College Football Preseason: Already?

In the never ending sports info world ....yes. The Preseason College Magazine have been unleashed en masse as has been summarized here . Phil Steele is supposed to be the gold standard but there's obviously a level of probability in all preseason predictions (if that's not an understatement I don't know what is). Ignoring the national picture (which I'm doing until July) the Big 10 is predicted to shape up with Ohio State and Penn State are expected to vie for the crown, Illinois and Michigan State nipping at their heals. Michigan and Illinois are expected to be among the most improved. Here's a quick few points on each of the schools that I randomly deem worthy of mention


Illinois (last year's record 5-7)
Strengths: Illinois' strength lies in its offense. In particular WR Arrelius Benn is the best playmaker in the Big 10 and will be even better with the addition of highly hyped Florida transfer/poor man's Percy Harvin Jarred Fayson

Questions: Illinois actually had a betteryardage differential last year when they went 5-7 than 2 years ago when they made the Rose Bowl. The difference was turnovers. In particular the Fighting Illinois were 0-6 when they had a negative turnover margin - and that leads us to QB Juice Williams. Will he ever mature?

Iowa (last year record 9-4)
Strengths: Iowa returns eight starters to a defense that was best in the Big 10 (I was shocked too).
Questions: First off Iowa has to replace Shonne Green - who had over a 100 yards rushing in every game of the season. The missing starters on defense were the interior D-Lineman. Quality over quantity?

Michigan State (9-4)
Strengths - Returning defense and an improvement a WR

Questions - They need to replace 93% of their offense without stars Javon Ringer and QB Hoyer.

Michigan (3-9)
Strengths - Reversion to Mean is the technical term for Michigan's strength. There's no way the offense can be as bad or the team lose as many close games. Plus their's DickRod's record of improving in year 2

Questions - Tate Forcier - Pure Freshman QB. Close games and bad offenses improvements are predicated on Forcier not making turnovers and doing better. Or I suppose the question is how much better than last year. I would also note that the defense lost some playmakers

Ohio State (11-2)
Strengths - The strength of OSU this year will be on the inside. The D-Line will be the best its been since 2002 and the interior of the O-Line will be much improved as well.

Questions - Lots of New Faces. From the secondary to the tackles to the linebackers to the WRs to the RBs - Does OSU possess the depth to replace the losses? And of course there's that Pryor fellow and how his passing progresses.....

Penn State (11-2)
Strengths - Most proven backfield in the Big 10 with QB Clarke and RB Roysters face the easiest Big 10 schedule outside of Wisconsin/Northwestern.

Questions - They replace their top 4 WRs (still no leader) and their O/D lines are anything but solidified even after Spring Ball

Wisconsin (7-6)
Strengths - John Clay (RB) I think will lead the Big 10 in rushing. No more sharing the load with Tubs PJ Hill

Questions - Umm what happened to the Badger D and their homefield advantage at Camp Randall? I don't have the first explanation. I will say another season like last year and their coach will be fired. And that's a question...how does the team respond?

RIP Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson |MTV Music

Lots can be said about Michael Jackson and I have no doubt this blog is probably not the right forum for it. As such I will just say Thriller remains the greatest music video of all time

NBA Draft Day 2009: Prelude to Armageddon Free Agency 2010

In the prelude to free agency 2010, which I'm now calling "Armageddon Free Agency 2010", there are teams that are trying to win NOW (i.e. Cavs, Magic, Lakers, Spurs, etc.) and there are teams preparing for Armageddon Free Agency trying to win in summer 2010 (i.e. Nets, Knicks), and there are teams that are just trying to survive financially and selling off everything at low, low prices (i.e. Bucks, Suns, etc.)

With this summary, we have had a number of moves from the teams trying to win now taking players from the teams waiting for LATER. I'll try to give my winners and losers on draft day and on the trades...

Trades

Winners - Nets - The Nets are my absolute #1 winners right now. They not only dumped out Vince Carter's long-term contract, but they got back Courtney Lee. I know Courtney Lee may be known more for his blown layup in game 2 of the NBA Finals, but he is only a rookie, and he averaged who after the all-star break averaged 10.3ppg on almost 40% shooting from 3-point land and who received all the tough defensive matchups in the playoffs (including LeBron and Kobe). He's not a superstar, but for a rookie SG to do all this is quite impressive. The Nets are now in the BEST position for 2010, with only Devin Harris (approx. $10 mill), a team option on Brook Lopez ($2.5), a team option on C. Lee ($1.3) and $6.6 for two random players for a grand total of only $20 mill, meaning they will have about $40 million to spend. I think if I'm a free agent in 2010, and I want to win, I'd much rather go to New Jersey where they have a great young PG, a great young Center, and a very solid SG. In addition, they got the best supposed "lock down defender" in the draft in SG Terrence Williams. Nice pick.

Winners - Knicks - they got Darko in exchange for Quentin Richardson! Darko lives!!!!

Losers - Magic - I think the Vince Carter acquisition screws them up long-term, and is a signal that Turkoglu will not be re-signed. Obviously, if the Magic are somehow able to sign Turkoglu then adding Vince Carter looks a lot better. I just don't think that's the case. The defensive drop-off from Lee to Carter is immense. Turkoglu is the #1 sought-after free agent and his destination will alter the fortunes of at least the Magic.

Undetermined - Did Amare get traded to the Golden State in exchange for Biedrins and S. Curry? I guess we'll find out. It's hard to evaluate the trade when you consider that Amare is still a free agent in 2010.

The actual draft
Note: It's hard to pick many winners, when picks 8-23 were all of the same caliber player.

Winners - Tyler Hansbrough - During his college career, he's gone from sure-fire lottery pick, to 2nd round pick, to supposed NBA failure, to lottery pick. Congrats to Tyler!

Winner - Denver - Acquiring Ty Lawson for future 1st round pick. He can learn from Chauncey. I think that's a great plan.

Winner - San Antonio - Taking a 2nd round (non-guaranteed) gamble on Dejuan Blair? Supposedly his knees are a train wreck, but his numbers are awesome. The Spurs always seem to be doing something smart. This is a low-risk, HIGH-reward pick being made by the Spurs. Seems like another great move by the Spurs.

Unclear - Grizzlies - I don't understand why they went after Thabeet. They already have Marc Gasol at center who posted 11.9ppg, 7.4 rebs. I guess you can never have too few 7 footers? I guess they didn't want to deal with Rubio's buyout?

Unclear - T-wolves - Selected 2 players who will be overseas next year (Calathes, Norel) and 3 players who will be on the T-Wolves: Rubio still doesn't know if he will be in the NBA or not. Make that 2 players! Jonny Flynn could be the PG, or Telfair could start at first. Wayne Ellington is an undersized SG though was fantastic at the college level. Obviously, having Rubio (eventually) is the key.

Losers - Ok City - chose James Harden with the #3 pick, probably to avoid contract negotiations with Rubio. I'm not big on Harden. Plus, this SI article rips him apart as a good candidate for being overvalued, as he is a "subpar contested shooter" and has a lack of "shot efficiency in one-on-one situations." Then, just to make sure the Ok City Thundercats had the worst draft, they went out and traded for Center BJ Mullens, from Ohio State. I've never seen a dumber player, who didn't seem to learn anything during the college season, who also has a poor work ethic. Good luck with that project.

2nd round picks I like
Milwaukee - SG Jodie Meeks - Can really shoot, which is a nice skill to have.
San Antonio - G Jack McClinton - An absolute scoring machine. Saw him play a couple of times on the Miami Hurricanes and thought he was pretty impressive, though he is very small.

Shaq and His Circus Come to Cleveland

As soon as the Cavs' season came to an end at the hands of Dwight Howard and giant muscles it was simply a matter of time before a big man was traded to Cleveland. Turns out the big man is the Big Royal or Big Clev or whatever new nickname Shaq will come up with. There's tons of analysis out there (I think the best breakdown is here by Brian Windhorst but I'm obviously biased here There's lots of question marks here in terms of Shaq meshing with Lebron, Shaq meshing with the offense, Shaq having the foot speed for defense, etc, etc, etc. However the question I think needs to be asked is one of opportunity cost.

