I saw that LA, Chicago, and Sacramento had a Kobe Bryant deal that fell apart. While it seemed odd at first, these teams could work out a deal to benefit all parties involved.
Thanks to the ESPN's NBA trade machine, I was able to come up with this deal.
The Lakers get Mike Bibby and Ron Artest from Sacramento and Ben Wallace from Chicago.
Sacramento gets Lamar Odom from LA and Ben Gordon from Chicago.
The Bulls get their man, Kobe Bryant.
In this deal, Chicago gets Kobe to essentially be Michael Jordon 2.0. They also get rid of Ben Wallace's bad contract.
Sacramento gets to officially start over, building the team around Kevin Martin (who can run a big point guard) Ben Gordon (who can be a short shooting guard, although they would check the player on the other team closest to their height), and Lamar Odom.
The Lakers get to still be competitive with Bibby, Artest, and Ben Wallace. These players would probably fit in better with the other Lakers than Kobe anyway, and perhaps Phil Jackson can contain Ron Artest like he did Dennis Rodman.
Here are the potential Lineups for each team.
Chicago Bulls
C Joe Smith
PF Tyrus Thomas
SF Luol Deng
SG Kobe Bryant
PG Kirk Hinrich
LA Lakers
C Ben Wallace
PF Kwame Brown/Brian Cook
SF Ron Artest
SG Luke Walton
PG Mike Bibby
Sacramento
C Brad Miller
PF Shareef Abdur-Rahim
SF Lamar Odom
SG Ben Gordon
PG Kevin Martin
All three of these teams are now quality teams, with problem players getting fresh starts.
The Bulls, however, transform from a good team to the best team in the league beside the Suns and Spurs, if that.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Extra Quick A-Rod Hit
I had to address this while it was on my mind. These Joe Torre bringing A-Rod with him rumors are stupid. Not only do Torre and A-Rod not have a great relationship, A-Rod probably hates Joe Torre.
Remember the last game of the playoffs last year (ALDS vs. Detroit) when Torre batted A-Rod 8th? How disrespectful was that? Do you think A-Rod forgot about that?
All the talk about Alex opting out of his contract because of the uncertain future of the Yankees is more Scott Boras BS. He opted out because he's going to make billions of dollars. While I'm usually A-Rod's side, and I can see why he wants to leave New York, the contract numbers projected for him are absurd. There's no way teams can continue to afford this. Greedy agents (because they have way more say in all these things than the players) are going to ruin MLB's luxury of being the only major American sports league without a salary cap.
Remember the last game of the playoffs last year (ALDS vs. Detroit) when Torre batted A-Rod 8th? How disrespectful was that? Do you think A-Rod forgot about that?
All the talk about Alex opting out of his contract because of the uncertain future of the Yankees is more Scott Boras BS. He opted out because he's going to make billions of dollars. While I'm usually A-Rod's side, and I can see why he wants to leave New York, the contract numbers projected for him are absurd. There's no way teams can continue to afford this. Greedy agents (because they have way more say in all these things than the players) are going to ruin MLB's luxury of being the only major American sports league without a salary cap.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
More Quick Hits
MLB
I guess I was wrong about the Red Sox. Part of this is because of my disdain for Boston sports now. I’ve always hated the Patriots, as a Dolphins fan, but I respect them. The Celts have never really bothered me, as they’ve been irrelevant for most of my life, although I’ve grown to love Paul Pierce as a Jayhawk, but now I hate him.
The Sox have gone from lovable losers to loathsome winners. As a freshman, I rooted for them in the dorm room as me and the guys watched the Aaron Boone game. Now, I’ve virtually become a Yankees fan, thanks to the insufferable Sox fan.
Yet, the primary reason I didn’t pick them to win the series is because I’m an idiot. Ironically, they are the first predictable (by this I mean a team that most would pick as a contender at the beginning of the season) team to win the World Series since the 2000 Yankees in the Subway Series vs. the Mets.
NCAA
As stated earlier, the NCAA rule of thumb is overrated teams will get exposed soon enough. This would’ve happened to Boston College if VA Tech didn’t choke that game away. Overrated Cal continues to lose, and overrated South Florida took an L this week too, along with overrated (but exciting) Kentucky and Florida.
Look for overrated Arizona State to lose to Oregon this weekend, and also be on the lookout for overrated teams like LSU and Oklahoma to lose in coming weeks. In fact, we could be headed for an Oregon/West Virginia championship. How fun would that be.
I’m glad that Dennis Dixon is finally getting Heisman props. Can I say “You heard it here first?” This week, he becomes the clear cut favorite.
NFL
The match-up of the season is upon us. (8-0) New England versus (7-0) Indianapolis. Sorry folks, this one won’t be a game. Look for the Patriots to win by double-digits. The fact is they have one of the greatest lineups of my lifetime. Speaking in Madden terms, their entire starting lineups should have ratings of 88 and above. Many of their key backups would/should be 85 or better.
