Bye Bye Willie
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 08:16PM This blog is about politics, the presidency, and occasionally PR. And very very occasionally, sports.
But two big event this week. First, Tiger Woods won his third U.S. Open and 14th major, leaving him four short of Jack Nicklaus' career record of 18. Given his surgically repaired knee and lack of practice the past two months, it was one of the most remarkable feats in golf -- arguably sports -- history.
Tiger Woods is a gladiator, plain and simple. He knows one speed: winning. He has the most indomitable spirit to win this side of Michael Jordan, and not even the risk of further injuring his knee could stop him. Tiger practically willed himself to beat Rocco Mediate, though it was clear he was in agony. In a career marked by mind-numbing heroics, this was one for the ages.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, my beloved Mets fired their manager, Willie Randolph. On the road. At 3:15 in the morning. After a victory. After letting him twist in the wind for a month. Whether he deserved to get axed is open for debate, but the way the Mets handled it is not. Willie Randolph is a classy and proud man, and he deserved better than a midnight massacre. This could have been handled 100 different ways, and 99 of them would have been better.
Reader Comments (11)
I totally agree, & Omar Minaya is gutless.
While I believe a change neded to be made(after all you can't fire 24 players) I agree that the way it was handled was bush league and embarresing.
Agree - poor taste/disgraceful sportsmanship by Mets management. What? No photo of Willie with his packed bags, heading to LAX at 1:30 a.m.?
I think they should make Moises Alou the manager; that way, at least he'll be on the field this year.
or in the dugout - whatever
At least Steinbrenner did it in prime time, not 3:15 in the morning. Mets are classless ...
I agree with you FTR. Steinbrenner did it in prime time.The Mets organization is Classless!!!!
Man, I miss the good ol days of Doc and Darryl doing pre and post game lines, Saberhagen shooting bleach from a watergun, Vince Coleman throwing firecrackers in the parking lot, and Bobby Bo threatening reports. Where have you gone, George Foster?
Oh please! A classy and proud man wouldn't hock Subway Sandwiches while his team slid into the toilet. I love Mets fans. They moan about Willie and then when he gets the axe, they moan about how it was handled. I sort of like the Mets management approach; but here's how I would have handled it. Check it.
Willie is sleeping in bed dreaming about what tomorrow's post will be on Nick.Ragone.com. He's got his pink footsies on because his little toe gets cold at night. At 3 am, BAM, his door is kicked open, the nWo theme song is blarring, smoke enters the room just as the two Mets owners fly into the room dressed as Ninja's wielding socks filled with quarters. They mercilessly beat Willie down without making a sound, because, if you remeber earlier, these are ninjas we're talking about. Dazed and confused, Willie does what any recently fired person would do - does a little dance in the name of french fries, cause they so good.
more proof that this is the year of the Cubs
It was announced today that Tiger will have surgery to repair a torn ACL. To think he won the Open with a torn ACL and a stress fracture in his left fibia is mind boggling.
This is from the associated press... the last sentence sums up Tiger's will to win perfectly:
"Woods revealed Wednesday he has been playing for at least 10 months with a torn ligament in his left knee, and that he suffered a double stress fracture in his left leg two weeks before the U.S. Open. He said he will have season-ending surgery, knocking him out of the final two majors and the Ryder Cup.
Out of competition for two months because of April 15 surgery to clean out cartilage in his left knee, he suffered a double stress fracture in his left tibia two weeks before the U.S. Open.
Hank Haney, his swing coach, was with him in Florida when doctors told Woods the preferred treatment was three weeks on crutches, followed by three weeks of rest.
According to Haney, Woods looked at the doctor and said: "I’m playing the U.S. Open, and I’m going to win."