At Random: A slanted view on the week in Sports.

It’s time once again to look back on the week in sports through the eyes of Daniel Collins, host of “Sports Propaganda” on NBC Radio. This week, the Olympic games, the Texas Rangers, Willis McGahee and Kellen Winslow: Version Two are all subjects for debate. At Random: A slanted view on the week in sports.

To all my faithful readers out there, it’s my duty to inform you that I’ve got the fever, Olympic fever. Maybe it’s the fact that the only once in the span of four years the greatest athletes in the world assemble to display superior skill, grace and determination. Maybe its the fact that no matter what hour of the day you can catch sporting events instead of another re-run of Reno 911, Elimidate, or the now defunct Extreme Dating. Or maybe its the fact that I work for NBC, and if I don’t say that the Olympics have been nothing short of enthralling, I may be out on the street begging for empty soda. Whatever the case may be, I have got the fever, and the only cure is watching the games of the 28th Olympiad. For the week’s leading up to the games, I bashed many of the events, claiming they are lame and un-entertaining, but boy was I wrong. I have found myself watching shot put from the historic Olympia grounds. I have sat through rowing and sailing without taking a catnap. Volleyball, both the sand and indoor variety, but I will say that my attentiveness is much better for the Women as opposed to the Men’s game. And let me tell you this, handball my friends is the wave of the future. If you think dodge ball is popular, wait a few years, and Handball will be gracing television sets everywhere on the Game Show Network.

The Women’s softball team, although not always aesthetically pleasing, is the best compilation of players we have over in Athens. Even though this may be controversial, I have come to the conclusion that if you strip Jenny Finch of her makeup, you have Sam Cassell; I’ve never seen them in the same place at the same time, have you? Michael Phelps has had a very solid run, even though he will fall short of his goal of 8 gold medals, and the US gymnastics program has done better than most have expected. In short, the Olympics thus far kick ass. The only problem has been that the events that are televised in prime time, the results are plastered on the sports outlets and the internet as much as 12 hours before they are even televised here in Phoenix. I don’t know about you, but when its not live, it loses a lot of its luster, it almost has a feel of history class, you know what happened, why revisit it? But in the defense of the peacock (because I have to) the networks of MSNBC, Bravo, CNBC, and USA show events live late at night and early into the morning. So for all the negative that has been said about the Olympic coverage, and their events, I for one have been pleasantly entertained.

Pushing in the clutch and shifting to the National Football League, lets talk about the Buffalo Bills. Former Miami standout, Running Back Willis McGahee has decreed that if he is not the starter come opening day, he would like to be traded out of Buffalo. Sound familiar? It was just a week ago, incumbent starting running back Travis Henry said if he is not the starting running back come opening day, he would like to be shipped out of Buffalo. Boys, boys, boys…there is enough playing time for everybody. Lets do a quick stat comparison shall we. Lets start with career touchdowns, Henry 29, McGahee 0. Career rushing yards, Henry 3,523, McGahee 0. Now before you point out the obvious and tell me that McGahee missed all of last season, that is the point. It’s his job to earn, not demand the starting gig. Looking back at some of the great teams in the history of this league, its not uncommon to have two outstanding running backs on the same squad. The Giants did it with Otis Anderson and David Meggett, the 49ers did it with Garrison Hearst and Kevin Barlow, the Broncos did it with anybody they threw out there, and even the Buffalo Bills did it with Thurman Thomas and Kenneth Davis during their Super Bowl runs.

McGahee, like the other rookies in the NFL, should be seen not heard, and his demands are quite whimsical. The running back takes more of a pounding than any other position in the league, and its not unreasonable to believe that if Henry is named starter, he could be hurt or ineffective, if you recall he battled injuries all last year. McGahee should be happy with the opportunity to compete, and the opportunity to wrestle the job away from Henry, who is only 26 years old by the way. Willis himself is coming off of the afore mentioned knee injury that was far worse that your run of the mill bum wheel, and the pre-season won’t be enough to fully prepare him for the regular season. It would be the best thing for him, the Bills, and their collective future to place him on the bench come week 1, with ten to fifteen carries a game to start. Willis will get his reps in the game, and ample chance to prove that he is the best man to place behind the Quarterback. I just wish he would not let his mouth do the running for him. Up until this little incident, Willis was the feel good story of the pre-season; unfortunately, he now makes me feel like rooting against him.

