The Sports Rumors

THESPORTSRUMORS.COM

2007-08-21T17:50:00.000-04:00

What's up to all my readers. Just wanted to let you know that I have my new site up and running. There, you will be able to find the daily columns, pictures plus I'll have videos and more stuff that a blogging website can't support. Keep in mind that the site is new and I'll be adding more features to it as the days go by. Please be patient during this process. I want to thank you all for checking in daily and sharing my link with others for the past three months. Look for things to be even bigger and better now.

http://www.TheSportsRumors.com

See you there!

BREAKING NEWS: VICK WILL PLEA... GAME OVER

2007-08-20T13:25:00.000-04:00

UPDATED: 2:59PM EST
Michael Vick will plead guilty shortly. The exact time in jail is not yet known. Some sources say 12-18 months, others say 18-36 months. Details will be released as early as possible.

UPDATED: 1:24PM EST
Michael Vick has been offered a deal that would include an 18-36 month prison sentence. Vick's defense team is working furiously to try and get it less than a year. If Vick is sentenced for the 36 months (3 years), his NFL career will almost certainly be over. If Vick turns down the deal, more charges will be brought forth almost immediately. Stay tuned for updates.

Unidentified NBA Player Shot, Wounded

2007-08-20T11:44:00.000-04:00

An unidentified NBA player was shot and wounded at a party thrown at Washington Wizards' Deshawn Stevenson's house. The player has not been identified. Several NBA players were said to be at the party.

Here is the link

Preseason: Blessing or a Curse?

2007-08-20T09:06:00.001-04:00

I don’t think there is anything sports related out there that I am more on the fence about than preseason. There is nothing more that I want in the hot summer days of July than to turn on TV and watch some football. The preseason brings this relief, even if it’s only a few quarters of quality ball in an entire month. August seems better knowing that football is back, even if it’s just in preseason form. I get excited watching players I’ve never even heard of make big plays in the fourth quarter of game number one. Truth be told, half of them won’t even make the team and will be a distant memory. But I don’t care; its football on TV.

For the second straight preseason however, I felt my heart sink and my chest tighten. I felt the hairs on my neck stand up. I felt dizzy and needed water. Well, maybe I wasn’t that bad but I was pretty damn close. My beloved Washington Redskins, (hold your laughter please) almost had their season of high hopes snapped just as quickly as quarterback Jason Campbell’s knee did in an awkward sideways motion. Some lineman from the Steelers launched himself at Campbell’s legs after he had thrown the ball, and it drew a fifteen yard roughing the quarterback penalty. I could feel Campbell’s pain in my knee as I saw him squirm around on the ground as Redskins’ trainers ran onto the field. I saw Joe Gibbs’ face and I knew exactly what he was thinking:

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

All I would have had if Campbell was done for the season was a fifteen yard penalty… in preseason.

For those of you who don’t remember, let me refresh your memory about what happened to the Redskins last preseason. Clinton Portis was chasing down a defender who had either scooped up a fumble or intercepted a pass (don’t remember which it was) and was racing down the sideline for a touchdown. Portis caught up to him and made a great tackle. In the process, he separated his shoulder. He wouldn’t be 100% again for the rest of the season and was eventually placed on IR. Joe Gibbs uses a run-run-run-maybe a pass style of offense. No Portis, no running. No running, no winning. We finished 5-11.

While Campbell was rolling on the ground in pain, the cameras went to a shot of our two backup quarterbacks warming up. Todd Collins and Mark Brunell. Todd Collins’ warm up consisted of watching a video teaching how to throw a football, since he’s played what, two games in his life. Mark Brunell’s warm up consisted of rubbing arthritis cream on his shoulders and parking his wheelchair. I wanted to vomit.

Luckily, Campbell only has a bruised knee and it looked a lot worse than it was. I highly doubt he’ll play another snap in the preseason and I couldn’t be happier. I definitely don’t want Portis, Santana Moss, Sean Taylor, or any of the key linemen out there either. I’m very divided on whether preseason is good or bad. The positives are that young guys can get out there and work for starting jobs. Rocky McIntosh, second year linebacker out of Miami, played superb. The defense as a whole played great. We had no injuries. I felt really confident watching them and it boosted my hopes for a solid regular season. So in that sense, the preseason is good. You get the kinks out and young guys get to shine.

But what happens when you lose your franchise left tackle, or quarterback, or linebacker to injury? Then, is it worth it? I’ve heard people say that you don’t need to play any of your key players during the preseason, but that doesn’t really work either unless you’re Peyton Manning. Say the Redskins didn’t play Campbell all preseason, and come week five of the regular season, he’s starting to pick up after a slow first four games. Everyone will say, “Well, if he had played those four preseason games, he would have been ready to go Game 1,” and there may be some truth to that. The young guys have to get out there and play but the preseason is so risky.

I often hear people suggest that the preseason should be shorter. What does that really do though? If the preseason was two games instead of four, Saturday’s potential injury to Campbell still would have been in game two. Yes I know that less preseason games means less chance of injury but if you want to look at it that way, less practices mean the same thing.

I guess what it really comes down to is what so much of sports is based on; luck. You could sit out all preseason but get a season ending injury game one of the regular season. Or you could get hurt on the first snap in the first preseason game. Luck of the draw controls players’ careers, coaches’ careers, franchises as a whole; and last Saturday night, luck almost led a remote control to go flying through my TV, carrying my hopes of a winning season with it.

(You don't want to see your starting QB like this, ever)

Vick's Legal and Football News

2007-08-20T08:36:00.000-04:00

Legal News

Michael Vick did not agree to a plea on Friday, despite having a reported deadline of 9:00AM set by the prosecution. This lead to a lot of speculation as the hours past over the weekend that Vick is still considering going to trial, despite the heavy odds against him. However, it is becoming fairly clear now that there are intense negotiations going on between Vick’s defense and the prosecution over the time Vick would have to spend in Federal Prison. Vick had said that he would be willing to do less than a year in prison but that’s as far of a shot as any.

The three co-defendants who pleaded guilty Friday, and a few weeks prior, will all be looking at serving between 12 and 18 months. In most situations, the defendant who is charged with running an entire operation is the one sentenced the longest. That is where the negotiating and deliberating between the two parties seems to come in. Vick could be looking at serving closer to two years, while his defense is trying to get that down closer to the 12 to 18 month sentence that the other three co-defendants are expected to receive. The timetable of an announcement is unclear, however those close to the situation feel like news will break this morning about an a plea agreement.

Implications With the NFL

The days of debating whether Vick should be suspended for an entire season or not are long gone. Now it is a matter of whether he will ever step on the football field again. Many are pushing for Commissioner Roger Goodell to ban Vick from the league for life. Goodell has stayed quiet about the situation and has insisted he is going to wait for some legal news to break before he makes a decision. That decision is expected within the next week.

Suppose Goodell were to allow Vick reentry into the league after his sentence was complete; what then? It still doesn’t look good. Though a few are of the belief that “Somebody will give Vick a chance”, it doesn’t look like that is definite. Any franchise who chooses to acquire Vick when he is cleared to play would have to deal with a public relations disaster. PETA will protest wherever Vick signs and there would be, without a doubt, a lot of disgruntled fans. However those days seem far from now and the league and Vick will cross that bridge when they get there.

To Make Matters Worse

As if things weren’t already bad enough for the Atlanta Falcons and their quarterback situation, D.J. Shockley, the backup quarterback out of the University of Georgia, tore his ACL and is out for the season.

(The walls have caved in on Atlanta Falcons QB, Michael Vick)

Credit Deserved

2007-08-20T08:21:00.000-04:00

If you’ve been reading my posts for the past few months, or if you know me in person, it is clear that I am no David Beckham fan. You’ve read or heard me go on about how I think he’s more into his image than he is into playing the game at the MLS level. You’ve heard me ridicule him for not rehabbing fast enough, while choosing to spend time getting his pictures taken with Arod and Jeter instead. You’ve read my posts in which I all but call him a phony and a fraud. I’m not going to quickly jump on the bandwagon and change my opinion of him so fast, but I will give him his due.

This past weekend, he was phenomenal. He scored his first goal against D.C. United in thrilling fashion. It made even me, a Beckham-basher if you want to call me that, say, “Wow, that was a hell of a kick.” He followed up that performance with a three assist game which is an example of his playmaking ability. Three assists in one game is like the equivalent of Jason Kidd’s 20 assist performances. Now before you say, “You ARE jumping on the bandwagon”, let me stop you. I never questioned Beckham’s skill or ability. I questioned his motives, which I still do until proven otherwise. But at least I can bring myself to say that he had a hell of a performance this weekend.

That doesn’t change the fact that I think it’s a little too late. The dog days of summer are all but finished. We are now approaching the two most thrilling months in baseball; September and October. We are halfway through the NFL preseason which can only mean one thing; we’re two games closer to Opening Day 2007. If Beckham had these performances earlier on, say in the end of July early August area, I think he would have had a great chance of drawing in more of the casual sports fans. I think that time has passed. Despite his thrilling “Bend it like Beckham” type goal followed by Steve Nash like assists, the news was thirty five minutes into the Sportscenter broadcast. A rundown of what preceded it? Lots of baseball, lots of NFL preseason, and golf (even though it wasn’t a major weekend). What followed Beckham’s highlights, which lasted all but a minute? WNBA highlights and analysis of their playoff chase. I kid you not. So my point remains that the casual fan won’t be as exposed to the MLS as they could have been. Most people only watch the first 15 minutes of Sportscenter to begin with.

However, on this day, I will put all that aside and give Beckham his props. He did good and good deserves recognition.

(Beckham celebrates after scoring his first goal in the MLS)

Website Launch

2007-08-19T16:32:00.000-04:00

Since so many of you people have checked in at my website daily, I have bought a domain name and am in the process of launching The Sports Rumors website. It will take some time to get it up and running but I'll keep you posted on that. Once the site is set up, look for a lot more additions including more images, videos, lots of links and a lot more posting. Thanks for the continued support!

Vick Update

2007-08-17T09:54:00.001-04:00

Updated 10:52AM EST
According to court documents, two of the co-defendants that pleaded guilty to dogfighting charges this morning have admitted that Michael Vick participated in the "executing" of dogs.. The three men "executed approximately 8 dogs that did not perform well in 'testing' sessions" in April of this year. Still no word on whether Vick has accepted the plea deal or not. It is now confirmed that he had until 9:00AM EST to decide on accepting the deal or going to trial.

Updated 9:54AM EST
Shortly after 9:00AM EST and 9:15AM EST, two of Michael Vick's co-defendants (Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips) pleaded guilty in Richmond, Virginia in charges related to dogfighting. The news of this was expected following reports early this week that the two had decided to reach a plea agreement.

Michael Vick, according to several reports, had until 9:00AM EST this morning to decide if he wanted to accept the plea agreement that the prosecution presented him with. According to details, it would entail serving at least one year in prison (somewhere in the ballpark of 12-16 months). Vick's defense has recommended to their client to accept the deal. It is unclear however if Vick has accepted the deal or if he is going to go to trial. There hasn't been any sighting of Vick at the courthouse and there isn't expected to be any today. If Vick did accept the plea bargain, he could have done so in a number of ways that would not require him to show up infront of the judge until early next week. We may not know until sometime late this evening or early Monday whether Vick will be accepting the plea bargain or going to trial starting, November 26th.

There is some uncertainty to the details of the plea agreements of Peace and Phillips. The first co-defendant, weeks ago, agreed to plead guilty and testify against Vick in the case of a trial. However, it is not clear whether Peace and Phillips pleaded guilty or pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Vick.

As soon as I know more, I'll let you know. Stay tuned...

Fascination With Disaster

2007-08-16T10:14:00.000-04:00

I have a nine year old cousin who is in the fourth grade. A few months ago, before summer vacation began, she came to my office to visit and was telling me about her class project. They had to come up with three professions that they would want to be when they grew up. This made me think about when I was a kid and wanted to be a football player and a basketball player, at the same time. I also wanted to be a meteorologist but that was because the weather guy on the news was “cool” at the time and I wanted to be like him; we don’t need to talk about that. The point I’m getting at is as kids, we have such huge aspirations of what we want to be and what we’re going to do with our lives. Then you hit your twenties or your thirties and you realize that those dreams will never come true. You realize that you’re going to be an average, above average, or maybe even a little better than that, 9-5 Monday through Friday worker. You’re going to have two kids and a dog and that will be your life.

You flip on ESPN and you see stories of guys like Pacman Jones, who was throwing $81,000 in cash one night at a strip club. $81,000 is almost double the average salary in most states. You see guys like Vick, who have $130 million dollar contracts, now facing jail time and no football career all together. I’d say 98% of us will never seen $50 million in front of us, let alone $130 million. You turn on the entertainment channel and see stories about Britney Spears who had it all, but now is a 24/7 train wreck. You watch Lindsay Lohan throwing her life and her riches away at the age of 21. Then you think, ‘If I were in that person’s shoes, I’d have the greatest life ever. I would never mess up the way these idiots are throwing their life-lottery-ticket away.’ Soon, your thoughts turn to anger and frustration. You’re frustrated because these people, these stars, are living your dream and ruining it. That was supposed to be you scoring 81 points in a single game. That was supposed to be you diving over 250 pound men for a touchdown. That was supposed to be you, but it isn’t.

Our fascination, and almost addiction with troubled athletes and stars isn’t because the media bombards us with 24/7 coverage. We are provided that coverage because we want to see it. I just went on espn.com at 9:48AM Eastern Time and the number one topic commented on was Vick, with over 4,000 comments. Number ten is no other than Pacman Jones, even though it’s been over a month since he’s been suspended from the league. We want to see these stories, we want to read about these stories, and we want to talk about these stories. In a way, it appeases us by saying “Ha ha, you had it all but guess what buddy? Now you’re back in reality. Have fun in jail.”

I spoke in length with a close friend of mine, with a psychology degree from a prestigious university, about our attraction and appeal to watching and commenting on the “lives gone wrong” of celebrities and athletes. “Cliques” are formed by people associating with others who have similar traits or characteristics as themselves. You want to be around those who are like you because it helps reinforce whatever it is you’re doing. Stuck up cheerleaders stick together. Angry goth kids stick together. Math geeks stick together. Alcoholics make friends at the bars so that they feel like they aren’t alone; so that what they are doing is justified because Tom and Nancy are doing it also. Now parlay that into sports. Have you ever noticed that once a few people start bashing an athlete, the snowball effect takes its course? People who know nothing about Barry Bonds' attitude or the game of baseball hate him. Why? Because they hear about it all the time and everyone else hates him. People who know nothing about Kobe’s trial hated him and presumed him guilty. Why? Because Bill O’Reilly and everyone with a voice on a TV or radio was presuming him guilty.

Why are we so interested in watching train wrecks and celebs throwing their lives away? Because without knowing it, it makes us feel better as individuals. It makes that 9-5 job not so bad anymore. Things could be worse and you could be going to jail, but you're not. It makes us feel like, “Okay, he was living my dream but he screwed up and now its over for him. I still have my life. I win.” If some random John Smith from Alabama was the leader of a dog fighting ring and was facing two or three years in prison, we wouldn’t give a crap. Just like Vick, he’d still be facing jail time and animals were still harmed, but we wouldn’t care as much. The reason is because he wasn’t out there living our dream nor having the opportunities to succeed that we never had; the ones we wished we had. He didn’t fall from the top to the bottom. He just fell from average to gutter.

I’m not saying it’s everyone’s dream to be a star athlete. A lot of you wanted to be doctors and lawyers and all the other prestigious professions; and that’s fine. My point is, the reason we are often so fascinated by watching the tragedies unfold in lives of famous people is because whatever it was we envied about them at some point, is no longer there. We have no more reasons to look up at them and be like “Man, I wish I was Mike Vick. He has it all,” because now, Vick, Lohan, Spears and many others don’t have it all. They have nothing. They are in trouble and we no longer aspire to be them. Now our lives seem to be a lot better. We feel superior. We win. Until another superstar with everything handed to him on a golden plate comes along that is.

Vick Being Sued... For A Lot

2007-08-15T08:52:00.000-04:00

I found this funny story this morning on FOX News when going through the internet sites that I frequent. Vick is apparently being sued by a South Carolina inmate for $63 billion. The inmate alleges that Vick stole his pitbulls and then sold them on ebay to buy missles from Iran. Can you imagine having to be the person to tell an already stressed out Vick about this lawsuit?

Umm, Mike. I have to, uh, tell you something.

Vick: (scratching head from stress) What now?

You're being sued.... for... 63 billion... for selling someone's pittbulls on ebay and buying missiles from Iran.

Vick: . . . . .

Awkward.

Future is Bleak for Michael Vick

2007-08-14T14:03:00.001-04:00

When this whole saga began, I was a believer of the “Rich people don’t serve time” theory. Well, apparently, I couldn’t have been more wrong about that. Michael Vick is in not just fighting a battle with Goodell to play in the league anymore; he’s fighting to stay out of prison.

News broke late last night that the other two co-defendants are also entering into a plea agreement. This is the worst possible scenario for Vick and his defense, although they had to expect it. Now it’s seemingly going to be three defendants blaming one defendant in a tell-all situation. We still don’t know what the specific evidence is and there is always a chance that something bizarre happens and Vick walks; but that’s a far, far stretch.

Here’s what I know and will share with you. These are federal charges, this is a federal case. So if Vick is sentenced to prison, there is no parole. You have to serve a minimum of 85% of your sentence. It doesn’t matter if you help the feds or not, 85% is the minimum you serve. If Vick had ratted out the other three back in April or May, he would be looking at about 6 months (not taking the 85% into consideration). Now he has two options:

a) Enter a plea bargain and admit to wrongdoing.

b) Take the case to trial with three co-defendants willing to testify against him.

Under option “a”, Vick would be looking at anywhere from a year to two years in prison. If he took the case to trial and went with option “b”, Vick would be looking at serving a minimum of two years. Most likely, it’d be in the ball park of 2 and a half to three years. Now you can do the math and calculate what is 85% of each to get the minimum he’d serve under each scenario but the fact of the matter is, he’s going to jail for a long time if he goes to trial and loses.

There is always the chance that it can go to trial and you have one or two jurors who won’t budge and feel Vick is innocent. But again, the chances of that are extremely slim. Throw in the fact that the judge of this case is a no nonsense kind of guy and you have the makings of a potential disaster for the defense.

I thought that someway, somehow, Vick would escape this dilemma of immense proportions the way he so many times escaped the grasp of 325 pound linemen. But now, the longer this thing goes on, the more it looks like Vick isn’t just fighting to play another snap; he’s fighting for his freedom.

Golf: Remove Any and All Doubt

2007-08-13T09:03:00.001-04:00

As I’m sure you’ve read or heard, Tiger Woods won his 13^th career major at Southern Hills yesterday, putting him only 5 away from the mark set by Jack Nicklaus of 18. It is without a doubt, an amazing feat by Tiger to be going at the pace that even he said was unforeseen. I’m not going to go into details about the weekend because you can turn to any other sports website for that information. Instead, I want to throw in my two cents about a topic I heard discussed on Mike and Mike this morning on my way to work.

Josh Elliot and Michael Smith were substituting for Greenberg and Golic this morning and Elliot brought up a very interesting topic; should golfers be subject to steroids testing? ESPN’s Michael Smith, one I agree with the vast majority of the time, said that golfer’s should not be subject to testing because golf isn’t a game about strength, it’s a game about finesse and mental strength. He also said that any testing put into place would be aimed at Tiger Woods because he is the buff, top golfer in the world.

