Sportsology 101

Quick Hits 4/17/09

2009-04-17T15:19:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I really suck at updating this blog. I'm sorry reader(s), but at least I have something to say today.

MLB

What do I think 2009 will have in common with 1997 and 2003? A World Series champion from Miami is the answer to that question. Yes, after two weeks, I've hopped on the Marlins bandwagon to win it all. Every six years it seems as if an out-of-nowhere Marlins team will put together the right mix of youth and experience to win it all. This year is no different.

They have a top flight pitching staff to go along with probably the second best player in baseball. If it makes you think I'm nuttier, I think they will end up facing another out of nowhere team like the Blue Jays, in the World Series. Stay tuned.

NBA

Cavs vs. Lakers is pretty much a done deal now. The only thing LA has to do is maintain. Cleveland still has to get past Orlando, but besides that it should be a cake walk. As for Boston, they're losing to the Bulls in 6.

Baseball Preview ... Kinda

2009-04-05T17:13:00.000-07:00

As the Braves and Phillies open up the season, like right now, i figured it would be apropos for me to drop a little preview on you. No, not the kind that will predict a Cubs/Red Sox World Series that will never, ever happen. This is the kind where I say 10 things I think will happen, that of course won't.

10. The Nationals will be one of the worst teams in baseball history. They can't hit, pitch or play defense. Their only significant signing was Adam Dunn, who will hit .240, give you 40 HRs, a lot of walks and a lot of strikeouts. He's also an atrocious defender.

9. That said, the Nats will sign San Diego State pitcher Steven Strasburg to a record contract ($20-25 M) and he'll pitch before the season is over. By the time this team gets to September, they're going to need him to pitch to get people in the stands.

8. Speaking of phenoms, Matt Wieters is the real deal. Check out his numbers from his first season of pro ball, which was last year (peep his 2009 projections as well). Insane.

7. Either the Red Sox or Yankees will not make the playoffs this year. Again.

6. Manny will make a legitimate run at .400 this year. He's 0ne of the greatest hitters of all time, just past his prime but still deadly. He also happens to play in one of the worst divisions in baseball. Look for him to be around .400 through the summer.

5. B.J. Upton will be a 30/30 guy this year. He's ready to finally live up to his full potential.

4. Hanley Ramirez will make a run at 40/40. If he were a better defender, he would be one of the two or three best players in baseball. He might be anyway.

3. There will be another steroids bombshell during the season. I hate to bring up a downer, but its going to happen. I just hope its Schilling.

2. C.C. Sabathia will regret not being in the NL. Especially the NL Central, which will continue to suck.

1. Albert Pujols will continue to be the best player in baseball. Nuff said.

Sportsology on Corruption

2009-03-27T14:31:00.000-07:00

The Yahoo! Sports article about Jim Calhoun’s cheating scandal is getting a lot of publicity. I came across a Jason Whitlock article which talked about the true lack of interest on the NCAA’s part when it comes to cleaning up recruiting.

When I started reading the comments, with people accusing Yahoo! of yellow journalism and saying these kids aren’t getting ripped off because they’re getting a free education, etc., it reminded me of this Joe Posnanski (fast becoming my favorite sportswriter) blog post. In it, he talks about the role of sports journalist. Is it to entertain, enlighten or do a little bit of both?

Personally, I looked at sports journalism as something in between the two fields, but only because they cover entertainers for a living. I love to read the investigative pieces, especially about the increasingly shady recruiting practices, but apparently people don’t care.

Or maybe people’s perspectives are backwards. For starters, its really unfair and naïve to view the degree that the big-time college athlete receives as being on par with the degree you and I may receive, especially in modern terms. Most of these kids aren’t smart enough to get into these schools (and like Nate Miles, a lot of them probably wouldn’t even graduate from high school without their athletic prowess), but we expect them to succeed in the classroom anyway? On top of a demanding athletic schedule, which is the equivalent of a full time job?

Plus, when you look at the value of a college degree, versus the amount of dollars generated, it’s not an even trade off. Look at it like this:

Say you work at a huge company with hundreds of thousands of employees that makes billions of dollars a year. At this company, everyone in upper management might be millionaires, but people actually creating the product barely make 30K (kind of like most companies today anyway). Keep in mind that on your current work experience will only bring you success in a few, focused industries.

At this point, you might say “I’m getting screwed.” But you stay at the company anyway, because after three or four years you might be able to move on to another company making even more money than your current supervisors.

But out of your hundred thousand dollar company, only a few hundred will ever get that million dollar gig, and most of those who get the job will be fired after a year or two. This is the college athlete’s situation in a nutshell.

I guess this is like the rest of us, minus the promise of being a millionaire. Far from slaves, when these kids throw away their education at middle or high school levels, for all intensive purposes at least, these “student athletes” are banking on million dollar careers to supplement their lack of earning ability doing anything outside of sports. Most of these kids are in this predicament only because of the promise of millions.

On top of that, they’re spurned on by people who are only in their lives to make money off their ability to shoot a jumpshot. This is where things get different for the student athlete than you and I. When you’re punching the clock at your 50k/year gig, you probably don’t have dozens of people around fighting over the few hundred bucks you have left over each check after paying bills and student loans.

Another way to look at the corruption in college hoops is to look at the corruption in the nation. Do you really think Jim Calhoun didn’t know his assistants were in communication with the kid Miles, his family and that agent/advisor? If so, you’re pretty naïve.

When it comes to a recruit of that caliber, Calhoun was probably peppering his coaches with questions about Miles every day. The likelihood of his coaches being able to report on what they were doing with Miles, without mentioning the things that are infractions, is once again highly unlikely. I can go on and on about the scumbag Calhoun, but that’s not the point.

The point is when money is involved; you can’t expect someone to do the right thing or the care about the human condition. In all industries, especially in 2009 America, cash is king. It even happens with the kids who pay for their own education. Universities don’t care about their education, they want the money. That’s why they let these money-making kids enter their school even though they don’t stack up academically. Sometimes, these kids even have criminal records, making them dangerous for other students to be around.

The coaches, agents, runners and “advisors” are no different from the people who ruined Wall St. and AIG. Everyone else be damned, they want to be paid. We not only need to reform Wall St. and college sports, I think it’s time for nationwide reform. We can’t be stupid anymore and expect people to do the right thing when there’s millions of dollars on the line. Either that or we can just say screw it, ditch the idea of a republic or democracy and become a nation of “everyman for himself.”

Going back to my point about journalism, with the amount of money and people involved, it's hard (for me at least) to look at sports as just entertainment. It's a business that is not very similar to the games we grew to love as kids. This is why I'm passionate as ever about investigative sports journalism and why it's heartbreaking for me to read people's indifferent comments.

Or maybe it's time for me to change the way I look at things.

Two Links 3/25

2009-03-25T09:53:00.000-07:00

You know how ESPN was trying to make a big deal about T.O. missing some voluntary minicamps? Turns out he's in DC receiving an award for raising awareness about Alzheimer's disease.

Good job ESPN. With all the Matt Jones/Donte Stallworth/Pac Man Jones types running around, you continue to try to paint T.O. as the bad guy of the NFL, despite the fact that he's a model citizen off the field.

Sure he's paranoid and he wants the ball too much, but I'd rather have a guy making $10 mil per that wants the ball every time than a guy making $2 M and could care less about getting on the field.

The other link I wanted to share is about college hoops sleezeball Jim Calhoun and his staff at UConn committing major recruiting violations in pursuit of a kid so troubled that he was booted off campus before the season started. What a jerk.

March Madness Preview

2009-03-19T08:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I've been gone for over a month. Explanation? I don't really have one, other than the fact that I was seriously considering starting a podcast. But, as a few of my friends have pointed out, I have a gift for writing and people like to see what I think about sports. Therefore, for the third year in a row, here are my March Madness picks.

East Region

Teams that could go deep
Pittsburgh – I love their starting five, especially Sam Young and Dejuan Blair. Foul trouble or injuries could be a problem for this team, but if they avoid either then they should be Final Four lock.
Duke – I love the way this Duke team played down the stretch. They seem to really enjoy playing with each other, they are a solid defensive team and Gerald Henderson is a superstar.
Nova – You know Jay Wright’s teams are going to have good guard play. The difference with this team is they have good post play as well.
Teams that could fall earlyXavier – They played crappy down the stretch and aren’t really as talented as last year’s team or even the team before that.
Florida State – I can see them running out of gas after they went pretty deep in the ACC tourney.
UCLA – They aren’t as good as they normally are. Basically a live-and-die jump shooting team with one good shooter.
Mid-Major Report
VCU – They are a very popular pick to upset UCLA, which makes me a little nervous. They aren’t as deep as the VCU team from a few years ago, but Eric Maynor is even better.
Portland State – I don’t know why, but I like them.
American – They’re getting a raw deal playing Villanova in what is essentially the Wildcats home court.

Midwest Region

Teams that could go deep
Louisville – I like this team a lot. They can run, they play good defense, and they can shoot. Their only weakness is a true post presence, at least on offense, as Samardo Samuels hasn’t been as good as advertised. However, there aren’t many teams that can exploit them in the post, and none of them are in this bracket.
Wake Forest – They always play well against good teams. However, they seem to overlook some of the smaller guys which makes them susceptible for an upset. If they can avoid dropping to a low seed early, they could challenge Louisville.
West Virginia – They were probably the second or third best team in the Big East down the stretch. Look for them to make another run this year.
USC – They are the classic team that seemed to finally get it together down the stretch. Adjusted for pace, they are a top 20 defensive team and have won 5 in a row. Good down low with Taj Gibson and good on the perimeter with Daniel Hackett.
Teams that could fall early
Michigan St. – I always pick them to lose early, for whatever reason.
Kansas – I think they’ve already maxed out.
Mid-Major Report
Siena – They are a popular pick to upset Ohio State, except they are playing in Dayton. They waxed a very good Niagara team in the MAAC championship.
North Dakota State – Great offensive team + great story x underrated = recipe for an upset.
Cleveland State – They should give Wake some trouble, but I don’t seem them beating the Deacs.

South Region

Teams that could go deep
North Carolina – Same old story for the Heels; a lot of offense, just enough d. The most talented team in the country would be the favorite if it wasn’t for injuries.
Gonzaga – This team is Mark Few’s most talented team so far at Gonzaga. However, they draw UNC in the Sweet 16, which might be the only thing in their way from a Final Four berth.
Arizona St. – I don’t know why, but I really, really like this team. Harden and Pendergraph are one of the best combo’s in college hoops.
Oklahoma – No depth, but their Top 7 can play with anybody in the nation. Plus Blake Griffin could start on any NBA team right now, no kidding.
Teams that could fall early
Syracuse – I’m never a Syracuse fan, and I can see them running out of gas after last week.
Illinois – They aren’t very good to begin with, and their best player is hurt.
Mid-Major Report
Butler – They are starting to get a Gonzaga-type rep, where we expect them to be good every year.
Western Kentucky – Pick them to beat Illinois.
Akron – Don’t know much about these guys.
Stephen F. Austin – Believe it or not, they’re a Top 20 defensive team. Expect them to come away with a victory.

West Region

Teams that could go deep
UConn – They could go deep, but don’t expect them to go all the way without Dyson.
Washington – One of the best teams in the country you’ve probably never seen. Also one of the fastest paced Pac-10 teams and a team with the size and depth to knock of Uconn before they get to Memphis.
Missouri – 40 Minutes of Hell is alive and well with this team.
Memphis – I never like Memphis, but after last year I can’t sleep on them anymore.
Teams that could fall early
Purdue – Too hurt this year.
Mid-Major Report
BYU – Solid every year out of the underrated MVC.
Northern Iowa – Solid team out of the underrated again ‘Valley.
Utah St – One of those experienced mid-major teams that racks up a lot of wins in-conference and is usually good for a win or two in the dance.

Final Four
Louisville vs. Missouri
Pitt vs. UNC

Championship
Louisville vs. UNC

Champs
Louisville – Louisville is the best team in the nation now, and they don’t have any injuries or glaring weaknesses. That separates them from the rest of the pack this year.

Top 10 Teams to Win it All
Louisville – Best team in the nation for the last 1/3 of the season.
UNC – Best team in the nation for the first 1/3 of the season.
Pitt – Best team in the nation for the middle 1/3 of the season.
Memphis – It’s hard to knock Calipari’s program, at least for on the court reasons.
Missouri – Reminds me a lot of the Arkansas team that won it all, minus the Corliss Williamson presence.
Wake Forest – If Teague and Aminu come back, they’ll win it all next year.
Washington – Quietly one of Lorenzo Romar’s most talented teams this decade.
Duke – This Duke team is a lot different from the ones that flopped in recent years.
Villanova – Love the guard play, but I don’t see anybody out of that Top 8 really making a run.
Oklahoma – Anything is possible when you have the best player in the country.

2009's Should Be All-Star Reserves

2009-01-25T15:26:00.000-08:00

As you can see, I went small with both teams and had to get creative with the East roster. Amare is stealing Shaq's all-star spot while there are a bunch of guys who could make a case for AI's guard spot in the East. Besides those two, I really don't have any beef with the starters.

Western Conference

PG – Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs – 20.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 6.6 apg. Quietly, Tony is averaging career high’s in points and assists per game.
SG – Brandon Roy, Portland Trailblazers – 22.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 5.3 apg. Portland, by far, is the most enjoyable team to watch in the league this year. They’re young, they have depth, they play smart and hard, and Brandon Roy is likely to drop 50 on you if you’re not ready.
SF – Kevin Durant, OKC – 24.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.6 apg. Last I heard he was buried in obscurity somewhere in the mid-west. At least he might have come on TV by now if they were still the Sonics.
PF – Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks – 26 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.5 apg. Dirk is still bringing it in Dallas.
C – Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers – 17.5 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 3.4 apg. I had to reward the Lakers with a 2nd all-star.
PG – Chauncey Billiups, Denver Nuggets (32 games) – 18.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 6.9 apg. His trade to Denver has changed the fortunes of Denver and Detroit’s season and future.
PF – Paul Millsap, Utah Jazz – 15.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 2.1 apg. I know Al Jefferson’s numbers are better, but P-Mill gives you a double-double every game he starts and Utah deserves an all-star.

Close Calls: Al Jefferson, Minnesota Timberwolves; Shaquille O’Neal, Phoenix Suns; Deron Williams, Utah Jazz; Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets; LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trailblazers

Eastern Conference

PG – Devin Harris, New Jersey Nets – 21.8 ppg, 3 rpg, 6.4 apg. He’s cooled off a bit, but he’s still having a career year and is worthy of the trip to Phoenix.
SG – Joe Johnson, Atlanta Hawks - 21.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 6 apg. Joe is finally getting his due around the league as one of the game’s best players.
SF – Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics - 19.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.7 apg. The Truth is leading the Celtics back to the Eastern Conference Finals, if not the NBA Finals.
PF – Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers – 26.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.4 apg. Had to get the 4th best Small Forward in the league here somehow.
C – Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors – 23.1 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 2.6 apg. His team is horrible, but so are the Eastern Conference centers behind Dwight Howard.
PG – Jameer Nelson, Orlando Magic – 17.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 5.3 apg. A jump shooter hitting 50% of his FGs. Needless to say, he’s been on a year-long hot streak.
PG – Mo Williams, Cleveland Cavaliers – 16.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4 apg. Had to reward the Cavs with two players and sense Big Z is on the shelf he gets the nod.

Close Calls: Rashard Lewis, Orlando Magic; Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando Magic; Ray Allen, Boston Celtics; Vince Carter, New Jersey Nets; Antawn Jamison, Washington Wizards; Caron Butler, Washington Wizards

Why LeBron should go to New York

2009-01-22T14:24:00.001-08:00

The NBA's renaissance in the 80s and 90s was fueled by likable characters and media creations, like Bird, Magic and Jordan. This has been well documented.

This left them vulnerable when those stars faded away and the league's image plummeted, culminating with the infamous Brawl at the Palace between the Pacers and Pistons.

Luckily for David Stern, an influx of young talent has become to filter into the league. Most of the stars, like Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh and Chris Paul are equal parts talented and likable. They avoid trouble and seem to be homebodies and gym rats. Others, like Carmelo Anthony have come across some trouble, but not anything extremely damaging.

Yet, the NBA seems to be putting most of its eggs in the basket which is King James. LeBron has avoided trouble too, save for some speeding tickets, is one of the three or four best players in the league and is backed by shoe giant Nike. Plus, he's going to be this year's league MVP by default (sort of like Kobe last year).

However, LeBron's potential as an anti-hero is more intriguing to me. For starters, he's pretty much a jerk. This year alone, he's waxed poetically about his desire to play in New York, dissed Charles Barkley for crticizing him about it, cut staff from one of his philanthropic organizations and used the phrase "crab dribble" while whining about getting a traveling call against him in a play where he clearly took at least 3 steps.

This is why LeBron should go to New York.

In New York, he'll get the A-Rod treatment: major contract, major endorsements, major scruitiny and hate from everyone else in the country. In New York, he'll get the intense media pressure and harsh fans that an arrogant guy like him deserves.

Additionally, the league will be forced to stop trying to make us love him the same way we did Jordan. What's the point? People tune in just as much, if not more, to see the villain go down as they do to watch the hero triumph over evil.

Imagine LeBron's Knicks in a few years in the Eastern Conference finals against Dwight Howard's Magic, or (better yet for the NBA) the Celtics Big Three going for a final championship run.

As good as a potential 7 game series between the Cavs and Celtics this year seems, the problem the league will have will be finding the bad guy. While James is the obvious choice, do they want to go that route? Probably not.

That's too bad, because out of all the guys the media wants us to hate, he's the big name that deserves to be booed the most.

Championship Weekend Quick Hit

2009-01-16T16:58:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the lack of a preview, but I've been tied up the past few days. Take Arizona and Pittsburgh if your gambling, and expect to see them in Super Bowl XL whatever it is.

Et Tu Jodie Meeks?

2009-01-14T08:54:00.000-08:00

And just like that, Jodie Meeks has put himself in the middle of the Player of the Year race in college hoops. I missed last night's game, unfortunately, and the only time I saw Kentucky this year they looked like crap against North Carolina.

Little did I know, Kentucky was on a bit of a roll and has only lost four games this season, all to decent opponents, and have a better record (so far) than Tennessee. I had a chance to watch this game, but opted to catch the Lakers and Rockets instead, because I assumed Kentucky was a crappy team. I definitely should've done my research.

Fortunately for Kentucky and Meeks, they're both back on the scene. Well Meeks is on the scene for the first time this year. He's averaging 25.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, and 1.9 apg thank you, and is definitely in the Top 5 for POY now. Here's my list to date:

1. Blake Griffin - 22.4 ppg, 13.8 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.5 spg, 1.5 bpg, 65% FG, 60% FT.
2. Stephen Curry - 28.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 6.7 apg, 3.1 spg, 45% FG, 36% 3PT, 85% FT.
3. James Harden - 23.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 4.7 apg, 2.1 spg, 56% FG, 42% 3PT, 76% FT.
4. Luke Harangody - 24.8 ppg, 12.7 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.4 spg, 1 bpg, 50% FG, 81% FT.
5. Jodie Meeks - 25.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.5 spg, 48% FG, 44% 3PT, 91% FT.

Quick Hits 1/13

2009-01-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

MLB

I haven’t spent much time on baseball this off-season, as the Yankees have made a big splash with their signings, while no one else has really stirred up the pot. I feel like more teams are going to go the Rockies/Tampa Bay route or even the Phillies route in the coming years than try to emulate the Yankees/Mets/Red Sox route which has only really worked for the Red Sox.

Of course the Yanks have abandoned building from the ground up by signing C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Texiera, three of the four biggest names on the market. The other free agent of mega-value is Manny Ramirez, who seems have little options besides the Dodgers right now.

Being in the D.C. area, I don’t understand why they aren’t throwing him $100 for four years. As of now, they have no one on the team that’s going to put butts in the seats and their farm system isn’t as stocked as small market teams like the Rays/Rockies who’ve made recent runs, perennial small-market contenders the Twins and A’s or even their pseudo-rival 30 minutes to the north, Baltimore, who have the best prospect in the game besides Tampa’s David Price; phenom catcher Matt Wieters.

Honestly, if they don’t do something this off-season, the future of baseball in our nation’s capital could become shaky.

NCAA B

With Stephen having another shaky big-stage performance and Blake Griffin seemingly running away with the national player of the year race, I’m suspending the Curry Watches until he really blows up again. In between updates, you can assume he’s going to score 25-35, get 6-8 dimes, 3 or 4 boards and a few steals per game.

As for my loyal readers, I’ve been watching more college basketball than I have in a long time, so my post-season predictions should be head on.

NBA

I still want to go in depth in my player rankings, which might need some tinkering now that Kevin Martin is back and Boozer is out for a long time. I also want to do a bench and coach ranking first, then compare where teams rank in my opinion to where they actually are.

I apologize for taking up so much of your time with an “experiment” that may only be of interest to me.

NFL
Hopefully I’ll have enough time to crank out a conference championship preview later on this week, although I’ll say now I’m leaning towards Philly and Pittsburgh.

However, Philly’s not a lock as Arizona’s defense is making big plays and putting their offense in great positions. Arizona’s resurgent running game has been greatly overstated I think (86 yards, 3.1 ypc in their win over Atlanta, 145 yards, 3.4 ypc versus Carolina) as it’s the defense that has been behind Arizona’s playoff run. That, and stupid defense on Larry Fitzgerald.

Meanwhile, the Ravens are playing bonecrushing defense, as Ed Reed and the boys are dragging their offense along another title run like they did in 2000. The difference in the two runs maybe in QB experience, as an experienced Trent Dilfer is better than a decent, potential-filled-but-definitely-overrated-at-this-stage-in-his-career, Joe Flacco.

Really Quick Thought

2009-01-09T13:33:00.000-08:00

Sorry guys, but I've been slacking this week. I owe you all a Curry watch, and explanation of my NBA lists, a college football recap, an NFL playoff thought or two and a college hoops update.

But alas, I have no time. I did want to say that tonight's Celtics/Cavs game is the game of the year so far. In the previous NBA Game of the Year so far, the Lakers topped the Celts in LA on Christmas, and started the Celtics free fall.

Meanwhile, the Cavs are still rolling, have the best record in the East and are 18-0 at home.

This game is important because with a win, the Cavs can assert their dominance in the East and stake a claim that they are indeed ready for primetime. A Celtics loss would really accentuate the team's free fall and put more pressure on Danny Ainge to sure up the bench.

However, a Celtics win would show that they aren't ready to cede their dominant Eastern Conference role to the Cavs, and probably help them regain their momentum. A Cavs loss would place them back behind Boston, and put them down 0-2 in the season series.

If this game lives up to its potential, we could be talking about the ramifications of it up into the all-star break.

NBA Center Rankings

2009-01-06T09:52:00.000-08:00

Part 5.

30. Robert Swift, OKC – 3.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.5 apg, 1 bpg, 51% FG, 60% FT. Thank God for Krstic.
29. Aaron Gray, Chicago Bulls – 4.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.1 apg, 49% FG, 60% FT. At least Pitt is #1 in the nation in college ball.
28. Roy Hibbert, Indiana Pacers – 5.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.7 apg, 51% FG, 60% FT. He does play hard.
27. Jared Jeffries, New York Knicks – 5.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.3 apg, 43% FG, 56% FT. The only other team he plays center for in the NBA is Golden State.
26. Joel Anthony, Miami Heat – 3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 0.4 apg, 1.6 bpg, 47% FG, 62% FT. Never heard of him until this year.
25. Matt Bonner, San Antonio Spurs – 7.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.1 apg, 52% FG, 47% 3PT, 86% FT. Gotta love the big man that can hit the three.
24. Erick Dampier, Dallas Mavericks – 5.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1 apg, 1.3 bpg, 66% FG, 56% FT. Love the field goal percentage and the fraternity.
23. Andray Blatche, Washington Wizards – 9.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.7 apg, 47% FG, 78% FT. He’ll hit an occasional three when he’s on, but if he gave a consistent effort he’d be a lot higher on this list.
22. Samuel Dalembert, Philadelphia 76ers – 5.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 0.2 apg, 1.5 bpg, 46% FG, 71% FT. His contract might’ve ultimately led to Billy King’s demise.
21. Greg Oden, Portland Trailblazers – 8 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 0.7 apg, 1.2 bpg, 53% FG, 64% FT. He may not be great, but he’s a great guy to have in your rotation.
20. Tyson Chandler, New Orleans Hornets – 8.8 ppg, 8 rpg, 0.5 apg, 1.5 bpg, 55% FG, 53% FT. For some reason, most of his numbers are way down this year.
19. Jermaine O’Neal, Toronto Raptors – 14 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.9 bpg, 48% FG, 80%FT. Still kind of effective, not even 31 yet.
18. Brad Miller, Sacramento Kings – 12.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 3.4 apg, 47% FG, 39% 3PT, 78% FT. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him playing valuable minutes on a contender in the next few years.
17. Brook Lopez, New Jersey Nets – 10.3 ppg, 8 rpg, 0.8 apg, 1.9 bpg, 47% FG, 79% FT. Already playing better than their former starting center, who was also a twin from Stanford.
16. Kendrick Perkins, Boston Celtics – 8.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.8 bpg, 60% FG, 58% FT. Fits in perfectly with the rest of Boston’s starting 5.
15. Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies – 11.3 ppg, 7 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.1 bpg, 52% FG, 71% FT. That Lakers trade for his brother doesn’t look like the steal we thought it was now that he’s in the NBA too.
14. Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee Bucks – 11.5 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 2 apg, 1 bpg, 56% FG, 58% FT. On pace to have his first double-double season.
13. Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers – 11.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.8 bpg, 53% FG, 66% FT. I’m interested to see what his ceiling is. The numbers aren’t going to be there now, because of whom he plays with, but what would he do on a team like Minnesota?
12. Nene, Denver Nuggets – 14.7 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.3 spg, 1.5 bpg, 62% FG, 73% FT. He’s having a career year for a Nuggets team that looks like it might be able to make a run this year (finally).
11. Emeka Okafor, Charlotte Bobcats – 13.8 ppg, 11 rpg, 0.6 apg, 1.8 bpg, 58% FG, 58%FT. A consistent double-double guy for Larry Brown’s team.
10. Mehmet Okur, Utah Jazz – 16.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.8 apg, 48% FG, 37% 3PT, 80% FT. He is another reason why Utah has been able to keep moving along despite Boozer and D-Will’s injury woes.
9. Andris Biedrins, Golden State Warriors – 14.2 ppg, 11.9 rpg, 2 apg, 1.4 spg, 1.5 bpg, 55% FG, 56% FT. Without him, there’s no way Nellie’s style would even be remotely effective with the roster he has in Oaktown.
8. Rasheed Wallace, Detroit Pistons – 12.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1 spg, 1.6 bpg, 42% FG, 38% 3PT, 76% FT. He could be a 20 and 10 guy if he wanted to.
7. Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks – 11 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.6 bpg, 52% FG, 72% FT. He doesn’t get a lot of shots, and maybe this is too high for him, but he’s been outstanding for the Hawks this year.
6. Zydrunas Ilgauskus, Cleveland Cavaliers – 13.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.3 bpg, 52% FG, 84% FT. One of the hardest things about this list is the numbers. His numbers aren’t as good as some of the guys he’s a head of (#7 and 8 are in this boat too), but he does the more with his opportunities.
5. Shaquille O’Neal, Phoenix Suns – 17.2 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.5 bpg, 59% FG, 60% FT. Shhhh. Shaq is having his best season since he helped D-Wade bring the championship to Miami.
4. Marcus Camby, Los Angeles Clippers – 12 ppg, 13.5 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.8 bpg, 52% FG, 75% FT. It’s pretty hard to beat a double-double with three blocks a game.
3. Al Jefferson, Minnesota Timberwolves – 22.8 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.8 bpg, 50% FG, 77% FT. The best player in the league none of us really get to see.
2. Yao Ming, Houston Rockets – 19.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.7 bpg, 52% FG, 88% FT. You already know what you’re going to get from Yao every year; 20, 10 and at least 20 games on the shelf.
1. Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic – 20.1 ppg, 13.6 rpg, 1.4 apg, 3.5 bpg, 56% FG, 57% FT. His numbers are every similar to the numbers Shaq put up in his rookie year, which shows how dominant Shaq really was. However, D-Ho is at about 50% of his potential right now, and is far and away the best center in the league, which is scary.

Shaq (92-93) 23.4 ppg, 13.9 rpg, 1.9 apg, 3.5 bpg, 56% FG, 57% FT.

