It appears that the Mailman forgot to mail some child support checks

The Buffalo Bills drafted Demetrius Bell in the 7th round of the NFL draft last weekend.  It turns out that Bell spent his entire childhood without any support from his father…..who turns out to be NBA future Hall of Famer Karl “The Mailman” Malone. But as bad as being a deadbeat dad makes Malone look, the following excerpt from Allen Wilson’s column in the Buffalo News makes him seem much, much worse.   http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/columns/story/334471.html

Bell is the son of Malone, but the Mailman had no role in Bell’s success except passing along athletic genes.

The two have had very little contact during Bell’s life. His mother, Gloria Bell, reportedly was only 13 years old and Malone a college sophomore at Louisiana Tech when Demetrius was born. Malone might have served jail time had her family asked the district attorney to file criminal charges.

And I thought it couldn’t get any worse for the Mailman after his appearance as a wrestler with the WCW a few years back.  I guess I was wrong.

 

 

Guest Blogger: The First Lady of Sport Speaks

I’ve been toying around the idea of having a guest blogger from time to time to infuse some new insight to this mediocre blog (It should also be noted that through some market research, 4 people thought it would be a good idea, thus I’ll roll with it). My wife Claire, aka The First Lady of Sport, wanted to weigh in on a debate we have been having in our household and since she’s 6 months pregnant, what she wants…she gets. Enjoy. 

A long, raging debate in the Arsenault household is how sport leagues format their playoffs, specifically reseeding after each round.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/ian_thomsen/04/25/weekly.countdown/index.html

The First Lady of Sport fully agrees with this article. Sure, you want to reward excellence, but the unbalanced schedule and conference rivalries Thomsen addresses outweigh the reseeding issue. (Yes, in this case, the West has had a tougher schedule due to tougher opponents, but as a fundamental rule, teams competing for playoff spots should be playing the same opponents, the same number of times).

Thomsen doesn’t even comment on the rivalries that are developed in the post-season within conferences. MJ having to go at the Pistons for three straight years before finally getting a crack at his first finals (and championship ring)…Raja vs. Kobe from a few years back (who can’t wait for the Suns-Lakers match-up)…Sens vs. Leafs…Yanks vs. BoSox…West Beverly vs. Beverly High…
 
I couldn’t agree more with the very last paragraph. Playoff brackets are neat, efficient and easy to follow. Reseeding in playoffs makes no sense in any sport and does not give the underdog a chance. Moving to a best-of-seven already gives the higher-seed an advantage. The first round is the reward of their regular season - after that it’s anybody’s game! 

From coach of the year to the unemployment line?

If the Raptors bow out of the playoffs tonight vs. the Magic, it could mark the end of Sam Mitchell’s tenure here in the big smoke.  I have a funny feeling that he will be made out to be the fall guy for a lack lustre finish by the dinos.  I also have a gut feeling that he might be replaced by Mike D’Antoni of the Phoenix Suns, who will find himself in a similar predicament if the Suns can’t pull off a miracle and come back to beat the Spurs. 

I, for one, don’t think that Mitchell is the only problem with this squad.  I think that Raptors need to make some serious changes if they want to keep up in the East.  The first thing I would do, if I were Bryan Colangelo, is find a way to trade TJ Ford.  A perfect scenario would be to trade Ford to the Clippers for Corey Maggette.  This would afford the Raps to start Calderon and it would leave them with an athletic wing man in Maggette, something they sorely miss.  Regardless of tonight’s outcome, or in the event that they win this series, the Raptors need to make some changes to better their position in the NBA Eastern Conference.

 

This must be the reason the Miami Heat stink

Star Jones and Dwayne Wade?  Great moogly googly.  If this is true the Miami Heat should go all Denis Lemieux on him and trade him right %^$#$ now!  Goodness gracious doesn’t he have anyone on the payroll to stop such shenanigans?  Surely he has himself a Turtle or a Johnny Drama to rid himself of such embarrassment. 

 

 

It’s quiz time: What does the term “Passion Bucket” mean?

I download podcasts from the Dan Patrick show each and everyday.  At times he uses a term “Passion Bucket”.  What does it mean?

1. A full-throated scream while dunking over a dude taller than you.
2. A barometer for a player’s excitement level (i.e. His passion bucket is full.)
3. A folder on your office computer where you keep your secret downloads.

Go to www.danpatrick.com to get DP’s definition.

