Rich Rodriguez is the latest in the rumor mill and coaches meeting with Michigan AD; Rich Rodriguez really doesn't have any connections to Michigan and yet maybe the perfect fit for the program. Lets take a hypothetical look into Michigan the rest of the year and up until the '08 if Rodriguez was hired by next week. :ets just say Rich will continue to coach West Virginia and finish his time there with the matchup with Oklahoma; after that his is all for Michigan until he moves on, gets fired or retires.
Rich Rod brings a completely new philosophy to the Michigan program, a spread offense with a 3-3-5 style defense neither of which has been used recently by the Blue. While the defense may change with the amount of athletes Michigan and the fact that West Virginia has not been considered a Defensive power in any sense over the past couple of years. IT has to be assumed the spread offense will come with him. There are some pros and cons with this match, Currently Michigan does not have any spread option quarterbacks. The QB of the future is Ryan Mallet which couldn't be a further fit from the type of athletic QB the spread option offense needs. However, as of today the number 1 prospect in the country Terrelle Pryor has not yet commited to any college. Pryor is the dual threat type of quarterback that the Spread-option offense needs and West Virginia is in the top 5 of his schools of interest. Rich Rod already has a relationship with Pryor and if Rich comes to Michigan, he may be able to convince Pryor to join him based on the fact that Pryor could be the starter as a freshman. You may ask can the Spread option work in the Big Ten, well lets just remember Illinois went 6-2 this year running the offense and beat Ohio State, something Michigan hasn't done in 4 years.
So the offense can work with the correct quarterback and coach, Pryor and Rodriguez could be that matchup. The thing that may be able to help that offense succeed and run better than it had at West Virginia is the fact that Michigan has more athletes and will be able to recruit better athletes than West Virginia. Rodriguez has the fact that he's working for Michigan on his side and may be able to get players he never dreamed of. A constant top-10 recruiting class has become the norm for Michigan and its something Rodriguez has never had on his side.
However, Rodriguez does have 3 negatives working against him in him coming to the University of Michigan.
The first negative would be the fact that he never has been accused of having a great defensive mind. Really this isn't as big a problem as it may appear, Rodriguez could keep Ron English on the staff, English has proven that against all the traditional types of Offenses he can develop great Defensive gameplans that slow them down or shut them down totally. Practicing against the spread everyday can help English develop a Defense that can slow down the Spread enough that it doesn't score 50 on us as it has every other time.
The second negative is his history of taking chances on players with questionable backgrounds; that's one thing that does not fly at the University of Michigan. While he has never actually had any recruiting violations against him, he would have to stop taking chances. The final negative is the report that he has a $4 million buyout in his contract, after he almost left for Alabama last year. Michigan has never been the type of school that goes out and spends every penny they have on their coaches in any sport.
If Michigan can somehow negotiate a smaller buyout fee Rodriguez seems to be a great fit for the University of Michigan. Assuming he can get Pryor or there is a running quarterback we don't know about currently on Michigan's roster, Michigan would be set up for a long time. Rich Rod and Michigan seems like an ideal fit and a match that works out well for both parties.
EDIT: Rich Rod has told his players he's leaving for Michigan, good hire.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Burnt out?
Today it was announced that the Phoenix Suns traded away Kurt Thomas, 2008 and 2010 first round picks to Seattle for a second round pick and a 9 million dollar trade exception. No your not reading a typo, they really did give away Kurt Thomas and 2 first rounders for a trade exception that probably won't be used other than to try and avoid the luxury tax. Now how does this move make sense other than to possibly be financially healthy for this year and maybe next; well it doesn't theres no way to look at it other than that. Seattle just robbed its second team this offseason this deal potientally putting them over the top depending on where that 2010 draft pick is.
Which brings me to my second point, the Suns have put everything towards a stay under the luxury tax but hope to compete while Steve Nash is still the best PG in the game, but in doing this what they killed today was any hope to be a championship contender in 4 years. Look at this team in the summer of 2010 Nash will be 35 and sadly probably done with his career, Amare will be just entering his prime at 27, Shawn Marion will probably be gone, Leandro Barbosa will be just entering his prime with Amare but he's more of a 2 then 1. Raja Bell will be 33. Grant Hill will be retired, and everyone else on the roster will be as useless then as they are now. Theres really no young talent outside of Amare and Barbosa that the team can groom to be the future.
I started thinking about it, the Suns are near the limit cap wise and yet this team will be done in 3 years without possibly ever reaching the nba finals. Now I admit the Suns probably have the best scouts in the NBA or they are 2nd to only the Spurs, but with that being said where are the reasonably cheap rookies that they could use right now to groom for the future and maybe put this team over the top. Well they've all been sold to the highest bidder. In 2004 the Suns had the 7th pick in the draft with it they picked Luol Deng, who was then shipped to Chicago for a 2nd rounder(Jackson Vroman) and a future first rounder. In 2005 (after they traded their own pick for Barbosa in 2003) they picked Nate Robinson with Chicago's pick(Traded with Q Rich for Kurt Thomas). Now in the 2006 draft they had 2 picks 1 from the Joe Johnson deal and the other their own; with those picks they picked Rajon Rondo(Bought by the Celtics) and Sergio Rodriguez(Bought by the Blazers) both look like they are going to be good point guards in the future. However instead of groom one of those guys (Sergio would've been perfect) the Suns gave a 5 year 21 million dollar deal to marcus banks. Which makes no sense because the Suns couldve had both of those guys for the same price of Banks(who will spend those 5 years at the end of the bench). So in 2007 with another fairly low pick they sold the rights to Rudy Fernandez and traded James Jones to Portland for money again. At least they kept Alando Tucker who is now one of their 3 guys of the future.
So looking at the draft this is what the Suns have done with their picks since 2004
Brought in: Alando Tucker
Traded away: Luol Deng, Nate Robinson, Rajon Rondo, Sergio Rodriguez, Rudy Fernandez, Kurt Thomas(Recieved him for Robinson and Q), 2008 and 2010 draft picks.
Think about the Suns right now with the depth of all those guys, sure they couldve traded say Nate Robinson, even then they have 2 pg's of the future, a potiental all star wing, and a skilled european who would fit into their system perfectly. They had someone who could D up TD better than anyone else on the team and now hes gone.
The future has been given away in Phoenix and that 2010 pick could be a lottery pick which may put the Durant-Green Sonics/Tornadoes over the top. In 3 years when Phoenix is struggling people will look back at all of these moves and think what were they thinking, and frankly thats what I'm thinking right now.
Which brings me to my second point, the Suns have put everything towards a stay under the luxury tax but hope to compete while Steve Nash is still the best PG in the game, but in doing this what they killed today was any hope to be a championship contender in 4 years. Look at this team in the summer of 2010 Nash will be 35 and sadly probably done with his career, Amare will be just entering his prime at 27, Shawn Marion will probably be gone, Leandro Barbosa will be just entering his prime with Amare but he's more of a 2 then 1. Raja Bell will be 33. Grant Hill will be retired, and everyone else on the roster will be as useless then as they are now. Theres really no young talent outside of Amare and Barbosa that the team can groom to be the future.
I started thinking about it, the Suns are near the limit cap wise and yet this team will be done in 3 years without possibly ever reaching the nba finals. Now I admit the Suns probably have the best scouts in the NBA or they are 2nd to only the Spurs, but with that being said where are the reasonably cheap rookies that they could use right now to groom for the future and maybe put this team over the top. Well they've all been sold to the highest bidder. In 2004 the Suns had the 7th pick in the draft with it they picked Luol Deng, who was then shipped to Chicago for a 2nd rounder(Jackson Vroman) and a future first rounder. In 2005 (after they traded their own pick for Barbosa in 2003) they picked Nate Robinson with Chicago's pick(Traded with Q Rich for Kurt Thomas). Now in the 2006 draft they had 2 picks 1 from the Joe Johnson deal and the other their own; with those picks they picked Rajon Rondo(Bought by the Celtics) and Sergio Rodriguez(Bought by the Blazers) both look like they are going to be good point guards in the future. However instead of groom one of those guys (Sergio would've been perfect) the Suns gave a 5 year 21 million dollar deal to marcus banks. Which makes no sense because the Suns couldve had both of those guys for the same price of Banks(who will spend those 5 years at the end of the bench). So in 2007 with another fairly low pick they sold the rights to Rudy Fernandez and traded James Jones to Portland for money again. At least they kept Alando Tucker who is now one of their 3 guys of the future.
So looking at the draft this is what the Suns have done with their picks since 2004
Brought in: Alando Tucker
Traded away: Luol Deng, Nate Robinson, Rajon Rondo, Sergio Rodriguez, Rudy Fernandez, Kurt Thomas(Recieved him for Robinson and Q), 2008 and 2010 draft picks.
Think about the Suns right now with the depth of all those guys, sure they couldve traded say Nate Robinson, even then they have 2 pg's of the future, a potiental all star wing, and a skilled european who would fit into their system perfectly. They had someone who could D up TD better than anyone else on the team and now hes gone.
The future has been given away in Phoenix and that 2010 pick could be a lottery pick which may put the Durant-Green Sonics/Tornadoes over the top. In 3 years when Phoenix is struggling people will look back at all of these moves and think what were they thinking, and frankly thats what I'm thinking right now.
Refs Bet?
Breaking news from espn,yahoo and anything else, there is an investigation from the FBI looking at NBA officials; to see if they were gambling on games or not. Now everyone is talking about the shock and awe and all of that, but wait a second does this really shock the normal fan?
If you've watched the nba over the years you've seen worse and worse officiating that seems to be directed towards one team more than the other. Some prime examples that come to mind are the 2000 conference finals game 7 Por-LA, All of the 2006 NBA finals from game 3 on; those are just some playoff examples I'm sure if you look into regular season games you'll see more examples of the same thing.
The thing is while no one really wants to admit it, most diehard basketball fans saw that officiating was never what it was supposed to be, fair. Most of the time it seemed even in the slightest that the refs leaned one way but it was never always to the same team which was confusing, however now it makes sense if the Refs bet on everyteam once or twice it wouldn't be as obvious and hopefully they wouldn't get caught, but to say it wasn't happening is overlooking how bad and unfair some of the games had been in recent memory.
This scandal that is about to hit the NBA is huge but makes me wonder about all of sports, the NFL seems like it'd be the least likely to have something like this happen because people watch so many games that it'd be obvious if some ref always seemed to lean one way or another and never called a game down the middle. MLB its realistic that it could happen because call a few balls strikes and so on, no one really could tell plus there is 162 games so it'd be easier to pick your spots.
This scandal isn't really a shocker to alot of people, its like saying the WWE is real fighting, everyone knows that although the guys actually may get hurt, at the core its not really fair and the winner has already been decided.
If you've watched the nba over the years you've seen worse and worse officiating that seems to be directed towards one team more than the other. Some prime examples that come to mind are the 2000 conference finals game 7 Por-LA, All of the 2006 NBA finals from game 3 on; those are just some playoff examples I'm sure if you look into regular season games you'll see more examples of the same thing.
The thing is while no one really wants to admit it, most diehard basketball fans saw that officiating was never what it was supposed to be, fair. Most of the time it seemed even in the slightest that the refs leaned one way but it was never always to the same team which was confusing, however now it makes sense if the Refs bet on everyteam once or twice it wouldn't be as obvious and hopefully they wouldn't get caught, but to say it wasn't happening is overlooking how bad and unfair some of the games had been in recent memory.
This scandal that is about to hit the NBA is huge but makes me wonder about all of sports, the NFL seems like it'd be the least likely to have something like this happen because people watch so many games that it'd be obvious if some ref always seemed to lean one way or another and never called a game down the middle. MLB its realistic that it could happen because call a few balls strikes and so on, no one really could tell plus there is 162 games so it'd be easier to pick your spots.
This scandal isn't really a shocker to alot of people, its like saying the WWE is real fighting, everyone knows that although the guys actually may get hurt, at the core its not really fair and the winner has already been decided.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Hill to the Suns?
It was announced today that Grant Hill will sign with the Phoenix Suns on July 11th when the NBA starts to allow free agent signings. Which makes me question is this a good signing for the Suns? Grant Hill is still a solid NBA player as he proved with Orlando last year and it appears like he can play for the next two years of his contract. Why the Suns though, there are two teams in the NBA that Hill doesn't fit the style the Warriors and the Suns. Both of these teams love to run and want to score as quickly as possible and would rather outscore you than try and play a little bit of defense. There's nothing wrong with that style and this blog isn't challenging that idea, but Grant Hill is a horrible fit in this system. He has had countless surgeries on his legs throughout his career, he almost had to retire because of them. Now on the tail end of his career, he's in search for the one thing that has eluded him in his career, a Championship. Hill supposedly wanted to go to two teams either the Suns or the Spurs, and he picked the wrong one.
Running every night throughout the year will take a toll on his legs, he may need to go Barry Bonds style and sit out every other game. Hill had to sit out a handful of games last year to rest his legs so he could make it through the regular season on a team that didn't run in the Magic. How fresh will Hill be come playoff time, a full season of running on those legs may wear him down, and if he sits out to much he will be out of shape. I don't expect Hill to start for the majority of the regular season and think he will be played maybe 10-15 minutes a night which should be fine. However come playoff time when his minutes go up his stamina will go down and the risk of injury and his body falling apart will rise. I like Grant Hill and think he is a stand up guy, I want this move to work for him, but I feel like the Suns and Hill maybe a bad marriage before the honeymoon is even over.
