So the f what?!

Daily News columnist John Smallwood has stepped up with a big “So what?” column in today’s paper. In a story that received barely any mention locally the last few days, a Japanese pitcher in the Cleveland Indians farm system -- Kazuhito Tadano -- has admitted to taking part in a gay porn movie. Tadano was a highly rated prospect pitching for Rikkyo University, when a tabloid published photos of him from the video. Blackballed in Japan, Tadano came to America and was offered a minor league contract with the Indians. Playing in all three levels of the minors last year, he went 6-2 with a 1.55 ERA. This despite feeling the need to stand up in front of two different locker rooms and explain his past. I would say this man has some poise, wouldn’t you? Smallwood is the only writer for the Inquirer and the Daily News to comment, save for the token “wire services” story that made each paper yesterday. He points out -- correctly -- that the only reason this is a story is because it was a gay porn movie, not just a porn movie. Let's be honest, this is all about the possibility that Tadano could be gay. If Tadano had been in this video with a woman instead of another man, he probably would have some level of cult status in most locker rooms. It certainly wouldn't be a threat to his career. Though heavy-handed in his approach, Smallwood rightly lays an indictment at the feet of professional sports in this country. The fact, however, that Tadano felt compelled to say, "I'm not gay, and I'd like to clear that fact up right now," shows he understands that his being paid to perform a homosexual act in a gay pornographic video could still threaten his professional baseball career. Overall as a society, the United States might be more liberal concerning both homosexuality and pornography, which is illegal in Japan. But we are talking about professional team sports - where testosterone reigns supreme and being gay is still considered the taboo of all taboos. As far as I know, no active player in Major League Baseball, the NFL, NBA or NHL has ever openly acknowledged that he was homosexual. Go into any locker room and it would take all of 5 seconds to understand that an openly gay player is still not something professional team sports is ready to deal with. While I shouldn’t be surprised that major league sports in this country have been slow to break down their misplaced machismo, I am severely disheartened. For christ’s sake -- it’s 2004, people! Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier over 50 years ago, women have been playing professional sports for decades and statistics clearly show that homosexuals have to have been playing sports all along. Even the Supreme Court says what goes on in one’s bedroom cannot be legislated against. For lack of a true rallying cry, “So what?” is right.

Oscars noms announced

Way early this morning -- 8:30 am to be precise -- this year's Oscar nominations were announced. While I promise more reaction in the future, I must offer my surprise at a couple of things now: (1) the Academy finally recognizing comedy, with Johnny Depp and Diane Keaton both getting nominations, and (2) the independents and foreigns getting some strong representation, from the likes of In America, Lost In Translation, Whale Rider, and City of God, among others. As I said, I will post more in the future on this -- especially after I actually see some of these films (or movies!).

Kerry wins Hew Hampshire primary

Massachusetts senator John Kerry has claimed victory in today’s New Hampshire Democratic primary, allowing him to build momentum heading into the Arizona, Delaware, Missouri, Oklahoma and South Carolina primaries, and the New Mexico caucus next Tuesday. I don’t know enough about Kerry to make an informed decision on whether I would vote for him, but after his visit to Philadelphia -- chronicled here by Shallow Center -- last summer, he will have a lot of explaining to do. Secretly, I wonder if all of us were hoping Kerry would win so that Vermont governor Howard Dean might give us another great story.

Heatley to return tomorrow

Just four months after breaking his jaw and tearing his ACL in a terrible car accident that killed passenger, teammate and friend Dan Snyder, Atlanta Thrashers right wing Dany Heatley has announced he will play in his first game Wdenesday night at home against the St. Louis Blues. This is a tough story to write about, so I shall just let you read it and draw your own conclusions without any snide comments from me.

