Ron Artest sat down with Oakland’s freestyle king, Mistah Fab, to discuss the upcoming season with his new team.
Apparently, only YouTube or GoogleVideo can be embedded here, which this is not. Therefore…
Category Archives: Sports
Rickey Says Nobody Can Wear 24
Rickey Henderson is getting honored for his services in Oakland as the Athletics will retire his number 24 in a pre-game ceremony on August 1st. (Catcher Kurt Suzuki already switched from 24 to 8 at the beginning of the season) Rickey is also a very deserved first ballot for the Hall of Fame inductee this year, and got in as easy as it was to tell himself that he was the best (with 94.8% of votes). I’m already excited for his induction speech that will fall on July 26th! Rickey was my favorite player growing up.
I even bought those ridiculous neon green Mizuno batting gloves, and practiced the snatch catch in my little league days. He played 14 of his 25 seasons in Oakland wearing green and gold for most of his prime including his lone MVP season. It’s only fitting that they retire his number, as he was arguably the greatest leadoff hitter of all time and always an Athletic at heart. It will be a long time until we ever see a player that can steal bases and hit for power (81 leadoff homers the MLB record) from the top spot in the order.
His induction to the Hall of Fame on January 12th could be one of the last first ballot players to make it for awhile with the steroid cloud looming over many of the players that will become eligible in the upcoming years. Rickey will be remembered for his cocky attitude and strong opinions that made him the fun player he was on and off the field. A reporter once asked Henderson about Ken Caminiti’s estimation that 50 percent of Major League players were taking steroids. His response was, “Well, Rickey’s not one of them, so that’s 49 percent right there.”
His constant self appraisal from the third person is always entertaining, “Listen, people are always saying, ‘Rickey says Rickey.’ But it’s been blown way out of proportion. People might catch me, when they know I’m ticked off, saying, ‘Rickey, what the heck are you doing, Rickey?’ They say, ‘Darn, Rickey, what are you saying Rickey for? Why don’t you just say, ‘I?’ But I never did. I always said, ‘Rickey,’ and it became something for people to joke about.”
And
“Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I’m trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?”
His stats speak for themselves as he is on top of some of the all time lists:
#1 all time with 1,406 Stolen Bases and 2,295 Runs, 1990 MVP, 10 time All Star, 12 time stolen base champ, 1 Gold Glove, 297 Home Runs, 3,055 hits, 2nd all time with 2,190 walks, and 2 World Series Rings 89 in Oakland and 93 with Toronto. I’d list more, but you can check them out on baseball reference if you’d like to.
I hope you tune in to his HOF induction and number retirement ceremony, because I’m sure his speeches will be classic!
The New Salary Cap Kills Dreams, and Gives Other’s Hope
Today the salary cap numbers were released for the NBA, and as projected the cap space for next season dropped by close to $1 million from $58.68 million this past season to $57.70 million this upcoming season. It is also projected to drop 5% more next year during the extremely hyped free agency class of 2010. I know that I’ve been a little depressed and couldn’t really tell what the motivations were for the moves made by my Warriors, but now I feel that this is going to give us the boost we needed, as it may help us get rid of our horrendous owner (back to that later).
Teams that have been clearing cap space for the 2010 free agent bonanza are suddenly realizing that they may not have the cap room they first thought. The Knicks have been the most adamant in trying to get a superstar to the big apple in 2010, as they have been dumping salary like Steinbrenner gives out $100 million contracts. Their obvious goal was to make enough room under the cap to sign a combo of star players and bring the franchise back to contention for a championship. Since they were trying to clear out enough money to sign a combo of players, they haven’t really developed much of a team.
