Rays vs. Red Sox -- BEST series ever!

Shooting from the Lip
Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Best series
Sports loves hyperbole and the present. Every time we see a great performance -- Tiger at the U.S. Open, Matt Garza's one-hitter, Evan Longoria's first three months -- we all tend to label it as "best ever'' as if nothing great ever happened in sports before last week. Everything is "the worst'' that,' the "greatest'' this.

Yet this is not hyperbole: The Rays open a three-game series Monday night against the Red Sox in what is the biggest series in franchise history. Those who can tell the difference between a ball and a bat know that the pennant race doesn't start until the kids are back in school. Still, for the first time, games at this "late'' date actually have a little bit of meaning in Tampa Bay. If nothing else, the Rays  have caught some national attention, including Sunday's Sports Reporters on ESPN, which talked about the best teams in baseball. Here's a rundown of one exchange.
Bob Ryan, Boston Globe: "Both of those fans in Tampa are saying when are you going to talk about the Rays? …The greatest and most important series in the history of that franchise is going to take place at the Trop. And the Rays are for real.''
Howard Bryant, ESPN: "They are for real, but the thing you got to wonder about them is -- is it now? They've got the talent. You just don't start from 10 straight years of 90 losses and then you go out and win the whole thing unless you're the '69 Mets.''
Michael Kay, YES Network: "You cannot say they're for real yet because young players in a pennant race for the first time (might get rattled). Also, you got a closer, Troy Percival, who has been hurt already. He's 38 years old. It has been a long time since he has had to close big games. I want to see how they react in August.''

ESPN analyst Peter Gammons, on Baseball Tonight, put it best: "This is tremendous for the game.''

Nothing is going to be decided in this series even if the Rays sweep or get swept. But isn’t it fun to at least have a reason to watch?

Best coverage
From the pregame ceremonies to the game itself to the halftime analysis to the trophy presentation to a wrapup of an amazing few weeks, ABC's Euro 2008 soccer coverage was about as close to perfect as a television sports broadcast can get. There was not one weak link in the coverage, and the best part of all was the game color provided by Andy Gray. In my unofficial rankings, he has surpassed golf's Johnny Miller, tennis' John McEnroe and boxing's Max Kellerman as my favorite analyst in sports. Anyway we can teach this guy American football and get him on Monday Night Football?

Biggest rip job
Rays announcer Dewayne Staats took out a sledgehammer and whacked Major League Baseball over the head during Friday's broadcast after the league reduced the suspension of Boston's Coco Crisp and upheld the suspension of Aki Iwamura for their roles in the big brawl at Fenway Park. Staats had the guts to say what everyone thinks, but no one ever says for fear of getting in trouble. And you know what? He was right.

"What happened is, in this case, the Red Sox retain their Most Favorite Nation status in the eyes of Major League Baseball,'' said Staats, just warming up. "That's just very clear -- that the message sent out of all of that to every other team in baseball, with the exception of the Yankees, would be you just better not mess with the Red Sox or the Yankees or don't defend yourself against those two teams because if you do, Major League Baseball doesn't like it. That's just not right.''

He wasn't done: "Well it confirms what everybody says anyway: that they really care about the Red Sox and Yankees, and the rest of the clubs exist for their pleasure.'' ... Youza!

Biggest whiners
Anyone else sick and tired about hearing Red Sox and Yankees apologists whine about injuries? Hey, the Rays have been hit, too. At times this season they've been without their ace (Scott Kazmir), their closer (Troy Percival), their top slugger from a year ago (Carlos Pena), as well as key players, such as Cliff Floyd, Dioner Navarro and Al Reyes. And let's not forget Rocco Baldelli. But no one nationally talks about it. You know why? The Rays don't whine about it.

Worst circus
NBC and ESPN combined to make a mess of Saturday's Wimbledon and U.S. Women's Open golf coverage. The Open was supposed to start at 3 p.m. , but NBC, which had been showing Wimbledon, said it would stay until the conclusion of the Rafael Nadal-Nicolas Kiefer match, which had completed only one set at 3, or until play was called by darkness, which was expected to be around 4:30 .
NBC didn't  announce it, but ESPN had the Open with NBC's announcers. Suddenly, at 3:30, NBC scrapped what it had told viewers and switched to golf. It told viewers to tune to ESPN2 for the rest of the day's Wimbledon coverage. That meant ESPN2 broke away from an exciting five-set match between Mikhail Youzhny and Radek Stepanek to take care of the Nadal fans who switched over to watch the end of his easy three-set victory. Meantime, ESPN stayed with golf for another 10 minutes then showed the last inning of what was supposed to be on anyway -- a taped replay of a USA softball game. Know how I solved the problem? Switched to Fox and watched baseball.

