OK, I realize that the Weekly has a Sports Guy and a Weed Guy, but, without infringing too much on their respective domains, there are just a couple things I have to mention.
Before I get started, I have to note a shift in the wind out in the world. For years, the biggest and most common shot I would take from people who didn’t like me, my writing, or the paper in general was, “You write for a rag that has porn ads in the back (of the publication).” These days, that has been replaced with “You write for a paper that has a Weed Guy.”
Guilty as charged…three words that bring me right back to the worlds of sports and marijuana.
I read with great interest the article about former UA star point guard Damon Stoudamire being hired as an assistant to Wildcat basketball coach Sean Miller. I’ve always taken a special interest in point guards and Stoudamire helped cement Arizona’s reputation as Point Guard U. A successful point guard has to be the smartest player on the floor. (It’s about blood not having to travel as far to get to the top of a guard’s brain.)
My appreciation for Stoudamire dimmed after he kept getting popped for marijuana possession during his NBA days. It’s like, “Really, dude?”
Anyway, in this article in the Sunday paper, Stoudamire addressed his drug use by stating, “That’s a part of growing up and to be honest that’s a thing that I allude to with these kids because I bumped my head before you can bounce back.” (Jeez, in terms of sentence structure, I hope that’s the residual weed talking and not a reflection on his University of Arizona education.)
He continued, “Probably the worst thing in the world was the selfishness that I had during that period of time and I didn’t realize how selfish I was until my own kids came home and told me that somebody at school was talking about me. I’m not running from it and I’m not ashamed of it because it’s helped form who I am today.”
That’s all well and good, but was everyone at the presser so wowed by the joint appearance of Sean Miller and Lute Olson that they all failed to ask The Most Obvious Question of All Time? As in, “So, Damon, do you still smoke that crap?”
Didn’t anybody think that was a reasonable question to ask someone joining the coaching staff in a collegiate sport in which, with each passing year, the rosters get younger and younger?
I’m a huge Wildcat basketball fan. I wish Stoudamire the best and I hope the Cats’ future is filled with trips to the Final Four and beyond. I just wish that somebody had asked that question and/or, when they failed to do so, I wish Stoudamire had addressed it himself.
It doesn’t matter where you stand on marijuana use; none of us wants that (ahem) cloud hanging over the basketball program.
Many of you may not know this, but there is still such a thing as Major League Baseball. I, myself, dialed back my interest by about 70 percent after the Greed Fest (Strike) of 1994 wiped out half a season and the World Series. From there, I dialed it back another 70 percent after MLB refused to do anything about the performance enhancing drugs that were turning the game into a freak show. That explains my current 9 percent interest in what used to be a great sport.
I have taken notice of the fact that the Arizona Diamondbacks have been in first place this season, despite having a payroll that is dwarfed by the defending world champion San Francisco Giants and the bloated Los Angeles Dodgers. However, unlike Michael Corleone, every time I feel like going back in (to baseball), they push me back away.
The most recent example came on Memorial Day, when the Diamondbacks played a game in the morning for which they charged people to attend. Then they emptied out the stadium and played a different game at night, for which they charged people separately to attend. And they billed it as a “double-header,” which it most certainly was not.
Jody Oehler, on his talk show, referred to the abomination as “an old-fashioned double-header.” Jody’s young, so I’ll set him straight. An old-fashioned double-header was when they would play two games back-to-back for one price of admission. The games would be separated by about 30 minutes, during which time the players could change unis and the fans could go the bathroom and walk around a little bit to keep their butts from falling asleep. It was baseball heaven.
I understand that some teams have to have day-night “doubleheaders” to make up for rainouts. At least that term is partially honest. What the Diamondbacks perpetrated on the fans was not a doubleheader. It was a stick-up.
And finally, would you fake-ass “purists” stop using “RBI” (singular) to mean multiple runs batted in? You might think you’re advancing the game, but you wouldn’t use “POW” to mean multiple prisoners of war, or “MRE” to denote multiple meals ready to eat. The term RBIs goes back more than a century. It’s not broken and doesn’t need to be fixed.
So, stop it! It sounds stupid.
This article appears in Jun 6-12, 2013.
“It doesn’t matter where you stand on marijuana use; none of us wants that (ahem) cloud hanging over the basketball program.”
You need to go smoke a joint, Danehy. It certainly DOES matter where you stand on marijuana use!
If you still think marijuana is “crap”, you might easily be convinced the world is flat. I thought you were smarter than that. What about coaches and players who drink alcohol in moderation? Are you upset with that conduct? It is no different than moderate use of marijuana.
