Cuban says Bud needs to chill out
At least Alex Rodriguez has one person on his side.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban came to the defense of the New York Yankees third baseman who is facing a 211-game suspension from Major League Baseball. Rodriguez continues to play while he appeals the suspension, which was handed down for his alleged part in baseball’s latest drug scandal involving Biogenesis of America.
Of course, it was hard to tell if Cuban’s defense of A-Rod is because he actually believes Rodriguez is getting railroaded or because it offers him another chance to take a very public swipe at Commissioner Bud Selig. We’ll give him credit either way, because he sure sounded passionate about it during his recent appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
“I think it’s disgraceful what Major League Baseball is trying to do to him,” Cuban told Leno.
“Look, it’s not that he doesn’t deserve to be suspended. He does. They have policies in place: A first-time offender is 50 games, and a second time is 100. [Two hundred and eleven games], that’s personal.”
It should be pointed out that Cuban has had his own problems with Major League Baseball. He tried to buy the Chicago Cubs in 2008, offering $1.3 billion for the team, but wasn’t chosen to take part in the final bidding process in 2009. He also was interested in buying the Texas Rangers a year later, submitting bids upward of $600 million, but was again turned down.
“I’ve got to tell you, with my experiences with Major League Baseball - and after all of this, there’s no chance I’m getting to buy a team - it’s basically become Bud Selig’s mafia,” Cuban said.
“He runs it the way he wants to run it”
Cuban went on to say that Rodriguez’s suspension is just another example of what happens when someone dares to cross the commissioner.
“Obviously, Bud Selig does not like to be tested,” Cuban said. “He does not want anybody to stand up to him.”Numbers on rise
Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel’s family has hired its own attorney to represent the Heisman Trophy winner as the NCAA conducts its investigation into whether Manziel was paid for signing autographs, which violates NCAA rules.
Wrote Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald:“Economists are predicting that the next jobs report numbers will exceed expectations solely due to all the lawyers hired to represent Manziel.”He fits the Bills
Take note, fantasy football owners.
It sounds like halfback C.J.
Spiller is going to get his share of carries with the Buffalo Bills this season.
“It’s real simple,” Bills offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett recently told WGR Radio in Buffalo. “We’re going to give him the ball until he throws up. So he’s either got to tap out or throw up on the field, let’s just put it that way.”Touche
A word of warning: Be careful about what you say about Dwight Howard.
A woman named Brittni sent the Houston Rockets center a message on Twitter last week that read: “You ain’t never getting a ring.”
After checking out her Twitter profile photo, Howard replied: “With that picture, I don’t think you’re getting one either.”Quote of the day “It’s hard to believe what we are seeing. I’m
seeing things that are mind-boggling.” Detroit Tigers Manager Jim Leyland on third baseman Miguel Cabrera’s hitting
Sports, Pages 22 on 08/11/2013