Whether you love them or hate them, many have considered the New York Yankees the class of Major League Baseball for years. The “classy” Yankees reappeared in 1995, when a 20-year-old shortstop named Derek Jeter quietly came on the MLB scene and transformed himself into one of the all-time great Yankees. The early Jeter years brought championships back to New York. However, more importantly to Yankee fans, it brought back Yankee pride. Jeter is a class act.

Aside from a few Mickey Rivers-types, since the days of Joe DiMaggio et al, wearing the Yankee pinstripes took on a special meaning to most professional baseball players - and garnered a special air of respect. After 26 World Series Championships, it’s well deserved.

However, as the 2007 season progresses, one gets the feeling that the pinstripe respect-card is waning. Playing below .500 certainly doesn’t help, nor does the Jason Giambi “stuff” fiasco. But the root of the demise of Yankee pride is the ongoing saga of Alex Rodriguez. Since he first put on the pinstripes, and despite his 1995 MVP Award, A-Rod’s life as a Yankee has been nothing short of a train-wreck.

Forget his recent off-field personal life problems. During the years, the Yankees had ample off-field antics. Just read former Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton’s book, Ball Four. No, it’s the on-field sportsmanship, or lack thereof, of Rodriguez that has the Yankees “class” and “pride” designation in jeopardy. His recent episode in Toronto regarding his successful attempt to verbally confuse a fielder is only one of many episodes not befitting any professional baseball player, let alone one in pinstripes. Let’s also recall when he slapped the ball from Bronson Arroyo’s glove in the 2004 American League Championship Series. He got nabbed for that one too.

While some Yankee fans may not agree, just ask yourself … would Jeter indulge in A-Rod antics? We all know the answer to that.

Fear not Yankee fans…Rodriguez will not be wearing pinstripes much longer.

With Memorial Day upon us, we all need to take a moment and reflect.

As a Baby Boomer, I’m fortunate to have been born from parents of “The Greatest Generation.” For those unknowing, the Greatest Generation is a term used for Americans born from about 1911 to 1924. Americans who lived through the Great Depression, served in World War II and some the Korean War, and rebuilt the world’s industries.

Since my father served in World War II and received the Purple Heart (he lost an eye during the Normandy invasion), I have always had a great understanding of Memorial Day. Like many WW II Veterans, my father would never speak about the war, his injuries, or loss of comrades. However, as a child, I leaned of his experiences from a family member. While my Dad was never pleased that I gained this personal information, I will always be grateful to my Uncle for sharing what he knew about my father with me. You see, my Dad was a true hero – and knowing of his experiences helped shape my life and gave me an ever greater appreciation and love of him, as I grew from a child to a man.

So come Memorial Day, I always take time to reflect on its meaning. However, since the National Holiday Act of 1971, I fear most think of it as just another 3-day weekend. Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, is supposed to be a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. Unfortunately, over time, I fear its tradition has been ignored and neglected.

With most of the Greatest Generation deceased, it’s our generation’s responsibility to keep the true meaning of America’s greatest holiday alive. Maybe we should begin by pushing for recognition of a Senator Daniel Inouye bill. On January 19, 1999 Senator Inouye introduced bill S 189 to the Senate which proposes to restore the traditional day of observance of Memorial Day back to May 30th instead of “the last Monday in May” – and not allow it as part of the Holiday Act and a 3-day weekend. By the way, Senator Inouye is not only a member of the Greatest Generation, but also the recipient of America’s highest military accolade – the Medal of Honor.

If nothing else, let’s start by recognizing the resolution, “National Moment of Remembrance,” passed in December 2000. In short, the resolution asks that at 3pm on Memorial Day, we voluntarily observe (in our own way) a Moment of remembrance and respect.

Thanks Dad.

“I don’t know if [Mike Vick] was fighting dogs or not, but it’s his property, it’s his dog. If that’s what he wants to do, do it. I think people should mind their business. … It can’t be too bad of a crime.”

This was a sampling of the idiocy that dribbled from the mouth of Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis on Monday, as he so chivalrously defended the Atlanta Falcons quarterback, who owns a residence suspected of playing host to a dog fighting ring. Apparently that memo about the NFL cracking down on criminal behavior didn’t reach the nation’s capitol. Figures.

Before going on, I should come clean. For most of my life, my family’s been privy to the companionship of man’s best friend(s). When I was 10, my birthday present was Jake - a black Lab, who was my best buddy through adolescence and those awkward teen years. After that, we got Molly. Along the way came their son, Mickey.

Just about the saddest day of my life was the day we put Jake to sleep. Just about the saddest movie I’ve ever seen was Old Yeller.

Basically, I’m a dog kinda guy.

I think people, who in any way involve themselves with or condone dog fighting, are criminals and cowards. Sickening human beings, basically. Portis might be a helluva running back and Vick might be a helluva quarterback, but character, compassion and decency are certainly lacking with these two.

Dog fighting is disgusting and deplorable. It’s not boxing or mixed-martial arts, it’s not a fight. It’s animals, pitted against each other by men with dollar signs and bloodlust dancing through their heads, killing each other.

