Doug Collins calls young players sensitive and fragile

It looks like Doug Collins may be wearing out his welcome in Philadelphia. After the 76ers got off to a fast start, shocking most of the league, they're sputtering to the finish and Collins' hard driving ways may be too much for the young Sixers.

The Sixers were one of the top four teams, record wise, in the Eastern Conference, now find themselves trying to fend off the Milwaukee Bucks for the eighth and final spot.

Collins wants to be hard on his young team, but says that he can't because they're too sensitive and fragile.


“The one thing about players today is that they’re very sensitive, and very fragile,” Collins said before his team’s game against the Boston Celtics on Easter Sunday. “They didn’t grow up with tough coaches. You know, I had my ass kicked since I was six. It’s a different time, and so I treat this team very much with kid gloves. I really do, and I’m still looked at as an ogre…


“It’s terrible, I mean, it’s hard. It really is hard,” he said. “I honestly find myself during the games looking at the coach [and asking], ‘Was I alright with those guys during that timeout? Did I hurt anybody’s feelings? Was I OK?’… ‘Coach, you’re fine, you’re fine’… I said ‘OK, OK, I just wanted to make sure I didn’t hurt anybody’s feelings.’ That’s the sensitivity, and the younger the guys, it seems like the more sensitive. And that’s what you’re wrestling with.”


Collins has worn out his welcome every where he's been. Chicago, Detroit, and now here in Philly. My guess is that the young Sixers are tuning him out and he might know the end is near. I'll be watching to see how this plays out. 

Zach Randolph involved in car accident

Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph is trying to find his rhythm after coming back from knee surgery and missing a good portion of this NBA campaign. Randolph is a walking double-double and is slowly finding his way as the Grizzlies try to secure the fourth seed in the Western Conference NBA playoffs.

What Randolph didn't count on was being involved in a car accident that left him with a sore back by his own admission. Randolph did not participate in the team's shootaround and replied to a text message that asked if he was ok.

Randolph replied: “Yes. My back is just a little sore.”


A preliminary Memphis Police Department report stated that Randolph was driving his 2011 Dodge Charger westbound on the 385 exit ramp toward 240 when his vehicle was struck in the rear by a 2000 Honda CRV. There were no visible injuries on the scene and no one was transported in an ambulance. The driver of the Honda received a citation for Failure to Maintain a Safe Lookout.


The Grizzlies are battling with the Los Angeles Clippers for the fourth seed and home court in the first round. They'll need Randolph at nearly full strength to make a run. Even with him trying to find his rhythm that would be good enough for the Grizzlies. If the back is going to be a problem, it could be a first round flameout for Memphis.

Izzo thinks it would be different if Kentucky's players were white

John Calipari doesn't have too many fans in the college basketball world. Bob Knight is the most famous Calipari critic, citing his recruitment of one and done players that many say are ruining the sport of college basketball.

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo has a different take on the national championship winning program. In an article with William C. Rhoden of the New York Times, Izzo doesn't hold back when he was asked if the Kentucky players were white and athletic, would they be thought of differently.

 “I want to answer that as honestly as I can,” Izzo said. “I think it would be different. I hate to say that.”


The perception is that these five black players are not serious students and don’t belong at the university. If they were white, there would be more acceptance that they belong at the university.


“It’s sad for me to say, but it’s probably the truth,” Izzo said. Perception or not, the reality is that the sports industry has done its part preparing young men and women for their careers as professional athletes. Only a small percentage will succeed, but only a fraction succeed at the highest level in any profession.


It's the age old question. The double edged sword. No one says anything when a bonus baby is drafted out of high school into Major League Baseball. Or when golf, tennis, or hockey players go pro. But when underclassmen declare for the NBA draft, most of them young and black it's a big deal. It's like when the Fab Five were at Michigan, when they lost they were undisciplined and thuggish. But when they won they were "playing the right way".

Can someone please define that one for me. If you can play and are good enough to go pro right away, then go.

Ozzie Guillen apologizes for his comments about Fidel Castro

Everyone knows Ozzie Guillen is a loose cannon. He says what's on his mind and doesn't care who he offends. Sometimes it's a breath of fresh air, sometimes you wonder when it's going to come back and bite him in the backside.

