Johnson. Have
you heard of Larry Allen? How about Alundis Brice? The backup tight ends Eric
Bjornson and Kendell Watkins both saw action last year. Sherman Willams is an
excellent backup to Emmitt Smith.
What's giving you a rash this week?
The out-of-control arrogance in professional sports today? The latest in labor? The price of a lousy stadium hotdog?
An overpaid player? An underhanded agent? An owner who would sell the carpet from underneath his own mother's feet for the right amount of PSLs and luxury boxes?
Where can you get off your chest something boiling inside your belly?
Right here. Right now. Buckshots, a weekly dish-it-out-and-duck feature, is designed to give you, the subscriber, a chance to take your best shot at Ray Buck, national columnist for SportsLine USA.
Agree or disagree, let 'er rip. Sign your name -- if you dare -- and tell us a little about yourself: age, city, state, occupation/student. Just remember, Buck has the last word.
E-mail your comments to: buckshots@sportsline.com
E-mails over cocktails ... and stupid, stubborn me without my crystal ball:
in any series after what they have
done in the past two years?
"The only people I take seriously, that make predictions on the NBA playoffs, are people that have a good track record. You obviously (don't). So why don't you go out on a limb and be a man for once!
"We are the world champs until someone else proves us otherwise, and we (fans) have to be as loud and obnoxious about it as long as we can. That's how everybody else is with their championships, so why can't we? Besides, the Rockets are the epitome of class on and off the court. ...
"P.S. -- SCREW THE LAKERS, SCREW THE BULLS, SCREW THE MAGIC!!!!"
BUCKSHOT: Screw my pick! I predicted before the season ever started that the Roxxx definitely could get back to the NBA Finals and, at least, give themselves a chance to three-peat. Obviously, I was less stupid then.
to beat Detroit? If
you're right, there ought to be a major investigation into the NHL," writes
Mike Russell, a 53-year-old development systems distributor
from suburban Toronto.
"Have you been chewing ice with Mike Keenan? (We better check what's in the ice or what you're smoking).
"Ron Hextall is a great goalie, but the team in front of him had trouble with Tampa, for goodness sakes! I've noticed in these playoffs that a lot of the favorite teams have been getting away with murder, including the Flyers. Funny, how the refs seem to want to influence the outcome.
"The NHL is starting to look like figure skating. It's not how well you do, but how you're subjectively judged (in this case, by a referee)."
BUCKSHOT: The NHL will never be confused with figure skating. Tonya Harding and her friends would make even the most notorious NHL goons blush.
"The Bulls are peaking way too early, beating up opponents by 30 points, plus injuries (however minor) to key players will decimate the 'Shytown' boys by the time you lay down the big green! And the Sonics can't stop fighting with Shawn Kemp long enough to beat Sacramento.
"Who does the Seattle Psychic predict will be NBA champs? Later!"
BUCKSHOT: You can't leave us hanging, Sea-Psych! Now we're forced to dial up Dionne Warwick.
and
Australia's sporting prowess," e-mails David Leeds of
Australia. "Luc Longley has been kicking Alonzo Mourning's AMERICAN butt all
over the court in this series!
"To simply say that Mourning is playing atrociously because he can't penetrate Luc's smothering defense is naive, as are his comments about Australian sport. I wonder whether he has ever visited Australia? My guess is that he spends too much time around NBA stadiums to know much about the rest of the sporting world.
"P.S. -- We love the SportsLine service."
BUCKSHOT: Thanks, David. By the way, we tried to reach Dave Hyde at his Monte Carlo retreat but were informed by his personal valet that Dave is off covering some sort of winner-take-all cockfighting finals in Singapore. The dude sure gets around!
is beginning to look
more like an 800-pound gorilla," writes Kevin Slagle, who
works in public relations in Sacramento, Calif.
"Seattle came back in Game 3 to do a good job, but the Sonics' front-running crybabies -- Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton -- were not the reason they won. I'd rather credit Hersey Hawkins, Frank Brickowski and Sam Perkins.
"But what about Sunday's Game 2, Bart Wright?"
BUCKSHOT: Actually, Bart came up big in Game 2, Kevin -- but thanks for asking. Beautiful syntax. Great punctuation. His dexterity used to reach the "p" and the "q" with the little finger on each hand ... well, I could go on and on. Meanwhile, the Sonics struggle against a bunch of postseason novices from Sacramento.