Best praise
What in the name of Jacques Demers is going on here? Not only did the Rays get mentioned on ESPN's Sports Reporters on Sunday, so did the Lightning. Host John Saunders, in his parting shot, talked about new Lightning coach Barry Melrose: "What will make Melrose a success again in coaching is what made him great in TV: incredible knowledge and confidence wrapped up in a never-take-things-too-seriously attitude.''

Best executive praise
On ESPN's Baseball Tonight, analyst Steve Phillips named the Rays' Andrew Friedman the best GM of the first half of the season, mostly for his trade that sent Delmon Young to the Twins for Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett. As you might remember, I critized that trade at the time it was made and then again about five or six weeks ago. I'm not ready to give up the fight only three months into the season, but I am have second thoughts about my second-guessing.

Most tired story lines
Is it possible for the Fox baseball pregame show to go just one show without talking about the Mets and Yankees? There are other teams, you know. On Saturday, they had not one, but two separate segments on Yankees slugger Jason Giambi. They did, however, mention the Rays as "insider'' Ken Rosenthal said Tampa Bay and the Brewers are interested in Indians lefty pitcher C.C. Sabathia.

"You don't normally hear about the low-revenue Rays and Brewers being buyers at the deadline,'' Rosenthal said. "But this year they're both solidly in the mix for Sabathia. Both have the prospects to get such a deal done. Both can take on the rest of his $9-million salary. And both are willing to take draft picks if they lose Sabathia as a free agent.''

Sportin' mullets -- the best of sports mullets

The mullet is back. Well, actually, that's not entirely true. The man who helped make the mullet famous is back. Barry Melrose, proud wearer of the mullet (which did to hairdos what the Pinto did for cars), is back behind an NHL bench as the newly named coach of the Lightning. But in case you hadn't noticed, the mullet is gone. At least from Melrose's head. Here's hoping he brings it back, for old time's sake. To get him in the mood, here's a trip down memory lane with some memorable sports mullets.

Andre Agassi
The tennis great tried to make up for the hair he was losing on top by going long in the back. (As if we weren't going to notice.) This wasn't his worst idea of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Uh, that would be dating Barbra Streisand. That's pretty much the ace of bad ideas. But the mullet was a close second.

Wayne Gretzky
The Great One set about a billion official NHL records and one unofficial NHL record: worst use of hair. This was the worst thing to come out of Canada since Paul Anka wrote (You're) Having My Baby. Notice how Janet Jones didn't marry him until he chopped off the raccoon tail.

Randy Johnson
The Big Unit has become the Michael Bolton of baseball. He has the worst mullet going and he refuses to give it up even though the darn thing went out of style about six seconds after Billy Ray Cyrus' Achy Breaky Heart hit the airwaves. Cyrus is a first-ballot Hall of Famer when it comes to mullets, the Babe Ruth if you will. And even he was smart enough to give it up.

Jaromir Jagr
The hockey star sported the "colek''’ or "deka.'' Those supposedly are the Czech words for the mullet haircut. We can only guess that he kept the style so long because he never learned the English phrase, "Yes, please, can I have a haircut that doesn't make me look like a total doofus?''

Barry Melrose
Of course, we have to remind Barry what he looked like in our attempt to sway him once again to the dark side. And were not trying to suck up to the new coach, but he was one of the few guys who actually got away with it, especially when he loaded it up with the Castrol 30W or whatever that was he put in his hair.

See a special slide show of memorable mullets.

ESPN's Jemele Hill talks to AOL about her suspension

Perhaps you heard that ESPN recently suspended writer Jemele Hill for a line she wrote in a column about why a Detroit Pistons fan could not root for the Boston Celtics. Hill wrote that "cheering for the Celtics is like saying Hitler was a victim.''

