A Fantasy Life

And to think, it all happened so close to my 100th post...

2006-01-12T21:31:00.000-05:00

It has come to my attention that it has been almost 2 months since I have posted here. I waited all year for Sixers' season again and then completely fell off the map. And sadly, this looks like it will continue. The job is picking up like crazy; I'm fairly certain I just bought a house; and my role as a comic book critic at Broken Frontier has become more important. So, until I feel that I can keep up a regular schedule here, my posts will be few and far between. But I promise when I do put something up it will be of my usual quality.

And Honestly, I'd Have Been Writing the Same Thing Every Time.

I've watched a lot of basketball, and I don't think I've ever seen anything as mind boggling as the Sixers' consistency in losing games late. It's almost like clockwork. They'll lead all game, then with about 4 minutes left the lead will be cut to 7-10pts. And then the opponent will got on a 14-0 run, with them taking the lead for good at the 2 minute mark. It's just plain sad. So why does this keep happening?

They get tight late in games. Everyone is trying too hard to do their part. Everyone is shooting too soon in the shot clock and not passing the basketball. All game long the Sixers will pile up assists, then suddenly stop passing. This should not happen to a team with a former point guard as their coach.
There are only 4 members of the team that can even initiate the offense, and 2 of them are Kevin Ollie and John Salmons. Think about it, Iguodala, Korver, Dalembert, Nailon (when he plays), Hunter, and even Randolph are finishers. None of these players currently possess the ability to initiate the offense (something that hopefully Iguodala can eventually do, which would make the Scottie Pippen comparison much more accurate). Whenever Iguodala or Korver attempts to pass the ball in the paint it invariably gets tipped. Again, of all things for a team with a former point guard as coach to be defecient in, this is not a good one.
They have no bench. You know, there are times this year that the Sixers' bench failed to score 10 points. The whole bench. I want to assume that Lee Nailon's absense on the floor has been due to injury. But that leaves only John Salmons as someone who should be allowed to shoot on the bench. That's not nearly enough. Shavlik Randolph provided a nice spark for a few weeks but he appears to have cooled considerably.

All of this is way too much to overcome. Something must be done. And it's up to Billy King to fix at least one of these problems.

Damning Coaches

2005-11-21T17:06:00.000-05:00

God I Hate Larry Brown... And So Does the Rest of His Team.

It's almost sacriledge to start off a blog entry here talking about the Knicks, but since they have Eddy Curry and I love Eddy Curry, it seems I've been watching a lot of Knick games lately. Which hasn't been the best of times. For some reason Larry Brown can't seem to settle on a lineup. It's amazing. Lately, he's been sending out a starting forward set of Malik Rose and Antonio Davis. This lineup would be alright except for 2 things: it's not 1999, and Malik Rose cannot play small forward. Why does Larry insist on doing this? I wish I could answer that question. In the last 2 games, his greatest low post scorer, Mr. Manlove himself, has played less than 30 minutes combined. This is the same player that Larry professed he would love to play 30 minutes on opening night. Just so everyone knows, Eddy scored 12 pts in 17 minutes on Sunday, imagine what would have happened if he got 35. Also astonishing, is the quick decent of Trevor Ariza into Larry's doghouse. Ariza is considered the best wing defender by everyone, yet, Larry decided to play him a grand total of 1 second in the second half on Friday. E-freakin-Gads!!!

So Larry, this is what I'm going to do for you. I'm going to tell you your rotation and how many minutes each player should get. Stick with it, you'll do much better than you have been.

Starters:
C - Eddy Curry (35 minutes)
PF - Channing Frye (30 minutes)
SF - Trevor Ariza (30 minutes)
SG - Quentin Richardson (35 minutes)
PG - Stephon Marbury (40 minutes)

Bench:
Nate Robinson (15 minutes)
Jamal Crawford (25 minutes)
David Lee (15 minutes)
Antonio Davis (10 minutes)
Malik Rose (10 minutes)

Note - I didn't add those minutes up to see if they reached the total for a game, but they're approximate and I hope that Larry could do some math.

Somebody Claim The Hawks!!!

Well, seems that it took less than 10 games for Atlanta to decide that they wasted a lot of money on a shooting guard masquerading as a point. Shame they woefully overpaid. Even worse, this decision now forces Tyron Lue into the starting lineup. Shame that he is masquerading as a basketball player. So, once again, I am providing the fix.

Start Salim Stoudamire. Let him bring the ball up, then hand off to Johnson in the half court to initiate the offense. The issue with Johnson at the point was his ability to get to that point, it wasn't the actual initiation, it was getting there. Stoudamire would have no problem with this. And he's 10 times the basketball player that Tyron Lue is. Stoudamire would be able to keep opposing defenses honest by forcing the other team's smallest player to defend him (instead of Johnson) as well as with his dead-eye 3 point shooting.

And 1 more thing. Josh Smith should be starting over Josh Childress. Childress can be the guy who scores 12-15 off the bench. Smith should be starting for his defense and athleticism. Is anyone going to argue that Stoudamire/Smith isn't better than Lue/Childress?

My Kingdom For a Big Man

All offseason I said my main gripe with the Sixers was their backcourt depth. They added frontcourt player after frontcourt player and I screamed that they needed a guard. Well, it seems like I was wrong. Of course, it doesn't look like the Sixers added the front court player they needed.

With Samuel Dalembert sitting in street clothes, the Sixers have been eaten alive by driving guards. TJ Ford in the opener, Mike James (MIKE FREAKIN' JAMES!!!!) against Toronto, Lebron and Larry Hughes against Cleveland.

The only other Sixer who is listed as a center is Stephen Hunter. Hunter started off the year well, picking up double doubles and blocking some shots. Recently his playing time has been in steep decline. Which leaves the likes of Chris Webber patrolling the middle. And that isn't exactly a deterent, nor does it give the team a wealth of rebounders on the court. The Sixers need Dalembert back if only to provide both of those. His health is of paramount importance. With him healthy, the Sixers aren't forced to rely on Chris Webber in the middle and won't get eaten alive by anyone who wants a dunk.

And more importantly, they won't lose when they score 120 pts.

In Lieu of Manlove

Still too early in the season to give Manlove away, so I'll just give these 2 awards out first.

The "I Can't Believe I Convinced Them I Could Still Play Basketball" Award

Gary Payton - Seriously Gary, it's getting sad to watch you play. Please, no more after this year. You're an absolute shell of your former self. You can't get into the lane, you can't shoot from the outside, and boy are you making bad decisions. Who would have thought that you would make your team wish for a healthy Jason Williams and his steady playmaking.

The "I Can't Believe You Can Still Play Basketball" Award

Dikembe Mutombo - At this rate, Deke will still be coming off the bench and pulling down rebounds and blocking shots well into his sixties, if he isn't there already. I'm amazed everytime I see him on the court.

Random Sleepy Thoughts While Staying Up Late Watching Eddy Play

2005-11-16T23:19:00.000-05:00

The Day After Tomorrow...

The day after I cut him because he's been hurt and inconsistent, Damon Stoudamire goes off for 26 pts, 7 assists, 3 three pointers, and 2 steals.

Thanks Mouse.

Just one more sign that someone needs to take control of my fantasy team away from me before I really lose it.

Just be prepared for Kenyon Martin to continue the trend.

Chris, This is Danny. Danny, Meet Chris...

All I'm saying is that this is Chris Bosh's 3rd year in the league and he hasn't put on any muscle mass. If he would somehow find the gym, he might be able to put on enough muscle to play center all year. And that would allow Charlie Villaneuva to be a full time starter next to him.

The Best There Was...

2005-11-15T21:04:00.000-05:00

I Love It When Someone Else is the Dissenting Opinion...

Normally I think his work is overrated. I think he mails in too many articles and doesn't ever make you think. But every once in a while, Bill Simmons writes a nice article. Good to see that he can still do it.

You Like Me!! You Really Like Me!!!

I guess John Hollinger of ESPN doesn't hate me. But while he was willing to answer questions on some of his favorite players, he still won't answer any questions about why he loves Chris Andersen so much. I'm going to keep plugging away though, these chats should be a weekly occurance.

Stu (Philly): Why won't Scott Skiles play Mike Sweetney more than 15 minutes a night?

John Hollinger: I've been wondering the same thing because he's so obviously better than Songaila. I think he's worried that Sweetney won't space the floor well if he's out there with Chandler, but in this case I think the difference in skill is large enough to outweight that consideration.

Stu (Philly): For someone who made their mark last year letting their scorers run the floor, why has Nate McMillan let his best scorer (Travis Outlaw) rot on the bench?

John Hollinger: I'm as baffled as you are. There's a numbers game at the forward spots (at least until they trade Patterson), but he still should be finding Outlaw minutes somewhere -- the guy is way too talented to be riding the pine for a bad team.

Oh, and there was this one too. I always like the idea of Larry Brown choking someone.

Stu (Philly): If Isiah Thomas trades for Jalen Rose will Larry Brown be legally exonerated for choking him to death?

John Hollinger: Depends what he gives up -- if it only costs him Penny Hardaway then it does no harm. But remember that Isiah and Jalen weren't exactly warm and fuzzy with each other in Indiana, so I'm not sure if this rumor has legs.

What Did I Say He Had to Score?

I told someone before the season started that John Salmons needed to score 12 pts per game. Thus far he has scored 12 or more points 4 times, including 16 tonight against the Raptors.

The Sixers are 3-1 in those games.

What Happened to Crazy Rick Adelman?

Before the season, Rick Adelman stated that he would use a rotating frontcourt next to Peja Stojakovic, including any combination of Kenny Thomas, Shareef Abdur Rahim, and Brad Miller. Thus far Kenny Thomas has been wondering where these minutes have gone, as he has yet to log 20 minutes in any game.

Please Stop Shooting Jumpers

Chris Webber loves that jump shot from the elbow. Someone needs to tell him he can't hit it anymore. Get down low, throw up your hook shot. No more jumpers.

Still a Little Early

Look for more in depth NBA and fantasy discussion in the coming weeks. I won't talk about it right now considering Eddie Jones is rated #2 in the Yahoo rankings.

(notice the carefully placed Temple Owl reference?)

This is What Happens When You're Unprepared.

2005-11-03T19:53:00.000-05:00

So I missed the start of the season. I turned around and the first games were starting and I just had to watch. And before I knew it, I had enough for a lengthy article and can't even remember what I was thinking of doing for the season preview. Therefore, enjoy these thoughts on the first 2 nights of NBA basketball.

Can I have one of those 'ifs' back?

I take it back. Kyle, don't venture inside the 3 point line. Just stand out there and shoot. Do not ever put the ball on the floor. You're trying to do too much and it's affecting your game. You have a speciality. Stick to it.

Swim Upstream Already!!!

This is John Salmon's last year under his current contract. He's going to have to prove to everyone that he can actually play basketball. During the opening game this year, I said to a friend, "He's gotta average 12 pts a game this year. His job is to come in and score." He shows it sometimes and took the ball to the hole on 3 consecutive possessions against Milwaukee. I still think Korver would be better in that role as the bench scorer with Salmons in the starting lineup, but Salmons seems to be doing some of the things needed of him. A little more though would be better. IIRC he ended that game against Milwaukee with 10 pts. 12 would have provided the win.

Don't Overreact.

Chris Webber had an amazing first game and showed that he and Allen Iverson can coexist. Webber went off early and finished with 32pts, 14 boards, and 5 assists. He even got 2 blocks, which was impossible last year. But it was still only one game. Webber still shot too many jumpers in the game. He scored most of his points on the low post, with putback dunks and jump hooks. The jump hook looked especially good. But instead of sticking with that, he moved out to his spot on the elbow and started clanging jumpers. I cringed when for his last 2 shots in regulation, he posted up on his man, then turned to face the basket and shot the jumper instead of his hook shot. It was not surprising when both shots missed.

All in all, the Sixers looked very good in stretches. But it seemed that whenever they got a lead, they got complacent and stopped moving on offense. And they weren't good enough defensively to make up for it.

Rotations

It looks like Mo Cheeks is going to go with a more offensive minded lineup from time to time. He put Webber at the center, with Lee Nailon at the 4 and Iggie at the SF. The only problem with this lineup is that there are no rebounders on the floor. And they don't exactly look imposing as a defense. I don't know why Deng Gai has not gotten into a game yet. If Cheeks is going to be using Webber at the center position, it would behoove him to place Gai at the PF to put some semblance of a defender at a big man spot. Gai and Webber could take turns on defenders to try and keep Gai on the weakside, where his shot blocking would be a major asset.

