December 20, 2010

Trading Weekend…

By chappy81

Wall Street is closed on the weekends, but there were some major trades being made in the sports world over the weekend. The two biggest trades were undoubtedly the Magic getting Gilbert (a long time favorite of mine) from the Wizards, as well as Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, and Earl Clark from the Suns. My first reaction to the trade when I saw it flash up on the bottom line on TV was, what an upgrade! They got rid of Rashard, Pietrus and Vince, which is a win my book regardless of who came in. Nothing against Vince or Rashard, but if the Magic really want to be serious contenders they needed to get rid of both of them for the simple reason that they always choke in the playoffs. Here’s a reminder of how they felt last year about the Hedoless team. (NJ and Toronto fans nodding in agreement) Second, they got rid of Michael (I step out of bounds twice a game) Pietrus. I’m not positive how Air France has done this year since I really don’t follow the Magic that closely, but Pietrus is a guy that frustrated me when he was in a Warriors uniform. I can only assume that those are the same type of sentiments that Magic fans have about him, but maybe not. All in all it was like the how the A’s finally rid themselves of Jack Cust. Addition by subtraction.

How will this new look Eastern Conference beast be with all the new parts? I really can’t say for sure that they will be better than the old group, but since they are taking in veterans that have played in multiple systems, I’m sure integrating them into the game plan won’t take as long as many expect. I also believe that Hedo and Arenas want to prove that they are good again, and will have plenty of reasons now that they will be playing for a winning team. I’m sure both want to revive their image, and winning cures that quickly just look at Vick! A lot of people seemed shocked that they’d blow up their team like this with only a quarter of the season gone by, but my thinking is that all of this seeming panic goes back to the summer of Lebron. The Magic are about to find themselves in a similar situation that Cleveland faced last year with Dwight’s contract expiring in 2012. Feels like a do or die move to try and get a championship. If you are the Magic, you definitely should be scared that if they don’t get a championship in the next two years then their chances to re-sign Dwight will be nearly impossible as he looks to take his talents away from central Florida. They already have experience losing a once in a lifetime center seeing Shaq flee to LA. Centers don’t grow on trees as we’ve seen with guys like Oden and Bynum never really making it to their potential level or staying healthy for that matter. The Magic are now deep into the luxury tax, but it will only be worth it if they can appease their big man to stay, and a championship might be the only way to do that. I hope it works out for them, unless of course Dwight has an aching to come to Golden State! Then I wouldn’t mind watching his “Decision” from the Epcot Center.

Zack Greinke was the other big trade of the weekend. I love reading how the Royals got a good deal out of it. Really!?! You can already tell?!? They traded away their best player and have improved greatly?!? I guess they are like the A’s, but simply never win. The Royals have one of the youngest roster known to man. Aside from Vin Mazzaro who the A’s just traded to them, I don’t really recognize many names. I guess they could be like the Padres and sneak up on everyone, but that’s a laughable statement in itself. If they are a contender in two years I will gladly eat those words. I’d put the chances of them getting a Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips, and Grady Seizmore type haul at 1%.  Personally, I thought the best part about this trade was that the Rangers didn’t end up with Greinke. He was supposedly their second target after they failed to get Cliff Lee. Now it looks like the A’s are still the only team that’s really improved in the AL West, which makes me that much happier. The Brewers get what they were desperately missing with Greinke’s consistent pitching, even if last year he wasn’t as great. Can you blame him? I’d have a hard time getting fired up for starts if I was on the Royals. I think he’s going to tear through the NL lineups and might be somewhat like Halladay was last year for the Phillies, although there’s a huge difference between the AL East and the AL Central. I actually picked the Brewers to win the NL Central last year, maybe I just picked them one year too early! Now that they’ll have Yorvani Gallardo and hopefully a healthy Chris Capuano, so there’s no reason to count this team out. Their young core can put up runs, but now they some pitching to match that powerful lineup. If they can find a way to bridge the gap between their new starters and the Axeman I will be saying I told you so 8 months from now when they are in the playoffs!

10 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

December 19, 2010

Dodgeball

By mceezy

Alright…. this has gone too far. It’s gone too far, and we’re not even to the NBC Sunday night game. But this Matt Dodge kid is getting thrown under the bus pretty hard today. At some point during both Jets-Steelers and Raiders-Broncos, the CBS coverage crews were dumping on him pretty hard. Now, ESPN Sportsnation is getting a few kicks in with their latest poll. Who do you blame more, the Giants defense or MATT DODGE? Do we really believe he was told deliberately not to punt to Desean Jackson, and he just munsoned it? I’ve got to give him more credit than that. This one’s on the coaches if you ask me. In every operation, you’ve got people in charge of making decisions, and it’s their job to put certain people in the right situations. If you’re getting paid to run the show, then you should probably make a point to make sure your punter knows to not punt to Jackson. It’s just a simple lack of preparation. We all do it, but damn, they’re really letting this kid take the fall for it this time. Just because he’s the league leader in blocked punts doesn’t mean he’s an idiot. Not sure why I’m defending this guy – I’d never even heard of him before today. The Legend of Michael Vick just grew a whole nother chapter though…..