She is off suspension now and talked about the column and her suspension in an excellent interview with AOL Fanhouse's Michael David Smith, author of one of the best sports blog in the business. Here's the link.

Here's what else is going on ...

* Barry Melrose will be named coach of the Lightning on Tuesday. Catch 47 will show the news conference live at 11 a.m. Also, Melrose is the scheduled guest on Tuesday night's Sports Connection on Bay News 9 at 11 p.m. Look for No. 1 pick Steve Stamkos to be on the Sports Connection on Thursday.

* My TV show, The Press Box (Catch 47 at 6:30, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.), will talk about the Melrose hiring and the new Lightning ownership, as well as what's new with the Rays and Bucs. Guests this week include Times writer Joe Smith, Catch 47's Roxanne Wilder and Whitney Johnson -- the man, the myth and the legend from WDAE 620-AM.

* Neil Best, who writes a must-read sports media column for Newsday, had the big stunner of the weekend, writing that New York's famed Mike & the Mad Dog radio show might have seen its last day. Check out the first story and then the follow-up on Monday.

* HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel returns with a new show Tuesday at 10 p.m. This episode has four new features:
-- A look inside the Chinese sports school system.
-- The fight to keep softball as an Olympic sport.
-- A profile of British cyclist David Millar.
-- Looking at the billion-dollar business of horse breeding.

Tiger's absence means dark days for PGA

Shooting from the Lip
Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...

Biggest elephant in the room
A half-hour into its Saturday broadcast of the Travelers Championship, CBS dedicated about 10 minutes to the stunning news that Tiger Woods will miss the rest of the year with knee surgery. CBS didn't look back at what already has happened but smartly looked forward to what this all could mean to the PGA Tour and to Woods himself.

But you don't need 10 minutes to know what this means for the tour: It's disastrous. Golf addicts will continue to watch, but the casual fan won't. TV ratings prove that. And whose fault is that? The networks and the PGA Tour. They have only themselves to blame. True, no other golfers have stood up to seriously challenge Woods, but it's not as if Woods wins every time he plays. Still, when Tiger plays, it's all Tiger all the time. The networks show his every shot, his every walk up the fairway, his every move, often at the expense of other golfers. When you put all your eggs in Tiger's basket, you shouldn't be surprised that few care when Tiger isn't around. Now it's too late to sell the fans on other talented and charismatic golfers. Want an example? Rocco Mediate is 45 years old and has been on the tour for 22 years, and it was only last week that we learned how great of a guy he is.

This is going to be a long year for the PGA Tour.

Best point
Speaking of Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate, the Detroit Free Press' Mitch Albom made a point that needed to be made on Sunday’s Sports Reporters on ESPN: "The one thing I worry about with this injury thing with Tiger is that you diminish what Rocco Mediate did. This was an amazing thing, and I don't think Rocco Mediate deserves to be remembered as, 'Oh, well, if Tiger were healthy, he would've blown you out of the water.' ''

Worst trend
Anyone who regularly reads this blog or my newspaper column knows I'm a big fan of Rays TV announcers Dewayne Staats and Joe Magrane. I would rank them among the best in all of baseball, and Rays games (even when the Rays were really bad) have always been entertaining to watch because of those two. The Rays' success this season has been even more enjoyable because of how Staats and Magrane call a game. I wouldn't trade them for any other crew in baseball.

But having said all that, recently the two have fallen into the bad habit of jumping on umpires, especially regarding balls and strikes. Now and then is fine, and granted, based on replays, the two usually are right. Still, too much bellyaching starts to wear on the viewer. And while calls might be missed, it doesn't appear as if the Rays alone are getting a raw deal by umpires. Bad umpiring usually goes both ways. Wednesday against the Cubs, the two ripped into home-plate ump Kerwin Danley for not ringing up a Cubs batter then the very next half inning completely ignored it when Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano raised a stink on the mound for not getting two close pitches to go his way. By complaining as vigorously as Staats and Magrane have in recent weeks, they come off a bit whiny, and both of them are too good to ever be thought of that way.

Biggest rip job
Fox baseball pregame analyst Kevin Kennedy earned his paycheck Saturday, laying into new Mets manager Jerry Manuel. Essentially, Kennedy said Manuel didn't have the back of fired manager Willie Randolph. He pointed to Manuel, who was Randolph's bench coach, talking about the things he would've done differently and would do differently now that he has taken over. As far as Manuel's grand plans, Kennedy said, "What good does that do Willie Randolph now? … Jerry Manuel didn't handle it the right way.''

