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May 31, 2011

Quality Remodeling

It's been five years. Five years since some of us were "Ridin' Dirty" with Chamillionaire. Five years since we took in the deaths of Cyclops, Charles Xavier, and Jean Grey in the last installment of the "X-Men" trilogy. Five years since the U.S. soccer team finished dead-last in Group E of that year's World Cup.

This week, the music world means tuning Adele, Lady Gaga, and Justin Bieber into your iPod. We flock to the movie theaters for the latest offerings of the "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Hangover," and even "Kung Fu Panda" franchises. And the country is a little more optimistic about our soccer prospects after a stirring qualification for the knockout stage in South Africa.

A lot can happen in five years' time. But two values remain constant, especially when it comes to sports. When Dallas finished off the young upstarts from Oklahoma City last week, the first word that came to mind was redemption. The next night, Miami completed a comeback win in Chicago to shrug off the Baby Bulls. Another word flashed in my brain: validation. Usually, you find one of these qualities in a NBA Finals series. But in 2011, both are abundant in terms of team and the individual parts.

So, how much of each can we attribute to the main players in the year's series? Let's go down the list.

LeBron James (25 percent redemption, 75 percent validation)

For the King, it's been a year of vitriol. As he said last week after putting away the Bulls, "I say we've got about a month left. About a month left of continued hate. We'll see what happens next year."

The Decision. The promise of multiple championships. It all rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. I may have some "latent hate" myself (Bad weather joke? Anybody? All right). But I understand that James made this decision in free agency and that he took less money to accommodate this partnership. Even though the way he handled it annoyed me, I wasn't ones of those shouting "Boo" from the rafters when it all went down. I know a lot of others feel that way, as well. In that case, redeeming oneself isn't really necessary.

I believe the Heat will win titles, two, three, maybe four to be exact. I thought it wouldn't happen quite yet, but it would happen. However, it's the first one that will make most of us shut up. If they complete their mission Year One, it will put a quick stamp of validation of why this all came together in the first place.

Dirk Nowitzki (85 redemption, 15 validation)

The seven-foot assassin admitted that he can't even watch the 2006 Finals. We all know he was the main cog that led the Mavs to a 2-0 lead and a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 3. We also remember how the Series turned south for Dallas once the Heat closed out that third game with a furious rally.

Although he is credited with restoring the Mavericks back to, and possibly beyond, respectability, Dirk has also received the lion share of the blame for the franchise's failings. Over the last few weeks, Nowitzki's done his best to erase those doubts and critiques. The efforts he displayed against Portland, the Lakers, and Oklahoma City have given him a newfound respect. Now he's got his shot, against the organization that provided his biggest "shame," to make that redemption whole.

Chris Bosh (10 redemption, 90 validation)

There's really nothing for the Heat power forward to redeem in this situation. Sure, he was disgruntled in Toronto. Unlike LeBron, Bosh demanded his talents go somewhere else before last Summer got underway. But it's not as though he went into a situation where he was the man, as he was north of the border. Bosh is the third cog in the team machine. He knows it. He appears fine with it. And when needed (e.g., against Chicago), he can shoulder the load.

Like James, Bosh took less money to open up an opportunity to play with better surrounding talent. All this (or any) title would do is validate his choice as the right one.

Jason Kidd (5 redemption, 95 validation)

Kidd's already said that he doesn't plan on retiring. However, even if he gets another couple of seasons out of his career, this may be his last chance to grab the gold ring (the NBA does hand out brass for things like this). J. Kidd is definitely headed to the Hall of Fame, but he would like to be off the list of legends that couldn't quite accomplish that ultimate goal. To avert being etched on the stone where names including Malone, Barkley, Stockton, and Ewing would be a relief to the veteran point guard and a small, but significant stamp on his credentials.

Heck, the time for redemption was eight years ago. That was Kidd's last appearance in the Finals. His New Jersey Nets went down in six games against San Antonio, and that was one year they were swept by the Lakers.

Dwyane Wade (50 redemption, 50 validation)

There's not really anything that Wade can gain at this juncture. He's already got his ring, and the way things have shaped up aren't much different than they were in 2006. D-Wade has a better tertiary player, and the "second banana" has increased in terms of talent value, but the role players might not be as great.

The shooting guard is also in the position of "staying" power. He didn't have to move to the talent ... they came to him. South Beach was already part of "Wade County," and James and Bosh just took up residency. In my opinion, whatever happens in the next two weeks, Wade comes out clean in the redemption and validation departments.

Jason Terry (100 redemption, 0 validation)

He's the other main piece from that Dallas team that lost to Miami in '06. But things are different this time around. Terry was a starter in that six-game series. The former Arizona Wildcat was second fiddle to Dirk and Dirk only. Now, the Jet is called on more for emergency flights than constant service. It's been a toss up between him and teammate J.J. Barea for Sixth Man of the Postseason.

This series won't put any exclamation points on a trip to Springfield. But it will exorcise the ghosts of Finals past. I mean, my god, the man put a tattoo of the Larry O'Brien Trophy on his forearm. That tell you anything?

Pat Riley (0 redemption, 100 validation)

It's seems silly to say that a man that has coached five teams to NBA titles, and was responsible for putting the last one together, would have to redeem anything.

I almost as tempted to say that same about validation. But there was a small slice of doubt when Riley assemble this squad after last year's season. His 2010 salary dump brought a whole new meaning to "Spring Cleaning." And after acquiring James and Bosh, questions popped up about how the team could get other pieces to fill the void. Those pieces have filtered in nicely to this point. Validity comes full bore if they can pull off a championship before any tweaks need to be made.

Mark Cuban (40 redemption, 60 validation)

The year 2000 brought more than just a new set of numbers to the calendar. Since buying the Dallas franchise in January of 2000, Cuban has been the most lively, outspoken, brash, and "annoying" owner in the Association (well, not annoying to me). But his spin on the court has been all positive. Who would have thought that the Mavericks would become one of the most consistent winners in the NBA?

There's one thing that's missing from Cuban's mantle: that dang trophy. He badly wants to hang a banner in the American Airlines Center saying that his team is a world champion. Five years ago, he was two wins away from displaying one. But now, that time in his life is decided by his misguided boast about planning a victory parade instead of the magnificent turnaround he orchestrated. Matter of fact, you can tell he's learned his lesson on boasting from his relative silence during the playoffs.

But if the Mavs do emerge victorious, this will underscore and validate all the work he's put in over the last decade.

Tuesday night should be the start of an intriguing Finals series. Although it won't help me get redemption from my last column, I hope it can provide a valid end to a wild playoff run.

Posted by Jonathan Lowe at 1:17 PM | Comments (0)

May 30, 2011

Don't Get Your Hopes Up, Mavs Fans

Going into the 2011 NBA Finals, we should all be clear on two things: who the favorite is, and who the sentimental favorite is. Note, these are not the same team and I shouldn't have to point out which is which here. Rooting for the Miami Heat is akin to rooting for Darth Vader simply because both are incredibly powerful, entertaining to watch, and look badass in their black unis.

Surely, while LeBron James has in fact turned to the dark side by taking his talents to South Beach to pursue his championship ring, Dirk Nowitzki has remained one of the few players to remain with the same team for well over a decade since the beginning of his NBA career in 1998. Through this time, Dirk has seen perpetual mediocrity, ownership change hands to the boisterous Mark Cuban, and close friend and fellow great Steve Nash come and go. He has reached one NBA Finals, which his Mavs lost to this same Heat team, and he has seen countless other postseason disappointments that fell well short of expectations.

We've heard this story many times before in sports. The aging great still without a ring, knowing his window is closing and hoping that perhaps this one last shot will be the one that propels him to glory. It's a subplot strong enough to put a lump in a real sports fans throat, and yet...

I just cannot see any way the Mavs pull this out.

I hate to disappoint fans of the underdog, fans of the likable heroes, but Miami has too much firepower and plays too much defense. While Dallas has been heralded for playing much more solid consistent defense in this year than in the past, they have accomplished that in the Western Conference, which is more known for a speed and fastbreak game than the more physical East. As such, this does not reach the level of defense Miami has been playing throughout the playoffs any time they need to amp up the difficulty. Only once all postseason did any team score over 100 on Miami.

While Dirk has surrounded himself this year with a great deal of talent, from old standby Jason Terry to athletic forwards Tyson Chandler and Shawn Marion to the outside shooting of Peja Stojakovic, and veteran point guard leadership of Jason Kidd, these are all still role players in comparison to Dirk, who remains their only star and main go-to option at the end of a close game. Dirk has played magnificently in this postseason, and yet it seems he could continue to be magnificent and still fall short.

This is because Dwyane Wade, James, and Chris Bosh, just as everyone had feared since the preseason, are firing on all cylinders together, and you can't be certain where the big basket is coming from. LeBron has had the propensity to take over the final two minutes of any game (would you prefer me to cite Game 5 against Boston, or Game 5 against Chicago?), emerging as the top dog, while Wade and Bosh have not disappointed, either, making clutch shots and stops down the stretch, as well. This brings me to my next point.

Miami has eliminated the perception of them as unable to close out games late or make clutch shots that haunted them throughout the regular season. This manifested itself most against Chicago, culminating in a last-second home loss to the Bulls in which ESPN announcer Mike Tirico shouted memorably, "The Miami Heat don't close again!" This game's final seconds featured misses of awkward, low-percentage shots from both James and Wade that seem light years short of anything they would attempt now in that situation.

So perhaps they were just playing rope-a-dope with the whole league? How could this same team make the ridiculous 12-point comeback they made in the final 3:05 against Chicago in Game 5? How could this same team score the last 16 consecutive points to close out the Celtics also in Game 5? That's not to mention two overtime victories for the team, as well. No team has even taken the Heat to a sixth game in a playoff series. Last, but not least, the Heat are now 8-0 at home in the playoffs. By the way, Miami will be having home-court advantage in these Finals.

That's not to say Dallas is anything of a slouch. The Mavs swept the defending champion Lakers, albeit a sorry shadow of the former champs were the Lakers for four games, falling apart and crumbling repeatedly in the face of adversity. They also knocked out the emerging OKC Thunder in a mere 5 games, while winning a similarly remarkable Game 4 comeback on the road. This one was a 15-point deficit with under 5 minutes remaining. Dallas won on the road in overtime.

Nowitzki has also shown a great offensive repertoire, making fade away jumpers, but also driving to the basket with authority on a consistent basis and dealing with contact very well. However, he is going to need more help than he is getting from his supporting cast. He will need one of his teammates to emerge as a star alongside him in order to counter the multiple threats of the Heat. Dirk also may be facing his most formidable foe matchup-wise in Chris Bosh. Bosh is long enough and agile enough to give Nowitzki problems getting his shot off. He also requires a fair amount of energy to guard on the offensive end.

The history of these two teams is odd in that both teams have only reached the Finals the one other time they battled each other back in '06. It was a series the Mavs seemed to have won until Wade and the Heat pre-LeBron stormed back in four straight games to take the title and leave a furious Dirk to kick at poor innocent blameless chairs on the way to the locker room.

There's no doubt many would like to see Dirk win redemption from the frustration of 2006, as well as play with fire in his eyes as he turns a personal vendetta against Miami into 50-point nights in the Finals. But if you have your hopes up for something like this, it may already be too late for you. Miami's defense is too locked in and their clutch scoring threats outnumber the Mavs. The Heat will take it again in 5.

Posted by Bill Hazell at 1:42 PM | Comments (3)

Stanley Cup Preview: Canucks vs. Bruins

A few weeks ago, Vancouver and Boston were on the verge of Game 7 first-round ousters. Now they're battling for the Stanley Cup. On one hand, you have Canada's latest hope for taking Lord Stanley home, and on the other hand, you have an Original Six franchise in one of America's true hockey strongholds. Who will win the Stanley Cup? The fearless prediction below:

Offense: Advantage Vancouver

There's no doubt about it, the Canucks' forward depth is among the best in the NHL. And since the NHL is really just two teams right now, they get many high marks over the Bruins. From the top line featuring the Sedin twins and Alex Burrows to the gritty third and fourth lines, there's simply no matching the speed or wave-after-wave attack system of the Canucks. The best defense is a good offense that maintains control of the puck, and Vancouver's cycle game could have Boston's defense seeing circles.

Defense: Advantage Boston

Boston may not have the roster depth on the blueline that Vancouver does, but they do play a more dedicated team-defense system. Led by Zdeno Chara, much of the Bruins game is about protecting the space around Tim Thomas, and while the defense pair comparisons lean toward Vancouver in terms of pure talent, sometimes a structured system can do more for defense than pure talent.

Goaltending: Advantage Boston

Tim Thomas recorded freakish save percentage numbers, and he's continued rolling into the playoffs. His ability to take over games is probably the reason why the Bruins overcame a talented Tampa Bay attack. Roberto Luongo is no slouch, either, and both are prone to bad goals and bad games, but this just seems to be Thomas' year. His periods of domination are longer and his brain-cramp goals are fewer, so despite Luongo's strong performance so far this season, Thomas gets the nod.

Coaching: Push

It's a bit ironic that these two coaches were on the hot seat due to near-disasters in the first round, and yet now here they are facing off in the Stanley Cup Final. Alain Vigneault has the Canucks firing on a speed-based game that emphasizes cycling, puck control, and forechecking. Claude Julien wants a steady, defense-oriented team effort that shuts down the opposition — if you take a big-picture view of how the Bruins play, it's not surprising to see almost all of their players collapsing in to protect the puck. The systems are essentially opposites of each other, and it may be less about how the coaches adapt as how the refs call the game.

Special Teams: Advantage Vancouver

Boston's power play woes have been well noted throughout the playoffs, and the intermittent appearances by their penalty kill nearly did them in against Tampa Bay. Vancouver's special teams turned the tide in the San Jose series; in the pivotal Game 4, Vancouver killed off five straight power plays before scoring on their own man advantage to take control of the series. If the refs call this series tight, it'll be tough for Boston to come out of it unscathed.

Prediction: Vancouver in 6

Tim Thomas will steal one game and the Bruins will win another game out right, but the Canucks talent will overload the Bruins to capture Canada's first Stanley Cup since 1993. And no one will be happy with the inconsistent officiating.

Posted by Mike Chen at 12:12 PM | Comments (0)

May 27, 2011

Secrets of the 2011 NFL Season (Pt. 1)

* In the NFL's September 11th season opener featuring the last two Super Bowl champions, the Saints outlast the home-standing Packers, 38-34. Reggie Bush's dynamic 75-yard punt return late in the fourth quarter is the game-winning score. An overjoyed Bush celebrates bravely with a Lambeau Leap into a sea of Packers fans, and the Green Bay faithful are surprisingly receptive, making Bush feel quite welcome, with a bounty of cash and gifts.

The Saints falter late in the year, and finish 8-8, good for third in the NFC South. The Packers win the NFC North and lose in the divisional round to the Lions.

* In the October 17th Dolphins/Jets contest at the Meadowlands, New York strength and conditioning coach Bill Hughan outdoes former Jets coach Sal Alosi when he slips Miami running back Ricky Williams a hit of LSD after Williams is tackled out of bounds on a first quarter sweep play. As "tripping" incidents go, Hughan's misstep easily overshadows Alosi's in infamy, and Hughan is fired the following day and charged with felonious assault, although Williams, known to drop acid as easily as he drops charges, forgives Hughan.

The Dolphins upset the Jets 24-22, as Williams rushes for 121 yards and a score, and, despite his impairment, passes with flying colors, tossing a short touchdown pass to Brian Hartline.

* After offseason neck surgery leaves him scarred and unable to practice, Peyton Manning teams with Under Armour and the estate of Charles Nelson Reilly to develop a fashionable line of moisture-wicking neckerchiefs. Manning introduces the product at VH1's Fashion Week in September, and sales skyrocket thereafter, with Under Armour neckerchiefs becoming a worldwide phenomenon, sported by influential people ranging from Snoop Dogg to Perez Hilton to Sarah Palin to Muammar Gaddafi.

In a related note, the Tim Tebow-endorsed Jockey line of men's thongs, dubbed the "Jockey Strap," is a monumental failure, and is pulled from retailers' shelves after only a week on the market.

* At TNA's Hardcore Justice pay-per-view card in August, world tag team champions Beer Money, Inc. face a surprise challenge from none other than the team of A.J. Hawk of the Packers and the Rams James Laurinaitis. The newly-formed tag team, known officially as the "New Road Warriors," and unofficially as "Hawk and Animal's Son," capture the belts when Laurinaitis shoulder-blocks James Storm for the pin at the 9:34 mark.

Their reign is short-lived, as Hawk and Laurinaitis lose the belts the following night in Memphis to Beer Money, and immediately turn on each other, initiating a feud that culminates in Green Bay on October 16, when the Packers host the Rams. Afterwards, Laurinaitis defeats Hawk in an arm wrestling match arranged by Vince McMahon.

* After Chad Ochocinco rides a bull for 1.5 seconds in May, the Bengals wide receiver goes one better in early June when he "shoots the bull" for eight consecutive hours in a marathon Twitter session, a stunt performed to raise awareness for Ochocinco himself.

Ochocinco has a tough year, facing the opposite problem than that of quarterback Carson Palmer: he wants to be in Cincinnati, but no one else does. Cincinnati finishes 5-11, last place in the AFC North.

* Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie leads the AFC with 9 interceptions, and at the team's year-end awards banquet, dedicates one pick to each of his children. Cromartie also records 8 tackles on the year, and, in turn, dedicates one each to his children's mothers.

* Kanye West, at the behest of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, reprises his 2008 hit "Love Lockdown" as "League Lockout," a song Goodell e-mails to every NFL player with a message urging them to tailor a swift end to the lockout. The move backfires, and players accuse both Goodell and West of selling out to "the man."

The lockout ends on June 29th, after President Barrack Obama authorizes a group of mediating operatives, known as "Deal Team 6," to intervene.

* On July 23rd, Ben Roethlisberger weds his fiance, Ashley Harlan, in a lavish ceremony at the Hilton at South Padre Island, Texas. Security is tight at the event, particularly in the bathrooms. Guests are treated to a post-ceremonial meal of nachos and Jello shots. Steelers teammate Troy Polamalu plays the "Wedding March" on the piano, while traitorous teammate and terrorist sympathizer Rashard Mendenhall shocks invitees by playing an original piece called the "Perp Walk" on the kazoo.

A blissful Roethlisberger has his finest season, crediting it to the "steady peace" matrimony has offered him. The Steelers finish 11-5, tied with the Ravens for first in the AFC South.

* In the November 13th Lions/Bears contest at Soldier Field, Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson creates another rules headache for the league when he takes a short pass along the sideline from Matthew Stafford and hops on one leg 65 yards downfield before being shoved out of bounds by Charles Tillman at the Bears one-yard line. Officials originally call the catch legitimate, but after minutes of deliberation, it is overturned.

Stafford raises his arms in disgust, and separates his right shoulder in the process.

Johnson leads the league in receptions and touchdown catches. The Lions finish 10-6, second in the NFC North, and reach the NFC Championship Game, where they fall to the Falcons.

* Pop diva Christina Aguilera, determined to repair her reputation after February's Super Bowl fiasco, campaigns to sing the national anthem at November 20th's Eagles/Giants game at the Meadowlands. Aguilera is given the chance, and makes history, as her rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" becomes the first to be subjected to the NFL's replay policy. After further review, Aguilera's invitation is overturned.

* Tom Brady leads the NFL with 37 touchdown passes, including five in Week 6 35-24 win over the 4-0 Cowboys. Brady shows classic poise in the pocket, but his gutsiest play comes on a 15-yard TD pass to Deion Branch, in which Brady takes a vicious hit from DeMarcus Ware that knocks Brady's helmet off. However, Brady's machismo loses a bit of its luster when his flying helmet reveals pigtails and ribbons adorning his luxurious mane.

In January, Brady is honored in People magazine's "Most Beautiful People" issue, appearing in both the male and female categories.

* In Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the Atlanta Falcons beat the New York Jets, 24-21, winning on Matt Bryant's 53-yard field goal as time expires. A disappointed yet gracious Rex Ryan makes his way to the Falcons locker room after the game, not only to shake Bryant's hand, but to get a good look at the foot that won the Super Bowl.

* Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski boots a 66-yard field goal as time expires to beat the Chargers 26-25 on November 10th, breaking the NFL record for longest field goal. The veteran Raider kicker earns a free trip to Disneyworld, and while there, an intoxicated Janikowski goes berserk while in line for the Dumbo ride. Janikowski slugs an attendant, and a chase ensues involving park security, police, and several Disney mascots. Janikowski eludes them all, and ironically, slips a "Mickey" in the process, but later turns himself in to authorities.

Janikowski is banned from Disneyworld, but is selected to the Pro Bowl, while the Raiders win the AFC West with a 9-7 record.

* Pearl Jam is chosen to perform at halftime of Super Bowl XLVI, and during the bands' set, lead singer Eddie Vedder gives a shout out to Al Davis, celebrating his 50th year with the Oakland Raiders. The band then plays their 1991 debut single, "Alive."

* The Houston Texans finally break through and win the AFC South title, defeating the Colts twice on their way to an 11-5 record, earning the AFC's No. 3 seed. In the wild card round, however, the Texans host the sixth-seeded Colts at Reliant Stadium, and fall to the Colts 38-14 behind 356 yards passing and 5 touchdown throws from Peyton Manning, a performance that earns the Texans defensive backfield the dubious nickname "The Burn Unit."

Gary Kubiak is fired as head coach, and the Texans soon name Kyle Shanahan as his successor.

* Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald endures another difficult season, as the Cardinals again suffer quarterback issues. While he is nowhere near the league lead in receptions, Fitzgerald, always the consummate teammate, leads the NFL in receptiveness, to quarterback play not meeting the standards of a superstar wide receiver. When asked how he handles his dilemma, Fitzgerald, a deeply spiritual man, replies that he prays to higher powers, notably Kurt Warner and God, in that order.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)

Foul Territory: Speeding, Riding, and Coffee With a Kick

* Suicide Squeeze, or Appraising Mets — New York Mets majority owner Fred Wilpon, just days after making critical comments aimed at stars David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and Jose Reyes, said the team could lose up to $70 million this year. Wilpon said the team got caught in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, and a court-appointed trustee wanted the team to repay $1 billion to Madoff's victims. Interestingly, Wilpon's talk of Wright, Beltran, and Reyes led him seamlessly into a discussion of "fraudulent investments."

* "Even more," quoth the Raven. "Even more." — Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said he feels crime will rise if there is no NFL season. Asked to elaborate, Lewis said crime will increase because "there's nothing else to do." Lewis also said that a solution to the league's labor dispute lies simply in both sides eschewing pride. Apparently, Lewis' faith in football players and owners greatly exceeds his faith in humanity.

* Most Likely, He'll Be a "Buss" Rider and Not a "Buss" Driver" — Former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown was hired on Wednesday to replace Phil Jackson as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Brown was 272-138 in five seasons in Cleveland, but never brought the team an NBA championship. Brown will look to emulate Kobe Bryant's accomplishments since that fateful night in Colorado, and get over the "hump."

* Intentional Grounding, or Bum Rush — Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards won his professional boxing debut last Friday, winning a unanimous decision over former amateur kickboxer T.J. Gibson at Grand Casino in Hinckley, Minnesota. Edwards was far from dominant, but knocked Gibson down twice. Several teammates offered support for Edwards, and even Brett Favre got in on the act, texting Edwards a message that read "You think you were raw. Check this out!" accompanied by a picture of Favre's penis.

* Thunder Cracks, or Cuban Missive Crisis — The Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-96 on Wednesday night, winning the Western Conference finals 4-1. The Mavericks used fourth-quarter comebacks in Games 4 and 5 to finish off the Thunder. The Mavs will face the Heat, who beat the Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals, which, inevitably, can only lead to another "Cuban" in Miami.

* Conn-traction, or One Shining Moment, Two Declining Scholarships, or Slam Flunk — The Connecticut men's basketball team will lose two scholarships for the upcoming season due to a poor Academic Performance Rating from the NCAA. UConn had already lost one of its 13 scholarships due to recruiting violations. Head coach Jim Calhoun said the university will attack the situation the only way they know how, by ceasing to illegally recruit dumb players, and by committing anew, on the court and off, to passing drills.

* Cup a Blow, or Coke Adds Life, to 18-Year-Old Stories — Diego Maradona said Argentina players took a banned substance before a 1993 World Cup qualifier against Australia, and says Julio Grondona, FIFA vice president and head of Argentina's Football Association, knew about it. Maradona, who tested positive for cocaine in 1991, claimed the team doctor added a banned stimulant to their coffee. Reportedly, Argentines like their pre-match coffee with a little extra kick.

* And We Though Tiger Hit His Low Point on November 27, 2009 — Tiger Woods tumbled to 12th in golf's world rankings, falling out of the top 10 for the first time since 1997. Woods was last outside the top 10 just before winning the 1997 Masters, the first of his 14 major wins. Although now on crutches due to knee and Achilles injuries, Woods plans to play in the U.S. Open in mid-June. It's reportedly the first time in years that Woods has used anything other than sex as a crutch.

* Team Chemistry, or Tour De Askance, or Have Merci — Tyler Hamilton, a former cycling teammate of Lance Armstrong, said on CBS's 60 Minutes that he saw Armstrong take performance-enhancing drugs, and that Armstrong encouraged teammates to participate in a doping program. Hamilton was the latest in a number of former Armstrong teammates to accuse him of doping. Armstrong insisted his detractors stop needling him, and pointed to over 500 passed drug tests as proof of his innocence, claiming that the only thing tested more than his blood was his patience.

* Calling His "Huff," or Quarter-Back? — Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown reiterated on Monday that Carson Palmer won't be traded once the lockout ends, although Palmer has threatened to retire if the Bengals do not trade him. Sources say Brown's hardball stance is working, and that Palmer may reconsider, with Cincy's dismal 4-12 record last year on his mind, and retire even if he's not traded.

* Standing Great Count — 46-year-old Bernard Hopkins won a unanimous decision over Jean Pascal to win the WBC light heavyweight championship, becoming the oldest man in boxing history to win a world title. Hopkins surpassed the accomplishment of George Foreman, who captured the heavyweight championship in 1994 at the age of 45. Should Hopkins ever face Mike Tyson, Tyson would more than likely threaten to eat Hopkins' grandchildren.

* We've Got Busch, or You Call it a Yellow Light, We Call it a Blue One — Kyle Busch was clocked running 128 mph in a 45-mph zone on Tuesday afternoon near Mooresville, North Carolina. He was cited for careless and reckless driving. Surprisingly, the Iredell County sheriff got out of his car and confronted Busch at the window of his car.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)

May 26, 2011

The NBA Postseason "Matty" Awards

In the "what have you done for me lately" world that is today's professional sports scene, we, as fans, are quick to anoint our athletic heroes and foils with titles and monikers befitting of their emotional impact on our individual psyches.

As a case-in-point, based on his 2011 postseason performance, fans of the Dallas Mavericks have christened their own Dirk Nowitzki as an all-time top-10 player and those less compelled to root for the Dallas ballers have been just as quick to damn Nowitzki as nothing more than a great shooter, but overrated overall basketball player. The most telling aspect of these disparate assessments is Dirk is one three-game collapse away from being damned by those very same fans who have hastily glorified his performance to date. We are a fickle bunch, to say the least, when it comes to our rooting interests and our perception of those for whom we root.

Truth is, Dirk falls somewhere in the middle of those two extreme groups, but that example is repeated throughout all sports and across all teams. That said, as far as the 2011 NBA playoffs are concerned, our reality is there are four teams left, which leaves precious few arbitrary assessments to assign to various players on those last-standing teams. In the spirit of both the uniqueness of being one of those 60 remaining players still suiting up in the NBA and America's propensity to jump to a merit-based rewards system to quantify an individuals' value, I have decided to offer up my own assessments for your consumption.

Rather than just spew my own perceptions in an unoriginal stream-of-consciousness, I've decided to spice my own assessments up a bit by creating twelve unique postseason awards that I am naming the "Matty's". The ground rules are simple; to qualify for a "Matty", you need only be on an active roster for one of the four remaining NBA playoff teams. The 12 categories in which individual players can qualify for range from the sublime ("Most Trustworthy Shooter in Crunch-Time") to the ridiculous ("Most Likely to Celebrate a Meaningless Basket"), but rest assured that any winner of a prestigious "Matty" will anxiously (and perpetually) await his trophy, which will most certainly be mailed in the coming days.

On to the awards...

Most Underrated Superstar as a Result of Having a Superstar Teammate — Dwyane Wade, Heat

Considering Wade's legacy in the league to date, this may be a tough pill for some of you to swallow. That said, the reality is that Wade is Miami's MVP. So few want to give D-Wade the credit for Miami's previous championship (he deserves most of it) that it has gone largely unnoticed that the Heat's success in 2011 is largely tied to Wade's performance, not LeBron's. I'm not talking simply about offensive stats here ... Wade offers so much more than that in his ability to throw even the most tenacious defenses into a tizzy by his slashing, high-speed style. His on-the-ball defense allows players like Chris Bosh and LeBron to play to their strengths on defense, which is to say they can fly around and help at their own leisure.

Most Overrated Superstar as a Result of Having a Superstar Teammate — Carlos Boozer, Bulls

You had to see this one coming. While Boozer's status as a "superstar" is certainly in question, the bottom line is the guy is credited for far too much of the Bulls' success. His own ability to score is tied directly to his superstar teammate's ability to disrupt a defense and his own propensity to find open spots in said disrupted defense. It was this way at Duke, it was this way in Utah, and it is this way now. In fact, in the future, I may well name this "Matty" after Mr. Boozer.

Most Trustworthy Shooter in Crunch-Time – Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks

Any arguments? Didn't think so. Moving on...

Least Trustworthy Shooter in Crunch-Time — Russell Westbrook, Thunder

Perhaps Westbrook loses additional points here because he plays alongside a dude that should, quite literally, never pass the ball in end-game situations. Regardless, it isn't often that I've seen an all-star-caliber player consistently suck in clutch situations as Westbrook has throughout his young career. Don't go citing specific instances where he actually succeeded here; watch some tape of the last six close games OKC has played and then come back to me with any dissension with this selection ... I dare you. As an aside, Westbrook is shooting 39% from the field in the postseason ... yikes.

Most Likely to Celebrate a Meaningless Basket — LeBron James, Heat

LeBron is the truth, no doubt, but have you ever seen a superstar get so jazzed over a breakaway layup late in a game with his team leading by 8 points or more than LeBron? I'm okay with intensity and even enjoy some good old-fashioned self-glorification, but c'mon, LeBron. No need to beat your chest after making a "game-saving" steal and jam in those games where the outcome is already decided. Let's try not getting a charge called on you in a tie game with less than 30 seconds left before you force the world to celebrate your kingliness next time.

Best Shooter, Dudes Who Look Like They Can't Shoot Division — Peja Stojakovic, Mavericks

If you watch him prep for a shot, he looks like he's about to pass a kidney stone. His hands are jacked up, his legs do some funky bend thing that can't be described effectively, and he looks like he just walked out of a smoke shop (you know the type, shaggy pseudo-beard, pasty white, sheepish grin). But when he is on, he is money.

Worst Shooter, Dudes Who Look Like They Can Shoot Division — Mike Miller, Heat

If you walked into a gym and had to pick one guy from all of the teams that you just knew would hit a 30-foot jumper (allowing for the stretch that you've never seen any of these guys play before), you have to admit that Miller would be a serious contender. He's white, he certainly looks the part, and he walks with an air of confidence that belies his utter lameness. Now, knowing what you do know about all the players in play here, who is the one guy (not counting the big dudes of course, they are disqualified from this assessment) that looks like a shooter that you would absolutely not trust to take that 30-foot jumper. Exactly.

