Sports this 'n' that

It's just come across the wires that the Mets have jettisoned Dave Eiland as their pitching coach, and Chuck Hernandez (no relation to player-turned-broadcaster Keith Hernandez) as their bullpen coach. Mike Puma of the New York Post is reporting via Twitter that the team will bring back Ricky Bones as their bullpen coach, and that Phil Regan, 82 years young, would be the interim pitching coach.

Right, and chickens have lips. I'd rather have Bones as the pitching coach. Reddit commentators are already calling for Joe Girardi to leave MLB Network to replace the increasingly in over his head Mickey Calloway after the Mets dropped to fourth place in the NL East following a 7-2 loss to Atlanta last night. Considering that the Wilpons were cheap enough to hire Calloway in the first place, they won't spend the money to hire Girardi. Trust me.
===========================================
A quick reminder of how hyper-sensitive some people or organizations are these days.

After appearing on ESPN's First Take on Monday to vent over the Lakers-Pelicans trade that sent his son Lonzo to New Orleans, LaVar (La Loudmouth) Ball answered moderator Molly Qerin's request to "switch gears" and go to another subject by suggesting that she could "switch gears with him any time".

The general over-reaction, including a statement from the Disney-owned network, was that Ball was out of line. Others, however, have pointed out that in no way did Ball actually make any sexual implications in his remark. Qerin joked about contacting Human Resources at the end of the show.

Ball, though, was raked over the coals for being booked on the show in the first place. His Big Baller Brand is dying a slow death, and his reputation as a delusional stage parent precedes him no matter where he goes. ESPN suits are now, reportedly, hesitant about bringing him back, which is just as well. He's just a huckster at this point.
==========================================
Speaking of getting raked over the coals, that's par for the course for WWE.

Nearly 3 1/2 years after returning to the company after leaving at the end of 2009, Shane McMahon, 49, finds himself as the most despised and overexposed performer on the current roster.

With his sister, Stephanie, doing more PR work for the company (she's in France attending the women's World Cup soccer tournament, and promoting Snackdown's shift to Fox in October), and largely staying off television, and papa Vince, 74 in August, showing signs of no longer being a viable on-camera talent, it falls upon Shane to continue to stale gimmick of being the evil boss. Unfortunately, in order for Smackdown to have a clean slate on Fox in October, the father of three has to be written off at some point, and I'd guess no later than Summerslam.

Where the company gets in trouble is with both of their media partners, as Fox, as well as USA, home to Monday Night Raw, are insisting on the company's top stars appearing on both flagship shows, hence the "Wild Card Rule", which has already been abused and ruined.

While Vince is counting his money from Fox before a second of his programming airs there, coupled with the money from his deal with Saudi Arabia, now in year two of a 10 year agreement, he ignores the fact that, yes, the product is beyond stale, and hollow promises made six months ago have been ignored in storyline (because he thinks viewers can't remember that far back, an urban legend in need of debunking). That has to change, preferably yesterday, mostly for the sake of his son's physical---and, inevitably, mental----health. Stay tuned.