How the 2009 Yankees remind me of a "Conan the Barbarian" line

I've been trying to be a good sport about the Yankees winning the World Series, focusing more on my team winning, rather than the fact that Yankee-haters are so miserable right now. But I have to admit that there is a little (Squawker Jon would say more than a little!) "sports hate" in me, as Bill Simmons would say.

After all, one of my favorite movie quotes is from "Conan the Barbarian." When Conan is asked "what is best in life?" Conan, aka Arnold Schwarzenegger, responds:

"To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women!"



So yeah, even though I have a lot of friends on "the other side," I have to admit to enjoying this edge over the Yankee-haters of the world, particularly those in Red Sox Nation and Metsland. And I'm sure they would feel the same way if the situation were reversed.

But the thing is, at least we're all passionate about our teams. I always say that there are good fans and bad fans in every fanbase, but the East Coast baseball fans have a special breed of intensity.

I wrote earlier in the week about how Bill Simmons' sports hate had faded for A-Rod, Peyton Manning, and Kobe Bryant. Squawker reader/Red Sox fan Joe from Connecticut sharply criticized Simmons:

Simmons has lost his edge from living in So-Cal. You can't keep a good hate going when every day is 75 and sunny. There are no passionate sports fans past Chicago in this country- do you think there's anyone discussing spring training in So-Cal right now? But I can find a dozen bars tonight that I could walk into and start a passionate discussion about who's going to be the #5 starter for the Sox this year or whether Joba should start or be in the pen.

And I'm in Connecticut - if I was in NYC or Boston...fugeddaboutit. East Coast puts the hot in hot stove because we care - Simmons sold out with the move west. Maybe the Belichick boner will bring him back.

Joe's got a point. There really isn't an offseason for baseball in the Northeast. I remember listening to sports radio in Texas in 1996, literally the day after the Yankees won the World Series. And the host said he was done talking about baseball until the spring! Good grief.

Fortunately, in New York, the Yankee talk never stops. On that note, I'm going to the Ziegfeld Theater Monday night to see the red-carpet premiere of the Yankees' World Series movie. (If any of our readers are going, let me know, and maybe we can meet up and say hello.)

Sadly, Squawker Jon isn't attending. I somehow managed to talk him into watching the simulcast of World Series Game 4 at Yankee Stadium, where he had to deal with being around all those happy Yankee fans. He also was with me at the Subway Series at Yankee Stadium this spring, where we saw the Castillo dropped play in person. If Jon went to this movie premiere, I do believe his head would explode.

And Jon also turned down helping me with my latest scheme. I'm still so gleeful over the Yankees beating Philadelphia in the World Series that I wanted to reenact the "Rocky" run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, while wearing 2009 World Championship gear. And I asked my blogging partner to film me doing this.

Squawker Jon barked at me over the idea the way trainer Mickey barked at Rocky in the movie. So I guess I'm not gonna fly now. Bummer.


Gonna Fly Now -



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Red Sox fan Bill Simmons praises A-Rod and the Yankees!

I still can't quite believe it. ESPN Sports Guy Bill Simmons, known for his "sports hate" for Alex Rodriguez, Peyton Manning, and Kobe Bryant, praised all three in a recent column, saying that they have all won  his respect. Here's what he wrote about A-Rod:

Alex Rodriguez carried the Yankees to the 2009 title. He was their biggest bat, he had the most clutch moments and he finished with one of the better statistical postseasons in a while. If that's not enough, he dumped the Crossover Superstar quest and just concentrated on playing baseball, hanging out with his girlfriend and that's it. Even his teammates seem to like him this year. Damn it all.

Wow! It's always shocking when a sportswriter does such a 180. But for Red Sox fan Simmons to do so is pretty stunning, given all the anti-A-Rod stuff he's written over the years. Simmons even described the Yankees as having "good chemistry"!

That's not all. Nearly three years after Peyton Manning won the Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts - and Simmons, who was covering Super Bowl Week for ESPN.com, somehow never got around to writing a post-Super Bowl column about the game - he finally acknowledges that Manning isn't the choker he thought he was:

Peyton Manning is clutch. He's a champion. He's the heart of the Colts, and for all we know he's coaching them, too. You cannot wager against him, especially in night games. He's the most important player in football. Take Manning off the Colts and they disintegrate into dust. If that's not enough, he has proved to be a likable, engaging guy with a sense of humor. Damn it all.

A little - make that a lot - late, but still a huge concession for somebody who wrote a hundred "Peyton Manning Face" columns over the years.

And finally, Simmons praised Kobe Bryant, writing:

Kobe Bryant won a title his way -- by establishing a Kobe and the Kobettes dynamic that actually worked -- becoming one of the ten best NBA players ever and proving he could prevail without Shaq. If that wasn't jarring enough, Shaq's exit from Phoenix marked the fourth time he left a team on bad terms, making everyone re-evaluate the whole "Was Kobe really the bad guy in the Shaqobe Divorce?" saga that had been buried years ago.

I'm still trying to figure out why Simmons made such huge concessions. Is it to get people to buy his new tome The Book of Basketball? Who knows? It's all very strange. Never expected him to write any of this, especially not on A-Rod.

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