Category Archives: sports

O’Neal Traded To Toronto – A Pacer Fan Critique

Jermaine O’Neal was traded to the Toronto Raptors for T.J. Ford and the #17 pick in the NBA Draft tomorrow night. O’Neal has been asking for a trade since Isiah Thomas was fired as the Pacers head coach. Last off-season a rumor swirled that he was going to the Lakers for either Lamar Odom or Andrew Bynum, but the Pacers wanted both of them and the Lakers didn’t move forward with the trade. The trade with Toronto could be a good thing for the Pacers, only if Ford stays healthy and the player selected at #17 can step in right away and help the troubled franchise.

Jermaine O’Neal hasn’t been the same since he was involved in the “Palace Brawl” a few seasons ago. After he served his suspension, he wasn’t the same on the court for the rest of that season and last couple years he has been out with various injuries. He is due to make 20+ million each of the next two seasons and the Pacers were smart to make a move for a point guard. Indiana needed to either make a move and trade for a point guard or draft a point guard (who would have either been D.J. Augustin or Russel Westbrook). Augustin is in the same mold as their current point guard Jamaal Tinsley, he can make plays, but either have a consistent jumpshot, same could be said for Ford. The different between Tinsley and Ford/Augustin is that they haven’t been a team disruption off the court. Tinsley will still end up on the team ’cause he has a large salary, but with Ford starting and Tinsley coming off the bench, their backcourt could be pretty nice.

On the Toronto side of this, you have a GM in Colangelo that is used to winning. He plays a faster style of basketball and Jose Calderon seems like a better fit at point guard. The front court of Chris Bosh and Jermaine O’Neal will give the Eastern Conference a migraine. Toronto takes on a huge contract for the next two seasons, but with the addition of O’Neal, if he stays healthy, can cement a playoff spot next season.

I’m not defending Larry Bird as team president, but I have faith that the moves he is making is going to eventually make sense. I admit that the Harrington/Jackson to Golden State for Murphy/Dunleavy still makes no sense, but Jackson was a distraction and they had to package Harrington with him to send him packing.

The color barrier may be broken this year if the Pacers pick another white guy with the #11 or #17 picks tomorrow. I think that Joe Alexander or Kosta Koufos are on their radar, but it isn’t certain that Alexander will be there at #11 or Koufos will be there at #17. If they pick either one, they could actually put a five white guys on the floor at once. Jeff Foster, Travis Diener, Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, and either one of the draft picks. As “America’s White Boy,” it would be a proud moment in white boy history. I am not sure what is up with Bird, but before he came in, the only white boy on the team was either Rik Smits or Detlef Schrempf (Austin Croshere was around, but I choose not to remember his tenure). Larry Bird is down with the white boy and I my friend, am down with Bird.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Oh God, Dontrelle Willis Is Pitching

Dontrelle Willis is having a terrible year, even by Vin Baker standards. Coming into tonight’s game, he has allowed 16 walks and only 3 strikeouts in 10 innings pitched. He has spent most of the season on the DL and after tonight’s outing, the Tigers should look into having Willis head to the minors.

He started tonight against the Cleveland Indians and only lasted 1 1/3 innings, gave up 5 walks, allowed 8 earned runs on 3 hits (two of them being home-runs). After striking out two batters tonight, his BB:K ratio is 21:5, which Jose Canseco could do as a starting pitcher in the major leagues.

I’m not sure what is wrong with Dontrelle, he came into the majors with lightning stuff and a deception with his release that makes the ball hard to pick up for the batter. Questions about his performance started to appear last season when he went 10-15 with a 5.17 ERA for the Florida Marlins. Willis was then traded to the Detroit Tigers in the Miguel Cabrera for Cameron Maybin/Andrew Miller trade in the offseason.

Willis could end up being another tragic figure like Mark Prior. Willis has not had the extended trips to the disabled list like Prior, but I believe that his arm could be tired. In his first five seasons, Willis amassed 15 complete games and averaged 200 innings a season. He was a big part of the magical 2003 season in which the Marlins came out of nowhere to win the World Series, but ever since, his teams have been playing for nothing important and using his arm as much as possible.

The Tigers are in need of pitching, so they could end up using Willis a few more times before they become cautious. They just found out that Jeremy Bonderman, the staff’s #2 starter, will be lost for the season due to blood clots, but Joel Zumaya will be back soon from various injuries. Their farm system isn’t very deep, since they traded their best prospects to obtain Willis and Cabrera. Brandon Inge could become expendable, but it looks like their pitching woes will not be cured by an addition of one starting pitcher.

I wish the best for Dontrelle Willis, but it looks like this season will be a long one.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

The Reason I Watch Women’s Tennis

Ana Ivanovic won the French Open today. She is currently the #2 ranked women’s tennis player, but the #1 hottest in my book. Ivanovic is beautiful and she has the ability to win major grand slam championships. Maria Sharapova has that same double threat ability, but she hasn’t won anything lately. After the win today, Ivanovic will become the world’s #1 player, surpassing Justine Henin, who abruptly retired last month.

