An email exchange between Jeffrick and myself...
Jeff:
Well? The Wolves took the guy we wanted. I did NOT want them taking Yi or Hawes under any circumstances. No moves, but love them taking Brewer.
Thought the Celtics got a great deal for Ray Allen. How in the heck do they get him without giving up Al Jefferson, Gerald Green or the expiring deals of Ratliff or Telfair? The new Sonics GM has some explaining to do there. This does seem to still leave the door open for a KG-to-Boston deal tho. All the pieces are still in place. KG, Pierce and Ray Allen? Wow. Something to keep an eye on.
Interesting deal too with Portland and the Knicks. Sounds like Portland will buy out Francis' deal and he'll be a free agent right away. Simply clearing cap space. Probably not a bad idea considering they drafted 47 players tonight, but still, I thought they'd get more for Randolph. David Stern has to be happy tho: The Knicks and Celtics just got a helluva lot better tonight.
Jeremy in reply:
I LOVE the Brewer pick, and depending on what happens with KG, this could be a REALLY fun team to watch in two years. Foye, McCants, Brewer, Smith and…? Wow, that’s a pretty nice young nucleus. Too bad Whitman has to coach them. When I was writing about KG the other day I almost wanted to make the same Adrian Peterson type statement in regards to Brewer, “If Corey Brewer is available when the Wolves pick at #7 and they don’t take him, it will be the biggest mistake of the draft.” Kind of wish I had now.
Yeah, interesting deal with the Sonics. I don’t think it’s a horrible deal, but it feels like the kind of deal McHale would make. A really young guy (Green) and a nothing player who is probably on the downswing (Wally). I mean, where’s the game-plan in that deal? But the Celts are looking better for a run in the short term, and you’ve got to think that getting a guy like Allen was maybe a bargaining chip for getting KG in green? Either way, it probably makes Peirce happy.
And the Blazers, you’re right, but my goodness that could be another team that’s about two years away from being unreal. I’m predicting a Wolves/Blazers Western Conference Finals in 2009.
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One more thought: Upon further review I really like the Chris Richard pick in the second round. This guy would have been an impact starter on almost any other team in college basketball. He likes to knock people around in the paint, he has the ability to score, and he seems to be the kind of guy that makes people think twice about going to the basket. Several people thought he'd go undrafted, but I don't mind the pick for the Wolves, since they have always needed a guy like him.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Jeremy: Regarding the KG trade rumors
I've been so torn over the last week or so about the Kevin Garnett trade rumors, that I've almost turned to apathy. My special lady friend and I had a friend over for dinner last night, and he brought the subject up. I found myself saying that I'm still not convinced that KG is going to be traded, that the whole thing just doesn't seem right, and that the fact that Glen Taylor is in China on his honeymoon adds to my feeling.
(Sidenote: If you weren't worried about Glen Taylor as an owner before, please take very serious note of the fact that the man scheduled his honeymoon during the NBA draft. To be fair, my honeymoon was during the NBA draft as well. But last time I checked I don't own an NBA franchise.)
But then the truth came out.
"Then again, that could just be denial."
I can't tell if it's denial or apathy anymore. It's clear that a trade is going to happen, it's clear that McHale is shopping KG, and it's probably also clear that McHale is going to screw this up. It's pretty much a forgone conclusion, right?
And maybe that's why I'm experiencing the apathy. Maybe I'm preparing myself for the worst.
The bottom line is that KG is going to be gone. My favorite athlete of all time is going to be wearing the uniform of a different team.
The worst part of all of the rumors for me have been the Lakers rumors. I've already come to grips with the fact that I'm going to become at least a casual fan of whatever team KG ends up playing for. But I'm not sure I could bring myself to cheer for the Lakers, even with KG. Cheering for the Lakers would be like cheering for the Yankees or Notre Dame: it's too damn easy, and I would be forced to hate myself.
But this whole thing isn't KG's fault. He's never asked to be traded, he's always been the consummate team guy, and he's always played his ass off no matter who was surrounding him, so you can't blame the Wolves situation on him. The Wolves are a complete mess and (unless you want to blame KG for taking the richest contract in NBA history, which is ludicrous) it's Kevin McHale and Glen Taylor's fault.
I'm not sure I could stomach KG in Boston (and apparently neither can he), since I'd have to read The Sports Guy's giddy accounts of a Garnett/Pierce tandem for the next 5 years.
The best case scenario, for me, would be the Phoenix Suns. I know, I know, the rich get richer. But I've been a casual Suns fan since my grandparents spent winters in Arizona and my dad lived in Phoenix, and if you don't enjoy watching that team play, well, you just aren't a basketball fan.
(Sidenote: If you weren't worried about Glen Taylor as an owner before, please take very serious note of the fact that the man scheduled his honeymoon during the NBA draft. To be fair, my honeymoon was during the NBA draft as well. But last time I checked I don't own an NBA franchise.)
But then the truth came out.
"Then again, that could just be denial."
I can't tell if it's denial or apathy anymore. It's clear that a trade is going to happen, it's clear that McHale is shopping KG, and it's probably also clear that McHale is going to screw this up. It's pretty much a forgone conclusion, right?
And maybe that's why I'm experiencing the apathy. Maybe I'm preparing myself for the worst.
The bottom line is that KG is going to be gone. My favorite athlete of all time is going to be wearing the uniform of a different team.
The worst part of all of the rumors for me have been the Lakers rumors. I've already come to grips with the fact that I'm going to become at least a casual fan of whatever team KG ends up playing for. But I'm not sure I could bring myself to cheer for the Lakers, even with KG. Cheering for the Lakers would be like cheering for the Yankees or Notre Dame: it's too damn easy, and I would be forced to hate myself.
But this whole thing isn't KG's fault. He's never asked to be traded, he's always been the consummate team guy, and he's always played his ass off no matter who was surrounding him, so you can't blame the Wolves situation on him. The Wolves are a complete mess and (unless you want to blame KG for taking the richest contract in NBA history, which is ludicrous) it's Kevin McHale and Glen Taylor's fault.
I'm not sure I could stomach KG in Boston (and apparently neither can he), since I'd have to read The Sports Guy's giddy accounts of a Garnett/Pierce tandem for the next 5 years.
The best case scenario, for me, would be the Phoenix Suns. I know, I know, the rich get richer. But I've been a casual Suns fan since my grandparents spent winters in Arizona and my dad lived in Phoenix, and if you don't enjoy watching that team play, well, you just aren't a basketball fan.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Jeff: Garnett Trade Rumors a Reality
Have you heard the latest trade rumor involving Kevin Garnett? Garnett, Paul Bunyan and 1,000 of the state's 10,000 lakes to Chicago for Lake Michigan, the Sears Tower, a washed-up Scottie Pippen and Bill Wennington's beard. Or wait was it to New York for the Statue of Liberty, Stephon Marbury, and half of Staten Island (apparently Isiah said he'd even throw in the defunct CBA)? Or maybe to Boston for a Hah-vahd Smaht Kid, Curt Schilling's ego, Skyler's phone numbah (how ya like them apples?) and Wally World?
You get the idea. Since reports surfaced last week that the Wolves are indeed listening to offers for KG, it seems just about every team in the league has been rumored to be involved in a KG blockbuster. First it was Boston for Al Jefferson, contract fodder, and the #5. Then it's to Phoenix for Shawn Marion, or wait maybe Amare Stoudamire? My favorite was from the biggest rumor monger out there, the Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith who claims to know about a 3 way trade between the Wolves, Celtics, and Suns in which the Suns get KG, the C's get Marion, and the Wolves get the #5 from Boston and Theo Ratliff's cap fodder, and #24 & 29 this year, Atlanta's unprotected #1 next year AND Kurt Thomas' expiring contract from Phoenix. OOFTAH!
Anyway, back in reality, it's been confirmed that your Minnesota Timberwolves and the LA Lakers are really truly seriously talking about getting Wolves star Kevin Garnett into purple and gold along side Kobe Bryant. Sources say that indeed Wolves owner Glen Taylor and Lakers owner Jerry Buss spoke on the phone about a deal, and that it's still in the preliminary stages. They first talked about a 4 team that had KG to the Lakers (duh), Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum to the Indiana Pacers, C Jermaine O'Neal to the Celtics, and the #5, #19, Gerald Green and salary cap relief coming to Target Center. 3 guesses who pulled out of these talks?
Yup, not Minnesota, who clearly gets hosed here, but Boston. Of course. That trade made sense for everybody- well except MInnesota, which in itself makes sense. Really, if the Wolves do indeed trade KG and don't get completely ripped off it'd be the biggest upset since the Miracle on Ice.
Rumor also has it that earlier this morning McHale tried to give KG, Ricky Davis and 3 #1's to Barney the Baitshop guy in Hibbing for some fishing tackle, some jerky and a case of PBR. That's when Barney mentioned he'd heard on the radio about the trade talks and that maybe McHale should call down to the Cities to see what's going on. Maybe that's true and maybe it's not, but we do know that the Big Ugly Sweater is not satisfied with the Lakers current offer of Odom, Bynum (who, if he'd gone to UConn for 2 years, would be a top 5 pick in this draft), Kwame Brown's expiring contract and the #19. Apparently McHale's not satisfied with that deal from the Lakers, even though it's better than what he would have gotten in the 4 team deal. Is it because he's not the ones giving up picks or expiring contracts? Does he have a phobia about acquiring these things? Or is it because the Lakers won't take Mark Madsen back? Seriously, who's going to be waving a towel on the Lakers bench and giving awkward chest bumps and high fives to KG and Kobe next year? Can't the Maddog have his fun?
This is probably all much ado about nothing but it's the sllooooooowwwwwwweeeeessssttttt time of the year for sports. It also makes me wonder: does this trade make the Lakers title contenders? They'd have KG, Kobe and...Luke Walton? Brian Shaw? Is Rick Fox's jericurl making a comeback? Kurt Rambis goggles? Seriously it's a 2 man team that in my books isn't quite as good as San Antonio, Phoenix or Dallas. But hey it'd be fun.
You get the idea. Since reports surfaced last week that the Wolves are indeed listening to offers for KG, it seems just about every team in the league has been rumored to be involved in a KG blockbuster. First it was Boston for Al Jefferson, contract fodder, and the #5. Then it's to Phoenix for Shawn Marion, or wait maybe Amare Stoudamire? My favorite was from the biggest rumor monger out there, the Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith who claims to know about a 3 way trade between the Wolves, Celtics, and Suns in which the Suns get KG, the C's get Marion, and the Wolves get the #5 from Boston and Theo Ratliff's cap fodder, and #24 & 29 this year, Atlanta's unprotected #1 next year AND Kurt Thomas' expiring contract from Phoenix. OOFTAH!
Anyway, back in reality, it's been confirmed that your Minnesota Timberwolves and the LA Lakers are really truly seriously talking about getting Wolves star Kevin Garnett into purple and gold along side Kobe Bryant. Sources say that indeed Wolves owner Glen Taylor and Lakers owner Jerry Buss spoke on the phone about a deal, and that it's still in the preliminary stages. They first talked about a 4 team that had KG to the Lakers (duh), Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum to the Indiana Pacers, C Jermaine O'Neal to the Celtics, and the #5, #19, Gerald Green and salary cap relief coming to Target Center. 3 guesses who pulled out of these talks?
Yup, not Minnesota, who clearly gets hosed here, but Boston. Of course. That trade made sense for everybody- well except MInnesota, which in itself makes sense. Really, if the Wolves do indeed trade KG and don't get completely ripped off it'd be the biggest upset since the Miracle on Ice.
Rumor also has it that earlier this morning McHale tried to give KG, Ricky Davis and 3 #1's to Barney the Baitshop guy in Hibbing for some fishing tackle, some jerky and a case of PBR. That's when Barney mentioned he'd heard on the radio about the trade talks and that maybe McHale should call down to the Cities to see what's going on. Maybe that's true and maybe it's not, but we do know that the Big Ugly Sweater is not satisfied with the Lakers current offer of Odom, Bynum (who, if he'd gone to UConn for 2 years, would be a top 5 pick in this draft), Kwame Brown's expiring contract and the #19. Apparently McHale's not satisfied with that deal from the Lakers, even though it's better than what he would have gotten in the 4 team deal. Is it because he's not the ones giving up picks or expiring contracts? Does he have a phobia about acquiring these things? Or is it because the Lakers won't take Mark Madsen back? Seriously, who's going to be waving a towel on the Lakers bench and giving awkward chest bumps and high fives to KG and Kobe next year? Can't the Maddog have his fun?
This is probably all much ado about nothing but it's the sllooooooowwwwwwweeeeessssttttt time of the year for sports. It also makes me wonder: does this trade make the Lakers title contenders? They'd have KG, Kobe and...Luke Walton? Brian Shaw? Is Rick Fox's jericurl making a comeback? Kurt Rambis goggles? Seriously it's a 2 man team that in my books isn't quite as good as San Antonio, Phoenix or Dallas. But hey it'd be fun.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Jeremy: Hit or Miss
* Indiana head football coach Terry Hoeppner died from complications of the brain tumor he has been battling. Hoeppner was trying, and beginning to succeed, with positivity and a winning attitude, at reviving the Indiana football program.
I don't know much about Hoeppner, but I remember signing day in 2006, when Hoeppner was excited about his incoming recruiting class and was beaming about the prospects, meanwhile, Glen Mason was playing the "we can't get the blue-chippers from the big boys" card. Ever since then I knew Hoeppner had a chance at Indiana. It's too bad to see a positive force like him go.
* Just in case you missed it, Johan Santana was up to his old tricks last night. JoJo threw a complete game, 4-hit shutout against the Mets in Shea Stadium. And, oh by the way, Johan also had a double at the plate. Who says pitchers can't hit?
He was 6-6 going into the game. Here's what's interesting to me: when Santana has an off night, he's still one of the best pitchers in the game, but he never gets ANY run support on those nights. But when he's light's out, like last night, he gets 9 runs. I think Gardie is a damn good manager, but he needs to figure out this batting order and figure it out soon. The team is just not consistent at the plate right now.
* Trade rumors are beginning to swirl again about KG, and this time the league is confirming that talks are taking place. I've gone back and forth on the KG matter, as has been well chronicled on Midwest Sports Rubes. Of course I'm a Minnesota guy, but I've been a Garnett fan pretty much as long as I've been a T'Wolves fan, and clearly KG has taken care of his business as a ball player much better than the Wolves have as a team. I will always be a fan of KG, no matter where he plays, and no matter how hard that will be. And I will certainly be skeptical of ANY moves the Wolves make this off-season, whether they involve KG or not, since history shows that is the appropriate reaction.
I don't know much about Hoeppner, but I remember signing day in 2006, when Hoeppner was excited about his incoming recruiting class and was beaming about the prospects, meanwhile, Glen Mason was playing the "we can't get the blue-chippers from the big boys" card. Ever since then I knew Hoeppner had a chance at Indiana. It's too bad to see a positive force like him go.
* Just in case you missed it, Johan Santana was up to his old tricks last night. JoJo threw a complete game, 4-hit shutout against the Mets in Shea Stadium. And, oh by the way, Johan also had a double at the plate. Who says pitchers can't hit?
He was 6-6 going into the game. Here's what's interesting to me: when Santana has an off night, he's still one of the best pitchers in the game, but he never gets ANY run support on those nights. But when he's light's out, like last night, he gets 9 runs. I think Gardie is a damn good manager, but he needs to figure out this batting order and figure it out soon. The team is just not consistent at the plate right now.
* Trade rumors are beginning to swirl again about KG, and this time the league is confirming that talks are taking place. I've gone back and forth on the KG matter, as has been well chronicled on Midwest Sports Rubes. Of course I'm a Minnesota guy, but I've been a Garnett fan pretty much as long as I've been a T'Wolves fan, and clearly KG has taken care of his business as a ball player much better than the Wolves have as a team. I will always be a fan of KG, no matter where he plays, and no matter how hard that will be. And I will certainly be skeptical of ANY moves the Wolves make this off-season, whether they involve KG or not, since history shows that is the appropriate reaction.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Jeremy: So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye
Trent Green ended up in Miami. It's safe to say that, outside of Daunte Culpepper, everybody saw it coming. But Daunte is not having it.
"They would like to trade me in order to 'get something for me. However, it is my position that I have already been down that road and I am not interested in being traded."
To Daunte, you get the same response that I gave Jason Giambi when he said that MLB owed the fans an apology for the steroids mess... good luck with that.
Miami is clearly spending it's off-season addressing the offensive side of the ball, and they have been busy at the quarterback position. In addition to signing Green they re-signed their backup quarterback and drafted another. Like I said to Daunte, good luck!
Is it possible that you just can't win with Daunte? Is it possible that he is the Stephon Marbury of the NFL? Puts up massive numbers when he's healthy, but his team just does not benefit from him? Is it possible that the career of the man that was once called the ultimate quarterback will never take off and sustain like it looked like it would? Remember when we talked about Daunte in the same breath with Peyton Manning and Tom Brady? Remember the "if it weren't for Peyton Manning he would have been MVP" talk?
Poor Daunte. Maybe he should look into dog fighting.
"They would like to trade me in order to 'get something for me. However, it is my position that I have already been down that road and I am not interested in being traded."
To Daunte, you get the same response that I gave Jason Giambi when he said that MLB owed the fans an apology for the steroids mess... good luck with that.
Miami is clearly spending it's off-season addressing the offensive side of the ball, and they have been busy at the quarterback position. In addition to signing Green they re-signed their backup quarterback and drafted another. Like I said to Daunte, good luck!
Is it possible that you just can't win with Daunte? Is it possible that he is the Stephon Marbury of the NFL? Puts up massive numbers when he's healthy, but his team just does not benefit from him? Is it possible that the career of the man that was once called the ultimate quarterback will never take off and sustain like it looked like it would? Remember when we talked about Daunte in the same breath with Peyton Manning and Tom Brady? Remember the "if it weren't for Peyton Manning he would have been MVP" talk?
Poor Daunte. Maybe he should look into dog fighting.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Jeff: Hello Summer!
Well summer is officially upon us (ok not “officially” but who waits till the 21st of June to declare summer? Exactly). Here in the Great White North the igloos are melting, the sled dogs are shedding their winter coats, the women of the village are weaving that dog hair into toques and moccasins they can sell at the market, and the caribou are migrating south for the summer. All in all a wonderful time of year. What gets me excited about summer in the world of sports? Glad you asked:
PENNANT RACES!
For the first time since 2001 the Mariners haven’t been eliminated from playoff contention by April 1st, May 1st, or even June 1st. Amazing but true! Thanks to a weak division, smoke, mirrors, and a whole lotta horseshoes, somehow a poorly constructed, overpaid team is only 4.5 out in the division race, and just one behind Detwah in the ever popular Loss column in the Wild Card chase. The probabilities of the Mariners to sustain this success isn’t high, but hey, I’ll take it!