Shilling for Schilling
During Saturday's baseball Game of the Week on Fox, announcer Thom Brennaman had some powerful words regarding Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who is out for the season with shoulder surgery and might retire.

"I've never seen a more fearless performer in any sport in my life,'' Brennaman said, "than Curt Schilling was in that 2001 year.''

That's the season Schilling went 22-6 in the regular season for the Diamondbacks then pitched six postseason games, going 4-0 while allowing six earned runs in 481/3 innings. So is Schilling a Hall of Famer? Well, consider this: Schilling won only 216 regular-season games with a 3.46 ERA. Bert Blyleven is not in the Hall and he won 287 games with a 3.31 ERA. Orel Hershiser won 204 games with a 3.48 ERA, and he's not in the Hall, either. Schilling's postseason numbers might push him over the top. He went 11-2 with a 2.23 in the postseason and won three championships. Still, Blyleven went 5-1 in the postseason with a 2.47 ERA and has two rings. Hershiser was 8-3 in the postseason with a 2.59 ERA and pretty much single-handedly willed the Dodgers to the 1988 World Series title, winning the NLCS and World Series MVPs.

One more thought when you're comparing postseason numbers: Schilling had the benefit of an extra round in the playoffs, something Blyleven and Hershiser never had. Throw out Schilling's first-round playoff numbers and he was 7-2 in the postseason. In fact, if it weren't  for the wild card, the 2004 Red Sox might not have even made the playoffs -- and the whole bloody sock game wouldn't have happened.
This isn't as much an argument against Schilling as it is for Blyleven and Hershiser. If one gets in, all three should get in.

Saddest stat
Just pointing it out: Two more horses were euthanized after being injured  Saturday at Churchill Downs. But, don't worry, fans assure us there's nothing wrong with horse racing.

Favorite analysts of the weekend
Andy Gray: ESPN soccer announcer makes Euro 2008 worth watching. I could listen to him reading a phone book and be entertained.
Bela Karolyi: Not slick or stylish, but refreshingly candid and himself analyzing women's gymnastics on NBC Sunday night.
Ian Baker-Finch: CBS golf analyst doesn't rely on shtick or gimmicks. He just calls what he sees, and that's good enough.

Three things that popped into my head
1. Why did Willie Randolph lose his job as Mets manager? Partly because the Mets payroll is loaded with supposed stars who aren't really stars. Carlos Beltran might be the most overrated so-called "superstar'' in baseball. Bottom line is the Mets just aren't as good as the Mets think they are.
2. Watch out for the Yankees. They play 23 of their next 35 at Yankee Stadium, and of their 12 road games, nine are against the Pirates, Mets and Blue Jays.
3. Dang, that Rays' loss Sunday hurt. Losing two  of three to the Astros took some zip out of sweeping the Cubs, didn't it?

Tiger's greatest moments

I already miss Tiger Woods. He has only been out of commission, what, three days now? And, already, we are wondering what in the world golf is going to be like without him. Plus, all golf fans are still drunk from his incredible performance at the U.S. Open. Speaking of that performance, where exactly does it rank in a career full of incredible perfomances? Well, right at the top.

Here's a look at the top 10 moments (so far) in the career of Tiger Woods:

1. 2008 U.S. Open
Considering the knee surgery, doctor's orders to not play and the long layoff -- heck, the guy hadn't played a tournament in two months -- this has to top the list, especially knowing what we know now. He seemed out of the hunt heading into the back nine on Saturday. But two eagles and a birdie while limping and wincing in pain combined to make up one of the best and most dramatic nine holes in major championship history. As if all that wasn't enough, he overcomes the enormous pressure that he is supposed to win a playoff against a heavy underdog and does just that -- wins. And he did it with two fractures in his leg. Incredible.

2. 1997 Masters
This tournament officially announced Tiger intended on being one of the legends. At age 21, Tiger shot 70, 66, 65 and 69 for a Masters-record 18-under-par 270. He won the tournament by 12 strokes. CBS's Jim Nantz accurately called it "a win for the ages.''

