Month: July 2010 (Page 33 of 62)

      Discussing some smaller NBA moves, Part 1

      July 14, 2010 /

      There has been so much focus on the big names in free agency that sometimes the complementary players are overlooked. Here’s a rundown of some of the mid-level names that have changed teams this summer:

      Raymond Felton signs with the Knicks. (2/$15 M)
      When life gives you lemons… Donnie Walsh managed to sign Amare Stoudemire, but struck out on LeBron, Wade and Bosh. So instead of overpaying for another big-name free agent, or even re-signing David Lee, Walsh signed a capable point guard in Felton to run Mike D’Antoni’s up-tempo system. Most importantly, he negotiated a short, two-year contract (with a possible third season as a team option) to allow the pursuit of Chris Paul if/when he becomes a free agent in two years. Felton averaged 12-4-6 and shot 46% from the field for the Bobcats last season. His numbers are sure to rise in New York assuming he gets the same run (33 mpg).

      Jermaine O’Neal signs with the Celtics. (2/$12 M)
      Rasheed Wallace is retiring, so the C’s needed to shore up its front line in order to contend with Dwight Howard, Carlos Boozer and Chris Bosh in the playoffs. O’Neal isn’t the player he used to be, but he averaged 14-7 and shot a career high (53%) for the Heat last season. He’s a big body and decent defender and he’s capable of hitting a face up jumper when given the opportunity. As long as he holds up, this is a nice signing by Boston.

      Kyle Korver signs with the Bulls. (3/$15 M)
      Chicago lacked three-point shooting last season and Korver fills that need. He hit almost 54% from deep last season and is a career 41% shooter. He should be a nice fit as a spot up shooter with Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer, but needs to shoot 40%+ from 3PT to justify a starting spot. He’s better defensively as a small forward than as a shooting guard, so it’s not clear how he and Luol Deng will play together. I expected Korver to get a full mid-level deal in this market so the Bulls got him for a relatively good price.

      Tiago Splitter signs with the Spurs. (3/$11 M)
      This deal happened rather quietly, but San Antonio finally has its 2007 first round draft pick under contract… at a bargain. Splitter is a 25-year-old, 6-11 center who was named the MVP of the Spanish League last season. He averaged 16-7 and shot 58% from the field in 28 minutes a game. While he’s not a great rebounder, he’s good defensively and can take some of the scoring load off of Tim Duncan. At under $4 million a season, he’s a steal.

      Al Harrington signs with the Nuggets. (5/$34 M)
      Harrington’s 18-6 line from last season needs to be taken with a grain of salt since he was playing for a pretty bad Knicks team that played at a very high pace. The Nuggets outbid the Mavs for Harrington’s services and Denver had to overpay to lock him up. The Nuggets will be without Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen to start the season and Nene is always a threat to miss time with injury, so Harrington gives the team a big body who can score when called upon. He’s 30, so this contract is not going to look very good in 2-3 years, but such is the market for big men.

      Part 2: Tyson Chandler, Brendan Haywood, Tony Allen, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Kyle Lowry, Steve Blake

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News

      Brash personality + declining skills = no suitors for T.O.?

      July 14, 2010 /
      ATLANTA - DECEMBER 27: Terrell Owens #81 of the Buffalo Bills against the Atlanta Falcons at Georgia Dome on December 27, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      I find it ironic that Pacman Jones and Matt Jones currently have jobs, but Terrell Owens is still looking for work.

      Think about that for a second. Let it marinade. Let it wash over you.

      Pacman Jones is on a National Football League roster, while Terrell Owens is at home watching the 67th rerun of SportsCenter because he can’t find any takers. That’s amazing.

      It’s hard to argue that T.O. hasn’t been a distraction over the years for almost every team he’s been with (the Bills last year was the only exception), but he has also never gotten into any real trouble. Not like Pacman or Matt Jones. He’s never tried to make it rain in a strip club. He’s also never been busted for drugs or has gotten into a fight with a bodyguard in a hotel bathroom.

      So you can’t tell me that owners or GMs think Owens is that much of a headache not to take a chance on signing. I realize teams might not want to disrupt the chemistry in their locker rooms by bringing in a potential loudmouth like T.O., but that hasn’t stopped wide receiver-needy teams (and there’s no shortage of them every season) from acquiring him before. The fact remains that if a player is talented, some team will take a shot on him.

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      External Sports, NFL

      Brian McCann helps the National League finally end 13 years of misery

      July 14, 2010 /
      National League All-Star catcher Brian McCann (L) of the Atlanta Braves celebrates with relief pitcher Jonathan Broxton of the Los Angeles Dodgers after the National League won Major League Baseball's All-Star Game in Anaheim, California July 13, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

      Down 1-0 heading into the seventh inning, you got the sense of “here we go again” for the National League in the All-Star Game. The pitching was excellent (the one run that the AL scored was unearned), but nobody was hitting and it appeared that the NL was destined to spend the rest of its existence in All-Star Game hell.

