Free Bill Simmons

What Do Tom Brady and Megan Fox Have In Common?

2009-08-24T19:44:00.024-04:00

by Pratyush Buddiga

I think mostly everyone has seen preseason power rankings of NFL teams. They are posted on almost every website, but the simple fact is we really don’t know before a season who’s going to be the best from 1-32. Did anyone see the Cowboys struggling to finish above .500? How about the Patriots missing the playoffs? Or the Detroit Lions being the worst team in the league? OK, the last one was a bad example. You get my point though.

I thought about power rankings by position and realized that the only one that is relatively easy and fun to do is quarterback. Running back and wide receiver sees a ton of turnover, although the best at these positions usually remain relatively stable. Ranking the offensive line might be fun for Scouts, Inc. but not exactly exciting for the typical NFL fan. Quarterback, on the other hand, is the marquee position and the most fun to debate. One of the greatest triumphs for Colts fans in winning their Super Bowl is they finally had something to stick in the craw of all those who ended any Tom Brady-Peyton Manning debate by deriding Manning as a choker and perennial playoff loser. Even though the vast majority of QB debates are less minor than the argument over who is the Greatest QB of His Generation, they are still attended to with a passionate fervor that is only usually surpassed by disputes over who’s hotter: Generic Film Star X or Generic Music Star Y.

I compiled my list based on the assumption that these players---the prospective starters for their teams---were all relatively healthy. This isn’t a fantasy ranking either. Without further ado, one man’s QB Power Rankings:

The Elite (The Megan Fox Division)

Tom Brady, New England Patriots---He is the best at his position right now and in the discussion for the best of all-time. The loss against the Giants will leave a black mark on his legacy, but he has been almost everything you could ever want out of the QB position since he began starting. A cinch Hall of Famer.

Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts---Manning knows the position probably better than anyone and could step right into an offensive coordinator’s or head coach’s job tomorrow. He struggled early last year, but improved as the effects of the knee wore off. He still has a habit of struggling in playoff games, but his legacy was secured with a Super Bowl win against the Bears. Another first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Almost There, But Not Quite (The Jessica Biel Division)

Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints---Judged inferior to Phil Rivers and his giant contract a few years ago, Brees has partnered with Sean Payton to put up some truly ridiculous stats with the Saints. He’s one of the premier passers in the modern game but needs to improve his postseason resume to have any chance of making it to Canton.

Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers---Since he’s generally overrated by the media, I hate putting him this high, but he can put up numbers when he needs to (see 2007). He’s also one of the better 2-minute and 4^th quarter QBs in the league. Many refer to him as a game manager, but he does know how to win the game for his team when it needs for him to do it.

Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers---I hate his guts, but he is quickly emerging into one of the best QBs in the league. Long in the shadow of LaDainian Tomlinson, Rivers is clearly one of the best passers in the game despite a relatively weak receiving corps.

Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals---Old and immobile, Warner is still a good passer and great leader. He clearly benefits from the best receiving corps in football, but I don’t think Matt Leinart would be putting up nearly the same numbers as the former grocery boy. Plus, you never want to go against God.

I Want, but I Still Have Some Questions (The Katherine Heigl Division)

Eli Manning, New York Giants---He struggled without Plax, but makes better decisions every year and has always been pretty good in pressure situations. He’s the most apt to drop in the rankings severely this year though as defenses key in on him without a go-to target.

Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys---Gets a lot of grief for being overrated, but for my money he is one of the best QBs in the league. Romo spreads the ball around well and has the mobility to make a lot of plays happen. Remember, this is only the third season he has gone into as the starter for America’s Team. He’s still developing but has already put up some amazing numbers.

Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears (sigh)---He may not do as well with the Bears' relative lack of offensive talent compared to the Broncos, but Cutler is extremely talented with the arm strength to make all the throws.. I think he'll be top-3 within a few years and is already there in terms of talent. He still needs to improve his decision-making and it remains to be seen what he can do in the playoffs.

Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles---He is constantly criticized for coming up tiny in big games, but a talented QB. Part of the reason he is so low in my rankings is that he can be inconsistent (see: last year's debacle against the Eagles before the crazy revival four days later). He gets a lot of unnecessary flak which is probably undeserved, but the fact remains that I don’t want him playing for me with 80 yards to go and the game on the line unless we were in a dry heaving contest.

Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals---One of the best pure passers in the league, extremely dangerous when healthy. In my initial rankings, I put Carson Palmer way too high but realized later that he struggled last year even before the injury and was less than his usual best in 2007 as well. He hasn’t won anything but the Bengals’ horrific team culture and defense has a lot to do with that. If Kimo von Oelhoffen, the inspiration to the Bernard Pollards of the world, doesn’t roll into his knee in 2005, we might be talking about the time Palmer led them to the AFC Championship Game or even the Super Bowl.

The Future Superstar (The Emma Watson Division)

Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons---He is an amazingly talented young QB. He will be in the top 3 within the next 5 years as the Brady/Manning/Brees era comes to a close. I think he'll have some growing pains this year as defenses better adjust to him, but the foundation is there for a multiple Super Bowl future.

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers---He had great passing numbers, but needs to improve in the 4th quarter. I definitely root for him though so all those people who wanted Favre to stick around with the Packers can be proven wrong.

Matt Schaub, Houston Texans---Schaub puts up good numbers, but can't stay on the field. He undoubtedly has a very high ceiling with the offensive talent that surrounds him.

Bread-and-Butter (The Anne Hathaway Division)

Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs---He takes too many sacks and isn't great with the deep ball despite having the best deep ball threat of all-time last year as a wideout. It still pains me that the Broncos attempted to trade Cutler for him, which of course led to the entire debacle. He is the classic game manager.

Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens---He did exactly what he was supposed to do with the Ravens last year and should incrementally improve this year. Flacco may not have the high ceiling (particularly if he stays with the Ravens and their conservative offensive approach) of a Ryan or Rodgers, but should win lots of games with a great organization behind him.

Chad Pennington, Miami Dolphins---Solid, but unspectacular. Just like this analysis.

Can I Have You From A Few Years Back? (The Keira Knightley Division)

David Garrard, Jacksonville Jaguars---This would have been low for him prior to last season, but Garrard struggled in 2008. He also took too many sacks for someone with his mobility.

Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks---Solid QB. 19 seems a bit low for him, but I couldn't put him ahead of anyone in front.

Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings---Old as the Roman Empire, but he still has a strong arm. He struggles when the weather gets cold and I’m unsure about his leadership capabilities at this point. I'm going to refrain from commenting on his wishy-washiness because that's just beating a dead horse.

Marc Bulger, St. Louis Rams---His game has dramatically dropped off in recent years, due in part to injuries. He still could probably put up decent numbers with average WRs and O-line.

I’m Still Taking You Home, but I Ain’t Bragging (The Elisabeth Moss Division)

Trent Edwards, Buffalo Bills---Unremarkable numbers, but should be a decent NFL starter; although he probably will never develop into a top-tier QB.

Jason Campbell, Washington Redskins---Has progressed in the last few years, but I just don't think he is talented enough to ever be a great QB. A serviceable one? Maybe. But this guy could never win you a Super Bowl with his arm.

Shaun Hill, San Francisco 49ers---He performed well at the end of last season and should be decent again this year.

Kerry Collins, Tennessee Titans---Played the caretaker role to perfection last year, but lacks upside

The Trainwreck Waiting To Happen (The Heidi Montag Division)

Jake Delhomme, Carolina Panthers---Coming off one of the worst playoff perforrmances by a QB not named Brett Favre in recent memory, Delhomme likely does not inspire much confidence in the fans or his teammates. He’s been living off the 2nd half of the Patriots Super Bowl for far too many years.

Kyle Orton, somehow the Denver Freakin' Broncos---Kyle Orton sucks. Goddammit, I hate this guy.

Maybe One Day When You’re Older (The Miley Cyrus Division)

Brady Quinn, Cleveland Browns---I wish I could be him, but I don't think he has really proved much as an NFL starter yet. If he ever develops into a solid QB---and he does have a decent upside---he will be one of the most popular and high-paid athletes in the league.

I’m Giving Up On You (The Britney Spears Division)

Byron Leftwich, Tampa Bay Buccaneers---Gritty and tough, but completely immobile.

JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders---He's in a black hole in Oakland so it's hard to blame him too much, but he hasn't really shown anything yet to suggest he will be a great NFL starter

The Hotshot Prospect (The Peyton List Division)

Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions---All signs point to him developing into a decent QB, but I'm a little bit wary of can't-miss uber-talented prospects who underperformed in college. At any rate, he'll struggle this year.

Mark Sanchez, New York Jets---Cocky enough to be an NFL starter, but he will also likely struggle as a rookie. He could do big things for the NFL in the future with the Hispanic community.

I'm sure this list will invite a lot of anger and consternation, but that's what lists like this are made for. Write in with your feedback if you agree or disagree with any part of this list. It's good to be talking about football again even if the Broncos are headed to a 3-13 season.

Grading the Kansas City Chiefs

2009-08-19T15:56:00.005-04:00

By: Dante Javier Contreras

Grading the Kansas City Chiefs.

QB: Our new regime of Scott Pioli and Todd Haley have decided to tie their future to the arm of Matt Cassel. To be honest I’m not at all sold on Cassel. There’s a few ways to look at it. Yes he did have a decent season with the pats last year, but with that offense how could you not. As a fan I obviously hope he proves me wrong but the realist in me says that he’s just not that good.

We all remember Rich Gannon and his undeniable talent and the whole QB controversy. I get that same feel from Tyler Thigpen. Strong arm, mobile in the pocket and can use his feet to get out and make a play, but never looks to run first. He kept us in darn near every game down to the last few minutes last year, and really what more can you ask from a rookie running a new offense. I really expected a big leap this year from Tyler.

Grade- B-

RB- Larry Johnson is coming back as the number one. Two straight injury plagued years right after his 416 carry season makes me question whether it was a fluke or the punishment is already doing it’s damage. One thing about LJ though is that when he has a point to prove, and in this case he has a lot; assualt charges, trade demands, etc, he usually performs like an elite player. And I think he desperately wants out of KC and wants to get paid so he knows he’s got to put up some big numbers.

Jamaal Charles- I really liked this pick by the chiefs last year. If he stays healthy I see big things for him. A true speedster with enough power to run over some db’s. An excellent change of pace back for the bruiser that is Larry Johnson.

Grade-A

WR/TE- Dwayne Bowe is our only legitimate number one and we really don’t even have a solid number three. So we have a one and a bunch of threes. Great. Tony Gonzalez has departed for Atlanta so Cassel won’t have the luxury of that safety blanket. Bring in a mediocre quarterback and team him up with a mediocre WR corp. Makes sense.

Grade- D

Defense- We were the second worst defense in the league last year. Giving up 27.5 ppg. Atrocious. It’s really embarrassing to watch so called professionals miss tackle after tackle on what should be a routine play. The only bright spot was our ability to create turnovers, but we were on the field so long it’s bound to happen sooner or later. Our biggest weakness was our pass rush, or lack there of should I say. Play after play allowed the opposing offense 3-6 seconds to read through their progressions unmolested. It was like watching a bunch of little kids trying to get by their parents. And then it trickles down, no pass rush means the DB’s have to cover the wide receivers longer which gets harder and harder to do, which leads to us giving up more and more points. So what do we do to try and fix this? Switch to a 3-4. Ok not bad, but we still need a pass rusher, and there were some decent ones to be hand in the draft, so we select Tyson Jackson, the antithesis of a pass rusher?!?! Ok my head just exploded.

Grade- F

Special Teams- There’s not much to say here really. Our punter is awesome and our kicker is pretty good. With the new wedge rule it’s going to make it very hard to return kicks so I don’t think we have to worry about this as much.

Grade- A (by default)

Final Analysis- I honestly don’t like anything we did during the offseason, but in football you just never know, as the dolphins and falcons aptly proved last year, when guys come together and believe in the system and each other good things can happen. Lets hope so.

My prediction: 5-11.

Everyone Deserves a Second Chance

2009-08-17T07:30:00.005-04:00

In the spirit of second chances, Free Bill Simmons is back on the air! Errr web... meh, you get the idea. More than anything the hiatus was due to everyone wanting to take the summer off rather than mail it in with half-assed pieces (looking at the Real Bill Simmons) filled with crappy grammar (wait all my posts are already like this.)

But let's really focus on the good news. We've trimmed staff (actually all the same writers can still write if they want we just don't want make them go on a death march if they don't) and its football season/baseball pennant races so we have a constant source of material to write on. Expect more blog posts and less fully thought out pieces. I'll even be writing a preview article for each weekend ala John Clayton (without the Mark Schlereth ass-sniffing.) You can also fully expect to see Prat and I engage in an Ali-Frazier type fight over how shitty Jay Cutler is. So sit back, enjoy and come back often. At least until we decide to take our next sabbatical.

Please Stand By

2009-06-08T09:04:00.002-04:00

I've been busy at work, Prat is off backpacking through Europe and a couple of other writers appear to be auditioning Castaway 2.

Watching both Boston sports teams get knocked out in a 72 hour period was not a fun of experience for me so I just haven't felt like writing. Sure the Sox are in first but watching David Oritz his is about as exciting as watching Tyler Perry's House of Payne and our Shortstop situation is the baseball equivalent of the government in Pakistan.

But the good news is that we are 3 months away from football season. And who doesn't want to write about football? So basically what I'm saying is we're re-tooling, re-formatting and we will back soon with a new attitude, new formant and we will try that out for a couple months before we stop posting again. In the mean time, I'm going to start using our Marketing Budget to sponsor shit.

See you all soon

Vindication for Nuggets' Fans

2009-05-14T18:12:00.002-04:00

by Pratyush Buddiga

Vindicated.

That’s how every Nuggets fan feels right now. Vindicated for sticking with the team through the awful 1990s and even more boring jerseys. Vindicated for swallowing the bitter pill of passing on Amare Stoudemire (twice). Vindicated for believing in Carmelo Anthony as national media members began to doubt his stardom. Vindicated for keeping our heads high even after five straight first-round exits.

The mission isn’t done just yet, but it’s safe to say that this year’s Nuggets went further than anybody expected. After the offseason trades of Marcus Camby and fan favorite Eduardo Najera, many began to wonder if the team executives had simply had enough of mediocrity---despite 50 wins last year, the Nuggets were the 8 seed---and were going to blow the team up. Like many other fans, I thought that the Nuggets would be lucky to finish 10th or 11th in the conference. The question of making the playoffs was treated with Jim Mora-like disdain.

I’m not going to rehash the Chauncey Billups trade because everyone already knows how vital this was for the Nuggets’ turnaround. Much credit has to be given to Mark Warkentien for not only engineering trades that would improve the Nuggets team tremendously, but also shave off 20 million from the payroll. Ever since Billups arrived, the team has had a different feel to it. They no longer hopes it can win, they believe it.

The emergence of J.R. Smith and Chris “Birdman” Andersen gave this team a bench that is simply unmatched in the rest of the league. What other team (besides the Spurs with a healthy Manu) has a guy that can come off the bench and score 20 points in 15 minutes? What other team has a guy that can block nearly 6 shots per 48 minutes?

Despite this depth and a bona fide clutch superstar in Carmelo Anthony, people have written off the Nuggets all season. “They don’t play defense” or “they’re knuckleheads” are common refrains. If anyone tells you the Nuggets don’t play defense, just laugh in their face. Because of their pace of play, they tend to give up more points than a team that plays slow-it-up basketball, but their opponent’s field goal percentage is one of the best in the league and when the team gets locked in, they are very capable of holding a team without a basket for long stretches. As for the knucklehead complaint, there’s no doubt the Nuggets have more than their fair share of castoffs and guys that have more tattoos than Dennis Rodman. However, apart from isolated incidents that would be common to any NBA team (Carmelo taking issue with the coach benching him and K-Mart becoming furious with the Dallas fans), the team has relatively been on its best behavior all season. There really isn’t a reason to expect things to change now.

When the playoffs started, many people picked Chris Paul and the Hornets to beat them. When they dismantled the Hornets, some began to be converted, but still warned everybody that the team could implode at any moment and that the Mavericks would be able to beat them. Despite Mark Cuban and the Mavericks’ fans’ best efforts at riling up the Nuggets in a truly classless manner (Cuban’s apology at least seemed sincere), the Nuggets were able to keep their cool and close them out easily in five games.

Now it’s time for the Lakers (note: they haven’t won the series yet, but it’s hard to imagine the Lakers not advancing). Everybody in the world will be picking Los Angeles to advance and set up the dream Kobe-LeBron matchup. On balance, this is the most likely scenario. But don’t count out the Nuggets. This team has been counted all season and every single time they have responded in a remarkable fashion. They are deep, talented, and hungry. If the Lakers think they’re going to waltz into the NBA Finals, they have another thing coming. The Nuggets certainly aren’t going to be afraid of them.

Oh and…

BEAT L.A.!

Dear Norby Williamson

2009-05-13T15:31:00.006-04:00

Dear Norby Williamson,

CC: Anyone Else at ESPN

Please stop with your round-the-clock Brett Favre stories. Outside of the Midwest, we don't care. In fact outside of Green Bay, no one would care if you hadn't given the world the delusion that Brett Favre is still a good Quarterback. I could understand if you needed filler stories to talk about while sports weren't going on, but do you realize the NHL Playoffs and NBA Playoffs are going on right now? Or that we have one of the most exciting baseball seasons in recent memories? So while you devote endless regurgitated crap about Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez your missing the emergence of player such as Adam Jones, Zack Greinke and countless other young players that play the game the right way legally.

I remember when I used to wake up and SportsCenter was a can't-miss. Now every day I turn it on it's a mix of Outside the Lines, some awful1st and 10 segment, and enough face time for Skip Bayless that will eventually lead me to commit a triple homicide. ESPN has become MTV. Instead of having highlights of sports, we have talking heads and reality TV. Unfortunately ESPN controls the majority of the television contracts for Major League Baseball and the NBA and controls Monday night coverage for the NFL. (Your Monday night football coverage is one of the few things the company still does right.)

In the mean time, please stop ruining Baseball Tonight. Steve Phillips is an idiot. Just because someone was a General Manager doesn't make them a baseball expert by any means. If I ever watch one of those fake GM press conferences again, I'm going to take my Puppy out in the backyard and bury him alive. Baseball Tonight should only cover steroids when A) player gets suspended for it or B) a player returns from it. None of that other nonsense. You already run Outside the Lines 7 times a week, we don't need any more. Either that or put it in E:60 or whatever your 60 Minutes rip-off is called.

Finally start covering the NHL again. These highlights are exciting. Hey look, fights are cool. Hey, those equal ratings! You know what the WNBA equals? People changing the station. Oh wait you don't have the NHL TV contract. I guess this request is out of the question. So, instead, how about you stop ruining sports? Please go back and watch a SportsCenter from 1993. Minus the actual highlight quality that has been improved by new technology, this is the way you should run your highlights. Hannah f@!#!%@ Storm? Are you serious? Bring back the Charley Steiners of the world or hell even newly minted Boston homer, Jack Edwards But please above all Norby, make sports fun and entertaining again on SportsCenter. You're ruining my mornings.

Sincerely,
Futon

Baseball's Last Hope

2009-05-12T11:50:00.005-04:00

by Wally Brennan

Albert Pujols is the most underrated player in Major League Baseball.

But he can't be, right? He's won two MVPs, Rookie of the Year, been to the World Series twice (won one), and led the league in pretty much every offensive category at some point in his career. But he really is underrated, and there is one simple word that tells the story as to why he's underrated.

Steroids.

No, I'm not implying Albert Pujols is on steroids; that would probably send me into a state of depression. But look at it this way - if you take away Barry Bonds' steroid-enhanced years, it is conceiveable that Albert Pujols would be a six-time MVP winner at age 29. He finished second to Bonds in 2003 (when Pujols won the batting title and was only two HR behind Barry) and in 2002 as well. He finished 3rd behind Bonds and Adrian Beltre (potential juicer) in 2004, and 2nd behind Ryan Howard (despite having higher BA/OBP/SLG/OPS and fewer K's) in 2006. What we're looking at is a case where if it weren't for a steroid user and voting mistakes, Albert Pujols would be on the Mount Rushmore of baseball players already. But he's not.

The only time Pujols' name has been mentioned with steroids is every time you hear someone say "I just hope he's not on steroids". There have been no accusations, no reports, no teammates coming out of the woodwork, no documentaries. Since this is the case why hasn't MLB made this guy the face of their enterprise? In an era in which they shoved Bonds/Sosa/McGwire/Ramirez (Juice/Juice/Juice/Juice) down our throats, why not try to gain some credibility back and market Albert Pujols to your fans? The guy is legit, and will go down as one of the greatest hitters of all-time when he is retired, but yet casual baseball fans only see him as "a good player".

Weekend Update with Futon

2009-05-10T16:00:00.005-04:00

by Futon

It's been a pretty crazy sports week to say the least. I was trying to figure out what to write about and I had 8 things that could have been addressed on their own. But what fun would that be? Instead let's take a look back at the whole week:

Brett Favre threatens to ruin NFL season before training camp even begins:

Joe covered this earlier in the week but I can't begin to even hide my hate for Brett Favre. Actually maybe I only loathe Favre but due to ESPN's coverage of this saga I'm forced to take my animosity out on Favre. Look, Brett Favre can play until he's 50 for all I care but let's get 3 things straight:

1) Stop saying you're retired and you're never playing again.

2) Can we please stop referring to Brett Favre as a great quarterback? Favre was above average during the 2007 season when the Packers made it to the NFC Championship game. But when it mattered he still threw careless picks in the NFC Championship game and his inability to be a game manager makes him a dangerous option for a run first team like the Vikings.

3) Please get ESPN, Peter King and pretty much every other NFL expert off your dick. I was watching ESPN's non-stop coverage of Favre possibly coming back. ESPN's rationale as to why Favre would say he's all done playing and then come back was something to the effect off "Well he did this so everyone would leave him alone and he'd have time to make a decision." Are you
kidding me? Favre is like a vampire. He's never going to die unless we put a stake through him.

Manny Ramirez tests positive for trying to get pregnant

I think what most concerns me now about this is that we've yet to see the Red Sox or Yankees have a player suspended for 50 games despite the fact that A-Rod appears to have been taking them and now Manny gets busted while in LA. You have to wonder if the two biggest clubs in baseball have an idea of when the testing schedule comes up or if they have some influence on knowing which positive tests come out.

Yao Ming done for the playoffs

To me, this was actually the most disappointing news of the week. Yao's personality during his Game 1 Press Conference was one of my favorite moments of the NBA Playoffs so far. The Rockets were proving to be an incredibly tough matchup for the Lake Show since LA seems to think they have a free pass to the finals. Now with Yao out, it's hard to expect the Rockets to have any chance to win 3 games versus the probable NBA champs.
What could be the rebirth of the NHL being hidden on Versus

My Bruins might be getting raped by Carolina but that hasn't taken away any enjoyment of the epic Pens-Caps series. Ovechkin, Crosby and Malkin are quickly shaping up to be three of the greatest players the game has ever seen. They are definitely three of the most exciting players on ice in a long time. The non-stop, up and down action this series has provided on the ice is exactly what the NHL needs to be a major sport on the American scene again. Unfortunately since Gary Bettman decided to sign the NHL's TV contract with a channel that's impossible to find, the game is not seeing the rejuvenation it should be right now. It's incredibly depressing because playoff hockey is about as exciting as anything in sports and the series in the NHL have been way more enticing then what we've seen on the hardwood so far this year.

Why I Don't Hate Manny Ramirez

2009-05-07T16:45:00.004-04:00

by Pratyush Buddiga

Another baseball hero has fallen from the peaks of glory today. Manny Ramirez, who had almost successfully rehabbed his image as a L.A. Dodger, was banned for 50 games by MLB for a drug violation. He joins the long list of superstars-gone-bad, which includes some of the game’s luminaries: Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Roger Clemens. In fact, other than Albert Pujols, Ken Griffey Jr, and Greg Maddux, all of the baseball’s very best from the ‘90s on have been entangled in some sort of steroid allegations.

But I’m not here to castigate Manny Ramirez. Why not? Because I don’t think there more than 1% of us would have done any differently if we were in his or any other baseball player’s situation. Hi, here’s a drug that will not only help you become one of the best ever at your job, but will also help you earn millions of dollars. How many of those same people, so self-righteous on their soapboxes, would turn down such a deal?

For some reason or the other, steroids in baseball make us angry. Shawne Merriman and Rodney Harrison caught doing steroids? Who cares, just bring us more NFL talk all the time! Steroids in wrestling? Eh, who cares about that sport anyway? But once baseball comes into the discussion, every bleeding-heart comes out of the woodwork and bleats about the integrity of the game and the horrific ‘thuggery’ of these players.

Give me a break. These guys are hypercompetitive athletes. Every single day of their lives since they were probably nine or ten years old, they’ve been looking for every edge to try and become the best at what they do: doing conditioning in the wee hours of the morning, hitting the weights after a grueling three-hour practice, and eating so properly that pizza and cookies are only celebratory meals, not their daily diet. The very thing we love about them is why it makes sense that they would take steroids. They’re looking for any edge they can take.

When you couple that with an atmosphere in baseball that not only permitted, but encouraged, steroids, it’s hard to imagine that many players weren’t taking steroids. Bud Selig and all his cronies should be fired for their incompetence, yet all I see is Bud whining about the players destroying the integrity of the game. You permitted it, Bud. Don’t even fool yourself for a second.

Obviously, this doesn’t excuse Manny’s colossal stupidity (not exactly breaking news, I suppose) in taking these kinds of substances in today’s climate. Time will tell whether it was an innocent mistake or whether it was indeed a way for him to boost his testosterone levels back up to their normal levels. However, I refuse to make any sort of large statement about his moral character.

There is a ridiculous double standard that comes into play with steroids. Every day we hear about a player who took painkillers or a cortisone shot to get ready for the big game. Yet these drugs aren’t “performance-enhancing” despite the fact that the player likely would not have been able to play as well, if at all, without the help of those drugs. How is it any different? Spare me the ‘it’s illegal’ argument. That doesn’t make it right or wrong. If we’re going to worship Brett Favre for having the gumption and bravery to take cortisone shots and play through the pain, we better not immolate other players for doing a different form of the same thing.