During the tirade of trades that would be off the books by 2010 the projected cap was in the $60 million range. Now it appears that number will be around $8 million less than what was projected a year ago to spend on the superstar summer. Basically, instead of signing two superstar free agents, they will have to settle for one superstar and one MLE player. In the Knicks case, it seems that not developing a team worthy enough to entice a superstar, is going to hurt them next summer. As of now, it seems much more likely that Cleveland, Toronto, and Miami can retain their franchise guys, and possibly, for slightly less money than they had originally thought. Does it sound very tempting to a player like Lebron to go to a lottery team like the Knicks or stand pat and keep trying in Cleveland where he knows he’s close. If Lebron isn’t moving to a team with a player like Bosh, Wade, or Amare there isn’t a point for him to leave. I’m sure he believes he could make them a playoff team, but I doubt he could talk himself into thinking that they were a championship caliber team.
What does this do to the Warriors you may ask? Not only is the cap not a concern to me, even though the Warriors have a lot of their money tied up for many years down the road, it actually could be a franchise changing year for the good of the team! Being a lifelong Warriors fan, I wasn’t old and wise enough to enjoy the early teams they had with Run TMC, so I’m stuck with the visions of the Chris Cohan era, which has produced a whopping 1 playoff appearance in 15 seasons! 
This recent news has helped our horrible owner have what alcoholics like to call “a moment of clarity”. Even if this team does get blown up because of the sale, is that really the worst thing that could happen to this franchise? I love the way their team is set up with youth and some veterans, but any longtime Warriors fan will tell you that it can’t get much worse as long as the new owner doesn’t take us for a Donald Sterling type ride. I’d love to see a front office that actually has relationships with the GM, coach, and players. What a concept!
MLB Players Like Weiner
That’s right, Michael Weiner will take over for Donald Fehr as the head of the MLB Player’s Assocation after this season. Other suitable headlines for this story would’ve been….
Weiner on the Way, Fehr to Pack It In
Players to Give Head to Weiner
MLBPA to Weiner: You Are Boss
Fehr Gives Head Job to Weiner
MLBPA Tabs Weiner as Head
Players Get Weiner to Represent Them
MLBPA: Weiner to Get Head
Pistons Hire Guy To Coach Team
I get it. John Kuester isn’t exactly Joe the Plumber off the street. Sure, he has a legitimate resume, even if it’s being an assistant coach on the team that requires the least coaching in the league, i.e give the ball to Lebron and stand around the three point line. But my concern is this….
Ok, so they didn't hire Coach Finstock from Teen Wolf, but you get the idea
Over the last three hires, the Pistons have hired coaches with less and less experience. They went from going to the NBA Finals two years in a row under Larry Brown, to losing in the Eastern Conference Finals three years in a row under Flip Saunders, to getting bounced in the first round under first year coach Michael Curry last season. If that pattern holds, Detroit will be in the lottery next season. Seems like a backward step to me.
Thoughts on Oguchi Onyewu’s Move to A.C. Milan
I woke up this morning, ready to plow through my usual 30 minutes reading Soccernet.com and the like, and what do I see? The Gooch moving to AC Milan? My initial reaction was, no way he sees the field enough to make this move productive. Nesta, Kaladze, and new signing Thiago Silva (insert UFC joke here) on the face of things, seem to be ahead of him in the natural pecking order. Not to mention a very similar player to Onyewu, by the name of Phillip Senderos came and went through Milan with little success recently. However, if we think about the risk for either of them, what did Milan have to lose with this signing? And, if your Gooch how do you pass the opportunity up? Coming off a compelling stretch of performances in the Confederations Cup, snatching up Onyewu on a free transfer is good business with little downside for Milan. On the flipside it’s been obvious for several years that Gooch has been looking for a move to a major European club (no no, the Newcastle loan doesn’t count) to enhance his profile and no doubt pocket book as well. On several levels this seems like a solid situation for both parties.
A few notes on the negative side of things: First, Onyewu isn’t the most technical of players; he looks uncomfortable with the ball at his feet, and tends to release the ball quickly as opposed to holding possession and looking to up move field like many world class center backs. Not ideal for a a player stepping up against regular world class competition especially in the Champions League. Secondly, I’m not sold on his pace; I have stark memories of him being caught out on numerous occasions for the United States, and worry greatly that this will be a more prominent problem for him in Italy and against other premier European talent. And thirdly, playing time. For any American player entrenched in the national team a move to a new club should typically include a benchmark of starting a minimum of 30 games. And frankly I don’t see Onyewu starting that many matches with the current roster at Milan. I fear the glitz of Milan could come at the expense of further progression of his game. Onyewu will be relying on the physical attitubes greatly early at his new club, which I think may also be a positive for him as well. If used correctly, he could be a nightmare matchup with many forwards in Italy, which will be intriguing to watch.
