Sports Agenda for Tuesday (4/10/12)
Big Story:
The Panthers are in the playoffs, the Heat try to keep rolling towards the playoffs, the Marlins are showing signs of life, and I finally weigh in on the Ozzie Guillen/Castro comments.
Lyrics of the Day:
"Well they passed a law in 64 to give those who ain't got a little more; but it only goes so far because the law don't change another's mind when all it sees at the hiring time is the line on the color bar." –from the song "That's Just The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby
Ozzie Guillen/Castro Comments:
May as well dive into the hardest topic first.
I've gone back and forth on this topic for the last several days.
I see both sides of the argument, though I lean more towards the "What's the Big Deal" argument.
But let's look at what he said for a minute:
"I respect Fidel Castro. You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years, but that [expletive] is still here."
First off, it was a really dumb thing to say.
But it has exposed some big time hypocrisy.
Many of the Cuban protesters, who say they are exiles, want Guillen fired for what he said.
Think about that for a second.
People who left a communist country because they couldn't say or do what they wanted, now want someone fired from his job for saying something.
Irony asplodes there.
It comes down to a question of how much the Marlins want to put up with from Guillen.
You see, the first amendment in a strict constructionist way only protects speech from government intrusion.
In other words, a business can fire you for saying something stupid and get away with it.
Think about it, if an anchor for a newscast went out tomorrow and gave a speech that was worse than Guillen's, they could be fired.
But let's also not misconstrue this statement for something much worse.
I've read several places where people compared Castro to the Holocaust.
I'm sorry, but that comparison is so completely off that it's not even funny.
Castro has been the elected leader and I say with certainty that he's not even in Hitler's league for murder and mayhem.
So drop the Hitler comparison.
I go back to my initial point, "What's the Big Deal?"
He said something stupid. He didn't do anything to anybody. He didn't hurt anybody. He just said something stupid.
But the Miami-Dade Commissioners asking for him to be fired are saying something just as stupid.
Seriously, these guys who negotiated a bad stadium deal, are as corrupt as any politicians anywhere, and now they are acting holier than thou over this? Please.
It's kind of fascinating to watch the different dynamics turn in this mess.
I also think about the fact that we celebrate Presidents like Andrew Jackson and others who were responsible for the near extermination of the Native Americans.
No one gets upset there.
But the bigger issue here is that people in this country are just looking for reasons to get offended if anything out of the ordinary is said.
It's really sad, but you can't use certain words or phrases because it *MIGHT* offend someone.
It makes writers look bad, it makes speeches seem bland, it sanitizes things to a degree that takes the human emotion and feeling out of things.
Now, I'm not saying public figures should go out and drop F-bombs everywhere, but here's a thought for you from a psychological experiment.
You can do this one yourself at any mall.
First, show the word murder on a single card. Then, show the F-word on a single card.
Then ask which one is worse.
Guillen has apologized, I think he realizes he said something incredibly stupid, so let's move forward and put this behind us.
Marlins: (off Tuesday)
The Marlins baseball team showed up big in Philadelphia Monday afternoon.
In case you missed it, the Marlins got two homers from Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez turned in a great pitching performance.
Outside of Josh Johnson starting kind of weak, it's been a good trip through the rotation for the Marlins.
Sanchez, Zambrano, Nolasco, and Buehrle all pitched well in the first starts.
If they can get the offense going consistently, which it seems to be trying to warm up to do, then this could be a special season.
Kudos to the Fish for playing so well in the midst of all the Guillen controversy.
It's a good thing they are on the road during the controversy.
I like what I'm seeing out of this team so far this season.
The record will improve, trust me.
Panthers: (Friday vs. New Jersey Devils, 7:00 p.m.)
Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Panthers, we've missed ya.
Yes, the Cats are in the playoffs again and are the division champions.
Not bad, now your first assignment in the playoffs….beat Martin Brodeur.
Ouch.
That's like having to face Patrick Roy in the first round.
*Note to non hockey fans, Roy, pronounced WHA, was one of the most dominating goalies of the last 20 years.
So the Panthers draw Brodeur and honestly I think they can beat him.
The teams are very evenly matched across the board, but Florida's scorers need to get going early cause Brodeur gets better as the game goes on.
But we finally have playoff hockey again!!!
Let's go Cats.
Wouldn't it be awesome to see Lord Stanley's Cup skating around the Bank Atlantic Center?
Heat: (vs. Boston Celtics, 7 p.m., ESPN/Sun Sports HD)
Tonight, the Heat need to exact a little revenge on the Celtics after getting slammed by the C's two weeks ago.
I'm not sure just yet if Dwyane Wade is going to start, but honestly, they play better without him in the starting lineup.
I think the best thing that's happened over the last few games is that the entire roster is getting involved.
Norris Cole isn't, but Terrel Harris, James Jones, and now they have Mike Miller back.
JJ and MM can help spread the floor in a big way.
Why is that important?
Because it creates openings for LeBron and Wade to slash to the basket.
Get them slashing and burning early, the opponent doesn't have a chance.
But, if Miami turns into a team relying on the 3-point-shot…good luck with that.
Maimi's got two good tests coming up tonight and Thursday.
The Heat travel to Chicago to play a strong Bulls team.
If the Heat win tonight, and the Bulls lose tonight or Wednesday, the Heat could tie Chicago for first place in the Eastern Conference.
Not bad, not too bad at all.
Remember too, if you ever catch yourself lamenting a Heat loss, remember, you could always be an Orlando Magic fan!
All of that and more on CBSMiami.com/sports today.
Follow me on Twitter @timkephart33