NBA Power Forward Rankings

2009-01-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

Part 4

30. Craig Smith, Minnesota Timberwolves - 8.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.5 apg, 51% FG, 68% FT. Keeping the seat warm for K-Love.
29. Yi Jianlian, New Jersey Nets – 9.7 ppg, 6 rpg, 1 apg, 39% FG, 39% 3PT, 79% FT. Maybe he’ll become a decent role player some day.
28. Ben Wallace, Cleveland Cavaliers – 3.2 ppg, 7 rpg, 0.7 apg, 1 spg, 1.8 bpg, 45% FG, 44% FT. At this point in his career, it’s probably better if he’s coming off the bench, but he has found a good niche with the Cavs.
27. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Milwaukee Bucks – 8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1 apg, 1.1 spg, 45% FG, 76% FT. Charlie Villanueva is the more talented player at this position for the Bucks, but Scott Skiles likes this guy.
26. Tyrus Thomas, Chicago Bulls – 7.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 0.8 apg, 1.1 spg, 1.7 bpg, 41% FG, 80% FT. Wouldn’t it be nice if they had LaMarcus Aldridge?
25. Brandan Wright, Golden State Warriors – 8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1 bpg, 56% FG, 75% FT. With Nellie’s weird rotations it’s hard to figure out what he is.
24. Hakim Warrick, Memphis Grizzlies – 11.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.8 apg, 50% FG, 72% FT. Stromile Swift 2.0.
23. Kenyon Martin, Denver Nuggets – 12.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.6 spg, 1.3 bpg, 51%FG, 59% FT. His athleticism is still decent, but at this point of his career (and his salary) people’s perceptions about Kenyon are more about what he isn’t (an elite player) than what he is (a good rotation guy).
22. Jeff Green, OKC – 16.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.2 spg, 46% FG, 40% 3PT, 75% FT. A bit undersized to play the four, he has steadily improved as this season has progressed.
21. Spencer Hawes, Sacramento Kings – 11.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.7 bpg, 44% FG, 35% 3PT, 75% FT. A future double-double guy with outside touch, his development is definitely intriguing.
20. Udonis Haslem, Miami Heat – 11.1 ppg, 9 rpg, 1.2 apg, 50% FG, 71% FT. Solid player, and worth a lot more bang for buck than they’re getting from The Matrix.
19. Luis Scola, Houston Rockets – 11.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1 spg, 50% FG, 74% FT. One of the best players most people have never heard of.
18. Troy Murphy, Indiana Pacers – 11.5 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 2.5 apg, 43% FG, 38% 3PT, 70% FT. I have an affinity for double-double guys that can hit the three.
17. Boris Diaw, Charlotte Bobcats – (11 games) 15.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 5.2 apg, 50% FG, 56% FT. Give him a starting spot and voila, he’s back to putting up numbers similar to his breakout year in Phoenix (05-06), when he filled him for Amare and put up 13, 7 and 6.
16. David Lee, New York Knicks – 14.8 ppg, 11 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.1 spg, 57% FG, 74% FT. Everybody loves him except for D’Antoni, who believe it or not, wants him to play more D.
15. LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trailblazers – 17.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.1 spg, 1.1 bpg, 47% FG, 75% FT. His improvement is one of the reasons why the Blazers seem poised to return to the playoffs.
14. Elton Brand, Philadelphia 76ers – 15.9 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.4 bpg, 45% FG, 68% FT. He doesn’t look the same, and in the few games I’ve seen him play he’s been called for the most traveling calls I’ve ever seen.
13. Josh Smith, Atlanta Hawks – 15 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.5 spg, 1.8 apg, 47% FG, 23% 3PT, 67% FT. Effective with Atlanta, I’m resigned to the fact that he’s never going to become the dominant two-way player he can become.
12. Rashard Lewis, Orlando Magic – 19.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.3 spg, 44% FG, 41% 3PT, 85% FT. Although he’s not a great defender, Lewis is a good fit for this team.
11. Tayshaun Prince, Detroit Pistons – 14.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3.1 apg, 45% FG, 37% 3PT, 80% FT. His numbers aren’t as good as some of the other guys in his area, but he was on the “Redeem Team” for a reason; he’s the total package. He can score inside and out, defend littles and bigs, rebound and pass.
10. Zack Randolph, Los Angeles Clippers – (14 games) 23.1 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 2.5 apg, 49% FG, 37% 3PT, 75% FT. He’s better than you want to think he is.
9. David West, New Orleans Hornets – 19.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.1 bpg, 49% FG, 89% FT. Head and chemistry issues aside, him and Z-Bo are a virtual tie for the 10th best player in the best position in basketball, at least from a Top 11 perspective.
8. Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz – 20.5 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1 spg, 56% FG, 73% FT. Before he got hurt, he was doing his thing. I was really torn between putting him or Millsap on this list (who would’ve been 16, btw).
7. Antawn Jamison, Washington Wizards – 20.8 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2 apg, 1.2 spg, 46% FG, 30% 3PT, 77% FT. He and Caron are one of the best one-two punches surrounded by the worst group of guys.
6. Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers – 17.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1 bpg, 56% FG, 80% FT. His numbers would be better on a worse team, like Memphis.
5. Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns – 21.8 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.1 spg, 1.1 bpg, 56% FG, 83% FT. As good as he is, you have to wonder if this is his peak, or if there’s another level he can get to.
4. Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors – 23.5 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 2.4 apg, 49% FG, 81% FT. Like Amare, this might not be his ceiling.
3. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks – 26 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 2.6 apg, 47% FG, 37% 3PT, 90% FT. Is Dirk underrated?
2. Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics – 16.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.2 spg, 1.4 bpg, 53% FG, 84% FT. He might be at the beginning of the “downside” of his career, but there’s only one guy in the league you’d take over him at the four.
1. Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs – 20.9 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.7 bpg, 52% FG, 69% FT. Still the best.

NBA Small Forward Rankings

2008-12-30T12:27:00.000-08:00

Part 3

30. Bobby Simmons – New Jersey Nets – 7.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.4 apg, 39% FG, 40% 3PT, 81%FT. Yikes.
29. Nicolas Batum – Portland Trailblazers – 4.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.9 apg, 43% FG, 38% 3PT, 69% FT. Doesn’t play much now, even though he starts, and will play a lot less when Martel Webster comes back from injury. He has a lot of potential though.
28. Jamario Moon – Toronto Raptors – 6.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.3 spg, 1 bpg, 45% FG, 34% 3PT, 82% FT. He can jump and defend, plus you always have to root for the guys that took the road less traveled to the league.
27. C.J. Miles – Utah Jazz – 10 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.7 apg, 49% FG, 41% 3PT, 84% FT. He’s a good glue guy for Utah and apparently fits in with what Jerry Sloan wants to do.
26. Quentin Richardson – New York Knicks – 12 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1 spg, 40% FG, 35% 3PT, 80% FT. We share the same birthdate.
25. Luke Walton – Los Angeles Lakers – 3.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 39% FG, 26% 3PT, 8-8 FT. He didn’t play much in the beginning of the year, as he was in Phil Jackson’s dog house. A good enough rotation player, who knows where he or his minutes will end up as the season moves along.
24. Grant Hill – Phoenix Suns – 9.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.1 spg, 51% FG, 30% 3PT, 78% FT. It was nice to see him get a few healthy years in Phoenix as his star-crossed career winds down.
23. Ryan Gomes – Minnesota Timberwolves – 9.9 ppg, 4 rpg, 1.8 apg, 42% FG, 37% 3PT, 73% FT. A versatile defender and scorer, while the casual NBA fan has probably never even heard of him.
22. Michael Finley – San Antonio Spurs – 10.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.7 apg, 44% FG, 38% 3PT, 77% FT. He spent the best years of his career in obscurity in Phoenix and in the collective shadows of Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash in Dallas. Now he’s a merely a serviceable role player for the Spurs.
21. Peja Stojakovic – New Orleans Hornets – 13.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.3 apg, 41% FG, 43% 3PT, 86% FT. He can still shoot, but he just isn’t healthy enough to be the guy the Hornets need him to be at the three.
20. Thaddeus Young – Philadelphia 76ers – 12.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1 spg, 47% FG, 33% 3PT, 74% FT. Young is turning in to a nice player in Philly. Don’t be surprised if he supplants the other A.I. as the Sixers go-to guy.
19. Shane Battier – Houston Rockets – 7.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.1 apg, 42% FG, 40% 3PT. Perhaps the league’s ultimate glue guy, he still starts and gets 30 minutes a game despite the team’s off-season acquisition of Ron Artest.
18. John Salmons – Sacramento Kings – 19.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.1 spg, 49% FG, 41% 3PT, 81% FT. With Kevin Martin on the shelf for most of the season, Salmons is making the most of a bad situation by putting up career numbers.
17. Al Thornton – Los Angeles Clippers – 16.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1 spg, 1 bpg, 44% FG, 24% 3PT, 77% FT. It’s going to be interesting to see how he develops on those bad Clipper teams.
16. Luol Deng – Chicago Bulls – 13.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1 spg, 44% FG, 33% 3PT, 80% FT. Deng has been steadily regressing since his breakout 2006-07 season, which is a bad sign for Bulls fans.
15. Marvin Williams – Atlanta Hawks – 13.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.6 apg, 47% FG, 38% 3PT, 81% FT. Although he’ll never make fans forget the Hawks picked him over Chris Paul, he’s at least gotten himself out of Sam Bowie territory.
14. Richard Hamilton – Detroit Pistons – 17.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.2 apg, 45% FG, 36% 3PT, 89% FT. The Pistons have been playing a whole lot better since going to a small-ball lineup of Rip, A.I., Stuckey, Tayshaun and Sheed.
13. Shawn Marion – Miami Heat – 11.7 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.3 spg, 1.2 bpg, 46% FG, 21% 3PT, 73% FT. I’m sure the Suns are way happier that he’s in Miami than he is that he got traded at this point.
12. Hedo Turkoglu – Orlando Magic – 17 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.1 spg, 40% FG, 34% 3PT, 83% FT. Hedo’s a big part of the ever improving and increasingly gelling Orlando Magic nucleus.
11. Stephen Jackson – Golden State Warriors – 19 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.9 apg, 1.3 spg, 39% FG, 28% 3PT, 81% FT. Getting traded to Oakland not only is one of the best things that happened to Captain Jack’s career, when you include his lack of off-season issues since arriving in the Bay Area, it might have saved his life.
10. Gerald Wallace – Charlotte Bobcats – 16.7 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.4 rpg, 1.9 spg, 1 bpg, 47% FG, 28% 3PT, 79% FT. Easily the least known and least wanted franchise player in the NBA.
9. Richard Jefferson – Milwaukee Bucks – 17.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1 spg, 43% FG, 40% 3PT, 79% FT. Richard isn’t having the type of season you would think he’d have as the guy with the Bucks.
8. Rudy Gay – Memphis Grizzlies – 19.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.3 spg, 44% FG, 31% 3PT, 81% FT. After a slow start, it seems like he and O.J. Mayo are finally learning how to play well together.
7. Josh Howard – Dallas Mavericks – 18.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.7 apg, 45% FG, 35% 3PT, 76% FT. Unfortunately, he’s becoming known more for off-season gaffes than his play
6. Caron Butler – Washington Wizards – 21 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.6 spg, 47% FG, 31% 3PT, 87% FT. Without Caron and Jamison, I’m not sure the Wizards wouldn’t still be winless right now.
5. Kevin Durant – OKC – 23.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.2 spg, 1 bpg, 46% FG, 42% 3PT, 84% FT. Its one thing to be on a bad team in Seattle but its far worse to be on one of the worst teams in NBA history in Oklahoma City. At least he might get the chance to run with Blake Griffin next year.
4. Danny Granger – Indiana Pacers – 24.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1 spg, 1.3 bpg, 46% FG, 38% 3PT, 85% FT. If this guy isn’t an all-star …
3. Paul Pierce – Boston Celtics – 18.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.1 spg, 42% FG, 37% 3PT, 85% FT. The truth, and still number three, although by this time next year he’ll likely be number five.
2. Carmelo Anthony – Denver Nuggets – 20.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1 spg, 42% FG, 43% 3PT, 79% FT. His scoring is down, but Melo is becoming a more complete player and is doing more to help his team win.
1. LeBron James – Cleveland Cavaliers – 27.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 6.4 apg, 2 spg, 1.1 bpg, 51% FG, 28% 3PT, 78% FT. Happy 24th Birthday King James!

NBA Shooting Guard Rankings

2008-12-29T09:41:00.000-08:00

Part two of my NBA player rankings, with apologies to the injured (Kevin Martin, Mike Dunleavy Jr., etc.) I must say, the position is a lot weaker than you would think, as the demise of the center has been widely documented.

30. Donte Jones – Denver Nuggets – 5.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 0.8 apg, 44% FG. He only starts over J.R. Smith because George Karl hates Smith, but ultimately Smith gets most of the playing time.
29. DeShawn Stevenson – Washington Wizards – 7.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.2 apg, 31% FG, 28% 3PT, 54% FT. His numbers are pretty miserable, but he plays hard for them.
28. Damien Wilkins – OKC – 5.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.2 apg, 32% FG, 38% 3PT, 83% FT. Yikes.
27. Marco Belinelli – Golden State Warriors – 9.2 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.8 apg, 47% FG, 37% 3PT. Will likely be glued to the bench when Monta Ellis returns.
26. Rasual Butler – New Orleans Hornets – 8.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.7 apg, 1 spg, 42% FG, 42% 3PT, 74% FT. He’s a good three-point shooter on a team with a lot of open looks via CP3.
25. Francisco Garcia – Sacramento Kings – 11.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1 spg, 1 bpg, 41% FG, 33% 3PT, 81 % FT. He’s a decent guy to have in your rotation.
24. Raja Bell – Charlotte Bobcats (8 games) – 8.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 39% FG, 43% 3PT. A Larry Brown guy on the downside of his career playing for Larry Brown, which means he’ll still get minutes.
23. Keith Bogans – Orlando Magic – 6.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.9 apg, 37% FG, 34% 3PT, 85% FT. He gets bonus points for a rep as a good defender.
22. Wilson Chandler – New York Knicks – 14 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1 spg, 1 bpg, 42% FG, 30% 3PT, 80% FT. I wonder what his numbers would look like with any team in the league besides these guys.
21. Anthony Parker – Toronto Raptors – 9.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.4 spg, 39% FG, 44% 3PT, 80% FT. I thought he would play better than he has so far and I’m guessing the Raptors did too.
20. Eric Gordon – Los Angeles Clippers – 9.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1 spg, 43% FG, 36% 3PT, 80% FT. With a stroke that pretty, it’s a wonder his shooting percentages are so low.
19. Mike Miller – Minnesota Timberwolves – 10.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.7 apg, 48% FG, 39% 3PT, 74% FT. He’s still a productive player and would probably be a better fit with a winning team, as the T’Wolves would be better served seeing what they have in McCants, Foye, Telfair, etc.
18. Ronnie Brewer – Utah Jazz – 12.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.9 spg, 47% FG, 25% 3PT, 69% FT. A solid defender and a good athlete, he’s a great compliment to Deron Williams running the point.
17. Marquis Daniels – Indiana Pacers – 16.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.1 spg, 47% FG, 19% 3PT, 75% FT. I probably like this guy a lot more than I should.
16. Roger Mason – San Antonio Spurs – 12.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.0 apg, 45%FG, 47% 3PT, 87% FT. I like this guy a lot more than I should too.
15. Delonte West – Cleveland Cavaliers – 12.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.5 spg, 45% FG, 39% 3PT, 85% FT. Believe it or not, the Cavs have a pretty solid team around LeBron James. While the king is playing as good as ever, it’s been the improved play of his sidekicks that make them a Top 3 team.
14. Andre Iguodala – Philadelphia 76ers – 15.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 5.0 apg, 1.6 spg, 44% FG, 24% 3PT, 73% FT. About that contract …
13. Ben Gordon – Chicago Bulls – 21 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.9 apg, 45% FG, 43% 3PT, 85% FT. A hell of a scorer and not much else.
12. Jason Terry – 20.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.4 spg, 47% FG, 36% 3PT, 86% FT. The Jet is having a career year in Dallas. The big difference between him and Ben Gordon is defense.
11. Jason Richardson – Phoenix Suns (5 games) – 16.8 ppg, 6 rpg, 2 apg, 46% FG, 73% FT. Although I wasn’t a fan of this trade, I must admit this was a hell of an upgrade over Raja Bell.
10. Michael Redd – Milwaukee Bucks – 18.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1 spg, 40% FG, 34% 3PT, 86% FT. He’d probably love to be LeBron’s sidekick right about now.
9. Allen Iverson – Detroit Pistons (24 games) – 18.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 5.7 apg, 1.8 spg, 43% FG, 35% 3PT, 84% FT. I wonder how much longer he’s going to play, as his contract expires at the end of this season.
8. O.J. Mayo – Memphis Grizzlies – 20.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.1 spg, 46% FG, 41% 3PT, 89% FT. Although he’s a ballhog, Mayo has played a lot better than I expected him to.
7. Ray Allen – Boston Celtics – 18.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.6 apg, 50% FG, 40% 3PT, 92% FT. Still has the prettiest stroke in the game.
6. Tracy McGrady – Houston Rockets – 15.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1.1 spg, 40% FG, 40% 3PT, 83% FT. Sometimes I wonder if he wants it. Between the first round woes and the injury woes, it just seems like he doesn’t always go hard.
5. Vince Carter – New Jersey Nets – 23 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1 spg, 46% FG, 40% 3PT, 80% FT. In a season where most people expected him to mail it in, the back court duo of him and Devin Harris has arguably been the best in the east.
4. Joe Johnson – Atlanta Hawks – 23.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 5.7 apg, 1.2 spg, 45% FG, 36% 3PT, 82% FT. The Hawks hot start has him finally getting the shine he deserves.
3. Brandon Roy – Portland Trailblazers – 23 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.3 apg, 1 spg, 47% FG, 37% 3PT, 84% FT. After dropping 52 on the Suns the other day, the world finally knows who Brandon Roy is.
2. Dwyane Wade – Miami Heat – 28.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 6.9 apg, 2.2 spg, 1.6 bpg, 49% FG, 25% 3PT, 75% FT. He’s been the MVP of the league right now, and is closing the gap between him and you know who as the league’s best two guard.
1. Kobe Bryant – Los Angeles Lakers – 26.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.5 spg, 47% FG, 33% 3PT, 87% FT. All he needs is a non-Shaq title to solidify his status in the NBA Top 10 all-time.

Happy Boxing Day!

2008-12-26T06:52:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to give Dwyane Wade props for helping out a South Florida family that was devastated by an accident this Christmas. Read about it here.

NBA Point Guard Rankings

2008-12-24T06:56:00.000-08:00

First and foremost, I'm bored at work. Second, I want to rank all of the positions, but I may or may not get around to doing it. Third, I didn't include injured players (Arenas, Monte Ellis), so don't ask about them. Without further ado, here are my point guard rankings for each current starting point guard in the league.

30. Mike James – Washington Wizards – (7 games with Washington) 10.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.6 apg, 37% FG, 38% 3PT, 1.3 spg. Mike James is fairly useless as a point guard. He can’t really shoot, he’s not that quick anymore and he looks to get his shot off first. If he’s your starting or backup point guard you’re in trouble.
29. Rafer Alston – Houston Rockets – 12.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 5.1 apg, 1.3 spg, 38% FG, 38% 3PT, 83% FT. Skip would be a great backup point guard. He can hit open shots and put up points in a hurry. If he’s your starting guard, good luck. He can’t really defend and he’s not a true point guard.
28. Kyle Lowry/Mike Conley – Memphis Grizzlies – Lowry – 7.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.6 apg, 42% FG, 30% 3PT, 85% FT. Conley – 8.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.5 apg, 42% FG, 37% 3PT, 78% FT. Both of these guys have a lot of talent and a lot of work to do to improve. Neither of them will get much better as long as they are literally splitting minutes at the point. Conley gets a little more than 25 minutes a game, Lowry gets a little more than 22, which gives you about 48 a minutes, or a full game.
27. Mario Chalmers – Miami Heat – 9.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.9 spg, 42 % FG, 36% 3PT, 72% FT. He’s a decent enough scorer and a good enough defender to play this role for a while in Miami.
26. Luke Ridnour – Milwaukee Bucks – 10.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 5.4 apg, 1.4 spg, 41% FG, 30% 3PT, 87% FT. He’s a good free-throw shooter.
25. Russell Westbrook – The Old Sonics – 13.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.6 spg, 38% FG, 28% 3PT, 80% FT. He’s going to be a pretty good sidekick for Durant in the future. If they get Blake Griffin next year, they might start to show us a little something.
24. Beno Udrih – Sacramento Kings – 11.9, 3.1 rpg, 5.0 apg, 1.4 spg, 47% FG, 23% 3PT, 83% FT. He will likely be lower on this list next year.
23. Steve Blake – Portland Trailblazers – 11.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1 spg, 44% FG, 43% 3PT, 85% FT. He doesn’t have to do much on this team besides hit open shots and give the ball to Brandon Roy.
22. Randy Foye – Minnesota Timberwolves – 14.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 5.1 apg, 1 spg, 40% FG, 26% 3PT, 85% FT. Unfortunately, he’ll always be linked to Brandon Roy, as the Portland start was originally headed here after the draft.
21. Chris Duhon - New York Knicks – 11.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 8.6 apg, 1 spg, 42% FG, 38% 3PT, 88% FT. He’s putting up sick numbers in Mike D’Antoni’s system, which is a perfect fit for a former Duke point guard with a decent jumper.
20. Derek Fisher – Los Angeles Lakers – 11.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.1 spg, 42% FG, 44% 3PT, 92% 3PT. This spot might be a little high for him, but you can say he gets extra credit for his intangibles and his proven playoff experience.
19. T.J. Ford – Indiana Pacers – 14.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 5.3 apg, 1.1 spg, 43% FG, 37% 3PT, 93% FT. He’s playing decent with the Pacers, but he could be so much better with a decent jumpshot.
18. Mike Bibby – Atlanta Hawks – 15.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 5.0 apg, 1.4 spg, 46% FG, 43% 3PT, 78% FT. Sometimes he seems like he’s on the downside of his career, sometimes he looks the same as he did in the Sactown glory days.
17. Jameer Nelson – Orlando Magic – 17 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 5.4 apg, 1.3 spg, 53% FG, 43% 3PT, 85% FT. Jameer is having his best season in the league by far. His improvement is perhaps the most underrated reasons why Orlando is a Top 5 team this year. I guess its better late than never.
16. Andre Miller – Philadelphia 76ers – 15.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.2 apg, 44% FG, 84% FT. He’s currently leading the team in points and assists, somehow.
15. Jose Calderon – Toronto Raptors – 12.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 8.8 apg, 1 spg, 48% FG, 45%3PT, 100% FT (60-60). If he was a tad bit more aggressive, he’d be an awesome player. He’s still one of the few pure point guards in the league.
14. D.J. Augustin – Charlotte Bobcats – 13 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 4.5 apg, 41% FG, 42% 3PT, 93% FT. D.J.’s slowly becoming the Bobcats go-to guy.
13. Jamal Crawford – Golden State Warriors – (16 games with GSW) 19.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.9 apg, 1.1 spg, 40% FG, 30% 3PT, 90% FT, one 50 point game. He’s one of the hardest players to rank. Is he a 1 or a 2? Once you finally decide to put him somewhere, then you have to actually rank him, which is a tough task in itself.
12. Rodney Stuckey – Detroit Pistons – 11.9 ppg, 3 rpg, 5.1 apg, 1.4 spg, 49% FG, 42% 3PT, 75% FT. Leads the team in assists, shooting and steals.
11. Rajon Rondo – Boston Celtics – 11.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 7.4 apg, 2.4 spg, 54% FG, 29% 3PT, 66% FT. He’s really coming into his own this year, and has 4x5 potential everytime he steps on the court.
10. Derrick Rose – Chicago Bulls – 17.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 6.1 apg, 1 spg, 47% FG, 32% 3PT, 81% FT. He's playing 1,000 better than I expected.
9. Baron Davis – Los Angeles Clippers – 18 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 8.1 apg, 2spg, 37% FG, 30% 3PT, 78% FT. Baron just doesn’t look right this year. Maybe he’ll turn it around in the second half of the season.
8. Mo Williams – Cleveland Cavaliers – 15.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.1 apg, 48% FG, 36% 3PT, 95% FT (61-64). He’s been the perfect sidekick for LeBron. He can be a ball distributer, a spot-up jump shooter, a drive and kick point guard and a flat out scorer, making him one of the most versatile guys in the league in terms of scoring.
7. Jason Kidd – Dallas Mavericks – 9.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 8.3 apg, 2.5 spg, 43% FG, 40% 3PT, 79% FT. Seven might be a little high for him at this point, honestly. However, there still aren’t many guys better at getting everybody involved than him, which is still the point of being a point.
6. Chauncey Billups – Denver Nuggets – (25 games) 18.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 6.8 apg, 1.4 spg, 43% FG, 42% 3PT, 89% FT. He’s turned around Denver’s season and perhaps the fortunes of Coach George Karl and forward Carmelo Anthony. At this stage in his career he’s become a true point and you can see the difference his leadership has made for his hometown team.
5. Devin Harris – New Jersey Nets – 24 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 6.8 apg, 1.5 spg, 47% FG, 33% 3PT, 85% FT. Jason Who? He’s 6th in the league in scoring and 11th in assists. Lucky for him, he got out of Dallas and on a team that needs him to be this good.
4. Tony Parker – San Antonio Spurs – 21.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 6.6 apg, 51% FG, 33% 3PT, 80% FT. I wonder how much shine Tony would get if he played on his own team?
3. Steve Nash – Phoenix Suns – 15.5 ppg, 3 rpg, 8.5 apg, 48% FG, 42% 3PT, 94% FT. He might be here only because he’s my second favorite player, but he’s clearly on the decline now. Those years when he was the best in the game sure were fun though.
2. Deron Williams – Utah Jazz – 14.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 9.7 apg, 1 spg, 43% FG, 30 % 3PT, 83% FT. He’s been hobbled by an ankle injury all year, but most NBA fans know what he brings to the table.
1. Chris Paul – New Orleans Hornets – 20.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 11.7 apg, 3.2 spg, 51% FG 38% 3PT, 88 % FT. He was 2nd in the MVP race last year and his numbers are up across the board. What more can I say?

Abbreviated Curry Watch

2008-12-24T06:37:00.000-08:00

I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about Curry’s off night the other day. Right now, this Davidson team might not make it past the first or second round in the NCAA if they can’t find a sidekick for Stephen. Right now, it’s like he’s playing point and the two at the same time. However, Saturday’s 5-26 performance against Perdue will probably be his worst of the season, and if he goes pro after this year, his career.

Two more of my favorite players, Eric Maynor and Blake Griffin, had pedestrian games in Saturday’s VCU/Oklahoma matchup.

Seth Curry’s getting a little more shine as well.

The BCS's BS is starting to make me sick

2008-12-18T08:34:00.001-08:00

I came across this excellent article by Dan Wetzel about how big of a big money industry the Bowl System is, and how they are basically ripping the NCAA (and in some instances taxpayers) off.

Now, I've gone on record a trillion times saying that I'm not in favor of anything more than a "Plus 1" in college football, because I like the pressure of teams needing to win out to go to the title game. Most years, there are only three or four teams with a legitimate shot.

USC is probably the best team in the nation right now, and probably won't even finish in the Top 3 at the end of the year. However, I'm not sad for them at all. They have so much talent that they have no business losing to anybody, including a good but not great Oregon State team on the road.

However, some of the things pointed out in this article are pretty shameful, you should check it out.

** FYI ** ESPN owns and operates six bowl games: the Papajohns.com Bowl, New Mexico Bowl, Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl, Armed Forces Bowl and the St. Petersburg Bowl.

Check out the date these things were founded:

Papa John's Bowl - Started 2006 in Birmingham, Alabama. This year they get Rutgers (7-5) and NC State (6-6).

New Mexico Bowl - Started 2006 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This year's matchup is Fresno State (7-5) and Colorado State (6-6).

Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl - Started 2002 in Honolulu, Hawaii. This year's match up is Notre Dame (6-6) and Hawaii (7-6).

Las Vegas Bowl - Started in 1992 in Las Vegas. This year they get BYU (again [4 straight years], which is strange considering the Mormon background of BYU juxtaposed with Sin City. They're 10-2) and Arizona (7-5).

Air Force Bowl - Started in 2003 in Fort Worth, Texas. This year's game features Houston (one of your few chances to see a black head coach this year, 7-5) and Air Force (8-4) in a rematch.

magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl - Started in 2008 in St. Pete. Great ESPN, exactly what we needed, another bowl. Let me guess ESPN, you're going to get the home town team in there too. What a surprise, South Florida (7-5) and Memphis (6-6) kicks off this great tradition. And what the hell is a "magicJack" anyway?

