It has been well chronicled on sports radio, television and of course the internet, that the Sacramento Kings may be on their way out of town. This should not come as a surprise to anyone who has lived in Sacramento for the last several years, for those who voted down measures Q&R (which would have provided funds for a new sports complex in the Sacramento area) and anyone who is a Kings fan. For the faithful it has been a trying season, one that started with such optimism with the drafting of Demarcus Cousins.
With the 5th pick in the NBA Lottery, the Kings were able to draft possibly the best athlete and big man in the entire draft. Even though the Kings has the 3rd worst record in the league the prior season and ended up with the 5th pick, fans still had a reason to be excited. We began to see change in our team last year with the Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans and with our draft it seemed we would only get better. If only the season had ended after the first 4 games. Sacramento started 3-1 and has gone on to win only 13 more games and managed to lose 49 more in that same time frame.
This has not brought us down however; any Kings fan is used to losing and another poor season ending with a presumably high draft pick would be more than acceptable for future strong years. This season has made a pass no fan has been able to handle though. With the Maloof brothers all but packing up the U-Haul to move on down to Anaheim, we are left with forcing ourselves to either accept the inevitable, or continue to fight for a cause we have little-to-no say in.
This has made this season harder to bear than most with the knowledge that we are rooting for a team that as early as next season could be gone. 25 short years in Sacramento and our Kings may be switching to a new city once again. We are not fortunate enough to live in a huge media market, or have a fan base nearly as dedicated as say, the Lakers...so we have to accept the fact that if we lose the Kings we may never get another professional sports franchise. We love the Kings, we have sold out 20 of those 25 seasons the Kings have inhabited the friendly confines of Arco Arena/Power Balance Pavilion. That has to count for something, but because that arena is nearly as old as I am (25) it no longer attracts big names, sell-outs or enough business to make it a viable NBA complex. So now we have to endure another losing season on top of the threat of having our team taken away, but one that thing that I have heard over and over again is how much the Kings mean to our community.
They mean so much not only because we love basketball, but because they have created memories that will last us all a lifetime. One of my earliest memories of the Kings also happens to be one of my earliest memories of my grandfather. He took me and my older brother to a Kings game and I still remember that game to this day. I was in the 5th grade, my brother in the 7th, and we went to go see the Kings take on the Miami Heat. The Kings eventually lost that game but before they did Mitch Richmond (still my favorite Kings player of all-time) hit a 3 point shot to tie the game and send it in to overtime. It was thrilling and unbelievable and as much as I couldn't believe what was happening he did it again to force the game into double-overtime. There were no late-game heroics however and the game eventually ended but I'll always have that memory of me, my brother and my grandfather loving the Kings.
My grandfather isn't with us anymore and as much as I wish I could've gotten to know him better I'll never forget how much he loved sports and how he passed that on to me. Ever since that game I've loved the Sacramento Kings. During the 2002 Western Conference Finals I was almost ready to throw a bowling ball through my television when Robert Horry hit the game winning shot in game 4 of that series. A night later I don't think I had ever been happier when Chris Webber set that screen and Mike Bibby hit his game-winning shot. When that series was over and the Kings had to come back home something told me that was it. That was our chance to win it all and we blew it. Even as crushing as the defeat was (and Mark Madsen dancing during the Lakers' Championship parade) I remained a fan.
All of that makes it so much harder for me and all the other loyal King's fans in Northern California to swallow the fact that our team, the only professional sports franchise in our area, may be leaving. I can point the finger of blame at the Maloof brothers, voters afraid of higher taxes, city and state officials too bogged down with their own personal interests to take more action and the NBA itself for not forcing the issue and keeping basketball in Sacramento, but in the end finger pointing won't keep the Kings in my backyard.
At this point in the game all I can do is fight to keep my team here, fight to make my voice heard, fight to make the Maloofs stop concentrating on dollar signs and start thinking about the community they've invested the last 11 years in and hope.
Hope that one day I can take my kids, and maybe even my grandkids, to a Kings game.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Return of the Blog: The S.F. Giants, LeBron, the S.F. 49ers and the Future
So it has been around 6 months since I've last posted and I could go through everything that has happened since then...but you all know it anyway. I'm going to briefly mention a few that really stuck out to me.
-The San Francisco Giants winning the World Series
A very exciting moment for me, as they are the only professional sports team I root for to actually win their championship game or series. And to do so in the "Year of the Pitcher" really speaks to just how good their pitching staff was. It will be interesting to see if the Phillie's new staff will mesh right away and blow people away like many are suspecting. They obviously have a better offense than the Giants do but have lost one of their power hitters to the Washington Nationals and were beat by the Giants in the playoffs. Like I said, it will be an interesting season.
-LeBron signing with the Miami Heat
This past summer all anyone could talk about was where LeBron James would end up. I even wrote about it a couple of times. He wound up with friends Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in South Florida, much to the chagrin of Ohioans, New Yorkers, Chicagoans and Brooklynites a few years from now. I liked the move even though I thought he would be more successful on a loaded Chicago team that could've been great with him, but will manage without (though I HIGHLY doubt they will ever win anything, Rose and Booser just aren't enough to push them over the threshold when there are still teams like the Lakers, Magic, Celtics, Spurs and yes the Heat to stand in their way).
LeBron's Heat, or is it Wade's Heat? It doesn't really matter because they have finally hit their stride and are playing meaningful basketball together. I have even found myself rooting for them because I want to see something that hasn't been done before happen. If they can manage to get one or two more solid role-players they can absolutely run the regular season table and go far in the playoffs. I want to see a juggernaut outside of Los Angeles, and I want to see LeBron realize his full-potential. Players of his caliber don't come around too often, he is better than Kobe, and better than anyone else in the league right now. He needs to take that next step though, I'm not sure if he has to be ruthless to accomplish that like MJ or Kobe, but he needs to do something because his fingers still have no hardware on them.