Ultimately, I’d be far more concerned if my favorite player had a DUI than if he was on steroids. Countless times each year, we hear about players and managers getting DUIs, but we don’t even blink an eyelash. The tragedy of Nick Adenhart should only hit too close to home and make us realize what is the greater moral failing on the part of our athletes. Perhaps this has to do with the fact that many of us are more likely to get DUIs than be caught for steroids. We don’t have to doubt our own moral character while gleefully piling on athletes for crimes that we are simply unlikely to commit.

As a Red Sox fan, this doesn’t taint the 2004 and 2007 World Series for me. I know that Manny was likely facing pitchers who were on roids, just as Red Sox pitchers were facing juiced hitters. In a funny way, the playing field may have been level after all.

An Open Letter to Brett Favre

2009-05-06T17:00:00.004-04:00

Dear Brett,

I heard a rumor you’re thinking about coming out of retirement again, and I just had a few thoughts I wanted to share with you as a neutral observer. I’m a Broncos fan, you see, so I don’t really care if you come back as a Minnesota Viking. I mean, sure, I would love to be spared of another summer full of stories about you where reporters who don’t know anything about the situation try to pretend they do. It’s really no big deal, though. If it’s not you, they’d find some other story to beat into the ground. There’s a rumor going around that A-Rod might be a horrible person. I just want to give you some advice, though, from a fan’s perspective.

First of all, let me say that you don’t have to listen to anything I say. It’s your career. If you care at all about what the fans think about you, which it seems like you do, you might want to listen to this. Here are a few reasons why you would lose an incredible amount of respect from football fans (especially Green Bay fans) if you play for Minnesota.

1. Judas
John Elway married a former Raiders cheerleader earlier this year, and it almost broke my heart. It’s not because I had any intention of marrying Elway myself (he’s way out of my league, so I’ve been seeing Kyle Orton), but it’s because I hate everything about the Raiders. Don’t get me wrong I still love Elway. I just thought it was crappy that he did that. I can’t even imagine what would happen if Elway decided to play for the Raiders at the end of his career. That’s how Packers fans feel about the Vikings, Brett.

2. Purple Jerseys
Last year, when you went to the Jets, we could squint our eyes and pretend you were still playing for the Packers. It didn’t look so wrong. Well, except for when you played in those awful “New York Titans” uniforms. With the Vikings uniform, though, there’s no way of doing that. You will look awful. Especially since the uniform is purple. No one looks good in purple. Get some style.

3. Wrangler
I don’t even want to know what direction those commercials will go if you stick around too much longer. I don’t want to see you in a commercial for jeans with an elastic waistband.

4. You’re Old.
You’re not a very good quarterback anymore, Brett. You’ve always been a horrible decision maker, and now you don’t have a strong enough arm to make up for it. You won’t have a good year next year, just like you didn’t last year.
If you don’t care about any of that, and you can’t stand the thought of spending the whole year with Deanna nagging on you, then come back and play.

Just know that we won’t like it.

Sincerely,
Joe Reimers

Champions League 2nd Leg: Barcelona-Chelsea Preview

2009-05-05T17:42:00.002-04:00

by Pratyush Buddiga

The eyes of the soccer world will be fixed on Stamford Bridge tomorrow. Two teams will battle for the right to play Manchester United who are through to the Champions League final after an impressive 3-1 win away to Arsenal, marred only by the controversial sending-off of Darren Fletcher. Barcelona and Chelsea battled to a goalless draw one week ago, but a result is sure for tomorrow night.

Many observers were stunned by Chelsea’s ability to keep the marauding Barcelona team out of the scoresheet. Barca may be the best attacking team in the world, led by the incredible goal-scoring attack of Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o, and Lionel Messi, who are backed by the sublime midfield of Xavi and Iniesta. Indeed, over the weekend, Barca put in six goals at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid, effectively clinching the La Liga title. Chelsea were able to keep them in check by keeping defenders in the back, playing a slightly negative style of soccer. Despite that, they did have the best scoring opportunity of the game; unfortunately for them, Didier Drogba was unable to capitalize.

What style will we see from Chelsea tomorrow? I think it would be incredibly dangerous for them to open up and try to press the advantage. While Barcelona will be slightly suspect in the back without Puyol or Marquez, they are too skillful to not take advantage of Chelsea pushing up too much. The away-goals rule puts a lot of pressure on Chelsea to be strong in defense and prudent in their attack.

Another big subplot will be how the referee deals with Chelsea’s physical defending. Barcelona was furious with the way they were treated last game and they will exert quite a bit of pressure on the referee to punish Chelsea. However, I think that they might just have to accept the fact that Champions League games will be called differently from La Liga games. You’re not going to see the same calls.

The key for Chelsea will not only be their defending, but whether Frank Lampard can link up with Drogba to create timely attacks. While I think that Chelsea must be careful, there will be opportunities to break into the Barca defense. Lampard will be key; he’s a brilliant midfielder and can provide his own bits of magic. He didn’t create too much offense in the first match, but if Chelsea are to go through to the final without needing penalty kicks, it is likely that Lampard will be their talisman.

In the end, Barcelona may simply have too much for Chelsea to hold them off. They are brimming with confidence after the shellacking of Real Madrid and Lionel Messi is simply too good to be nearly invisible like he was in the last match.

From a neutral observer’s perspective, we can only hope Chelsea opens up a little bit and allows a free-flowing style to be played, but they could hardly be blamed if they went into a cocoon once more. Either way, this will be an incredibly captivating match. If Barcelona wins, we will get a dazzling final between the English and Spanish champions, two teams with scintillating star power and iconic jerseys. If Chelsea go through, we are treated to a rematch of last year’s memorable final with a billion storylines and everything at stake.

Needless to say, we’ll all be watching.

Prediction: Barcelona 1, Chelsea 1 (Barcelona goes through on away goals)

MLB Month-In-Review Ramblings

2009-05-04T13:57:00.005-04:00

by Pratyush Buddiga

Baseball is one of the things in life where first impressions aren’t everything. If they were, we’d have been penciling the Marlins and Braves to meet up in the NLCS and wringing our hands over the slow start of the Red Sox. Even a month hardly constitutes enough time to make large pronouncements, but there is still enough data to start to get our bearings on the 2009 season. Let’s ramble…

• The Dodgers are far and away the class of the NL West. The Giants have the pitching to contend deep into the season, but the Dodgers’ combination of a powerful lineup (Man-Ram is quietly posting his usual brilliant season with 5 HRs and 1.110 OPS) and superb young pitching (Chad Billingsley is a legit ace) should see them wrap up the division by mid-September at the latest.

• The Washington Nationals are a complete joke of a franchise. Their pitching is absolutely lousy, ranking near dead-last in every category. If they don’t sign Stephen Strasburg to whatever contract he wants, they should just contract this team.

• In his down time, Zack Greinke protects innocent young children, rescues damsels in distress, and hunts down Al-Qaeda. Okay, he actually doesn’t, but you wouldn’t know it from the glowing reports this guy has begun to receive in the past month. I’m a huge fan of Greinke, but to call him the best pitcher in baseball is to stretch so far that Gumby himself would call it too much. That title still belongs to Johan Santana.

• Speaking of which, what’s up with the Mets? Other than the indomitable Johan, the rest of the pitching has been extremely weak. It’s so bad that the immortal Livan Hernandez has been getting starts and that’s even before Oliver Perez was relegated to the bullpen/minors. The lineup, starting with Jose Reyes, has struggled as well. In the long run, we all may have overrated the Mets a little bit. I don’t see any sign of their pitching problems abating and it’s hard to see them holding off both the Marlins and the Phillies for the division without that improving.

• The Mariners have been one of the most pleasant surprises this season. King Felix has finally begun to look like the ace we always thought he could be and the rest of the rotation isn’t too shabby either. Given the wide-open nature of the AL West, this could easily be a team that sneaks into the playoffs.

• The Yankees need to decide what they’re going to do with Joba Chamberlain and just leave him there. This yanking around is just going to confuse him and mess with his arm. Wait a minute, why am I giving them advice?

• Albert Pujols is ridiculous. No more needs to be said.

• The Red Sox just lost 3 of 4 to their latest bugaboo, the Rays, but before that, had gone on a stretch where they won 12 of 13. Josh Beckett still hasn’t regained his form of 2007 and Big Papi looks like he’s done, but this is still a very dangerous team. Youk and Pedroia are studs and Jason Bay is making Red Sox fans (slowly) forget about Manny. If John Smoltz can come back and provide them with anything from the fifth spot in the rotation, this is a team that can win 95+ games.

• That being said, the Blue Jays have looked very good in April. Led by Roy Halladay, their rotation is certainly legit (4th in the AL in OPS-against and 2nd in WHIP). Their hitting however has been off-the-charts: they lead the AL in runs scored and are 2nd in OBP and OPS. Some of their hitters will cool off, but I think that this team has the goods to contend.

• The Indians are a complete disappointment for the second year in a row. Picked by many to emerge from the free-for-all that is the AL Central, they haven’t been able to overcome their completely awful rotation. Then again, what can you expect when Carl Pavano is prominently involved?

April Awards:

NL ROY: Brian Barden, 3B, STL
AL ROY: Travis Snider, OF, TOR
NL MOY: Fredi Gonzalez, FLA
AL MOY: Don Wakamatsu, SEA
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana, NYM
AL Cy Young: Zack Greinke, KC
AL MVP: Ian Kinsler, 2B, TEX
NL MVP: Albert Pujols, 1B, STL

S-E-C-O-N-D R-O-U-N-D Spells Relief for Celtics Fans

2009-05-04T11:40:00.007-04:00

by Futon

Relief.

That's the best way to try and describe my feelings as a Celtics fan after watching the epic 7 game series that just took place. I hold no delusions about the Celtics repeating this year. The Patriots have a better chance of running the table again in the regular season. But make no mistake: when your favorite team is the defending champion, you're missing your most important player and the series gets multiple games that will show up on ESPN Classic, you have to win that series. Somehow the guy least likely to be classified as a dirty player on our
team was turned into a thug. In 7 games we saw 7 overtimes. Kendrick Perkins turned into Robert Parish. Ray Allen turned into Super Ray Allen. Rajon Rondo turned into Jason Kidd. Paul Pierce turned into a poor man's Paul Pierce. I could go on. The Celtics aren't going to repeat as champions this year but winning this series stopped these playoffs from being a total loss.

Now, on to my Eastern Conference Predictions: (Perfect in Round 1 but nothing really to brag about since the top seeds held serve. I felt like I was right on top of the Atlanta series.)

#2 Celtics versus #3 Magic

No reason to really stop talking about the Celtics at this point. Celtics fans would just about kill to have this series starting on Tuesday or even Wednesday. Instead the C's get right back to the grind tonight. It would be really hard pressed to imagine them giving a full effort tonight after that exhausting 7 game series.

Then you have to throw in the fact that Kendrick Perkins appeared to hurt his shoulder
at the end of Game 7 and the thought of Mikki Moore guarding Dwight Howard for long stretches of time becomes a real possibility. Yikes. Any time you start longing for the defensive stylings of Pervis Ellison or worse, Acie Earl, you're in trouble. No KG and no Powe gives the Magic a huge advantage in the front court. However, if Perkins is 100% and with the way he just played in the Bulls series he'll at least push Dwight Howard to raise his game. Howard is a legit superstar
but there is still a question mark with how consistent he plays at that top level. The other forward matchup figures Glen "Big Baby Ticket Stub" Davis taking on Rashard Lewis. Another matchup that doesn't exactly make a Boston fan brim with confidence. Lewis has been a force versus the Celtics this year (averaging 21.5 a game). Pierce versus Hedo Turkoglu is an interesting concept in styles. If Hedo played a more physical game this might be a tougher matchup for Pierce but given his propensity to be an outside shooter and his inability to be able to contain Pierce this has to favor the Celtics.

Guard play is where the Celtics have the chance to win this series. Rajon Rondo was All-World for 6 out of 7 games in that Bulls-Celtics series. By the end of it he looked both physically and mentally exhausted but now that he's no longer Public Enemy #1, he might be able to get some rest and relax. Certainly the drop-off from Derrick Rose to Rafer Alston should help Rondo get his knees back a bit. Then there is Courtney Lee missing game 1 which means...wait for it...J.J. Redick is starting for the Orlando Magic! (Editor's Note: JJ is baaaaaaaaaaaaack!) This is sensational news for the hottest Celtic. Even if Lee was playing, not many people on the planet
can guard Jesus Shuttleworth with the higher level he's reached over the past few weeks. Finally, given their playoff track records, Doc Rivers gets the edge over Stan Van Gundy.

When predicting this series I'm really forced down to two options. Magic in 6 or Celtics in 7. Orlando isn't coming into Boston and winning a Game 7 but I can't imagine this Celtics team closing out things any earlier. When you look at the Magic Dwight Howard is always impressive, but the rest of the lineup lacks a certain toughness required in playoff basketball. I may kick myself for saying this but...

Prediction: CELTICS IN 7

#1 Cavs versus #4 Hawks

Despite being correct on my selection with the Hawks in the 1st round, I was very disappointed with the total deuce the Hawks dropped in two of their losses. Mike Woodson might make Mike Brown look like Red Auerbach in this series and that's pathetic. Atlanta has the horses to make this a very interesting series. However, Cleveland doesn't lose at home and Atlanta has won 1 road playoff game since 1997. That statement alone makes picking the Hawks like picking the Washington Generals.

Joe Johnson is the guy that has to come through for Atlanta. His ability to step in Game 7 of the Hawks-Heat series is why Atlanta is still playing. Al Horford could present a lot of matchup problems for the Cavs as well. Horford was able to have his way versus a Celtics defense last year that is superior that of this year's Cavs. Mike Bibby is a wily playoff veteran but Mo Williams is on a different level than him right now. Then there's Josh Smith. I fully expect there to be 1 game where Josh Smith drops 40 points, is All-World, and ends up looking like the best player in the NBA.

Oh and then there is the other guy that is the best player in the NBA. LeBron. I almost feel bad mentioning Mo Williams in the other paragraph because at this point there is still no need to mention any player on the Cavs. They're irrelevant. With the way East stacks up right now, we
are watching a 1 man wrecking crew bowl over everyone else on the way to the NBA finals. I'd really love it the Hawks played up to their ability every game (similar to how the Bulls just played these Celtics) but I just don't see it happening. There is no way Atlanta can go into Cleveland and win in this series. We'll expect Atlanta to take a game in this series but that's it.

Prediction: Cavs in 5

Celtics v. Bulls Game 7 Preview

2009-05-02T13:25:00.003-04:00

by Wally Brennan

We've come to the inevitable end of one of the greatest series in NBA Playoff history. Somebody has to go home for the season while someone moves on, though both teams are certainly deserving of moving on to the next round to face the Orlando Magic. Here are three keys for each team to take home this series.

Celtics:
1) Get ahead early- You don't want to let the group of scrappy underdogs think they're in the game right away. Building a big early lead could do wonders for the C's confidence but also hurt the Bulls.

2) Limit turnovers- Some of the more crucial moments late in Game 6 came off turnovers, notably the Joakim Noah steal/dunk and Derek Rose blocking Rondo's shot. Not to sound cliche, but taking more shots usually leads to wins - you cannot turn the ball over and expect to win.

3) Bench production- The Celtics' bench has flat out stunk so far. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Glen Davis and Rondo can't carry the load by themselves. The core of Stephon Marbury, Mikki Moore, Eddie House and Brian Scalbrine needs to have someone step up and score.

Bulls:

1) Get Physical- The Cs are a high strung group. Rajon Rondo has let his emotions get the best of him and Davis, Pierce and Moore all have high fuses. If the Bulls get in these guys' faces right off the bat, it could get the Cs off their game.

2) Defense- Aside from the Game 3 blowout, the Celtics have not shown that they can defend. The Bulls need to make defense their main focus knowing full well they can score whenever they want against a shaky Boston defense. Hold the Celtics under 90 and you probably win.

3) Get in the paint- Without Kevin Garnett the Celtics' inside defense is weak. Kendrick Perkins is a decent presence down there but you can easily get him in foul trouble. Brad Miller, Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas and Derrick Rose need to attack the paint and get Boston in foul trouble.

Sex, Lies, and Steroids

2009-05-01T17:41:00.004-04:00

by Dante Javier Contreras

The never ending circus that is Alex Rodriguez’s life has once again come to the forefront with leaked snippets of Selena Roberts upcoming book about the embattled superstar. Having only the little bit that was leaked to go on, it is possible that within the full context of the book the allegations may turn out to be a bit different, but we can only go by what was given and assume that it was given in such a manner that it would reflect upon the correct context.

So let’s address some of these issues.

Yankees teammates called him bitch tits. Coming into the 2005 season Rodriguez had put on 15 pounds, and apparently developed gynecomastia, which is a fairly common side effect of steroids due to the increased estrogen in the body and lack of natural testosterone your body is now producing. Yet there are preventive measures if you take the proper PCT (post-cycle therapy) which would include estrogen blockers until your test levels returned to normal and I find it hard to believe that someone as meticulous as Alex would overlook something that is a staple to any steroid cycle. Admittedly he says he didn’t know anything about steroids and was “just doing it” but if you believe that then I’ve got some beach front property to sell you here in Kansas. The gynecomastia very easily could just be attributed to the weight gain because it is impossible to add 15 pounds of muscle in a year’s time for someone who is a veteran of the weight room. I’m willing to bet at least half of that was fat and very easily up to two-thirds of it. Regardless bitch tits prove nothing one way or the other.

He started juicing in high school. The newest allegations suggest that A-Rod did not only use PED’s during 2001-2003 while with the Texas Rangers, but that he has been using them since he was a top high school prospect in Miami. Selena’s evidence for this? The fact that he gained twenty-five pounds and his bench press went from 100-310 pounds in six months. First off let me say this is no where out of the realm of possibility. Growing up in a small town in Kansas of roughly five thousand people this was not at all uncommon for those dedicated in the gym to accomplish. I myself underwent a similar transformation. I started off as a 150lb sophomore and was lucky to bench press 100 lbs. In 6 months I had put on 35 pounds and 150lbs on my bench press and I didn’t train very hard at all. So for someone as dedicated as A-Rod, it is entirely within the realm of possibility.

Pitch tipping. Now despite what you may be thinking I am not an A-Rod fan. In fact I’m rather ambivalent about him. I appreciate that he’s a great player, but I don’t really care for him one way or the other. If this allegation is true, then I will have lost a lot of respect for him. Perhaps he felt as though he had to justify his contract for those pathetic Rangers teams he was a part of or maybe he’s so self-absorbed and bent on putting his name in the record books, he’d resort to something this cheap. This one should be quite easy to prove or disprove though: simply go back and review the Rangers’ games in the late innings and see if you can find him doing this.

His poker habit, divorce from his wife, and alleged affair with Madonna. Apparently Selena told Dan Patrick that she didn’t comment on these elements due to it being hearsay. Good enough for me, neither will I. (Wait, isn’t most of her book hearsay? Moving on…)

Hooters hates A-Rod. What do you even say about this? He ONLY tips 15%. I wasn’t aware that there was a rule that if you make X amount of money a year, you are obligated to tip more. Seriously where does the sense of entitlement come from in people? I’m sure there are better ways to portray someone’s character in a negative light rather than bashing the fact that they tip the industry standard. Let’s just continue before my head explodes.

The only reason I tend to believe that A-Rod told the truth in his confessional interview with Peter Gammons is that he knew Selena Roberts was writing an exposé about him. Lying during that interview knowing that fact would have been monumentally stupid. For the expertly crafted public persona that is Alex Rodriguez, I find it hard to believe he would be that incompetent. If what she says is proven to be true though, then a suspension from the commissioner is possible, putting A-Rod at two strikes with only one to go. And I think we all know how he performs in the clutch.

NHL Playoff Preview: Round 2

2009-04-30T23:51:00.003-04:00

by Wally Brennan

After going 6-for-8 in my first round predictions (including perfect in the East), I figured it'd be time to regress to the mean and go 0-for-round 2. Without further ado, here's how I see Round 2 shaking out

Eastern Conference:

#1 Boston vs. #6 Carolina

Carolina is the sexy pick right now after dealing an absolutely devastating loss to the Devils in Game 7. Frankly, I don't buy it. Past Ray Whitney, Eric Staal and Tuomo Ruutu their scoring depth is quite shaky and their defense is mediocre. Despite drawing the most penalties in the league this year, the Canes had a very mediocre power play unit. Rust will be the key for the Bruins. They were 7-2-2 with 3+ days off this season, but this is a new breed. The Bruins can roll four lines, however, minimizing the minutes throughout the series. I think the combination of secondary scoring and strong defense wins the Bruins this series. Prediction: Bruins in 6

#2 Washington vs. #4 Pittsburgh

That sound you hear is Gary Bettman pleasuring himself at the NHL league office. This series features three of the game's true superstars in Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. Ovechkin and the Pittsburgh duo hate each other, making for some great subplots. The key however, is goaltending. Youngster Simeon Varlamov stepped up in Jose Theodore's stead for Washington, and Marc Andre Fleury had one of the finer series in recent years vs. Philadelphia. In my eyes, Washington has more weapons (Semin, Backstrom, Federov) and that will help offset young Simeon's inexperience. Mark my words - this series will be a classic. Prediction: Capitals in 7

Western Conference:

#2 Detroit vs. #8 Anaheim

The Ducks pulled off the "upset" of the San Jose chokers in Round 1 and their reward is the defending Stanley Cup champs. The Wings dispatched the Blue Jackets in four games and have had time to rest and get ready. As good as Anaheim is playing right now, Detroit is the best team remaining in the playoffs. Deadly scoring forwards plus the man the Norris trophy should be named after on the blue line is a dangerous combo for young Anaheim goalie Jonas Hiller. Anaheim will steal a couple games, but they won't steal the series. Prediction: Wings in 6

#3 Vancouver vs. #4 Chicago

I'm writing this right after Vancouver won Game 1, but I expected that and it does not change my mind. Roberto Luongo is playing like the best goalie in the game right now, but Nikolai Khabibulin's performance in Game 6 vs. Calgary was one for the ages. You really cannot find more evenly matched teams than these two; both have solid secondary scoring past their stars, both have good but not great defenses, and both have great goaltending. Home ice will decide this series, and I think the combination of home ice and a better goaltender wins this series for Vancover. Prediction: Canucks in 7

Western Conference Playoffs Review

2009-04-30T23:33:00.007-04:00

by Joe Reimers

With the first round winding down, let’s get to a few observations from the opening series in the West.

Lakers vs. Jazz

What we learned about the Lakers:

They’re a little bit shaky defensively. They gave up 97.4 points per game to the Jazz, which won’t be good enough to get the job done against better teams. This has really been the best-kept secret in the NBA this year; the Lakers don’t play great defense. I think it comes back to bite them before the playoffs are over.

What we learned about the Jazz:

Nothing. We knew they weren’t good.

Nuggets vs. Hornets

What we learned about the Nuggets:

They are the most likely challenger to the Lakers in the West. Offensively this team has always had firepower, but the shot selection is infinitely better under new coach Chauncey Billups. Defensively, this team can really shut off the water at times. They’ve got a lockdown perimeter defender (Dahntay Jones) and a lockdown post defender (Kenyon Martin). I really believe—shameless homerism alert—that this team can give the Lakers an interesting series.

What we learned about the Hornets:

I wrote about this some last week, but this roster needs a complete overhaul. There’s no one there to run with Chris Paul, and the team is completely dependent on Paul to generate offense for them. Expect major changes this offseason.

Spurs vs. Lakers:

What we learned about the Spurs:

The run is over. Tim Duncan has lost a lot of heat off of his fastball, and the roster just doesn’t work as well as it used to. This series might have been completely different with Manu Ginobli healthy, but after watching that team I don’t think the Spurs would have gotten through the second round even with the Bald Spot.

What we learned about the Mavericks:

This is a good team. I definitely didn’t see this one coming, but this team is coming together at just the right time. They’re solid defensively, they’ve got a few options offensively, and they legitimately seem to like each other. Their series with the Nuggets now looks very interesting. It’s already been a bit edgy between these two teams after Mark Cuban called out J.R. Smith, so I expect no less than two suspensions out of this series.

Blazers vs. Rockets:

This series isn’t over yet, so we’ll save commentary on what we’ve learned about these teams until all off the results are in. I will just say that I expect the Blazers to win tonight and win the series. They’ve been the better team ever since they worked out their playoff jitters after Game One. (Editor's note: Whoops)

Bulls, Celtics partying like it's 1986

2009-04-29T12:15:00.009-04:00

by Futon

One of the nice things about writing on a blog is that I can lie. Like yesterday, I told you we were going to look at the Western Conference Playoff picture today. PSYCH! Well I guess it’s not really a lie but more like a lack of accountability. Sure I could put a sentence in about the Lakers destroying the Jazz, the upstart Mavs dismantling the Spurs, the Nuggets absolutely throttling the Hornets or even talk about last night’s Portland versus Houston game. But those all bore me. I want to talk about the greatest first round series of all time! (note: if the Celtics lost this game I definitely would not be writing this so I apologize for my blatant homerism)

First off, let’s talk about the bad: NBA Officiating. The officiating in this league is comical. Last night’s game was some of the most gutless officiating I’ve ever seen and that’s saying a lot with what the NBA has been through. For the life of me I can’t remember a star player ever fouling out of a game with one let alone two off the ball fouls unless they were guarding Shaq. The treatment given to Ray Allen last night was ludicrous, especially since if Ben Gordon fell down they would put him on the line for two shots last night. After Allen’s 6th foul last night, Brad Miller was laughing. I don’t know if Miller was laughing because the call was so bad or just because he’s a gigantic douchebag. But we’ll talk about Big Bad Brad later on.

