0 comments Filip Bondy Longs for the Days When The Drama Around the Yankees Was More Important Than What Was Happening on The Field

I'm not posting as much lately, as you have noticed. How much I post in a week depends on two things. (1) The amount of time I have and (2) the number of articles I can find to write about. I've not being able to find much of either lately, so I've not posted as much. I'll try to do better in the coming weeks. I was going to take the entire month of July off from posting anything, but decided against that. So on to Filip Bondy longing for the days of the Steinbrenners.

New York sportswriters are famous for a few things. Among them is overreacting to anything that may have immediately happened, mistaking a New York-based team making roster moves for this movement actually being improvement, and lionizing George Steinbrenner. They didn't lionize him as much while he was alive of course, but once he died, Steinbrenner then became the savior of all saviors for the Yankees organization. "How much better would this all be if George was alive?" is brought up several dozen times per year in columns. Filip Bondy is bored with the Yankees, because winning games or not having a circus surrounding the team is too boring for him. See, sportswriters like Bondy prefer drama because it makes it easier for them to do their job. That's why most Yankees sportswriters were salivating at the idea of Alex Rodriguez returning to the team this year. Surely, he would be good for some controversial copy that would sell papers and get pageviews. Well, it hasn't exactly turned out that way. So Filip is sad that the Yankees are boring to him. A logical person might understand that being boring isn't a bad thing and craving the excitement of controversy isn't how a sportswriter should live out his/her existence. But as I said, it's more important to these writers for the Yankees to be exciting. That's how they judge the team and they seem to believe the purpose of the Yankees organization is to give them good stories to write about in a daily column.

So Filip misses George Steinbrenner and wishes Hank would take over the team so he will have more interesting topics to write about. It's so pathetic how sportswriters like Filip cover a professional sports organization and crave drama like they are watching a soap opera. This is the type of article that is written when an uninspired and uncreative sportswriter doesn't have anything else to write about.

The sound you just heard was another baseball crashing into the second deck after a brief, towering orbit — right alongside the Yankees’ narrative arc.

Oh no! The narrative arc for the Yankees' season has crashed. How ever will columns be written and hot takes disseminated? When will the Yankees do something noteworthy to interrupt this boring season of having to cover baseball? Filip Bondy certainly didn't get into covering sports for a living so that he would end up having to cover sporting events. 

Sunday afternoon in the park was not so much a picnic in the Bronx, as it was a cold, wakeup shower following a dreamy nap.

Poetic. This sentence was not so much a delicious meal of narrative enjoyment, as it was a shit sandwich following a bath in raw sewage. 

Before they were creamed by Detroit, 12-4, the Yanks had gone 11-1 at home while outscoring opponents, 87-31.

The Yankees were dominating opponents. BORING! No one cares about how well the Yankees are playing at home. Get some drama to stop Filip from being bored while watching all these baseball games.

“We’re built for this ballpark,” Joe Girardi declared, before the game. But then Masahiro Tanaka’s splitters roamed way too high and the Tigers — also built for this bandbox — hammered five homers off three pitchers to provide a more realistic vision of the home team.

A more realistic vision of the home team which proved Girardi wrong by moving the Yankees to having a 11-2 record at home while outscoring opponents 91-43. Obviously the other 12 games were a fluke. For sure. 

The dirty little secret about this edition of the Yankees is that they’re not a very good club, destined to streak back and forth like this and to finish anywhere from second to fourth place in the AL East.

I don't think it is a secret that the Yankees aren't especially good this season. They are a decent team who could get hot and slide into a Wild Card spot or fall back and just be a pretty good team. Of course, this does not please Filip Bondy because it's too boring. Simply covering the Yankees isn't enough for him. Someone drum up some controversy!

As I said earlier, the New York media was counting on Alex Rodriguez creating controversy and the media was salivating over this prospect. A-Rod has hit the ball well and been on his best behavior, much to their total dismay. I'm surprised Mike Lupica hasn't planted steroids in A-Rod's locker yet, just for the sake of writing a story about it.

Tanaka is too fragile in body; Michael Pineda too brittle of mind. Mark down the Bombers for 81 to 87 victories, once again on the cusp of the wild-card race.

Oh no, the Yankees may only be on the fringe of the playoffs. Wake Filip up when September ends so he will know if the Yankees made the playoffs or not. No wait, check that, wake him up if there is anything interesting to write about the Yankees after September. This whole "covering sports without controversy" just isn't working for him.

Let’s instead address the more pressing problem, which is: How do the Yankees become less boring?

I've watched more Yankees games this year than I have in a while, so I don't know how to answer that question. What I do know is the Yankees becoming boring isn't really a bad thing for anyone but sportswriters who cover the Yankees. So they will continue to beat the drum for the idea the Yankees are boring until their readers reluctantly agree. 

The once-compelling Yanks have only three marquee position players worth watching. Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira hit home runs. Brett Gardner is a home-grown hustler. The bullpen, when healthy, is deep. That’s about it. There aren’t nearly enough up-siders.

Yes, the Yankees need to go sign more free agents and generate some excitement. That'll work. Overspend on a few players and give the media something to talk about.

What's funny is Filip is about to complain the Yankees don't have enough homegrown players, but there is no way in hell sportswriters like Filip Bondy would have the patience to watch these homegrown players turn into MLB regulars. In fact, much of what the Yankees seem to be trying to do is be smart with their acquisitions and give some players in their system time to develop. What's the result? Filip Bondy calls them "boring."

The bottom of the lineup is a bottomless pit.

The lineup isn't loaded with stars. Oh how ever has such a fate befallen the Yankees? If there aren't All-Stars at every lineup spot then Filip Bondy has no need to watch any Yankee games. 

Something new and exciting is required to perk up the place, write some new headlines now that A-Rod has reached his milestones. There is one quick fix available, if only the Steinbrenner family would cooperate.

Hal should stand aside once more for his brother, Hank.

I hope this is tongue-in-cheek, because it's ridiculous. As if Hank Steinbrenner creating controversy and saying stupid shit will fix the Yankees problem of being boring. It would just distract from the product on the field that Bondy seems to hate so much. If Filip Bondy hates the product on the field so much then he is in the wrong profession.

