NBA Finals Preview

Well that was a shocking ending to the Eastern Conference Finals. To delight of my readers I had a good baseball post ready to go and then Miami wins another game I didn't think they would win and I actually have to write this post.

Here is the summary of the post in 3 words: Dallas in six.

Let's get something out of the way. Vegas will have Miami as favorites, probably something between -160 to -200. Of the 22 ESPN "experts" on the Finals page on espn.com only 7 pick Dallas. So why do I have Dallas winning without trying to be a homer, which is something I try very hard to do. Well read on:

Because it's LeBron and Wade, the media just wants to gush about how awesome they are playing, how they are ice cold closers now, and that they are just dominating their opponent. In no way did they dominate Chicago, the same way that Dallas did not dominate OKC even though both series ended 4-1. But for some reason, Miami is dominating, and Dallas is surviving according to the media. If anyone ever questions experience in the NBA playoffs going forward they are dumb. Miami rolls in with three key players, James, Wade, and Haslem who have been to the NBA finals, with two players winning it all. Chicago rolls in with no key players ever reaching the conference except Boozer once in 2006-2007 with the Jazz.

The same goes for the Dallas/OKC series. Noone of consequence (Westbrook, Ibaka, Harden, Durant) had ever made it out of the first round before this year. Dallas has 3 key players who have played in at least 1 NBA finals (Dirk, Kidd, Terry) and another in Marion who has been to the Conference Finals a couple of times before this year. That experience bore itself out in these Conference Finals. We all saw the collapse of Games 4 and 5 in the Dallas Series, and Game 5 in the Miami series. But in Games 2-4 of the Miami series, the games were always in doubt in the 4th quarter and prior to last night no halftime lead was bigger than 3. I find this hardly dominating, and I think the media is not giving enough credit to Chicago and too much to Miami. If we go into experience, while Miami has two players with one ring each, Dallas certainly has the edge in the number of playoff games played by its key contributors.

The level of competition played has been fairly different too. Miami played a .500 Philly team, a Boston team that clearly had no spirit after the Perkins trade, and then essentially lost its most effective player in Game 3 after that gruesome injury to Rondo (look at his Game 4 and 5 stats), and then of course Chicago who presented them their toughest challenge so far. Dallas had to go through Portland (14 games over .500), the LA Lakers (defending Champs), and Oklahoma City (NBA's leading scorer). Of the three teams Miami played, they only faced 1 member of any of the 3 All-NBA teams, of which there are 15 total members. That was Rose. Of the three teams Dallas faced, they played 5, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook. That's 1/3 of the best 15 players in the league. Dallas has one in Dirk and the eastern conference, whom they can't play had 6 total, 2 of which Dallas faces in the Finals. Dallas will have faced the most possible All-NBA players when these playoffs end. I think if you look at those list of teams Dallas has played, on aggregate, tougher competition.

Here's where someone come out and says "But what about homecourt advantage?" Dallas has won 5 straight road games, including a closeout game at the Rose Garden, the only two games at the Staples Center and the only two games at the Oklahoma City Arena. I think any reasonable analyst agrees that those three places are all tougher to play at than the American Airlines Arena where the Heat play. True, the Heat are undefeated at home in the playoffs, but I really feel like homecourt is irrelevant. These are the two best road teams in the regular season and they both play in less than suffocating arenas. Homecourt is marginal at best in this series.

Dallas is also going to be the best offense Miami has seen so far in these playoffs and the only team that averages 100 points per game. I understand Miami has excellent team speed and that's what makes their half court defense so good, but they haven't faced a team with an offense like Dallas'. They have excellent ball movement, they can put 3-4 spot up three shooters on the floor at any time and well as good of defense as LeBron has played, no one has stopped Dirk yet. Miami has the 3rd worst 3 point % defense in these playoffs (Dallas has the best) and that can't bode well going forward. Chicago got a bunch of open shots but couldn't knock them down at a good enough rate. Dallas can, especially since Dallas has much better ball movement than Chicago, Dallas has the second highest rate of assists per game in the playoffs, just .1 behind Boston. Dallas can put pressure on Miami's defense but knocking down shots and making the Heat work with Dallas' excellent ball movement.

Dallas' defense has been anywhere from good to excellent these playoffs as well. This is the defense between those 06 Mavericks and these Mavericks. For much of the Thunder series they forced OKC into bad shots, especially in crunch time. This has to relate as to why Dallas leads the playoffs in 3 point shooting defense, they have been able to put excellent offensive players: Kobe, Westbrook, Durant, and force them to take bad shots. I understand there is a difference between Wade and James and those guys, but not much. Marion and Kidd both have been showing excellent defensive resolve on some of the best players in the game, I am confident they can continue to put up a fight.

