Sports Quick Hits

How much “quan” is enough? Are the bragging rights of being the top paid athlete in your profession worth taking the Rod Tidwell risk? Already having the worst season in his future Hall of Fame career, although swinging a hot bat in June (.314, 8 home runs, 14 RBIs), Albert Pujols choose to not resign with the St. Louis Cardinals before the season began so he could test the free agent market for more money after the 2011 season.

Pujols fractured his left forearm in a collision with Kansas City Royals player, Wilson Betemit; this may be Betemit’s claim to lasting fame as Pujols’ future is now in serious doubt. Pujols didn’t just fracture his forearm but injured his wrist as well. If a hitter’s wrist is not 100%... King Albert is supposed to be on the DL for 4-6 weeks. For the sake of baseball and for the Cardinals’ faithful I hope Pujols comes back full strength. As for Pujols’ free agency contract… good luck getting that $30 million per year long term contract. Prince Fielder has to be happy for a couple of reasons now.

Riley still has the fire… must be the hair gel.

Pat Riley, the Miami Heat team president, held a press conference on Tuesday to wrap up the Heat’s NBA season. While answering several questions from the media he was asked, “Will you ever coach again”? Riley said, “No, I’m not going to. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have the fire, but we have a great young coach here and I want to support him and hope that he can grow like I did. This is just his third year.”  

Erik Spoelstra beware! This sounds like code words for “I will take over as head coach if you have so much as a two game losing streak during the 2011-2012 season”.

Remember Riley canned Stan Van Gundy in the middle of the 2005-2006 season so he could win another title as a head coach. This was after Riley stepped down as Miami’s head coach days before the start of the 2003-2004 season. Alonzo Mourning was gone and the Heat were rebuilding. Riley did not have the heart to coach the youth movement of rookie shooting guard Dwayne Wade, Lamar Odom, and undrafted power forward Udonis Haslem.

Once the Heat had acquired Shaquille O’Neal to compliment the play of Dwayne Wade at the start of the 2005 season, that’s win “the fire” to coach again got hot. Riley kicked his long time assistant, Stan Van Gundy, to the curb so he could move up the all-time NBA Championship list for winning coaches.

Riley loves the attention and spotlight. If the “Big Three” add a couple of pieces to their team and look unstoppable… how long will it take before Riley pulls the double switch on Spoelstra? If the Big Three win 3 or 4 NBA Championships Riley could see himself tied for second with Red Auerbach in a few years…. I wouldn’t put it past him.

Riley is currently tied for third on the all-time NBA Championships won by coaches.

Phil Jackson 11

Red Auerbach 9

Pat Riley 5

John Kundla 5

Greg Popovich 4

Ohio State dropping review of car sales

The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles has issued a report that there was no “wrong doing” in the sales of 24 of 25 cars to OSU players or players families. OSU spokesperson, Jim Lynch, said, “We have seen no evidence that would lead us to believe that Ohio State student athletes violated any policies when purchasing used cars.”

And Somalia pirates are only looking to sunbath on the decks of the cruise ships they encounter, nothing more.

OSU is not going to look into the financing or payments for the cars purchased by the students and/or families. One report that says nothing wrong happened on the sales of those cars and they are going to sweep it under the rug. Hey OSU, way to be an institution of integrity. 

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Terrelle Pryor Not Quite Getting It

A 1^st Round Slide That Would Make Brady Quinn’s Look Like Child’s Play

Super Agent Drew Rosenhaus, a bigger promoter of “his” athletes than ESPN is of bad Big 10 football, thinks his new client Terrelle Pryor will be a first round pick in the NFL Supplemental Draft this summer.

Hmmmm. If Terrelle Pryor thought he was going to be a first round draft pick in the NFL why didn’t he avoid all of the problems and media attention he knew would arise with his tattoo scandal and declare for the NFL Draft in January? Forget his “contract” with then head coach Jim Tressell to play for Ohio State in 2011. Why pass up millions, deal with a NCAA mandated 5 game suspension, and deal with the media scrutiny from his NCAA infractions?

Drew is fooling himself and Pryor if both think he will be a first round draft pick. But if Cam Newton can be the first overall pick in the NFL Draft, that means there’s a NFL general manager out there that will make an even bigger mistake by drafting Pryor a couple of rounds earlier than necessary.

*The NFL Supplemental Draft occurs after the primary NFL Draft has taken place. Any player drafted by a NFL team in the supplemental draft has to forfeit a draft pick of the same stature in the following year’s NFL draft.

I Wanna Give a Shout Out to the Man I got Fired!

Pryor gave a 97 second sound bite to the media and Ohio State fans on Tuesday. He apologized to the Buckeye nation for his conduct off the field. He never said exactly what he was apologizing for but admitted that he did something(s) wrong. Pryor also let it be known that he will not cooperate with the NCAA because he is no longer a football player at OSU. He went on to say that he is 9 credits short of attaining his degree and he hopes to finish his degree soon.

Since the NCAA has a partnership with Ohio State University, maybe OSU should do the right thing and suspend Terelle Pryor’s student eligibility until he has finished complying with the NCAA and their investigation. True Pryor is no longer a football player at OSU but he is a student there.  Pryor signed a national letter of intent to follow by the rules set forth by OSU and the NCAA. He’s apologized for his wrong doings. Too bad he’s not willing to be an adult and help with the investigation. Pryor’s lack of maturity and accountability is not shocking.

Pryor did give a “shout out” to The Vest during his press conference. Pryor said, “In terms of coach Jim Tressel, a special shout out. I’m sorry for what all went down and I apologize with all my heart. I love you just like a father. You taught me a lot and I apologize for putting you in a situation and taking you out of a job and place that you loved to be. I regret the fact that you’re not there any more and I regret the fact that I’m not there any more.”

The press conference was not given at a club or on a radio station accepting song requests. Not sure where the “shout out” came from or why Pryor thought it necessary to give a “shout out”? One would think Pryor would have scripted something a little more thoughtful and sincere than a shout out to the man that just lost a multi million-dollar a year job so you can get new tattoos and drive a different car every other month.

Just to Clarify

Pryor’s willingness to hold a press conference and say he’s sorry is more than USC got from Reggie Bush. Time will tell what Cam Newton says to the Auburn faithful. I respect the fact that Pryor is trying to take accountability but still can’t believe how naïve (nicest word I’m willing to settle on) he really is. He wore a sleeveless shirt to the press conference! His tattoos were on display so the whole world could see exactly what he’s been up to in Columbia over the past few years. 

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