Over all I think this move has solid possibilities for both Gooch and his career with the US national team. I wish more players were getting this sort of high profile opportunity to honest. However, this move does have some serious draw backs attached to it if things don’t work out. At the very least many soccer fans across the United States will get to see this unfold in pretty good detail, Fox Soccer Channel airs weekly Serie A games, which focus mainly on the big four of Italian football. Which should provide us regular insight on the progression on Gooch’s careerwith Milan.
Good Luck!
The Curse of the Wash!
With the A’s clearly on their way to another losing season, I’ve tried to figure out what is wrong with them for awhile now, but nothing seems to make sense. This has been one of the least fun A’s teams to watch, especially since they are constructed to win now, as far back as I can remember. Their defense is horrendous kicking around 56 errors so far this season. This definitely isn’t helping the confidence of the plethora of under 24 year old pitchers they are throwing out there on a nightly basis. It got me wondering how we got to the point where we just keep tallying the loss column. This year I blamed it on the signing of players that are past their prime and “the trade” (Holliday) which hasn’t panned out so far. So now, I have to boil it down to where everything started going wrong. Aside from their last playoff run under Bob Geren, he hasn’t kept the team competitive. 
I watched the Macha era, and he is about as boring of an interview as you’ll hear, but it seemed like the team was having fun playing for him. Maybe they overachieved for some of those division title years, but they always looked like they were having fun and were battling every game. This year’s team doesn’t have that same feel, they have the feel of the Bonds era Giants clubhouse, and rarely give me the feeling that they will come back when they are faced with any adversity in a game. I’ll attribute their downfall on two areas that sunk them: the fun and loose clubhouse, and the loss Ron Washington 2006!
Ron Washington resided with the A’s from 1997-2006 as their 3rd base and infield coach. He was credited for transforming many players, including six time gold glover Eric Chavez, into the defensive players that you expect to make every play. 
He was well documented in Moneyball for the role he played in transforming Scott Hatteburg into a serviceable first baseman. He’s an old school type coach, that preaches his philosophies with many examples and details. Wash wasn’t just the infield coach to the players, he was a mentor and the soul of the team that kept them loose all the time. In years past I didn’t worry about defense, because I expected them to make every play, even the tough ones! Instead of getting hired as the head coach, which I lobbied for heavily, he was picked up by the Rangers, and we hired Bob Geren. 
When you lose a coach of Washington’s status from a leadership standpoint, it doesn’t matter who you sign in the offseason, or what savvy decisions you made to get some young prospects if there’s nobody helpful coaching them.
His time with the Rangers started rocky, but he has changed the culture there, as they are now in a tie with the Angels for first and on a five game winning streak replacing the lackluster A’s squad in the perennial divisional battle with the Angels. It was either the A’s or Angels who has won the division since 2002, but this year Texas looks to change that. The Rangers have never lacked talent, they just lacked a guy like Wash to make them realize that they could win! The Rangers look like a loose team having fun, and playing well every night. Sound familiar A’s fans? It should! We gave away the most constant thing we had over our run of six winning seasons making the playoffs most of those years.
When the season mercifully comes to a close, I hope the A’s first order of business is to find a new Manager. If it isn’t, then I hope it’s because they are finalizing our new stadium deal. Since that second scenario will never happen, I’m praying for the first. If it isn’t then this will not be the last you will hear about the The Curse of the Wash!
Big Night In Boston!
This is the night I’ve been waiting for!
Nomar Garciaparra made his long-awaited return to Fenway Park tonight. But while the ovation he received from the fans was fantastic and well-deserved, that’s not what this is about.
What’s that you say? It was also John Smoltz Fenway debut? This definitely isn’t about that!