One of the most underrated matchups in this series has been the play of the two big men. Joakim “I’d like to punch him in the face” Noah and Kendrick Perkins have played phenomenally and last night was no different. Perk has been in the league since 2003, but do you realize that he’s only 24? Perk is actually only 3 months older than Noah. But last night Perk put in a vintage NBA performance with a 13 point-19 board line that included 0 fouls. If you’ve ever watched Perk play he is to picking up stupid fouls to what Sarah Palin is to saying stupid things. Noah was almost as good (I say almost because he clearly has a deal with the devil for any of his foul shots ever to go in) even the secondary big men in this series, Glen Davis and Tyrus Thomas have played fantastic. The Bulls nucleus looks like it should be strong in the future with these two up front but if Perk plays Thursday like he did last night you have to figure the Celtics will be advancing to the 2nd round.

The point guard matchup in this series continues to actually get better! While Derrick Rose had the advantage in Game 1, it’s been all Rondo since. The guy is a walking triple double. More impressive last night was his willingness to take over the offense along with Pierce after Ray Allen was removed from the game by the referees (saying he fouled out would be unfair to Allen). Rose on the other hand has played fantastic but has been prone to making some boneheaded turnovers that are completely understandable for a rookie point guard playing on such a big stage. For the Celtics, Rondo has been playing nearly turnover free basketball making his triple double average even more impressive.

The most troubling matter for the Bulls heading into Game 6 may be that Paul Pierce decided to wake up at the end of Game 6. The Celtics biggest drawback so far in this series has been their Captain looking like the most tired player on the court. If Pierce plays the whole game like he played down the stretch in Game 5 the next game in Boston will be against the winner of Orlando-Philly and not just Chicago.

Game 6 Prediction: Boston 99 Chicago 83

Checking in on the NBA Playoffs with Futon

2009-04-28T12:52:00.004-04:00

by Futon

Although the first week and a half of the NBA playoffs has done nothing to dispel the notion that we are on our way to Cavs vs. Lakers final (especially now that both are the first two teams into the 2nd round) the NBA playoffs have provided some exciting action so far. The surprising part of this may be that the Eastern Conference series have proved to be much more compelling and interesting than the Western Conference series.

Boston and Chicago have played three memorable playoff games so far. Game 1 was the Derrick Rose coming out party. Game 2 was the UConn Shootout and Game 4 was the former Spurs coaching clinic (biting my tongue.) As a basketball fan the excitement of Game 4 was overshadowed by not one, but two, awful coaching decisions made by Vinny Del Negro and Doc Rivers respectively. Not fouling the Celtics on the final possession of regulation and then allowing Ray Allen a wide open look is inexcusable. At least in Doc’s case Gordon’s 3 pointer was a step back shot, but still, why Tyrus Thomas wasn’t fouled in the low post is beyond me. Now we are left with a best of 3 series with a depleted Celtics team trying to defend their title and hang on for dear life. Poor Paul Pierce is getting about as much lift as Larry Bird did back in the early 90s. Brian Scalabrine hasn’t played in 3 months and is getting serious burn. As good as Derrick Rose has been for the Bulls he still is turning the ball over quite a bit and making the mistakes you’d expect of a rookie point guard. For Boston, Rajon Rondo has played out of his mind. If you had told me Rondo would be averaging a triple-double after 4 games I’d ask you who Boston was playing in the 2nd round. Instead tonight’s Game 5 is a must win for the defending champions.

More shocking than the Celtics-Bulls series might be what’s going with Philly and Orlando. On paper this looked like a mismatch to start. Orlando had played well all season despite losing Jameer Nelson. Philly had been an interesting team ever since losing Elton Brand but looked to be a one and done team. Now these two are tied at 2-2 after four games and that’s only because of the late game heroics of Hedo Turkoglu. Orlando has looked like a team struggling to find an identity ever since blowing an 18 point lead in Game 1. It seems like the recipe in this series should be real simple; pound the ball inside to Howard and let Hedo work the perimeter. That has been easier said than done as the upstart Sixers have provided a lot of trouble for Orlando. I still believe that the Magic will get through these next two games and advance but there is no excuse for the way Stan Van Gundy’s club has struggled against such an inferior team.

The series to determine who has the right to be LeBron’s bitch in Round Two is now tied at 2-2. Atlanta came in and won their first road playoff game since 1997 Monday night. The immortal Zaza Pachulia dropped a 12 point-18 rebound line on the Heat, further supporting the argument that Jermaine O’Neal should be taken out behind the woodshed and shot. The most impressive feat for Atlanta so far has been their ability to neutralize D-Wade, who was held to 9 of 26 from the floor Monday. This is the one series in the 1st round that I thought was guaranteed to go 7 games with the way these teams match up on paper. The Hawks' biggest issue is that they’re not a team that can rely on winning by only scoring 81 points. Sure the Heat are about as one-dimensional as you can get, but the Hawks have enough fire power that they should be coming near 100 points every night. I certainly know the Pat Riley disciples will always hold their own on the defensive end but you have to think that for Atlanta to advance they need Joe Johnson to be scoring in the mid 20s. I expect these two teams to split at home and then we will see a Game 7 in Hotlanta.

We’ll take a look at the Western Conference Series tomorrow.

The FBS NFL Draft Review

2009-04-26T14:12:00.006-04:00

by Joe Reimers

I think the idea of giving grades the day after a draft is just a bit ridiculous. To correctly grade every team, you would have to know how every player in the draft will pan out in the NFL. The extremes, though, seem very obvious on draft day, so I will simply be giving “A+” and “F” grades. Everything else is incomplete until two years from now, no matter what any other column tries to tell you. I just received access to the computer technology Mel Kiper has been using in the draft commercials, so I think I’m more than qualified to do this.

A+

• The Raiders: As a Broncos fan, “With the seventh pick in the NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders select Darrius Heyward-Bey” was easily the most exciting sentence I’ve heard this year. I seriously want to download those words from Roger Goodell as a ringtone. It’s hard to even say what my favorite part of that moment was. I loved the Raiders fans at Radio City Music Hall just staring at the screen and nodding like this was actually a solid pick or something and I loved watching Todd McShay’s head explode on national television. Remember, this was a guy who was supposed to go to in the mid-twenties at best. Al Davis, may you live forever.

• The Jets: Is there a possibility Mark Sanchez could be a complete bust? Yes. I don’t see it though. I think he’s like the Jordan-era Jazz. If he hadn’t been born around the same time as Tim Tebow, we would have heard more stories about what a great person Sanchez is throughout his college career. He just had the misfortune of being born in the same era as The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived. The fact that the Jets were able to swing this deal without giving up a future first-rounder makes this a steal. Sanchez will be a good quarterback for a very long time.

• The Patriots: Just because.

• Emperor Goodell: Percy Harvin hadn’t even come into the league yet, and Goodell was already laying down some punishment on him. “You want to fail my pre-draft drug test? Do you, Percy? Well how does Minnesota sound? I’m sentencing you to five years of freezing cold winters and 25-yard bombs from Sage Rosenfels.” I’m absolutely convinced that Goodell has given himself this much power.

• Verizon MVP: You know what I’m talking about. They have the commercials with people getting sports updates on their phones in ridiculous situations. If you look closely at the man using his phone in the ambulance in that commercial, you’ll notice what my friends and I noticed. It’s Goldberg from The Mighty Ducks. I’m glad to see his career didn’t completely die after farting in Emilio Estevez’s limo.

• Matthew Stafford: I thought he was crazy when he said he wanted to go to Detroit, but I failed to realize that E:60 was planning to run a story where Maria Sharapova got the number one pick ready for the draft. Could spending the first six years of his career in Detroit absolutely ruin him? Yes, but I still think he made the right decision.
• Andrew Levitre: Gives the Bills some length up front. Sorry, I just couldn’t resist that one.

F

• The Bengals: Yes, yes I know that they got Rey Maualuga in the second round, but they just got lucky there that he fell to them. I’m talking about the Andre Smith pick here. Seriously, my only response to a really depressing day for the Broncos (more on that later) was to say, “At least I’m not a Bengals fan.” Does that organization even care about their fans? First, the Bengals have made their fans suffer through years of futility, and they continue to bring in low-character guys there. Just in the past year, they’ve re-signed Chris Henry, refused to trade Chad Ochocinco, signed Cedric Benson, and drafted Andre Smith. Even Maualuga has some character questions. It’s amazing they have a single fan in that stadium on Sundays.

• The Buccaneers: I don’t see any way Josh Freeman is not a bust. Tampa Bay traded up to get him. Sometimes, it’s as simple as that.

• The Chargers: They took some scrub from Northern Illinois when Jeremy Maclin was still on the board. Actually, this should probably be an A+ because it I’m convinced it made Philip Rivers cry.

• Donovan McNabb: McNabb just ran out of excuses. He’s got plenty of weapons on offense now, after the Eagles somehow landed both Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy. If this team doesn’t produce next year, McNabb is gone.

• The Broncos: Note: After watching an entire press conference in which J--- McD------ referred to Jay Cuter as simply “The Player,” I am done using McD------‘s name. From here on out, he’s simply “The Coach.” I’m violently resisting the urge to go off on this for about 3,000 words. This is one of the worst days in my lifetime as a Broncos fan. I think Knowshon Moreno will be a good—possibly even great—player, but if the Broncos had their eye on Moreno all along (like The Coach said they did), why did they sign three running backs in free agency? The Ayers pick was solid, but it was all downhill from there. The Coach then decided to trade next year’s first rounder (almost surely a top ten pick) for the 37th pick this year. With that pick, he took a corner, when secondary was really the only part of our defense he addressed this offseason. He basically traded down almost thirty spots to get a player who doesn’t fit a huge need. Then he drafted a safety with the 48th pick, even though he signed two safeties this offseason. Then, just to cap it off, he then traded two third rounders to get the last pick in the second round. With that pick, he took a blocking tight end (eight receptions last season) when the Broncos already have an elite blocking tight end in Daniel Graham. Nice work, The Coach.

Remembering Tony G

2009-04-25T11:20:00.004-04:00

by Dante Javier Contreras
When the somewhat shocking news of the Tony Gonzalez trade to the Atlanta Falcons broke on Thursday, I took the time to reflect upon the career of the future Hall of Famer and all he’s done for the Kansas City Chiefs as well as the Kansas City community.

I began following the Chiefs in 1992. Our defense was ferocious and Arrowhead stadium was, and still is, the loudest and most raucous place to play in the NFL. You simply didn’t come into our house, especially in December and walk out with a win. We dominated the regular season in the 90s compiling a 102-58 mark in that span, bested only by the 49ers and the Bills.
Coming off a disappointing 9-7 season in 1996, the Chiefs owned the 18th pick in the draft. However, they coveted a certain All-American University of California tight end and made a deal with the Houston Oilers for their 13th selection. And the rest, as they say, is history.

The 1997 season was a return to form for the Chiefs who went 13-3 and claimed the top seed, although Gonzalez’s role was minimal at the time. This was a memorable season for Chiefs fans but not for the right reasons. The Rich Gannon-Elvis Grbac QB controversy was at a boil, as Gannon had more than filled Grbac’s shoes during his injury absence. The city was clamoring for Gannon to start in the playoffs, but classic Marty Schottenheimer didn’t have the stomach to make the right choice and we were upset by the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos (Editor’s Note: No complaints here!). From then on it has been a bumpy ride for the Chiefs as a team, peaking and diving from season to season, but the one consistent has been Tony Gonzalez.

Tony’s leap to superstardom began in his third year when he caught 11 TD’s and was named to the first of his record 10 consecutive Pro Bowls. He has also been named to the 1st or 2nd team all NFL every year during that time period too. His ability to make catches in traffic, command a constant double team (which is generally unheard of for TE), as well as his vastly underrated blocking for some dynamic record-setting rushing teams, was unparalleled by tight ends until Antonio Gates came along. The fact that he’s played 12 years and more than 190 games in this violent league at such a high level is a testament to his work ethic and drive. He currently owns every major record for a TE: first all-time in receptions (916), rec TD’s (76), rec yards (10,940), and he set the single season mark for receptions for the position in 2004 with 102.

As for the trade, I honestly don’t understand it. I know he wanted out, but he’s proven he’s not the type of player to tank the season or a game. In fact after King Carl (Peterson)wouldn’t make a deal last year for him, he came out and played harder than he ever had, putting up another stellar season. He still has a lot left in the tank as the past few years have shown. I know GMs love stock piling draft picks, but I’ll never understand trading a proven commodity for an unknown, unproven prospect, especially when the commodity is one of Tony’s caliber. It makes even less sense when you take into account that we have a new head coach a new system in Todd Haley and a new QB in Matt Cassel (whom I’m not sold on at all). The security blanket for any QB is the TE, and what blanket would you rather have than a 6’ 5” 250 lb beast with hands made of glue? Last year’s Chiefs, despite their abysmal record, were not that far off from being a good team, as anyone who watched them play 16 games could tell you. As the Boston Celtics showed last year, the effect of a proven veteran leader on impressionable young talent pays immense dividends, not all of which can be quantified. Since the Chiefs are one of the youngest teams in the NFL, I believe this leadership would have been immensely helpful.

Tony managed to have an unrivaled effect off the field as well as on it. His involvement in numerous charities and foundations, to which he was always willing to donate his time and money to when needed. is something to admire and look up to. With no obligation to be a role model, he chooses to embrace that role, for young and old, Latino, black or white. These differences don’t matter to Tony. He established The Tony Gonzalez Foundation in 1998 which supports Shadow Buddies and the Boys and Girls club of America. Shadow Buddies are smiling dolls given to individuals, especially sick children and elderly, in hopes of speeding their recovery. They’ve been distributed in Missouri, Kansas, California, New York, Texas, Hawaii, Washington D.C., as well as internationally. Tony also provided 50 Know Your Buddy Book kits to school children in Missouri, Kansas, and California. The books teach students about medical challenges and encourage them to increase their compassion and understanding of others’ differences. He’s also a spokesperson for the United Way and buys much needed supplies for schools. The list goes on and on.

The man defined greatness in every sense of the word and it’s bittersweet to see him go. On the one hand I’d like to see him win a title and on the other I wanted him to retire a Chief. There have been many all time greats that have put on the red and white: Derrick Thomas, Len Dawson, Marcus Allen, Priest Holmes, Will Shields, the Nigerian Nightmare, but save for Thomas, none have resonated with the community and fans like Tony G.

Alas there will be no more dunking, no more finger-rolls, no more fadeaways, and no more Mitch Holthus screaming, “TOUCHDOWN KAAANSAASSS CIIITTYYY!!!! TOUCHDOWN TONY GONZAAALEZZZZ!!!” But hopefully before we hear his name announced in Canton, we’ll hear, “Tony Gonzalez and the Atlanta Falcons, Super bowl champions.”

Futon's NFL Draft Preview

2009-04-24T13:37:00.006-04:00

by Futon

If I were 12 years old today, I'd certainly be prescribed Ritalin and any other attention deficit disorder drugs that were on the market. However the one day of the year I have always been completely focused and tuned into the TV was the first day of the NFL draft. It's my favorite day of the year. Maybe it was that during the early 90s the Patriots sucked. Maybe it was a lack of Sega Genesis games. All I know is that come that special weekend in late April I'd have the Boston Globe Sports Page, a box of Cheez-Its and some Pepsi, and I was happier than a fat kid on Thanksgiving. I'd even break out a little notebook and make my own mock draft. I remember one year I lost sleep the night before the draft hoping the Patriots would select David Klingler (I never said I was
smart). It would be a stretch to say I hoped I'd be Mel Kiper when I grew up but that certainly interested me a hell of a lot more than any other job you could have told me about at the time. I have to say it's a little bittersweet for me for the move of this event into primetime. On the one hand it shows the popularity the event has gained but on the other end it kind of takes away what's always been a holiday for me in the past. Either way come 4 PM I know exactly where I'll be on Saturday. I thought about putting together a full Mock Draft for FBS but the reality is no one has a prayer of nailing picks 11-32 with all the wheeling and dealing that goes in. Sure I could get a couple picks right but I thought a division to division preview of the draft might be best:

AFC East:

It wouldn’t be an NFL draft this decade without the Patriots coming in loaded with picks. With one 1st and three 2nds the Patriots are in prime mode for Belichick to makes some major moves. My prediction is that the Patriots will package the 23rd pick and a 2nd round pick to move up in the first round to go for a defensive player. Robert Ayers and Tyson Jackson are both possibilities as the Patriots have some major defensive line needs coming up in 2010, plus the Patriots have a strong track record with SEC players. If the Pats can't move up the pick should be a USC LB, preferably Ray Maualuga but more than likely I see Clay Matthews dropping.

The Bills could have one of the more interesting drafts possessing the 11th and 28th picks in the first round. Buffalo has had a tumultuous offseason given the suspension handed down to Marshawn Lynch, the soon to be suspension of Donte Whitner and the acquisition of Terrell Owens. Aaron Maybin seems like the pick for them at 11 while at 28 you know that'd love Brandon Pettigrew to fall.

In Miami all the talk is surrounding picking up a #1 WR. Unfortunately at the 25th pick this isn't realistic. However, you have to think that if there have been no major trades of receivers (Chad Johnson, Braylon Edwards and Anquan Boldin all appear to be available) that this would be a prime spot for the Dolphins to make a trade. This draft will be the apex of trade value for these 3 guys (especially Boldin and Edwards). Johnson's trade value in particular has diminished significantly since last year's draft. Hoping for a mid-season Roy Williams-type deal is pretty optimistic since there are very few GMs foolish enough to cough up what Jerry Jones did. If they don't make a trade I think Parcells will go defense and pick up Vontae Davis from Illinois.

At 17, the Jets have been heavily rumored to be discussing a deal to get a QB. Wouldn't it be a wild scenario to see Eric Mangini make a deal with his old team shipping off Brady Quinn (this happens if Browns taking Mark Sanchez and then flipping Quinn to New York.) Personally I don't think the Jets have the bullets to get a deal for a QB done in this draft unless the Redskins move Jason Campbell. If the Jets do select in this spot I'm guessing they go Josh Freeman

AFC North:

I promise every other division preview won't be as long as the AFC East since as we go along we won't have to re-discuss every trade scenario. Cleveland is the team to watch in this division with the 5th pick overall. More and more, I see Mark Sanchez going in this spot no matter what and Cleveland either flipping Sanchez or Quinn for later picks in the draft. Despite their animosity towards each other, Eric Mangini is a Belichick disciple and knows the cap problems that a top 5 pick presents. My prediction is that Sanchez gets flipped to the Redskins for the 13th pick and a future #1. Only Washington would be dumb enough to make this type of move. With the 13th pick I see Mangini drafting either Ayers or Jackson who I mentioned previously with the Patriots.

I really hope the Bengals draft Andre Smith but on the Futon board we see them getting extremely lucky and see Eugene Monroe drop into this spot. Smith would fit perfectly in Cincinnati off-field circus, but Monroe will likely be the pick. Meanwhile at the 26th pick we get to see the magnificent Ozzie Newsome work his magic. Joe Flacco may never be a superstar quarterback but he's the perfect fit for Newsome's defense/run philosophy. I see the Ravens going for the local kid here by picking Darius Heywerd-Bey. Finally, the defending champion Steelers will have their run of the mill vanilla successful draft. I'm going to slot them Eben Britton here but I really am not sure who the Steelers grab with this pick.

AFC South:

If Mark Sanchez makes it past 5, I don't see any way that he doesn't get by 8 since Jacksonville has so many needs that selecting Sanchez would net the biggest return. That being said we are sticking Sanchez at 5 so we see Jeremy Maclin going to the Jags at 8.

Will this be the year the Texans finally make the leap to serious contender? They have to draft defense if they want to make that leap so I see Malcolm Jenkins being the pick at 15.

At some point in time Bill Polian has to draft a defensive player in the first round, right? My guess Larry English (another possibility for the Patriots) earlier in the draft. Intriguingly, the Titans are the team facing the steepest drop off this season with their offseason losses and tougher schedule. This is where I project Hakeem Nicks dropping to in this draft.

AFC West:

Al Davis alert, Al Davis alert. Enjoy Andre Smith and his man-tits Raider nation. You deserve each other. The biggest surprise pick in the first round will be when Scott Pioli stuns all of the NFL by drafting Michael Crabtree with the 3rd pick overall after St Louis surprises everyone by taking Aaron Curry at 2.

Poor Denver. If the Broncos can't be proactive I see the entire draft board playing havoc on Denver. This is definitely the pick I've struggled with the most in the first round. It would one of the Ayers/Jackson combo could go here. This would prevent New England from moving up then since we're projecting Cleveland to take the other of the two with Washington's pick. At 18 I'm guessing Denver will end up drafting Knowshon Moreno since he will be the best player on the board. Denver was extremely thin at the running back position last year. As for the Chargers, they come into this draft in excellent shape and are in prime position to take Rey Maualuga away from my beloved Patriots.

NFC East:

It seems to make the most amount of sense for the Giants and Browns to come to a consensus and deal the 29th pick and a future 3rd for Braylon Edwards. If this does happen this would be an incredibly active first draft for Eric Mangini. We already have him grabbing a defensive linemen earlier in the round so he has to get Brady Quinn some help. Kenny Britt from Rutgers would seem like a good fit here to address some of the Browns wideout issues.

This already should be considered a successful draft for the Eagles given the acquisition of Jason Peters with the 28th pick. At 21 it would seem that the Eagles should try and find away to make a move for Moreno since Westbrook is getting older. Otherwise it wouldn't surprise me if Philly traded out of the first round. For right now will go with Peria Jerry here for lack of a better fit. We've already addressed the Redskins earlier and we can all just laugh at the Cowboys for their ridiculous Roy Williams trade.

NFC North:

Chicago's already had a successful draft by acquiring FBS favorite Jay Cutler. The Green Bay Packers stand to be the biggest winners in the Mark Sanchez emergence since it means that one of the better interiors player should drop to them. I see BJ Raji being the pick here for Green Bay. If Minnesota decides to make their pick at 22 (they've been known to take their time) Percy Harvin is a slam dunk at this pick. If only they had someone half decent to throw him the ball…

And then there are the Lions. I don't see any way they pass up Matt Stafford with this pick. If they had any other alternative at quarterback it might make sense, but while Curry and Jason Smith are the safe picks, it's really hard to imagine either of those guys being good enough to justify using the 1st pick on them. At pick 20 the Lions will try to give Stafford some protection with Michael Oher (OT from Ole Miss).

NFC South:

Carolina will actively be shopping Julius Peppers but unless Dallas (or possibly New England) step up to the table it will be a quiet first round with no pick. Tampa Bay is a tough team to figure out because a lot of their wants don't project to be available at their pick at this point. Brian Cushing is the guy we'll give here but most likely the pick will be whoever breaks from one of the first 18 picks I managed to butcher.

Atlanta hit a homerun yesterday with the acquisition of Tony Gonzalez. It would make sense that they try and tackle the defensive side of the ball so let's go with Michael Johnson, the defensive end from Georgia Tech here. For some god-awful reason I see the Saints drafting Beanie Wells if they keep the pick so that's who we are slotting here. Keep in mind though if one of the Ayers/Jackson combo drops this is a clear spot for New England trading the 23 and a 2nd rounder to get into this spot. The Saints have a lot of holes on the defensive side of the ball and could use the multiple picks.

NFC West:

The Rams have so much influence on the other picks it's incredible. The safe pick is for St. Louis to pick Aaron Curry. On the other hand if the Rams go with Jason Smith, the Chiefs grab Curry and then the Seahawks could try and move the 4th pick to Oakland who would love to get Crabtree. If Curry somehow ends up going to the Lions and the Rams went Smith at 2, the Chiefs would then take Crabtree and my head would explode. So many possibilities! My prediction is the Rams will indeed pick Curry (a nice pairing with Chris Long) and this will force the Seahawks to go Jason Smith at 4. The Seahawks would have to be happy to get a guy that was rumored to be going 1 at this spot but at the same time I get the feeling Seattle really isn't looking to go O-Line with this pick.

I believe the 49ers will select Brian Orakpo but would also be ecstatic to see Sanchez or Maclin drop to this spot. Finally rounding out the draft will be our favorite Cinderella: Arizona. The Cards’ biggest move on draft day will be what happens with Anquan Boldin. For their pick we'll give them James Laurinaitis for lack of a better option, but it’s important to note that the Cards have the chance to be very active on draft day.

Well I'm exhausted from writing this. Time to sleep until 4 PM Saturday!!!

Soccer Mailbag, Part 2

2009-04-23T16:48:00.005-04:00

by Pratyush Buddiga

I think you proved your own thesis in the first paragraph, with the phrase "one seeking their rightful place back atop the competition, the other simply looking for redemption after last year’s debacle". That is a very poor and completely inaccurate description of the tie, which seems to based on information provided by faulty American football reporting and Tommy Smyth's terrible punditry. Liverpool does not have a rightful place in the competition. Just because it has won the cup quite a few times, does not mean it deserves to again and again, as though through some sort of god-given right. This is football, not a divine monarchy. Chelsea aspired to advance into the semi-finals because this is one of the most prestigious pieces of silverware a team can win, and despie (sic) all their success, this one has eluded them. So no, not "simply" for redemption. Though heartbreaking for supporters, losing the final in a penalty shootout when you captin (sic) slips on the slick, wet pitch and misses his respective penalty is less of a "debacle" you'd want redemption for, and more of a tragedy for the team and supporters. Though I don't doubt this has a part to play in the motivation for JT and the team, the 'trophy with the big ears' has been a main target for Chelsea admin and players for many years before the "debacle". Though the rest of the article could possibly have merit, it was hard to take it seriously or accept you as any sort of authority on the game after you exposed your blatant lack of knowledge regarding football dynamics in Europe.
-Lilac Wine

I was wrong to use the word ‘simply’ as there is no doubt that Chelsea wants to win for more reasons than redemption, but in writing a piece, you’re not going to list all the reasons why they want to win. There is no doubt that part of their motivation is to erase the memories of last year when they nearly had the trophy in their grasp. I understand your frustration with the way I phrased things but sometimes imagery gets in the way.

