OLYMPICS: Items From A Vending Machine

Items from a Vending Machine

Who says you can't beat a dead horse...

Knight and Day

The Bobby Knight soap opera is on hiatus until the coach decides where he wants to coach, undoubtedly sparking another outburst of grim revelations, controversy, and debate. Throughout this whole melodramatic saga, Knight has proven that he indeed may have serious anger management problems that he needs to deal with. At times, he doesn't seem to be playing with a full deck of cards. While this may be the case, some members of the media have gone a step further, painting Knight with a brush that dips into the "evil" jar. While many acknowledge that Knight has serious issues with which to contend with, this labeling of "evil," calls to mind psychosis in terms of killers, and monsters. Well, in Knight's case, monsters who would take it a step further...

Certainly the fact that Knight failed to acknowledge any wrong doing or apology for the choking of former player Neil Reed, then lying about ever doing it, warrants a serious scratching of the head as to this guy's state of mind. However, there have been certain guerrilla-like members of the media who have used their paintbrush to cover up the eased, Dr. Jekyll side of Knight, a side not too frequently visited by members outside of Bloomington, Indiana. Many members of the media are transfixed upon the sinister Mr. Hyde personality, which Knight so frequently personified in games, and press conferences, and thus, the "evil" label has stuck to him like flies to a Venus Fly Trap. I don't condone any of Knight's sophomoric antics, however when certain facts become one sided, one cannot shy away from both sides of the coin. I was struck with these findings and had no idea that he did have a lighter side to him. Alas, here are some lighter sides of Knight one may not be aware of:

--In all of his years of coaching, he has been heralded by others for running an entirely clean program, and for never getting involved in any recruiting scandal of any kind.

--His players have over a 95% rate of graduating, stressing the importance of earning a degree and succeeding off the court.

--When one of his former players, Landon Turner, a member of his 1981 national championship team was paralyzed in a car crash, Knight immediately jumped into mass fundraising to help the family with medical costs.

--He was one of the very first supportive public figures of Ryan White, one of the first major cases of AIDS in this country, as he continuously invited him to games and had him sit directly behind the team's bench.

--In 1988, when a family practitioner's teenage son was diagnosed with leukemia, Knight, the boy's idol, sat by his bed, visiting and doing his best to cheer up the boy's downtrodden spirits.

While the media has seemingly made Knight out to be the "Indiana Strangler," possibly attacking his victims with anything from his bare hands, to a vase or a chair, it is strange how little positive information has been supplanted in the public's eye. He has serious anger control problems that need to be dealt with before anything extreme possibly occurs. While I sit on the fence among this whole Knight soap, the idea of labeling him hellacious and diabolical seems a degree too harsh.

In the words of Detective Joe Friday, "Just the facts ma’am…"

The Hunter is Prey

In a startling turn of events, it appears as though 1999 world shot put champion, Mr. Marion Jones, C.J. Hunter has allegedly tested positive for anabolic steroids. Hunter, who is a three-time U.S. champion in the shot, was not even competing in the Sydney Olympics supposedly due to a knee injury, yet others are claiming that his discovery of the drug test results, had to do with his last minute withdrawal. However, the fact that these allegations are coming to light now, is a rather unfortunate situation. While his wife, Marion Jones, is going for an unprecedented five Olympic gold medals, the poor timing of her husband's alleged failing of a drug test leaves something to be desired.

General Secretary of the International Amateur Athletics Federation, Istvan Gyulai said that he regrets "that this news is breaking when Marion Jones is running. It's terrible whether it's true or not. It has nothing to do with the Olympics. ... If it's not true, it would seem there are efforts to smear the wonderful days here."

C.J. has vehemently denied this report, yet this cannot help but further diminish an Olympic games that is continuously smeared with drug allegations. As reported in some of the major newspapers around Sydney, the IAAF is extremely upset with the U.S. track organization for not releasing its drug test results with the rest of the world, thus, no one is sure who is doped up and who isn't. Thus, the IAAF is slowly starting to question the purity of American athletes and the USATF may soon be tarnished in the eyes of the rest of the world.

If Mr. Marion Jones was discovered with possibly 1,000 times the legal amount of the banned substance, nandrolone, how long before allegations that our Superwoman, Marion Jones, has been fiddling with the funny stuff? If so, what an unfortunate cloud this would float over an already tarnished Olympic games, where athletes ranging from power-lifters, to swimmers, to 16 year-old gymnasts are getting investigated and stripped of Olympic medals for failing drug tests.

What poor, poor timing for the release of the tests and what a sad state of affairs it would be if people started pointing fingers at Jones. In a society where allegations are rampant, many are quick to revel in guilty until proven innocent.

Citing a possible Oliver Stone theory, Hunter admitted to some sort of conspiracy in regards to the failed test allegations. While at times, society has a tendency to shrug off the absurdity of conspiracy theories, the fact that these allegations have come to light during Jones' historic quest for a fistful of gold medals calls to mind the poor timing of the report. Could someone be trying to sabotage Jones' quest for five? If Hunter isn't competing, why release the reports? Why couldn't they wait until the Olympic Games were over? Either way, it is an unfortunate situation and hopefully, the nay Sayers won't be pointing their fingers at Jones at her historic quest.

Now for the Beantown news:

0 for ?