"As soon as I know, I can then start running the family business, of which I own one percent."
BUCKSHOT: Good question, Johnny. In 1981, Madcap Marge put together a group to buy the Cincinnati Reds. Although her purchase agreement of four or five of the total 15 shares didn't give her majority ownership, she convinced the others to christen her CEO and proxy to make executive decisions on all club matters. Twice, at least, the rest of the group (intelligent human beings from Cincinnati, Chicago and New York) has tried to wrestle that designation away -- and twice the coup attempt has failed. Madcap Marge moves on.
"I think you should have more than one column: One for sports that most people follow and one for sports which the odd person will go for."
BUCKSHOT: Good idea, Daniel. Many of my columns have been described as "odd."
"They are off the wall."
BUCKSHOT: I agree, Kenneth. I say break their kneecaps!
"The Dallas Cowboys had two
excellent drafts without Jimmy Johnson. Have
you heard of Larry Allen? How about Alundis Brice? The backup tight ends Eric
Bjornson and Kendell Watkins both saw action last year. Sherman Willams is an
excellent backup to Emmitt Smith.
"Get a clue, buddy!!!!!!!! Try doing some research before writing an article full of non-factual garbage."
BUCKSHOT: Ira had good intentions to research players on the Cowboys roster such as Bjornson, Watkins and Brice. But he only had a week to get his column in to us.
are all within the boundaries of
reasonable views," says Richard Hoover, a 29-year-old
Northwestern law school grad who grew up in western Pennsylvania and now lives
in Nashville, Tenn.
"But I have to say that Jon Wittman, Jamain Stephens, Isreal Raybon and Orpheus Roye surely have a better chance of producing for the team, and at a better value, than Tim Worley, Daryl Sims, Aaron Jones, Keith Gary, and Tom Ricketts -- all former No. 1s. And if Eric Raviotti and Jerry Olsavsky (undersized) could stick with the team, surely Earl Holmes can.
"Enough of the disagreement part. I strongly agree with (Finder's) comments about Dick Bell and Steve Conley. Conley will be the second coming of Mike Merriweather and Jerrol Williams. The signing histories of Merriweather, Williams, and Hardy Nickerson, as well as Eric Green, Neil O'Donnell, and Barry Foster all show that (Steelers president) Dan Rooney has no patience for agents making power moves.
"As for Greg Lloyd's agent, many 'real world' people receive ridiculously less reward and recognition for their work than they deserve, yet they continue working because they believe in it and place those beliefs ahead of money and ego. So don't insult those unsung laborers by bitching about 'how underappreciated Greg Lloyd is' or 'how Pittsburgh left Lloyd with no other choice but to leave' ... if Lloyd does leave. The line (out of town) is long, and Greg Lloyd doesn't deserve to be in it."
BUCKSHOT: For a team coming off a Super Bowl appearance, the Steelers certainly seem to be a team in transition.
"When the time comes for me to help teach my future grandkids sports, I'm going to be more ruthless than Todd Marinovich's dad! Sports all day, every day, then when they become well-paid pro athletes, I'll just sit back and enjoy all their whining to the tune of millions of dollars.
"Of course, if they don't share in all their riches with grandpa and grandma, then I may have to hurt someone ... because then I'll be the one whining!"
BUCKSHOT: I can hear you now, Texkan: "Grampa says go to your room ... or 10 grand American. It's your choice."
"DA BULLS are DA GREATEST team in NBA history!"
BUCKSHOT: DA PREMATURE!
"I thought Denny became a traffic 'copter reporter in California and was subsequently killed in an air crash years ago."
BUCKSHOT: Although we could not locate baseball's last 30-game winner, Gene, we did find a pulse. He's alive -- somewhere.
I think in this society, people are
growing up with a lack of values," writes Nick Khosla. "Clear
case and point, a looser (sic) like Albert Belle gets paid millions, and he
treats the fans/media like they owe him something, when it should be the other
way around.
"I could see this bumbling idiot play for the biggest bumbling idiot of them all, the BIG BOSS in N.Y."
BUCKSHOT: By George, I think you've got it. Albert Belle is a "looser" -- half loser, half loose cannon.