You say American football is simple - give me a break man! It is the most complicated game IMO. Americans love complexity and they try to simplify it with metrics - and most of the time big numbers mean better and hence they love games that has big scorelines. Football(the real one - not the american one) is the simplest of them and the true global game on planet earth - a talented footballer(the real one) anywhere on planet earth will be found by the big clubs. Such is the reach and popularity of the game and those who love simplicity cannot but love it.
-Jayadeep

I think you’re misconstruing what I meant. Soccer is a simple game, but it is also a subtle game. American football is undoubtedly complex---complex to the point of ridiculousness with Al Saunders’ 700 page playbook---but most of it can hardly be called subtle. In fact, the subtle parts of American football---offensive line play, the special-teams game---are often ignored by most fans unless a glaring mistake is made. The very beauty of soccer lies in its subtleness: some of the best moments in the game such as an extra touch on the ball or holding a defensive line that causes an offside simply wouldn’t capture an American audience on a highlights package.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vzqGB4WLkY

I used to only watch Arsenal, MU and Liverpool and Champions League. Yes, it's the best football aside from the WC. But a couple years ago I spent $80 on MLS directkick and watched almost every game and now I'm a diehard MLS supporter. My DVR is full of unwatched BPL and CL games while no MLS game goes unwatched. And now my Sounders are on the scene with much aplomb - it's hard to describe the pride. I actually kind of pity all the gloryhunters, existentially estranged with their inauthentic allegiances.
-Anonymous

This is a great point. No matter how much an American fan can root for Man U or Arsenal, we don’t have that same regional/generational attachment that an English fan has. When the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, many fans felt as the victory wasn’t just for them, but for their fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers that lived in New England and rooted for that same uniform. Without that sense of ownership, American fans (like me) that hold allegiances with English Premier League, La Liga, or Serie A teams will always have a small hole in that relationship.

What this editorial fails to mention is the GIANT influence ESPN has on the average American sports fan. In the past five years, ESPN just slowly brainwashes its viewers by showing only the sports they have broadcasting rights to. As a hockey fan, I don't even turn the channel on anymore. It is nice they have MLS, but now that they are losing the Champions League to FSC, they will be caring even less about the sport.

Not to mention, the typical American sports fan is stupid, lazy, and ignorant. American sports focus on braun more than brains, and I'll leave it at that.
-Rob

ESPN’s bias will be an interesting thing to watch over the next few years. An American sports fan can’t follow sports in general without tuning into ESPN. Therefore, ESPN must be fair in the way it prioritizes its shows. So far, it doesn’t look that promising. One can already see a clear-cut example of this: if ESPN had a crew out in Dallas for a game, they will continually return to that crew during Sportscenter no matter how boring the game was or if there were other far more interesting sports events going on that day. Often, they lead the show with that shoddy Monday night game or basketball game even if there are dozens of games with far more significant impact. Hopefully they continue to give us some coverage of Champions League and soccer in the future, but it’s unlikely.

As someone pointed out, this is the same article that has been written a thousand times. So I am going to limit my comment to a common, but idiotic, statement that shows up in some form in every version of this article. Early in the article, the author states that "We want the action to be in-your-face, non-stop, and yes, with lots of offense". I take particular exception to non-stop. Football has 45 seconds of nothing but fat men standing around in between each 4 second burst of action. Basketball has 6 timeouts per team per half plus an extaordinary (sic) amount of downtime caused by fouls (which, unlike soccer fouls, cause the clock to stop and, when free throws are involved, take tons of time), and finally baseball certainly has less action than even cricket. As far as I'm concerned, most major American sports are the opposite non-stop they are stop, wait, wait, wait, go, stop, wait, wait, go. I do think the author somewhat redeems himself by pointing out that American sports fans have a tough time with soccer because they have to sit still and watch 45 minutes of action rather than 4 seconds, then check their e-mail, take a leak, and still not miss the next play. Putting these two points together, the non-stop nature of soccer is what's hard for American sports fans, too many of them are to impatient to watch a non-stop sport like soccer. I say this as a die-hard fan of both forms of football.
-Anonymous

Non-stop was the wrong word to use there. American football is of course punctuated with enormously long starts and stops. What I meant to convey is that the action is almost always clearly directed towards producing offense. In soccer, there are times where the teams won’t be pushing forward, stuck in a midfield battle or playing it safe. The scoring opportunities are often far apart, whereas in football, they are far more plentiful.

Thanks for all the comments and keep letting us know your thoughts. Until next time…

Soccer Mailbag, Part 1

2009-04-22T11:39:00.005-04:00

by Pratyush Buddiga

My last soccer article prompted lots of feedback so I thought it’d be best to respond to what some of you readers think. Thanks for all the comments and keep them up. We want to know what you think. Look for Part Two of this mailbag tomorrow. Without further ado, let’s get to them

“It'd probably be more accurate to compare the MLS level of play to the Euroleague of basketball. It's a relatively high level with talented players, some of whom can and do move up to the highest level, but it's not quite on par with the top notch leagues. You see guys move from one to the other, and sometimes back.” -Scatterbrain

This is probably a better comparison than NFL Europe. Funnily enough, it looks like some Euroleaague owners are gearing up to copy the MLS style of marketing. After they inevitably fail to get LeBron James and Kobe even if they offer 30 million (just like an MLS team would fail even if they offered Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo a boatload of cash), they’re probably going to target guys like Allen Iverson to try and boost attendance. Just like Beckham, I think this will be an early hit at the gate, but those numbers will fade away as it becomes plain that these aren’t the superstars of old. It’s also easy to forget that even though the international teams have caught up somewhat to the American team, the professional basketball leagues are still well behind the NBA. Plus, I have so much Ricky Rubio man-love that it’s easy to forget the inferiority of the Euroleague. I would give a year off my life to have him on the Nuggets next year.

Your first point doesn't make sense at all. Every country has a first tier soccer league. In all those countries, they know that their league is not in the top five, but they still follow their league passionatly (sic). Just because MLS isn't one of the best in the world, doesn't mean that it isn't worth following. The same passion can be found at MLS grounds nationwide as well as in other countries where soccer isn't the number one sport (Australia, West Indies, Cuba, Japan etc.) -Anonymous

The key point is that these other countries don’t have the wide variety of sports distractions that we have. We have the NBA, NFL, MLB, three of the four golf majors, and even college sports which attract tons of followers. For the MLS to garner a significant niche, some of the world’s best players have to play here. It’s just not going to happen otherwise.

The question is whether they will ever command the TV numbers that could make them a top league? Seattle has more season ticket holders than the Mariners, but the local ratings are only about half. The US is big enough to eventually support MLS at 30K+ game attendance numbers some years down the road. That could be enough to become a top 10 league, and start to pass the Mexican first division (which could be a tipping point). Do not discount the importance of long-term demographic changes like the increasing population from Mexico/Central America/S. America. Baseball will always be big, but the distinct differences between the sports will attract their own segments. 10,000 Kansas City Wizards fans right now create more noise than a Royals game. Some fans are looking for a day out at the ballpark, some are looking more for the rowdiness more inherent w/soccer fans. -szazzy

Right now, I think a middle school theater performance creates more noise than a Royals game. But interestingly enough, I think soccer is similar to hockey in some ways for American fans. Most American fans who go to hockey games love it: the atmosphere in the arena is incredible and there’s just so much more to see. Similarly, I think soccer matches can create a similar atmosphere. However for neither of these sports has this translated into TV ratings. I’m not sure if there’s a solution for that, but it does present an interesting dichotomy.

Soccer is a great game. I've been a fan for years and can't watch any other sport. Each goal is so important. The guys are fantastic athletes, running a 10-K and then using their foot to make great passes, etc. Another big plus to soccer: there are no plays, except on set pieces, each player has to decide for himself how to play based on the score and time. And the nicest thing, by far, is no commercials until halftime: 45 minutes of soccer, a 15 minute break, then another 45 minutes of soccer. -Anonymous

I couldn’t agree more. These guys are some of the best athletes in the world. That’s part of the reason that it sucks that some of our best athletes don’t have any interest in the sport. The lack of commercials makes it an ideal spectator sport, but many fans have yet to catch on.

too bad I dont give a s*** about what you guys think. I support the US footy team because I am a real fan not one that has to have success before I join in. Message to you guys: no one wants you guys if you are just there to get a beer and eat a hot dog instead of singing for 90 minutes. Also, have you idiots ever thought that for the USA to be successful, we need AMERICAN players, not foreign ones in MLS? Ya, didn't think so. Now go watch your baseball while twittering. -Anonymous

If you’ll read the article, I suggested the very thing you are talking about. MLS won’t succeed with fading European stars. Like I said earlier, we need a Jordan-esque star to take the American game to the next level. If that happens, you’ll have an athlete that kids can emulate, but also one that the entire country can get behind. This is an individual sport, but look at tennis: it was incredibly popular in America during the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s when it was dominated by American stars like McEnroe, Connors, Agassi, and Sampras. Now, the best American player is Andy Roddick who can beat Federer and Nadal in hot girlfriends, but certainly not in tennis. Not so coincidentally, the popularity of the sport has dramatically fallen off.

Thoughts from TJ: MLB Review, Week Two

2009-04-21T13:46:00.007-04:00

by TJ Giles

Week 2 was full of MLB records, long win streaks, and some of the worst examples of hitting and pitching ever seen. Words cannot describe the awfulness, but I'll try my best.

The Good:
I find myself unable to point to just one thing as being the best part of week number 2. During most weeks the decision would be easy, seeing as the Florida Marlins went 6-0 during the week and extended their league best record to a spectacular 11-1. While some critics point to six games against the Washington “Natinals” (Seriously, how do you misspell your team's names on the uniforms?) as a leading cause of the Fish's hot start, I counter with the six games against division rivals the Mets and the Braves in which the Marlins went 5-1 – including a sweep at Turner Field in Atlanta. The LA Dodgers also found themselves undefeated during the second week of the season and have won 8 in a row dating back to last week.

This week however, I find myself putting a player’s personal achievement over the team result. There were 3 – THREE – cycles hit this week throughout the league. Monday saw Orlando Hudson complete the feat against the San Francisco Giants, Rangers slugger Ian Kinsler completed his cycle in 6th inning against the Baltimore Orioles, while Jason Kubel of the Twins capped off his against the Mariners Friday night with a game winning grand slam. This marks the first time in MLB history that there have been three cycles in a week (Note: there have been three other occasions in which there were three cycles in seven days, but all of those lapsed over the weekend into two separate weeks).

Also falling in the remarkable category, Zack Greinke threw a complete game shutout in Texas this week, walking none and recording 10 strikeouts in the win. Greinke has failed to give up an earned run through 20 innings this year (and 34 innings stretching back to last year). He was a dark horse for an AL Cy Young award, but with a start like this, “dark horse” does not apply anymore. He's a legitimate candidate.

The Bad:
The Arizona Diamondbacks’ offense has been nonexistent this week. While 18 runs in six games this week looks bad – but not disgraceful - they had a whopping three games scoring one run or less, and another with only two runs scored. In fact, the Arizona offense has been so abysmal this year, it has given pitcher Dan Haren an 0-3 start, despite him having a 1.89 ERA and 0.89 WHIP through 19 innings.

The Ugly:
The only thing that could make the Diamondbacks’ offense good is the Nationals’ bullpen. The bullpen blew three games this week after leading going into the 9th. This week, the Nats’ bullpen threw 18 1/3 innings, giving up 17 runs for a “sparkling” 8.36 ERA. In fact, the bullpen was so terrible, the Nationals sent 3 of their bullpen pitchers and backup catcher down to the minors so they could call up four new bullpen pitchers. They replaced their entire bullpen. It doesn't get much worse than that.

Will week 3 prove to be the answer for the new Washington bullpen? Check back next week for our next installment of a week in review. Same Nat-time. Same Nat-channel. Yeah, even I cringed at that terrible “joke”.

FIVE WITH FUTON: APRIL 21, 2009

2009-04-21T11:49:00.004-04:00

by Futon

Five thoughts while enjoying the fact that it's a great day, year, decade and millennium to be a Boston homer.

1) You got Rondo'd: While much can be made about last night's UConn alumni shootout, it was Rajon Rondo who was the Celtics best player. Slightly one-upped by his counterpart on the Bulls in Game 1, the young point guard had a triple double by the third quarter (despite spraining
his ankle in the 2nd) and made clutch play after clutch play down the stretch. Rondo was amazing both as a distributor and as an offensive rebounder last night. Throw in the aforementioned Gordon-Ray Allen duel and the first two games of this series have been more than any basketball fan could hope for. I seriously would challenge anyone to go back in the history books and find a 1st round series that had a better start than these two games. More serious for the Celtics is the apparent loss of Leon Powe with a sprained knee. The Celtics who were already struggling for big bodies with the loss of KG may be running on life support in these playoffs. They have certainly have no lack of entertainment value at this point though.

2) Same old Spurs: The Spurs 105-84 win last night was a lock in my mind all the way. The Spurs are simply too good to lose two games on their own floor to start a series. Dallas may be the most underrated team in these NBA playoffs but the Mavs still have to deal with the fact
that Jason Kidd can't guard anyone under 30 at this point in his career, further evidenced by Tony Parker's 38 points last night. This series has a very classic 7 games feel to it which is no surprise given the teams involved.

3) End of an Era: Detroit and Cleveland meet tonight in Game 2 of their series. While this clearly feels like the spring of LeBron it's worth noting that we may be seeing the end of an era in Detroit. It's likely that Rasheed will not be back next year leaving the Pistons with Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince as the main holdovers from those great Pistons teams in the earlier part of the decade. It's not really clear if keeping Chauncey Billups would have made a difference for the Pistons this season (it can be argued that the Pistons would have been more in the 4 or 5 seed range but they still would have been likely slaughter candidates for the Cavs.) What is clear is that the pressure is now on Joe Dumars to use the money freed up from Iverson and Wallace's
contracts to do something in free agency over the next couple years. My prediction is that as great as Joe Dumars was at the beginning of this decade, his reign in Detroit could be over within the next 3 years. He never has been quite able to recover from that Darko pick.

4) Portland We Have a Problem: The Rockets dismantling of the Blazers may have been the most overlooked note of all the Game 1s. Sure it's a 4-5 matchup, which makes this a push, but anytime you can go on the road in the Western Conference playoffs and holding a team with as much firepower as the Blazers to 81 points is no small feat. You had to be impressed with Aaron Brooks' 27 points in Game 1 and it really seems as if Yao is a completely different presence without Vince Carter's cousin. Heck there was even a Dikembe Mutombo appearance in the stat line. Wouldn't you pay a ton of money to be involved in a dinner conversation between Dikembe and Yao?

5) Patriot's Day: My beloved Bruins went up to Montreal last night and took a 3-0 lead on the hated Canadiens. The Bruins are now only 1 game away from avenging last year's heart-breaking, yet rejuvenating (maybe rebirth is a better way) Game 7 loss in the first round. It's
been quite a while since people are still talking about the Bruins instead of the Red Sox in April but it's certainly an exciting feeling.

FIVE WITH FUTON: APRIL 20TH, 2009

2009-04-20T08:16:00.008-04:00

by Futon

Five thoughts I had this morning about the NBA Playoffs (while at the same wondering how Gary Bettman has one less nut than John Kruk for the Milan Lucic suspension):

1. The Rose Garden: in Friday's column I wrote that Derrick Rose was already one of the most exciting players in the Eastern Conference. Rose didn't disappoint and turned in the biggest contribution of the first round to date. Rose's 36 points and ability to score at will against the Celtics defense was extraordinary. It overshadowed an almost as impressive performance from Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo (29 points, 9 rebounds, 7 dimes and didn't have his first turnover until overtime.) Even more improbable than Rose's performance was the 11 and 17 that Joakim Noah put up. All that being said, it would be a tall task for Rose and Noah to play that well again and more importantly it would be equally difficult for Ray Allen and Paul Pierce (a combined 9-33 from the field) to play that poorly. The Celtics had one of the most distracting pre-Game 1s in the history of the NBA, with the news of KG's injury and Danny Ainge's heart attack so I'll stand by my prediction of Celtics in 6 for at least one more night.

2. Magical Comeback: Maybe the most surprising event of the weekend was that the biggest upset wasn't in Boston but in Orlando. While the Magic-Sixers series is a 3-6 (versus a 2-7) it would be hard to argue that any of the big 3 in the East would prefer playing Chicago over Philly. Somehow the Magic blew an 18 point lead to the least dangerous team in this year's playoffs. Andre Igoudola remains one of the most overpaid players in the league but surely he's coming closer to justifying that contract if he continues to hit big shots like he did in Game 1. The appearance of 1972-1973 Theo Ratliff was also a pleasant surprise for the Sixers. Not having Jameer Nelson for these playoffs continues to appear to be a fatal blow to any long term playoff run for the 08-09 Magic. Orlando should still get by the Sixers but it will be interesting to see what type of wake up call this is for Stan Van Gundy's club.

3. Atlanta has a basketball team: My sleeper team in the East delivered a soul-crushing performance against the Miami Ice last night. How the Hawks held the Florida Wades to 64 points is beyond me but keep in mind that this Atlanta team didn't lose a single home playoff game lsat year and look like they should hold serve just as well this season. Most alarming if you're a Heat fan was the dominating performance of Josh Smith and Al Horford versus the Heat's front court of Udonis Haslem and Jermaine O'Neal's corpse. I wouldn't be surprised if this series is over in 5 games.

4. Trevor Ariza, more than just a name that can be rhymed with Jizza: Hey look, a viable third scoring option LA! I would be shocked if Ariza tops the 20 point barrier again these playoffs but it was pretty safe to say the 113-100 margin made this one seem closer than it actually was. Kobe barely broke a sweat and Utah's inside was no match for the two headed monster of Bynum and Gasol. Anytime you're using the absence of Mehmut Okur as an excuse you know you're in trouble. If there was ever a series I was sure was only going 5 games this would be it. I'd be shocked to see Utah lose both games at home but I also don't see LA letting this one get tied 2 up. Utah is not going to win in the Staples Center.

5. Chris Who?: I'll keep this one short since we have two Nuggets fans that write for this site and I'm sure they'll have some commentary on the game. The acquisition of the Chauncey Billups is one of the best "fit" trades we've seen in quite a while in the NBA. If Billups is going to be outplaying Chris Paul, I'm pretty sure we are in for a short, uneventful series in Denver.

Tomorrow we'll talk a little more in depth about the Mavs-Spurs Game 2 and see if the Celtics can even the series versus the Bulls (eliminating the need for me to hit the panic button.)

Athletes Aren't Role Models

2009-04-19T15:18:00.003-04:00

by Dante Javier Contreras

Michael Phelps. Pete Rose. Muhammad Ali. Alex Rodriguez. Larry Johnson. Pothead. Gambler. Draft dodger. Cheater. Woman beater.

These are not the descriptions defining great athletes to which we’ve become accustomed. We like to bestow mythical status upon our beloved heroes, lavishly praise them for their athletic endeavors and put them on unreachable pedestals. When they inevitably fall, it makes for quite a long and messy tumble.

The question is; should they be put on that pedestal? Do they deserve the adulation? Are they role models? And more to the point are they obligated to be role models? For me, I have to side with the eloquent Charles Barkley, and his well known stance on the issue: no.
Why should they be held to a higher standard than anyone else? Because they make millions of dollars a year? Irrelevant, but if that really bothers you then let them know through your purchasing power. Don’t buy tickets and don’t buy merchandise. Simply don’t support them. Will it make a difference? Maybe not, but don’t be hypocritical about it.

The athletes of eras gone by are looked fondly upon, but let’s be honest. If there was the 24/7 media coverage of today back then I’m willing to bet all those great role models would be found to be no more righteous than the athlete of today. We shouldn’t look to athletes to be our role models. We should look to them for an escape. After 9/11, we turned to sports. The epic Diamondbacks/Yankees World Series. The eerie symbology of the Patriots winning the Super Bowl after coming out of the tunnel as a team. These moments among others allowed us, if only momentarily, to escape our harsh reality. We shouldn’t care that the character of the people playing these games was probably shadier than your drunken uncle at Christmas.
We go for the escape. We go for the blind homerism. We go for that electric feeling produced by a unified crowd trying to rally our heroes and propel them to victory. We go for the unknown. Above all, we go for the love.

The vast majority of athletes don’t become pros for the fame. They do it for the love of the game, for their families, and of course for the money. They don’t do it to be put on a pedestal. Nor should they. It’s our responsibility as parents to be the role models, to instruct our children that it is okay to admire what their favorite athlete does on the court, to aspire to be like them in that regard, but to let them know that off the court they are as fallible as anyone else. Sometimes these faults allow us to identify with the athletes. John Daly is the ideal example: an overweight drunkard who sometimes is intoxicated even while competing. Yet, he still managed to win 2 majors despite his personal demons. People can identify with that and embrace him, so perhaps there is a line that we willingly draw. Is it person- dependant on whose faults we chastise and whose we embrace?

So is there anyone or anything to blame? Is it the players? Is it society’s lofty expectations? How about the parents? Or the media? I blame the athletes and the media. I only blame the athletes, not for what they do, but because they do it knowing the world we live in. The brunt of the load however has to be placed squarely on the shoulders of the media. I understand that some things are big issues, but sex boat parties and A-Rod hanging out with Madonna is not. In fact, I believe that unless the athlete makes it public or consents to have it published all personal affairs should be left alone.

What do we do now? I know it’ll be hard to do in an overly analytical world, but we all need to take a step back and just enjoy the games. Appreciate God-given talent and cheer and jeer with reckless abandon. Take your family, have a great time. And when your kids choose a favorite player, encourage them and let them know they too could be just like them if they work hard, but most importantly, if they mold themselves as a person off the field after the only true role model.

You.

The FBS Western Conference Preview

2009-04-18T12:01:00.005-04:00

by Joe Reimers

The Western conference playoffs this year are a bit like a sports movie. We may have some fun in the process of watching, but we all know which team is going to win in the end. The best way to describe it might be “unpredictable predictability.” We don’t know quite how we’ll get there, but we can see the last scene already. Every first-round series but the Lakers-Jazz tussle has the potential to swing either way. Denver, San Antonio, Dallas, and New Orleans essentially play in a four-way tournament to see who loses to L.A. in the conference finals, and it wouldn’t be much of a shock to see any of those teams (besides maybe Dallas) make it that far. There is no way the Lakers are losing to any of these teams this year.

I’m still excited for the journey though. Here are the burning questions I can’t wait to have answered. How many shots of Tracy McGrady awkwardly pretending to be happy for the Rockets can we get? Who is going to punch Sasha Vujacic in the mouth (this is the year!)? Who can Twitter in the clutch? Before we go on, though, let’s just have a moment of silence for the Phoenix Suns, murdered at the hands of Steve Kerr and Terry Porter.

…

Thank you. The playoffs won’t be the same without you, Phoenix. Without further ado, let’s get to the matchups.

#1 Los Angeles vs. #8 Utah
I’ve made a list of things that need to happen for the Jazz to beat the Lakers
• Get 35 points and 18 assists per game from Deron Williams. No less.
• Sweep home games behind a rabid fan base convinced that Phil Jackson defiled Brigham Young’s tomb.
• Convince the certifiably insane Andrei Kirilenko to channel Tonya Harding with Kobe Bryant playing the role of Nancy Kerrigan.
Oddly enough, I think all three of these things are possible. If they don’t all happen, though, there’s no way Utah wins this series.

Prediction: Lakers in 5

#2 Denver vs. #7 New Orleans
As a Nuggets fan, this was the potential first round matchup that scared me the most, for two big reasons: CP3 and Chris Paul. What’s interesting, however, is how poorly the Hornets are using him. He’s absolutely dominant running the fast break, but the Hornets are playing at the third slowest pace in the league. This makes absolutely no sense. The easy reaction is to chalk it up to incompetency from Byron Scott (which is a correct reaction in many cases), but just take a look at this roster. Who is Paul supposed to run with? The one guy they’ve got who can run is Julian Wright, but Scott still doesn’t give him many minutes. If you’ve got Chris Paul, why wouldn’t you try to build a team around him that can run? I guess it just makes too much sense.

Anyway, here’s why I think the Nuggets will win. There are two ways to win in the playoffs:

1. Have one player the opposing team simply can’t stop him from scoring, even if they focus all of their effort on stopping him. This could be a player so dominant he can score on whoever he wants to. The current list of players who can do that looks something like this: Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade. The other option is that it could be a player the other team simply doesn’t have the right defender to match up against him.

2. Have enough options that the opposing team can’t win simply by shutting down one player.
Besides Paul, David West is the only legitimate scoring option the Hornets have. If the Nuggets find a way to shut down West, the Hornets have no chance of winning this series. I think Kenyon Martin—the league’s most underrated post defender and the inspiration for the new word “thuggery”—will be able to do this. Paul can’t be the Hornets only dependable scorer. He simply can’t score enough from the point guard position to carry his team.

The Nuggets, on the other hand, have eight different players who have led the team in scoring this season. Four of those players (Melo, Billups, J.R. Smith, and Nene) can legitimately be dominant on any given night. That’s why I see the Nuggets moving on here, but Chris Paul is too good for the Nuggets to have it easy.

Prediction: Nuggets in 6

#3 San Antonio vs. #6 Dallas
Reasons to pick against San Antonio:
• No Manu Ginobli.
• Tim Duncan’s knees. He’s going to miss Sunday night’s game and he’s just too old.
• Bruce Bowen is dead.
• No one talks about “Desperate Housewives” anymore.
Reasons to pick San Antonio:
• They’re San Antonio.
• They’re playing Dallas.
Seriously, this is the weakest Spurs team in quite some time, but they’ll still have enough to beat Dallas. Who’s guarding Tony Longoria-Parker this series? Also Gregg Popovich > Rick Carlisle. Much >.

