SeattleSportsManiac

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2009-03-13T18:21:00.001-07:00

The Mariners and their many failures.

2008-06-17T19:42:00.001-07:00

The Mariners are failing on so many levels this season, you could write an entire 500 page book on it. Their defense by many accounts is the worst in the league. Even worse, this team doesn't know how to evaluate its own defense. It still think Yuniesky Betancourt is Omar Vizquel jr. when he is one of the worst defensive short stops in the league. Raul Ibanez is actually worse defensively than Manny Ramirez, yet the team keeps trotting him out there. The team has recently moved Ichiro to right field and put in Bloomquist at center field temporarily. Lastly, they have given Jeremy Reed, definitley our 2nd best outfield defensively, some reps at the first base position.
The Mariners, for whatever reason, have also some of the worst hitting in the league. Last season, at some point, everyone on the starting 9 besides Richi Sexson was hitting .280 or above. I know batting average is an archaic measurement of offensive prowess, but needless to say, in Safeco Field, that is still pretty impressive. Unfortunately, the front office's perogative has been to look at batting average, and apparently ignore patience and power. Raul Ibanez, Adrian Beltre, and Richie Sexson were the ones with power starting this season, and when you have only 3 guys on your roster who have a decent shot at breaking the 25 home run barrier, there's probably going to be a problem. Johjima, Betancourt, and Lopez all had less than 15 walks each last season, which shows some serious plate discipline problems.
The Mariners' starting pitching, supposedly one of the best in the majors, is falling apart. We supposedly have two aces and 3 pitchers capable of being "number 3" pitchers". Well, all three of our number three pitchers are playing at replacement level pitchers. Our number ones have both shown flashes of Cy Young ability, and some times it's hard to tell if it is our defense or little injuries that is making things worse. Perhaps the problem is Mel Stottlemyre and his "establish the fastball" mantra. Felix Hernandez, after 57.1% and 57.0% fastballs for the previous two years, is throwing 65.3% fastballs this year. Bedard had a career year last year, getting 10.8 k/9, but has raised his fastball percentage from 57.9% to 63.7% and his groundball percentage is down from 47.9% to 40.5%. Batista's fastball and cutter percentages are both up, and Washburn's fastball percentage is drastically down, while Silva's is 2% lower. Whatever the case is, no one in their right mind would offer Washburn around $40 million for 4 years, or give Silva $48 million over 4 years.
I've heard a lot of talk about bad process bad results lately, and I have to think this is right. There's a book entitled When Genius Fails, about Nobel Prize winners who open up a hedge fund called Long Term Capital Management, and how it had huge returns until it bombed out and failed miserably. The book argues that it is very possible that these geniuses knew what they were doing, but merely met up with unexpected bad results, a classic good process bad results process. Clearly what we're dealing with is a bad process bad results process. The team seems to be blindly unaware of its many deficiencies that simple bloggers who do research in their spare time have spotted. If the Mariners were a company, they'd either already be bankrupted, or their shareholders would have demanded that they fire the CEO (Howard and Lincoln, not just Bavasi). I think a normal company would have to look at itself and say, why are we paying $48 million dollars for this inventory when competing company's are merely getting it for near free from the draft or from free agency. A good example is of Jorge Campillo, a starting pitcher the Mariners had, but for whatever reason, were unwilling to start. He was a soft tossing righty, and if had been a lefty, the Mariners might have given him a chance, but he wasn't, and now he's pitching well in a starting position for the Braves.
There are so many exmamples I could show of how the Mariners are proving themselves to be inept. Whether its their inept handling of signing free agents, their unwillingness to play unproven players and their subsequent steadfastness in playing veterans, or their bizarre desire to overvalue batting average. Hopefully this franchise can be something I can be proud of and hopefully someone will right this ship, but I have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that I will be let down for quite a number of years.

Cubs World Series

2008-06-03T07:17:00.000-07:00

There has been a decent amount of coverage about the Cubs lately. They are in 1st place in the NL and apparently the last time they were in 1st on June 1st was 1908, which is also the last time they won the World Series.

The Cubs are also for SALE right now. I was just wondering, but are the Cubs worth MORE if they win the WS this year or less?

I guess you can point to the Red Sox or the White Sox and say they are worth more after winning except the RED SOX are cuz they are STILL Winning. White Sox are worth more probably just because baseball teams are worth more. The reason they could be worth less is because with LOSING, do the Cubs less loveable? New owners probably want to come in and be the savior who finally breaks the curse.

Just some food for thought. Also, if Mark Cuban buys the Cubs, will people hate them more than they already do? Or do people like Cuban. I personally hate him. He's not as rich as people think (In the NBA Finals against the Heat, the Heat owner was actually about 5x richer than Cuban, something many people do not realize). Also, he would be ANNOYING to work for and its annoying to watch him whine during games. Also, he dresses like a slob.

David Stern, I know your secret

2008-04-21T21:16:00.001-07:00

It looks as though it is inevitable that the Seattle Super Sonics are moving to Oklahoma. If not this season, then next season, or the season after that when the Key Arena lease expires. One thing that surprises me is the number of articles on how Clay Bennett has tricked David Stern, or the articles on how Stern should step in and help save the Sonics. This is where Stern has everyone fooled. Everyone thinks it is Clay Bennett's idea to give his beloved hometown of Oklahoma City a pro franchise, when that's not really what this is all about. What this is really about is a power struggle, so that professional sports franchises can give sports fans a big Fuck You. I think somewhere down the line, Stern, and perhaps several other owners and professional sports league commissioners, became tired of fans whining and demanding concessions. After all, from Stern's point of view, having a pro sports team was a privilege that any city should be proud to have, and the fact that fans weren't appreciative enough ticked him off. This move from Seattle exemplifies a power struggle, and the struggle is that if a city isn't willing to subsidize a sports team whenever an owner demands it, then the city could lose all it invested in a team no matter how rich the tradition, how loyal the fan base, or how profitable the team had been.
Think about it, is there any other business where a group of businessman can just come in, buy a piece of property and then claim that it is no longer suitable for business within the year. I mean really, how can someone complain about a lease and the way it is structured, when they knew when they bought it that the lease was overpriced. It's like trading for an aging superstar player with a backloaded contract, then complaining about it. This should have figured into their calculations when posting a bidding price. Of course once the team was purchased, Bennett and friends somehow made it seem reasonable that an arena that was once lauded for how state-of-the-art it was, now suddenly 12 years later is totally unsuitable for business, and the only way the business can continue, is if the local government forks over half of a billion dollars, which by the way is an unheard of amount for an NBA arena. I mean really, why would you buy a business, if you immediately needed a new facility that you weren't willing to pay for at all? How can you just buy a team for $350 million dollars and then just expect the good city of Seattle to fork over $500 million, especially when you are simply asking for $150 million or so in renovations to your current non-professional basketball arena in Oklahoma City? I'll tell you how they have the gumption to do this, because David Stern asked them to do it.
Why? Would would Stern risk alienating a loyal fan base? I'll tell you why, Stern wanted to send a message to fans, and that message is that to have the privilege of an NBA franchise in your city, you must ensure that it is profitable at all times. In fact, I'd be willing to say that Stern loves the fact that Seattle is a much bigger market than Oklahoma City. He loves the fact that the Sonics have been in Seattle for 41 years, and that they have the only championship that the city has experienced (that hockey one way back when doesn't count, and neither does the Storm one, sorry ladies). He loves this because he's showing that tradition doesn't matter and that he's willing to move a team to a worse situation financially if it means the new city is footing the bill. I was reading recently about the cruise ship industry, and how they were so profitable in the beginning because the Scandinavian countries were having such a hard time with unemployment that they paid for 50% of the costs of cruise ships just so they could have more business for the dockworkers. Imagine running a business where 50% of your fixed costs are paid for, it doesn't seem too hard to make a profit when governments are willing to do whatever it takes to have your business does it? Well this is exactly what the NBA is doing now, they're saying, pay for my fixed costs, then you can enjoy our services. This is so baffling, I don't understand it. I know this happens in normal businesses sometims, such as the city of Tacoma paying Russell Investment to not move to Seattle, but not quite to this extent. I mean, think about how profitable owning a sports franchise is. Not only have franchise values gone up drastically in the last 30 years, but revenues have increased from tv deals, from a broader global presence, and from the fact that cities end up having to pay for $300 million dollar arenas when the teams themselves are only worth $300 million themselves.
What can fans do in this situation? Not much actually. I for one am never watching the NBA again. I know, the NBA this season is probably it's best ever. The west is 8 deep (9 actually), and it will probably be a classic Celtics Lakers finals showdown, but I don't care. I don't want any part of this league and I sincerely wish that other fans did the same. It's kind of like a strike in that this is a power struggle where not watching the playoffs is not really what fans want to do, but for the greater good down the road, I think it would be great if fans united and boycotted going to games. This would get Stern's attention, and that lying rat bastard would have to concede defeat. Unfortunately, I don't see this happening. Fans will continue to watch the playoffs, owners will continue to get even richer, and fans will always be on the short end of the bargaining stick.

Seattle Mariners 2007-2008 offseason plan

2007-11-14T05:24:00.000-08:00

The Mariners put up a solid above .500 season last year, but let's be honest, there was no real chance of them doing well in the playoffs even if they got there. They're pitching was too weak and while everyone in their lineup could hit (everyone including the bench had a .285 or above average except Sexson and Lopez), they couldn't get on base or hit for power. Batista and Washburn are above average pitchers, but they're not #2 pitchers, they're both 3-4 pitchers. The fact that we had the weakest 4-5 pitchers in the league also didn't help. A quick solution would've been Curt Schilling, who would've given us a "veteran presence" a 1A to go with out 1 in Felix, and he could have made a good mentor to Felix by showing him when to challenge and when not to, and how to prepare for each game and season (and not be a mental midget). Schilling isn't available, so here is my plan to fix the Mariners.

First off, SafeCo is good for Left handed power hitters. It's also not a great park for hitters in general, so what do we need? Left handed hitters who get on base. Two above average such guys are available in the form of Geoff Jenkins a good left fielder from the Seattle area, and Fukudome, a lefty from Japan. We could put those guys in left and right, and this would give us more lefty batters as well as good defense in the outfield. I don't see them being superstars, but they'll be 0 to +10 runs better on defense than average, which is a lot better than the -20 from Raul and the -10 from Guillen. Raul proved that when he's not injured he is still a solid lefty hitter. So he play 1b or DH, and I'm assuming he can give us at least -5 runs at 1b, which is much better than Sexson or Broussard can do. With this team, and with Betancourt hopefully showing us that his mental blanks can be limited, we have average or above players at every defensive position. This is important especially since our pitching core isn't that great.

With this, our lineup goes like this:
CF: Ichiro
RF: Fukudome
3B: Beltre
LF: Genkins
1B: Ibanez
C: Johjima
DH: Broussard/Vidro
SS: Betancourt
2B: Lopez
Bench: Burke, Bloomquist, 4 OFer like Reed or veteran, Morse/Chen/Green?
With this lineup, we have no superstud save for Ichiro, but we do not have a single guy in the lineup who can't hit. Save for Lopez, I don't see any of these guys hitting below .280.

On to pitching. We have a number one pitcher in Felix, but we only have 2 solid veterans after that and then a bunch of prospects who could break through. Since our OF is now cluttered with guys who give us OBP and should only cost $8 million per year each, this frees us up to trade our prospects. I like Adam Jones a lot, but our biggest weakness is either a big time bat, or a big time pitcher. For this, I say we trade an assortment of Jones, Balentien, Clement, Morrow, Butler, or Tillman for Johan Santana. I'd be willing to trade Jones, Balentien and Clement just for Santana. This is conditional on us signing Santana to a long term deal for about $200 million over 8 years (fair value considering Zambrano is $19 million per year, then Santana, the leagues best pitcher should get $25 million). To do this, we trade away Sexson for whatever, and just try to clear off as much of his last year as possible. Felix might like us trading away his best friend in Balentien, but he wouldn't mind having a fellow Venezuelan stud pitcher showing him the ropes. If Santana could not be dealt for, I wouldn't mind Willis, Bedard, or Oswalt, but obviously for a much lesser price such as Adam Jones a further away prospect and a young setup man. After this, we should also sign Kuroda for starting pitching depth. With this, our pitchers consist of 2 stud pitchers, and 3 #3 or #4 pitchers in Kuroda, Washburn, and Batista, with Batista possible switching to the bullpen in the playoffs.
1. Johan Santana / Oswalt / Willis / Bedard
1A. Felix Hernandez
3. Washburn
3. Kuroda
3. Batista
Bullpen
LRP/ Spot Starter: RRS
LRP/Spot Starter: Baek
MRP: Kameron Mickolio / Austin Bibbens-Dirks
MRP: EOF
MRP: Sean Green
SU: Sherrill
SU: Mark Lowe
Closer: JJ Putz

Seahawks' season unofficially over.

2007-10-09T04:31:00.000-07:00

The Seahawks' season is pretty much over. Mack Strong is injured and has retired. Deion Branch is out for a month. We just lost to Pittsburgh 21-0. And the Colts and Pats look unbeatable (except for when they play each other, in which case, one of them has to be beatable).
Does this come as a surprise? If I held the same aspirations now as I did at the beginning of the season, then yes, but since I don't, then no, it doesn't. While our defense has looked amazing at times, we still can't stop the run, which I think is an integral part of defense, since if you can stop the run, you force the opponent to throw more often then they want to. Besides the hope that our defense has given Hawks fans, the offense has looked very inconsistent. Hasselbeck has looked like a sub elite qb, just under Carson Palmer, Brady, and Manning, and at other times he's looked like a rookie QB who gets scared out of the pocket too easily. Is some of it to blame on the line for being young and the WRs for being inconsistent? Probably, but Hasselbeck 2 years ago was the top qb in the NFC, and he sure isn't playing like it now. Perhaps one of the biggest mistakes is Deion Branch, whom many praise as a WR designed for the west coast offense. This may be true, but he's still not worth a 1st round pick, especially when two WRs better than him, Darrell Jackson and Randy Moss, went for 4th round picks. Other flaws are Hackett's supposed breakout year taking a falter due to injury, and Burleson's failure to step up and be a consistent wideout. So far he is the same as Koren Robinson, talented in both the receiving and returning game, but has shown too many mental lapses.
Lastly, a lot of people have been down on Shaun Alexander, for both his inability to hit holes fast enough, his lacksadasical effort as a pass blocker, and his medicore receiving ability, but I think this is partly the organization's fault. We knew that he was a question mark, yet we didn't take a chance on a free agent or a draft pick. We could've traded our 1st round pick for Michael Turner instead of Branch, and that would've been a better move. Perhaps next year we'll draft a rb who is a fairly good runner, but more importantly, a good pass blocker and receiver, since this is what will best complement Alexander's weaknesses.
Is this news dissapointing? Yes, but barring an injury to Tom Brady or Peyton Manning/Bob Sanders, the Colts or the Patriots will be the Superbowl champs irregardless of who the NFC champion is.

NFL advertising, and how little sense it makes

2007-10-06T11:10:00.001-07:00

It's week 5 in the NFL, and so far I've seen a lot of new commercials with NFL players in it. This is a good thing, because most people talk about how some NFL players have less star power because it's harder to be recognized with a helmet on. Leading the new commercial charge is of course, Peyton Manning, who, after Tom Brady, is probably the 2nd most popular player in the NFL. The two next most popular players? Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart. I can't tell how how much this blows my mind. I know they were both in the NFL's "now" poll, but neither player has done anything yet. Which pisses me off all the more about ESPN's NOW, because there is no way that Vince Young, Reggie Bush, and Matt Leinart, are more popular, marketable, and at the peak of their athletic performance, then Kevin Garnett, Yao Ming, Chad Johnson, or David Wright are. We still don't know if Reggie Bush can be anything more than a show pony who does tricks. We still don't know if Leinart is any good. Boldin and Fitzgerald have made Warner (when he's not fumbling) and Josh McCown into 4,000 yard QB's (if they had played the whole season), and yet Leinart can't seem to get more than 250 passing yards in a game. Leinart popularity is almost exclusively a product of a strong USC system, being a white QB, and his "rugged good looks".
Another unimportant thing to mention. LaDanian Tomlinson, while worthy of being in commercials, does not watch tv on a Vizio. A guy who makes $10+ million per year does not watch tv on a tv that markets itself as cheap and affordable. That would be like him driving a Kia.

What to Expect from the Sonics

2007-09-28T10:06:00.000-07:00

As it stands now, the 2007-2008 season is dwarfed by a cloud of uncertainty as to whether it is the last season that the SuperSonics play in Seattle. It's almost impossible not to think about, even if the conversation is intended to be solely about basketball, but I'll try anyway.

So Allen and Lewis are gone and have been replaced by the younger Durant and Green. We've also now got a reliable backup guard in West, and a massive (but expiring in 2009) contract in Szczerbiak. Swift is not injured anymore, and Collison has reportedly made leaps and bounds. Also...we have Kurt Thomas (yay).

Down the road, I like how this team is looking and could potentially look, but because of the arena situation (and knowing this could be the last season in Seattle), it's really hard not to just look at the immediate future. Unfortunately, I don't think the 2007-2008 Sonics will make the playoffs. I'm not saying they definitely won't, as it is almost impossible to predict how this team will play together, but I think it's unlikely.

We still have problems at PG that need to be solved. We need someone who can fluidly run the offense (Watson can't) and play a shred of defense (Ridnour can't), and until we fix that, we will lose a lot of games.

If Swift and Collison do end up being as solid as they seem like they could be this year, that could make all the difference in the world, but I don't yet trust Swift at all.

Overall, I think the win count could be anywhere from 25 to 50, but if I had to guess, I think the Sonics will probably have a record that's maybe slightly better than last year's 31-51. Still, I've never had more difficulty predicting how the Sonics would do in any season.

Mariners Season in the books, Huskies and Seahawks just starting

2007-09-08T15:50:00.001-07:00

Well, the Mariners had a nice run, and stayed competitive into September, more than anyone expected, however, their season is pretty much over. I guess that's what happens when you're manager is crap, and you lose 13 of 14. Anyways, it was fun while it lasted, but part of me is happy because then we can fire McLaren, and then we can't give Bavasi too much credit.

The Washington Huskies football team is finally back. After having a one win season, the Huskies hired Tyrone Willingham, a man many consider a good recruiter, but not a great coach. Well, if you have one win, you'll take the good recruiting coach any day, especially when you were a top 25 team for the better part of 3 decades. In Willingham's first season, he doubled our win total to a whopping 2. Last year, his Huskie's picked up 5 wins, a misleading stat because the Huskies were 4-1 and then lost to USC in a close game, before their starting QB was injured and the team subsequently spiralled downward, made worse by a crushing defeat by winless Stanford. However, the Huskies almost beat UCLA, and beat Washington State to finish the season at a respectable 5-7. This season, we have arguably the toughest schedule in all of college football (ranked no. 1 by ESPN) with a non-conference schedule of @ Syracuse, a decent team with potential, but the 3,000 mile trek doesn't make the game any easier, a game against Boise State, a team that beat Oklahoma in a BCS bowl game last year on their way to an undefeated season, Ohio State, no description needed, and ending the season with Hawaii, an offensive juggernaut ranked in the top 25, with a potential Heisman winning QB in Colt Brennan. This in addition to playing every team in the Pac-10, in which no game is a gimme with the exception of Stanford (whom we lost to last year).

As we all know, the season, and most likely the future success of the Huskies rest solely on redshirt freshman Jake Locker's shoulders, and so far he has not disappointed. He has been the savior of U-Dub football since his junior year of Washington, and if the Mariners had drafted him (as they did with Matt Tuiasosopo when he was considering being a QB at Washington) or had he taken a scholarship offer elsewhere, that surely would have been a big blow to coach Willingham's plans. Luckily for us, Locker, a humble yet amazingly bright and athletic kid has shown that he has the makeup to be a great college quarterback. Blessed with 4.5 40 yard speed, he also has good vision and the potential for great accuracy. Our offensive line is also doing well, as they are all returning from last year, and our RB Louis Rankin is finally health enough, as shown by his 143 yards running against 'Cuse, and his td pass against Boise State. Huskies fever is finally back, and thank God, it's been too long. You never realize how cool it is to have a great football team until it falls from the top 25 to the laughing stock of the Pac 10.

The Seahawks start tomorrow against Tampa Bay, a team I think too many "experts" are taking too lightly. I love that Bill Simmons of ESPN predicts us as the number 2 team in the NFL to his beloved Patriots, but I'd have to say that we are 3 after NE and SD, though pointing to SD's coach is a good reason to knock them down come playoff time. What's different about this year? Well, we no longer have Ken Hamlin and Michale Boulware manning the safety positions. I compare these two to Jose Lopez and Betancourt, because safeties are like middle infielders in that they are an essential part of the defense, but underrated as a whole. Instead we now have Deon Grant, a good coverage safety, and Brian Russell, a smart player. Babineaux is still available off the bench, which is good news. Also new is Patrick Kerney, who pretty much fills in for Wistrom, except he's a supreme pass rusher and decent run defender, and Wistrom is the opposite. The offense should be the same, as we are stacked at the WR, and Branch has more of a rapport with Hasselbeck now, and we'll see how Pollard does with Hasselbeck as well, a key part of this season in my opinion, as I happen to think that Jerramy Steven finally stepping it up and serving as an effective security blanket for 'Beck was a big part the Seahawks making it to the SuperBowl. More to come after the game.

Barry Bonds: new Home Run Career Record Holder

2007-08-11T12:41:00.001-07:00

Surprisingly, the nation seems to be indifferent as to Bonds breaking the record. This should be the response, as if say, LaDanian broke the career rushing record, I have to say that my reaction would be one of indifference. I don't like him, but I don't hate him, and he doesn't play for my team, so I acknowledge that what he is a great accomplishment, but I'm neither happier or sadder because of it. I feel the same way toward Barry Bonds. I don't like him, but I don't dislike him, and I think it's impressive that he broke the record.
Is this record tainted in any way? Maybe a little, but I don't really think so that much. First off, although Barry Bonds probably did take steroids, it is not proven. Sure the chance that he did is probably 99.9% or more, but their is always the chance that he decided to lift a lot and take a lot of legal supplements to get bigger. Even if he did take steroids, why is it that steroids are illegal and other supplements are not? What is considered natural? A few years ago, Andro, the stuff that McGwire took, was considered legal, but then was banned years later, same with Creatine. Also to take into consideration, is that it's not like he took steroids and got bigger from nothing, steroids increases endurance and lessens muscle fatigue during workouts, so Barry worked out for about 6 hours a day while on his supplements. If you want to criticize him, you have to at least acknowledge and admire his work ethic and determination. A few years ago, Jim Thome was praised for not lifting and not taking steroids, and that his physique was all country boy, just naturally big. I don't know why he gets praised for being lazy. Sure, he didn't take steroids, great, but not lifting is just dumb in this day and age. It's proven to give you more power, and a power hitter should lift. Which brings about another point of "the natural athlete". What is natural? If you want an all natural athlete, than where does the natural part end, and the unnatural part begin? Should we ban athletes from lifting, and only allow the to do situps, pushups, and pullups? The line is hard to tell on what's natural and what's not. After all, some athletes have a VO2 Max so high or increase muscle mass so easily that their levels could be called unnatural. So if someone who's on the low end of athletic ability and take something to make them above average but not illegally it's seen as a kid wanting to be great, but if someone who's already great takes these things, it's seen as rule-breaking, and a shame to the game. Should we not allow contacts or inhalers either?
Another problem with the steroids argument is that there are many forms of "cheating" that don't get noticed or aren't considered cheating. An article was recently written about Bonds' elbow armor (http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003621797). So while this article may exaggerate how may hr's his elbow pad added to Bonds' career, but its just another example of how cheating is a blurred line, and how some advantages are for some reason allowed, and others are labeled cheating.
Also of note is that Baseball has had a problem with cheating for a while. Recently ESPN had a poll on cheating, and people felt that cheating was at an all-time high, and it was noted that because the monetary rewards were so high, that the incentives were so high, that someone had to cheat. This is a good point, but I don't think that cheating is at an all time high. Now there is more security, more drug tests, and more importantly, more technology. Before, people could cheat by doctoring balls, doctoring bats, changing the field, stealing signs, changing hoop heights, having bad floors, paying off refs, etc. So to say cheating is at an all time high is just an uneducated thing to say that the media would love for you to believe because it gives them a story.
Lastly I would like to blame Bud Selig and MLB for the "steroids era". The no testing policy was what caused steroids to be prevalent in the league, and the reason MLB didn't fight for testing was that it was helpful to both sides of the argument. A lot of players didn't want it because they either wanted to use illegal supplements, and MLB didn't mind because it brought increased revenue and a bigger fan base. So this situation essentially brought up a prisoners dilemma. If a player uses, and all other players don't, they benefit big time because they put up better numbers (see Giambi or possibly Matthews Jr.). If they don't use and no one uses, the situation is the same, and if they use and everyone uses no one benefits really because everyone's game has been (theoretically) risen the same amount, but everyone faces the risk that is presented from steroid use (though this risk has never been clearly defined or proven). So if a player looks around and sees that no one is using steroids, and that if he uses steroids he can double his salary, what is he going to do? He's going to use steroids because there is no testing, the only thing holding him back is his fear of steroids, his laziness to lift, his own negative opinions on using steroids, and his fear of public shame holding him back. For most players, they were scared enough of steroids long term effects, felt like they were cheating, or were scared if they got caught, and never used. But many players didn't care, and and the incentive to "cheat" was too great in terms of pay checks. Look at Sammy Sosa. He has over 600 career home runs. It can be argued that steroids turned him from a 35 hr player to a 60 hr player, and the difference is the difference between 10 million dollars and 20 million dollars per year. For Bonds, the decision to "cheat" clearly wasn't for money, and it's clear that he doesn't care if other people don't like him. His turning point was the whole Mark McGwire Sammy Sosa debacle, and the reason he was upset was that he was one of the greatest players to ever play the game, yet he didn't get recognized for it. This in and of itself is actually quite respectable because most people can relate to not getting enough credit for their performance.
So, before you condemn Barry Bonds, remember that with or without steroids, he is probably the greatest player of all time. He has 7 gold gloves, and while they were all in LF, more than 5 gold gloves mean that you are a great fielder, even if gold gloves are not a great defensive metric(see Derek Jeter or Raphael Palmeiro). He has over 500 career stolen bases, and was a great baserunner as well. He has the most home runs ever, and if he wasn't so good at hitting home runs from 1999 on, then he would probably have ended up with well over 500, if not 600. Lastly, he's underrated because while his average wasn't all that great some seasons, his on base percentage percentage was always good; he never had an obp under .400 after the age of 25 while playing more than 102 games. For this he has two things that Ruth didn't have, defense and baserunning, though Ruth did pitch like Cy Young. So love him or hate him, at least respect his game and his hard work, because he's one of the greatest players ever, and whatever faults he has, are not his faults alone.

Adam Jones finally called up

2007-08-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

Adam Jones was finally called up, finally appeasing Mariners fans. USSMariner has already showed that Adam Jones in the field will already make HoRam into Johan Santana (granted this improvement will be spread out over all the pitchers, so stats will just be a bit better for everyone), but last night he hit 2 singles, and scored 2 runs. This is more impressive than it sounds, because in his 2nd AB, he had a 10 pitch or so at bat, which is good because it means he's not that easy to strike out, and he tired Lester out. In his 3rd AB, he beat out a bad throw, showing his athleticism and smarts.
It remains to be seen how much Jones will be played, but if he continues to play this well, veterans won't get upset, because they want to win. As it is, the Mariners can smell the fear from the Angels, and they should be fearful, the M's should make it an exciting race for the rest of the season.

Garnett to the Celtics

2007-07-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been reported that the Minnesota Timberwolves have finally traded KG to the Celtics for a boatload of players, many of which I think are very promising players. Al Jefferson was a stud in the second half of last year, Gerald Green will always be at least a promising player due to athleticism, Sebastian Telfair, whom I do not like at all, Ryan Gomes, decent role player, Theo Ratliff, an expiring contract, and two first round picks.

As good as getting Garnett is, trades must factor in the contracts of players. In this case, Garnett costs a BOATLOAD of money. I look at players like that and think, if he were a free agent, would I sign him for that much money? I hesitated when I answered that because I wasn't sure if I would. If I'm the Celtics and I have to give up half of my team, I'm not sure I want to do this, even if the guy I'm getting is "one of the 25 best player's ever" (according to Bill Simmons).

Now to critique ESPN's Bill Simmons' and John Hollinger's articles on the trade. Simmons LOVES the trade. He thinks this trade will mean championships. The Celtics will have THREE players. I think these players COULD work well though because Garnett is the kind of superstar who doesn't really need to score and who doesn't take over at the end of games. That's where Pierce and Ray Allen come in. However, the rest of the team is a little lacking. I'm not saying I don't think the players are good, but I give the Celtics a 2-3 year window here to win and the role players need more time than that. Rajon Rondo (2nd year), Tony Allen (injury), Perkins, Glen Davis (rookie), Leon Powe (2nd year), and Gabe Pruitt (rookie). Most of those guys need time and Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett aren't getting any younger.

In Hollinger's article, he predicts that the Celtics will win 46 games. He uses his stupid projected PER ratings and some other numbers that no one quite understands. I'm all for numbers, but Hollinger is an idiot (and not in just this article). If the Celtics only win 46 games in the EAST, then either someone is injured, or their released everyone else for money reasons and put in random people off the street.

I think trading for KG will make Boston immediately better and will easily make them a playoff team, but it will be sacrificing long-term for short-term, a short-term which will not result in a championship.

