Real and Fake Sports Musings

Heh...

2007-08-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

“This is not helping the kid’s career,” Carroll proclaimed. “It’s unfortunate for the kid and the Raiders have come up with a tremendous quarterback situation without (Russell) by getting Daunte (Culpepper).”

Carroll has a couple of dogs in this fight. Kiffin is his guy. So too is Mark Jackson, the Raiders' director of football development who worked with Carroll both at USC and when Carroll was head coach of the Patriots from 1997-99.

Interesting choice of words...

Packer Roster Breakdown

2007-08-23T07:54:00.000-07:00

These type of roster articles are great: Here

Quarterbacks (2 or 3)

# Locks: Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers.

# On the bubble: Ingle Martin, Paul Thompson.

Running backs (5 or 6)

# Locks: RB Brandon Jackson, RB Vernand Morency, FB Korey Hall.

# On the bubble: RB Noah Herron, RB-FB Corey White, FB Brandon Miree, RB DeShawn Wynn.

# Long shots: RB P.J. Pope, FB Erryn Cobb, FB Ryan Powdrell.

Receivers (5 or 6)

# Locks: Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones, Ruvell Martin.

# Good bet: Carlyle Holiday.

# On the bubble: David Clowney.

# Long shots: Chris Francies, Shaun Bodiford, Calvin Russell, Carlton Brewster.

Tight end (3 or 4)

# Lock: Donald Lee, Bubba Franks.

# On the bubble: Zac Alcorn, Clark Harris.

# Long shot: Joe Werner.

Offensive line (9 or 10)

# Locks: T Chad Clifton, G Daryn Colledge, C Scott Wells, G Jason Spitz, T Mark Tauscher, G Allen Barbre.

# Good bets: G-T Junius Coston, T Tony Moll.

# On the bubble: C-T Tyson Walter, C-G Tony Palmer.

# Long shots: G-T Adam Stenavich, C C.J. Blomvall, G Pat Murray, G-T Travis Leffew, T Orrin Thompson.

Defensive line (9 or 10)

# Locks: DE Aaron Kampman, DT Ryan Pickett, DT Justin Harrell, DE Cullen Jenkins, DT Corey Williams, DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila.

# Good bets: DT Colin Cole, DT Johnny Jolly.

# On the bubble: DE Michael Montgomery, DE Jason Hunter, DE Larry Birdine.

# Long shots: DT Daniel Muir, DE DeVon Hicks.

Linebackers (5 or 6)

# Locks: WLB A.J. Hawk, MLB Nick Barnett, SLB Brady Poppinga.

# On the bubble: SLB Spencer Havner, WLB Tracy White, MLB Abdul Hodge, MLB Desmond Bishop, WLB Rory Johnson.

# Long shots: WLB Tim Goodwell, SLB Juwan Simpson.

Defensive backs (9 or 10)

# Locks: CB Charles Woodson, CB Al Harris, S Nick Collins, S Atari Bigby, CB Jarrett Bush, S Aaron Rouse, CB Will Blackmon.

# On the bubble: S Marquand Manuel, S Charlie Peprah, S Tyrone Culver, CB Patrick Dendy, CB Frank Walker, CB Tramon Williams.

# Long shots: S Alvin Nnabuife, CB Antonio Malone.

Specialists (3)

# Locks: P Jon Ryan, LS Rob Davis.

# On the bubble: K Dave Rayner, K Mason Crosby.

# Long shot: P Ryan Dougherty.

JOHN CLAY!!!!

2007-08-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

from jsonline:

The Journal Sentinel reported in July that Clay had failed to meet the NCAA's initial eligibility requirements to play as a freshman.

However, in order to become eligible Clay attended summer school in Racine and then had to be cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse.

"It actually happened a lot faster than I thought," Bielema said. "For the first time I'll give kudos to the Clearinghouse."

In order for Clay to join the team before the first day of classes at UW (Sept. 4), it was necessary for a player to voluntarily leave the program.

That player, according to Bielema, was freshman defensive back Tony Megna, a walk-on from Oak Creek High School.

"A year ago, Tony suffered a knee injury," Bielema said. "He is going to take some time away from the program, start school and hopefully at some point come back."

With a scrimmage set for today, the players worked out in shoulder pads, helmets and shorts Friday night.

Clay participated in individual work with the other running backs at the beginning of practice, worked on his footwork with staring tailback P.J. Hill and got in briefly against the scout-team defense.

Awesome. Bringing a guy like Clay off the bench as a 3rd option and as depth is only going to help the team.

WR Picture Clearing Up

2007-08-17T06:44:00.000-07:00

From jsonline:

Around 5 p.m., about 90 minutes before the team took the field for its final night practice of the summer, Ferguson was informed by coach Mike McCarthy that an attempt was being made to trade him to another team. If a trade can't be made, then he will in all likelihood be released.

"Robert will no longer be a Packer," McCarthy said after the night practice. "We're going to go in another direction. We're just moving on with the other guys and that's where it stands right now. I'll have more definitive information for you tomorrow."

So the WR picture is clearing up. First, that means that they are going to keep Carlyle Holiday because he would replace Ferg on special teams. We know they are keeping Jones, Driver and Jennings. The final spot is likely a battle between Ruvell Martin, Shaun Bodiford and the rookie 5th round pick David Clowney. Look for Martin to win that battle. Clowney or Bodiford probably have to become the KR to make the team based on how others performed or the team has to decide they want to keep 6 WRs. I wonder if a guy like Clowney would be able to be stashed on the pratcie squad or if he would get scooped up. My guess is that Packers are wondering the same thing.

Driver, Jennings, Jones, Martin and Holiday is not exactly making other teams shiver, but it seems like there is some upside with the young guys there, which I can handle.

"a lot of 13-10 games"

2007-08-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

Mike Vandermause has taken the lead on straight, unhyped analysis of the Packers. Witness this comment from his latest chat:

I think the defense will be solid, especially with the depth on the line. That will take pressure off the secondary, which probably has the weakest link at safety. Marquand Manuel needs to improve over his performance in 2006. A nickel cornerback also must emerge to solidify the unit. I fully expect to watch a lot of 13-10 games this season. The offense's job will be to simply not make any killer mistakes, and get within Mason Crosby's field goal range (55 yards and in). If Brett Favre can hold up his end of the bargain, maybe the defense can carry the Packers to the playoffs this season.

I think that pretty much sums up their chances. Can the defense be great? Will the running game come around? I don't think anyone can answer those questions at this point. (And obviously he's very high on Crosby).

John Clay

2007-08-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

A big part of the depth and explosiveness of the pine that the Badgers need for this year in the running game is John Clay. It looks like he may get cleared to play for the Badgers this year after all! This story doesn't mention it, but the Badgers are currently at their camp maximum so even when approved, Clay can't join up until camp breaks.

BY GERY WOELFEL

BadgerNation can only wait.

Johnny Clay, the University of Wisconsin’s blue-chip football recruit from Racine, has completed his summer school work and will find out fairly soon whether he’ll be eligible to play for the Badgers this fall.

Clay, a 6-foot-2, 222-pound running back from Park High School, took two English classes this summer at Horlick High School with the hopes of gaining his eligibility.

While neither Wisconsin nor Park officials would discuss Clay’s situation, it was believed Clay needed an "A’’ and a "B’’ in those courses to be eligible at Wisconsin.

I’ve been told Clay attained those aforementioned grades and that Park officials have since forwarded his grades to the NCAA’s Clearinghouse.

It’s unknown how long it’ll take Clearinghouse officials to make a final determination on Clay’s status, although there is speculation it’ll be within two weeks.

Even if Clay is cleared to play, it’s still highly unlikely he’d be ready to play in the Badgers’ season opener Sept. 1 against Washington State.

Clay would, however, likely be ready to play in the Badgers’ Big Ten opener Sept. 22 against Iowa at Camp Randall in Madison.

While Clay hasn’t been able to work out with the Badgers and hasn’t been assigned a playbook, he has been working out religiously.

Clay, who intends on majoring in business at Wisconsin, was one of the most sought-after recruits in the country. He rushed for 5,005 yards and scored 58 touchdowns during his decorated high school career, which included being a three-time all-state first-team selection.

Clay was recruited by a "Who’s Who’’ of the country’s top football programs and opted for Wisconsin over Iowa.

Justin Harrell

2007-08-08T13:35:00.001-07:00

From jsonline.com:

First-round pick Justin Harrell has been unimpressive during his first week and a half of camp, especially in one-on-one pass-rushing drills. Harrell doesn't seem to have many moves and he's regularly stopped by the likes of Adam Stenavich, Travis Leffew and Tony Palmer. During the night practice he managed to bull rush Swedish import C.J. Blomvall, but that was about it. It's gotten to a point where the coaches don't even put him up against Daryn Colledge, Jason Spitz or Scott Wells. They're probably worried about crushing his confidence. But it's hard to imagine he'll get a lot better not working against comparable athletes. If Harrell's going to play this year, he's going to have to face starting talent at some point.

That's not cool. He didn't play much his senior season and maybe is regarded as more of a project. He was an interesting draft pick if only because he plays the one position the Packers actually have good depth at.

But if that is their philosophy, then I guess you gotta go with it:

"When we talk about the blueprint of the Green Bay Packers we talk about the offensive and defensive lines," McCarthy said. "That's where we put our emphasis. The transactions we've made for our football team reflect that. It all starts up front."

Said Thompson: "We've talked from the get-go that the lines are the engines that run the thing. You can have as good a secondary as you can possibly have but if you don't have a defensive line that can control the run and pressure the passer, in this day and age it makes it unbelievably difficult to be successful."

When I said it, you didn't believe me

2007-08-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

But what if The Man made the same comparison?

From Rotoworld:

Brett Favre was the latest player to lavish praise on Rotoworld's favorite keeper league rookie sleeper James Jones, who he compared to Sterling Sharpe …

Packer's Practice Tidbits

2007-08-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

LOL, from Packersnews.com:

Newly signed tight end Joe Werner, who hasn't played football since high school, had a rough time in the night practice. The former UW-La Crosse basketball star was stripped in a routine ball-security drill, dropped three consecutive balls from a Jugs machine and couldn't handle an Aaron Rodgers pass during a rare appearance in a team drill. …

Night practice ended with a spirited place-kicking session. McCarthy cut it short because players were dumping too much water on Dave Rayner and Mason Crosby.

First off, you are not finding the next Antonio Gates by bringing in a guy who was a basketball star at UW-LAX, that's for sure.

Second, "players were dumping too much water on the Kickers" ??? That needs to be explained because that is one of the strangest things I have read in a training camp report.

The Celtics

2007-08-02T17:01:00.001-07:00

I have read some ESPN.com experts who have suggested that the triumverate of KG, Ray-Ray and Paul Pierce is not enough to get it done with a questionable supporting cast. I completely disagree.

First, the move that Ainge made to get Ray-Ray makes a lot more sense now that they kept Theo Ratliff who was integral for the KG trade.

Second, you can't win in this league without superstars and you do not play to make the playoffs, you play to win it all. You don't play to win it all in 5 years, you play to win it all now. The Celts morgaged their future for now. This move is correct because their future's ceiling is at best the team Ainge just crafted. Regardless of how Gerald Green and Al Jefferson turn out, I seriously doubt that they give the Celts a better chance to win the title in any year in the future than the chance they have with their newly assembled power trio.

That being said, I would argue that Chicago is a better bet to win the East next year than the Celtics. However, to go from a terrible team last year and the horrible defeat that Ainge suffered in Boston's Great Ping Pong Ball Fiasco of 2007, to now have a team that is, at worst, top 4 in the East and a team you could legitimately suggest has a shot to win the NBA title if things go their way - that's a HUGE win.

If I were Ainge, I would see what I could do to get my hands on ROLE PLAYERS. Definitely look at Brevin Knight and offer up any remaining offerable future draft picks for depth (which they currently have none of). I would also pray that Tony Allen comes back with some skills.

Good Luck, Mr. Ainge. You have made things more interesting this year and as an NBA fan, we can thank you for that.

Brewers game

2007-07-31T21:39:00.000-07:00

I would say that that was the most entertaining game I have watched this season. 4-2 win over the Mets with a walk-off, Goeff Jenkins HR in the bottom of the 13th. It seemed like from the 8th-13th, both teams got their leadoff man on base and then it was a mad scramble to not allow that guy to score.

Thank you for indulging in my excitement (no analysis here),
Swo

J.J. = S.S.?

2007-07-31T17:05:00.000-07:00

It's appearing that James Jones has made the highlight reel of every Packer practice/scrimmage so far, or at least to me. From Tuesday's game (thanks to the always-great PackersNews Insider Blog):

Two great catches by rookie receiver James Jones. First, he elevated over Patrick Dendy for a ball from Aaron Rodgers in the front right corner of the end zone. Then, he fully extended to haul in a high Paul Thompson pass near the back of the end zone.

