In a recent chat, ESPN’s Chad Ford supported the idea of tanking (with regard to the Pacers).
The NBA gives them an incentive to do so. If tanking now gives me the chance to win MORE games next year, of course you do it. And I think the fans understand. What do you think Pacers fans want? Another three or four meaningless wins in late March/April or John Wall or Evan Turner?
I don’t disagree with Ford with respect to a team tanking to improve draft position. My problem is with the lottery rules that encourage teams to throw games.
We shouldn’t be rewarding ineptitude. All non-playoff teams should have an equal chance to land the top pick. Maybe the top 6-7 picks are randomly selected and the remaining picks are assigned starting with the worst record. Better yet, the entire lottery should be randomized. Then there would be no incentive to lose.
I suppose fans understand why teams tank, and would rather have John Wall or Evan Turner than a few meaningless wins in March or April, but a dad doesn’t want to take his kid to a game to watch their favorite team try to lose.
Twins’ outfielder Denard Span better get his mom a decent Mother’s Day gift this year after this incident (from ESPN.com):
Minnesota Twins outfielder Denard Span hit a foul ball that struck his mother in the chest in the first inning of Wednesday’s spring training game against the New York Yankees.
Wanda Wilson was wearing a Span jersey and sitting with about 20 family members and friends near the third-base dugout. Span, batting leadoff, took a defensive swing against Yankees starter Phil Hughes in the first inning and hit a liner right at her in the box seats.
A stunned Span sprinted from the batters’ box to the stands and stayed with his mother while paramedics treated her. The split-squad game was delayed for a few minutes as she was taken to first aid, and the Twins said she was sore but OK.
Span returned to the plate with the count 3-2 and struck out looking on the next pitch. The Twins originally said Span would leave the game, but his mother was sitting in a different seat by the bottom of the first inning and he went to center field.
She was treated by paramedics and back in the stands minutes later, but eventually went to a hospital after being convinced by medical personnel at the stadium.
What are the freaking odds?
Hopefully Denard’s mother is okay and has a full recovery.
Sam Bradford wasn’t the only one that was impressive during workouts this week, as Texas quarterback Colt McCoyturned some heads Wednesday at his Pro Day.
From NFL.com:
Colt McCoy might not have the strong arm that Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford displayed earlier in the week, but that shouldn’t detract from a fine performance in front of scouts from 30 NFL teams (the Lions and Rams were the only teams not in attendance).
Of the 58 passes that McCoy threw at Texas’ pro day Wednesday, none hit the ground. McCoy connected on every pass to his four receivers — Texas’ Jordan Shipley, ex-Longhorns WR Brian Carter, Bengals WR Quan Cosby and former Rams WR Nate Jones — none of whom dropped a single pass.
McCoy kept all of his workout numbers from last month’s NFL Scouting Combine, and he didn’t do any individual drills. However, the consensus was that he had really good feet and moved around well while throwing the ball.
If I were a GM, I wouldn’t hesitate drafting McCoy in the middle rounds based on the offensive scheme I run. He’s a class act, a hard worker, a good kid and he’s a student of the game. Is he the best quarterback prospect in this year’s draft? No. Are there question marks surrounding his game? Absolutely – starting with the fact that he doesn’t have a strong arm and played out of the shotgun in college.
But while I wouldn’t classify him as a franchise quarterback, McCoy could do very well as a backup or fill in starter at the next level. He’s an athletic player and a very accurate passer. Again, he doesn’t have the strongest arm but he knows where he wants to go with the ball and usually delivers passes on time. He might be an ideal fit for the West Coast Offense and he certainly improved his draft stock with his performance today.
Bruce Willis looked like he was having “nice…very nice” time in New Orleans during the Hornets/Lakers game.
In his defense, most of us would be “feeling good” if we were in New Orleans for night and taking in a basketball game. The difference is that we don’t have some guy running around with a microphone and camera asking us for an interview.
It’s that time of year again. Let’s try to figure out who will win this year’s Rookie of the Year…
Brandon Jennings jumped out in the ROY race with a 22-4-6 average in October and November, while shooting 43% from the field and 50% from three-point land. This included an epic 55-point outing against the Golden State Warriors in which Jennings hit 21 of 34 shots, including 7-for-8 from behind the arc. Since then, he is averaging 14-3-6 and is shooting just 35% from the field and 36% from 3PT. He has struggled with scoring from inside the arc, but he leads all rookies in assists and has a pretty nice assist-to-turnover ratio — 2.41, but he has posted a 2.72 ratio since the start of December. Maybe most importantly, the Bucks are 41-32 and are in the #5 spot in the East.