I have to disagree with Smith on this one and here’s why. Though it is true that golf is not a game of pure strength as maybe football is, it still requires physical ability. The golf courses have gotten longer and you have to be able to get the ball to travel the distance for you to have a chance at being competitive. Also, the misconception about steroids is that it only gets you jacked like Barry Bonds or Shawn Merriman. That is false. Steroids also help you heal quicker and keep your body more fine tuned, artificially of course. Golf is a year around sport and anyone who has played the game before knows the toll it can take on your back and your knees. Healing quicker would be an obvious advantage, one in which steroids can provide the aid. Smith also pointed out that the steroids testing would be aimed to make sure Woods is clean. This is true but that’s because whenever you have a star athlete who is so gifted and above anyone else in competition, naturally, doubters will come along. Throw in the fact that Woods is in excellent shape and you have a recipe for intense scrutiny and questioning.

I personally have no suspicions of Tiger Woods being on any type of performance enhancer that would be deemed illegal. I view him as a very competitive person who does whatever he can to stay ahead of the competition and takes care of his body as any superstar athlete should. However, just the fact that in recent months, the topics of steroids has been raised in golf is reason enough to implement the testing. Why leave any doubt in the public’s mind, even if it’s the minority. Tiger Woods will go down as the greatest golfer to ever live. I’m sure he has nothing to hide. Putting a steroids policy in place will do nothing but prove to everyone, once and for all, that Tiger is the best at what he does; without artificial support.

(Needs no caption)

The Yankees, Nadal-Federer Upset, Fantasy Football Season and More...

2007-08-13T08:58:00.000-04:00

Well guess who’s knocking…scratch that…kicking on the door of the Red Sox. Lo and behold it’s the New Yawk Yankees, who at one point were 12.5 games out of the division lead and all but proclaimed dead, now just 4 games behind the Sox and are white hot. This is why I love how these baseball insiders and analysts. I love how they get on the radio airwaves in May and talk about how it’s over for New York. These are the Yankees people! They can turn it on and turn it off at their own disposal. I had been saying to wait till mid August or September before you throw them in the grave but people wanted to prematurely dismiss them. Well now look what you Joe Torre and Arod haters have gone and done. The Yanks are a lock for the wild card and now have a really good shot at taking the division. Eric Gagne has been a disaster so far for Boston as he blew another game to the Orioles. Yankees rotation seems to be all but set and they are slugging away like it’s nobody’s business. Those of you who said that Clemens wasn’t worth the money, all I know is since he’s been there, the Yankees have been on fire. He may not have the greatest ERA in the world but having Clemens on your squad is a boost of confidence and the Yankees record before and after supports the claim that Clemens has something to do with it. If the Yankees go on to win the World Series, you bet your ass he was worth every cent of that fat prorated contract. September marks the start of the football season and the collision of two of the greatest rivals in sports; Yankees-Red Sox. Get ready.

I’m not going to sit here and pretend like I know who this guy is but Novak Djokovic beat both Nadal and Federer…in the same tournament mind you, en route to winning the Rogers Cup. I don’t know what the Rogers Cup is, and I don’t have a clue how to pronounce the guy’s name. I do know that beating Nadal or Federer alone is impressive; let alone beating them both in the same tournament. I don’t think that has ever been done but you can check me on that because I could be wrong. Regardless, hell of a feat.

Fantasy Football Season is officially here now and as I have my league set up, as most of you probably have done by now as well. I remember when fantasy football started getting popular a few years back. I used to make fun of the people who spent all their time looking at waivers and signing no name players because they had a touchdown the previous two weeks. I called fantasy lovers stat-geeks who live in a pretend world. Well now I am Commissioner of a league in pretend world and I have been scouting players stats and splits like no other. I’m can now say that I am officially a geek.

Preseason football kicked off this weekend. My beloved Redskins stunk, even though they won. Jason Campbell looked terrible, completing 6/14 passes but more importantly scoring no points and fumbling the ball twice. The offensive line looked shotty at best. The defense looked solid but it was against the Titans, who were without suspended QB Vince Young, so that’s not saying much. Speaking of which, Young apparently spent the night at home instead of at the team location so Fisher was quick to suspend the young stud. It’s obvious that the Titans are now in a no nonsense mode and I applaud that. Another game I saw was Dallas-Indy. Really didn’t see much of anything in that game. Both coaches played their starters for a few series and that was it. Colts have no reason to play Manning or any other starter returning from last season for that matter. The Pam Oliver vs. Producer exchange was mildly entertaining. Here’s a link if you missed it. I saw a bit of the Arizona-Oakland game. If that game doesn’t get you excited, I don’t know what will. (That’s me, being sarcastic). Prettyboy Matt Leinart didn’t look so sharp. He wildly overthrew Larry Fitzgerald on more than one occasion. Maybe if he spent more time practicing than he does on Sunset Blvd., he’d be a better quarterback but hey, I’m not one to pass judgments.

Hope your Monday goes well people, check back for more stuff. I’ll get it out to you as it comes in to me.

(Got a case of the Mondays people? I feel your pain.)

NFL Superbowl Odds (To Win)

2007-08-10T11:05:00.000-04:00

Arizona Cardinals	45/1
Atlanta Falcons	60/1
Baltimore Ravens	18/1
Buffalo Bills	100/1
Carolina Panthers	25/1
Chicago Bears	15/1
Cincinnati Bengals	15/1
Cleveland Browns	125/1
Dallas Cowboys	20/1
Denver Broncos	20/1
Detroit Lions	70/1
Green Bay Packers	40/1
Houston Texans	100/1
Indianapolis Colts	15/2
Jacksonville Jaguars	30/1
Kansas City Chiefs	55/1
Miami Dolphins	55/1
Minnesota Vikings	50/1
New England Patriots	8/5
New Orleans Saints	14/1
New York Giants	30/1
New York Jets	40/1
Oakland Raiders	75/1
Philadelphia Eagles	20/1
Pittsburgh Steelers	25/1
San Diego Chargers	6/1
San Francisco 49ers	18/1
Seattle Seahawks	20/1
St.Louis Rams	40/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	50/1
Tennessee Titans	55/1
Washington Redskins	40/1

NCAA Preseason Rankings

2007-08-10T10:56:00.000-04:00

In case you were wondering, because I know I was, here are the USA Today College Football Preseason Rankings.

1. USC (45) 0-0 1,481

2. LSU (4) 0-0 1,372

3. Florida (9) 0-0 1,278

4. Texas 0-0 1,231

5. Michigan (2) 0-0 1,218

6. West Virginia 0-0 1,205

7. Wisconsin 0-0 1,114

8. Oklahoma 0-0 1,026

9. Virginia Tech 0-0 1,005

10. Ohio State 0-0 919

11. Louisville 0-0 836

12. California 0-0 763

13. Georgia 0-0 604

14. Auburn 0-0 595

15. Tennessee 0-0 583

16. Rutgers 0-0 466

17. UCLA 0-0 454

18. Penn State 0-0 440

19. Nebraska 0-0 388

20. Arkansas 0-0 360

21. Florida State 0-0 301

22. TCU 0-0 233

23. Boise State 0-0 222

24. Hawaii 0-0 214

25. Texas A&M 0-0 209

If This Doesn't Annoy You...

2007-08-09T21:56:00.000-04:00

I was reading about Beckham's game against D.C. United today and I came across this paragraph, which pretty much sums up why I'm so completely, indescribably annoyed with Beckham and the hoopla that surrounds him. This is, word for word, a paragraph describing the game from Si.com:

"The sellout crowd of 46,686 cheered when Beckham stripped off his warmup jacket and T-shirt, displaying his bare chest in a steady rain as he prepared to enter the game in the second half. The three-time World Cup veteran, his hair closely cropped and stubble on his face, then put on his No. 23 jersey and replaced Quavas Kirk in the 72nd minute."

That sounds more like a description of a Beckham sextape than it does a Beckham soccer game. I'm so irritated right now that I am not going to write anymore, and I'm going to watch preseason football. Here's the link if you want to read more about his dripping wet body instead of soccer.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/soccer/08/09/bc.soc.mls.galaxy.beckham.ap/index.html

Response to Comment

2007-08-09T19:58:00.001-04:00

A frequent reader posted a very good and valid comment to which I have responded below:

"It may be a little premature to call an end to the era, since we've only stopped the use of the doping agents that we can currently detect.

But I'll still feel better when Alex Rodriguez gets to home run 800."

I see your point. However, the steroid era will be remembered for targeting the big three players who were setting records: Sosa, McGwire, and Barry Bonds. Sosa's doesn't hold any significant major league record. McGwire doesn't anymore either. Barry Bonds does. The goal was to stop an alleged rampant steroid user from having the greatest record in sports. The goal was not reached and was unsuccessful. Bonds breaking the record ends the era because now there is nothing left to lose, nothing left to save.

Though the steroid era is over, there is no question that players will continue to use and get around the testing. However, this is true and will occur in ANY sport. Football, basketball, baseball, soccer, etc, etc, etc. Players wont be as obvious with their using anymore however. You won't see people having major spikes in their hitting averages or homeruns. Those days are over. That was the era of steroids.

The steroid era was known for the big three. Of those three, one is retired, one is a has-been who has limited games left, and the last one is the homerun king who's probably in the last of two seasons. From here on out, it will pretty much be what aftershocks are to an earthquake; small potatoes.

The Steroids Era: 1998-August 7th, 2007

2007-08-08T18:30:00.000-04:00

The steroids era has officially come to an end. Last night, as Barry Bonds’ 756^th homerun sailed into right centerfield shattering Hank Aaron’s record, it brought along the conclusion of the most damaging time in MLB history. We don’t know the exact figure of how many MLB players were juiced up from the end of the 90’s through 2004. We know how many were caught, but not how many were really using. The fact of the matter is, we never will. Pitchers and hitters both used steroids to better themselves and for the most part, the MLB turned a blind eye and allowed it.

However, it is clear that the poster boy of the entire steroids era was Barry Bonds. He was tagged with the villain figure. The MLB and Bud Selig have done everything, and continue to do everything to isolate Barry Bonds from the game of baseball and make him the scapegoat. Fans and media have also taken a liking to putting the tag on Bonds. Whether it was fair or not, he was given that role because he was the one chasing down the greatest, most hallowed record in sports. The goal of the entire steroid investigation wasn’t to catch every player who had used during the given time period. Stiffer testing policies were put in place to prevent players from using in the future. The goal wasn’t to go after those who used in the past because the MLB knew that if they tried to do that, and even if they were successful in doing so, they would have to suspend over half the league.

Most of players who were juiced up during the past decade simply stopped when the testing got tough, they went back down to their average numbers, and essentially got a free pass. Players like Luis Gonzalez, who out of no where blasted 57 homeruns in 2001 at age 33 (when his previous career high was 31) are back down to their 20 homerun average and free and clear of any trouble. The media doesn’t go after these players though. They go after the big fish. The big fish were Sosa, McGwire, and most importantly, Barry Bonds.

The whole reason MLB went after Bonds so hard was because they knew that if he broke 755, there would be nothing they could do about it. They knew that once that record fell, they could suspend him for life if they wanted, but he would still be the king of homeruns forever. They knew that the all time leader of homeruns would have come from the steroids era. That’s not good for baseball. Having a villain and an accused cheater as the king of all records important is not something baseball could stomach. Well karma is a hell of a craze isn’t it?

Bud Selig and baseball rode Barry Bonds’ curtails to the high ratings, the increased sales, the sold out stadiums, the television contracts. They turned a cheek to all that was going on, all that was wrong with baseball. Well they got what they deserved. Baseball got exactly what it deserved. The record is forever broken and until Arod breaks it down the road, Barry Bonds is king.

Hank Aaron appeared on the video screen with a congratulatory message for Bonds after he broke the record last night. It was unexpected and very surprising to me. I was disappointed at first that Aaron wasn’t going to be a part of the celebration because it’s awkward to break someone’s record, without having them there to pass the crown onto you so to speak. However, Aaron came through with immense class and showed a lot by delivering the congratulations to Bonds. The approval of Aaron meant a ton to Bonds despite what he had said before and I’m sure it changes the views of the public, at least some of them. Hank Aaron’s endorsement means a lot in this equation. It was indeed a great moment.

Bug Selig delivered a message saying that what Bonds accomplished was great, but hinted quite bluntly that there was still an investigation going on. Well guess what? It’s too late. The fans have recognized Bonds as the homerun champion, the media for the most part has, and now it’s time for baseball to drop it and let history be what history is. No matter what happens from here on forward, whether they find something on him and suspend him, whatever happens, Barry Bonds hit 756. No one can take that from him or from history.

As number 756 dropped into the stands of AT&T Park last night shortly before midnight, I came to a realization. I realized that I just saw a huge part of sports history. I also just saw the last big homerun that Barry Bonds, the best player of this generation and one of the best of all time, will ever hit. His final homerun won’t have the excitement and anticipation as 756 did. I’m never going to stay up like a little kid, glued to the TV to see if Barry breaks the next record in line because he is now at the top. He climbed the mountain that a lot of us didn’t think he could conquer at various times during the past five years. Despite everything, all the hate, the negativity, the investigations, the 24/7 media coverage, Bonds overcame it all and now stands alone at the peak. I respect that.

I turned off the TV, got into bed and went to sleep last night knowing that the steroids era was finally over. I went to sleep knowing that I got to witness history; that’s a good feeling.

(It's all over now. 756 is in the books.)

Retirement Drama

2007-08-06T07:55:00.001-04:00

Remember the days when athletes would announce their retirement at the right time? Remember when an athlete said, "This is my last season" and actually meant it? The farewell tours were so much better and more meaningful then. Now, a player retiring doesn't mean much because people feel he'll be back in a season, sometimes even less. When a star player used to retire, it was news. Now when a star player talks about retiring, it's a soap opera.

Take Michael Strahan for example. He couldn't make up his mind about whether he had enough "passion" to come back for another season at the conclusion of last season. The Giants organization respected him enough to give him the entire summer to think about it. Now we're into training camp and he still hasn't decided whether he wants to play or not. The Giants went out and got Simeon Rice to replace him, in the event Strahan retires. What were they supposed to do? Leave a gap at defensive end? I don't think so. Consequently, Strahan goes on this baby act, whining about how he feels betrayed by the Giants. Meanwhile, reports came out that his agent was guaging teams around the league to see what kind of interest they showed. Apparently, no one was really interested because of his salary. But my point is, he's checking out other teams while keeping the Giants on hold, and then complains about being betrayed? Give me a break.

I realize that Strahan has been a great defensive end for the Giants and I'm sure he gave them his all when he played. But I can't stand when old, over the hill athletes feel its their right to take as long as they want to decide what they want to do or whether they have enough "passion" or "love for the game" to come back another season. Brett Favre has tarnished his legacy in my eyes by holding the Packers hostage with his soap opera the past two seasons. Brett has hurt the Packers and stunted their growth and development the past two years more than anything. 20 touchdowns and 29 interceptions followed by 18 touchdowns and 18 interceptions the past two years. That's not helping your team. You have to learn to let the game go when the game has let you go. I got so sick of turning on the tv or radio and hearing about whether Favre is coming back or retiring. Who the hell really cares at this point? He's washed up. He's an average quarterback. That's it. It's pretty much the same for Strahan, although he still has a bit more left to give than Favre does.

When an organization gives you an entire summer or offseason to decide what you want to do, be respectful and make a decision in a timely manner. The fact that they gave you that period of time to decide is them showing you the respect you deserve for loyalty. However, when you drag a team into training camp without making a decision, you've gone overboard. Doesn't matter who you are.

(You have to know when to say when)

Response to Comment

2007-08-05T21:35:00.000-04:00

“just as competitive as jordan and tiger. keep dreaming man. when you compare kobe to jordan you lose all credibility. being a whiner and being a competitor are two different things. he should make do with what he has” - Fawad

I’m not comparing Kobe’s legend to that of Jordan’s or Tiger’s. Those two are the best ever at their respective sports, and Kobe is not. I was comparing their competitive spirit. There is a difference. Kobe hates to lose and when he is on the court, he leaves it all out there. Even his rivals like Raja Bell have said so. Kobe may be a prick off the court, a bad teammate overall, whatever you want to label him. That’s fine. That’s his fault. But you can’t sit here and tell me with a straight face that with the game on the line, 4^th quarter, there is ANYONE you’d rather have with the ball other than Bryant. Just like you wanted Jordan with the ball in that situation in his heyday, and Tiger on the 18th these days.

Realize, I didn’t say Kobe doesn’t whine. Of course he does. He always has, probably always will. I didn’t say Kobe is a great teammate. All I said was, when it comes to being competitive and wanting to win, Kobe is up there with the other two.

Bonds hits 755

2007-08-04T23:10:00.000-04:00

Barry Bonds has done it. Homerun #755 was knocked out of the park at Bonds' first at-bat in the second inning against the San Diego Padres.

Congrats to Barry Bonds.

Sidenote:
Bud Selig stood, did not clap. Coward and a hypocrite.

The Eye of the Storm

2007-08-04T22:03:00.000-04:00

Future hall of famer Kevin Garnett finally got traded to the Celtics. The years of discussion about where Garnett should go or how he should demand to be traded are forever in the past. It’s done and over with. No longer can we imagine Kobe lobbing oops to Garnett or Nash and K.G. winning a title together. Two of the most popular superstars in the NBA have been subject of trade rumors all summer. One was quiet about his discontent; the other was loud and forceful about his. The quiet one got moved, the loud one didn’t.

Kobe Bryant has been silent now for the past month. He’s not answering questions about his anger with the Lakers. He’s not posting it on his website. He’s not doing exclusive interviews with Ric Bucher or Stephen A. Right now, Kobe is focused only on USA Basketball, or so it appears.

Obviously, the noise that he made earlier didn’t have the effect that he had hoped. He didn’t get moved and the Lakers didn’t bring anyone else in via a trade. It’s clear now that Garnett was still available to be moved, and the Lakers didn’t go out and get him. Ron Artest was on the block and the Lakers turned that one away. Jermaine O’neal was within reach, the Lakers didn’t want to pull the trigger on that trade either. Instead, they signed Coby Karl and Derrick Fisher. Oh, and of course, most importantly, the Lakers kept Andrew Bynum.

So the Lakers have done nothing of consequence and Kobe Bryant has not made another comment about his situation in the past month, month and a half. Now what? Are we going to go into the start of the season like nothing happened? Is Kobe going to suit up the same way he has for over a decade? Will bygones be bygones and Kobe busts his hump to get a 7^th or 8^th seed in the west, followed by a first round exit due to lack of help? Not a chance.

I don’t think, even for a minute, that Kobe is going to just let this go. You can hate him all you want but you have to give credit where credit is due and when it comes to competitiveness, there is no one more so than Kobe. Jordan and Tiger are on the same level as him, but not higher. This dilemma he is in with the Lakers organization right now isn’t something that he’s going to lose. He’s not going to put up with them not bringing in significant improvements. He’s just not. Kobe is waiting for the summer to conclude. He got a lot of bad press early on and now a lot of that has simmered down. As Ric Bucher pointed out in his column, the Lakers and their lack of action are making Kobe’s case for him without him having to say a word.

Okay they didn’t go out and get K.G. because maybe that would have crippled their future completely. Well, it’s not like they’ve gone out and gotten solid players to help improve the team though. They drafted a point guard last year, drafted one this year, and then signed one as a free agent. I don’t understand what the management in LA is doing but I can understand the frustration that Kobe feels when he sees players like Artest, O’neal, Kidd, Baron Davis, and Gerald Wallace come and go without the Lakers making a move. The Staples Center is going to fill up no matter what as long as #24 is there. He gives them a chance to win any game just like Tom Brady or Peyton Manning due with their respective teams. But in order to advance in the playoffs, Kobe is going to need a lot more than what he’s got. What are the Lakers waiting for?

