A notes column named desire. …
Almost seven years after his arrival, the question remains: Will a Dan O’Dowd draft choice ever become a major impact player in the big leagues? It hasn’t happened yet. Fact: The Rockies’ top two hitters – Matt Holliday and Todd Helton – and top two pitchers – Aaron Cook and Jason Jennings – were products of the Bob Gebhard regime. …
OK, so televangelist Pat Robertson claims to have leg-pressed an even ton at age 72 while suffering from prostate cancer. Here’s what I want to know: Could he hit a warning-track flyball at the LoDo Failure to Launch Pad? …
Humidor? What humidor? Pirates outfielder Jason Bay is a career .520 (13-for-25) at Coors Failed. …
Not that a certain ex-Diamondbacks reliever is going to be the death of some ballplayers’ careers, but his new nickname is the Grimsley Reaper. …
Diamondbacks reliever Terry Mulholland on Jason Grimsley: “He expressed to us that he had too much respect for us to allow this to bring us down. He’s that kind of guy.” He didn’t want to bring them down? The D-backs going into Saturday night hadn’t won a game since “Grimsley-gate” hit the headlines. …
So, now that his baseball career is toast, what will Grimsley do? Given all those names he coughed up under pressure from the feds, maybe he could become a mascot. San Diego Chicken, meet the Phoenix Canary. …
Even the Yankees-Red Sox hatefest has its limits. To wit: ESPN’s Peter Gammons reports that the Sox had hoped to select Preston Mattingly, Don’s son, with the 40th pick in last week’s draft, only to have the Dodgers grab him at No. 31. …
You knew this was coming. According to Gammons, two of the hottest prospects in the draft, North Carolina pitcher Andrew Miller and Long Beach State infielder Evan Longoria, had reservations about being selected by the Rox in the aftermath of the USA Today story detailing the devotion to Christianity in the team’s front office. …
If only the Rockies could hit. It’s not like they don’t have the pitching. Or maybe you haven’t noticed that Ramon Ramirez and Brian Fuentes have combined to allow 25 hits in 50 2/3 innings. Twenty-five knocks in 50 2/3 innings? What is this, 1968? …
One-time infamous Little Leaguer Danny Almonte went undrafted, which makes sense if you think about it. Far be it for a major-league baseball team to have a cheater in its midst. …
Anna Kournikova turned 25 the other day. What’s that? OK, OK, I’ll stick to writing about athletes. …
Broncos running back Kyle Johnson, a former “street” free agent – as in, a player who has felt the sting of the waiver wire – when asked if he finally felt comfortable in his job status: “When you’re a street guy, your comfort zone will return the day you retire.” …
I see why Marcus Camby wants Kenyon Martin to return next season. And while we’re talking about fantasy league stuff, I’d like gas to cost a buck a gallon, too. …
No one is saying so on the record, but Martin has played his final game in a Nuggets uniform. If you need proof, I refer you to K-Mart’s three-game suspension during the playoffs. George Karl could have made it one game. He knew anything more would further damage Martin’s trade value, but he made it three games anyway. Moral to the story: He didn’t want Martin and his lousy attitude around the locker room. …
Local kid Nick Fazekas appears to have made a good decision in rescinding his NBA draft eligibility. NBADraft.net was projecting the Nuggets to select him in the second round with the 49th pick. …
By the way, Adam Morrison has been so impressive in his predraft workouts, NBADraft.net now projects him to go No. 1 to the Raptors. …
Having made a killing on poker, ESPN is about to televise dominoes and darts. Fear not sports fans, squirt-gun fights must be just around the corner. …
It’s official. Tonya Harding has decided to end her boxing career. Seems she glanced in the mirror after getting sunburned the other day and thought she looked like a tomato can. …
And finally, happy Big 5-Oh to Joe Montana, the greatest quarterback that ever was. Joe Mo in four Super Bowls: 4-0, 83-for-122, 1,142 yards, 11 touchdowns, no INTs. Any more questions?
Catch Jim Armstrong from 6-9 a.m. during “The Press Box” on ESPN 560 AM. He can be reached at 303-820-5452 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