Which makes me want to weigh in, for the first time really, on Michael Vick. Chris Berman said (overdramatically) that players didn’t want to let Vick down. This is true because a lot of players could have been dragged down with him, but he basically took the fall for the whole league. He didn’t run a dogfighting ring; he bred dogs. He bred them and sold them to his colleagues. Naturally they wanted badass dogs that could fight and his business evolved. He made some costly decisions, but in the end, he took the fall for a lot of other people’s actions – and never threw anyone under the bus in the process. As a result, the majority of the NFL is going out their way to have his back in return for him having theirs. If there is a way for the Eagles to play in Atlanta against the Falcons in the playoffs, sign me up. That’s looking like the likely NFC Championship game right now.

In West Coast news, Tim Tebow made his first NFL start – in Oakland. The most Christian player in the league has to make his debut in the Black Hole, with demons and skeletons everywhere. It brought a smile to my face last night when I heard the news he was getting the start. Much to my delight, the Raiders pulled away in the second half and came away with a 39-23 win. That’s a total of 98 points on the Broncos this year in two games. Shanahan would’ve never stood for this, but he’s got his own share of problems right now. As for the Raiders, they’ll host the Colts next week, in a game that’s unfortunately important for Indianapolis. Oakland is now 2 games back with two to play. The upside is that they’re really only one game back from a winner-take-all showdown in Kansas City. The possibility of the Chiefs losing to Tennessee just got a little more promising today with the Titans showing signs of life and beating Houston. The Colts game is one the Raiders really have no business winning, but it makes the game worth watching, and those are two words I haven’t used to describe a Week 16 Raiders game in a long time.

 

 

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

December 18, 2010

Doin Lists

By By

It’s been a minute since I’ve dropped a list on anything, and being that we’re a quarter past the 2010-2011 NBA season, I thought now is as good a time as any to weigh in on my opinions on the most important position in the game.  The point guard.  Without further adieu, my top ten pg’s of the NBA season thus far.

Doin Lists PG Ranking Edition

A few quick disclaimer.  As much as I wanted to insert John Wall somewhere into this list, I just couldn’t pull the trigger.  This list is purely based on production, not potential.  Also I completed this list prior to Rondo’s injury.

10.  Mike Conley/Jason Kidd

As with my NFL QB ranks, I couldn’t decide between two players to lead the list off, so once again, I went with both.  Jason Kidd, now 74 years of age, is one of the main cogs on this Dallas Mavericks machine that ran off twelve straight before being upsetted by the Bucks on Monday.  Despite that minor hiccup, the Mavs hold the second best record out west and Kidd’s 9 assists per game has a lot to do with it.  As for Mike Conley, his development is partly to blame for the now sudden availability of once cornerstone piece O.J. Mayo for trade.

9.  Andre Miller

It’s a shame that Andre “I Just Woke Up” Miller’s attempted tackle on Blake Griffin and ensuing suspension is what people will most likely remember most on his season.  But the eleven year veteran is the prime reason why the Hurtland Kneebreakers are over achieving.  Miller won’t blow you away with his numbers, but for those of you who understand basketball know, he does the things that help you win games.  Like try to tackle the opposing team’s best player.

8.  Steve Nash

It’s not really Steve Nash’s fault he’s so low on this list.  He’s averaging 18.4 points, 10.2 assists and even 3.7 rebounds per game this season.  That’s like Kevin Love numbers on the glass for Nash.  Not to mention he’s shooting over 50% from the field (again) which is not typical for a point guard.  So what more can he do to move up the ranks?  Win.  That probably won’t happen.  And no, getting Robin Lopez back won’t be the answer.

7.  Tony Parker

It’s hard to give Tony Parker too much credit for the Spurs holding the best record in the NBA.  After all, Manu Ginobili now starts and is playing ridiculous, Richard Jefferson got his mojo back, the Spurs boast a solid second unit led by George “Naked” Hill, and of course last I checked, T.D. is still there.  But Parker is having his best season in quite some time, and for an NBA team, it all starts with the point guard.  Perhaps he’s got his “drive” back now that he’s newly single.

6.  Raymond Felton

Who would have thunk this!?  I know we all thought Ray Felton would have a chance to be a factor in Mike D’Antoni’s offensive system, but he’s down right unstoppable in it!  I never bought into the “potential” of Felton, and this might just be a scenario in which an above average point guard is thriving in a perfect situation, but whatever the case, Felton’s putting up big numbers now and winning.  Amare Stoudemire gets the headlines, but Felton’s the key to NY’s success.

5.  Chris Paul

I remember writing a piece last season stating CP3 would come back strong to take the point guard crown again after Charles Barkley told him he was no longer the best.  Well not only is he not the best, but he’s not even in the top three.  It’s not Paul’s fault.  Like Steve Nash, there’s only so much he can do with a mediocre team in turmoil.  I know for a fact that if the Hornets are making a playoff push 50-60 games in, Paul’s place on this list will be higher.  For now, New Orleans is stumbling, and so the face of the franchise has to fall with them.

