A Whacked Wednesday Indeed

Hey Peeps and anyone else checking in. A special "Hey" goes out to the newly signed Hazel Mae.

I go away for one night, a Wednesday no less, the epitome of a Weird & Whacked Wednesday story comes to light; I am in the eye of the storm so to speak and no computer to update the happenings. For those of you who haven't been here before, Wednesday entries are used to take a look back on some of the more "interesting" stories making the headlines in the world of sports. Some of the stories fall under the category of weird - where you wonder how this could happen; some of the stories fall under the category of whacked - where you wonder what they were thinking when they did this; and the truly outstanding newsmakers and their stories fall under the category of "just plain dumb" - where you don't even try to understand it. I will let you decide where each fits.

SHOWDOWN AT BIG SKY(DOME)
As I mentioned yesterday, I was in Toronto to see the Jays and the Rangers and news broke that Shea Hillenbrand had had a confrontation with Manager John Gibbons and had been subsequently asked to leave the team - in baseball speak that "Designated for Assignment".

Hillenbrand has been unhappy as the Jays DH this year, preferring to be a full-time position player. In his initial statement, Hillenbrand ripped Jays' management for berating players and pointed to that as one of the main reasons the Jays can't win. As he continued to rip the Jays, Hillenbrand pointed to the fact that none of the team's management offered any congratulations on the adoption of his second child.

John Gibbons spoke about the incident, saying that Hillenbrand had been the author of a clubhouse board message that read "This ship is sinking". Gibbons neither confirmed or denied that he challenged Hillenbrand in front of his teammates and coaching staff.

Oh yeah, if you are wondering, yes I booed Eric Hinske - because I can't stand him and because he is the Chickenhawk's (J.P. Ricciardi) boy.

File this one under "whacked" - your team is fighting for a chance at the wild card and you are joking about a sinking ship? On the other hand, your team is fighting for a chance at the wild card and you get rid of your DH...and you want to fight him? I have to think a guy like Terry Francona would have handled this in a much better fashion. John, I know you are an "in your face kind of guy" - but Hillenbrand would have kicked your can all over that clubhouse...down boy. Speaking of Gibbons, you have to get a hold of some video of him - he sounds like Boomhauer on King of the Hill. This is pretty much the beginning of the end of the 2006 Blue Jays (even with Vernon Wells' walk off HR tonight). It's time for the folks at Rogers to say goodbye to J.P.

Unfortunately, its too late for them to bring Hazel back. A final thought on this one - they should have brought in Robbie Robertson to sing the anthem at tonight's game - Showdown at Big Sky.


WE ARE THE WORLD
The Cartel (aka FIFA) finally spoke today in the case of Marco Materazzi vs Marseille's Mad Minator. The verdict is in for single dumbest action ever to take place during a World Cup final game - and to no one's surprise the single dumbest verdict was handed down.

FIFA decided to punish both parties involved in the headbutting incident. For his part, Materazzi was fined about $5,000 and suspended for two games; so for the first time ever, a player has been fined and suspended for saying something...so now we know - no such thing as free speech in international football.

Where it gets really good is with Zidane's punishment - he was fined about $8,000 and suspended for three games. As everyone knows, Zidane retired from international football - so FIFA has accepted his offer of penance; Zidane will devote three days of his time to work with children...on behalf of FIFA.

FIFA provided no details of what was said to provoke the attack - but they did state that the remarks by Materazzi were not racist.

File this under "just plain dumb" - all the way around. The fines were a joke, especially in the case of Zidane who is a multi-millionaire and probably spends $8,000 on a suit. The suspensions were a joke too - Materazzi becomes the first player suspended for something he said, but something that no one can ever know about; and Zidane is suspended for games he will never play. I wonder if the theme song of Zidane's mission will be We Are The World - I'm sure Wacko Jacko would offer to sing a duet with him.


STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU
I mentioned yesterday that the New York Islanders fired GM Neil Smith after only 40 days on the job, and replaced him with their goalie Garth Snow. Is it just me...or does this have Mike Milbury written all over it? The fire a GM who has won a Stanley Cup, who was starting to put together a team that might compete - adding Brendan Witt, Tom Poti and Chris Simon; and replace him with a second string goalie who wanted the job. I think the person I feel bad for is Ted Nolan - a guy who should be coaching in the NHL and top get his foot back in the door his has to deal with these clowns. Can't you hear Ted singing now? "Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right..."

File this one under "whacked" - you own a team that has been a joke for well over a decade - so you try to do the right thing and hire a GM with a proven track record. The new GM makes some good acquistions and by all accounts had a good draft, and he gets fired for doing a good job. Not only does he get fired, he gets fired for a backup goalie with NO EXPERIENCE. These guys make the Bruins and Maple Leafs front offices look like geniuses. One other funny thing - during the press conference Charles Wang referred to Garth working with the management team, including Pat LaFontaine. Lafontaine resigned right after the announcement. I know Mike Milbury is behind this, the last thing he wants is for his successor to be successful.

That's about it for tonight - I've got to get on over to yahoo to see what happened there while I was gone...in other words, I have to get in a shot or two on my pal Renee before I call it a night; though lately I've been agreeing with her a lot. We are both very worried with this recent trend. Have a great one peeps.

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world. I would have posted your horoscope - but if goes poof in 30 minutes.

Song of the Night on Hazelspeeps - for the Toronto Blue Jays and "the sinking ship" - what else could it be?

Six Months In A Leaky Boat - Split Enz

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!