Thursday, July 31, 2008
Ken Griffey Jr.
The White Sox traded for legendary OF Ken Griffey Junior today, apparently under the impression that it is 1998, rather than 2008. The White Sox must also believe that he can play in the outfield still, because they already have a left-handed hitting DH in Jim Thome. One AL executive said “he can’t play”, here’s hoping maybe he can.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Deng signs
It looks like the Bulls finally re-signed Luol Deng today, we all knew the Bulls liked him but it’s about time. Deng will make around 70 million over 6 years, which is similar to the yearly salary he would have made had he accepted the 5 year, 57 million dollar offer last October.
Apparently, Jerry Reinsdorf led the negotiations to speed it up, which worries me. When John Paxson took the team over in 2004, the team was centered around Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford, and Eddie Robinson. He quickly made a series of brilliant sign and trades, and drafted well. This team has been assembled by him, but this summer it seems like he’s been pushed away somewhat. He reportedly wanted to trade away Kirk Hinrich, but Reinsdorf said he would rather trade Ben Gordon, which seems more than likely now. Reinsdorf also pushed away Doug Collins, Paxson’s top choice to be the new head coach.
What does this mean for Ben Gordon? He seems to want the same money Deng is getting, but he’s unlikely to get it. He’s not an easy sign and trade, teams aren’t too high on small guards who can’t play defense. I think he accepts the tender offer and plays for the Bulls this season, then leaves next season. Or, he can go to Europe, which he has yet to rule out as a possibility. I can’t imagine he is very happy with the Bulls right now, I think we won’t be seeing too much of him in the next few years.
Apparently, Jerry Reinsdorf led the negotiations to speed it up, which worries me. When John Paxson took the team over in 2004, the team was centered around Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford, and Eddie Robinson. He quickly made a series of brilliant sign and trades, and drafted well. This team has been assembled by him, but this summer it seems like he’s been pushed away somewhat. He reportedly wanted to trade away Kirk Hinrich, but Reinsdorf said he would rather trade Ben Gordon, which seems more than likely now. Reinsdorf also pushed away Doug Collins, Paxson’s top choice to be the new head coach.
What does this mean for Ben Gordon? He seems to want the same money Deng is getting, but he’s unlikely to get it. He’s not an easy sign and trade, teams aren’t too high on small guards who can’t play defense. I think he accepts the tender offer and plays for the Bulls this season, then leaves next season. Or, he can go to Europe, which he has yet to rule out as a possibility. I can’t imagine he is very happy with the Bulls right now, I think we won’t be seeing too much of him in the next few years.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Dog Days
"It's so hot! Milk was a bad choice today!"
-Will Ferrell.
That's how I feel right now. It's hot, I'm lazy, and again haven't written in a while. Plus last time I got a compliment on my post (BWAH!?). I again returned to Indiana over the weekend and saw Step Brothers. I really enjoyed it, my friend complained it was retarded half the movie, then proceeded to laugh like crazy the last half hour. If you drop your expectations of anything remotely realistic, it's a hilarious movie. Don't bring your kids.
Do you care about the Olympics? I'm not sure I do. We have nothing to gain there. That said, US basketball better win. If we don't I'm going on official crusade to have the international rules of soccer completely changed to benefit America's soccer team. See how the rest of the world likes it when we #### with their sports.
I just witnessed Jay Mariotti calling the WNBA pillow fight a "full scale brawl". This is why no one respects Jay Mariotti.
I rip ESPN a lot, but I will give credit to Mike Wilbon on PTI. Met him at a Northwestern football game, he was a genuinely nice guy and a real sports fan. ESPN needs less blowhards and more shows like PTI.
Take the Peoria pitcher who beaned a fan to court. There are unwritten rules in sports fights, and one of the biggest ones is baseball's drop the bat and ball. You cannot bring those into a fight, it's not allowed. Too much damage can be done. Another big rule is that the fans be kept out of it. People should not fear a fight spilling over when they go to a ball game. I don't want to see the kid go to jail for a year, but he should receive a hefty fine and a year long suspension from major league baseball.
