I’m sure everyone has noticed/heard that Ugueth Urbina received a 14-year jail sentence in Venezuela yesterday. For those who have not followed his case closely in the Caracas newspapers, let me give you a quick summary. A jury convicted Urbina of the attempted murder of five people who were workers at his ranch in Venezuela. The charges said that Urbina was part of a group of men who attacked these workers with machetes and then poured gasoline on them attempting to immolate them. That would have to qualify as anti-social behavior in just about anyone’s book. Urbina just turned 33 years old and so he’s not slated to be “out and about” until he is 47; that means that it would be a bad idea for any Rotisserie League owners to draft him for their teams – - even they are in a “keeper league”.
Moving from an aging pitcher whose future looks pretty grim to a young pitcher with radiant prospects, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark says that Jeff Samardzia is one of “five young players to remember” based on what Stark saw and heard this spring. Stark said that the Cubs made a good investment paying Samardzia $10M to sign him and keep him out of the NFL draft next month. He said that the Cubs had to send Samardzia back to the minor leagues quickly so that Lou Piniella would not be tempted to keep him on the team as it headed north to start the season; Samardzia showed talent but needs seasoning. Here’s another note for Rotisserie League owners. You may want to think twice about snagging Samardzia’s rights for your “keeper leagues” because, after all, he is with the Cubs…
By all accounts, it looks as if the NFL is preparing to come down hard on miscreant behavior off the field; you won’t find me shedding any crocodile tears for the people who receive punishment here. Perhaps because I am old enough to recall the discovery of rust, I do not understand the mindset of a young and rich athlete who constantly seeks out trouble and frequently finds it. Forget for a moment that they seem to lack any basic grasp of right and wrong behavior; they seem not to be able to go through a mental process that ought to tell them that they are putting their lives and their careers at risk. Even if Broncos’ DB Darrent Williams was not a miscreant and felon, he is dead before his 25th birthday because he was in the middle of a shoot-out after a late night party. Tank Johnson is alive today and in jail; his bodyguard is dead after a shoot-out at an “edgy” Chicago nightclub. Pacman Jones “made it rain” and someone wound up permanently paralyzed. And the list goes on.
Perhaps some of these folks have gotten to the point where they are addicted to some kind of cultish milieu where danger and excessive behavior are necessary. Maybe they have a trace of narcissism inside them and the way they gain the adoration and attention of others that they need is to continue to “push the envelope of outrageousness”? If this kind of reasoning is part of their behavior cycle, perhaps removal from competition for a year will help to cure them. It will remove them from the limelight making them less important on the celebrity lists everywhere and it will remove from them the financial wherewithal to do things like “make it rain” at a strip club. Maybe long-term banishments will work – or maybe they will make these folks even less interested in acting like bipedal beings. I think we’re about to find out; stay tuned…
The schedule of first week games for next year’s NFL season is out. Once again, there will be a double-header for the first week’s iteration of MNF. And once again, it sure looks as if the NFL wants to stick it to ESPN. The Worldwide Leader will do the Ravens/Bengals game as the first of its two games; that should be a good game between two teams who can reasonably aspire to playing into January 2008. Other games on tap that weekend include Saints/Colts, Bears/Chargers and Giants/Cowboys. Did ESPN get one of those games for its “doubleheader game”? The answer would have to be “Hell no!” ESPN will get to do Cardinals/49ers as the second game of a doubleheader; that is an “Ambien Game”; it should put every insomniac east of St. Louis to sleep by halftime.
Now that the game of musical chairs for running backs in the NFL seems to be over, I wonder why no one has made an offer to Michael Turner of the San Diego Chargers. I know he’s a restricted free agent and would cost the signing team some high draft pick or picks, but he sure looks to be as good or better than the guys who have been shuffling around from team to team during this off-season. Matt Schaub was under the same kind of restriction and the Texans worked out a trade for him; so why not one for Michael Turner?
Most NFL teams look to get younger, faster and stronger during the off-season. The KC Chiefs must think they are plenty young, fast and strong already and that what they need is to add some wisdom, savvy and experience. If not, why did they sign 34-year old linebacker, Donnie Edwards, to a 3-year deal with $7.5M of guaranteed money?
After Ron Artest’s obviously heartfelt apology to the fans in Sacramento, his teammates, his family and every other human on the planet regarding his latest anti-social behavior outburst, he returned to NBA play. Now, he says he wants to retire. He wants to spend time with his family – or so goes the story. Here’s my question:
Would that be the same “family” that was the victim of his latest domestic violence outburst and the one that has a court order restricting his access to them?
Look, this is about the third or fourth time that Ron Artest has apologized for some kind of outrageous behavior, asked everyone for forgiveness, and said he has turned over a new leaf. Not only do I not believe him; I’m tired of hearing that precooked nonsense. Ron Artest is a pain in the ass; Terrell Owens is a pain in the ass; Randy Moss is a pain in the ass; Pacman Jones is a pain in the ass; Antonio Bryant is a pain in the ass. Here’s something important for you to remember the next time one of them – or someone of their ilk – tells you that he has “turned over a new leaf” or that he has “moved on in his life”:
A pain in the ass does not morph into Captain Kangaroo overnight.
Finally, Jerry Greene pointed out in the Orlando Sentinel something very important for sports fans and I wanted to be sure that you didn’t miss it:
“Michelle Wie will not play in the Kraft Nabisco Championship next weekend because of an injured wrist. After heated debate, the LPGA decided to play its first major of the season, anyway.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…