4.  Russell Westbrook

God I love to watch this guy play.  He’s got an unbelievable combination of speed and power, he’s like a cheetah out there.  And like many of the fresh, young talent at the point guard position the NBA is blessed with, he’s not satisfied with anything’s he’s done in his career.  I love to hear stories about these freak athletes who actually want to work on their game and get better.  That’s what separates the Kobe’s from the Isaiah Rider’s.  Kevin Durant might be the Michael Jordan of the Oklahoma City Thunder, but Westbrook is the Michael Jordan 1A.  Seriously, there’s no drop off in talent between the two.  I’m really high on this kid.

3.  Derrick Rose

Oh wait, you know how I just basically placed Russell Westbrook on a pedestal?  Well Derrick Rose just high jumped and cleared that pedestal.  That combination of speed and power Westbrook has, Rose has too.  The passion and drive Westbrook has.  Rose has too.  Rose was out taking 1,000,000 (I don’t know the exact number) jumpers a day during the off-season to improve his range.  Once again, a freak of nature athlete not settling with his God-given talents.  I love it.  One thing Rose has that Westbrook, or any other player doesn’t have is, his ability to jump while already in the air.  How the hell does he elevate twice on a single jump!?

2.  Deron Williams

Chappy and I texted each other briefly during the Utah Jazz/Golden State Warriors game on Monday night.  D. Will and Monta Ellis were in a scuffle and being the Warriors faithful we are, we messaged each other on how much of a douche D. Will is.  But of course, he’s a douche we’d all want on our team.  Deron Williams torched the Dubs for 30 points and 10 assists that night, and he does it so smooth and easy.  Games like that are a regular occurrence for him, and with the Jazz playing so well, I can’t put him any further than number two.  D. Will, the cerebral assassin.

1.  Rajon Rondo

He can’t shoot a jumper.  He can’t shoot free throws.  He doesn’t score much.  Is this some kind of a joke?  Rajon Rondo is the top ranked point guard on this list?  Yes.  It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a player dominate games without taking a single shot the way Rondo does, and I must say, it’s very impressive.  Rondo makes up for his lack of shooting efficiency with superb everything else.  He has disgustingly long arms and quick feet, which makes him a terrific defender.  He has eagle eye vision and can spot a play before it happens.  Most importantly, he already has a ring and commands the respect of three future Hall of Famers.  He might not be the flashiest guy on this list, but in terms of being a great point guard, he’s the best.

10 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Sports

December 17, 2010

Doin Lines Week 15

By chappy81

3-2 last week was okay. I guess it’s better than a losing week, but not by much. The season is getting interesting as we head down the home stretch, but after my Raiders lost last week it made me not pay attention to the happenings going on in the NFL during the week. I’ll call it a mini-depression that only comes when your team’s hopes are dashed. I guess there’s a little hope, but not much, so for now I’m hoping they can sweep their divisional games for the first time in decades.

Don’t have much to say as a prelude to my picks but look at that overall record.  I’m smiling from ear to ear considering where I stood in the early part of the season.  The best part about my picks these past few weeks is they’ve actually won me some coin.  Being that we just finished our “Naughty” or “Nice” list, and Christmas is around the corner I think it’s only right I ask Santa for one thing.  No 2011 NFL lock out.  And no 2011-2012 NBA lock out.  O.K. sorry Santa, that’s two things.  I got greedy.

Week 14 (By 3-1-1, Chap 3-2) Overall (By 35-30-5, Chap 36-40-3)

Houston @ Tennessee (-1.5)

By picks Houston (+1.5).  This might be fool’s gold being that Matt Schaub hasn’t exactly been the model of consistency this season, but take away that horrible decision to pass it to the wrong team in extra innings, and Schaub played a spectacular game against the Ravens last Monday, which is why I’ll take Houston this week.  Both teams aren’t going anywhere this season, but the Texans have to do enough for us to believe that next year is “their” year.  And so a good showing on the road versus a division rival should suffice.  For the Titans, my advice to them would be tank the season and hit rock bottom.  That way a mediocre 2011 (if there is a season) would be enough to satisfy the Tennessee fans.  I think they’ll take my advice.

Arizona (-2.5) @ Carolina

Chappy picks Carolina (+2.5). This might be one of the crappiest match ups in recent memory. I haven’t really watched either of these teams much this year, because they haven’t been worthy of three hours of attention. Carolina has been running the ball a little better with Stewart finding some holes, and Steve Smith being back might help the offense a little more. That being said they still suck. The Cardinals are in last place in the NFC Worst, but for some inexplicable reason are still in the playoff hunt. This is the first time all year I’ve picked Carolina, so I had to take them at least once, right!?! Arizona is going across the country to play a morning game, and with bad teams that’s a big deal.