Trade winds blowing

In my first e-mail from someone who isn’t a family member, my friend, Shawn, writes: Great stuff about Clarke and the Williams trade. I was shouted down in my peer group for questioning the Mighty Clarke, but I think that giving up on Williams was a mistake. He could have swiped Markov for a song, despite what he tells you. It's just another link in a very long train (Williams, Oullett, Brendl, Hlavac, Niinimaa, and, if you believe the rumor mill, Gagne). Of course, some of these guys HAVE turned out to be stiffs (Niinimaa comes to mind), but he never gave them a chance. Well, I appreciate the compliment, Shawn, and also you agreeing with me. We both know that doesn’t happen very often. In another e-mail, my friend, Andy, writes: I saw that Amonte went down indefinitely and Hackett suffers from "positional vertigo". Does that mean the Flyers trade Simon Gagne and Kim Johnsson for Tommy Salo and Joe Juneau? Hmmm...what silly wabbit will Clarkie pull out of his bag of tricks now?! I have to say, I couldn’t agree more. Chuck Gormley, Flyers beat writer for the Courier-Post, writes on NHL.com today that the Flyers might be looking at picking up Capitals’ goaltender Olaf Kolzig. Depending upon whom they would have to give up in the deal -- and with Clarke making the deal, don’t count on it being an even trade -- I would love to see the Flyers get Kolzig. He has been to the Finals once already, and has been mired on an underachieving Caps team ever since. One has to figure that he would be hungry to return -- though considering he would be playing for the Flyers, I won’t hold my breath. P.S. Thanks for the e-mails, guys. Please -- keep on reading and writing.

Amonte suffers MCL tear, out two weeks

Truthfully, I don’t know how I should feel about this. Tony Amonte has been a goal scorer his whole career, with 385 goals in 984 games. Since coming to the Flyers, however, his production has slipped with only 20 goals in 64 games. This can be attributed to two things: age and playing for Ken Hitchcock. Amonte, who will be 34 in August, has always built his game around speed. He is not a John LeClair-type player, who will bully a defenseman off the puck, then carry that defenseman to the front of the net with him to jam the puck past the goalie. No, Amonte instead will use his blinding speed to zip through the neutral zone, fly past the defenseman at the blueline and then rip a wicked wrist shot high over the goalie’s glove hand. While Amonte is no Todd Fedoruk, he has definitely lost a step or two in recent years and will never get them back. Playing in a defensive-oriented system will take numbers away from any player. Ken Hitchcock has preached defense first from Day One, so no one should be surprised to see Amonte’s numbers fall. One wonders if Hitchcock would let his myriad of offensive weapons -- namely Amonte, Jeremy Roenick, Mark Recchi, LeClair, Simon Gagne, Kim Johnsson, Joni Pitkanen, Mike Comrie, and Sami Kapanen -- loose, what would happen. So, I don’t know if I should be worried about Amonte’s injury or not. Hitchcock’s system basically uses players as interchangeable parts, which helped justify the trading of Justin Williams. Thus, I’m inclined to believe that the injury will not hurt the Flyers all that much. On the other hand, Hitchcock is a firm believer in the “veteran influence” and this will be missing from the lineup without Amonte. (Side note: Hitchcock is already talking about replacing outstanding rookie Pitkanen for the playoffs, a move he made last year with defenseman Dennis Seidenberg. In my estimation, Seidenberg didn’t recover from the slight and may never live up to his potential, especially after his recent gruesome injury.) I guess -- as usual when it comes to the Flyers -- I’m left sitting here scratching my head. Update: I should have included this earlier, but for some reason I didn't. Well, that's obviously my fault and I apologize. As I should have pointed out earlier, the Daily News beat writer for the Flyers, Ed Moran, filed a lazy story about Amonte's injury today that didn't bother with gauging anyone's reaction to the news. The Inquirer's Tim Panaccio does a much more thorough job of covering the story by getting quotes from Hitchcock, Roenick and team captain Keith Primeau, along with passing along the information that the Flyers called up forward Kirby Law to fill Amonte's roster spot.

City of Brotherly Love

In a short interview shown on Comcast Sportsnet last night while at the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association, Temple Owls head coach John Chaney praised St. Joe’s point guard Jameer Nelson by saying that he is, without a doubt, the national player of the year. After watching the Hawks and Owls play many a game over the years, I have developed a begrudging respect for Chaney (helped along by his tirade against the weasel-ly John Calipari during a post-game press conference; see #4.). He gives everything he has -- whether his team is good, bad, or indifferent -- and from listening to him speak you understand that he geniunely cares about his players. This year his team is definitely bad, but will -- at some point -- wind up gaining Chaney his 700th career NCAA victory. (He’s currently sitting at 699, with a chance to get #700 on Wednesday night.) Good luck, Mr. Chaney, and please continue praising those Hawks.

