Subways Series doesn’t deserve place in history

Jim Guthrie Jim Guthrie has trouble meeting
deadlines. If you can provide him with time management counseling,
e-mail him at [email protected].
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Ahhh, it is finally time for the October classic and all I can
smell is sewers “¦ I mean subways. Whatever, I could really
care less who wins this debauchery, but as a loyal sportswriter I
feel obliged to give my opinion on the situation.

The Subway Series is a complete and utter joke. True, the New
Yorkers did accomplish a lot by reaching the World Series. True,
they both had above average seasons and the Big Apple should be
proud. But to think this series is going to be the greatest in
history is ludicrous.

The Bottom Line: The Yankees are too good in the postseason.
They seem to always be able to find the starting pitching from
Roger Clemens or El Duque that was missing in the regular season or
they’ll finally get production from the middle of the
order.

Additionally, they own the intangibles. They seem to get clutch
hits from no-name guys like Luis Sojo or Jorge Posada, have an
unstoppable bullpen when Rivera is on fire and get carried by the
crowd in Yankee Stadium in late October “¦ good luck. A
Yankees sweep would not surprise me, but I’ll say it will go
five.

. . .

It is good to see that salaries in baseball are increasing. I
mean, if Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Carlos Delgado
hadn’t received $17 million a year through 2004 then it would
have taken even longer for baseball payrolls to get absolutely
friggin’ ridiculous. Delgado may do the unthinkable and win
the Triple Crown in two years but that $68 million will not carry
Canada to the Olympics.

So when backup catchers are making $5 million a year and a setup
man is able to afford a small country, don’t worry “¦
just Blame Canada.

. . .

The Rams lose Kurt Warner and play an uncharacteristically bad
offensive game and still put 34 points on the board.

The Bottom Line: The defense is lousy and allowed 54 points in a
Sunday loss at Arrowhead to the Chiefs. The Rams’ Pro Bowlers
on defense, Kevin Carter and Todd Lyght, need to step up or St.
Louis is going to get beaten by teams with good defenses that are
still around in January, like the Vikings or the Redskins.

Speaking of the NFL, here is a midway-through-the-season (sort
of) breakdown of the winners and losers so far:

Winners:

1) Jets ““ Vinny and the Jets are the real surprise of the
Big Apple.

2) Vikings ““ Culpepper may have been the gem QB from last
year’s draft.

3) Redskins ““ Proving owner Daniel Snyder did know what he
was doing with all that money by rattling off a five-game winning
streak.

Losers:

1) Jaguars ““ Hampered by injuries, they are now only a
game up on Bengals after dropping five in a row.

2) Bears ““ Poor Cade. That’s about it.

3) Bucs/Packers ““ These teams are supposed to be fighting
for the NFC Championship and not a .500 record.

4) Chargers ““ So bad I had to mention four. Couldn’t
keep Leaf façade up for long and now on crash course with No.
1 pick.

. . .

Patrick Roy is in the news again only a week after breaking
Terry Sawchuk’s all-time record for wins by a goalie. This
time the police answered a 911 hang-up call from his house, which
turned out to be a case of domestic violence by Roy against his
wife. This is another black eye the NHL does not need in light of
the Marty McSorely scandal.

. . .

Virginia Tech’s Michael Vick will most likely win the
Heisman in a landslide but I would like to see it given to
Oklahoma’s gutsy quarterback Josh Heupel (sorry DeShaun and
Freddie, I will still write the committee for you guys).

Heupel does not have the athletic tools of a Vick or
Clemson’s Woodrow Dantzler, doesn’t have an arm like
Purdue’s Drew Brees or FSU’s Chris Weinke, and
doesn’t account for the points of TCU’s LaDanian
Tomlinson, but he has enough moxie to lead the Sooners to a third
place ranking and possible BCS berth.

. . .

Finally, Tyson-Golota “¦ you’ve got to be kidding me.
Big oafy guy getting his butt kicked, manager losing it trying to
shove mouth guard in Golota’s mouth, post-fight melee “¦
everything we know and love in a Tyson fight.