6:55- Good Evening ladies and gentleman, and welcome to a monumental moment for The Daily Colonial.
Once again, we’re at the NBA Draft.
Actually, my credential only got me into the WaMu Theater with no media seat, so for the next few hours please refer to me as Julian Gompertz, staff writer for the Corriere Della Serra.
6:57- I’d like to point out that we will be introducing the best and worst dressed 2007 NBA prospects of this year’s draft, and not to give anything away but Joakim Noah is the runaway leader at the start.
7:02- I am situated dead center in the room on the floor and have great access to the stage, the players, and Stuart Scott’s lazy eye. I also feel the need to tell you that walking into the media entrance I could hear Stephen A. Smith inside yelling about his beloved New York Yankees.
7:05- We are not even five minutes into the ESPN coverage when Atlanta is said to have decided on Al Horford with their number three draft pick. In a related story, this conversation was overheard in the hallway outside the dining area:
Atlanta GM Billy Knight: So, guys thought I’d let you know we are going with Shelden Williams this year.
His staff: Billy, we told you already, he is not on the board this year.
Knight: Oh, ok well what about that guy who is identical to him, can we take him this year? Yeah, that Horford guy, let’s go with him.
7:11- Reason number 256 you know the NBA Draft is in serious trouble, we removed Dick Vitale from his oxygen tank to give us his take on this year’s prospects…I can take Vitale for a month, but he is meant for March, not June.
7:18- Stuart Scott gets the wonderful honor of interviewing each prospect. He is asking Durant about what this process is like. I dare Stu to challenge him in the bench-press.
7:20- Annoying subplot No. 1 of this draft - Mike Conley and Greg Oden have played basketball together since the sixth grade.
Annoying subplot No. 2 of this draft - Joakim Noah will not shut up about his father, and claims Yannick taught him about hustle and grit.
Annoying subplot No. 3 of this draft - We need to confiscate David Stern’s iPod and put some Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Ludacris on there, because I feel like I am at a gay discotheque in Paris.
7:25- I can see the Blazers correspondent here on the floor which can only mean the draft itself is about to get under way.
7:28- Funniest thing yet, Mike Conley’s mother is wiping her son’s face clean to make sure he looks good for the camera. These are the things they do not show you on ESPN.
7:30- Finally, “The Second Coming” a song that gets me just remotely excited for the draft is playing. The lights have gone black and it is show time.
7:32- The amount of make-up used on Mark Jackson’s bald head is remarkable and it is hurting my eyes as I am within five feet of him and Mike Tirico, who is still dishing out corny clichés to make this draft seem more exciting.
7:34- Here we go - the clock is at 00:00 and David Stern has received a mixed reaction of cheers and boos from the fans. He tries to appease the New York Fans by reminding them that the Knicks and Liberty play here. Scratch that, the Knicks and who? play here.
7:35- Portland is on the clock. My money is on Carl Elliott (he just had a workout with them).
7:37- AT THE END OF THE DAY YOU GUYS GOTTA KNOW THAT WHEN YOU GOT TO MAKE A DECISION, THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT, QUITE FRANKLY, IT IS GREG ODEN.
-Stephen A. Smith
7:38- The Portland Trail Blazers have selected...Greg Oden...hmmm what a surprise, walking up he hugged about ten guys in his posse, his family, and of course Mike Conley and Thad Matta. Also of note, David Stern is really short.
7:42- Greg Oden uses hand sanitizer - that will go over well in the Portland Locker Room and on the court with the veterans.
7:46- Wow, huge deal just went down involving Ray Allen and the Celtics which leads to…
7:47- And with the second pick in the 2007 NBA draft, the Seattle Supersonics select an NBA coach to run their team next year. Oh wait, they do not have one of those yet, but they are able to run a team because a 14-year-old who is just hitting puberty is making these decisions for the Las Veg….I mean Seattle Supersonics.
7:50- Actually they took some Durant guy, who might just be the next Jordan.
7:53- Haha, funny subplot here, the clock actually ran out on Atlanta’s pick which is just not surprising. Still, they drafted Al Horford, so if your keeping score at home that is three straight years Billy Knight has drafted a Power Forward (M. Williams, S. Williams, Horford). And yet, for those of you basketball fans wondering, you can only play one of those at a time.
7:55- So far none of the athletes have really wowed me with their wardrobe, but something tells me another Gator is ready to shock the American Public.
7:57- Mike Conley went number four meaning my mock draft is already down the drain, as I had the Grizzlies on the Corey Brewer bandwagon late. A little tidbit about Memphis: their GM, Chris Wallace, is the same guy who has drafted the likes of Joe Forte and almost single-handedly ruined the Celtics before turning it over to Danny Ainge to screw up some more.
8:02- So the Seattle-Boston deal is in the books, which put Jeff Green’s mom into tears because she just realized her son is going to be playing for a franchise in Las Veg….I mean Seattle.
8:04- Jeff Green looks very uncomfortable wearing a Celtics hat. Why do they do this to him? Just give him a Sonics hat and a cup of Starbucks and let’s see how Milwaukee justifies taking Yi Jianlian and putting him in a market that has three Asian people in it.
8:09- David Stern looks queasy before announcing this selection and YES Yiiii has been selected by Milwaukee. David Stern is sobbing in the backroom as he could not find a way to rig this and put Yi in a big market, Yi’s facial reaction was priceless as he looked like I did back in third grade when someone picked me to be on their kick-ball team… shocked. I have never seen such a quiet reception for such a big moment in the NBA.
8:14- You know you are a small market when Andy Katz has to remind us that your team has decided they will keep this international pick. By the way, high comedy as Stuart Scott can add “English Teacher” to his resume, trying to fight through this Yi interview.
8:16- “Yi is 50 Cent and Jay-Z” - actual quote from Fran Fraschilla who claims that Yi is new-age.
8:20- Corey Brewer has a smile the as wide as a Paul Bunyon foot print. (Read: Wolves picked him up.)
8:23- By the way, Boston, next season, will sport Pierce, Allen and Jefferson which automatically makes them a contender to win the East…I LOVE THIS GAME!!!
8:28- It is about time to mention ESPN’s David Aldridge is sitting two rows in front of me with a giant box of popcorn, and he gets paid for this stuff. (He actually asked some really great questions yesterday, which will come in a following column called, “lets see how uncomfortable I can make 19 year-olds feel about their chances of succeeding in the NBA”).
8:31- I know Michael Jordan has Dean Smith and the Tar Heels to thank for the beginning of what was an unbelievable career, but we got the point last year when he drafted both Raymond Felton and Sean May, the Brandan Wright pick was a bit unnecessary. If you did not know he was a freshman and is undersized for the NBA, Brandon reminded all of us by flashing his bling on ESPN, and no not his chains but his braces which were the laugh of media row.
8:34- First time all night the Knicks fans have been audible booing their unbelievably inept GM Isiah Thomas who gave up two first round picks, including this number nine, to get Eddy Curry’s heart problem and the 23 pick this year.
8:38- We are still waiting for the best dressed player here to be selected, and while speaking of wardrobes, I regret to inform you David Stern has fined me an undisclosed amount for not adhering to the NBA dress code as I took off my jacket in this 138 degree room.
8:40- YESSSS, THE BEST DRESSED OBVIOUSLY GOES TO JOAKIM NOAH IN A LAND-SLIDE. Walking by him earlier, I saw he forgot to take his tag off of his Thrift Store five-dollar suit with his .35 cent bow-tie. And just to clear the air, television really makes Joakim Noah that much uglier, as he only made me want to puke for about 30 minutes being here live and all.
8:42- Wait hold that though - Spencer Hawes’ mom, who had received no media attention now gets on live-television wearing a purple button-down shirt that shines in the light here in the theatre, putting Noah’s victory in jeopardy.
8:44- Forgot to mention they showed Spike Lee here before which was the loudest cheer in the theatre tonight and he is now coaxing David Lee five feet away from me telling him, that he better stay in New York or Spike’s next documentary will be about the unsolved murder mystery of the once rising NBA star from Florida.
8:48- More on that rigging bit, David Stern has been talking to the “big-time” media guys like the NYTimes and ESPN.COM in a silenced muffled voice just 15 feet away. If only I could move around and figure more out about this, but I must remind you that we are over an hour into the draft and no one has noticed that I am not a writer for the Corriere Della Serra.
8:50- I would love to start smoking the same drugs as Acie Law III who I swear was begging for money in Grand Central just two hours ago before they showed him with his son being drafted by the Atlanta Hawks.
(I asked Acie yesterday at the media session if he would be playing with a chip on his shoulder after the crushing loss in the NCAA tournament against Memphis. He said he has always played with a chip on his shoulder and that his father taught him about proving people wrong. My only question, which I did not ask, is who was his father proving wrong? Was it the homeless guy sleeping next to track 23 in Penn Station? Someone get Lisa Salters on this please.)
8:57- Time for me to officially tell you that my favorite player in this year’s draft is about to get drafted. Look at Al Thornton’s numbers from last season and tell me he is not the sleeper to win the ROY award...and...
8:58- WHAT!!! Thaddeus Young at the No. 12 pick, I would have been surprised by this pick but then I remember that the GM of this team is the same guy who dealt Allen Iverson for a heap of garbage, gave Samuel Dalembert and Kyle Korver max contracts and has drafted Rodney Carney and John Salmons in the first round.
9:02- Oh Joy, Billy Knight trying to coherently speak about why he is not dumb. Except he just compared Acie Law IV to Mark Jackson who is in the top five all-time in assists for a point-guard in NBA History. Billy, Acie Law is a shoot first point-guard, and a good one at that, but he is not going to set any NBA all-time assists record any time soon
9:05- Julian Wright is my favorite player in this draft for two reasons: One, he has the coolest first name of any draft pick, and two, just like some other cool guy named Julian he loves to bowl which makes him even cooler. I now forgive the Hornets for not taking Nick Young who would have given them the shooting guard which they need.
