The Right Stuff

Just read an interesting article from Mike Lupica about The Boss. I agree with much of what he writes and have this to add: From a fans perspective, Steinbrenner is the best owner in professional sports, period, bar none. The reason? At the end of the day, he wants to win and will do literally whatever it takes to do so. He'll plunk down $200 mil without blinking an eye, because he believes it gives him a better baseball team. Yeah, occasionally big contract guys don't pan out, but it's no longer because The Boss thinks he knows baseball better than anyone else. He lets his baseball people run things and signs the paychecks it takes to win.

As a side note, how did this article happen? As a Yankees fan, I take pride in the fact that winning is the only goal. IT'S PROFESSIONAL SPORTS!!! There aren't any participation trophies here. Fans shell out hundreds of dollars a game to watch millionaire athletes play games they did as children, living vicariously at times through their favorite players. And Pearlman thinks the fans no longer enjoy watching the Yankees because the process is no longer fun? Please. If that's your viewpoint, you're a Mets fan.

Yes, there's pressure. I don't feel the Yankees are successful unless they had a legitimate shot at a World Series title each year. Shouldn't that be what it's all about? Am I missing something here? Should I hop on I-95 and go watch Miguel Tejada botch a couple of grounders and glide through plays because he knows the Orioles are going nowhere? Is this somehow more fun because for a fan, because you get to experience more joy when the Orioles finally win a title? I don't know. I was pretty pleased in 1996. And 1998. And 1999. And 2000. Silly me, but I haven't been quite as happy since then.

I guess what it boils down to is, would you rather start thinking in June about what prospects your team will pick up in a midseason salary dump, or would you rather start creating your normal October schedule, because your team is going to play seven months every season?

BOG

Title Talk
Is it just me, or does anyone else smell a potential Boston College vs. South Florida BCS title tilt? South Florida's toughest remaining game might be this coming Saturday at Rutgers, depending on how much love you want to give Cincinnatti. Boston College, meanwhile, has some tough games remaining in the ACC, but at the moment looks head and shoulders above the rest of the conference. I think Ohio State has too many tough matches left to say they'll escape without a loss, despite probably being the best of these three squads. It could come down to how much love BC and USF get from BCS voters, as neither team plays in a true power conference.

A match made in heaven
Does anything more need to be said? This could be like The Mighty Ducks, just in reverse. Get ready for a possibly magical season out of this club.