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      Predicting the 2009 NBA year-end awards

      April 14, 2009 /

      The end of the NBA season is almost upon us, so it’s time to hand out a few year-end awards.

      Rookie of the Year
      Early on, this was a battle between Derrick Rose and O.J. Mayo, but a few other players – namely, Russell Westbrook, Brook Lopez, Kevin Love and Marc Gasol – played their way into the conversation over the course of the season. Still, this award should go to Rose, who was immediately asked to run the Bulls and handled the job admirably. He averaged almost 17 points per game to go with six assists and shot almost 48% from the field. More importantly, he never hit the rookie wall, and his fine play in April (19.0 ppg, 6.8 apg, 55% shooting) helped Chicago sneak into the playoffs. The rest of these guys are heading home for the summer.
      My choice: Rose
      My prediction: Rose

      Most Improved
      This is always a tough one. Usually, it goes to a player that entered the league without a lot of pomp and circumstance (i.e. they were non-lottery picks) that makes the jump from role player or starter to star or superstar. The last eight winners are: Hedo Turkoglu (16th pick), Monta Ellis (40th), Boris Diaw (21st), Bobby Simmons (42nd), Zach Randolph (19th), Gilbert Arenas (31st), Jermaine O’Neal (17th) and Tracy McGrady (9th). A few of the names being bandied about are Devin Harris (5th), Danny Granger (17th), Kevin Durant (2nd), Nene (7th), Thaddeus Young (12th), Brandon Roy (6th) and Roger Mason (31st). Durant, Harris, Roy, Young and Nene all came into the league as lottery picks, a fact that works against them in this case. They’ve all made leaps this season, though I think everyone was expecting Durant, Harris, Roy and Young to make those jumps. Nene is more of a comeback player than an MIP. He’s been battling injuries his entire career, so the fact that he’s playing well while healthy is no surprise. The last few winners indicate that the MIP usually goes to a player who makes an unexpected leap, so I think it will go to Danny Granger, though his late season run in 2007-08 works against him. He averaged 22.4 points in March of ’08, and 24.8 ppg in April of ’08, so if you dig into the numbers a little, his play this season isn’t as big of a surprise. Still, I don’t think that he had the same expectations as Durant, Harris and Roy, so I think he’s our guy. Mason might be the darkhorse.
      My choice: Granger
      My prediction: Granger

      Continue reading »

      NBA

      Giants to trade for Braylon Edwards

      April 14, 2009 /

      According to Yahoo Sports!, the Giants are expected to make a deal with the Browns to acquire wide receiver Braylon Edwards sometime before the NFL draft.

      The Browns reportedly asked for a second- and fifth-round pick and receiver Steve Smith, but the Giants declined. New York countered by offering the two draft picks and receiver Domenik Hixon for Edwards.

      Neither the Browns or Giants could be reached for this story, but both sources said the gap will be bridged before the draft.

      “The Giants are motivated, they’re trying to win right now,” the aforementioned quoted source said. “Edwards is a bigger guy that [quarterback] Eli [Manning] wants to throw to, like he had with Plaxico. The Giants know they can’t leave Eli with no great receivers. They saw what happened last year.”

      New York’s offense sputtered over the final five games of the season after Burress was suspended by the team after shooting himself at a New York nightclub.

      If a trade similar to the one mentioned in the report goes down, it would be a good deal for both teams. Edwards’ contract is up at the end of the year and there’s no guarantee that the Browns would be able to re-sign him. Plus, the new regime in Cleveland clearly wants to rebuild the roster and this would allow them to recoup draft picks that were traded away last offseason by former GM Phil Savage.

      The Giants would obviously get their replacement for Burress and might have more success re-signing Edwards to a long-term deal. Although he’s underachieved outside of his breakout 2007 campaign, Edwards is still young and could thrive in a new situation. It’ll be interesting to see if this deal gets done and what the final compensation would be.