“Did you forget that you just started a blog?”

Those kind words came from my oldest brother -- otherwise know as Shallow Center -- this afternoon in a not-so-subtle attempt to get me going. (I had taken all of one day off, mind you.) So, with that in mind, feel free to keep checking back today as I’ll be posting often on several topics that may or may not interest you.

Fool me once, shame on me -- fool me twice, shame on you

Tim Panaccio writes a mostly critical article on the recent trading of Justin Williams by the Flyers to the Carolina Hurricanes in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer. Williams' confidence, like his goal scoring, may have slipped, but when you consider that Clarke has repeatedly stated that Williams and Simon Gagne were the organization's cornerstones at forward, this deal is difficult to swallow. . . . . . there remains a nagging suspicion that the Flyers again gave up too quickly on a cocky kid who had more heart and grit than some others in the organization. Panaccio goes on to point out that the Flyers have -- within the past few years -- traded away several of their prospects and younger players for more immediate help, with little or no impact on the club’s fortunes. Slowly but surely the media here in Philadelphia have come around to the idea that GM Bobby Clarke is no longer the correct man for the job. I have been saying this for better than ten years now, stretching back to Clarke’s first stint as general manager of the club. There is a popular belief around town that Clarke means more to owner Ed Snider than Snider’s own son, Jay, does. After all, Clarke was the captain of the two teams that won the Stanley Cup for Snider, while Jay ran the team into the ground -- causing the Flyers to miss the playoffs for five straight years in the late 80’s and early 90’s before Clarke was brought back in to right the ship. Clarke’s second tenure as GM has produced little in the way of lasting memories -- one trip to the Finals which was an embarrassing four game sweep at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings, capped by the Flyers own coach saying the team was choking, and the Eric Lindros fiasco, where -- depending upon whom you believe -- Lindros may have almost died as the direct result of Clarke trying to impose his will upon Lindros. Anyway, all of this is supposed to convince you that Clarke must go. But you shouldn’t listen to just me about this. Take a look here, too. (I highly recommend you turn on your speakers when you click on the link.)

" . . . like CNN and the Weather Channel -- constant updates."

ESPN.com is now reporting that the Jagr trade is a done deal, with the Rangers sending Anson Carter to the Caps -- who will cover $20 million of the $44 million left on Jagr's contract. That prompted this exchange between me and my friend, Vinnie, a fellow Flyers fan: Me: They're saying Carter straight up for Jagr. There's gotta be money, too. Vinnie: They said that the Caps are paying about 20 mil of the 44 left on his contract. So they are saving about 6 million a year and all they got was Anson Carter? No prospects thrown in? The NHL is in deep trouble if this is the kind of crap that's going on. Well, Vin, unfortunately this is the kind if crap that's going on in today's NHL. Look at the deal that Pittsburgh made to get rid of Jagr. The best player in the world -- at the time -- for three prospects no one ever heard of? Changes are needed, my friend.

Bowa on the hot seat

ESPN.com’s Tim Kurkjian writes today about the 10 personalities in baseball that have the most pressure on them going into this season. Number 2 on the list is none other than Phillies manager Larry Bowa. The Phillies spent an enormous amount of money this winter to improve the team with Billy Wagner, Tim Worrell, Eric Milton, Roberto Hernandez and the unexpected re-signing of Kevin Millwood. The Phils are moving into a new ballpark. Phillies fans are getting anxious. Bowa’s contract recently was extended, but with confidence so high in Philly, a rocky start will increase heat on him. Shallow Center had this story a while back, and dared to suggest that Bowa should have felt the heat last year. I couldn’t agree more and am glad the heat is being turned up for this season. I’m not too enamored of the contract extension the Phillies signed Bowa to this offseason, though I imagine my feelings may turn around if Bowa manages to deliver -- at least -- the playoffs.

