An Occasion To Mark

45 Years ago today England won it's first and
only World Cup in Soccer 4-2 versus W Germany,
remember them? Controversial too. And oh yeah,
A Star was born. ;-)

Ranting With Rizzo Replay 7-26-11

I apologize in advance for the crappy audio
last week, but no matter what I did, it would
not cooperate. It's audible for sure, hope
you enjoy it as we talk baseball trades
and deadline possibilities.

I Should Have Made It A League Wide Plea

I have never met the man, so this is truly not
personal. I say this because as sports talk
hosts or writers we give our opinion, and
hopefully do our best to make sure there is no
malice behind it. Back in September of 2010
I submitted an audio piece to 312Sports that
was in reply to a rumor that Eric Wedge was a
candidate to take over as manager of the Cubs.
The main focus of my piece was DON'T HIRE
ERIC WEDGE. Looking back in retrospect perhaps
I should have made it clear that not only did I
think this was a bad hire for the Cubs if made,
but a bad hire in general. A little over two
weeks ago the Seattle Mariners were literally
within arms reach of the AL West, and though
no one really believed that they could win that
division let alone finish near .500, it was a
real good start. Well last night they lost
their club record 15th in a row, and if this
keeps up it will not only be a club record
but it will also be an MLB record. Yes they
have a long way to go, but perhaps it's
already time that Eric Wedge goes too.

NY Trade Rumours That Start Here

Carlos Beltran: I am going to side with my
guest today on my show and, also take Carlos
at his word that he wants to stay in NY.
That is why I am going to predict that he
either A) Stays a Met, B) Gets traded to the
crosstown Yankees or C) gets traded & returns
to one of those two teams via free agency

Jason Bay: Mark it down ! Jason Bay returns to
the Red Sox in a deal that benefits both teams
greatly. Come on! Jeff Francouer? Really! ? !

Hiroki Kuroda: The Red Sox will not trade for
this Dodgers starter. Japanese is starting to
give them mucho indigestion.

Juanne Pierre: Is likely to join another team in
the stretch run before this is all over.

Oakland A's: Will be sellers, D'uh !

Unfortunately You Must Trade Carlos Beltran

Courtesy: NY Daily News
I am a BIG NY Mets fan, but in short here is
the reality of the situation. The NY Mets,
started the season 5-13, and have gone 44-37
since that time, or seven games over .500.
That being said, it is not far fetched to
believe that the Mets can go seven games over
.500 for the remainder of the season, which
would be 35-28, for a final record of 84-78.
That is NOT enough to win the NL Wildcard,
yes stranger things have happened, but you
can't depend on that. Michael Moraitis was
a guest on my show yesterday, and said one
thing that made too much sense. Reyes,
Beltran, and Wright were their when the
Mets suffered some of the biggest collapses
in baseball history, what leads you to believe
that they can be any different this year?
It's a point you can't ignore.

It's also funny how life works sometimes, in
that today may have been Carlos Beltran's last
appearance in a Met uniform at home, and it
happened against the St. Louis Cardinals, the
team that all Mets fans will always connect
Beltran with for never taking the bat off of
his shoulders on a call third strike to end
the Mets playoffs hopes just a few short years
ago. It's inevitable, they MUST trade Beltran,
as much as it pains me to say it.

Ranting With Rizzo Replay 7-19-11

A post All Star break show has a baseball flavor
for sure with a little Derek Jeter talk, a little
3000 hit talk, and what Cristian Lopez do with it.
Listen in and email us too. Rizzo@WDISAM.com

Golden Head Shot

DOUG PENSINGER / GETTY IMAGES
With one more goal today Abby Wambach is in line
for at least a share of the Golden Boot Award
for the most goals in the World Cup along with
Brazil's Marta. Marta has a one goal edge, and
that happens to be a Penalty Kick. None of Abby's
goals have come on the Penalty Kick, and the only
thing more impressive than that is the fact that
her scores have been predominantly headers, and
exciting lead takers as well. Win or lose Abby is
in line for the Golden Boot and though it's clear
that the US Women are strong favorites here to take
home their third World Cup trophy, perhaps they
should give Abby the Golden Head award should she
tally another goal or two in this match, after all
it hasn't been just her hair or even boot for that
matter that have been Golden in this tournament.
My Prediction: USA 5 Japan 1

James Harrison Apologizes

In case you missed it or by some chance it gets
taken down by the time you get a chance to read
it, below is a copy of the apology James Harrison
posted. Enjoy, I didn't.

I’ll start by offering my apologies for some of
the words that I said during the four days in
May that Men’s Journal was invited to my house to
discuss what the NFL has recently been portraying
as their attempts at ‘player safety’ rules and
regulations, and to cover my everyday workout routine.

I did make comments about my teammates when I was
talking about the emotional Super Bowl loss, but the
handful of words that were used and heavily publicized
yesterday were pulled out of a long conversation and
the context was lost. Obviously, I would never say that
it was all Ben’s or Rashard’s fault that we lost the
Super Bowl. That would be ridiculous. Both Ben and Rashard
are great players and great teammates. Clearly the entire
team bears responsibility for the loss, me included.
It was a team effort and a team loss. My teammates know me
well, and hopefully understand the things I said were not
meant to accuse them of the loss. We all have discussed
several things that went wrong in the Super Bowl since
that day. What I do apologize for and take full
responsibility for is for speaking in such a candid
manner to someone outside the team.

