Category: News (Page 194 of 199)

      Mike Brown named Coach of the Year

      April 20, 2009 /

      Cavs head coach Mike Brown was named Coach in the Year in a near-landslide.

      “Offensively, the last three years, we weren’t good mainly because of me,” Brown admitted after Game 1 against the Pistons on Saturday. “I wanted to establish an identity here, and that was on the defensive end of the floor.”

      The Cavs made a huge leap offensively this season. They went from the 20th-most efficient offense to the fourth-most efficient. Part of that was due to the addition of point guard Mo Williams, but the willingness of Brown and his staff to find a new direction was critical.

      Brown led all vote-getters with 55 first place votes. Rick Adelman (13) narrowly beat out Stan Van Gundy (13) in total points to finish second, while Nate McMillan (15) finished fourth. I thought Adelman did more with less, but Brown’s Cavs surprised a lot of people and sure didn’t look like a 66-win team heading into the season.

      NBA, News

      Citifield and the new Yankee Stadium are expensive. Plus, a ballpark is a place for baseball

      April 19, 2009 /

      http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/images/2009/04/16/FapduTOb.jpg

      Sports Illustrated’s Norman Chad has a new column up about New York’s new ballparks:

      New York, the most sophisticated sports town in Sports Nation, brings us two spectacularly expensive new stadiums this month — rent-free and property tax-free for the Mets and the Yankees — largely subsidized by public money on city-owned land.

      The Mets’ new Citi Field, a.k.a. Belly-Up Ballpark, cost $850 million.

      The new Yankee Stadium — boy, that old Yankee Stadium was a real stinker, eh? — cost $1.5 billion.

      Amazingly, in a city faced with myriad budget problems, the Mets and the Yankees not only successfully solicited public financing, both clubs came back with their hand out a second time — and got more money.

      Schools? No money.

      Subway? No money.

      Stadiums? How much do you need? Thank you sir, may I have another.

      Sports fans have been faced with a lot of stadium changes in recent years. I for one never got a chance to see a game in Tigers Stadium, but rather enjoyed the spacious Comerica Park (I even rode the carousel once!). It’s great to be able to go into some of the nation’s new sports arenas and let yourself be distracted by all the glitzy new opportunities to forget that the reason you came there was to watch sports.

      The onus of blame too, is not even on the owners of teams like the Yankees, Mets, and anybody else looking to cash in on public money. They’re greedy. Surprise, surprise. Why wouldn’t they be? They’re running a business. The politicians with the power to stop or confound their attempts to exploit the public are the people that it is necessary to get angry at.

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      General Sports, MLB, News

      Randy Johnson pitches no-hitter through seven

      April 19, 2009 /

      Today we got more proof of the beauty behind an athlete’s battle against time. Last week, I wrote about Tom Glavine and a shoulder injury which may end his 22 year career. On the other side of the coin, there’s news today about an even older pitcher still getting the job done. As reported on Yahoo! Sports:

      Johnson took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against his former team, and the San Francisco Giants held on to beat the Diamondbacks 2-0 on Sunday.

      “Sometimes you have to put blinders on when it comes to certain teams,” Johnson said. “I just wanted to pitch well. It’s nice to go out there and feel like I’m contributing after the last two starts.”

      Johnson, who allowed one hit in seven innings, was perfect through four. He faced the minimum through six and stranded Augie Ojeda at third base after the shortstop doubled to open the seventh.

      A no-hitter through seven is nothing to scoff at, even if it did happen against a team not especially known for their hitting. It’ll be interesting to see how the now 1-2 record of Johnson grows, and how soon it’ll be before he reaches his 300th win (his win today puts him at 296). Again, from Yahoo! Sports and Brian Wilson, one of Johnson’s Giants teammates:

      “It was beautiful,” Wilson said. “It was a nice day and Randy was out there dominating. He proved he can still do it.

      “You watch him working the hitters, working the count and you realize not all of us can go out there and do that.”

      I’ve never been much of a Randy Johnson fan, but regardless of what team he’s on now I think it’s worth our while to keep an eye on a future hall-of-famer before he’s finished actively playing ball.

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB, News

      NBA News & Notes: The calm before the storm

      April 17, 2009 /

      – News broke yesterday that Celtics GM Danny Ainge had a mild heart attack, but should be fine and is recovering nicely. It would be bad form to make a joke about how it was the news that Doc Rivers shut down Kevin Garnett that caused Ainge’s heart attack, so I won’t go there.

      – Stan Van Gundy says that injured starters Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis may return for the Magic’s first game against Philadelphia on Sunday.

      – Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody and Saint Mary’s Patty Mills plan to make themselves eligible for the NBA Draft, but neither player is going to hire an agent to allow for a return to school if they so choose. Arizona’s Nic Wise seems to be looking purely for feedback.

      – Unrestricted free agent Shawn Marion is keeping his options open, and one choice is to return to the Raptors, but the Toronto press isn’t optimistic.

      NBA, NBA Draft, NBA Finals, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Hasheem Thabeet to enter NBA Draft

      April 14, 2009 /

      UConn junior Hasheem Thabeet will forgo his senior season and declare for the NBA Draft.

      “After spending time with my family and friends and speaking with Coach (Jim) Calhoun, I have decided to give up my final year at UConn and enter my name in the 2009 NBA Draft,” Thabeet said via a statement. “I have had a great experience at Connecticut and cannot thank my coaches and teammates enough. I look forward to the challenge of playing professionally and know that my time here at UConn has prepared me to be successful in the future.”

      The 7’3″ center averaged a double-double (13.6 points, 10.8 rebounds) and an eye-popping 4.2 blocks per game on the season. I think he has the potential to be a very good defensive-minded center (think Dikembe Mutombo). He’s pretty fluid for his size and can get up and down the court with ease. His hands seem small (as he loses the ball often when he brings it down below his waist) and his post moves need a lot of work. Like anyone with his size and natural athleticism, he’ll be as good as he wants to be.

      He is a likely top 5 pick, so this decision makes sense.

      College Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft, News

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