Mr. Schilling Goes To Congress?
Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling hasn’t been in the news for a few weeks. So, naturally, he used his blog to announce his interest in serving the great state of Massachusetts as senator.
Never mind that iconic Democratic leader Ted Kennedy filled that seat for nearly 50 years. Never mind that the seat opened up with Kennedy’s death.
Schilling saw an opportunity to hog some attention and he went for it. Suddenly he decided he wanted to become the Next Jim Bunning.
“I do have some interest in the possibility,” he wrote on his blog. “That being said, to get to there, from where I am today, many, many things would have to align themselves for that to truly happen.”
For instance, people would have to believe that a former Red Sox pitcher would have anything to offer in politics. But Schilling seems undaunted.
He wrote: “My hope is that whatever happens, and whomever it happens to, this state makes the decision and chooses the best person — regardless of sex, race, religion or political affiliation — to help get this state back to the place it deserves to be.”
Red Sox GM Theo Epstein had this response, via a text message to the Boston Globe: “He would be good at filibustering.”
Schilling’s relentless grandstanding in the big leagues would make it difficult for some voters to take him seriously, as this video suggests.
THIS IRISH FAN IS A WEIS GUY
Actually, former Notre Dame linebacker Tom Reynolds is NOT a Charlie Weis booster. He is said to be the man behind this rude billboard posted not far from the Irish football office:
“BEST WISHES TO CHARLIE WEIS IN THE 5TH YEAR OF HIS COLLEGE COACHING INTERNSHIP.”
Nice.
At some point in his life, Weis has to get the Irish back in the BCS hunt and get the smart alecks off his back.
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE
Questions to ponder while wondering if Mizzou can mine the whole “no respect” angle for gold this season:
- Who knew the Oklahoma State-Georgia rivalry was this intense?
- Will Patriots fans find this information reassuring as the real season draws closer?
- Shouldn’t Cubs fans love Lou Piniella for being so honest about his team?
- Can Rich Rodriguez’s life get any more complicated?
- Can an ambitious football program climb into BCS contention with a weak school spirit song?
QUIPS ‘R US
Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:
Jay Mariotti, FanHouse, making a plea to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell: “Through 2011, the NFL will be paid a combined $11.6 billion by CBS, NBC and FOX for television rights fees. Through 2013, the league will be paid an additional $8.8 billion by ESPN. That’s $20.4 billion coming in, a staggering figure reflective of how pro football reigns supreme in American sports. So why would Goodell and the owners continue to black out telecasts — the longstanding penalty for teams that don’t sell out home games within 72 hours of kickoff — when the economy is crippling fans who no longer can afford tickets? Isn’t it stinkingly greedy of the league to demand packed stadiums when many people don’t have the scratch to afford ticket prices that averaged $75 last year?”
Greg Cote, MiamiHerald.com: “A suite at Angel Stadium owned by baseball superagent Scott Boras was swarmed by bees Sunday. I can think of a couple of dozen team GMs who probably got a smile out of that.”
Bill Simmons, ESPN.com: “Collectively, we have to come to grips with the fact that only 10 individual baseball records matter anymore: Joe D’s 56-game hitting streak; Ted Williams being the last guy to hit .400; Orel Hershiser’s 59-inning scoreless streak; Pete Rose’s 4,256 hits; Rickey Henderson’s 130 steals; Nolan Ryan’s seven no-hitters and 5,174 strikeouts; Johnny Vander Meer’s consecutive no-hitters, Cal Ripken’s Whatever He Ended Up At Streak, and Joe Torre’s streak of 1,397 consecutive games caught picking his nose by his dugout’s camera. That’s it.”
Jeff Schultz, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Remember the “Whizzinator? It was the device made infamous by the Minnesota Vikings’ Onterrio Smith, who used it to try to beat a drug test but failed miserably and was kicked out of league, which left the Vikings’ franchise with a Grade 3 concussion and somewhat explains the Brett Favre signing four years later. Well, it seems a bar owner bought Smith’s Whizzinator at an auction for $750. Why? So he can put it on display at his establishment in Mankato. OK, I have two rules about sports bars: 1) They must serve wings; 2) They can’t display any item that’s used for dispensing cleansed urine.”
MEGAPHONE
“I want to win the Stanley Cup. That’s why I play. We had to do something that made sense for both me and the team, and I think that s what we accomplished by doing a deal where the money is a bit more front-loaded.”
Blues nemesis Roberto Luongo, after signing a 12-year, $64 million contract extension.
12 years and 64 mil to Luongo? Wow.
Schilling is a tool. So he would make a perfect fit to represent all those Massholes…
Jay Mariotti actually makes a good point today. The blackouts that 12 different teams are facing this year are pretty ridiculous. (Mariotti is still a d-bag of course, one good commentary doesn’t change that).
Any idea what Mizzou is going to do this year? I can’t figure them out yet…
Go Cards!
Mizzou wins 9 games.
…And Notre Dame wins 7.
Schilling wins the election.
Marriotti wins the award for biggest d-bag.
And the cards win it all.
That is all.
If grandstanding is a problem for Schilling, he’ll make a great politician.
Schilling is a well studied historian and to be honest, is tremendously more qualified to run than was Bunting, Al Frankenen, and certainly more qualified than Ted Kennedy was when he was first elected. Still somewhat of a blowhard, but a very intelligent blowhard none the less.
As to records that matter, what about Gibby’s 1.12? Good luck matching that.
As to block outs, how shameful is it that the team ask taxpayers to pay for their staduims and then the league has the gall to black out games to those taxpayers, even those who are paying for them. People think the NFL is the most popular sport, but they could never draw 40,000 a night for 81 nights like baseball. High attendance is based on the sacrecity (sp) of the event, not the quality of the product.
Good points Matt. But as far as NFL popularity, not every baseball team draws 40K a night, so that analogy would only be true in baseball towns such as this one. NFL sticks it to us only because they are the hottest ticket in town and can do it knowing that people will still watch.
It’s a stretch to say that Curt “Painted Sock” Schilling is ‘tremendously’ more qualified for office than Franken or Kennedy , but how qualified were Schwarzeneggar, Ventura, J.C. Watts, or even Reagan and Jimmy Carter? Look at Blajgoyavich (sp?), or Spitzer the NY prostitute guy, Larry Craig the bathroom bandit or the S.Carolina guy who went ‘missing’…hell, look right here at Slay’s fumbles or Jeff Smith. the only real qualification to serve U.S. public office is to win the election. And when most people are so lazy and stupid, we often get what we deserve in these horrible representatives anyway…
Mizzou will have a very similar season to last year by the numbers. Last year’s squad was way more talented and experienced, but this one has talent and the hunger and “under the radarness’ that MU had in ‘07. Plus, everybody other than TX and OK lost just as much as MU did, except maybe KU who they should have beaten anyway…
NFL blackout isn’t always bad if you live in an NFL city…you usually get the Game of the Week and die-hard fans who want to see their team no matter how bad can always go to a local bar or get a satellite package, etc. I prefer that to being just outside of an NFL city and getting some regional game of a team you might not even care about or really sucks every week no matter what, like my buddy in Springfield, IL getting the Bears every week or when we were at Mizzou and they almost always showed the Chiefs…
Good one Seal!