Rashard Lewis 6 year deal and sign-and-trade

2007-07-11T14:31:00.001-07:00

So we got a sign and trade out of Rashard, which netted us a 2nd round pick and a trade exemption believed to be around $9 million. It was either the trade exemption, or a bunch of junk with expiring contracts, instead we opted for the trade exemption. The sign and trade was easy for us to do, sure Orlando, you can have him for a 6th year and pay him 6 million more per yer, if you give us a 2nd round pick. I was hoping we could squeeze a JJ Redick or a 1st round pick out of them, but oh well. Anyways, so we have cap room this year, whether we spend it on anything remains to be seen. I doubt it, which is good, because there's nothing to spend money on this year. Unfortunately, if we don't spend, we will have a bad season, with low expenses, which seems like a prime candidate for a team moving out.

Ichiro signs extension, Adam Jones called up

2007-07-10T16:47:00.000-07:00

According to ESPN, USSMariner, and ProspectInsider, Ichiro signed a deal believed to be for 5 years and around $100 million. This is a great deal, since he is a top 3 player this year along with Magglio and A-Rod (He's the best defensive player at the 2nd most important position). This is good because if Ichiro left, I dont' know that I'd root for the Mariners whole-heartedly over the next few years, and I'm glad we finally kept a superstar while he is still in his prime.

Another big move is Adam Jones finally getting called up. Vidro has a good batting average, but his slugging is so bad, that he is no longer a serviceable DH. Unfortunately we are going to put him in right, Guillen in left, and DH Raul. Jones would be a perfect LF in Safeco, and Guillen is a good RF, slow, but at least he has a cannon. As USSMariner has said, putting Jones in LF instead of Ibanez makes saves us 15 runs (conservative estimate) defensively, which is the equivalent of trading Batista for Santana. So despite the fact that the Mariners exceeded our wildest expectations, expect us to get even better in the second half.

Sonics hire PJ Carlesimo

2007-07-05T16:10:00.000-07:00

So, in a series of bad moves, the Sonics hire PJ Carlesimo. I understand Presti's young, so all he's ever known is the Spurs, but the Sonics are not going to be the Spurs. We lack the Tim Duncan to pull it off. If we had Oden, sure, we'd have a force inside with solid inside moves, and a quiet but quirky demeanor to pull it off. Instead we have a Kobe-like assassin. Carlesimo is a great assistant coach, he's not a #1 man. This may be the case with Casey too, but at least Casey knows the players. He's also hasn't coach enough, so you don't know if he's a bad coach. Carlesimo is a proven bad coach. Not only does Carlesimo not know how to handle his players (see Sprewell, Isaiah Rider, etc.) but he's never been a good coach, never taking his team very far. His best team was the 97 blazers that won 49 games, that won 59 games 3 years later after he left and was consistently winning 50 games before he came. It also says something that after his best year with Portland, he left to take a GS team that won 19 games with him that year that won 30 games the year before. The guy hasn't coach since 1999 for a reason.

Also of note is that Durant and Green both signed with the Sonics. The Summer League team is the highlight of the last week so far. We get Zabian Dowdell as an undrafted free agent, whom many including myself wanted in the 2nd round, Julius Hodge, a good defensive payer who can whoot, Gelabale, Sene, Green, Petro, Durant, and a bunch of roster fillers. Most games shoud be televised, so it'll be fun to watch Green and Durant build chemistry.

Lastly, the Rashard deal might be a sign and trade if Rashard wants to get an extra year to his deal. This would be good but Orlando doesn't really have anyone we'd want. But if we do lose Rashard, instead of 4 million in cap room, we get a trade exception for about 10 million.

Rashard Lewis to sign with the Magic

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

ESPN reports that on July 11th Rashard Lewis will sign a max deal with Orlando.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2924228

To this I say screw you Sam Presti. Because you traded away Ray Allen, you pissed off Lewis and we got nothing out of him. It's not like Baseball where we get a compensatory pick. For him it was either sign and trade with the Sonics, or sign with the Magic, and he liked what he saw in Orlando. The good thing we get out of this? Cap space. We can either make a run at Chauncey Billups or Gerald Wallace (don't really need another SF), or we can sign someone moderately priced, and go ater some of the mega free agents next year (Antwaan Jamison, Gilbert Arenas, and possibly KG, Tim Duncan, Iverson, Jermaine O'Neal, Elton Brand, Shawn Marion, Ron Artest).
I didn't buy Sam Presti's lies about three do everything SF's playing at the same time, and I don't think Rashard did either. I was hoping after the draft that Presti could spin something positive out of the Ray Allen trade, but so far, it's looking even worse.

Hargrove resigns despite M's Success

2007-07-01T17:28:00.000-07:00

Hargrove had a press conference today before the game announcing he would resign as manager after the game. The M's went on to win in the bottom of the 9th for their 8th in a row to get them to 12 over.
I was never a big fan of Hargrove, but now that were winning, I'm fine with him. His bullpen management has been a total turnaround from last year, and he's using Broussard correctly finally. He still misuses young people, such as not using O'Flaherty in tighter situations, and using Morrow in tight situations, and I wonder what he'd do if we called up Adam Jones. However he is doing a good enough job otherwise. He even put Vidro into the bottom third of the lineup for a while.
Anyways, something tells me something bigger is going on. Several have speculated that he was "let go" to resign Ichiro, and others have speculated that his wife or family member has some sort of illness. Whatever the case is, I hope this doesn't disturb the team chemistry, and I wish the team well.

Grading the 2007 NBA Draft, Trades included

2007-06-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

I'm going to go in Alphabetical Order by team.

Atlanta Hawks - A
Hawks made the right move by getting Horford over Conley Jr. I like Conley better for their team, but at the 11th pick Acie Law and Crittenton were available, while Spencer Hawes and Joakim Noah were not, so they made they right move by getting the big man first.

Boston Celtics - B+
They get Ray Allen while getting rid of Delonte West, Szczerbiak and his overinflated contract, and the #5 pick. I think they're fed up with Delonte, and Szczerbiak and his conract is just dead weight. I think they got rid of a bunch of parts because they were too afraid to pick YJL, Hawes, or Noah. Then they got Glen Davis and Gabe Pruitt to fill in their PG needs and backup forward needs. I think they had to do what they did or else Pierce and his fat body would whine and moan and bitch. A Ray Ray, Pierce, Al Jefferson lineup should do well in the East, except for the lack of Defense.

Charlotte Bobcats - B-
They drafted Julian Wright with the 8th pick, and then traded him for Jason Richardson. They didn't really need Wright as much as they would a Hawes or Noah, but a SG was in need. Now they can have Felton, Richardson, Wallace, May, Okafor. Of course they could have traded for someone better than Richardson, GS wanted to get rid of him, he was injured last season, and he'll cost a lot. GS also had a ton of prospects they could've tried for.

Chicago Bulls - B+
They got Noah, when they should've gotten Hawes. Hawes fills their NEED, while Noah fills their profile, with a high energy, versatility player. In the 2nd round they got Aaron Gray and JamesOn Curry, who has a world of talent. Not a bad 2nd round pick, considering you probably won't get much there, you might as go for a high risk high reward pick. Gray will be a solid backup center in the Todd Macculloch mold.

Dallas Mavericks - A-
They had 3 second round picks and made the most of it by drafting Fazekas, Renaldas Seibutis, and Milovan Rakovic. Fazekas could be a bust, but if not, he'll be a decent rebounding tall man who can also shoot from the outside. Seibutis is someone the Sonics were looking at at 35, so he could be solid, and Rakovic I don't know much about, but might as well go for upside with the 2nd last pick.

Detroit Pistons - B+
Great draft. Stuckey and Afflalo are great combo guards who can play both ways. Stuckey will be able to light it up more, and Afflalo will be more of a shutdown guy. Then they got Sammy Meija, who is ok, but not great at anything. I don't know why they got him, because he's 24, and they just got 2 shooting guards. The only reason they didn't get an A, is because I think they might want to get another SF. They are set at the big positions however with C-Webb, Rasheed, McDyess, Dale Davis, and Amir Johnson.

Golden State Warriors - A
I like Golden State's picks. They got Brandan Wright for Jason Richardson, which is good because they have a ton of swing men. Then they got Marco Bellini who'll be great in a few years but needs some time. In the 2nd round they got Jermareo Davidson and Stephane Lasme. This is great Becasue Jermareo is 6'11" and is talented, and will be a good backup at worst, and Lasme is a shot blocking machine.

Houston Rockets - F
Aarong Brooks for the 26th pick? He's a bit undersized, a bit selfish, and won't be as good of a shooter. He's more of a pick-me up off the bench type of guy. Plus they already have two PGs, and needed a PF when Fazekas, Glen Davis, and Josh McRoberts were available. In the 2nd they got Brad Newley, a slashing guard from Australia, whom no one was talking about.

Indiana Pacers - F
Stanko Barac? I don't know what to say.

LA Clippers - A
They had a great draft here. It sucks for them that Julian Wright and Thaddeus Young were taken right before Thornton, but they get the less risky, less upside Al Thornton with the 14th pick. Then they get solid backup PG Jared Jordan, who had great stats in college, and while he won't be a great starting PG, he wll be solid for when Cassell and Livingston invetiably getting injured.

LA Lakers - A
They didn't panic when the ugys they wanted weren't there, instead, they took the best guy available in Javaris Crittenton, who is young, and can pass real well. Sun Yue is a good pick because he's a Boris Diaw-type player, he's a big guy who's an OK shooter, and a great passer. With the final pick they got Marc Gasol, who's just a big brute down low, but could be a decent backup center.

Miami Heat - D
I guess Miami felt like they didn't need anything this draft, so they got Daequan Cook, who won't be NBA-ready for 2 years. So a close-to-championship team with Shaq gettig older did nothing to get better immediately.

Milwaukee Bucks - C
I like the Yi pick, if they trade him, but otherwise why draft a guy who'll refuse to play there. The Chinese will hate Milwaukee for this, and they shouldn't have put basketball ahead of politics. I think Yi was the best player available, but he's worth less to Milwaukee than he is to another team. Ramon Sessions in the 2nd round is a great pick. He can be a great backup PG, or could maybe even be a decent starting PG.

Minnesota Timberwolves - C
I like Brewer, but they should have got someone who could help KG out more. If they trade KG, they should get someone with more upside. Their 2nd pick was horrible. Chris Richard was a solid backup, but he only got 6 pts 3 reb. Drafted after him was Derrick Byars, Adam Haluska, ReyShawn Terry etc.

Memphis Grizzlies - A
The next two best players were either Horford or Conley Jr. and since Atlanta took Horford, Memphis took Horford. Similar to the Sonics position, they did what they had to.

New Jersey Nets - A
They need a big man, and they chose the risky big man in Sean Williams. But that's really the only move they could've done, except get Jason Smith, who played in a JV conference. He's athletic and can block real well, NJ hopes he's more Marcus Camby more than Theo Ratliff.

New Orleans Hornets - A
I love Julian Wright, he's a study offensively, and he's a stud defensively. He may not be a #1 player, but he has a ton of upside, and is young. They did a good job by picking him over Thornton. In the second round, they got do-everything Adam Haluska, a solid 2 guard who is versatile, and a hard worker.

New York Knicks - F
I didn't like the Renaldo Balkman pick last year, and even though he did better than expected, I still don't like him. Same goes for Wison Chandler. Even if he's a good player, it's like drafting Prince Fielder in the 2nd round this year in a fantasy baseball draft, he's "worth" going there, but if you could get him in the 8th round, why not do it?

Orlando Magic - A
Reyshawn Terry. Great player, 6-8 230 lbs, and he can really play. He's versatile, adn is a great fit for their team.

Philadelphia 76ers - A+
In the first round, they got Thaddeus Young and Jason Smith. Young had the most upside of the 3 SFs in his draft area, and that's who Philly pick. Smith was the best center available, and they traded up to get him. In the 2nd round they got a big man with upside, 21 year old Fesenko. Then they got a steal with Derrick Byars, who could've gone at the end of the 2nd round.

Portland Trailblazers - A+
In the 1st round, they got Oden, Rudy Fernandez, and Kopponen. I'm high on all three. Oden doens't need to be written about, Fernandez will be a good 2 guard, and he might stay in Europe for a few years, which is fine for Portland, and Kopponen might do the same, since he's a 19 year old Finnish PG who lit up draft camps. In the 2nd round they got McRoberts, who has a ton of Potential with his height, passing, and blocking, Taurean Green a solid backup PG, and Nichols, a 6-8 SF who can shoot lights out, and has decent athleticism.

Phoenix Suns - B+
They could've had Rudy Fernandez but traded him away. Instead they got Alando Tucker and DJ Strawberry, two swingmen who play a bit bigger, and can play good defense. I thought they'd go with a big, but I guess when Stoudemire isn't in, they won't have any big guys in their lineup (unless you count Kurt Thomas as a "big").

Sacramento Kings - A-
They got Hawes, who was probalby the best player available. They could've gotten Thaddeus Young or Julian Wright, but it's hard to tell where the team is headed with Ron Artest.

San Antonio Spurs - A
I usually hate SA's drafts. Besides Duncan and Parker, their last few draft picks haven't been so hot. But Tiago Splitter, Marcus Williams, and Printezis (who?)? Good picks. Splitter won't be around for a while, perfect for them. Williams is versatile, and gives them someone in case Brent Barry or Michael Finley get old or leave.

Seattle SuperSonics - B
Durant is an obvious pick. Green is an ok pick with #5, but I don't know if he has much upside. He hasn't improved all that much since his freshman year, though his stats are a bit misleading because GTown plays such a slow game. Hopefully he can be Pippen to Durant's Jordan, but that's a big too much I think. I don't know what Presti is thinking wanting 3 SF's, playing, (7 if you count Szczerbiak, Damien Wilkins, Gellybelly, and Landry). I like Landry, but I think he's overkill, we don't need another SF, we could've had Gabe Pruitt, Josh McRoberts, Glen Davis, Fazekas, Derrick Byars, Marcus Williams, etc. We really need a SG too since we don't have one.

Utah Jazz - A+
They needed a SG who can shoot, and Morris Almond is that. Perfect pick this late. Then they got Herbert Hill, whom I don't know, but if Hollinger has him rated 16th according to his new rating systems, it looks like a good risk pick that could pan out. Who knows, maybe he can be Ryan Gomes?

Washington Wizards - A-
Nick Young is a great pick. They don't really need a scorer, but they need a SG or a C, and Nick Young was the best available. Dominic McGuirre is a great pick this late, a poor man's Kirilneko this late? Pretty good.

What if the Blazers took Durant?

2007-06-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

The longer this draft goes on, the more I love Durant. Even so, I would love to have Oden still. Imagine if the Blazers took Durant, several "What if" scenarios arise.
What if the Celtics' Ainge was willing to give up his #5 pick for Robert Swift, a player he's loved and coveted for a while.
What if the Hawks were willing to trade their #11 pick for Ridnour (a veteran PG is something they've coveted for a while. Since they don't have their 1st round pick no matter what next year because Phoenix gets it, they want to be good next year right away).
What if Conley Jr. fell to #5 and we drafted him. What if Hawes fell to #11 (or YiJianLian) and we drafted him as well?

We could be looking at THIS team.
Conley and Watson
Ray Allen and Gellybelly
Durantula and Wilkins
Hawes (or YJL) and Collison
Oden and Wilcox and Sene

As improbable as all this is, I haven't even talked about trading Rashard Lewis.

2007 NBA Mock Draft 1st Round+ 5

2007-06-21T10:25:00.000-07:00

Draft is just a week away, and the Sonics have the 2nd overall pick, and the 1st and 5th pick in the 2nd round, so it's key to see who's available and who should go where. Here is my mock draft of what SHOULD happen given realism, I've also said what will probably happen if the picks are different.

Round 1

1. Portland C Greg Oden Ohio State
This pick is pretty obvious, I think they want to take Durant, but they'll take Oden just to be safe. That being said, I'd be glad to trade them the number 2 pick and something like Wilcox for Oden.

2. Seattle F Kevin Durant Texas
This pick is even more obvious, whoever Portland takes, the Sonics will take the other. Can't go wrong with either pick and I think that barring injury, both players will be top 25 of all time. Also, it just goes to show what the press can dig up when it has to, Oden might be "too injury prone" and Durant isn't athletic enough, though he is taller than 6'10" and has the biggest wingspan in the draft.

3. Atlanta PG Mike Conley Ohio State
What this team needs is a center and a point guard. Unfortunately, Hibbert pulled out, Hawes apparently doesn't deserve going this high, and neither does Mike Conley. So they go with the safest pick, Horford, who measured out as 6'10" and is the strongest guy in the draft. He got a lot of blocks, so he looks to be a good pick, but his upside is not as high as say, Brandan Wright (whom they should never draft because he's too much like Marvin Williams, weakish PF who showed potential as a freshman and UNC). They should pick Conley though, because I think he'll be Andre Miller at worst, and if he gets down his shooting, he could be as good as Chris Paul.

4. Memphis PF Al Horford Florida
Good worker, Jerry West kind of guy. They will take Conley if Horford is gone, but they only real strengths of the Grizz SF Gay, PF/C Gasol, and SG/SF Mike Miller. So it's either PF or PG. I think they go the safe route (though I'm not so sure Horford can't be the next Elton Brand) and pick up Horford.

5. Boston PF/C Joakim Noah Florida
I know, I'm not a fan, but he is a big tall dude who can do a lot of things well. A team with Delonte West, Pierce, Green, Jefferson, and Noah, is pretty formidable. The Celtics already have scoring, what they need is another presence inside, and a guy who can pass well for a big guy, and that's Noah perfectly. That being said they would've picked YiJianLian, but that would be career suicide for Ainge if he was wrong. I think they go the safe route and pick Brewer because they don't believe in Green for some reason. Brewer is a good pick though it leaves them a big man short (Perkins is garbage on offense, Gomes is an undersized rebounding machine in the form of a nice guy Fortson).

6. Milwaukee SF Corey Brewer Florida
They're "set" at SG, PF, and C with Redd, Villaneuva, and Bogut, and PG is too high for them to take, so it's between Jeff Green and Corey Brewer. Can't go wrong with either, but I think they go with Brewer Both are great two way players, Brewer is great and ball handling and has stepped up his outside shot, and Green has been the leader on Georgetown and can play inside and outside, either way, Milwaukee gets a great role player, not a star, but a guy that'll put up 16, 6,3 while playing top 15 (for a wing) defense.

7. Minnesota SF Jeff Green Georgetown
They'd do better with a great scoring wing, but Jeff Green is the best player available. Ideally, Foye is a SG and Davis is a SF, Foye can be the PG and Davis can be the SG. Another upside of Jeff Green is that along with Acie Law IV and of course the first two picks, he's possibly the most NBA ready and can put up Brandon Roy numbers right away. Brandan Wright could also be a good pick, but he's not as NBA-Ready.

8. Charlotte PF Brandan Wright UNC
If a good UNC guy is this late, they can't pas him up. Their 3 bigs, Sean May, Emeka Okafor, and Primoz Brezec, are oft-injured, so Wright would be a good pick here. If Gerald Wallace leaves, then Julian Wright, Thaddeus Young, Nick Young, or Al Thorton would be good picks as well.

9. Chicago C Spencer Hawes Washington
What does Chicago need? Inside scoring, who's the best at this in the entire draft? Spencer Hawes. Hawes can also pass well as shown by his 7 assists in his first college game, and he is a good shot blocker as well. He's a much safer pick than YiJianLian. Hawes has great inside moves, as shown in his Stanford game, he can make a 20 footer, but has an array of spin moves, and hook shots.

10. Sacramento PF YiJianLian China
After several years of playoff success, they've had trouble in the last few years. The Artest fiasco has been bad, they fired long time coach Rick Adelman, and they've been rumored to want to move out of Sacramento, so possible big-time international star is just what the doctor ordered. I think YJL will be good, but it may take a few years until he's an All-Star.

11. Atlanta PF/C Sean Williams Boston College
Since they already took their PG in Conley, all they need now is a center and the only ones left are Sean Williams and Jason Smith. Sean Williams was kicked off BC because of marijuana, but a lot of guys in the NBA smoke MJ, so I don't know if this'll be much of a negative against him. He had 5 blocks a game for BC and he's extremely athletic. Who would you take, a goofy white kid from Colorado State, or a athletic shot blocker from BC with upside? If they do take Horford with the 3rd pick, look for Acie Law IV or Javaris Crittendon. I think Javaris would be a big mistake, he has more upside, but I dont' think he's that good. Too much is made of the fact that he has upside, he's from Atlanta, and he's a tall PG. Acie Law has shown he can shoot and pass extremely well. He's at a perfect height too, 6-3, and could be a poor man's Nash.

12. Philadelphia SG Nick Young USC
The best thing the Sixers have is a pass first PG, and an athletic wing player. So with 4 athletic wing players available and not much else, they take the one who can score the best. Julian Wright, Thaddeus Young, and Al Thornton are all fine, but they're all projected at this point. Thorton is more polished, but Young can score in a variety of ways. Any of the four would be a fine pick however.

13. New Orleans SF Thaddeus Young Georgia Tech
I've heard of this guy for the last 5 years, so he must be good. He has more upside than the other two wings. NO would rather take Young in hopes that Peja come back, but that's doubtful. Young never really hit his stride in colelge, yet still put up decent numbers. He could be a future superstar, and I wouldn't be surprised if he went a lot higher.

14. LA Clippers PG Acie Law IV Texas A&M
I don't know what's wrong with him except he's a senior. He' 6-3, can shoot lights out, takes over the end of games, Cassell breaks down, and Livingston is breaking down. I don't know how you can be 6-7 170 and get injured, he puts no stress on his body, but he does. They could end up taking Thornton or Wright, making Magette even more expendable.

15. Detroit SG Rodney Stucky Eastern Washington
I like Stuckey, and I don't know why he's not ranked as high as Nick Young, and I don't know why Young isn't rated as high as Brewer. Apparently Detroit made Stuckey a promise. Stuckey is a great guard, he lit up Washington this year, and it was clear that he was a man amongst boys. He is a pretty good shooter, good slasher, and has a well built body. He is a bulldog on defense as well, and his only flaw is that he' 6-4, not 6-6, and he's not an amazing Kobe-like dunker, other than that, I think he's great.

16. Washington C Jason Smith Colorado State
The Wiz need a SG or a C, and because there are no SG except Morris Almond, they take Jason Smith. He's been remarkably consistent the last 2 years, at around 16, 9, 1.8. Of course the competition he faced was inferior and being in a mid major while being 7 feet shouldn't be that hard. The only real quality team he faced was Kansas state, and he did alright with 15 and 5, but it's hard to tell from one game.

17. New Jersey SF Julian Wright Kansas
Its hard to have him slip anymore than this. With VC possibly gone, Julian Wright is a great pick this late. He was clearly the best player on Kansas last year, and he has great athleticism. Even if VC stays, in the east, Julian Wright might be able to play PF a la Antwaan Jamison.

18. Golden State SF Al Thornton Florida State
Here's a team that doesn't really need anything. They have a great starting lineup of Davis, Richardson, Jackson, Harrington, Biedrins, with a great bench of Ellis, Barnes, Pietrius, Foyle, O'Bryant. So they can either go with most upside, or best available, and Thornton is a great trade piece, but he also allows the to trade Richardson if need be.

19. LA Lakers PG Javaris Crittenton Georgia Tech
The Kobe thing is still up in the air, but the Lakers have SG, SF, PF, and C locked down, they need a great point guard, but in the triangle system one that can shoot and defend is probably preferable than one who can pass and dribble extremely well. Crittenton is bar the best available, and he's a big PG in the Ron Harper mold. He's talented enough that he might just pique Kobe interest if LA gets a decent FA as well.

20. Miami PG Gabe Pruitt Georgia Tech
They don't need much, a PG and a SF, and Pruitt is the best PG available. I'm glad both him and Nick Young are ranked in the top 20, because people were saying they'd be early second round at first. Pruitt isn't a pure PG, which is fine with D-Wade on the team.

21. Philadelphia PF Josh McRoberts Duke
I don't know why he's dropped so low, ESPN seems to think Philly can take him with their 30th pick but I'm not too sure. Sure he got dominated by Hansbrough, who'll supposedly be a marginal NBA player, but he still had decent stats. He's still agile for a big man, and is a good shot blocker as well. He won't be a star, but he can be a number 3 player on a championship team possibly. Plus with three picks, Philly can be a bit risky and draft for upside.

22. Charlotte SG Morris Almond Rice
Assuming they get a big man in Brandan Wright, they really only need a SG, unless Gerald Wallace doesn't resign, in which case they might spend their money on Rashard Lewis though. It's between Almond and Bellini and since Charlotte doesn't seem too fond of foreign players, I'll take Almond. I think after their streak of only drafting players from college basketball powerhouses will end, and rightfully so, with Morrison.

23. New York SF Wilson Chandler Depaul
I don't know who this is, but Chad Ford says someone in the first round promised him something, so it's probably the Knicks. If it was a foreign player it might be the Spurs, but since its a relatively obscure one, its the Knicks. Chandler is aparently athletic and versatile, like most of the Knicks players, however they'll still be bad no matter what.

24. Phoenix SG Marco Bellini Italy
Phoenix is ecstatic to get this guy here. He's pretty much a Manu Ginobli. I can see him going a lot higher. They could also go with Rudy Fernandez, whom I can't tell the difference from anyways. Either way they get a versatile SG who can handle the ball well and shoot the ball as well. Sounds like their types of players.

25. Utah SF Derrick Byars Vanderbilt
Jazz apparently want a wing who can shoot, and play some defense. This could be Rudy Fernandez, or it could be Jared Dudley. I hope Dudley doesn't get this high, because I hope the Sonics could get him, but if Byars fell to us it wouldn't be so bad. Alondo Tucker would also fit Utah's search.

26. Houston PF Glen Davis LSU
Apparently Houston will probably take Glen Davis or Nick Fazekas (assuming McRoberts isn't available. I actually think Davis could be good. He tested out to be 6'9" with only 11% body fat. The one thing that worries me is that he was dominated when he played Washington, because Brockman, despite being 40 pounds less, was outmuscling him. He is quick for a big dude though, and he is a pretty tenacious rebounder. If Houston has to pick a PF, this isn't a bad pick.

27. Detroit SF Jared Dudley Boston College
Dudley seems thuggish enough for Boston College. He plays good defense and has a good outside shot. He's also strong enough to bang with the big boys outside. Detroit tends to make odd first picks like the Knicks, so it might work out. I think Dudley will be a great player, and I wish he'd fall to the Sonics.

28. San Antonio PG Petteri Koponen Finland
What can I say, he's only 19, and he's torn it up in the past year in international play, and in workouts against American prospects. I like this kid a lot, and wouldn't mind if the Sonics traded their 2 2nd round picks to get him. Hopefully they get Zabian Dowdell.

29. Phoenix PF Tiago Splitter Brazil
They already got their swing man in Bellini, so they go after a international big. It's between Splitter and Fesenko from Ukraine, so I say they go after the more NBA ready one in Splitter. Splitter has been a "potential lottery pick" for the last 4 or so years, so I'm a littler weary of him. Mobile 7 footers don't fall from trees though, so he could be a good bench player for the Suns.

30. Philadelphia C Kyle Visser Vanderbilt
He didn't get above 17 minute a game until his senior season, but got 17 and 7 with 1.4 blocks in a pretty tough ACC (some would say elite but that's really only reserved for the Pac 10). Anyways, Philly addressed their needs with McRoberts and Young, so they could go with a C here or just fill best available need. I see them getting a center.

Round 2

1. Sonics SG Marcus Williams Arizona
Sonics get Seattle Native from Roosevelt High. Williams definitely has the talent, but it remains to be seen if he has the focus or the drive. He looked talented enough to be a multi-all-star in the NBA but we'll see. He's got height at 6-7, above average athleticism, shooting, and dribbling, and the Sonics do need a backup swingman because Damien Wilkins is overrated. I wouldn't mind Rudy Fernandez here or Arron Afflalo. I know Afflalo wold be a great bench player, and he'd play great defense while being able to shoot a spot up J. He also showed he can be a leader, and take over at the ends of games when he has to.

2. Boston SF Demetrius Nichols Syracuse
Boston doesn't have anyone that can shoot besides Wally, so this would be a nice pick. Not much to say about him except he shoots a lot and he shoots real well, though it only seems that he's been a lights out shooter his senior year.

3. San Antonio SG Arron Afflalo UCLA
Afflalo seems like their kind of guy. Since I keep comparing him to Bruce Bowen, and Bowen is getting older, it'd only make sense for them to get him. They could got with an international big and stash him overseas though.

4. Mavericks SG Rudy Fernandez Spain
Too much talent, and they need a better SG since Terry is not a real one, and is being used as trade bait right now.

5. Seattle PG Ramon Sessions Nevada
This is assuming we trade one of our PG. We would need a backup PG and Sessions is good, he isn't too athletic, but he isn't turnover prone, a fairly good shooter, and isn't a ball hog. I would love Zabian Dowdell as well, as he is 6-3 with a 6-10 wingspan. Also, like Sessions he has performed well in the Orlando pre-draft Camp. Jared Jordan is also interesting, he put up monster stats at Marist (17 pts 6 rebs 8.7 assists). He's not athletic at all, and isn't a great shooter, but he seems to have a level head, and is doing well in NBA pre-draft camp as well. Aaron Brooks, Taurean Green, and Mustafa Shakur might also get looks.
If we don't need a backup PG, defensive SF's like Alondo Tucker, Reyshawn Terry, Carl Landry, Marc Gasol, Kyrylo Fesenko (hey, we can't go a draft without getting a 19/20 year old foreign center) might be options to consider.

