Zakk and Jack on Fox Sports Radio
The Zakk & Jack Show takes over the Fox Sports Radio Network from 8:00 – 11:00 pm (ET). Broadcasting from coast to coast and, yes, that includes from Cleveland to Miami.
While its not accurate to say that the party has just begun in South Beach, it did get more rowdy on Friday night as the Miami Trio made their grand entrance to thousands of Heat fans.
Am I seeing that correctly? Is that “The King” playing wingman to “Flash”? Looks more like a prince to me, maybe even a jester, wearing that No. 6 jersey?
What about Cleveland…Has the pity party ended yet in Ohio? We’ll find out and discuss all aspects of this week’s LeBronpalooza.
Plus World Cup, MLB All-Stars and Home Run Derby preview, NFL, Tiger Woods and much more. Call us at 877-99-ONFOX and text at 66369.
LeBron Takes Heat for Choosing Miami
[Cleveland Plain Dealer on Friday, July 9, 2010]
Admit it, you watched it. If not, you checked our mobile devices to get the news as it broke. I sat through the debacle and I’m not proud of it, either.
Embarrassed is how many should feel this morning. LeBron James for stuttering through his ego-driven televised special, Jim Gary for putting his journalistic credibility aside to be LeBron’s puppet for the broadcast, but most regrettable will be the words of Cavaliers majority owner, Dan Gilbert, and the actions of the “fans” throughout the Ohio area.
Read Dan Gilbert’s open letter HERE
Watch these fools too…
Win a King’s Ransom on The Decision
What do you think will happen with The King?
I’m taking Ryan Seacrest to replace him on his nightly show for CNN. Any takers?
Oh, wrong guy. Okay, but just be safe, can I wait until Friday morning to make my choice for where LeBron James will sign?
Tonight at 9:00 pm (ET) LeBron James will announce his decision. And I think we are all ready to know which team James will covet so we can get back to our annual sports debate that seemingly occurs every July… Is Brett Favre going to retire from the NFL??
It should make for some great television but still I’m confused that a veteran athlete could draw so much attention despite having yet won (or even performed that spectacular in) a championship.
Oops, I stand corrected
While many of the big names decided to stay home (Wade, Pierce, Nowitzki, Johnson, Allen) the 2010 NBA free agency carousel has been entertaining. This could otherwise had been a period on the sports calendar that moves slower than the scoreboard at a World Cup match, but the speculation and drama surrounding the signings kept professional basketball of top interest.
Typically this is where I would guess what the most sought after free agent in NBA history might chose to play, but at this point, does anyone really want to hear one more prediction?
No.
But would you like to win some “max money” with some inside information you think you know?
Absolutely.
So here are the odds (as of this morning) from SportsBetting.com of what destination LeBron James will announce on his ESPN special Thursday night…
Cleveland Cavaliers – 2 to 5
Miami Heat – 2 to 3
New York Knicks – 1 to 1
Chicago Bulls – 3 to 2
Come on casinos, don’t you want any money from the Clippers fans?
Wounding More Than Just Your Pride
Geoff Blum of the Houston Astros was placed on the team’s 15-day disabled list after injuring his elbow. The “pop” that Blum felt in his right elbow on last Thursday wasn’t the result of a mighty swing of the bat or because of errant throw. Rather, the “loose bodies” the doctors later reported to discover in Blum’s throwing arm are being blamed on his attempt to put on his dress shirt following the Astros game against the Padres last week.
“He was putting on his shirt after the game, and his elbow goes, ‘Boom, pop,’ and it blows up on him,” Astros manager, Brad Mills, said.
Don’t laugh. All right, go ahead.
But this type of off-field injury isn’t just reserved for us aging former and wannabe athletes.
Ken Griffey Jr. once injured his back while lifting boxes (he also had to miss a game after his protective cup slipped and pinched his testicle, ouch!), Bob Feller burned himself while trying to fix his whirlpool, Larry Anderson pulled a rib muscle exiting his Jacuzzi, Wade Boggs slipped while putting on cowboy boots and Bob Stanley fell down stairs while taking out the garbage.
One of my favorites too was golfer Rutief Goosen, who was disqualified from the 2005 Nissan Open when he slept-in and missed his tee time following a Grey Goose Vodka promotion the prior night.
The number of conditioned, athletes having to miss competition due to an embarrassing, non-sports related injury is almost as long as the list of jokes that Blum (and the others) has to endure following the explanation of their “accidents”.