Bogut, II

2007-07-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

Bogut, 1:20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4pZ0AhkCUU

Stupid Ref Scandal Thing

2007-07-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

Great Article about how Donaghy was an idiot:

As a teen with an average academic record, Donaghy had a ringer take the SAT for him so he could gain admittance to prestigious Villanova University, which he attended for free because his mom worked there, according to a source at Donaghy's alma mater, Cardinal O'Hara HS in Springfield, Pa.

The ref puffed up his official NBA résumé with fibs - and was shunned by other league officials after punching out fellow whistleblower Joey Crawford three years ago, several sources said.

"When Tim didn't get his way, he'd act like an out-of-control child,"
...
But when it came to getting an elite job as an NBA official, Donaghy didn't have to resort to lying or cheating - he had help on his way up.
...
But the biggest local referee was Jake O'Donnell, a legendary NBA official who hails from nearby Clifton and helped others from the area break into the league - including current officials Crawford and two Cardinal O'Hara alums, Mike "Duke" Callahan and Ed Malloy.

That trio became a tight-knit group.

"You never met three better people," Coach Gardler said.

Soon joining their ranks was Donaghy, who worked just five years in the minor-league CBA before moving up, partly due to O'Donnell's help, to a league that paid him six figures, sources who know the group said.

Donaghy often joined the others to hang out after games or have beers together when they weren't working, the sources said.

There was a former ref on some ESPN show when this news broke who talked about the Good 'ol Boy system the league has for refs. This seems to confirm that contention...sounds like a problem to me.

Ted Thompson

2007-07-29T07:56:00.001-07:00

Bob McGinn really goes after Ted Thompson in this jsonline.com interview:

Q.Favre has never come across as a shrewd judge of personnel, but in his mind he saw Moss doing damage in Green Bay with Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. He wanted Moss and said Moss would have done the same reduced deal that he took in New England. Given the circumstances, why didn't you obtain Moss?

A. Randy Moss is a member of the New England Patriots now. That's the way it is. It's inappropriate for me to be discussing a player that's on another team.

Q.Ron Wolf and Bob Harlan almost always explained themselves to fans when given the opportunity in similar forums. Don't fans in this state deserve an explanation from the general manager three months after the fact?

A. Right. I still think it's inappropriate to talk about a player that's on another team.

Q.I don't recall Ron Wolf getting in trouble with the league office when he talked about players on other teams. Why aren't you more forthcoming?

A. I just don't do that.

Q.You're well into the third year of a five-year contract. No matter what you inherited, the team is 12-20 during your watch. Do you worry that your tenure might be short-lived if the team doesn't start winning this season?

A. Well, we would like to win this season. I've said that publicly and privately, saying we expect to win. I don't worry about things like, "Am I going to be here after this year?" That never enters my mind.

More interesting, testy stuff in the link.

Investigative reporting through Secondary Source Material

2007-07-26T11:52:00.000-07:00

As you know, the Brewers trade 3 pitching prospects (including SP Inman) for reliever Scott Linebrink.

We investigate:
Chris (Madison, WI): Did the Brewers make the right move in dealing Inman, etc. for Linebrink? Does this deal only make sense in the context of the forthcoming 1st rounder and sandwich pick from his type A free agent status?

Keith Law: (1:15 PM ET ) It's not a guarantee that Linebrink will be a Type A. We won't know until October, and if he pitches poorly down the stretch it becomes less likely. I don't think the Brewers gave up anything great - Inman's a 5th starter, maybe a 4th starter if his command improves, but his stuff is average at best with no projection - but I think they paid for last year's Linebrink, not this year's.

Well, I guess we shall see. They have a pretty bulbous bullpen now, filled with quality arms:
Cordero, Turnbow, Linebrink, Villanueva, Shouse and Wise (btw, I love Wise when he is a 6th inning guy, not when he is a 7th/8th). They actually may be in a position to deal one of those guys (like Wise or Turnbow), but it helps to remember that Cordero is a free agent and will get entirely too much money in the offseason (I'll guess 3 yrs/$33 mil).

Random Thoughts

2007-07-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

Brewers -
1) Ryan Braun and Yovanni Gallardo are really, really good players. I think that the Brewers might be more formidable next year because guys like Prince and JJ Hardy (the first half was a career first half by the way, be happy with .300 and 15-20 HR's a season) will start to become veterans and the front of the rotation will feature two aces with Gallardo and Sheets.

2) I think Rickie Weeks will be a late bloomer at best. Remember, the success of good prospects is not a guarantee. Between Prince, Braun, Gallardo, Hardy, Weeks and Hart, you have the Brewers best prospects from the last few years. Generally speaking, if 4/6 of those prospects turn out to be major league average or above, you are doing pretty well. Right now, it looks like the Brewers are at 5/6 with the potential for all 6 to hit that point if Rickie can blossom. If he doesn't, Brewers fans should not fret - not all the best prospects turn out.

Badger Football
3) I think the Badgers are going to have a great defense again this year (with a SEC caliber LB core and a 1st round CB), but I think their offense will falter. I think they are going to wind up using both Donovan and Everidge at some point because I don't think either of them will have resounding success. Further, I think PJ Hill will have a down year. Finally, I think that both Beckum and Jack Ikegwuonu will be drafted by the middle of the second round in the NFL draft, with the potential to be well higher.

NBA
4) This ref scandal is totally crazy and worse for basketball than a comparable scandal in any other sport because of all the griping that already goes on about officiating in the league. I think the NBA should create strong financial incentives to referees who do a good job. Nothing causes people to improve their craft more than money.

5) Bogut looks ridiculous. The whole Bucks team looks ridiculous to me, actually. Michael Redd is a stud, but really a 1b as opposed to a superstar. The remaining cast includes an overpaid PG who plays shoddy D (not saying his re-signing was a bad move, but...), an oft injured, role player who makes too much money (Simmons) or a swing man who cannot shoot at all (Mason), a center who appears to not like anyone in the NBA (Bogut) and cannot play a lick of D other than taking repeated charges, a 3-4 who cannot play defense and hangs around the perimeter too much (Charlie V) and finally, a guy from China who doesn't even want to play for the Bucks and is raw as some sashimi grade Ahi tuna. That does not sound like a good team to me.

Bogut's new haircut

2007-07-21T10:49:00.001-07:00

It's being called
"the worst haircut in the NBA."

Can you really argue with that?

Chen Haitao is the man with the answers...they just don't match

2007-07-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

After yesterday causing many online "pundits" to declare that Bucks had no choice but to trade Yi, the manager of his Chinese team is now backing down from his earlier comments. This is from China Weekly:

When asked "What choice should Yi make if the Bucks insist on no trading?" Chen thought for a moment before answering, "the only way out is negotiation. As for final decision, I really have no answer."

However, Chen suggested the media should not oppose Yi's agent team against the Bucks and denied he's in bad relationship with the Bucks.

"The National Basketball Association is a sort of business where people negotiate on set platform with set rules," Chen said. "There's no opposition between us and we respect each other. "Now it's the phase in which everybody express opinions, not like what some people think."

People should stop jumping to conclusions on this. The Bucks hold ALL the bargaining chips here: Yi wants to play in the NBA, he needs to play next year to get ready for the Olympics, and if he does play in China they continue to hold his rights. The Bucks aren't rushing this.

The soap opera continues

2007-07-17T07:50:00.000-07:00

Good thing Chris is on his honeymoon and won't see this for awhile. After a long stretch of good news, we get this new report:

The Milwaukee Bucks' campaign to secure the services of reluctant power forward Yi Jianlian has suffered a blow after the player's Chinese club said it would block his move to the United States.
Yi, taken by Milwaukee with the sixth selection in the NBA draft last month, would "definitely not" play for Milwaukee, Tuesday's Beijing News quoted Guangdong Tigers chief, Chen Haitao, as saying.
"This is not -- as media reports have said -- because Milwaukee, as a city with very few Chinese people, is not good for Yi's commercial development," Chen said.
"Rather we want to find a team suitable for Yi's growth. That's the root of the problem," he added.

I'm not really sure why exactly the Bucks wouldn't be suitable for his growth, and hopefully this is just more posturing. Larry Harris is planning to visit China soon, so stay tuned.

Mark Cuban is my hero

2007-07-13T06:48:00.000-07:00

I've had nothing to do with baseball, and no interest at all, ever since the strike a decade ago completely screwed my fantasy league. I haven't been able to conceive of anything that would lead to changing this...until now.

When I read the headline that Mark Cuban wants to buy the Cubs an involuntary smile appeared on my face. I know he can be obnoxious, but isn't he also the most enthusiastic, fan-like owner in sports? Isn't he a model of a sports fan's dream: a geek who built a multi-billion $$$ fortune from nothing, then turned it into a sports empire? And hasn't he done everything right compared to Danny Schneider? The guy even keeps his own blog!

Don't worry though, Bud will never allow it to happen.

China loves the Bucks!

2007-07-10T13:12:00.000-07:00

An Associated Press story says that the majority of Chinese basketball fans want Yi to sign with the Bucks quickly.

"Fegan will hamper Yi's future," former national team coach Qian Chenghai was quoted as saying in Tuesday's edition of the state-run China Daily newspaper. "I don't think Yi refused to join the Bucks, it is Fegan who doesn't want him to join.
"We don't want to see Yi destroy his reputation in the NBA and return to the Chinese Basketball Association. That's horrible," the coach said.
Results of an online poll published in China Daily showed 68 percent of 9,000 respondents want Yi to play for the Bucks.
"Yi, stand up and speak for yourself," China Daily said, citing an article in the Beijing Evening Post. "Don't hesitate anymore and don't let anybody control your life."

Battle of the Heads

2007-07-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

My friend Steve Fiffer has created a bracketed competition on his blog among all the ESPN "heads" to crown the top personality on the network (we all know who the winner will be, don't we Satchmo?) You can find the competition here. Here are the bracketed matchups for the first round:

Keith Olbermann Bracket

1. Stephen A. Smith vs. 2.Neal Everett
3.Chris Berman vs. 4. Jay Crawford
5.Linda Cohn vs. 6. Mike Golic
7.Dick Vitale vs. 8.Stacey Dales

Melissa Stark Bracket

9.Suzy Kolber vs. 10.Jim Rome
11.Dan Patrick vs. 12.Joe Morgan
13.Erin Andrews vs. 14. Stuart Scott
15.Michelle Tafoya vs. 16.John Kruk

Craig Kilborn Bracket

17.Mel Kiper jr. vs, 18. John Saunders
19.Peter Gammons vs. 20.Tony Reali
21.Mike Greenberg vs. 22.Skip Bayless
23.Sage Steele vs. 24.Tony Kornheiser

Joe Theismann Bracket

25.Brent Musburger vs. 26.Chris McKendry
27. Kenny Mayne vs. 28.Mike Tirico
29.Michael Wilbon vs. 30.Pedro Gomez
31.Dana Jacobson vs. 32.Barry Melrose

The numbers are merely for identification. Not seeding.

You can email your votes to steve@ampolo.com

I'm not sure what the news of Dan Patrick's resignation does to his chances.

David Stern to the rescue?

2007-07-08T22:32:00.000-07:00

According to Marty Burns of SI, David Stern may intervene to get the Yi situation resolved.

"The consensus among GMs seemed to be that Yi would end up in Milwaukee since both sides had too much at stake for any other outcome. The NBA has an obvious interest in protecting smaller-market teams from being shunned by draft picks. The Chinese government needs their young star in the NBA so that he's more ready to help his national team compete at the '08 Beijing Olympics."

Mo Williams

2007-07-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

From ESPN.com:

Riley Courts Williams
Jul 8 - Heat coach Pat Riley made a late-night recruiting pitch Saturday -- wining and dining free agent Mo Williams -- in an attempt to land the most coveted point guard remaining on the market.

Williams' agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed Saturday night his client was in Miami and was "very interested" in an opportunity to play for a title contender.

Milwaukee, one of the few teams with cap space to offer a hefty contract, has reportedly floated Williams a five- or six-year deal worth about $40 million. Barring a sign-and-trade, the most the Heat could offer Williams is a five-year contract worth about $30 million. --

If Mo Williams leaves and goes to Miami, the Bucks would be pretty screwed for PG. In that case, I would offer up next years 1st and a small contract for Calderon (Tor), resign Charlie Bell and contact the agent of Brevin Knight ASAP.

If the Bucks' offer remains at $40 mil and Miami stays at $30, that is closer that it seems because Florida doesn't have a state personal income tax. If I were Mo, I might jump at the opportunity to play for a team with D Wade on it - and one that plays in the worst division in basketball in the worst conference.

