Steve J. Rogers

First of all. I want to see what happens when Charles Dolan is asked to sell the Rangers, ditto with the Flyers, Red Wings, Maple Leafs, ect Second, that means you are buying all of the teams for what, 100 mil each? Give me a break. Again teams like the Red Wings are worth much more. Plus do you REALLY think the owners of the Rangers are going to give up the Rangers, part of the whole Madison Square Garden conglomeriate? (with the Knicks, the building itself (which means they could very well kick the new owners out the the Garden) and the network along with other enities) Third, okay, so that means there really isn't much integrity because since one person owns all the teams, that means the cities he thinks will do well, will do well no matter what, and the rest of the league will be in the crapper This is essentially a complete publicity stunt, I am SHOCKED that they even rated getting a meeting with the NHL Steve

That may have been the "official" start of the booking of the feud and the promo was just a way of reintroducing DBS in WCW, just so happened that Mongo was the other guy in both segments Who knows... I just always liked that quote "You could be that bone" and it just stuck with me Don't ask me why Mongo was the "go to guy" to ask about all these new talent coming into WCW at the time... Steve

I thought it was started during a Mean Gene interview with Mongo and Mongo going off on all the new talent coming from all over and DBS comes out and says "I need a bone to chew on. You could be that bone" or something like that

Hey not that there was anything wrong with that They just didn't have a darn thing for them to do other than realize "Hey you know neither Benoit or Angle are on this card?" At least thats better than some of the reasons for feuds listed In fact, whatever happened to just plain "THEY HATE EACH OTHER" buildups Steve

I wonder how much different the XFL would have been if they just shot for the Arena league at first. Nothing fancy (well in terms of gunning for the NFL) just trying to be better than the AFL All parties just gave up too quickly Though I love it when people try to remeber it as a "Failed TV Show" as opposed to a "Failed Sports League" such as TV Guide last year (or so) put it on the list of worse TV shows of all time. If that was the case, the failed "Baseball Network" from MLB was a far worse experiment than what the XFL tried to push. Heck "Monday Night Baseball" an ABC spinoff of "Monday Night Football" deserves listing Steve

I've been telling friends of mine to check out my column at InsidePulse.com but it seems that their browsers will not let them on the site due to all the spyware and adware crap that is associated with the ads. This probably is due to their work venues (Universities (A professor's office PC) financial institutions, a DA office, ect), blocking such content on their machines Is there a way I can send them a safe link without cutting and pasting my column into the email or sending them a document? Thanks Steve

Just did a column for InsidePulse.com where I listed my top 5 disgraces in sports history, check out the link in my sig for further commentary but basically in no particular order I went with: The cancellation of the entire 2004-2005 NHL season The 1919 Black Sox The MLB Color Line Murder of 11 Israeli athletes, Munich 1972 Baseball not playing the World Series in 1994 Great topic to think about Steve

Got a few here in NYC: Tom Keegan of 1050ESPN Radio is a long time anti-stat pro-look with your own eyes sports writer decided to declare the "Moneyball Era" over after Theo Epstein and Paul DePodesta made their deadline moves this summer. Basically getting Mientkiewicz and Cabera and unloading Nomar meant to Keegan that the Redsox were getting away from the "defense is overrated, obtain a rotissere lineup" way of thinking as well as the mistake of trading LoDuca and Mota for Penny and Choi, even though it was CRYSTAL CLEAR that the deal was made thinking Charles Johnson and Randy Johnson were "signed, sealed, and delivered" showed that the Dodgers were making a "Moneyball" type deal in giving up proven "team character guys" for guys who "just put up numbers" was enough to declare Moneyball officially DEAD! Same radio show had Keegan's host Wally Mathews pull a hamstring back-peddling on the Mets trades at the deadline. As the trades were coming down he was all "I don't know Kasmir, I don't know Peterson, I know Benson, and Zambrano is also a Major Leaguer." Basically same spin he has whenever talking trades, get the proven guy for the unproven guy. Well that was on Friday, the Monday after, after Benson had a bad first start and the entire weekend was full of Met fans upset over trading the best pitching prospects, a very good catching prospect, and a valued MLBer for a guy with a history of arm troubles and a seemingly .500 at best hurler who could walk away after the season, Mathews was all "I was wrong! Lets unload all the veterans now in waiver wire deals!"s Be consistant would ya! And don't get me started on his rants against people he doesn't like (Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling, the Dolans, ect) And don't get me started on Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, I could devote an entire thread on him! Steve

