News-Record.com

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, who looked foolish during a congressional hearing trying to explain baseball's lax policy on steriods, has proposed much stiffer penalties: 50 games for the first offense, 100 games for the second, lifetime ban for the third. And add amphetamines to the banned substance list.

The players' union is likely to balk, both at the extent of the penalties and the addition of amphetamines. Those were made famous, and public, as "greenies" in Jim Bouton's book "Ball Four." Even players who have publicly called for stiff penalties for steroid use have hedged when asked about banning amphetamines.

So what is Selig trying to do, knowing the proposal is not likely to be accepted? Remember, this is a man who once sold used cars. He could be trying to repair the baseball office's tattered image by shifting the burden to the union, making it the bad guy when it refuses. Or it could be a negotiating ploy, with the acceptable numbers more like 25 games for the first offense, 50 for the second and one season for the third, plus amphetamines would not be added.

Either way, skeptics will have a field day, and rightly so.

According to this article in the Rocky Mount paper, Duke will lose to UConn in the final. Glad we got that cleared up now.

Here's the theory behind the article: the ACC will be so down next year - see UNC, Wake, Georgia Tech - that Duke will cruise through the regular season untested and won't react well when it finally runs into trouble in the NCAA tournament. Think Duke circa 1999.

I'm not quite sure I agree with the author here. First, that Blue Devils team in 1999 was a once-in-a-generation team, just loaded with immense talent and equipped with a certain ruthlessness most college teams don't have. Don't look for Duke '06 to beat everyone by 30 like that team did.

The second example the author trots out to back up his argument is the Illinois team this season. Again, I don't quite agree. It's really a strech to say that the Illini lost to UNC in the title game because Illinois wasn't tested during the season. Bruce Weber's boys played a tough non-conference schedule, then won on the road at tough places like Wisconsin and Michigan State. Then they showed tremendous guts by coming back against an Arizona team - granted the Cats choked - in the regional final. And in the title game, Illinois made a furious comeback, only to come up short against a very, very, very good UNC team. I don't think you can blame a soft Big Ten schedule for that loss.

So am I annointing Duke the '06 national champs? Nope. Not yet, anyway. And I do think there's some merit to the argument that a weak ACC won't help the Blue Devils. Look for K to beef up the non-conference schedule accordingly.

Life is great right now, if you're Rob Daniels. Your beloved Orioles are in first place, thanks to an awesome offense. And the team you loath the most, the hated Yankees, are struggling mightily, 6.5 games back. For the love of Paul O'Neill, they just got drubbed by the D-Rays!

Here's something else that's bound to make Rob smile. It's the epilogue to a new book called The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty, by former NY Times writer and current ESPN multi-media star Buster Olney. It takes you quickly through all that has transpired since Game 7 of the 2001 Series (the "last night" referred to in the title) when The Yanks blew a ninth-inning lead and lost to the Diamondbacks.

According to Olney, we're in the midst of watching the Yankees repeat their mistakes of the '80s, when an out-of-control Steinbrenner bought up all sorts of talent without any understanding of how it would fit into a team. Does that mean there will be another dozen or so years before the Yankees win their next World Series. Speaking for all Yankee haters out there, let's hope so.

Ahh, good times.

It's been 23 years since the Bullets/Wizards have won a playoff series. It's been 19 years since ex-Tar Heel Dudley Bradley banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cap the Bullets' improbable rally from 17 points down in the final 3 minutes of a playoff game against the Sixers. Les Boulez, as Tony Kornheiser affectionately refers to them, hadn't even won a playoff game in 17 years before their current first-round series against les Bulls.

Oh, and it's been about 12 years since I've watched an NBA game in its entirety. With Abe Pollin's team back in the playoff mix this year, I've tried to tune in more than usual this spring. It hasn't been easy. And the Warriors, er, Wizards certainly didn't make the pro game easy to watch Wednesday night as they blew a 10-point lead in 49 seconds. Too many Jannerro Pargo 3-balls -- who the bleep is he? -- and too many bricked Antawn Jamison free throws and too many NBA timeouts/ball inbounded right next to the Bulls' basket to preserve what should've been a safe lead.

Gilbert Arenas hit a shot at the buzzer to break the 110-110 tie and put the Wiz up 3-2 in the series, as you probably know by now.

These two teams are bringing new blood to the playoffs. It's refreshing to see, although it's hard to figure out how a lineup featuring Pargo, Eric Piatkowski, Kirk Hinrich (no offense, Roy), Chris Duhon (no offense, Duke fans) and Andres Nocioni (a Euro-thug, according to Arenas) made the playoffs in the first place.