Reasons for the Spurs winning

2007-06-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

Years from now, people will look back and wonder why the Spurs were so good. The answer is simple, apparently, to win a championshi nowadays, you need 1. A truly great player (just one, not two anymore) 2. two way players (being great a defense doesn't mean anything if you can't do anything on offense, and vice versa), and 3. unselfish payers that are really good at one or 2 things. The Spurs definetley have this, and Greg Poppovich has the perfect plan to make this team work.
Tim Duncan is a truly great player, no argument there. He is the safety net for his perimeter defenders, and if need be, he can guard the likes of Kobe or LeBron one on one. He's also smart enough to not draw stupid fouls and get in foul trouble. He's also got an array of moves on offense, he's unselfish, can make a jump shot, hook shot, and an array of close shots.
Two way players are things the Spurs also have. Ginobli, Horry, Elson, Oberto, are all above average defenders with Duncan and Bowen being elite defenders. Are any of these players useless on offeense, at first glance, perhaps, but not really. Elson has a 15 footer than he showed several times in the Finals, Oberto is a beast inside, getting tons of offensive boards, and Bowen as a 3 point shot which is very useful for a shut down defender because both of these qualities are key but scarce for playoff teams, and he has both at the same time.
Finally, players that are extremely good at what they do. Tony Parker and Ginobli are the best finishing players in the leagues. Many players can get to the basket with the ease they do, but none can finish at such a high percentage, except for maybe Steve Nash. Bowen and Duncan are both top 5 players in defense, one on the interior, one one the perimeter. Barry, Bowen, and Ginobli are also some of the best three point shooters, and Elson and Oberto are both big guys who undertand they they're not too good, so they work on their inside hustle, 15 foot J's, and helpside defense.
Of course another reason they won was that there were only 3 real teams that could've challenged them, and they only had to beat one. The Suns could've challenged them, but defense always beats run and gun in the playoffs (at least nowadays it does). It also helped that Stern was a big dick and suspended Amare. The Mavs could've beat the Spurs, but the one team they would've had struggles with, Don Nelson's Warriors, had to oust them out of the first round. And lastly, the Pistons could've had a chance, because despite losing Ben Wallace, they still had a three headed monster of Dale Davis, Antonio McDyess, and Chris Webber to replace him, and with this, they're essentially the same team, except they have Flip Saunders as coach. Are the Spurs a dynasty? Sure why not? They didn't win after their first title because the Lakers were just better. The Lakers won three in a row, though the Spurs almost stopped them, but there's no shame in that because the Lakers are also a dynasty, and Robinson was getting old and the Spurs young guys couldn't help out yet. After that, the Pistons and the Heat broke up their other chances for repeats, and the reasons for this are the Lakers reloaded, and the Mavs just got a bit lucky. Sure they're not the Lakers and Celtics of the 80's, but all you need is one superstar nowadays, and a bunch of really good role players.

Mariners back to 4 games over

2007-06-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

As soon as I write that the Mariners are contenders, they drop 5 straight to NL teams. Reasons for this? No one besides Ichiro is hitting, and our starting pitching all sucked. Felix still hasn't had a great start since he hit the DL, Washburn has "regressed" to his normal stats, except he's even worse. Our defense is horrible with Beltre out and Ibanez and Guillen sucking.
What we should do, as everyone in the M's Blogosphere is screaming for, is promote Adam Jones, Baseball America's number 1 hot prospect right now, and rightfully so. He's been hitting .400 with .450 obp and and .800 slugging in the last 2 weeks and he only seems to get better. Hed be a major upgrade over Ibanez or Guillen in the field, and we could just sit Vidro down, except against lefties we could sit Ibanez.
This losing streak hopefully isn't all bad, when we were winning, there was no way management would "fix what's not broken" and promote Adam Jones, but now that we have a 5 game losing streak, hopefully this is the sign they needed to promote Adam Jones, and possibly Ryan Feierabend (maybe Campillo too?), because Weaver is done as a starting pitcher.

Mariners 9 games above .500

2007-06-13T08:32:00.000-07:00

Mariners have won 5 in a row and 9 of their last 10. They are currently 3 games back for the division lead, and 1 game back of the wild card lead. In their current 5 game streak, all games have been on the road, 2 went into extra innings, and 4 were 1 run wins with last night's being a 2 run win in the 13th inning.
Why're we doing so well? Probably because we are so solid 1-9. Lopez is hitting .295 with 7 hrs, Betancourt is hitting .302 and just had a 20 game hitting streak. Our three "big hitters", Sexson, Beltre, and Guillen, are hitting .268 or below, so that's the weak link, especially Sexson and his sub .200 average. We also have the best bench in the league, Burke is hitting .421, Broussard is hitting .265 with 3 hrs, Bloomquist has upped is average to .267 with several clutch hits, and much needed baserunning at the end of games, while Ellison proves to be useless except for giving us range at the corner outfield positions late in games.
Of course we wouldn't have out 5 game win streak if it weren't for our amazing bullpen. O'Flaherty looks like a keeper, being good in the setup role or when he has to pitch 3 innings. Morrow and Sherrill are as lights out as setup men get, and obviously Putz has been amazing, having 19 saves in a row.
Of course the Mariners have been lucky in this past couple of weeks, but they do look like a team that can make the playoffs, if not go deep in the playoffs.

Sonic Sign GM, Durant below average in workouts

2007-06-12T06:24:00.000-07:00

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/basketball/319188_miller09.html
Sonics hired 30 year old Sam Presti of the Spurs, who apparently was the best GM on the market. 30 seems kind of young, but I don't know, the Spurs are a good organization, and maybe he'll turn out to be Paul DePodesta. The Coaching Job is still up for grabs, and the candidates are Dwane Casey, Rick Carlisle, or PJ Carlesimo. The first two are ok, but Carlesimo seems to be just a good assistant coach. Anyways, Presti said he had defense in mind, so we'll have to see the changes he can make.

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2893057&name=ford_chad
Durant ranked 78th, the worst score of anyone who complete all the workouts. He measured out out be 6-10 1/4, 215 pounds, with a 7-4 3/4 wingspan and a standing reach of 9-2. This is all good stuff, as a 6-10 guy with his ability to shoot makes him Garnett mixed with Rashard Lewis.
Bad news is that he has a no step vertical of 26 inches, a normal vertical of 33 inches, and he benched 185 pounds 0 times, which is less than either I or my brother (both under 140 pounds) can do. Even worse is that his lane agility was 12.33 seconds, a full second behind Rodney Stuckey and .42 seconds behind un-agile center Hawes. His 3/4 court sprint was the 2nd slowest among the top 25 prospects (except YiJianLian, who did not participate) at a time of 3.45.
Good news is that Durant has been so busy with endorsements, he hasn't done many of the drills that other guys have done. Most of these experts who train athletes for these combines get an extra 5 reps on the bench press or 5 inches on the vertical leap, so I'm not worried. I knew Durant wasn't a jaw dropping athlete before anyways.

Lastly, and interesting trade proposal my brother suggested, Rashard Lewis in a sign and trade, Chris Wilcox, Earl Watson, one of our three centers, and the next 2 first round picks (2008 and 2009) in exchange for Garnett. This would make our starting rotation: Ridnour, Ray Allen, Durant, Garnett, Petro/Swift with a bench of Wilkins, Gelebale, Collison, and Sene.

Grizzlies Get Iavaroni

2007-05-31T13:27:00.000-07:00

Well, the Memphis Grizzlies have signed former Phoenix Suns Assistant Marc Iavaroni as their next head coach. Damn! I was really hoping the Sonics would land him, but I guess not. The question I have is this: who the hell are the Supes trying to get? Why haven't I even heard rumors about who the team wants to fill either the head coach or GM position? Has Lenny Wilkins fallen asleep at the wheel?

Rashard Lewis opts out, heads for Free Agency

2007-05-25T19:17:00.000-07:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2883178
This was bound to happen anyways, and it doesn't mean he leaves the Sonics. I'd prefer Chauncey Billups, but of course as soon as I mentioned it, he blew ass the last two games. Also, it seems like it'd be hard to get him to leave Detroit. Anyways, we'll have to determine if Durant and Lewis can play together, or if Portland for some reason drafts Durant, then resigning Lewis would be a good idea.

Sonics get number 2 pick!

2007-05-22T17:57:00.000-07:00

Sonics get the number two pick, Blazers get the number one pick. I can't explain how ecstatic I am, the NW is now a basketball hot bed, with two future hall of famers going there. I'm kind of mad we didn't get the first pick, but I think both players are championship caliber players. The Sonics are now saved, and are probably going to stay in Seattle. Oden would really have helped us out on defense, but either way, we get a good enough player that Rashard Lewis might resign, and we immediately become contenders.

Stop Pitching Weaver

2007-05-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a short entry, as it's really only a quick vent of frustration, but for fuck's sake, STOP PITCHING WEAVER! He's terrible! He's a guaranteed loss every time he's on the mound. I understand we paid an obscene amount of money for him, but at some point, we have got to cut our losses and just drop him. In six starts, he has compiled a stunning 14.32 era, and in not one of those starts has he managed to have more innings pitched than runs earned. NOT ONE! Drop him and drop him NOW!

Clemens signs with Yanks

2007-05-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

This isn't on ESPN or anything, but during the M's Yanks game today, it said so during the 7th inning. Personally, I don't care, I think Clemens is overrated, and by playoff time, his fat tired old body is so useless that he won't help his team much anyways. He's never been much of a playoff factor anyways. Good move for the Yanks though, because with a strong AL Central, they're not guaranteed a playoff spot.
Update: So Roger is going to be paid $4.5 million per month for what would've been $28 million over a full year. I bet they got this number just so he's the highest paid player, which is dumb because he's not the best player, and he'll cost the Yanks $7 million or more in luxury tax. I also hate this because I hate Roger's mercenary attitude and the whole give me attention thing, I'm sick of it. Retire already you fat lard.

Mariners back over .500

2007-05-02T06:05:00.000-07:00

Despite losing 6 games in a row last week, and being swept in two series, and despite Jeff Weaver being the worst pitcher alive, the M's are now above .500 with a record of 11-10.
It's pretty clear that anyone from AAA, whether is Jorge Campillo, Jake Woods, Ryan Feierabend, or even Brandon Morrow or Sean Green, we'd do better than having Weaver start. He has no stuff, his attitude sucks, and he sucks the life out of the team by giving up so many runs so early. He's also killing the bullpen by not making it out of the 3rd inning ever.
Bad news though, we don't play a sub .500 team (except for the Yanks) until the 22nd, so this stretch of games could very well determine our season and the fate of Ichiro perhaps.
Unexpected surprises so far? Vidro is leading the team in BA with a .315, Jose Lopez has the highest OPS with .780 (Johjima's .933 doesn't have enough at-bats to qualify), Beltre leads the team with 2 stolen bases, Raul Ibanez has the least hrs for a regular on the team with 1, Jamie Burks has a line of .375/.474/.625, and our starting pitching is actually starting to look decent.
For Youngsters, Brandon Morrow has had some great relief appearances, just blowing by his 99 mph fastball to get guys to strike out when he needs to. Matt Tuiasosopo, whom everyone stupidly called a bust last year, is tearing up AA with lines of .371/.478/.506. He's starting to hit doubles too, so I can only expect the HRs to come. Wlad Balentien is equally impressive with .371/.436/.640 with 6 HRs. Wlad is still just 22, and Tui is just turning 21, so needless to say both these guys could be studs, and if not great trade bait.

NBA Playoffs

2007-05-01T11:34:00.000-07:00

Well, so far, there have been THREE Sweeps in the East, and the West has been equally interesting (read Houston vs Utah, and Dallas vs Golden State).

Eastern Conference:

Detroit vs. Orlando:
Did anyone think Orlando was going to win one? They have Dwight Howard, who isn't quite there yet. Jameer Nelson should never be a second player on a good team, and an aging Grant Hill.

Cleveland vs. Washington:
NO ONE should Praise Lebron for sweeping the Wizards. Besides Antawn Jamison, they have NOTHING. NOTHING!

Chicago vs. Miami:
WOW. THis series could not have turned out better. Miami got swept and they deserved it. You can't just walk through the regular season and hope to turn on a switch. Also, Hinrich played great defense on Wade despite Wade getting special treatment for the refs. OVerall this was a 2 person team with 2 guys who aren't even that good (Wade's shoulder and inability to shoot, and Shaq's oldness) against an up and coming complete team. Deng was awesome, Gordon provides some timely scoring (thought I think he shoots to much) and Wallace even played very well.

New Jersey vs. Toronto:
Lots of people picked New Jersey, despite Toronto playing well in the second half. Still Toronto is too young, and Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson should be too much, and it looks like they might be.

Western Conference:

Dallas vs. Golden State:
Well, the Warriors have wont 8 of the last 9 and this is a good story of Don Nelson vs. the team he built, 8 seed vs 1. Sure its a great underdog story, but if I were the league, I'd MAKE Dallas win because they seem to have decent character guys, where Golden State has Baron Davis, who isn't too high on my list, and Stephen Jackson, who isn't high on anyone's list. Still, Dirk is getting a lot of criticism, as he should for his "if we don't win this game (game 5), we probably won't win the series) comment." HOWEVER, Avery Johnson should not blame Dirk, since he is being THOROUGHLY outcoached. Looking back on this, Avery Johnson should NOT have EVER been considered for Coach of the Year, and Dirk should NOT be MVP.
More on this matchup is the talent levels of each team. Golden State is not that much worse. How good is Dallas anyways? There second best player is Josh Howard, and he's not even that good. So it wouldn't surprise me one bit if they lost. Not now, not before the series.

San Antonio vs. Denver:
Denver sucks. Carmelo is fat. Iverson is a loser. Spurs are winners despite me not liking them. That's all I have to say.

Phoenix vs. L.A. Lakers:
The Lakers cannot win this if Kobe has to do it all, it has to be a team effort because while Kobe can outscore bad teams, he can't outscore good teams, and he CERTAINLY cannot outscore Phoenix. That said, Kobe's team isn't good enough. Bynum is too young (not that I think he'll be good later), Kwame will never play up to his talent, and Odom can only do too much.

Houston vs. Utah:
Good matchup of a good well-rounded team (Utah) against Houston, essentially a 2 man team with some good parts (Battier, and ... some other dudes). I hope Houston wins, but it could go either way.

NFL Draft: Seahawks

2007-04-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

NFL Draft is over, and the Seahawks had a so so draft. Ruskell did his patented draft high character, good work ethic undersized/undervalued guys thing, that's a good idea to have for a few picks, but not all the picks.
His first pick was the 55th pick overall in the late 2nd round, and he picked Josh Wilson, a CB from Maryland. I was hoping for a TE or a G, but the two best TEs were taken, and no guards were here that we couldn't get about the same value in the 3rd round. Wilson is blazing fast and really strong for a guy his size. He'll be a great return man, and an awesome nickelback. I'm happy about this because Arizona and St. Louis always have a good aerial assault, so a nickelback is important, especially if it gets Kelly Herndon off the field, and especially if we get as many injuries as last year.
Our third round pick was Brandon Mebane, a high character, undersized DT, who fits well in a rotating scheme. I, along with others, wanted us to take Michael Bush, the 250 pound back from Louisville, but apparently Ruskell felt that there would be better backs in later drafts, and that Alexander would be adequate next year. This is exactly what we do, so it's easy to see why Ruskell took him, though I think there were decent tackles available later. The best part about him is that he's great against the run, and that's what we need, especially if Tubbs is injured. So far, so good, not much complaints.
Our first 4th round pick was Baraka Atkins, perhaps our best pick of the draft, from a value standpoint. He oozes 2nd round talent because he's big, heavy, and fast, and will be a great DE later. He's a steal, and I'm glad we got him, though I really wanted a TE or a G at this point because I felt these were the only areas of need so far.
With our second pick in the 4th round, we got Mansfield Wrotto, a DT for three years, then a OT for his senior year, who is projected to be an OG. This guy looks like he'll be raw, with upside to improve, but the problem is, is that we had to trade Darrell Jackson to get him. And we traded him to the 49ers, a team that is in our division and beat us twice last year. DJack for a 4th rounder, Randy Moss for a 4th rounder, but Branch for a 1st rounder? Something doesn't make sense here. That is just poor planning on the part of the Seahawks managment, because DJack > Branch, and 1st round pick >>>>> 4th round pick. Holmgren was mad we got so little in return, and rightfully so, Hasselbeck was probably mad as well because that was his favorite receiver. Just a very stupid move by the organization. I was pretty much yelling at the tv for the Seahawks to take Kevin Boss, a TE from Western Oregon at this point, and the didn't.
With our round 5 selection we could have taken Ben Patrick a TE from Delaware, or Michael Allan, a TE from Whitmore. Both would have been great picks because we need a TE. Patrick was projected to go to Seattle in the 3rd round on most mocks, though I'd seen him go in the 2nd on a few. Allan is a project who is a late bloomer and could be real good in a few years, which is fine with me because Pollard will be good for a few more years. Instead, we took Will Herring, a saftey for three years, who played linebacker his senior year. He's friends with Ben Obamanu, and he's currently the FCA leader at Auburn, which is the position Obamanu held last year. It's great to get character guys, but you can't win based solely on character, you need talent as well.
On to the 6th round, where the Hawks were fortunate enough to take Ben Patrick or Michael Allan yet again. Instead we took to WRs, a position we are extremely deep in. First we took Courtney Taylor, a WR from Auburn, then Jordan Kent, a WR from Oregon. Taylor is the all-time leading reception leader at Auburn, and he had a poor senior year because of ankle problems. He's a solid pick, except for the fact that we don't really need him, unless we foresee dumping Burleson or Branch in the near future. I actually love the Kent pick because he went to Oregon to play basketball and track, so you' know he's a great athlete. He picked up football his Junior year, and was a bit raw, but showed that he could play. He's also the son of Ernie Kent, Oregon's basketball coach, so you know athletics play a big part in his life.
For the last round, Patrick was taken early in the 7th, and Michael Allan was taken by the chiefs, just one pick before. I don't think Ruskell would've taken him anyways. We instead got Steve Vallos, an OT from Wake Forest. He was All-ACC last year, and he All-American on some lists. He could be a great guard from what I hear, and I like this pick because line depth is something we need, and drafting two OGs gives us a better chance of one panning out.
For Undrafted guys, we picked up 11 guys, most notably Joe Newton from Oregon State, CJ Wallace from UW, and Tim Mixon from Cal, Kenny James from UW, and Tafisi from Cal. I love getting Newton, because for TEs, I wanted to get one of the top two, if not then I wanted Boss, but if not them, Allan, Patrick, and Newton were all fine with me, and we got Newton for nothing. He's 6'7", is a solid blocker, and can catch bad passes in traffic. His problems are staying healthy and being a tad slow at 4.9 for his 40 yard dash. CJ Wallace played safety for UW, and was amazing. He seemed to have a hand on almost every play. Kenny James played RB for UW, and our RBs last year were a mess, so I don't see him doing too well, but seeing as how we don't really have a 3rd string running back who's any good, he could fit in well. From Cal we got Mixon and Tafisi. Mixon is awesome, he's a tough ass safety who's only 5'9" but is adequatley fast at 5'9" though he lacks size at only 184. At worst he'll be dynamite as a special teams guy, at best he'll be a good cover safety. He's like a poor man's Polamalu because he reads coverages so well, and tackles real well. Tafisi is a DE who is described as "the motor that drives Cal's defense". One downside is that he'll be 26 next month, but he is the type of player who's hunger and work ethic will inspire others on the team to work harder. Can't go wrong with a player like this either for UDFA's.
Overall, I like Ruskell's draft, I just wish he placed some emphasis on conforming his picks and basing his picks on talent, because he can't find every diamond in the rough.

Vegas, Baby!

2007-04-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

Well, according to ESPN.com, SuperSonics (and Storm) owner Clay Bennett is taking a "really hard look right now" at Las Vegas as a possible destination for the franchise(s).

For some reason, it never really occurred to me that they would move the Sonics anywhere but Oklahoma City, and for this reason, I was mildly optimistic, because there isn't an owner in the league who doesn't realistically believe that a market as big as Seattle doesn't have more earning potential than one as cowtownish as the OKC. However, like the hangover I currently have, the possibility of Vegas makes me uneasy.

First of all, I think Vegas still has a few hurdles to hurdle over in a hurdling motion before it can have an NBA team. Still, because of the successful Sin City All-Star Game this last February, some of those hurdles have been hurdled with near-hurdle inducing quickness.

Another question to ponder for Bennett, the Maloofs, and other who think a basketball team in Vegas is a good idea: do you really think a basketball team in Vegas is a good idea? Who would really go to Vegas to watch a basketball game? That's like going to Seattle just to get good barbeque, and though "Home of Good Barbeque" on Yesler is bombin', you may be better off going to a different city to get your barbeque on. Now I'm hungry. What were we talking about?

Anyway, assuming the Sacto Kings don't move there first, it looks like Vegas has become a possible destination for the Supes. Stay tuned.

Sonics fire coach and GM

2007-04-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2848273
In a move lost past overdue, the Sonics fired the "heads of the organization".
I'm glad, I never liked Bob Hill, he's an ok assistant coach, but he doesn't fit with our team.
The two best immediate options to replace Hill are Marc Iavaroni, the Suns Assistant, who we almost hired before deciding that we wanted Bob Weiss, only to fired him before 1/3 of the season was over. Iavaroni would be a great coach because we have the pieces in place to play a Suns-like offense. The other option, as discussed previously at SSM is Dwayne Casey, who was fired from his head coaching job in Minnesota, and was an assistant coach when Nate McMillian coached us. He was our first option after Nate McMillan, but took the job with Minnesota because he didn't want to wait for all the jobs to be taken up only to have to return to Seattle as an assistant. Casey would be great because I think he's a great young coach, and he already has a great relationship with all of our players.
Overall, this is a great move by the Sonics Organization and a start in the right direction. I hope now that we hire a great coach, get a great draft pick and maybe offseason aquistion, and playy out of their minds so that the Sonics, the only pro-franchise in Seattle to win a championship, can stay in the great city of Seattle.

Chad Ford's Mock Draft Results

2007-04-21T07:24:00.000-07:00

I just played the mock draft about 300 times, but it didn't occur to me to write down the results, so I wrote down the last 100 results.
Here are the results. The Sonics draft Grego Oden 17% of the time (doesn't mean number 1 pick, if Milwaukee or Charlotte get number 1 pick, they pick Durant first and if we have number 2, we get Oden).
Durant is drafted 7% of the time (always number 2).
Noah is drafted 15% of the time (usually number 3, number 5 once).
Yi Jian Lian is drafted 53% of the time (usually from picks 5 to 8).
Horford is drafted 6% of the time (usually picks 6-8 if Jianlian and Noah are gone).
Lastly, Julian Wright is drafted 2% of the time.
This is good news because if we really do have a 24% chance of getting Oden or Durant, I'd be psyched. This would not only make this franchise legitimate, but also prevent us from moving probably. Skip Bayliss said earlier that he doesn't think Oden will be a hall of famer. This is just as dumb as people debating Durant and Oden and who's better. Would you rather have a mix between Dirk, T-Mac, and KG or a mix between Ewing, David Robinson, and Bill Russell? The answer is that it doesn't matter, you can't go wrong.

NFL Draft: Seahawks possibilities

2007-04-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

First off, the Seahawks position of need are in order of necessity: TE, OL, DT, CB. Though we should obviously consider overall value over need sometimes.
If for some reason we trade D-Jack with either nothing or our 2nd or 3rd round pick, we might get a early second or a late first. In this case we could draft Greg Olsen if we somehow got a 22nd pick or so, and he fell that much. If we had the late 1st round or early 2nd round pick, picks that would make sense would be OT Joe Staley, OG Ben Grubb, DT Justin Harrell, TE, Zach Miller, DT Turk McBride, or OT Tony Ugoh. I would recommend Joe Staley or Zach Miller for this pick because I think both would play right away and do very well. I think Joe Staley could be a great guard, allowing Rob Sims to play RG, while I think that Zach Miller could be just as good a TE as Greg Olsen.
For the second round pick we currently have, if Zach Miller were to fall to us, I would definitely say get him at the 55th pick. Him and Olsen were neck and neck, but Olsen pulled ahead after doing well in a catching drill and running a 4.54 compared to 4.74 for Zach Miller. However, if Michael Bush were to still be available I'd also say he would definitely be a great pick. A big 6'2" 250 back who's fast and has great vision and movement. I think he's just a step below Peterson, but I think he'll be better than Peterson because he won't be injured as often. His injury was a freak accident, and Peterson has been injured several times over time. We don't need a RB, but this would be the perfect situation. Where he could get slowly situated in his rookie season, handle half the carries his next year, then take over his 3rd year. Other possibilities here are Ben Patrick a TE from Delaware, Demarcus "Tank" Tyler a DT from NC State, and Tony Ugoh, a OT from Arkansas, who Mel Kiper just moved to his top 25 overall talent. The last realistic options would be Manuel Ramirez and OG from Texas Tech and Brandon Mebane a DT from California. It'd be nice to have him just becuase his name is Manny Ramirez. I also wouldn't mind getting DE Quentin Moses who was a stud last year at Georgia, but had a relatively poor senior season, and has seen his stock drop because of it.
For the third round, Ben Patrick the TE from Delaware might fall to this pick which would be a nice pickup but TE Scott Chandler, a TE from Iowa would be an ok pick too. Josh Beekman, an OG from BC would be good here, and Chris Henry, a workout stud of a Running Back from Arizona would also be a decent pick. Other good picks would be Quin Pitock, a DT from Ohio State, Marshal Landa, an OL from Iowa, and Paul Solai, a NT from Utah. I like Solai despite his "character" problems, and I htink he would be a great DT because of his size and agility. Brandon Mebane might fall this low, and if he does, that would be great, and there are several good CBs at this spot too.

Felix has elbow problems

2007-04-19T08:36:00.000-07:00

Felix gave up 3 runs and got one out before being taken out with elbow problems. The season's optimism was pretty much gone when that happened. Elblow problems are never good, probably the worst kind you can have, with shoulder being second. Hopefully this was nothing, but I doubt it. If we can get Campillo and Feierabend up, that would be OK I guess, but our offense didn't look to good against Carlos Silva, a guy we should be good against because he doesn't walk or strike out anyone, and those are guys we thrive against. Anyways, we should've won the game, because with bases loaded, Vidro got robbed by Morneau of a line drive double. Also our Third base coach is an idiot and called Beltre in. How hard is it to coach third base? Not too hard. How many steps was Beltre out by? 4 steps. Inexcusable, I'd fire him just for that.
Anyways, other injuries are Howie Kendrick of the Angels, and possibly Ryan Howard of the Phillies, so it seems like this year has a lot of injuries so far.
Also of note is that A-Rod hit his 9th HR of the season.

How to improve the Mariners

2007-04-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

Lets start off with the batting lineup.
First off is Ichiro, who can't really get any better. His defense is phenomenal, and his batting average is always great, though subject to hot streaks and slumps. He could be more patient, but we've seen that that doesn't help his average at all, he could hit for more power, but we've seen that he just ends up with solo shots usually, or he could steal more, but with Beltre swinging behind him, 3 of ever 4 sbs are negated because of foul tips.
Next up is Beltre, who has shown flashes of being good. His power stroke is there, but I still think he's a 3 hitter, not a two hitter. The ideal 2 hitter would be a lefty, have a good eye for on base percentage and to allow Ichiro to steal, and have some speed. Hm.. That sounds a lot like Chris Snelling... Oh well. How's Vidro doing? After looking lost, he's shown power and a knack for hitting, making the "mini-Edgar" comparisons semi-valid. I'm liking what I'm seeing, but I don't think the trade was good still.
Next up is Raul Ibanez who for the price can do no better. His defense is still below average, and I'd prefer a great LF in Safeco, but with Vidro as a DH, there's nothing we can do.
Sexson looks to be about what he should be doing, hitting for power. Hopefully he can continue to draw the walks.
Jose Guillen is a lot like Beltre, power potential, not a lot of walks, not great numbers right now, but you can see the numbers that will unravel as the season unwinds.
Next up is Johjima, who is hitting amazingly, and is handling Felix and HoRam quite well. I'm loving him as our catcher for now.
Then comes up Betancourt, who is showing his usual penchant for hitting. His defense is still probably the best in the AL, and his power is looking better, but I'd like to see more walks, and less mental errors on defense.
Lastly is Lopez, who last year through the All Star Break looked amazing, but then decided that HRs weren't for him and groundballs were the way to go. So he hit an amazing shot last night but I'd like to see him let go and play like Beltre, pull-happy and free swinging.
For the Rotation, I'm thinking Washburn could be a decent number two behind Felix, and HoRam and Batista could be decent at the 3 and 4 position. Weaver is a spot holder right now, and I'd call up Jose Campillo right now. I'd eventually replace him with Feierabend or Morrow but Campillo is the most ML ready and he is a solid lefty. The Bullpen is surprisingly good considering our only setup arm left is George Sherrill sucked in Spring Training. Arthur Rhodes is out for the season, maybe forever, after looking great earlier. So our only real set up man is Mateo, which doesn't look good.
Anyways, Felix starts tonight so the Mariners should get a win tonight agains the Twins.

Mariners Game Tonight: Why is Weaver Starting?