Most Useless Starter — Keith Bogans, Bulls

Seriously, Keith Bogans is a starter? Who knew?

Most Valuable Non-Starter — Jason Terry, Mavericks

While Terry is only a non-starter in the box score (in Game 4, Terry netted 42 minutes to starting SG DeShawn Stevenson's 13), he does qualify. Terry is clutch, hard-working, and savvy and is the anchor of the NBA's most potent bench attack.

Most Underrated Non-Superstar — Serge Ibaka, Thunder

Serge's playoff numbers are stunningly adequate: 10.3 points per game, 7.6 rebounds, 3.2 blocks. And those numbers are collected in less than 30 minutes per night.

Most Overrated Non-Superstar — Shawn Marion, Mavericks

Marion plays 31 minutes a night, yet is averaging 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists per contest. He's giving the ball away more frequently than he is taking it away (1.1 SPG versus 1.4 TOPG) and his defense hasn't been any great shakes, either. While his contributions have been helpful, if you were to do nothing except listen to the announcers during Mavericks' games this postseason, you'd think Marion was a key factor. He hasn't been.

Least Likely to Take a Bad Last-Second Shot Because He Isn't Self-Glorifying Enough — Kevin Durant, Thunder

Durant is Dirk Nowitzki without the swagger. Nowitzki, for his part, relishes the moments when he can over-dribble, double-fake, and launch a poorly-devised shot when it matters most ... and he typically makes good on those offerings. Conversely, Durant is far too willing to defer what would be a tougher shot for himself in favor of an open teammate ... which is commendable, but not the path for OKC title hopes.

Most Likely to Take a Bad Last-Second Shot Because He is Self-Glorifying — Derrick Rose, Bulls

I love me some D-Rose, but for a lightning-quick, slippery-as-an-eel ball handler, he sure settles for a lot of weak-nut fade-away jump shots late in games. For my money, I'd like to see the league's MVP break down a defense a bit more frequently in these situations and take a higher percentage (for him) teardrop or dish to one of his capable mid-range shooting teammates for a wide open offering.

There you have it ... the first annual "Matty" Award recipients! For posterity — and to help ensure that this article carries with it at least a tiny bit of relevance — as an added bonus I'm going to share with you my fearless NBA Finals prediction:

Dallas Mavericks over Chicago Bulls, 4 games to 2. And yes, I am aware that the Heat are currently up 3 games to 1.

Posted by Matt Thomas at 4:23 PM | Comments (1)

"Madoff's Curveball," Uncovered

If ever one article generated a deafening buzz, it is Jeffrey Toobin's article, "Madoff's Curveball," in the May 30, 2011 edition of the New Yorker. The article outlines the problems faced by Met's owner, Fred Wilpon, who allegedly had knowledge of Bernie Madoff's infamous scandal, and who could be hit with a near-billion dollar judgement.

I finished the 11-page article Tuesday afternoon, and found it both comprehensive and entertaining. The legal allegations are nothing that requires further reading — they have already been adequately covered. But the insights into the lives of both Fred Wilpon and Bernie Madoff uncover some interesting questions and leave you hungry to witness the result of this pending battle.

Beyond the more academic aspects of this article, some facts left me stunned and amused. Did you know, for example, that Fred Wilpon was responsible for getting Sandy Koufax to join his high-school baseball team?

Of course, one cannot examine this article and ignore the highly covered comments made by Wilpon in regards to some of his players. I read an ESPN article last night that outlined the comments, and came away rather stunned. However, after reading the article, I was anything but stunned.

Here is the full excerpt from the article where Wilpon makes these comments:

* * *

In the game against the Astros, Jose Reyes, leading off for the Mets, singled sharply up the middle, then stole second. "He's a racehorse," Wilpon said. When Reyes started with the Mets, in 2003, just before his 20th birthday, he was pegged as a future star. Injuries have limited him to a more pedestrian career, though he's off to a good start this season. "He thinks he's going to get Carl Crawford money," Wilpon said, referring to the Red Sox' signing of the former Tampa Bay player to a seven-year, $142-million contract. "He's had everything wrong with him," Wilpon said of Reyes. "He won't get it."

After the catcher, Josh Thole, struck out, David Wright came to the plate. Wright, the team's marquee attraction, has started the season dreadfully at the plate. "He's pressing," Wilpon said. "A really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar."

Wright walked.

When Carlos Beltran came up, I mentioned his prodigious post-season with the Astros in 2004, when he hit eight home runs, just before he went to the Mets as a free agent. Wilpon laughed, not happily. "We had some schmuck in New York who paid him based on that one series," he said, referring to himself. In the course of playing out his seven-year, $119-million contract with the Mets, Beltran, too, has been hobbled by injuries. "He's 65 to 70 percent of what he was." Beltran singled, loading the bases with one out.

Ike Davis, the sophomore first baseman and the one pleasant surprise for the Mets so far this season, was up next. "Good hitter," Wilpon said. "Shitty team — good hitter." Davis struck out. Angel Pagan flied out to right, ending the Mets' threat. "Lousy clubs — that's what happens." Wilpon sighed. The Astros put three runs on the board in the top of the second.

"We're snakebitten, baby," Wilpon said.

* * *

It is important to read that full excerpt without any snips. The term "taking it out of context" is in full force right here.

Last night on The Seamheads.com Radio Hour, I was astonished by Steve Lenox's — a Met fan — reaction to this news. Is Fred Wilpon really going to get away with this, I thought?

But these comments were not made in order to bash his players. Rather, they were comments made in the midst of a game — a sort of commentary. Wilpon spoke just as any fan would during a game, and, if anything, it signifies his commendable fan-like, hands-on approach to ownership.

While the article was virtually bare of any startling points that could have any ramifications on the actual story, one, particular fact stood out. Twice throughout the article, the argument was made that Wilpon really couldn't have had any knowledge of Madoff's operation. Why would he have kept over $500 million in the account?

That, along with the genuine relationship Wilpon shared with Madoff lead the reader to believe that Wilpon really is innocent. Even Madoff, as he sat in prison, went to bat for his friend. And, it turns out, Wilpon was never warned to pull his funds from Madoff's control.

For any fan interested in the legal battle, the backstory of the scandal, or an insightful look into the life of Fred Wilpon, this is required reading.

Posted by Jess Coleman at 4:08 PM | Comments (0)

May 25, 2011

Can the Detroit Lions Restore Their Roar?

Don't look now, but there is a new threat to Aaron Rodgers and his defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.

It is not Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears, nor is it Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons.

It is a team from within the NFC North that has quietly built a borderline elite defensive line and has assembled a young and upcoming corps of talent in the skill positions.

This team has the capability to score lots of points and rush the quarterback, all that remains is whether its own quarterback can survive a whole season.

That team is the Detroit Lions.

After the dust settled from the 2011 NFL draft, the Detroit Lions scored the highest all-around marks for their draft, which featured defensive tackle Nick Fairley, wide receiver Titus Young, and running back Mikel Leshoure in a draft week coup.

With the lockout still going on, one silver lining for Lions fans is that it will give their franchise quarterback, Matthew Stafford, a chance to fully heal from a separated shoulder.

Since being drafted No. 1 overall in the 2009 NFL draft, Stafford has missed 19 games due to injury, which for a team on the rise like Detroit, may slow its ascent.

Without question, the Lions have weapons that with a healthy Stafford can and will give NFC North heavyweights Green Bay and Chicago trouble, as they will be able to consistently pressure Green Bay Packers quarterback and Chicago bears quarterback Jay Cutler.

With the drafting of former Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley, he will pair up with 2010 Defensive Rookie of the Year Ndamukong Suh, Corey Williams, and Kyle Vanden Bosch to form one of the best defensive line units in the entire NFL.

Detroit already has Pro Bowl wideout Calvin Johnson for Stafford to throw the ball to, but with the addition of former Boise State wideout Titus Young in the slot, and former Illinois running back Mikel LeShoure's abilities to run and catch out of the backfield, Stafford will have a plethora of targets to choose from.

If the Lions are going to challenge both Green Bay and Chicago in the NFC North and for a NFC wild card in 2011, Detroit's chances hang on the right shoulder of Matthew Stafford.

Somehow, that sounds so fitting.

Posted by Robert Cobb at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)

May 24, 2011

Early Notes From Roland Garros 2011

The French Open began Sunday, and this is one of the few tournaments where the tennis fan can find plenty of entertainment by not only watching matches, but simply by being around the grounds and walking through the crowds.

Musée de Roland Garros always has interesting exhibits during the tournament. One that I found particularly fascinating this year is called "Musée imaginaire de Roland Garros" ("Imaginary Museum of Roland Garros") by Bedri Baykam, a well-known contemporary artist from Turkey. Outside courts provide many opportunities for fans to see the action up-close, with the players walking right by them to enter the courts. French are not lagging behind in innovation, either, with interesting and creative ways of advertising during the tournament and stylish presentation of new products.

The two advertisement guys walking around with flat screens on top of their head, attached to two bars around their neck, dressed in white space-suit-like outfits and playing the clown through the crowd to get people to look at them so they can see what is on the screen (as if people would not already notice them) are something to behold. The stand sellers of hats and t-shirts seem to be ready to jump through hoops and yell out loud to fans in order sell the products. The boutique of Roland Garros has the most attractive display of items that I have ever seen at a tennis tournament; so much that high-end stores around the world could use an idea or two from them on how to stack their products in their stores.

On the negative side, having been here four times in the last seven years, I can begin to notice a considerable need to renovate the tournament site. This brings back into question the decision that was taken in three months ago by the 195 delegates to keep the tournament at Roland Garros, its current location. Unfortunately, it is clear that even with the expansion proposed by 2015, Roland Garros is devastatingly insufficient to handle the size of the tournament. Quite frankly, something needs to be done immediately.

First of all, the crowd size is becoming overwhelming and it's a real challenge to find a spot to sit down for a moment to rest, or to walk without having to show some serious footwork in order to dodge the endless crowds walking towards you and around you. I must have bumped into people and said "pardon" several times a day, even during qualifying rounds. Monday was no different and it was only the second day of the tournament, a weekday for that matter.

Then there is the problem of trying to enter a court. One would think that if you choose to watch the outside courts, you should be able to enter the stands without much problem. Wrong! On Monday, Tommy Haas played his first round match against Marsel Ilhan. I arrived at 5-4 in the first set to court 17, which has one of the larger stands of the outside courts. The line was quite long, and the ushers were allowing people in only as much as by the number of those who were leaving. It took me until the end of the second set to finally be able to enter and watch the last two sets from the stands. I had a peephole view of the end of the first set and the whole second set from the line, through a hole in the windscreen, standing with people around me in the line who were trying to share the minuscule hole.

As incredible as that sounds, the situation was no different in the other courts. People stand for many games in lines before being able to enter almost every outside court. If you are wondering, yes, it is possible that there is a game change and the line does not move, simply because nobody leaves the stands on that particular game change. Expansion in 2015 seems very far away when you are standing in that line as a ticket-paying fan. The quickest I was able to enter any court was a first round match between Agnes Szavay and Olga Govortsova; it took me two game changes! I also talked to someone who arrived to Court 2 in the beginning of the fifth set of the match between Stephane Robert and Thomas Berdych — Robert won 9-7 — and although she told me that she waited patiently, she never got to see a point of those 16 games!

Once you do get into a court, the stands will provide plenty of entertainment for those who like to "observe." During Ernest Gulbis' first round match, Gil Reyes, who is Andre Agassi's ex-fitness trainer, and who has lately been working with Gulbis, simply looked funny, if not silly, holding an umbrella throughout the match on top of his head. It was really not hot, and clouds were covering the sun here and there. It made me wonder if it is not too late to protect his skin if that is his intention, or if he did not realize that he was the only one in the whole area to hold an umbrella, sitting in the same rigid position throughout the match. I felt that some of the players' entourages' behaviors during matches were quirky enough (some of them could provide competition for cheerleading contestants) until I saw Gil Reyes.

Speaking of Tommy Haas, I wondered if anyone other than me found his decision to choose Roland Garros to make a comeback ill-advised. He has been hampered with injuries for 14 months, and decides that his first match will be a Slam five-setter on red clay. What happened to "easing in?" I am sure he was reconsidering that decision when he began to run out of gas in the third set and had to call a trainer later in the match to help his ailing body. He did manage to finish the match, losing in four sets to lucky loser Marsel Ilhan.

The latter brought a new perspective to the term "lucky loser," since the player who beat him in the last round of qualifying, Augustin Gennske, drew in-form Stanislas Wawrinka, the 14th seed. Gennske is out of the tournament, losing to Wawrinka on Monday, while Ilhan, in his best French open outing of his young career, is looking forward to playing his second round match on Wednesday against the 30th-seeded player, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

On another note, French Open charges the spectators to enter the qualifying rounds. I can't be sure, but I believe the three other Slams allow you to enter the qualifying round for free (perhaps a reader could confirm or correct me on that). But what I have never seen anywhere else is the fact that French Open will charge you to enter Roland Garros on the Saturday before the main draw, when there are no scheduled matches! Qualifying rounds have ended, the main draw begins Sunday; yet in order to simply watch players practice on the no-competition Saturday, I saw people pay 20 euros to enter the ground. Is it a nice way to maximize profits, or is it "going too far?" I will let my readers decide on that one, and I will head out to Roland Garros for another terrific day of entertainment.

Posted by Mert Ertunga at 4:08 PM | Comments (2)

Re-Thinking Zero Tolerance For Steroids

What if they had a Hall of Fame and no one was enshrined in it?

As we lope through another Year of the Pitcher — MLB-average ERA is under 3.80 — more and more fans and writers are reaching the conclusion that the Steroid Era is over. If that's true, I'm sure there are numerous factors in play, but one of the most obvious is Cooperstown. Hall of Fame voting has not been kind to suspected PED users, and for elite players, that has to be a serious factor in their decisions.

I've written about steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs before, and I think my strong position against them has always been pretty clear. Zero tolerance for steroid cheats sounds good. A player throws someone through a window, runs down a traffic cop, uses ethnic or homophobic slurs, tortures dogs, even commits a double murder ... you can still put that guy in the Hall of Fame. You're not saying he's a good person, just a great player. But someone who took steroids or hormones is a cheater. Was he really great, or did he just look that way in comparison to guys who played by the rules?

So yes, zero tolerance for steroid cheats sounds good. But I feel kind of weird about how this Hall of Fame thing is playing out. The way HOF voting has gone recently, it looks like the only Hall of Famers who had their primes in the '90s could be Roberto Alomar, Ken Griffey, Jr., Barry Larkin, and Greg Maddux. When I think about the issue that way, it doesn't feel like justice any more. It feels like changing the past, pretending that what happened didn't happen.

Barry Bonds was one of the 10 greatest players in the history of baseball, probably top-five. Roger Clemens won seven Cy Young Awards, most in history. Mike Piazza is the best-hitting catcher ever, a 12-time all-star with 11 Silver Slugger Awards. Ivan Rodriguez, also a suspected user, one of those implicated by Jose Canseco, is among the greatest defensive catchers ever. Subtract the steroid accusations, and they're all first-ballot to Cooperstown.

Canseco was the first player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season. Andy Pettitte won more games in the '00s than any other pitcher, and went 19-10 in postseason play. Mark McGwire broke the single-season home run record. Alex Rodriguez is the greatest shortstop since Honus Wagner. All of them have admitted using PEDs.

Manny Ramirez hit more postseason HRs than anyone else in history. Rafael Palmeiro is one of only four players with 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. Sammy Sosa hit 60 homers three times. All of them tested positive for 'roids.

Suspected or confirmed PED-users who have won MVP awards, in chronological order: Roger Clemens, Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Barry Bonds, Barry Bonds, Juan Gonzalez, Ken Caminiti, Juan Gonzalez, Sammy Sosa, Ivan Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, Barry Bonds, Miguel Tejada, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Alex Rodriguez. That's 19 MVP Awards we're wiping out, including 13 of the 20 winners from 1996-2005. Nine different players, and it doesn't even include guys like Piazza and McGwire who have obvious HOF résumés. It doesn't include 1994 NL MVP Jeff Bagwell, though he apparently is guilty until proven innocent.

When Jeff Pearlman voted against Bagwell last year, he wrote several increasingly odious columns defending his right to consider Bagwell guilty even in the total absence of anything that could be considered evidence. Bagwell never tested positive. He's not in the Mitchell report, or the infamous 2003 list that was supposed to be anonymous. He hasn't been implicated by Canseco or accused by a teammate. But his muscles got bigger over time, so he might have juiced. Come to think of it, my muscles are bigger than they were when I was 22. Maybe I shouldn't have let Tejada give me that B-12 injection.

I think this is the fundamental public misunderstanding about steroids. THEY ARE NOT MAGIC PILLS. Steroids can help you work out longer, or recover faster — basically, they help you train more efficiently. They don't turn you into the Hulk. Lots of guys start off small and then get big. Michael Jordan and Bob Pettit couldn't make their high school basketball teams. Bagwell hit 15 home runs as a rookie, which actually is pretty good. He improved less as a power hitter than Hank Greenberg or Ernie Banks or Ryne Sandberg or a dozen other players with no connection to steroids. But Bagwell played in the '90s, so we'll just assume he's guilty. I suppose Bags should be glad he didn't live in Salem in the 1690s.

Pearlman — who has also accused Craig Biggio, for whatever that's worth — claims to have evidence against Bagwell, though he won't make it public. Remember that scene in Field of Dreams where Kevin Costner sticks his finger in his coat pocket and pretends it's a gun?

"What the hell is that?"
"It's evidence, what do you think it is?"
"It's your finger."
"No, it's not, it's evidence."
"Yeah, well let me see it."
"Get outta here, I'm not going to show you my evidence."

That's kind of how Pearlman's "evidence I can't show you" strikes me. To be fair, two hundred other voters rejected Bagwell, too. He got only 41.7% of the vote, well short of the 75% required for induction. This isn't just about one McCarthyist voter.

What if they had a Hall of Fame and no one was enshrined in it? Not Bonds, the 7-time MVP. Not Clemens, the 7-time Cy Young winner. Not A-Rod, the best shortstop in a century. Not McGwire or Bagwell or Palmeiro or Giambi, all of whom hit over 400 HRs. Not two-time MVP Juan Gone. Not the two best catchers since Johnny Bench. Not Sosa, the fifth player to reach 600 home runs. Not Manny, whose 165 RBI in 1999 were the most in a single season since Jimmie Foxx in 1938. What are we, pretending the last 15 years never happened?

I love that we don't have to worry about steroids in baseball as much as we used to. But if zero tolerance for PED-users means this is what Cooperstown is going to look like, I think that's too high a price to pay. It seems like white-washing the past. Barring the door to Cooperstown in this way makes me feel like a liar, not a guardian of truth. It makes me feel dirty, not clean. It makes me feel judgmental, not righteous.

I celebrate what appears to be the decline of steroids in baseball. But Cooperstown, more than anything else, is our window to the past, and when I look through that window, I want to see what really happened in the '90s, not a cleaned-up version in which Bonds and Clemens and McGwire and the rest weren't great players. And certainly not one that keeps out great players based on unproven suspicions and innuendoes. We don't have to accept steroid use in baseball, and we probably shouldn't accept it. But there has to be a line. And I think zero tolerance is too strict a standard.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 2:01 PM | Comments (0)

May 23, 2011

Age, Albert Pujols, and One Hell of a Gamble

In a world of uncertainty, there are a few constants that we can always depend on. There will be baseball in the summer. There will be football in the fall (at least on college campuses). And the sun will always rise, even when some idiot pastor claims otherwise.

There's another constant that's gotten some debate of late: the deterioration of athletes that comes with age. No matter how great an athlete is, the end comes calling eventually. Always. To everybody.

The most recent example of this constant is Derek Jeter, the soon-to-be 37-year-old shortstop of the New York Yankees. But while much has been written about Jeter's declining production at the plate and even more limited range at short, there's another guy whose slow start to the season brings up a different aspect of the age debate.

That guy is Albert Pujols, and the question is how clubs predict the inevitable deterioration with age and factor that information into contracts before that deterioration begins.

First, a look at just how off the 31-year-old Pujols has been this year:

* Lifetime batting average / on-base percentage / slugging percentage: .329/.423/.618. Those same stats through Sunday's finale against the Royals: .269/.341/.409.

* Pujols has only 12 extra-base hits in 211 plate appearances (seven home runs and five doubles). That's an average of one extra-base hit every 18 plate appearances. His career average: one extra-base hit every eight plate appearances.

* Pujols' career ground ball-to-fly ball rate is 0.70, with a high of 0.77 in 2003. This year, it's 1.00, which goes a long way toward explaining how, in fewer than 50 games, Pujols is more than half-way to his career high in double plays.

* Perhaps more than anything, Pujols just doesn't pass the greatness eye test right now. Mediocre pitchers are challenging him and getting away with it. Opposing managers have intentionally walked Pujols just once all season. A lot of that has to do with Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman behind Pujols (his IBB were also low in the MV3 2004 season with Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen hitting behind him), but Pujols just doesn't have it right now.

All of this is not to push the panic button on Pujols. The season isn't even a third gone, and Pujols has shown in the past that he can go on some incredible tears. He could be hitting .320 with 20 homers by the All-Star Break and nobody would be surprised.

In fact, let's just assume that this is all some mirage. Maybe Pujols goes to get his eyes checked, gets some glasses a-la Ricky Vaughn, and all is well again. But, even with that assumption in hand, it is worth taking a look at Pujols now and wonder if we're not getting a glimpse into 35-year-old Pujols. And the question Cardinals brass have to be asking themselves is this: do we really want to pay this version of Albert Pujols $30 million in 2017, 2018, 2019...?

Regardless of how this year turns out, you have to figure the minimum floor for Pujols is the five-year, $125 million extension the Phillies gave Ryan Howard, a much less accomplished hitter who is actually two months older than Pujols. So, at the very bare minimum, we're talking about $25 million for a 36-year-old in 2016. And if Pujols gets a premium on the Howard deal, the team that signs him could be shelling out $30 million for a 37-year-old AP.

Right now, the Cards are in relatively good shape. Their bullpen and defense are shaky, but they're in first place. Their starting pitching is lights out. And even without Pujols' normal production, they lead the league in batting average and runs scored. Their lineup on Sunday consisted of John Jay, Tyler Greene, Daniel Descalso, Pete Kozma, and Allen Craig, and they still scored 9 runs to win the series two games to one.

But as the season progresses, the Pujols quandary is going to become more and more magnified. If he rebounds to his normal production, the price goes up and the risk gets bigger. And if he doesn't rebound, the Cards will be looking at making a $125 million (or more) bet that a down 2011 was just an aberration.

Even for the second-greatest player in franchise history, that's one hell of a gamble.

Posted by Joshua Duffy at 11:59 AM | Comments (0)

May 21, 2011

Could Derek Boogaard's Death Been Prevented?

The passing of a man or woman in their prime is always a terrible thing to endure, and perhaps even harder to articulate when we're dealing with emotions for which there really are no words.

The tragic and perhaps preventable death of Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard at 28-years-old might seem to be inexplicable on the surface. There are friends and family members of Boogaard's who right this moment are searching for answers that they may never find. The answer may be easier to find than they think.

Boogaard was found dead in his Minneapolis apartment last Friday, and while an exact cause was not immediately forthcoming, foul play was not suspected. Authorities received a report around 6:15 PM that evening that a man was unconscious and had stopped breathing, according to the Minneapolis Police Department. City firefighters were the first on the scene and determined that he was already dead. While foul play is not suspected, the homicide unit and the county Medical Examiner's Office are investigating.

Hennepin County Coroner's Office spokesperson Carol Allis stated that an autopsy took place the next day, but that results would not be available for at least two weeks. Boogaard's family has already agreed to donate his brain to Boston University researchers who are studying the effects of brain trauma in athletes.

It's exactly that subject that I believe is most pertinent in the death of Derek Boogaard, as well as numerous other pro and amateur hockey players in past decades.

Let's start with what we know: Boogaard suffered a concussion last year and missed most of last season because of it. He also had been a participant in the NHL's Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program for unspecified reasons, though friends who had spoken with Boogaard in the days before his death noticed his decidedly upbeat and positive outlook.

"I got to know him pretty well in three years as his teammate in Minny, and I can tell you that no one ever had a bad word to say about him," said the Devils' Brian Rolston. "He was a friendly, outgoing guy with a big heart who had time for everyone, who loved interacting with fans and who was terrific in the community. He was a great teammate who leaves an enormous number of friends behind."

Head injuries and the NHL have always gone hand-in-hand, despite best efforts of the league administrators to minimize the effects of punishing checks and devastating head shots that have always been an occupational hazard for hockey players, at all levels. Whether accidental or otherwise, a miscalculated hit or an intentional boarding, the most advanced headgear available has only slowed the incidence of head trauma in hockey.

According to a study published in the Journal of Neurotrauma (July 26-27, 2009), which analyzed traumatic brain injuries (TBI) among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, those veterans with a diagnosed mild TBI were 2.6 times more likely to be discharged for alcohol or drug abuse, while those with a moderate TBI were 5.4 times more likely. The study suggested that substance abuse may be more common in TBI patients due to their efforts in dealing with lingering symptoms (chronic headaches, dizziness, memory problems, inability to concentrate, resultant loss of ability to cope with day-to-day life), and that once the cycle of substance abuse begins it becomes a self-sustaining downward cycle which not only leads to addiction or dependence, but also exacerbates the very TBI symptoms the patient was trying to alleviate. TBI was also found to increase the likelihood of chronic and/or severe depression, which would (and often does) contribute to the abuse of alcohol or drugs.

While this may be seen as being largely conjectural at this early stage in the investigation of Boogaard's death, the potential for this very cycle having manifested itself in the young Rangers forward is very much a possibility, and if this and many other similar neurological studies are to be believed there is at least a measurable connection between these very same conditions and an increase in suicidal tendencies.

In a study published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry (2001, Issue 71) concerning suicide after TBI, it was concluded that "the presence of a co-diagnosis relating to substance misuse was associated with increased suicide rates in all diagnosis groups." In other words, head injuries and substance abuse were found to be close partners in the resultant deaths of those involved in the study. This study involved nearly 150,000 patients over 15 years, by the way.

A condition at the heart of this issue is chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), brought to light by the recent suicide of former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson. CTE is a condition which is caused by suffering repeated concussions, many of which may be undiagnosed due to the symptoms being too mild to notice (or too easy to ignore), and the possibility that the injured player may refuse to report the condition for fear that they may lose a starting position or be benched altogether.

Oh, let's not forget the macho male tendency to consider oneself immune to harm. Anyone who tells you that this isn't a significant factor in pro sports is trying to sell you something. Players must be educated against ignoring what their own bodies are trying to tell them, and the potential that exists to mask symptoms of injury with whatever means are available instead of facing and treating them properly. Either this isn't being done or the players are not convinced of its importance.

There's a greater concern here than the death of one hockey player. The very nature of sports such as hockey and football is violence and chaos, and that means every single player running the field or skating the ice is at risk. At risk for the very same downward spiral that quite possibly ended the life of this young man, one of many unfortunate and, perhaps, preventable deaths first triggered by a brain injury. And the longer medical science and technology takes to find a dependable and consistent way to prevent these injuries, the more stories we'll read that are just like his.

We can't know for sure yet if his life off the ice was more to blame for his untimely death, but one thing we can say with confidence: the life he led on the ice played a part in this. It's now up to the NHL and the powers-that-be to do their utmost to help prevent such a senseless death in the future. Sadly, Derek Boogaard's name will likely not be the last on the casualty list, the roll call for those men who (literally) gave their lives for the game they loved.

Posted by Clinton Riddle at 5:23 PM | Comments (5)

May 20, 2011

Foul Territory: Pesters and "Court" Jesters

* Over Par-doning Myself, or Leg Man, or Enter-course — Tiger Woods withdrew from The Players Championship last Thursday due to pain in his left knee and Achilles tendon that contributed to his shooting a 42 on the front nine. Woods, however, plans to play in the U.S. Open beginning June 16th at Congressional Country Club in Maryland. If a clearly injured Woods is to win his first major since taking the 2008 U.S. Open, it may very well take an act of Congress.

* Kraut-numbered, or German Missiles, or White German Chocolate — Dirk Nowitzki hit all 24 of his free throw attempts, setting an NBA record, in the Dallas Mavericks' 121-112 Game 1 win over the Thunder is the Western Conference semifinals. The Thunder learned two hard lessons: 1) Nowitzki is almost impossible to guard, and 2) The phrase "He lives at the line" is not just a cliché.

* Better Appel-late Than Never, or the Ball Is In Somebody's Court — A court of appeals on Monday ruled that the NFL's lockout of players should remain in place until a full appeal of the lockout's legality is heard. The court also mandated negotiations, and both sides were optimistic. So, it seems players and owners alike can "talk a good game."

* Cavalier Aptitude, or King-ing Endorsement — The Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA draft lottery on Tuesday, earning the No. 1 pick in June's draft. The last time the Cavs had the first pick, in 2003, they chose Lebron James. Cleveland is expected to select Duke point guard Kyrie Irving, a move that James himself supported. Irving reportedly said he will soon be "bringing his talents to Cleveland," then immediately rephrased his statement.

* Samoa Cum Laude, or I Bet Music Was Provided By Mörtörhead — Steelers safety Troy Polamalu received his undergraduate degree in history last Friday, completing his course work in time to march with over 1,000 other students at USC's Alumni Park. Polamalu was praised by many for returning to school to complete his education. Not too impressed were former Trojans Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart, who live under the mistaken belief that "bachelors degree" is merely of measure of the level of one's relationship status.

* Round Mound of Expound — TNT analyst Charles Barkley called the Miami Heat a "whiny bunch" when it comes to the team taking criticism. Barkley made the proclamation during a live, one-hour TNT special called "The Derision."

* Posada'n Adventure — Jorge Posada apologized to Yankees manager Joe Girardi on Sunday, one day after asking to sit out of the lineup after he was dropped to No. 9 in the batting order. Posada was criticized by many for "quitting" on the team, although Derek Jeter said he felt Posada had done nothing wrong. Posada was back in the lineup on Tuesday, batting seventh against Tampa Bay. Posada had 2 hits in the Yanks 6-2 win. Posada attributed the turnaround to a mental breakthrough, choosing to think "won't out" instead of "want out."

* Limp Biz'ness, or French Correction — Kim Clijsters will compete in the French Open with her right ankle taped, the result of a freak injury suffered in early April. Clijsters was in high heels at her cousin's wedding when she stepped on someone's foot, mangling her ankle ligaments. Clijsters has deemed herself fit for the clay of Roland Garros, but just a slight tweak of the ankle could foster a case of "game, set, scratch."

* Did He Even Try to Talk Them Down?, or Houston Nut — The Houston Astros were sold on Monday to a group led by Houston businessman Jim Crane for $680 million, the second-highest price ever paid for a baseball team. Crane had failed in his three previous attempts to buy a major league team, with efforts to buy the Rangers, Cubs, and Astros falling through. As of Thursday, the Astros were 15-28, MLB's second-worst record. Baseball and financial forecasters wholeheartedly agreed on what the franchise could expect in the future — losses.

* Throwing in the Scowl, or Un-'Do-ing — Donald Trump announced on Monday that he will not run for President in 2012, insisting his allegiances lie firmly in the private sector. Republican party strategists breathed a huge sigh of relief, relieved that the "elephant" had finally left the room.

* Celtic Chide, or Diagnosis: Moron — Boston coach Doc Rivers on Monday criticized the timing of the February trade that sent Kendrick Perkins to the Thunder, saying he would have waited until the end of the year to make the deal. Rivers' words were perceived as a veiled criticism of Danny Ainge, the Celtics president of basketball operations and chief engineer of the trade. Ainge defended the trade, saying he was only doing what he thought good for the team, although he did not specify which team.