I wonder what everyone else thinks of these playoffs. No Lakers. No LeBron. No big-market Knicks or Celtics. Does this mean TV ratings are terrible?

And have I just lost touch with the NBA, or is this internal conversation I had while watching the Spurs vs. Nuggets tonight common among basketball fans?:

"Wow, Camby's a Nugget?

"Wait, that's not Vinny Del Negro. Some guy named Ginobli.

"Hey, where's Avery Johnson? (He's the Mavs' coach??? What are you talking about?)

"Who's this Tony Parker character? Oh, that's a French name, huh? Quel surprise! And he's dating a Desperate Housewife -- NBA action is fantastic, apparently.

"Man, what I wouldn't give to be watching a Mighty Ducks-Minnesota Wild five-overtime playoff game right now."

I'm thinking that Kenny Bania may be the only person who actually likes the new nickname at Marquette.

Ladies and gentleman the Marquette .... Gold?

Yep, it's true.

Apparently, the university responded to focus groups that said the school's current nickname - the Golden Eagles - was too boring and too common. No argument here.

And the university wasn't going to give in to alums that wanted the school to go back to its old nickname, the Warriors. That nickname was tied into an Indian mascot, which met with the disapproval of local Native American tribes. No argument there.

But Gold? Will Marilyn McCoo be the mascot?

As the guys on 850 The Buzz said this morning, it sounds like the name of an easy-listening station. I myself am wondering if afternoon host Adam Gold will be suing Marquette.

Methinks Nike might have something to do with this. They were allegedly behind Syracuse's move from the Orangemen to the Orange. And Marquette recently became a Nike school.

Here's my new suggested NCAA rule - You can't have a team name if that name can't be represented by a physical mascot. Gold? Gone. Orange? Gone. Cardinal? Make it plural and make it a bird.

Goldfinger reference, in case you were wondering.

T.J. Quinn of the NY Daily News broke this story on Sunday about Major League baseball's alleged investigation into the various unsavory issues Barry Bonds is at least tangentially involved in.

The story makes for good reading, but what really interested me was the discussion over it that took place on Sunday on the Baseball Show, on ESPN radio.

First, former Mets GM Steve Phillips chimed in with his opinion - that Major League Baseball would likely dig deep into the Bonds matter, because they're uncomfortable with the thought that a guy with so much baggage could very well wind up with the game's most prestigious record. In other words, the best way to keep Bonds from breaking Henry Aaron's all-time home run record is to keep Bonds away from the game for a while, in the hope that he retires. An interesting argument and one that I believe has at least some merit. But not the sort of thing I'd think you'd want to voice out loud if you're ever interested in getting another job in baseball. Maybe Phillips is content being on the broadcast side.

It took me a while to place the voice behind the other strong opinion about Bonds. It was clearly a former player, who clearly believed that Bonds was being treated unfairly.

"Surely, Major League Baseball has better things to do,'' the player said.

A few moments later, I discovered that the voice belonged to former Baltimore Oriole, Brady Anderson.

That made things even more intriguing. You may remember that Anderson had one of the biggest statistical anomalies in baseball history when he hit 50 home runs in the 1996 season. He never hit more than 24 homers in any other season. Even back before BALCO there were loud whispers from skeptics wondering about Anderson's enhanced numbers.

Of course, that happened before baseball's drug testing, so we'll never know, one way or the other. So Anderson, and others like him, will stay in this permanent limbo between guilt and innocence. And when he voices an opinion about steroids, it will be hard to resist the urge to arch an eyebrow in response.

According to the folks at Baseball America, it's a very real possibility.

The timing of this - during spring training for the 2006 season - makes sense. Even the locations of pool play - one in Japan, one in Puerto Rico, one in the Grapefruit League and one in the Cactus League make sense.

One issue that still seems like a thorny one is dealing with teams that don't want their player to participate because of a risk of injury. According to a union official mentioned in the article, teams won't be able to block players from playing. Still, if your employer, the one that's signing your very large paychecks, says it would really prefer that you not play in the World Cup, what would you do? Could create some tense situations.

On the bright side, it could make for a heck of a tournament. I'd have to doublecheck on the nationalities of various players - does Manny count for the D.R. or the U.S? - but I'd have to think that the U.S. and the Dominican Republic would be the early favorites.