      Then Braves’ catcher Brian McCann came to the plate with bases loaded and promptly unloaded them with a double to give the NL a 3-1 lead. The Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright, the Giants’ Brian Wilson and the Dodgers’ Jonathan Broxton followed with scoreless innings in the seventh, eighth and ninth to give the NL its first ASG victory in 13 years.

      The pitching in most All-Star Games is usually good, but the NL’s staff was excellent on Tuesday night. They allowed just six hits and one earned run, while walking three batters and striking out eight. Roy Halladay had the most trouble in his 0.2 innings of work by allowing two hits, although neither run crossed home plate.

      The pitching for the AL was also solid outside of the Yankees’ Phil Hughes, who had decent stuff but was smacked around in the fatal seventh inning. In just 0.1 innings of work, he gave up two runs on two hits, including McCann’s double.

      Also noteworthy was how base running came into play late in the game for both sides. Down 1-0 in the seventh, Scott Rolen (who had reached on a single) took second and third on only a single by the Cardinals Matt Holliday because he read the ball off the bat perfectly. While he eventually scored on McCann’s double, Rolen’s savvy base running play was potentially huge because it put a runner at third with less then two outs and the NL down by one run.

      On the flip side, the AL was threatening in the bottom of the ninth when David Ortiz singled to right to start the inning and John Buck hit what looked to be another single two batters later. But Ortiz didn’t read the play well enough and while the ball dropped in front of outfielder Marlon Byrd, he still had enough time to pick it up and make a good throw to second to nail Ortiz for the force out.

      While it was a tough play for Ortiz to read, the gaff killed any momentum that the AL had built in the ninth and Broxton was able to retire Ian Kinsler to give the NL its first victory in over a decade.

      External Sports, MLB

      Drunk driver blames DUI on LeBron

      July 14, 2010 /

      Good find by The Last Angry Fan:

      According to police reports, police stopped the driver, a 30-year-old Flint man, after watching his vehicle drift over the center line and the shoulder of the road at 2:40 a.m. July 11 on Maple Road near Maplebrook Apartments.

      Police reported that the man appeared to be intoxicated. When asked if he’d been drinking the man said that he had been drinking, and it was because LeBron James had decided to play for the Miami Heat instead of the Boston Celtics (James had actually turned down an opportunity to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers).

      A breath test revealed that the man’s alcohol level was 0.16 percent. The man was cited for driving while intoxicated. Police reports did not indicate if the man was taken to jail or released.

      The original story is at MLive.

      There are a couple of funny things about this story: 1) the man lives in Flint, but he claims to be a Cavs fan, not a Pistons fan, and 2) he was upset that LeBron was going to the Celtics, not the Heat. Dumb, da-dumb, dumb….DUMB!

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, Humor, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      All-Star Break Rewind: Taking a look back at preseason MLB predictions

      July 13, 2010 /
      May 23, 2010 Philadelphia Phillies' pitcher Roy Halladay leaves the game against the Philadelphia Phillies' at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA. The Red Sox beat the Phillies' 8-3.

      It’s always fun to take a look back and see how many faulty predictions members of the media got wrong in the preseason. It’s even more fun when you look back at your own faulty predictions and provide people the opportunity to all you a moron by laying out how wrong you were.

      Now that we’ve reached the halfway point in the 2010 MLB season, let’s see how my preseason predictions are holding up. (Click on the links provided to read the entire preseason prediction for that division.)

      AL East

      My Predictions: Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Orioles, Blue Jays.
      Current Standings: Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Orioles.

      Not too bad, although I thought that the O’s would be more competitive and without Roy Halladay, I thought the Jays would sink to the bottom of the division. I also underestimated the Rays a tad, but there’s still a lot of baseball to be played. It’ll be interesting to see if Tampa can stay ahead of the Red Sox, Tigers, Twins and Angels in the AL Wild Card race.

      AL Central

      My Predictions: White Sox, Twins, Tigers, Royals, Indians.
      Current Standings: White Sox, Tigers, Twins, Royals, Indians.

      Up until a couple of weeks ago, the White Sox were making me look like a bigger clown then I already am. But they’ve been on fire recently, winning eight in a row and nine of their last 10. The problem of course, is that Jake Peavy appears to be done for the season with a nasty back injury, so who knows how the Sox’s rotation will hold up in the second half. The rest of my predictions look good, although as I wrote in my preview of this division, the Central is a crapshoot.

      AL West

      My Predictions: Angels, Mariners, Rangers, A’s.
      Current Standings: Rangers, Angels, A’s, Mariners.

      Yeee-ikes. I missed badly on the Rangers, who have been the biggest surprise in the AL so far, and I also drank the Kool Aid on the Mariners before the season. I thought that Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee would make up for their shit-show of an offense, but I was wrong – way wrong. The Angels are only 4.5 games back of Texas and therefore could still win the division, but the Rangers are far and away the better team and I don’t think they’ve relinquish the lead. I need a mulligan for this division.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, MLB

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