It is that time of year when I hear from my former colleague who has retired to live in Pismo Beach. The message is always the same; what do I think of the US Open tennis tournament. Normally, my answer is that I don't think enough of it to tune it in. This year, my answer is different. I watched the last half of the Agassi/Blake match until it ended at 1:00 AM because it was a good human-interest story. However, on Sunday, the tennis match went up against NFL football on TV and the worst football game of the day had to be significantly better than whatever happened in the final match. I did not see it; I did not record it so I can go back and watch it. I will say one thing with a slight positive spin regarding men's tennis – which I consider to be moribund. Blake had a “cheering section” at the match with Agassi – described as long-time friends of his – and they were boisterous to the point of being rowdy. That is good for tennis because the enforced or imposed silence of the crowds at tennis matches is not conducive to getting the TV viewer involved in the competition.

Having just mentioned the NFL games on opening weekend, I must say there were some very strange doings yesterday:

Denver just stunk. After bringing in all those ex-Cleveland Browns defensive linemen, they allowed almost 5 yards per rush.

Can the KC Chiefs defense play the way they did yesterday for the rest of the year? If so, my prediction of 7 wins for the season will be wrong by Thanksgiving.

I said the Washington/Chicago game might end up 13-9. Little did I know that such a score would be a 37% increase in the number of actual points on the scoreboard for that game.

For those of you who believe in numerology and/or symmetry in the universe, the Washington Redskins won home a game yesterday by a score of 9-7. At the same time, the Washington Nationals lost a home game yesterday by a score of 9-7.

The Pittsburgh Pirates fired Lloyd McClendon about a week ago just as the Pirates lost their 82nd game of the year. That loss assured the Pirates of their 13th consecutive losing season. Is it just possible that the manager(s) of these teams did not represent “the problem”? Look, Pittsburgh is a “small market”/”limited revenue” team and the way baseball is set up, they are at a significant competitive disadvantage. To deny that is to deny reality; the only way Pittsburgh “contends” for a playoff slot in any given year is for lightening to strike and for everyone on the team to have a “career year” at the same time. This situation presents the fans in Pittsburgh with a serious dilemma. If they stay away from the Pirates' games because the team is a loser, they make the situation worse and they risk losing the team - - see Expos, Montreal. On the other hand, if they go to the games, they are merely paying money into an economic system that is fundamentally stacked against them to prevent them from winning - - see Monte, Thee-Card. In any event, Lloyd McClendon was not the reason the team was losing.

The Baltimore Orioles sent Rafael Palmiero home to Texas for the rest of the season to nurse/rehab his knee and ankle. Who knew that he had a knee and ankle injury? When did that happen? When he was on suspension?

Speaking of the Orioles and one of their “troubled players”, Sidney Ponson has had three arrests in the last 10 months and all involved alcohol consumption. The Orioles are seeking to terminate his contract; good luck to them if the case is heard by the same jamoke who lowered the suspension given to Rangers' pitcher, Kenny Rogers, after he committed assault and battery on video tape. In any event, Sidney Ponson is the poster child for why guaranteed contracts are bad for sports. Since he got his last deal, Ponson has been significantly overweight, pitched poorly (ERA 5.64) and has spent plenty of time in jail. All of that brings to mind a significant question:

What the hell were the San Diego Padres thinking about six weeks ago when they tried to trade for Ponson?

When you mention baseball's “problem children”, you always have to check out what Milton Bradley has done recently to see if there is a new entry for his ledger. This time, the “entry” is only partially his. It seems as if Bradley's wife suspected some kind of infidelity on Milton's part and there were some discussions on the matter. This resulted in LAPD responses to the Bradley residence on three occasions to deal with “domestic violence issues”. Bradley has had – and may continue to be undergoing for all I know – anger management counseling, so I'm not shocked to hear that a discussion of that nature might have erupted into something more than “raised voices”. However, here's the obscene part. A couple of weeks after the third of these instances, the geniuses who run the LA Dodgers nominated Milton Bradley as the Dodger to be considered for baseball's Roberto Clemente Award. I know that the ownership of the Dodgers is new to the game, so let me do a public service here and provide them with a short tutorial here:

Listen up fools! The Roberto Clemente Award is given for good citizenship and humanitarian behavior away from the ballpark. “Domestic violence incidents” are disqualifying. Nominating someone like that for such an award is really close to “enabling behavior”. Got it?

In the Arena Football league, the coach of the Arizona Rattlers was arrested on a drug charge. Here is a statement from the coach:

“I have decided that it is in the best interest of the Rattlers and my family to step down as head coach.”

Holy insight, Batman! You think?

Here's a stat for the seamheads. Through the month of August, KC Royals' shortstop, Angel Berroa, had been hit by a pitch 14 times this year and he had been walked 14 times. The last time a “full-time” player was hit by a pitch more times than he walked happened back in 1918 when Ollie O'Mara of the Brooklyn Robins walked 7 times and was hit by a pitch 10 times in over 500 at-bats.

Memo to Angel Berroa: There's a money-making opportunity for you here. See if your agent can get you hooked up with Target. Every time you get plunked, someone who shops there gets a “shopping spree”.

Finally, a line from Bob Uecker as he remembered the recently departed Gene Mauch:

“Gene Mauch was my favorite manager. He'd say to me, 'Grab a bat and stop this rally.' “

But don't get me wrong, I love sports...

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