Actually thats more urban legend that got a rise on the fan boy circut and pretty soon even Shatner and the Trek Powers That Be bought into it through the years Hence Will Riker on TNG was the one that really made out with everything that moved Steve

I'm not talking about sheep-like tendancies, (i.e. cheering for the Bushwackers) or certain cities acting "smarkish" (i.e. Philly in ECW's heyday) I mean just doing things that totally surprised you Actually one that really had me shaking my head was Royal Rumble 2000, before Kurt Angle's match at MSG he ran down Patrick Ewing and the crowd lustly booed him. That had me wondering how many of those fans actually KNEW anything about the Knicks and the Patrick Ewing era as Ewing was hated by the time he left for never winning a championship. In other words, had the crowd been full of Knick fans, Angle would have been cheered for those comments! Steve

The entire episode of Three's Company revolved around some sort of "mis-understanding"

Believe it or not this, and wheiher or not its a good thing that no one on the Yankees came to ARod's defense has been a major topic on sports radio in New York City the last week and a half. Very bizzare in a "Uh, why do we care about this" kind of way Steve

Explain to me what just happened? Suddenly the players realized "Hey we ought to be playing" and Gretzky is spouting off that the Cup ought to be played for so one last ditch effort to salvage something And what happens? Sounds like the owners are more concerned about 05-06! No progress, no new proposals, no new talks scheduled. 6 HOURS and it came to THAT? RIP NHL's casual fan base here in the States. Good luck guys because NASCAR, Golf and Tennis have climbed up ahead of you Steve

Didn't they do that with Stephanie McMahon when she was still a "pure girl next door" babyface when she was describing how HHH and D-X pretty much raped her after the "wedding" I think the crowd also did that when Steph was describing how Undertaker treated her during the "Black Wedding" arc Maybe THATS why she turned her character heel! No one thought she was pulling off the "sweet innocent girl next door" act Steve

Yup I searched all I could but Yahoo's are as far back as batter vs. hitter splits goes it appears. Best I can come up with is Orlando Cabrera has the most at bats (17) against Randy Johnson without striking out. Oh and Mike Marshall lead the Majors in 1984 with three homeruns when there was a full moon. Hint, his last at bat against Ryan was probably during the 1988 season. Very well known player for anyone older than 20 And here is another stumper, who was the last Major Leaguer to hit .400 in a single season with over 100 at bats Steve Fernando Valenzuela, Former Dodger pheonom, was all the rage during his hot rookie year of 1981 with "Fernando-mania" running wild in LA. Had a decent career for himself, but flamed out soon after his torrid start (kind of like Hideo Nomo's MLB career actually) was the guy with most ABs against Ryan with no Ks And Bob Halze, a spare part Outfielder, for the 1957 Braves (curtosity of Baseball-Reference.com) hit .403 in 134 ABs Steve

