[1) It is Saturday, March 31. Yesterday I paid $4.25.9 per gallon for premium gas. I don't believe I have ever paid more. #sadpersonalrecords. 2) Will the last American player eliminated from the Sony Ericcson Open on Key Biscayne please turn out the light? 3) Bill Parcells maybe coaching the Saints? "Sorry, Drew. We're a running team now." 4) Pope Benedict XVI wore a sombrero during a recent trip to Mexico. Glad that didn't become a papal trend as he flew to Cuba. The sight of the pope wearing a fake Fidel Castro beard might have pushed me right over the edge. 5) Join us on Twitter @gregcote]
FANS OF WWE AND PRO WRESTLING NEED TO LIGHTEN UP: As Dolphins stadium prepares to host WrestleMania XXVIII, I have learned recently -- and find it deliciously ironic -- that fans of America's cartoon sport have very little sense of humor. That's based on the e-mail reaction to my my Random Evidence notes column from this past Sunday. I referred to the stadium hosting "the biggest clowns in sports" and invited readers to wonder (briefly) if I was talking about the WWE show or the woe-stricken Dolphins. Wrestling fans were not amused and let me know it. Dear Wrestling Fans: Lighten up. Don't take yourself or your sport so seriously. The best thing to happen to this organization was when the World Wildlife Federation won legal rights to the acronym WWF and wrestling had to change its name to WWE -- E for Entertainment. That helped finally move it beyond the old narrative of whether wrestling was real or fake (I prefer "scripted") to simply accepting it for what it was: Entertainment, showmanship and fun. Its players -- The Rock and John Cena are pictured here -- are half-athletes, half-actors and that's fine. OK I admit "clowns" was pejorative on my part but when I say "cartoon sport" I mean it neutrally, descriptively. Pro wrestling to me is a comic book come to life. POW! BAM! That is not a criticism. Might even be a compliment. I respect the immensely popular business model that is WWE, and marvel that it can fill a football stadium for WrestleMania. There is marketing genius at work here. At the same time fans of pro wrestling and its absurd theater should develop thicker skin and not be quite so angry at those who might find the whole spectacle a shade closer to ridiculous than entertaining. What are your feelings about WWE? Take a dip in our poll...
LEBRON: SUPER FREAK, SUPER FREAK, HE'S SUPER FREAKY: Shane Battier's recent "Battioke" (karaoke) fundraiser on South Beach is represented here in this YouTube vid. Gets interesting at about the 1:45 mark when LeBron James (right) appears on stage channeling Rick James, in a wig and singing "Super Freak." Not badly, either. Very passable.
KOA MISI'S ARREST: Dolphin defender's arrest on a battery charge this morning in Broward stems from an altercation in California that occured more than a year ago. A club source expressed a belief the case likely will never be prosecuted.
FISH OUT OF WATER: [Rafael Nadal withdraws from Sony Ericcson Open with knee injury] Fish out of a water: An apt description of American tennis after Mardy Fish yesterday was the last U.S. player eliminated from the tennis event down on Key Biscayne. Click on Fish Out Of Water for my column on Fish's meek exit and how far American tennis (men and women) has fallen.
Poll result: Fewer Heat Fans Have Faith This Will Be Championship Year: Call Miami's win at home over the Dallas Mavericks the other night a needed boost to fans' spirits. It is quantifiable: Fan confidence in a 2012 Heat title has diminished. "How confident are you on a scale of 1 to 10 the Heat will win the NBA championship this season?" We asked that in a blog poll in early February and again this week (poll remains open in post directly below) and the erosion of faith in the past seven weeks is notable. In early February 78.4 percent of fans called their confidence very high (47.5) or fairly strong (30.9), versus only 21.6 percent who said their confidence was moderate (15.2) or low (6.4). Now, 56.0 percent call their confidence very high (27.7) or fairly strong (28.3), compared to 44.0 percent who say their confidence is moderate (25.5) or low (18.5). Heat must do some faith-building. Maybe it started last night.
