Ponder the Thought

THE MLB ABOMINATION

SELIG HAS FAILEDAS COMMISSIONER

By John Leon                                                                       

The ridiculous way that Bud Selig and Major League baseball screwed the Phils out of a possible clinching game, just understates what we’ve all felt all along and now have realized. Bud Selig may be in the Top 5 of the worst Commissioners ever to grace the MLB stage.

The All-Star fiasco was one thing but what he did to the Phils was so blatantly absurd that it bears analyzing. The Phils were leading 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning, which would have made it an OFFICIAL game according to the rules. But No!!!

Enter the Undertaker Selig and his infinite twisted wisdom to allow the game to be continued in weather that even ducks wouldn’t want to be in. Bear in mind, the Phils ace Cole Hamels, was now relegated to one pitch, a fastball. This was due to the fact that his 3^rd best pitch, a curve ball was not even considered and his “out” pitch, his devastating change, couldn’t be gripped properly in the slop.

Naturally, Carlos Pena, who had done nothing of note, singles to left tying the game in the top of the 6^th inning. What happens next is so out of the ordinary that it can’t be explained and what the results may be should be considered under a Conspiracy Theory.

The umpires and Selig, THEN decide to suspend the game because the playing conditions were too bad to continue. You mean to tell me that the conditions weren’t bad enough in the bottom of the fifth inning? What an absolute joke! This is all about the advertising dollars and ratings let’s not fool ourselves. His comment that “we’ll play until Thanksgiving if necessary” should clue everybody in. You think he wouldn’t want that?

Mitch Williams and Ricky Bottalico both said how absurd this was, that the Phils now lose their best pitcher and that the Rays should have been forced to play in the bottom of the 6^th as well. They have a distinct advantage now because their pitcher gets to throw off a perfect mound instead of the quicksand that Hamels threw off of.

Once again, Selig and his minions have made a great game a national joke and delayed what could be the first World Series Champion in Philly in 28 years.

If Philly is smart and we all know how they like motivation, they’ll use this as being ganged up on and play against the system. The title should be in Philly right now, and if they can get the adrenaline flowing, it will be.

Selig needs to get out now and use the “best interests of the game” clause against him self.

MAINLAND 2008/SPIRIT 2007

LET THE COMPARISONS BEGIN 

                     BY JOHN LEON

ABSECON – The 2008 BCS standing will be coming out in the next week and even though the 2008 season in the Cape-Atlantic League is only at the halfway mark, the inevitable comparisons of teams start about now. The comparison is very tough though as the 2008 Mainland Mustangs are starting to be compared to the 2007 Holy Spirit Spartan juggernaut of just a year ago.

Usually a team dominates every few years or so but this is almost unprecedented having two teams that statistically are so similar, that the comparisons are being raised. Considering the numbers, the two teams are eerily similar but both just as dominant and the wins prove that. The opposition has marveled at both and position-by-position, the match up could be considered a draw at this point. Again, this only five games into the season so bear in mind that the final outcome may be different by year’s end.

Offensively, Spirit averaged 41.8 per game, Mainland averages 40.5 and Spirit ran the ball almost exclusively with William Washington and Nick Hall. They had a combined 54 rushing TD’s and 352 points scoring. Stangs QB Brent Caprio has amassed 21 TD’s thus far and Mainland has the better receivers, but the offensive philosophies are very different.

 Defensively, Spirit allowed a measly 7.5 points per game, allowing just 5 rushing TD’s all season and scoring four of it’s own. Mainland has given up just 3.3 and only one rushing score, after only allowing 12.2 last season. Mainland’s defense was good last year but great this season.

Shutout wins over Holy Spirit and Hammonton (in Hammonton) have solidified their place as one of the best defenses in recent memory. Those losses were the first and maybe the last those two teams may see this year. Last year it was Spirit that gave Mainland it’s only loss until the Group 4 title game against Toms River North.

