The journey from there to here
Gideon MacLeish's Articles In Sports & Leisure » Page 2
April 1, 2005 by Gideon MacLeish
Eric Crouch, formerly of the St. Louis Rams and the Green Bay Packers (and a now forgotten Heisman Trophy winner in 2001), is attempting to revive his football career with the Hamburg Sea Devils of NFL Europe. There's just one problem: Crouch is a two time quitter. When he was with St.Louis, Crouch retired because the team put him in the position of wide receiver, a position he had not played much since high school, and frankly did not want to play. After bailing on the Rams, he went on to...
March 23, 2005 by Gideon MacLeish
Here's the problem I see coming out of the inane congressional steroid investigations. See,certain senators have specified that they want ALL sports tested,at ALL levels. With that in mind, I present the following scenario: Little Johnny is an insulin dependent diabetic. He is a dextrously challenged six year old, but he has always had a passion for baseball, if not the skills to match. His ever vigilant mother keeps a ready supply of insulin and needles, knowing that Johnny's condition re...
March 2, 2005 by Gideon MacLeish
When you talk about "Going to second base" with a girl, you mean you went to the stadium and ran halfway 'round the infield When you remember more than 5 starters for any pre-1995 Seattle Mariners team (or pre-1990 Astros team). When you've gone to any city just to see the stadium. When you place a radar gun over the baby's crib. When you can calculate a pitcher's season ERA to the thousandths place at any start after the All Star Break When you name your child Willie, Mickey, or Duke (Or...
March 1, 2005 by Gideon MacLeish
Well, I've been peeking at my beloved M's as they prepare for the season. They made some good offseason moves to restore the team that flopped monumentally last year (if not for Ichiro, NOBODY would have tuned in the M's game after the all star break) to the status of perennial contender they had previously enjoyed since 1995. Adrian Beltre, Aaron Sele, and Pokey Reese would all have been good additions individually, but put them altogether (along with the return of former closer Jeff Nelso...
February 17, 2005 by Gideon MacLeish
Got that? Good. While I am firmly entrenched that believe that Jose Canseco's steroid allegations have been greatly overhyped in the interest of selling a book, I am astounded by the collective apathy of the owners and the commissioner's office. This concern is founded on the fact that baseball has always established itself as holding a moral high ground because of its position that gambling is its unpardonable sin. Steroid use is as bad as gambling, in many ways worse. With steroid use, a...
February 17, 2005 by Gideon MacLeish
So Mike Greenwell wants an MVP. The former BoSox outfielder and 1988 runner up to admitted steroid user and alleged (by ME, but still "alleged") classless moron Jose Canseco has asked that he receive the MVP over 16 years after the fact. While Greenwell might ALMOST have a point, it's lost in baseball's absolute inability to track down several years of steroid use and give the awards to runners up. It's also lost in the point that steroids were not specifically banned by baseball, and thus...
February 7, 2005 by Gideon MacLeish
So, Jose Canseco has a new book coming out, basically detailing his own steroid use, and, interestingly enough, that of virtually every slugging superstar with whom he shared a lineup card. While I, among others, believe that steroid use was rampant throughout baseball (and may be still), the question arises as to how much credibility Canseco has to gain. Canseco has nothing to lose; with 462 homers, he will be among the top homerun producers to not make the Hall of Fame, as his average was p...
February 7, 2005 by Gideon MacLeish
Well, I was one of the twenty or so Americans who WANTED to watch the Super Bowl, but couldn't. We don't have the money in our budget for "pay TV", and my neighbor's antenna doesn't pull in FOX (and we haven't been able to construct an antenna tower yet anyhoo). So, I turned on my 30 year old stereo (excuse me....back then they called 'em "hi-fi's"), and flipped it to the same AM station I had used to listen to the NFC playoff games. Unlike the NFC playoff games; however, I was actually able to ...
February 1, 2005 by Gideon MacLeish
Jeff Nelson, the Seattle Mariners' most prolific pitcher, and one who seems to have spent most of his offseasons taking a cross country flight between The M's and the hated Yankee's, the two teams he has played for most of his career, is back with the M's for a third time, this time in a minor league assignment with hopes of making the parent team's roster (My money's on him joining the team by mid-May). This has potential of giving the M's a needed bullpen leader, plus Nelson's valuable arm, an...
January 15, 2005 by Gideon MacLeish
The past twelve months have brought forth some examples of shameful behavior by professional athletes in regards to fans. The Randy Moss fake moon incident was preceeded by the Pacers' attack on the stands, was preceded by the A's pitcher throwing a chair into the stands, and so it goes. Pundits have rightly criticized the athletes for their abhorrent behavior. But they have ignored the problem of the FANS. In two of the three incidents, the athletes' actions can be attributed to equally abho...
January 13, 2005 by Gideon MacLeish
I hate the Yankees. As a die hard Mariners fan, it's one of the first rules in the bylaws (shortly under being glad the M's left their exile under that concrete atrocity known as the Kingdome some years back). However, recent events have put me in a pickle. I follow some of my favorite M's players when they've moved on (ARod going to the Yankees was no big deal-- he's dead to me now...lol). Randy Johnson is one of the key players I have followed since his exodus from Seattle. His role in b...
December 27, 2004 by Gideon MacLeish
Well, not having TV in our household,   I am a little slow on things. So it wasn't until yesterday evening that I received the news that Reggie White passed away. While he was a great human being, there are a lot of questions that arise in the passing of one so young (43). I am sure the questions will arise as to whether he used any "performance enhancing" drugs, and no, I don't feel ashamed to speculate myself. Of particular concern should be the year when he was declared out for the ye...
December 13, 2004 by Gideon MacLeish
According to Yahoo! news, Kobe Bryant, unsatisfied with Shaq's leaving him without enough targets of his selfish idiocy, has turned his guns on Karl Malone, for allegedly making a pass at his wife. Now, regardless of whether Bryant's accusation is true or not, this article struck me as borderline hilarious. Regardless of what did or did not happen in regards to consent, Kobe DID "have sexual relations with that woman" who accused him of rape. Now, he's fuming at a teammate for daring to LOOK ...
October 29, 2004 by Gideon MacLeish
Two nights ago, I had the dubious fortune of listening on the radio as one of baseball's most cherished traditions was violently rooted from its moorings and the ghost of the Bambino was finally allowed to rest in whatever Elysian field exists for the immortals of the diamond. With fierce determination and a seemingly charmed World Series, the Boston Red Sox did not trail the St. Louis Cardinals a single inning, after accomplishing the unthinkable and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in...
October 2, 2004 by Gideon MacLeish
With the season winding down and the next to last moment I wanted to see played out on baseball's grand stage, it's time to enter a few random thoughts on the season. The season was a hard one on my beloved M's, made harder by the fact that "wait 'til next year" will have to be a motto that doesn't include Edgar Martinez in a playing capacity for the first time since 1986 (I am dearly hoping to see him suit up as a first, third base, or hitting coach, most likely the latter). Edgar's humility...