9:07- The rumor flying around here is that the Knicks may get Zach Randolph for Steve “65 million dollar” Francis and Channing “I can’t even bench 145 let alone 185” Frye.
9:10- David Stern’s voice cracks are becoming the new laugh of media row here as the LA Clippers just vaulted themselves back into the playoffs by drafting Al Thornton.
9:12- Being on the media row with all the foreign papers, people keep emptying out because they want to go interview that Chinese guy and I keep getting asked when I am going to go back, so we could be in some trouble here. VIVE LA CORRIERE DELLA SERRA
9:14- By the looks of Al Thornton and Greg Oden, they are taking this age-limit rule in the NBA really seriously. Guys, you can come out after freshman year, you do not need to wait to start getting social security before declaring.
9:17- Question? Why do the Pistons take Rodney Stuckey who is only fourth on the Eastern Washington all-time scoring list? This means there were three guys who attended Eastern Washington and scored more points than a guy who just got drafted 15th overall.
9:23- The Wizards got a steal in Nick Young, but the Pac-10 player also is the runaway winner with worst-dressed NBA prospect, going with dark slacks and a white jacket.
9:25- AND THE THEATER HAS ERUPTED, ZACH RANDOLPH IS A KNICK. It has officially occurred, and to be frank, this is the best move the Knicks organization has made via trade in the past ten seasons.
9:29- Back to Stuckey - I have discovered Ron Cox is the all time EWU scoring leader and never even played in the NBA...I LOVE THIS GAME!!!
9:32- Golden State loves those foreigners and they come in with the second legitimate shock of the draft taking Marco Belinelli. Fran Fraschilla never disappoints and he said it best: “This guy reminds me of a Vinnie Del Negro and Brent Barry type.” Yep, that sounds worth taking at 18.
9:33- KOBE BRYANT DOES NOT WANT TO BE A LAKER, QUITE FRANKLY DOES IT MATTER WHETHER OR NOT PHIL JACKSON IS A LAKER BECAUSE THE FACT OF THE MATTER JUST HAPPENS TO BE THAT WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT ME YELLING LOUDER MAKES ME SEEM MORE IMPORTANT AS AN ESPN NBA ANALYST IN FRONT OF A CROWD OF BASKETBALL FANS WHO WANT TO PUNCH ME IN THE FACE.
-Stephen A. Smith
9:33- As the draft continues, we, the media, are receiving transcripts of back-stage interviews and here are a few highlights:
Al Horford about his dad’s antics with the Dominican Flag:
“We’re proud of where we are from and he just got a little carried away with the flag. It’s all good.”
Mike Conley on wishing he had a Lebron James situation with Greg Oden:
“We were just preparing to go on and be without each other and I’m just happy for him and give him all the credit.” (I am in the process of being named the best man, though Daequan Cook is a notch ahead of me)
Yi Jianlian on if he knew about Milwaukee:
“I don’t know much about the team because in China, their games — I didn’t see a lot of games of Milwaukee in China.”
Yi Jianlian when asked about his conversation on stage before the draft with Greg Oden:
“Oden is a good guy, a funny guy.”
Corey Brewer when asked if he was prepared for the Minnesota Cold:
“It didn’t cross my mind but since you mentioned it, it’s going to be real cold. Guess I’m going to have to get a big jacket.”
Spencer Hawes on playing with AHHNOOLD as the governor:
“Oh I was watching Pumping Iron with a couple of my friends, some of those old school tapes, it’s going to be fun.”
Joakim Noah on being complemented on his outfit:
“Thanks a lot. You know, I’m going to be me. I’m going to be me. I think that the bow tie was definitely a great look tonight. I think the suit was really, really funky. I said it was going to be funky. I’ve got a lot of love so far from the suit. I’m just happy, man.”
Joakim Noah on being a Knicks fan growing up:
“Thank you Mr. Paxson, I used to really not like you when you were a player because you used to make me cry but thank you so much.”
9:45- Back to this thing they call an NBA draft. While I was away the Lakers drafted Jarvaris Crittenton which is who I thought they would take, but the more I realize the more I remind myself he could not control the game against UNLV in the first round of the NCAA tournament, so how does Mitch Kupchak expect him to run an offense with Kobe Bryant producing videos behind his back asking them to ship his a** out of LA.
9:48- One of the more meaningless ten minutes of the draft, Miami selects Jason Smith, Philly takes Daequan Cook then they swap them with some cash on the side. A typical Billy King decision.
9:52- The Bobcats take Jared Dudley who was really moving up draft boards in the past few weeks for coolest dreadlocks in round one.
9:53- Now the fun begins, Knick fans have awoken for their selection.
9:55- Spike Lee just said “Isiah Thomas knows what he is doing.” What a filthy liar, ask him how much Isiah paid him to say that on ESPN. In four years the Knicks have found a way to trade 25 players and get back only 20 while going 89-157 overall.
9:57- And it is Wilson Chandler, who was a very solid player at Depaul…AT DEPAUL. I also am disappointed in the Knick fans here who felt guilty booing him because he decided to attend the draft.
10:02- Getting into the third hour of coverage and I was just informed if you have enough money you can buy draft picks which begs to ask why doesn’t every Knick fan spend 15 dollars towards a top draft pick instead of coming to the draft.
10:03- Portland has been the most active team tonight and according to Mike Tirico, the Blazers are just looking to have fun. As a New Yorker I distinctly remember the New York Mets season two years ago when we began 0-5 and a reporter asked Willie Randolph what his first week as a manager was like and he claimed “We are having fun.” Well, the media does not like it when you take your job that lightly so it will be interested what the reaction is from the 12 Blazers fans on Paul Allen’s having fun line. My guess is they will yell a lot, until they realize they are a potential playoff team and than go back to honking once for Greg Oden.
More comments from NBA players selected:
Nick Young on if he can teach Gilbert anything:
“I’m going to let him show me a lot. I could teach him my fadeaway.”
Marco Belinelli’s hero:
“Kobe Bryant” (insert joke here)
Rodney Stuckey on why he chose Eastern Washington over Washington State or Gonzaga:
“I didn’t qualify, I was a couple of credits short.” (If that is not a major red-flag in terms of scouting an NBA player than I do not know what is, but all the power to you guys Detroit.)
10:11- Phoenix (or Portland) has received Rudy Fernandez, which was met with “Rudy, Rudy” chants from this comic crowd at the WaMu theater, but it’s too bad Rudy will not be playing NBA ball anytime soon.
10:15- I know ESPN is the worldwide leader in sports, but when you announce Sunday is for Bowling, Monday is for Arena Football, Thursday is for the MLS and Tuesday is for Women’s Basketball, shouldn’t the guys at Bristol stop taking this worldwide leader of sports thing so seriously?
10:18- Morris Almond was selected, and you can group him into obscure guards that get way to much publicity because Jay Bilas has seen 13 seconds of exciting footage of him.
10:22- Just walked to the bathroom and made two very interesting realizations. I bumped into Yi on my way there as he was on the way to be interviewed by ESPN, and he is no force to be reckoned with, by any stretch of the imagination. He is scrawny, and now it makes sense why he was “scared” to workout with other potential draft players. They would have eaten him alive and you might as well ride this whole “Next Yao Ming” title as long as you can until everyone realizes you are a lot closer to Ha Seung Jin than Yao Ming. The second is that Stuart Scott is short on friends as when he is not asking awful questions to the draft picks, he is squinting trying not to let the weird lighting in the theater disrupt his only good eye left while trying to text message Stephen A. to ask if he wants to sleepover tonight.
10:23- Aaron Brooks wins the award for most annoying guard to ruin my NCAA bracket as I desperately needed UNLV to beat Oregon which did not happen because Brooks and Tajuan Porter decided not to miss a 3-point shot all game. He also was drafted in the first round which is surprise number three in this draft.
10:25- You think Joe Dumars sees the writing on the wall, two guards with his two first round picks. Say Goodbye to Chauncey for sure as Arron Afflalo will take his So-Cal game to Motown.
10:29- San Antonio made news earlier today when they bought the Austin Toros in the NBDL, but after drafting Tiago Splitter at 27, the Spurs should re-consider naming themselves the Austin United Nations as for the fifth time in six years they draft international. As much as it kills me to say this, the NBA’s dynasty seem to know what they are doing and have reached Patriots draft status when it comes to questioning their selection. If they took Splitter, it is because he is the best player available for their team, no questions asked or Bruce Bowen will knee you in the groin.
10:32- ESPN gaffe of the year, they cut to Dickie V, who can only make an appearance once every 20 minutes because he is on life support, who began giving his take on Alondo Tucker before his name came up as Omar Lopez...Swear to God.
10:37- If only this was in real-time I could tell you in advance Petteri Koponen is going to be the Sixers pick as he is in the stands being flocked by Finnish flags and he has a banging girlfriend...and just to add, his handshake with the commish was clocked at 28 seconds...lets kick it down on the floor to mo: MO! (Mike O’Malley is my hero).
10:40- More unintentional comedy, David Stern exits after the first round and the podium is raised by about seven inches because Adam Silver is not a hobbit.
----
That is a wrap for round one, but I will be keeping an eye out for our fellow Colonial Monty Singh Harika, who may be still looking to increase his “publicity”, and of course I will also be keeping an eye out for any words about the actual Colonial, Carl Elliott.