      NFL, NFL Draft

      Manny sees Cleveland reunion before career is finished

      April 14, 2009 /

      It hasn’t even been six full weeks since the Dodgers re-signed Manny Ramirez to a two-year contract and already Man-Ram is talking about playing for another team.

      Before the Dodgers’ 11-1 win in their home opener against the Giants on Monday, Ramirez indicated that he would like to play in Cleveland one more time before his career is finished.

      “I would like to play for Cleveland one more time, to go back where I started,” said Ramirez, with the Dodgers playing their home opener Monday against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. “I have so many good memories there, why not?

      “I think to go back where you started is everyone’s dream.”

      Thome and Ramirez each might be eligible for free agency this winter if Ramirez opts out of his two-year contract. And if they become free agents, Ramirez told Thome, they should both consider returning to Cleveland.

      “Manny was very sincere when he brought that up to me,” Thome said. “Manny was saying how special that would be for us to both go back together. He was very passionate. Baseball’s such a weird thing. You never know what’s going to happen.”

      I’m not going to make a bigger deal out of this than it is, but it’s amazing to me that Ramirez just did a four month dance with the Dodgers over a new contract and the second he has the opportunity, he talks about potentially playing for another team down the road.

      MLB

      Isiah Thomas takes head coaching job at FIU

      April 14, 2009 /

      In an effort to revive his career, Isiah Thomas has signed a five-year deal with Florida International University.

      Thomas has been out of basketball since an unsuccessful five-year run as president of the New York Knicks, spending his last two seasons as coach before being fired in April 2008. He was 56-108 as Knicks coach and 187-223 overall, including a stint with the Indiana Pacers. Thomas still had two years and $12 million remaining on his Knicks contract after this season.

      “Coming back to the college game has always been a dream of mine, and I didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to go somewhere where we can build a basketball legacy together,” Thomas said in a statement. “A lot of people don’t know that FIU is one of the 25 largest universities in the country, with a tremendously strong alumni community standing behind us. Most important, I think we can get good players from across Florida and around the country to buy into our plan to make this a top-tier basketball program. I’m committed to growing something here, and strongly believe that over time, we’ll put a team on the floor that everyone at FIU can be proud of.”

      It’s good to see Thomas focus on one of his strengths — coaching. For all of his trouble as general manager of the Knicks, he has a reputation for being a pretty good coach. At FIU, he’ll have an opportunity to grow in that area while utilizing his eye for talent in the recruiting game. Thomas was responsible for a few good draft picks while guiding the Knicks. It was the trades that he had trouble with.

      College Basketball, NBA, News

      All-Star pitcher Mark Fidrych dies

      April 14, 2009 /

      Former Tigers All-Star starting pitcher Mark Fidrych died on Monday in apparent accident on his farm.

      Mark FidrychMark “the Bird” Fidrych, the fun-loving pitcher who baffled hitters for one All-Star season and entertained fans with his antics, was found dead Monday in an apparent accident at his farm. He was 54.

      Worcester County district attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said a family friend found Fidrych about 2:30 p.m. Monday beneath a dump truck in Northborough, Mass., about 35 miles west of Boston. He appeared to have been working on the truck, Early said.

      Joseph Amorello said he had stopped by the farm to chat with Fidrych when he found the body underneath the 10-wheel truck. Amorello owns A.F. Amorello & Sons, a company that does road construction, and said he sometimes hired Fidrych to haul asphalt or gravel in the truck.

      The curly haired right-hander was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1976, when he went 19-9 with a 2.34 ERA and 24 complete games. But injuries cut short his career, and he ended up spending only five seasons in the major leagues, all with the Detroit Tigers. He was 29-19 with a 3.10 ERA.

      Unfortunately, I was still a twinkle in my father’s eye when Fidrych was pitching, but everything you read and hear was that he was a fun-loving, popular player and just a joy to watch.

      Coupled with the death of Angels’ starter Nick Adenhart and long-time Phillies’ broadcast announcer Harry Kalas, baseball has suffered some blows this month.

      MLB

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