With madness ensuing in March and Opening Day just around the corner the sports world is finally waking up again from it’s post Super Bowl hibernation. Thank goodness. This week has been exciting and the weeks to come promise to bring much more to talk about than mock NFL drafts and MLB player projections. Not that our Orioles Roster Preview isn’t epic.
This week we’re going to break down Buck Showalter’s comments about the Red Sox and Yankees and how that story went national, the Barry Bonds perjury trial and Duke’s blowout loss to Arizona in the Sweet 16.
Let’s line up for the kick.
Showalter Discusses Quotes About Jeter and Epstein
Locally, the big story this week was Buck Showalter’s comments about Derek Jeter and Theo Epstein. If you missed our story (we broke it locally), Showalter told Men’s Journal that he would like to see how smart Epstein is with Tampa Bay’s payroll and said that he yelled at Derek Jeter from the dugout for jumping back from balls just off the plate.
Dan Connolly of the Sun caught up with the O’s skipper on Thursday and talked about the quotes.
In response to the printed comments, this is what Showalter said today: “Maybe it is envy or something on my part. But obviously you all know what I think of Derek and the success the Red Sox have had. Hopefully, we can get to their level one day.”
Showalter said he doesn’t think he’ll need to address it with Jeter.
“No, I know Derek. He knows there are a lot of things you talk about in clubhouses and what have you, jokingly, kind matter-of-factly and everybody understands it within the arena. But when they get out there publicly, it’s not particularly comfortable.”
Barry Bonds and Steroids
Barry Bonds. In the bedroom. With a syringe! Though it’s not nearly as fun as finding out that it was Colonel Mustard in the library with a candlestick, the Barry Bounds perjury trial did unveil new information from a witness close to the case. Steve Hoskins testified on Wednesday and said that he never saw Bond get injected by Greg Anderson, but he did see the two walk into a bedroom during spring training with a syringe. I’m guessing Anderson just wanted to show him what a syringe was, surely there was no injection.
Either way, simply seeing a two guys and a syringe is not enough to prove Bonds guilty. Especially when he is pleading that he didn’t knowingly take steroids. That argument always cracks me up. Don’t you know the types of drugs you take or the food you eat or drinks you drink? I don’t care if you trust the person more than anyone on earth, you’re still asking about the drugs. If you took steroids it wasn’t an accident.
Duke Done
I got in trouble earlier this week for talking about Duke because they play in the ACC. I guess that talking about them lose is ok? We’ll find out.
Thursday night in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament, Arizona took it to Duke beating them 93-77, not a whole lot of defense from the Blue Devils in that one. Credit Arizona though, who was led by Derrick WIlliams through the first half with 25 of his career high 32 points. The Wild Cats also got some help from Solomon hill who scored 9 of 15 from behind the three point arc.
