Open Mike

An uneasy feeling about amputee's Olympic bid

Brian White — Sat, 17 May 2008 12:14:00 GMT

I’ve written before that if Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee runner from South Africa, gets a mechanical advantage from his prosthetic Cheetah legs, he shouldn’t be allowed to run in international competitions against able-bodied athletes. But now that the Court of Arbitration for Sport has ruled that there is no conclusive evidence that that is so, all I can say is, “Good luck, Oscar.”

Just the same, the concept of introducing artificial anything into sports leaves me feeling uneasy, and issue of whether the prosthetic limbs give Pistorius an advantage remains unresolved.

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Annika is everything we want in a star

Alex Valdes — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:37:00 GMT

At the age of 37 and still in possession of all her incomparable skills, Annika Sorenstam, the reports say, is going to hang up her clubs. She has other things she wants to do.

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A-Rod's wife gets her revenge

Robert Harkins — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:30:00 GMT

This is what A-Rod gets for canoodling with a woman other than his wife: she tells the world what a wimp he is.

For some reason, Alex Rodriguez agreed to sit down with his wife, Cynthia, for an interview with YES, the Yankees' personal television network. I’ve no doubt the network promised not to ask any embarrassing questions about the story The New York Post broke last year about A-Rod’s dalliance with the proverbial buxom blonde. So A-Rod, poor schmuck that he is, agreed.

So instead of talking about potholes on the matrimonial highway, the interview worked its way to A-Rod, the family man. And his wife volunteered that during the birth of his first daughter in November 2004, the mighty athlete, scourge of the American League and heir-apparent to Ruth and Aaron and BALCO Barry, passed out.

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Clemens' true colors coming to light

Alex Valdes — Fri, 02 May 2008 18:50:00 GMT

Somewhere, Roger Clemens’ remaining fans are wondering how their hero could have gotten into so much trouble. He was the perfect warrior, which meant he was also a perfect person, an upstanding family man and staunch defender of traditional family values. That’s what he told us, and fans know that their heroes would never tell a lie.

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BCS officials fumble another chance

Alex Valdes — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:46:00 GMT

Is Dick Cheney a member of the BCS? That’s got to be the explanation for the latest load of nonsense to come out of the the outfit that runs the system by which college football does not choose a legitimate champion. Because these guys are blazing new ground in art of never getting off a bad idea.

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Wizards talk trash, then play like it

Robert Harkins — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:41:00 GMT

The Wizards couldn’t wait to sink their teeth into LeBron James and the Cavaliers. That’s what they said. They wanted Cleveland and King James because they knew they could beat the stuffing out of them.

Gilbert Arenas led the way down trash-talk lane. “I think everybody wants Cleveland in that first round,” said the man who has the tact of a pit bull but none of the manners. “They've been a .500 team ever since they made that trade and everybody wants a chance at that matchup. We want Cleveland for our own reasons, we don't think they can beat us in the playoffs three years straight. It's hard to beat a team three years straight. We want to try our luck."

There’s a saying about leaving sleeping dogs lie. Arenas should read up on it some day. He might also want to check out the old line about having the last laugh. He’ll have plenty of time to do it. After Monday night’s 30-point massacre in Cleveland, the Wizards are down 0-2 in games. I’ve seen road kill with more life in it than the Wizards are showing.

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Isiah won't go quietly after ruining Knicks

Mike Miller — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:54:00 GMT

The ripples from Isiah Thomas’ firing are spreading already. Within minutes of his dismissal, the FireIsiah.com website had replaced its petition with a page that was blank save for a single line: “No Need For This Site Anymore - He's Toast...”

There’s only one tiny problem with that line – Thomas may not be coach anymore, but he’s still a Knicks executive. He had said he wanted to stay with the team on which he’s brought so much disgrace, and so he remains....(read more)

Nicklaus' record just got a lot harder to catch

Robert Harkins — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:29:00 GMT

Jack Nicklaus’ record just got a lot farther away.

I know Tiger Woods isn’t thinking that way, but that’s the inevitable conclusion to be drawn from the news that Woods put his left knee under the surgeon’s knife for the third time in his career and the second time since 2003. Now, Tiger’s race is no longer just against Nicklaus’ record of 18 major victories. It’s against time.

Before this news, I figured Tiger had eight years – until he’s 40 – to collect the six major titles he needs to pass the Golden Bear. Now, he’d better plan on getting it done in three or four. He’s still young in years – 32 – but that knee is already ancient. And once it goes totally, so does he.

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Nike's new Kobe ad is simply stupid

Mike Miller — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:08:00 GMT

What’s the point, Nike? No, don’t answer. Let me guess.

You want to inspire some of your customers to compete for a Darwin Award? Or maybe you just wanted to revive the “Jackass” franchise by inspiring some stupid human tricks of your own?

I can’t think of any other reason for the new online Kobe commercial in which your hero appears to leap over an onrushing Aston Martin convertible....(read more)

Beware Self-centered coach, Kansas fans

Robert Harkins — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:33:00 GMT

A day after bringing Kansas an NCAA basketball championship, coach Bill Self said he has no intention of leaving. But, he let slip, he would “like to have some security.”

If I were a Kansas fan I’d be very worried.

Self pulled this same act at Illinois five years ago. He said he had no interest in leaving and then chased the money being waved in front of him by Kansas. He just had to go, he pointed out as he weaseled out of his contract, because coaching the Jayhawks was his dream job.

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