The Phils need to keep spending

Paul Hagen reports in today’s Daily News that the Phillies and Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas have yet to open negotiations on a new contract. Hagen seems to think what most Phillies fans in the area do; namely, that a season without Kalas broadcasting games is completely unfathomable. There have been no discussions between the Phillies and Kalas' new high-powered agent, Los Angeles-based Ed Hookstratten. Still, it's almost impossible not to imagine the situation being resolved. The Phillies must be aware that Kalas, who has been with the team since 1971, remains hugely popular with fans, and must be mindful of the outcry that occurred in Detroit a few years ago when the Tigers tried to nudge iconic Ernie Harwell into retirement. For his part, Kalas remains optimistic – about a contract and this year’s club. "I'm still confident we'll work something out," Kalas said. "I hope so. I'm really excited about this year's ballclub." So are we, Harry.

Rangers adding more salary?

In a move that has been brewing since the June 2003 draft, the New York Rangers now appear set to trade for Washington Capitals right winger Jaromir Jagr. On one hand, I love this deal. As a Flyers fan, the Rangers will be adding even more salary that -- with a new collective bargaining agreement in place after this season -- may severely restrict them for years to come. And that's not even mentioning the malcontent factor that Jagr brings to the table. On the other hand, having Jagr back in the Flyers' division may prompt GM Bobby Clarke to re-sign defenseman Chris Therien. I have been an advocate over the years for the Flyers to get rid of Therien, as he has never played to his size nor provided any sort of offensive spark to the team (152 points in 687 career games). Clarke's oft-repeated mantra for not getting rid of Therien was that he played Jagr well. I can't be the only one who thinks that's anywhere close to a reasonable excuse for keeping him around -- can I?

The One That Starts It All

I suppose for my first real blog I should write about my first love. With all due respect to my lovely and charming significant other, I’m speaking here of the National Hockey League. (As I write, the Philadelphia Flyers hold a 4-2 lead over the hated New York Rangers in a nationally televised game on ESPN.) I have loved hockey for as long as I can remember, harboring delusions as a child that I would someday play for my hometown team despite the fact that I never learned how to ice skate. Ah, details. Well, I still love the game today, but -- as with most loves -- it has waned a bit and been tempered by all our years together. I still see positives in my love: grit, skill and grace, and the pure joy that happens so little in life when some players raise that Cup over their heads. Unfortunately, too many negatives are now heavily overshadowing those positives: an astonishing lack of passion and creativity in the game, fighting, empty stands, low scoring games, etc. With a giant labor war looming in the offseason, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has been putting together panels in the hopes that some real changes can be brought to the game whenever it may resume – if one can believe Bettman. It is my sincere hope that he can be believed and that he is telling the truth. As for the changes I would like to see take place, here are a few: 1. Return the conferences to two divisions, one of seven teams the other of eight, and bring back divisional playoffs; this would bring back the old rivalries and more spirited hockey along with it. 2. Eliminate the touch-up rule on icing calls; as soon as the puck passes the goal line, blow the whistle; this would get shorten the real time of a game by several seconds per call, which would add up when one considers the amount of icings that occur per game. 3. Eliminate fighting. The NHL will never be taken seriously as long as this kind of behavior is condoned. 4. Move the nets back from 15 feet out from the end boards back to their original spot on the ice (I’m not exactly sure where they were, but the distance was significantly less); this will create more room in the neutral zone for teams to cover defensively, which will hopefully make the trap easier to beat and thus create more offense. 5. Increase the surface size of the rinks to match that of the international game; again, this will create more room for the defense to cover resulting -- again, hopefully -- in more offense. 6. Change the philosophy of the game from defense-first to offense-first. I know this cannot be legislated into the game, but I would like to see coaches stop insisting on players becoming better “two-way” players, and rather have them concentrating on the best way to win a game -- scoring goals. I could easily keep going here, but sooner or later I have to stop writing. (Don't worry, this topic shall be revisited many a time.) All I’m going to leave you with is that these are some of the changes that I would like to see happen so that I, and millions of others, can have the best love ever -- the rejuvenated kind.

On the way . . .

The site will be up and running shortly. Keep an eye out for rants on the Philadelphia sports scene, entertainment -- particularly films (yes,films) and movies, and sometimes politics. Thanks in advance.