To allow such an act to occur shows a lack of compassion and respect for animals I can’t fathom. I understand there’s different cultures, there’s different beliefs. Some believe bull fighting is glorious. I think it’s legalized slaughter sprinkled with false bravery. Here in the good ole US of A, dog fighting is a crime, though. And with the NFL’s recent run of punishment, I’m hoping for Jake, Molly, Mickey and every pit bull that was only uncaged to fight for its life, that the NFL, right along with law enforcement, comes up with a fit punishment.

From everything I’ve ever heard or read, punishments involving crimes against animals aren’t all that steep. They’re just animals, after all. A rooster here, a pit bull there. Just animals who have no choice in life, but to react to the situations that immoral deviants put them into.

“In the recent interview I gave concerning dog fighting, I want to make it clear I do not take part in dog fighting or condone dog fighting in any manner,” Portis later said in a statement.

It was as if, like many an athlete before him, he let the media know the truth, and, after a stern behind-the-scenes talking to, scrambled to take back the words that had already revealed his true feelings. He didn’t agree with his coach’s play calling. He didn’t think the defense was holding up its end. But this isn’t anything like that. This isn’t about being a bad teammate or a bad role model, it’s about being a bad person.

Plain and simple.

I just read an interesting piece by Daniel Kaplan published in SportsBusiness Journal regarding the upcoming Super Bowl bid-process. Dan, who is also a contributor to www.HOFmagazine.com, tells us the Super Bowl selection committee is about to meet in Nashville to vote on the host site of the 2011 Super Bowl. The considerations include Dallas, Indianapolis, and back to Arizona. Take a look, it’s an interesting read.

Here’s my take … where? Whatever happened to the mind-set that Super Bowls belong in warm weather cities? While games might not be effected because of domes, what about the fans and the week-long parties?

Dallas? I’ve been there in the winter and have experienced some of the worst ice-storms ever. Indy? Great sports town, which hosts the NCAA and National Federation of High Schools corporate offices, but again, a bit chilly in February … ya think? Arizona? Warm, but…

The Super Bowl is more than a game - it’s an event - especially for those attending the game. If it were up to me, the game would always be played in San Diego, LA, Miami, or New Orleans - the ultimate Super Bowl party-city.

So, forget those cold-weather cities, and please … be sure to always keep our game in America.

My favorite sites…San Diego and New Orleans.

It’s that time of the year again when baseball traditionalists look at the calendar and wonder why the Yankees are playing the Mets, the Red Sox playing the Braves, the Cubs playing the White Sox, and the Dodgers playing the Angels. Where did the summer go? Is it October already?

Get with it you old-timers. Put away your slide-rule…it’s that time of the year again for baseball’s Interleague play. You know – that Bud Selig idea of shedding baseball tradition and the senior circuit plays those junior-circuit guys long before any World Series tickets are printed. Since the All-Star game lost its luster, Bud must have thought he needed to reinvent the game rather than preserve its history.

Okay, so I like the DH rule. I’m not a purist. But I have no interest of watching National League teams come into Fenway Park and play “small ball.” Nor do I like to watch American League pitchers hitting in NL parks. American League teams aren’t built to play National League rules. However, any team can throw a DH into their lineup and play AL rules.

However, more importantly, I’d prefer having the Tigers, White Sox, or Angels come to town more often rather than watching those Punch-and-Judy-hitters from that AAAA League (Yes, the NL is only a step above AAA Baseball right now).

So, where do you stand? Do you enjoy Interleague play, or has it too lost its luster? It’s been with us since 1997…and it’s “here to stay,” said Selig during an interview this week at Fenway Park. Spare me.

And to think, we have to do it all over again from June 8 through June 24!

So…Yea or Nea?

“The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

“The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.” – William James

“Wisdom is knowing what to do next, virtue is doing it.” – David Starr Jordon

Wisdom and the NBA…now there’s a new oxymoron. Where was the wisdom in the decision made by Stu Jackson, NBA VP of Basketball Operations, when handing out suspensions in the aftermath of the altercation in the Suns-Spurs game?

After the hit on Steve Nash by Robert Horry in game four, Jackson handed out a 2-game suspension to Horry, and 1-game suspensions for both Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for “leaving the immediate vicinity of their bench,” as the rule states.

Recalling a famous line from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid… “Rules? In a knife fight? No rules.”

Rules in the playoffs? Are they really the same as rules in the regular season? Should they be? C’mon Stu, this is one of the most highly-contested playoff series in recent memory. What are you thinking? As stated above, “the art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.” Where was the wisdom in your decision?

The intent of the “leaving the immediate vicinity of their bench” rule was meant to deter confrontations. There was no confrontation from Stoudemire or Diaw. This is now a best of three playoff series, and the outcome may have just been determined by guys in suits.

The NBA may have just shot themselves in the foot. They put rules in a knife fight.