Its hard to argue the Cavs didn't need to improve in the low post on offense and most importantly finding someone that could go guard Howard one on one. With Shaq the Cavs are relatively better and all it cost was a retiring player (Wallace), an awful player (Pavlovic) and the 46th pick in an horrendous draft. That's nothing. Would Tyson Chandler have been better than Shaq? Offensively and contract wise (Chandler would've kept the Cavs away from the 2010 free agent market - no (not to mention Chandler's last trade was nixed over injury). So who would have been better at slowing down Howard that could be had? Names people. Names. The bottom line is there's not. Or at least no one that could be had by the Cavs.

In the end Danny Ferry is rolling the dice that Shaq is motivated enough for one last contract, one last shot at Kobe, one last something to keep his circus in check. Not say the trade gives the Cavs the NBA Championship or even in the front runner position but it probably improves the better than other alternatives and that's all one can ask for.

USA! USA!

If you had told me team USA would get the Confed Cup Finals by beating Spain after it had been blown out by Brazil I wouldve laughed at you. Spain. The team that hadn't been beaten in 35 games. It had won every game the last two years. I hadn't lost to a non-European team in almost 10 years. The number 1 team in the world. And yet the Americans did it through great defense, outstanding goal keeping and a few lucky breaks. WOW. Good work team USA!

NBA Draft Rumors

As we approach the NBA Draft the number of rumors seems to be hitting a feverish pitch. Shaq to Cavs, Vince Carter to the Cavs, Larry Hughes back to the Wizards, a young genetically engineered George Miken and case of Pabs to Minnesota for the #5 pick and now Richard Jefferson to San Antonio. Rumors, especially in the age of the internet, seem fairly ubiquitous as the best way for a website to pick up traffic is to publish unsubstantiated rumors. Followed by it seems every team in the league is doing due diligence on the possibility of a trade. Top that off with rumors of financial pressures and the result is simply a flood of innedondos, what ifs and potentials. In the end I'm sure there will be a few salary dumps but I'll be surprised if there's a wave of big time moves and trades. So what are other's guesses as to the actual trade mill for Draft Day?

One interesting potential storyline to follow is the potential shift in drafting for potential . The NBA has long valued upside over certainty when it comes to the draft. Seniors that have achieved much are usually pushed to the 2nd round as unknown potential upcomers can snatched up first. However if the teams are bad straights, Ian Thomsen notes, this put pressure on production now. In other words when a Demar Derozan might someday be super awesome amazing, the need for a rotation player today means Tyler Hansborough - with his far more limited upside- might get selected first. Nonetheless something to consider as teams jostle for the right not to pick 10-30.....

Update #1 : Well looking like one trade rumor is true....RJ to the Spurs. Discuss the implications of that.....

Bernie Bernie

Another sad day in Cleveland, as one of the Cleveland Browns all-time icons falls.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4272998
Bernie Kosar is bankrupt. The article says his liabilities are between 10 and 50 million! That's astounding.
Maybe he'll challenge Quinn and Anderson for the starting QB job in order to get back on top of things.

Mighty's Sunday Thoughts

Well its a random Sunday so here's some random bits of news (not as random as clamato and budweiser...nothing is)

NBA Draft
The general word on the street is this draft might be one of the worst in years. Blake Griffin was supposed to be the guaranteed super-star till it became apparent the Clippers were infecting him with their ineptitude. The draft is point guard heavy from international sensations (Rick Rubio) to big on stats small on size (Ty Lawson) to the media darling (Stephen Curry). All have various hang ups and glitches. The one thing I think the NBA Draft could show is how how much of dire financial straights teams are in. If there are massive clearance sales, either via trades or selling draft picks (draft picks can be purchased for up to $3 million), then it could give hints at the free agent market (starting the following week) and trade market in 09-10.

College Football
One of the more debated pieces going around the blogosphere these days is a WSJ that notes offensive-line experience can predict college football success. Not perfectly (as theres always other factors and stochasticity) but enough that its raised a few eyebows. Four teams jump to mind. Notre Dame offensive line experience (and their cupcake schedule) would predict big things for Weis. Conversely Penn State, the favorite to the win the Big 10, is looking shaky. The most interesting test might come September 5th as Alabama and Virginia Tech go head to head in Atlanta. V-Tech is one of the most experienced lines (100 starts) and Alabama one of the least (50) with it being early enough in the year that experience should very much matter. A V-Tech win over an SEC team (let alone Alabama) could shape the mythical BCS Championship hunt.

Pro Football
Honestly outside of being born into the mafia or have a yakuza tattoo is there a better predictor for being arrested than being an NFL wide receiver? Those that aren't being arrested are invariably doing something that most 5 year old could tell you is a bad idea. In today's bad idea category Chad OchoCrappo is said to be living with Carson Palmer . Now I'm all for Palmer suffering, given his USC ties, but think of Palmer's kids! Would you want Uncle Chad teaching your kids anything? I shudder to think at the damage he could have on the youth of America.

Compare and Contrast

http://www.star-telegram.com/crime_courts/story/1440064.html

Former Indian and Yankee Mel Hall got 45 years in prison yesterday for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in Tarrant County, ending what one prosecutor described as "a reign of terror over girls."
I doubt this is any response to the Stallworth sentencing, but you know.
I remember watching Mel Hall play for the indians in the mid-80s. Too Bad.
I think his first mistake was going to Texas.

North Korea Qualifies for the 2010 World Cup

Buried amongst all of yesterday's news (the US Open, the missile capabilities of North Korea, Sammy Sosa, etc) was one story that is simply amazing:

North Korea secured its place at the 2010 World Cup!

The reason this excites me is that I find it fascinating for at least the following storylines:

1) What will Vegas's over-under be on the number of defections by North Koreans?
2) Will North Korea actually get drawn into the same group as the US?
3) Will Kim Jong-Il suit up and score a hat trick?
4) Will North Korea playing at the World Cup push them closer to peace, or will they react violently if the refs treat them poorly?

It's going to be very interesting, that is for sure!

Stallworth

While not completely sports related, I feel that the Donte Stallworth sentence is a topic that should be discussed. As you know, he got 30 days in jail with 8 years probation. Also, I think its fair to say that Roger Goddell will come down hard on him and probably suspend him for between 8 and 10 games (in my opinion). Also, as a lawyer who has done criminal defense work his whole career, 8 years of probation is not a joke. Even in the federal system, the most a person will get is 5 years.
That being said, this judgment is garbage and makes me sad to be a lawyer and disheartened to be a sports fan. Apparently, Stallworth struck a settlement with the victim's family and the Prosecution felt this was enough of a gesture to only give him 30 days for killing someone.
Essentially, the family put a price tag on their lost love one and the Prosecution agreed. To disect this, if Stallworth had gone to trial or not struck this specific deal and was sentenced to (for the sake of argument) 5 years in prison, the famiyl still would have sued him civilly. But, in jail and paying for lawyers, Stallworth (like vick) would have declared bankruptcy and the family would not have gotten much money. So, they let Stallworth walk so they could get paid. Very sad turn of events.
As a criminal defense lawyer, this appauls me greatly. I'm not going to get into the list of things my clients have done, but only a couple have involved killing someone and those guys are in jail for a LONG time. However, I have clients who I feel have done things that are a lot less awful than Stallworth. That is not to condone their actions, but I'm just saying what Stallworth did was worse, he took a life. Think about the messege this sends when he gets 30 days simply because he could pay off the victim's family. This is very upsetting.
Furthermore, if I take off my lawyer hat and put my sports-fan hat, I am also outraged. First of all, my Cleveland Browns now have another issue to deal with. But even bigger than that is the aura that now exists in professional sports. For the last few years, people like David Stern and Roger Godell have worked hard at trying to clean up the sport and deal with problem players to send a messege. I believe Goddell's attitude comes as a stark contrast to Bud Selig and the lax attitude in baseball. But, like him or not, Goddell has worked hard to try to get players to clean up their acts. In my opinion, Goddell has made a positive impact on football, and maybe even on sports as a whole so far, and his legacy will continue to grow as time goes on.
Now while Goddell will come down hard on Stallworth, this 30 day sentence makes Goddell's job harder. So, I am disheartened that this judgment will take the wind out of Goddell's sails and the progress that has been achieved in the NFL.
Well, that's my rant, time for me to try to get people out of jail. Take care,
Laz

Perceptions Are Reality

Well its lull time in the sports world. Its not quit offseason for the NBA (which will start up in earnest next week with the draft. we will have some sort of coverage about that next week), NFL is weeks away from Favre coming out of retirement (never underestimate the predictability of utter stupidity. nevermind the circus show that is Favre that makes TO look tame but why would anyone rely on Favre to win down the stretch of season. look at his 2nd half of the season #s the past 5 years) and even baseball enthuasists realize the real baseball action doesn't kick in for real until America's birthday so what does that leave us with? Not much.

