About the Author
The Can of Worms
"This marvelous experience often occurs as if it were the effect of a superior and invisible power acting on the person from without...
This delightful and singular state...
...gives no advance warning.
It is as unexpected as a ghost, an intermittent haunting from which we must draw, if we are wise, the certainty of a better existence.
This acuteness of thought, this enthusiasm of the senses and the spirit must have appeared to man through the ages as the first blessing."
- Charles Baudelaire, Les Paradis Artificiels
Contact me - mannystiles@aol.com
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20080627 Manny Stiles' Sportsune Cookie
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Intro:
Welcome to Manny Stiles ' Daily Weekday Column:
"Sportsune Cookie" – Soon to be more sporadic, random and occasional than ever!!!
Sportsune Cookie
An ounce of prevention and a pound of cure still have a lesser profit margin than treating the symptoms
Shit. Life is a joyous burden that always has three feet ready to kick you.
Once to knock you down, once while your down and then a third one that just keeps wailing on your nuts until the kids finally get old enough to support themselves.
Three feet on you is still better than six feet under.
It appears, due to some "other" obligations that the Sportsune Cookie will be going through drastic changes.
It will no longer be daily and it will no longer be so damned long.
Due to things that will begin to take more of my time that I hoped they would, you'll be seeing less Stilistic non-sense and Wilish banter around the beloved 'chair.
Fear not! All is well. I just need to focus my energies in some more lucrative ventures until further notice.
May less Manny mean you have more time to write and produce your own Sports Spoutages!
Peace and good tidings to you all!!!
Pre-emptive Maneuvers
"Years later you will find out - NO ONE cares what your GPA was" - If there's anything that screams "I was a dork in school", it's people who give draft "grades". It's lame, shows you're a sheep that follows the line into the slaughterhouse and on top of that - it's pointless. ESPECIALLY less than 24 hours after the draft.
NO ONE will know how this draft will turn out. Not all players develop, not all players develop at the same rate. Some players will get dealt, others will get hurt (or even die) and even more will fall by the wayside of the meatgrinder that Pro Sports is.
On top of it all; grading is subjective and inept. It's not a proper method of evaluation to anyone but the little mouse running on the wheel inside your head. MAYBE, just MAYBE, if you took all the "grades" from several Opinionists and averaged them out - THEY'D STILL ALL BE WRONG!!!
Stop it! It can't be done, it shouldn't be done and worse yet - It's OVER done...
Give us a scoring method, maybe calculations to base your judgements... I can tolerate that.
Why must humans (lizard brains) mindlessly put everything into some magical, mythical order anyway?
If I've offended you with this concept; well, someone needed to say it, and you're welcome.
So yeah, Here's My Draft Grades!!! - This draft "sucked" - I guess that's an "S minus". It was overhyped and far, far too many players should have stayed in school. It's becoming a cliche, but more and more there are second rounders that could be lottery guys if they stayed in school even ONE year longer...
I hate - hate - hate and am fundamentally opposed to an age limit for the draft, but maybe they need to up it another year with a special exemption for 3-5 "worthy" guys a year. Meet certain criteria and you can get in, otherwise everyone else has to wait - for their OWN GOOD.
Fort Night, Cont'd - Jeez, what's the point of being an American tennis fan anymore? Even "America's own" darling Maria Sharapova got bounced.
Bummer.
On the upside, the has some extra time to get naked for us! You know you want to, Maria. Get it out of the way while we still want to see it happen.
Backhand - on the flip side, with Ivanovic out, there's plenty of underdogs to root for... With Federer still in, there's plenty of upsets to hope for. Still wait 'til next week to start watching - they're just getting warm and there's still the obligatory England rain to damper the momentum.
Guess what you won't care about a week from now - That's right! Tour de Farce is right around the corner!!!
Summertime - People who claim summer is the worst time for sports are only funny to themselves. If you're a fan of ANY sport these days you know there's NO down time. Personally I love baseball and what is summer without baseball?
Furthermore, I am a fan of the "sport of all seasons" - which of course can be played just about anywhere, anytime and as often as you can handle it as long as you got the right teammate(s)...
Yankees-Mets - Well, at least you can't blame New York City for having an inferiority complex. Or dim spotlights. But why is everyone seeming to forget that both these teams suck?
Namedropper
The first time I met Kevin Stocker, I was a freshly dropped out of college pothead working in the Young Men's department at JCPenney at the King of Prussia Mall in PA.
I helped Stocker rummage through the clearance rack to find some nice cheap jeans that fit him well. That's as far as the details I will explain here shall go...
While he was BY FAR the least significant famous person (Charlton Heston, Betty White, Jaleel White, Chubby Checkers to Name Dropper some from the tip of the iceberg) I met while working at the KoP Mall, I figured I'd slap him in "Name Dropper" first because it's funnier that way and yet it somehow gives him some significance!
Stocker was the first player acquired via trade by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays... of course, the Devil Rays only gave up Bobby Abreu to get Stocker... a definite sign of what things were to come for the franchise...
Post-Emptive Maneuvers
Well, Suns... you were one pick away from getting Bill Walker. Adding my boy William Walker would have ensured you weren't going to shake me off. But now we're on that tentative see-saw. As I'll "see" what you do next before I saw my old favorite team in the rear view.
I just plain don't like Robert Sarver. I'm not very fond of Steve "Oral" Kerr. I'm only hanging around to cheer for STAT, Nash, Shaq and Thunder Dan (since you're likely trading the rest of my favorite players away any moments now).