I just started a gig at insidepulse.com as a Q&A guy, column isn't up yet, but I'd like to start fielding some questions so I can build a second column! Much like Leonard's (WrestleDeacon) at 411 movie column, this is what I'd hope to be an FAQ style column. So feel free to email me at [email protected] so I can get the ball rolling First, however are some ground rules: -I love lists, but limit lists to between 5 and 10, and make them interesting. Sure I can rattle off the greatest running backs of all time, but a more interesting way to ask is Top 5 I would want to win the ultimate game with, or Top 5 biggest RB busts for example. -Keep away from minutia of stats. I truly hope that readers don’t want to see me rattle off the top 20 three point scorers in NBA history, or try to research an obscure stat like who hit the most homers in the month of June, 1984 when there was a full moon. There are stuff I’d be more than happy to help with, such as “Who hit the most homers in the history of the Minor League?” Basically the questions I would like to answer about stats will be able to let me tell “the story behind the stats” -Any topic that has to do with sports is fair game. Obviously, the Big 4 North American sports are my “bread and butter” but feel free to ask about any other sports topic. Well, within reason. Topics about sports media, (both local and national, TV, radio, print and even internet) college, tennis, golf, boxing, and lesser sports like soccer are all available. Don’t feel bad if I don’t get to your question in time for my next column, it may just be I need to do more research on the question. Well, now I’ll give an example of a good Q&A I would hope that this column will provide: Q Hello Steve, got a question about the recent Hall of Fame nominations in football, and Michael Irvin got snubbed! Why is the Playmaker not going to Canton this summer? Well, for one I would suspect there are a few voters who thought Irvin’s career was cut too short, unfair of course but still. However, I’m sure some people might suggest that Michael Irvin’s well documented off the field problems cost him “first time enshrinement” the same way enshrinement eluded Carl Eller until this past year. Some might question the logic of keeping Irvin out when Lawrence Taylor got in on the first crack, no questions asked. Well Taylor’s nomination WAS a controversial one at the time, but when you think about it, LT was the type of transcendental player, the “one of a kinds” that deserve “first year” status. LT revolutionized the position, and can be considered THE, not ONE OF THE, greatest players to line up at his position. However, as great as Michael Irvin was, there was nothing particularly “special” about his greatness. He did things great Wide Receivers had done for years, still do this day, and will do in the future. Irvin may belong in the team picture of the greatest receivers in NFL history, but he certainly isn’t THE greatest WR in the history of the game. That honor belongs to the current #80 in Seattle, Jerry Rice. However, it would be a shame if 5 years from now, when Emmitt Smith gets the call, Michael Irvin were not in the Hall. In fact, Troy Aikman is up next year, somehow I doubt voters next winter will pass up the opportunity to enshrine the Aikman-Irvin combo that led the last NFL “Dynasty” before the current Pats one. I look forward to hearing from you Steve

Bump because my column is now running: Check it out and send me your questions to [email protected]

Ewing wasn't hated by the time he was left. I know a lot of people, myself included, were very pissed about the trade. It was just a smear campaign by the media and Knicks management- the fans still loved Patrick. And Ewing was still on the Knicks in Jan 2000. He was traded in Sept 2000 Not to turn this into a Patrick Ewing debate, but Ewing DID have a hand in getting himself run out of town by being completly resistant to changing his game And by the way, most fans at Knick games during the late Ewing years and today are corporate clients who wouldn't know George Mikan from George Gervin by the way! This is the same crowd that on Ewing's night gave Michael Jordan a standing O. MICHAEL JORDAN. Okay, so lets not go by the reaction at the Garden The media and the fans calling up sports talk shows couldn't wait to "start over" of course they didn't think the Dolan mis-mangement would completely sink the franchise in the ensuing years, but the point is pretty much Kurt Angle was making a "shoot comment that wasn't meant to be a shoot comment" and anyone who was a Knick fan at the time would be saying "Hey he's right about something!" Steve

Bob answered it already, but you do know how NBA fans (or sports in general) are, right? For Example... Karl Malone is still loved in Utah, despite leaving for the Lakers. Reggie Miller sure as hell is still loved in Indiana despite retiring after this year without winning a championship. Fans respect their teams history (usually), and for them to boo a legend who helped carry their team for years would be an insult. Despite Miller, Ewing, and Malone playing on different teams around the country and different roles of the team, all share the same thing: respect from the fans, and sometimes that is more important than a championship (except for obsessed fans who want to WIN WIN WIN all the time). On that note, Go Bobcats! Okafor for ROTY! (waves flag) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to the topic, any time WWE goes to Toronto. Sometimes its a good thing, sometimes bad. See Wrestlemania X-8 (set up Rocks heel run; Hogans babyface run; HHH no reaction) or Summerslam 2004 (everything shat on except for a few over heels). Problem is Ewing does NOT have that respect from New York fans and media. I don't know about Reggie, but Malone had a public perception of being a nice guy. Ewing was sullen, moody, and very tough to like. So when it seemed that the Knicks could improve by moving the guy, especially when he wouldn't "change his game" to make the team better, fans and media applauded getting rid of him

Basically just standard word processing/excell spreadsheet/web surfing/Real Player Playing (or whatever) thing. Looking for best value, I guess best product at a low cost is what I am looking for. For some reason I keep wanting to say "Dude, I'm getting a DELL!" to match my current PC Steve