We have nothing against Hal, who is a very nice, unassuming owner, a fine man. He does not think he is God’s answer to personnel decisions. But he is not a natural pot stirrer, like his dad.

No one cares if you have good stories to write. Your job matters much less to everyone else than it does to you. I know it hurts knowing this, but it is true. 

His words and actions are measured. When the team struggles, no ultimatums are issued.

See? The New York media mistakes ultimatums and reactionary decisions for good decision-making. Because see, when ultimatums are issued and bad decisions are made, the New York media can bash the Yankees. That's all they want to do. Give them a story to write about or they will create one themselves. 

“Brian, I believe is a good one,” Hal said last year, when he decided to re-sign Cashman. “Every general manager has signings. Some work out better than others.”

In the fantasy world where Hank Steinbrenner has more control and a bigger voice, the New York media will then bash the Yankees for their failings when firing everyone and issuing ultimatums didn't work out. 

Steinbrenner also said something else during that interview on the Michael Kay show.

“I would hold me responsible before anybody else,” he said.

The horror at the realization a Steinbrenner won't randomly fire and hire the same person over and over while expecting different results every time! What kind of rational behavior is that from a male Steinbrenner? It's sad to me how much Filip Bondy and his fellow hacks in the media favor drama over actual sporting events. It doesn't surprise me of course.

This is the Bronx, not Queens. There are no tomorrows, or day-after-tomorrows. There is only today. The visage of The Boss glares down disapprovingly from a mural behind the right-field bleachers, at what transpires below.

There are lot of things that The Boss (why capitalized?) disapproved of. Like not trading Mariano Rivera early in his career and generally having any sort of patience without making a knee-jerk move he may later regret. Now George Steinbrenner is considered a saint for some reason. 

We have fond memories of Hank in his brief role as chief spokesman of the Yankees, after his father ceded control. But then soon enough the quieter Hal was elected Chairman of the Board in September 2007. A muzzle quieted the biggest mouth in ownership.

And this meant that Filip Bondy had to write about...baseball. I mean, baseball, why would Filip Bondy want to write about that boring-ass sport? 

This is a significant waste of noise. We remember very well the fuss he made during the transition-of-power years, when Hank dissed the Red Sox in the New York Times magazine.

“Go anywhere in America and you won’t see Red Sox hats and jackets, you’ll see Yankee hats and jackets,” he said. “This is a Yankee country. We’re going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order.”

And then the Yankees didn't do that. Normally, there would be criticism by Bondy directed at Hank Steinbrenner for promising something that didn't come true, but covering the Yankees isn't about the accuracy of statements that are or are not said. Covering the Yankees is about taking the noise surrounding the team and pumping out narratives and reactionary columns that makes what happens on the field as ancillary to the noise around the team as possible. Since the act of dissing the Red Sox was more important than the accuracy of his statement, Hank Steinbrenner's comment will only receive a mild rebuke for it's inaccuracy. 

Well, here we are, many seasons later, and there is no restoration of the universe, only AL East chaos.

And it's boring chaos, which makes it all that much worse. 

Cashman’s acquisitions have largely faltered and there are no new homegrown position stars.

"There are no homegrown stars on this team! Draft these players and then give them time to develop!"

"Why are the Yankees so boring and lack All-Stars at every spot in the starting lineup and rotation?"

Nobody is going to win a pennant with a generic lineup that begins with Didi Gregorius in the two slot and concludes with Garrett Jones, Chris Young, Stephen Drew and Brendan Ryan.

No, but huge contracts given to underachieving players also aren't going to happen when this "generic" lineup is run out everyday. Homegrown position stars don't just happen overnight. Sometimes there is a waiting period where short-term fixes have to be put in place until the time when these homegrown stars are ready to be stars. Take a look at who played second base for the Yankees until Robinson Cano made his debut in 2005. Filip probably doesn't remember this, but it was Miguel Cairo. Who played in the outfield before the hustling Brett Gardner magically appeared? It was Bobby Abreu and Johnny Damon, which limited Gardner's at-bats initially. 

Someone, somewhere, needs to scream about all this.

No, they don't. Someone, somewhere needs to write a good column about the New York Yankees without lazily calling them boring because there isn't enough drama surrounding the team. 

We miss George terribly. Hank is the next best thing. Get off the golf course.

Yes, George Steinbrenner would have fixed everything by firing Brian Cashman, then re-hiring him, then firing him again, to where the end result was that the Yankees won about 81-87 games in a season and didn't really end up going anywhere. Sort of like where the Yankees are today. That's exactly what should Hank Steinbrenner should do. Create drama so Filip Bondy has something to write about, that's all the Yankees should do.

A-Rod has been a severe disappointment in this aspect. I keep waiting for a New York sportswriter to write a column that essentially bashes A-Rod for not causing controversy this year.

5 comments Filip Bondy Thinks the Jets Should Have Signed Peyton Manning Against Manning's Will

(Rex Ryan to Peyton Manning) "Peyton, it's either your brains or your signature that is going to be on this contract."

(Peyton Manning walks out of the room, rather risking death than playing for the Jets)

Sports columnists love to second-guess. It's one of their favorite pasttimes. When things go wrong for a professional or college team certain sports columnists know EXACTLY what that team should have done five months ago to make sure things didn't go wrong. If any professional or college team needs advice on what personnel moves they should make, simply wait three months and a sports columnist will be glad to say what that team should have done. Hindsight is wonderful. Filip Bondy does that today (okay, not "today" because this article is a little older) and he is actually correct in what he writes. He writes the Jets should have signed Peyton Manning this past offseason and that would have been nice. Every NFL team should have signed Peyton Manning. Unfortunately, life is not a fantasy draft, so the Jets couldn't just force Manning to play for them, instead Manning would have had to choose to play for the Jets. In fact, Manning took the Jets out of the running for his services early in his free agency. I'm not entirely sure he would have done that. These are just small details to Filip that his solution to the Jets' woes may not have been feasible. If the Jets had just thrown a bunch of money at Manning, he would be in a Jets uniform right now.

Soft-focus your brain, if that is still possible in the age of high-definition television. Imagine for a moment that Peyton Manning is the Jet quarterback, having signed a five-year deal with Mike Tannenbaum back in March.

