Observations from the Past Week

I've tried this before, so here goes:

1. I've been gathering vignettes about Little League coaches behaving overaggressively. At some point in mid-June I'll share with you stories about wanna be Tony LaRussas and Earl Weavers who only achieve showing their own players examples of poor sportsmanship and the other team as to how unfair adults can be at times. If you have any you'd like to include, e-mail me at sportsprof@comcast.net.

2. Did you notice on Sports Center that on the morning after the first Stanley Cup final playoff game both the Magic's ousting Cleveland and some baseball stories preceded the coverage of that game? If the NHL isn't sweating season-ticket renewals, it ought to be.

3. Did you see the box score and story about the NCAA playoff game between Boston College and Texas, which Texas won in 25 innings? And how about the Longhorns' Austin Wood, who entered the game in the seventh and didn't allow a hit until the 19th? That's pretty awesome under any circumstances and worthy of a big shout out.

4. I'm always interested in choices of words, and some of the Philadelphia-area media referred to Jamie Moyer's 250th victory as "historic." Well, I suppose it's a round number, but the Philadelphia-area papers listed those ahead of Moyer on the all-time wins list, and many (including Tommy John, Bert Blyleven and Jack Morris) aren't in the Hall of Fame. My view is that all three of those guys deserve the Hall more than Moyer, who, while a great guy and accomplished pitcher, isn't in their league. I also think that Mike Mussina, winner of 270 games, deserves a spot in the Hall, as does Curt Schilling, who won about 215 or so games but was the biggest money pitcher of his era (with an honorable mention to Randy Johnson).

5. The Phillies need another starting pitcher now that Brett Myers is done for the year (or just about). And what unfortunate timing for Myers -- this was his contract year, so instead of having a good year and then getting a multi-year deal at more than $10 million a season, he's faced with inking a 1-year deal to show he still can pitch (at least that's the way I read the tea leaves). Myers' injury means that the cost of acquiring another starter went up for the Phillies, who have much more of a pronounced need now that Chan Ho Park has failed and Myers is out. It will be interesting to see what GM Ruben Amaro can come up with -- the fans would love to see Jake Peavy or Roy Oswalt, but their asking prices will be high (and both have no-trade clauses in their contracts).

6. The 76ers' selection of Eddie Jordan to be their head coach is a great one. Jordan is a good coach, but he'll be inheriting a limited team with a deficiency at guard and a center with a low-basketball IQ in Samuel Dalembert. And, while I won't be among Dalembert's defenders, 76ers' fans should be careful not to pin all of their disappointment on him. If the team doesn't re-sign Andre Miller and doesn't sign acquire a good PG to replace him, you'll have combo guards Willie Green and Lou Williams running the show. Both are reserve guards, and GM Ed Stefanski needs to upgrade the guard position.

7. The women's softball action on ESPN has, at times, been compelling viewing. It's a very strategic game given the power of the pitchers, but it's worth watching if you get the chance.

8. Phillies' skipper Charlie Manuel told the media that he's lost weight because he's been on NutriSystem, so I think that he should have a bet with Eagles' mentor Andy Reid (who also has gone on diets and, I believe, used NutriSystem) about who can lose more weight. The bet here is that both men could get legions of fans to make a dollar per pound pledge to a worthy charity if they opted to go on a "biggest loser" type of challenge. They could even call it, "Which Big Winner Can be the Bigger Loser?" or something like that.

Well, that's all for now. The weather has been great in the mid-Atlantic region, so get out there, ride a bike, go for a long walk or hike, or even a run.

Have a great day!