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      Let’s not be too hard on Courtney Lee

      June 8, 2009 /

      Yes, Courtney Lee missed the game-winning alley-oop last night and the Magic went onto lose Game 2 and find themselves down, 0-2, heading back to Orlando.

      Here’s the video…

      I’m seeing some people describing it as his “Nick Anderson moment” while others are referring to the play as a layup. It wasn’t a layup. It was an alley-oop, and it was a difficult shot. If you see where Lee catches the ball — he actually catches it underneath the backboard as his body continues to rise. He has so much momentum going towards the baseline that his head is actually under the backboard when he attempts the layup. Complicating matters, seven-footer Pau Gasol came over to help, which made the shot that much more difficult.

      Impossible shot? No, it was definitely make-able, but on average I’d say that a player successfully converts the shot maybe 30% of the time. Had the pass not led him so much, it would have been a much easier shot. That’s not to say that it’s Hedo Turkoglu’s fault either. It is a tough play to convert with Lamar Odom’s length right in your face.

      It’s a shame, really, because the Magic didn’t get any calls down the stretch and still had a chance to tie the series and make things really interesting as both teams head back to Orlando. Now, barring three wins at home for the Magic, a Laker title looks inevitable.

      NBA, NBA Finals, Video

      NBA draft and free agency rumors: Jordan Hill slipping, Ron Artest to Greece and more

      June 8, 2009 /

      DraftExpress is over at the Reebok EuroCamp, and reported some rumors that are making the rounds.

      Jordan Hill potentially slipping into the bottom of the top-10 or even possibly slightly beyond. The talk is that the Washington Wizards’ 5th pick could very well end up being claimed by Stephen Curry (whether for them or another team trading up), and that since Minnesota, Golden State, New York and maybe even Toronto appear to be looking at other positional needs, Hill could be on the short end of the stick come draft night.

      Hill has a lot of upside, picked up the game late, and still averaged 18.3 points and 11.0 rebounds per game for a NCAA tournament-caliber team in a power conference. He has long arms and a great reach, and he can jump out of the gym. The only concern from his combine numbers is a lack of lateral quickness. He’d be a good fit for the Bucks at #10 and even the Raptors at #9, though Toronto might be interested in finding a banger so that they can move Chris Bosh to power forward full time.

      Continue reading »

      NBA, NBA Draft, News, Rumors & Gossip

      What LeBron really meant in his first post-playoff interview

      June 8, 2009 /

      Back in the good ol’ days, athletes used to speak their mind when someone put a microphone in front of them. Players would get into trouble for the things they said, so as time goes on, they’ve become more and more careful about not offending anyone. Some guys even hire publicists to teach them how to interact with the media. This has led to virtually all player/reporter interactions to be completely sanitized of any possibly controversial material.

      As a former college player, I’ve been interviewed by a few reporters in my day, and watching one of the best (Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan), I learned how to sound like I was saying something when I was actually saying nothing. I did it out of pure fear — I didn’t want Bo waking up the next day to see that his small forward had said something stupid or controversial to a reporter.

      While listening to LeBron’s first post-playoff interview the other day [video], it occurred to me that he was talking a lot, but wasn’t actually saying much of anything. There were a lot of platitudes — he needed to get better over the summer, that he loves playing in Cleveland, etc. — but the interview was seemingly absent of honest opinion or revelation.

      So here is LeBron’s transcribed interview, along with my translation of what he really said when he wasn’t saying anything…

      Continue reading »

      Humor, NBA

      Report: Vikings give Favre ultimatum and deadline

      June 8, 2009 /

      According to a report by ESPN.com, the Vikings want a decision from Brett Favre on whether or not he wants to play for them sometime this week.

      This is a smart move by the Vikings. They know Favre is the king of waffling and they can’t continue to wait on him and keep current quarterbacks Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson in limbo. The season is still months away, but OTAs wrap up this week and training camp will begin in about a month so they need a decision.

