the Joey Curse

When the Detroit Lions drafted Joey Harrington with the #3 pick in the draft in 2000, and then drafted wide receivers to catch his passes, they believed they were getting the quarterback and the offense that would take them back to the playoffs. That didn't happen. The wide receivers either had shabby attitudes and work habits (Roy Williams) or were unable/unwilling to catch Joey's passes (Roy Williams); the defense was inadequate, the running was was inadequate, the team was so badly run they couldn't even keep Steve Mariuchi as coach.

So of course, the blame went to Joey Harrington. There's no question: Joey did not play up to his potential. He had one horrific game in 2005 at Chicago with 6 interceptions. At that point, his time in Detroit was basically over. The Lions did a fair amount of housecleaning during the off-season, bringing in a new coach, hiring Mike Martz to run and the defense, and sending Joey to the Dolphins and turning the offense over the Jon Kitna.

The net result? The Lions are 0-3, losing at home to the previously pathetic Packers. The big remake has left the team in worse shape than before, and now they've lost even the convenience of having made the "mistake" of drafting Harrington. Joey's gone, and it's crystal clear that the awful teams he played in Detroit were not his fault. Few quarterbacks have success beginning their careers on the field rather than the bench; those who do succeed, like Rothlisberger and Eli Manning, are on already quality teams. The idea that Joey Harrington could take a bad team like the Lions and single-handedly transform them was ridiculous. And now that the new-and-improved Lions are doing worse than ever, the fans and management in Detroit have to deal with that simple fact: Their team stinks on ice.

I have no idea what Joey's future is. He deserves a chance to prove himself, and if Duante Culpepper continues to struggle in Miami, maybe he'll get a chance. I know he's a better quarterback than what his time in Detroit shows. But at least the Lions are proving that Joey was not the reason for how poorly the team played. Minus Harrington, they're even worse. My hope: 0-16 for 2006. A fitting reward for a team that took one of the best quarterbacks produced at Oregon (it'll take a lot to top Fouts) and made him look like a bust. He's not, and until he gets the chance to prove otherwise, let the Lions reap what they've sown.

damn Dodgers

jeez. one night after one of the great comebacks in baseball history, and they fall to Pittsburgh! they get the lead back from the Padres via miracle, and then give it back via crappy pitching.

i love baseball, and i hate baseball. it really is my favorite sport, especially to go to a ballpark to watch -- big leagues, minor, pickup game, t-ball. i love it all. but the line between success and failure is so fine. the difference between a pop-up and a big fly is not even an inch: it's a fingernail's width. a split-second too early, too late, just the wrong angle of bat to ball. as Kevin Costner pointed out so passionately in Bull Durham:

Know what the difference between hitting .250 and .300 is? It's 25 hits. 25 hits in 500 at bats is 50 points, okay? There's 6 months in a season, that's about 25 weeks. That means if you get just one extra flare a week - just one - a gorp... you get a groundball, you get a groundball with eyes... you get a dying quail, just one more dying quail a week... and you're in Yankee Stadium.

that's baseball. it's so beautiful and it hurts so much. when the Dodgers hit 4 home runs in a row last night, it was one of the most amazing things i've ever experienced. then Nomar wins it with a walkf-off; the people at the Stadium were jumping and spinning and dancing like dervishes. it was simply too amazing and wonderful to be comprehended. it was the game of the year, and will be remembered as maybe the greatest regular season games ever.

and tonight: a 10-6 loss to the Pirates. of course Pittsburgh probably gave a huge extra effort for their skipper, Jim Tracy, who was fired by the Dodgers after last season -- a stupid mistake. and the Dodgers trotted out some pitchers who've not been that dependable. now they're 1 loss behind San Diego and 1 loss ahead of Philadelphia. i had hoped last night would be the start of a great run to the pennant, but it's likely it was a delay on their way out of the playoff race. i don't know they've got what it takes. Nomar's health is iffy, Kent's been subpar, Drew's been ok, Ethier's really collapsed, and the only two pitchers earning their keep are Maddux and Lowe. i think next year will be the start of many good years; the kids will be even better, and more steady. we'll get some pitching over the winter. but i find it hard to hope much for this year.

but even if we do fade away, nothing can take away last night. amazing finishes in other sports can be special: the Catch, for example. but nothing has the instant and overwhelming power of a walk-off homer. the 4-in-a-row followed by Nomar's winner; Gibson in 1988; Bobby Thompson. thrilling beyond hope. and just so bitterly painful.

i love baseball. and i hate baseball. it's the best.

now it's their turn to whine

A great Duck victory today over Oklahoma. Of course the Sooners, along with the national commentators who look for quick & easy talking points, will focus on the onside kick review that was "given" to Oregon. But Oklahoma should have had the game beyond doubt by that point; instead, they left it within Oregon's reach. The refs may have — may have — blown that call and opened the door for the Ducks, but it was Oregon that made the plays in the last minute and Oklahoma that fell short.

The ways Oklahoma blew it:

• too few points off turnovers: Oregon lost 2 fumbles and had 2 interceptions; Oklahoma turned these in 13 points. convert just one of those field goals into a touchdown, and that's a Sooner win.
• failure to get the final touchdown: leading 30-20, Oklahoma ran the ball down Oregon's throat to the 2 yard line. Result? Field goal. Adrian Peterson, who was almost unstoppable in the 4th quarter, came up gimpy on his final run. Sooner coach Bob Stoops settled for a field goal rather than take any risk in going for the jugular and the terminal touchdown. He obviously thought Oregon, and Dennis Dixon, were toast. Very bad assumption.
• did not recover onside kick. The ball bounced high and right at one of the Sooner "hands" team — and the guy pulled back! He did not go aggresively for the ball; in baseball terms, he let the ball play him. It became an error, and that was the beginning of the end.
• blew an easy 44-yard field goal. 44 yards is short. Their kicker had made a 41-yarder earlier; any decent kicker at a Top 20 school should make kicks like that, especially with the game on the line. Either the kicker sent it low, or the line imploded, or Blair Phillips, the Duck linebacker who got the hand on the ball, just refused to be anything less than Superman on the final play of the day. Probably a mix of all three.
  

Oklahoma will spend the rest of the year blaming the officials. But the game was theirs for the taking. They choked, and the Ducks proved to be the better team. This game wasn't lost by Oklahoma; it was won by Oregon.

One final thing. The Sooners' second touchdown? The refs missed a push-off by the wide receiver. It was subtle but not on replay; it was what allowed the touchdown. If the refs get that one right, Oklahoma probably doesn't score, the Ducks have the necessary momentum to remain ahead, and Oklahoma doesn't have to go home feeling sorry for itself.

But they will.

Tomko must go

I hate seeing guys on my team fail, and I know they do their best, but Bret Tomko hasn't got what it takes. He started the year ok, but the way he failed at Wrigley this afternoon is just a sign that he's gotta go. Coletti has to suck it up and cut Tomko. We don't have the strongest bullpen in the league, but we can't keep trotting out guys who fail more often than not. Come the playoffs, if we survive San Diego this weekend, the bullpen will get small enough not to need Tomko's place. Kuo can do middle relief, or Billingsley; we have other options.

The offense didn't help him much, but they did score 5. That should have been enough. Nomar needs to get going, and Kent; Drew actually did his share today. But the bottom line is: 5 runs should win a baseball game. Tomko hasn't got the stuff to make that true, and there just aren't enough games left to risk his gasoline-on-fire pitching anymore.