I'm imagining this...and not really seeing this as something that would have occurred. Peyton may not have wanted to compete with his brother in New York, Peyton didn't want to play for the Jets, and I don't know why if given the opportunity he would have chosen the Jets over the 49ers or the Broncos, who were both playoff teams last year. Yes, money talks. I am not a mind-reader, but I'm betting Manning would have taken less money to play for a team with a more, ummmmm, stable dynamic even if the Jets had thrown a ton of money at Manning.

Now: The fans at MetLife Stadium are chanting nice things at the Jets as they walk triumphantly off the field, moving to 8-3 and a game ahead of the Patriots in the AFC East.

So the Patriots are 7-4 after losing to the Jets twice? Okay, this scenarios is getting more and more away from reality.

Bart Scott is high-fiving a supporter on his way through the tunnel, laughing and sharing stories. Rex Ryan is guaranteeing a Super Bowl, just like in the good old days. 

All you need to know about Filip Bondy is he thinks "the good old days" were when Rex Ryan guaranteed Super Bowls that never happened. It's all about the hype.

The crowds are spelling out J-E-T-S,

S-T-U-P-I-D.

squarely behind Fireman Ed instead of forcing him out of the business.

Fireman Ed's business is spelling four letter words. It's a good gig if you can get it. I guess this is better than Jovan Belcher's "business" as described by Peter King of murdering his girlfriend and then himself.

Best of all, there is no Tim Tebow/Mark Sanchez debate. There isn't even a Tebow or Sanchez to be found on the roster.

I'm not 100% sure this is true. I stated repeatedly last fall that Peyton Manning under no circumstances would want to play with Tim Tebow since I am betting it was a distraction he didn't want. Still, I can see how the Jets would possibly keep Sanchez on the roster even if they had Manning. It's sounds silly to say and the cap numbers may be a bit high, but I would feel pretty good if the Jets signed Manning they would have restructured Sanchez's contract or kept him on the roster in some capacity.

It all might have happened, if only Manning had embarked on a New York adventure, which was really the last chance for the Jets to rescue their season and possibly this entire regime.

This is something that Filip only knows now. It was very hard to see back in March of last year that the Jets needed to sign Peyton Manning to salvage a season that had not even started yet. So it's too much second-guessing to claim now the Jets needed to sign Manning in order to salvage this season.

All the losing that followed is a predictable shortfall of offensive talent and unimaginative play-calling.

So why in the hell would Manning want to join a team that had a shortfall of offensive talent and unimaginative play-calling again? Say what you want about the Broncos receivers, but they had talent at the position last year with Thomas and Decker at wide receiver. The Jets don't have that kind of talent at two wide receiver positions.

You may remember: The Jets gave it a shot, approached Manning. They freed up an extra $7 million by restructuring DaBrickashaw Ferguson's contract.

AND WHAT HAPPENED FILIP? WHAT ON EARTH STOPPED THIS DONE DEAL OF MANNING-TO-THE-JETS FROM HAPPENING?

But Peyton quickly told the Jet contacts to forget it, never led them on.

Exactly. So why the hell does it make sense to write an article saying the Jets fucked up by not signing Peyton Manning this offseason? It doesn't make sense. Manning wanted no part of the Jets, so the Jets didn't screw up in not signing Manning, because they never even had the chance to sign Manning. The Jets can be blamed for a lot of things, but they made a brief run at Manning and he didn't want to play for the Jets. There's no November Quarterbacking that can make this an untrue statement nor is this something the Jets should be thrashed for failing to do.

Maybe that was because his brother was already in town or maybe it was because he didn't like what he saw in this organization.

The bottom line is Manning rejected the overtures to have him sign with the Jets. End of story. Filip Bondy may as well write a column saying the Jets should have drafted Andrew Luck this year. It would make as much sense as stating the Jets blew it by not signing Peyton Manning.

Ryan isn't exactly a perfect fit for an aggressive quarterback and the roster lacked breakout receivers.

Don't pardon my language, but why the fuck would it be a good idea if the Jets signed Peyton Manning if this is true? What kind of mental midget writes a column saying the Jets should have signed Peyton Manning this offseason and readily admits in this very column:

a. The Jets don't have an offensively talented roster.
b. Peyton Manning rejected the Jets when they tried to sign him.
c. The roster doesn't the receivers Manning would like nor does the coach fit Manning's offensive temperament.

So why the hell write a column about how the Jets could have fixed this entire season by signing Manning? It wasn't possible. Shut up and go back to writing columns about problems with the Jets they can actually solve.

The locker room is the Big Apple Circus, minus the big-play acrobats. The Jets were rebuffed, and there was probably nothing Ryan, Tannenbaum or Woody Johnson could have done about it.

Which is why this entire column is pointless. If Manning had signed with any number of teams they would have had a great chance to salvage their season. This isn't true just for the Jets. The Chiefs, Jaguars, Panthers, Cardinals and a number of other teams could have better records with Manning as their quarterback. So writing a column about Manning rebuffing the Jets is a pointless endeavor. There's nothing to be learned. If the Jets had drafted Tom Brady in 2000 they would be in really good shape at their quarterback position. It didn't happen.

So the Jets could not have salvaged their season by signing Manning because Manning wouldn't sign with the Jets. It's not fair to indict the Jets for failing to sign Manning.

Still, they might have groveled, perhaps offered even more money. They should have done so in retrospect. They should have done anything and everything. 

Notice Manning rejected them immediately without a discussion of money at all. If the Jets had groveled to Peyton Manning then Filip Bondy would have written an article about how pathetic it is for the Jets to grovel in an effort to sign Manning, then Bondy would have made a derogatory comment about Mark Sanchez, combed his mustache and called it a day.

A little more in-person begging and an enormous signing bonus wouldn't have hurt.

It probably wouldn't have helped either. 

Instead, the Jets gave up the hunt and finalized the deal with Sanchez, a contract that is now handcuffing the team to a young player who has stopped progressing. 

When was Mark Sanchez progressing? It feels like he stopped progressing immediately after he was drafted.

The Manning fantasy is worth reviving,

No, it is not, because the Manning fantasy assumes the Jets could have done something to sign Manning, which is debatable.

