FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Random Thoughts from the Sports World

• 1. How long can the Orlando Magic sustain a championship run on the three-point shot? Eventually, they will stop making them, and Dwight Howard is too foul-prone to rely on inside. It would be different if the Magic were dominating this series, but as it is they are barely doing enough to win. They need a backup plan.

• 2. Manny Ramirez is the poster child for why there needs to be a gravitational swing back to more equality between players and owners. This guy is telling his owner (boss) what he is and isn't going to do, all while pocketing $25 million and getting caught red-handed violating the illegal substance policy. Granted, we don't need a return to the 1950s when players played for peanuts and owners ran everything and made a killer profit, but there is something fundamentally wrong if Frank McCourt has no recourse after all the junk Manny has pulled. And please don't use some stupid technicality like morals clauses in the contract. Those don't even mean anything once the lawyers (snakes) get involved.

• 3. The Dallas Cowboys have been absolutely classless in their treatment of Greg Ellis, after all he has done for them. He was forced to switch positions after coming off major surgery with no guarantees (all he asked for was a partial contract guarantee if it went bad), came back to make his first Pro Bowl in 2007, suffered more injuries in 2008, and is now being told to stay home while the team tries to trade him. This is the same team that used 12 draft picks on Day 2 of the draft and might get one or two of them to make a contribution. I'm sure the Patriots would love to have Ellis' leadership. This is why they win championships and Dallas doesn't.

• 4. Don't let the 10-game winning streak fool you. The Padres are going nowhere, and Jake Peavy needs to be careful in orchestrating his exit strategy. Otherwise he could end up playing for some really bad teams entering his prime.

• 5. I never thought I'd say this, but I think it's time for the Dallas Mavericks to trade Dirk Nowitzki. Let's face it, they need more toughness at the power forward position, and he's not quick enough to play the 3. They also need a center and a young point guard, and if Brandon Bass is re-signed to play the 4, they could get the other two in a Dirk trade.

• 6. Don't you think about it, Miami. You leave Plaxico Burress alone.

• 7. I will pop the cork on a case of champagne when the World Boxing Association (Panama), World Boxing Council (Mexico) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) simply disappear for lack of intelligence. The WBC is so backward and corrupt it makes a South American dictator look clean. Jose Sulaiman is the most powerful man in Mexico.

• 8. I think I would love to get in a fight with Dana White (but not Lyoto Machida). I'm still steamed at him for strong-arming all his fighters to sign a lifetime licensing contract.

My Non-sports Thoughts Of the Week

• 1. Thoughts and prayers to Mike Tyson and his family. No matter your feelings on him personally, his loss is unimaginable. God be with him.

• 2. Will someone please sew Rush Limbaugh's mouth shut? And will the Republican Party please come up with a plan other than "We've got to take back power! We've got to take back power!"

• 3. The more I think about it, this whole "rule of law" thing in the Sonia Sotomayer discussion makes me sick. Everyone is so caught up in the "rule of law" that we've become slaves to the concept. What happened to the rule of right and wrong? Jesus taught that to a bunch of idiots 2,000 years ago (who knew how to follow the letter of the law, I might add, but missed out on the rest). Sadly, most of us still haven't learned it.