What do Kenyon Martin, Pau Gasol, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Drew Gooden, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Marvin Williams, Adam Morrison, and Kevin Durant all have in common? They are all forwards who were highly thought of coming out of college who were drafted in the top five of the NBA draft between 2000 and 2007. All of these players (with the exception of Morrison) have been pretty good players since entering the league; Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh are bonafide superstars. The Chicago Bulls won the right to make the first pick in the draft in last week’s lottery and are currently trying to decide between Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley. The nine aforementioned players should give the Chicago Bulls some insight as to what they should do with the #1 pick. THEY SHOULD DRAFT DERRICK ROSE!!!!.
Michael Beasley is a phenomenal player in his own right. He can shoot from three point range, score at will in the low post, is a great rebounder, and is a willing defender. I truly believe that he will be a very good (not great) player in the NBA for many years to come. Although he is a good player he should not be the #1 pick for the following three reasons:
1. HIS NAME IS NOT DERRICK ROSE.
2. A VERY GOOD FORWARD IS AVAILABLE IN THE DRAFT EVERY YEAR (see opening paragraph).
3. A VERY GOOD POINT GUARD IS NOT AVAILABLE EVERY YEAR.
If you don’t believe reason number three, here’s proof. In the NBA drafts between 2000 and 2007 (same drafts cited above) only three TRUE point guards drafted in the top five have been very good. They are Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Devin Harris.
If the Bulls are going to draft to fill their biggest need, they would obviously draft Michael Beasley. They already have a pretty good point guard in Kirk Hinrich and their best inside player is arguably Sideshow Bob. Sorry I meant to say Joakim Noah. Not to worry, Kirk Hinrich will be traded in the next couple of weeks or possibly on draft day for an inside player, which would leave the Bulls with a gaping hole to fill at point guard. And who better than the Hometown Phenom, Derrick Rose to fill that position. That is, as long as they don’t suddenly decide to hire Billy Knight as GM (he will definitely convince them that it is never a good idea to draft a point guard. Look at how good that logic worked in Atlanta.)
If the Bulls don't draft Derrick Rose with the first overall pick, it would be one of the stupidest decisions ever made. It would rank up there with such decisions as:
The Portland Trailblazers drafting Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan.
The San Francisco 49er's drafting Alex Smith #1 (a QB from Utah, that had BUST written all over it)
Any NBA team hiring Isiah Thomas for a coaching or front office position.
Flavor Flav choosing "Hoopz" (girls that look like that don’t even date guys that look like that on TV).
The Bulls have no desire to become a trivia question (Which franchise was stupid enough to pass on Derrick Rose?), so they will definitely make the right decision. Kirk Hinrich, it's now time for you to start packing your bags and putting your house on the market (hope you can sell it without taking a loss).
Thursday, May 29, 2008
PEEK-A-BOO, I SEE YOU
How good of a coach is Bill Belichick? How good of a quarterback is Tom Brady? Were the Patriots' 3 Super Bowl titles obtained by cheating? These are the three questions that have come up most often in the wake of SPYGATE. These are all legitimate questions that everyone in the football public would like to know the answers to. I must admit, that as a huge football fan, I have been following this story like a teenage girl follows celebrity gossip. What can I say?, it’s the most interesting sports scandal since the Kobe Bryant “incident,” or steroids in baseball, or Reggie Bush having to take a pay cut to play in the NFL. Ok, there is always a sports scandal, but this one really captured my attention.
There have been two people who haven't gotten their proper due for their roles in this saga. The first person is Matt Walsh. Now, I know that he has been a center piece throughout the majority of this story, but I don’t think we appreciate just how smart of a business man he is. The public became aware of SPYGATE after the New York Jets turned them in for illegally taping their coaches signaling in plays during their week one matchup. I was baffled by the fact that they were taping the Jets. This is because Eric Mangini’s (head coach of the Jets) previous job was defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots. That would lead one to think that he was aware of the fact that the Patriots were taping the opposing coach’s signals. Although Bill Belichick is widely considered a “genius” in the football world, taping the signals of a team whose head coach was once an assistant coach on your staff is pretty dumb. After the Week 1 game, everyone was skeptical of the Patriots' success. This lead to an NFL investigation into the incident. The league found that the Patriots were indeed breaking the rules and took away their 1st round draft pick and fined the organization $250,000. Belichick was personally fined $500,000. After the punishment was leveled, everyone thought the story was over and the NFL was looking forward to it all going away. Not so fast, that is when Matt Walsh saw his golden opportunity. He put out word that he had information and tapes concerning SPYGATE. This immediately made him a very popular man among NFL people and conspiracy theorists alike. Roger Goodell (NFL Commissioner) wanted very badly to speak with Walsh, so that this issue could finally be put to bed. After months of negotiations, Matt Walsh finally agreed to speak with the Commissioner. After his meeting with Goodell, Matt Walsh’s fifteen minutes of fame officially began. He agreed to give an exclusive interview to HBO (there is a good chance that he was handsomely compensated for this interview). In this interview, he detailed how the information on the tapes was used in games. He also gave information that suggested that the New England Patriots knew that they were breaking the rules by filming the coaches. Walsh even discussed the lies that he was told to tell if he was caught or questioned while setting up or taping. One man claiming to know this much about a cheating scandal, could only lead to one thing; A BOOK DEAL, which usually leads to quite a bit of STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!! Book advances can be in the high six figure to seven figure range if the publishers feel the book is destined to top the New York Times best seller list. Just think, eight months ago no one in the NFL really cared about Matt Walsh’s existence, and now everyone is interested in what he has to say, and will be willing to hear it. This is all because he acted as his own PR firm by putting the word out that he has information that everyone will want to hear. Whether you like him or not, he has shown quite a bit of business savvy.
After a conversation on the subject with a “trusted source,” it was brought to my attention that another person has managed to escape all of the attention that he deserves in reference to SPYGATE. That person is Notre Dame Head Coach, Charlie Weiss. He was the offensive “mastermind” of the Patriots during their three championships. Weiss received the majority of the credit for the team’s offensive success. This lead to him getting the Head Coaching job at (as Tony Kornheiser loves to call it, the University of Football in America) Notre Dame. In Weiss’ first season at Notre Dame, he led the Fighting Irish to a 9-3 record (with a roster full of Tyrone Willingham’s players, but that is an issue that I will discuss at a later date). In his second season, the Fighting Irish had a 10-3 record (he still had the benefit of having Willingham’s players, especially at QB, RB, and WR). During this time, Notre Dame never beat a team that they shouldn’t beat. They always beat the less talented teams, and never beat a team with equal or more talent. This fact made people wonder if Charlie Weiss really was a genius. This question was answered in the 2007 season. Notre Dame finished the 2007 season with a 3-9 record (with the players he recruited at the key positions). Immediately following the season, Weiss said that he would spend some time in the off-season with the New England coaching staff to “critique” his coaching. I wonder if he was there to talk about football coaching principles and philosophies, or to discuss the architecture of Notre Dame Stadium and the best place to hide a camera to capture the opposing coaches.
