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Glen Davis and Nate Robinson’s funny postgame interview [video]

Want to know how it feels when you’re a reserve and you have a direct impact on the outcome of Game 4 of the NBA Finals? Watch this video of Nate Robinson and Glen Davis. They don’t hold anything back…

There is definitely a different mindset as a starter versus a reserve. As a starter, you expect to be in the game at crunch time and are prepared to play with the game on the line. There will be games where you decide the outcome.

As a reserve, you go in and do your thing, but you’re usually pulled with five or six minutes remaining (or earlier) because the coach wants to get his starters back in. Doc Rivers made the decision to let a unit that featured four bench players continue to play deep into the fourth quarter because they were performing so well. Both Davis and Robinson admitted that they kept looking at the clock wondering when they were going to get pulled.

Top 10 active base hits leaders

I read yesterday that one of Pete Rose’s bats was being auctioned off, the one he used for his last hit, number 4256. And it made me wonder if that will ever be topped. I can’t imagine it will be, but stranger things have happened. Of course, the Baseball Hall of Fame still fails to recognize what Rose did on the field because of what he did as a manager off the field. But that’s for another post. Here is a look at the Top 10 active leaders in base hits:

1. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees (2824)—The classiest player by far in the big leagues today, and the epitome of someone who plays the game right and just gets it. I look forward to Jeter notching his 3000th hit, which will likely be next season.

2. Ivan Rodriguez, Washington Nationals (2781)—In his twentieth season this year, I-Rod is batting .331. No loss of bat speed with this guy, that’s for sure.

3. Omar Vizquel, Chicago White Sox (2724)—Amazingly, Vizquel is in his 22nd season and still looks like he’s 28 years old. I got to see him play in his prime in Cleveland, and he was/is the best defensive shortstop I’ve ever seen. But he has clearly racked up hits too.

4. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees (2596)—Well, duh. The question is, though, will he eventually be the all-time home run king?

5. Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers (2530)—Yeah, he juiced, and so did A-Rod. But these two guys still have to be incredibly talented ball players to rack up this many hits.

6. Garret Anderson, Los Angeles Dodgers (2515)—Steady and classy as well, but it’s just hard to believe Garret Anderson is 38 years old. Didn’t he just break into the bigs?

7. Johnny Damon, Detroit Tigers (2482)—Scrappy, solid player, and he just keeps on grinding. But do any of you remember Damon’s days with the Royals? I sure don’t.

8. Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves (2444)—Another guy who defines playing the game the way it was meant to be played, and he just keeps on hitting well into his thirties.

9. Vladimir Guerrero, Texas Rangers (2326)—He’s hitting .339 with 53 RBI on June 11. Vlad is another ageless wonder.

10. Edgar Renteria, San Francisco Giants (2213)—It’s kind of amazing that Renteria is on this list, even though he’s never had a 200-hit season. But he’s been reliable and consistent all these years.

Source: Baseball Reference

Pete Carroll “shocked” about USC ban

Former Trojans head coach Pete Carroll says he’s “absolutely shocked” about the sanctions that were recently levied by the NCAA against USC’s football program, which include a two-year postseason ban and the loss of 30 scholarships over the next three years.

Here’s the video:

Like most kids growing up, I used to hide things from my parents. Progress reports, poor test grades, and of course, the occasional Playboy or two. (Stop it – you know you hid them, too.)

Granted, I was often successful in hiding these items from my folks. But hiding a crumbled up Playboy is a little easier than sneaking free hotel stays, rent-free homes, suits and limousines past my parents.

In other words: How the hell didn’t Carroll and USC know that Reggie Bush was getting free crap? How did they not know that several of his family members were staying in rent-free homes, or that he rode in a limousine wearing a brand new suit when he accepted the Heisman in New York in December of 2005?

You can sneak a lot of things by unsuspecting people, but not on a college campus and not when the program’s most recognizable player is involved.

Even if Pistol Pete didn’t know, someone had to. Someone had to have seen what was going on. Are you telling me that a jealous player didn’t see everything Bush was getting and not tell other people? Come on – word travels fast, I don’t care what the situation is.

I refuse to believe that USC was completely oblivious to what was going on when Bush was there. And as so many people have pointed out over the last couple of days, it’s hardly a coincidence that Carroll agreed to head back to the NFL during the same year that USC was punished.

Boise State’s move to the Mountain West breeds better competition

Boise-State TCU every year? Sign me up.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been vocal about how expansion could ruin tradition and rivalry in college football. If Texas and Texas A&M split when the Big 12 eventually falls apart, that’s not good for the sport. To think a rivalry so enriched in tradition would evaporate because conferences want to increase revenue should make most fans sick. (Although it’s rumored that both programs will join the Pac-10 now that Nebraska has accepted its invitation to join the Big Ten.)

But count me in as someone who loves the Mountain West’s announcement that Boise State will be joining their conference in 2011. Assuming Boise, TCU, Utah and BYU continue to stay relevant, the Broncos’ move promotes competition without ruining any traditions in the process.

WAC fans certainly have come to enjoy their annual Boise-Fresno State matchups, but it’s safe to say that outrage isn’t about to ensue because the Broncos are heading to the MWC. At least, not like there should be outrage if Texas and Texas A&M leave the Big 12 for separate conferences. For as good as the Boise-Fresno games have been over the years, obviously that rivalry pales in comparison to UT-Oklahoma, Michigan-Ohio State, Alabama-Auburn and yes, UT-A&M.

The good news is that even though Boise is moving on, it can still schedule Fresno State on an annual basis if it wants. In fact, the Broncos need to schedule as many tough non-conference opponents as they can in order to have a remote shot at one day playing for a national title. For years they’ve been criticized for having a weak slate of games, but in moving to a better conference, that argument can be disputed. Let’s see what happens if they run the table playing the likes of TCU, Utah, BYU and Fresno in order to force the BCS to make a decision about whether or not they’re worthy to play in a title game. The BCS has always had a built-in excuse for keeping Boise out of the national championship when the program was playing in the WAC, but starting in 2011, it won’t be quite as easy to put down the Broncos’ schedule.

This is one of the rare cases where I think expansion makes sense.


Photo from fOTOGLIF

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