They don’t really have anything in common, it’s just what I felt like rambling about today. I’ve had a stretch of stuff to do, and that didn’t include much blogging. I guess it’s not a bad thing to have too much to do. If only there were more hours in the day! Anyways, it’s been somewhat slow in the sports world lately, but there were some things I felt like I wanted to get my opinion out there on, so skip to whatever interests you.
MLB Trade Deadline: I liked how much action we saw leading up to, and during the July 31st trade deadline. It seemed more active than normal. Everyone is praising the Yankees for their haul of Berkman, Kerns, and Wood.
Not too many poo poo platters this trade deadline... Mr. Hankey Approves!
Sure it’s nice, but I don’t really see any of them making much of a difference. All three of these guys would’ve been nice acquisitions four or five years ago, but now, not so exciting. After this weekend, I think the Rays did just as good by making a small move to get Chad Qualls. Maybe it’s the NY media trying to make everyone believe the Yankees made some genius moves, but I’m not really buying it. For me it comes down to two teams that were the big winners. The Rangers and the Padres made the moves that made the most sense for their teams to get to the playoffs. I won’t include Houston or Arizona, since we don’t really know how the trades will affect them for a few years. The Rangers addressed their biggest need in getting an ace, Cliff Lee. He hasn’t won a lot since he joined the rotation, but he’s saved the bullpen from having to do anything throwing complete games like it’s a AAA squad. They also added Christian Guzman and Jorge Cantu. They plugged up their hole at first base, and also found a replacement for Ian Kinsler since he went to the DL. I loved the meaning behind all three trades. It was especially surprising for a franchise that is bankrupt. Same goes for the Padres who have their layover until new management is in place, and they were also big winners in my eyes. They’ve been nothing short of amazing with the pitching staff and defense, but didn’t have many hitters that you really feared outside of Adrian Gonzalez. I thought they were done when they got Tejada, which MCeezy or me at this point really understand how he fit in. One thing about Tejada though, is if he’s in a good situation, he is going to fire everyone else up around him. Maybe being in the playoff hunt will spark his bat a little too. They also added Ludwick, which I was shocked to hear. Now they have a legitimate guy to put in front of or behind Gonzalez. I think these moves keep them ahead of the Giants in the NL West.
Stephen Curry’s New Team – I’m already ecstatic on the Warriors upcoming season, and adding David Lee to the roster is welcomed after the original shock of losing Anthony Randolph. Proven guy vs. a guy with a seemingly limitless ceiling. I guess you can’t argue with the proven guy that works hard with everything he does. With the new face of the franchise being Lee and Curry it may have moved the Warriors into a good character type of player instead of the me first attitude we’ve had over recent years, Monta, SJax, Baron (at times), Harrington, etc. The reason I started this ramble was that I am pretty pumped to see Curry made the cut for final 15 on team USA. No, not just because of the mancrush I have on him, but for the experience he’ll gain, and how it will help him down the road. I’m not sure he’ll make the final 12 man roster, but either way it’s a great thing for him to be there around some of the elite younger players in the league over the next month. Too bad his new teammate (David Lee) had to withdraw because of his finger, but here’s what should happen to Curry from this experience. A) He gets to play with guys that aren’t in the D-League (Pretty much the Warriors roster for the 2nd half of 2009-10). B) He might not be able to make a pact like the Miami Trio, since the dubs have him locked up for awhile, and hopefully never let him get away. I mean, he could try to make a pact with a guy like Durant, but that’s unlikely, so maybe he could make a pitch to Iguodala or Granger to move over to the Bay when their contracts are up (4 years). C) He gets to learn from Coach K., and hopefully gets some pointers on defense, and maybe learns a trick or two to stop turning the ball over. D) He gets to learn to play the ultimate team game, since winning is the ONLY thing that matters for Team USA. I don’t think I can say the same for a Nellie led Warriors squad that seems to just want to entertain at times. Hopefully when Nellie starts taking vacations in the season, the new owners dump him.