Editor’s Note: Carl would go undrafted, and now prepares for a summer of free agency looking for work either in the NBDL or European leagues.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Littler Bro on the act
Zach Gompertz Mock Draft
1. Greg Oden – Portland Traiblazers
2. Kevin Durant – Seattle Supersonics
3. Al Horford – Atlanta Hawks
4. Mike Conley Jr. – Memphis Grizzlies
5. Yi Jianlian – Boston Celtics
6. Brandon Wright – Milwaukee Bucks
7. Joakim Noah – Minnesota Timberwolves
8. Corey Brewer – Charlotte Bobcats
9. Spencer Hawes – Chicago Bulls
10. Jeff Green – Sacramento Kings
11. Acie Law IV – Atlanta Hawks
12. Al Thornton – Philadelphia 76ers
13. Nick Young – New Orleans Hornets
14. Javaris Crittenton – L.A. Clippers
15. Rodney Stuckey – Detroit Pistons
16. Julian Wright – Washington Wizards
17. Sean Williams – N.J. Nets
18. Thaddeus Young – G.S. Warriors
19. Rudy Fernandez L.A. Lakers
20. Jason Smith – Miami Heat
21. Josh McRoberts – Philadelphia 76ers
22. Tiago Splitter – Charlotte Bobcats
23. Wilson Chandler – New York Knicks
24. Marco Belinelli – Phoenix Suns
25. Morris Almond – Utah Jazz
26. Nick Fazekas – Houston Rockets
27. Derrick Byers – Detroit Pistons
28. Jared Dudley – S.A. Spurs
29. Petteri Koponen – Phoenix Suns
30. Glen Davis – Philadelphia 76ers
Other possible 1st round players/early 2nd round players:
Daequan Cook
Gabe Pruitt
Marcus Williams
Aaron Gray
Marc Gasol
Taurean Green
A Job Well done by the little man, and as I mentioned earlier: The New palce to look for me is at armchairgm.com where I am under the name jaygomp33. I will post my articles there here as well
1. Greg Oden – Portland Traiblazers
2. Kevin Durant – Seattle Supersonics
3. Al Horford – Atlanta Hawks
4. Mike Conley Jr. – Memphis Grizzlies
5. Yi Jianlian – Boston Celtics
6. Brandon Wright – Milwaukee Bucks
7. Joakim Noah – Minnesota Timberwolves
8. Corey Brewer – Charlotte Bobcats
9. Spencer Hawes – Chicago Bulls
10. Jeff Green – Sacramento Kings
11. Acie Law IV – Atlanta Hawks
12. Al Thornton – Philadelphia 76ers
13. Nick Young – New Orleans Hornets
14. Javaris Crittenton – L.A. Clippers
15. Rodney Stuckey – Detroit Pistons
16. Julian Wright – Washington Wizards
17. Sean Williams – N.J. Nets
18. Thaddeus Young – G.S. Warriors
19. Rudy Fernandez L.A. Lakers
20. Jason Smith – Miami Heat
21. Josh McRoberts – Philadelphia 76ers
22. Tiago Splitter – Charlotte Bobcats
23. Wilson Chandler – New York Knicks
24. Marco Belinelli – Phoenix Suns
25. Morris Almond – Utah Jazz
26. Nick Fazekas – Houston Rockets
27. Derrick Byers – Detroit Pistons
28. Jared Dudley – S.A. Spurs
29. Petteri Koponen – Phoenix Suns
30. Glen Davis – Philadelphia 76ers
Other possible 1st round players/early 2nd round players:
Daequan Cook
Gabe Pruitt
Marcus Williams
Aaron Gray
Marc Gasol
Taurean Green
A Job Well done by the little man, and as I mentioned earlier: The New palce to look for me is at armchairgm.com where I am under the name jaygomp33. I will post my articles there here as well
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
DURANT OVER ODEN
I cannot recall a time when scouts, general managers and coaches used the results of a particular players work, in-season, to determine how good, or bad, a player could be when he made the leap from being a college athlete to being a professional one? I always seem to remember hearing about the combine and team workouts, and speed drills, and vertical leap’s, but never about a player’s clutch play down the stretch of the season or his big games against conference foes.
I could spend the whole column writing about the success stories of many of the NFL and NBA's greatest players and how it was easy to predict their success in the Pro's because they succeeded in college, yet all that would follow is a litany of comments from "bashers" who will name all the successful athletes today in sports who did not have a stellar college career. Instead, I am going to ask you a simple question. If you were the GM for the Blazers (Kevin Pritchard), what do you care more about the fact that Kevin Durant was the first freshman college basketball player to receive the game's MVP award or that he could not lift 185 pounds? Digest that for a second and take about ten seconds to realize no freshman has done what Durant did this year. 37-23, 37-12, 30-16, 37-10 are not just the lottery winners for this week, those are the point and rebound totals Durant had in four of his biggest conference games this season @ Texas Tech, @ Ok. St, Texas A&M, @ Kansas. I am not even mentioning a 37-16 performance against Colorado in his Big-12 debut, but I digress.
Greg Oden meanwhile, is "the consensus" number one pick because he is a seven-foot center with freakish athleticism and the ability to control the interior on both ends of the floor. www.nbadraft.net claims Oden is "one of those dominant centers that surfaces in the high school ranks every 10 or so years." Yet, when we look back at his freshman year at Ohio State the numbers are not staggering. Oden had only three 20-10 games compared to Durant's 19, yes you read that correctly, and Oden's best game came on the biggest stage where he had 25 points and 12 rebounds against Florida in a national championship loss. Durant had 12 games this season where had had over 25-12 and had seven 30-10 games.
Can Greg Oden be a dominant center in the NBA? Probably, but do not think for a second that he has more upside than Durant because no one has dominated the college game individually like Durant did this year. Furthermore, if the NCAA Tournament showed any major flaw about either player, my biggest concern about Oden would be his defense because he is prone to getting into foul trouble which plagued him all throughout the season and in every single tournament game up until the championship. Durant, meanwhile single-handedly carried a Texas basketball program back to the tournament after the team lost LaMarcus Aldridge and Daniel "boobie" Gibson the year before. He did it with no experienced players around him and a coach who did not run specific plays for him.
Adding insult to injury was Durant's workout for the Trail Blazers. Having gotten the opportunity to see the footage, I can firmly say he was nothing short of spectacular, and that does him no justice. He made every shot he took, or so it seemed, and looked like a mix of Tracy McGrady and Kevin Garnett.
My final thought to add is when you think of the Portland Trail Blazers, ask yourself do they really need a Center or do they really need a small forward? They spent their number four pick of last year's draft on another Texas big-man (Aldridge) and he seems ready to step into the starting line-up on that frontcourt with power-forward Zach Randolph, but who is playing small-forward for that basketball team? Last year it was former NBDL stud Ime Udoka starting at the 3 with former first round bust Travis Outlaw getting minutes as well. It is evident they need Durant more then they need Oden, because why should they be forced to trade Randolph and create room for Oden when his upside is nowhere near that of the small-forward who would slide right into the Blazers starting rotation and make their starting five look like this: Jack, Roy, Durant, Randolph, Aldridge.
That Ladies and Gentleman is a 2007-08 NBA Western Conference Playoff team.
(You can also start reading me on armchairgm.com as I was invited to begin writing for their sports blog website as well. My name wil be jaygomp33 and look out for upcoming articles their as well)
I could spend the whole column writing about the success stories of many of the NFL and NBA's greatest players and how it was easy to predict their success in the Pro's because they succeeded in college, yet all that would follow is a litany of comments from "bashers" who will name all the successful athletes today in sports who did not have a stellar college career. Instead, I am going to ask you a simple question. If you were the GM for the Blazers (Kevin Pritchard), what do you care more about the fact that Kevin Durant was the first freshman college basketball player to receive the game's MVP award or that he could not lift 185 pounds? Digest that for a second and take about ten seconds to realize no freshman has done what Durant did this year. 37-23, 37-12, 30-16, 37-10 are not just the lottery winners for this week, those are the point and rebound totals Durant had in four of his biggest conference games this season @ Texas Tech, @ Ok. St, Texas A&M, @ Kansas. I am not even mentioning a 37-16 performance against Colorado in his Big-12 debut, but I digress.
Greg Oden meanwhile, is "the consensus" number one pick because he is a seven-foot center with freakish athleticism and the ability to control the interior on both ends of the floor. www.nbadraft.net claims Oden is "one of those dominant centers that surfaces in the high school ranks every 10 or so years." Yet, when we look back at his freshman year at Ohio State the numbers are not staggering. Oden had only three 20-10 games compared to Durant's 19, yes you read that correctly, and Oden's best game came on the biggest stage where he had 25 points and 12 rebounds against Florida in a national championship loss. Durant had 12 games this season where had had over 25-12 and had seven 30-10 games.
Can Greg Oden be a dominant center in the NBA? Probably, but do not think for a second that he has more upside than Durant because no one has dominated the college game individually like Durant did this year. Furthermore, if the NCAA Tournament showed any major flaw about either player, my biggest concern about Oden would be his defense because he is prone to getting into foul trouble which plagued him all throughout the season and in every single tournament game up until the championship. Durant, meanwhile single-handedly carried a Texas basketball program back to the tournament after the team lost LaMarcus Aldridge and Daniel "boobie" Gibson the year before. He did it with no experienced players around him and a coach who did not run specific plays for him.
Adding insult to injury was Durant's workout for the Trail Blazers. Having gotten the opportunity to see the footage, I can firmly say he was nothing short of spectacular, and that does him no justice. He made every shot he took, or so it seemed, and looked like a mix of Tracy McGrady and Kevin Garnett.
My final thought to add is when you think of the Portland Trail Blazers, ask yourself do they really need a Center or do they really need a small forward? They spent their number four pick of last year's draft on another Texas big-man (Aldridge) and he seems ready to step into the starting line-up on that frontcourt with power-forward Zach Randolph, but who is playing small-forward for that basketball team? Last year it was former NBDL stud Ime Udoka starting at the 3 with former first round bust Travis Outlaw getting minutes as well. It is evident they need Durant more then they need Oden, because why should they be forced to trade Randolph and create room for Oden when his upside is nowhere near that of the small-forward who would slide right into the Blazers starting rotation and make their starting five look like this: Jack, Roy, Durant, Randolph, Aldridge.