Over the years, several opposing players have said that they felt like the Patriots were “in their huddle” or knew what was coming. It was always dismissed as players being upset because they lost. Now it seems that there could possibly be evidence to back up those claims. Bill Belichick has said that the tapes gave the Patriots little to no advantage on the football field. I have seen the tapes, and I feel as though they would provide an advantage to any NFL caliber quarterback or play-caller. This includes Brodie Croyle and Greg Knapp. Even the genius that is Marty Mornhinweg (he once elected to kick the ball after winning the coin toss in sudden death overtime) could use this information to his advantage. If there was no advantage, then why would you break the rules. Fairly or unfairly this scandal will undoubtedly overshadow the greatness of Belichick (who should not be eligible for the Hall of Fame) and Tom Brady. HOPE IT WAS WORTH IT!!!!
There have been two people who haven't gotten their proper due for their roles in this saga. The first person is Matt Walsh. Now, I know that he has been a center piece throughout the majority of this story, but I don’t think we appreciate just how smart of a business man he is. The public became aware of SPYGATE after the New York Jets turned them in for illegally taping their coaches signaling in plays during their week one matchup. I was baffled by the fact that they were taping the Jets. This is because Eric Mangini’s (head coach of the Jets) previous job was defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots. That would lead one to think that he was aware of the fact that the Patriots were taping the opposing coach’s signals. Although Bill Belichick is widely considered a “genius” in the football world, taping the signals of a team whose head coach was once an assistant coach on your staff is pretty dumb. After the Week 1 game, everyone was skeptical of the Patriots' success. This lead to an NFL investigation into the incident. The league found that the Patriots were indeed breaking the rules and took away their 1st round draft pick and fined the organization $250,000. Belichick was personally fined $500,000. After the punishment was leveled, everyone thought the story was over and the NFL was looking forward to it all going away. Not so fast, that is when Matt Walsh saw his golden opportunity. He put out word that he had information and tapes concerning SPYGATE. This immediately made him a very popular man among NFL people and conspiracy theorists alike. Roger Goodell (NFL Commissioner) wanted very badly to speak with Walsh, so that this issue could finally be put to bed. After months of negotiations, Matt Walsh finally agreed to speak with the Commissioner. After his meeting with Goodell, Matt Walsh’s fifteen minutes of fame officially began. He agreed to give an exclusive interview to HBO (there is a good chance that he was handsomely compensated for this interview). In this interview, he detailed how the information on the tapes was used in games. He also gave information that suggested that the New England Patriots knew that they were breaking the rules by filming the coaches. Walsh even discussed the lies that he was told to tell if he was caught or questioned while setting up or taping. One man claiming to know this much about a cheating scandal, could only lead to one thing; A BOOK DEAL, which usually leads to quite a bit of STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!! Book advances can be in the high six figure to seven figure range if the publishers feel the book is destined to top the New York Times best seller list. Just think, eight months ago no one in the NFL really cared about Matt Walsh’s existence, and now everyone is interested in what he has to say, and will be willing to hear it. This is all because he acted as his own PR firm by putting the word out that he has information that everyone will want to hear. Whether you like him or not, he has shown quite a bit of business savvy.
After a conversation on the subject with a “trusted source,” it was brought to my attention that another person has managed to escape all of the attention that he deserves in reference to SPYGATE. That person is Notre Dame Head Coach, Charlie Weiss. He was the offensive “mastermind” of the Patriots during their three championships. Weiss received the majority of the credit for the team’s offensive success. This lead to him getting the Head Coaching job at (as Tony Kornheiser loves to call it, the University of Football in America) Notre Dame. In Weiss’ first season at Notre Dame, he led the Fighting Irish to a 9-3 record (with a roster full of Tyrone Willingham’s players, but that is an issue that I will discuss at a later date). In his second season, the Fighting Irish had a 10-3 record (he still had the benefit of having Willingham’s players, especially at QB, RB, and WR). During this time, Notre Dame never beat a team that they shouldn’t beat. They always beat the less talented teams, and never beat a team with equal or more talent. This fact made people wonder if Charlie Weiss really was a genius. This question was answered in the 2007 season. Notre Dame finished the 2007 season with a 3-9 record (with the players he recruited at the key positions). Immediately following the season, Weiss said that he would spend some time in the off-season with the New England coaching staff to “critique” his coaching. I wonder if he was there to talk about football coaching principles and philosophies, or to discuss the architecture of Notre Dame Stadium and the best place to hide a camera to capture the opposing coaches.
Over the years, several opposing players have said that they felt like the Patriots were “in their huddle” or knew what was coming. It was always dismissed as players being upset because they lost. Now it seems that there could possibly be evidence to back up those claims. Bill Belichick has said that the tapes gave the Patriots little to no advantage on the football field. I have seen the tapes, and I feel as though they would provide an advantage to any NFL caliber quarterback or play-caller. This includes Brodie Croyle and Greg Knapp. Even the genius that is Marty Mornhinweg (he once elected to kick the ball after winning the coin toss in sudden death overtime) could use this information to his advantage. If there was no advantage, then why would you break the rules. Fairly or unfairly this scandal will undoubtedly overshadow the greatness of Belichick (who should not be eligible for the Hall of Fame) and Tom Brady. HOPE IT WAS WORTH IT!!!!
ROBBING THE CRADLE
If you ask any big time college basketball coach what the most important aspect of their job is, the vast majority of them would say, “Shaping the lives of impressionable young men, so that they can be successful citizens on and off of the basketball court.” If you believe that, then chances are that you also believe that Pacman Jones will win NFL Man of the Year (for his contributions to the college funds of many adult entertainers). What these coaches are really thinking is, “My job is to win as many games as possible, by any means necessary, so that I can move on to another program or get even more money here. Either way you look at it, the goal is more wins, which will equal more “STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!!”
In college basketball, the key to winning games is recruiting. You must have great players to win, no matter how good of a coach you are. Don’t believe me?, look at Bob Knight. He is one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time (whether you like him or not), and even he couldn’t win big with the talent that assembles annually in Lubbock, Texas. With this in mind, coaches will do anything to convince the next big thing to come and play for them.