Brett Favre – Weird, he says he’s retiring for a third time, even though we saw him playing catch a few weeks ago with some High Scool kids. It’s a GREAT thing when a rumor comes out, and nobody believes it. Usually there are people on both sides of the fence, but with this one, nobody seemed to really believe he’s actually made his final decision. I guess it’s the ol’ boy who cried wolf. Love or hate the guy, he’s good for the league. I hate the guy, but do want to see him out there. I was giddy during that NFC Championship game. It was great to root for the Saints to pummel him over and over, and fortunately, they did! If he sucked last year like he did with the Jets, nobody would care half as much, and might be believing the rumor. It’s crazy that he’s the one controlling the NFC North. Is he texting to start a gambling conspiracy? The odds jumped quite a bit as soon as it was announced he is retiring, I’m just sayin… I hope it’s not true, because I like to root against him. It’s like Tiger for me, it’s not fun to root against him when he isn’t dominating. Or like my Raiders. Growing up, I would get crap from people all the time (hater nation), but now friends just feel sorry for me after losing for so long. Brett we need you as a villain, so I, like everybody else, don’t believe that you are retiring. Personally, I think it’s just a cop out, so he doesn’t have to go to training camps, and can make the Vikings bend over backwards buying him an armadillo farm to hunt at. Maybe he just likes the attention, but whatever the reason, I have a feeling he already knows what he wants to do, and that will be to play football.
Maverick Carter, a face I'm starting to hate more and more...
CP3 made me, and the sports-world lose a little respect for him over the weekend after making some trade demands that he can’t really force. If you have a player that is close to or at the top of their position you just don’t trade that guy away when he’s still under contract. The only time you really do is at the trade deadline when you are obviously out of it for the season, and have zero chance to re-sign the guy. I’m sure there’s something about making $14M this year and $16M next year that makes me feel he should honor his contract/commitment to the Hornets. I think the thing that bugs me the most though is that this whole ill-conceived plan to demand a trade was most likely whispered into his ear by his new buddies/agents Worldwide Wes and Maverick Carter. I’ve always been a CP3 fan, and like By, I was really looking forward to his return to greatness in 2010-2011 season. Now that he has taken the Lebron-Maverick-Wes route I’m not sure I will ever view him in the same light anymore. He’s nearly as important to New Orleans as Drew Brees, and the fans there don’t deserve to be jerked around for the next two years by James’ crew and CP3. I prey they don’t contrive some ridiculous hour special for his decision 2012. He shouldn’t have demanded a trade, especially since it sounds like he hadn’t even meet with the new coach (Monty Williams) or new GM (Dell Demps) prior to telling the world he wanted out. Just another flawed power trip by James’ gang of half wits that think they are above everyone, and are the ones pulling the strings. If this isn’t a sign to stay away from Carter and Wes, I’m not sure what will show players that they are bad for the league and a players image. They’ve done well killing Cleveland’s fan base, are they going to kill New Orleans basketball too? Let’s hope not…
Speaking of guys I used to like, Dan Haren was traded to the Angels over the weekend and made his first start last night. I had to tune in to see exactly where my sports hate of him would stand, and just like Vlad and Torii before him, I now have to root against the guy. During his stint with the A’s I didn’t think I’d ever NOT like him. He’s easily the most successful player we’ve had over the last few years. Even the players we got for him ended up being great (Brett Anderson, Carlos Gonzalez, and hopefully Chris Carter pans out too), which made me like him all the more. I had mixed emotions watching him pitch last night, and after he threw a couple of innings I realized this was the end of our relationship for awhile. It’s amazing how quickly you can turn on a player, and I admittedly cracked a small smile when he was hit by a line drive, then immediately felt a little bad I was happy that he got hurt in his first start. I guess I’m just mad that the A’s will have to face him six times a year now… Oh well, if anyone has a complete scouting report on the guy, it’s the A’s!
I was eating dinner at a bar where one of my whiffle ball buddies bartends, and last night I found out he went to Fresno State, and played baseball with Matt Garza in college. It only came up because we were watching Garza pitch the last four innings of his no hitter yesterday. It was pretty impressive as he faced the minimum amount of hitters, and only walked one guy the whole night. It had to be relieving for the Rays, and their fans to be on the right side of a no-no/perfect game as they’ve seen three thrown against them in the last two years. Anyways, my buddy who went to college with him said he wasn’t even the top prospect on their team, which makes his story a little better. He also told me that the guy “acts like a little girl when he drinks” Another thing he mentioned was that he was a really weird guy that kept to himself a lot. Anyways, just thought those might be a couple of interesting tidbits of info on Garza that you probably haven’t heard….
