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Seems like a perfect time to let it rip on a few things
Tue, Jul 11, 2006
 Sports are supposed to be fun, exciting and entertaining.
And most of the time, they are.But oftentimes — and it seems too often these days — things happen that a lot of us don't like, maybe don't understand and absolutely make us mad. That said, today I feel compelled to rant and rave, blow off a little steam, get some things off my chest concerning sports.Let me start with the World Cup. First off, how does this guy, Zinedine Zidane, win the Golden Ball award for the tournament's best player?What a joke. That head-butt he unleashed on Italy's Marco Materazzi should've been enough to eliminate him from consideration due to his lack of sportsmanship. But really, the France captain wasn't the best player in the tournament. Yeah, he played well once the elimination rounds started, but earlier in the tournament he wasn't much of a factor. Heck, he had already missed another game due to suspension, too.Meantime, Italy defender and team captain Fabio Cannavaro was brilliant throughout the Cup, anchoring a defense that allowed only two goals all tournament — one of those being an on-goal against the United States.We journalists. Sometimes we just don't get it. Those covering the Cup, who voted on this award, surely missed the boat on this one. This was a gimme to Zidane, just because he is retiring, and yet another reason, I'm glad the Cup is over. Bring on American football. Forget this futbol stuff.And now, let me rag on Jeff Gordon. Don't give me this that's just racing stuff. What he did — spinning out Matt Kenseth — was blatant and he knows it.Yeah, I know the two tangled earlier this season at Bristol, with Gordon getting the bad end of that deal, and perhaps payback was due. But, Gordon did everything but admit that this was all about revenge.Instead, he said he didn't mean to wreck Kenseth, he wanted to race him. Yeah, right. That's like me saying I'd like to go toe-to-toe with Mike Tyson in the squared circle. He didn't really mean it.Actually, he probably should have raced Kenseth to the end. He might have won anyway — and not to mention fair and square — as Kenseth appeared to be slowing down. But, no. This was a desperate move by a desperate driver, trying to qualify for the Chase for the Championship.Now, moving on to Manny Ramirez. The character that he is, Ramirez will miss his third All-Star Game tonight because of injury. This time he has an ailing right knee that needs to rest.That's fine. But, it's strange that he can play 19 innings on Sunday in a 6-5 loss to the White Sox, yet he can't show up in Pittsburgh to play one inning and take one at-bat, with essentially an off-day Monday and another one on Wednesday. The fans want to see him. After all, he was the leading vote-getter in the AL. But, oh well, there's always next year. Vote him in if you wish.
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