But I stayed loyal to Dallas when I rooted for them. And took much abuse for it. In 1985 when the Bears were rolling through everyone, they beat up on the Cowbowys 44-0 in Dallas around the middle of the season. It was the symbolic end of the Dallas run. I remember going to school the next day–I was a grubby freshman sports nyerd at the time–wearing my Cowboy sweat pants, wrist bands and my Tony D #33 shirt. And I got heckled by girls who didn’t even know anything about football. But I was determined to be a “true fan.” Shows you how smart I was.

Anyway, I root for the Knicks, but I’ve become less and less of a hoops fan over the last four or five years. I tend to root for players as well. Actually, I’m really pleased that the Spurs won the championship. Tim Duncan has always reminded me a little bit of Bernie Williams–he’s got that introverted thing going, but he’s still passionate and dedicated to winning all the same. I don’t think he’s a flake like Bernie, but it’s the quiet demeanor that is somewhat similar.

Yeah, Wade is a really good player, huh?

I’m not a Sixers fan just an A.I. fan. I just don’t like basketball enough to commit to a team. I can rarely make myself watch more than the 4th quarter so generally I just follow specific players whose game I enjoy like Shaq, Amare, Duncan, Artest, and Wade (who reminds me of a bigger Iverson).

Other than the Yankees, I root for … the Cowboys which is repellent to most my friends. Hopefully, I am still allowed to post here. LOL! As a Cowboy fan, I know all about sports dynasties crashing. Just hope the Yankees rebound faster than the Cowboys. On a positive note, as the bandwagon empties out, the fans who remain tend to form a real solid bond to get through the dark years. A sense of humor is also useful to survive the ineptitude.

On Torre: I admit I like the guy but am confused at many of his moves: Read that Woe-is-me-mack. Torre is not dumb or lazy. Cashman took Bernie out because of his D, Torre has been slowly working him back in. But his D sucks, and sorry to say he is a liability in CF. Would like to TRY Bernie in LF and see if it makes a small difference.
Why hasn’t somebody shot Womack yet? God knows. Why does Torre bat him 2nd (although sometimes 9th)? Is it possible that with Womack at 9th, the back end of the order is too weak (Martinez, Cano, Womack), and that (hopefully) sandwiching him between Jetes and Sheff might make him more productive? It hasn’t worked, but MAYBE thats the logic. Me, I want Womack deported, but maybe Joe is not dumb, and trying to get the most out of the shallowest lineup in MLB.

I still want to see Bernie in LF, Tino at first and Giambi DH. The liability that is Bernie on D is offset by having Tino at first (instead of Giambi) and having Giambi DH.

And when Womack IS in the OF, put him on the warning track, because he can come in on balls (with his speed), but he certainly can’t judge balls over his head (not his fault, he’s not an outfielder).

It’s bad news when K. Thomas is your best trading chip. But I think this trade is lousy. It’s all good for Phoniex though.

To his credit, Iverson, unlike Steph, has moved his team past the first round of the playoffs on numerous occasions now. Maybe his game will improve with the new coaches, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a more demanding guard coach than Larry Brown.

The one thing that has really set Iverson apart is his durability. With that small frame, it’s a real wonder that he hasn’t fallen apart yet. I don’t know that his shooting is ever going to improve really. The guy is a gunner. He’s a natural scorer not a shooter and I don’t know if you can make one into the other, especially this late in their career.

I would worry a lot about Webber’s knees. He’s damaged goods. A big name and a big talent. If he can stay healthy, he’ll be helpful. But my hunch is that things will not go well for him there. One big key is getting O’Brien out of there. In my opinion, the offense should run through Webber. He’s such a gifted passer. That may create some friction between Iverson and Webber, but like you said, the new coach is a good one. I think that if they had a winning system, Iverson would be willing to let his touches go, if it served the team.

Funny, but if I could be any basketball player in history it would be Aaron McKie. Just a hard-working guy who is pretty good at a variety of things.

So, you are a Sixers fan. What other pro sport teams do you root for?

I’m still optimistic the trade for Webber will work out, but if Webber’s knee doesn’t improve significantly and he doesn’t stop whining about playing with A.I. to the media through “friends,” it will get real ugly, real fast. Philly fans may bitch about A.I., but they don’t want to hear Webber doing it, especially when he keeps missing easy shots.

Hey, Giambi did have one great year for the Yankees. And he got booed a lot in that one too.

On a positive Philly note, I’ve heard that Mo Cheeks is going to hire Andrew Toney as one of his assistants. Toney was a great two-guard for four or five years in the early eighties. I remember he used to chew up the Celtics.

Maybe A.I. and C. Webb will be able to learn to play together after all.

Giambi has played in 58 games: 176 at bats, 21 runs scored, 45 hits, 6 doubles, 5 home runs, 22 RBI, .396 OBP (33 walks, 50 Ks), .375 SLG, and .256 AVG.

Here’s Player B in 56 games: 183 at bats, 25 runs scored, 40 hits, 7 doubles, 7 home runs, 29 RBI, .367 ABP (42 walks, 54 Ks), .372 SLG, .219 AVG.

Player B is Jim Thome. While the Philly fans haven’t completely turned on him, several told me on Saturday that their patience was running thin with him. But it is interesting how Thome hasn’t taken the kind of beating that Giambi has.

Anyone else notice that there’s this strange confidence in Cashman’s public comments about the team’s problems? I heard him on Mike and the Angry Puppy and it seemed to me that (solely based on his tone) he didn’t feel personally responsible for the team’s issues. Like this off-season was Tampa’s doing, and now he had the reigns back in his hands. Maybe, I’m just indulging in wishful thinking.

$200 million and you have the 300 year old Bernie and Tony Womack as your CF options?? Mind boggling.

Giambi is coming back. Is he coming back to his MVP level? No but that’s unrealistic to expect under perfect conditions, it’s 4 years later…but he’s had a pretty good June, .878 OPS, and he sits more than I’d like. As far as I’m concerend I’ll root for him for the rest of the season and judge his performance at the end of the year.

Sheffield may be a fool, he’s also a great hitter, and I’ve seen dozens of guys slam their helmet on calls like that and not get tossed. Buckner had a quick trigger, and I can understand why Gary was irate.

The defense is unbelivably bad. I used to be one of those, “if you score enough runs, who cares about defense?” people, but this team has made me see the light. They are miserable, it’s really completely inexcusable.