Game 2?

Didn't happen. I think it was obvious to everyone that playing the Detroit Pistons in their home opener, the night after losing an overtime game at home was not going to end well.

Byron, you love your lamp(e)!

Why hasn't Maciej Lampe gotten on the court yet? What is Byron Scott thinking? And where was Travis Outlaw in Portland? Odd that these teams are in a youth movement, trying to find out who is going to be a basketball player, and they leave these guys on the bench.

John Hollinger, I'm holding you responsible.

I just want to ask: Where are the numbers I was promised from Chris Andersen? Why isn't he even starting? I guess this is another question for Byron Scott. And why trade an All Star center for Desmond Mason, just to give Mason a bench role and 20 minutes a night? I think I need to call George Shin and tell him I'll coach the team for a fraction of what he pays Byron.

Crazy Rick Adelman - His Frontcourt Lineups are INSANE!!!

In the preseason, Rick Adelman announced that he was going to go with a rotating starting frontcourt this season. Depending on matchup, he would start any combination of Brad Miller, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, and Kenny Thomas at the center and power forward positions. Thus far he has gone with Abdur-Rahim at the 4 and Miller at the 5, which is pretty much what anyone else thinks he should do. But who knows with that crazy guy. I guess that's what happens when you always produce a winning team yet no one thinks you'll be employed after this year.

Well, 1 out of 2 ain't that bad.

Jameer Nelson did not start in Orlando. Instead, Brian Hill went with the ever potent DeShawn Stevenson. I have no idea what Jameer did to deserve this, but I wish some team would save him from Orlando.

Meanwhile, Delonte West did manage to win the starting PG position in Boston for the Hated Celtics. He played well in the opener with 14-9-9, with 3 steals and 4 blocks. A few more games like this and people will every wonder why Orien Greene ever entered into the discussion.

We can't talk basketball without a taste of Manlove.

Eddy Curry made his regular season debut with the Knicks. He played a nice game (and got more minutes than anyone would have expected) with 19-8 and 2 blocks. He was still a little slow and missed quite a few rebounds, but it was a nice start for his Knick career. A couple things are still clear.

1. Eddy still has slow feet. I don't know how know I'm the only one who's seen this, but really, let's get this guy doing some exercises to improve his quickness. A better first step would take Eddy a long way.

2. He's out of practice. Eddy shot 40% from the field and 50% from the line. Those percentages should be 20 pts higher each.

3. If I thought I used to get mad at Kirk Hinrich for not passing to Eddy, I think I might have an anuerism this year watching ball hogs Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, and Quentin Richardson keep the ball out of his hands.

Finally, kudos to Yahoo.

Normally when you want to prepare someone for a fantasy basketball season, you put out a mock draft a couple weeks before the season. This year, Yahoo decided that they wanted to wait until a day before the season to publish their mock draft. So that no one could use it. Good job fellas. I use the mock drafts to see the earliest any of my targeted players go. The earliest I had seen Eddy drafted when my draft occured was Round 9. The Yahoo draft had him in Round 7. If that had been out a week earlier, I wouldn't have had to rush through a 3 team deal to get Eddy back on my team.

A Season of "If"s

2005-10-31T19:38:00.000-05:00

Rather than put up a detailed Sixer's season preview, which would re-iterate everything that has been written by the local media and national media over at ESPN, I decided to go a different route. Because I believe that this season can really be summed up in one word. IF.

IF Chris Webber stays healthy and is even 75% of his former self

and

IF Allen Iverson can learn to trust his teammates more

and

IF Andre Iguodala makes the next leap to superstardom

and

IF Samuel Dalembert can stay healthy and finally deliver on his potential

and

IF Kyle Korver can add some variety to his offensive attack

and

IF Mo Cheeks can get through to the players and keep them at a high level

and

IF John Salmons keeps going to the basket like he has all preseason

and

IF Stephen Hunter is a shot blocking force off the bench

and

IF the learn to maximize what they have on the defensive end

Well, then the Sixers could be the surprise team of the year and somehow challenge in the East. If only 75% of those things go well they could win the Atlantic Division. If only 50% of those things happen they'll be right back where they were last year. And if none of those things happen then it's time for fire Billy King.

Almost There... (Stay on Target)

2005-10-26T09:22:00.000-04:00

It's almost here. The NBA Season is less than a week away, and along with it Fantasy Basketball season, the greatest time of the year. For those who picked up this site during the basketball offseason, you will soon realize that Sixers talk will dominate this blog for the forseeable future. I'll still mention other sports from time to time, but really, the NBA will dominate. So, as I am still in the preparation stages for my NBA season preview, I decided that a short post was necessary to cover a couple topics.

It's Honorable and Admirable But...

It's great that Donovan McNabb is showing such great heart, determination, courage, (insert the remainder of cliche words here) by playing through the pain of his sports hernia. It's simply amazing that the man can still play at such a level with the pain he must be going through. But one thing is for certain, the Eagles will not win the Super Bowl with a beat up quarterback. I would have thought that would be obvious to everyone. Sit him down. Get him his surgery and get him healthy. Even if they have to tank this year, I'd rather have a healthy McNabb the next few years than one who is still feeling the effects of playing hurt so much.

(On another note - It's amazing the career parallels that are starting to show between McNabb and Steve McNair. Both are known as warriors who will play through incredible pain. Both have incredibly strong arms and are/were well known for their ability to scramble. Now both are starting to suffer the effects of playing hurt. But that's a discussion for another time.)

I Had to Buy It Myself But It Was Still Worth It

So, John Hollinger of ESPN.com never sent me a review copy of his new book, Pro Basketball Forecast 2005-06. I waited and waited but it never came. But, seeing as how his PER (Player Efficiency Rating) is becoming a standard stat over at ESPN and I needed to know how to figure it out, I bite the bullet and shelled out my own hard earned cash for the book.

And I can safely say that it was worth every penny. Hollinger goes into incredible detail on every player in the NBA last season, describing their stats based on 40 minutes, their PER, and who they are most comparable to in NBA history, based on statistical analysis. He uses all of this information to even project what are possible stats for every significant player. Incredibly in depth and detailed, Hollinger leaves no stone unturned in his analysis, and he unafraid to be frank and truthful in his analysis (even if he is a little hard on Manlove). Hollinger even gives a short scouting analysis of draft picks, and spend a chapter on prominent Euroleague players, working hard to develop a system that can translate their stats to what they would look like in the NBA.

Hollinger explains each of his unique statistics very early in the book. Everything is explained in great detail and makes a great deal of sense. Plus, I finally know why Hollinger was never able to explain PER in any of his chats. It is the most comprehensive stat I have ever seen. Everything that can accounted for is. Think you know how much a defensive rebound is worth? Think again, because there are factors you never thought to include. But Hollinger does. Same with Free Throws made and missed, blocks, turnovers, and every other stat imaginable. Hollinger leaves no stone unturned in breaking down each player and their contribution to their team. He even creates a shorthand version of the stat, called "Game Scores", that convey the same information, but with simpler (and slightly less accurate) equations. I have a feeling that I will use "Game Scores" an awful lot on this site.

The craziest thing Hollinger does is with his projections. Hollinger goes through basketball history to find the 25 most comparable players to each individual, uses those stats to generate the most likely trends, and then uses that to generate projected stats. And it's sometimes funny to see which player was most comparable (for instance, Austen Croshere projects most like Sam Perkins).

If there is one complaint to be made about the book (I'll overlook the simple grammatical/editing errors early on), it's that it often feels like I've read part of it before. A lot of the book is eerily similar to his ESPN articles (some parts have even been abridged for website publication), and they have gone ahead and posted his stat lines on their website. But this book is worth it alone for his statistical explanations. Anyone who is a basketball and/or statistics fantatic NEEDS to own this book. I know that I'll be buying it every year from here on out.

John Hollingers Pro Basketball Forecast 2005-06 can be purchased at Amazon. Just type in "Hollinger" into the search engine and it's right there. Enjoy.

We're Talking Bas-Ket-Ball!!!

2005-10-17T12:32:00.000-04:00

OK, for anyone looking for some football or baseball talk, look elsewhere. It's officially time to start talking about basketball, basketball, and more basketball. You will have to excuse the lack of links in this post as well, my resources are a little short at present. I will point out that Brandon Funston of Yahoo Fantasy Sports has kept his Bigger Board of top 100 fantasy basketball players updated and has broken that down further in terms of top 25 at each position. Also, my buddy Eric Karabell has started mentioning fantasy basketball in his ESPN Fantasy Sports Blog. Check those out if you can, I will try to put up links later in the week to keep everyone fresh.

In the meantime, while I am still waiting for that review copy of John Hollinger's Pro Basketball Forecast 05-06, (c'mon John, you know you want to send me a copy) here are the most pressing thoughts concerning the Sixers and Fantasy Basketball.

Microfracture Surgery = Not Good Times

For anyone who already held their fantasy drafts and felt great about grabbing Amare Stoudemire with a top 10 pick, you have my most sincere sympathies. Stoudemire recently underwent microfracture surgery on his knee and is projected back, at the earliest, in 4 months. Which means February. Looking over the list of players that have had microfracture surgery, there isn't a really good success rate. Especially for someone like Amare, who's game is predicated on his athleticism and explosiveness, this comes as a huge blow. To be honest, unless he somehow is sitting around in the last round, I don't know how I can tell anyone to take a chane on this guy. I've said that with the offseason changes made to the Suns in an attempt to get physical, they remind me most of the 2001-02 Milwaukee Bucks, who in a rash decision to get tougher after making the Eastern Conference Finals, signed Antony Mason and completely missed the playoffs; now, without Amare, they might be even worse than that.

Even worse is what it does to the rest of his team. The Suns are now down to only 2 remaining starters from last year's team: Steve Nash and Shawn Marion. Nash's assist numbers were already in question at the start of this year after he lost his two wingmen and 3 point chuckers, now, with his main man in the middle out it'll be interesting to see how well all his new teammates compliment him. None of them has the outside shot or confidence that Richardson and Johnson had, and no one comes close to Amare's impact. His impact has taken a major hit. Nash will now have to shoulder more of the offensive load, and somehow learn where to get his new teammates the basketball. And this doesn't even mention his questionable durability.

Marion takes less of a hit, and in fact, may not take one at all. It was widely known that last year the Suns never ran a play for The Matrix, yet he still managed to average upwards of 19ppg. He's an incredible athlete who is just a fantasy stat stuffer. Somehow, despite all of what's going on around him, Marion takes no hit at all when considering his fantasy value.

Outlook: Amare falls off the list, Nash drops a few round, Matrix stays where he is, and keep an eye on Raja Bell, he's the most likely to find a lot of extra shots.

I Hear It Takes 2 Years to Really Come Back

One of the current NBA players who has had microfracture surgery on his knee is 76ers power forward Chris Webber. In all talks with Webber thus far in the preseason, his surgically repaired knee is feeling much better. In fact Webber has admitted that he probably tried to return too soon after having the surgery. It's a shame that he's missed the last week or so of the preseason with a bruised thigh (on his other leg), because everyone is very optimistic about having Webber and Iverson on the floor together this year. Mo Cheeks has stated that Webber will be much more involved in the offense, and that the team is really learning to move around him and best use his incredible passing talents. I like what I'm hearing, and have been saying since last season that Webber is too smart of a basketball player not to be able to play with Iverson, but after all this talking, I'll reserve final judgement for when I see the games.

But just to prove how much I'm looking forward to this, I went out this weekend and bought myself a Chris Webber jersey.

So Who Has Made Their Mark This Preseason?

With Webber out with his thigh injury, and Samuel Dalembert still resting his knee, who have the Sixers turned to in the preseason? Well, it looked like Michael Bradley was using the preseason to make his mark but then he got hurt. Shavlik Randolph, who was mentioned here as an interesting candidate, has also been out with an injury. Instead, Deng Gai has done the most to make his mark. The 6'9" undrafted rookie PF out of Fairfield is leading the Sixers in blocked shots in the preseason. Considering that Dalembert and Hunter are both athletic shot blockers and will be the #1 and #2 guys playing in the middle, the Sixers may have hoped for more of a scorer out of the backup PF role, but if Gai keeps playing the way he is, it'll be real hard to keep him off the roster. And really, who doesn't want a "Gai" jersey?