Ivanovic is only 20-years old, so she isn’t at her peak age. Women’s tennis players usually peak in their early 20s and fade out before their 28. The Williams’ sisters have dominated this sport for the last ten years, but they are both in the downside of their careers. The woman’s side of tennis needs a Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer to dominate, without a dominate player, every tournament is up for grabs. Ivanovic has the ability to dominate, but we’ll see if she can keep her focus as the demand for her will increase. She has already showed interest in modeling, which could distract her. I think a picture of her can distract me from pretty much anything.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Collins Found Out Jordan Isn’t Playing Anymore

Contrary to previous reports, it looks like Doug Collins is no longer a candidate for the Chicago Bulls coaching vacancy. Someone must have told Collins that Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are no longer on the team. I’m glad that he is no longer a candidate, I didn’t think that the players on the Bulls roster would benefit from having Collins as the coach.

I’m guessing that Avery Johnson has to be in the running for the job. He had a lot of success with the Mavericks and he deserves another shot. As a player, he played under Greg Popovich, he can coach a defense and he was an assistant coach under Don Nelson, so he can coach offense. I think he brings a great balance to a team, but the expectations in Dallas were too high. The expectations in Chicago wouldn’t be a “win a championship or be fired,” as long as he makes the playoffs consistently, his job would be safe. Chicago, please hire Avery Johnson, you would have a good coach and some amazing soundbites.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Big Brown Is Still A Stud

Even though we have to wait another year for another Triple Crown winner, Big Brown is still a beast. Kent Desormeaux, the jockey riding Big Brown, tried to get the horse to make a move, but the horse didn’t have much left in him. Desormeaux did the smart thing by pulling up on him and saving him from getting injured. The owners of Big Brown will be making tons of money off of him when they put him out to stud. They didn’t want the horse to get injured and risk the future stud fees. He ended up finishing 9th, which is last, but won’t be remembered for this race. Da’Tara, who was a 38-1 odd favorite, picked up the victory and made a few people rich.

Big Brown had an amazing Kentucky Derby and Preakness, he will go down as one of the best horses over the last 30 years. I doubt that they will have him run in the Breeder’s Cup, another sub-par finish could hurt him.

I think I need to be put out to stud, I probably wouldn’t charge much.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

No EliteXC Fight Turns Me Into A Douche Bag

I’m not going to be able to watch the debut of EliteXC MMA fighting on CBS. My local CBS affiliate in Columbus, Ohio isn’t carrying the fight due to a Children’s Hospital telethon. I want to call up the station and raise some hell and I think that makes me a huge tool. I should be supporting the station in its cause, but c’mon! Kimbo Slice is going to tear a guy’s head off and my lady, Gina Carano, is going to look beautiful while turning a girl’s face inside-out. I can’t believe that the affiliate here is airing the telethon on the same weekend as the fight. CBS has been promoting the snot out of this for weeks and I will miss it. Gus Johnson will be announcing the fight and he will seriously lose his voice by the end of the show. Johnson goes crazy with NCAA hoops and I can only imagine his reaction to Kimbo Slice murdering another human.

There was a little hiccup with Gina Carano yesterday. She didn’t make her weight, but she will still fight, but give up a small portion of the purse. I look at pictures of her and I couldn’t place her at anything above 130, but she must be pretty tall ’cause she didn’t even make her 140 weight, she missed it by four pounds.If for some reason Kimbo Slice or Gina Carano loses each of their fights, EliteXC will be in a really bad situation. Slice is their Mike Tyson and Carano is their beauty queen who can draw in the casual viewer. I predict Slice will win in less than a minute and Carano will get a KO by the end of the first round. Let’s hope CBS will get a chance to have another Primetime MMA fight and I’ll actually get to watch it.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Jay Bruce Is The Next Pete Rose

I haven’t seen any baseball player make such an instant impact on a team in my lifetime. The Cincinnati Reds called up the #1 prospect earlier this week and it makes you wonder why they started out the year with Corey Patterson in centerfield. In Jay Bruce’s first five games, he is 11 for 19 with a hand-full of walks and today had a walk-off homer in extra innings. Bruce was hitting well over .300 in the minors and seemed to use every excuse to not give him a call-up. Dusty Baker doesn’t like to play rookie position players, but looks like Bruce gave the Reds no chance to leave him in the minors. Bruce has excellent plate discipline, above average power, very good speed, and can play good defense in centerfield.

I haven’t seen Cincinnati be this excited about a player since Charlie Hustle was donning a Reds uniform. With the young talent the Reds have, this team could become very dangerous for many years to come. Edinson Volquez, Joey Votto, Johnny Cueto, and Bruce makes up some nice pieces for the future. If the Reds can trade Dunn and Griffey for some blue-chip prospects, this Reds team could make a run at the pennant in the very near future. Let’s hope Dusty Baker doesn’t go all “Wood and Prior” on Volquez and Cueto. They need to make sure they don’t overuse these young arms up and make the Disabled List All-Stars like Kerry Wood and Mark Prior was for a few years.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

David Stern Just Got A Boner!