That Ladies and Gentleman is a 2007-08 NBA Western Conference Playoff team.
(You can also start reading me on armchairgm.com as I was invited to begin writing for their sports blog website as well. My name wil be jaygomp33 and look out for upcoming articles their as well)
Monday, June 25, 2007
NBA MOCK DRAFT THE FIRST VERSION 1.0
So I am doing a mock draft today and one wednesday, and than wll be blogging during the draft on Thursday as I will be there live with a media credential. I would like to thank Alex Byers and Josh Meredith at the Daily Colonial for that. Without further adieu here it is:
1. Portland- Greg Oden (though by version 2.0 I may talk myself into making this Durant)
2. Seattle- Kevin Durant
3. Atlanta- Al Horford
4. Memphis- Mike Conley
5. Boston- Jeff Green
6. Milwaukee- Joakim Noah
7. Minnesota- Brandon Wright
8. Charlotte- Corey Brewer
9- Chicago- Yi Jianlian
10- Sacramento - Spencer Hawes
11- Atlanta- Acie Law IV
12- Philadelphia- Al Thornton
13- Charlotte- Nick Young
14- Los Angeles Clippers- Jarvaris Crittenton
15- Detroit- Rodney Stuckey
16- Washington- Julian Wright
17- New Jersey- Jason Smith
18- Golden State - Thaddeus Young
19- Los Angeles Lakers- Gabe Pruitt
20- Miami - Glen Davis
21- Philadelphia- Josh McRoberts
22- Charlotte- Sean Williams
23- NY Knicks- Wilson Chandler
24- Phoenix- Rudy Fernandez
25- Utah- Derrick Byars
26- Houston- Nick Fazekas
27- Detroit- Petteri Koponen
28- San Antonio- Tiago Splitter
29- Phoenix- Morris Almond
30- Philadelphia- Marco Belinelli
1. Portland- Greg Oden (though by version 2.0 I may talk myself into making this Durant)
2. Seattle- Kevin Durant
3. Atlanta- Al Horford
4. Memphis- Mike Conley
5. Boston- Jeff Green
6. Milwaukee- Joakim Noah
7. Minnesota- Brandon Wright
8. Charlotte- Corey Brewer
9- Chicago- Yi Jianlian
10- Sacramento - Spencer Hawes
11- Atlanta- Acie Law IV
12- Philadelphia- Al Thornton
13- Charlotte- Nick Young
14- Los Angeles Clippers- Jarvaris Crittenton
15- Detroit- Rodney Stuckey
16- Washington- Julian Wright
17- New Jersey- Jason Smith
18- Golden State - Thaddeus Young
19- Los Angeles Lakers- Gabe Pruitt
20- Miami - Glen Davis
21- Philadelphia- Josh McRoberts
22- Charlotte- Sean Williams
23- NY Knicks- Wilson Chandler
24- Phoenix- Rudy Fernandez
25- Utah- Derrick Byars
26- Houston- Nick Fazekas
27- Detroit- Petteri Koponen
28- San Antonio- Tiago Splitter
29- Phoenix- Morris Almond
30- Philadelphia- Marco Belinelli
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Re-visiting the past
This was my take on Tom Glavine just a few days ago, when almost all baseball fans wrote off the 296 game winner:
Those of you writing off Tom Glavine, let me be the first to say: Not so fast. He has been rocked in his last two outings giving up 9 ER in 4 and 1/3 innings in Detroit before giving up 7 ER in 4+ innings yesterday, but the Tigers and Yankees are two of the top five hitting teams in baseball statistically. Glavine's next two starts are against Oakland and St. Louis, two teams who do not have the firepower of the Tigers and the Bombers. Consider this, before these past two games Glavine, Glavine had gone 0-3 in the 3 prior games giving up just 7 ER in 20 IP and was not supported by either his bullpen or his lineup. Does he look hittable? Yes. Is he throwing fewer strikes? Yes. But Tom Glavine is four wins away from completing a feat that will not be replicated for the next 10 years, after Randy Johnson does it early next season. In fact winning 300 games might not be done for quite some time. When Glavine wins number 300, and yes he will do it this year, it will be a bit more special because looking ahead the next closest pitchers to him and RJ are Mike Mussina at 242, David Wells at 233 and Jamie Moyer at 222. Pedro and Kenny Rogers are at 206 and 207 respectively and John Smoltz is at 201. No other active pitcher has 200 wins or more and Andy Pettite is at 190, but none of the aforementioned pitchers have the longevity to win 300 in their career.
This is me nodding my head saying I told you so. One start does not necessarily mean he is "back," but by the looks of it, it is pretty evident he can still pitch when he is not facing a top tier offense. Oakland, is not, in the aforementioned group.
NHL talk- I realize no one cares about this league but between the Rangers draft steal at the 17th pick (Alexei Cherepanov) and the litany of trades thath ave taken place, it is worth mentioning. I am discusgted at the Nashville Predators for pulling a "Florida Marlins" circa 2003, and running a fire-sale through the entire organization. First they deal one of their captains, defenseman Kimmo Timmonen for draft picks and then they deal the most notable player on their roster goaltender Tomas Vokoun for more draft picks. Chris Mason is a nice reserve goalie who stepped up when Vokoun went down this season but this is embarassing and because hockey is not America's pasttime, the Predators would usually be getting killed by the media for this decisions, but if you needed anymore proof this league is in that much trouble, the average person walking down the street could not even tell you who Tomas Vokoun is let alone why or how he got dealt.
Baseball history- Sosa hits 600 and gets cheers in Texas, Thomas hits 498, sets HR record for Designated hitters and will hit 5oo any day now, Griffey back in Seattle for the first time since he leftand the most exciting which is seeing the two eventual two most prolific home run hitters in the same ball-park for a three-game series down by the bay.
Glad to be back after a great couple of days on the beach in LBI, more to come in the next few days.
Those of you writing off Tom Glavine, let me be the first to say: Not so fast. He has been rocked in his last two outings giving up 9 ER in 4 and 1/3 innings in Detroit before giving up 7 ER in 4+ innings yesterday, but the Tigers and Yankees are two of the top five hitting teams in baseball statistically. Glavine's next two starts are against Oakland and St. Louis, two teams who do not have the firepower of the Tigers and the Bombers. Consider this, before these past two games Glavine, Glavine had gone 0-3 in the 3 prior games giving up just 7 ER in 20 IP and was not supported by either his bullpen or his lineup. Does he look hittable? Yes. Is he throwing fewer strikes? Yes. But Tom Glavine is four wins away from completing a feat that will not be replicated for the next 10 years, after Randy Johnson does it early next season. In fact winning 300 games might not be done for quite some time. When Glavine wins number 300, and yes he will do it this year, it will be a bit more special because looking ahead the next closest pitchers to him and RJ are Mike Mussina at 242, David Wells at 233 and Jamie Moyer at 222. Pedro and Kenny Rogers are at 206 and 207 respectively and John Smoltz is at 201. No other active pitcher has 200 wins or more and Andy Pettite is at 190, but none of the aforementioned pitchers have the longevity to win 300 in their career.
This is me nodding my head saying I told you so. One start does not necessarily mean he is "back," but by the looks of it, it is pretty evident he can still pitch when he is not facing a top tier offense. Oakland, is not, in the aforementioned group.
NHL talk- I realize no one cares about this league but between the Rangers draft steal at the 17th pick (Alexei Cherepanov) and the litany of trades thath ave taken place, it is worth mentioning. I am discusgted at the Nashville Predators for pulling a "Florida Marlins" circa 2003, and running a fire-sale through the entire organization. First they deal one of their captains, defenseman Kimmo Timmonen for draft picks and then they deal the most notable player on their roster goaltender Tomas Vokoun for more draft picks. Chris Mason is a nice reserve goalie who stepped up when Vokoun went down this season but this is embarassing and because hockey is not America's pasttime, the Predators would usually be getting killed by the media for this decisions, but if you needed anymore proof this league is in that much trouble, the average person walking down the street could not even tell you who Tomas Vokoun is let alone why or how he got dealt.
Baseball history- Sosa hits 600 and gets cheers in Texas, Thomas hits 498, sets HR record for Designated hitters and will hit 5oo any day now, Griffey back in Seattle for the first time since he leftand the most exciting which is seeing the two eventual two most prolific home run hitters in the same ball-park for a three-game series down by the bay.
Glad to be back after a great couple of days on the beach in LBI, more to come in the next few days.
Monday, June 18, 2007
The State of the Mets
Ok, lets take a second to breathe, goose-frah-bah, goose-frah-bah. Now that we are in our happy place, let me reel off a few notes about the Mets right now:
-The Mets are in 1st place by 1 and a 1/2 games to the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies
-Playing the Yankees and Tigers, was playing the top two offenses in the league. They are 1-2 in runs, hits, SLG% and OPS and boast top hitters like Rodriguez, Jeter,Ordonez and Sheffield.
-The Mets pitching staff is one of the top 5 in the league boasting the 4th lowest ERA in the National League as well as giving up the fewest hits of any staff in the MLB
-The Mets lead the NL in batting average with a .271 team BA
-The Mets have grounded into the second fewest double plays in the Major leagues
-The Mets are on pace to lead the league in Stolen Bases for another season and are 21 SB ahead of the LAA who are #2 in baseball
-The Mets have the third lowest fielding percentage in the league and have committed the second fewest errors in all of baseball
With all of that considered, being worried about this team in its current state is just being worriesome. Have the mets been in this position before with Willie as the skipper? No. Have the Mets shown any signs of life in the past two weeks? No. Do the Mets have more talent than any other team in the National League? Yes. You can talk to me about the Padres pitching with Young, Peavy and Maddux and the kid Germano, but their bats are anemic other then A-Gon, the Dodgers have a great talent pool of young players but they have no hitter in that lineup who will hit 25 homeruns and no hitter is above a .288 BA. The Brewers are keeping the pace, but they are young and inexperienced and I am not sold on that starting rotation after Ben Sheets. With their hot prospect Yovani Gollardo going tonight we may have to reassess that tomorrow.
