TGIF everyone, here's my Top 5 for September 25, 2009 from
www.LenBermanSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
The Yankees host Boston for 3 games starting tonight. The Yanks lead
the Red Sox by 5 1/2 games for the American League East.
Sean O'Hair leads Tiger Woods by one shot after the first round of
the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
Wayne Gretzky has resigned as Phoenix Coyotes coach.
The big guy will be on the move. Reports are circulating that
President Obama will head to Copenhagen next week to support Chicago's
bid for the 2016 Olympics.
Lions and Raiders fans get spared! There will be no television on
Sunday because the games didn't sell out.
2. No Mercy!
The vote was a landslide. Top 5 readers didn't buy for a second the
argument from subscriber Jimmy C., a Manhattan court officer, that a
$30 holster could have saved Plaxico Burress and everyone else a lot
of trouble.
The consensus opinion: "this wasn't about a $30 holster, it was
about an unlicensed gun in NYC." As Jim S. pointed out, even if he had
a holster, he was still breaking the law. As for feeling sorry for
Burress, David R. put the kibosh on that. "Should we feel sorry for
Milton Bradley, too? And Vick? And the rest of these athletes who
think the rules of society only apply to others? I think not."
3. Fantasy Football
Under the heading of "why didn't I think of that" there's a fantasy
football league for "off the field" infractions. A web designer in
Tennessee came up with the idea. If your player insults a former
teammate (Terrell Owens and Tony Romo for example) you get 30 points.
If your player leads police on a high speed chase, that's worth 175
points. When three players announced they were donating their brains
to science, there wasn't a category for that. According to the Wall
Street Journal the web designer figured it was worth 45 points anyway.
You can check it out at fantasyunsports.com.
4. Friday Mailbag
When D.S. wrote that Derek Jeter was overrated and inflated by the
New York Media, he touched off a firestorm.
W.S. wrote "This fan sounds JEALOUS... if baseball had more Jeters,
the game and the nation, would be the better for it."
J.D. chimed in: "The reality is, D.S. is a Yankee Hater and that's
fine. If D.S. is a Met fan I understand. If D.S. is a Boston fan I
understand. If D.S. is a sports fan then shame on him or her."
S.F. wrote: "In a sports world filled with greed, me-attitude and
self-promo athletes - it's refreshing to see an athlete like Derek
Jeter conduct himself in a professional manner. Jeter is a prime
example of how important it is to have two stable parents at home and
to respect others, play hard and appreciate your coaches."
H.N. writes: "Tell D.S. that if Jeter played in K.C. or Milwaukee,
without the pressure of being a Yankee and under the gun of N.Y. media
he probably would have 4000 hits by now."
And M.M. wrote: "I'm glad D.S. is not running my company. His
comments demonstrated to me that he is not the sharpest knife in the
drawer."
Editor's Note: Not one of you agreed with D.S.
As for the "Jewish Jordan" Tamir Goldman retiring from basketball
after playing at Towson and in the Israeli basketball league, Dr. B.
twittered me @lenbermansports: "I went to Towson. Jewish Jordan looked
like Howdy Doody in a yarmulke."
Editor's Note: Always nice to hear from the peanut gallery.
5. Genius of the Week
A Green Bay man shot his cousin while hunting last Sunday. He
thought his cousin was a squirrel. The cousin is fine. But this
Sunday, instead of hunting, just watch the Packers game like everyone
else does in Green Bay. He thought he was a squirrel?
Happy Birthday: Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Cheryl Tiegs. 62.
Bonus Birthdays: Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones. 40. And her husband
Michael Douglas. 65.
Today in Sports: N.Y. Met Rusty Staub joins Ty Cobb as the only
major leaguers to hit home runs as teenagers and again in their 40's.
1984.
Bonus Event: One of the few dances I can actually do, Chubby
Checker's "The Twist" hits #1. 1960.
The Top 5 will resume Tuesday, September 29.