College coaches have done some pretty reprehensible things through the years to win a coveted recruit. These things include, paying players, giving their family members or AAU coaches jobs in the program, steering them to certain professors that were “friends of the program” to ensure their eligibility, and also creating classes that will allow them to receive course credit for attending basketball practice. All of these actions are horrible and completely undermine what college athletics is supposed to be about; coaches should be dealt with if they are caught doing such things. With all of that in mind, there was something in the news recently which simply turned my stomach. My favorite college basketball program of all time, the KENTUCKY WILDCATS (the program with the most wins in the history of college basketball), OFFERED A SCHOLARSHIP TO AN EIGHTH GRADER. This is ridiculous! Where is the NCAA when you need them? This is an easy issue for the NCAA. There is no need for an investigation at all. All that they have to do is create one new rule. This rule should simply state that, “No scholarship offer can be extended to a potential student-athlete before the completion of his sophomore year of High School. “And if the student isn’t that bright and has to repeat the tenth grade, then he can‘t receive a scholarship offer until the completion of his final sophomore year.
If this practice is allowed to continue, there is no telling what will happen in the future. You could potentially see coaches watching kids shoot NERF baskets in Toys R Us trying to find the next Ray Allen. Even worse, we could see coaches developing relationships with obstetricians, so that they can contact them each time they deliver a child over 24 inches long. Where does it end? The problem is, in the high stakes game of big-time college basketball, it never ends. Billy Gillispie and the administration at the University of Kentucky should be ashamed of themselves. For not only offering a scholarship to a kid whose voice hasn’t changed yet, but for also starting what I’m sure will be an ugly and disturbing trend. I can see it now, a five year old holding a press conference in his kindergarten class to announce his college decision and signing his Letter of Intent with a fat pencil with no eraser. Don’t laugh, because if the NCAA doesn’t step in now, this very well could become a reality.
In college basketball, the key to winning games is recruiting. You must have great players to win, no matter how good of a coach you are. Don’t believe me?, look at Bob Knight. He is one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time (whether you like him or not), and even he couldn’t win big with the talent that assembles annually in Lubbock, Texas. With this in mind, coaches will do anything to convince the next big thing to come and play for them.
College coaches have done some pretty reprehensible things through the years to win a coveted recruit. These things include, paying players, giving their family members or AAU coaches jobs in the program, steering them to certain professors that were “friends of the program” to ensure their eligibility, and also creating classes that will allow them to receive course credit for attending basketball practice. All of these actions are horrible and completely undermine what college athletics is supposed to be about; coaches should be dealt with if they are caught doing such things. With all of that in mind, there was something in the news recently which simply turned my stomach. My favorite college basketball program of all time, the KENTUCKY WILDCATS (the program with the most wins in the history of college basketball), OFFERED A SCHOLARSHIP TO AN EIGHTH GRADER. This is ridiculous! Where is the NCAA when you need them? This is an easy issue for the NCAA. There is no need for an investigation at all. All that they have to do is create one new rule. This rule should simply state that, “No scholarship offer can be extended to a potential student-athlete before the completion of his sophomore year of High School. “And if the student isn’t that bright and has to repeat the tenth grade, then he can‘t receive a scholarship offer until the completion of his final sophomore year.
If this practice is allowed to continue, there is no telling what will happen in the future. You could potentially see coaches watching kids shoot NERF baskets in Toys R Us trying to find the next Ray Allen. Even worse, we could see coaches developing relationships with obstetricians, so that they can contact them each time they deliver a child over 24 inches long. Where does it end? The problem is, in the high stakes game of big-time college basketball, it never ends. Billy Gillispie and the administration at the University of Kentucky should be ashamed of themselves. For not only offering a scholarship to a kid whose voice hasn’t changed yet, but for also starting what I’m sure will be an ugly and disturbing trend. I can see it now, a five year old holding a press conference in his kindergarten class to announce his college decision and signing his Letter of Intent with a fat pencil with no eraser. Don’t laugh, because if the NCAA doesn’t step in now, this very well could become a reality.
LET'S TAKE A LOOK BACK
Now that it's baseball season (and it will be until November, zzzzzzzzzz) I have been thinking about all of the controversy that has been associated with baseball in recent years. Over the past couple of years we have seen several Congressional hearings, Barry Bonds & Roger Clemens look like the Incredible Hulk (near and after age 40), Sammy Sosa forget how to speak English, Mark McGwire get amnesia, and Rafael Palmero wag his finger at Congress. In addition to this we have also found out that Andy Pettitte isn’t the fair playing gentlemen that he appears to be, and we have seen a large number of Major Leaguers hold press conferences to apologize for making bad decisions or being a “distraction”. All of this is due to the fact that there is overwhelming proof that steroid use was (and possibly still is) a major problem in Major League Baseball.
Steroids use in Major League Baseball was the big elephant in the room that Donald Fehr (the head of the Major League Baseball Players Association), the male Marge Simpson (sorry, I meant to say Commissioner Bud Selig), fans, and owners all refused to acknowledge. But now, thanks in large part to Jose Canseco’s book “Juiced,” the issue of steroids and other performance enhancing drug use has been brought to the forefront. It has also caused people to look back and evaluate odd events that took place, starting in the mid-90’s to try to understand how they took place. Many point to Barry Bonds hitting 73 home runs in 2001, and the fact that it appears that his head has grown over the years. Now I know that Bonds is a workout fanatic, but I have yet to see the “head machine” in any gym that I've ever gone to. There are those that also point to the Home Run battle between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire in 1998. That year Sammy Sosa hit 66 homeruns while Mark McGwire set the record (that would later be broken by Bonds) of 70 homeruns. The previous record was 61 held by Roger Marist. I can’t say whether or not these or any other players were using steroids. Although these players and many others have been convicted in the court of public opinion, there is very little proof of any failed tests. So we can only speculate.
When I look back at baseball in the mid-90’s, I always wonder why one particular player’s single-season performance was not closely scrutinized. I am referring to Brady Anderson’s 1996 season. I am not saying that Anderson used steroids (because I wasn’t there nor do I have any proof) but I have always found it interesting that in his 8 major league seasons prior to 1996, he hit a grand total of 72 home runs (an average of 9 per season). But in 1996 HE HIT 50! For those of you that were fans of the Arsenio Hall Show, this would make the list of “THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMM.” After that season he hit a total of 88 over his final six seasons in the majors (an average of 14.6 per season). Like I previously stated, I don’t have any proof of steroid use by Brady Anderson, nor have I heard a lot of speculation about him, but the 1996 season was when I realized that there were things starting to happen in baseball that were a bit unusual. I don’t know if Brady worked his butt off in the weight room and the batting cage and it all paid off for one year, or if the pitching he faced was that bad, but the fact is that Brady had one heck of a season in 1996.