Even more 'ee' news

2007-07-08T09:03:00.000-07:00

From jsonline.com:

You don't need to talk to someone from the Milwaukee Bucks to discover there is confusion when it comes to their first-round draft pick, Yi Jianlian.

There's confusion about his intent to play for the Bucks. There's confusion about how to pronounce his name. There's even confusion about how old he is.

Some reports list his birth date as Oct. 27, 1987, which is said to be the date listed on his passport. That would make him 19.

But other reports have called that date into question.

A reader last week sent an e-mail to some Journal Sentinel staffers saying Yi's "true age" could be verified by checking the listing for him at the Guangdong Social Insurance Administration. The reader provided the Web link to the site.

Guangdong is the province where the city of Shenzhen is located, where Yi was born.

According to the data for Yi that appears to be provided by that site, Yi was born Oct. 27, 1984.

If that's accurate, he is 22.

But this doesn't end the debate about Yi's age.

It only means this government site appears to list the age for a Yi Jianlian as Oct. 27, 1984. It appears to be the Bucks' Yi and not some other Yi.

What does it mean that Yi was dominating little kids? Who knows? I just want to see this cat play. My guess is that he is going to show flashes next year, but be far more inconsistent than even the average rookie. It would be a good thing for the Bucks if he had solid rotation time, but had a competent backup for when things aren't going well for Yi. I think the frontcourt rotation of Bogut, Gadzuric, Yi and Villanueva seems to cover that goal.

Watch ee tonight online

2007-07-06T15:43:00.000-07:00

NBA.com is webcasting the games (not sure if some are dependant on your location) for FREE here: http://www.nba.com/summerleague2007/scoreboard.jsp Yi is playing later tonight.

SWO UPDATE: Tonight (Saturday) at 6:30, team China vs. the Kings. Last night, ee had 23 points and apparently looked quite good (other than the 7 fouls in the first half (yes 7 fouls)).

Also, if you get a chance, goto espn.com and click on the video stuff on the right. Goto basketball and watch the highlights of the Trailblazers v. Celtics game. Even though the espn anchor makes a terrible call of it, watch as Allen Ray? takes a 20 footer that Oden blocks - at the basket. It's the funniest damn thing. Almost like he was unaware that there is a rule called 'goaltending'.

EE mini-update

2007-07-06T15:35:00.000-07:00

Mini non-news update in Yi Jianlian from jsonline.com:

Yi meets with Harris, Krystkowiak

Las Vegas - Chinese power forward Yi Jianlian had his first direct meeting with Milwaukee Bucks officials yesterday when he spoke with Bucks general manager Larry Harris and coach Larry Krystkowiak at the team's hotel.

The Bucks' first-round draft choice is playing in the NBA Summer League with Team China, which opens its schedule tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Sources indicated today that Yi spent about an hour meeting with Harris and Krystkowiak. The only other people present were Yi's interpreter and an interpreter used by the Bucks officials. The meeting was characterized as positive.

According to sources, Harris told Yi the Bucks have no intent to trade him and will give him a major opportunity to fit into the team's young frontcourt, which includes Andrew Bogut and Charlie Villanueva.

Harris hand-delivered a letter written by Bucks owner and Sen. Herb Kohl, asking the Guangdong Tigers player to visit Milwaukee. No date has yet been established for such a visit.

The Bucks picked Yi with the sixth overall selection in the June 28 draft, but Yi's representatives have sought a trade to a larger NBA market and one with a larger Asian-American population.

Yi and the Chinese national team will compete against NBA teams in the expanded summer league, which includes 21 league clubs. No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden of the Portland Trail Blazers and No. 2 selection Kevin Durant of the Seattle SuperSonics also will be playing in the summer league. Seven of the top eight lottery picks are participating.

Bucks officials have made plans to watch Yi in three games this weekend in Las Vegas. The Bucks summer league entry, including point guard Lynn Greer and forward David Noel, will open play on Sunday against a Los Angeles Lakers squad.

Is that promising? I don't know.

Yi catching flak in China?

2007-07-05T07:48:00.000-07:00

I'm not really familiar with the Chinese sports blogs, but this is a report from a reader of Woelfel's column named Xiao Chen:

Yi will play in Milwaukee. He will create a national outrage in China if he does not. The Chinese media has launched an offensive targeting Yi's agent Dan Fegan as a selfish greedy man and sort of sparing Yi at this moment. But based on fan opinions on sports forums in China, they are all on Milwaukee's side and many
fans have officially announced their resignation as a Yi fan because they think Yi is being an embarrassment for the Chinese people.

Could there be a backlash from the mainland?

Ryan Braun - 1 month later

2007-07-05T07:04:00.000-07:00

Ryan Braun has been up to the bigs playing 1st base for a little over a month now. He quickly settled into the 3rd spot in the lineup and has preformed quite well. Let's take a look at his numbers and compare them to other notables:

Braun:
36 games
.347 avg/.385 OBP/.626 SLG/1.011 OPS for a .279 Isolated Power.
He is 8/9 on SB attempts.

Hunter Pence:
Probably the NL rookie of the year right now, Pence is pretty much in the exact boat as Braun, except he has done it for 25 more games.
60 games
.356/.374/.598/.972 for a .252 ISO Power
7/11 on SB attempts.

Fantasy wise, you can hardly go wrong with either of these two guys on your team - especially because you probably picked them up for free, depending upon your league format.

Predicting the future performance:
Neither of these two are going to finish with numbers like what they have now. For example, Braun's BABIP which is the batting average for balls in play is .394. That suggests that to this point, he has been a bit lucky when he hits the ball. Expect his average to drop when that drops when, for example, the spray charts tell opposing teams where exactly to position their defense.

Regardless, Braun has a very strong pedigree when it comes to hitting and any potential slumps he may go through likely won't be prolonged. For fantasy, I would not sell high unless you have another top 7 3B or unless you are selling him for a very good player. As a Brewer fan, I would endorse a jersey purchase for the man because there are 5 more years of hitting at similar levels.

Del Harris Interview

2007-07-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

In an interview on 1220 WSSP in Milwaukee, Del Harris discusses the Yi situation. Audio Link.

Yi can't re-enter the draft next year

2007-07-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Henry Abbott for foraging out this bit of info about the Collective Bargaining Agreement: since Yi is currently under contract to a non-NBA team (the Guangdong Tigers), he's already ineligible to go back into next year's draft. He'd have to spend a year without the Tigers contract first, and it's too late to do that for next year.

So, if he doesn't want to play in Milwaukee they can hold out until the 2009 draft. Would he be willing to do the same?

A Few Bucks Notes

2007-07-02T06:53:00.000-07:00

From various sources (incl Woelful):

Several NBA officials and agents believe the Bucks have offered Williams a contract for about $40 million over five years.
Several other teams are believed to be interested in Williams, including Indiana, Miami and the Los Angeles Lakers. However, those teams can only offer Williams the mid-level exception of $5.8 million per year. The aforementioned teams could also try to acquire Williams in a sign-and-trade deal, but none of those teams has a point guard the Bucks certainly would want in return.

I cannot believe Mo would not sign for that. He cannot get an offer for more without a sign and trade and I don't see why the Bucks would facilitate that.

However, Roger Montgomery, the agent for former Bucks forward Desmond Mason who played last two seasons for the New Orleans Hornets, confirmed Harris had called him Sunday morning. While Williams is unquestionably Harris’ priority signing in free agency, he has a keen interest in bringing Mason back to the Bucks.

Isn't he an older DeShaun Stevenson, but who can't shoot? I think Stevenson is about to get 3 years, 10 million. I would be fine with brining in Mason if we aren't paying him much, but still.

The Associated Press also reported the Bucks had contacted forward Gerald Wallace of the Charlotte Hornets. The Bucks are reportedly one of eight teams pursuing Wallace.

I love Gerald Wallace. I am starting to wonder how all of these players would fit?

Rotoworld:

Yi Jianlian had 15 points and eight rebounds in China's 91-75 loss to the United States' 19-and-under national team Sunday.
Yi scored 11 points in the fourth quarter after the U.S. team had stretched its lead to 20 points. He played 23 minutes, going 3-of-8 from the field and 8-of-12 on free throws. When asked if he'd had any contact with the Bucks, Yi said, "I don't want to talk about that." It's possible that these 15 points are more than he will ever score for the Bucks. In case you've been out of the loop, Yi was drafted by Milwaukee on Thursday, but doesn't appear to have any interest in playing in Wisconsin.

Not looking good. But then:
jsonline.com

Milwaukee Bucks owner Herb Kohl has written a letter to the team's first-round draft pick, Yi Jianlian, requesting a meeting with the 7-foot power forward.

Good thing the senator is not dating himself with this 'letter sending.'
Hopefully the telegram he is going to send reaches Yi in time.

"Our agent team had meetings to study this case immediately after the draft," Yi's Chinese agent, Zhao Gang, told SportsTicker. "Yi's selection at six has proved his capabilities and his value.

"However, we feel that the Bucks are not the best fit for Yi Jianlian. Our team will make contact with other teams who have watched Yi's training and games to see if there is any possibility of a trade."

Harris is definitely doing the right thing by not wavering on his stance. I think this will get resolved pretty soon - in either direction. One thing I was wondering: Can other teams talk to Yi and his representation to work out a trade without our permission? I know they can't in the NFL, but I don't know here.

Leverage

2007-07-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

From Rotoworld:

"Though the final result of the negotiations and communications are uncertain, I can guarantee that whatever the outcome is, it could not be so bad that Yi will be back to play in the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association)," said Liu HongJiang, deputy general manager of the Guangdong Hongyuan Basketball Club.

Update: Liu HongJiang has been relieved of his duties as PR director for the Guangdong Hongyuan Basketball Club.

The New York Knickerbockers

2007-06-29T19:52:00.000-07:00

I thought the trade of nothing for Zach Randolph for nothing was very intriguing for the Knicks.

Hollinger (of J Holl Holl, as I call him) has some points that I verbally made when teh trade was going down, namely:

The combo of Randolph and Eddy Curry will be the worst defensive frontcourt in basketball, and meanwhile only one of them can post up at any given time. Yes, Randolph has a nice touch from outside, but that's not where the focus of his game should be. And the two of them both are poor passers from the low block, which means teammates won't benefit much from the double-teams they draw.

I don't fault Isiah for making this deal, because on talent alone it was probably too good to pass up, but I'm really interested to see whether he's going to keep Randolph. On the surface, it seems Randolph and Curry will diminish each other's production (not to mention the minutes of super-sub David Lee), and the gain will be far less than it appears on paper.

A couple of points:

David Lee was the perfect front court combo to Eddie Curry because Eddie Curry can't jump or try when he doesn't have the ball whereas David Lee doesn't really score, but does all things Curry sucks at. I hesitate, as the Knicks, to want to put David Lee on the bench for too long. Can about 30 minutes a piece for the 3 of them work, with unlimited low block scoring from the opponent when Lee is out of the game?

Anyway, I like David Lee and the Knicks just marginalized him. What could I be thinking right now? How about someone shitty with a bad contract from the Bucks for David Lee?

Bucks give up:
2008 first rounder and Dan Gadzuric
Knicks give up:
David Lee and a small bad contract?

I mean, he is not on the bench, right?

Can someone who is not stupid come up with a better way to squeeze David Lee of the Knicks (only if it is for the Bucks)?

Honestly, I think enough of Lee that I would give up Charlie V and a 2008 1st, but that might just be me. I love guys who don't need the ball who grab all of the rebounds that are possible.

ps - I got the David Lee picture from outsports.com
I will let you do with that what you will.

You've got to love Larry Harris

2007-06-29T12:56:00.000-07:00

Some great LH quotes this morning.

From Charles Gardner's story in the JS:

"He's our property. He put his name in the draft and we took him. So we certainly plan on him being here and being in uniform next year."

From Gery Woelfel's article:

While some observers feel the Bucks are taking a major gamble on Yi, Krystkowiak strongly disagreed. “You tell me which player we should have drafted who wasn’t a gamble,” Krystkowiak said. “And then, I’ll be in agreement. This whole deal is a gamble. “I’ve been watching past drafts and all the experts talking about ‘can’t miss’ prospects who are now unemployed and all these mistakes who end up being great players. “So, it’s not a gamble in that we just flipped a coin and made a decision. We had a staff of people for months traveling to Asia and all over the place. We made what was an educated guess on what was available to us.“I think he has a tremendous upside.”

Jack McCallum on Yi

2007-06-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

From Sports Illustrated:

He [Yi] looked shocked and saddened. He said he didn't know much about the Bucks because he hadn't seen a lot of them on television in Chinca. He said the Bucks hadn't even worked him out. Well, this isn't college. The NBA knows about you; there aren't a lot of secrets here. Teams don't have to come to your house, talk to your mother and father and ask you what you want to major in. He was the best player available, and the Bucks looked at it like a fortuitous thing that he was still there. They want to keep him.