I'd like to see the White Sox get a back of the rotation starter before the deadline. Jose Contreras resembles a shoe in both facial appearance and pitching ability and Javier Vasquez cares too much about strikeouts to ever reach his potential. I call it a "Javi" when a pitcher gets ahead 0-2 in the count then throws 2 "please chase me" breaking balls and a high fastball to fill up the count. A walk usually ensues. Perhaps Brian Anderson plus a couple marginal prospects for Jarrod Washburn would work. Anderson's young, still has all the tools he had when he was a top prospect, and the Mariners would really appreciate someone eating Washburn's contract.
Manny Ramirez needs to calm the hell down. Your on a world series favorite, making obscene amounts of money, in a town that loves you, and in a solid clubhouse. If he doesn't someone should give him a complimentary prostate exam using their foot.
KFC's sauceless chicken wings were disappointing from start to finish.
Brett Favre should be allowed to compete for the Packers QB. I don't see how the Packers would be upset with that.
Women's deoderant commercials represent all things wrong with America. Try paying attention to Degree's "protection for every OMG moment" commercials or that other one where the women stops the cab then tells the guy she'd rather walk. I particularly dislike that woman.
Losing Posada really hurts the Yankees championship aspirations. World series winners tend to have good catchers and those that don't had dominating pitchers. I don't know how the 2002 Angels won, it would be like the Twins winning this year.
Why haven't Josh Smith, Emeka Okafor, Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, or Andre Iguodala been signed? This further proves how incompetent NBA GMs are.
Just once I would like to see a normal, somewhat intelligent bystander in a movie. One who notifies the police when they notice villains setting up for incredibly elaborate plots.
Remember kids, only you can keep down the number of polar bear attacks on the French. Please increase them. Good day.
-Will Ferrell.
That's how I feel right now. It's hot, I'm lazy, and again haven't written in a while. Plus last time I got a compliment on my post (BWAH!?). I again returned to Indiana over the weekend and saw Step Brothers. I really enjoyed it, my friend complained it was retarded half the movie, then proceeded to laugh like crazy the last half hour. If you drop your expectations of anything remotely realistic, it's a hilarious movie. Don't bring your kids.
Do you care about the Olympics? I'm not sure I do. We have nothing to gain there. That said, US basketball better win. If we don't I'm going on official crusade to have the international rules of soccer completely changed to benefit America's soccer team. See how the rest of the world likes it when we #### with their sports.
I just witnessed Jay Mariotti calling the WNBA pillow fight a "full scale brawl". This is why no one respects Jay Mariotti.
I rip ESPN a lot, but I will give credit to Mike Wilbon on PTI. Met him at a Northwestern football game, he was a genuinely nice guy and a real sports fan. ESPN needs less blowhards and more shows like PTI.
Take the Peoria pitcher who beaned a fan to court. There are unwritten rules in sports fights, and one of the biggest ones is baseball's drop the bat and ball. You cannot bring those into a fight, it's not allowed. Too much damage can be done. Another big rule is that the fans be kept out of it. People should not fear a fight spilling over when they go to a ball game. I don't want to see the kid go to jail for a year, but he should receive a hefty fine and a year long suspension from major league baseball.
I'd like to see the White Sox get a back of the rotation starter before the deadline. Jose Contreras resembles a shoe in both facial appearance and pitching ability and Javier Vasquez cares too much about strikeouts to ever reach his potential. I call it a "Javi" when a pitcher gets ahead 0-2 in the count then throws 2 "please chase me" breaking balls and a high fastball to fill up the count. A walk usually ensues. Perhaps Brian Anderson plus a couple marginal prospects for Jarrod Washburn would work. Anderson's young, still has all the tools he had when he was a top prospect, and the Mariners would really appreciate someone eating Washburn's contract.
Manny Ramirez needs to calm the hell down. Your on a world series favorite, making obscene amounts of money, in a town that loves you, and in a solid clubhouse. If he doesn't someone should give him a complimentary prostate exam using their foot.
KFC's sauceless chicken wings were disappointing from start to finish.
Brett Favre should be allowed to compete for the Packers QB. I don't see how the Packers would be upset with that.
Women's deoderant commercials represent all things wrong with America. Try paying attention to Degree's "protection for every OMG moment" commercials or that other one where the women stops the cab then tells the guy she'd rather walk. I particularly dislike that woman.
