With the NBA All Star game upon us, I thought I'd give out some mid season awards and do it "Swingers" style... So with no further ado, Double Down and Mikey will take it from here. (All quotes from the movie "Swingers")
1) Trent: "You know, I'm gonna find me two waitresses here and I'm gonna pull me a Fredo."
Mikey: "Yeah, Well they're all skanks"
Trent: "What are talking about? Look at all the beautiful babies here"
Mikey: "The beautiful babies don't work midnight to six on a Wednesday. This is the skank shift."
This quote is for our "Most Surprising Team" award. You never know when you're going to find a beautiful baby and this year the Phoenix Suns have been it. Nobody was expecting too much from them before the season started but they've surprised everyone by putting together a record of 41-12 and leading the Pacific Division by over 7 games. How are they doing it? Just like us in "Swingers", old school baby, old school. They get out,run and push the ball, and remind everyone of the great up-tempo teams of the 70's and 80's. They are leading the NBA in points per game by averaging over 110 per game which is 7 points more than the next closest team. Do they play defense? Nope, not a lick. That's what makes them so much fun to watch. They come out every game and dare you to out score them. Will they win the Championship? Probably not, but they sure as hell are fun to watch. I wish more teams played like them, it would make the league much more entertaining.
2) Rob: "I'm considering taking a part as Goofy"
Charles: "Well, at least it's Disney, right?"
Disappointment, as our buddies Rob and Charles touched on, comes in many ways. The "Most Disappointing Team" in the NBA so far has to be the Minnesota Timberwolves. Here was a team that had the best record in the Western Conference last year, making it all the way to the Western Conference finals, and here they are a season later not even at .500. Currently they are in 9th place and if the playoffs started now, would be on the outside looking in. They just fired Flip Saunders (here's a scoop for you, Head Coach of the Lakers next year...) and Kevin McHale has come down out of the General Managers Suite to take over. What's their problem? Mainly dissension in the locker room. Both Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell are looking for new big money contracts (they both have families to feed and 9 million a year just doesn't go that far anymore....), and with the Timberwolves refusal to give it to them, they've pretty much tanked the season. Garnett has been continuing to play great, but he can't do it alone. If McHale can motivate them, they do have a favorable schedule in the 2nd half. We're going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say they get a little giddy in their hop and overtake the Lakers for the 8th and final seed.
3) Trent: "They're gonna give daddy the Rain Man suite! You dig that? We're going to Vegas, Mike."
Trent,Mike: "VEGAS!"
Mike: "You think we'll get there by midnight?"
Trent: "Honey, we're gonna be up five hundy by midnight!"
Trent,Mike: "VEGAS, BABY! VEGAS!"
Ahh, the excitement and suspense of Vegas. This quote brings us to the "Most Entertaining Player" in the NBA. Lots of good choices out there (Nash,Nowitzki,Stoudamire), but for our money, we like Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat. Wade has been like Superman so far this year. Everyone knew Miami would be good with Shaq, but Wade has been the heart and soul for them. At the end of every close game, Wade is taking all the shots, and more times than not, making them. He leads them in points per game, assists, steals and is 3rd in rebounds. And unlike other marquee players, he plays defense too. He's one of the few players in the game that really holds your attention for a whole game. Truly entertaining to watch.
4) Rob: "Where is this place?"
Mike: "For some reason the cool bars in Hollywood have to be hard to find and have no sign. It's kind a like a speak easy kind a thing. It's kind a cool, like you're in on some kind of secret. You know, you tell a chick you been some place it's like bragging you know how to find it."
When you want to make it big, sometimes you have to move to someplace new and learn how to fit in. This leads us into our "Rookie of the Year" award. For our money, we like Emeka Okafor of the Charlotte Bobcats. Okafor has been everything for the expansion Bobcats that he was for the NCAA champion Connecticut Huskies: a rebounder, a shot-blocker and a tough inside scorer. His impact has everything to do with why the Bobcats have been so competitive when everyone expected pushovers. Others getting mentioned here are Dwight Howard, Luol Deng and Ben Gordon.
5) Trent: "She can't roll the dice. She's business class."
Mikey: "Business class?"
Sue: "Big butt. You know, can't fly coach."
Sometimes you have high hopes for someone but inevitably they just let you down. In other words, disappointment. This brings us to our "Most Disappointing Player" award. We feel so far in the first half that goes to Carmelo Anthony. He does average 20 points a game, but his .395 FG% is pathetic given how many shots he takes, and other than his 5.7 rebounds, he doesn't contribute impressively in any category. Unless he can raise his FG%, steals, and 3PM, he's never going to be anything more than an average player at best. After his breakout season last year, he just hasn't lived up to all the hype, and has been a huge disappointment for us...