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” – Socrates

I’m a huge basketball fan. I admit that. As a kid, it was my favorite sport to play. And being a Celtics fan, it was always a treat to watch back then, too. I was lucky to attend Jacksonville University during its basketball hey-day watching Artis Gilmore play Coach Wooden’s UCLA Bruins for the NCAA Championship. I was also fortunate to become the head basketball coach at my high school for a number of years. So, as I write about basketball and hockey, there is indeed a bias.

However, at one time, hockey was an important part of my sports-life. No, I didn’t play, but like many New Englanders in the mid-60’s, I became transfixed on the sport thanks to an 18-year-old kid named Bobby Orr. I’m sure antenna sales in New England hit an all-time high in 1966. They were on every home’s roof so we could watch the Bruins and their young phenomenon. (You younger people – ask your parents what an antenna is.)

My enjoyment of watching hockey, especially playoff hockey, was so intense that in 1972 while in Jacksonville, Florida, a few college buddies and I drove to Daytona Beach to find a bar so we could watch the Bruins play the Rangers in the playoffs (because the local Jacksonville station wasn’t showing it). Now, the one-hour plus drive south was no big deal, but try walking into a Daytona Beach bar in 1972 and convincing them to put on a hockey game! Know what I mean? It was one of my greatest college accomplishments.

So, what’s my point? It’s this … what the hell has happened to hockey? I no longer watch the Bruins – and, I couldn’t even tell you who’s in the NHL Playoffs. To be honest, I’m not a big regular-season NBA fan either, but I watch as many NBA Playoff games as I can.

Does the NHL need new leadership? Has the game been too diluted with teams in cities that are not hockey towns? Did the new rules make the game too boring?

I hope you die-hard hockey fans can enlighten me. What went wrong and what needs to be done to bring it back?

Or, is it too late?

Curt Schilling and Barry Bonds. Two names that evoke a myriad of emotions. Whether you like or dislike either, the media should love them both, as sports enthusiasts eat up the fodder they provide.

In the case of Schilling, his recent remarks on WEEI, a Boston sports talk-radio station, about Bonds being a “confessed cheater” has all in the media running to their outlets to feed their sheep. I am no different. But what makes this newsworthy? We all know, or at least assume, Bonds is guilty of cheating the game. He even admitted to taking the “cream” or “clear” albeit saying it was “unknowingly.” Maybe it was Curt adding the remarks about Bonds “cheating on his taxes” or “cheating on his wife” that has our attention.

However, I’m confused, is the story Bonds or Schilling? It should be Bonds, as he approaches baseball’s most cherished record. A record-breaking event that has the baseball elite looking the other way. Aaron has stated he will not be in attendance, and MLB Commissioner, Bud Selig, is looking to hide. Unless you’ve been devoured by the UFC phenomenon, you know the Bonds story all-too-well, so it appears that Schilling is the soup-de-jour.

While I understand why fans may dislike Schilling, as he often speaks his mind for self-promoting reasons, I’m confused as to why some of my media colleagues disdain him. On one hand, we hate it when athletes give scripted, canned, boring answers to our redundant questions – then we (or some) bury the athletes who provide their honest opinion and give us interesting material to write. To challenge their opinion is fine, but to attack them personally for providing it…is hypocritical.

In the case of Schilling on Bonds, I think it’s refreshing to hear a prominent player finally give an honest opinion. However, my challenge to Curt is – where were you in the Congressional Hearings? Did MLB or the Player’s Association put a muzzle on you? If so, fess-up.

Now that would be a story.

Gas in California has approached $4 per gallon this week, despite the fact that Exxon reported $36.1 billion in profit last year. That’s $1,144 per second.

Pharmaceutical companies continue to charge $15,000 per year, per patient, for AIDS medication that costs them $375 to manufacturer.

George Tenet appears on 60 Minutes, Meet the Press, and any outlet that will have him to expose the Weapons of Mass Destruction misinformation on his watch that led us into the war in Iraq. Although he wasn’t man enough to come clean when honesty might cost him his job, his guilt will now be assuaged by about $3 million in profits from his book on the same topic. Meanwhile, Americans continue to die.

OJ is free, Robert Blake is free, Michael Jackson is free, and Phil Spector will soon be free.

Paris Hilton, however, is heading to jail for two months.

I’ll sleep a lot better tonight knowing the system works.

I gotta tell ya: All the choreographed PR plays in the world and all hope that springs eternal now with Yankee fans, does not for one minute buy Roger Clemens an ounce of heartfelt excitement with me. I know the Yankees gave him $18 million reasons to come back. I know he’s one of the greatest ever to pull on a uniform (by the way, how many is that now?). I know he’s a sure-fire, first-time Hall of Famer. But for the love of God, can’t he just ride off into the Texas sunset and stay there?
Who knows? Maybe he snores at night? Maybe he leaves the toilet seat up? Maybe Mrs. Clemens finally had enough and forced him out of the house and back into the game? What I do know is we are all now subjected to at least one more tearful, heartfelt, (I really, really mean it this time) goodbye. And that makes me want to cry.