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).

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?

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

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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