An Honest
Day’s Word
THIS and that to chew on over lunch: Dodgers just upped
the ante in NL WestTwenty-nine million big ones for two players. That will get your attention, Dodgers fans ... and Dodgers haters.
Baseball economics took another wild turn this week when the Los Angeles Dodgers traded their right fielder, Raul Mondesi, to the Toronto Blue Jays for right fielder Shawn Green and then signed Green to a six-year $84 million deal.
Holy Rupert Phillips ... I mean Murdoch ... the Dodgers will pay two players -- Green and pitcher Kevin Brown -- an average of 29 million bucks a year over the next several seasons.
I love this kid Shawn Green. He has the smooth swing. The ball just jumps off his bat. And the Dodgers needed to get Mondesi out of town. A change of scenery will do both Mondesi -- one of the game's better defensive outfielders -- and the Dodgers a whole lot of good.
Plus, L.A. needed to do something to improve their team. They are the Dodgers, for heaven's sake. They can't just let the Diamondbacks run roughshod over the National League West. Jerry Colangelo might be a hotshot in Phoenix, but Phoenix is a Los Angeles- wannabe town and the Dodgers are the Dodgers.
Love Fox or hate Fox, Murdoch will spend his money to make the Dodgers a contender. The funny thing is that Fox, through its regional sports networks, makes all the money to pay guys like Brown and Green from most every team in the National League.
It's almost as if they say, "Thanks for loading the Brinks truck for us, fellas, we're going to back this baby up to Shawn Green's house now and make a little deposit."
The ante just got upped in baseball. It won't be long, now, before Ted Turner's ego gets the best of him and he throws several dozen million dollars at Ken Griffey Jr.
What a great country.
Now that Ron Dayne has pretty much locked up the Heisman Trophy, here's hoping he puts on the same kind of performance that Ricky Williams did last year at the Rivals.com Hula Bowl.
As Heisman winner, Dayne will be invited to play in the game. Williams tore it up last year, giving a memorable performance.
The Senior Bowl might draw more pro scouts in more of a combine-like atmosphere, but how can you possibly beat the Hula Bowl?
It's too bad some Rainbow players are leaning toward going to the Senior Bowl instead of the Hula Bowl. I understand that they think going to the Senior Bowl will enhance their draft status or even their chances of being signed to a free-agent deal, but I say it's too bad.
The Hula Bowl has taken marginal UH players nearly every year. The same people are going to put the Rainbows in the Oahu Bowl on Christmas Day if UH wins a seventh game this season, even though at 7-5 or 8-4 they probably wouldn't be invited anywhere else to a bowl game.
That's some serious aloha.
Maybe UH should consider some return on an investment in their program such as that.
There's a great matchup brewing in Lincoln, Neb., this weekend.
Undefeated and fifth-ranked Kansas State plays once-beaten and seventh-ranked Nebraska.
Keep your eyes on the middle of the line, because Huskers center Dominic Raiola of St. Louis will be going facemask to facemask with Wildcats defensive tackle Mario Fatafehi of Farrington.