Losing Posada really hurts the Yankees championship aspirations. World series winners tend to have good catchers and those that don't had dominating pitchers. I don't know how the 2002 Angels won, it would be like the Twins winning this year.
Why haven't Josh Smith, Emeka Okafor, Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, or Andre Iguodala been signed? This further proves how incompetent NBA GMs are.
Just once I would like to see a normal, somewhat intelligent bystander in a movie. One who notifies the police when they notice villains setting up for incredibly elaborate plots.
Remember kids, only you can keep down the number of polar bear attacks on the French. Please increase them. Good day.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Post 16
It's been a while since somebody has called me a stupid douche so that means it's time to write an article. Like the lyrics to Rihanna's songs, the things in this article are unrelated and may not even make sense. I'm just throwing things out there and hoping they sound good, which works well for her.
The WNBA fight was a complete joke. I happened to be flipping channels and caught the tail end of it and was in no way mortified when watching it. I coach a group of 9 year olds at a basketball day camp and that's the kind of fight I would have expected out of them. What the hell was the woman who threw Candace Parker doing? She looked like she was trying to shuffle over her, and I do mean shuffle because she never picked up her feet, and she got tackled. Then there was a little shoving and Lisa Leslie fell down. Did Mahorn give her a shove? Yeah, the kind of shove he would use to break up a pair of fighting 8-year olds. Then one of Leslie's teammates tooking a running punch at Mahorn and he didn't flinch. This is why no one respects the WNBA.
Brilliant move on Josh Childress's part. His signing on with a Greek team was not totally related to money, he's only getting a million more than the contract the Hawks were offering. It's not a 3-year contract either, he's opting out after this year. He's going to play a year in Greece for 7 million dollars, be worshipped there as the god of hair, and then return to the NBA as an unrestricted free agent. It was also an epic middle finger to Hawks management. Suckers got burned.
Speaking of burns, I enjoy USA's Burn Notice. Think House meets CSI: Miami. Kind of violent, sexy women, smart ass main character who's really good at what he does.
Say what you want about Ozzie Guillen, his outbursts tend to lead to positive results. His ejection in the 7th inning of today's game led to an 5 run 8th for the Sox and a comeback victory. It's the third or fourth time this year his outbursts have led to turnarounds.
I'm hoping to watch Cotto vs. Margarito this weekend. If it's half the disappointment De La Hoya/Mayweather was, I'm swearing off boxing.
Justin Timberlake hosted the ESPYs. I watched 5 minutes, felt less of a man for it, and turned on Iron Chef.
Don't look now, here come the Yankees. Not too hard to see them passing the Rays anymore and I'm glad that I went on record as not counting them out.
Professional sports should rule sub-.500 division winners out of the playoffs. The 3 best teams in the NL are in the Central division and I don't like that one of them will be golfing in October because the D'Backs won 80 games in baseball's worst division.
Josh Hamilton is the best pure baseball player I have ever seen. I witnessed his 430 foot bomb on Monday in person and I have been in a state of awe ever since.
The new Batman movie was fantastic, although I felt it could have benefitted from cutting out 20 minutes. I'm shocked nobody shot the Joker (no that isn't a spoiler). Wanted wasn't great but it was entertaining. It somehow managed to straddle the line between brilliant and completely retarded. Afterwards, I felt like somebody had just humped my brain.
Morgan Freeman should call the play-by-play for any important sporting event.
Like NBA's Summer League, this article was short, largely meaningless, and is now over.
The WNBA fight was a complete joke. I happened to be flipping channels and caught the tail end of it and was in no way mortified when watching it. I coach a group of 9 year olds at a basketball day camp and that's the kind of fight I would have expected out of them. What the hell was the woman who threw Candace Parker doing? She looked like she was trying to shuffle over her, and I do mean shuffle because she never picked up her feet, and she got tackled. Then there was a little shoving and Lisa Leslie fell down. Did Mahorn give her a shove? Yeah, the kind of shove he would use to break up a pair of fighting 8-year olds. Then one of Leslie's teammates tooking a running punch at Mahorn and he didn't flinch. This is why no one respects the WNBA.
