At Random: A slanted view of the week in sports.

Its time to look at the week that was through the eyes of Daniel Collins, host of “Sports Propaganda”. This week Terrell Owens, Lisa Fernandez and Ken Griffey Jr. are all targets for debate. At Random: Week in Review

August 15, 2004

Lets begin with a T.O.,Terrell, say his name right dammit, Terrell Owens. Mr. Owens opened his mouth for Playboy long enough to display his aptitude for making a complete jackass of himself. In Playboy Magazine, which I’m told is a periodical featuring artistic photos of female models, Owens comments on former teammate Jeff Garcia’s sexual preference. T.O. is quoted as saying “like my boy tells me: if it looks like a rat and smells like a rat, by golly, it is a rat” end quote. No matter how uneducated and juvenile that sounds, what he said a few days ago, paraphrasing his words, is that if he had a homosexual teammate, he would wait to see how others around him would react, and decide what to do from there.

Really…

The always outlandish, stylish, sculpted (maybe I shouldn’t say that too loud around him) flamboyant wide out for the Philadelphia Eagles needs to get reaction from all those around him before making a careful and cautious determination about a teammate, and their possible sexual orientation. Was there a summit organized to discuss his pom-pom celebration? Was there a commission put in place to determine whether or not that incident was heterosexually appropriate? Since when does this guy need an outside influence to determine his course of action?

Jeff Garcia really took the high road by saying “It is really a waste of my time to sit here and to have to answer to such ridiculous, untrue comments that are made out there in the world today,” I would have to imagine he is not referring to the presidential race or the war in Iraq. Old Terrell needs to worry about video game commercials, and oh, winning. Taking a team to the super bowl that has stumbled three straight times, and you are supposed to be the missing piece. Shut your mouth and win something!

Final Note, if you had the chance to see a photo of Jeff’s Girlfriend, 2004 Playboy Playmate of the Year Carmella Decesare, spank my bottom and call me James McGreevey cause I’ll be a rat the size of Master Splinter

Lets stay with the National Football League. Its good to have football back is it not? Even the staunchest Arizona Cardinals hater, which there really is no reason to despise red birds, has to feel bad for the string of horrible luck being experienced over the last week. Not one snap had taken place in the pre-season and the Cardinals will start the regular season without its two best offensive weapons. You already knew about the loss of Marcel Shipp, whom will probably miss the entire season, leaving the Cardinals with Emmitt Smith and Josh Scobey to piece together a running attack. Comes now the loss of if not the best player, at least the most entertaining, athletic draw in Anquan Boldin. Boldin could be out 8-12 weeks, depending upon who you ask, after undergoing knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Its bad and frustrating enough to lose guys in exhibition games, its even more so to lose them in practices and scrimmages, but when you lose guys when they are barely even moving, the football Gods are having a little too much fun with the squad.

What direction does this team go in now? There has been at least mild excitement with new coach Dennis Green in town, and he proved early that any attempt by any player to derail what he is trying to build here would be dealt with accordingly. Larry Fitzgerald is going to get a chance from the get go to prove what kind of receiver the Cards drafted with the 3rd overall pick, and that may not be an all good thing. Josh McCown now has more pressure to perform well in a situation that is less than desirable, and if he struggles out of the shoot, and Fitzgerald has a tough time adjusting, the Cardinals fans that do care will question the decision to draft Larry and go with McCown at quarterback, those questions will be unfair. The defense will not be confused with the Ravens or Patriots, and no matter how many young talented guys they have brought in, they will still need time to gel. In short, its not looking good, when just 10 days ago there was a glimpse of hope. Maybe not 10-6 good, but at least 7-9, 8-8 good, which would be a great accomplishment. Now by the time Boldin is back, 5-11 would be as good an improvement as you can hope for. On the bright side, you can’t blame Bill Bidwell this time.

Lets shift gears completely. If you have been watching your calendars, or NBC’s incessant promotional spots, you already know that games of the 28th Olympiad are underway. We are in store for 16 days of superb athletic competition, or so they tell me. Unfortunately, most of the events that take place at the Olympics are just not that entertaining, or they would be on television, the radio, or talked about more often. Track and field is somewhat exciting; women’s gymnastics is the equivalent to women’s figure skating in the winter games in the sense that it’s a pretty good draw. But outside of that, fencing? Weight Lifting? Real wrestling with no storylines, pre-determined winners or face paint? I can’t watch that.

Now I do here those of you who say you can never see enough of Jenny Finch, but there is definitely a limit to how many times Lisa Fernandez can appear on your television without it exploding atop your entertainment center. Men’s Basketball? I think deep down inside all of us we are rooting for the team to lose. That way, we can be there to pounce on their horrible teamwork, sportsmanship, and overall fundamentals they sorely lack. Soccer is not a draw, Water Polo is not a draw, what will we be watching? The victors, the tears, and the patriotism that comes with being the best in the world at what you do. No matter how boring, lame, or unwatchable an event is, the medal ceremony is still the best celebration in the world of sports. No scripts, no TV anchor running around asking how they feel the second they receive the trophy, just the medal, the emotion, and the anthem. That’s hopefully what we all will be watching, and not for which we all fear.

Finally, the newest member of the 500 club has returned to what seems the place he feels most comfortable, the DL. Ken Griffey Jr. is out for the season again, this time for a torn hamstring. Griffey leaves the Reds with 20 home runs and 60 driven in, but he also continues to leave a legacy of one of the biggest falls from grace in sports history. Griffey’s contract has not exactly helped the small market Reds out either. It’s very difficult to pay his salary when people can’t pay their money to see him play. This was a guy destined to be one of the greatest hitters of all time, maybe the best home run hitter of all time, and now, his career is reduced to whether or not he should be in the hall of fame. At what point does he throw in the towel? This incident leads me to believe this should be his last hurrah. There comes a point where the body says no more. Unfortunately, its time for him to listen.