Quick Hits 12/16

2008-12-16T13:53:00.000-08:00

NCAA F

Charles Barkley is right to be ashamed of his Alma Mater and Auburn fans are right to be outraged. Hiring Gene Chizik over Turner Gill is inexcusable. It’s a bad move that will probably blow up in Auburn’s face, just like firing Tommy Tubberville was a bad move in the first place.

However, this may be a blessing in disguise for Gill. With Florida, LSU, Alabama and Georgia seemingly poised to dominate the SEC for the next few years, Auburn would’ve been a bad job for Gill. Anything less than an SEC championship within two or three years would’ve had him on the hot seat by year four.

This is the biggest by product of the black head coach problem in college football: most black coaches are pushed to bad jobs, fail in bad situations and fade in to oblivion. Heck, Buffalo was a bad job, but Gill made it work.

At Auburn, he probably would’ve gotten about the same chance to fix their program as Ty Willingham had at Notre Dame. And while Auburn is a much better program than Mississippi State, Gill would’ve been in a similar position at Auburn as Sylvester Croom was with MSU as the first black coach in the SEC. Croom couldn’t compete with the bigger SEC schools for talent, and therefore his teams couldn’t compete on the field. He just resigned after his first season, even though he’s won the conference’s Coach of the Year award during his tenure.

Gill will definitely get a shot to coach “big time” college football. For his sake, hopefully its at place where he’ll be in a position to really win.

NBA

The reason why the Celtics are even better than they were last year is definitely Rajon Rondo, which should go without saying. While he’s not a pure point guard, he’s developed into the player the Celtics need him to be: a consistent scoring threat, good rebounder, serviceable passer and tenacious defender.

And really, he wasn’t that bad last year and the Celtics had no need to waste the time and money they did on Sam Cassell. Check out what Rondo is doing this year though:

10.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 7.4 apg, 2.3 spg, 51.3 fg%.

Those are solid numbers across the board.

While I’m definitely enjoying the regular season so far, the inevitable Eastern Conference finals between Cleveland and Boston will certainly be something to watch.

NCAA B

Stephen Curry continues to dazzle. In case you missed it, over the weekend Curry dropped 41 pts, 4 rebs, 6 asts and a steal on Chattanooga over the weekend in a 100-95 Davidson victory. Curry hit 11-22 shots, 5-11 from downtown and added another 14 from the line (on 18 attempts).

At the point, with apologies to James Harden from Arizona State, the Wooden Award is a two horse race between Curry and Blake Griffin. Here’s the tale of the tape as of 12/15

Curry – 9 games, 31.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 6.8 apg, 2.9 spg, 48% fg, 39% 3p5, 85% ft – remember he had a 0 point game where he was 0-3.
Griffin – 10 games, 23.1 ppg, 15.1 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.9 spg, 1.1 bpg, 68% fg, 62% ft

** Bonus Seth Curry Watch ** 22 pts, 1 reb on 8-13 shooting (4-8 3pt) and 2-2 from the line in a December 15th victory against Anderson (SC), whoever they are.

NFL

Kudos to ESPN for blowing the T.O/Dallas/Romo/Witten situation out of proportion. You ever notice that whenever Dallas loses, T.O. is mad? Anybody at the Worldwide leader ever think that maybe this guy just wants to win and maybe he thinks the best way for Dallas to win is for him to always have the ball?

The biggest difference between this situation and the Philly and San Fran situations involving Owens and QB’s is that he’s not questioning Romo’s character, ability or physical condition. This time, he was just politicking for the ball more and wondering if there’s a reason why he’s not getting the rock all the time. (Of course, its probably because he’s always among the lead leaders in drops, which he will fail to recognize).

Regardless, the two best teams in the league are Pittsburgh and Carolina, who both have chances to exert themselves as the true top dogs in the conference this week, with games against Tennessee and Carolina.

Steve Kerr Hates Fun

2008-12-11T08:57:00.000-08:00

That must be why he insists on taking apart a team that embodied fun.

The “Seven Seconds or Less” Era in Phoenix was easily my favorite set of teams to watch since I was enamored with Air Jordan growing up. Their almost champion run will likely go down in history along side teams like the Malone and Stockton’s Jazz, Reggie Miller's Pacers, Pat Ewing's Knicks, GP and Shawn Kemp in Seattle, etc.

However, out of those groups of teams, Nash’s fun bunch was easily the most entertaining to watch. The two-time league MVP would sling wild behind the back passes, weave in and out of traffic and make circus shots at will.

Nash, The Artist Formerly Known as the Matrix, and Amare Stoudemire were the staples of their run. Besides that trio, their core grew to include Raja Bell at shooting guard, Boris Diaw essentially playing positions 1-5 and filling in however necessary and Leandro Barbosa providing offense off the bench. The other two rotation spots were usually filled by a random big man and one or two gunners-for-hire.

Enter Steve Kerr. I liked him on TNT and was definitely a big fan when he hit the shot to win the Bulls 5th ring in the 90s, but I’ve come to loathe him. Kerr brought in an aging, but still effective Grant Hill as his big offseason signing and immediately began to implore Mike D’Antoni’s bunch to play more defense.

The rest is history. The Matrix was dealt mid-season for Shaq and D’Antoni was exiled to New York shortly thereafter. If the Shaq deal was the death of Phoenix and D’Antoni’s departure was the funeral, Wednesday’s trade was the widower’s first awkward, post-death relationship.

Boris Diaw, Raja Bell and Sean Singletary were dealt to the Charlotte Bobcats for Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley. That’s it. On paper, Phoenix has moved on and has a traditional team now.

Shaq clogging up the middle at center, Amare struggling to find his role at power forward, Grant Hill struggling to stay in front of anyone and/or hit an outside shot at small forward, Jason Richardson throwing up 17 shots a night at shooting guard and Nash at the point.

Nash manning the point is like Jeff Gordon driving around in a Prius. Sure, he can drive a regular car, but that dude was meant to go fast. And so was Nash. Having him playing a Chauncey Billups like role on this team is a waste of Steve’s last good years. Instead of building the team around him, like New Orleans has done with Chris Paul, Steve Kerr has taken Nash’s team from him.

At this point, although they’d never do it, it would be probably better if Phoenix parted ways with Nash. He’s still a top-five point guard, but he’s making an awful lot of money to just be a role player on a non-contending team, which is what he is now.

After this season, the Suns organization will be at an interesting crossroads. Get rid of Kerr, who dismantled a contending team and turned them into a borderline playoff team, and his hand picked head coach Terry Porter, who seems just as confused as the players about what type of game to play, or trade Nash in the last year of his contract and throw their hat in to the “Class of 2010” ring.

Who knows? Maybe this thing will work. One thing Jason Richardson isn’t is a defensive stopper. Raja Bell, even though he was struggling, was Phoenix’s go to defender on the wing. Perhaps this trade is a recommitment to offense, which is what Jason brings to the table. Maybe he can help restore the alley-oop to Phoenix, which was a common practice by Nash and Marion and Marion and Diaw.

If I were a Phoenix fan, however, I would not be optimistic. They only have to look to Detroit to see what will likely happen, as a lot of the elements are the same. Shake up a perennial borderline contending team with parts that don’t fit, add an overmatched and increasing unpopular coach and voila.

In little over four months, don’t be surprised if both franchises who have become accustomed to chasing titles will be left hoping for luck in the Blake Griffin Sweepstakes instead.

Quick Elton Brand Thought

2008-12-10T18:37:00.000-08:00

Is it me, or does he called for traveling more than any player in the league? I've watched about 3-4 Sixers games this year, and in each game he's got whistled for traveling at least once. In the Hornets game a few weeks ago, he had to have traveled five times.

Has he been traveling under the radar the whole time he's been in the NBA, or is this a new phenomenon? Regardless, Philly can't be too happy with their Brand investment. Its a shame too, because he's one of the good guys in the league. At least the Clippers got one thing right this year.

College Hoops x Football x BCS Rant

2008-12-10T08:31:00.000-08:00

Another day, another bad college football-college basketball, playoff/BCS comparison. Look, the two sports aren’t comparable. Stop it.

By the middle of the year, there are at most six teams that can win a college football champion. Usually, by the end of the year there are two teams standing tall. The last two years have been the exception, not the rule.

Just look at the records of the top 10 teams in the BCS. A combined record of 114-9. Out of those nine losses, six of the losses were to teams in the top six (two by Ohio State to Top 3 teams). Only three upsets. And who knows what would have happened if Utah or Boise State played in one of these conferences?

Imagine the NCAA tournament with only six upsets? It would definitely be a disappointment. The point is, in Division I-A college football, upsets just don’t happen as much. With rosters nearing 100, big-time college football programs might have twice as many five and four-star recruits on their roster than an entire college basketball team. Meanwhile, for a school like TCU, getting a handful of four-star recruits is a big deal.

Or you can just watch a team like Davidson in college hoops. Having one Stephen Curry changes them from a Southern Conference also-ran, to a Top-25 team. And while the media pays attention to the BCS conferences, teams like Davidson, VCU and St. Mary’s keep chugging along. Add that to the fact that a good mid-major team is usually full of seniors and juniors, while the fates of many major college basketball teams hinges on the play of an 18-year-old.

Therefore, come tourney time you might see a good, underrated #12 seed stocked with upperclassmen and maybe even a fringe NBA prospect knock off an overrated, under experienced #5 seed team from the Big East.

In college football, most kids have to stay until they’re at least a junior and a lot of the games best players are seniors.

In short, the games aren’t comparable. The regular season in college basketball is important because teams are jockeying for those 64 slots and a chance to make a run. RPI, strength of schedule, common opponents, etc. can make the difference between the NCAA and NIT for a lot of teams. And in reality, while the Davidson’s and George Mason’s of the world are fun to root for, the UNC’s and Kansas’ of the college basketball world always come out on top.

In college football, the regular season is exciting because it’s essentially a playoff for the BCS schools. Strength of schedule doesn’t matter as much as outlasting everyone else. It’s not the computers; they do get a chance to determine what happens on the field. And in a case like Texas, it’s their conference’s fault for not having Texas and Oklahoma play again for the Big 12 title, the clear solution for this quagmire that no one really talks about. (Conferences with “divisions” should have a provision that places the two best teams in the conference tourney regardless of their division, which should be in place for scheduling purposes only)

True, the Ohio State/Michigan game to close the regular season would’ve meant more if Ohio State was vying for a spot in an 8-team playoff, just like the Auburn/Alabama game would’ve been rendered meaningless as Alabama would’ve been in regardless. The more teams you have make the playoffs in college football, the more meaningless the regular season becomes.

This is different than college basketball because in hoops, unlike college football where there’s usually at least one undefeated team, losses are inevitable. Running the table rarely happens, and it’s an understood part of the game. The biggest losses in college hoops happen when a mid-major #1 seed losses in their conference tournament, or a 19-10 ACC team loses in the first round of their conference tournament.

Regular season games, like last night’s Texas/Villanova game, are good for the same reason the Rose Bowl between Texas/Michigan was good a few years ago, or the Boise State/Oklahoma game. They’re good because they’re good games, not necessarily because what’s on the line.

However, the BCS and the Bowl System in general, will ultimately fail without major changes. With more competition at the top, we are starting to see three to four teams with legit title shots. Adding a plus-one would definitely help, but the NCAA seems allergic to this.

One of the biggest problems with the bowl system, and what may ultimately be its downfall are the bowl tie-ins. Instead of the best matchups, bowls pick the matchups they think will be most profitable. Instead of Alabama or USC versus Texas, we get Alabama vs. Utah and USC vs. Penn State.

And so on and so forth. The bowl tie-ins were good in the past, because they gave a chance for fans to watch teams from different conferences play each other. With most teams playing 12 regular season games, out of conference matchups aren’t that uncommon. And with the explosion in the number of bowl games, each year there are at least one or two rematches in the lower rungs of college, which aren’t good for anyone.

College football should either get rid of the bowl tie-ins or make the criteria for selection stricter and reduce the number of bowls. Instead, big money college football will keep shoving bad bowls down our throats, we’ll get more matchups like January 1’s Gator Bowl featuring underachieving Clemson (7-5) versus Nebraska (8-4) until the public demand for a playoff (which grows every year) becomes too great and the system crumbles.

Steph Curry Watch 12/9

2008-12-09T18:28:00.000-08:00

NCAA B

Another day, another Curry watch. In fact, Curry is so exciting that he made me not watch LeBron (The Cavs played the Raptors on NBATV tonight). The result? A mostly bad game by Curry.

And by bad i mean 27 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals. Now, he shot horribly (33%), had a lot of turnovers and worked very hard for those 27 points, but still, the bar is pretty high for this guy when that statline is looked at as a bad one.

However, he scored 13 of Davidson's last 14 points and helped his team regain the lead. You can tell he was off most of the game, but he stuck with it and it paid off.

College BBall Quick Hits 12/7

2008-12-07T17:12:00.000-08:00

Seth Curry and his Liberty Flames played their second game in a row today, losing to Clemson 80-75. Curry had 24, 4 and 1, and shot 9-16 from the field (6-9) from three.

Liberty, a small school founded by Jerry Falwell in his hometown of Lynchburg, VA, has a pretty brutal travel schedule. Yesterday, the played at home in VA, then traveled to Clemson today. Their next game is the 15th at home, then they travel to DePaul on the 17th, St. Louis on the 19th and out to Northern Colorado on the 22nd.

Meanwhile, Seth's older brother Stephen leads the country in scoring with 31.3 ppg. Looking at his stats, I had to give props to Eric Maynor at VCU. These two small college guards are definitely 2 of the top 10 guards in the nation, if not top five. Check out their numbers:

Curry - 7 games, 31.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 6.4 apg, 3 spg, 50% fg, 41% 3pt, 88% ft
Maynor - 8 games, 23.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 6.0 apg, 1.5 spg, 53% fg, 44% 3pt, 73% ft

And just for the heck of it, here are Blake Griffin's numbers after seven. (At lunch Friday, we figured out that Griffin has Amare's athleticism with Duncan's fundamentals. He HAS to be the #1 pick in this year's draft.)

Griffin - 7 games, 25.6 ppg, 17.3 rpg, 2.7 agp, 2.0 spg, .9 bpg, 68% fg, 62% ft and he's 3-3 from downtown so far.

Quick Hits 12/6 - I told you so version

2008-12-06T13:53:00.000-08:00

NCAA F

Well, Ball State got what it deserved and lost to the Buffalo Bulls. Instead of a matchup of undefeated mid-major powerhouses with Boise State, Ball State is now headed for the GMAC bowl against an ACC also-ran (or maybe Notre Dame). Buffalo is headed for the International Bowl in Toronto as 2008 MAC champions, and Boise State is likely (hopefully) going to play TCU or BYU in the Poinsettia Bowl in lovely San Diego.

For the rest of college football. I don't know if I see any more upsets on the horizon. Florida was going to have a tough time against 'Bama anyway, and now Percy Harvin is out. So far, Alabama is winning the physical battle. In the other "semi-final," Oklahoma plays Missouri in the Big 12 Championship. The Sooners will definitely have their hands full in Kansas City, but I think they'll pull it off.

If Oklahoma and Alabama win and face each other for the title, here are the matchups I'd like to see in the BCS games:

Rose Bowl - USC vs. Florida
Orange Bowl - Cincinnati vs. Utah
Sugar Bowl - Penn State vs. Virginia Tech
Fiesta Bowl - Texas vs. Ohio State

Although we're more likely to see

Rose Bowl - USC vs. Penn State
Orange Bowl - Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
Sugar Bowl - Florida vs. Utah
Fiesta Bowl - Texas vs. Ohio State

If Missouri knocks of Oklahoma, and sends Texas to face Alabama, I'd like to see the Sooners face Ohio State. What if Missouri and Florida win?

Rose Bowl - USC vs. Penn State
Orange Bowl - Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
Sugar Bowl - Oklahoma vs. Alabama
Fiesta Bowl - Ohio State vs. Utah

How about that Sugar Bowl matchup? I'd love to see that, along with a Texas/Florida final. Go Gators and Tigers!

NCAAB

Curry Watch

Davidson (6-1) defeats NC State (4-1)72-67
Curry 44 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals.
45% fg, 29% 3pt, 77% ft, and 61% of Davidson's points.

Honestly, he was gunning today. On a poor shooting night, he still had 44 points. However, his team is dependent on him gunning, so we give him a pass. Its not like he's dribbling 20 seconds off the shot clock before hoisting up an off balanced runner. He's cutting and coming off screen after screen, to go with an array of runners, floaters, scoop shots and nifty-layups. There's no way this dude doesn't drop 50 at least once this year.

Seth Curry, aka S. Curry 2.0, had 15, 5 and 5 today in a Liberty win over Gardner-Webb, along with a steal and a block. He was only 4-14 (3-9 3pt) and 4-6 from the line, so you can say it was an off day for the whole family.

Ball State Chickens, I mean Cardinals

2008-12-05T08:00:00.001-08:00

One of this year’s most intriguing bowl matchups won’t happen. Talks for undefeated Boise State to face potentially undefeated Ball State have fallen apart. What a game that would’ve been.

The two non-BCS undefeated teams facing off with a #5-10 ranking on the line. With most of the non-BCS bowls mired in mediocrity, this would’ve been a joy for college football fans, along with excellent exposure for both programs and in turn, both colleges.

Instead, after Jason Whitlock pumped them up, Ball State has chickened out, and will play in the GMAC bowl against a BCS conference also ran in a probably boring game in Detroit.

That is, of course, unless they lose tonight to Buffalo. This game has been considered a foregone conclusion. However, teams have gotten closer to Ball State as of late, and it’s hard for anybody to run the table. Couple that with undefeated/bowl hype and karma, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Buffalo knocked them off tonight, sending them to an even worse bowl than the GMAC.

After (if) they lose to Buffalo tonight, they’re going to wish they accepted that bid to play Boise on the blue turf.

Quick Hit on S. Mitchell

2008-12-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

Point Guard A - 14.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 5.6 apg, 1.1 spg, 45% fg, 37% 3pt, 90% ft (60-66)

Point Guard B - 12.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 9.5 apg, 0.7 spg, 45% fg, 40% 3pt, 100% ft (43-43)

Which one of these guys would you take? Well, it probably depends on if you want an aggressive, freestyle guard or a more passive, traditionalist point guard.

Those are the stat lines of T.J. Ford (A) and Jose Calderon (B, and 2nd in the league in apg). I bring this up because in the wake of the Sam Mitchell firing, GM Bryan Colangelo has come under some fire by talking heads and bloggers alike.

Personally, I like the Raps’ roster and I never was a big Sam Mitchell fan. Yeah, he did win Coach of the Year a few years ago, and Jerry Sloan has won that award exactly 0 times. So who’s the better coach?

With Colangelo, he wanted a guard that can play with a fast tempo and keep everyone involved. With Ford and Calderon on the roster, he chose to keep Jose and trade Ford for Jermaine O’Neal, to help clean up the glass with Chris Bosh. Bosh is more comfortable on the wing than in the low post, so at least on paper you wouldn’t think they would clash.

Meanwhile, under Jim O’Brien, Ford still plays an uptempo game with Indiana. If O’Neal can be productive and give Toronto 60 games, I think it will be an even trade. It’s better for both Ford and Calderon to be in positions where they’re getting 35 mins a game, not splitting 24.

The fact of the matter is Mitchell is one of those iron-fist coaches that never really had a grasp on this team, nor wanted to play the style of ball fitting the team BC assembled. Unlike the Kerr/D’Antoni fiasco that’s backfiring in Phoenix this year, I think this GM/Coach force out was actually a good move.

Reason # 1223123 Why I'm Starting to Hate the NFL

2008-12-02T13:49:00.000-08:00

Besides the product getting worse (raise your hand if you watched last night's Houston/Jacksonville fun fest, and you're not a Texans or Jags fan), the NFL is taking the whole "No Fun League" thing to another level.

Harris Smith, has catapulted into the fictitious name hall of fame (this, of course, is the name Plaxico Burress used at the hospital. He also told them he was shot at an Applebee's). However, the NFL has already banned fans the right to make a "Smith 17" New York Giants jersey. Lighten up already National Football League.

Steph Curry Watch ... Kind Of

2008-12-02T12:24:00.000-08:00

Did you know there's another one? Steph has a little brother, Seth, who is a freshman guard at Liberty. I'd been wondering what was up with Liberty, I saw they had a couple of big wins so far in the season, but I didn't know there was a Curry involved.

For the season, the young Curry is averaging 22 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. His Liberty Flames are 5-1, including a road victory at UVA, in which he dropped 26. In case you were wondering, he's shooting a little about 37% from three.

Keep an eye on this 6'1 freshman I didn't know existed until today.

NFL MVP Quick Hit

2008-12-01T14:41:00.000-08:00

If the Falcons some how make the playoffs, and "the burner" keeps doing what he's doing, Michael Turner should be the NFL's MVP.

Why? He leads the league in caries and touchdowns, and is third in yards. Plus he's a big enough threat to take pressure off his rookie QB Matt Ryan. Teams have to respect Turner, which has helped open up Atlanta's passing game. I'm putting it out there because I don't see much about Turner for MVP.

Quick Hits 12/1

2008-12-01T09:20:00.000-08:00

NCAA B

Steph Curry doesn’t play until later this week, but I did catch that entertaining game between Tennessee and Gonzaga last night. I like the Zags a lot this year. They have a lot of balance and always play a tough non-conference schedule. With the rise of St. Mary’s, and Patrick Mills, Mark Few’s team will be as prepared as ever come tourney time.

Other than that, it seems like college football is blanketing college basketball TV coverage on the weekends. I’m looking forward to the coming weeks, as college football will take a temporary backseat to basketball until bowl season really kicks off. (As far as I’m concerned, all those Sportsology.Blogspot.Com Euphoria Bowl’s are a waste of everyone’s time, except for the diehard fans and family members of those involved.)

NFL

Plaxico Burress is an idiot. That’s been well documented. However, athletes definitely have valid reasons to be afraid for their safety. Sean Taylor, Dunta Robinson, Darrent Williams and Javon Walker have all been attacked within the last few years. However, Plax went about things all wrong.

First, if you’re afraid for your safety you might not want to go places where you feel like you may be a target. Second, if you think you’re in danger, hire security. I’m sure he has enough money to hire at least one guy to watch is back on weekends, he got paid $7 million this year. Third, if you’re going to pack your on heat, make sure you have the appropriate licenses.

Honestly, he’ll be lucky to beat this rap. If he doesn’t have a good lawyer, his career path could be headed down the way of Mike Vick.

As for the rest of the league, I’m pretty sure the Lions won’t win this year. However, stranger things have happened. The Cowboys are using matchups against bad teams to help build momentum, but they’ll be in a dogfight for a final playoff spot with the NFC South teams and the Redskins.

In both conferences, there are going to be some good teams left out of the playoffs. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but the NFL needs to seriously think about expanding the number of teams that make the playoffs.

This year, it may not matter who makes the playoffs, as the Giants might not lose again this year. They are strong in all phases and subphases of the game. Offense, Defense and Special Teams; passing, running, receiving, blocking, run defense, pass defense, pressuring the quarterback, blitzing, kicking, punting and special teams coverage. I don’t see a team out there that is as solid as they are across the board.

NCAA F

Once again, the BCS bashers are out in full force. This time, its Oklahoma going to the Big 12 championship game via the BCS. However, this isn’t the BCS’ fault. People say, “They should decide it on the field.” Well they did. They all are about even.

In this case, I think it definitely should come down to strength of schedule, which Oklahoma won over Texas. If you use the BCS to eliminate the third team, then it would go to head to head between the Sooners and Texas, which would put Texas in the game. This isn’t the BCS’s fault; this was the choice of the Big 12. Or you can do what Mike Leach suggested and send the team with the best graduation rate. Of course, big time college sports are about money and not academics so this would never happen.

Once again, this controversy can disappear with a Missouri victory over the Sooners on Saturday. Keep in mind that recent Bob Stoops teams have had a penchant for looking ahead, or flat out crapping the bed in big games. Throw in a dinged up Sam Bradford and a potent Missouri team and anything can happen.

The one controversy that is out there that nobody is talking about is what’s the difference between USC and Florida? Nobody is really talking about the Trojans, while everyone is penciling in the Gators to play either Oklahoma or Texas, which comes with the assumption that they will beat Alabama this weekend.

Honestly, I think the Trojans might be better than the Gators. If strength of schedule was more important in the BCS, they might just win that battle.

USC lost one game, on the road, by six to a good Oregon State (8-4) team. They will finish the season with 6 road games and 6 home games. Their non-conference slate featured home games against Ohio State, Notre Dame and a roadie to open the season against UVA, along with no I-AA teams. They played three ranked teams and won by a combined score of 96-16. Their opponents’ record is 67-73 (including upcoming 4-7 UCLA), which isn’t good, but this is because two of the worst teams in college football are in their conference.

Meanwhile, Florida has lost one game, at home, by one to a decent Ole Miss (8-4) team. They’ve played 7 home games, one neutral site game (with another on the way) and only four road games. Their non-conference slate included home games against Hawaii, the U, and Citadel (a sorry I-AA team) and a road game against the ‘Noles. They played four ranked teams (thanks to an overrated SEC), and won those games by a score of 201-52. (While their margin of victory in ranked games is 37+ points versus USC’s 26.6 points, keep in mind that Urban Meyer is notorious for running up the score and USC could’ve very easily hung 100 on the two Washington schools.) Their opponents’ record is a whopping 87-56 (excluding 4-8 I-AA Citadel), aided by the SEC whooping up bad non-conference teams and avoiding teams like Auburn and Mississippi State.

I think a question not being asked is if Oregon State is better than Ole Miss. I think so, although not without Jacquizz Rodgers. If that’s the case, I think you at least have to consider USC over Florida. However, if the Gators knock off the number one team in the nation, there’s no way anyone would put USC over Florida. However, I think that USC can beat Alabama too.

The simple solution that the BCS for some reason has yet to institute is the good ole “Plus-1.”

Let’s assume Florida knocks off Alabama and Oklahoma defeats Missouri. Imagine Florida versus USC in one game and an Oklahoma/Texas rematch in another semi-final.

Let’s say Missouri and Alabama win. A Texas/USC rematch in one game while Alabama would take on Florida/Texas Tech/Utah/Penn State in the other game.

Add the excitement of the winner-take-all regular season and you can’t tell me this isn’t better than a playoff.

Stupid Me - Featuring Derrick Rose's crossover on Andre Miller

2008-11-30T21:32:00.000-08:00

I take back everything I ever said about Derrick Rose. I referred to him as more of a Jamal Crawford type than a Deron Williams type in my draft preview rant saying Beasley should be picked over him.

Meanwhile, Mike B. has become Derrick Coleman while Rose flourishes in Chicago. Rose isn't another Jamal Crawford, like I called him over the summer. He reminds me of a mini-LeBron.

He's definitely not a pure point, but he doesn't have to be. He's just physically better than everyone else at his 'position.' Just like LeBron is bigger, faster, stronger and has more ups than every 'small forward,' Rose has the same advantages over all point guards in the league.

There really isn't a point guard in the league that can check Rose. He still has a lot to learn, and will struggle at times, but he's a shoe-in for Rookie of the Year at this point. He's single-handedly turning a bad Bulls team into must see TV, especially with moves like this (love the commentary on this, by the way):

Charles is Right: Shut Up LeBron

2008-11-29T06:19:00.000-08:00

So Charles Barkley and LeBron James have been going at it in the media recently. First, Barkley said LeBron should "Shut the hell up" about the 2010 season, calling the speculation disrespectful.

LeBron responded by calling him stupid.

I agree with Barkley. LeBron, who comes across as one of the most egotistical people alive, is clearly basking in all the media attention about his future. He always stops short of committing to Cleveland or confirming he's leaving; his standard line is he's going to go where he has the best chance to win a championship, opportunity for his family, blah blah blah.

I'm at the point now where I'm convinced there must be a contract clause with Nike to give him more money in a bigger market, i.e. NY or LA.

Otherwise, he'd be better off to stay in Cleveland. In case LeBron hasn't realized it, he's on a championship contending team already in Cleveland. The Cavs are 13-3, 9-0 at home, and look like the third best team in the league behind the Lakers and Celtics.

Cavs GM Danny Ferry has built the perfect team for a player like LeBron. He has a ton of shooters and versatile big men that don't need the ball to be productive and aren't lane cloggers. This gives him freedom to drive, confidence to dish to teammates when defensives key on him and the ability to get extended periods of rest during the regular season, instead of dragging his team through the playoffs like years past.

