Neither here nor there

Touching on a few headlines:

- I'm hoping David Ortiz's home run Wednesday night against the Angels will quiet the naysayers and losers who incessantly call sports talk radio. Look, I think this situation needs to be figured out, too, but too much has been made of this. I find that Red Sox fans fly off the handle far too quickly.

- Lawrence Taylor, the ferocious ex-Giants linebacker, was arrested and is accused of raping a 15-year-old girl. Since No. 56, who revolutionized the linebacker position in the NFL, paving the way for such players as Derrick Thomas and Willie McGinest, retired, he's found nothing but trouble.

- I read a story today about a collegiate golfer who intentionally sent his drive into woods that lost him a playoff against another golfer. Grant Whybark, who had already had his spot at nationals cemented because his team qualified, lost intentionally to let Seth Doran take the final spot - as an individual. Those are the stories that make sports worthwhile.

- If Kevin Garnett's injury keeps him out of Friday night's game against the Cavs, and according to coach Doc Rivers, it shouldn't, Rasheed Wallace is going to have to step up. On both ends. He'll need to play defense and rebound, in addition to score. That might be a tall order (no pun intended) for the veteran who seems to play hard when he wants to.

- I can admit that I'm guilty of jumping on the Bruins bandwagon. I rarely watch the Bruins during the regular season, but playoff hockey seems to catch my attention. Here's to hoping Boston can get this done on Friday and face the Canadiens (my stepdad is a big-time Montreal fan) in what will be a great Eastern Conference final.

- Last September, my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer, and this past weekend, I received the good news that she is now cancer free. It was a long few months for her, but she toughed it out. Way to go, Mom! Just in time for what will be a great Mother's Day.

King nothing

I have never hidden my distaste for LeBron James. Yes, he’s the second great basketball player in the world (behind Kobe Bryant) but he’ll never, ever be mentioned in the same breath with the other No. 23, Michael Jordan. Firstly, even before he got there, Jordan always acted like he had. He never flaunted the fact that he was the most talented player in the game, never danced on the sidelines or took fake pictures of his teammates.

What Michael Jordan did was win. Period. Six championships in eight seasons. And it could have easily been eight titles in eight seasons had he not left to go play minor league baseball (that decision still baffles me, but rumors are that he was in over his head with his gambling addiction).

And now that the top-seeded Cavaliers seem rather human, and perhaps ripe for the picking, LeBron’s mysterious elbow injury — which has its own Twitter page, apparently — is making the headlines. Not the fact that the Celtics ran Cleveland ragged on its home floor, but that a healthy LeBron wouldn’t have let that happen. Sorry, but Michael Jordan scored 38 points in an NBA finals victory with the flu. LeBron has a tender elbow and his team gets blown out?

Poor, LeBron. He won’t bring a championship back to Cleveland and he’ll leave after the season and head to “greener” pastures. That place likely will be New York, and he won’t win there, either.

Stunning revelation

We've all seen it at one point or another, either on TV or in person. A beer-fueled numb skull at a sporting event leaves the stands and runs onto the field, only to be tackled, eventually, and dragged off by security personnel.

Apparently, though, they do things differently in Philadelphia. A young Phillies fan, possibly on a dare from idiot friends, hopped onto the field at Citizens Bank Park on Monday night. But as security chased him, instead of going Reggie White on him, one guard used a Taser to bring down the fan.

Unfortunately, as yet, there is no video of this incident. TV stations don't broadcast such shenanigans, for fear that being on TV may encourage others. But seeing a guy get Tased on TV, well, aside from being potentially hilarious, I would think that would be quite the deterrent.

It wouldn't come as a shock (no pun intended) if this kid's family decided to sue the Phillies and their security staff for what they will claim was excessive force. I'm not sure if that's a valid claim. Most of these incidents are relatively harmless, with fans just goofing around. Occasionally, it turns ugly, in which case the use of a Taser could be justified. But should security guards be expected to make that distinction on the fly?

It'll be interesting to see what becomes of this and how, if at all, it changes stadium security practices. I suppose I don't have a problem with the use of a Taser, but I still prefer a good open-field tackle.

Big problems for Big Papi

Three years ago, if you're a Red Sox fan, David Ortiz is the guy you wanted coming to the plate in the last inning of a close game. The guy was money. He didn't necessarily come through all the time, but he did often enough that it felt like he never failed.

In 2010, how many players on the Red Sox roster, excluding pitchers, would you rather see up to bat down a run with a man on in the ninth?

Statistically, Ortiz is the worst hitter on the team this season. He's hitting a pitcher-like .159. Actually, there are 46 pitchers in the National League with higher averages than Ortiz. Granted, they don't have the at-bats, and Ortiz has more hits (10) than any pitcher. But the fact that Big Papi's hitting stats are even remotely comparable to some pitchers is embarrassing.

Watching the Red Sox-Orioles game at the office on Friday night, the score was tied 4-4 in the ninth. With a man on and two outs, Ortiz stepped into the batter's box. I asked a co-worker, "What do you think? Weak groundout?" Without hesitation, he replied, "Strikeout."

Sure enough, Ortiz struck out swinging on a terrible pitch, low and away. The Orioles eventually won in the 10th.

What happened to this man? A popular, and plausible answer is steroids. If he was on the juice in his heyday, and now he's not, that very well could explain the unthinkable drop in production (.332, 117 RBIs in 2007; .264, 89 RBIs in 2008 and .238, 99 RBIs last year).

But perhaps he just got really old, really fast.

At least he can still contribute with his defense.