SPORTS FOLDEROL

Perhaps you know someone to whom things seem to happen on a regular basis. Well… I’m one of them. My best bud, Frog, and I decided to go to a stock car race at the old Fairgrounds track at Strawberry Hill. Back when it was dirt. We didn’t have any money and figured we’d get there early and jump the fence on the backstretch like we always did. When we arrived, we changed our minds and decided to climb one of the trees. Frog went first then I climbed up and got one of my feet stuck in a ‘V’ limb. I yelled at Frog, and he said for me to swing my other leg. I was concentrating so much on swinging my other foot that I forgot I wasn’t holding on to the tree. The next thing I knew was BAM! I had fallen 30 to 40 feet in a nano-second. DAMN THAT HURT! Frog climbed down, checked me over, and we decided that tree climbing wasn’t for us. We went to the fence between the third and fourth turns and began climbing. Frog went first (again), hit the ground, and ran to the infield. I climbed ...

In the New York Rangers’ preseason opener Sunday, Zac Jones was as solid as his teammates on  defense were shaky. The Richmonder (Glen Allen) played a regular shift, also served at the left point  on the power play and, as usual, moved the puck well against homestanding Boston which won 3-0.  For the most part, Jones was paired with Braden Schneider who was saved from a give-away score by  veteran goaltender Jonathan Quick. An errant pass by Ben Harpur, like Jones a left-handed defender,  led directly to the Bruins’ second goal. Quick, signed to back up Igor Shesterkin, allowed a bad goal to  open the scoring.   As expected, neither team used many players expected to be regulars. Forward Alexis LaFreniere, a  former top overall draft choice, suited up for New York and was used at the right point on the power  play. The last holdover free agent to sign a new contract, he reportedly could be traded if he can’t prove  to new coach Pet...

Bar Stool Sport’s Dave Portnoy bet $10,000 at 20-1 odds that Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman will win the Heisman. Portnoy explained he did it now because he was so sure that, after the Irish beat Ohio State, the odds would go down as much as half. FanDuel took a big hit when a $5 wager put $71,000 in the pockets of a lucky stiff who bet two NFL backup running backs would out gain their respective starters in Week 2. Then again … it was no more than a temporary wince for FanDuel which expected more money to come rolling in as a result. Hey, if he can win THAT kind of money with a small bet, why can’t I do likewise? The answer came be summed up in one word: SUCKER(S)!!!!!! …. AM Radio is on the endangered species list. Several automobile makers say they plan to drop it soon … because hardly anyone listens to it any more. But, wait, Congress to the rescue. A bill has been, is going to be, might be … introduced to save it. Stay tuned. ….. Virginia freshman QB Anthony Colandrea is so goo...

The New York Rangers begin training camp this week, with Glen Allen’s Zac Jones faced with a familiar predicament … trying for the third straight season to prove he belongs in the National Hockey League. Each of the last two years the 22-year-old defenseman had an outstanding camp only to be shipped eventually to AHL Hartford where he excelled. Now, with a new coach (Peter Laviolette) and armed with a new, two-year contract, Jones would seem a lock to make the team. Former coach Gerard Gallant (fired) reportedly clashed with general manager Chris Drury over personnel including Jones who, at 5-10, 185, wasn’t big enough to suit the coach. Joining Laviolette on his new staff is Hall of Famer Phil Housley, who played as an under-sized defenseman and comes with a reputation for making players better. At this point, it appears there is one opening among the Rangers’ top six defensemen. That would be on the No. 3 pairing opposite right-handed Braden Schneider. To complicate things for lef...

“The World’s Greatest Soccer Coach,” Bruce Arena no longer is in charge of Major League Soccer’s  New England Revolution. His resignation was announced Tuesday although apparently he told  owner Robert Kraft of his decision last Saturday (Sept. 9).   Why Arena, former University of Virginia coach who won five NCAA championships before  leaving in 1996 to join the new MLS with D.C. United, walked away – or, for that matter, was put on  administrative leave in August and never returned – remains shrouded in mystery. While all sorts of  possible reasons were suggested by the game’s intelligentsia, no one, including Arena, has said  outright what really happened.   There was one “report” that he had used a racial slur heard by a party (or parties) unknown. The  person who made the comment walked it back the next day and subsequently was fired. All team  members quizzed for the record by Boston media said they never heard Arena s...

