MUST SEE TV? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH.
Ten minutes into the Oprah-Lance Armstrong interview, I turned to my wife and asked "Do you want to keep watching?". "No, I've seen enough of this creep" was her response. Instead, we turned over to "American Idol", which featured some OK singing, and a dynamite diva clash between Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey (with poor Keith Urban caught in the middle). After a while, we turned back to the Armstrong interview, but he looked exactly the same. Always be wary of someone who won't look you in the eye. They're probably lying. Armstrong was not contrite, hardly apologetic and seemed to be controlling the pace of the interview. Although Oprah did a pretty good job interviewing him, she hardly held his feet to the fire, as a good journalist certainly would. Part Two airs tonight. I, for one, will not be watching.
Tomorrow we're back to hockey, so pretend it's October and the season is just beginning. I expect the first few weeks will feature sloppy hockey, and maybe a few injuries because players are nowhere near in game shape. Travel could be an issue as well, although teams in the East have it much easier. The New Jersey Devils, for example, have to travel only 11,659 miles this year, while the Minnesota Wild have over 31,000 miles to cover. The key may end up being how many days off the players will get. A compressed schedule will make for more injuries and less recovery time. John Tortorella of the Rangers has gone on record as saying he's penciled in 23 off days for his team. That's because the Rangers only have 6 back-to-back situations all season, compared to 12 for teams like Detroit and Chicago. Also, the Rangers are a bus ride away from places like Long Island and New Jersey and a short train ride to Philly and Washington. My concern for the NHL is that it can't afford to lose any of it's star players. All they need is for a Crosby, Ovechkin or Steven Stamkos to get injured, which will happen more than likely. Not that a pulled groin is a career-threatening injury, but it's the kind of injury that put a guy on the sidelines for a few weeks. And in a shortened season, teams can't afford to lose a key player for any substantial length of time.
Dwight Howard of the Los Angeles Lakers is the latest in a long line of big men who gets fouled a lot because he's a lousy free throw shooter. In the tradition of Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O'Neal, Howard's shooting percentage is better from the floor than it is from the foul line. Last night he went 5 for 13 from the foul line, and missed two key free throws with his team trailing the Miami Heat by a pair and less than two minutes to go. The Lakers never scored again, and lost to the Heat 99-90. If the secret to beating the Lakers is hacking Howard whenever the opportunity presents itself, the cat is out of the bag. Basketball allows a smart coach to substitute certain players in strictly so they can commit a foul. Fouling Howard gives that team a chance to get the ball back without giving up two points. A no-brainer if there ever was one. Howard shoots free throws at about a 50% success rate. The league average is around 75%. You do the math.
My NFL picks for this weekend are the New England Patriots, who will beat Baltimore 34-31, and the San Francisco 49ers, who will run roughshod over the Atlanta Falcons, 30-14. New England and San Fran in the Super Bowl. There you go. Have a great weekend, and let me know how part two of that Lance Armstrong interview goes. I'll be washing my hair.
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