Mark Twain once said:
“If you are speaking the truth you don’t have to remember anything.”
That statement really only applies if truth telling is your goal while being caught in a hypocritical position is embarrassing to you. It is because of the Mark Twain quotation that I had been looking forward to the indictment of Roger Clemens. Mind you, I have no great animus towards Roger Clemens and I suspect that he will not be convicted on all of his counts and serve the potential of multiple decades in a Federal prison, as these charges would imply. I was looking forward to his indictment and the subsequent silence of Rev. Al Sharpton on the matter to highlight Rev. Sharpton once again as a humongous hypocrite.
It was about a year ago – maybe a tad more – that Sharpton went on one of his rhetorical flourishes to proclaim that the reason that the US government was so dogged in its pursuit of a prosecution for Barry Bonds was that Bonds is Black while Roger Clemens was being given a pass because Roger Clemens is White. Well, Rev. Sharpton, now the two gentlemen in question find themselves equally treated in the eyes of the law; both stand accused of perjury – lying under oath – with regard to their use of steroids/performance enhancing drugs while playing baseball.
Ergo, one should have expected some rhetorical flourish from Rev. Sharpton praising the fact that in August 2010 a milestone of racial equality had been achieved in our society. Athletes alleged to have lied under oath are indicted without regard to the color of their skin… Instead, we have had only the sound of crickets.
Memo to Rev. Sharpton: That silence is the sound of hypocrisy.
Speaking of recalling statements from the past, it was not more than six weeks ago that Maurice Clarett enrolled at Ohio State University with the stated intention of earning a bachelor’s degree and setting his life on a positive course based on the time he had to reflect on “stuff” while serving about three years in prison. At the time, I praised Clarett for making a mature decision and wished him well in that endeavor. I suspect that goal in Clarett’s life has now been put on hold based on an announcement made yesterday.
Maurice Clarett signed on with the Omaha Nighthawks in the UFL yesterday after a tryout with the team. He reportedly needed the permission of the court to leave Ohio to participate in the tryout – - and presumably will need similar permission to maintain that out-of-state employment since there are no UFL franchises in Ohio. However, that ought not to be a barrier thrown in his way. Maurice Clarett paid his debt to society – - just as did Michael Vick and just as will Plaxico Burress – - and once that debt is paid, he should have a chance to become a professional football player if his skills are sufficient. It has been a long time since Clarett has been in a football game that counted; it is up to head coach, Jeff Jagodzinski, to determine if he is good enough to play for the Nighthawks.
Memo to Maurice Clarett: Do not give up the goal of getting a college degree even if you make the Nighthawks’ squad. It will serve you well for the duration of your life after football.
An ESPN “Insider” posted a note on the website that Warriors’ point guard, Baron Davis’, weight had gone to a stratospheric 260 lbs. Davis denies the report; and obviously, I have not spoken with or seen Baron Davis in the past few days so I have no idea what his weight might be. However, if you want to experience cognitive dissonance, think about a 260 lb point guard playing in Don Nelson’s style of game…
Another way to make your brain “go tilt” is to consider the potential energy contained in the Chicago White Sox locker room now that Manny Ramirez and Ozzie Guillen cohabitate there. All may be peaches and cream – as things were for the short season when Manny forced his way out of Boston to arrive in LA. Now he has worn out his welcome in LA and moved his act to the south side of Chicago. One big difference this time is the manager in the clubhouse. Tito Francona in Boston and Joe Torre in LA both tend to give players lots of space and minimal criticism; Ozzie Guillen on the other hand…
Will this be a love-fest or a super nova? Or, might it be completely insignificant? We should know in about 6 weeks…
Meanwhile, we can now ask Dodger fans and Dodger execs if they think that they got their money’s worth for Ramirez in his two-year stint in LA. It will have cost the Dodgers a little under $40M – - considering the rebate Manny gave the team while on suspension. Other than Dodger fans having a dreadlock wig stored in their attics, what might have been his lasting contribution to the Dodgers?
Bob Molinaro of the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot had this comment in a recent column:
“Over and out: The rules for NFL exhibition games should be changed to eliminate overtime, especially if most of the crowd already is in the parking lot. Not as bad, but also unnecessary for preseason: official reviews of plays. The games don’t count, after all. Just keep ‘em moving.”
I agree with Professor Molinaro on the overtime part of that statement; fans need overtime in an exhibition game about as much as they need war, famine, pestilence and plague.
Having said that, I disagree with Professor Molinaro regarding the need for use of replay. After all, the officials need to be prepared for the regular season too and having their calls challenged and second-guessed is what the officials will have happen all year long. The players need to hit; the officials need to get used to the little red flag…
Finally, here is a comment from Greg Cote in the Miami Herald:
“LeBron said in a GQ interview that Cavs owner Dan Gilbert ‘never cared about LeBron.’ Greg Cote hates it when people refer to themselves in the third person.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…