Sopranos Jumps the Shark, Fire Charlie Manuel Today, Mickelson is the Best, and Fran Dunphy is the New Sheriff in North Philly

I usually pride myself on my ability to “suspend disbelief.” That is why when I watch certain things, I can make myself believe that it is possible. For example, when I watch ‘24’, I believe that the President is a traitor and that Jack Bauer will single-handedly overthrow the most powerful man in the world and his army. Likewise, when I watch a Phillies game, I believe that Chollie Manuel actually messed up an obvious move here or there and that it is not just a poorly written television drama. But I have to draw the line at what I saw on the Sopranos last night. Did I really see Tony Soprano, who is an out of shape, fat slob who just got out of the hospital and could not even bend over to take his shoes off without collapsing, beat the crap out of a 25-year old stud muscle head? Come on. I find that as believable as all the Florida guys actually coming back to school next year. What? They are? Never mind…..

Speaking of Chollie Manuel, if I were “Stand Pat” Gillick, I would use this 1-5 start (at home no less) as a chance to blow out Chollie. I mean, does anyone on the planet think this guy is even an average manager? Let’s fire him, hire someone else (I am available) and use it as a chance to kick start this team and get a better guy in there calling the shots.

Unfortunately, Lefty was just too damn good yesterday. The Masters was setting up as potentially the greatest golf ending ever, with about 7 guys tied for the lead or one back yesterday, and then Phil separated from the field faster than Secretariat in the Belmont 33 years ago. Just great golf. And for me what made it so special, especially coming from the artist formerly known as the Choker, is that he did it by avoid mistakes, not by spectacular shotmaking. Phil, after going winless in his first 42 majors, is now 3-for-9 in the last two years and a week. I believe that as of right now, he is the #1 golfer in the world, and that Tiger is a step behind, and Singh, Els, and Goosen are just behind him. Knowing Tiger, even though I do not actually know Tiger, this will not sit well with him. Because of that, all the guys should get ready to enjoy a fun Father’s Day, as I predict we will see a focused Tiger battle it out with Phil for “Best Golfer in the World” status. I am already pulling for and predicting a final pairing of those two guys….

Even though he is on my Nascar fantasy team, is there a bigger jerk in the sports world than Kurt Busch?

It seems like the momentum is shifting from the plaintiff to the defense in the Duke Lacrosse situation. I will withhold my comments until more information comes out hopefully in the next couple days, but it seems that a) the alleged victim has a criminal past, and b) the defense attorney seems to be getting more bold in his proclamations that his clients will be vindicated. I wonder where the D.A. is now. He seemed pretty eager to condemn these players a week or two ago. If he was wrong, he should resign immediately. Let’s see what the next few days bring.

Temple is hiring Fran Dunphy, the coach at Penn who has taken his team regularly to the NCAA tournament, as head coach. My first choice for this hire was Bobby Knight. There is no way Knight would be any more outrageous than Chaney, and in that environment, Knight may have been able to compete with the big boys Nationally. He is also one of the best coaches ever. Philadelphia would have embraced him. He may have welcomed the chance to put together a Final Four team, which he may not believe is attainable at Texas Tech. Why more AD’s do not think out of the box like that is beyond me? Outside of bringing in Knight, I thought Dunphy was a good choice. Dunphy has strong ties in the city, he clearly knows how to coach, so it was a safe alternative to the more combustible Knight.

I hope they let Ricky Williams play football next year. Besides him being good for the game, I have no confidence that the NFL drug testing policy is accurate. Based on what I have seen and heard, this test was not for marijuana, but rather some herb that is part of his holistic deal, and not an illegal substance. As they said to the Bad News Bears….Let Him Play, Let Him Play.