Sports and Politics collide in Los Angeles.

The Idiots McCourt

I must start out by saying I hate the Dodgers, being a Padres fan and all...but that said..the drama currently unfolding in LA brings together two of my favorite topics..sports and politics.

Frank McCourt should of never been allowed to buy the Dodgers in the first place, seven years ago. One of the most storied franchises in all of sports, McCourt has nickle and dimed the team into a hot mess, so hot in fact, that Major League Baseball has taken over running the franchise. McCourt probably won't be smart enough to let them do it as he is screaming "I'm gonna sue" from the top of his lungs. Like the asshole doesn't have enough lawsuits going right now, suing his old lawyers with a new crop of lawyers and still fighting in court with his now ex-wife about giving her half the team, which the courts have deemed she deserves since his ridiculous post-nuptial agreement was tossed in divorce court last year.

Season ticket sales have fallen off by 40%. Attendance also continues to dip each and every year that fucknut has owned them.He has spent less and less on talent each year he has owned them as well. But to listen to Frankie talk, HE is the brand name and the Dodgers are just 'the product'. From the Yahoo link:

Years ago employees were advised by the McCourts to consider the McCourts the brand and the Dodgers the product, and to sell the two as such, and in that order. 

They said it a lot, too. Though, to be fair, they fired so many people there were always new people to educate on the subtleties of McCourt-onomics. 

Selig, by recent weeks, simply had had enough. The team he once delivered to the McCourts was now in ruins. The McCourt empire, such as it is, looked to Selig like it was in the same condition. The two were going down together, up to their necks in debt and divorce and empty promises to clean it all up. And Selig had grown weary of opening letters from distraught and livid Dodgers season-ticket holders, the few that remain. 

So, on Tuesday, he drafted a letter to Frank and had it overnighted. He followed it up with an e-mail.

Your baseball team now belongs to me, was its message. You spend not a dollar before it is cleared by my man on the ground, who will have an office in your stadium. 

Presumably, it will not be Jamie’s old office, though Jamie voiced her support for Selig undoing a mess she’s half-responsible for making.

Before he bought the Dodgers, McCourt tried to buy the Boston Red Sox, his beloved childhood team. His egotistical ass was laughed out of town for even considering that thought.  As someone that lived in Beantown and adores the BoSox to this day, I breathed a sigh of relief when the Yawkeys told him to take a fucking hike and sold the team to three guys that know and loved baseball, John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino, who also knew how to run a team and how to make money with one of the oldest and revered franchises in the sport...two things Frankie McCourt doesn't know anything about apparently as the Dodgers qualify on both those counts as well. Again from the Yahoo link on what a boffo owner McCourt has been during his tenure there:

Well. This, you should know, is not only about McCourt’s inability to make payroll last week, for which he secured a $30 million loan from Fox, as the Los Angeles Times reported. Nor is it only about firing the security chief just before he let all the people into his building. Nor is it only about funding his divorce through season-ticket and beer sales. Nor is it only about a team that sometimes looks like it should be in Pittsburgh and not the second-largest market in the country.
This is about all of it, every stinkin’ inch McCourt has taken, when he should have given two. 

This is about a franchise that can’t know how it will live tomorrow, since it never thinks about tomorrow, since it’s already borrowed against all of tomorrow’s money. This is about an owner securing a $30 million loan, using as collateral the settlement he expects to win from suing his own former attorneys at Boston’s Bingham McCutchen, which drafted the faulty marital property agreement. And then about being so desperate to take a below-value television deal in L.A, potentially devaluing other owners’ future contracts in places that aren’t L.A.

Frankie's name is shit right now in Baseball and it rightfully should be. This man is an idiot of the highest order and for him to even consider going up against Major League Baseball when he has most likely pissed away any money he could even hope to recover with a sale of the Dodgers, it just shows how self-centered he is, and that he doesn't have the best interests of his team at heart. Which means only two things to me:

He's lower than pond scum and not a true baseball fan. The second reason alone is enough to run his ass out of town on a rail, or at the very least tar and feather him, using of course pine tar, in my humble yet vocal opinion. Because even if I hate the team,competitively speaking, I love and respect the franchise...and their rich history doesn't need to be screwed up by the likes of Frank McCourt's litigious, financially ignorant dumbass.  The best quote about McCourt can be found in the Yahoo writeup:

“Dig a pothole in the middle of your street, fill it with sewer water, and within hours Frank McCourt would walk along and step in it.”

