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By now you’ve all heard about President Bush throwing out the first pitch for the Washington Nationals-Atlanta Braves opening day game. Some say he was welcomed with boos, some say cheers.. With the mess in Iraq and the current state of the economy, I’m pretty sure they were booing, but I wasn’t there. Luckily people with cameras were there but even they don’t tell the same story.

President Bush Gets Booed Throwing Out First Pitch:

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Michigan’s loss, at home, to Appalachian State is obviously the story of the week, and possibly the story of the year in college football. I had no rooting interest in the game, but I couldn’t help pulling for ASU. I’m sure they’re still screaming “We Beat Michigan“.

Joining Michigan in the hanging it up for the season category are Tennessee and Florida State. I didn’t have either squad challenging for the national title, and the 0-1 starts kill any hopes they had… But at least FSU lost AT Clemson and the Vols lost AT Cal.

MLB

Maybe this chick is a good luck charm for the Mets. The NYMs swept Atlanta, and then they welcomed Pedro Martinez back to the the team. Martinez picked up his 3000th strikeout and his first win of the season during his 5 inning outing on Monday.

The NL Central and West are the home to the only divisional races. The Cubs lead the Brewers by a game and a half and the Cardinals by two games. Chi-town will hold on to win the division, even if they can’t get Zambrano going. San Diego leads the west by a game over Arizona, and I’m taking the leader again. As a matter of fact, I’m taking all the leaders across the board… The divisions, the wildcards, everything. The playoffs are set in my book.

GOLF

I didn’t think it was possible, but the FedEx Cup is kinda interesting. Phil Mickelson balled (Are golfers ballers?) and held off Tiger Woods to win the Deutsche Bank Championship. The victory moved Phil back to the #2 spot in the world rankings and #1 overall in the PGA playoffs. I’m glad to see somebody trying to hang with Mr. Woods, but if Phil skips next week’s event in Chicago, the FedEx Cup is back to being a joke.

3 NEW SITES TO CHECK OUT
DCScrap of Our Book of Scrap took it there with Hot Celebrity Asses. Trust me, the name says it all.

The dude I refer to as Tyrone Biggums started New Jersey Drive’s. It’ll be Yankees/Jets heavy so check out the fantasy rankings while you still can.

Definitely peep the new hoops blog Plissken at the Buzzer. It’s basketball from a West Coast perspective.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAhZzF0rIVU&mode=related&search=]

Here’s another YouTube gem.. I was searching for Otis Nixon’s incredible catch he made against the Pittsburgh Pirates back in the early 90s. I swear he ran 400 yards and then jumped 22 feet in the air to make the catch.. At least that’s how I remember it in my advanced age.

What I ended up with is a home shopping network wannabe video with a couple of guys slangin some Otis Nixon baseball cards. You gotta love their energy and enthusiasm, and the crawl at the bottom is a must read. I was a little disappointed that they never gave out the number so I could call in and get my Otis Nixon card.. Everybody knows that “Otis Nixon says character and beauty”.

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Another week, another Jesse inserting himself into something story. This time the reverend’s Rainbow-Push Coalition is going after the Atlanta Braves. The RPC is upset with the lack of black players on the Atlanta roster, so they requested a meeting with Braves gm John Schuerholz.. and they got it. The Rainbow-Push Coalition’s Southern Regional Director Joe Beasley and Director of Sports Joe Clinkscale had a 2 hour meeting with Schuerholz, assistant gm Frank Wren and 3 other Braves officials. Beasley isn’t pleased with the situation:

“The team slipped … down to [no African-Americans]; it wasn’t something that just happened. I think it was a lack of diligence on the part of the Braves to recruit African-American players. There’s not diminished enthusiasm for African-Americans playing baseball. It’s simply the opportunity hasn’t presented itself.”

I couldn’t agree with Mr. Beasley less. The lack of blacks in Major League Baseball has been well reported. If brothas aren’t playing baseball, who the hell are the Braves supposed to put on the roster? It would be one thing if the Braves had a lot of black players in the minors and were refusing to bring them up to the majors, but that’s not the case. African-Americans are playing football and basketball. Case closed.

