TUESDAY TALKING POINTS

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez will resume playing baseball games with Triple-A Albuquerque starting tonight, June 23, when the Isotopes play host to the Nashville Sounds. Ramirez, who can return to the Dodgers from his 50-game suspension on July 3, is scheduled to play three games at Albuquerque. Tonight’s game starts at 6:05 p.m. and will be carried live on MiLB.TV, while Manny’s at-bats with be carried live on ESPN television.

I think it’s a shame the other Isotopes players have to put up with this sideshow for as long as they do. It’s quite likely they’ll all construe the attention as positive, though, and accept Manny and the circus with a smile. Manny will charm and sign autographs and all the Isotopes players can say they were on the same team as ManRam, but the whole situation looks a lot like a walk of shame. That’s why I think he’s being placed in far-away outposts like Albuquerque and later, San Bernardino (he’ll be playing for the Inland Empire 66ers in the near future).

As his return date nears, all the inevitable questions will surface. When did you take steroids, Manny? Why did you take steroids, Manny? Are you undergoing a sex change? No? Then why the female hormones, Manny/Manuela? The Dodgers are smart to let some of those questions get asked somewhere other than inside Dodger Stadium. We’ll see if Manny will start answering.

I’m actually for changing the policy so that zero baseball can be played until the entire length of suspension has been served. I think it’s ridiculous that Ramirez can work his way into game shape by playing actual games before his suspension is up. Why does Major League Baseball give him 50 games when they only really make him serve 40? Seems hypocritical, in the least.

It also seems hypocritical for those writers who are heaping praise upon United States MNT head coach Bob Bradley after the side’s 3-0 victory over Egypt last week are the same writers who were blasting the coach for his lineup changes and tactical decisions earlier in the Confederations Cup. Granted, there aren’t too many kudos to be passed around after lopsided loses to Italy and Brazil so I can see why some writers were shocked into writing feel-good pieces about the suddenly maligned coach — the team was facing certain elimination and is now in the semifinals (the U.S. scored an improbable 3-0 win over the Egyptians). It was all very exciting and was only made possible by the tie-breaker scenario (goal differential), which is so totally Euro. At least in this case, the rules actually worked in the Yanks favor.

Lucas Glover winning the U.S. Open may end up working in favor of Lucas Oil, a “manufacturer of petroleum additives and oils for high performance engines” or motor and industrial oil manufacturer. The company should sign Glover to an endorsement contract before someone else does. I mean, how many Lucas’s are there out there, really? George Lucas and… well… there was that movie “Lucas,” but that’s about it. It makes perfect sense. And Glover has that hickory-sweet voice that sells well to your core market — NASCAR fans. I love it when a plan comes together.

I thought the plan was starting to come together for the Anaheim Angels. Now I’m not so sure. The team had run off seven consecutive victories but then drops 2 of 3 to the Dodgers over the weekend before getting blasted 11-1 by the Colorado Rockies on Monday, June 22. That was crap but then comes the bad news: starting pitcher Ervin Santana is headed to the DL to join fellow gimp Kelvim Escobar. The sky continues to fall on this team this season and only a weak division is helping their prospects, and I don’t mean Brandon Wood. What’s with that guy, anyway? He should be raking in the big leagues by now but it’s Sean Rodriguez getting the call up? Wood was supposed to be hitting 25 dingers-a-year last year and has yet to spend extended time with the Halos. Play him or trade him.

The San Francisco 49ers should play Alex Smith this season or trade him. Do they really need to continue to commit to this guy if he’s never going to grasp the starting job? If Sean Hill’s your guy, then he’s the guy. If head coach Mike Singletary says it’ll be an open competition, then say it’s Smith’s spot to lose and the next decision is final. If Hill beats him out (for whatever reason), then Smith gets dumped. Quit dragging out the inevitable. And quit making the team’s fanbase stew in a pot with a failed No. 1 overall selection. It’s bad for morale and it’s bad for business.