-The San Francisco 49ers finally fire Mike Singletary and presumably will not keep either Smith as quarterback.
Granted, this story isn't that big in the scope of the sport's world, but for me and every other 49er fan out there it is momentous. Singletary is at most a motivational speaker, which is definitely something you want in a head coach. That unfortunately was Singletary's only strong suit. He had no management skills, bad decision making skills and often times looked and acted lost during games. He was not the sole reason for the 49ers having yet another unsuccessful season, but he certainly didn't help matters much.
As for the Smith brothers, I still feel like Troy Smith deserves some chance to prove he can be a quality quarterback, but Alex has had more than his share of chances. Draft-mate Aaron Rodgers just won a huge game against the top-seeded Atlanta Falcons tonight in Atlanta and played so well he didn't even need to play the whole to game to amass over 300 yards passing, three passing touchdowns and one on the ground. I'm not saying Rodgers would have excelled in the 49ers organization, in fact I'm happy for him that he didn't get drafted by the 49ers because if he had he would probably be out of the league right now too. The problem is more with the lack of leadership from the head coach and offensive coordinator positions for the 49ers than it is the personnel. Imagine if Alex had been able to sit his first season, learn how to be a NFL level QB and had the same offensive coordinator every season in SF? Do you think he would be praying for a desperate franchise to pick him up on the cheap as a back-up? I don't think so either. Either way I'm glad all of those mentioned above are on their way out and the 49ers can start fresh with a new coach and hopefully a new QB soon enough (Donavan McNabb anyone??)
So with a few of the big sports moments of the past six months out of the way that leaves me open to the new year and all the sports happening before us. The Kings still suck, The Steelers and Packers are on their way to league championship games and the NBA and NFL may not happen next season.
It is always exciting to be a sports fan and now that I have graduated college (feel free to shower me with praise and accolades) I should have more free time to keep up with writing about just how it feels to be one.
P.S. I won my Fantasy Football League. First time fantasy player, beat 9 other people who have all played before and it feels fucking awesome.
-The San Francisco Giants winning the World Series
A very exciting moment for me, as they are the only professional sports team I root for to actually win their championship game or series. And to do so in the "Year of the Pitcher" really speaks to just how good their pitching staff was. It will be interesting to see if the Phillie's new staff will mesh right away and blow people away like many are suspecting. They obviously have a better offense than the Giants do but have lost one of their power hitters to the Washington Nationals and were beat by the Giants in the playoffs. Like I said, it will be an interesting season.
-LeBron signing with the Miami Heat
This past summer all anyone could talk about was where LeBron James would end up. I even wrote about it a couple of times. He wound up with friends Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in South Florida, much to the chagrin of Ohioans, New Yorkers, Chicagoans and Brooklynites a few years from now. I liked the move even though I thought he would be more successful on a loaded Chicago team that could've been great with him, but will manage without (though I HIGHLY doubt they will ever win anything, Rose and Booser just aren't enough to push them over the threshold when there are still teams like the Lakers, Magic, Celtics, Spurs and yes the Heat to stand in their way).
LeBron's Heat, or is it Wade's Heat? It doesn't really matter because they have finally hit their stride and are playing meaningful basketball together. I have even found myself rooting for them because I want to see something that hasn't been done before happen. If they can manage to get one or two more solid role-players they can absolutely run the regular season table and go far in the playoffs. I want to see a juggernaut outside of Los Angeles, and I want to see LeBron realize his full-potential. Players of his caliber don't come around too often, he is better than Kobe, and better than anyone else in the league right now. He needs to take that next step though, I'm not sure if he has to be ruthless to accomplish that like MJ or Kobe, but he needs to do something because his fingers still have no hardware on them.
-The San Francisco 49ers finally fire Mike Singletary and presumably will not keep either Smith as quarterback.
Granted, this story isn't that big in the scope of the sport's world, but for me and every other 49er fan out there it is momentous. Singletary is at most a motivational speaker, which is definitely something you want in a head coach. That unfortunately was Singletary's only strong suit. He had no management skills, bad decision making skills and often times looked and acted lost during games. He was not the sole reason for the 49ers having yet another unsuccessful season, but he certainly didn't help matters much.
As for the Smith brothers, I still feel like Troy Smith deserves some chance to prove he can be a quality quarterback, but Alex has had more than his share of chances. Draft-mate Aaron Rodgers just won a huge game against the top-seeded Atlanta Falcons tonight in Atlanta and played so well he didn't even need to play the whole to game to amass over 300 yards passing, three passing touchdowns and one on the ground. I'm not saying Rodgers would have excelled in the 49ers organization, in fact I'm happy for him that he didn't get drafted by the 49ers because if he had he would probably be out of the league right now too. The problem is more with the lack of leadership from the head coach and offensive coordinator positions for the 49ers than it is the personnel. Imagine if Alex had been able to sit his first season, learn how to be a NFL level QB and had the same offensive coordinator every season in SF? Do you think he would be praying for a desperate franchise to pick him up on the cheap as a back-up? I don't think so either. Either way I'm glad all of those mentioned above are on their way out and the 49ers can start fresh with a new coach and hopefully a new QB soon enough (Donavan McNabb anyone??)
So with a few of the big sports moments of the past six months out of the way that leaves me open to the new year and all the sports happening before us. The Kings still suck, The Steelers and Packers are on their way to league championship games and the NBA and NFL may not happen next season.