6) Trent: "Our little boy is groweds up tonight! And you know what big boy, you're groweds up! you're groweds up! Yeah, dig that!!!"
Our "Most Improved Player" award goes to Bobby Simmons of the Los Angeles Clippers. Simmons' improvement has been dramatic. He won a spot on the Clippers because of his hustle and defense, but he has taken a huge leap offensively this season, averaging 15.9 points on 47.1 percent shooting. His career averages beginning the season were 5.5 points on 40.3 percent shooting. With all the negative things that always seem to follow the Clippers, he is one of the bright spots. On top of it, he seems like a good guy who appreciates the good fortune that has come to him.
7) Trent: "I don't want you to be the guy in the PG-13 movie everyone's really hoping makes it happen. I want you to be like the guy in the rated R movie, you, know, the guy you're not quite sure whether or not you like yet. You're not sure where he's coming from. Okay? You're a bad man. You're a bad man. You're a bad man....."
Who's a bad man in the NBA and the winner of our "Most Psychotic" award? Why Ron Artest of the Indiana Pacers of course! Nobody will forget the scene of Artest bolting from the scorer's table into the stands in Detroit to ignite the worst fans/players brawl in American sports history. The reigning defensive player of the year, the Pacers' All-Star forward was suspended for the season. He is the ultimate Psycho, too frustrating to embrace and too valuable to let go. The guy has all the talent in the world but just can't keep his emotions in check. I hope his singing career is going well, because at this rate he's NFL (Not For Long) in the NBA. Der Kommissar Stern is now just looking for reasons to run him out of the league.
8) Trent: "Look at all the beautiful honeys here. Excuse me darling, I'm sorry, wow. I want you to remember this face here, this is the guy behind the guy behind the guy."
Who's our "Coach of the Year" so far? We've got to go with Nate McMillan of the Seattle Supersonics. McMillan has taken a team that was 37-45 last season and has them playing fast-paced, unselfish basketball that creates plenty of shots for everybody. He also has imposed tougher defense and a more aggressive, attacking offense, a style he has long wanted to use and the results have shown why. McMillan is in the last year of his contract, and with Seattle not anxious to renew him, he's started taking risks figuring he's got nothing to lose. And it's paid off.
9) Sue: "I'm telling ya you're money."
Trent: "You're so f*&%$ money!"
Who's been the "money" so far in the NBA? Our mid season "MVP" goes to Lebron James, followed closely by Steve Nash. Lebron has elevated his game to the next level and has led Cleveland to a 30-20 record (3rd best in the Eastern Conference). The Cavaliers only won 35 games last year and actually the last time they won 30 games before the all star break was back in the 92-93 season when they went to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Lebron's averaging 25.4 pts, 7.7 assists, 7.1 rebounds and 2.4 steals. He walks into every game with a big bull’s eye on his back and still produces every night. Earlier in season, he reached 2,000 career points quicker than any person ever and apparently there is no stopping him. Nash is getting a lot of mention because he is the trigger man for Phoenix's great offense. While we like Nash alot and think he's playing great, we just can't give the award to someone that doesn't play defense. You at least have to make an attempt on the defensive side if you expect to win the MVP award.
10) Trent: "Who's the big winner here tonight at the casino? Mikey, that's who. Mikey's the big winner! Mikey wins!"
Alright, who's the big winner in the first half of the season? We feel there are alot of pretenders out there, but the "Team to Beat" award goes to the San Antonio Spurs. Miami, Phoenix, Detroit, Dallas all are doing great, but it's the Spurs with their team defense concept that is still the ones to beat. They've got a record of 41-12 (tied with Phoenix), score 97.1 pts a game but only allow 86.4 (best in the NBA). If you want to win the title, history shows us you better play defense, and nobody plays it better. On top of it, Duncan is having another monster year, and Parker and Ginobili form the "best foreign backcourt" in the game. I see San Antonio facing Miami in the finals, and if Shaq is healthy, it could be a classic, ala Frazier/Ali. Two heavyweights going toe to toe for 15 rounds with the Spurs winning game 7.
There you have it, the 1/5th first mid season NBA awards. I think I'm in the mood for a martini and some Big Bad Voodoo Daddy!