3. 2000 U.S. Open
Tiger shot a U.S. Open-record 12 under at Pebble Beach. That's remarkable. Can you think of a word better than remarkable? Well, you should think of one to describe the rest of this story. Miguel Angel Jimenez and Ernie Els tied for second. They were 3 over par! Tiger;s score and margin of victory were U.S. Open records.

4. 2000 British Open
Tiger became only the fifth player -- and youngest, at 24 -- to win a career grand slam. And it was in grand fashion. He shot an astounding 19 under, the lowest score in regulation in the history of the Open. In fact, 19 under remains the lowest score in the history of all four majors. He won the tournament by eight shots over Els and Thomas Bjorn. British Open legend Tom Watson said, "He is something supernatural.''

5. 2001 Masters
Tiger shot a final-round 68 to beat David Duval by two strokes. When he put on the green jacket that April afternoon, he  was the current defending champion in all four majors, thus completing the "Tiger Slam.''

6. 2006 British Open
Tiger showed that he is human. Not because he played poorly, but because he broke down in tears after winning the Open. It was his first major victory after the death of the man who inspired him -- his father, Earl.

7. 2000 PGA Championship
Tiger beat Bob May in a three-hole playoff, but only after he birdied the 71st and 72nd holes to force the playoff. The victory came after he had won the U.S. and British Opens, making him the first since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win three majors in one year.

8. 1996 U.S. Amateur
Tiger trailed Steve Scott by five shots with 16 holes to go and needed a long birdie putt just to send it to a playoff. He won on the second extra playoff hole, his third consecutive amateur championship.

9. 2006 PGA Championship
At the longest course in major championship history, Tiger had rounds of 69, 68, 65 and 68 for an 18-under 270 and a five-stroke victory. The 18 under tied the PGA Championship record set by Bob May in 2000. Oh, and Tiger shot 18 under in 2000, too, then beat May in the playoff.

10. 2005 Masters
After Saturday rain stopped the tournament halfway through the third round, Tiger trailed Chris DiMarco by four shots. But helped by seven straight birdies, Tiger waged a duel with DiMarco that ended with Woods winning in a playoff for his fourth green jacket.

WDAE's Duemig arrested for suspicion of DUI

Update: 6:10 p.m.

Steve Duemig, arrested on suspicion of DUI early Sunday morning, addressed the incident on his WDAE radio show at 3 p.m. Here is a sampling of some of his comments:

* "This is a very difficult situation and I will face it like a man.''
* "It was an unfortunate situation I was involved with on Sunday morning. ... I will face it and go from there and let the legal system take its course. ... I was literally in the driveway of my home.''
* "I apologize for putting the station on turd watch. ... It's not fun. I apologize to the station for putting us on a negative view.''
* "There are a lot of haters out there that will have a field day. That's expected. When you're the top dog, they come after you. They're going to attack. I can accept that. It's not fun going through it. This is not a prepared statement. This is from the heart.''
* "Many, many, many, many, many more make the decision to drive home than don't. And you can consider yourself very fortunate if you've never been pulled over.''
* "I apologize. I will accept the hate. I hope you don't use hypocrite (to call me.) I don't go after athletes who have been charged because it can happen to anyong.
* "I want to thank the station for supporting me. It has been very, very comforting to have some of the big, big hitters in this company saying, 'We'll get through it.' ''

WDAE-AM sports talk show host Steve Duemig was arrested early Sunday morning near the Feather Sound area in St. Petersburg on suspicion of driving under the influence. Duemig, also known as the "Big Dawg,'' hosts what is probably the most popular sports talk radio show in the Tampa Bay area.

Reached Monday afternoon, Duemig had no comment other than to say he would address the arrest on his radio show, which begins at 3 p.m.

According to the Pinellas County Sheriff's department report, Duemig was pulled over in his white Lexus at 1:39 a.m. Sunday morning. He was booked at 3:11 a.m. and released at 10:15 a.m. No other details were available.

Too much Tiger

Looking back at the weekend in televised sports ...