Additionally, he finally has a viable sidekick in Mo Williams. The Larry Hughes experiment was a bust because he is (to borrow a phrase from Simmons) a derelict's version of O.J. Mayo: an injury-prone slasher with a suspect j and declining athletic ability.

Williams, meanwhile, can transition from spot up shooter to distributer to aggressive scoring option with ease. Why the hell would LeBron want to leave, unless he cares more about partying and his image than winning? This Cavs team is pretty young and are poised to dominate the East now that Detroit is (secretly) rebuilding and the Celtics are getting older. In addition, they're going to have a boatload of cap space in two years as well, with Mo Williams as one of the few players under contract.

Why not chill in Cleveland, contend for a title for two years, then bring one of your boys like Chris Bosh in town for an extended title run? LeBron is already the most famous basketball player and easily one of the 10 most famous athletes in the world. There isn't much LeBron stands to gain from moving to New York besides increased media coverage and scrutiny, which will be coupled with a loss in privacy.

Despite frequently coming off like an a-hole, he's a God in Ohio. Stay in Cleveland, where his private live has remained mostly out of the public eye, and win championships. Or go to New York, have all of your business in the open, be heavily criticized for every mistake and probably not win a championship.

In two years, the choice will be yours. Try not to diss the Chuckster when he's giving you great advice as well.

Reason #440592 why I still love Ocho Cinco

2008-11-28T16:22:00.000-08:00

Check out my man Chad "Johnson" Ocho Cinco at Best Buy before dawn.

Curry Watch

2008-11-26T02:13:00.000-08:00

So Steph Curry only scored 0 points yesterday in a 78-48 Davidson victory over Loyola, Maryland. Hold on, what? How many points did he score? 0? How many minutes did he play, 5? He played 32? Well, what the hell happened?

Apparently Loyola double-teamed Curry the whole time, regardless of score or scenario. In response, Curry just stood in a corner and watched his team play 4-3 on every possession. Annoyed, Davidson coach Bob McKillop kept Curry in the game.

You can read the article here, as Loyola coach Jimmy Pastos tried to justify what he did.

I think its unforgivable. You're basically saying to your team, "I don't believe you can't win. I'd rather be able to say 'hey, we held Steph Curry scoreless' than give you guys a chance to win." Yeah, he dropped 44 on Oklahoma and probably would've had 30+ last night. But hell, the game probably would've been closer had they played him straight up.

For the record, he's now putting up 29 ppg, 3 rpg, 7 apg, 3 spg.

LeBron Quick Hit

2008-11-25T17:15:00.000-08:00

Ben Wallace – 6’9, 240. Elton Brand – 6’9, 254. Carlos Boozer – 6’9, 266. David West – 6’9, 240. Amare Stoudemire – 6’10, 249. All of these guys are decent to phenomenal power forwards.

Then there’s this guy, who’s 6’8, 250. He’s LeBron James, a “small” forward. I say this because according to 82games.com, Cleveland’s most effective lineup is one that features LeBron at power forward.

This lineup is Boobie Gibson at the point, Delonte West at two, Sczerbiak at the three, King James at power forward and Anderson Varejao at center. Also, the team with the best power forward PER is Cleveland, probably aided by times when LeBron plays the four.

LeBron is a killer at four because he’s big strong to defend the position, but he’s way faster than most power forwards. This means when he drives by them he’s either going to draw extra defenders, then dish to one of the three shooters (assuming Cleveland is playing their best lineup) or hit a cutting Varejao near the basket for an easy bucket.

If Mike Brown is smart, he'd find more and more minutes for LeBron at the four.

Yet, he might not win MVP, again. Chris Paul is playing better than ever, Dwayne Wade may very well drag his motley crew in Miami into the playoffs (as predicted here) and Kobe’s Lakers look better than ever.

Just something I thought of today. I’m going to go back to watching the King play his future (I hope not) team on NBA TV, the greatest channel on the dial, and fooling around on 82games.com.

Actually, before I go, I just want to proclaim that all of Steph Curry’s games should be televised from now on. Can we make that happen please? 35 ppg, 8 apg, 3 rpg, 3 spg, 53% from the field, 45% from three and 91% from the line. Is that not TV worthy? Ok, I’m done.

Kudos to Myron Rolle

2008-11-24T20:07:00.000-08:00

Ok, I screwed up. I failed to acknowledge Myron Rolle's accomplishment over the weekend. Rolle is now a Rhodes Scholar. We spend so much time picking on and ridiculing every misstep and mistake athletes do that we often ignore or downplay the good they do.

Not every athlete is a thug, malcontent or dufus. Rolle is an intellectual who happens to crack a few skulls on Saturdays (and Thursdays, Sundays, Wednesdays and whatever days they play college football on now).

I'm glad he didn't let football get in the way of his academic goals. Its funny too that Rolle would come from a school like Florida State, who's football players get way more publicity for the bad things they do off the field.

I hope he continues to shine academically and I hope more athletes like him get more shine in the future.

Quick Hits 11/24

2008-11-24T13:20:00.000-08:00

NBA

So I finally got a chance to see the Hornets play on Friday night. Chris Paul was amazing, they d’ed up and slaughtered their opponent. On Saturday night (in a non-televised game), they pretty much did the same thing on Friday and CP3 notched his first triple-double of the season. The problem is they played Kevin Durant’s team both nights.

As far as the rest of the league, the Lakers and Celtics are dominant again. The Rockets and Cavs are better and the Magic and Bobcats are making me look bad, as they do every year. Derrick Rose > Mike Beasley and Marc Gasol, O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay are going to be a good trio soon (random Grizzlies note of the year).

I could go on and on about every team, but I’m not. Just like last year, I’m loving the NBA.

NFL

The McNabb era has come to an end in Philly. Hopefully he’ll end up on a good team with receivers and finish his career with some dignity.

Meanwhile, an old Super Bowl favorite is getting healthy and picking up some steam. Yup, the Dallas Cowboys are looking good. I could definitely see them getting hot, winning the rest of their games this year and set themselves up for a classic NFC Championship game against the Giants, who are rolling.

In the AFC, the Jets are getting a lot of hype, but the pundits backing them are forgetting two things. 1. Brett Favre is Brett Favre, who is always likely to make a mistake at a costly time. 2. Brett Favre was on the cover of Madden this year. I don’t know if his unretirement and subsequent trade has made him Madden Curse exempt, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Meanwhile, if the Steelers and Colts can stay healthy, play close attention both teams going forward in the AFC. The Patriots are looming as well.

On another note, I love it how all the NFL’s Thursday night games suck. This year, they seemed to start earlier than ever. You know that eventually they’re going to have at least one if not multiple games on the NFL Network each week. Just like Wall Street, greed is eventually going to kill the NFL.

NCAA B

This year, the NCAA has two guys who are can’t miss, watch every minute of the game players. They are sportsology favorite Stephen Curry and future #1 draft pick Blake Griffin. Curry is averaging 34 points, 2.5 rebounds and 9 assists a game. He’s shooting 53% from the field, 43% from three and 90+% from the line. Griffin is averaging 26 points, 20 rebounds and 3 assists a contest. He’s shooting 57% from the field.

Now those numbers are insane, but they are only four games worth of stats. However, both players are the real deal. Griffin is going to come on TV more, so you might get away with missing and Oklahoma game every now and then.

Curry’s Davidson Wildcats are a mid-major team in a conference without a major TV deal. Therefore, its imperative that you watch every minute he plays this year, as he might end up with one of the greatest seasons of all time when its all said and done.

NCAA F

Texas Tech lost, as predicted here (finally!), but damn I didn’t expect them to get killed like that. With that beatdown, Texas v. Florida is now Oklahoma v. Florida, and I’d definitely take the Sooners in that contest.

Elsewhere, Charlie Weis is taking a lot of heat at Notre Dame, and will probably finish the year with a 6-7 record after bowl season. Notre Dame is probably cursed for screwing Ty Willingham; at least Weis’ tenure is. Unfortunately for him, he made it very easy to root against him with his early braggadocio and ridiculous contract extension.

As the season winds down and every game takes heightened importance, enjoy the games. Games of this intensity level would not happen with a playoff system, which is why it the BCS needs to stay with some small adjustments.

I know this post was kind of dull, but too much happened over the weekend for me not to address it.

Quick Hits 11/20

2008-11-20T08:37:00.000-08:00

NBA

Note to the NBA: Stop showing the same teams over and over again! Every year, the geniuses that set the NBA’s TV schedule select about 6-10 teams to play on TV everyday. This year, the Lakers, Celtics, Pistons, Nuggets, Bulls, Blazers, Heat, Rockets, Mavs, Cavs Spurs and Suns are always on TV.

Good teams from last year, like the Hornets, Raptors and Jazz, and up-and-coming teams like Atlanta and the Knicks (yes, they seems to be playing exciting ball under D’Antoni) are never one. I would love to write about what’s wrong with the 5-5 Hornets, but I’ve only seen them play once; a Saturday night game on NBA TV versus the Heat, which they won.

C’mon Stern, give the fans some diversity on the tube.

NCAA Football

In college football, Newton’s law is the law of the land, especially if BCS implications are on the line. I’m bringing this up to foreshadow what might (and probably will) happen if Texas Tech loses on the road against Oklahoma on Saturday. Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma would then finish with one loss a piece, to each other, which basically says that they are fairly even – which they are.

Their fate would then be determined by the pollsters and computers, via the BCS, to see which team would square off against Missouri in the Big 12 Championship game with the BCS title on the line.

I love it. Because the team that will probably come out on top is the team that actually played tough non-conference competition. Without the BCS, teams would just load up on creampuffs and I-AA (I’m still against the whole FBS and FCS b.s.) schools in non-conference play. At least this system forces teams to schedule decent competition, or face the wrath of Jeff Sagarin.

Texas Tech played four non-conference games: 2 home games against I-AA competition (Eastern Washington from the Big Sky, whom they defeated 49-24, and UMASS from the CAA, whom they defeated 56-14), played Nevada on the road (35-19) and crushed SMU at home (43-7). That’s horrible.

Texas played no I-AA schools in their four non-conference games. They had a road romp over UTEP, 42-13, and three home victories over Florida Atlantic, Rice and Arkansas, all with the score of 52-10. Rice is 1st in their division in Conference USA.

Oklahoma crushed one of the worst teams in I-AA, Chattanooga (57-2), whipped possible Big East champ Cincinnati at home (52-26), crushed Pac-10 doormat Washington on the road (55-14) and handled #24 TCU (35-10) at home.

So if Texas Tech loses, they’re done. That creates an interesting scenario between Texas and Oklahoma. Texas defeated Oklahoma and played no I-AA schools. This should give them the edge in the polls, but who knows how the computer will rank Oklahoma’s victories over TCU and ‘Nati.

Florida vs. Texas in the national championship? Sounds good to me.

Curry and Griffin live up to expectations

2008-11-19T08:30:00.001-08:00

Although I’m usually not a big fan of gimmicks, I must commend ESPN on their college basketball marathon yesterday. At midnight, I got a chance to get a sneak-peak at Memphis and future star Tyreke Evans, who was unimpressive in the action I saw before I went to sleep.

Yesterday morning, my Drexel Dragons knocked off the Penn Quakers in a game played at 10 am, which was also the first time Drexel has ever hosted Penn in basketball. UNC looks like they could win the championship even without Hansbrough and Ginyard, either that or Kentucky is going to be very bad this year, or maybe even a little bit of both.

UAB looked pretty good in the first half against Arizona (although the game came down to the wire well past my bedtime).

But of course, the game of the night yesterday was Davidson at Oklahoma, which did not disappoint. Davidson, of course, is powered by superstar Stephen Curry. Oklahoma is led by 2009 #1 NBA draft pick Blake Griffin. Both players put up impressive numbers played big roles in the outcome of the game on off nights!

Blake Griffin was outscored by his brother Taylor in the first half and only had 4 points while Curry had 17 points, but missed the last 6 minutes of the half with foul trouble. Yet, Griffin finished with 25 points and 22 rebounds and Curry had 44 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists when the fat lady sang last night in Norman.

Get this about Curry – he only shot 41% from the field and 40% from three (he was 14-14 from the charity stripe). He could have very easily had 50 points in this contest. Oklahoma tried all they could to keep the ball out of his hands, but what likely saved them was Curry’s first half fouls and fatigue.

Curry went through a stretch where he missed three straight 3’s off the front of the rim and he also missed a few floaters and fingerolls that could have upped his total to fiddy. I don’t know if his size will play well in the NBA, but he is the most exciting player and best shooter the game has seen in a long, long time.

As for Griffin, he’s the truth. He doesn’t have much range, but he can handle the ball very well and even led some of the Sooners’ fast breaks last night. He’s good from the line and unstoppable from close range. He’s a ferocious rebounder and is very tenacious when it comes to finishing. His brother, too, was impressive. He reminds me of a Paul Millsap kind of player.

Moving forward, Davidson will be much better when the tournament comes around, as their role players will become more acclimated to playing in the spotlight. The “White Lobster” Bryant Barr was 1-9 from the field, including 1-7 from downtown. In fact, besides Curry, the rest of the team shot horribly -- 12-39 from the field (31%), 4-14 from 3 (29%), and 6-12 (50%) from the line. If his team continues to play this poorly, Curry will be a shoe-in for player of the year, as he can and will continue to carry them.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma could be tough team, but there are a few things about them that troubled me. Their outside shooting was poor and needs to improve. Willie Warren can fly and Jeff Capel needs to turn him loose. I assume he will as Warren gets more experience. And perimeter defense needs to improve, as regardless of who you’re playing against, you can’t give up 44 to a guy.

As for the game, it was one of the better regular season games since maybe the Texas-Oklahoma State triple-overtime game a few years ago when Mario Boggan squared off against Kevin Durant. I can’t wait to see either one of these teams again.

2 for 1: Thoughts on McNabb's lack of thoughts

2008-11-18T12:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, I have to address this. How does Donovan McNabb not know there is only one overtime in the regular season? A tie in the NFL happened not too long ago, 2002, and it involved one of the game’s most exciting players at the time – Mike Vick.

His line about, the playoffs or Super Bowl is even stupider. The team that beat him in the NFC Championship game to advance to the Super Bowl in 2004, the Carolina Panthers, did so after knocking off the Rams in a double-overtime game on the first play in the Divisional Round of the playoffs that year.

Maybe this is why he got confused. The reason why the regular season only features one 15 minute period is probably risk of injury. Plus, it rarely happens. If ties were more frequent, I’m sure the NFL would adopt an NCAA style of overtime.

Still, Donovan has to know this rule. That game pretty much ended the Eagles playoff hopes and was probably (or hopefully) the last scar to McNabb’s star-crossed career in Philly. Good luck wherever you play next year, and thanks for ruining my Super Bowl pick.

Steph Curry Star Power

2008-11-18T05:52:00.000-08:00

America's favorite college athlete is back at it again. The son of Dell dropped 33 on James Madison in 31 minutes. He shot 14-19 from the field, including 4-6 from downtown, and also dropped 9 dimes.

Now here's how much star power young Curry has. At 9pm tonight on the 'Worldwide Leader,' UNC plays Kentucky in one of the most anticipated early season games. However, at 9:30 pm on ESPN2, Curry and Davidson square off against Oklahoma and super soph Blake Griffin. Which game are you going to watch? I assume most will work the remote like a mad man shifting games, but if Curry goes off, I know where everyone will end up.

Can anyone save the Lions, and other cool stuff too

2008-11-17T10:25:00.000-08:00

NBA

This is a real quick one. I just wanted to point out this blog about who would star in a 2008 version of NBA Jam. I’m so jealous I didn’t think of this first. I’m thinking about doing a tournament edition one, but I don’t want to be a biter.

NFL

There’s so much to talk about in the NFL. Most of my playoff picks are in the dumpster (as usual) and most of the playoff spots seem like they will be up for grabs in the next few weeks. The Kurt Warner for MVP bandwagon is picking up steam, as Warner keeps playing like its 7 years ago (32-44, 395 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT yesterday). Marion Barber has literally become the equivalent to a closer in the NFL, as I’m sure you’ve heard 1,000 times this weekend.

One thing I wanted to look at today is parody in the NFL. Most of the league’s teams are average or above average, with the exception of the Titans and Giants. However, there are a lot of bad teams in the NFL. Most of these bad teams have been bad for the last few years.

These really bad teams are the Bengals, Chiefs, Raiders, Seahawks, Rams, and Lions (who are making a serious run at 0-16). The big question for the league is “Can any of these teams ever be good?”

(Note: I didn’t include the Browns, Texans or 49ers on this list because they are worst than they should be. These teams have been fairly “scrap-less” all season).

To make it easier on the commish, I’ll judge their chances on a 10 point scale.

Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati seemed on their way to being good winning their division in 2005. In their playoff game against the Steelers that year, Carson Palmer blew out his knee and things haven’t been the same since. 8-8 in 2006, 7-9 last year, and this year they can’t finish any better than 7-8-1.

They have talent, but without Palmer, it’s useless.

Chances: 8

Solution: Get rid of Marvin Lewis (sorry Marv), get Carson healthy, draft character and talent.

Kansas City Chiefs
Remember when they used to get thrashed by the Colts every year in the playoffs? Now, they have a fairly uphill battle to the top. They have a decent coach in Herm Edwards (good motivator and mentor, not an X’s and O’s guy) and talent sprinkled around old and unhappy players.

Hopefully for their fans, they won’t be fooled by Tyler Thigpen’s recent performances into going into next season without a good QB.

Chances: 6

Solution: Trade LJ and Tony G. for draft picks and young talent. Get a franchise QB in the draft, another receiver to go with Bowe and a running back that actually wants to be there. Some talent on defense wouldn’t hurt either.

Oakland Raiders

Call this the curse of Rich Gannon? Or not. Either way, this franchise is a mess. Apparently nothing can get done around there as long as Al Davis is around and he’ll never relinquish control of the team. Ever.

Big spending didn’t work for them, after a few years of trying to build through the draft and trades.

Chances: 2

Solution: Besides Nnamdi Asomugha, Darren McFadden and JaMarcus Russell, there aren’t too many pieces on this team worth keeping. I’d start by rebuilding the offensive line and go from there.

Seattle Seahawks

This is going to get worse before it gets better. Their window has closed. All their stars are old and past their prime, with few exceptions. Time to rebuild.

Chances: 7

Solution: Get rid of the money guys and bring youth in. Hopefully, they’ll get a good coach to lead the transition in the post-Holmgren era (not Jim Mora, Jr.)

St. Loius Rams

This is an ugly situation. Their stars aged a lot faster than anyone could have expected. They need to find a way to keep Stephen Jackson healthy, and go from there.

Chances: 5

Solution: Get an offensive line! Get rid of the malcontents. Get at least a decent coach; try somebody with a new, fresh approach. Draft some talent on defense.

Detroit Lions

They need to get rid of everyone except for Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith. And pray. Seriously.

Chances: 2

Solution: New coach, QB, o-line, d-line, more depth at receiver, new tight end, new linebackers (except Sims), new defensive backs, new special teamers.

Hidden NFL MVP Information Inside

2008-11-11T08:09:00.000-08:00

NFL

Very quietly, Kurt Warner is having his best season ever (so far). Yes, 2-Time MVP Kurt Warner has opened the season better than his 1999 and 2001 MVP years. Flanked by two All-Pro receivers (Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin), two solid complimentary players (Steve Breaston, Jerheme Urban) and Edgerrin James 2.0 (Tim Hightower), Warner is the mid-season MVP in the NFL so far.

Check out his numbers from ’99, ’01, and ’08 through 9 games:

Kurt Warner Through 9 Games

1999 – (7-2) 191-279 (68% comp.) 2454 yards, 26 TD, 6 INT, 117.8 QB Rating
2001 – (8-1) 224-327 (69% comp.) 2709 yards, 17 TD, 13 INT, 94.7 QB Rating
2008 – (6-3) 238-337 (71% comp.) 2760 yards, 19 TD, 6 INT, 106.4 QB Rating

A close second is Adrian Peterson, who is literally carrying the Vikings on his shoulders. However, once Kevin and Pat Williams are finally suspended, look for the Vikes to fade to black.

A close third is Clinton Portis, who will probably pass AP and challenge Warner. But props to Warner, who has the Cardinals cruising to their first playoff birth since the Jake the Snake era. I assume Warner would give props to God, then to his crappy division for his quasi-resurgence. I say quasi because he balled out last year too.

2007 – (8-8) (7-7 as starter) 281-451 (62%) 3417 yards, 27 TD, 17 INT, 88.9 QB Rating

Don’t sleep on Warner, or the Cardinals, who seem like they’re going to be one of the few teams to fulfill my expectations.

Other NFL Awards through 9 games

Offensive Player of the Year – Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
Defensive Player of the Year – Too Close to Call
Coach of the Year – Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans
Offensive Rookie of the Year – Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
Defensive Rookie of the Year – Chris Horton, Washington Redskins

NCAA F

Once again, the BCS haters were out in full force crying about how Penn State was going to get shafted, only for them to fall at Iowa over the weekend. For years, college football has always seemingly worked itself out. At the end of the year, there are usually one or two undefeated or standout one-loss teams.

Before the BCS, they may or may not have ended up playing each other in the same bowl. Now, it’s a guarantee. I’m not saying the BCS is perfect, but I will say it’s much better than the previous system.

The thing I like about the BCS is it makes every game important. How exciting would that Iowa victory over Penn State have been with a playoff? The Nittany Lions would still likely make an 8-team playoff, sucking a lot of the air out of the Hawkeyes victory.

And when Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma all finish the season with one loss, how will their fate be determined? Strength of schedule, via the BCS, which will continue to encourage teams to stop putting creampuffs on their schedule.

As for the latest darling of the playoff proponents, USC, they lost to Oregon State and play in an inferior Pac-10. Who cares? At the end of the season, nearly every fan is usually satisfied with the team who is crowned champion by the BCS. After all the hot air is blown, the clear cut champion usually proves itself on the field and vindicates the BCS.

And, as I always argue, who would you determine who does or doesn’t make the playoffs? Probably a BCS-like system. And for the mid-major fans, a playoff would likely hurt your team, because a team like Utah would end up seeded 7th and have to face Florida (not a good matchup). Now they’ll probably go to a BCS game against a lesser opponent and be able to compete.

Ok, I’m done.

NBA

Great start to the season so far. Not much else to say. A lot of people continue to bash the NBA, but they obviously weren’t paying attention last season, during one of the most interesting campaigns in recent history. You don’t want to be that guy that misses out on the fun this year. Don’t wait till the playoffs to tune in, as you’ll definitely be confused by who’s in, who’s out and who’s good all of a sudden.

NCAA Bball
The title is UNC’s for the taking. However, after that I think its up in the air. I am interesting to watch the play of two mid-major guards, Eric Maynor of VCU and Stephen Curry of Davidson, who have the chance to solidify themselves as lottery picks.

A.I. for Mr. Big Shot = Push

2008-11-04T10:01:00.001-08:00

While I was out with a throat yesterday, there were a few big moves in the sports world that went down.

In college football, Phillip Fulmer was forced to take $6 million over four years to no longer coach Tennessee.

However, more important to me was the NBA trade where the Nuggets sent A.I. the Pistons for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess (who will be bought out and re-sign with Detroit, allegedly) and some random dude (Cheik Samb).

There is a lot of speculation that Detroit did this move to shake things up, clear the way for Stuckey to start next year, and clear cap space to make a run at LeBron/Bosh/D. Wade in 2 years. Much of this is fueled by A.I.’s expiring contract.

He doesn’t seem like a good fit for this team on paper, but their max seemed to be another Eastern Conference Finals loss anyway. Perhaps Allen’s personality or the sheer volume of Dumars trading away a team leader could shake things up and give this team a spark.

If it works, they can possibly resign him or even try to get him to sign a 1-year extension. If it doesn’t work, you let him walk. Either way, you avoid pissing your fans off by rebuilding.

As for Denver, this trade looked a lot better before I learned they weren’t keeping Antonio McDyess. He would’ve helped provide them some much needed front court depth. Adding Billups, however, will solidify their point guard position and getting rid of A.I. will allow J.R. Smith to start.

Billups seems like a much better fit for Denver than A.I., although he has lost a step since he was the 2004 Finals MVP.

I think the final verdict on this trade is a draw. Even with Billups, Denver is a 6-8 seed in the West at best and A.I. doesn’t make Detroit any better than it already is, and his style of play could actually hinder the team’s chemistry.

As always, I’m interested to see what happens.

NBA Season Preview

2008-10-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

I've finally gotten a chance to do something productive with this blog and make some predictions before the league I'm talking about actually starts. In my opinion, there are more questions than answers this season in the NBA, but i'm pumped up.

Truthfully, the NFL has been garbage this year, so I'm more ready for the NBA than I think I've ever been in October. Without further ado ...

Eastern Conference

1. Cleveland Cavaliers – The time is now for LeBron to put up or shut up. Last season, he snickered and sneered his way to 30, 7 and 7 despite an open disdain for the play of many of his teammates. Now, they seem to be one of the deepest teams in the east. I expect them to make the leap, with King James finally ascending to the NBA’s throne.
2. Boston Celtics – This year, I expect a lot of parity in the NBA for a change. That said, the Celtics and Pistons will probably do what most veteran contender teams do in the NBA; take off the first 1/4 or 1/3 of the season, then turn it on down the stretch.
3. Detroit Pistons – Joe Dumars should’ve blown this team the past few years. The problem is, they are always good enough to finish no worst than third in the East and make a championship run, even though they need a chemistry change to get them back to the top.
4. Miami Heat - D. Wade is back, and he has a nice mix of youth and experience with him. If they pick up the pace (which they should sans Riley), they can easily take control of the weakest division in the NBA.
5. Toronto Raptors - The 4th best team in the East is here only because of NBA alignment rules. The pick up of Jermaine O’Neal shows an interesting potential rift between coach Sam Mitchell (a traditionalist) and Bryan Collangelo (a big fan of the international, fast pace style of ball). J.O. will also relegate more bench time for Andrea Bargnani, who may never live up to his #1 pick potential.
6. Philadelphia 76ers – A good, but not great team with too much hype.
7. Charlotte Bobcats - I don’t know how, but I have a feeling that Larry Brown will find a way to get these guys in the playoffs.
8. Washington Wizards – These next few teams are pretty much interchangeable (and definitely Charlotte at #7 as well), as far as potential. The Wiz have too many injuries to really be a threat, and are married to this bunch of players that doesn’t quite fit for the foreseeable future.
9. Atlanta Hawks – The Hawks have good talent, but an aging Bibby and constant friction between players and the coach, the coach and front office and the front office with each other usually isn’t a good mix for a winning program.
10. Orlando Magic - I might be the only person who has these guys out of the playoffs, but I’m not sold.
11. Indiana Pacers – If they stay healthy, they could easily sneak their way into the playoffs.
12. Chicago Bulls – They need to make some moves quickly to get better fitting parts if they want to make a playoff run this year.
13. New Jersey Nets – Everyone is expecting Vince to mail it in. Also, I’m not that big on the whole Devin Harris going to the next level in New Jersey theory. I saw a stat somewhere that showed his shooting percentage dropped by like 6% after he moved to Jerz. This is because in Dallas he was taking mostly open jump shots and layups. Asked to carry more of the load in New Jersey, he’ll be prone to taking bad shots.
14. New York Knicks – Love D’Antoni, hate this team.
15. Milwaukee Bucks – Probably like this team more than most, hate Skiles.