No, this is about the Athletics 21-year old pitcher, Brett Anderson, finally doing what we’ve all been hearing he was capable of. Coming over from the Diamondbacks in the huge haul that was the Danny Haren deal, Anderson was widely regarded as the second best prospect of the bunch. Once Carlos Gonzalez showed his ceiling as a lifetime quadruple-A player, Anderson emerged as the top prospect in the A’s system. Working for the A’s triple-A club in Sacramento, and being 45 minutes from the single-A affiliate, has given me plenty of opportunities to check out the A’s young players. Brett Anderson, along with other prized pitcher Trevor Cahill, however, spent all of last season in AA-Midland. That’s in Texas, not really within driving distance. So, that left me following box scores, and reading updates from Baseball America and Athletics Nation.
That was, until Anderson was moved up to AAA in time for the PCL playoffs last year. I would finally get an up close look at the next great Oakland pitcher. I won’t lie, it was sort of a letdown. He had a great outing, don’t get me wrong. If I recall, he threw 2 or 3 scoreless innings, giving up 1 or 2 hits. But nothing really stood out. Not one dominant pitch, no crazy velocity, or filthy strikeouts. I guess he was just a placement pitcher – not flashy, but efficient. Fine by me, I guess.
But this year, since starting the season in Oakland, Anderson had yet to impress (5-7, 5.45 ERA). Is he just another Gio Gonzalez? (I’m not ready to write him off, but I’m close) Anyway, Cahill was the one looking like the future ace of the staff.
UNTIL TODAY. Against the best team in the AL with the best home record in the major leagues at the most famed stadium in baseball, Brett Anderson threw a complete game, 2-hit shutout. It wasn’t just the outcome though, he looked filthy doing it. He struck out nine batters, and he did it with nasty curveballs, sliders, changeups, and oh yeah, a 97 mph fastball. I don’t expect him to duplicate this performance every time out, but he finally showed what he’s capable of – on the game’s biggest stage no less. All of a sudden, Anderson-Cahill-Mazzaro sounds a lot more like it’ll have the same ring to it for years to come that Hudson-Mulder-Zito did.
Matt Forte Bonanza
For some reason, searches about Matt Forte are off the charts. More people end up at Doin Work after searching for Matt Forte than any other topic, BY A LANDSLIDE. Can someone leave a comment and explain what the fascination with Matt Forte is? I thought maybe the guy himself is searching himself every day to see what people are writing about him, but why would he click on our fantasy football mock draft over and over again?
The MLB is Roidless in the Economic Crisis
Since my last piece examined the state of the NBA on the decline, I figured that it would be fitting to give an assessment of the MLB during the financial crisis . Baseball is in the beginning stages of seeing exactly how bad the country’s unwillingness to spend is affecting them. We’ll know exactly what is going to happen with 19 teams within 6 games of first place in their divisions. As the July 31st trade deadline approaches, will any teams make any big moves adding money to their payroll? Baseball is facing their biggest financial hurdle since they came back from the 94 strike, but this time they don’t have the influx of steroids to save them. Even the rich teams are feeling the financial crunch as the powerhouses like the Yankees and Red Sox are even seeing declining ticket sales.
With teams struggling to get fans through the turnstiles, they’ve turned to alternatives to lure people to the games. In Arizona, they gave away an unprecedented amount of 41 season tickets to 14 different families which was worth approximately $100K. 
The Marlins are giving away $2,500 towards a mortgage or rent payment for 11 Saturday’s this season. They are also giving away free tickets on Monday night games to any person with proof that they were laid off. Baseball, more than other sports, is driven by ticket sales, and this year has shown that even the mighty Yankees and Red Sox aren’t immune to the recession, as many games aren’t selling out the way they have over the past decade and a half.
