Mickey Mantle's Liver

One of the Greatest Moments in Sports Ever

27 years ago today:

The People's All-Star Gets Left Out in the Cold

This is, I think, the first post ever on MML concerning hock ey.  Who knows, it may be the last, too.

Earlier I told you about Rory Fitzpatrick, the "people's All-Star".  He is a defenseman for the Vancouver Canucks.  He has something like 10 points in his career.  As I understand it, Rory is a starter of little noterieity, yet someone who always comes to play, and  always gives 100 percent.

So, there was an organized effort to elect Rory Fitzpatrick as a starter in this year's NHL All-Star game.  Had he been elected, there would have been a reason to watch the NHL All-Star game.  But since Rory finished third in the voting, he won't be there, and so there is no reason to watch the game unless you have absolutely nothing better to do (like watching paint dry or preparing your taxes).

It would have been great if Rory could have made the NHL All-Star team.  It would have said something to the fans of every sport, that each respective all-star game really does belong to the fans, and not to the media, the owners, or the players.

Rory finished with roughly 550,000 votes, 23,000 votes behind Nikolas Lindstrom.  Pretty good showing for old Rory, unfortunately, not good enough.

Christmas Potpourri

First, let me apologize for using a French word on my Blog.  But given the season - the CHRISTMAS SEASON (I hate it when people say "Happy Holidays") - I was willing to make an exception to my "no French" rule here on Mickey Mantle's Liver.

I know I have been a little lax with my posts of late.  But you have to remember, Mickey Mantle's Liver did not ALWAYS work, it just worked some of the time.  So, given that fact, you could say that my intermittent posting is consistent with Mickey's intermittently operating liver....

Several things to talk about since the last article from all corners of the sports world.  So, without further ado....

The "Fight"

If that is what you call what happened at Madison Square Garden last Saturday night between the Nuggets and the Knickerbockers.  A lot of people are questioning whether the suspensions handed out by David Stern were strong enough, or, in the alternative, whether the suspensions were too strong.

Some people want to point the finger at Carmelo Anthony's "cheap shot" as the reason  the fracas escalated.

Let me tell you what has me bothered the most about the fracas.  When asked, Isaiah Thomas said that it wasn't right for the Nuggets to have their starters in the game when the Nuggets were up by 20 with a minute-and-a-half left in the game.  Isaiah Thomas was quoted as saying that his Knicks had "surrendered" the game, and there was no need for the Nuggets to keep trying to score.  Thomas apparently thought George Karl (Nuggets head coach) was running up the score.

Thomas' justification for the hard foul committed by Hardy Collins is unreal.  Collins' foul was the cheapest shot of the entire night.  If you don't want the Nuggets running up the score, then play some friggin' defense!  Don't tell your players to hunt down any Nugget who dares try to score on the mighty Knickerbockers.

And where is it written that the Nuggets' starters shouldn't have been in the game?  I don't care who was in the game, ordering a hit on another player (something that could have ended J.R. Smith's season, or worse, his career).  If you don't want the Nuggets dropping 100 or 110 on you, PLAY SOME DEFENSE!

And lastly, what coach in the world ever - I MEAN EVER - surrenders?  Surrender?  Surrender? (imagine me saying that in my best Allen Iverson impersonation).  A team never NEVER EVER NEVER NEVER EVER surrenders!  The fact that Thomas "surrendered" is the biggest issue of the entire game.  If I were a Knick fan (or the owner of the Knicks), I would demand that Thomas be fired immediately.

Speaking of AI

The trade of Allen Iverson to the Nuggets is great, in my mind, for both teams.  For the Nuggets, they now have the #1 and #2 scorers in the Association.  Plus, the Nuggets acquired one of the hardest working, hardest playing athletes in team sports these days.  I don't care what anyone says about AI's off-the-court "issues", when he gets on the court, you are getting a player who would cut off his left leg for a win.

And for the Sixers, they get a very very good point guard in Andre Miller.  Coming out of college from the University of Utah, I thought Miller was a player who would fly under the radar and turn out to be a good NBA player.  He is the kind of player who is going to be at the point in Philly for many years.

The acquisition of Joe Smith will eventually free up cap space for the Sixers.  But most importantly, the acquisition of two 2007 first-round draft picks -- in a draft that many think will be the deepest draft in years -- sets the Sixers up for many years to come.

The Nuggets got a present all-star.  The Sixers got the opportunity to draft future all-stars.

Speaking of All-Stars.....Rory Fitzpatrick - The People's All-Star

Have you heard of the campaign to get Rory Fitzpatrick on the NHL Western Conference All-Star team?  There is a website dedicated to getting votes for Rory Fitzpatrick and see to it that Rory makes it to the all-star game.

Who is Rory Fitzpatrick?  That is what makes this so great.  Rory Fitzpatrick is the very definition of a journeyman.  He is a well-traveled defenseman who currently plays for the Vancouver Canucks.  He has 9 career points - POINTS! - and no points this year.

But he is currently second in the NHL voting for Western Conference Defensemen.  The voting ends on January 2nd, 2007.  Click here to cast your vote for Rory Fitzpatrick, "The People's All-Star".  Keep in mind that Rory is a write in for the Western Conference, so you will have to fill in Rory's name at the drop-down menu at the bottom of the page.

The Flamers....er....uh...I mean the Oregon Ducks

Did you see the Las Vegas Bowl last night?  The mormons killed the Ducks.  A lot of people were surprised by the outcome of the game.  I wasn't.  After all, what were the  mormons going to do in Las Vegas?  All they could do is study, practice and sleep.  I am sure the mormons got lots of practice in.  And it certainly showed last night.

But what was even more amazing were the helmets the Ducks debuted.  I liked the color, but the ghost flames are a little much.  You heard it here first.  Pretty soon the Ducks will be known as the "Flamers".  Who wants to play for a bunch of Flamers?  Just think about it.

And last but not least......Mark McSteroid

Ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame were recently sent out, and McSteroid is on the ballot for the first time.  God I hope he doesn't get elected into the Hall.  Not on the first ballot, not on any ballot, until he comes clean on his steroid use.

From what I can tell, most of the Hall of Fame voters seem to feel the same way I do, and it looks like McSteroid won't be getting into the Hall on the first ballot.  Which is a good thing.  This year Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn will be elected, and they deserve to be in the Hall.  They didn't cheat.  I would really demean their induction to be included with McSteroid.