PSoTD

Go Chicago Bears!

Golf as an industry is struggling.

Former Philadelphia Phillies manager Larry Bowa is talking to the New York Yankees about the possibility of joining the team as a coach.

There's only one thing I can think of saying about this news.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...

Frankly, I think this was a cute idea by Fry. I'd be tempted to have paintings of Cupid on the wall as well. It's all sports-related mind games to aggravate the opponent, after all...

From KWWL:

The University of Iowa is keeping the pink visitors' locker room at Kinnick Stadium off a report to the NCAA. Instead, the university's Human Rights Committee will likely study whether it's sexist or homophobic, as several professors and students claim.

The pink locker room is a Hawkeye tradition dating back to former football coach Hayden Fry. Associate Provost Pat Cain says the university's recertification committee found Iowa in compliance with N-C-A-A rules. She says the group decided the pink issue is not really an athletics issue and does not fall under the committee's mission.

Sad news.

Longtime Oakland Athletics radio voice Bill King, whose signature call of ``Holy Toledo!'' was a household phrase for decades in the Bay Area, died early Tuesday from complications following hip surgery. He was 78.

His death came as a shock to the sports community, which considered King with his carefully groomed curled-up mustache as much a ballpark staple as the players and the popcorn. He even had his own bobblehead giveaway night.

Bill King was a great announcer, although I never really became accustomed to his style for baseball. He was an excellent basketball announcer, and during the "miracle championship" of the 1974-75 Golden State Warriors I listened to many a game on the radio that he announced. Along with his family and friends, Bay Area sports has lost a dear friend.

Others with words about Bill King's passing: brainwagon, El Lefty Malo, Adventures in Troubleshooting, Moonlit Jazz, Elephants in Oakland

The next three weeks or so are the most television sports-laden time of the year. MLB playoffs, NFL and college football games blanketing the airwaves, with basketball on all levels just waiting their chance.

So... what's the biggest game this weekend?

Or at least Commissioner of Baseball...

FOX needs to stop killing our national pastime

But at least Scooter has one redeeming value: We only have to endure him in small doses. The same cannot be said of the lead network's tiresome broadcast duo of Tim McCarver and Joe Buck. McCarver is a good announcer for baseball novices. But at this point, Tim, we've heard everything you have to say. I'll let you know when my 2-year-old daughter needs a crash course on taking secondary leads.

McCarver's partner, Buck, is just another in a long line of examples of why there is too much nepotism in sportscasting. (If you want your son and your grandson to have jobs for life, then get your butt into the booth.) Maybe FOX and ESPN can stage a battle of the networks and have Buck and Jeremy (son of Dick) Schaap step into the Thunderdome.

I guess there's probably an argument to be made that Bush learned some of the finer touches of cronyism during his tenure as leader of the Free Texas Rangers.

Why?

Because I like it. From Inside Bay Area:

A poll last week on Sports Illustrated's Web site asked anyone willing to participate to answer the question: What do you like least about the MLB playoffs? The response, "I have to listen to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver," took 41 percent of the votes, outdistancing "I have to watch the Braves and Yankees — again" (24 percent) and "Games end too late" (24 percent).

I don't know what to think of anyone who would buy McCarver's "brain surgeon" book for the purposes of reading it. Some sort of hopeful pity, I guess...

Up on Horror Hill, in a secret laboratory, Fox Sports and ESPN are hopefully in their monstrous glory...

I beseech thee, Fox Sports and ESPN - it is time to recreate the next color baseball announcer that will replace Tim McCarver as the "expected creation" on playoff and World Series baseball telecasts. It happened to Tony Kubek and Joe Garagiola and it is McCarver's time. Here's the formula to successful replacement:

Retain 100% of the "inside the game" astute assessment ability (about 2% of McCarver's current input).

Retain 100% of the "average baseball fan probably already knows this but it doesn't hurt to say it" McCarver commentary (about 48% of McCarver's current input).

Remove 100% of the inane babbling McCarver foists on the audience (about 50% of McCarver's current input). At this point, I'd be willing to accept the stupid canned sound effects from drivetime radio over some of McCarver's repeated utterances. Kazoos. Silly horns. Cowbells. That's about the depth of much of McCarver's coverage.

So, in essence you could replace McCarver with science's next iteration of the Philly Phanatic and it would be an overall improvement.

But you know what would be better?

Real sounds from the game. Replace the 50% of McCarverisms with real baseball game sound.

But please... do something!

First sidenote: Anyone know where you can get a transcript of last night's Fox coverage of the Angels-Yankees game? Joe Buck and McCarver were babbling something pretty strange about players from the Dominican Republic...

Sidenote number two: Found an entertaining site, ShutupTimMcCarver.com, including some "gems" that have dribbled from his lips. Enjoy!

All you have to do is look at the front "page" of CentreDaily.com to realize that Penn State Nittany Lion football has Pennsylvanians gearing to a slow frenzy.

If Joe Paterno's squad beats Ohio State this week, all the state's newspaper web sites are going to start looking like this.