* Surren(der)-dipity — France will host the 2018 Ryder Cup after beating out Spain, the sentimental favorite after the death of Seve Ballesteros, for the honor in a unanimous vote by the European Ryder Cup committee. It will likely be the first time anything has been defended on French soil.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 9:59 PM | Comments (0)

The Gentle Giant

When Jim Thome passed Harmon Killebrew on the all-time bomb list, Killebrew was the essence of grace. "Not only is he a great player, but he's a great individual," Killebrew told reporters. "I think he was a little apprehensive about passing me up. I said, 'Jim, I passed a lot of guys up myself along the way. I hope you hit 100 more.'"

That was Killebrew, all right. He was always among the most modest of men, always a man who made anyone in his presence feel at home, maybe even the pitchers who surrendered his home runs, many of which — like those by Mike Schmidt, Eddie Murray, and Darryl Strawberry in the generation to follow — weren't merely home runs, they were conversation pieces.

And now I'm writing with a horror in my heart. On no less than Friday the 13th I wrote (on my regular baseball blog) of the sad news that Killebrew had gone public with what his doctors finally had to tell him, that his battle against esophageal cancer was lost and it was now just a matter of time. Killebrew courageously announced his entry into hospice care.

"He had millions rooting for him when he stood in against the most feared pitchers of his day," I wrote then. "He still has millions rooting him to a sweet, gentle passage, if not an unexpected miracle." Four days later, Killebrew made that sweet, gentle passage, 74-years-old. Daring to hope, I didn't think it would take that little time from his announcement to make the passage.

When Killebrew announced the original diagnosis last December, he vowed to make a fight of it. And nobody doubted he'd give the bastard a run for its money. A man who grows up modestly around the Idaho potato farms, assumes the mantle of a franchise slugger likewise, admits washing dishes is his unusual hobby, makes everyone from the greenest or brashest rookies to the crustiest or most exhausted veterans feel at home in the clubhouse, and gently shepherds teammates and prospects alike on etiquette on and off the field (Killebrew among other things has been celebrated for teaching players to make their autographs legible), isn't going to let something like cancer keep him from quietly celebrating life itself and the profession that made his name.

With the possible exception of Frank (Capital Punishment) Howard, who became a conversation-piece home run hitter in a Washington Killebrew's Twins had departed several years earlier, there may have been no more inappropriately nicknamed player in baseball history. Everyone around him knew "Killer" had only to do with his surname tied to his long-ball power. It had absolutely nothing to do with his personality.

I have a few favorite Harmon Killebrew stories myself. They all say plenty about this sweet man whose company I never had the pleasure of enjoying but whose company you felt, somehow, whenever someone wrote of him during and after his career.

When he was a Washington Senators comer, Killebrew consented to join team broadcaster Bob Wolff in a civilian practical joke. Wolff took the young bombardier to a fathers-and-sons game in the area, Killebrew dressed as casually as the guy next door who was about to drop a few steaks on the grille. "After you hit the ball 10 miles," Wolff said prankishly, "we'll tell 'em, 'that's Harmon Killebrew'." Killebrew stood in and took a pitch from a kid heaving a softball. He swung. He missed. He couldn't hit a softball with a garage door. The kid heaved another one, and Killebrew barely whacked it back to the mound. Wolff hollered out that the catcher tipped the bat and there should be another pitch. This time, the Killer barely tapped it.

Perhaps realizing his great prank idea was about to get his protagonist punk'd (though it wasn't quite called that in the late 1950s), Wolff sprung his little surprise on the gathering, clearly aiming to get Killebrew off the hook. "Harmon Killebrew is the batter, but he has a great heart. He doesn't want to lose the only softball you've got. But just to show his power, he'll fungo it and we'll bring it back." Killebrew tossed the ball up and swung. He popped it up. "Don't worry," Wolff consoled Killebrew on the ride back to Griffith Stadium. "You'll be a Hall of Fame player in hardball. Just skip the softer stuff."

You might think that gag lingered with Killebrew when, in 1985, he was named an honorary captain of the American League all-star team, as Sandy Koufax (against whom Killebrew went 3-for-9 with two strikeouts, a walk, and an RBI single in the 1965 World Series, including being one of only two Twins non-pitching starters not to strike out against Koufax in Game 7) was named likewise for the National League.

Killebrew agreed to partake of a little stunt with Koufax — the two Hall of Famers would be chauffeured to the banks of the Mississippi. (The 1985 All-Star Game was played in Minneapolis.) Koufax would throw a pitch, and Killebrew would try to hit it across the river. Five thousand fans, and one kid in catching gear, greeted the two. But then the two men arrived at the designated site, and the Killer balked.

Killebrew took one look at the whole carny setup, the 800-foot width of the river, and told Koufax, "No f—ing way." He wasn't about to help embarrass the greatest lefty in history. "Kid," he said, wrapping his arm around the disappointed boy, "you ain't catching Koufax today."

— Jane Leavy, in Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy

It's not that Killebrew needed to be taught dignity, but he might have had a surreal early reminder. During 1959, Life planned a pictorial feature about the gentle fellow with the orbital home runs. They began following Killebrew's trail and Killebrew went into a home run slump. It took several days, and President Dwight Eisenhower in the Griffith Stadium audience, before Killebrew finally caught hold of one and drove it out.

Unfortunately, the Life staffers on Killebrew's trail got a red alert the day Killebrew finally launched one for them — they'd been tipped that Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Harvey Haddix was threatening to stay perfect into extra innings in Milwaukee, and they'd better high-tail it due northwest post haste. They speak now of the Sports Illustrated cover curse; they didn't think then of the Life pictorial curse. Harmon Killebrew couldn't hit one out while Life was first following him, and Haddix lost his perfecto, his no-no, and the game in the 13th inning when the magazine turned hard left to pick him up while he was still on.

It probably didn't bother Killebrew all that much. He was as agreeable when he met people and signed autographs as he was modest to a fault about his abilities. When he hit his first major league bomb, Detroit Tigers catcher Frank House chided the rook by telling him what was coming. The kid took the catcher's word as law and jumped all over Billy Hoeft's heater. The ball traveled 476 feet over the fence.

Without a bat in his hands, Killebrew had no intention of calling attention to himself. With a bat in his hands, Killebrew was impossible to ignore, even in the enemy dugout. In 1963, with both the Twins and the Boston Red Sox well out of the pennant race, and those two teams squaring off to open the Red Sox's season-ending homestand, was whether Killebrew or Red Sox first baseman Dick (Dr. Strangeglove) Stuart, a man whose prodigious power was equaled only by his prodigious ineptness in the field, would finish as the American League's home run king.

The two sluggers were tied at 40 bombs as the set began with a doubleheader in Fenway Park, heaven on earth for right-handed bombardiers. The Twins smothered the Red Sox, 13-4, in the opener, with Killebrew going long thrice (a solo shot off Boston starter Bill Monbouquette; a solo shot off reliever Pete Allen; and, a grand slam off reliever Arnold Earley) and Stuart going a mere 1-for-4, a homer off Twins reliever Lee Stange. Between them, Killebrew and Stuart accounted for half the bombs hit in that game. (George Banks and Don Mincher also went long for the Twins; Lu Clinton and Russ Nixon went likewise for the Red Sox.)

With Killebrew at 43 and Stuart at 41, the two squared off again in the second game, which the Red Sox won in nearly reverse scoring, 11-2. Killebrew hit one out off Gene Conley midway through the game; Stuart hit nothing out but did pick up an RBI double and a bases-loaded single to push his RBI total to 115. In the third and final game of the set, Killebrew hit another one out off Bob Heffner (Banks and Jimmie Hall also went long for the Twins), while Stuart hit nothing out but picked up another RBI double, this time off winning pitcher Camilo Pascual as the Twins beat the Red Sox, 6-1.

Stuart would hit one more bomb as the season closed; Killebrew didn't hit another one out over the season's final three days. "The last day of the season," Boston relief star Dick Radatz would remember, "Stuart said in the paper, 'Hell, Killebrew had a distinct advantage. If I could have hit against our pitching staff, I'd have hit ten'."

Killebrew wasn't a great fielder; he wasn't as terrible a fielder as people sometimes remembered him to be, either. His run productivity made him a Hall of Famer, but he was a league-average fielder with slightly above-average range factors at first and third bases. His flaw as a defensive player was a modest throwing arm; it was probably his modest defense and batting average (it would be years before analysts and Hall of Fame voters alike understood how deceptive the batting average can be) that left him with four tries before he was finally elected to Cooperstown in 1984, almost a decade after he retired.

In some ways, it's a shame that Killebrew's genial, retiring image kept people from thinking long and hard about just how prodigious he was as a home run hitter and run producer. For the entire decade of the 1960s, he actually out-bombed Hank Aaron, 395-375 ... in 619 fewer plate appearances. He'd missed time in 1965 due to a separated elbow; he'd missed time in 1968 due to a leg injury; he came back in 1969 to lead the majors with 49 homers and 140 RBI, and the American League with 146 runs created, and a whopping 145 walks — all but 20 of which he worked out himself.

But the Killer was just too nice and retiring a fellow to make any kind of public name for himself once he'd rounded the bases after yet another conversation piece shot. The only thing more red than the bleacher seat the Twins painted after a Killebrew bomb hit it — 520 feet from home plate — was probably Killebrew's friendly mug.

"He hit line drives that put the opposition in jeopardy," Ossie Bluege, the one-time Senators standout who scouted Killebrew for the organization in the 1950s. "And I don't mean the infielders. I mean the outfielders."

And he left nothing but a trail of admiration and liking. Duke Ellington once said of Louis Armstrong, "He was born poor, died rich, and never hurt anyone along the way." They're probably saying that now about Harmon Killebrew (who enjoyed success in insurance and financial planning work after his playing career ended), without flinching. That, and how this, above and beyond most in baseball about whom it's been said, really is like loss in the family. The loss of a gentle warrior who lost at last, to the one pitcher he couldn't hit, though the God of his fathers knows how hard he tried.

When Killebrew announced he had no choice but to stop the fight against an enemy now determined terminal, all I wished was that his passage would be gentle and sweet. With his wife, Nita, by his side, and his nine children in his corner, it could be nothing but.

But I didn't expect or wish it to be this swift. I thought we might have months, if not years, yet to enjoy knowing that a Harmon Killebrew was still among us. It's not the first time I was wrong — regarding baseball or anything else — and it probably won't be the last. But it's one of those times you wish with all your heart that you'd been right.

* * *

The Killer Against the Famers, and Other Observations

In case you're curious, here is how Harmon Killebrew fared hitting for distance against the fifteen Hall of Fame pitchers he faced during his 22-season major league career.

Against Juan Marichal: 3 plate appearances; no home runs
Against Bob Lemon: 4 PA; 0 home runs
Against Don Drysdale: 6 PA; 1 HR
Against Ferguson Jenkins: 9 PA; 1 HR
Against Sandy Koufax: 10 PA; 0 HR
Against Goose Gossage: 13 PA; 0 HR
Against Gaylord Perry: 20 PA; 1 HR
Against Early Wynn: 33 PA; 1 HR
Against Rollie Fingers: 36 PA; 4 HR
Against Nolan Ryan: 37 PA; 1 HR
Against Robin Roberts: 43 PA; 4 HR
Against Hoyt Wilhelm: 60 PA; 5 HR
Against Jim Palmer: 73 PA; 4 HR
Against Whitey Ford: 83 PAs; 2 HR
Against Jim Bunning: 85 PA; 5 HR
Against Catfish Hunter: 91 PA; 4 HR

Per capita, Rollie Fingers was the Hall of Famer who most hated to face Harmon Killebrew in terms of how likely Killebrew was to hit one out against him.

Allowing that there were considerably more right-handers than left-handers to face during the bulk of Harmon Killebrew's career, Killebrew hit 151 bombs against the portsiders against a whopping 422 against the starboard siders — even though he was a right-handed hitter himself. Lining up his bombs against Hall of Famers, it seems of a piece: he hit only two home runs lifetime off any Hall of Fame left-hander compared to 31 against Hall of Fame right-handers — and both those two were hit on Whitey Ford's dime.

If you're looking at Killebrew's career according to whom his favorite patsies and least-favorite marksmen overall happened to be, measured by his OPS (on-base+slugging) against pitchers (Hall of Famers or otherwise) whom he faced 30 times or more...

Most loved to face: Jim Lonborg. (A whopping 1.709 OPS in 35 plate appearances.)
Most hated to face: Bob Locker. (A puny .374 OPS in 30 plate appearances.)
The Hall of Famer he most loved to face: Hoyt Wilhelm. (.889 OPS in 60 plate appearances.)
The Hall of Famer he most hated to face: Jim Palmer. (.638 OPS in 73 plate appearances.)

And, just in case you were wondering, that 476-foot shot he launched off Billy Hoeft for his first major league bomb? It was the only bomb Harmon Killebrew ever hefted off Hoeft in 16 lifetime plate appearances.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 11:23 AM | Comments (2)

May 19, 2011

German Efficiency

In the NBA, and sports in general, calling something "the greatest" is often thrown around without proper historical context. In the case of single-game NBA performances, the greatest scoring performance will probably never be eclipsed.

In the process of deeming things the greatest and searching for historical context for greatness, sports fans and sports media don't tend to devote a whole lot of time to things that are unique, once-in-a-lifetime performances. On Tuesday night, Dirk Nowitzki put together a performance so unique that it is unlikely to be replicated ever again.

Make no mistake, the fact that Nowitzki simply scored 48 points in a playoff game is not unique. As long as there are NBA playoff games, players will score that many from time to time. In fact, the 48 points Nowitzki scored did not even represent a career high total for a playoff game. What is almost sure to never be accomplished again is the fact that he did it while only taking 15 shots from the floor and going perfect from the line.

Nowitzki's performance was the most efficient game by a single player in NBA history, much less in NBA playoff history.

A solid case could be made that Dirk's Game 1 against the Thunder was one of the greatest playoff performances period. Due to the fact that it was only Game 1 of a series and it took place before the NBA Finals, one would still have to rank it behind a host of Michael Jordan performances, Magic Johnson's 42 in Game 6 of the 1980 Finals while playing center and other classic games that were closer to the final hurdle.

The fact that Nowitzki's performance on Tuesday night cannot be called "greatest" should not detract from its greatness. According to basketball-reference.com's data that spans individual games from the 1985-86 season until now, scoring 40 points on 15 or less field goal attempts had only been done six times, regular season and playoffs included. No more than 43 points had been scored in any of those occasions.

Two of the instances came from centers that did not have to shoot the mid-range jumpers Nowitzki did on Tuesday. Three others were helped by three-point attempts (Nowitzki, despite well-known three-point range, did not attempt one on Tuesday). Strangely enough, the closest parallel to Nowitzki's performance on Tuesday comes from a March 1993 game where Cedric Ceballos scored 40 on 14 attempts and went 12-for-12 from the free throw line.

Nowitzki's 24-for-24 performance from the line represents an NBA record for free throw attempts without a miss in any game, regular season or playoffs. His field goal percentage of .800 (12-for-15) was the highest percentage from any player in a Western Conference Finals game. Using the points per shot metric, Dirk averaged 3.2 points for every field goal attempt. Of all players in this year's playoffs with 100 attempts or more, Nowitzki leads with a 1.71 average.

Just as impressive as the historical statistical milestones Nowitzki achieved Tuesday was the way he took apart the Thunder. Six different defenders were used to try to guard Nowitzki and seven Thunder players committed fouls against the German. Dirk eviscerated his most common one-on-one opponent, Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka, going 7-for-9 when guarded by the Congan. Nowitzki was 6-for-8 when posting Ibaka up, and drew all five of the Thunder power forward's fouls.

Coming into the series, Ibaka looked to be a nearly ideal player to defend Dirk: long, quick, athletic, and of a similar size to Nowitzki so as to prevent being completely shot over. Based on Game 1, Ibaka is not nearly strong enough to deal with those trademark mid-range post-ups Nowitzki features so prominently in his game. The Thunder have to take some solace in the fact that in the previous round against Memphis, Zach Randolph had his best game in Game 1. Yet, Randolph did not have anything resembling a transcendent game in that Game 1.

Living in the Dallas area, the mood of this Mavericks' playoff run, to me at least, has been one of surprise, and above all, appreciation.

Over the past 10 years, the ownership of Mark Cuban and direction of GM Donnie Nelson has transformed what was once a league-wide laughing stock into a perennial 50-win-plus machine. The downside of that machine is that fans had begun to get somewhat jaded and expect such success, especially after the Finals heartbreak of 2006. While wins came, deep playoff runs did not from 2007 until now.

This season, and even going into the playoffs, there was no reason to expect much different. The Mavs had a couple especially encouraging runs, starting out the season 24-5 and winning 18-of-19 in a stretch from late January to early March. A rocky last two months of the season nearly saw Dallas fall to fourth in the West.

In retrospect, a six-game first round playoff series win over Portland in which the Mavs could have easily won each of the six games served as notice that the team was playing closer to its best. Still, no one but the most diehard Mavericks fans could have predicted a sweep of the mighty Lakers. Through out both playoff rounds, and the entire season Dirk has been immense. He helped to carry a team that had more issues throughout the year than its gaudy record would indicate and did so in an unassuming, but still powerful leadership role.

No matter what the end result of this Mavericks' playoff run will be, I will have the utmost appreciation for Dirk not only as an all-time NBA great, but for his ability to produce unbelievably unique performances like the one he conjured up on Tuesday.

Posted by Ross Lancaster at 7:12 PM | Comments (0)

Early-Season College Hoops Matchups

As billions of my long-time readers know, I like to put out a very early look at the first week of college football each February or March. I'd like to do something similar for college basketball (and I sort of do, when I do my annual preview of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic), but it's much harder to do a similar thing for college basketball.

One reason is that it takes a long time for schools to put together a basketball schedule. Universities will be hammering out details well into summer and probably into autumn. It takes until pretty close to the season for all the Division 1 schools to say, "okay, here is our schedule" to where it can be reliably released to the media. It takes even longer for television details to be sorted out.

Another reason is my own eccentricities. As each week of college football commences, especially early in the season when there are a lot of intriguing one-off non-conference games, I'd rather wait for each week to pass before I take a gander at what next week has in store.

Such a method is a lot less practical in college basketball, but I'd still rather not know the entire schedule landscape at once if I can avoid it.

Nevertheless, the bigger pre-season tournaments tend to release their fields pretty early, and that's the case with the Big 10/ACC Challenge.

As a diehard Big 10 fan, I love this series; it gives the Big Ten the formidable task of conquering the premiere conference in all of college basketball. Usually, they come up short. Indeed, they are just 2-10 in the 12 years of the competition. But those 2 wins were in the last two years.

Additionally, the Big Ten does not have a single school above .500 in the history of the competition. Two are right at .500, and they will both face tall orders to get over the hump this year.

One of those teams is Ohio State, who hosts Duke on November 29th in what is clearly the headliner of this year's competition. Given how strong both programs have been over most of the last decade, it's surprising that this is only the second time they have hooked up in the competition (Duke beat them by 15 in 2002). A lot of pride is at stake for the Blue Devils; they've only lost once in the history of the tournament.

That loss was in 2009 to the only other Big Ten school to manage a .500 record in the competition's history, Wisconsin. This year, the Badgers will travel down Tobacco Road to face the other big kahuna of the ACC and its defending champion, North Carolina.

Both the ACC and the Big Ten had three teams solidly in front of the fourth place team in their conference. Ohio State, Wisconsin, Duke, and North Carolina were all among those schools.

Who are the other two? Purdue in the Big Ten and Florida State in the ACC. So they play each other, right? Nope.

Florida State will travel to East Lansing to take on Michigan State. Although they were down last year, the Spartans still carry a great deal of college basketball cache.

The same cannot be said for Miami, which is the dance partner tourney organizers hooked up with Purdue. It's a head-scratcher, and although it will likely be an easy W for Purdue (they are at home and will have Robbie Hummel back), they can't be too pleased. Purdue's great season last year was especially outstanding given they were missing their best player. They should have been rewarded with the TV ratings that would have gone along with playing Duke, North Carolina, or at least Florida State.

That leaves a lot of mediocre teams (judging by last year's record alone) battling it out with a lot of other mediocre teams. The only other matchup that carries some intrigue is Boston College, the only school in either conference undefeated in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, hosting Penn State, who made their first NCAA appearance in ten years last year.

The Maui Invitational last year featured soon-to-be-national-champs UConn, who took down the Maui tourney title as well. Other than that, it was a pretty mediocre field featuring the likes of Virginia, Oklahoma, and Wichita State.

They are very much "back" this year, though, with Duke and Kansas headlining it. Memphis, who is likely to be a top-10 team going into 2011, will be there too, as will Michigan, UCLA, Georgetown, and Tennessee in year one, post-Bruce Pearl.

There will be four more to-be-announced teams, but they will not play in Hawaii. No, they will play on the mainland under the banner of the Maui Invitational. It will work like this, courtesy of College Hoops Journal:

"Here's how the 12-team format will shake out. The first slate of games will be played at 'the Maui-bound schools with three of the four mainland teams playing two games and the other playing one. The four mainland teams will play two doubleheaders at one of those schools on Nov. 19-20. The championship round will remain the same at the Lahaina Civic Center with all 12 games shown on one of the ESPN networks.'"

Nope, I don't understand it, either.

Finally, I'd like to pour a little of my 40 out for the other big preseason tourney of my youth, the Great Alaska Shootout.

Yes, it still exists, but only as a shadow of its former self (Houston Baptist vs. Southern Utah State, anyone?) Better writers than I have explained its demise.

I did watch as much as I could last year on the G.A.S. website, for like $12 or $18 bucks, and I'll do it again this year, if they hold it. Call it principle. Call it nostalgia. Or call it another one of my eccentricities.

Posted by Kevin Beane at 11:49 AM | Comments (1)

May 18, 2011

It's Not Early Anymore

Breaking news: the baseball season is long. And not just Lord-of-the-Rings-marathon long. Even the Chilean miners give up on the day-to-day baseball scores at times.

But at the beginning of the year, when our interest is pulled out of the winter hibernation cave, every team has a chance. Nobody really sweats over the score on Opening Day; after all, there are 161 more coming. That's where the real season lies.

Then somewhere around tax day, the first whispers of panic and breaths of optimism echo in the corners of a small sample. But it's still early. It still doesn't mean anything.

Inevitably, April showers lead to May homestands, and the anxiety and hope starts to grow roots. The leaders and chasers start to view the rest of season in terms of how well they will have to play to get to a benchmark win total. And yet it's only one month; it's still early.

But somewhere between May Day and Memorial Day, the baseball zeitgeist accepts the new season's shuffling of the hierarchy. By June first, suddenly, it's no longer early.

All of this brings us to the Cleveland Indians. Every baseball season there are surprises, but those are typically of the ten-bucks-in-your-pocket variety. No, the 2011 Indians, poised to lead the AL Central on the last day of school, are baseball's answer to Alexander Fleming discovering the medicinal power of penicillin.

Remember, this is a team whose second baseman had dipped one foot into retirement until the Indians called just before spring training. It is a team whose highest profile holdovers from the brink of the 2007 World Series, Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner, only seemed to resemble their former selves on the payroll. Its brightest rising star, catcher Carlos Santana, was last seen collecting the remnants of his left knee structure after a season-ending collision at home plate. Its Opening Day starter was a year removed from needing the street level view of Google Maps to find the strike zone.

No, the Indians haven't just crawled ashore from a pool of mediocrity; they have swum upstream past nearly every other team in the majors against any reasonable expectations. For example:

"If they stay healthy and get some surprises in the rotation, they have a chance at .500. But that's if everything goes right." (An unnamed scout in SI.com's MLB preview)

"Barring a bevy of wildly unforeseen circumstances, 2011 is not likely to be a kind year for the Indians." (Corey Ettinger in Baseball Digest's Indians Preview)

Well, in the era of the rise of Sabermetrics, certainly the computers had a better read on this team than the humans, right? Nope. Baseball Think Factory's ZiPS projections had the Indians good enough for just 71 wins, gloriously squeaking ahead of the Royals.

But these are the Yanks/Sox-loving national writers. Certainly the Cleveland Plain Dealer's panel played the homer card and caught on to some of this. Hardly. The PD writers all picked the Indians to finish fourth and win fewer than 80 games.

Now, to be fair, nobody thought much of the 2011 Indians (this writer included). And before we finish the inventory count on these unhatched eggs, it is worth acknowledging summer has not even dawned yet. But at this point, this much is true: the Indians will have to play markedly worse the rest of the season than they have through two months to drop out of contention.

But for a team that only a month ago was gazing more lustfully at 2012 and 2013 than 2011, mere relevance is a win. Like most small market teams, the Indians have to try to win by surge. Lame duck free agents get rolled over into prospects and resources have to conserved for "contention years."

Whatever the standings say, the development of young players and additional ticket revenues are the best measures of success for this team. And it is those exploits, should the Tribe regress back to reality as every predictive measure seems to demand they will, that the franchise can celebrate as the legacy of a positive 2011.

However their season ends, the Indians at this point are past being dismissed as a fluke. It might not be late yet, but it certainly isn't early.

Posted by Corrie Trouw at 7:48 PM | Comments (0)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 11

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Carl Edwards — Edwards posted his fifth straight top-10 finish, and ninth of the year, with a seventh in the FedEx 400 at Dover. Edwards led 117 laps, and like Jimmie Johnson, who led 207, took four tires instead of two on the race's final pit stop, which cost him a chance for the win. Edwards leads the Sprint Cup point standings with a 24-point edge over Jimmie Johnson.

"It appears we were outsmarted by Matt Kenseth," Edwards said. "Two tires was the right call. I've made some regrettable decisions during my career, most involving the Keselowski's, Kevin Harvick, or the lids to oil coolers, but this one really pains me. Bob Osbourne yelled 'Four!' and the No. 99 Aflac Ford 'ducked,' out of contention.

"In most cases, Matt's not known for his bravery, but I have to commend him for such a 'courageous' call. I honestly thought with four tires we could catch him. It most cases, when Matt has seen me coming, he's ran away. This time was no different, except that he ran away, with victory."

2. Kyle Busch — A week after his near throw-down with Kevin Harvick at Darlington, Busch registered a solid fourth at Dover despite an engine change that rendered him at the rear for the start. With his seventh top 10 of the year, Busch maintained the third spot in the Sprint Cup point standings, and trails Carl Edwards by 37.

"I can't let a disciplinary ruling from NASCAR get me down," Busch said. "I went from 'probation' to 'ovation.' Frankly, I like it better when anyone but Kevin Harvick is giving me 'a hand.'

"Now, unlike Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota engines, there's no 'quit' in me. Thankfully, the new engine lasted. It was the 'little engine that could.' As for the Gibbs engine department, it's a case of 'so little engines that can.'"

3. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson started on the pole at Dover and led the most laps, 207, but his decision to take four tires on the final pit stop proved costly, as several drivers, including eventual winner Matt Kenseth, chose two. Johnson restarted 11th, and could only regain two spots and finished ninth. He remained second in the points, 24 behind Carl Edwards.

"Now that's what I call 'championship-caliber,'" Johnson said, "but only in that we were right on target in shooting ourselves in the foot.

"Last week, Chad Knaus called Juan Montoya a 'douche-bag.' Oh how the tables have turned. This time, however, it looks like Chad's the douche-bag, for calling for four tires instead of two. In short, it's a case of 'touché, douché.'

"As expected, after last week's Kyle Busch/Kevin Harvick fiasco, nothing interesting happened at Dover. It went from 'boor-dom' to 'boredom.'"

4. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth opted for two tires on the final pit stop at Dover and led the final 39 laps to win the FedEx 400, his second win of the year. On the crucial pit stop, Kenseth overruled crew chief Jimmy Fennig, who wanted four tires, and outsmarted Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards, who had shared domination of the race to that point.

"Not to toot my own horn," Kenseth said, "but that was a gutsy call on my part. People can question my fortitude all they want, but I proved that it takes a 'pair' to take 'two' in that situation. That's why I told Fennig to 'Take two, and call me 'champ' in the morning.'"

5. Kevin Harvick — Harvick finished 10th at Dover, posting his sixth top 10 of the year. He remained fifth in the Sprint Cup point standings, and trails Carl Edwards by 54.

"Congratulations to Matt Kenseth on the win," Harvick said. "Matt is well-liked among other drivers. Ironically, he, like Kyle Busch, deserves everything coming to him.

"NASCAR has ordered me to stay in my car. In other words, I should keep my HANS to myself. As such, I've come to appreciate the art of 'restraint,' at least until June 15th. I call that date the 'Ides of June.' And Busch should heed the warning to beware the Ides of June. Why is it called the 'ides?' Because, if I were Busch, I'd watch my back, and I'd expect some payback,' and I'd be on the lookout for the Budweiser car."

6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. — Earnhardt led one lap at Dover, piloting the No. 88 Amp Energy Sugar Free/National Guard Chevy to a 12th-place finish. His winless streak now sits at 104 races, and Earnhardt admitted that he doesn't feel a win is close.

"It took 104 races," Earnhardt said, "but finally, I'm able to admit defeat.

"As of now, I'm not eligible to compete in the All-Star Race at Charlotte on May 21st since I haven't won. But even if I don't win the Sprint Showdown, I fully expect the fans to vote me in. So, I'm appealing to my fans to vote for me, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. I call that 'cAMPaigning."

7. Clint Bowyer — Bowyer held the lead when Juan Montoya's spin brought out the race's last caution on lap 361, and the No. 33 team's decision to bolt on four tires seemed to be the right call. But Matt Kenseth took only two and left the pits in second, and soon overtook Mark Martin for the lead. Bowyer settled for sixth, his sixth top-10 finish of the year, and is now ninth in the point standings, 80 out of first.

"I was beyond stunned," Bowyer said, "that a Montoya spin could involve only him. Of course, I was also shocked that a four-tire stop was not the correct call. Sure, we were wise to put on right-side tires. That is, until we put on the 'wrong-side' tires."

8. Ryan Newman — Newman finished 21st at Dover, two laps down, after struggling with handling issues on a miserable day at the Monster Mile for Stewart Haas Racing. Newman fell one spot in the point standings to seventh, and is now 76 out of first.

"Only one thing went 'right' for us at Dover," Newman said, "and that was Juan Montoya's No. 42 car, into the wall. That's two weeks in a row in which someone's said of Montoya, 'I bet that left a mark.' Take it from me. There's a party-like atmosphere in the NASCAR hauler. Ask Juan. He'll tell you they even serve 'punch.'"

9. Mark Martin — While most of the field pitted for tires during Sunday's final caution, Martin chose to stay out, and that decision gave him the runner-up spot in the FedEx 400 at Dover. It was Martin's best finish of the year and vaulted him three places in the point standings to 11th, 92 out of first.

"How's that for irony?" Martin said. "Everyone 're-tired,' except me. For once in my life, the decision was easy to 'stay out.'"

10. Denny Hamlin — Hamlin finished 16th at Dover after battling handling conditions all day, unable to keep his short streak of top-10s alive. However, he vaulted three places in the Sprint Cup point standings to 13th, 112 out of first.

"I envy Kyle Busch," Hamlin said. "He's only got four weeks of probation. I've already suffered through a year's worth of stagnation.