It is always exciting to be a sports fan and now that I have graduated college (feel free to shower me with praise and accolades) I should have more free time to keep up with writing about just how it feels to be one.
P.S. I won my Fantasy Football League. First time fantasy player, beat 9 other people who have all played before and it feels fucking awesome.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
My NBA Free Agency: LeBron's Departure?
I have had a hard time trying to imagine how it would feel to lose the best player on one of my favorite sports teams. Because its not like losing a Steve Young or Jerry Rice, a Chris Webber or Vlade Divac, or even Barry Bonds. Its not the same because while they were the faces of their respective franchises at one point, by the time they left they were well over the hill, too concussed or too roided-out to matter.
If Young had walked after the '94 Super Bowl, or Webber after the '02 Western Conference Finals it would've hurt. If Bonds had left after hitting 73 home runs I would've booed him every chance I got. But none of them left. None of them abandoned their hometowns or the teams in which they built their legacies.
Young walked away while he could still remember his first name. Rice went on to a few sub-par years with the Raiders and Seahawks. Webber was traded to Detroit for some role-player (after being a shell of the all-star he was). And Bonds just sort of faded into the dusk after not getting resigned by the Giants in their effort to take their team off the A.A.R.P. mailing list.
So I don't know what it feels like to lose the face of my franchise. The only thing I can liken it to is being dumped by the love of my life (or the love of that part of my life), being absolutely, inconsolably miserable and seeing her with some other dude having a great time. Just knowing she is with someone else, in a better relationship, and is far happier because I'm not part of her life anymore is around the feeling I would assume every Ohioan is getting ready to embrace.
They're all buckling down because at 6 p.m. tonight LeBron is going to announce his decision to either leave the only professional team he has known or (and it wouldn't be the right decision, I'll explain more in a moment) to stay. It's like when you're dating someone and things haven't been going well for awhile and you try everything you can to make the situation better but with every ill-placed attempt you manage to make it worse. So that significant other tells you they need to talk and will be over at a certain time. Only in this situation the Cavaliers brass has been trying for the last 7 years to make the Cavs better with varying, but ultimately no degree of success, they have to get broken up with on national television.
That is if LeBron makes the right decision and leaves the Cavs for greener NBA pastures (my pick would be Chicago, but I think Miami or New York could make it work in a year or two). The only thing that has got to be making him even consider staying in Cleveland is that hometown pride. He has carried this team through the last 7 years, held the NBA's best record a few times and won 2 M.V.P. awards. Though every playoff excursion has been forgettable. The Cavs lone Finals appearance featuring James they were swept by a clearly superior San Antonio Spurs team. This last season they buckled under the pressure of the Celtics and couldn't even make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, where I would think the Magic would have beaten them anyway.
The fact of the matter is that LeBron James cannot win a championship, let alone multiple titles in Cleveland. They have no cap flexibility, barely any tradeable players and an aging roster. Their second best player is a toss-up between pseudo all-star Mo Williams and Wizards castoff Antawn Jamison. If either of those guys are your 4th or 5th best players you have a decent shot. If for some reason James isn't shooting right (bad elbow?) then who steps up? We had a chance to ask that question this last year and the answer was an over the hill Shaq who didn't even play the last two months of the season. He hustled more than half that team in the Celtics close-out game and when 2010 Shaq is your second best scoring option, a title is far, far away.
Every time James comes back to Cleveland if he does decide to jump ship, he will be booed mercilessly, and he should be. Who wants to stay friends with their ex? When I see my ex-gfs I don't run up and hug them, I don't give them a pat on the back and congratulate them on finding someone better than myself. I either pretend I don't know them, make eye-contact then move on to pretending like I don't know them, or mutter a dirty word under my breath and ignore them. James would be lucky if he doesn't get people spitting in his face and slashing his tires.
But if James wants to be remembered as an all-time great, and I mean Bird, MJ, now even Kobe status, he has to do this. He can't stay in Cleveland and keep hoping his team of second class stars will finally flip the switch and start getting him rings.
* Chicago is already a play-off team, with a very solid core of Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and now Carlos Boozer. They have the flexibility to add one or two more lower level guys and be a complete beast. If that roster stayed healthy now with Boozer instead of Brad Miller (who I am convinced was born without the muscles in your legs that enable you to jump) and with James on that team it would be over for the rest of the East for many years to come.
* Miami has Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, Michael Beasley and three rookies. Wait a second, Wade is basically the same player as James just a little bit older, smaller and more injury prone. Bosh is completely untested in his NBA career. Chalmers and Beasley are both pretty big question marks, especially Beasley who is looking more and more likely to be a bust as the 2nd overall pick. And three rooks? If they have the big three of James, Wade and Bosh that alone will win them games, but they need a complete team to win titles.
Let's do a little hypothetical Finals for next year. The big Miami three against the Lakers. Artest would cover Wade, Kobe would take James and the combination of Bynum, Gasol and Odom would more than cover Bosh. James and Wade will be able to make some plays but overall L.A. is still too good to be beaten by a team of James, Wade and Bosh. So why go to a team you know will not be able to win, and who hypothetically has a worst roster than the one you're already one?
In Chicago he has a much better opportunity with Boozer and Noah equalizing the Lakers big men and having Rose as a legit elite point guard would help free him up. In New York he faces the same problem as in Miami, there is just not enough pieces to win it all. And if winning it all isn't your main concern then stay in Cleveland and make an extra $30 million a year.
I repeat, if James wants to win big, wants to win not even one, but multiple titles he will leave Cleveland. Just like my ex-girlfriends, they knew I was a good guy, I had my benefits and they felt some loyalty to me for being such a good guy. But they knew ultimately that I couldn't make them as happy as someone else. I know (at least I hope) that it hurt them to walk away, but they did it. They went out into the world looking for greener pastures and left me sitting in my brownish/tan pasture wondering what I did wrong.
