A SIDEWAYS GLANCE : THE SPORTING NEWS HITS A NOTE WITH DODGERS.Byline: Tom Hoffarth The day before ``The Trade'' crashed down on L.A., the May 20 issue of The Sporting News arrived with a much softer thud 1. thud - Yet another metasyntactic variable (see foo). It is reported that at CMU from the mid-1970s the canonical series of these was "foo", "bar", "thud", "blat". 2. thud - Rare term for the hash character, "#" (ASCII 35). See ASCII for other synonyms. . But it sure looked like it was speaking loud and clear. Its cover story is, ``5 steps to cure the Dodger Blues,'' with a picture of Mike Piazza Michael Joseph Piazza (born September 4, 1968 in Norristown, Pennsylvania) is an American Major League Baseball player who currently plays for the Oakland Athletics. He began his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and played for the Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres looking nervously to the heavens in pursuit of a pop fly. Turn to page 22, the first three words of the story written by Randy Harvey look suspiciously spooky spook·y adj. spook·i·er, spook·i·est Informal 1. Suggestive of ghosts or a ghost; eerie. 2. Easily startled; skittish. . ``Trade Mike Piazza.'' No way? Way. Then it reads: ``Fire Fred Claire Fred Claire (b. October 5, 1935 in Jamestown, OH) is a former major league baseball executive who served in numerous roles for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1969-1998 including the role of general manager from 1987-1998. . Fire Bill Russell Noun 1. Bill Russell - United States basketball center (born in 1934) William Felton Russell, Russell . Steam the Dodger Dogs. Or not.'' Were the Gods listening? Was this some stroke of genius of TSN's part? Is this what we can expect to see next? Read on. ``Sooner or later, the Dodgers' new owners, Rupert Murdoch and his Fox Group, will have to make these decisions,'' writes Harvey. ``Moving deliberately so as not to disturb fans accustomed to almost 50 years of the O'Malley family's enlightened despotism despotism, government by an absolute ruler unchecked by effective constitutional limits to his power. In Greek usage, a despot was ruler of a household and master of its slaves. , Fox appears to have opted for later, adopting a wait-and-see attitude for at least one season.'' Of course, Fox barely waited two months before getting rid of Piazza. And that isn't even an option to curing the blues, Harvey writes on. His tips to Murdoch include giving Piazza his $100 million ``or lose him to teams like the Yankees and Orioles.'' The caption above Piazza's picture on page 23 also asks: ``Name your price: The Dodgers should give Piazza a lucrative contract.'' So what is it, trade him or keep him? The Dodgers have decided - in less than a year. The Sporting News may be sure what will rattle the L.A. cages to sell a magazine, but with everything else, you've got to read the not-so-fine print. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO no caption (May 20 edition of The Sporting News) |
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