Miami's offense is largely predicated on transition and quick basics. When you watch them in the half court, I still don't think they know what they are doing. LeBron didn't touch the ball for like 5 minutes in the 4th quarter last night because Chicago took care of the ball and kept Miami in the half court, and they have pretty poor ball movement. Dallas comes into the finals taking better care of the ball than either Boston or Chicago did. Dallas has the ability to take care of the ball and force their pace on teams. OKC is used to running up and down the court in transition (105 ppg in the regular season), and for the most part Dallas contained that part of the game. When Dallas did OKC bogged down in half court too, just like Miami does. I'm again confident that Dallas can take care of the ball and prevent too many easy transition baskets.

Lastly, Shawn Marion and Jason Kidd have kind of jumped into the time machine these playoffs. Its been so long since I've seen either of them play defense to this level, and Shawn Marion hasn't had a game like he did in Game 5 of the OKC series in 5 years. Dirk is playing unstoppable offense. These guys just seem to have the desire. If Kidd and The Matrix can keep up the intensity for another 6 or 7 games, Dallas just has much more talent overall across the board than Miami does. James will be the best player on the court when hes on there, but Wade struggled in Chicago, and I think he's a little hurt, and Bosh has been very inconsistent. Outside those three you can't count on anyone else. Haslem's reemergence (Go Gators!) has been nice, but he has only made a significant impact in one game. Same with Mike Miller. Dallas has been getting significant impacts from everywhere. In a 7 game series I really feel like the deeper, more driven team will win. Dallas has the drive, they have the sense of urgency, and they have the killer instinct, to go with the deep lineup. Miami has the drive to validate everything they did this year, but I don't see it to the same level Dallas has displayed these playoffs. I think Miami KNOWS it will be back. I think Dallas KNOWS they have a slim chance to. It's a big difference. You also can't discount that Dallas has a team full of guys who would seriously consider selling their first borns for this ring. Kidd NEEDS it. Dirk NEEDS it. If LeBron never wins a ring, he'll still go down as a top 5 player ever. If Kidd gets his ring, you start talking about him with Stockton. If Dirk gets his you start talking about him with Malone or Barkley. Without it, these guys know their legacies will fall short despite the amazing things they have done over the last 16 and 12 years respectively. Sports are about drive. You can will yourself to great things with the right level of determination and I feel like Dallas has it in a way they never have.

So after reading all of this I am sure people are wondering how Miami has a chance at all, and why I didn't pick Dallas in 4. Well two things scare the crap out of me. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade on the floor at the same time and the foul calls. I mean you don't just discount 2 of the best 5 players in the game on the same team on the floor at the same time. They are great and that's why this series is no walk in the park for either team. Both teams are great. I'm also worried a little about the foul calls. If the refs call it tight, Dallas is in trouble, they just don't get to the foul line the same way Miami does. Really, that's how Miami gets a lot of half court offense, through the foul line. If they call it loose, Dallas has an edge because Miami's half court offense isn't great. Of course I am a little snakebitten as well by Wade's 46 FTs in the last two games of the 06 Finals so I always worry about it.

This should be a great series, and I am glad Dallas is back, but I want this championship for them so badly, I think even more than I wanted the Rangers to beat San Francisco last year. It's a sense of urgency I have as well with this team. Dirk has earned this. Kidd has earned this. I will truly feel terrible if they end their magnificent careers without a ring. Going through Miami this year will make it possibly the best championship I have ever rooted for among my Dallas teams, ranking right up there when the Cowboys went through the Niners in 1992 for their first Super Bowl of the 90s and the first time I got to celebrate a title for one of my favorite teams. That still ranks as my favorite, but if Dallas can run through Miami, I'll have to think long and hard about whether it remains there.

What do you out there think in the cyberspace? Am I too homerish? Is Miami going to win? Bring a prediction and a bring a reason why, anyone can say Dallas in 6, but I have shown you why.

Not-So-Instant Reaction to Basketball Playoffs and A New Doomsday Prediction Already?

First my buddy, Mr. Armchair posted about boxing and horseracing as dying sports. I have a fond attachment to both, going to Del Mar Racetrack many times with my dad and watching boxing on HBO when I was a kid. It's a good post if you are interested in those sports. Please read: Where's the defibrillator?

So...the Dallas/OKC series has to be over right? How does a young inexperienced team come back from that 4th quarter collapse and two straight home losses? Even the crowd sensed it when they gave them a standing ovation and an OKC chant with seconds left in OT. Lastly, here is Kevin Durant, who looks like someone just made him watch his dog get shot, try his best Kobe impression saying the Thunder still have a chance. The problem is I don't think 1 person, even Kevin himself believed him. Here is a good photo:



I had a friend tell me that the Thunder are a couple years and one more piece away from really competing. I semi-agree with the statement but not the way he thinks. I think the team is built to win. They are a couple of years away. Durant needs to get stronger, and learn to move without the ball better. There were so many times Durant had Kidd one on one off the ball and didn't move to get the ball. Westbrook just has to grow into the role of PG. He can be a good one, but he has to grow up with Kevin and learn to play other roles besides shooter, because let's be honest, he sucks at it right now. The Thunder were up big and part of it was Westbrook's other contributions: 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Not his 7-22 shooting.

