05/09/2008 -
It may be too late for the White Sox to get a refund for the sensitivity training they were ordered to put manager Ozzie Guillen through two summers ago. The man seems more determined than ever to talk his way out of a job.
``Those people are gonna make me a lot of money later. Because as soon as I'm done,'' Guillen said Thursday, referring to reporters, ``I'll be the only manager they remember.''
``Who's the manager they remember the most?'' he asked a moment later, not waiting for an answer. ``Billy Martin. They don't remember Sparky Anderson. They remember Billy Martin because he was the crazy one.''
In the news business, we call this becoming the ally of your gravedigger. If most of us had a stretch on the job like the one Guillen is in the midst of, the last thing we'd do is call attention to it. Not the Wizard of Oz.
While his ballclub was plummeting in the American League Central, Guillen was complaining about the Cubs always being the darlings of the Chicago media. While his sorry hitters were deflating faster than the blow-up dolls they posed in the locker room to break the slump, Guillen defended the stunt.
``Some people like stuff,'' he said one more time, ``some don't.''
If the White Sox were a college program instead of a pro baseball team, the organization would already be on double-secret probation for what the NCAA calls ``a lack of institutional control.'' Instead of apologizing for any of it, Guillen resorted to an old ruse, suggesting one more time there is a method to his madness.
``Who cares about Britney Spears? But she's on TV every day. Why do you think people give a ... about Jose Canseco? That ... sells,'' Guillen said.
It also ends careers prematurely, something that seems to have been on Guillen's mind almost since the beginning of his tenure in charge of the White Sox. Every manager knows he's hired to be fired, but few get their first shot in a town so ready to embrace them.
A crowd of almost 38,000 sprung to its feet when Guillen was introduced on April 13, 2004, for his first home game as manager. Many of them no doubt remembered the mercurial, slick-fielding shortstop who had made his debut there as a player nearly 20 seasons earlier and went on to become Rookie of the Year.
Back then, Guillen could be every bit as entertaining with his mouth as he was with a glove. He grew up in Venezuela dreaming about the day he would follow in the footsteps of two previous White Sox shortstops, Chico Carrasquel and Luis Aparicio, who became legends back home. And just like them, Guillen arrived on these shores as a teenager, trying to learn English in the sometimes-crude environs of a locker room. The difference is that once Guillen figured out he could make audiences titter by dropping f-bombs and wholesale insults, he couldn't stop unloading them.
The shame is that like a lot of class clowns, Guillen isn't just fearless, he's smart. The same impulsive qualities that made him a headline writer's dream also made him look like a pretty shrewd manager - once.
Rewind back to the World Series-winning season of 2005 and what you'll find is a guy leading a ballclub with a series of inspired hunches. In what might have been the pivotal game against Houston, Guillen passed up his regular closer in the late innings three times in favor of relievers who hadn't worked, on average, in a month. Then he got the game-winning home run from Geoff Blum, who had exactly one at-bat the entire postseason, and did what he could to spread the credit around.
``I've never seen a team as magical as this one,'' Guillen said at the time, and he turned out to be right.
By the following July, the White Sox were in a tailspin that left them some 25 games below .500, and nothing Guillen has done or said since has accomplished anything. He first threatened to walk away from baseball if the White Sox won it all toward the end of that magical 2005 season and he's repeated it several times now. In between, he's feuded with players, cursed reporters and forced the White Sox brass to explain away one embarrassment after another.
How much of a toll it's taken already is something only Guillen or owner Jerry Reinsdorf know. The owner once referred to his manager as ``the Hispanic Jackie Mason,'' and just extended his contract through 2012.
What they seem to have forgotten, though, is that laughing at the hijinks, insults and all that foul language would be a lot easier if it wasn't for all that losing.
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Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitkeap.orgCopyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
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LaDainian Tomlinson Favorite to be 2007 NFL MVP
With the first NFL preseason game less than two weeks away, it is time to start thinking about football once again at Sportsbook.com. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson is currently the 5-1 co-favorite to win the award again alongside Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone after his all out assault on the record books last season. For those suffering from amnesia or were under a rock last football season, all L.T. did last season was set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns (28), total touchdowns (31) and total points scored (186) to go along with his 1815 rushing yards and 508 receiving yards. At 6-1, Tom Brady is next in line which isn’t surprising considering all of the firepower the Pats added over the off-season. With the addition of Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker; it would be quite difficult for Brady’s numbers not to improve from last years 3529 yards and 24 touchdowns. There appears to be some decent value in Drew Bees at 10-1 considering he probably would have won the award last year if it wasn’t for L.T.’s record breaking season.
There is no reason to think the Saints will come back to earth this season and playing in a weak NFC, they should have as good a shot as any to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. At 15-1, Donovan McNabb could also be worth a look. Remember, many felt he was the MVP of the first half of the season before going down with a season ending injury. Reportedly, he is in great shape and well ahead of schedule to return to form. Also, he could have some added motivation to put up big numbers this season with the Eagles using their first pick in the draft on McNabb’s future successor Kevin Kolb.
Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to check out the complete odds for NFL MVP as well as all of the new football related futures. With the popularity of NFL futures, these betting lines will be sure to change as the money comes in; get the early sports lines now.
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