I'll admit it. Coming into this year, as hard as it is to believe, I was a total Seinfeld neophyte. I might have seen a total of two episodes over the years. I didn't have anything against the show, it was just one of those things where everyone seemed to like it, and I didn't want to be just another person jumping on the bandwagon, watching it just to say I did so. Kind of shoddy logic, I grant you, but that was the case. This year has been different. With roommates who nearly worship the show, I have watched the show more and am gradually starting to pick up on some references to the show dropped in conversation. Plus, going off my earlier-in-life logic, there has never been a better time to start seriously watching the show. With all the uproar and outrage over the Kramer comedy club catastrophe, you would either have to be a racist or truly like the show to start in on it now. I bring this up not as an audition to be an ArtsEtc. writer (God help me if I had to work for Voss), but because a scenario from the show played out for me this weekend. In the episode in question, Kramer is trying to give Jerry suggestions for new things he should incorporate into his act. Jerry rebuffs the advice, to which Kramer responds with something to the effect of, "It's better than anything you come up with!" That was me this weekend. Without a column idea for this week, I suddenly had many friends eager to throw their two cents in. I was told to write about everything from America's Next Top Model to an inflammatory Brian Butch article on CBS Sportsline. After all, it's better than anything I normally write about. Luckily for me, this past week bailed me out by being chock-full of interesting developments in the world of sports.
And since the cast of Seinfeld is one heck of a comedic team, it is only fitting these three storylines involve teams as well.
The Bucks lost two of three games as they continue their yearlong downward spiral that could eventually land them near the top of the lottery. I have never really been one to root against my team, or for losses. Even two years ago when the Packers struggled to a 4-12 record, I wanted the Packers to win every game down the stretch even if it meant dropping out of the Reggie Bush chase. My resistance to the "I want my favorite team to lose" line of thinking goes back to the days when wearing my Bucks Starter jacket to school meant getting made fun of because they sucked at the time. Couple that with the fact that I hate to lose at anything myself, and it just feels unnatural to hope you lose games.
That said, I am thinking about giving it a try this season. Injuries and poor coaching have killed the Bucks this year, and their season is dead, even in the dreadful Eastern Conference. Between that and the fact that Greg Oden and Kevin Durant are potentially at the top of the class, I am starting to look ahead to the draft.
If the lottery were held today, the Bucks would have a 12.1 percent chance of landing the first pick, giving them a better than fighting chance for the top prize. With plenty of games against some of their competition (Celtics, Bobcats and Grizzlies) they could potentially earn even more ping-pong balls. If that were to happen and they drafted Durant, the Bucks would be in great position to contend in the East next season, with a lineup of Redd, Durant, Villanueva, Bogut and a point guard to be named later. And if you don't think I did the ESPN lottery simulator for 15 minutes just to see the Bucks end up with the No. 1 pick, then you don't know me.
Like the Bucks, the Packers will look to the draft to fill a need at running back now that Ahman Green signed a four-year contract to average negative-2.4 yards per carry running behind the Texans' non-existent offensive line, the Green and Gold will likely draft a running back in the draft. That, however, is not the potential roster move most interesting to me.
There appears to be the very real possibility that Randy Moss could join the Packers via a trade. Rare is the sports topic that I don't know what to think about, but this is one. Moss, if he could help the team on the field and not hurt it off of it (which I think he can), would finally give Brett Favre the elite receiver he hasn't had for most of his career.
At the same time, we're talking about someone who torched the Packers for seven years and established himself as the state of Wisconsin's public enemy No. 1 during the late 90s and early 2000s. He ran over meter maids, admitted to smoking weed, mooned the Lambeau crowd, took plays off, left the field early and was generally a bad teammate.
I honestly don't know how the usually supportive Packer fans would react.
Personally, I think I have talked way too much shit about Moss to embrace him at this point. At the same time, the Favre-to-Moss combination could be lethal, and I have a No. 84 jersey currently hanging up in my closet that with a little tape and a Sharpie could easily become a Moss jersey.
Speaking of bad teammates, NASCAR apparently held a race in Mexico this past weekend. I really wouldn't know and/or care at all except for two facts:
— ESPN is committed to forcing America to like NASCAR by shoving it down our collective viewing throats at any and all possible opportunities. How else do you explain the new nightly NASCAR Now show, tons more coverage of racing on SportsCenter, simulcasting the latest race on ESPN and ESPN2 during one of their final weekends of college basketball coverage (including carrying a Spanish language broadcast of the race) and those annoying commercials. Rumor has it they are even trying to get the word "car" changed to "ESPN."
On the bright side, I now know that if you take away bumping you take away what's good about racing; Jimmy Johnson drives for points while Kasey Kahne drives to win, and it is absolutely apprehensible to penalize someone for aggressive driving.
— My roommate Dan is somewhat of a NASCAR guy and had the race on Sunday afternoon, which means I had to watch it.
Anyway, Juan Pablo Montoya won in what turned out to be a somewhat controversial fashion, spinning out teammate Scott Pruett on the 72nd of 80 laps. Understandably, this made Pruett mad, but not because he lost. Instead he was mad because his "teammate" did it to him. I will be the first to admit I know next to nothing about the workings of NASCAR, but I would not classify two drivers as teammates. They may be backed by the same person, but until there is a team championship and one member's success is directly tied to that of the other members of his "team" then I don't see how you can call it a team.
It also doesn't help Pruett that his is just the latest instance of the seemingly weekly bickering among NASCAR drivers that, to most of the population, turns us off. Barring Will Ferrell actually joining the circuit or Lance Armstrong entering a race on his bike, this is the last time I will write about NASCAR. I promise.
Ben is a sophomore majoring in political science. If you want to try and explain NASCAR or think you can come up with better column ideas than him, e-mail him at [email protected].
