What In The World

The SEVEN
March 22nd, 2011

I. Get Me Outta Here

Now that AT&T is in the process of buying T-Mobile, a lot of T-Mobile subscribers have questions about what is to come in terms of pricing and service...so much so that one of my Facebook friends posted her hilarious forthcoming divorce announcement from T-Mobile, asking the readers to please respect their privacy during this difficult time. I was going to say that my main question was unrelated, but I guess it does relate to the services provided: With no T-Mobile, what's going to happen the next time Dwyane Wade gets locked in the hotel suite?

II. What You Don't Know...

I guess the creative folks at the ad agency which did the T-Mobile MyTouch commercial (in which the shirtless guy portraying an iPhone mockingly reveals that he had to give his shirt to AT&T for his data plan) had absolutely no idea AT&T would be buying their client.

III. Snoozing And Losing

When the Miami Heat got out of the gate at 9-8, there were probably some people that almost thought D-Wade really wanted to record a "Get Me Outta Here" message. Once again, we see that basketball is truly a team game and even when assembling phenomenal individual talent, it often takes a while for the team to get on the same page and avoid "stumbling and bumbling," in the words of Walt "Clyde" Frazier...which brings us to the New York Knicks, who have compiled a record of 7-9 since acquiring Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups in their big trade with the Denver Nuggets. Of course, it seems as though the Nuggets - 10-4 since then - figured things out pretty quickly.

IV. And The Emmy Goes To...

I see ratings were up this weekend for the NCAA Tournament. Why is that? Let's look at why March is filled with Madness.

First of all, basketball is a great sport. People are filled with pride when their local school or alma mater is in the tournament. There is a particular excitement and sense of urgency involved with a single-elimination tournament...as opposed to a playoff series lasting up to seven games. And of course, there are the upsets. I think that most people without a particular rooting interest in the tournament watch the first two rounds...okay, now the first three rounds with the newly-added First Four...solely to see the big guys get bumped off. This year produced more upset entries into the Sweet 16 than usual, which may account for some of the ratings rise. But could part of it be the participation of the Turner Sports Emmy Award-Winning Inside The NBA crew? Always interesting to hear what Charles Barkley will say, and with him and Kenny Smith and E.J. and the others involved with the NCAA Tournament coverage, I'm looking forward to the post-game shows!

V. Clearance Sale

I so wish I had a dollar for every John Cena hat/wristband/headband/hoodie I saw while passing through New York's Penn Station on Saturday night, and then Newark's Penn Station the next night as folks were coming into those stations after WWE shows. If I had been able to collect a dollar from them all, I might get together with a couple of buddies and make an offer on the New York Mets - who, I am certain, will be on the clearance rack before long.

VI. Bad Play or Bad Luck

One of the symbols, rightly or wrongly, of Met fan frustration over the last few years was Luis Castillo and his dropped two-out, ninth inning pop fly which cost the Mets a win over the Yankees in 2009. The Mets' new general manager, Sandy Alderson, alluded to that as he announced that the Mets were releasing Castillo...with a six million dollar golden parachute, so to speak. Castillo was immediately signed by the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies, which sets him up to potentially exact some revenge on the team that essentially said that they would pay him six million to leave the building.

But let's ask ourselves this question: if Castillo - who batted .302 in 2009 - had dropped that popup against the Royals or the Mariners or the A's or the Padres, would he have incurred the wrath of the fans in such a manner? I would say Luis Castillo's biggest problem was not that he dropped a ball, or that it cost a game, but that he dropped that popup against the Yankees.

VII. What In The World?

In a world where, among other things, we as a nation are struggling to recover from a recession; where freedom-seeking uprisings are taking place from Egypt to Bahrain to Libya, and the Ivory Coast is experiencing civil war; where Japan has been hit with a tsunami, earthquakes, and a possible nuclear crisis, why in the world are the NFL owners and players fighting over billions?

Really, why are the owners locking out the players? What message does that send? They must think it's open season on unions in this country...like Gov. Scott Walker and many of the Republican leaders apparently do. Well, like the people of Wisconsin, I'm siding with the union.