2007-04-17T18:40:00.000-07:00

The Mariners are taking on the Twins tonight, pitting Jeff Weaver (0-1, 31.5 era) against Ramon Ortiz (2-0, 1.80 era). This will not end well. I don't usually predict scores, but I'm going to go ahead and guess at 10-2, or somewhere in that range (maybe 12-2!)

The Mariners have been given golden opportunities with game cancellations so far this season. If they wanted to, they could skip Weaver in the rotation and go with Felix for tonight since he has had five days rest. Are we at risk of insulting Weaver if we don't start him? Who the fuck cares? With Ortiz on the mound, we need a starter who can go more than two innings without giving up seven runs. Weaver's morale is not worth a guaranteed loss. He should have been dropped after his first start anyway.

Here's my line for Weaver: 2.1 IP, 7 hits, 6 ER, 2 hr and one very angry (and clueless) Mike Hargrove, who has perfected his impersonation of Dennis Hopper. Go M's!

Mariners take 1st in the AL West

2007-04-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

For now, the Mariners are 1st in the AL West. If the A's beat the Yanks (tied in the 8th right now), then it's a tie, but for now, we have a lead on the division, something I never thought would happen. But if Felix has made 2 of the 6 starts, it's easy for us to have a great record. I dread when we have to play 2 double headers with the Indians instead of having days off. For now, we look good. Our offense isn't coming around yet, but Guillen, Beltre, and Sexson look like they will start hitting soon. Washburn is looking like he might be worth the money we pay him, and Batista looks like he could be the solid 3rd man. Now if we just find someone to replace Weaver, I can see a run at the playoffs (either Morrow later, Feierabend now, or Baek/Woods now). Anyways, my pick to win the World Series, the Angels, are not doing so well because Colon and Weaver are still out, and now Escobar is back on the DL.

Felix & Ichiro vs. Matsuzaka

2007-04-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

This matchup was every bit as good as advertised. Felix was dominant again, giving up a single and two walks in a complete game shutout. He gave up mainly ground balls, and there was good defense from Lopez, Betancourt, and Beltre. Matsuzaka looked pretty good as well, hitting up to 97 (probably really 94) on the gun with an assortment of pitches. 3 runs in 7 innings is pretty good, so Matsuzaka performed admirably. All in all, I'm glad I watched every pitch of that game.

2007 NFL Mock Draft Round 1 Second Half

2007-04-11T09:33:00.001-07:00

17. Jacksonville – Adam Carriker, DE, Nebraska
This guy’s huge, 6-6 and almost 300 pounds. He has a great work ethic and does great in workouts. I could also definitely see Reggie Nelson or Patrick Willis here too, but I feel that they’d rather draft for need, then have depth for the next few seasons. I feel Carriker’s stock can only rise as the draft day continues.
18. Cincinnati – Patrick Willis, ILB, Mississippi
Most people have him going at 12 or so, but I felt that Marshawn Lynch was too good to pass up for Buffalo, and that the next few teams didn’t really have ILB as a need. For Cinci, Odell Thurman and Pollack both looked like good picks, but Thurman got in some trouble, and Pollack hurt his spine, so LB is a definite need.
19. Tennessee Titans – Chris Houston, CB, Arkansas
As much as they need a WR, the 3 best ones are gone, so they go with Chris Houston, a workout warrior. With the fastest time in the 40, and 25 or so bench press reps, this guy is a beast. He also faced great competition in Meachem, Dwayne Jarrett, and Dwayne Bowe. His knock is his size, but if he held Jarrett in check, and benched that many times, then he must play bigger than he is.
20. NY Giants – Darelle Revis, CB, Pittsburgh
Blazing time in the 4.3’s, he is probably more polished than Houston, but Houston’s combine performance puts him over the top. The Giants also need OLB, so they could take Posluszny, Timmons, Beason, or Aaron Ross for CB.
21. Denver – Jarvis Moss, DE/OLB, Florida
The three mock drafts I looked at, had him for this pick, so I guess I have to go with him. They need pass rushing, and he’s the best one available. They have a great linebacking trio, and Dre Bly solidifies their secondary, so this pick makes sense. If they trade down, they could take Anthony Spencer from Purdue. Every game I saw him play, he seemed to make a big tackle for a loss or sack on almost every drive.
22. Dallas – Aaron Ross, CB, Texas
I don’t see them taking a WR here because they already have two great ones. Their biggest problem last year was that they kept getting lit up with long passes. They have a decent secondary in Hamlin, Roy Williams, and Newman, but a CB like Ross would really help their secondary. Ross is aggressive, which is actually bad because so does Williams and Hamlin, but he runs in the 4.3s and faced good competition in the Big 12.
23. Kansas City – Dwayne Jarrett, WR, USC
They definitely need help at the WR position, and this has been a need for a while. He ran a really slow 40 at just 4.6, but so what? So did Jerry Rice. Jarrett has a knack for the end zone, and his 6-5 height gives him a great advantage. KC could also take Dwayne Bowe or Steve Smith, and CB is also a need, but I have all the CB’s taken on my draft so far.
24. New England (From Seattle) – Paul Posluszny, OLB, Penn State
They could take Beason or Timmons, but Posluszny just seems like a Pats kind of guy. Extremely hard worker, white, great leadership, team-first type of guy, great intangibles, and undervalued by other because of injury.
25. NY Jets – Lawrence Timmons, OLB, Florida State
Everyone has them taking a CB, but I think the CB’s will go early because they’re that good. So instead, I have the Jets picking Timmons, who is rated anywhere from 15th to 32nd pick. Most have him at 15th pick, so I can’t see him falling more than this spot. I can definitely see Timmons going higher, but I don’t see many teams needing an outside linebacker.
26. Philadelphia - Michael Griffin, S, Texas
Griffin is a great player, who should be great alongside Dawkins. He's a real hard hitter, but played some cornerback, so he can go deep in coverage as well. He has a crapload of tackles (250 in the last two years) and a good nose for the ball. I could see safety Reggie Nelson, WR Dwayne Bowe, or Jon Beason here, as they are all good players who fill positions of need.
27. New Orleans - Jon Beason, OLB, Miami
NO needs some defense. All the cornerbacks are gone, and after Okoye and Branch, the DT's have a serious dropoff. Beason has been projected as high as 18, but I think his size and bad combine performance will drop him this far.
28. New England - Reggie Nelson, S, Florida
Most people have NE taking a safety in the first round. Field Gulls' Mock Draft has them taking Eric Weddle, a guy from Utah, but that's because Reggie Nelson was gone at pick 14. This is a great pick for NE, as he has position versatility, which NE loves. Belichek also apparently loves Urban Meyer too, so, one more reason to draft Florida guys.
29. Baltimore - Joe Staley, T, Central Michigan
Another consensus pick. Everyone has Baltimore taking this guy, and its probably because he's not good enough to go higher, and Baltimore seriously needs line help. Staley could play G or T, and he used to be a TE. Seahawks fans are pretty high on this guy, as he has more upside than other because of his relative "rawness"
30. San Diego - Dwayne Bowe, WR, LSU
Everyone has San Diego taking a WR, but the question is who? There's only one left on my board, so they have to take Bowe. They could take Steve Smith, but Bowe has experience beign the number 1 guy, and he caught 1100 yards for 12 TDs last year. He's biggish at 6'2" 220, but only runs in the 4.5's, otherwise I'd be a lot higher on him, which is why he dropped all the way down to 30th pick.
31. Chicago - Ben Grubbs, G, Auburn
Consensus best guard in the draft. The Bears are pretty deep at most positions, though I don't know if more line help could help Grossman's fumbling and deep INT problem. I could see a Steve Smith or Sydney Rice here, as WR is a position of need, but I'd be fine with their WR if I was them. Chicago does have an early 2nd round pick, so how much depth at one position is left at this point should dictate who they'll pick. For now I see them with Grubb, with a WR for the second pick if Smith or Rice are available.
32. Indiannapolis - Justin Harrell, DT, Tennessee
They need a DT or LB, but there just aren't many here. I'd trade down 5 or so picks if I were them. They'll probably get someone like Anthony Spencer, because he's their type of player, DE fast off the line, undersized, but disruptive. But they are stacked at that position, and really just need more run defense help. I can see them picking Marcus McCauley, a cornerback from Fresno State though. Basically something on defense is necessary.

The Rotation

2007-04-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

The Mariners are losing 12-1 while I write this...wait...13-1. As it turns out, Jeff Weaver is even worse than advertised. His potential replacement in the 5th starter spot, Woods, is apparently also garbage. Batista and Homirez, our 3rd and 4th starters, are terrible. The Mariners need to address our awful rotation immediately, or I guarantee, even if Felix wins 30 games, they will be in the division cellar.

Julian Wright declares for draft

2007-04-09T16:15:00.000-07:00

After saying for a week or two that he was definitely staying at Kansas, Julian Wright has declared for the draft, but not hired an agent (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2007/news/story?id=2831190). I don't think he's ready to do well in his first year in the NBA, but at the same time, if he goes out next year and hasn't performed any better, I think his "potential" will seem less enticing.

Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert are also both looking to declare.

This looks good for the Sonics, as the more the better. If Julian Wright pushes Brewer or Horford to fall to us, all the better.

Fearsome Foursome from Florida decide to leave

2007-04-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

So it's official. The four juniors are going to leave. I was going to write a piece on this sooner, but it was mainly going to be about how good Corey Brewer is, and Bill Simmons beat me to the punch. http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/page2/blog/entry?id=2824207&searchName=simmons
I like how Simmons always tries to soiund smart, but shows off his own ignorance in the process. For instance, he talks about how Julian Wright disappeared in his final two games, and how he needs to go back to school. First of all, he already said he was going back to school, he promised his parents he'd graduate, and he is getting his degree in three years, and second of all, he didn't do well against UCLA or SIU, both great defensive schools.
Simmons does this a lot (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070405&sportCat=mlb). In this piece, he says the difference between the Red Sox and the Royals are that the Sox pay $104 million for a #3 starter, whereas the Royals give a anxiety disorder guy another chance. First of all, Matsuzaka isn't really a number 3 starter. He's their best starting pitcher already. Second of all, Greinke is a great prospect. Before the disorder, he was going to be their number one starter at a very young age. He is good enough to be on the Red Sox or Yankees roster, easily. Anyways, Simmons is just one of many writers who you like at first, then become more and more annoyed with, though I think the Red Sox becoming the new Yankees, and the Pats winning 3 SB makes him more annoying.
Anyways, of interest in his piece was the fact that Noah is 22 already. This lowers his stock drastically in my mind. The Final Four was a great stock-rasier for Brewer. I knew he was a great defender, and a pretty good slasher, but after the Final Four, everyone saw that he can shoot really well, and is pretty good at handling the ball, like a point forward. So what he seems like, is a Rashard Lewis, who can play great defense.
NBA Draft Rankings:
1. Greg Oden
His only weakness was offense and intensity, and he proved that he could do that and provide shut-down defense in the process, while going against 4 future NBA forwards.
2. Kevin Durant
I don't know why the Oden/Durant discussion is such a big topic, if you don't get Oden, you get an amazing player in Durant. Who would you rather have, Bill Russell with more offense, or a mix between McGrady and Kevin Garnett?
3. Corey Brewer
From barely lottery, to 3 overall? Definitely. Rashard Lewis with excellent defense? Yes please, sign me up. I was hoping the Sonics could get him, but he might have raised his stock too high. He's a great fit for when Rashard Lewis leaves, and he would help some of our defensive problems.
4. Al Horford
Not quite as good as Elton Brand, but he is 2 inches taller. He looks to be good, and if you saw him in the Purdue game, he was dominant and unstoppable. He has more offensive moves than you'd think.
5. Yi Jianlian
More on him later, but this kid can play. His "flaws" are the he isn't too strong, he can't shoot threes well, and he is a little sloppy fundamentally. I don't know, after watching tons of videos on him, I can seem being KG-lite. He's quick, tall, good dunker, fairly good all-around offensively. Of course he could be 23 already, but he could be only 20. Assuming his parents were married in 1985, and didn't conceive yet, he is probably 22 or 21. Which means to me that he is pretty damn good. He played pretty well against Team USA last time, and he has all the lookings of a future all-star.
6. Acie Law IV
I don't know why he's rated so low. He plays pretty good defense, he is a great distributor, great teammate, good shooter, and great hustler. I'd love to have him on my team. He's like Steve Nash, good passer until the end, he takes over and shoots a lot and makes a lot of clutch shots.
7. Jeff Green
Sure he disappeared in the last game, but he can be a great player, and has great all-around game. Many people liken him to Brandon Roy, and I think this is an accurate comparison.
8. Brandan Wright
I'm not too high on him. I don't know why everyone loves a 6'9" 220 pound PF with a big wingspan. I'd actually probably draft him earlier, but I'm knocking him down for now.
9. Spencer Hawes
Better than Noah. He is a great passer, great shot-blocker, and he has an array of offensive moves that makes you think wow. Sure he's not that athletic, but I think he'll be a solid center, especially if he lifts a bit more.
10. Thaddeus Young
I've heard about him for years. I think he'll be pretty good, but I'd rather be sure if he came back for another year. 6-8, super smart, and really athletic, so he looks like a good prospect.
11. Al Thornton
I love this guy, another super athletic 6'7" small forward. He had dominant numbers, he can score in myriad ways, and he is a good rebounder too. I'm not sure if he's as athletic as Marion, but he is not a bad comparison.
12. Marcus Williams
He took over games at times, and will be a great SF as well. I like this guy, and I think his numbers could have been a lot better if he had chose to be more of a ball hog, or if he was on another team.
13. Roy Hibbert
I think he's a big stiff. He'll be good for rebounds because of his size, and he gets a ton of blocks, but he's not too athletic. He's good because 7'2" guys are hard to come by, and his offensive skills are better than I though, but I can't get forget about his lack of athleticism.
14. Joakim Noah
He's 6'11" and can pass, block and rebound, so he's not that bad. But he couldn't guard Oden at all. I think he's lost his luster because his main attribute now is his "fire for the game".
Left off the list:
I don't think Conley Jr. is going to the NBA. He' d be at around 10 if he was. He needs to work on shooting, otherwise he's just going to be Andre Miller or TJ Ford. He could be a Chris Paul, and that's a pretty big difference.
I was once low on Josh McRoberts, but he actually performed pretty well last year. He will be a solid 3rd player, and he still has upside, so who knows, he could be good eventually. I wouldn't mind trading down and getting him, if we needed a pf, which we don't.
Nick Young is just on the cusp. I think he can be pretty good. He's a great all around player, and perhaps the best scorer in the Pac-10. I might put him higher later, but I'm not sure how athletic he is.

Dice-K off to a great start

2007-04-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

Dice-K pitched 7 innings, allowed 6 hits, one walk, and one earned run on a homer and collected 10 k's. He mixed his 94 mph fastball with an assortment of breaking balls and offspeed pitches, worked his way out of a jam when he had to, and seemed to pick up speed as the game went along.
Some people may say that it's not too impressive, considering it was just the Royals, but the Royals aren't too bad. Dejesus is a great young prospect who should be like Coco Crisp (with the Indians), Esteban German hit 300 with a 400 obp in 100 games last year, and Teahen, Brown, Gordon, and Shealy are all great young hitters.
Anyways, I was being a little hesitant about Dice-K before, but this start confirms my thoughts that after Santana, he'll probably be the best pitcher in the league. He's experienced, he's new to the league so batters don't know his tendencies or pitches as well, and he has a great fastball mixed with good command and great secondary positions. His change up is great, and his slider/curve has great movement on it, practicably unhittable. He has 4 plus pitches is unheard of, and I think he'll win a few Cy Youngs when all is said and done.

WNBA draft

2007-04-04T11:04:00.000-07:00

WNBA draft is going on right now, and I know most people don't care, and I don't really either.
As expected, Lindsey Harding of Duke went first, but she was then traded to Minnesota for the fourth pick and other considerations. Anyways, the Storm had the 7th pick, and with it, we chose Katie Gearlds of Purdue. As she walked up to the podium, I thought she was a man with long hair, but nope, she was a woman. Anyways, she averages about 19 points 3 assists, 4 rebounds on 46% shooting and 39% 3-point shooting. I'm not sure what the shooting means, because despite using a smaller ball and having a closer three line, women still manage to shoot worse. What I do know however is that the Storm have the best PGs and one of the best PFs in the league. The Storm also have a pretty good SG in Betty Lennox whow as the Finals MVP when the Storm won the title and a decent C in Jannell Burse (Who's 6-5). Which means, yes, we need a SF because our lineup is 5-9, 5-8, 6-5, and 6-5 without their SF. So we drafted Gearlds, a 6-1 SF who shoots fairly well on threes. Nothing to complaing about right? Wrong. Even if you know almost nothing about women's basketball, I'm sure you've heard of Allison Bales or Ivory Latta from Duke and UNC respectively. Anyways, they were both still available, and subsequently taken with the 9th and 11th picks. Sure, our strongest positions are Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson, but if we had Bales, Jackson could focus more on offense, leaving Bales, a great rebounder and excellent shot blocker to be the defensive stopper, sort of like David Robinson and Tim Duncan. Same with Latta and Bird, Bird is a phenomal scorer, and having Latta there to distribute more and guard the opposing team's PG would free up Bird to take over at the end of the games more often and be less tired. I hope that Gearlds works out, but I hope that this isn't a Need pick in the make of Sam Bowie over Jordan because we already have a Drexler type pick.

Mariners win home opener

2007-04-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

Felix looked absolutely dominating. Our offense wasn't awesome, but the umpire was calling balls a foot out of the zone strikes, so it's hard to get the offense going. The A's made some bonehead plays on defense to help us win, and Sexson hit what looked like a fly out over the center field wall, showing off his muscles in the process.
Best news of all, Hernandez went 8 innings with 12 K's 2BBs and 3 hits, with a 14 GB to 1 FB ratio in a Cy-Young performance. None of our hitters looked like all-stars, but we had some good at bats and a few hard hits. Overall, a good feel to what could be a season of destiny.

Final Four down to 2

2007-04-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

So, the Final Two is just as I predicted, Florida and Ohio State. If I were an Ohio State fan, I might hope that Oden and Conley suck it up and the lose, so next year they will both come back with the addition of their 7 foot McDonald's All-American freshman. If OSU wins, I'm thinking that both of them leave and sign with Mike Conley Sr. Florida should win this game though, since Oden should have trouble with a poor-man's Garnett and Elton Brand (Noah and Horford). Of course, OSU showed against GTown that they didn't need Oden to win. Despite all the big names, this game might be decided more by the swingmen and the shooters. Butler and Lewis for OSU, and Green and Humphrey for Florida should have more of an impact then they realize. I never can tell if these guys make it easier down low for Oden, Noah, and Horford, or if the shooterse make it easier for the guys down low. Anyways, I picked Florida at the beginning of the tournament, and I'm sticking to it.
Lets have a recap of Saturday nights Games though.
Roy Hibbert did not dominate as much as he should have. I didn't think he'd do that well against Oden because I believe Oden is Bill Russell incarnate with 2 inches of height, and more offensive skill, but when Oden got 2 quick fouls, I felt that while Hibbert did get a lot of easy buckets, he could have got more. They should have made it more of an effort to give him the ball. Do you think 6-8 Twilliger or 6-9 Hunter would do anything against a guy who's 7-2? Green, the Big East player of the year, and likely top 10 pick, had 9 points on 5 shots, which is great if you're a role player, but for a star player, I want him taking at least 15 shots. Another problem with Georgetown is that while Wallace played well, Summers stunk up the place, and the bench provided 0 points. I've heard talks that both Hibbert and Green might return, and while I don't know if either of them will need it because they'll be drafted at the 8th and 12th picks right now, I can see how the allure of one more year of college ball for a prestigious degree at Georgetown University might be enticing. Georgetown's stars might also want to come back to "prove something", because they just seemed to play half-hearted. I think the fact that they were down at half with Oden having played very little made them believe that they had no shot. Whatever the case was, I would just go to the NBA for both of them, but staying would be cool too, no wrong choice here. If Green stays, I'd try to be more assertive at the end of games like Law was, and if Hibbert stays, I'd try to beef up a bit so I don't have to wear a silly t-shirt.
For the Florida game, I knew from the beginning that UCLA was going to lose. UCLA is the type of team that will have trouble against teams with 2 good big men (Washington, UNC, Florida), and it showed early. Having Afflalo get two quick cheap fouls didn't help out at all either. Florida only won by 10, but it seemed like a whole lot more. Chris Richard, a big man any team would love to have starting for them except for maybe UNC and of course Florida, was 7 for 7 with 16 points off the bench. Mbah a Moute, UCLA's best "big man" on the other hand fouled out in just 19 minutes of play. I don't want to blame the refs, but the calls did seem a bit one sided. I mean, how do 2 of your 4 best players foul out in 19 and 22 minutes combined? Of course it probably wouldn't have mattered. Noah and Horford with their 28 rebounds outrebounded UCLA by 3 as it is, and Brewer made 4 of 5 from 3 land to complement Humphrie's 4 for 8 and make up for Green's 1 for 7.
Anyways, Monday's game should be exciting, but I might miss tipoff because the M's game might overlap, and who wouldn't want to see Felix dominate opening day against the hated A's (hated only because their management is so much better than ours, and because they smoked us last year head to head and record comparison)

The Mariners: Are They Really as Bad as They Seem on Paper?

2007-03-31T15:17:00.000-07:00

As the beginning of the MLB season quickly approaches, there is a question that emerges from most informed Mariners fans: will they be as bad as they seem on paper? Let's be honest, ALL of our off-season moves were the laughing stock of the baseball community. Dealing Soriano, our only promising reliever not named Putz, was a terrible move. Getting Jose Guillen, who is as impatient and wild at the plate as he is in the clubhouse, was a disasterous move. 5 mil a year for 36-year-old Miguel Batista? 8+ mil a year for Jeff Weaver? His ERA was almost 6 last year! Vidro? VIDRO?!?

I tried at one point to justify our moves as short-term solutions that will help us this year, which may convince Ichiro to resign. But anyone with half a brain can see that our off-season moves have not helped us for this year or any year.

Sports Illustrated had us as finishing fourth in the A.L. West in their MLB season preview. The "experts" at ESPN were a little kinder, though on average, they predicted 76.7 wins for the Mariners.

Are the Mariners destined to finish last in the division again? Possibly, and it's nearly impossible to argue against. Luckily, our division is mediocre (the Angels aren't as good as everyone predicts) so there always is some hope. It's possible that we'd only need 85-87 wins to claim the division, and if everything goes right and then some (i.e. we never have to play Oakland because of a scheduling error), we might have a the slimmest chance of making a run at it. And if we get into the playoffs, anything is possible.

Honestly, what do I think will happen? Not sure. Probably a win count in the 70s, a fired Hargrove (finally) and a departed Ichiro (unless we resign him for a billion dollars).

Fantasy Baseball advice, and Baseball Predictions

2007-03-31T07:39:00.000-07:00

So I've done 4 Fantasy Baseball Drafts already, and don't plan on doing any more, so I think I can give out some advice and predictions.
For the rules, I usually play in leagues that are not 5X5, because I think OBP, Slugging, and Fielding % are important. For pitching, I think Holds are important because it represents a real team, and I also have K ratios like K/9 or K/BB. I also play with LF, CF, RF because I wouldn't think Manny would want to play in Center. The problem with this is that Ichiro could play LF if he wanted to, but why would you want to play him there? It's like playing Reyes at 1b because you have two SS's and no 1b.
Catcher:
If you're not getting a Mauer, Martinez, or McCann, you might as well hold off til the end. I don't really weight catchers much after this because they just don't contribute that much.
Sleepers: Paulino on Pittsburgh, Coste on Philadelphia, and Ianetta on Colorado. All three have chance to get .300 with 10 hrs which is great late in the draft. For a non-prospect sleeper, Johnny Estrada is not a bad pickup, and for a guy who's going later than he should, Piazza might be a good pickup as well.
First Baseman:
Obviously this has the best guys at the top, but it is also the deepest, so if you don't get a Pujols, DLee, Howard, Tex, Morneau, or Berkman, I'd rather just wait later for guys who are going later like Adrian Gonzalez, Conor Jackson, or Lyle Overbay. For a guy to not draft, but keep an eye on, I'd look for Ryan Shealy or Casey Kotchman.
Second Baseman:
After Chase Utley, I wouldn't really take a guy early unless Cano falls. I'm a big fan of Kendrick, and usually take him in the 6th round or so. I'm pretty sure he'll hit .310 10 hr 20 sb, since he is athletic, and hit 370 in the Minors. After that, I'd just wait because you can always get guys like Jose Lope, Ian Kinsler, Jose Vidro, Luis Castillo, or Jorge Cantu late.
Third Baseman:
Possibly just as deep as 1b, but not as deep at the top, as the cream consists of A-Rod, DWright, and Miguel Cabrera. I love this position because I saw Melvin Mora and Joe Crede taken in the 16th round. And I didn't even take a 3b yet, I took Chad Tracy in the 17th round. The sleepers I love are Alex Gordon, and Mark Teahen, both Royals. I think they'll both have numbers around 290 25 hr and 20 sb with 90 rbis each. Not on draft radar's, but someone to think about is Kevin Kouzmanoff, who had a great spring training, and could be great all season.
Shortstop:
Deeper up top than it used to be with Reyes up in first, and then a slew of good ones in Jeter, Tejada, Rollins, and Hanley Ramirez. I'm pretty big on Hanley, because his stats are almost identical to Reyes' last year and he's taken some 40 picks later. I'm also really big on Carlos Guillen, who went 20 20 last year and had the highest OPS of all SS, though for some reason, Fantasy "Experts" rank him the 11th best SS after Bill Hall and Felipe Lopez. I'm also a big believer in Stephen Drew and Troy Tulowitzki.
DH:
Ortiz is a 1b is Yahoo! but a DH in ESPN. Nevertheless, I think he's being draft too low, because he has just as good of numbers as Howard, because he's doing it for more years, and if he didn't miss games last year, he would exactly as good. Hafner, I think is also a definite 2nd round pick. His had 42 hr last year and he didn't play a full season as usual. If he could get a full season, he'd be Ortiz, but he hasn't done it yet, so I drop him to the middle of the 2nd round.
Left Fielder:
Soriano and Crawford are the cream of the crop. Soriano is a bit overrated, and not as good in non 5x5 leagues, and Crawford is basically Reyes in LF, so he's not as good, but fairly good. LF as whole is not as deep as people think. After those two you have Manny, who is being underrated for a guy who hit .320 and 35 last year, and then Carlos Lee, Jason Bay, and Matt Holliday, all great guys to have because they have good numbers and double digit on SBs. Markakis will have a great year I think, and Bonds is probably being rated low. Sure he won't play more than 130 games, but he will probably get 280 400 550 oand 28 or so hr at worst.
Center Fielder:
Beltran is a bit overrated I think, though he might get more SBs, his average has never been great. Markakis is eligible for all OF positions so he might be a good option here too. I'm real big on Willy Taveras, because he'll hit in front of good hitters, hit in Coors, and have a lot of SBs I think. Chris B. Young would be a good late pickup too, since he'll probably go 270 15 25, and same for Shane Victorino.
Right Fielder:
I think Dye is going being underrated a bit here, he won't repeat last year, but he won't implode all of a sudden because of old age. Sheffield is also underrated, I expect him to be out to prove something and hitting in the middle of a potent Detroit lineup will do him good. Brad Hawpe is also a great late pickup, because I think he'll do even better than last year, and no one seemed to notice how good his last year was. Carlos Quentin was on people's radar but after his horrid ST, I'd say don't draft him, he's a wait and see player. I'm pretty high on Jose Guillen, he's got something to prove, and he's tearing it up in Spring Training (along with Raul Ibanez and Beltre). Reed Johnson wouldn't be bad for a backup OF too, he has a good average, and plays all the OF positions. For super Sleepers, I'd say pick Chris Snelling, a M's Fan favorite. He's doing real well in ST.
Starting Pitchers:
After Santana I'd rank it Oswalt and Carpenter tied, then Peavy and Halladay, then Felix, Matsuzaka, and Bonderman. Unless you get an elite pitcher, I like to take pitchers later. Some sleepers are Chuck James, Bartolo Colon, Eric Bedard, Kei Igawa, Rich Harden (who's having an amazing spring and looks healthy, same as Ben Sheets but 100 picks later), Ian Snell, and Tim Hudson (Not back to Cy Young form, but definetley back on track, a good buy low candidate). For super sleeper prospects, Phil Huges, Homer Bailey, and Mike Pelfrey are good bets, as are Tim Lincecum, Andrew Miller, and Adam Miller.
Closers:
The best closers are amazing, helping in tons of categories including, K's, WHIP, ERA, and IP. Nathan is the best, though he doesn't get the most saves, followed closely by K-Rod, Street, BJ Ryan, Wagner, and then Rivera. Others just below this are Papelbon, Putz, Hoffman, and Cordero. This year, there doesn't seem to be many undecided closer who'll be lights out, so I'd put a premium on elite closers this year. Get a sure thing instead of a guy who'll just get you saves for half a season who drags down your ERA and WHIP.
Relief Pitchers:
Atlanta did a good job getting setup pitching, and Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano would be a good bet to close once the Braves realize Wickman sucks. Gagne is sure to get injured (I think he already is), so definitely pick up Otsuka who was lights out last year and in the WBC. For the Dodgers, I'd get both Broxton and Saito, both of whom were lights out. For setup men, I'd get perrenial all-stars Rincon, Shields, or Linebrink, and then a Pat Neshek-type. The Twins have a ton of great relief pitching, as to the Angels and A's, so get their guys, and just get teams that have a lot of leads.