Another interesting preseason stat - John Salmons is second on the team in free throw attempts. Every year it seems like Salmons draws nothing but praise in the preseason, only to find himself sitting on the bench all year. This year, especially with the loss of Willie Green, it looks like Salmons will have to take a much bigger role. Here at A Fantasy Life, I have been a proponent of placing Salmons in the starting lineup. He is a taller guard who can handle the basketball, thereby lessening the burden on Iverson, and he can play defense and has a nice outside shot. Starting Salmons would put Iguodala back in his natural SF position, plus it would bring Kyle Korver off the bench, where his Instant Korver 3 point offense would be an incredible change of pace weapon.

Oh My Beloved St. Joe's Hawks, How You Have Been Forsaken!!!

So it appears that with their recent trade for Dan Dickau, Delonte West is no longer going to be the starting PG for the Hated Celtics. The reasoning for this is... Well, I have no idea what it is. West is a better shooter than Dickau, he is a much better pressure player, and has experience running the team during their playoff push last year while Gary Payton was whining his way out of Atlanta. West never put up gaudy assist numbers, but with Paul Pierce still running the show in Boston, it wasn't really in his job description. West could handle the ball, play defense, and get open for 3's. Now he's back on the bench. Shame.

But an even bigger travesty is the sudden appearance of DeShawn Stevenson in the Orlando Magic starting backcourt. Despite him having the same name as an old high school wrestling teammate, Stevenson has little reason for being there. All offseason the talk was that Francis would be moved over to the SG spot, thereby freeing up the PG duties for Jameer Nelson. The Magic even went out and brought Keeyon Dooling to challenge for that role. Instead, it appears that Francis will be back hogging the basketball as the Magic PG and Nelson will have to settle for a 6th man role. Shame too, because despite him being a local favorite, Nelson put up very nice numbers last year during his stint as a starter. I don't know what would cause the Magic from not starting a PG who is a great team leader and clutch player, who averaged 15-5-5 while starting last year, but they should be fired immediately.

Steve Francis truly is Basketball A.I.D.S.

There's a Reason I Call Him Manlove

In his first appearance as a New York Knick, after missing most of preseason with the ongoing DNA/contract talks, Eddy Curry scored 16 points in 13 minutes. Just figured I'd point that out.

And of the Man Filling the Void In Chicago?

Now that they can officially begin the A.E. (after Eddy, and subsequently me as a fan) Era in Chicago, what does it look like for this starting front line? Well, it looks like Tyson Chandler will be officially moved into the starting center position. I don't know if this will truly affect his playing time, as Chandler played the most minutes of any Chicago big man last year coming off the bench, but it should be a nice confidence booster. Chandler will most likey be amongst the league leaders in rebounds and blocks, but what should be interesting is his increased presence in the offense. Without Eddy, Tyson will have to provide more of an offensive presence on the low post. Chandler has never been known for his shooting touch, but it really isn't that bad. And despite the way it looked at times last year, Tyson has taken incredible strides to improve his free throw shooting, and it's always good to have a big man who can shoot free throws.

And since Tyson is getting moved over to the center position, it appears that one of the players who came over in the Eddy Curry trade, Mike Sweetney, will be taking over as the starting PF. Last year in this space I made a big deal about Sweetney being placed in the starting lineup in New York when the Knicks traded Nazr Mohammed. Everyone thought that Sweetney's minutes would double and for a week or so they did. Well, it looks like he'll get another chance to show everyone what he can do in Chicago. Sweetney is a prototypical, back to the basket, low post player, who will probably be able to take up the scoring slack left by Eddy. Not to mention, Sweetney is actually a better rebounder than Eddy and due to his college grooming at Georgetown, understands where he is supposed to be on the basketball court on defense. Sweetney will probably go undrafted in fantasy drafts, but if he plays as well as some expect, he'll be one of the first free agent pickups.

Just Pray For A Top 2 Pick

For the first time in recent memory, there is complete unknown in ta fantasy basketball top 10. Aside from Lebron and KG, there is a great deal of question as to who to take next. Some would say that Dirk is an obvious choice, but with Yahoo taking away his center elligibility, his rough summer schedule with his national team, and with his ever increasing load carrying the Mavericks with Finley gone, I'm expecting a bit of a dropoff. Others may say Tim Duncan, some may opt for The Matrix, some may like the idea of having a Phil Jackson coached Kobe Bryant, and some of you may have already said Amare Stoudemire (my condolences again). Either way, unlike picks 1 & 2, when coming up on one of these picks you'll actually have to think about your decision. So without further ado, I present my own top 10 list:

1. Lebron
2. KG
3. Marion
4. Duncan
5. Dirk
6. T-Mac
7. Kobe
8. Wade
9. Iverson
10. Jermaine O'Neal

Karma is a Bitch

2005-10-04T13:53:00.000-04:00

Some Final Phillies Talk

Anyone looking for in depth Phillies coverage I will once again send over to my buddy Jason Weitzel at his exceptional Beer Leaguer. But I will say one thing. At one point in time, like most baseball fans, I loved the Cubs. They were the lovable losers from Chicago, who everyone wanted to win (well, except for White Sox fans at least). Mark Prior is a mainstay on my NL-only fantasy team (which finished a very close second - more later) and I have always been a fan of the steady Greg Maddux and angry yet enjoyable Dusty Baker. However, that love affair ended on Sunday. With the Phillies having already won their game and needing the Cubs to beat the Astros to force the one game playoff in Philadelphia, the Cubs decided to spread their bad luck to other teams.

At one point in the game, with the Astros leading 3-0, the Cubs had men on first and third with no outs and Greg Maddux up. Now, Maddux is known as a fairly good hitting pitcher, but it was obvious he was going to lay down the suicide squeeze in this situation. But instead of the squeeze leaving at least one man on base and scoring a run, Greg Maddux bunted back to the pitcher which led to a double play and a runner still stranded at third. Later in the game (Top of the 5th inning), the Cubs put together a rally that had them leading the game 4-3. Once again, Maddux stepped up to the plate with men on first and third, but this time with 2 outs. With a chance to break the game open, Dusty Baker left Maddux in the game to try and preserve his opportunity to win 14 games (making it 17 straight years). Maddux popped out. He then started the next half inning by giving up the game tying home run. The Astros went on to win the game. The Phillies season ended.

I will no longer cheer for the Cubs.

Even worse for me in this situation was that my opponent in the finals of the NL-only fantasy league had Jimmy Rollins on his roster. So not only did I have to somehow survivie J-Roll's impressive offensive onslaught at the end of the year, but it came with no silver lining and his hot streak was not enough to get the Phillies into the playoffs.

Basketball Season is Around the Corner

This week, NBA teams open their training camps. In a few short weeks, we should know the rotation of every team and exactly what we can expect from them. In the meantime, John Hollinger of ESPN has posted a preview of every team. Each preview addresses the 3 major questions presented to each team from the long offseason. Well done and interesting, it is something worth checking out.

Also of note is Hollinger's new book, the Pro Basketball Forecast 2005-2006. In it, Hollinger takes his Bill James like approach to basketball statistics and makes his predictions for this upcoming season. There have been a couple of articles on ESPN.com that summarize some key points from Hollinger's book and they have been well thought out and present interesting factual basis. I had intended to pick this book up and review it for A Fantasy Life readers, but when I went to purchase it from Amazon last week, the book still was not released. I may still purchase the book, but it is unlikely with my work schedule and comic book reviewing duties that I will be able to provide an in-depth review here. Based on Hollinger's work for ESPN it would be hard to expect this to be a poor book, but I cannot really recommend it without reading it first. So, unless Hollinger wants to mail me a copy of the book, you will have to purchase it on your own without any recommendation from me.

Sixer's Signing

It's hard for me to miss any local basketball news, but somehow this one slipped past me. This Sixers have signed forward Lee Nailon to improve their bench. Nailon had himself a career year last year playing in New Orleans, and worked that into a contract with the Sixers. While he doesn't provide any defense at all, Nailon is a scorer and should help bolster their bench contributions this year. Expect him to get 20-25 minutes a game at both forward positions and play a role similar to the one Corliss Williamson had while on the team. Nailon doesn't fix all the problems of the bench (as he is not a backcourt player).

The only other player of note on the Sixers training camp roster is Duke's Shavlik Randolph. Randolph wasn't a superstar in college, but playing at Duke gives him a name and some experience playing in hostile and high level environments. It still remains to be seen if the Sixers plan on adding any backcourt depth to the team (which at this point is sorely needed), but it should be an interesting training camp to watch unfold.

And Now the Saddest News of the Day - I Must Root for the Knicks

In the be careful what you say department, Eddy Curry has been traded to the New York Knicks. All summer I have been laughing about the Knicks and their hiring of coach Larry Brown. Now I find myself having to root for him and his team as they now possess the manchild known as Eddy "Manlove" Curry.

The situation surrounding this trade has been a very interesting one. And anyone who pays attention to the NBA and this site may have wondered why I stayed quiet. Well, the short answer is I didn't know which side to support. The situation surrounding Eddy and the Bulls revolved around the heart trouble he showed at the end of last year. An irregular heartbeat kept Eddy out of the final 13 games of the season and palyoffs, and the fact that the NBA would not issue insurance on Eddy's heart condition made it hard for him to get any type of long term offer. In fact, for him to get his one year qualifying offer from the Bulls, Eddy would have had to undergo DNA testing. The Bulls and NBA said that this testing was necessary for Eddy's long term health. That with this testing they would know if he was predisposed to any serious heart problems and the NBA would not have ended up with another Reggie Lewis or (local hero) Hank Gathers, two players who have died from heart problems. Eddy and his lawyer saw this as an invasion of privacy and completely unnecessary. I saw that both sides of the argument had their points and found it impossible to take a stand. Having been a huge fan of Gathers (his high school coach is a longtime family friend) in high school and college, I am fearful for having another favorite player lose his life on the court. But if the precedent was set that an employer could demand DNA testing for prospective employees, it could open up a whole case of cans of worms that no one wants to deal with.

In the end, the Bulls refused to sign Eddy without the DNA testing and were forced to trade him to the only team that would take him and give him a contract, the New York Knicks. Eddy provides the Knicks with a much needed center and low post scoring option, but now must contend with coach Larry Brown. I am hard pressed to see a defensive minded coach who demands 110% from each of his players like Brown dealing well with a player like Curry, who is well known for his laspes in effort and judgement. Perhaps this marriage can turn out alright and Larry can get through to Eddy like he did with Allen Iverson. Most likely though, Eddy will end up wallowing on the bench as Larry tries to get him traded. At least with Isiah Thomas as his general manager, Eddy is guaranteed one thing. He'll make far more money than he's worth.

Is it Football season yet? These games are still putting me to sleep.

2005-09-21T21:12:00.000-04:00

I know that there was no post last week. I had been promised that Cleveland correspondant Joel Wertman would have one, but he had internet problems and couldn't get it up. So, to make up for the lost week, I've got a long one for you. An email conversation between myself and good friend Jay "Yorkis" Levin, discussing the NFL's shortcomings, NBA players slacking off, and, like every conversation with Yorkis, steroids.

Be warned that these are taken verbatim from emails. There are times when punctuation and spelling don't matter and some may be offended by some of the language. I kept it this way to preserve its authenticity and because I'm lazy and didn't feel like editing. But it should provide a nice discussion topic.

Enjoy.

Yorkis - Why does TV coverage of the NFL stink? I mean, it's bad enough that u have to have a dish just to pay for all the games. But why do we need to stick with the coverage for a 42-3 blowout? i suppose there weren't any good early games on Fox anyway. But then to give us the stinky Jets/Dolphins game was worse. CBS had 3 games - only 1 was so stinky that they didn't even do it in HD. so why did we get the stinker? this is what i hate about the NFL.

Stu - i'll tell you why coverage of the nfl stinks... it's because the nfl itself stinks. there might be 4 good teams in the entire league. and that might be a stretch. the league is awful. do you realize that the chicago bears are going to win the nfc north?? the bears. seriously. that's terrible, they couldn't win the sec. the nfc west
is the most awful division in football. i was having this argument with spooge yesterday and he said that football was great and that brett favre was awesome. i said brett favre used to be awesome. he said "well, he did throw for 300 yds and 3 touchdowns." and i replied "in a loss. to cleveland. who shouldn't win another game all year." he had no response. seriously, it's time to stop sucking the dicks of the nfl and realize how poor the product actually is. maybe if the competition in the league was better i would care about my 4 fantasy
teams. but it isn't. and i don't. even worse is i'm going to have to read tmq today and hear him talking about how great everyone is.

