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May 29, 2009

NBA Draft: Who Goes Where? Who Cares?

I watched the NBA draft lottery two weeks ago and laughed. I laughed at the whole format of the draft lottery with random acquaintances of each and every organization who weren't quite good enough to reach the round of 16 sit in a single file row similar to my high school physics class, holding every sort of superstitious object that would surely gain them the ultimately desired number one pick in the upcoming draft.

I laughed at the Los Angeles Clippers, who won the draft lottery on May 19th, and will inevitably screw it up again, like usual. I laughed at the art of drawing lottery balls as if the people involved are playing some sort of NBA bingo in the TNT studio. And finally, I laughed as the so-called NBA experts immediately put up their personal mock drafts 10 minutes after the order was announced acting as if they were the reincarnation of Confucius. You may be asking yourself right now, what the hell does this kid find so funny? Well, let me explain.

When I look at the NBA, I see everything that is wrong in professional sports today. Granted, I love the playoffs, but that just gives me more of a reason to hate the regular season. I'm sure I am not the only one who can say the playoffs were the first time all year I watched a complete NBA game. Defense, for the most part, is optional and many players, including stars such as Kobe Bryant, have been calling for the shortening of the regular season. That just adds another reason not to flip the channel to an NBA game before playoff time unless for the occasional LeBron/Kobe or Dwight Howard/Shaq duel.

And the playoffs aren't flawless, either. The officiating is awful for the most part — how many calls has LeBron not gotten? And worse yet, these referees are calling technical and flagrant fouls like it's going out of style. In Game 5 of the Orlando/Cleveland series, Wally Szczerbiak gave what only can be classified as a love tap to Dwight Howard and was called for the flagrant. Sure, it sends a message to the players telling them to shut up and play the game, but don't we need that fire sometimes? What non-Rocket fan didn't love Derek Fisher laying out Louis Scola?

This is why I laugh at the NBA draft lottery, and the NBA draft itself. In college ball, I feel a connection with the players. I see them fight every night during conference play knowing that one loss could affect seeding in upcoming conference or NCAA tournaments. By the time they reach the NBA, I lose touch with these same players I made a connection with just a year ago. Be honest, how many O.J. Mayo games did you watch this year?

The NBA draft is in a word, stupid. I watch the draft for the same reason I watch Comedy Central. I sit there as these Stump the Schwab rejects proudly recite every last detail of each athlete in the draft like any of us care. Surprisingly, I think I would be able to fall asleep tonight not knowing Ricky Rubio's favorite color in the rainbow is violet. Then, as each player is announced, the viewers have the pleasure of watching the selected pick walk up to the stage, shake hands with David Stern, then watch the photographer struggle trying to get both participants in an obvious Kodak moment picture where the majority of picks make Stern look like a dwarf.

Worse yet, often the top picks go to West Coast teams who routinely tip off at 10 PM, meaning the only way I, being a proud member of the East Coast, will get to see a glimpse of recent top pick Kevin Durant and in all likelihood notice a Blake Griffin sighting is if I take a sick day the next morning.

Everyone has heard the phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Well, something here is broken, and I don't see a mechanic coming anytime soon.

That's why I stick to college ball. One can't argue with the talent comparison; obviously, the NBA has better talent. But as Mike DeCourcy of Sporting News said, "the difference is not with your eyes, but with your ears." Listen to the arenas of any prestigious college stadium during the game. People are screaming for their team like no other, and it comes from the heart. At an NBA game, the only crowd eruptions are either prompted from the selected chants from the overhead scoreboard, or caused by that fight between those two drunken fans in the upper level. And I won't even mention the monetary issues in the big leagues. Give me Duke/Carolina over any two NBA teams any day of the week.

And the March Madness thrill is amazing. Only in college basketball can you get a two-week, 65-team single elimination tournament where winning six consecutive games is the only way a champion is crowned.

The NBA playoffs are still exciting, and probably more realistic, but it takes away from that win or go home feeling every time you step out onto the court. Dear Orlando Magic, it is okay that Philly beat you in Game 1 on your home floor; we still have a spot waiting for you in the Finals. (Assuming Cleveland doesn't win three straight.)

So, I will sit at my TV and continue laughing. I will, however, watch the reminder of the NBA playoffs, but in the back of my mind I am counting down the months until the college basketball season tips off. Thank God I knew that Ricky Rubio's favorite color in the rainbow is violet, or I would be up all night.

Posted by Robert Campbell at 11:44 AM | Comments (0)

Detroit vs. Pittsburgh: The Battle Begins

As we've progressed through the rounds of the NHL playoffs, the pretenders have quickly been weeded out from the contenders, and now only two teams remain in the quest to claim Lord Stanley.

The stage has already been set high for this year's edition of the Stanley Cup Finals, and there are storylines galore heading into the series. It will be a rematch of last years Stanley Cup Finals, when the Red Wings dropped the Penguins in six. It will also be yet another chance for superstar Sidney Crosby to cement his status as one of the best players in the league. And, of course, Marian Hossa, who played in the Cup final for Pittsburgh last year, is now playing for the Detroit Red Wings.

The NHL playoffs has already delivered some close series and epic contests this year, and this series should prove to be no different. Each game of the NHL playoffs is like a battle, each series a war, and if that is the case, both Detroit and Pittsburgh have both strong soldiers and smart commanders.

The fiery Detroit Red Wings are led by their veteran commander Mike Babcock, who has been in this situation all too many times before. He will look to add more glory to the Red Wings franchise.

Pittsburgh, on the other hand, is led by a less experienced yet highly effective commander in Dan Bylsma. Taking other during the season, Bylsma helped turned the Peguins around and will now hope to lead his Penguins all the way to the top.

Both Babcock and Bylsma have a group of talented soldiers at their disposal, who will look to reek havoc on the opposing team:

Detroit Red Wings: Front Line

Johan Franzen — Franzen has been an all-around solid player for the Red Wings in the playoffs. He has 19 points already and almost has an identical amount of goals and assists. Franzen always seems to shine in the playoffs, and he will be one of the players leading the charge for the Red Wings on offense.

Henrik Zetterberg — Zetterberg has been as equally effective as Franzen and he has been one of the players Detroit has turned to when the goings got rough. With 9 goals and 9 assiss, Zetterberg has proven he can score goals but also set up his teammates.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Front Line

Sidney Crosby — "Sid the Kid" has turned up the intensity in the playoffs, and it has helped the Penguins make it back to the finals. He was phenomenal against the Carolina Hurricanes and is tied with teammate Evgeni Malkin for the playoff points lead at 28. The Red Wings will need to watch out for Crosby in this series.

Evgeni Malkin — Malkin hasn't gotten the media coverage of Sidney Crosby except when he has been playing badly. But make no mistake, if the Red Wings focus all effort on Sidney Crosby, then Malkin will burn them.

Detroit Red Wings: Back Line

Nicklas Lidstrom — Anyone who has watched Lidstrom during the playoffs is well aware that he doesn't make a lot of mistakes. Lidstrom always seems to stymie opposing forwards and he also can score if necessary. The Penguins will have to get through Nic Lidstrom if they hope to claim Lord Stanley.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Back Line

Sergei Gonchar — Pittsburgh's defense has struggled at times during the playoffs, but Gonchar has been solid. He has 12 points but more importantly, has been a force in shutting down opposing forwards. The Red Wings will have to work hard if they hope to best Sergei Gonchar.

Detroit Red Wings: Last Line of Defense

Chris Osgood — The Red Wings can afford to take chances, knowing the Chris Osgood is holding down the fort. Osgood has an impressive save percentage of .925% and a goal against average of 2.06, which is second in the playoffs. Osgood is a prime time player, and if all else fails for the Red Wings, they can always count on Osgood.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Last Line of Defense

Marc-Andre Fleury — Fleury isn't as flashy as Chris Osgood, and his stats aren't as good, but in his credit, he has got the job done when he has needed to. After a couple of shaky series, Fleury was solid against the Carolina Hurricanes. He will need to keep up this solid play if he hopes to contain Detroit's potent offense.

Who will win the series?

Examining the stats and talking about which player to look out for on each team is all well and good, but games aren't played on paper. Both teams have already won a lot of battles to get to this point, but which one will win the war?

Conventional wisdom would say the Penguins would win this series, or at least that's what would be best for publicity. It would be a huge story if the Penguins avenged their loss to the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals by beating them this time and winning the Stanley Cup.

Unfortunately, I'm not buying that Pittsburgh will win the Stanley Cup. Many people have said that Detroit has no passion, unlike Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. Detroit may not appear to show a lot of passion, but don't let this fool you. They are a veteran team who loves to prove that they are the best.

The best defense against the Red Wings is a good offense. If Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin can constantly attack the Red Wings and get the rest of their team going, it could in effect slow down the Red Wings' offense.

If this doesn't happen, then expect Detroit to use their run-and-gun style of offense. They will take a lot of chances and try to keep the play in Pittsburgh's end. I'm not sure if Pittsburgh's defense can contain players like Johan Franzen, Henrik Zetterberg, Marian Hossa, and Pavel Datsyuk. Marc-Andre Fleury has improved during the playoffs, but he will need the defense to be at its best.

Whatever happens, I can't wait for the Finals to get underway in what should be an exciting affair.

Pick: Detroit wins in 6

Jonathan Hamelin contributes articles on the NBA, NFL and NHL. An avid fan of the Canadian Football League, he writes to columns on the CFL, Rider Report Card and CFL Buzz.

Posted by Jonathan Hamelin at 11:32 AM | Comments (0)

May 28, 2009

Kobe vs. LeBron: Too Good to Be True

The possibility was in the back of everyone's mind when training camp started back in October.

It gained steam throughout the course of the regular season as both teams steamrolled through the competition en route to the No. 1 seed in their respective conference.

By the end of the first round of the playoffs, it was almost a foregone conclusion: Kobe Bryant and LeBron James will meet in the NBA Finals. The NBA was going to get to showcase the two best players on the planet going head-to-head for the biggest prize in basketball on the biggest stage. As a diehard NBA fan, this scenario would have been a dream come true.

Well, a funny thing happened on the way to the Finals. Orlando climbed on Superman's back and stopped the "L" Train dead in his tracks. Now, unless the Cavs can somehow achieve the near impossible and come back from a 3-1 deficit, the possibility of a "Dream Finals" for the NBA will have to wait.

And wait, and wait, and wait.

That's because in the history of the NBA, an opportunity like this only comes around once in a generation, if that.

Think about it, how many times in NBA history have two of the top 10 players of all-time met in the NBA Finals with both players in their prime?

I went back and counted. You know how many matchups I could find? Four: Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird. Dr. J. vs. Magic. Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlain. Bill Russell vs. Jerry West/Elgin Baylor.

Now, all of these matchups happened more than once, so it has actually happened more than four times, but it illustrates my point perfectly. For whatever reason, the best of the best almost never meet in the NBA Finals. It's been 22 years since it last happened, and who know when it'll happen again.

Try and find another example, and remember the criteria: both players have to be in their prime. You can't do it.

Michael Jordan and Magic are obviously both top 10 players in NBA history, but when they met in the '91 Finals, neither was in his prime. Magic was playing in his last NBA Finals, Jordan in his first. Even if you consider that to be the beginning of Jordan's prime, Magic, for as great as he still was at that time, was still nowhere near his. It was more of a passing the torch kind of series than a slugfest between two heavyweights at their best.

There are plenty of other close, but no cigar matchups:

Jordan vs. Karl Malone in '97 and '98: The Mailman was great, but he's not in my top 10.

Magic vs. Isiah Thomas in '88 and '89: Same goes for Zeke.

Hakeem Olajuwon vs. Shaquille O'Neal in '95: Hakeem is borderline top 10 to begin with, and Shaq in Orlando wasn't Shaq in his prime, as hard as that is to believe.

I could go on and name the best players from every NBA Finals and explain why it doesn't make the list, but you get the point. The NBA Finals will always feature NBA legends. After all, playing in the Finals is part of what makes them legends. But rarely do the stars align so perfectly that two of the greatest players to ever play will get the opportunity to go head-to-head for the biggest prize in basketball.

And that's what's so disappointing about seeing the Cavs in a 3-1 hole. A week ago, we were on the verge of seeing two of the greatest players to ever play meet in a once-in-a-lifetime NBA Finals. Now, with the window to Kobe's prime slowly closing, we may have missed our first chance in over 20 years to see something truly special.

Make no mistake, Orlando deserves to be up in this series. In fact, it took one of the greatest shots of the decade to keep the Magic from sweeping Cleveland. They deserve to play in the NBA Finals this year if they can hold on. They have just as much of a chance to win the title as Los Angeles or Denver.

But as basketball fans, we deserve something, too. We deserve the privilege of watching Kobe and LeBron battle it out for the undisputed title of "best player on the planet."

I admire how well Orlando has played this entire series, and I truly am impressed with how they've handled, what I thought, was a superior Cleveland team.

But if NBA Finals start next week and Orlando is representing the Eastern Conference, you better believe that as a diehard NBA fan I'll have some resentment towards the Magic knowing that they represent the one thing that prevented my dream NBA Finals.

Kobe vs LeBron. I knew it was too good to be true.

Posted by Scott Shepherd at 12:17 PM | Comments (2)

Auto Industry's Demise Impacts Baseball

"See the USA in your Chevrolet..." was once as much a theme song for the American leisure lifestyle as it was an advertisement for one of General Motors' most celebrated automobiles. And not to be overlooked is the relationship that the auto industry, and more specifically GM, has forged with Major League Baseball over the past many decades.

In the mid-1970s it was "Baseball, Hot dogs, Apple Pie, and Chevrolet," in a then-famous multi-faceted advertising campaign and jingle, and it was updated again in 2006 to accommodate the times.

The point of such Memory Lane nostalgia is to impart that the relationship between the auto industry and MLB began most historically with the advent of television broadcasts of games and the booming car industry sales of the 1950s.

But further to corporate relationships and revenues is the importance of car sales at the local level, otherwise known as the car dealership. And over the years, from small towns to large, they have been bedrocks of their communities along the byways and across the highways.

For dealerships, and their respective service departments, provide payroll taxes, sales tax revenue, pay real estate and property taxes, pay state and local income taxes, among other required government fees and obligations, to their local governments. And equally important, they provide employment that provides health insurance, pension, and other benefits for their many employees.

On May 14, 2009, Chrysler, LLC formally announced the immediate elimination 789 Chrysler dealerships nationwide. On May 15, 2009, GM formally announced the first 1,100 casualties of its expected 40% reduction of its dealerships or over 2,600 expected before the end of 2010. In addition, 2000 GM Pontiac dealerships were permanently ordered shuttered, as Pontiacs will no longer be manufactured again.

Unfortunately, Chrysler's dealerships have only until June 9, 2009 to fire staff, sell off inventory and parts, and to notify its customers with vehicles under warranty that they are going out of business. GM, at least, is allowing its dealers far more time to wind down operations, sell off inventory, advise customers, and give the unemployed a leg up. All of this is of course taking place when these jobs, which are not expected to return, impact entire towns in some cases, during the worst "recession" since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

There may, however, be a reprieve for Chrysler dealers, from an often disengaged U.S. Congress, by way of a legislative amendment to the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009. It would preempt allocation of a second round of bailout funds recently promised Chrysler, unless they provide dealers with at least a 60-day notice to help sell off their inventory and to allow appropriate closure of sales operations.

So What Has This Got To Do With Baseball?

As previously noted, as loyalists to the community, historically car dealerships, by extension, have supported numerous other businesses; from local parts suppliers, to supporting local newspapers through advertising, to creating business for local proprietors through their employees.

Additionally, car dealerships have always maintained being major sponsors for charities within their communities. These include support for numerous extra-curricular school functions, recreation department activities, animal welfare causes, volunteer fire department programs, and any number of fund raisers.

Most notably, Little League Baseball and various other youth baseball programs throughout the U.S. have been traditionally supported by car dealerships. It is a win-win as uniforms and T-shirts help with advertising for the car dealer and keeps it involved locally, while being a big part of financing the numerous expenses incurred to run local teams and to help keep kids active and out of trouble.

In parts of the U.S., a small town may have only one or two dealerships or authorized service centers for vehicles within a 100-200 mile radius. Therefore, the closure of a Chrysler or GM dealership could virtually take a whole town with it.

At a time when youth activities have already been compromised due to limited funding, since the crash of the economy in late 2008, the prospects for youth baseball and athletic activities of any kind have not been good. Transportation, team membership dues, and provisions for uniforms and equipment all require funds. And parents, many of whom who are unemployed, under-employed, or fearful of becoming jobless, have been forced to put participation in organized sports for their youngsters on hold.

And as all charities compete for donations in these hard times, it is often sports and recreation which are the first to be stricken from the ledger, as well, when it comes to businesses solicited for funding. And as if the auto industry was not hurting badly enough, GM will be closing all of it U.S. plants for nine weeks this summer, and all of its suppliers will see downtime, as well.

By 2011, there will be hundreds of thousands of U.S. auto industry workers joining the unemployed, and that does not include the businesses which profit as a direct result from either the U.S. auto industry or its employees.

Similarly, to other youth organized athletic programs, the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) organizations, in many cities throughout the U.S., are operating in the red. RBI provides organized baseball for youth, traditionally for middle school and high school boys, although a few are now including 6 -12 year olds.

Most RBI organizations are dependent upon most, if not all, of their budgets from their own fundraising efforts. MLB, although a sponsor of RBI, contributes minimally to RBI funding and functions more as an endorser of the program than anything else.

Ultimately, the success of any one RBI program is a labor of love by individuals within communities, and largely maintained by single mothers. Yet, transportation to and from games, equipment, uniforms, fees for coaches and umpires, food and drinks, upkeep of fields — which very often is done by the parents — still are associated costs, similar to those of Little League Baseball.

Some have asked, "What about the youth baseball travel teams, AAU clubs, and youth suburban leagues?" Well, this recession, as previously stated, is like no other since the Great Depression. Therefore, it has impacted all sectors of industry and all pay scales of workers, from Wall Street to every street in America.

As previously reported by this journalist in numerous documentations with respect to sponsorships being off throughout MLB in 2009, GM has ended relationships this season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, a community deeply hurting in this recession, the Detroit Tigers, Ground Zero for the auto industry implosion, and even the New York Yankees, for whom there is probably not much sympathy these days.

As the result of struggling families, MLB stadium attendance thus far in 2009 for April and most of May is down nearly 6% nationally when compared to the same number of weeks into the 2008 season. Yet, with tickets in many cities still too costly for many, with less discretionary income available, that means less youngsters will be attending MLB games.

One industry that curiously has been spared in this recession is the business of government, from the Beltway and beyond, which keeps adding jobs. And also, unlike previous recessions, it has included intrusive government policies that have only led to more plant closures, car sales jobs lost, and essentially the vaporization of the U.S. car industry, which will never be the same again.

Were the car business not so embedded in the American way of life, perhaps it would be less tragic, but its fallout will be felt for decades to come, on many levels, and few communities will be spared.

And with respect to MLB, it cannot be stated enough times that more than any other professional sports league, it has enjoyed multi-billion dollar revenues of $6–7 billion dollars each of the last several years. Additionally, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig earned the highest salary of any professional sports league commissioner in each of the last several years; $15 million for 2006 and $18.5 million for 2007.

Selig's 2008 income has yet to be publicly disclosed and may very well not be divulged, as MLB is not required to do so. In fact, Selig was furious when his 2007 salary was leaked to the press earlier this year.

Therefore, it would seem pertinent to MLB's development and outreach, as it looks forward, that it should not just limit its focus to bottom lines, its number of sponsorships, its broadcast TV deals, or escalating player salaries. For if MLB remains as shortsighted as it has been the past several years, not only will the younger generation of potential players and fans erode, but they will permanently vanish.

So too, that which once were dependable American vocations — jobs in both the auto industry's factories and showrooms — are no longer givens.

And similarly, MLB's future hangs in the balance. If children are no longer able to afford to play the game, unable to afford the cost of a stadium ticket, or even unable to afford current and impending expensive pay-TV packages in order to even watch a game, since very few MLB games ever appear on network television anymore, baseball as we know it will become but a footnote in the history books.

And it would serve MLB well to reinvest in its future right now.

For MLB has gotten greedy, fat, and lazy during Bud Selig's reign, yet it has not gotten too big to fail, as it has already compromised its generations to come.

Posted by Diane M. Grassi at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)

May 27, 2009

10 Intriguing Non-Conference Games

Every year around this time, I start to get hunger pangs for football Saturdays. Oh, I'll pick through the leftovers of the NBA playoffs and I'll nibble on some baseball, but my mouth will continue to water for the gorged-yet-satisfied feeling of having dined on a 12-hour smorgasbord of college pigskin.

And the best part of the college football season? While it's hard to beat the time-honored recipes of deep-seeded rivalry, there's something exotic about the non-conference schedule that's impossible to pass up. Maybe it's the rush of seeing helmets swapping paint with shades you don't normally see. Maybe it's the country-wide implications in the battle for conference supremacy. Whatever it is, I get excited every year to look at who has chosen to play whom.

I've plowed through the immense field of non-conference games and picked my 10 most intriguing. But keep in mind my definition of intriguing is more than just which games will affect the national championship picture the most. For every USC/Ohio State, the non-conference schedules include plenty of great opportunities for outsides like TCU or Boise State to get a signature win, as well as measuring stick games for proud programs trying to regain a foothold at the top of the heap. We might have just celebrated Memorial Day, but Labor Day will be here soon, and with it will come these gems:

10) September 12: Notre Dame @ Michigan

Just two weeks into the 2009 season, one of these fan bases will be having flashbacks to their forgettable 2008. A soft schedule and many returning starters have set expectations high for the Irish. The Wolverines, on the other hand, will be anxious to start fast in order to put as much distance between themselves and the memories of their 2008 disaster as possible.

9) October 3: Oklahoma @ Miami

Hey, remember the '80s? The Sooners' second test of the year (I'm not writing off BYU on opening weekend as a laugher just yet) pits them against their past rival. With Heisman winner Sam Bradford back in Norman, the Sooners should be 3-0 and have scored plenty of points. In contrast, the Hurricanes should come into the matchup well-tested, as they open with conference tilts at Florida State and Virginia Tech, sandwiched around a home date with Georgia Tech. Miami coach Randy Shannon has brought a lot of prospective talent to the U; stunning the Sooners would loudly announce the Hurricanes are back in reality.

8) October 3: Texas A&M vs. Arkansas (in Arlington, TX)

Ironically, this matchup of cast-off NFL head coaches (Arkansas' Bobby Petrino hit the eject button out of Atlanta, A&M's Mike Sherman was fired by Green Bay) will happen in the house that Jerry Jones built. Mirroring the SEC/Big 12 matchup of the Cotton Bowl, which coincidentally will also now be played in new Cowboys Stadium, either of these fan bases would be thrilled to make a return trip in January.

7) October 17: USC @ Notre Dame

There's a good chance Notre Dame will be 4-1 or 5-0 entering this tilt, and it goes without saying the Trojans will be in that ballpark as well. Just keeping this one close would go a long way toward restoring Charlie Weis' premature anointment in Irish lore.

6) September 26: USF @ Florida State

Supremacy in the Sunshine State may be owned by Florida, but the recent mediocrity of Miami and Florida State has opened up the debate for No. 2. With major recruiting credibility on the line, the Seminoles have a lot to lose if the Bulls parade out of Doak with a win.

5) September 3: Oregon @ Boise State

On college football's opening night, newly anointed Oregon head coach Chip Kelly makes his debut on the blue turf of Boise. And it only gets tougher from here: the Ducks follow their date with the Broncos with home tilts against Purdue, Utah, and Cal. No wonder former coach Mike Bellotti moved upstairs to the AD's office.

