Tank's Take October 12, 2003

Lessons Never Learned

To play professional sports one needs to have a confidence level so high that it borders on arrogance, an arrogance that features almost a fearless attitude. However, the same fearless feeling can have a dangerous side effect and that is it can lead to feelings of invincibility, which off the field is the recipe for disaster.

Weather it be with reckless parting and/or speeding, sports is filled with tragedies involving players who never considered the consequences. From the death of rising NBA star Drazen Petrovich on the autobahn, to the overdose of NBA lottery pick Len Bias, and drunken driving crash of Vezina Trophy winning goalie Pelle Lindbergh. However, no matter how many times it happens it seems as if the lessons learned are either ignored or forgot, as just last year prior to spring training the San Diego Padres were forced to burry Mike Darr a young OF prospect who was on the verge of becoming an everyday play.

Now the Atlanta Thrashers are forced to deal with the same type of heartache but on a much more painful level as Dan Snyder a rugged enforcer who had final secured a spot in the NHL was tragically killed in an accident in which his teammate Danny Heatley was at the wheel.

Heatley also suffered injuries, that will likely end his season, but in the long run may be worse off then his deceased teammate and friend. Heatley, who was already facing reckless driving charges for going 80 mph, when the crash occurred, is now facing Vehicular Homicide charges, which could land him in prison for several years.

Though the Snyder family has expressed support and forgiveness for Heatley, it will likely be no remedy for the heartache, and guilt he feels. Danny Heatley who in his first 2 years won the Calder Trophy and All-Star Game MVP, may never be able to play to the same level again as he has a long rehab ahead of him in addition to defending himself in court and getting over the guilt.

There is no doubt when Heatley got behind the wheel he had no idea of what was about to happen, he never imagined his need for speed will end up going so tragically wrong, and that's where the problem lies. If these professional athletes or anyone don't realize the consequences tragedies like this one will continue to happen. Which is why the team's on all level of sports must preach the dangers to their players, by reminding them of these incidents that robbed so many young players of their lives. Its only natural to feel invincible when you can do such physical feats, but in the end their lives our just as fragile as any one else.

Watching the ALCS their could no longer be any debate the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have the best rivalry in all of sports both professional and collegiate. Through out the entire season the teams and fans hatred for each other has been coming to boil on Saturday they boiled over as Pedro Martinez slammed Yankees 72-year old Coach Don Zimmer to the ground.

Had it been a regular season game it could have gotten even uglier, but Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens was able to harness his emotions and shut down the Red Sox to deliver the Yanks a crucial win in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead. Which may be the biggest shocker of the postseason as Clemens is a well-known hot head who once threw a broken bat at Mike Piazza during the World Series. However, this time he was able to keep his emotions in check and thus his team came out on top. If the Yankees go on to win this series it will be thanks to the calm and cool Clemens who had winning first and foremost on his mind compared to Martinez who was playing with a chip on his shoulder.

Pedro Martinez's actions could well serve as the catalyst to the Red Sox down fall as his deliberate beaning of Karim Garcia led to everything else that happened in the game. If Pedro had not hit Garcia, Manny Ramirez would have never overreacted to the high pitch that led to the benches emptying, which is where the incident with Don Zimmer occurred. Which also came after Pedro pointed to his head and told the Yankees dugout he will hit somebody in the head. The beaning of Garcia also put the fear of retaliation in the minds of the Red Sox, which enabled Clemens to get an advantage.

However, none of that would prepare either side for what happened in the 9th Inning when a member of the Red Sox ground screw got into a scuffle with Yankees reliever Jeff Nelson in the bullpen, which led to RF Karim Garcia hoping the bullpen wall and getting involved in the melee. Here's the question I have what is a member of the Red Sox grounds crew doing provoking the Yankees and waving a rally towel in their own bullpen.

There is no problem with him rooting for his team, but he should be professional about it, after all he represents the Red Sox organization. To be provoking a fight is asking for trouble especially since the bullpens at Fenway Park are so close to the fans. This could lead to other action including fans jumping in and attacking the Yankees players.