With Peyton at quarterback, such mea culpas would no longer be part of the culture. It's all too tempting to extrapolate Manning's Jet season from his MVP performance with the Broncos.

With Tom Brady at quarterback, the Jets would have a couple of Super Bowls right now. If the Jets had found a way to cryogenically freeze Joe Montana in his prime they would have three Super Bowls right now. If the Jets had traded for Robert Griffin, then all things would be possible for them right now. "What if's" are pointless, especially when that "what if" situation was impossible to begin with.

Manning would ignore the disconnected agenda of Tony Sparano or any offensive coordinator, calling his own game from behind center. He would check down against all the pressure that has befuddled and sabotaged Sanchez, found the seams and the screens. Manning would give the Jets the leadership in the huddle and locker room that have been missing.

If only Manning had wanted to play for the Jets. That's the fly in Filip's ointment right now. This column is all one big useless "what if."

He would turn Jeremy Kerley into a Pro Bowl receiver and allow Shonn Greene to become a more effective running back with limited use.

Let's not get too carried away here. There's only so much Manning can do.

Plus, Filip Bondy is incorrect in that Shonn Greene would necessarily have more limited use. The Broncos are in the Top 10 in the NFL in rushing attempts, so they still run the ball a lot with Manning as the quarterback.

Remember: In 2011, with Kyle Orton and Tebow, Denver was 8-8, same record as the Jets, except the Broncos got lucky with the tiebreakers and made the playoffs. Denver that season was 25th in the league in points scored, 23rd in total offense, 31st in passing yards.

Except the difference is the Broncos had a talented defense, quality young receivers, and an excellent offensive line. The Jets don't have all of these things. So there are differences in the 2011 Jets and the 2011 Broncos that show the 2011 Broncos were probably more talented than the 2011 Jets, which is part of the reason Manning was open to playing in Denver.

In 2012 with Manning, the Broncos are third in points scored, fourth in total offense and sixth in passing yards. Meanwhile, the Jets sit 28th in the league in yards per game, 28th in passing yards, 22nd in points per game. We get the same, dysfunctional story, week after week.

(Hands Filip Bondy a tissue)

Close your eyes, you can see what might have been on Sunday: The Jets going for 9-3, and Rex apologizing to no one.

A sleepless fan base is allowed to dream.

Then close your eyes and imagine the Jets have an excellent offensive line, Andre Johnson and Brandon Marshall at wide receiver with Tony Gonzalez at tight end with Matt Forte in the backfield. Keep dreaming about that, because it is about as realistic as the odds Peyton Manning would have played in New York for the Jets. 

7 comments Guns Don't Kill People, the Olympic Shooting Events Do

I have created a BotB Yahoo Fantasy Football League if anyone cares to join. There should be some rule changes this year as compared to last year's league. Either way, the league ID is 250429 and the password is "eckstein." I have also created a College Football Yahoo Pick 'Em league if anyone cares to join that league. The league ID is 5656 and the password is "asu."

Filip Bondy is on fire right now in discussing the Olympics. He has accused NBC of whoring out the women's volleyball players, blamed Ryan Lochte for costing the United States a gold medal, and cried out for a male swimming star. Today, Bondy has an issue with the shooting events at the Olympics. He doesn't have an issue with the shooting events because of the shooting in Aurora, but mostly he has an issue with the Olympic shooting events because it constantly reminds us of the shooting in Aurora. In related news, Filip Bondy should also want to ban violent movies or any movie that where a character uses a gun if he is afraid any use of firearms will remind the United States of the Aurora shootings.

I’m not quite knee-jerk enough to think there is some direct correlation between the guns employed by James Holmes in Colorado and the ones used by sharpshooting Olympians here in London.

Bondy isn't knee-jerk enough to believe there is a direct correlation, but he believes there is enough of a direct correlation that shooting events send the wrong message to the world about gun violence. So he isn't knee-jerk enough to believe there is a direct correlation, except he sort of is.

But long before those terrible shootings in Aurora, and thousands of other terrible shootings around the world, I have felt there is no place for such competitions at the Olympics.

See Filip Bondy has always felt this way, he just forgot to mention it. By the way, I always knew the St. Louis Cardinals would win the World Series last year, but I just didn't tell anyone I knew this.

There are three very different reasons for this, all compelling.

These are all compelling reasons, if Filip doesn't say so himself. He's the one creating the reasons so I would hope he finds them compelling.

First, it sends the wrong message.

Absolutely true. Guns are illegal throughout the world, aren't they? What if the Olympics had a Cocaine Cutting event? Or a Drunk Driving Challenge? Having a shooting competition where the competitors shoot at humans using illegal firearms is absolutely reprehensible. Because, that's what the shooting competition involving illegal firearms consists of right? Otherwise, a competition featuring legal guns shooting at targets in a controlled environment doesn't seem like it sends a bad message.

While the Olympics may have been founded originally around competitions based on soldiering, it is not what they now represent. They are supposed to be a respite from war, not a symbol or depiction of battle.

I never realized that skeet shooting presented such a strong depiction of battle. I must have missed the part of World War II where soldiers would use rifles to shoot at opposing soldiers as they lift off from the ground into the air as if they were Superman.

Furthermore, shooting is simply not enough of a sport to be included as a sport.

This isn't a compelling reason. This is an opinion. Simply saying "shooting isn't a sport" doesn't compel me to get rid of shooting as a sport in the Summer Olympics. It's an opinion. An opinion isn't a compelling reason unless it is backed up with compelling evidence. Filip has no such compelling evidence.

It is a very difficult skill to hold a rifle steady under the weight and pressure of competition. But then it is also a very difficult skill to win a staring contest without blinking.

Because holding a gun and shooting it during a competition is apparently the same thing as having a staring contest. They are synonymous in the mind of Filip Bondy. Perhaps Filip has it all backwards and staring contests could be an Olympic event.

Any sport that does not really fit into a category of the Games’ Latin motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger) has no place in the Olympics.

Wouldn't this mean that diving could not be an Olympic sport either? Even parts of the gymnastics competition could possibly not qualify if the Games' Latin motto of Faster, Higher, Stronger is the threshold a sport must meet.

Finally, the Summer Games are too crowded with events.