Running every night throughout the year will take a toll on his legs, he may need to go Barry Bonds style and sit out every other game. Hill had to sit out a handful of games last year to rest his legs so he could make it through the regular season on a team that didn't run in the Magic. How fresh will Hill be come playoff time, a full season of running on those legs may wear him down, and if he sits out to much he will be out of shape. I don't expect Hill to start for the majority of the regular season and think he will be played maybe 10-15 minutes a night which should be fine. However come playoff time when his minutes go up his stamina will go down and the risk of injury and his body falling apart will rise. I like Grant Hill and think he is a stand up guy, I want this move to work for him, but I feel like the Suns and Hill maybe a bad marriage before the honeymoon is even over.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
NBA GM's
Alright with the draft being finished and all gm posts filled it is time to rank the GM's in the league. Now not all GM's will be ranked due to their lack of experience but here's the list with just a small blurb about why they are there.
- R.C. Buford- Spurs
Buford has consistently surrounded his big 3 with quality role players that are only interested in winning rather than personal accomplishments. - Bryan Colangelo- Raptors
Colangelo built the Suns roster to have that run and gun style, but he got bored and moved on. In one year he helped build the Raptors into a Eastern Conference contender. - Chris Mullin- Golden State
Richardson trade is questionable but Wright fits a need and is athletic for this run and gun team. He has consistently made good moves discovering Monte Ellis, Matt Barnes. As long as Wright and Patrick O' Bryant don't bomb he should stay up high on this list. - Sam Presti- Supersonics
He's been on the job for less than 3 weeks and he's only done great. Durant was handed to him but robbing the Celtics for Jeff Green and Delonte West was a great move. He may move down the list but so far there's no reason to think he won't make good choices. Lewis not resigning hurts so he needs to find a SG. - Kevin Prtichard- Trail Blazers
In two consecutive years he has had great drafts, he robbed Minnesota in 2006 and then got the ping pong ball bounce for Oden. He has Paul Allen's deep pockets which helps. However 2 questionable moves are Pryzbilla's contract and the Z-Bo trade is questionable. - John Paxon- Bulls
He has built this team with great draft picks. At the end of Last Season he may have been 3rd on the list however the Ben Wallace signing and getting rid of JR Smith and Tyson Chandler for nothing hurt him. He refused to act with his biggest trade chip PJ Browns contract and it appears he has drafted basically the same type of player in back to back years with Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas. - Joe Dumars- Pistons
Has built a team that has reached 5 straight Eastern Conference championships. However he picked Darko, then let Darko go for nothing so he could resign Ben Wallace, then lost Ben Wallace. So basically he got nothing with the 2nd pick in the draft from 2003. He has slowly moved down the list every year and could continue to plummet if his moves don't work. He needed to find front court help this offseason and used 2 draft picks on SG. - Donn Nelson- Mavs
His dad gets most credit with building this team, however he has made good moves to keep them together. Although they got bounced early in the playoffs the team won 67 games and is built for the long haul. They need a high energy punch you in the mouth type of player. - Mark Warkentien- Nuggets
Brough in AI and JR Smith giving Melo good sidekicks to lead a team. If this team gels it could be among the favorites in the West. Questionable move signing Nene to a huge deal even though they already had K-Mart. - Ernie Grunfeld- Wizards
Before injuries it appeared like this guy had built a East favorite. He stole Caron Butler, snuck Arenas and Jamison in. Adding another scorer in Young will help the team, however it still lacks a consistent big man that can play defense and rebound, rather the other big man on the team. - Kevin O'Connor- Jazz
Made smart moves to bring in a solid core in Boozer, Okur and Williams. Needs to move AK because he doesn't fit the style of play, but he has always found talent and what the team needed to get into the playoffs and win series. - Randy Pfund- Heat
It doesn't appear like more than a few moves due to Riley being in the front office. However he helped the team win a championship and has seemed to find pretty good talent late in the draft. Team got old quick and this off season will tell if he is a ok GM or good GM. - Ed Stefanski- Nets
Made smart draft picks the past couple of years until the Sean Williams gamble. Consistently has found talent where others haven't with guys like Miki Moore. However it appears most of the teams moves are made by Rod Thorn the President as the guy above him on the list. - Jeff Bower- Hornets
Robbing the Bulls of Tyson Chandler was his best move. Injuries took Peja out which made his signing look questionable, however time will tell with that move. Drafting has been questionable so far outside of CP3, Drafted similar big men in 2006 and basically another Desmond Mason this year. - Larry Harris- Bucks
Worst move made by this GM is the Bobby Simmons contract, however he has built a solid core with Redd, Boget, and Vilaneuva. As long as injuries don't kill this team every year they should be in contention for the playoffs for at least the next 5 years. - Otis Smith- Magic
Finally made a move to help Howard, however not sure if its a good one only time will tell. He mostly stood put with his roster. Another victim of nothing where Darko could've been is rough and keeps him on the bottom half of the GMs. - Daryl Morey- Rockets
He has Yao and TMac but he has not really given them anything to help. The Battier for Gay trade didn't help the team get past the first round. Rockets still lack a good ball handler and hope TMac can do everything. - Elgin Baylor- Clippers
He has made some good moves to no longer be one of the worst GM's, however giving Tim Thomas big bucks was a mistake. He passed up on a PG in this years draft even though its the teams biggest need. - Isiah Thomas- Knicks
Somehow some way Isiah may be the best talent evaluator when it comes to rookies in the league. He consistently finds talent no matter where he picks. Problem he may be the worst constructor of a team through FA and Trades. - Larry Bird- Pacers
How do you make a trade where you take back over 90 million in salaries and don't get either of the top 2 players in the trade. His best move was Danny Granger but this team is going no where and Bird is to blame. - Danny Ferry- Cavs
He got LeBron to stay which is a major positive and he discovered Gibson in round 2. Look at his FA signings, he gave huge deals to mediocre players hurting the championship outlook for LeBron. - Billy King- 76ers
Looks like he may have been a winner on the AI trade since the team played better after he was traded. However all his other moves have moved the 76ers from possible East champ to the dump. Bad signings and bad trades all the classic signs of a GM that can sit around on one team for a while. - Billy Knight- Hawks
He has drafted his 5th forward in 4 years, but finally got the much needed PG. He has given up big money to below average PG's in Claxton and Lue. Maybe he can turn it around but his best move has been signing Joe Johnson to a max deal even if Johnson is a good player not a great one. - Bonnie Bickerstaff- Bobcats
It looked like he was going the Bulls plan and building the team around successful proven college players from successful programs. However he hasn't added any pieces yet to make this team a playoff contender through FA. I like the Richardson trade, but the Morrison pick and lack of other moves to help the team hurt him. - Mitch Kupcheck- Lakers
I feel like hes rated to high I mean look at his moves; traded Shaq for Kwame Brown(Butler trade), Lamar Odom and Brian Grant, gave up on Kobe's prime by picking a project HS C, drafted 2 PG's in a row. Now he could be higher up on the list if it turns out most these moves are made by the Buss's but we have to go on the moves and he hasn't made a good one yet. - Kevin McHale- Timberwolves
McHale has been in charge of the T'Wolves for a long long time; and during all that time they've got past the 1st round of the playoffs, once. He never seems to make the right trade and his draft picks are questionable. However if Brewer and Foye turn out, he may move up the list. - Chris Wallace- Grizzles
Somehow the assistant GM or GM of the team with the second worst record was selected to lead the worst team in the League back. This makes no sense and his track record leaves him down with his former front office mate. - Danny Ainge- Celtics
He has changed the plans for this team about 3 times over the past couple of years. A team with young talent from last season traded away young pieces and a draft pick for an aging SG.
Unable to Rate due to lack of moves/experience
Steve Kerr- Suns
Hasn't pulled of any moves really except selling a draft pick to Portland. It wasn't a good idea to sell the pick, but he can only do what the owners tell him.
Geoff Petrie- Kings
Only real move has been Spencer Hawes, however where he jumps onto the list depends on the type of players he gets back if they move Artest, Miller and Bibby.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Stop Yi
Today it has been reported that the agents and representatives for Yi (You say E i say YEE) Jianlian have been talking to other teams about possible trades to "rescue" Yi from Milwaukee. Now isn't this tampering; how can you possibly talk to a player whose rights are owned by another team. Isn't this like the Sonics starting to talk to Kevin Garnett because he could be a free agent next year, and they may have cap room? The fact is that Yi should be forced to play for Milwaukee for the duration of his rookie contract and after that who cares what he does. What Yi is doing is a first for the NBA, however its not a first in pro sports. In the MLB you constantly see players refuse to sign because they don't get the right amount of money, that their agents tell them they are worth. Of course I'd probably feel like I was worth $ 5 mil, if I was drafted in the first round, even if its doubtful I'll ever make the bigs. In the NFL we've had examples of this from John Elway to Eli Manning and some in between. Eli refused to go to the Chargers and got a trade to the Giants for Phillip Rivers, what turned out to be Shawne Merriman, Roman Oben, and Nate Keading. 3 Pro Bowlers for Eli, tell me does that look like a good trade to you?
As far as I can remember something like this has never happened in the NBA; and the NBA should take steps to stop it. If Yi doesn't want to play for the Bucks, the NBA should simply ban him; if he decides to go back to China that's fine Yi banned for 6 years won't hurt anyone; then when the ban ends he will still be the Bucks property. What if this had happened a year early and the NBA allowed Yi to basically pick where he went? Would Kevin Durant or Greg Oden said no to Portland and Seattle respectively; would KD have said no I want to win championships in 3 years so I'm going to play with Oden in Portland and refuse to show up to Seattle. You may be thinking well this can never really happen, but are you so sure; historically NBA players have been viewed as more selfish than any other league.
Hypothetically look at next years draft class, one of the top guys OJ Mayo is going to USC because of the marketability and Hollywood lifestyle that can bring him. What is there to say that he won't go anywhere but LA or New York? What about Derrick Rose, he grew up in Chicago, what would stop him from refusing to play for anyone but his home town team? Now hopefully none of this will ever happen, but if Yi sets the precedent and gets to pick which team he goes to; there is no telling which rookie will decide what team he plays for next.
As far as I can remember something like this has never happened in the NBA; and the NBA should take steps to stop it. If Yi doesn't want to play for the Bucks, the NBA should simply ban him; if he decides to go back to China that's fine Yi banned for 6 years won't hurt anyone; then when the ban ends he will still be the Bucks property. What if this had happened a year early and the NBA allowed Yi to basically pick where he went? Would Kevin Durant or Greg Oden said no to Portland and Seattle respectively; would KD have said no I want to win championships in 3 years so I'm going to play with Oden in Portland and refuse to show up to Seattle. You may be thinking well this can never really happen, but are you so sure; historically NBA players have been viewed as more selfish than any other league.
Hypothetically look at next years draft class, one of the top guys OJ Mayo is going to USC because of the marketability and Hollywood lifestyle that can bring him. What is there to say that he won't go anywhere but LA or New York? What about Derrick Rose, he grew up in Chicago, what would stop him from refusing to play for anyone but his home town team? Now hopefully none of this will ever happen, but if Yi sets the precedent and gets to pick which team he goes to; there is no telling which rookie will decide what team he plays for next.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Cap tipped to Bonds
Today it was announced that Barry Bonds will be starting in the all star game in his home park. Truly he deserved it, I'm glad he got what he has earned through his play this season. All anyone has talked about with Bonds is did he or didn't he, will he go to jail, or he stinks. Well while we focus on him for breaking the single season and soon to be all-time home run record, we are tearing him apart. Lots of people are just waiting for something to be found on him, ever since Balco its, Barry did it and he'll be caught. We let McGwire, Canseco, Boone, Bagwell, and Sheffield among others get a pass and move on but not Bonds. We refuse to move on from something that happened a while ago. We are stuck on the girlfriend we had 5 years ago even though there are better chicks right in front of us.
We've been waiting for him to retire to get away from the attacks, we've waited for him to fall apart like Palmerio so we can say see look without the steroids hes nothing. Well guess what, he hasn't done that; under a microscope more than cancer, Bonds has proven that he is a great player .302 BA. He is still the most feared hitter in the league, don't believe me; his 82 walks lead the league. He's been helping the Giants terrible offense by having a .512 obp(better by nearly .070 than anyone else in the MLB). Now sure those numbers are great but here's what makes them more impressive he has 16 hmrs, and a 12 ab/hmr rate. Which currently is second in the MLB behind Arod. This great performance is going on with steroid testing, with him being accused, verbally attacked, and taking the best any opposing fan base can throw at him. He's also about to be 43 years old, if he keeps up at this rate, this maybe the greatest season for any 40+ year old hitter EVER.
So why everyone is going to sit there and just give reasons why Bonds should be torn down, suspended, jailed, everything under the sun. I'm going to sit here and simply my cap to Mr. Bonds. He deserves this, to start in what may be his last all-star game, in what has become his hometown. So thank you Mr. Bonds for something that may never be forgotten and overcoming the harshest everyone has to throw at you.