While this game won’t be close, the pending AFC championship game between the two, barring injury, should be a little closer.
NBA
Due to the immense amount of work on my shoulders, I can’t do the NBA Preview I want to. But here goes what I can do.
Expected Team Finishes
Eastern Conference
1. Chicago
2. Detroit
3. New Jersey
4. Washington
5. Boston
6. Toronto
7. Atlanta
8. Cleveland
9. Miami
10. Philadelphia
11. Charlotte
12. Orlando
13. New York
14. Indiana
15. Milwaukee
Western Conference
1. Phoenix
2. San Antonio
3. Dallas
4. Denver
5. Utah
6. Golden State
7. Houston
8. New Orleans
9. Seattle
10. Portland
11. Memphis
12. LA Lakers
13. LA Clippers
14. Sacramento
15. Minnesota
MVP
Kobe Bryant – Chicago Bulls - Yup, I’m a believer in this trade. If not, Gilbert Arenas. Once again, Steve Nash will be the most important and valuable player in the league, but his race will prevent him from winning the award. A reverse bias/overcompensation for racism situation.
Coach of the Year
Mike Woodson – Atlanta Hawks – They will “come out of nowhere,” and he’ll win the award, although he’s not a good coach, because the voting for this award is stupid.
Rookie of the Year
Kevin Durant – Seattle SuperSonics – It’s his to lose.
6th Man of the Year
Kenyon Martin – Denver – Welcome back K-Mart. I think people forgot about him.
Finals
Suns over Bulls. I know what Simmons wrote, but I can’t help myself. Spurs will probably win again next year though.
Random thoughts
It’s a wrap for Shaq.
Watch out for the Bobcats….. next year.
LeBron is in for a bad year, due to exhaustion.
Boston won’t be as good as people think.
The east will still suck this year, which is why I have Detroit at #2.
Detroit should’ve been broken up this off-season, they’ll have an up and down year for a successful team.
Joe Johnson for the All-Star game in New Orleans!
I’m inherently biased towards the Suns, and my favorite athlete Steve Nash, but I think Boris Diaw bounces back this year and they finally put it together…… then Nash retires, Marion is finally traded and things get interesting from there.
I guess I was wrong about the Red Sox. Part of this is because of my disdain for Boston sports now. I’ve always hated the Patriots, as a Dolphins fan, but I respect them. The Celts have never really bothered me, as they’ve been irrelevant for most of my life, although I’ve grown to love Paul Pierce as a Jayhawk, but now I hate him.
The Sox have gone from lovable losers to loathsome winners. As a freshman, I rooted for them in the dorm room as me and the guys watched the Aaron Boone game. Now, I’ve virtually become a Yankees fan, thanks to the insufferable Sox fan.
Yet, the primary reason I didn’t pick them to win the series is because I’m an idiot. Ironically, they are the first predictable (by this I mean a team that most would pick as a contender at the beginning of the season) team to win the World Series since the 2000 Yankees in the Subway Series vs. the Mets.
NCAA
As stated earlier, the NCAA rule of thumb is overrated teams will get exposed soon enough. This would’ve happened to Boston College if VA Tech didn’t choke that game away. Overrated Cal continues to lose, and overrated South Florida took an L this week too, along with overrated (but exciting) Kentucky and Florida.
Look for overrated Arizona State to lose to Oregon this weekend, and also be on the lookout for overrated teams like LSU and Oklahoma to lose in coming weeks. In fact, we could be headed for an Oregon/West Virginia championship. How fun would that be.
I’m glad that Dennis Dixon is finally getting Heisman props. Can I say “You heard it here first?” This week, he becomes the clear cut favorite.
NFL
The match-up of the season is upon us. (8-0) New England versus (7-0) Indianapolis. Sorry folks, this one won’t be a game. Look for the Patriots to win by double-digits. The fact is they have one of the greatest lineups of my lifetime. Speaking in Madden terms, their entire starting lineups should have ratings of 88 and above. Many of their key backups would/should be 85 or better.
While this game won’t be close, the pending AFC championship game between the two, barring injury, should be a little closer.
NBA
Due to the immense amount of work on my shoulders, I can’t do the NBA Preview I want to. But here goes what I can do.
Expected Team Finishes
Eastern Conference
1. Chicago
2. Detroit
3. New Jersey
4. Washington
5. Boston
6. Toronto
7. Atlanta
8. Cleveland
9. Miami
10. Philadelphia
11. Charlotte
12. Orlando
13. New York
14. Indiana
15. Milwaukee
Western Conference
1. Phoenix
2. San Antonio
3. Dallas
4. Denver
5. Utah
6. Golden State
7. Houston
8. New Orleans
9. Seattle
10. Portland
11. Memphis
12. LA Lakers
13. LA Clippers
14. Sacramento
15. Minnesota
MVP
Kobe Bryant – Chicago Bulls - Yup, I’m a believer in this trade. If not, Gilbert Arenas. Once again, Steve Nash will be the most important and valuable player in the league, but his race will prevent him from winning the award. A reverse bias/overcompensation for racism situation.