Tyreke Evans overtook Jennings with a 22-5-5 December and hasn’t looked back. On the season, he is averaging 20-5-6, and is shooting 46% from the field. He’s on the verge of joining LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson as the only players to average 20-5-5 in their rookie seasons. However, the Kings have the 6th-worst record in the league and have been out of the playoff hunt for some time. This is both good and bad for Evans’ stats. On one hand, the Kings are so bad that he has to be the clear focal point of the offense — unlike Jennings, he doesn’t have to get the ball to Andrew Bogut or John Salmons — but the fact that the Kings are so bad means that defenses can focus on stopping him.
And then there’s Stephen Curry, whom NBA.com’s Drew Packham lists first in his rookie rankings. Since the start of December, he has averaged 18-5-6, while shooting 47% from the field and 44% from long range. And he keeps getting better. In February and March, he averaged 21-5-7. But at 21-52, the Warriors are even worse than the Kings. In fact, Golden State is tied for second third in fewest wins this season.
One thing that pure averages don’t account for is a team’s pace (i.e. the average # of possessions a team has during the course of a game). Is it fair to compare Jennings’ numbers to Curry’s when the Bucks are #18 in overall pace and the Warriors are #1? Using the league average of 95.15 possessions, here is a look at the pace-adjusted numbers for each player, along with John Hollinger’s PER:
All due respect to Mr. Packham, I think this is a two-man race between Evans and Jennings. Evans’ numbers are better than Curry’s and his team is a little better, so if we’re going to go with a good player on a bad team, it should be Evans.
As for Jennings, his case depends how much importance we place on a team’s record and how responsible the player is for that record. It’s funny — a good record is crucial in winning the league MVP, but for ROY, it doesn’t seem to matter all that much. Why is that?
In the end, I think Evans will win Rookie of the Year. Given the history of the award, if a player clearly has the superior numbers, winning just doesn’t matter. That’s the case here.
After being criticized for forgetting his cleats and testing slow in two 40-yard-dash runs yesterday at a private workout for NFL scouts, Oklahoma State receiver Dez Bryant lashed out in an interview with the Associated Press on Wednesday.
From USA Today:
“I’m not the type of person that will try to confront somebody but now I feel like it’s gone too far. It’s gone too far,” Bryant said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I ain’t never got in trouble with nobody. I never said anything. I don’t say anything wrong to nobody. I’m friendly. This here is too far.
“What is this? Y’all don’t want me to go to the NFL or something? It’s going to happen,” Bryant said. “It is going to happen. God blessed me to have this ability to play this game.
“I haven’t did anything wrong to nobody.”
“What do this got to do with me playing football? Even if I did forget my cleats, what do that have to do with me playing football? I don’t think it has anything to do with me playing football.”
I don’t know about anyone else, but if I were about to work out for pro scouts, I would have made sure that I wore my cleats to bed the night before. I would have forgotten to put my underwear on before I forgot my cleats. It’s like a surgeon forgetting his scalpel the day of surgery.
Maybe the criticism has gone too far, but perception is often reality. While he was at Oklahoma State, there were reports that Bryant skipped meetings and classes and even showed up late for games. Then the NCAA suspended him for almost the entire 2009 season because he lied to investigators about his interaction with Deion Sanders. Then, amidst rumors that he was out of shape, he didn’t work out at the Combine or at OSU’s Pro Day and forgot his cleats yesterday for a private workout.
So what does Bryant expect people to think? He has done nothing to change the perception that he’s mature or that he’s willing to change his rep. He needs to slow down, put in the work and then let everything else take care of itself.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Jaguars and Redskins have each scheduled private workouts in South Bend with Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen. Washington holds the fourth overall pick in April’s draft, while Jacksonville has the 10th.
It’s no secret that Redskins’ owner Daniel Snyder would rather cut off one of his ears than watch Jason Campbell take another snap under center in Washington, while Jaguars’ head coach Jack Del Rio went as far as to say that David Garrard wasn’t a “Super Bowl-caliber” quarterback in early February. Needless to say, both teams would like to upgrade their quarterback situation sometime in the near future.