Brilliant move on Josh Childress's part. His signing on with a Greek team was not totally related to money, he's only getting a million more than the contract the Hawks were offering. It's not a 3-year contract either, he's opting out after this year. He's going to play a year in Greece for 7 million dollars, be worshipped there as the god of hair, and then return to the NBA as an unrestricted free agent. It was also an epic middle finger to Hawks management. Suckers got burned.
Speaking of burns, I enjoy USA's Burn Notice. Think House meets CSI: Miami. Kind of violent, sexy women, smart ass main character who's really good at what he does.
Say what you want about Ozzie Guillen, his outbursts tend to lead to positive results. His ejection in the 7th inning of today's game led to an 5 run 8th for the Sox and a comeback victory. It's the third or fourth time this year his outbursts have led to turnarounds.
I'm hoping to watch Cotto vs. Margarito this weekend. If it's half the disappointment De La Hoya/Mayweather was, I'm swearing off boxing.
Justin Timberlake hosted the ESPYs. I watched 5 minutes, felt less of a man for it, and turned on Iron Chef.
Don't look now, here come the Yankees. Not too hard to see them passing the Rays anymore and I'm glad that I went on record as not counting them out.
Professional sports should rule sub-.500 division winners out of the playoffs. The 3 best teams in the NL are in the Central division and I don't like that one of them will be golfing in October because the D'Backs won 80 games in baseball's worst division.
Josh Hamilton is the best pure baseball player I have ever seen. I witnessed his 430 foot bomb on Monday in person and I have been in a state of awe ever since.
The new Batman movie was fantastic, although I felt it could have benefitted from cutting out 20 minutes. I'm shocked nobody shot the Joker (no that isn't a spoiler). Wanted wasn't great but it was entertaining. It somehow managed to straddle the line between brilliant and completely retarded. Afterwards, I felt like somebody had just humped my brain.
Morgan Freeman should call the play-by-play for any important sporting event.
Like NBA's Summer League, this article was short, largely meaningless, and is now over.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
NBA GM
NBA Free Agency has kicked off and so far I don't see any team making the leap. The 76ers signed Elton Brand to make them interesting in the East, but no better than the Cavs, Magic, or Pistons. They're still well behind the Celtics. The Clippers have a good starting five in Baron, Gordon, Thornton, Camby, and Kaman. It's going to be interesting to see the Rockets, Trail Blazers, Nuggets, and Clippers fight for the final 2 playoff spots out West. The Trail Blazers should get one of those spots with Aldridge, Oden, Roy, and Bayless, but they are also still very young and may fold under the pressure. The Rockets have T-Mac, the Nuggets have Iverson and Anthony, and the Clippers have the deepest starting 5. I would like the Rockets but who knows if T-Mac is sticking around?
Anyway, I was completely uninspired, as usual, by the moves made by NBA GMs. It is absolutley preposterous how bad the majority of these guys are at their jobs. So I decided to step in to John Paxson's shoes and come up with a game plan to build a winner.
Bulls plan:
1. Sign Luol Deng and Ben Gordon to qualifying offers. At this point, nobody has the cash to offer them significantly better money and they have little to no leverage. Unless the Warriors let Monta Ellis go, the Hawks let Josh Smith go, or the 76ers let Iguodala go, nobody can sign Deng or Gordon. And if one of those teams decides to spend their money on Deng or Gordon, fine. Take the RFA they passed on. As they stand, Gordon's qualifying offer is 6.4 million and Deng is being offered 4.4 million. I think it's funny that they passed on a combined 100 million dollars worth of contract and now will probably only get a combined 10.
2. It's time to make that splashy trade the Bulls have almost made for the last 5 years or so. They have 17 million in the expiring contracts of Deng, Gordon (qualifying offers are only 1 year), and Drew Gooden. They also have Hinrich and Noc who have sizable, but not unmovable, contracts. Then there are young guys like Noah, Sefolosha, and Thomas. That's too many assets not to make a deal. Here are the moves I would make if I were in John Paxson's shoes:
Bulls get: Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, cash.
Lakers get: Kirk Hinrich, Andres Nocioni.