Coach of the Year
Mike Woodson – Atlanta Hawks – They will “come out of nowhere,” and he’ll win the award, although he’s not a good coach, because the voting for this award is stupid.
Rookie of the Year
Kevin Durant – Seattle SuperSonics – It’s his to lose.
6th Man of the Year
Kenyon Martin – Denver – Welcome back K-Mart. I think people forgot about him.
Finals
Suns over Bulls. I know what Simmons wrote, but I can’t help myself. Spurs will probably win again next year though.
Random thoughts
It’s a wrap for Shaq.
Watch out for the Bobcats….. next year.
LeBron is in for a bad year, due to exhaustion.
Boston won’t be as good as people think.
The east will still suck this year, which is why I have Detroit at #2.
Detroit should’ve been broken up this off-season, they’ll have an up and down year for a successful team.
Joe Johnson for the All-Star game in New Orleans!
I’m inherently biased towards the Suns, and my favorite athlete Steve Nash, but I think Boris Diaw bounces back this year and they finally put it together…… then Nash retires, Marion is finally traded and things get interesting from there.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Quick Hits
In what may be my 2nd and last post in the month of October, unfortunately, I decided to give you a few quick hits before I kept it moving for the day.
MLB
The Rockies will win the World Series in five this year and here’s why. First, this decade has been full of wacky champions, as detailed here by yours truly. Second, Dice-K is too important to the Red Sox to not cost them a few games. By that I mean, he’s their third starter, so he’ll have at least one opportunity to blow a game for them, if not two. I think he drop Game 5. He was a bust bound to happen. Third, it’s no way the Red Sox lose a World Series in Fenway, at least not the Red Sox of my lifetime (est. 1985). Therefore, the Rocks will put ‘em away in 5 at Coors Field (is it still called that?).
NCAA
College football’s rule of thumb is overrated teams will get exposed soon enough. That should be sufficient enough to explain recent loses by LSU, Cal, and USF, along with LSU’s near fall the other night against Auburn. Additionally, BC will fall to Virginia Tech on Thursday and Ohio State will lose to Michigan. In fact, don’t be surprised if Michigan and Oregon square off in a Rose Bowl rematch of their game earlier this year. That is of course if Oregon doesn’t make it to the title game.
Speaking of Oregon, there should only be three realistic Heisman candidates. Two of them, Tim Tebow and Andre Woodson, get plenty of publicity. But the guy I’d vote for if I had a vote is getting no love and I don’t know why. That man is Oregon’s own Dennis Dixon.
He’s the reason why Oregon is in the Top 5 and a title contender. His stats (137-198, 69.2%, 1721 yards, 16 TD, 3 INT, 165.8 QB Rat, 423 rush yards, 7 TD) are definitely comparable to Tebow’s (115-174, 66.1%, 1711 yards, 17 TD, 3 INT, 177.5 QB Rat, 578 rush yards, 10 TD), even though Tebow has more talent around him.
Couple that with the criticism Dixon received for playing baseball this summer, and you have a surefire Heisman-esque triumph story.
NFL
The Patriots will go undefeated and Tom Brady will have one of the greatest seasons in NFL history. I knew this going in to the season, but didn’t have the balls to write it in this space. Lesson learned.
NBA
Lesson applied. The Celtics won’t be as good as everyone thinks.
MLB
The Rockies will win the World Series in five this year and here’s why. First, this decade has been full of wacky champions, as detailed here by yours truly. Second, Dice-K is too important to the Red Sox to not cost them a few games. By that I mean, he’s their third starter, so he’ll have at least one opportunity to blow a game for them, if not two. I think he drop Game 5. He was a bust bound to happen. Third, it’s no way the Red Sox lose a World Series in Fenway, at least not the Red Sox of my lifetime (est. 1985). Therefore, the Rocks will put ‘em away in 5 at Coors Field (is it still called that?).
NCAA
College football’s rule of thumb is overrated teams will get exposed soon enough. That should be sufficient enough to explain recent loses by LSU, Cal, and USF, along with LSU’s near fall the other night against Auburn. Additionally, BC will fall to Virginia Tech on Thursday and Ohio State will lose to Michigan. In fact, don’t be surprised if Michigan and Oregon square off in a Rose Bowl rematch of their game earlier this year. That is of course if Oregon doesn’t make it to the title game.
Speaking of Oregon, there should only be three realistic Heisman candidates. Two of them, Tim Tebow and Andre Woodson, get plenty of publicity. But the guy I’d vote for if I had a vote is getting no love and I don’t know why. That man is Oregon’s own Dennis Dixon.