Until next time,
Bill
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Monday, February 14, 2005
Wild Times and Rampant Roids 2/14
As Tom Cruise said in Cocktail, "everything ends badly, otherwise it wouldn't end". So goes Jose Canseco's departure from baseball. He's burning all bridges, naming names, and making accusations all over the place. I love it! Gossip columns and talk radio shows are eating this up and so am I.......
1) Steroids – I had a chance to catch the Canseco interview on 60 minutes Sunday. The main thing I came away with is “what human growth steroid is Mike Wallace taking?” He’s what 105, 106 and he looks like he’s 45……. Seriously though, I thought overall the interview was credible, although I’m sure Canseco is exaggerating to an extent. I’m curious why so many people are quick to discredit him, and say there is no way the allegations can be correct? Yes I know his background, arrests, etc… but still, with all the evidence we’ve seen about steroid usage in MLB coming out lately, why are his comments so far out of reality? Now if this was a court of law, yes his comments wouldn’t hold weight, but it’s not. I’ve heard a couple people (Walt Weiss, Tony La Russa) come out and say McGuire didn’t take steroids, but for the most part, other people that were there have been quiet. Maybe they know what really was going on and don’t want to lie about it. If there is anything you can say about Canseco, it's that he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to steroids. In the last 10 years, we’ve seen certain players explode in size and conversely have seen records fall left and right. It’s a shame MLB has waited so long to take a stronger stance on this issue (only doing the testing now after the government threatened them), but hopefully these stronger testing measures will help clean the illegal drug usage up.
2) Bonds – I heard on Fox news over the weekend that Barry’s mistress has come out and accused him of using steroids….. A Major League player is using illegal drugs? He has a mistress? Next I’ll be hearing that they just play for the money. Come on, tell me something I don’t know!
3) Hockey – Bob in Canada was complaining about hockey being cancelled…… Does anyone else care about this??? For being the so called #4 major sport, there is an awful lot of indifference. I grew up a big hockey fan (Boston Bruins) but since moving to California, I just don’t really care about it anymore. I’m sure hockey’s “better” than it used to be but as a youngster I loved the fights and rough play, and guys like Terry O’Reilly, Tai Domi, Cam Neely, Bobby Clark, Ken Dryden, and Matthew Barnaby. You had good guys, bad guys, teams you absolutely hated (Flyers with their “broad street bullies” era), teams you loved. One thing you didn’t have then were a bunch of European players with names you couldn’t pronounce or identify with. I know the hockey purists will tell you about how Selanne, Samsonov, Tchdivalinsky, Federov, et all, are so talented, but basically I don’t care. And judging by the apathy I see about this lockout, I think most people agree with me. My personal feeling is that I hope the league breaks the union, contracts 4 teams, sets a salary cap, and goes back to playing physical hockey. Until then, I refuse to watch any more NHL hockey. What do you think about that idea, beauty eh?
4) Malone / Miller retire – I was happy to hear both of them announcing their retirements. I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about hall of fame. Malone, obviously 1st ballot. One of the best power forwards of all time. Yes at times he could be annoying, but Malone and Stockton will go down in history as one of the greatest duos of all time. At their peak, running the pick and roll, it was a thing of beauty. Best play in basketball, and no one did it better. Miller will make it in too because of his longevity and consistency. After 18 years in the NBA he’ll end up with some pretty impressive numbers. One of the best spot up shooters of all time, when he got going, he could shoot with anyone. He’ll be best remembered for scoring 8 points in the last 8.9 seconds of the playoff game in 95 against the Knicks along with the battles against Jordan and the Bulls.
5) Football – Heard there was a football game over the weekend… Is the pro bowl the least watched all star game? Why do they even have it? No one cares about it, including the players…. They are there for the all expenses paid trip to Hawaii. Instead of the game, why not have a skills competition type deal? Maybe an NFL Superstars competition, or something like that. I’d be interested in that more than a football game, where no one plays defense, or hits, or cares…….. Heard Manning “won” the MVP of the game.. Way to go Peyton, you’re my favorite accountant, cut that meat!
6) Randy Moss- Speaking of football, I want to make a prediction about where Randy Moss will end up next year. I'm going to say the Baltimore Ravens. I think they have the infrastructure (word of the day) there to handle him. With Billick as coach, along with Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, you've got some strong personalities with the playing (and coaching) ability to back up their comments and keep Randy in line. I also think they are an organization that is willing to risk giving up players and picks to try to get them back to the Super Bowl. The Jets are also being mentioned as suitors, but I don't see them as willing to risk taking on "a head case" like Moss. He is definetly someone that, while obviously as talented as any player in the game, can disrupt your organization and be a bad influence on the younger guys. Herm Edwards, Terry Bradway and the owner Johnson are not big risk takers, and I think in the end, will decide to pass on Moss.