"I've been quite entertained by the Busch/Harvick feud. Over the years, I've had my disagreements with both of them. Luckily, NASCAR acted quickly and thereby prevented one or both from acting rashly and hurting someone. I think Kyle and Kevin are safe from harm anyway, because both their cars are equipped with drivers-side windbags."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 1:16 PM | Comments (0)

May 17, 2011

LeBron is Winning the Wrong Way

The Bulls took Game 1. But in a couple of weeks, the Miami Heat will probably win an NBA championship. They planned it this way. This is what LeBron James' "Decision" was all about: winning a title. And I'm disgusted by the whole thing.

As I do with all the ills in sports, I blame ESPN. If we're just talking about James, I guess that's obvious, since ESPN was behind The Decision. But that network sold its soul a long time ago. The Decision was greasy, tainted, something disgusting to be associated with. Surely even the people who created it realized that their hearts would shrink three sizes that day. But I think ESPN and its like have gone wrong even where they believe they're doing the most right.

The idea has become popular that the only thing that matters in sports is winning. Some people even preach this philosophy to their kids, and those people should not be allowed to become parents. But nowhere is this notion more widespread than on television. We don't judge quarterbacks by whether or not they actually play well, but by whether or not their teams won. Trent Dilfer played a ghastly game in Super Bowl XXXV, but it's the highlight of his résumé, the reason he now has a broadcasting job at ... oh, whatever. Ben Roethlisberger is celebrated for Super Bowl XL (He's won two Super Bowls! He's better than Peyton Manning!), as if he didn't choke and get bailed out by his defense and running game. The same thing happens in every sport nowadays. All that matters is winning a championship.

This repulsive philosophy reached its zenith when LeBron orchestrated the opposite of the hometown discount. He left the Cleveland Cavaliers to take less money with the Heat, who looked poised to compete for a title. This is a gross misinterpretation of a once positive idea. I'm all for celebrating team accomplishments, and of course everyone wants to win. I think it's great to see a player put the team before himself. But LeBron did exactly the opposite. He put himself before the team: "I'm outta here, losers."

I understand the frustration of losing. I've played sports all my life, and my competitive drive borders on unhealthy. Losing sucks. But LeBron James is 26. He's a baby. Michael Jordan was 28 when he won the first of his six NBA titles. Good things seldom come easy, and you have to be pretty spoiled to expect immediate success. In fact, MJ criticized James for finding his way to a championship team instead of working toward it: "There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry, called up Magic and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team' ... I was trying to beat those guys." Jordan rose in the face of adversity, while LeBron went with, "If you can't beat them, join them."

I'm picking on LeBron now, and that's been done to death already. This isn't just him. It's a whole culture that sees winning as more important than being great. Promoting selflessness and team play is laudable, but the TV people have confused winning with being a team player. Being on a successful team doesn't mean you're a good person. The endless drumbeat for team success also results in incredibly boring athlete interviews. Players can't answer a question honestly any more without being labeled as selfish.

"Would you rather win a championship or go to the Hall of Fame?" It's a common interview question, and almost everybody says championship. Otherwise, you're obviously not a team player. Right? I like to think a Hall of Famer would give his team a good chance at multiple championships. You're telling me you'd rather be a bench-warmer on a title team than a legend who never quite made it? That's some competitive drive you've got there, champ.

That's the difference, I think, between Jordan and James. M.J. wanted to be great. Early in his career, he tried to do too much by himself. In Jordan's first five seasons, the Bulls went 205-205. Rather than bolting Chicago for a better team, Jordan tried to make himself better and improve as a team player. Jordan, it seems to me, wanted more than anything to be the best. His drive for greatness propelled him to six NBA titles. LeBron is trying to do the whole thing backwards. You don't become great by winning, you win by being great. He is great, of course, one of the two or three best players in the league. But you don't admire this kind of winning.

“As much as I loved my teammates back in Cleveland, as much as I loved home, I knew I couldn’t do it by myself ... this opportunity was once in a lifetime.” Ah, the opportunity to abandon your friends and your home in favor of somewhere the odds are better. What determination! What a warrior's spirit! What unparalleled drive to succeed ... by going somewhere it's easier to succeed. The goal is to lift your teammates to victory, not to go find a team that can win. That's the cheap, easy way to win a title. Winning championships is seen as the ultimate achievement because it means a player helped his team, played at a high level and made the guys around him better. We don't celebrate a guy just for being in the right place at the right time. Or at least, we didn't used to.

In a couple of weeks, the Miami Heat will probably win an NBA championship, and innumerable commentators, on ESPN and elsewhere, will snidely crow about how this vindicates The Decision and all the critics need to shut up now. It makes me sick to my stomach.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 1:13 PM | Comments (2)

May 16, 2011

Keys to the NBA Conference Finals

The 2011 NBA conference finals are underway and this final four gives us youth, age, and plenty of superstar power. The conference finals have all this and more, even without the Celtics, Lakers, and Spurs. Actually, there was very little chance any of those three teams could have given the finals any semblance of youth.

In the end, the NBA conference finals will be won by a team with superstars, but the question is how many superstars does it take in 2011 to win a championship? This is also the year that the championship team didn't have to worry about overcoming a nemesis and didn't have to worry about learning how to win in the playoffs.

Two keys to making the NBA Finals this year are: how many superstars does it take in 2011 to win and will experience matter and if it does what kind of experience will prevail in 2011?

The Stars' Need to Shine

The NBA is a league of stars and this year's final four teams embody that theme. Lately, there are at least three stars on championship teams, but this year, only one team can make that claim.

There was the Big Three in Boston, and they went deeper than three with Rajon Rondo, who was every bit the star the big three were. The Lakers had Pau Gasol, Kobe Bryant, and Andrew Bynum/Lamar Odom (together they combined to form one superstar) as their core. The Spurs had Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker doing most of the damage to opponents.

All season long, the Heatl have let everyone know they are the team with the Big Three for 2011. This year, Miami is three stars and not a whole lot more. The Big Three are dominating and scoring most of the team's points and that doesn't look like it is going to change in the conference finals. All three will need to fire on every cylinder for 48 minutes. Mike Bibby and the rest of the Heat haven't exactly proven to be a reliable cast of characters.

Miami is the team with the most depth at superstar and the shallowest in talent behind them. The Big Three will feel the most pressure of the four teams not only because they have guaranteed multiple championships, but because the rest of the team is along for the ride.

The opposite of the Heat are the Chicago Bulls. They have one superstar and the most depth behind him of any of the four remaining teams. Derrick Rose has not only lifted the Bulls to a one seed, but almost single-handedly eliminated the Indiana Pacers in round one. He has looked unstoppable all year and it is unlikely he will be contained in the conference finals.

Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, and the rest of the Bulls can not only score, but they can play defense. Derrick Rose won't feel as much pressure as Miami's Big Three in the conference finals because he has a team on the court with him. Rose has already proven he is the MVP, but can a team with one superstar win a championship?

It is difficult to imagine Rose playing any better than he has in the playoffs, but he will need to if Chicago is to advance. The Bulls can't win a one-on-three series, but can win if Rose's supporting cast steps up and cools off the Heat's Big Three.

The Dallas Mavericks have Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd in the superstar roles. It is easy to say it is just Nowitzki, but Kidd has been to the finals in the past. The supporting cast has plenty of experience with Jason Terry having been to the finals with Dirk, Peja Stojakovic, and Shawn Marion having been deep in the playoffs in the careers.

Nowitzki has suddenly become the "it" player in the playoffs and the team's perimeter shooting needs to stay hot for them to get past the fast and athletic Thunder. The Mavericks will want to rely on the experience of their superstars to figure out how to slow down the Thunder.

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant have been the most talked about combination of superstars in the playoffs. Does Westbrook take too many shots? Can he learn the position? The answers are fairly simple — the team is in the conference finals. What they are doing is working. Durant is the league's leading scorer and the real question is how much can the rest of the Thunder contribute? Are Westbrook and Durant enough? The answer is unlikely.

Learning How to Win

The maxim that teams need to learn how to win in the playoffs has been thrown redefined in these playoffs. The NBA rule that championship teams have an adversary they must beat after losing to that team multiple times has been blown up this season. This year, learning to win is taking on a whole new meaning. In the past, learning to win in the playoffs meant multiple playoffs appearances over the course of a few years where the team kept advancing every year.

This final four grouping had a very steep learning curve and no long running playoff rivals to overcome. The closest rival was the Mavericks organization facing a rival known as implosion and foe that goes by the name of underachieving.

Miami's Big Three was assembled last summer and their first playoff run has been a sprint to the finals with little opposition in the playoffs. They haven't had to learn how to beat anyone. It is being said LeBron had to learn how to beat the Celtics. But the Celtics didn't lose to LeBron; they were dominated by the Big Three. The Miami Heat's Big Three had to learn to play with each other as opposed to learning how to win in the playoffs.

Derrick Rose is in his third season and the Bulls under his leadership have hardly had a Detroit Pistons-like foe to overcome like the Michael Jordan-led Bulls did. This group of Bulls looked like they learned how to win in the playoffs in their five game series against the Indiana Pacers. The games were close and Indiana played hard, but Chicago and Rose had too much in the end and at the end of each game.

The Dallas Mavericks haven't had to overcome a foe as much as they have had to overcome their organization's recent history. Since their collapse in the finals to the Miami Heat, the Mavericks have never given anyone the feeling that they were going back to the NBA finals, let alone the conference finals. Dallas always seems to add a veteran at the trade deadline, only to watch the team collapse and never seemed to be greater than sum of their parts.

But this year, Dallas is shooting the ball extraordinarily well and crushed the Lakers as much as the Lakers imploded. Los Angeles didn't stand a chance against a hot-shooting Dallas team this year.

Last year, it looked like Oklahoma City was a couple of years away from going deep in the playoffs. It looked like the defeat at the hands of the Lakers in the previous playoffs was part of a learning curve and maybe in a few years, the Thunder could beat the Spurs or the Lakers.

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant lead a young team that isn't as interested in learning as it is winning. It was said Westbrook needed to learn to take less shots and needed to learn the position better for the Thunder to have a chance. Westbrook put all the criticism to rest with a Game 7 win and a triple-double against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The teams closest to having experience are the Mavericks and the Heat. Both have superstars who have made the finals in the past. The teams with the most superstars are the Mavericks and the Heat. The Bulls and the Thunder are the teams that are playing with house money, as the expectations and pressure aren't as great for them.

The final four NBA teams haven't needed years to learn to win in the playoffs and haven't had to overcome a team that haunted them in past playoff appearances. Miami needed to keep learning how to improve their team chemistry. Chicago learned how to win in five games against Indiana. The Mavericks needed to learn how to exorcise their demons as a franchise and not implode during the playoffs. The Thunder either learned all they needed last year and have a steep learning curve or don't realize they are breaking the NBA rule that says you don't get to advance in the playoffs without paying dues.

This year's NBA finalists will let us know how many superstars it takes to win a championship and will redefine what it is to "learn" in the NBA playoffs.

Posted by Vito Curcuru at 5:06 PM | Comments (1)

Jorge Posada: A Team Player, or Whining Prima Donna?

I'm a little disturbed by the reports Saturday of Jorge Posada removing himself from the Yankees' lineup because of being dropped to ninth in the batting order. It's not that I believe a veteran who is not producing for his team shouldn't maybe make way for a younger player who might be able to put up better numbers. It's the timing of the whole thing and the alleged reason for him begging out of the lineup.

Here's the deal. Jorge Posada has been a great Yankee. He's been a great team player. But with this newest development, he's flushing all that down the toilet. While we haven't heard directly from Posada about the situation, the reported reason for him asking manager Joe Girardi out of the lineup was because he felt "disrespected" for being dropped to the bottom spot in the batting order. If that is true, I think he's forgetting some important facts.

The first is that if a manager drops someone in the order, it's usually due to that player not putting up the numbers needed to hold a higher spot. I'm sorry, but batting .165 is not exactly the type of production a manager wants from a hitter batting higher than seventh. If Posada wants a more "high-profile" spot in the order, maybe he should start hitting the ball.

Second, the Yankees have shown Jorge more respect than maybe he deserves by keeping in the lineup in the first place. Most managers would take a guy hitting less than .200 and keep him in the dugout, not keep him in the order. Simply by allowing the struggling hitter to grab a bat every night shows more respect and appreciation for what Posada has contributed to the team than by benching him altogether. Heck, Girardi could have easily told him that he was "giving him a few nights off" and not stuck him anywhere in the offensive lineup. In my view, keeping him in the order at ninth shows a great deal of respect and he should be thanking Girardi for penciling him onto the lineup card anyway.

Finally, as a veteran ballplayer and clubhouse leader, Posada's attitude should be that of Nick Swisher's, who got "demoted" to eighth in the order. He reportedly said, "If I need to be down there to help this team, I'm going to be there." If Posada was a true team player and loyal Yankee, he would accept his spot in the lineup and admit the fact that he deserves to be there based on his numbers. But instead, he's whining and complaining like every other overpaid athlete who thinks they deserve special treatment based on their years of service and contract figure.

The one thing that I really don't understand is what Posada's wife Tweeted during this whole situation. She blames her husband's sore back for him wanting out of the lineup. If that's the case, why are we not hearing about that from Yankees management? Why is not Girardi or Brian Cashman telling the media that Posada's back is too sore for him to swing a bat and he needs to rest it a couple days? If that is true, then the timing is extremely unfortunate.

I respect Jorge Posada, even though he does play for the hated Yankees, and have always thought him to be a class act. But if these allegations are true about his reasons for wanting out of the lineup, that level of respect will certainly decrease. Being 39-years-old with declining skills, and being paid as much as he is, Posada certainly has the wrong attitude.

Posted by Adam Russell at 1:28 PM | Comments (1)

May 13, 2011

2011 NHL Conference Finals Preview

The conference semifinals of the NHL playoffs were not nearly as exciting as the opening round as a whole. Why? The second round contained two sweeps, as compared to none in the first round, making half of the four series rather boring.

The Tampa Bay Lightning rode their momentum from defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins, as they swept the Washington Capitals, who continually fail to deal with their playoff demons.

The Boston Bruins are riding the exact same momentum after sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers. In doing so, the Bruins hoped they have silenced the 2010 playoff demons.

Despite the Capitals' and Flyers' ability to erode away, the other half of the second round was pretty solid. The San Jose Sharks grabbed a three games to none lead on the Detroit Red Wings, only to let the Wings win three games for themselves, forcing Game 7. I guess the fourth time is the charm for the Sharks, as in their fourth opportunity they finally beat the Wings to advance to the conference finals.

The Vancouver Canucks continued their journey toward Lord Stanley's Cup with a win over the Nashville Predators in six games. This was a series that saw five games decided by 1 goal, one game that went into overtime, and one game that went into double-overtime. The only game decided by two goals was due to an empty net goal. Even though they have advanced, the Canucks haven't seemed to assert control in any game or series in the playoffs. They seem as if they are just holding on, trying not to lose.

My predictions from the second round weren't quite as good as my first round predictions, but I only got one series winner false and nailed two series in the correct number of games. Thus far, I only have two series winners wrong and have hit half of the playoff series with the correct winner and the correct number of games, so let the madness continue.

Vancouver Canucks vs. San Jose Sharks

Can you tell that Daniel and Henrik Sedin are two of the most productive players in the NHL? I can't. Henrik scored 1 goal on an empty net and Daniel scored 1 in Game 6 on the power play. I'm honestly confused by their lack of production and involvement. Yet the Canucks keep finding a way to win, mainly through Ryan Kesler, who recorded 5 goals and 6 assists in the series against the Predators.

Canucks goaltender Robert Luongo statistically looked very good in the second round, allowing only 11 goals in six games. His mental game has been called into question by some. I think the best way to describe Luongo's game is that when it rains, it pours. If things start to go wrong, they will go very wrong, very quickly. The Sharks need to make things go very wrong with Luongo if they want to advance.

The Sharks have their own mental inconsistencies to handle. This team has been one of the best regular season teams and one of the worst playoff teams for far too long. They have finished in the top two in the West for the past four seasons. They've been in the top five in the West for the past seven seasons. Where they are now is the closest they have been to the Stanley Cup.

As they fell apart against the Red Wings, they simply proved this basic fact: they still aren't ready to be a dominant playoff team.

If Kesler keeps up the rampage and the Sedins do anything to help him out, the Sharks will have a hard time making it to their first-ever Stanley Cup Final appearance. Help them, Robert Luongo ... you're they're only hope.

Canucks in 6

Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Who saw this final coming out of the East? Not me. I really thought the Caps were ready for the big time. Alas, I must wait another year.

Both of these teams are coming off of sweeps, which means they have huge amounts of momentum and received plenty of rest as they waited for the Western teams to finish their more exciting series. Both have cause to believe in their own infallibility at this point. The Bruins did away with the Flyers who ruined their dreams last season while the Lightning sent home the mighty Capitals and their eccentric superstar Alex Ovechkin.

In the Lightning vs. Capital series, Capitals goaltender Michal Neuvirth didn't play terribly (except in Game 4). He allowed a few goals in each game and just wasn't the shutdown type. But what really happened in the series was that the NHL's most exciting and talented team were shutdown by a 41-year old Dwayne Roloson. Roloson had 123 saves in four games, allowing 10 goals. He brought his game to the ice and the Caps had no answer.

The Capitals should have had an answer. How much talent do they need to have on the ice before somebody steps up and puts a few goals past a goalie that was born in the 1960s? The Lightning beat the Capitals. The Capitals didn't beat themselves, but they allowed themselves to be defeated. They did not fight back. They gave up.

The Flyers on the other hand just got thrashed. They made an effort in Game 2, but lost Games 1, 3, and 4 by 4 goals apiece. In the end, the Flyers just didn't have the pieces in place defensively to compete in the playoffs. This was most obvious at goalie. After playing three different goalies in the opening round, the Flyers stuck with two goalies for the second round and it didn't pay off as they allowed 20 goals in four games.

On the other hand, Boston's Tim Thomas was brilliant. In Game 2, he had 52 saves on the road. His performance solidified Boston's stance in the series as they went to Boston up two games to none.

So the question for Bruins vs. Lightning is essentially Tim Thomas vs. Dwayne Roloson. Thomas has been one of the NHL's best goalies for a number of seasons and his performance in the playoffs has been masterful. Roloson is a bit more unpredictable, but he asserted his dominance over the shot-happy Capitals, so one can only speculate as to which goalie will give.

My money is on the Lightning and Dwayne Roloson to win this matchup and win it at home in game six. I think that the Bruins victory was dealing with the Flyers. The smallest portion of them is happy with that and it will affect their determination.

I see the Lightning with more fire in their bellies, tempted by dreams of spending a day with Lord Stanley's Cup. I think the Lightning have more focus at this point and that will allow them to pass by the Bruins on momentum, determination, and adrenaline.

Lightning in 6

Stanley Cup Finals

If I am correct, then the Stanley Cup matchup will be:

Vancouver Canucks vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

I think this series will prove too much for Luongo. The grit and determination of the Lightning is a bad thing for a goalie with difficulties quelling goals once they begin. The Lightning have the capacity to score quickly and Luongo has the capacity to fall apart when that happens. If the Lightning can manage such a feat in the first two games, the series is theirs for the taking.

Kesler likely won't stay hot through the San Jose series. He'll still be a force to be reckoned with, but I don't think he'll get 5 goals past Roloson.

The only hope for the Canucks is if the Sedins come out of their playoff shells a bit and stop letting Kesler have all the fun. If all three stars are firing on all cylinders, the Canucks are perhaps unstoppable, but if they're only running on one right now, I can't see three happening by the time this series rolls around.

Lightning in 6

Posted by Andrew Jones at 3:33 PM | Comments (1)

Sports Q&A: NASCAR Discipline Soft By Design

After a weekend of confrontations at Darlington, NASCAR handed out punishment on Tuesday, with Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick each receiving four weeks probation and a $25,000 fine. Ryan Newman and Juan Montoya were given a "final warning" for their ongoing feud that allegedly led to Newman punching Montoya at Darlington. Did NASCAR wimp out with its disciplinary actions?

What's the greatest thing about NASCAR when it comes to discipline? No one listens to them. That doesn't make them wimps. It makes them brilliant marketing strategists. What's four weeks probation to Busch and Harvick? Four weeks to plot their next moves, four weeks to belittle their rival with vague and veiled insults, and four weeks to closely test the boundaries of NASCAR's "probationary" period. Probation? To fans, that means NASCAR will be watching. Not surprisingly, to NASCAR, that means fans will be watching. And the $25,000? Harvick would say that's "chicken" scratch to Busch, and he'd be right. Busch, for his part, would say that $25,000 is the price Harvick had to pay for "window shopping" at the No. 18 Toyota.

But who's complaining about the lack of severity of NASCAR sanctions? Apparently, only people who want NASCAR's punishment of drivers to actually discourage behavior like Busch's and Harvick's. That would be discouraging, to fans. NASCAR's not stupid. They only look stupid. And they know it. Appearances can be deceiving, and NASCAR wants only to appear to discourage such driver behavior with their brand of punishment. NASCAR puts the "pun" in punishment.

What's the purpose of a minimal fine and simple probation? For NASCAR, it's their version of discipline with maximum effect (in their eyes) and minimal impact. It's the equivalent of asking drivers to wear "promise rings." NASCAR's punishment says to drivers, "Don't let it happen again, but if it does, please make sure you make it look like a 'racing incident.'"

NASCAR knows just as well as everyone else that their rendered judgments are often, if not always, deemed not severe enough. Sure, they are carefully considered, but in most cases, the punishment does not fit the crime. For that, NASCAR should be applauded. The last thing NASCAR wants is to bar a driver bent on retaliation off the track. NASCAR doesn't want to play the bad guy. No, they want the bad guy on the track, plotting his next mildly punishable action. It would take a truly heinous on-the-track act for NASCAR to suspend a driver. In the realm of NASCAR discipline, it's not "my way or the highway." It's "my way and the speedway."

In case you missed it, Busch and Harvick's shenanigans overshadowed Regan Smith's first career Sprint Cup, and then some. And that begs the question, if a winning driver does victory burnouts and no one is watching, does it make any smoke? Let's thank the good lord it wasn't a Dale Earnhardt, Jr. win that was overshadowed. Otherwise, there would have been fans trying to punch Busch and Harvick for the very though of stealing some Junior thunder. In any case, the brewing feud was by leaps and bounds more entertaining than the race itself. The Busch/Harvick game of cat and mouse was both controversial and entertaining, a true brouhaha.

You can call Busch a coward for driving off. And, you can say "it" runs in the family. You could even say he "turned tail." Indeed he did. He spun Harvick not once, but twice. Busch is no one-hit wonder, like the band Sniff 'n the Tears, who performed the 1978 hit "Driver's Seat," which Busch was surely humming when he sent the No. 29 Budweiser car astray. After those two dramatic turns, Harvick will now be known as the "King of Veers."

But give Harvick credit for instigating the situation and bumping Busch when it appeared Busch did nothing wrong. Say what you will about Harvick, but the man has guts. And it takes guts to confront a Busch brother with only window netting separating you. Wait. No it doesn't. Anyway, Harvick is known to take no guff from anyone, and once Busch spun him, he was obligated to retaliate. What's worse for Harvick and Busch? A piddly fine and probation from NASCAR, or the ignominy of knowing they let a heated rival get the upper hand. A lenient sanction, wisely administered by NASCAR's marshmallow fist, ensures that Harvick and Busch, as well as other drivers, won't be afraid to seek their own justice.

As for the fates of Montoya and Newman, NASCAR again made the right call, issuing warnings instead of punishment. Montoya wrecked Newman at Richmond, and Newman punched Montoya at Darlington. With warnings, NASCAR is essentially saying, "Your move, Montoya."

Who was most entertained by the Busch/Harvick fiasco? Why, Jimmie Johnson, of course? In his quest for his sixth Sprint Cup championship, Johnson has to be satisfied to see two of the three biggest challengers to his title in a conflict that is sure to spill over to the remainder of the season. And with the volatile Carl Edwards due to blow his top soon, Johnson could very well see all three of his greatest rivals facing NASCAR discipline. What's the biggest difference between Johnson and Harvick, Busch, and Edwards? Besides five Sprint Cup championships. It's Johnson's level-headedness. If he gets angry, it's often at his crew chief, Chad Knaus. When he's wronged, Johnson doesn't get even. He gets even better.

In short, NASCAR needs the excitement and controversy that comes with feuding drivers. If there's a knock against NASCAR, it's the boredom of races that lack action or controversy. NASCAR has a monopoly on monotony. If NASCAR's discipline exacerbates this problem, then they have gone too far. Wisely, NASCAR only loosely practices what it preaches.

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)

May 12, 2011

C's and Lakers: Don't Let the Door Hit You

Together, the Celtics and Lakers own more than half of all NBA championships. At least one has appeared in 40 of the 64 Finals series played to date, and both have gotten there together on 12 occasions. Green and purple are as much a part of spring's palette as Easter white, but neither will be adorning courts this June. And all a friend can say is, ain't it a shame?

With the Dallas Mavericks concluding a sweep of the Lakers on Mother's Day and the Miami Heat running off the game's final 16 points en route to dispensing with the Celtics last night, the first slots for each conference final series are now set. The Mavs will host either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Memphis Grizzlies, where it is advantage Thunder; while the Heat's travel plans await the outcome of the Chicago/Atlanta series, as the Bulls look to close out the Hawks tonight.

Meanwhile, we're not getting any time to wish the door not hit Phil Jackson on his way out and to relish the thought of spending the next four months without images of Kobe's tantrums and KG's flapping mouth across our TVs. Postmortems have already kept the Lakers in the news all week, and we can now figure on the C's getting similar exposure into the next.

Analysts have barraged us with speculation as to whether Mitch Kupchak will break up the Lakers and where the Celtics can find some length. We've heard what Kobe is saying about Phil Jackson's legacy and how the Celtics need a transfusion of youth. Best yet: a Boston sports network has debated which team has the brightest future, even before the Celtics' came to its end.

It's as if the Grizzlies didn't just pull off two last-second treys on their way to forcing triple overtime on Monday, or Derek Rose wasn't a single-handed wrecking crew breaking open a tight game in Chicago on Tuesday, or Lebron finally walked the walk last night. No, the basketball world has a fascination bordering on obsession with all things Celtics and Lakers. Even in death, these two teams remain hotter than Pippa Middleton in a push-up bra.

It has come time to throw a bucket of ice water on America's collective crotch.

The NBA is on the threshold of throwing open its doors to a new era of challengers that will compete with these two behemoths, if not cast them entirely into the Gehenna of irrelevancy. The Knicks, Bulls, and Heat in the East, and the Grizzlies and Thunder in the West, will make it no slam dunk for the C's or Lakers to get an automatic bye into the NBA Finals any time too soon.

Oh, they'll be back at some point, perhaps sooner than many would like. That's what keeps the question of which one has the brighter future on everyone's lips. Lest it linger through the postseason, let's deal with it now and put these teams away for the summer once and for all.

Both have chemistry issues, and both played long stretches of the season with an apparent lack of fire, the latter owing in large part to the former. Exacerbating this in Los Angeles' case is the imminent retirement of Phil Jackson, the ultimate harmonizer who could keep Arnold and Maria together if given the chance.

The C's may lose their head coach as well, although Doc Rivers indicated in his postgame conference last night that he is "leaning to coming back." Regardless, unlike the Lakers, Boston's chemistry issues were not the result of who was in the locker room, but of who was not. They miss Kendrick Perkins, both on and off the court. Whether it's Rajon Rondo seeking out his binky in the post, or Ray Allen trying to free himself for an open three, or Kevin Garnett looking for help in containing the suddenly Chamberlain-esque Chris Bosh, the ill effects of the Perkins trade were on display throughout the Heat series. It's been said around Boston that age started the Celtics' fall and Danny Ainge finished the job.

On the matter of age, the sentimentality that led Boston to hold onto its original Big Three of Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale into the early 1990s and stymie competitiveness for more than a decade is alive and well in 2011. Even if there was a market for Allen, Garnett, or Pierce, the Celtics front office has shown a reluctance to part with any of them.

The Lakers, on the other hand, give up their parts faster than Chastity Bono. Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum embarrassed their franchise with ungraceful exoduses last Sunday and did the unthinkable by ticking off Magic Johnson, so GM Kupchak already has an itchy finger on the trigger. The early buzz puts Dwight Howard in purple, either through trade or free agency. Howard can become a free agent as early as the summer of 2012.

And that is an arena in which the Lakers have it all over the Celtics. Hollywood attracts replacement parts; Boston does not. Before Lakers fans puff their chests with organizational pride, realize yours is merely a city of sunshine and cameos, and the ability for the common NBA thug to blend in cannot be under-estimated. Where else could a guy like Ron Artest win a good citizenship award one fortnight and assault the Mavericks' J.J. Barea the next?

After the sun set on their storied decade of the 1980s, the Lakers orchestrated two successful rebuilding programs that each ended in consecutive championships while the Celtics had one unsteady rise to their sole title in 2008. Boston was the first to fold back then, and if the last 19 seconds of regulation play in their game on Monday — in which Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett could not execute a pick-and-roll they'd done a hundred times before, while Paul Pierce opted for a desperation heave rather than driving on Lebron for a foul — told us anything, it was that they'll be the first to fold again.

Like the 1990s, the 2010s look to be a long decade in Boston, while L.A. tries to hold the fort down for another year until Dwight Howard's arrival. So, whose future is brighter?

Guess Jack Nicholson doesn't wear sunglasses inside Staples Center for nothing.

Posted by Bob Ekstrom at 1:02 PM | Comments (4)

Is This the End of Milton Bradley's Tortured Line?

Milton Bradley's long, strange trip through the long, strange, often contradictory prisms of Major League Baseball may be over at last. "Designated for assignment" is the politically correct way for the Seattle Mariners to say they'd rather eat the $10 million they still owe Bradley for 2011 than bear with him for another minute, as they said earlier this week, following a weekend during which Bradley's diminishing skills were actually more glaring than his somewhat undiminished temper.

A year ago, the Mariners were willing to work with Bradley when the over-wired outfielder asked the team's help for counseling to help him manage his trip-wire anger. That was when he still looked like he might rejuvenate his once-considerable baseball talents.

Now that $10 million entree is just about the biggest unwanted but unavoidable dinner per year (Bradley's full 2011 nut is $12 million) the Mariners, as Seattle Times writer Larry Stone notes, have ever had to consume. And they've chowed down on some hefty portions, such as Richie Sexson (a $6 million course in 2008), Scott Spiezio (a $3 million roast duck in 2005), and the man for whom they acquired Bradley from the Chicago Cubs in the first place, Carlos Silva. (A $12 million a year turkey who's since been released by the Cubs and by the New York Yankees.

Banking $12 million, $10 million of which amounts to a kind of perverse golden parachute, may or may not be enough to help brace Bradley for what he seems likely to face from this point forward.

Nobody pretends, in print anyway, that any major league team might be willing to give him one more chance by making a deal with the Mariners before the ten-day DFA window closes. And nobody pretends likewise that his re-entry into the world away from baseball, where everything he does won't be subject to the chameleonic public eye, will be a re-entry uninterrupted by trouble unlike any he ever saw in an umpire's ruling or a manager's order.

Not after a 12-season career in which the once-formidably promising talent was eaten away, little by little, by injuries and incendiary behavior, sometimes at once, two bristling elements that sometimes met at the same intersection and crashed with mind-melting impact.

Not at age 33, when Bradley's most marketable skills (his hitting, his ability to reach base, and his speed; his defense was once impressive, but it was emptied by injuries long before his offense) have been sapped to where it took only two full seasons, and a fragment of a third, for him to devolve from leading his league in OPS and on-base percentage into a man who now looks as though he'd be lost hitting Double-A pitching.