I like what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is telling players who run afoul of the law, that is: they are bad for business. Goodell banned Donte Stallworth from playing in the upcoming season after the player pled guilty to manslaugter. The commissioner has taken a hard line, one-year stance on players who do not follow the NFL’s conduct policy and I think it’s the right one. Goodell can’t have murderers/players on the field. It’s not the best PR move. Next up is Plaxico “Itchy Trigger” Burress. Goodell’s in a tough spot here because the only person Burress hurt was himself. I say the bum’s suffered enough.

One bum who hasn’t suffered enough is Richard Jefferson. Jefferson, who was with the New Jersey Nets when they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2001 NBA Finals, was acquired by the San Antonio Spurs in a trade with Jefferson’s now former team, the Milwaukee Bucks. Apparently, Jefferson hasn’t had enough of losing to the Lakers in the playoffs and wants to try it again next season. The Spurs were hurt in this trade, giving away Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas, three key defensive pieces who helped serve as the backbone of a soft team. With Jefferson, the Spurs will score more points. Without Bowen, Oberto and Thomas, they won’t stop anybody.

AMA Motocross at Glen Helen, 2009

I covered the AMA South Point Hotel & Casino Motocross National for the Riverside Press-Enterprise on Saturday, May 23, 2009 and came away thinking about how insanely devoted some motocross fans are to this niche sport.

I couldn’t walk 25 feet without seeing a young man or even male child with some sort of injury. Broken arms and broken legs were the norm though I even saw a couple of dudes sporting halos, the layman’s term for that medical implement used to support someone’s head after a severe neck injury.

Now, injuries are common in sports, even expected. But as my good friend, former colleague and contemporary J.P. Hoornstra illustrated, you will not see injured amateurs as spectators in any other sport. The whole idea of supporting an industry that has caused the supporter so much pain seems awkward and a little weird. I mean, what’s next? Dude in a coma being wheeled around by nurses? Seriously.

Anyway, there they were at Glen Helen Raceway in Devore (Ca.), sporting their red badges of courage with a smile and a Monster sports-energy drink in their good hand.

Speaking of Monster, I tried my first one EVER at the event. The drink was stocked elbow-deep in the ice chest at the media tent so I thought I’d throw caution to the wind and give it a go. And you know, it tastes like cheap fruity soda. The kind you get from K-Mart or Cardenas, the Mexican grocer.

This stuff has serious kick, though. I didn’t take but a half-dozen sips before I put it down. About two minutes later my chest got warm. About a minute after that my head fuzzied some. And the I felt like a wanted to run. Thinking that might be considered a tad odd, I just walked briskly to the AMA trailer to get race results.

Injuries and intoxicants aside, there were the usual winners and losers on the day. Ryan Villopoto swept the two 450cc class motos while Christophe Pourcel and Ryan Dungey each won one 250cc class moto. For as fascinating as the results are — and they are, um, fascinating — what’s more interesting to me are the personalities of the riders — especially because some of them are foreign. Pourcel, a Frenchman, had trouble understanding several reporters’ questions and resorted to sayingthe same thing over and over again.

To paraphrase: “I won zay chaum-pionship zo I think I know how to ride.” Which is true — Pourcel is the reigning FIMWorld Champion — but is obviously struggling with English comprehension and enunciation.

Another 250cc rider, Tyla Rattray (yes, that is a guy), hails from South Africa and sounds like countryman Ernie Els. He says things with a very laid-back tilt which makes him a real easy listen.

To paraphrase: “The intensity is uh-lot tuh-fer in Ah-merica. I’m not one huh-ndred puh-cent right now but I’m luck-ing to gettin’ beh-tah.”

I was also able to spend a few moments with 450cc class rider and Riverside native Josh Grant, who finished 2nd and 4th, respectively.

“I thought (the racing) was good. I had the break issue in the very first moto and put a damper on the lead that I had but overall, I felt good. I felt like my start were good and the bike was awesome. We made good changes all day long and that helped out. I’m stoked.”