Following the game both sides continued the name calling with Yankees President Randy Levine ripping the Red Sox organization for laxed security and the Red Sox want charges filed against Nelson and Garcia for the bullpen brawl.

However, if not for Pedro being a hot head would any of this happened? Probably not. The solution here is for Major League Baseball to take a stand. They should fine and suspend Pedro Martinez for his actions, as from his beaning to his head hunting threat to his disgusting attack on a 72-year old man. In addition MLB should insist on tighter security for the next 2 games at Fenway. Allot can be said about Yankees fans and the Bronx, but incidents don't happen like this at Yankee Stadium, because the Yankees always make sure their is extra security. If security is not increased at Fenway there might be a riot, because it is likely the series will get even more intense as it goes on. Which would really give MLB a black eye. Its time they stop be reactive, and start be proactive and stop this thing before it gets uglier.

In addition the Red Sox should drop all talk of legal action against the Yankees, or they invite similar action from Don Zimmer who was taken to the hospital after the game. The Red Sox should also fire Paul Williams the grounds keeper who started the bullpen problems, because there is no excuse for him to be spending 9 innings in the Yankees bullpen heckling and harassing the visiting team. Whoever this clown is he should have shown some professionalism and kept his desire for the Red Sox to win under control. For when you're assigned a position in the visitor's dugout, clubhouse or bullpen, you are not a fan you are an ambassador. This guy Williams just acted like an ass.

Speaking of wild scenes one can only imagine what it will be like if the Chicago Cubs who lead the Florida Marlins 3 games to 1 in the NLCS get into the World Series in section of the windy City known as Wriggleyville. After 58 years the entire city of Chicago may be sitting on the streets and trying to get a spot on the apartments and in the bleachers for what will be surely the hottest ticket in World Series history.

If the Cubs do get in the World Series lets hope the executives at Fox, and Major League Baseball can find it in their heart to have at least 1 day game at Wrigley Field. I known World Series day games are a thing of the past. However, for the Cubs who still play most of their home games in the daytime, couldn't they make an exception just this one time? It would be the ultimate throwback.

Hero of the Week: Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning apparently is firm believer in the philosophy of Yogi Berra, as with the Colts trailing the defending Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35-14 with less then 4 minutes left he did not give up and led the Colts on an amazing comeback and a 38-35 win in overtime, showing the world it indeed it is never over til its over. Making the comeback even more improbable is that the Bucs had allowed just 2 Touchdowns in the previous 15 quarters this season. However, more importantly the win could finally be a turning point in Manning's career, as he may be finally be able to shake his reputation as a Quarterback who can not win the big game, as he is having an MVP season for the 5-0 Colts. If he is able to carry this in the postseason the Colts may be unstoppable.

Geek of the Week: Jacksonville Jaguars Punter Chris Hanson and Coach Jack Del Rio. Hanson season ended this week with an errant swing of an axe, which took a chuck out of his leg. What exactly was Hanson doing with an axe? He was shopping a tree stump placed in the clubhouse by Coach Jack Del Rio. Yes a tree stump in the clubhouse, of course there is one in every NFL clubhouse for players to take out their frustrations on. Gimmicks like this have not worked in 20 years, if Del Rio a first year head coach thinks this is going to make his team better he is sadly mistaken. However, either way their should have been a sign posted for kickers not to use the axe, after all kickers are not really football players and should not be trusted to handle heavy equipment like axes. Hanson should have also known better as last year he was injured when he spilled a fondue pot on himself burning his upper thigh. If that don't show you that why kickers are to be shunned by real football players don't know what does. Besides anyone who eats fondue probably don't know how to handle an axe and thus should have never been allowed near the tree stump. The injury itself maybe funny, but what would have happened if someone got hurt seriously? What would have happened, then? Which is why bringing the tree stump and axe in the clubhouse was a bad idea, and Coach Jack Del Rio is lucky that people are laughing rather then talking about a potentially tragic accident.