This week’s sports observations, coming to you at no charge as usual as far as you know. This was supposed to be posted last Friday, but technical issues intervened, so this is a touch dated, but oh well.
Happy New Year.
Zito to Giants – My very own penny pinching SF Giants (ok, so not compared to the KCs and Milwaukies of the world, but still…), agreed to pay Barry Zito 126 million dollars to land the free agent pitcher recently. A couple things are astounding about this. First, one of the NY teams (Mets) were in the hunt and no one ever outbids them except sometimes Boston. Second, it is very unlike the Giants to pay that much for a FA, and they did this even after paying Bonds his ransom for the year. Third, why pay Zito all this jack and not pay Schmidt? Schmidt has been their ace and they let him to their bitter rivals down I-5. if they had the money to pay an ace, why not pay Schmidt? Is Zito that much better? Maybe. Not a huge deal. Frankly, I’m just happy they got an ace after letting Schmidt go, so I’m not compaining. Of course, it would still be nice to add someone to the team who was under the age of 65 and I don’t know, maybe someone who can hit to protect and/or take advantage of having Bonds in the lineup. And don’t tell me that guy is Ryan Klesko
Saban lying – First, it does appear Saban lied. No real debate there….I guess. But is that really a national news story? I mean, everyone who is thinking of changing jobs lies to their current employer about it. Ok, that may be an overstatement, but I think most people who when asked at work, “hey why are you so dressed up today and where were you during that 2 hour lunch?” will find something else to say other than “I was interviewing for a job with one of our competitors.” Not saying that makes lying right, just pointing out that maybe Saban didn’t really do anything that note or news worthy. This seems like jumping on some guy for lying to his buddy and telling him his ugly girlfriend is hot. Maybe you can argue that it is still a lie and lying is wrong, but whoever you would be jumping on wouldn’t exactly be the first guy to do it.
While we’re here, was it really a lie? Do we know with certainty that Saban didn’t believe the things he was saying when he said them? What if circumstances changed quickly that simply changed Saban’s mind. If you asked me now “will you be working at your current firm tomorrow?” and I said, “absolutely” and then some other firm called me tonight and offered me 32 million dollars to go to work for them tomorrow, if I took that other job, would I be a lier? I know that isn’t what happened. I know Saban had obviously already been talking to ‘Bama and was at best misleading the media and the fans, but I do have to note that his boss, the owner of the Dolphins, didn’t seem to be at all upset about it and never once accused Slick Nick of lying. If Wayne didn’t feel lied to, why should we care? The answer is that we shouldn’t. Only the media does. They can’t stand it when someone lies to them and actually makes them dig to find the truth, so they jump on anyone who dares. Not saying people should lie ever, or that lying to the media is ok, but I’m sick of the media making news out of things that matter only to them.
Blazers losing – I had hoped that Roy’s return would allow the Blazers to keep playing well and that the transition would be seamless, but alas that was not to be. The reality though is that the Blazers are not a good team and they went on that winning streak mostly beating mediocre teams who were missing their best players. They were playing well and that’s great, but they had not morphed into a good team. I will say, though, that in a few more games, they will start playing better again. You have to spend some time allowing guys to redefine their roles now that the team is healthy and then Nate will get the ship righted. I’m not concerned. Then, there will be a series of trades that will shake things up again and the Blazers will secure their position in the top 5 of the lottery and hopefully get Durant.
Speaking of the draft, I have to say that one of the reasons I’m glad the Blazers went big with the draft last year is that it may discourage them from taking Noah this year if they get the chance. I think he’s a fun college player, but I see him as a very poor man’s Camby and not at all someone worthy of a top pick. Oden is a different story obviously, but I hope the Blazers stay away from Noah who they were very high on last year. Let’s get Durant. I’m sure no other team will have that same idea.
NFL playoffs – No Niners. No Fantasay. What’s left? Well, there’s still rooting against the Cowboys and it is still NFL football. Actually, I think the playoffs is filled with fun story lines and fun teams to watch. Here are a few of my favorites:
1. What happens when a really cold team in disarray meets another cold team in disarray? 15 picks? 12 fumbles? Then add the personalities of the Tuna, Holmgren and TO to this mix and we may be getting ready to set records in coaching frustration in Seattle. 2 good teams underperforming awfully and hooking up in the playoffs. I hope the seahawks kill them, but I sure wouldn’t want to have money on either team right now.