What did you do to prepare for this weekend?

“We only had a couple of weeks since Vegas and we didn’t have that much time to get ready. For me, I didn’t really do that much outdoor testing during the Supercross season just because we were trying to make our bike better for the races that were coming up. We came in (to Glen Helen) kinda of wondering a little bit until practice and luckily we got to do the press day so once we did that and got a glimpse of what the bike would be like then we got a good idea.”

Grant, a graduate of Riverside King High School, is now based on the East Coast as part of the JGR Yamaha team owned by football coaching legend Joe Gibbs.

“I’ve been back in North Carolina since October. It’s nice. It’s way different that California. The pace is different. It’s a lot more mellow and I get time to focus on what I need to do.”

What are your expectations for the rest of this season?

“It keeps going the way it is it’ll goingto be good. Just gotta keep getting good starts and good finishes and not be inconsistentor getting DNFs. For me, that’s my goal.”

I then asked him about the level of competition in the 450cc outdoor class. This is Grant’s first season as an outdoor 450cc rider.

“I expected guys to be fast, for sure. Ryan (Villopoto) a good outdoor rider and he definitely rides pretty good here. I’ve got to go for it, really. He hangs it out andI’m a little more of a conservative guy who worries about style. I think if I start hanging it out a little more, I’ll be up there with him.”

Finally, I asked Villopoto, who won both motos without winning a single hole-shot, what he thought of his chances of going 24-for-24 in motos this year. It was a question that brought smirks and a few giggles from the riders and media gathered in the press tent. After all, only Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart have accomplished the feat.

“It’s not my main goal… to do the 24-and-oh. I’m just going to take it one race at a time and points is the main goal. I’m not out there chasing the (24-for-24) but maybe one day I’ll chase that down. Right now it’s just race to race and I’ll take what I can.”

Seems even motocross guys receive training in handling quote-thirsty media.

Reflections of David Poole, 1959-’09

I first met David Poole while covering NASCAR at California Speedway in Fontana in 2002.

Poole, who succumbed to heart attack Tuesday at age 50, sat directly behind me in the speedway’s media center. I can remember the first time I saw him…

I arrived at the speedway at about 10 a.m. on that Friday and Poole, the NASCAR beat writer for the Charlotte Observer, was already there. Matter of fact, he was always there before me.

Anyway, he was loudly debating, as was his style, the merits, or lack thereof, of bringing a second race to Fontana which, at the time, had only one NASCAR race per season. The debate didn’t last long because the poor guy Poole was debating couldn’t keep up with Poole’s bluster or energy and concluded his remarks with a meek “We’ll see.” Poole laughed heartily, clearly satisfied that he had won.  

A large man with a large voice to go with his large opinions, Poole was the most veteran of NASCAR  beat writers and it didn’t take long for me to realize his stature around the garage. He was the first to ask questions in post-race interviews, the first to ask follow-up questions and the first to ask any follow-ups to his follow-ups. That’s just the way it went. If another writer bucked the trend and tried to interrupt, Poole would scoff, guffaw and finish his question anyway. And the driver, whomever it was, would answer Poole’s questions first. As a young journalist, I was in awe of his command of a room, even if it was a NASCAR room.

I could also tell that Poole’s lifestyle was damaging his health.  He would eat heartily in the media cafeteria, drinks tons of soda and devour snacks while at his desk and often fall asleep in his chair during qualifying or lower-level races. And he snored relentlessly, clearly a sign of sleep apnea, a blocked airway, heart trouble or all three.

Did I mention Poole was a big guy? He was probably every bit of 6-foot and 300 pounds – not unheard of but not a picture of health either.

None of that matters in the end, though. What’s important is that the dude was one hell of a writer, a great interviewer and a respected voice for one of the most popular sports in America. I feel for his family, the sport and anyone who was ever enlightened by his words.