By picks Carolina +2.5. Like Chappy said, this possibly is the worse NFL match up all season.  Scratch that, dare I say, all time?  It’s hard to believe the Arizona Cardinals were one or two plays from hoisting the Lombardy Trophy two years ago.  A lot of things have factored into their down fall since then, but the main reason is obvious.  Cutting Matt Leinhart.  What were the Cards thinking!?  All jokes aside, all this Cardinals losing has strengthen Kurt Warner’s case towards Canton.  I don’t know of one thing the Cards do well besides lose, and so despite the Panthers sucking major balls too, I’ve got to go with Carolina at home here.  I guess Jonathan Stewart’s been running well lately.  There.  That’s a better reason to go with the Panthers.

Jacksonville @ Indianapolis (-5)  Continue reading

13 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

December 16, 2010

Werthwhile Move For The Nats?

By mceezy

This post isn’t really about Jayson Werth, but his signing did trigger a chain of events that caused me to take notice of the Washington Nationals. In regards to his huge contract, Werth said something to the effect of it shows that the Nats are ready to win. He and Ryan Zimmerman make a solid nucleus. I immediately got curious to see where the Nationals were at in terms of talent on their roster. So I checked out their depth chart, and I’m not impressed. I like to think I’m a pretty big sports fan, but I literally have not heard of half of their roster. Half of the guys I do know are probably just the result of scouring the fantasy waiver wire. I mean, I’ve heard of Nyjer Morgan and Ian Desmond, but I couldn’t really tell you much about them. They have a pitching rotation full of marginal number five starters and I couldn’t tell any of the guys in the bullpen from a group of sales reps at my local Lowe’s. Then today, they dealt one of the few remaining familiar faces, Josh Willingham, to Oakland. Are they really ready to win now, like Werth believes? Hell, if my employer gave me $18mil a year, I’d be unjustifiably optimistic as well. But this brings me to another topic….. the A’s.

We try to not to overdo it with A’s coverage, but Chappy and I are diehards. With the exception of Athleticsnation, there’s not a lot of A’s blogs out there, no matter what Rob Neyer tells us. (Seriously, a blog that’s been around less than two months?) Anyway, people are starting to take notice of the moves the A’s have made this offseason. None are worthy of Carl Crawford or Cliff Lee type press, but Billy Beane is quietly putting together a team that many feel may be able to contend – especially while the Angels, Rangers, and Mariners seem to be hibernating for the winter. So far, they’ve added David Dejesus, Hideki Matsui, Josh Willingham, Rich Harden (pending a physical –  never a sure thing with Harden), and Brandon McCarthy. The only notable prospects given up were Vin Mazzaro and Henry Rodriguez. I liked both of them, but neither were a sure thing in the big leagues. Besides, in typical A’s fashion, there are plenty of young arms in the farm system. I can’t help but wonder if the Giants’ World Series victory has forced the A’s hand a bit. They’ve maintained that they’re waiting for a new stadium before they try to contend again, but clearly they’re getting tired of waiting. While I don’t really expect them to make any more major moves (not that I’d call any of the aforementioned moves major), I’m curious to see what happens with Adrian Beltre. He spurned the A’s original offer, which I’m not really complaining about because it was a lot of money and I’m not sure he’s worth it. But it doesn’t seem like anyone else is really making a play for him. Combine that with the bats they’ve added this offseason, and maybe Beltre is warming up to the idea of playing in Oakland. He may not have any choice, unless he wants to take less money to stay in Boston or go somewhere else. While I don’t think Beltre would single-handedly put the A’s over the hump, his addition would give the team a legitimate big-league lineup, as opposed to the AAA roster they’ve been trotting out for the last two seasons. Perhaps it’s time to take part in a favorite pasttime over at AN, and pleasure myself with a little rosterbation. Let’s say the A’s do manage to acquire Beltre. Here’s what the 2011 lineup would look like…..

CF – Coco Crisp

LF – Josh Willingham

RF – David Dejesus

DH – Hideki Matsui

3B – Adrian Beltre

C – Kurt Suzuki

1B – Daric Barton

2B – Mark Ellis

SS – Cliff Pennington

Rotation: Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Gio Gonzalez, Dallas Braden, Brandon McCarthy (or Josh Outman, or Tyson Ross, or Bobby Cramer, or Rich Harden)

Suddenly, 2011 is looking A LOT better than 2010!

13 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

December 15, 2010

Welcome Back New York

By mceezy

I’m watching this Knicks-Celtics game on ESPN and I can’t tell you how good it feels to see the Garden rocking again like it’s 1995. I’m not one to root for New York teams, but sometimes you get to a point where you need that hated team to be good again. It just makes the game more interesting. It’s been about 10 years since the Knicks were good. I rooted against them for all those years, but eventually, you want that team to be good again, so you can resume rooting against them. It’s just not as fun when teams like the Knicks, Lakers, and Celtics aren’t good. It helps that I have Amare Stoudemire and Wilson Chandler on my FIRST PLACE fantasy team (and Amare just threw down an emphatic dunk!), but it’s great to see Madison Square Garden getting loud for a game against the Boston Celtics. Guys like Amare and Raymond Felton are probably enjoying their best days as professional basketball players.

