Monthly Archives: January 2013

Diamondbacks Former TV Analyst Sentenced to Jail for DUI

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According to an ESPN report Arizona Diamondbacks player and analyst was sentenced to 4 months of jail time stemming from a DUI charge.

Former Arizona Diamondbacks television analyst Mark Grace has been sentenced to four months in jail under a work-release program.The 48-year-old former first baseman with the Diamondbacks and the Chicago Cubs pleaded guilty Thursday to felony endangerment and misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol.Grace was arrested last August in Scottsdale — his second drunken driving arrest in 15 months — and could have faced more than three years in prison. He had pleaded not guilty in October to four felony counts of aggravated DUI and was scheduled to go on trial March 19.The Diamondbacks fired him as their analyst after the August arrest but later invited him to participate in a fantasy camp.A Maricopa County Superior Court spokesman says the jail sentence begins Feb. 10. Grace must also serve two years of probation.

No one likes to see anyone get in trouble, and when alcohol and driving is involved you pray that nobody is fatally. Hopefully Grace can get the help he needs.

Indians and Clear Channel Announce 5 Year Deal to Broadcast Games

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The Cleveland Indians and Clear Channel announce a 5 year extension to broadcast the all regular season games on WTAM 1100 as the flagship station and to simulcast 144 games on sister station WMMS 100.7. Below is a statement from the Indians on the agreement.

The Cleveland Indians will continue their 15-year relationship with WTAM 1100 AM through 2017 with a new five-year deal announced today.

As part of the new agreement, WTAM 1100 AM will air all regular season games and WMMS 100.7 FM will simulcast the majority of Cleveland Indians games. Tribe games will continue to be distributed to the entire Indians Radio Network, which consists of 26 stations across Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.

The Indians also reached a multi-year deal with Jim Rosenhausto continue partnering with “Voice of the Indians” Tom Hamilton in the Indians radio booth.

All Indians games will also be available for online and mobile streaming with MLB Gameday Audio, MLB.TV and the top-selling sports mobile application of all-time, MLB At Bat.

Source Cleveland Indians

What Manti Te’o and Lance Armstrong Should Teach Us About Superlatives and Heroism in Sports

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In the famous words of Dr. House, everybody lies. This may be a cynical way of

looking at sports, but at this point we shouldn’t want superlatives and heroism attached

to any athlete. There’s no need for it. Why can’t athletes just be marveled for their

athletic prowess?

 

We’re always searching for the next “feel good story’. It’s not just enough that a team

went undefeated in an era where most teams end with one loss? It’s not enough that a

man won a competition after beating cancer?

 

Nope, we want more, we want to feel as if these athletes are special, that they’re not like

me and you. WRONG! While money separates us, they are just like us. No need to be

star struck, no need to feel like they don’t go through everyday problems. They live and

put their pants on one at a time just like we do.

 

At some point we have to learn that athletes don’t really care what we think unless it’s

concerning our pockets. Beyond that they think about themselves just like we do. Their

sole priority is to provide for their family by any means necessary just like us. So if

there’s a lie to be told to ensure that the millions continue to be direct deposited, then

a lie will be told. The problem is us. We think that athletes are supposed to be more

morally responsible than us. We hold them to a standard that we don’t or can’t reach

ourselves. Which is unfair to the athlete. We shouldn’t hold up athletes as the standard

of how you live. That pedestal should be reserved for fire fighters, crossing guards,

people you can reach and directly affect your everyday life.

 

Major league sports generates billions of dollars, it’s a business first, entertainment

second, and athletic competition third. People want athletes to approach the game like kids

approach play-doh. This isn’t just fun for them, it’s a job and the more fans that realize

that the heartbreaks will decrease 100%. However, fans only see guys playing for

millions ignoring the owners that rake in billions from advertisements, merchandising

and other revenue streams we don’t know about.

 

However, the insistence on wanting a mythical hero to hold up as the portrait of

all good has to stop. When fans stop looking at athletes to be the standard of moral

authority, and allow them to be real people, everybody will be better off.