Last year there were many big names swirling around before the deadline like CC Sabathia, Mark Teixiera, Manny Ramierez, Jason Bay, Rich Harden, and Joe Blanton. Like many years past, all of the marquee names found a new home for the 2nd half of the season to help their respective teams during the playoff push. Maybe last year’s market had more top dogs than most, but this year you can hear a pin drop around most camps with teams trying to find ways to save. I haven’t heard one intriguing rumor for any player that would make a significant impact on a team pushing for a playoff spot. As we approach the July 31st trade deadline, it’s the time of the year when teams have to decide if they are a buyer or a seller. This year it seems as though everyone is a seller, and every team has players on the block as they just want to clear salary. It doesn’t seem like teams even want to improve in this bizarro situation that is mirroring the NBA. Are Mark Derosa and Eric Hinske going to be the biggest names we hear moved this year? 
So far it’s shaping up that way. The Red Sox, Phillies, Giants, and Mets seem like the only teams that are willing to take on a significant amount of salary. The economy has made GM’s much more cautious. Even if there are trades made, I doubt it will be much more than a 7-9 hitter or a 4th or 5th man in the pitching rotation. I hope we see some fireworks from one or two teams before it’s all said and done. I need something to look forward to, since my A’s were placed on the sellers list a month ago by positioning themselves firmly in last place in the AL West. Hopefully they can get a few parts via trade, that can be immediately inserted into their D rated offense for one of their proven players (their old guys or Holliday).
The Steve McNair Legacy
Steve McNair was the exception. He lived up to the hype. So often we’ve seen athletes come from small schools in small divisions, and they always face the same question. Can they be successful at the professional level against the best competition in the world? I wasn’t around (or at least cognisant) for Jerry Rice’s collegiate career at Mississippi Valley State. Terrell Owens was nobody before the NFL. The fact is, I can’t think of any other NFL player off the top of my head who was a household name DURING their time at a small school as well as their time in the pros.
Steve McNair put Alcorn State on the map. I had never heard of it before him, and haven’t heard of it since. If Alcorn State is mentioned, most people associate it with McNair. Come to think of it, they should rename it McNair University. I’m writing the board of trustees after this.
He finished third in the Heisman voting his senior season, behind Rashaan Salaam and Ki-Jana Carter. Without looking up the stats, I think it’s safe to assume McNair ended up with more rushing yards than those two combined. He also might be the only black quarterback who wasn’t ever labeled by the media as a scrambler. He had a cannon arm so you couldn’t make the mistake.
What I’ll remember McNair most for is his class and passion for the game. You never saw him screaming at teammates or taunting opposing players. He just went out and played the game the right way. He was quiet, and he let his game speak for him. Not only was he a thrill to watch, he was easy to root for. Without realizing it, I became a part-time Oilers fan right around the time he came into the league. It’s no coincidence that the Titans soon became my favorite football team that doesn’t play in either of the two most decrepit stadiums i.e. the Raiders and 49ers. After he left, I wondered who I actually even liked on the Titans. Was Lendale White really my favorite player on that team?
Anyway, McNair always shed a positive light about him. Even when he got in trouble, he never came across as a troublemaker. I vaguely remember him on trial, but do I remember what for? No way. I also remember him getting banned from the Titans workout facility. Do I know why? Not even. That’s what’s so great about him. Even when he caused trouble, he wasn’t causing any at all.
Steve McNair might be my favorite player that I never knew I loved.
Sucks To Be Chris Cohan
Rumor over at Golden State Of Mind suggests owner Chris Cohan is thinking about selling his majority stake. Whether there’s truth to this or not has yet to be seen, but in the meantime, the fan poll is extremely surprising. Not in the sense that fans would be thrilled to see him go, but the landslide numbers in favor. Goes like this…
Would you be doing backflips if Warriors majority owner Chris Cohan sold off his stake in the franchise?
YES: Cohan is the worst owner in all of pro sports 225 votes
NO: I work for the Warriors and I won’t bite the hand that feeds me 4 votes
I wouldn’t be surprised if those 4 votes really did work for the Warriors. If you were Cohan and you saw this, wouldn’t you just walk away on the spot??? Though terrible, I never really considered Cohan the worst owner in all of pro sports, but I don’t think anybody could inspire poll results as bad as this!
