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.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Quick Hits 7/5
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.
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.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Quick Hits on the 4th
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.
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.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
2008 NBA Draft Preview
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
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
Monday, June 23, 2008
A Bad Rap for Kobe
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.
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
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.
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.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
NBA Finals Recap
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.
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.
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