He’s the reason why Oregon is in the Top 5 and a title contender. His stats (137-198, 69.2%, 1721 yards, 16 TD, 3 INT, 165.8 QB Rat, 423 rush yards, 7 TD) are definitely comparable to Tebow’s (115-174, 66.1%, 1711 yards, 17 TD, 3 INT, 177.5 QB Rat, 578 rush yards, 10 TD), even though Tebow has more talent around him.
Couple that with the criticism Dixon received for playing baseball this summer, and you have a surefire Heisman-esque triumph story.
NFL
The Patriots will go undefeated and Tom Brady will have one of the greatest seasons in NFL history. I knew this going in to the season, but didn’t have the balls to write it in this space. Lesson learned.
NBA
Lesson applied. The Celtics won’t be as good as everyone thinks.
Monday, October 8, 2007
About Those Pics........
To start things off, I'd like to apologize to my one and a half readers for my absence. Being the president of a fraternity is a full time job that takes up a lot of my time. So is being a senior trying to graduate. Tack on two part time jobs (and chasing women) and my time is pretty much consumed.
That said, my "sports journalism" has suffered. I've been a somewhat passive observer of sports in recent weeks. While I would've called Pavlik over Taylor, I've been wrong about a lot.
In baseball, I probably would've taken Arizona and Colorado, but I also would've taken Boston and the Yankees. I don't see the Yanks getting past Cleveland at this point, as they still have to face C.C. Sabathia either tonight or in a Game 5 on the road.
For the record, I like Arizona and Cleveland to make it to the World Series.
In college football, my preseason ranking of most likely champions was awful. I had LSU at #5 and Cal at #12, one spot behind UCLA. Yikes. Double Yikes for my top four of USC, Texas, Michigan, and West Virginia. That said, I'm not too sold on LSU or Cal.
Maybe its because I've always considered LSU, and maybe the SEC in general, to be a tad overrated. Same for Cal, although I'm a big fan of Pac-10 football. If I had to pick two teams to go the 'chip today, I guess it would have to be LSU and Oklahoma.
LSU might take an L this weekend at Kentucky, if not I see them running the table. Meanwhile, I think Cal is going to end up sharing the Pac-10 title with Oregon. I can see them slipping up in one of these games, while Oregon will probably rebound and take the rest of the games on their schedule. Then again, this season has been so wacky, nobody has any business making any predictions.
(Speaking of which, for a bonus prediction I have Michigan rebounding to win the Big Ten)
My NFL pics were just as horrible as everything else. I had Philly over Dallas, Chicago at 10-6 with the rest of the division under .500, the Saints at 11-5, The Rams, yes the Rams at 12-4, Cincy at 12-4 and the Steelers at 8-8, and San Diego at 11-5.
To make things worst, I picked the Rams and Saints to meet in the NFC Championship game. Those two teams are 0-9 this year. I guess 60% of the time, I'm always wrong.
Barring injuries, this year's Super Bowl will feature the Pats vs. the Cowboys. They are far and away the best teams in their respective conferences, and the 2007 Pats will go down as one of the greatest teams of all time. They WILL go 16-0. Dallas might end up at 14-2 or 15-1.
Other things to watch for is the Bengals making a run, the Chargers firing Norv and A.J. Smith and bringing Marty back, Donovan playing for the Bears next year, and the two Super Bowl teams having top 5 pics in next year's draft. (New England has the 49er's first round pick next year while Dallas has Cleveland's.)
To paraphrase Diddy, I can't stop, won't stop making bold predictions at the risk of looking like a complete idiot.
As I sign off for now, and hopefully not another 2 weeks, peep this column from Jason Whitlock about the Jena Six. (I'm glad to see Jason on a more prominent site like FoxSports, although ESPN should've gotten rid of Scoop Jackson instead of him.) Although this issue is kinda off the map now, he hit it right on the head. I tried to explain the issues he pointed out to friends of mine, who immediately called me crazy.
To throw in my two cents, you can't take anything at face value and this story is no exception. Lost in drama is the fact that until we change the way sentences are handed out, racist and crooked DA's will be able to trump up charges on some and let others get off too easy. This was perhaps the biggest issue in the Jena Six and none of the protest did anything to address it.
For all that was said and done, the only thing we accomplished was getting a kid out of jail that probably deserved to be in jail. Its good to see people willing to stand up for something, but why this case? Genarlow Wilson could've used this type of support during his court ordeal, and even now as he continues to rot in jail over a consensual sex act between himself and a peer.
That said, my "sports journalism" has suffered. I've been a somewhat passive observer of sports in recent weeks. While I would've called Pavlik over Taylor, I've been wrong about a lot.
In baseball, I probably would've taken Arizona and Colorado, but I also would've taken Boston and the Yankees. I don't see the Yanks getting past Cleveland at this point, as they still have to face C.C. Sabathia either tonight or in a Game 5 on the road.
For the record, I like Arizona and Cleveland to make it to the World Series.
In college football, my preseason ranking of most likely champions was awful. I had LSU at #5 and Cal at #12, one spot behind UCLA. Yikes. Double Yikes for my top four of USC, Texas, Michigan, and West Virginia. That said, I'm not too sold on LSU or Cal.