As for the Little Engine That Could, they’ve won 4 in a row and 7 of their last 10 to pull within 6 games of The Tribe in the Central, and 3.5 of the aforementioned Tigres (who have conversely lost 7 of their last 10) in the Wild Card. The big lumberjack himself Justin Morneau is leading the charge with a torrid last couple of weeks, and the Twins are doing all of this with Santana’s usual slow start and an unhealthy Mr. Sideburns. Imagine when those 2 get going? Should be a very entertaining summer in the Central.
THE FALL OF GOLIATH
At some point this summer, if I get around to it, I’ll share my belief on why parity is bad for sports. Sports needs Goliaths (yes even the NFL), and nobody does Goliaths better than the New York Yankees. As you’re probably already sick of hearing, it’s June 1st and the Bombers are in last place in the division and an insurmountable 13.5 behind the Red Sox in the East. Sure they’re only 7.5 behind Detwah for the Wild Card, but can the almighty Yanks really turn it around? I, like many others, would LOVE to see them go down in flames, and it just may happen. Not only would it be great to see the Yanks suck, it would lead to 3 more things Yankee Haters should love:
1) the Yankees firing manager Joe Torre. In my opinion he’s still the best manager in baseball. You’re telling me anybody else could have gotten more out of this team than him? Somebody else could handle the media pressure better? Somebody else could manage the egos better? I don’t think so. Anybody else managing in New York makes the Yankees worse, not better.
2) Firing GM Brian Cashman. He’ll be the fall guy for this, when really this is more about owner George Steinbrenner. Since Cashman has been given more control over player personel moves the last couple of years, he's sought to rebuild the farm system which was depleted completely because of George's “Win at all costs!” demands. Sports franchises are starting to figure out you build good teams through the draft, not free agency. When the All-Powerful Yankees go to this strategy, that should be a big wakeup call to everybody else. Yankee fans believe their entitled to having the best team every year, but I just don’t think that’s possible anymore. Cashman is doing what’s best for the Yankees in the long term, but because it’s still always “Win at all Costs” in New York he’s going to get fired for it. That's not good for the Yanks either.
3) ROGER CLEMENS’ FALL FROM GRACE
I’ve found 2 things where the Rocket is underrated: people’s perception of him as a steroid user (again why do we hear little to nothing about Clemens’ curious late-career resurgence?), and people’s perception at the size of his ego. When you hear people discuss egos in sports, they usually talk about Terrell Owens or Barry Bonds. Why not Clemens? He thinks so much of himself that he decides to only play half the season, and then doesn’t spend off days with the team. He shows up for his starts and spends the rest of his time at home. Wouldn’t that be nice? Then to top it off, his signing with the Yankees is announced at Yankee stadium by him stepping out of the Owners Box to wave to the fans, like Caesar of freaking Rome?!?! Wow. How does this not get more play as Roger being an egomaniacal A-hole?
ANYWAY, Clemens signed with the Yankees not just because they gave him ridiculous money, but because it would further enhance his image and ego by saving the Yankee season. Well guess what? Besides the fact that Clemens has been pitching in the inferior NL the last few years, and that he’s at best now a 6 inning pitcher, no one player can save the Yankees. Clemens went to New York to cement his legacy and retire a legend by saving the Yankee season. So what happens if the Yankees continue to flounder and Clemens gets lit up? Wouldn’t that be the ultimate egg-on-your-face exit? As much as I would LOVE to see this happen, there’s just no way Clemens allows himself to be humiliated like that. So I’m excited to see what excuse he comes up with to get out of it. I don’t see anyway he could ask to be traded, so he’s going to have to invent an injury. To me it’s not a question of IF he does this, but when and how it happens. What a snake.
NBA HOT STOVE
Nobody loves NBA rumors more than me (well except maybe for Joel) so if there’s one thing all the Kobe hoopla has guaranteed us this summer, it’s that the Lakers will make a blockbuster trade. YES! They have to! And considering Dallas CANNOT return this fall with the same lineup that got humiliated by Dallas, and that Phoenix’s current cast has gone as far as they can, that should mean more big deals are in order right? RIGHT? Throw in that both Portland and Seattle should make trades to accommodate their new stars, and that Utah needs to deal AK47 for a perimeter scorer (Does a sign-and-trade with Seattle for Rashard Lewis just make too much sense to happen? Probably does), there SHOULD be a flurry of moves this summer.
HOCKEY WILL BE OVER
I’m just not a hockey fan anymore if the Canucks aren’t involved. I really haven’t watched a game since the Nucks got knocked out in round 2. And you know what? I don’t think I’ve missed much. We’re back to pre-lockout hockey with 1-0 games, no speed, no flash, no excitement.(and for anybody reading this who’s not from Canada, you’re probably shocked to know the NHL still exists), The NHL has failed in the US and the sooner they admit that the better. Considering Gary Bettman won’t be retiring anytime soon, the league will fade further and further of the American sports radar as Bettman refuses to admit he’s wrong and make some necessary drastic changes.
Poor Canada. Their passion and their livelihood, the sport that matters above all else sucks right now and they know it: and yet they’re still compelled to follow it. As bad as the sport is, it’s never been more popular here (the Leafs, Canadiens and Canucks are 3 of the most expensive tickets to get in North American sports right now, the CBC paid about $100 million for broadcasting rights, and one of the sports networks up here just paid $250 million just for rights to Leaf games!!! And before you go making the "Canadian money is worthless" jokes, I'd like to point out the Loonie is worth .93 cents US right now), and yet the league has never neglected Canadian fans more. It’s really sad.
Now I’m not necessarily excited, but definitely interested to see if the “sports” radio station here in town is capable of talking about anything other than hockey. It’s all hockey all the time here. Different hosts, same guests, same hockey talk. All the time. Every day. When the season mercifully ends will the 24/7 hockey talk stop? I doubt it but we’ll see.
A HEALTHY ADRIAN PETERSON IN A MINNESOTA VIKINGS JERSEY
I try not to think of this one too much because I don’t want to jinx it. We have Adrian Peterson. The best running back in college last year. The best collegiate back in a long, long time. A potential elite player in the NFL for a long long time. And he’s a Viking. Seriously. I still can’t believe it.
PENNANT RACES!
For the first time since 2001 the Mariners haven’t been eliminated from playoff contention by April 1st, May 1st, or even June 1st. Amazing but true! Thanks to a weak division, smoke, mirrors, and a whole lotta horseshoes, somehow a poorly constructed, overpaid team is only 4.5 out in the division race, and just one behind Detwah in the ever popular Loss column in the Wild Card chase. The probabilities of the Mariners to sustain this success isn’t high, but hey, I’ll take it!
As for the Little Engine That Could, they’ve won 4 in a row and 7 of their last 10 to pull within 6 games of The Tribe in the Central, and 3.5 of the aforementioned Tigres (who have conversely lost 7 of their last 10) in the Wild Card. The big lumberjack himself Justin Morneau is leading the charge with a torrid last couple of weeks, and the Twins are doing all of this with Santana’s usual slow start and an unhealthy Mr. Sideburns. Imagine when those 2 get going? Should be a very entertaining summer in the Central.
THE FALL OF GOLIATH
At some point this summer, if I get around to it, I’ll share my belief on why parity is bad for sports. Sports needs Goliaths (yes even the NFL), and nobody does Goliaths better than the New York Yankees. As you’re probably already sick of hearing, it’s June 1st and the Bombers are in last place in the division and an insurmountable 13.5 behind the Red Sox in the East. Sure they’re only 7.5 behind Detwah for the Wild Card, but can the almighty Yanks really turn it around? I, like many others, would LOVE to see them go down in flames, and it just may happen. Not only would it be great to see the Yanks suck, it would lead to 3 more things Yankee Haters should love:
1) the Yankees firing manager Joe Torre. In my opinion he’s still the best manager in baseball. You’re telling me anybody else could have gotten more out of this team than him? Somebody else could handle the media pressure better? Somebody else could manage the egos better? I don’t think so. Anybody else managing in New York makes the Yankees worse, not better.
2) Firing GM Brian Cashman. He’ll be the fall guy for this, when really this is more about owner George Steinbrenner. Since Cashman has been given more control over player personel moves the last couple of years, he's sought to rebuild the farm system which was depleted completely because of George's “Win at all costs!” demands. Sports franchises are starting to figure out you build good teams through the draft, not free agency. When the All-Powerful Yankees go to this strategy, that should be a big wakeup call to everybody else. Yankee fans believe their entitled to having the best team every year, but I just don’t think that’s possible anymore. Cashman is doing what’s best for the Yankees in the long term, but because it’s still always “Win at all Costs” in New York he’s going to get fired for it. That's not good for the Yanks either.
3) ROGER CLEMENS’ FALL FROM GRACE
I’ve found 2 things where the Rocket is underrated: people’s perception of him as a steroid user (again why do we hear little to nothing about Clemens’ curious late-career resurgence?), and people’s perception at the size of his ego. When you hear people discuss egos in sports, they usually talk about Terrell Owens or Barry Bonds. Why not Clemens? He thinks so much of himself that he decides to only play half the season, and then doesn’t spend off days with the team. He shows up for his starts and spends the rest of his time at home. Wouldn’t that be nice? Then to top it off, his signing with the Yankees is announced at Yankee stadium by him stepping out of the Owners Box to wave to the fans, like Caesar of freaking Rome?!?! Wow. How does this not get more play as Roger being an egomaniacal A-hole?
ANYWAY, Clemens signed with the Yankees not just because they gave him ridiculous money, but because it would further enhance his image and ego by saving the Yankee season. Well guess what? Besides the fact that Clemens has been pitching in the inferior NL the last few years, and that he’s at best now a 6 inning pitcher, no one player can save the Yankees. Clemens went to New York to cement his legacy and retire a legend by saving the Yankee season. So what happens if the Yankees continue to flounder and Clemens gets lit up? Wouldn’t that be the ultimate egg-on-your-face exit? As much as I would LOVE to see this happen, there’s just no way Clemens allows himself to be humiliated like that. So I’m excited to see what excuse he comes up with to get out of it. I don’t see anyway he could ask to be traded, so he’s going to have to invent an injury. To me it’s not a question of IF he does this, but when and how it happens. What a snake.
NBA HOT STOVE
Nobody loves NBA rumors more than me (well except maybe for Joel) so if there’s one thing all the Kobe hoopla has guaranteed us this summer, it’s that the Lakers will make a blockbuster trade. YES! They have to! And considering Dallas CANNOT return this fall with the same lineup that got humiliated by Dallas, and that Phoenix’s current cast has gone as far as they can, that should mean more big deals are in order right? RIGHT? Throw in that both Portland and Seattle should make trades to accommodate their new stars, and that Utah needs to deal AK47 for a perimeter scorer (Does a sign-and-trade with Seattle for Rashard Lewis just make too much sense to happen? Probably does), there SHOULD be a flurry of moves this summer.
HOCKEY WILL BE OVER
I’m just not a hockey fan anymore if the Canucks aren’t involved. I really haven’t watched a game since the Nucks got knocked out in round 2. And you know what? I don’t think I’ve missed much. We’re back to pre-lockout hockey with 1-0 games, no speed, no flash, no excitement.(and for anybody reading this who’s not from Canada, you’re probably shocked to know the NHL still exists), The NHL has failed in the US and the sooner they admit that the better. Considering Gary Bettman won’t be retiring anytime soon, the league will fade further and further of the American sports radar as Bettman refuses to admit he’s wrong and make some necessary drastic changes.
Poor Canada. Their passion and their livelihood, the sport that matters above all else sucks right now and they know it: and yet they’re still compelled to follow it. As bad as the sport is, it’s never been more popular here (the Leafs, Canadiens and Canucks are 3 of the most expensive tickets to get in North American sports right now, the CBC paid about $100 million for broadcasting rights, and one of the sports networks up here just paid $250 million just for rights to Leaf games!!! And before you go making the "Canadian money is worthless" jokes, I'd like to point out the Loonie is worth .93 cents US right now), and yet the league has never neglected Canadian fans more. It’s really sad.
Now I’m not necessarily excited, but definitely interested to see if the “sports” radio station here in town is capable of talking about anything other than hockey. It’s all hockey all the time here. Different hosts, same guests, same hockey talk. All the time. Every day. When the season mercifully ends will the 24/7 hockey talk stop? I doubt it but we’ll see.
A HEALTHY ADRIAN PETERSON IN A MINNESOTA VIKINGS JERSEY
I try not to think of this one too much because I don’t want to jinx it. We have Adrian Peterson. The best running back in college last year. The best collegiate back in a long, long time. A potential elite player in the NFL for a long long time. And he’s a Viking. Seriously. I still can’t believe it.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Jeff: What the Deuce?
Jer, who would be writing this post if he had internet at home, started an IM discussion today with this:
"The wolves had two coaches last year, one went 20-20, the other went 12-30... which one do you think got the contract extension?"
The answer, of course, is Randy Whitmann, the one with the 12-30 record. The man who went 20-20 and got as much out of a hapless Wolves team as any other coach possibly could have (or 8 more wins than the man that replaced him), was fired. Before him the blame was laid on current Pistons coach Flip Saunders. The Wolves record the year they fired him and McHale took over? 44-38. Read that again. 44-38. This past season, the 3rd straight they've missed the playoffs, they were 32-50.
Where are we going with this? That's what we'd like to ask Glen Taylor and Kevin McHale. What's the plan here gentlemen?
Jer summed it up in our chat today as such:
"...well, all of these moves just prove that there really is no plan there. they are flying by the seat of their pants, and aren't really building anything...all of these crappy moves that they have made are partially because they are stupid, but if they had a plan in place, to build the franchise as a winner, they would at least have something to shoot at. Instead they do stuff like picking up two aging superstars well past their prime, and they only get one year out of them, then they give up too much to get rid of one of them.
"Seriously, that is THE bottom line: there is no long term plan!"
I had really never thought of it that way. One minute they're in "win now" mode by trading for Spree and Cassell, which worked well for a year. The next they're spending one of the few first rounders they've had the past decade on a project like high schooler Endi Ibi, who even if he hadn't been a total bust would have taken 3-5 years to make a contribution. Or the worst move McHale's made (which is saying something), crippling both their present AND future when he dealt Cassell and a #1 pick to the Clippers for Marko Jaric and then signed him to a horrible long term contract. Then the Celtics trade and the Mike James signing have left them with zero cap flexibility and 2 lost draft picks in the very near future. So you have one superstar taking up a third of their cap, 6 untradeable players, a few good young players, and Ricky Davis. This recipe has brought them 3 straight lottery seasons, and yet McHale, the man who put them in this position somehow thinks he's magically going to get them out.
How? Why? Where is this all going? I've decided that if they will not trade Garnett then they HAVE to trade the #7 pick, Davis, and one of the 6 awful contracts for another star, and even then they're probably not going to be left with enough to win in the West (by the way, because of the stupid 3 division format, I did not even realize that not only are both Portland and Seattle out West, they're both in the Wolves division. Yikes!). What do they do where do they go?
Probably the same place they've been going for the last decade- nowhere. Now who's pumped for the upcoming Wolves season?
"The wolves had two coaches last year, one went 20-20, the other went 12-30... which one do you think got the contract extension?"
The answer, of course, is Randy Whitmann, the one with the 12-30 record. The man who went 20-20 and got as much out of a hapless Wolves team as any other coach possibly could have (or 8 more wins than the man that replaced him), was fired. Before him the blame was laid on current Pistons coach Flip Saunders. The Wolves record the year they fired him and McHale took over? 44-38. Read that again. 44-38. This past season, the 3rd straight they've missed the playoffs, they were 32-50.
Where are we going with this? That's what we'd like to ask Glen Taylor and Kevin McHale. What's the plan here gentlemen?
Jer summed it up in our chat today as such:
"...well, all of these moves just prove that there really is no plan there. they are flying by the seat of their pants, and aren't really building anything...all of these crappy moves that they have made are partially because they are stupid, but if they had a plan in place, to build the franchise as a winner, they would at least have something to shoot at. Instead they do stuff like picking up two aging superstars well past their prime, and they only get one year out of them, then they give up too much to get rid of one of them.
"Seriously, that is THE bottom line: there is no long term plan!"
I had really never thought of it that way. One minute they're in "win now" mode by trading for Spree and Cassell, which worked well for a year. The next they're spending one of the few first rounders they've had the past decade on a project like high schooler Endi Ibi, who even if he hadn't been a total bust would have taken 3-5 years to make a contribution. Or the worst move McHale's made (which is saying something), crippling both their present AND future when he dealt Cassell and a #1 pick to the Clippers for Marko Jaric and then signed him to a horrible long term contract. Then the Celtics trade and the Mike James signing have left them with zero cap flexibility and 2 lost draft picks in the very near future. So you have one superstar taking up a third of their cap, 6 untradeable players, a few good young players, and Ricky Davis. This recipe has brought them 3 straight lottery seasons, and yet McHale, the man who put them in this position somehow thinks he's magically going to get them out.
How? Why? Where is this all going? I've decided that if they will not trade Garnett then they HAVE to trade the #7 pick, Davis, and one of the 6 awful contracts for another star, and even then they're probably not going to be left with enough to win in the West (by the way, because of the stupid 3 division format, I did not even realize that not only are both Portland and Seattle out West, they're both in the Wolves division. Yikes!). What do they do where do they go?
Probably the same place they've been going for the last decade- nowhere. Now who's pumped for the upcoming Wolves season?
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Jeff: Wolves, NBA Unlucky in the Lottery
Just thinking out loud here, but perhaps we can't quite put the NBA Conspiracy rumors to bed quite yet. Other than questions about the Amare/Diaw suspensions against the Spurs, nothing this year ticked Stern off more than tanking. You could just see the steam coming out of the man's ears when he asked whether he would try to do something about tanking. Well? The Celtics, Bucks, and T-Wolves were easily the 3 most egregious offenders of Tankapoolza 2007. The Wolves weren't tanking for the #1 pick, but for the SECOND YEAR IN A ROW were just trying to keep their draft pick by having one of the 10 worst records. For the second straight year they didn't improve their position in the lottery. Boston and Milwaukee finished with the 2nd and 3rd worst records but dropped as far as the lottery process allows, down to 5th and 6th respectively. Not that The Don Stern would EVER get revenge, but you could look at it that Boston and Milwaukee were penalized as much as possible for tanking. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.
Barring what would have to be the biggest trades in league history, the Pacific Northwest will be home to two once-in-a-generation talents. With just 5.3% odds, the Portland Trailblazers won the #1 pick and the rights to take super center Greg Oden with the #1 pick. Just up I-5, the Seattle Soon-To-Be-Oklahoma-or-Las-Vegas Sonics, with just an 8.8% chance, won the 2nd pick and essentially the rights to Texas super freshman Kevin Durant. Your MInnesota Timberwolves will pick right where they were projected to at #7, and since we've more than a month to figure out who they'll take (COREY BREWER COREY BREWER COREY BREWER), we won't bother with projections right now.