Worst golf announcer of the weekend
NBC's Dan Hicks is married to ESPN's Hannah Storm. But by the way he was gushing Saturday as lead announcer of the U.S. Open, he sounded like a man ready to leave Storm for Tiger Woods. Woods' third-round charge had some thrilling moments, but when you add up the scorecard, he still only shot 1-under par 70 for the day. Listening to Hicks, however, one might have thought Tiger played the most brilliant round of golf that had ever been played. It was obvious that NBC so baaaaadly wanted Woods to do well, and that's understandable. The lower Woods shoots, the higher the TV ratings. But did Hicks need to make it so obvious?

Hicks spent Saturday ignoring the other golfers and stories and, sadly, added nothing to what we were witnessing with Woods. Even if you think Woods was having a remarkable round, Hicks added little to the moment other than to say Woods was having a remarkable round. We could see that. We already knew that. Give us perspective. Give us a call to remember. Give us something. And if you don't have anything, that's fine. Be quiet, and the let the sights and sounds tell the story. Instead, Hicks talked. He talked a lot. He just didn't say anything.

Hicks was a little better Sunday but not enough to wash the bad taste of Saturday out of our mouths. The thing that was so disappointing is Hicks is better -- much better -- than he showed over the weekend.

Best golf announcer
Johnny Miller was the opposite of Dan Hicks over the weekend. Everything that came out of his mouth was good stuff. As it always is. I could fill this whole page every week with Miller's brilliance, but here are just a few of the highlights:
• On Stuart Appleby blowing up in the third round: "He has not done well in majors for no particular reason, and it's sort of showing up today. Maybe his insides and majors don't necessarily like each other.''
• On watching Tiger Woods wince because is knee injury: "It makes you sick to your stomach.''
• On the slowness of a particular green: "This is about as fast as cold maple syrup.''
• On Rocco Mediate staying in the hunt: "Rocco Mediate is dodging more bullets than Indiana Jones.''
• On Phil Mickelson hitting shot after shot on the par-5, No. 13 on Saturday: "This is like Six Flags. You don't see many snowmen (an eight) at the beach.'' In Hicks' best moment, he added: "He's got to be hoping for a snowman!'' Hicks was right. Lefty took a nine.

Most underused golf announcer
NBC added a nice touch, bringing in Golf World magazine's Tim Rosaforte to act as an "insider,'' telling a few behind-the-scenes stories. The only problem was it barely used him. In the future, more Rosaforte, please. Also, NBC has the best announcer in the business (Bob Costas) and barely used him, as well. It's like having A-Rod on your team and using him only to pinch hit.

Best coverage
I'm not even a soccer fan, and yet I'm glued to ESPN's coverage of Euro 2008. The coverage has been outstanding, and the studio show is as good as any studio show, thanks to analysts Julie Foudy, Andy Gray and, best of all, Tommy Smyth. The reason it all works so well is ESPN is not "dummying down'' the coverage. Everything is geared for the soccer aficionado, and that's exactly the right approach. Compare that to, say, CBS's recent coverage of mixed martial arts, which spent too much time teaching the sport to viewers. Listen, viewers are smart. They'll catch up. Sports aren't rocket science. ESPN is smart enough to treat the sports they cover and the fans who love those sports with respect.

Biggest nonbeliever
Someone show Fox baseball pregame host Jeanne Zelasko the latest major-league standings. Or maybe she just hasn't bought into the Rays just yet. During Saturday's show, Zelasko asked analyst Rob Dibble if Reds slugger Ken Griffey could end up with the Cubs. Here's the exchange:
Dibble: "I see maybe the Tampa Bay Rays. I've heard the owners really want him down there in Tampa Bay. He has a home in Orlando. I think the Rays would be a better fit.''
Zelasko: "He’s going to go to a noncontender?''
Dibble, setting her straight: "No! The Rays are a contender! And he could put butts in the seat.''
Zelasko: "Point taken.''

Best analyst
What a pleasure it was to listen to Red Sox analyst Jerry Remy working Fox's Game of the Week, although we could've done without partner Thom Brennaman. (By the way, Remy earns extra bonus points in these parts for, on air back in New England, criticizing Boston's Coco Crisp the night he charged Rays pitcher James Shields.) Remy is quick, knows his stuff, has a sense of humor. It was nice to hear him instead of, oh, let's say Tim McCarver for a change.

Best shoutout
On ESPN's Baseball Tonight, insider Tim Kurk­jian, talking about Rays pitcher Matt Garza, said, "A scout told me last year that this is a young John Smoltz.''