Western Conference

1. New Orleans Hornets – I think Posey puts them over the top. Overall, I think this year will have the most parity/mediocrity in the league in recent history. I expect them to be one of the few dominant teams.
2. LA Lakers – I think the West will be N.O. and the rest. These guys could easily drop lower, with injury and chemistry problems seemingly on the horizon. It would be in their best interest to trade L.O. as soon as possible.
3. Utah Jazz – The Boozer situation could get ugly, and so could the situation with D-Wil’s ankle. If they hold it together and keep Booz or get equal value, they could jump the Lakers.
4. Houston Rockets – T-Mac and Yao are going to get hurt. They will likely be hurt at the same time, at least for a few games, putting the keys in Ron Artest’s hands. This could either validate them as a title contender or validate the critics of the Artest experiment.
5. San Antonio Spurs – They’ll mail in the first half season, especially with Ginobili out for a while, then turn it up after the all-star break. Be prepared to read several articles abut how scary they are in March.
6. Denver Nuggets – Like spots 7-13 in the East, 6-14 is up for grabs in my opinion. The Nuggets have an ugly team but before you put them out of the playoff picture, you have to remember that Melo always makes the playoffs.
7. Dallas Mavericks – Do not be surprised if they don’t make the playoffs, especially when Jason Kidd misses the inevitable 10-15 games.
8. Phoenix Suns – Definitely don’t be surprised if they miss the playoffs. Nash, Shaq, Raja Bell and G. Hill could combine to miss 100 games this year. Even if they all play 82, this team doesn’t fit well together and Nash is essentially a waste in a slow paced offense.
9. LA Clippers – Don’t be surprised if they make the playoffs. They have a team of hardheads, which could be problematic for chemistry, but if B. Diddy stays healthy, the team meshes quickly and Dunleavy gets his rotation in order, they’ll definitely be playing ball well into April.
10. Portland Trailblazers – Too many people on the bandwagon, but should definitely be a playoff team in 09-10.
11. Minnesota Timberwolves – A potential sleeper this year, should be a definite sleeper next year.
12. Sacramento Kings – Ditto.
13. Memphis Grizzlies – Ditto.
14. Golden State Warriors – Ugly, ugly situation in Oaktown. They are definitely “Atlanta Hawks West.” It sucks because they had so much momentum with fan support after they knocked off the Mavs a few years ago.
15. Oklahoma City Liberty – Bad karma from Seattle, worst uniforms in the history of professional sports hands down. I hope they only win 8 games and still miss out on the #1 pick.

Awards
MVP – LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Coach of the Year – Jerry Sloan, Utah Jazz
ROY – Greg Oden, Portland Trailblazers
6th Man – James Posey, New Orleans Hornets
Most Improved – Jose Calderon, Toronto Raptors
Defensive – Josh Smith, Atlanta Hawks

All-NBA
C – Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
PF – Amare Stoudamire, Phoenix Suns
SF – LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
SG – Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
PG – Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets

Playoffs

East

1st Round
Cleveland def Washington (again); Boston def Charlotte; Philadelphia def Detroit; Toronto def Miami

Conf. Semi’s

Cleveland def Toronto; Boston def Philadephia

Conf Finals

Cleveland def Boston

West

1st Round
New Orleans def Phoenix; Lakers def Dallas; Utah def Denver; San Antonio def Houston

Conf Semi’s
New Orleans def San Antonio; Utah def Lakers

Conf Finals
New Orleans def Utah

NBA Finals
New Orleans def Cleveland

Extra Belated World Series Preview

2008-10-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I was going to post this before yesterday's game, but blogger was down. But alas, I felt obligated to do it anyway. So folks, here is essentially a preview of Games 3-7.

(check out this interesting Bill Rhoden article about the potential impact of the Rays black players on growing the game in the inner city.)

Now that I’m a grown up, I need to stay in shape. That, plus the ridiculous nature of traffic here in the DMV, usually sends me to the gym after work for at least an hour every night. To make a long story short, these long days of work x the gym usual has me home after 8 pm every night.

That’s not really conducive to getting things done outside of the work place during the week. This week, I’ve avoided the gym in an effort to get things done. After a productive Monday, I had a completely unproductive Tuesday, followed by a Wednesday where I started making headway in a lot of situations I had been stalling with.

But I forgot one major thing. MY WORLD SERIES PREVIEW!

Ok, so Game 1 is in the books (3-2 Phillies Victory), but there’s still six* games to go! Here’s the tale of the tape.

Rays Offense vs. Phillies Pitching and D

The Rays can mash, we’ve all heard that and about what B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria have done in this postseason for weeks. What is an underrated topic is the Phillies pitching. Ok, in my last Phillies related piece, I noted that they finally have good enough pitching to go with their hitting.

However, their arms aren’t good enough to hold down the Rays, except for Cole Hamels (as he showed last night). As I was watching the Phillies play the Dodgers, I noticed about four things about their pitching staff.

1. Brett Meyers is decent. 2. Jamie Moyer is hit or miss. 3. Joe Blanton is miss, miss, hit, miss.

And 4. Brad Lidge is going to blow a save at some point in this series. In Game 5 (I believe) he almost gave up 9th inning homeruns to James Loney and Matt Kemp. In the regular season, he’s definitely walked guys and given up big hits, only to get bailed out by a Shane Victorino throw.

Oh, and Ryan Howard is the worst baseball player on the planet.

Advantage: Rays

Phillies Offense vs. Rays Pitching and D

The ex-factor is really David Price. The Rays starting is decent, although slightly overrated, and their bullpen is hit or miss too. But David Price is a beast. I really hope Maddon unleashes him more in this series.

The Phillies offense is very potent 1-6. After that, unless Brett Meyers is pitching, you can count out the bottom of the lineup. I’m not too hot on Chris Coste at DH either. But since I’m not too sure of what Price’s role in this series will be, I’ll call this even.

Advantage: Even

Managing

Normally, I always take the smarter guy. But lately, the coach you think will win the big game or series loses. Maddon is the thinker, Manuel is Manuel. I can’t call it.

Advantage: Even

Intangibles

The intricacies of “The Trop” vs. the bandbox that is Citizens Bank. The Phillies inevitable choke x The Curse of Billy Penn vs. the Rays inexperience. Old Brad Lidge vs. New Brad Lidge.

Once again, I can’t call it.

Verdict

Rays in 6.

(Sorry this kind of got a little sloppy and short towards the end, “the man” is on to my blogging habits).

Shame on NFL, Cleveland Browns and the Media

2008-10-22T11:05:00.000-07:00

One of the most egregious acts committed by an NFL team happened yesterday. But as the saying goes, “If a tree falls down in the woods and nobody hears it, does it make a sound?”

Actually, that doesn’t apply. This tree fell down in the middle of Times Square and nobody is outraged. I’m talking about the Cleveland Browns suspension of mercurial tight end Kellen Winslow for speaking out against the organization.

On the surface, this seems right. A hothead player with a history of saying stupid things (my favorite rant of all time) speaking out against his losing team. A malcontent getting what he deserved.

This is something different. Winslow was hospitalized with his second staph infection as a member of the Browns, one of many players who have been stricken with the illness in Cleveland. Whatever the reason their players keep getting staph, the Browns aren’t doing enough to prevent it.

Joe Jurevicius, one of the team’s best players last year, is missing the season because of it. LeCharles Bentley, once a high-prized free agent signing by the browns, is in danger of losing his career and life because of staph.

The team, trying to protect their image, had Winslow stay silent on his injury, which led to rampant speculation. Angered that his reputation was being soiled, he spoke out. The tipping point was when GM Phil Savage didn’t call to check on him while he was hospitalized, while members of the front office were pressing him for silence.

Yet, the Browns had the gall to suspend Winslow for speaking out, when they clearly don’t have their stuff together.

Another group of people who deserve to be criticized is the mainstream media. So far, I’ve only seen one article criticizing the Browns. On Sportscenter last night, John Clayton seemed to be criticizing Winslow in this.

Where is the media to stick up for him? You bash him when he says/does something stupid, he gives you good quotes anyway but you don’t do anything when he takes a stand for his health and the health of his teammates.

When Pacman Jones screwed up socially, there were dozens of articles criticizing the trouble young man. When players screw up, the media sounds off its horns like rush hour traffic in Manhattan. However, social injustices in the NFL by teams and the league against its players are as quiet as a fallen tree in Yellowstone.

NFL Rant

2008-10-16T10:36:00.001-07:00

Sike!

I wanted to write about the NFL, but I don’t know what to say. Sorry guys. Between constantly going through NBA rosters, my four fantasy football teams, all the political crap and the baseball playoffs, I haven’t done much analysis on the NFL.

Sorry.

Random College Football Thoughts

2008-10-09T10:29:00.001-07:00

I’m glad I didn’t do a college football preview this year. Coming in to the season, I figured Georgia was a lock for the BCS title game, and probably would’ve penciled in USC to face the Bulldogs.

Other things I would have predicted were: Alabama being overrated, Clemson making an undefeated run and LSU struggling without a quarterback.

Some things I would’ve nailed, but the past is in the past. Right now, I still think Alabama is playing a little bit better than they are, but they’re definitely a BCS team and will probably be #1 heading into next year. But who plays in this year's championship?

Probably two one-loss teams, which actually bodes well for Georgia and USC. I think that Oklahoma will find a way to lose a game this year, maybe even this weekend against Texas. The same goes for Missouri and Texas too, and any other undefeated Big 12 team.

Penn St. actually has an outside chance of going undefeated, but I think they will get embarrassed by a non-Big Ten team.

For the first time in a long time, I really can’t call it. USC will likely finish with a better strength of schedule than a Big 12 or SEC team. So if they finish with one less and everyone else does too, then they’ll be in. As for their opponent, it will probably be the Big 12 winner; I think it’s very possible that the SEC champion will have two losses.

Elgin Baylor x Sports Guy x LCS Preview

2008-10-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

Before I get into it today, I wanted to highlight yet another good article by Bill Simmons on Elgin Baylor. The plight of black athletes during the Jim Crow era has always been fascinating, along with the development of the modern pro sports system and the role various players had in creating the big bucks for everyone scenario we have today.

I was totally oblivious to the real Elgin Baylor story, but now I know and now I won't look at him as that horrible Clippers GM that played back in the day. It was also a good juxtaposition to the asskicking Obama put on McCain, moving us closer to our first black president.

I think that African-American History is taught horribly in this country in general, and it’s so easy to forget how bad things once were. We’re at the point now where when something racist happens, we’re almost surprised. It used to be the norm. Heck, in some places it still is. Anyways, I can talk forever about this subject, but this is a sports blog not a sociology or history blog. Just read the damn article.

Today, I’m going to talk about the upcoming LCS’s in Major League Baseball. This season was a pretty damn good one, but the playoffs have been fairly lackluster. Just several beatdowns going on throughout the opening round, except for the Boston-Anaheim (via LA?) series, which was marred by errors and overmanagement by the Halos.

Now we have the Phillies and Dodgers squaring off in the NL and the Sox and Rays squaring off in the AL. Before the season, this would have been one of the most unlikely pairings. During the season, it was clear that the Rays and Sox were two of the best teams in the AL. In the NL, Philly and LA didn’t distinguish themselves as playoff teams until September, behind the bats of sluggers Ryan Howard and Manny Ramirez.

In the past, I would do a tale of the tape on each, but quite frankly I’m not too confident in what’s going to happen. In both series, there’s a “what should happen,” “what I want to happen,” and “what will probably happen/what the MLB wants to happen.”

Here’s what should happen:

The Phillies have and have had the most potent offense in the NL throughout the season. Their pitching has been up and down, but down the stretch Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton and Jamie Moyer were solid. Their bullpen is stellar, as Brad Lidge’s comeback has been well documented.

The Phillies have had a championship offense for years, but now they seem to have the pitching behind them as well.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers had a weird mix of youth and experience on the mound and in the field. They have Joe Torre guiding the ship, but you would think the team that has been together for so long would ultimately pull it out against the upstart ball club.

What I want to happen:

I want the Phillies to win. I went to school there for five years and Philly really, really needs a winner.

What Will Probably Happen:

Manny will hit like 4 HR’s and drive in a crap load of runs, Brad Lidge will finally self-destruct, and Ryan Howard will hit .125 with one meaningless HR in a 12-2 Dodgers rout, and LA will win in 5 or 6 games.

What should happen:

In the AL, the Rays went from worst to first, and won the AL East. The Red Sox finished right behind them, and probably would have won the division if they didn’t have the injuries. Even going into the playoffs, I’d probably have picked the Rays to win the AL.

However, after watching the Sox, they are in championship mode. All of the bounces are going their way, their big names are stepping up and their no-names are coming through in the clutch.

What I want to happen:

I want the Rays to win. My disdain for the Sox is out there, I hate them and pretty much every Boston team. Nothing personal, but the ubiquitous coverage coupled with the jerks that many of these teams employ (Schilling, Youkilis, Vrabel, etc.) makes me and several others hate them.

The Rays are young and exciting. They have a cool manager and you want to pull for them anyway because of their losing history. And one of their best players, B.J. Upton, is a Tidewater native who was tearing it up at Greenbrier Christian around the time that I was playing baseball at I.C. Norcom High School.

What will probably happen:

The Sox will win, Pedroia will win MVP, Manny will get bashed, Epstein will get sucked off by the media, the LA/Boston rivalry will get run into the ground, etc.

If we can’t get a Phillies/Rays series, lets hope that Manny returns ‘home’ to Boston to bite them in the ass.

Reverse Hibernation Pt. 2: Deep Sleep

2008-10-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

I know I had a long post in September talking about all the great things I was going to write about this month that never happened. Well, you can say I lost my inspiration to write.

Or maybe I was enjoying having my own place again and not doing nothing after work that I didn’t feel like writing.

Of course I should probably write more at work in the first place, but I at least want to make them think I do a little bit of work.

Regardless of why I never picked up steam last month, I think I might have gotten my “swagger” back. (Speaking of swagger, can this word be removed from the hip-hop dictionary? I mean, people all over ESPN, Yahoo!, and CNN are now writing the word swagger in nearly every column. It’s becoming more ubiquitous than “bling.” So, if you’re a rapper or a fan of hip-hop, it is no longer cool to use the word or any variation of the word swagger.)

There was a chain email going around the office about the upcoming NBA season. The central argument was that “the Suns were going to win the West,” which one of my co-workers countered with “the Suns aren’t going to be good but the Clippers will be.”

I had to think about it, but I think the second guy was right. The Suns are dead, and the Clippers have a lot of talent on the low. But where is all my insight now, about the NBA and the other sports?

It’s stuck in my head and not on your screens. This is why I started the damn thing in the first place (and the fact that I was graded on it for my on-line journalism class). I’ve let you down, and I’m sorry. But I think I’m back now.

I have to talk about the playoffs, NBA preseason, NFL, college football and the upcoming NCAA b-ball season. Instead of trying to do it all in this posting, I suppose I should just take it one step at a time. Stay tuned … or not.

Reverse Hibernation

2008-09-15T08:27:00.000-07:00

When it comes to the blog, I guess I’ve reached sort of a crossroads. After being MIA for the entire summer, I have about three options at this point.

1. Can the thing – Ain’t gonna happen.

2. Reinvent It – Well that was the purpose of the blog in the first place, to provide a different perspective than whats on the mainstream

3. Act like it never happened – Well, maybe I’m going to do a three with a little bit of two. I’m not going to reinvent the blog, but I’m going to try to provide more depth. We’ll see what happens.

NBA

Missing the summer was kind of like a reverse hibernation. I was fired up about the Olympics and was one of 30 people who watched the gold medal game live, but most of my thoughts about the team and that game have faded away.

I will say that the Collangelo formula worked, at least somewhat. However, the biggest difference in this team and the one’s that lost were the fact that for the most part, these were the best players in the league.

In ’92, we sent a team full of legends. In ’96, we sent the guys that weren’t quite good enough for the ’92 team, and guys who were young then but now coming into their own. In 2000, a new trend started. A lot of the better guys didn’t want to go.

That team was still good, but as the foreign teams got better, we started sending worse guys. This helped our team lose the world championships in ’02 and ’06, along with the Olympics in ’04.

I think that if you send a team with Kobe, LeBron, D. Wade, ‘Melo, Chris Bosh, CP3, Deron Williams and D. Ho cold turkey, they still win.

I hope that when London comes around, we don’t revert back into our losing ways with guys like ‘Bron-Bron opting not to go.

MLB

For most of the summer, I didn’t have a clue about what was going on. Being without TV and Internet, it was hard to keep up with the NL East, AL and NL Central, the NL West and all the award races.

For a while it seems like I would come into work one week with the Phillies on top of the NL East, only to find them 3 games back of the Mets the next week.

I’m now starting to get back into the season, which has been a great one. Too bad it seems like the Red Sox are going to make the postseason. A playoffs without the Sox and Yanks would be awesome for baseball fans who are tired of their rivalry overshadowing the rest of the league

College Football

I’m glad I didn’t do a preview this year, I probably would’ve been way off. Right now, it looks as if USC is a lock to play in the title game. The second best team is probably either Oklahoma or Florida, but Florida is more likely to lose a game than the Sooners. Missouri and Georgia would be the second tier of contenders, and everyone else is just playing for a 10-2 season.

I’d love to see the Pac-10 and SEC finally square off for the chip, but that probably won’t happen.

NFL

I’ll talk about this sometime this week, I want to really gather my thoughts and put together something good.

Rushed and Sloppy NFL Season Preview

2008-09-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys, I'm still without home internet until next week. Please excuse the records, they probably don't make sense. Just take away the idea of who I think will be great, who'll be average and who's gonna suck ....

AFC East
Patriots - 14-2
Bills – 8-8
NY Jets – 8-8
Miami – 4-12

AFC North
Cleveland – 11-5
Pittsburgh – 10-6
Cincinnati – 6-10
Baltimore – 6-10

AFC South
Indy – 10-6
Houston – 9-7
Jacksonville – 8-8
Tennessee – 7-9

AFC West
San Diego – 12-4
Oakland – 9-7
Denver – 8-8
Kansas City – 3-13

NFC East
Philly – 12-4
Dallas – 11-5
NY Giants – 10-6
Washington – 5-11

NFC North
Minnesota – 9-7
Green Bay – 8-8
Chicago – 6-10
Detroit – 5-11

NFC South
New Orleans – 11-5
Carolina – 8-8
Tampa Bay – 7-9
Atlanta – 1-15

NFC West
Arizona – 9-7
Seattle – 9-7
St. Louis – 5-11
San Francisco – 5-11

AFC
Patriots - 14-2
San Diego – 12-4
Cleveland – 11-5
Indy – 10-6
Pittsburgh – 10-6
Oakland – 9-7

Wild Card

Cleveland def Oakland
Pittsburgh def Indy

Divisional

New England def Cleveland
Pittsburgh def San Diego

AFC Championship

New England def Pittsburgh

NFC
Philly – 12-4
New Orleans – 11-5
Dallas – 11-5
NY Giants – 10-6
Minnesota – 9-7
Arizona – 9-7

Wild Card
Dallas def Arizona
Minnesota def NY Giants

Divisional

Philly def Minnesota
Dallas def New Orleans

NFC Championship

Philly def Dallas

Super Bowl

New England def Philly

Update

2008-08-27T10:30:00.000-07:00

Its been a long time, I shouldn't have left you ...

Well I'm not back yet. I'm still in the DMV working, and I still don't have a place. However, hope is on the horizon!

I move into my new apt on September 6th and should be back in action around that time. Hopefully I'll have sometime to submit my thoughts between now and then.

NFL Hypocracy

2008-07-22T13:15:00.001-07:00

Don't have much time to talk, just wanted to bring this to you guys attention.

Check out the NFL's alcohol policy, when it comes to someone besides them profiting on booze ...

Quick Hits 7/9

2008-07-09T17:55:00.000-07:00

Well folks, its going to be hard for me to post on a regular basis in the coming weeks. I just started my job on Monday, working in the D.C. area. However, I don't even have a place down here yet, so I'm kinda bouncing around between family and friends.

Meanwhile, I have stuff at my mom's apartment in Portsmouth, VA, but most of my stuff is still in Philly. Fortunately, my lease up there isn't up until August 23, so I have some time to find a place in the DMV.

However, I'm going to be bouncing around between DC during the week and Philly or VA on a lot of these weekends. I can't blog at my job, at least not yet, so its going to be tough to keep up.

I will, however, do my best to get a College Football preview, a Fantasy Football Preview, and an NFL preview in time for whoever reads this thing to have a good idea what to expect, or what not to expect seeing how I picked the Giants to go 5-11 last year.

NBA

Some interesting things going on in the NBA. Following the Baron Davis signing with the Clippers, Elton Brand bolted town for Philly. If they can ink Andre Iguodala, they will be a very dangerous team next year.

However, what if Iguodala leaves? And what about the Clippers? Do they throw a lot of money at the other AI or Josh Smith?

On the flip side, the Bucks are rumored to be offering Andrew Bogut $72 mil over 5 years. Talk about a head scratcher. Dude didn't even average a double-double last year.

What is wrong with these NBA GM's? When will they learn that its not important to have a center in this generation's NBA. There's only like 4 or 5 decent post players in the league now over 6'10. There's no need to throw a lot of cash at the Boguts, Dalemberts and Dampiers of the world.

MLB

The NL Central is getting very interesting. The Brewers picked up C.C. Sabathia, who will probably sign elsewhere in the off season along with Ben Sheets. This reminds me of when the Astros picked up Randy Johnson a few years ago, or when they picked up Carlos Beltran a few years ago. Sabathia and Sheets give them the best 1-2 punch in the game.

The Cubs countered that by picking up Rich Harden, who is talented but injury prone. If healthy, he will be the #1 starter they didn't have. If hurt, they aren't losing much besides prospects that may or may not pan out. I like it.

Lurking behind them are the Cardinals. Say what you want about Tony LaRussa, but he has this team fully of mostly no-name players and castoffs in contention. They could potentially spoil either one of those team's stretch runs, especially the Brewers, who haven't exactly been world beater's this year.

Now that I'm paying attention, I'm really excited about this year's baseball season. Too bad it had to compete with the NCAA and NBA for the first few months of the year.

Quick Hits 7/5

2008-07-05T12:22:00.000-07:00

Tennis

Wimbledon fans, like Jay-Z, will be treated to some great tennis this weekend.

Earlier this morning, Venus and Serena squared off for the Women's championship, after spending two weeks dominated everyone else in the field. When they want to, they can be some of the most dominant athletes in any sport. For Venus, this was her 7th Grand Slam championship, one less than little sis.

On the men's side, the greatest rivalry in sports will return. Federer and Nadal have won 15 of the last 18 Grand Slam titles. Nadal, of course, has his four straight French Open titles and seems poised to take a grass court slam this year. Federer has 12 titles, 2 behind Pete Sampras' record. I look forward to watching it tomorrow.

As I wrote, this is one of the most underrated rivalries in sports. I think we're really missing out in this in America.

NBA

I just wanted to take this time to rip David Stern and the NBA for what they did to the fans of Seattle. They ripped a franchise that had been in Seattle for 41 years and won a championship to move it to ... Oklahoma City??? Lets see how good this looks in 10 years when their new publicly financed arena is suddenly outdated and ownership gets disinterested, like what happened in Seattle.

In sports, and really the rest of the world, the corporate welfare has to stop. The working class shouldn't be building stadiums for billionaires, just to turn around and spend millions of dollars to go there and watch games.

Quick Hits on the 4th

2008-07-04T07:39:00.001-07:00

I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T do you know what that means?

Sorry to reference one of the worst songs in history, but I just wanted to say Happy Independence Day!

Olympics

Kudos to LaShawn Merritt for knocking off Jeremy Wariner in the Olympic trials in the 400m.

Its good to see someone from my hometown of Portsmouth, VA doing something with himself. A lot of athletes from the 757 have seem to gone by the wayside lately, while Shawn is a rising star. I look forward to him bringing the gold back to Portsmouth this summer.

NBA

I like the Baron Davis signing with the Clippers. However, it seems like no other major free agents will be changing addresses this year. That said, Baron and Elton Brand should be a one of the top combo's in the West, as long as they have the right supporting cast. It was a risk for LA, considering Baron's age and back/knee, but as they say 'scared money don't make money.'

MLB

The Rays are forreal. The more I watch them, the more I believe they are going to take the AL East.

2008 NBA Draft Preview

2008-06-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

Beasley vs. Rose

All of the talk at the top of this year’s draft doesn’t make much sense to me. Throughout the history of the NBA, and this can even be evidenced in last year’s draft, the thought is to always go with a big over a guard.

All of a sudden, Chicago and several other pundits are all the rage of Memphis PG Derrick Rose instead of Michael Beasley. This is a huge head scratcher for me.

First, Beasley fits in with what the Bulls need. He could start right away, with Luol Deng and Joakim Noah on the front court and he would give them a double-double almost right away.

Meanwhile, drafting Rose would mean Kirk Hinrich would have to go. He’s a great player, but after a bad year last year his stock is down. Not to mention the demons Rose would face playing at home. Not to mention, he’s not the pure point guard everyone says he is.

The thing that made his stock jump this high was his performance in the NCAA final this year. He was nearly unstoppable on offense, but he was more like a short 2-guard than a 1. I think everyone is overestimating his ability as a pure point guard and I could see him more as a Jamal Crawford type than the next Deron Williams.

On the other hand, Beasley is like David West with a three-point shot. He will be an all-star within the first three years of his career guaranteed. I don’t know why anyone would want to pass that up.

The rest of the crop:

Headscratchers
O.J. Mayo – I’m not a big O.J. Mayo fan. In the game his team got eliminated from the Pac-10 tourney, I watched O.J. Mayo dribble off the last few seconds of the clock with his team down by three, and throw up a wild three-point shot at the buzzer. Ever since then, I’ve always put him in the category of overrated or poor basketball IQ.
Jerryd Bayliss – He never impressed me at Arizona this year. I saw him play live in their tourney game against West Virginia in D.C. this year and he didn’t do squat.
Brook and Robin Lopez – Stiffs in the making.
Danilo Gallinari – Don’t know enough about him to make an opinion.
D.J. Augustin – I think he’ll be good, but a lot of people think his size will be a problem for him, especially on defense. At the same time, wasn't he the best point guard in the nation last year?

Future Busts
Anthony Randolph – As much college basketball as I watch, I should have heard of this guy at least once.
DeAndre Jordan – Ditto
Eric Gordon – I loved his game initially, but I think he should have stayed in school and developed more endurance and became more of an assassin. He’s the next Rashad McCants.
Kosta Koufus – Should’ve stayed in school as well
Roy Hibbert – Stiff.

Solid Picks
Kevin Love – He’s short, fat and slow for a power forward. But he has NBA 3-point range, can rebound with the best of them and he passes like Chris Webber. He will be a lot better than people think.
Russell Westbrook – He’s not, and will not, be a point guard. He’s a 2. But he’s a heck of a defender and he can make up for his height with his athletic ability.
Joe Alexander – Might end up being the best player from this draft. He can do it all on the court and he might even be the best athlete in this draft.
Brandon Rush – He’s a bit spacey, but without the pressure of having to be the number one guy, he would become a solid contributor to an NBA team.
Chris Douglas-Roberts – He was the most dangerous scorer on Memphis last year and can be really unstoppable off the dribble. He has a sleek game and is a tad unorthodox, kind of like a right-handed Manu Ginobili on the offensive end. I don’t know why he’s not going to be a lottery pick, but he’ll put up lottery pick numbers on the right team.

Sleepers
JaVale McGee, Donte Green, DJ White, Kyle Weaver, Courtney Lee

A Bad Rap for Kobe

2008-06-23T15:24:00.001-07:00

TMZ.com has footage of Shaq freestyling about Kobe Bryant posted on their website.

First, its a pretty bad freestyle.

Second, its probably not the big deal that ESPN is going to try to make it. Stephen A. Smith was right when he told the Sportscenter anchors on the 6 PM edition that Shaq probably had to resort to dissing Kobe because he didn't have much other material.

In a freestyle, you say the first thing that pops in your head. Its also good to either have complicated lyrics or say something funny. In Shaq's case, it was funny to pick on Kobe.

Without the celebrity involved, its just another bad rap.

Quick Hits 6/23

2008-06-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

NBA

Kudos to Jerry Colangelo and his crew on their picks for this year's USA basketball squad.

Jason Kidd, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Michael Redd and Tayshaun Prince have been named to the team.

The only one of those guys who I don't agree with is Jason Kidd, whose best days are far behind him. He could have been replaced with another big man. Besides that, they have a lot of unselfish players and perhaps Kobe will play unselfishly in this setting. Most of them are at least average at defense and most of the wing players, except for Kidd, can shoot with consistency.

I'd be really surprised if they don't come home with the gold this year, unless of course, the weather in Beijing takes them down.

MLB

Not much to say here, but I've watched a lot of the Tampa Bay Rays this year and I have to say I like what I see. They have one of the best, young rosters and are definitely for real.

As it's the only game in town, I'll have more baseball thoughts (finally) throughout the summer.

WNBA

This might be the first and last WNBA post on the blog. Honestly, I'm a big fan of the women's game. My senior project was about the Drexel Women's basketball team.

However, the hype about Candace Parker's dunk and the reaction is part of the reason why the game will never get the same respect. They are in perpetual comparison to the men's game, which regularly features dunks. If they want their game to get a similar level of respect, they need to present themselves as a separate product. And when someone does dunk, act like its happened before, because its happened before.

NBA Finals Recap

2008-06-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

1. Anything is Possible. Kevin Garnett is a lunatic. Just wanted to put that out there.

2. Just a reminder; No more Kobe/MJ comparisons. Stop it. The Lakers lost by 39 in a close out game. Really? Imagine MJ and Pippen losing to Utah by 39 in a crucial Game 6 or 7. You can't can you? I couldn't either.