7) Timberwolves- I also wanted to mention the firing of Flip Saunders because right now he is an example of a coach being let go, instead of making personal changes. He's been with Minnesota for something like 10 years, done a great job, got them to the Western Conference finals last year, and now because of some players not trying hard (Cassell and Sprewell), he's being removed as coach. I hope the organization takes a tumble and falls further down in the standings (currently 9th). I just wish one of these times, an owner would standup for the coach and say "it's not his fault we're doing bad, it's the players", and then cut the problem people. Going along with this, expect Sam Mitchell in Toronto to be let go as coach as there are players there that are unhappy with him. The General Manager made a comment this weekend that Mitchell owes an apology to some players... Red Auerbach must be choking on his cigar right now...........
8) Link of the Week – If anyone wants to purchase me a signed autographed copy, here you go:
http://www.josecanseco.com/
Until next week,
Bill
1) Steroids – I had a chance to catch the Canseco interview on 60 minutes Sunday. The main thing I came away with is “what human growth steroid is Mike Wallace taking?” He’s what 105, 106 and he looks like he’s 45……. Seriously though, I thought overall the interview was credible, although I’m sure Canseco is exaggerating to an extent. I’m curious why so many people are quick to discredit him, and say there is no way the allegations can be correct? Yes I know his background, arrests, etc… but still, with all the evidence we’ve seen about steroid usage in MLB coming out lately, why are his comments so far out of reality? Now if this was a court of law, yes his comments wouldn’t hold weight, but it’s not. I’ve heard a couple people (Walt Weiss, Tony La Russa) come out and say McGuire didn’t take steroids, but for the most part, other people that were there have been quiet. Maybe they know what really was going on and don’t want to lie about it. If there is anything you can say about Canseco, it's that he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to steroids. In the last 10 years, we’ve seen certain players explode in size and conversely have seen records fall left and right. It’s a shame MLB has waited so long to take a stronger stance on this issue (only doing the testing now after the government threatened them), but hopefully these stronger testing measures will help clean the illegal drug usage up.
2) Bonds – I heard on Fox news over the weekend that Barry’s mistress has come out and accused him of using steroids….. A Major League player is using illegal drugs? He has a mistress? Next I’ll be hearing that they just play for the money. Come on, tell me something I don’t know!
3) Hockey – Bob in Canada was complaining about hockey being cancelled…… Does anyone else care about this??? For being the so called #4 major sport, there is an awful lot of indifference. I grew up a big hockey fan (Boston Bruins) but since moving to California, I just don’t really care about it anymore. I’m sure hockey’s “better” than it used to be but as a youngster I loved the fights and rough play, and guys like Terry O’Reilly, Tai Domi, Cam Neely, Bobby Clark, Ken Dryden, and Matthew Barnaby. You had good guys, bad guys, teams you absolutely hated (Flyers with their “broad street bullies” era), teams you loved. One thing you didn’t have then were a bunch of European players with names you couldn’t pronounce or identify with. I know the hockey purists will tell you about how Selanne, Samsonov, Tchdivalinsky, Federov, et all, are so talented, but basically I don’t care. And judging by the apathy I see about this lockout, I think most people agree with me. My personal feeling is that I hope the league breaks the union, contracts 4 teams, sets a salary cap, and goes back to playing physical hockey. Until then, I refuse to watch any more NHL hockey. What do you think about that idea, beauty eh?
4) Malone / Miller retire – I was happy to hear both of them announcing their retirements. I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about hall of fame. Malone, obviously 1st ballot. One of the best power forwards of all time. Yes at times he could be annoying, but Malone and Stockton will go down in history as one of the greatest duos of all time. At their peak, running the pick and roll, it was a thing of beauty. Best play in basketball, and no one did it better. Miller will make it in too because of his longevity and consistency. After 18 years in the NBA he’ll end up with some pretty impressive numbers. One of the best spot up shooters of all time, when he got going, he could shoot with anyone. He’ll be best remembered for scoring 8 points in the last 8.9 seconds of the playoff game in 95 against the Knicks along with the battles against Jordan and the Bulls.