The Knicks are like the Yankees, the Cowboys, or even the Cubs…. You hate them, but it’s just not as fun to hate them when they’re not good. So here’s hoping the Knicks make it back to the playoffs this year, but ONLY this year. They’ll probably need to pick up a few more guys I don’t like though. Because, all these former Warriors and guys on my fantasy team are making it hard.

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

December 15, 2010

Doin Santa’s Naughty and Nice List

By chappy81

We decided to get into the holiday spirit, and help Santa with his list since he’s probably forgetful now that he’s 1,852 years old. Plus we know he checks Doin Work regularly, and if he isn’t listening to our advice, it’s probably the Santa at Macy’s that drank himself into blurry vision that is reading our regular visitor instead.

Naughty

Cali4Dre

Randy Moss – traded twice in one season, some say due to the bad mouth and worse attitude he has decided to display in the twilight of his career

What Randy wants for Xmas – A few more TDs to pad his career stats, another trip to the Pro Bowl to lock up a first ballot HOF vote, and I maybe a SB win, but that’s a team thing so maybe not.

What Randy gets from Santa – the first two 0 target games of his career, a suit case that doesn’t need unpacking, and apparently bad Mexican food in Minny.

Dustin Johnson – Led late in two different Majors this season, and came up short in each, with a major blunder in the PGA that cost him a spot in a playoff.

What DJ wants for Xmas – More  accuracy with that canon driver he has, or maybe the sense to use his 3 wood more often since he hits that 300 yards easy.

What DJ gets from Santa – Lessons learned the hard way for the talented 26 year old, a top 5 on the money list, a top 15 in world rankings, $4.5M in earnings and a RULE BOOK with the bunker section highlighted.

Chappy

Francisco Rodriguez – Assaulting your father-in-law in front of a crowd children and women.

What Frankie wants for Xmas– His pitching arm to heal and reach the 90 MPH range again after injuring the arm throwing heymakers at the father-in-law.

What Frankie gets from Santa – A trip back to the Domincan with no paycheck from the Mets.

Floyd Mayweather –   Continue reading

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December 14, 2010

A’s Make a Ripple in the Free Agent Pool

By chappy81

The A’s are finally starting to make some moves this offseason. Patience is a virtue I’m told, but I wanted to see waves crashing in the free agent pool early and often with the money they had available to spend. We barely missed out on the Crawford and Lee sweepstakes, and according to my insider information, they were in the running for both players, until someone else put in their first offer that we couldn’t quite match. Oh well, today we got a Japanese guy, but not the one I originally thought we would. Initially it looked like Hisashi Iwakuma would be joining the A’s pitching rotation next year, but the talks hit a stalemate, and he decided to stay in Japan or maybe the A’s were just blocking their division opponents from getting him. Today we found our DH for the upcoming season though in Hideki Matsui or as most know him Godzilla. We paid Matsui just under $5M for the up coming season, which is about double what Cust was making last year as our DH. I can tell you for sure that I’d much rather see Godzilla striking out with runners on base than Cust. Maybe the Asian bias comes in a little, but he is a big upgrade over Cust, which MCeezy already expressed. Who knows since the A’s never say anything that was said behind closed doors. It already feels like a much better buy than last year’s acquisition of Ben Sheets who never really saw the mound that much. Matsui at least has a better health track record, and since DH isn’t exactly a strenuous spot I’m not worried. Am I super excited about this signing? Not to the point of writing 1,000 words, but it’s a step in a direction filling a spot that we really needed filled. If he hits 21 homers again like he did last year, he will easily lead the team in that department. Also, I’ve been reading about his signing a lot today, and found out that Matsui has been a longtime A’s fan, and even had their cap back in the 80’s while he was living in Japan. He was really into the Bash Brothers growing up, and that alone just gave me a million extra reasons to like him. Nihon Gambare Godzilla! (Long live Godzilla in Japanese)

12 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Sports

December 13, 2010

Once Upon a Time, In a Land Favre, Favre Away

By mceezy

Forgive me for the cheesy title, but it does seem like ancient times when Brett Favre last didn’t start a game. Many will compare Favre’s streak to Cal Ripken’s, but I think it’s more impressive. Sure, Ripken played more games, but they were baseball games. Favre’s streak lasted 18 years to Ripken’s 16. Favre went from hero to villain, while Ripken’s image never changed. We’re obviously not big fans of Brett Favre here at Doin Work – Dyslecix’s wife was even rumored to be working on a guest post about her dislike for Favre as a follow up to her Erin Andrew’s piece. Believe it or not, though, there was once a time was Favre was universally liked. It got me thinking what else has changed since the streak began in 1992. I’m sure it’s been done on other sites, but here’s a look at the world in 1992, when Favre succeeded the great Don Majkowski in Green Bay…..