I think the piece missing isn't a player but a coach. I posted on my Facebook that I think Scott Brooks is a terrible coach and in his peaks inside the huddle on ESPN during this series and the Memphis series he gives no substantive advice. "Play Hard!" "More Defense!" "You guys are so money you don't even know it!" Even my wife laughed at the in huddles last night aired on ESPN. I think this is precisely why Durant sucks at moving off the ball and why their crunch time offense grinds to a halt. Scott Brooks needs to go, they need to find a good coach who can reign in Westbrook and diagram actual plays to get Durant open. Until they get that I think Erik Spoelstra can outcoach Brooks and thats saying something. Scott Brooks has to be a major contributing factor to the Thunder losing double digit leads like 6 times this postseason.


"I'm #1 and You Guys Are All WINNERS!" ~Scott Brooks' best coaching this postseason.

Speaking of Spoelstra, Miami is making my Chicago in 7 prediction look a little precarious. Chicago continues to play good defense, but their offense does the same grind to a halt in crunch time that OKC's does. But I actually believe Thibodeau is a good coach. I'm so confused as to why Noah and Boozer can't get 16-20 a game with Lebron and Wade worried about Deng and Rose. Joel Anthony is not that good. They need much better ball movement. If Chicago and DRose have any pride or championship moxie in them they get this game tonight. They play too much defense and they have too much overall talent on the bench and at all positions to lose 3 out of 4 games to Miami. I think they do it tonight, they have to or else I look like a complete idiot.

Lastly, I couldn't turn down an opportunity to talk about this. If you haven't seen it or read about it please watch this interview between Ray Lewis and Sal Paolantonio: EVIL. Ray Lewis looked like he was going to reach over and break Sal's neck open and drain him of his fluids. I can not imagine playing football against him when he was in his prime. He is a scary mofo.


"I just want to nibble your ear a little Sal. I'm a hungry man."

So if you are too lazy to watch it, Ray Lewis believes crime, or evil as he calls it, will rise while the lockout continues. And no, Garrett Wolfe, he is not just talking about players committing crime, but all citizens. I'm still not worried that we will miss any real time in the NFL, but this lockout has to end for the sanity of football news. Because there is zero player movements in free agency or trades, ESPN and other news outlets have to find something to keep the football interest going because really its the best selling sport in America. So then you interview Ray Lewis about the lockout and you get this craziness. You have players boxing (concussion worries anyone?), OchoCinco trying out for an MLS team, Chris Kluwe, the punter for Minnesota, is recording music albums, Tony Romo trying and failing to secure a U.S. Open (golf) bid, Donovan McNabb wants to be a college hoops analyst (he worked for Comcast SportsNet Washington for the opening round of the NCAAs this year), well you get the picture.

Of course Ray Lewis is full of shit. The NFL plays usually 2 days a week and only for 5 months a year. Is crime really that bad for the other 250 days that football isn't being played? America can divert its attention to something else if the NFL does actually go on hiatus. Of course this opens the doors for an increase in player crime. I present exhibit A: Garrett Wolfe, former backup Bears running back.


Dude got f*cked up! Apparently Wolfe didn't pay a $1,600 dollar bar tab, got drunk and disorderly and fought some off duty cops. I think Wolfe lost. Please, NFL, you are only damaging your image with the lockout and allowing your players to engage in reckless (boxing) or stupid (not paying a $1,600 bar tab) behaviors because they can't workout in your gym. Let's all grow up and move on.

Eastern and Western Conference Finals: Instant Reaction after 2 games

Gotta write this piece while it's fresh. I watched both Game 2s of each conference finals and here is my take.

Starting with the West. I think OKC just took their best shot and Dallas still kept it mysterious until about 40 seconds left. Maynor throwing down 13 and Harden throwing down 23 and can't put it away until the last minute? OKC shoots 56%, Dallas shoots 44%. Westbrook shot nearly 50% and OKC wins by only 6, with a little bit of free throw help at the end.

Here is where I am worried, Dallas looked tired and slow on several possessions. Barea barely penetrated the lane over the whole game. The offense became stagnant at stretches and transition defense was terrible. Foul trouble became an issue as well in the first half. I would've sworn that after calling 55 personal fouls in the first game, the NBA would've let them play in Game 2. Nope, 46 PFs, with many of them coming in the first half. Also, don't get me wrong, the Thunder are a great team. I know I would've rather had Memphis, playing Kevin Durant is bad for my health. Lastly, Dallas' team defense has disappeared. That defense has to step up.

I am heartened by a number of things. First, Dirk remained as efficient as before despite the much added pressure. 29 points, 59% FG, 90% FT, 5 assists. It was a quiet effort and I think Dirk can put up these stats all series long. Eric Maynor was good, but he's not Russell Westbrook. I'm curious to see how a 22 year old 2nd team All-NBA guard handles being benched the whole 4th quarter. Scott Brooks made the right call in this game, but did he kill his 2nd best player? Also, when you face career playoff games from bench players, when the best bench in the NBA struggles, 50-29 for bench scoring. Terry with 8 points.