There’s two things you’ll find a lot of on Doin Work: stuff about the Golden State Warriors, and stuff about Asians. Naturally, I’ve got to talk about the Warriors newest addition, Jeremy Lin. The W’s signed the D-League sensation today much to the delight of the fans. Obviously the Bay Area is home to plenty of Asians, including Lin himself, who grew up across the Bay in Palo Alto. In numerous interviews on countless local sports channels, Lin admitted that he was hoping he’d get drafted by the team, but all hopes were lost when the Warriors ultimately traded out of the second round in the draft. Fate played its hand though, and the Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer will be donning the blue and gold this season.
It really was a long time coming for a team that could so easily win over THOUSANDS of fans instantly just by adding an Asian. Any team will tell you they’re more concerned with the players on the floor than the number of fans in the seats, but that’s not true. Clearly the W’s weren’t that concerned with fielding a good team, but they always have an entertaining one. Why not add the best Asian you can find? I’ve long felt like the team should make a play for Yao, or more realistically, Yi, just for the excitement factor. I’m not sure how big of a role he’ll play on the team, but he sure will provide some excitement when he’s on the floor. Just check out how these Vegas Summer League fans were reacting to his play….
I think I’ve been waiting to write this post since before we even started this blog. FINALLY it’s been reported that the Warriors have a new owner, and shockingly it’s not Oracle founding billionaire, Larry Ellison. Instead it’s Joseph Lacob who is currently a partial owner of the Boston Celtics that teamed up with Peter Gruber of the Mandalay Entertainment to outbid Larry Ellison to the tune of $450M. He will have to sell off his stake with the Celtics, but that’s a mere formality. It’s going to be approved by the league since Lacob already has a stake in another NBA franchise.
Aside from that magical 2007 season there wasn’t much to cheer about over the years. The Warriors made a habit out of trading away talent for poo poo platters, and suffered through watching disgruntled employees/players argue with management about any topic you could think of from winning to contracts to injuries. I’m truly glad the former owner Chris Cohan owed the IRS about $160M in unpaid taxes or this may never have happened! Alas, here we are about to finally begin a new era in the Bay Area. An era where the owner hopefully cares about the team winning! Lacob will have a very low bar to raise, and with a great fanbase already in place ready to praise his every move, I’m positive he can’t get as many things wrong as the previous regime. I’m somewhat sad that Ellison didn’t outbid Lacob, but in the end, as we saw with Prokhorov being a billionaire owner doesn’t mean guys will just flock to your team. I’m still shocked that Ellison didn’t oubid them, since he’s worth $28 billion, and reportedly there was a difference of $20-$50M differnce in the bids, which is less than a percent of his total worth. I guess it was rumored he did not want to overpay Cohan and reward him with a failure bonus. Either way I couldn’t be more extatic that this has all come to an fruition, and we actually have a future to look forward to.
Next up: Make a pitch to Kevin Pritchard to be our GM, and fire lame duck coach Don Nelson. I don’t hate Nellie or anything, but we all know how he rolls in his last year of a contract. If you forgot, just ask any Dallas fan!
Today Dyslecix sent out the youtube clip above sparked a longer than expected e-mail chain that we figured was worthy of posting in this slow sports news day. We started with Lebron vs. Kobe. It turned into Kobe and how many more championships can he win, and ultimately ended with some comparisons to Jordan.
Dyslecix: Yeah I sure did…that was a good post! I think Lebron will win a lot of people back down the road. The media is really driving the hate and the influence is pretty huge. If that team plays well and looks like they enjoy themselves, and makes a good impression during the season, I think people will come back around. Minus Laker fans of course.
By: Kobe, has been the best player from 2004-present time, and far greater than LeBron James now, and future LeBron James considering what he’s done in taking the cop out option to join Dwayne Wade, who is arguably better than him also.