4) September 26: TCU @ Clemson

Give the Horned Frogs major scheduling points. TCU could stake its claim as the front-runner to crash the BCS party with wins here against the Tigers and on September 12 at Virginia. If you can't beat 'em in the polls, then beat 'em on the field. Meanwhile, perennial enigma Clemson should be extra intriguing under interim-turned-permanent head coach Dabo Sweeney. The Tigers have recruited better than you might have realized in the last few years, so maybe, possibly, finally this could just be the year they put it all together for an ACC title run.

3) September 5: Georgia @ Oklahoma State

For the second year in a row, the Dawgs head west of the Mississippi for a regular season game. Could their SEC membership be revoked for this? While Georgia showed plenty of bite last year in their romp over Arizona State, this year's retooled group will face a potent Cowboy offense with plenty of returning firepower on this road trip.

2) September 5: Alabama vs. Virginia Tech (in Atlanta)

Last year, the Crimson Tide used an opening weekend beating of Clemson in Atlanta to roll to a Sugar Bowl berth. If they can find an answer at quarterback to replace John Parker Wilson, 2009 might look a lot like 2008. The Hokies, on the other hand, finally have settled the Tyrod Taylor-Sean Glennon quarterback shuffle (thanks, graduation!). An upset win here would make Virginia Tech an ACC favorite.

1) September 12: USC @ Ohio State

Once again, the non-conference game of the year. Buckeye fans might be bracing for another national-stage letdown, but there are plenty of reasons to believe the Men of Troy might be defeated on the banks of the Olentangy. First, in contrast to Mark Sanchez's second career start last year, this year's Trojan signal caller (Mitch Mustain or Aaron Corp) will be making his second career start on the road, at night, in a very loud environment. Secondly, SC's defense that stifled the Buckeyes a year ago has since seen a diaspora to NFL rosters. There will be plenty of raw, though highly skilled, players trying to stop Terrelle Pryor.

Posted by Corrie Trouw at 11:47 AM | Comments (1)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 12

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jeff Gordon — After a slow start to Monday's rain-delayed Coca-Cola 600, Gordon was making headway towards the front, and was up to 14th when the skies opened once again, this time stopping the race for good. Still, Gordon's finish lengthened his points lead on second-place Tony Stewart, who finished 19th, to 44 points.

"Unlike fans in attendance and television viewers," says Gordon, "I can't complain about the finish."

"And, unlike fans, my concerns and opinions can be heard by NASCAR, and they were in a special 'town meeting' held Tuesday at NASCAR research and development center in Charlotte. NASCAR's drug policy was a hot topic, and NASCAR officials answered most of our questions, although when pressed for a copy of the list of banned substances, NASCAR officials wryly claimed that their copy machine was 'chuting blanks.'"

"As for double-file restarts, I am all for that. Most other drivers would agree. There's no reason that the cars on the lead lap should be impeded by those pesky lapped cars, whose drivers are likely to be suspended for drug usage or fined for using an oversized engine."

2. Tony Stewart — Stewart played it safe when the final caution for rain flew, pitting for four tires while others, including eventual race winner David Reutimann, stayed on the track. That left Stewart in 19th, and that's where he finished when NASCAR made the race official. Stewart remained in the No. 2 spot in the points, and now trails Jeff Gordon by 44.

"Rain may have spoiled the finish of the race," says Stewart, "but there was a lot going on during those rain delays. I like to call rain 'nature's wet t-shirt contest.' Thank heavens Bruton Smith wasn't wearing a t-shirt."

"And there was some excitement in the pits when I got up in Reutimann's face and asked him why he was racing me so hard. Then, one of his crewmen, whom I like to call 'Billy Bad Butt,' had to stick his nose and his bald head into the discussion. That made it 'bald head' versus 'hard head.' Luckily, cooler heads prevailed, and I didn't have to resort to dishing out a 'Butt'-whupping."

"I guess in hindsight, which is often my favorite view, I could understand Reutimann's zealousness to race me so hard early in the race. As it turned out, he was racing so hard for the win, so I guess I really had no reason to criticize him."

3. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson finished 13th at Charlotte, a solid finish on a wildly unpredictable day of racing in the Coca-Cola 600, which was shortened from 400 to 227 laps because of weather. Johnson ran up front early, then experienced handling issues before the weather relegated race strategy to one single pit stop. Johnson held on to the fourth position in the point standings, 128 out of first.

"Rain delays often make for anticlimactic finishes," says Johnson. "As they say, when it rains, it 'bores.'"

4. Kyle Busch — Busch was the frontrunner at Charlotte, leading a race-high 173 of 227 laps, but was denied victory by persistent showers at the track. Busch was leading when the final caution for rain came out, and, with limited fuel, was forced to pit and relinquish the lead. Rain continued to fall, and NASCAR called the race about two hours later. Busch finished sixth, and is now sixth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 182 out of first.

"That's practically the same thing that happened in the Nationwide race," says Busch. "The rain screwed me out of two wins. I guess you could say the headline for my long weekend in Charlotte would be 'Rain Befallen.' Or 'Reign Delay.'"

"Mother Nature hasn't been very good to the Busch family. She cost me two wins, and she cost my brother Kurt the money it took to correct a case of hideously malformed ears."

5. Denny Hamlin — Hamlin finished 11th in the Coca-Cola 600, as all three Joe Gibbs Racing members finished inside the top 11. Hamlin has not finished worse than 26th this year, and is currently fifth in the Sprint Cup point standings.

"There's nothing wrong with being defined by your consistency," says Hamlin. "Heck, NASCAR would be overjoyed if anyone described anything NASCAR does with the word 'consistency.'"

"Now, I have to commend NASCAR for initiating an open discussion to address the growing list of what's wrong with NASCAR. We all like to think we put on a show each and every week for the fans. But all to often, we're seeing that the show is nothing more than a 'put-on.'"

6. Ryan Newman — Newman followed Stewart-Haas teammate Tony Stewart's All-Star win by capturing the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 on Thursday. In Monday's race, Newman suffered an early lug nut problem, but recovered and gambled correctly with the weather, finishing second when rain finally ended the race. With his runner-up result, Newman moved up one spot to seventh in the points, and is 184 out of first.

"I was really impressed with NASCAR's 'town hall' meeting on Tuesday," says Newman. "We all have our concerns with the state of NASCAR, whether it be the car, fan interest, drug testing, or the economy. I, for one, was particularly interested in the details of the drug policy. And my concerns were clarified by NASCAR, most notably in section IV, article 17b of NASCAR's drug policy, which states that 'any driver who displays an interest in NASCAR's drug policy can himself expect to be "randomly" drug tested at NASCAR's discretion.' It's great to know NASCAR cares."

7. Kurt Busch — Busch, driving the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge sporting the "Taste Protestor" paint scheme, ran up front early at Charlotte and was on his way to a solid finish. However, a worrisome vibration in the right front tire forced a green flag pit stop, dropping Busch a lap down, and he finished 34th. He is still third in the Sprint Cup point standings, and trails points leader Jeff Gordon by 115.

"Let me just clarify," says Busch, "that Miller Lite's new 'Taste Protector' cap is in no way a knock-off of existing 'flavor saver' technology, although, in many cases, one may lead to the other."

"As for the race, I can think of several things I would rather have spent two days doing, and I'm sure most, if not all, of the fans would say the same thing."

8. Carl Edwards — Edwards took only two tires on the race's final caution, gaining the track position that left him in fourth when NASCAR finally called Monday's Coca-Cola 600 official after 227 laps. Edwards' fourth was his second-best finish of the year, and only his fifth top-10 result of the year as he continues to look for the momentum that carried him to nine wins last year. He is now 11th in the point standings, 291 out of first.

"This is one of the few times things have gone right for us," says Edwards. "Lately, nothing's been going right. First, I take flight at Talladega and lose a race I could have won, while littering the grandstand with lethal flying projectiles.

Then, Jeremy Mayfield claims he tested positive for drugs due to a mix of a prescription medication and Claritin, which happens to be a sponsor of my No. 99 car. I don't know what Jeremy's growing in his May field of dreams, but my Claritin prevents your eyes from watering; it doesn't cause it."

9. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth finished 10th in Charlotte, only his fifth top-10 result of the year, in the rain-marred Coca-Cola 600. Had the rain stayed away after the final caution, Kenseth likely would have recorded a better result, as he took four tires and would have probably picked off those that stayed out or took only two tires.

"Two of my four top-10 finishes this year," says Kenseth, "including my win at Daytona, have come in rain-shortened races. So you'll never see me cower in fear at the threat of rain hitting me."

10. David Reutimann — Reutimann outlasted the field at Charlotte, patiently waiting out one final rain delay after foregoing a pit stop during the final caution. It was Reutimann's first Sprint Cup win, as well as the first for Michael Waltrip Racing, and moved Reutimann to within one spot of the top 12 in the point standings.

"Hey, it just goes to show you that nice guys can finish first," says Reutimann. "And it also goes to show you that you can argue with Tony Stewart and not get slapped."

"Boy, was it agonizing waiting out that final rain delay, knowing that a restart would have been the end of my short-lived lead. That lead was about as precarious as Tony Eury, Jr.'s job. I played the 'waiting game' and won. Stewart, by complaining about my driving, played the 'crying game.' And for you movie fans, The Crying Game is about a man who falls for a woman who turns out to be a man. I'm sure, amongst Tony's numerous relationships, that's happened to him once or twice."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 11:16 AM | Comments (0)

May 26, 2009

Gasquet's New Challenge

Roland Garros has started on Sunday with plenty of speculation on whether anyone can dethrone Rafael Nadal on the men's side, and the unpredictability factor on the women's side. While the American media tried to capitalize on the fears of American tennis fans by discussing for the umpteenth time how the clay court of Roland Garros transforms American tennis players into a group of "misérables," the European media was occupied with Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray comparisons and predictions; all four players being from Europe surely helped the cause.

However, not many talked about Richard Gasquet, who will be missing in action for testing positive for cocaine. One can understand the indifference of the American media, or even the media outside of France, but considering that the announcement came just over two weeks ago, it's quite a surprise to see how quickly this matter is being put on the shelf, even in the player's home country.

Some readers may find themselves saying after reading the first paragraph, "Why should anyone care about a guy with no Slam finals and one who barely broke into ATP top 10 and stayed there only for about half a year before dropping back out?" Richard Gasquet, in 1996, at the age of 9, was on the cover of France's most popular tennis publication, Tennis Magazine, with big letters on the cover saying that he was "the champion for whom France is waiting" (le champion que la France attend). Ever since that day, he has never been out of the limelight, being nicknamed every genius name possible, including Mozart! He was the subject that gave the gas pedal a push to run the engine of French tennis for a decade.

Thirteen years later, the legend is about to become archaic.

First, it was the expectations that never materialized. Nadal, born just two weeks earlier than Gasquet, was often in the background watching the latter's exploits through the junior years. Now, Nadal is the best player in the world, while Gasquet has never played a Slam final in his career. Although occasional sparkles of brilliance kept hope high, such as his win over Federer in Monte Carlo in 2005 and his run to the semifinal round of Wimbledon in 2007, there were the frequent and fragile displays of mental toughness involving several final set debacles, emotional meltdowns, and an unwillingness to fight when it's time to grit his teeth. Finally, once Jo-Wilfried Tsonga arrived, it was clear that the train was about to leave the station for Gasquet.

Remember Henri Leconte's stature during Yannick Noah's times? This is the danger that Gasquet is facing now: becoming an underachieving villain while another one grabs all the positive accolades. The difference is that Leconte only had Noah with whom to deal. Today, there are three French players in the top 10 ATP rankings and Gasquet is not one of them. Also, unlike Leconte, who years later knew how to gain back the popularity that he lacked during his active years on the ATP Tour, thanks to his outgoing personality and his showmanship skills, Gasquet is a shy and introverted young individual.

Gasquet denied taking cocaine and is planning on challenging the finding. The automatic ruling for such offense is a 12-month suspension. Leaving aside how ridiculous and severe the anti-doping penalties have become — two-year suspension on a tennis player is similar to a death penalty for his career, and that is for a first offense, not to mention how costly it is for the player to appeal that ruling while he is suspended — Gasquet is now facing a whole new challenge: it is no longer about how he can find a way to get tougher mentally to win that crucial tiebreaker or to win that final set after blowing a lead. The challenge for Gasquet now is not to become a background noise to all the other important news in the forefront; furthermore, not to become a nuisance to the glorious exploits of the new French armada.

France's Davis Cup captain, Guy Forget, and the veteran tennis player Fabrice Santoro, both well-respected in tennis circles and on the ATP Tour, have expressed their disbelief at the finding. They are not alone. Most players who know Gasquet, have been expressing, at various times since the finding, that they hope Gasquet gets cleared and that it is likely to be mistake.

While Gasquet prepares his defense of the finding, he will have plenty of time to think about his future. He is at a crucial point in his career, perhaps in his life. The French have waited on him for over 10 years, and with new hopes on the horizon, they are about to give up on him — not to say "turn against him." His fighting character, who is very much in question on the court, is now being challenged off-the-court. This is not a ship that can either bring its passenger to glory or disappear into the horizon; it could also sink completely!

The best case scenario is what most will be hoping for — that Gasquet proves his innocence, that he grits his teeth and wins this nasty battle in court, that he reboots his career with a renewed attitude that a second chance often brings to someone's outlook, that this new attitude is accompanied by the willingness to grind for bigger glories and not settle for underachievement, and finally, that he becomes a major player on the ATP Tour so that the fans can enjoy one of the most beautiful backhands and one of the most talented shot-makers in the business.

Posted by Mert Ertunga at 11:39 AM | Comments (2)

May 25, 2009

Top NBA Shots of the Decade

The game was over. Orlando had completed their second straight come-from-behind victory in the Q, a place where most had thought they never stood a chance to take even one game.

I even sent out a "Hedo!" text after Turkuglo nailed the go-ahead basket with one second left to play in regulation. Amazing. Orlando was up 2-0 in a series that I would have had a hard time predicting that they'd last five games.

And then it happened: The Shot. By now, we've all seen it dozens of times, but I'm linking to it anyway because it was just that unbelievable. It was a play that as it was happening you realized that it was special, a once-in-a-season type moment that we won't see again.

It was hard to watch that shot and not reminisce back to some of the greatest shots that we've seen in recent NBA playoff memory. So that's exactly what we're doing today.

As promised, after the NBA Finals I will be unveiling my All-Decade team for the 2000s. As a little teaser, here's a look back at some of the greatest shots of the last decade. Make no mistake, LeBron's three-pointer at the buzzer Friday night makes this list.

LeBron wins Game 2

You could talk about the blown 23-point lead, or the fact that the Cavs hadn't protected home-court as well as anyone though they would, or LeBron being simply human down the stretch until that shot.

But why would you? Just admire it for what it is, one of the greatest shots in the career of one of the all-time great players in NBA history.

Derek Fisher scores in .4 second

The video for this one is perfect because it illustrates just how dire things were for the Lakers. Tim Duncan, well on his way to carving out his legacy as the greatest power forward of all-time, hit a dagger of a shot in the final second that would have given the Spurs a 3-2 series lead over the "Four-Hall-of-Famers-at-one-time-Lakers." Gary Payton's face at to 40-second mark sums up the collective feelings of Laker Nation.

I'll never forget watching that game and the deflated feeling I had after the Tim Duncan shot. Then, after what felt like two minutes straight of complete silence my buddy broke the tension by joking, "Hey, at least there's time to catch and shoot."

There certainly was, and what transpired was one of the greatest shots of the decade.

Tim Duncan hits his first three-pointer of the season to force double OT against the Suns

This shot was awesome on so many levels. First, it prolonged one of the greatest Game 1s in NBA history. Second, it added even more fuel to the Suns/Spurs rivalry. Third, it was a dagger to the Suns. When you hate the Suns as much as I do, that is a good thing. And finally, it gave us a Ryder Cup-esque fist pump from Tim Duncan. Greatest power forward of all time? Yes. Greatest celebrator? Let's just say even David Duval thought that was a poor effort.

Kobe Bryant hits the game-winner against the Suns in Game 4 to put the Lakers up 3-1

There were plenty of videos linking to this shot. I chose this particular clip for two reasons: one it shows the teardrop floater that Kobe hit to force OT. The game winner gets its own "Where amazing happens" commercial, but the shot to force OT was so frantic, so improbable, and such a high degree of difficulty that I thought that might have been the best play I'd ever seen Kobe make.

And secondly, it shows Steve Nash turn the ball over twice in two game-winning situations. This was the two-time league MVP and he twice couldn't just hold the ball and get fouled and win the game for his team at the line. What a joke.

Kobe's alley-oop to Shaq finishes Portland

The Trail Blazers led by 15 points with nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter before the Lakers made the greatest comeback in Game 7 history, with Kobe's alley-oop to Shaq serving as the exclamation point to a 25-4 Los Angeles run that stamped their ticket to the NBA Finals.

Watching this replay is sure to spark the greatest "what if" debate in NBA history.

Big Shot Bob beats the Kings

It wouldn't be the greatest shots of the decade if we didn't include Robert Horry. And as great as that shot was, it doesn't top this...

Big Shot Bob beats the Pistons

Horry's shot against the Kings earned him the reputation as the greatest clutch shooter of our generation, but this dagger in Game 5 of the NBA Finals cemented his legacy.

At that point in his career, Horry was already known around the league for being an absolute assassin in the final minutes. This was the last big shot in Big Shot Bob's career, and I will always remember it as the one that kept the Pistons from back-to-back titles.

Chauncey forces OT

You can search YouTube for "Chauncey buzzer beaters" and get a ton of results. He hit so many clutch threes in his six seasons with the Pistons that it became almost a given that he'd come through in the clutch. They didn't call him "Mr. Big Shot" for nothing.

But this three was amazing, even by Chauncey's standards. With the Pistons trailing by three in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals with under three seconds to play, Billups hit the biggest shot the Pistons had seen in "years and years and years" to force overtime. The game would go down as one of the all-time classic conference Finals games, going into three overtimes before New Jersey finally outlasted the Pistons behind Brian Scalabrine (yes, that Brian Scalabrine).

Even though the Pistons lost, Mr. Big Shot himself secured a place on the list of greatest shots of the decade.

Posted by Scott Shepherd at 11:05 AM | Comments (2)

Humble in Hockeytown

The young Chicago Blackhawks may have bitten off more than they can chew against the veteran Detroit Red Wings.

Down 3-1 in the series following a 6-1 defeat, the 'Hawks will be hard pressed to come back in the series, especially since they would have to win two more games in Detroit.

While failing to advance to the Stanley Cup Final after coming so close would be a disappointment to the Blackhawks and their fans, it should not be viewed as a setback, rather a key learning opportunity.

Chicago has not been completely outplayed in the series. In fact, despite the recent 6-1 loss to the Red Wings, Chicago has had a chance in every loss. In Game 1, Chicago played well through two periods before allowing 3 goals in the third period. In Game 2, they were narrowly defeated 3-2 in overtime.

What has been evident in the Hawks struggles is their inexperience. In Game 3, for example, Chicago was leading by 3 goals before allowing three goals back to Detroit in quick succession. While they were leading, Adam Burish started mocking Nicklas Lidstrom, who promptly scored soon after and started Detroit's comeback. Though Chicago did manage to win the game in overtime, it is just an example of how the Blackhawks' inexperience has hurt them.

As mentioned before, the Blackhawks will be hard-pressed to come back against Detroit, but they are a young team with a lot of promise. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane headline a group of talented forwards and the blue line should be solid for years to come with players like Brian Campbell and Brent Seabrook.

Chicago also has a very aggressive offense, much similar to that of the Detroit Red Wings. In fact, while watching the Western Conference Finals, it almost seems like the Blackhawks are like a young version of the Detroit Red Wings. They attack opposing defenses relentlessly and are willing to take chances. Chicago is loaded with talent and if they can hold on to these players, they should continue to play at a high level for years to come.

Chicago may not be able to beat the Red Wings now, but in a few years, the Blackhawks may become one of the elite teams in the NHL.

Keeping in mind that Chicago has been viewed as an underdog in each series, and it is amazing the Blackhawks have even made it this far. Against the Red Wings, however, they may have met their match. They are playing a team that is just as aggressive as they are, and this is perhaps teaching Chicago that it sometimes takes more than being aggressive to win.

So, win or lose, the "baptism under fire" Chicago has received in this series will bode well for them in the future.

I think it's safe to say we haven't seen that last of the Blackhawks yet.

Jonathan Hamelin contributes articles on the NBA, NFL and NHL. Being an avid fan of the Canadian Football League, Jonathan writes two columns on the CFL, Rider Report Card and CFL Buzz.

Posted by Jonathan Hamelin at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)

May 22, 2009

Secrets of the 2009 NFL Season

* Terrell Owens immediately endears himself to the Buffalo faithful when, after grabbing a 65-yard touchdown bomb from Trent Edwards in the Bills' home opener against the Buccaneers, he pulls a chicken wing from his sock and takes a bite, then leaves a greasy handprint on the jersey of Tampa cornerback Ronde Barber.

As a chicken wing is considered a "prop" in the NFL's touchdown celebration rules, Owens is fined for the act.

* The Dallas Cowboys host an open house, allowing commoners a chance to tour their new $1.1 billion home in Arlington. Owner Jerry Jones personally guides a tour of the stadium's 300 luxury suites, promising that there is something for everyone, from the most extravagant models, named after Cowboy greats like Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, to the more basic layouts, such as the "Nate Newton" suite, a 4' by 4' room constructed from Venetian cinder blocks, modestly accessorized with a bunk bed, a sink, a toilet, and a chin-up bar.

Jones also reveals the team's most private model, the "Tony Romo Honeymoon Suite," the master bedroom of which features a king-size bed, as well as a single bed, suitable for an interloping tight end, or a meddling father-in-law.

* Newly-signed Raider quarterback Jeff Garcia engages in a heated, tension-filled battle for the starting position with incumbent JaMarcus Russell. The situation reaches a boiling point when the feisty Garcia confronts Russell and gets all up in his face, until Russell rises to his feet, gives Garcia a wedgie, and stuffs him into an empty locker.

* Brett Favre comes out of retirement to fight Larry Holmes at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Favre separates his right shoulder in the third round, but gamely continues, until a TKO stoppage in the 11th hastens his retirement from the ring. Favre ends his brief retirement when he joins the Birmingham Barons, the Chicago White Sox Class AA affiliate. Favre bats .145 and throws 13 interceptions, and announces his retirement three games into the season. After a short hiatus, Favre makes a final comeback, laying down some guest lyrics on Jay-Z's third "comeback" album.

In late July, the Vikings make a last-ditch effort to sign Favre, offering him a $7 million, one-year contract, and full creative control of a weekly television show, tentatively titled the "Vike-O-Den." Favre opts to remain retired, however, citing his need to spend time with his family, as well as contemplate a 2011 return.

* British comedian and trickster Sasha Baron Cohen, posing as a 32-year-old former division III college quarterback named Timmy Nevada, infiltrates the Cleveland Browns training camp, easily winning the starting position over Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson.

Nevada leads the Browns to wins in their first two games, throwing 4 touchdown passes and only 1 interception. Then, Baron Cohen decides to reveal the ruse, but not before a naked wrestling match with Browns nose tackle Shaun Rogers erupts in the banquet room of the teams' hotel prior to Week 3's contest against the Ravens.

* Larry Fitzgerald leads the NFL in receptions, 109, receiving touchdowns, 13, and encouraging hugs to discontented teammate Anquan Boldin, 23, further solidifying Fitzgerald's status as the league's preeminent receiver and consummate teammate.

* In an August 30th preseason game in Denver, former Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler roams the Bear sideline sporting a white headband bearing the word "McDaniels" in black lettering. Cutler is mercilessly heckled by the Denver crowd, and in an embarrassing twist, he turns and gives the middle finger to a particularly raucous Broncos fan nearby, who turns out to be former Denver quarterback Jake Plummer.