The fact remains the Mets are still the class of the National league and they were the class of it last year. They have last year's excruciating playoff loss in the back of their minds and I am fine with Glavine, Hernandez, Perez and Maine in my playoff rotation. I am even more ok with the fact that Pedro could replace John Maine in the post-season staff.
Carlos Beltran is the one player who is just plain frustrating me. I truly believe he is playing a game with the media and fans. he does not come out and blame his awful June on his "quad injury" but he makes it seem like he wants us to pity him because he cannot do anything about it. Fact is his quad looked just fine when he ran down not one but two fly balls yesterday in center that any center fielder (not named Hunter, Matthews or Crisp would have dropped or not been able to snag. He looks fine in the field and at the plate, his quad has nothing to do with reading a pitch or getting bat on the ball. Fine if its sore do not steal bases but come on this is ridiculous
The one thing that does not worry me, but disappoints me, is the lackluster play of Carlos Delgado. He is lost at the plate, and will not come out of this. I am not expecting more then 25 homeruns 80 rbi's and a .250 BA for him. Anything more is a major plus which is sad considering he would have been the NLCS MVP last October.
Tom Glavine is going to be ok, look at my post yesterday to see why, but when you face DET and NYY you cannot expect the most amazing results. Those teams can hit no other way around it.
I am also not that worried about the bullpen. Smith and Feliciano look fine and Heilman will come around. Schoenweis has struggled mightily, but lefty hitters are only batting .220 against him making him our designated lefty specialist and Mota and Sele will eat innings.
Relax Met fans we will turn this around.
-The Mets are in 1st place by 1 and a 1/2 games to the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies
-Playing the Yankees and Tigers, was playing the top two offenses in the league. They are 1-2 in runs, hits, SLG% and OPS and boast top hitters like Rodriguez, Jeter,Ordonez and Sheffield.
-The Mets pitching staff is one of the top 5 in the league boasting the 4th lowest ERA in the National League as well as giving up the fewest hits of any staff in the MLB
-The Mets lead the NL in batting average with a .271 team BA
-The Mets have grounded into the second fewest double plays in the Major leagues
-The Mets are on pace to lead the league in Stolen Bases for another season and are 21 SB ahead of the LAA who are #2 in baseball
-The Mets have the third lowest fielding percentage in the league and have committed the second fewest errors in all of baseball
With all of that considered, being worried about this team in its current state is just being worriesome. Have the mets been in this position before with Willie as the skipper? No. Have the Mets shown any signs of life in the past two weeks? No. Do the Mets have more talent than any other team in the National League? Yes. You can talk to me about the Padres pitching with Young, Peavy and Maddux and the kid Germano, but their bats are anemic other then A-Gon, the Dodgers have a great talent pool of young players but they have no hitter in that lineup who will hit 25 homeruns and no hitter is above a .288 BA. The Brewers are keeping the pace, but they are young and inexperienced and I am not sold on that starting rotation after Ben Sheets. With their hot prospect Yovani Gollardo going tonight we may have to reassess that tomorrow.
The fact remains the Mets are still the class of the National league and they were the class of it last year. They have last year's excruciating playoff loss in the back of their minds and I am fine with Glavine, Hernandez, Perez and Maine in my playoff rotation. I am even more ok with the fact that Pedro could replace John Maine in the post-season staff.
Carlos Beltran is the one player who is just plain frustrating me. I truly believe he is playing a game with the media and fans. he does not come out and blame his awful June on his "quad injury" but he makes it seem like he wants us to pity him because he cannot do anything about it. Fact is his quad looked just fine when he ran down not one but two fly balls yesterday in center that any center fielder (not named Hunter, Matthews or Crisp would have dropped or not been able to snag. He looks fine in the field and at the plate, his quad has nothing to do with reading a pitch or getting bat on the ball. Fine if its sore do not steal bases but come on this is ridiculous
The one thing that does not worry me, but disappoints me, is the lackluster play of Carlos Delgado. He is lost at the plate, and will not come out of this. I am not expecting more then 25 homeruns 80 rbi's and a .250 BA for him. Anything more is a major plus which is sad considering he would have been the NLCS MVP last October.
Tom Glavine is going to be ok, look at my post yesterday to see why, but when you face DET and NYY you cannot expect the most amazing results. Those teams can hit no other way around it.
I am also not that worried about the bullpen. Smith and Feliciano look fine and Heilman will come around. Schoenweis has struggled mightily, but lefty hitters are only batting .220 against him making him our designated lefty specialist and Mota and Sele will eat innings.
Relax Met fans we will turn this around.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
US OPEN, SOSA, SUBWAY SERIES, MLB, NBA ETC.
So not all is bad in Gomp prediction land. Rory Sabbatini has crumbled but Steve Stricker is at +6, and yes I did say he would be there in yesterday's post. Furyk is also in his pairing and both have a shot to make a move, but, not wanting to be a homer I avoided picking Tiger to win and it looks like he is on the verge of Major number 13. Final Standings:
Woods- +2
Baddeley- +4
Furyk- +5
Stricker- +6
Ames- +6
Singh- +6
Rose- +7
Cabrera- +7
Casey- +7
Watson- +8
Toms- +8
That seems about right, now let us see what goes down.
Sammy Sosa is one home run away from doing something that only Aaron, Bonds, Ruth and Mays have done. He is an alleged steroid user, and he remarkably went from needing an interpreter in court to being able to speak just fine in public. Yet, the nation does not vehemently boo him like they do Barry Bonds and it is one of the more fascinating aspects of sports today. It really adds credence to the argument that more people alienate themselves from Bonds because of the way he acts towards the media, fans and anyone who tries to get near him while we love Sammy because he is just that loveable. Feel free to leave thoughts but the difference between the two is unbelievable.
Those of you writing off Tom Glavine, let me be the first to say: Not so fast. He has been rocked in his last two outings giving up 9 ER in 4 and 1/3 innings in Detroit before giving up 7 ER in 4+ innings yesterday, but the Tigers and Yankees are two of the top five hitting teams in baseball statistically. Glavine's next two starts are against Oakland and St. Louis, two teams who do not have the firepower of the Tigers and the Bombers. Consider this, before these past two games Glavine, Glavine had gone 0-3 in the 3 prior games giving up just 7 ER in 20 IP and was not supported by either his bullpen or his lineup. Does he look hittable? Yes. Is he throwing fewer strikes? Yes. But Tom Glavine is four wins away from completing a feat that will not be replicated for the next 10 years, after Randy Johnson does it early next season. In fact winning 300 games might not be done for quite some time. When Glavine wins number 300, and yes he will do it this year, it will be a bit more special because looking ahead the next closest pitchers to him and RJ are Mike Mussina at 242, David Wells at 233 and Jamie Moyer at 222. Pedro and Kenny Rogers are at 206 and 207 respectively and John Smoltz is at 201. No other active pitcher has 200 wins or more and Andy Pettite is at 190, but none of the aforementioned pitchers have the longevity to win 300 in their career.
Got to love the Freeway series so far, two well pitched games between Lowe-Santana and Schmidt-Weaver. Both teams are playoff bound.
NBA Draft mock draft is on its way, enjoy the final 18 at Oakmont
Woods- +2
Baddeley- +4
Furyk- +5
Stricker- +6
Ames- +6
Singh- +6
Rose- +7
Cabrera- +7
Casey- +7
Watson- +8
Toms- +8
That seems about right, now let us see what goes down.
Sammy Sosa is one home run away from doing something that only Aaron, Bonds, Ruth and Mays have done. He is an alleged steroid user, and he remarkably went from needing an interpreter in court to being able to speak just fine in public. Yet, the nation does not vehemently boo him like they do Barry Bonds and it is one of the more fascinating aspects of sports today. It really adds credence to the argument that more people alienate themselves from Bonds because of the way he acts towards the media, fans and anyone who tries to get near him while we love Sammy because he is just that loveable. Feel free to leave thoughts but the difference between the two is unbelievable.
Those of you writing off Tom Glavine, let me be the first to say: Not so fast. He has been rocked in his last two outings giving up 9 ER in 4 and 1/3 innings in Detroit before giving up 7 ER in 4+ innings yesterday, but the Tigers and Yankees are two of the top five hitting teams in baseball statistically. Glavine's next two starts are against Oakland and St. Louis, two teams who do not have the firepower of the Tigers and the Bombers. Consider this, before these past two games Glavine, Glavine had gone 0-3 in the 3 prior games giving up just 7 ER in 20 IP and was not supported by either his bullpen or his lineup. Does he look hittable? Yes. Is he throwing fewer strikes? Yes. But Tom Glavine is four wins away from completing a feat that will not be replicated for the next 10 years, after Randy Johnson does it early next season. In fact winning 300 games might not be done for quite some time. When Glavine wins number 300, and yes he will do it this year, it will be a bit more special because looking ahead the next closest pitchers to him and RJ are Mike Mussina at 242, David Wells at 233 and Jamie Moyer at 222. Pedro and Kenny Rogers are at 206 and 207 respectively and John Smoltz is at 201. No other active pitcher has 200 wins or more and Andy Pettite is at 190, but none of the aforementioned pitchers have the longevity to win 300 in their career.
Got to love the Freeway series so far, two well pitched games between Lowe-Santana and Schmidt-Weaver. Both teams are playoff bound.