Speaking of bothered, that cussing you hear coming out of Sacaucus, NJ is from Commish David Stern and the NBA front office, as two franchise changers not only go to small markets, but go to WESTERN small markets. This is bad news because for them because, like most everyone else, you haven't been watching the Eastern Conference playoffs. Why? Because the East sucks. They were in dire need of Oden and or Durant. Out east you have 2 good but boring teams in Detroit and Chicago at the head of the pack, 2 of the games biggest stars (Lebron and Dwade) on bad teams with even worse salary cap situations, and then a bunch of teams we can't even call mediocre. The league would have LOVED to get one or both of these guys to Boston, Chicago or Philly, but instead, the already wild west just got a lot wilder, making things even worse for the Wolves. The Blazers are a playoff team right now with Oden. You may laugh now, but trust me, they're now ahead of the Wolves for the race for the 7th or 8th seed. SEattle? Maybe not a playoff shoo-in, but certainly much better with Durant.
Adding insult to injury for fans who enjoy watching the Phoenix Suns play basketball the way it was intended, you know with passing, the Suns could have had Atlanta's pick if it fell out of the top 3. The Hawks of course went and got #3. Thanks Atlanta- you guys can't even suck right. Jackholes.
Back to the Sonics for a minute, because I care way more than I should. I grew up only 2 hours from the Emerald City and the "Supes" have meant a lot to me. Their teams of the mid 90's with Payton, Kemp, Schrempf, Big Smooth, Nate McMillan and so many more you don't care about, were my 2nd favorite team to cheer for behind the '98 Vikings team that...well you know how that one ended with Atlanta. Just as tragic for Sonics basketball fans is how that Supes team was dismantled by one Wally Walker, who refused to give Kemp a contract extension he had earned (make all the paternity suit and drug jokes you want, he was the NBA's 2nd best power forward at the time, and the 2nd best player in that Bulls series behind Jordan in '96. You know what? Watch this youtube clip and you'll see what I mean. Best in-game dunker of our generation. Yup I said it.). Instead the money went to the biggest white stiff center in the history of big stiff white centers, Jim McIlvaine, who signed for what was huge money at the time and did what all big stiff white centers do...absolutely nothing. Kemp got pissed and got traded, team performance and attendance sunk, a good owner sold to the Coffee Bitch, who didn't like Gary Payton and traded him out of town, pretty much killing the fan base. Shocked that trading away your franchise player wasn;t the best way to drum up interest for a new stadium, he cried in his Latte and sold them for a small $150 MILLION DOLLAR PROFIT to the Oklahoma folks who will now move the team to their free arena in Oklahoma or a shiny new one in Vegas unless the good people of King County build him a stadium. Not a chance. Sianora Supes.
There are some who believe that the arrival of Oden or Durant could have caused enough sway with the public to keep the Sonics in Seattle. I think it was possible with Oden, but unless Durant scores 30 a night and lives up to the lofty Jordan comparisons from day 1, it's not going to be enough. So it was bad enough that a great fan base is getting robbed of its team because the Coffee Bitch was so arrogant to believe tax payers would and should build him a new arena for free. Now the Sonics will leave town with a kid who has the potential to be an all-time great. As the Sports Guy would say, I will now stab a pencil into my eye socket. Or listen to Avril Lavigne...no the pencil in the eye would be less painful.
As for Wolves fans, well you already know how I feel. And David Stern. And Celtics fans.
Barring what would have to be the biggest trades in league history, the Pacific Northwest will be home to two once-in-a-generation talents. With just 5.3% odds, the Portland Trailblazers won the #1 pick and the rights to take super center Greg Oden with the #1 pick. Just up I-5, the Seattle Soon-To-Be-Oklahoma-or-Las-Vegas Sonics, with just an 8.8% chance, won the 2nd pick and essentially the rights to Texas super freshman Kevin Durant. Your MInnesota Timberwolves will pick right where they were projected to at #7, and since we've more than a month to figure out who they'll take (COREY BREWER COREY BREWER COREY BREWER), we won't bother with projections right now.
Speaking of bothered, that cussing you hear coming out of Sacaucus, NJ is from Commish David Stern and the NBA front office, as two franchise changers not only go to small markets, but go to WESTERN small markets. This is bad news because for them because, like most everyone else, you haven't been watching the Eastern Conference playoffs. Why? Because the East sucks. They were in dire need of Oden and or Durant. Out east you have 2 good but boring teams in Detroit and Chicago at the head of the pack, 2 of the games biggest stars (Lebron and Dwade) on bad teams with even worse salary cap situations, and then a bunch of teams we can't even call mediocre. The league would have LOVED to get one or both of these guys to Boston, Chicago or Philly, but instead, the already wild west just got a lot wilder, making things even worse for the Wolves. The Blazers are a playoff team right now with Oden. You may laugh now, but trust me, they're now ahead of the Wolves for the race for the 7th or 8th seed. SEattle? Maybe not a playoff shoo-in, but certainly much better with Durant.
Adding insult to injury for fans who enjoy watching the Phoenix Suns play basketball the way it was intended, you know with passing, the Suns could have had Atlanta's pick if it fell out of the top 3. The Hawks of course went and got #3. Thanks Atlanta- you guys can't even suck right. Jackholes.
Back to the Sonics for a minute, because I care way more than I should. I grew up only 2 hours from the Emerald City and the "Supes" have meant a lot to me. Their teams of the mid 90's with Payton, Kemp, Schrempf, Big Smooth, Nate McMillan and so many more you don't care about, were my 2nd favorite team to cheer for behind the '98 Vikings team that...well you know how that one ended with Atlanta. Just as tragic for Sonics basketball fans is how that Supes team was dismantled by one Wally Walker, who refused to give Kemp a contract extension he had earned (make all the paternity suit and drug jokes you want, he was the NBA's 2nd best power forward at the time, and the 2nd best player in that Bulls series behind Jordan in '96. You know what? Watch this youtube clip and you'll see what I mean. Best in-game dunker of our generation. Yup I said it.). Instead the money went to the biggest white stiff center in the history of big stiff white centers, Jim McIlvaine, who signed for what was huge money at the time and did what all big stiff white centers do...absolutely nothing. Kemp got pissed and got traded, team performance and attendance sunk, a good owner sold to the Coffee Bitch, who didn't like Gary Payton and traded him out of town, pretty much killing the fan base. Shocked that trading away your franchise player wasn;t the best way to drum up interest for a new stadium, he cried in his Latte and sold them for a small $150 MILLION DOLLAR PROFIT to the Oklahoma folks who will now move the team to their free arena in Oklahoma or a shiny new one in Vegas unless the good people of King County build him a stadium. Not a chance. Sianora Supes.
There are some who believe that the arrival of Oden or Durant could have caused enough sway with the public to keep the Sonics in Seattle. I think it was possible with Oden, but unless Durant scores 30 a night and lives up to the lofty Jordan comparisons from day 1, it's not going to be enough. So it was bad enough that a great fan base is getting robbed of its team because the Coffee Bitch was so arrogant to believe tax payers would and should build him a new arena for free. Now the Sonics will leave town with a kid who has the potential to be an all-time great. As the Sports Guy would say, I will now stab a pencil into my eye socket. Or listen to Avril Lavigne...no the pencil in the eye would be less painful.
As for Wolves fans, well you already know how I feel. And David Stern. And Celtics fans.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Jeremy: Quick Notes
*Jason Giambi thinks that Major League Baseball owes the fans an apology for everything that has happened with performance enhancing drugs.
"What we should have done a long time ago was stand up -- players, ownership, everybody -- and said, 'We made a mistake... We should have apologized back then and made sure we had a rule in place and gone forward."
Four words to Mr Giambi: GOOD LUCK WITH THAT!
*Can someone please return the Minnesota Twins back to Minnesota? This bunch of guys that are wearing Twins jersey's right now, and parading around like they are MLB players is clearly not the real guys.
Honestly, what happened here? Look, we didn't expect a ton of runs out of these guys, but you had to expect that they'd be serviceable. The real shocker is the pitching and the defense. Like I said, who are these guys?
*The Vikings are trying to make another push for a stadium at the end of the legislative session in order to drum up support for next year's session. Asking the state to consider a Vikings stadium at this point, for the Vikings, is a little like The Jesus (John Turturo's character in "The Big Lebowski" describing Walter (John Goodman) not being able to bowl on Saturday because it's Shabas: "Laughable man!"
*I'm not 100% of the opinion that the NBA may have taken away the championship from the Suns by suspending Diaw and Stoudamire in game 5, but HOLY CRAP, could that possibly have come at a worse possible time for the NBA?
"What we should have done a long time ago was stand up -- players, ownership, everybody -- and said, 'We made a mistake... We should have apologized back then and made sure we had a rule in place and gone forward."
Four words to Mr Giambi: GOOD LUCK WITH THAT!
*Can someone please return the Minnesota Twins back to Minnesota? This bunch of guys that are wearing Twins jersey's right now, and parading around like they are MLB players is clearly not the real guys.
Honestly, what happened here? Look, we didn't expect a ton of runs out of these guys, but you had to expect that they'd be serviceable. The real shocker is the pitching and the defense. Like I said, who are these guys?
*The Vikings are trying to make another push for a stadium at the end of the legislative session in order to drum up support for next year's session. Asking the state to consider a Vikings stadium at this point, for the Vikings, is a little like The Jesus (John Turturo's character in "The Big Lebowski" describing Walter (John Goodman) not being able to bowl on Saturday because it's Shabas: "Laughable man!"
*I'm not 100% of the opinion that the NBA may have taken away the championship from the Suns by suspending Diaw and Stoudamire in game 5, but HOLY CRAP, could that possibly have come at a worse possible time for the NBA?
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Jeff: Enough Already!
There's some whining going on in the world of sports right now. Some surprising, some...yeah not so much.
PEOPLE CRYING THAT DIRK DIDN"T DESERVE THE MVP...
Look this is just like the Heisman Trophy: it goes to the best player on the best team. Dallas was the best team, Dirk their best player, and voila! Your MVP! Nash was really the only other player you could make a case for, and we knew the voters were not going to give him 3 straight MVP's because they don't feel he's worthy of the company of other 3 time winners like MJ, Bird, and Russell. Who's fault is that? The voters of course for giving him the first two!!! For the record, I would not have given Stevie Nash the MVP the previous 2 seasons, but his numbers were better across the board this year and he did an excellent job of soothing egos and getting this group to play together. Not giving someone an award even though he's deserving because you feel he's not an all-time great, well, it's like Ricky Williams hitting the hash pipe yet again: it's just plain stupid. Oh, and just to remind folks: IT'S A REGULAR SEASON AWARD!!! Dallas losing in the first round does not mean Nowitzki should have to give back the MVP. By being the best player on the best team in the regular season, he was apparently deserving of the award.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS FOR CRYING, WAILING, AND GNASHING TEETH ANYTIME A FOUL IS CALLED ON THEM...
Who's more annoying: Red Sox fans or Spurs players? Joel, one of our 4 faithful readers, HATED the CWebb/Vlade Divac/"Close Your Mouth" Stojakovic Sacramento Kings from a few years back because of all their whining and flopping (and that Peja would't close his mouth. Nice signing by the Hornets though. $60 million for him to be on IR all year. Well done). I admittedly liked that team, mostly because CWebb was one of my favorite players (Shawn Kemp's my all-time fave. I've learned to live with my poor choices in players), but fully admitted that they were whiny floppers. Well the Spurs have taken this to an entirely new level, to the point that I think we need a new rule for the Spurs, and for any Europeans/Manu Ginobili's: act like a man! You want to play here? Stop flailing like you were hit with a cannon when somebody gets near you and for gawd sakes shut up when a foul/penalty/infraction is called on you. You wonder why football hasn't caught on over there? Good lord what would be their reaction in a game where they're actually allowed to get hit? (Just so we're clear, folks from the UK are not included in this group since they don't play basketball or hockey that I know of. Well except John Amechi, and we're not going there) Anyway I hate the Spurs, and if you live anywhere outside the San Antonio metro area you have to really hate yourself to cheer for that team.
PEOPLE WHO DON'T WANT BARRY BONDS TO BE THE HOME RUN KING OR MAKE THE HALL OF FAME:
Am I a Barry Bonds fan? No. Do I think Barry Bonds used steroids after 1998? Yes. However I still have no problem with him hitting 756 and going into Cooperstown someday. 3 reasons:
1) He won 3 MVP's, 8 Gold Gloves, made 8 All Star appearances, and became the only player in baseball history with 400 HR's and 400 stolen bases. And he did all of this BEFORE 1999, when he magically put on 30 pounds of muscle, stopped stealing bases, and his head started to look like an orange on a tooth pick (it had it's own weather system. HEED! PANTS! NOW! He's gonna cry himself to sleep on his huge pilla). Unlike McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, and others he was one of the greatest players ever even before his alleged roid use began.
2) As positive steroid tests from guys like Twins relief pitcher Juan Rincon and journeyman leadoff hitting center fielder Alex Sanchez show, there's really no telling who was/IS using and who's not. So I find it a tad hypocritical that we're going to keep the Bonds and McGwire's of the era out because they LOOK like steroid users, when there's countless other hitters and pitchers using that we'll do nothing about. I could name 10 guys off the top of my head, including a certain pitcher who just signed a ridiculous contract to play half a season with an AL East team, who have had VERY suspicious body changes/late career spikes, but we don;t like to talk about them. Nope, we'll only go after the guys we don't like. Pitchers seem to be like football players: we just don't seem to care if they use roids or not. But hitters? Stone them all!!!!
3) As ESPN.com baseball scribe Buster Olney has said many times on this issue: Baseball knew there were guys juicing in the 80's, 90's, and into this decade. Players knew it, teams knew it, and the media knew something was wrong with all the "new" body types that were coming in. But fans love offense and home runs, and the game needed to bounce back after the strike. We as fans should have seen signs, but we just didn't want to believe until we had to. I know I didn't. I LOVED the '98 season with McGwire and Sosa. I saw one of Sosa's 20 HR's in June in my first ever game at Wrigley (...allow me a moment of silence because I won't get to go to Chicago for the first time in 7 years...Thank you) So don't tell me this is some travesty to the game that Bonds will be it's all-time home run hitter: because baseball let it happen. You reap what you sow.
BRETT FAVRE MAKING A SPECTACLE AGAIN? WHAT A SHOCK!
Finally, Favre isn't happy because his Packers didn't get Randy Moss for a 4th round pick. He's only half right here: the Pack DID have a chance to get Randy back in February or March, so yes they dropped the proverbial ball there. But once New England got involved, it was over. Moss wants to win a Super Bowl, and I think even delusional Packer fans would have to agree his chances are a helluva lot better in New England than they would have been in Green Bay. So Favre's Pack didn't get Moss, didn't help him in the draft, and signed nobody of consequence in free agency so he demands a trade and starts whining about it?...Wait a minute...you know what? Mr Spotlight Brett Favre might actually be right on this one. For once I agree with him. And as a Vikings fan I couldn't be happier. Now back to my prayer vigil for Adrian Peterson's collarbone.
PEOPLE CRYING THAT DIRK DIDN"T DESERVE THE MVP...
Look this is just like the Heisman Trophy: it goes to the best player on the best team. Dallas was the best team, Dirk their best player, and voila! Your MVP! Nash was really the only other player you could make a case for, and we knew the voters were not going to give him 3 straight MVP's because they don't feel he's worthy of the company of other 3 time winners like MJ, Bird, and Russell. Who's fault is that? The voters of course for giving him the first two!!! For the record, I would not have given Stevie Nash the MVP the previous 2 seasons, but his numbers were better across the board this year and he did an excellent job of soothing egos and getting this group to play together. Not giving someone an award even though he's deserving because you feel he's not an all-time great, well, it's like Ricky Williams hitting the hash pipe yet again: it's just plain stupid. Oh, and just to remind folks: IT'S A REGULAR SEASON AWARD!!! Dallas losing in the first round does not mean Nowitzki should have to give back the MVP. By being the best player on the best team in the regular season, he was apparently deserving of the award.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS FOR CRYING, WAILING, AND GNASHING TEETH ANYTIME A FOUL IS CALLED ON THEM...
Who's more annoying: Red Sox fans or Spurs players? Joel, one of our 4 faithful readers, HATED the CWebb/Vlade Divac/"Close Your Mouth" Stojakovic Sacramento Kings from a few years back because of all their whining and flopping (and that Peja would't close his mouth. Nice signing by the Hornets though. $60 million for him to be on IR all year. Well done). I admittedly liked that team, mostly because CWebb was one of my favorite players (Shawn Kemp's my all-time fave. I've learned to live with my poor choices in players), but fully admitted that they were whiny floppers. Well the Spurs have taken this to an entirely new level, to the point that I think we need a new rule for the Spurs, and for any Europeans/Manu Ginobili's: act like a man! You want to play here? Stop flailing like you were hit with a cannon when somebody gets near you and for gawd sakes shut up when a foul/penalty/infraction is called on you. You wonder why football hasn't caught on over there? Good lord what would be their reaction in a game where they're actually allowed to get hit? (Just so we're clear, folks from the UK are not included in this group since they don't play basketball or hockey that I know of. Well except John Amechi, and we're not going there) Anyway I hate the Spurs, and if you live anywhere outside the San Antonio metro area you have to really hate yourself to cheer for that team.
PEOPLE WHO DON'T WANT BARRY BONDS TO BE THE HOME RUN KING OR MAKE THE HALL OF FAME:
Am I a Barry Bonds fan? No. Do I think Barry Bonds used steroids after 1998? Yes. However I still have no problem with him hitting 756 and going into Cooperstown someday. 3 reasons:
1) He won 3 MVP's, 8 Gold Gloves, made 8 All Star appearances, and became the only player in baseball history with 400 HR's and 400 stolen bases. And he did all of this BEFORE 1999, when he magically put on 30 pounds of muscle, stopped stealing bases, and his head started to look like an orange on a tooth pick (it had it's own weather system. HEED! PANTS! NOW! He's gonna cry himself to sleep on his huge pilla). Unlike McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, and others he was one of the greatest players ever even before his alleged roid use began.
2) As positive steroid tests from guys like Twins relief pitcher Juan Rincon and journeyman leadoff hitting center fielder Alex Sanchez show, there's really no telling who was/IS using and who's not. So I find it a tad hypocritical that we're going to keep the Bonds and McGwire's of the era out because they LOOK like steroid users, when there's countless other hitters and pitchers using that we'll do nothing about. I could name 10 guys off the top of my head, including a certain pitcher who just signed a ridiculous contract to play half a season with an AL East team, who have had VERY suspicious body changes/late career spikes, but we don;t like to talk about them. Nope, we'll only go after the guys we don't like. Pitchers seem to be like football players: we just don't seem to care if they use roids or not. But hitters? Stone them all!!!!