The Bulls get another scoring option, a good rebounder, and a guy who can play multiple position in Odom. Derek Fisher is a veteran presence and can tutor Derek Rose. The Bulls can go with a lot of different looks with Odom out on the floor and this tightens the rotation we have from 10 guys who need lots of minutes to 9. Doesn't sound like a lot but it is. The Lakers pull the trigger because they get a younger better PG who can defer to Kobe as well as the tough guy they desperately needed in the playoffs last year. Vujacic is annoying, not tough.
Bulls get: Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver.
Jazz get: Rasheed Wallace, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah.
Pistons get: Andrei Kirilienko, Marvin Williams, Salim Stoudamire.
Hawks get: Tayshuan Prince, Jazz 1st round pick, Pistons lottery protected 1st round pick in 2010.
There is so much going on in this trade so let me post the teams' new rotations:
Bulls- PG: Rose/Fisher, SG: Korver/Hughes, SF: Odom/Sefolosha, PF: Thomas/Gooden, C: Boozer/Gray.
Jazz- PG: Williams/Price, SG: Gordon/Brewer, SF: Deng/Harpring, PF: Wallace/Milsap, Okur/Noah.
Pistons- PG: Billups/Hunter, SG: Hamilton/Stuckey, SF: Williams/Hayes, PF: Kirilenko/Maxiel, C: McDyess/Samb.
Hawks- PG: Bibby/Law, SG: Johnson/Childress, SF: Prince/Childress/Smith, PF: Smith/Horford, C: Horford/Pachulia.
Why they do it:
Bulls- Finally a low post presence. Size and a shooter at SG. A true PG. A SF who can score and play multiple positions. Thomas playing in a system that maximizes his potential. Combine with a multiple position, defense guy like Thabo, a good bench post player like Gooden, and a championship vet like Fisher and you have a contender. The Bulls become a tougher more athletic version of a Jazz team that reached the Western Finals and Western Semis the last 2 years, only they have a legitimate third scoring option in Odom.
Jazz- Boozer is leaving in a year and you aren't one one of the top 3 championship contenders. With this deal you get a young nucleus as well as Wallace who can replace some of Boozer's production. The team is really no worse off for next year and much better off for the future. This team can shoot from anywhere on the floor and has hard-nose guys like Brewer and Harpring off the bench. A would-be contender out East, they unfortunately play in the West. They're a playoff team with a young nucleus and lots of cap flexibilty for the next few years.
Pistons- Time to blow this thing up. They just aren't a real championship team anymore. Wallace really was not prodcing at the level of a super-star (13 and 6), so getting a talent like Marvin Williams back is a big plus. If you don't plan on going for a title, there really isn't much of a reason to have Tayshaun Prince around. He's a glue and defense guy who can hit the open shot, but you wouldn't want him as your scoring option. Kirilenko can replace Sheed's numbers and may find a bit of a revival out East. They don't have a center, but they didn't before the deal.
Hawks- Williams is a good player but this team would have all the pieces for a championship. Prince is the lock-down defender and glue guy. Johnson is the elite scorer. Smith can change a game with his athleticism. Horford is a low post presence. Solid point play. Law, Childress, and Pachulia are solid off the bench. The team has a clear 8 man playoff rotation that Mike Woodson can't screw up. They also get late first round picks the next 2 years which they can package to move up.
Compare these Bulls to the world champion Celtics:
-The Bulls have a significantly superior PG.
-They have a poor man's version of Ray Allen. And next year, he may not even be that much poorer of a version.
-They get beat bad at SF. Odom played poorly in the Finals, while Pierce was excellent. Odom would again be the third option on the team, but I think the Bulls have a better low post presence, a strong perimeter threat in Kyle Korver, and a ballhandler who makes his teammates better. Kobe is a dominant scorer but he does not make his teammates any better.
- Garnett vs. Boozer in the post would be a great matchup. The Bulls would likely put Boozer on Garnett on the defensive end only because Thomas is too small to guard Garnett.
- Perkins has the polish, Tyrus has the energy. They don't play similarly but they benefit their teams about equally. I think with significant minutes and a good coaching system, Tyrus could become like Kenyon Martin circo '03-'04. That year K-Mart average 17 and 9.
-The current benches are about equal.
