Dombrowski Might Be A Candidate To Replace Bud Selig

Major League Baseball’s current commissioner Bud Selig is scheduled to step down from the league’s top office a year from now and according to Lynn Henning of the Detroit News there’s growing speculation that Tigers president and GM Dave Dombrowski could be a candidate for the job.


Henning writes that although there is no clear favorite to replace Selig, he (Henning) highlights Dombrowski’s 33 years in baseball and his experience being a general manager in both the American and National Leagues. Henning also goes on to say that Dombrowski has a CEO aura — “a regal style,” says Jim Bowden, formerly a general manager with the Reds and Nationals — that with his broad executive experience, could assist in making him a serious contender.

Dombrowski also sounds as though this is something he’s thought about before…

“It’s not one of those things I spend much time thinking about,” Dombrowski said Friday, when asked if he might be interested in the commissioner’s job. “I’m in a situation where I’m very happy where I am and with what I do, and I’m pleased with all of that.

“I have never really thought about it,” Dombrowski said of his potential candidacy. “When I’ve been in any job I’ve had, I haven’t thought about other jobs. That’s just how I work.”

Furthermore, given the city’s financial struggles the past several years, ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian believes that Dombrowski would be a good candidate as well for the position…

“I think he would be an excellent candidate to be commissioner,” said Tim Kurkjian, the longtime ESPN baseball analyst. “He is really smart, he has been around for a long time, he has done virtually every job in baseball, meaning he knows how the game works from the inside, and he also knows how the game works on the field, not only because of having assembled teams, but because he’s done the contracts and has worked with owners as well as with players.

“I’m not sure there’s a more qualified guy to run the game than him.”

In the end, Dombrowski says he’s happy in Detroit but you would have to suspect that if that job comes calling, Dombrowski will certainly listen.

Sandy Alderson and Andy McPhail are also said to be in line for the commisioner's job.

Norv's Reply

Rex Ryan told the press that he would have two rings if he would've been named coach of the San Diego Chargers in 2007. We all know hindsight is 20/20 and Ryan might've been the man to get the job done in San Diego.

The man who coached the Chargers, Norv Turner, had a reply for Ryan after he called and apologized for his "mistaken" comments.

“It really was between he and I. I think we’ve had enough coaching drama in the league the last few days and we don’t need any more,” Turner said.



“I hadn’t seen his quote and I was a little bit surprised by the call,” Turner said. “And then after I saw the quote, I didn’t have a chance to ask him this, but I was wondering if he had those rings with the ones he’s guaranteed the last couple of years.”


That's what long suffering Jets fans are asking.



  

Lions Trade For Ronnie Brown Is Voided

It looked good at the time. What I'm talking about is the trade the Detroit Lions made with the Philadelphia Eagles for running back Ronnie Brown.

The Lions sent Jerome Harrison and a seventh round pick to the Eagles for Brown. Well, Brown will be returning to Philly after Harrison failed his physical due to "health issues", per ESPN's Adam Schefter, so the trade was voided. 

Like I said, it looked good at the time.  

Rex Ryan Is Full Of Himself

It's old news that New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan is full of bluster. Normally he's talking up his team and predicting Super Bowl wins. Now he's crsoosed the line.

With the Jets getting ready for a key AFC matchup against the San Diego Chargers, Ryan thought it would be a good idea to open his trap and stir up the hornets nest again.

Ryan said that if he were hired by the Chargers back in 2007, he'd have a couple of Super Bowl rings.

“Well, I think I would have had a couple rings," Ryan told San Diego reporters today when asked about how things would have unfolded if he were hired by GM A.J. Smith. "I'm telling you, those teams were loaded. There's no question about it. But things happen for a reason. Obviously, Norv Turner has done a great job there. And A.J. (Smith) and everybody. That's a great franchise. He was probably the best guy for the job at that time."


Now that is a slap in the face. I know he tried to cover for it at the end of the quote, but the indictment he levied against Norv Turner was that he's not a good enough coach to lead a team to a Super Bowl. Now I think that Turner isn't the greatest coach in the world, but let the fans spit that knid of venom.

Of course Ryan said the comments were a "testament to what the Chargers have built" and not a slight against Turner and made a call to Turner to clarify his statement.

Rex knew he was in deep and needed to clear it up. He needs to concentrate on his own team and live up to the expectations that he has bestowed upon them. Yes Rex it's time to deliver a championship that you've benn promising the past two years.

Oakley Not Impressed With The Current Edition Of The Knicks

One of the tough guys from years past, Charles Oakley isn't afraid to let his opinion known about anything. That would include the current make up of the New York Knicks and how they treated him and Patrick Ewing, Isiah Thomas' role with the team, and whether Amar'e Stoudemire is the man to lead the Knicks back to the promised land.

While he was in New York to launch his clothing collection at the K1X store in SoHo, he didn't have too many kind words to say about the Knicks organization.

He doesn't think too highly of Stoudemire's game and thinks he's too West Coast to play in New York.

“Amar’e’s good, he’s good in his way,” Oakley said yesterday at the launch of his clothing collection at K1X’s store in SoHo. “He’s a West Coast player trying to translate to the East Coast. And the longer he plays in the East, the more his body’s gonna get damaged, because he’s got to take a beating now.”

Gotta disagree with Oak here. The East isn't the physical beast that it was when he played. Also the league is more athletic than it was back then which suits Stoudemire's game a whole lot better than it would've been back in the 80's and 90's. The players are more multiskilled than they were back then.It's an ongoing debate, but you must agree that the players of today are more athletic than years past.