I still can’t see this feud ending quietly. I don’t see it that way. I am giving this until the second week of September, a little over a month, before we hear from Kobe again, louder than ever. And don’t be surprised if this time, a lot of the same media members who bashed him in May have come around and see his viewpoint. He will have a lot more support this time around and remember, what Kobe wants, Kobe gets.

I wanted to name this article “The Quiet Before the Storm” but then I thought about it and realized that this isn’t the quiet before the storm. The storm started a few weeks after the Finals when Kobe initially came out about all this. Now, we’re in the eye of the storm. The beginning of the summer brought the initial impact, put us all on edge. Now everything is quiet and calm, but it has that feel that there is more to come. It feels like this is just a brief pause in the action, a time for us to gather our thoughts, take a breath, and prepare for part two. It is said that the tail end of a hurricane is often the one that lashes out the most fury, brings about the most destruction. Enjoy the few weeks left in the eye but make no mistake about it: This storm is packed with rage, rage that we will see soon enough.

("After biting their prey, black mambas leave it to die. ")

Some Thoughts...

2007-08-04T21:26:00.001-04:00

Wow. David Beckham. He’s definitely living up to all the expectations and what an impact he’s already had on major league soccer. (That’s me being very sarcastic). I’m not going to start gloating yet and say “I told you so” but, well, I told you so. O-V-E-R-H-Y-P-E-D. Even Pele was knocking him. There is no one in the world more respected in the sport than Pele. Way to go Beckham, you’re awesome, you media whore.

Alex Rodriguez finally hit homerun number 500 after taking eight games and 29 at bats since homerun #499. At least it’s done with and we don’t have to worry about annoying New York media and fans making this into a megastory. I don’t think there is any doubt that Arod will go on to break whatever number Bonds sets, which is good for the game. I heard something about Canseco saying he has some dirt on Arod and will be putting that out there when he releases his book. I doubt it’s anything about steroids or legitimate. Just a publicity stunt by Canseco to fill his pockets with more cash.

The Bonds-Costas feud is funny. Bonds made one remark about Costas, who has called him out for years, and it gave Costas the go ahead to publically trash Bonds. I thought it was stop after his one comment that was reported on ESPN, but then I turn on CNN and see him being interviewed by Wolf Blitzer! (By the way, what a name. Wolf Blitzer. Who the hell names their kid Wolf? Think about that. His name, is WOLF!)

Neifi Perez got suspended 80 games for being caught a third time, violating the MLB’s league steroid policy. I don’t really care. This story doesn’t interest me.

Nascar has done a hell of a job the past ten years in getting their sport out there on the map. I am a person who had ZERO interest in Nascar growing up. Absolutely none. Now, I find myself reading stories about Tony Stewart and Dale Jr. among others. Great managing job by Nascar officials.

(Love him or hate him, but you can't deny greatness)

Puerto Rico Trip

2007-08-02T16:18:00.000-04:00

Whats up people. Sorry for the lack of posts but I'm still in Puerto Rico for my business trip. I'll be back in D.C. tomorrow and I have some articles going that I will be posting soon including my thoughts on this weeks stories, when Kobe will explode, and more NFL previews. Check back soon, I'll have stuff up soon..

KEVIN GARNETT TRADED TO BOSTON

2007-07-30T19:17:00.000-04:00

Kevin Garnett has been traded to the Boston Celtics. It's OFFICIAL. Details to come soon...

You read it here first! 7:18PM EST.

Kevin Garnett to Boston Almost Finalized

2007-07-30T18:48:00.000-04:00

Well, we're back to talking about K.G. trade rumors again. ESPN reported earlier today that the deal to Boston is almost complete. The trade is said to include the following players for Garnett:

Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, and Ryan Gomes.

This is probably the first time that Mchale and Ainge have simultaneously used all of their intelligence together to come up with a half decent idea. Trading KG for even Theo Ratliff would be a step forward for the Wolves since KG is going to walk at the end of the season anyway. The trade works out for the Celtics as well even though they're going to lose a hell of a talent in Al Jefferson. Pairing KG with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen should be a pretty potent combo, especially in the joke that is the Eastern Conference. Envisioning them playing together leads me to believe that KG will have one of his best seasons in years by grabbing boards off of Pierce and Allen's misses while getting a lot of looks down low as well. Allen should clean up from three everytime Pierce penetrates and gets doubled. Pierce will benefit because now he's not the only player to guard on the team. I wouldn't be surprised if that Celtic squad ends up in the Eastern Conference Finals. That being said, lets start making predictions when the trade actually is official, because with Ainge and Mchale, you just never know.

One more thought. The ESPN "Who's Now" segment has to be the worst segment they've ever aired. It is such a stupid idea. What the hell is "Who's Now". What is the criteria? They change it everytime I hear it. Is it who's the most popular sports figure? The best at what they do? The most endorsements? It's a dumb concept and I hate it more than I hate the "Head on" commercials. And thats saying something.

(Mchale: "Okay... I have an idea. Here's how we can botch this trade...")

Bill Walsh

2007-07-30T18:43:00.000-04:00

The football world lost a legend today. Bill Walsh passed away today at the age of 75. Best known as the coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the architect of the west coast offense, Walsh helped transform the entire league by himself. He will be missed.

Whats Happening

2007-07-29T13:00:00.000-04:00

There isn't ANYTHING, anything going on in sports right now. Like, absolutely nothing. So hopefully this entertains you for a bit. Just a little blog about my trip from D.C. to Puerto Rico so far. Enjoy!

Saturday, July 28th. Washington D.C.

5:05PM: So I understand how the computer check in was a good idea on paper. Sure, people will come in, don't have to deal with snotty airline people, and can enter their info and grab their boarding pass, move along. But the creator of it failed to realize how dumb people are. I, honestly, saw people take about 10-15 seconds deciding how to press "English" for the language of choice. So it took me about 45 minutes just to check in.

Then there's like, the pretty much strip search area where I had to take out my keys, my belt, my blackberry, my necklace, my shoes, both of my laptops, and my boxers. Well, not the boxers, but might as well have. I know that it's important to check but Jesus, there has to be a better way.

5:50PM: Yeah, so the flight is delayed. Go figure. I just bought a Sports Illustrated for $6.50! Thats a hell of a markup.

6:05PM: Finally boarding now.

6:37PM: Okay so I have the aisle seat as requested, and some weird lady got the window. No one has claimed the middle one yet. I am praying no one else comes in and takes it because I need my leg room.

6:45PM: Plane just took off a few minutes ago. Everyone is speaking Spanish pretty much. And great, there are 3 damn babies within a 6 row radius of me. This is going to be a very long four hours.

6:58PM: So I miraculously fell asleep for a few minutes and some asshole girl dropped her bag on my head from the overhead compartment. Then she looked at me as I stared at her half asleep and angrily, giggled like a jackass and didn't say sorry and sat back down. I was about to have a Ben Stiller-in-Meet the Parents meltdown because as this happened, the babies started crying... almost simultaneously. Only 20 minutes into the flight. Damnit.

7:15PM: Weird window seat lady keeps looking at me.

7:17PM: Weird window seat lady just asked to read my Sports Illustrated magazine. I said ok.

7:20PM: Weird window seat lady is done with my magazine. I don't know why she asked for it. Idiot. It's called SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. If you don't like sports, you're not going to like the magazine. Anyway, some Sandra Bullock movie is on called "Premonition". It's kind of weird.

7:53PM: This movie isn't that bad. It's about Sandra Bullock being able to see what's going to happen and then trying to fix it before it does. Okay describing it sounds bad but when you are surrounded by three babies, a weird window seat lady, and protecting your skull from dropping bags, the movie is helpful.

10:30PM: Just landed.

11:45PM: At Marriott now. Furious. My blackberry, 3 weeks old, is giving me a "Device Error 348". So much for this World Edition piece of sh*t. I'll deal with this in the morning. Haha funny story. I was so ready to get off the plane when we landed that as soon as we stopped, I did what people usually do: stand up as quickly as possible to get their bags as if its a race. Anyway, I was getting my bag out, and it was crammed behind lord knows how much crap. So I grab my bag and I'm pulling it out and I don't even realize but there is a black cane infront, like a walking stick or whatever. So my bag comes out but so does the cane and it falls on this old lady's head infront of me! By old, I'm talking at least 85 years old. She grabbed her head and stared back at me with the angriest face saying stuff in Spanish. I was like "I'm so sorry, i'm sorry, i'm sorry, are you okay? i'm sorry" but i don't think she was listening. She kept saying stuff to me in Spanish. So I'm standing there with the angry glares of a bunch of Puerto Ricans, as if I did it on purpose. I could almost hear their mental thoughts saying "How could you do that?! You hit an old lady on the head with her own cane! You animal!" So standing there waiting for the freaking doors to open was the most awkward, longest 3 or 4 minutes of my life. I was sure I was going to get mobbed by angry Puerto Ricans but luckily I didn't.

1:00AM: Just finished watching the Barry Bonds game on ESPN. Thank god i have ESPN and all the American channels here. Barry obviously didn't hit a homerun but at least the game was entertaining. I'm going to bed. Hope tomorrow is better.

Sunday, July 29th. San Juan, Puerto Rico

11:30AM: I figured out how to fix my blackberry. It was some data problem. I feel like I am whole again. It's sick how addicted and dependent I am to my blackberry. I'm going to shower now and then go find something to eat, walk around town. I got nothing to write about right now on sports because there is nothing going on. Tour de France is something that ends later today, but there is no way I'm writing on that. Oh, well, Eddy Curry got robbed at gunpoint at his house. I doubt the robbers found anything other than stashes of donuts. Anyway, I'll check back with you people later.

(HAHAHA I can't believe I found this pic. Well, she looked like this, but angrier!)

For now...

2007-07-28T10:58:00.000-04:00

Whats up people. I have to pack and then go to the airport, so I won't have anything posted till later tonight or tomorrow morning. But when I do, it will be a lot of stuff and worthwhile but for now, I figured I'd link you to a few things. Before you go clicking away, quick note on Vick. One of the co-defendants is going to enter a plea bargain. The guy, something Taylor, had a falling out with Vick about three years ago. That's not good news for Vick or Vick fans. Taylor is going to be singing like no other. Anyway, enjoy the links. Check back soon for articles.

Lindsay Lohan signed by Bengals...
http://www.epiccarnival.com/2007/07/lohan-set-to-join-bengals-with-record.html

Beckham is really rocking the MLS...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/soccer/07/27/bc.soc.galaxy.beckham.ap/index.html

Stay away from this cat...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/26/wcat126.xml

Bob Costas owns Barry Bonds...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/07/26/bc.bbo.bonds.costas.ap/index.html

(Stay away from this cat)

Since today is boring...

2007-07-26T15:31:00.000-04:00

Since there isn't that much stuff going on today in sports, and because I had quite a bit of work to do at the office and couldn't make time to do research for my NFL previews, I have decided to post a chat I had with a friend today over instant messenger. I found it amusing and instead of posting nothing, I figured this could amuse you all for a few minutes too. It's long but funny and face it, it's not like you got much else to do anyway. Enjoy.

(Preface: My friend is barbaric. Imagine speaking to a caveman)

Me: who's your favorite sports player ever

Me: just out of curiosity

Me: I’ve always wondered

Me: well not always

Friend: any sport?

Me: but .. recently

Me: yeah

Friend: either Ruth or DiMaggio

Friend: probably DiMaggio

Friend: sweet player, tragic figure

Me: is Emmitt your favorite football player?

Friend: yeah

Me: coach?

Friend: jimmah (Jimmy Johnson)

Me: favorite college player

Me: ever?

Friend: #3 (Bryan Randall)

Me: team other than Virginia Tech

Friend: utenn

Me: favorite color

Friend: haha what is this?

Friend: maroon

Me: favorite season?

Me: don’t be gay and say football

Friend: wabbit season

Me: seriously man

Me: what’s your f**king favorite season!

Friend: winter

Me: favorite daytime activity

Friend: I lift weights

Friend: what is this seriously?

Me: nothing I’m just trying to get to know u better

Me: what’s your favorite type of food?

Me: meaning Italian, Japanese, Chinese, American etc

Friend: I don’t really have a favorite food

Me: really?

Friend: yeah

Me: so which would u prefer though if u had to choose?

Me: like

Me: if I say (Friend) lets go grub, you call the place

Friend: I don’t really like to eat out

Me: ok when u eat at home

Me: what do u eat?

Friend: I mean I like wings and whatnot but I don’t like to eat out all that much

Friend: umm

Friend: varies. I eat a lot of chicken, potatoes, and peanut butter sandwiches

Me: ok so American then

Me: pretty much

Friend: I guess

Friend: I put a lot of spice on stuff though

Me: haha that’s my boy

Me: so what kind of traits do u look for in your partner? Appearance wise

Me: brown hair blonde hair what

Friend: haha man (other friend’s) mom was asking me these questions

Me: hahahahahahah

Me: dude just tell me!

Friend: I like redheads

Friend: not gingers though

Me: what’s a ginger

Friend: red hair, copious freckles, super pale skin

Me: ew

Me: ok so just say yes or no if it’s a turn-on or not

Me: tongue ring

Friend: not really

Me: nightlife enthusiast

Me: (clubs etc)

Friend: in the past yes. rethinking sh*t now though

Me: great dancer

Friend: yeah, like I dance

Friend: false

Me: Asian

Friend: no aZnZ

Friend: ugh

Me: haha

Me: black

Me: ?

Me: honestly

Me: that’s a yes for you

Friend: well

Me: Latino?

Friend: caveat, they can’t be ghetto or whatnot

Me: yeah

Me: Persian

Friend: don’t see why not

Me: Euro?

Friend: meh

Me: Caucasian (American white)

Me: obviously yes for you.

Friend: depends where from

Me: do u like shy and quiet or outgoing and energetic

Friend: when I dated, I dated both types

Me: ok. Which do u prefer?

Friend: probably more outgoing

Me: ok

Me: and what time in the day is best to contact you?

Friend: MAN

Friend: WHAT ARE YOU DOING

Me: nothing man just liberalizing u

Friend: DO NOT SIGN ME UP FOR ONLINE DATING

Me: u now have a profile for AdultFriendFinder.com

Me: under gays

Friend: YOU F--KING GUY

Me: WHAT MAN

Friend: I WILL BREAK YOUR FACE

Me: JUST SEE HOW IT GOES

Me: MAYBE A DUDE WILL COME ALONG AND YOU'LL FANCY HIM!

Friend: man omg

Me: just give it some time

Me: see what kind of people contact u

Me: HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

Friend: MAN GROSS

Me: HAHAHAHHAHAHA

Yeah we haven't really grown up yet.

Controversy Surrounds Commissioners

2007-07-25T09:19:00.000-04:00

July is supposed to be the driest, most boring month in sports. The summer in general is supposed to be boring but July is often the worst. There is usually nothing going on other than elite baseball teams separating themselves from the pack. That’s it. But what a summer we have had so far. Everything was kicked off with the Kobe and Garnett mega stories. Then you had the NBA draft followed by the chase of Hank Aaron’s record by Barry Bonds, which is nearing its finale. Throw in the Beckham “Coming to

America

” frenzy. Following that you have Vick’s dog fighting indictment and now the NBA has been jolted by arguably the worst thing that can happen to a sports league.

Each commissioner of the three major sports has a major situation or dilemma on his hands. This kind of pressure on all three commissioners of the three major sports at the SAME time is unprecedented. This sort of stuff doesn’t happen to three commissioners within a span of even four years, let alone four weeks. All this leads me to the question of which commissioner currently has it worst?

Bud Selig without a doubt has it the easiest. His big dilemma, for the past year, has been should he go or not go to Bonds’ final games before he breaks the record. I never thought this should be a dilemma to begin with. Of course he should be there. He was the commissioner during the steroid era. He let things happen on his watch. Now he should have to sit there and watch the most decorated record in baseball be broken. He should go out there, shake the hand of the man he used to get baseball popular again and then turned his back on. He was hoping even a week ago that Bonds would somehow get indicted for that perjury charge so that the record could stay intact and Bonds would be off of his hands. (I’m going to stop myself before I go off on Selig for the next 45 minutes, because I really could go off on him for that long). So as I was saying, Selig just has to make the simple decision, which he already has made as of yesterday evening; to be at the games as Bonds approaches and sets the new record.

Roger Goodell has a far more complicated issue at hand. I’m not going to divulge into all the details because anyone who has a TV or access to a newspaper knows everything there is to know about what is going on with Vick. Goodell’s dilemma is one that he SOMEWHAT brought on himself. He came into the league with the badass sheriff mentality. He wanted to clean up the game and get rid of the repeat offenders. He made an example out of the three most known ones, Pacman Jones, Chris Henry and Tank Johnson. Those were easy. Those guys are idiots. I still think that a player shouldn’t be suspended until he is convicted in the court of law but hey, it’s his league, he makes the rules and the laws. I’m fine with that. But now look at the situation HE himself has put himself into. (You’re thinking, “No, Vick put Goodell in this situation.” Wrong.)

A few years ago, Ray Lewis was facing charges of murder. Murder. Not dogfighting. Murder. Paul Tagliabue handled that differently. He let the law take its course and it turned out, Lewis wasn’t guilty of anything major and he got to play in the following season. Jamal Lewis, another Raven ironically, was charged with drug trafficking. Tagliabue, again let the law take its course. Lewis was found guilty and served time in prison. When he was done serving his sentence, Tagliabue suspended him for a couple of games and that was that. I don’t even know what Goodell would do if he was commissioner at the time of Ray Lewis’ charge. He would have probably tried to deport Lewis to Tajikistan or something.

Goodell wanted to clean up the league’s image. Well, Tagliabue faced an alleged murderer and drug trafficker, yet the NFL’s image was fine. Now you tell me, is the whole media circus that we’re facing about whether to suspend or not suspend Vick helping the NFL’s image? Even if he is suspended a year, or cut by the Falcons, is the league’s image going to be better off? This is why I don’t think you should ever come into any new surrounding, new job, new whatever, and try to make too big of an impact TOO early. Suspending players left and right has come back to bite Goodell in the ass. And the NFL’s image, I can tell you for a fact, is going to take a bigger hit so far under Goodell’s reign than it did in the past 10 years of Tagliabue’s.

I can bet you anything that David Stern would love to switch shoes with Goodell right now. Dog fighting, homerun record, those are NOTHING compared to the sacred sanctity of a sport being thrown into jeopardy. Rumor has it that Tim Donaghy is now in plea negotiations with the feds in which he would name more referees and players who were involved in the whole point shaving or fixing of games. I don’t know how the NBA would recover in the near future from something like that happening. This is bad enough. Now, as I wrote earlier, any shady call will be cause for suspicion. In the NBA’s entire history, I cannot name off the top of my head an event or situation that could be more, potentially, devastating for the league. If you can, feel free to let me know but I can’t think of one right now.

Stern is a powerful leader. Whether you like his decisions or don’t like his decisions, you can’t argue the fact that he is one powerful leader. He makes his decisions and he can give a crap less about what the media thinks about it. The dress code targeting a genre or sector of players? He didn’t care if that upset you. Amare Stoudemire being suspended for taking a few steps past a line to help his teammate out? He didn’t care how you felt about that. David Stern makes his decisions and he sticks with them, period. If you ask him a dumb question, or even a good question that makes him feel that you are questioning HIS league or HIS practices, he will put you in your place. Ask Dan Patrick. David Stern is a leader and a commander and that is what they do.