Prediction: Spurs in 6

#4 Portland vs. #5 Houston
Here’s a really interesting series. I’ve gone back and forth in my head on this one a few times by now. On one hand, I’m tempted to pick Houston because Portland has no playoff experience. On the other hand, all of Houston’s playoff experience has come from losing in the first round. I guess I like Portland here, and that’s mostly because they have more home games. These teams might have the two best home court advantages in the West, although Utah is in there somewhere too. Portland has the craziest fans this year—think Golden State circa 2007 crossed with the constantly cheering fans in the background of NBA Live. These people seriously toss babies into the air after big baskets. Houston’s advantage comes mostly from the reffing. Battier and Artest are usually allowed to be more physical on defense at home, and Yao always seems to get a good whistle at home. I really don’t see either team in this series winning a road game.

Prediction: Portland in 7

The FBS Eastern Conference Preview

2009-04-17T16:58:00.009-04:00

by Futon

If you were to come to the Futon Household you’d hear the song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” blaring through my house and it has nothing to do with Christmas or snow. Baseball season is here, the NHL Playoffs are here and most importantly the NBA Playoffs are here! I might be more excited about my beloved Bruins taking on the hated Habs right now more than anything, but day in day out the NBA playoffs provide more excitement than anything else in sports. Today I’m going to cover the Eastern Conference Preview while my man “Larry” Joe Reimers will take the West tomorrow. For years the Western Conference was great but the Eastern Conference was a grind it out display of ghetto ball that only Pat Riley and Chuck Daly would find appealing. Those great Pistons teams of the early and mid-decade did nothing to dispel this notion. But then along came LeBron and D-Wade followed by a Celtics team that had superstars that loved to play defense (a novel concept) and suddenly the action on the East was almost on par with its Western counterparts. (It’s really hard to argue that the East is just as good since Philly, Detroit and Chicago barely deserve to be in the playoffs but the East’s top 5 look great this year.) I’ll be taking a look at each of these series.

#1 Cleveland versus #8 Detroit

If I had told you at the beginning of the year that Cleveland and Detroit would be meeting in the playoffs you’d be thinking at least the Conference semis. The fact Detroit is the #8 seed is really a testament to how far they’ve fallen this year. Joe Dumars’ trade of Chauncey Billups for Iverson looked like a deal made to win this year on paper but in reality was more of a desperate salary cutting measure that had a small chance of being successful for this season. I said pretty much everything I could about the Cavs early this week but the Pistons are really no match for the LeBrons. Plus, we have 2 other really interesting series to talk about so why waste our time with this one?

Prediction Cavs in 5

#2 Boston versus #7 Chicago

As a die-hard Celtics homer I was praying that we’d get Philadelphia in the first round. 1) It’s always fun to shut up the fans from the city of Brotherly Love and 2) Philly had no chance of beating the Celtics. Instead, thanks to the final day of the regular season, the Celtics get stuck with a scrappy Bulls team that should be way better than a #7 seed but has been dogged all season by inconsistent play. The Celtics’ biggest question mark is the health of KG. Pretty much everyone in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that cares about basketball is nervous as hell about the health of the Big Ticket. He shouldn’t be needed to get by this Bulls team but to advance any further the Celtics will definitely need him. The Celtics have a distinct advantage at every position in this series. The most interesting matchup will definitely be Rajon Rondo (apologies to Big Baby Davis, but Rondo's the most improved player on this Celtics team this year) vs. Derrick Rose. If this matchup happens next year we will most likely be giving the edge to Rose - already one of the 5 most exciting players in the Eastern Conference - but right now Rondo’s defense and ability to run the offense gives the edge to the young C’s point guard. John Salmons and Ben Gordon are nice players but they aren’t in the league of Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Kendrick Perkins versus Joakim Noah is a physical mismatch that Perk should have a field day with. Maybe one day the Bulls will figure out how to play defense and be contenders in the East. Just don’t expect it to happen this April.

Prediction: Celtics in 6

#3 Orlando versus #6 Philadelphia

Don’t tell me for a second that Stan Van Gundy and Co. aren’t relieved to avoid the Pistons. This series gets extra points for the Turkoglu-Iguodala matchup that would make Pat Sajak cringe with the number of vowels. Really the question is will Samuel Dalembert even bother to show up against Dwight Howard? My guess is no, and that will leave Reggie Evans to attempt some extra nut-grabbing just to keep the 76ers in this series. The only distinct advantage Philly has is the Andre Miller-Rafer Alston matchup, which will highlight how bad the Magic will miss Jameer Nelson in the playoffs. With Nelson, the Magic arguably had as good of team as a Celtics squad with a healthy KG. Without Nelson, Orlando has enough firepower to get through Philly but don’t expect them to get any further.

Prediction: Magic in 5

#4 Atlanta versus #5 Miami

I’m incredibly excited about Atlanta Hawks basketball. That is a sentence I surely never thought I’d utter in this lifetime, but this series has all the fixings to be the most exciting of the 1st round. First off, I think Miami and Atlanta need to get the memo that they should be huge rivals. Between this series, what I expect will be a dogfight between Atlanta and Florida for the Wild Card all year, and the decision of Bill Parcells to draft Jake Long instead of Matt Ryan, you guys have all sorts of reasons to hate each other. Throw in the fact that Atlanta is kind of like the homeless man’s Miami and we got all we need for a Southeastern Boston versus New York rivalry! Ok, maybe that’s a stretch but Atlanta did get great playoff experience last year versus a stunned Celtics squad that they pushed to the limit. Atlanta went 3-0 at home during that series! The key to this series is whether or not Atlanta can properly exploit the Al Horford-Jermaine O’Neal matchup. O’Neal may have surpassed Ben Wallace at this point for most overrated player in the NBA and Horford proved last year that he could hang with KG so count me in as a huge Al Horford fan. Joe Johnson gets no love but he’s going to have his hands full versus D-Wade in this series. I seriously think Wade is going to average 40 points per game in this series. The crazy thing is I’m not even sure that will be enough. I think Marvin Williams ends up being the X-Factor in this series. Miami took some good steps in the right direction this season but too much inexperience coupled with too many slow veterans makes Atlanta the pick.

Prediction: Hawks in 7

The Dumbest Job in Professional Sports

2009-04-16T18:17:00.003-04:00

by TJ Giles

I hate the closer role. Actually, “hate” isn't a strong enough word. I despise the closer role. The only thing in all of sports that I dislike more than the closer role is the mismanagement of bullpens by managers due to the closer role. The thought that your best bullpen arm should only be used in the 9th inning of games which your teams leads by 1-3 runs is the second most unintelligent thing I can think of, trailing only the idea that John Cena should be in movies. If you saw The Marine or 12 Rounds, then you would agree. Even Vin Diesel might have a wider range of acting emotions than Cena. Come to think of it, I shouldn't bring the hate against Cena. That's a pretty difficult task to accomplish. You have to be physically trying to be worse than Vin Diesel and Cena does it with ease. I digress however. The closer role has been practiced by nearly every team for as long as I can remember, and I've shaken my head in disgust whilst stifling my vomit for an equal amount of time.

You'd think that a concept practiced by everyone would be well thought out or rational. The closer role is neither. Up three runs in the 9th against a team’s 7-8-9 hitters? Send out the big dog. Up one run in the 8th against a team’s 3-4-5? Insert random bullpen guy. I don't even have to search very far back to find a real life example of this idiocy. Just last week – April 7th to be exact – the Kansas City Royals found themselves in this exact predicament.

Going into the 8th, the Royals led the Chicago White Sox 2-1 with the 9-1-2 hitters coming up. Naturally, a random bullpen arm came into the game for Kansas City to try and hold the lead into the 9th. This is standard protocol, and I have no qualms with letting Kyle Farnsworth take the mound in this situation. Well, I have no qualms about using a random bullpen guy anyway. Letting Kyle Farnsworth take the mound at any time is a different story. Josh Fields was the player batting 9th and he promptly singled to lead off the inning. Following this, Dewayne Wise struck out and Chris Getz singled to center. This put runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out in a 1-run game. Up to the plate steps Carlos Quentin, a player who led the majors in home runs last year prior to being injured. Rather than going and getting Joakim Soria – the best arm in the Royals bullpen by far – to face Quentin and left-hander Jim Thome, manager Trey Hillman decided to leave Farnsworth in. After all, Soria is the closer, and therefore should ONLY pitch the 9th inning (there may be a drop of sarcasm in that sentence). After getting Quentin to strike out, Farnsworth gives up an absolute bomb to Thome and the Royals lost the game 4-2. Soria collects his check for being the best arm in the bullpen without having to make an appearance in the game.

Rather than using his best bullpen pitcher to get out the White Sox’s best hitters, Hillman decided that giving Soria a chance to get a save by pitching in the 9th was more important than getting a win. He shouldn't feel too bad about it though. After all, nearly every manager in baseball does the same thing. Not pitching your best bullpen pitcher in the 8th against the other teams best hitters in order to ensure a save opportunity for your “closer” isn’t the only way to cost your team a win though. Just ask Baltimore Orioles manager Dave Trembley.

Trembley has decided to make George Sherrill his team’s closer. What is so frustrating about this decision you ask? George Sherrill is a LHP with only two pitches: a 92 mph fastball and an 84 mph curveball. That's right: a pitcher with only two pitches, neither of which is capable of dominating the vast majority of hitters is the team’s late-inning stopper. Not only that, he constantly finds himself on the wrong end of the “left-handed pitcher vs. right-handed batter” mismatch. Rather than using Sherrill in an optimal manner – such as destroying lefties on a consistent basis – Trembley is going to throw him on the mound regardless of the opponent. As long as it’s a save situation, Sherrill must be on the mound. Surely that's going to create problems right? Luckily for us, we again don't have to search very hard to find some examples.

On April 13 the Orioles were leading the Texas Rangers 10-9 heading into the bottom of the 9th. The Rangers were bringing the righty-righty-lefty trio of Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, and Josh Hamilton to the plate. Rather than sending RHP Jim Johnson (who threw only 9 pitches to get 2 outs the inning before) back out there to face Kinsler and Young and then bring in Sherrill to face the lefty Hamilton, Trembley decided to send Sherrill to the mound to start the inning. Why would he intentionally create these mismatches in the other team’s favor? Simply because Sherrill has the closer nametag and pitches during any save situation. After promptly giving up a leadoff double to Kinsler, Sherrill remained in the game to pitch to right-handed Michael Young with the tying run on 2nd. Young crushed a ball to deep right center and were it not for a phenomenal catch by Orioles outfielder Nick Markakis the game would have been tied. After getting Hamilton, Sherrill walked right hand hitting Andruw Jones to put 2 on and 2 out with another righty in Marlon Byrd coming to the plate. Despite having two pitches crushed by the right handed batters he had already faced, Sherrill was allowed to stay in the game.

The result of the game shouldn't be the focus here. Rather, let us focus on the constant mismatches and mismanagement which occurred during that 9th inning stemming from occupational stubbornness. Managers insist that their closers pitch in save situations and save situations only (aside from the occasional work day during a blowout). This insistence often leads to the manager putting the team in a situation which lowers the probability of recording a win, yet somehow escape questioning by either the fans or the media. If a manager hit his pitcher in the cleanup role – something which would lower the team’s expectancy to win – then the media and fans would be calling for his head. Misuse the bullpen and lower that expectancy in every close game and nobody complains. I don't know if this is due to the fact that most fans simply do not realize just how much these actions hurt their team’s chance to win or if nobody questions this rationale because it's so widespread and has been going on for years. Regardless, fan bases and media outlets across the country need to rise up and get it through these managers’ heads that the win is more important than the save and that sacrificing a player’s save opportunities to increase the team win expectancy should be the norm.

Unfortunately for Orioles fans, George Sherrill ended up striking out Marlon Byrd and recording a save on April 13. Since they got the win, Trembley is going to continue to put their team in many unneeded future mismatches just to ensure Sherrill attempts to get that all-important save.

More Than A Little Worried

2009-04-16T12:37:00.007-04:00

by Futon

Two things have always struck me as being very relevant about baseball in April. The first is obvious and that is that nothing is ever won in April. The second is not to get too worked up about what your team's downfalls are early in the season. I keep trying to tell myself that when I look at the Red Sox' first seven games but it’s a little hard not get over some glaring holes this team has (even though by the time this gets posted the Red Sox will probably end up 4-5 and make me look like an overzealous idiot, but that’s normal footing for me.)

My biggest gripe about the Red Sox is that they did nothing to address Manny’s bat leaving the lineup. I was very interested in seeing the Red Sox land Teixeira and in retrospect that move would have been even more important since it would have kept him away from the Yankees. Don’t take this as any sort of slight on Jason Bay. I’ve always thought Bay was one of the most underrated players in the league and I think Bay is ideal as a #5 or 6 hitter in this lineup. But Bay isn’t Manny. Bay’s 25th actively in OPS while Manny is 3rd. Basically there is about a 100 point swing between the two players. This would be funny if David Ortiz was still alive but unfortunately Big Papi has looked like a shadow of himself since his wrist injury last season (many ardent Red Sox observers will even argue that before the wrist injury he never looked like the same player in '08 that he had in past seasons.)

If significantly weakening the Red Sox 3-4 combo wasn’t enough the Red Sox are also faced with the declining careers of Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek clogging the 7-8 hole in the lineup respectively. Both guys have had fantastic careers but both are definitely on the wrong side of their careers. Throw in the fact that the Red Sox don’t currently have an everyday shortstop (Nick Green is currently starting at the position) with Jed Lowrie and Julio Lugo both out hurt and you have a 7-9 in the order that’s a black hole. Jacoby Ellsbury’s dreamboat status doesn’t lead to on-base percentage. This has left the Sox relying on Dustin Pedrioia and Kevin Youkilis to handle all of the offensive burden. While Youk and Petey are surely top 5 players at their position, asking them to carry a lineup in the highly competitive AL East for 162 games is most likely too tall of an order. Relying on JD Drew for 20 HR and 100 RBI is kind of like relying on the special kid at McDonalds to fill your order right.

All in all going into the season I felt the Red Sox offense was their biggest question mark. 1-11 I’d argue the Red Sox have the best pitching in the game (despite being nervous about the offense I’m not at all nervous about Jon Lester). When selecting the Red Sox to win the World Series at the beginning of the year it was with the thought that at some point this season Theo Epstein would have to make sort of move to add a bat to the lineup. I just didn’t realize that move might need to be made within the first month of the season. The AL East is too good for the Red Sox to be stumbling this early in the season. Tampa has already looked very impressive through their first two series and a 15-5 shellacking of New York recently. The Yankees will have A-Rod back in a couple of weeks. Baltimore and Toronto look a lot better than previously advertised. The season can’t be won in April but a bad enough start could put the Red Sox in a position where the season was lost in April.

The Subtle Game: Why Soccer Remains Foreign to Us

2009-04-15T21:46:00.004-04:00

by Pratyush Buddiga

There was a match for the ages yesterday afternoon. It was contested between two of the dominant teams in the sport; one seeking their rightful place back atop the competition, the other simply looking for redemption after last year’s debacle. It was complete with an exuberant crowd in a historic venue, thrilling late heroics, and ultimately, saw the home team go through to the next round. The funny thing is, most American sports fans missed it.

What match am I talking about? Chelsea-Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal. Yes, soccer, the sport that pundits are always ready to anoint as the next great American sport. Yet, generation after generation fails to catch on, falling dreadfully behind football, basketball, baseball, and even hockey. Why? How can a sport that nearly every kid plays growing up hold such a microscopic spot on the American sports landscape?

For starters, the current American professional league is nowhere near the best in the world. In basketball, football and baseball, sports fans are seeing the best in the world day in and day out. With soccer, the best in the world ply their trade in England, Spain, Italy, and elsewhere. Asking us to get excited about MLS is like asking Europeans to get into NFL Europe. Yeah, the players are far more talented that we could ever hope to be, but they’re simply not the best. Passion for sports comes from watching great athletes make unbelievable plays, rooting for teams to achieve the highest honors in the sport, and ultimately, from getting that elated feeling that you’re watching the best in world in the supreme expression of their art. World soccer fans have that attachment with their leagues. We, on the other hand, do not. From personal anecdotal evidence, almost every American soccer fan I know associates himself with an English Premier League or La Liga team before he does an MLS team. The reason is simple: most of us want to root for teams or athletes that can achieve historic greatness.

The other reason soccer hasn’t, and probably never will be popular here lies in the very nature of the sport itself. Soccer is a very subtle game. Large stretches are played without goals or even meaningful offensive chances---hockey has a similar problem of few goals, but at least there are 20-30 shots per team taken in the game. When goals do happen, they seem to occur somewhat randomly; a defender makes a gaffe, someone finally hits a corner or free kick just right, or, most thrillingly, a player like Lionel Messi makes some magic with the ball and through sheer force of will puts the ball into the back of the net. Yet the vast majority of the time that any of these potential goal-scoring chances is in the process of happening, something goes wrong and the ball is cleared away without even a shot being taken.

Subtle games simply don’t interest the modern American sports fan. “It’s boring,” we say, whether talking about soccer, cricket or hockey. We want the action to be in-your-face, non-stop, and yes, with lots of offense. Almost every professional sports rules change in the past decade has been designed to help offenses. More points leads to viewers staying interested and thus drive up the ratings of the sport. In the most egregious examples, the sport is willing to look the other way as players pump themselves full of performance-enhancing drugs that cause offensive numbers to skyrocket. Bud Selig can make all the loud statements or sad faces he wants---he’s not giving a dime back from the Summer of ’98.

In today’s world, with a zillion distractions at the tips of our fingers, the average sports fan simply won’t bother himself with the nuance or subtleness of a game like soccer. There is a brutal simplicity to football, basketball, and even baseball that can keep us on the channel, without demanding that we not look away for a second. You can skim through your e-mails, check your Facebook or step out of the room without fear that perhaps the only point that will decide the game will happen in the flash that you’re not paying attention. Watching a soccer match demands your full attention because the one bit of sheer inspiration that puts your team ahead could happen in the time it takes you to go grab a beer. Or nothing could happen. In football, baseball, and basketball, someone will “win” every possession or at-bat. In soccer, there are large periods where the teams just move back and forth, simply waiting for an opportune moment to strike.

Despite this problem, there have been numerous attempts to try to popularize the game as a spectator sport here. The New York Yankees-patented method of signing stars in their twilight (yeah, I couldn’t resist) has failed with both Pele and David Beckham sparking some short-term interest, but failing to bring the sport to the grandest of stages here.

Sadly, it's a vicious cycle. There’s no way that soccer will ever became mainstream here without the MLS becoming one of the top leagues in the world; on the other hand, MLS will have a hard time ascending to that elite ranking without some of the very best American athletes (your LeBrons, D-Wades, Terrell Owenses) choosing to play soccer---and that will never happen as long as soccer continues to be a distant also-ran to other sports. I don’t believe that soccer will every truly catch on here without perhaps a Michael Jordanesque homegrown superstar that chooses to stay in the MLS, despite being the best player in the world. Staggeringly, even that might not be enough.

Until that potentially occurring day, us soccer aficionados living here in America will have to make do with the Fox Soccer Channel, whatever Premier League and La Liga matches we can get our hands on, and the Holy Trinity of Champions League, Euro, and World Cup tournaments. It’s just too bad that most of our fellow rabid sports fans will be missing out on some of the best sports theater around.

Old Time Hockey vs. Les Habitants - It doesn't get much better

2009-04-15T12:01:00.006-04:00

by Wally Brennan

ATTENTION RESIDENTS OF BOSTON: THE THREAT LEVEL HAS BEEN HEIGHTENED TO BLEU, BLANC ET ROUGE Please do not be alarmed by the influx of flag waving, chanting Quebecois roaming the streets of our fair city. We are not under attack from the People's Republic of Quebec. They are simply here to support their cowardly, dishonorable hockey heroes in a vain attempt to upset the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference and salvage the train wreck known as the Centennial Celebration. Although these individuals are mostly harmless clowns in Euro Trash clothing, city officials have issued some precautions. Women are warned not to leave their handbags unattended. Retailers are being warned to stock up on Ed Hardy bedazzled t-shirts, Celine Dion CDs, and mega hold gel. Police have also been instructed to carry extra fire extinguishers in their patrol vehicles as an added precaution in the unforeseeable event that the Habs win the series. Scalpers on Causeway Street have been instructed to charge no less than 3 times face value to anyone wearing a Habs jersey or anyone with the slightest hint of a French-Canadian accent not wearing a Bergeron #37 or Bourque #77 jersey. The City of Boston has been in close communication with TSA officials and U.S Customs & Border Protection to ensure that most of these Habs fans are not granted access to the United States, however it is inevitable that some will pass through our borders and reach the City of Boston. There is reliable intelligence that the Northern regions of Vermont are even harboring these supporters of Les Habitants. Go about your normal daily routine but be vigilant.

That fake warning making its way around Boston says all you need to know about the Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens rivalry. The decades-old conflict between the two sides runs deeper than two fan bases that disdain each other’s existence. The players on each of these teams have hated each other since their days in the Original Six, and that’s what makes it one of sport’s top rivalries and probably sport’s best kept secret rivalry.

When someone brings up the word “rivalry”, you think about the big ones: Red Sox/Yankees, Giants/Dodgers, Celtics/Lakers, Duke/North Carolina, Indiana/Purdue, etc. Part of the reason the Montreal/Boston duel escapes mention is the sport. Frankly, the NHL takes a backseat to MLB, the NFL and the NBA. Once the lockout happened, nobody cared. But for historians of the game, seeing these teams play each other is like dying and going to heaven.

A quick YouTube search of “Bruins vs. Canadiens” yields numerous results, all of which could occupy you for hours. There’s the bench clearing brawl of the 1970’s, a seven minute tribute to the epic 2008 playoff series, and the unforgettable Milan Lucic vs. Mike Komisarek fight from November. Moments like these seem to happen every time these teams face one another.

Recent history shows that Montreal has owned Boston in the postseason. The Canadiens are 24-7 in Playoff series all-time vs. the Bruins, and the Habs have won three straight playoff series, including the upset of the #1 seed Bruins in 2002 and the heartbreaking series (for Bruins fans) in 2004. Last year the scrappy Bruins squad was picked by all to bow out quickly to the #1 seeded Habs, but after an epic Game 6 the Bruins forced a Game 7 in which they would ultimately lose. This year, the roles are reversed. Montreal has endured a train wreck of a Centennial Celebration that included everything from injuries, coach Guy Carbonneau getting canned, and the Kostitsyn Brothers being accused of mob activity. The Habs backed into the playoffs, securing the #8 seed in their second to last regular season game. Boston has been atop the Eastern Conference standings for the majority of the season, led primarily by late-blooming goaltender Tim Thomas and young stars Phil Kessel, David Krejci, Blake Wheeler, and the veteran captain Zdeno Chara.

Everyone outside of the respective markets is picking the Bruins to take this series in a rout. But like the Red Sox and Yankees series of the past and practically every Duke vs. North Carolina basketball game at the Dean Dome or Cameron Indoor, it just doesn’t work that way with these teams. There will be blood, there will be injuries, and there will be tears. And that’s just waiting for the train at North Station. It cannot be stated enough how much these two franchises loathe each other. Each game is filled with penalty minutes, whether it’s Tim Thomas decking Andrei Kostitsyn or the line brawl from their final regular season bout this year, the zeal from the fans spills out on to the ice.

As far as matchups go, the Bruins have the edge in nearly every category. They scored more even strength goals, they have a marginally better power play (though Montreal’s was spectacular towards the end of the season), a MUCH stronger defense, and a superior goaltender (as much as it irks Montreal fans to admit the “next Patrick Roy”, Carey Price, just isn’t there yet). Montreal is without star defenseman and second-leading scorer Andrei Markov for at least the first two games and probably longer. That severely weakens their defense, as evidenced by the 40+ shots allowed in two of the final three games of the season.

The key to winning this series for Boston will be keeping Montreal off the power play. The Bruins are a far superior 5-on-5 team with their deft combination of toughness and scoring ability. Their defense led by Chara is solid if not spectacular, and the system that coach Claude Julien has them playing is perfect for the personnel of the team. Conventional wisdom says the Bruins should win this series in five games.

But when the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens are involved, conventional wisdom can be left at the gate.

Futon's Witness Protection Program

2009-04-14T12:46:00.004-04:00

by Futon

Back in the early 90s I hated Michael Jordan. I believe it was due to a combination of every other kid at my school having a Bulls lunchbox and my beloved Celtics sucking hardcore. When you’re in that early pre-teen phase you don’t have the same love and respect for watching a remarkable once-in-a-lifetime player that more educated sports fans do. When I was older, watching the second three-peat, I had a much softer spot for Michael. Maybe it was the fact he had developed a bit more of an outside game or the fact that he was stronger and could move down the block and post up on any guard in the league. Sure he still got every call but it seemed like he had to work harder for it during championships 4, 5 and 6 (it should be noted that expansion heavily weighed down the league during the second three-peat so in reality maybe he didn’t have to work quite as hard as I originally remembered).

I only bring up my early hatred for Jordan because I feel that same blind hatred towards LeBron James. This isn’t a matter of just hating non-Boston stars. If I turn on a Heat game or even a Lakers game, I always find myself rooting for D-Wade or Kobe to have one of those special nights. In LeBron’s case it’s different. This is a guy that in my mind still has only developed 60-70% of his potential game (his outside shooting is terrible), so watching LeBron barrel to the hoop, initiate contact and get to the line every single time gets old. Part of it is the NBA referee star treatment and of course part of it is that LeBron is such a beast that there is no physical match for him in the league. Regardless, don’t count me among the masses this season expecting LeBron to capture his first ring. Should they be the favorites in the East? Absolutely. Favored to beat the Lakers? Not really sure how you can make that jump yet.

I see three roadblocks to the a Cavaliers title this year (ranging from smallest challenge to greatest challenge):

1. The Celtics- Surely it’s pretty tough to put the Celtics as a challenge to the Cavs title run after yesterday’s 30 point shellacking but the defending champs are still the defending champs. Cleveland will certainly be helped by the fact that even if the Celtics make it out of the first round that the Cs will have to face an up and coming Orlando team that has given them fits this year. But yesterday’s Cavs win came without having to deal with Kevin Garnett. Furthermore this game was clearly the reverse of the Celtics-Cavs matchup in Boston a month ago (Boston was also without KG when they throttled the Cavs 105-94, a margin that would have been much wider had the Cavs not shot an absurd 26 more free throws.) The most shocking thing about the Cavaliers success this season has been their inability to knock off the defending champs at the Boston Garden this year. Now the same could be said of the Celtics, because in the last 16 contests between these clubs neither home team has lost a game and the Cavs have locked up home court throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. All that being said the Celtics have a veteran club that with a healthy KG could provide a significant roadblock to us “witnessing” Lebron’s 2nd chance at a championship.

