Happy Tuesday everyone, here's my Top 5 for August 31, 2010 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
* Roger Clemens pleads not guilty to 6 counts of lying to Congress about his steroid use. Trial is set for April 5th, just in time for the start of the baseball season.
* Manny Ramirez is expected to join the Chicago White Sox today in Cleveland.
* Here's the shot of the day at the U.S. Open Monday. A Roger Federer tweener in his first round win. Enjoy!
2. Tangled Webs
Is Manny Ramirez now on the White Sox because of the divorce of the McCourts? The trial began yesterday in L.A. to determine who owns the Dodgers: Frank or Jamie or both? But Dodger fans are left wondering if player moves are directly related. Just as Mets fans speculate whether Mets transactions, or lack thereof, are tied to the Madoff scandal. We may never know. Or we'll find out if either team is put up for sale. Either way, it's not enough for fans to just root for what happens on the field. Talk about complicated.
3. Gender Neutrality
Wow, I thought my take on John McEnroe's comments would kick up a firestorm. He suggested that women aren't as tough as men in tennis. I pointed out that men play 5 sets at the Open, women play 3. I expected your comments to be along "party lines," but not so. R.B. (female) wrote "women are just not as fun to watch because they're not as strong...its as simple as that." But R.W. (male) emailed, "Men may be stronger but they ain't tougher. Just ask any woman who has given birth."
Hey, maybe the men just like ogling the women, and vice versa?
4. High Hard One
So who's thrown the fastest fastball? It'll be forever a mystery. Who knows how accurate radar guns really are? Cincinnati's Cuban prospect Aroldis Chapman has reportedly been measured at 105 mph. The great Bob Feller, featured in my new kids book The 25 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time, once was clocked at 107.9 in Washington D.C. Another time they raced his fastball against a motorcycle, and the bike lost! By the way, nice to see Bob back at the ballpark as he battles leukemia at the age of 91. How good was he? Who else had two great nicknames? Bullet Bob, and Rapid Robert. Says it all.
5. The Digital Age
Sumo wrestlers in Japan have trouble using cell phones. Their fingers are too fat. So the wrestlers have all been given iPads. They should update that old advertising campaign for the Yellow Pages, "Let your chubby fingers do the walking."
Happy Birthday: The great Olympic hurdler Edwin Moses. 55.
Bonus Birthday: Actor Richard Gere. 61.
Today in Sports: Brooklyn's Gil Hodges hits 4 homers in one game against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field. 1950.
Bonus Event: Head West young men. Lewis and Clark take a hike starting in Pittsburgh. 1803.
I've just added the Howard Stern show on September 23rd to my media tour for my new book. (At one time Howard dubbed me the "official sportscaster of the Howard Stern Show.") You can check out all my appearances at www.ThatsSports.com.