Sports Daily: Mad About an Austrailian Trip Edition

[RaychelSnr]

I don't know what Zack Greinke is talking about. I'd love to be in Australia right now, melting away in the unruly heat.

It's still February and I've had enough of the constant and brutal cold along with snow that refuses to leave. The path my snow blower has cut through our driveway has left a smooth facade of snow that views like a geological history lesson. You can literally see the different layers that date back to the first, second, third -- you get the picture.

Of course the Dodgers hurler wasn't referring to the weather when he proclaimed zero excitement about opening the MLB season in Australia. But don't tell Australian officials that -- they're pretty upset.

In a slight moment of defense, Dodgers president Stan Kasten stated: Quote:

"He's famously focused and meticulous about his training regimen. It's what makes him so good and such a great teammate. This is clearly going to alter his routine. I understand that aspect of it."

Sound Off: Does Zack Greinke have a legitimate argument or should professional athletes embrace global events even if it proves to be an inconvenience?

Sports Headlines for February 24, 2014

• The Miami Heat have the exact same record through 53 games since the 'Big 3' came together. [Image]
• Sochi brought a little humor to the closing ceremonies, poking fun of their botched opening ceremonies moment. [Image]
• A delayed Daytona 500 led to Fox replaying last year's race, confusing many fans who thought Jimmie Johnson won again. [Twitter]
• A nice moment as one gold medalist waits 28-minutes for the last place finisher so they can shake hands.
• Jadeveon Clowney was made for events like the NFL combine, posting a 4.47 40-yard dash.

[nuke_21]

Good to get an honest answer(Grienke) to a cliche question. I would have said the same thing.

[johnlnames]

I believe he does and i dont see why people are making this an issue. I wouldnt want to start the year off either with a massive amount of flight time. Plus baseball players are very superstitious and this messes with their routine. It's good to see the MLB going more global but you can't get mad at the guys that aren't excited. This is a job, they're going there for work not vacation

[ocat]

Baseball is a growing sport here in Australia. The MLB deciding to come here has a lot of Aussie fans excited, but the you here comments like this and think "really? Way to promote your sport globally mate" I can clearly see why the MLB wouldn't be too happy with stuff like this

[scottyo60]

Quote: Originally Posted by ocat

Baseball is a growing sport here in Australia. The MLB deciding to come here has a lot of Aussie fans excited, but the you here comments like this and think "really? Way to promote your sport globally mate" I can clearly see why the MLB wouldn't be too happy with stuff like this

Is it the players job to globally promote, or the owners/commissioners? Grienke gets paid to pitch and bring fans to LA not promote fans in Australia. I'd be blunt in saying if I was a pro I wouldn't want to go to Europe for basketball/hockey or any other foreign country trip to start the season. It's just a routine killer and you've already started out on long plain rides.

I'd like to get to a point where players were open and honest. Personality is a reason to get more involved. Boo the hell out of him when he gets on the mound? No reason to get upset at what he says. It's his opinion and it was asked by a reporter.

[WaddupCouzin]

Greinke is a known a-****, so these comments don't surprise me. You grow a sport internationally by having players go to these said countries, it's simply. No different then going to Japan or Mexico.

[SPTO]

Honestly, I don't understand the pissing and moaning by Grienke and a couple other Dodgers players (though they've done it privately) which has allowed them to conveniently miss the series. This isn't the NFL where a trip to a foreign country is going to totally mess everything up so just suck it up and play the game!

What's going to happen when/if Bud Lite is able to craft his long held dream of a true World Series when the MLB champs take on the J-League champs? Are players going to cry like little babies over that too? Like it or not, we live in a global age. I can understand taking a powder on these kind of initiatives after doing it once but near as I can tell Grienke has never stepped foot in Australia in his entire life.

[CaseIH]

Quote: Originally Posted by nuke_21

Good to get an honest answer(Grienke) to a cliche question. I would have said the same thing.

Same here. Kudos to Greinke for saying what he truely feels, even if it ticks some people off. If I was one of the players going over their to play a regular season game I wouldnt be to happy either. Nothin against Australia, as I wouldnt want to go anywhere foreign to play. I dont like when any of the main sports( baseball,basketball, football) do it. The other sports it dont have near the effect on players as it does baseball players to have to change your routine, so I can definitely see why there is so much negativity about having to do it from the players.