Manouk Akopyan

After just 16 games, we have already found our best play of the year.

Barring any 80-foot Hailmarys, buzzer-beaters by guys named Roko Ukic or any highlights of the Milwaukee Bucks, Carmelo Anthony’s muralization of Paul Millsap will be on repeat for top play of the year til the end of the season.

ESPN commentator Mike Tirico blowing out his larynx calling the action and Melo pounding his chest only adds to the effect, making us all happy we “got that on video.”

Is man-child LeBron James really a closeted Cuban defectee?

Because, he sure doesn’t act his age and now, he’s leading us on to it. Latest case in point comes after the Cleveland Cavaliers were dropped opening night 95-89 to the Boston Celtics.

His comments after the game (2:40 mark of the video): “It felt like the 80’s again,” he said. “I was a big fan of 80’s basketball.” He went on to list teams and their back in the day star power, comparing them to today’s Celtics and made excuses to why his Cavs lost.

But who cares about that crock? We are onto to something more important and revealing here!

For those of you not aware, James was born December 30, 19-FRICKING-84, meaning the oldest he ever got that decade was five years and two days old. Which presents the age-old question, how can a toddler still using baby wipes be a “big fan” of 1980’s basketball?

I’m sure he was nervously biting on his mom’s nipple on April 20, 1986 as Michael Jordan popped off for 63 in defeat against the Celtics in double-overtime and lost his collection of Garbage Pail Kids in a bet when Magic Johnson nailed his baby hook during the 1987 NBA Finals.

For those born post-1985, memories leading to the 1990’s were all about Enfamil, Flintstone Vitamins, Bert & Ernie and Hulk Hogan, not Kevin Mchale, Dr. J and “The Iceman.”

If LeBron were deeply entrenched in basketball tradition, he wouldn’t have pulled off “Hand Shake Gate” last year against Orlando.

In other news, the Cavaliers are tied for the worst record in basketball and are already half-way to losing the amount of home games they did last year (2).

Stay tuned…

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Los Angeles Lakers – There’s no question the 2009-2010 Los Angeles Lakers “Wanna Be Startin Somethin” again after beating the Orlando Magic 4-1 in the Finals en route to their fourth title this decade. 

Last year’s championship team remained in tact and now has gotten even crazier by signing a guy whose reasoning behind choosing jersey No. 37 was because Michael Jackson’s Thriller album stayed on top of the pop charts for – you guessed it – 37 weeks.

Since we are all Michael Jackson fans, some of us still closeted, let’s throw in a 45-game winning streak in there for this season’s Lakers, since that is the position “Billie Jean” topped out at in 1983 on the French singles chart.

The theme of the season will be “Beat It,” as the Lakers will do just that and go 73-9 and break the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls single-season record of 72-10. 

Coach Phil Jackson will be the first to tell you the road for the purple and gold repeating as champions isn’t as open as Montana as it was last year, but the Zen Master will attest to “Human Nature” as every team will crumble in their presence.

This will be a make-or-break year for the Lakers’ “Pretty Young Thing,” Andrew Bynum. With Shaquille O’Neal dangling off the King’s bandwagon back east and Yao Ming realizing that being 7 feet 6 inches tall isn’t necessarily a good thing, Bynum will catapult his way onto the all-star roster for the first time in his career.

Midway through the season, in an anonymous team vote, players will admit they’d rather saddle up on top of D.J. Mbenga than the “The Lady in His Life” – his lady being that of Lamar Odom’s. By then, it’ll be too late as divorce rumors will heat up faster than Jacko’s hair and Odom will realize he married a money hungry horse’s ass in Khloe Kardashian.

It goes without saying that when the Lakers repeat as NBA champions, it will most definatly be a Thriller.

2. San Antonio Spurs – Was anyone ever asked to follow up with a performance after a Michael Jackson concert? Well, there is a first for everything. Congratulations to the Spurs for being the first loser in this year’s Western Conference.

3. Denver Nuggets – Last year’s playoff run will not prove to be temporary.The league’s most tatted up team has finally found a permanent fixture in the leadership department with point guard Chauncey Billups.

4. Dallas Mavericks – Foooooooooooooour. Somebody needs to stick a sock in team owner Marc Cuban’s mouth. Finishing fourth won’t help the cause. 