Not really. There are enough events to please fans who enjoy niche competitive sports or enjoy mainstream competitive sports.

The International Olympic Committee used that excuse, among others, to eliminate baseball and softball.

So Filip Bondy claims the IOC used this an excuse to get rid of baseball and softball and now he wants to use this same "compelling" reason to get rid of shooting events? The claim the Summer Olympics are too crowded is an excuse until it is a compelling reason, I guess.

If there must be cuts, then surely shooting events should be on the top of the list.

So one of the "compelling" reasons the shooting events must be eliminated is because it has to be cut? I'm not sure a compelling reason for why an Olympic event should be eliminated is because it should be eliminated. This seems like some sort of circular reasoning.

Unfortunately, there is almost no chance the shooting events will be eliminated soon. Too many countries are good at them, the only real argument on their behalf.

Well, that and the fact Filip Bondy may be the only person who wants to eliminate the shooting events. Most people, if they don't like the shooting events, simply don't watch them.

Meanwhile, the U.S.shooting team here continues to aggressively defend its sport — and the right to bear arms — in light of the Colorado shootings.

Yes, the U.S. shooting team continues to defend its sports in light of the Colorado shootings...even though Filip Bondy is:

not quite knee-jerk enough to think there is some direct correlation between the guns employed by James Holmes in Colorado and the ones used by sharpshooting Olympians here in London.

Filip Bondy would NEVER be knee-jerk enough to think there is a correlation between the guns James Holmes used and the sharpshooting Olympians. There is no correlation, except for the fact it appears Bondy really does believe there is a correlation. Otherwise, why would it matter if Bondy is upset the U.S. shooting team defended its sport in light of the Colorado shootings? The sport of shooting and the Aurora shootings aren't directly correlated to each other.

“I learned a long time ago that it’s not the gun that kills, it’s the person,” said Emil Milev, a new U.S. citizen by way of Bulgaria. “(Holmes) was wrong in the head. He would have found a way to do harm if he wasn’t able to get his hands on firearms. If a person wants to harm somebody, he will do it.

Why is Emil Miley even explaining this to Filip Bondy? He knows there isn't a correlation between James Holmes and the shooting events at the Olympics.

Nobody is connecting the Colorado slaughter with what Milev and his teammates are doing here.

Except for Filip Bondy, who is connecting the Colorado shootings ("slaughter" sounds like the people in the theater were cattle. I don't like using the word "slaughter.") with Miley and his teammates in this very column. Because keeping the shooting events in the Olympics "sends the wrong message." What wrong message is that? Would it be a wrong message that has something to do with James Holmes and the Colorado shootings?

They just should be doing it somewhere else.

Where else, besides a competitive setting where every person shooting the gun is a world-class expert at handling the gun, should shooting events take place? Is there a better environment to shoot guns competitively that I am not aware of? The Olympics are a controlled environment with some of the best shooters in the world participating in the competition. These are the people you want shooting guns in one of the very best places for them to be shooting guns.

I don't like nor do I watch the shooting events. I just don't see them as a threat to society and see no reason to eliminate them.

6 comments Filip Bondy Hates How NBC Whores Out Women Volleyball Players

Filip Bondy has an issue with NBC. He knows NBC knows people enjoy watching women's volleyball so they have scheduled that Olympic event to occur in primetime. One would think this is a big win for women's athletics, that there is enough interest in women's volleyball that the sport would be shown in primetime during Olympics. One would be incorrect. See, Filip points out that these women volleyball players are going to be playing late at night and they have (actually they don't have to) wear bikinis when they play the sport. These women are used to playing in bikinis and so that is the attire they choose. This is just completely inhumane to force (or not force at) them to wear skimpy clothing and then take advantage of these poor women by showing their sport to the largest possible audience. I see this as a somewhat big win for women's sports because it gets exposure for women's volleyball (no double meaning implied) and it puts two of the most decorated and exciting Olympians (Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor) in the primetime spotlight. Rather than agreeing with me and seeing this as a big win for women's sports, Filip sees this as a way for NBC to whore out women athletes for ratings...not ironically something these women volleyball players don't seem to give a shit about. Of course, if no women's sports were shown at night I'm sure Filip would find a way to have an issue with this as well. These women are wearing their bikinis while playing volleyball, it's just a matter of when NBC wants the event scheduled in order to determine how large of an audience these volleyball matches receive.

Imagine the potential frustration, the awful irony.

The "awful" irony. Filip isn't being overdramatic about this clothing issue at all in calling it "awful." Filip would compare giving women volleyball players the choice of their clothing during a match, and some of them choosing to wear bikini, as being on par with other such "awful" incidents as the Colorado theater shooting, the hunger epidemic in Africa and probably slightly above the oppression of women in some Middle Eastern countries.

NBC, which basically runs the Olympics,

Let's call them Dictator NBC. That's much more accurate, especially the way they oppress women's volleyball players by forcing them to play at night in front of a larger audience fully knowing they have the option of which attire to wear. It doesn't get more sexist than that.

demands that beach volleyball champs Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh compete as late in the evening as possible so that the network can attract better ratings back home.

My God. What would Gloria Allred think about this? NBC is purposely, and without remorse, featuring a women's sport in primetime because America is interested in this sport. WHEN WILL WOMEN GET A CHANCE TO BE EQUAL TO MEN IN THE WORLD OF SPORTS?

Organizers comply, starting the pair at an outrageous local time, 11 p.m. on Saturday night.

When Dictator NBC wants something, Olympic organizers jump as high as they can to do what Dictator NBC wants them to do. But to feature women's volleyball where those who are interested can watch, it is mind-boggling why NBC would do this. The audacity of NBC to feature a program Americans are interested in at the primetime hour...I'm so beyond infuriated, I've gone full circle back to being incredibly calm. That's how infuriated I am.

But then the London weather scares the athletes and they pack cold-weather outfits, which they might wear instead of bikinis.

Women's volleyball players now have a choice as to whether they wear a bikini during a match or not. Again, how dare the women be given a choice as to how they should dress during the outrageously cold summer nights in London. Sarcasm aside, this would be a much bigger issue if the women's volleyball players even seemed to give a shit about when they are playing or what they are wearing. These women are just happy to be in the Olympics and to be able to play in front of a crowd.

