OPINION: Really, What The F#*@ Were They Thinking?

Manny Ramirez and his agent keep rejecting the Los Angeles Dodgers, A-Rod gets picked up at the ball park by his cousin (yes, THAT cousin), and a company in China thinks no one outside the Great Wall will notice they apparently did not get David Beckham's permission to sell a sex-enhancement pill. And if that wasn't enough to digest in the "what the f#*@ where they thinking?" department, the Boston Celtics signed point guard Stephon Marbury on Feb. 27 after he cleared waivers following his release by the New York Knicks and put him on the floor that night, despite the fact that he has not played in an NBA game since Jan. 11, 2008, soon after which he had season-ending ankle surgery. Not 2009. 2008. (To Marbury's credit, he scored eight points and had 2 assists - with 3 turnovers - in just over 12 1/2 minutes of play off the bench.) So it's difficult to figure out what goes on behind closed doors when it comes to athletes and teams, except that what these four athletes have in common is that they are all really good at what they do - or in Marbury's case. has been really good in spurts but now arrives in Boston with 13 months of post-surgery rust.

In Ramirez' case, the Dodgers made four offers of what reports said were varying versions of a two-year, $45 million deal. Ramirez and his agent, Scott Boras, kept looking for something else or something more. But as all the other teams that had been mentioned as possible suitors for Ramirez went on with other business, the something else continued to be the offers from the Dodgers. For A-Rod, the hot, bright lights of his post-steroids admission, and the confession that his cousin was also to blame, did not prevent him from getting a ride home from the ball park with that cousin, Yuri Sucart, in a burgundy SUV. When New York Yankees' execs found out about the situation, they confronted A-Rod and urged him to find another driver. "It has been handled," Brian Cashman, the Yankees' general manager, told reporters. The Beckham situation seems to be a case of some devious marketers in China not realizing that the Internet actually was worldwide and running an ad for USA Selikon capsules showing Beckham on a soccer field as a voiceover claims, “Want to know how I can keep strong and running on the football field? USA Selikon capsules help me a lot.” He is then shown in a car with his arms around his wife, Victoria. Voiceover: “It's also the secret weapon with which I can satisfy Victoria.” Beckham was none too happy and may have considered calling former James Bond Sean Connery or The Matrix's Keanu "Neo" Reeves for help, but their images also were used to sell USA Selikon.

(Posted Feb. 27, 2009)

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