Ellipsesing

...So Kent Mercker didn’t scream at Steve Stone on an airplane. He didn’t call the press box to ask for Steve Stone. He only had Sharon Pannozzo call as question Chip Carey’s call of the game. Also, Kent didn’t “scream” at Stone in an elevator, he merely made an offhand remark.

Yeah, exactly what a guy without a contract trying to keep playing for a laissez-faire manager would say when trying to rebuild his image with the public. I don’t buy this crap for a minute.

...Good move by David Stern to send Ron Artest to the music production studio for the rest of the year, but it won’t solve the problem. I fear that, coming soon to every stadium in every sport near you, will be hockey-style Plexiglas to protect the fans from the players. This weekend’s events is just another step down that path (Chad Kreuter, Bill Ligue and Son, John Murray and the Randy Myers Incident). The incident began when some imbecile threw a cub at Artest. That fan needs some jail time. That’s assault.

Until all fans realize that they are spectators, only, we will see more and more of these events. The solution will be people either realizing that they are viewing entertainment or further separations between the fans and the athletes. Check this story out for some history. And note that the story if 2 years old.

...Seeing Peyton Manning at Soldier Field just reminds me again and again how stupid MLB’s interleague play setup is. The NFL, and NBA for that matter, allows its fans in every city to see their team play each other team at some point. It’s a crime that Cub fans have never seen Alex Rodriguez in Wrigley, but John Elway, Dan Fouts, Terry Bradshaw, Dan Marino all played the Bears in Soldier Field at one time or another. This needs fixing.

...I have no opinion on Len Kasper. I can’t recall ever hearing his work. Let’s give him 30 games to form an impression. We’ll talk about him more around May 1.