2. His supporting cast- The NBA has always been a star league but I can’t honestly remember a team winning a title with only 1 legitimate superstar---with the exception of the Spurs teams this decade. However, the Spurs are a different example altogether. They clearly have the best coach in the NBA (my man crush on Gregg Popopvich should be pretty evident by now) and a Patriots-like system that preaches team over individual. Now, clearly the acquisition of Mo Williams has produced dividends over any expectations I could have had at the beginning of the year but I’m still not willing to put Mo into the superstar category. The other guys, Zydrunas Ilgauskas (clearly a suitable big man but he’s not even a poor man’s Vlade Divac), Delonte West (might be better if he didn’t appear to have herpes half the time), Anderson Varejao (great high energy guy that complements the team perfectly) and a host of other savvy vets like Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Boobie Gibson and the ghost of Wally Szczerbiak. Still, none of these guys are close to approaching Robin status to LeBron’s Batman. A look over the last 20 years shows the following teams winning a championship: Bulls 3 titles (Jordan and Pippen), Rockets 2 (Olajuwon and Drexler), Bulls 3 (Jordan and Pippen), Spurs (Duncan and the Admiral), Lakers 3 (Shaq and Kobe), Spurs (Duncan and Co.), Pistons (Sheed, Billups and Rip Hamilton), Spurs (Duncan and Co.), Heat (D-Wade and Shaq), Spurs (Duncan and Co.) and the Celtics (Pierce, Allen and KG.). Clearly the glaring weakness in my argument is the Pistons team that beat the Lakers in 04. Calling Sheed, Rip and Billups superstars is a pretty big stretch (with the exception of Chauncey) but I’d still argue that Pistons team as a whole when it still had Ben Wallace was a better starting 5 than what the Cavs have right now. But even if LeBron can overcome his supporting cast and dethroning the NBA champs he’ll still have to contend with…

3. The Lakers- The Cavs are stunning 39-1 at home this year. That one loss? Yup, Kobe and the Lakers. Up until a year ago Kobe could be looking to buck the same 1 superstar trend that I mentioned. That’s until the Lakers were gift-wrapped Pau Gasol. Now, Gasol is softer than a fresh loaf of bread but with his size and scoring ability, he’s head and shoulders above any second fiddle the Cavs have. Throw in Kobe’s ability to score at will against anyone and a solid supporting cast with Lamar Odom, the always clutch Derek Fisher and emerging young players like Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic (I literally would pay any amount of money to see him get run over by a bus) and Trevor Ariza, and you have the ingredients for a very special team. We haven’t even mentioned Andrew Bynum, who shortly before his injury turned in the best performance of his career by playing Tim Duncan to a standstill. Would I take Kobe over LeBron? Most likely not. But would I take the Lakers roster over the Cavs roster? In a heartbeat. Throw out the coaching advantage (this of course would mean that Phil Jackson would actually have to be awake during the Finals unlike last year) and you have a clear definitive edge to the Lake show.

So am I saying the Cavs have no shot to win a title? Of course not. I’m just predicting that all we’re going to “Witness” is another summer of LeBron without a ring.

Thoughts from TJ: MLB Review, Week One

2009-04-13T21:51:00.004-04:00

by TJ Giles

After an offseason which seemed to stretch for an eternity, we all welcomed back baseball this week. The season started off with a lot of excitement, so let’s get right to it.

The Good:
The NL East hosts the two best records in baseball after week one, with the Florida Marlins and Atlanta Braves both registering 5-1 marks. Both of these clubs were on some “sleeper” lists heading into the year and they both showed what solid starting pitching and a good lineup can do for a team. However, both teams will more than likely struggle throughout the year to retain the NL East crown – due to less-than-stellar bullpens and the tough division they reside in – but if their rotations continue to pitch the way they have in the first week of the season, we could see both these teams playing baseball into October.

The Bad:
The Houston Astros looked horrible to start the season, and find themselves 1-5 at the end of the week. The Astros have scored a grand total of 16 runs in their 6 games (2.66 Runs/Game) and have given up 36 runs (6 per game). Their lone bright spot for the week was the pitching of Wandy Rodriguez, who gave up only 1 run while scattering 4 hits, walking 3, and recording 4 strikeouts in 6 innings during their only win of the week. In a division containing the Cubs, Cards, and - to a lesser extent- Reds, the Astros are going to need to straighten things out quickly if they want any hopes of playing some postseason baseball this year.

The Ugly:
The NL East has the two best records in baseball after week one, the defending world champions in the Phillies, and the media-frontrunners for this year’s title in the Mets. Unfortunately, it also contains the Washington Nationals. The Nats found themselves as the lone winless team in the league after Sunday (things didn't get better Monday), and looked pitiful in their attempts to change that. They opened the year off getting swept by Florida, and ended the week getting swept by Atlanta (coincidence that the two best records in baseball got to play the Nats for 3 games? I think not.). Their depth is nonexistent, thanks to the fact that they carry 6 (SIX!!!) outfielders. In fact, check out this picture to see the “optimal” defensive placement for the Nationals. Their starters made being winless at the end of the week a certainty; They gave up a total of 31 runs in just 26 innings (10.73 ERA) on 41 hits with 12 walks (2.04 WHIP). The rotation is going to have to make vast improvements throughout the season, or this could be a team that rewrites the record books, and I don't mean that in a good way.

Players of Note:
Justin Verlander was an ace for the Detroit Tigers in 2007, finishing the year with 18 wins, ERA of 3.66, a K/9 rate of 8.2, and a WHIP of 1.23. He then imploded in 2008, ending the year with an ERA of 4.84, K/9 rate of 7.3, and a WHIP of 1.40. These results were vastly different from one another, and I was curious as to which Verlander we would see this year. After two starts, he finds himself with an ERA of 9.35 and a WHIP of 1.84. Despite these high numbers, I still think we're going to see the Verlander of 2007 this year. I was able to watch both of his starts, and he seems to be throwing much better this year – his fastball was hitting 98 on the gun, and his placement looked great. His K/9 is through the roof at 12.5, and his K/BB ratio is at a nice 2.00.

Chris Carpenter pitched a gem this week, tossing 7 innings of shutout baseball. He walked 2, allowed 1 hit, and recorded 7 strikes en route to recording his first win since 2006. As someone who enjoys watching dominant pitchers, it's good to see Carpenter back in form. Speaking of back in form, someone tell Aaron Harang that it isn't 2006 anymore. After posting 4 year highs in ERA, WHIP, Hrs allowed, BB/9 and lows in Innings, K/9, and K/BB last year, Harang has started this year off hot: 14 IP, 1 ER, 0.93 WHIP, and 3.67 K/BB. If he can revert to 2006-2007 form alongside young stud Edinson Volquez, the Reds season might go on longer than expected.

Some young hitters have gotten off to spectacular starts as well. Evan Longoria (3B, TB) is hitting .481 while slugging an unheard of 1.185 (which combines for a robust 1.667 OPS). He leads the majors in home runs with 5, has driven in 10, and recorded 4 doubles. The one concerning note on Evan's start is the fact that he has failed to earn a walk yet. We'll see how that plays out the rest of the year. Adam Lind (OF, Tor) hasn't played more than 89 games in a season during his brief 2.5 season career, but if he keeps swinging the bat like he is now that will certainly change. Lind is hitting .400 while slugging .767 (OPS 1.186) and driving in 12. He's hit 3 home runs and has only struck out 4 times.

Can these players keep up their hot starts? Will others (like Derrek Lee and his .091 BA) break out of their early season funk? How will both of the new stadiums - Citifield (Mets) and New Yankee Stadium – play? Be sure to check back next week, where we will recap week 2.

NHL Playoff Preview: Who Wants the Cup?

2009-04-13T14:42:00.005-04:00

by Wally Brennan

The NHL playoffs, more than any other sport, raises the competition level to new heights. Playoff hockey is an exciting breed of speed, physicality, skill and competitiveness. With the postseason beginning on Wednesday, let’s take a look at the eight first round series and see who will be left standing when the first round is through.

Eastern Conference

#1 Boston vs. #8 Montreal – We’re going to look at this series a bit more in depth on Wednesday, but this matchup is everything you want in the playoffs – two teams and two fan bases that despise each other’s existence. Injuries will ultimately spell an early end to Montreal’s 100th anniversary train wreck. Prediction: Bruins in 5

#2 Washington vs. #7 New York Rangers – The Caps could not have drawn a better matchup. Their weakness is their goaltending, and the Rangers’ weakness is putting the puck in the net, specifically on the power play. Henrik Lundqvist is a good goaltender, but not good enough to steal a series from Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin and Green. Prediction: Capitals in 5

#3 New Jersey vs. #6 Carolina – For the better part of the second half of the season the Devils were the hottest team in the East before hitting the skids in late March/April. Carolina was out of the playoff picture at the All-Star break and caught fire in the later stages of the second half led by deadline acquisition Eric Cole and team leaders Ray Whitney, Eric Staal and goaltender Cam Ward. Based on the recent play of the Devils, the edge goes to Carolina. Prediction: ‘Canes in 6

#4 Pittsburgh vs. #5 Philadelphia – Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the rest of the Pens responded well to a mid-season coaching change and charged up the standings. The Flyers are a bunch with offensive firepower, led by Jeff Carter’s 45 goals. Goaltending will be the key in this series, and Marc-Andre Fleury for Pittsburgh has been there before and should be able to handle the load. This series could be epic Prediction: Pens in 7

Western Conference

#1 San Jose vs. #8 Anaheim – Ask any coach in the West and they’ll say Anaheim is a team they would rather avoid in the playoffs. Many of these guys are holdovers from the team that won the Cup, including the Niedermayer brothers and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf. The Sharks won the President’s trophy behind stars Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and stud goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. Goaltending has been an issue for Anaheim all season, and they STILL don’t know who will be starting on Thursday. Nabokov is as solid as it gets. Prediction: Sharks in 6

#2 Detroit vs. #7 Columbus – The feel-good story Blue Jackets are making their first playoff appearance in franchise history, led by perennial All-Star Rick Nash, youngster Jakub Voracek and Rookie of the Year shoo-in, goaltender Steve Mason. The Red Wings are the defending champs but have some serious goaltending issues to deal with, as neither Chris Osgood nor Ty Conklin have shown anything this year. As much as I love Columbus right now, they will be overwhelmed this year. Prediction: Detroit in 5

#3 Vancouver vs. #6 St. Louis – Around the All-Star break, a Blues friend of mine and I were discussing whether they should take John Tavares or Victor Hedman with the #1 overall pick. Now they’re the 6th seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. Brad Boyes, David Backes and Keith Tkachuck lead the Blues on offense, and goaltender Chris Mason has been solid down the stretch. Vancouver will look to brothers Henrik and Daniel Sedin, as well as veteran Mats Sundin and brick-wall goaltender Roberto Luongo to lead them to a Cup. I see this series going the distance, with the Blues upsetting the ‘Nucks. Prediction: Blues in 7

#4 Chicago vs. #5 Calgary – If you want to look up “backing into the playoffs” in the dictionary, you’ll see the Flames’ logo. With the division all but locked up in March, the Flames hit the skids and allowed Vancouver to overtake them for the #3 spot. Riddled with injuries, the Flames will look to ride goalie Mikka Kiprusoff, forward Jarome Iginla, and defenseman Robyn Regher. Chicago is led by the young forward line of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Brian Campbell and Cam Barker anchor the blue line in front of good but not great (and Cup winner) Nikolai Khabibulin. Prediction: Blackhawks in 6

Shattered Illusions: UPS and the Summer of '98

2009-04-11T15:34:00.005-04:00

by Joe Reimers

Remember how impressed you were when you first saw those UPS commercials? You know the ones I’m talking about. They’re the ones where the guy with the awful hair draws on the whiteboard with the brown marker, erases some lines, and then draws more lines to make something completely different. I started to think that guy might be the Picasso of our era. I even did enough research to find out “that guy” has a name: Andy Azula.

I was crushed when I saw the most recent UPS commercial. He drew planes and boxes on the board, and suddenly they started moving, independent of anything he was doing with his marker. It wasn’t finding out this commercial was computer-generated that destroyed me, but it made me wonder if he’d ever had a non-CGI-aided commercial in his history. What if he’d been using a computer when he seamlessly turned a van into an eighteen-wheeler?

I think that’s what bothers me the most about the steroid era in baseball. Now that I know some of the players are cheating, I can live with it. I don’t approve of it, but I take everything I see with a grain of salt. I don’t trust the players enough to let them hurt me. What really hurts, though, is thinking about the summer of ’98, and knowing it was almost certainly a fraud. What really hurts is knowing that there’s a good chance that many of my childhood heroes as a Rockies fan---Andres Galarraga, Larry Walker, and Dante Bichette to name a few---were juicing, especially since Bichette’s hair was every bit as bad as the UPS guy’s. As a quick tangent, I say that this is a great advertisement opportunity for UPS. I can just hear Joe Buck now: “This week’s tainted memory is brought to you by UPS.” However, it’s really not what I see with my eyes now that is affected, but what I replay with my mind’s eye.

Seriously, though, just thinking about the summer of ’98 is really depressing now. For sports fans my age, that summer was one of my seminal experiences growing up. It was the summer between third and fourth grade, and everyone I knew was picking a side. I was in the Sosa camp. I remember every morning I’d look in the newspaper to see what time the Cubs and Cardinals were playing, and I’d turn on ESPN religiously at twenty-eight and fifty-eight minutes after the hour during those games to see if either had gone deep. Remember those days before the Internet really caught on, when you had to for those :28/:58 bottom line updates do get any sort of breaking news? I seriously did this every day of summer.

Now both of the “heroes” of that summer are tainted. It’s all but certain Mark McGwire was using (but we’re not here to talk about the past), and allegations against Sosa have taken away his credibility (and his ability to speak English).

It sucks.

It sounds stupid, but when you’re a kid you trust your favorite athletes. I have a theory that it’s because you haven’t started to misplace your trust in girls by that age, so you instead misplace it in athletes. Whatever the reason is, it really taints my childhood knowing that many of my heroes were cheaters and many of my memories are lies.

That’s what my obsession with Andy Azula has in common with my obsession with my favorite baseball players growing up. I want to see magic where there is only illusion. I—and people in general, I think—want to see the impossible happen, but we want it to be possible. I want a man to do ridiculous things on a dry-erase board, but I also want to believe it’s actually him doing it. I want to see two players hit a ridiculous amount of homers in the same summer and I also want to believe it’s actually them doing it. I want magic, but the truth is that there isn’t magic in sports. There are humans in sports, and humans can’t do the impossible.

Through illusion-- just like Andy Azula—they can however make the impossible seem possible. Can a man with a computer design graphics that make it seem like someone is drawing them? Yes. Can two men take enough drugs to give them fake muscles and hit baseballs over fences at an unprecedented rate? Yes. They create an illusion and I chose to see magic.

It lures me in every time.

Living in a VORP-ed World

2009-04-10T17:42:00.009-04:00

by Pratyush Buddiga

It’s baseball season again. The smell of fresh-cut grass is in the air, spring training and its illegitimate stepbrother the World Baseball Classic are over, Opening Day has come and gone, and people everywhere are firing up their computers to check on their favorite player’s stats. Some are looking at RBI and batting average on ESPN on any traditional site, while others are immediately jumping to baseball-reference to look at VORP and OPS. This difference in searches then manifests itself in the greatest of sports traditions: the barroom (and nowadays, Internet) debate.

I was talking with my buddy Slugger the other day, a huge Braves fan who’s old enough to remember when Billy Beane was a star prospect with rookie cards in high demand but also loves Baseball Between the Numbers and Moneyball about the use of stats in sports discussion. He explained to me that while he understands and respects the value of sabermetrics, he didn’t really like the way that some of us come off when we used them. He didn’t say it explicitly, but I think his basic issue was that sabermetricians immediately become very condescending and spiteful towards “traditional stat” baseball fans. Then, of course, vitriol is spewed between the two sides, ultimately accomplishing nothing.

I have to admit that I myself have been guilty of this. It’s hard not to flip out when someone attempts to argue with you that Ryan Howard (likely the third most valuable hitter behind the incredible duo of Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins) is more valuable to his team than Hanley Ramirez, who was probably the second most valuable hitter in the entire major leagues last year. It’s easy to immediately resort to petty insults and labeling the other person as an ‘idiot’ because they only use HRs and the enormously misleading stat of RBIs. Of course, they then call you a ‘geek’ who probably lives in his ‘mom’s basement’ and ‘doesn’t even like baseball.’

Sabermetrics aren’t going anywhere. Their popularity has only increased since the release of Moneyball and these stats are used extensively in the best front offices in baseball (Boston, with two World Series and two ALCS Game 7 appearances in the last six years comes to mind). Even if ESPN’s broadcasters are only now using OPS in their commentary, the movement is clear. In the future, even the casual fan is going to become familiar with VORP, OPS+, and even base runs.

Yet despite this inevitability, you still see extreme resistance to the stats. Yes, some of it is the protester’s fault: they want to keep things simple, they think stats ruin the ‘purity’ of the game, or they just don’t like new things.

However, I do think us fans of sabermetrics bear some of this responsibility for their reluctance. We try to beat them into submission with stat after stat and proclamations of their idiocy. This only serves to anger them and create more resistance. Instead of calling someone an idiot because they think K-Rod was better than Mariano Rivera because he had more saves, why not be rational and reasonably point out the noticeable differences in their stats?

To be sure, we’re not going to win everyone over to our way of thinking immediately. Change takes time. But it’s important to realize that we’re only slowing down this change in perception by giving ourselves the immediate pleasure of calling someone names. The condescension will make us feel good in the moment, but ultimately that person will still believe what he believes---and in fact, probably convince of himself it further---and we’ll end up with Howard finishing 2nd only to Albert Pujols in 2008 NL MVP voting again. If we truly want change to happen, for the correct players to be rewarded and for better baseball discussion, there needs to be a change in attitude. If we raise the level of debate, it’ll only benefit us all.

After all, no matter what our original differences, we all love the game of baseball. Instead of using the stats to divide us, we can use them to learn a lot more about the game and ultimately enjoy the game even more.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know: What's a Catamount?

2009-04-09T13:00:00.007-04:00

by Bob Fulton

Being an alumni of the University of Vermont doesn't allow for the homerism in basketball and football that other schools get. While I'll never get the experience of being a blue and white in Cameron or bleeding blue and gold in Ann Arbour, UVM has its own sport: it always has and always will be a hockey school.

Sure, we had that incredibly memorable upset over Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament just four years ago, which was made even sweeter by the fact it was called by Gus Johnson. But if you step on the campus of UVM or ever attend a Catamount hockey game (a catamount is type of cougar for all you trivia nerds out there) you understand what the main sport at the school is. Despite that and despite being a rabid sports fan---and this includes being a big time Bruins guy---I've never quite gotten into college hockey. The season is incredibly long (they started playing games in early October), the schedule doesn't make sense (games are normally only on weekends), and the Hockey East conference tournament sometimes seems like a bigger even than the Frozen Four itself.

That brings us to today. The UVM Catamounts fresh off an upset victory over Yale (ranked in the top 5 most of the season) and a stunning Double OT win over Air Force (the winning goal was reviewed like 5 minutes after the play actually happened) and Catamount fever is rushing through the Green Mountain state. It couldn't be happening at a better time. The state is divided over the legislature just passing gay marriage. A member of our state is being held hostage by Somalian Pirates (a statement worth a column in itself). But all of that seems to make the setting tonight more perfect. For all its all quirkiness and extreme leftist ways we can all shut up about politics for one night and come together to cheer for the hometown Cats playing the Boston University Terriers, one game away from an NCAA Division 1 Championship.

We have a junior Swedish forward named Viktor Stahlberg who can light the lamp. We have
a stonewall freshmen goalie named Rob Madore and a Captain with the ultimate name: Dean Strong. However, the members of the team seem almost irrelevant. Tonight, for the first time a while, I'll be referring to my Alma Mater in the first person instead of the third. I only wish Gus Johnson could call the game. GO CATS GO!

Tiger Woods: The All-American Underdog?

2009-04-08T14:40:00.004-04:00

by Joe Reimers

To be completely honest, I didn’t like Tiger Woods much until last year. I think being the short kid growing up had something to do with it. When you grow up playing sports on the playground with kids who are bigger and stronger than you I think you condition yourself to root for the underdog. Seriously, watch a sporting event with people who have no preset allegiance and you’ll usually find that the scrawny kids are pulling for the underdog, and the big, naturally athletic kids have found something to appreciate about the favorite.

Whatever the reason, I’ve always found myself pulling for the underdog. Giants over Patriots, Balboa over Creed, McShay over Kiper.

Naturally, then, as a casual golf fan (the type who watches the weekends of majors and the occasional Sunday back nine in non-majors), I found myself on the side of Mickelson/Garcia/Mediate/Gilmore over Woods.

That was before I realized that Tiger Woods is the underdog.

I realized it when he was giving one of the all-time gut check performances at last year’s U.S. Open, when he was the underdog against a bad knee and the human tendency to cave in when an opportunity for an excuse presents itself. But Tiger Woods was an underdog long before he injured his knee.

Just think about the odds stacked against Tiger Woods. To win a Super Bowl, a team has to be better than one team three or four weeks in a row. To win a golf tournament, Tiger Woods has to better than one hundred golfers over the course of four days. He consistently wins in the sport in which it is most difficult to consistently win.

Even beyond that, the odds are stacked against greatness. Average is much more likely. Only a few golfers are born with Woods’s natural ability. The odds are in favor of Rocco Mediate happening. Fewer still are able to combine his physical talents with the mental focus of a champion. The odds are in favor of Phil Mickelson happening. Tiger Woods becoming Tiger Woods is an underdog story.

That’s the part of Tiger Woods we often fail to appreciate. He has the courage to work hard, which is rarely combined with immense talent. I gained some insight on this from my friend and fellow writer Pratyush’s Facebook quotes. Shockingly, you apparently can put more on there than stupid things your friends said when they were drunk:

"The (short) answer is that it's really risky to work hard, because then if you fail you can no longer say that you failed because you didn't work hard. It's a form of self-protection. I swear that's why Mickelson has that almost absurdly calm demeanor. If he loses, he can always say: Well, I could have practiced more, and maybe next year I will and I'll win then. When Tiger loses, what does he tell himself? He worked as hard as he possibly could. He prepared like no one else in the game and he still lost. That has to be devastating, and dealing with that kind of conclusion takes a very special and rare kind of resilience. Most of the psychological research on this is focused on why some kids don't study for tests -- which is a much more serious version of the same problem. If you get drunk the night before an exam instead of studying and you fail, then the problem is that you got drunk. If you do study and you fail, the problem is that you're stupid -- and stupid, for a student, is a death sentence. The point is that it is far more psychologically dangerous and difficult to prepare for a task than not to prepare. People think that Tiger is tougher than Mickelson because he works harder. Wrong: Tiger is tougher than Mickelson and because of that he works harder." ~Malcolm Gladwell

That’s why I can’t root against Tiger Woods anymore. He’s everything we say we want in our athletes. He is at the peak of his craft, the intersection of immense talent and insatiable desire. He is confident but not abrasive. He is emotional but not over-dramatic. He wins with dignity and loses without excuse. He’s the perfect storm of an athlete. He’s the underdog who has overcome all of the obstacles that keep athletes from rising above, and now I want to see him do great things. I want to see him continue to defy the odds, and be better than any other golfer ever has been.

Now he’s the underdog against our expectations. We expect him to break Jack Nicklaus’s record of career majors, and anything short of that will be considered a failure. The odds on him somehow exceeding our expectations are miniscule, but I think I’m on the side of the scrawny kids from the playground when I say that I hope he does it.

Tyler Travels for the Final Time

2009-04-07T17:32:00.007-04:00

by Pratyush Buddiga

It’s hard to recall a player sporting the Carolina blue that engendered more hatred from the Cameron Crazies than Tyler Hansbrough. The loudest jeers, the most vicious, creative chants, and even printouts of Facebook wall-to-walls have always been reserved for him alone. Of course, the irony in all of this is that there is no player more "Duke-like" than Tyler Hansbrough: not supremely athletic, but he makes up for it with “hustle”, “grit”, and “basketball IQ.”

Last night North Carolina deservedly won its fifth championship and Hansbrough cemented his legacy as one of the greatest NCAA basketball players of all time. His talents for the next level are questionable and he likely peaked during his four years in Chapel Hill, but Hansbrough will be the most memorable player of his generation. The similarities between him and Tim Tebow are uncanny; both are the unquestioned BMOCs of their respective sports, have intense love affairs with their fan base, are widely reviled by fans elsewhere and are slobbered upon by the mainstream media to an almost sickening degree.

Hansbrough went 4-0 in Cameron Indoor Stadium, an achievement that should rank up there with his ACC scoring record and multiple All-Americans. In his junior and senior years---coincidentally, my first two years at Duke---North Carolina was the only team that beat us at home. Each of those losses were heartbreaking as Duke would pull close, only to see Hansbrough, Lawson, & Co. take it away with one of their patented late-game runs. It was an incredibly frustrating feeling to watch Hansbrough pump his arms like a maniac as the clock salted away another home loss.

So why, despite all this, will I miss Tyler Hansbrough? It won’t be because of his goofy habit of keeping his mouth open at all times, traveling nearly every time he was in the low post, or getting every coin-flip foul call to go his way. It won’t be because I enjoy watching Duke get stomped on every year or hearing Tar Heel fans refer to our home court as “Hansbrough Indoor Stadium.”

I’ll miss him because I’ll miss yelling “Tyler Travels, Every Time” and miss seeing my fellow Crazies hold up Beaker the Muppet signs. More importantly, I’ll miss him because he took the Duke-UNC rivalry to a whole new level with his intensity, skill, and yes, "hate-ability."
Hansbrough was the star of the biggest show in college basketball and it’s going to be much different next year with UNC missing its biggest performer.