Another intriguing sidelight - if Cuba is allowed in to the tournament, would it be willing to have defectors like Livian and Orlando Hernandez play for it?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2057633

(Yes, it's another obscure Seinfeld reference. Get used to it)

Just when I thought the Marquette mascot situation couldn't be more amusing, they're "taking it up a notch," as George Lewis Costanza would say.

Stunningly - please note the sarcasm - Marquette fans weren't happy with the new nickname - "Gold" - which replaced the Golden Eagles, which replaced the Warriors, which was not favored by local Native American. Did they really use focus groups to come up with Gold? If so, where did they find the members of this focus group? In a New Age cult in Sedonah, Arizona?

So now they're taking suggestions from the public. Performing the kind of service that newspapers live for, the Journal-Sentinel has begun soliciting suggestions. (I believe free registration is required for this site)

Here's a few of my favorites.

Jumpin' Jesuits - this one's gaining some steam.
The Inquisitors - Some great mascot possibilities.
The Golden Choppers - Milwaukee is the home of Harley-Davidson.
The Golden Dahmers - After the city's most infamous resident, Jeffrey Dahmer.
The Schlitz Faces - After the beer that made Milwaukee famous.

On a more serious note, I think Marquette Explorers works. As does the Marquette Lakers.

Apparently though, there's a groundswell of support for the Hilltoppers, which was apparently the nickname of Marquette before it became the Warriors.

My question is, why? Are there really any hills in Milwaukee? Is Marquette up on a hill? Does the Marquette campus bear a strong resemblance to Western Kentucky's?

Explanations and other nickname suggestions are most welcome.

No, Carlisle's not ending every press conference with the word "Courage." Rather, he's apparently got Rather's nack for quotes that are meant to be folksy but really just leave you scratching your head.

Consider this one after the Pacers dropped game four to the Pistons.

"We had some good shots but couldn't hit a bull in the rear end with a bass fiddle."

Uh-huh.

This raises all sorts of questions. Why a bull? Why not a horse? Why a bass fiddle? Why not a viola? Why the rear end? Why not the flank?

Maybe Jeff Carlton can explain this. Is this some sort of homespun wisdom Carlisle might have cultivated at Mr. Jefferson's university in Charlottesville?

This baseball season has, for me, been all about trying to figure out how longtime dynasties now past their prime keep winning. First, the Braves and their underwhelming lineup take charge of the NL East. Uh, Marlins, you might want to wake up soon. Now, the Yankees have reeled off 10 straight wins. Go away, already!

As much as some of us enjoyed the Yanks' 11-19 start (11-23 going back to Game 4 of the ALCS) and Big Stein's latest eruption, we knew it couldn't last. The question is, after falling into a tie for last place in the AL East, is NY now poised to win yet another division title?

That, I'm not sure. Let's face it, they are getting very old, even moreso bringing Tino Martinez back and maybe soon, 42-year-old Roger Clemens (see Lupica's column on that possibility).

Regardless, they are winning. And they're doing it before Steinbrenner jumps the gun on the next Ken Phelps.

It's partly explained by the schedule: All 10 wins have come against the woeful A's and execrable Mariners.

Also, their slumping DH's, Jason Giambi and Bernie Williams, have had huge games of late. Tino has been tearing it up since his return.

They've overcome Kevin Brown's slide into irrelevance, Carl Pavano's surprisingly weak start to the season (and Jaret Wright's not-as-surprising poor start) and their aging bullpen. Clemens would solidify their pitching staff, no doubt.

But would they be willing to give up Robinson Cano, the former Greensboro Bat, to bring Clemens back from Houston? If Big Stein leaves things alone, Cano could prove to be just the remedy the Yanks need at second base. And a product of their own beleaguered farm system, no less. How's this for a major-league debut?: Cano started 11 of 17 from the plate. Read more about him in this New York Times story (subscription required).

Oh, and let's not forget ultimate utility man Tony Womack, the Guilford College alum who has held his own in left field.

These guys know how to win and will win plenty. Probably enough to pass the Orioles and Red Sox, who have serious pitching woes, in the standings. I'm not ready to proclaim the Yanks World Series favorites yet, however. That would have to be the Braves, of course.

My apologies to Matthew Hammond, a junior at High Point U. who had Thursday's second-lowest score at the U.S. Open qualifier at Pinehurst National. My lack of familiarity with HPU golf was revealed, as I failed to mention Hammond, from Clayton, fired a 66 to make the sectional qualifier. Fortunately, colleague Robert Bell has a neighbor who knows of him and pointed out the oversight.

