By Todd Hartley on February 13, 2009
It’s hard to decide which was the dumber sports story making the rounds earlier this week between the Michael Phelps bong photo and the Alex Rodriguez steroid saga. Both have devolved into such carnivals of stupidity that, under normal circumstances, either would be an excellent choice for the most moronic story of the year. The fact that both occurred in the same week is like some sort of once-in-a-lifetime harmonic convergence of idiocy.
If you’ve spent the last week on the International Space Station or don’t own a TV, computer, radio or ears, what happened was this: First, a photo appeared in a British tabloid of Phelps, the greatest swimmer in history, smoking from a water pipe, or “bong,” at a party at the University of South Carolina back in November. Continue reading »
Posted in I'm With Stupid Tagged a-rod, baseball, bong, michael phelps, pot, rodriguez, swimming
By Todd Hartley on January 23, 2004
There was sad news in the world of sports this week with the announcement of Jesse Orosco’s retirement. That’s right, Jesse Orosco, the Methuselah of the major leagues.
That name may not mean much to you, but to me and the thousands of people my age who grew up as New York Mets fans, Orosco is a remnant of a better time, when the Mets’ future brimmed with promise.
If Orosco’s name rings a bell at all, the image you likely have in your head is of him throwing his glove in the air and collapsing on the mound as the Mets won the World Series. That was in 1986. Continue reading »
Posted in Cheap Shots Tagged age, baseball, left, mets, orosco
By Todd Hartley on October 3, 2003
So what was the most inspiring story from the final week of baseball’s regular season?
Was it the Cubs’ inspired play as they held off the Astros to take the NL Central?
Or was it Barry Bonds and his pursuit of 660 home runs and a place alongside his godfather, Willie Mays, at No. 3 on the all-time home run list? Continue reading »
Posted in Cheap Shots Tagged baseball, tigers
By Todd Hartley on September 12, 2003
Don’t you hate it when you can see a train wreck coming and you’re powerless to do anything to prevent it? Imagine that feeling, and now imagine what it would be like if there were three train wrecks you couldn’t stop, and that’ll give you an idea of how baseball’s pennant races are shaping up this year.
You may have heard that the city of Chicago was making news because both the Cubs and the White Sox were in first place in their respective divisions. You may have heard this as recently as two days ago, in fact, because such was the case on Wednesday. Continue reading »
Posted in Cheap Shots Tagged baseball, boston, chicago, cubs, red sox
By Todd Hartley on June 6, 2003
Let me tell you a little something about Norm Cash, an old baseball player – most notably for the Detroit Tigers in the early ’60s – and the best friend and worst enemy Sammy Sosa has right now.
Cash was a fairly undistinguished .270 hitter over the course of his career, but in 1961 he got his act together and won the American League batting title with a .361 average. He never hit better than .290 in any season after that.
Norm Cash was also, admittedly, a cheater. Continue reading »
Posted in Cheap Shots Tagged baseball, cork, cubs, sammy sosa, tigers
By Todd Hartley on October 25, 2002
So this is how baseball saves itself? It averts a strike at the 11th hour, loses its perennial favorites in the divisional playoffs and then pits two wild-card teams against one another in what is shaping up to be a humdinger of a World Series? Is it really that simple?
I could be wrong, having not lived in New York, Atlanta or Arizona for the last decade, but it seems like baseball is born anew after having rid itself of those cities’ teams early in the postseason. Instead of watching Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens, Mariano Rivera, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, yada, yada, yada, engaged in one tedious pitchers’ duel after another, this year we actually get to see two teams duke it out. Continue reading »
Posted in Cheap Shots Tagged baseball, bud selig, pete rose, world series