We've been waiting for him to retire to get away from the attacks, we've waited for him to fall apart like Palmerio so we can say see look without the steroids hes nothing. Well guess what, he hasn't done that; under a microscope more than cancer, Bonds has proven that he is a great player .302 BA. He is still the most feared hitter in the league, don't believe me; his 82 walks lead the league. He's been helping the Giants terrible offense by having a .512 obp(better by nearly .070 than anyone else in the MLB). Now sure those numbers are great but here's what makes them more impressive he has 16 hmrs, and a 12 ab/hmr rate. Which currently is second in the MLB behind Arod. This great performance is going on with steroid testing, with him being accused, verbally attacked, and taking the best any opposing fan base can throw at him. He's also about to be 43 years old, if he keeps up at this rate, this maybe the greatest season for any 40+ year old hitter EVER.
So why everyone is going to sit there and just give reasons why Bonds should be torn down, suspended, jailed, everything under the sun. I'm going to sit here and simply my cap to Mr. Bonds. He deserves this, to start in what may be his last all-star game, in what has become his hometown. So thank you Mr. Bonds for something that may never be forgotten and overcoming the harshest everyone has to throw at you.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
A Fan's Draft Night
Last night was an absolutely great night, it was the night of the NBA Draft. I like the NBA but if there's one thing I don't want to miss out of anything associated with the NBA its the draft. As a Portland fan I could not have asked for anything better then last years draft. Portland got 2 legit good players Roy and Aldridge, and picked up a personal pre-draft favorite Sergio Rodriguez. I knew this team was headed in the right direction after that draft, however I thought there was still lots of room to improve. I wish I would have kept a running diary of my night, but I didn't but here's my recap of what happened.
About 15 minutes before the draft I'm watching ESPN and searching through realgm.com and stumbled upon a Zach Randolph trade rumor. At first I thought oh great hes probably going to be traded for KG and Kobe, just like nearly everyone else in the NBA. It didn't have much detail but it said it he may go to the Knicks, now I was thinking what do the Knicks have to offer us, maybe the 23rd pick; ESPN reported it quickly after, but didn't say much about it either, so I assumed it wouldn't happened and just moved on.
First Pick time, we all know its Oden, its basically written on the wall and I love the pick. Every championship team besides the Jordan's has had a Good to Great big man. Please don't say what about the Pistons, because Sheed is one of the most underrated players ever, but that's a different story. Now think about this, who wants to face an Aldridge-Oden post combo; combine Oden with last years draft your looking at a solid young core.
Some time passed after the Oden pick before the trade was announced. What turned out to be Zach Randolph, Dan Dickau, Fred Jones and the 53rd pick (Demetrius Nichols) to New York for Steve Francis, Channing Frye and a 2009 2nd rounder. At first glance I thought ok they got rid of Randolph that's good, but the more I thought about it, I hate this trade. Your telling me you couldn't get more for Zach Randolph than these two? Channing Frye is the exact same player as LaMarcus Aldridge, THE EXACT SAME, hes about 1 inch taller, 8 pounds heavier and 3 years older, look at them they are the same. So why do you add a piece to the puzzle that is the same as one of the first ones you got? It makes no sense to me, then I thought ok well we got Stevie Franchise that's a good thing right. Well, Francis hasn't done anything relevant in a while in the league, but hes only 30 which is good. However you have this 3 headed monster that could grow into champions and the veteran you have to show them how to win is Steve Francis; the guy has been to 1 playoff series in his career and is now going to be on his fourth team. Terrible deal Portland, this is all you could get for Zach Randolph; I was just disappointed and felt that for the 4 steps forward Oden brought us this trade moved us to the right and out of the way 2 steps.
It seems like we got a lot of time between Portland picks, then a report comes in that we've bought a pick from the Suns for the 2nd year in a row. The year before we bought the 27th pick and got Sergio Rodriguez; now how this made sense to the Suns I'll never get, if you were going to say I'm looking for a cheap young run-N-gun PG to backup Steve Nash and develop how is Sergio Rodriguez not mentioned; instead they overpaid Marcus Banks and look how well that's going. I'm looking through the draft and the player I wanted 3rd most in the draft for Portland is on the board still Derrick Byars. Now Byars will be a glue guy in this league, there is no doubt in my mind that he will be on an all rookie team next year; Byars doesn't do anything great, he just does everything well. He also fits a huge need for the Blazers, a young solid shooting SF. Are we about to steal a great player from the Suns for the 2nd straight year; this is to good to be true, I'm excited chatting with my friend Bryson about how great a pick this is going to be. The pick is...Rudy Fernandez, I was shocked how can we pass up on a 3 that fills a huge need, for an international 2 that will come to the US in a year or 2. I like the pick I don't mind Rudy Fernandez at all this isn't a knock on him but how can we pass up Byars, oh well good pick another steal from the Suns.
End of the first round and Byars is still on the board I'm counting down the picks how can this guy be dropping this far, I get excited as each pick passes and he falls. 35, 36, hes still there now the Blazers are up with the 37th pick and a chance to get him, we can't pass up on him here its to great a pick. JOSH McROBERTS, you got to be kidding me, we add this guy so Oden will be comfortable? He is now the 6th best post player on the Blazers roster, he's behind Oden, Aldridge, Frye, Pryzbilla, and LaFrentz(yes that Raef LaFrentz hes still in the league). Currently our 3 man is Darius Miles that's it. Its ok though we still have the 42nd pick he could still be there, doubtful but there is always hope.
Andy Katz just came on told me that Portland has sent Cash and the 42nd pick to Philly for Petei Koponen. Well that is ok, we just got our 3rd first rounder of this draft, although hes a Finnish PG who won't come to the US for probably another year like Fernandez. On second thought of this deal, how does this make sense for Portland; we now have 4 point guards Jack, Sergio, Francis, Koponen. Someone must be getting traded soon so at least its nice to have good pieces to fill any needs. WAIT WHAT with the 42nd pick we drafted DERRICK BYARS, is there anyway we could reverse this deal? Can we throw in McRoberts instead and still give you the cash, please. This draft went from a 9 to a 7 for me, we passed up on Byars 3 times when he becomes a starter on a playoff team remember reading this.
Still fuming from the Byars trade we use our last pick in the draft we pick Taurean Green, wait this is now our 5th point guard? I know his contract is not guaranteed, but I mean come on another point guard(Side note I think Green was the most important part of those Flordia championship teams, take out one of the 3 front court guys they still have a shot at a title, but take out Green they are nothing, this guy could be like a Chris Duhon in the league). I guess its assuring that someone is gone from that group of Point Guards we have.
Now after the draft I found out we are probably not going to keep Francis, which makes some sense but why not use him to maybe bring in something else? Just cut him for nothing, if he plays against us and leads a team to a victory or playoff victory over Portland does that not hurt us more? We are still paying him and hes hurting our chances. Also GM Pritchard said there is supposedly a trade for a SF already complete it just needed to take time for the New York trade to go through before it was announced. So maybe that's why we didn't pick Byars, but I mean that killed me on what was supposed to be a great night. In the past two years the Blazers have been the most exciting franchise in the draft which is great. I love their aggressive moves and I wish more of the NBA followed their lead. In the past 2 drafts counting trades we made for or with our draft picks these are the players we've added; Roy, Aldridge, Rodriguez, Oden, Fernandez, Koponen, McRoberts, Frye, Francis, Green. Look at that young talent, tell me is there any other team in NBA history that has added that much talent in 2 years in a draft? Its an exciting time to be a Blazers fan but I'm still pissed we didn't pick Byars.
Overall Draft: 7 out of 10 (Byars trade takes of 2 points, an the NYK trade takes of 1 point because it makes no sense).
About 15 minutes before the draft I'm watching ESPN and searching through realgm.com and stumbled upon a Zach Randolph trade rumor. At first I thought oh great hes probably going to be traded for KG and Kobe, just like nearly everyone else in the NBA. It didn't have much detail but it said it he may go to the Knicks, now I was thinking what do the Knicks have to offer us, maybe the 23rd pick; ESPN reported it quickly after, but didn't say much about it either, so I assumed it wouldn't happened and just moved on.
First Pick time, we all know its Oden, its basically written on the wall and I love the pick. Every championship team besides the Jordan's has had a Good to Great big man. Please don't say what about the Pistons, because Sheed is one of the most underrated players ever, but that's a different story. Now think about this, who wants to face an Aldridge-Oden post combo; combine Oden with last years draft your looking at a solid young core.
Some time passed after the Oden pick before the trade was announced. What turned out to be Zach Randolph, Dan Dickau, Fred Jones and the 53rd pick (Demetrius Nichols) to New York for Steve Francis, Channing Frye and a 2009 2nd rounder. At first glance I thought ok they got rid of Randolph that's good, but the more I thought about it, I hate this trade. Your telling me you couldn't get more for Zach Randolph than these two? Channing Frye is the exact same player as LaMarcus Aldridge, THE EXACT SAME, hes about 1 inch taller, 8 pounds heavier and 3 years older, look at them they are the same. So why do you add a piece to the puzzle that is the same as one of the first ones you got? It makes no sense to me, then I thought ok well we got Stevie Franchise that's a good thing right. Well, Francis hasn't done anything relevant in a while in the league, but hes only 30 which is good. However you have this 3 headed monster that could grow into champions and the veteran you have to show them how to win is Steve Francis; the guy has been to 1 playoff series in his career and is now going to be on his fourth team. Terrible deal Portland, this is all you could get for Zach Randolph; I was just disappointed and felt that for the 4 steps forward Oden brought us this trade moved us to the right and out of the way 2 steps.
It seems like we got a lot of time between Portland picks, then a report comes in that we've bought a pick from the Suns for the 2nd year in a row. The year before we bought the 27th pick and got Sergio Rodriguez; now how this made sense to the Suns I'll never get, if you were going to say I'm looking for a cheap young run-N-gun PG to backup Steve Nash and develop how is Sergio Rodriguez not mentioned; instead they overpaid Marcus Banks and look how well that's going. I'm looking through the draft and the player I wanted 3rd most in the draft for Portland is on the board still Derrick Byars. Now Byars will be a glue guy in this league, there is no doubt in my mind that he will be on an all rookie team next year; Byars doesn't do anything great, he just does everything well. He also fits a huge need for the Blazers, a young solid shooting SF. Are we about to steal a great player from the Suns for the 2nd straight year; this is to good to be true, I'm excited chatting with my friend Bryson about how great a pick this is going to be. The pick is...Rudy Fernandez, I was shocked how can we pass up on a 3 that fills a huge need, for an international 2 that will come to the US in a year or 2. I like the pick I don't mind Rudy Fernandez at all this isn't a knock on him but how can we pass up Byars, oh well good pick another steal from the Suns.
End of the first round and Byars is still on the board I'm counting down the picks how can this guy be dropping this far, I get excited as each pick passes and he falls. 35, 36, hes still there now the Blazers are up with the 37th pick and a chance to get him, we can't pass up on him here its to great a pick. JOSH McROBERTS, you got to be kidding me, we add this guy so Oden will be comfortable? He is now the 6th best post player on the Blazers roster, he's behind Oden, Aldridge, Frye, Pryzbilla, and LaFrentz(yes that Raef LaFrentz hes still in the league). Currently our 3 man is Darius Miles that's it. Its ok though we still have the 42nd pick he could still be there, doubtful but there is always hope.
Andy Katz just came on told me that Portland has sent Cash and the 42nd pick to Philly for Petei Koponen. Well that is ok, we just got our 3rd first rounder of this draft, although hes a Finnish PG who won't come to the US for probably another year like Fernandez. On second thought of this deal, how does this make sense for Portland; we now have 4 point guards Jack, Sergio, Francis, Koponen. Someone must be getting traded soon so at least its nice to have good pieces to fill any needs. WAIT WHAT with the 42nd pick we drafted DERRICK BYARS, is there anyway we could reverse this deal? Can we throw in McRoberts instead and still give you the cash, please. This draft went from a 9 to a 7 for me, we passed up on Byars 3 times when he becomes a starter on a playoff team remember reading this.
Still fuming from the Byars trade we use our last pick in the draft we pick Taurean Green, wait this is now our 5th point guard? I know his contract is not guaranteed, but I mean come on another point guard(Side note I think Green was the most important part of those Flordia championship teams, take out one of the 3 front court guys they still have a shot at a title, but take out Green they are nothing, this guy could be like a Chris Duhon in the league). I guess its assuring that someone is gone from that group of Point Guards we have.
Now after the draft I found out we are probably not going to keep Francis, which makes some sense but why not use him to maybe bring in something else? Just cut him for nothing, if he plays against us and leads a team to a victory or playoff victory over Portland does that not hurt us more? We are still paying him and hes hurting our chances. Also GM Pritchard said there is supposedly a trade for a SF already complete it just needed to take time for the New York trade to go through before it was announced. So maybe that's why we didn't pick Byars, but I mean that killed me on what was supposed to be a great night. In the past two years the Blazers have been the most exciting franchise in the draft which is great. I love their aggressive moves and I wish more of the NBA followed their lead. In the past 2 drafts counting trades we made for or with our draft picks these are the players we've added; Roy, Aldridge, Rodriguez, Oden, Fernandez, Koponen, McRoberts, Frye, Francis, Green. Look at that young talent, tell me is there any other team in NBA history that has added that much talent in 2 years in a draft? Its an exciting time to be a Blazers fan but I'm still pissed we didn't pick Byars.