In my mind the Bucks were the underachieving team of the NBA last season. I think they have a lot of talent. I really like their team, especially if they can re-sign point guard Mo Williams. Whether they're going to better, I don't know. But I just think he's going to a better team than he thinks he is.

It's the shoes

2007-06-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

Chris Sheridan's chat today included an interesting bit of info on part of the reason why Yi's camp wanted him in a large market:

One aspect of the story that I feel may be impacting the whole Yi thing more than people realize thus far is the wishes of Nike, which has Yi under a shoe contract for several more years and pushes him as hard in Asia as they push LeBron over here. They wanted him in a big market as much as the Chinese Federation did.

The pick heard 'round the world

2007-06-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

Is Larry Harris willing to stand up to the most populous country in the world? Regardless of whether it's the best pick or not (that's anyone's guess), the real issue regarding Yi is that Harris would show some real balls making that pick. He's on a one year contract, so if Yi holds out he's done. From what I've read the Bucks have long had contact with Yi, so maybe he's confident that he knows him, and this could get done. Much more exciting than Green anyhow.

One of our sources suggested, “maybe the Bucks think Yi’s desire to play in the NBA is so great, it will override the agents’ desires for a more prime market placement.”

My personal preferences in order: Horford, Conley, Wright, Yi. All signs point to a choice between Wright and Yi.

But weeks ago Chad Ford tabbed Yi as the 3rd best player in the draft. As Woelfel wrote, "Babock estimates the Bucks have seen Yi play about 20 times over the last four years." The Bucks don't need some individual workout to figure out if the guy can play.

So if you agree, make the damned pick! Shock the world (literally).

SWO UPDATE:
Rotoworld has: ESPN's Andy Katz is reporting that Yi Jianlian told him that he will play in the NBA next season, even if he's taken with the No. 6 pick by the Milwaukee Bucks.

MUST READ

2007-06-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

Run, don't walk: http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft2007/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=ProRater

According to Hollinger's system, the top 7 players are:

Durant
Oden
Conley
Thaddeus Young
Brandan Wright
Al Horford
Nick Fazekas

with Young, Wright, Horford and Fazekas tightly clumped together.

Joakim Noah #11, Glen Davis #12, Jeff Green #14 and Corey Brewer #24! (right after Alando Tucker)

Chad Ford is Magic

2007-06-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

Two tidbits from the masterrumormonger:

This is pure speculation on the part of the executive, but it does make some sense. The Suns send Shawn Marion to the Bucks for the draft rights to No. 6, Charlie
Villanueva and Earl Boykins. The deal saves a ton of money for the Suns because the Bucks can go roughly $10 million under the cap on July 1 to absorb the salary.
However, a source in Milwaukee says the Bucks haven't had any meaningful discussions with the Suns.

That would be an amazing trade, but too good to be true.

How's our friend Brandan Wright doing? Not so good?

Milwaukee would consider him [Brandan Wright]at No. 6, but it looks like Conley, Yi and Green are ahead of him on the draft board.

It's curious how much is out there about the Bucks still being interested in Yi, despite the unrequitedness of it all. Wouldn't it be ironic if they traded Yi to Don Nelson, just like they did with Dirk? But who would play the part of the Tractor?

Jeff Green vs. Brandan Wright

2007-06-26T08:23:00.000-07:00

What a crazy, fluctuating market. I think with the multitude of web reporters this year, that people are so desperate to get SOMETHING, any new tidbit of "news," that it's becoming silly. I'd hate to have to rely on this for my living.

Case in point: Jeff Green was ranked around #12 a week ago, and Brandan Wright was the solid #3. As the draft nears their value appears to be flipping, with Wright dropping like Brady Quinn, and Green creeping into the first half dozen. Keeping that in mind, along with rumors that the Bucks like Green, this article in the NYTimes provides an interesting opinion about both players, from a guy who played against them in college:

BRANDAN WRIGHT, forward, North Carolina — Forecasting Wright’s career is a tough call. Brandan has the talent to be good. When I guarded him in the Dean Dome he displayed great touch around the basket and an effective spin move, and he dropped in hook shots like a kid tossing pennies in a wishing well. Here’s the catch: People are rating him the third best player in the draft, but when we played North Carolina we considered him the third biggest threat on the team. We were more worried about Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough. Wright is an awful shooter and ball-handler. We didn’t bother to chase him outside of eight feet, choosing instead to allow his defender to play off him and sag into the lane. It’s not that I don’t think he’ll be a contributor down the road for somebody, it’s just that in this draft a top-five pick has to be better than a complementary player.

JEFF GREEN, forward, Georgetown — In the mold of a Scottie Pippen or Lamar Odom, Jeff Green can do it all. Almost. In the Georgetown summer league this past year I found myself facing Jeff in a tip to start the game. Knowing he would almost certainly win a fair jump, I leaned against his hip with my left forearm on the way up. The result was he flailed wildly at the ball, and I calmly tipped it back to my point guard. The game later went to overtime. As we stepped up for the second tip Jeff looked at the ref and said, “Watch Steve, he cheats on the tip.” The ref looked at him incredulously and I quipped back, “Maybe I’m just more athletic than you, Jeff.” I won that tip too. A guy with his passing ability should be fine as long as he has some talent around him, and this past year at Georgetown he showed signs of turning into a player who wanted to take big shots down the stretch. If he turns into that guy, watch out. Either way, he makes you better with his versatility.

So maybe Green isn't all that bad of a choice? Who knows? Woeful thinks they may end up trading the pick.

A plan for the Bucks

2007-06-25T07:14:00.000-07:00

The Bucks have one cornerstone piece in Michael Redd, meaning they have SG or SF covered. They have a lot of assets including: cap room, Charlie V, Bogut, the #6 pick, a 2008 1st rounder, etc.

Their needs are:
1) If they keep Bogut, they need a defensive minded 4.
2) They need to settle their PG situation. If they keep Mo Williams, adding a distributing 3 would be very helpful.

So, plan A to make the Bucks a better TEAM right now:
-Offer up Bogut and a 2008 first rounder for Pau Gasol. (Thanks Bill Simmons).
-Move Gadzuric into the starting lineup (this only works with Gasol's scoring in the front court), but limit him to 20-25 minutes (call this the big lineup).
-Re-sign Mo Williams to a contract that is not totally unreasonable.
-Draft Corey Brewer with the 6th pick.
-Re-sign Bell

Big Lineup:
Gadzuric, Gasol, Brewer, Redd, Mo

Little Lineup:
Gasol, Charlie V, Brewer, Redd, Mo

2nd Team:
Gadzuric, Charlie V, Simmons, Ersan, Bell

I think that is a much improved Bucks team.
Alternatives include:

-Offer up Charlie V for a mid-teens pick and draft Sean Williams (BC) to be the interior shot blocker that Bucks could really use.
-Draft Mike Conley and use the cap room to go after a guy like Gerald Wallace.
-Trade 2008 1st rounder, Gadzuric and Simmons to Utah for Kirilenko. This move does not help the Jazz a ton as far as cap room and length of remaining contract, but they pick up a first rounder and they split that max deal into 2 different deals they can love to move in other trades. The Bucks could actually afford to pay max to a guy who cannot score because he could play the 4 small and help out Bogut defending the paint. He also does not need the ball in his hands which helps when all of the other Bucks players do.

Now THIS is a cool Kobe trade idea

2007-06-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Chris Mannix for the best Kobe trade idea yet (other than that amazing bench-clearing Bulls trade idea):

Finally, I'd like to propose a trade scenario: The Lakers deal Bryant and the 19th pick to Portland for a package including Zach Randolph and the first pick. Think about it.

Okay, I did think about it, and what I think is that both teams would have to be tempted. The Lakers get the "center of the future" and Kobe teams up with Aldridge and Roy. Hm.

[One slight hitch: no way Kobe will agree to play in Portland.]

OUCH!

2007-06-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

KG to the Celtics?

From ESPN and KG's agent Andy Miller:

"The Boston trade isn't happening," Miller told Sheridan on Thursday. "If a trade were to happen, that's not a destination that we're interested in pursuing."

The C's might as well blow it up because if KG ain't coming, they ain't winning.

Best Kobe Trade Ever

2007-06-21T09:52:00.000-07:00

Check out the good work I have done on the trade machine:
Kobe, Evans and RadMan for
Every Bulls player other than Ben Wallace.

It would be sooo awesome! The Bulls would have Kobe, Ben Wallace and no one else at all. They would have to sign a buncha low priced guys, it would be classic.

The results keep rolling in

2007-06-20T13:57:00.001-07:00

Two new mocks today, SI and Bill Simmons. You've gotta check out Simmons', including his ridiculously complex 3-way trade for the Bulls to get Kobe.

The Bucks now have the momentum: 3 straight projections of Brandan Wright slipping right into their hands. Here's Simmons:

6. Milwaukee Bucks
Here's the Eastern team that could make a quantum leap next season: The Bucks only have to re-sign Mo Williams, get Bobby Simmons healthy and use this sixth pick on Brandan Wright and they're good to go. Stick those three with Charlie Villanueva, Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd and that's a pretty sweet nucleus on paper, although they definitely need to sign a crazy Australian 12th man who calls everyone "Mate" and gives Bogut someone to drink with. I'm not a huge Wright fan, but he's a shifty inside scorer with deceivingly long arms (well, when he's trying) and the Bucks desperately need inside scoring, as well as someone who won't make Villanueva feel so bad for mailing in every fourth game. Also, Wright is so damned long that Jay Bilas might start flogging himself in delight during the draft. Man, is Brandan Wright long. That is one long dude.

The VP's verdict: Take Wright, re-sign Williams and pursue Gasol for Bogut and a 2008 No. 1.

Could the guy who's been the consensus #3 for months suddenly fall into their laps at 6? Wow. This draft is getting more and more interesting with each day.

And how about the idea of Bogut and next year's #1 for Gasol? With that team (Gasol, Redd, Wright, Mo, etc.) the pick shouldn't be worth all that much.

Brewer and Horford work out

2007-06-19T17:27:00.000-07:00

Charles Garnder has an early report on Horford and Brewer's tryouts for the Bucks this afternoon. Dave Babcock, as always, talks a whole lot. Not sure how much of what he says you can believe, but he's sure no Ted Thompson. Some interesting bits:

"The workout is just a small piece of the puzzle for us," said Bucks director of player personnel Dave Babcock. "It would have been a better workout to have four guys and doing 2 on 2. But believe me, it did nothing to diminish our interest in Al Horford."

The Bucks long have been keenly interested in Horford, who they could plug in at power forward next to third-year center Andrew Bogut. If Milwaukee had stayed in the third position, it likely would have had the option to select the 6-foot-10 Horford in the June 28 draft.

But now Atlanta, Memphis and Boston are drafting ahead of the Bucks, who dropped to the sixth spot, thanks to the bouncing pingpong balls on draft lottery night.

"He's got a man's body," Babcock said of Horford. "Physically, he's probably the most ready to play in the NBA out of anybody, including (Greg) Oden and (Kevin) Durant."

It's possible the Bucks could trade up for Horford, but that might prove to be a difficult task."I would say the prospects for that happening are slim," Babcock said. "I don't think anyone is interested in talking, as of right now. You never know, but I wouldn't bet money on it."

Brewer showed the defensive skills that make him an appealing choice, even though he struggled with his shooting. It was his seventh and final workout for NBA teams, and in all of them he has battled 1-on-1 against other players.

"I feel like defensively I can make an immediate impact," the 6-8 shooting guard said. "I can bring a lot of energy and make some things happen."Offensively, I've got to work on a lot, creating my shot off the dribble. In transition, I can get my shot off athleticism, but I've got to learn to put it on the floor and create my own shot."

Wright to slip to 6??

2007-06-19T11:44:00.000-07:00

Chad Ford's newest mockery has Brandon Wright falling from #3 down to #6. As much as I like Horford's fit with the Bucks' needs, Wright has the most potential after the Big 2. Here's his top 6:

Oden
Durant
Horford
Conley
Brewer
Wright

I've now settled down to being happy with any of those four (Horford, Conley, Brewer or Wright), so of course they'll now trade down with Golden State.

The Tiers of a Ford

2007-06-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

Chad Ford interviewed the Association, and came up with this list of players considered to be in the second tier (after the obvious big 2):

TIER 2
Corey Brewer
Mike Conley
Jeff Green
Al Horford
Yi Jianlian
Brandan Wright

Note: One team expanded this tier to include all of Tier 3, essentially making Tier 2 the third through 12th picks, but most everyone else made a cut right before the players in Tier 3. I'd also note that there was near consensus that Horford is the third-best player in the draft.