Teams desperate enough for part-time help might flirt with Bradley a little here and there, but nobody seems willing to say it would go much beyond mere flirting. As a full-timer, Bradley's probably cooked. He may be considered poison even as a part-timer. (He may also have a target on his back, thanks to his warring with so many umpires, honorable at any close play on the bases or at the plate.) It's very hard to imagine any team now willing to get part-time serviceability out of a full-time time bomb. And that's how just about everyone in baseball sees him. Which is just about how he's been seen since almost the day his career began in earnest.

When the Mariners hired Eric Wedge to manage the club last October, it was easy enough to wonder how anyone in Cleveland who still cared about either of the pair might have reacted. Wedge managed Bradley in Cleveland in the early Aughts, after the Montreal Expos gave up on this live prospect's potential to outgrow his furies. Wedge navigated two years of high combustibility before pulling him from a late spring training exhibition game in 2004, after Bradley failed to run out a pop fly that eventually landed for what would have been a two-base hit if he'd gunned it out of the box.

Wedge politely reminded Bradley that he should have been hustling enough to be on second base at the end of such a play. No shouting match exploded out of that, but all reports held that Bradley's reply was disrespectful enough, with teammates in view, that the Indians decided to hustle him out of town post haste and to anyone who would take him. Previous season run-ins between Bradley and Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Paul Lo Duca, first baseman Jason Giambi, and umpire Bruce Froemming (at whom Bradley winged his batting helmet and bat after a disagreeable call from behind the plate) didn't exactly bolster Bradley's defense.

Wedge has never wavered in his accountability fetish, and with the Mariners it was no different. He was willing to make an example of a smaller fish named Jack Wilson, after Wilson told the press he'd been pulled from a game out of which he actually asked to be taken, prompting Wedge to rip him in the press and bench him four games. Wedge certainly wasn't afraid to stand up to Milton Bradley again, if he had to.

An ejection for arguing with an umpire last Friday. (Again.) Defensive mishaps Saturday and Sunday. Some think the only reason Wedge didn't get into Bradley's face over all the foregoing was that he knew Bradley's ticket out was about to be punched and he'd learned the hard way about putting out a fire with gasoline.

Wedge's standing up to him with the Indians left Bradley to be taken by the Dodgers themselves, the Dodgers thinking honestly enough that just bringing him back home (Bradley is native to nearby Long Beach, and grew up an ardent Dodger fan) might make a large difference to this talented but tormented young man, who didn't seem to know how not to torment those who wanted only to work with and even love him.

At first, the Dodgers looked like geniuses. There were even moments when you swore Bradley was becoming a team leader and — wait for it — an engaging community presence. Oh, he might (and did) heave a bag of baseballs out toward the field in distaste over yet another umpire's call, but that was about it. When he visited with some schoolchildren, fielded a question about his fearsome image, Bradley asked matter of factly if any of the children were afraid of him. One admitted he was. Bradley was visibly shaken by the revelation.

That may have been why he went into anger management counseling willingly, after a Dodger Stadium idiot threw a bottle toward him during a critical stretch drive game, when he lost a ball in the screaming bright stadium lights for a two-run miscue, and he reacted by slamming it down onto the ground around the seats, then weathered his rest-of-the-regular-season suspension and an offseason incident in which his wife called 9-1-1.

But the following season Bradley was dogged by a balky knee, playing through it stubbornly, and arguing publicly with second baseman Jeff Kent at last over whether Bradley himself was dogging it. Bradley went far enough to hint that there may have been a racial implication in Kent's critique, which many questioned in turn even though Kent himself was seen as not exactly the most agreeable of clubhouse presences. A couple of days later, Bradley's season was ruined when, hustling his way to third, he injured the knee enough to need major surgery.

Come that December, Bradley was traded to Oakland for Andre Ethier. Ethier opened this season with a thirty-game hitting streak. It helped give a troubled Dodger franchise — bedeviled by almost non-existent finances tied troublingly enough to their owner's having used the franchise, perhaps, as his personal ATM machine — a few non-controversial headlines. Not even his deepest sympathizer would ever accuse Bradley of offering that kind of morale boost.

When the Cubs suspended Bradley to finish out the 2009 season, after a nasty scrum in the press in which he fumed over racial epithets he claimed were hurled at himself and his young son in Wrigley Field, Oakland beat writer Gwen Knapp couldn't resist recalling Bradley in the A's clubhouse. He lived calmly for the most part, amidst an agreeable gathering in which he forged a goofing friendship with Nick Swisher, let fading Frank Thomas become a mentor, enjoyed a civil enough relationship with manager Ken Macha, and put on a terrific offensive display in the postseason.

But in early 2007, the A's traded him to San Diego. He joined the club off the disabled list after the All-Star Break, became one of the team's leading hitters, then re-injuring his historically suspect knee in one of baseball's strangest incidents. Baited by first base umpire Mike Winters (ultimately suspended from postseason work over his doing), Bradley flew into a rage when manager Bud Black scurried out from the dugout and, wanting just to get Bradley away from the ump before serious damage was done, knocked Bradley down inadvertently, tearing his anterior cruciate ligament.

A year later, Bradley had his career year in Texas. Where becalmed Ron Washington was his manager, formerly troubled Josh Hamilton befriended him agreeably, and about the worst thing you could say about Bradley for the most part was that he finished a percentage point away from a 1.000 OPS. If you didn't count his bid to tear limb from limb a broadcaster who suggested Bradley should be more like Hamilton, who'd overcome substance abuse to become a Texas clubhouse leader.

By that point, Bradley had to be wondering if he could ever do anything right in anyone's eyes — including his own. By that point, he was a guaranteed umpires' target. By that point, the injuries had begun wearing him down in earnest if the bristling in his soul hadn't.

With the Mariners Bradley progressively resembled a shell in left field and a mannequin at the plate. You wonder if there isn't a part of him that wasn't ground down even worse than his personality issues did by the injuries. But you wonder, too, whether and how much of a difference it made whenever he played with teammates and managers who fostered atmospheres of calm and not cacophony around him.

It's not that they should have gone out of their way to contort their atmosphere to Bradley's singular need, whatever it may be, but his least troubling times just might have been those in which such an atmosphere was there in the first place. When he went to the Cubs while Lou Piniella was still their manager, it was probably predictable enough that one fiery manager and one always-prospectively fiery player, who didn't always keep his fire strictly for the field, would equal an incendiary device whose only issue was when, not if.

Bradley more often than not was apologetic after he'd gone yet again several bridges too far. He could be (can be) extremely likable; he still has a smile that can light up a city in the throes of a power blackout. (Dodger icon Vin Scully, interviewing Bradley in his first Dodger spring, got Bradley to relax, joke, and finally flash that incandescent smile he has. It didn't look for a moment like Bradley just just humoring the old legend, either.)

When he visits with schoolchildren giving motivational talks, only to bring himself to the threshold of tears, perhaps when he realizes he's getting right to the heart of his own difficult childhood, willing himself to honor student status and hell bent on providing his mother relief, it may be the closest Bradley — whose name has inspired a few too many bad game jokes, and who was named for a father who didn't bother getting his mother's agreement when filling out the birth certificate — comes to exposing his real vulnerabilities.

It's also been the closest Bradley gets to breaking down and weeping anywhere he isn't alone. Teammates and team officials alike who accompanied him on such visits have testified to that. It was as if there remained a deeply wounded little boy in need of healing inside of a tortured young man who needs a hug that won't leave for a very long time.

That may cut to the heart of his baseball dilemma. When healthy, Bradley played the game as if he had a hellhound on his trail — yet could be and so often was so embracing with fans that, among others, a group of elder Mariners fans known affectionately for their pink banner at spring training games initiated him as an honorary Old Bat — complete with jersey pin and a daily ritual of mutual hugs as he entered the ballpark.

Who's to say just where someone borne of Bradley's desperate intensity, an intensity that may be the kind of self-immolating fear of failure that can cause rather than block failure itself, with so few or so scattered opportunities to relieve it, loses the distinction between competitive fire and extreme survivalism?

What was it, really, that turned a dogged high school honour student into a major league baseball player of now dissipated talent who seemed, as former Los Angeles Times writer Tim Brown (who covered Bradley in the Dodger seasons) suggests, to seek the fight because it was the only way he could prevail against a fight finding him first?

I've speculated in the past that Bradley suffers at minimum from an undiagnosed but unfathomable anxiety disorder. At maximum, I have speculated in hand, he may be an undiagnosed manic depressive. Those were not idle speculations: I was convinced for years that I was myself a manic depressive, and lived accordingly, until a very recent series of events and revelations convinced me that I have an anxiety disorder just short of full-blown manic depression.

There's hardly a difference in terms of life consequences. I've had a fractured professional and personal life because of it. No matter who did what specifically to trigger certain events or certain endings, the core belongs to me. I have three broken marriages, about as many broken relationships, a host of lost friendships, and a lost career because of it.

In whatever his mental disarray may be, Bradley still comes out of it with a $12 million golden parachute for which many would scorn him while scratching and laboring just to make each month's bills without needing an oxygen tent. Those many would probably want to grab Bradley by his bull neck and wring the stuffing out of him for throwing away something far more valuable to far more people than, for one example, the career of one minor-league journalist.

Count me out of that multitude. His wife has filed for divorce; it's said his sole source of tranquility now is his young son. Nobody is in any hurry to offer him a job in or out of baseball, so far as I know. Bradley's best news is better than mine ever was at each of my professional and personal endings, unless I missed that $12 million I could have put in the bank once upon a time.

Bradley will need that unlikely golden parachute badly. He's headed for a long fall with no happy ending, unless he takes a long enough period of soul searching, determines that he needs help above and beyond mere anger management counseling, in the worst way possible. He's on the threshold of learning the hard way what people like me, with far fewer assets to support ourselves, have learned likewise.

In the non-baseball world, those who can't, don't, or won't address the disorders, the furies, that compromise basically decent people otherwise, will be out of jobs, if not out of life, with nothing resembling even a paper parachute, whether in human union or in dollars. You can't really wish anything of the sort upon the rest of Milton Bradley's life, for his son's sake, and for his own.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 12:41 PM | Comments (1)

May 11, 2011

Where Did All the Americans Go?

This week, the tennis headline on most major sports news outlets is that for the first time ever there are not American players in the top 10 of both the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour. It's truly a shame, as Americans have been dominant in the game, on both sides, since World War II.

Yes, this clearly points to a lack of homegrown talent. While many still say we need more academies, I say less. Americans are individuals, and that is the way we, as a sports nation, tend to excel. You see it in just about every sport right now with the exception of American football and basketball, as there still are no huge academies and very few "schools" of thought on how to play.

Baseball? Everyone now has that derived swing that started with Charley Lau and the game has emphasized offense over defense to such a large degree that it is nearly impossible to find one player with a unique, individual style that sets him apart from the rest. It is for this reason that Major League Baseball is now dominated by non-American players.

Once you come up with a system and you make it the rule and not the exception, Americans cannot compete. Here in the U.S. we stress education and life balance. So the typical American kid has to go to school, work a job, then practice his sport. If he is lucky, he doesn't have to work, but still has to go to school and do his chores. Meanwhile, the kids in the Dominican Republic barely get an education and then just play baseball all day, everyday, and do it in the same "academy" style that Americans have. It doesn't take a genius to see that if all you do is play a sport all day, from a young age, you will soon be the dominant player.

Tennis is now the same. If you look at the areas of the world where the top players in both tours are from, it is clear. Eastern Europe. The Baltics. Former communist countries. Like the Dominican Republic in baseball, they too have a population that still lags in education and also now a network of academies and foundations to push girls and boys into tennis. They play everyday, nearly all day.

Now people will tell me that most of the top players have gone to the academies in Spain, and to a degree they are right. So now these children (I've seen some as young as 5) not only have the weather to play all day, but also don't have the requirement to go to school and get a "thorough and efficient education." So what do you get? Seventy-five of the top 100 men and women in the game of tennis today.

But I digress, I did not start this article out to once again express my utter disdain for what Nick Bollettieri brought to the game of tennis. It is a great segue into my real point, that the individualism is now gone from the game, and that is what has put professional tennis on notice.

"Rugged individualism" used to be an American catch phrase. To a certain degree, it was the motto of the Australians, too. Tennis was always a game of the educated class, meant to be played as a hobby, then after college you played on the tour for a few years until you moved off into something much better. The top players of the game came from Down Under, America, France, and sprinkled with a few interesting rogues like Japan. Since each developed a game based on their location and free time — their "individualism" — you had an interesting cast of characters.

With the advent of Open tennis, the game became loaded with these characters. What made the game so great was not only the variety in games and players, but the amazingly high level of play from them all. They weren't cyborgs or clones, but individuals. It was this that put not only Americans in the top 10 for what seems to be forever, but also what made the game watchable. In the first year of Open tennis, you had players named Newcombe, Roche, Laver, Rosewall, Sexias, Gonzalez, Ashe, Smith, Lutz, Panatta, Olmedo, Ulrich, Emerson, Nastase, Tiriac, McKinley — the list goes on. In the very first year of Open tennis, there were so many stars, so many future hall of fame players, that you never knew who would win, but you knew each match was going to be to the death.

Just five years later, Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg would arrive, and the game was loaded. The top 25 was really a cream the game has not seen before or since. The women's game was similar, with Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Evonne Goolagong, Maria Bueno, and others. The playing field was thick, and all, with the exception of Evert, appeared after the completion of college or at least high school. For the men, going to college and winning the NCAA tournament used to be the signal you were ready for the men's tour.

The top 25 on both sides today are dominated by players whose names even the most ardent tennis fans will not know, or they will not know them as well as we knew Newk [John Newcombe] and the boys or Billie Jean and the Slims. That, more than any other single issue, is more critical to the game of tennis then the lack of Americans in the top 10. I love the WTA tour and prefer to watch women's tennis over men's, but the prospect of a Petra Kvitova/Victoria Azarenka quarter, semi, or final doesn't even get me excited, not even a little.

Same for the men. Watching another Novak Djokovic/Rafael Nadal match isn't exactly making me giddy, but then again, neither would a John Isner/Mardy Fish match. The closest thing to a real "star" and sort of American player on the women's side is Maria Sharapova, and she is back in the top 10, but no one really knows that. Maria is also getting "old" for women's tennis, based on today's standard of on the tour by 16 and out by 24.

So with the clay season at hand, and the game heading toward the French Open in just a couple of weeks, now should be an exciting time. There are a lot of players vying to get a shot at the title on the red clay of Roland Garros. For the first time ever, there isn't even an American mentioned in the mix. Interesting is the fact that Americans have rarely triumphed on the court at Stade Roland Garros, yet there is a sudden interest in the absence of an American contender.

The American tennis community has known this for the past decade. The ranks of superstars and up-and-comers are depleted and the ones anointed, like Donald Young, have never materialized. But why is the lack of American's in the top 100 now interesting? I think the reason the lack of top-10 American players is so compelling is that the rest of the game just isn't.

Posted by Tom Kosinski at 1:39 PM | Comments (1)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 10

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Carl Edwards — Edwards led 57 laps at Darlington, and seemed well on his way to victory when an untimely caution with 10 laps to go altered the course of the race. Edwards and most of the front-runners pitted for tires, while Regan Smith stayed out and took the lead. Smith withstood Edwards' charges and held on for his first career Sprint Cup win.

"It would have been great to honor the birth of my son with a win," Edwards said. "As it was, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick were the ones paying homage to infantile behavior. I really thought we made the right decision to pit, but Smith wouldn't let me by. He won the battle; Busch and Harvick started a war."

2. Kyle Busch — Busch was battling with Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer for sixth on lap 363 when contact between the three sent Bowyer spinning. After Harvick bumped Busch's No. 18 Doublemint Toyota from behind, Busch retaliated by spinning the No. 29 Budweiser Chevy. And incensed Harvick later tried to punch Busch, but Busch simply drove away, sending Harvick's parked car into the pit road wall. Busch finished 11th, and met with NASCAR officials, along with Harvick, Richard Childress, and Joe Gibbs after the race.

"Maybe now," Busch said, "Harvick will have a new appreciation for the 'drive-through window.' I was just sitting in my car minding my own business, when Harvick appears out of nowhere. I refuse to sit 'idly' by and give him a free shot at my head. I'm not afraid on him; I just simply drove off the 'beaten' path.

"Despite fines and penalties from NASCAR, I stand by my actions. In regards to punishment, I listened to what NASCAR had to say. But like any driver worth his salt, I didn't 'hear' it. Some have 'selective hearing;' I have 'disciplinary hearing.'"

3. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson survived an early spin courtesy of Juan Montoya, making a spectacular save to keep the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet off the wall. Johnson recovered, and overcame a subsequent spin due to loose handling on lap 220, and was primed for a top-10 finish. But a loose lug nut 10 laps from the end forced him to the tail end of the longest line, and he finished 15th. Johnson remains second in the point standings, 23 out of first.

"It's on!" Johnson said. "Unfortunately, I'm referring to the Kyle Busch-Kevin Harvick feud, and not the lug nut in question.

"I'm embroiled in a feud of my own, with Montoya. Of course, JPM apologized for spinning me. Now, I'm not sure I'm ready to forgive him. Frankly, as a five-time Cup champion, I'm about sick of making 'acceptance' speeches."

4. Kevin Harvick — Harvick finished 17th at Darlington after Kyle Busch sent him spinning on lap 363 in retaliation for what Busch called "unacceptable racing" on Harvick's part. Afterward, Harvick insinuated that his business with Busch is far from done. Harvick is fifth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 50 behind Carl Edwards.

"It's far from over," Harvick said. "I know that, Busch knows that, and NASCAR knows that. Even my sponsor, Budweiser, knows that. Hence, the presence of a special Budweiser slogan on my car for upcoming races that says, 'This Bud's Coming For You.'

"Kyle's mother must be proud. In Mrs. Busch's honor, I'd like to extend Happy Mother's Day wishes to her via Kyle when I say 'Your momma.' But let's not let our feud take away from Regan Smith's victory. It was truly a magical night at Darlington. Even I tried a little magic of my own when, much like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, I tried to pull a 'chicken' out of the No. 18 car. Even Kyle got in on the fun with his little 'disappearing act.'"

5. Ryan Newman — Newman posted his fourth top-five finish of the year with a fifth in the Showtime Southern 500. He led 28 laps, and improved two places in the point standings to sixth, 61 out of first.

"You may have heard," Newman said, "that I threw a punch at Juan Montoya during our meeting with NASCAR officials to discuss our budding feud. I gave reconciliation a chance. Apparently, there's just no getting through to Montoya. I've always said, 'Don't knock it 'til you try it.' So I did."

6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. — Earnhardt finished 14th at Darlington, victimized by a penalty for hitting the pit road entrance cone on a lap 329 stop. He remained fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 47 out of first.

"It was a crazy week at the track," Earnhardt said. "Even inanimate objects weren't safe from being hit. Surprisingly, orange safety cones are a lot like certain drivers, in that safety cones don't fight back, either."

7. Tony Stewart — Stewart took a gamble at Darlington, staying out while most of the leaders pitted after Jeff Burton's blown engine brought out the caution on lap 359. It paid off, as Stewart gained substantial track position, and scored his fourth top-10 finish of the year with a seventh. He jumped three places in the point standings to seventh, 65 out of first.

"From what I hear," Stewart said, "even a meeting with NASCAR did nothing to settle the Ryan Newman/Juan Montoya feud. And that's no surprise. Both Ryan and Juan are very headstrong, so it's shocking to see that neither was willing to show 'resolve.'

"Montoya was unwilling to take any responsibility for wrecking Ryan at Richmond. Are we supposed to believe that his spin of Ryan was simply an accident? I think Ryan has resigned himself to accepting that claim, no matter how implausible it seems. That's why he's taking no responsibility for punching Montoya. That's called the 'Oops! Upside Your Head' defense."

8. Clint Bowyer — Bowyer saw a possible top-five finish disintegrate when he spun into the inside wall after Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Bowyer battled door to door on lap 363. Bowyer's No. 31 BB&T Chevy was done for the day, and he finished 31st.

"I knew I was in trouble when Busch, Harvick, and myself came out of the corner side-by-side-by-side. That kind of lateral racing can lead to only one thing: collateral damage. And that was me.

"Of course, as we already know, Harvick won't take Busch's actions sitting down. Kevin's reputation is that of someone who never backs down. Everyone expects Kevin to retaliate, and I'm sure he'll be 'Happy' to oblige."

9. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth blew a tire early at Darlington and fell three laps down and was never able to catch a break to regain track position. When his night at Darlington was done, Kenseth posted a finish of 25th, his third result outside the top 20 since winning at Texas on April 9th. He dropped one place in the point standings to 10th, 83 out of first.

"I was an early victim of the 'Lady in Black,'" Kenseth said. "It's possibly the first time in my life I've been chosen first by a woman. As for the Kyle Busch/Kevin Harvick feud, it appears NASCAR was somewhat lenient with punishment. But that's not surprising. Of course, NASCAR's backed themselves into a corner by advocating the 'Boys, have at it' mentality, which, as history shows, is inevitably translated by drivers into the 'Boys, have a tit-for-tat' mentality."

10. Kasey Kahne — Kahne started on the pole at Darlington and led 124 of 370 laps on his way to a fourth-place finish, his second consecutive top-five result after last week's third at Richmond.

"I'm riding a wave of momentum right now," Kahne said. "But I won't get complacent. In this sport, momentum is like a one-year contract —very fleeting. I have to hand it to Red Bull for signing me to a one-year contract with the knowledge that at year's end, I'll say 'bull split' and head over to Hendrick. Mighty Kasey doesn't strike out; he strikes deals."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 10:49 AM | Comments (0)

May 10, 2011

11 For '11: Top College Football Matchups

College football can't get here any quicker!

As the season slowly creeps closer, it's time to take a look at the schedules for those games that are worth circling on the calendar. From the non-conference games that could define a team's season early, to the season-ending showdowns that could complete the BCS picture, these are the games that already are worth salivating for this fall.

Having said that, let's take a look at 11 to watch for in 2011.

1) LSU vs. Oregon (at Arlington, TX)

Who said the SEC plays it easy? You certainly can't say that for LSU, who faces the brutal gauntlet that is the SEC West and adds road trips to Morgantown to play West Virginia and this showdown in Cowboys Stadium against the defending Pac-10 champions. Oregon figures to be the same up-tempo, speed-oriented team they were last year, leaving the key question in Eugene to be what uniforms the Ducks will wear in Dallas.

Meanwhile, the quarterback situation in Baton Rouge could be one of the top questions of the preseason. Jordan Jefferson is the seasoned veteran, but Tigers fans aren't sold that he's the guy to lead them to the promised land. Therefore, hopes in the bayou are that Zack Mettenberger will rise to the occasion and seize the reins of the LSU offense. Either way, this is an early statement game for both teams.

2) Georgia vs. Boise State (at Atlanta)

This game has intrigue for two programs with large question marks. Boise State couldn't run the table last season and has never won against the SEC before. Is this the game that announces yet another Boise run for BCS glory? Meanwhile, the hot seat in Athens has never been hotter for Mark Richt, who needs this win badly to send a solid message to some very restless UGA fans. The preseason will have to be a proving ground for the Georgia backfield, as well, as losing Washaun Ealey was an unexpected obstacle for the Bulldogs.

3) BYU at Texas

Two programs that made headlines off the field last year clash in Austin on September 24th in what promises to be an intriguing battle. BYU made a big gamble leaving the Mountain West and going independent. Beating Texas makes a quick statement to fans (and the national media) that the Cougars are a good buy. Meanwhile, no one can forget the epic collapse that was Texas last year. The Longhorns have no room to take anyone for granted this year. Should they do that against BYU, it could be another miserably long season for Texas.

4) Arkansas at Alabama

The SEC West is the toughest division in the toughest football conference in America, and the first big test in deciding who heads to Atlanta will take place in Tuscaloosa. Alabama is loaded on defense; the questions linger on how the Tide will move on without Greg McIlroy and Mark Ingram. As for the Razorbacks, life without Mallett begins, but Tyler Wilson is no stranger to the [Bobby] Petrino system and sits with a lethal RB in Knile Davis and a deep receiving core. Can the Hog defense hold 'Bama enough for their offense to steal the road win?

5) Oklahoma at Florida State

Last year, this was a surprising blowout performed by the Sooners. This year, it could be an entirely different scenario. Jimbo Fisher rode a wave of momentum to close the season last year and one can sense a true Seminole rebirth as a national power. Oklahoma will no doubt be a national title contender, and you have to still like Landry Jones under center for the Sooners, coupled with a suffocating defense that could give FSU a lot of trouble. This year's game won't be a rout; this game will be a classic for anyone that's not an alum of these schools.

6) Arkansas vs. Texas A&M (at Arlington, TX)

Gotta love those Cowboys Stadium showdowns. This one, however, is the perennial one as Arkansas and Texas A&M both come into this season with high expectations. Ryan Tannehill has the Aggies believing in big things down in College Station and no doubt, Jeff Fuller's return is a nice boost to the Aggie offense. However, the Aggies have yet to beat Arkansas in Arlington and the Hog offense, if it's rolling, could definitely make it three in a row. Where last year's game was a defensive matchup, somehow this year seems to scream shootout to me.

7) Nebraska at Wisconsin

Love this showdown ... love it. The fact that this is now a conference matchup only excites me more about this game. Wisconsin, a classic, rugged Big Ten team taking on the old school, blue-collar, blackshirt Nebraska squad. This game has the makings of a defensive showcase for years to follow. When you think the game will be just as good, just as competitive if they were playing in 16 inches of snow as it would on the actual playing surface, you know this is a must-see. One thing's for sure: there's going to be a lot of red at that game.

8) Oregon State at Oregon

Lately, this game has defined who reigns supreme in the Pac-10 ... now Pac-12 conference. This year, it doesn't seem to be any different. I still like Oregon to win the new Pac-12 in 2011. I like the Ducks' up-tempo style and even with Andrew Luck guiding Stanford, Oregon looks to be the team to beat. However, something tells me Mike Riley's Beavers are underrated yet again this year. Sure, Jacquizz Rodgers is gone, but the Beavers are still deep in talent and will once again be a tough out this season. I have a feeling a BCS bowl bid rests on this game.

9) Ohio State at Michigan

Brady Hoke, now is your chance. Ohio State hasn't been this down in years. Rich Rodriguez has left Ann Arbor. The game is in the Big House. Michigan hasn't had the momentum swing this far in their direction in a long, long time. If the Wolverines lose this one, it could really hit home hard, especially if the game is Jim Tressel's swan song for the Buckeyes. Nevertheless, rarely has such coaching drama hit both schools so hard, so this game could certainly write a new chapter in the history of this storied rivalry.

10) Oklahoma State at Oklahoma

I don't think that Texas will rise to the top of the conference just yet. Texas A&M could be the thorn in the side of the Big 12, but there's a great chance that the Bedlam series, featuring two teams that have been both listed as national title contenders, will decide a lot of the BCS picture. Oklahoma State has Brandon Weeden-to-Justin Blackmon and a fast-trigger offense. Oklahoma has the classic, vicious defense that they've been known for under Bob Stoops. This game has been circled since January.

11) Alabama at Auburn

They've won the last two national titles. They've brought a fierceness to a rivalry so deep that others have stood back in shock. However, take Nick Saban's defensive mind and Gus Malzahn's offensive schemes and set them back a step or two. These are two programs who have faced adversity off-the-field that few programs ever face.

Auburn is watching a piece of their tradition die thanks to a crazed Alabama fan, while Tide fans in Tuscaloosa pick up the pieces of their fallen town, devastated from a massive tornado. There is no maybe to this game. It will write a new chapter in state history. This is a football-mad state whose people are proud and will rebuild with vigor; their beloved programs will follow suit in what will be a sign of times in the Deep South.

Posted by Jean Neuberger at 12:01 PM | Comments (1)

The Best Centers in NBA History

For decades, big men dominated basketball. Centers won 23 of the first 28 NBA MVP awards. They have won only three of the last 28, none in the past decade (unless you count Tim Duncan). That's not to say there aren't still great centers. Dwight Howard has finished in the top five of MVP voting four times and probably should have won at least once. Shaquille O'Neal was such a strong MVP candidate in 2005 that it generated an ugly controversy. The dominant big man isn't dead, he's just not as dominant as he used to be.

Below is a list of the greatest centers in NBA/ABA history. Howard isn't on the list yet, but give him a couple more years. He's a special player.

10. Walt Bellamy
1961-75, Chicago Packers/Zephyrs/Baltimore Bullets, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Jazz
20,941 points, 14,241 rebounds, 2,544 assists
20.1 ppg, 13.7 rpg, 2.4 apg
51.6 FG%, 63.2 FT%

Bellamy is one of only 13 players with at least 20,000 points, 12,000 rebounds, and 2,000 assists. If you exclude ABA stats and cherry-pick the cutoff points for Bellamy — 20,000 points, 14,000 rebounds, and 2,500 assists — then he's one of only five: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Elvin Hayes, Karl Malone, and Bellamy.

As a rookie with the expansion Chicago Packers, Walt Bellamy scored 2,495 points (31.6), pulled down 1,500 rebounds (19.0), and led the NBA in shooting percentage (51.9%). It is one of the finest seasons in NBA history, maybe the greatest ever by a rookie. Playing for a team that finished 18-62, Bellamy scored more than any two of his teammates combined and grabbed more rebounds than any three teammates combined. Surrounded by teammates who should have been backups, Bellamy still led the NBA in field goal percentage, even though this was before the zone defense rule, and Bellamy was usually guarded by multiple defenders. Heaven knows they didn't have to cover his teammates.

Bellamy's career went slowly downhill after that, but he appeared in four all-star games, despite stiff competition from contemporary centers. Bellamy was particularly distinguished by his field goal percentage and aggressive rebounding. Most 1,000-rebound seasons in NBA/ABA history: Chamberlain (13), Bill Russell (12), Bellamy (9), Hayes (9), Bob Pettit (9), Abdul-Jabbar (8), Artis Gilmore (8), Jerry Lucas (8), Nate Thurmond (8), Wes Unseld (8).

9. David Robinson
1989-2003, San Antonio Spurs
20,790 points, 10,497 rebounds, 2,441 assists
21.1 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 2.5 apg
51.8 FG%, 73.6 FT%

Robinson wasn't really an admiral, but he did spend years of his prime in the navy, so his career is not terribly long, but it includes 10 all-star appearances, Rookie of the Year (1990), Defensive Player of the Year (1992), MVP (1995), two NBA championships ('99 and '03), and two gold medals, including one with the original Dream Team in '92. Not bad for someone who didn't play in the NBA until he was 24.

Robinson's first seven seasons were incredible, better than the first seven of almost anyone else on the list. During those years, he ranks first in rebounds and blocks, second in scoring and minutes played (Karl Malone), and top-10 in steals. Robinson averaged 25.6 ppg and 11.8 rpg, and was one of the best defensive players in the league, with over 100 steals and 250 blocked shots every season. He led the NBA at various times in points, rebounds, and blocks, plus three straight seasons making more free throws than anyone else in the league.

After that, the Admiral was limited by injuries and age. He only played six games in the 1996-97 season, and by '97-'98, he was 32. He still averaged 23.1 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, and continued to be a good player for years, but he wasn't the dominant force he had been in the early '90s. If Robinson had begun his career two or three years earlier, he might rate in the top five.

8. Artis Gilmore
1971-88, Kentucky Colonels, Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics
24,941 points, 16,330 rebounds, 3,050 assists
18.8 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 2.3 apg
58.2 FG%, 69.8 FT%

Some fans will consider this a controversial choice, because Gilmore played his first five seasons in the ABA. He led the league in rebounds all five years, in blocks three times, in field goal percentage twice. He was ABA Rookie of the Year, MVP, All-Star Game MVP, and Playoff MVP, and was the only player named first-team All-ABA five times. He was the first player chosen in the dispersal draft, ahead of Moses Malone.

