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Home > Jeff Schultz > Archives > 2008 > October > 21 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USSingletary will prove his worth with 49ers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
And now for the Tuesday Countdown:
10: Mike Singletary interviewed for the Falcons’ head-coaching job two years ago (before Bobby Petrino’s hiring) but not this past year (before Mike Smith’s). Why? Because they, like other NFL franchises, weren’t completely convinced that there’s much to Singletary besides a Hall of Fame player who can make great speeches. Well, we’re about to find out.
9: It’s true that great athletes don’t always make great coaches. But nobody deserves the chances more than Singletary, who has been an assistant coach in San Francisco. He takes over a flawed team and a franchise that used to define excellence in the NFL but generally has been a train wreck for the past decade. But new coaches seldom take over great teams. Now is his chance to prove everybody wrong.
8: NBA commissioner David Stern will have a pre-season media conference call Thursday. I’m not sure but I think it’s to clarify which games will be fixed and which ones will just be naturally poorly officiated.
7: Jose Canseco now says he never realized outing steroid users “was going to blow up and hurt so many people.” Huh? Look, far be it for me to pat Canseco on the back and say, “There, there.” And I get the whole “locker room code” thing. But the cheating players hurt themselves. The fact Canseco wrote it in a book might go against what many believe is right, but the present and future of the game is better off for it. Nobody should weep for Mark McGwire or any other juicer.
6: Question: If it’s such a joke that the Tampa Bay Rays are in the World Series, as some seem to think, why is it that they’re favored over Philadelphia? Of the eight possible outcomes — from sweep to 4-3 for the two teams — posted by BetUS.com, the shortest odds are for the Rays to win in six games (odds: 4-1), and then five or seven games (odds: 9-2). That’s followed by Phils in seven (11-2).
5: Prediction: Rays in whatever. Why? I dunno. Probably just the thought of prolonging the agony for Philadelphia sports fans is influencing me.
4: In an era of the broadcast booth being filled with either former athletes or mid-round draft picks from the Comedy Store, Pete Van Wieren was a rarity. A professional broadcaster - short of shtick, but long on class and knowledge and an ability to tell a story like a guy sitting on the front porch. He’ll be missed.
3: And I’m so glad that Van Wieren’s retirement announcement made the front of AJC.com, just above the headline, “Dare to wear on Halloween? Princess or Porn?
2: The Thrashers are 2-2-1 through five games and, more importantly, Kari Lehtonen hasn’t attacked anybody in the locker room yet. The team is yielding 34.6 shots per game - second-most in the league.
1: Larry Johnson has been charged with assaulting a woman for the fourth time in five years. I’m sure his defense will be that he plays for Kansas City, and they haven’t hit anybody all year.
Comments
By Eddie
October 21, 2008 2:32 PM | Link to this
Jeff, why bash the Thrashers every week? Why not the Hawks, they are more of a joke than the Thrashers? And don’t try to tell me “they got in the playoffs”. They did with a LOSING record. That, is a joke.
By Orlando
October 21, 2008 3:05 PM | Link to this
I don’t know Eddie, maybe it’s because the Hawks have actually WON a playoff game. Maybe it’s because the Hawks have something the Thrashers don’t have, it’s called DIRECTION.
And maybe, just maybe Eddie, the reason he bashes the Thrashers is because in three years, they’ll no longer exist as a franchise!
By Chuck
October 21, 2008 3:56 PM | Link to this
The shortest odds on when nobody will no longer read anything Jeff writes are when he starts to give the Hawks and Thrashers more ink time than the Braves, Falcons, and Bullldogs. You are in the deep south, Jeff. Get a clue.
By Jan
October 21, 2008 4:02 PM | Link to this
That comment is so right. Jeff, not even your editors read anything you write about hockey and basketball.
By rednecker
October 21, 2008 4:16 PM | Link to this
That LJ joke is funny!