3) As ESPN.com baseball scribe Buster Olney has said many times on this issue: Baseball knew there were guys juicing in the 80's, 90's, and into this decade. Players knew it, teams knew it, and the media knew something was wrong with all the "new" body types that were coming in. But fans love offense and home runs, and the game needed to bounce back after the strike. We as fans should have seen signs, but we just didn't want to believe until we had to. I know I didn't. I LOVED the '98 season with McGwire and Sosa. I saw one of Sosa's 20 HR's in June in my first ever game at Wrigley (...allow me a moment of silence because I won't get to go to Chicago for the first time in 7 years...Thank you) So don't tell me this is some travesty to the game that Bonds will be it's all-time home run hitter: because baseball let it happen. You reap what you sow.
BRETT FAVRE MAKING A SPECTACLE AGAIN? WHAT A SHOCK!
Finally, Favre isn't happy because his Packers didn't get Randy Moss for a 4th round pick. He's only half right here: the Pack DID have a chance to get Randy back in February or March, so yes they dropped the proverbial ball there. But once New England got involved, it was over. Moss wants to win a Super Bowl, and I think even delusional Packer fans would have to agree his chances are a helluva lot better in New England than they would have been in Green Bay. So Favre's Pack didn't get Moss, didn't help him in the draft, and signed nobody of consequence in free agency so he demands a trade and starts whining about it?...Wait a minute...you know what? Mr Spotlight Brett Favre might actually be right on this one. For once I agree with him. And as a Vikings fan I couldn't be happier. Now back to my prayer vigil for Adrian Peterson's collarbone.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Jeff: Wooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!
Yeah those screams of joy you heard this morning, as well as one from a tiny corner of the Pacific NOrthwest, came from Minnesota Vikings fans when their team selected Oklahoma RB Adrian Peterson with 7th overall pick in today's 2007 NFL draft. Wow!! I haven't been this fired up about a Vikings draft pick since Randy Moss fell to them in 1997. From what I'd read and heard from the Vikes 3 headed decision maker, they were hoping Peterson would drop to them. Rick Spielman joked on KFAN, even before it was announced AP reinjured his collarbone in the Fiesta Bowl, to spread a rumor that Peterson was hurt so teams would back away. Turns out that's exactly what happened. There's no doubt a risk with every prospect, and certainly Peterson's collarbone is a concern. But to get a player of his incredibly ability, as well as work ethic, is a great pick for a team and fan base that desparately needed somebody as their "Face of the Franchise." Vikings fans we finally have one! Oh and you can order your very own Adrian Peterson jersey here. Personally I'll wait until the white one comes out, as I;ve been waiting awhile to replace my Randy Moss, Cris Carter, and Michael Bennett jerseys (the Bennett one I picked up for $10 from a going-out-of-business sale from that sports shop on 7th & Marquette underneath WCCO), but this is the kind of shot in the arm the fanbase needed. I know receiver and QB were greater need areas, but since they weren't going up to get Calvin Johnson there was no receiver worth the 7th pick (that includes Ted Ginn Jr who went 2 picks later to Miami. At best he's another Antwan Randel El), and Brady Quinn isnt the answer either (as I type this we're at the Cowboys pick at 22 and Quinn still hasn't gone). Tavares Jackson deserves some time to figure out if he's got a chance, so I'm ok with them not taking Quinn.
I talked to Jer on IM yesterday and said this was the first time in years I wasn't excited for an NFL draft, and most of that was because I didn't think the Vikes would do this. but they did! I dialed up the MWSR batphone and caught Jer at Park Tavern, and we were both giddy as little kids. It's awesome. I am fired up for the Adrian Peterson era to begin Minnesota!!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Jeremy: A Note to Brad Childress
Brad Childress might be able to learn a thing or two from new Gopher Football coach Tim Brewster:
"... what I was looking for was a tremendous man of strength at the position so that I would not have to call plays. I don’t want to have to call offensive or defensive plays because what I want to be able to do is manage the game, manage my team and I think you really take away from your ability to manage the game if you have to call plays so I wanted to hire a veteran experienced guy on offense..." -- Tim Brewster
"... what I was looking for was a tremendous man of strength at the position so that I would not have to call plays. I don’t want to have to call offensive or defensive plays because what I want to be able to do is manage the game, manage my team and I think you really take away from your ability to manage the game if you have to call plays so I wanted to hire a veteran experienced guy on offense..." -- Tim Brewster
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Jeremy: Vikings Draft Talk
This morning I had a look at several different mock draft scenarios (http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/sub/mockdraft.html, http://football.about.com/cs/nfldraft/a/bl_mockdraft.htm, http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/draft/mock) Five to be exact.
One mock draft had the Vikings taking Adrian Peterson with their 7th pick.
Two had Adrian Peterson being drafted before the Vikings pick at #7.
And still two others had the Vikings taking a player other than Adrian Peterson, when Peterson was still available with the 7th pick.
Confused yet?
Yeah, me too.
Several sources apparently have the Vikings taking Safety LaRon Landry out of LSU. And while Landry would be a great addition to the Vikings secondary, I think it would be a mistake to not address the offensive side of the ball with the 7th pick.
The first wish would be WR, and Calvin Johnson is clearly the best in the draft, but after Johnson the crop fall off considerably.
The next biggest question mark on the offense is quarterback. But I don't think for a second that Colonel Childress is going to draft a QB in the first round, because that would be the equivalent of him admitting that he may have made a mistake with Tarvaris Jackson.
So a young running back would be the next logical step. It would be nice to have someone to spell Chester Taylor so that Taylor doesn't put on so many miles this year, and wouldn't Adrian Peterson be a nice young building block for future Vikings offenses?
If Adrian Peterson is available with the 7th pick, and the Vikings pass on him, I think it will be the biggest mistake of the draft.
One mock draft had the Vikings taking Adrian Peterson with their 7th pick.
Two had Adrian Peterson being drafted before the Vikings pick at #7.
And still two others had the Vikings taking a player other than Adrian Peterson, when Peterson was still available with the 7th pick.
Confused yet?
Yeah, me too.
Several sources apparently have the Vikings taking Safety LaRon Landry out of LSU. And while Landry would be a great addition to the Vikings secondary, I think it would be a mistake to not address the offensive side of the ball with the 7th pick.
The first wish would be WR, and Calvin Johnson is clearly the best in the draft, but after Johnson the crop fall off considerably.
The next biggest question mark on the offense is quarterback. But I don't think for a second that Colonel Childress is going to draft a QB in the first round, because that would be the equivalent of him admitting that he may have made a mistake with Tarvaris Jackson.
So a young running back would be the next logical step. It would be nice to have someone to spell Chester Taylor so that Taylor doesn't put on so many miles this year, and wouldn't Adrian Peterson be a nice young building block for future Vikings offenses?
If Adrian Peterson is available with the 7th pick, and the Vikings pass on him, I think it will be the biggest mistake of the draft.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Jeff: Blame Shifting
We here at mwsr are done bashing Kevin McHale. We're through piling on the Giant Ugly Sweater. Pack up those "Fire McHale" tshirts, signs, paper bags, and websites. Despite his incompetence and complete inability to run a basketball franchise over the past decade (which is chronicled beautifully here at www.firemchale.com), we are no longer blaming Kevin McHale for the Minnesota Timberwolves failures. Why? Because we can't. Kevin McHale is not good at his job: not good at all. But this is not his fault. He has had a horrible draft record: of the 20 1st or 2nd round draft picks he's made since taking Garnett in 1995, only 3 are currently with the team- Rashad McCants, Randy Foye & Craig Smith. 10 of them are now out of the league completely. And of course he lost 4 1st rounders in that time because he tried to illegally sign Joe Smith to an extension, and has traded the rights away to 2 future 1st rounders, resulting in Marko Jaric, Mark Blount, and Ricky Davis; all of whom, according to McHale's postseason news conference are now on the trading block. The team will be in salary cap hell, with or without Garnett, through at least 2010 because Jaric, Blount, Troy Hudson, Mike James, Trenton Hassell and Mark Madsen have contracts until then. Oh and all of them are also almost completely untradeable.
But this is not his fault. Why? Because you can't improve on something you don't have. McHale was a Hall-of-Fame talent as a basketball player, but in his 11+ seasons running the Timberwolves, he has shown very little talent, ability or skill to be a successfull GM. And yet he not only still has a job, for the second straight season (and 3rd in a row his team has missed the playoffs) he was allowed to decide whether he wanted to keep it. If a person likes their job, or at least the paycheck, regardless of how bad they are at their profession, I believe they're going to keep their job if given a choice. So therefore you can't blame McHale for rehiring himself. Twice.
If you're one of the 5 or 6 pro basketball fans left in the Upper Midwest who still care about the Wolves, you're probably wondering who's left to blame. Well that's easy: owner Glen Taylor. For reasons that are beyond comprehension (Man crush? Incriminating evidence? Family held hostage?) Glen Taylor continues to employ Kevin McHale and allow him to make all important decisions pertaining to his basketball team. It's Glen Taylor's fault the Wolves suck, and will continue to suck, at least through the end of Garnett's contract next summer, because he refuses to fire the man responsible for the Wolves situation. So therefore it is Taylor who is responsible for the team's predicament.
Here's the obvious catch though: you cannot fire the owner. More over, I'm not sure you'd want to. Taylor has put a ton of money into the team, and is as passionate an owner as there is. If fans were to revolt by, oh I don't know, stop going to games, watching on TV or buying merchandise until a change is made, the alternatives are not attractive for professional basketball in Minnesota. There's not a long line of people with deep pockets who would want to keep the team in-state. And if the NBA is going to allow the Sonics to leave a Seatte market that's larger than the Twin Cities (as well as one who faithfully supported the NBA since the early '70's), you better believe they'd let the Wolves leave Minnesota. So for better, and certainly for the forseeable future, for worse, if you want to watch pro basketball in Minnesota, you're stuck with Glen Taylor, Kevin McHale, and a s***ty team.
But this is not his fault. Why? Because you can't improve on something you don't have. McHale was a Hall-of-Fame talent as a basketball player, but in his 11+ seasons running the Timberwolves, he has shown very little talent, ability or skill to be a successfull GM. And yet he not only still has a job, for the second straight season (and 3rd in a row his team has missed the playoffs) he was allowed to decide whether he wanted to keep it. If a person likes their job, or at least the paycheck, regardless of how bad they are at their profession, I believe they're going to keep their job if given a choice. So therefore you can't blame McHale for rehiring himself. Twice.
If you're one of the 5 or 6 pro basketball fans left in the Upper Midwest who still care about the Wolves, you're probably wondering who's left to blame. Well that's easy: owner Glen Taylor. For reasons that are beyond comprehension (Man crush? Incriminating evidence? Family held hostage?) Glen Taylor continues to employ Kevin McHale and allow him to make all important decisions pertaining to his basketball team. It's Glen Taylor's fault the Wolves suck, and will continue to suck, at least through the end of Garnett's contract next summer, because he refuses to fire the man responsible for the Wolves situation. So therefore it is Taylor who is responsible for the team's predicament.
Here's the obvious catch though: you cannot fire the owner. More over, I'm not sure you'd want to. Taylor has put a ton of money into the team, and is as passionate an owner as there is. If fans were to revolt by, oh I don't know, stop going to games, watching on TV or buying merchandise until a change is made, the alternatives are not attractive for professional basketball in Minnesota. There's not a long line of people with deep pockets who would want to keep the team in-state. And if the NBA is going to allow the Sonics to leave a Seatte market that's larger than the Twin Cities (as well as one who faithfully supported the NBA since the early '70's), you better believe they'd let the Wolves leave Minnesota. So for better, and certainly for the forseeable future, for worse, if you want to watch pro basketball in Minnesota, you're stuck with Glen Taylor, Kevin McHale, and a s***ty team.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Jeremy: Familiar Territory
Well folks, welcome back to 2006, when Kevin McHale said he was going to stick around and make things better. We all know how that turned out: 32-50. And oh, by the way, the 20-20 season that Dwayne Casey had put together was supposed to get better with Whitman right? How many wins did Whit pull together? Oh yeah, 12.
So McHale is coming back, and Jeff IM's me and we have this conversation that pretty much sums it up for me:
Jeff says (3:34 PM):
so are you going to rant on the blog about McHale/Taylor?
Jeremy Miller x5032 says (3:35 PM):
i suppose i should, but I just don't know if my heart is in it anymore
Jeff says (3:35 PM):
i don't blame you
Jeremy Miller x5032 says (3:35 PM):
it's depressing
Jeff says (3:35 PM):
to say the least
And that really does sum it all up for me. I just don't know if I have the heart to continue to invest in the Wolves as long as Kevin McHale is around. He has driven this franchise so far into the ground with bad acquisitions, and then piled dirt on top of it with a slew of horrible long-term contracts, that I don't think it's worth investing in the franchise as long as he's making the decisions. The worst part is that he's taken all of us down with him.
And I'm not sure what's worse: the fact that McHale doesn't know when to throw in the towel, or that Glen Taylor doesn't have the sack to throw the towel at him.
"The fans are frustrated, and they should be... It's been three consecutive bad seasons... There's a frustration level ... but I don't want to walk away with the team in this state...Unfortunately, it reminds me of the team I took over."
HE'S ADMITTING THAT THE TEAM IS NOW AS BAD AS IT WAS WHEN HE INHERITED IT!!!
I cannot believe that he has the audacity to say "I don't want to walk away with that team in this state." This proves that McHale has no earthly clue how to run a franchise, when in fact walking away is exactly what he should do.
Kevin McHale has ZERO ability to rectify a bad situation, but when it comes to making a bad situation worse, McHale is a WORLD FREAKIN' CHAMPION.
So McHale is coming back, and Jeff IM's me and we have this conversation that pretty much sums it up for me:
Jeff says (3:34 PM):
so are you going to rant on the blog about McHale/Taylor?
Jeremy Miller x5032 says (3:35 PM):
i suppose i should, but I just don't know if my heart is in it anymore
Jeff says (3:35 PM):
i don't blame you
Jeremy Miller x5032 says (3:35 PM):
it's depressing
Jeff says (3:35 PM):
to say the least
And that really does sum it all up for me. I just don't know if I have the heart to continue to invest in the Wolves as long as Kevin McHale is around. He has driven this franchise so far into the ground with bad acquisitions, and then piled dirt on top of it with a slew of horrible long-term contracts, that I don't think it's worth investing in the franchise as long as he's making the decisions. The worst part is that he's taken all of us down with him.
And I'm not sure what's worse: the fact that McHale doesn't know when to throw in the towel, or that Glen Taylor doesn't have the sack to throw the towel at him.
"The fans are frustrated, and they should be... It's been three consecutive bad seasons... There's a frustration level ... but I don't want to walk away with the team in this state...Unfortunately, it reminds me of the team I took over."
HE'S ADMITTING THAT THE TEAM IS NOW AS BAD AS IT WAS WHEN HE INHERITED IT!!!
I cannot believe that he has the audacity to say "I don't want to walk away with that team in this state." This proves that McHale has no earthly clue how to run a franchise, when in fact walking away is exactly what he should do.
Kevin McHale has ZERO ability to rectify a bad situation, but when it comes to making a bad situation worse, McHale is a WORLD FREAKIN' CHAMPION.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Jeff: Solving the NBA's Problems
I have a love/hate relationship with the NBA. I love basketball and I love to see it played by its best players, and I suppose that's why I have such high hopes for the league- and why I'm continually let down by it. This season I was ready to walk away, what with the well-noted Tankapalooza 2007, reading today what I already said would happen when Coffee Bitch sold them last summer, and poor Wolves beat reporter Steve Aschburner inventing new ways to put a positive spin on yet another blowout loss for a team that quit because incompetent management/ownership has given them no other choice. But then Commissioner David Stern threw the curveball of curveballs by suspending referee Joey Crawford for the rest of the season and possibly the playoffs for ejecting whiner/All star Tim Duncan for LAUGHING.
To me there are three major image problems for the NBA... and one of them is nuclear war (sorry old Austin Powers joke)...seriously one of them is the pro wrestling atmosphere of the playoffs where it seems that maybe, just maybe, the whole thing is rigged for certain teams with certain high-profile players to win *cough*Dwyane Wade*cough*. True or not, the stigma of one-sided or biased refing in the playoffs has stuck, to the point that just about everybody who wasn't a Miami Heat fan calling the officiating last June a joke. Crawford, one of the longest tenured refs, was one of the worst offenders, and over the past few years his ego was almost eclipsing that of the players, which is saying something. It seemed as though Crawford wanted the spotlight in playoff games, and made some ludicrous calls to get his shiny bald mug on TV. His ejection of Duncan was unbelievable, and yet I expected nothing to happen because nothing EVER happens to referees that blow calls or job teams. The league says it will reprimand or fine an official or suspend him or whatever, yet that same crappy egomaniac is back giving Wade or Lebron free throws and throwing out whoever dares even think about disagreeing with a call. I mean it got to the point where Stern was throwing such enormous fines at people for complaining about the officiating that even Mark Cuban, who seemingly lives to get fined, hasn't said a peep all year. And now Stern suspends Crawford and gives a rational explanation? What's next- Stern admitting the lotteries for the Knicks in '85 and Wizards in '01 were rigged?
Honestly, I'm not sure where we go from here. Is this Stern admitting he was wrong and making amends, like Lost killing off Nikki and Paulo? Or is just another publicity stunt to grab headlines like with the ball, or the dress code. I hope Stern will finally let the world's best groups of athletes decide the NBA champion instead of the officials. That would solve ONE of the league's biggest problems.
The other two? Well here's where the Commish and I disagree, at least publicly. Stern stated on espn.com yesterday that he intends to address the tanking issue this offseason, vowing to find a way to stop teams from tanking to get the best possible pick. Me personally, I'm not bothered by Memphis or Boston sucking to get a chance at once-in-a-decade talents like Greg Oden or Kevin Durant. As the Sports Guy and numerous others have explained, a potential superstar can change the fortunes for a team in basketball more than any other sport, so why wouldn't a team with no chance of making the playoffs give themselves the best possible chance to land one of these two? It's not like this happens every year either. Since the lottery concept began in 1985, and was tweaked after 1993 (when the Magic landed back-to-back #1 picks) there's only been a handful of drafts where there's been a player worth tanking for. Seriously look at this: Ewing in 85, Shaq in 92, Webber/Penny Hardaway in '93, Duncan in '97, and Lebron/Melo in '03. Including this year, that's 6 drafts in 23 years.
The tanking that DOES bother me hits with NBA's other real problems, which are an image of lazy players and dumb GM's. For the 2nd year in a row, your aforementioned Wolves are trying to secure a particular draft spot so they don't lose their pick because their GM made a bad trade/signing. The TPups aren't alone either, as Atlanta and Indiana tried to do the same this year, and you can be certain that with so few competent GM's in the league, and so many players getting guaranteed contracts no matter how they perform, this isn't going away. GM's will continue to make dumb trades and sign guys to bad contracts, crippling their team. I mean really, what options do the Wolves have? McHale has screwed up this roster so badly with poor drafting, trades and free agent signings, that their only hope of keeping Garnett is to keep their #1's and land Oden or Durant. That's it.
