The Inner Ramblings of a Deranged Sports Mind
To begin, I feel it only proper to pay tribute to one of my favorite quarterbacks of this past generation. Steve McNair was, as everyone knows by now, tragically shot and killed last week. The man responsible for one of the most memorable Super Bowl plays in NFL history, his last second one-foot short pass to Kevin Dyson, will be deeply missed by all who were lucky enough to watch him play valiantly throughout his career.
On a lighter note…
ROY HALLADAY ENJOYS LONG WALKS ON THE BEACH AND APPLETINI’S
Seek the Doc
The Doc is available (get it!) and teams need to take notice.
Halladay is far and away the most underappreciated talent in professional baseball, nay, professional sports. Perhaps a stretch on the later, but this guy does not get the credit he deserves because he plays in the great north. If he was in NYC he’d be a massive star, bigger than Johan or CC (not in the waistline, however) because he’s better than both of them.
If I’m the GM of a contending team (Phillies, Yankees, Tigers, Red Sox, Angels etc.) after waking up from my shock induced coma i experienced upon hearing the best pitcher in baseball is waiting to be had, I would be on the phone offer J.P. Riccardi things that I can’t write here in exchange for his star pitcher.
It especially makes sense for the Phillies and Tigers to go after the righty. The Fightin’s have been searching for a front of the rotation starter since Brett Myers went down and they supposedly have the prospects to deal. This would give them a duo of Hamels (once he gets right) and Halladay. Not bad, especially with many of the big sluggers in the NL East either on their team or out with injury.
For the Tigers it would likely cost AL ROY candidate Rick Porcello and then some, but a rotation of Verlander-Jackson-Halladay would be damn near impossible to beat in a 7 game series.
Who are you going to beat twice? Answer: None of them.
Obviously the Yanks and Sox are going to be involved and the Angels are always at least in the conversation but for whoever reels in the Doc, the returns should be well worth whatever they shell out to get him.
RON-RON SPURNS BRON-BRON TO JOIN LA-LA LAKERS:
Yes. Absolutely, Yes.
No, really, he's calmed down...
It was duly noted last week that the NBA needs a new enigmatic superstar but, just in the nick of time, one of the biggest and brightest nut jobs of all time has thrust himself back into the spotlight.
Ron Artest is a Laker. Awesome.
What’s better, he chose the Lake-show over offers from multiple teams including Cleveland and in doing so he assured the NBA of two things:
1. The Lakers will repeat as champs, at least once, maybe twice, barring injury and…
2. A complete mental breakdown the likes of which David Stern has never seen. If Ron-Ron has anything short of a total psychological eruption before his time in LA is over I will be distraught.
First, there is no team that can match up with a healthy lineup of Fisher-Bryant-Artest-Pau-Bynum, with Odom, Shannon Brown, Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and Luke Walton all coming off the bench. That is of course assuming Odom remains a Laker. Artest and Kobe are arguably the two best lock-down defenders in the league at their respective positions. Putting them on the same team makes everyone’s job easier defensively, and removes one big cog from the handful of players that can actually contain Kobe from dropping 40 a night.
More importantly, the world is assured of a patented Ron Artest implosion. He’s been on the brink of mental collapse his entire career and he hasn’t even played in a huge market since his first two years in Chicago, and we all know what he’s done since then.
LA media + LA nightlife + proven psychopath = Epic off-court antics.
I’m just waiting for the headlines –
“Artest throws date through plate-glass window at nightclub”
“Newest Laker drops baby at local orphanage”
“Ron-Ron bludgeons man to death at Playboy mansion”
Oh yeah, it’s going to be that good.
And the first PR blow has been dealt. Artest announced he will wear #37 in honor of the late Michael Jackson’s top hit Thriller, which sat atop the charts for a record, you guessed it, 37 weeks.
Brandon Jennings, class is now in session and you’ve got a lot of learning to do.
FUTBAL: THE APOCOLYPSE
This is what we're up against
Fellow citizens of the United States of America, there is a pandemic far more terrifying than Swine Flu, Bird Flu or any other animal-related illness, spreading rampantly across this planet.
Its name: Soccer.
Yes, those guys that run around in the short shorts and always appear to be on the verge of tears are perhaps the biggest threat to our freedom since…ever.
Don’t believe me? Consider this.
Earlier this week over 80,000 people packed Real Madrid’s stadium to watch uber-star Cristiano Ronaldo get officially introduced as the newest member of Real.
80,000 people showing up to watch him try on a jersey and kick a ball.
This is the equivalent of packing four-plus Madison Square Garden’s full of people to watch the once-and-future King (LBJ) hold up his #23 Knick Jersey, take a dump and walk off the court; An event that we should all brace ourselves for approximately a year from now.
Perhaps my fears were a tad understated.
We cannot be bested by a game where you can’t even use your hands.
The fact that so many people show up for an event as menial as this leads me to draw one inevitable conclusion: We, America, must follow the likes of Drew Carey and Josh Elliot before us, and become a country of soccer fans.