What the Redskins do at No. 4 may ultimately depend on what the Rams and Lions do at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. If the Rams draft Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh, then Sam Bradford will be available for the Redskins at No. 4. If St. Louis takes Bradford, then Clausen will definitely slip to No. 4. If the Lions pass on offensive tackle Russell Okung at No. 2, then it may come down to Okung and Clausen for the Redskins.
Andy Glockner, SI.com: Tom Izzo is the best college basketball coach in America. Relax, North Carolina and Duke fans. No one’s slighting your leading men or their career accomplishments. We’re talking about right now, this very moment, two days after Izzo pulled off the near-impossible and made Michigan State’s three-year turn-of-last-decade run now look more like the rule rather than the exception. Think last season’s dramatic push to the national title game in Detroit with a youthful roster was stirring? This year’s Spartans have overcome a leadership void, player-coach discontent and a back-stiffening gym-floor sleepover in addition to the late rash of injuries. Their quartet of NCAA tournament wins are highlighted by a crucial lane violation, a buzzer-beating three and the country’s largest temporary (and most loquacious) point guard dropping a delicious dime that helped beat Tennessee. And let’s be honest: On the list of legendary college basketball settings, how long after Westwood, Lawrence, Chapel Hill and Durham would it take to finally get to East Lansing? Izzo doesn’t get enough credit for the level of talent he brings in, considering he’s selling kids on winters in central Michigan. Meanwhile, Roy Williams’ office phone has a golden arches insignia on it.
No one wants Duke to win (Duke alumni excluded, of course). Not even a game. Not even a half.
Everyone hates Duke, and we’re not even sure why. For some reason, we know that if the devil had a face, it would have little beady eyes (like Mike Krzyzewski’s). If he had a voice, it would be nasally and annoying (like Krzyzewski’s) and if he had a name, it would be impossible to spell and the sound would follow no laws of language (like, well, you know).
Well, we all know that first part isn’t true. Any successful program/franchise is going to have fans outside of its alumni base and the Blue Devils are no different. Some might call these “bandwagon” fans, but as a 12-year-old back in 1986, I really liked Johnny Dawkins and loved the color blue, so I rooted for them all the way to the final, where they lost to Louisville. (Damn you, Pervis Ellison! And the color red!)
There’s no arguing that he elevated a basketball program into elite status upon arrival. From 1986 to 1999, he reached a ridiculous eight Final Fours and won those memorable back-to-back national championships, when NCAA basketball was still drenched with NBA talent.
But since then, it seems a lot of his colleagues have placed themselves in similar company, and yet, the head Blue Devil remains the most arrogant of the bunch.
To this day, he carries around a superiority complex that doesn’t match the success — at least not in the past decade.
Just last weekend, when he was asked about Duke’s “drought” about not reaching the Final Four since 2004, Krzyzewski offered this ego-heavy response.
“There are two words when you compete that are interesting — `since’ and `never,’ ” he said. “I’m glad we’re in the `since.’ ”
That’s not the most considerate thing to say when you’re about to face a Baylor coach who was on the “never” side of that coin.
But that’s who he is.
Gutierrez uses words like “arrogant,” “superiority complex” and “ego-heavy,” but what is this based on — that quote about “since” and “never”? Really? I’ve heard Krzyzewski interviewed plenty of times, and while he’s justifiably confident (not unlike any of his less-successful peers), he never has come off as cocky, at least not to me. Maybe he tires of the same questions over and over and he’s determined to put those last few tournament exits into perspective.
Fox’s PopTarts reports that the tape features McCready and a former boyfriend named “Peter” engaging in explicit sex acts, but that in the video, McCready also kisses and tells about other partners, saying that Clemens was a “good” lover, although he often struggled to get an erection. She said that another celebrity she slept with, Superman actor Dean Cain, was better endowed than Clemens.
McCready also says in the video, she wishes her and Clemens’ wife Debbie “had spoken, because I realize now that the stories I was being told from Roger weren’t exactly the truth,” according to PopTarts.
Ya think? The dude was cheating on his wife – did you actually believe he was telling you the truth about anything?
None of this surprises me. Superman should have bigger junk than Roger Clemens – he’s a superhero for God’s sake. And isn’t one of the side effects of taking steroids the inability to, uh, launch your rocket?
