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      Kenny Smith disregards my question

      May 26, 2010 /

      NBA PLAYOFFS

      Prior to Game 3, I submitted a few questions to NBA.com as part of the Blogger Q&A with Kenny Smith. On the heels of two substandard performances by Amare Stoudemire in L.A., one of the questions I posed to Smith was whether or not he was playing himself out of a max contract with his performance against the Lakers.

      Here’s what he had to say.

      D’oh! If you don’t like the question, Kenny, pick a different one! Come on!

      But I still wonder — even though Stoudemire will almost certainly sign a max deal this summer, is he really worth it?

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, Humor, NBA

      NFL not ready to make decision about OT change

      May 26, 2010 /

      The NFL has decided to table the discussion on whether or not to change the overtime format for regular season games next year. Instead, commissioner Roger Goodell said on Tuesday that he would like to get more feedback from the players before the league makes a significant change like that.

      From ESPN.com:

      Owners voted in March to change the sudden-death rule for the playoffs. If the team that loses the coin flip immediately gives up a field goal, that team will get a chance to score either to tie or win.

      Goodell said owners also discussed upcoming labor negotiations with the players. The current contract expires at the end of the 2010 season.

      I’m all for making adjustments to rules in effort to try and better the game (although it’s debatable whether or not changing the current OT format qualifies as “bettering the game”), but the league should prioritize its agendas.

      As of this moment, the league is heading for a lockout in 2011. Instead of trying to figure out whether or not to change the overtime rules for the regular season, it would be nice if the league concentrated all of its efforts on signing a new collective bargaining agreement with the player’s union. I get that the league is going to discuss other matters of interest during this time, but all I continue to read about is how there is still “plenty of time” for the two sides to come together. Yet, the fact remains that a lockout is looming.

      The NFL should always be about the fans. If there were a lockout next year, then it would destroy the fans. Forget the damn overtime rules and come together on a new deal already.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, NFL

      Jackson not willing to take big pay cut?

      May 26, 2010 /

      I wrote earlier today about Jackson’s willingness to field questions about his future in the middle of the Western Conference Finals, and now CBSSports is reporting that a person close to Jackson believes that the coach would be unwilling to take a major pay cut to stay with the Lakers.

      While Jackson reiterated his hunch Tuesday that there’s a 90 percent chance he’ll either be coaching the Lakers next season or retiring, a person with close ties to Jackson told CBSSports.com that it’s too early to set odds. If Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss insists on a massive pay cut, the person said, Jackson would not return. Published reports have indicated that Buss is seeking to pay Jackson $5 million next season, a pay cut of $7 million.

      The source close to Jackson indicated that the question of how much Jackson’s pay would be reduced is, to some degree, semantics. Given that he is close to retirement age, a significant portion of Jackson’s salary could be deferred in the form of retirement benefits that he would see without penalty in two years.

      Another person with knowledge of Jackson’s situation said it would be difficult to imagine him leaving the Lakers with Kobe Bryant in the prime of his career and having just signed a three-year extension. The person equated it to overtures that frequently came Jackson’s way when he coached Michael Jordan in Chicago, saying Jackson never would’ve left Jordan in his prime, either.

      But one of those sources said circumstances could change with the possibility of Jackson becoming bait to lure LeBron James to the Bulls, who have maximum salary-cap space to sign him and a quality roster that Jackson views favorably. The person said the Jackson/LeBron situation was plausible, considering Jackson would have the chance to complete a potentially irresistible trifecta – coaching Jordan and Bryant, and then capping his career with James.

      The bit about the “irresistible trifecta” is interesting. Jackson has been fortunate in that he has been in a position to coach some of the league’s greatest players, but if he were able to join forces with LeBron and win his 11th (or 12th) NBA title, it would certainly cap what has already been a remarkable career. Yes, he has been fortunate in the quality of player that he has coached, but it takes more than great players to win championships, and Jackson’s ability to manage massive egos and get 12 players pointed in the same direction is, for lack of a better word, uncanny.

      He’s not going to grind out 50+ wins with an inferior roster like Jerry Sloan does year in and year out, but if Jackson has the most talented roster, he’s a good bet to be the last coach standing at the end of the postseason.

      And that’s probably worth $12 million a season.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

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

      Warm or cold, Super Bowl should be about the game and not about the host city

      May 26, 2010 /

      The NFL announced on Tuesday evening that New York will host the 2014 Super Bowl. The immediate reaction from most people seems to be concern over the fact that the game will be played in the cold.

      My immediate reaction? So what.

      Football has always been meant to be played outdoors. That’s not to say domes don’t serve a purpose (how fun is it to watch the Saints and Colts’ high octane offenses play on turf at least eight times a year?), but really, the Super Bowl should be more about the game and less about the host city. In fact, why not rotate the game every year so that all the cities have an opportunity to host the big game? Detroit played host in 2006 and did a wonderful job. I would imagine that Chicago, Green Bay and/or Washington D.C. would be equally great.

      I get that a game of this magnitude should be played on equal ground. But no matter how you slice it, one team usually has an advantage. I see the point that if the Steelers are used to playing in the cold, that they would have an advantage over the Panthers, Falcons, Rams, Cardinals, 49ers, Lions and Cowboys. But the conditions can’t always be perfect and it’s not like every single player on a warm weather team has never played in the cold before. Every year the media makes a huge deal out of warm weather teams playing in the cold late in the season and every year, their points are exaggerated.

      At the end of the day, the Super Bowl has always been about the two best teams in a given season going head to head for a championship. That’s it. Whether or not fans will be cold in the stands or the weather conditions affect the game doesn’t matter. Football is football and let’s keep the focus on the game.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, NFL, Super Bowl

      New York will host 2014 Super Bowl

      May 26, 2010 /

      Ian O’Connor spoke to Vince Lombardi’s son about the NFL’s decision to hold the 2014 Super Bowl at the Meadowlands…

      “My father and mother had real soft spots in their hearts for the New York metropolitan area; it was home to them,” said Vince Lombardi Jr., a 68-year-old motivational speaker whose son, Joe, is quarterbacks coach of the defending champion New Orleans Saints.

      “And my father would certainly say: ‘Hey, you play the game in all kinds of weather. You get up in the morning and play the game whether it’s 100 degrees or 13 below.'”

      For a fan base that is so tied up in tradition — just check out some of the debates we’ve had here about (gasp!) changing the overtime format — the Super Bowl has never been held outdoors in a cold-weather city.

      So why change now?

      Weather always seems to have a big impact on the conference playoffs, and that makes sense since teams battle and claw all season for home field advantage. Teams that are built for cold weather should have that advantage. But why bring that potential advantage to the Super Bowl, where the game is supposed to be played on a neutral field?

      One argument is that some of the most memorable games (i.e. The Ice Bowl) were played in horrible conditions. Sure, awful weather can make a game memorable, but do NFL fans really want to see two high powered teams like the Saints and the Colts play in a snowstorm? I don’t argue that it might be interesting, but the Super Bowl is already interesting.

      Others argue that rain is a possibility for outdoor venues in warm weather cities, but rain and snow/ice are two completely different animals. Teams often play well in light to medium rain, but it’s tough to execute offensively or defensively in freezing and sub-zero conditions.

      By the way, this is coming from a Packer fan whose team would no doubt have an advantage in a negative-windchill matchup with the Chargers. The advantage is the problem, no matter who gets it.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, News, NFL

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