I rest my case....

Tony, Tony, Tony....

Tony Stewart got a tad rowdy in Australia this week it seems. So rowdy, that the local law enforcement dudes detained his ass. Seems Tony went off on one of the track owners regarding various issues, including track conditions. From the SBNation link:

An Australian racing web site is reporting that Tony Stewart is being held for questioning by police in Australia after an alleged incident at Sydney Speedway, though Stewart's representative told SB Nation that the driver is resting in his hotel.

The site SpeedCafe said Stewart, who has been racing in Australia during NASCAR's offseason, may have been upset about the track conditions and confronted speedway co-owner Brett Morris.

The report says "a helmet and punches were rumored to be thrown and exchanged during the alleged altercation" and that police are involved in the investigation:

Staff at Parramatta Police Station confirmed to Speedcafe.com.au this morning at 12.49am (AEDST) that Stewart was being held for questioning, but indicated that nothing could be confirmed about the incident until later today –including whether Stewart had been officially charged or whether similar charges were being pursued by Stewart against Morris.

"We're attempting to gather whatever information we can get our hands on in an effort to separate fact from fiction," Stewart's public relations representative Mike Arning told SB Nation via e-mail Saturday. "However, we can say that Tony Stewart is not being held anywhere and is resting in his hotel in Australia.

This wouldn't be the first time Tony has hauled off and cold-cocked a track official or an owner. See the video below of a...cough..altercation in 2008. Gotta love him, I know I do!

Nick Adenhart's killer gets 51 years.

I hope this means Andrew Gallo will never walk free again.

Prosecutors said they sought the maximum term for Andrew Gallo, 24, because the pitcher and two other people died in the crash and his blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit.

Gallo was on probation for a previous drunken driving offense at the time.

Buh Bye Andrew. Hope you enjoy the rest of your life behind bars you worthless bag of sheepshit.

McNabb benched for Grossman - Huh?

Ok, lemme get this straight - Skins gave Donovan a new contract for 5 years $40 million guaranteed...then they bench his ass for the last two games of this season? WTF?

Ah, but the devil is in the details of that contract:

If McNabb has neither the mind nor the body to perform end-game duties at the age of 33 (he turns 34 on Thursday), do the Redskins expect him to be around in 2016? Not really.

On closer examination, the deal immediately pays McNabb $3.5m. But the team can sever ties at no additional cost after this season. If he returns, overall pay (salary and bonus) for next year would amount to $12.5m, hardly excessive for an NFL quarterback.

Ok, I get it now...since the NFL has a weak-ass players union, this contract really has no meaning. Since McNabb's numbers are at the bottom of the league, my guess is that he won't be a Redskin next year.

Thing is...Rex Grossman ain't no prize either. So all we really know is the 'Skins are still a hot-friggen-mess.

Metrodome looks like a Big bowl of sugar..

That is what the Metrodome's top looks like after it collapsed early this morning. The options now available to the Giants vs Vikings:

This is going to take a while to sort out. When tears were found after a 1982 collapse, four days were needed to repair it. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Sunday morning that the league will address the issue “ASAP.” Options include moving the game to the New Meadowlands Stadium. For those of you asking, I don’t think baseball’s Target Field could be retrofitted for football. But I guess the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium could be an option. Stay tuned.

The Giants were stranded in a midwest airport, so this thing is far from being figured out.

NFL is incredibly profitable for owners, but do they take care of injured players after they retire?

The answer is NO, the NFL does not. Good read up at Emptywheel this morning. With the NFLPA telling the players a lockout is pretty much a lock for next season, its a valid point to bring up about the care of permanently injured players once they retire from the NFL.


Most of the players are relatively young, age-wise, when they leave the game. But the majority of their injuries only take their toll as the former players age. The NFL only pays for medical care, for on-the-field injuries, for five years after a player retires. From Emptywheels writeup:

Before we get down to the weekly game talk, there is a serious side of the business of football, a part that is not a game, that needs to be discussed. The long term health concerns of the players. As seemingly well paid and glamorous a job professional football player seems to be, the fact is when their career is over, these men are still relatively quite young chronologically but much older, physically compromised and beat up physically and, far too often as we now know, mentally too. The video from former NFL player and current NFL Player’s Association staff member Nolan Harrison describes player injuries as they relate to health and safety on the field and once a career is over.