2. The Eagles are for real. In fact, they are my pick to represent the NFC in the Superbowl. Garcia is good and playing well. He is very familiar with the offense, so he had no trouble taking over from McNabb. The defense is playing well and the team is well coached. If westbrook stays healthy, I honestly think this team is better and more experienced than any other team in the NFC.
3. Rex sucks, but if your Chicago, you have to stick with him. The only difference between Griese and Rex is that Griese has a larger body of work to point to in order to confirm that he also sucks. Rex is much better when he’s on and not much worse when he’s off. He has more experience with the first unit and that should matter. He’s an idiot for saying that he was taking it easy against GB last week, but not for taking it easy, just for saying that. I think he’ll be fine unless and until they hook up with the Eagles.
4. Saints are not a contender. Not with that D. Sorry to have to say it, but it is time someone did.
5. Larry Johnson may rush for 200 yards this weekend against the Colts, but he’ll have to. The Colts will take this one. The Chiefs just aren’t good enough in the passing game to score enough to beat the Colts.
6. I think the Ravens and the lightening bolts are the two best teams in the NFL right now and no one else is even close. Some other team could get hot during the playoffs, but right now these teams are in their own league. The Ravens are my pick to get to and win the Superbowl.
7. I wonder if there is anything the Pats could do to get people’s attention. Would even TO disappear on that team? They have a great record, are playing well and have the most clutch playoff QB since cool Joe, and still don’t get mentioned. Weird. That’s a Red Sox town.
Sir Charles – I watched some of last night’s Lakers/Kings game where Charles Barkley was filling in doing color for Steve Kerr. Kerr, by the way, is one of the very best color guys in basketball right now. He’s smart, witty, has the right level of intensity, seems to have good chemistry with whoever he works with, adds interesting insights to the game, doesn’t take himself too seriously and seems like a guy anyone would want to have over to watch a game with. Charles….not so much. I love Barkley in studio. He’s a bit cranky at times, but he is good humor. He and Kenny and Ernie in the studio for TNT is the best in the business (though Legs and Anthony are good too when ESPN uses them). However, he is a fairly poor color guy during the game. Why? Because he’s too lazy to actually prepare or even dream up any insights prior to the game which becomes obvious when he makes 2 points early in the game and then spends the rest of the game simply repeating those points. He must have said, “the Kings are in no mans land” meaning, the Kings are just good enough to make the playoffs, but aren’t contenders, 1000 times in the 3rd quarter alone. Not a horrible observation, but it doesn’t need to be made more than once. And that, and the observation that it is nice to have a superstar player on your team, were the only things Charles said at all except to openly criticize the officiating which I’m sure will get him a nasty phone call from someone that he will not care at all about ( and good for him).
I don’t mean to hash Barkley who has provided me with lots of good basketball entertainment over the years (including those great D Wade phone commercials), but I’m ready to never see him work another game on the sideline.
Fantasy football – The fantasy football season is finally over as my league decides its championship before the NFL playoffs start. This year my buddy Adam and I squared off for the league title and the first ever league championship ring. Adam had great matchups for his guys with very few concerns about whether people would play. I, on the other hand, had a number of guys who may or may not play since their teams had nothing left to play for. I decided to play Deuce McAlister and Jeff Garcia since they had been so good in my run through the playoffs. Deuce was the big question mark. I had Leon Washington in a time share at RB for the Jets, but I went with Deuce. Big mistake. Deuce didn’t play at all and Washington scored a TD. I also went with Garcia over Hasslebeck because hasslebeck was going to be without this to WR, had nothing left to play for and had been awful lately. For the Eagles, however, the division title was on the line so I was confident Garcia would be focused and remain hot. I did not count on the Lions rising up and smacking the Cowboys who found a way to hurt me even when they lost. The cowboy loss meant the Eagles clinched and immediately benched Garcia. Hasslebeck went on to throw for more than 200 yards and a TD.