All in all, I'm very disappointed in losing at home, but OKC has lost at home already this playoffs and Dallas can balance out the bench. I still feel Dallas takes this in 6 after a road split and a home win in game 5 and a closeout in 6.

Moving to the East, I think Game 2 was an inevitable result. Chicago has few reliable offensive performers. A lot of Rose's value comes from his threat as a scorer. When he is scoring from all over the court, he opens the offense. When he struggles, the team does. In the second half Rose was shut down. Can Miami shut him down for 3-5 more games? No. But they did a great job in Game 2 in the second half. What I found interesting was that Rose put up a 2nd half stinker and got virtually no negative press. If Lebron put up another stinker it was be story #1. Image continues to mean a lot in this series and Lebron continues to face enormous pressure to succeed.

I don't blame Rose entirely for the loss. The entire offense broke down. In the 2nd half Luol Deng made several out of control moves that resulted in turnovers or bad shots. Boozer didn't threaten and shooters couldnt hit shots. 15% from 3, 34% from the field as a whole. Chicago still held a potent offense to 85. I think if Chicago can hold Miami to 85 a game, they will win this series in 5. I still believe Chicago wins this in 7. They can get a road split in Miami, win 5 and lose 6 and take out Miami in a big Game 7.

I won't take away from Miami's defense, it was great. But I felt like a good percentage of their defense was bad offense by Chicago. Chicago showed these problems in two prior series and their defense won out over the long haul, I continue to believe they will wear out Miami on the defensive end and grind out a series win.

What's the prediction out there for everyone else now that both Finals became a best of 5 series with the underdogs holding home court advantage?

Pay to Play?

Big 10 commissioner Jim Delany just came out yesterday saying the NCAA should allow a college program to pay its athletes for living expenses not covered by their academic scholarship. All the major conferences came out in support today for exploration of some pay for play system, as well as past and current NCAA presidents.

This issued has surely arisen due to the increasing number of scandals and crackdowns on players in recent years mostly in football, but certainly other sports. USC''s football program wasnt the only program impacted by the NCAA punishment handed down in the wake of the Reggie Bush improprieties. The men's basketball program and women's tennis program were also part of the bigger lack of institutional control. In just the last few years we've seen Dez Bryant suspended a whole year for lying about having lunch and working out with Deion Sanders; AJ Green suspended for selling his 2009 Independence Bowl jersey for $1,000, 5 Ohio State players banned for 5 games this upcoming season for selling their own trophies and jerseys, and several key North Carolina players getting suspended a whole season for going to parties in Florida thrown by "agents" and "boosters" or other interactions with agents. Of course there was the biggest penalty of all on USC for inappropriate benefits to Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo, 2 year postseason ban, loss of 10 scholarships for 3 years, vacating wins and their BCS championship.

If you look at what these football players are doing, they aren't involved in betting scandals or point shaving scandals. They aren't throwing games. They are mostly trying to network into their future profession, like all college students, or are trying to get a hold of some cash by selling personal items. None of these athletes are getting rich as a result of their violations.

I have been a big proponent of paying athletes who in turn make money back for the school. Pay the women's tennis team? Not likely. Pay Andrew Luck, the QB at Stanford who surely sold out Cardinal stadium by himself? Absolutely. Shoot Luck should've been given a bonus just for these two plays where he acts more like running back and a safety. SAFETY and RUNNING BACK. The major conferences and schools within in those conferences earn ridiculous amounts of money from licensing and lucrative TV contracts. The reason the contracts and TV deals are so big is because the product on the field is so compelling, which is a direct result of the amazing future professionals. Let's not kid ourselves here, the best players aren't students using football to pay for college. They are using college to showcase their talents to the NFL.

Of course you get two problems. First, not every Division I school can afford to offer an additional $2,000-$5,000 per year it is estimated to cover the full cost of attendance (clothing transportation, etc...). They would cry that it affects the competitive balance. You'd see that cry from the Sun Belt, the WAC and the Mountain West now that Utah, BYU, and TCU are leaving. To that I say, you are already at a competitive disadvantage anyway. Only 30 out of the 120 Div. 1 teams ever have a real shot at winning a championship. The best teams can still only recruit 25 players a year. All the talent still has to spread out. I do not feel like this will change the talent landscape in any meaningful way.

The second problem is that other sports (besides probably men's basketball) are shafted. There is no way they can pay their players, their sports do not generate revenue. Well, those who argue that make my point for me. They can't generate their own revenue. In fact, the only reason some of the sports programs exist is because football and men's basketball pay for them. If you aren't making money for the school, I don't see how a men's soccer player or a women's field hockey player can complain. In those situations you are using your sports to pay for school, theres no real market for your athletic talents after college.