Oh yeah, Kerr... good job NOT getting that backup point guard that Shaved Nest has needed for the last 5 years.
As for Robin Lopez... one word: "Ugh". But now the Suns have Superman, STATman and Robin on their front line. Poor Amare... Let's call them the "Bustice League"
Released? - Can you believe the Astros released Shawn Chokeon? I'm shocked!!! And he was producing SO well!!! Unbelievable...
Media Rant
Hey... Stu Scott. Yes, there WERE a lot of freshman taken in the draft - BECAUSE THEY WON'T LET HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS IN THE DRAFT ANYMORE!!!
I got quite irritated with him saying it EVERY pick.
If they never changed the rule and still let High Schoolers into the draft half those dudes would have been in LAST YEAR'S draft, you idiot.
Ever wonder?
Why is everyone so obsessed with "Instant History" this decade?
Have we all forgotten the adage that "Only time will tell"???
I think it goes back to the lizard part of the brain that most people live in that forces them to categorize everything... these seem to be the people who often have the weakest memories too.
Just enjoy it people... you'll have PLENTY of time to reflect on it later... say, like the entire future.
WTMF Sports
Channel Manny Presents:
W.T.M.F. Sports with your host, Manny Stiles!
Brought to you by Arsonists R'Us
"Whatever your arson needs, we'll be there. Just make sure you're not."
Reporting on Friday, June 27th... Manny Stiles:
MS - " ...but first our top story;
[We're still waiting to see] if playing this game more than the other dorks of the world counts as a world record..."
The Adventures of ManRays
Today's "Ray of the Day" is...
That was easy.
Matty G was one pitch away from a No-no (and shutout). An absolute beauty, nonetheless.
I blame Kelsdad for messaging me to blog the no-no. But it was still my fault.
I stupidly called my wife to sort of, kinda speak in cryptic code-ish half-speak to let her know something may or may not be occuring... that a special event of unspeakable terms may or may not be occuring... by the time she figured out what I was saying and the word "Idiot" was heard through the reciever, Hanley Ramirez went yard...
She forgot the word "Stupid" before "Idiot"...
Anyway, a GEM by "Pitch 22". One hit, TEN strikeouts and only one walk. And the pitch Ramirez hit out was a decent pitch - Hanley's obviously a good hitter.
I guess all that second guessing is making that trade with Minnesota look better every day...
Honorable Mention - Dirtbag Longlorious with #14 and even a shot out to Ben Zobrist for his second dong in two games!
The bats are heating up, the pitching is carrying the team and the train of destiny is chugging along...
Hop on at the next stop - Pittsburgh!
Go Rays!
10
1 – Larry Csonka
2 - Hideki Okajima
3 - Rickey Henderson
4 - Eric Gordon
5 - Ken Stabler
6 - Nellie Fox
7 - Stu Barnes
8 - William Andrews (my favorite Falcons RB ever)
9 - Manny Trillo
10 – Pud Galvin
A Picture is worth 1000 heroes
In 1981, Joe Delaney was an outstanding rookie. By 1982, he was an All-Pro and already a favorite football player of mine due to his football card. He had had a cheery grin and a top notch afro and on the other card I had of him showed the sweet facemask. His stats were good and so was his demeanor. I was lucky enough to catch a few games he had played on TV. I liked Joe a lot. And it seems everyone who talked about him liked him too. Not just as a football player, but as a human being.
Few events in sport have ever touched me as much as the events of June 29, 1983.
I distinctly remember the local sports caster announce the story. Joe Delaney had died. He drown while trying to save three kids who fell in a water hole.
I was nine years old, still paranoid of swimming due to my own near drowning (thanks, Sis!) a few years earlier and now my newly deemed favorite football player died.
And I cried. (I still feel emotional thinking about him today) It was for all intensive purposes, the first time I had ever had to deal with death (something I would later become TOO familiar with).
Here was a world class athlete struck down in his prime - dying while trying to be a hero!!! The odd part was - Joe could not swim. Yet he was able to save one of the children. Sadly, the other two kids had drown.
He was given the Presidential Citizen's Medal by then President Ronald Reagan two weeks after his passing. Reagan said this at the ceremony:
"He made the ultimate sacrifice by placing the lives of three children above regard for his own safety. By the supreme example of courage and compassion, this brilliantly gifted young man left a spiritual legacy for his fellow Americans"
Sunday marks the 25th anniversary of his death. A part of my childhood died with him, but I will think about him and cherish that he was willing to sacrifice his own life for others. THAT is the most valient act a person can possibly do.
I still miss you, Joe.
| † | Joe Delaney fan. R.I.P. #37 |
Dr. Commento Answers the Questions
ATQ – Yesterday's 10 (20) was indeed athletes that were 2nd round draft picks.
From KD: "Carl Crawford may be the most underrated player in baseball."
You're right. B.J. Upton IS the most underrated player in baseball.
Strike a Prose
recalling lost words
to a song I wrote a long time ago
it wasn't fast or slow
I barely remember it, though
kinda had this flow
that had it's own flow about it
but I can't repeat it
it's a secret
the more I say,
the less I'm really saying
I guess that's what Grandpa
was trying to teach me
He never told me a word.
look at us now
living, repeating
living, breathing
repeating
one to another
repeating
one to another
wouldn't you like to be a human, too
row, row, row your boat
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