Y - i disagree that the NFL stinks. i think there are enough good teams and that the parity allows top teams to rotate every year. the only teams able to really sustain anything close to dominance over the past 5 years are the birds, pats, and colts - and even those are flawed. the pats won 3 superbowls by 10 total points, the colts haven't made the SB, and the birds only once. everything else changes. there are actually a lot of good teams. and the Bears would easily win the SEC, since the champs will probably be Florida, which beat Tennessee in an abortion of a game this weekend. (they could probably also beat Arkansas, that lost 70-17 to USC on Saturday)

this year is another great race. if KC emerges as a true contender again (which they will, thanks to the addition of uber-LB derrick johnson, who probably should have been the #1 pick in the draft), then that's a great race between the Steelers, Colts, Pats, and Chefs - who should all emerge as division bosses. In the NFC, you could come down to Philly, Carolina, Atlanta, and Tampa - unfortunately, the top teams aren't spread out by division and it's not as sexy. but somebody's gotta win games, and somebody's gotta lose them. 256 games will be lost in the NFL this year. If 12 teams make the playoffs with an average of 10 wins each, that means that 120 games will be of importance to the league. Of the other 136 games (including playoff teams losing to non-playoff teams, and non-playoff teams going head to head), chances are that 50% of those will be "close" games (decided by 8 pts or less). That makes a total of 188 games that are either "close" or "important" out of 256, or 73%. If you add a quarter of the meaningless games for your fantasy interest only to the "important" category (for your personal importance), it's 205 out of 256, or a whopping 80%.

that means that fans can be interested in approximately 80% of the games (you could take a few % since some playoff positions are decided before the final game, but MOST are not. and even teams that are locked up may play someone who needs something to happen for position).

whether you like it or not, that is statistically speaking, why the interest in football is through the roof, and why the product is great. oh, and it looks great in HD.

there is definitely a balance of power shift to the AFC, but that doesn't mean the NFL sucks. the NBA had a power shift that's lasted quite some time (despite Detroit's title, the rest of the East was atrocious). but the NBA is still excellent. the NFL is about to get really strong all around again, as QBs like Big Ben, Orton, Eli, & Carson Palmer hit their primes while McNabb, Peyton, Brady, Vick, Delhomme, Green, and Culpepper (he gets to stay, despite 2 horrible games) are already in their primes. Then we get 2 more exciting rookies next year to join them in Lienart & Young. Those guys will help turn around this year's bottom 2. everything's cyclical, guy. As long as they don't give anyone guaranteed contracts!

i'm no huge Favre fan. believe me. i took him as a 7th round bargain b/c there were 3 fantasy QBs i actually liked, and they all went in the 1st round. you gotta admit that he is really good though. he's had that team in the playoffs repeatedly & won a superbowl (or 2? can't remember). yeah, this week's stats meant nothing. and i am shocked that cleveland won. i really thought they could go 0-16. the dream is now gone.

S - no, parity allows crappy teams to masquerade as good teams. every year there's at least 2 teams that stink in the playoffs. seriously, it's time to end this crazy defense of the nfl and it's sucktitude. the teams stink. there aren't many good teams. it's a fact. the redskins haven't found the end zone in two weeks yet still managed to
win a game. that's ridiculous. the detroit lions have a win. the freakin cowboys are 2-0. last night we had two games (that stunk) with 4 teams (that stunk). it's a fact. the level of play is terrible. what really pisses me off is tmq talking shit on the nba and how their games suck, then he goes ahead and tells me how great the 9-7 skins win was and how impressive it was for the jags and colts to play a 10-7 game (or whatever the score was). (because a 10-7 nfl game is definitely not more interesting than an 86-84 nba game. not a chance. now way. not possible.) sorry dude, those games weren't interesting. they were coma inducing. the play of the game is slow and it's rare that anything happens. don't give me the beauty of the nfl. it doesn't exist. and your idea of how many games are important is way off. because, let's be honest, the only team worth watching the first couple of weeks is the hometown team. so that means you have 4 games in 4 weeks that contain rooting interest. at that point, the playoff picture starts to take shape and you know which teams need to win and lose for particular things to happen. just because these games have interest doesn't mean they'll be good. most will be coma inducing. because, let's be honest, the skins/bears game was close, but it certainly wasn't interesting.

stop giving culpepper props. he stinks. he's always lead the league in fumbles. and now he doesn't have randy moss. he's got 10 turnovers in 2 games and no touchdowns. none. how is he an elite player? his team hasn't won yet. and while favre may have been great (in winning 1 super bowl) he is no longer any good. plus, giving him credit for making the playoffs in consistently the worst division isn't saying much. it's like giving the padres credit this year even though they'll make the playoffs with a losing record. and yes, i included baseball talk to show you how disillusioned i am with the nfl currently. i'm not stating opinion. i'm stating fact. the games are
so bad that i don't even watch them for fantasy implications anymore. if there wasn't a hometown team to root for (and watch choke consistently) then i would definitely not care about football at all.

S - here's something funny. i just checked espn and apparently the redskins did find the end zone twice last night. gee, what a shame that the rest of the game sucked mammoth amounts of ass and i neverturned it back on after halftime.

Y - wow, it's tough to argue against your esoteric points. if you are saying that bad teams masquarade as good teams because they win against other bad teams, they you are saying that bad teams are bad relative to absolutely nothing. in any bell distribution (which is usually what final records look like in the NFL) there will be a few good teams, a few bad teams, and every one else in the middle. if teams are just "bad" because you don't enjoy watching them, then it is an issue of "taste", which makes it awfully hard to quantify.

i am by no means a Culpepper nut, but it must be noted that he had something like 42 TD vs. 10 INT last year (statistically, one of the top-10 QB performances in league history) - with Moss missing more than half the season. but he was largely overshadowed by Peyton. basically, to use a B-word reference, that's like Sammy Sosa's 66 dongs in the year McGwire hit 70. this year, Vikes had a big O-line shakeup. as a former Jew-league QB, i can tell you that when the line explodes, you have nothing. i remember going through entire games where i didn't even have "1-mississippi" to throw the ball. i'm not saying it's like that in Minny cuz i haven't seen them, but u can't kill a guy's career in 2 games (except for Ki-Jana Carter. it only took the Bengals 1 snap to do that). 2 years ago Donovan was the worst QB in the league after opening losses to TB & NE. he bounced back. Culpepper has 8 INTs already in 2 games. If he finishes the season with 64, then he's off the list.

too bad you fell asleep before the end of the Cowboys/Skins game, or you would have seen that the Cowboys are NOT 2-0 because they gave up 2 TD bombs (40 and 70) to Santana Moss in the final 4 minutes of the game and lost 14-13. they were some of the prettiest passes i've ever seen. of course, i watched The Ultimate Fighter and Raw during most of the game, so the bombs at the end were all i saw.

TMQ doesn't upset me when he rips the NBA, because I agree with the BASIC point he makes: NFL players give more effort every time out because their jobs are always on the line. In other words, "guaranteed contracts are bad for competition". after watching roughly 400 NBA games last season, I couldn't agree with that point more. Guys consistently "dog it", and rarely play hurt, since they get paid anyway. Sure, there are some naturally fierce competitors, but there is a large number of players that shouldn't even be in the NBA, but can't be replaced due to "bad" contracts. Dude - the league trades players for "expiring contracts". As much as I love the NBA, it would be roughly 1 zillion times better if they got rid of guaranteed contracts. Whether a person enjoys watching one league over the other is a matter of taste - but there is no denying which league's players play "harder" each and every game.

The Skins/Bears was bad, but if you go to a bar and watch all the games at the same time, you can sit in front of a different TV. And even if you did, you'd still turn to the Bears/Skins TV for the final drive. Coverage in your home is certainly a big problem with the NFL. That, and the inflexibility of the Mon. & Sun. night & Thanksgiving games. But the games themselves are not. I saw a much larger % of bad and uninteresting games in the NBA this year. Lots of great games too. But even the great games, i mostly picked up in the middle of the 4th quarter. The ENDS of close games are always interesting. If the Bobcats & Hawks are tied at 45 with 1 minute left and i stumble upon the game, i'll watch. But if I had no other viewing options for the first 47 minutes, i'd be pissed.

Don't forget that one of the big lures of the NFL is the gambling. There is no more exciting gambling than NCAA & NFL football. Gambling in the NFL is as healthy as ever. If you have zero interest in gambling, you may not love football.

S - i think you're rationalizing this "good/bad team" thing a little too much. bad teams are bad teams. they don't become "good teams" just because there are worse teams. they are "better than the bad teams" which really doesn't say much. what's the worst conference in the ncaa? let's just say one of the black ones is. none of the teams are really that good. in fact, in a general sense, you could say they're all really bad teams. however, just because one of them has to win and goes 8-2, do they automatically become a "good" team? no, they still stink. it's just that their competition was even worse. based on your logic, all the teams could be awful, yet because they have to play each other and because someone has to win they become "good". you're working on comparisons and bell curves. i'm telling you the play and talent level stink. bad teams are bad teams no matter who they play. they're still bad.

culpepper stinks and has always stunk. stats be damned. they're only good for fantasy, and by the same logic, brett favre's game against the browns was exceptional, even though they lost to the browns. you know how i know culpepper stinks? he never wins in the big games. his teams collapse down the stretch. you could put up great stats against a bunch of retards, but that doesn't make you a great qb. and let's be honest, the bears for the last few years might've well as been retards.

i also think it's a rash overstated generalization to say that nba players "slack off" more than their nfl counterparts. sure the guaranteed contracts mean something, but most of the time the nfl bonus money is such that teams can't cut players anyway. but don't tell me players don't slack off in the nfl. randy moss walked off the field last year. terrel owens tanked his last year in san fran. many lineman (as pointed out by tmq himself) become turnstiles as soon as the game starts. yeah, for each of them there's a derick coleman in the nba collecting $12 mil/year but it's not like they don't exist in the nfl. the entire redskins team quit on steve spurrier 2 years in a row. that's a whole team "slacking off". so yeah, i think it's a generalization that is unfair and wrong. plus, it plays to the awful
stereotype of the "thuggish, doesn't care about anyone, nigger" that apparently dominates the nba. it's racist and wrong to make those assumptions. and it's even worse to perpetrate them on a website as popular as nfl.com.

i think the fact that i don't gamble also keeps my interest in the nfl down. but really, when your sport's popularity is based on degenerates doing something illegal in most states, well, then there's something wrong with your sport.

Y - I don't think it's a generalization nor is it racist. While some star NFL players may slack off, only a handful have made that apparent. But in the NFL only elite players can get away with it at all! In the NBA, guys who are borderline NBA players end up with long term deals and hog up roster space. Also guys who are too old and would otherwise get cut get years on their contracts beyond their ability to play at a high level. If the NFL equivalent of Jerome James didn't play hard, he'd get cut in a heartbeat. Or if the NFL Austin Croshere didn't play well, he'd get cut too. But the real Jerome James is locked up for 6 years. The uber-elite NFL players constitute a massive cap hit when cut within 2 years of the deal. But essentially, most NFL contracts function for 3 "real" years anyway. So even if an NFL Croshere didn't live up to the contract, they could cut him and take the short-term hit at any time. But in the NBA, they can't clear him off the books for 6 years. Not only that, if an NFL Jerome James or Latrell Spreewell-type player "dogged it", the team would just suspend him and not pay him (in essence, "Keyshawn" him). So you really can't dog it too much.

It really isn't about race. I saw Blazers, Bobcats, and Hawks teams that quit 2/3 through the season with plenty of white guys. And there's been plenty of white busts on long term deals too. It's really an issue of money and job security. In the NBA, you generally make more money and it is more secure. In the NFL, you make less money and it is less secure, plus it's harder to get more money with the hard cap. In the NBA, you can play one good year at the end of your contract (or in James' case, 4 good games) and still get tons more cash. To suggest that this occurs equally in both leagues is foolish.

the popularity of MOST sports is based on something that's illegal in ALL states - steroids! without them, there wouldn't be nimble 300-pounders to play the O and D lines, nor tons of massiver homers, nor Shaq! gambling may be a degenerate activity, but it is not cheating!