Maybe its because I've always considered LSU, and maybe the SEC in general, to be a tad overrated. Same for Cal, although I'm a big fan of Pac-10 football. If I had to pick two teams to go the 'chip today, I guess it would have to be LSU and Oklahoma.
LSU might take an L this weekend at Kentucky, if not I see them running the table. Meanwhile, I think Cal is going to end up sharing the Pac-10 title with Oregon. I can see them slipping up in one of these games, while Oregon will probably rebound and take the rest of the games on their schedule. Then again, this season has been so wacky, nobody has any business making any predictions.
(Speaking of which, for a bonus prediction I have Michigan rebounding to win the Big Ten)
My NFL pics were just as horrible as everything else. I had Philly over Dallas, Chicago at 10-6 with the rest of the division under .500, the Saints at 11-5, The Rams, yes the Rams at 12-4, Cincy at 12-4 and the Steelers at 8-8, and San Diego at 11-5.
To make things worst, I picked the Rams and Saints to meet in the NFC Championship game. Those two teams are 0-9 this year. I guess 60% of the time, I'm always wrong.
Barring injuries, this year's Super Bowl will feature the Pats vs. the Cowboys. They are far and away the best teams in their respective conferences, and the 2007 Pats will go down as one of the greatest teams of all time. They WILL go 16-0. Dallas might end up at 14-2 or 15-1.
Other things to watch for is the Bengals making a run, the Chargers firing Norv and A.J. Smith and bringing Marty back, Donovan playing for the Bears next year, and the two Super Bowl teams having top 5 pics in next year's draft. (New England has the 49er's first round pick next year while Dallas has Cleveland's.)
To paraphrase Diddy, I can't stop, won't stop making bold predictions at the risk of looking like a complete idiot.
As I sign off for now, and hopefully not another 2 weeks, peep this column from Jason Whitlock about the Jena Six. (I'm glad to see Jason on a more prominent site like FoxSports, although ESPN should've gotten rid of Scoop Jackson instead of him.) Although this issue is kinda off the map now, he hit it right on the head. I tried to explain the issues he pointed out to friends of mine, who immediately called me crazy.
To throw in my two cents, you can't take anything at face value and this story is no exception. Lost in drama is the fact that until we change the way sentences are handed out, racist and crooked DA's will be able to trump up charges on some and let others get off too easy. This was perhaps the biggest issue in the Jena Six and none of the protest did anything to address it.
For all that was said and done, the only thing we accomplished was getting a kid out of jail that probably deserved to be in jail. Its good to see people willing to stand up for something, but why this case? Genarlow Wilson could've used this type of support during his court ordeal, and even now as he continues to rot in jail over a consensual sex act between himself and a peer.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Week 3 Picks
For years I used to pick the winners of each NFL game every week. As a junior analyst, I always was able to hold my own with the professionals on TV. Then, I came to college and got introduced to something called the point spread. Out the window went my traditional picks, at least until today. Per the request of my father, here are my week 3 picks.
(winners in bold)
Arizona at Baltimore – Baltimore is not as good as people think they are. McNair is pretty much on empty. Kyle Boller should be the Ravens starting quarterback, but that would prove they gave up on him too early and make them look stupid. Willis McGahee isn’t that good, so their running game also stinks. However, I don’t have enough faith in the young Cardinals offense to come cross country and get a win, as the Raven’s D can still play with the big boys.
San Diego at Green Bay – Brett Favre had a renaissance game last week, but that won’t last forever. Neither will LaDainian Tomlinson’s mediocre play. This is the week the Chargers offense begins to come alive.
Indianapolis at Houston – This might be the biggest game in Texans history. Too bad they won’t have their big game player (Andre Johnson) healthy for this one.
Minnesota at Kansas City – Mama always says never pick against Kansas City at home. This is looking like a 15-10 contests featuring two of the worst teams in the league.
Buffalo at New England – Who knows when the Patriots will lose this season, if they even lose a game. This game will likely be another easy win for the Pats.
Miami at NYJ – The Jets are banged up and Miami has to win a few games this year. If they lose and Trent Green plays poorly, let’s hope the Cleo Lemon bandwagon heats up.
Detroit at Philly – The Eagles can’t play defense and their offense is average at best. Detroit is finally ready to make a playoff push.
SF at Pittsburgh – I’m not as sold on Pittsburgh as everyone else is, but their defense definitely hasn’t lost a step without Cowher.
STL at Tampa Bay – Hopefully my sleeper pick will finally prove that I’m not an idiot.
Jacksonville at Denver – Jacksonville is a very bad team. Denver is hard to beat at home. Simple mathematics. (Now watch the Jags win this game somehow).