Like all Duke fans, I appreciate the fact that we will have a better chance of beating the Tar Heels next year because of the loss of Hansbrough (and likely Lawson and Ellington). However, the significance of the victory will be diminished by the fact that he’s not on the opposing side. Possibly even more annoying is the fact that it’s definitely not going to be as fun taunting Tyler Zeller or deriding Ed Davis.

Despite his obvious flaws, Tyler Hansbrough is undoubtedly one of the greats. Facing and defeating greatness is the true measurement of athletic accomplishment. And, despite the improvement for Duke’s fortunes in the ACC next year, I daresay I’m going to miss having the opportunity to watch us compete against him.

FIVE WITH FUTON: APRIL 7, 2009

2009-04-07T13:59:00.004-04:00

by Bob Fulton

Five thoughts while I’m still wondering why I’m not at Fenway for Opening Day:

1. The West just got a little less wild. I was going to reserve all points for the opening of baseball season but the huge story out of the NBA yesterday can’t be ignored. Yes, the one and only Zach Randolph is in trouble with the law again. OK, just kidding. The news that Manu Ginobili is out for the rest of the season has to be sad news for anyone that is a true fan of the NBA. I really felt as though the Spurs had a shot to push the Lakers in the playoffs this year after running out of steam with a less-than-100% Manu last year. The unheralded pickup of Drew “Neckbeard” Gooden and the offseason additions of George Hill and Roger Mason added a couple extra pieces to the big 3. Throw in the fact that Gregg Popovich is the best coach in the NBA and you had all the makings for a pretty good matchup in the West (assuming the Spurs got past Denver.) Now it appears as if nothing will be in the Lakers way and they will cruise into the NBA Finals.

2. The Amazin’s Opener: OK, so it’s only one game but you have to feel pretty good if you’re a Mets fan and you saw 10 outs of scoreless baseball from your bullpen yesterday. The acquisitions of JJ Putz and Francisco Rodriguez not only give the Mets two legitimate options at the end of games, but also strengthens the rest of the bullpen by allowing guys like Sean Green to pitch in the 6th instead of the 8th. Generally, offenses will catch up to pitching by about mid-May, but for one day at least, the Mets have to feel like they’ve dealt with their Achilles' heel from last season.

3. CC must have had the buffet on the mind: Jesus, CC looked like a man trying to get out of Baltimore as quick as possible yesterday. Sure, it’s only one game but you have to imagine that Brian Cashman and the Yankees would like their big ticket offseason acquisitions to get off to good starts to avoid the New York media hotbed. CC, Mark Teixeira (0-4 yesterday) and AJ Burnett have played in Cleveland, Milwaukee, Texas, Atlanta, Anaheim, Florida and Toronto respectively- not exactly the pressure cookers of Boston, New York or Philly. A lot of people will tell you that it takes special players to handle the atmosphere of playing in the big cities. Small market heroes like Chuck Knoblauch and Jack McDowell were never the same after making the move to the big stage. Now, as always, it’s only one game, but the Yankees might face more pressure in 2009 than any team in baseball history given their new stadium, lavish payroll, and the fact they missed the playoffs last year.

4. Sleeping in Seattle: There is something really special about reading “Griffey, homered and Mariners” in the same sentence. Griffey is a white knight from the steroids era: the one guy who we are all pretty sure remained clean when the game was so dirty. We're always going to wonder how good Junior’s career would have been if not for the injuries. On the other hand, it’s no surprise that he missed all that time though considering the fact that he didn’t have the superior medical advantages so many of the other scumbags from his time did. What we do know is that Junior is a first ballot Hall of Famer, and, in my opinion, should be looked back upon as the greatest player of the 1990s.

5. I love Fenway but: Please just open the season in Tampa for Christ’s sake. Opening Day is one of those days you wait five months for. Now, of course I’d love for the Sox to open at home but unless they’re putting up a banner it would seem to make a lot of sense to be playing early April games down in Tampa rather than in coin-flip weather you find in Boston. Considering that Tampa was the defending AL Champs it would make even more sense for them to get raise their American League Championship banner up on the opening day of the season.

Will the real Atlanta Braves please stand up?

2009-04-06T12:10:00.005-04:00

by TJ Giles

Over the past six weeks there has been a plethora of MLB predictions on various sports sites. Most of these predictions are shared throughout the baseball community – The Yankees and Mets should be good this year, Pittsburgh and Washington should continue being cellar-dwellers, Oakland and San Fransisco might surprise you, and the Cubs should find themselves playing baseball during the postseason. Of course, some teams – like the Royals – have people on both sides of the fence. No team, however, has more people -myself included- confused than the Atlanta Braves.

I’ll admit it: I have no idea what to expect from the Braves this year. Their completely revamped pitching staff and new additions at the plate scream that improvement is guaranteed, but their subpar bullpen and slight decline in defense begs otherwise. So rather than telling you guys what will happen, I'm just going to lay out some statistics and let you decide for yourself.

Rotation:
Last year, the Braves rotation consisted of Tim Hudson (VORP of 36.8), Jair Jurrjens (32.4), Jorge Campillo (25.7), John Smoltz (9.7), and Tom Glavine (0.4). Also seeing time (7+ starts) throughout the year were Mike Hampton (4.1), Jo-Jo Reyes (-6.1), Charlie Morton (-9.3), and Chuck James (-11.3). Yes, those negatives mean that Reyes, Morton, and James were actually WORSE than a random scrub they could have plugged in there. After seeing these numbers, it's no wonder that they Braves did so terribly last year nor that the front office decided that the staff needed some revamping.

Enter Derek Lowe (VORP of 49 last year), Javier Vasquez (23.8), and Kenshin Kawakami – a first year MLB pitcher hailing from Japan (1.33 WHIP and 11/15 K/BB in the spring). Suddenly, a rotation (best 5 from last year) that had a combined VORP of 105 skyrockets to 130.9, and that's with Kawakami registering at zero because he's a rookie. This rotation projects to be very, very good, and is a main reason why baseballprospectus.com has them listed as gaining 15 games in the win column this year.

Defense:
Last year, the Braves' Defensive Efficiency (The rate by which balls in play are converted into outs) ranked 12th in the Majors at .694. The main changes this year involve the additions of Garrett Anderson and Jordan Schafer in the outfield replacing last year’s opening day outfielders Mark Kotsay and Matt Diaz. Returning to the rate statistic (Rate = 100+ # of Runs above average the fielder is per 100 games. A rate of 110 means that the player is 10 runs above average, while a rate of 82 means they are 18 runs below average), we find that Garrett Anderson had a rate of 104 last year, replacing Diaz's 106. Schafer, one of Atlanta's top prospects, has been a negative fielder in the minors prior to making his major league debut this year (In 72 games at CF last year he had a rate of 91). This below average fielding will replace Kotsay's rate of 91 during his tenure in Atlanta.

Expect the defense to be essentially the same as it was last year – above average.

Offense:
Last year, the Braves had a combined Offensive VORP of 212.2, good for 8th best in the majors. The additions of Anderson and Schafer again need to be looked at, though, to see what we should expect for this year:

Kotsay (11.0) and Diaz (-6.9) are replaced by Anderson (15.3) and Schafer – who had a VORP of 1.8 in AA last year.

The lineup should be improved this year, something pretty impressive considering they were already 8th best in the league.

Variance:
Based on their Pythagorean W/L record last year, the Braves were the most unlucky team in the majors. Their -6.7 in this category says that based on their runs scored vs. runs against, they should have won 6 more games.

With all of these aspects considered, I think the hype could be for real. I know, I know, I claimed to be on the fence on this one, but after viewing all these facts, consider me a believer. Let's face it, after viewing all these facts, you should be one also.

Drinking the Jay Wright Cool-Aid

2009-04-04T12:15:00.001-04:00

by Joe Reimers

I like Villanova in this year’s Final Four, and it’s not for the reasons you might think. Sure, I love the way they’re playing defense, and I think the key in March is having multiple guys who can carry the team, which Villanova has. I’m done using that sort of logic to pick college basketball, though, because that sort of thinking made my bracket more of a disaster than that show about the Geico cavemen.

Villanova will win because they have the coolest coach.

After 2008 saw Tom Coughlin and Charlie Manuel win championships, I think 2009 will be the year of the cool coach. This will be the year you look at the winning coach and say, “I would love to play for that guy.”

Do I even need to remind you how cool Mike Tomlin is? Probably not, but if you do, just look at this. Plus, a basketball-playing chain smoker was elected President this year. Cool is more successful than ever.

If slow, short, white point guards who promise to slap the floor on every defensive possession had a place in college basketball (hold on, Mike Krzyzewski’s on the other line), I would absolutely choose to play for Jay Wright. He’s the best dressed man in sports, he’s married to a former Villanova cheerleader, and he genuinely seems to like his players. He is absolutely the epitome of cool. I seriously think he parties with the guy from the Dos Equis commercials.

Somewhere, Pete Carroll and Joe Maddon are taking a break from reading Eastern philosophy to read this hip new blog, and they’re smiling.

The 2009 FBS Major League Baseball Preview

2009-04-03T18:46:00.009-04:00

It's that time of year again, folks. With the first pitch in Sunday night's Braves vs. Phillies game, the 2009 MLB season will have officially begun. Our team of writers put together a preview of the 2009 season and we mushed them all together to create this mega-preview

WE THINK WHAT THE EXPERTS THINK

I hate liking something that everyone else likes. I like being the edgy guy that can find something to criticize about the latest popular trend. Seriously, this goes a long way back with me. I never listened to the Backstreet Boys or ‘N Sync, I never bought a Furby, and I’ve never watched Survivor. I almost feel embarrassed when I do like something that everyone else seems to like.

That said, I loved Slumdog Millionaire. I know everyone who saw it loved it, and I know that it ended with the majority of the cast incomprehensibly dancing, but I can’t help myself on this one.

That’s the way I feel about this year’s Cubs. I think every prediction I’ve seen--save one-- has had the Cubs winning the NL Central. I’d love to be really edgy and predict a major fall for the Cubs here, but I can’t do it. They have the best starting rotation in the National League, and their lineup has some players who can absolutely mash. Sweet Lou needs to take Soriano out of the leadoff spot, but that lineup is still deadly.

The X-factor with this baseball season is the economy, and that plays into the hands of a team like the Cubs. Ticket sales are going to swoon through the summer for teams like San Diego and Detroit, and they’ll be looking to unload anyone they’re paying any money, too. I don’t see any way Jake Peavy’s not pitching in Wrigley in October. They’ll probably be able to pick up a centerfielder (Nate McLouth?) and some bullpen help in the league-wide garage sale, as well.

- Joe Reimers

The New York Mets winning the World Series. For those that don't know me, I am a huge Marlins fan – so understand how good I must think the Mets are in order to believe them to be the runaway favorite to win the series. It pains me to say it, but they have the best lineup in the NL, the best pitcher in the NL, solid defense, and one of -if not the – best bullpens in the NL (For the record, I think the Putz trade was much more beneficial than the Krod signing .. but I'll delve deeper into that in a few weeks). They are a complete team, with virtually no holes. People will point to Oliver Perez and John Maine and claim that they are not good enough to help their team win a series as a number 2 or 3. I counter with the fact that Brett Myers and Jamie Moyer shouldn't have been enough to help a team win a series as bench players, let alone being on the field. Perez and Maine have shown streaks of brilliance in their respective times in the majors, and I think they'll be able to put it together this year. A (supposedly) more pitcher friendly park (CitiField) should help them out some.
- TJ Giles

Other predictions we agree with: The Mets are good (Pratyush), The Yankees are the best team in the AL East (Wally, Bob)

ON SECOND THOUGHT, SCREW THE EXPERTS

Turn on your favorite sports show on television or visit your favorite baseball-related website and you’re almost sure to see some form of the following sentence: “The AL Central is so close, quite frankly any of the five teams could win it and it’s going to be no more than a 3 game difference”. Not happening. I just don’t see the Royals as the complete package everyone seems to think they might have evolved into this offseason (despite their most notable acquisitions being Willie Bloomquist, Coco Crisp, and Sidney Ponson). Detroit has some major question marks in both the starting rotation and the bullpen. And with Joe Mauer’s injury question and some lingering offensive issues (other than Morneau, where’s the pop coming from?), I don’t see the Twins making a run. Baseball Prospectus hates the Chicago White Sox, but they are the most complete team in that division. Paul Konerko had a horrible first half last season but was quietly effective in the second half. Jim “word up” Thome is still good for 35 and 100. Alexei Ramirez is the real deal. The rotation features stalwart Mark Buehrle as well as young guns John Danks, Gavin Floyd, and Clayton Richard. I see the Chicago White Sox winning the AL Central by 5+ games over Cleveland.

- Wally Brennan

Other predictions we don’t like: The Royals aren’t going to be any good (Pratyush, Joe), The Yankees stink (TJ), The Rays won’t be the 2008 Rays (Bob)

CRAZY, OUT OF THIS WORLD, NO EFFIN WAY PREDICTION
The New York Yankees will miss the playoffs.

Say what?

This isn’t just blind Red Sox fan hatred or wishful thinking. For starters, the Yankees are in the toughest division in baseball by far. The outfield of Xavier Nady, Brett Gardner, and Johnny Damon don’t exactly bring back memories of the ’27 Yankees. Derek Jeter’s offensive stats---as well as his already-suspect range---have declined significantly in the past two years. As for the rotation, A.J. Burnett is no longer in a contract year and Joba Chamberlain has yet to show that he can remain healthy for a full season as starting pitcher. When you add all of these factors on top of the fact that Kiss-Me-Thru-The-Mirror is out until at least mid-May, the Yankees are a team primed to fall short of expectations. In any other division, they would be able to overcome these obstacles. In the AL East, it won’t be so easy.

- Pratyush Buddiga

More proof we’re crazy: One of the MVP’s will be a pitcher (TJ), Joba in the bullpen by July (Joe), Atlanta makes the playoffs (Bob), Stephen Strasburg will finish top 5 in NL Rookie of the Year (Wally)

QUICK THOUGHTS FROM OUR SCRIBES
Pratyush Buddiga:
- How soon the Rays call up David Price will be the deciding factor in their quest for the playoffs.
- Miguel Cabrera will alter a pennant race a la 2008 Manny Ramirez
-Stephen Drew will be the second best shortstop in MLB this season behind Hanley Ramirez (and yeah, that includes Reyes from NY and The Pecs of Steel in Philly)

TJ Giles:
- Joey Votto will out-produce all MLB first basemen except Albert Pujols.
- Matt Wieters will disappoint. That isn't because he'll have a bad year, but because based on recent talk about him the average person thinks he is ten feet tall, slays dragons using his bare hands, and is capable of flying.
- Jake Peavy will be dealt by the Padres prior to the all-star break and push a team into the playoffs, much like 2008 CC Sabathia.

Joe Reimers:
- Contraction talks will return again this summer due to the floundering economy
- I'm trying to talk myself into my Colorado Rockies as a playoff team, but I just don't see it. I really like Ryan Spilborghs, Ubaldo Jimenez and Dexter Fowler
- David Price will finish in the top 3 in the AL Cy Young voting. The kid has some serious stones.

Wally Brennan:
- Travis Hafner will hit 30 HR. Pronk is back. He has had a decent spring and all signs point towards a healthy season
- The Florida Marlins will challenge for the NL Wild Card. There is some serious young talent on that ballclub, and if the starting rotation pitches to their potential, watch out.
- Alex Rodriguez will have less than 300 plate appearances. The procedure he had to repair the cyst on his hip was more of a band-aid than anything. Something is very wrong there.

Bob Fulton:
- Jonathan Papelbon will be injured within the first two months and Justin Masterson will finish with more saves for the Boston Red Sox
- Matt Holliday will have trouble adjusting to the AL and will be dealt at the deadline and have a major impact in the second half.
- Anaheim wins the AL West by 5+ games

WORLD SERIES PREDICTIONS
Pratyush Buddiga: Red Sox in 7 over the Mets
TJ Giles: Mets in 6 over the Red Sox
Joe Reimers: Cubs over Rays
Wally Brennan: Mets over Yankees
Bob Fulton: Red Sox

FIVE WITH FUTON: APRIL 3RD, 2009

2009-04-03T15:28:00.004-04:00

Five random thoughts I had while wondering if Praty's head would explode if the Broncos picked up Mike Vick to replace Jay Cutler:

1) The Kyle Orton Era in Denver: Over/under on how many games Kyle Orton starts as a Bronco should be set at 12. Ultimately. this trade was much more about getting two probable mid-round first picks than it was getting Kyle Orton. In the mean time, Orton provides a stop gap until whatever QB (hello, Mark Sanchez) Denver brings into develop. Wouldn't it be interesting to see if McDaniels makes a run for Kevin O'Connell now in New England?

2) Cutler+Ditka > Hurricanes: But seriously, who's he going to throw the ball too? I've never been impressed with Devin Hester as a receiver. In the draft, you're talking the earliest you can draft a young guy would be the 2nd round and even then the average progression for young receivers to take the leap is year three. However, the news that Plaxico Burress was released today has to somewhat interest the Bears. Keep in mind that Plax played college ball up at Michigan St. so he's used to playing in the uber-cold of the Midwest. No matter what, it's interesting to think of the Bears as a passing team for the first time in my life.

3) Defending McDaniels: The Jay Cutler saga will always play an interesting role in Josh McDaniels legacy as Denver Broncos head coach; it will either be having the stone cold nuts to deal away a franchise QB at the age of 25 and succeeding or it will end up being listed as reason numero uno for his departure. Here's one ex-Patriots fan hoping it's the former. Look, McDaniels handled this terribly from the outset by talking from both sides of his mouth. He then made what appears to be a good faith effort to salvage the relationship. Cutler had no interest. The Broncos were then in a very tough spot of having to move a guy that wasn't willing to play and the whole league knew it. Overall I think the compensation they got back was as good as they could have hoped for. For McDaniels sake, I'm hoping that this turns out like Theo Epstein's trading of franchise shortstop Nomar Garciaparra back in 2004 for what appeared to be below market value. Even Praty knows how that worked out.

4) 3 more years of Tim Thomas for the Bs: Got to check out the Bruins live in person last night from the TDBankNorth suite. Interesting to see that Thomas was locked up for 3 years at an eye popping 5 million dollars a year. More interesting was the the strange deadline that Thomas age had to do with the negotiations. If the Bruins waited until Thomas turned 35 to make the deal (he's 34 but will be 35 in the offseason) they would not cap relief if they decide to buy him out midway through his deal. Certainly for a guy that's in his mid 30s, the Bruins wanted to make sure they kept some flexibility. The number is about 25% higher than I would have expected for the ex-Catamount (sick brag on my part about being a fellow alum) but I guess that's the price for stable goaltending in the NHL these days.

5) I'm alive again: Less than 72 hours until baseball season. Enjoy the weekend.

So Long, Jay

2009-04-02T18:48:00.012-04:00

by Pratyush Buddiga

Many ESPN pundits are joking around that the long national nightmare is finally over. After weeks of speculation, franchise QB Jay Cutler was traded to the Bears for Neck Beard and two first-rounders. Unfortunately, for Broncos fans, the nightmare is just beginning.

One of my colleagues---who isn’t even a Broncos fan---said that this may go down as the worst trade in NFL history. I’m not sure if I’m ready to go that far yet, but it certainly one of the most inexcusable in recent memory. Trading a 25-year old Pro Bowl quarterback, whose talent projects him as a top-5 starter at the position over the next ten years, is simply asinine. There is no defense for it.

I know that many of you who watch ESPN will be quick to say: “But he only has a 17-20 record as a starter!” First of all, you can’t ascribe a QB’s win-loss record as the be-all, end-all of evaluation. That’d be like saying that Cliff Lee is a better pitcher than Tim Lincecum because he won four more games and lost two less last year. It shows your ignorance to the multiple factors in a win-loss record.

Win-loss record ultimately reflects your team’s accomplishments. Cutler was handcuffed last year by the lack of a true running game---by the time the end of the year rolled around, the Broncos were on their seventh-string RB---and employed a defense that gave up 28 points per game, trailing only the St. Louis Rams and the Detroit Lions (who combined for two wins). Despite these huge obstacles, Cutler led the team to eight wins and along with Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal, nearly willed the team into the playoffs. How many other QBs in the league would have been able to do that? Six? Seven?

For those of you hung up on win-loss record, take a look at Cutler’s record when his team gives up less than 21 points (the league average in 2009 was 22): it’s a stellar 13-1. Even when his team gives up less than 31---hardly a daunting task for an average defense---his winning percentage is above .667. He also threw for over 4500 yards last year and broke John Elway’s record for completions in a season. While his interceptions were high, many of them came as the team was forced to throw on every down, trailing thanks to a shoddy defense and lacking a running game to keep the secondary honest. There’s no reason to think that his numbers won’t keep getting better; they already speak volumes about his status as a franchise quarterback.

I’m not going to get in-depth into why Cutler was justified to feel the way that he did (check out Joe’s column), but I can assure that you that most Broncos fans are on the side of their ex-quarterback. It’s a crushing feeling to know that as a fan you were guaranteed ten years of one of the best quarterbacks in the league and then, have it all be taken away.

When they drafted him, most Broncos fans were pretty shocked. We were coming off a 13-3 season and many thought that Mike Shanahan had finally turned Jake Plummer into a decent QB. However, Shanahan knew that he’d never be able to win a Super Bowl with Plummer: he simply wasn’t good enough. So the Broncos traded up and drafted the young Vanderbilt kid with a rocket arm. I remember liking the move at the time, only because respected quarterback gurus like Ron Jaworski and Steve Young were saying that Cutler would be the best quarterback in a draft class that included the highly-touted megastars Vince Young and Matt Leinart.

The Broncos started off well that season and looked like they were on their way back to another AFC playoff run, but Plummer's mistakes began to cost them. In a huge divisional game against the Chargers, Plummer threw key interceptions and fumbled the ball on a late possession that cost them the game and division lead. The calls for Cutler became louder and louder. Finally, with a game against the NFC West leading Seahawks coming up and the Broncos in the midst of a major slide, Shanahan announced Cutler would be the starter.

I went to the game, hoping to see whether Cutler was truly all that. The coaching staff had been talking him up for months, but no one was sure what we were going to get. He made several rookie mistakes early in the game, including a bonehead interception while he was falling down, but the signs were unmistakable. The kid had a rocket arm and boatloads of talent.

With the Broncos trailing by 7 late in the fourth quarter and less than three minutes left, Cutler got the ball at the 29 yard line. It was a defining moment for a rookie quarterback in his first game as a starter: would he seize the moment or would he shrink? As I sat in the stands on that freezing December night, somehow I knew we were in for something special.

One play and seventy-one yards later, Brandon Marshall was dancing into the end zone and the score was tied. The Broncos’ defense would later part like the sieve that it would prove to be over Cutler’s early career and give up the game-winning field goal, but every Broncos fan walked away from that game knowing that we had found our QB of the future.

Now, we’re going to have to watch him play that future out in Chicago. Not to be cliché, but this is like having a girlfriend that you knew was The One, but because your new stepdad (McDaniels) tried to set you up with his daughter from his last marriage while openly disparaging your girlfriend, she’s gone. Yeah, you might find another girl down the road, but you’re always going to half an eye on her in her future relationships, wondering what could have been.

We’ll never know.

It's hard to argue that Josh McDaniels is off to the worst start ever for a rookie head coach. Somehow, I doubt Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal are too overjoyed at the prospect of catching flutterballs from Neck Beard. Along with the prospect of an angry locker room, the majority of the fan base has turned against him. He better to be ready for a loud chorus of jeers at the opening home game. I had half a mind to buy tickets for the game just to boo him as loudly as I can, but I don’t want to give Pat Bowlen a dime as long as he continues to employ this abhorrence of a head coach.

The great Bill Simmons once said that you like sports less and less each year after you turn eighteen. I used to wonder what he meant. Today was one of those days where you end up questioning why you give your heart and soul as well as your hard-earned money for a game that isn’t about you, the fan. Why do we do it?

Ultimately, it's because sports provides you a chance to be a part of something that's bigger than you, that means something more than the daily mundanity of life. When our team pours champagne over each other's heads at the end of a victorious season, they may not be thinking about us, but we're a part of that celebration. We sacrifice our time and interest day after day, ignoring jobs, wives and girlfriends, just for the chance that one day our team will win it all and it'll be worth it. It's important to keep that in mind because those are the moments that make the downside of being a sports fan worth it.

What will I do now? It’s safe to say that the Broncos under Josh McDaniels are dead to me. It’ll be hard not to keep an eye on what they’re doing, but I won’t be going to any games, nor will I be buying merchandise, or actively rooting for them when they’re fighting to stave off Oakland for the cellar of the AFC West. When he gets run out of town in a few years, I'll keep an open mind and hope that they can make the right decisions this time around. In the meanwhile, I'll be in football team widowership.

So long, Jay, and good luck.

We’re going to miss you.

Root for the Columbus Blue Jackets or Rick Nash will hurt you

2009-04-02T13:49:00.007-04:00

by Wally Brennan

Playoff hockey rivals any sport as far as intensity and passion are concerned. Though the NHL’s popularity took a severe hit after the lockout, it is slowly gaining back steam and working its way back into the discussion as a “big four” major sport.

As we know in sports there is always an underdog that it’s impossible to root against. Whether it’s due to a long tenure of futility or a feel-good story with a player or coach, we find ourselves immersed in them when they reach the postseason, which is why I’m giving you five reasons you will have no choice but to root for the Columbus Blue Jackets to win the Stanley Cup (of course, only if your favorite team doesn’t).