5) Football – Heard there was a football game over the weekend… Is the pro bowl the least watched all star game? Why do they even have it? No one cares about it, including the players…. They are there for the all expenses paid trip to Hawaii. Instead of the game, why not have a skills competition type deal? Maybe an NFL Superstars competition, or something like that. I’d be interested in that more than a football game, where no one plays defense, or hits, or cares…….. Heard Manning “won” the MVP of the game.. Way to go Peyton, you’re my favorite accountant, cut that meat!
6) Randy Moss- Speaking of football, I want to make a prediction about where Randy Moss will end up next year. I'm going to say the Baltimore Ravens. I think they have the infrastructure (word of the day) there to handle him. With Billick as coach, along with Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, you've got some strong personalities with the playing (and coaching) ability to back up their comments and keep Randy in line. I also think they are an organization that is willing to risk giving up players and picks to try to get them back to the Super Bowl. The Jets are also being mentioned as suitors, but I don't see them as willing to risk taking on "a head case" like Moss. He is definetly someone that, while obviously as talented as any player in the game, can disrupt your organization and be a bad influence on the younger guys. Herm Edwards, Terry Bradway and the owner Johnson are not big risk takers, and I think in the end, will decide to pass on Moss.
7) Timberwolves- I also wanted to mention the firing of Flip Saunders because right now he is an example of a coach being let go, instead of making personal changes. He's been with Minnesota for something like 10 years, done a great job, got them to the Western Conference finals last year, and now because of some players not trying hard (Cassell and Sprewell), he's being removed as coach. I hope the organization takes a tumble and falls further down in the standings (currently 9th). I just wish one of these times, an owner would standup for the coach and say "it's not his fault we're doing bad, it's the players", and then cut the problem people. Going along with this, expect Sam Mitchell in Toronto to be let go as coach as there are players there that are unhappy with him. The General Manager made a comment this weekend that Mitchell owes an apology to some players... Red Auerbach must be choking on his cigar right now...........
8) Link of the Week – If anyone wants to purchase me a signed autographed copy, here you go:
http://www.josecanseco.com/
Until next week,
Bill
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Tee Shirt and Hat Games - 2/10
Super Bowl Thoughts – As Tedy Bruschi said after the game, “we’re a team that lives for the free tee shirts and hats games……” Did the game play out as I expected? No. It wasn’t until the 3rd quarter that NE started going 4 and 5 wide and spreading out Philly’s defense. They started running screens off that formation and opened up the game for them. From the Eagles standpoint, I said going into it they needed McNabb to have an error free game in order for them to win, and obviously that didn’t happen. I don’t care how many yards he threw for, for a guy who threw only 8 interceptions on the year, for him to throw 3 in the Super Bowl, is just unacceptable. Do you credit the Patriots defense or did McNabb just have a bad day??? (yes sarcasm is dripping off the page right now….). I tip my hat to Owens for a courageous game. What he did was unbelievable. Westbrook also played well for Philly. From the Patriots standpoint, it was once again a huge team effort. Branch, Brady, Dillon, Bruschi, Harrison, Seymour all played excellent. In the 2nd quarter their depleted secondary took another hit with the broken arm of cornerback Eugene Wilson so they inserted their 51st player on the roster and kept going….. In the end, New England just wore Philly down, and even when the Eagles got the ball back with 46 seconds left, did any one think Philly could score? They were not just beaten physically but mentally as well. NE is a great, dominate team who have won 34 of their last 37 games(some by close scores, some by blowouts), which is something no team in the history of football has done. Did you realize that the combined regular-season record of the New England opponents was 40-8. Based on regular-season records of opponents, that makes this the most difficult Super Bowl title in NFL history. The previous best combined regular-season record of opponents on the way to a Super Bowl title was the 1969 Kansas City Chiefs, at 34-7-1. Which leads me into my next topic.
