It’s Over: Take A Seat, Scottie

In keeping with the annual tradition of a great player past their prime wanting to relieve the “stresses” of retirement, Scottie Pippen has declared that he would like to return to the NBA. The 41 year old Pippen believes that he still has the ability to assist a play-off caliber team, as he has been training throughout the winter in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He is hoping to strike some sort of deal this weekend at the annual NBA All-Star game, which is being held in Las Vegas this year. Taking any player past their prime and especially those past the twilight of their career is risky business, especially if the team has to depend on them. Pippen last played in the NBA in 2003-2004, averaging 5 points and 3 rebounds a game.

Pippen is one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players of all-time and being a Chicago Bulls fan, I would have to concur he was once a phenomenal player. I would hope that he learned his lesson from former teammate Michael Jordan that making a comeback in you’re forties is not exactly a logical decision. Not to downplay the role that Pippen played while apart of those great Bull teams, but Pippen is not exactly a basketball god when Jordan is not by his side. Many of his stats declined monumentally after Jordan retired after the 97-98’ season. His most prolific and most known role will always be that of Michael Jordan’s side-kick whether he likes it or not.

Pippen may not have been a scoring god like Jordan, but his tough defense was renowned across the league. But is there a chance that a 41 year old man can keep up with a mid twenties man like Dwayne Wade? There comes a time and point in all of our lives when we are unable to compete in a sport at a level that we once played at; it is called aging. An individual can still be in monumental shape in their 40’s, but a 20 year old in monumental shape has the upper hand. Plus, there is the humiliation factor that Scottie needs to worry about. I am not saying if he were to comeback he would drag ass all over the floor. But it would be in the interest of his legacy not to comeback; he has nothing more to prove.

“Cheat Me in the Price, But Not the Goods”

Who would believe that NASCAR would be “rocked” by a scandalous tale of cheating on the eve of the sport’s biggest race? Isn’t NASCAR a “good old boys” sport? Evidently our perceptions were wrong in this case, as it was discovered on Sunday that Michael Waltrip’s Toyota “stock car” was in violation of various NASCAR rules. Amongst the violations was an intake manifold (brings air into the engine block) laced with a jet fuel performance additive, which obviously would give the team an unfair advantage over the field. NASCAR reacted by indefinitely suspending and fining Waltrip’s crew chief and team director who were escorted from Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday.

Waltrip maintains that it was the act of individuals, not his team. Like scandals in other sports, this incident will undoubtedly cost Waltrip his reputation and possibly his career. During an interview on Monday, Waltrip appeared rattled to the point of not even plugging his sponsors (something he is known for). He did the admirable thing by trying to pull out of the Daytona 500, but was talked out of it by NASCAR officials and his wife. Is this act of unfair play attributable to Waltrip? Some would concur that he was behind it, as the second year owner-drivers comes into this season after an atrocious 2006 season that included no top 10 finishes.

This coupled with the fact that his lot of cars are three of the cars sponsored by the newcomer Toyata, Waltrip is indeed under a massive amount of pressure. Besides the personal effects on Waltrip, many wonder what the reaching influence will be on the sport as a whole. Will this tarnish the reputation of NASCAR, a sport that has become immensely popular over the past decade? Other instances of cheating have perpetually hampered the images of other sports, such as the Black Sox Scandal of 1917, where the Chicago White Sox (mainly 7 players) threw the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. This forever changed our view of baseball and pushed many fans away from the sport.

Michael Waltrip and his team have paid the price from an administrative point of view. But the actions of his team have ceaselessly tarnished the very “goods” that NASCAR gives its fans. NASCAR will surely scrutinize the cars they inspect even more so than they do now, which could in theory lead to more instances of botched cheating. NASCAR is a cut throat sport where all of the cars are essentially in the same plane and finding the slight LEGAL edge over the competition is on the minds of all the teams. NASCAR’s rules concerning many aspects of performance enhancing are considered to be dense to the point of being unclear. It appears as if NASCAR has some work to do and the season has yet to begin.

Dear Mr. Hendry: Give ‘Big Z’ What He Wants

Mid-February: dreary, cold, boring (if you live in Illinois), and nothing on TV in the weigh of sports. Have no fear though my fellow sports junkies, baseball is soon to make an appearance on a TV near you. With those words I can hear a resounding shout of joy, but that is after the fact that we have to sit through two months of basketball and a debunked NHL, sounds like fun, right? Never the less there is news affront in Chicago, specifically with the Cubs. It is no secret that the Cubs were atrocious last season (last century as well), finishing with an NL worse 66-96 record. General Manager Jim Hendry has attempted to make amends with fans by spending over $300 million in the offseason to procure the best and brightest (Ramirez, Soriano, DeRosa, Kotts, Marquis, Floyd, and Lilly). Plus, one cannot forget the luring of Lou Pinella to his grave for $10 million (coaching the Cubs may kill the man).

Hendry’s acquisitions will hopefully end the longest drought in sport’s history between championships, 99 years. Either way, if the Cubs blow it this season they move into triple digits, if not they will produce big numbers to help pay for some of those big contracts. But Hendry needs to shell out just another $15 million. What is $15 million between friends? Hopefully nothing because it is vital that Carlos Zambrano is signed before the season starts. During the annual Cubs convention last weekend, Zambrano stated that he needs to be signed by the Cubs before the season starts, or he is “gone” after the 2007 season. The Cubs offered Zambrano $11 million a year, but that was not enough. I will admit that $15 million is a bit extreme, but Carlos does bring up a good point when he pointed out that Barry Zito was signed for $126 million over 7 years, hence taking the biggest free agent off of the market. If Zambrano is not signed it is obvious that he is going to be the most courted starting pitcher on the market in 2008.
Plus, it is not an intelligent strategy to let the ace of your pitching staff go without any compensation.

