some sports commentary now...

The sports fanatic is me is another alter ego that thrives and animates itself, once in a while... So many injustices occur in the wild world of sports, for the entire world to see, that one cannot resist the temptation to comment on it and make sure the allegorical sense is driven across to all.



On sports broadcaster Chris Berman during the Red Sox/White Sox games on ESPN...
I like Berman.
All I've heard so far is just him seeing things as they really are: the two teams matched up equally... Don't tell me El Duque is not as over-the-hill as Wells is... And the Red Sox hitting is SUPERIOR INDEED... It only began to be its true self in game 3 (of the first round post-season series)...

Ultimately though, Berman knows that the Red Sox used to be the Pilgrims (not to mention the victims of a curse, of course) and the White Sox have the mark of the Black Sox still all over them!
Evil-looking Ozzie G does not help their image! Terry Francona looked like Francis of Assisi in comparison...

Suddenly I see another evil empire standing, this time in the Windy City...
Sunday, October 09, 2005


On the sad state of the NHL...
Penguins and Canadiens fans especially but likely everyone else in the @#%$ league sighed a collective sigh of relief when CAM "THE MAN" NEELY WAS FORCED TO RETIRE in 1995...

And why did he retire?
Because a haggard tired old coach - Badger Bob, they called him- who had never won anything wanted desperately to win something before he was permanently out of the game (and, incidentally, he didn't know it at the time but he had cancer - and his days were counted already, too)  And so he sent out Ulf "the chump" Samuelsson to purposefully injure Neely FROM BEHIND in the 1991 playoffs... Otherwise, Neely would have eliminated the Penguins all by himself!

NO ONE CARES FOR NEELY EXCEPT THE FANS WHO WANTED HIM TO SCORE FOR THEM - NO ONE GIVES A DAMN A CAREER HAS BEEN SHORTENED FOR THE WRONGEST OF REASONS THERE COULD BE; AND THAT SUCKS - BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENED SHOULD HAVE NEVER OCCURRED.  AND IF YOU ARE TRULY GREAT SPORTSMEN AND INTO FAIR PLAY, FOLKS, YOU WOULD WANT TO SEE CAM NEELY GO ON BREAKAWAY AFTER BREAKAWAY ON ROY (OR... HAHAHA... THEO! THEO WOULDN'T STAND A CHANCE!) AND SCORE EVERY SINGLE TIME... BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT MAKES THE DAMN SPORT ANYTHING REMOTELY CLOSE TO BEAUTIFUL!

IN RE: 1993 - LET NOT VICTORIES STOLEN IN SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME FOOL YOU IN THE LEAST - THE BRUINS HAD NO PROBLEMS THAT YEAR; THEY WERE A TEAM OF DESTINY, A DESTINY THAT WENT UNFULFILLED BECAUSE THEY HAD ONLY ONE YEAR TO FULFILL IT AND THEY SINNED WITH AN EXCESS OF CONFIDENCE WHEN FACING AN UNIMPRESSIVE BUFFALO TEAM THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER ACHIEVED MUCH AT ALL INDEED...  THEY SINNED, THEREFORE, ALMOST EXACTLY LIKE THE HABS DID IN 1988 AGAINST... BOSTON!

I AM MORE INCLINED TO BELIEVE A VETERAN PLAYER LIKE DAVE POULIN OVER ANYONE ELSE - AND I CAN STILL REMEMBER POULIN SAYING THAT, AFTER GAME FOUR - "WE HAD THE TEAM HERE..."  AND INDEED THEY HAD IT: MOOG WAS STILL HIS OLD SELF, NOT THE SAP THAT ENDED HIS CAREER IN MONTREAL... WESLEY, BOURQUE, POULIN, OATES, NEELY, JUNEAU (WHO WAS STILL SCORING - UNLIKE THE POOR SAP HE BECAME AS HE ENDED HIS CAREER IN MONTREAL - WOW, A PATTERN DEVELOPING HERE!), KVARTALINOV, RUZICKA, heck even DOURIS and SMOLINSKI --- THIS WAS NOT A BETTER CLUB -- A TRUE CONTENDER, AS OPPOSED TO THE BACKDOOR CUP CHUMPS THAT STOLE IT THAT YEAR?!?  YES - IT WAS!

And today - with the parity in the league and the talent being spread so thin... Why did they have to end that lock-out again? There was no worthy champion awaiting to be crowned that year: we could have done without one entirely! Especially when the true champions go uncrowned routinely due to unfair play orchetrated by coaches such as ''Badger Bob'' back there... DON'T REST IN PEACE, BOB.
May 5th, 2004/ addendum on October 9th, 2005