Random thoughts: Ringside seat at the circus

by Gary Shelton on August 27, 2017 · 0 comments

in general

Sunday, 4 a.m.

Now , can Floyd   Mayweather return, and can Conor McGregor go back to being invisible?

– The reason that I didn't think the Mayweather-McGregor match is a “circus,” as Oscar De La Hoya has charged: Not enough clowns.

– Of course, once the cries of "rematch" begin, I may reconsider.

– Is the Bucs' offense sharing a playbook with the Rays? I know the Bucs are supposed to have 40 levels of great offense, but so far, they're hiding 39 1/2 of them.

– Former Rays' nickname jersey: Vince "Scrooge" Naimoli.

– If the Rays were going to pick up a second baseman, why not just keep Tim Beckham rather than give him away?

– Did you see where both of the Yankees' catchers were suspended after the team's ugly brawl with the Yankees? If it was any worse, Yogi Berra, Bill Dickey, Thurman Munson and Ellie Howard would have been suspended, too.

– One thing I don't understand about the play “Hamilton.” Who plays Lou Pinella when the Rays suspend Josh?

– I like the baseball players going by their nicknames over the weekend. One caution: You should never go by the nickname “Double Play” if you're an outfielder.

– Former Rays' nickname jersey: Jose "Roids" Canseco.

– I see two Chicago bars are boycotting the NFL as long as Colin Kaepernick is unsigned. In a related move, 9,357 bars are boycotting Colin Kaepernick as long as the NFL is playing.

– Blake Bortles is back, baby! The Jags, after benching Bortles, now say he will open the season for the team. Make your Super Bowl reservations early.

– Jacksonville Jags owner Shad Kahn says he “absolutely” would be open to signing Colin Kaepernick. And the world's worst blackball conspiracy gets a little worse. Evidently, a lot of teams – Seattle, Baltimore, Jacksonville – have entertained thoughts of signing Kap, who won one game last year.

– Good to see that Jerry Kramer might sneak in the Hall of Fame as a senior nominee. Maybe he can send help for Alex Karras.

– Goodnight, Junior Jackson. Of course, Jackson was the name of Jerry Lewis' character in the football movie "That's My Boy." Hey, he made me laugh throughout my childhood.

– June Jones is the new coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Not that it makes me feel old or anything; I covered Jones when he played for the Falcons.

– Former Rays' nickname jersey: Wade "Beer, Chicken, Beer" Boggs.

– Ohio supreme court judge Bill O'Neill wasn't happy with the Browns' anthem protest last week. He even called the players “draft-dodgers.” Which is kind of silly, since there hasn't been a draft in decades. He might as well have called them “tories.”

– Skullrocks of the week: ESPN pulled broadcaster Robert Lee, an Asian, off of its Virgnia-William and Mary contest because it was afraid some listeners would confuse him with Robert E. Lee, the confederate general who has been busy being dead since 1870. Is ESPN that stupid, or does it think the rest of us are?

– And thank goodness the Confederacy never had a general named "Gruden." Although if it was "Berman," I'd be fine with the ban.

– Former Rays' nickname jersey: "Kevin "Bobbles" Stocker.

– Some of the best nicknames from baseball's weekend: Gary “Kraken” Sanchez, Aaron “All Rise” Judge, Eric “Nerd Power” Sogard, Trevor “Bauer Outage” Bauer and Mike “Porterhouse” Napoli.

– I thought it was interesting that after months of lobbying for Kaepernick to get a job in the NFL, the site is now saying that he'd be better off to decline any offer from Jacksonville. This just in: The Patriots aren't going to call.

– Eight different NFL quarterbacks will enter their 10th season as a starter for their teams. Think about it. Elsewhere in the NFL in 2008, the starting quarterbacks were David Garrard (Jacksonville), Matt Cassel (New England), Jake Delhomme (Carolina), Jason Campbell (Washington), Ryan Fitzpatrick (Cincinnati) Kyle Orton (Chicago), Jeff Garcia (Tampa Bay), Trent Edwards (Buffalo) and J.T. Sullivan (San Francisco).

– Bad nickname on the back of an MLB jersey: “Last call.”

– Today, most of those quarterbacks are sharing a single phrase: “Do you want fries with that?”

– When discussing Bobby Beathard's candidacy for the Hall of Fame, how long do you think it will be before the name “Ryan Leaf” comes up?

– Former Rays' nickname jersey: "Joe "Merlot Joe" Maddon.

– So, do you say “congratulations” to Blake Bortles? Or “Let's see how long it lasts?

– If the last 35 quarterbacks of the Cleveland Browns were in Game of Thrones, which one would be left standing? Or is that time to go to a democracy?

– Bad nickname on the back of a MLB jersey: “Whiff.”

– Former Rays' nickname jersey: Pat "Sunshine" Burrell.

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