Overall Draft: 7 out of 10 (Byars trade takes of 2 points, an the NYK trade takes of 1 point because it makes no sense).
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Draft Debate
In our first here on Two Man Weave, My friend Ty and I will be debating about some of the best things that happened in the draft. Before we start I'd like to say I love Stern's comment at the start of the draft about this upcoming season being one of the most exciting ever. Thats tough to say when this year was maybe the worst season in league history, maybe Durant and Oden can pull a Magic Bird and save the league...maybe. Anyways, we will trade off choosing topics until we come to the end and then we will give our top 3 winners and top 3 losers from the draft. I'll start it.
The Ray Allen for Jeff Green is a robbery for the Sonics.
CS: My topic says it all, this is an absolutely horrible trade for the Boston Celtics. I'm sorry but I don't understand how you can be happy with this trade if your a Celtics fan, you get Ray Allen to go with Paul Pierce but here's the problem; both need the ball to be effective, plus Allen 3 to 5 years ago its a good deal, but hes 32 now, he maybe has 4 years left, and only 2 of those will be at an all star level. You give up Green who may not be a star but will be a solid player in the NBA like a Shane Battier at worst for 10 years. You give that up for a 3 year player, Bad Deal.
TB: Do you smoke crack? This deal isn't about what Ray Allen brings on the floor in a championship sense, but its about making the Celtics relevant again. Sure you give up Green (wow, Shane Battier, great, I'd kill for a Battier on my team, NOT), but you gain a superstar who may have a couple years left, and get rid of Wally Sczerbiak, and Delonte West. I liked West, but Wally pissed me off mightily as a C's fan. Give me Ray Allen over anyone there any day. Sure his best defensive days are behind him, and he plays the same kind of role as Pierce, but can you ever have too much of a good thing? You also get to keep Ratliff (a valuable expiring contract) and Jefferson (your future), I don't quite get why people wouldn't like this deal. Jefferson, Pierce, Allen, Rondo, and some bum off the street can be a playoff team in the East. That's all we're looking for next year. The Celts need to become relevant in a hurry, and this does just that. Thank you for not screwing this up Danny Ainge. Also, they got Glen Davis. Not a shabby role player who can develop. That is all.
CS: Are you out of your freaking mind? First off, Gabe Pruitt their first 2nd rounder, not a good pick name me any Tim Floyd coached NCAA player that has been good in the NBA, there are none. Glen Davis? Thats a good role player; a fat 6'9" pf who can't jump is a good pick. There was plenty of talent available at that pick and Boston passed on it. Now back to the trade, I'm sorry but a glue guy that will be there with Rondo and Jefferson would be a bad pickup. I said at worst he's a Battier if your telling me I can have a solid NBA player and a good defender for 10 years I take it, he could be great who knows. And I don't care about West and Wally they aren't relevant to this deal they were throw ins for contract that's it, if they could've the Sonics would have traded the 5 for Allen straight up. The Celtics would've contended for the playoffs with Green, Rondo, Pierce and Jefferson. Don't get me started about Allen helping this team to the playoffs. The Celts are now one of the WORST defensive teams in the NBA. Allen has never been a "good" defender neither has Pierce, and lets not even say Jefferson is a average defender. The fact is Danny Ainge did something to make them relevant, but he gave up the future for now. You gave your team a chance to compete for a maybe a division title now, but that's it this isn't an Eastern Conference Championship team, lets be realistic. In 3 years a shell of Pierce, shell of Allen, Jefferson and Rondo is going to be better then Jefferson, Rondo, Green and the shell of Pierce? This is about the fourth time in two or three years that Ainge has flip flopped on his master plan. Ainge is excited, after they get to the playoffs this year or next, then just resign and say look I built a playoff team and leave Boston with nothing; then just get another job somewhere else. Real great trade Real Smart. And another thing any team that has two guys with names that are flip flopped should be finished; Allen Ray and Ray Allen, you got to be kidding me.
Chris's Top 3 Winners
1. Blazers
2. Sonics
3. Hawks
I know your saying first 3 picks are your top 3 winners how original is that. However look at this, each of these teams had multiple picks in this draft and made serious steps to improve in the future. Durant, Green combo will be good if not great, Hawks now have their PG and got what may be the player most ready to contribute right now. Finally the Blazers, I'm going to save that for tommorrw and write a full write up about my hometown team.
Top 3 Losers
1. All Four teams without picks in this loaded draft (Raptors, Cavs, Pacers, Nuggets)
2. Celtics
3. Lakers
Not having a pick in this draft was absolutely deadly; we may not have another class like this ever. Celtics are losers for my reasons in the above parts of this post. The Lakers drafted a PG for the second year in a row, and even then hes a project, hey Kobe is the writing on the wall?
The Ray Allen for Jeff Green is a robbery for the Sonics.
CS: My topic says it all, this is an absolutely horrible trade for the Boston Celtics. I'm sorry but I don't understand how you can be happy with this trade if your a Celtics fan, you get Ray Allen to go with Paul Pierce but here's the problem; both need the ball to be effective, plus Allen 3 to 5 years ago its a good deal, but hes 32 now, he maybe has 4 years left, and only 2 of those will be at an all star level. You give up Green who may not be a star but will be a solid player in the NBA like a Shane Battier at worst for 10 years. You give that up for a 3 year player, Bad Deal.
TB: Do you smoke crack? This deal isn't about what Ray Allen brings on the floor in a championship sense, but its about making the Celtics relevant again. Sure you give up Green (wow, Shane Battier, great, I'd kill for a Battier on my team, NOT), but you gain a superstar who may have a couple years left, and get rid of Wally Sczerbiak, and Delonte West. I liked West, but Wally pissed me off mightily as a C's fan. Give me Ray Allen over anyone there any day. Sure his best defensive days are behind him, and he plays the same kind of role as Pierce, but can you ever have too much of a good thing? You also get to keep Ratliff (a valuable expiring contract) and Jefferson (your future), I don't quite get why people wouldn't like this deal. Jefferson, Pierce, Allen, Rondo, and some bum off the street can be a playoff team in the East. That's all we're looking for next year. The Celts need to become relevant in a hurry, and this does just that. Thank you for not screwing this up Danny Ainge. Also, they got Glen Davis. Not a shabby role player who can develop. That is all.
CS: Are you out of your freaking mind? First off, Gabe Pruitt their first 2nd rounder, not a good pick name me any Tim Floyd coached NCAA player that has been good in the NBA, there are none. Glen Davis? Thats a good role player; a fat 6'9" pf who can't jump is a good pick. There was plenty of talent available at that pick and Boston passed on it. Now back to the trade, I'm sorry but a glue guy that will be there with Rondo and Jefferson would be a bad pickup. I said at worst he's a Battier if your telling me I can have a solid NBA player and a good defender for 10 years I take it, he could be great who knows. And I don't care about West and Wally they aren't relevant to this deal they were throw ins for contract that's it, if they could've the Sonics would have traded the 5 for Allen straight up. The Celtics would've contended for the playoffs with Green, Rondo, Pierce and Jefferson. Don't get me started about Allen helping this team to the playoffs. The Celts are now one of the WORST defensive teams in the NBA. Allen has never been a "good" defender neither has Pierce, and lets not even say Jefferson is a average defender. The fact is Danny Ainge did something to make them relevant, but he gave up the future for now. You gave your team a chance to compete for a maybe a division title now, but that's it this isn't an Eastern Conference Championship team, lets be realistic. In 3 years a shell of Pierce, shell of Allen, Jefferson and Rondo is going to be better then Jefferson, Rondo, Green and the shell of Pierce? This is about the fourth time in two or three years that Ainge has flip flopped on his master plan. Ainge is excited, after they get to the playoffs this year or next, then just resign and say look I built a playoff team and leave Boston with nothing; then just get another job somewhere else. Real great trade Real Smart. And another thing any team that has two guys with names that are flip flopped should be finished; Allen Ray and Ray Allen, you got to be kidding me.
Chris's Top 3 Winners
1. Blazers
2. Sonics
3. Hawks
I know your saying first 3 picks are your top 3 winners how original is that. However look at this, each of these teams had multiple picks in this draft and made serious steps to improve in the future. Durant, Green combo will be good if not great, Hawks now have their PG and got what may be the player most ready to contribute right now. Finally the Blazers, I'm going to save that for tommorrw and write a full write up about my hometown team.
Top 3 Losers
1. All Four teams without picks in this loaded draft (Raptors, Cavs, Pacers, Nuggets)
2. Celtics
3. Lakers
Not having a pick in this draft was absolutely deadly; we may not have another class like this ever. Celtics are losers for my reasons in the above parts of this post. The Lakers drafted a PG for the second year in a row, and even then hes a project, hey Kobe is the writing on the wall?
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
NBA Mock Draft
Well with less than 24 hours before the draft starts I thought it would be a good time to show who I think the lottery picks are going to be. For each team I will be giving who I think they should pick, and who they will pick.
With the first pick in the draft, I think the Portland Trail Blazers should select Greg Oden. This makes sense on multiple levels because if you look at the Blazers statistics for the past couple of seasons you see a mediocre to average offense, with an absolutely terrible defense. They have been in the bottom 5 for practically the past 4 years. Oden can help improve the offense slowly while giving the team an instant bump in how well it performs defensively. There are multiple arguments to be made for Kevin Durant however simply look at the last 10 NBA Champs, not one team had a terrible defense, Bulls, Lakers, Spurs, Pistons, Heat. Each team could defend and had at least 1 good post defender.
Teams Actual Pick: The Portland Trail Blazers select, Greg Oden, C, The Ohio State University.
With the second pick in the draft, I know the Seattle Supersonics should select Kevin Durant. If somehow the Sonics didn't pick Durant and Oden went first; the team in Seattle would not exist anymore. With Durant's selection however, it puts Seattle in a weird position, you have a Superstar whose almost past his prime, Allen, a free agent who plays the same position as Durant, Lewis, and what may turn into a superstar in Durant. Its a tough position for the new GM, because as soon as Durant is ready to lead a team, Allen may be ready to retire. With all that said its simple.
The Seattle SuperSonics select, Kevin Durant, SF, Texas
With the third pick in the draft, I think the Atlanta Hawks should select Al Horford. Atlanta is the hardest team to predict in the draft because they never do what everyone assumes will happen. I don't see them taking Conley because in the past the Hawks have gone with the best available player. Horford is the third best player in this draft and can contribute right away. They took Sheldon Williams last year, but Sheldon is not as good as Horford is now and they both could possibly play in the front court at the same time. The 11th pick will be harder to project than this one but.
The Atlanta Hawks select, Al Horford, PF, Florida
With the fourth pick in the draft, I think the Memphis Grizzlies should take Corey Brewer. One year ago at this time, Memphis was coming off a 49 win season, people were talking about what Memphis needed to add to move up the Western Conference pecking order to possibly compete for an NBA Title. Yes these same Grizzlies, there biggest loss after that season was, Shane Battier? As soon as the owner said he may sell the team things have gone downhill; Gasol got injured, as did Stoudamire, and Mike Miller. But that much kills a team and drops them down 20 games? Well maybe, either way this team has a solid young nucleus already in place with Gay, Lowry, Warrick, and Kinsey. Adding Brewer makes sense because they get a versatile player that can play the 2 or 3. The team could start next year with Stoudamire, Brewer, Gay, Swift, Gasol, with Miller, Warrick, Lowry and Kinsey coming off the bench. They'd be a sleeper playoff team in the Western Conference, but a new owner would help more. However with all that said the worst team in the league hired the second worst teams GM to turn it around.
The Memphis Grizzlies select, Mike Conley Jr., PG, The Ohio State University
With the fifth pick in the draft the Boston Celtics should select Jeff Green. I'd love to put Brewer in this position however, he has been taken. Adding Green fills a need that the Celtics have, and gives them a player ready to compete right away in what is the worst division, inside the worst conference. Green can play the 3 or 4, and if needed the 2, he would be a great complement to Paul Pierce and Al Jefferson. The only other play I could see Boston entertaining here outside of Brewer and Green is, Brandon Wright. Wright is unpolished and severely lacks an offensive game, however Boston is building for the future and to compete in the future for a NBA title, they may face the twin towers in Portland with Oden and Aldridge. Only time will tell but Green gives them the best of both worlds in a NBA ready player and a building block for the future.
The Boston Celtics select, Yi Jianlian, PF, China
With the sixth pick in the draft the Milwaukee Bucks select Mike Conley Jr. Conley makes the most sense for this playoff ready team. Milwaukee is the most unpredictable team in the NBA, in the last 5 years they have gone, playoffs, playoffs, #1 pick, playoffs, #6 pick. This year they were hit with a high amount of injuries that ended any chance of the playoffs. Ideally the Bucks would like to re-sign Maurice Williams and draft Green or Brewer. However with both of them off the board, the Bucks pick Conley and focus on a possible sign and trade with Williams for a SF. Remember the Atlanta Hawks are still in this draft, if Conley is available, you could see a Williams for Childress and the 11. With Conley the Bucks would have a solid point guard that is ready to lead a team to the playoffs.