Cali4Dre: I actually prefer people hating Kobe, so it spites them that much more when he makes those off-balance game winners, and wins 3 more rings in the next 5 years. I think by next year the LBJ noise will have died down after they get to the Finals and lose to the Lakers…
Chappy: I still hate Kobe, but respect him much more than I used to. Living in LA it’s either watch the Lakers or Clippers… Not a tough choice, unless you like watching crappy hoops… I don’t think he’s going to get three more rings though. Two at most…
By: I’ve always hated Kobe because of his arrogance, and because he’s tried to mimic Jordan both on & off the court as oppose to being an original person, but his game is off the charts. No one hits more difficult shots in critical moments than Kobe, and I’ve learned to respect his game immensely. When Kobe rises up for a big shot, if you’re a Lakers fan, you’re already cheering, and if you’re not a Lakers fan, you’re already putting your hands over your head. Clutch is everything. Continue reading
I’m not the biggest Dan Le Batard fan, but Dyslecix sent this clip out in the e-mail chain today, and I found this pretty damn funny. I like how he threw in a picture of Terrance farting on Phillip, and the real King (of burgers) was pretty solid as well. He even threw in a little spoof of the double rainbow clip that MCeezy put up over the weekend! All this added up to one hilarious 3 1/2 minutes, which is about as long as Lebron’s special should’ve been! The best part about all this, was that Dan is a Miami native, so he’s making fun of his own team!
I checked out some random basketball team’s site to see the hype over whatever new player(s) they acquire. One thing lead to another….. And next thing you know, I’m checking out every team’s site to see what they’re offering at this juncture of the offseason. Time to depart….
I had to get out of Sacramento, where they’re resorting to an image of Lebron, D-Wade, and Bosh. I was hoping for some more hype about Demarcus Cousins, or maybe even more Tyreke. Instead, they’re trying to get people to sign up and buy the “Lebron Quarter Season” package…..
First stop will be the Golden State Warriors. Naturally, the main billboard is “Warriors Acquire David Lee,” and I’ve got to admit the interview with Lee sort of made me a believer. The trade seemed a little lopsided, but once I remembered they’ll still have Curry, Monta, and Biedrins playing with Lee, I’ll be alright.
I guess it’s better that they take the high road and not even acknowledge it, but the Lakers were the one team I was hoping would have something up about Miami. Something like a big graphic saying “We Still Have Kobe” with five championship trophies behind him. Instead it’s business as usual…. Oh yeah, the Clippers are here too. Ah, seems as though they’ve picked up Ryan Gomes and Randy Foye. *yawn*
Time to head east on the 10 and see how Phoenix is holding up without Amare. They have a nice Thank You on there for him, but it’s okay because We locked up Channing Frye for five years!!!”
Not much going on in San Antonio (as usual), Houston, or New Orleans, so we’ll veer north toward Dallas and Oklahoma City. Dallas is, not surprisingly, all about keeping Dirk. Only problem is, didn’t they already? Someone update the site! Meanwhile, in OKC, there’s an Anti-Lebron being born. Kevin Durant basically proposed to the Thunder franchise and the state of Oklahoma. The honeymoon is in full force….
It’s true. The title Kobe Bryant held for so long has been snatched out from underneath him. Long considered the spoiled brat of the NBA, Kobe may very well be sitting back watching Lebron get ripped by every fan, franchise, and media outlet in the nation, smiling uncontrollably. I know I would be. See, Kobe grew out of the bad boy stage a couple years ago. Somewhere, he realized he didn’t need to be a villain. Moreover, in order to be regarded with the Jordans, Magics, and Birds, he needed to be liked. I’m not saying he changed his personality, but he simply became tolerable. Many still hate him, but not as passionately as they used to. I actually came around a lot earlier than most. I think it was a combination of going to college with his cousin and the Kings fall from contention and no longer having to deal with him in the big moments. What really did it for me was that Kobe simply is THAT GOOD. I was a damn good swimmer all through high school, and somewhere along the line, I realized you had to KNOW you were that good to BE that good. That’s all Kobe was doing. You need your opposition to believe that they can’t beat you. Kobe has mastered this. Up until now, Kobe was the bad guy and Lebron was the good guy.