Most interesting poll
The NBA has a serious problem. This Tim Donaghy/officials fixing games stuff is not going away. Donaghy, the NBA ref who admitted to gambling on games, accused that a playoff game in 2002 wasn't on the up-and-up. Who knows if the allegations are true. The problem for the NBA is the public thinks they might be true. ESPN conducted a poll over the week asking viewers, "Do you believe Tim Donaghy's allegations that two referees conspired to ensure a 2002 playoff series went seven games?''
Of the first 12,817 responses, 76 percent said yes.

Three things that popped into my head
1. Can we please officially ban the phrase "Tiger is on the prowl'' from all future golf telecasts?
2. Whether he was right or not, maybe ripping into an umpire wasn't the smartest thing Rays pitcher Scott Kazmir has ever done.
3. If you're an NHL team with an opening for a head coach, why wouldn't you at least talk to John Tortorella? The Senators, Maple Leafs and Sharks -- all of whom didn't talk to Tortorella and hired other coaches -- combined don't have as many Stanley Cups as Tortorella in the past 40 years.

Tim Russert and sports

Tim Russert, the NBC news anchor who shockingly died Friday at age 58, will be remembered and honored -- certainly more eloquently in other places by those who knew him -- as one of the sharpest political analysts of our time, as well as one of the nicest and most respected gentleman in broadcasting.

But we feel it appropriate to point out that what added to Russert's charm was his love of sports. A native of Buffalo, Russert was a huge Bills fan and, during football season, would close Meet the Press with a smile and a "Go Bills.'' Occasionally, he would tease politicians from cities or states with teams that the Bills recently defeated.

And here's something you might not know: Russert, a season-ticket holder for both the Washington Wizards (NBA) and Washington Nationals (MLB), was on the board of directors for the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of the board for the Hall of Fame, said:
"We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of Tim's sudden passing. He was an integral member of our Board of Directors and its executive committee, and he cared about the Hall of Fame and its mission so much. We'll miss Tim's critical thinking and his unsurpassed passion for the game tremendously.''

Charlie Jones passes away

Long-time sports broadcaster Charlie Jones passed away Thursday at the age of 77. He's best remembered for his work with old American Football League, as well as the NFL, but he also covered baseball, golf, tennis, the Olympics (mostly track-and-field) and soccer. He also called games for the Reds and the Rockies.

While he worked recently for ABC/ESPN, Jones spent most of his career calling events for NBC, particulary the bitter football rivalries in the AFC West involving games between the Raiders, Chiefs, Chargers and Broncos. Over the years, his broadcast partners included Len Dawson, Bob Griese, Merlin Olsen and Jimmy Cefelo.

Personally, I think his shining moment came in 1987. At that time, Jones was the voice of the Fiesta Bowl. But when Penn State and Miami agreed to play in the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship, there was talk that Jones and partners Cefalo and Griese would be pulled from the game and another broadcast team would be brought in. NBC correctly decided to keep Jones and his partners on the game. Jones brilliantly called Penn State's 14-10 upset of the Hurricanes.

In 1997, Jones was award the Pro Footbal Hall of Fame's Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award.

Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics released a statement that said:
"All of us at NBC are saddened at the passing of one of the great pioneers of NBC Sports. His work in particular on the NFL, golf and the Olympics left a lasting legacy.''

Broadcasting's best

Last week, we lost the best television sports broadcaster ever in Jim McKay. At age 86, McKay, the longtime host of the Olympics and Wide World of Sports, passed away. It got me thinking about the most notable and influential sports television broadcasters to ever look into a camera and talk into a microphone. They weren't known for one sport, but for their ability to cover any and all sports. But if they were there, you knew one thing for sure: This was the big event of the moment. Here is my list of the most notable TV sports broadcasters of all time.

1. Jim McKay
The gold standard. The Edward R. Murrow of sports broadcasting. His prolific work on ABC's Wide World of Sports alone sets him above all others because he wasn't calling just baseball or football. He was calling every sport known to man and a few man didn't know, such as barrel jumping or some such thing. Of course, he had no problem with the big event either. After all, does it get any bigger than hosting the Olympics? In fact, you could argue McKay helped make the Olympics what the Games are today, and his work covering the tragedy at the Munich Olympics in 1972 was legendary. Throw in his smooth, classy and comfortable work on golf and horse racing and you have the master.

