A Gathering Storm Gathers Some Moss
The Randy Moss Moon Dance story is my favorite type of sports story because it makes everyone look bad except for my team. I was originally intending to pass over this hot topic in favor of the more penetrating tale of how Brad and Jennifer's marriage came to resemble a California mudslide, but the Moss story keeps getting better.First, let me say that this is a sports story only. As half the country continues to cope with the copious fallout of Janet Jackson's copious fallout, I believe it's unnecessary to view every sports story through the prism of Miss Jackson's decorated mammary. (I call her Miss Jackson because I'm nasty.)
Let's take a giant step back and review Moss' action. He didn't moon the fans. He pretended to moon the fans. It wasn't obscene. What it was was another example of bad sportsmanship from one of bad sportsmanship's poster boys, and shouldn't we all be immune to it by now? The thing that makes me angry is that people are buying into the debate. I'm not. I still remember what you did nine days ago, Randy. You quit on your team when you walked off the field, and no elaborate end zone stunt this week or next is going to make me forget it.
Though he's never held his star receiver accountable for his behavior, Vikings owner Red McCombs took time out Monday to scold FOX Sports broadcaster Joe Buck for his on-air comments regarding Moss' behavior. Buck, a model citizen, St. Louis resident, and frequent Sports Emmy recipient, called Moss' celebration "a disgusting act," adding, "I think it's unfortunate that we had that on our air live."
"Joe Buck missed it entirely," McCombs said- in between phone calls to cities where he'd like to relocate the Vikings. "In the first place, he's supposed to be reporting a game. I didn't know he had become an analyst. I imagine there will be some others in his organization that will take a look at that. He was totally out of line." (A FOX Sports vice president says the network stands behind Buck 100 percent.) Buck, referring to McComb's comments, added, "I slept good (Sunday) night."
Last month, on this blog, a certain brother of a certain blogger accused Buck of lacking "a distinct personality." As I recall, he lacked even "the occasional fresh idea." Well, apparently, he's giving the NFL establishment all it can handle right now.
Green Bay also comes off bad in this whole thing. On top of playing horribly, they looked like sore losers. Colts head coach and former Vikings assistant Tony Dungy suggested on Monday that a possible prompting for the incident was a tradition by Packers fans outside Lambeau Field. Apparently, a large group gather around the opponent's team bus after a loss and moon the passengers. What a lovely tradition.
All of this is why I'm so pleased to be a fan of St. Louis sports teams. "Honored" is the word that often comes to mind. The Rams, Cardinals, and Blues have conducted themselves with such great sportsmanship during my lifetime that I proudly associate myself with the city, despite having lived there only three months of my life.
This weekend, as Randy Moss' team battles Terrell Owens' team in front of football's most profane and violent fans, I have the honor of cheering on Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Aeneas Williams, Marc Bulger, Orlando Pace, and Torry Holt. Win or lose, I'll "sleep good" after the game.
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In this week's Sports Illustrated, Bill Scheft offers this quip:
"Iowa scored as time expired to beat LSU in the Capital One Bowl. Nick Saban may have been distracted. At one point he tried to replace Marcus Randall with Sage Rosenfels."
This is a reference to the Dolphins' new head coach wanting to insert the Dolphins' back-up quarterback into LSU's line-up. But what's really funny is that Scheft isn't even aware of how much trouble Iowa had beating Rosenfels when Sage the Rage was the quarterback at Iowa State. Hysterical!
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The narcissism of the New York sports media knows no bounds. They have monumentally overblown the Randy Johnson story, in which he told a cameraman to "get out of (his) face." Daily News and ESPN blowhard Mike Lupica, today, called the newest Yankee "the biggest hick" in town. Despite the fact that the cameraman was in Johnson's path, that Johnson followed his demand with the words "that's all I ask," and that he apologized a day later, Johnson will remain in the media crosshairs. The Daily News also printed a list of Johnson's previous altercations today, none of which I had ever heard of, and none of which seemed to be out of the ordinary for a competitive athlete.