Speaking of the 2004 rookie class, is there a bigger punk in the NFL than Kellen Winslow: Version two? It’s not so much the fact that he threw a punch in his first pre-season game. It’s not the fact that during his lengthy holdout he, his father, and agent lamented that he just wanted fair market value for a premier tight end. Its not the fact that he laid out teammate Roosevelt Williams in practice, or even the fact that he basically called his new teammates losers. No, it’s all four incidents instigated by someone who has never played a professional down in a game that counts. Winslow will find out rather quickly what its like to play with the big boys, the Browns first opponent in the regular season, the Baltimore Ravens. I’m sure that Ray Lewis and Ed Reed will welcome him the best way they know how. Piece of advice K2, try to steer clear of the middle of the playing surface in week one, you wont be able to run a route, let alone your mouth if you do.

A quick glance at your women of Wal-Mart calendar will tell you that there is less than two weeks remaining in the month of August, and the Texas Rangers have not faded out of the American League playoff race whatsoever. How is this possible? The Rangers were destined to be dead last in the AL west, and mathematically eliminated from wild-card consideration at this point. They rid themselves of the richest deodorant pitchman since Method Man and Red Man, not to mention the alleged best player in baseball. They were supposed to be a legitimate contender in two to three years? Did Emmett L. Brown finally work the kinks out of the Dolorian, sending me back to the year 1999, while I fell asleep in the trunk after a bender with Red the homeless drunk?

It’s well past time to state the Texas Rangers baseball club is for real. Obliteration is almost too soft a term to describe the beating they delivered to the red-hot Cleveland Indians during their series earlier in the week. Do you require numbers as opposed to random analogies? The Rangers currently own the third highest team home run total, and the fourth highest team RBI total. They are ranked sixth in runs scored, and third in slugging percentage. All of this despite a team ERA of 4.44, good enough to rank 15th in Major League Baseball. Kenny Rodgers (15-5, 4.55 ERA) is having too good a year to make a bad reference to the vocalist and his one-time outstanding fast food chain. Alfonso Soriano (.281, 24 home runs, 73 RBI’s) has been just what this team needed, a young super-star who lets his on the field actions do the all the talking. The Rangers became the first team to have 10 players hit 10 or more home runs, with the feat capped off by journeyman Gary Matthews Jr. who has played with six teams in three years. No better example defines this squad then Matthews Jr. Minnesota, Oakland, Anaheim and Boston all remain on the schedule for the “Fighting Showalter’s”, however no one should be surprised when this team steals the American League West race on the last week of the season when Texas will be in Seattle for three games, and the Angels and Athletics eliminate themselves during a three game set in Oakland.

Disclaimer: I reside in Phoenix, Arizona, hence the following diatribe.

This is a unique time to be a sports fan here in the valley. That seems like an odd statement to make when every major sports franchise has missed the playoffs for a calendar year, but one team is taking the cake. Just how bad are the Arizona Diamondbacks? Bad enough to make valley sports enthusiasts look forward to the Arizona Cardinals regular season, that’s how bad they are.

On Friday night, Randy Johnson pitched another gem, going 7 and 2/3rds, giving up one earned run, four hits and struck out 14 Cincinnati Reds, in a 2-0 loss. The Diamondbacks did Johnson a disservice by keeping him here in the valley, and not send him to a club with a chance to win. It’s still stunning when I venture out to Sports Bar’s and Grill’s around the valley and hear the redundant chatter about this team. The disbelief that the last place Diamondbacks traded away center fielder Steve Finley for mere minor leaguers, and if they didn’t hang on to Johnson, they would never watch the Diamondbacks again.

Since I seem to be the only one who has enough ability to open up a newspaper and look at the current standing in the National League, lets look at the Diamondbacks record, 38-87 people, 35 games behind Los Angeles. Its time to accept the reality that the Diamondbacks are not going to be good for a few years, so you better settle in and hunker down for the opportunity to see some of the best prospects in the league. Look at the bright side, autographs should be much easier to get, paying 10 dollars for a seat and gradually meandering your way down to behind the dugout will not only be acceptable, but encouraged! In all seriousness, the Diamondbacks had better be careful. They cannot afford to go on another double-digit losing streak, or they will be mentioned in the same breath with the 1962 Mets, and the 2003 Tigers. I’m not saying that they will break the all time loss record, because they would have to finish the season with 1 more victory over the last 37 games, but 21 of those games are against the Dodgers, Giants, Padres and Cardinals. It’s truly remarkable that a team that started the season with one of the game’s greatest pitchers ever, an outfielder that has hit over 50 home runs in a season, and a manager with World Series experience could be in the same class as an expansion team that won games on accident.