The Dudes Final Financial Nail in theTire

During the June edition of Bryant Gumbel’s Real Sports Show on HBO, Bernard Goldberg performed a propelling piece about the fortunes and misfortunes of Lenny “The Dude” Dykstra’s financial empire.

Goldberg depicted the story of how Dykstra, aka “Nails”, went from an All-Star Major League baseball player to an unlikely yet incredibly successful investor and entrepreneur. He was financially flying high, sometimes literally on his Gulfstream II jet, but he failed to cool his own jets and take the over 20 law suits filed against him seriously.

Since then he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and can barely afford law guys in suits to represent him in court against the claims of the debts he owes, let alone the $17.5 million home he bought from Wayne Gretzky.

Now “The Dude’s” debt has him grounded with no schedule for departure. He has to get the financial “nails” in the tires of his jet fueled life patched up so his financial empire can get rolling and flying high again.

Le-Brawny Towel is Needed

I’m really getting tired of all the LeBron James cry baby crap. It’s all fun when his team is winning and they perform their pre-game antics, which I enjoy, here's one below...

...but once the shit hits the fan he scatters to cover it up faster than a kid that broke their mother's antique plates while playing baseball in the living room (I know my mom will like that one).

First he ditches the media after losing their series to the Orlando Magic and now he gets dunked on after his own skills academy during a pick-up game and he, along with Nike, confiscate all the video tapes so no one could see it.

Give the kid some damn glory! He could become a You Tube legend! I’d be pissed if I was Jordan Crawford; this could have brought him a shoe deal from Michael Jordan, especially since his first name is Jordan. This cover up is probably just Nike hyping this up so they can make a commercial out of it.

Whatever the case Lebron is a cry baby. Someone should get him a Le-Brawny towel to dry up his tears. Uh-oh, I think I just gave the "King" another endorsement deal.

Donovan Wishes Again

Landon Donovan wishes he spoke with David Beckham about his feelings first.

That’s always the smartest thing to do, keep it in house and if Beckham acted like an ass about it then Donovan could criticize him publicly.

When the man to man talk between the two occurs it should take place on the Jerry Springer Show, then played on an Outside the Lines report right before their July 16 match where the two will be playing on the same team. Hurry up and act on this MLS because it’s the best and only way to get Americans interested in soccer.

Donovan and Beckham Make USA Soccer Exciting

USA soccer finally found a way to get me interested and it has nothing to do with them defeating Spain and nearly beating Brazil in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in Australia.

What has me excited is the MLS match up on July 16 between the L.A. Galaxy and New York Red Bulls.

This is where David Beckham and Landon Donovan are due to play together on the Galaxy for the first time since Donovan ripped Beckham for his lack of commitment to the team.

The Beckham Experiment, the book where Donovan criticizes Beckham, is scheduled to release two days before this game.

Beckham will finally have to earn some of his $250 million by dealing with an awkward situation with his team mate and facing the media's scrutiny after the game.

Hopefully he'll answer the media after the game and not bypass their questions like LeBron James did after his team lost their playoff series to the Magic this season. I wouldn't be surprised to see a soccer riot if that happened, and I wouldn't blame the fans either. It's the least Beckham can do when he's making the most money ever for an American soccer player.

Swarzak's Back

Twins placed pitcher Kevin Slowey on the 15-day disabled list, causing the team to bring Anthony Swarzak back up to the starting rotation from Triple-A Rochester .

The reason I mention this is because I’ve known Swarzak, 23, since I was about 12 years old and played with and against him throughout my baseball days.

He was brought up for the first time earlier this year and posted a 2-2 record with a 3.90 ERA in five starts. He was drafted straight out of high school and worked his way through the strong Twins minor league system.

He also made the International League All Star Team (a Triple-A All Star Team) and is 4-4 with a 2.34 ERA in 10 starts for Rochester this year.

I remember in middle school my city team was going up against his and he was telling a group of us how good he was. We didn’t believe him, but he proved he was on our same playing level then. He pitched and was a solid third baseman and outfielder that hit pretty well, too.

He went to a different high school because our local school's coach at the time, Sean Payton, told him he doesn’t care who he is, he’s just a freshman. From there he went to Nova High School to play for the South Florida legendary coach Pat McQuaid and was groomed into one of the best pitchers in Florida. Nova won a state championship and went to another but lost to St. Thomas, the school I was supposed to go to.