5. Portland Trailblazers – Ball wizard Andre Miller will keep Brandon Roy at his natural spot on the court at No. 2. Greg Oden will find a natural spot on the bench – the reason why this team will never take the next step.

6. Utah Jazz – If a team can’t win on the road, they can’t win in the playoffs. How’s that for some Basketball 101?

7. New Orleans Hornets – The nosedive continues for the team that just two seasons ago, challenged the Lakers for the No.1 spot into the last weekend of the regular season.

8. Los Angeles Clippers – Call it a charity pick or call me a homer but I’m sure you would predict the same if you received emails offering you $10 game tickets all season long. Do you want to endorse a losing product? Nevertheless, this is a real talented team and will make plenty of noise with a born again Baron Davis.

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Neither of the following teams will cross it to make the playoffs.

9. Golden State Warriors – Roster continuity for this team has been as rare as Don Nelson sporting a collared shirt. With Stephen Jackson next to be ousted, the Warriors will be wasting another season.

10. Phoenix Suns – They once had depth to die for. With Leandro Barbosa now starting, they are now officially dead.

11. Minnesota Timberwolves – First it was Al Jefferson, now it’s Kevin Love that’s bit from the injury bug. As soon as rookie head coach Kurt Rambis catches a streak of steady health, they’ll be doing the same on the win column.

12. Houston Rockets – Trevor Ariza and his flaws will be violated more than those exploitation films of the 1960’s.

13. Oklahoma City Thunder – Durant, Westbrook and Harden will bring a heavier precipitation than last year’s 23-59 team.

14. Memphis Grizzlies – The only thing Memphis has going for them is more players off their team come February. Allen Iverson anyone? The only thing they have left to look forward to is the Lakers’ annual Christmas card donning Pau Gasol and playing against Andrew Bynum.

15. Sacramento Kings – Remember when cow bells were a phenomenon in the state capital? Now it seems as if holding roster spots for them is the new thing as they carry four unathletic slugs weighing over 245 pounds.

EASTERN CONFERANCE

1. Boston Celtics – Talent wise and depth, they match with the Lakers. With age, injuries, Ray Allen’s expiring contract and “that guy that graduated with phat ass wallets from the dope game – Rasheed Wallace,” the window to win is now for the Celtics. Too bad though they will lose to their compatriots out west.

2. Cleveland Cavaliers – We all hope LeBron James learned a thing or two about postgame protocol because Shaq or no Shaq, he’s going to go through the same thing again this year.

3. Orlando Magic – Trading for the league’s most overrated player in Vince Carter will not help them get back into the NBA Finals. If they do, it will be because of their other free agent signings – Brandon Bass, Matt Barnes, White Chocolate and resigning the world’s richest 3.7 points per game guy in Marcin Gortat.

4. Washington Wizards – Seems like they were called the Bullets the last time they were dubbed to make any noise. A healthy Hibachi will only help the steady diet of wins.

5. Atlanta Hawks – We all used to wait for the Hawks to be good again. Now we wait for them to plummet because they are one boring team to watch. Sorry Josh Smith, unfortunately, you are not the team.

6. Chicago Bulls – With Derrick Rose the only MVP caliber game-changing playmaker on the team, that’ll be enough in the eastern conference.

7. Miami Heat – Read above, insert Dwyane Wade as the proper noun replacement, then insert him onto their 2010-2011 roster.

8. Philadelphia 76ers – Not too long ago, they were the cities elite team. Now, they just play third fiddle.  

This is a line: ___________________________________________________________

Neither of the following teams were worth one, but we all need a little love sometimes, right?

9. Toronto Raptors – We’ve all seen players jump through the gym in a contract year. Chris Bosh won’t be one of those players.
 
10. Indiana Pacers – The only way the Pacers will get any attention is when fantasy bombshell Danny Granger lights up a box score.
 
11. Detroit Pistons – They signed a few big names but they’re just cause trade of Chauncey Billups will haunt Joe Dumars and Co. for years to come.
 
12. Charlotte Bobcats – They’re a disaster, which brings us to our next team…

13. New York Knicks – With Isaiah Thomas exiled somewhere in St. Helena, this once proud franchise is reaching point break to show its face on the NBA map.
 
14. New Jersey Nets – Ownership will soon change hands. The team name should too into the Devin Harrisets.
 
15. Milwaukee Bucks – Football rules the state; they will rule the league with the worst record.

Wake up Dodgers fans, I did.

