Around The Horn

The NCAA Tournament is Awesome! Regular Basketball is good to watch. Playoff Basketball is even better, but if they are not careful they will alienate their fans and drive away viewers by trying to accommodate the TV networks. Ironic as it may be, it is funny that postponing the starts of series to fit the TV lineups better there are large gaps in the time between the end of one series and the beginning of another. Granted, when a team sweeps and the other series goes 7 there is going to be a long layoff, that can’t be helped. For instance Orlando is waiting for the winner of the Celtics and the Cavs (2-2) but the Lakers and Suns are both done and ready for the Conference Finals but that doesn’t begin until next Monday, a 6 day layoff. That is a lot of time for rust and a long time for fans to stay interested. Especially when the weather is starting to get nice. The NBA is playing with fire and does so every year.

3 teams have been down this round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs 3-0 or 3-1. 2 of the 3 series are still going on and in each one it is/ or was very conceivably the team that moves onuntil last night when the Canucks failed to show up and got blown out 5-1. The Canadiens, Canucks and Flyers have all been on the brink of elimination but now 2 of the 3 have a legitimate chance in making the improbable comeback. At the very least they are ensuring that we get to see some more games, but they are also adding to the excitement of an already great playoffs so far. The first round was good, and the second is holding serve and keeping the quality and entertainment level high.

Just when you think that they are starting to do things right the Bengals make a questionable move to bring in Pacman Jones. The team was bad on the field for a long time. Then they got better on the field, then a bunch of players started to get arrested. At one point it was like you couldn’t go a couple of days without hearing about a player in some hot water. Production began to drop on the field and now it is like they are just looking for players with checked pasts to fill out the lineup. The thinking in Cincinnati is anyone’s guess. If Michigan plays in the Big House I guess that the Cincinnati Bengals play in the Half Way House.

A New Zealander gave new meaning to the golfing term ‘hazard’ when he fell from a cliff while searching for his ball. The 66-year-old sustained serious injuries but was in a stable condition. The man fell 30 metres onto seaside boulders and was only discovered a good time later after his golf cart was noticed. The man was playing alone at the time. Between cliff’s in New Zealand and Gators in Florida nobody can say that golf is not a dangerous game.

Best and Worst For A Wednesday

Best: If you are Roberto Luongo, signing a 12-year contract extension worth $64M is definitely a best. If you are the Vancouver Canucks you hope that he continues to be the goalie he is now for a looooog time and remains healthier then another long term contract goalie that plays for the Islanders. If that is the case it may be a win win.

Worst: World No. 1 Dinara Safina had to come from behind in the third set in order to win her first-round match. She narrowly avoided being the first #1 seed to fall in the first round of a US Open. There is no reason it should have been as close as it was.

Best: Adam "Pacman" Jones is going the Canadian route to get back into the NFL. It appears that he will suit up for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. I know that the CFL isn’t the most compelling thing to watch but this has the potential to be a train wreck which is always fun to see. Plus revenue at local strip clubs are likely to go up and patrons can make money going to the rippers if Pacman decides to make it rain.

Worst: Adam "Pacman" Jones is on his way to the CFL. It is like this league is the equivalent to house arrest for troubled NFL players?

Best: Ottawa Senators defenceman Jason Smith has announced his retirement. After 16 NHL seasons, 1,008 games and being captian of 2 clubs he is able to walk away on a high note. Also this frees up the Sens for $2.6M off their cap in the event that they can’t move Heatley before teh beginning of the season or if they do make a move may allow them to make another move for scoring help upfront...where they may be lacking.

Worst: Anything that comes out of the Phoenix courtroom today as Judge Redfield T. Baum determines whether Jim Balsillie can remain in the hunt for the Coyotes. This saga over the club and who owns it or where they may play is played out and it is probably safe to say that most people just want to end the madness

Plaxico’s Giant Mistake

Does the NFL have a gun problem or do sports in general have a gun problem or again can we just chalk it up to an overall social problem?
Why is it that you hear these stories about NFLers and not so many NBA players or MLB players, is it just the number of people that a team carries or is it more then that?

On Friday night Plaxico Burress of the New York Giants was involved in a club shooting. Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg with his own gun. Luckily he didn’t permanently hurt himself or anyone else but that is besides the point. He still had a loaded, concealed weapon without a permit in a club and no good can come from that. After the Pacman Jones issues in Vegas that left a bouncer paralyzed this issue has gotten a lot more media attention. Granted there is a culture that many people may not understand about where some of these guys come from and "carrying" is common and in some cases a necessity but sometimes common sense must play a roll. Sean Taylor was killed in his home and another NFL player was robbed just outside his house at gunpoint, but that is very different, that is at home. Have a gun to protect your family... many people get that, but maybe not at the club. Why? Maybe you shouldn’t be at the club- No good comes from being out after 12:30am in a club, nothing. Not the last drink, the last conversation, the last woman or the last piece of pizza. Just go home.
Athletes are targets, we all know that, both for the good and the bad and it may be hard to tell if a person want an autograph or your watch and money. But after midnight in a club it is more likely to be the latter. Here is a novel idea, hire an off duty cop or detective to be around you when you go out, maybe not to be an imposing figure but to at least act as a deterrent or someone to de-escalate bad situations.

Plaxico has had a rough year with fines and suspensions from the team but this will no doubt be the last straw. His issues affected mainly just him but this recent issue brought teammates into it, namely Antonio Pierce who was apparently there and may or may not have been involved in some way, possibly involving the gun itself.

It is doubtful that Burress will play for the Giants again with the injury as well as the NFL’s personal conduct policy, not to mention that New York has one of the strongest anti-gun laws he could be in more serious trouble and could get anything from probation to 5 years in jail. This doesn’t look like being a star athlete is going to help get him off the hook this time. Playing football will be the least of his worries for the next while.