So far, Filip has complained NBC has moved women's volleyball to a more popular time slot and this is a bad thing because these women might get cold in their bikinis...except they aren't forced to wear a bikini. I'm not entirely sure what the issue is. The sport of women's volleyball gets more exposure while the women have the option to limit their own exposure to the harsh summer London night conditions.

This could have been a sartorial disaster, a programming blunder, except that the city of London has heated up considerably, climate-wise, in the last couple of days.

Well thank God. I bet these women's volleyball players wouldn't want the exposure a primetime viewing slot gives their sport. God knows it is bad for the sport of women's volleyball for viewers to be excited to watch. I'm not a big Olympics viewer, but I am excited to see Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Traenor defend their gold medal. I don't care what they wear while defending the medal. It does look a bit odd to be wearing a parka while playing beach volleyball though.

The two-time gold medalists already practiced Tuesday night in bare midriff at the venue,

NBC made them do this, obviously...at gunpoint.

and May-Treanor says they are leaning toward their skimpiest apparel.

“We pack cold weather gear, but if it stays like this we’ll stay in our bikinis,” she said Wednesday. “We wouldn’t be playing in shorts. It’s not comfortable. You get sand everywhere.”

NBC triumphs again,

You win NBC! You not only insist on giving women's volleyball wider exposure, but when giving them the choice of wearing more or less clothing the women are choosing less clothing...probably because of the pressure they feel to wear be as naked as possible and not because it is more comfortable for them to play in bikinis.

has it both ways, prime time and practically naked.

Playing in primetime is a good thing for the sport and the women choose to play in their bikinis. Nothing to see here. Move along.

The Federation of International Volleyball (FIVB) this year installed new rules giving its players a broader range of sportswear options.

"A broader range of sportswear options?" So naturally because this is all a big conspiracy to show more skin at the Olympics, NBC schedules women's volleyball for primetime when the women are less likely to wear their bikinis because the weather is colder. Because if NBC is really trying to have the women play with as little clothing as possible, having them play at 11pm is the optimal time of the day to succeed in achieving this goal. You done reverse-psychology'd us all up NBC!

In order to (slightly) respect the religious beliefs and customs of more modest nations, players can now legally don short-shorts, tank tops, full-length sleeves or tightly-fitting full body suits.

Pigs.

I bet these women who play the sport of volleyball are up in arms over this too.

“To not be able to play because of the attire is not OK,” said U.S. volleyballer Jennifer Kessy, who likes the new rules. “We’re OK with bikinis. We grew up in Southern California, and this is what you wear. It’s a good way to get attention, but we don’t think about it.”

Which is exactly what NBC wants Jennifer Kessy to say. There are no lengths this network will go in order to sell sex to a primetime audience is there?

Attention is what they will get, for sure. Beach volleyball, with all its loud rock music and bare skin, is being staged at the most incongruous of sites, at stuffy Horse Guards Parade on the doorstep of the Prime Minister. May-Treanor said this was perfect, because she loves the smell of horses.

Which is exactly what NBC wants Misty May-Treanor to say. They want her to talk about her love of horses in order to fulfill NBC's evil agenda. It's no coincidence NBC also televises the Triple Crown every Spring and Summer and now Misty May-Treanor claims she likes horses. NBC obviously has these women's volleyball players fully under their thumb. Next thing you know the women will be talking about how much they enjoy hockey and the latest season of "Parks and Recreation."

This is her last Olympics, she vows. May-Treanor, married to Dodgers catcher Matt Treanor, wants to start a family, coach, unclutter her house. Meanwhile, on Saturday night, there is a bikini with her name on it

Which May-Treanor doesn't have to wear, but Filip Bondy knows NBC has forced her to do so. Bondy isn't making an issue out of nothing. Not. At. All.

and several more for the other women beach volleyballers, who always get top billing over their male counterparts.

One would think this is a good thing for women's volleyball and is a sign of progress that a women's sport is more popular than the men's form of that sport. One would not be Filip Bondy if one thought this.

That probably would be true even if the men were wearing teeny tight Speedos, instead of relatively baggy shorts.

And NBC would have it no other way. Showing women's volleyball in primetime, the women's volleyball players having a choice of what outfits to wear, and having the women choose to wear a bikini...NBC is setting the feminist movement back more than when they aired "Are You There, Chelsea?"

“The women’s form is something more people are attracted to,” Kessy said. “We’d still get more attention.”

And this is a bad thing for women's sports to get a primetime spot at the Olympics and the women choose to wear the skimpiest outfit possible. Does NBC have no shame?

It must have been a reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally slow news day in London when Bondy wrote this column.

6 comments Filip Bondy Wants to Prove New York Sportswriters Are Truly Obnoxious

Once upon a time there was a sports team I hated more than anything else in this world. That was the New York Yankees. I hated them for so many reasons I can't even list, but will start a list anyway. Jim Leyritz, 1996 World Series, Jim Leyritz, annoying fans, bandwagon fans, the arrogance that surrounded the entire team, Derek Jeter for being so damn perfect, Jim Leyritz, the New York media that covered everything the team did like it was important history more important than your team's history, the certain fans that think everything the team does is important history, and Joe Torre. Torre was just too damn calm all the time like he knew the Yankees would win, it was only a matter of time. Over time I softened up a bit when the Yankees stopped winning the World Series every year and the Boston Red Sox fans and New England media decided they wanted to be the most obnoxious.

I hated them almost more than any other sports team. In fact, the best man at my wedding reception designed his entire speech around the idea of how much I hated the Yankees. The question in my life was never IF I would marry a Yankees fan, but WHEN I would marry a Yankees fan. Naturally, this has helped soften me some more. I still do find myself secretly wanting them to lose, but I can accept their winning now. Other annoying teams and fan bases have popped up giving Yankees fans/media competition for "the most obnoxious fan base/media," so that has helped as well by diverting my focus. Mostly, it is the superior attitude many Yankees media/fans have that has annoyed me in the past.