The Boston Celtics just defeated the Detroit Pistons in Game 6 Of the Eastern Conference Finals tonight and everyone will have the Lakers/Celtics Finals that they hoped for. The NBA Finals ratings have been down over the last five years, even with Lebron James in it last year. David Stern must be in an euphoric state with these two basketball franchises playing for the championship. There are so many storylines that will carry this series. Will KG finally win a championship? Can Kobe win a championship without Shaq? Can Phil Jackson pass Red Auerbach as the coach with the most rings, against the very team Red loved so dearly? Can Doc Rivers actually coach?

It’s a good time to be NBA Commissioner. The New York Knicks can only get better, the Bulls have the #1 pick, and the young stars of the league don’t seem to be getting into trouble as much as NFL stars. He probably even takes vacations in the offseason, something the NFL, MLB, and NHL leaders can’t afford to do.

Let’s hope the Lakers/Celtics will rekindle the rivalry that carried the league in the 1980s. I was a fan of the Celtics/Pistons rivalry, but that only happened in the Eastern Conference Finals, maybe Kobe/Garnett will become this generation’s Magic/Bird.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

I Guess Chicago Will Draft Michael Jordan?!

I am just as confused as you, but the Chicago Bulls re-hired Doug Collins as their head coach. The last time Collins coached the Bulls, Jordan was a young man without any championship rings. Collins led them to the Finals and he was canned and Phil Jackson was hired.

Chicago is a very nostalgic city. They love their history, Al Capone, Dick Butkus, Brian Urlacher. The Bulls hiring Collins is overdoing it a little. I now wouldn’t be surprised if Lovie Smith is fired and the Bears hire Mike Ditka. Collins is known for his defense and having low-scoring teams, I don’t think Derrick Rose will work in that kind of offense. Michael Beasley would best fit the system that Collins’ coaching style.

Doug Collins, who has been an analyst for TNT the last few years, is best known for having Michael Jordan on his team and STILL not being able to win a championship. I have lost all interest in who Chicago will pick #1, their talent will be lost with Doug Collins as head coach.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

NBA Draft Lottery, Who’s Lucky, Punk?

I can’t believe the NBA still does this, but they let ping-pong balls determine who will have the top pick in the draft. I’m not a fan of the process, the NFL’s draft order is pretty solid, but I can see why the NBA don’t want their teams tanking at the end of the season to draft higher. This process let San Antonio have the chance to obtain Tim Duncan, after David Robinson was injured the previous year. They won the draft and they have been unstoppable, err, every other year.

I hope the Miami Heat don’t win the lottery tonight. The Heat reminds me of the Spurs situation with Duncan, since Wade was injured for most of the year and their bad season is probably jusst a one-year situation. The Knicks need this #1 pick the most, but if the Supersonics win, look for them to be a pre-season favorite to be in the playoffs. If you add Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley to to Jeff Green and Kevin Durant, you will compete in the Western Conference within two year. Oklahoma City are currently drooling, they will have a new franchise with instant success.

My prediction for the top 3 picks are: Seattle Supersonics, Miami Heat, and New York Knicks. Although, I would like to see the Pacers up there, since they have no player worth the price of admission or the Chicago Bulls get a high lottery pick, I don’t see it happening.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Ryan Braun Is Milwaukee’s Best

The Milwaukee Brewers should think about starting Ryan Braun’s season in mid-May every season. They called him up last year in mid-May for his rookie season and he hit the cover off the ball for the rest of the season. He won the National League Rookie Of the Year award easily and helped the Brewers to their best record since Robin Yount wore yellow and blue. Braun’s 2008 season wasn’t anything spectacular, until this week. He has hit six homers and batted over .500 over the past week.

As a Cubs fan, this is something I didn’t want to see from Braun. As a fan of the game of baseball, I love it. I think the baseball needs a few more young players that could possibly carry the game like Lebron James and Sidney Crosby does for their sport.

Braun signed an extension this week that will keep him in Milwaukee until Miley Cyrus is cold enough to buy alcohol. I think it is good to see some of the smaller market teams invest in their younger talent, rather than trade them before their contracts end for new prospects. If the Brewers can hang onto their core players from this young team, they will be a force in the National League and could contend make Milwaukee relive their past success with homegrown talent (Paul Molitor and Robin Yount).

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Bonds Lied About Steroids? What?!

The federal perjury case against Barry Bonds just got a whole lot bigger. The judge wanted to revise the charges against Bonds and charge him for each falsehood (that’s judge talk for lie) that Bonds allegedly said under oath when he testified for a grand jury. He was just facing four charges, but they didn’t feel like lumping them together would work in their favor.

I think this is the smartest move since Brown v. Board of Education. It’s like if you were going 15mph over the speed limit and the cop hands you 15 tickets for each mile you were over the speed limit. If it were up to me, Bonds would have 762 federal charges against him, one for each home-run.

Are you worried Barry?Yeah, didn’t think so.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.