S - it is a terrible generalization to say that nba players slack off while nfl counterparts don't. maybe it's because there are only 16 nfl games that people somehow believe everyone is giving their all. but they're not. you watch more than enough nfl games to see players slacking. so many of them just give up during the season. they give
up on their coach, their team, their teammates, everyone. it's a fact. i'm not saying that nba players don't as well, but claiming that you know percentages because you read tmq is silly.

and it is racist just becaus of the basis of the sentence. since you want to use bell curves, i'll use those overlapping "none, some, most, all" circles. and look at this like someone with no knowledge.

most nba players slack off. most nba players are black.

you make the connection.

plus, you're making a seperate argument. you're saying some players aren't worth the money they were given, which is true. but you also claim that all the players that make more than they're worth is because they don't give the effort, which is false. autin croshere was a big part of the larry bird coached teams in indiana. they signed him to a big contract. when isiah took over as coach, they redid the team and croshere was no longer a big part. yet it wasn't about effort, it was about talent. anytime croshere gets into the game he gives his all (as evidenced by his performance this past year). same with someone like greg buckner. he plays hard, he just wasn't talented. and both of those players are on playoff teams. so obviously those teams weren't hampered too much. it isn't a question of effort, it's of talent. meanwhile, warren sapp has neither the talent nor effort and still gets paid.

and you're again making generalizations about those teams. certainly josh smith, josh childress, and even antoine walker never quit last year. brevin knight, primoz, and emeka never quit. and you have no argument that joel przybilla quit. nor sebastian telfair. many players on those teams played hard till the end. just because theo ratliff decided he forgot how to play basketball doesn't mean the whole team quit. just because zach randolph re-inforces every stereotype doesn't mean his team quit. sure there were players on every team that quit and stopped giving effort. but look at both leagues as a whole, most professional athletes don't just quit no matter the sport. and i can almost guarantee that the percentages of "quitters" are the same. it isn't foolish to think that. it's naiveto think otherwise.

A Day of Carpetblogging

2005-09-05T11:23:00.000-04:00

Love For the Owls

As any regular reader should know, we here at A Fantasy Life hold the Temple Owl Basketball team, players, and alumni as the highest of the high. Temple Basketball was always the one team that I rooted for, and therefore it's always good to see some of them getting their just desserts. So it was with great joy this morning when I checked ESPN and saw Ric Bucher's article on former Temple Point Guard and current NBA journeyman Rick Brunson. Brunson was the point guard for the Owls teams that featured wing players Aaron McKie and Eddie Jones. Bucher details Brunson's constant effort to remain as an NBA player. Take a look, it's a good read.

Every Year It's the Same Thing

I don't know when sportswriters will get it. Somehow everyone knows not to mention a no-hitter during a game. But sportswriters will never learn not to mention how good Ken Griffey, Jr. looks. It's amazing and made even worse because somehow the guy's always on my fantasy team. Last year, Griff had 20 homers before the All Star break and Eric Neel of Page 2 wrote an article talking about his great comeback. Then he blew out his knee. This year, he'd made it even longer, taking a +.300 BA and 35 home runs into September. Then Jerry Crasnick decided to write an article extolling the virtues of Griffey. Last night, Griffey left the Reds' game in the 12th inning with a sprained foot and is out day-to-day. Not only that, but it's the first week of the playoffs and I could really use the guy in my lineup. Thanks Jerry.

Naive Morning Quarterback

Gregg Easterbrook, known as TMQ (Tuesday Morning Quarterback) on NFL.com is a very popular football writer. He uses a great deal of humor, pop culture references, and science stories to spice up perhaps the longest weekly football article to be found on the internet. However, as entertaining as he can be, it's also a little bit infuriating to read. Easterbrook has gone on record with his article blasting both baseball and basketball, talking about how they are poorly run and poorly played. Then he will go on extolling the virtues of football in all ways, with never a bad thing to say. And every once in a while it makes him sound like an idiot. So this year, I will be going out of my way to point out any idiotic statements TMQ makes. This past's week's was a pretty good one.

In it, Easterbrook was speaking of the growing weight problems exemplified by NFL starting lineman and said...

Pro football players gain muscle mass by relentless pumping of iron and by force-feeding themselves steaks, tuna, protein shakes; steroids are not a factor, as the NFL tests for them regularly. Via weight lifting and heroic eating, bulk can be gained the old-fashioned way, without drugs.

Which is naive if only because recently 5 members of the Super Bowl Runner Up Carolina Panthers were caught as to having steroid subscriptions, but also because John Welbourn, a member of the Kansas City Cheifs offensive line (whom TMQ has many times applauded) was suspended for 4 games for failing the NFL's Steroid Policy.

So a special note to Mr. Easterbrook, it's OK if you want to be a football fan. It's another to be naive and stupid. For further articles, please do your research, I'm watching you.

I Guess It's Time to Be the Dissenting Opinion Again...

2005-08-29T19:02:00.000-04:00

So, it was announced today that the Denver Broncos will cut Maurice Clarett. Clarett, the enigma that helped Ohio State win a National Title, then tried to enter the NFL before spending 3 years out of high school (the NFL rule), was the 3rd Round Draft choice of the Broncos in this past year's draft. It was highly thought amongst experts that Clarett in Round 3 was a bit of a stretch, but with their history with running backs, and the knowledge that their next pick was in Round 6, Denver took a chance on him. Today's cut makes all those experts smile.

I'm not sure why, all they did was predict the downfall of a confused 21 year old man. Now, let's not dwell on what may or may not have happened at Ohio State, whether or not Clarett was given cars and money, whether or not he ever went to class. Instead what we should look at now is how he was summarily disregarded by everyone related to the NFL and the possibility that this cut was just part of a massive blacklist against Clarett.

Obviously everything written here is just my opinion, I have no proof that the NFL would blacklist Clarett, just speculation. Admittedly, Clarett did not perform well in this, his rookie camp, and didn't make it past #4 on the depth chart. But here's the thing to remember, the kid hasn't played football or even really practiced football in over 2 years. What was expected from him? Did Mike Shannahan think he was going to get a superstar who could put on pads in game situation for the first time in years and be productive? I would hope he's smarter than that. But the saddest thing about all of this is that not only did no one give him his chance in the right way, but it seems like everyone is happy that he failed.

Here is a kid who challenged the system. He challenged a rule (that in my opinion is wrong), intially won, then had the had the ruling reversed. The NFL did not want this kid in the league. He didn't play by the rules and they needed to make an example of him. Not one member of the NFL media truly came out on his side. Not one of them thought he would be successful in the NFL. So what happens to Clarett? He ends up getting drafted at a position that everyone seems to agree is too high for him. But he gets taken by a Running Back Factory, where no matter who gets the ball, it seems like they end up with a 1500 yard season (and a career ending knee injury), so it's easily the best place for him to go right? Well, not when the team has 4 other backs who have each spent time as an NFL team's feature back. And people wonder why he couldn't crack the top 4. HE HASN'T PLAYED FOOTBALL IN 2 YEARS!!! I don't understand how anyone could have drafted him and not realized that he was going to need a little extra time. Even worse for him now, is that teams will look at his inability to learn and get back into football mode quickly in Denver and think he'll never be able to get it. This is a kid who deserves a chance, he deserves some time.

And if he fails with the proper chances, THEN people can talk about how much he sucks.

The List Returns.

2005-08-25T21:06:00.000-04:00

So I was sitting around trying to think of something to post about this week. And I thought and I thought. All I succeeded in doing was hurting my head. Thinking is not fun. So during a week where nothing of importance happened (and yes, that includes the much anticipated injury to Correll Buckhalter), I decided to pull out an old favorite. So, for the first time since before the baseball season started, it's time to pull out the...

MLB Players Who Get Manlove List

5. Shawn Chacon, SP, NYY - I guess leaving Colorado really is helpful for pitchers. The Yankees were desperate for starting pitching and took a chance on the pitcher known as Shaq. Unlike his namesake playing basketball for Miami, Chacon was wallowing trying to pitch in Colorado. Somehow since coming to the Yankees, Chacon is 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. I doubt it'll last long, but for right now Shawn Chacon gets some manlove. If you were somehow as deperate as the Yankees with your fantasy team and added Chacon when he came over you really lucked out. Enjoy it while it lasts.

4. Placido Polanco, 2B, Det. - Everyone knew Polanco could play. The problem was that the Phillies were tied to Chase Utley at 2B and David Bell at 3B, so they had to move Polanco. Detroit gladly accepted him. Since coming over to Detroit Polanco has not stopped hitting. He's batting over .350 since joining the Tigers (.365 in the last month with 14R and 12 RBIs). If the rest of the team could get on base more often he'd be even more valuable. But for now, enjoy his tremendous BA and give him some manlove.

3. Jeff Francoeur, OF, Atl - I didn't even know who this guy was until Tim Keown mentioned him in an article a few weeks ago. Not sure how I missed him because no one else did. All he does is hit. Boy is absolutely amazing. In the last month he's batting .355 with 23R, 7HR, and 22RBIs. Not only that but he has the speed that people are predicting 30-30 possibilities for him. It must be said that he never takes a pitch and strikes out a whole lot. So the thought that he's going to bat .355 forever is a little silly. But he gets some manlove now and there is the potential that he'll be getting it for many more years.

2. Gary Matthews, Jr. OF, Tex. - He's got great genetics and all the tools. But amazingly, for as long as he's been in the league, the only time I've heard his name on Sportscenter or in the paper was when he was making a great catch in the field or getting cut. Seems he's finally found a home, because in the last month Gary is on fire. He's batting .327 with a 1.051 OPS, 9HRs, 19R, and 20RBIs, and is ranked in the top 10 amongst American League batters. He always got it because of his father's connection to Philly, but now he's earning his manlove with his bat.

1. David Wright, 3B, NYM - I just plain love this guy. I mean, he's just amazing. Batting .380 (!!!) in the last month with 6HRs, 6SBs, 24R, and 31RBIs, Wright is unstoppable. He's so good that he's ranked #1 in my NL-only league for that time period. On the season he's batting over .300 with 80+ R and RBIs and even 14 SBs. And even though it pains me to do put a Met #1 on any list, I can't deny David Wright his spot on the Manlove list.

Amnesty National...

2005-08-20T12:52:00.000-04:00

So It's Amnesty Week in the NBA, and all teams in the association have this one time chance to rid themselves of one bad contract. Marc Stein of ESPN has written all about the rules of the Amnesty Clause, but the main point is that this cut will not affect the team's Salary Cap total, but instead will prevent teams from having to pay the dollar for dollar luxury tax. Most of the casualties of the Amnesty Clause were well known in advance, but there were some surprises and it certainly leaves us with some interesting things to talk about.

So, um... Even Though This is My Party, I Still Can't Attend?

Ever since it was brought up as a possibility, this Amnesty Clause was refered to as the "Alan Houston Rule." Houston is generally considered to have the worst contract in the NBA, paying him somewhere around $20 million per year. Which is a lot for someone who's always hurt, can't play defense, and isn't even a starter anymore. Yet somehow, after the Amnesty Cut day, Alan Houston was still a member of the Knicks. As ESPN's Bill Simmons wrote, "only Isiah Thomas could screw up the Allan Houston Rule and waive someone other than Allan Houston." Instead the Knicks cut Jerome Williams, someone who hustles, rebounds, and plays defense the way new coach Larry Brown likes. I don't think anything could make me happier than watching the Knicks AND Larry Brown go down in flames this year.

Junk Yard Dog Should Set Up Shop In Philly

It may take a little more than the Sixers have left, and with the loss of Willie Green for (at least) the first half of the season the backcourt is more of a need than the frontcourt, but I would really like to see the Sixers put the rest of their FA money together and make Williams an offer. This is the type of player that would solidify the frontcourt. As mentioned above, he hustles, plays defense, and rebounds incredibly well. Aside from that, he is not foul, nor injury prone. On a frontline with Chris Webber's one knee, Rodney Rogers gut and errant shot, and two incredibly foul prone shot blocking centers, Williams would be a dependant source of minutes and contributions. He won't fill up the stat sheet, but you always know when the Junk Yard Dog is on the court.

It's Official - No More Owls

The Sixers made one cut with the Amnesty Clause as well, the expected cut of Aaron McKie. This is espeically sad since McKie is a Philly native who played his high school and college ball in the city. For years he was considered a bit of a draft day bust, until he came home and resurrected his career with the Sixers by winning the 6th Man of the Year Award. Here at A Fantasy Life we wish Aaron the best. It was rumored that the Nets were seriously looking to add McKie to their roster.

On a similar note - It was reported in the Inquirer today (registration required) that former Temple star David Hawkins has been one of the best performers in the recent Sixer's mini-camp. Hawkins is said to have made a good impression on new coach Mo Cheeks. With the aforementioned lack of depth in the backcourt, perhaps it would be nice to see Hawkins make the team. Last year he was the final player cut from the Houston Rockets, let's hope this year he makes it past that stage with the Sixers.

So Was There Anyone Important on the List?