Cutler's comeuppance, however, is not complete until he is spoofed on the September 14th episode of "South Park," in which Cutler's character is killed in a grisly accident while mooning a helicopter piloted by Kenny.

* The Detroit Lions new, fiercer-looking logo heralds a new era for the franchise, and opposing teams take notice, with many commenting that they were "slighty more afraid" while beating the Lions. The logo is also selected to grace the cover of Cat Fancy magazine's 2009 NFL preview issue.

* In a late August appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," Tom Brady professes his unconditional love for Gisele Bundchen, gushing to Oprah that "he heard fireworks" during their second round of nuptials in Costa Rica in April. Winfrey gently breaks the news to Brady that those sounds were not "fireworks," but the echoes of gunshots from Brady's trigger-happy security detail opening fire on unarmed paparazzi.

* Sales of Cincinnati wide receiver Chad Ocho Cinco's No. 85 jersey remain at a virtual standstill, with most fans disgruntled with Ocho Cinco's diva-like behavior over the last two years. One enterprising pro shop employee stumbles onto a gold mine when he alters a jersey, removing the nameplate of "Ocho Cinco" and replacing it was a more appropriate, Spanish-flavored alternative. The Bengals No. 85 "Has Bien" jersey becomes a best seller in Cincinnati. Johnson graciously is a good sport about it, but only after his attorneys negotiate a cut of the jersey sales.

* Minnesota defensive end Jared Allen's season comes to an abrupt end when, while on an elk-hunting trip at Alaska's Kodiak Islands during the Vikings' Week 9 bye week, he is mistaken for an ape and shot from a helicopter by Alaska governor Sarah Palin. Left for dead, Allen is rescued by a herd of manly bull elks, nursed back to health, and returned to civilization, with a new respect for an animal he once mercilessly killed, as well as an appreciation for the four-point stance, and being "mounted."

* Matthew Stafford, the first selection in the 2009 NFL draft, gets the start in the Lions' first preseason game against the Falcons on August 15th, facing Matt Ryan, last year's third pick. Stafford begins his first NFL preseason game just as Ryan began his first regular-season game last year by throwing a touchdown pass ... to a Falcon. Stafford's first pass is intercepted and returned 35 yards for a touchdown by Atlanta cornerback Chris Houston.

* New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, the fifth pick in the draft, becomes an instant fan-favorite in the New York-New Jersey area, and a local Big Apple eatery honors the former USC star with a dish in his name, a fish taco smothered in mustard and Worcestershire sauce known as the "Dirty Sanchez."

Later in the year, Sanchez declines an offer to appear on the cover of men's alternative fashion magazine QGQ wearing only a No. 12 Joe Namath jersey and fishnet stockings.

* Michael Vick meets with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in early November to discuss reinstatement. The meeting goes well until Vick, in his excitement at a possible return to the league, furiously humps the leg of the Commisioner, then urinates on the floor of Goodell's office.

* Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson is a consensus first pick in most fantasy football drafts, and doesn't disappoint, breaking the 1,000-yard mark in the Vikes first seven games. However, Peterson is again plagued by fumbling issues, which, much to the chagrin of fantasy owners, cuts into his goal line touches.

Nevertheless, Peterson's endorsement worth skyrockets, and he becomes the face of several big-time products, most notably Butterfinger candy bars.

* On September 1st, just in time for the NFL season, resident New York Times writer/stalker/fictionalist/man-hater Selena Roberts announces the release of her controversial new book, titled "Peyton Manning: Satan's Signal Caller." In the book, Roberts paints a damning picture of Manning as the supreme leader of a worldwide cult of immoral beings and hedonistic decadents.

Manning good-naturedly laughs off the book, citing Roberts' penchant for sensationalistic journalism practices, while Raiders owner Al Davis angrily files an injunction to the book's release, accusing Roberts of outright plagiarism of his own autobiography.

* After the Browns suffer a humiliating 31-10 loss to the Chargers in Cleveland on December 6th, Jamal Lewis vents his frustration at the gall of some of his teammates texting on their cell phones in the locker room afterwards, calling them a "bunch of Twitters" on his personal blog.

* As the Patriots prepare in London for their October 25th game versus Tampa Bay at Wembley Stadium, many of the players use their down time for sightseeing. Unwise to British traditions, Randy Moss makes a particularly large splash across the pond when, during a visit to Buckingham Palace, he high fives Queen Victoria instead of properly bowing. Moss then tells the Queen he loved her in The Naked Gun. Then, upon learning that the Queen is married to a prince, Prince Philip, and not a king, Moss presents her with a 40 of King Kobra malt liquor.

Suitably impressed with his exploits, Moss declares himself heir to the throne, excuses himself to the Palace's parlor restroom, and emerges minutes later to announce that he "just abdicated. But don't worry, I royally flushed."

Moss is skewered in the British press, but is quickly forgiven at Wembley when he bows to the crowd after the first of his two touchdown catches. New England whips the Buccaneers 41-10, and the headline in the following day's edition of The Sun reads "English Snuffin.'"

* In a December 13th game at New England, disgruntled Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers, who expressed his desire to play for the Patriots before being franchised by Carolina, returns a Tom Brady fumble 66 yards, the wrong way, for a Patriots safety. Peppers celebrates with former Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall, who, coincidentally and conveniently, watches from the Patriots end zone. Peppers then confronts head coach John Fox and proclaims, "Now do you believe I wanted to play for the Patriots?"

Fox immediately disenfranchises Peppers, stripping him of his Panther status. Peppers is later picked up on waivers by the Harlem Globetrotters.

* Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard finds a new favorite target in veteran wide receiver Torry Holt, the Jags' biggest offseason free agent acquisition. Garrard immediately clicks with Holt, and after Holt catches 10 passes for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns in a Week 2 win over the Cardinals, Garrard expresses his joy at being able to throw to an ex-Ram as opposed to an ex-con.

* Former Buccaneers coach John Gruden makes a seamless transition from coaching to the "Monday Night Football" team, joining Mike Tirico and Ron Jaworski in the booth after Tony Kornheiser's departure. Gruden's knowledge of the game and quick-wittedness adds a sharp-tongued presence to the team, and ratings soar after Gruden promises, prior to Week 1's Buffalo/New England contest, to put the "MF" in MNF.

* Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, Washington's $100 million free agent prize, continues his dominance as the league's finest interior lineman. Haynesworth's No. 92 jersey quickly becomes a hot seller in D.C., matching the popularity of the No. 8 Capitals jersey of NHL superstar Alex Ovechkin.

In October, Haynesworth and Ovechkin are invited to the White House for an honorary dropping of the puck to celebrate the Capitals season opener. Haynesworth gladly obliges, but Ovechkin, after learning of Haynesworth's more infamous NFL exploits, declines to attend, telling the White House that "there's no way I'm participating in a 'face-off' with Haynesworth."

* Referee Ed Hochuli, his once-sterling reputation sullied by last year's blown Jay Cutler fumble call, promises that he will not make any mistakes in the upcoming season. However, Hochuli can't make the same promise in regards to his line judge, Tim Conway, nor his back judge, Don Knotts, nor his head linesman, Jerry Lewis.

* On Conference Championship Sunday, the visiting Patriots take down the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers, 23-20, behind 98 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns from Fred Taylor.

In the NFC, the home-standing Eagles defeat the Falcons in the title game, 30-24.

In Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, Donovan McNabb engineers a late game-winning drive with seven completions and two first-down rushes, leading the Eagles to a 28-24 win over New England. McNabb makes history, becoming the first and only black quarterback to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, then vomit on it.

* Pacman Jones, displaying the entrepreneurial spirit of a disgraced former NFL star hard up for cash, opens the nation's first adult entertainment venue/shooting range. "Money Shots" opens to much fanfare in Jones' hometown of Atlanta, but ultimately fails due to financial, safety, security, health, sanitation, child care, and homeland security concerns.

Broke, Jones' accepts a role on NBC's critically-acclaimed cop drama "Southland," playing a former superstar athlete turned streetwise hustler with an itchy trigger finger, a role Entertainment Weekly hails as one "Pacman was born to play."

* Already with one connection to the Saints (Kim Kardashian dates New Orleans running back Reggie Bush), the Kardashian clan adds another when Khloe, Kim's younger and more robust sister, signs with the Saints as an offensive lineman. Thus, the Amazonian Khloe becomes the second Kardashian charged with opening holes for Reggie Bush.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 11:50 AM | Comments (1)

May 21, 2009

NBA Stars Align in Conference Finals

The NBA Finals are where legends are born. Just ask the NBA, it's been their slogan to promote the Finals for years.

But for my money, I'll take the conference finals over the NBA Finals any day. The reason is simple: there is a basketball game of great significance every day for two straight weeks.

And when you factor in the familiarity of the two teams playing against each other, more often than not you see a higher level of basketball played in the conference finals than that NBA Finals.

The brief moment of disappointment I felt Sunday night after two anti-climatic Game 7s was replaced quickly by the anticipation of the conference finals. After giving each team a once over after the matchups were set, something dawned on me: each team left has one of the five best players in the NBA on their roster.

It's a given that Kobe Bryant and LeBron James rank one and two on the hierarchy of "best player on the planet" (although apparently not in that order if you ask Jerry West), but it's possible that Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard round out the top four in the never-ending argument of who the best players in the league are.

Charles Barkley has said on a few different occasions during these playoffs that Carmelo Anthony is the best scorer in the NBA. I immediately dismissed that statement when Sir Charles made it initially, but the more I think about it, the more I tend to agree with him.

Allow me to play devil's advocate for a moment here. For a player to be a total package as a scorer, he must be able to score in a multitude of ways. Let's say for arguments sake that there are five basic ways to score: getting to the basket, scoring in the post, scoring from mid-range, scoring from behind the three-point line, and free throw shooting.

My logic here is to rank all three players (Carmelo, Kobe, and LeBron) and assign them a point value one through three for each (three points for being the best, two points for the second best, one for the third best) of the five categories in order to get a better idea in a head-to-head-to-head scenario of who really is the best scorer of the bunch.

Here's just a quick look at where I would rank the three players in the five categories, in order:

Three-point shooting (based on % during the playoffs): Carmelo, Kobe, LeBron.

Free throw shooting (again based on playoff %): Kobe, Carmelo, LeBron.

Mid-range game: Carmelo, Kobe, LeBron.

Getting to the basket: LeBron, Kobe, Carmelo.

Scoring in the post: Carmelo, Kobe, LeBron.

Based on those rankings, Carmelo averages out to be the best scorer of the three. He would have 12 points, Kobe would have 11 points, LeBron would have 7 points.

For the record, I think even my own formula is a little flawed because all aspects are weighted equally. For example, LeBron is head and shoulders better than both players at getting to the basket, so much that that in my opinion it makes him the best offensive player in the league. But as far as all-around talent is concerned, Carmelo might have the most complete offensive game of any player in the league.

I may have gotten sidetracked for a second there, but it helps illustrate my point of just how good Carmelo Anthony is. Enough, at least, to validate my point that he is one of the top five players in the league.

Now, back to my original thought. It's very rare that this late in the playoffs that so many of the best players in the league are still alive. What makes it even more special is that each of the four remaining teams has one of the top five players. That means that in every single game during the conference finals there is the potential to see two of the best players in the NBA get into an absolute shootout with one another, with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line.

And in game one of bother series that is exactly what happened.

I wrote earlier this postseason that the show Ben Gordon and Ray Allen put on in game two of the first round was one of the best head-to-head matchups in recent NBA playoff history. Little did I know that it would be topped less than a month later by Kobe vs. 'Melo I. I called it that, because the way these two guys went at it in game one, we could be in store for several epic battles this series between Bryant and Anthony.

The thing that made the Ray Allen and Ben Gordon duel so fun to watch was that both players got crazy hot and they're both weak enough defenders that it allowed the opponent to get off.

Kobe vs. 'Melo I had a different feel to it. Both Bryant and Anthony played exceptional defense on one another in the second half, only the other was so locked in offensively that it didn't matter how good the defense was, they were scoring. It was fun to watch Allen and Gordon torch each other with little resistance, but it was even better to see Kobe and Carmelo duke it out on both ends of the floor only to have exceptional offensive talent win out time and again.

In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, it was more of the same. LeBron put on an absolute clinic shooting the ball in the first half, and would continue it into the second half as well finishing with 49 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. It was dominant in every sense of the word.

Dwight Howard, not nearly the scorer that James is, but every bit as dominant when you factor in his defense, didn't disappoint on Wednesday night, either. He finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic in their shocking one-point victory over the Cavs ... in the Q!

With both games being decided by less than a basket, it's way too early to read into things as far as the series' eventually winners are concerned. Let's see the adjustments each team makes going into game two before we start crowning conference champions.

In the meanwhile, I'm going to sit back and enjoy the next few days of NBA basketball, knowing that every night there is a great chance that I am going to see two of the best players on the planet put on a great show.

Legends may not be born until next round, but that's not going to stop me from enjoying every second of these legends-in-the-making during the conference finals.

I suggest you do the same.

Posted by Scott Shepherd at 11:24 AM | Comments (1)

May 20, 2009

The NBA's Inevitable Finals Matchup

As we began the 2009 NBA playoffs, every fan and media member had a more-than-solid idea of what the championship could and should be like. Clearly, the two best teams, on which the two best players played. Cavaliers. Lakers. LeBron James. Kobe Bryant. Salivate.

This generally leads said fan or media member to draw from memory a fantastic montage of dunks, drives, and contested fadeaways with the clock running down that litter the video resumes of both icons. How do you top a Celtics/Lakers Finals? Perhaps we're about to see.

Through two rounds of the playoffs, both teams remain in the final four. So far, so good. The Cavaliers marched through rounds one and two like General Sherman through Atlanta, by way of Detroit. In an unprecedented display of dominance, neither team managed so much as a single-digit deficit by the end of any of the eight Cavalier wins through two rounds. The Pistons, once a formidable rival, had become a shell of their former selves without Chauncey Billups at their service. The Hawks had soared to their greatest heights since the '80s, only to splatter into a large commercial plane.

Yes, these days, LeBron has enough talent around him that we no longer have to see the likes of Sasha Pavlovic on the floor getting meaningful minutes, much less in the starting lineup. Mo Williams is a capable sidekick who can have big nights, make good decisions, and doesn't mind leaving the spotlight to the King. Since Moses Malone coined the term "Fo, Fo, and Fo" in 1983 (back when a team needed to win only three best-of-seven series for a title), no team has actually been able to accomplish the feat of three straight playoff four-game sweeps. Then again, no team has been this dominant after two rounds.

By leaps and bounds, Orlando is a more talented team than any of the Cavaliers' previous competition. The Magic have a plethora of three-point shooting to surround their Superman inside, Dwight Howard. Problem is, when Howard does not have an open path to the basket and has to rely on his post-up game from 10 feet out or further, he becomes Clark Kent. No, that's putting it kindly. Dwight becomes Ben Wallace. He heaves up some hideously forceful and erratic bricks that clunk violently off the backboard, and sometimes the rim, too.

Fortunately for Orlando, Howard is not asked to supply a major part of the team's offense. After all, he is the Defensive Player of the Year. Rashard Lewis, not Howard, is actually their leading scorer in the playoffs. Clutch shooter Hedo Turkoglu and point guard Rafer Alston average double digit points, as well, for a well-rounded attack.

After a surprisingly tough series against Philadelphia and a grueling war against the defending champion Celtics, the Magic may fail to make a dent against the King on his court. Don't expect them to win the series or take it to seven games. LeBron and his trusty sidekick, Mo, are just too strong.

The Lakers, meanwhile, have a more dangerous foe on their hands and they have shown some less-than-championship qualities in their playoff run. While holding off the Jazz with relative ease, the Lake Show revealed a stunning inability to win on the road in the Rockets series. Not only that, this was a Rockets team with Yao Ming injured after Game 3, and yet the Lakers were blown-out badly in Games 4 and 6 in Houston. At this point, the Rockets had no prominent scoring threats unless you count Aaron Brooks.

They did, however, defend their home court with the same ferocity, not letting the Rockets ever get off the ground at Staples after Game 1. Either way, when Game 7 ended with the Lakers triumphing by 19, we can be certain the "crisis averted" message appeared in big letters on screen in David Stern's war room.

The Lakers now play a Denver team that appears to be much more dangerous to them than Orlando could possibly be to the Cavs. With Chauncey Billups now leading the powder blues, Denver finally has a proven winner at the point to lead an immensely talented cast. Carmelo Anthony has won a gold medal last summer and now has finally gotten a sniff of the second and now third round of the postseason. The Nuggets are a deep enough team to cause L.A. some matchup problems and take them to the limit before reaching the Finals.

Denver has certainly had less trouble with their playoff opponents than L.A., only losing one game in each of their first two series against New Orleans and Dallas, respectively. This has made them, not the Lakers, appear to be the West's dominant force at the moment. The Lakers should still win the series due to Denver's overall lack of experience deep in the playoffs, and lack of winners, with the exception of Billups.

That dream NBA Finals is potentially two weeks away. Both of our favorite contestants still have one hurdle left to climb. While they may have their work cut out for them in this conference finals round, what we could see coming a mile away is now right around the corner. LBJ against the Mamba. Title-Starved against Tinseltown. Try to keep your head from exploding until then.

Posted by Bill Hazell at 11:56 AM | Comments (0)

Why This is the Year for Sid the Kid

In the epic battle for who is the best player in the NHL, I'm on the side of Alex the Great and don't plan on changing sides for quite some time. Alexander Ovechkin's uncanny ability to make moves with the puck that nobody else could even dream of is far and away better than that of Sidney Crosby or Crosby's teammate, Evgeni Malkin, but Crosby and Malkin have two things Ovechkin doesn't have: each other and a much more engrained sense of team play.

Ovechkin has good players on his team, there is no doubt about that — Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin being among the best — but every time I watch Ovechkin play, I can see him trying to do everything by himself. It's almost as though he doesn't realize half the time that there are other players on his team.

It would be an interesting statistic to see how many of Ovechkin's 54 assists this year were on missed shots and how many were actually on passes. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with firing it at the goalie and hoping for a rebound, but I often question Ovechkin's intentionality on the ice. He is trying to make Alexander Ovechkin score no matter what instead of trying to make the Washington Capitals score no matter what. And obviously, if anybody can get away with it, it is him.

Malkin and Crosby led the NHL in 2008-09 in assists with 78 and 70, respectively. But the Penguins have improved upon their regular season steps as they've continued into the playoffs. Crosby has found the net far more frequently and Marc-Andre Fleury has been improving and looks ready for some solid clutch performances.

I think we'll see a remain of last year's Stanley Cup Finals, Pittsburgh vs. Detroit. Only this year, there will be a new victor. While the Red Wings play hockey the way it should be played and they have unparalleled playoff experience, they lack the fire I've seen from Sid the Kid in this year's playoff run.

The Wings are so business-like in their approach that I think it makes them vulnerable. Their success has become such a foregone conclusion in the minds of their players, coaches, and fans that it's not even a big deal that the Wings are in the semifinals right now. The déjà vu of playing the Penguins again, I believe, will put them to sleep for the first two games, giving the Penguins the opportunity to take an early lead and end up with a Stanley Cup Finals win in six games.

The one thing that could prevent that is Chris Osgood. It's like he fell asleep for the regular season and decided to wake up and be nothing short of amazing for the playoff run. Only time will tell how far up Osgood will climb on the list of top NHL goalies of all-time.

If Crosby and Malkin can frustrate Osgood early in the series or catch him napping, the city of Pittsburgh will have another championship to celebrate in 2009.

Posted by Andrew Jones at 11:12 AM | Comments (1)

May 19, 2009

Fact vs. Fiction: MLB at the Quarter Pole

While it may be cliché to note, the MLB season is far more marathon than it is sprint. Ultimate success or failure is measured not by short-term excellence, but rather by sustained consistency and the all-important ability to not get too high or too low for any particular stretch of games. In short, as they say, championships cannot be won or lost in April.

Still, as we blow by the quarter-pole marker of the season, it is always an interesting exercise to take a look at the trends and happenings of those first 40-plus games, if for nothing else than to get an idea of what it is exactly that we don't know that we thought we might have coming into the season.

It is in the spirit of this all-too-early over-assessment that I give you a smattering of the surprising and not-so-surprising of MLB 2009 framed by what these early returns may portend for the balance of the season.

Premature Eradication

All too often, we as baseball fans are far too anxious to write-off particular teams, players or managers as underachievers. There are some teams that, to the delight of many, annually fall into this category come mid-May (Yankee-haters, you are guilty as charged). As relatively commonplace as these improbable in-season turnarounds have become, we, as fans, still sit amazed as they unfold. This is a direct result of our propensity to read far too much into trends or prolonged periods of slump and to consciously ignore what sound reason would otherwise see (I find myself wanting to name this syndrome "Cub Fan-itis" or "Mid-'80s BoSox Fever," but will resist the urge).

For the 2009 version of those things that we-are-seeing-now-but-should-expect-to-turn-around-at-some-point-soon, I submit the following:

New York Yankees — As alluded to earlier, no list of early season disappointments is complete without including the $200-million plus payroll of the New York Yankees in seasons where they find themselves anywhere outside of the top two spots within the American League East. This is one of those seasons.

Currently riding a six-game win streak, I think it is quite the safe bet to say that anyone who has already written off the Yanks for 2009 should strongly rethink their position and not try to become gainfully employed in any field which requires futures prospecting. With a few key injuries impacting their early season consistency (notably A-'Roid ... I mean A-Rod), a healthy New York squad is a safe bet for the playoffs once all the games are played, even if their overall pitching depth is lacking.

Arizona Diamondbacks — Chosen by many pundits as the "sleeper" pick in the National League, the early season returns on the D-Backs are shockingly unfavorable. Already over 10 games out of first place, Arizona is going to need to turn things around relatively quickly if they want to find themselves in contention come July (when Manny returns from his suspension to the division-leading Dodgers).

The bad news for the D-Backs is that they have won only nine of their 24 home games and the next 40 games see them spending a majority of their time on the road. There is some good news, though. Their pitching has been predictably decent, even with the injury to staff ace Brandon Webb. As youngsters Max Scherzer and Yusmeiro Petit settle into their roles and with Webb's expected return to health, this trend should continue. Add to that the absolutely putrid play of a talented quintet (Stephen Drew, Eric Byrnes, Chad Tracy, Conor Jackson, and Chris Young are all batting .214 or below), and the formula is right for a quick turnaround once the bats right themselves, which they will do.

That leaves timing as the only variable of immediate concern for Arizona; if they don't get the ship righted sooner rather than later, they'll be too far out to contend for the division and may be chasing too many teams for the wild card. I fully anticipate the bats to heat up with that early Phoenix summer and would be shocked to see 'Zona anywhere other than third in their division once the All Star Break arrives.

Cecil Cooper, Houston Astros Manager — Poor Cecil was hearing about the threats to his job as early as spring training. Thankfully, ownership in Houston seems to realize that Houston is always a slow-starter and, more importantly, Cooper was dealt only four cards in a game of five-card stud.

Expect 2009 to be a "mulligan" for Cooper, barring a complete collapse that nets fewer than 70 wins (highly unlikely considering the number of weary but proud vets on the team). Let me put it this way: you wouldn't fire your special education teacher simply because half of his class did poorly in school after his first full year on the job, would you? Think of Cooper as that teacher and his Astros squad that class.

Minnesota Twins Trading Their Roster — As contenders begin their annual mating dance with also-rans in search of key trade options, you have to think at this point that the Twins are looking like that slutty cheerleader with the big, um, assets. Currently two games under .500, Minnesota features a roster that is chalk full talent and has shown a tendency to leverage those subpar seasons as key components in their talent-restocking system. Names like Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, Joe Crede, and Joe Nathan would be excellent additions to any team in the mix for playoff positioning and there is little doubt that that the phones in the Twin Cities will be ringing off the hook should the team continue its recent slide.