The solution here is simple: do away with guaranteed contracts. It's why the NFL is the most popular sport on the continent, because players HAVE to give their all or they get cut. Doing this in the NBA would do a much better job of making players give max effort, and also letting GM's off the hook for bad contracts. Fans get to see players actually trying on a nightly basis, and they know their teams aren't trapped in salary cap hell if/when their GM makes a dumb move. Everybody wins- well except the lazy-ass players who currently get guaranteed money.
It would take a man like Stern, who when he wants to can be as intimidating a figure as there is in sports, to make this happen. The players union would fight it at all costs, and as the lockout dragged on the owners and fans would fight it too. But IF he could hold his ground, and explain in ways that only he can to "make them an offer they can't refuse", it would be his boldest and best move as Commissioner.
Short of that, there is an easier way to help solve the problem of bad GM's and bad contracts...which we'll save for next time.
To me there are three major image problems for the NBA... and one of them is nuclear war (sorry old Austin Powers joke)...seriously one of them is the pro wrestling atmosphere of the playoffs where it seems that maybe, just maybe, the whole thing is rigged for certain teams with certain high-profile players to win *cough*Dwyane Wade*cough*. True or not, the stigma of one-sided or biased refing in the playoffs has stuck, to the point that just about everybody who wasn't a Miami Heat fan calling the officiating last June a joke. Crawford, one of the longest tenured refs, was one of the worst offenders, and over the past few years his ego was almost eclipsing that of the players, which is saying something. It seemed as though Crawford wanted the spotlight in playoff games, and made some ludicrous calls to get his shiny bald mug on TV. His ejection of Duncan was unbelievable, and yet I expected nothing to happen because nothing EVER happens to referees that blow calls or job teams. The league says it will reprimand or fine an official or suspend him or whatever, yet that same crappy egomaniac is back giving Wade or Lebron free throws and throwing out whoever dares even think about disagreeing with a call. I mean it got to the point where Stern was throwing such enormous fines at people for complaining about the officiating that even Mark Cuban, who seemingly lives to get fined, hasn't said a peep all year. And now Stern suspends Crawford and gives a rational explanation? What's next- Stern admitting the lotteries for the Knicks in '85 and Wizards in '01 were rigged?
Honestly, I'm not sure where we go from here. Is this Stern admitting he was wrong and making amends, like Lost killing off Nikki and Paulo? Or is just another publicity stunt to grab headlines like with the ball, or the dress code. I hope Stern will finally let the world's best groups of athletes decide the NBA champion instead of the officials. That would solve ONE of the league's biggest problems.
The other two? Well here's where the Commish and I disagree, at least publicly. Stern stated on espn.com yesterday that he intends to address the tanking issue this offseason, vowing to find a way to stop teams from tanking to get the best possible pick. Me personally, I'm not bothered by Memphis or Boston sucking to get a chance at once-in-a-decade talents like Greg Oden or Kevin Durant. As the Sports Guy and numerous others have explained, a potential superstar can change the fortunes for a team in basketball more than any other sport, so why wouldn't a team with no chance of making the playoffs give themselves the best possible chance to land one of these two? It's not like this happens every year either. Since the lottery concept began in 1985, and was tweaked after 1993 (when the Magic landed back-to-back #1 picks) there's only been a handful of drafts where there's been a player worth tanking for. Seriously look at this: Ewing in 85, Shaq in 92, Webber/Penny Hardaway in '93, Duncan in '97, and Lebron/Melo in '03. Including this year, that's 6 drafts in 23 years.
The tanking that DOES bother me hits with NBA's other real problems, which are an image of lazy players and dumb GM's. For the 2nd year in a row, your aforementioned Wolves are trying to secure a particular draft spot so they don't lose their pick because their GM made a bad trade/signing. The TPups aren't alone either, as Atlanta and Indiana tried to do the same this year, and you can be certain that with so few competent GM's in the league, and so many players getting guaranteed contracts no matter how they perform, this isn't going away. GM's will continue to make dumb trades and sign guys to bad contracts, crippling their team. I mean really, what options do the Wolves have? McHale has screwed up this roster so badly with poor drafting, trades and free agent signings, that their only hope of keeping Garnett is to keep their #1's and land Oden or Durant. That's it.
The solution here is simple: do away with guaranteed contracts. It's why the NFL is the most popular sport on the continent, because players HAVE to give their all or they get cut. Doing this in the NBA would do a much better job of making players give max effort, and also letting GM's off the hook for bad contracts. Fans get to see players actually trying on a nightly basis, and they know their teams aren't trapped in salary cap hell if/when their GM makes a dumb move. Everybody wins- well except the lazy-ass players who currently get guaranteed money.
It would take a man like Stern, who when he wants to can be as intimidating a figure as there is in sports, to make this happen. The players union would fight it at all costs, and as the lockout dragged on the owners and fans would fight it too. But IF he could hold his ground, and explain in ways that only he can to "make them an offer they can't refuse", it would be his boldest and best move as Commissioner.
Short of that, there is an easier way to help solve the problem of bad GM's and bad contracts...which we'll save for next time.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Jeremy: It's the End of the World As We Know It
My gal and I attended the Twins tilt against the Devil Rays on Friday night. I spent the day at work in a fog; part allergies, part excitement at my first opportunity to see Johan Santana pitch live.
But what I saw at the Metrodome on Friday night from the tenth row of the left field home run porch, was nothing short of disgusting.
In the words of Don Henley, "this is the end... this is the end of the innocence."
Johan was pretty good, but he was not his normal Cy Young-esque self, and the bats were might as well have stayed on the rack.
But that's not what I'm talking about when I say that this is the end.
Look, as Americans, we are in trouble. I have seen the next generation, and ladies and gentlemen, we may as well go ahead and board the whole thing up because we are in a whole heap of trouble. A generation that has no respect for baseball is a generation that I don't want to be around when they start running things into the ground.
Timeline:
1st inning: 4 youngsters around the age of 10 try to get the wave going. (By the way, I hate the wave. I absolutely abhor the wave. But that's another topic for another time.) I groan audibly.
2nd inning: The first, of what would become several, beach-ball of the evening begins making its way around the left field seats. The fans boo when the usher confiscates and pops it.
3rd inning: Beach-ball #2. Same outcome. Apparently the fans have short memories.
4rd inning: Heard from a 20ish female behind me "The right fielder looks cute." We were sitting in left field.
5th inning: Beach-ball #3.
6th inning: As, the row of 20-somethings behind us continue to not pay attention to the game, the females in the group begin to talk about their Twins t-shirts, all of which had been bought the day of the game. Please shoot me.
7th inning: Almost nobody within my line of sight is singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," and most look confused by what is going on.
8th inning: The Twins need a rally, and the kid sitting next to me looks at me like I'm smoking crack-cocaine when I turn my hat inside out and wear it backwards. Shouldn't it be completely legal for me to hit someone like this? (And by the way, if you don't know what it means to turn one's hat inside out during the late innings of a baseball game, please don't ever read this blog again.)
9th inning: Within my line of site only 5 people, including myself are wearing the proverbial "rally cap."
Game end: Twins lose. I'm not surprised. This was a poor showing by the fans.
Well, there you have it. We're doomed.
But what I saw at the Metrodome on Friday night from the tenth row of the left field home run porch, was nothing short of disgusting.
In the words of Don Henley, "this is the end... this is the end of the innocence."
Johan was pretty good, but he was not his normal Cy Young-esque self, and the bats were might as well have stayed on the rack.
But that's not what I'm talking about when I say that this is the end.
Look, as Americans, we are in trouble. I have seen the next generation, and ladies and gentlemen, we may as well go ahead and board the whole thing up because we are in a whole heap of trouble. A generation that has no respect for baseball is a generation that I don't want to be around when they start running things into the ground.
Timeline:
1st inning: 4 youngsters around the age of 10 try to get the wave going. (By the way, I hate the wave. I absolutely abhor the wave. But that's another topic for another time.) I groan audibly.
2nd inning: The first, of what would become several, beach-ball of the evening begins making its way around the left field seats. The fans boo when the usher confiscates and pops it.
3rd inning: Beach-ball #2. Same outcome. Apparently the fans have short memories.
4rd inning: Heard from a 20ish female behind me "The right fielder looks cute." We were sitting in left field.
5th inning: Beach-ball #3.
6th inning: As, the row of 20-somethings behind us continue to not pay attention to the game, the females in the group begin to talk about their Twins t-shirts, all of which had been bought the day of the game. Please shoot me.
7th inning: Almost nobody within my line of sight is singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," and most look confused by what is going on.
8th inning: The Twins need a rally, and the kid sitting next to me looks at me like I'm smoking crack-cocaine when I turn my hat inside out and wear it backwards. Shouldn't it be completely legal for me to hit someone like this? (And by the way, if you don't know what it means to turn one's hat inside out during the late innings of a baseball game, please don't ever read this blog again.)
9th inning: Within my line of site only 5 people, including myself are wearing the proverbial "rally cap."
Game end: Twins lose. I'm not surprised. This was a poor showing by the fans.
Well, there you have it. We're doomed.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Jeff: The Monday Musings
Well hello there. Hope you're all enjoying "Easter Monday" and the day off that comes with it...oh wait, um, that's right, you don't live in a metric socialist country where they take all your money in taxes but give back with 4 day weekends for Easter. I believe Sean Connery said it best when he said "Suck it Trebek!"
I'm not even sure what that means.
* Ok so I suck at golf and don't pay attention to it other than when the 4 majors are on, which is a nice way of saying I'm uneducated. But here's my question: would you rather see a tourney that's played well, with Tigger and Lefty and Ernie and Vijay and Weir (I have to include him now that I live here. It's communist law) playing under par and making great shot after great shot? Or one like this weekend's Masters where the course just kicks everybody's ass all weekend long? Because I'd definitely choose the former. I mean I know the rich old crusty white guys at Augusta probably LOVE seeing their course pull an Iron Lotus on the world's best, but it's not as much fun to watch. Maybe it's me. Oh and just who the hell is Zach Johnson anyway?
* So my baseball team, which happens to be none other than the 1st place Seattle Mariners, had an entire weekend of baseball snowed out. Yes snow (I'm choosing to overlook the fact that the only reason Seattle remains in 1st is because of the snow). Would it make too much sense to play the 1st week or so of the season in sunny locales or places with domes? Sure global warming will make this point moot in about 10 years, but for the next 9, is it such a bad idea to not have guys freezing their asses off or fighting through snowstorms? Isn't baseball hard enough already?
* I now hate the Red Sox almost as much as the Yankees (really what's the difference between the two teams now? Well other than the Sox fanbase is way more whiny and annoying?), but I'll make one comment on them after watching their 3-2 victory over Texas last night: moving Jonathan Papelbon back to closer might be the best move of the season- for anybody. Papelboner came in the 8th last night with runners at 1st & 3rd with one out, and Texas' 2 best hitters due up: SS Michael Young and 1B Mark Teixiera. The Boner struck out Young on 4 pitches, then got Teixiera to pop up on the 5th. Inning over. He then mowed down the next 3 Ranger hitters in the 9th. Ball game. I am well aware of the age old argument that starters are more valuable than relievers, and I understand the "pro starter" argument, but after watching last night, the Red Sox definitely did the right thing moving him to the closer's role. He and Joe Nathan are the two best in baseball, and it's a huge edge when you know you have a guy like that to protect late leads. I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin.
* Hockey playoffs start Wednesday! Feel the excitment! It's hockey mania here, but it's just plain stupid that we have teams like Atlanta and Tampa Bay in the playoffs and not Toronto or Montreal. Great job on the expansion there Gary Bettman. You've got so much parity in your league that the two largest markets and most popular teams in Canada are staying home so that southerners who wouldn't know a puck if they were hit in the head with one (frankly they probably wouldn't feel that either) can take a break from playing Toby Keith and watching NASCAR to watch hockey...and then immediately forget it and stop caring the instant "their" team is eliminated. At least Minnesota made it, and considering they're playing my least favorite sports franchise on earth, well, Go WILD! is all I have to say! At least until they play the Canucks. Then it's on!
* Finally, ESPN.com did an Ultimate Franchise Rankings where they polled a bunch of fans on a myriad of questions and categories, and came out with the "best franchise" ranked from 1 to 122. Your top 5: Buffalo Sabres, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Indy Colts, and the Detwah Pistons. The Twinkies finished 14th, with the 4th most likeable/hardest working players, the 3rd worst stadium (3 wild guesses at what the worst was. here's a hint: it's the same building!), and somehow only the 77th best ownership group (Sid Hartman must have done the voting there). The Pack were 23rd (Lambeau was voted the #2 stadium. #1? Wait for it...), the Wild ranked 29th (#1 stadium in all of sports. Couldn't agree more), my Canucks were 74th, my 1st place Seattle Mariners were 90th (10th best stadium), and your Minnesota Timberwolves were ranked 109 (both their coaching/managing and "Title track" ranked 117th- or 5th worst. The fans must not read Forbes?). But of course the icing on the cake is the bottom 5. Ladies and gentlemen, fans of The Purple, your 5 worst pro franchises in all of sports as voted on by the fans:
1) Detwah Leones
2) Oakland Raiders
3) New York Knicks
4) YOUR MINNESOTA VIKINGS!!!!
5) Chicago Blackhawks
That's right, if you thought Viking fan morale was at an all-time low, well, you're absolutely right! Thanks Chilly! Thanks Ziggy! And thank you Viking fans for voting. I can't WAIT for football seaon now! You know it's bad when the best thing for the franchise would be an awful season so that Chilly and the entire staff (front office included) gets canned and we get as high a draft pick as possible for 2008. That's my hope! That's my Vikings! Catch the Purple Fever!
I'm not even sure what that means.
* Ok so I suck at golf and don't pay attention to it other than when the 4 majors are on, which is a nice way of saying I'm uneducated. But here's my question: would you rather see a tourney that's played well, with Tigger and Lefty and Ernie and Vijay and Weir (I have to include him now that I live here. It's communist law) playing under par and making great shot after great shot? Or one like this weekend's Masters where the course just kicks everybody's ass all weekend long? Because I'd definitely choose the former. I mean I know the rich old crusty white guys at Augusta probably LOVE seeing their course pull an Iron Lotus on the world's best, but it's not as much fun to watch. Maybe it's me. Oh and just who the hell is Zach Johnson anyway?
* So my baseball team, which happens to be none other than the 1st place Seattle Mariners, had an entire weekend of baseball snowed out. Yes snow (I'm choosing to overlook the fact that the only reason Seattle remains in 1st is because of the snow). Would it make too much sense to play the 1st week or so of the season in sunny locales or places with domes? Sure global warming will make this point moot in about 10 years, but for the next 9, is it such a bad idea to not have guys freezing their asses off or fighting through snowstorms? Isn't baseball hard enough already?* I now hate the Red Sox almost as much as the Yankees (really what's the difference between the two teams now? Well other than the Sox fanbase is way more whiny and annoying?), but I'll make one comment on them after watching their 3-2 victory over Texas last night: moving Jonathan Papelbon back to closer might be the best move of the season- for anybody. Papelboner came in the 8th last night with runners at 1st & 3rd with one out, and Texas' 2 best hitters due up: SS Michael Young and 1B Mark Teixiera. The Boner struck out Young on 4 pitches, then got Teixiera to pop up on the 5th. Inning over. He then mowed down the next 3 Ranger hitters in the 9th. Ball game. I am well aware of the age old argument that starters are more valuable than relievers, and I understand the "pro starter" argument, but after watching last night, the Red Sox definitely did the right thing moving him to the closer's role. He and Joe Nathan are the two best in baseball, and it's a huge edge when you know you have a guy like that to protect late leads. I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin.
* Hockey playoffs start Wednesday! Feel the excitment! It's hockey mania here, but it's just plain stupid that we have teams like Atlanta and Tampa Bay in the playoffs and not Toronto or Montreal. Great job on the expansion there Gary Bettman. You've got so much parity in your league that the two largest markets and most popular teams in Canada are staying home so that southerners who wouldn't know a puck if they were hit in the head with one (frankly they probably wouldn't feel that either) can take a break from playing Toby Keith and watching NASCAR to watch hockey...and then immediately forget it and stop caring the instant "their" team is eliminated. At least Minnesota made it, and considering they're playing my least favorite sports franchise on earth, well, Go WILD! is all I have to say! At least until they play the Canucks. Then it's on!
* Finally, ESPN.com did an Ultimate Franchise Rankings where they polled a bunch of fans on a myriad of questions and categories, and came out with the "best franchise" ranked from 1 to 122. Your top 5: Buffalo Sabres, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Indy Colts, and the Detwah Pistons. The Twinkies finished 14th, with the 4th most likeable/hardest working players, the 3rd worst stadium (3 wild guesses at what the worst was. here's a hint: it's the same building!), and somehow only the 77th best ownership group (Sid Hartman must have done the voting there). The Pack were 23rd (Lambeau was voted the #2 stadium. #1? Wait for it...), the Wild ranked 29th (#1 stadium in all of sports. Couldn't agree more), my Canucks were 74th, my 1st place Seattle Mariners were 90th (10th best stadium), and your Minnesota Timberwolves were ranked 109 (both their coaching/managing and "Title track" ranked 117th- or 5th worst. The fans must not read Forbes?). But of course the icing on the cake is the bottom 5. Ladies and gentlemen, fans of The Purple, your 5 worst pro franchises in all of sports as voted on by the fans:
1) Detwah Leones
2) Oakland Raiders
3) New York Knicks
4) YOUR MINNESOTA VIKINGS!!!!
5) Chicago Blackhawks
That's right, if you thought Viking fan morale was at an all-time low, well, you're absolutely right! Thanks Chilly! Thanks Ziggy! And thank you Viking fans for voting. I can't WAIT for football seaon now! You know it's bad when the best thing for the franchise would be an awful season so that Chilly and the entire staff (front office included) gets canned and we get as high a draft pick as possible for 2008. That's my hope! That's my Vikings! Catch the Purple Fever!
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Jeff: What a weekend!
A few things to mention as we head into the Easter weekend.
1) Thoroughly enjoyed the college hoops national Final Monday night. Good to see Greg Oden finally have a game where he looked like the dominant force he’s supposed to be. Of course I question why he doesn’t play like that every night, but really there’s no need to worry about his pro potential since 99% of the guys in the NBA don’t play hard every night either. He’ll fit right in. This is the most fun I’ve had watching basketball since the Fab 5 were wearing baggy shorts and taking money from boosters at Michigan, and I hope Oden, Durant, the UCLA guys and everybody else sticks around for another year. It had been so long since we saw college hoops played at a high level, that I forgotten just how much better it is than the NBA. Besides the fan intensity and that the kids actually play hard every game (well except Oden), it’s nice to see TEAM basketball where they actually run an offense, work it around for the best shot and mid-range jumpers. Even though Florida was in control for most of that game, it was so enjoyable to watch because they ran their offense so bloody well. They always seemed to make the extra pass and find the right guy, and when that didn’t work Lee Humphrey would bomb away from 25 feet out. Seriously how impressive was he? The guy was an absolute assassin, but hey, we have no room for that kind of player on the next level. He busts his ass on both ends, and shoots the lights out. Nope if you don’t have the desire to go 1-on-5, refer to yourself in the 3rd person, and want to make it all about you, you’re not going to be an NBA player (the Suns, Mavs and KG being the only exceptions).
