that were incomplete and a run… 25 seconds off the clock… punt. The Jets were able to march down the field and into the red zone. If it wasn’t for Ray Lewis’ interception the Jets could have taken the game into overtime. Again, why is Billick calling passing plays? Because he wants to prove to everyone that he is an offensive genius and that his boy Boller can walk on water… BRIAN BILLICK, GET YOUR MIND RITE!

Kevin White say it aint so? 0-2? Notre Dame football is 0-2? You have got to be kidding me! Not even one offensive touchdown in two games? If this was Michigan I’d panic, but you are the proud Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Why worry when you have offensive genius Charlie Weiss? After winning three Superbowls in the NFL as the New England Patriots offensive coordinate he came to the Fighting Irish as your savior. At the press conference Weiss looked out into the crowd and told the world Notre Dame was not a stepping stone in his coaching career, but his new tenured home. Not only was Notre Dame his Alma Mata, but his coaching legacy. But 0-2?

In 2005 the Irish went 9-3 under new coach Charlie Weiss. He beat Michigan, Purdue, and Pittsburgh his first time out. If it wasn’t for that lucky fourth down pass by Matt Leinart and a savvy shove by Reggie Bush USC would have also fell victim to the genius that is Weiss. Even though the team has been embarrassed their last two bowl game under Charlie Weiss, thank the heavens you signed him to an extension after his first season keeping in green and gold until 2010.

As an Athletic Director, you made the right move getting rid of Ty Willingham. College coaches usually get about five years at a program, but this is Notre Dame. Three years is plenty of time to show what you can do. All the talk about Willingham not getting a fair shake because he is African American is a bunch of baloney. People saying that must be smoking with the hunchback. Seriously, finishing .500 in your third year as head coach of Notre Dame is just unacceptable. Who cares if Ty Willingham started his highly recruited young quarterback Brady Quinn, you need results. Charlie Weiss and his highly recruited young quarterback Jimmy Clausen will show the world how it’s done against Michigan this weekend. No way the proud program of Notre Dame finishes .500 again. Why? Because Weiss is the next Lou Holtz. He is the right man for the job.

Sure Willingham finished 10-3 his first season at Notre Dame. I guess he beat ranked teams such as Michigan, Maryland, Pittsburgh, and Florida State, but he only had a 7-7 record against ranked teams and never won a bowl game. Willingham was not building Notre Dame for the future. Charlie Weiss took Willingham’s team of experienced juniors and finished 9-3 his first season! Charlie beat Purdue, Michigan, and Pittsburgh that year. None of those teams were ranked at the end of the season, but you beat a few of them while they were still ranked. Weiss has a 4-6 record against ranked teams, (1-6 if you exclude teams not being ranked at the end of the season) but you can clearly see he is building something special at South Bend.

This Saturday against Michigan the nation will see that you, Kevin White, Athletic Director of Notre Dame picked the right coach for the job. Ty Willingham’s team up in Washington state just ended the Boise State win streak, the longest win streak in college football, but wait until the world gets a look at Clausen and Weiss at the Big House, just wait. Because Notre Dame’s firing of Willingham had nothing to do with race, but his work at Notre Dame. Charlie Weiss’ extension and undying support would have been Willingham’s too if he could have posted the same high level coaching Weiss has shown us. 

Kevin Smith Get Your Mind Rite!

Clinton you are the MAN! In my opinion our offense struggled last season because the team was without our future Hall of Fame running back. While Ladell Betts was racking up 100 yard games last year, I know you heard rumblings of the Redskins should trade you. I squashed those despicable rumors, CP is our guy. Fans fail to realize that Betts’ production should be credited to great play by the offensive line. How else do you explain Dockery getting that huge contract from Buffalo? Or Samuels making the Pro Bowl? It’s a guarantee that you were headed toward your fourth 1,500 yard rushing season in your five year NFL career before you got hurt… if it wasn’t for that damn preseason… that has-been of a quarterback Mark Brunell throwing an ill advised interception… it was your no good desire to win and lust for competition that forced you to chase down the cornerback and lay a mammoth of a hit on him after the interception… CP ARE YOU WITH ME!

With that being said…

Clinton Earl Portis get on the field! Our offense has struggled the entire preseason. The run game is non existent, our offense line is banged up, and Jason Campbell is attempting to get some continuity with the starters. Clinton how many snaps have you ever played with our starting quarterback? None.

How about telling Dollar Bill and SouthEast Jerome to step up and be a leader on this football team. This is Jason Campbell’s first time coming into a season as the starting quarterback and he could use some veteran leadership. You are great in pass protection, but where were you against Pittsburgh when Jason needed you? Your response to Campbell’s unfortunate injury was, “that’s why I don’t play in the preseason.� That’s not leadership.

We all know you’re faking and/or milking this tendonitis thing. You and Dolemite Jenkins might be good actors in front of a podium, but you’re not fooling anyone. LT has not played in any preseason games, but he practices. Tomlinson is building a rhythm with his offensive line and young quarterback. Are you above that? Are you better than LT?