Never forget that the members of the media are the real stars of the show in the Big Apple. Suck up to them, or hit the road. Their behavior is laughably predictable- Johnson brings the hammer down on the Yankees in the 2001 World Series. Now he wants to play for them. Get down on your hands and knees, big man, and grovel for your right to join the ranks of the powerful. Grovel before Mr. Letterman. In return, we'll make you an icon. And what a story we'll have to tell for generations to come. I'd feel bad for the dunce if he hadn't whored himself by taking Steinbrenner's blood money.
That reminds me of a statistic I read last week. The Yankees' five starting pitchers alone (Johnson, Kevin Brown, Mike Mussina, Carl Pavano, and Jaret Wright) will combine to earn $64 million dollars this year. That's more than the entire payroll of exactly half of baseball's 30 teams. The Yankees' entire 2005 payroll, which exceeds $200 million, is more than the combined payrolls of the 2001 World Champion Diamondbacks, 2002 World Champion Angels, and 2003 World Champion Marlins.
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I won't be posting Wednesday night unless the weather gets too severe. Scored tickets to the Iowa State/Kansas basketball game.
posted by CM @ 9:30 PM
6 Comments:
"Honored" to be a St. Louis fan? That seems like a stretch, considering their baseball's team history of being sore losers (witness their whining after the '85 and '87 World Series and their failing to follow their own sportsmanship ideal when they were "supposedly" going to shake the opposing team's hands after last year's postseason series - that ended up being the typical St. Louis double-standard).
And did you include the Blues in there? Don't they have a guy awaiting trial for putting a hit out on somebody? Whooo...Randy Moss and Terrell Owens are such lowlifes! The only reason nobody knows about it is because St. Louis athletes are pretty obscure.
I think the only thing that could improve your St. Louis pride would be if OJ Simpson had played there. And you blame New York for its narcissim?
It's also funny that "it makes you angry that people are buying into the debate", and then inadvertantly, you remind us that - more than anyone else - Joe Buck was the primary offender of this mock outrage!!
I stand by my comments about Joe Buck. He's dull, but who knew he was such silly, out-dated moralist too?
1) The Astros broke Larry Walker's shaking hands tradition after the NLCS, not the Cardinals, and the Red Sox Championship was recognized by everyone as much larger than just one series. Perhaps if you think twice about it, you'll realize how gracious the Cardinals were in ceding the spotlight. Ask Boston players and fans how they were treated by the city of St. Louis. To complete their dream season, the Red Sox wanted nothing less than to compete against the National League's most respected and successful franchise, and they got their wish.
2) Mike Danton's crime was obviously much more severe than Moss', but the Blues didn't make excuses for his behavior and continue to parade him in front of the fans, confusing impressionable children. Lawrence Phillips could have been a high impact player with the Rams, but was cut loose. A year later, Jesus gave us Kurt Warner.
3) Joe Buck was in a unique position to comment on Randy Moss because he was THE PLAY-BY-PLAY MAN DURING THE GAME. I'm sorry you were deprived the details of Morten Anderson's PAT preparation. I think I made it clear that I thought the dance was unsportsmanlike, but not obscene.
Here's Mike Martz on the Moss incident, showing a little understanding...
"If you've ever been on that team bus, pulling out in Green Bay, what's said to you and thrown at you, I've never been in a situation so brutal and rude and crude as that place. Oakland can't hold a candle to that place.
"In Oakland, if they don't like you, they'll stick you with a knife or shoot you. Here they're just rude and crude."
I'm starting to think that the Green Bay cold is overrated. Of course it's going to be cold when you always have your pants pulled down.
AS THE PLAY-BY-PLAY MAN, maybe Joe Buck SHOULD be focusing on the PAT, saving the commentary for his color commentator. Joe Buck isn't a color commentator because he's proven himself colorless.
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