That said here's an interesting piece making the internet rounds about non-conference strength of schedule. As I think we all agree upon here in BSD land, the Big 10's national reputation has taken it on the chin and we'd all like for it to improve. I realize this might be an assumption but let's go with it for a moment. The difficulty in the Big 10 overcoming this current perception is two-fold 1) the current pre-season ranking (which reflects the perception the Big 10 is weak) and 2) the lack of quality non-conference games. There's the USC game for OSU but outside of that it's Purdue at Oregon, Arizona at Iowa, Cal at Minnesota. Not much (and no I don't consider Notre Dame much - feel free to discuss why a Notre Dame win improves the Big 10 perception) As such it leaves very little wiggle room for the Big 10 to move up in the top 25 rankings without these non-conference wins (otherwise its Big East mediocores beating mediocores perception). Now whether its true or not perception in the land of polls is reality. Which means for the Big 10 to really move up in the rankings (any Big 10 team) OSU really will need to hold its own versus USC as no one else has big names on the radar this year......

Head Scratching

I'm trying not to make light out of what is a very serious situation in Iran but wouldn't Lakers paraphernalia be more apropos for riots?
----------------
A supporter of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi gestures during a rally (Getty)

NBA Offseason 2009: In Preparation for 2010

Here's my guide to the unpredictable 2009 NBA offseason. The reason I'm writing this after the Finals is that the draft is next week and free agency begins in two weeks. We will quickly see who has no intentions of competing this season and vice versa...

Notable Players From Teams That Are Near the Luxury Tax (high likelihood of being shopped and traded)
The following teams will be looking to move their high-priced players to get under the Luxury Tax. The luxury tax level in 2008-2009 was $71 million, but it may be dropping a few million this upcoming season. These teams are selected based off of my opinion of their team's chances for success and what little we know of the owner's penchant for spending extra. These teams are also good candidates for selling or trading their draft picks next week:

1) Charlotte - payroll of $56 million with only 11 under contract, this is an estimated number, as Felton and May need new contracts:
C Nazr Mohammed - $13 million, two years remaining; he hardly plays and has been completely ineffective the last few seasons. But he is 7 feet tall.
C DeSagna Diop - $26 million, 4 years remaining ($6 mill this year); he still is a leader in rebounds per 48 minutes. This is completely overpriced for a defender, but there are so few 7-footers around, that if money was no object, and I was in charge of the Cavaliers, I would seriously consider swapping Sasha for Diop, who could give 20 minutes on Dwight Howard (which is better than any of the minutes anyone on the Cavs can currently give).

2) Chicago - payroll of $62 million, with only 9 under contract:
PF Brad Miller - $12.2 million, one year remaining; he is old, but could be available
PG Kirk Hinrich - $27 million, 3 years remaining; has never really been the same the last few years; it's like he's 34 when he's only 28.

3) Golden State - payroll of $59 million, with only 10 under contract:
PG/SG Jamal Crawford - $19 million, 2 years remaining - I think this guy just breeds losing.
SF Corey Maggette - $40 million, 4 years remaining ($9 mill this year) - He's very athletic but he's also very moody.
SF/SG Stephen Jackson - $34 million, 4 years remaining (only $7.6 mill this year) - His shooting has been suspect of late, but he can still probably guard most other swingmen.
PF Ronny Turiaf - $12 million, 3 years remaining

4) Clippers- payroll of $56 mill, with only 10 under contract:
PF Zach Randolph - $33 million, 2 years remaining - He doesn't play defense and I pray the Cavs don't get him.
PG Baron Davis - $52 million, 4 years remaining ($12 this year) - The Clippers were all excited for getting Baron last year... and I'm sure they would jump at the chance to unload him this year.
C Chris Kaman - $33 million, 3 years remaining - Interesting case, where he is one year removed from a career season of 15.7 ppg, 2.8 blocks, 12.7 rebs. However, he's been injured a lot lately, so he's a big risk now.
C Marcus Camby - Required to list him. 1 year remaining at $7.6 million.

5) Milwaukee- Payroll of $60 mill, for only 9 players - Ramon Sessions and Charlie Villaneuva are free agents. Last year, they gave up Mo Williams. This year? Take your pick...
SG Michael Redd - $17 this year, $18 mill player option next year
SF Richard Jefferson - $29 mill, 2 years remaining
[plus PG Sessions and PF Villaneuva are free agents, so weird sign-and-trades could be involved]

6) New Orleans - They tried to move Tyson Chandler ($11 this year, $13 player option next year) at the trade deadline, but he failed his physical. I assume they will try again.
They also will probably try to move James Posey if I had to guess ($18, 3 years remaining)

7) Phoenix - Yes, Shaq at $20 mill is available. Jason Richardson ($27 mill, 2 years) and Barbosa ($21 mill, 3 years) are also probably available, not that anyone would want them.

8) Sacramento - It's public knowledge that the Maloofs are in financial straits, meaning that...
SG Kevin Martin - ($43 mill, 4 years; only $10 this year) - certainly available. Unclear if he's actually good or just posting big numbers on a bad team.

Notable Players that are Free Agents (I've ranked them by my own biases)
1) Orlando - SF Hedo Turkoglu - #1 free agent. Will command a lot of money.
2) Lakers - PF/SF Lamar Odom - good luck figuring out if he'll be consistent. No one, not even him, could tell you why.
3) Boston - PF - Glen Davis - should draw a lot of interest, but in my little understanding of the NBA, the Celtics can match any offer and go way over the cap because he has only played 2 seasons.
4) Houston - SF Ron Artest - If the Cavs are truly willing to do anything...
5) Lakers - SF/SG Trevor Ariza - I too couldn't believe this... he's only 24! He's a career 30% 3-point shooter who shot 32% this season... and then a sizzling 47% in the playoffs. That means he will probably make at least $6 million a year from someone.
6) NY - PG Nate Robinson - restricted FA, but is exciting to watch.
7) Philly - PG Andre Miller - but he's 32, and the draft has a thousand PGs this year. He probably won't be able to get too much as a result.
8) NY - F David Lee - most people probably have him higher, but I think he's just been posting monster numbers on a bad team.
9) Orlando - C Marcin Gortat - this could be a bargain for someone , given his size, and he played awesome against Dalembert in game 6 of the 1st round when Howard was suspended, as he helped the team to victory with 11 points, 15 rebs, and 4 steals.
10) Denver -PF - Chris Andersen - Supreme shot blocker and rebounder; not much of an offensive player though
11) Miami- PF Jamario Moon - Another solid defender, but will not be able to provide much offense.
12) PF - Leon Powe - Tore an ACL in May during the playoffs. Perhaps a January return? Problem is, Powe has a history of knee problems, so it is unclear what kind of money he will be getting or what he will be like when he returns this time.
13) Atlanta - PF/C - Zaza Pachulia - He is a pest but he does have size.

For those Cavalier fans... here are some scenarios as of now, assuming the Cavs go for broke:
The transactions all involve trading Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavolic, or even Zydrunas...

1) Money is no object; Character is no object -
Trade Sasha for DeSagana Diop ; work out a deal to have PF Charlie Villaneuva sign-and-traded for Ben Wallace; use $7 million in exemptions (mid-level and bi-annual) to sign either Ron Artest or Trevor Ariza.
2) Smaller names, but potential -
Use up to $7 million in exemptions to sign two of (C Gortat, PF Anderson, PF Moon); trade Ben Wallace for Richard Jefferson; trade Sasha for James Posey (from the Hornets)
3) Shaq-tastic -
Trade Sasha and Ben Wallace for Shaq; use up to $7 mill in exemptions for Trevor Ariza.
4) Trading Z (who is also an $11.5 mill expiring contract), Wallace, and Sasha! -
Trade Z for SG Kevin Martin (or for SF Gerald Wallace if the Bobcats don't start out well); Trade Ben Wallace for SF Richard Jefferson; Use up to $7 million in exemptions to sign two of (C Gortat, PF Anderson, PF Moon); trade Sasha for James Posey (from the Hornets).