Not a bad matchup, eh? And before you say it won't happen, it's not my job to make it happen. It's my job to write moderately interesting sports related articles. Also, your probably right.
Anyway, I was completely uninspired, as usual, by the moves made by NBA GMs. It is absolutley preposterous how bad the majority of these guys are at their jobs. So I decided to step in to John Paxson's shoes and come up with a game plan to build a winner.
Bulls plan:
1. Sign Luol Deng and Ben Gordon to qualifying offers. At this point, nobody has the cash to offer them significantly better money and they have little to no leverage. Unless the Warriors let Monta Ellis go, the Hawks let Josh Smith go, or the 76ers let Iguodala go, nobody can sign Deng or Gordon. And if one of those teams decides to spend their money on Deng or Gordon, fine. Take the RFA they passed on. As they stand, Gordon's qualifying offer is 6.4 million and Deng is being offered 4.4 million. I think it's funny that they passed on a combined 100 million dollars worth of contract and now will probably only get a combined 10.
2. It's time to make that splashy trade the Bulls have almost made for the last 5 years or so. They have 17 million in the expiring contracts of Deng, Gordon (qualifying offers are only 1 year), and Drew Gooden. They also have Hinrich and Noc who have sizable, but not unmovable, contracts. Then there are young guys like Noah, Sefolosha, and Thomas. That's too many assets not to make a deal. Here are the moves I would make if I were in John Paxson's shoes:
Bulls get: Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, cash.
Lakers get: Kirk Hinrich, Andres Nocioni.
The Bulls get another scoring option, a good rebounder, and a guy who can play multiple position in Odom. Derek Fisher is a veteran presence and can tutor Derek Rose. The Bulls can go with a lot of different looks with Odom out on the floor and this tightens the rotation we have from 10 guys who need lots of minutes to 9. Doesn't sound like a lot but it is. The Lakers pull the trigger because they get a younger better PG who can defer to Kobe as well as the tough guy they desperately needed in the playoffs last year. Vujacic is annoying, not tough.
Bulls get: Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver.
Jazz get: Rasheed Wallace, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah.
Pistons get: Andrei Kirilienko, Marvin Williams, Salim Stoudamire.
Hawks get: Tayshuan Prince, Jazz 1st round pick, Pistons lottery protected 1st round pick in 2010.
There is so much going on in this trade so let me post the teams' new rotations:
Bulls- PG: Rose/Fisher, SG: Korver/Hughes, SF: Odom/Sefolosha, PF: Thomas/Gooden, C: Boozer/Gray.
Jazz- PG: Williams/Price, SG: Gordon/Brewer, SF: Deng/Harpring, PF: Wallace/Milsap, Okur/Noah.
Pistons- PG: Billups/Hunter, SG: Hamilton/Stuckey, SF: Williams/Hayes, PF: Kirilenko/Maxiel, C: McDyess/Samb.
Hawks- PG: Bibby/Law, SG: Johnson/Childress, SF: Prince/Childress/Smith, PF: Smith/Horford, C: Horford/Pachulia.
Why they do it:
Bulls- Finally a low post presence. Size and a shooter at SG. A true PG. A SF who can score and play multiple positions. Thomas playing in a system that maximizes his potential. Combine with a multiple position, defense guy like Thabo, a good bench post player like Gooden, and a championship vet like Fisher and you have a contender. The Bulls become a tougher more athletic version of a Jazz team that reached the Western Finals and Western Semis the last 2 years, only they have a legitimate third scoring option in Odom.
Jazz- Boozer is leaving in a year and you aren't one one of the top 3 championship contenders. With this deal you get a young nucleus as well as Wallace who can replace some of Boozer's production. The team is really no worse off for next year and much better off for the future. This team can shoot from anywhere on the floor and has hard-nose guys like Brewer and Harpring off the bench. A would-be contender out East, they unfortunately play in the West. They're a playoff team with a young nucleus and lots of cap flexibilty for the next few years.
Pistons- Time to blow this thing up. They just aren't a real championship team anymore. Wallace really was not prodcing at the level of a super-star (13 and 6), so getting a talent like Marvin Williams back is a big plus. If you don't plan on going for a title, there really isn't much of a reason to have Tayshaun Prince around. He's a glue and defense guy who can hit the open shot, but you wouldn't want him as your scoring option. Kirilenko can replace Sheed's numbers and may find a bit of a revival out East. They don't have a center, but they didn't before the deal.