It took 173 games for me to say adios to the walking freak show that is colloquially known as Manny Ramirez.  

Four RBI’s and 14 stranded runners for me realize he could not turn on the postseason light switch at the turn of the calendar.

Nine meaningless hits en route to a .281 postseason batting average to come to the conclusion that the 37 year-old’s bat speed will never be the same. 

I have now reached my final verdict: I no longer want Manny Ramirez as part of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The palpable, charismatic yet enigmatic ball-swatting Ramirez was once the best thing to happen to L.A. since Shaquille O’Neal and the underground transit system. But, ever since laying off the tranny drugs, Manny has clearly never been the same.

Ramirez was the no-frills kinda guy fans levitated to just as they once did to O’Neal, a much needed change of breath considering the personality disorder that currently occupies 1111 S. Figueroa St. 

But like O’Neal, fans grew old of the climactic melodrama – hitting the showers early et al. You can’t support these types of players. Infatuation? Yes. Love? No. 

Ramirez and his resume is like the rambunctious stripper, you want to keep her around as a girlfriend, not your wife. 

Just like everywhere else he’s played, the love affair between Ramirez and his hosting city no longer exists.

Failing to get a hit or drive in a momentum shifting run since the end of August just adds on to that. Praising Jimmy Rollins after he delivered the season’s most demoralizing hit pours fuel to the fire. Stranding your teammates on base is one thing but doing so by showering during a one-run game in the ninth inning of a LCS game is another.

Was Juan Pierre ever M.I.A. this season?

It’s mind boggling how Ramirez has never been held accountable for anything he’s done ever since joining the team in August of 2008, not even with the likes of Joe Torre, Larry Bowa and Don Mattingly at the helm. 

He refused to cut his hair and abide by team protocol, he cheated, used steroids, totally blew off everyone inquiring for details and ignored his fans at his personal Taj Mahal in Mannywood, and his hoodwinked contingency could care less. He could drunkenly run over a pedestrian only to hit a game-winning home run the same night to make everyone forget about the paraplegic ambler.

“I didn't kill nobody, I didn't rape nobody, so that's it, I'm just going to come and play the game,” he said upon his July return from his 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug policy.

This love thing has gotten to the point that if Manny were to kill anyone, Dodgers fans would say the person was deserving of it. If he were to rape anyone, they would call it collusion or say, “but ya, she enjoyed it,” – wait, he took female fertility drugs so males are just as applicable here too.

With an approach to baseball and life so simple, carefree and child-like, Manny epitomizes what entertainment is all about, but not baseball.

That’s why Boston and the entire constituency of New England is ball-hurt from the series of events that led to the exit of Manny Ramirez, leader of two World Series titles, a series MVP, the most home runs in postseason history and a leading sledgehammer in breaking the curse of “The Great Bambino.”

As the Dodgers closed the door on the 2009 season with a 4-1 series defeat to the Philadelphia Phillies, many fans are left to wonder what the future will entail for the team.

With Frank and Jamie McCourt’s divorce publicly spilling drop by drop, the Dodgers will have a very unusual off-season to deal with, one that has already seen Frank firing Jamie as the team’s CEO. 

Contractually, Ned Colletti & Co. will yet again have to deal with the underbelly of the Dodgers roster, Manny Ramirez. 

I for one hope Ramirez goes J.D. Drew, listens to his agent Scott Boras and opts out of his $20-million contract for 2010. 

Given Ramirez’s unpredictability, all we can do is wait for the day.

Kicking off the 2009 playoffs, the Los Angeles Dodgers will by all means be considered the underdogs – on paper.

Now, I’m not about to prove my point that the Dodgers will end up winning the series because I root for them. I’d be the first to tell you they don’t have a Raiders chance of winning if that were the case because pipe dreams ended for me once I realized Pamela Anderson was not a virgin in the movie Borat.

Much like the 1988 championship team that was supposed to roll over to a team manned by manager Tony La Russa, the Dodgers will be playing the St. Louis Cardinals as the favorites to lose.

Even though the Dodgers have home-field advantage against the Cardinals, pundits have concluded that the duo of Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter will be too much to overcome over a five-game series. My “prediction” is that this will be a very tightly played series all the way to the full distance and the Dodgers will win in five.