It is my belief that the caliber of competition in the ABA was lower than in the NBA, but not by much after 1970. Gilmore's athletic prime was spent in the younger league — he was 27 by the time of the merger — but he still made six NBA all-star teams, and amassed 15,000 points and 9,000 rebounds in the NBA, with a higher shooting percentage (59.9%) than during his ABA years (55.7%). Gilmore shot over 60% six times in the NBA, including four years leading the league. In fact, he is the NBA's all-time leader in field goal percentage. Gilmore's strengths were similar to Bellamy's — rebounding and shooting efficiency — but Gilmore was a better defensive player, and he had a longer prime, more seasons as an elite player.

Including his ABA stats, Gilmore combined for 41,271 points and rebounds. The only other players over 40,000 are Abdul-Jabbar, Chamberlain, Hayes, Dr. J, Karl Malone, Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Shaquille O'Neal.

7. Moses Malone
1974-95, Utah Stars, Spirits of St. Louis, Buffalo Braves, Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Bullets, Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs
29,580 points, 17,834 rebounds, 1,936 assists
20.3 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 1.3 apg
49.5 FG%, 76.0 FT%

It sometimes seems like Moses Malone played with every professional basketball team that ever existed, but he is best remembered for his time with the Rockets and Sixers, especially the famous 1982-83 season, when Malone led the NBA in free throws and rebounds, was first-team All-Defensive, NBA MVP, and Finals MVP. Many fans still think of "Fo', Fo', Fo'" when Malone's name is mentioned. It turned out to be Fo', Five, Fo', but Malone generally backed up his bluster. He led the NBA in rebounds five times, and even more impressive, led his league in offensive rebounds an incredible nine times. Officially, he is the all-time leader in offensive rebounds, although the statistic was not kept before 1973.

Malone made 13 all-star games and is tied with Robert Parish for most seasons played (21) in history. Malone ranks sixth all-time in scoring and third all-time in rebounds, and was a three-time NBA MVP.

6. George Mikan
1946-56, Chicago American Gears, Minneapolis Lakers

Perhaps the most controversial ranking on this list. Mikan could be viewed as an overrated fossil with a short career, or as the most dominant player the game has ever seen. I like to think this rating represents the middle ground, a compromise between two extreme positions. It is true that Mikan played when professional basketball was in its infancy, attracting far fewer skilled players than it does today, and his career spanned just seven full seasons. It is also true that Mikan was the most dominant player in history. More than Chamberlain, more than Michael Jordan, more than anyone.

I didn't include Mikan's statistics, because many of them don't exist. No rebound data was kept until the 1950-51 season. Player minutes weren't recorded until the year after that. Turnovers, steals, and blocked shots were never kept during Mikan's career, nor was any statistical distinction drawn between offensive and defensive rebounds. The numbers we do have, though ... they back up all the folklore and legends about Mikan's dominance.

Mikan joined the Lakers in 1947. They won six of the next seven league championships. The most successful team was the 1949-50 squad, which went 51-17 (on pace for 62-20 in an 82-game season) and went 11-2 in the playoffs, winning the NBA championship. That season, Mikan scored 1,865 points (27.4 per game). The second-highest scoring Laker, Jim Pollard, scored less than half as many (973). Mikan outscored all of the Lakers' backups combined. In fact, he scored more than all of the other starters combined, if you exclude Pollard. Of course, Mikan didn't just lead the Lakers in scoring, he led the NBA. By almost 400 points. And Mikan wasn't a ballhog — he was third on the team in assists.

Effectively, Mikan single-handedly turned a pretty average team into a dynasty. The 1949-50 campaign probably wasn't one of his better seasons. The next season, he had more points, more assists, and a better shooting percentage. Mikan was the most dominant player ever, compared to his peers. But at the end of the day, he dominated a game that was not yet terribly competitive. Russell had Chamberlain, Magic had Bird — Mikan, for most of his career, had no real competition. He was the best in the game, but for less than a decade. Reasonable arguments can be made for moving Mikan up the list or down. Personally, I wouldn't want him any lower than this, and I have some misgiving about not placing him a little higher.

5. Shaquille O'Neal
1992-2011, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics
28,596 points, 13,099 rebounds, 3,026 assists
23.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 2.5 apg
58.2 FG%, 52.7 FT%

Shaquille O'Neal has played 80 regular-season games only twice: in his first two seasons. Walt Bellamy played 80 games eight times, actually played 88 one year thanks to a strangely-timed trade. David Robinson played 80 games eight times, Gilmore 13 times, Malone 10 times, Mikan never, but only because there weren't 80-game seasons when he played. Center is traditionally a position manned by iron men. Malone and Parish played 21 seasons each. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played forever. Wilt Chamberlain almost never sat — one year he averaged 48.5 minutes per game, because the Warriors went into overtime a few times. While durability was a strength for almost every center on this list, for O'Neal it has been his singular weakness. Well, that or free throw shooting.

O'Neal was officially NBA MVP once, in the 1999-2000 season. He also finished second twice, third twice, and fourth twice. Despite his limited playing time, to suggest that O'Neal was only the best player in the NBA for one season seems, well, unlikely. Shaq was the dominant force on the three-peat Lakers, Finals MVP in all three seasons. The best player on the best team is not necessarily the best player in the league, but in this case, he probably was.

4. Hakeem Olajuwon
1984-2002, Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors
26,946 points, 13,748 rebounds, 3,058 assists
21.8 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 2.5 apg
51.2 FG%, 71.2 FT%

Olajuwon and O'Neal should probably be regarded as something very close to even. I ranked Olajuwon ahead because of consistency and defense. O'Neal was a sensational offensive player. He led the NBA three times in points and 10 times in field goal percentage. He was also a good defensive player, blocked 200 shots four times, as many as 286 one season. Olajuwon was a sensational defender. He blocked 200 shots for 12 seasons in a row, blocked more than 286 shots four times, blocked 1,100 more than Shaq in his career. Hakeem the Dream is also the only player in recorded history with 200 steals and 200 blocks in the same season (1988-89).

Shaq was not a poor defensive player, but Hakeem was probably the best defensive center since Bill Russell, and Olajuwon was no slouch on offense. He scored 2,000 points four times, grabbed over 4,000 offensive rebounds in his career, and was never vulnerable to the hack-a-Shaq strategies that limited O'Neal's effectiveness on offense. And whereas Shaq has been in and out of the lineup for the last 10 seasons — playing 70 games only twice — Olajuwon was a steady player, someone the team could count on year-in, year-out. They were both great players, and the gap between them is not wide, but it seems to me to favor Olajuwon.

3. Bill Russell
1956-69, Boston Celtics
14,522 points, 21,260 rebounds, 4,100 assists
15.1 ppg, 22.5 rpg, 4.3 apg
44.0 FG%, 56.1 FT%

A difficult player to evaluate 40 years later, because so many of his strengths don't show up in the stats. Russell was one of the greatest defensive players of all time, but we don't have his block or steal statistics. He was one of the greatest rebounders of all time, but we don't know how many were offensive rebounds. He is perhaps the greatest winner in the history of professional sports, and that has never shown up on the stat sheets.

The year before Russell arrived, Boston was a good team: 39-33, second in the East. He played 13 seasons with the Celtics, and the Celtics won 11 championships in those 13 years. When he retired, they missed the playoffs each of the next two seasons. Those teams had other Hall of Famers, plus a legendary coach, but Russell brought everything together. The dynasty began when he arrived and ended when he retired. He was named NBA MVP five times.

My favorite NBA season is one I'm too young to remember: 1961-62. It was a year of legendary individual accomplishments; the league's stars have never shined so brightly. Bob Pettit averaged 31 points and 19 rebounds per game. Walt Bellamy averaged 32 ppg, 19 rpg, and led the NBA in field goal percentage. Oscar Robertson averaged a triple double (30.8 pts, 12.4 reb, 11.5 ast). Wilt Chamberlain averaged 48.5 minutes, 50.4 points, and 25.7 rebounds. And none of them won MVP. Bill Russell did.

Statistically, that's hard to condone, but Russell led the Celtics to the league's best record and a championship. Would the Celtics have been just as good with Chamberlain or Pettit? Would the Hawks or Lakers or Warriors have won 11 championships with Russell patrolling the paint? We'll never know — probably not, to both questions — but we do know that Russell was an outstanding rebounder, defender, and team player, the greatest winner in the history of professional basketball.

2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1969-89, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers
38,387 points, 17,440 rebounds, 5,660 assists
24.6 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 3.6 apg
55.9 FG%, 72.1 FT%

38,387 points. Best all-time. 57,446 minutes played. Most all-time. 5,660 assists. Most by a center. Six MVP awards. Most all-time. Two-time Finals MVP. Only player to win with two different teams.

Most 2,000-point seasons:

1. Karl Malone, 12
2. Michael Jordan, 11
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 9
4. Dominique Wilkins, 8
5. four tied, 7

Abdul-Jabbar could have won a few MVPs just with his offense. An efficient shooter both on the floor (with his legendary sky hook) and at the line, he ranked among the league's top 10 scorers 13 times, made the top five 10 times. But Abdul-Jabbar wasn't a one-dimensional offensive powerhouse. He was an awesome rebounder, who averaged 11.2 per game in a 20-year career. He was a great assist man, the leader among centers by over 1,000. He led the league in blocked shots at least four times — maybe more, since the stats weren't kept until he had already played four seasons.

And Abdul-Jabbar, as much as any player in history, proved that while he worked well with his teammates, his success wasn't just because of them. He played on six championship teams, one with the Bucks and five with the Lakers. He won Finals MVP honors with both teams. He won six regular-season MVP awards, three with each team. Abdul-Jabbar is probably best remembered for his years with Magic Johnson, and he was still a great player then, but in the '70s, Kareem was a singular force, by far the greatest player in basketball.

1. Wilt Chamberlain
1959-73, Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers
31,419 points, 23,924 rebounds, 4,643 assists
30.1 ppg, 22.9 rpg, 4.4 apg
54.0 FG%, 51.1 FT%

Michael Jordan averaged 30.1 points per game, with 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists. Wilt Chamberlain averaged 30.1 points per game, with 22.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists. Jordan averaged 2.8 steals per game. Chamberlain probably averaged 3-4 blocks. Jordan shot 49.7%. Chamberlain, 54%.

Wilt led the NBA in scoring seven times, in rebounding 10 times, in assists once, in field goal percentage nine times, and in minutes eight times. He averaged 35 points a game five times, 20 rebounds a game 10 times, 5 assists four times, and he shot 60% three times (actually over 64.9% all three years).

Chamberlain's accomplishments are legendary (even if we're only talking about his basketball accomplishments). Fifty points per game, 100 in a single game, 72.7 FG% his final season. He was an unparalleled offensive force. In the 2010-11 season, MVP Derrick Rose scored 2,026 points. In the 1961-62 season, Wilt scored 4,029 points — 2,000 more than Rose. And that was an 80-game season, not 82. How do you even wrap your mind around that, separate the man from the legend?

Chamberlain was also the greatest rebounder of his day. Well, him and Russell. Chamberlain's career record for rebounds, 2,664 ahead of Russell and many thousands ahead of everyone else, will probably never fall. Contrary to popular belief, he was also a generous passer, with more assists than any center except Abdul-Jabbar. Chamberlain was a far better offensive player than Russell, but he also averaged more boards and more assists. As a defensive player, he was not Russell's equal, but apart from his rival in Boston, he probably blocked more shots than anyone in his day.

Because he is so often compared to Russell, a reputation has unfairly settled on Chamberlain as not being a winner. His first year with the Warriors, they improved by 17 games. When they traded him, they dropped from 48-32 to 17-63. He played on championship teams with both the Sixers and the Lakers. He was named Finals MVP in '72, and probably would have been in '67 if the award had existed. Chamberlain played all but two minutes of the playoffs that season, shooting 57.9%, averaging 29 rebounds and 9 assists. What a choker, right?

Who is the greatest center in history? Some say Mikan. Some, Russell. Many fans believe it was Abdul-Jabbar. My choice is the Big Dipper.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 8:15 AM | Comments (2)

May 9, 2011

From the Decision to the Championship?

I'm going to be honest. From about this time last week, when I knew I'd be writing an NBA article for today, I expected to be able to mention something about Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers being on the comeback trail. I thought for sure they would win a minimum of two games, and was actually expecting them to win the series. But as it became more clear with each passing game, and was completely validated as I put the finishing touches on this article, the two-time defending champion Lakers won't have a chance at a three-peat.

Kobe Bryant played well, although far too selfishly, for most of the series. Pretty much everyone else was about as bad an NBA starter can ever be expected to be, especially in the playoffs, and especially for the frontrunners of the 2011 postseason. While I've always been a big believer that when he retires, Kobe's place in history will be second only to Michael Jordan's, he clearly wasn't up to snuff in this series. Because of that, and a myriad of other factors, the Lakers have opened up a playoff road that sees the much maligned Miami Heat as one of the favorites to win the championship this year.

Yeah, those Miami Heat — the guys that everyone loved to hate, and the guys that couldn't possibly mesh as a team in their first year together, if ever — they're the favorites. Winning sure silences the haters quickly, doesn't it? I'm not excusing the way LeBron James went about making and announcing his decision to leave Cleveland for Miami — that was supremely self-serving and almost unfathomably unprofessional. But those who derided the decision itself, and those who didn't think the Heat could accomplish great things, and quickly at that, couldn't have possibly been more wrong.

Phil Jackson just went down in whatever the opposite of a blaze of glory is, and in doing so he laid the groundwork for LeBron to transform from the ultimate American sports villain back into a beloved icon. It's hard now to see why so many people lacked faith in a team that featured LeBron in the same offense as Dwyane Wade. They might not be the most complete team left, or even the best top-to-bottom. But they do matchup well with every team they'll have to play against for the rest of the playoffs, and not needing to play the Lakers helps, too.

So like it or not, the Miami Heat have arrived. This isn't a team that will fade in the coming games, or even in the coming months and years. This is a team on the rise, and this is a team that hasn't tapped their full potential yet.

Lebron James was far more valuable to this team than Derrick Rose was to the Chicago Bulls, but somehow that fact got missed during the voting. Their pasts indicate that it's unlikely for Lebron James and Dwayne Wade to both have a bad game on the same night, at least when both are healthy. Based on that fact, I'm not liking the Boston Celtics chances of beating the Heat in three of the next four games, and if they don't, they Heat will advance.

Once they gain that kind of momentum, without last year's champion waiting in the Finals, the Miami Heat might just be unstoppable. Because even if no one believed it during “The Decision” talent wins championships – period. The NBA is star-driven league, and the Miami Heat have three stars – and maybe that's just enough.

Maybe at the end of this month, Lebron will be bringing a championship to South Beach.

Posted by Paul Foeller at 5:44 PM | Comments (0)

Caps' Stunning Loss is More Than Ovechkin, Boudreau

In many cases, there's no shame in losing in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Parity brings teams closer than ever, and the gap between the top seed and the eighth seed really isn't that much. Injuries, weird bounces, and just plain luck can affect much of the outcome. Of course, you have to play hard to win — coasting on skill doesn't cut it anymore.

You know where this is heading. If the Washington Capitals lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a gritty, hell-on-wheels seven-game battle, I don't think we'd be doing a forensic analysis on what went wrong. Even if the Caps still got swept, if they just fought tooth and nail in close battles and overtimes, it might be just one of those things where the final record doesn't reflect the quality of competition.

But this series sweep was as lopsided as the final count. The Caps only played one strong, complete game of the four; the other times, their meter flipped between dynamic and listless with a side-trip to confused. What went wrong? There's the question of Alex Ovechkin, but The Great Eight played a strong series. He may not have always made the right decisions, but you can't doubt that his heart used up its entire supply of desire (and perhaps next season Ovechkin will re-think trying to go coast to coast over and over when desperation mode hits). Ovechkin could certainly use some pointers about strategic decisions, but he left it all on the ice.

The finger pointing, then, turns to Ovechkin's supporting cast — namely, Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Semin. There are conflicting reports about whether Backstrom was hurt or not, but by all accounts, Semin was healthy. That's pretty damning, and Semin is living up to the old stereotype of "Skilled Enigmatic Russians Who Fold." Of course, history has given us plenty of examples of why that stereotype is wrong, but Semin still fits into that mold.

The question really is whether or not he can break it. As fans and pundits, we like to pigeonhole players into categories and labels. Leader, warrior, superstar — but how many of these were earned over time? Don't forget, it to Ken Hitchcock pushing Mike Modano's buttons to turn Modano from a slick-skating scorer into a complete player and champion. But that didn't happen overnight, and Modano had to hit a certain level of maturity where those messages could finally start sinking in.

Semin is at the start of the media's firing squad, but of course there are targets on players like Mike Green and Brooks Laich. This group has grown up and matured together, but the next step is going from team to winners together. Is Bruce Boudreau the right person to complete this step? Perhaps for some but maybe not for others. Boudreau's shown he can change his on-ice tactics by going from a run-and-gun squad to a more defensively driven team this year. This isn't about X's and O's, and for the Caps to get to the next level, the X's and O's start in the player's minds, not their positioning or breakout.

There are so many variables in play here. The right coach can connect with a player and accelerate this. Individual motivation, whether it's sparked from shame or desire, can take a player to the next level. Even things like statistics and money can factor into this.

Like everything else in life, sometimes people simply need to decide when they must require more of themselves. The Washington Capitals are at a crossroads. The good news is that they're still young. In fact, with the youth in net and on the blueline, it's easy to say that they're really just starting their journey and their Stanley Cup window is probably the next five years.

We know Alex Ovechkin will be there and it looks like Michal Neuvirth will be the man in net. As for everyone in between? Sometimes, it takes a few tries to truly learn the way to win. The problem for the Capitals is that regular season success, while enjoyable and certainly better than losing, just isn't enough anymore, and it will take another year to see if certain players have turned the corner.

Posted by Mike Chen at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

May 7, 2011

A Mockery of Drafts

After months of combines, practices, interviews, and debating over the best way to put the word "Wonderlic" into a joke, the NFL draft has come and gone.

And without fail, ESPN, CBS Sports, Pro Football Talk, and JoeShmoe.com put out a mock draft, trying their darndest to predict what team would pick what player and just what round Matt Millen would pass out from eating too many pretzels.

Funny thing is, I didn't see a single mock draft that was correct. There were probably hundreds of thousands of drafts and not a single person could get it right? Many of these guys make more in a week than I make in a year, and not one of them could hit it out of the park?

But then I got to thinking, "You know, the reason none of them got it right isn't because of their incompetence at predicting the draft — it's that if someone actually did get it right, they'd be laughed out of the industry."

Don't believe me?

Allow me to present to you what a mock draft would look like had all 32 picks (plus trades) been predicted correctly.

1. Carolina Panthers — Cam Newton, QB, Auburn

With the league's worst passing attack and the lowest amount of points per game, the Panthers need a change at quarterback. I think they're going to take a risk on a guy with glaring off-the-field problems and who has operated out of the shotgun his entire collegiate career. After all, making one read and then running for daylight worked in the SEC. It can work in the NFC South. All he'll have to do is pretend the defense is the University of Florida and the football is the laptop he got caught stealing in 2008.

2. Denver Broncos — Von Miller, LB, Texas A&M

The Broncos have what is arguably the league's worst defense. When you have needs in pass and run defense, you have to start patching the run defense first. I think the Broncos will overlook the fact that Marcell Dareus from Alabama would immediately improve their ability to stuff the run and go with Von Miller, a talent who will allow teams to only gain 5 yards per run instead of 7 or 8.

3. Buffalo Bills — Marcell Dareus, DT, Alabama

It's simple: Buffalo has a terrible run defense and Marcell Dareus is the top player for any team struggling against the run.

4. Cincinnati Bengals — A.J. Green, WR, Georgia

The Bengals have one of the worst run offenses in the league and they're giving up over 24 points a game. That's why they're going to draft A.J. Green. Carson Palmer is unhappy and the No. 4 pick is the perfect place to make it up to him. Getting a franchise back in the second round is a lock for these guys and patching up a run defense that faces Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland a combined six times a year will be a cinch. After all, that's why there are seven rounds, right?

5. Arizona Cardinals — Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU

You have the worst offense in the league. Your passing game is scraping the bottom of the barrel and your running game isn't much better. They've got a premier corner in Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and you know what? I think they're going to draft another one! Patrick Peterson will be an Arizona Cardinal. After all, there's a whole three days to draft a quarterback. Right? Right!

6. Atlanta Falcons (from Cleveland) — Julio Jones, WR, Alabama

I have a source that tells me the Falcons are going to trade up to four draft picks to Cleveland to get their man from Tuscaloosa. Julio Jones would look great catching passes from Matt Ryan, wouldn't he? Plus, everyone knows that when you're one player away from a Super Bowl, the best thing to do is identify that player and trade half of your draft away to get him.

7. San Francisco 49ers — Aldon Smith, DE, Missouri

Defensive end is a premium position and the 49ers are taking the top defensive end off my value board. He's ready to play in the NFL. His propensity towards standing upright and trying to use his speed to run around the offensive line will make his transition seamless.

8. Tennessee Titans — Jake Locker, QB, Washington

With a poor senior season, Locker is a perfect fit for the Titans. His declining play actually puts him ahead of the curve for a Tennessee organization that woefully underperforms. Also, his compilation of minor injuries will give Titans fans just enough hope to not throw their TV against a brick wall when they see him starting after four consecutive games where he threw multiple interceptions and under 150 yards.

9. Dallas Cowboys — Tyron Smith, OT, USC

Neglecting a porous defense, they will upgrade a passing attack which was already ranked sixth in the league. A top-10 pick could garner a trade which could get the 'Boys three or four draft picks, but they'll neglect quantity for quality.

10. Jacksonville Jaguars (from Washington) — Blaine Gabbert, QB, Missouri

They have more holes than Snooki's dress, but I think GM Gene Smith is smarter than people give him credit for and knows that a franchise quarterback fixes all that. I see them trading away a couple of their picks to grab their man from Missouri. That should sell some tickets.

11. Houston Texans — J.J. Watt, DE, Wisconsin

With obvious deficiencies in their pass defense, the Texans will take J.J. Watt from Wisconsin, even though Aldon Smith and Robert Quinn, a pair of more accomplished defensive ends, are still on the board.

12. Minnesota Vikings — Christian Ponder, QB, Florida State

The Vikings are in need of a quarterback and even though Ponder struggled with injuries his junior and senior season, he should stay healthy. The Vikings shrug off the critics and give Ponder, who many believe to not be worth a first-round selection, the pressure of performing like the a top-15 selection next season.

13. Detroit Lions — Nick Fairley, DT, Auburn

The Lions are in desperate need of a running game (they only led in rushing three out of their 16 games), but I think they'll bypass one of the quality offensive lineman still available and go with Nick Fairley from Auburn. Forget a bulldozer like Danny Watkins from Baylor or a mammoth of an offensive tackle like Anthony Castonzo from Boston College. Fairley will pair with Ndamukon Suh nicely and give opposing offensive coordinators nightmares.

14. St. Louis Rams — Robert Quinn, DE, North Carolina

With an offense that ranks in the bottom third of the league in nearly every statistical category, assembling a deep rotation of defensive lineman is of the utmost concern for the Rams. I'm saying St. Louis picks Robert Quinn, who is certainly fresh after not playing a down in 2010, and adds him to the rotation of Chris Long and James Hall.

15. Miami Dolphins — Mike Pouncey, C, Florida

He's efficient, effective, and works incredibly hard. Pouncey will be a welcome addition to a Dolphins interior offensive line which only paved the way for 102.7 yards per game last year.

16. Washington Redskins (from Jacksonville) — Ryan Kerrigan, DE, Purdue

When four of your six leading receivers from last year aren't even receivers, you need to upgrade your passing corps. But Washington will look to upgrade their passing attack in the later rounds and nab their man Kerrigan at No. 16.

17. New England Patriots (from Oakland) — Nate Solder, OT, Colorado

With the third-worst pass defense in the league as your Achilles Heel, New England is going to bypass premier cornerback Jimmy Smith from Colorado and instead select his teammate, Nate Solder. Solder will anchor the offensive line for the next 10 years and step into replacing Matt Light in 2011.

18. San Diego Chargers — Corey Liuget, DT, Illinois

Statistically, the Chargers had one of the best defenses in the AFC last year, but everyone who saw them play will tell you it was too sexy for its own good. That's why the Chargers will forgo adding some size and strength to its defense and pick up a 6'2" Corey Liuget to anchor the interior of their defensive line.

19. New York Giants — Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska

New York will pick the best available player left on the board and select Prince Amukamara from Nebraska, even though they already have two quality veterans, Corey Webster and Terrell Thomas, in the secondary.

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Adrian Clayborn, DL, Iowa

Needing a boost to their pass rush, Tampa Bay will pass up quicker defensive ends like Cameron Jordan from California and Jabaal Sheard from Pittsburgh and select 290-pound premier pass rusher Adrian Clayborn, even though lighter defensive ends would produce more in the sweltering heat of southwest Florida where Sunday afternoons in December rarely get lower than 65 degrees.

21. Cleveland Browns (from Kansas City) — Phil Taylor, DT, Baylor

Colt McCoy is your starting quarterback, so naturally Cleveland is going to rely on its running game in 2011. Quality interior lineman James Carpenter, who opened holes for Mark Ingram at Alabama, is available, but stopping the run is Cleveland's priority in 2011, so I think they'll go with Phil Taylor from Baylor.

22. Indianapolis Colts — Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College

The Colts desperately need a quarterback, but I don't think they'll address it in this draft. You don't replace Peyton Manning with just anyone. But you can extend his career by replacing one of the guys protecting him on the offensive line. They're going to need someone to anchor the offensive tackle position and Anthony Castonzo will do a fine job for Manning and his eventual replacement.

23. Philadelphia Eagles — Danny Watkins, OG, Baylor

I have a sneaking suspicion that the Eagles will take Danny Watkins from Baylor, a player who is a good two years older (27) than their average age (25). I know the draft is for helping to build for the future, but I think sometimes you have to build for the present, especially in the first round. So what if Watkins is already at the mid-point of his career age?

24. New Orleans Saints — Cameron Jordan, DE, California

The Saints need immediate impact and I think they'll get it from Cameron Jordan, a standout defensive end from California. Now all they need is a pounder at running back.

25. Seattle Seahawks — James Carpenter, OG, Alabama

Gabe Carimi, a young talent from Wisconsin, is still on the board, but I think they're going to take a chance with James Carpenter, a lesser-known offensive lineman from Alabama. Never mind that Carimi was a standout at a school with lesser-quality players on offense. Carpenter is experienced at paving the way for NFL-caliber players, so his transition should be seamless.

26. Kansas City Chiefs (from Atlanta via Cleveland) — Jonathan Baldwin, WR, Pittsburgh

I'm predicting that Chiefs are going to take a huge risk and pick up the freakishly athletic Jonathan Baldwin from Pittsburgh. He hasn't been consistent in college, and he ran between 4.5 and 4.6 in his 40-yard-dash, but the Chiefs need someone opposite Dwayne Bowe and Baldwin's potential is too much for Kansas City to pass up.

27. Baltimore Ravens — Jimmy Smith, CB, Colorado

I predict that Jimmy Smith will fall to the very bottom of the first round and that a top team will get very, very lucky. Baltimore will be able to pair need and value perfectly and pick up what is arguably the best cornerback in the draft.

28. New Orleans Saints (from New England) — Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama

... and here's where they get the guy who's going to run between the tackles. I think the knee problems are overblown. The Saints will end the first round with a stud at defensive end and Mark Ingram, a pounder who's first order of business will be to run Reggie Bush out of the Bayou.

29. Chicago Bears — Gabe Carimi, OT, Wisconsin

I honestly think the Bears will just go with the meanest looking dude left on the board. Conveniently, this ends up being Outland Trophy winner Gabe Carimi, a utility offensive lineman from Wisconsin. Never mind that Carimi may be too tall (6'7") to get proper leverage against an ever-expanding squad of premier pass rushers in the NFC North, Gabe will more than make up for it with his work ethic and athleticism.

30. New York Jets — Muhammad Wilkerson, DT, Temple

The Jets need some beef on both of their lines and with a recent run on offensive lineman, the best value comes on the defensive side of the ball. New York will quickly nab Muhammad Wilkerson from Temple and find a place to put him.

31. Pittsburgh Steelers — Cam Heyward, DT, Ohio State

Pittsburgh's secondary is sub-par and their offensive line is terrible at best, but I think they'll go with Cam Heyward, a perfect defensive lineman for the 3-4 scheme.

32. Green Bay Packers — Derek Sherrod, OL, Mississippi State

With deficiencies at running the ball and stopping the run, the Packers will draft Derek Sherrod from Mississippi State, marking the 10th player from the SEC chosen in the first round of the draft. Sherrod will upgrade a running game that woefully underperformed in 2010.

Posted by Ryan Day at 7:06 PM | Comments (0)

May UFC Rankings and Best Event Ever

Was UFC 129 the best event in the promotion's history? I think it probably was. The headlining fight was a letdown, but the card featured three highlight-reel knockouts, including one (Lyoto Machida's jump front kick) that is a serious contender for KO of the Year. We also saw a flying triangle, a 20-second KO, and Nate Diaz getting suplexed three times in one round. That doesn't even include the Fight of the Night, a surprisingly competitive featherweight title bout between Jose Aldo and Mark Hominick.

All that, plus by far the largest crowd in UFC history? I know some people won't be able to get past the disappointing headliner, but from where I'm sitting, yeah, it was the best card, top-to-bottom, that the UFC has ever put on. UFC President Dana White called it the highlight of his career.

The Undercard

The UFC picked a great event at which to air all of the preliminary fights. First, Pablo Garza won by flying triangle. Just when you thought flying subs were a lost art, right? Then John Makdessi floored Kyle Watson with a spinning backfist: one-punch knockout. We're only two fights in and everyone already knows the Submission of the Night (Garza) and Knockout of the Night (Makdessi).

Then Jason MacDonald won by first-round submission and Ivan Menjivar won by first-round TKO, including a brutal elbow that positively ruined his opponent's nose. On a normal card, that could have won Knockout of the Night. That's four fights, four finishes. After a decision, Jake Ellenberger outclassed Sean Pierson for another first-round knockout. Then, with the crowd chanting an expletive at Diaz, 21-year-old Rory MacDonald slammed Diaz with three powerful suplexes in the third round of a dominant victory.

We're not even to the main card yet.

The Main Card

Ben Henderson got one for the WEC guys with a win over Mark Bocek, 40-year-old Vladimir Matyushenko knocked out Jason Brilz with his first punch, and Lyoto Machida ended Randy Couture's career with a jumping front kick to the face. Couture had proven his doubters wrong so many times that, even at age 47, no one could count him out. But Machida was visibly quicker, and the bout was never close. For it to end with the damn Crane Kick from "The Karate Kid", though, changes the whole arc of Machida's career.

Once perceived as a boring fighter, he shed that image with awesome KOs of Thiago Silva and Rashad Evans. A questionable decision victory in October 2009 lost him some fans, but one finish like this weekend's can re-define public perception. When Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, himself a legend, defeated Couture in their classic matchup at UFC 102, the crowd booed Noguiera, simply because fans love Randy so much. I didn't hear boos for Machida. Partly that's because he's so sincerely emotional and respectful, it's hard not to like him. But mostly, it's because he KO-ed Couture with one of the most spectacular knockouts ever seen in MMA.