Can you tell I’m down on the NBA right now? Since my Sonics are going to Oklahoma next year, and I can’t stand watching the Wolves anymore, I’m now without a team. (By the way here’s the courtesy link to ESPN.com’s interview with KG. Minnesotans, enjoy him for the last 2 weeks because after this year he’s G-O-N-E. Notice in the article his only comments to the “will you ask for a trade?” is that his only focus is on finishing out the season strong. Sure he doesn’t say he wants to be traded, but not ONCE does he say he’s coming back and does NOT want to be traded despite being given every opportunity to in the interview. Not once. KG’s done everything you could possibly ask a superstar athlete to do, and he should be sent out like a hero. Hopefully this summer Freddy Hoiberg can start to clean up the awful mess Kevin McHale has made).
Admittedly my buddies Ben and Joel and I tried to adopt the Charlotte Bobcats as our favorite team (all three of are Canadians, and all three of us hate the Raptors. Yet none of us have given a crap about the NBA this year). So I’m hoping that as many good players as possible stay in school so that college hoops will be that much better.
As for Luke's comment about Billy Packer...
The only thing on Saturday night that annoyed me more than Joakim Noah's girliness is Billy Packer MANY times referring to a very questionable call and saying that it was "unquestionably" a foul or "unquestionably" not a foul. Who is he paid by? Is he so authoritative that nobody can question his judgement?
...well that’s just the tip of the iceberg. To say Packer’s a little set in his ways would be like saying Tom Cruise has gone a little crazy. Read this story the Sports Guy linked to from USA Today and you’ll understand just how great Billy thinks he is. He does no research on the team’s he’s covering and DOESN’T EVEN BOTHER TALKING TO THE COACHES BEFORE THE GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who else could possibly get away with that? As the SG has mentioned numerous times over the past few months, he doesn’t like Packer and doesn’t know anyone else who does. I agree. I can’t stand him and none of my friends (at least to my knowledge) like him either. Why can’t Bill Raftery have that job? He’s my favorite analyst in any sport and perfectly captures the excitement of college basketball but still does an excellent job of telling you what’s going on AND WHY (that always baffles me. When they show replays color commentators so often just give a play-by-play of what happened rather than telling us WHY it happened. Don’t do the play-by-play guy’s job. Do yours!).
Finally I’d just like to say how thankful I am that the Masters falls on Easter weekend, since I have nothing better to do Friday, Saturday and Sunday than watch (said in a whisper) “The Masters.” Between that, Mariners baseball (3 games in and we’re STILL above .500! May wonders never cease!), the Canucks trying to clinch the Northwest division (if you think Minnesota loves the Wild, multiply that by about a billion and you’ll start to understand how much people love the Canucks here. I suppose that’s what happens when you’ve got a metropolitan area the size of Seattle or the Twin Cities with ONE pro sports team.), AND 20 degree Celcius temperatures predicted, this is shaping up to be a nice little weekend. Maybe Bed, Bath and Beyond…I don’t know if we’ll have time.
Happy Easter everybody.
1) Thoroughly enjoyed the college hoops national Final Monday night. Good to see Greg Oden finally have a game where he looked like the dominant force he’s supposed to be. Of course I question why he doesn’t play like that every night, but really there’s no need to worry about his pro potential since 99% of the guys in the NBA don’t play hard every night either. He’ll fit right in. This is the most fun I’ve had watching basketball since the Fab 5 were wearing baggy shorts and taking money from boosters at Michigan, and I hope Oden, Durant, the UCLA guys and everybody else sticks around for another year. It had been so long since we saw college hoops played at a high level, that I forgotten just how much better it is than the NBA. Besides the fan intensity and that the kids actually play hard every game (well except Oden), it’s nice to see TEAM basketball where they actually run an offense, work it around for the best shot and mid-range jumpers. Even though Florida was in control for most of that game, it was so enjoyable to watch because they ran their offense so bloody well. They always seemed to make the extra pass and find the right guy, and when that didn’t work Lee Humphrey would bomb away from 25 feet out. Seriously how impressive was he? The guy was an absolute assassin, but hey, we have no room for that kind of player on the next level. He busts his ass on both ends, and shoots the lights out. Nope if you don’t have the desire to go 1-on-5, refer to yourself in the 3rd person, and want to make it all about you, you’re not going to be an NBA player (the Suns, Mavs and KG being the only exceptions).
Can you tell I’m down on the NBA right now? Since my Sonics are going to Oklahoma next year, and I can’t stand watching the Wolves anymore, I’m now without a team. (By the way here’s the courtesy link to ESPN.com’s interview with KG. Minnesotans, enjoy him for the last 2 weeks because after this year he’s G-O-N-E. Notice in the article his only comments to the “will you ask for a trade?” is that his only focus is on finishing out the season strong. Sure he doesn’t say he wants to be traded, but not ONCE does he say he’s coming back and does NOT want to be traded despite being given every opportunity to in the interview. Not once. KG’s done everything you could possibly ask a superstar athlete to do, and he should be sent out like a hero. Hopefully this summer Freddy Hoiberg can start to clean up the awful mess Kevin McHale has made).
Admittedly my buddies Ben and Joel and I tried to adopt the Charlotte Bobcats as our favorite team (all three of are Canadians, and all three of us hate the Raptors. Yet none of us have given a crap about the NBA this year). So I’m hoping that as many good players as possible stay in school so that college hoops will be that much better.
As for Luke's comment about Billy Packer...
The only thing on Saturday night that annoyed me more than Joakim Noah's girliness is Billy Packer MANY times referring to a very questionable call and saying that it was "unquestionably" a foul or "unquestionably" not a foul. Who is he paid by? Is he so authoritative that nobody can question his judgement?
...well that’s just the tip of the iceberg. To say Packer’s a little set in his ways would be like saying Tom Cruise has gone a little crazy. Read this story the Sports Guy linked to from USA Today and you’ll understand just how great Billy thinks he is. He does no research on the team’s he’s covering and DOESN’T EVEN BOTHER TALKING TO THE COACHES BEFORE THE GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who else could possibly get away with that? As the SG has mentioned numerous times over the past few months, he doesn’t like Packer and doesn’t know anyone else who does. I agree. I can’t stand him and none of my friends (at least to my knowledge) like him either. Why can’t Bill Raftery have that job? He’s my favorite analyst in any sport and perfectly captures the excitement of college basketball but still does an excellent job of telling you what’s going on AND WHY (that always baffles me. When they show replays color commentators so often just give a play-by-play of what happened rather than telling us WHY it happened. Don’t do the play-by-play guy’s job. Do yours!).
Finally I’d just like to say how thankful I am that the Masters falls on Easter weekend, since I have nothing better to do Friday, Saturday and Sunday than watch (said in a whisper) “The Masters.” Between that, Mariners baseball (3 games in and we’re STILL above .500! May wonders never cease!), the Canucks trying to clinch the Northwest division (if you think Minnesota loves the Wild, multiply that by about a billion and you’ll start to understand how much people love the Canucks here. I suppose that’s what happens when you’ve got a metropolitan area the size of Seattle or the Twin Cities with ONE pro sports team.), AND 20 degree Celcius temperatures predicted, this is shaping up to be a nice little weekend. Maybe Bed, Bath and Beyond…I don’t know if we’ll have time.
Happy Easter everybody.
Jeremy: 2 days!!!
In case you were wondering, just two more days until the Gopher Spring Football game and the Gopher Nation Celebration! I might be excited. Can you tell?
Two reasons I'm excited about this:
First of all, IT'S FOOTBALL!!!
Second of all, IT'S TAILGATING!!!
Yep, you read that right, we'll be tailgating for the spring game. What is this Florida? Texas? Who do we think we are, USC?
You know what? I don't care. Brewster is pumping up the troops, and the fans, and it's about time. Think like a winner, play like a winner.
In case you haven't been paying attention, there's a lot of excitement going on over at the U. I have to tell you, it's pretty impressive what Joel Maturi has been able to do for Gopher Sports in the past 90 or so days. I believe that I've said it before, but he had a chance to make the Gopher Sports program the talk of the town, and he has managed to do it. I never thought I'd be saying this about Joel Maturi, but nicely done!
So back to Gopher Football. Since National Signing day in early February, Brewster has continued to make an impact in recruiting. Just this week Champlain Park linebacker Sam Maresh committed to the Gophers, and Ryan Grant (son of EP coach Mike Grant and grandson of former Vikings coach Bud Grant), quarterback/linebacker from Eden Prairie, committed as well.
Maresh is a big commitment. He's will be the top defensive player in the state when high school football opens in the fall, and he's been ranked in the top 250 prospects in the nation. I saw a brief interview with Maresh who said that Brewster absolutely sold him on the program and staying home to play football.
Apparently Maresh was driving home from the U of M campus to Champlin with his dad and he told him to turn the car around, he wanted to make a verbal commitment to Minnesota.
In an interview with WCCO's Mike Max Maresh said "It just put butterflies in my stomach with all the stuff he was saying about 'we need Minnesota boys to stay in Minnesota' and 'we really need you'. He's just a real passionate guy and he's real dedicated in what he's going to do for this program."
And, oh by the way, Maresh had been offered scholarships at Michigan, Miami, Wisconsin and Iowa, and has said that he will actively speak with Cretin-Derham Hall receiver Michael Floyd and Eden Prairie defensive end Willie Mobley about staying in Minnesota.
Wasn't it Glen Mason who said we couldn't land blue chippers in Minnesota?
Two reasons I'm excited about this:
First of all, IT'S FOOTBALL!!!
Second of all, IT'S TAILGATING!!!
Yep, you read that right, we'll be tailgating for the spring game. What is this Florida? Texas? Who do we think we are, USC?
You know what? I don't care. Brewster is pumping up the troops, and the fans, and it's about time. Think like a winner, play like a winner.
In case you haven't been paying attention, there's a lot of excitement going on over at the U. I have to tell you, it's pretty impressive what Joel Maturi has been able to do for Gopher Sports in the past 90 or so days. I believe that I've said it before, but he had a chance to make the Gopher Sports program the talk of the town, and he has managed to do it. I never thought I'd be saying this about Joel Maturi, but nicely done!
So back to Gopher Football. Since National Signing day in early February, Brewster has continued to make an impact in recruiting. Just this week Champlain Park linebacker Sam Maresh committed to the Gophers, and Ryan Grant (son of EP coach Mike Grant and grandson of former Vikings coach Bud Grant), quarterback/linebacker from Eden Prairie, committed as well.
Maresh is a big commitment. He's will be the top defensive player in the state when high school football opens in the fall, and he's been ranked in the top 250 prospects in the nation. I saw a brief interview with Maresh who said that Brewster absolutely sold him on the program and staying home to play football.
Apparently Maresh was driving home from the U of M campus to Champlin with his dad and he told him to turn the car around, he wanted to make a verbal commitment to Minnesota.
In an interview with WCCO's Mike Max Maresh said "It just put butterflies in my stomach with all the stuff he was saying about 'we need Minnesota boys to stay in Minnesota' and 'we really need you'. He's just a real passionate guy and he's real dedicated in what he's going to do for this program."
And, oh by the way, Maresh had been offered scholarships at Michigan, Miami, Wisconsin and Iowa, and has said that he will actively speak with Cretin-Derham Hall receiver Michael Floyd and Eden Prairie defensive end Willie Mobley about staying in Minnesota.
Wasn't it Glen Mason who said we couldn't land blue chippers in Minnesota?
Monday, April 02, 2007
Jeff: From Hoops to Hardball
Deja vu? Yes here we are again, with a national final of Florida and Ohio State. Just as conventional wisdom (or at least mine) said the Buckeyes should have no trouble beating the Gators in football, after watching Saturday's games I see no way Florida loses to Ohio State in basketball. Which if the football Title game is any indication means Ohio State will win by 20. But I doubt it. Once the Gator's outside shooters started knocking down shots early in the 2nd half against UCLA (you knew it was only a matter of time), it was over. Ben Howland knew it too, as he had used all his timeouts before the 12 min TV timeout to try and slow the momentum. But the Gators, as they were last year, were just too much, overpowering the Bruins inside and outshooting them from the perimeter. And defense. We can't forget that, the part that UCLA prided itself on most was where Florida really shined. Corey Brewer was impressive shutting down Aron Afflalo and Darren Collison on the perimeter, and UCLA got nothing inside, going one-and-done on just about every trip.
Ohio State is better than UCLA because of Mike Conley and Greg Oden, but it's not going to matter for one simple reason: Oden can't stop committing quick, cheap, early fouls. IT's like he has foul-itis, where he can't stop himself from reaching in or running over somebody when he should know better. Oden HAS to know by know that EVERYBODY they play will be trying to get him in foul trouble. And what did he do against the Hoyas? He said "screw it" and picked up 2 dumb fouls in the first 3 minutes. His first half minutes in this tournament have been as short as Britney Spear's hair, and his chances of him not continuing that trend in tonight's final are about as good as the chances of Ms. Spears staying in rehab.
IF Oden can stay in the game, we could see an all-time classic, but even then the Gators have too much. They can run Noah (who's moving into a Mateen Cleaves-level of annoyance for me), Hortford and Richard at him, while Brewer and Green slash to the hoop and Humphrey nails 3 after 3. As Denny Green would say "They are who we thought they were! We knew this was the 2006 National Champs, so if you wanna go ahead and crown their ass, you crown them!" Thanks Denny. I believe they will be crowned Monday night as the first back-to-back Champs since the damn Dukies.
*****************************
A quick uneducated baseball preview, since nobody told me the season started. What? IT did? Already? I suppose it is April already. AL division winners as the A's, Tiggers, and Red Sox, wild card is Toronto (and I hate Toronto, so keep in mind it kills me to say that). The A's don't look to be the best team in a weak West, but they always find a way. In Beane We Trust. The Central is the best division in the game, and the Tigers have the depth and experience to win it. Cleveland's margin for error is too small for my liking. If/when CC Sabathia goes down they're in trouble again. They will hit though. I'm not saying the Twins will have a bad year (they'll be above .500), I just don't see how you win with the best player in baseball and then 4 #5 starters as your rotation. Anyone? Watch they'll go and win the whole damn thing. And the Yanks? They're starting Carl Pavano on opening day. Randy Johnson's not walking through that door. Roger Clemens' not walking through that door (calm down, he's going back to Houston once the roids have had a few cycles- I'm sorry what?). Their pitching is suspect to begin with, and if you've noticed, there's not a lot of teams out there with a surplus of pitching to trade with. Unless you want to give up a king's ransom for Jon Lieber in Philly? Didn't think so. The offense will hit as always, but the entire pitching staff (short of Mariano Rivera) is suspect, and in the AL that's not going to get it done.
Although I'd like to dance on the graves of the anti-christ, this is actually not a good sign for anti-Yankee fans like myself. Now that GM Brian Cashman is actually allowed to do his job (ol George is too old and tired to control everything anymore), the Yanks are building through their farm system (i.e. dealing Sheffield and The Unit for prospects), and will still have the cash to sign the big free agents or make the shrewd deals. So although they'll miss the playoffs this year (first time in a decade. Wow!), they'll be back to stay in 2008.
In the National League, um, I mean, do you really care? Do you? It's still AAAA baseball over there, and as I said last year, there's not one team in the National League as good as the top 6 in the AL. The Mets? Rotation issues. Phillies? Bullpen issues. Cardinals? They don't make horseshoes that big to have a team that bad win 2 titles in a row. And the NL West is awful. So who's in? (Closing eyes and pointing randomly to teams) Mets, Phils, Brewers and...San Diego (founded by the Germans in 1904. I will never tire of that joke)? Sure sounds good.
Ok enjoy the games!
Ohio State is better than UCLA because of Mike Conley and Greg Oden, but it's not going to matter for one simple reason: Oden can't stop committing quick, cheap, early fouls. IT's like he has foul-itis, where he can't stop himself from reaching in or running over somebody when he should know better. Oden HAS to know by know that EVERYBODY they play will be trying to get him in foul trouble. And what did he do against the Hoyas? He said "screw it" and picked up 2 dumb fouls in the first 3 minutes. His first half minutes in this tournament have been as short as Britney Spear's hair, and his chances of him not continuing that trend in tonight's final are about as good as the chances of Ms. Spears staying in rehab.
IF Oden can stay in the game, we could see an all-time classic, but even then the Gators have too much. They can run Noah (who's moving into a Mateen Cleaves-level of annoyance for me), Hortford and Richard at him, while Brewer and Green slash to the hoop and Humphrey nails 3 after 3. As Denny Green would say "They are who we thought they were! We knew this was the 2006 National Champs, so if you wanna go ahead and crown their ass, you crown them!" Thanks Denny. I believe they will be crowned Monday night as the first back-to-back Champs since the damn Dukies.
*****************************
A quick uneducated baseball preview, since nobody told me the season started. What? IT did? Already? I suppose it is April already. AL division winners as the A's, Tiggers, and Red Sox, wild card is Toronto (and I hate Toronto, so keep in mind it kills me to say that). The A's don't look to be the best team in a weak West, but they always find a way. In Beane We Trust. The Central is the best division in the game, and the Tigers have the depth and experience to win it. Cleveland's margin for error is too small for my liking. If/when CC Sabathia goes down they're in trouble again. They will hit though. I'm not saying the Twins will have a bad year (they'll be above .500), I just don't see how you win with the best player in baseball and then 4 #5 starters as your rotation. Anyone? Watch they'll go and win the whole damn thing. And the Yanks? They're starting Carl Pavano on opening day. Randy Johnson's not walking through that door. Roger Clemens' not walking through that door (calm down, he's going back to Houston once the roids have had a few cycles- I'm sorry what?). Their pitching is suspect to begin with, and if you've noticed, there's not a lot of teams out there with a surplus of pitching to trade with. Unless you want to give up a king's ransom for Jon Lieber in Philly? Didn't think so. The offense will hit as always, but the entire pitching staff (short of Mariano Rivera) is suspect, and in the AL that's not going to get it done.
Although I'd like to dance on the graves of the anti-christ, this is actually not a good sign for anti-Yankee fans like myself. Now that GM Brian Cashman is actually allowed to do his job (ol George is too old and tired to control everything anymore), the Yanks are building through their farm system (i.e. dealing Sheffield and The Unit for prospects), and will still have the cash to sign the big free agents or make the shrewd deals. So although they'll miss the playoffs this year (first time in a decade. Wow!), they'll be back to stay in 2008.