Predictions:
AL MVP: 1. Vlad Guerrero 2. Ortiz 3. A-Rod
I think if Weaver and Colon get back, the Angel's will be good, especially if they get the production from their prospects like I expect. Vlad will win this with his great numbers. Ortiz will put up a typically good year, but will fall just short becuase there's always going to be a guy who's just as good, and actually plays defense. A-Rod will be rejuvinated this year, but it's hard giving it to a guy who has 12 all-stars on his team.
NL MVP: 1. Albert Pujols 2. Ryan Howard 3. David Wright
Pujols is so consistent, and I think his team will win the division easily this year. Howard will put up great numbers again, but if he barely won with 58 hr, he's not going to win with 50 hr, even if he does get 180 walks. Wright will finally put together a full year and either put up a 335 average of 40 hrs.
AL Cy Young: 1. Johan Santana 2. Rich Harden 3. Daisuke Matsuzaka 4. Jeremy Bonderman
I'm not putting John Lackey, because I hate him and he's ugly. Santana won the triple crown last year so... picking him is a no brainer. He also should have 3 in a row right now. Harden is looking amazing in spring training and I think he's one of the best pitchers if he's healthy. Matsuzaka will mistify hitters with his new pitches and will have a lot of wins. Bonderman is also a nice pick to make. Not sure how many wins Felix will have because of our offense.
NL Cy Young: 1. Roy Oswalt 2. Cris Carpenter 3. John Smoltz 4. Carlos Zambrano
Oswalt has been one of the top pitchers for a while now, and though his K's have been declining, I think his new changeup will keep his hitters honest. Carpenter is also developing a changeup, but I think Oswalt will just have a better season if ever so slightly. Smoltz is looking in top form, and looks to lead the Braves to a wild card spot which would get him heavy consideration. Zambrano is in a contract year, but I've never been a huge fan.
AL Rookie of the year: 1. Alex Gordon 2. Daisuke Matsuzaka 3. Delmon Young
For the second year in a row, the rookies will be amazing, no Angel Berroa crap. Gordon will hit 290 25 20 and save the Royals from being the most pathetic team. Matsuzaka will do better but will lose some votes because of his questionable rookie status. Delmon Young will do well, but by not being the best player on his team, he will look like less of a star. His low BB rate is also a problem.
NL Rookie of the year: 1. Kevin Kouzmanoff 2. Troy Tulowitzki 3. Chris B. Young
Kouzmanoff is hitting Adrian Gonzalez-like in ST, and looks to hit 280 with 25 hrs, great for his park. Tulowitzki will hit 300 with 15 15. Young will be 20 20, but I have a hard time seeing him hit higher than 275. I'm not sure if Stephen Drew is a rookie, if he is, then he'll be pretty high up, as I think he'll hit 300 with 10 hr and 20 sb.
Al Teams in the playoffs: NL Teams in playoffs:
1. Yankees 1. Mets
2. Tigers 2. Cardinals
3. Angels 3. Dodgers
WC. Red Sox (I can see Twins) WC. Phillies (I can see Padres or Braves)
Angels over Yanks, Red Sox over Tigers
Mets over Dodgers, Cardinals over Phillies
Angels over Red Sox, Mets over Cardinals
Angels over Mets

I'd say Angels over Yanks because I like their front line starters more. I think Lackey, Colon, Weaver, Santana will be a great lineup. I use the same thing for the Red Sox. They have Matsuzaka and Schilling, which trump Bonderman and Verlander, if ever so slightly. And I see the lineup in the Red Sox being more consistent with their OBP.
Mets over Dodgers becasue I feel the Mets are the best team in the NL, and Cardinals over Phillies, because Phillies have good pitching depth now, but no front line pitchers.
I like the Angels over the Red Sox because I like their bullpen a lot better. Shields, Speier, and K-Rod is just as good as Lowe, Soriano, Putz was last year. I also think Kotchman will have a good year. I picked Mets oves over Cards because I don't think the Cardinals have enough bats to make it to the World Series. Pujols and Rolen are great, but with no one else really, defense nad pitching will only get them so far.
Angels over Mets because the Angels have better pitching on all accounts. Pelfrey will be good by now, but I like the Angels all-around team. The only fault for the Angels is if Colon never puts it together, and Weaver has a sophomore slump, but Colon threw 94 mph recently, and with Escobar in the bullpen for the playoffs, this team is even better.

Most Heartbreaking franchises on ESPN

2007-03-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

So ESPN did an article on this, and all three Seattle Sports teams are on it, as well as the Vancouver Canucks. (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=schoenfield/070328&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab6pos2)
The Sonics are 9th, Canucks are 10th, Seahawks are 14th, and the Mariners are 19th. (For some reason, this list stops at 46.
For the Sonics, the only soul-sucking moment we had was losing to Dikembe in the playoffs. I don't know, how about Kemp forcing his way out, then getting a Vin Baker who looked like something for one year and the totally sucking for the rest of his life? Or how about a guy nick-named Mr. Sonic leaving the organization for our "Rival" team.
For the Seahawks, they of course mentioned the Superbowl which I'm glad, and they kid that it's 14 blown calls, which I'm also glad for, because it was about that many calls, not just 3 as stupid people like to point out.
For the Mariners its of course the many years of futility and then our stars leaving, then the 116 game season where we couldn't even make it to the World Series.
For the Canucks, oddly enough, just the fact that they sucked a lot got them the 10 spot.
Anyways, its a good idea, and I'm glad that Seattle got its recognition, though Philly did get the 3,4, and 32 spots.
Comparison, 9+14+19 = 42, 3+4+32 = 39, so Philadelphia wins in this comparison. Oh well.

Taking the Playoffs from Garnett

2007-03-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

On the heels of Allen's exit and a clobbering at home from the Spurs, it's nice to see that the SuperSonics are still fighting (sort of). Three hours ago, they managed to outscore the Minnesota TimberWolves 35-12 in the fourth quarter and pull away with a 114-106 victory. The Supes are well out of the playoff picture, so frankly, all this win really means for them is fewer lottery balls, but as a true fan, I prefer that they honestly try to win every game rather than tank it and get a slightly better chance at Oden or Durant or whoever else.

The best part of the victory isn't just the proof that Lewis (35 points) is actually capable of taking over a game in the fourth (21 points in the quarter), but that the moronically run TimberWolves organization just had the final nail hammered into their playoff-hope coffin at 30-40.

I always thought Dwayne Casey was the brains of the Sonics coaching staff under McMillan, and it hurt to see him leave for Minny more than it did to see Nate go to Portland. Casey is an excellent coach who was burdened with a terrible team that is essentially just one superstar (sans leadership skills) forced to carry the Washington Generals. Unfortunately for Casey, he was no immediate miracle worker, and so he was prematurely fired.

Speaking of firing coaches, as soon as Bob Hill is canned at the end of the season, we should look into getting Casey if we can, and if not, Ted Miller from the P-I recommends we take a look at Phoenix Suns assistant coach Marc Iavaroni. I couldn't agree more. We are a run and gun team, and as long as we have Ray, Rashard and Luke playing the kind of matador defense they do, we'll need to stay that way. Why not get a guy from a system that knows how to play in that style with success?

Anyway, congrats on a good win for the Sonics, and hopefully it won't be necessary to come from 25 down to a team like the TimberWolves next season.

2007 NFL Mock Draft 1st half of 1st Round

2007-03-27T08:04:00.000-07:00

1. Oakland – JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU
I think this is a mistake, because I’m not a huge believer in him, but Al Davis apparently loves him, and they’re QB situation is horrible (though they could sign Trent Green or David Carr).
2. Detroit – Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame
They could trade down and get Quinn later maybe, but I feel like the QB situation with Kitna starting isn’t very good. Quinn has the pedigree, and he is apparently a combine freak with 25 reps on the bench press. Also a plus is that he has been in an “NFL-Type” offense for the last 2 years, and would be ready to start sooner.
3. Cleveland – Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma
They could go with Joe Thomas or Calvin Johnson, but I think their biggest need is a RB, because Reuben Droughns isn’t very good with a 3.4 YPC last year. They are fairly set at receiver with Edwards, Jurevicious, and Winslow Jr. I would like Peterson, but I think he has a lot of carries already on him, and he seems to get injured quite often, otherwise, he’s going to be good if he’s healthy for at least 5 seasons.
4. Tampa Bay – Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech
The number one overall rated player gets picked finally. I’m not sure that Tampa needs him with Galloway, Clayton, and Hilliard, but Galloway is getting old, and Clayton doesn’t seem to be the picture of health. He’s obviously a physical freak with a sub 4.4 40 yard time and the size of a TE at 6-5 225. He’s kind of like Randy Moss mixed with Terrell Owens, except he apparently has a great personality, quiet and humble. So what’s wrong with this kid? He didn’t dominate in college. He disappeared for a few games, which makes me think he’s not a great route runner, and he wasn’t as consistent as he should have been. If you’re that big and fast in college, you should be dominating CBs in college either by beating them deep, or just turning around in front of them and boxing them out for a jump ball. I think he’s going to be pretty good, but I don’t think he’s going to be great like most do.
5. Arizona – Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin
I think the top 5 picks are pretty much set in stone unless a trade happens. As it is, Arizona is thrilled with this, because their biggest need is O-line. With Joe Thomas anchoring the line, the rest of the offense can really get moving. Field Gulls tends to think he might be a bust because he doesn’t have a good 40 time or 10 yard speed burst, and he can only bench 225 lbs. 28 times. I agree with this because his technique is probably great, but the athleticism in college is very different from what he’ll experience in the NFL. I think he’ll be solid, but you need above average athleticism and amazing technique or amazing athleticism and above average technique to be a great LT in the NFL, and Thomas, while better than a Gallery, is just average in athleticism.
6. Washington - Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson
I wasn’t too high on this guy until the combine, where he proved to be a speedy DE running in the 4.5’s. He can play in either 3-4 or 4-3 sets, and the Redskins apparently were dead last in sacks last year, so a guy who averaged 11 sacks the last two years will certainly help them.
7. Minnesota – LaRon Landry, S, LSU
I have to say, I love this guy. He’s 6’2” 202 lbs and runs a sub 4.5 40. As a freshman he had 80 tackles, 3.5 for a loss, 3 sacks, 2 INTs, 4 passes deflected, and a blocked kick. His stats have stayed consistent over the years, but he has showed that he can play all the secondary positions. Basically he’s a great cover safety who can also play the line well. Minnesota doesn’t really need secondary help, but I can see him displacing Dwight Smith as a starter, or if not then playing both S positions and the nickel back position, while playing amazing special teams. That being said, the Vikings have no real need on defense except the safety position and LOLB, with Ben Leber. On offense they need a WR, so I could definitely see a trade down for Bob Meachem or Ted Ginn Jr.
8. Atlanta – Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas
Atlanta needs to replace the void that Kerney’s departure makes, and Anderson is the perfect fit. Atlanta’s secondary wasn’t great last year, but it might have been due to lack of pressure. Their aren’t many good LB’s in this draft, so Anderson fills the need at this spot.
9. Miami – Alan Branch, DT, Michigan
This guy was a top 5 picks a few weeks ago, and I’m not sure why he dropped, because he is such an athletic specimen for a tackle and could conceivably play the end position for a 3-4 team like San Diego. Apparently they also like Adam Carricker, Levi Brown, or Ted Ginn Jr. so this is hard to predict because they have so many needs.
10. Houston – Levi Brown, OT, Penn State
Houston needs to solidify their line still, despite a great draft last year. This will allow Chris Spencer to move over to either LG or RG, his more natural position for an offensive line that is young, but solid throughout. This might be a bit of a reach, but I’ve seen him higher, and he is the only other O-Line that is guaranteed to go in the first round. They could go with Leon Hall, who was a sure-fire top 10 pick but then dropped as far as 25th pick when there were rumors that he was slow. Well, he ran a sub 4.4, but still hasn’t regained his hype as a shut down corner.
11. San Francisco – Ted Ginn Jr, WR, Ohio State
I don’t really like this pick, but I think they would be happy with Ginn, Meachem, or Dwayne Jarrett, so don’t be surprised if they trade down. That being said, they do have a lot of needs, so they could pick ILB Patrick Willis, or CB Leon Hall. I’m not a huge fan of Ginn personally, because I like consistent threats, not just vertical threats that make 4 catches a game. He’s also injured right now, so he hasn’t been able to work out, but there’s no doubt that he’s a physical freak.
12. Buffalo – Marshawn Lynch, RB, California
Before, this would have been Leon Hall or Amobi Okoye, but now that they have traded away McGahee, they need a RB. They also need a LB because they just traded Takeo Spikes away today, but there aren’t many great OLB in this draft, and now that they have a DT, they don’t need Okoye. I’m a big fan of Marshawn Lynch, he’s a physical specimen, and he had good numbers in college. I think this is a good pick to use on a RB, because you can have him for his prime 5 years while not paying him too much.
13. St. Louis – Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville
There seems to be a consensus on mock drafts that the Rams will choose a DT, and with Branch gone, Okoye is the obvious choice. He’s just 19, which could be a problem for the NFL right now, but he held his own as a 16 year old true freshman in college, so we’ll just have to wait and see. That being said, if he is really just 19, then his body could mature even more, and it’ll be amazing to see how good he can be. At the age of 19, most kids are just starting to play college football, so its obvious just how impressive this kid is. He also has a great work ethic apparently, so you won’t have to worry about him slacking off.
14. Carolina - Greg Olsen, TE, Miami
Not a great blocking TE, but he’s an amazing catching TE as proved by the skills challenge on ESPN. Not only this, but he was by far the best TE at the combine, with a blazing (for a TE if you’re not Vernon Davis) 4.51 40. That being said, he is just all projectibles and not actual numbers. I know college TE don’t have great numbers, but he only got 444 yards and 1 TD last year. He is 6’5” so that’s good for a QB like Delhomme, who has tunnel vision on his #1 WR, but he needs to gain a few pounds from the 255 he is currently at.
15. Pittsburgh – Leon Hall, CB, Michigan
They could go with Jarvis Moss, Patrick Willis, or Lawrence Timmons, because they need LB help now that Joey Porter is gone. They don’t have a strong CB core right now, and Ike Taylor bombed last year, so Leon Hall would be a perfect fit. I don’t think he’s a Champ Bailey or Chris McCalister, but he is comparable to a Marcus Trufant or Terence Newman.
Green Bay – Robert Meachem, WR, Tennessee
This is my favorite WR in the draft, in that he has great hands, and great athleticism. 1300 yards, 11 TDs, and under 4.4 40 yard dash. This may be a bit of a reach, but I think Green Bay wants to make Favre look good, and while WR don’t usually do well until year 3, it’ll be hard to pass up this guy, though I think they’d rather have Ted Ginn Jr. because Driver is a bit slow, and an extreme vertical threat is what they’d be looking for.

March Madness: From the Sweet Sixteen to the Final Four

2007-03-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

OK, so 3 of my four teams are still in, my bad pick being Kansas. I'm not sure why I picked Georgetown over UNC for the reason of decent talent combined with great team over great talent and youth, but not UCLA over Kansas. I guess I overestimated Kansas' talent, and UCLA's losses at the end of the season really affected my decisions. Andoverjon has three in also, his one back pick being Texas, and AndyMetz.com has 2 out of 4, his bad picks being Pitt and Texas.
Anyways, on to the Sweet Sixteen. Kansas got a scare from Southern Illinois, but they played lazy basketball all game while SI was pretty much geared up and executing flawlessly. In the end, 5 to 8 possible NBA talents triumphed over one or two fringe NBA talents. A&M lost to Memphis, a game that probably 90% of the people had A&M winning despite being a lower seed. Douglas-Roberts was supposed to be injured, but he played a great game by getting 15 points on efficient scoring. Acie Law IV played subpar, shooting 6-17 and missing a crucial layup. In the end, Memphis just had too many athletes for A&M to overcome. After that, Ohio State was down to Tennessee 39 to 19 and 47 to 27 at one point, but clawed their way back. Despite Tennesse shooting 15-31 on 3's they still lost, though to be fair, OSU did get 2x the amount of free throws attempted. And lastly for Thursday night's games, UCLA pretty much dominated Pitt. They only won by 9, but it never looked that close. Aaron Gray further proved that he is not an NBA talent.
Friday nights games were just as exciting. Florida almost lost to Butler and their 3 point shooting, but Florida had 3 point shooting of its own, with both sides making about half their attempts. Florida showed why people were skeptical about them earlier this season by playing half-hearted ball, but in their end, their front line was too much for the short Butler players to overcome. The USC-UNC was exciting for a while. USC was up by 15 with 15 to go, but UNC quickly erased that deficit and USC just could not score. Taj Gibson almost had a double double at half time, but some questionable foul calls gave him 4 early on, and he had to sit out most of the second half, leaving USC with virtually no big men. Marcus Ginyard's rebounding really helped them, and I found myself thinking that it would be UNC-Florida because of the talent both teams have. Besides Hansbrough and the three top 10 recruits for freshman in Lawson, Wright, and Ellington for this year, UNC has Marcus Ginyard, the Mr. Basketball of Virginia, Danny Green, a McDonald's All-American and MVP of the ABCD basketball camp ( a prestigious camp where most of the best high school players go to. Tracy McGrady was MVP of this camp a while ago), Bobby Frasor, a McDonald's All-American and on All-ACC freshman team last year, ReyShawn Terry, a 6-8 230 pound pre-season All-American candidate, and Deon Thompson a 6-8 240 pound block machine freshman. That's a whole lot of depth and athleticism.
Next Georgetown got a scare from Vanderbilt, and won on despite Jeff Green traveling to hit the game winner. Usually when they call travels I wonder why, but this one was very obvious, so it's weird that the didn't call it. After this game, I could see why Georgetown was such a good team, they have great players in a mold that fits the teams needs well. John Wallace is a great handler and good shooter, DaJuan Summers is a great freshman with size (6-8 240) and skills, Jessie Sapp is a reliable alternate ball handler, and Patrick Ewing Jr. is a dynamite athlete off the bench. Finally, Orgeon disposed of UNLV pretty easily. They only won by 4, but were up by 16 or so with not much to play. TaJuan Porter was shooting lights out, but the real story is that they really have 5 shooting guards, and a shooting forward on that team, though with Malik Hairston's build and rebounding and blocking ability, he can play a decent PF in college.
On to the Elite 8. OSU creamed Memphis, and Oden made Dorsey eat his words. If you don't know what I'm talking about, 6-9 260 pound bruiser, Joey Dorsey said before the game that he was Goliath compared to Oden. Dorsey ended up scoring 0 points and grabbing 3 rebounds, so I guess Oden won that battle. Jeremy Hunt scored 25 points off the bench, but Memphis as a whole just didn't look like they wanted to win that badly. Maybe they shouldn't have thought so highly of themselves, and had more of an attitude like SI or Butler, because those teams played their hearts out. Next, UCLA throttled Kansas in a very sloppy game. Afflalo was hitting everything, and Collison made a couple of unbelievable shots. Shipp and Collison would try to run and gun and get turnovers, but once they slowed it down, UCLA found that Kansas couldn't stop them. Mbah a Moute was big down the stretch, and only Brandon Rush for Kansas seemed to want to get his team to the Final Four.
The Oregon and Florida game played out with Florida winning, but not in quite the way everyone thought it would. I thought Horford and Noah would have their way, being that Oregon only has one guy over 6'6" who plays regularly. Oregon used a strong 2-3 however, and it opened up the three for Green and Humphrey who combined for 11 for 21 for threes. When you shoot that well and have the size and talent advantage, you're bound to win. Shooting 43 free throws when you're opponent shoots 16 doesn't hurt either. For Oregon, Aaron Brooks played lights out, and showed that he could shoot well, and that his driving was equally amazing. He probably moved himself to the late first round if not then definitely early second round. Malik Hairston also showed that he could use his weight effectively, even if wasn't that tall, so he might be a late first rounder as well.
Lastly, one of the most exciting games of the tournament so far, Georgetown versus UNC. The media made a big deal of this because of the historic Jordan game 25 years ago, the fact that Roy Williams was an assistant coach for UNC then, that Ewing Jr. is on the team now, and that John Thompson's son is the coach now for Georgetown. I guess that's cool and all, but the amazing players in this game was enough for me. Carolina started out well, and Hansbrough was amazing from the line. Making at least his first 12 free throws. At one point, the free throw discrepancy was 34 for Carolina and 9 for Georgetown, a little cheap I think. It ended up evening out in the end because Carolina had to foul in overtime. For Georgetown, John Wallace's 3 pointer to tie the game up was great, and Georgetown played great team ball, while for UNC, only Hansbrough and Deon Thompson really played great. I think both Wright and Lawson hurt their NBA stocks in my mind, though I never could see why they were projected to be the 4th and 14th NBA picks at this point.
So, two 1 seeds and two 2 seeds. People say its not exciting because of the lack of upsets, but I think it's better because there are more nationally recognizable players and programs, and just a higher level of play for basketball.
Draft Stocks
Brandon Rush's stock went up in my mind. I think he's a lottery pick now because he can be the team leader in terms of scoring, and he already is a lock down defender. Julian Wright disappeared a bit, despite showing his athleticism off, but it doesn't really matter because everyone on Kansas is supposed to be staying except for Rush, who is still undecided.
I think Hansbrough would be a great pick right now. Maybe not lottery, but he reminds me of Troy Murphy in that he's not too athletic, but is a beast down low, and has great basketball instincts. Brandan Wright I think should see his stock drop a bit too, because he is all raw potential right now, much like Marvin Williams was a few years ago. I think Horford and Noah have firmly surpassed him. Lawson also played poorly against Georgetown, and though he still might go out, I think Conley has firmly established himself as the premier PG.
Oden has established himself in my mind as the number one pick, though I think he'll go back to learn more in the classroom and on the basketball court. Conley could be a lottery pick if he goes, but unless he wins a championship, I think he stays, as he should, because once he can shoot a three pointer, the comparisons to Chris Paul will be dead on. Daequan Cook has shown that he needs at least another year of college, but Ron Lewis has shown that he could definitely be a great bench player in the NBA if not a starter. He plays solid defense, can shoot, and is averaging 21 points per game against good competition this tournament. His clutch shot against Xavier didn't hurt either.
For UCLA, Collison has shown that he has the talent, but if Afflalo has another game he might as well leave now. He will probably never be a great NBA player, but he plays amazing defense and can shoot fairly well. If he does real well in the shooting drill, he could be around the 20th pick.
For Florida, as I said before, I think it's clearly Noah and Horford 3 and 4, with Brewer being around 14, but Green has shown that he can play at the NBA level with his 3 point shooting, though he only averages 3 assists a game, he might want to show that he can be the main man at Florida next year. Humphrey has shown that he can be Jason Kapono or Kyle Korver-like, and that's worth a shot at in the NBA.
For Georgetown, but Hibbert and Green have shown that they can be lottery players. Green has moved up to the upper-eschelon in my mind next to the Wright's, while Hibbert is firmly in the lottery. He looks a lot more polished on both ends then I thought he would be, and his passing is great. The only problem is that he wears a t-shirt to hide his body because if you could see it, you would think that the guy needs to start lifting because he could get knocked around a bit in the NBA, and he needs to be more athletic in general. John Wallace showed that he could be in the NBA, and the freshman forward DaJuan Summers showed that he could be a 1st rounder, though I think he should stay and be "the man" for a year or two at Georgetown to show scouts what he has.
Lastly, for Memphis, Chris Douglas-Roberts can be a first rounder, but I'd stay another year and work on my shot. Joey Dorsey was hoping that he could project to a Zach Randolph, but his performance against OSU was horrible, and he will have to work on his game a bit more.

Kobe Goes 65 then 50 then 60 (also MVP awards and other Rants)

2007-03-23T07:32:00.000-07:00

Well, Kobe posted 60 points last night against the Grizzlies after games of 50 and 65. The Lakers are also on a 3 game winning streak after losing 7 in a row. Kobe has also done this scoring pretty efficiently:
65 pt game: 23-39 FG, 8-12 3pt, 11-12 FT
50 pt game: 17-35 FG, 4-9 3pt, 12-14 FT
60 pt game: 20-37 FG, 3-7 3pt, 17-18 FT

These past few games have just confirmed that KOBE BRYANT IS the BEST SCORER IN THE GAME. Not Dwayne Wade (he's all spin and 18-20 ft jumpers), Not Lebron (he's all about driving to the basket (while taking 3 steps a lot of the time) and clanking jump shots and 3 pointers), not Carmelo (he's a fat piece of crap and I can't believe I would even include him in the argument except for the fact that he WAS leading the league in scoring until Kobe's recent tear), not Allen Iverson (lots of people can score that many points given that many shots), and NOT Gilbert Arenas (Agent Zero does a lot more talking than Kobe when he really is just a poor man's version of Kobe).

When it comes to scoring, Kobe can do it all: he can drive and finish in the half court, he can definitely finish on the fast break, he can pull up from anywhere, he can drive left or right and fade away and pull of insane shots that I don't think can go in (T-Mac is good at that too, but he's Kobe-lite and injured), and he can shoot the 3 as evidenced by the game where he set the single game record for 3-pointers made at 12 against the Sonics on Jan 7, 2003.

What's interesting about this is everybody knows how sick of a player Kobe Bryant is. And yet he has NEVER won an MVP. The MVP trophy is a travesty! Shaq has only won it ONCE. How has the Most Dominant Player Ever (MDE) only won the trophy once. One year he was beat out my ALLEN IVERSON (whom I hate and will never win a championship team unless he's really old and sits on the bench the whole time of a really good team). LOOK at the year Allen Iverson won the MVP - http://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_2001.html
He won by a LANDSLIDE and Shaq only got 3rd? The reason for this is because Shaq won the MVP the year before and there is a silly rule in sports that you have to be better then 2nd time around. The Lakers did manage to CREAM the 76ers in the Finals that year (Philly won the first game, then the Lakers won the next 4). Allen Iverson took 41, 29, 30, 30, 32 shot for a total of 162 in 5 games or an average of 34 shots per game! He managed to score 178 points or 37.6 pts per game but 37.6 ppg for 34 shots is not too impressive. Guys like Allen Iverson should Never win MVP.

Also, Tim Duncan won the MVP twice, which at the time I thought was good, but looking at him now, either he is in one of the biggest declines I have ever seen or he is the most overrated players ever. But I'll write about that later.

As it is, I'm changing my MVP vote from Dirk to Kobe simply because if i had to start a franchise (regardless of age, although Kobe's not that old) I would pick Kobe Bryant first, and because he's having a fantastic season with some amazing games that Dirk and Nash have not had.

One final rant. I HATE Skip Bayless most of the time. He says Dirk can't finish because of the Phoenix Game and because of the NBA Finals last year. Did he not watch last year's playoffs when they were Down by THREE to the SAN ANTONIO SPURS with one possession left, and Dirk drove the lane, got hacked and managed to put the ball in the hole and make the free throw. That is as clutch as you get. Did he not see the games against Phoenix when he followed up his 11pt stinker in game 4 to put up 50 pts and 12 reb to put the Mavs up 3-2. Fact is, Dirk was doing fine in the Finals until the Heat got wise and decided to guard him and make his teammates do all the work. Also, looking at the defense played against Dirk and the defense played against Dwayne Wade (Defense reads referee whistle blowing) and I guess the NBA loves slasher guard types because Dwayne Wade could just drive to the basket and automatically get the foul calls, while Dirk (when he didn't have the ball) would get his ass pushed around by Udonis Haslem and didn't get a damn call. LOOK at the box scores, 3 out of the 4 games that the Heat won, Dwayne Wade got 18, 25, and 21 FT attempts. THAT IS ABSURD. That should NEVER happen in a playoff game. I know the NBA is trying to increase scoring but apparently that just means if someone drives to the basket and there is contact on a Star player, then a foul is called. Last year's playoffs were some of the best games I have EVER seen and it almost made me go back to watching the NBA on a regular basis, but the Finals ruined it for me.

Papelbon back to the bullpen

2007-03-22T12:53:00.000-07:00

ESPN reports that Papelbon will be a closer again( http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2007/news/story?id=2808345). This seems like a good decision because A) he's had some struggles with his command a starter B) They're closing options are looking pretty bad C) Their starting rotation is pretty crowded with Schilling, Beckett, Matsuzaka, Wakefield, Lester, and Clement.
Papelbon will probably be a 4.00 ERA starter, which is pretty good, but if their replacement for that is a 4.5 ERA starter, than it's not that much better, while if he's close to his last year form of .92 ERA closer, than that will be much better than a 5.00 ERA Pineiro closer. The only problem is that he is talented enough to be a starter, and I think that closing isn't necessarily helpful for starting because it forces you to focus on your best pitches and not your worst. Doing long relief stints like Johan Santana did would be better for his career, but better for this season would be to put in him the closer role again.

