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03/26/2007: "Look - It's A Sports Rant!"

A rare weekend away from the computer let me do two things all too rare these days - work on my roses, and watch some sports. Both generated comments, but I'll save the roses for later ...

- I understand that not all golfers keep their tempers under control - hell, I've thrown my share of clubs. But nothing can possibly justify the stunt pulled by Sergio Garcia after missing a putt on the 13th hole Sunday at Doral. Irritated that he had just missed a putt that would have pulled him closer to eventual winner Tiger Woods, Garcia leaned over and spat into the cup. Asked about it later, he tried to dismiss the incident

"I just missed that putt and wasn't too happy,'' he said.

I'm sorry, but in a sport where players call penalties on themselves when no one else is around, this kind of childish behavior just isn't acceptable. It's not often that the PGA is called upon to discipline a player, but this is certainly one of those times. Just don't count on Commissioner Tim Finchem to do so - he's too busy kissing the asses of the players and sponsors to even think of taking on a leadership role ...

- Did you catch Colts QB Peyton Manning on Saturday Night Live? If you missed it, I'm sorry - it was hilarious. Don't get me wrong - SNL sucks and should have been cancelled a decade ago. But every once in a while, they pull out a nugget of gold and this was one of those times. From Peyton calling out his mother as the family failure for not making it in the NFL to a bogus United Way commercial with Manning berating a group of youngsters, it was a classic ...

- This weekend's NASCAR race was the first for the so-called "Car of Tomorrow" - the sanctioning body's attempt at raising safety and competition while lowering overall costs. The reviews of the COT by drivers weren't good heading into the race, but the cars seemed to perform well on the admittedly one-dimensional track at Bristol. Racing was solid, the cars held up well and those that crashed seem to protect the drivers better than the current car. They'll have to wait for a superspeedway for a real test, but most of the drivers seemed to be coming around. Most, but not race winner Kyle Busch. His comments on the car that had just taken him to victory? "They suck" ...

- After watching ESPN's crew of Mike Tirico, Tony Kornheiser and Joe Theismann try to fill the mighty big shoes left by Al Michaels and John Madden, I think we all knew there'd be changes to the Monday Night Football broadcast. Kornheiser in particular was week, with his lack of football knowledge leaving many longing for the days of Dennis Miller. So it was no surprise today when ESPN announced a change to the broadcast team. The shock was that Joe Theismann, rather than Kornheiser, would be the one replaced. Ron Jaworksi, ex-Eagles and Rams QB and an excellent studio analyst, will take Joe's spot next season. Theismann "will be offered a significant position" with ESPN - TV-speak for "the door's that way". Kornheiser is outstanding on Pardon The Interruption, but I can't imagine that trading Theismann for Jaws will make things better. Of course, if Tony was simply intimidated by Joe, then maybe ... nah!