The decline of the NASCAR empire didn’t come about due to the tragic death of Dale Earnhart Sr. It  was self-imposed. When Brian France became the CEO of NASCAR after the passing of Bill France,  Jr., his vision opposed the tried and proven formula his grandfather and father had used to build the  empire. The empty seats that now dominate the grandstands confirm it. Brian France wanted to move  NASCAR away from the beer and chips crowd to the wine and caviar set, which was a disaster.  Among his biggest blunders was trying to convert the race format to that of the Tour de France. What  had been an intriguing part of the races -- pit stops* -- were tossed in favor of having the cars parade  around the circuit for thirty to fifty laps, each race, which is supposed to be part of the show. A race  promoted as 400 laps now becomes 350 or so.   Adding to NASCAR’s woes is the constant chatter about possible conspiracies surrounding the...

.... DEION SANDERS was arrested here for conduct unbecoming. Actually, while playing for  AAA  International League’s Columbus  at Parker Field three days before his 22d birthday in August of  1989, he was charged with assaulting two fans. Released on $5,000 bond, Sanders avoided trial by  agreeing to pay an undisclosed sum, the money going to create an area for handicapped people near  the third base dugout.  The two-sport standout at Florida State, drafted No. 5 overall by the NFL Atlanta Falcons a few months earlier, denied punches were thrown during an altercation under the stands although an usher reportedly was hit.  Sanders apparently was upset over treatment of his first-wife-to-be Carolyn Chambers, who  allegedly had been heckled during an exchange with spectators during the game won by the  Richmond Braves, 14-6. The incident happened after Sanders, going 0-for-4, was removed for a  pinch-hitter in the ninth inning. R-B...

Has Russell Wilson become the prima donna that new Denver Broncos’ coach Sean Payton would have us believe? The former Collegiate QB was a fan favorite – after being drafted in the third round by Seattle – but has not lived up to the hype since coming to Denver … and, as a result, is bringing out the worst in just about everyone (including Payton). A story in which Payton said he wished Wilson, whose wife is pregnant with their third child together, would stop kissing babies – a less than subtle knock on Wilson allegedly acting like a politician -- was greeted by such know-nothing comments like: “I don’t care how many sick kids he visits in the hospital … Try winning a game.” To Wilson’s legion of fans here, those are fighting words. Does Lou DiBella really think the Flying Squirrels won’t miss a promotional beat without Todd Parnell in charge? Sure sounded like it after “Parney” announced his … uh, semi-retirement after going full bore here for the past 14 seaso...

In an article in today’s RTD, about Todd ‘Parney’ Parnell’s departure from the Flying Squirrels, here was a comment by the owner, Lou DiBella, that should have caught the attention of every Squirrels fan. “DiBella said he remains UNDER THE IMPRESSION that a new ballpark will be built by the city…” He should have said that there WILL BE a new ballpark. NOT! That he’s under the impression that one will. I’ve said it on a sports talk show, and I’m saying it here. Until I see the Squirrels take the field in a new ballpark I AIN’T BUYING IT! There’s nothing in writing. Some people with the RVA economics department have said they want a ballpark. Big deal. I want to hit the lottery. The odds of my hitting the lottery and a new ballpark for the Squirrels are about the same. RVA LIED about the deal with the then-Washington Redskins, and again about their plan for a ballpark in Shockoe Bottom. With nothing in writing, my point of view is looking good now. I don’t believe...

Big-time college football has become more professional than the NFL. Think about it: With few  exceptions, ALL players are free agents … and can go to the highest bidder … with no salary cap  impeding deep-pocket alumni and other … uh, friends of the university from signing whoever they  want. Louisville of your ACC landed 25 newcomers via the transfer portal this year. I dare say no  NFL team signed as many free agents … not even close. ….  I know, I know … Deion Sanders brought in what had to be a record-number of new faces to  Colorado including Shedeur Sanders, the quarterback, who threw for 510 yards in the father-son  debut, a 45-42 victory over 21-point-favorite TCU. Pretty impressive, right? Before you get too  carried away … understand the Horned Frogs had a total of three starters from last year’s national  runnerup team … and Colorado still needed a short-pitch-then-run of 49 yards for a late touchdown...