A Message to Ozzie Guillen from the Back Seat Drivers

Go fuck yourself.

Any opinions

http://www.probasketballnews.com/story/?storyid=554

This story speculates that Cavs front office might want to get rid of Mike Brown and "upgrade" to a coach that can win. They are speculating that the Cavs could go after Pat Riley.
They also slam Brown's coaching style in the Magic series.

What are your thoughts? Any possiblity this will actually happen or is this just the sad (or sangry) rumors and ramblings of the Cleveland media?
Laz

Soccer: Confederations Cup Preview

I really do not have the expertise to give a full preview of the 2009 Confederations Cup, but I wanted to at least write a short preview.

Just to briefly explain, the Confederations Cup is now held once every 4 years based off of who is the current champion from each of the confederations. The Confederations are (with current champions listed in parentheses):
1) Africa (Egypt),
2) South America (Brazil),
3) Europe (Spain),
4) Asia (Iraq),
5) Oceania (i.e. New Zealand),
6) North and Central America (United States).

The 7th team is the host country for the Confederations Cup (this year it's South Africa), and the 8th team is the defending World Cup Champion (Italy), though in other years, if the World Cup Champion has already qualified, then its the runner-up or even the 3rd place team that receives the berth in the Confederations Cup.

This year's groups are completely lop-sided: there is an "easy" group of: South Africa, Iraq, New Zealand, and Spain. The other group is immensely difficult and has: USA, Italy, Brazil, Egypt.

While it does not appear that past winners of the Confederation Cup necessarily succeed in the World Cup, this tournament should demonstrate whether this latest USA team has the talent to compete on the same level as Italy and Brazil. One columnist on Yahoo! has stated that the US soccer coach is under some pressure, and has basically been playing it safe (as opposed to playing to win?) by playing an unorthodox 4-2-2-2 formation. If you want another pessimistic view of the US soccer team, just check out ESPN's columnist which basically details how the US is still playing older players, many of whom were not only on the 2006 team, but also on the 2002 World Cup team. Please note that in soccer, I am of the opinion that it's better when you have fresh talent and fresh legs out there for the most part unless you have a superstar who can still contribute (i.e. David Beckham, or in the US's case Claudio Reyna). In both 1994 and 2002, the US's two recent successes, they relied heavily on younger, sometimes even unknown players. Granted, one could say that those teams have young talent... and perhaps that's something that's missing from the current team (or at least the coach hasn't played enough of these players). Nonetheless, it should be interesting to see how team USA performs at the Confederations Cup against other solid teams.

The Confederations Cup starts June 14th with semifinals on June 24th and the finals on June 28th.

In other soccer news, I always find European qualifying for the World Cup extremely interesting - only because it's designed to be difficult and leave out many quality teams because there are only 13 bids. There are 9 "final" groups, where each 1st place team gets an automatic bid to the World Cup. The 8 best "2nd place" teams fight it out in an insane home-and-away aggregate winner-take-all format, taking place November 14th and November 18th. The 2nd place playoffs are conducted by lottery. Yowsers! This year's European final groupings, has an insane Denmark, Portugal, Sweden group (group 1). Both Portugal and Sweden are well behind the leader Denmark at this point. Group 5 also looks to be rather interesting with Spain well ahead, a surprising Bosnia in 2nd place, with Turkey AND Belgium in 3rd and 4th place.

In other news, North Korea and Saudi Arabia will be playing each other in a winner take all game this coming Sunday. The game is at Saudi Arabia. I think it will be a very interesting World Cup if North Korea is there. I wonder if there is a fear by the North Koreans of their players defecting to other countries, as happens to Cuba when they enter international competition???

Reality bites

I know that the Magic-Lakers series starts tonight. However, there is a little part of my brain that keeps trying to tell me that somehow the Cavs are going to end up in the Magic's place. Can't explain, just hopeful and wistful i guess. Reality sucks, see....

Mighty's Odd Crystal Ball and Other Random Predictions

Well it's an odd time to whip out ye old crystal ball but what the hey....why not. I'm short on ideas, material, and cheetos (the source of inspiration for all bloggers)



1. UF Gators will Return to the Mythical BCS Championship

In a truly WTF moment the fates have seemingly conspired to give the most loaded Champion since USC, the easiest road. Seriously, check out their schedule . Their only semi-tough game is a road trip to Death Valley (LSU). Non-Conference games against Troy? Charleston Southern (not even regular Charleston....Charleston Fucking Southern)? And remember Florida can absorb one loss somewhere along the way and still make it to the SEC Championship game which I believe has officially been designated the Mythical BCS semi-final game. I refuse to use the Crystal Ball to see if the slurping of Tebow reaches such a feverish pitch that it threatens the Space-Time continuum but go ahead and try.....short of Tebow being attacked by Ninja Man-Bats does anyone see UF losing more than 1 game?


2. UT will Not Make the BCS Championship Game

Yes there's hype, pomp, and circumstance behind Colt Mccoy and UT. They'll be home against semi-rival Texas Tech and the Big 12 typically is a two person conference anyways. However call the Crystal Ball crazy or what have you...but how often do the two expected teams at the start of the year end up playing at the end year? Not very often. So if Florida is shoe in...then Texas has to falter. Maybe USC will finally avoid losing to the Stanford Tough Grannies or Ok State and Dez Bryant (possible Heisman candidate they offer before giving it to the best QB in the BCS Championship game) will trip up UT in Stillwater (which is a real place according to Googlemaps) but they're going down.



3. Dwight Howard will Dominate the Finals



I should note at this point Dwight Howard has pushed himself into the category of Mighty's Most Hated NBA Player. He's an idiot, he cheats, and above all he's dirty. Its like watching Karl Malone's Swinging Elbow Show all over again. Personally I hope he has to retire due to case of hemorraghic fever of the anus. Which means he will excel. He'll dominate. He'll foul out Andrew Bynum. He'll bite off Paul Gasol's ear. He'll dunk on Phil Jackson (I'm not sure how but he will). I'll be forced to watch stupid Vitamin Water Commercials with him wrestling a Giant Gila Monster. There will be no end to my suffering. So it'll be me and Rupert trying to cope.

4. Bobby Bowden Will Retire

Its been a long time coming but with the NCAA about to finalize the voiding of several seasons of FSU/Bowden wins, Bowden will be unable to catch JoePa's all time wins record. He might wait out the year to prove that he hasn't been stealing the souls of Mayan Warriors for the sole purpose of staving off death so he could catch JoePa. But once the NCAA makes it final, the sun will finally set on the crazy old man from FSU.

Dwight Howard: Idiot

God, you have no idea how much I can’t stand bullshit like this. Look, I understand that players have to say what we (the adoring public) want to hear. I understand that athletes’ contract negotiations play out in public and that there’s a public relations strategy that goes along with that. But after 30+ years of free agency we’re all at the point where we’re smart enough to know better and we’re experienced enough to be able to cut through the bullshit. We don’t need to be spoken to like we’re idiotic children.

Dwight Howard will not make any decisions about his future based on what Orland Magic fans want. He won’t decide to stay or go based on any “love” he feels in “the community.” He will base his decision on the financial parameters of the contract he is offered and that’s that. That’s true of every athlete, incidentally.

I’m not one that begrudges an athlete his financial reward. Hell, I’m not even the type that gets offended if an athlete transparently makes a money grab. It’s a business and these guys have every right to earn a living. I know I’d go after every dollar I could get so I don’t have a problem with them doing the same thing.

Be honest, Dwight. Tell the people that you want to stay in Orlando as long as the franchise shows you the appropriate level of commitment.

Incidentally, why is Howard even talking about the future when he has three years left on his current contract without the benefit of an opt-out clause? If saying “it’s not about the money” is your PR strategy, why would you be talking about your impending free agency this far in advance? You only talk about money and contracts this far in advance if you want more money. The people of Orlando weren’t thinking about Howard’s free agency at all…until this very moment. That’s as bad a PR strategy as I’ve ever seen.

5th Annual NBA Finals Preview

Editor's Note: Obviously, I'm upset about the Cavs losing. However, I have to be professional about this which is why I'm still writing a NBA Finals preview, despite the fact that for the second year in a row, I dislike both teams involved.

