Random Rumblings

• If you were a little leaguer in the summer of ‘98, like me, you were probably trying to crush homeruns like Mark McGwire, or you were jumping into the air following every bit of contact like Sammy Sosa or you were watching your homeruns like Ken Griffey Jr. And you absolutely knew that Barry Bonds was the game’s best overall player.
  
  That summer was also probably the first time you heard about the use of performance enhancing drugs in baseball. The subject of scrutiny at that point was Big Mac, but he and Sosa were said to be saving the game with each and every long ball. So everyone let it slide.
  
  Next season will be tenth anniversary of that remarkable, yet tainted summer, and by then we might finally be able to gage just how many players were cheating. And that list might be very scary, especially when we hear people like Peter Gammons say he was absolutely shocked to learn about Paul Byrd’s HGH purchases.
  
  Because if players were able to fool Gammons, imagine what they did to us, the fans who considered them heroes.
  

• The New York Knicks win the award for the first team to begin the yearly tanking process in the NBA. By benching Stephon Marbury and letting Mardy Collins run the show, they’re basically positioning themselves to pick the best point guard available next June, whichever 19 year old that is.
  

• Financially, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are on the same playing field, but the Sox have won more recently because they make smarter baseball decisions. That’s why they probably won’t give Mike Lowell a fourth year the way the Yankees did for Jorge Posada.
  
  They know that Miguel Cabrera is out there, and they’ve done right by the Florida Marlins before. So when someone, possibly the Yankees, is overpaying for Lowell, I suspect Theo Epstein will be piecing together a deal that will bring one of the game’s best young hitters to Fenway.
  

• If Randy Edsall can improve UConn’s offense next year the way he did its defense this season, then the Huskies have a chance to be something special. If not, 2007 will be similar to 2004: A tease.
  

• Remember when ESPN went through all that work to compare USC football to all the great teams in the history of college football a few years ago? Well they’re already beginning to do that for the New England Patriots, who are still nine games away from the Super Bowl.
  

• Every year, we hear the same complaints about Scott Boras and how he finally crossed the line with his demands, and every year he gets exactly what he wants for his clients.
  
  That’s why I’m telling you that not even collusion is going to prevent some team from paying Alex Rodriguez.
  

• The New York Giants (1-3 against teams with winning records) are the NFL’s biggest frauds.