HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all my fellow Dads out there!
[New studies indicate that people who are followers at Twitter.com/gregcote have zero incidence of swine flu and are thought to be better-looking than the general population].
A referendum on A-Rod: Almost-native son Alex Rodriguez returns with the Yankees for a three-game set vs. the Marlins and today -- finally! -- we get to see him actually play at BadBeer Stadium after he sat out the first two games with (!) fatigue. Click on The Circus Comes to Town for the column by me. This is our first chance to react to him since the revelation of his past steroid use. I don't count his Febuary appearance at the ceremony naming UM's baseball stadium after him, because that was a small, select audience of people cheering his donated millions. The Sunday reaction will be a better gauge. How we forgiven? Forgotten? Do we still care? Take a dip in our poll.
Dolfans let your voices be heard!: Are you a Dolphin fan who sings well enough that the cat doesn't howl? The Dolphins are forming an 8-person a-capella vocal group to perform the national anthem at home games this season and also to make other appearances on behalf of the club. Feels like an epiphany of new entertainment-obsessed owner Stephen Ross. (Also feels like nobody in Ross' inner city has the spheroids to say, "Bad idea, Steve"). It isn't so much a bad idea as a weird one. An a-capella mini-choir sounds about as hip as a barbershop quartet and not exactly NFL-manly. Reminds me of the host of the recent Tony Awards singing, "This show couldn't be gayer if Liza Minelli were mayor." An a-capella troupe called Dolphin Voices? Really? What's next, the Dolphin Repertory Theatre Players? Anyway, if you are capable of singing credibly while sober and are interested, the open tryout will be Saturday, June 27 at 9:30 at BadBeer Stadium. Enter through Gate C.
Kosar is bankrupt: We told you here in the blog a couple of days ago it happened. Bernie Kosar filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Miami, claiming assets of $1-10 million and liabilities of $10-50 million. A messy divorce and business failings helped sack the former UM quarterback. We wish him well. (Great piece on Kosar in today's paper by Dan Le Batard).
NCAA screws Old Bobby: [Click on Saving Bobby for my column on this -- newly online and shipping to Saturday's paper]. The NCAA is allowing three termites to fell a giant redwood. I mean, C'MON!! An FSU tutor and two low-rank staff members feed some answers to athletes taking an online course in [bleep]ing music history (!) and THIS should rewrite college football history by denying Bobby Bowden his shot at the career wins mark? Really? So let me get this straight. A dumbass student-tutor whispers "Bach" to a backup left guard and now Bowden must forfeit 14 wins and cede the all-time crown to Joe Pa? It isn't right. There is no indication the football players involved had any vital role in any of those wins, nor was Bowden in any way involved in the fraud limited to a single course. FSU discovered this issue itself, turned itself in and cooperated fully, but with apparently no favorable mitigation. Punlishment was warranted, but probation and a reduction in scholarships was enough. Vacating wins is excessive. Bowden has worked 50 years to build and grow and earn a legacy, only to have a few pinheads on an infractions committee steal what is his. It's rotten.
Tiger, Phil and, and, um...: Rain is messing with the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black (Clouds). The tournament includes Tiger Woods, gunning for his 15th major, and Phil Mickelson, playing in honor of his cancer-stricken wife, plus dozens of other guys nobody cares about.
NFL's swift justice on Stallworth: I have no problem with NFL commisar Roger Goodell suspending Browns WR Donte Stallworth indefinitely without pay in the wake of the player pleading guilty to DUI-manslughter in Miami. Stallworth got off easy in the courts in large part because the victim's family did not press a harsher sentence in exchange for a big wad of money. But the league is free to mete out its own punishment, and is justified in this case. Bottom line: An NFL player driving drunk killed somebody. And he can't pay off the league, as he did the family, to leave it as a wrist-slap.
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About FSU & Bowden. It really depends on whether Bowden was knowledgeable that this was going on. We'll never know. It's also his responsibility to remind the players every week, that cheating will not be tolerated.
No telling how many subjects they cheated it. This is just the one where there was sufficient evidence of widespread cheating.
If Bowden truly did his job in reminding players of their scholastic responsibilities, then I'm with Bowden on this one. It's not like Joe Pa's Penn State never had any infractions.
