Sunday, July 21, 2002
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The top five
1. The NBA salary cap and luxury tax. At last, a pro sports league that has player salaries under control. The NBA cap figure actually went down this season, and teams will have to pay dollar for dollar in luxury tax if their payroll is over an as-yet-to-be-determined figure. Heck, Raef LaFrentz reportedly wanted $90 million from the Mavericks and is going to have to settle for $60 million. Well, salaries are kinda under control.
2. The kids in the back, two houses down, playing pickup baseball games. Sometimes there are two, other times four, once in awhile five, probably seven to 11 years old. No skateboards, no Rollerblades or Nintendo. One bat, one tennis ball and lots of laughing.
3. Bengals fans. God bless 'em, they're rarin' to go. Looks like the Bengals have indeed made some good strides. But what about this? The Las Vegas over-under for victories this season is seven. Do you bet your house, Bengals fans?
4. Arena Football. No, not the Arena Football League with Arizona and New Jersey and Chicago and Los Angeles. We're talking Arena2 with, count 'em, 34 teams. Frankly, we don't know much about it. But could people in Mohegan, Cape Fear, Bossier City, Tennessee Valley and Quad City be wrong?
5. Minor-league baseball. Attendance is on pace to push 29 million fans. According to a survey cited by USA Today, the average price to take a family of four to a minor-league game is $38.30. And the bigs? Try an average of $145.26. Let 'em strike.
The bottom five
1. Today's ballplayers. They say they are fighting for their rights. They can't give anything back that the players before them won in negotiations. They just might have to strike, despite an average salary of $2.4 million a year. Meantime, Don Larsen, who pitched the only perfect game in World Series history, is auctioning off the ball he threw for the final strike in that game to pay for his grandchildren's college education. Hmmmmm.
2. The British Open. What in the heck is going on here? Sunshine. No wind. The course looking as plush as Pebble Beach. That takes a lot of the fun out of it, doesn't it?
3. Highly paid professional athletes who can't behave themselves, Part XXIV. The Saints' Dale Carter gets another year suspension for violating the substance abuse program. The Dolphins' Derrick Rodgers was arrested on charges of kicking and punching his wife and assaulting a man who was with her. Nice work.
4. Pete Rose. An Associated Press photo and story say a lot. Rose is in New York, lamenting his suspension from baseball and talking on the phone ... while signing autographs in New York for fans who waited in line to meet him. Writing your name down on a piece of paper is nice. But is acting like you give a damn about your fans that difficult?
5. Teams changing uniforms. The NFL season is almost upon us, and with it will come new Seattle Seahawks uniforms. Probably for a lame reason such as marketing or branding. Every year, at least one professional baseball, football or basketball team seems to go for a new look. Let's hear it for teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and Browns that got it right the first time.
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Durham 3, Louisville 2
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Hyzdu, Pirates pound Cardinals
Angels 7, Mariners 6
Athletics 6, Rangers 5
Diamondbacks 7, Padres 1
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