But not so fast. While it is exceedingly likely that the team will remain just about where they find themselves now — not quite good enough to lead the division, but not nearly bad enough to be woefully out of contention — this is by no means an invitation to unload proven players that would damage a fan base becoming accustomed to caring about baseball well into August and early September. Expect Cuddyer and his $7.6 million salary to be sent packing, but that would be a financially sound move rather than a desperate maneuver.

Tampa Bay Rays — Everyone loved the story of the Rays in 2008 and frankly, who wouldn't? This was a bunch of young "who deys" knocking off the mighty Red Sox and Yankees with a miniscule payroll and a relative unknown managing the team. This success buoyed the team through the offseason and the Rays entered '09 as a prohibitive favorite to contend if not win it all this season. Unfortunately, some early season struggles and an upshot team north of the border have buried the Rays in fourth place within their own division, nearly seven games out of first place already with both the Sox and Yanks underperforming a bit to date.

A thorough review of the stats, however, paints a much less murky picture. The Rays have outscored their opponents by more than 15 runs, typically one of those more telling stats in terms of measuring success over the duration of the long season. Tampa is playing .600 baseball against Boston and New York and has yet to face Toronto, which shows that perhaps the early season disappointment is more a result of lack of focus than lack of talent, a common issue for young teams. Expect the Rays to hit their stride around June, at which point they are likely to move way up the standings and should be in very good shape by the All-Star Break, which will be music to the ears of every baseball fan this side of the Hudson River.

Big Papi and Derrek Lee — Papi has sucked eggs through the season's first two months. He may well continue to suck eggs into June. But he will turn it around. The man is a professional hitter, but he also has the emotional tensile strength of tissue paper. He needs some tough love, as they say, and has been overly coddled through the season's early weeks by a management team cautiously trying not to flip a boat they started rocking last season with the trade of Manny, who played Tonto to Papi's Lone Ranger act. His recent three-game benching is a step in the right direction, and once David Ortiz turns his pathetic humiliated embarrassment into outright anger, opposing baseballs will be paying the price as his bat inflicts the damage.

As for D-Lee, the signs are all there for a turnaround in the Windy City for the talented but streaky first baseman. The stories of his fall from glory have been a bit shocking. Yes, he is slumping mightily and looks overmatched when pitchers hammer the outer portion of the strike zone with any manner of consistency, but this is not indicative of a player ready to cash in his chips on his career. It's just Derrek friggin' Lee! The name is not Albert Pujols, people; Lee has been maddeningly inconsistent throughout his career. Remember when he was "flirting" with .400 a few seasons back? He wound up batting .125 or something ridiculous like that down the stretch and finished in the low .330s. He's a career .290-ish hitter and will be there again in '09.

Both will come around, just give them some time.

Tag 'Em and Bag 'Em

For every uplifting story of personal or team turnarounds, there are just as many early season struggles that actually are exactly what they appear to be. If this category were a Jeopardy! answer, it would read: "The Pittsburgh Pirates, Kyle Farnsworth, and Brad Ausmus's slugging percentage." The correct question? "What are things that start slowly, get worse through the summer, and slump in September?"

Of all that we've seen to date in 2009, the items below represent those things that I may just bet some greenbacks on as soon as is practical, before the odds are shifted further in favor of the bookies. I, of course, meant to write "legal gambling institutions" in place of "bookies" in that previous sentence.

Chicago White Sox — What's worse than an underperforming team? An underperforming old team that lacks a rational manager and plays bad defense. That's what the White Sox have become. Their infield is an error waiting to happen defensively — poor range, marginal arms, unreliable first basemen, and no consistency to speak of. Their outfield doesn't make a lot of errors, but that's because they don't get to very many balls. (By the way, does anyone else worry that Carlos Quentin's biceps might explode at any time, like that guy in that Discovery Channel documentary that used to shoot steroids into the abscesses that he got from too much steroid use? How has this guy not flunked a drug test? I digress).

Their two best middle relievers are 32- and 35-years-old and between them, have logged so many innings over the past five seasons that fans are starting to think they are a seventh-inning entertainment act (think Milwaukee's sausage races). Oh, and did I mention that only the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres have been outscored by more runs this season?

I fully expect Ozzie Guillen to come unglued by mid-June and publicly demand that his team should be forced to play in skirts and black face, simply because he hadn't had an opportunity to offend or slander women and African-Americans in awhile. This outburst will of course be followed by a pseudo-apology during which he explains "I am not sexist or racist ... I believe everyone should own a woman or a black man." Needless to say, Guillen will be fired, and his team dismantled.

Matt Holliday — I'll admit, this may not be entirely fair to Holliday, as I don't expect him to bat in the low .260s and slug at or around .400 all season long. But if you are thinking .330-30 homers-100 RBI, you're crazy. Don't believe me? Ask any 20-something how good Dante Bichette and Vinny Castilla were. Then ask that very same question to a 30-something. The difference? Those 30-somethings watched the pair play in Colorado.

Kerry Wood — As a long-suffering and loyal Cub fan, it pains me to write this, but Kerry Wood is just not very good anymore. You saw the signs last season in Chicago; his fastball was slower and straighter, nobody swung at his slider anymore, and the only games he was dominant in were those in which he featured a curve ball that he could control, which amounted to about 10 games total. His grittiness and longevity in the face of incredibly bad luck and gross misuse early in his career are remarkable, but you have to think that his career is very near its end and I'd be shocked to see him as Cleveland's closer once July rolls around.

Florida Marlins — If you watch any baseball show on any channel, you've heard the following sentence: "Even though the Marlins are fading a bit, don't sleep on them. This Florida team is for real. They are young, they can pitch, their hitters are underrated, and they are a very well managed team." These, my friends, are the words of baseball analysts everywhere that want to claim that they found 2009's version of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Unfortunately, the tapes of those sound bites will be unceremoniously destroyed at the behest of the speakers after the reality sinks in that yes, this is still that Marlins team. They are a team that features some great, great young talent, but you cannot win in this league with any consistency with Emilio Bonaficio as your starting third baseman and Dan Uggla wearing a glove on his left hand. Or is that an oven mitt? For Heaven's sake, Kiko Calero is their set-up man! This team is slightly above average, but will not be anywhere near the division lead once the Mets and Phillies hit their stride.

"The Sky is the Limit; Unfortunately, I Think We Just Bumped Our Heads"

As the witty title to this section would imply, there are a bunch of trends that are being seen now that just don't pass the stink test. As in every baseball season, there are some teams that start hot and fade and some players that look like they've finally put it all together only to plummet back toward mediocrity once the league settles into its routine.

The items below are the most likely candidates for showing precipitous drop-offs in their current standing over the coming weeks and months.

Toronto Blue Jays — It just can't happen. No way, no how. This team has scored 60 more runs than its opponents to date ... 6-0! This is a very impressive stat, and one that should not be completely disregarded, but the one stat that truly matters to me here is 1-2. This is Toronto's current record combined against Boston, New York, and Tampa Bay. That's right, they've played only three games — all against the Yanks — against those teams most sane people believed would dominate the division in '09. While the Blue Jays have feasted on the likes of Cleveland, Baltimore, and the White Sox in the early season, you certainly can't expect this trend to maintain once they face off with their elite in-division rivals.

I'm not anti-Canadian, nor am I necessarily opposed to the Jays making a serious run at a division title, but I am, above all else, a realist, and Toronto has too many question marks to be in this position over the long-haul.

Victor Martinez and Christian Guzman — Okay, let's just get it out of the way. If you ever own a player in a fantasy league who has sustained a batting average over .100 points higher than his career average over any two-month period, you are obligated to trade that player to the highest bidder as soon as possible. That is what we call "selling high" and the value of Martinez and Guzman will never, ever get any higher than it is right now.

In the case of Martinez, he is a great hitter, but he is batting nearly .420 against left-handed pitchers this season with a slugging average in the .700s. For his career, his bats about .297 against southpaws and slugs around .440. Expect his numbers to level out once he faces more left-handed pitching as the season progresses (48 at-bats so far this season). As for Guzman, I realize he batted a career best (for a full season) .316 in '08 and was hitting at a .328 clip in an injury-shortened 2007, but he batted .219 in '05 and anyone with a number that low on his career stat sheet will never be given the benefit of the doubt by me.

Adrian Gonzalez — The San Diego first baseman is on a home run tear, or was up until this past weekend. With six long balls over a five-game span, he took control of the home run race and appears to be locked in. Unfortunately, Gonzo plays 16 of his next 22 games and 22 of his next 33 at pitcher-friendly PetCo Park, where home run hitters go to die. Expect his home run pace to waver up and down throughout the season, but don't count on him finishing in the top five.

Kansas City Ro... — No, sorry, I just can't do it. You, me, the dude reading this over your shoulder right now, and any Kansas City Royals fan over the age of 20 all know that the Royals have little chance to enter September with a real shot at stealing a division title in the weak AL Central, but I just refuse to beat down such a great story for a team that has done things the right way by growing talent in the minor leagues, remaining fiscally responsible without giving up on free agents altogether and maintaining such a gem of a stadium without overpricing tickets and cheating a fan base hungry for a decent baseball team. For what it is worth, I'm rooting for you, Royals!

Business As Usual

This final group is that rare combination of "good" and "consistent." Never way up nor way down, those that maintain such standing are the baseball equivalent to those that keep a credit score in the 780 range and above (you know who you are). You can bet that what you are seeing from them right now is the very same thing you will see from them in August and quite likely the same thing you'll see from them next June as well.

Those finding themselves on the list below are as reliable as the sunrise.

Albert Pujols — Sigh. If I see one more highlight of Albert Pujols coming up to bat in game representing the tying or winning run, I'm going to scream. He always delivers. In those exceedingly rare instances that he doesn't, he will invariably deliver in his next at bat. If you brush him back, he homers in his next at bat. If he strikes out his first three times up, he doubles the winning run home in his last at bat. He is, as the commercials imply, robotic in his consistent excellence. And I hate him for it. So should you. Let's start a "We Hate Albert" website. I'll pay for it. But it won't matter one bit, he'll still kill our teams in a clutch situation.

Texas Rangers — Yes, you read that correctly. The time has come for Texas. They have assembled a talented group of players that play hard on offense and defense and finally have some starting pitching to work with. While they may ultimately struggle to hold off the Angels once they get rolling, they are for real and should be in a good position to land the wild card playoff berth. Speed and defense don't slump and Texas has put both to great use by supplementing their power with some of that intangible stuff you hear so much about.

The Top of the NL Central — While so many were anxious to throw this entire division to the wolves two short seasons ago, it has quickly become one of the most entertaining races to watch year in and year out. Milwaukee, Chicago, and St. Louis each have the horses to stick around for the long-haul and all three are good enough to be considered the cream of the NL crop in 2009. Trouble is, one of the three will miss the playoffs entirely, making for a very interesting September. The Cubs play 10 straight against the two in September and Milwaukee and St. Louis close their season head-to-head. Stay tuned to this race all season long, as it will be a beauty.

ESPN's Peter Gammons — This guy is the epitome of consistency. He is getting up there in age and has had some significant health problems in recent years, but has there ever been anyone as dead-on in recognizing talent (outside of the dais of "American Idol" judges, of course)?

Over the past four seasons, I have heard the man say the following sentences:

1. "Keep your eye on Grady Sizemore, a rookie looking to land an everyday spot in Cleveland's outfield. This kid can do it all."

2. "Cincinnati has a player by the name of Jay Bruce who should be a mid-year call up. Once he gets to the bigs, he isn't going back and he is the future of Cincinnati Red baseball."

3. "Though he is set to start the season in the minors, expect the Rays to call up 3B Evan Longoria by May. He is the best combination of offensive and defensive consistency that this league has seen in years."

4. "While off most people's radar screen, Kansas City's Zack Grienke is poised to become the dominant pitcher that the Royals have hoped he'd become."

Gammons doesn't heap praise on too many minor league players, but he sure does know talent when he sees it. In each of the four cases above, Gammons was talking about these kids years before they even got a shot at the big leagues. If you are picking a fantasy team, be sure you spend at least half of your prep time reading Gammons' articles ... it will pay off in the end.

Okay, enough of that. Let's PLAY BALL!!!

Posted by Matt Thomas at 11:07 AM | Comments (5)

NCAA Coaching Carousel Winners

The NCAA men's basketball coaching carousel is always a nervous time for the top mid-majors.

You know the story: teams in major conferences who under-performed buy out the guy who couldn't get it done, then go trolling around for the best talent money can buy. And that usually leads them into the pockets of the most successful mid-majors.

This year was no different.

There were five such moves over the past few months, three by SEC schools, two by Pac-10 programs: Anthony Grant from Virginia Commonwealth to Alabama, Mark Fox from Nevada to Georgia, Ken Bone from Portland State to Washington State, Sean Miller from Xavier to Arizona, and the coup-de-grâce of screw jobs, John Calipari from Memphis to Kentucky.

The Arizona hiring was absolutely critical in saving the Arizona program from a devastating decline into Oregon State territory in the Pac-10.

Miller has already stolen Solomon Hill from USC (who USC had stolen from Arizona in the wake of the protracted retirement of Lute Olson), plus grabbed the ESPNU sixth-ranked center, Kyryl Natyazhko, and 6-6 swingman Kevin Parrom out of Connecticut.

Parrom and Natyazhko were both headed to Xavier until Miller decided to bolt (Parrom for sure, Natyazhko just more than likely).

But yet Xavier's loss still pales in comparison to the calamity at Memphis in the wake of the Calipari departure.

Xavier at least still has a stacked roster coming back, including the addition of former Indiana Hoosier Jordan Crawford. Memphis, with 137 wins over the past four years, including two Elite Eights and a trip to the title game, will be basically starting from scratch under first-time head coach Josh Pastner.

Not only will the Tigers be losing their main contributors from last season in Tyreke Evans, Robert Dozier, Antonio Anderson, and possibly Shawn Taggart, who has declared for the NBA Draft but not hired an agent, but their top-ranked recruiting class has all but vaporized:

Shooting guard Xavier Henry, the third-ranked player in the ESPNU 100, is gone to Kansas along with his brother, C.J., who was a walk-on with the Tigers last season.

Center DeMarcus Cousins, the fourth-ranked player on the list, is off to Kentucky with Calipari.

Point guard John Wall, the fifth-ranked player on the list who had been close to signing with Memphis prior to Calipari's departure, is now waiting to see what Kentucky guard Jodie Meeks does in regards to the NBA draft. If Meeks goes pro, it seems likely Wall follows Calipari to UK.

What's for certain is that Wall will not be attending Memphis under Pastner.

Now none of this is to disparage Pastner, who will be a very good coach. He was a walk-on at Arizona when I was a student reporter covering the team, and I can tell you from personal experience the guy is as smart and determined as any coach in the country.

But basketball is a game of players. And thanks to Calipari draining the program of recruits, there's virtually no chance Pastner avoids a fall out of national prominence while he rebuilds.

Kentucky, on the other hand, is the heavy favorite to not only win the SEC East, but to also make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

First, they have a coach in Calipari who knows how to mix a collection of stars into a cohesive group.

Second, their roster is absolutely loaded. Not only are they bringing in Cousins, but they had already signed Daniel Orton, the number two center coming out of high school this year. Patrick Patterson is back, as are two highly-touted prospects from last year's class: Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins.

Oh, and they're pretty much guaranteed to have either Meeks, who averaged nearly 24 points per game last year, or Wall, the most physically gifted guard in this year's class.

(UPDATE: Wall reportedly told Calipari on Tuesday he will indeed attend Kentucky next season. So now I suppose they could end up with both Wall AND Meeks. Wouldn't that be something?)

Kentucky now has its best combination of talent and coaching since the Rick Pitino era, and if you think that's an exaggeration, consider this: between 1993 and 1998, the Wildcats had four First Team All-Americans (Jamal Mashburn, Tony Delk, Ron Mercer, and Scott Padgett), all recruited by Pitino; but since Padgett, not a single one.

To put it another way, if I offered to bet you $100 that Kentucky was going to make a Final Four in the next four years, would you bet against me?

Now Xavier and Memphis may argue with the premise of this column in that they're referred to as "mid-majors."

And that's fine. I can dig it.

So rather than looking at it as "majors" vs. "mid-majors," let's look at it as "haves" vs. "have-nots."

Right now, Arizona and Kentucky have. Memphis and Xavier have not.

And even if they get it back again, chances are somebody else will just take it away.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)

May 18, 2009

NHL Conference Finals Primer

Four teams are left to battle for Lord Stanley's Cup and while one team was viewed as a top contender when the playoffs began (Detroit), the other three teams (Carolina, Pittsburgh, Chicago) came with their share of question marks heading into the postseason. Of course, all of that is ancient history now, and after two pretty grueling rounds, the Conference Finals should be a showcase of skill and determination for the NHL. Here's why each of these teams will — and won't — move on to the final battle for the Stanley Cup.

Detroit Red Wings

The defending champions keep rolling, despite a brutal seven-game series against the Anaheim Ducks that came down to a defensive miscue with three minutes left in the third period. Observers are questioning where Pavel Datsyuk's production has gone or if he's hiding a severe injury. In the meantime, Chris Osgood has provided suitable goaltending, though he hasn't outright stolen any games. Johan Franzen is leading the charge offensively, and Detroit's combination of skill, experience, and championship mettle is shining through.

The Case For: As last year's champions, the Red Wings remain the favorites until they get knocked out of the postseason. The entire crew is in been-there-done-that mode, which is a good thing. Franzen has been nearly unstoppable, and the steady veteran presence, along with the coaching savvy of Mike Babcock, has this team believing they can beat anyone.

The Case Against: Detroit had a few stinker games where some of their flaws were exposed in the first two rounds. Chris Osgood hasn't faced an offensive challenge like the Chicago Blackhawks yet, and the physicality of the seven-game Anaheim series may have taken its toll on the older Red Wings.

Chicago Blackhawks

What a difference a year makes. Older, wiser, and just plain better, the young Chicago Blackhawks are playing beyond their years. It helps that goalie Nikolai Khabibulin has regained his form, Martin Havlat's stayed healthy, and Dustin Byfuglien is as nasty a crease crasher as Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom. On the blueline, you've got a mix of steady (Duncan Keith) and spectacular (Brian Campbell), and the variety of offensive weapons means that the Blackhawks are never out of a game — as evidenced by their numerous come-from-behind wins so far.

The Case For: Perhaps they're just too young and dumb to realize the enormity of the task. Whatever it is, the 'Hawks seem up for the challenge, with secondary scoring (Havlat/Kris Versteeg) elevating their game to support Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. As for experience, Khabibulin certainly knows how to deliver Cup-winning goaltending.

The Case Against: In order to have come-from-behind victories, you have to fall in a hole in the first place. Will Detroit's veteran savvy roll over Chicago's youthful exuberance?

Series Sub-Plot: This is the first time Chicago has faced former captain Chris Chelios in the playoffs. Chelios's familiar No. 7 is now worn by another defenseman, Brent Seabrook. Chelios still gets jeers from the Chicago faithful, despite the Chicago-born's longtime tenure with the team. This also marks the playoff return of Scotty Bowman to Hockeytown — only this time, the legendary ex-coach is a consultant for the opposition. Will his insider knowledge give the Blackhawks a leg up on his former club?

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins' season essentially came in two parts — B.B. (Before Bylsma) and A.B. (After Bylsma). When Dan Bylsma took the coaching reins, he unleashed his biggest thoroughbreds by removing the constricting system former coach Michel Therrien used. Instead, Bylsma's attack-based system allowed his big guns to shine through with their natural talents. The return of puck-moving defenseman Sergei Gonchar made things much easier for the blueline, and trade deadline acquisitions Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz have been a natural fit alongside Sidney Crosby.

The Case For: Some guys named Crosby and Malkin.

The Case Against: Marc-Andre Fleury has been good, but not great so far in the playoffs. Malkin's intensity is like a sine wave — it comes and goes, and if Carolina can keep Crosby in check while Malkin in a down period, they could take over the series.

Carolina Hurricanes

While Pittsburgh's coaching change allowed for more offensive freelancing, Carolina went from the go-go-go style of Peter Laviolette to the more structured system of ex-ex-coach Paul Maurice (see, there's hope for all those bad breakups after all). That change stabilized Carolina's defensive game and turned their season around. The Canes are getting secondary support from cast-offs like Jussi Jokinen and Sergei Samsanov. More importantly, Eric Staal has decided to take over as team leader and Cam Ward finally found the level of consistency Carolina fans have sought since his Conn Smyth-winning introduction.

The Case For: Spectacular second-half goaltending from Ward carried through two strong rounds, especially against the high-flying Bruins. If he could overcome the East's best team, there's no reason why he can't take on a considerably thinner (though more top-heavy) Pittsburgh lineup.

The Case Against: Could the fatigue of two straight seven-game series wear on Carolina? Can the Hurricanes' no-name defense shut down the high-flying Penguins?

Series Sub-Plot: Eric Staal is Carolina's top forward. Jordan Staal is Pittsburgh's key defensive forward. Mr. Staal, meet Mr. Staal — you two will be seeing a lot of each other on the ice.

Prediction

Both series are closer than some people are giving them credit for. Depending on how the bounces go, expect both to go six or seven games — but ultimately, get ready for a rematch of last year's Cup final between Detroit and Pittsburgh.

Posted by Mike Chen at 11:42 AM | Comments (0)

One Shot Away

Anyone who happened to stumble upon my column in which I enlightened readers about my flawless golf game are already quite aware that golf is not my sport. Nevertheless, on Mother's Day last Sunday, when my mom begged me to play a quick round with her, I couldn't refuse. I mean seriously, I had already forgotten to get her a card.

Unlike my last round in which I was constantly reminded that the objective of the game is to "put the ball in the hole" and "the sand trap is not my friend," I was sure this time would be different. And I was right.

After checking out the pro shop, getting a few balls, and meeting the owner, my mom and I set out to the first hole. This par 3 was a short, slight dogleg right, with a countless number of obstacles I would have to overcome in order to achieve a respectable score. To determine who went first, an epic best-of-three rock, paper, scissor match took place in which I was ultimately victorious. I then lined up my ball, squared my shoulders, and was ready to give it a go. Next, I proceeded to do what many golfers have never done. I proceeded to do the unthinkable. Yes, you guessed it — a hole in one.

As I struck the ball, it felt good, but I was unaware that it would be that good. When my orange-colored golf ball dropped into the hole, a stream of emotions raced through my body. At first, I was shocked, stunned, and surprised that someone of my caliber could accomplish such a feat. Next, I was proud and suddenly Mother's Day became Son's Day as I paraded around the green holding the ball in the air like I had just defeated Tiger Woods in a one-hole playoff at the U.S. Open. My over-the-top celebration caused men, women, and children of all ages on neighboring holes to instantly stop what they were doing and observe me in my glory. I even got a thumbs up from the group behind us who were eager to try to match my conquest.

Next, thanks to my beloved Facebook mobile, I set my status as "Bobby Campbell just got a hole in one." Thank God for the new revisions to Facebook or else I would have had no choice but to use the word "is" in my status creating some sort of grammatical nightmare such as "Bobby Campbell is hole in one." But that's neither here nor there.

As I was saying before I was interrupted by Facebook's greatness, excitement continued to overtake my body as I felt like I was on the top of the world. Suddenly, my last round of golf didn't matter so much and before I knew it, I was getting cocky and started acting more self-centered than Mike Jones. Who? Mike Jones. Who? Mike Jones. What a talented rapper.

Although I was ecstatic, I knew I still had 17 holes to play.