Cleveland at Oakland – Yuck
Atlanta at Carolina – Yuck
NYG at Washington – Yuck
Cincinnati at Seattle – I’m the only person in America that still likes the Bengals, that’s not from the state of Ohio. They’ll bounce back this week (I think). I’m also not a fan of the Seahawks or their hideous uniforms.
Dallas at Chicago – Brian Griese will be the Bears starting QB before Halloween, if not Columbus Day.
Tennessee at New Orleans – The Saints keep force feeding Reggie Bush the ball at the expense of Deuce McAllister. They should let Bush get the ball in the natural flow of the game, like last year, and continue to rely on Deuce for 20+ carries. Bush is more effective in the open field, and can remain a factor in the offense in the slot. Besides, he has better hands than Devery Henderson anyway.
(winners in bold)
Arizona at Baltimore – Baltimore is not as good as people think they are. McNair is pretty much on empty. Kyle Boller should be the Ravens starting quarterback, but that would prove they gave up on him too early and make them look stupid. Willis McGahee isn’t that good, so their running game also stinks. However, I don’t have enough faith in the young Cardinals offense to come cross country and get a win, as the Raven’s D can still play with the big boys.
San Diego at Green Bay – Brett Favre had a renaissance game last week, but that won’t last forever. Neither will LaDainian Tomlinson’s mediocre play. This is the week the Chargers offense begins to come alive.
Indianapolis at Houston – This might be the biggest game in Texans history. Too bad they won’t have their big game player (Andre Johnson) healthy for this one.
Minnesota at Kansas City – Mama always says never pick against Kansas City at home. This is looking like a 15-10 contests featuring two of the worst teams in the league.
Buffalo at New England – Who knows when the Patriots will lose this season, if they even lose a game. This game will likely be another easy win for the Pats.
Miami at NYJ – The Jets are banged up and Miami has to win a few games this year. If they lose and Trent Green plays poorly, let’s hope the Cleo Lemon bandwagon heats up.
Detroit at Philly – The Eagles can’t play defense and their offense is average at best. Detroit is finally ready to make a playoff push.
SF at Pittsburgh – I’m not as sold on Pittsburgh as everyone else is, but their defense definitely hasn’t lost a step without Cowher.
STL at Tampa Bay – Hopefully my sleeper pick will finally prove that I’m not an idiot.
Jacksonville at Denver – Jacksonville is a very bad team. Denver is hard to beat at home. Simple mathematics. (Now watch the Jags win this game somehow).
Cleveland at Oakland – Yuck
Atlanta at Carolina – Yuck
NYG at Washington – Yuck
Cincinnati at Seattle – I’m the only person in America that still likes the Bengals, that’s not from the state of Ohio. They’ll bounce back this week (I think). I’m also not a fan of the Seahawks or their hideous uniforms.
Dallas at Chicago – Brian Griese will be the Bears starting QB before Halloween, if not Columbus Day.
Tennessee at New Orleans – The Saints keep force feeding Reggie Bush the ball at the expense of Deuce McAllister. They should let Bush get the ball in the natural flow of the game, like last year, and continue to rely on Deuce for 20+ carries. Bush is more effective in the open field, and can remain a factor in the offense in the slot. Besides, he has better hands than Devery Henderson anyway.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Sportsology 201: Intro to Racism in Sports
Racism is all the rage these days. Thousands of people have made the trek today (and many others wearing black) to the small town of Jena, Louisiana for marches in support of the “Jena Six,” six black men who were originally charged with attempted murder in a schoolyard fight.
With the Washington Huskies playing good football and Notre Dame floundering, there has also been talk about whether or not Tyrone Willingham was treated fairly or if Charlie Weis is being treated more favorably by Notre Dame because he is white. For those of you who don’t remember, Willingham (the Huskies coach) was fired by Notre Dame after only three mediocre seasons. Weis, his white successor, had two good seasons, but is in the midst of a horrible third season.
And of course Donovan McNabb is in the news again in a race related issue. On Real Sports, he told James Brown that black QB’s are judged differently than white QB’s, which has been very controversial.
As a young black man, of course I have opinions on all of these issues, and hopefully facts to back them up. First things first, I’m glad to see the numbers of black people coming together for the Jena Six. I was skeptical that we would ever really come together as a collective again, but this issue seemed to spark everyone’s interest.
However, at this point, do people know what they’re rallying for? There is a lot of he say-she say involved in what happened leading up to the fight. The definites are: There was a noose hung from a tree, those responsible were given three days in school suspension, there were racial clashes instigated by both sides, culminating with the Jena Six beating up the white kid. Everything else is speculation.
The chief issue or reason to rally was the fact that all but the 14-year-old were given attempted murder charges for a school fight. The school administration did not do enough to cool racial tensions, which led to a fight. Now, if you assault someone, especially to the point where they are hospitalized, you should be punished. However, attempted murder was an extreme charge that had racism written all over it.