  • In his debut as a starter, he threw TD passes to Sterling Sharpe and Robert Brooks (remember those guys?) en route to a victory over the Neil O’Donnell, Barry Foster, Greg Lloyd, and Rod Woodson-led Steelers.
  • The Dallas Cowboys beat the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl – the Bills third of four consecutive SB losses, and the Cowboys first of two in a row over Buffalo
  • The Raiders and Rams played in the LA, the Cardinals carried the Phoenix name, the Oilers existed in Houston, and the Browns played in Cleveland before leaving for Baltimore and being replaced by the Cleveland Browns.
  • Steve Young was the NFL MVP
  • Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr led the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Stanley Cup over Chappy and I’s favorite video game team of all-time, the Chicago Blackhawks.
  • The Toronto Blue Jays, who look like an all-star team on paper, beat the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. (After they defeated the A’s in the ALCS)
  • Dennis Eckersley was named AL MVP and Barry Bonds won his 2nd of 7 NL MVP awards
  • Shaquille O’Neal was drafted #1 overall by the Orlando Magic. (Fun Fact: O’Neal is the only remaining active player from that draft)
  • The Washington Wizards were the Washington Bullets, the Hornets played in Charlotte, and the Dallas Mavericks spent most of the season looking like a lock to break the record for fewest wins in a season. They had losing streaks of 12, 15, and 19; were 4-57 at one point, but won three of their last six to finish 11-71.
  • The Dream Team. Nuff Said.

9 Comments   |  tags: | posted in Sports

December 13, 2010

Sterling Should Taunt Himself

By chappy81

It’s impossible not to enjoy a good heckler at any kind of game. Whether it’s a realalistic fan spouting off about why someone is or isn’t good or it’s the idiot that doesn’t know anything about the game and 90% of the time is spitting out drunk babble. I have no problem with either as long as they are good at it, and are entertaining. Today it’s been reported that Donald Sterling the owner of the super successful Los Angeles Clippers, has been heckling his players for the last couple of years. All of the heckling reported seemed fairly un-imaginative.  Nobody has received it worse than our former Bay Area hero, Baron Davis. I had mixed feelings about it when I first read it, since BD hasn’t lived up to his contract at all, I can see why Sterling might feel that some of his comments/frustrations were warranted, but how many bad contracts have there been in the NBA? 5,000? 10,000? Way too many for me to count (I can count at least five on the Warriors right now). In this information age, you had to know what you were getting yourself into when you signed Baron. Maybe Sterling wasn’t paying attention to the way Baron left New Orleans or Golden State. Whatever the case for the bad blood between the two just remember Sterling holds the record for largest payout ($300M) in a trial that concluded that he was racist against who he was renting his apartments to.

I feel bad for Baron as he’s fighting against his injuries, a new coach, and even the owner. I guess it is possible that Sterling might have found the single weirdest way to motivate his highest paid player. I doubt that’s what he’s doing, but if you were Baron wouldn’t you want to prove him wrong a little? The weirdest part about all this is I couldn’t see any owner doing this in any sport. Not Dan Gilbert who wrote that ugly letter to Lebron. I can’t see Jerry Jones on the sidelines heckling Roy Williams, with a “get off my billion dollar field comment”. At least Bud Adams flips off the opposing team instead of his own. Even Al Davis loves his players too much to throw them under the bus during a game.

The fallout from this will probably be nothing much from the Baron front, because he’ll get paid whether he performs or not. He might pick up his game a little bit, but looking at it from the bigger perspective they have two amazing stars of the future there in Eric Gordon, and the eventual Rookie of the Year, Blake Griffin that nearly every franchise would kill to have as building blocks. I’ve never been in their locker room or around any of their players, but do know that Baron is a very likeable guy. I’m positive that he’s had some influence on Gordon and Griffin in one way or another, and I feel like they’d feel Sterling is in the wrong. My theory is if Sterling continues to heckle Baron (and he most likely will), does he really expect either of his two young stars to stay when they have a choice of exploring their options? If I were either of them, my first option would either be to switch to purple and gold, or get the hell out of LA. Also how do you build with these guys? Would any free agent in their right mind want to go to the Clippers unless they were going to make an extra $2-3M? Enjoy Griffin and Gordon while you can Clippers fans, because the Sterling and Baron saga just sealed your future of staying in the lottery for years to come, and confirmed why I put you as the worst NBA franchise over a year ago.

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December 9, 2010

Doin Lines Week 14

By chappy81

A 2-4 week has me thinking I will never crack the .500 mark this season. Luckily I hit a parlay to break even money wise, but I’m sure you all could care less about that. I think everyone has found this season a little strange in that there aren’t a ton of contenders that cover the spread every week, and looking through the lines I was shocked to see that there wasn’t one double digit favorite. What does this mean? Even the odds makers are a little befuddled by this season! The highest spread is New Orleans -9 at home. Speaking of NO, is it just me or are they the least hyped defending champs ever? I don’t hear the morning FOX, CBS, or ESPN gangs raving about anything the Saints are doing, and aren’t they the champs until someone knocks them off? I guess not in this Twitter age. The Patriots and Jets must be the only teams worthy of our attention, so the networks have led me to believe. I just can’t get over how many people were on their bandwagon last year and now, no love at all. What gives?!?