UPDATE: AS OF 7/5, IT IS NOW 1,229 TO 44
Artest To The Lakers E-mail Thread
Andre: I hope the Lakers are thinking about letting Ariza go so they can spend
their money on Artest instead
Tony: YES…that’s what I’m talking about too Dre!!!!!!!!!! However, ask any
fan what they think of him, and people want to throw up. Just adds fuel
to fire for the laker haters and doubters out there.
Andre: We know the Lakers like Artest, he’s basically Ariza a few years down
the line and stronger and scarier on D as well. Lamar knows he will
need to take that Mid level Exception id he wants to stick around, which
leaves Artest some room if they don’t extend an offer to Ariza. It’s
too bad the Lakers seem to be ok with Odom, I’m not
Matt: Dude, Artest playing with Kobe is a soap opera no one will be able to
resist. Ron has become a bigger black hole every year. Kobe will be
yelling at him every game. There’s no way they work out. Dj Mbenga and
Chris Mihm won’t be the only guys fighting each other in practice!
Tony: If Jordan could put up with Rodman something tells me Kobe and Artest
will find some good middle ground….Wins and championships seem to be a
good cure all.
Matt: Yeah, but Rodman wasn’t a black hole on offense.
Tony: Artest will adapt…shit he’ll be on a winning team for a change.
Brian: The Pacers were a winning team, that turned out well…
Tony: Really comparing the Pacers to the Lakers?
Brian: Only in the sense he had two other guys that were stars in Jackson and
O’neal and they were winning…
Andre: Ha, you’re saying Jackson was a star 5 years ago? And seriously, I’ll
repeat Tony’s words, are you really comparing the Pacers and Lakers?
Wow. I think teams are always in for a surprise when it comes to
Artest, but magically teams keep taking a chance… wonder why if he’s
such a ball hogging black hole on offense
Brian: He had already won a championship with the Spurs, so yes he had earned
his All star status… I’m not comparing the teams, I’m just saying that
he was on a good team and it turned out well (pun intended)…
Andre: Ok, cause I’m still thinking Stephen Jackson is NOT a star and never has
been. At least not of the caliber your trying to compare him with. But
that’s a different argument for a different time, who cares about
Stephen Jackson, he needs a shower
Matt: Well how about this…
O’Neal = Gasol
Jackson = Odom (neither are all-stars)
Andre: But then you would be drawing a direct line between the Kobe and Artest,
and there’s no way even Artest would agree with that, and that’s the
point. HE would get the picture pretty damn quick on that team. HE has
a great basketball IQ, and he’s been made the go to guy on all of his
previous teams. No more of that if he comes to LA
Tony: Exactly….you take a write up for a guy who was the only offensive
player at time at Houston, and want to transport the analysis over to
how he would play as a Laker?
Brian: So Artest with Yao and Oneill is suddenly different than with Gasol?
Matt: I don’t think that’s the parallel being drawn, but now that I think
about it, Gasol would prob be the most frustrated sitting down there
wide open while Ron jacks up a 24 footer
Andre: Suddenly different? You’re talking about one of the best C’s in the game in terms of being active, having great hands, a smooth jumper, and moving up and down court like a forward and not a C.
PLUS, You’re comparing Artest with KOBE to begin with. This thought process is flawed from the beginning. Artest wouldn’t be the ballhogging black hole if he made all of the pressure shots that Kobe makes. He’s not Kobe on offense by far. Just a bull in the low post with a great jumper and lots of opportunities to miss in his career because the guys around him were his support, he was a main cog on offense.
Brian: Yeah, just try and tell Artest that. He thinks he’s the best player in the league and doesn’t need help from anyone…
Tony: Say what you will…..but being life long kings and warriors fans your
indoctrinated to look at things from the bleakest and most negative
perspectives. Its in your bloods, us laker fans come from the
perspective of winners, and we can make it work school of thought.
Brian: Yeah, and you obviously haven’t watched him play more than 100 games…
Matt: Yeah, I’ve watched Artest on the Pacers when I hated him, I watched him
on the Kings and liked him, then I watched him on Houston where I was
unbiased. Same shit, different toilet.