Some are self-induced but others were (as you’ll read) moments that these prideful stars would like to, shall we say, put behind them?
In the 1980 World Series, George Brett of the Kansas City Royals was removed from Game 2 because he was suffering from a bad case of hemorrhoids (as if this is such a thing as a GOOD case of hemorrhoids!). Brett saw a doctor and was back for Game 3 of the series (which his Royals would eventually lose to the Philadelphia Phillies in six games). After the 1980 AL MVP returned to play, he was famously quoted, “…my problems are all behind me.”
Hey, at least George didn’t thank his proctologist publicly, the way Ron Artest might have done
Lucky for George, and thanks to this episode that took place a few years later during a regular season game in 1983, Brett is fortunate to be remembered as the “Pine Tar Guy”, instead.
Remember Steve McNair the “Player” not the “Playa”
Happy Birthday, America! The United States of America celebrates its 234th on Sunday and despite what Al Gore (and some others insist) I say she looks damn good for your age.
Also celebrating a birthday on this July 4th is the owner and former principal executive of the New York Yankees, George Steinbrenner.
Who, I believe, is also turning 234 this weekend
(Actually “The Boss” will be a youthful 80)
And Sunday (July 4th, 2010) will also mark the 1-year anniversary of the death of Steve McNair. The 13 year NFL veteran, 3-time Pro Bowler and Co-MVP of the 2003 NFL season was shot in the wee hours of July 4, 2009. McNair was found dead alongside of his mistress, a 20 year old by the name of Sahel Kazemi, who McNair had met when she was working at “Dave & Busters” and owned the condo she lived and eventually shot him in.
It was a shocking end to a life of what many of us saw as an honorable man.
Watch Peyton Manning in this “Outside the Lines” feature from before McNair’s death
Kurt Warner quarterbacked the winning team (St. Louis Rams) in SB XXXIV, had superior passing statistics in the game and had already been named as the league’s MVP for that season, but it was Steve McNair that had captured the unforgettable competitive moment as he willed his team all but 36 inches away from the first overtime in Super Bowl history.
Earlier that game, McNair had already led the Tennessee Titans back from a 16 point deficit. It was the first, and only, time in Super Bowl history that a lead that large has been erased. Before that final possession, the Titans began with the ball on their own 10 yard line with less than two minutes remaining. During that drive Steve McNair would account for every yard gained (other than Ram penalties).
The drive also included a dramatic 3rd down completion with 22 seconds remaining that demonstrated the magic of McNair. It was, with apologies to any Santonio Holmes, David Tyree or John Elway fans, the most exciting single play in Super Bowl history.
Interleague Lost its Intrigue
I’ll admit that I, too, was excited to watch interleague play when Major League Baseball introduced it back in 1997. The “Red Line Rivalry”, “Subway Series”, ”Bay Bridge Series” (and some other professional baseball rivalries which were determined by geographic proximity) added intrigue to what can otherwise be a slow stretch on the sports calendar. However, since then, the novelty has grown thinner than Lou Piniella’s hairline.
For the 7th straight season, the American League has won the season series. Powering the AL this season were the Chicago White Sox (15-3), Texas Rangers (14-4) and Boston Red Sox 13-5) while the pathetic Pittsburgh Pirates helped ground the NL with a 2-13 interleague record in 2010.
It does provide baseball with a spike in attendance (according to MLB.com, interleague play in 2010 drew 8,379,834 fans for an average of 33,253 per game) and a media-frenzy in a few, select cities but the relevance of interleague play is nonexistent. If not for the ridiculous overreaction to a tied All-Star Game in 2002, the results of interleague play could be used to determine home field advantage for the World Series.
It’s not like it would be the first time someone from Boston would root for the Yankees
Conversely, under the current system, the league that wins the most games during interleague play is, in fact, penalized for their success.
The 2006 Major League Baseball season serves as my example. The American League decisively proved to be far superior to the National League by dominating interleague play that season, 154-98. Due mostly to the lopsided record of interleague play, the St. Louis Cardinals were able to win the 2006 NL Central Division with a paltry 83-78 regular season record. Meanwhile, four teams from the American League (Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels) all posted better regular season records than St. Louis but failed to make the postseason. Adding to the insult, the Cardinals would go on to win the World Series that year.
When introduced in 1997, interleague play helped rejuvenate interest in Major League Baseball (which had been waning since the 1994 players’ strike). Since then, well, take it away B.B….
OOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUCCHHHHHH!
Is this what they mean by a soccer “header”?