His most recent comments did the latter. In a recent issue of Time magazine Guillen said that he loves Fidel Castro and has respect for him for staying in power for so long. In Miami, which has a high Cuban population, those comments didn't sit well with some of the locals. After reading what he said, Guillen said he felt sick about it.

On Saturday in a closed door meeting with beat writers before the Marlins' game against the Cincinnati Reds, Guillen apologized for what he said.

"I will apologize if I hurt somebody's feelings, or I hurt somebody's thought," Guillen told the writers. "I want them to know I'm against everything 100 percent – I repeat it again – the way this man (been) treating people for the last 60 years."


The Marlins also issued a statement denouncing Guillen's comments.


"There is nothing to respect about Fidel Castro.


"He is a brutal dictator who has caused unthinkable pain for more than 50 years. We live in a community filled with victims of this dictatorship, and the people in Cuba continue to suffer today."


This isn't the first time Guillen has had something wild and crazy to say and it won't be the last. When it comes to some of the world's leaders he might want to think before he speaks.

Doug Fister going to the 15 day DL

The Detroit Tigers are one of the favorites to win the World Series. You have to be good to accomplish the feat, but you also have to be lucky. Which means staying injury free.

Today the Tigers' Doug Fister had to leave the game in the fourth inning of their 10-0 win over the Boston Red Sox.

Fister had to leave because of a  left costochondral strain. A rib strain for those not in the medical profession. Fister was placed on the 15 day disabled list and the Tigers called up reliever Brayan Villarreal from Toledo.

The Tigers should hope this is the exception and not the rule for the season.

Kurt Warner says Gregg Williams deserves a second chance

The NFL is a league of second chances. Ask Pacman Jones and Michael Vick about the chances they've had to redeem themselves in the eyes of the league. Kurt Warner is also a forgiving man. That has to do more with his religious background. I know anyone that put a hit out on me would never be forgiven.

Warner believes former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, should be given a second chance to be on an NFL sideline. Warner was named specifically in the NFL investigation into the bounty program Williams was running while he was defensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints.

 “All this talk about Gregg Williams receiving a “LIFETIME” ban from NFL,” Warner wrote on Twitter. “I disagree, we all deserve a 2nd chance!”


A fan responded to Warner’s tweet by pointing out that Williams already got a second chance when the NFL first warned the Saints that bounties would not be tolerated, and that Williams ignored the warning and continued the bounties. But Warner says the NFL should continue its long tradition of giving people the opportunity to redeem themselves.


“Guys that have gone 2 prison? Failed multiple drug test? Taped practices? All got 2nd chance!” Warner wrote.


Warner is the type to let bygones be bygones and just let it go. But Williams and the Saints had been warned before and he failed to heed the leagues warning. And with the recent video about putting specific San Francisco 49er players on the shelf, doesn't help his cause to get another chance.

Ventura and Ryan on speaking terms

It's been nearly twenty years since the infamous Nolan Ryan/Robin Ventura brawl, which Ryan got the best of Ventura and has been a running joke since then. A then 46 year old Ryan took the young Ventura to the woodshed. Numerous videos have been shown and Ventura has never been able to live it down.

The two have never crossed paths until today. Ryan is the CEO of the Texas Rangers and Ventura is the manager for the Chicago White Sox. It was the opener for both teams in Arlington today and they finally had a chance to speak. 

Ryan went over to the White Sox clubhouse and wished Ventura good luck. There was never any ill will between the two over the fight.

"He was a very good player and very successful player," Ryan said Thursday. "It was just a reaction or response to the moment. He and I had no personal interaction prior to that night. There was nothing that precipitated it from something previously."


The video of the fight is a staple at Rangers games but Ventura doesn't seem to mind, although it sounds a little bitter.

"It's not like I haven't seen it," Ventura said Thursday. "It's up to them. They can play it if they want. It's not going to change any decision I make or anything else I do."


I'm sure Ventura doesn't like having to see himself get pummeled by what was deemed an old man.