On a totally different note, I would like to CONGRATULATE OUR ATLANTA HAWKS!!!! The playoffs have been one exciting ride. Although we fell one game short of advancing, we have been given a glimpse of things to come. I was fortunate enough to attend Game 6 and I have not seen an Atlanta Arena that crazy since the Falcons beat the Rams in the NFL playoffs in 2004. We finally have a team that the city can be proud of. NEXT YEAR IS OUR YEAR!!!!
****A NOTE TO JOSH SMITH****
When you sign your new 60+ million dollar contract this off-season, just say three little words for me. STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!!
Steroids use in Major League Baseball was the big elephant in the room that Donald Fehr (the head of the Major League Baseball Players Association), the male Marge Simpson (sorry, I meant to say Commissioner Bud Selig), fans, and owners all refused to acknowledge. But now, thanks in large part to Jose Canseco’s book “Juiced,” the issue of steroids and other performance enhancing drug use has been brought to the forefront. It has also caused people to look back and evaluate odd events that took place, starting in the mid-90’s to try to understand how they took place. Many point to Barry Bonds hitting 73 home runs in 2001, and the fact that it appears that his head has grown over the years. Now I know that Bonds is a workout fanatic, but I have yet to see the “head machine” in any gym that I've ever gone to. There are those that also point to the Home Run battle between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire in 1998. That year Sammy Sosa hit 66 homeruns while Mark McGwire set the record (that would later be broken by Bonds) of 70 homeruns. The previous record was 61 held by Roger Marist. I can’t say whether or not these or any other players were using steroids. Although these players and many others have been convicted in the court of public opinion, there is very little proof of any failed tests. So we can only speculate.
When I look back at baseball in the mid-90’s, I always wonder why one particular player’s single-season performance was not closely scrutinized. I am referring to Brady Anderson’s 1996 season. I am not saying that Anderson used steroids (because I wasn’t there nor do I have any proof) but I have always found it interesting that in his 8 major league seasons prior to 1996, he hit a grand total of 72 home runs (an average of 9 per season). But in 1996 HE HIT 50! For those of you that were fans of the Arsenio Hall Show, this would make the list of “THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMM.” After that season he hit a total of 88 over his final six seasons in the majors (an average of 14.6 per season). Like I previously stated, I don’t have any proof of steroid use by Brady Anderson, nor have I heard a lot of speculation about him, but the 1996 season was when I realized that there were things starting to happen in baseball that were a bit unusual. I don’t know if Brady worked his butt off in the weight room and the batting cage and it all paid off for one year, or if the pitching he faced was that bad, but the fact is that Brady had one heck of a season in 1996.
On a totally different note, I would like to CONGRATULATE OUR ATLANTA HAWKS!!!! The playoffs have been one exciting ride. Although we fell one game short of advancing, we have been given a glimpse of things to come. I was fortunate enough to attend Game 6 and I have not seen an Atlanta Arena that crazy since the Falcons beat the Rams in the NFL playoffs in 2004. We finally have a team that the city can be proud of. NEXT YEAR IS OUR YEAR!!!!
****A NOTE TO JOSH SMITH****
When you sign your new 60+ million dollar contract this off-season, just say three little words for me. STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!!
MY WEEKEND
I must love my wife because on one of the biggest sports weekends in the history of Atlanta, I was vacationing in the North Carolina mountains (in all fairness, we were celebrating our first anniversary). This was the weekend of one of the biggest NFL drafts in Atlanta Falcons history as well as game three of the Hawks first playoff series in nine years and the first playoff game ever in Phillips Arena. My wonderful wife understood the importance of this weekend, so we watched the Hawks game together Saturday night and even got a chance to watch about an hour or two of draft coverage over the course of the weekend. It was truly a wonderful and much needed vacation. As it relates to the weekend’s sporting events, I was very disappointed (with the Falcons) early on Saturday. But by Saturday night I was very excited (thanks to the Hawks).
THE FALCONS DID IT AGAIN!!!! They passed on a potential Hall of Famer (the next Warren Sapp) in LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, for a mediocre quarterback in Matt Ryan from Boston College. The moment I saw the pick, I instantly had a flashback to the 1998 NFL draft. The Falcons had the 12th pick. Believe it or not, Randy Moss (a future Hall of Fame receiver, and in the discussion to determine the best receiver ever) was sitting on the board. But who do the Falcons choose? They pass on Moss and select Keith Brooking. In Brooking the Falcons got a slow linebacker who can't cover his bed with a blanket. I mean, have you seen his pathetic attempts at covering tight ends and running backs; there is no way that he deserved to make 5 Pro Bowls. However, this is not a Keith Brooking bashing session (I’ll save that for when I am low on material), but there is no way that an average linebacker should have been taken before a receiver of Moss' caliber. The Falcons have basically done the same thing again. They took a slightly better than average quarterback with the #3 overall pick, when the best defensive tackle of the past several drafts was still available. Matt Ryan’s own college coach said himself that “Matt Ryan was the next Matt Hasselbeck” (see blog entry entitled “SHUT UP COACH, YOU ARE NOT HELPING”). If he is correct then it looks like we drafted him 184 picks too early. Ask yourself, would you rather have Warren Sapp or Matt Hasselbeck? and If I am not mistaken don’t we already have a quarterback on our roster that was selected 3rd overall in Joey Harrington? How did that work out?
As much as I wanted to spend the evening wallowing in my frustration and disappointment in the Falcons' new General Manager Thomas Dimitroff, I couldn’t because I became distracted and a bit excited by the ATLANTA HAWKS DEFEAT OFTHE BOSTON CELTICS (103 – 92) in Game 3 of their first round playoff series. I know that I predicted that the Hawks would be swept by the Celtics in last week’s entry, but I WAS WRONG!!!! and I have never enjoyed being wrong so much in my entire life. This was by far the most exciting playoff game of this season. The Hawks played fast, intense, fearless, high energy basketball and it was a joy to witness. Josh Smith (my favorite Hawk) led the way with 27 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. He did all of this while holding Kevin Garnett to only 32 points. I know that sounds like a lot of points but he kept him from getting the 44 points that would have led to a Boston victory. No matter what happens the rest of the series or the rest of the playoffs, I am so proud of our Hawks. Just think this team just might be young and dumb enough to believe that they can win this thing and that could make them a dangerous opponent. I can’t wait until Monday night for Game 4. At least one Atlanta team is giving me something to be proud of.