The Milwaukee Bucks select, Jeff Green, SF, Georgetown
With the seventh pick in the draft the Minnesota Timberwovles select Yi Jianlian. As much as I love KG and what hes done for that franchise, they cannot give away the future for him. Yi may be the most intriguing prospect outside of the big 2. Yi can come in right away and give the T'Wolves 15-7 being a sidekick to KG. If KG stays the T'wolves would have 2 athletic big men that can shoot it from anywhere. That would be something most teams cannot defend, however Yi's defence would be questionable since he has not worked out with anyone in the draft process. If they move KG along, Yi would give them a good big man for the future to develop along side Randy Foye. If the T'Wolves got Amare for KG, that would move this teams playoff potential to at least conference champions in 3 years. However Kevin McHale has never been accused of being a good GM.
The Minnesota Timberwolves select, Spence Hawes, C, Washington
With the eighth pick in the draft the Charlotte Bobcats select Brandan Wright. The Bobcats need help for Okafor. Wright brings them an athletic 4, that can help offensively and defensively. If the Bobcats are able to bring in Rashard Lewis or Vince Carter, they could compete for a playoff spot next year. The biggest knock on Wright is his jump shot, however as we move down the draft the prospects have more and more flaws. If Wright can develop his game he and Okafor would give the Bobcats a strong post combo, and May coming off the bench gives the depth. The team is not as far away from the playoffs as most people think, but a couple wrong moves can turn this promising group of young talent back towards the cellar.
The Charlotte Bobcats select, Corey Brewer, SF, Florida
The Chicago Bulls are up next with the ninth pick in the draft. I think they should take Joakim Noah. Noah fits what the Bulls have built through the draft in previous years, either College kids from winning programs or foreigners. Noah is coming off back to back college championships, and with that hair could be mistaken for a foreigner, so he fits both molds. With Noah the Bulls immediately have the deepest front line in the NBA. Noah and Thomas give them a young athletic combo in the pivot that can grow with the already solid core of Deng, Gordon and Henrich. Drafting Noah here also makes since in a lot of ways for Chicago because with the depth at post it frees up the option of trading Ben Wallace and his contract to get a Kobe or KG back. I think the Bulls should trade this pick, but I don't think they will, it seems that they are content on both competing now and building for the future which is a very fine line to ride but so far they've done it well. A Zach Randolph for the 9 Nocioni, Brown (Both on sign and trade deals) makes a lot of sense for both teams and don't be surprised if that happens.
The Chicago Bulls select Joakim Noah, PF, Flordia
With the tenth pick in the draft the Sacramento Kings should select Spencer Hawes. The Kings may be in the worst position of any franchise outside of the Hawks. They can't really compete with the talent they have, and they don't have much talent looking towards the future. Hawes is the first step of what maybe a 3 or 4 year rebuild in Sacramento. Hawes could develop into a solid bigman with the same skill set as Brad Miller, if not better. The biggest knock on him is that he doesn't play like a 5, he plays like a softer 4 and doesn't get many rebounds. The Kings are in a rough spot and could look else where for help, but for the future they should pick Hawes.
The Sacramento Kings select Brandan Wright, PF, North Carolina
With the eleventh pick in the draft the Atlanta Hawks should select Acie Law. If I had to bet money on which pick out of all 60 would be traded it would be this one. It appears that the Hawks had a deal for Luke Ridnour set, until Amare became available. However if they don't trade the pick Law is a natural fit here. He gives the Hawks the PG they've been missing recently, and he is a leader. Without Law the Texas AM team may not have even made it to the NIT this year never mind shouldve been in the elite 8. Law, Johnson, Smith, Williams, Horford, the Hawks can compete for a playoff spot next year, if they stay relatively injury free. If the Sonics get this pick look for them to take Rodney Stuckey or Law.
The Atlanta Hawks select Javaris Crittenton, PG, Georgia Tech
With the twelevth pick in the draft the Philidelphia 76ers should select Al Thornton. Thornton is older than Lebron, older than everyone else about to enter the draft. While that is not a positive as he may be very close to already maximizing his potiential. As soon as the 76ers traded AI they actually improved; adding Thornton to the new AI in Philly will give the 76ers two scoring wings to surround distributor Andre Miller. Thornton could possibly play the 4 if the 76ers wanted to play Korver with Dalembert in the mix. The 76ers are close to being a playoff team in the east, and with 3 picks in this years loaded draft watch out.
The Philidelphia 76ers select Al Thornton, SF/PF, Florida State
With the thirteenth pick in the draft the New Orleans Hornets should select Thaddeus Young. Young is ready to go offensivly in the NBA, he is athletic enough to contribute right away, however he may need seasoning before hes ready to start. With Chris Paul as the point guard young could be the wingman that can help him maximize his potiential in the future. The Hornets are close the playoffs, however they should be looking for players that can help them move into the elite of the league rather than just get into the playoffs. With Peja staying healthy they should be able to make the playoffs this year.
The New Orleans Hornets select Thaddeus Young, SF, Georgia Tech
With the fourteenth and final lottery selection the Los Angeles Clippers should select Javaris Crittenton. Last year people were wondering if the Clippers and Shaun Livingston could take the next big step in the West. Now we are wondering if Livingston will ever be able to play again. If Acie Law can drop to the Clippers it would be a great day for them, I think hes a Sam Cassell Jr. and who better to learn the position from then the man himself. Crittenton fits their biggest need which as you move down the draft should be the focus rather than best player available. The Clippers lost out of the playoffs barely and can easily make it back with better play out of the PG position. If somehow Crittenton and Law are gone look for them to go SG with this pick.
The Los Angeles Clippers select Acie Law, PG, Texas AM
There it is everyone who I think teams should take and who they will take, in review.
My Mock: Actual Draft:
1. Oden 1. Oden
2. Durant 2. Durant
3. Horford 3. Horford
4. Brewer 4. Conley
5. Green 5. Yi
6. Conley 6. Green
7. Yi 7. Hawes
8. Wright 8. Brewer
9. Noah 9. Noah
10. Hawes 10. Wright
11. Law 11. Crittenton
12. Thornton 12. Thornton
13. T. Young 13. T. Young
14. Crittenton 14. Law
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Sports in Decline
Recently listening to ESPN Sports Radio, I heard that overall interest in every sport except MMA and the NFL is declining. As soon as I heard that I was kinda shocked and didn't think that it was true, but after thinking about it for a while it made sense and I agree with that statement. Now take MMA out of the picture because it is a younger small sport that basically has no where to go but up. So why has the NFL continued to grow, but the NBA, MLB, and NHL are all slowly losing interest in fans. I'm also going to throw the NHL out of this argument for the fact that the lockout basically killed the league and its going to take smart marketing to even get the league relevant again.
The answer is simple, sports fans have been over saturated with games from these three leagues, while the NFL comparatively is just barely around. The NFL plays 16 regular season games, and only plays on basically 2 nights a week for the majority of the season, Sunday, and Monday. The NFL is around so little that you have to watch otherwise you miss a majority of the action or season. You only have to take one day to watch football, and you have the rest of the week to prepare for the upcoming games, talk about the previous games and get your chips and dip ready for the next game.
When I was growing up the NBA was big; it was almost at the level of the NFL, not the top dog in the US sports world, but a number two that was comparable. Since then the NBA may have made more money, but it has killed off its fans slowly but surely; and its not because of this whole these guys are gangster-thugs and will punch people out. Its the fact that the NBA used to be offered maybe once or twice a week, you'd have the League-wide Sunday game on NBC and then local stations would carry your teams games. Now we got NBA League-wide on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; the NBA has given us so much basketball, that we simply don't care anymore. Instead of saying oh yeah I'm going to watch that game today, we say wait Miami is playing again on TV that's like the 2nd time this week, and about their 4th time this month. We used to look forward to seeing match-ups that featured stars coming around once a week. Now we just have to much basketball and it has made us push it away, the NBA is like your grandma's cooking, sure its great for the first helping, and maybe you'll like a little bit more, but your forced to eat more because you don't want her to feel bad.
Ever since the Lockout MLB has been the 3rd sport in the US. Sure its America's past time and all that stuff, but the fact is today its not really relevant. MLB has the same problem that the NBA has, it used to be on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. Some of those nights had double headers so you could watch great teams go at it all night long now, but now its on Monday, Tuesday as well as Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. You'd think oh those two extra nights means they will show different teams right; you wish, the same teams are consistently on, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox. Big teams are good for leagues and are always around to play the villain to everyones hero, but when you see them as much as they are on TV, you just don't care about that team anymore. Another thing that has killed interest in the MLB in recent years is the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. Rivalries are great for sports, College football basically built it self up from the rivalries it had, but hearing about two teams everyday for the past 3 years has turned me away. I DON'T CARE IF THE YANKEES ARE 15 GAMES BACK IN MAY, its May, who cares talk to me about some other teams that are doing well like the Brewers. I've lost interest in this current MLB season because all I heard about for the first two months of the season was; the Yankees are falling apart, Joe Torre is going to get fired, or maybe The Red Sox are the best team in baseball, Is Boston in panic mode they lost 3 straight? Maybe I'll come around and pay attention during the playoffs or close to the trade deadline to see whose trying to make a move to get to the World Series. So while the MLB is on the TV, my TV will be off because just like the majority of Americans, I just don't care anymore.
P.S. Side note GOOOOOOOOO BEAVERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The answer is simple, sports fans have been over saturated with games from these three leagues, while the NFL comparatively is just barely around. The NFL plays 16 regular season games, and only plays on basically 2 nights a week for the majority of the season, Sunday, and Monday. The NFL is around so little that you have to watch otherwise you miss a majority of the action or season. You only have to take one day to watch football, and you have the rest of the week to prepare for the upcoming games, talk about the previous games and get your chips and dip ready for the next game.
When I was growing up the NBA was big; it was almost at the level of the NFL, not the top dog in the US sports world, but a number two that was comparable. Since then the NBA may have made more money, but it has killed off its fans slowly but surely; and its not because of this whole these guys are gangster-thugs and will punch people out. Its the fact that the NBA used to be offered maybe once or twice a week, you'd have the League-wide Sunday game on NBC and then local stations would carry your teams games. Now we got NBA League-wide on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; the NBA has given us so much basketball, that we simply don't care anymore. Instead of saying oh yeah I'm going to watch that game today, we say wait Miami is playing again on TV that's like the 2nd time this week, and about their 4th time this month. We used to look forward to seeing match-ups that featured stars coming around once a week. Now we just have to much basketball and it has made us push it away, the NBA is like your grandma's cooking, sure its great for the first helping, and maybe you'll like a little bit more, but your forced to eat more because you don't want her to feel bad.
Ever since the Lockout MLB has been the 3rd sport in the US. Sure its America's past time and all that stuff, but the fact is today its not really relevant. MLB has the same problem that the NBA has, it used to be on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. Some of those nights had double headers so you could watch great teams go at it all night long now, but now its on Monday, Tuesday as well as Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. You'd think oh those two extra nights means they will show different teams right; you wish, the same teams are consistently on, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox. Big teams are good for leagues and are always around to play the villain to everyones hero, but when you see them as much as they are on TV, you just don't care about that team anymore. Another thing that has killed interest in the MLB in recent years is the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. Rivalries are great for sports, College football basically built it self up from the rivalries it had, but hearing about two teams everyday for the past 3 years has turned me away. I DON'T CARE IF THE YANKEES ARE 15 GAMES BACK IN MAY, its May, who cares talk to me about some other teams that are doing well like the Brewers. I've lost interest in this current MLB season because all I heard about for the first two months of the season was; the Yankees are falling apart, Joe Torre is going to get fired, or maybe The Red Sox are the best team in baseball, Is Boston in panic mode they lost 3 straight? Maybe I'll come around and pay attention during the playoffs or close to the trade deadline to see whose trying to make a move to get to the World Series. So while the MLB is on the TV, my TV will be off because just like the majority of Americans, I just don't care anymore.
P.S. Side note GOOOOOOOOO BEAVERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Stuck in a Rut
Stuck in a Rut is the worst place to be for any sports fan and for any sports franchise. When your stuck like that the team is just good enough to compete for the playoffs every year. Never can it put together the right pieces to the puzzle, and move up the ladder. Management thinks the nucleus will grow and move up, but that never happens everything just stalls. This creates a huge problem for the everyday fan however; how many years of the same exact team getting around the same exact record can you take?
Smart owners need to eliminate this possibility for fans, there should be 3 different levels that the team is at; rebuilding, youthful, conference championship contender. Each level is different, but they are the only three that owners should look at. Rebuilding is simple try to gather as much young talent and draft picks in a 2 or 3 year period as possible. During this time you need to find the center piece for your team that can lead them to a championship. A youthful team should come right after that rebuilding stage, adding key veteran free agent and letting your youth grow into solid rotation players. Conference championship contender, this is the final stage, as long as your competing for your own conference's title you have a shot at getting to the championship. That team should have a 4 or 5 year window of competing before slowly falling apart; when that happens owners need to realize and sell off whats left of their best players to build back up.