The rest of my miniature golf round was subpar as I shot a mediocre 40 on 18 holes. Wait, you knew I was talking about mini-golf this whole time, right?

Posted by Robert Campbell at 11:10 AM | Comments (1)

May 17, 2009

The Frozen Final Four

A wise man once said, "If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best."

Well, now that both number one seeds and one second-seeded team have been eliminated from the NHL playoffs, is this still the case?

The teams that do remain in the playoffs are the second-seeded Detroit Red Wing, the fourth-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins, the fourth-seeded Chicago Blackhawks, and the sixth-seeded Carolina Hurricanes. All of these teams rode different paths to get themselves into the playoffs.

The Carolina Hurricanes rode a series of upsets to get into the final four, knocking off two of the top three seeded teams in the east. Chicago used an "us against the world" mentality to sneak into the Western Conference Finals. Pittsburgh and Detroit both took care of business in their series, but Pittsburgh was challenged in both of their series wins, unlike the Red Wings, who weren't challenged until the second round.

Now that we are down to the Conference Finals, it is time once again to weed out the contenders from the pretenders. After the conclusion of these series, two teams will move on to fight for Lord Stanley, while the other two will be left scratching their heads. Will Carolina continued their Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup, or will they miss the ball? Can the young Chicago Blackhawks defy the odds once again? And will we see a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup matchup that pinned Pittsburgh against Detroit?

Let's look at the matchups:

#3 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #6 Carolina Hurricanes

Sidney Crosby has already fought through a tough series against the Flyers and dethroned Alexander Ovechkin. Can he lead his team back to the Stanley Cup Finals?

After Carolina narrowly escaped with a victory in their round one series against the New Jersey Devils, it looked like the Hurricanes would run all over the number one seeded Bruins in their second round series. The Hurricanes lost game one 4-1, but won the next three games to take a 3-1 series lead. Just as it looked like Carolina would end the series, Boston woke up and won the next two games to force a Game 7. But to Carolina's credit, they didn't let the setback faze them and went on to beat the Bruins 3-2 in overtime in Game 7.

The Hurricanes have been the little team that could this postseason. Carolina didn't exactly breeze into the playoff,s but now thanks to solid goaltending and consistent scoring, they find themselves a series win away from making it back to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Pittsburgh's second round series against the Capitals may as well have been called the Sidney Crosby/Alexander Ovechkin series. Ovehckin finished with 14 points and Crosby finished with 13 as his team ousted the Capitals in seven. It was overall a solid series for Sidney Crosby, who also scored a hat trick in the series. Though it hasn't always been easy for the Penguins this postseason, they have battled their way to the final four.

Goaltending

Carolina — Cam Ward has a .927 save percentage in the playoffs with a goals against average of 2.22. He also has 2 shutouts. Ward's play has been one of the reasons the Hurricanes have been able to pull off consecutive upsets.

Pittsburgh — Marc-Andre Fleury hasn't been exceptional in the playoffs, but he has done enough to give his team a chance. In the playoffs, Fleury has a .901 save percentage and a 2.72 goal against average. He has no shutouts.

Advantage: Carolina

Defensemen

Carolina — Carolina's defense has helped generate two shutouts in the playoffs, and they held Boston's offense in check long enough to win the series. Joni Pitkanen has been impressive on defense, but has also made some clutch plays on offense, as well, with 7 points. Joseph Corvo, Tim Gleason, and Dennis Seidenberg have all been solid for Carolina.

Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh has no shutouts in the playoffs so far, but their defense has come up big when it matters, most recently the game seven victory against the Capitals. Pittsburgh did struggle in containing Washington's offense, but that is no easy feat for anyone.

Advantage: Carolina

Forwards

Carolina — Eric Staal has been the catalyst for the Hurricanes' offense. He has scored 9 goals and notched 9 assists so far. Another solid contributor for the Hurricanes has been Jussi Jokinen, who has notched 10 points and already made some clutch plays. Chad Larose has also been surprisingly good for Carolina.

Pittsburgh — While the Penguins may have lacked a little on the defensive side of things, the same can't be said on offense. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have been unbelievable scoring 21 and 19 points, respectively. Crosby, in particular, really emerged as a solid threat in the series against the Capitals as he helped lead the Penguins to a win. Besides Malkin and Crosby, Pittsburgh has used a consistent effort from other players.

Advantage: Pittsburgh

Overall

I really find this series hard to predict. Pittsburgh's struggles on defense could mean trouble for them in this series, but their offense has been equally impressive. While Carolina may be viewed as an underdog in this series, we have already learned it is foolish to count them out of any series. In order for Carolina to win, they will need Cam Ward to continue his dominant form and they will need to continue their aggressive play on offense. If Cam Ward is on his game, it could be hard for Pittsburgh to win. Where Pittsburgh may prosper in this series, unlike Boston and New Jersey, is the fact that they have recent experience. The team lost in the Stanley Cup Finals last year and they desperately want to get back. Pittsburgh won't take Carolina lightly, which should make for intense series.

Pick: Pittsburgh in 7

#2 Detroit Red Wings vs. #4 Chicago Blackhawks

In the Western Conference Finals, the student Chicago Blackhawks will face the teacher Detroit Red Wings. Can the young 'Hawks hope to tame the Red Wings in a situation they're all too familiar with?

Many thought the Blackhawks would lose to the Calgary Flames. An equal amount though they would perish at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks. So what did the Blackhawks do? They beat both. Chicago seemed to harness the doubts they faced into motivation that guided them to the final four of the playoffs.

Detroit got a wake-up call in the playoffs after crushing the Columbus Blue Jackets. The team was forced into a Game 7 against the Anaheim Ducks which they eventually won. Though the Red Wings showed some weaknesses against the Ducks, perhaps the close call is the wake-up call they really need.

Goaltending

Chicago — Nikolai Khabibulin has been shaky at times during the postseason. He only has a .896 save percentage and has allowed at least five goals three times already. Khabibulin has come up big at certain times, and did finally beat the Canucks after many attempts.

Detroit — Chris Osgood has once again proved how solid he is in the postseason. He has an impressive save percentage of .921 and he has a goal against average of 2.06. Osgood handled the Blue Jackets easily and had a bit of trouble with the Ducks.

Advantage: Detroit

Defensemen

Chicago — Brian Campbell and Brent Seabrook have been solid for Chicago as expected and Cameron Barker has also been good on defense. Chicago's young defenders have made some mistakes, but have been improving as the playoffs go on.

Detroit — Nicklas Lidstrom has been the solid as expected for the Red Wings in the playoffs who have had some struggles on defense. The team had no trouble with Columbus's offense but struggled a bit against Anaheim. What hurts Detroit's defense some times is the fact that they take chances on the offensive side and end up getting burned the other way.

Advantage: Tie

Forwards

Chicago — Chicago has been relentless on offense during the playoffs. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Martin Havlat and Kris Versteeg have been just a few of the Blackhawk players who have been producing. With their aggressive philosophy, the Blackhawks have been able to make up for their inexperience.

Detroit — The Red Wings have been hurting teams with a number of different players during the playoffs. Johan Franzen leads the way with 15 points with Henrik Zetterberg close behind with 14. But what has been most impressive about Detroit's offense is how explosive they can be at any time.

Advantage: Detroit

Overall

Detroit has been in this situation many times before, whereas the Blackhawks are highly inexperienced. The best way to beat Detroit is to attack them aggressively. This could bode well for Chicago, as they have one of the most aggressive attacks in the playoffs. Which goaltender handles the other team's explosive offense the best could dictate the winner of this series. While you can never count Chicago out of a series with the way they've been playing, Detroit has a lot of experience and a lot off offensive firepower. They might be too much for a young Chicago team in this series.

Pick: Detroit in 6

Jonathan Hamelin contributes articles on the NBA, NFL and NHL. Being an avid fan of the Canadian Football League, Jonathan writes two columns on the CFL, Rider Report Card and CFL Buzz.

Posted by Jonathan Hamelin at 11:59 AM | Comments (4)

May 15, 2009

Sports Q&A: Manny's Ball Tales

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Manny Ramirez was recently suspended 50 games for testing positive for a banned drug known as "hCG" (human chorionic gonadotropin), a drug often used to soften the effects of ending a cycle of steroids. Ramirez said the drugs were prescribed by a physician for a "personal health issue." Should we buy Ramirez' explanation?

Doctor-prescribed? Personal health issue? Let me respond to those claims with a phrase that I'm sure Manny, and many other cheating baseball players, have uttered to direct a syringe full of steroids ... "my ass."

Let's see. A power-hitting baseball superstar wants me to believe his explanation of how a banned substance appeared in his body? My testicles are shrinking at the very audacity of Ramirez' claim. Sorry, Manny. There's only one way you can convince me that a doctor prescribed this medication, and that's by showing me the medical license of Doctor Jose Canseco.

And yes, in the baseball world of illicit drugs, players like Canseco can become "board"-certified by mastering the game of "Operation."

"Personal health issue," Manny? Aside from hCG's use in connection with a cycle of steroids, it's often used by non-baseball players to stimulate female fertility, stimulate testosterone production in men, and to treat delayed puberty in boys. So, Manny, unless your "personal health issue" was the desire to get pregnant, or a need for more testosterone, or enjoying puberty 20 years too late, then you shouldn't be taking hCG.

Besides, it's No. 51 on Major League Baseball's list of banned substances. And the term "human chorionic gonadotropin" contains the word "gonad." Rule of thumb, Manny: never put anything into your body that contains the word "gonad."

Anyway, the left field bleachers at Dodger Stadium are named "Mannywood" in your honor. That name was built on home runs and RBIs. Should it be built on lies and half-truths, the name might have to be changed to "Mannywood-en Nose."

Is this what the drug situation in baseball has come to ... players using fertility drugs that could be much better utilized by women who need it most, like mothers looking to add a brood of eight to an already full house of six? I understand Manny is approaching 40 years of age, a time when many parents are looking to revisit the joys of parenthood. He's fathered three children, but has yet to mother any. And that has to leave an empty feeling, much like a player, like a Barry Bonds, would feel who's won individual awards, but not a World Series title.

Maybe fertility drugs were the closest Manny could come to motherhood, and, as a bonus, they could ease the effects of pumping near-lethal amounts of steroids into his body.

Of course, it's far-fetched, almost impossible even, that Manny could ever give birth. It's one thing to carry the entire Dodgers team; it's something else entirely to carry a baby to term. But it darn sure would have made an interesting visit to the gynecologist. Maybe that's why Manny wears his pants so close to his cleats — he's just not a big fan of stirrups.

And what of the poor young boys yet to experience the joys of puberty, Manny? How dare your doctor prescribe you hCG when it could better serve someone who truly needs a boost of testosterone, not to hit a baseball further, but to resume the path to manhood. Manny, you remember the ups and downs of puberty, don't you? The joy. The confusion. Kind of like the Great Home Run Race of 1998.

Don't deny a poor kid his chance to enjoy the fruits of hCG. All he wants is a little hair on his chest; all you want are the pimples off your rear and your balls back to normal size. Hey, I understand the embarrassment of playing the game of pocket pool and coming up empty. You just want things back like they used to be. What baseball fan longing for the days of clean play can't relate to that?

This all started with a urine sample taken from Ramirez during spring training. In the current culture of baseball, giving the spring training urine sample is becoming as common for players as giving the spring training autograph, or spring training interview, or lying about past drug use. Let's face it. The wave of the future in collectibles is not baseball cards, but urine samples. If you're sitting on a Barry Bonds' 2003, then you've got a gold mine on your hands, a veritable golden shower of collectible worth. And any Mark McGwire sample is sure to draw a hefty price, and even more on the yellow market. And any item with Roger Clemens DNA on it is definitely something you'd want to pass down to your kids, or federal agents.

Hey, they don't call baseball America's "piss-time" for nothing.

Ramirez' sample showed an elevated level of testosterone, so high that even former East German female track stars were alarmed.

It pains me that Ramirez, like many other baseball players, has not learned the lesson that when busted, it's always best to admit your guilt, immediately. Baseball fans are generally a forgiving bunch, probably too forgiving, but they've been conditioned not to believe players' so-called legitimate excuses for positive drug test. You know those signs often seen in the stands? Those that read "We Believe." Well, if you saw the back side of those signs, it would read "...that you are a liar."

Me, I can accept an admission of guilt in a heartbeat. The truth? I can handle the truth. Apparently, most baseball players accused of, if not proven to be, drug cheats, cannot handle the truth, or at least the consequences of telling the truth.

Of course, it takes a huge pair of balls to tell the truth after first lying. Maybe that's why baseball's steroid cheats can't make themselves tell the truth; their testicles have been so diminished by the effects of steroids, that they are no longer man enough to make the admission. They lack the "testicular fortitude."

There is a statute of limitations on telling the truth, after first lying. If Barry Bonds came up to me today and admitted to everything he's been accused of, I would reply, "You're a liar." Sorry, Barry. The statute of limitations ran out long ago.

Ramirez, on the other hand, has time to be truthful, and be forgiven, and be praised even. But with each passing day that he maintains his innocence, the less likely the truth, if ever admitted, will benefit him.

As it is, nothing surprises baseball fans anymore. Sure, fans are disappointed when they hear that their favorite player has used steroids, but not surprised. Fans have become desensitized to steroid scandals. I guarantee Ramirez fans will get over his drug issues, and I'm guessing it will take them somewhere around 50 games to do so.

Forgiving is easy. Forgetting is not. Forgiving is even easier when someone admits a mistake, or a lapse in judgment, or an association with a known merchant of banned substances. All too often, players use the excuse of "not knowing." That is, "not knowing" that the drug was banned, or "not knowing" that they were even taking a banned substance, or "not knowing" that their trusted doctor had prescribed something they shouldn't have.

Manny should look at the examples of Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, two players who have adamantly maintained their innocence in defiance of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Of course, there's not overwhelming evidence in Manny's case, but there is evidence. It's best to come clean before this all becomes a legal issue, which, as Bonds and Clemens can attest, is not a good thing.

So Manny, it would behoove you to make a full admission, and honor the words of the great statesman Barney Fife, who insists that you need to "nip it in the bud."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)

May 14, 2009

Mile-High Surprise

What has been the biggest story of the NBA playoffs so far?

You could pose that question to 10 different people and get 10 different answers. You'll hear all sorts of responses: Cleveland winning every game by double digits; Boston and Chicago playing an epic series; questionable officiating; players being suspended; Mark Cuban vs. Kenyon Martin's mom.

All of those answers are near the top of the list; they've all been big stories this postseason.

And they're all wrong.

The real answer to the question of what has been the biggest story of the NBA playoffs: the Denver Nuggets.

Maybe it's because they've played late at night, or because they don't have one player that has just completely dominated, or because they've made quick work of both of their opponents, or a combination of all of the above, but Denver has flown under the radar for most of this postseason.

However, the Nuggets have quietly been the most impressive team in the postseason, and unless you're Charles Barkley, you're probably not talking about them.

During Game 5 last night, as the Nuggets were putting the finishing touches on yet another one-sided home victory (more on that in a minute), my brother, watching the Nuggets play for an extended period of time for the first time this playoffs, asked, "Do you think they can beat the Lakers?"

Without even having to think about it, I said, "Absolutely."

If you've read In the Rotation or any of these columns since the playoffs started, you already know that my answer to that question is surprising. It's no secret that I love all things Kobe Bryant and Los Angeles Lakers.

And if he would have asked me two weeks ago, I would have given my answer just as much thought, and came back with, "No (bleeping) way."

Now, I'm not so sure that the question wasn't worded wrong. The more I think about it, the more I find myself asking, "Can the Lakers beat this team?"

Think about it, where exactly do the Lakers have the advantage against the Nuggets? The Lakers have two bigs in Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum that command attention down low; the Nuggets have the toughest interior defense of any team left.

The Lakers haven't been able to stay in front of either starting point guard they've faced so far this postseason; the Nuggets have in Chauncey Billups the best starting point guard left.

The Lakers' bench has been marred by inconsistency the entire postseason, highlighted by the fact that they don't have a backup point guard and their designated "shooter", Sasha Vujacic, is just 9-of-30 in the playoffs from deep; the Nuggets' bench is as consistent as a second unit can get. You know what to expect from every player, and time and again this postseason they've delivered.

The Lakers have had the advantage in the first two rounds when they get out and run on their opponents; the Nuggets are dying for teams to turn the game into a track meet, especially in the Pepsi Center.

The Lakers have already lost a game at home this postseason, and have squandered away a few big leads in the games that they have won at Staples; Denver has squeaked out three road wins already in the playoffs, and if they steal home-court advantage, they could be very dangerous, since, as I've written before, I'm not sure anyone can beat them at home.

And to make matters worse, the only player on the Lakers team that has a chance to slow down Carmelo Anthony defensively is Kobe Bryant. We saw in the Finals last year when Kobe had to guard Paul Pierce, having to be the best player on the floor on both sides is a daunting task, even for Kobe.

Still, I've seen this Laker team play so good at times recently, both during the regular season and in the playoffs, that I have a hard time believing that any team can beat them when they are clicking on all cylinders. I don't care how good Denver is, the Lakers are the best of the best when they want to be.

So when I was asked, "Can the Nuggets beat the Lakers?" as a diehard NBA fan and an objective writer, I had no choice but to answer "absolutely." It's the only realistic answer to the question.

But ask me again minutes before tip-off of Game 1 and I guarantee there's only one response that comes to mind: "No (bleeping) way."

The NBA: where blind faith in your favorite team ... happens.

Posted by Scott Shepherd at 11:59 AM | Comments (2)

Time For MLB to Man Up on Records

I have weighed in a few times within these pages regarding Major League Baseball's cowardice, which was most apparent during the Mark McGwire/Sammy Sosa home run chase and the accompanying attendance boom.

The subject matter has varied from Barry Bonds' overhyped stats (where were his RBIs why hy wasn't he part of the chase for Roger Maris' mark in 1998?), to Bud Selig looking the other way concerning PEDs. Such columns have never failed to generate debate. The latest relevation revolving around disgraced Dodger slugger Manny Ramirez, he of the Octomom meds, is no different. Some fans and journalists will say, "Hey, if all these guys were juicing, the playing field was even." Others will insist the game is hallowed, and the PED-enhanced era was a statistical aberration. Which sluggers from this period merit election to Cooperstown? The Manny Ramirez mess only serves to further muddy these waters.

Naturally, I'm jumping into the fray again with both feet. The addition of RBI kings Alex Rodriguez and Manny to the equation, and what we have learned about Roger Clemens, casts a dark cloud over a generation of superstars and lesser players. It also begs questions about the record books and posterity. Every year, Jose Canseco and his books look more and more authoritative on what was going on behind clubhouse and training room doors.

What must Hank Aaron and Willie Mays think? What would Commissioner Landis do? I can tell you what former Milwaukee Brewers owner Bud "I'm Just One of the Guys" Selig will not do. He will not insist that an asterisk accompany Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa's season home run totals of that "magic" (more than we knew at the time) 1998 season. More importantly (and despite superior evidence than with McGwire or Sosa), Selig and his leadership lack the stones to remove Barry Bonds' career big fly mark from the top of the all-time list and restore that of Henry Louis Aaron. Yet they should.

The issue with the Bonds record goes beyond the alleged use of anabolic steroids. Bonds also faced charges such as perjury and tax evasion, not to mention marital indiscretions. He was untruthful (not to mention surly) with the media. If Pete Rose (although his records are not in question) has been left off all-time and all-century/greatest moment lists and teams because he broke the law, and placed the integrity of the game in question, why was Bonds honored by MLB as the lifetime home run king? Which U.S. laws does baseball consider inviolate, and which not? Which baseball rules can one thumb one's nose at, and which not?

Were Rose's lies about wagering any less forgivable than those told by Bonds, Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro, and A-Rod about juicing? Where is the consistency? If MLB (or the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the journalists with Hall votes) is going to punish Rose for the rest of his life, then Bonds should be similarly penalized with at least a disclaimer next to 762. In different times, then-Commissioner Ford Frick demanded Maris' mark bear an asterisk to remind fans his season was eight games longer than Babe Ruth's 1927 campaign.

Either legal and personal conduct is,or isn't a factor when honoring baseball's best. Orlando Cepeda (not inducted until 1999) and Juan Marichal (election delayed until 1983 in large part due to sentiment regarding the 1965 brawl during which he struck Dodger catcher Johnny Roseboro with a bat) know what it is like to wonder if poor decisions they made would forever overshadow their diamond accomplishments. So does former pitcher Ferguson Jenkins, a 284-game winner not admitted to Cooperstown until 1991 (like Cepeda, Jenkins was arrested in a much-publicized drug bust). None of these mens' controversy directly impacted on their actual numbers or performance. Such is not the case with players like Clemens and Bonds.

If baseball is to take a stand that will speak loudly to youth players, sports historians, agents, trainers, and Hall of Fame voters, it will deny Barry Bonds a place at the top of the home run list. Numbers mean everything to ballplayers (Rose knew his lifetime stats by heart at any given time late in his career, down to runs scored and bases on balls), and the best manner in which to punish individuals is to deny them something they value. Failing that, there is no deterrent for the violator, nor reward for the law abider. With an asterisk, Bud Selig could salvage his stewardship of a tainted era.

Posted by Bijan C. Bayne at 11:04 AM | Comments (0)

May 13, 2009

A Tale of Two Sox

Of everything that can be said on the matter, the one thing you probably can't say about Manny Ramirez's somewhat clumsy come-uppance for actual or alleged performance-enhancing substances is that here at last is the proof that the two Boston Red Sox World Series wins to which he contributed equals tainted curse-busting.

While bagging the Series MVP for the 2004 set, Ramirez had only the second highest Series OPS among the Red Sox, 1.088. The highest? Bill Mueller (1.127), who out-hit Ramirez and nailed a higher on-base percentage while slugging 39 points higher.

Want to know who hit as many home runs (1) and drove in as many runs (4) as Manny during that Series? David Ortiz (what a surprise) and ... Mark Bellhorn.

Want to know who scored more runs than Manny (2) in that Series? How do Bellhorn, Mueller, and Orlando Cabrera (3 each), and Johnny Damon (4), strike you?

Do you remember how many extra-base hits that weren't home runs Manny had? Zero. Bellhorn (1), Cabrera (1), Damon (2), Kevin Millar (1), Mueller (2), Trot Nixon (3), and Big Papi (1) doubled; Damon and Jason Varitek each had one triple.

Advance the tape to 2007. The Red Sox practically didn't need Ramirez to beat the Colorado Rockies, not when they're outscoring the Rockies 29-10 and Manny drove in only two of the runs.

As a matter of fact, you could almost be excused for wondering where Manny really was. He hit .250, rolled a .333 on-base percentage, and slugged a mere .313, with one double among his four measly singles. Mike Lowell and Dustin Pedroia equaled his 2004 Series output of a bomb and 4 ribs each; Jacoby Ellsbury's 1.188 OPS included 7 hits, 4 doubles, and 3 ribs; Ortiz and Pedroia each drove in 4.

So Manny turned up a flunk on a drug test and gets a 50-game vacation, and the Los Angeles Dodgers turn up with a little omelette on their faces. This surprises you? But don't get the bright idea that he tainted the Red Sox's two World Series triumphs. They really did win them as a team, and until or unless there comes evidence to the contrary, I don't know who else if anyone on those teams was or wasn't "tainted."

And neither do you.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 11

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jeff Gordon — Gordon rebounded from subpar finishes at Talladega and Richmond with a strong fifth at Darlington, joining Hendrick Motorsports teammates Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson in the top five. Gordon remained the Sprint Cup points leader, with a slim 29-point margin over Tony Stewart.

"Hendrick engineering accounted for all of the cars in the top five," says Gordon. "That's pretty impressive. I haven't seen that kind of dominance since Tony Stewart's whips-and-chains-themed hauler party of 2008. Yeah, and Aaron Fike got handcuffed at that one, too."