THE FALCONS DID IT AGAIN!!!! They passed on a potential Hall of Famer (the next Warren Sapp) in LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, for a mediocre quarterback in Matt Ryan from Boston College. The moment I saw the pick, I instantly had a flashback to the 1998 NFL draft. The Falcons had the 12th pick. Believe it or not, Randy Moss (a future Hall of Fame receiver, and in the discussion to determine the best receiver ever) was sitting on the board. But who do the Falcons choose? They pass on Moss and select Keith Brooking. In Brooking the Falcons got a slow linebacker who can't cover his bed with a blanket. I mean, have you seen his pathetic attempts at covering tight ends and running backs; there is no way that he deserved to make 5 Pro Bowls. However, this is not a Keith Brooking bashing session (I’ll save that for when I am low on material), but there is no way that an average linebacker should have been taken before a receiver of Moss' caliber. The Falcons have basically done the same thing again. They took a slightly better than average quarterback with the #3 overall pick, when the best defensive tackle of the past several drafts was still available. Matt Ryan’s own college coach said himself that “Matt Ryan was the next Matt Hasselbeck” (see blog entry entitled “SHUT UP COACH, YOU ARE NOT HELPING”). If he is correct then it looks like we drafted him 184 picks too early. Ask yourself, would you rather have Warren Sapp or Matt Hasselbeck? and If I am not mistaken don’t we already have a quarterback on our roster that was selected 3rd overall in Joey Harrington? How did that work out?
As much as I wanted to spend the evening wallowing in my frustration and disappointment in the Falcons' new General Manager Thomas Dimitroff, I couldn’t because I became distracted and a bit excited by the ATLANTA HAWKS DEFEAT OFTHE BOSTON CELTICS (103 – 92) in Game 3 of their first round playoff series. I know that I predicted that the Hawks would be swept by the Celtics in last week’s entry, but I WAS WRONG!!!! and I have never enjoyed being wrong so much in my entire life. This was by far the most exciting playoff game of this season. The Hawks played fast, intense, fearless, high energy basketball and it was a joy to witness. Josh Smith (my favorite Hawk) led the way with 27 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. He did all of this while holding Kevin Garnett to only 32 points. I know that sounds like a lot of points but he kept him from getting the 44 points that would have led to a Boston victory. No matter what happens the rest of the series or the rest of the playoffs, I am so proud of our Hawks. Just think this team just might be young and dumb enough to believe that they can win this thing and that could make them a dangerous opponent. I can’t wait until Monday night for Game 4. At least one Atlanta team is giving me something to be proud of.
PARTY LIKE IT'S 1999!!!!
“RISE UP ATLANTA!!!!” The Hawks have ended the longest current playoff drought in the NBA. We are in the playoffs for the first time since 1999. I know that many people feel that a team with a below .500 record (the Hawks finished the regular season 37-45) doesn’t deserve to be in the playoffs. But in the NBA, the top 8 teams in each conference make the playoff regardless of their records. These are the rules. We don’t make them, but we sure do like them. I will be the first to admit that it takes hard work for a franchise to be inept enough to miss the playoffs in the NBA for nine straight years. I mean this is a league with 30 teams and 16 of them make the playoffs.
The Hawks have made some unbelievably stupid decisions since 1999, which led to this lengthy drought. These decisions include:
Trading for Isaiah Rider (Had all sorts of issues, in fact I believe he could be in some sort of rehab facility right now)
Hiring Billy Knight as General Manager (Outside of the LA Clippers, rebuilding in the NBA has never been this ugly.)
The 2001 draft (We traded the draft rights to Pau Gasol along with Brevin Knight & Lorenzen Wright for Shareef Abdur-Rahim. We also passed up Tony Parker.)
Drafting Marvin Williams in 2005 (Nice guy, nice player, but NOT A POINT GUARD)
Not drafting Chris Paul in 2005 (Don’t worry we made up for it. Please see below.)
Signing Speedy Claxton to a 4-year $25 million contract (We passed on Chris Paul the previous year, so we did the next best thing. Signed his backup. He is now the Mike Hampton of the NBA.)
Not drafting Deron Williams in 2005 (Are you noticing an anti-PG trend?)
Not drafting Rajon Rondo in 2006 (Now he is the PG on a potential championship team)
NOT DRAFTING A POINT GUARD
Drafting Sheldon Williams with the fifth pick in the 2006 draft (WHAT????)
Building a roster full of 6’6” to 6’9” wing players (No true Point Guard or Center, which are the two most important positions in the NBA)
Having a man named Bimbo on your roster (I am referring to Bimbo Coles who was a Hawk during the 1999 – 2000 season)
On the other hand, the Hawks have worked hard over the past couple of years to right their wrongs. They have made such wise moves as:
Not firing Mike Woodson (He walked into a horrible roster. He deserved a chance, and the best thing for this team was consistent leadership).
Trading for Joe Johnson (I still can’t figure out why he WANTED to come here, but I’m glad he did. I hope the team hypnotist got a nice bonus for that one.)
Drafted Josh Smith, Josh Childress, and Al Horford (These three have been essential to the playoff run and will be key to the future success of the team.)
TRADING FOR MIKE BIBBY (I CAN’T BELIEVE IT, WE TRADE FOR A LEGIT PG AND WE MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. WOW!!!! what a novel concept. We also found a team dumb enough to take Sheldon Williams off our hands.)
Although I haven’t attended many games in recent years (if I want to watch a basketball game alone, I can watch from home. No need to sit in a big arena alone.), I consider myself a Hawks fan. They are actually my favorite Atlanta sports team (I will explain my feelings on the other Atlanta teams in later blogs). I have watched almost all of their televised games over the past several years, no matter how bad the team.
I am thrilled to be a Hawks fan and I can’t wait for the playoff games to begin. I feel as though this is the beginning of great things to come.
NOW THE SOBERING REALITY OF THE SITUATION:
The Hawks will lose four straight games to the Boston Celtics by a combined 60 points or more. So take it all in and enjoy the playoff run, because it will be a short one. Four games to be exact.
The Hawks have made some unbelievably stupid decisions since 1999, which led to this lengthy drought. These decisions include:
Trading for Isaiah Rider (Had all sorts of issues, in fact I believe he could be in some sort of rehab facility right now)
Hiring Billy Knight as General Manager (Outside of the LA Clippers, rebuilding in the NBA has never been this ugly.)
