COMMENTS FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY!Written by: Mike in DADate posted: 9/19/2010FLUB OF THE DAY!The "flub of the day" goes to me. In the 9/16 Peanut Gallery, I wrote that the "John and Lance Morning Show" is on SR610. Maybe it was a subconscious thought that SR610 could use John and Lance to anchor their station, but they haven't worked there since 2007. I should have instead written "KGOW 1560". I received three e-mails and a phone call for this flub and I'm sure many others noticed it. I appreciate the fact that people noticed it. It means they read it and were paying attention. Now I know how talk show hosts feel when they get called out for a "flub" by me. I got a dose of my own medicine, as my mom used to say. Next time, I'll "google" instead of relying on my failing memory.
The NFL sent out the expected memo on Wednesday (9/15) to remind teams that female reporters "are professionals and should be treated as such" in light of the media storm created by New York Jets players acting discourteously toward TV "reporter", Ines Sainz, and Washington Redskins’ RB Clinton Portis saying that he thinks women media members just want to see "53 packages" when they enter a locker room.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello called Portis' comment "clearly inappropriate." Then Aiello posted on his Twitter account that he found it interesting how Time Warner Cable has added eight new porn channels, but still hasn't found a place for the NFL Network.He ended that tweet by saying: "What a world! What a world!"ANOTHER WASTE OF TAXPAYER MONEY?I might have missed it, but I still haven't heard any of our local sports talkers mention the latest on the BALCO/PED investigations, so I'll do it here.The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently handed down a decision saying that Federal agents illegally and improperly seized drug-testing data for various professional athletes during the 2004 raid of the BALCO facilities in Burlingame, CA. Those records now have to be returned and cannot be used as evidence in any trial procedures. Agents had a warrant to search for records associated with 10 players, but their seizure exceeded the bounds and the authority granted by that search warrant. The court decision said that the Federal agents “displayed a callous disregard for the rights of third parties”; I am not a lawyer like Perry Mason, but that would seem to indicate to me that the judges there are not open to changing their opinions on this matter.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ 9-2 decision offered Miranda-style guidelines to prosecutors and judges on how to protect Fourth Amendment privacy rights while conducting computer searches. The 11-judge federal appeals court panel has dramatically narrowed the government’s search-and-seizure powers in the digital age, ruling that federal prosecutors went too far when seizing 104 professional baseball players’ drug results when they had a warrant for just 10.
Why is this important? Well, that pretty much puts the nail in the coffin regarding most of potential prosecutions of athletes who may have been using BALCO products. Moreover, without the threat of prosecution, there goes the leverage of the investigators and prosecutors to force cooperation from some of the BALCO clients against other BALCO clients.
Now, maybe it is time for a different line of questioning. This time the focus of the questions should be the investigators and the prosecutors from around the government who have conducted the BALCO case.
I wonder how many millions of dollars this seven-year circus has cost taxpayers. Other than a couple of months in jail for Victor Conte (pictured left) and a perjury conviction for Marion Jones, what did the taxpayers get for their money?
If this matter were really worth all the time, money, and effort that was poured into it, who will be held accountable for screwing up how the evidence was collected such that it now can't be used in court?
Those illegally seized records are the basis for the infamous list of 104 athletes who can be linked to BALCO and to PEDs. The court ruled that the evidence has to be returned and kept private. For reading purposes only, I'll set the Over/Under on the number of copies that have been made of that list of 104 athletes at 103?Speaking of BALCO and PEDs, if tennis was baseball, there would be suspicion about Rafael Nadal’s sudden dramatic increase in serving power. But tennis is not baseball, so we accept the fact that Nadal changed the grip on his serve and now has one of the biggest serves in tennis.
MLS STILL HANGING IN THERE!
Major League Soccer seems to be doing very well these days. The World Cup buzz might have helped some. Average game attendance is up about 1500 fans per game, which is a 9% increase in live attendance. Granted MLS was starting from a smaller base than the others, but no other pro sport in the US can boast of a 9% increase in attendance in 2010 versus 2009. The NFL is down about 1-2%; MLB is flat; the NBA is down anywhere from 5% to 12% depending on which report you read and choose to believe. By using average attendance, you do not get an apples-and-oranges comparison that you would get by looking only at total attendance because there is an expansion team in Philadelphia this season that did not exist last year. By the way, there are plans to add three more teams in the next two years in Montreal, Portland, and Vancouver.MLS has a sponsorship agreement with Adidas that lasts until 2018 and MLS games now appear on ESPN and Univision in addition to the Fox Soccer Channel giving MLS a lot more exposure than it has had in the past.
MLS is doing well and may be around longer than expected, but they need to pay heed to the old NASL (North American Soccer League for the acronym challenged), which was also doing well until it decided that the way to go to the next level was to sign foreign stars to NASL contracts when those stars were well on the downside of their careers. It did not work because it made the league financially unstable and eventually unsustainable. I'm sure the guys from "Orange Slice" (1560 KGOW, Saturdays, 9-10 AM) are happy about the above information.
CHESTER TAYLOR: FINALLY AN ATHLETE TELLS US THE TRUTH WHY HE SIGNED! Last week, I mentioned the tweet that LeBron James sent to Chris Paul advising him to “do what’s best for you and your family” regarding Paul’s upcoming free agency. I ended that blog segment by saying, “Fellas, stop hiding behind your family and go for the money like real men do.”