Hawks- Williams is a good player but this team would have all the pieces for a championship. Prince is the lock-down defender and glue guy. Johnson is the elite scorer. Smith can change a game with his athleticism. Horford is a low post presence. Solid point play. Law, Childress, and Pachulia are solid off the bench. The team has a clear 8 man playoff rotation that Mike Woodson can't screw up. They also get late first round picks the next 2 years which they can package to move up.
Compare these Bulls to the world champion Celtics:
-The Bulls have a significantly superior PG.
-They have a poor man's version of Ray Allen. And next year, he may not even be that much poorer of a version.
-They get beat bad at SF. Odom played poorly in the Finals, while Pierce was excellent. Odom would again be the third option on the team, but I think the Bulls have a better low post presence, a strong perimeter threat in Kyle Korver, and a ballhandler who makes his teammates better. Kobe is a dominant scorer but he does not make his teammates any better.
- Garnett vs. Boozer in the post would be a great matchup. The Bulls would likely put Boozer on Garnett on the defensive end only because Thomas is too small to guard Garnett.
- Perkins has the polish, Tyrus has the energy. They don't play similarly but they benefit their teams about equally. I think with significant minutes and a good coaching system, Tyrus could become like Kenyon Martin circo '03-'04. That year K-Mart average 17 and 9.
-The current benches are about equal.
Not a bad matchup, eh? And before you say it won't happen, it's not my job to make it happen. It's my job to write moderately interesting sports related articles. Also, your probably right.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Wish List
CBS losing Billy Packer has me in a fantastic mood. Not as happy as had they promoted Gus Johnson to call the Final Four, I nearly lost control over my bodily functions during his call of Ohio State vs. Xavier 2 years ago, but still happy. It also got me thinking about other things I would like to see:
1. I want a jousting tournament at the Olympics. You select some people from all different events and you have them run at each other with modified javelins. Can you honestly tell me that you are uninterested in seeing Tyson Gay throwdown with Lithuania's top female weight-lifter? It's a classic matchup with speed vs. brawn and the gold is on the line.
2. Home announcers for every game. I like Hawk and DJ calling my White Sox games, and I understand that plenty of Cubs fans hate the two. Fine. Easy solution to remedy, each team brings their own announcers to a game and the game is simulcast on the same channel. Or in the case of Sox/Cubs on WGN and Comcast. It's not fair that in a big game or playoff game you have to listen to Joe Morgan, Joe Buck, Jon Lester, or Tim McCarver. There is only one great baseball announcer, Vin Sculley, and until he starts calling national games, I at least want guys on my side calling the game.
3. I want Matthew McConaughy to fly his plane into a mountain and I want Justin Timberlake to be on it. I don't understand why JT became a respected member of our society. He was part of the worst music phenomenon in the history of sound, is incompetent as an actor, and public undressed a woman. How Janet Jackson get blamed for the Super Bowl fiasco when it was Justin who ripped her booby armor off? I defy any man reading this to go out, rip a woman's shirt off, and have the audacity to blame her because she had nothing else on. Just don't be surprised when I don't bail you out of prison.
4. I want a penalty for "Action against the spirit of the game." This goes out to anything that while technically legal, would get you punched in the face on a playground. This includes: the Spurs playoff Hack-A-Shaq strategy, Wisconsin's players intentionally runnnig off sides on a kickoff in order to drain the clock 2 years ago, the intentional walk, and all things Terrell Owens. The penalties that would solve the aforementioned situations (in order): 2 free throws and the ball, a 15 yard penalty and no time run off the clock, runners on advancing an additional base as if the pitcher balked, and a swift kick to the back of the head.