But never had I seen David Stern look as dejected and defeated as he did yesterday during the press conference. I mean, that guy was beat. His voice was tired and his body language showed uncertainty and utter confusion. “If he’s such a good leader, why is he getting timid when things are hitting the fan? A real leader would step up.”

David Stern is getting timid and scared because he knows how big this thing is. He knows how much is at stake. There is nothing more sacred in sports than having the faith and trust that the outcome of the game was not predetermined or biased in any shape, way or form. It is comparable to how the most sacred thing in a marriage is the confidence between the two partners; the confidence that neither one will cheat on the other. But games being fixed or points being shaven is cheating. Now the whole marriage between the fans and the NBA is thrown for a loop. David Stern looked like the husband who found out his wife was cheating on him. He really, really did. Stern has the biggest problem on his hands right now by far. He has to gain back the trust of fans and the media. Anyone who knows anything understands that the hardest thing to earn in life is the trust of someone, once you’ve lost it. This applies in all relationships. Friends, marriages, teams, offices, anywhere. Once you’ve lost someone’s trust, it’s very hard to gain it back.

Selig’s problem will be over in a few days, maybe a couple of weeks. Goodell will eventually suspend Vick for the season and the problem will go away once the NFL season kicks off, at least temporarily. But David Stern is going to face years of trying to gain back the trust of the fans and the trust of the public. This is, by the way, considering that only one referee is involved. God help David Stern if more names come out of this mess because then you’re past the point of marriage counseling; you’re facing a divorce.

(So I'm guessing Sternie will now be against the idea of having a new team in Vegas)

NFC South Preview: Team 3 of 4

2007-07-24T10:48:00.000-04:00

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

Preview and Prediction

2006 Record: 4-12

Division Ranking: Last

2006 Result: Missed Playoffs

Without a question, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were one of the league’s worst teams last year. Four years removed from a Super Bowl victory, Jon Gruden’s job is on the ropes. This is the life of an NFL coach. Last year’s Bucs team had major concerns at quarterback. Chris Simms went out when his spleen exploded. Then to the rescue came Bruce Gradkowski. Yeah. So that’s your season. But make no mistake about how bad the Bucs were either way. Chris Simms wasn’t exactly Carson Palmer before the spleen injury. The Bucs finished the season ranked 26^th overall in passing. Maybe they would have finished 24^th with Simms healthy. Maybe. They finished 28^th in rushing. That is somewhat surprising considering they have Carnell Williams (I refuse to call him Cadillac, I think it’s one of the dumbest nicknames I’ve ever heard. He’s more Ford Focus than he is Cadillac). You can defend the rushing being 28^th to a certain extent by noting how miserable the passing was and how teams just stacked the line with 8 guys gunning for the running backs. But still, 28^th? That’s pretty miserable.

Defensively, the Bucs were just about average. They finished 17^th overall. They gave up over 115 yards per game on the ground which is pretty alarming for a Tampa Bay city that has gotten used to pummeling running backs. The defense is getting old though and guys like Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber are fighting their body’s time clocks. The defense did go out and get Gaines Adams in the first round which was a very good pick from my viewpoint. That should bolster the line that still had Simeon Rice, Chris Hovan and Kevin Carter. The linebacking corps consist of newly signed Cato June to go opposite of Derrick Brooks. Ronde Barber anchors the secondary. Look for an improved defense this year.

However, the main concern is still the offense. The big addition was obviously the signing of Jeff Garcia. Garcia should flourish in Gruden’s west coast style offense which consists of short slants and dump offs mixed in with plenty of running. Tampa Bay’s style of offense is very similar to that of the Eagles. The Bucs will be looking at Carnell Williams to step up this year and improve from the measly 3.5 yards per carry average of last year. For this offense to be successful, Williams will need to have at least 1100 yards this year. Joey Galloway had a good season last year eclipsing 1000 yards receiving on 62 catches while pulling in 7 touchdowns. But he’s 35 now. There is only a limit to what he can do. Michael Clayton is going to have to step up on the opposite end and make an impact for Garcia to have a chance at being successful.

I think the Bucs will be a much better team than they were last year. They made nice additions on defense and brought in a solid and consistent quarterback to lead the offense. But old age on offense as well as inexperience and inconsistency with the younger players is what’s going to keep the Bucs from being an elite team. That, plus the fact that they are going to play in a division with the Panthers and Saints, both of whom I predicted to have strong seasons. Lucky for the Bucs, it looks likes Joey Harrington will be the starter in Atlanta so that should give them an extra two wins this year. My assessment of the Bucs: Average team that is improving but one big time offensive player away from being a dangerous squad.

First Quarter: 2-2

@ Seattle – Loss

New Orleans – Win

St. Louis – Win

@ Carolina – Loss

Second Quarter: 1-3

@ Indy – Loss

Tennessee – Loss

@ Detroit – Win

Jacksonville - Loss

Midseason: 3-5

Third Quarter: 2-2

Arizona – Win

@ Atlanta – Win

Washington – Loss

@ New Orleans – Loss

Fourth Quarter: 3-1

@ Houston – Win

Atlanta – Win

@ S.F. – Loss

Carolina - Win

Final Record: 8-8

(The clock is ticking louder than ever for Chucky. He can hear it.)

NBA Facing Slippery Slope

2007-07-23T09:06:00.000-04:00

I feel for you David Stern. What a nightmare he is now facing. Not even in his wildest, worst case scenarios would he envision a ref shaving points off of games and being involved with the mob. At the very worst, he would have thought there would eventually be a player who would be in heavy debt and allegations of gambling on the game would come out, but not this. Players dressing too flashy? That’s fixable. Games becoming too low scoring earlier in the decade? That’s fixable. Joey Crawford challenging Tim Duncan to a fight? Weird, but fixable. The sanctity of the game being thrown into jeopardy by an in-debt referee involved with bookies and the mafia? That’s a tough one.

We all jokingly say, or even angrily when it happens with our team, “That ref is being paid” or “That ref’s in someone’s pocket”. But do we really believe it? I know I’ve said it. I said it during the Dallas vs. Miami finals of a couple of years ago when Dwayne Wade was getting every call. I thought the ballboy was going to get hit with a technical for looking at Wade the wrong way. I was watching with friends and I was so frustrated by some of the blatantly bad calls that I said things out of anger or frustration like, “David Stern wants Wade and Shaq to win this. These refs are dancing like puppets hanging from Stern’s shoe.”

But the mob??? Of course after my frustrations wore off and I came back down to reality, I didn’t truly think that refs were blowing games either way for Stern, or anyone for that matter. I do know that certain refs have it out for certain players or coaches. That’s going to happen in any sport. That’s the human element. Some umpires in baseball have wider strike zones for some teams, and smaller ones for others. Some refs in the NFL call pass interference on one team, but won’t make the same call for the other for whatever reasons. They’re human, they have history, they have grudges, they have emotions, it happens.

However, shaving points, which is what Tim Donaghy was allegedly doing, is a whole different ball game. To get down to facts, you have to realize that shaving points does not determine the outcome of a game. People tend to mix shaving points up with fixing games. Donaghy wasn’t, as far as we know, costing any teams games or making bogus calls to keep a team from winning. He was simply keeping the points over or under the certain line, for the benefit of whoever he was getting paid by.

So for example, the Rockets are beating the Grizzlies by 11, and the line for that game was Rockets by 9.5. The guy who is paying Donaghy to do what he did would want the Grizzlies to lose by less than 9.5. Donaghy would in turn make a few foul calls on Houston and give Memphis a chance to hit a few free throws and pull the game below the fixed line. Half the fans would be gone by that point anyway, the game is over. That is point shaving and that is what Donaghy is accused of doing.

That is not AS bad as fixing games which is outright costing a team a win. That would be more of a disaster than shaving points. But still, from a P.R. standpoint, this is a very serious problem facing the NBA. To catch any of the refs, coaches or players with a hidden agenda that involves money and the game is something that fans don’t take to kindly. From here on out, every poorly officiated game will be questioned and magnified beyond belief by the fans and the media.

(Can you imagine how buck wild Skip Bayless is going to get with his conspiracy theories? He was probably hyperventilating from excitement when this news broke because now he has something to base his ridiculous theories on. Ugh.)

People will immediately accuse refs of shaving points or fixing games. It’s going to take a long time for this to go away. I don’t believe all of the refs are bad. I actually believe that the refs, given the difficulty of the sport, do a good job overall. We as fans only notice the bad calls. We never notice the good ones. We’re fans, it’s what we do.

One thing I had no idea about but learned recently was that there is no specific restriction that keeps referees or players from gambling in the NBA. Of course, they can’t gamble on their own sport but there are no parameters for restricting gambling outside of their own league. If I were David Stern, or the NBA, as an employer I would make gambling on ANY sport against league policy. This would apply to anyone who works for the league, whether you’re a player, a coach, a ref, or a senior executive. I think allowing gambling without major restriction is like telling your girlfriend who is 500 miles away from you at college that it’s okay for her to go get drunk at a frat party. Chances are, nothing good is going to come out of it. If the players or the referees can’t accept the restriction on gambling, they can play or referee somewhere else. It’s that simple. Yeah this may be a really tough stance but at least you avoid situations like the one the league is in now.

My biggest fear is for more names to come out of this whole scandal. God, I hope Steve Javie and Dick Bavetta weren’t storing G-Stacks in an offshore account while hanging in Sandro Pe (St.Tropez). I hope, for the sake of the game that I have loved since childhood, that no one else is involved in any shape, way or form. Recovering from one bad apple is fixable. But when an entire tree is has gone bad, you have to chop it down. I don’t think any of us want this tree to fall.

(The Sternie has his hands full this offseason)

NFC South Preview: Team 2 of 4

2007-07-21T17:40:00.000-04:00

CAROLINA PANTHERS

Preview and Prediction

2006 Record: 8-8

Division Ranking: Second

2006 Result: Missed Playoffs

The Carolina Panthers were perhaps the biggest underachievers of 2006. Coming off of a 2005 season in which they went all the way to the NFC Championship, the Panthers came into last year with more excitement and hope than ever before in their short franchise history. However, an early two losses in the first two weeks of the season set the tone for what would be a disappointing season. Ten games into the year, the underachieving Panthers still had hope for making the playoffs with a 6-4 record at that point. However they managed to lose their next four games in a row, three of which were to NFC teams, en route to a disappointing 8-8 season.

More scrutiny than ever before has been placed on quarterback Jake Delhomme this offseason. As most quarterbacks usually do, Delhomme was left to take most of the blame for falling short last season. To give you a sense of how important the upcoming season is to the Panthers and the job security of head coach Jon Fox, Carolina acquired former first overall pick David Carr.

Thus far, the talk has been all positive from both quarterbacks. Jake said he welcomed having a “second set of eyes” on the field. However, those second set of eyes will be waiting for Jakes first slip up come September; as will the fans. Delhomme has fallen out of the graces of the Carolina faithful as of recent. He was booed early and often last season after the Panthers were projected by many to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

A slow start early in the season might be all that it takes to bench Delhomme and put in Carr. Look for second year running back from Memphis, DeAngelo Williams to have a big season after he finished last year with 501 yards with 121 carries as a second stringer. The Panthers still have a very impressive set of wide receivers, highlighted by perennial pro bowler Steve Smith. Opposite Smith will be stiff competition between Drew Carter and USC rookie Dwayne Jarrett.

The defense should be sound and ready to go just as they were last year when they finished second overall behind the Chicago Bears. The line brings back a stellar group highlighted by Julius Peppers and Kris Jenkins. Chris Gamble and Mike Minter control the secondary and the Panthers attack-first aggressive style should keep them in plenty of games.

Without a question, the most pivotal position is quarterback. Jake Delhomme will not have a long leash this year if the Panthers get off to a rocky start. The defense and the fans will not allow it. All that being said, here are my 2007 predictions.

First Quarter: 4-0

@ St.Louis – Win

Houston - Win

@ Atlanta – Win

Tampa Bay - Win

Second Quarter: 2-2

@ New Orleans - Loss

@ Arizona – Win

Indianapolis - Loss

@ Tennessee - Win

Midseason: 6-2

Third Quarter: 4-0

Atlanta - Win

@ Green Bay – Win

New Orleans - Win

San Francisco – Win

Fourth Quarter: 2-2

@ Jacksonville - Loss

Seattle - Win

Dallas - Win

@ Tampa Bay – Loss

Final Record: 12-4

(Which Jake will we see this year? My money's on the top one)

Vick, City of Atlanta In For a Long Year

2007-07-20T09:56:00.000-04:00

I had said only a couple of days ago here on this site, that I was not going to cover the Mike Vick topic unless some new factual information was released, or unless there were some new major developments. I don’t take pride in throwing out my opinion on what should or shouldn’t happen, going off of a lack of knowledge on the subject matter. It’s not what I do and not something I suggest others to do. In fact, I hate it when other people, like L.A. Times writer Bill Plaschke for example, go on the air with just as little knowledge as anyone else, and adamantly say what the NFL should do with Vick. It irks me that people can be foolish enough to throw out their meaningless two cents without knowing even one percent of the case details.

Unfortunately however, these people in the media have made this situation into such a circus, that I have no choice other than to write something about it. If you’re looking to read what punishment I think Vick deserves, you might as well close this window because you’re not going to find that here. I’m not going to be an idiot and announce a sentence for someone who has yet to even be charged officially, let alone be proven guilty in a court of law. Instead, I’m going to break down the elements that I believe have made this case into such a big media spectacle. Some topics are bland and obvious, some are very touchy.

Before I continue, let me preface my article by saying that I in no way condone acts of dog fighting or any participation in cruelty to animals. I myself have a dog and a cat. I could not fathom committing or participating in any acts of cruelty towards them. That being said, I hear a lot of outrage from PETA and other animal rights organizations. I know of their plans to protest at every NFL game if Vick is allowed to play. I agree with them in the fact that cruelty to animals has, allegedly, been committed and this is something not to be taken lightly. I disagree with them singling out Mike Vick for it, without knowing for FACT, just how involved he was.

Don’t tell me that PETA wasn’t licking their chops when they saw that a celebrity, one of the most marketable and famous football players in the country for that matter, was accused of being involved. For animal rights groups, this is something they relish. Before you throw your arms up in the air and say “What is this guy talking about”, hear me out. I’m not saying that those activist groups WANT animals to be abused. I’m not saying that at all. Animals however, have been, are, and will always be abused somewhere. As long as humans walk this earth, animals will be abused in some form or fashion. But the concept I am bringing here about how these groups love it when a celebrity can be their target is the same way CNN, FOX news, NBC and others love when there is a disaster or tragedy of some sort. Why? Because they get to cover it. They get their money from it, they get their ratings from it and that is what their job is. You can’t be a reporter if there is no story. You can’t be an animal activist if there is no animal cruelty. Your activist organization will not get any funding if there is no public knowledge of what you are an activist against.

When a celebrity is involved in something like this, the animal rights groups go after them like no other. I understand they are trying to use the celebrity to bring light to the situation for the common public to recognize what types of things are going on. However, I think of these activist groups as being hypocritical. I do appreciate a lot of the work they do. But tell me why we never hear about dog fighting in other regions and what is being done to stop it? Clinton Portis said himself that this goes on in Mississippi all the time and in other southern states. PETA has come out and said that dog fighting is a very big problem. Okay, then why did we not hear a WORD about it before Mike Vick was involved??? Where was the media coverage of it then? Granted, it wouldn’t be as big of a public story if a celebrity wasn’t involved, but it’s not like there was much of an effort to expose dog fighting. No one I spoke with had ANY knowledge of something like this being so huge and rampant. My point is; Mike Vick’s celebrity status is one element into why everyone has rushed to form an opinion about whether he is innocent or guilty, which isn’t fair because he hasn’t had due process yet.

The second element of why this story is so electric and is gaining so much momentum as each day passes is one that I don’t like to get into because it is so sensitive in nature. However, we have to recognize all factors and elements, regardless of how touchy they may be. The factor I am speaking of is race. Race has a lot to do with this story’s awareness. I have heard a lot of discussion about this on sports radio. Some people simply dismiss it and say it has nothing to do with it. Others say it does.

(Note: I am not talking about race being a factor in whether Vick is charged or not. I am talking about race being one of the reasons the story has so much power and attention right now. It is very important to differentiate the two.)

I was listening to a lot of the callers who chimed in with opinions yesterday. I’m going to be honest, a lot of times you can tell which caller is an Asian guy, which one is a white guy, which one is a black guy. You know it, I know it. It’s just how it is. So based on what I was hearing, a lot of the black callers were saying that they support Vick and they were more in favor for letting the trial go through before suspending him from the NFL. The white callers seemed to want Vick suspended sooner rather than later. I wouldn’t write something like this without having more evidence, so to speak, than of a radio show. I saw the same kinds of responses when people were being interviewed on T.V. Of course there are exceptions. A good friend of mine, a white 24 year old, said that he thinks the NFL should wait before jumping to suspend him. So I’m not saying if you’re white, you want him suspended and if you’re black, you condone what he has allegedly done. Not saying that at all. But a lot of the arguments coming from both sides are ones that suggest race being a factor, a major one at that.

Atlanta residents were interviewed yesterday. As most people know, Atlanta is the current “King of Hip Hop”. Some of the most famous rappers and artists (Usher, Lil Jon, Jermaine Dupree, Bow Wow) reside or come out of that city. Again, most of the Atlanta residents who were black felt that Vick was being gone after in a way that say, Peyton Manning, would not have been gone after. I think that has SOME truth to it. You disagree? Consider this. Do you think Mastercard or Reebok would stop airing Peyton commercials immediately or stop the release of his shoe based on an indictment? Do you honestly believe, that the entire world would vote 76% in favor (as reported by ESPN’s poll two days ago), to suspend him immediately, based on alleged charges for which he hasn’t even had an arraignment for yet? I think not.

If you still don’t believe me when I say that race has a lot to due with why this story is so magnified, look all the way back at O.J. Simpson’s case. You remember seeing the pictures of black people rejoicing and white people looking angry or even crying after the verdict was announced. That case ended up having more to do about the racial divide than it did about the actual murder! It was more black man vs. white woman than it was human on trial for double homicide. Can’t think back that far?

(O.J.’s verdict. Picture says it all.)

Kobe Bryant accused of raping a white girl. I don’t even have to go into detail about this because it’s still fresh for most of us. Think back to those who were bashing him and those who were supporting him. The court of public opinion was racially divided. Don’t remember the details from that? Here’s the most recent one.

Duke Lacrosse. White rich kids vs. poor black girl. The town of Durham was so ready to explode, due to the racial element to the story that they had to have police onsite for months. Not days or weeks. Months people. This is what I have a problem with, but there is really no quick solution to it. When anything major happens where someone famous is accused of a crime, race becomes a factor. We stop looking at the facts of the case and we start forming positive or negative opinions, innocent or guilty verdicts about the person based on race rather than substance. It’s within most of us even if we don’t realize it. So to think that race has nothing to do with the court of public opinion is not only preposterous, it’s being blind to the obvious.