3. Doc Rivers made me look like a fool. Worst coach in the NBA? Lakers in 5 because of Phil Jackson's advantage over Doc Rivers. Oops.

Building on that point, in my mind going into this thing I had Lakers in 5. I got caught up running errands and such and couldn't do the breakdown before Game 1. When I sat down to do the breakdown I realized that the teams were closer in talent than I realized and that if Ray Allen wasn't done then Boston would probably have an advantage.

4. Well Ray Allen wasn't done after all, giving Boston that advantage.

5. What's next? Well before I get into that, I want to say something about the draft. Imagine if the Celtics got the #1 pick in last year's draft. They probably take Kevin Durant and don't trade for Ray Allen, which set everything off. That said, the Bulls have the #1 pick this year. There have been rumors of the Heat dangling Dwayne Wade for that pick. I say they should definitely take D. Wade and use him to lead all the young talent they have instead of drafting someone who may or may not be good (Although Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley look like locks.)

Alright, that had nothing to do with the Celtics and Lakers. You have to wonder if both of these teams will be back next year. For the Celtics, their chief contenders seem to be the Pistons and Cavs. However, the Pistons are probably going to get broken up and the Cavs' role players are getting older and are trash anyway. Plus they're coached by the worst coach in the league Mike Brown. (Yea, that's who I meant to pick).

For LA, you have to wonder about their chances though. Does Phil Jackson want to coach them again? Is Phil Jackson a good coach for this team? Will Andrew Bynum make that much of a difference? The Lakers toughness inside was exposed by Boston, which is surprising since it wasn't exposed by the Spurs. They also can't play defense, besides Kobe Bryant. And one thing I did get right in my preview is that Pau Gasol isn't the superstar people have made him to be.

The Spurs probably have one more run in them. The Hornets will continue to get better. Utah will also be a tough team to defeat. Even the Rockets, if Yao and T-Mac can hold it together will give them a run for it.

Also, has Kobe been exposed as well? This is his second straight Finals appearance where he came up short. Besides Phil over Doc, one of the main reasons why I expected the Lakers to win was because I figured Kobe would average 35 + points in this series. Instead, he averaged a little over 25. Not going to cut it.

If the Lakers and Celtics make it back, I hope it will live up to the hype this time. Honestly, this series wasn't that exciting for me. I'm sure Lakers and Celtics fans ate it up, but for everyone else it was decent at best.

I prefer the term African American Express

2008-06-17T06:40:00.000-07:00

Willie Randolph was fired last night by NY Mets GM Omar Minaya. I always thought Willie was a good manager, although he's been a source of ridicule for his teams colossal collapse at the end of last season.

However, I don't really think he was on the hot seat until he played the race card. After he wondered if race was the reason he was being criticized, he had to apologize for invoking color and the "Willie Randolph Watch" was on.

Race is something people in American don't want to talk about. In sports especially, if you use the race card, you're likely to get roasted. I don't understand. Race is a reality, and considering the plight of African Americans I can't blame someone for being at least a little paranoid that their race matters to other people.

A lot of times, they might have legitimate cases. With Willie, I'm not sure, but he wasn't ridiculous for asking the question. I guess for his sake he should have kept his mouth shut. He'd probably still be guiding the good ship Metropolitan. Hopefully he'll be able to bounce back on his feet and get another position.

Good Morning

2008-06-14T06:43:00.000-07:00

While We're At It

2008-06-13T08:15:00.001-07:00

Can we stop with all the Kobe and MJ crap? Seriously, check out Kobe's numbers from his five Finals apperances:

Kobe Bryant

2000 Finals (He only played 9 minutes in Game 2, which affected his stats) LA def Indy 4-2
13.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.5 APG

2001 Finals – LA def Philly 4-1
20.5 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 5.8 APG

2002 Finals – LA def NJ 4-0
26.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 5.3 APG

2004 Finals – Det def LA 4-1
22.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 4.4 APG

2008 Finals – Boston 3-1 over LA
26.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 6.25 APG

Now peep Jordan's numbers from his six Finals apperances. Its not even close.

Michael Jordan

1991 Finals – Chi def LA 4-1
31.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 11.2 APG

1992 Finals – Chi def Por 4-2
35.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 6.5 APG

1993 Finals – Chi def Phx 4-2
41.0 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 6.3 APG

1996 Finals – Chi def Sea 4-2
27.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.2 APG

1997 Finals – Chi def Utah 4-2
32.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 6.0 APG

1998 Finals – Chi def Utah 4-2
33.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.3 APG

31, 6 and 11 in '91? 41, 8 and 6 in '93? 32, 7 and 6 in '97? And well all remember how he went out in '98. Nuff said.

Up is Down ....

2008-06-13T07:14:00.000-07:00

So the Lakers aren't winning in five, and if the series ends in six games it will end with KG crying holding up the trophy. LA is down 3-1 heading into Game 5, the last game at Staples Center and possibly the last game for LA. How the hell did this happen?

In case you live under a rock, the Lakers blew a 40 point lead (OK, they were up by as much as 24) before losing to the Celtics 97-91. After four games, I have to say that Doc Rivers has outcoached Phil Jackson. Not only has he made a mockery of my finals prediction, I ranked him last on my list of NBA coaches.

Here's what went wrong with the Lakers:

First, I think we all were expecting Kobe to have an amazing series. However, he's been far from dominant. Look at this list of the Top 50 Finals performances. Look at some of the stuff Jordan did, who Kobe is always compared to. Its not even close.

Second, Ray Allen seems far from being done. I guess it was his family problems, and not his age, that was holding him back early in the playoffs. (This had to rattle him too)

And of course, Doc Rivers > Phil Jackson to this point. What usually makes Doc bad has made him good in this series. Doc coaches basketball like one of those old-school baseball managers, he goes with his gut. He's not a big X's and O's guys, and doesn't go by the book, which drives some of the purists nuts. He also seems to ignore stats, which makes the guys like me mad.

It wasn't X's and O's or stats that led him to go with KG, Posey, Pierce, Ray Allen and Eddie House in the third quarter, a line-up that gave the Lakers fits. It was his gut. It was his guy that brought House off the bench the past couple of games after watching Sam Cassell stink it up in relief of Rajon Rondo.

And here we are, since LA will probably not take two games in Boston, the worst coach in the NBA will have earned a ring at the expense at one of the most decorated coaches in the history of the game. Down is up.

NBA Fixing Games???? No Way.

2008-06-11T08:23:00.001-07:00

Well Tim Donaghy tried to drop a bomb yesterday, accusing the NBA of fixing the Lakers/Kings series in the 2002 Western Conference Finals and another series in '05.

Here's the thing about those allegations. First, its Tim Donaghy talking. He's not exactly the most credible source. He's trying to do what he can to reduce his sentence.

Second, I think every NBA fan already has a level of suspicion about the NBA pulling strings regarding calls and things of that nature.

Can't we all imagine David Stern calling the officials before a game and telling them to do what they can to make sure the series goes to Game 7? Since Stern has been in the league, there has been conspiracies floating about him from fixing the draft so the Knicks can get Ewing to suspending Jordan for gambling for a few years (which led to his baseball stint.)

If this is true, I don't think true basketball fans are going to care much. We already aren't surprised. The key game around the allegations, Game 6 of that Lakers/Kings series, is already considered one of the most egregiously officiated games of all-time. It only makes since that the league wanted the series to go seven.

The thing about fixing games in a sport like basketball is the game is so unpredictable. For instance, lets say the league wanted Boston to sweep LA for some strange reason, which would of course call for the Celtics to win Game 3. The problem is Kobe wasn't losing that game last night, period. The refs could have cheated all they wanted; Mr. Bryant was unstoppable.

Besides, if somebody on the Kings would've just grabbed a rebound, Game 6 wouldn't have mattered anyway.

Finals Breakdown

2008-06-07T08:49:00.001-07:00

As promised, here's the finals break down. And in case you're wondering, the Game 1 Lakers loss has not swayed me from my Lakers in 5 prediction. Here's why:

Point Guard

Derick Fisher vs. Rajon Rondo

Rondo is a lot better than what people give him credit for. Meanwhile, Fisher is still a solid veteran, but he can get torched from time to time. Rondo has the physical capabilities to do so, but the way he gets jerked around its no telling where his head is at.

Advantage: Push

Shooting Guard

Kobe Bryant vs. Ray Allen

Kobe is the MVP. Ray Allen has looked done for most of the playoffs. I expect Kobe to drop 50 at least once in the Finals, Allen will be lucky to top 30.

Advantage: Lakers

Small Forward

Vladamir Radmonovic vs. Paul Pierce

Pierce has proven me right in saying he's the true Celtics MVP. Meanwhile, Luke Walton should probably start here. Either way, its the Lakers weakest position

Advantage: Boston

Power Forward

Lamar Odom vs. Kevin Garnett

Of course this is going to KG. The end of the fourth quarter was the first time I've ever seen KG demand the ball and be aggressive at the end of a big game. However, the 20, 10 and 5 he gives u is his ceiling. Despite how good he is, Garnett just isn't a 40 point, 20 rebound type guy. With Odom, his head has always prevented his talent from being completely utilized. He looked pissed that he was on the bench to end game one. This can either motivate him or make him more annoyed and hurt his game.

Advantage: Boston

Center

Pau Gasol vs. Kendrick Perkins

Personally, Gasol hasn't been as good as people have been hyping him up to be. That said its better the Lakers have him instead of whoever they would be starting at center. On the other side, Kendrick Perkins is really playing like Andrew Bynum was, minus the hype. That said, I'll give this one to Gasol because of his experience.

Advantage: Lakers

Bench

Boston has all the talent in the world on their bench, but they are too deep for their coach to handle. Leon Powe should play every game, but he doesn't get any burn in a lot of games. Sam Cassell is done, but his "veteran" presence and surly demeanor when he doesn't play has earned him playing time.

Meanwhile, the Lakers bench is underrated. They all play well together and with the starters and everyone is used to their role. Phil Jackson usually doesn't surprise people with his rotations like Doc Rivers.

Advantage: Lakers

Coaching

Speaking of which, this is the Lakers' biggest advantage. Phil Jackson is one of the greatest coaches of all time and Doc Rivers is one of the worst coaches in the league.

Advantage: Lakers

Intangibles

The Lakers main intangible is the ability Kobe Bryant has to take over a game. He's the most dangerous player in the league and can go off for 50 at any moment. If he gets hot down the stretch in any close game, its over. While this didn't happen in Game 1, Kobe has been basically Mariano Rivera in the playoffs so far.

Boston's biggest intangible is their home court advantage, which is the best in the league. Also, the league wants this to go at least 6 if not 7 games. This could lead to some suspect officiating in any of the three LA games. Not that I'm a conspiracy theorist or something.

Advantage: Push

Verdict

If Boston had a halfway decent coach, I'd definitely consider them. But I can't take a team coached by Doc Rivers against Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant in any circumstances. Sorry Boston fans.

Lakers in 5.

Lakers in 5

2008-06-05T15:15:00.001-07:00

I'll break it down later ...

Quick Hits 6/3

2008-06-03T05:12:00.000-07:00

NHL

Yes, I'm leading off with the NHL. This might be the first time the NHL has been mentioned here all year. Last night I noticed Game 5 of the Stanley Cup was in the second overtime, so I decided to turn to it. Not only was it exciting, it was on a chanel I've heard of and not Versus.

The mroe the NHL comes on NBC, the better it will be. They need to get off of versus ASAP. I've always thought hockey was a cool sport; the year-long lockout just really pissed me off because I was really starting to learn about the game and get into it. I'm definitely going to try to catch at least some of Game 6 on Wednesday and maybe I'll start watching regularly again next season.

NFL

Three of the NFL's bad boys made the news yesterday. First, former Cincinnati LB Odell Thurman is facing an indefinite suspension because of another violation of the league's substance abuse policy.

I feel sorry for him because he's battled some demons, including alcoholism and family problems. When dealing with people who are addicted to something, this type of punishment may not be effective. It definitely curtails recreational drug use, but if you're an alcoholic or drug addict, rules won't stop you from using.

In Denver, Travis Henry was cut by the Broncos because of "lack of commitment." First, this dude has wayyyyyyyyyyy too many kids to be unemployed.

Second, its interesting that the Broncos made him restructure his contract to where he was only making $1.1 million/yr. And yet, the owners want a new deal. Don't they have it good enough as is?

Finally, Pac Man has been partially reinstated by the commissioner. He has to stay out of trouble to be fully reinstated by the start of the season. Hopefully he knows that staying out of trouble means not going anywhere near a strip club. I really hope this dude gets it together, but I have to say I'm skeptical as of now.

Academic Break Pt. 4: MLB & Conclusion

2008-06-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

The sport with one of the most publicized losses in African-American athletes is Major League Baseball. Before blacks were allowed to play in the major leagues they played in the Negro Leagues. Owned and operated by blacks, the Negro Leagues is still the most successful sports business venture for blacks in terms of ownership and control.

Once Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, the Negro Leagues began to fall apart. Less than 100 years after the collapse of the Negro Leagues the black baseball player is becoming extinct.

A lot of people say the decline is due to things like baseball being perceived as a “white” sport, lack of resources and places to play for inner-city kids, etc. However, the economic problems are more of a result of MLB and NCAA policy than inner-city poverty.

This article by Chris Isidore hit two of the reasons why black players are on the decline right on the head. First, foreign players aren’t subject to the draft. This has caused teams to open up camps in Latin American where they develop players whom they can sign at ages of 15 or 16.

Second, baseball isn’t a revenue sport in college. A lot of baseball players have to pay to go to school, especially those players who go to football schools where more of the scholarships go to football players. For some schools, like Drexel, it’s not even worth it for the school to field a team.

However, I think all of these problems go back to what Rhoden discussed in his book, which is the lack of blacks in ownership and decision making positions. Without people in the room that care, the policies that are keeping blacks out of the game will continue to go on. Imagine how many black athletes would be in baseball if each team had an academy in their hometown.

Yes, Jimmie Lee Solomon is the Executive VP of the MLB, but he’s probably the only black person in the room during a lot of meetings. To make MLB more accessible for blacks, it will take a large public outrage to influence owners to make a change.

Right now, they are probably more than content with having a white, Hispanic, and Asian league. The Latin players are cheap to develop, the Japanese players are usually the best of the best from Japan and the white players are easy to sell to the fans. They don’t have to worry about fans being uncomfortable with tattoos, long hair or reports of one of their players making it rain.

Its ironic that the players who were eager to leave the Negro Leagues to the brighter lights of Major League Baseball might have indirectly killed the black baseball player. It’s definitely good that Jackie Robinson broke the American sports color barrier for several reasons. However, it’s definitely come at a cost.

Conclusion

It’s funny that Whitlock wrote an article that talked about some of the things I talked about in the NBA piece, namely the effects of the appearance of the players and their perception. (I swear I wrote mines before I read his or even knew it existed)

That said, what is the future of the black American athlete in the U.S.? Is the “globalization” of American sports a bad thing? Considering everything else in the country, is it a natural step inline with our countries economic policies?

For starters, these trends will probably continue until blacks either gain more power in these leagues or leverage their power as athletes to get some changes made.

Second, I think the black athlete needs to become more professional and more cognizant of their situation here. Their appearance and behavior is under a lot of scrutiny, perhaps more so than their white counterparts.

I’m definitely not saying tattoos are bad or that it’s not ok to go to the club. Hell, I was in the club last night. It’s the little things that go along way.

Maybe think twice about getting that neck tattoo of your name in Mandarin Chinese. LeBron James needs to know better than to take a picture like this. If you make $6 million a year, perhaps you should call a cab or hire a driver instead of driving home drunk. If you make $6 million a year, you might want to consider hiring a bodyguard or two instead of packing heat. With the nature of celebrity worship and hate in our country, for some it might be time to leave a lot of the nightlife alone, or go to more upscale places.

A lot of young blacks in general struggle with this. They don’t understand why they are judged by appearance and think that someone who classifies them as a thug because their pants are hanging off their butt is a racist. I say that professionalism knows no race. That’s why the NBA’s dress code was one of David Stern’s best moves.

I also think that its naïve to ignore the reality of perception. People make judgments on perception all the time. You can sit and say it’s wrong and shouldn’t happen or you can acknowledge its presence and adjust accordingly.

I think that if black athletes changed the perception of them by looking more professional and staying out of trouble, it will go a long way. It sucks that a black athlete and a white athlete doing the same thing gets covered differently, but it is what it is. Blacks don’t own the leagues and we don’t own the media that covers the leagues.

In general, I don’t think the globalization of sports is a bad thing. It’s good that these leagues that give out “World Champion” titles are truly becoming home to the world’s best players. The problem I have is when a team takes a foreign player over a black player when they have equal or lesser talent. That’s when you have to wonder about the motives of the decision makers.

This piece was fun for me to work on, although it’s hard to talk about race in this country. When a player or coach says that something is racist, they are often scrutinized for “playing the race card.” Willie Randolph is on the hot seat for suggesting some of the criticism he receives is racial. However, race is everywhere in sports. For the economic and bureaucratic structure of sports to how players are scouted and even how the media covers the sport. Announcers even describe white and black players differently.

The more uncomfortable it becomes to talk about race, the harder it becomes to fix some of the race related problems in sports. Sometimes I wonder if that’s the point.

Special thanks to Professor E with her help on this project.

Academic Break pt. 3: The NBA

2008-06-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

A league that is slowly becoming less black is the NBA. This is also a league with an interesting situation. Most of the best basketball players in the U.S. are young black males. Many of them are firmly entrenched into the hip-hop culture that Jason Whitlock hates and many in the mainstream are afraid of.

The Pacers/Pistons/Fans brawl a few years ago seemed to legitimize the fears of those on the outside of the league. It also helped people paint a picture of the NBA as a league full of thugs. (Funny how a fight between white players and fans was barely talked about by the media.)

On top of that, the players are perhaps the most visible in the NBA, on and off the court. On the court, we can see almost all of their tattoos, of the court their wardrobes and jewelry are under scrutiny. When an NBA player gets in trouble, or says something silly (i.e. Josh Howard), it becomes big news. And now the NBA has an image problem.

They have gone through great lengths to change their image from the dress code, to the NBA Cares program, to tougher penalties for things like fighting, but the whispers are still out there. People still say they don’t watch the NBA because it’s not good anymore, the players are lazy and selfish, it’s a league of thugs, etc. Meanwhile, the NBA is finishing up the best season since Jordan was in Chicago.

A lot of the league’s image problem is the players’ fault, but in a lot of ways they are the product of the system around basketball. Camps, AAU leagues, sneaker companies and traveling teams have more influence in basketball than in any other sport. If they’re good, players are coddled throughout their grade school years and into college. At the camps, they are under intense pressure to standout among hundreds of kids, so in a way they’re bred to be selfish.

Even though David Stern is doing his best to change the image of his black players, he’s not stupid. Larry Bird said it best; more white people would watch the game if they could root for white players. It’s not a racist thing, it’s an identification thing. The NBA is immensely popular in the hip-hop circle and among young blacks because they can relate to the game’s stars. More than any other sport, the NBA’s true fans are priced out.

The non-PR response to the criticism has been to replace American-born black athletes with foreigners. Only a few teams (Boston, Charlotte, Indiana, LA Clippers, Miami) don’t have foreign players. The Toronto Raptors have six foreign players and another, Anthony Parker, who was the Euroleague MVP before coming to the NBA.

These foreign players aren’t necessarily better than black or white Americans. We get the cream of the crop from other countries, whose abilities range from poor to MVP caliber. For NBA teams, they are three benefits to having European players.

First, they are usually inexpensive. It costs an NBA nothing to draft a foreign player in the 2nd round and let him develop in overseas, compared to drafting an American and having to pay them to sit on the bench and develop.

Second, it adds some diversity to the league. The NBA became mostly black because basketball is the most popular sport among African-American youths, especially in the inner cities. Basketball is cheap; all you really need is a ball. If your friend has a ball then you’re set. While other kids spend time and money playing other sports throughout the year, inner city kids just play ball. A player that plays basketball everyday will probably be better than a kid that just plays during basketball season, if they are comparable athletes.

By bringing in European players, you can give the fans white players to watch. Rooting for Dirk Nowitzki is not the same as rooting for John Smith, but it might make fans more comfortable than rooting for a cornrowed, tattooed LaAnthony Jenkins.

Third, teams don’t have to deal with the baggage that comes with inner-city kids. The off the court struggles of some athletes receive a lot of play in the media, giving all of them a bad image and in a lot of ways making them less desirable.

Without the power to make executive decisions, all the players can do is continue to play. In the coming years, watch the NBA become more and more international as black Americans are replaced by Europeans, South Americans, Africans and Asians, kind of like baseball.

Once again, to get a better perspective, read $40 Million Slaves.

Academic Break Pt. 2: The Black Athlete in the NFL

2008-05-31T13:48:00.000-07:00

For the second part of the series, I’ll look at the NFL. This is a league that doesn’t seem to have a problem with a shortage of black athletes. In fact, this Jason Whitlock article is one of the few articles I’ve been able to find about this topic in relation to the NFL.

Jason Whitlock is a writer who frequently talks about race and is someone people either love or hate. He is especially critical of young black athletes and the hip-hop culture. However, his article does show that black athletes can even be replaced in the NFL and it also touches on some of the reasons why this might happen.

A lot of black athletes come with baggage. Some of this may be related to hip-hop, but a lot of it probably just comes from their background. The Michael Vick’s and Pac Man Jones’ of the world can’t seem to shake their past. Even though they are millionaires, a lot of players still behave with a street mentality.

This isn’t something confined to the NFL, it happens with a lot of black athletes. It’s not even confined to being poor. Larry Johnson, who is frequently criticized by Whitlock and others for his attitude, comes from a pretty well off family as his father is one of Joe Paterno’s top assistants at Penn State.

In the case of Johnson and people like him, what’s usually blamed in place of poverty is hip-hop. While the messages in mainstream hip-hop can have a negative influence on some, it’s difficult to judge any of these athletes without knowing them.

Ironically, it may the stereotypes that are prevalent in the NFL that keeps black athletes prevalent in the sport. In the NFL, blacks are perceived to be less cerebral than white players, but in a lot of cases bigger, faster and stronger.

While a lot of these stereotypes are dated and no one likes to talk about it (or race really), they clearly still have an impact. Look at the NFL’s rosters. Check the running backs, wide receivers and corner backs. They’re almost all black. Those are also positions where the perception is athleticism is more important than intelligence. Quarterback is the position most associated with thinking in the NFL. Coincidentally, it’s a mostly white position in a sport with a majority of African-American players.

Some of these stereotypes are currently being broken down in college football, where you see things like black quarterbacks, white running backs and receivers, etc. at a much higher rate than in the NFL. We’ll see if these changes have any true impact in the league.

Another thing that has prevented the black athlete in the NFL from becoming undesirable is the way the NFL is marketed to the consumers. We get to “know” very few of the players off the field. Those we do see in commercials and feature stories are usually the cleaner cut players, the Peyton Mannings, Tom Brady’s and LaDanian Tomlinsons.

Part of the reason we don’t really get to know the players is the way the game is played. Players are covered in equipment from head to toe. A few years ago, the NFL even banned players from taking off their helmet when scoring a touchdown.

We don’t see their tattoos or earrings, and during this past offseason the league considered banning long hair so we couldn’t see players’ dreadlocks either. This prevents the players from being judged on their appearance, like the NBA.

More NFL players probably get in trouble than NBA players, but which league has an image problem? Which league is full of “thugs?”

Without saying so, the NFL has been able to essentially hide most of its black athletes from the mostly white fans that fill its arenas. With the race of the players covered up, it becomes something you don’t think about as much as you would watching an NBA game.

So, interestingly enough, stereotypes and marketing tactics might be what keeps black athletes flourishing in the NFL.

The Decline of the American-born Black Athlete????? (Sportsology Academic Break) Pt. 1

2008-05-30T06:33:00.000-07:00

I am 15 days away from graduating from Drexel University. My emotions are mix of excitement and anxiety over the uncertainty of my future. That said, I’ll be finished with classes this time next week.

For my Sociology 380 Media Sociology class, I was given the assignment to come up with a piece of media and present it to class. Since I already had the blog, I figured I’d use it to come up with some food for thought. That food will be the decline of the American born-black athlete in American sports.

In four parts, I’ll look at this phenomenon from a historical standpoint and see how it’s affecting the three major sports leagues in the U.S.; the NBA, NFL, and MLB.

There are two inspirations for this work. One is this Jason Whitlock article, which I’ll discuss more in the NFL section, where he notes that many of the more successful teams in the NFL are the ones with mostly white players.

The other is one of my favorite books, Forty Million Dollar Slaves, written by the New York Times’ Bill Rhoden. If you haven’t read this book, please do so immediately.

It’s an excellent historical view of the rise and fall of the black athlete and some of the contributing factors.

The name of the book comes from a fan’s response to Larry Johnson referring to the Knicks as rebel slaves.

The book is centered on the situation of black athletes in America, which is still the same today. On one hand, many black athletes have dominated their sports. On the other hand, the success on the field hasn’t translated into success off the field. By this I mean blacks have no ownership in the sports they dominate, which puts them in a vulnerable position.

There is only one black owner in American professional sports, Bob Johnson, who is already under fire for some of his tactics with his Charlotte Bobcats, a franchise not even ten years old.

In his book, Rhoden showed how the vulnerability has often left black athletes in an exploitable position. Before, in sports like boxing, horse racing (most of the best jockey’s were black in the mid-1800s before racism excluded them from participating), cycling, etc., black’s lack of ownership put them in positions to be excluded from participation.

Now, their lack of ownership has them in a subservient position, where they are mostly confined to worker positions (playing and coaching) and have limited executive power. I’m not going to make this a book review, just go read the book.

Here’s how it relates to the situation of black athletes today. When blacks had their own leagues, like the Negro Leagues, and the best black athletes went to HBCU’s, they would protect each other.

Now, they are simply money making objects. In the MLB section, I’ll talk about how the absence of the Negro Leagues pretty much destroyed baseball in the black community (if I remember).

Back to the point, the lack of ownership and black executives in these leagues puts black athletes in a position where they can become extinct at any moment. Blacks have been replaced by Latin and now Japanese players in baseball; European and Asian players are becoming more prevalent in the NBA; white and African-born players are replacing the black American athlete in the NFL.

I use Whitlock’s article for balance, its not just the man’s fault. Black athletes were very eager to move on to the big money sports leagues in the mid-1900s. This was a very profitable relationship for black athletes and white owners at first. Now, with the baggage that comes with many black athletes and the behavior of the Pac Man Jones’ of the world, owners are starting to look elsewhere.

Maybe I’m looking into this too deeply. Maybe these leagues are becoming more diverse and are recruiting international talent to expand their fan base globally. I’ll do my best to present the facts during the next three days and give you something to think about. Enjoy.

100th Post

2008-05-28T18:23:00.000-07:00

Nuff Said

Latest NBA Conspiracy Theory!!!!

2008-05-28T18:16:00.000-07:00

Well, Brent Barry was blatantly fouled last night at the end of their close game with the Lakers. Of course the foul wasn't called and the Spurs lost by 2 points. Peep the footage

The NBA isn't stupid, a Celtics/Lakers finals would have phenomenal ratings and boost the league's popularity heading into next year. After a thrilling playoffs, it would be the best case scenario for David Stern and Co. Now, I'm not going to accuse them of fixing the game, the Spurs definitely had their fair share of opportunities to win that game. However, the fact that a call that obvious wasn't made is going to have people speculating, especially with Tim Donaghy lingering.

I think its more indicative of a new trend in basketball in the past 4-5 years. This trend is to not call fouls during the waning seconds of a game, unless the player involved is a star. Even with a star involved, its not a guarantee that a foul will be called. I guess the logic behind that is let the players decide the game on the court.

I say that there really is no good reason to not call fouls down the stretch. Just because there's only 10 seconds left shouldn't give anyone licence to hack. I guess me and the league will agree to disagree.

Worst NBA Coach?

2008-05-27T19:44:00.000-07:00

Who is the worst coach in the NBA? This is a debate that many people engage in with their friends all of the time. Bill Simmons often writes about how horrible Doc Rivers is as a coach. Coaches are probably criticized more than they are praised, and like referees and GM's, everyone thinks they can do a better job than the coach.

Have no fear my friends, I like doing this stuff too. Without further Ado, here is Sportsology's coach countdown (excluding the vacant jobs in Phoenix and Chicago).

