FanHouse Alcohol

Denny McClain is a lot of things: a Hall of Famer, the last pitcher to win 30 games in a season, a convict, a recovering alcoholic ... and these days, a blogger. The former Tigers pitcher is now writing for the Britannica Blog, where he touched upon the Josh Hancock tragedy by looking at how players treated alcohol in his heyday:

Our '68 team had a number of heavy drinkers and several who were serious problem drinkers. In fact, Norm Cash, my roommate Ray Oyler, and our manager, Mayo Smith, all died prematurely and all three were alcoholics. The best place to get high on booze was a Major League clubhouse.

But the clubhouse wasn't the only place to enjoy some post-game hijinks ...

When I was a rookie on the Tigers, we were traveling on a DC-6, a four-engine propeller airplane and the First Class section of the plane was in the rear, away from coaches, managers, and others who didn't need to know. The section had a round card table and a couch around it for about six guys and a United Airlines blanket. Many a willing stewardess found her way under the blanket with one of her drunken sporting heroes. You would be shocked at who made their way under the blanket.

Good times were had by many, and "United" was certainly an appropriate name for our plane because there was a fair amount of "uniting" going on thanks to the lowering of inhibitions due to alcohol.

So ... yeah. I bet you weren't expecting to read about a good ol' fashioned mile-high orgy today, were you? Not to be lost in the humor of McLain's post is his actual point, that alcohol can be a very dangerous drug, one that cost him the lives of not only some former teammates but also his daughter, who was killed by a drunk driver. But if it takes a little sex to spice up the message to make sure people actually hear it, it's fine by me.

(via master equestrian Dan Steinberg at the D.C. Sports Bog, courtesy of Ballhype)

Earlier on the Fanhouse today we reported on Albert Pujols wanting to know what, if anything, fans had learned from the death of Josh Hancock.

Well Albert, I didn't learn a thing. I already knew drinking and driving was bad. The only thing I've taken from Hancock's death is a reaffirmation that we as sports fans are generally morons.

I've been biting my tongue on this for a while, but I'm ready to let loose. I have absolutely no sympathy at all for Josh Hancock.

Hancock's death has been labeled a tragedy by the media, and I think it's ridiculous. Jessica Alba having a no nudity clause in her contract is a tragedy. Josh Hancock's death was an unfortunate incident.

If Josh Hancock didn't play baseball, and was just a construction worker on his way home from the bar when he plowed into a tow truck would he still be the sympathetic figure we now see him as?

Short answer, no. Long complicated answer, hell no.

The Cardinals aren't helping matters, either. Instead their coming off as a bunch of hypocrites in my eyes. They've banned all alcohol from the clubhouse, yet at the same time they've decided to honor Hancock with a patch on their jerseys for the rest of the season.

That's a great message to send. Let's make sure we show the guy who got high and drunk, and then went for a ride the proper respect he deserves.

Give me a break.

Previously at the Fanhouse:
Albert Pujols Isn't Sure the Fans Learned from Josh Hancock
Cardinals Ban Alcohol In Clubhouse, More Teams To Follow?
Report: Hancock Was Drunk, On Cell Phone During Crash
Surveillance Video Of Josh Hancock Crash Released
Report: Marijuana Was Found In Josh Hancock's Vehicle
Witnesses Report Josh Hancock Was Drinking Heavily

In the wake of Josh Hancock's death last week, the Cardinals decided to ban alcohol from their clubhouse. A lot of teams have begun to adopt this philosophy, and some even wonder whether or not baseball should make it a universal rule.

It's not necessarily the kind of rule that Ozzie Guillen is against, but he's not very happy that his name keeps coming up in these discussions. In a column that ran in Wednesday's Chicago Tribune, Guillen feels he was singled out for no reason.

That is, unless they happen to play for the Oakland A's. Billy Beane, as progressive of a GM as there is in baseball, banned beer from the Athletics' clubhouse during the 2006 season. He instituted the rule shortly after pitcher Esteban Loaiza was stopped for drunken driving after leaving the clubhouse.

Ozzie Guillen, the White Sox manager, mocked the A's for putting in the rule, which Beane explained was the result of the team's liability concerns

I remember Ozzie's "mocking" of the A's rule, and it was along the lines of "Oh man, what am I gonna do without beer!?" A joke, nothing else. So understandably Guillen is a little upset with being labeled a fan of drunken driving.

This video is kind of long and watching a drunk guy fail to remember what Jordan Norwood's name is even though he is apparently both the world's biggest Penn State/Notre Dame fan (amazing he didn't commit suicide somewhere around '01) is not particularly enthralling. But for God's sake, trust me: you want to get about halfway through, when Guy Who Can't Remember Norwood's Name Guy watches Mario Manningham's last second touchdown to win the '05 Penn State-Michigan game (warning: this guy swears a lot. A lot a lot. Definitely NSFW):



Alcohol + seven straight losses (at the time) == crazy delicious.

I know this will come as a surprise to you all, but Hotty Toddy the locals have finally come forward with a grand admission: Oxford, Mississippi has a drinking problem.

Oxford is home to Ole Miss University and is an epic tailgate setting in the fall when fans the world over settle in "The Grove" to make one of the world's great parties. It's an idyllic setting but apparently the whole imbibery thing isn't just a six-day-a-year affair. Shocker, I know.

First Baptist Church pastor Eric Hankins provides all of today's great quotes about the situation as produced in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.

Do we really want to be known as a drinking town with a football problem?'" he asked. "I think we want to be known as a wonderful town with a great heritage, where retirees and families are welcome

Ha!

Ok it's not funny, really. But you gotta love that quote. To be serious for a moment, a violent, alcohol-induced situation set the gears in motion for some changes in Oxford.

After University of Mississippi police officer Robert Langley died in October while trying to arrest a drunk and drugged student, public attention focused sharply on substance abuse at Ole Miss.

Oxford officials and residents, however, acknowledge that the "culture of alcohol" and the responsibility to curb it do not lie solely on the university campus.

"Our No. 1 community problem is the culture of alcohol,'" Oxford Mayor Richard Howorth said in his "State of the City" speech Tuesday.

Good deal. But Pastor Hankins isn't mincing words.

"In a 12-step program, the first step is admitting you have a problem," he observed. "The city and university have moved from We're no worse than anybody else' and Alcohol is a part of the college culture everywhere' to both of them admitting, The culture of alcohol is our number one problem.'"

It's going to be an interesting fall, no? We'll see if the city's efforts extend to cracking down the behavior when say, Mississippi State or LSU come to town.

In an affront to those who like to ritually get soused tailgating on Saturdays, the University of Missouri is comin' strong with the nyet!

The AP is reporting that University Policy will no longer permit "beer kegs and bulk quantities of alcohol" at football games. The majority of the Missouri fan base know an easier way to curb their consumption: hire a winning football coach. After two disappointing seasons where the Tigers went a combined 12-11 despite having one of the league's best talents in quarterback Brad Smith, the Mizzou faithful are losing their patience with coach Gary Pinkel.

The police's understandable but poorly timed move to curb excessive consumption probably isn't related to Pinkel, but it might as well be as many fans may be looking for any and all reasons to can the coach, be it high oil prices or this.