Brian: I realized that the matching him with a HOF coach wasn’t really
addressed. I can already hear Kobe crying over the phone to Phil when
Artest takes 25 18 ft jumpers with a hand in his face. (Since Phil won’t
be there to do anything for half of their games, that settles that)
Matt: I’d love to hear Rambis, “um Ron, er, Mr. Artest? Umm, do you, uh, think maybe you could not take so many off-balance 22 footers? I mean, it’s cool if you want to keep doing that, but we have Kobe on our team too. He’s not just a decoy. Thanks Mr. Artest. Don’t hurt me”
Andre: Did Artest come over and personally pee on your rug or something? IS
Artest a carpet-pisser??
Brian: HAhaha! No, no rug pissing, he’s just been devastating to the team
concept for every franchise he’s played for, so I really can’t stand
that type of player..
Tony: I’d say Houston did just fine this year?????
Brian: Definitely a fluke, I’ve never seen him make that many shots through two
straight series…
Tony: I was talking about the team killer aspect……
Matt: Yeah, b/c much like you said, but with a different intent, the Rockets
didn’t have a kobe or gasol. You think Shane Battier or Von Wafer are
gonna get pissed at him for shooting so much? No.
Tony:Lets just accept the fact your going to shit on him no matter what he
does…….I get that.
Matt: I’m not saying he’s gonna turn the Lakers into a lottery team.
Remember, I’m the guy who defended him and said over and over I would
never trade him for Lamar Odom. I still feel that way. ALL I’M SAYING,
is that he’s gonna be a ball-hog and Kobe’s gonna get pissed at him.
Not really going out on a limb
Tony: Good let him get pissed….to alpha-dogs going after the same thing is
great. Phil is in his element with that shit.
Brian: You want Kobe to get pissed so he passes less? That doesn’t sound like a
good thing…
Doin Work’s Top Five Football Players in the World
With the European football season on hiatus for another month, and the rumor mill of transfers still churning hard, I thought it would be fun to revisit the always fun question: Who are the Top Five Footballers in the World? And to be honest the list is pretty easy to come up with. In what order will always be subjective, who you root for and what style of football you enjoy watching will impact your own personal rankings it should be noted. Rankings are always fun, if you have other players you would rate in your top five by all means leave them in the comments section, we’d love to hear them.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo: I’m not sure how winning the Champions League title instantly vaults Messi to the title of “Best Football Player in the World” which was discussed at length after the final. Granted his form was excellent this year, and his impact on the outcome of the CL final was far greater then his counterpart Ronaldo. Having said that, if we were to take a step back and look at the body of work of both players over the last three years, as well as technical side of each player I think Ronaldo clearly has the edge as the top player in the world. His goal scoring rate is second to none, can play any attacking position on the field including up top, is one of the top free kick takers in the world, and is devastating with both feet (not to mention his Arial ability is pretty wicked to boot). When motivated there is no one better.
#2 Lionel Messi: His emergence at Barcelona has been amazing to watch, and it’s no coincidence that it has coincided with the revival of Barca’s domination both domestically and in Europe this year. His on ball ability, searing pace, and rare vision in the open field is unrivaled in the world. Although his goal scoring wasn’t a prominent aspect of his game in the two preceding years, that changed drastically this campaign with a haul of 42 goals in all competitions. Messi’s encore (and continued growth next year) will be interesting to watch.
#3 Steven Gerrard: Things get tricky here separating Gerrard and Kaka; in fact you could swap them with little argument either way. I’ll take Gerrard over Kaka in my midfield based on the stronger offensive side of his game, and his ability to score in the seemingly clutchest of moments. Gerrard’s work rate and pure power in midfield is priceless as well, the engine he provides in the middle of the park with his passing can’t be understated. Fans of Kaka could point to Gerrard’s lack of a domestic league title or larger individual awards on his resume, which is a fair critique. I’ll argue Gerrard is more of a game changer on any given night and give him the nod here.