Mark Prior and Kerry Wood have proven that they deserve of the title ‘ace.’ But the chances of either one of them staying injury free throughout the season is comparable to me obtaining a date with a super model. With those prospects, it is vital that Zambrano stick around to lead the charge. In my mind he has proven his worth season in and season out. Last season he led a rickety starting staff with a 3.41 ERA, 210 strikeouts, and 214 innings. No one is invincible, but Zambrano is comparable to a thoroughbred horse running a marathon; the man hardly misses any starts. The rest of his numbers are in the top five in the NL. What we have here is a pitcher in his prime and one that Chicago cannot let get away. If history serves as a reference, one cannot forget the Greg Maddux ordeal in the early 1990’s. Look what happened to him? He served out the prime of his career in Atlanta, not Chicago.

The Bolt of Lightening Democrats Hoped For?

Invoking the moniker and legend of a man named Lincoln; Barack Obama announced his candidacy for president on Saturday in Springfield, Illinois in front of the “Old State Capitol” where the ghost of Lincoln still saunters to this day. Obama served 7 years in the General Assembly before his “prolific” rise to the U.S. Senate and fame, so why not attempt to illustrate the point even more so than by rousing up images of one of the nation’s greatest presidents? The irony between his speech and Lincoln is somewhat amusing, as Obama plans to run his campaign based on two themes, progressiveness and unity. History has shown us that these two ideologies do not mix well in politics, especially during the time of Lincoln (the whole Civil War thing). At some point and time one of these ideas will have to be sacrificed, as the status quo will remain in Washington D.C (even though he wants to change all of that).

Obama is on the verge of toppling over his own two feet at this current juncture in the campaign and it is only the beginning. There is no doubt that as the campaign revs its engines up, Obama will become rather well known throughout the nation and the world. But from what I have discerned from what Obama stands for, I am unsure of what he really stands for. Yes, he rouses up recollections of John F. Kennedy, as he is young (as far as presidential races are concerned), he has a young family, and is progressive, which is why the Democratic Party is absolutely crazy over him. Obama is in essence a well packaged candidate from a political science point of view. But in a race that will have to focus on policy, does Obama have the right ideas? The trouble with the presidential election gearing up so soon is that candidates are not able to show all of their cards at once; they have to wait.

Chicago progressives are worried that Obama has jettisoned his “prophetic” candor in favor for a normal politician; he has gone Hollywood. Opponents will be fast to point out that he won his Senate seat by default because the GOP could not find an admirable contender (Alan Keyes was the best that they could do). Other would say that he deserved the seat. Obama even stated that he would finish out his term in the Senate, but obviously that has gone down the tubes. An article in The Nation described Obama as “so fucking coy,” which reins true at this current moment. Besides garnering the primary votes of Democrats, he has to deal with Hillary Clinton and others. Democrats are renowned for trying to “out-left” each other during primary season, which in this case may not be a pretty staff meeting in the “going negative department.”

The primary debates are to occur in mid-April and I believe that by then both Democrats and Republicans will have a firmer idea of whom they want to support. Up until that time it is going to be a guessing game with most of the candidates. Lincoln once gave the infamous “house divided” speech on the very steps of where Obama stood on Saturday (it kicked off his presidential campaign in 1858) and it is fair to say that our government is divided at the current time. But the real question(s) for Obama is simple, how divided is the Democratic Party and low will the candidates go in order to secure the nomination? Obama wants to fix Washington, we know that, but that is going to be easier said than done; just ask Lincoln.

Show Me The Money!

The U.S. Mint plans to release a new $1 coin this Thursday to commemorate past presidents. Just like the 50 state quarter program, the $1 coins will be released in one set per year with the first four presidents depicted on the coins (Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison) in 2007. According to the U.S. Mint, the coins will feature the same metallic makeup as the Sacagawea gold dollars, but there are some unique characteristics that include: the name of the president, the year(s) in which they served, and the order of their service engraved onto one side of the coin. The reverse side of the coin will feature a depiction of the statue of liberty with the words “United States of America” next to lady liberty.

But the most unique part of the new coins will be featured on the edge. It appears as if the coins are thick enough to allow the engraving of the words “E Pluribus Unum” (from many, one), the year, and the bank at which the coins were minted on the serrated edge. The new coins will be available from banks that placed specific orders and of course, from the U.S. Mint. The new coins have lead many to wonder if the U.S. Mint plans to phase out the use of dollar bills, which in theory would save the government millions of dollars each year. But more than 3/4th of people surveyed do not want paper money phased out, nor does the government plan to stop making paper money. But no one can doubt that the U.S. Mint has been on a coin craze over the past decade.

The goal has to been to amplify the number of coin collectors the world around. Investing in coins is technically one of the most feasible ways to generate a future profit, but the original capital needed can be hefty. Per se one wants to invest in a set of American Eagle coins (gold, silver, and platinum). The starting cost for a set of four is a petty $1500. Granted, the coins in theory should double their worth over a period of time, but the cost is a bit hefty for the average collector. If the U.S. Mint really wants to stir up sleeping coin collectors, they should use more ideas like the presidential coins. They are affordable and easy to obtain unlike many of their products. The State Quarter Program was a success, but it remains to be seen of the added 75 cents will hamper average collectors.