NBA Draft mock draft is on its way, enjoy the final 18 at Oakmont
Saturday, June 16, 2007
US OPEN, MLB, NBA DRAFT more...
So two days after my U.S. Open predictions, some were better than others. Currently Rory Sabbatini is +2 on his third day of work, after hugging the cut line at +10 through the first two days.
Steve Stricker has not fared a lot better but with his putting skill, I expect him to make a move to maybe +6 or so today from his current eight over par.
Jim Furyk was an easy call to have some success on a course that calls for accuracy and determination. Adam Scott on the other hand was a total misstep, and even Scott was shocked he played so poorly. Just a few weeks removed from his 63 at the Memorial, he struggled mightily with Mickelson and Furyk in his group.
It was quite easy to call Sergio Garcia struggling as his putter usually betrays him when he needs it most. For the record he may be one of the most overrated golfers out there along with Stewart Cink who has never finished higher then third in a major championship which was back in 2001 at the U.S. Open at Southern Hills.
Interleague- Mets-Yanks was great, but I will say it again, the Yankees have a lot of difficulty with left-handed pitchers. Here a bunch of lefties that have done well against the Yankees.
Oliver Perez (2)
Jarrod Washburn
Horacio Ramirez
Erik Bedard
Adam Loewen
Scott Kazmir
With Damon, Abreu, Matsui, Cano all being lefties and Posada and Melky being historically better left-handed hitters, it is fair to say a Right-Handed Bat would be optimum. Josh Phelps has been a disaster in the field at first and with just 2 homeruns and 12 runs batted in this season, I, personally, am shocked Mark Teixeira is not in pinstripes yet.
A switch hitter who would add stability to the position and is only 27, I realize he is on the DL right now, but that might make him easier to get if you give up a pitching prospect or two. Matt Desalvo and Humberto Sanchez/Russ Ohlendorf might be enough and if Tyler Clippard continues to pitch well packaging him and one of the aformentioned pitchers might just intrigue Texas enough to deal their prized first-baseman.
The better interleague matchup last night though was on the west-coast where Derek Lowe outdueled Ervin Santana in a 2-1 ball-game at Chavez Ravine. Seeing the Dodger bullpen first-hand, let me be the first to say they make every game 6-7 innings with Billingsley, Broxton and Saito rarely going to blow a ball-game for LA. They have lost just once this season after leading games into the 7th inning.
Steve Stricker has not fared a lot better but with his putting skill, I expect him to make a move to maybe +6 or so today from his current eight over par.
Jim Furyk was an easy call to have some success on a course that calls for accuracy and determination. Adam Scott on the other hand was a total misstep, and even Scott was shocked he played so poorly. Just a few weeks removed from his 63 at the Memorial, he struggled mightily with Mickelson and Furyk in his group.
It was quite easy to call Sergio Garcia struggling as his putter usually betrays him when he needs it most. For the record he may be one of the most overrated golfers out there along with Stewart Cink who has never finished higher then third in a major championship which was back in 2001 at the U.S. Open at Southern Hills.
Interleague- Mets-Yanks was great, but I will say it again, the Yankees have a lot of difficulty with left-handed pitchers. Here a bunch of lefties that have done well against the Yankees.
Oliver Perez (2)
Jarrod Washburn
Horacio Ramirez
Erik Bedard
Adam Loewen
Scott Kazmir
With Damon, Abreu, Matsui, Cano all being lefties and Posada and Melky being historically better left-handed hitters, it is fair to say a Right-Handed Bat would be optimum. Josh Phelps has been a disaster in the field at first and with just 2 homeruns and 12 runs batted in this season, I, personally, am shocked Mark Teixeira is not in pinstripes yet.
A switch hitter who would add stability to the position and is only 27, I realize he is on the DL right now, but that might make him easier to get if you give up a pitching prospect or two. Matt Desalvo and Humberto Sanchez/Russ Ohlendorf might be enough and if Tyler Clippard continues to pitch well packaging him and one of the aformentioned pitchers might just intrigue Texas enough to deal their prized first-baseman.
The better interleague matchup last night though was on the west-coast where Derek Lowe outdueled Ervin Santana in a 2-1 ball-game at Chavez Ravine. Seeing the Dodger bullpen first-hand, let me be the first to say they make every game 6-7 innings with Billingsley, Broxton and Saito rarely going to blow a ball-game for LA. They have lost just once this season after leading games into the 7th inning.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
US OPEN PREDICS
I do believe that Tiger Woods will be in contention but I am not going to pick him to win. My gut is telling me to pick Rory Sabbatini and that is my man. My big sleeper pick is Steve Stricker who i believe is going to have a great tournament, and Sergio Garcia is not going to make the cut. Other than that, let the predictions go as they will. Any man bold enough to call out Tiger Woods is going to be in contention to win a US Open on a course this hard, but in the back of my mind Steve Stricker is one of the best putters in the PGA and that bodes well for the course with the hardest greens in the country. Look for Furyk and Adam Scott to make some noise as well.
The mets look awful. It is sad these days being a mets fan but people have been asking me if I am down on this team. Memo to all baseball fans (mostly yankee fans) it is June 14th!!!!! Their is over three months of baseball to be played, and the fact that both the hitting and pitching is struggling hand-in-hand is a good thing in the long run. It means that both will eventually pan out around the same time, while if one were still performing the other were not, they could potentially flip flop. Reyes and Beltran will come around, Delgado might not but that still means 25 home runs 95 rbi's and a .275 average which I will take when you consider Wright will hit 30 home runs with 100 rbi's and close to a .300 average.
Willie needs to get loduca back in that two spot as quickly as possible because:
a) putting him 6 is hurting his value
b) putting him 6 is hurting reyes' value
It worked last year, why mess with a good thing. Put Green 6 now, and then keep Valentin at the 7 spot with either Gomez, Ledee or Milledge in left when he returns. Or go back to an earlier post where I reccomend dealing a pitching prospect either Delios Guerra or Kevin Mulvey for Jorge Cantu. Mulvey has looked great though so we might need more the Cantu, but either way Valentin is 37.
The yankees look hot, but something tells me that a subway series is just the cure to wake a met team that looks like they are just going through the motions right now. Clippard Glavine saturday, you have to give the Mets the advantage and el duque against his former club sunday night and going against Wang, that will be a great ESPN Sunday night baseball game.
Enjoy the weekend, here is to not at all caring about the NBA Finals, and yes I was wrong with my Cavaliers pick, but then again I saved myself because I claimed Cleveland needed to win for Lebron to be THE NEXT MJ and he is not there yet, on his way, maybe, but not there yet
The mets look awful. It is sad these days being a mets fan but people have been asking me if I am down on this team. Memo to all baseball fans (mostly yankee fans) it is June 14th!!!!! Their is over three months of baseball to be played, and the fact that both the hitting and pitching is struggling hand-in-hand is a good thing in the long run. It means that both will eventually pan out around the same time, while if one were still performing the other were not, they could potentially flip flop. Reyes and Beltran will come around, Delgado might not but that still means 25 home runs 95 rbi's and a .275 average which I will take when you consider Wright will hit 30 home runs with 100 rbi's and close to a .300 average.
Willie needs to get loduca back in that two spot as quickly as possible because:
a) putting him 6 is hurting his value
b) putting him 6 is hurting reyes' value
It worked last year, why mess with a good thing. Put Green 6 now, and then keep Valentin at the 7 spot with either Gomez, Ledee or Milledge in left when he returns. Or go back to an earlier post where I reccomend dealing a pitching prospect either Delios Guerra or Kevin Mulvey for Jorge Cantu. Mulvey has looked great though so we might need more the Cantu, but either way Valentin is 37.
The yankees look hot, but something tells me that a subway series is just the cure to wake a met team that looks like they are just going through the motions right now. Clippard Glavine saturday, you have to give the Mets the advantage and el duque against his former club sunday night and going against Wang, that will be a great ESPN Sunday night baseball game.
Enjoy the weekend, here is to not at all caring about the NBA Finals, and yes I was wrong with my Cavaliers pick, but then again I saved myself because I claimed Cleveland needed to win for Lebron to be THE NEXT MJ and he is not there yet, on his way, maybe, but not there yet
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Randy for Randy
(This could potentially used on MSG.com)
Randy Moss WAS a superstar.
He was the next Jerry Rice with 4.4 speed, and set the NFL rookie record for touchdowns in a season with 17. He is the only receiver in NFL history to average a touchdown and 100 yards per game for an entire season and along with Rice, is the only receiver in NFL history to catch 17 or more touchdowns in multiple seasons.
Yet all it took to acquire him, nine years later, was a fourth round draft pick that the New England Patriots did not own when the 2007 NFL Draft began. Consider this: Wes Welker, a glorified special teams player and “Belichick styled” slot receiver was acquired for a 2nd and 7th round pick earlier in the off-season.
The question that all NFL fans want to know is can Randy Moss become, well, Randy Moss?
The answer is that it does not matter.
Moss was slated to make 9.75 million dollars this year as a Raider, but will only make three million as a Patriot, while Welker will earn three times that this season.
Signing Moss to a one-year contract ensures that if he decides to moon the Gillette Stadium faithful, or re-create a New England styled “Randy Ratio,” he need only ask Doug Gabriel, his good friend, what will happen to him.
The worst-case scenario is that Moss cannot co-exist with Bill Belichick and Brady and walks away with his three million dollars (1/3 of what he would have made in Oakland). Best-case scenario? He falls in rank with the other Patriots and emerges as his old-self leading “Brady’s Bunch” to the post-season.
To call that a win-win for Robert Kraft and the Patriots organization would be quite an understatement.
Randy Moss WAS a superstar.
He was the next Jerry Rice with 4.4 speed, and set the NFL rookie record for touchdowns in a season with 17. He is the only receiver in NFL history to average a touchdown and 100 yards per game for an entire season and along with Rice, is the only receiver in NFL history to catch 17 or more touchdowns in multiple seasons.