Instead I decided to stay at Northeast High School with my friends and play for the terrible Coach Payton. Of course all of us had tons of issues with him and the bundle of coaches after.

I had five different coaches throughout my four years. Out of the 12 seniors that were supposed to be on our team my senior year to help compete with Nova and St. Thomas, only one wasn’t kicked off by the end of the season by our other ass of a coach James Woods. Not one person from my class went on to play college or minor league ball after that.

Obviously I’m envious of your opportunity Ant but make the best of it you deserve it. You made the right decisions and have proven yourself over and over again to all of us left back here at home cheering you on. My dad may be your biggest supporter next to your own family because he’s a Twins fan. And I recorded on my DVR that time you hit Aaron Cunningham of the A’s in the head so come over and watch it when you get the chance. Your reaction after hitting him is great it makes me laugh every time. Good spot! And good luck with the Yankees tomorrow night Ant. Maybe I’ll interview you on ESPN some day. Until then I'll just pitch with you on MLB '09 The Show.

Early Fourth of July Fireworks Leave Leyritz Even Lower

Former Major League catcher/infielder Jim Leyritz is back in a familiar place and it’s not on the baseball field. He’s behind bars at the Broward County Jail, this time for domestic battery charges filed by his ex-wife Karrie.

Leyritz says she hurt herself purposely to get back at him for attempting to evict her from their house. One of their three children told police he believes she likely hurt herself. Police said Karrie told them two different versions of how the fight happened, but she says she was misunderstood.

Either way, Leyritz shouldn’t be in a situation where he can get in ANY trouble. The first problem here is this woman is his ex-wife, so why is he living with her? They both have drinking problems and obviously don’t have the best relationship, so split time with the kids, or at least don’t be around each other when one or the both of you are drunk. Oh, and try this one, not fighting in front of your kids. Having divorced parents is enough of a burden.

Leyritz is already scheduled for trial on September 14 for his DUI manslaughter case from December 2007. He has since then also been arrested for being caught attempting to drive his car drunk. He was caught when he tried to start his car. The thing is, first he needs to blow into a Blood Alcohol Level measuring device in his vehicle and needless to say he drank too much to pass the test. Once he blows over the limit, the car doesn’t start and the police are alerted.

I thought catchers were supposed to be smart. Well, Leyritz is an exception to the rule. While he waits for his bond decision Thursday he should be thankful the judge saved him from trying to drive drunk over the fourth of July weekend. Leyritz should look at the bright side, he got his fireworks early this year, they just weren’t the type of fireworks he hoped for.

The MLB Radar Is Detecting the Defecting Chapman

That emotional, young left-handed Cuban pitcher that averaged around a 100mph fastball in the World Baseball Classic this year is one step closer to reaching the major leagues.

Aroldis Chapman defected from Cuba during a four country tournament in the Netherlands where his Cuban National Team was competing. He simply walked out the hotel room his team was staying at and hopped into a car waiting outside.

That’s a lot easier of an escape from Cuba than all the Cuban’s that journey across the Atlantic on rafts, sometimes to the death, hoping to land in Miami and not get caught. Even though Chapman has the luxury of getting a flight over to the states, he’s still scheduled to land in Miami.

That’s ironic. I wonder if he already has family there. I know he’s not going to Miami for a work out with the Florida Marlins because they won’t pay him the eight figure contract he'll be offered by the Red Sox, Mets, and Yankees.

Chapman’s regarded as the best Cuban defector since Jose Contreras, who also easily left Cuba during a tournament, his was in Mexico. I can't believe the Castro’s don't have men watching their country’s top talents every step.

Contreras, Livan Hernandez, and his half brother Orlando Hernandez, better known as El Duque, are the best defectors in recent memory. They’ve thrown some meaningful innings in World Series games and led fairly successful careers. They never lived up to their hype, but weren’t a complete bust either.

Expect Chapman to be the newer, younger version of Contreras and the Hernandez brothers. Hyped and exciting in his first couple of years, but he’ll fade as he grows older. Well, that is unless he uses the Roger Clemens work out plan.