The biggest reason I support pay for play for football players besides the fact they make the universities gobs of money is that they spend 20 hours per week during the season in practice and organized team activities. For ordinary college students who don't play collegiate level sports you would spend that 20 hours working to get disposable income to pay for the things the conference want to pay for now, like new clothes, non cafeteria food, and gas. In order to prevent anymore player suspensions for the stupidest things like selling your little golden football pants charm for beating michigan for 500 bucks, the NCAA needs to allow further compensation for these athletes.

Yep, if you play for Ohio State and you beat Michigan in football you get this as a prize from the University, however you can't sell them until you are out of college, even though they are yours. The system has to change, and i think pay for play is a good step to preventing "scandals" like the Ohio State one.

So what do you think out there? Pay for play for football athletes? No, because schools like San Jose State or Florida International could never pay its players? No, because it's unfair to other NCAA athletes? Or maybe you agree or disagree for a different reason. Comment below!

There's No Crying in Baseball!

Haha, classic. Surly, drunk and mean, Tom Hanks was the man in this movie. Especially when he hit Stilwell (the little kid) in the face with a glove. As much crying and woman-drama as went on in this movie, those ladies were more ballplayer than some of our current players, especially in light of the recent disappearance of Roy Oswalt, the tantrum of Jorge Posada, and the mysterious trip to the disabled list for Hong-Chih Kuo.

Let's start with the latter. Kuo hit the disabled list last week for, I kid you not, "anxiety." Anxiety? Now my wife is a college graduate with a degree in psychology and I'm sure she'll tell me later that this is a real problem and that you can be disabled from it, but give me a break. First, hitting the DL for anixiety should be outlawed. Your confidence is shaken? You're a former All-Star, you have struggled this year and now you need to go on the disabled list. Man, poor Don Mattingly must nearly have had a heart attack when Kuo told him the problems. Kuo, why don't you take the 2.7 mil you "earn" this season and use it as tissue paper you cry baby. This is straight up abuse of the DL system and what it is used for. 20 years ago Kuo wouldn't be on the DL for "anxiety", he would be in AAA for ineffectiveness where he belongs.

Baseball needs to clean up this usage of the DL, and other bullshit DL excuses, like "dead arm", which was used on Phil Hughes after he started the season with 3 terrible starts. The reason GMs find a way to use the DL is that it doesnt affect the options players have, both the DL listed player and the player being called up. Options are tricky, but basically once a player is called up to the major league team, he has 3 options, meaning, he can be sent down to the minors and called back up in 3 different years (not just 3 different times). Once hes out of options he has to be put on waivers if you try to send him back to the minors again and any team can claim him. I hate this DL loophole, and it needs to be closed. These guys aren't hurt. They can go out and throw a baseball, but they are just completely ineffective so they belong in the minors. We all saw what happened to Rick Ankiel. He had "Anxiety" issues, ended up in the minors for a long time and reemerged as an outfielder. Maybe Kuo and Hughes can take his cue. There is a big difference between ineffective and injured, go cry in into your piles of money you losers.

Roy Oswalt is a different story. In case you didn't see his community was devastated by a massive weather system and he feared for his family's safety. So instead of doing what a teammate should do and tell his coach he isn't in the right mindset he goes out and gives up 5 runs in 3 innings for his start in ages. Then he just leaves the team for nine days to "be with his family" only his family was fine, and instead of pitching which he gets paid approximately $500,000 per start, he decided to operate a back hoe and help clean up his community and then returns with a back injury. This guy is the epitome of show up to work (or not, maybe i'll go operate heavy machinery for a week and hurt myself and waste team money and miss 3 scheduled starts when my team is in a dog fight with two other teams for the division lead) without caring for his team or winning. I'm glad his family is ok, but once he learned that he needs to go back and earn his half a mil a start instead of abandoning his team to pick up some debris. That's what you pay your government for.

Lastly is Jorge Posada and the drama that has been following him since this weekend. My buddy Mr. Armchair wrote a good piece about the rebuilding that Yankees will have to undergo pretty soon. Check it out here: ROME WASNT BUILT IN A DAY. Jorge Posada is a 39 year old catcher (turns 40 in August) turned DH this year and is hitting .179 to date. He was put 9th in the lineup and threw a hissy fit and told his manager he couldn't play on Saturday. Are you kidding me? You are getting paid $81,000 a game to go swing a bat 4 times a game. Then Derek Jeter goes on record as captain of the team saying Posada's outburst isn't a big deal. Let's not forget to mention that Jeter is about to be 37 years old and complained that the Yankees played "hardball" with him in his contract negotiations, but not giving him 5 years, instead playing him 42,000 times his market value (51 mil guaranteed, 3 years; player option (why did they give him a player option?) for 8 mil for a fourth year in 2014). Of course, Big Papi (AKA David Ortiz), also a washed up scrub making way too much money for contributions he made 5 years ago came out and said the Yankees are doing Posada wrong, and that DHing sucks.