I hear this debate creep up sometimes on the Net, not really on other forms of media though, but its something that really should be discussed. The problem most people have with Bonds/McGwire/ect and steroids is that it "cheapens" records once thought to be sacred. Has anyone stoped to wonder "Why" this is so? Baseball's Hall of Fame seems to be the only one where certain "milestones" equals "automatic election" even though there are plenty of rarified stat groupings in the other sports (100 Touchdowns scored, 10,000 yards, ect) For years one of the biggest complaints from fans calling up talk shows is that there was a time when they could "list all of the 500 HR club members off the top of their heads and now they need to look it up" or people saying that the single season record is now cheapend because it has been eclipsed too quickly that they can't remeber what that number is now Think about it, whats Kareem's all-time point total? Dan Marino's all time Touchdown passes total? Cy Young's win total? The only one that anyone can tell you without looking up is Cy's 511. In the grand scheme of things, should it matter? Somehow in baseball it does matter what the exact number is. Just something to ponder... Steve

Off hand Robin Ventura is the only one who might get a "sympathy" vote or two For what? Getting his head pounded in by Nolan Ryan? Cause that's really all I ever remember about him Also, as a Reds fan, I'm just glad Larkin retired without putting on another team's uniform. Should he make it into the HoF, I would have hated to see the plaque say something like "1986-2004 Cincinnati Reds, 2005 Tampa Bay Devil Rays" or something like that Probably ranks top 10 or so in all-time Grand Slams, hit a Grand Slam "Single" that woin a "legendary" 1999 NLCS game (Mets still lost series) and set the collegite record for consecutive game hit streak Thats enough for a vote or two

Career Passing Yards: 61, 361 (Dan Marino) Career Rushing Yards: 17,418 (Emmitt Smith) Career Sacks: 200 (Bruce Smith) Career Receiving TDs: (still going now thanks to Jerry Rice still playing but at last count, 197) You're not asking the right people if you can't find anyone who knows this stuff. Some hardcore fans know the football records as much as baseball fans do the baseball records. It all depends on if you care enough to know. FYI, there are plenty of people that maintain Deacon Jones with "Too many to count!" is still the "unofficial" sack leader! Steve

Marino = 420 TD passes. But that number is not associated with greatness in football. It's associated with smoking pot. Which is why I remember it. He said nobody could tell you the number w/out looking it up. It's certainly no less obscure than Cy Young's win total (among non hardcore baseball fans). Ask 10 people off the street, and I'd be surprised if more than 2 people could tell you 511. The big difference is in degrees. Hardcore baseball fans can recite these numbers (I could tell you the win record is 511, and the win record for lefties is 363, and the strikeout record is 5,714, and the HR record is 755, and the hits record is 4,256, and even that second place in hits is 4,191), while hardcore football fans would be hard-pressed to tell you the career yardage record, or the career sack record, or the career receiving TDs record. Casual fans can still tell you a good number of the common baseball records, while I couldn't tell you any of the football records besides Peyton Manning's 49 passing TDs. By the way, to my knowledge, still the only "record" in the ENTIRE HISTORY of North American sport to be immortalized in a year long celebration on the anniversary of it being set, to the point of the team wearing a commemorative patch on their uniform is 715 by Hank Aaron (on the 25th anniversary the Braves went all out, including a special TNT documentary) Again granted, like I said, its more about Aaron's journey (the racism he endured) but the fact does remain that it is the only record that has been comemorated in such manners Steve

Which is why I brought it up, you rarely hear number comparisions in terms of milestone groupings mentioned in debates over who belongs in the football hall Since I've used it, lets go down the actual list of all 17 10,000 yard rushers: (from baseball-reference's sister site pro-football-reference.com) 1. *E Smith 18355 2. W Payton 16726 3. B Sanders 15269 Emmitt will join Barry and Sweetness obviously 4. *C Martin 13366 5. *J Bettis 13294 Now we start the "Great Debates" Only this year has anyone thought about Curtis, but does "The Bus" belong in Canton? Hmmm 6. E Dickerson 13259 7. T Dorsett 12739 8. J Brown 12312 9. M Allen 12243 10. F Harris 12120 All current members 11. T Thomas 12074 12. *M Faulk 11987 Both are talked about as "mortal locks" when their time comes 13. J Riggins 11352 14. O Simpson 11236 Both in already 15. R Watters 10643 16. *E George 10441 17. O Anderson 10273 Hmmm. Seems like the "Rafael Palmerio and Fred McGriff" of the group. Mere compliers? Otis Anderson does have a Super Bowl MVP that should have given him some cache but as of now he is outside looking in. Definalty guys that make you go "THEY had more than 10,000 yards!?" While the 500 HR club is easily more tracked by the national media Steve