It’s the only choice we have if we want to defend our freedom. We need to completely dilute the feeling of superiority soccer fans get knowing that we simple Americans can’t understand the “Beautiful Game”.
With their feeling of superiority gone, true soccer fans will realize how much their game sucks and turn into American fans, basketball and football will reign yet again.
If we turn from a nation of gridiron geeks to futbal hooligans, maybe, just maybe we can get everyone to stop caring.
The war between soccer and the rest of sports is going to begin any day now, choose your side wisely.
NBA Finals Missing More Than Lebron
Kobe Vs. Lebron was supposed to be the greatest matchup in recent NBA history. People were crowning the Cavs after dismantling a weak Pistons team and a young Hawks team. There were articles about them going 16-0! I quickly put things in perspective. I’ll be honest part of me is pretty happy that the hype didn’t come true. I’m never a huge fan of basing sporting events on the big superstars. The Kobe/Lebron matchup didn’t really excite me too much. What did excite me was the Cavs/Lakers matchup. It is obvious the casual fan is less interested in the Finals now that Lebron is gone. Hell, ESPN’s latest poll shows 43% of people less interested. I think it’s going to be more than Lebron that is missing from this series. Read more
Lakers A Lock, Playoff Scenarios, Playoff TV Spot
So, are the Lakers in the finals? I think we all get a little overboard when we pick things by being so sure before any games are played. Yes, the Lakers seem to be the best team in the West. It is a good pick to say they should get to the finals, but the playoffs are a totally different ballgame. Anything can happen, so let’s not give them the trophy yet.
On Our Mind
Dan says:
- Tiger is just five off the lead after an embarassing last hole. Anyone want to bet against him?
Scott says:
- Andrew Bynum is back, his team, the Lakers, just took care of the 2 seed in the west. Anyone want to be against them? (They have to be a heavy, heavy favorite at least in the West)
Losing Puts You In The Right Spot
The Daily Dime over at ESPN.com points out that with the Hornets loss last night actually will help them in the long run if they can stay at the six seed. The Lakers are clearly the team to beat in the West, and, the fact is, not many teams will have a chance to actually beat them. So, as Adande writes, the Hornets want to avoid the Lakers as long as possible. It is clear that you never want to lose a game on purpose, but it must feel nice to work hard for 48 minutes, lose, and then thing, “Oh, that turned out well.” There are not many times in life when you can lose and be happier than if you won.
If this “losing is good” thing is true, then there are four teams in the West fighting to get that sixth spot. The Spurs, Rockets, Blazers, and Hornets. The three teams outside of the Hornets are now two games ahead. The issue with saying that it is all good for these teams to drop to the sixth spot is that there are two teams right behind, a game behind the Hornets actually, that are trying desperately to avoid the Lakers in the first round. So, if we eliminate the Suns from contention, that leaves Dallas and Utah at the seven and eight seeds. These six teams have no worry about missing the playoffs but the worst seeds to be right now are the four, five, and eight. That leaves the six and seven, which is up for grabs.
Over in the East, there is a similar situation. The problem is we don’t know which Celtics team is going to show up come playoff time. If it is the championship team from a year ago, things change. For the purpose of this dumb post though, I would say that the Cavs are the only team people really want to avoid right now. Well, the Pistons and Bulls are tied for the seven and eight spots, and have all but clinched playoff berths. Meanwhile, Miami and Philly are a half-game apart for the fifth and sixth seed. When we use our logic we can see that it would be worthwhile for Philly to drop under Miami and face Orlando or Boston in the first round and then avoid the Cavs until the conference finals.
If you get nothing else from this article, you should realize that the playoffs are soon and every game counts now. Seedings seem to be more important than ever for the middle of the road teams.
West Playoffs: Avoiding the Lakers As Long As Possible [ESPN]
The WrapUp
The hot news out of the NBA today is that Andrew Bynum, the young center for the Lakers, is planning to return to action on Thursday. This is a big deal not only for the Lakers but for the Cavs and the Celtics. Since I’m assuming either Cleveland or Boston will face LA in the NBA Finals, I’m calling a healthy return of Bynum a death wish for whoever the Lakers face in that last series. Not only do both Cleveland and Boston struggle with depth at center, they would have to pay attention to both Gasol and Bynum in the post. That means KG will have to play defense every time down the floor, and with his ailing injuries, that doesn’t bode well. If anything, Bynum being in the lineup makes the Lakers’ starting lineup the best in the business.
Here are the top stories we linked you to today:
-Lebron not getting called for fouls ever.
-Will Maggie The Monkey be back?
-Buyer Beware for MLB Extra Innings/MLB.tv
-12 ways to know you don’t follow baseball
-Brady vs. Manning. Who is the best QB of this decade?
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Nate Robinson, Lakers’ Depth
Cool article on Nate Robinson below. I have to admit that I’m not a huge fan. I think his whole act is pretty self-centered. It is pretty cool what he did at the all-star game and what he has done since then, but it just doesn’t seem to warrant the fanfare that is has. He’s a pretty good player on an okay team. Where’s the huge appeal?