Posted by: mike1 | June 19, 2009 at 11:15 AM
Who the hell is A-Rod? Oh is that the stalker infatuated with Madonna's muscles?
Posted by: r. duke | June 19, 2009 at 12:44 PM
Speaking of cheating remember Charlie Pell? Jesus Christos what a great Gator team he put together. Guy had Lorenzo Hampton(better in college than pros) AND John L. Williams & Neal Anderson. God I love a great running game. I think Wilbur Marshall may have been on the team that Pell built as well. Not trying to start trouble g8rh8r. I'm not even Gator fan but living in Gainesville at time you couldn't escape them completely. Also Emmitt Smith was greatest thing to come out of Gainesville since ah... Moonshine?
Posted by: r. duke | June 19, 2009 at 01:06 PM
Cote, I hope you at least had a beer & a dog with the works in progress with mustard stains on your Nike t-shirt while on your COPD treadmill. You don't want to embarrass sports writers across America do you?
Posted by: r. duke | June 19, 2009 at 01:21 PM
Holy S***! I just wasted another 40% of my life...
Posted by: r. duke | June 19, 2009 at 01:22 PM
PLEASE VOTE FOR OUR CANES:
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college_uf/
Time is running out to vote for your team of the decade (so far). I will officially close the poll at 9 a.m. Monday, when I begin the countdown for my pick as the best team this decade.
As of 10 a.m. this morning, the 2001 Hurricanes had overtaken the 2005 Longhorns as your choice. The race tightened up between the two schools in the last several days.
The 2008 Gators, despite one loss to Ole Miss, are running third.
Over 3,300 votes have been cast. Your votes will be featured along with my countdown. Thanks for your interest!
Who is the best team of the decade (so far)?
2000 Oklahoma
2001 Miami
2002 Ohio State
2003 LSU
2004 USC
2005 Texas
2006 UF
2007 LSU
2008 UF
View Results
Polldaddy.com
Posted by: RICH | June 19, 2009 at 01:43 PM
RICH,
2004 trojans, 2001 canes, 2005 texas. all the rest lost a game (ohio state was given the game versus miami).
Posted by: the shadow knows | June 19, 2009 at 02:46 PM
I don't support the bogus rating system used in college football, so it's tough to decide who is the best team of the decade. We'll never know, who in college football history, was the deserved national champion from year to year because everyone plays radically different schedules. And a lot of assumptions on strengths of team and schedule strength is is made. Not to mention, the timing of a loss or win, has a lot to do with end of season rankings.
Posted by: mike1 | June 19, 2009 at 02:46 PM
Greg Cote,
dadgum, bobby's teams broke the dadgum rules, and loses some dadgum victories as D _ _ _ _ m result.
Posted by: the shadow knows | June 19, 2009 at 02:48 PM
..but let's not forget that UM was cheated twice in OT (on the same drive) in 2002 vs Ohio State.
USC was also cheated in the Texas game; obvious turnover by the Texas after a catch, was ruled incomplete rather than a fumble. Think there was another bogus pro-UT call in that game.
Posted by: mike1 | June 19, 2009 at 02:49 PM
UM was by far the best. The 2000 Oklahoma team got a huge break not having to play UM in the championship game.
Too bad for Bernie. Up to $50 million of debt. Wow.
The Gaygotors suck.
Posted by: Tom | June 19, 2009 at 05:41 PM
mike1,
no crying from me about the texas game-one play to stop vince young and he got loose for the winning score. the team the year before had lofa tatupu and murdered oklahoma in the BCS titlle game- probably the biggest rout, even though nebraska looked like a peewee team versus the canes in pasadena.
Posted by: the shadow knows | June 19, 2009 at 05:53 PM
mike1, no respect for Joe Pa? what's up with that? you ain't right. Bobby Bowden is a legend that shouldn't have 14 wins taken from him.
Bernie Kosar has business partners in Bernie Made-off and Ryan Leaf Jack-off. Divorces can be ugly and always financially costly. All agreed, this Bernie is a good dude and you hate to see him suffer like this.
