Just my thoughts

I finished watching the JHS highlight tape yesterday. I pretty much stand by my comments yesterday. I'd give it a 7 1/2 out of 10. It was nice to see footage from the Central, Indian Valley and Huntingdon games. My favorite graphic came during footage from the Bishop Carroll game. "Domination except on the scoreboard". We held our own against the A state runner-up and were pretty much ripped off by some poor officiating.


Good luck to the remaining teams from District 6 in the PIAA quarterfinals of baseball and softball. All games will be played today and the following teams are still alive:
Baseball-Huntingdon and Bellefonte (AA) and Indian Valley (AAA)
Softball-Bald Eagle Area (AA) and Bellefonte (AAA)

On 5/26/04 the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ran a piece about the starting of a football program at Seton Hill College. This got me to thinking, if Seton Hill can have football, why not Pitt-Johnstown? UPJ is the biggest of all of Pitt's branch campuses, they have a ton of land (including practice fields that Pitt's football team used to use when they had their camp there, before the South Side Complex was built) and for game purposes they could use a variety of fields in the area. Richland's is practically on campus. Vo-Tech has been sitting idle since they disbanded their athletics programs a few years ago. Forest Hills, Windber and a remodeled Point Stadium could all be options. You'd have minimal maintenance, namely skinnier field goal posts, a play clock and a different set of hashmarks. There is definitely enough of a local talent pool to be competitive on a Division 2 or 3 level for sure.

Larry Bird's recent comments during an interview with Jim Gray somewhat confuse me. First he says the NBA needs more white superstars, then he says he was offended when a white guy was sent out to guard him. ??? You know, as a child of the 80s I have fond memories of the Lakers/Celtics rivalry. However, I always thought I was pressured to like Boston because they had white guys. I never cared much for Bird. Actually, I thought McHale, Parrish and DJ were the glue that held those teams together. I'm not saying Bird had no game, that performance in that 3-point contest where he didn't even take his warmups off was classic. It was either Isiah or Rodman that made the comment about Bird being slightly overrated because of his whiteness and I think there is some truth to that. I feel the same way about Duke, I hate Duke and don't tell me I have to like them because they got white guys on their squad.

Fact of the matter is, race is irrelevant to the true fan. Look at Pitt basketball for instance. This past year, one white guy got significant playing time. Quite frankly I could have done without Yuri Demitrius' minutes (I've never seen a guy pass up so many open shots). That being said, look around at the attendance at the Peterson Events Center, I would bet that 95% of the kids wearing those "Oakland Zoo" t-shirts are white. You root for your home team regardless.

I've had a couple of days now to digest Bill Parcells' "Jap" comment and two things come to mind. First, it shows how irrelevant Asian-Americans' feelings are in our society. Had he dropped a derogatory comment about blacks or Jews he'd have been fired. I read just this morning where CNBC fired the WWE wrestler Bradshaw because he made a Hitler like gesture at a match in Munich. Secondly, it continues to prove that every time a celebrity prefaces their comments with "no offense" or "no disrespect" that is EXACTLY what they're going to do.

Actually, Tuna's got his hands full with Antonio Bryant's meltdown of the month. Honestly, who didn't see this coming, this guy was a ticking timebomb during his days at Pitt. Truthfully though, he has a point, he shouldn't be the third WR behind that waste of skin Keyshawn Johnson. (Oh, I forgot, he has a superbowl ring so he's a God)

Does anyone have a logical explanation as to why Baseball Tonight and ESPN Radio's Rob Dibble seems to hate Ken Griffey Jr. so much. In the past few weeks as Griffey has been counting down to his milestone 500th home run, Dibble has been blasting him stating he's an "average player". Not sure how a guy that dominated the 90s is now only average. Dan Patrick has brought on expert after expert to debate this point with Dibble but he's stuck to his guns. Dibble was long retired before Griffey got to Cincy. When Dan Patrick defends Griffey, Dibble cites him as a "homer" and then when all else fails the meathead comes out with this gem (that he always uses when he's pushed against the wall) "how many major league games have you played in?" This is the nonsense that Howard Cosell was talking about over 20 years ago with his "jockocracy" comments. Dibbs blasted Griffey last season when he hurt himself diving after a ball in centerfield, saying it was too early in the season to do that. Now he says he can't stay in shape and that is why he's always hurt! Excuse me, but Griffey doesn't appear to look any different in his uniform than he did during his days in Seattle. It's a shame when what seems like a personal agenda gets in the way of critical analysis.

Going a step further on yesterday's comments about Reagan on a coin or bill, there is precedent. The US Mint put JFK on the half dollar and this was probably an easy decision since Ben Franklin was already on the $100 bill. So, where there are multiple likenesses get rid of one. One of my friends suggested Reagan on the $2. Yeah, it's an irrelevant bill in the scheme of things but Jefferson is already on the nickel. Just a thought!

And finally today, I read where Lea Fastow of the Enron debacle will be going to jail on July 12. She was hoping to serve in a minimum-security "Club Fed" type of place, unfortunately for her she'll serve her year in a maximum-security federal prison in downtown Houston. Hopefully the hard time will get her into shape. I've always looked at her and thought she'd be really pretty if she dropped like 40 or 50 pounds. She was probably quite the looker in her younger years.

Does anyone really think this hard line approach to corporate criminals is going to make a difference? These guys will do their time and get back on their feet. Michael Miliken (of 80s junk bond fame) and Bruce McNall (former LA Kings owner that was indicted on bank fraud) are two examples of life after prison turning out OK.

Until we meet again...