What gives is right!  As in, what gives with a 2-3 record last week!?  Well I am a firm believer in karma, or getting your “just dues”, and the way I was approaching my picks last week, like it was some sort of guaranteed 5-0 event, let’s just say I got what I deserved with those results.  Time to get myself back on the positive side this week.  On a side note, the Bo Sox just signed Carl Crawford!?  Looks like Bean Town’s the new “Evil Empire” in baseball …

Week 13 (By 2-3, Chap 2-4) Overall (By 32-29-4, Chap 33-38-3)

Indianapolis @ Tennessee (+3)

By picks Indy (-3). I will beat this horse dead, but I’m not going to stop riding it.  Wait, does that even make sense?  I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’m not jumping off the Peyton Manning ship just yet, especially in a must win scenario at a division rival.  As horrible as Manning has been these past three weeks, he’s still one of the greatest QB’s to ever play the game, which in my book, means something.  He will right the ship this week and trust his guys more.  On the other side of the ball, Tennessee is a mess.  Vince Young, Randy Moss, need I say more?

Oakland @ Jacksonville (-4) Continue reading

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December 8, 2010

End Of An Error

By mceezy

We’re still waiting for our first big free agent signing of the offseason out here in Oakland. Though the biggest move to date may be addition by subtraction, as another MLB club has finally taken Jack Cust of our hands. The A’s have been seemingly trying to get rid of Cust for a few seasons now, and today the Seattle Mariners took a chance on the slugger/walker/striker-outer. At the beginning of last season, the A’s designated Cust for assignment, hoping another team would claim him. After he cleared waivers, he reported to AAA-Sacramento until injuries on the big league roster would force him up. He played uninspired ball the rest of the season and helped the A’s to another underwhelming offensive campaign. Cust made popular the “three true outcome player.” Each of his at-bats would surely end in one of three outcomes: a home run, walk, or strikeout. Problem is, two out of every three ended in a strikeout. His homers never seem to come when they counted, and his walks were mostly the result of resting the bat on his shoulders for 6 or 7 pitches. Throw a breaking ball, and you’ll surely strike him out. I know what the Mariners were thinking, he’s a guaranteed 20 HRs a year, but does this mean they’ve been sitting there for the last three years thinking, “where can we find a left-handed Richie Sexson?” Seriously, Mariner fans, that’s what you should be thinking right now.

Cust has got to be my most loathed player on the A’s in the last decade. There aren’t many, since the A’s have a knack for having blue-collar hustle guys. Pitching, defense, and basically fundamentals reigned supreme. Cust is none of these. Instead, he occupied the fat, lazy designated hitter spot and led the league in strikeouts three consecutive years. His 197 in 2008 were particularly impressive. I won’t even get into his defensive shortcomings. The good news is this opens up a spot for a power hitter the A’s so desperately need. I share Chappy’s sentiment in that I don’t want them to break the bank on an older player who’s best days are behind them, but that may be our only option. And, if you give me a choice, I’ll take anybody over Cust. Right now it’s looking like Hideki Matsui, but I’d be happy with Doris Matsui at this point. Alright, so Cust isn’t that bad; I’m just happy for a change.

“You want to go where you’re wanted,” Cust said. “In Oakland, even though I always did pretty well there…I’m sure they’d say I struggled in spring and what I did the three years before wasn’t good enough to make that team, I guess…..When I talk about Oakland last year especially, it’s definitely not a very positive experience for me. So I’m trying to block that out a little.”

Aren’t we all, Jack. Aren’t we all…..

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December 7, 2010

Mike Tyson Gets His Due

By chappy81

Yes, Mike Tyson was inducted today into Boxing’s HOF. For better or worse Mike Tyson was a force in the sport. He was a crazy ear biter, but I think that’s what made him good like most fighters. It’s rare you meet boxers like Pacquiao or Forman, and it’s much more common to come across bastards with Tyson or Mayweather like attitudes. While I was growing up Tyson WAS boxing even more so than Sylvester Stallone, err, I mean Rocky. He was the most feared man alive, and I barely could beat him in Nintendo’s original Mike Tyson’s Punch Out. Luckily for him he’s stayed away from being broke jumping in a few movies lately, and seems to have a new perspective on life making him look a little sane. Anyways, after hearing he got inducted to the HOF, I had to jump on youtube to relive some of his clips to kill a little of the afternoon, and thought I’d post some for for you to remember just how awesome he was…

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December 7, 2010

MLB Winter Meetings

By chappy81

Probably the most exciting time of the MLB offseason is seeing the hundreds of millions of dollars flying around. The winter meetings always produce plenty of rumors, and usually end with at least a few big names traded or signed to new teams. I was especially excited about this year, since I wrote a while back that the A’s actually have some money to spend on some free agents this year. It has just made me follow the winter meetings all that much closer! Here’s a few thoughts on the things I thought that were interesting that have taken place so far.

Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox seems like a solid deal for both sides. The Padres lost their best player and fan favorite, but got prospects that they are very familiar with since Jed Hoyer (Padres GM) used to work in Boston’s front office. We won’t know if the trade was all that even until the prospects hit the majors for a couple of years, but if they somehow pulled a Hanley Ramierez type player out of the deal it might not be as lopsided as everyone thinks right now. The Padres knew they couldn’t afford him next year, and I thought that they would give it a run this year after last year’s solid season. I thought they’d wait and see where they were at the All-Star break, but it’s probably better to trade a healthy Gonzalez now, instead of risking that he’ll be injured with diminished value later. Adrian just shot up my draft board for fantasy baseball. Just look how good Beltre did last year moving from the unfriendly hitting confines of Seattle to the playing pepper with the Green Monster.