The National Football League is insanely profitable. The average NFL game attendance league wide is 67,519. For every game of a 16 game schedule, and if you were not aware, teams make customers buying season tickets also buy tickets to at least two, sometimes three, preseason games at full regular season face value as part of the season ticket package. That is before you even get to the otherworldly television broadcast packages the NFL has negotiated, which are the most lucrative, by far, of any in the entertainment/sports industry. For the period of 2006 to 2013, the broadcast rights fees generated are: CBS $622.5 million/yr, Fox $712.5 million/yr, NBC $650 million/yr, and ESPN $1.1 billion/yr for a total yearly broadcast revenue of $3.085 billion per year. That is without delving into perhaps the most profitable income streams for NFL owners, the ancillary modalities such as merchandizing, advertising and concessions. There is a lot of money being made here, total revenue for the league was estimated to be over $6 Billion a year five years ago; it is undoubtedly significantly higher now.


With NFL owners threatening a lockout unless players agree to major concessions, the NFL is headed for a labor dispute that would leave stadium seats empty, TV screens blank and the Emptywheel Blog Trashless next fall. The knee jerk reaction may be that it is hard to get too worked up over a battle between billionaire owners and millionaire players, but keep in mind that the average NFL player is not Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, has a average salary of well less than a million dollars a year and the average NFL career is only 3.5 years. That is pretty limited compared to the owners who have a lifetime license to sit back print money.(emphasis mine)

Yes, we all know about the big bucks the big stars get, but as Wheel says, the majority of the players do not get those types of paychecks...not to mention guaranteed contracts are virtually non-existent in the NFL, so if a player has a career-ending injury..he is pretty well fucked, regardless of the size and length of his current contract.


Long term health issues are real for the players in the NFL, be it multiple concussions that can turn their brains to mush as they age (like Muhammad Ali sadly exhibits now in his later years) or knees that are tore-the-fuck-up, making even walking a painful chore,  before they even hit 35-40 years old.


Like the veterans of our wars should be able to rely on our government to take care of war wounds that last a lifetime, the NFL players should be able to rely on the rich owners providing health care for their on-the-field injuries when they leave the game.

Little Leaguer asks permission to plunk a batter.

This is SO rich!



From Deadspin's writeup on this:

Baseball is supposed to teach youngsters the value of teamwork and fair play. But sometimes the game is just so damn frustrating that all you want to do is drill some kid in the back with a fastball. Mercer Island's Brandon Lawler certainly understood that after allowing the tying and go-ahead runs to score in the top of the sixth (and final) inning against Georgia—an inning that included three wild pitches and two passed balls. His coach came out to talk him down, but Lawler was not in the mood.

COACH: "Hey, we're going to come up again."
PITCHER: "Is it okay if I just hit this batter?"
COACH: "What? No. No. Are you kidding me? ... Let's get this guy. Come on. We're still in this game. One-run game. You wanna stay in?"
PITCHER: "No."
COACH: "You wanna come out right now?"
PITCHER: "Yes, I do. Can I sit out?"
COACH: "No, you're going to first base."

Well, the kid might be a quitter and a pussy, but you and I both know plenty of adult ball players are jackasses too on the field of dreams.

Nick Adenhart's killer found guilty.

That would be three guilty verdicts in this case. Second degree murder guilty for a bastard named Andrew Gallo, who has never lived outside his parents home, but managed to get enough cash together to get tanked then drunk drive regularly.

Gallo will be sentenced December 10th. That would be an early Merry Christmas for the fuckwad who's blood alcohol level was triple the state limit. For this punk..50 years, the tops he could get, just simply isn't enough. From the link:

Officials charged Gallo with second-degree murder - not the lesser related charge of manslaughter - because he had a previous DUI conviction, had specific knowledge of the dangers of drinking and driving from his own experience and had signed a court form from the earlier case saying he understood he could be charged with murder if he drove drunk again and killed someone.

To win a murder conviction, prosecutors had to show Gallo acted with implied malice: intentionally drove drunk, acted with a conscious disregard for human life and knew from his personal experience that he could kill someone.

Party hearty while you are awaiting sentencing you worthless fuck.

Adenhart's killer wants change of venue.

The drunk and his attorney think they won't get a fair trial in Orange County.

Bullshit. The DA has him dead to rights...the sumbitch murdered three people that night and the fourth is still in intensive care a year later. His BAC was three times over the legal limit.

His parents say he isn't a monster...that it was an accident.

I call Bullshit on that as well. It wasn't an accident that he ran a light and plowed into Courtney's car. He was so fucking drunk I can not believe he was stupid enough to get behind the wheel of his daddy's minivan.