Incase you haven’t noticed Ladell Betts is breathing down the back of your neck. He is dying to take your starting position. Coach Janky Spanky isn’t calling the plays, Al Saunders is. Betts is the throwback, workhorse of a tailback that Joe Gibbs, Joe Bugel, and the Redskins Nation love. Do you want him to take your starting spot? Because I am telling you now, come Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins, if you don’t run for at a minimum 80+ yards and a touchdown the fans will start calling for Ladell. You may be more talented, but he works a whole lot harder than you do and in this league that goes a long way. Get your mind rite!

Dear Larry H. Miller,

Who I am is not important, but what I have to say is. Just because you own the Utah Jazz doesn’t mean you know anything about basketball, because if you did you would trade my boy Andrei Kirilenko. You know, the guy you drafted in 1999 with the 24th overall pick… A.K.A. Mr. “AK47,� the man with the Russian pop-star wife who allows the once a year… Yup that’s the one. Well he needs a new start. He would ask himself, but he wants to go the KG route and make it look like the owner decided to go in a different direction, not him. So between you, coach Sloan, and myself, here’s the deal.

AK is your typical hybrid. Being only 6’9�, 227lbs AK is quicker than bigger NBA power forwards beating them down the floor and blowing by them in the post. When a smaller defender draws him as an assignment he exploits them in the post. By his third season Andrei was averaging 17pts, 8rebs, 3blks, and 2stls a contest, making the 2004 All-Star Game. Your Utah Jazz followed the season by signing the budding star to a lucrative extension making plans to build the team around the defensive beast. But the next moves you made were not in his best interest.

In the summer of 2004 you signed free agents Carlos Boozer and Memhet Okur. Carlos Boozer lied his way out of Cleveland to play power forward the Jazz, while Okur fresh off of his NBA Championship run with the Detroit Pistons searching for a starting center position. Ever since the move to bring in another power forward Kirilenko’s days have been numbered in Utah.

Larry, if you already have an All-Star power forward why sign another? I know you wanted to show your team could rebound from losing John Stockton and Karl Malone, but giving two power forwards superstar money was not the answer. You made my boy AK the odd man out. I know he is versatile, but he has no business playing small forward. What made you and Coach Jerry Sloan think he would be effective there? AK can really handle the ball we should play him at small forward… AK has a sweet touch from behind the arc let’s move him to the wing… AK blocks tons of shots around the basket, lets move him 15 ft away from the hoop and see if he the same player…

Andrei Kirilenko is a power forward and has to play near the basket to be effective. I know what you and Coach Sloan are thinking Mr. Miller, “how come we never had this problem before, why is this year the year it didn’t work?� Well fellas, if you hadn’t noticed, Boozer and Kirilenko have never played a full season together. 2007 was the first season where both players played more than 52 games. Usually only one is healthy at a time logging heavy minutes at power forward. AK was forced to play out of position for the entire season resulting in his worse season of his career. Why you would start someone at the wing who shoots under 30% from behind the arc is beyond me. Larry it is your duty to trade Mr. Kirilenko and put both parties in better situations.

Larry, why didn’t you explore the option of trading Andrei to Golden State for Jason Richardson? Richardson would have been the scoring guard Utah is missing and AK would fit in perfectly with Don Nelson’s Warriors (not to mention he is way better than Brandon Wright will ever be). Elton Brand is done for the season, maybe you could get Corey Magette for AK.Between you and I, I think Andrei wants to play in California so he could take FULL advantage of his wife’s once a year special. From what I hear Utah has slim pickings compared to Cali…

The other night at the bar I convince Andrei that a move to the Washington Wizards would be beneficial for him (only after he downed a whole bottle of Vodka and told me he loved me for writing this article on his behalf). Send AK47 to wreak havoc in the East while you can benefit from Jamison being in the last year of his 15million dollar season. Talk about cap relief!

In closing Mr. Miller let’s all do each other a favor and trade AK47 before it’s his wife who starts asking for the once a year special!

People change their mind all the time; it’s part of being human.

Sometimes you have to make the wrong decision to realize what the right decision was in the first place.

Billy Donovan made the wrong decision, in his mind. Maybe he caught a few butterflies about going pro (like the best of ‘em). Could be that he remembered the movie “Devil’s Advocate” and started to compare himself to Keanu Reeves. (And that’s never a good position to be in) Maybe the dollars were the only part of the whole ordeal that made sense, like the Wu Tang Clan used to say, “cash rules everything around me…”

The bottom line, however, is that Billy D. spurned the Orlando Magic organization. They thought their future was bright, with a two-time NCAA championship coach stepping in to take over their talented young roster and, hopefully, proceed to greatness.

Not like Patino in Boston, this would be different; Billy D. was ready for the big-time… or so everyone thought.

So the Magic would not be out of line to make a list of demands for Billy D. to adhere to in order to void the 5-year, $27 million contract he signed just a few days ago.