I am pretty sick of the growing entitlement these players in baseball are feeling. They have the best union, they make the most money (guaranteed), and their sport probably does less damage to their bodies than any of the big 4 (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL). Did these athletes forget that the point of their job is to make money for their team and win games? I don't care what you did 4 years ago, winning is always in the present. If you are ineffective don't cry about it with "anxiety" problems, don't abandon your team to go pretend you are a CalTRANS worker, and don't pout and sit out a game because you are hitting .150 and are moved to the ninth spot.

Too often, teams are hamstrung by living legends who refuse to exit gracefully. Just think about Brett Favre. I heard a good line about running a team and parting with stars: "It's better to cut them one year too early, than one year too late." I understand what these players have given for the team, but it wasn't charity. These players were paid handsomely for their services. But at some point you must cut the cord. I never thought the Yankees should have resigned Jeter. I never thought the Yankees should have given a 36 year old catcher another 4 year deal for 52 mil but they did.

I have a fun story I like to tell about LaDainian Tomlinson. Three years ago I was in Lake Tahoe for my bachelor party and we were all recovering from Friday night out by eating a bunch of pizza and watching the NFL draft. It was a room full of mostly Chargers fans and I declared that San Diego made a huge mistake keeping LaDainian and not franchising Michael Turner, who just a month earlier signed a huge deal with the Falcons. LaDainian was running on fumes, and Turner was hitting his prime. Of course my friends with very few exceptions thought I was stupid. Of course, we all know how it played out. LT was terrible in 08 and 09. Landed in NY in the best possible situation and with a chip on his shoulder and churned out a good year that never would have happened in San Diego. Why did the Chargers do this? Because of what LT had meant to the team the prior 7 years. But those extra two years cost San Diego over 24 million dollars that could have been used elsewhere. That's the cautionary tale the Yankees and these other teams should use with their cry baby players. If you are old or ineffective, or if you don't want to play for a team then get the hell out.

What's in a Legacy

*NOTE* I wrote this article fairly early Thursday morning, so the timing is a little dated, but Google can spy into your backyard however it cant keep a simple blog website from crashing for a couple days. Here is the article in its entirety:

*2nd NOTE* In case you don't notice it, I will usually hyperlink a video in a post, and the text will be blue. Just click on the blue text to be directed to the video.

Before I get started, I'd like thank everyone for the outpouring of support I got for this blog. I don't plan to write every day, but encouragement from people sure makes it easier to write these things, and I would like to write 2-4 posts per week as long as the news is worthy.

For this one I'd like to start with a quote from one of the greatest minds of the 1990's.

"I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

I think Kurt took this pretty serious when he saw the monetization of his music take over. He couldn't live with what he had done to his legacy by selling out his music, when really his music was the outward expression of his soul. He sold his soul and couldn't live with guilt and the legacy he was creating. Whether you like Nirvana or not, it is indisputable that they were a groundbreaking musical group and really touched the psyche of teenage angst in America at the time, hence Cobain is a great mind from the 1990’s.

Keeping in theme with things that create massive buzz in the media (ranking players of the past), debating the legacy of an athlete consumes us. The tools by which we commonly judge an athlete's legacy, statistics, are just never enough. There are too many factors that go into judging an athlete's legacy, and I think we are on the verge on cementing two transcendent athletes’ legacies.

The news broke today of Tiger Woods' withdrawal from the Tour Championship on my way to work today. Of course we all know the story by now, Tiger hasn't won since 2009, and hasn't won a major since 2008. He withdrew today due to continuing "minor" knee and Achilles injuries; injuries that are so "minor" he complains he can't walk without severe pain. In the last two years Tiger has summoned up whatever natural golf talent he had and has played respectably at a number of majors, but it is clear he is not the same Tiger Woods anymore. I thought with an offseason and a downplay of all the off-course turmoil, Tiger would come out and dominate, especially with a season opener at Torrey Pines in San Diego where he dominates. Instead he was pedestrian. He continues to "tweak" a swing that was never broken. Now he's injured.

We get far more of this now:


Unsure if we will ever see this again:


I think a big part of the problem for Mr. Woods is that over the last couple of years he has tried to restore an image following the marriage fallout. He was lambasted in the media and by present and former players for his boorish on course behavior like slamming clubs, spitting, and using profanity. It looks to me like he wanted to be loved for something he's not to help get the media off his back about his marital problems. The issue is Tiger is a stone cold killer at heart. Players wilted in his mere presence in that trademark red Nike shirt on Sunday as Tiger made another march to victory. He cussed, he spat, and he slammed clubs on his way to winning 14 majors in 12 years, and nearly 100 million dollars on the PGA Tour and we LOVED him for it. He was in the Michael Jordan category in commercialism and America ate it up. His competitive fire and out of this world talent fueled America's passion for him and the behavior we now find unacceptable, was just seen as a by-product of his domination. But instead of being hated for who is now, he is trying to be loved for who he isn’t.

