Throwing Tomatoes: Cinco De Lame-O

“Throwing Tomatoes” has officially been delayed a day each week due to College Football and the NFL starting up—but don’t fret, like Jell-O, there’s always room for tomatoes! Take the following examples, which headline this week’s batch:

Throwing Tomatoes – Volume XVI

Chad Ocho Cinco
…for legally changing his name from Johnson to Ocho Cinco.
It’s ridiculous. It’s silly—but it’s so Chad Johnson. I mean, Ocho Cinco.

Shawn Merriman
…for playing injured.
OK, it isn’t just an injury. It’s two torn knee ligaments (LCL and PCL). Give the guy the “Tough as Nails” award, but it’s a “buy one, get one free” gig. He also gets the “Dumb as Rocks” award too. Sorry Shawn, but get surgery so you don’t risk the rest of your career.

Jim Tressel and Ohio State
…for leaving Beanie Wells in the Youngstown State game midway through the third quarter.
It’s a known rule in college football. You take your stars out as soon as the game is well in hand. Take the Beanie Wells situation, for example. The Buckeyes led 33-0 midway through the third quarter, and instead of having Wells out of the game, he got hurt instead.

Jose Guillen
…for having to be restrained from a heckling fan.
There are hecklers everywhere, especially when alcohol is flowing in sports stadiums. Athletes are paid big bucks to tune those fans out. Even with the anger management issues that Guillen tends to let come out, he needs to be the better person and avoid it.

Then again, playing for the Royals may be getting to him too.

Koby Clemens
…for “misremembering” the law.
The Rocket’s kid has been arrested, along with two other minor leaguers, after a disturbance late the other night in Salem, VA. Good ol’ Koby—what a chip off the ol’ block, eh?

Ana Ivanovic
…for making unfortunate tennis history.
Usually, making history in sports is a good thing—but not for Ivanovic in this case, who lost to the 188th-ranked Julie Coin in the U.S. Open. On the bright side, it gives me the opportunity to provide a photo of Ivanovic to those that adore her—uh—tennis skills.

The C.C. Sabathia “One Hitter”
…for being handled the way it has been.
The biggest part about a no-hitter is not just the accomplishment, but the excitement and energy that gets generated immediately during and after it happens. Even if the MLB reverses the questionable call of a base hit against Sabathia, the accomplishment has been ruined—and for those counting opinions, I do think it was an error, not a hit.

Kansas City Chiefs
…for cutting kicker Jay Feely after one day.
How would you like to be hired and fired within 24 hours? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Honorary Tomato Throwers of the Week
Because those who found success earn a chance to sling one at their opposition

East Carolina—at #17 Virginia Tech after a 27-22 upset victory.

Tampa Bay Rays—at their critics.  Entering September, they have the best record in baseball.

Jimmie Johnson—at the field after winning the race at Fontana over the weekend.


This has been “Throwing Tomatoes”… presented a day late, but not a tomato short.