Yet all it took to acquire him, nine years later, was a fourth round draft pick that the New England Patriots did not own when the 2007 NFL Draft began. Consider this: Wes Welker, a glorified special teams player and “Belichick styled” slot receiver was acquired for a 2nd and 7th round pick earlier in the off-season.
The question that all NFL fans want to know is can Randy Moss become, well, Randy Moss?
The answer is that it does not matter.
Moss was slated to make 9.75 million dollars this year as a Raider, but will only make three million as a Patriot, while Welker will earn three times that this season.
Signing Moss to a one-year contract ensures that if he decides to moon the Gillette Stadium faithful, or re-create a New England styled “Randy Ratio,” he need only ask Doug Gabriel, his good friend, what will happen to him.
The worst-case scenario is that Moss cannot co-exist with Bill Belichick and Brady and walks away with his three million dollars (1/3 of what he would have made in Oakland). Best-case scenario? He falls in rank with the other Patriots and emerges as his old-self leading “Brady’s Bunch” to the post-season.
To call that a win-win for Robert Kraft and the Patriots organization would be quite an understatement.
Monday, June 4, 2007
My apology
I would like to take this time to remind everyone that my predictions mean nothing and are almost always wrong. Hence when I predicted Detroit to win both games 5 and then game 6, if you were smart you would have realized I am an idiot and said, this guy knows nothing, Cleveland is going to the finals, but just so you all understand what my thinking was; Detroit had been in seven 3-2 deficits in the NBA playoffs since the 2003 season and had been 6-1 in those series with the one loss coming last year against the Heat. Last season they had been down 3-2 to an identical Lebron team and came back and won game 6 in the Quicken Loans arena before taking game 7 at the palace, but there was one problem. The Cavaliers this year were NOT identical to last year's team. A small point guard who had been one of my favorite college players the year before for Rick Barnes decided to show up for work and took all the offensive pressure off the King. Yes, Daniel Gibson, the Texas Longhorn point guard was truly sensational for the Cavs, and every time you expected him to cool off, he came back for more and hit every single big shot a second round rookie is supposed to miss, let alone get, in game 6 of the conference finals. It was not simply that he was making big three after big three but that he kept getting the oppurtunities and stepped up and made every one. He had one thing going for him, and that was that while the Cavaliers were busy getting taken by the Pistons in last year's playoffs, Gibson was busy trying to prove himself to NBA scouts who knocked him for his size and inability to be a true NBA Point Guard. Not having been around for last year's demise allowed him to come into this game with a free spirit and he came through in as impressive of a performance, to me, as Lebron's game five 48 point showcase.
NBA FINALS PREVIEW:(note this might be on the MSG.Com website)
Destiny or Dynasty?
Julian Gompertz was a witness. I saw Lebron’s game five and Daniel Gibson’s game six and one question remains: Destiny or Dynasty? I want to believe that Lebron can will Cleveland past San Antonio but it is difficult to pick the Cavaliers this year. The Spurs will counter Lebron James with Bruce Bowen who will get under his skin with his dirty play. The Cavaliers have no answer, on the other-hand, for Tim Duncan who is going to terrorize Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao in the paint. Tony Parker is going to drive on Eric Snow, or Gibson, and Manu Ginobili and Michael Finley will get open looks outside when Mike Brown double-teams Duncan. The Spurs have handled Carmelo, AI, Nash, Amare, Boozer, and Deron. Now comes their greatest task yet. Stopping the future of the NBA. Cleveland is playing with house money while San Antonio is exactly where we presumed they would be, once Dallas was dispatched in round one, yet after all of that, I am still going to pick the Cleveland Cavaliers to win this series in six games because if Lebron James is going to be the next Michael Jordan, this is where it truly begins.
Now on to other sport topics:
Donovan “Dons” true Colors
Kudos to the Orlando Magic for being smart enough, and kind enough, to rid themselves of Billy Donovan. Is it a PR nightmare? Yes. Is it false hope for a fan base that has been mired with mediocrity since the days of Shaquille O'Neal and Anfrnee Hardaway? Yes. But why hire a coach who will constantly be asked if he really wants to be in the NBA as coach of the Magic? An NBA coach must be a motivator and earn the respect of his players, and admitting you are not committed to the NBA is not the way to get players to want to play for you. Instead, Orlando will get a nice financial sum and then will sign Stan Van Gundy who will jumpstart all the offensive talent the Magic have. Donovan meanwhile will please the fans, the boosters, the incoming recruits and the current Gators. Yet with all five starters departing, the chances of a three-peat seem slim regardless of the talent in his recruiting class. The biggest loser in this scenario is Virginia Commonwealth Coach Anthony Grant who I believe would have led this talented roster to the tournament.
-A-Rod's homerun last night has "the potential" to be the defining moment of the season. Once again, during the worst of times for the Yankees they have managed to take 4-of-6 from Boston in the last two weeks winning the rubber game in the Bronx and in Fenway. They are seven back of the wildcard and there are grumblings an Abreu for Dye swap could be put in place during this four game seires starting tonight. Let me be the first to say this would be a brilliant move for the Bombers as the one thing they need is a Right-Handed bat in the middle of the line-up. Damon, Abreu, Matsui and Cano are all lefties and Posada and Cabrera are much better left-handed hitters then right handed hitters. The Yankees are the worst hitting team in baseball when they face a left handed pitcher and getting Dye, who looks better this season, could be just what they need to revive the suddenly cold bats.
-Meanwhile, The Red Sox are sitting pretty and are the best team in baseball. They have everything going on all cylinders and come playoff time it is going to be tough to beat Schilling and Beckett on the Road and Dice-k (In Fenway) and Wakefield. Schilling and Beckett both have World Series MVP awards, if you were wondering, and I would take those four over most four man rotations in baseball.
On the Rise- The Oakland Athletics who have won two straight. They have survived and stuck at .500 with more injuries then the Yankees. Street, Swisher, Chavez, Harden, Bradley, Duchscherer are either hurt or are just returning and they have been surviving on the arms of Danny Haren, Joe Blanton and Chad Gaudin. As always, Billy Beane squeezes the most out of this lackluster bunch and they will unfortunately miss the playoffs simply because Detroit, Cleveland and New York are that much better then the A's.
On the Decline- The Chicago White Sox who have dropped two straight and have an awful bullpen and starting rotation. Ozzie Guillen's idea of throwing six guys in the pen with live arms and 98 MPH fastballs was a disaster and two of those arms David Aardsma and Mike Mcdougal are in AAA as of this afternoon. The bats have gone cold and relying on an aging Jim Thome is not the solution. Jermaine Dye has not been the same, Konerko, Crede and Iguchi are all struggling and the rotation has no ace as their frontline guys in Buerhle and Contreras sport ERA's of 3.66 and 4.29 respectively. Javier Vasquez and John Garland have 3.9 ERA's and John Danks, while having potential, is 3-5 with a 4.34 ERA. This team is aging and has no sign of reviving themselves in the near future, and yes this will signal the end of Ozzie Guillen's tenure in Chi-city just two years removed from a World Series victory.
Hope to get my MSG blog started so for all those fans of the Colonial Wiz Kid, be prepared for a more proffessional and up to date blog on MSG.Com
NBA FINALS PREVIEW:(note this might be on the MSG.Com website)
Destiny or Dynasty?
Julian Gompertz was a witness. I saw Lebron’s game five and Daniel Gibson’s game six and one question remains: Destiny or Dynasty? I want to believe that Lebron can will Cleveland past San Antonio but it is difficult to pick the Cavaliers this year. The Spurs will counter Lebron James with Bruce Bowen who will get under his skin with his dirty play. The Cavaliers have no answer, on the other-hand, for Tim Duncan who is going to terrorize Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao in the paint. Tony Parker is going to drive on Eric Snow, or Gibson, and Manu Ginobili and Michael Finley will get open looks outside when Mike Brown double-teams Duncan. The Spurs have handled Carmelo, AI, Nash, Amare, Boozer, and Deron. Now comes their greatest task yet. Stopping the future of the NBA. Cleveland is playing with house money while San Antonio is exactly where we presumed they would be, once Dallas was dispatched in round one, yet after all of that, I am still going to pick the Cleveland Cavaliers to win this series in six games because if Lebron James is going to be the next Michael Jordan, this is where it truly begins.
Now on to other sport topics:
Donovan “Dons” true Colors
Kudos to the Orlando Magic for being smart enough, and kind enough, to rid themselves of Billy Donovan. Is it a PR nightmare? Yes. Is it false hope for a fan base that has been mired with mediocrity since the days of Shaquille O'Neal and Anfrnee Hardaway? Yes. But why hire a coach who will constantly be asked if he really wants to be in the NBA as coach of the Magic? An NBA coach must be a motivator and earn the respect of his players, and admitting you are not committed to the NBA is not the way to get players to want to play for you. Instead, Orlando will get a nice financial sum and then will sign Stan Van Gundy who will jumpstart all the offensive talent the Magic have. Donovan meanwhile will please the fans, the boosters, the incoming recruits and the current Gators. Yet with all five starters departing, the chances of a three-peat seem slim regardless of the talent in his recruiting class. The biggest loser in this scenario is Virginia Commonwealth Coach Anthony Grant who I believe would have led this talented roster to the tournament.
-A-Rod's homerun last night has "the potential" to be the defining moment of the season. Once again, during the worst of times for the Yankees they have managed to take 4-of-6 from Boston in the last two weeks winning the rubber game in the Bronx and in Fenway. They are seven back of the wildcard and there are grumblings an Abreu for Dye swap could be put in place during this four game seires starting tonight. Let me be the first to say this would be a brilliant move for the Bombers as the one thing they need is a Right-Handed bat in the middle of the line-up. Damon, Abreu, Matsui and Cano are all lefties and Posada and Cabrera are much better left-handed hitters then right handed hitters. The Yankees are the worst hitting team in baseball when they face a left handed pitcher and getting Dye, who looks better this season, could be just what they need to revive the suddenly cold bats.
