PRINCETON —
This week's theme could be "Demolition Derby" judging by what happened in Arizona and Florida.
First, Jeff Gordon, a four-time NASCAR champion, pulled a bush-league move at Phoenix Motor Speedway by literally wrecking Clint Bowyer late in the race. I don't care if there had been some incidents between them (Gordon's account), there's no justification to cause a wreck leading to a brawl between pit crews and Bowyer's thankfiully blocked attempt to get to Gordon, a wreck which affected Joey Logano as well. NASCAR should have fined Bowyer and suspended Gordon for the last race.
ESPN doesn't get away without blame in the incident. They are using footage of the brawl in their promos for the last race of the year, instead of focusing on the battle between Brad Keslowski and Jimmie Johnson. Also, the old-time "let them fight" mentality of the commentators was uncalled for.
The second demolition derby of the week was Jeffrey Loria's job on the Miami Marlins trading five major leaguers for a combination package of major and minor leaguers from the Toronto Blue Jays. If it wasn't for the fact that Loria has pulled this move before and it comes a year after he got a tax-payer paid stadium on the promise that he would make an effort to field a competitive team, it wouldn't be so bad.
As it is, Loria spat on the fans of Miami by doing what he did. Some elements of the media, including perpetual management apologist Bill Plaschke and, disappointingly, Mike Wilbon, actually stood up for Loria, which was wrong.
As for Concord basketball, it's good that both teams are starting off well. The men's side of the WVIAC must be good for a 17-10 team to be ranked 10th in the pre-season poll after returning most of its best players.
Going to the NBA's Southwest Division, it remains the domain of the San Antonio Spurs, led by the veteran core oF Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli, aided by an underrated bench.
The Memphis Grizzlies have been a tough out in the playoffs the last two years. They are carried by Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph and Mike Conley, Jr., plus an excellent bench.
The Houston Rockets, the other party in the big pre-season trade involving James Harden, have benefitted from the move. Harden has performed well and Jeremy Lin is a good partner for him.
The Dallas Mavericks were NBA champions two years ago. Now, except for Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion, the team has been scattered to the winds. O.J. Mayo was a good addition, though.
The New Orleans Hornets picked up two lottery picks in Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers, so they are off to a good start in their re-building process.
West Virginia native Mike D'Antoni got a plum NBA coaching job as he was chosen to replace Mike Brown as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Now, he has to mesh Kobe, Steve Nash, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard and do so with a fan base which wanted Phil Jackson re-hired. I wish him well.
I can be reached c/o Jeff's Sports Corner, P.O. Box 1199, Princeton, WV, 24740. I can also be reached at delimartman@yahoo.com or jharvey1@frontiernet.net or on Facebook.