In the National League, um, I mean, do you really care? Do you? It's still AAAA baseball over there, and as I said last year, there's not one team in the National League as good as the top 6 in the AL. The Mets? Rotation issues. Phillies? Bullpen issues. Cardinals? They don't make horseshoes that big to have a team that bad win 2 titles in a row. And the NL West is awful. So who's in? (Closing eyes and pointing randomly to teams) Mets, Phils, Brewers and...San Diego (founded by the Germans in 1904. I will never tire of that joke)? Sure sounds good.
Ok enjoy the games!
Monday, March 26, 2007
Jeremy: ...allow me to retort...
Let me start off by saying, Jeffrick might have me on this one. He's got stats and knowledge about Tubby Smith that I just don't have. And one thing that he definitely does have, that I definitely do not have, is perspective.
Look, let's be honest here: I'm a Minnesota guy. Go down the list of any sport and I will tell you that my favorite team is the one representing 'Sota and I'll follow that up by telling you that none of the other teams matter. When it comes to sports I might have strong opinions, but my loyalty to the hometown team is probably even stronger.
Having said that, keep in mind that I was the person who broke the Tubby Smith news to Jeffrick, which I had heard from a co-worker who is a huge Iowa fan, just two minutes after I had heard it. The Iowa fan was absolutely beside himself, knowing that his Hawkeyes were looking for a new basketball coach too.
As a Gopher fan sometimes you expect to hear the worst (I do). You probably never expected that the Flip Saunders thing was going to happen (I didn't), and you assume that Joel Maturi is going to make a mistake (I still did). So when the name Tubby Smith comes up, it really knocks you off your chair.
After some thought and perspective about the hiring, I do have a couple of reservations, but not nearly as many as Jeff.
I see all of his arguments and I understand each and every one of them. But is one thing that Tubby Smith brings, that none of the up and coming young coaches can bring to a program like Minnesota.
Tubby Smith brings credibility to a program that had lost all credibility and desperately needed it back. Ten years ago the Gophers were the cream of the crop in the Big 10, and since then absolutely nothing good has happened to this program. There was one, and only one, single move that could erase a decade of free-falling and that was hiring a coach who has a credible track record with a big name. Rick Majerus and Bobby Knight were the only other possibilities that could have brought instant credibility to this program. Majerus has probably been out of the game for too long to do it (not to mention his health concerns) and Bobby Knight was never a viable option.
Credibility breeds excitement, excitement breeds ticket sales, ticket sales breed atmosphere, and atmosphere might win some recruits. How many recruits would be excited about Rick Majerus? Would any of them even remember when he was coaching?
Joel Maturi had the opportunity to right the ship, and the opportunity to do it in one fell swoop. There's a lot that goes into building a quality program. Based on what was available, I think he made the best possible choice.
Look, let's be honest here: I'm a Minnesota guy. Go down the list of any sport and I will tell you that my favorite team is the one representing 'Sota and I'll follow that up by telling you that none of the other teams matter. When it comes to sports I might have strong opinions, but my loyalty to the hometown team is probably even stronger.
Having said that, keep in mind that I was the person who broke the Tubby Smith news to Jeffrick, which I had heard from a co-worker who is a huge Iowa fan, just two minutes after I had heard it. The Iowa fan was absolutely beside himself, knowing that his Hawkeyes were looking for a new basketball coach too.
As a Gopher fan sometimes you expect to hear the worst (I do). You probably never expected that the Flip Saunders thing was going to happen (I didn't), and you assume that Joel Maturi is going to make a mistake (I still did). So when the name Tubby Smith comes up, it really knocks you off your chair.
After some thought and perspective about the hiring, I do have a couple of reservations, but not nearly as many as Jeff.
I see all of his arguments and I understand each and every one of them. But is one thing that Tubby Smith brings, that none of the up and coming young coaches can bring to a program like Minnesota.
Tubby Smith brings credibility to a program that had lost all credibility and desperately needed it back. Ten years ago the Gophers were the cream of the crop in the Big 10, and since then absolutely nothing good has happened to this program. There was one, and only one, single move that could erase a decade of free-falling and that was hiring a coach who has a credible track record with a big name. Rick Majerus and Bobby Knight were the only other possibilities that could have brought instant credibility to this program. Majerus has probably been out of the game for too long to do it (not to mention his health concerns) and Bobby Knight was never a viable option.
Credibility breeds excitement, excitement breeds ticket sales, ticket sales breed atmosphere, and atmosphere might win some recruits. How many recruits would be excited about Rick Majerus? Would any of them even remember when he was coaching?
Joel Maturi had the opportunity to right the ship, and the opportunity to do it in one fell swoop. There's a lot that goes into building a quality program. Based on what was available, I think he made the best possible choice.
Jeff: Monday Musings
Quite a little sporting weekend. Maybe Bed Bath & Beyond but I don’t know if I’ll have time. Seeing how the Madness played out I feel even dumber about my bracket selections. Remember my ramblings about not being able to make picks because I hadn’t followed college hoops much during the year? That looks pretty foolish now, doesn’t it? Go with the chalk! All 4 #1 seeds, 3 #2’s, and a 3 seed in the Elite 8. A couple of upsets here and there but nothing major and we end up with 4 teams that were ranked in the top 8 for most of the season as our Final 4. I’m going to REALLY try to remember this when I’m filling out my bracket next year!
Not sure if I was more impressed with Georgetown’s comeback or appalled at North Carolina’s collapse yesterday. Up 10 with 6 minute left and then the bottom completely fell out of things for the Heels. All that young talent but they couldn’t find a go-to guy, well except the White Karl Malone, aka Tyler Hansbrough- actually, since Karl Malone is one of the whitest black men in history, Hansbrough would just be the Next Karl Malone. Hansbrough’s only move is to fight for good position in the post and then throw himself into his defender to draw the foul. Wash, rinse, repeat. All he needs now is a 15 ft jumper and to never dunk with two hands and he could be a Hall-of-Fame power forward- well maybe in the 80’s. Georgetown’s front line altered or blocked a lot of his shots, which means he’ll have a lot of trouble getting his shot off at the pro level. I know the Hoyas Roy Hibbert is 7’2, but it’s not like he’s much of a leaper. How many rebounds did the guy get standing FLAT FOOTED? As Billy Packer said, he looked like a dad playing with his kids. It’s not good when you look like a 7’2 version of Gheorge Muresan. Still he’ll be a lottery pick in June, and he was white, you know the Wolves would have to take him (Paul Grant anyone? Anyone? You in the corner with the ugly sweater? No?).
But as bad as the Heels looked down the stretch, credit Gtown for taking advantage and taking the lead. I love Florida’s Corey Brewer’s nickname of “The Drunken Dribbler” but I thought Jeff Green was even more deserving of that nickname. He looks out of control and almost clumsy on his drives and his shots, yet he’s so effective. He might be the tourney MVP thus far. The matchup with Ohio State should be fabulous, as I’m intrigued to see how Greg Oden does against Hibbert, who’s legitimately his equal in size and strength (although not in athletic ability). That game could be a slug fest but I’m really looking forward to it.
On the other side it’s Florida vs UCLA. Again. As Colin Cowherd said this morning, what’s changed since the Gators ran the Bruins off the floor last year? Nothing, which is why the Gators SHOULD do the same again. I picked Florida to repeat and I see no reason to change that now, as they’re the most talented and experienced team left. Their game against Oregon was a fun one to watch, as the Gators pushed the hell out of the ball all day. Expect that pace against UCLA who’s a great (aka boring!) defensive team. Not blow away by UCLA, which is why I had them getting knocked out earlier, but that’s not how Ben Howland’s team plays. They win ugly and will continue to. I just wish I didn’t have to watch it!
Not sure if I was more impressed with Georgetown’s comeback or appalled at North Carolina’s collapse yesterday. Up 10 with 6 minute left and then the bottom completely fell out of things for the Heels. All that young talent but they couldn’t find a go-to guy, well except the White Karl Malone, aka Tyler Hansbrough- actually, since Karl Malone is one of the whitest black men in history, Hansbrough would just be the Next Karl Malone. Hansbrough’s only move is to fight for good position in the post and then throw himself into his defender to draw the foul. Wash, rinse, repeat. All he needs now is a 15 ft jumper and to never dunk with two hands and he could be a Hall-of-Fame power forward- well maybe in the 80’s. Georgetown’s front line altered or blocked a lot of his shots, which means he’ll have a lot of trouble getting his shot off at the pro level. I know the Hoyas Roy Hibbert is 7’2, but it’s not like he’s much of a leaper. How many rebounds did the guy get standing FLAT FOOTED? As Billy Packer said, he looked like a dad playing with his kids. It’s not good when you look like a 7’2 version of Gheorge Muresan. Still he’ll be a lottery pick in June, and he was white, you know the Wolves would have to take him (Paul Grant anyone? Anyone? You in the corner with the ugly sweater? No?).
But as bad as the Heels looked down the stretch, credit Gtown for taking advantage and taking the lead. I love Florida’s Corey Brewer’s nickname of “The Drunken Dribbler” but I thought Jeff Green was even more deserving of that nickname. He looks out of control and almost clumsy on his drives and his shots, yet he’s so effective. He might be the tourney MVP thus far. The matchup with Ohio State should be fabulous, as I’m intrigued to see how Greg Oden does against Hibbert, who’s legitimately his equal in size and strength (although not in athletic ability). That game could be a slug fest but I’m really looking forward to it.
On the other side it’s Florida vs UCLA. Again. As Colin Cowherd said this morning, what’s changed since the Gators ran the Bruins off the floor last year? Nothing, which is why the Gators SHOULD do the same again. I picked Florida to repeat and I see no reason to change that now, as they’re the most talented and experienced team left. Their game against Oregon was a fun one to watch, as the Gators pushed the hell out of the ball all day. Expect that pace against UCLA who’s a great (aka boring!) defensive team. Not blow away by UCLA, which is why I had them getting knocked out earlier, but that’s not how Ben Howland’s team plays. They win ugly and will continue to. I just wish I didn’t have to watch it!
Friday, March 23, 2007
Jeff: Kentucky's Trash Is Minnesota's Treasure
This is one of those rare times when Jer and I have a difference of opinion on a sports topic (Hopefully he’ll present his argument on the Tubby Smith hire because this is one where I’d like to be wrong). Jer likes it and believes the good outweighs the bad. An average of 26 wins a year and 14 straight NCAA tourney appearances at 3 different schools (Tulane, Georgia & Kentucky) while running a clean program with likable athletes is certainly a reason to get excited. There’s just one problem: Tubby Smith failed at Kentucky. In 1998 he was handed the reigns to THE best basketball program in the country, and 8 years later he leaves it as a middle-of-the-pack major conference school. Call me crazy, but that’s not a good sign. The Gophers are getting a guy who couldn’t succeed with every conceivable advantage, and now is being asked to do so with far less.
Save your breath. Don’t bother me with the argument that if Tubby got the Gophers 20 wins and an NCAA tournament berth every year, they’d be naming streets and erecting statues after the man. I agree completely, but how confident can you be that the man will be able to recruit and build a program when he couldn’t maintain the best in the country? Kentucky IS one of the top programs in America (along with North Carolina, Duke and Kansas), one of the few places where they measure success by Final Four appearances and National Championships. 20 win seasons and NCAA berths are not only expected, it’s the minimum standard, which Smith was able to maintain. Yes he won a National Title, but it was with Rick Pitino’s kids, a group that had 5 or 6 NBA players on its roster. Now? Kentucky will be lucky to have one guy get selected in June’s NBA draft. Tubby had every possible advantage, from name recognition to athletic budget to facilities, yet he wasn’t able to recruit the elite athletes that Kentucky is expected to get. Patrick Reusse’s comments yesterday in the Strib are bogus. He claims that more kids want to stay home nowadays, so it’s not possible to dominate the landscape anymore, citing Duke as his example. Really? How many quality basketball players come from the state of Kansas? And yet aren’t the Jayhawks playing in the Elite 8 on Saturday? Greg Oden is from Indiana but went to Ohio State. Kevin Durant is from DC but went all the way to Texas. The certifiably insane OJ Mayo, this year’s top high school senior, is going from West Virginia to Southern California next fall. Hop on this thing we call the interweb and look at the rosters for the sweet 16 teams, and you’re going to see a lot of players that are playing out of state. Kids DO travel, but few elite players wanted to travel to the basketball Mecca in Lexington, Kentucky. And that has to fall squarely on the shoulders of Tubby Smith.
I hope Tubby succeeds and returns the Gophers to a respectable level where they’re annually competing for the Big 10 title and traveling to far off lands for the NCAA tournament. But I have to ask: if Tubby couldn’t recruit at Kentucky, how’s he going to do it at Minnesota? If kids wouldn’t play for him at an elite school, why would they suddenly play for him in Minneapolis?
Minnesotans celebrate this because he’s going to be better than Dan Monson. Hey congratulations, the mindset that Gopher football fans had (well at least he’s not Jim Wacker!) has now carried over to the basketball program. Flip Saunders or Rick Majerus (who wanted the job and was more successful at freaking UTAH than Tubby was at Kentucky) would have been better hires. Despite Sid Hartman’s usual asinine comments, plucking an up-and-coming coach from Southern Illinois or Xavier would have been better hires too. I’d rather have a guy who had success at his last job than a coach who got run out of town because he failed to meet expectations.
Save your breath. Don’t bother me with the argument that if Tubby got the Gophers 20 wins and an NCAA tournament berth every year, they’d be naming streets and erecting statues after the man. I agree completely, but how confident can you be that the man will be able to recruit and build a program when he couldn’t maintain the best in the country? Kentucky IS one of the top programs in America (along with North Carolina, Duke and Kansas), one of the few places where they measure success by Final Four appearances and National Championships. 20 win seasons and NCAA berths are not only expected, it’s the minimum standard, which Smith was able to maintain. Yes he won a National Title, but it was with Rick Pitino’s kids, a group that had 5 or 6 NBA players on its roster. Now? Kentucky will be lucky to have one guy get selected in June’s NBA draft. Tubby had every possible advantage, from name recognition to athletic budget to facilities, yet he wasn’t able to recruit the elite athletes that Kentucky is expected to get. Patrick Reusse’s comments yesterday in the Strib are bogus. He claims that more kids want to stay home nowadays, so it’s not possible to dominate the landscape anymore, citing Duke as his example. Really? How many quality basketball players come from the state of Kansas? And yet aren’t the Jayhawks playing in the Elite 8 on Saturday? Greg Oden is from Indiana but went to Ohio State. Kevin Durant is from DC but went all the way to Texas. The certifiably insane OJ Mayo, this year’s top high school senior, is going from West Virginia to Southern California next fall. Hop on this thing we call the interweb and look at the rosters for the sweet 16 teams, and you’re going to see a lot of players that are playing out of state. Kids DO travel, but few elite players wanted to travel to the basketball Mecca in Lexington, Kentucky. And that has to fall squarely on the shoulders of Tubby Smith.
I hope Tubby succeeds and returns the Gophers to a respectable level where they’re annually competing for the Big 10 title and traveling to far off lands for the NCAA tournament. But I have to ask: if Tubby couldn’t recruit at Kentucky, how’s he going to do it at Minnesota? If kids wouldn’t play for him at an elite school, why would they suddenly play for him in Minneapolis?
Minnesotans celebrate this because he’s going to be better than Dan Monson. Hey congratulations, the mindset that Gopher football fans had (well at least he’s not Jim Wacker!) has now carried over to the basketball program. Flip Saunders or Rick Majerus (who wanted the job and was more successful at freaking UTAH than Tubby was at Kentucky) would have been better hires. Despite Sid Hartman’s usual asinine comments, plucking an up-and-coming coach from Southern Illinois or Xavier would have been better hires too. I’d rather have a guy who had success at his last job than a coach who got run out of town because he failed to meet expectations.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Jeremy: Smell 'Em
Okay, quick story...
I was at Cub Foods yesterday with my special lady friend, doing a wee bit of grocery shopping. Cub often sells a bit of local sports swag: I have found Gopher floor mats for my truck there, and a Gopher rug that looks like a football field. Currently Cub is selling Twins memorabilia with the popular catch phrase "Smell 'Em," a phrase coined by catcher Mike Redmond, short for "Smell those runs."
So we're walking past the display for the "Smell 'Em" hats and t-shirts, and I see one of the funniest things I've seen in a long long time. A well-dressed middle-aged man was standing there, with a "Smell 'Em" hat in his hand, and he was... you guessed it!!! SMELLING THE HAT!!!
Now, one can't be sure if the man was smelling the hat because the words on it had prompted him to do so, or if the hat was giving off some kind of odor which caused him to do so. I prefer to think that he was smelling it because the hat said to smell 'em.
Either way, I got a good hearty laugh at this man's expense.
I was at Cub Foods yesterday with my special lady friend, doing a wee bit of grocery shopping. Cub often sells a bit of local sports swag: I have found Gopher floor mats for my truck there, and a Gopher rug that looks like a football field. Currently Cub is selling Twins memorabilia with the popular catch phrase "Smell 'Em," a phrase coined by catcher Mike Redmond, short for "Smell those runs."
So we're walking past the display for the "Smell 'Em" hats and t-shirts, and I see one of the funniest things I've seen in a long long time. A well-dressed middle-aged man was standing there, with a "Smell 'Em" hat in his hand, and he was... you guessed it!!! SMELLING THE HAT!!!
Now, one can't be sure if the man was smelling the hat because the words on it had prompted him to do so, or if the hat was giving off some kind of odor which caused him to do so. I prefer to think that he was smelling it because the hat said to smell 'em.
Either way, I got a good hearty laugh at this man's expense.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Jeff: Madness?
Is there any doubt that today and tomorrow (and the day after the Super Bowl while we're at it) should be national holidays? Anyone? Every year we see stories about how many billions of dollars (or beaver pelts and mukluks here in Canada)are lost over these 2 days because of lost worker productivity. If you've got any leverage at all, you've found a way to skip work today and tomorrow, or at least get out early. Or if you're Jer, you walk 5 seconds down the hall to a conference room where they've got a big screen TV with the game on and free popcorn for when you're "just checking out the scores". If I ran a business, I would just give people today and tomorrow off. It's really pointless to expect people to work on the two greatest sports days of the year.
Having said that, I already had to miss some games for an internship interview, and have to work tonight so I'll miss more, but so far, I really haven't missed much, and neither have you if you weren't fortunate enough to find a way to skip work. We've had a grand total of ZERO upsets that far, and in the last game of the day games, Vandy is currently crushing GW 43-16. Nothing like a cross-country flight over 4 time zones for GW from DC to Sacramento to get blown right out of the building. And now James Brown tried to use the phrase "I'm looking at GW for some 'give-up'". James, you're the third whitest black man in America behind Stuart Scott and Karl Malone; Just stop it, please.
