411 Sports Zone Fact or Fiction 04.29.08: Jake Long, Prince Hank, Unearthing of Big Papi and More

Posted by Ken Schmidt on 04.29.2008

Jerome Cusson and Randy Isbelle show down this week while the mediator keeps them in line from a hospital bed.

Welcome back to the Sports Zone's Fact or Fiction where my appendectomy has put us a bit behind schedule. Luckily for all the fans at home the exciting match-up of Randy "The Rizz" Isbelle vs. Jerome Cusson will finally get off the ground. Long story short I am still in the hospital while writing this and putting it together and now they have a vacuum inside of my gut cleaning me out so I am not a happy camper. Let's just go ahead and meet the participants to talk about sports in the exciting time of NBA and NHL playoffs and post-NFL draft. Not to mention Major League Baseball is officially in full swing.

Joining us is one of 411's most notorious reviewer. This man breaks down some of the most famous T.V. shows in recent American history as he reviews Friends, The Simpsons, Family Guy and South Park. The man loves his cartoons and I respect that. You can read his review of the season finale of South Park where Jerome claims it's an Instant Classic, let's welcome to the Sports Zone Jerome Cusson.

Our second participant is my partner on the Coast 2 Coast Sports Report (even though I am still on hiatus from that because I don't have the proper equipment in the hospital) and you can also read him breaking down every team in the Majors weekly in the Rizz Rankings, it is the Rizz.


1. Chase Utley has been the player of the month in April.

Jerome Cusson: Fiction. This is a hard one for me because I think he's been really good for the Phillies. But when I look at what Manny Ramirez has done in the clutch this last week and how Chipper Jones is leading the Braves back into the race, I can't call Chase Utley the player of the month. That doesn't even take into account the great month some of the pitchers like Chien-Ming Wang have had during April as well.

Randy Isbelle: Fact Jerome is correct in it has been tough to really choose a top player this April. But I am going to go with Utley, only because every time I turned around I was hearing that he was doing something positive for his team. I also like to keep pitchers and fielders in two separate categories, so pitchers like Wang who are off to a great start are put in the best pitcher of the month category. It would have been easier to put Utley as number one if the rest of the team was pulling their weight and the Phillies were dominating the division, but it also makes you think if Utley was struggling, how far down would the Phillies be right now?

Scoring: I agree with Randy here that pitchers are in their own category, that is why the Cy Young award was created. I am giving the point to Randy here because he is exactly right, when you look at the bats in the Phillies lineup right now it is obvious that without Chase this team would be off to another five win April. Point to the Rizz.


2. Hank Steinbrenner should keep his mouth shut and let GM Brian Cashman do his job.

Jerome Cusson: Fact. Brian Cashman knows what he's doing. The Yankees are far better off with Chamberlain in the bullpen since they need someone to take the pressure off of Rivera. Plus, with there being no guarantees about Chamberlain as a proven starter, you might start another problem area while compounding another. Hank Steinbrenner is already exhibiting the worst tendencies of his father and needs to shut his mouth before he brings the Yankees down.

Randy Isbelle:: Fiction Since when was it Brian Cashman's job to fill out a lineup card? Yes he brings in the players, but I thought it was the manager's job to fill out the lineup and figure out the starting rotation. With that said, anybody who has seen the wonderful documentary that ESPN did, ‘Bronx is Burning', will understand that Hank is acting just as his father did when he first started out. Yes, he speaks out more then he should, yes he is a little impatient, but take that side and add it to Cashman and Leyritz who ultimately have the final say (well unless they get fired), and the Yankees will be just fine. George did the same thing back in '77, getting on Billy Martin about putting Reggie Jackson in the four hole in the lineup. George complained all season long, and Billy held his ground, just like Briand and Leyritz are doing now, when the time came, Reggie batted fourth and the Yankees won the World Series.

Scoring: Cashman I assume is speaking for everyone in the Yankees front office that is knowledgeable in baseball, which doesn't include the Princes of Yankeeland. You can watch the Bronx is Burning all you want but Hank is still taking on the worst tendencies of his father, like Jerome said. Point goes to Jerome to tie it up at 1.


3. Isiah Thomas will go down in history as the worst coach/GM in ever.

Jerome Cusson: Fiction Here's another story that I've grown tired of. Yes, Isiah Thomas is a bad coach and general manager, but the worst of all time? I don't think it's fair to throw him that far under the boss. There are a ton of bad coaches, general managers, and combinations in all sports. The biggest difference is Thomas is in New York so it automatically takes on some sort of of importance.

Randy Isbelle: Fact Okay, this may be a little harsh when you look at how bad the Mavericks were before Cuban got there, or how bad the Clippers were for so many years, but Isiah Thomas took a high profile team and made them a laughing stock. Sure there are probably worse coaches or GMs out there, but none of which took a team as high profile as the Knicks and broke them down to nothing. When did he get the idea that having 15 ball hog guards was a great idea…and then to pay all of them three times as much as they were worth? It will be many years before the Knicks are able to fix what Thomas has done to them, but getting rid of Thomas is a good start.

Scoring: Jerome if you are going to say a ton of bad coaches and GMs let's hear some names of people actually worse than Isiah because I can't think of any off the top of my head. Randy is absolutely right that he brought in numerous ball hog, clubhouse cancer, point guards and absolutely tore this team apart. Point goes to Randy here because he is right that this might take a long, long time to fix.