Zakk and Jack on Fox Sports Radio this weekend
Zakk & Jack take over the airwaves from coast to coast for 2 shows this weekend throughout the Fox Sports Radio Network. We’ll be broadcasting both (Saturday from 8:00 to 11:00 pm ET and Sunday from 8:00 to 11:00 pm ET) from the studios of 1260/WNDE.
Call us 877-99-ONFOX, text at 66369.
Here’s some of what you’ll hear on Saturday’s broadcast HERE
And on Sunday night HERE
LeBron and Le Beatles
The 2009-10 NBA season is now officially in the books. In a few days Ron Artest will call an end to the party and in a little over a week (July 1) professional basketball’s free agent circus can begin. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Toronto’s Chris Bosh and others are ready to hit the market but really, LeBron James is the one we’ll mostly hear about.
Haven’t we already?
Unable to wait until the official start date for the free agent offers the city of Akron honored “The King” with a fan appreciation parade, Erie has offered James a maximum contract to play minor league baseball and New York has offered him their strippers. (Hey Dallas, did the Vince Young incident scare you away?)
This week Chris Rock upped the ante in the LeBron James sweepstakes while he was promoting his new film, “Grown Ups”. The comedian offered the 25-year old star $10 to play for the New York Knicks. Not $10-million, but $10.
Hmmm… has the weakened world economy now affected our current state of comedy? Rock’s crack made rounds on Twitter but if recorded video/audio reaches YouTube then you’ll see just how sorry his offer (and his originality) really was.
When I was a teenager, unlike LeBron James, no major college universities or NBA teams were looking at me. And no one from my junior high school had heard of James just yet. In the 1980s, basketball cities weren’t divided by their attempted bribes of a basketball star but the entire world was still hoping for a Beatles reunion.
[Note: I’ll never forget the kid who sat opposite me – who will protectively remain nameless – in the lunchroom cafeteria who used to ask, “What will it take to reunite The Beatles?” His answer was “Three more bullets!” It wasn’t funny then, and no longer applies now that George Harrison is also dead, but we laughed every time and I bet you might too]
Like the courtship of LeBron James, money was the presumed motivational factor for any proposed reunion of the Fab Four. Even Lorne Michaels, the executive producer for Saturday Night Live, put together a proposal to John, Paul, George and Ringo as early as 1976.
Even split four ways, $3,000.00 in the 1970s was a better deal than $10.00 is worth in 2010. And it was more original comedy then too.
Pittsburgh’s Pitiful Pirates Fire Pierogi
This sign wasn’t actually erected atop Mount Washington (which overlooks the city of Pittsburgh) but it very well could. In 2009, the Steelers were the defending Super Bowl champions of the NFL, the Penguins won the NHL’s Stanley Cup but the Pirates were in the midst of their 17th consecutive MLB losing season – a modern record for futility among American professional sports teams.
Without a winning team the Pirates rely on PNC Park (which many consider the finest ballpark in the majors) and promotions to draw fans to the games like “The Great Pittsburgh Pierogy Race N’at”. It was once an animated race that occurred in between innings at home games but by 2009 the animated-version was dropped completely for actual people dressed in giant pierogi costumes.
The idea was hardly original since the Milwaukee Brewers have been doing the same since the early 1990s by racing sausages at Miller Park. (That’s the same venue where the Brewers defeated Pittsburgh in April by a score of 20-0, the worst loss in the Pirates franchise history. And the same field where former Pirate Randall Simon once assaulted one of the participants running in the encased-meat costume.)
Through Father’s Day weekend, the 2010 Pittsburgh Pirates have the worst record in the National League and appear committed to extending their record for consecutive losing seasons. So moves are being made for the once proud franchise. Last week manager John Russell and GM Neal Huntington received contract extensions so any improvements to the current culture are needed elsewhere.
This weekend the Pirates fired Andrew Kurtz. He hasn’t pitched in a single game or ever had an official major league at-bat. Andrew is 24 years old and was one of the racing pierogis at PNC Park until he posted the following message on his Facebook page…
“Coonelly [Pirates team president] extended the contracts of Russell and Huntington through the 2011 season. That means a 19-straight losing streak. Way to go Pirates.”
Kurtz was asked to turn in his pierogi pants and costume after team management learned of the post. No longer will Andrew receive the $25.00 racing fee for running for fans at PNC Park.
Don’t mess with the Pittsburgh Pirates unless, of course, you’re prepared to field 9 guys and play an actual game of baseball. “We Are Family” still in the steel town… we’re just a family that doesn’t win much.
