TERRY MOSHER
It’s been a busy day today, running around and getting a few things done, including sinking more money into another carrier phone switch for our teenage daughter. Why do girls cost much more than boys?
That is just a random thought from the Boneyard. Wait, I have more. Let’s start with the Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight that has taken years to schedule (it will be held May 2). People are being suckered into paying outlandish fees to see it, which is alright by me. I don’t have it against anybody for making money. But it’s a fight that has been hyped way beyond what will happen in the ring.
Clay Moyle has a story on these pages that sums up my attitude on it. These guys are over-the-hill for the fight game. Mayweather is 38 and Pacquiao 36 and that is senior age for a fighter. Besides, Mayweather will win. He’s too fast, even at his age, for Manny, and will win an easy decision.
I wish we would have seen George Foreman in his prime. Big George, who had sledgehammers for fists, retired at 28 to become a Christian pastor and 10 years later made a comeback and won the heavyweight championship at the age of 45. He finally retired for good in 1997 with a record of 76-5 with 68 knockouts.
Big George could fight. When he was younger he could win fights by just looking at his opponent. Heck, he could do that when he was in his 40s.
Speaking of hype, the Mariners are swirling in a ton of it. They are all the talk of local sports shock jock talk, with the expectation that they will win at least 90 games, make the playoffs and be in their first World Series.
Whoa. Hold your horses. There are still 162 regular-season games to be played. And anything can happen in a 162 schedule over the next six months. I used to tell some of my fellow sportswriters who were covering the team when I was that it’s difficult being a Major League Baseball player.
My fellow writers would just roll their eyes. Their answer was that these players make millions playing a kid’s game. And that is true. But if you take the time to really think about it, these guys are playing almost every day for six months. There is one stretch from late May through the first seven days of June the Mariners this season play 20 straight days, the first nine on the road, and if you don’t think that takes its toll, then you aren’t playing attention.
The guys who play this game know that if they get hurt too much there is a chance they will lose their job, so most of them play the game hurt. And you can’t help but get hurt by taking a bad bounce off the chin, getting hit in the body somewhere with a pitch, sliding into bases or making a diving catch or running into a fence while trying to run down a ball.
And how many times have you seen a player pull up with a pulled hamstring?
No, the game is difficult to play and difficult to stay in the lineup unless you have a high pain threshold.
Of course, I would prefer to play 162 straight baseball games than play one NFL game. The pro football game is brutal and very violent. They also don’t have the long-term guaranteed contracts they do in baseball.
I get a big kick out of these shock jocks talk on radio as if Felix will win 20 games for sure, that Cruz is good for at least 30 home runs, Cano will hit 25 dingers and bat over .300 while driving in over 100 runs and Seager will even be better this year. And then there are the young pitchers James Paxton and Taijuan Walker, who they say will pitch like veterans and produce 30 wins between them.
Man, the more these shock jocks talk, the more wins the Mariners get. If they continue jabbering on, the Mariners will win 117 games and break the Major League Baseball record.
Just be warned, hope springs eternal. Take what these shock jocks prattle on about with a grain of salt. If you believe all what they say about the Mariners, then go purchase a lottery ticket because there is always hope your lucky numbers will appear.
I have Kentucky winning the NCAA basketball championship. That is no surprise. I expect you also have Kentucky, along with millions of others. I have three of the four in the Final Four – Kentucky, Wisconsin and Michigan State. I have Kentucky beating Michigan State in the championship game on Monday.
Like those radio sports shock jocks, you can take my picks and with a dollar buy a lottery ticket.
I’m a little worried because Notre Dame exposed Kentucky’s defense. The Fighting Irish spread out the court and used their quickness to drive to the hoop with a lot of success. I don’t know if Wisconsin can do that when they play Kentucky tomorrow (Saturday, April 4), but it’s something to watch for early in the game.
When the NCAA Tournament started I didn’t think Duke played good enough together, especially on defense, to get far. Boy, was I wrong. Duke clamped down on Gonzaga’s two guards – Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell jr. – and that destroyed the Zags’ offense.
Michigan State should not be in the Final Four. But I picked them to get there because of coach Tom Izzo. He’s a super coach that is tougher than nails. They play exceptional defense, and will need to do so to have a chance against surprising Duke.
Good luck to you on the Final Four.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.