Happy Wednesday everyone, here's my Top 5 for October 6, 2010 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
* The baseball playoffs begin today with 3 games on TBS. (All times Eastern.)
-Texas at Tampa Bay 1:37pm
-Cincinnati at Philadelphia 5:07pm
-Yankees at Minnesota 8:37pm
* Minnesota is reportedly talking to the Patriots about reacquiring wide receiver Randy Moss.
* Carolina released receiver Dwayne Jarrett after his second DUI arrest. Jarrett's big mistake? He wasn't a star. If he were, he might have been severely benched for at least a half instead.
* The NBA's big three lasted less than 4 minutes. Dwyane Wade strained his hamstring in Miami's exhibition opener.
* The Detroit Pistons will be sold to Little Caesars pizza honcho Mike Ilitch. He'll own 3/4's of Detroit's sports pie. He already owns the Tigers and Red Wings.
2. The Second Season
Here we go with the baseball playoffs and every team has a story:
Can the Twins with their new outdoor stadium be the team of destiny?
Can Nolan Ryan's Texas Rangers actually win a playoff series for the first time?
Can Tampa Bay with its funky ever-changing ground rules win it all?
Aren't the Phillies the favorites with their pitching?
Hey, don't discount the Giants staff.
How about Bobby Cox's swansong in Atlanta?
How can you not root for the Reds in their return to glory?
They all have stories except for the Yankees. For them, it's business as usual.
3. Bicycle Kick
Here's a cheery thought. You can't win the Tour de France without doping. So says a former racer, Bernard Kohl. He finished third a couple of years back, then flunked a drug test and was banned for two years. So the rat is ratting out everyone else. So I guess this falls under the heading of jailhouse testimony. It still doesn't auger well for the future of big time bike racing. Then again, they can embrace it in their marketing. "You gotta cheat in it to win it!"
4. Presidential Veto
Maybe you shouldn't get involved in a pickup game with the President. Actually, I'm talking about the President of Bolivia. Evo Morales, #10 in the green jersey, wasn't pleased with a player fouling him in a "friendly soccer match," so he took things into his own hands. Rather, his knee.
Well, he didn't use his hands! For some unexplainable reason, the President wasn't penalized, but the other guy got tossed. And when the game ended, police tried to arrest the other guy, but the Mayor stepped in and prevented it. The good news for the guy, he didn't foul either the Iranian President or that Korean dictator guy.
5. Rule Change
Subscriber John in North Carolina thinks long field goals are too routine in football so he asks, "Time to narrow the goal posts again or spread out the hash marks on the field?"
I've got an idea. Lets have adjustable goalposts. Make them narrower and narrower as the field goal attempt gets longer. Better yet, lets have them moving back and forth when the ball is in the air. Like a shooting gallery. Now we're talking!
Happy Birthday: Former NFL coach Tony Dungy. 55.
Bonus Birthday: Are her 15 minutes up yet? Azteca reporter Ines Sainz who caused a hoohah covering the Jets. 35.
Today in Sports: Tavern owner Billy Sianis is asked to leave a World Series game at Wrigley because his goat smelled. Sianis was outraged and vowed the Cubs won't win again. In fact they haven't been back to the World Series, thus the "Curse of the Billy Goat." 1945.
Bonus Event: Eight is enough. Elizabeth Taylor gets married for the 8th and final time to Larry Fortensky on Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. A wedding made in paparazzi heaven. (The marriage ended in divorce 5 years later.) 1991.
I'll be on Shepard Smith's show tomorrow in the 3:30pm half hour on FOX talking about my new kids book, The 25 Greatest Baseball Players Of All Time.