Same thing happened last week, when we overlooked Kernersville's Jonathan Hill advancing from the Wallace local qualifier. The problem, for those of us not accustomed to covering area golfers, is that the USGA lists current residence on its tee times/result sheets, leaving it to us to make the hometown and college connections.

A full list of qualifiers to sectionals can be found at the USGA site here. Former Wake player Ryan Gioffre and UNCG player Jason Martin also made the final, 36-hole stage of Open qualifying, which will be June 6-7.

They blew up -- rather, imploded -- the old Burlington Industries headquarters in west Greensboro this morning. Sorry I missed it. The 34-year-old glass building inside a steel shell was an oddly hideous sight, not an architectural marvel as some would contend. Fortunately, the N&R has provided a replay of the great earth-shattering kaboom here.

One building we don't want to see imploded is historic Reynolds Coliseum on the N.C. State campus. Unfortunately, a blown transformer tried to take her out. At last check, a fire was still burning in the basement.

Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post, while criticizing Redskins safety Sean Taylor for not returning Hall-of-Fame coach Joe Gibbs' calls, wonders if the player's pigheadedness is a Miami thing in this column (quick & free registration required) that I'm posting a day late.

An excerpt:

But I wonder about the University of Miami players -- the guys from the place they proudly call "the U." They don't seem to be happy where they are. Portis was terribly unhappy with Gibbs's offense last season. Taylor is unhappy here now. Edgerrin James is threatening not to report to the Colts. Jeremy Shockey wasn't happy working out in New York with the Giants, the team that pays him. So he left and went back to Miami to work out with "the U" guys. Look at Kellen Winslow Jr., a U guy who so famously said he'd make the Redskins regret not drafting him. Winslow's contract specifically forbids him from riding a motorcycle. But he rode one anyway, wrecked it, and now he's out for the whole season.

Me again: Is he on to something here? "The U" has cleaned up its image considerably since the Jimmy Johnson/Dennis Erickson outlaw-program days while continuing to turn out more pros than any other school. But these guys haven't exactly been ideal NFL employees in many cases.

To truly appreciate a Rob Daniels rant on any of many sports-related subjects, one should hear it, not just read it. So, we turn your attention to our first Radio Free Sports podcast, taped this morning and the first of many online sports discussions with our sports reporters.

Today, we talk a little NBA lottery, Tobacco Road recruiting, NASCAR crew-chief firing and US Open qualifying. Go here to hear it.

I realize college baseball doesn't excite the masses, not in these parts anyway, but conference tournaments are always good fun this time of year if you allow yourself to indulge.

Unfortunately, the ACC tournament is a long haul down I-95, in Jacksonville, Fla., this year. It will most likely come to Greensboro's new downtown ballpark in the not-too-distant future. But, for now, you pretty much have to follow the action on "gametracker" on your computer, not that you would let that distract you from real work.

A game to follow this morning: Clemson vs. Miami. Two high-ranked teams; one could be headed home by noon. It's a double-elimination tournament and each was upset Wednesday, the Hurricanes by Andrew Brackman and N.C. State, the Tigers by Virginia.

Much like the ACC basketball tournament, you've got teams fighting for NCAA at-large bids. State and UVa, who meet today in a winner's-bracket game, helped their respective causes.

North Carolina, meanwhile, very well could be hosting an NCAA regional. But the Heels will have to come back through the loser's bracket to win the ACC tourney after Wednesday's heartbreaking, 3-2, 12-inning loss to Florida State. The winning run scored on an errant throw to third by pitcher Matt Danford. The Heels got to extra innings when FSU catcher Aaron Cheesman mishandled strike three with two outs and fired into the runner going to first to allow the tying run to score. D'oh!

The Noles play either Wake Forest or Georgia Tech today. The Deacs and top-seeded Jackets are tied 7-7 in the seventh as I write.

If you want a good snapshot recap of ACC basketball recruiting for 2004-05, take a look here at The ACC-area Sports Journal Web site, where recruiting guru Brick Oettinger has handed out grades to the schools and projections on the players.

Duke, UNC and State scored very well, and Wake came in with a B. Tyler Hansbrough (UNC) and Josh McRoberts (Duke) earn "high big-time" status. And so on from there ...

As those hockey fans among us try to overcome our NHL playoffs withdraw, it's important to turn our attention to other distractions. Like the replay of the European Cup final I'm watching right now on ESPN Classic.