Training With Steven Seagal

Machida is the second fighter in UFC history to KO an opponent with a front kick, the first being Anderson Silva. Both trained with Steven Seagal, and both credited Seagal for teaching them the technique. Seagal has spent years as a punch line, and he gave an interview after the Silva fight that many people interpreted as Seagal claiming he invented the front kick. I agree that it sounded like he was saying that, but it was so obviously false, I can't imagine Seagal was trying to claim credit for a technique that is centuries old. Rather, as Seagal explained to Ariel Helwani this weekend, he taught Silva and Machida how to use a front kick to the face effectively in a real fight.

That's not a trivial accomplishment. For years, mixed martial arts fans have derided karate and taekwando as being ineffective in a real fight. If Seagal has taken traditional martial arts techniques and adapted them to be practical against high-level competition, this is a guy more fighters should be training with. So what if he comes off as narcissistic and strange? So does Eddie Bravo, but he has useful things to teach. Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida are two of the greatest mixed martial artists in the world. They can't afford not to take their training seriously, and they obviously choose to work with Seagal for a reason. It can't be a coincidence that they've both won fights with the same technique. Anyway, Machida won in style and Couture retired gracefully. That alone made this a great card.

Two Title Fights

In the featherweight title fight, Aldo took Hominick down at will for the first three rounds, nailed him with about a dozen of the leg kicks that ruined Urijah Faber, and caused a gruesome hematoma that almost stopped the fight. But Hominick never quit, and he gave Aldo trouble in a way no one else ever has. The champ tired visibly as the bout continued, and Hominick spent most of the final round in top position, nailing Aldo with power shots. I scored the fight 48-45 Aldo, giving Hominick a 10-8 in the fifth.

The main event began the way everyone expected it to, with the crowd at Rogers Centre roaring in support of Georges St-Pierre, and the champ picking apart Jake Shields on the feet. Unfortunately, some time in the second or third round, Shields damaged St-Pierre's left eye, and the Canadian became noticeably tentative. Not surprisingly, three rounds contested on the feet by a grappling specialist (Shields) and a man who was half-blind (GSP) did not thrill the audience, but I think criticisms of St-Pierre's performance are unfair. He fought half the match with only one eye! Give the guy a break. Let's also remember that Shields is one of the best fighters in the world. He had won 15 fights in a row, including victories over Carlos Condit (who might get the next shot at GSP), Yushin Okami (the top contender at 185), and Dan Henderson (a champion two weight classes up). Shields hadn't lost since 2004 and hasn't been finished in over a decade. Expecting a healthy GSP to knock him out probably wasn't realistic.

I scored the fight 49-46 for St-Pierre, who lost a round for the first time since '07. I don't understand the scorecards turned in by judges Nelson Hamilton and Richard Bertrand, both of whom gave the champ a narrow 48-47 victory. Which round besides the fifth did Shields win?

No one likes to end the night on a bummer, but I'll trade a dull main event for flying triangles and jump front kick KOs any day. This was also the only event in which I've noticed a crowd unmistakably cheering the ring girls. Every time Brittney Palmer or Arianny Celeste or Chandella Powell showed up on the big screen, a roar went up from the arena. Brittney seemed to be as popular as any fighter this side of GSP.

May 2011 UFC Rankings

The rankings below are exclusively for the UFC, so you won't see names like Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza or Shinya Aoki on these lists.

Heavyweight (206-265 lbs)

1. Cain Velasquez
2. Junior Dos Santos
3. Brock Lesnar
4. Shane Carwin
5. Roy Nelson
6. Frank Mir
7. Brendan Schaub
8. Ben Rothwell
9. Stefan Struve
10. Matt Mitrione

Make it Happen: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Schaub

It is my policy not to rank people who haven't fought in over a year and are not scheduled to fight, so Nogueira is not listed above, though he's presumably top-10 if he's healthy. The UFC's heavyweight roster is really thin, and half the top fighters are injured, so matchmaking is a little tricky right now. I'll settle for anything that gets two contenders in the cage.

Thank You, UFC, For: Nelson vs. Mir

An intriguing fight between a pair of top-10 heavyweights. Speaking of who is top-10, I think Sherdog does a lot of great stuff, but their heavyweight fighter rankings are just insane. Lesnar, who is 5-2 and coming off a loss, is ranked ahead of Dos Santos, who is 6-0 in the UFC, including wins over Fabricio Werdum, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Roy Nelson. Werdum is also ahead of JDS, despite that Junior knocked him out and got him cut from the UFC. Dos Santos has as many TKO victories (4) in the last three years as Werdum has fights. And there's just no way to look at Lesnar's record and say it's more impressive than Junior's.

Mir is sixth, despite that his only victory over a current top-10 was more than three years ago, in Lesnar's second professional fight — a bout Mir was losing badly before some timely intervention by referee Steve Mazzagatti. In the last two years, Mir has gotten absolutely destroyed by both Lesnar and Carwin, with his only wins against Cheick Kongo and a washed-up Mirko Cro Cop.

Alistair Overeem, the heavyweight champ of Strikeforce, DREAM, and K-1, is ranked ninth. Seriously. Fourth would probably be too low. To have him ranked fourth among Strikeforce heavyweights is ludicrous. He's behind Werdum (3), over whom he is a huge favorite in the Strikeforce Grand Prix. He's behind Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva (7), whose last two wins came over men who should be fighting at 205. And he's behind Fëdor Emelianenko (8), who is on a two-fight losing streak, 34, and fat. Yeah, he's Fëdor. If he goes easy on the ice cream cones, he could easily make light heavyweight.

Werdum, Mir, and Silva ahead of Overeem? You can't take that kind of list seriously. It contradicts the most obvious common sense. A ranking like that is worse than useless — it's misinformation.

Light Heavyweight (186-205)

1. Jon Jones
2. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
3. Lyoto Machida
4. Rashad Evans
5. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
6. Ryan Bader
7. Phil Davis
8. Forrest Griffin
9. Vladimir Matyushenko
10. Matt Hamill

Make it Happen: Machida vs. Bader

I'm assuming Bader will get past Tito Ortiz. Machida is the one guy I think might be able to beat Jon Jones right now. Put him up against another serious wrestler and let's find out. I'd also be happy to see Machida get the rematch he deserves against Rampage. They say styles make fights. Jones vs. Machida would be a fascinating matchup.

Thank You, UFC, For: Rich Franklin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

This matchup is not yet official, but is expected to take place at UFC 133 in August. Franklin is quickly compiling the most impressive résumé of fighters faced in MMA history. He's fought six UFC champions (Evan Tanner, Lyoto Machida, Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort, Chuck Liddell, and Forrest Griffin). He's fought two PRIDE champions (Dan Henderson and Wanderlei Silva). He's fought two UFC Hall of Famers (Ken Shamrock and Liddell). He's fought Yushin Okami. And now Little Nog. That's quite a list of opponents. There are a few other fighters with similar résumés, so Franklin can't quit now. If he gets past Nogueira, Ace has to fight Rampage. If he loses ... Royce Gracie.

I kid.

Middleweight (171-185)

1. Anderson Silva
2. Yushin Okami
3. Jorge Santiago
4. Demian Maia
5. Vitor Belfort
6. Wanderlei Silva
7. Michael Bisping
8. Mark Muñoz
9. Jason "Mayhem" Miller
10. Rousimar Palhares

Chael Sonnen and Alan Belcher will return to this list when they get fights on their calendars. Sonnen recently became a felon, and Belcher hasn't fought in a year. Wanderlei Silva, expected to face Chris Leben in July, returns to the list and replaces Nate Marquardt, who apparently was totally serious about dropping to welterweight.

Make it Happen: Bisping vs. winner of Maia/Muñoz

Winner gets a title shot, unless St-Pierre moves up.

Thank You, UFC, For: Santiago vs. Brian Stann

The additions of Santiago and Miller re-energize the lackluster middleweight division. I'd love to see them face each other if Santiago gets past Stann and Miller beats Aaron Simpson.

Welterweight (156-170)

1. Georges St-Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Jake Shields
4. Thiago Alves
5. B.J. Penn
6. Carlos Condit
7. Josh Koscheck
8. Martin Kampmann
9. Diego Sanchez
10. Dong Hyun Kim

Make it Happen: Shields vs. Koscheck

Shields just caused a serious eye injury, and Koscheck is recovering from one. Recipe for success, right?

Thank You, UFC, For: the weirdest match-making of any division

I would love to see title contenders fighting each other. The Fitch/Penn draw and GSP's uncertain future at welterweight make it a huge headache to set fights. As I see it, GSP has cleared out the UFC's welterweight division. All the top contenders are guys he's already beaten. His next fight should be against either Nick Diaz or Anderson Silva. Or even Yushin Okami, depending on what happens in Rio this August.

Hmm, that wasn't really a thank-you, was it? Okay, thanks for Sanchez vs. Matt Hughes and Condit vs. Kim.

Lightweight (146-155)

1. Frankie Edgar
2. Gray Maynard
3. Jim Miller
4. Sean Sherk
5. Anthony Pettis
6. George Sotiropoulos
7. Ben Henderson
8. Clay Guida
9. Melvin Guillard
10. Dennis Siver

Make it Happen: Miller vs. a quality opponent

Nothing against Kamal Shalorus, but Miller should be fighting title eliminators, not middle of the road opponents. If Guida defeats Pettis, Miller should face the winner of Edgar-Maynard III. If Pettis wins, I'd like to see Miller fight Ben Henderson.

Thank You, UFC, For: Sotiropoulos vs. Evan Dunham

Two rising stars, each derailed in his last fight, battle to rejoin the ranks of the elite.

Featherweight (136-145)

1. Jose Aldo
2. Mark Hominick
3. Kenny Florian
4. Diego Nunes
5. Manny Gamburyan
6. Chad Mendes
7. Dustin Poirier
8. Josh Grispi
9. Michihiro Omigawa
10. Erik Koch

Make it Happen: Aldo vs. winner of Nunes/Florian

Dana White indicated that the UFC would like to match Aldo with Mendes, which I think is premature. Mendes is perhaps the most one-dimensional athlete in the UFC — a wrestler whose other skills are in question — and he hasn't earned a title shot. I'd like to see Mendes face the winner of either Poirier vs. Rani Yahya or Gamburyan vs. Tyson Griffin.

Thank You, UFC, For: Nunes vs. Florian

This is a perfect choice for Florian's first bout at featherweight. The underrated Nunes poses a legitimate challenge, and this will be another indicator of how the WEC talent compares to established UFC contenders.

Bantamweight (126-135)

1. Dominick Cruz
2. Urijah Faber
3. Joseph Benavidez
4. Brian Bowles
5. Miguel Torres
6. Eddie Wineland
7. Scott Jorgensen
8. Brad Pickett
9. Demetrious Johnson
10. Takeya Mizugaki

Make it Happen: Pickett vs. Kid Yamamoto

Both fighters recently withdrew from scheduled bouts due to injury. When they're both healthy, match them up against one another.

Thank You, UFC, For: Torres vs. Johnson

Torres was originally slotted to face Pickett, who withdrew with an injury. Johnson is a terrific choice as his replacement.

UFC 130

MMA fans will have to subsist on Bellator for a while, because this event isn't until May 28th. The headliner is a lightweight title fight between Frank Edgar and Gray Maynard, a rematch of their New Years Day draw. I picked Maynard to win the first fight, but I'm going with Edgar this time. He gets better every time he steps into the cage, and I think his gameplan will evolve more than Maynard's.

In other action, I think Rampage Jackson ekes out a tough win over Matt Hamill, Roy Nelson exposes Frank Mir, Jorge Santiago submits Brian Stann, and Stefan Struve continues his climb up the heavyweight ranks. Nelson is a better striker and better grappler than Mir. The betting odds show Santiago and Stann nearly even, which I think is very tempting. Stann looks much better at 185 than he did at light heavyweight, but Santiago has won 11 of his last 12, facing tougher competition. Stann has power in his hands, so the knockout is always there, but unless Santiago gets Octagon jitters — this will be his first fight in the UFC since 2006 — he should roll through the All-American.

There are also two very important fights slotted to appear on the Spike TV undercard: Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story and Miguel Torres vs. Demetrious Johnson. Alves is arguably the most devastating striker in the welterweight division. In the last five years, he hasn't lost to anyone except Georges St-Pierre and Jon Fitch, with wins over Karo Parisyan, Matt Hughes, and Josh Koscheck. Story hasn't faced that caliber of competition, but he's won five in a row, and a victory over Alves would probably put him one or two more fights from a shot at the belt. Story is a good fighter, but I don't see how he gets past Alves.

Seeing the Torres/Johnson fight on the undercard is a bit of a shock — if he wins, Torres might get a chance to regain his title. Johnson is coming off wins over Damacio Page and Kid Yamamoto. It doesn't pay to underestimate Mighty Mouse, but he's half a foot shorter than Torres, and even with his great speed, I don't see how he can get inside to do damage. Wrestling isn't necessarily the answer, because Torres is an ace on the ground, with a dangerous offensive guard. I like Torres straight up, but probably not at the odds you're likely to see.

Very unofficial Sports Central parlay: Santiago + Alves + Torres. That's +300 or so if it hits.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 10:31 AM | Comments (2)

May 6, 2011

Foul Territory: So-So No-No, "Show" Time, "Boo"-zer

* It's "Show" Time — The Lakers fell into a 0-2 in the Western Conference semifinals, dropping two games to the Mavericks at the Staples Center. Game 3 in Dallas will be a must-win situation, but Laker zen master Phil Jackson should have the team ready. And that's good, because what this team needs most is an enlightenment of the senses, of urgency.

* Bull's on Charade — Chicago forward Carlos Boozer was booed by his home fans during the Bulls' 86-73 win over the Hawks in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Wednesday night. Former Bull Horace Grant said Boozer should be benched if he's not producing, and Bulls' fans were encouraged when head coach Tom Thibodeaux promised to have a "sit-down" with Boozer.

* So-So No-No — Minnesota's Francisco Liriano tossed 2011's first no-hitter on Tuesday, walking 6 and striking out only 2 in a 1-0 win over the White Sox. Liriano was 1-4 with a 9.13 ERA coming in, and was possibly in danger of losing his spot in the starting rotation. It will likely be remembered as one of the least impressive no-hitters in baseball history, which is fitting, because it was not a "hit."

* Everyone Knows it's Windy, or Thar She Blows — The USGA is reviewing its ball movement rule, a rule that on Sunday cost Webb Simpson a valuable stroke when the wind likely caused his ball to move on the green. Simpson was penalized a stroke, which possibly cost him his first PGA victory. Simpson tied Bubba Watson at the end of regulation at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, only to lose in a playoff. It just goes to show that in golf, if the wind blows just right, rules can be changed, or Tiger Woods can get an erection.

* Nit-Twit, or He's Losing the War on Ignorance, or Traitor Bait — Pittsburgh running back Rashard Mendenhall's controversial Tweets about Osama bin Laden's killing, in which Mendenhall questioned celebrating the terrorist leader's death, created a stir after his musings hit Twitter on Monday. Besides disappointing the Steelers organization, Mendenhall also likely blew any chance of ever playing for the Patriots. Later, Mendenhall clarified his statements, announcing that he is suffering from a newly-diagnosed affliction known as "delayed temporary concussion-like symptoms syndrome."

* Bat Masterson — Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Andre Ethier extended his hitting streak to 30 games, 26 shy of Joe DiMaggio's record of 56 consecutive games. If he were alive today, it's likely DiMaggio would wish Ethier good luck, but would tell him he'd never even get to first base with Marilyn Monroe.

* Foot Fault, or All He Wants to Do is Zoom-a-Zoom-Zoom-Zoom And A Boom-Boom — Police in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida have charged a man with stalking Serena Williams after he was nabbed trying to walk into her gated subdivision. Williams later set social networking back 10 years when she tweeted on Twitter, "Stop following me!"

* Hip Check, or Healthy Scratch — Wayne Gretzky's rookie card sold in an online auction on Sunday for $94,163, the highest price ever paid for a hockey card. The winning bidder was ecstatic, and said he planned to party like it was when "99" was 19.

* Rung Like a Horse — Dialed In is listed as a 4-1 favorite for Saturday's 137th running of the Kentucky Derby. Betting was heavy on Dialed In, which suited the colt just fine, because he'll "get laid" before the race.

* Chris-Cross, or Ex-Tape — Miami Heat star Chris Bosh is suing his ex-girlfriend for appearing on VH1's reality show "Basketball Wives," alleging it intrudes on his personal life. Bosh claims his ex, Allison Mathis, is using Bosh's name to become a TV star. Mathis, on the other hand, claims that likewise, Bosh is using LeBron James' name to become an NBA star.

* Tithed For His Pleasure, or Dropping a Deuce — Overall first pick Cam Newton said he wants to wear jersey No. 2 for the Carolina Panthers. However, that number is worn by last year's Panther pick at quarterback, Jimmie Clausen. If Newton is to wear No. 2, he'll likely have to emulate his college recruiters, and "pay for the privilege."

Posted by Jeffrey Boswell at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)

May 5, 2011

College Football Reader Questions

I'm already ready for college football to return, aren't you? All we can do until September is talk, talk, talk, but fortunately that's what so many of us do best.

You may wonder how many people actually write in to Slant Pattern with questions. Well, let me assure you that it is a non-zero number. And by "non-zero," I mean I probably received a sarcastic "question" in the comments one of these years for one of my columns.

In terms of earnest questions asked in the relatively recent past, well, I don't think Stewart Mandel, Olin Buchanan, or David Ubben will mind if I do a little appropriating.

Now that more of these huge TV mega-deals like the Pac-12's are coming in from different conferences based largely on the popularity of college football's extremely popular regular season, how much money do you think is really being left on the table by not going to a playoff?

— Taylor Cooke
Austin, Texas

Well, your wording suggests you're looking for your own opinion to be validated, which I cannot do here. The "huge TV mega-deals" that are coming in are possible because college football in any form is fantastic. It will always be the number one sport of this writer and countless fans across the country.

But that certainly does not mean there isn't even more money to be made by going to a playoff system. Indeed, a playoff system that incorporated the existing bowls into the structure would effectively maintain the tradition with the bowls while sparing us meaningless clunkers like Michigan/Mississippi State in last year's Gator Bowl. (That's not to say there won't be clunkers; just that they won't be meaningless/)

The most certain way to make money is by giving people what they want, and the groundswell for a playoff gets larger by the day. As to the fears it will cheapen the regular season, talk to me after a playoff is implemented and regular season ratings do go down. Which they won't.

Preseason rankings are kind of cool, but I never really put much thought into them seeing as how every year the top 25 inevitably shuffle around. Having said that in your opinion how big of a target does OU have on its back from the word go and do you think this OU team has the maturity to handle the pressure week in and week out?

— "Barry Switzer"
Oklahoma

Oklahoma is kind of an interesting case, because since their 5-loss season in 2009, they've almost stayed under the national radar despite winning the Big 12 last year. That will help them even if they do go into the year as the preseason No. 1, as it appears they will. Plus, this is a school that has already dealt with a lot of adversity, from the Rhett Bomar fiasco to the insanely unjust loss they took to Oregon a few years back, so I think that handling the pressure is something they stand to do better, not worse, than most schools.

My team is West Virginia, and I was wondering what you think we will do this season with our new offensive coordinator, Dana Holgorsen? Also, what do you think of TCU's chances in the Big East?

— Larry
Hamlin, West Virginia

Holgorsen is a proven commodity who has led three different schools to top-five offenses in the last five years, and I imagine there are head coaching jobs in his future. He should be a great fit for a storied offensive program like West Virginia. The transition will be most striking in his aerial attack; when I think of great West Virginia offenses, I think of great runners like Steve Slaton and Avon Cobourne, and speedy quarterbacks like Pat White. Holgorson is a throw, throw, throw guy, so there is a sea change in the midst in Morgantown.

Who knows how well TCU will do in the Big East? It such an odd fit. I guess they won't be traveling that much more than they were in the Mountain West, where they had to fly to such places as San Diego and Wyoming. The Big East is in a downswing. If TCU can continue playing at the level they have the last two years, then they should be an early favorite for multiple Big East titles, because the 2010 TCU team was better than any Big East team by some margin.

I'm sure the USC faithful are clogging your e-mail queue demanding that Ohio State get similar, if not greater, sanctions for the Jim Tressel mess. Which is why I ask: do the high-profile sanctions at other big-time programs influence the severity of NCAA discipline on similar programs? Does the NCAA have the stones to take down the Big Ten's flagship program?

— Tom Vasich
Costa Mesa, California

If by "take down" you mean give Ohio State the death penalty, no. That, I believe, they will never do again to a football program after we saw the decades-long effects it had on SMU.

As to whether the NCAA will compare the OSU situation to USC's I doubt it, because the violations are so different. The OSU players garnered less than $13,000 altogether for their misdeeds, while Reggie Bush became materially wealthy through his. On the other hand, while there were plenty of condemnations for the "lack of institutional control" at USC, I think it's safe to say that the NCAA brought the hammer down on USC mostly because of the crime. They will bring the hammer down on OSU because of the coverup.

So what happens when the Longhorns move Malcolm Brown (RB) to DE ... won't it be weird to have two players on defense named Malcolm Brown? How will they communicate?

— Andrew
Bryan, Texas

Truly, this is the most insurmountable challenge a college team has ever faced, and it has no solution. Every time someone says, "Hey Brown! Malcolm!" they will both look up, and the offenses will run roughshod on the 'Horns owing to that confusion.

In all seriousness, having two players with the same name is the least of Texas' problems in trying to get back to respectability in the Big 12.

Posted by Kevin Beane at 6:04 PM | Comments (1)

May 4, 2011

The Problems of One-and-Done

The deadline for underclassmen to pull out of the NBA draft is within the next week, on May 8. After its passage, coaches and fans will know, with the exception of some late-signing recruits and summer transfers, just exactly what their teams will look like next year. One year from now, however, the process may look drastically different.

For starters, the NBA lockout that is talked about as a near inevitability may involve negotiations about the one-and-done rule that has been the status quo for five years now. It's helpful to take this aside to say that the NCAA has absolutely nothing with this rule, nor will it have anything to do with a modification of the rule. It seems as though every single March, the NCAA tournament brings a boatload of columns and talking head sports punditry decrying how the NCAA's backwards rules force 18-year-olds to go to college unwillingly. The NCAA frankly has enough faults without being blamed for things it is not culpable.

The one-and-done rule is practically, but not literally, a synonym for one-year-in-college-and-done. Brandon Jennings played a year in Italy right out of high school before becoming First Team All-Rookie in 2010. His low shooting percentages and clashes with coaches overseas may have created more of a deterrent for high school stars to do the same. One case that does not get talked about, as an alternative to college for the one-and-done rule, is that of Latavious Williams.

Williams, a would-be Memphis signee, ended his high school career in 2009 but was a non-qualifier under NCAA rules and headed to the D-League instead. He was paid $19,000 for that pre-NBA draft year before being drafted by the Heat last June. His rights are now held by the Thunder, but he has not played a single NBA game to date.

Jennings and Williams would not have had to go through the charade of these alternate paths if the rule had stayed as it did before 2006, when high schoolers could go straight to the pros.

The argument for the NBA in implementing the age restricting was to protect high schoolers from chasing the money and being in a position where they were unready for the pro game. Yet, the effects of high schoolers leaving to the pros were almost certainly overstated both as it concerned the players' development and the college game.

From 1995, the year when Kevin Garnett chose to skip college and go to the pros until 2005, the last year high schoolers were able to enter the NBA draft, there were 39 prep-to-pro players. On average, just under four of the nation's would-be top freshmen skipped college for any given year. In that time period, there were amazing teams and players, even without some of the top high school players in the country on college teams. Furthermore, Basketball Prospectus showed in its preview of the 2010-11 college season that players going straight to the NBA from high school were not statistically discernible in their pro performance from those who have been one-and-done since 2006.

If the new NBA collective bargaining agreement (whenever it comes) changes the early entry rule, it will likely be changed to a two-and-done format. Some say that this would help the college game by keeping the best players in school for longer. Suppose, however, that a two-year rule was in place for the high school class of 2009 and John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins have the same 2010 seasons that they did for Kentucky. What is there to stop European clubs from offering hundreds of thousands of dollars/euros to play for one year before going to the NBA? Unlike Jennings, Wall and Cousins would have already been established at a higher level of play. In this scenario, the net effect on the college game is the exact same as one-and-done.

In the NFL, a rule is used where players have to be three years out of high school in order to be drafted. In just the past year, we've seen scandals related to underclassmen and money issues at North Carolina, Ohio State, and Auburn. If college basketball is burdened with more stringent NBA age requirements, there may well be more of the type unseemly behavior that college football has been used to seeing (not that college hoops is perfect by any means). There is also the issue of how limiting ages by a professional organization can be legal, despite some athletes being very qualified and willing to work. That, however, is another can of worms entirely.

The NCAA has not put its best foot forward in the early entry game, either. For this season, the deadline to pull your name out of the early entry pool has been moved up to early May from its traditional late May deadline. Next year, it will move up three more weeks to the middle of April to coincide with the April recruiting signing period. This deadline's move to only a matter of days after the Final Four means that there will essentially be no period of "testing the waters." The rationale is behind the move is easy to figure out, as coaches want early assurances of who is going to be on their team and who is not. However, it creates an artificially short period for players to evaluate their draft status and may cause more players to leave early who would otherwise test the waters before staying.

Despite the NBA and NCAA's missteps in making rules about early entry and the player evaluation period, several prominent freshmen have decided to return such as Harrison Barnes, Perry Jones, and Jared Sullinger. Their return should make college basketball fans optimistic about the 2011-12 season already. However, the sport would benefit even more if all three would have had the same choice to make after their senior year in high school.

Posted by Ross Lancaster at 3:23 PM | Comments (1)

NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 9

Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Carl Edwards — Edwards finished fifth at Richmond, posting his fifth top-five result of the year. He led 11 laps on the night, and extended his lead in the Sprint Cup point standings from 5 to 9 over Jimmie Johnson.

"My friends call me 'Cousin Carl.' If asked to describe their rapport with me, most of my fellow driver would say 'no relation.' Now, should I maintain the points lead, by year's end I hope to have all my rivals saying 'uncle.'

"It was a wild night in Richmond, one characterized by survival. The fans had to survive the boredom of the first half of the race, and the drivers had to survive the second half. Figuratively, all hell broke loose. Literally, judging by the language used, 'aw hell' broke loose. I think NASCAR introduced a new flag, a solid blue one, that signaled drivers to tone down their 'blue' language."

2. Kyle Busch — Busch led 235 of 400 laps at Richmond, and stretched his last tank of gas for 107 laps to hold off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin to win the Matthew And Daniel Hansen 400 Presented By Crown Royal, his third consecutive Richmond spring win. Busch is third in the point standings, 30 behind Carl Edwards.

"Hey, I love the Hansen brothers," Busch said. "Maybe they'll compose a tribute song to me and my sponsor called 'M&M Bop!' What's that? They're not the Hanson brothers? Very well. I, of all people, should know about impostors posing as brothers.

"I found it quite satisfying that amidst all the chaos around on Saturday night, I was one of the few drivers to remain calm. And one of the most profanely vocal of the foul-mouthed bunch was my brother Kurt. I've said it once and I'll say it again: 'On an A to Z scale, Kurt is truly 'R'-rated."

3. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson salvaged an eighth-place finish at Richmond, surviving an ill-performing car, as well as a run-in with Joey Logano's No. 20 Toyota, to register his sixth top-10 of the year. Johnson is second in the point standings, nine behind Carl Edwards.

"What can you expect when the Lowes and Home Depot cars get together?" Johnson said. "Repairs, of course. I hear that Logano's crew chief Greg Zippadelli called me a 'bleeping' moron in a radio shouting match with Chad Knaus. I'm not offended at all. In fact, let's give Zippy credit. Apparently, there's only one thing he can do like a champ, and that's curse."

4. Clint Bowyer — Bowyer, in the No. 33 BB&T Chevrolet, led 18 laps early and finished 6th at Richmond, Saturday's top Chevrolet finisher. He moved up two spots in the point standings to 7th, 51 out of first.

"Unlike some people," Bowyer said, "I have nothing but good things to say about my pit crew. In fact, the BB&T pit crew is so reliable, I call them 'Money in the Bank.' Donald Trump surely has to recognize his boundless influence creeping into NASCAR, because between Kurt Busch and Martin Truex, Jr., enough 'F-bombs' and 'you're fired's' were dropped to make the Donald proud. Busch and Truex sure were unhappy about mistakes made by their teams and pit crews. It seems they've declared a war on error."

5. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. — Earnhardt endured a discouraging night in the Matthew And Daniel Hansen 400, finishing two laps down in 19th and ending a three-race run of top-10 results. After the race, a frustrated Earnhardt uncharacteristically left the track without talking to reporters.

"Sometimes," Earnhardt said, "frustration gets the best of you. But I won't let it hold me down for long. Luckily, frustration is one thing I can beat.

"My winless streak now stands at 102 races. I recall fondly, as a little boy, dreaming of one day 'going over 100.' Well, dreams do come true."

6. Kevin Harvick — Harvick started 12th and finished 12th at Richmond, battling loose-handling conditions and falling a lap down to the leader late in the race. He dropped one spot in the Sprint Cup point standings to fifth, 35 behind Carl Edwards.

"Twelve and 12 is 24," Harvick said. "And 24 is a case, a case of Budweiser mediocrity."

Now, I've had my squabbles with Juan Montoya. Who hasn't? It will be interesting to see where the Montoya-Ryan Newman feud goes from here. I've got some advice for both of them. Newman should tell Montoya, 'If you want face me off the track, I'll make you face me on the track, when I turn you around with my front bumper.' To this, Montoya should simply reply, 'Oh yeah? You and what Army?'"

7. Matt Kenseth — Kenseth was collected in a pile-up triggered by three-wide racing on a lap 301 restart, a wreck that sent Kenseth into the wall. After multiple stops to repair right-side damage, Kenseth limped home with a 21st-place finish, two laps down to the leaders.

"I'm not sure who started that wreck," Kenseth said. "I would venture to say he was a 'bleeping moron.' That wreck left a lot of cars damaged. So kudos to the pit crews who worked feverishly to get those cars back on the track. They had to be the night's hardest workers, right behind networks censors, the 'FU Fighters,' who erased more of Kurt Busch than his cosmetic ear surgeon."

8. Kurt Busch — Busch endured a frustrating day at Richmond, finishing 22nd, three laps down, handicapped by a bad-handling No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge. To make matters worse, the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge was later caught up in the Ryan Newman-Juan Montoya dust-up. Busch dropped one spot to sixth in the point standings, 46 behind Carl Edwards.

"My chatter on the team radio is not suitable for virgin ears," Busch said. "You could say the audio, much like my ears, needed to be 'doctored' to be presentable in public. But I don't mind people saying I lost my cool. I see it as a compliment. If I lost my cool, then that means I was cool at some point. And it's not often I get called 'cool.'

9. Ryan Newman — Newman was running eighth when he was sent hurtling into the wall by Juan Montoya, in retaliation for Newman's spin of the No. 42 car earlier that damaged Montoya's back end. Newman struggled afterwards in his damaged No. 39 Stewart-Haas Chevrolet, and finished 20th.

"Revenge will be forthcoming," Newman said. "And it will be swift and speedy, if for no other reason than a need to justify my nickname of 'Rocketman.' I haven't won a 'pole' in some time; soon, I hope to beat a Colombian. If you noticed after the race, Montoya took off on a golf cart instead of facing me like a man. I suppose that fiery Latino temperament, in this case, makes him a 'spicy chicken.' Of course, while Montoya slinked away on the 'coward caddy,' I headed to the NASCAR hauler to complain. As they say, 'payback's a snitch.'"

10. (tie) Tony Stewart — Stewart finished ninth at Richmond, the last car on the lead lap, on a chaotic Saturday night in Virginia. Stewart improved two spots in the point standings to 10th, 60 out of first.