The “D” Word – Are the Patriots a dynasty? Five years ago that would have been like saying “Halle Berry is going to win an Oscar some day”. Seriously what were the odds of that happening?? Everyone seems to have an opinion on this dynasty thing, so I’ll throw mine out too. Yes I feel they are a dynasty but not one of the great “teams” of all time. You look at some of the rosters of the great teams, the 85 Bears, the Steelers in the 70’s, the 49ers in the 80’s, Packers in the 60’s, Boys in the 90’s, Browns in the 50’s, they were all filled with stars. New England, in this era of salary cap, has to approach it differently. They may not have the best 22 players on the roster, but they have the best 53. They are able to fill holes when starters go down with injuries and not miss a beat. They have an owner, player director and head coach who are all on the same page about what type of players they want (how unusual to say that in sports today?) and they stick to that philosophy. With the salary cap it’s hard to stay on top now. Look at the teams in recent years that have made it to the Super Bowl. They’ll have 1 or 2 years, then they blow out the cap, have to unload talented veterans and start over from scratch again. Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Tennessee, Oakland and Carolina are all teams that in the last 5 or 6 years each built themselves up, made it to the Super Bowl (some won, some didn’t), but then had trouble with the cap, age, etc… and had to retool their teams. Just look at the NFL draft this year. Tampa Bay picks 5th, Tennessee 6th, Oakland 7th, Carolina 14th and St. Louis 19th. As Jerry Glanville so elegantly said one time, “you know what the NFL stands for don’t you? Not For Long…..”. That holds true nowadays more than ever…. As for New England, who knows what’s going to happen to them over the next couple years. They’ve lost their offensive and defensive coordinators, so that is priority one over the next few weeks. I’m sure Belichick has been preparing for this but it’ll be interesting to see who he picks. From a salary cap standpoint, they’re pretty well set. They have two contracts that will need to be addressed. Brady (who has already gone on record saying he’s willing to renegotiate) and Ty Law who keeps going back and forth on whether he wants out or is willing to stay and take less (his latest is that he’s willing to talk). From my standpoint, Law is expendable, let him go. If you’re Belichick you can always replace a cornerback, no matter how good. Keep the rest of the defense in place, and keep acquiring as many talented players as possible. The formula has worked great, why stop now? So to recap, dynasty? Yes. One of the all time great teams? No.
Jose Canseco – With his new book scheduled to come out next week, reports are saying that he’s naming some former players like McGuire, Giambi, Palmerio, Gonzalez and Pudge Rodriguez as steroid users. Well as you can imagine, they are denying any usage.
My opinion? Innocent until more information comes out (with the obvious exception of Giambi, which the information has already come out)……. One persons accusation shouldn’t ruin someones career, but I do feel they shouldn’t also just be blown off as baseless accusations. We’ll have to wait to see if anyone else steps forward and can corroborate Canseco’s story (Pudge, is it true you got your nickname when you, Jose and Raphael were doing Viagra together???)…… Until I read the book and see what else in it, I’ll withhold judgement, but needless to say, this storyline is dominating the airways right now and will continue to be a big story. I'll have more on this next week.
Donald Young – Yes, I know right now you’re saying, “huh,who is Donald Young?” Well in my never ending quest to allow you to win bar bets, he’s the future of men’s tennis. At 15, this American is the youngest ever ranked number 1 junior player in the world. He won the Australian Open Junior Title this year and became the first American to win the Australian since Andy Roddick did it back in 2000. As a left hander, he is frequently compared to John McEnroe. Ok, now your informed about the future of men’s tennis.
Link of the Week –
This takes balls to do this……. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/050208/80/fbzpn.html
Until next week,
Bill
The “D” Word – Are the Patriots a dynasty? Five years ago that would have been like saying “Halle Berry is going to win an Oscar some day”. Seriously what were the odds of that happening?? Everyone seems to have an opinion on this dynasty thing, so I’ll throw mine out too. Yes I feel they are a dynasty but not one of the great “teams” of all time. You look at some of the rosters of the great teams, the 85 Bears, the Steelers in the 70’s, the 49ers in the 80’s, Packers in the 60’s, Boys in the 90’s, Browns in the 50’s, they were all filled with stars. New England, in this era of salary cap, has to approach it differently. They may not have the best 22 players on the roster, but they have the best 53. They are able to fill holes when starters go down with injuries and not miss a beat. They have an owner, player director and head coach who are all on the same page about what type of players they want (how unusual to say that in sports today?) and they stick to that philosophy. With the salary cap it’s hard to stay on top now. Look at the teams in recent years that have made it to the Super Bowl. They’ll have 1 or 2 years, then they blow out the cap, have to unload talented veterans and start over from scratch again. Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Tennessee, Oakland and Carolina are all teams that in the last 5 or 6 years each built themselves up, made it to the Super Bowl (some won, some didn’t), but then had trouble with the cap, age, etc… and had to retool their teams. Just look at the NFL draft this year. Tampa Bay picks 5th, Tennessee 6th, Oakland 7th, Carolina 14th and St. Louis 19th. As Jerry Glanville so elegantly said one time, “you know what the NFL stands for don’t you? Not For Long…..”. That holds true nowadays more than ever…. As for New England, who knows what’s going to happen to them over the next couple years. They’ve lost their offensive and defensive coordinators, so that is priority one over the next few weeks. I’m sure Belichick has been preparing for this but it’ll be interesting to see who he picks. From a salary cap standpoint, they’re pretty well set. They have two contracts that will need to be addressed. Brady (who has already gone on record saying he’s willing to renegotiate) and Ty Law who keeps going back and forth on whether he wants out or is willing to stay and take less (his latest is that he’s willing to talk). From my standpoint, Law is expendable, let him go. If you’re Belichick you can always replace a cornerback, no matter how good. Keep the rest of the defense in place, and keep acquiring as many talented players as possible. The formula has worked great, why stop now? So to recap, dynasty? Yes. One of the all time great teams? No.