Promises were made, promises were broken. The Magic deserve better.

Yes, Billy D.’s legacy in Gainseville will live on for years to come. Back-to-back championships is no easy feat to come by. In fact, he may have already trumped Spurrier as the most famous Gainsville coaches go.

Another victim in all of this is Anthony Grant, head coach of Virginia Commonwealth University, and assumed successor to Billy D.’s Florida throne. He probably prepped his family for mass transit to the sunny state but now… in Richmond they stay. Don’t get me

“I think the easy decision, for me, would be to stay at Florida.”

Then he proceeded to say something along the lines of wanting a challenge. Apparently, he wasn’t ready for that challenge. The college ranks allow more power, less money but if two titles in a row are any indication, he’s not ready for any new challenges. Just the comfortable ones he already had laid out for him back home in Gainesville.

The Magic would never want a guy who doesn’t want to coach for them. Of course they should let him go. But adding in the clause preventing him from going to the NBA in the near future is a light punishment for the trouble Billy D. put the Magic through.

Players catch constant grief for not honoring their contracts. If the league wants to save face for future coaches who decide to spurn other teams, they should make an example of the waffling coach. Play hardball and make getting out of the contract a pain.

Stan Van Gundy is ready to roll as the head coach right now, but what the Magic should do is hop one person down the Billy D. coaching line and tap Anthony Grant as the head coach once this contract dispute is settled. He has worked alongside Billy D. for ten years before heading over to VCU. His style would be similar to Billy D.’s but the difference would be that he would be more likely to apprecitate the opportunity the Magic has to offer.

Nothing against Billy D., because everyone changes their mind at some point, but most adults know that signing at a dotted line means making a contractual obligation we are legally obligated to fulfill.

Make an example of Billy D. now, so when Coach X. comes around after the next big dollar, bait-and-hook job, they will remember to think long and hard in deciding whether or not they are ready and able to accept the seriousness and commitment the job entails.

So to Billy D. we say: GET YOUR MIND RITE! …or better yet, let the Orlando Magic do it for you.

I have a buddy who hates strip joints. His reasoning is quite entertaining:

“I’d rather rent a porno and throw my wallet at the TV screen!”

Obviously, Adam “Pacman” Jones is not this buddy I speak of.

If recent allegations are indeed true, Jones’s preference is more along the lines of throwing his wallet directly at strippers’ faces, but expecting to preserve his dollars just the same as my buddy.

Pacman Jones is not the first professional athlete to act a fool inside or outside a strip joint (Especially in Las Vegas, where the only things easier to find are slot machines, ATMs and Elvis). It just so happens that he has the longest rap sheet of those frequent fool-actors. As we all know, in professional sports especially, once a bad apple is spotted, the bunch is compromised. Call it an overreaction or a necessary precaution if you will, but there’s no doubt that the league will drop the hammer on Jones once the winter meetings come to an end.

Being involved alone earns him a suspension by league rule. But if criminal charges are indeed brought to the Tennessee Titans star defensive back/kick return man, he will most likely miss an entire season. Unless, as John Clayton mentioned on Mike & Mike this morning, Jones pleads his case in amazing fashion, in which the league would grant this one-time leniency and only apply a suspension of 10-12 games.

Side note: Maybe Jones should lobby Chris Berman and Tom Jackson to take the stand as character witnesses, attesting that imitating sounds of the Pacman video game during Jones’s highlights somehow makes him less a threat to society and more apt to finally change his ways?

The No Fun League cracks down on many unnecessary issues — end zone celebrations, player equipment (think Jake Plummer tribute patch/sticker to Pat Tillman, Sean Taylor socks, the towel often used for wiping football-like babies in end zones and mocking waiter cloths, etc.), league age limits, etc. — but in this case one would be hard-pressed to defend a heavy penalty for Jones. There’s something about a person who repeatedly spits in the face of women and (allegedly) spikes strippers’ heads onto grounds after throwing thousands of dollar bills in faces that… just isn’t likeable.

So to Pacman we say: GET YOUR MIND RITE!

Stay away from strip joints, folks who always end up getting you into trouble (please refer to Allen Iverson’s maturation and entourage downsizing) and any event in which more than $100 worth of dollar bills is required. That is, unless you find yourself invited to a national snack and soda machine convention of some sort. You’re much too talented an athlete to let an addiction to loogies, strippers and crime ruin you. Keep your head up because, on the plus side, if you do bounce back from your punishment, start anew and shine for the rest of your playing career, there just might be a seat for you at The World Wide Leader in the NFL Sunday Countdown Booth.

Related Links:

• Read up on Peter King’s latest Tuesday Morning Quarterback for more on the Pacman Jones/Tank Johnson issue the league is dealing with at its meetings, as well as other random notes of things NFL and very not-NFL… that Petey is an interesting fellow.
• Wikipedia gives us the skinny on Pacman’s history.
• Ex-Cowboy, stripper-lover and trouble-finder gets boot from The World Wide Leader broadcasting booth.