James needs to break up with Cleveland, of course it will hurt, of course it won't be easy. But down the road Ohioans will realize it was for the best. Who wants someone to stay with them not because they love you, but because they don't want to hurt you?
Not me, and Cleveland shouldn't either.
If Young had walked after the '94 Super Bowl, or Webber after the '02 Western Conference Finals it would've hurt. If Bonds had left after hitting 73 home runs I would've booed him every chance I got. But none of them left. None of them abandoned their hometowns or the teams in which they built their legacies.
Young walked away while he could still remember his first name. Rice went on to a few sub-par years with the Raiders and Seahawks. Webber was traded to Detroit for some role-player (after being a shell of the all-star he was). And Bonds just sort of faded into the dusk after not getting resigned by the Giants in their effort to take their team off the A.A.R.P. mailing list.
So I don't know what it feels like to lose the face of my franchise. The only thing I can liken it to is being dumped by the love of my life (or the love of that part of my life), being absolutely, inconsolably miserable and seeing her with some other dude having a great time. Just knowing she is with someone else, in a better relationship, and is far happier because I'm not part of her life anymore is around the feeling I would assume every Ohioan is getting ready to embrace.
They're all buckling down because at 6 p.m. tonight LeBron is going to announce his decision to either leave the only professional team he has known or (and it wouldn't be the right decision, I'll explain more in a moment) to stay. It's like when you're dating someone and things haven't been going well for awhile and you try everything you can to make the situation better but with every ill-placed attempt you manage to make it worse. So that significant other tells you they need to talk and will be over at a certain time. Only in this situation the Cavaliers brass has been trying for the last 7 years to make the Cavs better with varying, but ultimately no degree of success, they have to get broken up with on national television.
That is if LeBron makes the right decision and leaves the Cavs for greener NBA pastures (my pick would be Chicago, but I think Miami or New York could make it work in a year or two). The only thing that has got to be making him even consider staying in Cleveland is that hometown pride. He has carried this team through the last 7 years, held the NBA's best record a few times and won 2 M.V.P. awards. Though every playoff excursion has been forgettable. The Cavs lone Finals appearance featuring James they were swept by a clearly superior San Antonio Spurs team. This last season they buckled under the pressure of the Celtics and couldn't even make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, where I would think the Magic would have beaten them anyway.
The fact of the matter is that LeBron James cannot win a championship, let alone multiple titles in Cleveland. They have no cap flexibility, barely any tradeable players and an aging roster. Their second best player is a toss-up between pseudo all-star Mo Williams and Wizards castoff Antawn Jamison. If either of those guys are your 4th or 5th best players you have a decent shot. If for some reason James isn't shooting right (bad elbow?) then who steps up? We had a chance to ask that question this last year and the answer was an over the hill Shaq who didn't even play the last two months of the season. He hustled more than half that team in the Celtics close-out game and when 2010 Shaq is your second best scoring option, a title is far, far away.
Every time James comes back to Cleveland if he does decide to jump ship, he will be booed mercilessly, and he should be. Who wants to stay friends with their ex? When I see my ex-gfs I don't run up and hug them, I don't give them a pat on the back and congratulate them on finding someone better than myself. I either pretend I don't know them, make eye-contact then move on to pretending like I don't know them, or mutter a dirty word under my breath and ignore them. James would be lucky if he doesn't get people spitting in his face and slashing his tires.
But if James wants to be remembered as an all-time great, and I mean Bird, MJ, now even Kobe status, he has to do this. He can't stay in Cleveland and keep hoping his team of second class stars will finally flip the switch and start getting him rings.
* Chicago is already a play-off team, with a very solid core of Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and now Carlos Boozer. They have the flexibility to add one or two more lower level guys and be a complete beast. If that roster stayed healthy now with Boozer instead of Brad Miller (who I am convinced was born without the muscles in your legs that enable you to jump) and with James on that team it would be over for the rest of the East for many years to come.
* Miami has Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, Michael Beasley and three rookies. Wait a second, Wade is basically the same player as James just a little bit older, smaller and more injury prone. Bosh is completely untested in his NBA career. Chalmers and Beasley are both pretty big question marks, especially Beasley who is looking more and more likely to be a bust as the 2nd overall pick. And three rooks? If they have the big three of James, Wade and Bosh that alone will win them games, but they need a complete team to win titles.
Let's do a little hypothetical Finals for next year. The big Miami three against the Lakers. Artest would cover Wade, Kobe would take James and the combination of Bynum, Gasol and Odom would more than cover Bosh. James and Wade will be able to make some plays but overall L.A. is still too good to be beaten by a team of James, Wade and Bosh. So why go to a team you know will not be able to win, and who hypothetically has a worst roster than the one you're already one?
In Chicago he has a much better opportunity with Boozer and Noah equalizing the Lakers big men and having Rose as a legit elite point guard would help free him up. In New York he faces the same problem as in Miami, there is just not enough pieces to win it all. And if winning it all isn't your main concern then stay in Cleveland and make an extra $30 million a year.
I repeat, if James wants to win big, wants to win not even one, but multiple titles he will leave Cleveland. Just like my ex-girlfriends, they knew I was a good guy, I had my benefits and they felt some loyalty to me for being such a good guy. But they knew ultimately that I couldn't make them as happy as someone else. I know (at least I hope) that it hurt them to walk away, but they did it. They went out into the world looking for greener pastures and left me sitting in my brownish/tan pasture wondering what I did wrong.