As the heat was put on the DA and the Jena justice system, the extraneous charges were dropped. Even now, blacks are usually charged with more and given longer sentences than whites when the same crimes are committed. That’s nothing new. Rallying for the Jena Six isn’t going to change that either. However, I believe the mission in Jena was accomplished when the boys were given appropriate charges to what happened. If you beat the crap out of somebody, you should to get battery and assault charges, regardless if you were egged on by any acts of racism, unless you were defending yourself.
Controversial opinion I know, but it’s rational. Now on to the lighter stuff, sports.
Tyrone Willingham was fired partially because he was black, partially because his teams were average. Notre Dame for some reason wants to believe it’s still a powerhouse football school. Yet, their athletes are held to a different standard than those at football factory. That standard is they are actually expected to be scholar athletes. Until that changes, Notre Dame is probably going to continue to be average.
That said, Ty didn’t have a shot. He wasn’t able to have “Top 5” recruiting classes because recruits knew he wasn’t going to last there. Now he’s rebuilding a Washington team that was in worse shape than Notre Dame was when he arrived on each campus. Ty Willingham is proving that he is a good coach and will succeed if given a chance. Will he win a championship at Washington? Probably not, but neither him nor Weis would have/will win a championship at Notre Dame.
Weis, on the other hand, is one of the most overrated coaches period. After seven games against average competition, he was given a 10-year contract extension. Now Notre Dame has to pay. They have put themselves in a big Catch-22. It’s obvious that Weis isn’t that good, but they can’t fire him because they gave their genius that big contract and they didn’t give Willingham enough time to turn things around and don’t want to make that mistake again. Yet, since they fired Willingham after three years, the racism will become more obvious if they don’t do the same to Weis, which could possibly also affect recruiting.
And while we’re on college football, there are only six black head coaches at I-A schools. A talking head on ESPN said that there’s too much pressure on schools when they hire a black coach, because if they fire them (like ND and T. Will) they will be accused of being racists. To that I say, if you don’t do racist stuff nobody will call you a racist.
Last are Donovan McNabb’s comments about black QB’s coming under more fire than white QB’s. Funny because Rush Limbaugh infamously said that black QB’s and coaches don’t get criticized enough because the (liberal) media has a vested interest in seeing them succeed. Now Donovan was way wrong when he called T.O.’s “verbal attack” on him black on black crime. This time he’s right.
Exhibit A is his game from Monday. His stats were 28-46 for 240 yards with no TD’s or INT’s. Immediately there was talk about him being washed up, how bad he played, how bad he looked, the throw’s he should’ve made, and this being his last year in Philly. And with the focus back on McNabb the Eagles three main issues that have kept them from getting back to the Super Bowl are once again ignored.
The Eagles lost that game Monday not because McNabb didn’t hit Kevin Curtis on an out during their last drive, but for three reasons. 1. Andy Reid and or their offensive coordinator’s play calling sucks. His refusal to run Brian Westbrook (who was getting over 5 yards a pop Monday) costs them several drives and potential points. 2. Their receivers suck. They can’t get open and when they do get open, they can’t catch and are not explosive. Besides T.O., Donovan has never played with good receivers. Look how much Tom Brady has played with three good receivers opposed to his usual cast of castaways. 3. Their defense is steadily slipping. Washington could’ve easily scored 30 plus points against them, but they have a young QB and a dumb offense with too many plays.
Additionally, Donovan is recovering from MAJOR knee surgery. Of course he isn’t going to look great. By the end of the year, he’ll be much better. If they Eagles cut him after this year (which they probably will), they’ll definitely hear it from their fans who’ll probably watch him lead his hometown Bears to their first Super Bowl since 1985. I’m calling it already.
The moral of the story is that racism is still alive and well. It’s just that now people hate to talk about it. Anytime the race card is thrown out there, many white writers and talking heads are critical and condescending about it. They are force feeding us this false reality of a world without racism.
From the black side, we’re so quick to jump on a “racist” bandwagon without doing our research, which leads to the backlash against using the race card when it’s actually valid. (See Jena Six, Michael Vick, etc.) For people of all races, the first step is to acknowledge the fact that racism still exists and will always exists as long as there are races. Two, make sure all the facts are out there before making a judgment. Three, if we really want to stop racism, we need to start coming together and moving forward to a country without races.
With the Washington Huskies playing good football and Notre Dame floundering, there has also been talk about whether or not Tyrone Willingham was treated fairly or if Charlie Weis is being treated more favorably by Notre Dame because he is white. For those of you who don’t remember, Willingham (the Huskies coach) was fired by Notre Dame after only three mediocre seasons. Weis, his white successor, had two good seasons, but is in the midst of a horrible third season.
And of course Donovan McNabb is in the news again in a race related issue. On Real Sports, he told James Brown that black QB’s are judged differently than white QB’s, which has been very controversial.
As a young black man, of course I have opinions on all of these issues, and hopefully facts to back them up. First things first, I’m glad to see the numbers of black people coming together for the Jena Six. I was skeptical that we would ever really come together as a collective again, but this issue seemed to spark everyone’s interest.