5. I want Conference Showdowns in college football. It doesn't look like we'll be getting a playoff because college football makes too much money off non-games like the Peach Bowl. I whole-heartedly believe you can have an 8 team playoff and still have a bunch of other bowls because it's not like you'd be taking any of the meaning away from those bowls. Who cares who won the Alamo Bowl? But you've heard enough whining about a playoff, so here's something that's also fantastic: Conference Showdown. 2 Conferences, 2 games a team, and no more debates over whether it was tougher to be in the Pac-10 or Big 12. Each team plays one of the better teams in the conference and one of the lower teams in the conference. So next year we have the Big 12 vs. ACC, Pac-10 vs. Big East, and Big 10 vs. SEC. Each week would feature the top teams going at it. In one week you might see Ohio State/Florida, Michigan/Auburn, Wisconsin/Florida, Illinois/Tennessee, and Iowa/Georgia. The next week Texas/Virginia Tech, Oklahoma/Boston College, Florida State/Nebraska, Miami/Texas A&M, and triple-option Georgia Tech/ fun-n-gun Texas Tech. This would then be followed by West Virginia/USC and a left-over good matchups from the other two showdowns.
How's that for your typical blog? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!?!?!?!
1. I want a jousting tournament at the Olympics. You select some people from all different events and you have them run at each other with modified javelins. Can you honestly tell me that you are uninterested in seeing Tyson Gay throwdown with Lithuania's top female weight-lifter? It's a classic matchup with speed vs. brawn and the gold is on the line.
2. Home announcers for every game. I like Hawk and DJ calling my White Sox games, and I understand that plenty of Cubs fans hate the two. Fine. Easy solution to remedy, each team brings their own announcers to a game and the game is simulcast on the same channel. Or in the case of Sox/Cubs on WGN and Comcast. It's not fair that in a big game or playoff game you have to listen to Joe Morgan, Joe Buck, Jon Lester, or Tim McCarver. There is only one great baseball announcer, Vin Sculley, and until he starts calling national games, I at least want guys on my side calling the game.
3. I want Matthew McConaughy to fly his plane into a mountain and I want Justin Timberlake to be on it. I don't understand why JT became a respected member of our society. He was part of the worst music phenomenon in the history of sound, is incompetent as an actor, and public undressed a woman. How Janet Jackson get blamed for the Super Bowl fiasco when it was Justin who ripped her booby armor off? I defy any man reading this to go out, rip a woman's shirt off, and have the audacity to blame her because she had nothing else on. Just don't be surprised when I don't bail you out of prison.
4. I want a penalty for "Action against the spirit of the game." This goes out to anything that while technically legal, would get you punched in the face on a playground. This includes: the Spurs playoff Hack-A-Shaq strategy, Wisconsin's players intentionally runnnig off sides on a kickoff in order to drain the clock 2 years ago, the intentional walk, and all things Terrell Owens. The penalties that would solve the aforementioned situations (in order): 2 free throws and the ball, a 15 yard penalty and no time run off the clock, runners on advancing an additional base as if the pitcher balked, and a swift kick to the back of the head.
5. I want Conference Showdowns in college football. It doesn't look like we'll be getting a playoff because college football makes too much money off non-games like the Peach Bowl. I whole-heartedly believe you can have an 8 team playoff and still have a bunch of other bowls because it's not like you'd be taking any of the meaning away from those bowls. Who cares who won the Alamo Bowl? But you've heard enough whining about a playoff, so here's something that's also fantastic: Conference Showdown. 2 Conferences, 2 games a team, and no more debates over whether it was tougher to be in the Pac-10 or Big 12. Each team plays one of the better teams in the conference and one of the lower teams in the conference. So next year we have the Big 12 vs. ACC, Pac-10 vs. Big East, and Big 10 vs. SEC. Each week would feature the top teams going at it. In one week you might see Ohio State/Florida, Michigan/Auburn, Wisconsin/Florida, Illinois/Tennessee, and Iowa/Georgia. The next week Texas/Virginia Tech, Oklahoma/Boston College, Florida State/Nebraska, Miami/Texas A&M, and triple-option Georgia Tech/ fun-n-gun Texas Tech. This would then be followed by West Virginia/USC and a left-over good matchups from the other two showdowns.
How's that for your typical blog? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!?!?!?!
No More Billy Packer
Billy Packer is no longer with CBS, who will be replaced by studio analyst Clark Kellogg. Not sure if Kellogg will be the best final four announcer, but we can finally unmute our TVs next year.
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