Hello again all my SportsHollywood.com readers! Hope everyone has enjoyed the summer as much as I have. I just got back from a much-needed vacation in Bozeman, Montana, where I fly-fished to my heart's content. Hopefully I'll get the chance to bore you all with some pictures as soon as I get them online. I'd also like to give my many thanks to the great folks in and around Bozeman for their gracious hospitality.

Now onto the sports!

NFL
First of all, don't look for me to talk NFL anytime soon. To be honest, pre-season games bore me to death. In my opinion the season doesn't get interesting till midway through when things begin to shake themselves out. By week 7, we get a clear idea of which teams are to watch and which teams are the ones that will drive you to do the yard work. Regardless though, I'll chime in on the season around opening week and give you all a dose of my thoughts on NFL 2001. Wow, never thought I'd write that…NFL 2001…sounds kinda cool.

KOREY STRINGER
A lot of people have been asking my impressions on the tragic death of Vikings player, Korey Stringer. First of all, my thoughts and prayers go out to Korey's family, friends and teammates. It's always difficult when a young person dies, and especially in this instance for me, being a former Viking and having worked out on that field in Mankato, MN for 4 summers.

We must remember that heat-related death is not the norm in NFL or NCAA summer training camp, but I do think training staffs do need to be especially mindful of the stagnant, oppressive heat during summer training. Hopefully these tragedies will be the slap-in-the-face needed for players and coaches to be more aware of the dangers of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

I remember back in my Vikings days in the mid 70's, we were not only NOT given water in drills, but I don't recall there ever being water anywhere on the field! The thinking back then was that depriving a player of water made you a better, tougher player and pushed you into greater physical and mental shape. Now remember, this was practice in the humidity of a Minnesota summer, twice a day, one practice in the morning, another in mid-afternoon (which was always in full pads). No one ever died, though some guys did collapse from time to time. (Not me of course!)

It wasn't till I got to the Jets in '76, that I experienced water (in the form of those little squeeze bottles) on the field during practice. Know what? Having the water on the field felt like cheating. The science of the day wasn't up on how ingesting water prevents cramping, heat exhaustion, etc., but the coaches where right in that the lack of water did push you into a greater physical shape. Obviously, we now know it is a dangerous road to take in order to get into that kind of shape.

WHAT'S MY AGE AGAIN?
Now we hear that Little League lefty phenom, Danny Almonte may actually be 2 years older than listed. To me, whether the kid is 12 or 14, he is still an awesome athlete, but why would someone resort to such a desperate tactic as fraud? The only person this truly hurts is Danny, as he's the one who will have the albatross of this whole mess around his neck for some time. Obviously the kid has an arm and will get a decent shot at the majors when his time comes, but this controversy will not help him in any way. Talk about some great role models in his parent(s)/ coaches…how will this kid ever trust another adult again? If this whole thing does turn out to be true, I'm sure the perpetrators will resort to saying it was in order to help Danny, and maybe throw in accusations that the other countries in the Little League World Series lie about their player's ages as well. If it all does come to be known as true, I hope the ones responsible are held accountable…at least that way Danny Almonte will learn from somebody that committing fraud is indeed wrong.

August 29, 2001

edmarinaro@sportshollywood.com

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Ed Marinaro

In his three seasons as Cornell's tailback, Ed Marinaro was the all-time leading rusher in Ivy League history. He established eight NCAA career records and was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. After turning pro he became a running back for the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks. Then he turned to acting and played everyone from Joe Coffey on the classic TV show "Hill Street Blues" to Joey Buttafuoco in "Long Island Lolita." In his off-time he enjoys ranting in his column for SportsHollywood.

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