      But this hardly seems realistic. According to the ESPN article, Favre has done some light throwing following recent surgery to repair a tear in the biceps of his throwing arm, but he doesn’t feel confident enough yet to definitively say that he’s coming back. And if Favre doesn’t believe he’s at full strength, why would the Vikings rush a decision from him?

      If Favre believes he’ll be healthy in two to three weeks and the Vikings truly want him, then they should allow him that time and then hold a workout. If he’s ready to go, then they can sign him in time for training camp. If he doesn’t feel that his arm is 100%, then they can move on without him and go with Rosenfels or Jackson. But even after all of this will-he-or-won’t-he-come-back discussion that has been drummed up over the past couple weeks, the Vikings giving him a deadline of this week still seems a little premature.

      Then again, Favre can’t be trusted when it comes to making a firm decision, so I don’t blame Minnesota for giving him an ultimatum with a deadline. The Vikings have an entire team to think about – not just a decision about whether or not to sign Favre.

      I just don’t know if a couple of days is a long enough for Favre to know whether or not he’s completely healthy. I can certainly understand the Vikings wanting to put pressure on him to make a decision if he were healthy, but it’s out of his hands whether or not his arm will be completely ready by the end of the Vikings’ supposed deadline.

      It’ll be interesting to see if the Vikings hold him to this deadline and more importantly, whether or not they’ll officially move on if he tells them he still needs more time.

      NFL

      Scout: ‘Ortiz’s is older than his reported age.’

      June 8, 2009 /

      Here’s a shock: David Ortiz might be older than what it says on his birth certificate.

      “The chances of his birth certificate being accurate are zero,” the scout said. “That’s both birth certificates. Remember, he was David Arias [when he played in the minor leagues for] Seattle.”

      From 2004-07, Ortiz did things rarely seen on a baseball field. According to Elias Sports Bureau, he is one of five players in MLB history to have four or more consecutive seasons of 35 or more home runs, 115 or more RBIs and a slugging percentage of .600 or better. The other players to pull off that feat are Babe Ruth (1926-32), Jimmie Foxx (1932-36), Sammy Sosa (1998-2001) and Albert Pujols (2003-06).

      Ruth’s power left him quickly, and he went from 34 homers in 1933 to 22 in ’34 and just six in his final season of 1935. But he was 40 years old when his career ended. Ortiz is just 33. Unless you believe his birth certificate is incorrect, which some people do.

      A better comparison with Ortiz is Foxx. His career hit a wall at age 34, when he only hit eight home runs after 14 straight seasons of double-digit homers. Foxx’s demise is attributed largely to a sinus problem and alcohol abuse, though.

      When it comes to Ortiz’s struggles this season, some believe the former slugger can’t hit without Manny protecting him in the lineup. Some believe that he’s off the juice. Some believe he’s still hurt. Some believe that he has lacked confidence and is just in a massive funk.

      Chances are, Ortiz’s issues come from a combination of a couple of the aforementioned reasons, if not all of them.

      But if you want to believe that his struggles are linked to him getting off the juice, there are some factors that support your theory, the biggest of which is that there’s a list out there with 100-plus names written on it of players who tested positive for PEDs. Is Ortiz’s name on that list? Who knows, but until that list is released (if it ever is), all of the Ortiz-steroid talk is just speculation.

      It’s not a stretch to believe, however, that Ortiz started using PEDs around the time he got to Boston in 2003. As the article notes, his most productive seasons came from 2004 through 2007. Last year he battled a variety of injuries and at some point, he could have gotten off PEDs and now his body is aging rapidly. With that, he’s not able to have the same success on the field and pitchers have figured out (quite easily I might add) how to pitch to him.

      Again though, this is all just speculation. As of now, there is no proof that Ortiz ever used PEDs and maybe he is just getting old and the game is passing him by. And if he is older than what his birth certificate says, who knows how much older he truly is.

      The mystery continues.

      MLB

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