Not so anymore. Lebron James was a man among boys ever since he was in high school. Grown ass men were looking up to him because he seemed to have the world in the palm of his hands. Thursday night ended up being the biggest heel turn – to put it in WWF terms – the NBA has ever seen. It was almost as if Lebron ripped off his Cavs jersey to reveal an NWO shirt underneath. Now, it’s not like the Heat are a hated franchise or anything. They’re not the Lakers or the Knicks or even the Celtics. Had he gone to the Knicks, which was highly speculated, it would’ve been fine because it would’ve been HIS team. Instead, he goes and joins D-Wade’s team. Even if he wins a championship, it won’t be his. But clearly he doesn’t care about it. I don’t know if I’m going to hate the Heat as much as I’m going to root for the Cavs. Even though Cleveland is widely regarded as one of America’s shitholes…. the Mistake by the Lake, if you will…. I grew up during the Brad Daugherty, Larry Nance, Craig Ehlo era. They were a solid franchise when I was young. They’re not really a poor hapless franchise like, say, the Sacramento Kings or Golden State Warriors, in my book. But on one fateful night, the Cavs became the biggest underdogs the NBA has ever seen. Can anyone really root against them? I mean sure, Daniel Gibson could go away and no one would miss him. But Antawn Jamison and Mo Williams deserve better. I was never much of a Dan Gilbert fan, and as much as he may have been going a little overboard, I am now. I avoided “The Decision” at all costs, but I’ll definitely be tuning in for Lebron’s first game back in Cleveland as a flamer. You can take that to the bank.
I wonder if Spike is making a movie of David Lee's free agency experience?!?
Lost in the Lebronapalooza last night was a trade the Warriors made to acquire David Lee. It hasn’t gone through yet, but is supposed to later today. I’ll be the first to admit I haven’t really watched Lee play a whole lot. He was on the Knicks after all, and the Warriors have been more relevant in recent years than them somehow. We gave up Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azabuike, and Ronny Turiaf to get him. I think the Knicks got one hell of a deal on this sign and trade. It might be the first good deal they’ve made in awhile. I have very mixed emotions on the move since the Warriors always trade away their young potential guys, so we have to watch them flourish with their new team. I was VERY sad to see that the prospective new owners weren’t involved at all in this decision. It’s a tough one to swallow since Randolph is only 21, and although he’s turnover prone, gets overly emotional, and disappears at times, he is a fan favorite with limitless potential that anyone who watches him play can see. Plus he was only making $2M, Klenna was making about $3M, and Turiaf was only making about $4M. All are good players to give up that were very cheap to keep, and now we are left with a gaping hole at the 3, since Maggette already was shipped away now we gave up Buike. Are we going to roll with Reggie Williams at the 3? Maybe, and I was pretty high on him last year, but not really in the starting lineup. I was thinking he’d be a solid back up to Buike. It’s probably a fitting way to end the Cohan era, one more guy we lose that will possibly be a mega star in the league given away for a big contract that isn’t coming off the books for awhile that may or may not work out. Most of the players on the Warriors seemed shocked by the trade, but gave us the ol’ quote that “this is a business”. I hope this move wasn’t to try and raise the value of the team, because I don’t see it making the franchise worth more. Since last year was a lost season due to the record number of injuries they suffered, and since they are one of the youngest teams in the league it might have been made hastily. I personally wanted to see this team together for all of next year, and wanted to figure out what this squad had playing with a remotely healthy group for a whole year before we blew them up. We don’t even know what our big guys can and can’t do since they never really played together for an extended period of time, and weren’t healthy for 90% of the season last year. Our PF and C for the last two months were from the D-Leagues, so who even knows if they are good or not the way they were constructed. Continue reading
Didn’t pay much attention to the NBA free agency bonanza over the three day weekend (or sports for that matter), but caught up the last couple days on the rumor mill, and it sounds like all the rumors that were swirling on Friday, sound just about the same as they do today. Maybe there’s a little more of the I think so and so is leaning towards staying/going here, but nobody’s opinion is truly relevant, since nobody knows what factors are in play for these guys in making their final decisions so rumors will continue.There was one big commitment over the weekend with Amare Stoudemire agreeing to a five year $100M contract with the Knicks. I think it’s good for the guy, he wasn’t going to get a max deal in Phoenix, so why not go where someone that is willing to dish out the cash! He might not be exactly what they were hoping for, and as MCeezy said, they still aren’t relevant without another big player, but he is as worthy as anyone for a max offer. He’ll probably hold his fantasy value rejoining the anti-defensive D’antoni coached team. They might actually come out of this free agency period a winner depending on what else they get. I’m not going to say I think this was the greatest signing, but it’s far from a bad one as some would have you believe. If he somehow recruits another superstar, then he would be an all-time Knicks without even stepping on the court. It was much better than signing Joe Johnson or Rudy Gay to the “max” deals. I’m starting to wonder where Boozer will land since there are really no rumors about him. I do like the ring of Boozer’s Vodka if he ends up on the Nets. D-Wade and Chris Bosh are going to team up in Miami, just as I predicted. It’s tough to tell how much of a supporting cast they can have with only four players (Chalmers and Beasley) on the roster, but if they really don’t care about the money that much, maybe they’ll be able to bring in another big name.