Jayson Werth’s megadeal of 7 years and $126M seems like a horrible signing to me. Boras gets money for his clients though, and his clients are always happy with the deal. Does Werth have Carlos Beltran written all over it? Don’t get me wrong, I love the way Jayson plays, but for this much money after only two productive years in a hitters park is a head scratcher to me. Why are the Nats bogging down their payroll when they suck? It feels like the same kind of deal Gary Matthews got with the Angels. Just ask them how much they like that guy! Doesn’t signing Adam Dunn seem like a more reasonable option? I’d rather keep Dunn with less years, and maybe struggle for a year or two. When Bryce Harper and Steven Strasburg are playing at the level we all think they will, then would be the time to figure out what you need most and spend all your money. Not now, when you aren’t positive of what your team needs really are. I guess they might have a real plan if they really do throw “huge” money at Cliff Lee, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

Tiger, Frank, and Jaime can all get a good laugh about this divorce stuff!

McCourt Vs. McCourt in court. Jaime and Frank finished up their first trial as they were competing for the rights to own the Dodgers in what has been a very messy divorce. The court ruled that Frank’s document stating he was the sole owner of the team will be thrown out because it was illegally made after the original prenup, so the team is still 50% hers and 50% his. If one of the two can’t buy the team outright, it’s been assumed that they will sell the team, which would make a lot of Dodger fans happy. Unfortunately though that won’t happen soon, and there will be another trial trying to prove that Frank’s original company was the reason they were able to purchase the Dodgers, so he will try to prove that he should have sole ownership. Looks like the Dodgers are going to be battling with Arizona for last place in the division this year.

The A’s offseason started with a bang as they made a couple trades and pickups with David Dejesus and Edwin Encarnacion. They won the rights to talk to Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma as well. We already dumped Encarnacion, and never really came close to signing Iwakuma, so I guess all that was smoke and mirrors. We may have just been blocking the Rangers and Mariners from Iwakuma since they were the two teams we outbid to have the rights to negotiate with him. It never really felt like a deal was getting done for him, especially for the money he was asking for to be our 5th starter.

I do want the A’s to spend this year, and they have the money to do so, but I think I’m more encouraged on what they haven’t spent their money on! They were rumored to be talking to Lance Berkman, which sounded like bringing back Giambi, Sweeney, or Piazza type in. I’m not a fan of that method anymore, because we’ve only gotten one Frank Thomas, and the rest looked washed up like they were. Now Berkman’s the Cardinals problem, and I still don’t understand why they got him when he has to play in the outfield, unless they want to slot him in instead of Pujols. Another guy they were rumored going after was Adrian Beltre. I was just as happy to see that they withdrew their contract offer to him, because he only plays good in contract years. I hope the Angels end up with him, and he turns into Seattle Beltre that didn’t care. I’d much rather go for a guy like Josh Willingham at a highly discounted price…

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December 6, 2010

NCAA Bowl Schedule Isn’t THAT Bad…

By mceezy

Since I don’t work in professional sports anymore, I find it harder to keep espn.com open on my browser at work. Therefore, I’ve had to find alternate means of keeping up with my sports news. Recently, I’ve channeled my inner-old guy and have started tuning into sports talk radio on my way to and from work. This morning it was Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio griping about the bowl schedule. In the afternoon it was local sports clown Grant Napear ranting (what else is new?) about the horrible matchups. Now I’m not usually a glass-half-full guy, but I don’t see what the problem is. Yes, there are plenty of boring games and terrible matchups, but I wouldn’t call this one of the worst lineups in recent memory. Nevermind that none of my BCS predictions panned out, there’s still plenty of intrigue as far as I’m concerned. Here’s my Top Three and my Bottom Three for the upcoming bowl season….

#1 – BCS National Championship – Oregon vs. Auburn: It’s the national championship game, what else needs to be said? It’s tough to argue the only two major unbeaten teams – with apologies to TCU – being in the big game. It features two of the four Heisman finalists in Cam Newton and LaMichael James and two historically great programs. The only downside is we have to wait until January 10 to see it.

#2 – Rose Bowl – Wisconsin vs. TCU: Sure, a Pac-10-Big Ten matchup of Stanford-Wisconsin would have been the logical choice here, but Wisconsin is widely considered to be the next best team outside of the two unbeatens. Either they’ll solidify that spot, or TCU will make a good case for a share of the national championship – though they won’t get it.

#3 – Las Vegas Bowl – Utah vs. Boise State: I know, the Las Vegas Bowl isn’t exactly the pinnacle of postseason college football, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that this will be a great game. I picked both of these teams to earn BCS berths, but a couple of late season losses killed those hopes. Nonetheless, it will feature two teams that have both put together undefeated seasons recently.

Continue reading

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