BUCKSHOTS

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 hot dog?

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


Shots for a fighter who never had a shot

Setember 11, 1996

By Ray Buck
SportsLine USA National Columnist


E-mails over cocktails, while wondering if Bruce Seldon has been able to walk past a mirror and look into it? "I TOTALLY AGREE with Ray Buck's analysis of the Tyson-Seldon fight," e-mails Steve Epstein of Los Lunas, N.M. "Seldon took a dive, took the money and ran.

"He didn't want to fight. He should be docked a portion of his winnings for a performance unbefitting of a world champion."

BUCKSHOT: Peter McNeeley got a Pizza Hut commercial out of his Tyson fight; Seldon should endorse Sara Lee turnovers.

ACCURATELY PREDICTING TYSON to KO Seldon in a hiccup, Shirl Kennedy writes: "On a scale of 1-10 of a person I would most like to be stranded with on that island, Tyson gets a huge ZERO."

"I base this on one simple fact: Tyson is a machine."

BUCKSHOT: Uh, he's also a convicted rapist.

"WE SHOULD DEVISE A SYSTEM to ensure that men like Bruce Seldon don't simply take advantage of their title shot to grab the money and run," suggests The Shark Fan. "In this case, before their opponent even lands a blow!

"A system whereby a challenger is paid on a per-round basis, perhaps even on an increasing scale. For instance, if Seldon were only going to get $50,000 for the first round, 100K for the second, 150K for the third, and so on through the sixth round, and then would earn $400K for the seventh, $500K for the eighth up to $900K for the 12th round, his total take for a 12-round fight would be $4,950,000, almost exactly what he got paid for deciding to take a dive without putting up a fight.

"Of course, under this system, he would have only grossed $50,000 for this fight."

BUCKSHOT: Great idea, Shark Fan! Although I'd take it a step further and dock Seldon $49,999 for a performance unbecoming to the Actors Guild. That would be fair.

"RAY, YOU CERTAINLY have a way with words," messages Johnny Root of Temecula, Calif. "When you hit the Lotto, you ought to donate a wing to your alma mater.

"This would be a nice touch: The Ray Buck School of Journalism."

BUCKSHOT: Would I have to pay my late charges to the Kent State library first?

"DON BORST MAY BE RIGHT in regard to Kent State being No. 111 (of a possible 111), but don't underestimate Miami University (No. 72) or Toledo (No. 78)," cautions Philip A. Smith. "These schools have a habit of beating bigger schools ahead of them in the ratings.

"My prediction is that at least one of these two schools will beat Indiana (No. 51) over the next several weeks."

BUCKSHOT: We'll find out soon enough since that "other" Miami gets a shot at Indiana this Saturday.

"GOOD CALL, RAY BUCK. Both the Baltimore Sun and USA Today's Baseball Weekly predicted the Orioles would win the AL East because, for one reason, the Steinbrenner-controlled Yankees would self-destruct," points out Tom Maronick.

"The Boss should learn to let well enough alone and be able to deal with an occasional bad streak. (For the record, Chicago's been through two or three this season and, from late May to July 28, Baltimore was in one).

"When the Yanks played like the 'Bronx Bloopers' earlier in the season, getting key singles, moving runners along, they won games. But since they added a couple guys named Cec and Straw, they haven't done that."

BUCKSHOT: That's why Joe Torre deserves to be named AL Manager of the Year (apologies to Johnny Oates) for putting up a bunch of Bloopers ... and one insufferable Boss.

"I WANT TO PLAY Mike Kahn's fantasy football team," claims Brent Goldberg, a Pittsburgh software engineer. "From Mike's hand-picked loser list, Neil O'Donnell throws for over 300 yards playing for the Jets, 'Ms.' Terry Glenn catches 76 yards, and Sean Gilbert is the heart and soul of a defensive effort that defeats Da Bears without much offensive support.

"Gee, Mike, who's your next 'bust' pick? Brett Favre or Emmitt Smith?"

BUCKSHOT: Lay off Kahn ... unless he tries to "grandfather" Walter Payton or Johnny Unitas onto the all-bust team.

"HEY, BUCK, I'M HOLDING onto my Cowboys-Bills Super Bowl prediction," writes Joe Terrell of Evansville, Ind. "It's a lot more sound than your pick: Bengals-Whiners ... er, I mean Niners."

BUCKSHOT: The Niners will be in New Orleans on Jan. 26 based on talent and coaching. The Bengals will be there as the result of an ingenious scheme by David Shula to look bad while losing a few games early, then just when the rest of the league drops its guard ... reel off about 9-10 wins in a row.

Uh, really.


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