James needs to break up with Cleveland, of course it will hurt, of course it won't be easy. But down the road Ohioans will realize it was for the best. Who wants someone to stay with them not because they love you, but because they don't want to hurt you?
Not me, and Cleveland shouldn't either.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
My Return to the Blog
Ahh it feels good to be back. Sorry to everyone out there who have been having withdraws from my amazing sports blog but as we all know life gets in the way of itself sometimes and caused my brief hiatus. See, that's why you love this blog...because it's about sports but I know big words like hiatus.
Back to sports, hella has gone on in the past few weeks since my last post, The NBA Draft has come and gone, Stephen Strasburg and Ubaldo Jimenez have both heated up and subsequently cooled off, more NBA trades, more idiot athletes getting themselves in trouble with the law and in less than two days the Free Agency period starts for the NBA. Oh what an exciting time in sports!
First I'd like to start with the NBA Draft. While this draft seemed a little lackluster there was some good talent taken that will help to shape the upcoming NBA season. John Wall went first to the Washington Wizards who also picked up Kirk Heinrich from the Chicago Bulls in an attempt by the Bulls to shed as many contractual obligations as possible in order to lure free agents to the Windy City. Who knows if this will pay off however with the Miami Heat doing the same and actually doing a better job of it. Chicago has enough cap space to offer max contracts to two players while Miami has enough to sign on three potential players. Back to free agency in a moment though. It's hard to get excited about picks 2-4 as they all went according to what most of thought. Sacramento however was able to pick up center Demarcus Couzins, who has the potential to be one of the most dominant big men in the league in his rookie season. Couple him with Tyreke Evans, 2009 Rookie of the Year, and a possible skilled veteran through free agency and the Kings actually become relevant again. Can we expect a big enough drop off from the other Pacific Division teams for the Kings to get in though? Will Couzins be able to control his temper and his weight enough to be effective? Will Geoff Petrie leave the Kings organization as has been rumored by some? Only time will tell, but from a ridiculously hot day in late June, the Kings are definitely looking better than they did this time last year.
On to Free Agency! So at 12:01 A.M. this Thursday teams will be able to legally start courting potential free agents to come and play for them. At this point before fere agency starts many teams still feel they're in the hunt for some of the future all-stars available. Now while I could wax poetic about which teams are pursuing which players if you have any interest in sports you probably know as much as I know already, so I would like to look at it from a different approach. What are the teams that gutted their benches going to do when and if thy don't land those free agents? There are only so many and if two or three of them all end up going to the same time are we going to be left with one or two mega teams and a bunch of other shitty teams? Will parity in the league be at an all-time low? Imagine if Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh all go to the Miami Heat and Joe Johnson and Carlos Boozer/Amare Stoudamire go to the Bulls, now we have at least 5 or 6 other teams who have been playing horrible basketball for the past 4 or 5 years while maneuvering themselves into position to get these free agents without any stars. So what, are they going to wait for another 4 or 5 years til these players are back on the market? Will these mega-teams steamroll the rest of the league? To me this kind of free agency sounds exciting because we all love winners. When the Patriots were winning games during their (almost) perfect season it was a very exciting time for the NFL, I would love seeing an NBA team go 75-7 or even better than that. But if one or two teams dominate that much it is going to suck having to watch the rest of the league. The playoffs will be a joke and it will hurt the NBA more and more over the next few years. But like I said, it will be exciting to see those few mega-teams if it happens, lets just hope it doesn't water down the rest of the league so much the NBA sucks even worse.
To baseball. My San Francisco Giants have been sucking recently but a lot of other teams have as well, so I guess all things considered it could be worse. What I want to focus on however is something I have written about before and that is pitching. Ubaldo Jimenez, who just a little bit ago was the darling of the league. With an earned run average of just over 1, he was on pace to go 15-1 before the All-Star Break, which in recent times is fairly unheard of. Since then he has gotten a no-decision and a win, but his era has gone from 1.13 all the way up to a 1.86. Still leading the major leagues, but he is starting to show signs he isn't invincible. Strasburg has lost his first game now and has been less dominant, he is on a shitty Nationals team though so it's no surprise that he isn't winning every start. There has been talk too wondering whether or not he should be on the All-Star team, and I say no. No way does he deserve a spot. Rookies, especially rookies who haven't even been playing the whole year shouldn't be on the team unless they are blow you away amazing and while Strasburg is good he has amassed a total of 5 professional starts (and only 2 wins) and that is nowhere near All-Star caliber.
Oh and a quick nod to the Men's USA Soccer team, good job making it as far as you did. I don't think a lot of people expected you to make it so far and really compete against a superior team in Ghana. But thank God I don't have to listen to those Vuvuzelas anymore. Thinking about it though...it would be kinda cool to get one of those to distract the opposing pitcher at my softball games...
And one last bit, for my hockey team I am going to follow from now on...The Toronto Maple Leafs.
Another last place team for me to love. Great.
Up Next...The Man of La Mancha on Vinyl...
Back to sports, hella has gone on in the past few weeks since my last post, The NBA Draft has come and gone, Stephen Strasburg and Ubaldo Jimenez have both heated up and subsequently cooled off, more NBA trades, more idiot athletes getting themselves in trouble with the law and in less than two days the Free Agency period starts for the NBA. Oh what an exciting time in sports!
