Modern Sports Absurdities

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

Today's athletes get paid great money to be role models with their superior play and endorsement contracts.

They may not like those roles but our society is based on recreation and entertainment.

In some cases, even coaches fail to set a good example by grabbing their athletes physically and make boneheaded & idiotic comments.

In this story, I've listed a few of my favorite Clowns in Today's Wide World of Sports.

In my last story, I predicted that San Diego State Football Coach Brady Hoke would land the University of Michigan job. That became a reality this week. The reason I never listed LSU Coach Les Miles as a serious candidate was he turned down the position three years ago and I felt he would do the same thing again.

Miles 62-17 record, five bowl wins and one National Championship with the Tigers, would have brought instant credibility back to his Alma-Mater. But instead, he received a contract extension to remain in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

I have no problem with Miles' decision to stay with LSU because he's done a fantastic job there.

But what I do have a problem with are the comments he made as to why he passed on the U-M job. He said that U-M "Wasn't the same place he left."

No kidding Les!

That's true.

His Coach and Mentor Bo Schembechler is deceased and now Michigan Stadium has expanded to 113,000 seats.

My advice to Miles is keep eating that Crawfish and Cajun Food.

The Wolverines made a good hire in Hoke.

When the New York Jets travel to face the New England Patriots Sunday, I'll be rooting extremely hard to see them get whipped for a second straight time.

On December 6, 2010, the host Patriots blasted the Jets 45-3 in a Monday Night Massacre. A 90-6 Patriots win would satisfy me greatly and former U-M Quarterback Tom Brady would like nothing better than to shut up the Jets and their talkative Coach Rex Ryan.

I can just imagine what another rout would look like in the New York papers and in the rest of the media.

I commend Baseball Hall of Famer and former Yankee Reggie Jackson, for ripping the Jets publicly saying their actions should speak louder than words. Jackson's advice to the Jets is to watch more film of their opponent and do less talking. Jackson's Mr. October exploits have earned him championships with both the Oakland A's and Yankees.

I wonder when Pro Football Hall of Famers will ever learn that they're not above the law.

Buffalo Bills legend O.J. Simpson, may have gotten away with murdering his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, because he had great lawyers in addition to faulty police work by the Los Angeles Police Department.

But the legal system did catch up with Simpson in Las Vegas, when he tried to recover his memorabilia using a concealed weapon while his voice was caught on tape. Now Simpson is rotting away in the Nevada Jail System. He was sentenced to up to 33 years in prison.

Through the years, former New York Giants legend Lawrence Taylor has had a track record of drug problems.

Now he's avoided jail time again working out a plea bargain after having sex with a minor despite claims that he thought the woman was 19, but in reality she was 16. Now Taylor will be forced to register as a sex offender.

What title will the public recognize Taylor by? A Pro Football Hall of Famer or Sex Offender/Predator?

Seeing Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis in the NFL Playoffs is a classic indicator that if you have good lawyers and a lot of money, you can get away with murder.

On January 31, 2000, Lewis and a couple of his friends were involved in a double murder after a Super Bowl Party in Atlanta. Lewis didn't get jail time for the incident because he cooperated with authorities. The only punishment he received was one year probation and a $250,000 fine by the NFL which was the largest fine levied against an NFL player for an infraction not involving substance abuse.

A year later, Lewis was named Super Bowl XXXV MVP.

When Lewis' career is over, he will be a lock to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame joining Simpson and Taylor. Over the years, he's been the face and identity of the Baltimore Ravens franchise.

Any chance of Manny Ramirez making it to the Baseball Hall of Fame were eliminated when the slugger was suspended on May 7, 2009, for 50 games by violating MLB's Performance Enhancing Drug Policy.

The way Ramirez violated it is mind boggling. He used a women's fertility drug typically used by steroid users to restart their body's natural testosterone production as they come off the steroid cycle.

The drug Ramirez used was called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).

Finally, anything that LeBron James says and does off the court is absurd. Even if he wins a title for the Miami Heat, how many people will really care? If he had done it in Cleveland, that's another story.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.