Random stuff, NBA Draft, Draft rumors, NFL trades, M's

2007-03-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

Lots of stuff going on in the past 24 hours.
Matt Schaub Deal and Implications:
The biggest of which is Matt Schaub being traded from the Falcons to the Houston Texans. The Texans then signed him to a 6 year $48 million dollar contract. $20 million is in the first three years, so it's backloaded, and $7 million is guaranteed so he would be an easy cut. Even so, that's a huge contract for a guy who has only 84 completions in his first three years in the NFL. What's even worse is the Texans had to swap their first round pick, which was their 8th pick for the Falcon's 10th pick, their 2nd round pick, and their 2nd round pick next year. So they lose ground in the first round and give up 2 2nd round picks to give an enormously overpaid contract to a guy who's done nothing. Personally, I don't see whats wrong with Carr, he has had a horrible line and it took him 3 years to stopped getting sacked at record rates, he has no tight end, and no running back, yet he still has a QB rating of 82, which is pretty good considering he had more INT than TD because of an overall poor offense.
The Falcons meanwhile are rumored to be wanting to trade up to get Calvin Johnson, a "hometown hero". Another big mistake, as Michael Vick cannot pass to anybody anyways. I think Calvin Johnson's overated, more on that later, but I don't think Vick needs another WR. He had 3 first round WR and Alge Crumpler last year and did nothing with them.
Another rumor is that the Raiders will trade for Carr, then draft Calvin Johnson, the guy they really wanted, which I think would be a solid idea. Buy Carr while Houston needs to get rid of him, and get the guy they really want, because I'm not sold on JaMarcus Russell anyways. I'd get rid of Randy Moss and Jerry Porter first because they would probably try to "mentor" Calvin by making him smoke weed or hold out in negotiations.
Ben Broussard Rumor:
ESPN has a rumor that the M's were looking at Armando Benitez long and hard. The rumor is that we'd trade Broussard for him. I like this idea because Broussard isn't going to get any playing time. He's a pretty good lefty, but it doesn't do any good because he won't play with Vidro blocking the way. Broussard is hitting something like .350 this spring training, so his stock is decently high. Problem for the Giants is, is that I've seen him play 1b, and he could be the worst fielder I've ever seen. He doesn't know how to field, throw or catch. Not a real problem for the Mariners, but a big problem for an NL team like the Giants. Armando Benitez on the other hand is dong well in spring training, and he is a "proven veteran" and has closed before. I don't think O'Flaherty or Huber are ready yet, so getting Armando would give them more time to hone their skills in Tacoma. Also, I do think that Morrow could do well not, but Benitez would put less stress on bringing Morrow up. No sense in bringing him up early so we can use him when he's not that great because his major league clock would be ticking early and he'd be a free agent earlier than we'd want. I'ms pretty sure that Reitsma will suck, so Benitez also gives us more bullpen depth for when Hargrove also realizes this in late August. Benitez would also be good trade bait to a team like the Red Sox in July because they'd need a closer by then after realizing that Pineiro is not the answer, though I always thought that if Minnesota were smarter, they'd give their bull pen arms some save opportunities and then trade them away once they proved they had a "closer's mentality", sort of like the A's did with Keith Foulke, Jason Isringhausen, and Billy Koch (ha, I almost forgot about this guy).
M's TV Contract:
M's are about to sign a TV contract with FSN for 10 years around $300 million dollars (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/baseball/308521_mari22.html). USSM suggests that because the M's are one of the more profitable franchises, we should have a Mariner's network to hide profit for profit-sharing (http://ussmariner.com/2007/03/22/the-ms-fsn-deal/). I agree with this, because doing this seems like the next big thing. A decade ago it was building big stadiums that had luxury boxes, and designs built to make money, now it could be having your own networks. If FSN is paying Houston $600 million for 15 years of NBA and MLB, than $300 million sounds reasonable to me, so I don't agree that the M's could get more. I always hate when fans think they know everything. Sure management gets stuff wrong when evaluating player talent, but I"m pretty sure the guys at Fox and the Mariners know what the TV contract is worth, and what good business relationships are worth. I'm going to trust that the deal is the best thing for both sides.
Seahawks and Briggs:
Drew Rosenhaus apparently mentioned Seattle as a possible destination for Lance Briggs according to s Seattle PI article (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/football/308488_hawk22.html?source=mypi). Though the article bashes the idea, I think if we have the money, go ahead and do it. LeRoy Hill is more of a "playmaker" in the sense that he gets sacks and ints, but he isn't a solid steady presence for tackling short routes and runs around the tackles (though he does have the skills do do this). With Peterson already filling that role, a guy like Briggs would help. he only had 2 sacks and 1 int, but is regarded by some as a top 5 defensive player behind Champ Bailey, Jason Taylor, Brian Urlacher, and Shawne Merriman. I already think we have the best linebacking trio in the league, but this could put us in contention for best ever. Our line problem is a different story, and if Tubbs is out for longer due to injury, drafting or signing a big DT (350 pound big, none of those undersized Darby-like DT) would really solidify our run defense.
Josh McRoberts:
Josh McRoberts is going to the NBA. If everyone who is border-line to declare declares, then he'll be a late lottery pick I think. I certainly wouldn't pick him though. If Hansbrough, who most agree will be nothing more than a Corliss Williamson type dominates him every time they match up, how will he do against guys like Bosh, Jermaine O'Neal, and even Troy Murphy? I personally think Hansbrough could be a poor man's Malone (lifts a lot, great work ethic, never-ending motor, good feel for the game), but I'll talke about that during my March Madness post. I've seen his flashes of brilliance, and I have to say that he could be very good. He is a very good dunker, I believe he got 2nd in the HS dunk contest, he is a great passer when he wants to be, he has an outside shot, and he can be a block machine, but he makes too many mental mistakes, doesn't have that killer instinct, and doesn't seem to take over. His freshman year, it made sense that he didn't do much because of JJ and Shelden, but this year he played almost the same role when every sign pointed toward him being "the Man" on the team. I don't know if another year at Duke would help, because I think the longer he stays in college, the more exposure his flaws will receive, but I do think he will be a bust. I'd say his ceiling is Bogut, median is Keith Van Horn right now, and cellar is Mark Madsen mixed with Fred Hoiberg. (Side note: Is it racist that I compared him to all white guys? No, thats what all the guys at ESPN and SI do anyways).
McCann's Deal:
Brian McCann signed a 6 year deal. Upon hearing 6 years, I figured it would be a Jose Reyes, David Wright, Chase Utley-type deal for about $50 or 60 million. Below market value, but since he didn't have much, if any, leverage for the next couple of years, the deal would be enough to make him happy. Well, the Braves got a steal because they signed him for just $26.8 million dollars. McCann hit .333 with 24 hrs in 130 games and his first full major league season and is only 23 years old right now. Anyways, good deal for the Braves, and McCann, being a Georgia native is probably just to be playing for his home team and getting a $4.4 million per year for the next 6 years.
Tubby Smith and Steve Alford Leave for "Lesser Schools":
Tubby Smith left Kentucky for Minnesota, and Steve Alford left Iowa for New Mexico. Kentucky is a traditional powerhouse up there with UNC, Duke, UConn, and Kansas, so it's weird that he's leaving. Tubby Smith has gone to the tournament 10 times in his 10 years at Kentucky, while going to the Elite 8 4 times. The fans do expect to much from him, and every time his team underachieves, fans call for his head, but Minnesota is a bottom feeder for major conference teams. He should have tried for a team like Michigan, where the pressure is also high, but has a better tradition, but I guess an annual salary of $1.8 million dollars with less pressure to succeed at such a high level is pretty enticing.
Alford left Iowa, a school he had built up to national prominence, for New Mexico, a school that was good with Danny Granger a few years ago in a "mid-major" conference. Alford won 2 Big Ten tournaments, and took Iowa to the Big Dance 3 times, so a coach of his reputation should have gone for better. Of course the salary isn't public knowledge yet, so that might have been a big factor.

NBA Draft rumors on ESPN

2007-03-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

ESPN says that Brook Lopez will stay at Stanford. This is good and bad news. Good because he needs another year and would just sit on the bench like Swift or Sene anyways. Bad because the Pac-10 will be that much harder. Hopefully Arron Afllalo, Darren Collison, Marcus Williams, and Nick Young will leave early.
Durant is said to be 50-50 and my advice would be to just go to the NBA. He has nothing to prove in college (I don't believe that winning a championship proves anything, you need great teammates, luck for opponents in the tourney, and the tournament as a whole doesn't churn out the best team anyways). Sure he has stuff to work on, but not much. He could probably work on ball handling a bit, and put on a few pounds of muscle, but he might as well get paid to do it. The trade off is basically friendly atmosphere with schoolwork and class or tons of money. I think $10 million per year is worth more than another year of "the college experience". Can't wait to see which players declare and which don't, because this could affect Hawes' decision.
Another surprise is Kosta Perovic, who has been putting up big numbers apparently, and even though he's been on Chad Ford's draft list the past 3 or 4 years, he wasn't drafted last draft. Any 7 footer from Europe can get people to sign him, but this guy's only 22, so he should have several teams banging on his door.

Funny Article on Taj Gibson

2007-03-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney07/news/story?page=aroundtherim/20070318&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1
There's an article on Taj Gibson and I thought it was funny because it says that he's a 21 year old freshman. That's kind of weird considering I'm a 21 year old Senior, but whatever.
Anyways, it thought that this quote was funny:
"He's very mature for a freshman," USC senior Lodrick Stewart said. "He has very long arms and can put the ball on the floor. He learned to understand that rebounding was going to be the key for him."
Of course he's mature, he's as old as a senior.
I also though that this quote was funny:
"I really didn't think it would take that long," Gibson said. "But there was a process I had to go through and it took a while. It seemed like forever, but I finally got the OK."
Yep, taking until you're 20 to go to college does seem like a long time.
I'm not trying to rip on Taj Gibson, because he seems like a nice kid, but the article seems dumb for praising him for no real reason.

Monday Morning Review Mar 19th

2007-03-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

NCAA Tournament:
Ok, so the Huskies aren't in the tournament, but it's still one of the greatest sports events in the world, up there with the Superbowl and the World Cup (Sorry Olympics, you're not that interesting. In fact I'd probably put the Masters and Wimbledon before you).
My personal Final Four picks were: Florida, Kansas, G-Town, and Ohio State. I know, 3 number 1's, and a number 2, but I think that the 1 seeds, with UNC included, have too much NBA talent to not pick them. I only picked G-Town because they're on a roll, are playing great team ball, and they're bracket is so hard with UNC, Texas, and USC, I figured UNC would struggled against USC/Texas while Georgetown would breeze past WSU/Vanderbilt.
All the number one seeds made it to the Sweet Sixteen, as they should. Ohio State needed a miracle three to get into overtime, but Conley took over in overtime and pulled OSU up big even with Oden out. UNC looked like it had a tough time against Michigan State, but eventually they're 4 or 5 NBA caliber players led by Psycho T pulled it together in the end to take over the game. Kansas had some trouble with Kentucky, but I think Kentucky's a real good team, especially for a 8 seed. Kansas, like UNC, just has too much talent to lose this early. Florida also had a scare against Purdue, but Horford and Brewer just took over in the end.
They're haven't been too many upsets so far, but UNLV beat Wisconsin, Virginia Commonwealth beat Duke, and Winthrop beat Notre Dame, though most people probably predicted the ND upset. I'm not surprised that Duke got upset because VC had a great record, even though they played nobody, so it's hard to tell how good they are, and I'm not surprised that Wisconsin lost because without Brian Butch, the Badgers have no inside presence, and the scoring is left to just Taylor (who looks like Chris Rock to me) and Tucker.
For the Pac-10, Stanford got crushed by Louisville, but Louisville is an underachieving team, while Stanford is an overachieving team that barely made the tournament so while most people poitn that out as the Pac-10 being undeserving of 6 bids, I say it's one game, and the odds were severely stacked against Stanford. Louisville also played right next door while Stanford had to travel 3,000 miles. Oregon, UCLA, and USC breezed through the first round, even though USC had to played Texas, a favorite among the lower seeds making it to the Final Four. WSU fell victim to tough scheduling and lack of offense. They had to play ORU, probably by far the toughest 14 seed, and then they had to play Vandy, a team that was on fire earlier in the season. Lastly, Arizona lost to Purdue despite having possibly the best starting lineup in college basketball. I don't know if it's Lute Olsen, or if it's Mustafa Shakur's poor play down the stretch, but Arizona quietly went about as one of the biggest dissapointments of the season.
Mariners:
Bloomquist is on fire still, hitting around .450. Lots of people are calling for Morrow to start sometime this season. Felix looked up and down yesterday, he struck out 6 in 6 innings of work, and had 8 GB to 1 FB, but sucked it up for an inning, thought it was partially due to bad defense apparently.
People I'm worried about from what has happened in Spring Training are: Jeff Weaver, Richie Sexson, Jeremy Reed, Chris Reitsma, and Kenji Johjima. Weaver's stuff is looking flat apparently, Richie can't hit crap right now (he better not hit .200 for 2 months like last year), Reed is playing horrible when we need him to play well for trade bait, Reitsma is awful and Hargrove will probably use him a lot because he is a veteran, and Johjima is not throwing anyone out apparently.
People I'm excited about are: Ichiro!, Adrian Beltre, Jose Vidro, Felix, HoRam, and George Sherrill. Ichiro! is looking great, and this might be his last year, AB has been having some good at-bats and is looking like he could hit 35 hrs, Vidro isn't looking like such a bust, though Snelling hit the snot out of the ball doesn't help, Felix should be dominating this year, HoRam is looking solid, especially since I've heard rumors that Soriano can't hit 90 on the radar right now, and Sherrill is now veteran enough that barring injury, he should have a great year and tons of innings.
Coming up: Football Mock Draft and scouting report, though it won't be amazing because the Seahawks don't have a first round pick.

Looking to the Off-Season

2007-03-18T12:37:00.000-07:00

Following a string of close losses that could have brought them back into the playoff picture had they gone the other way, the SuperSonics are looking like a team ready to pack it in for the year. It's unfortunate that this injury-riddled season didn't end up being more fruitful, as it may be the last that Rashard Lewis has in a Sonics uniform. The Sonics are 25-40 as of me writing this, and assuming they don't go on a 14-3 or so run to end the season and claim the 8th seed in the Western Conference, I think this is an ample time to begin discussing possible off-season maneuvers and draft picks they could make to improve their chances for the 2007-2008 season.

When the draft rolls around, the Sonics will likely have somewhere between the 5th and 10th pick. Granted, we do not know which underclassmen will declare for certain yet, but guesses can be made. So who should the Sonics draft with their first round pick?

If the pick is as high as #5, Joakim Noah may still be available, and would be a great draft pick, as he seems close to NBA-ready, can block shots and can rebound.

Yi Jianlian is another option at #5, but we need another undeveloped foreign center like a hole in the head.

If the pick is closer to #9 or #10, the Sonics should take a look at Georgetown's Jeff Green, who plays excellent wing defense for someone his size (6'8", 225), and with Luke, Ray and Rashard, any defense improvement is welcome. He could immediately supplant Gelabale or even Wilkins, as he is not as much of a liability on the offensive end.

In the second round, the Sonics could take advantage of the stock-drop of Nevada's Nick Fazekas, who could possibly be the reincarnation of Vladimir Radmanovic, but with some semblance of a defensive game. He'd need to bulk up a little, but should he drop to the second round, the Sonics would be stupid to pass on him.

As for when camp starts, the Sonics should make sure to invite Aaron Brooks, who will likely go undrafted because of his size. Still, if Ridnour or Watson moves because he wants to start on another team, Brooks could possibly be molded into a decent backup point guard.

Well, that's it for now, but I'll be posting more in the future.

Thursday Morning Review March 15th

2007-03-15T13:53:00.000-07:00

I've been on Spring Break with no internet, so this post is delayed.
Huskies:
Huskies performed admirably in the Pac 10 tournament.
We struggled a bit against ASU in the beginning, then dominated them in the end. As
Usual, it was the Brockman and Hawes show with 16 10 and 13 and 9 performances. Dentmon performed reasonably well, and Appleby sucked, but at least made his free throws in the end. Our rebounding was the difference, and the game was important because we won a non-home game.
The next game, we played WSU for the third time in an "apple cup". Brockman played real well with 13 and 8, but Hawes was horrible, getting early fouls and only getting 6 and 5. Dentmon played loose and reckless, though he did show spurts of goodness by having the ability to drive adn get a foul call. The biggest surprise of all was Artem Wallace, who played awesome when Hawes was sitting. This bodes well for next year if Hawes leaves, though it will leave us short anyways because he is only 6'8" and Brockman is only 6'7".
The Huskies then inexplicably get screwed over and don't even get an NIT bid. This is inexcusable I think, and I don't think we should go to the Pre-NIT tournament next year. I'm pretty pissed off for this season, but excited for the next season with older more mature players and a new class of freshman.
Sonics:
Since the 4th of this month, we won against Charlotte and New York, but then lost 4 in a row to Phillie, Boston, Toronto, and Detroit. I previously advocated losing the rest of the games, but I don't know if this is the best strategy anymore. Reasons being, if we don't have Rashard back, I don't know if anyone short of Oden or Durant will be enough to save the franchise.
Also, I don't know how good the next draft will be because the players that that make up the top 15 are looking more likely to stay in college. Oden has said that he will probably stay, Durant's father said that he is not guaranteed to go to the NBA, Julian Wright said that he promised his parents a degree, and is currently on pace to graduate in 3 years, Hawes is not guaranteed to go (Or at least I hope he doesn't leave), Noah might stay another year (He did it last year), the same goes for Horford and Corey Brewer, Brook Lopez still has much to learn and might want to stay with his brother for another year, DJ Augustin might stay if Durant stays, and the list goes on.
Back to the Sonics, Petro has been looking great as of late, so we might not need a new center, or we can possibly use him to trade up.
Seahawks:
Seahawks have had a good off season so far. We signed two safeties, Deon Grant to 6 years $30 million, and Brian Russell. This is good because Hamlin is gone, and Grant is a coverage safety that we needed. We cut Wistrom, who is a shell of his former self and just an extra player because of Kerney, but I liked his run defense, his leadership, and his motor, and I think we should have kept him because our 4some of DE would have been formidable I think. We then signed Marcus Pollard, a solid veteran TE the day Jerramy Stevens got a DUI and marijuana possession. We also resigned Blocking TE Will Heller and OL Floyd Womack. We only really need TE, CB, and OL, and all those we just need depth in. I don't know much about the draft so far, but I think we should draft Michael Allan at TE, because he is a Washington product with good attitude, and he is a hard worker who seems like he is just starting to realize his potential.

Bill Simmons blog today

2007-03-06T12:28:00.000-08:00

Bill Simmons just mentioned the Huskies and Hawes in his article today: http://http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/blog/index?name=simmons
Here is what he had to say
"The bigger issue: Every time I watch the Bruins, I say to myself, "They're one big guy short." The Huskies were a bad matchup because of seven-foot center Spencer Hawes (13 points, 15 boards) and 260-pound forward Jon Brockman (20 points, 13 boards). UCLA could have handled one of them, but it couldn't handle both at the same time. Now, it's possible for the Bruins to sneak through the entire tournament without facing an opponent that features two talented low-post players ... but I doubt it. Let's say they land in the same bracket with UNC and have to play the Tar Heels to make the Final Four. Is there any way they're stopping Hansbrough AND Brandan Wright? No way. I don't see any way they'd beat the Tar Heels unless their guards shot the lights out.
7. One more note on the Huskies: They're your typical Pac-10 team (good at home, awful on the road, one good player short ... although Arizona is the complete opposite and somehow just as flawed). I don't see Washington doing anything in the tournament (if it even makes it). But Hawes has been growing on me all season.
When Chad Ford tossed him into his top 10 earlier in the season, naturally, I was dubious because we've been burned so many times by white centers: Eric Montross, Chris Mihm, Shawn Bradley, Evan Eschmeyer, Alec Kessler, Greg Ostertag, Todd Fuller, Mike Doleac, Scot Pollard (it's an endless list). ... Best-case scenario, you might end up with someone like Chris Kaman or Joel Przybilla (both of whom were top-10 picks). Still, Hawes has a variety of post-up moves; he can score with either hand; he's a surprisingly good athlete and an excellent passer; he plays with genuine fire; he's a good shot blocker; and he runs the floor well for a big guy. He brings more to the table than any non-black, non-Euro center prospect since Raef LaFrentz in 1998. There's just a lot to like with the Hawes package -- he's like a talented Chris Mihm.
At the same time, Chad just moved Hawes to No. 4 on his top 100, arguably his biggest reach on ESPN.com since he was advocating Pavel Podkolzine for the top five three years ago. Again, I like Hawes as a prospect ... but over Jo Noah and Julian Wright? That's insane. I can't wait to exchange angry e-mails all week with Chad about this. Look, we haven't seen a white, U.S.-born center make the All-Star team since Brad Miller. Before that, it was Mark Eaton in 1989 ... and he was 7-foot-6. Before that, you'd have to go back to Kevin McHale and Bill Laimbeer. Now we're sticking a white center into the top five of the most loaded draft of the decade? I'm going out on a limb and calling this a horrific mistake. "

Ok, so Hawes is amazing. What are the chances that UCLA will run into a team with two great low post players? Besides Washington, who has two lost players as good as Brockman and Hawes? UNC with Wright and Hansbrough, Stanford with Lopez, Lopez, and Finger, and that's it. Kansas has Wright and Kaun, but they're not quite on the same level. Brockman and Hawes are the cream of the crop, and saying that UCLa can't handle big men is unfair. If Brockman were 6'10", Hawes would go in the top 7 and Brockman would go in the top 20.

I like how Hawes is so good that it has Simmons questioning if white centers can ever be good again. Simmons also brings up a good point in that Wright will probably stay one more year to graduate. Also never mentioned is the fact that both Budinger and Lute Olsen have said that Budinger will almost definetley stay another year.
This mock conversation between Oden and Durant if they were in the Princess Bride is hilarious too.
""Greg Oden: You are wonderful."
Kevin Durant: Thank you; I've worked hard to become so."
Greg Oden: I admit it, you are better than I am."
Kevin Durant: Then why are you smiling?"
Greg Oden: Because I know something you don't know."
Kevin Durant: And what is that?"
Greg Oden: I ... am not left-handed.
(Tears the wrist guard off his right hand and immediately takes over the game.)"

At the end of the article, Simmons predicted that Santa Clara, would upset Gonzaga, and he was wrong thank god. If Heytvelt were still playing, I think Gonzaga would be a top 10 team on talent. They have a top 10 pg in the nation in Raivio, a top 20 big man in Heytvelt (top 10 if you count big men as 6'10" or above), and an amazing sf in Micah Downs, not to mention tons of hard working role players like Pendergraft, Pargo, and Sean Mallon.

Pittsburgh Penguins and the Sonics

2007-03-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

So it said on SportsCenter this morning that Kansas City was a possible destination for the Pittsburgh Penguins. This is obviously just a threat, but it got me thinking, why can't the city of Seattle be a destination? We just voted down a new arena in Seattle, but with a team like the Penguins, and the best player in hockey, Crosby, along with two other talented youngsters, Malkin and Fleury, Seattle should be happy to get this team. I never understood why Seattle didn't have hockey, and building an arena for not one team, but two teams, makes a lot of sense. I know we already have the Thunderbirds, but I can't even name what league they're in (IHL maybe?). This is the chance Seattle has been waiting for, and a chance it needs to take if it wants to turn around its sports woes. We can't let the only pro team to win a championship in Seattle (Storm excluded) to leave, and adding thsi amazing hockey player is a once in a lifetime shot.

College Basketball and the NBA draft

2007-03-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

Here's is ESPN's All American team
G Arron Afflalo
I agree, his stats aren't great, but he is a team leader, shoots well, plays great defense, and is the best player on probably the best team.
G Acie Law
Probably the 2nd best college player this year, he has all around game, and comes up big at the end of a game. He has made Texas A&M a Final Four contender.
F Alando Tucker
Like Afflalo, best player on one of the best teams. His numbers aren't eye popping, but he has leadership and all around game.
F Kevin Durant
Player of the year, when you roll off enough 30 20 games, its no hard not to get first team, even if you're a freshman. Putting your team in the top 20 by the end of the year helps too.
C Nick Fazekas
3 losses for his team, top 15 ranking, and 20 10 numbers with amazing shooting numbers.

ESPN got this right I think, Jared Dudley's not here, but him and Alando Tucker are interchangeable.

First team All Pac 10
Arron Afflalo, UCLA
Jon Brockman, Washington
Aaron Brooks, Oregon
Darren Collison, UCLA
Lawrence Hill, Stanford
Derrick Low, WSU
Kyle Weaver, WSU
Marcus Williams, Arizona
Nick Young, USC

I agree mostly here, but I'm not sure why there are 9 guys here. Don't remember 9 guys being here last year. I don't think Lawrence Hill should be here, but I think the voters felt someone from Stanford should get credit for their season. Darren Collison is good and all, but is he better than Mustafa Shakur? No way.
Honorable Mentions:
Ryan Anderson (CAL, Fr., F), Maarty Leunen (ORE, Jr., F), Spencer Hawes (WASH, Fr., C), Brook Lopez (STAN, Fr., F), Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (UCLA, So., F), Jeff Pendergraph (ASU, So., F), Gabe Pruitt (USC, Jr., G), Ivan Radenovic (ARIZ, Sr., F), Mustafa Shakur (ARIZ, Sr., G), Josh Shipp (UCLA, So., F), Lodrick Stewart (USC, Sr., G), Ayinde Ubaka (CAL, Sr., G).
Pruitt and Ubaka were on the Pac-10 team last year, yet the best guys on this list are Mustafa Shakur, Radenovic, and Hawes.

Player of the Year
Arron Afflalo

Freshman team
Ryan Anderson, Cal
Chase Budinger, Arizona
Spencer Hawes, Washington
Taj Gibson, USC
Brook Lopez, Stanford
Tajuan Porter, Oregon

Tajuan Porter did well early on in the year, but I don't know if he should be here either. The other guys here were amazing at times, players capable of carrying their teams to the Final Four if not this year, then next year.

Freshman of the year
Chase Budinger

Coach of the year
Tony Bennett, Washington State

Here's a look at last year's Pac-10 honors
All Pac-10
Hassan Adams, ARIZ G Sr. 6-4 220 Los Angeles, Calif
Arron Afflalo, UCLA G So. 6-5 200 Compton, Calif
Jordan Farmar, UCLA G So. 6-2 180 Van Nuys, Calif
Matt Haryasz, STAN F Sr. 6-10 230 Page, Ariz
Chris Hernandez, STAN G Sr. 6-2 190 Fresno, Calif
Leon Powe, CAL F So. 6-8 240 Oakland, Calif
Gabe Pruitt, USC G So. 6-4 170 Los Angeles, Calif
Brandon Roy, WASH G Sr. 6-6 210 Seattle, Wash
Ayinde Ubaka, CAL G Jr. 6-4 200 Oakland, Calif
Nick Young, USC G/F So. 6-6 195 Los Angeles, Calif.
Honorable Mention: Malik Hairston (ORE, So., G), DeVon Hardin (CAL, So., F), Bobby Jones (WASH, Sr., F), Kevin Kruger (ASU, Jr., G), Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (UCLA, Fr., F), Ivan Radenovic (ARIZ, Jr., F), Jamaal Williams (WASH, Sr., F).

Pac-10 Freshman team
Jon Brockman, WASH F 6-7 245 Snohomish, Wash
Justin Dentmon, WASH G 6-0 180 Carbondale, Ill
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, UCLA F 6-7 215 Yaounde, Cameroon
Jeff Pendergraph, ASU F 6-10 210 Etwanda, Calif
Marcus Williams, ARIZ F 6-7 205 Seattle, Wash.
Honorable Mention: Darren Collison (UCLA, G), Ryan Francis (USC, G), Mitch Johnson (STAN, G), Theo Robertson (CAL, F).

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Brandon Roy, Washington
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, UCLA
COACH OF THE YEAR: Ben Howland, UCLA
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Ryan Appleby, Washington

Notes: 10 on the Pac-10 team instead of 9. Newcomer of the year was awarded.

ESPN's Mock Draft
ESPN has a mock draft and from the looks of it, there's almost no way Hawes is staying in school.
The draft generally is like this
1. Greg Oden
2. Kevin Durant
t-3. Brandan Wright
t-3. Julian Wright
t-3. Joakim Noah
6. Al Horford
7. Spencer Hawes
8. Thaddeus Young
9. Yi Jianlian
10. Brook Lopez
11. DJ Augustin
12. Josh McRoberts
13. Chase Budinger
14. Corey Brewer
Hawes can go as high as 3, and as low as 8.
Generally the Sonics get Hawes at 7, but sometimes end up with Horford or sometimes Brook Lopez. Rarely, they end up with one of the Wrights or Corey Brewer, and even rarer, they end up with Oden, Durant, or Noah.
All of these situations make me happy because a guy who can get blocks and is a sure thing is something we need. Hawes, Lopez, and Horfod are already better than Swift, Petro, or Sene. One of the Wrights or Brewer would be useful because if Rashard Lewis leaves, an explosive SF who can play great defense would be a great addition, and then of course, Oden, Durant, or Noah would be amazing because they can be cornerstones for franchise for later.