 

The media isn’t without blame either. While it is easier to believe someone when they

deny something with such vigor and and emotion, we can’t let emotions stop us from

being objective.

 

Manti and Lance are just the latest athletes to get caught up in a lie, but they won’t be

the last. Time and time again we’ve seen that athletes are human, they do a lot of good,

however they make mistakes too.

Ravens Linebacker Adrian Hamilton Says Team Should Draft Manti Te’o

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During the lead up to the Super Bowl, players are asked the wildest questions you’ll ever hear and their answers are just as weird. TMZ caught up with Ravens linebacker Adrian Hamilton and asked him about Manti Te’o.

 

Photog: Would you want [Manti] on your team?

AH: Is he a good linebacker?

Photog: Yes

AH: Then why wouldn’t we want him?

 

While for the most part Te’o has performed at an outstanding level, one has to wonder what his mental acumen is, if he can be duped by two dudes pretending to be a girl dying of cancer if we’re going to believe that he wasn’t in on the hoax.

I think Hamilton just wants him on the team because Te’o would be the easiest target to haze and tease in the history of locker room antics.

What Kyrie Irvings’ All Star Appearance Means to the Cavs Rebuild

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Kyrie Irving in his second season has amassed high critical acclaim. Rookie of the year award, MVP in the rookie vs sophomore game, and now his first all star appearance.

Irving is a special talent no doubt, if he can avoid the injury bug, his ceiling is as high as any young star with potential.

However, what does this mean for the Cavs and their rebuilding strategy. The Cavs are one of the youngest teams in the league. Two second year players and a rookie comprise 60% of their starting lineup. Their bench consists of very few players that could crack an 8 man rotation on another NBA team and their roster as a whole lacks the presence of veterans needed to be successful.

So what is the Cavaliers plan? How long is losing to be accepted? When is the time to make a move towards being just average?

These are questions only Cavs top men can answer, nonetheless, the reality of the situation is, whatever it is that you want to see from the Cavs, right now they’re a bad team with a lot of young players shouldering the burden.

Growing pains are to be expected, but is it fair to ask fans to sit through a third season of 30 or less wins? The Cavs were thrown into a rebuilding situation when the best player in their history left without warning, and watching the way they’re building now, growing sentiment is they’re placing all their eggs in the basketball of one player again and run the risk of staying in this whirlwind of mediocrity for years to come.

In their defense, there is no ‘quick’ way to build an NBA team. While you can have a no tolerance policy when it comes to them and winning, with most situations there’s a gray area and the Cavs are living on its property with a mansion and a butler.

Their draft picks are unable to be judged at this point because Tristan Thompson has played just barely 100 games and the other two rookies, Tyler Zeller and Dion Waiters, have no veteran at their position to teach them some of the tricks of the trade. Two of those three players are big men (Thompson and Zeller), and big men usually take 3 years to develop and become what they will for their career. The other is a guard (Waiters) who is a streaky scorer who will run hot in cold, and with time you can only hope he becomes more consistent.

The mantra of patience, while tiresome on the ears of fans, is something that is needed when it comes to those three players. No concrete decision can be made on them just because there simply isn’t enough tape on them to determine that they will be productive or bust.

Where the Cavs can improve is in their activity in free agency. CJ Miles type of players isn’t going to get it done. While the pickings are quite slim, they have to find a way to get a guy to come to Cleveland that can be of impact.

Perhaps they’re waiting for the right moment and player. Plausible, but where is the calculated risk move, when do you do something that is risque for the sake of trying to speed up the process by adding some talent to a team that is severely malnourished.

Kyrie Irving making the all star team shows that he can shine even though the pieces around him aren’t the greatest. However, if they hope to keep him, and make this team an attractive one, they’re going to have to make some additions that show you’re doing all you can to win. Because from the outside looking in, the view is ‘we’re going to wait for lightening to strike twice and play it safe’.