- Hey soccer fan, if David Beckham is going to “save” soccer in America, then why is the sport’s most famous and promising young player fleeing Major League Soccer to go play professionally in Portugal with the Benefica soccer club? Freddie Adu, a guy who’s been on the sports radar since his early teens because he was such a prodigy at such a young age, is fleeing American soccer to go play in a place where people actually give a crap about the sport. Soccer (i.e. futbol) in Europe is to Europeans what the NFL is to Americans, so clearly it’s the right move for Adu. He’ll get more money, more fan interest and the chance to play against the best competition in the world. His departure also serves to underscore the hollowness and irrelevance of Beckham coming to MLS. If the biggest young star is leaving for greener pastures, that’s a clear condemnation of the MLS and a surefire statement that Beckham is nothing more than a washed-up, broken-down former star player who can no longer compete at the highest level and whose primary asset at this point is no longer his on-field skill set but rather his name and notoriety. Of course, if Becks keeps missing games because of the ouchie in his ankle, even that notoriety isn’t going to matter much. If you notice, already coverage of the MLS and the L.A. Galaxy have faded to nearly zero less than two weeks after Beckham’s first MLS game. Yeah, but he’s going to save soccer in this country, sure he is soccer fan…………
- A few thoughts on last night’s episode of Greek, bearing in mind that we now know the end point for this season. With the last new episode set for mid-September, last night’s episode dealt in large part with the issue of one of the show’s central characters, Calvin, and his homosexuality. That storyline was advanced by a visit from Calvin’s father, who was on the campus of Cyprus-Rhodes University to help his old fraternity, the Omega Chi’s, win an intramural floor hockey game. Despite the proverbial “dork who wants to play sports and conjures up a magical game despite having no athletic ability” storyline with protagonist Rusty, the episode was still good, although the comedy was more on the back burner than in previous episodes. The drama between Rusty’s sister Casey (Spencer Grammer) and her nemesis, Zeta Beta pledge Rebecca Logan (Dilshad Vadsaria) is a little soap-operatic, but still entertaining. The bitchiness and cat fighting is pretty funny, actually, but not as humorous as scenes with Rusty and his uber-dorky roommate Dale (Clark Duke). Plus, how great was it that Rusty’s frat, Kappa Tau, was willingly “tricked” into haven a drunken rager with the Zeta Betas the night before their big game versus the Omega Chi’s, even after they knew up front that it was a set up to help the Omega Chi’s win the game? You gotta love a group of guys who love drinking, partying and hot chicks so much that they’re willing to get slobbering drunk the night before the big game and still show up to play. Besides which, you can’t not like any show that makes a pointed, sarcastic joke about Dick Cheney shooting a hunting buddy in the face and uses it as a way for one character to teach a lesson to another character, which also happened in this episode. So far, the ratings and reception for the show have been very good, but no final decision on renewing it for a second season has been made. Here’s hoping ABC/ABC Family have the good sense to treat this show better than another great summer series, Traveler, and renew it for another year. As always, if you missed this week's episode, you can watch/record it Friday at 9 p.m. on ABC............
- O.J. Simpson is chipping away at his debt to the family of Ron Goldman, bit by bit. To be fair, he’s not doing it willingly or even of his own accord, but he’s still doing it thanks to a federal bankruptcy judge in Miami. The Goldman’s were awarded the cursed proceeds from the Juice’s how-to murder book, If I Turned Two People into Human Pez Dispensers, Here’s How I Did It. With the book canceled after widespread outrage over its potential release, I don’t know that this decision will go too far in satisfying the $38 million wrongful death judgment against Simpson over the (alleged) murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Nor can I fathom what it would feel like for the Goldman family to receive profits from a book written by the wrongfully acquitted (allegedly) killer of their son about exactly how he “theoretically” sliced up two people and got away with it. And in case you’re out there asking the obvious question, Juice…….yes, you are still the worst guy in the history of the modern world and the race isn’t even close.
- What to do with a year-plus of free time when you’re suspended from the NFL….what to do, what to do…….how about getting involved with a low-rent pro wrestling outfit? Adam “Pacman” Jones, the suspended Tennessee Titans cornerback who recently lost an appeal to Commissioner Roger Goodell to at least attend training camp this year even though he is suspended, is close to a deal with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) that would bring him on board in a non-wrestling capacity. Jones’ agent was sure to clarify that Jones would not be actively participating in-ring, which would be a violation of his contract with the Titans. Actually, the Titans are probably hoping he does wrestle and violate the contract so they can void the deal and release him. But even if he’s within his legal and personal rights to be a part of TNA, it might not be the best step for Jones. If you’re looking to clean up your image and get back in the good graces of the Titans and the NFL, associating with the shady world of low-rent pro wrestling isn’t the best way to go about it. Instead, you might want to try not getting arrested, not having any members of your posse involved in shootings outside of strip clubs and not having police seeking you for questioning in any such incidents. The legal advice is free, a gift from me to you, Pac, make good use of it……….
- Speaking of guys going on benders the night before big games, how about Andy Roddick blaming his loss in the semifinals of the Indianapolis championships tennis tournament on………a fast food bender the night before the match. Yeah, that’s right, dude is claiming that downing some fast food grub late in the night prevented him from being at his best the next day. On one hand, I understand where Roddick is coming from. After all, I make it an explicit point of emphasis to avoid any and all things Taco Bell and McDonald’s at all times, partially because of the scare a few months ago with tainted veggies used in Taco Bell grub but mostly because I’m not sure most of the crap on the menus of these places actually qualifies as food. So if A. Roddick downed a couple of bean burritos with some guacamole, an order of nachos bell grande, a chili cheese burrito and an order of nachos late at night, I can see where he might not be right the next day. On the other hand, how the hell do you allow that to happen? First of all, you’re a professional athlete, man, not a competitive eater. Maybe Joey Chesnut or Kobayashi can get away with cramming copious amounts of unsavory, unhealthy grub down their pie holes and not suffer major consequences, but you’re a professional tennis player. A big part of what you do is based on physical fitness, which involves eating right so your body has the right fuel and nutrients. You’re not getting those nutrients from a Quarter Pounder with extra cheese, bacon and mayo, my man, nor are you getting it from a double-decker taco with guacamole. Ultimately though, even if you were weighed down by a fast food bender, you still can’t use that as an excuse for losing a match. It’s weak, it’s pathetic and it might explain why you can’t seem to win the big matches any more, Andy.
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