Tuesday Morning Review March 6th

2007-03-06T08:19:00.000-08:00

Good week for Seattle sports.
Huskies:
Huskies beat the number 24 ranked team, and number 2 ranked team, and still probably have to win the Pac-10 tournament to get to the tournament. I thought that if they they beat two ranked teams, then beat OSU, then beat WSU, that should be enough because that would be 3 ranked teams in a row, but we're 7-9 in conference play thanks to losing to OSU away, California away, Stanford away, WSU at home, and Arizona at home, all games we should win, and all games that if we do win gives us a much better chance to get to the tournament. As it is, we'll have to beat ASU, WSU, then Oregon/Stanford, and then UCLA/USC/Arizona. I think we should only have to win 3 games, but most people are saying that the Huskies are so bad that they need to win out to get to the tourney. 18-12 for us, 18-11 for Stanford, yet we're definetley out and Stanford is definetley in.
Against USC, everyone chipped in for a butt whupping. Appleby had 22 points, Hawes was 13 and 7, Brockman 17 and 9, Pondexter had 9 points, Oliver had 5 assists, and Dentmon didn't have a single turnover. For USC, Nick Young had a great game on 11-15 shooting, and Pruitt and Gibson played well, but USC just doesn't have as much depth as us. As a team we played a good game, we shot 52% and they shot 50%, we beat them in rebounds 28 to 21, and we only had 10 turnovers.
Against UCLA, we were winning by a lot, then blew it big time with 4 minutes to go, then we looked good down the stretch. Again, it was the Big Two with Appleby. Brockman had 20 and 13, while Hawes had 13 15, and Appleby had 13 points and played solid defense on Arron Afflalo when he was guarding him. We outrebounded UCLA 42 to 28, outshot them 41% to 31%, and got more free throws 17 to 7. We looked great for the entire game except for a 5 minute stretch where Pondexter and Hawes looked like freshman and we couldn't get a good shot off or pass the ball normally.
Mariners:
Spring Training has started, and we are already 0-6! That's ok, a bunch of random guys are playing, and Vidro is starting to hit, which is a good sign.
Greg Dobbs, who Philly signed (God Pat Gillick is a dick, signing every Mariner), is doing amazing in ST apparently going something like 7 for 10 with 2 hrs, and another hr in an exhibition game.
Sonics:
Sonics won a few games, and I keep rooting for them to lose. I want to get a good pick because I think we're one defensive presence (Noah, Hawes, Oden) from winning.

Tuesday Morning Review Feb 27th

2007-02-27T11:26:00.000-08:00

Huskies
Well, after losses to both Oregon schools, our season is pretty much over. I still think we should have a chance if we beat UCLA, USC, Arizona State, then Washington State, but I'm not sure. We have almost no chance of pulling that off anyways.
There's a simple explanation for why we lost to Oregon State. The refs or our style of play. Despite shooting the same percentage as them from the field, on 12 more shots, with a 39 to 17 rebound differential, we managed to shoot only 10 to their 42 free throws. Turnovers also did us in because we had 21 to their 10. Dentmon played like crap with 6 turnovers, and we lost a must win game against an easy opponent.
Against Oregon, I couldn't help myself from yelling at the TV because of some of the atrocious calls being made. I always thought the reason home teams win more often should be because of their fans, not their refs. Pretty much the same story as OSU, we shot 50% to their 54% but got 14 more despite having almost 2x as many turnovers. Unfortunately, they shot 40 to our 18 free throws.
I was hoping that if we sucked enough this season it would be because Hawes wasn't that great, but he's played well enough to get drafted in the top 5, so I think he might be gone.
Our draft class consists of two power forwards and a swingman, which is something we need. Besides Joel Smith, who was out all season with an injury, we have no swingmen that are in the 6-5 range on this team. We did have Harvey Perry, but he decided to transfer. Anyways, as far as worst case scenarios go, this is up there. I guess that's what happens when your team has 2 seniors who don't play much, and only 1 junior who plays.
Sonics:
2 wins and 2 losses. I'd rather us just tank the rest of the season, and now that Rashard is going to opt out of his contract for free-agency, I wish we had traded him and someone like Gelebale or Watson for a 1st round pick this year.
Our win against Memphis was Sonics' basketball at its purest. High scoring high octane offense. 34 points 7 rebounds for Rashard, 13 pts 15 rebs for Wilcox, 10 pts 14 rebs for Collison, 27/6/5 for Ray Ray, and 15 points 12 assists for Ridnour. Not much bench scoring, but 7 assists for Watson off the bench. When we play like that, I don't think anyone can stop our offense.
After that, we go ahead and lose to New Orleans, a horrible team. Rashard and Ray Allen played as well as they always do, with Earl Watson playing great off the bench. But you can't be outrebounded by 14 and have more than 2x the turnovers and expect to win, even if you do shoot 52% to their 37% (only 16 FT to 29 FT).
The next night at San Antonio, we got crushed, with Rashard leading the way for 10/6/3, which is never a good sign. How can an offense be so good, and then only score 45 points through 3 quarters? Probably because of Spurs defense, Spurs home court advantage, and Bruce Bowen cheap defense (4-20 night of shooting for Ray Ray).
We then beat our rivals, Portland on Monday. No starter on their team did anything, and they only shot 4 free throws as a team. Nice to beat your rivals, but I don't want them having a worse record then us, then picking Joakim Noah to leave us with overrated Julian Wright.
Other:
Again, baseball is starting up again, and all this Matsuzaka talk makes me wish we signed him. Oh well, we have a pretty good team, can't wait to see them in action.

Articles about Seattle Sports in ESPN

2007-02-21T13:28:00.001-08:00

There's one article about football http://http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insider/news/story?id=2766985&CMP=ILC-INHEAD, that says the needs of the NFC West teams. First off, it says that St. Louis needs an offensive tackle, and it acknowledges that Pace and Barron are two of the best in the league, but there is not much depth behind them. If all they need is an adequate backup, I don't really see this as a need.
For the Seahawks, our need is TE, FB, Center, SS, and OLB. Sure we need a tight end, but Stevens played great when healthy, and Hannam was a good blocking tight end. For FB we still have Mack Strong, and we drafted David Kirtman last year. For Center, it says that Robbie Tobeck's retirement brings up a need, but it doesn't mention our first round pick 2 years ago, Chris Spencer, who played great at Center last year. Strong Safety is a need because I'm still not sure what we're going to do with Boulware. He has the talent, I'm just not sure if he'll ever put it together. And lastly, and perhaps the funniest comment, it says that we need another Julian Peterson, "Although Julian Peterson is the most athletic player of this group, having another linebacker of equal talent will make this the most revered unit in the NFL." This is funny because That's like saying that the Panthers need another Julius Peppers because Mike Rucker isn't good enough. Leroy Hill is a pretty good player, and our backups DD Lewis and Kevin Bentley aren't bad either. After SS, our needs our CB and that's pretty much it.

For the Sonics article, http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&id=2771327, Chad Ford suggestst this:
Ray Allen and Robert Swift to the Celtics
Rashard Lewis to the Bobcats
Sebastian Telfair to the Hawks
Adam Morrison, Gerald Green, Josh Childress, Ryan Gomes, Theo Ratliff and a Bobcats protected first-round pick to the Sonics.
In essence, we lose Ray Allen, Robert Swift, and Rashard Lewis for Morrison, Green, Childress, Gomes, and Ratliff. Ford is right in that we're not going anywhere, and getting us prospects and cap space isn't a bad idea. Morrison would be loved in Seattle, except for the fact that he is HORRIBLE right now. I love Gerald Green, and consider him a young T-Mac. Childress is an underrated small forward who can do a bit of everything, and is good defensively, something that we need. Gomes is an underrated young, but short, power forward, who is sort of like a softer Danny Fortson with no attitude problem. I would like the idea if we received a first round pick, but giving up over 40% of our team for these guys seems a bit much. The good part though is that as much as I like Ray Ray and Rashard, they both are just good shooters who don't play with enough defensive intensity.

Tuesday Morning Review Feb 20th

2007-02-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

So the week wasn't that great for Huskies fans, but ok for Sonics and Mariners fans.
Mariners:
Spring training is about to start and there's nothing but hope for Mariners fans right now. Some people think Felix will have a sub 2.5 ERA, many people think that Johjima, Lopez, and Betancourt will improve their walks. Beltre is supposedly bigger, and will break the 30 hr barrier and possibly the 40 hr mark too. Guillen's elbow feels great. I can't wait for Mariners baseball.
Sonics:
We played one game, and it was against the Suns without Nash or Diaw. We creamed them, as we can with any team, because our firepower is pretty damn good. Collison had a great game with 22 and 15, Ray Allen had 31, Rashard had 20, and our team shot 54% on FG and 50% on 3pointers. The Suns shot just 39%, furthering Nash's case for MVP. After our midseason MVP predictions, it looks like its between Nash and Nowitzki, with Kobe still hanging in there. "Hibachi's" cockiness is getting to some people, and he's been slumping as of late also.
Huskies:
Now for the bad news. We lost both games, and they were both close (65-61 for both). If the rankings were good, they'd reflect that we just lost to two top 11 teams by only a little bit, but they don't.
Against Washington State, it was the Hawes and Brockman show with Dentmon shooting poorly, and Appleby not getting enough shots. Pondexter is still struggling, which is odd, because given his athleticism and height, you'd think he'd be good for at least defense and rebounds. Only Oliver got any minutes off the bench and he only played adequatley. We played like we always do, we outrebounded them 30 to 20, but they shot 51% to our 37.5%.
Against Pittsburgh, it was again the Brockman and Hawes show, with Appleby doing his part. Dentmon shot a good percentage, and the team as a whole played well. We stopped Aaron Gray to just 10 rebounds. We outrebounded them 39 to 28, and outshot them 43% to 36%, but we had 15 turnovers (5 for Brockman 4 for Dentmon) to their 6 and shot 8 free throws to their 25. I always point this out, but it seems like home teams always get more calls, and if this hadn't happened, we would have won.
Anyways, two heartbreaking losses, that would have put us in the tournament if a few shots had gone in. We can still make it I think, because we play Oregon, USC, and UCLA, plus we still have the Pac-10 tournament. It looks hard, but this team has the talent and size to make the tournament still.
All-Star Weekend
The Dunk Contest was pretty weak. Dwight Howard asked if he could put the rim at 12 feet, and it was rejected, which is dumb because it needs something to make it more exciting. Jason Kapono won the 3-point contest, which isn't surprising given his shooting thus far. What's weird is that he had to fight his way to get into the contest, when he's shooting at a 56% clip while making over 2 a game. Just because he doesn't have a star name doesn't mean that he should be excluded from this contest. In fact, it's more likely that a star person won't win in the contest. The game was boring, unless you like guys just dunking and cherry picking. The fact that it was in Las Vegas wasn't too appealing either, the half-time show was a joke. I don't think they should be like baseball and make the game meaningful, but Chauncey is sort of right when he says that people want to see how a team of superstars would do in a real game. The PTI guys' idea of international vs America isn't bad. A team of Nash, Nowitzki, Yao, Pau Gasol, Kirilenko, Okur, Ginobli, and Parker would be fun to watch. Especially against a team full of Lebron's and Carmelo's. Style over substance in my mind, I don't know if America would root against America, but I know that I would root for the International players.

College Basketball player of the year

2007-02-12T12:44:00.000-08:00

In my mind, there are clearly 6 candidates for player of the year: Kevin Durant, Alando Tucker, Jared Dudley, Nick Fazekas, Acie Law IV, and Mario Boggan. I'm not saying that these guys will be the best pro basketball players, but I don't really see anyone but these guys getting it. Aaron Brooks was in this conversation a few weeks ago, but now that Oregon has cooled off, Oregon would have to play really well for him to get back in the converstion.
Currently Durant is the front runner. He's averaging 25.1 points 11.4 rebounds (both top 5 in college hoops), to go with 1.9 blocks, 1.6 steals, on 49% shooting, and 80% Ft and 38.5% 3pointers. His team is good enough to be around the top 25 mark, and he has had some explosive games. Some negatives I would like to point out are that he doesn't shoot as well as people like to believe, he is only a freshman and most writers favor older players, and lastly, his team is underachieving (Texas is not a one-man show like everyone says). I hate how people say that Texas has Durant and nobody else when he has AJ Abrams and DJ Augustine players who average 15 points, and 14 points and 7 assists.
Next up is Alando Tucker, the senior who has led his team to a great record and has quietly improved every year a la Brandon Roy. He is averaging 20.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2 assists, on 49% FG, 67% FT, and 29% 3pg. The numbers aren't stunning but his team has a 24-2 record. Things going for him are his teams' record and his senior status. Things against him are that he is a 5th year senior, his stats aren't that impressive, his teammates don't get nearly the credit they deserve, as Kammron Taylor and Brian Butch have been great all season.
Third in the discussion is Jared Dudley the 4 year senior from BC. I don't know why he came back for a fourth year, but he is posting some great numbers now that Craig Smith is gone. 20.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.3 steals, and .4 blocks on 59% FG 76% FT and 50% 3pg is pretty good. Except for blocks, he does everything above average. He has led his team to an 18-6 record with a 9-2 ACC record, and after his teammates were suspended, he has led his team in an even more dominant fashion. I would put my vote for this guy, but I have a feeling that Durant will get it because he is top 5 in both points and rebounds. I'd rather go for the ultra efficient Dudley, who shoots FGs and 3pointers at an extremely high clip.
Fourth, and my preseason favorite is Nick Fazekas. He is averaging 20.8 points 11.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 blocks on 58% FG, 86% FT, and 47% 3pg. If that statline doesn't make you say wow, nothing will. It's true he plays in a bad conference, but he played well against both Gonzaga and Oregon State. His team is 22-1 with its only loss to UNLV, and is ranked 11th, but I think the lack of quality big men Fazekas has seen will hurt him, though his shooting is through the roof.
Underrated throughout the beginning of the year, but someone I had on my 2nd team is Mario Boggan. He is averaging 21.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1 steal and .9 blocks on 57% shooting, 77% FT, and 23% 3pg. He has improved dramatically since last year, and has led Oklahoma State to a 20th ranking so far. He has to share the ball with NC product JamesOn Curry a lot, but even so, has plenty of points to his name. Just like Durant, Boggan has some crazy 35 15 games on his game log. Reasons to not vote for him are that he doesn't do anything better than Durant, and that Oklahoma State is slumping right now.
Lastly, one of my new favorite players, Acie Law IV. This 6-3 combo guard has a great all-around stat line with 16.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. He's also shooting at a very high rate of 51% FG, 79% FT, and 46% 3pg. He has led Texas A&M to a 21-3 record and a 7th spot in the rankings. His stat line against Texas was even more impressive because he had 21 points and 15 assists on 7 for 11 shooting. Votes against him are that he only averages 16.6 points, and when the other players are all averaging over 20, its pretty hard to get there unless you're single-handedly getting your team into the tournament, something he is not doing because they're team is pretty good all around.
Not a single Pac-10 player on this list, though Afflalo and Brooks could certainly be mentioned for 2nd team All-American at this point. All in all, it's supposedly a race between Durant and Tucker, but I'd say that Dudley and Fazekas have a pretty good shot too.

Monday Morning Review Feb 12th

2007-02-12T06:54:00.000-08:00

Fairly good week for Seattle Sports. The Sonics split 4 games, and the Huskies won two must-win games.
Sonics
On Monday, the Sonics lost at the Wizard's, and Collison finally had his first bad game. It wasn't really bad, just not eye popping like before, but that's ok because Wilcox picked up the slack with 24-10 to go with Ray Allen's 29-7-7-5 steals game. "Hibachi" didn't do much, scoring just 16 points on 4 of 14 shooting but Brendan Haywood had 20 11 on us and Caron Butler scored 38 points. The main point is that while we did shoot 53.6% to their 49.4%, they took 41 free throws to our 17.
The following Wednesday, the Sonics recovered with a win at Indiana. Ray Allen had 33 9 5, while everyone else played just good enough for us to win. Ridnour finally got to start, and the team as a whole shot 55.3%. Jermaine O'Neal was injured, but they started Troy Murphy in his place, and he did well scoring 22 points grabbing 8 rebounds, and getting 2 steals 2 blocks, and 5 threes in 7 tries. The Pacers as a whole shot 39.6%, so despite grabbing 18 more rebounds and taking 20 more shots, we still won.
Last Saturday, we lost to Sacramento. Ray Allen once again carried the team with 29 points 5 assists and 3 rebounds. Collison had another sub-par game. Rashard Lewis made his starting debut logging 37 minutes, but shot just 2 for 11. His overall stat line was 14, 7, 5, so not bad. Ridnour started again, and shot decently, but didn't distribute that well. What killed us was that we shot 11% lower and took 6 fewer shots, though we did manage to take 38 free throws.
The next day, we flipped it up with Sacramento and played them again, but this time at their home. Rashard Lewis rebounded with 23 10 on 7 of 19 shooting and 8 for 8 from the charity stripe. Wilcox went 8-9 from the field and Ray Allen scored 25. Collison was horrible this time, managing just 5 points 4 rebounds, but Petro came off the bench and had 12 points and 9 rebounds. As a team, we managed to get 41 free throws, which is great, especially for an away game. For the Kings, Ron Artest and Kevin Martin managed to play well, and Corliss Williamson, who I didn't even know was still in the league got 20 points 11 rebounds off the bench, but in the end our 41 extra free throws at a 90% clip compared to their 30 free throws at a 63% clip sealed the deal.
Huskies Basketball
We eeked out a win against underrated Cal to start of the week. Brockman was his usual amazing self with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Artem Wallace played decently as he got 22 minutes in the starter's role and managed 8 points and 2 rebounds. Hawes was great off the bench, and Appleby had a very efficient 34 minutes of play with 4-5 shooting, and Dentmon continued his solid play with 12 5 and 5. Pondexter was finally back in the starting rotation, but didn't play well. His height and defense might have made the difference though. For Cal, Ryan Anderson played great again with 17 and 7, and Theo Robertson had a good all around game before fouling out. Ubaka killed us off the bench, scoring 20 points. In the end, our 57% shooting to their 44.6%, our 24 free throws to their 7, and our 35 to 21 rebound differential is what saved us. Funny how the game was even that close when looking at those numbers, but they managed to get 14 more shots off than us despite us only having 6 more turnover than them.
Against a "slumping" Stanford, Romar finally inserted his original lineup. Hawes and Brockman each played 30 minutes and had 18 7, and 14 10 respectively. Dentmon only played 19 minutes, and didn't play well throughout the game. In the end, our rebound differential and our free throws won us the game. Both Lopez's were contained, with them combining for 13 points 7 rebounds and 6 blocked shots. Lawrence Hill didn't get any rebounds either, and had trouble shooting. Their guards, Mitch Johnson, Anthony Goods, and Fred Washington all played mediocre games, as we finally showed that we are capable of good defense. All in all, the Huskies won when they had to. Next week's schedule is tough, as we face WSU, and then Pittsburgh away. It doesn't get any easier, as we finish up the season with one easy game at Oregon State, and then face the three headed monster known as at Oregon, USC, then UCLA.
Huskies Football
Willingham had a pretty good recruiting class with 4 4 star recruits at the RB, WR, CB, and TE positions. We desperately need help at RB and WR, so this is great news. Most sports writers have us ranked us at around 27th in the nation, ahead of Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
Our non-conference schedule is at Syracuse (easiest game on the schedule), Boise State (always good but they are losing their QB Zabransky), Ohio State (obviously tough as always, but they lose a lot of people and didn't have a great recruiting class, only one 5 star recruit), then we finish off our season at Hawaii, a team that was ranked at the end of last season,. All in all, looks like a tough schedule, but if we do well, will give us a chance to get a bowl bid. The Jake Locker era begins.
College Basketball
Josh Heytvelt was suspended by Gonzaga, which is bad for them because he's 6'11" and averaging 16 8. They still aren't playing Micah Downs enough, but losing a guy like Heytvelt is really gonig to hurt.
Mariners Baseball
Mariners sites are starting to have predictions out, and the predictions so far are pretty conservative I think. I guess I just see everyone's upside and predict as a fan would. For Johjima, I have to think that after a year of playing in the US, his average and power would at least stay the same, and his walks would increase because he drew plenty of walks in Japan. For Sexson, a lot of people say he lost his bat speed and he's done, but after the last two months of last year, I say that the first 2 months of last season were what brought him down, and that him being able to dig himself out of that hole is a major accomplishment. For Lopez, people keep saying that Hargrove's bunting ways ruined him, but I think he just got tired for a full season. This season I'm thinking he'll just put a whole year together of 285 average ball with just under 20 hr's and sb's.

Monday Morning Review Feb 5th

2007-02-05T07:49:00.000-08:00

Superbowl:
There were a lot of good things and bad things about the Super Bowl. The best thing was that Manning finally won, so now sports reporters can stop saying that he is a choker. The Bears, however, looked horrible. Their defense wasn't that great (just as we though), and Rex Grossman looked like a highschool quarterback with his 2 horrible fumbles from snaps and his two lobbed and poorly thrown interceptions. Good thing, Vinatieri missed a field goal, furthering my point that he is overrated and not more clutch than an average guy. Clutch is kicking a 54+ field goal every year and winning games with big kicks like Josh Brown. What's so clutch about making 3 sub 30 yarders and missing a 36 yarder? Nothing. Bad thing, Hester returned the first kick for a TD, which made him look good, but he only made a slight shift to the right. The Colts special teams was just awful, and the Bears blocking set up Hester's play. Good thing, with a Super Bowl like that, the Seahawks, who played poorly most of the season, could have definetley won it all this year. Bad thing, they didn't win it.
Huskies:
Pretty bad week. We barely beat a team that was 0-9 in conference play and is now 0-11, then we get throttled by Arizona. I don't mind losing to good teams, but I don't want to get killed by them either.
We beat ASU 66-61, but sucked a lot in the 2nd half scoring only 22 points to their 40. Brockman, Dentmon, and Hawes are the only people who really played well. We outshot them 47% to 34%, outrebounded them 32 to 25, and only had 4 more turnovers than them, and we still only manage to beat them by 5?
Against Arizona, only Artem Wallace played well, making 6 of 6 fgs. As a team we shot 38% while they shot 57%. No single player killed us on Arizona, but lucky for them, they had a freshman named Jordan Hill come out of nowhere and post 16 points 8 rebounds and 5 blocks in place of the struggling Jawann McClellan. I knew we'd either win big or lose big in this game because Arizona was struggling, so they were either going to turn things around or continue sinking in their ship full of holes. Unfortunately they decided to put it together against us and this might cost us our tournament berth. Sad that just 3 weeks ago we were ranked 24th.
Sonics:
We went 0-3, so with Durant exploding his last to games, this is good news I guess.
The first game, we lost at the Mavs, who along with the Suns, are playing on another level. Ray Allen went off for 35 6 7, and Collison got 19 9, but not much else good happened. Austin Croshere played a lot because Josh Howard's wife had a baby, and he killed us. He;s always had talent, so I don't know why they play him so sparingly, but he scored 34 points in 24 minutes of 7 of 10 3's and 11 of 14 overall.
We then lost the next night at Houston as expected. McGrady torched us for 36 9 and 5. Ray Allen matched it with 36 6 and 5, and Collison chipped in with 25 and 17, but no one else reached double figures in points while the Rockets had 5 others reach double figures. To add further insult to the team, we only shot 8 free throws, which is pretty pathetic. You could probably just drive to the basket 10 times and flail around like Manu Ginobli and get 4 calls for 8 free throws.
Friday night, we lost to Chicago at home. Ray Allen had 29 points on 9-28 shooting and Collison had 20 12, but besides solid contributions from Ridnour and Wilkins no one else did anything. The Bulls simply had too many guys scoring against us, with Deng, Hinrich, Gordon, Nocioni, and Duhon scoring in double figures. It's easy to lose often when all three teams that played against us shot better than 50% and shoot about 2x as many free throws as you do.
Sonics looked bad, but this year's draft is the deepest and best at the top since LeBron, Darko, Carmelo, Bosh, and DWade, so I guess if we were to suck, this would be the year to do it. I still think we should trade Watson, Wilkins/Gelabale, Wilcox, Sene, and 1st round pick for Gasol or Kirilenko and crap, but oh well, I guess he might not be enough to send us over the top, even though a lineup of Ridnour, Allen, Lewis, Collison, and Pau with Wilkins and Petro coming off the bench sounds pretty good to me.
NBA All-Star Game:
So a big fuss was made about Carmelo not making the All-star team as of yet. So he's averaging 30 points a game, big deal. He missed 15 games for fighting! All he does is score, and he's not even that good/efficient at it. You know who else didn't make the all-star team? Elton Brand, Josh Howard, Zach Randolph, Baron Davis, Ray Allen, and Deron Williams. Most of them didn't even miss games, and all of them are playing pretty damn good. ESPN has a poll (http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/polling?event_id=2767) on this, and one of the questions is who least deserves to be on the team: Marion, Boozer, or Parker? It's obviously Parker because he's just not that good in the first place, and Boozer and Marion are both phenomenal players have great years. But my question is, why isn't Allen Iverson on this list? He's a horrible shooter, a selfish player, and he isn't needed on an All-Star team.
The biggest beef I have is the labeling of positions. The starting guards are Kobe and Tracy, both of whom could could play the 1,2,3 but happen to play the 2 and 3. The starting center deal is still in turmoil with guys like Duncan and Gasol not eligible to be voted in as a center. What they should do, and this is really obvious, is insert Nash for Yao in the starting lineup. Then the lineup would be Nash, Kobe, Tracy, KG, and TD, which would probably be the best lineup you could have except for Dirk.

Monday Morning Review Jan 29th

2007-01-29T08:15:00.000-08:00

Lots of stuff happened this week, so despite what I said earlier, it wasn't a slow week.
Huskies
Huskies rebounded and finished our first round of Pac-10 opponents at 3-6. Not very good, considering two should be gimmes. But we did win the last two, and we still have lots of home games to play.
We played well against Oregon, who was without their MVP, but they have so many guards that it shouldn't have hindered them that much. Dentmon had another huge game with 24 7 and 6, although he looked too much for his own shot in my opinion. Brockman also had a good night with only 14 8, but played with so much heart and hustle that doesn't get put on the stat sheet. Hawes actually looked solid off the bench, he wasn't his usual self, but he looked capable at least. Oregon did have 6 players in double figures however while shooting 55%. We shot 52% and used our size advantage to get 9 more rebounds. We looked like we were in control most of the way, except when in the middle of the second half they surged to gain the lead, but after that we went on a tear. Good win against an 18-1 team.
Against Oregon State we looked just so so the first half. We looked like were up by a decent amount, but never really took a commanding lead. In the second half, we just exploded and the game was put away really quickly. Brockman played really well, as usual. Dentmon got a 5th foul with 4 to go, but the problem is, why did Romar have him in in the first place? If you're winning by 20, put in Oliver, Burmeister, Nelson, Wallace, Gasser as a lineup. Both teams shot 52%, but we outrebounded them 38 to 21, which goes to show that our size advantage is working. The only problem with this game is that Hawes looked horrible. Apparently he lost "15" pounds and is still slightly injured too, but whatever it is, we need him for Saturday against Arizona.
Coming up is the Arizona's, with ASU first, so we should have at least a 3 game win streak.
Sonics:
First, we lost a high scoring game to Denver despite shooting 5% higher and nabbing the same amount of rebounds and getting the same amount of turnovers. It's probably because they had 32 foul shots compared to our 17. We were the home court so I don't want to blame the refs, but I have to a little bit. I can't see the NBA not wanting Carmelo and AI in the playoffs, so they'll take any win they can get. I really didn't want to lose this game because I hate both those players because they can't shoot worth a lick. Also on the headlines it said Carmelo's 34 downs Sonics, but I would have put up a headline like "Ray Allen's 44 not enough in losing effort to Fat Carmelo, Ball Hog AI and the sucky Nuggets". Another positive out of this is that Wilcox and Collison are looking great, Wilcox is the finesse talent, and Collison is the gritty, down and dirty player.
We squeeked out a win against Minnesota by getting only 7 turnovers. Ray Allen took 30 shots and scored 36 on amazing shooting across the board. Wilcox and Collison got double doubles againt, and Collison also had 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. Craig Smith, a beast from BC, got 26 and 8 off the bench for Minnesota and Garnett was one shy of a triple double, but I think Garnett's lack of aggressiveness on shooting (which is Garnett's biggest weakness I think), and the fact that Randy Foye isn't good enough yet to take the big shot in the end killed them. Right now it's just Ricky Davis taking their last shots and he is unreliable both in basketball, and in life.
Yesterday's game against the Clippers was pathetic. After 3 quarters, we were losing 89-56. None of the stats mean anything because we put in all our reserves really early. The only positive things about this game are that Petro and Sene did well, and we have a better chance at a good lottery pick. Right now, the lottery's looking pretty good with all these stud freshman.
Mariners:
Mariners are reportedly about to sign Weaver for a one year 8.325 million dollar deal. I was high on Weaver halfway through last year, but now I don't know. He was at his low point then, and now he's at a semi-high point. St. Louis can make anyone look good apparently so, I'm not completely sold on him. He had a .303 batting average against him last year, and Lefties slugged .609 against him last year. He also never had an ERA less than 5 for a month when he was in the AL. This deal isn't that bad though. It's only one year, and he might do well. We'll take anything to get Ichiro back on board at this point. If he can regain those 3 mph on his fastball, he can be the effective pitcher he was projected to be, or at least a good 4th starter. I wasn't sold on Baek or Woods, but I don't know if $8 million dollars is worth the extra 2 wins.
We also signed Arthur Rhodes, which reminds me of the early 2000 seasons when he had 10 wins or sub 2 ERA. Rhodes was horrible last year in Philly, but just the year before, he had a 2. flat ERA in Cleveland. Giving him a minor league contract is a great idea, low risk high reward.
Also in not so recent news, Felix Hernandez is looking slim. This is great news because most people believe that the shin problems he had in spring training were from the 230 pounds on his frame, and the extra relief on his legs will make him a better pitcher, and that if he wasn't hurt then, his season would have been better. (Jon's note: the biggest problem Venezuelans have is that they are FAT and LAZY. Miguel Cabrera oozes with talent but coaches question his work ethic. He is also fat.) The weight loss, plus the increased trust in Johjima should make him a better pitcher.
Pac 10:
I watched the Stanford USC game Thursday night, and Brook Lopez was the man that day. Triple double with 12 blocks! He isn't really much of a block machine, but he was on that night. His coach said that that day will cement his draft status in the lottery which is ludicrous because he needs to be more consistent. Stanford then went on to beat UCLA, proving to me that the Pac-10 has 7 studs, 1 fairly good team, and 2 mediocre ones.
Also on TV was UNC's domination of Arizona. I was rooting for Arizona, but they look like a team in disarray. Marcus Williams was hurt, but the game should have been close at least. Most fun to watch was Psycho T's monster dunk, and the two times Mustafa Shakur had stupid turnovers, he ran back and had monster blocks to make up for it. Also what hurt Arizona was that Budinger had early fouls and couldn't play much until the game was already out of hand. Another big factor was luck, 1 for 23 in 3 pointers just isn't very good.
Seattle Products:
Jamal Crawford made 16 straight shots including 8 threes and 52 total points. I don't think he dunked it once, and my brother and I were going crazy because he was putting up long threes and fadeaways. I'm just glad one of my favorite players is doing so well, and it was awesome to watch.