I don't want to write a eulogy on the man yet. I love Tiger Woods the player. While he is 35, that still doesn’t count as old in golf. Besides, Jack Nicklaus won his last major at age 46, and six total from the age of 35 on. But I am afraid that the sports world is going to remember Tiger Woods' legacy as a player who brought the world down around himself and never fully met his potential. To think that, is downright criminal. Tiger Woods must go down as the first or second best golfer of all time, even if he never wins again. Sadly, Tiger may go down as another legend whose legacy is best remembered for what he didnt accomplish (passing Nicklaus' 18 majors), then what he did accomplish (See also Marino, Dan): GET IN THE HOLE

Moving on to a younger generation, who wanted to punch this guy in face at this exact moment?

I know I did. Look at that smug bastard. Now I know some of you are probably thinking, “Get over it.” To that I say, shut up. I know it’s too early to talk about a player’s legacy when he is three years younger than I am, but he is making an inexorable march toward immortality this postseason and it is something to think about. Only the Chicago Bulls and the Dallas Mavericks or New Orleans Thunder/Memphis Grizzlies (Can this series end already so I can watch my boys again????) stand in his way. If he wins a title, he validates everything he did in that picture, but does it create the start of the legacy he was seeking?

I loved LeBron the player until this 2010-2011 season. He was a genetic freak who has the athleticism of Dr. J only if Dr. J ate HGH and steroids for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He has amazing court vision, brutal power and the only hole in his game is his 3 point shooting, which I mean he’s still better than most 6’9” behemoths. The only reason I stopped loving him as a player is not because of the stats or the talent but because of the image he made for himself. I know, it smacks in the face of everything I just said about Tiger Woods and how his legacy should be determined, and that’s the point.

In the 24 hour social media world we live in now, legacy isn’t determined solely by what’s printed in the box scores, or what we see with our own eyes. It’s now hindered or helped by an image, an image that the athletes can carefully craft, or recklessly throw away. Two young football players, one with a Hollywood flair, the other with the blue collar workmanship representative of the city he plays for have both tarnished their images by typing 140 characters or less. Reggie Bush, a commercial dream, has done nothing but damage since the NFL draft, complaining about the draft of Mark Ingram, and then flipping off his fans by not caring the NFL is in a lockout because he doesn’t have to do OTAs. Rashard Mendenhall, who could have a promising career in a town that would worship him by the end, tweets his conspiracy theories about 9/11 and loses a sponsorship solely because he exercised his right to free speech.

In the end I’m afraid for current living legends, and those young superstars who are positioned for legendary status. The legacies they should leave behind are being obscured and tarnished by social media, commercialism, and factors that go beyond an athlete’s true job description. It is taking away from why we really watch sports, which is to watch athletes play games we love and do things within the sphere of those games that we could never do (or if you are one of my many degenerate gambling friends, we watch to make money). It’s my hope in the next half decade, the sports leagues and the athletes themselves learn how to make things like Twitter and the media work for them so that they can focus on creating a true legacy in their sport based solely on their performances.

Hyperbole Runneth Over

In case you missed it, check out my introduction from earlier today. Of course I'm a few days late on this, but I'm going offer my take on the Jim Carrey doppelganger's (Rick Carlisle) assertion that Dirk Nowitzki is a top 10 player of all time. Sports journalists have to love when coaches make claims about their own players like this, it just opens the floodgates for opinion and that's really what sports journalism is all about. While Dirk ranks as one of my top 5 favorite Dallas sports heroes, in the mix with Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, and Nolan Ryan, I just can not justify him as a top 10 NBA player of all time.

Of course he is definitely the best European player of all time and has definitely inspired laughs at some of his, uh, fashionable hairstyles.


Isn't he gorgeous? But I think you can run a list of 10 names pretty quickly that are obviously better than he is, even if he wins a championship this year. Jordan, Bird, Olajuwon, Magic, Kareem, Russell, Wilt, Kobe, Duncan, and probably Shaq, even though he could never play more than 60 games. A big reason we dont see Dirk here is that he still has a huge hole in his defensive game and all of these named players were more all around players. So we put that to bed, but where does Dirk fall in the top players of all time spectrum? Bill Simmons, who initially inspired me more than 5 years ago to start a sports blog, wrote a mammoth book called The Book of Basketball, where he devotes more than half of it to reorganizing the Hall of Fame and ranks the top 96 players in history. If you like basketball its a must read.

Simmons did two rankings, one for the initial hardcover release, and then updated it for the paperback. The folly in putting these rankings to paper in a book is that they only maintain credibility for that day they were put to paper. In the updated paperback edition, Simmons places Dirk 39th all time just ahead of Patrick Ewing and Gary Payton and just behind George Mikan and Allen Iverson. Seems pretty rational, at least more rational than Doug Gottlieb, the ESPN hack who has a radio show and is an anchor on SportsCenter, who claimed yesterday that Dirk isnt a top 50 all time player or even a top 10 Boston Celtic.

