What’s the buzz from the world of sports? Here are some items that will have people talking:
1
Whether Randy Moss is actually going to stay retired is to be determined, but assuming he truly is walking away from football, he should be remembered for his on-field production before some of his controversial decisions.
This is not arguing that Moss should be well-liked. He has bumped a traffic control officer with his car after she ordered him to stop, has left the field with two seconds remaining and his team down by three, and has pantomimed “mooning” an opposing crowd after a TD reception.
Obviously, these choices were the antitheses of class, but when it came to football — Moss was at the top of his class.
Moss is nowhere near the receiver Jerry Rice was, but figuratively and literally towered above his competition. He set the single-season touchdown reception record in 2007 with 23. He is tied with Terrell Owens for second all-time in TD catches at 153, and he needed two fewer seasons to do it.
But he may also be the biggest deep threat in history, which forced defenses to alter their sets around him, knowing his superior athleticism could punish them at any time.
2
Talking Points remembers a baseball manager justifying a pitcher beaning a batter as retribution because “it doesn’t hurt THAT much.” Well, if it doesn’t hurt that much, why on earth would you give up first base?
Then again, when it comes to baseball’s unwritten rules, sense often flies over heads like a wayward fastball.
Angels hurler Jered Weaver is the latest to face a suspension due to retaliatory actions. He threw at the Tigers’ Alex Avila on Sunday after his teammates Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen lingered in the batter’s box and slowly rounded the bases after homering off of Weaver.
Whether it’s bunting to break up a no-hitter (even if a team is down 1-0) or stealing with a big lead (um … there is no clock, teams are capable of comebacks), it seems baseball players make it their duty to lash out against anything that could possibly be deemed showboating.
Perhaps it’s good Muhammad Ali never played baseball. A left hook from Joe Frazier can’t compete with a 100 mph fastball from Nolan Ryan.
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