I found the rumor of Carmelo waiting it out until next year’s free agency to go join Amare in New York as a laughable scenario. Does Melo even really have a choice on waiting it out with the lockout scheduled for next year? He could’ve been part of this free agent frenzy, but chose to take the extra year and some extra cash instead of opening up his 2010 summer. The Baltimore native has lived the rough life, so I don’t see him passing up any guaranteed money. Could he really pass on an extension that would guarantee him close to $20M per year for the next three? I’ll say no. The way money is flying around this summer is going to get even crazier after Lebron makes his choice tomorrow. You may think it already has with contracts like Amir Johnson (5 years $34M), Darko Milicic (4 years $20M), Drew Gooden (4 years $39M), but this summer there will be even more of those unfathomable numbers for guys that are at best bench players, especially if all these big free agents end up staying put. There’s a lot of teams waaay under the cap that were hoping to lure a Lebron or Wade to their city, but all these potential suitors forgot one thing, what if they don’t want to leave and want the extra $20-30M guaranteed that these guys can have tacked onto the last year of their contract in their current cities. So in essence, some teams will be overpaying for guys this summer that aren’t going to change a franchise into an instant contender. I’m thinking Richard Jefferson, Luis Scola, Raymond Felton, and Ray Allen will all eventually get some ridiculous money thrown their way from teams that are desperate to make a splash. They are good, but should only be additions to an already good team not THE addition that makes them a team. Continue reading
We’re six days into the Free Agent period, and most of the big names have yet to choose their destination for the upcoming season. However, a few guys have made their choices, and here I’ll break down what it means for the teams/players involved….
Amare Stoudamire to the Knicks for 5 years, $100 million: Stoudemire is the biggest name so far to land with a new team. No doubt it shores up the middle for the Knicks, and gives them a new star player, but what will it mean on the court? If they fail to re-sign David Lee, then it’s a wash. Not that Amare isn’t an upgrade over Lee, but his addition alone won’t get the Knicks over the .500 mark, or relevant for that matter.
Joe Johnson Re-Signs with the Hawks for 6 years, $119 million: No one really expected JJ to jump ship, although I predicted he’d be lured away by the bright lights of NYC. But Johnson’s staying put keeps Atlanta’s nucleus intact for years to come. They still need to add some inside presence, but the Hawks won’t need to transition into all out rebuilding mode. With the Celtics getting nothing but older, Atlanta can now dedicate itself to competing for the Eastern Conference title for the duration of Johnson’s contract.
I’ve had numerous friends over the past month or so ask me about the Warriors sale, and what I thought their plans were going to be for the upcoming free agent bonanza that started today. The answer keeps being “not a whole lot” for both questions. I wanted to get up a post on something related to the sale for awhile now, and haven’t had anything really worthy of reporting to our awesome readers. Unfortunately, the sale process has been about as fast moving as the whole Cohan era, and nothing is going to happen sooner than expected. We originally thought there was a chance that we’d have a new owner in place by July, but now it sounds like we are going to have to wait at least until mid to late August to find out who will try to bring us out of our 15 year misery. As far as the free agency thing goes, we are pretty much going to avoid any possible moves that would make the team better in an effort to end the Cohan era in rightfully disappointing fashion. I guess I didn’t really expect them to do much since most of their money is tied up, but they do have a nice bargaining chip in Monta Ellis to obtain a player that wants to play alongside Curry. I actually don’t care what they do until they have a new owner that WILL clean house. I prey that new owner doesn’t trade away my mancrush, Curry. My dream scenario that I doubt would ever happen, but may as well throw it out there is; Ellis, Biendris (throw in a first round pick) for Gasol and Gay (if Gay goes for the sign and trade since he’s a restricted free agent). This will never happen, and at this point the fans are the only true asset to this franchise, and if possible, Cohan would’ve traded us for cash to the Lakers long ago.