The only remaining question is “Will Mainland run the table?” A viable question and if history is any indication, they should win out, at least in the CAL. By the way they have won so far, it seems that the only team that can beat Mainland is Mainland, but there are some roadblocks yet to overcome.

Their schedule is favorable with home games against Millville and EHT (Thanksgiving) and two away games at Oakcrest and Absegami. Millville, Oakcrest and Gami are rebuilding, which would leave a rapidly improving Eagles team to spoil the party and ruin a turkey dinner.

The Group 4 playoffs featuring Washington Township, Toms River North (last year’s Champ), eastern and Southern Regional could test the Stangs, but as coach Bob Coffey will tell you, the Stangs have not and will not look ahead. That’s our job.

For now, we as fans and reporters should savor the opportunity we have to even entertain the thought of who is better from 2007-2008. The debate is fascinating and let the rest of the season play out, then let the arguments begin.

OAKLAND RAIDERS

TIME FOR NEW LEADERSHIP

By John Leon                                                                                   

For a once proud franchise, the Oakland Raiders have be come a national joke and that’s not making the NFL happy. Not one bit. For a League that prides itself on how it’s run and the way it is perceived, the debacle that is the Raiders is embarrassing to the League, it’s fans and all of us who are Raider faithful.

I am unabashedly a Raiders Fan, always have been and probably always will be. Al Davis, who still runs the team, forged the way they used to conduct themselves. Davis was and still is, forever entrenched in the lore of the NFL for his vision and foresight. The Raiders always acquired players that were considered cast-offs and renegades and Davis played that for all it was worth. Commitment to Excellence, Just Win Baby, etc. is part of the history in the NFL.

The three Super Bowls that they won are but a distant memory as are the players that proudly wore the Silver and Black. Gone are “The Mad Bomber, The Stork, Alzado, Matuszak, The Snake and Lester the Molester”. In their place now resides a shell of what the franchise used to be about. The new players are so far removed of what the Raiders are supposed to be about, they don’t even know the players that were part of those teams, or how the team is portrayed. Davis has overseen the bad draft selections, the ridiculous bad contracts and the overall demise.

Their 6th coach in the last 5 ½ years, Tom Cable, has the unenviable task of trying to set a better course. Coaches that once roamed the sidelines like Madden, Flores and Davis himself are just folklore now. It’s a shame that one man has been the creator and the destroyer of a team like the Raiders.

The press conference detailing the firing of Lane Kiffin was embarrassing and absurd. Detailing the communications between the coach and owner like the weasel he has become, Davis certainly should hear from the League about his conduct. He probably has buried Kiffin from ever finding another job in the NFL, even though his father, Monte Kiffin of Tampa Bay, is one of the best defensive coordinators around.

Sadly, Davis is but a fading version of his former self, still the maverick but now instead of being a leader at the forefront of making the League stronger, he’s been a speed bump getting in the way of progress. This is not new as he’s been in the background but always visible for some time now.

It’s time for the League to get this sinking ship headed once again in the right direction. Maybe it will take the Commissioner to get the League’s Conduct Clause invoked upon Davis, much like MLB did when George Steinbrenner went after Dave Winfield and suspended him for a year. The Yankees fortunes went up after that and this could be the bandage that the Raiders need. Ironically, Steinbrenner and Davis share the same birthday, July 4.

The Raider Fans are legendary as they dress up “The Black Hole” when the team plays, but lately the Black Hole seems to be swallowing the franchise and Darth Davis seems to be willing to take his team to the dark side with him. Even as bad as Detroit has been with Matt Millen, they’ve actually been better run than the Raiders, and that’s really embarrassing.

It’s time for the NFL to step in and set a precedent. They need to get this franchise righted because the NFL needs the Raiders to be a viable option, not the joke they’ve become. They are the team everyone loves to hate, but when they act like they have been, it’s tough to feel anything but sorry.

Lately the NFL has become a League of 31 teams….and the Raiders.