However, at this point, do people know what they’re rallying for? There is a lot of he say-she say involved in what happened leading up to the fight. The definites are: There was a noose hung from a tree, those responsible were given three days in school suspension, there were racial clashes instigated by both sides, culminating with the Jena Six beating up the white kid. Everything else is speculation.
The chief issue or reason to rally was the fact that all but the 14-year-old were given attempted murder charges for a school fight. The school administration did not do enough to cool racial tensions, which led to a fight. Now, if you assault someone, especially to the point where they are hospitalized, you should be punished. However, attempted murder was an extreme charge that had racism written all over it.
As the heat was put on the DA and the Jena justice system, the extraneous charges were dropped. Even now, blacks are usually charged with more and given longer sentences than whites when the same crimes are committed. That’s nothing new. Rallying for the Jena Six isn’t going to change that either. However, I believe the mission in Jena was accomplished when the boys were given appropriate charges to what happened. If you beat the crap out of somebody, you should to get battery and assault charges, regardless if you were egged on by any acts of racism, unless you were defending yourself.
Controversial opinion I know, but it’s rational. Now on to the lighter stuff, sports.
Tyrone Willingham was fired partially because he was black, partially because his teams were average. Notre Dame for some reason wants to believe it’s still a powerhouse football school. Yet, their athletes are held to a different standard than those at football factory. That standard is they are actually expected to be scholar athletes. Until that changes, Notre Dame is probably going to continue to be average.
That said, Ty didn’t have a shot. He wasn’t able to have “Top 5” recruiting classes because recruits knew he wasn’t going to last there. Now he’s rebuilding a Washington team that was in worse shape than Notre Dame was when he arrived on each campus. Ty Willingham is proving that he is a good coach and will succeed if given a chance. Will he win a championship at Washington? Probably not, but neither him nor Weis would have/will win a championship at Notre Dame.
Weis, on the other hand, is one of the most overrated coaches period. After seven games against average competition, he was given a 10-year contract extension. Now Notre Dame has to pay. They have put themselves in a big Catch-22. It’s obvious that Weis isn’t that good, but they can’t fire him because they gave their genius that big contract and they didn’t give Willingham enough time to turn things around and don’t want to make that mistake again. Yet, since they fired Willingham after three years, the racism will become more obvious if they don’t do the same to Weis, which could possibly also affect recruiting.
And while we’re on college football, there are only six black head coaches at I-A schools. A talking head on ESPN said that there’s too much pressure on schools when they hire a black coach, because if they fire them (like ND and T. Will) they will be accused of being racists. To that I say, if you don’t do racist stuff nobody will call you a racist.
Last are Donovan McNabb’s comments about black QB’s coming under more fire than white QB’s. Funny because Rush Limbaugh infamously said that black QB’s and coaches don’t get criticized enough because the (liberal) media has a vested interest in seeing them succeed. Now Donovan was way wrong when he called T.O.’s “verbal attack” on him black on black crime. This time he’s right.
Exhibit A is his game from Monday. His stats were 28-46 for 240 yards with no TD’s or INT’s. Immediately there was talk about him being washed up, how bad he played, how bad he looked, the throw’s he should’ve made, and this being his last year in Philly. And with the focus back on McNabb the Eagles three main issues that have kept them from getting back to the Super Bowl are once again ignored.
The Eagles lost that game Monday not because McNabb didn’t hit Kevin Curtis on an out during their last drive, but for three reasons. 1. Andy Reid and or their offensive coordinator’s play calling sucks. His refusal to run Brian Westbrook (who was getting over 5 yards a pop Monday) costs them several drives and potential points. 2. Their receivers suck. They can’t get open and when they do get open, they can’t catch and are not explosive. Besides T.O., Donovan has never played with good receivers. Look how much Tom Brady has played with three good receivers opposed to his usual cast of castaways. 3. Their defense is steadily slipping. Washington could’ve easily scored 30 plus points against them, but they have a young QB and a dumb offense with too many plays.
Additionally, Donovan is recovering from MAJOR knee surgery. Of course he isn’t going to look great. By the end of the year, he’ll be much better. If they Eagles cut him after this year (which they probably will), they’ll definitely hear it from their fans who’ll probably watch him lead his hometown Bears to their first Super Bowl since 1985. I’m calling it already.
The moral of the story is that racism is still alive and well. It’s just that now people hate to talk about it. Anytime the race card is thrown out there, many white writers and talking heads are critical and condescending about it. They are force feeding us this false reality of a world without racism.
From the black side, we’re so quick to jump on a “racist” bandwagon without doing our research, which leads to the backlash against using the race card when it’s actually valid. (See Jena Six, Michael Vick, etc.) For people of all races, the first step is to acknowledge the fact that racism still exists and will always exists as long as there are races. Two, make sure all the facts are out there before making a judgment. Three, if we really want to stop racism, we need to start coming together and moving forward to a country without races.
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