Hall of Famers

1. Greg Popovich, San Antonio - He is a master at making adjustments. He's somehow kept the same group of guys together and interested in playing with each other. He also seems to find the best mix of guys to put with Duncan, Parker and Ginobili.
2. Phil Jackson, LA Lakers - I've always been somewhat critical of Jackson because of his tendency to only coach talent. However, there aren't many guys in the history of the game that can get more out of talent than Jackson.

Good Coaches (Right Now)

3. Byron Scott, NO Hornets - He went toe-to-toe with Pop and almost won. Besides not playing Julian Wright enough against the Spurs, Scott seems to push all the right buttons. He's also loosened up the reigns and lets Chris Paul play, something many coaches below him wouldn't.
4. Flip Saunders, Pistons - Say what you want about Flip, but he hasn't prevented Detroit from making it to the conference finals each year. It would be tough for anybody to keep this moody group of guys playing their hardest every night.
5. Jerry Sloan, Jazz - Apparently he's a pain to play for, but he doesn't get enough credit. Kudos to Sloan for letting his boys run with Deron Williams, and being smart enough to shift the focus to D. Will and Boozer from Kirilenko.
6. Maurice Cheeks, 76ers - He's definitely a winner. He made the playoffs, and pushed the Pistons, with this roster.
7. Nate McMillan, Trailblazers - He had Portland playing better than anyone else during the middle of the season. Lookout for them to make a run next year.
8. Larry Brown, Bobcats - He comes, he wins, he leaves (except for in NY). Just having him on the bench pushes Charlotte's expectations to at least a playoff experience.
9. Mike D’Antoni, Knicks - You have to wonder how he will run and gun with Zack Randolph and Eddy Curry. He also doesn't play the bench/rookies enough.
10. Rick Adelman, Rockets - Nice change of pace in Houston from the Jeff Van Gundy years. Kudos for using Carl Landry and letting him develop.

Decent Coaches (Right Now)

11. Stan Van Gundy, Magic - He will always be remembered for getting strong-armed for his job by Pat Riley.
12. Eddie Jordan, Washington - I'd love to see what he can do with a decent roster. Besides the big three, he has trash in Washington.
13. Rick Carlisle, Mavericks - It will be interesting to see how Dallas deals with Carlisle if they couldn't tolerate Avery Johnson.
14. George Karl, Nuggets - You just get the feeling Denver should be doing more than what they do every year.

Average, (or Below Average) With a Name

15. Scott Skiles, Bucks - Another pain to play for, without the clout to keep players listening longer than a few seasons.
16. Lawrence Frank, Nets - The jury may be out on him until he leaves New Jersey and wins somewhere else.
17. Don Nelson, Golden State - He doesn't do much coaching, which is better than what nearly half of the coaches in the league do.
18. Jim O’Brien, Pacers - His teams consistently underachieve, but the Pacers will be no good until they get rid of Jermaine O'Neal's contract and attitude.
19. Mike Dunleavy, LA Clippers - Teams also consistently underachieve.
20. P.J. Carlesimo, ???? Sonics - Coaching deficiencies will be overlooked by Spreewell incident.

No Name, Possibly Below Average, Possibly Better Than Average

21. Mike Woodson, Hawks - He has the talent, finally. Lets see him do something with it.
22. Reggie Theus, Kings - The Kings are pretty talented on the low. Watch out for them if they can stay healthy.
23. Randy Whittman, T'Wolves - Can't say I saw a T'Wolves game this year, so I really have no clue how good (or bad) he is.
24. Mark Ivaroni, Grizzlies - I've always wished him the best since he bestowed some basketball knowledge on me during a Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago to Phoneix during the late 90s. I was riding alone, on my way to California to visit my dad, when they huge guy sits next to me. He could barely fit in the seats, but was very personable. He told me he was an assistant coach for the Cavs headed to a camp in Phoenix. He also told me that Shawn Kemp was wayyyyyyyy overweight, foreshadowing his demise. Good guy, good luck.
25. Eric Spoelstra, Heat - I have no clue who he is, but he has to be better than these guys.

Horrible

26. Sam Mitchell, Toronto - Watch a Raptors game and tell me what you think. Pay close attention to how well Jose Calderon plays and how well he meshes with his teammates versus T.J. Ford (a personal favorite). Try to come up with a good reason why Jose is riding the bench.
27. Mike Brown, Cavaliers - His signature play for LeBron: LBJ gets the ball at the top of the key and starts dribbling. The other four players stand around and watch for 10-15 seconds. Finally, the center will come attempt to set a pick, at which point LeBron will either shoot, pass or dribble some more then shoot. He's bad at calling plays and bad at rotations.
28. Doc Rivers, Celtics - After watching the first few games of the Pistons series, I have one question: Where the hell did Tony Allen come from? Remember when Doc put Tony Allen in to check Billups at the end of one of their regular season games, but Allen was basically in street clothes. He promptly came in the game and fouled Chauncey, game over. I can go on and on about Doc, but that's Bill Simmons' job.

Problems Ahead for NFL????

2008-05-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the NFL Owners Unanimously voted to opt out of their CBA with the NFLPA in 2010, setting up the possibility of a lockout in 2011.

What more could they want? They own teams worth upwards of a billion dollars. Their sport is the most popular sport in America. Perhaps most perplexing, they have the most control over players' salaries. The NFL is the only league where contracts essentially mean nothing.

Whenever a player signs for "7 years and $70 million," its likely a 3 year, $25 million dollar contract, which has a ridiculous bonus going into the fourth year that will either force the team and player to renegotiate or the player will be cut.

This has the potential to be very bad. Baseball's strike helped the NFL become America's past time. NHL's lockout in 1994 prevented them from surpassing the NBA in popularity, and their lockout in 2004-05 has the sport on life support. And of course, the NBA's lockout hurt their popularity severely and was the birthplace of Pat Ewing's famous quote: "We make a lot but we spend a lot."

I know this is a slippery slope and there is a good chance the NFL will avoid a labor stoppage, but they better hope they can get it together with the players.

Quick Hits 5/16

2008-05-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

NBA

Will anybody win on the road? I watched the Hornets/Spurs game last night until it got out of hand, frustrated that the Hornets (my new favorite team as CP3 has supplanted Steve Nash as my favorite player) couldn't close the deal. However, watching that game, I realized two things that have kept many teams from winning on the road this playoffs.

1. Teams just shoot better at home. Paying close attention to that series in particular, both teams have shot significantly better on their home courts. Guys like Bruce Bowen and Ime Udoka get the same amount of open looks in N.O. and S.A. In the Big Easy, they usually play like garbage, while they shoot like B.J. Armstrong and Craig Hodges in the "Insert Phone Company Name" Arena/Dome/Edifice. Also, just peep D. West's stats this series:

At Home: 26 pts, 11 reb, 4 ast, 53% FG
On Road: 14 pts, 8 reb, 1 ast, 38% FG

It will be interesting to see if the Lakers and Celtics, who are also David Stern's favorites to make the NBA Finals, can close the deal. Speaking of which, you have to wonder if Stern would prefer 3 seven game series or for the Lakers and Celtics to wrap things up tonight.

MLB

I still haven't really paid much attention to the diamond this year. That said, here are a few things that have surprised me, or stand out this season so far.

The Rays on fire, the Baby Backs in Arizona solidifying themselves as beasts while the Young Brewers still struggle, that Fukodome being the real thing, Chipper Jones hitting .400 + this far in the season, Lance Berkman is the man, Brandon Webb is also the man, Andruw Jones might be done, Dontrelle Willis as well, Barry Zito's definitely done, what the hell is up with the Tigers and Justin Verlander? And of course, the Upton brothers are holding down the 757 tremendously.

NFL

I might be the only person not tired of "Spygate," but we do need to get down to the bottom of it. The Patriots and NFL are pulling out all the stops to keep things from going further. But, as we often do in America, the public (fueled by the media) is tired of relevant, bad news and wants to pay attention to other things. (The Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina are recent issues that come to mind.)

OJ Mayo got paid, grass is green, the sky is blue

2008-05-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

So O.J. Mayo got paid. The reaction, at least from ESPN, seems to be one of surprise or shock. I have no idea why anyone would be surprised by this?

Just take a look of this article, which details how O.J. Mayo recruited USC to house his basketball game for a semester and a half.

To sum it up, some dude walked into Tim Floyd's office and told him O.J. Mayo was coming to USC and would bring a couple of recruits with him. Floyd accepted the terms and the rest is history.

That dude, by the way, is Ronald Guillory who is now known as the guy who was pimping O.J. Mayo since his days as a teen phenom in West Virginia.

I agree with Pat Forde's article saying that USC should be punished for once again turning a blind-eye to one of its student athletes being slutted out, the other recent case being the Reggie Bush ordeal.

Here's where I differ. What's the difference between O.J. Mayo being pimped by USC or Guillory? I say not much.

The reason why college athletes don't get paid is because they're supposed to be amateur student athletes. In exchange for their ability to ball, they are giving an opportunity to study at the most elite universities in the country.

Meanwhile, these universities make millions of dollars per year off the "student athletes."

But with college basketball especially, are these guys really being educated. When was the last time O.J. Mayo, who was one and done before he even came to So Cal, stepped foot in a USC classroom?

Everyone in their program knew Mayo wasn't going to be educated, but they jumped on the opportunity to milk him for everything he was worth for a year, making them no different than Guillory.

But its not just USC, its Memphis, Kansas St., Kansas, UNC and almost every other big program that takes on these types of players.

The real problem is institutional. The NCAA is content with a system that encourages the exploitation of athletes through its free market system of collegiate capitalism. They only step in when a school as been exposed and instead of changing the system, they just penalize the ones who get caught.

Either they should start paying these guys or enforce tougher academic standards. I suggest giving players the option of getting paid or going to class and regulating the system from there. This is something I'll probably go into detail later.

Wrapping this up, the NBA's age limit was a good thing for the league, giving them a chance to further scrutinize athletes and giving those kids a chance to further polish their skills instead of coming into the NBA overwhelmed and underdeveloped. It also gave the NBA a chance to avoid flops, like Derrick Character, who would've been a first-round pick without the rule and now will likely go undrafted.

However, the rule also gave colleges the chance to make as much revenue as possible off of guys who clearly have no intention of earning a college degree. While they may be media trained to say "I love it here at Such-and-Such U." and "I have to talk with my family before making a decision," the reality is the O.J. Mayo's and Greg Oden's of the world are only in college because they have to be and will be gone ASAP.

That being the case, everyone is implicit in the exploitation of these athletes. The NCAA, the Universities, the Athletic Departments and Coaches, the families and even us, the fans who watch the games and buy the clothing that creates a market for this type of situation in the first place.

The one's who aren't to blame are the kids. Don't be mad at O.J. Mayo or call him names. He has every right to try to get paid. If everyone around him can make millions off of him, he should at least have the right to have a flat-screen TV in his dorm room.

New York State of Mind

2008-05-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

Mike D’Antoni has agreed to become the new head coach of the New York Knicks. This is bigger headscratcher than the move by Phoenix to get rid of Mr. Seven Seconds or Less.

The logical move for D’Antoni wasn’t the Bulls and definitely wasn’t the Knicks. It was the Toronto Raptors. With Bosh on the inside, guys like Bargnani, Kapono, and Anthony Parker on the perimeter, Jamario Moon playing the role of “Matrix II” and Jose Calderon at point, D’Antoni would have a field day coaching this team.

He’d probably have to trade T.J. Ford, who would be pissed coming off the bench, perhaps to the Trail Blazers for James Jones and spare parts, but that wouldn’t be a big deal.

Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo should’ve fired Sam Mitchell the minute D’Antoni became available and threw all sorts of money at the jettisoned Phoenix coach. The fact that he didn’t leads me to believe that maybe they had a falling out during Colangelo’s last days in the desert. Either that or he’s not as smart as we think he is.

If not Toronto then definitely Chicago. The Bulls have a team full of run-and-gun guys, but not as discipline as the players in Toronto. Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Andres Nocioni, Chris Duhon and Thabo Sefolosha can all knock down the three.

Luol Deng is a slasher D’Antoni should’ve coached in Phoenix anyway, and Tyrus Thomas, Drew Gooden and Joakim Noah are perfect bigs for D’Antoni’s system.

Larry Hughes might be serviceable, but will probably help them better hurt and on the sideline, which is probably going to happen.

Instead, D’Antoni took the money and ran to New York. Four of the Knicks highest paid players are completely useless in this system: Eddy Curry and Jerome James are too slow and lazy, Zach Randolph is too selfish and lazy, and Stephon Marbury is too selfish.

Donnie Walsh can’t buy all of these guys out, and Stephon Marbury is the only expiring contract out of this bunch.

Their only decent three-point threat is Quentin Richardson, who might have a worse back than Steve Nash. Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson are gunners who will probably not pass the ball enough to make things work in New York, but they are young enough to make you think their bad habits could be broken.

Renaldo Balkman, David Lee, Fred Jones, Mardy Collins and Jared Jeffries will all be decent in this system and David Lee should thrive. Randolph Morris and Wilson Chandler are two question marks.

The morale of this story is that D’Antoni is going from feast to famine with this group and is probably making this move because of greed.

Yes, Steve Kerr did essentially force him out. However, he still should have at least gave the bulls to counter New York’s offer.

Perhaps D’Antoni thought the Bulls and Knicks had the same level of talent, forgetting about how horrendous the Knicks big men are. Maybe he didn’t really pay much attention to either team, as the Suns swept both teams during the regular season this past year.

It was one thing for his era in Phoenix to end out without a championship but D’Antoni leaving Phoenix for New York is downright painful.

The Greatest TV Show of All-Time - Non-Sports Rant of the Month(s)

2008-05-07T08:32:00.000-07:00

I’ve finally finished watching The Wire, which is hands down the greatest show ever made. Yes, the series finale was broadcast on March 9, almost 2 months ago to the day.

Yet, I finished the series two days ago. What took me so long you ask? Well, I simply didn’t want it to end.

I was a late comer to The Wire. When it came out in 2002, I was deeply entrenched into a preference of only sports and music related television. I would turn to HBO occasionally, but only to watch a movie or Real Sports.

I came to college in 2003 and didn’t have HBO available in the dorms. Some of my friends from Baltimore talked about how realistic The Wire was, so when I went home I would catch an episode occasionally and was slightly intrigued at best.

Sometime in 2004, my mom got rid of HBO, taking away my primary source of The Wire. When I would visit my father in California, who had like 700 channels, I would check for The Wire and watch episodes.

So what happened up until recently was I only saw four or five episodes from start to finished, scattered between the first four seasons. As the fifth season loomed at the start of this year, I decided not to watch it and told myself I’d finally sit down and watch the first four seasons.

Sometime in February I started watching the first season. It started off fairly slow, in comparison to the series as a whole. However, watching The Wire is more like reading a motion picture book. Each episode seemed like a chapter, with each season playing more like separate volume in a series of books about the decay of modern American cities.

After the first five or six episodes of Season 1, I was hooked. It seemed like I would watch an entire season over the span of a weekend and in between homework, basketball games, and spending time with my girlfriend.

At the beginning of April, I was finally face to face with the start of Season 5. Instead of digging in, I waited. I faced the inevitability of the series’ ending and did my best to avoid it.

However, I finally gave in over the weekend and finished the show a little after 4:30 AM this past Tuesday. Yes, after finishing the penultimate episode near 3, I couldn’t go to sleep without learning the fate of McNulty and Freamon, Daniels and Carcetti, Mike and Dukie, and of course Marlo.

There isn’t much I can say about The Wire that hasn’t already been said. What I can say is that if you haven’t seen The Wire, the time is now for you to start watching it, especially if you live in a big city as the plots and subplots will surely hit close to home. If you’ve only seen bits and pieces of it, do yourself some justice and watch the whole thing.
I’m definitely not a TV person. I’ve never seen an episode of Lost, Desperate Housewives is too ridiculous, Reality TV is too fake, and all those CSI/Law & Order shows are about as believable as the stunts in GTA IV.

You won’t hear me endorsing a TV show often, especially a drama. This is definitely one major exception to the rule.

Chirs Paul Blog Day

2008-05-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

I've decided to participate in Chris Paul blog day today. At the Hive, a Hornets blog, is inviting other blogs to wax poetically about the game's best point guard.

Instead of winning his first MVP award, CP3 will have to settle for celebrating his 23rd birthday, and preparing for whatever tricks Popovich will have up his sleeves after he destroyed them once again last night.

Since the CP3 for MVP campaign will have to fold up shot until next year, I'll probably change the picture soon. However, I'll leave it up for today.

Anyway, in conjunction with the other CP3 bloggers, I'm going to repost the copy for my original Chris Paul for MVP post. For those of you scoring at home he finished with 21.1 ppg, 11.6 apg, 4.0 reb, and 2.7 spg and led the league in steals and assists per game (in addition to destroying the Mavs and Spurs [so far] in the playoffs).

He'll definitely be a 1st Team All-NBAer, and should also be the starting point guard for Team USA and Beijing. Without further ado, the case for CP3 as this year's MVP. (Kobe better have a hell of a game tonight)

Originally posted 3/16/08

This season’s NBA MVP race has come down to three people. Each one of these players has put their team on their back. Yet, it shouldn’t even be a race. When you analyze the situation, there’s only one answer to the question “Who is the MVP of the NBA this season?”

The answer to the question, believe it or not, is not Kobe Bryant. Yes, he’s putting up 28.3 pts, 6.1 reb, 5.3 ast and 2 steals per game. As of this morning, his Lakers are tied for first place in the Western Conference. All of that is cool, but Kobe isn’t the MVP for two reasons.

The first reason was mentioned by Bill Simmons not too long ago; Kobe spent most of the first month of the season pouting and waiting to be traded to Chicago. The MVP of the league can’t be somebody who didn’t even give a damn for the first part of the season. As soon as the Lakers started winning and Kobe realized they could be a good team, he started playing hard.

The second reason is the Lakers are one of the deepest teams in the league. It sucks to lose points because of this, but that’s the nature of the MVP award. If Kobe was injured or not on the Lakers, they would still be a playoff team. Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic, and Derek Fisher wouldn’t be the best team in the West, but they’d be far from the worst.

Right now the Lakers go ten deep and two of their best players are injured. The other two contenders have to play with far less talent. Kobe is the straw that stirs this drink and he should get lots of credit for getting this team to the top of the Western Conference. However, this year isn’t his year.

It almost makes you wonder when his year will be. The last few years he didn’t win MVP because his team sucked; now he shouldn’t get it because his team is really good. No wonder he wanted to get traded to the Bulls. In Chicago, he would’ve had them in the top three at worst and would’ve been a lock for MVP.

Moving on, in a very close second place is LeBron James. This year 30.9 pts, 8.1 reb, 7.4 ast and almost two steals a game isn’t enough. King James is playing on a team plagued by injuries and talent deficiencies. The Ben Wallace trade didn’t make the Cavs better as much as it shifted the talent to different places.

LeBron is the sole reason the Cavs are a playoff team, and he has them sitting in fourth place. There isn’t much else to say about LeBron, he’s transformed himself into the best player in the NBA and is finally living up to the hype. Yet, this year just isn’t his year. At least it shouldn’t be.

The guy who deserves the award this year is Chris Paul. He’s putting up 21.4 pts, 3.9 rebs, 11.2 ast, and 2.7 steals a game. Those numbers are crazy, especially for a 6’0 point guard. He leads the league in steals and could very easily pass Steve Nash (11.4 apg) for the league’s lead in assists per contest.

His Hornets are a half game out of first place in a year when many didn’t expect them to make the playoffs. Out of the three MVP candidates he probably has the thinnest supporting cast. Yes, their starting five is good with Tyson Chandler, David West, Peja Stojakovic, and Morris Peterson, but look at the bench.

Their first five off the bench is currently Janero Pargo, Bonzi Wells, Rasaul Butler, Ryan Bowen and Hilton Armstrong. Mike James, Julian Wright and Melvin Ely get playing time as well, depending on who’s healthy or not.

Watching them play, Paul makes everybody around him better. He made David West into an all-star, he has Tyson Chandler playing like a young Marcus Camby/Ben Wallace, and he’s resurrected the career of Peja Stojakovic.

This year is better than any year Steve Nash has ever had, coming from a huge Steve Nash fan. Let’s go to the numbers. Steve Nash won the MVP in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006. Here are his stats from those years:

04-05 – 15.5 pts, 11.5 ast, 3.3 reb, 1.0 stl, 50% FG, 43% 3PT, 89% FT
05-06 – 18.9 pts, 10.5 ast, 4.2 reb, 0.8 stl, 51% FG, 44% 3PT, 92% FT

Here’s Paul’s full stats from this year:

07-08 – 21.4 pts, 11.2 ast, 3.9 reb, 2.7 stl, 49% FG, 36% 3PT, 87% FT

His scoring numbers are better, his assist and rebound numbers are on par, his shooting percentages aren’t that far off (three-pointers withstanding) and his steal numbers are far greater.

When you look at the reasons why Nash won those MVP awards and should’ve won MVP last year, it’s the same situation. Chris Paul is the team. They just wouldn’t be able to function without him.

With him, they’re one of the best teams in the NBA. While the Hornets don’t fast break like Phoenix, their half court game with Paul is very similar to the Suns half court game with Steve Nash.

They run pick and rolls with Paul and Tyson Chandler/David West and when that doesn’t work CP3 just takes it to the cup. In addition to running the show completely, he’s also leading the league in steals.

Yet, he’ll probably finish third in this race. The media seems to have narrowed it down to a two man race already between Kobe and LeBron. Once again, they are looking at the names and not paying attention to the games.

Just look at Chris Paul’s last five games, when the Hornets went 4-1, with the only loss coming to the Rockets:

27 pts, 17 ast, 4 reb, 4 stl
26 pts, 17 ast, 1 reb, 3 stl
37 pts, 11 ast, 3 reb, 2 stl
25 pts, 16 ast, 3 reb, 3 stl
23 pts, 18 ast, 2 reb, 2 stl

Is that not ridiculous? Who does that? It’s a shame he’s going to get robbed on this award this season. Not to take anything away from Kobe (probably the player who will win the award) or LeBron, who are having phenomenal seasons, but this year at least, the award should go to CP3.

Shame on Karl Malone

2008-04-30T23:26:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to say about this story out of Buffalo, but I didn't want it to slip through the cracks.

A young man by the name of Demetrius Bell was drafted out of Northwestern State by the Buffalo Bills in the 7th round to potentially play tackle for them.

Bell's father is NBA Legend Karl Malone, yet they barely know each other. What's worse is that Bell's mother was allegedly only 13 when Malone impregnated her as a sophomore in college.

I'll let you read the story for more details. I just want to say how sorry a guy like Karl Malone is to not take care of his kids. I also wanted to bring this story to light because it's not just the "hip-hop" influenced athletes who are terrible fathers, Karl Malone is one of the biggest rednecks in sports.

Yet, he's always had issues with taking care of his children. If this was Travis Henry (someone I've picked on throughout the years), this story would be on ESPN.com's front page. Since its Malone, the story is invisible.

This, along with the Roger Clemens fiasco, would have people outraged if the offenders fit the profile of the typical black athlete. Since Malone and Clemens clearly aren't, the mainstream media gatekeepers are pushing these stories to the backburners. Shame on them too.

R.(oger) Kelly?????

2008-04-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

I know I've been posting like crazy lately, but this is something I had to comment about. Roger Clemens legacy was already ruined on the field, but now we find out that he's a pervert.

A few days ago, the NY Daily News released this story detailing The Rocket's extramarital affair with country singer Mindy McCready, which began when she was 15?????

This is nuts. What's surprising is that the media seems to be downplaying that aspect of it. Just like they downplayed the fact that he's a cheater by continually letting him and his lawyers tell their side of the story, all of the talk has been soley about the fact that he had an affair.

Where's the outrage that he's a cheater, cheater, and a pervert? People in the media seem kind of upset that he cheated in baseball and act like they don't even give a crap that he cheated on his wife. They seem to have missed the part about him sleeping with teenagers. (The source said that while McCready met Roger when she was 15, their relationship didn't become sexual until she became a rising star.)

Still, the possibility that he had something going on with a 15 year old should make people more outraged than they are. Now if he was a black man, ....

R.I.P. Phoenix Suns (2004-2008)

2008-04-30T05:40:00.000-07:00

Its official: I’m no longer a Phoenix Suns fan. They have reportedly parted ways with Mike D’Antoni today, officially ending an era.

First, let me give some background to my fanhood. I’m from Portsmouth, Virginia, part of the Tidewater/Hampton Roads area. There are no pro sports where I’m from, so you kind of have free domain to like whoever you want to like as a fan.

In the NBA, I started off as a Bulls fan during the Jordan Years. After Jerry Kraus ruined the team, I moved on to the Raptors, as Vince Carter became my first post-MJ favorite player. While Vince was doing his thing in Toronto, I also started becoming a big fan of a little point guard with a crazy game in Dallas, Steve Nash.

The Mavericks were coached by Don Nelson around the turn of the century, and had an exciting young nucleus of Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, and Michael Finely. Later on, they added Antawn Jamison and Antoine Walker to the mix, and would hoist threes and run and gun with the best of them.

As Vince started to earn a reputation as a guy who didn’t care and I started to compare my unorthodox game to Nash’s, Nash started to become my favorite player.

When he signed with the Suns prior to the 2004-2005 season (my second year of college), Nash and Phoenix became entrenched in my favorite team slot. The Suns signed Nash and Quentin Richardson, and hired an unknown coach named Mike D’Antoni.

They trotted out a starting line up of Nash at PG, Joe Johnson at SG, Q. Rich at SF, Shawn Marion at PF, and Amare at C that season. They ran, they gunned, they shot a ton of threes, and it all revolved around Nash’s play at PG. He’d throw all sorts of passes at any and every angle, bang threes, and make everybody around him better.

He was so important to that team, that he deservedly won the MVP that season with some of the most pedestrian stats of anyone who’s ever one the MVP award. His numbers from that season (15.5 ppg, 11.5 ast, 3.3 reb) wouldn’t jump out at you, but if you watched them play that season, you understood why he won the award.

For the next few years, they would rely on Nash, his ability to find anyone at the court at anytime, and the ability to hit threes. Players like Quentin Richardson, Raja Bell, Walter McCarty, Jumane and James Jones, Leandro Barbosa, Jim Jackson, and Tim Thomas would become integral to their outside attack, although most of those players only played there for a year.

On the interior, it was Marion, Stoudemire, Steven Hunter, Kurt Thomas, Boris Diaw and Grant Hill. Nash held all of these seemingly mismatched and uninspiring players together, made the marginal ones effective, and the good ones great.

Two things interest me about their strategy. Besides the Joe Johnson situation, who could’ve and should’ve resigned, but didn’t, I always wonder why they didn’t keep the same group of guys together? Another one is why wouldn’t they use the damn Hawks pick, or any of their own picks?

Getting back to the point, something strange happened this season. It was clear that either Amare or Marion had to go. My thought was to move Amare for someone like Rasheed Wallace and spare parts (who would fit in perfect with their offense, and fix their hole in the middle). Instead, they chose to trade Marion for Shaq.

That move, coupled with their slow removal of consistent outside threats that weren’t important to the team’s grand scheme (the lack of James Jones type guys), basically transformed the Suns from an innovative team to a regular team. An old regular team. An old regular team that was exposed by the Spurs.

In away, D’Antoni had to go. He might end up landing in a place like Toronto, where he’ll be allowed to do what he does best. 7 seconds or less. My only hope is that he takes Nash with him where ever he goes, so Steve can be rescued from the doldrums of having to play regular basketball.

Senior Year Blues

2008-04-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

Being a senior sucks right about now for a lot of Drexel University students. For starters, most of the seniors at damn near every other school in the nation are pretty much done with school. This is intensified for me, as I am in a city-wide chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, and many of my frat brothers will be getting it popped off for the entire month of May Pac Man Jones style.

Meanwhile, I’ll be trying to drink enough to have fun and still make it to class. In a few of my classes, I’ve already missed the allowed number of absences per term. In another class, I’m sure the professor truly gets enjoyment out of making our lives miserable.

That said, I still haven’t had time to really get into the playoffs of the major league baseball season. Apparently the Rays (I’m still used to calling them Devil Rays) are in or near 1st place in the AL East. WTF is going on?

Meanwhile, I did catch the end of the Hawks/Celtics game, which was especially great when Joe Johnson went nuts in the 4th quarter. His crossover on Leon Powe was disgusting.

What is the purpose of this post? Simply to vent. I WANT TO WATCH SPORTS!!!! For the first time in God knows when, I haven’t had sufficient time to watch sports, play sports, play sports themed video games (I do have to review GTA IV for my feature writing class … woe is me), and even write about sports.

This blog is the most anybody’s gotten from me in terms of content since March. Hopefully, I’ll be able write a column next week, watch the playoffs, and even catch a baseball game or two.