Looks like Noah's slipped down a notch or 3, and Jeff Green inches up.

Doesn't Jerry Buss look like Frank Costanza?

2007-06-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

Geez, I thought this story was dead. Maybe it is, and the only reason it's sticking around is because we have 2 weeks to kill before the draft. But here's the kindling for the fire:

Kobe tells Buss he still wants out:

Buss wanted to appeal to the nine-time All-Star, reminding him that trades take time to develop and that winning remains the focus of the organization, but Bryant voiced concerns about the direction of the franchise and reiterated his demand to be traded, said a source with knowledge of the situation.

The Lakers' trade for Jermaine stalls.

BOTH Chad Ford and Chris Sheridan write new articles about where Kobe could go, and Ford's actually sounds somewhat possible.

He's figured out a 3-way with LA, the Bulls and either Boston or the Bullets. LA would get either Pierce or Arenas, Chicago would get Kobe and give up Tyrus Thomas, PJ, Gordon and the #9 pick.

I still hate Skiles, and don't believe that Paxson is really interested in any big deals. But maybe they could also throw in Skiles and get Phil back??

Why the Bucks will take Conley

2007-06-16T08:02:00.000-07:00

Again, who am I to judge who has the most talent among the top draft prospects? What I can judge, however, is which prospect is the most boring. Barring someone like Jeff Green, the pick that most depresses me is Conley, only in that it doesn't do much to progress the team.

So why do I get the feeling that he's the guy? It's the scenario that best fits if Herb is thinking about selling. It's the best pick for keeping the bottom line as low as possible. They won't catch any flack for not re-signing Mo, because Conley will be their PG of the future. So they get a bargain exchange.

I could be wrong, and this could be a setup for taking that same money and paying Gerald Wallace (a player who Charlotte won't be letting go, but why not dream?), but they don't give the appearance of a franchise about to make a big push.

Does it matter? If the Bulls could actually pull off a trade for Kobe, I might be able to put aside my hatred for all things Skiles.

How to get Horford

2007-06-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

Option #1) Don't screw up the lotto.

Option #2) Trade up with Atlanta. How? Here's Chad Ford in his blog today:

I'd say that everyone seems to be trying to get their hands on Al Horford ... but with Memphis almost a lock to take him at No. 4, that means they have to deal with Atlanta at No. 3. The Bucks, Bulls and Sixers would all love to move up and get him.
I could see a scenario where they (Atlanta) trade down a few spots (to a team like the Bucks for example) pick up an asset and get Conley there. Probably would cost them (Milwaukee) Charlie Villanueva ... or maybe Mo Williams in a sign-and-trade?
I'm torn on him (Brendan Wright). Love the physical tools ... not thrilled about his energy and skill level. I don't know why someone would take him over Al Horford. Both are roughly the same size, length and athleticism ... but Horford has 40 pounds on him and is more skilled.

Yovani Gallardo

2007-06-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

OMG, OMG, OMG!

The Brewers are going to summon Gallardo and there is a good chance he will start Monday against the Giants. I *think* that this is the beginning of the end for Claudio Vargas in the rotation. Once Capuano comes off of the DL, I think the rotation will be aligned such that Sheets, Gallardo, Cappy, Suppan and Bush will be the starters and Villanueva will continue to move up the bullpen pecking order. Vargas will become what Villanueva was, a long reliever and emergency 6th starter, then finally Elmer Dessens will likely be DFA.

This plan can be knocked off track if the Brewers need to use Gallardo in relief this weekend, which is plausible. Villanueva is not useable this weekend and the bullpen was taxed yesterday, so hopefully they can get nice long starts from their starters starting with Sheets today.

Anyway, get excited for a mid 90's fastball and a killer curveball.

Matt LaPorta

2007-06-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

Meet the new Brewers prospect (and immediately one of their top prospects once the call up of Gallardo completely drains teh pool) Matt LaPorta. Or, more like meet Matt LaPorta's swing (scroll down to pick 7):

This guy thinks that he is going to be one of the best hitters to come out of the draft. That being said, if the Brewers can somehow get him to play a passable left field, they may be looking at a 2009 lineup:
C - unknown
1B - Prince
2B - Weeks
3B - Braun
SS - Hardy
LF - LaPorta
CF - Hall
RF - Hart
SP - Gallardo

That is a lineup with a lot of power potential. Every single one of those players could probably be projected to hit 20+ dingers, with Prince and Braun looking at 30+.

Clowney vs. Jones

2007-06-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple interesting tidbits from Mike Vandermause's chat Monday:

Do you see WR Clowney getting a chance to start over WR Jones that was taken in the 2nd round?

MIKE VANDERMAUSE: No. Clowney looks too small. Jones looks the part.
and
As for the receivers, Ferguson is as good as gone, in my opinion. Driver, Jennings and Jones will make up the top 3, and Holiday, Bodiford and Ruvell Martin will make strong bids for the 4 and 5 spots.

NBA Mock Draft

2007-06-12T05:55:00.000-07:00

1 - Portland - Greg Oden - This is too easy. I actually think that Portland is a very good fit for Oden because they have a lot of young guys to grow together, there is a changing, positive attitude in the organization and the city seems like a good fit because it is somewhat out of the spotlight and will have less pressure.

2 - Seattle - Kevin Durant - I am good at this. Anyone who is wondering about Durant's bad workout, I say this: Seattle would trade this pick for Kobe, Wade, LeBron and maybe Duncan. This is it. No workout will have any impact on that. This kid isn't even close to realizing his potential and he was ridiculous last year.

3 - Atlanta - Mike Conley Jr. - I have heard rumors they are looking at Brandon Wright, I just don't believe it. There is no way they can pass up a PG again, is there? I also don't think that Acie Law IV is there man. He is not as much as distributer and seems more like a college guy to me. If they were looking at taking a PG at 11, I would think Javaris Crittenton would be there man because he is more of a passer and they already have a roster filled with scorers. This pick of either Conley or Wright has a profound impact on the rest of the draft.

4 - Memphis - Brandon Wright - Memphis becomes the all upside team with another young player that could make this team look really good in a year or two.

5 - Celtics - Corey Brewer - A guy who can step in right away and contribute on the defensive end. If they cannot trade this pick, this would fit their modus operandi perfectly - they would be taking a guy who would help right now, but probably not enough to get them over the hump, thus not committing to go all out to win right now, nor blowing the team up for the future.

6 - Milwaukee - Al Horford - Milwaukee runs instead of walks up to the podium to get this pick in. Horford is exactly what the Bucks need to make the pieces they have right now work better. Bogut's main deficiency is defense and he is not an elite rebounder. Horford should be able to step in and immediately help out on the defensive and rebounding ends. He is also a guy who is not going to demand the ball, which will help a team that will likely start 4 other guys who perform with the ball in their hands: Bogut, Villanueva/Simmons, Redd, Williams.

If the Bucks added Horford and Gerald Wallace in free agency, they would dramatically upgrade their ability to play defense, along with creating a strong 2nd unit with guys like Villanueva at the 4 and Simmons at the 3.

7 - Minnesota - Joakim Noah - KG could use some frontline help and another guy with the right type of hunger to win. Noah would fit that mold perfectly. After this pick, they could move some pieces to get another scorer.

8 - Charlotte - Yi Jianlian - Easy pick for Charlotte because they can market him to China and he becomes another young, developmental prospect type of player. It also makes it easier for them to let Gerald Wallace go.

9 - Chicago - Spencer Hawes - Allegedly a low post scorer, Hawes goes here because it is literally the Bulls only need. Wouldn't be surprised to see the Bulls try to make a play for the 5th pick if Horford is still there.

10 - Kings - Jeff Green - "Glue guy" who represents the opposite mentality as Ron Artest.

11 - Atlanta - Jason Smith - Who, you may ask? Athletic 7' PF/C who can get up and down the floor. Picture in your head for a moment, Mike Conley Jr. running up the court with Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams/Josh Childress and an athletic 7' scorer. Seriously, that would have to be much better than whatever the Hawks were doing last year.

12 - Philly - Al Thornton - A beast of a man who can play the 3/4 would help the team on the glass, can get up and down the court, and can hit a jumper.

13 - NO - Julian Wright - NO would be pretty obligated to take him here because he is clearly the best available player left.

14 - Clippers - Javaris Crittenton - Shaun Livingston's knee is not right (don't youtube "Shaun Livingston and knee") and Cassell is very old, so this gives the Clip Show a PG option that could develop well.

Mike Conley

2007-06-06T07:38:00.000-07:00

Chad Ford's new mock draft (Insider) has Atlanta selecting Brandan Wright, bucking the conventional wisdom that they need to take the best PG since they passed the past 2 years (missing out on both Chris Paul and Deron Williams). This leaves the Bucks as the logical place for Mike Conley.

I'm not going to comment on how good Conley may be, since that's all speculation. But I think that in the short run this would be among the least advantageous results. If they pick a PG they obviously let Mo leave in free agency. So how much do their playoff chances go up from last year? Trading a proven, yet non-traditional, PG for a rookie, how much does it improve the team? It's doubtful this will help their defense, which is the biggest need.

This is the dark results of their lottery luck. Instead of having their pick of the bigs, especially Brandon Wright and Tito Jr., they now will likely be picking from the riskier selections. In Ford's projection, I prefer a player like Noah who's been devalued but could be a major sleeper. He provides the type of defensive specialist who could improve the team immediately off the bench.

Then again, the workouts haven't even started. I'm sure there'll be some major shuffling in the coming weeks.

Billy Donovan

2007-06-04T07:21:00.000-07:00

Re: Billy Donovan trying to get out of his signed contract with Orlando
We try to keep it family here, but I just have to say it:

What a dong.

To borrow from an Uncle of mine, show some personal responsibility and honor your commitment. He took a job which immediately caused excitement about the team, extra season ticket sales, etc. If he was not sure or having second thoughts, why did he take the job in the first place?

This just doesn't make any sense to me. If I were Orlando, I would allow him three options:
1) Work for the Magic and love it.
2) Take 5 years of unpaid vacation (the duration of the contract) and then he can go work for the Gators.
3) Get a sandwich board with "I'm sorry I'm an idiot on it" and walk around Orlando for a few days.

Ugh...I hate how once they become well regarded they are so coddled...(see: Saban, Nick)

Finals dreaming

2007-06-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

With the Pistons out, at least the NBA avoided the most boring playoff matchup since Spurs-Jazz. But I can't help but imagine how exciting it would be right now if the Suns had pulled it off and were facing LeBron next week. That series would have been just the jolt that the NBA needs (although the King's historic performance will have long-lasting effects).

As it is, I can't imagine the Cavs making much of a dent against the Spurs. LeBron might be great, but so is Nash, and he had a better supporting cast. This series won't go past 5, and very well could be a sweep.

LeBronculous!

2007-05-31T21:01:00.001-07:00

Uhhh...If you didn't get a chance to watch the 4th and 2 OT's in the LeBron vs. Detroit series, you really missed out. LeBron was essentially unstoppable, his teammates were hilariously inept, the coaches was bad...it was very interesting.

LeBron:
Scored all of the Cavs points in 2 OT's and a large portion of their 4th quarter points, including all of the ones that came late. His winning basket involved him slicing through most of the pistons and basically laying it up with 2 seconds left. That was probably the 5th time he had done that during the back end of the game while carrying Cleveland around on his back.

LeBron's teammates:
See above and note that they did indeed take some shots in that span of time. They are so bad that, were it legal in the NBA, it would be most appropriate for DET to run a triangle and two on LeBron, largely ignoring Eric Snow and Varajao when they are on the floor.

Coaches:
Mike Brown didn't have a timeout to use to give them a half-court inbound at the end of regulation to win. Much worse, Flip's 9 seconds left, tie score is to have Billups dribble to 4 seconds and then shoot a double-pump 3. That makes no sense.

Kobe to the Bucks?

2007-05-31T10:12:00.000-07:00

J.A. Adande as channeled through Henry Abbott:

In his final column for the L.A. Times, J.A. Adande makes a call as to how this will all shake out:

"My prediction: He's here for another year, then there's another frustrated outburst when they don't improve, and the Lakers trade him rather than have him walk as a free agent. For now, the Lakers can't -- can't -- send him anywhere in the Western Conference, even though that's where most of the talent is. The one Eastern team with an abundance of good young players -- Chicago -- needs a low-post player more than a guard. And Bryant will come to realize that if you're going to be on a rebuilding team, it's much better to be in L.A. than some place like Milwaukee."

Kobe

2007-05-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

Kobe has demanded a trade. Various offers are popping up all over the internet. What about the Bucks? I am not certain that Kobe would be willing to come to Milwaukee, but if he were, he could be the king.