-Meanwhile, The Red Sox are sitting pretty and are the best team in baseball. They have everything going on all cylinders and come playoff time it is going to be tough to beat Schilling and Beckett on the Road and Dice-k (In Fenway) and Wakefield. Schilling and Beckett both have World Series MVP awards, if you were wondering, and I would take those four over most four man rotations in baseball.
On the Rise- The Oakland Athletics who have won two straight. They have survived and stuck at .500 with more injuries then the Yankees. Street, Swisher, Chavez, Harden, Bradley, Duchscherer are either hurt or are just returning and they have been surviving on the arms of Danny Haren, Joe Blanton and Chad Gaudin. As always, Billy Beane squeezes the most out of this lackluster bunch and they will unfortunately miss the playoffs simply because Detroit, Cleveland and New York are that much better then the A's.
On the Decline- The Chicago White Sox who have dropped two straight and have an awful bullpen and starting rotation. Ozzie Guillen's idea of throwing six guys in the pen with live arms and 98 MPH fastballs was a disaster and two of those arms David Aardsma and Mike Mcdougal are in AAA as of this afternoon. The bats have gone cold and relying on an aging Jim Thome is not the solution. Jermaine Dye has not been the same, Konerko, Crede and Iguchi are all struggling and the rotation has no ace as their frontline guys in Buerhle and Contreras sport ERA's of 3.66 and 4.29 respectively. Javier Vasquez and John Garland have 3.9 ERA's and John Danks, while having potential, is 3-5 with a 4.34 ERA. This team is aging and has no sign of reviving themselves in the near future, and yes this will signal the end of Ozzie Guillen's tenure in Chi-city just two years removed from a World Series victory.
Hope to get my MSG blog started so for all those fans of the Colonial Wiz Kid, be prepared for a more proffessional and up to date blog on MSG.Com
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Great day of sports
What a slate today. Stanley Cup Game 3, NBA Finals Game 6, Yanks-Sawx, Mets-D'Backs, Zambrano-Barrett, French Open, Memorial Golf and Nas...ok not Nascar
I would first like to place a link on the site:
Which reminds me, I am legally changing my way to Adam Scott.
Some quick hits: (but not towards Zambrano or Barrett)
- If you do not think what went down in Fenway last night was unintentional, you just do not know the sport. Scott Proctor is the only Yankee pitcher who is willing to take matters into his own hands, and while I do not believe he meant to hit Youklis up high, he wanted to hit him in retaliation for Javier Lopez' blatant hit on Robinson Cano. The Red Sox have hit over 20 more Yankee batters over the past five years that the Yankees have Red Sox, and Proctor has already proven this year (see his four game suspension against Seattle last month) he is going to protect his players and his team.
- As a fan of the Mets, I have never realized just how lucky I am to have a clubhouse of guys who love each other. The Mets shaved their heads last month in a sign of solidarity and coming togehter as a team and something like what transpired at Wrigley yesterday would never be seen in Queens. Unlike the other New York baseball team where their manager, rightfully, throws his star player under the bus, The Metropolitans have not had any "in-house" issues and a lot of it is a reflection of last year's manager of the year Will.....oh wait he did not win it last year? Oh my bad easy to forget at times.
-A team I wrote off before the year, the Minnesota Twins are back on track having won five straight and taking control of third place in the division. The superb play of Justin Morneau and Torri Hunter are making up for the fact that no one else in that line-up is a very good baseball player. Cuddyer and Castillo have been ok and Boof Bonser is becoming a very good major league pitcher, but this team is not one I thought would be hanging around and as usual Ron Gardenhire is doing a lot with very little, especially with his best pure hitter on the disabled list in Joe Mauer. Here is hoping they flop so my predictions have .093736% of credibility.
- Do not look now but the St. Louis Cardinals, my wild-card team, are in second place in the putrid NL Central. Yes it is the central where you could win the divison being five games under .500, but for all that team has gone through they are back and they are winning. How you ask? Albert Pujols. On a down year for the stud first-baseman he leads his team in hits, runs, BA, HR, RBI and Doubles. Gives you an idea of how badly that team needs another bat in the lineup. They are getting by with BRADEN LOOPER as the team ace this year as well. Kudos to Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan who have righted this ship in a major way.
I was wrong, and I do not admit it often, but I was not buying into the Diamondbacks this season, and while I believe they are at least a year away from seriously competing, they have the pieces in place to make a playoff run in a year or two. Chris Young, Carlos Quentin, Stephen Drew, Conor Jackson and Mark Reynolds are all potential starters under 25 years old and with Eric Byrnes and Orlando Hudson this team has a great nucleus of talent to build upon. Combine that with 2006 NL Cy Young winner Brandon Webb, a revitalized Randy Johnson, innings-eater Doug Davis and rookie Micah Owings. Watch out for Bob Melvin's club because they are not going away anytime soon.
That is all for today enjoy the sports weekend and back tomorrow or Monday
I would first like to place a link on the site:
Which reminds me, I am legally changing my way to Adam Scott.
Some quick hits: (but not towards Zambrano or Barrett)
- If you do not think what went down in Fenway last night was unintentional, you just do not know the sport. Scott Proctor is the only Yankee pitcher who is willing to take matters into his own hands, and while I do not believe he meant to hit Youklis up high, he wanted to hit him in retaliation for Javier Lopez' blatant hit on Robinson Cano. The Red Sox have hit over 20 more Yankee batters over the past five years that the Yankees have Red Sox, and Proctor has already proven this year (see his four game suspension against Seattle last month) he is going to protect his players and his team.
- As a fan of the Mets, I have never realized just how lucky I am to have a clubhouse of guys who love each other. The Mets shaved their heads last month in a sign of solidarity and coming togehter as a team and something like what transpired at Wrigley yesterday would never be seen in Queens. Unlike the other New York baseball team where their manager, rightfully, throws his star player under the bus, The Metropolitans have not had any "in-house" issues and a lot of it is a reflection of last year's manager of the year Will.....oh wait he did not win it last year? Oh my bad easy to forget at times.
-A team I wrote off before the year, the Minnesota Twins are back on track having won five straight and taking control of third place in the division. The superb play of Justin Morneau and Torri Hunter are making up for the fact that no one else in that line-up is a very good baseball player. Cuddyer and Castillo have been ok and Boof Bonser is becoming a very good major league pitcher, but this team is not one I thought would be hanging around and as usual Ron Gardenhire is doing a lot with very little, especially with his best pure hitter on the disabled list in Joe Mauer. Here is hoping they flop so my predictions have .093736% of credibility.
- Do not look now but the St. Louis Cardinals, my wild-card team, are in second place in the putrid NL Central. Yes it is the central where you could win the divison being five games under .500, but for all that team has gone through they are back and they are winning. How you ask? Albert Pujols. On a down year for the stud first-baseman he leads his team in hits, runs, BA, HR, RBI and Doubles. Gives you an idea of how badly that team needs another bat in the lineup. They are getting by with BRADEN LOOPER as the team ace this year as well. Kudos to Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan who have righted this ship in a major way.
I was wrong, and I do not admit it often, but I was not buying into the Diamondbacks this season, and while I believe they are at least a year away from seriously competing, they have the pieces in place to make a playoff run in a year or two. Chris Young, Carlos Quentin, Stephen Drew, Conor Jackson and Mark Reynolds are all potential starters under 25 years old and with Eric Byrnes and Orlando Hudson this team has a great nucleus of talent to build upon. Combine that with 2006 NL Cy Young winner Brandon Webb, a revitalized Randy Johnson, innings-eater Doug Davis and rookie Micah Owings. Watch out for Bob Melvin's club because they are not going away anytime soon.
That is all for today enjoy the sports weekend and back tomorrow or Monday
Friday, June 1, 2007
LEBRON
Listen closely my fellow sports fans, Lebron was simply dazzling last night. He had his way with the same team that dismantled the Magic and made the Bulls seem like an after thought, and he did it on the road, in a hostile environment, with no competent teammate and the killer instinct that has only been seen in players named Jordan and Magic. Yes, ladies and gentlemen Lebron was simply that good, but I have something else to relay to you. I did predict Detroit would win game five and they did not, but MAKE NO MISTAKE, Detroit WILL win game six. You can throw all the Lebron comments you want at me, his amazing performance, his will to not let the Cavs lose and I will simply say that, while Flip Saunders and Mike Brown are auditioning for most incompetent NBA coach in the league, Mike Brown is the champion. Eric Snow playing in crunch time? No set plays for Lebron? and my favorite, not having Lebron bring the ball up the court? Everyone and their mothers knew that in both overtime's Lebron would have the ball, so why not get it into his hands as soon as possible. And let us not forget, these Pistons have underachived and I am not going to count out Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Rasheed and Tayshaun in a must-win game. One of the things that went almost unnoticed was the ease in which Chauncey Billups hit those two Free Throws in overtime to tie the game at 100 with under five seconds left to send it to Double Overtime. In the end, the fact remains that this Detroit team is better than any at overcoming adversity and of course the silver lining is that this same team minus Ben Wallace and plus Chris Webber and Jason Maxiell was in the EXACT SAME POSITION and guess what transpired? The Pistons took game six in Cleveland and then came back to the palace to finish off the job. Is Lebron older and more mature? Yes. Did he learn from last year? Yes. But is his surrounding cast as incompetent as it was last year? Yes. Lebron can score 50 in game 6, but the fact remains that Detroit knows it is going to take another Herculean effort by Lebron to win game six at home, and I do not predict that happening.
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