The Merrill Dubrow Blog

When you see a piece about athletes in the newspaper, on ESPN SportsCenter, or in online articles, chances are it has a negative spin. The athlete did something wrong. Frequently we see sports athletes getting arrested or accused about something. Like most of you I am tired of it! Let’s focus on something a little different today.

• Who are the nice guys in sports?
   
• Who do you root for even if you don’t like their team?

My favorite football player of all-time is Walter Payton. Even though I never met him he appeared to be the classiest person during every interview. He was very soft spoken and never had a bad thing to say about anyone. And oh by the way, was perhaps one of if not the greatest running backs of all time.

Last month I found myself rooting for Rocco Mediate. Rocco appeared to have a permanent smile on his face as he was challenging Tiger Woods during the US Open. His personality came right through the TV for me during every interview and I started to really like him….. A LOT!

Who are some of the other nice guys? Jim Valvano? Peyton Manning? Bobby Orr? Pat Neshek who has a blog (of course I like him) and appears to always be having fun.

• So I ask you: Who are the nice guys in sports?
   
• Who would you like to meet and have a beer with?
   
• Who appears to be a regular person with a really cool job?

I look forward to reading your comments.

His nickname is the "Rocket". Actually his first name is William but he goes by the name of Roger. He has very impressive statistics:

• Won six Cy Young awards with four different teams
   
• Has 354 wins
   
• His career ERA is 3.12
   
• Has 4,672 strikeouts
   
• Nine-time All-Star

In addition he has a ton of other awards and milestones that he accomplished. During his career he made close to $150,000,000 yes, I said 150 million dollars.

Roger was actually drafted by the NY Mets but didn’t sign and that allowed my Red Sox to draft and sign him. When he was with the Red Sox I really liked him. In fact I loved to watch him pitch. I still recall the playoffs way back when the Red Sox won a game that would get them into the 1986 World Series and the picture in the Boston Globe and Boston Herald of Roger smoking a cigar sitting on a horse riding around Fenway Park with his close friends Al Nipper and Bruce Hurst.

As I mentioned his on the field stats are great. Incredible. Some of the best.

Off the field–ugh! It is filled with accusations and denials. Daily he is now getting blasted on TV, on the Web and in newspapers.

My opinion of Roger has changed. Here is a guy who has a ton of money (I assume) and could have the BEST legal counsel money could buy. Why didn’t he do that? I wish he would have admitted whatever mistakes he made! People forgive you when you stand up and you are man enough to say I MADE A MISTAKE! Pettitte and Giambi did it and people haven’t given them a hard time at all. Roger for some crazy reason decided he wasn’t going to admit anything. Maybe it is because he truly believes he is above it all. He is bigger than the game and thought he could get away with it.

William Roger Clemens not that I think you care, but you have one LESS fan! No longer will I try and defend you or make excuses for what you did or didn’t do. You did what you did and now need to suffer the consequences.

Everyone is taking a shot at him and has an opinion.

• The real question is what is yours?
   
• Does he get into the Hall of Fame?

I look forward to hearing you thoughts and comments.

By now most fans have watched SportsCenter or the local sports channel and saw the parade in Boston yesterday. But just in case you missed it or have been traveling for a few days, the Boston Celtics pounded the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night by 39 points for their 17th NBA championship. And yesterday, Thursday June 19, 2008 was the victory parade. GO CELTS!

Boston should NO longer be called Beantown but more like TITLE TOWN since the city now has had six (yes I said six) championship parades in the last seven years. Just to refresh everyone’s memory, the Pats won the Super Bowl in 2002, 2004, and 2005 and the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and 2007.

I am sure hundreds of thousands of people watched the parade on TV or in person. The amazing thing about TITLE TOWN is that the Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics are all favored to win their respective championships in the next year or so. All of those teams have GREAT young players who should continue to have success in the next few years.

Congratulations to the Celtics, all of their fans and the city of Boston…I mean TITLE TOWN!

• What do you think of renaming Boston TITLE TOWN?
   
• Are you rooting against Boston teams because they have recently won so much?
   
• Isn’t Boston the best sports city in the United States?
   
• If not what city is?

I look forward to your comments and thoughts.

Well it was only a matter of time that Major League Baseball would look to install instant replay. The other three major sports (NFL, NBA, NHL) all have instant replay in some capacity. One of the reasons they haven’t done it sooner is executives in baseball are VERY concerned with the average length of a baseball game. I believe I read that 65 years ago the average baseball game was completed in less than 2 hours (1:58 to be exact). In the past 20 years the average game has been around 2:50 consistently. Clearly the executives believe that by shortening the games it will keep the average fan more interested. That might be true, but if the games are 10 minutes shorter, doesn’t that translate to one less hot dog, one less beer or perhaps no ice cream for the little one? Maybe I am reaching a little bit, but if the games are shorter, revenues have to be affected in some way.

Baseball executives’ desire to not use instant replay because it will make the games even longer is not a sufficient reason to not do it. The benefits far outweigh this side effect. Over the years, technology changes. We all know that technology helps things get better and better. Technology can and does eliminate human error. In the past week the umpires (who overall do a nice job) got four calls wrong on balls that would have been home runs. One of those was hit by AROD (which I have NO issue that the umps got that one wrong…sorry…I digress).