Just as a recap, in 2005, my NBA Finals Preview used Star Wars quotes. In 2006, I used Indiana Jones quotes. In 2007, I used Back to the Future quotes. In 2008, I used Aliens vs. Predators quotes from both AVP1 and AVP2 (because I hated both teams and because there were hardly enough quotes from any AVP movie worthy of a blog entry.). Without further adieu, it is time to analyze the classic NBA finals matchup that is before us.

For the record, out of ESPN's "experts" - 11 out of 12 have the Lakers winning. However, I have to say that I am positive that the Magic will win, for whatever that is worth. This playoffs reminds me in some ways of the 2004 season, when everyone expected the Lakers to destroy the Pistons. In honor of the year 2004, I will be providing analysis with quotes from: Dodgeball - A True Underdog Story, provided to us by imdb.com !

1. White Goodman: Go ahead, make your jokes, Mr. Jokey... Joke-maker. But let me hit you with some knowledge. Quit now. Save yourself the embarrassment of losing with these losers in Las Vegas, La Fleur.
Peter La Fleur: Alliteration aside, I'll take my chances in the tournament.
White Goodman: Yeah, you will take your chances.
Peter La Fleur: I know. I just said that.
White Goodman: I know you just said that.

I think if Kobe Bryant was going to call Dwight Howard before the NBA Finals, this is how it would go, with Kobe making White Goodman's lines. The Lakers act like and fully believe they are the team to beat. To be honest, I'm not sure why. Let's look back at their matchups during the season:

Orlando actually swept the season series from the Lakers. They played in December in Orlando. Jameer Nelson played in this game and scored 27 points but somehow, Derek Fisher also scored 27. Most interesting was that Bynum collected 5 fouls, played only 11 minutes, and the rebounding was even between the two teams. This game took place before Courtney Lee was in the rotation, and Keith Bogans played a substantial amount of time, probably resulting in Kobe getting 41 points.

In January in LA, Courtney Lee played 25 minutes and Kobe was only 10 of 26 from the field, and this was when Pietrus was out. Orlando destroyed the Lakers on the glass, getting 54 rebounds to the Lakers' 40. Nelson played out of his mind and again was the leading Magic scorer with 28 points including 15 in the 4th.

Of course, there are some major changes in the lineups for Orlando - Alston is playing instead of Nelson (a downgrade) and Lee and Pietrus are combining to put up amazing numbers at SG while playing tremendous defense (an upgrade). The Lakers are missing Radmonovic from the 2nd game but now have Shannon Brown. If anything, this will make the Lakers worse since Radmonovic was tall enough to guard Turkoglu whereas Shannon Brown certainly is not tall enough for that task.

2. "Nobody makes me bleed my own blood - nobody!"

This is what Bynum, Odom, and Gasol are going to be saying after Howard starts working them over. Howard is a dirty player who does moving picks, "accidentally" swings his arms around up high, and walks around with his elbows up high. In the end though, all dirtiness aside, no one on the Lakers can guard Howard. Gasol's too weak, Bynum will foul out, and I don't see how Odom can handle this challenge. Thus, the Lakers will either get destroyed on the inside by Howard, or will be forced to rotate all around after double teams are initiated (as the Cavs did to a relatively poor degree). I don't believe this stategy will work, as it seems like an easier path to victory is having a big man that can keep Howard out of the paint (i.e. Kendrick Perkins). The Lakers don't have that.

3. It's time to separate the wheat from the chaff, the men from the boys, the awkwardly feminine from the possibly Canadian.

As alluded to earlier as an "upgrade", I think Courtney Lee is an amazing defender and a sophisticated, gritty scorer. Pietrus has shown to be a good 3-point shooter and is also a great defender, even if he gets in foul trouble. Lee & Pietrus will enable the Magic to take care of Kobe at a relatively decent level (i.e. hold him below his average). The game then could come down to Lewis guarding Pau Gasol. Gasol did not take many shots in either game during the season, so again, I think the edge goes to the Magic. I believe Odom vs. Turkoglu (or Ariza vs. Turkoglu?) will be rather even. This means that the Magic will have the upper hand at a number of positions. While Rafer Alston is a downgrade from Nelson, I believe the upgrade will make up for Nelson's loss, as it has throughout the postseason. The Magic could have an advantage at 3 or maybe even 4 positions (forward, SF, center, and point guard).

4. Yeah, that's me, taking the bull by the horns. It's how I handle business. It's a metaphor.

Dwight Howard has esentially done this in the Cavs series. He started nailing hook shots and free throws - which is what he failed to do against Boston and throughout most of his career. Howard's dominance will result in the continuation of the Magic's run through the playoffs, which after beating the Lakers will mean that they will end up completing the amazing task of beating the other 3 contenders this postseason (Boston, Cleveland, and the Lakers).

5. "Necessary? Is it necessary for me to drink my own urine?"

The Lakers will have to rotate around very fast if they double on Howard. They will have to do whatever is necessary to limit Howard's effectiveness. I just don't believe it will happen. The Magic should be able to relatively limit Kobe, dominate the boards, dominate at center, and have enough of an advantage with Lewis and Turkoglu to win this.

6. "Here at Globo Gym we're better than you, and we know it. "

Phil Jackson and Kobe saying this repeatedly after losing one game, two games, or three games, won't do anything to change the outcome.

7. Last I heard, my gym makes money. Yours doesn't. My gym's worth over $4 million. Your gym isn't worth four. I have shareholders. You haven't even got cup holders.

It's time for some cosmic payback. Shaq left the Orlando Magic in the '90s after an NBA Finals loss to sign with the Lakers. The Lakers went on to win three championships with Shaq and all Orlando had was what was left of Penny Hardaway's knee. Well, be prepared Lakers, because your gym may be worth more than the Orlando Magic's, but the Magic fans have revenge on their mind!

8. "Prepare to be humiliated on cable television! "

This is what Orlando will be saying to the Lakers after they win one game and realize that their championship is inevitable.
Prediction: Orlando in 6

Del Harris Retiring

Here at the BSD we just wanted to wish happy retirement to Del Harris . Harris over the course of 50 years, coached three different NBA teams, 1 collegiate team, an ABA team, a team in the Puerto Rican league, and Chinese National Basketball Team. He also served as an assistant for the Bulls, US National Team, Team Canada, and a slew of others. Also at one point he saved the Queen of England and sang the national anthem. He will be missed.

A Cleveland win is a win for America

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/nation_refuses_to_get_to?utm_source=a-section

The onion has a fascinating in-depth hard-hitting piece on how America rejects Turkoglu. I think this speaks volumes about the Cavs-Magic series. Clearly, a win for Orlando is bad for America and is basically a chance to let the Terrorists win. If Cleveland loses, its the equivalent of wrapping a fetus in an burnt American flag.
Cleveland is the epitome of Americana, and the whole country should stand behind the city!!! Any chance this patriotic dribble will influence this series?
And for those of you who are ready to point out that Ilguaskas, Varajao, and Pavolic are not from this country, I call you communists. Also, any one who says Delonte West can't speak english.......well, i cant argue with that.

Go Cavs and Go America!
Laz

Coffee Talk

I'm a little verklempt from tonight's Blackhawks' loss. I'll give you a topic:

Red Wings fans are more obnoxious, and have a bigger superiority complex, than those of any other team in professional American sports.

Discuss.

Kicking Cleveland when it's down

As if we couldn't feel any worse today about the loss last night, the NBA managed pour salt on our wounds:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4210088

Sad Clowns in Cleveland

Well readers, it's that time of the season where the die-hard cleveland fan whines about how "its never gonna happen" and this season is another chapter in the disappointing saga of the life as a cleveland fan. I am hovering in an emotion that is 50% sad and 50% angry, I call it "sangry".

Well, I'm sangry as all hell. Part of me wants to decry the refs for game 3 and say how bad we got screwed, part of me wants to bunch every player on Orlando in the mouth for being a cocky son of a bitch, and part of me wants to inject every non-Lebron Cavs players with enough performance enhancing drugs so that we score points in the next game. But here's the reality, we are getting outplayed and outcoached. Orlando made 17 3s last night! 17! Thats crazy, and Cleveland hasn't made the adjustments all series to match them defensively. Cleveland's system has broken down on defense and its effecting their offense as well.