How about Kobe Bryant for
Bobby Simmons
Charlie Villanueva
Dan Gazuric
The #6 pick
Next Years 1st Rounder - unprotected.

This would give the Lakers a guy like Brandon Wright, a young big in Charlie V, another 1st rounder next year. All of this would help accelerate the rebuilding process in LA. It would also allow them to get started with an uptempo team if they were interested in going that direction.

This would leave the Bucks with Redd and Kobe at the #2 and #3, Bogut at the #5 and cap room to fill the other spots.

Who knows?

Dog Fighting

2007-05-30T05:54:00.000-07:00

Punishing PacMan Jones and Chris Henry and Tank Johnson is easy for Goodell to do because it sends a message through non-stars in the NFL. The question is whether Goodell has the stones to suspend a marquee player for a considerable length of time.

Let's think about this for a second:
1) It seems like Vick's actions may not be as terrible as PacMan's (his directly lead to a death of a bouncer), but worse than Chris Henry's (perpetual acting like an idiot).
2) That being said, while Vick's actions have allegedly been occurring over time, he has not been a repeat offender like Henry and PacMan in the sense that he hasn't had different crimes come to light at different times.
3) I wonder if that makes his case the most comparable to Tank Johnson. It should then be interesting to find out whether he gets the same fate as Johnson.

Thought experiment: The league finds out Tom Brady hits his girl friend out in public and is tried and convicted of some sort of domestic abuse, what do they do? What if he does it again? Does he get comparable punishments? How does the league order crimes? It cannot be arbitrary because then it opens the door to threats of racism and protection of stars.

This should be interesting...
Also, and this is obvious, but...there had been discussion about trading Vick and going to Schaub for a year or so. Arthur Blank tells his new coach that Vick is the man this year, they trade Schuab, and Vick gets busted. Talk about a raw deal.

Beaten to the punch!

2007-05-27T14:06:00.000-07:00

Damn, I was planning on doing this myself, but NBA.com beat me to it. They have what the call a Consensus Mock Draft, in which they collect the mock drafts from media around the web. http://www.nba.com/features/draft2007_consensus.html

This system is far more informative than someone's speculation about who will pick who; you get a sense for what the league might be thinking. The list ain't bad for someone with a top 6 pick, but it currently looks likely that both Horford and Wright will be gone by then. Here's their current top 8 (I don't much care for any of the players beyond that):

Oden
Durant
Brandan Wright
Tito Jr.
Conley Jr.
Yi
Brewer
Noah

UPDATE: Today they added in rankings from MSNBC and FOX, resulting in this new top 8:

Oden
Durant
Brandan Wright
Tito Jr.
Yi (moves up)
Conley Jr. (moves down)
Brewer
Noah

Gazette scoops JS on Harlan/Jones

2007-05-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

Read the Journal/Sentinel article about John Jones' "leave of absence," and you'll be left wondering what the hell is going on:
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=611059

Then read Mike Vandermause's column on PackersNews.com to get the full story:
http://www.packersnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070527/PKR07/705270670/1989

It's a bizarre story, that's for sure. To be several days away from giving over control of the organization, and then let a guy go? There must be some crazy shit behind this. Dog fighting? Cross-dressing?

And how did the J/S let this one slip by them?

Braun and Gallardo

2007-05-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

Holy crap, the Brewers have called up Ryan Braun (left). This kid has been raking in AAA and seriously, then number of extra bases he may give up defensively is well going to be made up with his offense over the crappy 3rd base platoon the Brewers have going right now.

Check out this comment from Jerry Crasknic about Yovani Gallardo (right):

I talked to a scout at a Phillies game who told me that Yovani Gallardo is better than any starter the Brewers have right now.

That is pretty much the coolest thing I have read in a while.

Dave Babcock on pick #6

2007-05-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

J/S has an audio interview with Bucks Director of Player Personnel Dave Babcock. He says that he sees Brandon Wright as the 3rd best player in the draft. When asked about Yi, he compared him to Tony Kukoc, and expected him to go anywhere from 3-8. He doubted, however, that he would last to 6. He also included Noah in the group with Horford and Wright. Not one mention of Conley. (I don't know who the interviewer is, but he sure does like to repeat what Babcock says. It'll drive you crazy now that you're listening for it.)

Speaking of crazy, it's insane how much variation there is between projections on the top 10 picks. It's impossible to get any real idea of who might be there at 6 at this time. I guess it's fun, but I'd be happier if the Bucks were back at 3 and could make the decision themselves instead of having it forced upon them.

NBA and pot

2007-05-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

From Chad Ford's chat:

Henry (NY): What do you think of Sean Williams to the Nets at 17? He seems like a good fit with Krstic.

SportsNation Chad Ford: (12:53 PM ET ) That's where I have him in the mock draft. The kid had some trouble with smoking pot in college ... but honestly, so many NBA players smoke I'm not sure how big of an issue that's going to be for NBA teams. He's the best shotblocker in the draft and a very good fit in NJ. Had he stayed with Boston College all year, he would've been a lottery pick.

I personally think that that is hilarious.

2nd Pick Value

2007-05-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

What is the value of the 2nd overall pick if it is Durant?
Lang at SLAM says the following:

What would I do if I was the Hawks GM? Immediately get on the phone to Seattle. I’d offer them the 3 and the 11 and Seattle native Marvin Williams for the 2 slot. The Hawks were the youngest team in the NBA last season and the last thing we need are two more teenagers. Offer up that bounty to Seattle and see if they’ll bite. They could add three really good players. And after all, Lenny’s in charge — who knows what will happen?

The question is, would Seattle possibly bite on something like that?
1) First off, the Bill Simmons theory of NBA GM's says that Seattle won't consider anything because if it does not work out, the GM will be fired, whereas if Durant doesn't play out well, the GM cannot be faulted for the pick. Since GM's seem to exist and operate solely to keep their jobs, the trade would never happen.

2) Let's pretend for a moment that the Sonics are rational actors at the team level, meaning they will do what is best for their team, not to keep their jobs. There has to be some offer for Durant that is worth doing.
Analyzing that proposed trade:
Situation A: Ray Allen, Kevin Durant, Wilcox, Luke Ridnaur, Saer Sene/Johan Petro/other crappy center - probably do not sign Rashard Lewis because he plays the same position as Durant.
Situation B: Ray Allen, Marvin Williams, Wilcox, Acie Law and Yi (west coast Asian exposure works for other Seattle teams) and maybe make an attempt to sign Rashard Lewis.

Personally, I think team B is better. I also think you could bleed more out of the Hawks in this deal.
What do you think, Lenny Wilkin's?

Fixing the Lottery

2007-05-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry for repeating Henry Abbott's post (you should be reading that anyway), but this idea on how to make the lottery fair from John Hollinger deserves consideration for the Nobel Prize. It's simple: base draft order on the standings as of March 15 (for teams that don't make the playoffs). Far too simple and common-sense to ever be accepted.

BTW, I loved John when he was a correspondent for the Daily Show. I hope he comes back now that his sitcom failed.

PFW's top 50 players

2007-05-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

Every year PFW breaks down the top 50 players in the NFL. They do a very diligent job and seem to give a good, scout-style perspective (there are actually OG's in the rankings). These rankings are also quite relevant to those who subscribe to the theory that a team cannot have ultimate success without a few (1-3+) superstars.

The entire list broken down by team.

A few comments from the list:
RB Larry Johnson (5) - Larry Johnson is the 5th best player amongst all positions in the league? Wow. If that really is true, maybe LJ does deserve LT money next year. If the Chiefs really aren't going to pay him and the Packers were going to draft a round 2 running back anyway, wouldn't the rumored move of a 1st and a 3rd or so have made sense for both teams?

Arizona
WR Larry Fitzgerald (20)
WR Anquan Boldin (46) - If they hit with their 1st rounder Levi Brown, it seems like this list next year would include Matt Leinart. That receiving core is just too good.

RB Steven Jackson (6)
CB Champ Bailey (7) - No way. I don't buy for a second that Steven Jackson is a better player than Champ Bailey. While it seems like they do a better job than some of not over-prioritizing skill position players, this is a stretch.

QB Drew Brees (9) - Amazing what a difference a year makes. Phillip Rivers is a good player, but I wonder what would have happened had they moved him instead of letting Brees go. Could you imagine the Chargers last year with Brees as opposed to Rivers and ANOTHER 1st round pick in the mix?

RB Frank Gore (13) - My how quickly we anoint players. I'll bet anyone money he has an ACL in the next two years.

WR Lee Evans (39) - If Lee Evans were on a team with a quarterback, he would be a superstar right now. There are no other WR's in Buf, teams know he is going to go deep and he still catches 6+ long TD's a year. Because of his age, old knee injury and reliance on speed, my guess is that he never gets a chance to get out of Buf because he will want to accept a reasonable contract extension when they offer it.

Ryan Braun

2007-05-22T20:00:00.000-07:00

Quick must-read if you are wondering why Graffy and Counsell are manning the hot corner for the Brewers.

R&FSM 1st Annual NBA Lottery Grades

2007-05-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

We think it is important here to hold NBA teams accountable for their failures and praise them for their successes. When it comes to the draft lottery, nothing changes.

Lottery Grades:

Memphis Grizzlies - Their performance was below sub-par. They had a terrible season and a very strong chance to finish in the top 2, but instead let their fan down. Jerry West got out at the right time.
Grade: F

Boston Celtics - Commissioner Stern doesn't need extra 'rules' to punish tanking teams. He takes care of his business underground in a ruthless manner that sends the message to GM's across the league that you do not F*** with the Stern. Even with all of the vibes that Bill Simmons was trying to bring to the team, Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers let the whole Boston fan base down.
Grade: F

Milwaukee Bucks - Larry Harris had to know going into the lottery that he had no chance - small market team that unexpectedly won the lottery recently and was widely accused of tanking. The biggest surprise was how Harris didn't show the leadership ability to keep the Bucks around that 3rd pick. Senator Kohl will be looking over his shoulder now.
Grade: D-

Atlanta Hawks - While they did not secure the top spot, Billy Knight and Co. did well to retain their higher pick. I can only imagine that one of the tantalizing prospects at the 3/4 will be on their mind.
Grade: B+

Phoenix Suns - Have had a total disaster of a week. While they were focused on the playoffs, Atlanta snuck by them and and captured back their top pick. The Suns go from getting an elite pick in this draft to getting nothing. Could trade Marion/Amare this off season to make up for the managerial failure of losing their top pick.
Grade: F

Seattle SuperSonics - Showed managerial prowess to lead ahead into the 2nd pick. It is not surprising that they were unable to secure the top spot because of all of the energies they expended getting up to the 2nd pick.
Grade: A-

Portland Trailblazers - Clearly made a successful pact with the devil by trading a rack of basketballs for Brandon Roy, landing LaMarcus Aldridge and now out working all of the other GM's in the league to man the top spot in the lottery.
Grade: A

Minnesota Timberwolves - Kevin McHale showed the level of acumen that we are all familiar with - the ability to do just enough to keep his job, Kevin Garnett around.
Grade: C-

Charlotte Bobcats - Burdened with less resources because of the cheap way that Bob Johnson runs his franchise, Bernie Bickerstaff etc. were not able to get out and do the work necessary to take over the top spot in the lottery leaving Charlotte in limbo. Likely, Stern told Jordan to be patient and that he would give Jordan a top pick soon.
Grade: C

Chicago Bulls - Bulls management showed long ago that they are much better at what they do than Isiah Thomas.
Grade: B+

New York Knicks - Their grade seems like it should be worse, but since they did not win the lottery and trade Greg Oden for Eddie Curry, their grade improves slightly. Instead of trading for veterans and including ridiculous pick-swapping clauses in deals, Isiah should trade for late 1st and early 2nd round picks - where he excels.
Grade: C-

R&FSM 1st Annual NBA Lottery Predictions

2007-05-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

Only a few hours left until the balls drop! R&FSM has offered to host the lottery order predictions of any NBA pundit who has the courage to put their reputation on the line. So far we're happy to report that hoops legend Henry Abbott, of the amazing TrueHoop.com, has agreed, and sent us his predictions. Disappointingly, others have not. What does this say about the state of punditry in our country??

The Projections:

How about it Mr. Ford?

The Crackpot Mock Lottery

2007-05-22T08:27:00.001-07:00

With last years winner out of the lottery the field is wide open. Here is how I see it shaking out.

1. Milwaukee: It's hard to ignore past lottery success, while GM Harris has problems during the regular season he is money in the lottery.

2. Chicago (from NY): Chicago repeats last years lottery performance and nabs the number two spot. This is the trade that just keeps on giving, Isiah Thomas is building a very nice team in Chicago.