With all this talk, it may seem like there was no one from these Amnesty Cuts who would make an impact anywhere. And mostly, that assumption would be correct. For the most part the players who were cut were old and unproductive. But there were a few "names" that ended up getting cut that teams have gone after. The biggest name to be cut was the Dallas Mavericks' Michael Finley. Finley has numerous suitors going after him. While he is getting up there in years, Finley is still a productive player and will assuredly end up on a championship contender. The Rumor has him going to either Detroit, Miami, or Phoenix.

Other name players who were cut were Doug Christie (from Orlando, already signed to Dallas), Brian Grant (cut from the Lakers and already signed to the Suns), and Derek Anderson (cut from Portland).

None of the names aside from Finley will make a real impact in the league or fantasy next year. The full list of players cut can be found here.

Another Season, Another Reason...

2005-08-11T20:22:00.000-04:00

Owls Are Now Officially an Endangered Species

What better way to start off this week's discussion than with some Sixers talk. But the news is bittersweet at best. Local product (and A Fantasy Life favorite) Marc Jackson was traded by the Sixers to conference foe New Jersey for a future 2nd round pick. Jackson was a big producer on last year's Sixers team, as a sometimes starting center and quality bench performer at both big positions. In only 24 minutes a game, Jackson produced to the tune of 12 pts and 5 rebounds. Even more importantly, he provided the Sixers with a solid low post scoring option that could almost get to the free throw line at will (almost 4.5 per game) and made 82% of them. It's even sadder because Jackson was only 1 of 2 Temple Owls on the Sixers, and with the Sixers expected to waive Aaron McKie with the Amnesty Clause, it appears we'll have none left soon.

Still, this was a move that needed to be made. With Chris Webber on the team, the Sixers really couldn't afford another big man with limited athleticism. When the two of them played together last year, the defense became incredibly slow in rotations. Between the two of them, they had no vertical leap and maybe one truly healthy knee. With the need to make Webber a bigger part of the team this year, the Sixers needed to improve their frontcourt athleticism and to make that happen Marc Jackson had to leave. It was glorious watching him play in front of the home town fans the past two years and here at A Fantasy Life we wish him the best. Just let it be said here first that they should have been able to get more from him and sending big men to your divisional foes is never a good idea.

So, How Long Do We Have to Wait for His Replacement?

Not long apparently. The Sixers have announced that they have signed the 7 foot tall (now) former Phoenix Sun, Stephen Hunter. This immediately improves the frontcourt athleticism, however it does come with its own inherent problems. The Sixers 3 major backcourt players now figure to be Webber, Dalembert, and Hunter. Webber is an incredible basketball player, but is known to be brittle. Dalembert is still very raw and prone to mistakes. And Hunter, who like Dalembert is a shot blocker, is also young and very prone to picking up fouls. In only 14 minutes per game last year, Hunter blocked 1.3 shots, but picked up 1.7 personal fouls. Anyone who has seen him play knows how energetic he can be. He runs the floor well and has a good defensive mind. If Mo Cheeks can get him to play under control, this could be a great signing. If Webber gets hurt and Dalembert stays raw and Hunter is still injury prone, they may have to move Kyle Korver to the 4.

Baseball Blurb

Normally I leave the Phillies ramblings to my buddy Jason Weitzel over at Beerleaguer, but it's been over a week and I still can't get the thought out of my head. Last Wednesday, the Phillies defeated the Chicago Cubs in a game in which their final offensive player in the bottom of the 9th inning struck out. That's right, it was a tie game when Pat Burrel stepped up to the plate. Then he struck out. Then they won. I guess a win's a win, but that's pushing it.

Wait Long Enough and It'll All Sort Itself Out

I have not mentioned the Terrell Owens vs. the Philadelphia Eagles saga yet here on this site. I've tried to stay away from discussing it. Really have, but the events of the last 2 days are taking it too far. Let it be said right now, I am pro-T.O. 100% behind him. Dude caught 150 yards worth of passes in the Super Bowl on a broken leg. The year before Donovan McNabb couldn't complete a pass against the Carolina Panthers with a broken rib. The guy deserves more money. He really does. But once again, the Eagles stubborn refusal to renegotiate contracts is causing problems. And now the one thing that they have been able to keep from causing a problem, namely the seperation of Andy Reid the coach with Andy Reid the vice-president, is getting in the way. Now Andy can't play the good guy anymore. He's the one who is has to deal with T.O. And T.O. won't forget that Andy is the one who won't give him the new contract when T.O. is at practice. So now everyone is backed into a corner because Andy couldn't handle T.O. anymore and sent him home.

So there's a few things that everyone needs to realize:

1. Most importantly, the Eagles have no depth at receiver. They have T.O. and that's it. With Todd Pinkston out (I'm reminded of that old tree falling in the woods analogy), and with no T.O. the depth chart reads: Greg Lewis, Billy McMullin, and Reggie Brown. Not exactly names that strike fear into the hearts of defenses. The Eagles either need T.O. or need to turn him into another receiver.
2. Andy must realize that T.O. doesn't play nice soldier. He will talk to the media (mostly because the media likes to talk to him). He will speak his mind. And he will make inciteful comments.
3. T.O. needs to realize that there is no other team in the NFL that will give him his money right now. Especially after this whole fiasco. It just won't happen. He's got to play out this year. It must be done. Right now no one remembers his amazing season, no one remembers his heroic Super Bowl performance. They only know him as the guy who practices by himself, doesn't talk to teammates, and won't sign autographs.
4. Drew Rosenhaus needs to realize what an ass he is making himself look like.

Is there an easy answer to this connundrum? Not at all. It's going to take until he catches his first touchdown pass for this to start blowing over. Because once you start performing again, everyone loves you.

You Hear That Last Line Raffy?

Rafael Palmiero is done serving his suspension. Period. Now all he has to handle are possible perjury charges. Period. Palmiero got caught lying and then lied some more about it. Period. At least now we know why he needed Viagra, all those steroids made him impotent. Period. Seriously dude, you have just gone from poster boy to laughing stock and no one likes you anymore. Period.

And Finally - You're Fired.

I once allowed Marc Rachild to provide a guest post with some fantasy football insight. No more. Not after he drafted Jake Plummer in the 7th round of a fantasty football draft ahead of Brett Favre, Carson Palmer, and Matt Hasselback. Of course, now in the week he plays me Jake will throw for 300+ and 4 tds.

Signing Day is Here!!

2005-08-02T17:52:00.000-04:00

Well, after numerous delays in finalizing the new NBA collective bargaining agreement, today is officially the day when free agents are allowed to sign their new contracts. There have been many free agents who have already agreed upon deals with their old or new teams. There's been a few interesting items that need to be mentioned, and now that people are allowed to sign, what better a time to discuss.

Slow Down There Willie...
As discussed here already, The Sixers had already agreed to terms with each of their restricted free agents. However, today provided an interesting dilemma as it was disclosed that Willie Green needs knee surgery. So while Willie Green was at the Press Conference today, he did not join Kyle Korver and Samuel Dalembert in signing their new contracts.

Why didn't Willie sign the contract? Well, it turns out he didn't pass the physical. At this point in time, I'd say it's fairly obvious that the Sixers will still honor Willie with his contract (despite the wishes of A Fantasy Life readers). They had planned on giving him a very expanded role under new coach Mo Cheeks, who, along with Allen Iverson and Billy King, expressed sympathy for Willie and hoped him the best.

Here at A Fantasy Life though, my optimism has been greatly diminished. Here is a player that everyone spoke highly of, that supposedly dealt positively with his role on the team last year, and as soon as the first signs appear that he's going to be an important part of the team, he makes a rash decision and hurts himself. One must wonder if Jim O'Brien actually had good reasons for keeping Willie on the bench.

Seriously Joe... The Hawks?!?!

OK, so Joe Johnson is seen as an important part of the winningest team in the NBA last season. In the offseason, the same team decides that they will do anything to resign Johnson. They trade away his 3-point shooting running mate (Quentin Richardson) to free up the money to resign him. The Atlanta Hawks took a chance and agreed to sign Johnson to a maximum contract, which the Suns had the chance to match to keep him. The Suns decided he was worth it and had planned on matching said maximum contract. So therefore, Joe Johnson, who was exiled from Boston for sucking, had the chance to make the most money he could AND play for a team many thought would be at the top of the Western Conference and what does he do? He does what no other player would do.

Johnson told the Suns he wanted to play for the Hawks. He wanted to leave a winning team where he would have to differ to talented players like Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire to join a perennial loser in Atlanta where he would be the star player. No one but Joe Johnson understands this decision. NO ONE. Atlanta has some good young players, but no one saw this as a team that was really on the rise. Based on the money they'll be paying him, Johnson is now undoubtedly "The Man" in Atlanta. He'll be asked to lead the youngsters into the playoffs and teach them how to win. To me it seems like a lot of money to be giving someone who has had his one season as a contributor to a winning team.

In terms of fantasy though, Johnson's move is wonderful news. He'll be asked to do the same things he did in Phoenix, just a lot more of them. Expect the only statistic to decrease to be his shooting percentage, because of the coming increase in his number of shots. Johnson now goes from a 6th rounder to a 3rd or 4th rounder, with the potential to put up top 20 numbers.

Where's the Dap for the Baby Bulls?

Honestly, Joe Johnson gets a max deal from the Hawks and Tyson and Eddy can't get a sniff of a deal? How does this make sense? Tyson and Eddy are two of the best young big men and were integral parts of the Bulls success last year. Eddy can be a dominating low post offensive force, and Tyson's easily one of the best post defenders in the league. Now I can see how Eddy's heart problems would give some teams worry towards giving him a long term and big money deal, but Tyson led the league in 4th quarter blocks and rebounds.

This is one of those situations where it seems like the Bulls are scaring other teams away from making offers to these two youngsters by promising to match any deal. It seems that Tyson is almost guaranteed to return to Chicago. At this point, it's about 50/50 that I'll be forced to buy a new Eddy Curry jersey.

Guess Who's Back?

2005-07-27T19:28:00.000-04:00

So, as you could probably tell by the sudden lack of posting (a quick "Thank You" to Joel Wertman for the upkeep), The Stu has successfully returned from his trip to Israel. It was a great and glorious trip that will be discussed below. But first, two other recent events require some quick notation, because apparently, when you leave the world for a month it doesn't stop for you.

The Polling Officially Ends

The Sixers Free Agent Poll is still up but is a moot point now. It has been announced that the Sixers have signed not one, not two, but all 3 of their free agents. According to A Fantasy Life readers, Samuel Dalembert was the most important of the three free agents, winning the poll.

Here are the final results:
Dalembert - 11 votes
Korver - 3 votes
Green - 0 votes

Willie Green wasn't exactly popular with the readers here, but I guess that Mo Cheeks and Billy King saw something different. It will be interesting to see if Cheeks gives Green substantially more playing time than Jim O'Brien. The nicest part about these signings is that the Sixers have finally begun to lock up their young players. No longer do we have Larry Brown trading everyone for old, role playing hard-nosed veterans. The biggest problem with these signings? None of the players has consistently performed at a high level. Dalembert has worked his way in and out of the lineup, but showed that he can be a real force in the playoffs against Detroit. Korver showed he can shoot the lights out at times, but truly disappeared in the playoffs when the team needed him most. And Willie Green showed some great scoring touch when he stood in for A.I., but really needs to improve his range to behind the 3 point line to prove he can play in the same backcourt with him. Here's hoping it will be worth it.

Speaking of Larry Brown

Note to New York - Best of luck. He'll stay around just long enough to be the darling of the town, trade away all the assets (OK, so you may not have to worry about that part) to put the team into a win now, lose in 2 years situation, and then decide he can't do it anymore and leave. At least it's fun while it lasts. Congrats.

And About That Coaching Debut

Well, I wish I could write that I single handedly lead every American Judo competitor to a medal winning performance. Well, I can almost make that claim.

The American Maccabiah Judo team performed well in salvaging some pride. But it's a shame that they had to salvage it at all. In the first day of Open Individual competition, we only ended up with only 2 players fighting for bronze medals. And neither won. It was dismal and somewhat embarrassing. However, as mentioned, this was a team that showed they did have heart. On the second day which consisted of team competition, the Americans came out with something to prove. And while they couldn't defeat either the Israeli National Team (ranked #4 in Europe) or the Russians, they fought valiantly against the Argentinians and Brazilians and came home with a team bronze medal.