Donte Stallworth needs employment to pay off his victims family. This guy only has about 3 productive yrs left as a mediocre WR. In New England he shoulda been putting up the #'s opposite Moss. Welker turned out (not to our surprise) to be the true #2 there making about half the $ Stallworth made.
Shadow. Vince Young coulda made a career as a college QB. He 'STill isn't NFL ready, mentally, emotionally.
Posted by: Jimbo | June 19, 2009 at 11:05 PM
hey Bernie, duh U could use a donation to help pay for Tuberville's new contract in 2010 ...
nevermind, broke azz ex U Q.B.
Posted by: U Be Broken Too Cane Fans | June 20, 2009 at 09:10 AM
"This is our first chance to react to him since the revelation of his past steroid use."
Uh, no, Greg,
This is your second chance.
On your first try, the majority of the folks who casted their votes in your poll were either indifferent to ARod's problems or didn't care.
"I don't count his Febuary appearance at the ceremony naming UM's baseball stadium after him, because that was a small, select audience of people cheering his donated millions."
Oh yeah, of course you don't count the last poll because you didn't get your desired results.
You even blamed it those results on too many Cane fans voting.
You don't care as much about the voting process as much as you care abou the outcome.
Are you a registered Democrat and/or do you work for one of the so-called "Mainstream" media outlets? LOL.
You sound like one of them.
Posted by: soFla media is a joke | June 20, 2009 at 09:35 AM
soFla media is a joke... you gotta point
outside of Fox News the rest of the media is State Run pro liberal/socialist/elitest. If Barak, Pelosi, Dodd, Frank et al were Republican they would be laughed out of Washington.
Posted by: Jimbo | June 20, 2009 at 10:33 AM
outside of Fox News the rest of the media is State Run pro liberal/socialist/elitest. If Barak, Pelosi, Dodd, Frank et al were Republican they would be laughed out of Washington.
Posted by: Jimbo | June 20, 2009 at 10:33 AM
Amen to that!
Posted by: soFla media is a joke | June 20, 2009 at 02:09 PM
I got a letter from a woman in Arizona. She writes an open letter to our nation's leadership: I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?
Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:
One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.
Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.
Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.
Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.
Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!
Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.
Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.
Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why -- what do you have against shareholders making a profit?
Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.
Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band-Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.
Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try -- please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.
Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.
Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.
I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.
From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.
We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when hewill rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.
Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.
Posted by: Fed Up | June 20, 2009 at 04:14 PM
Fed Up, I admire your passion but I fear you may become a victim of the next "Night of the Long Knives." We humans are slow to change more often than not. We're greedy more often than not. We're oppressed rather than revolutionary more often than not. BUT we still have Max Ehrmann's famous words,
With all it's sham, drudgery, and boken dreams,
it still is a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Posted by: Eh What Are Ya Gonna Do? | June 20, 2009 at 04:42 PM
boken heh heh meant broken duh
Posted by: Eh What Are Ya Gonna Do? | June 20, 2009 at 04:44 PM
Ah believe me when I say Max Ehrmann's famous words are often furthest thing from my mind when I watch the news or read the newspaper. Usually I'm thinking WTF is going on here?!
Posted by: Eh What Are Ya Gonna Do? | June 20, 2009 at 04:53 PM
duke, besides emmitt and moonshine dont forget about tom petty, he also hailed from g-ville..
Posted by: anti christ | June 20, 2009 at 07:49 PM
ah yes I thought I was forgetting something or rather someone...
Posted by: r. duke | June 20, 2009 at 09:05 PM
fed up,
good write
many hardworking, patriotic, taxpaying, charitable nonracist countrymen just want the government to get out of the way of true progress.
Posted by: Jimbo | June 20, 2009 at 09:35 PM
Cote**************
Can you find out and post which Dolphin rookies have been signed???
Posted by: Jimbo | June 20, 2009 at 09:57 PM
boys,
dolphin chat got no questions this past friday- lack of faith in the writer, or the impossibility of getting through with the new registration system? you tell me!
Posted by: the shadow knows | June 21, 2009 at 02:18 PM
OC
Here are some questions for you:
1) How many strokes behind the winner of the tournament will Ricky Barnes finish?
2) On what hole will he lose the lead for good in the final round? (my guess is when he leaves #2 he'll be done).
3) Who wins the Open?
4) Will Tiger finish in the top 5?