# 4 Kaka: There is no doubt Kaka is one of the best players of his generation. His pace, dribbling, technique, vision, and natural flair are mesmerizing to watch. The highlight of his individual career coming in 2007 when he was named FIFA’s World Player of the Year. With his recent transfer to Real Madrid, one can only imagine what performances he will be capable of producing on such a star studded squad. Kaka’s place as one of the world’s greats isn’t changing anytime soon, and the glitzy stage of Madrid is a fitting place for one of the world’s best.
#5 Fernando Torres: I would argue he is the currently the best striker in the world, and thus slides in at five. There are several other players who could easily take Torres’s place here, but his ability to score in a variety of ways and the attention he demands at all times from defenses puts him in a class all his own. His devastating pace, coupled with his unique touch and aerial prowess creates a total package. His style of play and strength on the ball is also perfectly suited for the Premier League, his impact for Liverpool was immediate, and he is also a central figure for the Spanish national team. Fresh off Barca’s recent success many will push for Xavi or Iniesta here, but for my money Fernando Torres nips them both.
Honorable Mentions: Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, David Villa, Frank Ribery, Xavi Hernandez, Wayne Rooney, Zalatan Ibrahimovic, Daniele De Rossi, Samuel Eto’o
The Sad State of the NBA
With the draft wrapped up and the free agency about to kick into full swing (Highlighted by Ben Gordon and Hedo Turkoglu), it seems like the NBA is in a different state than it has been for most seasons with the vicious economic decline. Instead of hearing about the best players being traded, we hear more about 
the rumors on how so many NBA teams are losing money, and are definitely going to have even more troubles with their payrolls next season. Money is the most valuable part of every organization and it seems that more teams are interested in shedding cap space, than making their teams better to compete for a title. Trade offers aren’t even about talent as much as who is getting the player with the big contract that expires next year. 12 teams accepted the leagues offer to borrow between $13 and $20 million. I won’t completely blame it on players and situations like the highly chronicled Darius Miles who is still sucking cap space away from Portland and just violated the leagues drug policy again. 
But, he is definitely one of the reasons the league needs to review the collective bargaining agreement before the seemingly imminent lockout in 2011.
My biggest concern for the NBA is the shrinking cap space each season. If the economy continues to go the way it has, the cap will keep falling. In turn, this will make it impossible for teams to stay under the cap especially with the current contract constructions weighted at the end, and put some teams over the cap before the next season even starts. This year will only be the second time in league history that the cap has been lowered from the previous season. Teams know this, and it is making them thriftier than ever. Why do they want to risk hitting the luxury tax for making it one round deeper in the playoffs? They really don’t, and this is going to be the NBA’s biggest problem during the recession! The objective for mediocrity in the league is not going to keep fans around, and without the fans the league will obviously struggle. The seats are already empty in the smaller market areas and terrible franchises. I watched many Clippers games (more than I’d like to admit) this year and most of the time you could hear the other teams fans that happen to live in L.A. at the games cheering over the Clippers’ fans (if there actually were any).
So with Amare on the block, and few interesting free agents out there, what will happen this offseason you ask? I think it’s going to be a lot of low-balling, and there will definitely be a lot of teams giving away superior talent just to relieve their books. With all of the talks surrounding my Warriors, and Amare Stoudemire possibly going to them, I took a step back to see what could possibly be behind it. Sure Amare is a great player when he’s healthy, but even he felt that the Warriors are giving up too much talent for him to want to go to there. It makes me wonder if the Warriors original objective was to have Stoudemire for a one year rental and have a lot of money come off the books instead of having: Biendris (5 years), Wright (3 years), and Bellinelli (3 years). 
Were the Warriors making a money dump like the Kings did when they gave away Brad Miller to save themselves millions off the cap in the long run? I feel like I can’t trust any move my team is making this offseason without wondering, was this done just for the pocketbook or did they really try to improve the team to make them a contender…
Doin Work's Staff
-
Doin Comments
11 Things You Might… on Should Kobe Get Two Numbers… tophatal ........... on Good Night Mark Jackson tophatal ........... on Good Night Mark Jackson chappy81 on Good Night Mark Jackson
By
cali4dre
chappy81
dyslecix
mceezy
Doin Work 