I don’t know what the future holds for Mike Vick. I really don’t because something like this is unprecedented. I know he’s potentially in a lot of trouble, emphasis being on the word “potentially”. I do know that this case is not going to go away anytime soon and as we move forward and more facts come out, unfortunately, you will see even more of a divide among the races regarding the way things are being handled. You will hear bad things said about blacks and their culture. You will hear bad things said about white prosecutors, judges and their bias. Atlanta, a racially diverse city, is in store for a bumpy 6-12 months. It is unfortunate that in 2007, we are still not at a place where we can look at facts as facts and people as people, instead of classifying each other as racists without having any concrete knowledge.

(You thought Durham, NC had racial elements? Welcome to Atlanta.)

NFL PREVIEWS ARE HERE

2007-07-19T19:43:00.000-04:00

(I don't even need a caption for this picture)

Okay ladies and gentlemen. My previews and predictions are officially in action now. I started writing about the NFC South today but then I realized how much I want to talk about each team before giving my prediction. I don't want to write one paragraph and then give you my final thoughts without justifying them. Therefore, I edited my format for this piece. I'm going to go team by team, hopefully on a daily basis, giving a comprehensive look at additions, subtractions, rookies, schedule, etc. Today I'm starting with the New Orleans Saints. I will go division by division but in no order within. For example, for my slow people, I did the Saints today, I could do either the Panthers, Falcons, or Bucs tomorrow... by random choice). I hope you enjoy this segment and feel free to contact me with thoughts and opinions. Email link is on the upper right of the page. PEACE OUT!

NFC South Preview: Team 1 of 4

2007-07-19T19:34:00.000-04:00

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

Preview and Prediction

2006 Record: 10-6

Division Ranking: First

2006 Result: Lost in Conference Championship to Chicago 14-39

What a great season the Saints had last year. One of the most memorable and electric home season openers took place in New Orleans when the Superdome opened back up to the delight of a city who couldn’t have needed a football team any more than they did at that point in time. The Saints brought joy to the lives of those who had lost everything due to the devastation of Katrina.

But did anyone really see a 10-6 season en route to a Championship Game coming? I certainly didn’t. I remember when they started off 3-0. I was happy for them but skeptical in analyzing them because I thought, “Well, one win came in the first game back in New Orleans so that was all emotion. The other two were against juggernauts…if we were talking about the 1950s: Cleveland and Green Bay.”

But then six weeks later, their record was 6-2 and half the season was done. “Okay so maybe they have a chance at making a run at the playoffs; a chance.”

Then they improved to 9-4 in a complete trashing of Parcells’ Cowboys IN Dallas and I became a believer. We all know the rest. The Saints went on to finish 10-6, defeating the Eagles 27-24 in the Divisional round (after earning a first round bye), then eventually getting throttled by the NFC Champion Chicago Bears.

I, for the second straight year, will be somewhat skeptic about how far I think the Saints can go. Not because I am not a believer of Drew Brees or Reggie Bush or Sean Payton’s coaching. I am a believer of them. But have you looked at the Saints’ schedule? Let me give you a quick run down of teams they face this year, not including their division games.

At Indianapolis (Defending Champions)

Tennessee (Up and coming team with a guy named Vince something)

At Seattle (Perennial Playoff team)

At San Francisco (Beat Seattle twice last year, great young core, up and coming)

St.Louis (Not a cakewalk)

Arizona (On the verge of breaking out, for the 17^th year in a row)

Philly (Only lost to the Saints by 3 in the playoffs last year)

At Chicago (Waxed Saints last year en route to becoming NFC Champions)

(I just realized that the Saints play both teams from last years Superbowl in the same season!)

Throw two games against the Panthers, Jeff Garcia’s Buccaneers, and the…Falcons. That’s not an easy schedule folks, even though the Saints are a very talented team. They let Joe Horn go this year but replaced him with a good young talent from the University of Tennessee with the 27^th overall pick, Robert Meachem. He should fit in well with Peyton’s pass-first style offense. They picked up Antonio Pittman, running back from Ohio State, which really didn’t make much sense to me considering they have Deuce Macalister and Reggie Bush in the backfield. Anyway, given their additions, subtractions, strength of schedule, and a bunch of other factors that I don’t feel like listing, here is my prediction for them.

(I’m not going to just be like everyone else and give you a final season prediction. I’m going to give you predictions for each quarter of the season so you can keep up and bash me 4 times a season instead of just once when I’m wrong.)

First Quarter: 2-2

@ Indy – Loss

@ Tampa – Loss

Tennessee – Win

Carolina – Win

Second Quarter: 2-2

@ Seattle – Loss

Atlanta – Win

@ S.F. – Loss

Jacksonville – Win

Midseason: 4-4

Third Quarter: 3-1

St.Louis – Win

@ Houston – Win

@ Carolina – Loss

Tampa Bay – Win

Fourth Quarter: 2-2

@ Atlanta - Win

Arizona - Win

Philadelphia - Loss

@ Chicago – Loss

Final Record: 9-7

(The Saints will have to tightrope their way into the playoffs this year)

David Beckham. MLS. Over-hyped.

2007-07-17T21:11:00.000-04:00

Obviously, the guy is here now. The savior of soccer is here in the U.S. Beckham-Mania is in full effect.

I’m not buying into the hype though. I’m not buying into Beckham. I’m not going to get excited about an over the hill European star who decided to come to the paparazzi capital of the world with his snotty looking wife. I’m not going to run out and buy Beckham jerseys because quite frankly, I think this whole thing is going to be a dud. Here’s why:

The argument has been made that Beckham coming to the states will open up the floodgates for more stars to come here and play in the MLS. That’s an “if-then” statement though, and a major if-then at that. If Beckham does GREAT here, then yes, possibly some European players will venture over here to give it a shot. Even if they do come, and when I say ‘they’, I’m not talking about all the superstars from Europe. I’m talking about a few more over the hill stars, or potential stars coming here. Why would stars leave an area like South America or Europe where soccer, without question, is the number one sport viewed and relished by the public? Why would they leave that to come to where soccer wouldn’t even crack the top 4 of major sports. Let me remind you, incase you forgot, what sports soccer would compete with for attention.

1. National Football League (August-February, not even counting the Draft)

2. Major League Baseball (Pretty much all year)

3. National Basketball Association (October-June)

4. NASCAR (All year)

They would be competing with the NHL’s and the WNBA’s and even Golf. So don’t think for a second that European players are dumb enough to leave the money, the fame, and the glory to come to a country that doesn’t know the first thing about soccer, and to a country that would only pay attention to soccer by the masses if nothing else was on TV. Do you think soccer, during a Pennant race would stand a chance with ratings or fan turnout? People from Chicago, New York or other major markets would go to an MLS game over a baseball game when their team is doing well? I think not. Do you think soccer would stand a chance against the NBA playoffs? Do you think soccer would even get on the map in the south where NASCAR is king? No. It wouldn’t. And this is all ASSUMING that Beckham does phenomenal here in the states and draws more stars in the coming years. I’m not talking about today. I’m talking about 5 years from now. Let’s not forget that NASCAR is growing rapidly in their popularity. That’s why the common sports fan can name players like Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. So you can bring a couple of stars over from Europe and have them play in the states. That’s all fine and dandy but don’t expect for soccer to break the top four any time soon.

"Well I’m not talking about cracking the top four sports and becoming that popular. I’m just talking about how Beckham will make the sport, the league better than before.”

That’s a valid statement. But what I’m saying is the hype that he has gotten is the hype that you expect for someone to really make a MAJOR impact on the landscape of a sport that still has contingencies to other major sports. Meaning, Lebron James’ hype was real and valid because his impact on the sport, on Nike, the landscape of sports was enormous. If all this hype for Mr.Beckham is to make the sport “better than before” but not shoot soccer up on the chart of most watched or most profitable sports, then I’m adamantly say that its overdone, over-hyped, overrated, over-whatever. And let me again, remind you, this is all considering the best case scenario in which Beckham thrives in the states.

What if he doesn’t play well? What if he gets injured?

“Oh well what-ifs apply in anything. You can’t think that way”. Yes, I can think that way. I know what-ifs apply in anything, but they are there for a reason. Because they HAPPEN. You can’t just assume the best. Hope for the best, plan for the worst is what wise people do to avoid complete disarray when things don’t go their way. So now let’s assume Beckham has a bad season or a bad injury. What spin does the MLS put on it then? Are you still going to attract the stars from Europe? Not a chance. So basically, the hype, the publicity, the mass advertising of Beckham is all based on assumption that he does great. Well, I hate to be Debbie Downer but if he fails, you’ve set your league back years.

“So what are you saying, don’t bring in a David Beckham?”

No, I’m not saying don’t bring him in. I’m saying this hype is unjustified in my opinion and I feel that he will not live up to the expectations.

One more thing before I close this topic.

I brought up the fact that Beckham isn’t a prolific scorer. He’s not the Kobe Bryant or Allen Iverson of soccer where he’s just knocking goals in left and right. I asked a good friend of mine who is a source of a lot of accurate knowledge about his take on Beckham as a player. He said to think of Beckham as Steve Nash; a facilitator.

Will being a facilitator be enough for people who are tuning into MLS for the first time? I don’t think so. I think when people will tune in to see Beckham, they are going to want to see him do either one of two things:

a) Score goals, or

b) Facilitate and create opportunities for teammates which will lead to them scoring WELL beyond the league average. Meaning they score 4 or 5 goals as opposed to the average of say, 2 or 3.

If Beckham can successfully complete option “b”, then people will stay interested (but still not interested enough to justify the hype or put soccer over the top four sports mind you). If Beckham does lead his team to high scoring games, then yes, he is a facilitator like Nash.

However, if he does not, then he is not a Steve Nash. He’s a Stephon Marbury. Steve Nash facilitates, yes. Steve Nash also leads his team to be the highest scoring team in the league two years running and teams where Nash has played on in the past 5 years have been in the top three scoring ALL FIVE YEARS. So Beckham had better make sure that one way or another, that ball gets in the net and it gets their quite frequently because Americans don’t have the patience to watch low scoring games; not even baseball. (Baseball tweaked many rules to make it more high scoring. That’s why you don’t see 1-0 games that often anymore, for those of you who were going to try and take that angle at me).

“Of course he won’t raise scores, it doesn’t work like that in soccer. You watch to see a good player make magic.”

In the rest of the world: True

United States: False.

Tim Duncan, magical player, doesn’t interest anyone outside of San Antonio. Baltimore Ravens defense of a few years ago, magical, one of the best ever. NFL responds by changing rules to make the games higher scoring because guess what? People didn’t care. And I already mentioned the MLB. I hate to be the barer of bad news but magic in the United States IS high scores. Low scoring NFL games don’t draw ratings. Low scoring Basketball games don’t draw ratings. Low scoring Baseball games don’t draw ratings. Low scoring soccer games with Beckham playing or not, well, I’ll let you finish the sentence.

(Don’t fool yourself into thinking saving the MLS was on Beckham’s mind when he decided to come here. You're smarter than that.)

Quick Thoughts.. Vick, Summer, Football!

2007-07-17T12:30:00.000-04:00

I'm sure you have seen/read/heard about Michael Vick by now. If not, see the links for ESPN on the upper right side of the page and get caught up. I'm not going into detail about this topic yet for a few reasons:
a) I don't know enough about the facts and I don't like to just speculate based on nothing
b) The alleged charges are pretty disgusting (electrocuting dogs who lost fights etc.)

That being said, I was listening to ESPN Radio on the way home from work and was tuning into Doug Gotlieb's show "The Pulse". Gotlieb had John Kincaid on via phone conference. They went on to talk about Vick and what the Falcons should do. Kincaid went on to say that Arthur Blank, owner of the Falcons, should forget the salary cap hit and just cut Michael Vick. He said to "send his bags packing". He went on to justify this by saying that having Vick on the team is a public relations nightmare. He said it would be better to just cut him and be done with him.

Umm. What??

So you're saying to cut one of the most prolific superstars in the league when he hasn't been proven of anything yet??? Seriously? You're saying to cut a player, take the cap hit, and get NOTHING in return? Do you really want to talk about a public relations nightmare Kincaid?

Cutting Mike Vick doesn't help your situation in Atlanta. First, consider the fact that no matter what has happened, he is LOVED in the city and the state.

(For those who have read my previous articles: As I'm typing this, ESPN Deportes has just come on to the tv screen. Wow i'm so interested in 10 seconds of spanish women swimming.)

(Now I just heard Beckham is sore and questionable for the season opener 10:55PM EST, for those who just read my article above. I'm not saying I can see the future but I'm pretty damn good. No more interruptions now.)

If you have ever been to Georgia, you will see that Vick is to that state and the city of Atlanta what Shaq was to southern California. So if you think cutting him and getting no compensation is good for public relations, you are quite frankly, out of your damn mind.

Cutting a player of his caliber, then having Joey Harrington start for the season, and winning maybe 5 games and setting the franchise back 3 years is going to lead to more public relations problems buddy. Having a losing team with quality citizens is worse for the city than having a criminal (allegedly) leading your team to playoff contention each year. At least Bengals fans, as embarrassing as their team character has been, AT LEAST they have something to be excited for when the season starts. Bobby Petrino designed his playbook around Vick. He traded Schaub away because he wants Vick as his QB. So getting rid of a guy who hasn't been convicted, or even charged at this point with anything, is so beyond the realm of reasonable thought that I have no words for it.

Another thing. Innocent until proven guilty. I can't stress that enough, as bad as this looks. Kincaid said that the fans of Atlanta will never welcome Vick back after something like this. Oh really? So are you telling me the fans of Atlanta have so much more class than Baltimore fans who embraced Ray Lewis after he was connected with a murder?! Please.

One last thing on this topic before I put it off for the future when I have more facts. I love and respect Mark Schlereth's commentary and analysis. I do disagree with him on something he said today on NFL Live. He said that he doesn't see how Michael Vick can have a successful season after this looms over his head for the duration. Well, Kobe dealt with a rape charge, which is much more severe, and he seemed to do fine; one of his best years actually. So I disagree on that aspect. Anyway, thats enough of that for now. Stay tuned for more info and facts as they come in.

-----

I know it's July 17th. I know we've just kicked off the start of the second half of the baseball season. I know Barry Bonds is about to break the record. I know the Yankees are in trouble. I know Arod news and rumors are hitting the fan. I know there is a lot of parity in the league this year. I know David Beckham is officially here. I know that NBA Free Agents are signing with new teams. And yet, all I can think about is college football and the NFL.

Normally, you don't talk about the two until August. But as I heard Colin Cowherd say this morning on his radio show, "The Herd":

There are two seasons in sports for America. Football Season. And Waiting-For-Football Season. Two seasons. That's it.

I could not have said it any better myself. This country has a football addiction. You can go anywhere in the country...anywhere. You can go somewhere so unlike your normal place of living and talk about football. A 25 year old stock trader from New York could go to a 65 year old wheat farmer in Nebraska. They have nothing in common; Except football. Football is our great common denominator.

That being said, I don't care about other sports stories right now (quite frankly, nothing that interesting is happening anyway). I am going to talk about football when nothing else major is going on. Wednesday, I'm going to start with an article on the NFL's AFC South and NFC South. I'm going to break down each team, their schedule, and where I see them come the last week of the season. Thursday I'm going to do the same for college football. I'm going to break down the ACC Atlantic and the ACC Coastal. The day after that will be the AFC North and the NFC North. The day after that will be the Big 12 North and the Big 12 South. I think you see where I'm going with this.

Of course I will cover other relevant important topics as they come. But since everyone loves football, we are going to look at every conference and every team from both college and the pros and disect them and split them and research them because thats what the sports fans want. Thats that the sports fans will get.

(Oh it's that time people. It's that time.)

Quick Thoughts on Federer v Nadal

2007-07-11T08:48:00.000-04:00

Originally, I was going to write a whole column about this rivalry and break it down from all different aspects. Then I realized that I don't know enough about tennis or it's history to accurately paint a picture for my readers and let them know where I'm coming from. Since I base my writings off of accuracy, true knowledge and interest, I don't want to sell people short by writing about something I don't know enough about. So instead of a whole column, here is my opinion on the rivalry:

I think it is one of the best rivalries in sports today. I don't think it's on the level of Red Sox-Yankees and others because to be quite honest, not that many people tune in to tennis. However, watching that match was amazing. It was a few successful returns by Nadal away from being an upset of Federer. I do know enough about tennis to say that I think Federer, when it's all said and done, will go down as the best to ever play the game. I do believe he will surpass Sampras's mark of 14 Grand Slams (Federer currently has 11).

Nadal is 21, not at his prime yet and Federer is 25, at the peak of his prime. This is why I usually stay away from the debate about who is better because both players are phenomenal, but are also at different stages of their careers. It's clear to see though that Nadal is catching up to Federer on grass while Federer still struggles on clay. "Doesn't that make Nadal the better player then? I mean he's catching up to Roger and he's not even at his prime yet, like you said." This is the argument I get from friends on this topic. My response is no, he's not better because he hasn't won the way, or dominated the way that Roger has. I don't have the stat infront of me (if someone can find it and send it to me, I'd appreciate it), but I want to know what their head to head record is, and how many of the games were on clay and how many were on grass.

I heard an interesting viewpoint the other day about the rivalry and the debate about who is better. The person said that this is similar to an NBA Playoff Series in the sense that, it hasn't really begun until someone beats someone on their homecourt. If i win my two games at home, and you win your two games at home, we're still even and the series hasn't started yet. But if you come into my house and beat me, then you have the upperhand and it's on at that point. I feel its the same concept with Federer v Nadal. Until one of the two beats the other on their tourney (Wimbledon for Federer and French Open for Nadal), we don't have a clear cut, 100% leader because they are so neck and neck.

Now that being said, my prediction is against what most people foresee. I think Roger will beat Nadal in the French Open before Nadal beats Roger in Wimbledon. When that happens, game on.

(Yeah, I'm sure they really love each other.)

A Look Back at the All Star Game

2007-07-11T08:30:00.000-04:00

(I'm a baller, pretty much)

I’m sure by now you have checked the headlines on the sports site of your choice and seen the final score of the MLB All Star game last night (for the slower ones, the AL beat the NL 5-4). I have to say, that was a very entertaining game, especially considering the fact that it’s an All Star game and those usually end up really boring regardless of what sport it is. I can’t even remember the last time I watched a full quarter of the Pro Bowl, the worst of the All Star games. Anyway, there were some good storylines from last night that you can talk to your coworkers about around the water cooler today.

Starting with the inside-the-park homerun by Ichiro and a 3 for 3 night for the Japanese superstar. He’s had a hell of a week. First he signs a $100 million extension with the Mariners, then hits the first ever inside-the-park homerun in MLB All Star game history, en route to going a perfect 3 for 3 at bat, all leading to him winning MVP honors. Doesn’t get much better than that folks. I saw an interesting poll on espn.com asking who is the best center fielder in the game right now. My snap judgment was to say Carlos Beltran but then I looked at some of the things Ichiro has done all year, and the past few years for that matter, and I am rethinking my opinion. I think it’s because I’m on the east coast and see a whole lot more of Beltran (plus he’s in the New York media market) that I think of him as better than Ichiro. You don’t really hear much about Ichiro nationally unless he does something big, like his consecutive games with a hit streak a while back. Seattle isn’t really a bumping market either so we sometimes under appreciate guys like him. Point being, what a performance.

Barry Bonds almost knocked one out of the park last night but fell a few feet short. He went 0-2 for the night, got the loudest ovation obviously and that was about it.

Now for the juicy headline from last night. Bottom of the 9^th, 2 outs, bases loaded. La Russa is the manager for the NL. Krod is not playing well and his pitches have been erratic. Game is on the line. Albert Pujols, La Russa’s superstar on the Cardinals, has not stepped into the game yet. Perfect time for him to come in and at least get a single and tie the game up, right? Not according to La Russa.

