The host of ESPN Radio’s “The Herd” was beside himself this morning, effusive in his praise of Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka. Dice-K, promised Cowerd, is on the brink of stateside stardom ala Michael Jordan, Michael Vick, Tiger Woods, etc., and if you suspect the hyperbole is a bit much for a guy that merely mowed down the Kansas City Royals, think again.
The key element to Matzusaka’s appeal, explained Cowherd, is that “he’s clean. He’s not been accused of anything. How many American athletes can you say that about?”
Oh yeah, and the pitcher is “mysterious….he’s from a different culture,” opined morning radio’s least-worldly commentator.
“He reminds me of Fernandomania,” mused Cowherd, “Schezchuan style!”
In contrast to Cowherd’s geographic confusion, Japan’s Minister Of Finance, Koji Omi, would like to see a bit less Dice-K on the idiot box. From the Mainichi Daily News.
Speaking on the topic of Matsuzaka’s first win in the major leagues, Omi said, “Considering the overall news balance, there’s a problem with taking up issues like this every morning on NHK’s 7 o’clock news.”
Omi, who made the comments following a Cabinet meeting on Friday, praised Matsuzaka’s performance overseas, saying, “It’s very good that people are becoming global, just like economy, and that good people are discovering new spheres.” However, he raised questions about the time NHK spent on its coverage.
“If NHK doesn’t start to spend a bit more time broadcasting what’s happening in the world, its significance as a public broadcaster will probably start to fade,” the minister said.
(UPDATE : incredibly, Cowherd’s comments about Matsuzaka weren’t the dumbest things he said this morning.)
“He’s not been accused of anything. How many American athletes can you say that about?”
No more than, what, 99%?
I first became aware of Cowherd when he got busted stealing content from a sports blog for his show, so I had zero respect for the guy coming out of the gate. The more I find out, the more I find him consistently finding ways to further lower my opinion of him.
Is it possible he’s doing a sort of Bill O’Reilly routine where he pretends to be dumber than he is just to rile up an even dumber audience? Maybe, but Occam’s Razor says he’s a moron.
So if someone can’t tell the difference between Japan and China, that automatically means they’re a Mormon? I thought it was the magic underwear.
Okay, I’m kidding. Every ESPN listener surely knows Chinese people and Japanese people are as different as Sunnis and Shiites.
Colin cracked me up this week when he said: “I think I’m a thinker.”