Alas, my adopted Euro team, AC Milan, blew a 3-0 lead against Liverpool and I know all too well how it's going to turn out in PK's. The first OT just ended, and Milan took it too them throughout but couldn't finish. Kaka and the boys let me down. But, when it goes to penalty kicks, it's pretty much a coin flip anyway. A dreadful way to end a championship match, in my mind.

That's one reason I'd rather be watching a sudden-death hockey game right now. Just one overdramatized, hair-raising Gary Thorne call of a game-winning goal is all I'm asking for. Anyone remember: "Matteau! Matteau! Matteau! And the Rangers have one more hill to climb!"? Yeah, I hated that one, too.

Yesterday's NCAA lacrosse national title game was my first chance to watch Duke in action this season.

Perhaps the Blue Devils would have preferred I not watch. They suffered a crushing 9-8 loss to No. 1 Johns Hopkins, which finished the season unbeaten.

There's no shame in losing to the Blue Jays, but it's the way that Duke lost that will likely stick with them for a long time. After Matt Danowski scored for the Devils with over 12 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter, Duke went ahead, 8-6. If you recall what I wrote the paragraph before, you'll realize that the Blue Devils didn't score again. That's 27 freaking minutes without a goal.

To me, Duke's drought was caused mainly by two factors. First, Hopkins goalie Jesse Schwartzman got hot. Second, the Blue Devils got tight. And naturally, the two fed off each other. The more saves Schwartzman made, the more Duke felt it had to be perfect on each possession. The more Duke became tentative, the easier it became for Schwartzman to anticipate - and save - the Devils' shots.

That's why I can't quite shake the feeling that overall - goaltending excluded - Duke was probably the better team on Monday. But I'm far from a lacrosse expert, so I may be totally wrong on this one. And Hopkins still has the trophy, which is all that really matters anyway.

Duke fans can take heart though. This team came a tremendous way from the season before, when the Blue Devils won just five games. And stars like Danowski, Matt Zash and Zack Greer will all be back next season. And maybe going through a little heartache is a prerequisite before winning the title. Certainly Hopkins had its share before winning this season. The previous three years the Blue Jays had been the No. 1 team in the nation heading into the NCAA tourney, but had failed to come home with the hardware.

Is it just me, or did Duke coach Mike Pressler look sort of like Gil Grissom - quirky head of the Las Vegas CSI lab - with that beard? I half expected him to take DNA swabs from his team during timeouts.

Those are the two dogs who won me a few dollars at the Naples-Fort Myers Greyhound Track this weekend. I won't mention the eight greyhounds who I picked to win, yet didn't. They chased a chase rabbit named Sparky who looked nothing like a rabbit. But they flew around the track regardless, and the retirees flew (well, waddled briskly) to the betting window.

I mention this not to promote gambling, which is why I won't explain quinelas and trifecta boxes. It's just that there is no dog racing in North Carolina. Nor horse racing, jai alai or lotteries, for that matter. Florida has all of that, but no state income tax. Go figure.

Other things I learned during my holiday-weekend visit to my mom in Punta Gorda, the town Hurricane Charley tried to wipe out a year ago:

Hockey is alive and well on the outskirts of the Everglades, where temps are well into the 90s lately. The Florida Everblades -- get it? -- lost Game 5 of the ECHL Kelly Cup Finals at Trenton, but still have a chance with Game 6 being Wednesday night back in Ft. Myers -- they have a nice building a few miles from the dog track. Here it June, and the ECHL playoffs are still going somewhere far, far away from Greensboro. They're even televising the games on a local network and you can keep up with the series on Andy Kent's Blades Blog at the Naples Daily News site.

Boating is still the No.1 sport in Southwest Florida. The intracoastal waterway looked like Wendover at rush hour as I flew in.

Annakin Skywalker fashions a killer Jedi mullet in "Revenge of the Sith," which I saw with the family Tuesday when our golf outing got rained out. A precursor to Luke's 1977/galaxy far, far away 'do in Star Wars, part IV.

Oh, and I learned that the Droid leader has emphysema even though he's allegedly robotic, and the chancellor is evil -- didn't see that coming. Hope I didn't ruin it for anyone.

In events that played out elsewhere, I learned that the Red Sox can still humiliate the Yankees (won 17-1 Saturday) but not whether Duke could humiliate UVa twice in one year in lacrosse (beat 'em 17-2 early this year but Johns Hopkins humiliated the Cavs in the NCAA semis instead, denying us a Duke-Virginia final Monday).

We also learned that FBI honcho W. Mark Felt was "Deep Throat" -- the newspaper industry's all-time greatest unnamed source -- and that the French don't like, or trust, the EU Constitution.