Friday, July 25, 2003
Lions and coaches and fines, oh my!
Looks like Matt Millen has been fined $200,000 by the National Football League for not interviewing any non-white candidates for the Detroit Lions' head coaching position that was subsequently filled by former 49ers coach Steve Mariucci.
Question: What do skin color and coaching football have to do with each other? Answer: Nothing. Why does the color of an NFL coach's skin make any difference whatsoever? I understand that the NFL hasn't had very many minority head coaches, and I understand the intent behind this policy. But in the end, hiring a black head coach for your football team isn't going to amount to jack when it comes to race relations. It's just football. Plus, if Steve Mariucci were available, might you not skip the formalities and hire him right away?
A Giant Sweep: Barry's leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth yesterday gave the Giants a 3-2 win over Arizona, their fourth straight over the D-Backs, and upped their lead to 11 games in the N.L. West. Oh yeah: Barry also threw out the potential go-ahead run at the plate in the top of that same inning, keeping the game tied. ("The man is a God," wrote my friend Matt in an e-mail just minutes after the game.) And let's not forget the two solo home runs by Ray Durham, the second of which tied the game in the eighth inning.
Answer To Yesterday's Question: The last player to hit a walk-off home run on his birthday was Alex Rodriguez, who did it last summer for the Rangers. (That also happened to be the first-ever walk-off grand slam by a birthday boy in major league history.) A SportsCenter segment last night told us that three others have done it in the past 30 years. No word on the all-time number, though.
Question: What do skin color and coaching football have to do with each other? Answer: Nothing. Why does the color of an NFL coach's skin make any difference whatsoever? I understand that the NFL hasn't had very many minority head coaches, and I understand the intent behind this policy. But in the end, hiring a black head coach for your football team isn't going to amount to jack when it comes to race relations. It's just football. Plus, if Steve Mariucci were available, might you not skip the formalities and hire him right away?
A Giant Sweep: Barry's leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth yesterday gave the Giants a 3-2 win over Arizona, their fourth straight over the D-Backs, and upped their lead to 11 games in the N.L. West. Oh yeah: Barry also threw out the potential go-ahead run at the plate in the top of that same inning, keeping the game tied. ("The man is a God," wrote my friend Matt in an e-mail just minutes after the game.) And let's not forget the two solo home runs by Ray Durham, the second of which tied the game in the eighth inning.
Answer To Yesterday's Question: The last player to hit a walk-off home run on his birthday was Alex Rodriguez, who did it last summer for the Rangers. (That also happened to be the first-ever walk-off grand slam by a birthday boy in major league history.) A SportsCenter segment last night told us that three others have done it in the past 30 years. No word on the all-time number, though.