If the Coalition or any other group wants to search for the reason blacks are shying away from baseball, they should start at the bottom instead of the top. You have to grow the players from the ground up which means starting with the kids. People can argue that the inner cities are too poor to support baseball, but I’ve heard a million stories about Latin born players using milk cartons for gloves and sticks for bats. I’ve seen kids in America playing basketball with a dodgeball and an imaginary hoop. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

If I was asked why aren’t more blacks playing baseball I would offer these uneducated opinions. A lot of the youngins consider the sport boring, baseball scholarships aren’t the bizness, and baseball hasn’t exactly had the best relationships with it’s black players. Jackie Robinson had to go through hell crossing the color line, Hank Aaron was receiving death threats when he was approaching the Babe’s homerun record, Reggie Jackson (as a Yankee) had problems with his teammates and manager due to his skin color, and now the perceived bias against Barry Bonds. Plus, if you watch any tv you’ll see people of color getting ad deals through football and basketball, but rarely through baseball. 

I’m not even sure what all of the hubbub regarding the lack of black players is all about. If blacks are choosing not to play baseball what’s the big deal? If blacks are being held out of baseball that’s a big story. I’m also from the school that believes there are plenty of blacks playing baseball, it’s just that most of them happen to speak spanish. I know those people are technically considered Latinos, but like I always say, if the police are looking for a 6′ 4″, 200+ pound black suspect, David Ortiz is getting harrassed just like Keyshawn Johnson. My final ruling.. the Rainbow-Push Coalition is way off base.

Braves meet with Rainbow/Push officials. Courtesy of The Atlanta Journal Constitution

Green behind decline of blacks in baseball. Courtesy of CNN Money

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Remember when I asked “Where The Hell Is Willy Aybar?”? Well, we have our answer.. And it’s not a good one. According to Aybar’s agent, Luis Valdez, Willy is in Boston battling substance abuse and trying to get his life on track. Initially Valdez had said that Willy Aybar was fighting drinking and drugs. He changed his story up a bit, saying he didn’t know if his client was involved with anything outside of alcohol. Valdez went on to say:

“It’s a situation where he doesn’t want anybody to help him. He’s embarrassed for himself, for his family.”

I don’t have anything witty or sarcastic to say about this situation. I just hope Willy Aybar can get off or over whatever he’s dealing with and on the Braves bench again.

Where The Hell is Willy Aybar? Swacked from You Been Blinded

Agent: Suspended Aybar Has Substance Issue. Swacked from the Atlanta Journal Constitution via the Baseball Think Factory’s Baseball Primer Newsblog by way of Ball Hype

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You’re probably sayin hey H, WHO the hell is Willy Aybar? so let me tell ya… He’s a back-up infielder for the Atlanta Braves. Besides having the distinction of hoping Chipper Jones gets hurt, Aybar has become the first Atlanta Brave suspended since John Rocker… People should have goals..Goals are good. One of your goals should be “Never be the first ANYTHING since John Rocker”.. Don’t be the first the first racist since, don’t be the first Atlanta Brave since, hell, don’t be the first guy to walk into 7-11 since John Rocker.

With that being said, what makes Willy Aybar so special is that he was already on the dl (disabled list, not the down low.. I mean, he could be on the down low but for now I’m just talking about the disabled list) with a sore hand. He decided not to show up for treatment on Saturday or Sunday.. Not even a phone call. His presence on the team is certainly missed. Ask Chipper Jones:

“I didn’t even know he was still on the team.”

Since Aybar has been mildly productive in the League, 60+ rbi the last 5 seasons and 10+ homers 4 of the last 5, Braves’ gm John Schuerholz isn’t sure if more actions will be taken.

“I don’t think you can say that because the guy got suspended he’s not a good guy.”

I don’t know what kind of guy he is. I can’t find him to ask him.

Willy Aybar AWOL From Braves. Courtesy of The Atlanta Constitution Journal

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