Oh, and Gallo has never lived on his own..fucker has always lived off of mommy or daddy.

Hopefully, he never will live in the real world again. Regardless of where the trial is held.

He needs to man-up and accept responsibility, for starters. Plead guilty you worthless fuck and spare everyone, including your own family, a trial. You are a two time loser..and the second time three people died. Once again the system failed by letting this fuckwad walk the streets.  

The Deadzone.

This is the time o' year when sports gets a little lean for me. Football is still on, but the most we get is twice a week. Roundball is on as well but you can not find a daily game on any of the channels.

I hate this time o' year. I fucking despise it.

Oh, and I sucked all year fantasy-wise. None of my teams made it to the playoffs..none, zilch, zip, nada.

I just want the new year to start..now!

NLCS starts tomorrow-Go Dodgers!

I am rooting for the Dodgers..yes, it's true. Why?

I want a SoCal freeway series, thats why. If the Angels can knock off the Yank$ and the Dodgers can sink the Phillies..I will get it.

As my baseball season comes to a close..I am sad as the winter doesn't offer much in the way of sports after the Super Bowl.

Yes, I know...basketball and hockey will be alive and kicking. But they just don't ring my bell like a good baseball game.

Vick signs with Eagles.

Espn is reporting the Eagles have signed Vick to a two year contract.

It's Here! NFL season starts this weekend.

The preseason starts this Sunday with the Hall of Fame game. Buffalo vs Tennesee. Anyone remember that highschool play that Tenn pulled to sink Buffalo in the playoffs? The Music City Miracle...


Tt's also T.O's first game on the boob tube.

Jeez, I can't wait to see T.O. act the ass..really, I can't. Will I draft him? Dunno yet, but it's unlikely.

Now that I have forced the Ball n' Chain™ to get DirecTV, I will not miss one friggin game, as I now get the NFL Network. This makes me happy.

Chargers still haven't signed their first round pick..

Ah yes..football..a sport that has the shortest god damn season of any American sport.

Feds rescue over 400 fighting dogs in one day.

It’s the biggest dogfighting raid in the history of law enforcement. It took place over seven states and netted 26 people that will hopefully one day rot in hell for what they have done. From the San Francisco Examiner:

State and federal agents staged raids in several states, charging individuals in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas following a more-than-year-long investigation originally tipped off by the Humane Society of Missouri.

In Missouri, prosecutors said members of a multistate ring routinely denied the dogs medical treatment and “destroyed” injured dogs who were no longer able to fight by shooting them “in the head, throwing them into the river or burning them in a barrel.”

Although the arrests stem from the same investigation, the rings were not “one concentrated, organized conspiracy.” United States attorneys in four districts will try the cases separately.

Kathy Warnick, president of the Humane Society of Missouri called the raid the “largest coordinated rescue in U.S. history.” “This heinous, heinous bloodsport is not going to be tolerated,” she told the New York Daily News.

The Humane Society of Missouri is sheltering more than 300 dogs - believed to be mostly pit bull terriers - seized in Missouri and Illinois raids. The dogs will be housed, cared for and evaluated at an undisclosed emergency shelter in St. Louis.

I just can not wrap my mind around humans that do this. I just can not. They would kill the losing dogs by shooting them and burning the bodies.

Slamming Sammy being investigated..

By the folks he lied to in 2005..Congress. From AP:

A congressional committee will look into former baseball slugger Sammy Sosa’s(notes) denial that he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs in light of a report that he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in 2003.

The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Democratic Rep. Edolphus Towns of New York, says that the committee takes seriously suggestions that a witness had been misleading.

Towns said in a statement Wednesday that he will determine the appropriate steps following a review of the matter.

In 2005, Sosa told Congress that he had never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs. The New York Times reported Tuesday that Sosa tested positive two years before his appearance at a House hearing.

There goes the Hall of Fame Sammy..say goodbye!

When Politics and Sports mix..

The Coleman v Franken election case is now in the hands of the MN Supreme Court. One of the associate justices is none other than Alan Page.

Mr. Page is in the NFL Hall of Fame. He played as a MN Viking and a Chicago Bear. He will help decide whether Coleman gets his wish in counting absentee votes or if Franken is the winner hands down.

I was watching the MN Supreme Court hearing this morning online and when they showed Justice Page and put up his name in the video..I knew that I knew that guy from somewhere...

Just a tidbit of info you should know..or not! ;)