The reason I bring all this exposition up is I still refuse to accept the asshole and arrogant attitude from the New York media, even though I don't hate the franchise like I used to. I hate the idea that runs through never every New York media column that the Yankees don't win the World Series because they are the best team, but they win the World Series because that's their destiny. Being the best franchise in the history of sports and winning 27 World Championships is not enough. Not at all, their has to be major arrogance about the media that the Yankees have a right to be in the World Series every year and win it.

Filip Bondy, which may or may not be his real name, thinks the Texas Rangers-New York Yankees series is already over. I can not accept shit like this. (Thanks to Tom for pointing out the article to me)

The title when you link it is, "Sad Lil Home On the Range," because the Rangers are from Texas. Texas is a place with no running water and ignorantly stupid politicians who don't have the class and brains of a brilliant minds like Elliot Spitzer or Hillary Clinton. Texas has cattle and a backwards way of thinking, while New York has anything you would ever want, and nothing you don't want, and are the forefront of everything everywhere. Ask them, they'll tell you all about it. This article sets a new bar for condescension.

Over the past 50 years, the Yankees have won nine of their world championships, 15 American League pennants and fielded the likes of Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter.

The Texas Rangers franchise hasn't even been around for 50 years yet. That's a point in the Yankees favor! Mickey Mantle is going to be able to crush Cliff Lee's fastball. Yogi Berra has destroyed CJ Wilson so far this year. Give it up Rangers, Casey Stengel is going to outmaneuver your coke-head manager Ron Washington. It's like taking candy from Hideki Irabu.

The Texas Rangers, meanwhile, played .471 baseball, moved from one dumpy stadium in Washington to a worse one in Arlington,

Because how nice a team's ballpark looks has a direct correlation with how good that team is. I was wondering how early Filip Bondy was going to bring out the "our stadium is so nice and fancy" card. He shows his hand early on this one.

(Doesn't Filip Bondy sound like a name for the protagonist in a parody of the James Bond movies or something? He's just a lot of confidence for a guy who sounds like he has the name of a third-rate pornstar)

never captured a home playoff game and never reached a World Series.

See how Bondy turns around the fact the Rangers beat the Rays in three games in Tampa Bay during the ALDS? It's not impressive to Bondy the Rangers did this, but in fact it shows how weak of a team they are because they didn't win a game in the series at home. Who cares if they beat the best team (record-wise) in baseball on the road three times? In Bondy's cherry-picked statistic world this isn't impressive at all.

Bondy is so quick to want to talk about history, well the Rangers haven't won a home playoff game in their franchise history, but they have won a playoff game in New York against the Yankees in 1996. Again, I'm sure the fact Bondy wants to talk all about history and then ignore this little bit of history is just a coincidence.

It would seem irrelevant to the upcoming Rangers-Yankees series to bring up the Rangers won a playoff game in Yankee Stadium 14 years ago wouldn't it? Well, this entire article is based upon looking into the past to predict how this series will go. Yogi Berra isn't playing for the 2010 Yankees, so the fact he was on the team 50 years ago is irrelevant to what will happen in the 2010 ALCS, as are the 27 World Championships the Yankees have won. Yet, Bondy uses the Yankees history as a reason for their superiority over the Rangers...which is just mentally retarded and I don't mean to insult someone who is mentally retarded because that is not their fault, while this article is completely Filip Bondy's fault.

The Rangers have retired exactly one player's jersey (aside from Jackie Robinson's)

Clearly, this is an indication this year's Texas Rangers team can never beat the Yankees. The Rangers have never had any quality players like the Yankees have had, you know like Mark Teixeira, John Wetteland or Ruben Sierra. If the Rangers ever had quality, true Yankees like that on their team they would be winners.

and attempted to counter George M. Steinbrenner with George W. Bush in the owner's box.

Since the entire world revolves around New York sports and the Yankees are the sun upon which all New York sports get its light, the Rangers specifically set up George W. Bush to be their owner. This move had nothing to do with Bush wanting to own a piece of the team or anything like that, it was specifically designed to compete with the the Yankees...because everything is all about the Yankees.

Why did the Phillies trade for Roy Halladay this year? So they could have an elite pitcher like Whitey Ford. The Phillies also drafted and promoted Ryan Howard, not because of his talent, but because they wanted a first baseman to counter the Yankees' having Lou Gehrig 80 years ago AND they wanted a player with bigger nostrils than Babe Ruth. Two-for-one deal there.

All they've ever had was Nolan Ryan, and they've ridden him like an urban cowboy on a mechanical bull.

Get it? Nolan Ryan pitched for the Texas Rangers and everyone in Texas loves to ride a mechanical bull. The Texas Rangers are dumb cowboys because they don't have any World Series appearances.

I would have thought the ego of relying on the past to predict the future would have been taken out of New York sportswriters when the Red Sox not only broke the Yankees competitive stranglehold on them, but also made history and came back from a 3-0 deficit to win the ALCS in 2004. At that point, I thought possibly New York sportswriters would have said, "the Yankees do have a wonderful history, but this history doesn't mean very much when it comes actually playing games." I guess not.

Ryan's no-hitters aside, this ALCS represents one of sports' great historical mismatches, 40 pennants versus zero.

Under this same theory, the Phillies should just give up in the NLCS against the San Francisco Giants because they only have 7 pennants compared to the Giants' 20 pennants. Fortunately for the Phillies the outcome of the series is decided on the field, not in the history books.

The Yanks should win this series just by throwing their pinstriped uniforms onto the field and reading from a few pages of The Baseball Encyclopedia.

Bondy should be punched in the groin for saying shit like this. Comments like this are why no one likes the bullshit New York media. Much like last week's column about Lance Berkman being a "true Yankee" the media loves to make up bullshit that attempts to reflect how much more important being "a Yankee" truly is. The amount of condescension towards the other teams in baseball knows no limit when it comes to some New York sportswriters, a group that includes many members whose seem to take personal pride in what the Yankees do. They believe being a Yankee stands for more than just wearing the uniform, because pretty much any high paid free agent can do that, but it means (in their eyes) using the history of the franchise as a reason for why every other franchise is inferior to their own...and always will be.

I am not sure if I can take a guy seriously who is currently doing daily haikus on his Twitter page. I hope for his sake that is a fake-Twitter page set up by a person who is mocking him.

If only Bud Selig would agree to waive a few silly postseason rules, the Bombers might send their Scranton/Wilkes-Barre roster to Arlington for the first couple of games, make this a fair fight.