I also need to make clear that the comment about Roger
Goodell was not intended to be derogatory against gay
people in any way. It was careless use of a slang word
and I apologize to all who were offended by the remark.
I am not a homophobic bigot, and I would never advocate
intolerance of gay people.

As far as the photo that was shown on air yesterday,
collecting guns is a hobby of mine, and I advocate the
responsible use of firearms. I believe in the right to
bear arms. I like to go to the shooting range. I like to
hunt. I like to fish. I could just as easily have posed
with my fishing poles but it obviously wouldn’t be an
interesting picture for the magazine. I am not promoting
gun violence by posing for that photo. There are also other
photos in the magazine story that were not shown on air
yesterday – including me with my sons, with my mom and
as a kid.

Unfortunately, the above items and other comments have
detracted from the original purpose of the story – a
position I have been advocating for some time now. If
player safety is the NFL’s main concern, as they say it
is, they are not going about it in an effective manner.
There’s nothing about extending the season or issuing
exorbitant fines on defensive players that makes any shift
toward the prevention of injury to players.

I believe that the league may have been feeling increasing
pressure about injuries and concussions last year, and that
they panicked and put rules in place that weren’t fully
thought out. I’m not advocating more flags and fines, I’m
just saying that the current rules are not completely fair,
and I don’t believe in the way that the league is handling
their position as overseer of the NFL and the well-being
of its players.

As far as the character and reputation hits I may suffer
as a result of my comments in the article, I’ll take those
hits and more if it brings increased attention to the
re-examination and installation of rules and regulations
that would create a REAL impact on player safety.

The NFL Labor Unions Brain Numbing Actions

Courtesy AP
It seems obvious to me that those boys doing
the negotiations on the "Union" side of the
table have been on the wrong side of a helmet
to helmet hit themselves a time or two.
Adam Schefter reported earlier that the two
sides had pretty much agreed on how to overhaul
the rookie pay scale and would now move on to
workman's comp, free agency rules, etc.
My question here for the Union, or de certified
whatever it is, is: Why are you fighting so
hard for players that aren't even part of the
Union? Why not settle that stupidity weeks ago
and move on to more important stuff like free
agency? Those players are already union members.
Workman's comp? Those players were/are in the
union and helped make this league great. Current
players? The established players are the ones
that deserve to reap the rewards, not some kid
who was a star at Bumfock State. Wake the hell
up and smell the Jamarcus Russell Mr Smith !

Ranting With Rizzo Replay 7-12-11

Miss the last Ranting with Rizzo show?
Well it's always here for you to catch
up, if you wish. Thanks for joining me!

Mere Bag Of Shells

Courtesy : Capecodtoday.com

If you thought the "Tie" was bad, or perhaps
the strong arming of FOX Television to get
Bud Selig to let the All Star Game decide
home field advantage in World Series was
annoying, then you might want to remember a
phrase Jackie Gleason once used, and incorporate
it here: The All Star Game is a "Mere Bag Of
Shells" of what it used to be. The truth is,
there is NO competition, it less fun to watch
than the NFL Pro Bowl, and this year's mass
excuse exodus by players selected may be the
biggest in a long line of embarrassments the
game has seen, but I'll use Jackie's phrase again,
and say: If you think this is bad, well my friends,
this is a "Mere Bag Of Shells"!

One Week To The Day

The NY Mets are destined to finish the first half over
.500, win or lose tonight, but this week sure has been
an example of their grit this year. When it looked
certain last Sunday that they would be swept by the NY
Yankees in their second leg of their inter league
Subway series, with Mariano Rivera on the mound, down
by one and two outs, they staved off his sure save
and rallied to tie and eventually win the game. Now that
alone is often times a good once a week accomplishment,
but to knock around World Series Champion SF Giants closer
Brian Wilson and win that game too in the same week is a
sure fire pick me up, and one hell of a way to say,
"We may not be ALL STAR laden, but yeah were for real"

De Ron Williams A Turkey, Better Off In Canada

AP Photo
Reports have NJ Nets Biggest asset going over to
play basketball in Turkey if the lockout lasts
too long, but that kinda surprises me when you
consider the story from CBC News in Canada that
gives him such a huge opportunity to be a Rain
man or better yet a Mill Rat up in Canada.
Huh, sometimes I just don't get it. ;-)

Ranting With Rizzo Replay 7-6-11

Courtesy: SIKids.com

This past show on Ranting with Rizzo we took
another look at the DH from both an American
League and National League view as well as
how it affects both Interleague play and
the World Series. Check it out !

A-Rod vs The Wiseman

My uncle constantly teaches me that the
wiseman is NEVER wrong. Thing is, this
so called wiseman is really quite a few
wisemen, that over the history of time
have come to realize some tried and true
constants. In A-Rod's case I have one
such tried and true constant, that comes
to mind when I read this story on 212Sports
by Michael Moriatis. "Where There's Smoke,
Theres Fire", and this is one tried and true
Wiseman constant that I'm going to believe
the Wiseman has once again gotten correct.