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Gimme 5

He shoots at NBA, boxing, baseball, NFL, and he scores

By JOHN ROMANO
Published June 19, 2005

Five topics suitable for inane debate on talk radio:

THAT'LL TEACH US: Pretty shrewd of those folks at the NBA. For years, they've heard the snide comments that there is no need to watch an entire NBA game because nothing matters until the fourth quarter. So what have they done? They've given us an NBA Finals with zero suspense in the final quarter. The average scoring margin is 21 points, and there have been no ties or lead changes in the fourth quarter of any game.

WHAT WOULD CASEY STENGEL DO?: I'm not saying Angels manager Mike Scioscia looked foolish when he got in the face of 69-year-old Nationals skipper Frank Robinson. And I'm not saying Scioscia looked even worse when Robinson aired him out. But now, 74-year-old Marlins manager Jack McKeon is talking about kicking Scioscia's butt.

THIS JUST IN: Saying it would be a good test at this stage of his career, Don King is trying to set Mike Tyson up with Robinson.

HELLO, I'M THE MAN IN THE MIRROR: He was fifth in the NL in stolen bases in 2002 and second in the AL in '03. He hit .322 in '04 and was hitting .346 this season. Sounds like a guy in line for a long-term deal. Instead, in the last two years, Alex Sanchez has been traded by Milwaukee, and waived by Detroit and Tampa Bay. Do you suppose he might want to spend more time working on his defense and less time griping about his role? Just a thought.

BLOWING SMOKE: My guess is Ricky Williams is in for a shock. The NFL said there would be a token suspension. Not a toke and suspension.

Five signs the Rays have driven Lou Piniella crazy:

5. Suggested an unlisted number for the bullpen.

4. Changed the "steal" sign to an upraised middle finger.

3. Asked the front office for more players like Dewon.

2. Gave the "steal" sign to Stu Sternberg.

1. Plans on finishing his contract.

The Diamondbacks have won a World Series, hit rock bottom and now, apparently, have risen again. The Devil Rays, meanwhile, continue on their journey to nowhere. Could this be the worst discrepancy between expansion mates? That depends on how you grade it. The Marlins also won a World Series during their first seven seasons, but the Rockies had a better overall record. And there was a bigger gap in winning percentage between the Angels and Mets, but the Angels did not make the playoffs in their first seven seasons. Here is an era-by-era look at the first seven seasons for expansion teams:

1961-62: Anaheim's winning percentage of .483 is among the best for expansion teams. New York's .348 percentage is, by far, the worst. The Astros and Rangers were in between.

1969: In an era before free agency, the Royals had a .490 winning percentage and three second-place finishes in their first seven seasons. The Padres, on the other hand, had a .378 winning percentage, the second-biggest gap after the Angels-Mets. The Brewers and Expos were in the middle.

1977: This class was the closest, at least in the early years. Toronto (.406) and Seattle (.396) were separated by nine victories after seven seasons.

1993: The Rockies (.478) made the playoffs in their third season and had a higher winning percentage than the Marlins (.442), but still come in second. Florida won a World Series in its fifth season.

1998: The Diamondbacks have three division titles, a World Series title and are the only expansion team with a winning percentage over .500 (.507) through seven seasons. Of the six expansion teams in the era of free agency, Tampa Bay's winning percentage (.399) is fifth, ahead of only the Mariners (.396).

0: Pros who shot under par in all four rounds of the LPGA Championship.

1: Amateur ( Michelle Wie) who shot under par in every round.

1: American man ( Andy Roddick) among the top 16 Wimbledon seeds.

13: Victories for Mike Tyson in the last 15 years.

377: Days since the last NHL game.

Annika is the new Tiger.

[Last modified June 19, 2005, 00:39:12]