2/16/2004 08:46:00 AM by Rob

Who was YOUR big hero yesterday?

First off, my thanks to Mike and Carolyn at The Scofield House in Sturgeon Bay, Wisc. This was our third stay there, and you won't be surprised to find out that the Sloth stays at an establishment which has been voted as having one of the 10 Best Breakfasts in the entire country. If the Door County region of Wisconsin is a vacation destination for you, I encourage you to drop dime on them.

I had very little contact with the outside world this weekend, but I did get home in time to watch the last half of the Daytona 500. Dale Junior is MY personal man of the weekend. That was a great race, which is probably a lost fact on most of you.

Maybe your man of the weekend was John Daly. Jeez, he looks bad. He looks even fatter than me, if that's possible. For the first time in 9 years, he pulled it all together and won a tournament. Really, they don't live much harder than Long John, and the big upset of the weekend is NOT that he won, but the fact that he is still alive.

Or maybe your man is Shaq. My son LOVES the Lakers...I hate 'em. I hate Phil Jackson, who acts like he invented basketball. I hate the arrogant Kobe Bryant, who seems to be more and more like MJ...Michael JACKSON, that is. And I don't much like the pouty, divaesque Shaq. But if you don't follow the NBA, and who can blame you, Shaq, every day, is like Tiger Woods in 2002. Or Barry Bonds in 2002, only minus the steroids. He is completely unstoppable with the ball.

Or maybe your man is A-Rod. If you're from Boston, your man ain't A-Rod. This much is true...A-Rod wasn't gonna play third for Boston. Or anyone else, except the goddamned Yankees. This really isn't right, and a REAL commissioner would not allow the Yankees to exist as they do. $190M payroll? That having been said, I am not one of those who have conceded to the Yanks. They all have to play together, and I am not convinced that everyone there can check their egos at the door. A-Rod and Jete and Shef and Giambi and Lofton and Bernie Williams? This could blowed up Reeel Good!

Finally, is your man Greg Maddux? This hostage seige is finally going to have to come to an end. Pitchers and Catchers report Wednesday! So Mad Dog and Bore Ass are finally gonna have to get off of the pot. The big stink on the sports radio today is "Is Hendry Bidding Against Himself?" And maybe he is. The fact is Greg Maddux is probably worth more than he initially bid. Who flops their best deal out there to start? I don't blame him for doing that, I don't blame Maddux for refusing the offer, and I don't blame anyone. I'm real serene about the whole thing.

Maddux is NOT the difference maker we need. He's a luxury, albeit a nice one. He isn't going to bat leadoff for us, nor can he make the catchers hit better. As long as he doesn't end up in St. Louis, I'm completely fine with whatever happens.

The BIG Cubs question of the day is: Now that the Steingrabber has traded his second baseman, there is talk that he is looking at the one team that seems to have two "name" second basemen. Here's the question: What does he have that we would want in return? You know he isn't trading anyone from his starting lineup, we don't need any of his pitching unless it's Rivera, which he won't trade, and they're not too stocked with prospects. I don't see a trade happening here, which has just gotta make the Big Stein itch...

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