For those that’ll argue that the Dodgers have flailed down the stretch, negate that with the Cardinals losing 8 of their last 10. Both teams have identical records of 45-36 on the road while the Dodgers have the best record at home in the N.L. And if you want to find a mole on Albert Pujols, his .323 career postseason average is 11 points fewer than his overall career average! For those who have followed the Dodgers all year long, I don’t have litter your brain with a season recap, late inning comebacks et all, to shed light on what they have done – and need to continue to do – to win.

What the “experts” will not tell you though is that the Dodgers are a VERY different team than what they fielded just two months ago as still the best team in the National League. While losing five out of seven during the regular season series, they did so partly without the recently acquired George Sherrill, Vicente Padilla, Jon Garland, Ronnie Belliard and Jim Thome and not counting the injured Ronald Belisario and Hong Chih Kuo at one time, all staples of the current postseason roster.

The most problematic area during the season series proved to be the Dodgers bullpen, the same bullpen that sports the best ERA in the majors and since August, has been even better as all they have asked for is for the starter to keep the game manageable.

Take a quick look at the four-game series in St. Louis from July 27-30. You can argue that the Cardinals are just one offensive inning away from blowing it open, but you’d join all of the people who said the same thing last year during the three-game sweep of the Cubs.

A bullpen implosion July 27 was the deciding factor of a well-pitched contest by game one probables Randy Wolf and Carpenter, a game that did not feature Belisario, Kuo and Sherrill. All three are now the proven bridge to Jonathon Broxton closing out a win.

The Dodgers out-hit the Cards July 28 nine-to-eight, only to lose 10-0 because Chad Billingsley’s arm fell off as usual in the sixth inning. Billingsley will most likely be relegated to Brad Penny treatment this postseason.

The July 29 15-inning loss can be solely placed on the shoulders of Joe Torre, a man whose mistakes are very few come October. Torre took out Clayton Kershaw in the ninth inning of a game in which he had limited the Cardinals to just four hits in eight innings while striking out seven. But, pitch counts are a thing of the past in the postseason and Kershaw will prove to be in fine form during game two at Dodger Stadium, a place where he sports a 1.83 ERA.

The Dodgers went on to win July 30th 5-3 in 10 innings. If you still need more reasoning, just glance over to the August 17-19 series.

Or, just watch the series beginning this Wednesday, Oct. 7 and see for yourself. 

With the recent plight of the Oakland Raiders, lifetime fan Ice Cube will attempt to take the once proud franchise out of the black hole with his latest project, an ESPN documentary titled “Straight Outta L.A.”

The gangster rap megalomaniac will profile the Los Angeles Raiders along with the hip hop phenomenon that swept through South Central Los Angeles in the 1980’s.

Personally, I am looking forward to seeing this documentary. It’ll give Angelenos a great first-hand insiders look to one of L.A.’s most iconic periods in sport, life and pop culture. It’s just depressing to see the Raiders continue to bank on their past to keep their head above water after having nothing going for them in recent past and again now.

I’m just hoping the soundtrack will be as promising as the theme of the documentary because it looks like Ice Cube is more delusional than team owner Al Davis with the “Raider Nation” track he released. (I would expect the song to be somewhere in the documentary.)

The premise of Cube’s song is “Just Win Baby,” and considering the current state of the team, he dearly means it from the bottom of his silver and black heart.  

Now I have a lot of respect for Ice Cube and his music, but don’t put your name to a track and then say “Committment to excellence we deliver” when the team you are vouching for is 24-73 since the start of the 2003 season.

As for the song itself, it would be a great pump-up track to kick off one of the Raiders’ nationally televised games, but too bad they don’t have any for the rest of the season.

Here’s just a piece from the media release for Straight Outta L.A.:

“The Raiders captured a large number of black and Hispanic fans in L.A. at a time when gang warfare, immigration, and the real estate boom were rapidly changing the city. The L.A. Raiders morphed into a worldwide brand as the team's colors, swagger, and anti-establishment ethos became linked with the hip-hop scene that was permeating South Central Los Angeles. Still a die-hard Raiders fan, Cube will explore the unlikely marriage between the NFL's rebel franchise and America's glamour city and show how pro football's outlaw team became the toast of La La Land.”

A release date for the documentary has not yet been announced. 


 

When Kanye West blitzed the stage during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, every fan and person in the music in industry collectively sighed, “here we go again.”