First I'd like to start with the NBA Draft. While this draft seemed a little lackluster there was some good talent taken that will help to shape the upcoming NBA season. John Wall went first to the Washington Wizards who also picked up Kirk Heinrich from the Chicago Bulls in an attempt by the Bulls to shed as many contractual obligations as possible in order to lure free agents to the Windy City. Who knows if this will pay off however with the Miami Heat doing the same and actually doing a better job of it. Chicago has enough cap space to offer max contracts to two players while Miami has enough to sign on three potential players. Back to free agency in a moment though. It's hard to get excited about picks 2-4 as they all went according to what most of thought. Sacramento however was able to pick up center Demarcus Couzins, who has the potential to be one of the most dominant big men in the league in his rookie season. Couple him with Tyreke Evans, 2009 Rookie of the Year, and a possible skilled veteran through free agency and the Kings actually become relevant again. Can we expect a big enough drop off from the other Pacific Division teams for the Kings to get in though? Will Couzins be able to control his temper and his weight enough to be effective? Will Geoff Petrie leave the Kings organization as has been rumored by some? Only time will tell, but from a ridiculously hot day in late June, the Kings are definitely looking better than they did this time last year.
On to Free Agency! So at 12:01 A.M. this Thursday teams will be able to legally start courting potential free agents to come and play for them. At this point before fere agency starts many teams still feel they're in the hunt for some of the future all-stars available. Now while I could wax poetic about which teams are pursuing which players if you have any interest in sports you probably know as much as I know already, so I would like to look at it from a different approach. What are the teams that gutted their benches going to do when and if thy don't land those free agents? There are only so many and if two or three of them all end up going to the same time are we going to be left with one or two mega teams and a bunch of other shitty teams? Will parity in the league be at an all-time low? Imagine if Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh all go to the Miami Heat and Joe Johnson and Carlos Boozer/Amare Stoudamire go to the Bulls, now we have at least 5 or 6 other teams who have been playing horrible basketball for the past 4 or 5 years while maneuvering themselves into position to get these free agents without any stars. So what, are they going to wait for another 4 or 5 years til these players are back on the market? Will these mega-teams steamroll the rest of the league? To me this kind of free agency sounds exciting because we all love winners. When the Patriots were winning games during their (almost) perfect season it was a very exciting time for the NFL, I would love seeing an NBA team go 75-7 or even better than that. But if one or two teams dominate that much it is going to suck having to watch the rest of the league. The playoffs will be a joke and it will hurt the NBA more and more over the next few years. But like I said, it will be exciting to see those few mega-teams if it happens, lets just hope it doesn't water down the rest of the league so much the NBA sucks even worse.
To baseball. My San Francisco Giants have been sucking recently but a lot of other teams have as well, so I guess all things considered it could be worse. What I want to focus on however is something I have written about before and that is pitching. Ubaldo Jimenez, who just a little bit ago was the darling of the league. With an earned run average of just over 1, he was on pace to go 15-1 before the All-Star Break, which in recent times is fairly unheard of. Since then he has gotten a no-decision and a win, but his era has gone from 1.13 all the way up to a 1.86. Still leading the major leagues, but he is starting to show signs he isn't invincible. Strasburg has lost his first game now and has been less dominant, he is on a shitty Nationals team though so it's no surprise that he isn't winning every start. There has been talk too wondering whether or not he should be on the All-Star team, and I say no. No way does he deserve a spot. Rookies, especially rookies who haven't even been playing the whole year shouldn't be on the team unless they are blow you away amazing and while Strasburg is good he has amassed a total of 5 professional starts (and only 2 wins) and that is nowhere near All-Star caliber.
Oh and a quick nod to the Men's USA Soccer team, good job making it as far as you did. I don't think a lot of people expected you to make it so far and really compete against a superior team in Ghana. But thank God I don't have to listen to those Vuvuzelas anymore. Thinking about it though...it would be kinda cool to get one of those to distract the opposing pitcher at my softball games...
And one last bit, for my hockey team I am going to follow from now on...The Toronto Maple Leafs.
Another last place team for me to love. Great.
Up Next...The Man of La Mancha on Vinyl...
Thursday, June 10, 2010
My Almost Perfect Day In Sports
Every now and then all the sports related events in my life happen to occur on the same day, and sometimes they happen in a positive way. Today the Boston Celtics beat the Lakers, which doesn't make me happy because I like the Celtics, it makes me happy because I hate the Lakers. My softball team also played today and we won 12-5, which were helped by my two hits, two RBI's and run scored! Boo. Yah.
The only thing that kept today from being perfect were my S.F. Giants blowing their game in the ninth inning by giving up three runs. Guillermo Mota, you can go suck a lemon.
Alas, I try to focus on the positive things in life so that will be the last mention of the Giants game. First up, game 4 of the NBA Finals. The Celtics played a team game to win game 4, getting a huge boost from their bench. With Glenn "Big Baby" Davis, who after an and-1 play started to drool a little bit while he was yelling in excitement, and Nate Robinson providing 30 points off the bench, gave the Celtics the win.
The Celtics bench outplayed the Lakers bench by leaps and bounds. They outscored them 36-18 and just had far more passion. Which I really think is the biggest difference between these teams. Between the first teams and the bench, and that is passion. The Celtics players, everyone from the future hall of famers to the ultimate bench warmer, Brain Scalabrene, were passionate and excited for the whole thing. When you looked at the Lakers, Kobe Bryant is the only one who really looks like he cares. Pau Gasol has his moments but for as good as he is he can't carry that team.
I'm excited for Game 5, I want the Celtics to win this series. But please announcers and sports writers, stop calling every game in the series critical or crucial, like the other games aren't. They're all critical, they're all crucial, every game means something. It's not like Phil Jackson (the Lakers coach) tells his guys, "Hey everyone, this is game 2, not a biggie, if you want to mail it in tonight that's cool. Not critical." He doesn't say that because he knows and we know that every game is critical, you don't have to tell us like it's some kind of revelation and your astute prowess at realizing this is God's greatest gift to mankind.