The Yankees record against the Rangers this year: 4-4
The Yankees record against the Rangers in Arlington this year: 1-4

It sounds like it would be a fair fight based on this year's statistics, which contrary to Filip Bondy's belief, are the numbers accumulated by this year's Rangers team and these same players will be on the field to face the Yankees.

(Sorry for the need to highlight the text below. Something about the transfer from one computer to another seems to have screwed up what I wrote in Firefox and I can't seem to fix it. I suck.)

"I think history can play a role if you're playing a team where the guys have played against you," Joe Girardi said. "Most of (the Rangers) don't remember the late '90s, so it's not going to affect them one way of another. It doesn't mean anything to them.

Obviously Joe Girardi isn't stupid enough to believe history plays a role in this year's ALCS.

Well, it should.

Well, it doesn't. Why the hell should history play a role between two teams that have completely different rosters from the late 90's?

There should also be a cure for white sportswriters with bushy mustaches and a jheri-curl, but there isn't.

The Rangers are the oldest of three existing major league clubs never to have won a pennant. They should be ashamed to bring their media guides to the Bronx

Yes, the Rangers should immediately go home and quit while they are ahead now because they have never won a pennant. How dare they attempt to actually play the games? If George Steinbrenner were alive he never would have let this happen.

During their odd-ball stay in our nation's capital - who can forget Richard Nixon throwing out the first baseball? - and then after moving to Turnpike Stadium in Arlington, the Senators/Rangers managed exactly one .500 season among their first 15 years, through 1976.

Which is weird because partially during this time from 1965-1975 the Yankees didn't win the pennant and 5 years over .500. Should they have just given up and turned around to go home during the 1976 playoffs because of this?

How about the span from 1982-1994? Should the Yankees have just given up when they didn't make the playoffs during that entire time? Yeah, the Rangers don't have a great history, but that doesn't mean this year's team should just give up because they haven't had success.

The magic moments since then? How about a New York Times reporter declaring with anguish her retirement from sports writing after fighting the backward postgame flow of fans and dealing with the horrors of the old rat-infested Arlington Stadium?

New York City: The only city in the country without any rats.

I do enjoy the condescension and snootiness of Filip Bondy. Should there even professional baseball in such a filthy brothel like Arlington Stadium? Nothing is ever that dirty in New York City, the mecca of all things good in the world.

Is now a good time to point out that the Texas Rangers no longer play in Arlington Stadium so this little fable is irrelevant to the 2010 ALCS. I know Bondy is having fun giving us this history lesson, but really all of his points don't matter.

How about the Rangers signing Alex Rodriguez to an unsustainable 10-year, $252 million contract in 2000, when the team still didn't have enough pitching to field a contender?

To be fair, I don't know what the hell this has to do with anything at all related to the 2010 ALCS. To be even more fair, if a team wants to spend $1 billion dollars on a player that is between that team and their fan base. I would think Filip Bondy could understand this since he writes about the Yankees for a living.

How about the Yankees signing Alex Rodriguez to an even larger $200 million deal in 2007, when the team didn't have enough pitching to make the playoffs the next year?

How about the Yankees trading for Alex Rodriguez when their pitching staff consisted of five pitchers with a 4.00+ ERA and they didn't have enough pitching to win the ALCS in 2004?

How about the Yankees trying to fix this problem by giving large contracts to Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano? I mean really, Filip Bondy wants to start talking about teams giving huge contracts to players and then it not turning into multiple World Series rings?

Or owner Tom Hicks defaulting on $525 million in loans and Major League Baseball paying the club's operating expenses from a common fund?

Or A-Rod filing as a creditor in court this year, seeking the $24.9 million still owed him by the Rangers?

These incidences are no less embarrassing than an MLB owner, George Steinbrenner, being suspended from baseball for three years for paying a gambler to get dirt on a player or Steinbrenner making illegal contributions to Richard Nixon's re-election fund. I don't know why this current Yankees or the Rangers team should be judged in any fashion for what the management of their team has done.

Yes, this has been a sad, losing franchise for half a century, but not in a charming way like the Cubbies.

The Texas Rangers aren't charming losers, therefore they can't beat the New York Yankees in the 2010 ALCS.

The Rangers are still hoping to emerge from the darkest of dark ages now under the guidance of Ryan and new owner Chuck Greenberg - who happens to be from Pittsburgh, so you can imagine how much he knows about building a decent baseball team.

George Steinbrenner was from Ohio. We all know how much that area knows about winning World Series titles.

This smart-ass comment about Greenberg aside, if Filip Bondy would do some research he could see that Chuck Greenberg helped save the Pittsburgh Penguins when they were nearly bankrupt in 1999. He's been successful at every level where he has owned a sports franchise. Granted, he doesn't come from the shipping industry, which everyone knows is the real key to success in running a baseball team since it worked for George Steinbrenner.

The Yankees' total payroll on opening day was $206.33 million, while the Rangers' was $55.25. The Rangers were sold to the Greenberg group for $570 million, despite playing now in the respectable Rangers Ballpark.

"Sure, Rangers Ballpark isn't a shithole, but the Rangers don't even have enough history in their franchise to tear down the historical ballpark where all that history would have been made and then rebuild one 100 feet away from it just to make a few bucks. That's what great franchises do. If the Rangers ever had enough franchise success maybe they will be lucky enough one day take a huge dump on the memories the fans have in one ballpark so a 'better' one can get built with more luxury boxes."

Why are they even playing this series? Why don't they just use the scores from '96, '98 and '99?

Possibly because it is the year 2010. Why don't they just use the scores from 2008? Oh yeah, they couldn't do that because neither the Rangers nor the Yankees made the playoffs that year.

(bengoodfella high-fives himself)

"I can't even think back to those years," Jorge Posada said. "It's over. I don't think it matters."

Oh, but it does to Filip Bondy. Clearly Jorge Posada is not a true Yankee because he doesn't subscribe to the Bondy's way of thinking.

It matters.

No, it doesn't.

The Yankees lead, 27 titles to none. Play ball.

The Giants lead, 5 titles to 2. Give it up Phillies, you are apparently going to lose. It's destiny.