The 2001 draft (We traded the draft rights to Pau Gasol along with Brevin Knight & Lorenzen Wright for Shareef Abdur-Rahim. We also passed up Tony Parker.)
Drafting Marvin Williams in 2005 (Nice guy, nice player, but NOT A POINT GUARD)
Not drafting Chris Paul in 2005 (Don’t worry we made up for it. Please see below.)
Signing Speedy Claxton to a 4-year $25 million contract (We passed on Chris Paul the previous year, so we did the next best thing. Signed his backup. He is now the Mike Hampton of the NBA.)
Not drafting Deron Williams in 2005 (Are you noticing an anti-PG trend?)
Not drafting Rajon Rondo in 2006 (Now he is the PG on a potential championship team)
NOT DRAFTING A POINT GUARD
Drafting Sheldon Williams with the fifth pick in the 2006 draft (WHAT????)
Building a roster full of 6’6” to 6’9” wing players (No true Point Guard or Center, which are the two most important positions in the NBA)
Having a man named Bimbo on your roster (I am referring to Bimbo Coles who was a Hawk during the 1999 – 2000 season)
On the other hand, the Hawks have worked hard over the past couple of years to right their wrongs. They have made such wise moves as:
Not firing Mike Woodson (He walked into a horrible roster. He deserved a chance, and the best thing for this team was consistent leadership).
Trading for Joe Johnson (I still can’t figure out why he WANTED to come here, but I’m glad he did. I hope the team hypnotist got a nice bonus for that one.)
Drafted Josh Smith, Josh Childress, and Al Horford (These three have been essential to the playoff run and will be key to the future success of the team.)
TRADING FOR MIKE BIBBY (I CAN’T BELIEVE IT, WE TRADE FOR A LEGIT PG AND WE MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. WOW!!!! what a novel concept. We also found a team dumb enough to take Sheldon Williams off our hands.)
Although I haven’t attended many games in recent years (if I want to watch a basketball game alone, I can watch from home. No need to sit in a big arena alone.), I consider myself a Hawks fan. They are actually my favorite Atlanta sports team (I will explain my feelings on the other Atlanta teams in later blogs). I have watched almost all of their televised games over the past several years, no matter how bad the team.
I am thrilled to be a Hawks fan and I can’t wait for the playoff games to begin. I feel as though this is the beginning of great things to come.
NOW THE SOBERING REALITY OF THE SITUATION:
The Hawks will lose four straight games to the Boston Celtics by a combined 60 points or more. So take it all in and enjoy the playoff run, because it will be a short one. Four games to be exact.
WANTED: FOR UN-ARMED ROBBERY
Does Mike Hampton wear a black ski mask and gloves on the 1st and 15th of each month when he goes to pick up his paycheck? If not, he should. There should be FBI “Wanted” posters in Post Offices across America with his picture on them. I’m no snitch, but if there is a reward I will be quick to call the FBI and tell them that they can find him either in the training room at Turner Field or at Taco Mac (the wings are great, he get’s free beer as a member of their Passport Beer Club, and there are dozens of HD televisions on which he can watch another baseball season pass him by). You may be wondering, “How does he know where to find Mike Hampton?” It’s easy, HE HASN’T LEFT THE TRAINING ROOM SINCE 2005!!!! Mike Hampton has been a Brave since 2003. Over this time he has made over $68,000,000. He is also due to make $15,000,000 in 2008. That's a lot of STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!! Let’s take a look at what the Braves got for their $68 million dollars:
72 Starts (only 12 starts in 2005)
431.2 Innings Pitched
32 wins
224 Strikeouts
An average ERA of 3.88
2 FULL SEASONS WITH NO STARTS (2006 & 2007)
Over the same time period and for about $28 million dollars, the Twins got the following production from Johan Santana:
152 starts
1069.5 Innings Pitched
82 wins
1152 Strikeouts
An average ERA of 2.93
Now that's getting your money’s worth.
Every year the baseball analysts say that the Braves could win the division especially if they get anything from Mike Hampton. Everyone at Turner Field was excited on April 3rd when Hampton was scheduled to start against the Pittsburgh Pirates. As Hampton began warming up in the Bullpen, it happened again. HE WAS INJURED WHILE WARMING UP!!!! He is currently on the 15-day DL, and who knows when or if he will pitch again.
Trading for Mike Hampton has by far been the worst player acquisition in the history of Atlanta sports. Now that is quite a distinction, especially when you consider that franchises in this city have signed John Koncak to a huge contract (while a 6 year $13 million contract doesn’t seem like much in today’s world, he was making more money than Michael Jordan & Magic Johnson at the time). The Hawks also TRADED DOMINIQUE WILKINS FOR DANNY MANNING. Sadly I have to add one more acquisition to the list of bad decisions, the Falcons in a sense traded Ladainian Tomlinson for Michael Vick. Even with all of these moves being considered, Mike Hampton takes the cake. Maybe he will come back healthy and be a great pitcher then re-sign with the Braves for the minimum (as restitution for all of the money that he has stolen). But don’t count on it. At this rate, Mike Hampton will go down as one of the greatest thieves of all time. Those Enron guys have nothing on Mike Hampton.
IF THEY’RE EXPERTS, THEN SO AM I
After watching countless hours of college basketball games and analysis and spending even more time reading about college basketball online over the course of the season, I have two questions. What makes these analysts and writers “EXPERTS”? And, do the people paid to watch and discuss college basketball for a living actually watch the games? There have been two things that have happened over the past two weeks that prompt me to ask these questions. The first is Memphis guard Derrick Rose being named as a 3rd team All-American. THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS. Not only should he have been 1st team All-American, he should have also gotten serious consideration for National Player of the Year. I really don’t understand how these All-American teams are selected. The first team All-American point guard was DJ Augustin. I am in no way putting down DJ Augustin (It is not his fault that the people who selected him are idiots), but he’s nowhere near as good as Derrick Rose, as the NBA will soon prove. Don’t believe me? Let’s review the stats of their head to head match-up in the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament. DJ Augustine had 16 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, and 4 turnovers. While Derrick Rose had a stat line that read 21 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, and only 2 turnovers. Oh, and by the way Memphis also won the game, which happened to be played in Houston Texas. As further proof of Rose’s dominance, we will look at the National Semi-Final game against UCLA and fellow 3rd team All-American guard Darren Collison. The box score for Collison read: 2 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 5 turnovers, and five fouls (he fouled out). While Mr. Rose’s (I call him Mr. because although he is only 19, he has a grown man’s game) box score read: 25 points, 4 assists, 9 rebounds, 1 steal, and only one turnover. Are the so-called experts seeing what I am seeing? Apparently not, because THIS KID IS THE BEST GUARD IN AMERICA. I am not talking about a decent player having a great tournament; he has been doing this all season, and his team is currently 38-1. I guess we shouldn’t be that surprised at how stupid so-called experts can be, I mean Michael Jordan was drafted 3rd (behind Sam Bowie) and Sheldon Williams (the latest in the long line of Duke players to dominate in the NBA) was drafted 5th. And while watching those drafts (I saw a replay of the Jordan draft on NBATV), I noticed that most of the so-called expert analysts thought that those were good picks.