As for the Junior team I was coaching, things went well. The juniors were not involved in the team competitions and they fought for individual medals on the second day of competition. And both of my kids made me proud with their performances. The one boy on the team, Zach Kransdorf, lost both of his fights in his first real international competition, but he fought hard and showed that he just might have what it takes to win something here next time. And the one girl on the team, Cleo Grinsberg, managed to be the only American to win a medal in individual competition. All in all it was a successful trip, and I would proudly do it again.

Top Ten Sports Towns (Part III)

2005-07-19T20:35:00.000-04:00

January 4, 1986.
This was the day that I achieved social consciousness as a sports fan; the 1985 AFC Divisional playoff game. On one hand was the much maligned 8-8 Cleveland Browns winners of the AFC Central Division behind a pair of 1000 yard backs and a rookie QB named Kosar who happened to play high school football about 5 minutes from my house. The host team was the defending AFC champion Miami Dolphins lead by Dan Marino just one season removed from his legendary 48 TD season. This wasn't my first football game. I have photographic proof of attending a Browns-Redskins game in 1985 but I don't remember it. I do remember being told that the Browns couldn't win and that it was just great to actually make the playoffs.

Everyone points to the Drive and the Fumble as cornerstone gut wrenching moments in Cleveland sports history. Others point to the shot by Michael Jordan over the out stretched arms of Craig Ehlo or Jose Mesa blowing the lead in the bottom of the ninth of game seven of the world series. For me, I was prepared for these moments because my first real sports moment was so traumatizing.

Led by a huge effort by Earnest Byner, the Browns sprinted to a 21-3 halftime lead before collapsing and losing 24-21....about a month later star safety Don Rogers died of a cocaine overdose.

The only moment that could eclipse all other heartbreak was the evil of Art Modell, a man who has not been to Cleveland in ten years because of death threats. Seriously. As a testament to his misdeeds, Modell will never make the pro football hall of fame despite being one of the most influential owners in NFL history. In the infamous 1995 season, the Browns sprinted to a 3-1 start before Modell announced that the Browns were Baltimore bound. The Belichick led squad (always in disarray) then collapsed (again) for another losing season. Years later it would be debatable whether it was more painful to see Art Modell win the Super Bowl or Belichick become the greatest coach of all time. It is the response of Cleveland fandom to the move that is the single most significant reason why Cleveland is the greatest sports town in America. Browns nation marched on Capitol Hill to try and prevent the move. The NFL was petitioned to guarantee that the colors, stats, and history of the Cleveland Browns would never travel to Baltimore. That is why the leading rusher in Browns history is Jim Brown and the leader for Balti is Jamal Lewis. By comparison, Warren Moon has the most TD passes in Tennesse Titans history. No fandom has ever gone to such lengths.

In the interim, the Indians managed to set the alltime MLB record for consecutive sellouts. The Tribe sold out every seat in the stadium for 5 consecutive years...before the season ever started. The next closest streak isn't even half that number.

Cleveland's sports complex is a sight to behold and a veritable instruction manual as to how the stadiums can revitalize an entire downtown area with the blossoming of bars, restaurants, and shops stretching from the playing fields like tentacles through the city streets. Never has sports meant so much to one city. Cleveland is a city with virtually no jobs and no city living as those on the coasts know it. Yet, the fans keep coming. The fans keep believing. It's defiance of reason. It's the reason why every Browns fans will argue that Bernie Kosar was the greatest QB of his era. It is why we are ready to go to the mat when someone even implies that Lebron would consider leaving C-town.

Detractors? Okay. No hockey? Possibly not even a sport and noone had hockey last year anyway. No titles in any sport since 1964? A badge of honor that will never be understood by spoiled Boston fans who whined about the Red Sox amidst Patriot dominance and the shadow of 16 NBA titles.

Cleveland is sports for the truest of fans. Sports define C-town and its populace like no other city. No city will ever appreciate a title (any title) more. C-town is sports and everything that is right about it. There are no bandwagons only diehards. The undisputed greatest fanbase in all of American sports, and in this jaded poll, the greatest sports town bar none.

Top 10 Sports Towns (Part II)

2005-07-16T07:20:00.000-04:00

On a quick tangent, big ups to the Cavaliers for winning the Las Vegas summer pro league championship with a perfect 6-0 record. It's easy to dismiss these summer leagues as useless. After all, Michael Jordan even asked Sidney Dean to play summer pro league. Sidney and Billy Ho could barely beat King and the Duck who were like 40. However, you always see an interesting name pop up. The Cavs were excited about a pair of undrafted (for various reasons) PGs in John Gilchrist and John Lucas III. Bottom line, Gilchrist doesn't play nice with others and I'm pretty sure Lucas is 5 foot 3. Out of nowhere comes Blake Steepe from Gonzaga to hit 50% of his three pointers. The Cavs need shooters. This could become relevant. You should know this.

Anyway, back to the list:

#6 Oakland

The birthplace of moneyball. And before that, the A's of the early 70s and late 80s were two of the most dynamic teams in MLB history. Huge bonus points for the mental image of Hammer dancing outside the ballpark for Charlie Finley. (Wow, Hammer references in back to back posts.) The black hole is the best NFL venue and Al Davis might be Nosferatu. The Raiders are probably the most famous NFL franchise in the world, although some of this phenomena can be traced to gangsta rap. Nonetheless, credit is due. As Snoop would say, "what east coast ain't got no love." The Warriors...well, they aren't much to get excited about since Run TMC broke up.

On yet another side note, the Snoop quote from the Source awards at the height of bi-coastal rapper tension has got to be the 2nd greatest moment in rap history. Don't forget that he was pointing a diamond encrusted cane at a hostile NYC crowd when he was making those comments.

#5 Indianapolis

Yea, I said it. Notwithstanding the disaster this past year where noone wanted to participate, I already mentioned that Indy get bonus points for the 500; one of America's greatest singular annual events. More importantly, this is Hoosier country. The bread basket of basketball. It tops NYC. It tops DC. It tops them all. On the pro tip, the Pacers pack 'em in and they are vocal fans. Really, Indy could survive on hoops alone but it also has the NFL's poster child playing QB for the Colts. No, not Jim Sorgi. Indy does lose some points for stealing it's NFL team....although, in retrospect, screw Baltimore.

#4 Pittsburgh

I hate frickin' Pittspuke. I do. It's in my blood but you gotta give it up when the giving it up time has gone. They do it right. The Pirates are a NL original and, despite their many faults, have one of the best ballparks around. It's a huge hockey town helped in no small part by the 2nd greatest one, Mario Lemieux.

I refuse to wax poetic about the greatness of Steeler nation. However, I will always remember that from 1996-1998, the Pittsburgh Steelers chose one home game a year and designated it as Cleveland Browns day. On that day, Browns fans were welcomed into 3 Rivers Stadium. They didn't need the ticket sales, that place has been sold out since Terry Bradshaw got drafted. And that is possibly the classiest move in NFL history.

#3 Detroit

Jason Whitlock at ESPN wrote a great article about Detroit being sports town USA. He doth protest too much but his points are valid. I believe in Hockey Town, Denny McClain, Sparky Anderson, the Bad Boys, Barry Sanders, "Paper Tiger," and Ford Field.

So, are were starting to pick up on something here. There are a number of poor, rust belt Midwest cities which are constantly dismissed and derided by the media. These towns don't just watch sports, they consume sports to survive because there is simply nothing else. Is that sad? I don't know. I guess it depend on how important you believe that sports should be in a person's life. It depends on whether or not you believe that your love for sports can define you as a human being. There are entire cities that feel that way and credit is due. The best example is still to come before a quick digression to the greatest east coast sports town:

#2 Illidelphia

Philadelphia can tie its bad fortune to a title drought which began when Dr. J trimmed the afro. Long and painful it may be but the Ill lacks stand out heartbreaking moments to really punctuate the despair. The fandom is top notch all the way around. You can't walk anywhere in the city, any time of year without hearing an E-A-G-L-E-S chant. They take it on the road, too. Although, that chant can lead to an ass whupping or two. I mean if one were to theorectically start the chant in a blue collar Cleveland bar. I do wonder how many chants were going on when Rich "the brain" Kotite was calling the shots. They'd have been better off with Rich Little.

How about signature events? Wing Bowl. A blog post can never do it justice. The most repulsive, wonderful spectacle that you'll ever see. Then there's the annual AI brush with the DA's office. By the way, the new ballparks are all outstanding.

I won't go much further on that as I might could speculate that the Stu would want to refute my top ranking with yarns of Philly lore. So, I leave it for another day and another voice. I can promise that the third and final installment of this ranking will be the story of the greatest sports town in America. Until.

TOP 10 Sports Town (Part I)

2005-07-13T18:24:00.000-04:00

First off, was anyone else shocked to find out that Balki from Perfect Strangers is a really creepy dude? I wasn't aware that the Republic of Miopos allowed liberal super-model groping. What would cousin Larry think? On the plus side, Peppa is the early leader for the individual whose public image is actually helped by their appearance on the Surreal Life following in the footsteps of Hammer, Peter Brady, and Ponch from CHIPs.

Anyway, I wanted to put binary code to blog post about my take on the best sports towns in America. The impetus for this post is the heavy east-coast bias when these ranking are normally compiled by the super computer that drives the left wing media. I'm pretty sure it's the same super computer than Richard Pryor built in Superman III. As one example of its evil, the Sporting News produces a nauseating list every year or so that normally derides the Midwest and ranks DC, NYC, Boston, Baltimore, and Atlanta in the top 5 spots. Some people and super computers are just dumb.

What Richard Pryor's Super Computer fails to recognize is what makes a great sports town is great sports fans. Okay. There are many other important aspects but the most important will always be knowledgeable, loyal, and enthusiatic fans. Hence, you will not see LA, Atlanta, Miami, or the home of the worst sports fans in America Today...Boston. Sorry, Sully.

Another problem with these lists is that they often create mega-cities like New York Jersey and Oakla-Frisco which is ridiculous. Sorry NYC, you don't have an NFL team and it will cost you a few notches.

Now the other important factors; tradition, current franchises, stadium experiences, sympathy, and the existence of miscellaneous events (like Indianapolis get bonus points for the 500). Part I:

#10 New York

As with many things, NYC as a sports town is a little overblown but clearly one of the top dogs around. The fans do go to the ballparks but it's a little deceiving with a metro area of 10 million plus. In truth, the fans are a little overrated and hampered by the presence of celebs. Side note, celebs are almost always points off because most don't even watch the game or think intelligently about it. Do you think you could have an intelligent conversation with Woody Allen about the Knicks? Guess what, Lebron isn't coming to NYC to become a bigger star. He is somehow the biggest star in American sports even living in podunk Ohio.

The big attraction to NYC is the tradition. There wasn't a greater moment in the history of baseball then the Giants, Dodgers, and Yanks all roaming NYC. Imagine taking part in some of those arguments. By the way, the answer is Willie Mays and you better know the question if you're on this blog. Then there's CCNY, the only school to win the NIT and NCAA basketball tourney in the same year. Yankee tradition is unsurpassed in all of sports. MSG is everything they say it is... I could go on but I won't because we'll lose sight of some important things.

NYC loses points because it tries to piggyback into the NFL. Thou shalt not prosper when you send 2 NFL teams away because you don't have land for a stadium (subject to revision if the Jets invade Manhattan). Also, big ups to the evil empire because everyone loves a great villain.

#9 Minneapolis

Is there a better mascot than the guy who dresses up like Erik the Red and sounds the Viking horn? Is there a more underrated baseball landmark than the baggy in the homer dome? Can I get some love for KG, Frank Tarkenton, Kirby Puckett, and Prince, eh?

#8 Chicago

Chi-town rocks legit mid-west style. A Bears game in the elements at Soldier Field is the toppest of notches. Eagles fans still whine about the Fog Bowl. Relax. Randall will always be the best ever in Tecmo Super Bowl. Really, the only knock on Chicago is the whiny baseball fans. I get it. You haven't won a world series in almost century. Hopefully, you were tided over by Michael Jordan and the 6 NBA titles. Heck, the '85 Bears were probably the best combo ever of fun and dominance.

#7 Houston

Of course, the football fans in Texas are rabid. I even like (sort of) that repulsive airplane hangar (sort of) that the Texans play in (sort of). It's still not as a great as the Astro Dome covered in Oiler blue but it'll do in a pinch. Minute Maid (baseball) is probably the most beautiful ballpark that I've ever seen. Perfect blending of stadium with surroundings and I can't recommend enough the baked potato that they fill with BBQ. That one puts Boog's in Balti to shame. Rockets and Astros fans don't get their proper due either. On the downside, tradition here is a little thin given that pro sports never really hit Houston until the 60s.