Now, to the sale of the team. From what I’ve read, the nonbinding bid round is over. I wasn’t a fan of this non-binding bid thing, I mean, if I wanted to write $400M on a piece of paper with my name on it, and had sent it to them, that would’ve counted as a bid, which is why I think they had twenty or so bids during that first round. Now that we’ve passed the opening stages, the Warriors have opened up their books for the top four potential owners to look at, and evaluate. I believe all the groups have actually visited Roaracle and taken a tour the facilities. Now that the bidders have seen the books and facilities, they are now submitting binding bids. If there are two close to eachother, I’m sure Cohan will allow those two to punch it out, so he can get his top $ for the team. Here are the top four bidders in the mix, and I have to say I’m heavily rooting for the first two over the last two. Continue reading
It’s been reported once again by ESPN that the free agent summit was in full effect. This time it reportedly has taken place over the past weekend with Lebron, D-Wade, and Bosh all connecting in Miami (to read the whole groundbreaking article click here). I guess this is news. I’m sure they got a lot accomplished. I mean, do these guys really even know what teams will offer them? They probably generally know about what each team can offer them, but won’t know officially until they go and visit the teams on or after July 1st. I find it funny that this whole meeting is being covered so heavily, it must be really slow in the sports world. I like what Chris Broussard and Marc Stein came up with as their conclusions in this article. They reported that Lebron is interested in joining Miami, and so is Chris Bosh, shocking I know. They also reported that Bosh and Lebron could go to Chicago… you don’t say, I haven’t even heard that scenario! Oh wait a minute, they also said that Lebron could stay in Cleveland. Wholly crap this is groundbreaking stuff guys! They also said that Wade has meeting scheduled with the Nets and Knicks, wholly crap, I think all the top free agents have meeting with those two teams! It sounds like they accomplished a lot over the weekend having this trio of stars meet up in Miami. I mean seriously, what could they have talked about. Hey guys, who wants to take less money so all three of us can play together? Nobody, okay, so which two of us get to play together? Oh, I guess we can’t really make that decision either without knowing what contracts these teams want to give us… Good talk guys hopefully one of you picks the same team as me! Honestly, why did they even need to meet up? Why not just jump on a conference call or skype it? This whole summit idea grinds my gears! Maybe not so much that the players met, but the fact that it has to dominate the newswires today.
We already made a list of the top free agents of 2010, and now we give you the predictions on where we think some of the best players in the NBA will end up. Even though none of the players even know where they are going, we will still try to predict where we think they will go in the super hyped July free agent frenzy.
LeBron James
Cali4Dre: NY Knicks, where the lights shine brightest and the team has been prostituting itself to him for 5 years now
Chappy: NJ Nets, He decides to learn from the self made billionaire how to become a billionaire himself. He gets his global icon status without winning a championship and has some premium Russian vodka named after him.
By: Oddly enough, I believe the two biggest names will stay put. The Cavs are most certainly going to deal Desperado West, and all will be well in Cleveland once again.
MCeezy: Nowhere. I think Lebron’s full of shit. He’s just gonna milk the Cavs for all they’re worth, but he’s gonna have one last fling (or six or seven) visiting other teams – just to see what they would give him. I think the whole “play your whole career for one team” will prove too much for the King to leave his castle. (That one team is also his home town to boot) Cavs season ticket reps can breathe easy.
Dwyane Wade
Cali4Dre: Chicago, home sweet home for “fall down once, get up twice”
Chappy: Miami, he seems to really like south beach, and from what I can tell, he’s the only one that really wants to stay and bring in a new buddy.