 

An article from Ms Erin Andrews…..I think she’s giving me some crib notes to work on

Erin Andrews writes an article about the “do’s and don’ts” on how to get her attention.  Apparently putting her picture in my blog didn’t rate high enough on her list.  Dang it.  Back to drawing board. 

http://menshealth.com/groomingawards/erinandrews.html

 

The Sports Guy catches Bruin Fever

Bill Simmons has cracked.  He’s being swept up with Bruins fever.  After years of pushing his love for the Bruins and the NHL aside, he has decided to write a column about his love of hockey. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080421

After reading this piece it reminded me of my true passion for the sport of badminton.  At one time, I thought that badminton was the sport of kings.  That all changed after witnessing a slaughter of epic proportions.  One day when I have the strength, I’ll have to write a tribute post about the match that turned me off the sport.  Bryan Rympa vs. Lloyd Estrabillo in the PDCS gym, circa 1993. I’m welling up with tears just thinking about it.  Oh, the horror!

Big Hurt = Big Mistake

Frank Thomas has been released by the Toronto Blue Jays.  I, for one, am shocked and pleased that the Jays have released the Big Hurt Frank Thomas.  I’m shocked mostly because in today’s world of pro sports you don’t often see a big ticketed player cut for under performing.  I applaud the Jays for cutting bait with the Big Hurt. Quite simply (as explained to me by the First Lady of Sport) his job is to be the Designated Hitter,  if he isn’t hitting then he’s not doing his job. 

I’m sure he’ll hook on with some other squad and continue his march towards the Hall of Fame, but it was time to make a move.  The Jays can’t afford to lose any more ground in April.  They can’t wait for Thomas to get hot during the dog days of the summer when padding his stats don’t really mean anything to a team that is 10 games back in the standings.  My only worry is that the Jays will look towards making a deal with the devil himself, Barry Bonds.  These are desperate times in Toronto and I’m sure the talk shows will be fired up about this possibility.  I’m not sure that Toronto would be ready to be the final resting place for Bonds and his career. 

Mom to Mom sale…..Motherhood Playoffs Round 1

I had an experience today that was out of this world.  The First Lady and I went to a baby sale this morning called “Mom to Mom”.  In essence this sale was pretty much a yard sale for mothers to sell their old baby items to expectant mothers and recoup some cash for their troubles.  I saw the ad on Kijiji and I sent it to the First Lady and my sister (who is also expecting a child in late May).  I thought it would be a fun way to spend some time with my sister and also perhaps find some stuff for Baby Siemens at the same time. 

We arrived to the sale and there was a line-up out the door.  It was apparent that we weren’t the only people ready to bargain at Mom to Mom.  There was expectant mothers everywhere.  You could tell at first glance that they weren’t rookies at this type of sale either.  They came to the sale prepared. You could feel the daggers being thrown at you as the ladies (a term that could be used loosely when describing some of the participants at this sale) were sizing us up and down.  You could feel the intensity while we moved slowly through the line.

The sale was held at this old Christian elementary school.  One would think that the school would act as a backdrop for some good old Christian fabric and morals.  Inside was anything but that.  The hormones must of been working overtime on these  new and expectant mothers.  It was packed out.  Moms everywhere.  Strollers everywhere.  Kids in their strollers.  Kids out of their strollers.  Complete chaos.  No doubt there was some kind of fire code being destroyed.  I couldn’t handle it. 

I made my way up some of the aisles.  I was wandering around aimlessly as the gypsies asked me if I was interested in any of their goods.  Sensory overload started to overtake me.  I had to leave.  I left the First Lady and my sister to fend for themselves.  I was left hiding out by the door.  Ladies were bumping each other belly to belly to create space.  Many angry looks were exchanged. The whole episode was very reminicent of watching playoff basketball.  The ladies were trying to create space with their bellies so that they could create ample room around a table of goodies and thus sealing off another mother-to-be from a bargain.  Much like how Chris Bosh will try to seal off his defender tomorrow afternoon against the Mickeys from Orlando.  It was crazy.  

It would appear that the First Lady and I aren’t nearly tough enough for playoff motherhood just yet.  Perhaps we’ll get there one day, but these ladies were intense and playoff ready (I might of seen a couple with playoff beards…it’s true…really it is). I did manage to buy one thing for Baby Siemens.  I bought Baby Siemens a mini basketball net/baseball tee/football goal post set.  So all was not lost.  If anything Siemens will be able to use this toy to train for his/her own experience at a Mom to Mom show.

Where are they now?

As a classic college sports nut I often wonder what happened to some of the former college athletes I used to follow after their pro careers fizzle out.  If you’ve been wondering what jobs Tony Mandarich, Steve Wojciechowski, Gino Torretta, Heath Shuler, Felipe Lopez, Curtis Enis, Miles Simon, Bobby Hurley, Eric Montross, Richie Farmer, Mateen Cleaves, Tony Rice, Ryan Leaf and Jason White are holding down these days, you’ll want to take this quiz. 

To me the quiz was quite enlightening.  The last time I saw Tony Mandarich he was giving me change at Century Pines Golf Course and telling me “Hit’em straight today and please stay on the cart path”.  In any event I only scored a paltry 7 out 14 on this quiz.

http://www.mentalfloss.com/quiz/quiz.php?p=1&q=289