If anyone is looking for a gently used Barry Manilow boxed set or a copy of “Minnie Riperton’s Greatest Hits” (sorry, I’ve already got dibs on “The Best of the Starland Vocal Band,”) contact the Diamondbacks.
Just when you thought the speakers at Chase Field couldn’t sound any worse, the team opts to pollute opening night (don’t even get me started on that one) with KEZ’s play list whenever the Rockies came to bat.
The result was a nasty doublewhammy — Todd Helton and the Light Rockies won and who knows how many of the 46,000-plus fans were Chased away by what I’m sure sounded like a good idea at the time.
(I want to see Gene Nudo try this at a Rattlers game. Just once, to see the look on Fang’s face.)
But give president Rich Dozer and the baseball bunch credit for a quick hook. By Wednesday, Manilow was on the DL (total lameness) and Meat Loaf was back. Of course, by then there were only 18,000 fans left for the encore.
A LITTLE HELP FROM FRIENDS
For MVP voters scrutinizing Steve Nash’s lower assist total this season (10.5) (compared with 11.5 last year), consider:
• His scoring is up four points a game (to 19.1).
• He has only one alley-oop target (Shawn Marion) instead of two (Amaré Stoudemire).
• Boris Diaw, who also ranks among the NBA’s top 20 in assists (6.0 a game), is handling some of the load.
SWIFT TRANSITION
What does the big ownership shake-up over in Glendale mean to the average Coyotes fan? Not much, unfortunately.
Jerry Moyes has already spent several of his 18 wheels covering previous Coyotes losses. Anyone expecting him to throw more good money after bad hasn’t been paying attention.
The Coyotes need a new sugar daddy. New revenue streams. Winning the Powerball would help. But unless Wayne Gretzky stays on (which will happen) and entices the rich and famous to buy in (that one will be harder), we’ll see about promises of war chests and big spending this summer.
QUICK HITTERS
• I wonder if the Washington players who said RFK Stadium’s dimensions were too big feel differently after the Mets hit three home runs — to left, center and right — in the first seven minutes of Thursday’s 13-4 win. Of course, giving up a homer is less painful than watching Alfonso Soriano try to catch a deep fly ball.
• Man, am I old. It seems like just yesterday I watched Brian Bannister, son of Arizona State great Floyd Bannister, pitch against former major pitcher Andy Hassler’s son, Drew, in a Scottsdale Little League game. OK, so it was 15 years ago. Wednesday, Bannister won his first major league game for the Mets.