To me it is all about getting the calls right. While I was watching the games at home, within seconds you could tell that all of those calls were wrong and should have been reversed.

I realize there are a tremendous amount of purists out there who don’t want to use technology to enhance the game and I respect that. If you look around the ballpark, technology is being used everywhere to enhance the experience from the most up to date and elaborate scoreboard to tracking the number of pitches the pitcher has thrown or the speed and type of each pitch.

I believe major league baseball should install instant replay ASAP. Ultimately isn’t it really about getting the calls right?

• If technology can help you do that, how can you say no?
   
• What do you think?

I look forward to your thoughts.

Tampa Bay Rays finish over .500 this year? The Rays have never finished above .500 in their history. Last year they were 30 games under .500 and finished last for the 9th time in the last 10 years. They have some nice pitching and solid young players. I believe they will finish third in the east and end up 82-80. Do you agree? If so raise your hand!

Lance Berkman hits over .350 this year? Lance is currently around the .400 mark. Yes he is having a great year and is a career.304 hitter - clearly a solid player. I believe he will come back to life and finish around .330. Do you agree? If so raise your hand!

The Boston Celtics don’t need to win on the road to win the NBA Championship? The Celtics have won back to back seven game series. Each win ending with a victory in Boston. The “Garden” has changed its name but don’t underestimate what the fans can do to help a team down the stretch of a game. The Celtics had a great home record this year at 35-6 (2nd best behind Utah). They haven’t lost at home in the playoffs and WON’T! In fact they will win the NBA championship this year with the most playoff losses in one year. Do you agree? If so raise your hand!

Do you miss Barry Bonds? Short and sweet. NO! Glad you aren’t part of the game and hopefully it stays that way! Do you agree? If so raise your hand!

Brett Favre comes out of retirement? Let the debate begin. I really like Brett Favre. Over the years I have become a big fan of his. I always liked the way he went about his business. He made things happen all the time on the field and is a winner and one of the all-time greats! I go back and forth with this one. I think we will hear some rumblings of Brett getting itchy and that he might reconsider but at the end of the day I say “no” he stays retired. Do you agree? If so raise your hand!

I look forward to your comments and seeing if your hand is raised.

P.S. Please also let us know if you have a burning question or comment about anything else you have thought of in sports.

As you know, I love sports. When I was younger I went to a sports camp, lived at Fenway Park and loved playing catch with my dad. In addition, after school I would always be outside playing baseball, football, or hockey. It never mattered as long as we were laughing and playing a sport.

I am very lucky and have the opportunity to attend lots of sporting events. I still love going, but certain things really bother me about sports:

• Ticket prices are ridiculous. The average fan can’t go to more than a handful of games a year. I realize that teams need to make a profit but there have to be other ways than continuing to raise ticket prices and forcing the average fan to stay at home and watch the game on TV.
   
• The World Series needs to start earlier. Yes, I hope the Red Sox are playing in late October…but not at 8:30 EST. That’s too late. Start the games earlier so the next generation of fans can watch and love the game as much as I do. Since it is the World Series, you can still charge premium dollars for commercials.
   
• Get rid of the violence of hockey. Yes I am old school and will admit I like a fight. But not a cheap shot! Not a stick to the head or a hit to the back near the boards. Cheap shots should be evaluated very closely and dealt with very strictly. ALL SECOND TIME OFFENDERS ARE BANNED FROM THE SPORT! No exceptions.
   
• Have a salary cap in baseball–ok I said it. Yes it pains me since it would hurt my Red Sox but let’s even the playing field a little bit. The NFL, NBA and NHL all have something that makes sense and appears to work. Let’s do the same thing in baseball. Let’s allow the smaller market teams a chance to win.
   
• Stop the rising salaries in sports…now! The economy isn’t great and these athletes are paid a ridiculous amount of money. I don’t have as much issue with the superstars getting paid but I do have an issue with mediocre players getting a ton of money. It just doesn’t make sense to me.

Those are a few things that bother me.

• Do you agree/disagree of the things that bother me?
   
• What’s on your list?

I look forward to reading your comments.

Ok…tomorrow is opening day for the Boston Red Sox. Yes March 25 is opening day. Not sure the season has ever started this early nor this far away. The Sox take on the Oakland A’s in Japan–thousands of miles away from Fenway Park. The defending World Series Champions will actually have four opening days this year in three different countries. They will celebrate in Japan and then have opening day for the A’s in the US before they fly to Toronto and celebrate with the Blue Jays and the following week, open up at Fenway Park against the Detroit Tigers (this game is not to be missed) when they unveil the championship flags.

Ok so here we are. Almost five months ago my beloved Red Sox swept the World Series against a Colorado team that was hot, and captured their second ring in four years. So what has happened? I must say not a ton from my standpoint.