La Russa was apparently saving the star incase the game went extra innings because of Pujols’ versatility. La Russa explained, “Once we lost [Miguel] Cabrera and [Freddy] Sanchez, he was the guy we were going to use to protect ourselves in case we kept playing because of Albert's versatility, I think we had the right guy at bat."

Pujols was very upset after the game and made some understandably angry remarks saying, “It's the All-Star Game. He can do what he wants. He does whatever he wants. If I wasn't expecting to play, I wouldn't have come up here."

To which La Russa responded, "If he wants to get upset, he can get upset. Whatever he wants to do, he can do. It's America. That wasn't the most important thing tonight."

Umm, yeah so the Cardinals clubhouse is going to be an uncomfortable and awkward one later this week. La Russa is a winner and a hall of fame manager so I’m not going to sit here and knock his decisions because I’m sure he was trying to win the game. However, I don’t see how in the situation they were in, he can not put Pujols in. Also considering the fact that he’s his own star player and hasn’t gotten to play in the game at all. I know his job is to manage the game without bias towards his own players but come on, we all know that’s not how things really work. Can you imagine if Phil Jackson was coaching the NBA All Star game and didn’t put Kobe in? I’m not saying Pujols is Kobe by any means, talent wise or attitude wise for that matter, but, you’ve got to play your star at some point in the All Star game! I don’t know much about Pujols attitude or personality. I know he’s a good guy and I’m predicting that he and La Russa will have a talk and everything will be fine. Fun stuff to watch though.

In Response to Questions...

2007-07-11T08:27:00.000-04:00

Had some really good questions yesterday regarding the soccer column as well as a lot of feedback on the Bonds' piece. Keep sending me your questions and comments people and I'll make sure they are responded to.

Colin's response to soccer related questions...

Three questions regarding the following:

"For reasons I still don't understand, Bradley decided to ok a roster that was largely young and inexperienced. Why? The MLS felt that if too many 'star' players were called away for a few weeks then the quality of the league would significantly drop, Hence allowing several of the well known players for the team, including Landon Donovan, to remain with their respective clubs."

(1) I ask out of ignorance, but how much power does Bradley have in this regard? Can Bradley put his foot down and insist on getting the top tier players? If he does so, does he damage his relationship with MSL?
Although Bradley used to coach in the MLS, he technically no longer has ties or a "relationship" to uphold with them. His duties are to the governing body, the US Soccer Federation, who in turn also regulates the MLS. While I also am not completely familiar with the ins and outs of national team selection, I would assume any appeals he would have in terms of the squad he is picking would go to the USSF, not to the MLS. Technically he should have final say in the squad he chooses, although usually coaches will make exceptions depending on the actual competition and the location of players (ala Bradley wouldn't expect anyone playing in Europe right now to come back for meaningless friendly or even for the ongoing Copa America tournament, although he should). In my opinion though, the way we get the international scene interested in US soccer, and in turn the MLS, starts with the National Team. So if we go 0-3 on a big stage because we field a young, inexperienced team, it could reflect poorly on the quality of US Soccer in general. The players are at Bradley's disposal, and it is up to him to put in the necessary effort to assure the best players are representing us at all times.

(2) Should MLS change its schedule to account for the international competitions?
I've always thought the MLS was on an awkward schedule. The well known leagues in Europe run from August-May (only a 10 week offseason), while the MLS runs only from April-November (over 4 months off). International competitions, such as World Cup Qualifying, tournaments like Copa America, and friendlies run year round. However, while the majority of the world was on break from their respective domestic league play, the MLS was in full stride during the world cup. Did anyone pay attention? I would assume not, with the greatest tournament every four years being played concurrently. Not only did the quality of play in the MLS suffer, so did the fan base, at least for that month. In my opinion it would fare well for the MLS to try to adopt the European league schedule; it seems to be working just fine for them.

(3) If Beckham is still on England's team after he arrives here, is it possible that Beckham will cause some changes in MLS's attitude toward international competitions?
Well, Beckham should remain on the team, being as he was recalled only recently, and will be introduced in LA in only 2 days. Steve McClaren, coach of the England National Team, tried his luck by not only relieving Beckham of his duties as a captain, but also failing to call him up for several world cup qualifiers. Beckham was left out of a friendly against Greece in August 2006, and it wasn't until a friendly against Brasil on June 1st of this year that he was called up again. Because of the team's struggle to earn results, McClaren was adamant about bringing him back, and is adamant about calling him up for every national team competition now as well, even if it is only a friendly. The MLS has no set rules nor very expressed opinions about international competitions (they've never held Jaime Moreno back from playing for Bolivia, nor Stern John for Trinidad and Tobago, etc) but it is supposed to be a given that international obligations trump those of domestic league play. Alexi Lalas, current President and GM of the LA Galaxy, has said " He has a responsibility on and off the field to our organization and our sport and he recognizes that," and that he doesn't "want to stand in the way of a player representing his country but they have to be the appropriate games." However, under FIFA regulations, no club can prevent a player from representing his country, even if just for a friendly. It will definitely be interesting to see if the the small feud between Lalas and McClaren grows into something bigger over Becks in the coming months.

My Final Verdict on Barry Bonds

2007-07-10T11:18:00.000-04:00

Let me preface this article by saying this; I have spent the past two years listening to fans and the media complain nonstop about Barry Bonds and his quest to break the record. I listened how it’s wrong, and how it’s tainted because he “allegedly” used steroids. I watched Philly fans turn their back and face the opposite direction everytime Bonds was up to bat (they should probably do that anyway because their team sucks ass). There have been 392,745,235 Outside the Lines Nightly reports and investigations on Bonds. Yet we have found nothing. No evidence worth a dime to ban this guy from the league. So I’ve had enough of the bitching and moaning. If you’re a Barry Bonds hater and all of a sudden, in love with Hank Aaron even though you’ve likely never seen a full game of his in your life, click the “x” at the top of the screen and save yourself the time of reading this next piece.

I spent yesterday evening watching TV and listening to various sports journalists like Jay Marriotti, Woody Paige, etc. go on about how Barry Bonds has a “responsibility” to participate in the Home Run Derby because the fans voted him in. He is “obligated” to do it for the fans.

No. He’s not obligated to participate in the Home Run Derby and he doesn’t have a responsibility to the fans either. His responsibility, like Arod’s, is to his team. Barry Bonds is obligated to the San Francisco Giants. Not the fans that voted him into the All Star game. If you invite me to a party, I will come. That doesn’t mean I have to do a kegstand. I don’t have a responsibility or obligation to you to get plastered just because you invited me to your party. Same concept with Bonds. If the guy doesn’t want to swing his hardest at balls being tossed 30 mph at him, he doesn’t have to. Him participating in this slugfest would be good for who? For Major League Baseball. Why should Bonds do ANYTHING for Major League Baseball at this point when it’s not even clear yet that the commissioner, the hypocrite that he is, will be at the biggest sporting event of the year (breaking of Aaron’s record). What has the MLB done for Bonds? They are searching as hard as they can to find ANY slight bit of evidence that can get Bonds kicked out of the league. That leads me to my next bit of ranting.

I don’t care if you’re Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, Luis Gonzalez, or Rafael Palmairo. I don’t care if you had a spike in home runs during those years in the 90’s or not. I really don’t. I don’t care if you did steroids. Do I think it’s bad? Yes. Do I think its bad for the game overall? Absolutely. But the fact of the matter is, pretty much everyone was on the juice. Not just hitters. Do you think pitchers were playing fair and hitters were the only ones sticking syringes in their.. well, you know where. I can’t understand why more people don’t view this matter in the same light as me. The game in those years was artificial to some extent but if everyone is using ‘roids, (for the most part), then the playing field is still relatively even. Yeah so instead of hitting the wall, some balls were homeruns. Same concept with pitchers though. Instead of taking a week to rest up, they were coming back a day or two quicker. They were throwing the ball a bit harder, a bit faster. Everything stayed relatively proportionate. So to single out Bonds, McGuire, and Sosa, after riding their wave and them pretty much keeping baseball on the map is so hypocritical that it makes me sick.

Lastly, we all know Barry Bonds is going to break the record. It’s a done deal. For those of you who are all bitter about how it’s happening, I understand that and that is fine. But be a witness to history because at the end of the day, the steroids era, good or bad, was history. Bonds breaking this record is history. And you don’t have to be bitter for too long because it’s only a matter of a couple of years before Arod becomes the all time home run king. Bonds breaking this record will actually bring closure and we can all move on, no matter what our opinions or beliefs are about the era. And one more thing. Bud Selig had better be there when it happens because he knew this stuff was going on the entire time. That being said, history is a few weeks from happening. Watch it. Love it or hate it, that’s on you. But at least say you were there when the games best hitter, or the games biggest cheater, broke the most hallowed record in all of sports.

(like it or not, it's going to happen folks. Witness history. Good or bad, it's still history)

Screw Work, Read This

2007-07-09T08:40:00.000-04:00

Good Monday Morning to you people. So after some thought and consideration, I have decided to launch a new segment on this blog which you all will hopefully enjoy. I have a friend who played soccer at the collegiate level, passed on the MLS draft and began playing in Europe. We both usually have lengthy talks/debates on various sports topics and it’s good because he brings a perspective of a professional athlete, and I bring the perspective of an enthused fan. The different viewpoints often lead to us both looking at things a little bit differently. That being said, the new segment will happen every week, or maybe bi weekly (depending on the feedback I get from you all). We will talk about the latest, most relevant sports topics over instant messenger. After we’re done talking/debating/fighting/threatening each other’s lives, I will post the conversation on the site for you all to read. Hopefully it’s a hit with the people.

Today will be a little different. He wrote me a little blog on the state of U.S. Soccer and I will post that first. Then I’ll post my opinion on why American’s don’t pay attention to soccer at all, for the most part. That being said, lets move along.

State of the USMNT Union Address:

2007-07-09T08:38:00.000-04:00

By: Colin
Let me preface this by answering the question you are asking. WTF does USMNT stand for? If only it was as cool as Mexico's nickname, "El Tri," or Italy's "Azzuri," or even France's "Les Bleus." Hell, even the Ninja Turtles are known as "TMNT." But on the international soccer scene, the US Men's National Team (lame, right?) showed no creativity, no vision, and no flair in coming up with a nickname, and the problem is reflected in our play. After starting the year with a 10-0-1 record, including the recent Gold Cup Final victory over Mexico on our home soil, we proceeded to totally backtrack all the progress made since Bob Bradley was named the official successor of Bruce Arena. The Copa America tournament taking place in Venezuela right now has not even reached the second round and we have already been bounced. Embarrassed, and then kicked out. Sort of like the guy who gets a drink poured on him in the club and then bouncers escort him out in front of everyone. Awkwarrrd! For reasons I still don't understand, Bradley decided to ok a roster that was largely young and inexperienced. Why? The MLS felt that if too many "star" players were called away for a few weeks then the quality of the league would significantly drop, Hence allowing several of the well known players for the team, including Landon Donovan, to remain with their respective clubs. In our first match against Argentina, the US got off to a dream start, converting a penalty kick in the 9th minute on a play that turned out to be the only thing worth remembering from our side. Not to be outdone, Argentina scored just two minutes later, and went on to pound 3 more in before full time was called, schooling us on the reason why you don't bring boys to the men's table. We followed up that classy performance with a 1-3 loss to Paraguay, who took advantage of their opportunities while we squandered several easy ones. Could it get any worse? Yes. Last night we rounded out our tournament with a 0-1 loss to Columbia, with very little organization and a follow-up on our inability to create or execute on chances. The US psyche is hurt, but not for good reason. Would we have had a chance at winning the tournament had we brought more older, more experienced players? No. But it would've given the younger guys a chance to fit into the system they are trying to compete for a spot in, instead of throwing them all to the wolves at once. When Bruce Arena was fired, the US Soccer Federation felt he had done well in bringing the team to the prominence it now enjoys, but that the time called for a change and an X-Factor was needed to give the National Team a push towards actually competing for a World Cup trophy. Bradley was elected as interim coach, but after a strong start he was named the official successor after talks with Germany's 1st year coach Jurgen Klinsmann, a former German national team great, fell through. But when stupid decisions, like leaving quality players home so they can play for the MLS (you would never see Real Madrid, Barcelona, or Arsenal do such a thing) are not vetoed by Bradley, he not only puts his credibility on the line, but also that of the national team. How can we ever expect to win a World Cup if we cannot even make it past the first round of the biggest tournament in Latin America? Changes definitely need to be made, and it starts with the ridiculous nickname of USMNT. What a joke.

(Little Joey earned his first USMNT cap against Argentina last week)

Step It Up Sports Fans

2007-07-09T08:36:00.000-04:00

What is it with us Americans? Why do we not pay attention to soccer? The first sport that EVERYBODY plays in little league isn’t football, it’s not baseball, it’s not basketball either. It’s soccer. Every child plays soccer at some point before the age of ten. Girls play it. Boys play it. It’s often the sport of choice at recess in elementary school. The majority of us enjoy it. So why is it that as we get older, it seems like less and less of us continue playing the sport, and even fewer watch the sport on television. The entire world plays soccer, some better than others. I’m not going to sit here and say that India is as competitive as Brazil or Italy but at least they play soccer and their citizens watch and cheer on as a unit. There is no question that the three major sports right now in the U.S. are football, baseball, and basketball. But why is soccer taking a backseat to professional hockey, NASCAR driving, and even the WNBA! The WNBA, seriously, are you kidding me? I mean, nothing against women or anything but lets be real.. how are we more interested in watching 6’7 women blow two foot layups than we are in watching some of the most well conditioned athletes in the world battling it out on a field longer than that of football.

The reason is simple. USA Soccer sucks. It’s terrible. It’s a joke. We are basically the Atlanta Hawks of the world. We have so much money, so much research, so many training facilities, but countries that can’t afford to buy a happy meal are whooping us like we stole something. That’s the main reason no one gives a crap about soccer in this country in this day and age. No one wants to follow a loser. Face it; kids want to grow up to be Lebron, Jeter, or Tom Brady. They don’t want to be Landan Donovan or someone else on a team that simply cannot win on the highest level. But this is where I have a gripe with two entities; Sports Networks (mainly ESPN, since they own everything) and the general public.

How often do you see soccer being shown or reported on ESPN. Other than the World Cup, ESPN does nothing to put soccer out there for the public. As human beings, we begin to acclimate ourselves and interest ourselves with things that we see the most; things we see the most often. ESPN shows tennis, we begin to learn the rules of tennis. ESPN shows golf; we begin to learn the rules and the players in golf. ESPN shows bowling; okay well not so much bowling, but you see where I’m going with this. They have this thing called “ESPN Deportes” which airs for like, 7.9 seconds before they cutback to more “relevant” sports news. It honestly feels like a commercial that you don’t pay attention to when that segment comes on. I am not lying; I think I pay more attention to the McDonalds commercials than I do to the ESPN Deportes joke. When that segment comes on, I usually hit the “guide” button on my remote to see what else is going to be on later that evening. I’m sure many other Americans do the exact same thing. A ten second blip is not enough to make anyone notice soccer. Yes, I know the U.S. sucks at it but we also aren’t the great at men’s tennis either. Andy Roddick has been hailed as the next big thing for what, seven years now? But yet we see his scruffy, unusual face getting his butt tossed out of another tournament in which he’s the favorite EVERY single week. So now, we know who he is, we know what he’s about, and that’s because ESPN tells us. So my point is this, the sports networks in this country have dropped the ball on soccer big time. The attitude seems to be “Eh, we’re no good at it anyway so who cares, lets show something else.” That’s garbage.

The second gripe I have is with the general sports public. We ourselves should go out of our way to learn about the sport. We need to read up on it, refresh our memories with the rules, learn who some of the players are, and when it’s on T.V., be a man and watch a game of soccer instead of a rerun of Friends or Grey’s Anatomy. You know who you are. I’m not saying go all out and paint your face on a Wednesday afternoon, smash beer cans on your head and watch the Chicago Fire take on the New York Red Bulls (but if you want to do that, by all means go for it. More power to you.) What I am saying is that just because our country as a whole isn’t in the elite at something, doesn’t give us an excuse as sports fans to ignore it. We can’t complain about how damn terrible the MLS is and how ridiculous their salary cap rules are, unless we first educate ourselves about the game and about its players across the world. Once we have a base foundation of what this great game is all about, we can start putting public pressure on the leagues within the U.S. to get their asses in shape so we’re not seen as a joke across the world.

The only time we pay attention to soccer is during the World Cup. Everyone watches it because their friends are watching and their friends are watching and so fourth. It’s a domino effect. I remember the last world cup, I was watching it with college friends and it was the thing to do that week all across campus; watch the World Cup. I remember the game against Italy, a friend of mine basically was taught the entire game of soccer by another throughout the match. He had no previous interest in soccer until he sat down and watched it and was taught the rules and what each card means etc. Since then, he’s learned more and more and now he’s a real soccer fan who sometimes goes to D.C. United games. Who’s to say that effect can’t happen to thousands and thousands of others in this country?

The rest of the world has caught up to us in every sport except American Football. Why are we so arrogant and lazy to catch up in soccer? Look at the MLB and all the different countries represented. Ichiro, Pujols, Arod, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz. The top players aren’t even American anymore! Look at the NBA. Ginnobili, Yao, Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitski and many others. All from foreign countries where basketball was taught in recent decades. Don’t be surprised if the NFL sees new foreign talent as well. We have to catch up with the rest of the world in soccer and as fans, we have to hype the sport up, get people excited about it again.

Look, I’m not saying go knocking door to door and trying to preach soccer to people. All I’m saying is that soccer is a great sport, and we have a lot of resources in this country to be a competitor in this field. But like any other sport, it starts with the fans. Do your part not as a soccer fan, but as a Sports fan, to learn the game and teach it to others. Generate interest in the sport so that eventually, we can stand up to the Brazils, the Italys, the Argentinas, instead of looking like some chumps who don’t belong.

(Make this scene happen again people)

TO MY PEOPLE

2007-07-07T23:10:00.000-04:00

What is going on everyone. Wow, I have gotten some not so happy emails about the lack of updating on my site. Thats very humbling and I'm actually happy that I know for a fact that you all are checking in regularly. I have been rocked at my office with work and this week was pretty slow compared to the past few when it comes to sports. But no worries, I'm going to flood you all with plenty of reading material so you can accomplish nothing at your school, office, or wherever you may be next week.

Quick Preview of What's to Come:

1) MLB All Star game review with my opinion on Barry Bonds and the record

2) NBA Free agency signings and who's left out there

3) Federer vs. Nadal again. Need I say more.

4) My feelings on the state of USA Soccer as well as the rest of the world(YES.. I said soccer. I have some people who want to read about it and I'm a man of the people, so I have to accommodate. Austin from UK, I got you this week, no worries)

5) Preview of NFL Training Camps, Preseason, Etc.

P.S.
I have a new segment that I'm going to launch early to mid next week and I guarantee you'll love it. Definitely look out for that.

And of course if there is any major breaking news regarding any sport, I'll put my 2 cents on it here in addition to reporting it before others. Thanks for your feedback people and keep it coming.

(Damn. That sucks.)

Neifi Perez Suspended 25 Games

2007-07-06T10:45:00.000-04:00

Detroit INF Neifi perez has been suspended 25 games for testing positive for a banned stimulant.

