By: J. Daniel Pearson
For Positively Osceola
Dolphins fired head coach Brian Flores last week and owner Steven Ross and General Manager Chris Grier both say it had nothing to do with his coaching abilities and everything to do with Flores’ surliness, communication skills, and the lack of his ability to get along. A few years ago, Flores begged his GM and ownership to draft Justin Herbert at quarterback and to upgrade the offensive line, instead, Grier got him Tua Tagovailoa and did nothing to fix the putrid offensive line. To tell you the truth, I think the wrong guy got dismissed and if I was Flores I think I would be a little surly too…
Any Cowboys fan who feels the referees cost them the game needs a serious reality check. First, the final call for Dak to run the ball down the middle of the field with no timeouts left was risky at best. Dak gets more than his share of the blame for not sliding sooner and not getting up and giving the ball to the official immediately—something every QB in that situation knows to do. Add to the fact there was no guarantee he would have thrown a 25-yard touchdown pass on the final play if he had a second left and the Cowboys committed ridiculous penalties all game long. Add to that strange “WTH Were They Thinking” moment when the Cowboys picked up a first down on a fake punt and then proceeded to stay in punt formation –eventually picking up a delay of game penalty – and the Dallas got exactly what they deserved, a big fat “L” and early tee-times at the country club…
Simple thoughts or ideas can make you wealthy. Did you know veteran big-event announcer Michael Buffer of “Let’s get ready to rumble” fame has a net worth of $400 million and can command up to $1 million in a single appearance to utter that phrase? His half-brother of lesser fame Bruce Buffer has a net worth of $14 million and gets paid up to $100,000 to scream “It’s Time” before a UCF event. Think about that…those two men have made $414 million uttering a total of seven words…
In case you missed it, Russell Henley took a two-shot lead into the final round of the PGA stop in Hawaii yesterday and then proceeded to extend it to a four-shot lead at the turn with a fabulous 29 – and then went on to lose the tournament. It was not really a choke job, as Henley was just one-over 37 on the back but Hideki Matsuyama made up the stagger with a back-nine, four-under 31 to force a playoff and then won on the first playoff hole with an eagle. In a lot of ways, Henley’s loss felt like a football team coming back from a three-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter or a baseball team overcoming a 9-0 deficit – it just doesn’t happen that often that a PGA pro leading a tournament would give up that big of a lead…
Totally bizarre thought for you to ponder: If a hot dog is nothing but pureed stuffed inside an animal casing does mean you become a hot dog when you eat one, because you become the animal casing for pureed meat?
Feel a little sorry that Novak Djokovic is going to have to wait at least one more major tournament to break the record held by Pete Sampras and Roger Federer for most Grand Slam tournament career wins, and I do think it is his right to decide whether he wanted to be vaccinated or not. I do not have any sympathy for his “team,” however, who did not research the matter more thoroughly. If I am going to go to a foreign country for a major sporting event in today’s Covid era, I am not solely going to rely on tournament officials to okay my participation without checking with immigration officials too. He may still have decided not to participate but he could have saved himself a lot of drama…
Funniest meme from yesterday was a photo of the Cowboy’s star that said it is not a logo, it’s a rating…
Things I learned while looking up other things: In 1990 Los Angeles Dodger first baseman Eddie Murray led all of Major League Baseball with a .330 batting average but surprisingly did not win a batting title. Back story: In late 1990, St. Louis Cardinal outfielder Willie McGee was leading the National League in hitting with a .335 average when he was traded to the American League’s Oakland Athletics. He would struggle a little down the stretch and finish the season with a .274 batting average with the A’s and an overall major league average of .324. However, batting titles are handed out in both leagues and since McGee had enough plate appearance to qualify, he won the National League batting title. Since George Brett led the American League that year with a .329 average, it worked out that Murray – whose season average was the best in baseball at .330 – became the first and only player in Major League history to lead the Majors in hitting without winning a league batting title …
As Always Y’all Have a Great Week!
By: J. Daniel Pearson
For Positively Osceola
J. Daniel Pearson, a long-time resident of Osceola County, has joined Positively Osceola as a freelance contributor. His JD’s Monday Morning Musings column are a regular feature and he will be covering events for us throughout the year. Dan is a former Public Relations Specialist for Florida State University, Boardwalk and Baseball, the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, the Orlando Predators, and other professional sports teams and has been a freelance reporter to many newspapers in the state.
