My Weekly Sports Journey for the week ending March 14, 2008

Are they real games or exhibitions?

When I dared to call the MLB All Star game an exhibition after Bud Selig ended the thing in a tie because it was past everyone’s bed time I was yelled at and told I didn’t know what I was talking about. Well, now I’m gonna say the same thing about all spring training games. On top of being exhibitions they are ways for managers to try out all their farm team payroll to see who is ripe for the picking when the first guy on the roster goes down to injury or goes into a slump. How do I know? The Yankees taught me. Within less than a week, Joe Girardi said that no one should have barreled into his minor league catcher in a spring training game that resulted in a broken wrist for the kid.  He further enforced my belief when he treated a filthy rich Hollywood star to the equivalent of a Make A Wish Foundation trip by inserting Billy Crystal into his starting lineup as a DH; just to show Billy some love and help him celebrate his 60^th birthday. THAT’S WHY Girardi can’t have it both ways by ordering some minor league pitcher to retaliate for the catcher’s broken wrist by throwing at someone. And the spikes-up slide by Shelly Duncan was stupid as well. So Joe…do the games mean anything or don’t they? 

John Daly finally got some tough love 

Butch Harmon, golf instructor to the stars finally said out loud what many have said privately and more often than not wouldn’t even dare to whisper about: John Daly is in trouble of killing himself by being an unrepentant drunk. Harmon who gave all props to his raw talents and his personable charm ended the short relationship with Daly after he realized that John would rather get drunk than learn to sharpen his golf game. At least that’s what he said. To further buttress that opinion, the previous week at a PGA event that yet another sponsor gave him permission to attend (he hasn’t qualified based on his performance in a couple of years) he sat out the rain delay in the Hooters tent, emerged with Jon Gruden as his caddy, told his caddy to take the afternoon off and laughed his way to a 77. The next day he shot 80 and he missed another cut. Sponsors aren’t doing him a favor or themselves for that matter by thinking that he’ll play through the weekend and draw crowds. I know that events at which Tiger doesn’t play need all the help they can get but if Daly plays as he has been plus isn’t there for the weekend, the sponsors don’t get what they want and some poor schnook on the Tour who deserves an opportunity just got hosed. Daly will only hit bottom when he runs out of money to keep living the way he has for some time now. Tim Finchem, commissioner of the PGA should be ashamed of himself for refusing to insinuate himself into this and get an intervention going with Daly’s many pals on the Tour, sponsors and whoever is left in his family. Otherwise Finchem better be writing a eulogy for the guy because this can only end one way if it isn’t stopped.

Want more? Read my Daily Dose of Duffy column at www.incidentalcontact.com and listen to me on the Sports Journey radio show on Wednesday and Friday. 

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