Now obviously this plan requires smart drafting and players to develop into the potential they have. If you draft well throughout the 10 or so years of the plan then you can possibly continually compete for a championship. But you don't want to force something that's not there and just be close. Some teams that are stuck right now from the NFL are the Jaguars, Giants, Falcons, NBA Pacers, Lakers, Clippers, Kings, T'Wolves, 76ers. With the offseason nearly complete in the NFL and about to begin in the NBA it will be interesting to see if these teams take the next step or realize that this current plan is not going to work and rebuild. No matter the choice each franchise takes, either of these options is better than being stuck in a rut.
Smart owners need to eliminate this possibility for fans, there should be 3 different levels that the team is at; rebuilding, youthful, conference championship contender. Each level is different, but they are the only three that owners should look at. Rebuilding is simple try to gather as much young talent and draft picks in a 2 or 3 year period as possible. During this time you need to find the center piece for your team that can lead them to a championship. A youthful team should come right after that rebuilding stage, adding key veteran free agent and letting your youth grow into solid rotation players. Conference championship contender, this is the final stage, as long as your competing for your own conference's title you have a shot at getting to the championship. That team should have a 4 or 5 year window of competing before slowly falling apart; when that happens owners need to realize and sell off whats left of their best players to build back up.
Now obviously this plan requires smart drafting and players to develop into the potential they have. If you draft well throughout the 10 or so years of the plan then you can possibly continually compete for a championship. But you don't want to force something that's not there and just be close. Some teams that are stuck right now from the NFL are the Jaguars, Giants, Falcons, NBA Pacers, Lakers, Clippers, Kings, T'Wolves, 76ers. With the offseason nearly complete in the NFL and about to begin in the NBA it will be interesting to see if these teams take the next step or realize that this current plan is not going to work and rebuild. No matter the choice each franchise takes, either of these options is better than being stuck in a rut.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Heart Splitter
Well tomorrow I face what may be the ultimate dilemma I have ever experienced in my young sports life. My 2 favorite college sports teams will be facing of in a NCAA Super Regional. Before I get into that, I was raised in Oregon, during my early childhood neither the University of Oregon or Oregon State University where that great in any sports. I still rooted for OSU because my dad graduated from there and I liked the school. However because OSU was always bad I searched for another team to root for, and I came upon the University of Michigan, which my dad got his masters at. In order my favorite team was always Michigan 1, OSU 2; nothing really changed that growing up no matter how much OSU improved. That was before I started attending OSU, I still thought that I liked Michigan more or that they were tied. I was never worried or never tried to pick who I liked more though, because I mean come on a Michigan-Oregon State match up had only happened once that I can remember at least, that was in like 1940 in a Rose Bowl.
Things feel into place however on Monday when OSU won their regional series to bring a Super Regional showdown between my 2 favorite teams. I have spent all week going back and forth of who I want to win and its just been ripping me apart; this isn't a win-win situation, all of this thinking has made me think this is going to actually be a lose-lose situation. This is like growing up in Chicago for 15 years of your life, then moving to Phoenix for another 15 with a Suns-Bulls Finals that next year. Its like OHH YAH JORDAN JUST DUNKED ON BARKLEY!!! While feeling the Come on ref Jordan clearly pushed off Barkley, where is the offensive. No matter who wins you won't feel that great about it like you should. Its like Tom Brady just threw the game winning touchdown pass with 0 seconds left in the AFC Championship game, but you also see that he broke his ankle and hes out for the Super Bowl. You have an overwhelming rush of emotion with the joy of victory and the depression of loss packed into one punch.
I mean who do you root for? Do you go with the team you've backed and liked more from day 1, or do you go with the team that has grown on you slowly but surely? Well for the next 2, possibly 3 days I will have my outfield seats watching the game, not sure who I want to win, feeling joy and sorrow on each play. I guess I can look at the bright side, that I'll have a great team to root for in Ohmah, but one of my favorite teams will be done.
Dang it, see there it is again, can this just be over.
Things feel into place however on Monday when OSU won their regional series to bring a Super Regional showdown between my 2 favorite teams. I have spent all week going back and forth of who I want to win and its just been ripping me apart; this isn't a win-win situation, all of this thinking has made me think this is going to actually be a lose-lose situation. This is like growing up in Chicago for 15 years of your life, then moving to Phoenix for another 15 with a Suns-Bulls Finals that next year. Its like OHH YAH JORDAN JUST DUNKED ON BARKLEY!!! While feeling the Come on ref Jordan clearly pushed off Barkley, where is the offensive. No matter who wins you won't feel that great about it like you should. Its like Tom Brady just threw the game winning touchdown pass with 0 seconds left in the AFC Championship game, but you also see that he broke his ankle and hes out for the Super Bowl. You have an overwhelming rush of emotion with the joy of victory and the depression of loss packed into one punch.
I mean who do you root for? Do you go with the team you've backed and liked more from day 1, or do you go with the team that has grown on you slowly but surely? Well for the next 2, possibly 3 days I will have my outfield seats watching the game, not sure who I want to win, feeling joy and sorrow on each play. I guess I can look at the bright side, that I'll have a great team to root for in Ohmah, but one of my favorite teams will be done.
Dang it, see there it is again, can this just be over.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
NBA Finals Preview
Tonight marks the start of the NBA Finals, after what seems to have been a year since we last saw the Spurs play, and 6 months since the Lebrons finished off the Pistons. This is an intriguing match up due to the 2-0 record Cleveland put up on the Spurs during the regular season. Now remember people say it doesn't matter about the regular season and make up other excuses; but look no further than Golden State-Dallas as proof that the 82 games they play from November to mid-April matters. With all that being said, I feel that the San Antonio is going to beat the Cleveland in...6 games. Spurs are going to win 3 at home and 1 on the road, game 4, Cleveland will win games 3 and 5. Overall the Spurs have more talent, depth and better coaching; One Game James will be the best player on the floor throughout the series. However with the many different looks the Spurs will throw at him and the fact that San Antonio may be ok to let him score 50 and get 0 assists. This was the Spurs plan with Amare and Nash in the Phoenix series, they let Nash and Amare score all they wanted to for the most part, but they refused to let anyone else on the court get good looks or get into a groove. In the 2 games San Antonio lost in that series, they let the other 3 beat them. I look for the Spurs to let Lebron score as much as he wants, but refuse to let the others help him making it a 1 on 5. SPURS in 6 Games.
Other Thoughts:
Michelle Wie is now officially the most over hyped athlete in the past 20 years. Anytime you quit an event after participating in over 80% of it and say its because of an injury, you lose all my respect. She quit because she realized that had she finished she wouldve been banned for a year under rule-88 of the LPGA. I don't care if she turns out to be the Tiger Woods of womens golf, you don't do that, its not right and the LPGA should kick her out for at least 6 months. To often in sports we allow young stars to get away with things that are terribly wrong in the sport. For once I want to see a League, Association whatever; discipline these youngsters so that they know whats right and wrong. If things don't turn around quickly for Michelle Wie, she will become the Anna Kournikova of Woman's Golf, great potential...no wins.
Small Ball area, I kind of agree with the post my boy skoal made about the small ball disadvantage. However more recent teams are playing in what may be the greatest offensive era in baseball history, those early teams didn't have power hitters like we do now, and they didn't have to face as many quality opposing hitters as pitchers do now, at least in the American League. The DH is a key factor for any early team in the AL compared to modern teams, take the DH out of the AL and the ERA average may have a drop as big as 1 run per game. I am not saying that those pitchers weren't great, however had they thrown 150 pitches and stayed in for practically the whole game; guys like David Ortiz or Travis Hafner would get to face the same pitcher 4 times, instead of an opposing pitcher who may hit .230. I agree that they are at some kind of disadvantage, but I can't say I agree that its just completely one sided.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
All Time Tourney: Quarterfinals
Here we are down to 8 of the top alltime teams in MLB history, which franchise's best team is the best of the tourney and possibly all time? Here are the 4 remaining
1. '27 NYY
9. '54 Clev
Game 1. NYY 8 Clev 1
Game 2. NYY 7 Clev 0
The 1927 New York Yankees advance into the semifinals.
13. '71 Pitt
5. '75 Cinc
Game 1. Cinc 5 Pitt 2
Game 2. Cinc 4 Pitt 11
Game 3. Cinc 8 Pitt 9
The 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates advance into the semifinals
19. '94 MTL
27. '99 Tex
Game 1. Mtl 3 Tex 2
Game 2. Mtl 2 Tex 6
Game 3. Mtl 3 Tex 0
The 1994 Montreal Expos advance into the semifinals
2. '62 SFG
7. '31 A's
Game 1. SFG 5 A's 10
Game 2. SFG 3 A's 10
The 1931 Oakland A's advance into the semifinals
So the Semifinals are the '27 Yanks vs the '71 Pitt, and the '94 expos v the '31 A's
1. '27 NYY
9. '54 Clev
Game 1. NYY 8 Clev 1
Game 2. NYY 7 Clev 0
The 1927 New York Yankees advance into the semifinals.
13. '71 Pitt
5. '75 Cinc
Game 1. Cinc 5 Pitt 2
Game 2. Cinc 4 Pitt 11
Game 3. Cinc 8 Pitt 9
The 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates advance into the semifinals
19. '94 MTL
27. '99 Tex
Game 1. Mtl 3 Tex 2
Game 2. Mtl 2 Tex 6
Game 3. Mtl 3 Tex 0
The 1994 Montreal Expos advance into the semifinals
2. '62 SFG
7. '31 A's
Game 1. SFG 5 A's 10
Game 2. SFG 3 A's 10
The 1931 Oakland A's advance into the semifinals
So the Semifinals are the '27 Yanks vs the '71 Pitt, and the '94 expos v the '31 A's
Saturday, June 2, 2007
1 Day Later
Well Ive had more than a full 24 hours to digest what was an absolutely dominating performance from LeBron James last night. I was a Witness to what may have been the first time LeBron did what everyone has wanted him to do for about 4 years and completely dominate the end of the game like MJ. While this was a great performance by LeBron it wasn't as big as people are making it. Mj's 45, including what should've been his career ending game winner, in game 6 of the '98 finals is better, Magic's triple double 42-15-7 game as a Center is better. There are countless finals moments that were better and possible some others early round playoff games.
So I'm not going to call last nights performance the greatest of all time and I am not going to hop on this its over for everyone else in the NBA bandwagon. It was simply one game where LeBron caught fire and couldn't be stoped. LeBron can dominate yes, but one game does not move him into Jordan, Bird and Magic range as one of the greatest players of all-time. Incase no one remembers last year in watch this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Vy0kI4SMvo. Yes that's Dirk Nowitzki in Game 5 of last years Western Conference Finals scoring 50, 22 in the 4th, and that was his break out game. Remember how well he did this year in the playoffs?
I encourage you to watch the highlights of the game, and enjoy it for what it was, a great performance. For my sake and yours as well though, please don't give the world to LeBron because of one game when he went unconscious.
So I'm not going to call last nights performance the greatest of all time and I am not going to hop on this its over for everyone else in the NBA bandwagon. It was simply one game where LeBron caught fire and couldn't be stoped. LeBron can dominate yes, but one game does not move him into Jordan, Bird and Magic range as one of the greatest players of all-time. Incase no one remembers last year in watch this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Vy0kI4SMvo. Yes that's Dirk Nowitzki in Game 5 of last years Western Conference Finals scoring 50, 22 in the 4th, and that was his break out game. Remember how well he did this year in the playoffs?
I encourage you to watch the highlights of the game, and enjoy it for what it was, a great performance. For my sake and yours as well though, please don't give the world to LeBron because of one game when he went unconscious.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Dead Ball Disadvantage
First off, I would like to rant about the disadvantages faced by pitchers from teams before World War I in this baseball simulation tournament we're running here. Pitchers on whatifsports.com's baseball simulator are always taken out at or around 100 pitches (for starters). The highest pitch count i've ever seen on there is 105 by Rube Walberg (of the '31 A's), in a 9 inning complete game shut out. Pitchers who worked in a 4 man rotation back in the earlier days of baseball would definitely not just throw 100 pitches then be removed from the game especially if they were pitching well. a guy who has given up 0-1 run in 7 innings will be removed the same as a guy that has given up 3-4. this is all well and good in the age of pitch counts, but back before WWI, that would never happen. this also brings us to these teams bullpen issues. Teams before WWI did not really have any sort of bullpen to speak of, they would bring starters in to pitch, which if you look at the season where Walter Johnson won 36 games (a guy not in the simulation, but a perfect example of this phenomenon), he made 36 starts (there is no way he won every start, he went 36-7). Johnson also had 2 saves, a 1.14 ERA, and pitched 346 innings. He pitched in 48 games, that means there were 2 games that he pitched in where he didn't earn a win, loss or save. Now, when you think of that era, you know guys were throwing an exorbinant amount of pitches, which is not accurately portrayed by this simulator. Which is why pitchers from those pre-WWI teams really get the shaft.
I'm starting to rethink my status on the best baseball teams of all time, because deadball era pitchers were way more dominant than anyone we see now. Think of Cy Young winning all those games, and pitching all those years. The dead ball era was one filled with baseball's best players, we're just too blinded by flashy power numbers now to see that. If pitching is the foundation of any great team, why wouldn't a dead ball era team be the best? The answer: dead ball era teams were the best. There's a reason why some of the pitching records will never be broken, because the pitchers at that time were so much more dominant and nobody babied them. Look up the stats, you'll see its true.