It is a sad turn of events to see Ron Jeremy completely dismantle the Cavs, but its happening. I feel like there is life left in this Cavs team, it's not over, they can win 3 games in a row. I mean, they lost one at home, and based on the fact that they only lost 3 games all season at the Q, the odds are high that they can win games 5 and 7. So, it all comes down to taking one in Orlando.

Believe me, they have the tools, they just need to learn how to use them. It's like that scene in Swingers, they are all telling Mikey that he has the claws and the fangs, and he's looking at the rabbit and doesn't know what to do. Well, this Cavs team has claws and fangs, for gods sake, they won 66 games. But right now they are just petting the bunny, and the bunny keeps shooting three pointers. Okay, I messed up the analogy, but whatever.

Well, on to game 5, where the comeback starts. Oh yeah, I'm going to game 5, see y'all on TV.

Dwight Howard - Always Committing a Three Second Violation

I found a very interestingway to watch the basketball game last night. No matter whether you are a Cavs fan, a Lakers fan, a Celtics fan, a Knicks fan, or a Bulls fan... it's watching Dwight Howard commit defensive 3-second violation after 3-second violation!

"one one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand... four one-thousand... ten one-thousand"

Howard is literally camped out in the lane to prevent LeBron and the guards from driving the lane... and this is a direct violation of the rules. The actual language of the rule is quite lengthy, but I counted at least 10 violations for Howard last night, and I wasn't even trying to count his OFFENSIVE three seconds violations.

There was one possession when Howard sat in the lane for the entire possession of the Cavs without even coming withing 5 feet of any defenders. This is not the reason the Cavs lost, but I wish the refs would at least enforce this rule which really isn't that subjective (in comparison to blocking and charging fouls). I also wish they would call Howard for his moving picks, and dirty picks where he throws elbows.

Dear Cavs - Win or Else Someone is Going to Explode

Dear Cavs,

Please win game 2. If not, this guy is going to literally explode. For the safety of everyone, please win.

Thank you.

-The fans

Note: Picture courtesy of Plain Dealer

Knee-Jerk Reactions: Post-Game 1 of both Conference Finals

Nuggets-Lakers - The hope that the Nuggets frontcourt (Nene, Kenyon Martin, and Chris "Bird Man" Anderson) could outmuscle the Lakers frontcourt (Gasol, Bynum, Odom) is already over in my opinion. The Lakers were still able to push the Nuggets around, and outrebound them by a very healthy margin in game 1. The only reason the Nuggets stayed in the game is because Carmelo was on fire and the Nuggets were shooting very well. The Nuggets would have to shoot that well each night to have a chance. Long odds of that happening. However, one big area of improvement is available for the Nuggets: Coach George Karl. I have literally no idea what Anthony Carter was doing out there for the Nuggets. Yes, JR Smith was having an off-night. But Anthony Carter is a 6'2" PG. Why were the Nuggets playing 2 PGs deep in the 4th quarter? They also had Kleiza and Dohntay Jones available. I don't get it. Anthony Carter botched multiple plays, aside from the obvious awful inbounds pass that got stolen.

Knee-jerk prediction: Lakers in 6

Cavs-Magic: I am full of anger and sadness. I try to avoid writing about my own teams, but it is unavoidable in this situation. To state the defensive problems of the Cavs, here's an excerpt from Brian Windhorst, the Cavs beat writer:

It has been said often, and correctly, that the Magic are a "pick your poison" team. Well, you can't take both doses of poison and survive. The Cavs decided to let Dwight Howard go in this game and pinch the other guys instead. It worked well for awhile, LeBron James totally flustered Rafer Alston guarding him, Delonte West did a nice job on Hedo Turkoglu with help from frequent double teams and Rashard Lewis was sucked into playing 1-on-1 basketball. Sure, Dwight Howard was making a mockery of Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Ben Wallace and they weren't fouling him and letting him get great post position and allowing points in the paint like they were the Golden State Warriors. But the Cavs were up 15 in doing so because that was it Howard or bust.
Then when things got tight the Cavs abandoned that plan and went back to denying Howard with double teams. That's when Turkoglu, who was flat out great in running high pick-and-roll in the fourth quarter, and Lewis started killing them. Do you know what you call that sort of violent switching the game plan? Did someone say panic? Well it may not have been panic but in comparing it to how they played all year long it looked like it.

-Brian Windhorst, Cavaliers Reporter, The Plain Dealer

So... what are the Cavs options? If anyone saw the game, only Z had little to moderate success at keeping Howard out of the lane on his own. Even then, I'm being optimistic. Wallace's bad back means he shouldn't be playing. He was terrible. Varejao and Joe Smith were also unable to do much, and that was with the refs ignoring a lot of fouls that I saw. Thus, there is no one on the Cavs that can keep Howard out of the lane (unlike the Celtics who had Perkins to do that job). Thus, the Cavs kept sending help from the PF position... which resulted in Rashard Lewis being open, which resulted in Rashard Lewis shooting 70% from the field, including the game-winner (which was without Howard in the game due to fouling out.
Here is my brainstorming of ideas:
1) Complicated rotation arrangement such that Lewis is never left open and the next closest player (either Mo, Delonte, or preferably LeBron) rotates to Lewis when Lewis's man leaves
2) Playing the following insane lineup (where LeBron and Varejao switch)
PF - LeBron vs. Lewis
SF - Varejao vs. Turkoglu
C - Z vs. Howard
SG - Delonte vs. Lee
PG - Mo vs. Alston
Maybe LeBron can move fast enough to cover Howard AND Lewis?
3) Playing the following even more insane lineup:
PF - LeBron vs. Lewis
SF - Delonte vs. Turkoglu
C - (Z or Varejao) vs. Howard
SG - (Sasha or T. Kinsey) vs. Lee
PG - Mo vs. Alston
This puts the fastest players on the court, aside from when Z is in. Delonte did well on Turkoglu last night, relatively speaking, despite giving up a lot of inches.

That's all I got. I'm angry. Not typing anymore. Hoping the cavs can still win in 7, but feeling very skeptical now.

Bring it Orlando

I am extremely pumped for this Magic-Cavs series. I am truly scared of the power of Howard, but I am excited for all the other matchups. However, its hard to take the Magic seriously with this face at their helm.

A Mighty NBA Conference Finals Preview

Conference Finals time. No Cupcakes. No Mercy. All the series are expected to be hard fought, close matches. So what are the keys to both?

Lakers v. Nuggets
1. Bynum in Cross Hairs
Scanning through the all of the previews the biggest mystery seems to be Andrew Bynum. When he's playing well he gives LA a needed interior defensive presence, dominates the interior offensively and frees up Gasol. When he's off he's somewhere between a non-entity and a foul machine.

2. Guarding Kobe
For those that have forgotten LA swept Denver in last year's playoffs. One of the main reason's was a complete and total lack of anyone that can guard Kobe. Nobody. They were throwing Martin and some fan from seat 3B at one point. Now Kobe hasn't exploded for a giant point output in awhile but given his free reign it'll be a mega-bust for the Lakers if he doesn't.

3. Melo Time to Shine
Somewhere along the way Carmelo Anthony seems to have fallen to second tier among the games young superstars. D-Wade, Lebron, heck Chris Paul have all had their playoffs moments...but not Carmelo. The equalizer to Kobe's offense is Melo's offense. Can he rekindle his NCAA glory days and put the Nuggets on his back? Can Melo put himself on (back?) the NBA superstar watch list?

Mighty Prediction: Lakers in 7

Cavs v. Magic
1. Z's Outside Shot/Lebron's Points in the Paint
These two issues are more inter-related than one would realize. When the L-Train penetrates the Cavs offense is nearly unstoppable and when he fails...it stalls out pretty bad. The interior of Orlando's D is manned by Dwight Howard...probably the one defensive force left in the playoffs that can counter Lebron. HOWEVER if Big Z can hit the outside shot, Howard will be forced away from the basket, and thereby leaving Orlando wide open to King James slash attack (which I believe is BBBABA)

2. Rafer Madness
Rafer Alston has done a yeoman's job in replacing all-star Jameer Nelson at the point. In Game 7 against the Celtics he hit the 3s and caused dribble penetration. With Alston hitting the 3, Orlando has 4 legitimate 3 point shooters - basically dooming any defensive efforts. Will Alston play the the part of random Cleveland Dream killer?