Jose Canseco – With his new book scheduled to come out next week, reports are saying that he’s naming some former players like McGuire, Giambi, Palmerio, Gonzalez and Pudge Rodriguez as steroid users. Well as you can imagine, they are denying any usage.
My opinion? Innocent until more information comes out (with the obvious exception of Giambi, which the information has already come out)……. One persons accusation shouldn’t ruin someones career, but I do feel they shouldn’t also just be blown off as baseless accusations. We’ll have to wait to see if anyone else steps forward and can corroborate Canseco’s story (Pudge, is it true you got your nickname when you, Jose and Raphael were doing Viagra together???)…… Until I read the book and see what else in it, I’ll withhold judgement, but needless to say, this storyline is dominating the airways right now and will continue to be a big story. I'll have more on this next week.
Donald Young – Yes, I know right now you’re saying, “huh,who is Donald Young?” Well in my never ending quest to allow you to win bar bets, he’s the future of men’s tennis. At 15, this American is the youngest ever ranked number 1 junior player in the world. He won the Australian Open Junior Title this year and became the first American to win the Australian since Andy Roddick did it back in 2000. As a left hander, he is frequently compared to John McEnroe. Ok, now your informed about the future of men’s tennis.
Link of the Week –
This takes balls to do this……. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/050208/80/fbzpn.html
Until next week,
Bill
Friday, February 04, 2005
Super thoughts and Rowdy Roddy Pipper.. 2/4
1) Super Bowl – First off everyone knows I’m biased, so let’s start out with that. But the more I look at the teams the more confident I am that the Patriots should win this game. With or without T.O. the Eagles are going to have a hard time scoring enough points to keep up with New England. I see the keys to the game as follows:
a) Iggles – McNabb has to have a monster game, moving in the pocket, forcing NE to change defenses, leaving the wide receivers in single coverage. He can’t force passes and throw interceptions. If he starts turning the ball over, watch for a blow out. Whether or not T.O. plays I don’t think will make a huge difference. Bryant Westbrook also has to have a huge game out of the back field. Defensively they need to keep NE from striking quickly and getting into a high scoring game.
b) Patriots – If they can shut down the Eagles running game, then it’s a matter of making McNabb a pocket passer and that’s when the turnovers will happen. Easier said then done, but it can be done. Offensively if Dillion starts ripping off big runs, it’ll set up the play action pass, and Brady can hit the intermediate routes to Graham, Givens, Branch, Patton and Brown all day long.
From everything I’ve been reading, watch for NE to start 5 wide, in order to spread the Eagles defense and keep Jeremiah Trotter off the field. If they start having success there, that’s when the draws to Dillion will happen, and with Philly spread out, big chunks of yardage will occur. I think NE will get up early, cause turnovers and build up a big lead (ala Pittsburgh game). I really don’t see Philly making it close.
Final Score – New England 34, Philly 17
MVP: Corey Dillon ............By the way, back in my November 7th column, under the Football write up, my super bowl prediction was pats vs. eagles. Boy I really went out on a limb there, huh???? There’s a reason why you pick the favorites!
2) Rudy T quits – As Rowdy Roddy Pipper used to say “just when they think they know all the answers, I change the questions”! That’s what Rudy’s doing with the Lakers now. Just when they’re starting to gel and figure out how to play (they’ve played well with Bryant being out), he ups and quits on them……. I’ve heard a few rumors about his leaving, but nothing other than conjecture at this point. Do I think Phil Jackson will return? No. The Knicks job is out there if he wants it, and Isaiah will pay him an ungodly amount of money.
