Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
July 26, 2002, Washington Post

An Ocean of Questions

It's vacation time again. That means that your favorite sportswriter is lying on the beach, with his feet in the cool water, staring out at the blue Atlantic Ocean and thinking about . . .

Sports. Hey, I may be on vacation, but I'm always a sports fan. That means I never stop thinking and wondering about the games I love. Here is what I am thinking about:

• Why doesn't the Utah Jazz change its name? Jazz was a great name years ago when the team was in New Orleans. But nobody associates jazz music with Utah.

• Same deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers played in Minneapolis years ago. The Minneapolis Lakers made sense because Minnesota has so many lakes. But Los Angeles is in a desert.

• Hey, I've got it! Utah and Los Angeles can switch team names. They could be the Utah Lakers (the Great Salt Lake is in Utah) and the L.A. Jazz (for all the great jazz around Los Angeles). Works for me.

• Speaking of basketball, I wonder if Michael Jordan will be happy being a substitute for the Wizards next year. He hasn't been a fulltime reserve since he played at Laney High School in North Carolina.

• What's the deal with bobblehead dolls? I know kids like to collect stuff, but what good are bobblehead dolls? I see them everywhere and they almost never look like the real person.

• Why doesn't anyone pay any attention to the Little League championships for 13- to 14-year-olds? Or how about Little League softball? Those games are cool too, but the only games you ever see on TV are the 11- to 12-year-old boys championships.

• Now that I'm thinking about Little League, I wonder what ever happened to Danny Almonte, the Little League pitcher who was really 14 years old? I hear he just finished eighth grade and is being coached by former major leaguer Fred Cambria. Maybe we haven't heard the last of the kid they called the Little Unit.

• I have to watch more lacrosse, indoor soccer and indoor field hockey this year. The games are cool and more and more kids are playing them.

• Quick! Name the middleweight boxing champion, or the defending champions in tennis's Davis Cup, or in Major League Soccer. (Bernard Hopkins and William Joppy; France; San Jose Earthquakes.) I didn't know them and I am a huge sports fan. With so many sports and sports champions, I can't keep track of all of them.

• Four-time U.S. Open tennis champion and now 40-something TV announcer John McEnroe apparently thinks he could beat either of the Williams sisters in a tennis match. I say, no way, Mr. McEnroe. Serena and Venus are bigger and stronger than you and hit the ball harder than you ever did.

• There are some cool names among WNBA players. I really like (the names and games) of rookie sensation Sue Bird and all-star Sheryl Swoopes.

• Why doesn't Major League Baseball ever think about putting another team in or near New York City? There were three teams in New York City 50 years ago (the Yankees, Giants and Dodgers). Why not do it again? There are plenty of fans and another New York (or northern New Jersey) team might help keep the Yankees from getting so many of the really good players.

• Baseball should only think about another team in New York after it finally puts a baseball team in the District of Columbia or Northern Virginia. It seems like I spend every summer vacation wondering when we are going to get a team.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's Friday sports column and is the author of sports novels for kids. Write to him at KidsPost, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071. Or e-mail (with "The Score" in the subject field): kidspost@washpost.com.

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