"But what can you say about Mark Martin? The man is a machine. I'm glad he's on board with Hendrick through 2010. Being behind the wheel of a Hendrick car is like career Viagra."

2. Tony Stewart — Stewart recorded his fifth top-five finish in the last six races, finishing third at Darlington, as Stewart-Haas Racing continued to make its presence felt. Stewart's teammate Ryan Newman finished fourth, his third straight top-five result, and the two seem more than ready to give Stewart-Haas its first victory.

"To put two cars in the top five at a track as demanding as Darlington is a big deal," says Stewart. "With the amount of wrecks and cautions, I'm just happy my car is still intact. That's called 'bringing it home in one piece,' not to be confused with 'bringing home one piece,' which I try to do every night."

"Now, should Darlington get a second Cup date? I love this track, but you know how I roll. If you can't get what you want by the first date, then why bother with a second?"

3. Jimmie Johnson — With a crash in qualifying relegating him to 42nd on the grid in a backup car, Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet team started in a hole. Things didn't get much better in the early going, as Johnson was pinned a lap down after the caution flew as he was making a green-flag stop. But showing the perseverance for which they've become known, the Lowe's team regrouped, overcoming a spin on the track and an incident in the pits, to steadily gain track position. Chad Knaus opted to keep Johnson on the track during the final caution, and Johnson drove to an unlikely second-place finish.

"Things weren't looking so good early," says Johnson. "I'm not sure I can say this without being 'randomly' drug-tested, but we were 'behind the 8-ball.'"

"The NASCAR drug policy is pretty 'cut and dry,' which is exactly how some guys in the garages like their cocaine. I'm not sure I buy Jeremy Mayfield's explanation that he tested positive because of a mix of prescription and over-the-counter medications. Should you even be driving at all when you're mixing those types of medications? I think not."

"But cheer up, Jeremy. Maybe you didn't qualify for the race, but you did qualify for a drug suspension."

4. Mark Martin — Martin won a grueling Southern 500 at Darlington, navigating through a record 17 cautions and leading the final 46 laps for his second win this season. Martin recently announced that he'll return to race another full-time season for Hendrick Motorsports in 2010, and seems committed to capturing that elusive Sprint Cup championship. Martin moved up four places to 11th in the point standings, and is 285 out of first.

"I'm here to say that I'm officially retiring," says Martin. "That is, officially retiring all talk of retiring. Dang, I make Brett Favre sound decisive."

"But if you're just as tired of hearing about the extending of my career as you were about my so-called retirement, then consider yourself re-'tired.'"

"These two wins this year have given me the confidence to consider myself a legitimate Cup contender. I think my experience gives me an edge, as does my fitness. You know, I stay in shape with a healthy diet, plenty of sleep, and an exercise regimen featuring Richard Simmons' 'Sweatin' to the Oldies.' And that's just what these youngsters on the track are doing when they see me zoom past — 'sweatin' to the oldie.'"

5. Jeff Burton — Burton outlasted a tight-handling car, as well as a broken shock, to post a 12th-place finish in the Southern 500 at Darlington. Burton has now reeled off nine-straight finishes of 15th or better after a relatively slow start to the season, and is sixth in the points, 217 out of first.

"I think the No. 31 Caterpillar team is finally coming into its own," says Burton. "Earlier this year, we stumbled, as if in a 'cat-atonic state. Now, I feel that our run of top-15s will 'cat'-apult us to greater things, like fifth, or maybe fourth, in the points. It appears that Caterpilla' got her groove back."

6. Ryan Newman — Newman finished fourth in the Southern 500, his third consecutive top-5 result, and second that didn't launch Carl Edwards skyward, following third-place Tony Stewart to give Stewart-Haas both cars in the top five for the second-straight race. After finishing out of the top 20 in the first five races this season, Newman has paced the No. 39 US Army Chevy to seven top-20 finishes, including five top-10s.

"This team is on fire," says Newman, "which is probably the same thing Michael Waltrip said on lap 75. That should go down as a lesson on the perils of running jet fuel in your car."

"But racing at Darlington requires you to use every ounce of energy you can muster. I'm drained. In fact, I'm suffering from Army fatigue."

7. Kurt Busch — Busch started eighth at Darlington and battled a loose-handling No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge for the majority of the night. Those handling issues, in conjunction with Darlington's tricky surface and a surfeit of spins and cautions, left Busch with an exhausting 16th-place finish and a beat-up car. He fell one place in the points to third, and is 55 behind Jeff Gordon.

"It's true what they say," says Busch. "Darlington is 'too tough to tame.' That's also what they used to say about my ears, until advancements in the field of cosmetic surgery made it possible to take the wind out of those sails."

"But I was none too happy with my car on Saturday night. I tried to get Roger Penske on the radio to tell him about it, but he's got my number blocked."

"Apparently, Roger's got better things to do than listen to me whine about my car, like watch Helio Castroneves win the pole for the Indianapolis 500. It's a good thing Danica Patrick doesn't drive for Roger; otherwise, he'd be hearing it in both ears."

"I guess the question on everyone's mind is where will Danica be next year? In an Indy car or in a stock car? I think most red-blooded racing fans could care less, as long as Danica's in a bikini. In all three cases, 'grip' and 'handling' play important roles."

8. Denny Hamlin — Hamlin survived an eventful night in the Southern 500, piloting the No. 11 Farm Bureau Insurance Toyota to a well-earned 13th-place finish. Hamlin banged a spinning car early in the race, the damage from which compromised the car's handling. Several pit stops and a "Lucky Dog" free pass later, Hamlin was back on the lead lap.

"With a record number of 17 cautions," says Hamlin, "Farm Bureau picked the right time to sponsor the No. 11 Toyota. Luckily for them, they only cover reckless drivers on the street, and not on the track."

"This team is desperate for a win, though. Unlike Jeremy Mayfield, I don't get to do a victory burnout every day. And what's this about NASCAR not accepting Mayfield's excuse that he tested positive because he was taking allergy medication? I thought it was common knowledge that he was allergic to not being stoned."

9. Kyle Busch — Busch cut a tire on lap 274 and hammered the wall, sending the No. 18 M&M Toyota to the garage for major repairs. A frustrated Busch returned to complete 29 more laps, but finished 34th, 64 laps down. On Friday night, Busch's dominance in the Nationwide race was negated by a flat tire that cost him the win.

"Do I have an attitude problem when things don't go my way?" says Busch. "It certainly seems that way. When I'm 'down and out,' I 'frown and pout.'"

"Maybe I got a little too caught up in the hoopla surrounding my win at Richmond. And, as the winner of last year's Darlington race, I was confident. I guess the Darlington 'stripe' outweighed the Darlington 'hype.'"

"Maybe this is karma at work. Last week, after my Richmond win, perhaps my ego became overinflated. That flat tire on Friday took care of that."

"My guess is you won't be hearing about 200 wins again, unless I happen to win again, and the NASCAR media machine again becomes infatuated with me, baiting me into making outrageous claims, like winning 200 races."

"I guess it's up to me to knock myself down a few notches and say what everyone else is afraid to: 'Kyle Busch is ready to win races, but he's not ready to win a championship."

10. Greg Biffle — Biffle led the most laps at Darlington, but a spin on lap 295 all but ended his chances for the victory. Biffle also made contact with the car of teammate Carl Edwards a few laps earlier, sending Edwards into the wall. Biffle finished eighth, and improved two spots in the point standings to ninth, where he is 256 out of first.

"Between the wall and Carl's No. 99," says Biffle, "I guess you could say we left our mark out there."

"That's three races in a row in which Carl's been in the wrong place at the wrong time. And speaking of 'the wrong place at the wrong time,' that pretty much sums up what it's like to be a Roush Fenway driver this year."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)

May 12, 2009

Safina Proving Why She is No. 1

Bruce Springsteen once proclaimed, "Everybody wants to be the man at the top."

Well, come the start of next week, the young Russian, Dinara Safina, will be a top of the WTA rankings.

Seeing your name at the number one spot must be an incredible feeling. You work your entire life to be the best at what you do, then for a fleeting moment, it all comes together. You see your name where you want it to be.

You are the best player in the world.

It's an old tennis cliché that the rankings don't lie, yet many people will say that Safina may not be entirely deserving of the top spot.

Safina has undoubtedly been the nearly woman over the past year. She was the runner-up at last year's French Open, as well as this year's Australian Open. However, the fact that she lost these matches was not the problem, it's the fact that she played poor tennis when the pressure was on.

The very best at what they do, no matter what their profession may be, produce their best when it is needed most. The greatest people rise to the occasion, often thriving on the pressure of the moment.

For Safina, the time is now here to rise. Can she prove that she deserves to be at the top of the mountain? Her form this year has by no means been spectacular. In fact, she bowed out of the BNP Paribas Open in the quarterfinals, then a couple of weeks later, she only managed to reach the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open.

So, it could be argued that she will only find herself in the number one spot because of the poor play of everyone else on the tour. After all, these days, women's tennis tournaments are about as wide-open as the Grand Canyon.

In Springsteen's aforementioned "Man at the Top," he also sings, "Man at the top says it's lonely up there."

Safina will soon find out that the American rock star is right. The moment you ascend to the top of your profession, you have to be prepared for an onslaught on Biblical proportions. The pressure intensifies whether you like it or not. It's extremely hard to deal with, just ask Ana Ivanović. She's struggled to cope with pressure in the past. Can she really deal with it now?

The only way to prove that you should be mentioned as one of the best is by winning major titles, something she has yet to do. Only time will tell whether she can finally make that giant leap, but unfortunately for her, so many that try and make that jump fall into the chasm below. I guess this article poses more questions than answers, but then again, so does Safina.

All writing preceding this point was written on April 9.

Having written this one moth ago, Safina has had time since then to demonstrate why she deserves to be the world No. 1. In fact, it could be argued that rising to the top of the rankings was the kick in the backside that she needed.

In recent weeks, she has made two finals, one in Stuttgart and the other this past Saturday in Rome. In both finals, Safina had to contend with the power provided by fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. While Kuznetsova bested her in Stuttgart, Safina ran out a comfortable winner in "The Eternal City."

Having struggled for form in the weeks prior to gaining the world No. 1 spot, it's refreshing to see Safina finally posted some good results. However, it's hardly surprising that she has hit top form at this time of year. Many fans and pundits alike regard clay as her best surface. After all, she did make her first major final on the red dust a little under a year ago.

All in all, she rose to the top of the sport at just the right time in year, but even so, she has still managed to put in some stellar performances. The big question, however, still remains. Can all this promise result in a major victory? The French Open could well be her time to shine.

Posted by Luke Broadbent at 11:59 AM | Comments (0)

BCS: Block Congressional "Solutions"

A funny thing happened recently in the halls of the U.S. Capitol.

In a Congressional hearing, the House Energy and Commerce committee listened to arguments from Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson and ACC Commissioner (and BCS chair) John Swofford about the pros and cons of the current BCS system.

This isn't good news for anyone. This is college football crossing a line when they need to take several steps back.

A good friend of mine brought this up, asking why a) this was a government issue and b) didn't the government have other things to do?

I, for one, could not agree more.

While our economy is slumping and unemployment is rising, the halls of Congress are discussing the economic state of college football. And, through a long day of questions and answers, arguments and rebuttals, Congress came up with ... well, nothing.

Is anyone surprised by that?

Does football really need a bailout? No, it needs fine-tuning, but it doesn't require pages of legislation that will be read by about half the people who vote on any of it.

Yes, there is no question that college football is a money game wrapped around an amateur sport. The bigger conferences thrive while the smaller ones struggle. Since the Utahs and Boise States of the world have no shot ... none ... at winning a title, they marched to Congress with the accusation of the BCS violating anti-trust regulations.

Valid? Well, there's no doubt that the bigger conferences leave nothing but a sliver in the BCS cash pie. But does the answer really lie in the form of the United States government? Do we really want college football to become another government program?

John F. Kennedy encouraged Americans to give to their country, and not have the government do it for them. Ronald Reagan said government wasn't the solution to the problem, but was the problem. And now, we, as sports fans, have to remember the words of presidents past and find a solution to this mess on our own.

There's talk about four-team playoffs and eight-team playoffs, the plus-one system, and a whole bunch of ideas in between. I say, for now, let's make it simple. Get the conference commissioners and Myles Brand in a room. Lock the room and don't let them out until a new playoff system that benefits all is agreed upon. No computer rankings. No government hearings. No bailouts. No C-SPAN. And definitely no long drawn-out lectures from ego-centric members of Congress. They have more than enough on their hands.

We need football to remain one of the few places untouched by Washington. The burden lies on all of us to get this settled the right way.

Posted by Jean Neuberger at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)

May 11, 2009

Living Dangerously on Easy Street

April 3rd, 2009: The Orlando Magic defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 116-87 in Orlando. The day is significant for two reasons: first, the Magic (a possible Eastern Conference Finals opponent for Cleveland), were the last team to beat the Cavs in the regular season (yes, I'm aware that the Cavs lost on the final night of the regular season to Philly, but they had nothing to play for and rested their starters).

Second, and more importantly, it was the last time this Cleveland team was challenged. The Cavs became the first team in NBA history to win each of their first seven postseason games by double-digits. They played a team with inferior talent in the first round, a team with inferior talent and injury problems in the second round, and regardless of who wins between Boston and Orlando, the Cavs will once again play an inferior team that has little to no chance of beating them.

June 4th, 2009: The first day of the NBA Finals.

As I've said it many times before, I'm no mathematician. But, if my calculations are correct and assuming the Cavs have as easy a time in the conference finals as most people predict, that means this Cleveland team will not have been tested for two months and one day.

The reason the Cavs will go so long without being tested is simple: they are head and shoulders better than every team in their conference. It's not Cleveland's fault that their first two opponents in the playoffs had no business even being in the same gym as the Cavs. All they can do is beat the teams in front of them, regardless of how predetermined the outcome might seem. That's exactly what they've done, and they've done it in convincing fashion.

In fact, you could argue that they've shown more focus than any other team in the playoffs by having the determination to actually beat the Hawks and Pistons by double figures regularly like they were supposed to. Ask the Lakers; just because you're supposed to beat a team on paper doesn't mean that it's a foregone conclusion.

It begs the question: have the Cavs chances of winning a title actually been hindered by the fact that they've been so much better than their opponents in the postseason.

Look at their likely opponents in the NBA Finals, the Denver Nuggets or the Los Angeles Lakers (I don't care what happened on Sunday, the Rockets can't win two more games without Yao). Either team will have been battle-tested heading into the NBA Finals.

The Nuggets, despite having the same 7-0 record in the playoffs as the Cavs, have taken a much different path to get there. They've played two extremely intense series, and most of their seven wins have come in close games as a result of near flawless execution in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers have faced more adversity than any of the three teams in question. They lost a game one on their home floor and then later lost a Game 4 to a team that was playing its first game of the playoffs without their best player. If they go on to win this series and the next to reach the NBA Finals, it's because they've played with the mental toughness of a champion in order to overcome the adversity that they were faced with.

The Cavs, on the other hand, look like they will reach the NBA Finals without being tested mentally even once. They'll be able to breeze through the Eastern Conference Playoffs on talent alone. That won't be the case in the NBA Finals. Believe me, whether it's Denver or L.A., the Cavs will be tested in the Finals.

Maybe the Cavs do have what it takes mentally to respond well to playing with its back against the wall, but how do we know? There are a lot of teams in this league that play great when they're ahead. There are only a handful of teams that play great when it matters most. The Nuggets and Lakers are two of them.

The Cavs are probably one of those teams, too. Only we haven't seen it yet. Maybe we never will.

Maybe it's making too much of an assumption to think that the Cavs will even be tested in the Finals. Perhaps we're watching the '91 Bulls all over again. Maybe we are three weeks into the "LeBron Era" and we don't even realize it yet. Maybe the reason the Cavs are playing inferior teams is because we're watching one of the best teams in NBA history.

Maybe not.

It's just too early to tell. Being significantly better than your opponents in the postseason is not a problem. But going the two months leading up to the NBA Finals without having to overcome any adversity is.

I'll admit, playing nothing but blowouts is a great problem to have.

But when the NBA Finals rolls around, living on easy street could mean living dangerously for the Cavs.

Posted by Scott Shepherd at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)

Top Suprises of the NHL Playoffs

Is it just me, or are the NHL playoffs taking an excruciatingly long time to finish?

Don't get me wrong, the playoffs have been enjoyable, but to me, there has always been something about watching hockey as summer is fast approaching.

Three of the four second round series look to be destined for Game 7 and you just get the feeling that the rest of the playoffs series are going to be similar.

Though the playoffs may be taking a long time, there is little doubt that they have been filled with drama, excitement, and a few surprises along the way. We have seen Game 7s, wars of words, and of course, Sean Avery's shenanigans. Today, however, I'd like to focus on some of the more surprising things we have witnessed in the playoffs. Whether it be young players making a name for themselves or Game 7s, there have been a lot of things surprising about the playoffs so far. Here is a look at some of them:

Carolina's Success

Currently up 3-2 on the No. 1-seeded Boston Bruins, the Hurricanes look poised to advance to the Conference Finals. The Carolina Hurricanes didn't exactly breeze through the first round. The Hurricanes faced Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the playoffs and barely escaped with the win. In fact, the team rode a last-second goal in Game 4 to win the game and scored two goals in the dying minutes of Game 7 to advance to the second round.

While their first round series against the Devils was close, the Hurricanes have quite easily handed a talented Bruins squad. The Hurricanes' only loss was a 4-1 defeat in Game 1 and they have since won games with scores of 3-0, 3-2 (overtime), and 4-1.

Keep in mind that the Hurricanes are a team that hasn't made the playoffs the last two seasons since they captured the Stanley Cup. In these playoffs, however, they are looking reminiscent of their team in '06. Eric Staal has led the offense with 12 points and Jussi Jokinen has scored 10 points, but has more importantly scored some timely goals.

Perhaps the biggest reason for Carolina's success has been the resurgence of Cam Ward. Ward has regained his dominant form, leading all goalies in goals against average and he is also second in save percentage. For a team that didn't exactly breeze into the playoffs and wasn't even expected to beat the Devils in the first round, the Hurricanes have already proved once again that anything is possible in the playoffs.

No-Name Players Overachieving

The NHL playoffs always seem to bring out the best in some players, especially players who didn't do a lot in the regular season. It is a new start, a new season, a chance for redemption in a series of meaningful games. This has been the case for many players. Of course there is Simeon Varlamov, who been incredible for the Capitals after only playing six games in the regular season. On the offensive side, there's David Bolland, who has 9 points in the playoffs after an average regular season.

Another no-name player, Chad Larose, has 8 points in the playoffs. Defenseman Tom Poti has 7 points for Washington after only scoring 13 points during the regular season. Other-no name players who have performed admirably in the playoffs are Alexander Edler, Cameron Barker, and Dustin Byfuglien.

Big-Name Players Underachieving

While no-name players have been underachieving, we have seen prime time players letting their teams down. Joe Thornton only managed to net 1 goal for the Sharks in their first round defeat against the Ducks, same as Jarome Iginla for the Calgary Flames. Columbus Star Rick Nash only managed 3 points in the first round as his Blue Jackets were swept by the Detroit Red Wings. Even Pavel Datsyuk only has 3 points for the Red Wings. It is hard for teams to rally around each other when there big-time players aren't getting the job done themselves.

Playoff Drama

The NHL playoffs have been full of drama. The first round saw two Game 7s and a number of games decided in the final minute or in overtime. Currently three of the four second round matchups are close. Not only have the games been close, but the matchups have also been perfect.

The Detroit/Anaheim series offers a chance to see the last two Stanley Cup champions compete, the Vancouver/Chicago series pits one of the most talented young teams against one of the best goaltenders in the league, and of course the Washington/Pittsburgh series showcases the league's best young talents and the rivalry between Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. Heck, even the Caronlina/Boston is a matchup between a Cinderella team and a dominant force. Needless to say, it has been surprising how all of the matchups have seemed to fall in to place.

San Jose's Struggles

Okay, so it may not be the biggest surprise in the world that the Sharks suffered yet another playoff disappointment, but you had to think they would get it right some time. Sure, the Anaheim Ducks are built for the playoffs, but that is no excuse for the Sharks. They were once again the best team in the regular season, yet they once again failed to translate that into the postseason. San Jose got poor goaltending, as Evgeni Nabokov was outplayed by Jonas Hiller. Throw in some lackluster defense and inconsistent offense and you have another San Jose early exit from the playoffs.

While I wouldn't go as far to say that San Jose is cursed in the playoffs, something has to give. The team has changed their coaching personnel, added new players, but still find themselves in the same situation year in and year out.

Simeon Varlamov

Simeon Varlamov may be the best thing to happen to the Washington Capitals since Alexander Ovechkin. Varlamov, who only played in six games this season, has been the starting goaltender in Washington during the playoffs ever since Game 1 when he replaced Jose Theodore. Varlamov helped the Capitals battle back in the first round against the Rangers with two shutouts. With such a potent offense, all Washington really needs is a solid goaltender who isn't going to let in easy goals, and they seem to have found that in Simeon Varlamov. While Washington is currently down 3-2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, you get the feeling they may not have even been there if it wasn't for Simeon Varlamov.

Jonathan Hamelin contributes articles on the NBA, NFL and NHL. Being an avid fan of the Canadian Football League, Jonathan writes two columns on the CFL, Rider Report Card and CFL Buzz.

Posted by Jonathan Hamelin at 11:15 AM | Comments (0)

May 7, 2009

The NBA Playoffs' Grittiest Players

TNT's slogan for years has been "We Know Drama." As Wednesday night proved, even when the games themselves don't provide dramatic finishes (both the Lakers and Celtics evened the series with double-digit wins), there is still plenty of drama in the NBA playoffs.

Each game was "highlighted" by an incident involving a starting point guard. First, Rafer Alston slapped Eddie House in the back of the head. Strangely enough, that sentence doesn't read as shockingly as it should.

Then, in the late game, Derek Fisher leveled Louis Scola as he was trying to set a screen, drawing a flagrant foul and an ejection from the game.

Stu Jackson is going to have a busy morning, but by lunchtime, I fully expect both Alston and Fisher to be suspended for their respective Game 3s.

Though each player's infraction was different, Alston reacted out of frustration while Fisher looked like he was trying to send a message, both players were out of line and both deserve the punishment that they are sure to receive.

There is a fine line in the NBA playoffs between gritty and dirty. Both players crossed that line Wednesday night.

A gritty player in that situation would have found a way to stick it to his opponent with a dagger three or by hustling down a loose ball and giving his team an extra possession in the fourth quarter. A gritty player would have sent the same message that Fisher and Alston sent Wednesday night, but he would have done so without facing the possibility of a one game suspension.

It got me thinking: of the playoff teams remaining, who are the grittiest players left. Without further ado, it's the 2009 NBA Playoffs All-Grit Team.

PG Chauncey Billups, Denver Nuggets

Usually the grittiest player on the team doesn't double as the team's best player, but that's exactly the case with Chauncey. He just has a sixth sense for making big plays this time of year. Whether he's shooting a clutch three-pointer or hustling down a loose ball to spark his team as he did late in Tuesday's game two victory over the Mavs, Billups is always in the right place at the right time.

And while toughness is sometimes synonymous with dirty, that couldn't be further from the truth with Billups. The winner of the 2009 Joe Dumars Award for sportsmanship, Chauncey has proven that the one of grittiest players in the league can also be one of its classiest.

SG Courtney Lee, Orlando Magic

One of the key ingredients to being a gritty NBA player is the ability to play through injuries. After Lee suffered a fractured sinus (read: broken face) in Game 5 of the Magic's first round series against the Sixers, no one could have blamed him if he sat out the rest of the postseason. Instead, the rookie was fitted for a protective mask and intends to play in Game 3 of this series less than a week after suffering the injury.