WOULD KENTUCKY BEAT THE NBA'S WORST TEAM?: This comes up now and again and has anew with former Maryland coach Gary Williams telling a D.C. radio station the Final Four-favorite Kentucky Wildcats could beat the NBA's 11-38 Washington Wizards in one game at Rupp Arena. No. No they couldn't. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy: "Look, it's absurd. You could say, 'Oh, Kentucky has four [future] NBA players.' But the other team's got 13! It wouldn't be close."
THE DOLPHINS AND "REBUILDING": Dolphin media obsession with the world "rebuilding" foments a pointless, dead-end debate. "Rebuilding" is but a word, a semantical crutch for those looking for a too-easy description of the state of their team. Are the Dolphins rebuilding? Answer: Continually, until they get it right, I would hope. Two thoughts: 1) The only NFL team right now that admits it is rebuilding is the Colts, as a rationale for the letting go of Peyton Manning. 2) Most other teams including Miami are at some stage of metamorphosis but don't say "rebuilding" and won't because the word in league context means, "Fans, we'll be lousy for a while." Teams like Miami walk a tightrope, wishing to assure fans of a "win now" mindset while also softening expectations with the likes of owner Stephen Ross' recent recycling of "Rome wasn't built in a day." Miami was 6-10 last season but had enough close, shoulda-been wins that it was not far-fetched to think the team was not far from competing for a wild-card spot. Theoretically, then, if the front office did its job and improved the team via a coaching change, free agency and the draft, playoff contention should follow. So it would be bad p.r. but also disengenuous for Ross or GM Jeff Ireland to now lean on a "rebuilding" crutch. It would be an admission of failure to improve or regression, which in the NFL are the same.
ON RYAN TANNEHILL, REGGIE BUSH: Todd McShay's latest mock draft for ESPN, for what it's worth, has the Dolphins selecting Ryan Tannhill, the Texas A&M quarterback, 8th overall. That sounds reasonable, The bigger question is whether he'd be there at eight or require a trade-up. In other Dolphin non-news, Reggie Bush -- repping Miami as one of 32 players involved -- was eliminated by Eagles RB LeSean McCoy in national bracket-style first round voting to select the cover athlete for the Madden NFL '13 video game. (Cam Newton will win. Bank it).
ESPN: "FACE" OF MARLINS IS NOT A PLAYER: ESPN.com names the "face" of every MLB franchise and has manager Ozzie Guillen for the Marlins -- one of only four non-players selected along with Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson and GMs Theo Epstein of the Cubs and Billy Beane of the A's. Think I might have had Hanley Ramirez but can't argue much on Guillen. Also think this could inspire a future series of blog polls: Who is the face of the Marlins, Dolphins and Heat? Close calls, every one.
MARLINS BETTING OVER/UNDERS ON STATS: From Bovada, statistical over/unders for several Marlins players: Jose Reyes .300 average, 100.5 runs, 39.5 stolen bases and 10.5 triples. Hanley Ramirez .290 AVG, 20.5 HR, 80.5 RBI and 29.5 SB. Giancarlo Stanton 35.5 HR and 95.5 RBI. Gaby Sanchez 19.5 HR. Emilio Bonifacio 32.5 SB. Logan Morrison 20.5 HR. Heath Bell 39.5 saves. For starting-pitcher victories: Josh Johnson 13, Mark Buerhle 12.5, Anibal Sanchez 12.5, Ricky Nolasco 10.5 and Carlos Zambrano 9.5.
LOVE AND FOOD: Carrabba's Italian Grill has on its takeout bags the slogan: "There is no love more sincere than the love of food." Can it possibly be? I will say this. Food requires no flowers or cards or thoughtful gestures. Food asks nothing in return but that you love it.
RACIST ANTI-OBAMA BUMPER STICKER: A shockingly racist anti-Obama bumper sticker is available that reads, "Don't Re-Nig in 2012." Politics aside, this seriously crosses a line and in my mind tests the parameters of free expression. Who would have the gall to drive a vehicle bearing such a statement? Answer: Some Neanderthal jackass inviting a brick to be thrown through the window of his parked car. I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.
NATIONAL CLEAVAGE DAY: It has come to my attention that National Cleavage Day -- which began as a promotion by brassiere maker Wonderbra but has understandably caught on -- is either today or very soon. Why limit the celebration to one day, anyway?
Click back. Will be updating and adding to this latest blogpost...
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