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Shooting from the lip

By TOM JONES
Published August 21, 2007

Conflict of the day

Fox NFL analyst Daryl Johnston participated in Monday's Mike Ditka's Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, a forum for retired players to air their gripes about the league and the NFLPA regarding disability payouts. Johnston said he thought he might get some complaints from players about his position, but he said, "I don't work for the NFL. I work for Fox." Yeah, but part of his job is to comment about the league. Just seems like a conflict of interest to me.

Winery of the day

Former Bruins and Hall of Famers Ray Bourque and Cam Neely have begun a presale to retailers and restaurants of their new wine from Hat Trick Vineyards. The wines are called Bourque Merot and Cam-bernet. The wines will be sold to the public sometime near the start of the hockey season. Portions of the proceeds will go to the Celebrities for Charity and the Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care.

Statue of the day

The Serbian village of Zitiste, about 50 miles north of Belgrade, wanted to do something to boost the town's morale after suffering damaging floods last year. What did they do? Erected a bronze statue of Rocky Balboa. "For years, only negative reports on farm diseases, monstrous murders, floods and landslides have been coming from our village," local councilman Zoran Babic said. "This is the chance to give a better, more positive image to Zitiste."

Your two cents

Well thanks so much, Mr. Stuart Sternberg (above) for pronouncing what we Rays diehards have been saying for 10 years: The team's performance is "unacceptable." My question is, why did it take until the middle of August for you to figure that out? You are the principal owner of the worst team in baseball, the laughingstock of fans, sports programs and late-night comics nationwide. The team, after nine seasons of cellar-dwelling, is on target to lose more than 100 games based on today's standings, and you think that might be unacceptable?

We fans deserve the major-league team we were promised 11 or 12 years ago that we never got. Please start cleaning house beginning with the manager, and promise us a playoff contender for next year. The Diamondbacks and the Marlins got results, now it's time for the Rays.

Thomas Malone

Spring Hill

So it sounds like Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon (above) will be back next year. I believe it is too much for the owners to be asking the fans to pay the freight for his on-the-job training and "learning." There needs to be organizational accountability for far and away the worst team in Major League Baseball. If not Maddon, then his pitching coach, and/or hitting coach, and/or defensive coaches (worst defensive team statistically ever) must be released for organizational credibility.

Jim Crook

St. Pete Beach

As far as Marty St. Louis getting the A to wear on his uniform and represent the team: It is about time. Congratulations to Marty and all the Lightning players for adding him as one of their representatives on the ice. Looking forward to this season with the new owners, and we sure pray it will be a great season. Go Bolts!

Stephen Los

Palm Harbor

Other voices

The late Phil Rizzuto had to wait nearly 40 years to get into the Hall of Fame, after years of debate about whether he truly "qualified" and a lot of sniping that the only reason he got in was because the Veterans Committee was stacked with his friends.

But there was a bright side to the story: At least Scooter lived to see it, to enjoy it and to star in the most riotous induction ceremony Cooperstown has ever seen. Best of all, he got to live another 12 years with the pride and satisfaction of officially being recognized as an all-time great.

I bring this up because right now, there is another Yankee who deserves induction into the Hall, against whom opposition will be fierce, about whom qualifications will be hotly debated, and for whom the time to savor such an honor seems to be running out.

George M. Steinbrenner III.

That's right, the Boss belongs in the Hall, and sooner rather than later.

He, not Joe Torre or Derek Jeter or Mariano Rivera, should be the next Yankee to have his day at Cooperstown. (You can't count Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens or Randy Johnson as future Yankee Hall of Famers, but rather as future Hall of Famers who happened to stop in the Bronx to pick up checks on their way upstate).

Torre, Jeter and Mo will have their days eventually. Steinbrenner, 77, needs to have his day now, while he's still around to enjoy it.

Wallace Matthews

Newsday

[Last modified August 20, 2007, 23:30:54]