3) Sosa to Baltimore – Is this even a story anymore? Does anyone really care where he plays? Maybe if this was 4-5 years ago, but what’s he done in the last couple years, that Magglio Ordonez or Richie Sexton hasn’t??? Whether he was using steroids or a corked bat, old age or what, I’m not sure, but at this point in his career, there are probably 25 guys I’d rather want on my team than him…..
4) Max Schmeling – German legend of boxing past away yesterday at the age of 99. Known for his 2 fights against Joe Louis, Schmeling was the first German (and European) heavyweight champion of the world. He knocked out Louis in their first fight in 1936, which the Nazi regime hailed as “Aryan Supremacy”. Louis got revenge in 38, knocking out Schmeling in the 1st round. Over the years the 2 boxers stayed close, and later on in Louis life when he was destitute, Schmeling lent him money and paid for Louis funeral when he died in 1981. By all accounts he was a good person that brought a lot of notoriety to boxing in its infancy, and will be missed.
5) Love Em/Hate Em – Knowing that there are a lot of Laker fans that read this…… Rudy T, love him or hate? Admittedly I’ve always liked him, so I’ve got to say love him! When he went to the Lakers, I liked him less, but hopefully he ends up on his feet, is healthy and after a year or so as a “consultant” with the Lakers, gets another head coaching job….
Till next week,
Bill
a) Iggles – McNabb has to have a monster game, moving in the pocket, forcing NE to change defenses, leaving the wide receivers in single coverage. He can’t force passes and throw interceptions. If he starts turning the ball over, watch for a blow out. Whether or not T.O. plays I don’t think will make a huge difference. Bryant Westbrook also has to have a huge game out of the back field. Defensively they need to keep NE from striking quickly and getting into a high scoring game.
b) Patriots – If they can shut down the Eagles running game, then it’s a matter of making McNabb a pocket passer and that’s when the turnovers will happen. Easier said then done, but it can be done. Offensively if Dillion starts ripping off big runs, it’ll set up the play action pass, and Brady can hit the intermediate routes to Graham, Givens, Branch, Patton and Brown all day long.
From everything I’ve been reading, watch for NE to start 5 wide, in order to spread the Eagles defense and keep Jeremiah Trotter off the field. If they start having success there, that’s when the draws to Dillion will happen, and with Philly spread out, big chunks of yardage will occur. I think NE will get up early, cause turnovers and build up a big lead (ala Pittsburgh game). I really don’t see Philly making it close.
Final Score – New England 34, Philly 17
MVP: Corey Dillon ............By the way, back in my November 7th column, under the Football write up, my super bowl prediction was pats vs. eagles. Boy I really went out on a limb there, huh???? There’s a reason why you pick the favorites!
2) Rudy T quits – As Rowdy Roddy Pipper used to say “just when they think they know all the answers, I change the questions”! That’s what Rudy’s doing with the Lakers now. Just when they’re starting to gel and figure out how to play (they’ve played well with Bryant being out), he ups and quits on them……. I’ve heard a few rumors about his leaving, but nothing other than conjecture at this point. Do I think Phil Jackson will return? No. The Knicks job is out there if he wants it, and Isaiah will pay him an ungodly amount of money.
3) Sosa to Baltimore – Is this even a story anymore? Does anyone really care where he plays? Maybe if this was 4-5 years ago, but what’s he done in the last couple years, that Magglio Ordonez or Richie Sexton hasn’t??? Whether he was using steroids or a corked bat, old age or what, I’m not sure, but at this point in his career, there are probably 25 guys I’d rather want on my team than him…..
4) Max Schmeling – German legend of boxing past away yesterday at the age of 99. Known for his 2 fights against Joe Louis, Schmeling was the first German (and European) heavyweight champion of the world. He knocked out Louis in their first fight in 1936, which the Nazi regime hailed as “Aryan Supremacy”. Louis got revenge in 38, knocking out Schmeling in the 1st round. Over the years the 2 boxers stayed close, and later on in Louis life when he was destitute, Schmeling lent him money and paid for Louis funeral when he died in 1981. By all accounts he was a good person that brought a lot of notoriety to boxing in its infancy, and will be missed.
5) Love Em/Hate Em – Knowing that there are a lot of Laker fans that read this…… Rudy T, love him or hate? Admittedly I’ve always liked him, so I’ve got to say love him! When he went to the Lakers, I liked him less, but hopefully he ends up on his feet, is healthy and after a year or so as a “consultant” with the Lakers, gets another head coaching job….
Till next week,
Bill
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