So the New England Patriots are 0-4? Can anyone honestly say that they expected a run at the playoffs? People were so quick to jump on the Belichick bandwagon saying that he was going to right the floundering Carroll ship. However, a coach and staff can only do so much and without any talent to work with, the results aren't going to be as sparkling as Patriot Nation hoped it would be. Sure they lost their first three games to 9-0 teams, and then they lost to the Miami Dolphins in a defensive power struggle. The Pats, while things seem extremely bleak, don't expect them to obtain the first pick overall in the draft. They have lost to four solid teams by a margin of less than five points and with a little more talent, could be back to where they were when they were Bowl bound in 1996.

All the Bledsoe Bashers, take heed. Drew Bledsoe is here to stay. Michael Bishop is not going to take the helm and neither is Michael Vick. Bledsoe certainly will be signed in the off-season, hopefully to an incentive-laden contract with a mass-signing bonus that will greatly soften the cap numbers. He is a pocket passer and he has yet to make the big plays this year when the game is on the line. However, Bledsoe has hardly been the problem this season. While offensive line has been the deadly Achilles heel to this team, Drew is finally getting some better protection and receivers are starting to get open. Bledsoe's footwork seems to be drastically better as he seems a little quicker and is able to roll out of the pocket and make a throw on the run. His play fakes have been exceptional this year and he has proven in seasons past, he can make the big plays with the game on the line. Things will get better. It's just a question of when.

0-4 is looking like 0-5. The Broncos at home, even without Brian Griese, is a tall order. Their O-Line is so dominating, Gary Coleman could probably lace up for them and rush for 1500+ yards with 20 touchdowns…

Battles, Backstabbing, and the Bo Sox

The Bo Sox are in complete dire straights. The continuous drama is centered among the explosive antics of All-Star center fielder Carl Everett and the tenuous relationship between a cowardly, star-friendly G.M. and his gun-toting, honorable, yet enigmatic manager in Jimy (which looks like J-EYE-Me) Williams. This entire debacle calls to mind the past relationship of yet another tenuous trio from the 1930's Red Sox ball club, a club that was divided by the bitter, raging antics of Hall of Fame pitcher, Lefty Grove.

When Lefty Grove landed in Beantown in the mid-1930s, he was on the down slope of his career. His arm was constantly sore, yet he was the best pitcher in the game and he was still able to achieve a 55-17 career record in a Red Sox uniform, still the best career record among Red Sox left-handed pitchers. However, Grove was quite a salty dog as he would often rip up paper and cards from autograph seekers and then merely laugh in their faces. He was bitter and used to preferential treatment and would look to G.M. Eddie Collins and owner Tom Yawkey for support and privileges. Grove loathed the managers at the time from Bucky Harris (who would inevitably be released) to player/manager Joe Cronin at the time and the ball club was surely split in halves. While they were slightly improving, the club was torn in half by the behavior of the surly, high-priced veteran pitcher, and the other determined, role players on the team.

Imagine that...a club torn among the antics of a high priced veteran and the ensuing battle between a general manager and a team manager....

Ebenezer Scrooge (pre-epiphany)

There are clubs today that say they are consciously going to make the effort to spend the money on players and then...simply don't do it. Fair enough. But when a team has the temerity to boastfully pronounce that they simply aren't going to spend any money...c'mon. What a laughing stock your Boston Bruins have become. From having a dismal year with mediocre talent to the near firing of perennial Coach of the Year in Pat Burns, the B's need to get their act together. After letting B's legend, Ray Bourque ride off into the Colorado sunset with the Avs', they are undergoing yet another string of off-season holdouts in budding superstars, Anson Carter, Joe Thornton, and Sergei Samsonov. These three plus Jason Allison, and Byron Dafoe are the nucleus of the club and unfortunately enough, three of them are battling over contracts with the cheapest, penny-pinching organization in all of sports. Word is going back and fourth throughout the league that the B's have offered the three quite a substantial sum based on players in their category, yet if that is in fact the case, why haven't the sides even come closer to talking and meeting their goals. Rumor is Thornton and Samsonov are slowly thawing out and may be in camp sometime soon, but it appears as though the Anson Carter stalemate isn't going to be inching along anytime soon....

Why is it that the B's fans have to be placed in such a dire situation every single season? From last year's Byron Dafoe holdout to now these three stars holding out, things just aren't looking too bright for the Black and Gold. They have a great coach and potential talent signed, but if they don't get a hold of the Carter/Thornton/Samsonov triumvirate my magic eight ball says that there will be plenty playoff-less seasons to come....

Basketball blessings

Here's hoping that Celtics star Paul Pierce has a quick, healthy recovery after getting stabbed eleven times earlier Monday morning in a nightclub in Boston. Pierce was stabbed in the throat, the neck, the back, and the face and miraculously did not lose his life. Pierce nearly became a chapter in the book of rising Celtics stars who have met tragic ends to their lives (Len Bias the dynamic, high-flying Celtic draft choice who died of a cocaine overdose the night he was drafted in ’86 and All-Star Reggie Lewis collapsing on a court and later dying due to heart complications.) When something like this happens to such a promising, young man (Pierce is a mere 22 years old), it goes to show the dangers of being famous, social, and extremely wealthy in today’s society.

Put all of those variables together and jealousy, bitterness, and rage may make some individuals target these influential, public personalities, combining for a very dangerous cocktail when out late night partying. Get well Paul…