As you may have guessed, I lost. Had I played Washington and Garcia, I would have won. And if I was 7ft tall I could dunk…I think. My point is just the “if” makes it pretty irrelevant. The bottom line is that Adam put together a great team and played the right guys at the right time and beat me fair and square. I hated losing and hated losing because my guys just didn’t play, but given the way my team performed earlier in the season, I should be happy to have just made the playoffs. Of course I’m not because I’m a hyper-competitive idiot, but oh well.
At least I have Frank Gore as my keeper RB
Joe Montana – As you may know, whether you are willing to admit it or not, Joe Montana is the greatest QB if not the greatest football player to ever play. I won’t argue about this, it is as much a part of reality as gravity or the necessity of Tivo. It just is. And now, thanks to the generosity of my brother, I now have something of Joe’s to keep his memory fresh and to allow me to continue to remind my boys of the greatness of Joe. For Christmas, my brother Enoch, gave me a signed and framed Joe Montana jersey. The old bright red Rebok jersey that he wore for those glorious years in the 80s. If any of you want to come pay homage to it, it is hanging proudly on the wall of man room. You are welcome to come see it any time you need to…even you Dutt…so long as you don’t disrespect it by wearing one of those Cowboy jersey’s that you wear.
Fantasy hoops – after losing 3 in a row to start the season, my squad has now rolled off 6 in a row to move into a tie for first place in the league. An injury to TJ Ford and the games played schedule will mean a likely loss this week, but the team is in good shape. Brandon Roy is back (though not playing great), and Eddy Curry continues his mysterious run as a dominant center. I picked up Speedy Claxton to replace Ford who went on the IR and he is now locked in a battle with Mike James for the last remaining roster spot when Ford comes off IR next week (I hope).
Ohio State v. Florida – Now that’s a good hoops matchup. Oh but wait, don’t they also play for the football title this year? Of course the bowl system is a travesty and of course we should have a playoff to determine the national champion, but we should also get these games moved back to new year’s weekend. I’m ok with moving this game to the next night to give it a spotlight, but stretching these games out like this has become ridiculous. With the NFL playoffs and the NBA in full swing, moving the title game out until next week has had no effect but to make me lose interest all together. I like football, but the college system is such a joke, these games just don’t mean much any more.
Happy New Year.
Zito to Giants – My very own penny pinching SF Giants (ok, so not compared to the KCs and Milwaukies of the world, but still…), agreed to pay Barry Zito 126 million dollars to land the free agent pitcher recently. A couple things are astounding about this. First, one of the NY teams (Mets) were in the hunt and no one ever outbids them except sometimes Boston. Second, it is very unlike the Giants to pay that much for a FA, and they did this even after paying Bonds his ransom for the year. Third, why pay Zito all this jack and not pay Schmidt? Schmidt has been their ace and they let him to their bitter rivals down I-5. if they had the money to pay an ace, why not pay Schmidt? Is Zito that much better? Maybe. Not a huge deal. Frankly, I’m just happy they got an ace after letting Schmidt go, so I’m not compaining. Of course, it would still be nice to add someone to the team who was under the age of 65 and I don’t know, maybe someone who can hit to protect and/or take advantage of having Bonds in the lineup. And don’t tell me that guy is Ryan Klesko
Saban lying – First, it does appear Saban lied. No real debate there….I guess. But is that really a national news story? I mean, everyone who is thinking of changing jobs lies to their current employer about it. Ok, that may be an overstatement, but I think most people who when asked at work, “hey why are you so dressed up today and where were you during that 2 hour lunch?” will find something else to say other than “I was interviewing for a job with one of our competitors.” Not saying that makes lying right, just pointing out that maybe Saban didn’t really do anything that note or news worthy. This seems like jumping on some guy for lying to his buddy and telling him his ugly girlfriend is hot. Maybe you can argue that it is still a lie and lying is wrong, but whoever you would be jumping on wouldn’t exactly be the first guy to do it.