Upcoming Stuff

2007-07-02T07:39:00.000-04:00

What's up everyone. Sorry there hasn't been a new post in a couple of days but I was out of town and there really wasn't much going on anyway. No worries though, I am working on a column for later today on what I think about Vince Carter's new deal with the Nets, the latest on current free agents including my ranking of each, the situation going on in Charlotte in regards to the trade for Jason Richardson, and a few other stories. Meanwhile, let me start your Monday off with a quick update of what went on over the weekend in sports:

Headlines:

-Vince Carter resigns with the Nets

-Mariners' Manager Hargrove resigns

-Barry Bonds Makes All Star Team as Starter

-Lakes resign Luke Walton

-Jason Kapono inks deal with Raptors

(What a terrible weekend for sports. I mean come on, when Luke Walton and Jason Kapono make news with their deals, it's not a good thing.)

Check back later today for the feature column!

(Never get tired of this picture or the cameraman's face)

Draft Blog

2007-06-29T08:57:00.000-04:00

What’s up people. I’m just going to keep a running blog of what’s going on during the draft. I’ll have the time on the left and then whatever is happening will be written after that. Enjoy!

(I actually forgot to type the time in for the first few minutes)

No surprises with the first four picks (Oden, Durant, Horford, Conley Jr.)

Boston mixes things up a bit. With the 5^th pick, they draft Jeff Green from Georgetown. Reports have it that they are going to trade Jeff Green for Ray Allen, bringing Paul Pierce a solid player as he requested. I don’t see how getting a 32 year old who’s way past his prime in exchange for young talent is sensible, but I’m not Danny Ainge, so thank god for that.

YES! I’m so happy right now. Yi Jianlian just got drafted by the Bucks! I hate this guy. He was trying to choose his destination like he’s Kobe or Garnett. What a joke. This guy released a video with him practicing against a freaking chair. I’m so glad Milwaukee drafted him and pulled him down into a small market. This guy is going to suck anyway but I’m glad he got screwed. By the way, what a great job by ESPN to display the vital information on Yi. I’m so glad and feel so much more informed now that I know his height, weight, hometown, and how he was at the premiere for “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Shrek 3”. Seriously, what would I do without that investigative, inside information.

Corey Brewer to Minnesota. Good pick. Solid defensive player that will develop his offensive game. Joakim Noah: Way to be a great ex teammate and looking so happy when Brewer got selected. Jerk. He looked so mad, or as if he was going to tackle Brewer for getting picked above him. Way to be a good sport buddy. By the way, your hair is ugly and you look like a gay French painter.

8:18 – Charlotte just drafted Brandan Wright, forward from UNC. Wow what a surprise. Michael Jordan drafted a Tar Heel. It is a good pick though. Lots of talent and potential. Only question mark about him is his passion but I think Jordan had to have a good feeling about him to draft him this high. But then again, Jordan did have a good feeling about you know who (ahem, Kwame, ahem).

8:21 – Stephen A. Smith. Please. Stop yelling. We can hear you. Someone give this guy a hug, he’s always so angry. He just yelled at how Wright was a good pick, but I felt like I got caught doing something really bad.

Some downtime in between picks. I can’t believe K.G. didn’t get moved after all the hoopla the past week. Think about how pissed Kobe has to be right now. Unless they do something in the next day or so, I’m predicting another Kobe episode next week. Chicago is about to make the 9^th overall selection.

8:25 – Joakim Noah to the Bulls. Good pick, I guess. I really can’t get a good feel of how good this guy really is. I think he’s a bit overrated but he does hustle so that will fit in well with Skiles of Chicago.

Sacramento, Atlanta, and Philly are up next. Why does every graphic that ESPN shows say “Must Improve: Strength”?

Stuart Scott just told us what kind of shampoo Joakim Noah uses. Thanks Stuart. You’re ontop of your game tonight.

Tim Duncan’s commercial is on right now. God, even his commercials are boring.

8:32 – Spencer Hawes goes to Sacramento with the 10^th pick. I don’t really care about this pick or team. Both are boring. Haha Bilas just made this pick look ridiculous. How does a 7 footer average 6 rebounds in college. That’s weak. Bilas said he’s not a good athlete, can’t rebound well, and isn’t good at shotblocking. Well, he averaged 14ppg, so he can’t really score. Sacramento drafted him because…? oh that’s right, they’re Sacramento/

Stuart Scott just told us that Hawes has a “God Bless George Bush” bumper sticker on his car. …. Okay? I’m sure he also has a “God Bless Isiah Thomas” bumper sticker too.

8:36 – John Paxon has some greasy ass hair now. Looks like Pat Riley Jr.

8:37 – Stephen A. Smith Shouting Alert.

8:38 – Atlanta picks Acie Law IV with the 11^th pick. Great pick. I love watching Law play. Great team player who has the ability to take over games in the final minutes and Atlanta needed a point guard desperately. Solid pick.

8:44 – Stephen A. Smith Shouting Alert.

8:45 – Marc Jackson just made an attempt at a joke. It failed.

8:46 – With the 12^th pick, Philly picks Thaddeus Young from Georgia Tech. Stupid pick by a really stupid general manager (Billy King). I’m not even going to waste energy typing about this pick or this franchise because they don’t know what they are doing and its pointless to even try and break them down. Whatever.

8:47 – Bathroom Break.

8:52 – Julian Wright to the New Orleans Hornets at 13. I like Wright. I think he’ll be a solid contributor in his first season. Clippers, Pistons and Wizards are next. I hope Nick Young is around for the Wizards.

8:58 – David Stern’s voice cracked like a 13 year old boy as he announced the pick of Al Thornton to the Clippers. This is good for the Wizards because I don’t think Pistons will draft a shooter like Nick Young when they already got RIP.

9:05 – Pistons pick Rodney Stuckey (a shooter) from Eastern Washington with the 15^th pick. This guy can score a lot. That’s about it though. “A poor man’s Dwayne Wade” is how Jay Bilas describes him. I guess that’s a good thing…right?

Man I hope the Wizards do the right thing and pick Nick Young. He has fallen into their lap. If they pass on him, I’m turning off the TV and going to sleep. Seriously.

9:10 – Wizards select Nick Young from USC with the 16^th pick overall. THANK YOU Ernie Grunfield. I love this pick. This kid and score, he’s explosive, he plays above the rim, and shot 44% from three point range. Great pick to go with Gilbert Arenas in the backcourt and in Eddie Jordan’s Princeton style offense. Jersey and Golden State pick the next two and then it’s the Lakers pick.

9:11 – Stephen A. Smith Shouting Alert.

9:13 – Ric Bucher announces New York Knicks acquire Zach Randolph for Steve Francis (plus other meaningless players essentially). Finally a good move for NY. Questionable move for Portland. What do you see in Francis when you got Brandon Roy and Jarrett Jack along with Juan Dixon in the backcourt. I don’t really understand their thinking.

Wow Stephen A. Smith is screaming about how good this trade was. Why is he screaming!!!

9:16 – Nets select Sean Williams. Everyone saw that coming. This guy will either be a great player or a complete bust who gets arrested and goes to jail.

Two more picks and then I’m signing out folks because now the draft is getting boring. I’ll have a run through of anything meaningful that happened after the Lakers pick at 17 in tomorrows column. We got Golden State and then LA to go, then I’m outta here. My dog’s bladder is going to explode if I make her wait any longer.

9:23 – Golden State picks Marco Belinelli from Italy, and the crowd is awkwardly quiet because they have no idea who this guy is. He dropped 25 on Team USA last year in 28 minutes. That in itself is pretty impressive, even though Team USA hasn’t been its normal self.

Lakers pick is next. I think I’m getting excited for no reason. There isn’t anyone big time left on the board and there obviously isn’t going to be a trade.

Ric Bucher reports that Kobe hasn’t changed his stance at all. If they had gotten KG, he would pause and reconsider but obviously they didn’t get Garnett so Kobe still wants out. Stephen A is yelling again. I had to turn the volume down.

9:29 – The Lakers use the 19^th pick to select Javaris Crittenton from Georgia Tech, a point guard. Second consecutive year they picked a point guard. Mitch Kupchak really seems to know what he’s doing.

Dick Vitale is yelling. Stephen A Smith is yelling back at him. I can’t take this anymore. My TV speakers just exploded and my ears are bleeding. Good night folks.

(I don't understand how microphones work)

Message to My Growing Number of Fans

2007-06-28T11:29:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone. Thanks for checking in as usual and thanks also for getting my link out to others. The number of visitors is growing a lot each day and I actually have some European readers, which is great. As long as I have people reading, I will continue to post things as often as I can throughout the day and hopefully give you all an outlet from a boring day at work or school or wherever you may be.

Also, feel free to leave comments or emails for me telling me what you like/dislike, what stories you want to have more or less written about, and what different sports you want me to cover other than just the NBA. I'm going to start posting NFL and MLB stuff up here as well but feel free to contact me..

Email Me Comments/Suggestions/Stories

That being said...

Damn today sucks. This is one of the most boring mornings in a long time. I was hoping for today to be buzzing with stories left and right and trades going down but it has been dreadful. Here is a quick rundown of the news of the day.. if you can even call it that.

Quick Stories

-The KG to Phoenix trade seems to be dying, again. There have been two three-way-trade possibilities tossed around; one including Boston and one including Atlanta. Neither looks like it's going to happen as of right now. Of course it takes one phone call or one side giving in to change everything so Suns fans shouldn't lose hope just yet.

-Ray Allen is reportedly being shopped around the league. A trade isn't likely but it seems that the Sonics are trying to get a general idea of his value. Boston was the only team mentioned talking with Seattle but don't expect anything to happen. It wouldn't even make much sense for either side.

-Kobe hasn't budged on his stance.

-Lakers look like they are going after Jermaine O'neal now. I think that'd be a lateral move if you get rid of Odom and Bynum but what do I know; obviously Kupchak is a genius and knows how to get equal value back like he did for Shaq. Oh wait, thats right.. he didn't.

Thats about it people. Hopefully things pick up in the next few hours with the NBA Draft less than 8 hours away. What a letdown it would be if NO trades happened. Especially after all the hype and hoopla the past two weeks. Stay tuned...

(I had to give you all something!)

Three Stars, Three Incompetent GMs

2007-06-27T08:46:00.000-04:00

(Mitch Kupchak: Man.. I suck.)

Could you have a collection of greater veteran talent that all wants to be moved in the same month, surrounded by a collection of worse general managers? I honestly don't think it's possible. You're talking about the dream team of idiots when it comes to McHale, Ainge, and Kupchak. (Actually wait. It could be worse. Isiah Thomas could jump in and offer 10 years worth of draft picks, Stephon Marbury, and Hillary Clinton..... for Luke Walton.)

You have two of the most established superstars in the league with Kobe and Garnett, plus a very good perennial All-Star in Pierce and these, for lack of a better word, idiots, cannot put together a feasible trade. McHale went from not wanting to trade K.G. at all and possibly letting him walk next offseason for NOTHING, to wanting picks 1-15 of the draft, 3 or 4 All Stars, a couple of expiring contracts, and a sack of diamonds. Ainge couldn't get his kid to play in Boston if he begged him to, because everyone knows how terribly run that franchise is. I don't blame Shawn Marion or Jermaine O'neal or K.G. for not wanting to go there. I'd rather go to the Washington Mystics than play for the Celtics right now. And of course, there is Mitch Kupchak a.k.a. "I think Kwame Brown for Caron Butler is a step forward". I'm not even going to start on him. This has been one of, if not, the craziest offseason that I can remember. In 36 hours, it should get crazier. But of course, since we're dealing with the three stooges, don't be surprised one bit if NO ONE gets traded.

So where are we at now? Again, as a deal was close to being made, a crazy twist was thrown in and a deal that went from being red hot hours before has now gone completely cold. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves have both said that the potential trade that would send Kevin Garnett to the Lakers is dead. This report coming less than 24 hours after news broke that the two sides were very close to completing the trade. The Timberwolves moronic and incompetent GM, Kevin McHale, is apparently not impressed with Lamar Odom or his contract which has 2 years and over 21 million remaining. The 19^th pick overall is also not high enough for McHale’s standards. However, don’t make the mistake of believing that this deal is completely dead, despite what both sides say. The announcement by the Charlotte Bobcats last night that they will be willing to trade both of their first round picks and facilitate a trade is exactly what the Lakers need. Also, keep an eye on Atlanta. Don’t be surprised if the Lakers send Odom, Bynum and their pick to Atlanta in exchange for Atlanta sending their draft picks (both) to Minnesota and then consequently, Garnett to the Lakers. A similar scenario could be worked out with the Bobcats as well. Phone lines will be off the hook and stress will be at an all time high for the next 36 hours.

In another wild and unusual twist, the Phoenix Suns are back into the Garnett sweepstakes. Sources say the Suns are considering sending Amare Stoudemire to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for them sending their draft picks to Minnesota and Minnesota then sending Garnett to the Suns. People inside the organization believe this trade to be very possible given reports of Stoudemire’s arrogant attitude and unstable relationship with Coach Mike D’antoni. Two-time MVP Steve Nash has also been said to have a big say in this deal which would send a first team All-NBA player out of town to bring in a 31 year old past-his-prime talent.

Basically what it comes down to is who can offer Atlanta (or Charlotte) the better deal in exchange for them sending their picks to Minnesota. It’s highly doubtful that either L.A. or Phoenix can complete a direct trade with Minnesota so more than likely, the third team will have to be involved and be able to offer a package that Minnesota likes. The Lakers and Suns will be competing furiously over the next 36 hours; not just because they want Garnett, but because neither side wants their bitter rival to end up with Garnett.

(I cannot believe that the Suns would be willing to move Amare Stoudemire. Is this going to be Steve Kerr's first move as General Manager? Eeek. Good luck with that career buddy. This idea is preposterous to me and it makes absolutely no sense. I’m not even talking about the on the on the court numbers or any of that. Financially, as an organization, it makes NO sense. You have a two year window to win a title with Nash. Two years. Point blank. You ship out your 24 year old STUD who you can build around for years to come, and bring in an 31 year old with lots of miles and who may not play for than a couple of more years anyway? It's hard to picture Garnett retiring because it seems like yesterday he came into the league. But step back from that for a second and think about this: At the end of the season two years from now, he will have completed his 14th NBA season. What's the guarantee he's going to start his 15th?

Where do you think the Suns' organization will be two years from now? Nash will be old and on the decline or possibly retired. Same with Garnett. Basically the Suns are thinking that they can bring in K.G., ship out Amare, and in two years, start all over from ground zero but still be competitive. How? I don't have a clue. They could go from a title contender to being lottery bound that easily. Makes no sense to me at all.)

Paul Pierce is also making his own waves now as his demands for a trade are starting to gain momentum. Danny Ainge and the Celtics are in big trouble at this point because they have pretty much been shunned by Kevin Garnett and Shawn Marion. There are no other big name stars that they can bring in, as Pierce suggests. The next best thing is Jermaine O’neal but Ainge said he didn’t want to bring him in so that’s that. If the draft comes and goes, and the Celtics don’t bring in a big name player, Paul Pierce will be as good as gone. Danny Ainge’s clock is ticking louder than ever now, and he knows it.

In regards to Kobe and the Lakers feud, my friend Colin said it best:

"If LA misses the boat on this and KG goes to the Suns or something, it will just alienate Kobe
even more..just prove his point that they can't get it done."

This is it people. 36 hours until the draft. The moves that have been so heavily scrutinized for weeks will either go down any time now... or not happen at all. It's put up or shut up for the teams involved and it's pretty much a do or die situation for the three stooges.

(Could we see one of the best duo's in history? We'll know in less than 36 hours.)

Paul Pierce to Demand Trade Later this Week?

2007-06-26T12:39:00.000-04:00

Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics has made it clear to management that if they do not acquire a veteran player this week, he will publicly demand a trade. This news was announced in the midst of intense trade talks involving four teams; Celtics, Timberwolves, Lakers, and Pacers. Under the proposed deal which Boston has apparently just backed out of, the Celtics would ship their pick in the draft and either Al Jefferson, or a package of younger players, to Minnesota and acquire Jermaine O'neal from Indiana. However, Ainge not being a fan of O'neal's and a prior history of a somewhat verbal confrontation between the two makes it unlikely for the Celtics to participate in the blockbuster trade.

Upon hearing the news of Boston backing out and passing on a chance to get O'neal from Indiana, a little more than an hour ago, Pierce relayed a message inferring that Boston would have more problems later this week if a trade does not go through. Pierce will have fairly good trade value and plenty of teams would be interested in his services. The latest Pierce development out of Boston adds life to the potential blockbuster four team trade, just an hour after it was believed to have died. (12:45PM Eastern Time)

Minnesota, Los Angeles Still in Trade Talks
Shortly after it was reported that the four team blockbuster trade was losing life because of Boston backing out, news has broken that the Lakers and Timberwolves are still in serious talks about packaging players in an attempt to move Kevin Garnett. It is said that Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown would be sent to Minnesota for Garnett and disgruntled and overpaid guard Troy Hudson. The only snag in the deal is the Lakers draft choice is 19th overall, and the Timberwolves want a higher pick. If the four team blockbuster of earlier dies down completely, look for the Lakers to try and swing a higher pick from a different team to appease McHale of the Timberwolves.

Celtics Drop Out of Trade Talks

2007-06-26T11:46:00.000-04:00

As of 11:20AM Eastern time, the Boston Celtics have dropped out of trade talks that would bring in Jermaine O'neal and send out their 5th overall pick as well as Al Jefferson to the Wolves. The four team trade is dependent on Boston sending their package to the Twolves who are looking to ship K.G. to the Lakers. However, Danny Ainge has never been a fan of Jermaine O'neal's and is said to not be interested in acquiring the All-Star forward.

Garnett is said to be very interested in going to the Lakers to play alongside his friend and superstar Kobe Bryant, especially now that the talks to send him to Phoenix have all but died. Look for the Twolves and Lakers to try and get another team involved if Boston decides to cut ties completely from the trade.

Four Team Trade Talks Gaining Momentum

2007-06-26T11:45:00.000-04:00

As you’ve probably heard by now, there are serious trade talks going on involving a four team trade that would send K.G. to the Lakers. This is what it would look like, roughly:

L.A. sends Bynum and Odom to the Pacers; Get Garnett from the Twolves

Indiana sends Jermaine O’neal to the Celtics; Get Bynum and Odom

Boston sends the #5 pick overall and Al Jefferson to the Twolves; Get Jermaine O’neal

Minnesota sends K.G. to the Lakers; Get #5 pick overall and Al Jefferson

Sources say that Garnett has been trying to get in touch with his friend Kobe to make sure that if he pushes for this trade to happen, Kobe would remain in L.A. Kobe’s camp has been mum about the situation and are not softening their stance yet, but there is no way Kobe would leave town if Garnett was traded to L.A.

The Suns have all but dropped out of the trade talks for Kevin Garnett and instead have turned their focus on trading up in the draft. After working out Cory Brewer and Joakim Noah, the Suns were very impressed and feel that either one of the two can fit in great with the likely departure of Marion. The Suns are talking with numerous teams about trade possibilities to move up (trade package would more than likely include Marion).

One more thing about the Garnett story. With the draft approaching later this week and Minnesota owner, Glen Taylor, about to depart on a trip out of the country, he has made it clear that he wants a resolution to the talks sooner rather than later. Keep checking in for any breaking news because it seems to be on the verge of happening.

UPDATE: Kobe and K.G. Trade Talks Heating Up

2007-06-25T13:58:00.000-04:00

Quick update for my folks at work having a miserable Monday.