Kanye being the attention-seeking drama queen that he is, stole all the thunder from last night’s show when the 19 year-old country musician made her acceptance speech for her “Best Female Video” to his chagrin.

So what do you do if you disagree? You become the petulant, narcissistic, New York City-hyped ego-maniac that you are, you know, like Serena Williams.

As Swift was making her thanks, West and his hair mazed through the backstage curtains Ravishing Rick Rude style seemingly screaming “cut the music” as if it were some WWF taping all while taking the glamour away from the blonde bombshell.

Kanye must’ve took the phantom tag from Jay-Z, when he stepped into the squared circle and yelled, “Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'm a [sic] let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.”

Thanks for the input Kanye, but your write in ballot must have gotten lost in your hair clippings. 

As soon as he left the VMA’s, he apologized on his blog but the damage to his reputation, or whatever is left of it, is already done.

Now go and get lost in the bottle of Hennessy you were red carpeting with. Thanks. 

AFC East:

New England (14-2) - With the fiercest coach, quarterback and wide receiver triumvirate in the league, the Patriots will realize first hand what it takes to finish a season undefeated from the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl 44.

Dolphins (7-9) – Tony Sparano should continue to use the Wildcat as his consigliere, but it’s only a matter of time before Pennington gets whacked and thrown in the Atlantic to swim with the finnies.

Buffalo (6-10) – By Week 4, a sobbing Terrell Owens will realize that Trent Edwards is his quarterback.

Jets (5-11) – Newly-minted starting quarterback Mark Sanchez will need a Trojan for protection, so the Jets should sign former USC quarterback John David Booty for ole’ time sake since Sanchez will be beaten like a piñata.

AFC West:
Chargers (13-3) – This team is built to win now as L.T. and Merriman will turn the lights on to a promising season in the league’s paltriest division.

Chiefs (8-8) – Kansas City plucked from New England tree the entire offseason, and that can only be a good thing, right?

Raiders (7-9) – As bad as this team is made out to be, they’ll look better in the standings with the likes of a blowout season from Darren McFadden, the newly-acquired Richard Seymour and Darrius Heyward-Bey, the highest draft pick in NFL history with a hyphenated last name.

Broncos (3-13) – As if this team did not have enough problems, Kyle Orton likes to throw left handed.

AFC North:

Steelers (12-4) – No team’s style of play in the NFL resembles its city more than Pittsburgh’s, but all that hard and dirty work won’t pay off in the end.

Ravens (10-6) – They can’t lose three more times to the Steelers can they?

Bengals (8-8) – Child please, 85 will play with a gorilla as big as Andre Smith this season for Comeback Player of the Year honors while bringing Cincy back to a small level of respectability.

Browns (5-11) – Uncertainty at the quarterback position, an aged Jamaal Lewis in the backfield and a malcontent in Braylen Edwards, new head coach Eric Mangini has a lot on his plate, and he should’ve pushed it away.

AFC South:

Colts (11-5) – So much taken away, yet, so little of it will affect Manning and Colts, the best field general the game has ever seen.

Jaguars (9-7) – Jack Del Rio will be coaching for his job and the roster will be playing to stay on it for next year as they are another 5-11 season from implosion.

Texans (7-9) – Matt Schaub will only go as far as Andre Johnson takes him, and that could be very far, but about that offensive line…

Titans (5-11) – Last year’s Titans will be the biggest one-hit wonder since “Tainted Love.”

A team-by-team, one sentence preview along with predictions for the 2009 NFL Season.

Here’s an unbiased opinion: The Minnesota Vikings will win the Super Bowl.

NFC South:

Saints (11-5) – The Brees in Louisiana is the fact that the Saints have whiffed and are now officially one year away from labeling Reggie Bush a bigger bust than Kim Kardashian’s.

Panthers (9-7) – With a great running attack complimented by a bewildered quarterback, the Panthers will once again prove they are a regular season team.

Falcons (7-9) – That loud splat you just heard were the Falcons crashing back down after last year’s anomaly.

Buccaneers (6-10) – Captain Chucky should be glad he got canned from the sinking ship.

NFC East:

Eagles (12-4) – With McNabb playing like his chunky soup days and Michael Vick waiting for any leftovers, the pass-happy Andy Reid will lead the NFL’s most dynamic offense to a title in the most difficult division. 