By: Wade being the other of the two “big-big names” – I believe he stays in South Beach. Miami will deliver on their commitment to pairing him up with another All-Star.
MCeezy: Chicago. I think this is more what I’d like to see than what will happen though. I’m sure Wade would love to go back home and the run the show in Chicago, but I just can’t see him running with Derrick Rose. I think in the end, Miami will just have more to offer.
Chris Bosh
Cali4Dre: Chicago, already sounds sold and getting to know Oprah is at the bottom of his list
Chappy: Miami, Wade talks Bosh into moving to Florida, and is super pumped about the new Predators movie coming out…
By: Some say Miami, some say Chicago, one thing is for sure – goodbye Canada! Bosh has been reported saying he doesn’t want to become someone’s second fiddle, so Chicago with Joe Johnson looks good right now. I’d really like to see Bosh in a Warriors jersey though … wishful thinking.
MCeezy: Miami. For some reason, I can already see him in a Heat jersey. I think the front office sells D-Wade on bringing in another star, and Bosh seems to fit the bill.
Stephen Curry’s New Team – I’m already ecstatic on the Warriors upcoming season, and adding David Lee to the roster is welcomed after the original shock of losing Anthony Randolph. Proven guy vs. a guy with a seemingly limitless ceiling. I guess you can’t argue with the proven guy that works hard with everything he does. With the new face of the franchise being Lee and Curry it may have moved the Warriors into a good character type of player instead of the me first attitude we’ve had over recent years, Monta, SJax, Baron (at times), Harrington, etc. The reason I started this ramble was that I am pretty pumped to see Curry made the cut for final 15 on team USA. No, not just because of the mancrush I have on him, but for the experience he’ll gain, and how it will help him down the road. I’m not sure he’ll make the final 12 man roster, but either way it’s a great thing for him to be there around some of the elite younger players in the league over the next month. Too bad his new teammate (David Lee) had to withdraw because of his finger, but here’s what should happen to Curry from this experience. A) He gets to play with guys that aren’t in the D-League (Pretty much the Warriors roster for the 2nd half of 2009-10). B) He might not be able to make a pact like the Miami Trio, since the dubs have him locked up for awhile, and hopefully never let him get away. I mean, he could try to make a pact with a guy like Durant, but that’s unlikely, so maybe he could make a pitch to Iguodala or Granger to move over to the Bay when their contracts are up (4 years). C) He gets to learn from Coach K., and hopefully gets some pointers on defense, and maybe learns a trick or two to stop turning the ball over. D) He gets to learn to play the ultimate team game, since winning is the ONLY thing that matters for Team USA. I don’t think I can say the same for a Nellie led Warriors squad that seems to just want to entertain at times. Hopefully when Nellie starts taking vacations in the season, the new owners dump him.
Brett Favre – Weird, he says he’s retiring for a third time, even though we saw him playing catch a few weeks ago with some High Scool kids. It’s a GREAT thing when a rumor comes out, and nobody believes it. Usually there are people on both sides of the fence, but with this one, nobody seemed to really believe he’s actually made his final decision. I guess it’s the ol’ boy who cried wolf. Love or hate the guy, he’s good for the league. I hate the guy, but do want to see him out there. I was giddy during that NFC Championship game. It was great to root for the Saints to pummel him over and over, and fortunately, they did! If he sucked last year like he did with the Jets, nobody would care half as much, and might be believing the rumor. It’s crazy that he’s the one controlling the NFC North. Is he texting to start a gambling conspiracy? The odds jumped quite a bit as soon as it was announced he is retiring, I’m just sayin… I hope it’s not true, because I like to root against him. It’s like Tiger for me, it’s not fun to root against him when he isn’t dominating. Or like my Raiders. Growing up, I would get crap from people all the time (hater nation), but now friends just feel sorry for me after losing for so long. Brett we need you as a villain, so I, like everybody else, don’t believe that you are retiring. Personally, I think it’s just a cop out, so he doesn’t have to go to training camps, and can make the Vikings bend over backwards buying him an armadillo farm to hunt at. Maybe he just likes the attention, but whatever the reason, I have a feeling he already knows what he wants to do, and that will be to play football.
By
cali4dre
chappy81
dyslecix
mceezy
Doin Work 