SOMETIMES THE TRUTH HURTS

Lionel Messi is being paid a LOT of money to play in – and, 

presumably, promote – Major League Soccer. That didn’t keep the 

eight-times (and reigning) world futbol player of the year to tell it like 

it is, Howard Cosell, referring to MLS as “minor league” in a recent 

interview dealing with his plans for 2024.

What he meant, of course, was … in comparison to such venerable 

circuits as the English Premier League and La Liga, etc., and no one 

who knows anything about the planet’s favorite sport is about to 

disagree. Messi’s arrived this summer from Paris St. Germaine and 

immediately made it look easy, scoring 11 goals in 14 games before 

spending the rest of the season nursing assorted injuries.

Now, the 39-year-old from Argentina says his plans include helping 

his native country prepare for the next World Cup as well as returning 

to Inter Miami which already has a sellout of season tickets at 

outrageous prices – even for soccer.

I KNOW … I KNOW … the New York Rangers (17-4-1) are playing 

like a Stanley Cup contender but it still says here they will be hard-

pressed to qualify for post-season play and then be eliminated, 

possibly as early as the first round.

Despite what the Rangers’ publicity department (MSG’s Sam Rosen 

and Joe Micheletti) would have you believe … the defense hasn’t 

been very good. Time and time again it has been bailed out by 

goaltenders Igor Shesterkin andJonathan Quick. Saturday night’s 

game in Nashville, Tenn., was the perfect example as the Broadway 

Blueshirts were outplayed, outshot (39-27) and (except for a 10-

minute spell in the second period) out-worked by the Predators.

In the end, Nashville (11-12-0) blew a two-goal lead and lost 4-3. 

Shesterkin had to be at his absolute best to make it happen, and he’s 

already been accused by typically-impatient Ranger fans as being off 

his game … unjustly so, we should add.

Rosen and Micheletti continued to blow smoke, assuming we 

couldn’t see for ourselves … that, for example, captain Jacob Trouba 

and d-partner K’Andre Miller were out of position so often it was a 

wonder New York escaped with a ‘W.’ That didn’t keep Micheletti 

from informing viewers that Miller “has become so trustworthy …”

LET’S HEAR IT FOR … Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark who 

was subjected to heavy booing during Saturday’s post-championship 

game presentation to the University of Texas. Longhorns’ coach Steve 

Sarkasian motioned for his fans to cease and desist … but they kept 

on keeping on.

Wonder how the crowd in Charlotte for the ACC final reacted to 

embattled commish Jim Phillips who, under his watch, turned the 

Atlantic Coast Conference into the All Coast Conference … with the 

addition of Cal-Berkley and Stanford. BOOOO!!

It is difficult to imagine a better team than the University of Washington … which would be our No. l seed. Huskies QB Michael Penix Jr., for Heisman. 

UNTIL NEXT TIME ...