Cowboys (10-5-1*) – Felix will run like the cat, but a sobbing Tony Romo will miss Terrell Owens, because that’s his wide receiver. *Cowboys will finish with a tie after non-human kicker David Buehler hits the scoreboard’s continuom transfunctioner to a deadly crash.

Giants (8-8) – I wonder if Eli Manning will still have that retarded look on his face when he looks for Plaxico in the end zone only to find the sign: “C U N Two”

Redskins (7-9) – The Lombardi Trophy tops out at about $25,000, but someone needs to let Daniel Snyder know that he can’t buy it.

NFC North:

Vikings (16-0) – With the bestest quarterback in the whole wide world in Brett Favre at the helm, the greatest running back the league has ever seen in Adrian Peterson and the most prolific defense in NFL History, the Minnesota Vikings will finish the season undefeated and beat the New England Patriots in a forfeit in Super Bowl 44.

Peterson will capitalize with Favre on his window of being the best all-around back in the league and the defense will continue to prove that running through them is like a runner wearing sirloin steak underwear and then trying to go through a gauntlet of Rottweilers.

All that’s left from there on out is for coach Brad Childress to swallow his dignity because he couldn’t tell the truth even if were tattooed on his Cul-de-sac and for him to accept his coach of the year award like a man, cuz he’s 40.  (Wait that’s three sentences, crap).

Packers (10-6) – They’re better with the quarterback, the run, and now, even more frighteningly on defense than Da Bares with the addition of 337 pound wildebeest B.J. Raji and no one expects them to lose seven games by four points or less again.

Bears (7-9) – Matt Forte will have a Ryan Grant sophomore season, Jay Cutler will be who cares, because I don’t and Da Bares will go only as far as their defense will take them, and that’s straight to third place.

Lions (3-13) – The Lions will win three times as many games as they did last year, no wait, three times zero is zero…whatever. 

NFC West:

Arizona (10-6) – Let’s not forget how bad they played down the stretch last season and that they were one play away from letting the 49ers win the division last year; but this is the NFC West, where a retirement community in Phoenix can strap on the pads and man handle Shaun Hill.

Rams (7-9) – The Rams have solidified an offensive line that will keep the dwindling Marc Bulger off his back and the versatile Steven Jackson between pylons, but they are still a year away.

Seahawks (6-10) – The team has lost its edge and youth, so they sign Edgerrin James to run behind a Walter Jones-less no name offensive for the beginning of a loooooooong season.

49ers (5-11) – With rookie wide receiver Michael Crabtree still a no-show and unwilling to budge, expect head coach Mike Singletary to treat him worse than the combination of his surname and hot water upon arrival. 

Be sure to check for the AFC preview tomorrow.

Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez is in a developing mancrush with Long Beach Press Telegram columnist Doug Krikorian.

In an article, titled “Manny is my new best friend,” Krikorian reveals Ramirez’ connections with the Armenian community, including food, friends and living amongst them in, you guessed it, Glendale.

Krikorian even goes as far as scribbling his number down for Ramirez so the two can grab Armenian food after Ramirez says, “I hear Armenian food is very good. I had a close Armenian friend in Boston, and he always bragged about it. Do you have any recommendations?”

So if you see the two sashaying it up by Carousel Restaurant or grabbing some “finikia” at Paradise Pastry anytime soon, don’t be shocked.

Knowing the palpable Ramirez, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him posted up at a 7-Eleven on Glenoaks with his newly-found Armenian peeps. Imagine Manny bobbin his locks and out-“shalakhoing” his Axper80 under some Hayko.

A couple of weeks ago, Krikorian and Ramirez’ bromantic relationship hit a national stage in the August 10 issue of Sports Illustrated in the “Checking in With Barry” column, an open letter written from Barry Bonds’ perspective to the media on players getting a free pass on steroids use.

Here’s Barry Bonds via Chris Ballard:

“Just last week some joker from a Long Beach paper went on about how great Manny was because when he approached Manny for an interview and mentioned Armenian food, Manny said the two of them should go out for Armenian sometime and gave him his number. Hello! I love Armenian food. Are you telling me all it takes to change your opinion is sharing some tas kebab? Are you people really that shallow?

… “What if I'd been a nice guy? What if I'd smiled at the crowds and had a cute nickname like Big Bappi and took all of you out for Armenian food?”

Click here to read Krikorian’s column about Manny. Click here to read the Sports Illustrated piece.