Lee was one of the few consistent players for the Magic in their first round series, and if Alston is suspended for game three, Orlando will need his toughness more than ever on Friday night. The fact that Lee is even playing should be enough to give the Magic an emotional lift in the game. If he can continue to play his hard-nosed (no pun intended) brand of defense for the rest of this series, he can be instrumental in helping the Magic upset the defending champs.

SF Shane Battier, Houston Rockets

Any time you leave the floor a bloody mess, only to return to the floor minutes later all stitched up to continue the challenge of being the primary defender on Kobe Bryant, that takes grit. That's exactly what Battier did in game one, and his D on Kobe (32 points on 31 shots) was part of the reason the Rockets stole game one from the Lakers.

And even though Kobe got off in Game 2, it wasn't for a lack of effort on Battier's part. A lesser defender would have been rattled by Kobe's constant, "He can't guard me!" taunts after seemingly every bucket Wednesday night, but Battier continued to make Bryant work hard offensively.

Containing Kobe over a seven-game series is a near impossible task, and though he failed at it in game two, expect Battier to take the same rugged approach to slowing down the Black Mamba once the series shifts back to Houston. There may be some truth to Kobe's "he can't guard me" mantra, but I guarantee that Shane Battier doesn't think so. That's then mentality a gritty player must have.

PF Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers

L.O. doesn't necessarily fit the mold of a gritty player; usually that title is reserved for the most fiery guys on the floor. But don't let Odom's laid back personality and finesse game fool you; he's as tough as they come.

Playing for a Laker team that's constantly taking heat for not being tough enough, all Odom has done this postseason is rank in the top five in rebounding and points in the paint. You don't rank in the top five in those categories without a lot of grit and determination inside.

And then there's this. After Phil Jackson told Odom that he'd be starting game two during the team's morning shoot-around, L.O. decided to forego driving his Rolls-Royce to the Staples Center for the game, opting instead to make the two-mile trek from his downtown Los Angeles loft on foot in order to achieve a higher level of focus before the game.

Was it necessary to walk to the arena? Probably not. Was it surprisingly cool? You bet. And was it gritty? Absolutely.

Anyone who leaves a $250,000 car parked in the garage, opting to walk to work instead, will earn the title of gritty in my book any day of the week.

C Chris Anderson, Denver Nuggets

Birdman is more than a faux-hawk and colorful tattoos; he's a force around the rim. Making high energy plays on defense is the calling card for a gritty player, and Anderson makes them in bunches. He is averaging over 2 blocks per game off the bench this postseason despite only playing 24 minutes per game.

As I've said before, it looks like it's about impossible to beat the Nuggets at home right now. Anderson is one of the main reasons for that. Every blocked shot or breakaway dunk that the Birdman has whips the Denver crowd into a frenzy, and you can bet on the fact that if Anderson has a block that leads to two points the other way it's going to be the start of a long run for the Nuggets.

Like most players on the All-Grit Team, Anderson's contributions may not always be reflected in the box score, but during this postseason, it's hard to find tape of the Birdman coming into the game and not being an immediate difference-maker. If that's not gritty, I don't know what is.

Posted by Scott Shepherd at 11:58 AM | Comments (2)

Big Ten Expansion Musings

In case you missed it, Joe Paterno came out in favor of Big Ten expansion this week and said he had floated the idea to the conference powers. Their response, according to Paterno? "You know, it's a conference that's dominated by a couple of people," Paterno said. "If I start talking, they're polite, but they snicker."

Those couple of people (and Paterno was more explicit later in the conference) are Jim Delany and Jim Delany's shadow, commissioner of the Big Ten, dream crusher, and favorite of old men everywhere more bitter than Paterno (which is just about all of them). Delany's already brushed off Paterno's suggestion.

Paterno's reasons are sound and you can read them in the ESPN article. But just for fun, let's take a look at who the most viable candidates for Big Ten expansion would be.

The criteria I am considering are strength in football and basketball, and marketability/profit potential. I am not looking at academics. Academics are too subjective. This school is better in the Princeton Review, this school is better in U.S. News and World Report, this school is better looking at it this way, this school is better measuring that way, etc. If you're not an Ivy League school, Duke, Vanderbilt, or Stanford, you can be generally be measured against most schools. So I'm throwing it out entirely.

Finally, a school must either be in a Big Ten state, or border a Big Ten state, for consideration. Let's move east to west.

Oh yes, I'm also not including Notre Dame. They've already said no a thousands times, there is no angle to ND joining the Big Ten that hasn't already been analyzed to death, and it's my fantasy that their failures in football will continue for decades, they come to the Big Ten with a hangdog face and a tail between their legs and they say, "Okay, we'll join," and the Big Ten laughs and tells them to go apply to the Missouri Valley Conference.

SYRACUSE

Pro: Just about the best possible basketball get the Big Ten could pull in, and would open up a new, populous market for the conference.

Con: The Big Ten does not need another mediocre football team that loses to MAC schools.

PITTSBURGH

Pro: Solid in both sports, natural rivalry with Penn State.

Con: Somewhat lacking in fan support, no real new market as such.

I pause here to point out that the three schools Paterno mentioned were the above two, and Rutgers. At first, I was surprised at Paterno's East Coast bias, and Rutgers doesn't even rate a mention, but he was addressing a question specifically about Northeast football, so I will give him a pass.

CINCINNATI

Pro: Easily could develop a great basketball rivalry with Ohio State, could also build on their recent football success.

Con: Really just not a sexy pick next to the other potential candidates.

KENTUCKY

Pro: Probably even a better score than Syracuse in basketball, and would really be a kick in the nuts to the SEC. Kentucky has no real football traction in the conference and historically, the reverse is true with basketball: Kentucky is the SEC, and the conference has no real basketball identity without them (sorry, LSU and Arkansas).

Con: Culturally Southern, so probably would not want to leave either of that reason or because they may not want a stronger basketball conference. (Indeed, I'm not including Nebraska because they are too historically interwoven the Big 8/12, I just can't see them doing it).

LOUISVILLE

Pro: Basketball again, would be a lot more open to bolting their current conference. Football could get good again in a hurry.

Con: Not sure if it works for the Big Ten to expand southward. Not as enticing as Kentucky, to be honest.

IOWA STATE

Pro: Pre-existing outstanding rivalry with a current member.

Con: They are so rarely good at football or basketball, not a new market.

MISSOURI

Pro: At the moment, the best football team the Big Ten could get. Good basketball, too. Two new media markets. Existing rivalry with current member.

Con: Their rivalry Illinois is largely artificial and pales to their rivalry with Kansas.

NORTH DAKOTA STATE

Pro: Calm down and keep reading. I'm not really suggesting the Big Ten should offer membership to NDSU. But just as the IOC shortlists potential host cities that have absolutely no shot of winning the Olympics (2012 Istanbul, anyone)? I did want to highlight a school that is in the geographical purview that I laid down that has put together an impressive resume.

The Bison have jumped from Division II to Division 1-AA in 2004 and have are already become conference champions in both sports, though not necessarily recognized due to the probationary period. They made the Big Dance this year and should've beaten Minnesota in football two years ago. They would give Minnesota a natural rivalry. Their jump in levels and immediate success at the higher level is reminiscent of Marshall's move from 1-AA to 1-A in 1997.

Cons: (Smiles politely and applauds.)

"And the winner is..." (Cameras divide up the screen, looking at the eight candidate schools, all dressed in tuxes, looking anxious, squeezing the hands of their loved ones.)

(The emcee struggles with the envelope and finally tears it open. He reads it to himself first and arches his eyebrows, enjoying the fact that he knows a second before anyone else does.)

"...Missouri!" (Black and old gold streamers fall from the ceiling, cheers, hugs, and applause from the Mizzou section, until the camera catches a dejected Dave Wannstedt slouching in his chair.)

Posted by Kevin Beane at 11:33 AM | Comments (2)

May 6, 2009

Shuffling the Deck?

Last season, the NBA had its dream Finals matchup return to the spotlight when the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers came together for the first time since 1987. Back in November, the stars seemed to be aligned for a repeat performance (the first time since 1986-1987). However, Monday night, that dream took a turn for the worse.

Most of the players stayed the same for both teams heading into this season. Unfortunately for the Celts, that lineup changed early into 2009. Kevin Garnett's knee injury in mid-February affected the entire dynamic of the Eastern Conference picture. This slowly began to catch up with the Celtics as they barely held on to the second seed in the pecking order.

That loss in the roster drew neck-and-neck with Boston as they were driven to the edge of the cliff, thanks to the young and talented Chicago Bulls. Seven games (and combined overtime periods) later, the Orlando Magic have swooped in to take the Bulls' place. Dwight Howard controlled the middle and the Magic's perimeter game was on for around three-quarters of the game as they held on to steal home-court advantage.

To me, this is a sign that the ghosts of the parquet floor aren't holding the same effect over their opponents this season as they have in years past. And even with Orlando's ability to throw big leads out the door, I believe the Green Machine stops here in '09.

The more interesting story may develop out west. In a highly competitive and very muddled conference, the Lakers reigned supreme. While seeds two through seven were fighting for positioning, L.A. sat comfortably on number one for the last three weeks of the season. Everything was set up for them to return to the Finals.

Yao Ming and Houston, who couldn't get out of the first round of the playoffs for the last few years, finally got over that hump by beating Portland. But they weren't expected to ultimately hold up to a Lakers team that swept them over the regular season and pulled away late in each game. Monday was different.

With the game still in the balance late into the fourth, the Rockets didn't crumble, outscoring L.A. by five in the final stanza. Houston got the first shot in on Kobe's bunch and now has them in a desperate situation for game two. Most importantly, doubt might have crept into the minds of Laker Nation. What if the Lakers can't hold down Yao? What if Ron Artest and Shane Battier can do enough to keep Kobe Bryant from dominating the series? What if Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom don't contribute enough on the scoreboard?

And what if Orlando and Houston move on to the Conference Finals? Is this good for the NBA? Is this what the league wants to throw out to the world as a marketing campaign? Truthfully, I don't think so.

As much as I would like to see Howard and Ming continue their seasons, you can't believe that David Stern is hoping for this. Even if the commish can't get a repeat of Lakers/Celtics, he could get the matchup even more fans have expected throughout this season: Kobe vs. LeBron James. I'm pretty certain that Stern isn't expecting to get the "amazing" out from Howard vs. Yao, LeBron vs. Yao, or LeBron vs. Carmelo Anthony. (We've already seen the show where LeBron got whipped by Timmy D and San Antonio.)

Of course, Celtic Pride will make an appearance in the next six games. Of course, Kobe's bunch is possibly the most talented in the league. But after Monday, the two most dominant big men in the Association had their say. It was loud, it was strong, and, for the moment, it took everything off-course.

Posted by Jonathan Lowe at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)

Ranking the PGA Tour Schedule

In the past weeks, it has become clear that the PGA Tour is considering the development of a policy that will try to compel its membership — primarily its best players — to play in more events with a wider variety.

The driving inspiration behind the development of such a policy is the LPGA Tour's "One in Four" rule. The rule states that each LPGA Tour player must make at least one start in each of the LPGA Tour's active events one time in a four-year period. They can choose one career exemption to the rule. Also, if they fail to participate and do not take their exception, they are subject to a fine.

PGA Tour players and critics feel that specific rule may encourage American stars to play without Tour membership, instead using sponsor exemptions and their status to play in their current schedule of major championships, World Golf Championships, and other invitational events.

Instead of the LPGA Tour version of the rule, the PGA Tour is looking at a different spin on the concept. This week, the Sports Business Journal reported that the PGA Tour may develop a point scale assigned to each tournament based upon their prestige and field. The more prominent the event, the fewer the points assigned to it. Therefore, a player would have to achieve a minimum number of points to maintain playing privileges instead of the current 15-event minimum. They could do so through any combination of tournaments, leaving them with flexibility, but would likely compel the better players to enter some more events. The end result would be a better representation of the PGA Tour at more Tour stops.

Instituting such a system, though, would require the PGA Tour to systematically rank their entire schedule. They would have to define the characteristics that make a tournament great or not. In other words, they would have to hypothetically do something that would make for a fantastic golf column.

The rest of this column, then, is my attempt to rank the PGA Tour schedule and create a system that player would have to abide by in order to remain Tour members.

First, let's define the events that are being measured in the first place. In my system, I would use any PGA Tour event on the FedEx Cup or Fall Series schedule. That means the Skins Game and events like the Chevron World Challenge don't count.

Second, each event will be measured on a variety of criteria. Most importantly, though, the tournament will be measured on a mix of purse size, field strength, tournament tradition, and player desire to win the tournament. This is an incredibly subjective measure — the kind of thing that makes for a good column.

Finally, the tournaments in our rankings will not be individually rated. There is way too much gray area as it is in ranking these events by tier that doing them individually would just be ridiculous.

With those ground rules laid, let's create our system!

Obviously, tier 1 is all of the major championships — the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship. They're the events that players most want to win. It can be argued that the Masters, U.S., and British Opens have a weaker field than the Players Championship. The Players has a higher purse than all of them. But, still, the Players is not yet officially recognized as a major.

So, that makes the Players Championship into tier 2. It is all by itself. It is major lite. The Players exhibits all of the characteristics of a major except in name. Sometimes, it is done to the point of embarrassment to the event, but the players want to win their own event for the prestige and a big ol' loot of money. As discussed, the field is arguably the best of the year also.

The next tier is where controversy really can begin. There are two tournaments — the Mercedes Benz Championship and the Tour Championship that are very limited field events. These events are gotten into by virtue of either winning another PGA Tour event in the season prior (Mercedes-Benz), or playing very well during the entirety of the current season and PGA Tour Playoffs (TOUR Championship). Since both of these events require a consistent single season of excellence and entry is only determined by that characteristic, they are in the third tier by themselves.

We now enter into tournaments of various kinds that can lay claim to being very prestigious. Some carry prestige by their title, like the World Golf Championships events. Others carry clout because of the name of the tournament host. Arnie (Palmer) and Jack (Nicklaus) have events that are very significant because they personally host them. The FedEx Cup Playoff events are important because they are for a bucket load of cash, but they lack tradition and really deep player interest to win them beyond the money.

That said, we have 12 tournaments that fit these three categories:

• World Golf Championships — 4 — WGC Accenture Match Play, WGC CA Championship, WGC Bridgestone Invitational, WGC HSBC Champions
• FedEx Cup Playoff Events — 3 — The Barclays, Deutsche Bank Championship, BMW Championship; Tour Championship is in group above
• Invitationals Hosted by/in Honor of Greats — 5 — Arnold Palmer Invitational, Byron Nelson Championship, Colonial, the Memorial, AT&T National

I would put them into tiers in that order, too. WGCs may have no cut and wacky selection criteria, but they offer a ton of money to the players and it is rare that that invitees decline. They have a decade of history behind them. Despite rarely being played outside of the United States, the fields do have a global flavor and encompass great players from many Tours. Beating that kind of field seems more important than winning a FedEx Cup Playoff event.

Like the WGCs, FedEx Cup Playoff events are played for a ton of money with a limited field. The events are not skipped by players because of the in-tournament payout and the bonus pool at the end of the FedEx Cup. Still, they are only two seasons old compared to the 10 of the World Golf Championships. Lacking tradition knocks them a notch below the World Golf Championships.

If tradition is important, then how can I knock down the invitationals hosted by the biggest names in our sport? Simple. Players are more willing to skip them now than ever. When compared to other opportunities around the world, players are more likely to skip these events than the World Golf Championships or FedEx Cup events. I love these events for various reasons, but they're just not as important as they once were.

Trying to categorize and rank those events was pretty dicey, but this next group gets a little bit easier. The events in my next category are those that players seem to generally regard in high esteem, but are not invitational or limited-field events. It may be because of the course on which they play, the treatment that they get from tournament staff and fans, or the long-standing tradition of the playing of the event. These events are: Buick Invitational, AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Northern Trust Open, Shell Houston Open, Quail Hollow Championship, and St. Jude Classic.

Before we get to the bottom three rungs on the ladder of tournament rankings, there is this amorphous blob of events that maybe used to be great or are up and coming. They might attract a field for a special reason – such as entry into a major championship (the top 8 finishers in the John Deere Classic get invited to the Open Championship). These three tiers would not be separated by many points on my scale, but I would group them separately this way:

• Tournaments on the Rise — The Honda Classic, Transitions Championship, Travelers Championship, RBC Canadian Open
• Tournaments Holding Steady — Sony Open in Hawaii, FBR Open, Verizon Heritage, Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Valero Texas Open, John Deere Classic, Wyndham Championship
• Tournaments in Decline — Bob Hope Classic, Buick Open

The Fall Series events would be ranked in the next to last tier largely because of their placement on the schedule. A number of these events have field strength and quality of course and tournament similar to a number of FedEx Cup events. The difference between the two is that the chance of top-tier players entering these events is lower than a FedEx Cup event and the event offers no FedEx Cup points. These events are: Turning Stone Resort Championship, Justin Timberlake Open, Frys.com Open, Viking Classic, Children's Miracle Network Classic.

My dead last tier would be events that are opposite other major or significant tournaments. These events are simply playing opportunities for players that cannot get into these bigger tournaments. Even compared to Fall Series events, these events have the weakest fields on the PGA Tour schedule. They are: Mayakoba Golf Classic, Puerto Rico Open, U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, and Legends Reno-Tahoe Open.

Of course, this is just one way to think of tournaments. There could be any number of methods that could be used that are more scientific, exact, or even more subjective. I'd love to hear from you what your list would be in the comments below.

Posted by Ryan Ballengee at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 10

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jeff Gordon — During a caution on lap 299, Gordon stayed on the track while the leaders pitted, gambling that track position would be enough to carry him to victory. However, as the grip of his tires faded, so did his lead, and he finished eighth at Richmond. Gordon reclaimed the Sprint Cup points lead from Kurt Busch, who finished 12th, and now leads by 10.

"It just wasn't our day. We tried several adjustments, and while they did nothing to improve the car, my back is feeling great."

"Well, I see that all the NASCAR experts are jumping back on the Kyle Busch bandwagon. I've got to hand it to the fans, though. They're consistent — they hate Busch no matter what he does. However, Busch wins one race, and many of the so-called experts are talking about 200 wins. That's a very big 'if,' and an even bigger 'win.'"

2. Tony Stewart — Stewart posted a second at Richmond, his second runner-up finish in the last three races. Stewart opted for four tires on his final pit stop, and that keyed his ability to vault from 17th to second in the race's final 50 laps. Stewart moved up one spot in the Sprint Cup point standings to third, 39 behind Jeff Gordon.

"Never in my wildest dreams," says Stewart, "did I envision this team would be this strong this soon. And never in my wildest dreams did I think my wildest dreams would be about something as family friendly as a race team. Don't get me wrong. My dreams are racy, but not that kind of 'race-y.' Heck, usually when I wake up from a dream, I get fined by the Federal Communications Commission."

"This team is bound for even greater things. I feel a win is just around the corner. Where there's 'Smoke,' there's bound to be a fire. And where there's a fire, there's bound to be some 'Smoke' barbecue sauce. As you see, where there's talk of NASCAR, there's bound to be a sponsor or merchandise plug just around the corner."

3. Kurt Busch — Busch finished a disappointing 12th at Richmond in the Miller Lite No. 2 Dodge that he felt was capable of a top-five finish at the very least. A late track bar adjustment failed to render the desired effect, and Busch dropped from among the front-runners to the middle of the pack. Consequently, Busch then sacrificed new tires for track position, and regained positions only to lose them later to cars with fresher tires. Busch dropped out of the top spot in the points, and now trails Jeff Gordon by 10 points.

"Our finish was disappointing," says Busch, "but not as disheartening as the news that Chrysler, Dodge's parent company, is filing for bankruptcy. It was like a slap in the face. Trust me, the news of my car company going under slaps harder than Jimmy Spencer and Tony Stewart combined."

"As for my little brother Kyle's assertion that he's going for 200 wins, well, that's just unreasonable. What kind of idiot tells the world he's going for 200 wins without first telling the world he's going to win a Sprint Cup championship? Kyle, that's who."

"Doesn't Kyle know that 200 is simply out of reach? Anyway, his 200 won't match King Richard Petty's 200. Kyle simply comparing himself to Petty is an affront to NASCAR royalty. Heck, Kyle doesn't even know 'STP' is motor oil. He thinks it's the Stone Temple Pilots."

"Kyle has always been a big talker. I guess he was born with the big mouth, and I got stuck with the big ears."

4. Kyle Busch — Busch passed Jeff Gordon on lap 352 and held the lead for the final 48 laps to win the Crown Royal 400 in Richmond, celebrating his 24th birthday with his 50th win in NASCAR's top three series. Busch also became the first driver to win on his birthday since Cale Yarborough, who did it twice.

"The nerve of the fans to 'boo' me on my birthday," says Busch. "Luckily, I've got a spotter, Jeff Dickerson, who's great at keeping me positive. He told me the fans were saying 'Bu,' not 'boo.' And those middle fingers? Jeff said the fans were just telling me I was number one. And those beer cans coming towards me? Obviously, a shout out to my catch can man, Jason Hinson."

"Now, I've made it known that I'm gunning for 200 career victories in NASCAR. Most people think I'm crazy to even try for such a hallowed mark, that it will happen only when 'pigs fly.' Well, I keep hearing all this talk about 'swine flew,' so, apparently, pigs are flying."

5. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson suffered his worst finish of the year, a 36th, with brake line issues plaguing his Richmond endeavors. Johnson also rear-ended Joey Logano trying to avoid an accident triggered by David Stremme on lap 180, further crippling the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet. Johnson finished 32 laps down, and fell three places to sixth in the point standings.

"Who did David Stremme not hit on Saturday night?" asks Johnson. "I think he hit everything but his marks."

"Between brake problems, spins, and penalties, nothing went right for us. We couldn't catch a break, or a brake. You know, it's never good to have an empty master cylinder, especially if you're a race car driver, or a rapper."

6. Jeff Burton — Burton parlayed a qualifying position of fifth into a third-place finish in the Crown Royal 400, equaling his best result of the year, in what will surely be a confidence builder for the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing team. Burton recovered from a spin, initiated by contact from Dale Earnhardt, Jr., midway through the race and methodically fought his way back to the front. He moved up two places in the Sprint Cup point standings, and is now seventh, 184 out of first.

"You know, this was the first time this year we sported the Prilosec paint scheme," says Burton. "Our traveling billboard for heartburn and acid reflux relief was really fast on Saturday and handled like a dream. You could say it was the best 'acid' trip I've ever been on."

7. Carl Edwards — Edwards struggled mightily in Richmond, failing to find the proper setup in practice and qualifying 37th. On lap 164, Edwards' No. 99 Ford was clipped by David Stremme, sending Edwards sliding backwards. Although the car saw little damage, the team had little luck with numerous adjustments, and Edwards slid back in the field during the waning laps, finishing 26th.

"As you've probably heard," says Edwards, "I spent last week making the rounds on the talk show circuit. I appeared on Larry King, Ellen DeGeneres, and did countless other TV and radio interviews. Then I had a chat with NASCAR. I guess you could say everybody wants a piece of Carl Edwards, except for a few injured fans at Talladega."

"While I've been outspoken on the perils of restrictor plate racing, I also understand the appeal and excitement of massive, life-threatening wrecks. Race attendance has been down this year, but I think my wreck at Talladega will, in the future, result in fans running to the stands, and not from the stands."

"Finally, I'd like to wish Kyle Busch a very special birthday. So, I'm sending him a very special cake, beefcake, in fact, in the form of a shirtless photo of yours truly."