The second thing that has been bothering me is how little respect Memphis as a team gets from the National Media. THEY ARE 38-1 and were ranked #1 for a good part of the season. Yet once the tournament started they were picked by MOST experts to loose in the Sweet 16 to Michigan State (Yeah Right, Drew Neitzel can stop Derrick Rose), who they went on to beat 92-74 and led at one point by a score of 50-20. That impressive victory still didn’t make believers out of the “Experts”. Almost all of them went on to pick Texas to beat them in the Elite 8. Yeah, we see how that turned out (an 85-67 Memphis win). Surely UCLA would dominate them. Wrong again. They are now in the national championship game on Monday night. The funniest thing is that one “EXPERT” on ESPN said that the biggest surprise for him in this tournament was, “How good Memphis is.” This is why I ask the question, Do they actually watch the games? Again I say, any team that is 38-1 with victories over Georgetown, Arizona, Cincinnati, Gonzaga, USC, Texas, and UCLA is VERY GOOD. Oh wait, now I’m starting to sound like an expert, let me correct that statement, a team having a season like that is GREAT. Further, if your only job is to watch as many college basketball games as possible, you should be able to at least identify a good team. So I have decided that if they get paid (six and seven figure salaries) to watch and analyze college basketball, yet don’t know as much as I do, then I too am an expert, probably more so than them and someone should be paying me to do this (that is an official self-promoting plug to anyone at CNNSI or ESPN).
The second thing that has been bothering me is how little respect Memphis as a team gets from the National Media. THEY ARE 38-1 and were ranked #1 for a good part of the season. Yet once the tournament started they were picked by MOST experts to loose in the Sweet 16 to Michigan State (Yeah Right, Drew Neitzel can stop Derrick Rose), who they went on to beat 92-74 and led at one point by a score of 50-20. That impressive victory still didn’t make believers out of the “Experts”. Almost all of them went on to pick Texas to beat them in the Elite 8. Yeah, we see how that turned out (an 85-67 Memphis win). Surely UCLA would dominate them. Wrong again. They are now in the national championship game on Monday night. The funniest thing is that one “EXPERT” on ESPN said that the biggest surprise for him in this tournament was, “How good Memphis is.” This is why I ask the question, Do they actually watch the games? Again I say, any team that is 38-1 with victories over Georgetown, Arizona, Cincinnati, Gonzaga, USC, Texas, and UCLA is VERY GOOD. Oh wait, now I’m starting to sound like an expert, let me correct that statement, a team having a season like that is GREAT. Further, if your only job is to watch as many college basketball games as possible, you should be able to at least identify a good team. So I have decided that if they get paid (six and seven figure salaries) to watch and analyze college basketball, yet don’t know as much as I do, then I too am an expert, probably more so than them and someone should be paying me to do this (that is an official self-promoting plug to anyone at CNNSI or ESPN).
SHUT UP COACH, YOU'RE NOT HELPING!!!!
During a recent interview on Sirius NFL Radio (The best radio on radio) Boston College Head Coach Jeff Jagodzinski said, “Matt Ryan should definitely be a top 5 NFL Draft Pick because he is the next Matt Hasselbeck.” I have a feeling that he was directing that comment toward the Atlanta Falcons because they obviously are a team that will be drafting a QB at some point in the draft and have the third overall pick. I was not surprised that Jagodzinski was attempting to hype his player because that is what coaches do around draft time, but comparing him to Matt Hasselbeck? Coach couldn’t you have done better. For instance, before the 2007 NFL Draft, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said that Brady Quinn was a combination on Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. I will give everyone a moment to finish laughing. Done? OK. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are the best two quarterbacks in the game today. While it was a ridiculous statement, he at least tried to give NFL teams the illusion that they were getting the best quarterback to ever step on a football field. That is how you attempt to sell your player.
Listening to coach Jagodzinski’s comment, what I think he was really saying was, “Some team with a legendary quarterback should draft Matt Ryan in the sixth round (just like Green Bay drafted Matt Hasselbeck), and send him to the practice squad for a year. For the next two years he should be a backup to the legend. He should then be traded to another team where he can share the starting job with a journeyman quarterback (i.e Matt Hasselbeck sharing the job with Jon Kitna in Seattle). After all of that you will have a slightly above average NFL quarterback. Now I ask, does that sound like a player that is worthy of a potential top 5 draft pick? In my opinion teams should take what coach Jagodzinski is saying at face value because there is no way that Matt Ryan impressed me in COLLEGE the way other top QB’s such as Demarcus Russell, Michael Vick, Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer, or Donavan McNabb did. So with a year on the practice squad and a couple of years as a backup and a part-time starter, it is indeed possible that he could be as good as Matt Hasslebeck. Jamarcus Russell, the first quarterback taken in the ’07 draft received a six-year $68 million contract with $32 million guaranteed. The third pick in the ’07 draft (where Jagodzinski wants Ryan to land), Left Tackle Joe Thomas, received a five year $42.5 million contract with $23 million guaranteed. Meanwhile a sixth round pick in the ’07 draft received a salary of $391,500. Although coach Jagodzinski has the best intentions in mind when trying to create a buzz for his player, he is not helping his case. If he succeeds in convincing NFL teams that Matt Ryan is truly the next Matt Hasselbeck, they will draft him in the sixth round. If that happens then we can all say that coach Jeff Jagodzinski has cost Matt Ryan a lot of STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!!