"I was appalled by the skill displayed at Richmond," Stewart said. "But enough about Fox's announcers. The driving was just as bad. After the half-way point, it seemed that driver sensibilities took a dramatic turn for the worse. Thus the race became a diminution derby.

"Among the legion of idiotic drivers, none stood out more than Juan Montoya, who blatantly wrecked Ryan Newman in retaliation for a clearly unintentional spin by Newman. Montoya is a wanted man. If driving the Target car isn't proof enough of that, then these makeshift, Old West-themed 'Juan-ted' posters are. Revenge will be a team effort. Montoya should be on the lookout for both Ryan and me. We suggest Juan call us 'Smoke and Rear-view Mirrors' for the time being."

10. (tie) Denny Hamlin — Hamlin was good all weekend, winning his own charity race and the Nationwide BUBBA burger 250 on Friday, but wasn't quite good enough on Saturday night. Hamlin finished second to teammate Kyle Busch, and Busch credited Hamlin with some advice that helped him master Richmond's D-shaped, .75-mile circuit.

"A year ago," Hamlin said, "if Kyle had told me he 'needed help,' I would have directed him to a reputable anger management counselor.

"It was mighty nice of Kyle to conveniently run out of gas on the last lap to allow me to win my own charity race. I think he knew I needed a win, and he was more than happy to oblige. I was the charity case in the charity race."

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

May 3, 2011

Boycotting the NFL Draft

I am a huge NFL fan. I watch about 100 live NFL games every year, plus innumerable hours watching older games and reading or writing about the league. From September through January, football occupies most of my waking life. Even during the offseason, I do things like compiling lists of the greatest kick returners ever or the best postseason quarterbacks. I love pro football, and I have covered the NFL draft every season since 2003.

I skipped this year's draft.

I didn't watch on television. I didn't read about it. I don't even know who was picked after the first round, though I'm sure I'll learn if the league ever admits that there should be games this year. Joe Posnanski wrote a post last week that largely echoes my feelings on this matter:

"The owners, under Goodell's leadership, decided to go for broke as they try to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. They did this at a time when the NFL is, by far, the most successful sports league in America, perhaps the world. They did this at a time when the league is a $9 billion entity, when television networks are sending flowers and chocolate, and when reports are coming out constantly about the horrible damage football does to its players. Goodell, in representing the owners, had the gall to cry poor, to demand a billion more right off the top for their billionaire owners, to say that the game could not possibly continue like this, to take money away from players who seem to be dying young and suffering terribly in later years, to actually demand expanding the season."

As Posnanski pointed out, during labor conflicts, most sports fans reflexively side against the players. But there is a clear bad guy this time, and it's not the players or the union. It's the league and the owners. If you're blaming the players for the possibility that there might not be NFL games in 2011, you don't understand what's going on. Or maybe you're racist, and feel more comfortable with billionaire white owners than millionaire black players. Maybe you're racist and you don't understand what's going on.

What's going on is that the owners want more money. The poorest NFL owner has more money than Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Ray Lewis combined. According to the 2009 team evaluations by Forbes, the least valuable franchise, the Oakland Raiders, is worth about $800 million. Most teams are worth over $1 billion, and all of the owners have substantial assets outside of football. These guys don't need more money. But they're fighting with players who risk their health every time they step onto the field. Players want improved post-career medical coverage, and they don't want longer seasons that would increase injuries and shorten their careers.

This isn't about greedy players trying to add another Lamborghini to their garages. It's about Darryl Stingley. It's about Mike Webster and Kevin Everett and Cedric Killings. It's about Ted Johnson and Mike Utley and Dave Duerson. It's about owners who would rather not have any football games than share their profits with the men who actually play them.

I love the NFL. The league recently suffered a significant legal defeat in its efforts to cancel the 2011 season, and if there are games this September, I'll watch them and write about them. But for now, the league is locking out the players with one hand and promoting its annual draft with the other. It's hypocrisy. It's not football, and it's not fun. Call me in September, Commissioner Goodell.

Posted by Brad Oremland at 6:35 PM | Comments (4)

"Kids Don't Belong in the F'n Ballpark!"

When the Atlanta Braves hired Roger McDowell as their pitching coach, I was surely not the only one wondering how soon before the vaunted Atlanta pitching staff — not known previously as a comic lot — would master the fine arts of hot feet, upside down uniforms, orange shag wigs, perhaps exploding baseballs, and other assorted rituals of practical joking. Once upon a time, McDowell had been the undisputed king of comedy, maybe close enough to being baseball's version of Keith Moon (though he's never been accused of playing the drums), as a New York Mets relief specialist with a murderous sinkerball and a prankish plot between every inning.

The problem now is that the dustup that has made McDowell's name a household word all over again last week — and got him a two-week unpaid vacation from baseball government — is about as funny as the proverbial screen door on the submarine. And the part that should have had the most discussion, and provoked the most outrage, is getting very little of it thus far.

It's bad enough that McDowell evoked unpleasant memories of John Rocker's socioeconomic observations of New York City by rejoining a trio of heckling San Francisco Giants fans, during pre-game batting practice, with, "Are you a homo couple or threesome?" Having less than complete comfort with homosexuality, as many people do, is one thing, but expressing it so confrontationally anywhere — never mind in New York, as Rocker did; or, in San Francisco, where homosexual tolerance is thought by some to be something close enough to an official city religion — is something else entirely.

But when an adjacent fan, Justin Quinn, attending the game with his wife and twin 9-year-old daughters, challenged McDowell's companion crude hip and bat gestures (yes, I have a pretty fair idea of what those gestures were intended to simulate or imitate; no, I'm not going to translate that idea here) with, "Hey, there are kids out here," McDowell reportedly shot back the words which may yet mean the end of his baseball life, in Atlanta, anyway: "Kids don't belong at the f'n ballpark!"

Someone must have forgotten to give that memo to an infielder for the team with whom McDowell once starred. Or McDowell wasn't where he could see Mets third baseman David Wright endearing himself to Braves fans, and perhaps every baseball-loving kid in these United States (not to mention no few of their parents, perhaps), when he tossed an errant between-innings ball into the box seat, a young fan tossed it back to him, and Wright engaged the fan and his companions in a friendly game of catch before the inning got back underway.

It was easy enough to understand why video of Wright's friendly little game of fan catch went all but viral for a day or so after that game. Every child who grew up playing catch with his or her father, who dreamed of tossing even one ball back and forth with a baseball favorite, got to see a few fortunate kids in Turner Field doing just that with a player — even if he was wearing enemy fatigues (c'mon, fellow Met fans, didn't you grow up going to Shea Stadium hoping to have a little stands-to-sidelines catch just once with, say, Willie Mays, or Henry Aaron, or Sandy Koufax, or Ron Santo, or Mike Schmidt?) — whose reputation remains as one of the best people playing the game.

"Kids don't belong in the f'n ballpark!"

Any man who would say and mean that probably doesn't belong in the ballpark, f'n or otherwise. That's a terrible thing to have to say about a man whose playing days featured offering such entertainments (to kids in the f'n ballpark and otherwise) as walking onto the field with his uniform on upside down. To say nothing of the man who instigated what remains, arguably, the all-time in-game hotfoot.

I don't think anyone could improve on Jeff Pearlman's retrospective (in The Bad Guys Won). Not even me, and I watched the game during which it happened. The Mets were playing the Cincinnati Reds in Riverfront Stadium in May 1986. The game was scoreless after one and a half, with the Reds taking a feeble turn in the bottom of the second and Mets first base coach Bill Robinson relaxing at the end of the bench waiting to return to his post on the first base coaching line:

* * *

With the blessing of his teammates (but without [manager] Davey Johnson's knowledge), McDowell climbed under the bench and on elbows and knees crawled the twenty feet to Robinson's dangling cleats. In one fist, McDowell held a single Marlboro cigarette and a roll of gaffer's tape. In the other, he had a fully loaded book of matches. Exercising the dexterity of Spider-Man, McDowell, lying at Robinson's feet, removed the staple from the matchbook, wrapped the book around the cigarette, and taped the two together. Then softly and gently he stuck the device on Robinson's left cleat. As soon as the inning ended, McDowell lit the cigarette and crawled back to the other end of the dugout.

"There are a lot of complications," McDowell says. "You have to time the cigarette, and you also have to make sure there's enough air between the match and the cigarette so it doesn't die out. It's pretty intense."

Usually, when a hotfoot ignites, it takes anywhere from 20 to 30 seconds, and the result is a burning sensation and a small, manageable flame. This was no ordinary hotfoot. Robinson left the bench, took his post next to first base, watched the pitcher warm up, traded a few words with a fan, and clapped and yelled encouragement to Darryl Strawberry. As Gary Carter, the next hitter, stepped into the box, Red manager Pete Rose noticed the smoke oozing from Robinson's foot.

Unable to contain his laughter, he called his entire bench to join him at the end of the dugout. On the Mets' side, McDowell told Bill Webb, the director of WWOR's televised broadcast, to keep a camera on first base. The count was one ball, one strike on Carter. Suddenly, whooooooosh! An inferno exploded and flames shot up Robinson's leg as if he were the guest of honor at a Hawaiian pig roast. Robinson began jumping up and down, screaming in pain. For McDowell, it was perfection.

"It was like NASA just launched something," he says. "The greatest hotfoot ever. And Bill, to his credit, never got mad. He just said, 'You won't get me anymore. I'm done with that.' To me that was like when you're a kid and someone says, 'Don't call me that!' What are you supposed to do?"

The answer was obvious. McDowell, along with partner and technical adviser Howard Johnson, lit Robinson's shoe no fewer than 15 more times [in 1986], including seven or eight in August and September alone. At season's end Jay Horwitz, the Mets' PR whiz, incorporated a section on hotfoots into the team's highlight video, including McDowell and Hojo demonstrating their step-by-step approach.

Before a game against the Cardinals on August 17, Robinson was sleeping on a couch in the Shea Stadium clubhouse when he felt yet another burning sensation. This time Johnson and McDowell were especially ambitious — both of Robinson's shoes were ablaze. "I grabbed the shoes to get 'em off me," says Robinson, "and the plastic from the laces burned the shit out of my hand." Robinson took his ashen right shoe and flung it at McDowell's head, missing by a couple of inches.

* * *

Before commissioner Bud Selig's office handed him that unpaid two-week vacation, McDowell probably hoped a shoe flung at his head would be the worst punishment he'd face. The Braves put him on "administrative leave" (the politically correct term for "suspended") about a day before Slig's office pronounced sentence.

But we should have hoped that, if McDowell was to be punished, it should have been less for merely being crude and lewd toward actual or alleged homosexual fans than for being foolish enough to say something McDowell the prankish pitcher, whose antics entertained a generation or two worth of kids (in and away from the f'n ballpark!), would never have said even at gun- or heckling/outraged fan-point.

Once upon a time, McDowell was thought to be a big kid playing a kid's game. Today McDowell might be thought of as a kid who forgot to finish growing up before his memory lapse, and his concurrent opinion that kids don't belong in the f'n ballpark, came this close to costing him his job.

Posted by Jeff Kallman at 3:33 PM | Comments (3)

May 2, 2011

Chronicling the NFL Draft: A 10-Yr. History

The NFL draft began in 1936. Having founded the Eagles in 1933 and dealing with stark financial struggles, Bert Bell had become convinced that the health of the league depended on competition. Similar to the idea that what is good for General Motors is good for the country, Bell convinced his fellow NFL owners that what is good for each individual team is good for the NFL as a whole. With this, he set about convincing his fellow owners that the NFL should implement a draft of incoming collegiate players where the worst teams get the highest picks.

In 1940, Art Rooney sold his share of the Pittsburgh Steelers and became a co-owner of the Philadelphia Eagles with Bell. In 1941, it was announced that Bell and Rooney were moving the Eagles to Pittsburgh and renaming the franchise the Steelers while the then-Pittsburgh Steelers would move to Philadelphia and rename their franchise the Eagles.

Bell became commissioner in 1946 and oversaw the growth of the NFL into a financial monster that would one day surpass all other sports in the United States as the king of professional sports.

Most likely, Bell's greatest accomplishment was the draft. It is widely believed in NFL front offices that the best way to build a championship team is through the draft. Further, many believe that what keeps people so interested in the NFL is that almost every year a perennial cellar-dweller rises up and becomes a perennial power.

With this framework, and the draft buzz all around, I have set out to chronicle a decade of draft history. I have laid out who the first overall pick was, who after the first overall pick in the first round emerged as a successful NFL player in the order they were chosen (regardless of whether the success was with their original team, and in truth, the way I decided it was whether I believe they have done more good than harm to the teams they've been on in the NFL during their career), the draft's last good pick, the biggest steal, the worst pick, and the most interesting story coming out of the draft.

As it is commonly said that you cannot judge the draft until after three years have gone by, I begin at 2008 and work back to 1998. Enjoy.

1998

First pick — Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts

First round success (total = 11) — Charles Woodson, Grant Winstrom, Kyle Turley, Greg Ellis, Fred Taylor, Tra Thomas, Keith Brooking, Takeo Spikes, Terry Fair, Randy Moss, Alan Faneca

Last really good pick — Matt Hasselbeck, 187th overall, Green Bay Packers

Biggest steal — Hines Ward, 92nd overall, Pittsburgh Steelers

Worst pick — Ryan Leaf, 2nd overall, San Diego Chargers

Interesting story — The Arizona Cardinals drafted Pat Tillman 226th overall. In May 2002, Tillman turned down a contract offer of $3.6 million over three years from the Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army. He died serving his country.

1999

First pick — Tim Couch, Cleveland Browns

First round success (total 16) — Donovan McNabb, Edgerrin James, Ricky Williams, Torry Holt, Champ Bailey, David Boston, Chris Claiborne, Chris McAlister, Daunte Culpepper, John Tait, Jevon Kearse, Damien Woody, Luke Petitgout, Antoine Winfield, Patrick Kerney, Al Wilson

Last really good pick — Donald Driver, 213th overall, Green Bay Packers

Biggest steal — Donald Driver, 213th overall, Green Bay Packers

Worst pick — Tim Couch, 1st overall, Cleveland Browns

Interesting story — Leading up to the draft, the debate centered on who was the draft's best quarterback: Tim Couch or Akili Smith. The Eagles passed on Smith with the 2nd overall pick to take Donovan McNabb, they were rewarded with a throng of boos, but also four straight NFC Championship Game appearances. Couch, McNabb, and Smith were taken 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively, and only McNabb had any hint of a successful career.

2000

First pick — Courtney Brown, Cleveland Browns

First round success (total 17) — LaVar Arrington, Chris Samuels, Jamal Lewis, Corey Simon, Thomas Jones, Plaxico Burress, Brian Urlacher, Shaun Ellis, John Abraham, Bubba Franks, Deltha O'Neal, Julian Peterson, Sebastian Janikowski, Chad Pennington, Shaun Alexander, Anthony Becht, Keith Bulluck

Last really good pick — Mark Tauscher, 224th overall, Green Bay Packers

Biggest steal — Tom Brady, 199th overall, New England Patriots

Worst pick — Courtney Brown, 1st overall, Cleveland Browns

Interesting story — The Washington Redskins had the 2nd and 3rd picks in the Draft (from New Orleans and San Francisco, respectively) and drafted two future Pro Bowlers. This was the positive to Dan Snyder's takeover. The negative was that in the same year they grossly overpaid free agents Mark Carrier, Jeff George, Adrien Murrell, Deion Sanders, and Bruce Smith to start a trend which many Washington fans hope will finally end with Albert Haynesworth.

2001

First pick — Michael Vick, Atlanta Falcons

First round success (total 18) — Leonard Davis, Justin Smith, LaDainian Tomlinson, Richard Seymour, Andre Carter, Koren Robinson, Dan Morgan, Marcus Stroud, Santana Moss, Steve Hutchinson, Casey Hampton, Adam Archuleta, Nate Clements, Will Allen, Deuce McAllister, Michael Bennett, Reggie Wayne, Todd Heap

Last really good pick — T.J. Houshmandzadeh, 204th overall, Cincinnati Bengals

Biggest steal — Drew Brees, 32nd overall, San Diego Chargers

Worst pick — Gerard Warren, 3rd overall, Cleveland Browns

Interesting story — The 2001 draft carried promise of two electric players in Mike Vick and LaDainian Tomlinson (although at the time there were many Tomlinson doubters). With a rare trade of the 1st overall pick, the Atlanta Falcons moved up to grab Vick, something that would certainly shape the next few years for their franchise (for better or worse). Meanwhile, in Tomlinson the San Diego Chargers had one of the most electrifying running backs to watch, whether he was running, catching, or even throwing the ball.

2002

First pick David Carr, Houston Texans

First round success (total 13) — Julius Peppers, Quentin Jammer, Bryant McKinnie, Roy Williams, John Henderson, Levi Jones, Dwight Freeney, Jeremy Shockey, Albert Haynesworth, Javon Walker, Ed Reed, Charles Grant, Lito Sheppard

Last really good pick — Brett Keisel, 242nd overall, Pittsburgh Steelers

Biggest steal — Brian Westbrook, 91st overall, Philadelphia Eagles

Worst pick — David Carr, Houston Texans

Interesting story — The Carolina Panthers were 1-15 the year before, but they didn't get the first pick because of the expansion Houston Texans. They wouldn't later be heard to complain when the Texans walked away with David Carr (a bust) and the Panthers nabbed Julius Peppers (a completely game-changing pass-rusher).

2003

First pick — Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals

First round success (total 13) — Andre Johnson, Terence Newman, Byron Leftwich, Jordan Gross, Kevin Williams, Terrell Suggs, Marcus Trufant, Troy Polamalu, Jeff Faine, Willis McGahee, Dallas Clark, Larry Johnson, Nnamdi Asomugha

Last really good pick — Yeremiah Bell, 213th overall, Miami Dolphins

Biggest steal — Asante Samuel, 120th overall, New England Patriots

Worst pick — Charles Rogers, 2nd overall, Detroit Lions

Interesting story — The 2003 draft kicked off the run of underachieving wide receiver Detroit Lions picks starting with Charles Rogers being picked ahead of Andre Johnson. They would go on to also make high first round choices out of the underachieving Roy Williams and Mike Williams. Finally, they would find the wide receiver to make opposing defenses cringe when they selected Calvin Johnson.

2004

First pick — Eli Manning, San Diego Chargers

First round success (total 19) — Larry Fitzgerald, Philip Rivers, Sean Taylor, Kellen Winslow, DeAngelo Hall, Ben Roethlisberger, Jonathan Vilma, Lee Evans, Tommie Harris, Shawn Andrews, Michael Clayton, DJ Williams, Will Smith, Vince Wilfork, Steven Jackson, Chris Gamble, Michael Jenkins, Ben Watson, Jason Babin

Last really good pick — Patrick Crayton, 216th overall, Dallas Cowboys

Biggest steal — Michael Turner, 154th overall, San Diego Chargers

Worst pick — Reggie Williams, 9th overall, Jacksonville Jaguars

Interesting story — Gearing up for the draft, every NFL team outside of Indianapolis saw this has their potential chance to get their own version of Peyton Manning. As a legacy, Eli Manning was a surefire 1st overall pick. The first team selecting was the San Diego Chargers, who took Eli despite Eli and Archie Manning proclaiming that Eli would never play in San Diego. The Chargers managed to work out a trade with the Giants and still got a pretty decent quarterback out of the situation: Philip Rivers. The Chargers later used the picks they got in that trade to get Shawn Merriman and Nate Keading, not a bad haul.

2005

First pick — Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers

First round success (total 17) — Ronnie Brown, Braylon Edwards, Cedric Benson, Cadillac Williams, Antrel Rolle, Carlos Rogers, Mike Williams, DeMarcus Ware, Shawne Merriman, Jammal Brown, Derrick Johnson, Alex Barron, Mark Clayton, Aaron Rodgers, Roddy White, Heath Miller, Logan Mankins

Last really good pick — Matt Cassel, 230th overall, New England Patriots

Biggest steal — Aaron Rodgers, 24th overall, Green Bay Packers (I hate to pick a first-rounder, but he did just win Super Bowl MVP)

Worst pick — Alex Smith, 1st overall, San Francisco 49ers

Interesting story — The 2005 draft was supposed to be one for the history books regarding running backs. It included elite prospects Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams from Auburn, and Cedric Benson from Texas. Out of those, Brown and Williams have been plagued with injuries and Benson has been a recurring underachiever. The following were the good choices at running back from the 2005 draft: Frank Gore, Marion Barber, Brandon Jacobs, Darren Sproles.

2006

First pick — Mario Williams, Houston Texans

First round success (total 20) — Reggie Bush, Vince Young, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, A.J. Hawk, Vernon Davis, Ernie Sims, Jay Cutler, Haloti Ngata, Tye Hill, Jason Allen, Chad Greenway, Antonio Cromartie, Tamba Hali, Davin Joseph, Santonio Holmes, DeAngelo Williams, Marcedes Lewis, Nick Mangold, Joseph Addai, Mathias Kiwanuka

Last really good pick — Marques Colston, 252nd overall, New Orleans Saints

Biggest steal — Marques Colston, 252nd overall, New Orleans Saints

Worst pick — Matt Leinart, 10th overall, Arizona Cardinals

Interesting story — The foregone conclusion heading into the 2006 NFL draft was that Reggie Bush would be the first overall pick. But during that time and doing their due diligence, the Houston Texans fell in love with pass rusher Mario Williams. Deciding that Williams was a once-in-a-lifetime pass rusher they couldn't pass up (badoom ching), they shocked the world and made Super Mario number one. During the first year, this looked like an awful decision, but slowly Super Mario's star has been rising as Bush's has dimmed.

2007

First pick — JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders

First round success (total 20) — Calvin Johnson, Joe Thomas, Gaines Adams, Levi Brown, LaRon Landry, Adrian Peterson, Amobi Okoye, Patrick Willis, Marshawn Lynch, Darrelle Revis, Lawrence Timmons, Jarvis Moss, Michael Griffin, Aaron Ross, Dwayne Bowe, Brandon Meriweather, Jon Beason, Robert Meachem, Greg Olson, Anthony Gonzalez

Last really good pick — Ahmad Bradshaw 250th overall, New York Giants

Biggest steal — Ahmad Bradshaw, 250th overall, New York Giants

Worst pick — JaMarcus Russell, 1st overall, Oakland Raiders

Interesting story — Doing his best Aaron Rodgers impression, Brady Quinn fell from first overall in early mock drafts to being chosen 22nd overall at the real thing. The world watched as he sat anxiously hoping to finally be selected. Having already used the third overall pick on stud left tackle Joe Thomas, the Browns traded with the Cowboys to get back into the first round, selecting Quinn. This was supposed to be the start of a golden age for the Browns. Thomas worked out, Quinn not so much.

2008

First pick — Jake Long, 1st overall, Miami Dolphins

First round success (total 16) — Chris Long, Matt Ryan, Darren McFadden, Glenn Dorsey, Jerod Mayo, Leodis McKelvin, Ryan Clady, Jonathan Stewart, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Joe Flacco, Aqib Talib, Felix Jones, Rashard Mendenhall, Chris Johnson, Mike Jenkins, Dustin Keller

Last really good pick — Peyton Hillis, 227th overall, Denver Broncos

Biggest steal — Steve Johnson, 224th overall, Buffalo Bills (I chose him over Hillis because I think that a nimble receiver like Johnson is going to last longer in the NFL than Hillis will, therefore providing a much bigger impact over the course of his career)

Worst pick — Vernon Gholston, 6th overall, New York Jets

Interesting story — I don't think it's a coincidence that the Oakland Raiders took Darren McFadden one year after Calvin Johnson and Adrian Peterson were drafted. Both players were revered as physical freaks of nature at offensive skill positions. Both players were enormously successful during their rookie campaigns.

With McFadden coming out and all the draft experts proclaiming him the next physical freak at an offensive skill position, the Raiders almost had no choice but to jump on him. Especially since they had just drafted the quarterback physical freak the year before, JaMarcus Russell. In 2009, they would make it three years in a row by drafting Maryland's Darius Heyward-Bey 7th overall over Michael Crabtree based mostly on Heyward-Bey's 4.3 40 time (he ran a 4.23 40 time in 2006, setting a Maryland school record).

Posted by Charles Coughlin at 4:00 PM | Comments (5)

Unstoppable Grizzlies From Graceland

The city of Memphis hasn't been this excited since they had Elvis.

Nothing about the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies of 2011 indicated there was anything other than the usual mediocrity to this team going into the postseason. The Grizzlies have been a perennial joke for 16 years, whether in Vancouver in the '90s or its current location as of 2001. In their three best seasons, they went a combined 0-12 in postseason play. In fact, going into this year, that was their franchise record in the playoffs: 0-12.

On paper, they are a team without a superstar and appear to be far from convincing. Their leader is troubled Zach Randolph, who has never been known as one to make any of his teams better and is far from being considered a superstar. The man has had an awful track record with reaching postseason, despite being on several teams with Portland and New York that were more physically talented than his current one.

Beyond that, the Grizz have a collection of solid role players, such as Marc Gasol at center (the less-talented brother of Pau), defensive specialist Shane Battier acquired via a midseason trade, and O.J. Mayo, who has had to adjust to coming off the bench this season. The rest of the team are a collection of castoffs and unprovens.

Meanwhile, the Spurs were coming off one of their all-time best seasons, a 61-21 campaign that left them the No. 1 seed in the West. While the big three of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker have been seen as aging, it's not always a noticeable drop-off in skill on the court. The Spurs reloaded this year with Richard Jefferson and George Hill. In short, the veteran Spurs should have had this first round matchup under complete control.

Yet Memphis' only pro sports franchise dominated most of Game 1 in San Antonio, and when the Spurs finally did pull ahead in the final minute, Battier answered with a dagger three with 23.9 remaining that turned out to be the game-winner. While the Spurs took Game 2, they did not count on the madhouse they entered for Games 3 and 4 in Memphis.

It appears the FedEx Forum in Memphis has turned into the newest playoff home court madhouse. This is a phenomenon mostly enjoyed by upstart teams that are enjoying their first playoff success in many years, if ever: see Oklahoma City in 2010, Atlanta in 2008, Golden State in 2007, and Sacramento in the late-'90s to early-2000s. Fans jumped out of their seats on every big hoop and waved white towels non-stop. The Spurs were off their game and the Grizz were spurred on.

Memphis controlled Game 3 until late in the fourth, when Randolph drained a surprise three in the final minute of a tense 2-point contest. San Antonio's chance for a final shot at the buzzer was ruined when veteran Manu Ginobili made a rookie mistake, losing track of the game clock and not getting off a final shot, or calling a timeout when one was available; essentially an inverted Chris Webber. The Grizzlies won by 3 and hammered home the point in Game 4, crushing the top-seeded Spurs by 18 to take a stunning 3-1 series edge.

As most of you know, Game 5 turned into one of the all-time great NBA contests, with fantastic shots from Manu Ginobili and Gary Neal, the latter a wild buzzer-beater three to force OT, all in the final 2.2 seconds. Tony Parker caught fire from mid-range in the overtime and forced the series back to Memphis. This was the kind of game that reinforced the notion that veteran teams with multiple titles tend to make magic happen with their backs against the wall. Perhaps one road win in Memphis and a close-out at home wasn't entirely out of the question.

The Grizz were looking at it from another angle. They simply knew they were playing better in the series. While the Spurs did challenge Memphis late in Game 6, Zach Randolph took over the game's final minutes with dagger shots throughout the fourth quarter, inciting the Memphis crowd, and silencing his critics with 31 points and 11 rebounds, en route to a 99-91 series-clinching victory.

This is the fourth time in NBA history an eight-seed has beaten a one-seed in the first round, and second time in the last five years. Both of these instances have come from the West. The reason being that for over a decade now, the West has been so tightly packed with talented teams that their eight-seed is never a sub-.500 team. Generally, it is more than a few games over .500, while this is never the case in the East. This makes the 1-8 matchup a perennially interesting one while the other No. 8 is generally cannon fodder for the best of the East. In 2007, the Warriors pulled off the feat, as well, against the Dallas Mavericks, who may have still been reeling from their Finals defeat from the previous year.

This leads us to an unlikely second round matchup between the quaint sports cities of Memphis and Oklahoma City. Ten years ago, that last sentence would have drawn many a puzzled arch of the eyebrows. In 2011, it has become reality. While OKC has been seen as the team on the rise thanks to the unstoppable prowess of Kevin Durant and floor general Russell Westbrook, not to mention the shot-blocking and power of Serge Ibaka, Memphis silenced their rabid crowd in Game 1 convincingly, winning 114-101.

If the Grizzlies can keep up this pace against the Thunder, they may well be staring at an improbable Western Conference Final matchup against the two-time defending champion Lakers in a true David/Goliath series with the Grizz riding a tidal wave of momentum. While many undoubtedly have their eyes on the glamorous, more high-profile battle going on now between the Heat and Celtics or even the Lakers and Mavericks, don't overlook the little team from Memphis, Tennessee. They might just be taking their fans on the NBA's wildest ride this side of the '99 Knicks. And you know what that means.

Yes, I'm saying it. The Memphis Grizzlies could be a Finals team.

Posted by Bill Hazell at 2:59 PM | Comments (0)

May 1, 2011

Where Have Our Values Gone?

Anyone who follows national politics knows of the ongoing fiscal debate, and the political mess that has come with it: Republicans want tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, shifting all the burdens to the less fortunate, while Democrats have failed to form a cohesive resolution within their own party.

More often than not, it has seemed that this debate has strayed from todays economic realities, and fallen into a chasm of special interests. The words of the economists and the cries for help from the working class all seem to ring silently. Clearly, something is wrong.

Drive a few miles from Capitol Hill to Nationals Park, and the debate keeps on going. Major League Baseball has recently taken over the operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers, as it became evident that owner Frank McCourt was taking funds from the team for his own interests. The New York Mets, too, find themselves in a legal battle.

Take a short plane ride north to Baltimore to see a Ravens game, and yet another battle continues. The National Football League remains in a lockdown, as players and owners have failed to come to an agreement.

There used to be a time when the mess of the federal government did not leak into the American psyche that innocently operated within the confinement of football and baseball fields, hockey rinks, and basketball courts.

Unfortunately, we have lost that privilege that Americans had always held so close. We can't help but ask ourselves: what went wrong?

Recall what your mother would say to you in fifth grade when you made fun of your friend in the schoolyard: "Would you have liked that if it were done to you?" That Golden Rule — as many call it — that fundamental principle that lies at the core of our decency, does not thrive within any parameters. It was true on the playground at recess, it was true when President Barack Obama echoed it in his book, The Audacity of Hope, and it remains true today, on any scale.

Would Paul Ryan urge for the privatization of Medicare if he was the one who would have to deny medical insurance to send his kid to college? Would George Bush have gone to war if it was his own son or daughter would be sent abroad? And would Frank McCourt or the National Football League mess with their industries if they were the kid at home wondering why Eli Manning couldn't take the field?

This greed and selfishness — this complete lack of regard for those without a voice — has been accepted in politics. It has been tolerated for years — despite some cynicism — because people generally understand the difficulty of solving such large issues, no matter how much bickering takes place.

Yet, as this new notion of personal gain enters the world of sports, we will soon discover a much different response. These problems are not hard to fix, and no one should stand for a lack of sports because a group of multi-millionaires can't decide on a number of millions.

It's time for this to stop. It was enough when Alex Rodriguez signed a contract for nearly $300 million to swing a bat. When baseball and football become debatable issues in federal courts, you know something has gone wrong.

Posted by Jess Coleman at 7:14 PM | Comments (0)