3. Superman at the Foul line?
To beat Orlando, Howard needs to limited by a single guy, Orlando needs to be cold from the offensive , or the Cavs have to put together the greatest defensive speed rotation seen to man. The most likely of these scenarios for Cavs success is keeping Howard away from the blocks with one man. The Cavs have waves of big bodies to foul Howard and if Cavs hit the panic button it might be Hack a Howard to the rescue


Mighty Prediction: Cavs in 7


**Added Bonus
To give a little love to the NHL.....
I'm (sadly) picking the Red Wings over Blackhawks. The Red Wings have too much experience and simply seem unstoppable this postseason. It'll be an important lesson for the Blackhawks to learn but as the Bulls learned sometimes experience is too much to overcome.

I'll also go with the Penguins over Hurricanes. Pittsburgh young team is experienced and clicking and hopefully a Stanley Cup rematch against the Red Wings will result in the Trophy being back in Super Mario's hands again.

Random Strands for Monday Musings

Lakers Mystery Theater
While the reality finally hit as the Lakers dispatched the Rockets with relative ease....in Game 7...I'm left with a lot of questions about the Lakers . On paper there was no reason the series should have even been competitive. Yet here we were ....7 games. Why? Was it a question of the Lakers falling asleep at the switch and only trying when the Rockets threatened? Was it simply a uniquely bad matchup with a super speedy Brooks and a two headed monster of Artest/Battier on Kobe? Was Phil Jackson exposed as not the Zen Master thru his sticking with Fisher and other mishaps? Or is it simply a blip on the Lakers run to topping last year? Its rather a cop out but how the Lakers end the season will ultimately determine which interpretation will be deemed the "right one"



Celtics v. Magic
It's coventional wisdom in Cleveland that Orlando would be the tougher matchup for the Cavs. A tall big lineup full of 3 point shooters is exactly the wrong type of team for the Cavs to matchup on. Boston would provide worn down veterans that are rely on penetratio for success. All Boston had to do was win one more game in Boston. But they couldn't manage that. The Celtics engine ran dry somewhere around the 3rd quarter of Game 6 and simply was no match for the Magic in Game 7. While the plus side of the Celtics being eliminated is that we will finally figure outwhats actually wrong with KG, the downside is the Cavs face the Magic. Thanks a lot Celtics. Fuck you!

Other Random Monday Thoughts

• I'm actually enjoying the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Wings v. Hawks have the great theme of the proven champions versus the hungry new faces (hmm haven't we seen this story line before with Bulls v. Celtics). Hopefully this time the young guns trump experience

• One of the unfortunate necessities of the 24-7-365 sports world is the ubiquitous rankings. The latest and obviously completely accourate (he said with snark) ranking of College Football is out on ESPN, SI, and Bob's Big Blog of Knowledge. While these rankings actually matter in that they'll influence the preseason rankings which in turn will affect the ability to move up the ranking. However here's a few teams from the usual suspects that will bear watching....

Ole Miss - That team that beat Florida last year is back with arguably the best pro QB prospect in the land (Sam Snead)

V-Tech - While the Big 10 is crapped on in the land, the ACC isn't even given the time of day to be crapped on. That could change as V-Tech has the two of the higher profile non-BCS schedules in the land with games against Alabama (in Atlanta) and against Nebraska. Victories over an SEC and Big 12 teams with name recognition could result in the Hokies jumping in the Mythical BCS chase

Oregon - Somehow put on its schedule the top mid-major teams of Boise State and Utah. Add in a home game against USC and Oregon could leverage the high profile games to Championship contender status.

No Love for the NL Central

I was talking a little bit to Mighty and I came up with the fact that I have a little rant inside of me. I was looking at the standings in the NL Central and there are four teams that are just about tied for 1st place. I know the same argument about how ESPN and other major sports centers focus on where they have the majority of fans. I understand that. But come on this is looking to be a great duel off in the NL Central. I think that baseball has generally not been covered all that much at all. Maybe that is because I am in the land of the NL West but it seems like we are fixated on A-rod and Manny to totally overlook what is actually going on in baseball. Did anyone know that the Rangers are 20-14 and leading the AL West. Or that Doc Halladay has been incredible in leading the AL East leading Blue Jays to victory. The Reds have a 22 year old that is off to a tear in HRs, a guy that is leading the NL in batting (not seen since Hal Morris came up to the plate, and yes this is a joke), the saves leader and Geez, Bronson Arroyo has 5 wins so far!!!! There really hasn't been anything about how the Royals are actually playing decent baseball. I think that the media needs to actually focus on some of the great stories that are happening in baseball vs. wondering what Manny's testesterone level is or if A-rod had Fiber One this morning for breakfast to help him with the constipation from all the painkillers he probably had to take from his surgery. I am looking at the "news" stories right now on ESPN and the stories are "Ripken Seeks Answers from A-rod on Drug Use", "Rose Says A-Rod Deserves to be in the HOF, "The Latest on Manny", "Dodgers Get In Person Apology from Manny", "Did Manny Parlay Steroids into the Dodgers Deal", "A-rod's Path To Redemption", and an article about a former Red Sox who unfortunately is an alcoholic. Wake up and actually watch some of the games that are going on around you. I might be just blind of the coverage but I really am not seeing it.

NBA Playoffs - No Regard for Human Life

With a co-worker, I stumbled upon a video on Youtube that I thought was unique to LeBron James. If this video doesn't get you pumped for the NBA Playoffs, I don't know what will.


If you couldn't watch the video, the announcer, Kevin Harlan, screams out that "LeBron James... with no regard for human life!!" This is from the Cavs-Boston 2008 Playoff series. It's such a preposterous quote that I thought it was unique to LeBron James. I was wrong. Apparently, it's this announcer's attempt at creating a tagline.

Here's a video of Kobe "with no regard for human life!"

The more I watch the videos, the more I like the tagline actually. I guess this is somehow more PC than saying, "LeBron just KILLED EVERYONE!" I was trying to think of other situations where saying "no regard for human life" could work, but it seems rather unlikely, as it sounds like you are trying to just hurt the other person. Maybe it would work well as a substitute for saying "checkmate" in Chess, though you may sound a bit cocky.

Anyway, here are some of my thoughts on the NBA Playoffs thus far:
1) I'm writing this as the Lakers are up 19 points in the 1st half against the Rockets. Phil Jackson has already played Jordan Farmar as much as Derrick Fisher. The Farmer minutes have been much better for the Lakers. The reason I am writing on this is because Fisher is too slow to keep up with Houston's quick PG Aaron Brooks. Fisher put up a preposterous, team-worst, -27 in only 19 minutes in game 4... the lesson is that Fisher's suspension for Game 3 (which the Lakers dominated) was actually a blessing. At least the whole league now knows the Lakers weakness (quick PGs). Of the remaining teams though, only Boston (Rondo) would qualify in my mind for exploiting that weakness. Of course, the Lakers still have to take care of business.
2) The Nuggets are certainly playing well, as they are up 3-1 against Dallas. However, I'm reluctant to jump on their bandwagon since they played an injured Hornets team and Dallas has had Josh Howard in and out of the lineup. Granted, I can see how their strengths (big-men, Carmelo, Billups) could result in a Finals-appearance, but I'm not sold yet.
3) I kept thinking Boston would be an easy elimination without KG and Powe. The Celtics, who are now up 3 games to 2, are still very tough even without the big men. Big Baby Davis has been incredible (even w/o that buzzer beater in Game 4). It will be interesting to see who survives the Celtics-Magic series. I still am of the opinion that the Cavs have the most trouble with the Magic, but Boston will not be easy to eliminate, as I originally believed when Powe & KG went down with injuries.

Muppet Lebron

latest Nike Chalk commercial.....

Monday Morning Thoughts

It was a weekend of beat downs in the NBA, so who had the big ones?

1. Lebron simply beat the snot of the Hawks on Saturday. I'm pretty sure on Saturday Lebron was 7 feet tall and consumed the Hawks with lightning bolts from his ass. Coach of the Hawks, Mike Woodson, was reduced to stammering and sighing as by the fourth quarter his team had thrown in the towel, raised the white flag, and assumed the position of obedience. It was the best performance of the 2009 playoffs from the league MVP that has scored 108 points in 108 minutes. The Cavs competition to date has been light and the Cavs struggled mightily against whoever their next foe is in the regular season but at the moment its stream roll city.