Tyler
I'm starting to rethink my status on the best baseball teams of all time, because deadball era pitchers were way more dominant than anyone we see now. Think of Cy Young winning all those games, and pitching all those years. The dead ball era was one filled with baseball's best players, we're just too blinded by flashy power numbers now to see that. If pitching is the foundation of any great team, why wouldn't a dead ball era team be the best? The answer: dead ball era teams were the best. There's a reason why some of the pitching records will never be broken, because the pitchers at that time were so much more dominant and nobody babied them. Look up the stats, you'll see its true.
Tyler
Thursday, May 31, 2007
All Time Tourney Round 2
We are not going to reseed the teams like the NFL instead we are playing straight through like the NCAA Tourney.
1. '27 NYY
17. '93 Tor
Game 1. NYY 6 Tor 5
Game 2. NYY 8 Tor 9
Game 3. NYY 9 Tor 4
NYY Advances
8. '62 LAD
9. '54 Clev
Game 1. LAD 1 Clev 4
Game 2. LAD 2 Clev 5
Clev Advances
13 '71 Pitt
29. '95 Col
Game 1. Pitt 5 Col 1
Game 2. Pitt 13 Col 12
Pitt Advances
5. '75 Cinc
12. '70 Balt
Game 1. Cinc 5 Balt 3
Game 2. Cinc 18 Balt 3
Cinc Advances
11. '07 Chc
27. '99 Tex
Game 1. Chc 1 Tex 6
Game 2. Chc 6 Tex 4 F 10
Game 3. Chc 1 Tex 3
Tex Advances
3. '67 Stl
19. '94 Mtl
Game 1. Stl 1 Mtl 2
Game 2. Stl 9 Mtl 2
Game 3. Stl 8 Mtl 9
MTL Advances
7. '31 A's
10. '98 Atl
Game 1. A's 10 Atl 14
Game 2. A's 5 Atl 0
Game 3. A's 4 Atl 3
A's Advances
2. '62 SFG
15. '85 Det
Game 1. SFG 5 Det 2
Game 2. SFG 14 Det 4
SFG Advances
1. '27 NYY
17. '93 Tor
Game 1. NYY 6 Tor 5
Game 2. NYY 8 Tor 9
Game 3. NYY 9 Tor 4
NYY Advances
8. '62 LAD
9. '54 Clev
Game 1. LAD 1 Clev 4
Game 2. LAD 2 Clev 5
Clev Advances
13 '71 Pitt
29. '95 Col
Game 1. Pitt 5 Col 1
Game 2. Pitt 13 Col 12
Pitt Advances
5. '75 Cinc
12. '70 Balt
Game 1. Cinc 5 Balt 3
Game 2. Cinc 18 Balt 3
Cinc Advances
11. '07 Chc
27. '99 Tex
Game 1. Chc 1 Tex 6
Game 2. Chc 6 Tex 4 F 10
Game 3. Chc 1 Tex 3
Tex Advances
3. '67 Stl
19. '94 Mtl
Game 1. Stl 1 Mtl 2
Game 2. Stl 9 Mtl 2
Game 3. Stl 8 Mtl 9
MTL Advances
7. '31 A's
10. '98 Atl
Game 1. A's 10 Atl 14
Game 2. A's 5 Atl 0
Game 3. A's 4 Atl 3
A's Advances
2. '62 SFG
15. '85 Det
Game 1. SFG 5 Det 2
Game 2. SFG 14 Det 4
SFG Advances
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
All Time Tourney: Round 1
3. '67 STL
30. '04 TB
Game 1. Stl 4 TB 0
Game 2. Stl 2 TB 1
Stl Advances
4. '15 Bos
29. '95 Col
Game 1. Bos 2 Col 5
Game 2. Bos 12 Col 3
Game 3. Bos 2 Col 4
Col Advances
5. '75 Cinc
28. '82 Mil
Game 1. Cinc 2 Mil 9
Game 2. Cinc 15 Mil 3
Game 3. Cinc 2 Mil 1
Cinc Advances
6. '86 NYM
27. '99 Tex
Game 1. NYM 4 Tex 3
Game 2. NYM 1 Tex 4
Game 3. NYM 3 Tex 7
Tex Advances
7. '31 A's
26. '98 Hou
Game 1. A's 2 Hou 6
Game 2. A's 9 Hou 4
Game 3. A's 13 Hou 9
A's Advances
8. '62 LA
25. '98 SD
Game 1. LA 2 SD 0
Game 2. LA 9 SD 0
LA Advances
9. '54 Cle
24. '01 Sea
Game 1. Cle 6 Sea 7
Game 2. Cle 5 Sea 3 F10
Game 3. Cle 6 Sea 5
Cle Advances
10. '98 ATL
23. '93 Chi WS
Game 1. Atl 3 Chi WS 0
Game 2. Atl 8 Chi WS 4
Atl Advances
11. '07 ChC
22. '01 Ari
Game 1. Chc 7 Ari 2
Game 2. Chc 3 Ari 5
Game 3. Chc 7 Ari 5
Chc Advances
12. '70 Balt
21. '03 Fla
Game 1. Balt 7 Fla 10
Game 2. Balt 15 Fla 5
Game 3. Balt 18 Fla 3
Balt Advances
13. '71 Pitt
20. '02 LAA
Game 1. Pitt 4 LAA 0
Game 2. Pitt 2 LAA 1
Pitt Advances
14. '91 Minn
19. '94 Mtl
Game 1. Minn 0 Mtl 7
Game 2. Minn 3 Mtl 9
Mtl Advances
15. '84 Det
18. '85 KC
Game 1. Det 9 KC 1
Game 2. Det 2 KC 9
Game 3. Det 10 KC 3
Det Advances
16. '76 Phil
17. '93 Tor
Game 1. Phil 6 Tor 3
Game 2. Phil 5 Tor 7
Game 3. Phil 7 Tor 8
Tor Advances
In some type of Irony...Joe Carter hit in the winning run
30. '04 TB
Game 1. Stl 4 TB 0
Game 2. Stl 2 TB 1
Stl Advances
4. '15 Bos
29. '95 Col
Game 1. Bos 2 Col 5
Game 2. Bos 12 Col 3
Game 3. Bos 2 Col 4
Col Advances
5. '75 Cinc
28. '82 Mil
Game 1. Cinc 2 Mil 9
Game 2. Cinc 15 Mil 3
Game 3. Cinc 2 Mil 1
Cinc Advances
6. '86 NYM
27. '99 Tex
Game 1. NYM 4 Tex 3
Game 2. NYM 1 Tex 4
Game 3. NYM 3 Tex 7
Tex Advances
7. '31 A's
26. '98 Hou
Game 1. A's 2 Hou 6
Game 2. A's 9 Hou 4
Game 3. A's 13 Hou 9
A's Advances
8. '62 LA
25. '98 SD
Game 1. LA 2 SD 0
Game 2. LA 9 SD 0
LA Advances
9. '54 Cle
24. '01 Sea
Game 1. Cle 6 Sea 7
Game 2. Cle 5 Sea 3 F10
Game 3. Cle 6 Sea 5
Cle Advances
10. '98 ATL
23. '93 Chi WS
Game 1. Atl 3 Chi WS 0
Game 2. Atl 8 Chi WS 4
Atl Advances
11. '07 ChC
22. '01 Ari
Game 1. Chc 7 Ari 2
Game 2. Chc 3 Ari 5
Game 3. Chc 7 Ari 5
Chc Advances
12. '70 Balt
21. '03 Fla
Game 1. Balt 7 Fla 10
Game 2. Balt 15 Fla 5
Game 3. Balt 18 Fla 3
Balt Advances
13. '71 Pitt
20. '02 LAA
Game 1. Pitt 4 LAA 0
Game 2. Pitt 2 LAA 1
Pitt Advances
14. '91 Minn
19. '94 Mtl
Game 1. Minn 0 Mtl 7
Game 2. Minn 3 Mtl 9
Mtl Advances
15. '84 Det
18. '85 KC
Game 1. Det 9 KC 1
Game 2. Det 2 KC 9
Game 3. Det 10 KC 3
Det Advances
16. '76 Phil
17. '93 Tor
Game 1. Phil 6 Tor 3
Game 2. Phil 5 Tor 7
Game 3. Phil 7 Tor 8
Tor Advances
In some type of Irony...Joe Carter hit in the winning run
Kobe No Thanks
Dear Mr. Bryant,
I just heard you tell Stephen A. Smith that you would like to be traded, and there is nothing that we can do to keep you here in LA. Well son, I got some bad news for you; that's not going to happen. You see we need to keep this team remotely competitive so that we can keep A-list celebrities in the seats and make tons of money. No matter what a team in the NBA is willing to offer us, we are not going to cave into your demand this time. I hope you remember after all that it was you that demanded that either Shaq goes or you go. It was one of the first things I had to do as a GM, and it will probably keep me from getting another job in the NBA if I get fired here. But remember I kept you, he won a championship. Another thing I hope you remember is that you promised us that if we traded Shaq you were coming back to the Lakers no matter what; do you not remember almost signing with our crosstown redheaded step child the Clippers? Remember that last year we would've beat the Suns in the first round and possibly moved on even further, but you choked in game 6 and decided not to show up in game 7. I admit though we've done our best to appease you so much that I almost started calling you Boss instead of Mr. DUI, oh wait I mean Mr. Buss. Jerry West groomed me after him so that I could be a successful GM and build a winning team. I threw all of that away however to keep you happy, and now your going to stab me in the back and demand for him to come back?
It was you after all that couldn't put your personal ego aside to stay with Shaq. Just think had you just been less selfish you may have been able to get another 3 or 4 rings with Shaq and possibly go down along with Jordan and Wilt and Magic and Bird as the best ever. Instead your not, you'll be remembered as one of the most selfish players ever. So Kobe to your trade demand I say No Thanks, I was going to spend this summer trying to get some type of help for you, but now? Nope I'm going to sit here and let you waste your prime on a mediocre team that you demanded.
Love,
Mitch Kupchak
P.S. Now you tell Dan Patrick you want to stay because Phil Jackson told you something different? Honestly now maybe I will trade you, your me myself and I attitude makes it impossible for me to bring you any decent talent here. Here's something that you need to learn Kobe, Just Shut UP.
I just heard you tell Stephen A. Smith that you would like to be traded, and there is nothing that we can do to keep you here in LA. Well son, I got some bad news for you; that's not going to happen. You see we need to keep this team remotely competitive so that we can keep A-list celebrities in the seats and make tons of money. No matter what a team in the NBA is willing to offer us, we are not going to cave into your demand this time. I hope you remember after all that it was you that demanded that either Shaq goes or you go. It was one of the first things I had to do as a GM, and it will probably keep me from getting another job in the NBA if I get fired here. But remember I kept you, he won a championship. Another thing I hope you remember is that you promised us that if we traded Shaq you were coming back to the Lakers no matter what; do you not remember almost signing with our crosstown redheaded step child the Clippers? Remember that last year we would've beat the Suns in the first round and possibly moved on even further, but you choked in game 6 and decided not to show up in game 7. I admit though we've done our best to appease you so much that I almost started calling you Boss instead of Mr. DUI, oh wait I mean Mr. Buss. Jerry West groomed me after him so that I could be a successful GM and build a winning team. I threw all of that away however to keep you happy, and now your going to stab me in the back and demand for him to come back?
It was you after all that couldn't put your personal ego aside to stay with Shaq. Just think had you just been less selfish you may have been able to get another 3 or 4 rings with Shaq and possibly go down along with Jordan and Wilt and Magic and Bird as the best ever. Instead your not, you'll be remembered as one of the most selfish players ever. So Kobe to your trade demand I say No Thanks, I was going to spend this summer trying to get some type of help for you, but now? Nope I'm going to sit here and let you waste your prime on a mediocre team that you demanded.
Love,
Mitch Kupchak
P.S. Now you tell Dan Patrick you want to stay because Phil Jackson told you something different? Honestly now maybe I will trade you, your me myself and I attitude makes it impossible for me to bring you any decent talent here. Here's something that you need to learn Kobe, Just Shut UP.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
All Time Tourney Seeds
Ok folks here is the first of the All Time tournament that we will be running on this site. Our First sport is baseball, we will select the best team from each franchise's history and pit it against the others. Using Whatifsports.com as our simulation engine, we plan to let you know who wins. DH will be based on the home team, higher seed is the home team, and the tourney will be set up with 28 teams in the first round and 2 getting a bye, then the rest of the tourney. The Championship will be a 5 game set with 2 games at each team's home park and the 3rd at an undecided neutral field, So without further ado here are the seeds.
- 1927 New York Yankess
- 1962 San Fransico Giants
- 1967 St. Louis Cardinals
- 1915 Boston Red Sox
- 1975 Cincinnati Reds
- 1986 New York Metropolitans
- 1931 Oakland/Phi Athletics
- 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers
- 1954 Cleveland Indians
- 1998 Atlanta Braves
- 1907 Chicago Cubs
- 1970 Baltimore Orioles
- 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates
- 1991 Minnesota Twins
- 1984 Detroit Tigers
- 1976 Philadelphia Phillies
- 1993 Toronto Blue Jays
- 1985 Kansas City Royals
- 1994 Montreal Expos
- 2002 LAA Angels
- 2003 Florida Marlins
- 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks
- 1993 Chicago White Sox
- 2001 Seattle Mariners
- 1998 San Diego Padres
- 1998 Houston Astros
- 1999 Texas Rangers
- 1982 Milwaukee Brewers
- 1995 Colorado Rockies
- 2004 Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Big Things
Alright, I'd like to start this off by saying RIP Marquise Hill. He may not have played too much, but the guy went out a hero. He saved his girlfriend at the peril of his own life, which to me is an admirable thing.