This column helps perpetuate the oppressive and unfounded prohibition of marijuana that is a dismal failure and that has ruined innocent lives by incarcerating gentle people who possessed and smoked or ingested marijuana. That contributes to overcrowded prisons.
Thankfully, Washington and Colorado legalized marijuana. Oregon probably will soon, and I hope eventually the whole country will legalize marijuana, which is NOT crap.
Your infantile criticism of Damon Stoudamire’s sentence structure demonstrates poor focus for a Tucson Weekly writer. Mellow out … smoke a joint.
Tom’s judgement is impaired because of all that crap for crap food he eats by his own admission. The toll it’s taken on him is as clear as day. But it’s completely legal to stick me and others with his reconstructive knee surgeries so you have to feel superior for that reason alone.
The operative question is; since Stoudamire moved back to a medical marijuana state does he smoke better weed?
The reminiscing about an old-fashioned double-header was right on. It’s difficult to blame the dbacks for the need to get as much money from the “butts-in-seats.” Fewer and fewer people subscribe to cable or satellite any more (like me) and don’t get to watch games any more. That’s too bad, since they appear to be playing some darn good baseball.
To see old school baseball, played by good local teams in an historic (and I mean REALLY historic) setting in one of the best places to spend a summer weekend, head on down to Bisbee to see the Ironmen play at 104-year-old Warren Ballpark. The evening temperature will be in the mid 70s, the beer is draft (Copper City Ale and Pilsner from Old Bisbee Brewing Company) and the baseball is very good quality. The core of the Ironmen is from Cochise College’s team, which finished third at the Junior College World Series this year. This is the best bargain for a baseball fan that can be found anywhere. And if you’re lucky, Doug Stanhope and friends will be there to provide you, umpires and visiting players with a truly memorable experience. The Ironmen play a REAL doubleheader tomorrow, starting at 4 p.m. Check out the Ironmen on their website and Facebook page. I’m a big baseball fan and the Ironmen at Warren Ballpark is my favorite summer experience.
Agreed Ricardo. Damon’s use of pot is about as relevent as his use of tobacco and booze. Both of which, by the way, are responsible for most of societal ills. I didn’t like the fact that he smoked pot during his playing days but only because an athlete shouldn’t smoke anything.
I love the way Ricardo Small served Mr. Danehy that well deserved bitch slap. I love to read a post chock full of common sense and good advice. Yes Bob seems pretty knowledgeable also. I can’t begin to give these posters enough props.
Talk about a reflection on his U. of A. education, isn’t this the same moron who wrapped his pot in aluminium foil so he could fool the METAL detectors at the airport? Miller must have been stoned when he hired this dimwit.
CW13, you are so off base. Damon Stoudamire is one of the best basketball players in the whole world. I am extremely happy he is an assistant coach now. Coach Miller made an excellent selection in hiring Damon, and I anticipate great seasons while these two men are leading the Wildcat basketball team. You must be from Tempe Normal?
The author could have reduced the whole article to:
I’m wondering if Stoudamire is still smoking that crap. But since I personally consume so much crap myself, I’m probably not the best person to pass judgement.
Those who live in fat asses should not throw stones.
He’s also proven to be one of the dumbest. My remarks had nothing to do with his pot use. It’s his stupidity I was remarking on. I assume Tempe Normal means I’m straight. Wrong, Ricky. How very wrong. I smoked duffle bags full of the stuff back in the day. In Aug. 1969 while you and your pals were watching Woodstock unfold on T.V. I was up there laying in the mud, smoking my brains out.
Talk about one of the dumbest, CWishy …. What is your real name? Why are you hiding behind the CW13 monicker?
Tempe Normal means Arizona State University, which is what the Scum Devil hole used to be called up in Caca Arizona.
Those duffel bags full of grass you smoked did a number on your brain. Moderation, man, moderation.
I wasn’t aware Woodstock was going on back in August 1969. My pals never mentioned it to me, so they may not have been aware, either. My family, including my wife, didn’t say diddly squat about Woodstock, so they didn’t pay any attention to you in the mud.
Only half a million people at the most famous concert of all time. Janis Joplin, Jimi , Santana, Jefferson Airplane, 10 years after,Crosby, Stills and Nash, etal. You probably never heard of any of them out on the farm. Like most people who posthere, I prefer to remain incognito.
What’s to dislike about Woodstock ? Or is it just me ?