Until then, its box scores and the 2 AM Sportscenter to satisfy my daily sports fix. I need a drink.

(As I was getting ready to post this rant, I noticed that CP3 tallied a triple-double [24pts, 15ast, 11reb] in the Hornets series closing game against Dallas. Please, please, please give this man the MVP. Thanks. Also, kudos to the NBA for attempting to end the 1st round in a timely fashion this year, opposed to the past few years where game 2 in some series would be Sunday and game three would be Wednesday.)

Venting about the Draft

2008-04-27T09:11:00.001-07:00

It’s been a long time since I did my first and only mock draft. I only did one because I didn’t see the need of continually adding and changing my mock draft based on combine and Pro Day results.

It’s hard to believe how far some have fallen and how quickly some have risen. The NFL definitely puts too much thought into things like the 40-yard dash and not enough analysis into what a player does on the field.

Sometimes, there’s too much analysis, just like anything else involving the NFL. For some reason, NFL coaches feel the need to work 12-hour days and sleep in their office watching film. With most teams having 8 months off per year, I can imagine that the over analysis continues throughout the off season.

That said, where is Vince Hall? Where is Xavier Adibi? Where is Andre Woodson? Just look at today’s third round. Its so many guys like Dan Connor, Reggie Smith, Earl Bennett, that you would think were 1st or 2nd round guys. Justin King didn’t even get drafted until the fourth round.

I am glad that Miami did heed my advice and draft Jake Long. I’ve already read some people saying that he won’t turn out to be a good pick, like Jason Whitlock, but I disagree. He’s a stud and definitely will fill a big hole Miami has had for years, which is the offensive line.

Note to NFL Teams: Please draft the guys that showed they were good in college. Thank you.

Quick Hits 4/22

2008-04-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

As my college career winds down, I’ve been grinding like crazy. That said, I pretty much missed all the basketball this weekend. I haven’t watched a single inning of baseball, and I probably won’t do another mock draft before this weekend.

In the City of Philadelphia, this weekend is Penn Relays weekend. My chapter, the Delta Eta Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, is holding all sorts of events. Between that and our NUPE Week for the rest of the week, I’m not sure how much time I’m going to have to devote to sports.

Of course this is devastating to a guy like me; I’m definitely going through some sort of withdrawal. That said, lets get on with the show.

NFL

I’m normally a Chad Johnson supporter. However, I think that he should ride it out in Cincinnati. I hate to see guys try to jump ship when it’s sinking. When they were on the rise, he was Mr. Bengal. Now he wants to play for a better team. You can call it Jermaine O’Neal syndrome. Like Chad, O’Neal got his paper from Indy and was the face of the franchise when they were good. Now they suck and he wants out.

That’s a little backwards to me. However, Cincy is dumb for turning down two 1st round picks for Chad. They need all the help they can get. Although I think he should stay, if I was Cincy I’d milk whoever wanted him for as many picks as possible.

On another note, I’m glad Miami seems to be leaning towards taking Jake Long. He is a sure thing. I’m not really sold on Chris Long, who was expected to end up in Miami at some point. I think a lot of his hype comes from the name, but I’ve been wrong about things like that before.

MLB

I really have no idea what’s going on. Baseball just isn’t really an interest of mine right now. I was really turned off by all that Mitchell Report stuff during the offseason. It overshadowed everything that the baseball offseason is usually about; trades, free agents, teams/players to watch, etc. Maybe I’ll start watching it in May.

NBA

I’m really excited about the NBA playoffs. This year’s playoffs have the potential to be one of the best playoffs in recent memory. That said, don’t be surprised if the top four seeds in each conference advance to the second round.

In the East, Boston, Detroit, Orlando, and Cleveland are clearly superior to the teams they’re facing. I know Detroit lost to Philly the other day, but they’ll probably get it together and win four in a row.

Washington would normally be a challenge to Cleveland, but I’m not sold on the health of Arenas, Butler, and even Jamison and this point. Too bad, as this might be the last time these two teams face each other with LeBron and Gilbert as the lead acts.

In the West, the Lakers, Hornets and Jazz have pretty easy matchups. The Suns and Spurs will probably go down to the wire. When Phoenix made the Shaq trade, I was very critical to the point where I didn’t even know if they would make the playoffs. If they don’t get past the Spurs, a team they made this trade for, Steve Kerr will start taking some heat again.

Regardless, I plan on watching every game as soon as I get that kind of free time, which will likely be next week.

NBA Regular Season Wrap-Up

2008-04-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the final night of perhaps the best NBA season of this decade. The season has been so good that I literally have no idea what's going on in Major League Baseball right now. I haven't even bothered to look at stats or standings. (Additionally, I spent most of last weekend drinking myself into a stupor in celebration of my 23rd birthday).

Here are some interesting facts from the season.

The Golden State Warriors could finish the season 49-33 and not make the playoffs. However, if the 76ers lose tonight, two of the Eastern Conferences teams will be under .500 heading into the postseason. However, the 76ers have shown tremendous grit in making it this far in their first full season without Allen Iverson.

The Hawks, the 8th place team in the East, have snapped the longest postseason drought in the NBA.

One of the biggest stories of the season was the resurgence of the Boston Celtics, who could finish with 66 wins this season. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to the number one seed in the West, which has many fans salivating over a possible Celtics-Lakers finals. In fact, that much would help bring the NBA back to prominence.

As stated by Bill Simmons, the MVP race has been one of the greatest ever. The league's future is in great shape as almost every superstar in the league is under 30 right now.

Perhaps there were only three lowlights of this season. The biggest one is how sleazy the situation has been regarding Seattle's ownership trying to move the team to Oklahoma City, and David Stern's backing of those sleazeballs.

The Knicks are tied with the Miami Heat for second place in this column. Their situation is deplorable, and it’s heightened by the fact that they are the New York Knicks.

Meanwhile, the Miami Heat made a mockery of the NBA during their last month and a half of play. Pat Riley leaving his team to watch March Madness has to be unprecedented. Nothing says taking more than having a team full of guys who aren’t even D-League all-stars, let alone NBA players finish your season. I hope like hell they don’t get the first or second pick this year.

Moving on, this year’s playoffs should be fun to watch. Hopefully there won’t be a ridiculous amount of time between games this year, which has become a staple of the playoffs recently.

Anyway, here are my awards for this season.

MVP

Clearly I’m all for CP3 for MVP. However, I think this one might go to Kobe. This has been far from his greatest season, and he did try to get traded at the beginning of the year. He plays on perhaps the deepest team in the league, a team that would still be good without him. But since he hasn’t won the award yet people will feel inclined to vote for him. Kobe is the best overall player in basketball, but Chris Paul has compiled a season that’s arguably better than those from Nash’s two MVP campaigns.

Rookie of the Year

This award has been Kevin Durant’s from the start. He had an up and down rookie year, finishing on the upside. He’s a great talent. Hopefully he’ll put on some weight this offseason and come back more physically prepared for the NBA game.

6th Man of the Year

Manu Ginobli’s award by default. He comes off the bench as a formality, superstition, or both.

Most Improved Player

Hedu Turkoglu made the Magic a threat in the East this year. He also made their signing of Rashard Lewis look very foolish, as he’s the third best player on the team at best.

Defensive Player of the Year

I’ve seen Kevin Garnett up for this award on many sites, but I don’t see it. He’s changed the attitude of the Celtics and has energized their fan base. However, their true MVP and should be MVP candidate has been Paul Pierce.

If we have to give a Celtic an award, give this award to Paul Pierce. However, I don’t feel inclined to, so my would-be vote goes to Marcus Camby. He leads the league in blocks, is second in defensive rebounding, and is doing everything that Ben Wallace used to make all-star teams for (and is a far greater force on the offensive end).

Coach of the Year

This is a very difficult decision. Usually, it goes to the coach of the team that was the biggest surprise. Guys like Stan Van Gundy, Byron Scott, and Doc Rivers will probably get a lot of votes. However, I think Jerry Sloan should get the award. If we’re giving Kobe the MVP because he had a good season and hasn’t won it yet, why not do the same for Sloan.

While some of his players may loathe him, he’s been able to adapt to his roster and the play of the league and opened up the team’s offense. By doing that, he’s now the head coach of the Northwest Division Champs.

All NBA-Team
1st Team

C Dwight Howard
F LeBron James
F Paul Pierce
G Kobe Bryant
G Chris Paul

2nd Team

C Amare Stoudamire
F Kevin Garnett
F Tim Duncan
G Tracy McGrady
G Steve Nash

3rd Team

C Marcus Camby
F Carlos Boozer
F Carmelo Anthony
G Allen Iverson
G Deron Williams

Sigh of Relief

2008-04-09T08:08:00.001-07:00

NBA

Did I jinx Chris Paul? He had a horrible game last night as his team lost to the Utah Jazz. A day before, I was pumping him up for MVP.

His line from last night - 4 pts, 9 ast, 2, reb, 3 stl.

However, before last night Paul had at least a double-double in 15 of his last 16 games. Last night was also only the second game this season where Paul failed to get double digits in assists or points. Coincidentally, the other game came against Utah as well.

That said, don't fret CP3 fans, he's still the MVP

NCAA

The sigh of relief, of course, is that Kansas won the national title on Monday night, sparing me from making one of the worst predictions of all time (although, I picked the NY Giants to go like 5-11 this year and they won the Super Bowl).

When it came down to it, Memphis was taken down by the things I figured would take them down all season; free throw shooting and lack of coaching. I don't think they ran one play the entire game.

What got Memphis that far was the fact that Derrick Rose and CDR had been unstoppable all tournament. What propelled Kansas was their combination of athleticism, poise, and coaching.

Random thought: What does Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk mean?

Eating Crow 60% of the time ...

2008-04-07T08:38:00.000-07:00

NCAA

One of the main reasons I started this blog was to give me an outlet to make bold predictions. When you’re in the business of making such predictions, you teeter between being a genius and an asshole.

With the Memphis Tigers, I’m probably the latter. I don’t think I slept on Memphis. I knew how talented they were, I just didn’t think they could hold it together for five to six games.

I expected them to shoot poorly from the line (which they only did against Mississippi St.), to play undisciplined on offense and to have defensive lapses. I though John Calipari’s lax method of coaching, at least offensively, would come back to haunt them. I was definitely wrong.

Perhaps what was most foolish was I didn’t even give them a chance to win. I now find myself wondering if that was just an omission or was I really dumb enough to think that Memphis didn’t have a chance to win the championship.

They have clamped down on defense, and while they still don’t run many plays on offense, they are far more superior from an athletic standpoint then probably 60 of the teams in the tournament.

They made UCLA look like one of the Cal St. teams, in terms of athletic ability. Their performance was very overwhelming.

Now, the only team standing in their way is Kansas. Kansas, as I did write earlier, probably has the best combination of depth, coaching, and athleticism of any team in the tournament. Normally, I’d rant and rave about how Memphis didn’t have a chance, but I’m too embarrassed to do that.

Out of all the foolish predictions I’ve made, not giving Memphis a chance to get to even the Elite Eight has to be the worst, hands down. Therefore, there will not be a tale of the tape from me today. I really don’t have a clue who will win. From an analytical standpoint, I think Kansas should be able to take them down.

However, after watching them dismantle Texas and UCLA in their last two games, I’m not comfortable picking against Memphis. Regardless of who wins, this game should be a high scoring game and very fun to watch.

MLB

I haven’t written anything about baseball yet. The reason why is because I’m just not into it right now. This year’s tournament and the NBA have been so good, I just don’t care to turn on a game or look at stats and rosters and try to predict who is going to do what.
I’ll probably start following baseball more after tonight, when the only other game in town is the NBA.

NBA

Speaking of the NBA, the Western Conference playoff race between Dallas, Denver, and Golden State for the last two playoff spots is going to come down to the wire. From a viewing standpoint, I’d rather see Denver and G-State make it than Dallas. However, with Dirk coming back early, it seems as if Dallas is going to make it in fairly easily.

What’s most important is that Chris Paul wins the MVP. He’s going nuts right now, and recorded his fourth career triple-double last night.

On March 16, I first used this space to campaign for Paul to win the MVP. Here were his stats then:

21.4 pts, 11.2 ast, 3.9 reb, 2.7 stl, 49% FG, 36% 3PT, 87% FT

Here are his stats now:

21.5 pts, 11.5 ast, 4.0 reb, 2.7 stl, 49% FG, 37% 3PT, 85% FT

In just three weeks he’s been able to improve his scoring, rebounding, and assist average. He now leads the league in assists and steals and has his team in the playoffs and headed for the #1 overall seed in the Western Conference. Please, give this man the MVP.

Sweet 16 Thoughts

2008-03-27T06:51:00.000-07:00

This year’s NCAA Tournament has been a lot more exciting than anticipated. I figured this year would be the year of the major conferences, but a few underdogs have been able to sneak into the Sweet 16.

Although I had them going to the Elite 8 in my bracket, Davidson’s run has been surprising to a lot of people. Stephen Curry has been the best player in the tournament by far, and watching him play has been a pleasure.

Two Big East teams, West Virginia and Villanova, have made surprise runs to the Sweet 16 as well. I got a chance to watch West Virginia play at ‘Nova in February. ‘Nova dominated the game and made the Mountaineers look like a NIT team. Since then, both teams have been playing some of the best ball in the country.

Watching West Virginia play Arizona in Washington last week, I noticed what made West Virginia so dangerous. Because of who’s on the roster, Bob Huggins has to play John Beilein basketball. They can shoot better than any team in the country, and their lack of size makes them one of the more athletic teams in the country.

Western Kentucky is also a surprise team in the Sweet 16. They knocked of Drake in one of the most exciting games of the tournament so far, and then knocked of San Diego’s Cinderella team. Unfortunately for them, they face UCLA tonight.

That said, my Final Four is still in tact. UNC has been the most dominant team in the tourney, hands down. They face Washington St. tonight, who will try to slow them down, then they get the winner of the Louisville/Tennessee match-up.

UCLA smashed Miss Valley St. in their first game before barely getting past Texas A&M (with an assist from the refs). Now they face an underdog Western Kentucky, before getting the winner of West Virginia/Xavier (likely to be a thriller).

Kansas has also shown flashes of excellence thus far. They get Villanova first, then they will face the winner of Wisconsin/Davidson. Speaking of that game, it’s probably the Sweet 16 match up I’m looking forward to the most. For the record, I still have Davidson winning this game.

Texas will face Stanford (with Coach Johnson for hopefully the entire contest), before getting the Memphis/Michigan St. winner. Memphis has shown they are the weakest #1 seed, with their streaky and undisciplined play and their pathetic free throw shooting. A defensive team like Michigan St. should knock them off. Mississippi St., a less talented defensive team, almost did so in their 2nd round game with Memphis.

I still think all four of these teams to make it to the Final Four. I’d love it if Davidson and West Virginia could make runs, but I think the #1 seeds in their sides of the bracket are just too tough. UNC and Kansas are almost locks to make it to the Final Four. UCLA will have trouble with Xavier or West Virginia. In the South region, anyone of those four teams could make it.

Just like last week, Mrs. Sportsology is out of town, so I’m going to be a coach potato for the next four days.

2008 Tourney Preview

2008-03-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: March Madness. Fortunately for me, Ms. JR Mason is going home to be with her family for Easter. That means I won’t have to hear stuff like “Are you going to watch the next game too?”

Without further ado, here’s what you should (or shouldn’t) expect.

East Region

Teams that could go deep
North Carolina – Carolina was 32-2 this year and look better than ever. Ty Lawson is back and Tyler Hansbrough should be the Player of the Year. Roy Williams doesn’t have a team full of athletes; he has a team full of athletic basketball players. That’s the difference between UNC and a team like Memphis.
Tennessee – Tennessee is arguably the best two seed in the tournament. They can play uptempo or in the half court. Chris Lofton is by far the most clutch player in college basketball, so any close game should go to them.
Louisville – Louisville was a program that was forgotten about early this season. No one was talking about them and they weren’t expected to do much in the Big East. They are deep and well coached, so they could definitely make a run.
Teams that could fall early
Washington State – Washington State could either be a sleeper or a bust. I’m putting them here because they are too inconsistent for comfort. Also, they’re a tad disappointing, as I thought they’d be a Top 5-10 team all season.
Indiana – Just a dysfunctional group at this point.
Notre Dame – Not sold on these guys.
Mid-Major Report
George Mason – After trailing VCU for most of the season in the CAA, George Mason is where I expected them to be. They have a very deep team, some Final Four experience, and one of the best coaches in basketball. They could definitely make a run.
Winthrop – Don’t know much about these guys this year, but they are normally good.
Butler – Butler is deep and has a lot of tournament experience. Since they can shoot, they can win.
South Alabama – Don’t know much about these guys either, but they have been a trendy pick to knock off Butler because they’re playing in Alabama. Avoid trends.

Midwest Region

Teams that could go deep
Kansas – I think they have the best combination of athleticism, depth, and coaching. If they don’t go far, I’d be very disappointing.
Vanderbilt – Vanderbilt doesn’t get much shine on the national scene, which is a shame. They will be fun to watch.
Davidson – Davidson is my mid-major pick to go deep this year. They had one of the best non-conference schedules in the nation and won’t be intimidated. Sophomore guard Stephen Curry is one of the nation’s best players, and as a freshman he almost led his team to an upset over Maryland.
Wisconsin – Bo Ryan’s teams always play defense and always shoot with a decent percentage. Those are two things you definitely need in the tournament.
Teams that could fall early
Georgetown – I didn’t know what to expect from them this year, after they lost Jeff Green. After watching them against Memphis, I’ve felt they were suspect. They don’t have a go-to guy, which is a necessity in the NCAA’s.
USC – Have you seen the O.J. Mayo show? Tim Floyd isn’t doing a lick of coaching down in L.A.
Kansas St – Mike Beasley is fun to watch, but as with USC, you have to have a coach to go far in the tourney.
Mid-Major Report
Kent St. – One of the best mid-major teams this year. They have a tradition of going deep and should be a tough out.
Gonzaga – The Zags have been up and down this year, finishing the season up (until losing to San Diego in the WCC championship game). Its really hard to tell what they will do this year.

South Region

Teams that could go deep
Texas – Texas is a well coached, athletic team like Kansas. They definitely could go all the way, especially if D.J. Augustin and his shooters get hot.
Pittsburgh – Pitt is always a tough team. This season they have come together down the stretch and are playing their best basketball at the right time.
Michigan St. – It seems like every other year they make a run. This might be their year to make a run, although I’m never a big Michigan St. fan.
Marquette – Marquette has exciting guard play, which can make or break you.
Teams that could fall early
Memphis – You have to have a coach to win in the NCAA’s. They have more athletes than USC or Kansas State, but against a well coached team like Pittsburgh, they’ll go down.
Stanford – Lack of a go-to guy.
Mid-Major Report
St. Mary’s – They were a tough team early, but seem to have hit a wall.
Cornell – They dominated the Ivy League this year, and Ivy League teams always play tough in the tourney.

West Region

Teams that could go deep
UCLA – Best coached team in the tourney. They have a lot of depth and talent at the guard, on the wings, and down low. After just making the Final Four the past two seasons, they should be poised to take it all this year.
Duke – They should have a fairly easy go at it until they run into the Bruins.
Drake – They might have been the best mid-major team in the country. Look for them to make a run.
Teams that could fall early
UConn – Don’t trust the Huskies. Inconsistent and they don’t have a go-to guy.
Xavier – They’re becoming trendy. Avoid trends.
Mid-Major Report
Western Kentucky – Don’t know much about them this year.
San Diego – They came on strong late and could be a sleeper team.

Final Four
North Carolina vs. Kansas
Texas vs. UCLA

Championship
Kansas vs. UCLA

Champs
UCLA – What more can I say about UCLA. Simmons waxed poetically about the Bruins yesterday, so if you need more credibility then take a look.

Top 10 Teams to Win it All
UCLA – 60% of the time …
Kansas – If it wasn’t for UCLA, they would be the favorite.
North Carolina – They could very easily beat Kansas and UCLA, so don’t count them out.
Texas – If they get hot, they can win it all.
Duke – You know Coach K will have the refs in his pocket, which is a huge advantage in close games.
Tennessee – Tennessee is a great team that’s fun to watch. I’d like to see them make a run.
Pittsburgh – They’re peaking at the right time, although you have to wonder if they can take the momentum all the way.
Wisconsin – Bo Ryan is good enough to get this above average team to the Final Four.
Louisville – Making the Final Four with this team would be one of Petino’s greatest feats.
Washington St. – Although I have them going down early, their combination of defense, experience, and guard play could help them make a run.

And the NBA's MVP is ....

2008-03-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

This season’s NBA MVP race has come down to three people. Each one of these players has put their team on their back. Yet, it shouldn’t even be a race. When you analyze the situation, there’s only one answer to the question “Who is the MVP of the NBA this season?”

The answer to the question, believe it or not, is not Kobe Bryant. Yes, he’s putting up 28.3 pts, 6.1 reb, 5.3 ast and 2 steals per game. As of this morning, his Lakers are tied for first place in the Western Conference. All of that is cool, but Kobe isn’t the MVP for two reasons.

The first reason was mentioned by Bill Simmons not too long ago; Kobe spent most of the first month of the season pouting and waiting to be traded to Chicago. The MVP of the league can’t be somebody who didn’t even give a damn for the first part of the season. As soon as the Lakers started winning and Kobe realized they could be a good team, he started playing hard.

The second reason is the Lakers are one of the deepest teams in the league. It sucks to lose points because of this, but that’s the nature of the MVP award. If Kobe was injured or not on the Lakers, they would still be a playoff team. Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic, and Derek Fisher wouldn’t be the best team in the West, but they’d be far from the worst.

Right now the Lakers go ten deep and two of their best players are injured. The other two contenders have to play with far less talent. Kobe is the straw that stirs this drink and he should get lots of credit for getting this team to the top of the Western Conference. However, this year isn’t his year.

It almost makes you wonder when his year will be. The last few years he didn’t win MVP because his team sucked; now he shouldn’t get it because his team is really good. No wonder he wanted to get traded to the Bulls. In Chicago, he would’ve had them in the top three at worst and would’ve been a lock for MVP.

Moving on, in a very close second place is LeBron James. This year 30.9 pts, 8.1 reb, 7.4 ast and almost two steals a game isn’t enough. King James is playing on a team plagued by injuries and talent deficiencies. The Ben Wallace trade didn’t make the Cavs better as much as it shifted the talent to different places.

LeBron is the sole reason the Cavs are a playoff team, and he has them sitting in fourth place. There isn’t much else to say about LeBron, he’s transformed himself into the best player in the NBA and is finally living up to the hype. Yet, this year just isn’t his year. At least it shouldn’t be.

The guy who deserves the award this year is Chris Paul. He’s putting up 21.4 pts, 3.9 rebs, 11.2 ast, and 2.7 steals a game. Those numbers are crazy, especially for a 6’0 point guard. He leads the league in steals and could very easily pass Steve Nash (11.4 apg) for the league’s lead in assists per contest.
His Hornets are a half game out of first place in a year when many didn’t expect them to make the playoffs. Out of the three MVP candidates he probably has the thinnest supporting cast. Yes, their starting five is good with Tyson Chandler, David West, Peja Stojakovic, and Morris Peterson, but look at the bench.

Their first five off the bench is currently Janero Pargo, Bonzi Wells, Rasaul Butler, Ryan Bowen and Hilton Armstrong. Mike James, Julian Wright and Melvin Ely get playing time as well, depending on who’s healthy or not.

Watching them play, Paul makes everybody around him better. He made David West into an all-star, he has Tyson Chandler playing like a young Marcus Camby/Ben Wallace, and he’s resurrected the career of Peja Stojakovic.

This year is better than any year Steve Nash has ever had, coming from a huge Steve Nash fan. Let’s go to the numbers. Steve Nash won the MVP in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006. Here are his stats from those years:

04-05 – 15.5 pts, 11.5 ast, 3.3 reb, 1.0 stl, 50% FG, 43% 3PT, 89% FT
05-06 – 18.9 pts, 10.5 ast, 4.2 reb, 0.8 stl, 51% FG, 44% 3PT, 92% FT

Here’s Paul’s full stats from this year:

07-08 – 21.4 pts, 11.2 ast, 3.9 reb, 2.7 stl, 49% FG, 36% 3PT, 87% FT

His scoring numbers are better, his assist and rebound numbers are on par, his shooting percentages aren’t that far off (three-pointers withstanding) and his steal numbers are far greater.

When you look at the reasons why Nash won those MVP awards and should’ve won MVP last year, it’s the same situation. Chris Paul is the team. They just wouldn’t be able to function without him.

With him, they’re one of the best teams in the NBA. While the Hornets don’t fast break like Phoenix, their half court game with Paul is very similar to the Suns half court game with Steve Nash.

They run pick and rolls with Paul and Tyson Chandler/David West and when that doesn’t work CP3 just takes it to the cup. In addition to running the show completely, he’s also leading the league in steals.

Yet, he’ll probably finish third in this race. The media seems to have narrowed it down to a two man race already between Kobe and LeBron. Once again, they are looking at the names and not paying attention to the games.

Just look at Chris Paul’s last five games, when the Hornets went 4-1, with the only loss coming to the Rockets:

27 pts, 17 ast, 4 reb, 4 stl
26 pts, 17 ast, 1 reb, 3 stl
37 pts, 11 ast, 3 reb, 2 stl
25 pts, 16 ast, 3 reb, 3 stl
23 pts, 18 ast, 2 reb, 2 stl

Is that not ridiculous? Who does that? It’s a shame he’s going to get robbed on this award this season. Not to take anything away from Kobe (probably the player who will win the award) or LeBron, who are having phenomenal seasons, but this year at least, the award should go to CP3.

NBA What If Game ...

2008-03-10T10:22:00.001-07:00

Check out this article by Bill Simmmons. Once again, he's providing a perspective that few can replicate. This time its about some big "What If's" that have occurred in the NBA in the past few years, like what if Team A signed this player instead of that player.

The NBA is also the best sport to do this in, because there are so many player movements each year.

Its definitely a good read. So good, in fact, that I'm now late for work ...

Return of the Quick Hitters

2008-03-10T08:04:00.000-07:00

NBA

I’m appalled by the blasphemy spewed by Suns coach Mike D’Antoni. Recently, he said that the Suns are better off with Shaq than with a whole bunch of little guys running around.

I strongly disagree. In fact, don’t be surprised if the Suns don’t even make the playoffs. I still think they’ll make the playoffs, but if Denver can get it together the Suns are finished. They will probably be under .500 for the remainder of the season and eliminated in the 1st Round.

Since the Suns first came to prominence in the 2004-05 season, watching them play was a symphony. Steve Nash directed the orchestra, running around seemingly recklessly, hanging in the air until the last second possible before making an unbelievable pass.

You have to understand that what made the Suns great wasn’t necessarily their transition game, it was their half court game. Nash had the ball at almost all times, and he was surrounded by 2 physical freaks and a bunch of three point shooters. He can beat anyone one-one-one, and when Nash drew double teams, someone was either getting a wide open three or an open lane for a slam.

Slowly but surely, the Suns management has gotten rid of the three point shooting aspect of the team. Additionally, adding Shaq clogs up the middle and keeps the ball out of Nash’s hand. The Suns went from an exciting, unconventional team to a regular basketball team consisting of old players.

The Suns can’t play ‘regular’ basketball. It defeats the purpose of having Steve Nash. In Dallas, Nash played on a regular team and was a decent player. In Phoenix, with a system built around his strengths and giving him freedom, he was able to show his true talent.

Farewell, Phoenix Suns. You were once the most exciting team in basketball. Have fun being boring with Shaq, Grant Hill, and the rest of the gang.

NBA MVP

My ballot is 1. CP3 2. LeBron 3. Kobe 4. T-Mac. More on this later.

NFL

The Dolphins will be stupid not to pick Jake Long. He would stabilize their offensive line for years to come.

MLB

I’m not really excited about this upcoming season. All the steroids and Clemens talks has been a big downer. I guess this is what they wanted.

NCAA Bball

VCU dropped the ball. Hopefully they won’t be screwed, but I doubt it. The CAA regular season champs lost in the conference semi-finals to William & Mary on a last second jumper. They should definitely go to the Big Dance over a big conference also-ran, like Oregon or Arizona.

Those teams consistently prove to be one-and-doners. However, I’m pumped about this year’s tournament. I’m not sure who I’m going to go with this year, so stay tuned to that as well.

Save the Sonics!!!!

2008-03-02T11:52:00.000-08:00

Check out these pieces by Bill Simmons to save the Sonics. More on this topic later.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080228&sportCat=nba

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080229&sportCat=nba