Cheap Seats
Prof. Irwin Corey, white courtesy phone
Ellis Burks of the Rockies may have the numbers to be National League MVP but he also has critics who say those numbers are skewed by the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field. But that kind of thinking just doesn’t fly with Rockies teammate Dante Bichette.
“We aren’t going to win any Cy Young Awards in Coors Field,” he reasoned. “Shouldn’t we be eligible to win something?”
Try the N.L. West.
The blind truth test
Pepsi says it won a bidding war. Coke says it took its bottle and went home because it didn’t want to play with Shaquille O’Neal.
The flap over which cola drink will sponsor the Lakers and Kings at the Great Western Forum has more spin than a Magic Johnson bounce pass.
“They threw in the towel after they lost the fight,” Pepsi spokeswoman Alyssa Schaier charged after the latest salvo in a heated war between the cola giants over pro sports sponsorships. Last year, Pepsi bought the rights to sell its soft drink at Texas Stadium, while Coke maintained the rights to the Dallas Cowboys name and logo and answered Pepsi’s move by signing Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman.
Last week, Coke said it wouldn’t renew its five-year marketing agreement with the Lakers, Kings and the Forum and cited O’Neal as the reason.
“It makes no sense for Coca-Cola to sponsor a team whose marquee player endorses the competition,” Coke spokesman Steve Koonin said.
Pepsi officials said they had already reached a verbal agreement with the Forum when Coke issued its spin. Mark Scoggins, executive vice president of California Sports Inc., which represents the Forum and Lakers, confirmed Pepsi’s claim that the companies had come to terms prior to Coke’s announcement. He said Coca-Cola rejected two offers to sign a new sponsorship deal and submitted a counter-offer about three weeks ago - long after O’Neal signed with the Lakers.
Coke’s Robert Baskin declined to comment on Scoggins’ claim, saying he didn’t think it appropriate to comment on the specifics of the negotiations.
Especially when it’s so much easier to lie.
Jimmy Johnson, instrument for social change
In an NFL questionnaire, Miami Dolphins mahatma Jimmy Johnson was asked the one thing he would change about pro football. His answer: “Have the players play for fun and not for money.”
As if playing for Jimmy Johnson is fun.
Dr. Kevorkian, white courtesy phone
How could it get worse at Prairie View A&M than enduring a 58-game football losing streak? Well, now it appears the school may have cheated to fail so spectacularly.
Football coach and athletic director Hensley Sapenter Jr. has been suspended with pay, pending a school investigation into possible NCAA rules violations. The allegations involve the use of ineligible players in a season-opening 42-24 loss to Texas Southern.
Next they’ll tell us there was point shaving.
The last word …
“Nobody comes out to the park just to boo me.”
- Royals infielder Jose Offerman, on the difference between playing in Kansas City and L.A.
, DataTimes