2. #2 on the Beat down list is Dallas. First apparently Dirk's girlfriend gets arrested for international espionage (note might have been a different crime) and then the refs apparently ate their whistle in the waning seconds of the game to seal a Denver 3-0 lead. Denver with the Bird Man, Nene, and Kenyan Martin seem to have the size to compete with anyone at the moment. Its not often that the #2 team in conference was under-rated - but its looking like thats the case with the Nuggets.

3. Lakers - yes they Lakers blew game 5 but without Yao Houston efforts ultimately seemed doomed. I'm not sure what the Lakers' problem is. Boredom? Soft in the middle? Aging back court? Zen Master losing his touch? I don't have the first clue. But they will win the series. Its just going to take a few more games.

4. Orlando/Boston - No beat downs here. Or at least consistent. Orlando certainly seemed to have the series in hand until it let GLEN DAVIS to make this an extended series. Is Game 5 in Boston a must win for the Celtics? I dunno. Good thing I get paid for that kind of crack analysis

On Steroids

(I originally penned this in a private email to MJ, and then thought to put it here. As has been discussed publicly on this blog before, MJ and I have divergent reactions to the whole steroid scandal. Rather than just debate it with him on email until we're (a) blue in the face, and (b) cursing the other for not agreeing with our strongly-held positions...I thought I'd open it up here. MJ and I are probably the biggest baseball fans on this blog, and so maybe our views aren't representative of the general sports-following populace.)



I think how one reacts to the steroid scandal depends on answers to the following questions:

1. Is it ok for an athlete to take - for lack of a better term - "unnatural" products that artifically boost their ability to compete in their sport?

- If the answer is no, we stop here. The fan who thinks that steroids are ok in a vacuum will obviously not care about this issue in any capacity, except to get upset about the fact that it is an issue.

- if the answer is yes, we move on.

2. Is the steroid-taking athlete excused from culpability because the use of steroids was (or is) widespread?

- This is the meat of the issue for MJ, I think. It's the "if everyone else was doing it, why can't I?" defense. But it also reflects a question about the impact of a player's use on the game in general, i.e. if stats were inflated across the board, and if the foundation of the game for 10 or 15 years was in part reliant upon steroids, then the playing field was more or less evened by the widespread use.

3. Whatever the answer to #2, is the use of steroids a problem because of the statistical-historical impact on baseball?

- Those who say "no" often argue that players throughout history have sought illegal edges, and that we don't know what guys in past generations might have been taking, so we can't assume that they were clean and that it's only current players who are dirty.

- Those who say yes respond to the opposing argument generally with the notion that - unlike this era - there is not evidence to support widespread cheatng in past eras, and so it is unfair to assume that the sins of today are equivalent to the sins of yesterday.

4. Is the use of steroids excused because of management complicity?

- I don't know anyone who argues this outright, but many argue that players cannot be solely blamed for the steroid scandal. In any event, once you get to this question, you've already concluded that steroids is an issue and that someone must take the blame.

Manny in trouble

In case you haven't seen:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4148907

Manny Ramirez has been suspended 50 games for use of a banned substance, which the report is saying was not steroids.

I think its a little karma-esque, since I heard reports all morning how awesome the Dodgers are because they are 13-0 at home, and then a few hours later, this happens.

My Experience At Safeco Field

This past weekend I went to my in-laws' retirement ceremony up in Seattle. Since, Sunday was my birthday, I decided to get tickets to see the Mariners play at Safeco. Here are my observations and a couple of pictures from the occasion.

We got to the ball park in the middle of the 1st inning After

taking the exit off the freeway, we meandered through a warehouse district to the stadium. We crossed railroad tracks and passed the Starbucks world headquarters on our way to Safeco. This was actually quite a daunting drive through the bowels of warehouse land of Seattle. We parked i

n the parking lot right across from the stadium which was also a parking lo

t for Qwest Field (where the Seahawks play). A forewarning to those people used to traveling. If you order a full size car from Hertz, stick with the full si

ze car, dont go with the upgrade to the premium. We ended up getting a Mercury Grand Marquis tha

t was the size of the Edmund Fitzgerald. This made parking quite interesting.

We walked into the stadium and a bar looking place that was right next to

the bullpen.

You could just stand and look down the center field area. We were hungry so we decided to sample the local fare. Both of us went to the pub that was right next to the

bullpen and ordered this behemoth spicy italian sausage that was toppe

d with bbq pork. I had twice the desire to get swine flu with this amazing amount of pork. To add to this great food, I decided to be Northwestern and get an Alaskan Ale. I do have to say this

this b

eer is quite tasty. The guy who was serving me the beer noticed that it was my birthday and said that if I brought the cup back he would refill it all night...ok I liked the Northwestern hospitality. My wife and I just decided to stay in the bullp

en bar area because we would be getting free Alaskan Ale. Of course we could not ask for autographs, but this guy was trying to raise a stink with John Wetteland. Yes, I am sure that MJ would be happy about his former closer being the bullpen coach o

f the Mariners.

I went to further my gastronomical endeavor wit

h an order of garlic fries that seemed to be at every food place. They served a full pound of french fries that had fresh garlic on top of it. i do have to say that it was quite tasty especially with another free Alaskan Ale.

My experience at the ball park was ok. I was

n't really awed by the atmosphere. The park seeme

d to be randomly placed on a train track in a warehouse district of Seattle. I would think it would be better if it was actually on the Puget Sound, but I guess Nintendo couldn't get land there. All in all, it was an ok experience. I appreciated the birthday beers and the tasty treats but the ambience of the ballpark did not thrill me. I would have to say this park is behind Camden Yards, Coors Field, Comerica, Great American and any of the "newer" parks I have been to.

NBA 2nd Round Predictions

With Atlanta's vanquishing of the Heat the NBA moves on to the 2nd round or I suppose what should be considered the quarterfinals. 4 Series, 8 teams, up to 7 games spread out of the next 9 weeks or whatever it is. Anyway here's a few points I found interesting from the series

Cavs v. Hawks
For a second consecutive series the Hawks showed played with outstanding putridity. No different than last year's Boston 7 game series, the Hawks this year sometimes showed up, played D and therefore dominated the Miami Dwayne Wades. However for 3 games they simply decided not to try and therefore got blown out. Will Atlanta actually stay focused and play D every game? Magic Eight ball says unlikely. Keep an eye on Al Horford's gimpy ankle.
Cavs in 5

Celtics v. Magic
Fatigue and injuries are probably the theme of this series. The Magic are down Jameer Nelson and now Courtney Lee. Turkoglu isn't himself. On the other hand the Celtics are down to only 3 Big Men and all their stars averaged 40 minutes+ a game given the number of OTs. Fatigue has to be creeping into the aging stars. Can Allan and Pierce someone up the energy for another dramatic series? Magic Eight ball says....no

Orlando in 6

Nuggets v. Mavs
Both of those teams breezed into the second round. Whether this was because of inferior competition or the teams finally put it together remains to be seen. The key matchup in this series is Martin and Anderson's D on Dirk. Dirk needs to have a super human series for the Mavs to advance especially with Howard at less than 100%.

Nuggets in 6

Lakers v. Rockets
Oddly enough I think of all teams out West the Rockets matchup best with the predicted Western Conference Champs. Defense on big men isn't exactly the Lakers forte and the Rockets have multiple people they can throw at Kobe. My eyes are on Adelman v. Jackson as they rekindle their hate-hate relationship for Kings v. Lakers series gone by. I also wonder if the refs will make sure the Lakers win this series also.

Lakers in 6

Happy May Day!

As part of BSD solidarity with the international workers of the world as well as its enjoyment of dancing around in circles C&J is canceled for today.

Consider this an open thread with possible topics: 1) Bulls v. Celtics - super awesome series or serious hazard due to its coronary risks (I think I almost blew a fuse when Noah dunked the ball over Pierce) 2) Ron Artest leads a team to victory (really? what?) 3) Crosby v. Ovechkin Fight to the Death (apparently Pittsburgh and DC hate each other...who knew?)