Gottlieb seems to hang on to Dirk's "failures" in the playoffs, stating that when you are the face of the franchise you get a majority of the kudos for the successes of the team, and the blame for the losses. That's total B.S. Kobe shouldered almost zero blame for one of the most historically humiliating defeats in Lakers' history when Dallas swept them. The blame fell on Pau Gasol and really poor team defense. When Kevin Garnett flamed out in countless first rounds, it was pity he received, not blame. But look at Dirk's resume: One of only 4 players to lead a team to 11 straight 50 win seasons (with Magic, Duncan and Russell), he will be the top 20 in points when he retires and very near the Top 20 in scoring average. Also one of only 4 players to average 25 points and 10 rebounds in the playoffs. He has a regular season MVP. Dirk has never played with the quality of talent that the other top players played at least one season with. Kobe had Shaq, and vice versa. Magic and Kareem. Duncan and Robinson. Bird and McHale. Even players who could make top 10 cases all had other players at least once in their career who also could make top 10 cases. Dr. J and Moses Malone. Oscar Robertson had Kareem. The best Dirk has ever had is a past his prime Jason Kidd and a Steve Nash whose legacy will be more mysterious than Dirk's because he only thrived statistically in environments that had zero emphasis on defense and at one point had the offensive philosophy shoot in 7 seconds or less.

Dirk is easily the best shooting 7 footer of all time, he ranks very high in "clutch' stats like fg% and ft% at the end of games with the score close. He was a closer in the Portland series and was the driving force behind 3 of Dallas' wins against L.A. this year. He has evolved his game from relying on 3s and playing zero defense, to an offensive game that is virtually unstoppable with fadeaway mid range jumpers, and an emphasis on help and team defense. Dirk receives an absolutely unfair amount of criticism for his failure to win a title to this point in his career. I feel like Dirk's place in history with or without a title has to rank somewhere between Karl Malone and Kevin Garnett just on the cusp of the top 20.

Ultimately, just like we will likely never see another Michael Jordan, another Shaquille O'Neal, or another Magic Johnson (the kid played Center as a rookie in a winner take all NBA Finals game for Christ's sake), we will likely never see another Dirk Nowitzki. I think that was Carlisle's point in ranking him in the top 10, and said as much about his uniqueness. I am excited he is still playing at a level as high as he ever has and hope to enjoy another half decade of this. Just gives me goosebumps rewatching this. Note how just about every Laker tried to guard him and just can't stop it.

I Need No Introduction

So I had been tinkering with the idea of starting a sports blog for about 5+ years now. Between law school and pure procrastination I just never chose to to start one. After all, I do all of my meaningful sports-related pontification at bars after I've had at least a few beers. Two factors have influenced me to start one today. Well three, actually. I'm home sick from work today. The other two factors are blogs that have been recently started by people I know. My wife started a blog related mostly to animals and her thoughts and practices in the animal training world. If you are interested in such things go here. My friend and old man softball manager started one last month and so of course I would love to add to the glut of sports blogs. Of course, he and I share far different biases and I doubt starting my blog so soon after his will trample his toes. Check him out here. His most recent post is a suggestion for the future of the Lakers following their embarrassing defeat to my beloved Mavericks, which seems to be a favorite topic for pundits these days, but his approach is one I haven't really heard in the mainstream yet. Check him out!

On to my introduction. In the real world I am a lawyer defending the rights of those who cant defend themselves. At least thats what I like to believe. While I like the law, its not my true passion. Sports has always been my true passion. In fact if I had a time machine I would do whatever it took to be a sports writer. Since I could pick up and read the Dallas Morning News sports section when I was 5 I have been hooked on sports. I have played them since I was 5, I have watched them since I was 5, and I have read about them since I was 5. Since I lived in Dallas at this time, I picked up all of their teams as my own and hence most of my sports bias. I started following college sports when I was in 6th grade, and while I lived in San Diego I couldnt adopt the Aztecs as my own. So I researched my favorite athlete, Emmitt Smith, and found out he went to the University of Florida, and I have religiously followed the Gators for the last 17 years.

In addition to having teams to root for I have played all the major fantasy sports since 2000, and actually when my dad did fantasy football when I was in middle school and high school, I helped him out with his drafts. Fantasy is mainstream now, but when i started it, it was only for stat nerds. But, more than anything else fantasy has really elevated my global knowledge of a game beyond what I watch on TV or read on the internet.

As my title indicates I will likely only focus on sports that have a ball. So hockey, NASCAR, UFC, you guys are out. Sorry to all my buddies who are Sharks fans who are now sweating bullets going to a Game 7 when they had a 3-0 series lead against the Red Wings. While I have a Dallas bias, I will likely update this thing whenever I feel I need to post something, whether it is Dallas related or not. I hope anyone who reads this enjoys the ride!