3. Memphis: After sliding two slots, Memphis is shocked to find the third pick is still available.

Another Lottery Prediction

2007-05-21T18:00:00.001-07:00

As Scott pointed out below, the "experts" just don't have the cojones to project the lottery results this year. We will:

1st Pick: - Boston Celtics - High comedy/drama ensues as we are unsure whether the Celtics pick who Ainge wants, who Doc wants or who Bill Simmons wants.

2nd Pick - Memphis Grizzlies - This team is going to be good, soon. The talent might be a little mismatched if they land Oden, though. If they get him, it should be interesting to see whether they decide to slow the ball a bit and use Oden offensively in the post right away or whether they run, let him score on garbage and dunks, get boards and play defense. If they land Durant, then they should blaze up and down the floor.

3rd Pick - Atlanta Hawks - This team seems to have the Center and PG positions taken care of but cannot seem to fill the 3. In honor of that, look for them to "win" the 3rd pick in the lottery and take a 3.

Take that, experts!

Oden

2007-05-21T12:38:00.000-07:00

Chad Ford has the break down on Greg Oden. I cannot wait for those lottery balls to get pulled.

"He doesn't want to just be good at this," Schilling says. "He wants to be the best. I see no reason he can't be."

Sunday night, after I described Oden's workout to a respected NBA general manager who stands a pretty good chance at getting the No. 1 pick in Tuesday's lottery, the GM had four words for me:

"I told you so."

He continued, "Oden is not just a big guy. He's a big guy with great athleticism and skill. It's what I've been telling you all year. This guy is a lock as the No. 1 pick.

I gotta have him.

My Fearless Lottery Projection

2007-05-21T08:08:00.001-07:00

While they all have opinions, none of the NBA "experts" have the guts to make the ultimate projection: how will the lottery balls fall tomorrow night? I don't understand -- they have no problem making projections about other events that they have just as much chance of predicting correctly.

Well, I'm not chicken. Here's how I see the lottery order ending up:

Milwaukee Bucks - you have to go by history here. The last time Larry Harris was in this position he scored, and had much greater odds against him.
Greg Oden + Michael Redd? GO MILWAUKEE BUCKEYES!!

Memphis Grizzlies - sometimes you have to go with the safe choice, so I'll stick with the numbers here.

Charlotte Bobcats - you've got to expect one longshot, and who can deny Michael Jordan? My earlier projection had Atlanta landing here, but that shuts Phoenix out of the lottery. I just can't do that to them after they gave me so much the past few weeks. Message to Suns: draft Corey Brewer!

Remember, you read it here first.

BTW, Sam Smith has a great article about Oden supposedly demanding that the team that drafts him must also somehow acquire Mike Conley! This would be a simple matter if the Hawks happen to land #1, since they also would have #11, but other teams would be in a bind.

The Bucks might be in a good position for this, however. They could trade Bogut for a top ten pick, and then allow Mo to go in free agency. That's crazy talk, but interesting to think about. Read Mr. Smith's wisdom here:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/cs-070520smith,1,15197.column?coll=chi-sportstop-hed

[Editor's Note: Not even Doc has the balls to make a lottery projection - you are fearless Scott]

Leandro Barbosa

2007-05-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

I don't want to push down Scott's fearless lottery projections too much, but this stuff from Henry Abbott is a MUST read for inside info on the NBA draft process: Barbosa 1, Barbosa 2, Barbosa 3, Barbosa 4, Barbosa 5, Barbosa 6

Training Camp blog

2007-05-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

I miss Cliff's camp blogs! Damn that old codger.

Packernews.com has one of their own, and it's free:
http://www.packersnews.com/includes/newspaper/blogs/insider/index.shtml

Breaking news: Brett Favre Demands Trade

2007-05-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

Read it here:

GREEN BAY—Three-time MVP and undisputed future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, disappointed with the Packers' refusal to aggressively pursue receiver Randy Moss and frustrated with his team's apparent indifference to making immediate improvements on offense, is demanding a trade to the team he feels will give him the best shot at winning a last Super Bowl ring before his retirement: the 1996 Green Bay Packers.

Badger Football

2007-05-19T07:17:00.001-07:00

The Badgers are going to start the season ranked quite high. They were good last year and lost only a hand full of starters. Of course, they include John Stocco, Joe Thomas and Joe Stellmacher. Regardless, they should have a great team defense and three legitimate running options (don't write off PT for John Clay, above). What people are forgetting, however, is that the Badgers have a pretty consistent record relating to pre-season expectations.

[Editor's note: Corrected, thanks...]

Preseason Ranking -> Final Ranking (AP)
2006: unranked -> 7th.
2005: unranked -> 15th.
2004: 21st -> 17th.
2003: 21st -> unranked
2002: 25th -> unranked
2001: 22nd -> unranked
2000: 4th -> 23rd
1999: 10th -> 4th
1998: 20th -> 6th
1997: 24th -> unranked
1996: unranked -> unranked
1995: 20th -> unranked
1994: 10th -> unranked
1993: unranked -> 6th

Almost every season they begin unranked, they finish above expectations. Almost every season they begin with high expectations, they fail to meet them.

I have been a able to dig up a few early 2007 preseason rankings and they all put the Badgers around 5-15. Historically, that does not bode well for UW.

Live Spurs v. Suns Thoughts

2007-05-18T19:22:00.000-07:00

1st Quarter - The first quarter of an NBA game can be largely ignored...as I did when I fast forwarded through it on my Tivo

2nd Quarter -
8:40 - Tony Parker, Steve Nash - man are they hard to keep out of the lane. The difference is that Tony Parker looks to finish more with his array of tear drops while Nash uses the drive to find the open man (often dribbling under the baseline).
Also, both teams are really getting down to the floor to get the ball. Should be a good game.

6:50 - James Jones 3/3 behind the arc with 2 in a row. He's got to love playing with Nash.

5:14 - I noticed this the other night as well: Off the pick-and-roll or the high screen, it seems that Nash sometimes leans in on 3's. Those haven't tended to go in, as would be expected.

4:28 -Duncan has 6 blocks right now. The 1-2 punch of him and Tony Parker is really tearing up the Suns.

3:37 - Amare CANNOT guard Duncan. He appears to be only concerned with fouls.

2:59 - Ridiculous pass by Nash to a thunderous dunk by Amare. Every Suns player should give a portion of their next contract to the charity of Nash's choice because he makes life sooo easy for the other guys. It actually makes you wonder how you can evaluate a guy like Amare in a potential trade if he ever became available because his greatest skill (finishing with dunks near the basket, not in a back to the basket post position) is highly dependent upon a PG like Nash.

1:41 - Just watched Duncan dominate some more. Made me want to watch Oden guard Duncan. He could learn so much from watching Duncan on his way to being a dominate post defender.

0:00 - SA up two at half. Should be a close game. No prediction yet on the winner.

3rd Quarter
8:46 - Duncan is up to 8 blocks. That's not right. Triple Double?

6:21 - There is no question in my mind that these are the best two teams in the NBA (removing Dallas based on their playoff performance). Detroit might win or might make the finals close (or Cleveland, I guess), but that doesn't change the fact that these two are the best.

5:37 - Maybe I am underestimating Amare a little bit - he's pretty damn good. My point from above was that his best skill is as a finisher which is largely dependent upon having a good PG.

4:56 - Ginobili is breaking this game open with a few 3's (SA up 8). Must be nice to watch Parker and Duncan do all the heavy lifting and then hit a few 3's and be a hero.

During commercials I am checking out some more Ronald Jenkees clips. This cat is awesome!

3:33 - I love how the Suns instinctively turn and sprint when they grab a rebound (SA up 11, btw). It would be a real shame if this doesn't go to a game 7 (for the shear entertainment value). This game is great.

:54 - Bowen with a cold 3 to put SA up 13. SA's 2nd team is really taking care of the Suns 2nd team. Raja Bell is the only guy doing anything offensively the past few minutes for the PHX, which is interesting with Marion in the game.

0:00 - Bruce Bowen and Jacque Vaughn are putting this game out of reach. Who would have thought?

PHX defintely should look into another PG in the draft or via trade to run the 2nd team and eventually take over for Nash. The way they are constructed is so dependent upon the PG creating shots for everyone else that when Nash is out of the game they look lost. Barbosa is good, but he is barely a PG.

4th Quarter
11:11 - The ESPN guys just had a mini-conversation about the word "spurtability." I wonder if their producer cut them off in their headsets.

10:52 - This is not nearly the best Barbosa has played. When the Suns have needed him, he has not come through.

10:30 - Ginobili just flopped a 3 pointer into a potential 4 point play. This was all started by Oberto "blowing by" Amare. Oberto...maybe I was right about Amare. (SA up 18 - game over).

9:06 - Game Over. I just don't see how any team is going to be able to beat these guys. Parker did it in the first quarter, Duncan in the 2nd and early 3rd and scrubs /Ginobili are doing it in the 4th. And they ALL play good D.

BLOG OVER.
OK - Maybe not....

3:55 - Barbosa just had a nasty layup and then a Nash long 2 and its 9...
Barbosa would be a deep bench player on the Pistons. He can hit 3's (at least on nights other than tonight) and he can run like a gazelle, half of which wouldn't be utilized much by Det.

2:30 - Only 7 points. Should be less. PHX keeps getting the stops but they are not finishing.

1:53 - Every once in a while they goto "coach" who is Van Gundy who was fired yesterday. I wonder how much he gets paid to sit there and watch the game, occasionally saying something...

1:15 - Duncan deuce and a strip of Nash in the lane - this game is officially over.

Really good game except early in the 4th where the Suns forgot how to score. Too bad this couldn't have been closer or that the Suns didn't win on Wed to make this force game 7. Oh well...

Ruben Patterson

2007-05-18T07:54:00.000-07:00

From JSOnline.com:

A misdemeanor warrant was issued earlier this week after he failed to register as a convicted sex offender when he moved into a new house in the Cincinnati suburb of Indian Hill.

Patterson, who surrendered late Tuesday, was ordered to make a future court appearance. He faces a misdemeanor complaint that carries a possible six-month jail term.

Ohio law enforcement officials became aware of Patterson's failure to register in that state after a complaint about a party at his house on May 5, authorities said.

A certified letter was sent to Patterson's house on May 8, according to published reports, and when he did not respond within the required five days, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

In November of last year, Patterson purchased a $3.4 million house in Hamilton County but failed to register his new address with the sheriff's department.

Patterson is required to register under Ohio law, due to a sentencing in May 2001 in the state of Washington.

Ouch for Patterson. However, is it possible this is good for the Bucks?

Here is my thought process: When the Bucks got Patterson, they knew he was a sex offender. He stayed clean while he was a Buck. Failing to register as a sex offender, in my opinion, does not make one a trouble maker (that might be the leap that is too far for some, but...). He is an unrestricted free agent. This may cause him to get less offers or to have the offers go down, leaving him more of a chance of returning to the Bucks for a reasonable sum of money. I think this is a good thing because he was very good last year and is exactly the kind of tough player the team needs.

I don't care about Paul Shirley.

2007-05-17T21:39:00.000-07:00

Honestly, does anyone?

[Chris Swoboda's Note: Check out his original claim to fame and tell me it's not funny]

NFL Stupidity: Brandon Jackson BARRED from minicamp

2007-05-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

Read it and weep: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2873643

"I feel like I need to learn the plays so I can come back and try to win a starting job in the fall," Jackson said. "I've only had four or five practices with the veterans, but my agent told me the collective bargaining agreement couldn't let me go to the minicamp."

Honest Favre, Moss and Ted Thompson Discussion

2007-05-17T11:53:00.000-07:00

Ted Thompson (left) is a man who has a stated goal and method of doing business that he believes in and sticks to. Had Favre retired after the first year TT was GM as everyone thought he might, Ted Thompson would be the perfect man for the job. He is passive and allows the draft to come to him. He recognizes that a lot of free agents do not produce. His strategy is great for rebuilding a team. Chances are that this was part of the reason why he was hired in the first place.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, the team guessed wrong and Favre came back causing the situation to be no longer correctly aligned. The Packers had a GM who was competent in rebuilding and a QB who was looking for a GM who could give short term fixes for immediate gratification.

So who is to blame?
Ted Thompson?
Brett Favre?
Bob Harlan (right)?

Let's look at each of them to see where the blame lies:
Ted Thompson - Was hired with the intent of rebuilding a Packer's team that had salary cap issues and was slightly above mediocre the previous few years. Had a plan for rebuilding and the way he was going to run the team that was likely shared with Harlan at his hiring. Has stubbornly held to that plan.

I cannot assign much blame in his direction. He is doing what he was hired to do. Guys don't get a lot of opportunities to run teams and they are entitled to it the way they think is best. Gets unfair labels about being passive in the draft and being cheap in free agency. Seems reasonable to me that he would want to not spend much money after dropping quite a bit of scratch last season (Woodson, Pickett) and an absence of quality free agents. As far as the draft, he is certainly better than Sherman.