1) The Superstar- Rick Nash is the real deal. Drafted #1 overall by Columbus in 2002 he made his NHL debut at 18 years old that season and had an immediate impact, scoring 39 points in his rookie season. He’s only gotten better since then, twice averaging a point per game while improving his defensive play. The big (6’4, 220) forward has quietly had a career season this year and looks to lead his team to…

2) …their first ever playoff appearance. Yes, the Columbus Blue Jackets have never played a playoff game. They are the only franchise in the NHL that can claim that dubious honor. They played their first season in 2000-2001, debuting two years after Nashville, one year after Atlanta, and with Minnesota. All three of the aforementioned franchises have reached the playoffs – Minnesota and Nashville multiple times. Tampa Bay, an expansion team in 1993, has a Stanley Cup, as does Carolina, which moved from Hartford in 1998 and Anaheim, which came into existence in 1994. The BJ’s are losers; there is no other way to put it. But Ken Hitchcock’s club is looking to erase that history this year. How can you not root for that?

3) The Young Guns – When you’re at the bottom of the pile every season, you get the top draft picks. This is only useful if you don't waste those picks, and youngsters Steve Mason, Jakub Voracek and Nikita Filatov are proving that the Jackets haven't squandered their opportunities at the top of the draft. Mason is a shoe-in for the Calder Cup (NHL Rookie of the Year). The 20 year old goaltender was drafted in the third round as an 18 year old in 2006. He made his debut early this season and all he’s done is carry Columbus to the brink of the playoffs. He ranks 2nd in the NHL in Goals Against Average, 9th in save percentage, and he leads the NHL with 10 shutouts. He will be a mainstay in net for Columbus for a long time, so get used to him. Young forwards Jakub Voracek and Nikita Filatov were the Jackets’ first round picks in 2007 and 2008 respectively. At 19 and 18 years old, these two aren’t even old enough to drink it up at local Buckeye bars. But that doesn’t stop them from terrorizing the NHL. Voracek is fourth on the team with 36 points, and Filatov scored four goals in eight games early this season before being sent down to the AHL, where he had 32 points in 39 games. The Jackets decided to have mercy on the rest of the AHL and recalled Filatov for the playoffs, where he will step right in and contribute.

4) The Coach – Ken Hitchcock has been successful wherever he coaches. He won the Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999 and repeated as Western Conference champions the following season. He has a career winning percentage of .597, and has amassed 100 points in 8 out of 13 seasons behind the bench with Dallas, Philadelphia and Columbus. Fans of the Blue Jackets need not worry about coaching incompetence; whatever Hitchock does is likely the right decision for the club.

5) The Fans – Blue Jackets faithful are some of the most passionate in the game. Columbus is a college town that revolves around Ohio State football. But the fans craved something else, something different to root for. Enter the Jackets. The fans have been packing Nationwide Arena this season, cheering on their Jackets through it all. For eight years they’ve been rooting for a loser, and now they’re getting their payment. Expect Nationwide to be rocking well into the playoffs.

And besides, how can you root against an organization that does this?

Pretty Average Angels in the Outfield

2009-04-01T12:16:00.002-04:00

by TJ Giles

If you find yourself at a sports bar during late March, you're going to come across someone who will try to explain to you why their favorite sleeper team will be able to contend deep into October. Their team of choice? Irrelevant. The logic behind it will be the same regardless; Player X is one of the most underrated players in the game and Players Y and Z are finally going to reach that potential everyone has known that they've had for years (yes, years 1-4 were rough on Player Y, but this year … man … this year is the year). Despite the total lack of statistical evidence even remotely insinuating these claims to be true, you are going to have to sit through the same speech the previous 648 people sat through. While you are zoning out, replying with the well-timed “you know, that is a good point. You might be on to something”, and keeping an eye on that girl in corner decked out in your biggest rival’s jersey (I guess I never realized how well Jet Green would look on my floor), think about how much you don't want to be like this guy.

You don't want to bore people with your thoughts of why Kansas City can win the AL Central, or that Zach Greinke is one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball. They don't care that you think Alex Gordon is going to wake up tomorrow morning and suddenly realize that making contact with the ball would vastly improve his chances of reaching that potential everyone has heard so much about. Everyone already knows this story; they have heard it hundreds of times before. Instead of telling them who is going to do well this year, why don't you tell them who will not. Like the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Last year’s AL West champions will start the year off with a rotation consisting of Joe Saunders, Jared Weaver, Dustin Moseley, Nick Adenhart, and Shane Loux thanks to John Lackey’s forearm/elbow injury. Don't waste your time trying to figure out who those last three are – with career ERAs of 5.52, 9.00, and 6.41 respectively, they don't figure to be around long enough to warrant you learning their names. If things go according to plan, Lackey, Ervin Santana, and Kelvim Escobar will all return by mid-May – theoretically leaving plenty of time for them to try and dig their team out the hole they are sure to be facing. In reality, there are plenty of other problems facing the Angels that will prevent them from doing so.

Their outfield of Bobby Abreu, Vladimir Guerrero, and Torii Hunter averages 34 years of age - the oldest outfield in the AL (assuming Griffey DHs in Seattle). Initially, you might think this outfield would be one of the best in the Majors. You would be mistaken. The VORP (value over replacement player - in other words, the amount of runs the player has contributed more than what a replacement-level player would have produced with the same percentage of team plate appearances) for this big name outfield averages out to 35.57. Over the course of the season, this out field of stars each produced only 35+ more runs than a random scrub would have produced. This number is still rather good, until you realize that over the three previous seasons these players have an average VORP of 41.63, 40.47, and 43.37. Guerrero (41, 59.3, 62.2, 63.5) has declined in VORP in each of the previous 4 years, while Hunter declined in VORP last year.

Defensively, the outfield is average. Using rate (Rate = 100+ # of Runs above average the fielder is per 100 games. A rate of 110 means that the player is 10 runs above average, while a rate of 82 means they are 18 runs below average), we find that defensively the outfield was simply average last year. Guerrero had a rate of 97, Hunter 112, and Abreu 91 (averaging out to 100). The previous three seasons for these players had an average Rate of 95, 94, and 100. Using these numbers, it is easy to see that the outfielder is average to below average defensively.

Surely these factors shouldn't have enough of an effect to make a team that went 100-62 last year miss the playoffs though right? Not so fast. The Angels has a Pythagorean win/loss record (Pyth W.L Record is an estimate of a team's winning % given their runs scored and runs allowed) last year of 88-74. They were extremely lucky last year, inflating their record. If variance isn't in their favor this year as much as it was last year, that 88-74 record might not be good enough to make the playoffs, especially when you factor in the other aspects of an aging team on the decline.

So while you sit there not really listening to that guy rambling on about the Royals or Reds, watching that Jets jersey on its way out of the door, remember this column. You don't have to be that guy anymore. Instead, just explain that the combination of variance, a thin rotation, and a declining outfield which was simply average last year creates a formula for the Angels to fall off the map this year. Who knows? You might just look like a genius down the road.

FIVE WITH FUTON: APRIL 1ST, 2009

2009-04-01T07:24:00.009-04:00

Five thoughts this morning that I just had to write about before I started my work day:

1. Jay Cutler Part 1- Our national crisis continues and now has spiraled out of control with the news that Jay Cutler will likely be traded by Denver. Right off the giddy up, let's make it clear that my thoughts on Jay Cutler couldn't be more different from the other guys that write for this site. I think Cutler is a whiny bitch that is walking away from the perfect situation for him. I think we can all agree Josh McDaniels handled this very poorly at the start of his tenure as Head Coach of the Denver Broncos but in the last few weeks it appeared McDaniels had gone out of his way to fix the relationship. It's a real shame that this won't work out for both sides.

2. Cutler Part 2- Now the question comes, where will he go? I heard on Mike and Mike this morning that they think the favorite is the Jets (out of a list of the Jets, Bucs, Bears and Lions.) Certainly their is a need and the Jets would be willing to pay but I don't see this happening and it all goes back to... Spygate??? After Eric Mangini got fired from the Browns rumors came flying out that it was Mike Tannenbaum (the Jets GM) that ran the Spygate issue up the league office and not "the former HC of the NYJ." Spygate was incredibly embarrassing to McDaniels mentor, Bill Belichick. I can't imagine that McDaniels will be in a rush to help out the guy that caused so many problems for BB. The NFL is a business with short memories but count me as one thinking that Jay Cutler will not be wearing Green and White next year. My early pick would be Cleveland in a Quinn for Cutler type swap (no need to get a 3rd team involved.)

3. Vlade- I was a little surprised to see my colleague Prat diss Vlade so much yesterday. Between Divac and Webber, the Kings may have had the best passing big man combo of all time. The Kings from that era might be the best team ever to not make the finals (right alongside the Jail Blazer teams from a couple years prior.) Watching Vlade, C-Web and Mike Bibby play was always amazing basketball for me and the atmosphere those guys brought to a town like Sacramento. It's still a shame the way that Game 6 was called back in the 2002 Western Conference Finals. Many people could have a completely different opinion on this Kings team.

4. Coach Cal- The John Calipari hiring at Kentucky is nothing short of fascinating. On the one hand, UK went out (and certainly paid for) the best "available" coaching candidate in the country. Coach Cal should bring instant credibility to a program desperately searching for legitimacy. At the same time, I've always felt that Calipari has always been somewhat of a Teflon coach with a number of his recruits having a cloud of controversy surrounding them. None of these allegations have ever found a way to stick to Coach Cal (although the NCAA record books don't have his UMass team making the Final 4) but you can bet the spotlight will be on his program like never before at a program like Kentucky.

5. KG Shut Down- More and more it seems less likely that the Celtics will repeat as NBA champions. Between the emergence this season of a supporting cast around Dwight Howard and the Cleveland LeBrons playing all world, it's doubtful the Celtics will even make it to the Finals let alone beat the Lakers. If the bench ends up costing the Celtics you'll hear any many critics say Danny Ainge made a mistake in not keeping James Posey. However, given the shrinking cap and the Celtics currently set to be in a great cap position next summer, I believe that Ainge's pragmatism will pay off. Let's face it, Posey or not, the Celtics without a healthy KG weren't doing anything.

Who's Next? Rik Smits?

2009-03-31T20:11:00.009-04:00

by Pratyush Buddiga

March 31, 2009 will be a day long remembered by Sacramento Kings fans.

It is the day that former Kings superstar Vlade Divac will finally receive the honor that many have waited years to see: the sight of that iconic 21 jersey floating in the rafters as the Kings look back on their glory days and---

Wait a minute, this is actually happening? The answer, remarkably, is yes. A day after Alonzo Mourning became the first player who actually played for the Heat to get his jersey retired in Miami (the others are Heat-killer Michael Jordan and ring-less Dan Marino), the Kings are countering with a retirement that will surely lead SportsCenter tonight.

So what exactly did Divac do? Well, he had a great beard, was constantly dissed by Shaquille O’Neal (video at the end of the post), and averaged about 12 points a game. Congratulations Vlade, you had an average NBA career. This is certainly nothing to sneeze at, but is it so noteworthy that no King should ever be allowed to sport his number again?

On the other hand, we should remember that this is the team that retired the number six in honor of their team’s obnoxious, cowbell-ringing “sixth man" so it's not like cheap publicity stunts are beneath them. When I first heard this news, I was surprised by the sheer absurdity of retiring Divac’s jersey, but in truth I shouldn’t have been. In a struggling economy, teams are looking for any way to boost attendance and if this jersey retirement gets Kings fans to watch their floundering team, I’m certainly going to have to eat my words. If you can use a retired journeyman center as a marketing tool to fill the stands, the people in your PR department all deserve healthy pay raises.

Before I could get too cynical about this promotion, I went on Divac’s official site and was astonished to see that for the token price of fifty bucks (just 25 more for cocktails!), I can go to the Vlade Divac after-party hosted by (drumroll please): Vlade, C-Webb, Scot Pollard, and Mr. Jackie Christie! You couldn’t find four more different and eclectic hosts for a jersey retirement party if you tried. Needless to say, I’m completely sold. My hat's off to Vlade and the Kings for dreaming up such an ingenious promotion.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go look for a flight to Sacramento…

Make Me An Offer I Can Refuse: The Problem Today with Fantasy Leagues

2009-03-30T17:30:00.007-04:00

by Bob Fulton

When writing about sports I generally try to avoid three things: writing about how money ruins sports, writing about anything Rick Reilly would cover and writing about fantasy sports.

Let's face it, the majority of those who read about sports that are in the age bracket of 18-35 have participated in/are participating in some form of fantasy sports league. Hell, it's even common these days to find a Fantasy Football league with a broad or two. But for the most part reading about the topic is incredibly bland and what's funny in our league (oh my god, TJ was so hungover at the draft he took Ben Sheets in the 6th round and he's not even playing) is only funny if you know how much of a drunk TJ is. (Note: I mean, I'm definitely not talking about my colleague.) Also, being involved in anything that makes having Jose Guillen on your team a good idea just doesn't seem right. But the increase in popularity of fantasy sports has actually made the hobby much less interesting for me. Quite frankly, the level of camaraderie that I used to find having 11 other geeks like me just isn't there. Accessibility and popularity has taken the leagues to a whole new level. I have one friend that was in 14 leagues last year. How can fantasy baseball be fun if you have Felix Hernandez going for one of your teams and you're facing the King in another? Here are a few of my other beefs:

1) Tumbleweeds- Growing up I played Strat-o-matic baseball. The coolness factor ranked somewhere between Dungeons and Dragons and masturbating to scrambled Pay-Per-View. We played old school, with the dice and everything. Now, trying to get 10 guys that knew anything about baseball together was difficult enough. Getting 10 guys that knew anything about baseball in Vermont forced us to allow some really shady characters in the league. Two of the guys in our league were definitely Dime-Bag Drug Dealers. This almost forced the league to fold back in '99 when Mark McGwire was almost traded for an eighth (but I digress.) The point of this story is that I was 16 and that type and I always had to be on my toes to avoid getting ripped off in trades. Dan Pleasac and Gary DiSarcina for Nomar? Sweeet sign me up. You know what the good news was? At least I was getting trade offers. In my fantasy league last week I proposed 10 deals (all remotely fair and I don't believe would have faced Veto but certainly you could argue they were in my favor.) I got one reply! At least a "Fuck you, buddy stop asking me for Jon Lester and get that Shane Victorino crap" would have sufficed. Ultimately with so many fantasy leagues they were bound to have half the league be asleep at the wheel. Hell, who knows if they even saw the offers in between their 8 other leagues.

2) Haircut Express- Growing up I went to the barber. The guy knew me. The guy knew my Dad. The guy knew 90% of the people coming into his office. When I moved to Boston after college I couldn't find a barber shop to save my life. The apartment complex I lived in had a small Hispanic salon that had more rainbow flags than Provincetown in July. I had to pay 15 bucks to cut my haircut at a Haircuts Express by some chick that had as many tattoo as Dennis Rodman. The point is I had no idea who this person was. Even if I got a haircut I liked I still felt uncomfortable from having Henry Rollins come at me with clippers. Now it's the same way with Fantasy leagues. Sure, I could find 12 guys that I really want to be in a league with. But since the Internet has made it so easy for people to join leagues, we compromise. Maybe you get in a league with five other people you know and then six randoms. Oh that's John's brother, he's got a Big Papi bumper sticker, of course he likes baseball. The quality of the league just downgrades and of course when two of the random guys make a trade with each other that looks shady, you question it about a million times more.

3) Sherlock Holmes- Growing up, I always prided myself on knowing who the next big prospect was going to be. I remember one year I drafted Eric Chavez and Carlos Beltran right before they became stars. It was a Keeper League and I had these guys tied up in low draft pick spots. I felt so smart that all my hard work and research paid off. Nowadays one trip to the Baseball America website and 15 minutes of research has one of the other managers in your league snapping your sleepers up every other pick. "Matt Wieters in the 8th round? Die of AIDS you bastard!" Of course I still feel like I know baseball better, but all that hard work and knowledge I have has been trumped by the Internet. It feels like fantasy communism.

These 3 reasons have led me to try and find a better solution to make fantasy fun again for me. The good news is I found a good remedy to try and make things more interesting. Money!!! Not as interested in Fantasy Baseball as years past? "Throw a hundo on it." Still not interested? "Throw 3 hundo on it." The good news is I'm a degenerate and don't mind spending the money. The bad news is those die-hards that I knew in the past and would love to have in my leagues are leaving fantasy sports with a bad taste in their mouth for the reasons above.

It's a business, Trent

2009-03-29T20:55:00.006-04:00

by Joe Reimers

Whoever is in charge of giving the ESPN analysts their matching opinions has obviously given them two bullet points on the situation they’ve been instructed to call “McJayGate.”
• Jay Cutler is not a good quarterback because he hasn’t played on a winning team.
• “It’s a business, Jay.” (Look into the camera and speak slowly)

I won’t even touch the absurdity of the first point, other than to say that Cutler is 13-1 in games in which his defense gives up less than 21 points. Apparently, the biggest knock on Cutler at this point in his career is that he’s not a good enough linebacker.

The second point is interesting, though. There is a widespread idea that Cutler is a sensitive, spoiled brat for reacting the way he has. After all, in the business world employees never hate their bosses and never want to leave their companies. Anything goes in business, right? Sorry AIG stockholders; it’s a business.
Seriously, I think I’ve heard the “it’s a business” line at least 2,000 times on ESPN lately. I think I even heard Barack Obama say it in the middle of picking his bracket. When ESPN analyst and football legend Trent Dilfer (one of the top 40 quarterbacks in football history because he “won a Super Bowl”) delivered the “it’s a business” line the other day, and I wondered how he would react if he were in a situation like Cutler’s in the television business. Let’s put the situation into Trent Dilfer’s terms (with the corresponding characters from “McJayGate” in parentheses).

Pretend that Dilfer (Cutler) is one of the top young football analysts in television. I hope you’re still with me. ESPN (the Broncos) brings Dilfer in to be the centerpiece of its NFL show (The Broncos’ offense). Trent loves the producer of his show (former Offensive Coordinator Jeremy Bates), and even gets along with the programming director for the entire network (Mike Shanahan).
Despite the success of the show, ESPN as a whole is struggling. The CEO (owner Pat Bowlen) decides to fire the programming director, but promises to build the network around Dilfer. The CEO also personally promises to retain Dilfer’s producer. A week later, though, he hires a new programming director from FOX’s NFL show (Josh McDaniels), who immediately fires the producer and tries to bring in Terry Bradshaw (Matt Cassel) whom he worked with at FOX to take Dilfer’s position. Bradshaw, though, doesn’t want his relationship with Michael Strahan (we’re leaving the analogy here to make a homoerotic joke) to be strained by the distance, so the deal with ESPN doesn’t work out. ESPN now wants to keep Dilfer, but he’s heard the rumors about Bradshaw. The new director denies the rumors until there is simply too much evidence for him to deny it further.

Would it be an overreaction if Dilfer wanted out now, and he didn’t even care if he went to Versus (the Detroit Lions)? Would it be immature and sensitive for him to want to leave the organization that broke a promise about the future of his boss? Would it be childish for him to leave an organization that tried to replace him, and then lied about trying to replace him until they had no choice but to tell him the truth? I guess so. (Looking into the camera and speaking slowly) It’s a business, Trent.

If the NFL were truly like any other business, no one would criticize Cutler for wanting to leave the Broncos. His friends would applaud him for standing up to a business that mistreated him. That’s what businessmen do - they leave bad situations to find good ones. Cutler isn’t allowed to do this, though. He’s painted as childish and sensitive for wanting to leave a bad situation. That’s the harsh thing about this “it’s a business” philosophy. Players are crucified for acting as businessmen, but teams are given a free pass for acting as businesses. We cry foul when a player leaves one team to join another for more money, but we say nothing when a team cuts a veteran after years of loyal service. The players are treated with no loyalty by the organizations, yet are expected to give their complete loyalty to the organizations. If it is in fact a business, Cutler has every right to be upset and every right to want out.

Trent Dilfer would.

Kentucky quickly becoming a black hole for coaches

2009-03-27T17:48:00.002-04:00

by Wally Brennan

I was stunned by today's news that Billy Gillispie was fired as head basketball coach from the University of Kentucky. Gillispie, who took over for Tubby Smith at the beginning of last season, barely had time to recruit his own kids before the boosters and Athletic Director decided to go in another direction. With the way Tubby Smith was treated on his way out after a very successful tenure, and now the unceremonious dumping of Gillispie it begs the question - why would anyone want to take this job?

It is clear that the Kentucky boosters and fans expect the Wildcats to compete for a National Championship every season. It is also clear that by the Athletic Director refusing to pay the $6 million buyout that was stipulated in his never-completed long-term deal that the Athletic Department at Kentucky is run by people who value money over winning. However, you won't make money unless you're winning. So why would someone like Billy Donovan or John Calipari want to take a job where no matter what you do you're always in the spotlight, most likely for bad things?

Think of this: for a new coach to come in, you need at least two seasons to recruit your own players. In that first season there will be massive growing pains with the old coach's players learning your new system. If Gillispie got fired before he even got a chance to get his own players in, what incentive is there for someone to go to this job?

Kentucky is severely hurting their reputation with the nonsense that has gone on in the past three years. They are quickly changing from a school with a lot of appeal to a school with zero appeal.

Same old song and dance for this Duke fan.

2009-03-27T17:39:00.000-04:00

by Pratyush Buddiga

The team was different, but the script was the same. It starts with a nervous anticipation and quiet hope and ends with Duke walking off the floor, heads in their hands, losing to a team that it was supposed to beat.
For Duke fans like myself the theme has become far too common in recent years. Every one of us knows when “That Game” is happening. We miss 3’s early, the other team seems to be getting layups and wide-open jumpers a little too easily, and the opposing bench is jumping after every possession while the crowd gets louder and louder. Even as Dickie V screams about how much heart Duke has, the team wilts right before our eyes.
West Virginia. Clemson. Villanova. North Carolina. Every single freaking year.
What’s the solution? How can Duke regain its status amongst basketball’s elite?
It’s surprisingly simple. If you ask any college basketball fan why they pick Duke to lose in the Sweet 16 or earlier every year, they’ll tell you the answer.
“They’re just not athletic enough.”
This is pretty hard to argue with. I mean, there was a moment in the Villanova game with 10 minutes to go where we were a Marty Pocius sighting away from throwing a complete whitewash at the Wildcats.
It’s not like we recruit players with no skill. Almost every single player Coach K recruits is a McDonald’s All-American and starred in high school ball. Teams around the country would love to have one of our guys.
Unfortunately, they’re all too one-dimensional and have similar skill sets. Do you see anyone other than Gerald Henderson on Duke who looks like he could play significant minutes in the NBA? Every Duke player hustles, works hard, and plays to the best of his abilities, but in the end they simply don’t have the athleticism to compete with the players from the best teams in the country. Basketball isn’t just about fundamentals and basketball IQ; you have to have agility, height, and athleticism. Duke players lately seem to lack in too many of these departments.
The reason for our growing athletic gap, especially with our increasingly powerful rivals in Chapel Hill, is our seemingly cherry-picked style of recruiting. I understand the importance of selecting kids who will fit well with Duke, but our inability to compete for kids that don’t come from suburbia as well as for infamous one-and-dones has hurt us immeasurably. Our selection pool is extremely reduced compared to UNC’s and other top schools, which naturally puts us at a huge disadvantage in competing for a national championship.
Ever since Coach K was burned by the Brand/Maggette class following the 1999 season, he has loathed taking players that he feared would jump straight to the NBA after a year or two of college. The types of players he takes now are talented enough and coached well enough to achieve a moderate level of success at the college level, but how can they be expected to compete with future NBA prospects in tourney games that often come down to which team has more talent? It’s hardly a coincidence that Duke hasn’t produced a single quality NBA player since the Brand/Maggette class jumped ship.
The frustrating part is we know that Coach K can coach talent. He’s showed that this summer with the Olympic team and with his Duke teams of the 1986-2001. However, our refusal to recruit many of the most talented players in the country has led to a team of overachievers that are expected to live up to the name on the front of the jersey, but often fail due to the talent of the individual whose name lies on the back.
Look at the current edition of the Blue Devils. Is there a player on the team you would count on to score with the game on the line like Levance Fields? Do we have a single player over the height of 6’8’’ that can score consistently in the paint like Blake Griffin? Do we have a point guard who can take over the game by himself like Jonny Flynn or Ty Lawson?
The great prospects of recent years like Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Tyreke Evans, and Derrick Rose should want to come to Duke. Our modern tradition is unparalleled in college basketball, and like our peers we are expected to offer a chance to compete for a national championship every year. However, we refuse to recruit these types of talented individuals, eschewing them for far lesser prospects. I am not calling for us to recruit a team of one-and-dones, but every national championship team needs an alpha dog. Whether he is developed for a couple years or stays only for his freshman season, this type of player can make the difference between a team that is bounced in the Sweet Sixteen and one that’s making the Final Four.
The problem is not just Coach K’s policy of avoiding one-and-dones, it’s that we don’t seem to land any players who could potentially develop into the go-to guy for a team. Instead, we’re filled with a bunch of second and third options that end up looking uncomfortable and lacking in their roles. Where’s our Tyler Hansbrough? Josh McRoberts was an utter failure. While Singler and Henderson are multitalented, they would be much better suited as the second banana to a superstar. And it’s not going to get any better in the future. Elliot Williams is dynamic and great to have on your team, but he’s never going to win ACC Player of the Year, let alone National Player of the Year. And who in our upcoming classes is going to be the leader on a championship-winning team? It doesn’t seem like we’re in the mix for anybody remotely capable of developing into that superstar player.
Coach K knows from his Beijing experience that talent is extremely important to winning. Attitude and character also play central roles, but to sacrifice this for talent is simply not winning basketball. Maybe these players didn’t come from the same neighborhood as the vast majority of Duke students, but this doesn’t mean they can’t be a functional part of both the Duke basketball team and the Duke community.
If we refuse to recruit as well as our peers, we should not expect to compete with them. Duke should be happy with reaching the Sweet Sixteen and maybe, every now and then, getting to the Elite Eight or Final Four. Maintaining a championship pedigree requires a certain level of talent to go along with great coaching.
Like many Duke fans I think I have to learn to adjust my expectations. This team was fun to watch and I’m sure that our team next year will be just as enjoyable to root for. But I don’t think I’m going to expect a title anytime soon.
We’re just not athletic enough.