On Wallets, Money Games and Loose Lips

Theres something to be said about kindness. If you've ever lost a wallet or purse, you're grateful to the person who returns it. I have lost wallets numerous times and everytime I see Jerry Springer, I think about how I lost my wallet at the theater watching Ringmaster. (Don't ask) In any case Trevor Hoffman the closer for the Padres didn't realize that he had lost his wallet until one of the umps working the game came to him with it. Hoffman took a taxi to Busch Stadium for Tuesday's opener of their divisional playoff with the Cards. He got out of the taxi and left his wallet. It turned out Ump Ed Montague was the next person to take the cab that Hoffman was riding in and found his wallet. Hoffman was going to send him some cash as a thank you, but thought he might be trying to buy off an ump. Thats sad, it was just person to person saying thanks, but he couldn't really express it the way he wanted to. Hockey's back, does anyone really care? I like Hockey for the record, but its been better than a year since there was a meaningful hockey game. Quick tell me who the defending Stanley Cup Champs are??? No one outside of Canada and some northern tier states follow hockey with a real fervor. The changes that the NHL made asthetically and financially make sense and will undoubtedly help the game in the long run, but a full season lost has done massive damage to the game as well as having a number of great players leave the game without getting a proper farewell. Names like Mark Messier, Al McInnis and Scott Stevens all retired during the protacted work stoppage. And the Tampa Bay Lightning have had possession of the Stanley Cup since beating the Calgary Flames in the 2004 finals. Which means in the last 12 seasons since a team from Canada won the Stanley Cup and Calgary was the first team from Canada since the Habs won that same cup to get to the final. And still America could care less. I will be interested in seeing if the new rule changes will open up the game. The ageless Mario Lemieux gets to teach young phenom Sidney Crosby the ropes, but you know Super Mario will get his. Wayne Gretzky will be behind the bench in Phoenix wishing he could play with these liberalized rules. Oh and the Tampa Bay Lightning are the defending their Stanley Cup that they won in June of 2004

The Red River Shootout is this weekend and the Texas-Oklahoma is the big game on everyones mind. I checked the ESPN web site and saw the sportsnation poll posing the question of who would win Saturday's game 49 of the 50 states picked Texas and Oklahoma pick of their own school was close. This game will be close, but I look for Texas to win.
The Georgia Tennessee game is this weekend too and should be a good'un as well
Does anyone think that Kobe will really listen to the Zen Master and share the ball??? If you do, I have some oceanfront property in Kansas and a bridge you might be interested in. Kobe is interested only in his stats and knowing that he is top dog in La-La Land. It doesn't matter Kwame Brown ain't Shaq and ain't even close. Lamar Odom is servicable but ain't a everynight threat to score. The Lake Show running the triangle is a laughable proposition at best. Phil Jax will wonder why he didn't take the Knicks job 'round February. No one fears the Lake Sho' No Mo.
John Feinstein, an author of whos works whom I greatly admire including A Season On The Brink and A March To Madness, uttered a profanity during the Navy-Duke game this past weekend. He pulled himself off of the air apologized and even offered his resignation to the Naval Academy broadacsting group. The resignation was rejected and Feinstein was allowed to keep his position. Feinstein is a class act and he did the right thing in offering his resignation with his apologies. He let the broadcasting group make the decision to keep him which they rightfully did. A person should not be punished draconally for a moment of stupidity. Being a former broadcaster myself I know how hard it is to always keep it clean. The problem with some color commentator espcecially with those affiliated with a school is they tend to act like fans. They may give expert analysis, but they sometimes react emotionally. One recalls Chuck Machock the color analysis for University of Cincinnati Basketball radio broadcasts getting the heave-ho from UC's 1st round NCAA loss to Gonzaga in 2003 for critical comments he made about the offiicals within earshot of a rabbit-eared ref. I can remember the strident "No sir!" Machock uttered as he was quizzed by the ref who threw him out. It was a tense situation to say the least. In a related note it will be interesting to see if the color analysts for UC basketball, Machock on the radio and former UC point guard Anthony Buford on TV will continue their roles now that their mentor has been fired. Machock was a former assisstant to Huggins, Buford played point guard on Huggins' 1992 final four team. Both are decent analysts, but both were big Huggins backers. The Weekend football preview comes tommorrow