I wonder if Chester Taylor was surfing HMW recently, because when Jim Trotter of SI (Sports Illustrated for the acronym-challenged) asked Taylor why he signed with the Chicago Bears, Taylor said: "the money, first and foremost." Great answer Chester. I appreciate your honesty.
I don't understand why fans want athletes to play for the "love of the game," and not for the money. I worked for the money. So do my relatives, friends, and neighbors. Don't you work for the money? Shouldn't that be your number one reason to go to work? Isn't it all about making a living for yourself and for your family? What we do for fun or for the ''love of the game'' is called weekends, vacations, and holidays. I’m not saying you can't enjoy your job, but let's understand your main reason for putting in those 40 or so hours per week is to collect a paycheck.
It's no different for an athlete. Actually, athletes should be more interested in working for the money than the rest of us because their life shelf is much shorter. You and I have 40 plus years to work, while the athlete with some exceptions, has only a handful of years to cash in on playing the game.
Chester, once again thank you for your honesty. There's nothing wrong with an athlete capitalizing on his talents, and letting us know he signed with a team because they showed him the money.
FROM THE MAILBAG!
Thomas chimed in on Craig Shelton’s 9/16 article, "I'VE HAD IT" (http://sheltonmedia.blogspot.com/2010/09/ive-had-it-craig-shelton-september-16.html):"I remember when Josh and Dylan first came on air, I honestly thought they were the same person when I was flipping between 610 and 790. I honestly could not stand either of them, but chose to listen to Dylan as the lesser of the two evils. (Colin) Cowherd is actually more bearable at that time slot on 97.5, but I prefer the local radio. You are spot on when you say that Dylan isn't very knowledgeable at all. I remember when he did an opening monologue on the Marlins/Nationals brawl, he went on and on about how it was okay for Nyjer Morgan to steal bases being ahead by a wide margin. He had a whole rant about how you shouldn't stop playing when you are ahead even though the Nationals were the ones that were actually down 14-3 at that point. I tuned off after that and I'm not sure if anyone corrected him or he corrected himself later on.
I understand that nobody is perfect and over the course of a show you make an error or two. But Dylan just makes tons of errors over the course of his two hour show. I guess I found it a bit amusing that you would have an opening monologue on something that was factually incorrect. Do you listen to him on the Astros’ post game show on 740 on weekends? It’s really brutal, he really is clueless about baseball and sometimes I think he doesn't even watch much of the game”. END.
Eddie also commented on Craig's article, as follows: "After the Texans last preseason game, a caller had to tell Dylan the Texans signed RB (Derrick) Ward and this is while the asshole was saying the Texans are not making moves. I love to see that clown talk about Vince Young. He wishes he was a fraction of what VY is. Maybe when his career ends in radio VY can hire him to come over and do some traffic for him. Traffic BOY. Lesbo you know I'm not lying. Damn Dylan, you're riding without a saddle." END.
Anonymous left a comment on my 9/16 post, "COMMENTS FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY! - MIKE IN DA - S...": (http://sheltonmedia.blogspot.com/2010/09/comments-from-peanut-gallery-mike-in-da_16.html):"At first I thought you guys were scorned callers turned bloggers but the more and more I hear the rhetoric on the air I understand. Shaun Bijani just took a shot at you guys, he said something incorrect during his opening with the new guy because Barry (Warner) was out, he said it will end up on a blog and they snickered, then he precedes to say get that crap out of here. If you guys are at the games, me and my friends will introduce ourselves at the Giants game. If we happen to run into Shaun I will gladly repeat this very comment. I like 610 but they are some soft guys and now I am down with HMW." END.Reply to Anonymous: You can find Craig and possibly Lamont at the "Raging Bull Tailgaters" (RBT) spot near the Kirby Drive entrance.Jeff sent in an e-mail complaining about being on hold:"I often wonder if some of the on air personalities on 610 get paid by the number of words that they speak. It seems as if they enjoy listening to themselves. If they want it to be a sports banter between the two hosts, don't give out the phone numbers. I have made the commute from Katy to downtown and waited on hold the whole trip without getting on the air. It wouldn't be bad it they were talking about sports, but so many times it's just idle chat between the two. I welcome another station. Palillo is by far the guru of sports knowledge in the area." END.
My reply to Jeff: Brad Davies once had me on-hold for 2:25 one Sunday evening this year and I was still on-hold when the show ended and Lance Z once had me on hold for 2:16 when he was with SR610, so don't feel so bad. Luckily, I was at home and not driving at the time.Eric sent in an e-mail about 1560 KGOW's Morning Show:“1560 in the morning isn’t a serious sports show. It’s just a comedy show with an emphasis on sports. If you call that show be ready for ridicule, they only get semi-serious when they do their interviews. You're stupid if you call those guys and expect to be taken seriously. If you want serious business then listen to Charlie (Pallilo) on 790.”
SHARPE IS BACK IN STUDIO! 
On Thursday (9/16), CBS said NFL studio analyst Shannon Sharpe would be on the set today (9/19) because a Georgia woman withdrew her petition for a temporary restraining order against him relating to a sexual assault. 
The NFL sent out the expected memo on Wednesday (9/15) to remind teams that female reporters "are professionals and should be treated as such" in light of the media storm created by New York Jets players acting discourteously toward TV "reporter", Ines Sainz, and Washington Redskins’ RB Clinton Portis saying that he thinks women media members just want to see "53 packages" when they enter a locker room. 
On Thursday (9/16), CBS said NFL studio analyst Shannon Sharpe would be on the set today (9/19) because a Georgia woman withdrew her petition for a temporary restraining order against him relating to a sexual assault. 
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