On to the softball game. Coming into tonight's game we were in 3rd place and tonight beat the 2nd place team. We came out in the first inning scoring three runs and kept them scoreless through the first 4 innings. We were able to score more and more and by the last inning we were up 12-1. We did give up four more runs in the last inning but still came away with an impressive win. I'm very excited for next week.
Next Up...A high school graduation, work and a season premier of True Blood.
The only thing that kept today from being perfect were my S.F. Giants blowing their game in the ninth inning by giving up three runs. Guillermo Mota, you can go suck a lemon.
Alas, I try to focus on the positive things in life so that will be the last mention of the Giants game. First up, game 4 of the NBA Finals. The Celtics played a team game to win game 4, getting a huge boost from their bench. With Glenn "Big Baby" Davis, who after an and-1 play started to drool a little bit while he was yelling in excitement, and Nate Robinson providing 30 points off the bench, gave the Celtics the win.
The Celtics bench outplayed the Lakers bench by leaps and bounds. They outscored them 36-18 and just had far more passion. Which I really think is the biggest difference between these teams. Between the first teams and the bench, and that is passion. The Celtics players, everyone from the future hall of famers to the ultimate bench warmer, Brain Scalabrene, were passionate and excited for the whole thing. When you looked at the Lakers, Kobe Bryant is the only one who really looks like he cares. Pau Gasol has his moments but for as good as he is he can't carry that team.
I'm excited for Game 5, I want the Celtics to win this series. But please announcers and sports writers, stop calling every game in the series critical or crucial, like the other games aren't. They're all critical, they're all crucial, every game means something. It's not like Phil Jackson (the Lakers coach) tells his guys, "Hey everyone, this is game 2, not a biggie, if you want to mail it in tonight that's cool. Not critical." He doesn't say that because he knows and we know that every game is critical, you don't have to tell us like it's some kind of revelation and your astute prowess at realizing this is God's greatest gift to mankind.
On to the softball game. Coming into tonight's game we were in 3rd place and tonight beat the 2nd place team. We came out in the first inning scoring three runs and kept them scoreless through the first 4 innings. We were able to score more and more and by the last inning we were up 12-1. We did give up four more runs in the last inning but still came away with an impressive win. I'm very excited for next week.
Next Up...A high school graduation, work and a season premier of True Blood.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
My 2 Year Suspension
I don't claim to know a lot about college football, in fact the only time I really pay attention is the months leading up to the NFL draft. The only reason for that is so that I can get excited about who my team (the 49ers) are going to pick. There are times though when I venture out of my safety zone (the NFL) and wander into unknown waters (College football), this is one of those times.
The USC Football program will receive a two year postseason ban, a reduction in scholarships and a forfeiture of wins from at least the 2004 season. This ban from bowl games and reduction in scholarships stems from how the team handled now New Orleans Saint, Reggie Bush. Bush, the 2005 Heisman Trophy award winner, and his parents allegedly received benefits from the team including free rent for Bush during his time at USC.
USC was sanctioned in 2001 and if this punishment holds it could result in USC becoming a repeat offender since both of these infractions occurred within 5 years of each other. All of this could result in lost T.V. coverage, a reduction in scholarships, recruiting restrictions and probation. Meaning that a lot of kids coming out of high school with no hopes of going to college without those scholarships won't be able to now because of Reggie Bush and the USC staff.
Now lets think for a moment where Reggie Bush and then head coach of the Trojans, Pete Carroll are now. Well Bush is making millions as a utility back and special teams player on the Saints. He has had pretty much one good game his entire career when it has counted. Carroll has just taken over the Seattle Seahawks with so much power there he decides who gets hired to sell hot dogs.
Both of these men, along with many other are responsible for the mess going down in southern California right now and except for the fact that Bush could get his Heisman trophy taken away, nothing will happen to them. They both benefited from the wrongdoings they committed and now other people are paying the consequences.
I've never been a Reggie Bush fan and I don't like the Seahawks so Carroll was never much a draw for me, even now. This whole situation is pretty shitty for those left at USC and those who want to go there. Maybe Bush and Carroll will do the right thing and help out their old school, but more than likely they won't say or do a thing.
I guess sometimes I'm happy I go to Sacramento State, at least there our football team is so shitty we never have to worry about things like this happening. We just have to deal with President Gonzalez...on second thought maybe dealing with Bush and Carroll wouldn't be so bad...
Next Up...To Kill A Mockingbird or Snuff
The USC Football program will receive a two year postseason ban, a reduction in scholarships and a forfeiture of wins from at least the 2004 season. This ban from bowl games and reduction in scholarships stems from how the team handled now New Orleans Saint, Reggie Bush. Bush, the 2005 Heisman Trophy award winner, and his parents allegedly received benefits from the team including free rent for Bush during his time at USC.
USC was sanctioned in 2001 and if this punishment holds it could result in USC becoming a repeat offender since both of these infractions occurred within 5 years of each other. All of this could result in lost T.V. coverage, a reduction in scholarships, recruiting restrictions and probation. Meaning that a lot of kids coming out of high school with no hopes of going to college without those scholarships won't be able to now because of Reggie Bush and the USC staff.
Now lets think for a moment where Reggie Bush and then head coach of the Trojans, Pete Carroll are now. Well Bush is making millions as a utility back and special teams player on the Saints. He has had pretty much one good game his entire career when it has counted. Carroll has just taken over the Seattle Seahawks with so much power there he decides who gets hired to sell hot dogs.
Both of these men, along with many other are responsible for the mess going down in southern California right now and except for the fact that Bush could get his Heisman trophy taken away, nothing will happen to them. They both benefited from the wrongdoings they committed and now other people are paying the consequences.