The Red Sox did what they had to do. They signed their free agents, but didn’t really add much of anything else. From where I sit, the Sox have a solid group of starters. Beckett (assuming his back doesn’t cause a problem) will be solid. Daisuke will have a great second year, Tim Wakefield is a solid number three and Jon Lester and Clay "No Hitter" Buchholz will be the best number five in baseball. The hitting will be better this year. Ortiz is healthy, Manny is in a contract year, Drew is in his second year, Ellsbury will be an enormous surprise and most of the other hitters will continue to do their thing. We have plenty of intangibles like trading Coco Crisp (who will get them a decent starter or a top prospect).  And then there’s Bartolo Colon. Who knows what you might get from him. Not to mention a great–yes great–bullpen with Papelbon, Timlin, Okajima and others to hold the opposition off in the late innings.

Yes losing Schilling will hurt. He is fantastic and clearly a great money pitcher in the playoffs. Which by the way, when he returns–I believe he returns in August–and makes a few starts, the playoffs will be upon us.

The Yankees didn’t do much either. Yes they lost Clemens (which is probably a good thing). Their defense at first isn’t good and AROD can’t possibly improve on last year’s stats! He was awesome. Their pitching staff is weak at best and no longer scares anyone. Rivera is still in the top five closers in the American League but doesn’t dominate the good teams anymore. When the Yankees play the iron of the AL, like the Angels, Indians, Red Sox and Tigers, they will need their pitchers to go seven innings and then Chamberlain and Rivera shut the door. With the exception of Wang, their starters are old and unreliable. Clearly the Yankee supporters could say I would match up Hughes and Kennedy against Lester and Bucchholz, and the Sox fans would say the same. That is why this debate and rivalry is the greatest in sports and will continue for many years to come. We will see who is right.

Before I sign off , no one can tell me the Yankees are better off without Joe Torre. Nothing against the other Joe (Girardi), but Torre was all class, could handle the players, the media and the Steinbrenners. Girardi won’t be able to do that. His departure costs the Yankees three games in the standings.

Yes the Red Sox will win the division for the second year in a row and if the Yankees aren’t very careful they won’t make the playoffs.

Let the games begin.

I look forward to reading your comments throughout the 2008 baseball season!

• What are your thoughts?
   
• How do you really feel about your team?

Let’s play ball.

As you know, I love sports. A few weeks ago I received an email with 15 great sports pictures. I pared it down to 6 and wanted to share them with you today.

Yes these are all classics. I love baseball, but the player getting accidentally punched in the face wouldn’t make my top two. The Yao Ming picture is funny but again doesn’t make my top two. I think the diver looking frightened is the best! His facial expressions are amazing! My other top one is the soccer ball crushing the face of the player. How fast was that ball going to have that type of impact? 60mph? 70 mph? Call me crazy but that had to hurt a ton and leave the player in a need for many Tylenols.

What are your favorites?

In 2006 over 141 million people in the United States watched the “game”. Lots of people have parties, some people go away on trips, while others are very fortunate to be able to go to the “game”. The “game” I am referring to is The Super Bowl.  It is played in early February and people watch it for different reasons. Some watch it because their team is playing in the game.  Others may watch it because it’s a fun time to watch all of the commercials, while others watch it because they are just fans of the sport.

I remember reading that on Super Bowl Sunday, more pizza is sold than any other day in the year, out selling New Year’s Eve, Halloween and New Year’s Day.

I love Super Bowl Sunday. I enjoy the game, the food, the halftime show — everything about it. The thing I enjoy the most is I know who I will be with every year. This day has turned into a family day–almost a reunion of sorts–for my cousin, brothers-in-law, friends and college roommate. About 12 years ago I had this idea of getting everyone together and going away for the Super Bowl. For many years we have gone to Las Vegas (destination this year), but recently we have gone to Mexico and last year we ended up in the Bahamas. We always have a great time, see a number of shows, play poker, get very little sleep and cheer our teams on.

So now you know where I will be and what I am doing.

• What do you do for the Super Bowl? 
   
• Do you have a family reunion?
   
• Do you cook up a storm?
   
• Do you order in pizza?
   
• Do you look forward to the commercials?

I look forward to hearing your comments.

As you know I am a sports fan and have attended lots of games. Yes I have been to the World Series, a number of all-star games, the Stanley Cup finals, the US Open in both golf and tennis and tons of other sporting events.

When I think about sporting events, most of them are in the United States. Yes I have gone to a Canadian football league game. I’ve seen rugby on an island in the Caribbean. Yes I have gone to a bullfight in Mexico — something I would only do once and we left early. But not many others.

The question is if I could go to any sporting event anywhere in the world which one would it be? I have friends like Mike M. and Ed S. who love soccer overseas and beam with excitement when they talk about world cup games in other countries. Owen J. is the same way with soccer teams he grew up watching as a kid.

• Is it golf’s British open?
   
• Is it the Australian Open or Wimbledon in tennis?
   
• Is it the Monte Carlo grand prix in auto racing?
   
• Is it the Olympics?

I think for me it would be Wimbledon. I love to watch tennis and that event looks incredible. I would love to go and watch tennis on the out courts and eat strawberries and cream for breakfast as I watch the matches. I am sure they have some type of store that is filled with memorabilia that I would like to look at for hours.

• What about you — what would your choice be?

I look forward to reading your comments.