Brett Favre - In his twilight years. Still an above average QB. May have mislead the team about his longterm intentions.

Seems to me that he cannot be blamed for wanting the team to add players that can help him now as opposed to helping the team in 3 years.

Bob Harlan - Hired Ted Thompson.

He incorrectly gambled that Favre would leave and that he should hire a GM to rebuild the team. Should have hired a more aggressive, win now GM type to give the Packers a chance to take advantage of Favre's remaining years.

I think a lot of the blame has to go on the original hiring of Ted Thompson by Bob Harlan. Favre may also be to blame if he led Harlan to believe he wouldn't be around much longer, validating Bob's hiring of TT. It is too easy to blame Ted Thompson for doing exactly what he was hired to do. When he drafts guys like Justin Harrell, he is taking a less sexy player. If Harrell stands in the middle and plugs the holes which would be bored through us by Matt Birk, Steve Hutchinson and Bryant McKinnie for Chester Taylor/Adrian Peterson, then the pick is just as good as an offensive weapon.

Yet Another Version of the Moss Saga

2007-05-17T11:07:00.001-07:00

From 620 WTMJ The B.U.B (The Big Units Blog):

TUESDAY, May 15, 2007, 9:46 p.m.
Final 4?
Randy Moss isn’t a Green Bay Packer. The majority of us found out that fact on day two of the NFL Draft. Brett Favre and Bus Cook apparently found out a week to ten days earlier. According to a source, close to both the team and Brett, Bus Cook was informed of the Packers lack of interest in acquiring Moss prior to the draft. Cook then informed Favre of Ted Thompson’s choice not to pursue the controversial wide receiver. Upset at the lack of interest in bolstering the offense, but unwilling to believe that the Packers wouldn’t at the very least make a “play” for Moss, Favre decided to keep his feelings confined to those around him until draft day. After the announcement was made that indeed Moss was a Patriot and that it only took a 4th round draft pick to garner the services of the veteran receiver, Favre spouted to Cook that he ”wanted out”. He wanted to be traded to a team that would give him the opportunity to be a serious post-season contender. Cook contacted Thompson and Brett’s displeasure was conveyed to the Packers GM.

It took Mike McCarthy to calm the waters, so to speak. McCarthy, after a week of trying to contact Favre, finally received a return phone call from the Packers signal caller. Favre told McCarthy that he’d be a man of his word and return to the Green Bay Packers. Favre admitted that he really didn’t want to part company with the storied franchise but that he’s more than frustrated with the team for not supplying him with the offensive talent to give him another legitimate shot at an NFC title.

Favre’s demands and discontent leaked to the media and that’s when the spin went into effect. In a statement released on the Packers website Favre stated, “I was frustrated a couple weeks back when Randy Moss was traded to New England. I never wanted to be traded and I don't want to be traded. I want to be in Green Bay. I want to finish my career as a Packer. Sometimes when I get frustrated I let my emotions get the better of me. As I said in February when I announced that I was coming back, I am excited about the young talent on our team and the improvements we're going to see from one year to the next. I really enjoy the young guys I'm playing with. I'm working hard down in Mississippi right now, rehabbing, and I plan to be in the best shape of my life. I look forward to playing with this team and seeing what we can do. I think we can be pretty good.”

According to 2 separate sources, their opinion is that if Favre plays well this season (2007) then he’ll return for another year but it will NOT be with the Green Bay Packers. If Favre doesn’t play up to his own expectations, he’ll walk away from the game, to his tractor in Hattiesburg and ultimately to that anticipated day when he slips on that gold jacket and unveils his bronze bust on the historic stage in Canton.

Enjoy this year Packers fans, this appears to truly be Favre’s last hurrah. Question, if the Packers finish the 2007 campaign 11-5 and play deep in to January, would that convince #4 to don the green and gold once again? We’ll have to wait and see.

Note: Lance Allan of Today’s TMJ4 is reporting that a spokesman for the Packers has stated that the upcoming mini camp is mandatory and that anyone not in attendance is subject to fine. As we all know, Brett has stated that he will NOT be attending the mini camp this weekend. He’s rehabbing his surgically repaired ankle and he’ll be attending the high school graduation of his oldest daughter.

Brewers

2007-05-17T10:58:00.000-07:00

From Jayson Stark's rumblin stumblin grumblin's

The Maddux who has had the biggest impact on the National League in 2007 might not be Greg. It could be his big brother Mike, who has turned into one of the best pitching coaches in the biz in Milwaukee.

There are plenty of examples of pitchers Maddux has turned around. But how about his three closers -- Dan Kolb (signed after getting released by Texas), Derrick Turnbow (a waiver claim) and Francisco Cordero (who had a 7.50 ERA last year this time in Texas).

"Let's just say it's not by accident these three guys all developed into All-Star closers," said manager Ned Yost. Maddux told Rumblings he doesn't want any accolades. "I'll take the blame," he said. "Let them [the pitchers] get the credit." Sorry. He gets it anyway.

Maddux built back Cordero's psyche and expanded his repertoire. He encouraged Turnbow to go home last winter, after a brutal year, and "hit the eraser button." And now he reminds The Chief constantly to slow down and "control the pace of the game." And how did Maddux figure out the secret to controlling that pace? By doing such a lousy job of it during his own career, he said. "That's how I learned," he laughed. "By looking back on my playing days and figuring out all the things I wish I'd done different."

• While everybody was fixating on J.J. Hardy's home run total, we might have missed his most incredible stat of all. He has been so locked in, 57 percent of his swings have put the ball in play this year. That's the fourth-best percentage in the NL. And no one else in the top 10 has hit more than two homers. "I can't tell you how badly I missed on J.J. Hardy as an offensive player," said one executive who scouted Hardy in high school. "I loved his hands in the field. He had an unbelievable arm. But I thought there was no way his bat would work at all. Too much swinging and missing." Hey, not anymore.

That is amazing!

Carson Palmer

2007-05-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

This is directly from:
AOL Sports Blog

Suns v. Spurs

2007-05-17T09:36:00.000-07:00

The Suns v. Spurs game 5 was basically the exact opposite of the last game. There is no way that the Spurs should have won this game (like how the Suns never should have won the last one).

A few observations:
1 - The Spurs play great defense (nothing new here).
2 - Bowen is dirty (I'm not passing judgment, but he is). Bill Simmons has it more than covered in his article about the suspensions.
3 - Right after they made some comment about how Nash makes better decisions than anyone else, he threw up a few bad threes.
4 - Nash is awesome. Post game press conference - ::reporter's phone rings:: Nash: "I hope she's hot"
5 - I hope that Amare puts up 40 and dunks over Bowen/Duncan to do it so we can get a game 7.

Peter King on Favre and that receiver

2007-05-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

Still nothing on SI's site about that Keyshawn rumor, but PK did share some wisdom:

There's one thing Favre has missed in this whole drama. I think that once the Patriots were in the picture, Moss didn't care about the Packers anymore. If New England hadn't been involved, Green Bay probably would have gotten Moss and Favre would be a happy man today.

But the Packers aren't going to win the Super Bowl this year. The Patriots might. And if you're Moss, and the only thing you really care about right now is trying to win a championship so you can shut the people up who are ripping for you for taking a dive last year with Oakland, there was only one team to go to this offseason. That's New England. Once the Patriots showed even a flicker of interest, Moss would have walked to Foxboro.
And:
Thompson does want Favre ... but as his quarterback, not as his assistant general manager.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/05/15/favre/index.html

a lesson from the playoffs

2007-05-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

(I just can't stand having a MLB story at the top of the page.)

For all the talk of the NBA following the Suns' lead and switching to an up-tempo full-court style (hello Toronto!), just take a look at the playoffs so far. The two "best," most entertaining teams, GSW and PHX, are done. And why? Because they came up against two defensive teams. The Spurs defense is awe-inspiring. The way that they're able to shut down the Suns' 3-point attack made Nash's offense the focus of the scoring. That can only go so far.

Do I like watching San Antonio or Utah or Detroit play? No. I won't be watching many more games this post season. But they're proving that D wins it.

So okay, I guess the Bucks should pick Oden if the opportunity is there.

Brewers Prediction

2007-05-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

Now that I have gotten to see that good and the bad of the Brewers, I am ready to make a final prediction on the Brewers.

I've got them at: 87-77
They are now: 25-14
Their remaining record: 62-63

I think that 87-77 will give them the NL Cental, with the next best team being 1-2 games over .500 (either Houston or Chicago).

I think that JJ Hardy will finish at .305 with 26 HRs and about 90-95 RBI's/runs.
I think that Jeff Suppan will finish with an ERA of 3.8 and 15 wins.
I think that the Brewer's won't, but should trade Geoff Jenkins at the trade deadline.
I think that Yovanni Gallardo will only be brought up if there are injuries to two starting pitchers (Villanueva would get first crack at the rotation).
I think that Ryan Braun will come up this year after a slump for his bat at 3rd, but not for interleague play as a DH because, unlike with Prince Fielder a few years back, there are good players sitting on the bench being good soldiers about their reduced playing time.

Suns followup

2007-05-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

I don't have anything to say that you can't read in 8 other places. Maybe that right there hammers the point home more than anything else.

Amare and Diaw should not have been suspended. Period. Obviously reasons for that include:
1 - Common Sense
2 - They didn't do anything.
3 - You give incentive for a player to clean out a guy in front of the opposing team's bench.
4 - You force yourself to give Horry an unprecedented suspension (how did he get 2 games for a hard foul?), which is just as screwy.
5 - My favorite one, Duncan left the bench in a less escalated, but potentially similar way. The reason why this one is my favorite is watching Jalen Rose playing chicken with the league yesterday on TV by saying, look, if you suspend Amare and Diaw, you have to suspend Duncan. He almost seemed to be challenging Stu Jackson (image right) or trying to back him into a corner. It was great.

Anyway, this decision is EXACTLY like Bill Simmons' assessment of NBA GM's. They don't make trades because their jobs are not in jeopardy if they don't trade, but could be if they do. Here, Stu suspends Amare and Diaw because he can hide behind the idea of the letter of the law. It is more defensible in a court room. However, it is far less defensible in the court of common sense. Either way, it is easy for him to deflect the criticism he will receive this way.

Unsubstantiated Keyshawn rumor

2007-05-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

From WBAY.com:

The Green Bay Packers' seemingly tepid interest in free agent receiver Keyshawn Johnson will apparently be rebuked.
According to a Sports Illustrated report, Johnson has narrowed his choices to the Tennessee Titans, Oakland Raiders, or retirement, which also means a career in TV.
The report also says Johnson is reluctant to play in Green Bay, and if the money is not right he will walk away from the game.
Johnson, 34, has averaged 70 catches the last three seasons. He thinks he can play two or three more seasons -- but apparently not in Green Bay.

I can't find any source from SI to back this up. Not a huge surprise if he or they aren't really interested in each other, but I'll hold off on believing this until it receives more substantial backing than a Fox affiliate. (Thanks to Crackpot Joe for the tip.)

Turnbow

2007-05-16T05:58:00.000-07:00

I only need to say this once this year: Turnbow is only as good as a well located slider. If he does not have it, you might as well pull him right out of the game. He cannot be successful with just a straight 4-seam fastball (which he is not that great at locating). When his slider is working and located well, it is very difficult for hitters to get on his fastball.

The past two nights, he hasn't been able to rely on his slider. Guess what happened? On Monday, he stopped throwing it after walking the first batter, giving him nothing to retire two batters he had on 0-2 pitches. Last night, he failed to do anything with the slider save spike it in the dirt (which can be effective, but not against a well disciplined hitter who is making you prove you can put the ball over the plate). So, of course, Ruiz waits for the fastball right in his wheelhouse and sends a no-doubter over left-center. Game over.

Brewers

2007-05-14T22:25:00.000-07:00

JJ Hardy is a monster. He hit a 3 run jack on a 0-2 mistake. Are you kidding? It was ironic to see Wes Helms come to the plate in the 8th getting it done. He was a terrible Brewer for a few years. A remnant of guys the Brewers used to need and give playing time to, in the mold of John Vander Wal (picture, right) and the like.

The Brewers may have lost with the lauded 8th-9th combo not coming through, but it really didn't seem that bad to me. You lose some of those games. It is just they way baseball is played.

Suns

2007-05-14T22:19:00.000-07:00

Robert Horry applied quite the forearm shiver to Steve Nash and then appeared to go right after Raja Bell. Watching it live, if any Suns get suspended for game 5, the NBA sucks. Amare got off the bench and threw off his towel. He checked in and never got near the action, regardless of his intentions. If he gets suspended, the NBA is terrible.

Also, the Suns never should have won that game - SA dominated. I can't wait for the rest!