Hello once again to everyone....
It's not often that I stand up and stump for a cause, but when I do, I put a great deal of effort behind it. And.....when one thinks about it, nobody is really immune from it. It has affected everyone at some level. I'm talking about cancer. I bring this uncomfortable topic up because the V Foundation is getting ready to have its annual ESPN Radio Auction (09 July) to benefit cancer research. Over the years, ESPN has really boosted the funds of the V Foundation with this auction, and they couldn't have done it without the generous donations of everyone out there. You can wait for the radio auction day to make your donation, and ESPN usually has some great items available for bids that day. Or, if that's a bit out of your league, you can call 1-800-4JimmyV and make your donation. You can also go to their website and donate as well. Just go to your favorite search engine and type in The V Foundation. Also, on their website, you can watch the most stirring speech the ESPY's has ever had. Jim Valvano's final speech is on the website, but be warned.......you will get either chills or teary-eyed. I can still remember the final words of his speech....."Cancer can take all of my physical abilities....but it cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to live on forever." We've all had to face this disease in our families at one time or another. If you can only donate five dollars, that's five more dollars they have to fight cancer. Please log on or call 1-800-4JimmyV to make your donation.
To Omaha, where I usually don't like to say I was right( OK, yes I do), but I said in the last post that I thought South Carolina and TCU were playing the best baseball of those left in Omaha, and I thought those two teams would be in the final series. USC beat Clemson (yeah.....what a stunner) in two straight games to claim their spot in the Finals. UCLA beat TCU in their third game to make up the other half. After winning Game 1, USC had to go to extra innings to win the game, the series, a national championship, and to close out decades of history at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha. I know my nephew is walking on air this morning because of this win. Tip your hat to the Gamecocks. They got in a bit of trouble early on with their loss to Oklahoma. But, they went on a great run, culminating in a championship. And, Clemson......take notes on this one. This is what championship teams do......they finish. They close the deal, and they do NOT accept mediocrity. Congratulations Gamecocks. You deserve it.
To the NBA, where the biggest oxymoron in sports is about to take place with NBA free agency. Now, with the likes of LeBron James, DeWayne Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Bosh and Paul Pierce available for the taking, these guys will be anything but free! But, with word coming out of Miami that Wade has met with James and Bosh in an effort to get them to South Beach, it seems as if the remaining big ticket free agents will re-sign with their old teams. Miami and Chicago have the most salary cap space, with about 30 million available for both clubs to work with. But....Miami only has two guys under contract right now, and if they go the Wade-James-Bosh route, how much money will be available to fill out the rest of the team? And, in Chicago, owner Jerry Reinsdorf has never paid the luxury tax for going over the cap, and if he signs James, will he open the wallet to keep Derrick Rose when its time, or Joakim Noah? His propensity to throw money around like manhole covers is part of the reason the Jordan dynasty broke apart. Plus....if you're LeBron, do you really want to go to a city to where you'll always be judged by what Jordan accomplished? If LeBron goes to Chicago and wins a title, there will be those that will say "So what.....Jordan won six". It's all very interesting, and it all gets underway tonight at midnight. Stay tuned for more developments.
To the NFL, where it seems some people still don't get it. And, when one of those people is named Michael Vick, you really have to wonder what kind of thought processes go through his head. He threw a 30th birthday bash at a Virginia Beach night club. On the surface, that's not so bad. But.....when you add in that: 1. Someone was shot outside the club where the party was held. 2. The man that was shot is one Quannis Phillips, one of Vick's co-defendants in his dogfighting case, and the same co-defendant that Vick has been ordered to stay away from. Vick's initial defense in all of this was that he didn't invite Phillips to the party. But, authorities have documents where Vick posted on Facebook and Twitter that he was having a party, so the argument could be made that he, indeed, invited Phillips to the party. Today, evidence has surfaced that the timeline that Vick initially gave authorities is somewhat skewed. My question is this: If you've gotten a second chance to play in the NFL, and the team you play for traded their top QB to make room for you....how in the heck do you even think of doing something like this? I said it before, when it all went down, and I'll call for it once again here: Permanently suspend Vick from the NFL. If he wants to be a knucklehead, let him do so at his own peril. It's clear that he just doesn't get it, and he probably never will. I'm sorry, Eagles, you now have to deal with this mess.
With the 4th of July coming up, I'd like to take this opportunity to say "Happy Anniversary" to my father, Art. What a dad!!!! I was 15 years old, and he toook me to a baseball game in Atlanta, the one that turned out to go 19 innings versus the Mets, and the Braves still lost 16-13. Did I mention there were two rain delays, and the game took almost twelve hours to finish? Oh yeah......and Dad had to go to work the next morning. What a night in Atlanta!!!!
Hope everyone has a safe and Happy 4th. Till next time.................
Patrick
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