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Dec. 15, 2005 1) For those who think that the execution of Stanley “Tookie” Williams was justice served, just remember that Darrell Mease and Susan Smith are still alive. 2) And for those of the equally naïve who believe that Stan Van Gundy wants to spend more time with his family, his “resignation” as head coach of the Miami Heat has long since been planned. Some time ago, Pat Riley made the comment that he’d like to get back into the day-to-day operations of the team. Translation—he wanted to coach again, but was waiting for the right time to pull the trigger. Last season, Miami muscled and ran its way to 59 wins under Van Gundy’s watch and a berth in the Eastern Conference Finals. This season, the Heat struggled out of the gate, losing four straight games to drop to 10-10 before beating Washington in overtime this past Sunday. Riley pulled the trigger. But will Riley’s presence be enough to put a veteran Miami team into the NBA Finals? Many people seem to think so. Riley was the reason that backup center Alonzo Mourning left Charlotte in his prime. And word is that Shaquille O’Neal is the real reason Riley has taken the reins now. But the Heat still have to contend with the defending conference champion Detroit Pistons, as well as Cleveland, Indiana, Milwaukee and Philadelphia—all teams that are hungry for a piece of the playoff pie. Of the members of the Future Four—the NBA expansion class that included the Heat, the Hornets, the Magic and the Timberwolves—the Heat has suffered the most frustration in its quest to reach the NBA Finals. Not getting there again this year, after all this hoopla and scheming, will only add fuel to that unquenched fire. 3) TV Guide and TV Land recently presented The 100 Most Unexpected TV Moments. The list appeared in the December 5-11 edition of the magazine, and clips were shown over five nights on television (and likely will be rerun all month). The one moment I wish I had seen when it happened was Moment 87, the night that Susan Lucci finally won that elusive Emmy Award. Better yet, I wish I had been there to give it to her. Susan Lucci is regarded as one of the classiest people in television. And time hasn’t made her any less easy on the eyes. In fact, for those hale and hearty enough for the challenge, I’ve written a quiz about Ms. Lucci and her Emmy frustrations, on one of my favorite websites, FunTrivia.com. Play the quiz, if you dare, at http://www.funtrivia.com/quizdetails.cfm?quiz=168300. 4) Memo to Saints’ owner Tom Benson: Instead of threatening to move the team to Los Angeles or San Antonio, consider Baghdad. The presence of Americans there will only intensify in the coming years, and the city would provide a market ripe for professional sports. With a city population of 5.7 million, it has nearly 2 million more people than Los Angeles, and with Al Jazeera Sports on board as a regional broadcast partner, the NFL could make serious inroads into a market that doesn’t know what real football is. Of course, moving the Saints that far away would require some divisional realignment. Ideally, the Dallas Cowboys would leave their longtime home in the NFC East to join Atlanta, Carolina and Tampa Bay in the NFC South, and the Saints would have new rivalries with the Eagles, Giants and Redskins. That means that on their annual eight-game road trip back to the Lower 48, the Saints would have to visit Washington. Figure it like this: If the move fails, Benson can always blame it on faulty intelligence. ------------ About the author: Claxton Graham has written a number of articles for Useless Knowledge. He works as a business systems analyst. Email: scifiwriter8502@email.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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