2. Howard Cosell
Some of you out there will absolutely hate Cosell being this high on the list, or even on the list at all. But in the 1970s, if it was a big event, Cosell  was there. Let's face it, he WAS Monday Night Football. He WAS the World Series. He WAS boxing on TV, especially because of his playful interaction with  Muhammad Ali that not only helped make Ali famous, but helped advance Ali's social causes. You watched often not to see the game, but to listen to Cosell. You loved him or hated him, but you were never ambivalent. When you think about it, is there a better compliment than that?

3. Bob Costas
When it's all said and done, Costas likely will be at the top of this list. He has hosted just about every major sporting event from the Olympics to the Super Bowl to the World Series to the NBA Finals. He mixes humor with intelligence and he manages to pull off the difficult task of being a thinking man's broadcaster while relating to the common man. In other words, he appeals to those who read the New York Times and the New York Post. Best of all, he never makes himself bigger than the event he is covering. And he is the best interviewer in sports.

4. Al Michaels
Simply put, the absolute best play-by-play man there has ever been. Timing? Perfect. Emotion? Always just right. Mistakes? Rare, if ever. He's so good that it seems as if he is calling a game that he has already seen and he knows exactly what is going to happen. His call of the 1980 U.S.-USSR hockey game might be the single-best performance ever by a play-by-play announcer. Sure, we all know his signature line of "Do you believe in miracles?'' but go back and listen to that entire broadcast and just how good Michaels was. That was 28 years ago and he has only gotten better since.

5. Curt Gowdy
Maybe there wouldn't have been a Dick Enberg or an Al Michaels if it hadn't been for Curt Gowdy, whose work in the late 1960s and 1970s earned him the well-deserved tag of "the best announcer in the business.'' He had another nickname -- "Broadcast of Everything'' -- because of his ability to call any sport. He did it all, but saved his best for the World Series and Super Bowl. During the 1970s, Gowdy's football work on NBC -- calling classic showdowns involving the Raiders, Dolphins and Steelers -- helped turn football into America's favorite sport on television.

6. Dick Enberg
For a good chunk of the 1980s, Enberg seemingly called every sporting event on TV -- the baseball game of the week to the top football game each Sunday to the best college basketball games to Wimbledon to the Olympics. While he called a game, he made it sound as if there was no place he would rather be than watching this game with you. Nearly 30 years later, Enberg still can be found at many major events and he hasn't lost a step.

7. Brent Musburger
Wait, don't roll your eyes. Yes, I know Musburger has become the butt of jokes by fans and critics. But don't underestimate his work. "You are looking live at … '' has been a signature call for, don't look now, more than 30 years. And you know what? He's still around, calling ABC's top college football and basketball games, hosting big horse races, as well as major bowl games. With Musburger as host, CBS's NFL Today became the blueprint for the modern-day NFL pregame show. And, say what you will about his style, you cannot deny that Musburger sounds truly excited about whatever he is calling.

8. Chris Schenkel
A pioneer in broadcasting. He might have been the original sports "host.'' For parts of five decades, Schenkel -- with his low-key, baritone, smooth style -- called it all, but is best known for his work on college football, the NBA and the Pro Bowlers tour. He was the voice of college football before Keith Jackson. He was the voice of the NBA before Marv Albert. And you can't even think of bowling on television without thinking of Schenkel.

9. Keith Jackson
The voice of college football. If Jackson was calling the game, you knew it was the game in the country on that particular Saturday. But often forgotten is Jackson was the original play-by-play announcer on Monday Night Football and called events such as the World Series, the Indy 500, the NBA Finals, the Olympics and even a few Evel Knievel jumps. His college football work was so outstanding that it overshadowed just how versatile he was.

10. Pat Summerall
Summerall isn’t known for covering the variety of events like the others on this list. He is best known for two things: the NFL and the U.S. Open tennis tournament. He called more Super Bowls (16) than any other broadcaster. He was the voice of the NFL at a time when the NFL on TV became the phenomenon that is today. Plus, he was a former NFL player, which leads us to this statement: Summerall is, by far, the best athlete-turned-broadcaster in the history of sports or broadcasting. That's why he's on this list.