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07/05/2006: "The Sports Rant"
I enjoyed a long 5-day weekend, so I won't pretend to remember all the sports that happened. But, much like a putrified body at the bottom of a lake, some things bubble to the surface ... 
- Tony Stewart learned the hard way at Daytona that if you decide to climb the fence and go crowd surfing after you win the race, you need to know the way back to the track ...
- Amazing to see the number of contenders that were knocked out in the quarterfinals. Both England and Brazil looked flat once again, only this time it cost them. Was glad to see the Germany-Italy match decided without PKs ... the winner put in at the 119th minute was a thing of beauty - especially after 2 hours!
- Speaking of contenders knocked out, who are those guys on bikes in France and what did you do with all the contenders? If it's not doping, it's injury, and now Alexander Valverde is out with a broken collarbone. Thought it was sweet to see George Hincapie in yellow for a day - wish it could have lasted. Oh, and has anyone seen Floyd Landis? He's about the only favorite left, but I haven't heard his name mentioned once in the first few days.
- I fear the bubble may have burst for my beloved Florida Marlins, as they got back-to-back bitchslappings from the Red Sox and Nationals. On the bright side, we got two on the All-Star squad - Miguel Cabrera (expected) and Dan Uggla (totally unexpected). Dan Uggla? I'm not the Elias Bureau, but I'll bet it's been a long time since a Rule 5 Pick made the ASG as a rookie ...
- Once again, Michelle Wie got close in a major. Everyone else is saying how great she is and how it's just a matter of time, but I agree with Skip Bayless (something I never thought I'd do), who believes she's paying the price now for not playing more with her peers in the past. Tiger and Annika all learned how to close out events and win by dominating their peers at all levels - junior, college, etc. When their time came to step onto the big stage, they already knew how to win. Michelle has all the talent in the world - maybe more than the other two - but her only real win is the Women's Publinx a few years back. Her talent keeps putting her into position to win, but her lack of closing experience - and a balky putter - keep her from hoisting the cup. Don't worry, she'll get there. But it'd be nice to see the press stop kissing her ass as a 16-yr old prodigy and hold her to the same scrutiny as those whe wants to compete with ...
