TK Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50590-2003Nov1.html The Rodney Dangerfield of Cities by George Soloman Sunday, November 2, 2003; Page E02 Aren't we supposed to be the most powerful city on earth? Aren't we the capital of the free world? Aren't we the seat of government, land of the free, home of the brave? Doesn't President Bush live here, along with Prince Bandar and Tony and Mike? Didn't Michael Jordan work here for three years? So why are we America's punching bag when it comes to sports? I can't decide who disses Washington more: the NFL or Major League Baseball. At the NFL meetings in Chicago on Thursday, the owners voted the 2008 Super Bowl to the Phoenix suburb of Glendale over Washington and Tampa by what Commissioner Paul Tagliabue called a "convincing" margin. Phoenix? Glendale? Home of the hapless Cardinals; a team that barely draws 40,000 to home games, with most of those schvitzing fans rooting for the visiting team. Beating out the Redskins who lead the NFL in attendance, averaging more than 80,000 fans a game. Redskins owner Daniel Snyder and D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams lobbied the league's owners for the right to host the first Super Bowl in a northern site in an open stadium, but to no avail. The owners opted for Arizona in part for the weather and in part to thank the state's lawmakers for coming up with $355 million for a new publicly funded stadium for the Cardinals, while the late Jack Kent Cooke built the Redskins' $400 million stadium in Landover with his own money. Also, Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill received additional support because the Cardinals hosted the Chargers-Dolphins game Monday night after the league moved it from San Diego because of the fires in Southern California. For that, Bidwill was accorded a standing ovation from his colleagues when the meetings began Wednesday -- the first applause for this guy from anyone since he moved his team from St. Louis in 1988. Snyder and Williams, bruised but undaunted, promise to try for 2009, which, if successful, leaves me watching the game on TV from an assisted living condo somewhere on South Beach. From that setback let's move on to my favorite subject: Commissioner Bud Selig's choice to have MLB run its own bankrupt baseball team, the Montreal Expos, instead of selling them to a Washington group with solid credentials with a 45,000-seat stadium (RFK) ready for immediate use and the promise of a downtown ballpark once Selig gives his blessing. Instead, Selig and Company will announce shortly the Expos playing about 60 games in Montreal and 20 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for a second straight year -- just to keep to keep the Washington metro area's 4.5 million residents in Peter Angelos's Orioles grip. I shared this gloomy news with My Baseball Gang at Cafe Milano this week, after the fictional bartender at Zola said he'd had enough of me and told me to beat it, buy a gold bat-chain medallion and take my whining and black Brioni silk shirt to Georgetown. If being shunned a year ago by the U.S. Olympic Site Committee to bid for the 2012 Olympics, scorned by Selig at every turn and used and abused by Angelos weren't insulting enough, how about the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum's cool holiday catalogue that celebrates and sells old ballpark memorabilia such as replica scoreboards and stadiums from New York's Polo Grounds, Brooklyn's Ebbets Field and Cincinnati's Crosley Field, while ignoring Washington's storied Griffith Stadium. "There's little to no market for anything from Griffith Stadium," explained Jeff Idelson, the museum's vice president for communications and education. No requests for Walter Johnson dolls, like the ones of Babe Ruth and Sammy Sosa? "Nobody has been asking," said Idelson, who added that the museum store was customer friendly and would respond to requests. I told my pals at Cafe Milano that the toll free number at the museum was 1-888-425-5633. There were thanks all around and the popping of corks to celebrate the fact that at least we kept the annual appearance of the Lipizzaner stallions at Patriot Center, as well as Tony Hawk's Boomboom HuckJam at MCI Center on Sunday. Kids These Days I have never seen as much hype as there was leading up to $100 million, 18-year-old phenom LeBron James's debut this week with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 6-foot-8 James scored 25 and 21 points in his first two games and looked great, but the Cavaliers lost to Sacramento and Phoenix, respectively. There were swarms of television cameras, reporters and who knows what else following his every move -- almost a cliche of sports in America, 2003. (Do I sound public-television pompous, or what?) At Red Auerbach's weekly Tuesday luncheon at China Doll, there was Hall of Fame Celtics guard Sam Jones arguing with his old coach over the duration of Auerbach's practice. "I cut them to an hour," Auerbach said. "You're dreaming, Red," Jones replied, "they were always at least two hours and you killed us with sprints the last 20 minutes." And -- borrowing a scene from Roger Kahn's brilliant "Boys of Summer" -- in that restaurant in downtown Washington, a million miles from the hype and glare of LeBron, two of the greatest figures in NBA history looked at each other with warmth, convinced with the rest of us that their time was the right time. . . . I'm stunned that Kobe Bryant, facing an upcoming trial on charges of sexual assault, would get into a weeklong verbal joust with teammate Shaquille O'Neal over what comes down to as who is "The Man" on the Lakers. On one hand, I agree with TNT and WTEM commentator John Thompson, who said Bryant ought to keep out of the public eye until his legal situation is resolved. On the other hand, lawyers make good points who say Bryant has every legal right to ply his trade and go about his business. Bryant's nasty exchanges with Shaq and the circus-like atmosphere surrounding his every move with the Lakers tend to make me agree with Thompson. Very Local Early returns on the Wizards are favorable. . . . Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, who is proud he doesn't panic, should panic. . . . D.C. United in the playoffs last night -- in a season MLS must shorten or risk losing its entire fan base. . . . Our Birds have narrowed their managerial candidates to everyone who ever put on a major league baseball cap. . . . And, finally, the Redskins had nothing to lose signing defensive tackle Darrell Russell to a one-year deal. If Russell gets into trouble, which has marked his pro career in Oakland, the Redskins can dump him. However, going into today's game at Dallas, Coach Steve Spurrier is playing a risky hand going with untested Tim Hasselbeck as Patrick Ramsey's backup, now that Spurrier exiled Rob Johnson and Danny Wuerffel rejected the Redskins. Have an opinion, or question? Reach me at Talkback@washpost.com. Accepting applications to My Baseball Gang. Baltimoreans welcome. © 2003 The Washington Post Company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeletor The Invincible Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 Sad but true article. While I don't agree with what the Orioles owner is doing, I can see why he is doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAC Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 The one thing that you can say about Dan Snyder is that he won't give up. I am willing to bet he gets us that Super Bowl at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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