NBA Midseason MVP

2007-01-24T15:27:00.000-08:00

Since Nash and the Phoenix Suns played (and whooped) Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards, I thought it would be appropriate to hand out the Midseason Award for MVP. Right now, I only see three players in the mix: Steve Nash, Gilbert Arenas, and Dirk Nowitzki. Here's the pros and cons of all three:

Steve Nash: His team has been nasty since their 1-5 start. Playing better than last year according to everyone. He's making 54% of his FG attempts AND he's scoring more (19.5 PPG over 15.5 from his first MVP season) despite Amare being back. He's got more assists than ever at 11.6 APG. And he's shooting 49.8% from 3pt land despite shooting more threes than ever (5.2 a game making 2.6). Those are some Insane numbers. Also, Nash's game over Arenas (27 PPG and 14APG) was AMAZING. He missed only 2 shots and was effective, efficient, and a true leader/point guard. As Bill Simmons has said, Nash is playing angry and looks like he will take over games scoring wise sometimes. Nash's only problem is that he has won the last two MVP awards and voter's might be hesitant to give him three in a row as that has only been done with the cream of the cream of the crop (Wilt, Bill Russel, and Bird. yes... not even MJ, both of them).

Dirk Nowitzki: His Mavs have been on fire since their 0-4 start. His numbers aren't great and it has been said that the emergence of Josh Howard is a possible reason (though I look at his numbers and don't see a huge difference). Dirk is VERY efficient this year as he has posted a 50% FG percentage and a 42% 3PT percentage, and a 90% FT percentage. Also, as Greg Anthony has noted, Dirk plays like a 7-footer this year. His 3pt attempts are way down and he's down near the basket more. This won't necessarily help out his number but I think this is a big reason for the Mavericks' sick record.

Gilbert Arenas: He has a new nickname (Agent Zero) and a new calling card (Hibachi!). He's putting up a great stat line 29 PPG, 6 APG, and 4 RPG. He's also made some HUGE shots and with flair. He has hit multiple 3pts to win games and if you watch the tapes, he KNOWS those shots are going in. I for one have really enjoyed his performances. His team is on pace for a 49-win season which is good enough for a first or second seed in the East, however it IS the East.

I think that voters will put aside the fact that only 3 players have enjoyed the MVP 3 times in a row and will make Steve Nash the 4th player due to his numbers, his leadership, and his team's performance.

(HerseyChris's input)
I'd put Kobe 2 behind Nash, and then Dirk, with Arenas 4th. Kobe is averaging 28.3 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game. True these numbers aren't as good as last year, where he averaged an amazing 35 points per game. His shooting percentage this year is roughly the same, except he is shooting 2% better in overall FG. Also he was hampered early by injury, and has become more and more explosive as time has gone on. Most impressive of all is that Kobe is getting his teammates involved, no matter how little talent they have, and with Lamar Odom sidelined for over a month, Kobe still has the Lakers in position to win be second in the division after Phoenix. Lets face it the Lakers are 50% Kobe, 30% Odom, 10% Phil Jackson, and 10% the rest of the team. So Kobe can get most, if not all, of the credit for carrying this Lakers franchise. Guys like Luke Walton, Vlad Radmanovic, Brian Cook, Andrew Bynum, Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, Chris Mihm, Maurice Evans, and Jordan Farmar are not great complementary players, but if one of these guys is your 3rd best player (in this case with Odom out 2nd best) then you're probably not going to make the playoffs. And yet Kobe has carried this team to a sure playoff spot. Perhaps whats best about Kobe is his uncanny resemblance to MJ, selfish in the beginning with awesome dunking ability, then able to feed his teammates and shoot a pretty J. His intensity on both ends of the court is rivalled only by MJ (and if we're going by other sports Tiger). Kobe won't get the award though because Nash's team is unstoppable. Nash has improved even more this past year, and if Kobe didn't get it last year with his amazing scoring, then he surely won't get it this year either.

Chase Utley Deal, Mike Vick, and Tampa's OF

2007-01-22T08:53:00.000-08:00

So Chase Utley, in my opinion the best 2nd baseman, got a deal for 7 years 85 Million Dollars. Good deal if you ask me. He doesn't have a history of getting injured, he's fairly young at 28, and he's probably the best 2nd baseman right now. He's a lefty, he's a fan favorite, he plays solid defense, and he's a 5 tool player. 302/339/532. Great numbers for a 2b, but he does play in Philadelphia where the park is nice and easy, especially for lefties. His away numbers are 289/361/485 which aren't much worse, because his OBP is so much higher. All in all, I'd say 12 million dollars per year is a pretty sweet deal. Only way it could be bad is if their buying high (he only has 2 full years of experience), if he gets injured, or if he ages quickly like Erstad. But with the way prices are right now, I'd pay 12 million a year for a 5 tool lefty second baseman. (Jon's Comment: The Phillies are also forfeiting the contract they currently have with him which is probably for a very cheap deal).
Mike Vick is supposedly going to be exonerated for the water bottle incident. First of all, he's an idiot. I never liked him as football player, and he's an idiot for flicking off his own fans too. Everyone knows you can't carry water bottles into airports, especially a guy like him who flies all the time. Why would he have a special water bottle like that anyways? ESPN's report says that it had a "compartment that contained a small amount of dark particulate and an odor consistent with marijuana, according to a police report." That seems fishy to me that it WASN'T marijuana, and I wonder if he didn't' pay the police off or something. What the hell could it possibly be? Anyways, the Falcons can't really cut him, he's a big time publicity stunt/fan draw, and he is supposedly the highest paid QB in the NFL. I don't think Schaub's the answer, but if Vick can't get it done with 3 solid RB, 3 big first round pick WRs and Alge Crumpler, then the Falcons should draft some O-lineman and if Vick STILL can't get it done, then they should cut him. There's no reason a team that good should suck that much. At this point he's just a glorified Seneca Wallace. (Jon's Comment: everyone used to say that Vick wasn't a conventional QB and that he didn't put up the great passing numbers but he had something that was more important: he knew how to win. WELL GUESS WHAT? Now he's not winning and I'm pretty sure the reason the Falcons were winning before was a great defense and a good running game. I hate the "he just knows how to win despite what his stats say" argument. Wait long enough and see if it works, and for Vick it didnt' work. This goes for Brady too. See how many more Super Bowls he wins now that his defense ain't so great).
I was reading Buster Olney's article on young talent in baseball, and I didn't realize that Rocco Baldelli had such a good year last year. .302 average with .339 OBP and .533 slugging percentage? When did he get that much power? In 92 games, he hit 24 doubles and 16 hrs. Thats a heck of a stat line, especially for a CF. He's pretty much comparable to Sizemore or Crawford now. Combine him with Delmon Young, who can rake at a 317 clip with a 476 slugging, and Crawford, who had a stat line of .305/.348/.482 and 58 SB (he also missed 11 games from jumping after he scored a run), and you have by far the best young OF in the league. They could even be the best OF period, even better than Matsui, Damon, and Abreu/Sheffield or Dunn, Griffey, and Kearns (oh wait, that never panned out). I was hoping some combination of Reed, Jones, Snelling, and Ichiro would be great but not powerful, but it looks like that won't happen.

Monday Morning Review Jan 22nd

2007-01-22T08:14:00.000-08:00

Sports are starting to wind down. Football playoffs are still going, but they're almost over, and Seattle's out anyways. That just leaves basketball, though football's offseason will be exciting (would be more exciting if the Seahawks actually had a first round pick). NBA midseason report should be coming back, as well as a discussion of who the best college basketball players are and what their draft status is so far.
Sonics:
Sonics went 2-0 against Cleveland and Milwaukee. The win against Cleveland would look better if they didn't also lose to Portland. Ray Allen has 22 points 11 assists with a horrible 6-21 shooting. Collison and Wilcox continued their strong play with lines of 14 12 and 16 12 respectively. I'm not too sure why we won because LeBron had 30/7/8 and Ilgauskus had 24 11. We had the same amount of shots, shooting percentage, and turnovers roughly, but I guess the +10 team rebounding is a big reason why we won.
We then blew out Milwaukee, who didn't have Redd, Villanueva, or Maurice Williams. So that would be like us not having Ridnour (or Watson), Ray Ray, and Rashard. Collison had 13 points 16 rebounds 2 steals 2 blocks in just 33 minutes. Ray Allen put up 21/4/3 in 28 minutes. No one else really had good stat lines because we were winning by 30 at one point. Petro got 9 pts 9 rebs in limited minutes, and Wilkins showed that he deserves playing time. Ridnour also played well getting 13 points on 5-6 shooting, 6 assists, a steal and a block. Overall, about as good of a week for the Sonics as you can get. Too bad their season is almost over, barring a miracle run with the return of Rashard.
Huskies:
Just about as much of a nightmare as one could dream up. Our only Pac-10 win is against Arizona State, the 2nd worst team in the Pac 10. We then lose to Washington State by almost 30 points. Granted we didn't have Hawes, but we still shouldn't have lost. I wish Artem Wallace didn't suck so much, because Hans Gasser is horrible. As a team, we shot 28% which is never going to win a game, and they shot 54%, which is also not going to win many games, so I guess you mix those two and you get a blow out. Oliver and Nelson weren't very good at all, and combined with Artem Wallace our third starter, we got 0 points out of 60% of our lineup. I think its time to start Pondexter and Dentmon again. They're not that bad at shooting, and we need their athleticism and defense. Washington State isn't very big, so I don't know why we played Gasser for 26 minutes, I'd rather play Burmeister, who shoots well and doesn't make many mistakes. Gasser managed to only get 3 rebounds in that time, block 0 shots, and get 0 fouls. To sum it up, pretty much only Brockman and Pondexter played well at all. For Washington State, Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver look like 2nd team Pac 10 players at this rate. Coming up is Oregon and Oregon State. Oregon State should be a gimme (and congrats to them for picking up oft-troubled Seattle product CJ Giles who transferred from Kansas, their second Seattle transfer in 2 years) and Oregon should be hard, but if Hawes is back I still think we're the 3rd most talented team in the conference. Good news also, Aaron Brooks is sitting this game out because he elbowed Appleby last year. Sucks for the Seattle product, but good for us. He's been talked about as player of the year anyways, so he shouldn't be too mad. Also, USC is now ranked 25th, making it 5 Pac 10 teams in the top 25. I thought this would happen, I just thought it would be Washington, not Washington State. Also, Oregon is ranked 7th, but with only 1 loss to USC, and wins against Georgetown, UCLA, and Arizona, they should be ranked higher. If they were in the ACC, they'd be ranked top 5. And according to "bracketologist" Joe Lunardi, the Huskies last week weren't even in the tournament, but after this past week's loss, I might have to agree with him.
Seahawks:
Seahawks signed Jim Mora as their Assistant Coach/Secondary Coach. This is good news because he's a good coach and our secondary has problems. I'm guessing this is real temporary, and he'll replace Holmgren or Willingham in a year.
Rumors:
Pau Gasol is being rumored in a trade, and I say the Sonics should try to get a trade done. With the exceptions of Ray Allen, Nick Collison, and Ridnour, I'd say anyone should be up for a trade. Pau Gasol is an extremely skilled big man, and while he's not a true center, he is a big power forward.
Kirilenko has also expressed some unhappiness, and while the Jazz probably wouldn't even consider trading AK-47, they might think that Deron Williams and Boozer is their future. I'd also be interested in trading for him, as I think when he's healthy he's a top 10 player in this league.

Seahawks review

2007-01-17T13:08:00.000-08:00

If you had told me at the beginning of the season we were going to go 9-7 I would have laughed. I didn't see us going worse than 12-4. I figured Womack would be a downgrade from Hutchinson, but Womack was just one part of a whole, and the whole offensive line looked pretty good. Besides that, we lost Jurevicius a sure-handed receiver, but if we could plug in Jerehm Urban and DJ Hackett, then an athletic stud like Burleson would do nicely as well. After the Branch trade our WRs were stacked. Jackson was the all-around stud, Branch was the possession receiver with championship experience, Burleson was the uber-athletic slot receiver, Engram was the sure-handed veteran clutch in 3rd down situations, and DJ Hackett was the young guy who had tons of upside. Well, Jackson was good, then got injured, Branch never really played that well, Engram had a thryoid problem, Hackett stepped up but got injured in the playoffs, and Burleson became a $49 million dollar talented but raw punt and kickoff returner.
On the defensive side, we lost Jamie Sharper who was injured and replaced by DD Lewis anways, but gained Julian "the physical freak" Peterson. We lost Manuel, but got Hamlin back, and we lost Dyson, but drafted Jennings in round 1. On top of that, our young defense just got older and more experienced.
Grades:
Matt Hasselbeck D
He played about as bad as he could. He was injured for several weeks, injured his knee, his left throwing hand, and reports are that he could have played the entire season with a torn labrum on his throwing shoulder. Last year he was unbelievable, throwing only 9 picks. This year you expect about 10 off-target passes a game, putting the Hawks in bad situations. This probably forced him to do stupid things which only made things worse. I fully expect him next year to regain his title as best QB in the NFC.
Shaun Alexander C-
He looked horrible in the beginning, and he eventually cracked his foot which made him ineffective. He didn't look good until the Packers game when he ran for 200 yards, and the only other time he looked good was against the Bears. It's not all his fault though, for a guy who goes down on contact, he couldn't have prevented his injury. Many experts predicted his injury. 6 seasons without an injury, a great season with lots of carries the previous season, plus a SuperBowl run which meant even more carries. I also expect him to be better next year, but hopefully 3/5 of our O-Line won't be injured.
Darrell Jackson A-
Despite missing the last 3 games and playing injured other games, he had 956 yards and 10 TDs. He's probably the most underrated number 1 WR in the game.
Nate Burleson D
Sure he looked great on a few punt returns, but he 7 million dollars a year for a guy who had 18 catches for 192 yards is just ridiculous. What makes it worse is that our WR are too good and deep and we're investing too much money into them.
Deion Branch C+
If he played a full season he probably would have had 60 catches and 800 yards. That's pretty good, especially since we had so many WRs, but we gave up a first round pick for him. We need that pick for a guard, cornerback, or safety. Branch also had some key drops in big games, not something you'd expect from a former Super Bowl MVP.
DJ Hackett A
Hackett was so good that I wish we hadn't signed Burleson or traded for Branch. Why pay those guys a combined 13 million a year when we could have Hackett for less than a million?
Walter Jones: A-
He didn't make the All-Pro team, and wasn't as dominate this year as before. Still one of the best, but I dont' know why he slumped a bit this year.
Chris Spencer B+
Not a great guard, but decent. When he was moved to center, he was awesome. Tobeck retired recently and I'm glad we have Spencer to rely on. Wish we could have retained Tobeck for a few more years as a very good backup, but oh well.
Jerramy Stevens C-
Him and Mili (who might be done) were injured in the beginning of the year, so we had to rely on Will Heller. His official stats were 22 catches for 231 yards and 4 touchdowns. A guy as big, strong, and athletic as him should be getting 65 catches for 800 yards. For being such a punk he is a good blocker, and it seemed that when he was in the game, our running game was better. He also came up big against the Cowboys.
Grant Wistrom B
Wistrom must be the best player with a stat line as bad as his. 37 tackles, 1 FF, 4 Sacks. It seemed like he was in every play and his motor was always there. He's a great inspiration to the team and hell of a veteran.
Julian Peterson A+
Everything I hoped for. Completely over his injury, he had 90 tackles, 1 FF, 1 INT, and 10 Sacks for the season. A playmaker on defense with speed and power and you saw him on every play (unlike Leroy Hill who just dissapears).
Lofa Tatupu B-
123 tackles with 2 FF, 1 INT, and 1.5 Sacks. He looked lost sometimes, and didn't have that look like he did last year where he seemed to be in the right place all the time like Polomalu. He put on some weight in the offseason because at 235 he was getting pushed around by guys like Larry Allen (who doesn't?), but the extra weight made him slower and less effective I think. He also overpursued a lot of runs, which is bad because he is the safety cog, while LeRoy Hill and Peterson are the swift playmakers. He still made the Pro Bowl though even if it was undeserved, so this year wasn't a complete step backward.
Boulware and Hamlin: C-
I thought these two would be great safeties for the Seahawks for a while. I was wrong. They both have the athletic tools, but both are susceptible to the long ball. Boulware overpursues on runs still with his linebacker mentality. His rookie year he got picks but this year he overpursues every time. Against Minnesota on a 4th and goal (12 yards out or so) KC pitched it outside, and Boulware pursued even though the guy had to get 12 yards to get to the end zone. Moore, the running back, then threw to the guy that Boulware stopped covering, Jermaine Wiggins for a TD. Why would you go to help pursue this guy that is 12 yards from getting a TD when this TE runs right past you and you know there is no one back behind you? Boulware was benched for a few games, but then came back and still had the same problems. Hamlin played the full season, but made some dumb decisions like intercepting a long pass at our own 8 yard line on a 4th down then running directly out of bounds. He should have just batted the ball down.
Josh Brown A+
Having a guy who can kick 50 + yarders with great accuracy is special. It lets you know that all you have to do is get it to the 35 yard line and you can get points. Unfortunately Hasselbeck didn't help with this against the Bears, but having that in your mind puts so much pressure on the defense.
Plackemeier C+
In the beggining, he'd have big booming punts when he punted from midfield, and have sucky punts when we punted from our own endzone. By the end of season he was improving, but things like the Chicago game where he shanked his punt for 18 yards to allow them to get an easy field goal is where we got screwed. Kickers can't be so inconsistent, and Plackemeier needs to work on that. He has the talent, just needs to boom them when it's important to.

8 player swap between Pacers and Warriors

2007-01-17T12:09:00.000-08:00

The Pacers and Warriors, two teams that have loads of talent, but are underperforming, traded 4 players each to each other. The Pacers traded away Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson, Sarunas Jasikevicious, and Josh Powell (a throw-in)while the Golden State gave up Troy Murphy, Michael Dunleavy, Ike Diogu, and Keith McLeod. At first I thought this deal was about even, but now I think that the Pacers are a much better team because of it.
I was always a fan of Golden State's young talent. Besides the three big names that were traded, they have Baron Davis, Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, Mickael Petrius, and Matt Barnes. Unfortunatley for the Warriers, Don Nelson just wasn't a fan of Troy Murphy or mike Dunleavy. I don't know why though. Troy Murphy is a beast down low, and if he didn't get injured, he would be a better version of Zach Randolph. Better on and off the court. If you look at Murphy's game log, he has some insane games (ex: 15 12 5 5 3). Murphy also shoots 3's at a 37% clip this season and a 35% career clip. An added bonus is that Murphy played his college ball for Notre Dame. Dunleavy is like a Wally Szcerbiak or Mike Miller. He'll never be the number one, or even number two scorer on the team (if he is you're in trouble), but he's a solid 3 scorer who can rebound, pass, and shoot. Anyone who went to Duke and is the son of an NBA head coach has to be passionate about the game and very smart. I'm also a big fan of Ike Diogu. He was dominate at ASU where he averaged 20 10 2. He is a bit undersized at 6-8, but he can still block shots (like Elton Brand), and he holds his own with his 255 pounds (muscle not fat). McLeod is not that good, but he is only 27, and shoots threes and FT's well.
How for what Indiana gave up. Al Harrington is a good young player at just 26. The last 5 years, he's averaged about 16 points and 6.5 rebounds. He's shooting an insane 46% from 3-land this year while making 1.5 per game. He doesn't get any blocks or steals though and has never played defense at the level he is capable of. Stephen Jackson is a thug, and plays out of position at the SG spot. He shoots less than 42% FG and less than 30% 3's. Despite being 6'8", he only gets 2.5 rebounds a game. His incident in the night club with a gun doesn't make him any more appealing. He's supposedly good at defense, but I think he's overrated in that area. Sarunas Jasikevicius is a pretty good player, but Golden State already has Davis and Ellis. Sarunas is one of the best FT men in the league and he's a pretty good distributor, but he's streaky in shooting. Solid player to have, but he's already 30.

Project starting lineups and bench rotation for both teams when healthy:

Indiana Pacers:
PG: Jamaal Tinsley
SG: Mike Dunleavy
SF: Danny Granger
PF: Troy Murphy
C: Jermaine O'Neal
Bench1: Jeff Foster
Bench2: Ike Diogu
Bench3: Stephen Jackson
Bench4: Darrell Armstrong

Golden State Warriors:
PG: Baron Davis
SG: Jason Richardson
SF: Mickael Petrius
PF: Al Harrington
C: Andris Biedrins
Bench1: Monta Ellis
Bench2: Matt Barnes
Bench3: Marquis Daniels
Bench4: Sarunas Jasikevicius

So, the Pacers get two guys for their starting lineup who in my opinion are great hard-working guys. The Warriors get one starter and bolster their bench. The only way this is a win for Golden State is if Murphy gets injured for the rest of the season. Even if he's gone injured at his usual 40% clip, Pacers still make out better.

NFL Playoffs: Week 3

2007-01-16T08:03:00.000-08:00

First let me recap the games from last week: The Indy Baltimore game was the most boring game I have EVER watched and Steve McNair WAS WHO I THOUGHT HE WAS: a sucky, overrated QB. Seahawks played well (we didn't get blown out like people were predicting for some reason) but missed our chances. Pats beat the Chargers just like I said (with some luck though). And the Eagles finally came back to Earth (but the Saints only beat them by three). Now on to next week:

New England Patriots AT Indianapolis Colts:
Its funny how neither the ONE or the TWO seed made it in the NFC, but these two teams were big favorites in preseason (at least Indy was, and once NE made the playoffs, they were). Colts D has looked pretty good, but they played Baltimore last week who STINKS. Peyton Manning has looked bad for some reason and if he plays like he has so far in the playoffs, they will not win. I'm going to guess that he plays better but I'm still going to pick NE. If the Colts win, I'm going to guess kicking might be a factor, cause you have "the most clutch kicker ever" against a rookie dude whose name I can't even spell.

New Orlean Saints AT Chicago Bears:
This is very tought to call. Both teams had very close games last week. If the Seahawks didn't screw up some plays though, they would have won. The Saints have Drew Brees who has played a lot better than Hasselbeck and they have a LOT more weapons (especially since we had some guys injured). Grossman looked good last week, but he still CAUSED a touchdown for the Seahawks with that retarded fumble. Grossman could have just taken the sack but instead he went for the "gunslinger" I can still squeeze something out of this play approach. Grossman was also playing against a rookie CB, a backup Safety as the 2nd CB and a guy who was a loan officer two weeks ago as the nickle. I don't think the Saints have quite the same predicament. I will pick Saints because the Bears D ain't what it used to be and Deuce McCallister (not Bush) will have a good game.

Monday Morning Review Jan 15

2007-01-15T08:18:00.000-08:00

This week was about as bad as it gets in Seattle Sports. The Huskies lost two more to start 1-5 in Pac 10 play, and the Seahawks season is over.
Huskies
Two away losses to Stanford and Cal, probably the 7th and 8th best teams in the Pac-10 right now, better than only ASU and OSU.
Against Stanford, Brockman was amazing, putting up a 23 10 line. Problem is, no one else was. Hawes and Pondexter were horrible, and Appleby only took 6 shots. We outrebounded them 36 to 23, but still managed to lose because we couldn't draw fouls or play good enough defense. They ended up shooting 55% compared to our 48% and our turnovers were about the same as theirs.
Against Cal, Hawes, the number 6 recruit in the nation, was outplayed by Ryan Wright. In this game, only Dentmon performed real well. Cal only shot 39%, but managed to outrebound us 43 to 34. We also had zero blocked shots, which means that our defense forced bad shots, but never went for the ball much and didn't try for the rebound as much. I'm glad we finally drew more freethrows, but we shot horrendously thanks to Brockman's 1 for 6, and we still had five fewer than Cal(probably from fouling in the end though).
Seahawks
An exciting game, and I'm glad Alexander finally did well. I thought we were going to win because we had Josh Brown on our team, but we failed to make anything on three consecutive drives. Whenever we'd get into near field goal range, we'd go backwards and Hasselbeck would get sacked. Alexander was on fire after the first quarter, churning out 10 yard runs seemingly on every other run. Hasselbeck's throwing is still off, and without D-Jack being effective, Hackett playing, Tubbs not there to plug up the middle, and our corners to provid any kind of pass defense, I'm pretty proud of this team.
Sonics
You know it's not a great week when the Sonics going 1-2 is the highlight of the weak. That's the only win for Seattle this week. First game we lost to the Suns away, but that loss was actually positive because the Suns are awesome, Collison posted a 29 pts 21 reb line, and Petro posted a 10 pts 10 reb 2 block line. I'm glade Collison did well because he's one of my favorite players. He's a hustle machine and he gets the most out of his talent. Collison also did a great job on Amare holding him to 12 and 7. I always thought Collison was a tough gritty defender, he just didn't get enough credit because he doesn't get the stats like blocks and steals. Ridnour is still exiled to the bench with minutes in the teens after posting fantastic numbers before. Sure he slumped in the last 2 weeks, but whatever, he's a great point guard. Making Ray Allen handle the ball more isn't good, it'll just tire him out for shooting.
We then lose a close game to Miami, despite almost everyone doing well. Collison again has a good game by putting up 21 9. Wilcox put up 28 13. Ray Allen put up 29, 6, and 7. Ridnour finally got some minutes and played pretty well. Unfortunately Dwyane Wade had 13 assists, 29 points, and 17 free throws, 3 fewer than the entire Sonics team. NBA finals all over again.
Finally the great overtime win over Utah. 29 13 for Collison for his 3rd consecutive 20 9 game. Earl Watson gets 16 assists after getting 11 the game before. And of course, Ray Allen goes off for 54 points, 8 threes, 10 boards, and 5 assists. Lots of free throws shot, as there were almost 80 free throws combined. Utah is a quality team, so this is definetley a quality win. So despite going 1-2, the Sonics looked pretty damn good. Collison has finally emerged, and Rashard Lewis should be back soon.

NFL Playoffs: Week 2

2007-01-11T13:10:00.000-08:00

AFC:

San Diego Charger (1 seed) v. New England Patriots (4 seed)
This is a funny matchup because it pits the greatest playoff coach of ALL TIME, Belichick, against the coach with a huge reputation for sucking when it matters, Marty Schottenheimer. San Deigo also has a rookie QB (rookie enough for me) who struggled late in the season while NE has TOM BRADY, who is GOD ON EARTH (at least to ESPN). So San Diego has LT and Shawne Merriman, the person who proves that people don't care if you cheat as long as you are really good (cept for Bonds or McGwire... I guess this just applies to football then. I'll never understand why no one makes a bigger deal out of it. He said there was a mixup but he tested positive for some kind of SERIOUS steriod, not some over-the-counter supplement type mix-up stuff. Also, the effects of steroids LASTS longer than the four-week suspension. Merriman is playing football right now with the benefits of CHEATING so I think the penalty is not stiff enough). Since its the playoffs, I will pick the Pats.

Baltimore Ravens (2) v. Indianapolis Colts (3)
This is ALSO a funny matchup because of the history of the Colts who fled Baltimore in the dead of the night so long ago (who wouldn't. I was there once and thought the city sucked too). However, Baltimore is my pick to win the superbowl, so I'm sticking with them even though I don't believe in their offense at all (Steve McNair and his "intangibles" are crap. ESPN guys are retarded. Look at his numbers. They aren't that good.) Even though the Colts looked awesome last week, they played against the Chiefs and Herm Edwards CLEARLY can't coach. It was ONE game, and I'm sure an entire season worth of games says more. ALSO, Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning in the playoffs? please.

NFC:

Chicago Bears (1) v. Seattle Seahawks
As much as I love the Seahawks, we have looked so mediocre all year, I just can't pick us. Am I glad we are playing the Bears this week? YES. Grossman's QB rating probably has the largest standard deviation out of any QB EVER! The defense looks bad lately, they ARE missing Mike Brown and that DT who wrecked havok on the Seahawks during their regular season matchup, Tommy Harris. Like I've said before, EVEN if Grossman SUCKS, I can still see the Bears winning. So, I'll pick the Bears. I've said a lot about the Seahawks, you can look below. In summary of them: Offense still not clicking, defense looking better but still Big Play problems.

New Orlean Saints (2) v. Philidelphia Eagles (3)
I HATE the Eagles. I thought they were going to win last week even though I picked against them. And they BARELY won at home versus a struggling Giants team (I know I know, you can say the same about the Seahawks, but I hear no Seahawks praise like I do of the Eagles). I think the Saints are GREAT. SO many Weapons! Even though the chargers are playing well, I bet Brees is glad he's in New Orleans and I bet MIAMI wishes they could have picked him instead of Daunte Culpepper. Philly has had there run with Jeff Garcia and it was a good run, but now its over.