While we’re here, was it really a lie? Do we know with certainty that Saban didn’t believe the things he was saying when he said them? What if circumstances changed quickly that simply changed Saban’s mind. If you asked me now “will you be working at your current firm tomorrow?” and I said, “absolutely” and then some other firm called me tonight and offered me 32 million dollars to go to work for them tomorrow, if I took that other job, would I be a lier? I know that isn’t what happened. I know Saban had obviously already been talking to ‘Bama and was at best misleading the media and the fans, but I do have to note that his boss, the owner of the Dolphins, didn’t seem to be at all upset about it and never once accused Slick Nick of lying. If Wayne didn’t feel lied to, why should we care? The answer is that we shouldn’t. Only the media does. They can’t stand it when someone lies to them and actually makes them dig to find the truth, so they jump on anyone who dares. Not saying people should lie ever, or that lying to the media is ok, but I’m sick of the media making news out of things that matter only to them.
Blazers losing – I had hoped that Roy’s return would allow the Blazers to keep playing well and that the transition would be seamless, but alas that was not to be. The reality though is that the Blazers are not a good team and they went on that winning streak mostly beating mediocre teams who were missing their best players. They were playing well and that’s great, but they had not morphed into a good team. I will say, though, that in a few more games, they will start playing better again. You have to spend some time allowing guys to redefine their roles now that the team is healthy and then Nate will get the ship righted. I’m not concerned. Then, there will be a series of trades that will shake things up again and the Blazers will secure their position in the top 5 of the lottery and hopefully get Durant.
Speaking of the draft, I have to say that one of the reasons I’m glad the Blazers went big with the draft last year is that it may discourage them from taking Noah this year if they get the chance. I think he’s a fun college player, but I see him as a very poor man’s Camby and not at all someone worthy of a top pick. Oden is a different story obviously, but I hope the Blazers stay away from Noah who they were very high on last year. Let’s get Durant. I’m sure no other team will have that same idea.
NFL playoffs – No Niners. No Fantasay. What’s left? Well, there’s still rooting against the Cowboys and it is still NFL football. Actually, I think the playoffs is filled with fun story lines and fun teams to watch. Here are a few of my favorites:
1. What happens when a really cold team in disarray meets another cold team in disarray? 15 picks? 12 fumbles? Then add the personalities of the Tuna, Holmgren and TO to this mix and we may be getting ready to set records in coaching frustration in Seattle. 2 good teams underperforming awfully and hooking up in the playoffs. I hope the seahawks kill them, but I sure wouldn’t want to have money on either team right now.
2. The Eagles are for real. In fact, they are my pick to represent the NFC in the Superbowl. Garcia is good and playing well. He is very familiar with the offense, so he had no trouble taking over from McNabb. The defense is playing well and the team is well coached. If westbrook stays healthy, I honestly think this team is better and more experienced than any other team in the NFC.
3. Rex sucks, but if your Chicago, you have to stick with him. The only difference between Griese and Rex is that Griese has a larger body of work to point to in order to confirm that he also sucks. Rex is much better when he’s on and not much worse when he’s off. He has more experience with the first unit and that should matter. He’s an idiot for saying that he was taking it easy against GB last week, but not for taking it easy, just for saying that. I think he’ll be fine unless and until they hook up with the Eagles.
4. Saints are not a contender. Not with that D. Sorry to have to say it, but it is time someone did.
5. Larry Johnson may rush for 200 yards this weekend against the Colts, but he’ll have to. The Colts will take this one. The Chiefs just aren’t good enough in the passing game to score enough to beat the Colts.
6. I think the Ravens and the lightening bolts are the two best teams in the NFL right now and no one else is even close. Some other team could get hot during the playoffs, but right now these teams are in their own league. The Ravens are my pick to get to and win the Superbowl.
7. I wonder if there is anything the Pats could do to get people’s attention. Would even TO disappear on that team? They have a great record, are playing well and have the most clutch playoff QB since cool Joe, and still don’t get mentioned. Weird. That’s a Red Sox town.