Well that's it. I'm trying to record all the play on DVDs to send to my son and this rain is making it rather difficult.
Posted by: Tom | June 21, 2009 at 09:06 PM
Tom, tell your son that a few of us on here appreciate whole heartedly what he is doing.. for all of us.
My wife is still stationed overseas and it's rough sometimes. Got my teenagers at home and working over 60 hrs a week now. Going back to Europe for Oktoberfest in Munchen, Italy too with stops in either Austria or Switzerland for an overnighter.
Duke, I may get to meet a retired 88 this time around. There is a big WWII museum in a German town named Munster or Muenster that has king tiger or panther on display. I also think they have tank killer Jadgerpanther that has 88 and artillery/anti aircraft 88 too. Last time out there the best i could do was vintage American armor, Chaffee, Stuart, Sherman, halftrack.
Posted by: Jimbo | June 21, 2009 at 10:40 PM
Jimbo just watched Patton 360 on History channel and those big cats were all there with their long, turged 88s. Jadgerpanther was strange looking piece of artillary. If I'm not mistaken that is one without a turret and a big Krupp Steel dick protruding out of the front of it with which to cum all over the 4th Armored Division and 101st Airborne Screaming Eagles. I ah, ah, huh... OK so I've been looking at alot of porn recently, hence the abundant Freudian imagery... Anyhoot be sure to bring me back a Luger and a manuel on the NAZI Eugenics Program. So many criminals to put out of their misery...
Posted by: r. duke | June 22, 2009 at 03:38 AM
Thanks Jimbo. I will tell him.
Posted by: Tom | June 22, 2009 at 05:56 AM
The US miracle advancement to the next round is something even Tom might momentarily get into.
They were still mathematically in it; but needed to beat an impressive Egypt. And Italy lose to Brazi...PLUS, they needed a 6 goal differential in goals.
Guess what! It happened. US beat Egypt 3 -0. Brazil bat Italy 3-0. US advanced ina 3-way tiebreaker over Egypt and Italy and will play Spain in the semi's!!!!
Miracles do happen.
Posted by: mike1 | June 22, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Tom,
Haven't been around this weekend so I just got your questions. By now you must know that Glover did in fact hang on to win. This year's Open was unfortunate to many who had to play in the rain on Thursday and Friday. Tisk, tisk. Personally, I was pulling for Duval. The dude has had to climb back from so much. On the other hand, Glover had to "qualify" at a regional just to play. That's always a good story. The southern gentleman from South Carolina is deserving.
Posted by: OC Dolphin | June 22, 2009 at 02:04 PM
fellers,
anybody see dean lately?
Posted by: the shadow knows | June 22, 2009 at 03:33 PM
shadow I've been wondering where dean is for awhile. He always brings out the best in ginrai.
Posted by: r. duke | June 22, 2009 at 07:24 PM
shadow,
no sign of dean
what about NJ John?
Posted by: Jimbo | June 23, 2009 at 12:50 AM
boys,
they'll show up when football season arrives; this is vacation time. i am off to the Holy Land next week-will try to stay in touch but postings will be limited as i will need to buy time or use friends' machines.
Posted by: the shadow knows | June 23, 2009 at 05:34 PM
shadow keep your head down and don't go to any Sabarro Pizza joints. The Palestinians love hitting those places. Seriously be safe my cyberspace comrade.
Posted by: r. duke | June 23, 2009 at 07:48 PM
take care shadow and be safe.
Posted by: Jimbo | June 24, 2009 at 12:27 AM
Jimbo and r. duke,
thanks for the good wishes; i missed the sbarro's explosion by a couple of days after meeting with a friend in front of the place regularly before we went elsewhere as it is located at the busiest intersection in jerusalem. will pray for good thing for my blog friends and for the world when in the holiest spot on earth.
Posted by: the shadow knows | June 24, 2009 at 10:38 AM
r. duke,
my pal #88 for the wolverines and dolphins told me to "keep my head on a swivel" while i am over there, and i follow his advice. i willkeep my head down, per your advice, while in praying mode. also, head up is a good concept as they have some really beautiful femmes there!!!!
Posted by: the shadow knows | June 24, 2009 at 10:42 AM