Rizz leads 2-1 at halftime. Let's switch it up.


4. With their dominance over the Senators in the first round, the Penguins are the favorite to win the Eastern Conference.

Randy Isbelle: Fact Okay, I'm going to give away the point to make a point of my own. I said in the Coast 2 Coast podcast that I really liked Pittsburgh to make the Stanley Cup Finals, and have a great shot to win the Cup, so why is this news? They did exactly what I thought they would and now they move on to the second round. Danica Patrick became the first female driver to ever win a IndyCar event which, in my opinion, is the greatest moment in female sports ever. Yeah Annika has played in a few PGA events but she never won, yeah Billy Jean King won a battle of the sexes tennis match but that was an exhibition. What Patrick did in Japan has no equal, not only did she win an event that was previously a man only sport, but she did it with no extra help. So many times you see females compete against men, but they get a handicap, an assist, but not Danica. Her car was the same as everybody else, she drove the same track, she didn't get a shortcut, all she did was go out there and win the race. Ken you may not be a fan of racing, but come on, look past the sport and see the historical significance. It's like a non-baseball fan say that Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier was not newsworthy because he didn't like baseball. Now I am not saying that what Patrick did was even close to the same level as Robinson, but it is still newsworthy.

Jerome Cusson: Fact I'm not the biggest of NHL followers, but when you look at what the Penguins have in Sydney Crosby, it would seem to me they are the logical pick. Considering how Montreal and Philadelphia both had to go through grueling seven game series, I think the Penguins, if they can take the Rangers out in five, will be in the Finals.

Scoring Jerome makes a good point that whoever wins a tough Canadians vs. Flyers series are going to be beat up pretty bad setting the Penguins up for what could be an easy entry to the cup. As for Rizz using this question as a forum to talk about racing I just want to say if I cared about racing or Funny Cars, I would have asked a question about it but I don't care and you are lucky I'm not deducting a point here, the reason I am not is because Sidney Crosby does remind me of a whiney elementary school girl desperate for attention so that does connect to woman in sports. Point goes to Jerome for actually sticking with the topic.


5. The Dolphins made the right choice by picking Jake Long with the first overall pick.

Randy Isbelle: Fact Sure why not, Matt Ryan really won't be that great of a quarterback, and Miami still wants to see if John Beck can pan out. They don't really need a running back, yeah McFadden could be a great addition, but without an offensive line, McFadden would have no place to run. Miami is starting over and they are doing it from the ground up, so it just makes sense that they would go out and grab a solid offensive linemen to begin their transistion

Jerome Cusson: Fact My logical take on it is this. Bill Parcells knows what he's doing when it comes to building teams. He may not haver been the best coach in Dallas, but he left a war chest for Wade Phillips to use. I also believe that if you're not all that confident in Matt Ryan, give John Beck a year or two to develop because there's no point wasting that kind of money on yet another quarterback when you've got so many other need positions. Parcells is a guy who likes to build from the inside out. Drafting Jake Long and then defensive end Phillip Merling are steps in the right direction

Scoring: Have to agree with both boys here who are saying basically the same thing. I would have liked the Dolphins to get a little more bold in helping the system but Bill Parcells is smart and knows that games will be won in the trenches and this is a good start. We will leave it a 2-2 tie going into the final question.


6. Uncovering the David Ortiz jersey buried under Yankee stadium was a bad idea because Papi has broken out of his slump since than.

Randy Isbelle: Fact I said this on the podcast, but since nobody listens to that thing, I will repeat it here. Burying the Ortiz jersey under the new Yankee Stadium did not curse the Yankees, but it had buried Ortiz, he struggled badly early on. Now they dug it up, and he is starting to turn things around, coincidence? Probably. But when you are in the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry then coincidence is huge. We over analyze everything to a comedic point, and that is why this rivalry is so great. I already know that if we are in mid-September and the Yankees and Red Sox are in their usual position of on top of the division and only a game or two a part, I will personally buy an Ortiz jersey and bury it in my backyard. I suggest that all Yankee fans do the same, and while you are at it go ahead and bury a Beckett and Rameriz jersey too.

Jerome Cusson: Fact This is one that I say fact if for no other reason then I could care less about. I'm pretty tired of the Boston/New York feud. To me, Ortiz was probably just in an early slump because he was coming off surgery and trying to get his timing back. After a while, he found the rhythm he had lost and now he's back to the player he's always been in a Boston line-up. And I don't know about you, but knowing Manny Ramirez and the start he's gotten off to has probably only further increased pitcher's paranoia, leading to Ortiz seeing better pitches.

Scoring: As a person who is incredibly superstitious when it comes to sports I am going to score this for the entertaining, more fan-based answer to this question. I mean the Phillies have been playing so well while I'm in the hospital I am considering not leaving until they have plenty of breathing room between them and the Mets. Point goes to Rizz here for having some fun with fandom and superstitions.


Final Score: Well the points are all tallied up and it is a close one. I really want to deduct points from Rizz for being a jerk and getting on his soapbox for Danica Patrick but I have to give him the edge on this one of a final score of 3-2.

Running Total of Win Leaders
Dan Schmidt, Sean Garmer, Randy Isbelle- 1