Sir Charles – I watched some of last night’s Lakers/Kings game where Charles Barkley was filling in doing color for Steve Kerr. Kerr, by the way, is one of the very best color guys in basketball right now. He’s smart, witty, has the right level of intensity, seems to have good chemistry with whoever he works with, adds interesting insights to the game, doesn’t take himself too seriously and seems like a guy anyone would want to have over to watch a game with. Charles….not so much. I love Barkley in studio. He’s a bit cranky at times, but he is good humor. He and Kenny and Ernie in the studio for TNT is the best in the business (though Legs and Anthony are good too when ESPN uses them). However, he is a fairly poor color guy during the game. Why? Because he’s too lazy to actually prepare or even dream up any insights prior to the game which becomes obvious when he makes 2 points early in the game and then spends the rest of the game simply repeating those points. He must have said, “the Kings are in no mans land” meaning, the Kings are just good enough to make the playoffs, but aren’t contenders, 1000 times in the 3rd quarter alone. Not a horrible observation, but it doesn’t need to be made more than once. And that, and the observation that it is nice to have a superstar player on your team, were the only things Charles said at all except to openly criticize the officiating which I’m sure will get him a nasty phone call from someone that he will not care at all about ( and good for him).
I don’t mean to hash Barkley who has provided me with lots of good basketball entertainment over the years (including those great D Wade phone commercials), but I’m ready to never see him work another game on the sideline.
Fantasy football – The fantasy football season is finally over as my league decides its championship before the NFL playoffs start. This year my buddy Adam and I squared off for the league title and the first ever league championship ring. Adam had great matchups for his guys with very few concerns about whether people would play. I, on the other hand, had a number of guys who may or may not play since their teams had nothing left to play for. I decided to play Deuce McAlister and Jeff Garcia since they had been so good in my run through the playoffs. Deuce was the big question mark. I had Leon Washington in a time share at RB for the Jets, but I went with Deuce. Big mistake. Deuce didn’t play at all and Washington scored a TD. I also went with Garcia over Hasslebeck because hasslebeck was going to be without this to WR, had nothing left to play for and had been awful lately. For the Eagles, however, the division title was on the line so I was confident Garcia would be focused and remain hot. I did not count on the Lions rising up and smacking the Cowboys who found a way to hurt me even when they lost. The cowboy loss meant the Eagles clinched and immediately benched Garcia. Hasslebeck went on to throw for more than 200 yards and a TD.
As you may have guessed, I lost. Had I played Washington and Garcia, I would have won. And if I was 7ft tall I could dunk…I think. My point is just the “if” makes it pretty irrelevant. The bottom line is that Adam put together a great team and played the right guys at the right time and beat me fair and square. I hated losing and hated losing because my guys just didn’t play, but given the way my team performed earlier in the season, I should be happy to have just made the playoffs. Of course I’m not because I’m a hyper-competitive idiot, but oh well.
At least I have Frank Gore as my keeper RB
Joe Montana – As you may know, whether you are willing to admit it or not, Joe Montana is the greatest QB if not the greatest football player to ever play. I won’t argue about this, it is as much a part of reality as gravity or the necessity of Tivo. It just is. And now, thanks to the generosity of my brother, I now have something of Joe’s to keep his memory fresh and to allow me to continue to remind my boys of the greatness of Joe. For Christmas, my brother Enoch, gave me a signed and framed Joe Montana jersey. The old bright red Rebok jersey that he wore for those glorious years in the 80s. If any of you want to come pay homage to it, it is hanging proudly on the wall of man room. You are welcome to come see it any time you need to…even you Dutt…so long as you don’t disrespect it by wearing one of those Cowboy jersey’s that you wear.
Fantasy hoops – after losing 3 in a row to start the season, my squad has now rolled off 6 in a row to move into a tie for first place in the league. An injury to TJ Ford and the games played schedule will mean a likely loss this week, but the team is in good shape. Brandon Roy is back (though not playing great), and Eddy Curry continues his mysterious run as a dominant center. I picked up Speedy Claxton to replace Ford who went on the IR and he is now locked in a battle with Mike James for the last remaining roster spot when Ford comes off IR next week (I hope).
Ohio State v. Florida – Now that’s a good hoops matchup. Oh but wait, don’t they also play for the football title this year? Of course the bowl system is a travesty and of course we should have a playoff to determine the national champion, but we should also get these games moved back to new year’s weekend. I’m ok with moving this game to the next night to give it a spotlight, but stretching these games out like this has become ridiculous. With the NFL playoffs and the NBA in full swing, moving the title game out until next week has had no effect but to make me lose interest all together. I like football, but the college system is such a joke, these games just don’t mean much any more.
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