He Took Defeat Like A Man
Bob Costas gave a qualified endorsement to Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush on Friday, commending him for voting against the wild-card playoff system when he co-owned the Texas Rangers.
“I made my arguments and went down in flames,” Bush said after the 27-1 vote at a September 1993 owner’s meeting. “History will prove me right.”
Speaking at a symposium at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., on the future of baseball, Costas steered clear of the political aspects of the presidential race. But he contended Bush has indeed been proven correct by his vote against splitting the American and National leagues into three divisions each.
“If you could guarantee me that he would run the federal government with that level of insight, I’d call off all recounts right now,” Costas joked.
Fans have generally approved of the extra tier of playoffs, but the NBC broadcaster has remained a vocal critic.
Furthermore, we understand that Bush admitted defeat and never called for a recount.
Conspiracy theory
“Missouri football coach Larry Smith is absolutely correct when he blames the media for the team’s 2-7 record this season,” writes Bernie Miklasz in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“The media have been responsible for losing football games at Ol’ Mizzou for quite some time now. The Tigers have had only two winning records in the past 17 seasons, and it took some real courage for Smith to speak out and tell the truth rather than to fall back on the usual list of weak excuses.
“The trivial things like bad recruiting, consistently hideous special-teams play and glaringly incompetent fundamentals.”
Don’t mess with Gonzaga
University of Utah coach Rick Majerus flew to Spokane last Thursday to watch 6-foot-8 Ferris junior Sean Mallon practice. The Utah coach is not allowed to have contact with high school recruits, but made a visit to let Mallon know the Utes are out there.
Mallon is being courted by several bigtime colleges and has interest here in Spokane by Gonzaga, which would love to land the local star.
When Majerus walked through the door of the Ferris Gym, the lights went out for 20 minutes.
We didn’t know Gonzaga had that much power.
The last word …
“The Huskies have had so many preposterous fourth-quarter comebacks this year that the International Rabbit’s Foot Hall of Fame has asked that UW coach Rick Neuheisel pose for a 50-foot statue after the season.”
- Art Thiel in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, commenting on the Washington Huskies’ season.