8. Denny Hamlin — For the second-straight spring race in Richmond, Hamlin led the most laps, but had nary a win to show for it. This time, though, it wasn't a slow tire leak that derailed potential victory, but dropped lug nuts that cost him the lead on a crucial pit stop. Hamlin still finished a respectable 14th, but the frustration of another missed opportunity at his home track in Richmond left him crestfallen.

"Once again," says Hamlin, "we had the car to beat, but came up short because of a mistake. It's hard to keep your foot on the gas when you keep shooting it."

"But I can't let myself get down. A great American once said you gotta 'keep ya head up.' I'm not a religious man, but the words of Tupac Shakur have guided me through some tough times. Consequently, so I'll never forget the pain that dropped lug nuts have caused, I'm having the words 'Lug Life' tattooed across my abdomen."

9. Ryan Newman — Newman finished fourth at Richmond, his second consecutive top-five result, joining runner-up Tony Stewart to mark the first time Stewart-Haas Racing placed both drivers in the top five. Newman also jumped three places in the points to tenth, 243 out of first.

"This team has quickly become a force to be reckoned with," says Newman. "When Tony asked me to be a part of this team, it was the second best day of my life — the first being the day of my first invitation to one of his hauler parties."

"With Tony, my wishes have been answered. I couldn't have asked for a better teammate, which reminds me of my days with Penske racing, when I asked for a better teammate practically on a daily basis and still was stuck with Rusty Wallace."

"Tony's often said to me, 'We're on the verge of something great here.' Usually, it's in reference to some buxom beauties auditioning for a hauler party. You think it's hard keeping our minds on racing with all that going on? It is, but not as hard as keeping the chrome on the trailer hitches around here."

10. Clint Bowyer — Weakened by flu-like symptoms and handicapped by an ill-handling car, Bowyer was unable to come close to defending his Richmond win from a year ago. After a good start, changing track conditions and numerous adjustments that fell flat relegated the No. 33 BB&T Chevy to a mid-pack finish of 18th. Bowyer remained eighth in the point standings, and is now 229 out of first.

"After a good start to the season," says Bowyer, "we've fallen flat. Earlier in the season, good results were drumming up a lot of publicity for the No. 33 team. But, in out last four races, we've finished 22nd, 26th, 39th, and 18th. Right now, not many people even care about the BB&T team. So, in other words, no one's listening when I give an 'interest-free account' of the BB&T car's performance."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 11:17 AM | Comments (0)

May 5, 2009

Kickin' it Old School

I'm not going to beat around the bush on this one — I hate losing. Some might even call me a sore loser. Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I am a fierce competitor and won't hesitate to bend the rules to ensure my victory in any sport, game, or competition.

I once was defeated in a game of HORSE, and proceeded to punt the ball over the neighbor's fence while muttering, "Looks like your game is over." After I came up short in a not-so-friendly game of Mario Party on N64, I pulled out the cord and demanded my peers leave the house. What I am trying to say is you could have probably imagined my will to win when I decided to play Intramural soccer this spring.

Now, I haven't stepped foot on a soccer field since fourth grade when the Dominators took the LMYA travel league by storm, so I confess that I may have been a little rusty. And I'll be the first to admit that the only thing David Beckham and I have in common is the ability to make a room of teenage girls scream (for different reasons, unfortunately). Nevertheless, I made my way onto the field determined, excited, and more confident than David Abernathy. (He performed open heart surgery in a crowded opera house with only a ballpoint pen, you know).

Before I could actually make an on-field appearance, I figured it would be wise to pickup a rule book for the simple fact that "have fun!" was the only criterion that existed during my soccer days. I eventually obtained my desired rule book and good thing I did; turns out soccer has more rules and regulations than a middle school dance (I hope those aren't your hands on her hips!). Soon, I was lost in a world of direct and indirect kicks, offside calls, and penalty shots. This was going to be harder than I thought.

I figured that if I was going to put on a good show, I'd have to look top-notch, as well. Headband? You bet. Long black socks? Of course. Wrist bands? Why not? Finger bands? Hell, if Allen Iverson can do it, so can I. After a successful trip to the mall accompanied by my Mom's credit card (love you, Mom!), I was finally ready to go.

Next up for me was months of hardcore practice and extreme physical training. And by months of hardcore practice and extreme physical training, I obviously mean a grand total of two practices which consisted of roaming the soccer field aimlessly, taking water breaks every other minute, and screaming "Zidane!" at random times while attempting to head-butt my teammates (see: World Cup 2006).

Finally, my intense preparation was over and it was time to lace up the cleats for our team's first game. During warm-ups, I glanced over to the other side of the field to observe our competition, and suddenly realized they are practicing bicycle kicks and juggling two balls at once while our side is freestyle rapping and rating the "soccer moms" in the crowd.

As the game started, surprisingly, something amazing happened — we started winning. Seemingly out of nowhere, we were playing good defense, making the right passes, and taking advantage of our opportunities. Led by team founder and captain Jon Yoder, we took the lead going into halftime.

The discussion of the second half is a little bit of a touchy subject, so bear with me. Early in the half, I received the ball on a pass and then proceeded to perform a number of moves which could only be perfected as a result from watching countless hours of YouTube soccer highlights. As I made my way toward the net, shot, and scored what I thought was my first goal, the opposing defender performed his best Vlade Divac impression and flopped over acting as if I had elbowed him in the chest. Somewhere in the middle of this drama, the ref decided to metaphorically pee in my Cheerios and call me for a pushing foul and therefore erased my much-deserved goal.

What happened next was a series of events that I hope to forget in the near future. Obviously unhappy with the call, I decided to approach the ref with a few choice words and one choice finger that led to my ejection of the game in which we eventually lost. Whatever, red is my favorite color anyway. I can't tell you what prompted me to get so angry at a questionable call by an official, but I can tell you one thing; I'm never playing soccer again.

So, I guess soccer isn't my sport. Oh well ... anyone want to play a friendly game of HORSE? Someone will just have to fetch the ball; I think it's over in the neighbor's yard.

Posted by Robert Campbell at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)

May 4, 2009

The Perfect Storm

If a 50-1 underdog can win the Kentucky Derby, surely we can see some upsets in the second round of NBA the playoffs. But, just like at Churchhill Downs, there will need to be a perfect storm of circumstances for a higher seeded team to pull off an upset in this round of the playoffs.

Today, we look at all four underdogs in the second round of the NBA playoffs and examine exactly what will need to happen in the coming weeks for there to be any chance of seeing anything other than a Lakers/Nuggets and Cavs/Celtics conference finals.

No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 5 Houston Rockets

Houston's chances: 50-1

Hey, it worked for Mine That Bird.

Still, I can't bring myself to give Houston much more than a 50-1 chance of beating the Lakers in this series.

It took the worst shooting performance that Kobe Bryant will have all postseason, two fantastic plays down the stretch by two great offensive players, and a bad inbounds pass for the Utah Jazz to steal just one game from the Lakers in round one. The biggest knock on the Lakers so far this postseason: they jump out to big leads in the first half and don't protect them.

Not having any problems until you have a 20-point lead is a pretty good problem to have. So much focus was put on the fact that the Jazz cut into the Lakers' lead in every game that the obvious was overlooked: the Lakers are so good that when they're clicking, they can jump out to a big lead on you in a hurry.

The Rockets must prevent the Lakers from getting off to a hot start in the first half of every game to have a chance to pull off the upset. The Rocket's very slow, very deliberate pace isn't suited for making big comebacks. Utah's combination of athleticism and three-point shooting made them capable of making runs in the second half. The Rockets don't have the athletes or the shooters that Utah has. They need to play from ahead and dictate the pace, or else suffer the same fate as the Jazz.

The perfect storm: Three things need to happen for the Rockets to win this series. First, Yao has to dominate on the inside. I'm assuming (although you never really know with Uncle Phil) that Lamar Odom will remain in the starting lineup for this series, thus forcing Andrew Bynum to the bench. That means that Yao will be guarded by Pau Gasol to start the game. Pau, for as great as he's been this season, still ranks as an average-at-best on-the-ball post defender in my book. Yao has to score early and/or pick up quick fouls on the Lakers starting frontcourt. That would force Jackson to have to bring in Bynum, effectively slowing the Lakers down offensively, which plays right into Houston's hand.

Secondly, Houston needs to shoot the ball well. Their 37% from behind the three-point line in the first round is exactly the league average for the postseason. If you're going to beat a far superior team, you need to shoot the ball better than league average.

Ron Artest proved time and again in the Rockets' six games against the Blazers that he is willing to settle for jump shots, attempting a team-high 36 threes in round one. If the secretary of defense is going to continue to shoot threes, no matter how ill-advised, he'd better start making more than just 27% for Houston to have any chance.

Finally, the Rockets need Kobe to run cold. It's been well documented that the Rockets have some formulas and statistical data that they count on when game planning defensively for an opponent. Supposedly, Shane Battier is like a sponge soaking in this data, and tries to force players into their "cold zones" when defending them. There was even an article in the Wall Street Journal using Battier's defense on Kobe as an example of how successful these formulas and statistics really are.

Kobe averaged just over 28 points per game against the Rockets in the four regular season meetings this year.

Translation: there is no defense that can stop Kobe. You just hope that he goes 5-of-24. It worked once for Utah, it needs to happen again (or close to it) if the Rockets are going to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

No. 2 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 6 Dallas Mavericks

Dallas' chances: 40-1

Okay, I admit that these odds are skewed a little bit because Dallas is already down 1-0 in the series, but to be honest, I wouldn't have had them much higher than 30-1 to begin with. It's not necessarily that the Mavs are bad; it's that the Nuggets are really good right now.

Denver's absolute massacre of the Hornets in round one was the biggest story of round one that no one talked about. Chauncey Billups is starting to show the national audience what fans in Detroit have known for years: Chauncey can change the game in so many ways.

Whether he's hitting threes like he did in game one (his eight threes was just one shy of the playoff record, and he sat the entire fourth quarter), taking care of the ball while still getting his teammates involved (37 assists and just 6 turnovers in the first round), or making clutch free throws down the stretch (36-of-38, or 95%, in round one), Billups is the among the best in the league at figuring out what it will take for his team to win and then executing that gameplan to the fullest.

Dallas made a conscious effort to slow Billups in game one. In some ways, it worked. Chauncey was just 2-of-8 from the field, and didn't attempt a single free throw in the game. The Nuggets still won by 14 points. Billups couldn't carry the team by himself on Sunday, so he put his ego aside and let the rest of this very talented team carry the Nuggets to an easy double-digit victory.

The perfect storm: Obviously, just stopping Chauncey isn't the answer. And as great as Carmelo Anthony and Nene played in game one, stopping them isn't the answer, either.

The key to stopping the Nuggets is to limit their bench production. Three different players scored double-figures off the Nuggets bench in Game 1.

The Mavericks need to figure out a way to limit the production from the Denver bench, especially in Denver, if they are going to win this series. I've said before, and I'm sure I'll say it again at some point soon, but role players play much better at home.

J.R. Smith may have the worst shot selection in the league at times, but he doesn't miss when he steps into an open three. And when he does hit one at the Pepsi Center, the crowd goes crazy.

Chris Anderson may be overly aggressive when attempting to block shots, which can lead to careless fouls, but when he does get his hands on a blocked shot at home, the crowd goes wild.

Denver's bench whips the home crowd into such a frenzy that it's not just the altitude that gives the Nuggets the best home-court advantage this side of the Q. Dallas needs to find a way to minimize production from Smith and Anderson, effectively taking the crowd out of the game, as well, and shift home court back to Dallas where they were an impressive 32-9 this season to have any chance to take this series.

The Nuggets are winning by almost 20 points per game at home this postseason. It's safe to say that it's going to take the perfect storm for Dallas to beat them at the Pepsi Center this series.

No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 4 Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta's chances: 50-1

The Cavs were the most impressive team in the first round of the NBA playoffs. No real surprise there. There's a reason they won 66 games in the regular season: they're really freaking good.

The trouble is, because they're so good and swept the Pistons in round one, the Cavs will have had nine days off before they take the floor against the Hawks for Game 1 on Tuesday night.

There are two different schools of thought on this one. One is that the Cavs will be well rested and have had plenty of time to work out any kinks they had in the first round, even though there weren't many. The other is that the Cavs, having not played in over a week, could come out rusty as they try to get their rhythm back.

I tend to lean towards the latter on this one. It's good to get some rest this late in the season, but when a team is clicking on all cylinders for the better part of six months by playing just about every other day, there's a chance that team can lose their rhythm having to sit for over a week straight while waiting to see who their opponent will be.

The perfect storm: The Hawks will be riding the momentum of their convincing Game 7 win against the Heat into Cleveland Tuesday night. If the Cavs do come out rusty after the nine-day layoff and the Hawks can match their Game 7 intensity from Sunday afternoon, there's a chance that they could steal home court away from the Cavs and make it a very interesting series.

Of course, there's the whole 42-1 home record at the Q that the Hawks would need to overcome, and the rust I speak of will probably only last for about the first quarter, if that, so Atlanta would have to come out on fire and take full advantage early.

Still, no matter how unlikely winning at the Q may seem, it's only shot the Hawks have to upset the Cavs in this series, so they might as well do it in Game 1 when there's a slight chance Cleveland could come out flat.

No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. No. 3 Orlando Magic

Orlando's chances: 3-1

As you can see, I don't think an Orlando win in this series would be much of an upset at all. Boston's epic first round series win against the Bulls may have made for great television, but it also was a seven-game showcase of just how much they miss Kevin Garnett inside.

The Bulls' combination of Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas, and Brad Miller playing inside was too much to handle down low for the Celtics for much of the series. No offense to Noah, Thomas, and Miller, but they aren't exactly the cream of the crop as far as NBA centers go. Imagine the difficulty Boston will have with Dwight Howard.

The perfect storm: If Orlando can catch Boston shorthanded up front, Dwight Howard will have a field day in this series. What's that? Boston's only three bigs are Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis, and Brian Scalabrine? Uh-oh.

When the best way to stop Dwight Howard is to foul him and hope he misses his free throws, and the one thing above all else that the Celtics cannot afford is foul trouble from its bigs, it spells a recipe for disaster for the defending champs.

Boston's best chance to win this series is to make it as tough on Dwight Howard as possible without fouling, let him get his 30-40 points that way, and try and defend the three point line at all cost. If they get caught up in trying to play the percentages and forcing Howard to make free throws, it'll be a long series for the C's.

Boston showed that it still has the heart of a champion by grinding out the grueling seven-game series against Chicago, but it must also prove that it has determination and will of one, too, by sticking to a gameplan that allows Howard to dominate at times, no matter how frustrating it may get.

If not, Orlando will be the closest thing the NBA has to "Mine That Bird" in the second round.

Look for Scott Shepherd's NBA column on Mondays and Thursdays during the NBA playoffs.

Posted by Scott Shepherd at 11:43 AM | Comments (1)

The "Price" is Wrong

Just when you thought the Montreal Canadiens' dreadful season couldn't get any worse, Carey Price had to open his mouth.

For those who may not be aware, during the second period of a Game 4 loss to the Bruins, Carey Price made a simple save on a dump in shot. The fans cheered Price sarcastically because he had already allowed 3 goals. The cheering caused the Habs goaltender to throw his hands to the air in disgust.

Later in a press conference, one of Price's comments was, "Guys are playing hard, we are doing everything we can and things weren't going our way. We started having people turning on us in our own rink. It's kind of hard to put up with."

Days after the Canadiens being swept out of the playoffs, I began to contemplate Price's comment more. Initially, I agreed with Price that the fans were too hard on the Habs' goaltender. But now, as I have better begun to digest what Price said, I completely disagree with him.

Ever since Price became a Montreal Canadien, fans have been praising the young goaltender and believing he would be a solid goaltender for years to come. Expectations have been high on Price as they should be, especially heading into this season. In this, the Canadiens' Centennial Season, a season dedicated to celebrating the rich history of the franchise, fans were hopeful that the Canadiens might capture the Stanley Cup. They were also hoping that Carey Price would grab the reigns and become the permanent starting goaltender.

Carey Price's regular season record of 23 wins and 16 losses, coupled with a .905 save percentage, is decent, but he struggled mightily in the playoffs. While some of Price's struggles can be directly attributed to the defense, it doesn't explain his awful stats. In four losses, he had a goal against average of 4.11 and a save percentage of 0.78.

But back to Price's comment.

Price is angry that the fans were hard on the Montreal Canadiens. Apparently, Price's feelings were "hurt" by the sarcastic jeers.

Excuse me if I don't shed a tear for Carey Price.

Price is soon to become a multi-million dollar player, earning more money that he could ever dream of while playing a sport he loves. Heck, pay me that much money and I don't care who boos me.

The comments by Price also show a high level of immaturity. Price is a player that has the confidence of his coaching staff to lead the team to higher levels.

So, as a leader, what does he talk about after the Canadiens get swept by the Bruins? He complains about the harsh treatment of the fans.

Price needs to realize what it means to be a leader. He should have manned up after the game and admitted that his play wasn't good enough to win. Price should have not even brought the fan issue up. If Carey Price is to become the true leader of this team, he needs to improve his attitude, so that he will learn from a loss and become all the more better for it.

Now, don't get me wrong here. If there is a fan that is getting violent with Price or verbally assaulting him, then that fan is definitely wrong. I am no way condoling violence against professional athletes, but in this scenario, it seems like Price is merely angry about fans booing.

Maybe Carey Price thinks he is in the unique situation where fans have booed a team in their own stadium because they were playing poorly.

Living in Canada and being an avid fan of the Canadian Football League, I know first-hand that booing is a large part of a game. The difference in CFL from NHL, however, is that the players are not making a lot of money. Many of these players work jobs during the offseason because the salaries are not that high. And on many nights, these players will get booed during a game if they are playing badly. While these players might be a bit upset, they don't go on tantrums and complain about poor treatment from the fans.

Booing is a part of sports, and if you think about, real life, as well.

Sure, your boss isn't going to boo you if you make a mistake at work, but he definitely won't be happy with you. Learning to take criticism and become all the better for it is an important part of life, and something that Carey Price would do well to learn.

To close, I'd like to pose this question to Carey Price.

Your Montreal Canadiens just get swept by the rival Boston Bruins during the teams Centennial Season in what was supposed to be a wondrous year ... what did you expect, applause?

Jonathan Hamelin contributes articles on the NBA, NFL and NHL. Being an avid fan of the Canadian Football League, Jonathan writes two columns on the CFL, Rider Report Card and CFL Buzz.

Posted by Jonathan Hamelin at 11:28 AM | Comments (4)

May 1, 2009

Sports Q&A: Moss or Stone(d)?

The Minnesota Vikings selected wide receiver Percy Harvin as the 22nd pick in this year's NFL draft, despite the fact that the Florida star failed a drug test at the NFL Combine. Is the risk (that Harvin smokes his way out of the league) less or greater than the reward (that Harvin is the next Randy Moss)?

I don't think Harvin is the next Randy Moss, nor do I think he'll allow a relatively harmless drug to ruin a potentially promising career. I believe Harvin's future lies somewhere in between those two extremes — he'll be a good receiver who likes to smoke marijuana at the intersection of "occasionally" and "frequently."

In today's NFL, success is often measured in the number of trips to the Pro Bowl, while the number of trips to Roger Goodell's office is often a yardstick for failure. However, if a player can do both, it becomes much easier for teams to tolerate those trips to Goodell's office, or any type of negative behavior. Clearly, Minnesota placed greater weight on Harvin's ability as a football player than they did on his character. Thus, it was an easy decision to snatch him with the 22nd pick in the draft.

The parallels to the situation of Moss are highly similar to that of Harvin. Moss was forecast as a high first-round pick in the 1998 draft, but issues mainly related to marijuana caused his stock to fall. The Vikings gambled successfully and drafted Moss with the 21st pick, and after numerous touchdown catches, as well as the occasional mooning, misting of officials, running down of parking attendants, and early exits from the playing field, it's clear the Vikings made the right choice.

It's obvious that the Vikings scouting department is well-versed in talent assessment, and have a special ability not for weeding out those players that don't fit their desired profile, but weeding in those that do.

Players invited to the NFL Combine know full well that they'll be tested for drugs, so when Harvin tested positive for marijuana, many teams raised red flags as to Harvin's commitment and maturity. But not the Vikings. They raised a "green" flag, apparently impressed that Harvin showed up at the Combine knowing he would fail the drug test. That's either incredible confidence in one's ability, or incredible overconfidence in the quality of one's drug masking substance.

In any case, Harvin must have impressed with all but his drug test at the Combine. He ran a 4.41 40-yard dash, amazingly while under the influence of a positive drug test. That's pretty fast. So, the Vikings liked Harvin for exactly the same reason other teams didn't like him — he was a "burner."

Minnesota was so impressed with Harvin's physical workout results that head coach Brad Childress flew to Florida to spend a day with Harvin, to get a clear idea of his mental makeup, and to experience a typical day for a pot-smoking NFL prospect. Childress was impressed, and quipped that "anyone who lives under that much florescent lighting is definitely ready for the NFL limelight."

While spending time with Harvin, Childress learned, first hand, that the physical talent Harvin displayed at the Combine was no fluke, nor was the 12 he scored on the Wonderlic test, which is loosely equivalent to a 7.12 second 40-yard dash. Wisely, Childress realized that Harvin, should they draft him, would most likely be sprinting on the Metrodome turf, and not blindly filling in circles with a No. 2 pencil.

"Paper was made for rolling anyway," reportedly said Harvin, a comment that really charmed Childress.

Childress added that the Vikings personnel evaluators don't give much credence to Wonderlic scores, particularly in regards to players with 40's in the 4.4 range. So, the fact that Harvin wasn't high on the list didn't concern them. And neither did the fact that Harvin was "high" on the list.

When all was said and done, the Vikings still had to wait and cross their fingers that no other team would snag Harvin before the Vikes could. Ideally, Childress stated, Minnesota would have liked to make Harvin the twentieth pick in the fourth round, thus pick 4:20. However, there was little or no chance that Harvin would slide that far, so the Vikings sweated through 21 picks before their turn arrived, with Harvin still available.

The deal was done when Harvin walked onstage at the NFL Draft and donned a Vkings baseball cap with the familiar Viking "horn" logo, presenting fans with excitement for the upcoming season, as well as giving Harvin a clever, new idea for a marijuana pipe.

Now, it's all up to Harvin to decide his route. The NFL is littered with players who had the physical skills to succeed, but failed for one reason or another. Drug problems are often the case. In the NFL, where drugs are concerned, if you lack discipline, you will be disciplined. Harvin has a choice to make, the most important of which is whether or not to put that Bob Marley poster up in his locker. It's all about passion, and if Harvin's passion for football is weighed in grams, then he's in trouble.

But could Harvin have asked for a better situation than the one that awaits him in Minnesota? The Vikings lack a reliable playmaker at the wide receiver position, so the door is open for Harvin to make an immediate impact. And with a new quarterback in town, Sage Rosenfels, Minnesota seems committed to establishing a passing game equally as dangerous as its rushing atack with Adrian Peterson. Plus, herb already plays an important role in Harvin's life; having a quarterback named after one can only sweeten the pot.

Additionally, Harvin should reward the Vikings for their loyalty with loyalty of his own. They drafted him despite his failed drug test; the least he can do is honor that with effort on the field and discretion off the field. That means staying away from temptation, such as marijuana, strip clubs, and chartered boat rides. In other words, the things that get professional football players through a grueling Minnesota football season.

Whiles it's highly doubtful that Harvin will explode onto the scene like Moss did in his rookie year, he will certainly contribute, and add an explosive element to the Vikings passing game. And, with the growing popularity of trick formations, Harvin will give the Vikes a weapon to employ on direct snaps.

It's like people have been saying for years: the buzz surrounding this guy is immense.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 11:35 AM | Comments (4)