So how's my bracket looking, you ask? Just dandy, thanks. My only loss so far was ODU to Butler, but I had Old Dominion losing in the 2nd round anyway. Looking this over, I really don't have much in the way of 1st round upsets: Villanova, VCU (isn't it great that Duke sucks? This would be like the Yankees finishing last in their division or the Knicks giving Isiah Thomas an extension when the Knicks are still under .500 with a $120 million payroll...uh nevermind), Long Beach State (who, just in case you're wondering, are indeed going to the Sweet 16), Xavier and Arkansas (they haven't even played and I'm already regretting that one) are my only upset picks of the first round. I just didn't see that much "MADNESS!!!!' happening in the 1st. So far so good, but with the way my bracket usually goes, I'm sure my bracket will be in shambles by this time tomorrow.
I have to say, I did find it difficult filling out the ol' bracket sheet. Jer and I both said it's tough when you haven't watched a lot of college hoops all year, and then are suddenly faced with figuring everybody out. If you've got the time to watch 5 or 6 games a week during the regular season, then more power to you, but for guys like Jer and I, there's no way you're going to be able to cram in 4 days to become a college hoops genius. We figured we'd read a few sites, watch a tourney preview show or two, and just go with the gut. It's as good a strateegery as any I say.
My Elite 8 looks like this: Florida over Notre Dame, Kansas over Pitt, Texas over Georgetown, and Ohio State over Texas A&M. I then picked Florida to thump Ohio State in a college foosball-style title game rematch. I don't like picking last year's champs to repeat because it so seldom happens, but their side of the bracket is ridiculously easy, and once they've won 4 in a row to get to the Final 4, how can you pick against them? I just couldn't. As for Texas, yes I'm on the Durant bandwagon, and I just see the guy winning a few rounds by himself, and yes that includes beating North Carolina AND a lot of people's darkhorse in Georgetown. After watching the Hoyas today, I can see why they were a chic pick because there's not much they can't do. The East, obviously, is THE toughest of the 4 regions.
I also just couldn't pick against Ohio State because they have Oden and nobody else does. I hope we get to see A&M and the Buckeyes in the Elite 8, because that would be a beauty, and then set up the Greatest College Basketball Game Probably Ever between Texas and OSU. The chances of it happening are slim I know, but I thought hey why not? Also, speaking of Texas A&M, they are another team that I've seen in a lot of people's Final 4 predictions. I'll be honest: I was THIS close to having Louisville beat them in the 2nd round and going all the way to the Elite 8 (Memphis as a 2 seed is a joke. They WILL lose to Nevada in the 2nd round), but changed my mind at the last minute. After watching the Cards destroy Stanford (who, let's be honest, had no business whatsoever being in the tournament) in Lexington, I'm thinking they're going to be VERY tough for A&M to beat in what is essentially a home game for them. I'm just saying.
Well we'll see if things get crazier tonight and tomorrow. I know nobody ever comments on this site, but I'd be interested to see who everybody picked to win it and who your "Upset Special" was for the first two days: Mine was Long Beach State over Virginia.
PS- Vandy is up 30 POINTS to start the 2nd half. I had them also getting to the Sweet 16 thank you very much.
Having said that, I already had to miss some games for an internship interview, and have to work tonight so I'll miss more, but so far, I really haven't missed much, and neither have you if you weren't fortunate enough to find a way to skip work. We've had a grand total of ZERO upsets that far, and in the last game of the day games, Vandy is currently crushing GW 43-16. Nothing like a cross-country flight over 4 time zones for GW from DC to Sacramento to get blown right out of the building. And now James Brown tried to use the phrase "I'm looking at GW for some 'give-up'". James, you're the third whitest black man in America behind Stuart Scott and Karl Malone; Just stop it, please.
So how's my bracket looking, you ask? Just dandy, thanks. My only loss so far was ODU to Butler, but I had Old Dominion losing in the 2nd round anyway. Looking this over, I really don't have much in the way of 1st round upsets: Villanova, VCU (isn't it great that Duke sucks? This would be like the Yankees finishing last in their division or the Knicks giving Isiah Thomas an extension when the Knicks are still under .500 with a $120 million payroll...uh nevermind), Long Beach State (who, just in case you're wondering, are indeed going to the Sweet 16), Xavier and Arkansas (they haven't even played and I'm already regretting that one) are my only upset picks of the first round. I just didn't see that much "MADNESS!!!!' happening in the 1st. So far so good, but with the way my bracket usually goes, I'm sure my bracket will be in shambles by this time tomorrow.
I have to say, I did find it difficult filling out the ol' bracket sheet. Jer and I both said it's tough when you haven't watched a lot of college hoops all year, and then are suddenly faced with figuring everybody out. If you've got the time to watch 5 or 6 games a week during the regular season, then more power to you, but for guys like Jer and I, there's no way you're going to be able to cram in 4 days to become a college hoops genius. We figured we'd read a few sites, watch a tourney preview show or two, and just go with the gut. It's as good a strateegery as any I say.
My Elite 8 looks like this: Florida over Notre Dame, Kansas over Pitt, Texas over Georgetown, and Ohio State over Texas A&M. I then picked Florida to thump Ohio State in a college foosball-style title game rematch. I don't like picking last year's champs to repeat because it so seldom happens, but their side of the bracket is ridiculously easy, and once they've won 4 in a row to get to the Final 4, how can you pick against them? I just couldn't. As for Texas, yes I'm on the Durant bandwagon, and I just see the guy winning a few rounds by himself, and yes that includes beating North Carolina AND a lot of people's darkhorse in Georgetown. After watching the Hoyas today, I can see why they were a chic pick because there's not much they can't do. The East, obviously, is THE toughest of the 4 regions.
I also just couldn't pick against Ohio State because they have Oden and nobody else does. I hope we get to see A&M and the Buckeyes in the Elite 8, because that would be a beauty, and then set up the Greatest College Basketball Game Probably Ever between Texas and OSU. The chances of it happening are slim I know, but I thought hey why not? Also, speaking of Texas A&M, they are another team that I've seen in a lot of people's Final 4 predictions. I'll be honest: I was THIS close to having Louisville beat them in the 2nd round and going all the way to the Elite 8 (Memphis as a 2 seed is a joke. They WILL lose to Nevada in the 2nd round), but changed my mind at the last minute. After watching the Cards destroy Stanford (who, let's be honest, had no business whatsoever being in the tournament) in Lexington, I'm thinking they're going to be VERY tough for A&M to beat in what is essentially a home game for them. I'm just saying.
Well we'll see if things get crazier tonight and tomorrow. I know nobody ever comments on this site, but I'd be interested to see who everybody picked to win it and who your "Upset Special" was for the first two days: Mine was Long Beach State over Virginia.
PS- Vandy is up 30 POINTS to start the 2nd half. I had them also getting to the Sweet 16 thank you very much.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Jeremy: Free Stylin'
I will now attempt to rant free style, without looking up any facts, about my thoughts on the world of sports. (Disclaimer: Yes, I have had >/= 3 beers.)
*Is there any doubt left in anyone's mind that the Vikings will NOT improve going into next season? Honestly. There was one area that desperately needed to be addressed during free agency and that was WR. So what did we get? Something named Bobby Wade? A dude who is under 6 feet tall with two first names? That's it? Also, we got a tight end in free agency, who caught less passes last year than the guy we let go, Jermaine Wiggins. Remember the "Sarcastic Clapping Family" sketches on Saturday Night Live? Picture that sketch, but instead of a family, picture me at the table, clapping sarcastically, with Zygi Wilf and Brad Childress across the table from me.
*By the way, if you haven't yet, please read more about the Vikings free agency dealings this off-season. After which, if you aren't already, please consider what a perfect time it is to become a Golden Gopher Football fan.
*Kevin McHale was voted by Forbes magazine as the best General Manager in all of sports. The criteria was weighted ridiculously heavy by comparing current GM stats vs. prior GM stats. We here at Midwest Sports Rubes believe that this criteria is fair, balanced and accurate in its ability to show the talent of GM's in all of professional sports.
*In other news, Kevin McHale was also named as the best General Manager by the Bill Cosby Society (BCS). Criteria was weighted 100% based on each GM's collection of hideously ugly sweaters.
*Also, in Beating A Dead Horse news, Glen Taylor was voted as the second best owner in all of sports by the Al Davis Association for Owners Who Allow Their Emotions and Personal Feelings to get Too Involved in Front Office Decisions (ADAOWATEPFTIFOD).
*This just in... Troy Hudson has been put into the starting line-up by Randy Whitman. Hudson will attempt to build a house with all of the bricks that he shoots so that the Timberwolves don't have to board up the franchise, they can actually just move. (Side note: If we ever have to refer to the Timberwolves as "The House That T-Hud Built," please remind me that choosing death by killer bees is still an option.)
*Sid went ahead and said this week that the only coaches that can save the Gophers men's b-ball team are Flip Saunders or... Bob Knight. Here's a question... Is there anyone besides Sid who thinks that Bob Knight has a shot at this job? Here's another question... Have you seen this team play? I'm not sure that ANYONE can save this program right now. The wheels fell off a long, long time ago, and this is probably a 2-3 year rebuilding job.
*Is there any doubt left in anyone's mind that the Vikings will NOT improve going into next season? Honestly. There was one area that desperately needed to be addressed during free agency and that was WR. So what did we get? Something named Bobby Wade? A dude who is under 6 feet tall with two first names? That's it? Also, we got a tight end in free agency, who caught less passes last year than the guy we let go, Jermaine Wiggins. Remember the "Sarcastic Clapping Family" sketches on Saturday Night Live? Picture that sketch, but instead of a family, picture me at the table, clapping sarcastically, with Zygi Wilf and Brad Childress across the table from me.
*By the way, if you haven't yet, please read more about the Vikings free agency dealings this off-season. After which, if you aren't already, please consider what a perfect time it is to become a Golden Gopher Football fan.
*Kevin McHale was voted by Forbes magazine as the best General Manager in all of sports. The criteria was weighted ridiculously heavy by comparing current GM stats vs. prior GM stats. We here at Midwest Sports Rubes believe that this criteria is fair, balanced and accurate in its ability to show the talent of GM's in all of professional sports.
*In other news, Kevin McHale was also named as the best General Manager by the Bill Cosby Society (BCS). Criteria was weighted 100% based on each GM's collection of hideously ugly sweaters.
*Also, in Beating A Dead Horse news, Glen Taylor was voted as the second best owner in all of sports by the Al Davis Association for Owners Who Allow Their Emotions and Personal Feelings to get Too Involved in Front Office Decisions (ADAOWATEPFTIFOD).
*This just in... Troy Hudson has been put into the starting line-up by Randy Whitman. Hudson will attempt to build a house with all of the bricks that he shoots so that the Timberwolves don't have to board up the franchise, they can actually just move. (Side note: If we ever have to refer to the Timberwolves as "The House That T-Hud Built," please remind me that choosing death by killer bees is still an option.)
*Sid went ahead and said this week that the only coaches that can save the Gophers men's b-ball team are Flip Saunders or... Bob Knight. Here's a question... Is there anyone besides Sid who thinks that Bob Knight has a shot at this job? Here's another question... Have you seen this team play? I'm not sure that ANYONE can save this program right now. The wheels fell off a long, long time ago, and this is probably a 2-3 year rebuilding job.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Jeff: BJ, CJ, and More
Before we get to Calvin Johnson we'll pass along to you that the Vikes, to no one's surprise, released Brad Johnson yesterday. I'm sure there's a backup job for him somewhere, but as he displayed last year, his days as a starter are definitely over. To quote Jer: What was your favorite moment from the BJ era?
In that same story Chilly says it'll be an open competition between Tavaris Jackson and Brooks Bollinger (is he sure? There's gotta be a 3rd option there somewhere right? RIGHT?) but then says there could be some interest in taking Brady Quinn at #7. That, of course, is total BS, which is to be expected this time of year, when EVERY team talks nothing but BS about who they're taking (well except the Raiders). Do not trust what a team says, look at what they need. I would hope they'll at least entertain trade talks about David Carr or Jake Plummer because the options out there in free agency are slim to none, especially with the Chiefs resiging Damon Huard, who I really would have liked to have seen in Minnesota. Bringing him back can't be good news for Trent Green, but trust me when I say we don't want him either. The best "options" (and I use that term REALLY loosely) are Jeff Garcia, Aaron Brooks, or Kerry Collins. OK so how much do the Texans want for David Carr again?
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Ok then onto Mr SuperFreak Calvin Johnson. 6'5, 239 pounds, and he ran a 4.35 40 yd dash which means he's playing wide receiver in a linebacker's body with sprinter's speed. He's got TO's body with Randy Moss' skills and Marvin Harrison's work ethic and demeanor. In other words, he IS the perfect wide receiver! There's always been this stigma of not taking wide receivers high in the draft, partly because it's a difficult position to adjust to, and also because as Peter King mentions, the failure rate of 1st rounders has been pretty high. He guesstimates that only 10 of the last 30 WR's taken in the first round could be considered impact guys. For every Randy Moss or Marques Colston (who was of course a 7th round pick and not even a 1st rounder), there's so many receivers who struggle that first year. Now, the failure rate is also pretty high at quarterback and other positions, but because there seems to be less importance placed on wideouts than quarterbacks, well you're not going to see teams stop taking QB's #1 overall.
This is also a very strong wide receiver draft, so if the Vikes don't get CJ, they'll be in position at #7 to take Teddy Ginn of Ohio State, Robert Meachem of Tennesee, or Dwayne Jarrett of USC, just to name 3. It's all well and good, and I highly doubt the Vikes brass has the stones to deal up, but for me, all of these arguments just cement the fact you HAVE to go up to #2 or #3 to take Johnson, and deal anybody not named Hutchinson, Williams, or Winfield to do it. Seriously.
Simply BECAUSE wide receiver is such a volatile position and BECAUSE it can be such a crapshoot with first rounders, that is all the more reason to get Calvin Johnson! He's a CAN'T MISS PROSPECT at a position where MOST GUYS MISS!!! Don't you see? Because Johnson is such a safe bet to be a productive Pro Bowl-caliber receiver for the next decade at a position where it's so difficult to find assess, that's why they NEED to go up and get him. And yes it's a strong receiver class, but Johnson is that much better than everybody else! You're rolling the dice with any of the other guys who have some glaring flaw to their game. CJ? NONE! He's a physical freak with a great attitude, work ethic, and superior ball skills (and yes I just wanted the excuse to use "ball skills" in a sentence)!! He would also help their slipping attendance by putting a marquee player in Minnesota that could make a big impact from day 1. Do you have any idea how many CJ jerseys the Vikes would sell? I would order one on draft day if they took him!
He would solve so many of their problems and create so many for opposing teams, but because Minnesota lacks the stones to take the SAFEST PICK IN THE DRAFT, I'm sure we'll be watching him light up the league in a Bucs jersey for the next 10 years.
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Finally a shameless plug. I'm off to Hamilton, Ontario today to do play-by-play webcasting for Trinity Western University men's volleyball team, who are the defending national champs and are the top seed in the tourney. My buddy Ben is the assistant coach, so it'll be fun to watch him and the lads hopefully win for a 2nd year in a row! If you're bored Friday or Saturday night and want to listen to the game, tune in at www.spartanwebradio.ca at around 8pm Est both nights and you can hear me do what I love to do most. They also have some past games archived on there. Have a great weekend everybody!
In that same story Chilly says it'll be an open competition between Tavaris Jackson and Brooks Bollinger (is he sure? There's gotta be a 3rd option there somewhere right? RIGHT?) but then says there could be some interest in taking Brady Quinn at #7. That, of course, is total BS, which is to be expected this time of year, when EVERY team talks nothing but BS about who they're taking (well except the Raiders). Do not trust what a team says, look at what they need. I would hope they'll at least entertain trade talks about David Carr or Jake Plummer because the options out there in free agency are slim to none, especially with the Chiefs resiging Damon Huard, who I really would have liked to have seen in Minnesota. Bringing him back can't be good news for Trent Green, but trust me when I say we don't want him either. The best "options" (and I use that term REALLY loosely) are Jeff Garcia, Aaron Brooks, or Kerry Collins. OK so how much do the Texans want for David Carr again?
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Ok then onto Mr SuperFreak Calvin Johnson. 6'5, 239 pounds, and he ran a 4.35 40 yd dash which means he's playing wide receiver in a linebacker's body with sprinter's speed. He's got TO's body with Randy Moss' skills and Marvin Harrison's work ethic and demeanor. In other words, he IS the perfect wide receiver! There's always been this stigma of not taking wide receivers high in the draft, partly because it's a difficult position to adjust to, and also because as Peter King mentions, the failure rate of 1st rounders has been pretty high. He guesstimates that only 10 of the last 30 WR's taken in the first round could be considered impact guys. For every Randy Moss or Marques Colston (who was of course a 7th round pick and not even a 1st rounder), there's so many receivers who struggle that first year. Now, the failure rate is also pretty high at quarterback and other positions, but because there seems to be less importance placed on wideouts than quarterbacks, well you're not going to see teams stop taking QB's #1 overall.
This is also a very strong wide receiver draft, so if the Vikes don't get CJ, they'll be in position at #7 to take Teddy Ginn of Ohio State, Robert Meachem of Tennesee, or Dwayne Jarrett of USC, just to name 3. It's all well and good, and I highly doubt the Vikes brass has the stones to deal up, but for me, all of these arguments just cement the fact you HAVE to go up to #2 or #3 to take Johnson, and deal anybody not named Hutchinson, Williams, or Winfield to do it. Seriously.
Simply BECAUSE wide receiver is such a volatile position and BECAUSE it can be such a crapshoot with first rounders, that is all the more reason to get Calvin Johnson! He's a CAN'T MISS PROSPECT at a position where MOST GUYS MISS!!! Don't you see? Because Johnson is such a safe bet to be a productive Pro Bowl-caliber receiver for the next decade at a position where it's so difficult to find assess, that's why they NEED to go up and get him. And yes it's a strong receiver class, but Johnson is that much better than everybody else! You're rolling the dice with any of the other guys who have some glaring flaw to their game. CJ? NONE! He's a physical freak with a great attitude, work ethic, and superior ball skills (and yes I just wanted the excuse to use "ball skills" in a sentence)!! He would also help their slipping attendance by putting a marquee player in Minnesota that could make a big impact from day 1. Do you have any idea how many CJ jerseys the Vikes would sell? I would order one on draft day if they took him!
He would solve so many of their problems and create so many for opposing teams, but because Minnesota lacks the stones to take the SAFEST PICK IN THE DRAFT, I'm sure we'll be watching him light up the league in a Bucs jersey for the next 10 years.
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Finally a shameless plug. I'm off to Hamilton, Ontario today to do play-by-play webcasting for Trinity Western University men's volleyball team, who are the defending national champs and are the top seed in the tourney. My buddy Ben is the assistant coach, so it'll be fun to watch him and the lads hopefully win for a 2nd year in a row! If you're bored Friday or Saturday night and want to listen to the game, tune in at www.spartanwebradio.ca at around 8pm Est both nights and you can hear me do what I love to do most. They also have some past games archived on there. Have a great weekend everybody!
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