Now on to more assorted ramblings...
First off, Kobe Bryant needs to shut his damned trap. You really want us to believe that you didn't run Shaq out of town, and management is to blame by not surrounding you with enough talent? Come on now. Sure you lack another superstar to compliment you (2 superstars is a must now in the NBA, one doesnt get the job done), but don't throw management under the bus because you're one of the worst teammates in the NBA's history. Also, Jerry West isn't going to undercut Mitch Kupchak, so you're SOL there. If the Kobe really wanted to join a contender, he coulda done that a couple years back by going to the Clippers or another Western Conference team. Oh well Kobe. I would say I feel sorry for you, but i don't. Sorry.
Next up, Trot Nixon. He proved to me last night that he is by far one of the classiest players in baseball. He came back to Fenway after leaving on good terms in the offseason to a standing ovation. He then went out and continued his amazing play, and never once said anything bad about anyone. Classy player. To use a quote from Joe Torre "give me Roger Clemens and 9 Trot Nixons". He said this while Trot was still on Boston. If your archrival is saying that about one of your players, you know what kind of guy you're dealing with.
That brings me to Boston's new Trot Nixon, Kevin Youkilis. I've never seen someone be so enthusiastic and hard working. He does so much for the Red Sox, I would kind of like to see them do more for him. Can the guy get a day off ever? Instead of giving Mike Lowell a ton of days off then sticking Youk at 3rd Base, how about giving Youk a night off? Also, the guy is a beast. He can hit anywhere in the lineup (so far he's batted leadoff, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and even down at the bottom of the order), and his in the park homer last night was a true example of hustle. I thought it was fitting that the last player to do that for the Sox was Trot Nixon. Fitting parallel for two amazing people and players. I think i'd change that quote from Torre though. "Give me Roger Clemens, 5 Kevin Youkilis', and 4 Trot Nixons" sounds better to me. At least you'll never have to worry about giving Youk a day off.
Finally, that brings me to Roger Clemens. I am really happy we didn't bring his media circus to Boston. With all the Dice-K hype, i doubt Clemens would see the podium at all. Besides, wouldn't want someone to kill him with their "negativity". Are you kidding me Roger? You surround yourself with positive people? Why are you playing for the Yanks then? Steinbrenner has to be one of the most negative guys around. If you can't take negativity stop making yourself a media magnet. You can blame the media for all the Clemens hype, but if you really want to make headway, give reporters the Barry Bonds treatment. Either way you're gonna continue to look like a jackass. At least you won't be spitting out gems if you're not talking to the media. Come on Roger, just shut up, be washed up, go out there and pitch. You're not going to do a damned thing for the Yanks except be a pest and strain their already shitty bullpen. Good job Rog. I'm going to change that quote again "Give me Pedro Martinez in his prime, fuck Roger Clemens".
Out.
Tyler
Now on to more assorted ramblings...
First off, Kobe Bryant needs to shut his damned trap. You really want us to believe that you didn't run Shaq out of town, and management is to blame by not surrounding you with enough talent? Come on now. Sure you lack another superstar to compliment you (2 superstars is a must now in the NBA, one doesnt get the job done), but don't throw management under the bus because you're one of the worst teammates in the NBA's history. Also, Jerry West isn't going to undercut Mitch Kupchak, so you're SOL there. If the Kobe really wanted to join a contender, he coulda done that a couple years back by going to the Clippers or another Western Conference team. Oh well Kobe. I would say I feel sorry for you, but i don't. Sorry.
Next up, Trot Nixon. He proved to me last night that he is by far one of the classiest players in baseball. He came back to Fenway after leaving on good terms in the offseason to a standing ovation. He then went out and continued his amazing play, and never once said anything bad about anyone. Classy player. To use a quote from Joe Torre "give me Roger Clemens and 9 Trot Nixons". He said this while Trot was still on Boston. If your archrival is saying that about one of your players, you know what kind of guy you're dealing with.
That brings me to Boston's new Trot Nixon, Kevin Youkilis. I've never seen someone be so enthusiastic and hard working. He does so much for the Red Sox, I would kind of like to see them do more for him. Can the guy get a day off ever? Instead of giving Mike Lowell a ton of days off then sticking Youk at 3rd Base, how about giving Youk a night off? Also, the guy is a beast. He can hit anywhere in the lineup (so far he's batted leadoff, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and even down at the bottom of the order), and his in the park homer last night was a true example of hustle. I thought it was fitting that the last player to do that for the Sox was Trot Nixon. Fitting parallel for two amazing people and players. I think i'd change that quote from Torre though. "Give me Roger Clemens, 5 Kevin Youkilis', and 4 Trot Nixons" sounds better to me. At least you'll never have to worry about giving Youk a day off.
Finally, that brings me to Roger Clemens. I am really happy we didn't bring his media circus to Boston. With all the Dice-K hype, i doubt Clemens would see the podium at all. Besides, wouldn't want someone to kill him with their "negativity". Are you kidding me Roger? You surround yourself with positive people? Why are you playing for the Yanks then? Steinbrenner has to be one of the most negative guys around. If you can't take negativity stop making yourself a media magnet. You can blame the media for all the Clemens hype, but if you really want to make headway, give reporters the Barry Bonds treatment. Either way you're gonna continue to look like a jackass. At least you won't be spitting out gems if you're not talking to the media. Come on Roger, just shut up, be washed up, go out there and pitch. You're not going to do a damned thing for the Yanks except be a pest and strain their already shitty bullpen. Good job Rog. I'm going to change that quote again "Give me Pedro Martinez in his prime, fuck Roger Clemens".
Out.
Tyler
Monday, May 28, 2007
Late Night
- I was just about to go to bed, when I read on espn about Brandon Rush tearing his ACL. In the article it mentioned that the team hoped to have him practicing again by Nov. 1st. That would mean he needs 5 months to completely recover from surgery, rehabilitate his knee to full strength. Of course I don't know any of the specifics about his tear, but I can't believe these pro athletes keep doing this. I tore my ACL about 2 and a half years ago playing basketball, I know first hand that it is hard to get back to full strength from this type of injury. I am almost positive I had no where near the quality of doctors and surgeons and physical therapists that this guy is going to have or that pro athletes have. However I did my rehab every day for 5 months, and guess where I was after 5 months...still learning how to jog and walk backward. It took me nearly a year to be able to run again, but even then my agility was terrible and my speed was slower than a turtle, it took me at least a year and a half to feel 100% again. Which leads me to wish I could talk to Brandon Rush about what is about to happen to him, the man is a good basketball player, and there is no need for him to rush back from injury to face teams like USC or Arizona or Georgia Tech in November. He needs to be smart about this one and think about his future, and slowly bring himself back. I really hope he does take his time, because if he doesn't, he could turn out to be another Daunte Culpepper.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Weekend Blurbs
- I must admit during this weekend, which got me thinking about some random topics about sports. Which of couse you guessed it, I am going to talk to you about.
- I am actually looking forward to this offseason in the NBA with the hopes that some of the teams make some major deals. So here are some of those deals I'd like to see;
Check it: http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=2768~1017~396~489~959&teams=1~1~22~22~22
Portland Trades:
Zach Randolph PF
Jarret Jack, PG
Atlanta Trades:
3rd Pick 2007 Draft
Tyronn Lue, PG
Lorenzen Wright, C
Anthony Johnson, PG
I can see this trade happening assuming Portland picks Oden with the number one overall, because they can then get Conley at the 3rd, ensuring their PG of the future. If Oden and Conley can grow and progress with Roy and Aldridge, Porltand can get into the playoffs next year, and contend for a title within 2 or 3 years. Why Atlanta would do this is simple, they get a proven NBA PG, as well as a top 10 PF. They truly only give up 3 bench players whom all got under 20 minutes for a 30 win team. A starting line up of, Jack, Johnson, Smith, Randolph, and Williams, gives the Hawks a young core of guys that can compete for a top 5 seed in the Eastern Conference next yeark. Also, they have the 11th pick to add any player for depth, they could also add say an Acie Law if they aren't 100% sold on Jack.
Right now there is no link to this trade due to Wallace's option or Charlotte's option at the end of the season.
Phoenix Trades:
Shawn Marion
Charlotte Trades:
Gerald Wallace
Brevin Knight
Ryan Hollins
Phoenix's window for opportunity is closing quicker than they'd like because Steve Nash is slowly falling apart. While some people love Shawn Marion, he truly doesn't fit the Suns system. He can't shot a mid range jumpshot, and even tho people say he's a great defender, he truly can only guard the 3. Has anyone ever seen Marion actually shut down a good PG/SG or a good PF? The answer is a simple no. Adding Wallace gives the Suns a legitimate shut down defender, who can shot from the midrange better than Marion. He's a perfect SF for the Suns system, adding Brevin Knight gives the Suns a back up PG who can spell Nash, which is what the Suns need after the Marcus Bell failure last off-season. The Bobcats get a star to bring some fans in with Marion, if traded Marion will have plenty of motivation to prove the Suns wrong for trading him. If things don't work out with the Marion and the Bobcats, when his numbers come of the books, the Bobcats will once again have a huge amount of cap space to sign a great free agent. Also trading Knight, clears the debate of who should start between Knight, and Raymond Felton.
Check IT: http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=615~981~617~1016~25&teams=13~23~11~11~13
Los Angeles Trades:
Lamar Odom PF (Indi)
Kwame Brown PF (Sac)
Vladimir Radmonivc (Indi)
19th Pick 1st round (Sac)
Indi Trades:
Jermaine O'Neal (LA)
Sac Trades:
Ron Artest (Sac)
Kobe wants help, well here is the trade that can do it. The Lakers can get 2 legit stars, to put around Kobe and neither is the type of star who demands the ball on every possession. Its not hard for everyone to see the Lakers doing the trade and I understand that, but here is why the other 2 should make this deal.
The Pacers, didn't make the playoffs in what was an absolutly terrible Eastern Conference. They don't have a draft pick in what is an absolutly loaded draft, instead trading it away to Atlanta in the Al Harrington deal. The Pacers simply need to rebuld and the only way they can truly do that is to deal Jermaine O'Neal; I think he wants out, and I think the Pacers are willing to move him out. Getting back Odom andRadmonvic will give the Pacers 2 good players who can help the team while it rebuildsaround Danny Granger.
The Kings are ready to be done with Ron Artest , so they would be willing to sell him for 50 cents on the dollar. Kwame would bring an expiring contract to the Kings that they could use to start complete what would be a quick rebuild if they wanted to do it. 2 picks in the top 20 in this loaded draft class can bring the Kings a Starter and a good role player for the next couple of years while Bibby and Miller are around.
If a trade like this happens, it will be because, the Lakers will be rewarded for teams ready to start over rather than continue on with the current pieces they have.
Check It: http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=2982~111~181~2382~261&teams=16~16~16~16~6
Minnesota Trades:
Kevin Garnett
Dallas Trades:
Devin Harris
Erick Dampier
Greg Buckner
Maurice Ager
This trade probably won't happen, but I think it makes sense for both teams. Dallas needs something to change, it needs an emotional leader who won't just let the team fall apart or be pushed around, like they were by Golden State this year in the Playoffs. Minnesota gets 2 key pieces in a rebuild, Devin Harris and Maurice Ager (Ager showed some good signs late in the season and in the playoffs that he could be a pretty good player down the road). The would have to take the other 2 for cap reasons to make this deal work. With Harris, Foye and Ager, the T'Wolves have 3 good young guard/wing players to build the team around. A good pick this year for a good PF/C will help this team rebuild and be a playoff team within 3 years. - Remeber most of the trades won't happen, the two that are probably the most likely to happen are either the Portland-Atlanta deal or the Phoenix-Charlotte deal.
In what was supposed to be a big UFC bout this weekend the fight between Jackson and Liddel ended in less than 2 minutes. That's always the risk when you pay over $40 for something like this, it could come back to be a huge waste of your money. I was actually disappointed when I found out how quickly it ended, I assumed Jackson would Win because honestly Liddel is most likely done as a fighter, he is 37 and only getting older, you can only fight so many times and train like they train before your body just falls apart. Liddel took an terrible huge risk on a body hook and paid for it. I know Liddel wanted to get revenge on the last of his 3 losses, but to do something like that was a very dumb decision on his part.
On a side note watching the end of a rained out Indy 500, they interviewed Ashley Judd, which astonished me...What has Judd done recently to be treated like the greatest female sports fan ever? She is almost always shown whenever Kentucky plays at home or in the NCAA tourney, and I ask what has she done? Personally I think shes a terrible actress and I didn't remember her being in any movies i liked. Maybe I'm wrong on that, but I mean I don't mind seeing movie stars shown because their attending the game, but I mean come on interviewing them alot of the time is that really necessary?
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