Kobe – A dialogue has been opened back up with management but still no major progress has been made and he has not softened his stance regarding wanting out of L.A. This is a stance, as I wrote in my earlier article, I don’t see him changing. He is set on getting out of L.A. and going to Chicago, Phoenix, or Dallas. UNLESS the Lakers somehow land K.G. Which leads me to my next update (I know you like that segway).

K.G. – Now that it’s obvious that common sense has prevailed in Minnesota and trading Garnett is seen as an option, the floodgates have opened as far as other teams and their offers. The frontrunners however are clearly Phoenix and the Lakers. Dallas is a distant third right now in the race for K.G.’s services. The details of the package L.A. is willing to offer have not been disclosed but my common sense tells me it will most likely involve packaging Lamar Odom and the overrated, overhyped, baby-faced soft creampuff known as Andrew Bynum. As known by many, Kobe and K.G. are pretty close friends and Garnett owns a house in Malibu, California. Of course Phoenix would probably gouge their eyes out if Kobe and Garnett pair up so look for an offer including lots of draft picks from Phoenix as well as a third team (Boston? Atlanta?). The next 48-72 hours should be interesting so stay tuned. Oh and contrary to what some are reporting about Dallas and Minnesota trade talks; Dallas isn’t going to send Dirk for K.G. It’s not happening. Cuban has a man-crush on Dirk (See Dirk’s MVP award presentation in which Cuban cried like a… well.. finish the sentence as you please). Stay tuned for updates.

Hmm. Maybe getting some value for K.G. this as opposed to none next year isn't a bad idea after all.

When Being Honest Isn't the Best Thing

2007-06-24T01:40:00.000-04:00

Before I get into this article, let me preface it with my top 10 players in the league, in order of who has the most impact on the game:

Kobe Bryant
Steve Nash (a very close second)
Tim Duncan
Lebron James
Dirk Nowitski
Gilbert Arenas
Dwayne Wade
Kevin Garnett
Amare Stoudemire
Dwight Howard

And before you Wade-lovers jump on me about him being ranked below Arenas, watch tape of Arenas and watch tape of Wade. Arenas has more versatility when it comes to scoring because he can shoot threes at opportune times like it’s nobody’s business, and his defense is just as bad (notice I said “bad”) as Wade’s. Considering Nash and Duncan’s age, if the current pattern continues, Arenas will be a top 5 player in the league for years to come.

Arenas has been the key factor in turning a morbid Washington franchise into one with excitement and playoff aspirations each of the past three years. They even won a series in 2004-05 before getting swept by the eventual NBA Champion Heat. Arenas has brought life to the city which has absolutely nothing to do when its not football season. Actually, the city has nothing to do even during the regular season because the Redskins like to eliminate themselves from playoff contention by Game 2, but that’s a topic for another day and another time. Point being, Arenas is an icon and a hero in Washington. I choose to use the word hero because he has done a ton of charity work and is seen in ghetto neighborhoods hooping it up with kids who can’t afford a basketball. His candidness and openness has been embraced by the community as he as seen as one of everyone else. He frequently updates his blog and for five minutes or so, takes the average person out of their element and lets them experience life as a superstar through him and his writings. He is as honest and upfront as it gets. But sometimes, there are certain topics where being upfront can actually hurt your image and your trust.

After next season, Arenas has the opportunity to opt out of his contract and test the free agent market (If you didn’t know this, go to ESPN.com. John Hollinger will make sure you know. Main page, it’s blinking there. NBA page, oh it’s there too. You can even leave espn’s site and go to cnn.com or something and Hollinger will pop up in a window telling you that Arenas is going to opt out next year).

Wizards fans fear this and hope that he doesn’t get tempted by another team and leave. Lord knows, every team in the league will be salivating over the opportunity to acquire his services. Arenas made it public a few weeks ago that he will opt out of his contract and test the market. To paraphrase, he said that he will see what he’s worth, and he wants to stay in Washington but will look at other teams because that it is all business. He later retracted from those comments a bit and softened the terms by offering an explanation on his blog. He wrote that he is just trying to do what’s best for him and his career. He even got into the specific terms of the deal stating:

“So at the end of the day, it will be a six-year deal instead of a four-year deal and instead of starting at 12.5 or 13 million, I’ll be starting at 14 or 15 million and I’ll be a max player.”

I have absolutely no problem with Gilbert opting out. None whatsoever. You as a player earned the chance to make more money and get more years so by all means, do what you gotta do. But you can’t make a statement throwing numbers like 13 million and 15 million around to people who will never see that much money in their life. I read his blog regularly and I have a nice salary. I’m sure many others who read it have better salaries than mine as well as worse. I’m sure there are some fairly rich and some fairly poor who read his blog. However, I doubt very many multimillionaires are regular readers of his blog. That’s where the problem lies. Most of us work 8 hours a day, put up with about 2 hours of ridiculous traffic extending our days to 10 hours and repeat it 52 weeks a year until we grow old and gray. It’s hard for the average fan to understand why it’s so important for you to possibly think about, even consider, “testing the market” and losing their trust when you are already making such huge sums of money. The way fans look at this is, “We put our hard earned money and trust into buying tickets to come see you guys, even when you were a joke. Now you’re getting to be respectable (not even ‘good’ yet), and you consider leaving for another city for a few extra zeroes? Doesn’t our support count for anything?”

This is why you can’t make this sort of stuff public. I don’t go to my friends who aren’t doing as well and tell them, “Yeah I’m going to look at this other company because I feel they can pay me an extra $10,000 a year, and I want to see where else I can get more” when I know that the guy I’m talking to barely has enough to put food on his table. There are certain things you just keep private. I appreciate everything Gilbert has done for the city and the fans but by throwing out figures like that, it just rubbed me the wrong way and after talking to my friends who are also Wizards fans, I found that I wasn’t alone in feeling this way.

Again, I don’t blame Gilbert for trying to get his money because he earned it. But the best thing to do would have been to keep quiet about it, and when the season ended, make a statement saying you are opting out so that you can sign a new deal with more years with the Wizards. Just don’t say things like, or similar to, “test the market”. That’s like telling your wife after you’ve been married for four years, have a three year old child together, and she’s put on a little weight, “Hey honey, I really want to stay with you but I’m still looking good so I’m going to hit up some clubs, see what kind of girls I can get. You know…test the market. But I’ll try to come back to you.” How do you think that conversation would go over?

(By the way, for my slow friends reading, let me break down the analogy:

The Aging Wife: Wizards Fans

Husband: Gilbert Arenas

3 year old baby: Our playoff experiences of the past 3 years

Other Girls: Other teams.

Just wanted to clear that up.. for Adam specifically.)

Had he put out a better worded statement, no one would be rubbed the wrong way, our loyalty to Arenas would be stronger than ever, John Hollinger wouldn’t be getting his jollies off of the thought of Arenas on the market, and Gil would get his money and years. Even if management was reluctant to give him what he asked for, the public would be on his side and the public pressure on management could help Arenas get his deal. That is how I would have gone about it and I wish, for Arenas’ sake and for the city of Washington’s, he had gone about it the same way.

Right now, all signs are pointing to Arenas resigning with Washington and everything should be fine. However, if he leaves (Orlando and Dallas will come calling among MANY others), Arenas will instantly go from the most beloved player in the city to one of the most hated because nothing stings worse than betrayal. (You think the treatment Juwan Howard got after leaving, and then awkwardly coming back from Miami a few years ago was bad? That was Juwan Howard. The biggest scrub alive. Bigger than Michael Olawakandi. Okay probably not as bad as him, but on the Eric Dampier level).

Fans in Washington had no reason to buy into the hype that Arenas and management were starting, but they did. They blindly fell in love with Arenas and if Arenas betrays that trust, I can’t even imagine the anger and resentment he would face.

You know that crazy astronaut chick who wore diapers on her way to confronting her lover? Well, imagine angry Wizards fans turning into that woman… times ten.

Choose your words wisely Champ.

If You’re Tired of hearing about Kobe and K.G…

2007-06-22T21:06:00.000-04:00

If you are one of the many who is tired of the 24 hour a day coverage of the Kobe and Garnett circus that has been thoroughly covered by ESPN, your local news, and your 4 year old nephew’s cartoon station, then this is the article for you. I’m going to talk about things such as, I don’t know, the rest of the league perhaps.

Let’s start with the much anticipated NBA Draft which is approaching us in less than 6 days now on June 28^th.

Actually before I go into this, let me just forewarn you that you’re not going to find some annoying mock draft on this site yet. I’m not going to be one of those people who has a mock draft up 4 months before the draft, then changes it on a daily basis. This is a busy week for the NBA with potentially some big trades that could go down which directly effect draft picks and teams with high draft choices. So from me, you will get one mock draft with thorough explanation for each pick, one or two days before the event actually occurs. I am not a fan of changing mock drafts or pow

rankings 10 times a day like other folks. Now that that’s off my chest, let’s continue with the article.

This is one of the deepest drafts that we’ve had in recent memory and without a doubt is a credit to the age limit that the NBA implemented. This is what so many people could not come to grips with for the past 15 years. One year of college actually does make a difference. Look at how many more quality players are in the top 15 of this years draft as opposed to the past drafts where you had high school “developing” players coming out completely unready for the commitment and the grueling hard work the NBA requires. Look at Kevin Durant alone! You would not have known what he is capable of or how good he is if you didn’t see him star at the University of Texas. Of course everyone knows the top two picks are going to be Greg Oden and Durant, in that order most likely.

However, there is a little debate going after recent workouts, with some sportswriters suggesting the Blazers should take Durant over Oden. Oden apparently has a few nagging injuries including the wrist that sidelined him for a few games last season with Ohio State, as well as a few back problems. Durant has continued to impress (other than the fact that he can’t bench 185 even once). However, given the makeup of the Blazers with emerging star Brandon Roy in the backcourt and a solid coach in Nate McMillan, it should be a lock for Oden to go number one overall, despite the injury rumors.

Since 1998, either Shaquille O’Neal or Tim Duncan has been in every single Finals series. Think about that for a minute. That is nine years. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Kevin Durant will have a stellar career. This isn’t only because he is immensely talented but because during the NCAA tournament, he showed heart and desire. That’s something you didn’t see from guys like Kwame Brown and Tyson Chandler, to name a few. However, we can’t set aside the fact that Durant is 6’9 weighing 225lbs while Oden is a 7 footer close to 300lbs (280 to be exact). Size matters in the NBA no matter what you say. Take the Washington Wizards for example; Superstar scorer in Arenas, solid wingman with Butler and a sixth man of the year as well as All-Star forward Antawn Jamison. Sounds like the makings of a title contender, especially in the joke that is the eastern conference. What do the Wizards lack? Inside presence. They do have a 7-footer in Haywood but he is softer than a twinkie left in a car parking lot during 95 degree weather. Oden brings defense right away so he’s already on the level of Emeka Okafur, a solid player. His offense is developing and will get better with time so he has the makeup to become an absolute stud.

Let’s also not forget that the Blazers were not THAT bad last year. Yes, I know they were 32-50 but that’s only 9 games away from a .500 record in the Western Conference. Also, give me another year under star-in-the-making Brandon Roy’s belt as well as player like Oden and I’d feel confident that the Blazers can muster another 10-12 wins. That’s why them getting the first pick was such a shocker. Look for them to be battling for the 7^th or 8^th playoff spot next year, especially if Kobe leaves the Lakers and they are out of the picture.

Durant will bring versatility and some added excitement to a franchise that needs it as much as any. The duo of Ray Allen and Durant should work well. Both Oden and Durant are a can’t miss pick for 1 and 2 respectively. However, at the end of the day, the better pick for pretty much any franchise other than the Spurs or Suns would be to take Greg Oden.

Other Stories and Potential Relocations Around the League:

-Antawn Jamison’s contract expires after next season and he will become an unrestricted free agent. The Wizards will already have their hands full trying to hold on to star guard Gilbert Arenas, despite what he writes on his blog, because there will be plenty of teams salivating at the opportunity of signing him. Zach Randolph’s name of the Blazers has been thrown around quite a lot as a possible trade piece. I’ll keep you posted on this in the coming weeks.

-Andrei Kirilenko is a baby. As if literally crying about his role during the playoffs wasn’t bad enough, Andrei is still whining about it. You would think that, after crying like a 9 year old girl who’s Daddy just told her she can’t have a white pony, the guy would man up a little and bust his behind in the offseason to get better so that he’s not in a situation like this next year. Instead, he has whined some more to management through his agent about possible trades. Utah has said they will not trade him so that’s that. If Andrei picked up a dumbbell as often as he picks up a tissue, maybe he wouldn’t be in this situation. Just a thought.

-Jermaine O’Neal to the Lakers is a deal all but dead. It doesn’t look like O’Neal really wants to go to L.A. now due to recent, ahem, developments out of that city’s basketball team with certain players. New York is the other option but the Knicks aren’t really overflowing with quality trade material so we’ll probably end up seeing #7 in Indy for another year, or maybe just until All-Star break.

I’m going to include an article tomorrow about the Gilbert Arenas situation in Washington and what I foresee regarding his future with the team, despite what he writes on his blog. So look out for that. Also, check in if you want the latest on the Kobe/KG situations as well as other breaking news stories regarding the NBA.

Banged up wrist or not, Oden is a sure thing.

You may move Kobe now, or forever hold your peace

2007-06-22T13:54:00.000-04:00

As usual, Kobe Bryant had to do something to get the spotlight back on him because we all know how much he loves it. The NBA Finals weren’t much of an obstacle for him but the Paris Hilton saga was. But of course, Kobe dwarfed that story in L.A. too with his month of “trade me” “trade me not” “trade me #%@!’ing now!” drama. So what do I think is going to be the end result you ask? Ok, well, you didn’t ask but I’ll tell you anyway.

I think there is a 1% chance that the Mamba will ever be a Laker again. That 1% chance rests only because its Kobe Bryant, the Lakers, Hollywood, AND because there is a minute possibility that the Lakers make a splash and send Lamar Odom, Bynum and some other scrubs to Minnesota for K.G. I don’t see it happening at all but you never know. In that case, I’m sure Kobe would stay. That being said, he’s as good as gone in my book and should be in yours too.

Right now, Jerry Buss and Kobe are playing chicken. Buss is saying through his people that he’s not going to trade Kobe and Kobe is saying through his people that he’d be willing to sit out the entire season next year if his demands are not met. Obviously, one of them is going to blink first and I think it’s in the Lakers’ best interest to bite the bullet now before a tank rolls up and demolishes that franchise (that tank being an angrier Kobe).

You cannot have an infuriated and stubborn superstar on your team. You just can’t. It doesn’t work. Never has, never will. Yes, I realize that you can’t get even close to fair value for Kobe, especially since he’s holding the Lakers hostage with his three team list of Phoenix (of course), Chicago, and Dallas. But holding onto him for another season is just going to make matters worse inside the locker room and the end product on the floor won’t be good. We saw what Kobe is capable of doing in the infamous Game 7 against Phoenix where he didn’t shoot the ball in the second half. The Lakers don’t need that for 82 games.

What they should do is go ahead and trade him before the draft. Three teams are possibilities as mentioned before. The Lakers don’t want to send him to Phoenix because they don’t want to see him in the playoffs. So instead, they’d send him to the east for lesser value which to me makes absolutely no sense at all. You HAVE to trade the guy so you go out and get the best possible value. I would rather have Marion, Diaw and Barbosa or a draft choice verses getting Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas and the 9^th pick overall. (Deng isn’t likely to be moved if the trade is for Kobe). You can send Kobe to the east for less value and have the comfort of not seeing him the playoffs, or send him to the west for better value and risk seeing him in the playoffs (which really doesn’t matter because the Suns can wax the Kobe-less Lakers with their bench!). Chances are the Lakers won’t be any good either way but at least they’ll have a better start on their future by sending him to the Suns and getting legit compensation. Take the best value you can get, and move on.

I think the majority of the blame should fall on Jim Buss, the son of Jerry Buss and the apparent heir to the throne of Lakers’ Owner. He drove away Jerry West, a lifelong Laker, he drove away Phil Jackson until Jeanie Buss, Jim’s sister, convinced Phil (her boyfriend) to come back. (Could this be any more Hollywood? Seriously this is a script for Guiding Light or As The World Turns.) Jerry Buss got Shaq booted and now it looks like he’s going to have to get rid of Kobe too. What a legacy Mitch Kupchak will have. Imagine interviewing for another GM position as Kupchak, “Well I uh, I traded Shaq…um I traded Kobe. I brought in Kwame Brown by trading for a player who became an All Star. And I signed Vladmir Radmanovic to a long term contract. (Awkward silence). Yeeeeah so should I go ahead and shut the door on my way out?.” Good luck with your career buddy.

Lakers should move on before the draft and get the maximum value that they can get. Send the Mamba to Phoenix and start your 3-5 year, or 20 year rebuilding process.

Yes Mamba, you have won the spotlight yet again...

K.G. to Phoenix? Not happening

2007-06-22T11:32:00.000-04:00

As you probably know, Minnesota and Boston had come to agreement on terms to send the highly talented Kevin Garnett to the Celtics for a package of young players and the #7 pick overall. The deal was in place and Boston fans were about to find some solace after missing out on the Oden and Durant sweepstakes. But of course, it is Boston so what happened next was bound to happen. At the last second, K.G. shoots down the deal saying he doesn’t want to play for them. (Suicide Watch: Danny Ainge & Bill Simmons). Moving on to the next trade scenario for K.G. brings us to Phoenix, Arizona. Garnett has apparently gotten frustrated with incompetent, moronic McHale and owner Glen Taylor and told them that if you’re going to trade me, send me to the Suns. I don’t see it happening and here’s why:

1) The Twolves want Amare in exchange for Garnett and are not willing to accept a package including the disgruntled (and overrated) Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw and some other bench geek. They want Amare for K.G. The Suns won’t do that because it makes no sense. You have a 24 year old entering his elite years who is already wrapped up in a long term contract. Trade him for a GREAT player but, lets be honest, has a lot of miles on his odometer. 12 years and being age 31 isn’t very enticing. Throw in the fact that he’s got a figure over 20 million per season coming up and he can opt out after the season.

2) Reason number two is the Shawn Marion being Shawn Marion. A three way trade was possible by sending Marion and Diaw to Boston, Boston sends the package they just offered to Minnesota, and Minnesota sends K.G. to the Suns. That’d work out for everyone right? Well Marion said he’s not playing for ‘Sota and he’s definitely not playing for Boston. So that’s that. (By the way, wasn't being the highest paid player on the Suns while being the 3rd, maybe 4th most important enough for Marion?? Guess not.)

3) Lastly, K.G. has a clause in his contract that states he will get a 15% increase on his contract (as if he really needs it), if he is traded to another team. That would bring his 2007-2008 figure to a little over $25 million for one season. To make matters worse, he has a bunch of little extra clauses that are supposed to kick in July 1^st in which he’d make even more money. Phoenix is over the luxury tax limit and they are already looking at a San Francisco 49ers like financial disaster 3 years from now (because of the contracts that Nash and Amare have, plus the ENORMOUS contracts that overpaid Jalen Rose and Diaw have.) Jalen Rose was the highest paid cheerleader this year by the way. So the Suns don’t have the wiggle room to afford KG unless they move Amare AND Marion’s contracts.

Only way there is even a remote possibility of KG playing for the Suns is if another team gets involved for a 3-way, and Princess Marion accepts going there PLUS the team offers equivalent to what Boston offered ‘Sota.

To summarize folks, looking around the league and what can be offered, this trade isn’t going down.

Sorry KG. You won’t be running alongside Nash anytime soon.