Stoudemire might not be the player to get the Knicks to the promised land but stranger things have happened. I won't say he is and I won't say he won't lead them there, but he did seem to take more of a leadership role on the team when things started going south early in the season.

I do agree with what he said about head coach Mike D'Antoni. The Knicks will tease and excite you, but when it's time to play halfcourt ball and get grimy, the Knicks fall short. Don't believe me, watch the first two games of the series against the Boston Celtics and tell me why they lost. They can't play in the halfcourt.


“I don’t think [it can be successful], but that’s his coaching style,” Oakley said. “They knew when they signed him. ... When you go buy a Bentley, you know it’s not a Volkswagen. When they signed him, they knew what they were getting.



“That conversation should be dead, because it’s a West Coast offense playing in a hard-nosed city.


“You always give somebody a chance to prove themselves. I mean, this is his fourth year. He’s had a lot of time. ... I think it’s just more half-court offense, and they need the big, tough guy. He don’t want to play that way, but finesse, it’s not gonna work.”

“I mean, they’ve got hype,” he said. “But hype don’t win nothing.”

That should've been known when the Phoenix Suns couldn't get past the Spurs when D'Antoni coached them. Run and gun doesn't win in playoff time. Check and see how many titles Doug Moe won when he was coaching.

About the Knicks organization as a whole, he still has love for them but feels disrespected by them for not offering him a job in any capacity.

“[The Knicks] don’t want nothing to do with me,” said Oakley, who played for the Knicks from 1988-98. “I don’t know why. I tried to deal with them on several occasions. I’m not gonna keep trying.


“They don’t like Patrick, either. They won’t give Patrick a job, so I know they won’t give me a job. Patrick should have a job before anyone. He’s probably the best guy since [Walt] Frazier, [Earl] Monroe ... he’s the main guy on the list.”

“My door is always open to the Knicks,” he said. “I tell them all the time. They said something about I told LeBron to go to Miami. I was like, ‘You all have to be one of the craziest organizations in the world.’


“Y’all should have tried to call me and talk to me, and maybe we could have gotten LeBron to New York. You went to Isiah [Thomas], and some of these other guys that don’t know the guy.”

True indeed. Patrick Ewing shouldn't have to go anywhere else to be an assistant or have his name mentioned with other coaching jobs. As for Oakley, I don't think anyone would be asking you to court free agents for their team anytime soon, considering your disdain for today's players.

Last but not least was the aforementioned Isiah Thomas. He doesn't like him and I doubt he ever will. Oakley gave him a piece of his mind since he happened to bring him up.


“I don’t understand how he even got a job with management,” said Oakley, 47. “He had nothing to do with the Knicks, then he talked bad about the Knicks ... If I see him, he’d better turn around and go the other way.”

Well Charles, last time I checked Isiah Thomas never ran from anyone and never will. He was one of the toughest "little guys" to ever play the game, and considering his track record I don't think he'd be turning the othere way when he saw you. He still has that Chicago swagger in him and won't back down from anyone.

Like Father, Like Son

Fred Taylor had a highly productive NFL career. If it weren't for injuries I'd say he would've been one of the best running backs ever. It's highly debatable, but if you look at the numbers there would be a case for him. And the numbers don't lie.

His son Kelvin is aiming to carry on the legacy of his father. Taylor, who is a high school running back for Glades Day in Broward County, Florida, had a crazy game against Village Academy. He rushed for 426 yards in a 35-24 win. That isn't his career high though. He had 437 yards against Jupiter Christian in a state playoff game last November. That puts Taylor a mere 655 yards away from the high school career rushing mark held by the NFL's all time leading rusher Emmitt Smith. And Taylor's only a junior, so that mark is sure to be broken, unless he is derailed by injury.

Taylor still has a shot at the all time record held by Ken Hall of Sugar Land, Texas who holds the record with 11,232 yards. Glades Day still has four games left this season plus possible playoff games. Add in he still has his senior season to play and he has a pretty good shot at breaking the record.  

For Kelvin's sake let's hope that he doesn't suffer the same kind of injuries that cut short some of his father's seasons.      

Leach And Shannon Mentioned As Possible Replacements At Florida Atlantic

With Howard Schellenberger getting out of college coaching, Florida Atlantic has been looking for a replacement to take over the football program. A few names that have been thrown into the mix are Randy Shannon, Mike Leach, and former South Florida coach Jim Leavitt.

Athletic Director Craig Angelos told the Miami Herald he would consider Shannon or Leach as candidates for the job.


"Randy is a man of integrity, a first-class guy and first-class coach,” said FAU athletic director Craig Angelos, who worked at UM when Shannon was an assistant there. “I want to see if he’s interested.”

Angelos also has a good relationship with Leach: “I would consider Mike,” he said

He also said he would give a call to Jim Leavitt, who put South Florida football on the map and is now the linebackers coach for the San Francisco 49ers.

Leach does plan to coach again and has been mentioned with a few jobs since being fired by Texas Tech. That's if a school can get past the "issues" he had with Texas Tech. Apparently Maryland couldn't and that's why he's not coaching there now.

Shannon is rumored to be seeking a high profile west coast job and might be interested in the Arizona opening.   

The best bet for the job would be Leach, who has been linked to the job at New Mexico and recently UCLA if they happen to get rid of Rick Neuheisel. But I think they will land neither since I think Shannon prefers a bigger job and Leach might find a landing spot at Arizona. Just my opinion.