I've never been a Reggie Bush fan and I don't like the Seahawks so Carroll was never much a draw for me, even now. This whole situation is pretty shitty for those left at USC and those who want to go there. Maybe Bush and Carroll will do the right thing and help out their old school, but more than likely they won't say or do a thing.
I guess sometimes I'm happy I go to Sacramento State, at least there our football team is so shitty we never have to worry about things like this happening. We just have to deal with President Gonzalez...on second thought maybe dealing with Bush and Carroll wouldn't be so bad...
Next Up...To Kill A Mockingbird or Snuff
My first post about hockey
The 2010 hockey season has come and gone and the Chicago Blackhawks are the Stanley Cup winners. Hooray. Life = changed.
Ok, so I think it's obvious I still don't have a lot invested in America's fourth most popular sport but since a good friend of mine is a big Philadelphia Flyers fan I feel compelled to at least mention the last game of the their series today. The Flyers lost it in overtime by the score of 4-3. Tragic really, when you get so close to winning it all and falling just short, I almost feel like I would rather my team not even make the championship round just to spare the pain of possibly losing it. I have been fortunate enough then that all my favorite teams haven't been anywhere close to the playoffs since the Kings made it in 04, to lose in the first round.
Back to hockey though. Like I said in an earlier post I am interested in becoming a bigger fan of the sport but felt that the Stanley Cup was a bad time to pick a team to root for. I don't want to be a bandwagon fan but it seems like it would be hard to avoid jumping on some bandwagon at this point. There are no professional teams in Sacramento, San Jose is the closest and I'm not overly anxious to start supporting the Sharks. I hate any professional franchise from L.A. so the Kings are out of the question. The Mighty Ducks are out too because their baseball brother, the Angels beat my Giants in the 02 world series, so they can go to hell.
So California teams are pretty much out. I don't want to pick the Flyers or Blackhawks because they were both just in the championship round. The Penguins could be a good pick because of Sidney Crosby, I don't even follow the sport and I know how important of a player he is. Helping to revitalize the game and draw in new fans. But I'll probably pass on the Penguins too, which leaves another 20 some odd teams left.
I want a team with history, a non-expansion team for sure. Maybe the Detroit Red Wings? According to Wikipedia, they've been around since 1926, that's a pretty good amount of time. Maybe the Toronto Maple Leafs? They've been around since 1917, is it time for me to like a team from a different country? One so foreign and strange to ours I wouldn't even recognize the names or traditions of the team?
Ok, lets stick with the different country team, but try a different team. Just checked the standing from this last season and Toronto was dead last in it's conference. I don't want to jump on a bandwagon but enough of my teams suck to include one more. The Montreal Canadiens? I'm thinking just maybe. Part of the original 6 teams that formed the NHL and they've won 24 Stanley Cups in their history. Not too bad. That does sort of liken them to the Yankees though...and I dislike the Yankees...or really just franchises that have pretty much always been good.
A tough decision indeed. More research is needed. If anyone reads this and has an opinion and would like to tell me why they think I should like their hockey team please leave comments doing so! There should also be a poll question as to which team I should like. So vote.
So for now I am undecided. An important decision awaits, and soon I will reveal the answer.
Up Next...My answer or is Tim Lincecum done for?
Ok, so I think it's obvious I still don't have a lot invested in America's fourth most popular sport but since a good friend of mine is a big Philadelphia Flyers fan I feel compelled to at least mention the last game of the their series today. The Flyers lost it in overtime by the score of 4-3. Tragic really, when you get so close to winning it all and falling just short, I almost feel like I would rather my team not even make the championship round just to spare the pain of possibly losing it. I have been fortunate enough then that all my favorite teams haven't been anywhere close to the playoffs since the Kings made it in 04, to lose in the first round.
Back to hockey though. Like I said in an earlier post I am interested in becoming a bigger fan of the sport but felt that the Stanley Cup was a bad time to pick a team to root for. I don't want to be a bandwagon fan but it seems like it would be hard to avoid jumping on some bandwagon at this point. There are no professional teams in Sacramento, San Jose is the closest and I'm not overly anxious to start supporting the Sharks. I hate any professional franchise from L.A. so the Kings are out of the question. The Mighty Ducks are out too because their baseball brother, the Angels beat my Giants in the 02 world series, so they can go to hell.
So California teams are pretty much out. I don't want to pick the Flyers or Blackhawks because they were both just in the championship round. The Penguins could be a good pick because of Sidney Crosby, I don't even follow the sport and I know how important of a player he is. Helping to revitalize the game and draw in new fans. But I'll probably pass on the Penguins too, which leaves another 20 some odd teams left.
I want a team with history, a non-expansion team for sure. Maybe the Detroit Red Wings? According to Wikipedia, they've been around since 1926, that's a pretty good amount of time. Maybe the Toronto Maple Leafs? They've been around since 1917, is it time for me to like a team from a different country? One so foreign and strange to ours I wouldn't even recognize the names or traditions of the team?
Ok, lets stick with the different country team, but try a different team. Just checked the standing from this last season and Toronto was dead last in it's conference. I don't want to jump on a bandwagon but enough of my teams suck to include one more. The Montreal Canadiens? I'm thinking just maybe. Part of the original 6 teams that formed the NHL and they've won 24 Stanley Cups in their history. Not too bad. That does sort of liken them to the Yankees though...and I dislike the Yankees...or really just franchises that have pretty much always been good.
A tough decision indeed. More research is needed. If anyone reads this and has an opinion and would like to tell me why they think I should like their hockey team please leave comments doing so! There should also be a poll question as to which team I should like. So vote.
So for now I am undecided. An important decision awaits, and soon I will reveal the answer.
Up Next...My answer or is Tim Lincecum done for?
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