Listening to coach Jagodzinski’s comment, what I think he was really saying was, “Some team with a legendary quarterback should draft Matt Ryan in the sixth round (just like Green Bay drafted Matt Hasselbeck), and send him to the practice squad for a year. For the next two years he should be a backup to the legend. He should then be traded to another team where he can share the starting job with a journeyman quarterback (i.e Matt Hasselbeck sharing the job with Jon Kitna in Seattle). After all of that you will have a slightly above average NFL quarterback. Now I ask, does that sound like a player that is worthy of a potential top 5 draft pick? In my opinion teams should take what coach Jagodzinski is saying at face value because there is no way that Matt Ryan impressed me in COLLEGE the way other top QB’s such as Demarcus Russell, Michael Vick, Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer, or Donavan McNabb did. So with a year on the practice squad and a couple of years as a backup and a part-time starter, it is indeed possible that he could be as good as Matt Hasslebeck. Jamarcus Russell, the first quarterback taken in the ’07 draft received a six-year $68 million contract with $32 million guaranteed. The third pick in the ’07 draft (where Jagodzinski wants Ryan to land), Left Tackle Joe Thomas, received a five year $42.5 million contract with $23 million guaranteed. Meanwhile a sixth round pick in the ’07 draft received a salary of $391,500. Although coach Jagodzinski has the best intentions in mind when trying to create a buzz for his player, he is not helping his case. If he succeeds in convincing NFL teams that Matt Ryan is truly the next Matt Hasselbeck, they will draft him in the sixth round. If that happens then we can all say that coach Jeff Jagodzinski has cost Matt Ryan a lot of STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!!
UPSET????
It is now the month of March, which means one thing in the world of sports; IT’S TOURNAMENT TIME!!!! Along with the NCAA Tournament comes the overuse of two words, these words are “BUBBLE” and “UPSET.” “BUBBLE” gets enough talk and scrutiny, so today we are going to talk about the word “UPSET.” If the Belmont Bruins (quick , can a non-Belmont Alum please tell me where that school is located), a 15 seed out of that “powerhouse conference”– the Atlantic Sun, had beaten the most hated team in America – DUKE, that would have been an upset. San Diego over UConn is an upset. However, Davidson over Gonzaga is by no means an upset. They are both from relatively weak conferences and have about the same level of recruits. These aren’t exactly kids that had to make the tough choice between those two schools or Kentucky and UNC. And to be perfectly honest Davidson has a better team than Gonzaga (yes, I have watched both teams play prior to the tournament). With this in mind I will now define an upset.
From this point forward, an UPSET will be DEFINED AS:
When a 16 seed defeats a 1 seed in the NCAA tournament
Multi-directional State University (i.e Southwest Oklahoma State University or Southeast Missouri State University) defeats a top a 25 team
A school that NO ONE (who isn’t an alum) would know the location of (unless it is in the name of the school) defeats a program that has won a national championship in the last 10 years.
Any major conference school losing at home to Northwestern.
Any Division 2 or lower school defeating a major conference Division 1 school.
Memphis losing to anyone in Conference USA (especially at home).
Any team that is below .500 beating a top 5 team.
Any team beating another team for the first time in more than 50 tries.
A team with a roster full of kids that eat at McDonald’s defeats a team with a roster full of McDonald’s All-Americans.
Any team losing to another team that has had fewer Mc-Donald’s All-American recruits in their history than you have on your current roster.
A team that wears And 1 shoes and apparel beating a team that wears Nike, Reebok, or Adidas.
With the dilution of college basketball due to underclassmen going to the NBA and kids going to smaller schools to play earlier, nothing else qualifies as an upset. It’s just Vegas being wrong.
From this point forward, an UPSET will be DEFINED AS:
When a 16 seed defeats a 1 seed in the NCAA tournament
Multi-directional State University (i.e Southwest Oklahoma State University or Southeast Missouri State University) defeats a top a 25 team
A school that NO ONE (who isn’t an alum) would know the location of (unless it is in the name of the school) defeats a program that has won a national championship in the last 10 years.
Any major conference school losing at home to Northwestern.
Any Division 2 or lower school defeating a major conference Division 1 school.
Memphis losing to anyone in Conference USA (especially at home).
Any team that is below .500 beating a top 5 team.
Any team beating another team for the first time in more than 50 tries.
A team with a roster full of kids that eat at McDonald’s defeats a team with a roster full of McDonald’s All-Americans.
Any team losing to another team that has had fewer Mc-Donald’s All-American recruits in their history than you have on your current roster.
A team that wears And 1 shoes and apparel beating a team that wears Nike, Reebok, or Adidas.
With the dilution of college basketball due to underclassmen going to the NBA and kids going to smaller schools to play earlier, nothing else qualifies as an upset. It’s just Vegas being wrong.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!!
“I just want to find a team, where I can fit in, contribute, and help to win a championship.” That is the statement (always made through their agent of course) that you hear from almost every professional athlete entering FREE AGENCY. Now, what they are actually thinking while making that statement is, YES!!!!, I survived the season healthy, and posted career numbers (what a coincidence in a contract year). I only have three words on my mind. STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!!” He goes on to think, “Winning would be nice, but there is no guarantee that I will win no matter where I sign (don’t believe me, ask Randy Moss and Karl Malone). With that in mind, I am going for the STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!!” Let’s be real, that is why they play the game. Sure they love the game, but it is the money that motivates them to put the health of their bodies on the line (especially NFL players) and dedicate their entire lives to becoming a professional athlete. Another statement that amuses me is, “I love this game, I would play for free.” YEAH RIGHT!!!! If you are willing to play for free, you should donate your entire salary to charity (or to me, trust me, I will find something useful to do with it). They’re either prescribing to the Brett Favre philosophy, or they are simply stupid, or just flat out lying. Favre once said that he plays on Sundays for free, but he gets paid for the rest of the week (the practice and preparation). Great minds must think alike, because that is exactly how I would view the situation if I were a professional athlete. I don’t fault any athlete for playing for the money, just be honest with yourself and the fans. You aren’t playing for the love, you are playing for the $300,000 sports car and all of the “OTHER THINGS” that come along with it. I recall an athlete entering the 2004 NFL Draft saying that he was focused on a good 40 time, because a couple of tenths of a second could be the difference between a Chevy Truck and a Range Rover. You have to applaud his honesty. He made no bones about it, he was definitely in it for the (now let’s say it all together) STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!!
WELCOME TO STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!!
Welcome to STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!! THE FACTS EXPRESSED ON THIS BLOG ARE INTENDED TO EDUCATE AND ENTERTAIN. If what you read (such as talk about your favorite sport, team, or athlete) upsets or offends you, REMEMBER, IT'S ONLY SPORTS. GET OVER IT AND STOP TAKING YOURSELF SO SERIOUSLY!!!! I will be totally and sometimes brutally honest in my observations. All comments are welcome, whether you agree or disagree with me. I plan to update this blog weekly (A new post should be available on Sunday nights), so ENJOY and WELCOME TO MY WORLD.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)