On the way, part II features six through two....

Random Thoughts for a Sunday

2005-07-10T08:50:00.000-04:00

By now, you should have figured out that I try to use gimmicks to mask the fact that my posts evidence my tendency towards attention deficit disorder. And so it continues...

Next week begins ESPN's annual coverage of the World Series of Poker. I'm not sure when it happened but my interest has clearly waned over the last few years. Maybe it was the influx of successful internet amateurs (Moneymaker), maybe it was the success of Hollywood actors (Affleck and Jennifer Tilley?), maybe it was the overexposure of the product beyond the world series itself (Celebrity Poker, tourneys on the Travel Channel, books, dvds, specials). Bottom line is that the world series has ceased to be a special once-a-year happening. Last year in particular really rubbed me wrong. For example, the delightfully entertaining Sammy Farha (fresh off a runner-up showing the previous year) was continually roused and annoyed at the opening tables by asinine amateurs and internet players. The whole table ganged up on him and tried to be the one who took him out. He was taken out. It was like watching AI lose a one on five game against a bunch of jack knobs from Bucks County. The real problem with poker is that the luck of the draw dictates that a fairly knowledgeable amateur can beat the best in the world if the planets align correctly. It happens, too. Chris Moneymaker was really an awful poker player who won the WSOP after he chased every piece of garbage and somehow kept willing the cards with Jedi mind tricks. This actuality is the very reason why the game needs to be shut off from the internet nerds and amateurs who expose the weaknesses in the game. The bar none best televised poker of 2004 was the table of champions special which featured the 10 most recognizable names of the sport. That was great but that will never happen as long as amateur night continues.

It looks like the NHL is set to return. As this is not really my blog, I should mention that hockey has never been recognized as an official sport in the land of Stu. Notwithstanding, a few sentences won't hurt anyone other than emotionally and psychologically which should be open season anyway. Hockey for me really peaked with the release of NHL '95 for Sega Genesis. It's all been downhill since then. I feel dirty saying this while I live in a huge hockey town like the Illadelph but the game just doesn't appeal to a wide audience. Like most casual observers, I love to watch hockey live and can't stand it on TV which is a sure-fire recipe for disaster. I also have this overriding guilty feeling that Canada's national sport and greatest claim to fame features an NHL where 80% of the teams are American with many teams in ridiculous geographic spots; two Florida teams, Phoenix, Dallas. The pro beach volleyball tour doesn't stop in Winnipeg. I have my doubts that the NHL can achieve the 4th rate status it enjoyed before the last labor stoppage. It's only a matter of time before it's overtaken by soccer, the X-games, rodeo, hackey-sack, boogie boarding, thumb wrestling, and 43 man squamish. (And if anyone can place that last cultural reference, you'll win my undying respect)

I want to talk about the recent free agent signings but I also want to prove to myself that I can post at least once without an extended take on the NBA. Instead, I smell the All-Star break for MLB. First off, screw the game. Don't try to convince me that this means something by putting the world series home field advantage into play. Lame idea. Maybe the team with the better record should have the advantage so that we might justify the 162 game schedule that the teams bother to play every year? It does afford us a breather to reassess for the 2nd half. I won't bother with the NL because it's basically St. Louis and a bunch of bottom feeders. In fact, St. Louis would probably be about the 5th best team in the AL. The most intriguing issue is the AL wildcard which should be a war to the end between the Twins, Yanks, Indians, A's (they'll come back), Tigers (maybe), and Orioles (unlikely). Of the top 3 contenders, the Erie Warriors are at the distinct disadvantage because they've never been in the hunt before and the team is probably a year off from seriously contending. Although, I must say it was probably more fun to be right this season about Grady Sizemore and Jhonny Peralta than it was to be right about Hafner and Martinez last season. I'm rolling. Keep an eye out for Ryan Garko (1B) and Brandon Phillips (2B) for next season.
So, we have Twins and Yankees in a realistic world. My heart says twins while my mind says Yankees especially if NY poneys up for an actual center fielder (which I'm sure they will). Is anyone else concerned that Johan Santana lost his domination elixer? Or that the left side of the Twins infield is manned by Zack and Slater. Too many questions v. too much ego/money equates to yet another year with the Yanks in the playoffs. In the words of Pedro Martinez, "no me gusta."

Big 5 Word Association or "Did you kill Travis Brickley?"

2005-07-07T19:56:00.000-04:00

Game time. In a nod to the Illadelph, it's time to play "Big 5" word association. 5 topics (NBA, MLB, NFL, college, and miscelaneous), 5 associations, and 5 commentaries thereon. Hit it.

1. NBA
Michael Redd:typical
There was an extra $20 million on the table to shun the Cavs and stay a Buck. He took the cash. They all take the cash unless we're talking title-less stars on their last legs like the Mail Man or Chuck Barkley. By the way, AI will be the next guy to do that tango. Redd's signing all but guarantees that he will be booed lustily twice a year at the Gund because C-town never forgets. This will also tell you a lot about Lebron. Does Lebron get the assassin attitude and make a point of crushing Redd every chance he gets? Where do the Cavs go from here? I'm anti-Larry Huge. Great player, wrong fit for the Cavs because he can't shoot straight. Bobby Simmons?

2. NFL
Kyle Boller:blameworthy
I've been itching to bandy about some football talk. Let's start with my favorite whipping boy, the man who will single handedly crash the loaded Ravens humvee into the 9-7 median. Say this five times so you'll remember: this guy is an INconsistent QB. Don't pick him for your fantasy league. Don't pick him for the QB challenge in Hawaii. Don't pick him for the salmon toss in a Seattle fish market. Sure, the football through the goal post from mid-field on bended knee was a great parlor trick worthy of a Power Ade commercial. To the real, it's only a matter of time before he skips 'em low, flings 'em high, and everyone stacks the line against the Rat -Birds' parolee tailback.

3. MLB
Derek Jeter:justified
The Yankees deserve to be smacked whenever possible. I was overjoyed to see this guy miss out on the all-star team. I am the first to admit that dude is legit; close to .400 OBP this season. However, you can't justify all these damn Yanks on the all-star team when they're playing mediocre ball. Who better to dine on a large plate of come-uppance than the face of the franchise. Two words: Suck it.

4. College
Greg Oden:intriguing
For those who don't know, Oden is the 7 foot Indiana high school phenom widely regarded as the obvious #1 overall pick in the last NBA draft...except for the fact that he's a 16 year old that just finished his junior year. With his choice of any school and an almost divine destiny to attended IU, he and teammate Mike Conley (son of the gold medal winning triple jumper) select Ohio State. Huh? You mean the program that was on probation last year? Being Buckeye bred, I am both shocked and overjoyed. How did Indiana screw this up? How did coach Thad Matta pull this off? This warrants its own column. Now consider this. Ohio school boy legend OJ Mayo just completed his sophomore year. This guy is an absolute freak of nature and reportedly dominates every summer camp across the nation. He's also a reported early lean to OSU. Dream with me for a second; Oden stays for 2 years, Mayo picks OSU and you're looking at a Buckeye title run in the 2008 tourney. Mark it.

5. Miscellaneous
Chris Penn:underappreciated
This topic pops to mind since the Stu is off coaching martial arts in the middle east. Seriously. One of Chris Penn's greatest roles was as Texas karate champion Travis Brickley in the two "Best of the Best" flicks. We'll all mourn his premature death to Braccus at the Coliseum after one of the classic trash talks of all time:

Braccus - You got a big mouth, boy.
Travis - Yea, and a big everything else.

Awesome. At any rate, Penn is far superior to his overrated lunatic brother and a true money player in every movie he's ever been in regardless of the size of his role or the type of movie. Consider: Reservoir Dogs, Footloose, Rumblefish, Starsky & Hutch. Anyway, let's isolate on Best of the Best. He played a fat cowboy as a believable world class karate fighter. Simply put, a startling achievement. I want to see him do a bio-pic of Rodney Dangerfield. Clearly, the only man capable of pulling off this daunting task. I'm rolling with C-Penn until the wheels fall off.

until.

Free Agency Primer

2005-07-04T09:51:00.000-04:00

Here we go with two straight NBA columns. It is what it is and I gotta touch on the hot topics before they cool. I might also disclaim at the outset that the first extended wave of Cleveland (hereafter known as "C-Town") rants/examinations is cresting as you read.

The Cavaliers are the focal point of free agency this season; the axis upon which the landscape of the NBA could change. This is a stunning turn of events as the most significant free agent signing in Cavs history was Gerald Wilkins. The resources (money, respect, locale) have never been in the favor of the swashbuckiling sons of the Cuyahoga River. Can Lebron James and $28 million turn the tide? Cautious optimism abounds as the Cavs try to swipe an off guard from someone's roster. The Cavs max contract offer will be 5 years at about $70 million. The sticking point for many free agents is the extra guaranteed year and slightly more cash that their current team can offer. The best example of the impact of the extra year is Webber re-upping with the Kings after ragging California's capital city for about a year.

Hence, Ray Allen probably won't come to Cleveland. Ray-Ray is 30 years old and the extra year will be important to him as he's probably running on fumes by the end of his deal. Side note, I actually saw Ray in Vegas two days after the Sonics were eliminated from the playoffs. The kind of man who immediately runs off to Sin City likely won't be interested in the Ohio scene. It might be a different story if I saw Ray-Ray hunting deer.

Michael Redd is the best choice (albeit not the best player) to play second fiddle to Basketball Jesuz. Let me count the ways: 1) Ohio native; 2) OSU star; 3) still young with possibility of another max contract in five years; 4) humble guy who won't mind deferring to Lebron; 5) obvious missing piece to Cavs starting lineup; and 6) potential for things heretofore missing in his career, namely endorsements and playoff games.

Is Redd the missing piece? Pippen to Lebron's Jordan? It's an interesting argument and the prospect of such "should" be more enticing than being committed to basketball purgatory in Wisconsin for the next 6 years. The Cavs can offer the likely best player in the world for the next 10 years. The Bucks can offer Rony Seikley and Bobby Hurley, err, I mean Bogut and TJ Ford. So, it's legacy v. cash.

Where does this leave the other prominent free agent guards; Larry Huge, Joe Johnson, and Bobby Simmons. Double J will be back with PHX as the Suns are not playing any games here. They cleared cap space for him and he's restricted. The Wiz would also be remiss to let Huge walk after he finally reached his potential and the team is on the rise. Simmons is the most likely to bolt, mainly given Clipper-think which allows free agents to pursue greener pastures unabated. He "should" get an offer above the mid-level exception but that offer may not be forthcoming. The Hawks have money but won't offer him since they have 13 wing players on the roster already. The Bobcats are apparently squirreling money away for next year's free agent crop. The Bulls need to dump their cap space back into their front court. So, the options may not be commensurate with his abilities. Someone will steal him.

There are two prominent center prospects; the Big Z and Stu's beloved Eddy Curry. Z's suitors are apparently the Cavs, the Hawks, or the veteran exception with the Knicks. This should be a no-brainer. Z is playing the field to drive up his value and it would be shocking if he doesn't return to C-town. Curry is a strange situation what with his two heart conditions (physical and mental). This guy should be the man-beast of the Eastern Conference but there are too many questions to justify a huge contract at this point. Another interesting situation is former Michael Jordan whipping boy, Kwame Brown. Again, huge potential, still very young, and a questionable attitude. He could be a great pickup up on the cheap. Kwame may just need a change of scenery.

So, here's my best guess:

Cavs sign: Z, Redd, and Antonio Daniels.

Ray Allen returns to Seattle.

Kwame Brown to Atlanta, plays well, earns nice paycheck for 2006.

Eddy Curry, Larry Huge, and JJ maintain the status quo.

Sixers keep Dalembert and Korver but let Green walk.

Tractor Traylor signs hilarious offer sheet with the Knicks. Isiah Thomas waxes poetic about a frontcourt manned completely by guys 6'7" and shorter.

Until...

NBA Draft Review

2005-07-02T09:17:00.000-04:00

We've got a lot to cover and time is short. Seriously. There is so much going on at one time it boggles my mind. Por ejemplo, baseball is thick with drama. The NBA is re-crafting the balance of power with the draft and free agency. NFL training camp is very, very close. The Stu is playing the role of James Earl Jones from "Best of the Best." (deep breath)

I knew there would be tough calls to make with the first official "scab" column in the absence of the Stu. We'll focus on the draft to start.

The NBA draft is perfectly crafted to be a TV event what with green room drama, ree-cockulous B.I.G. outfits of the draftees, quick time periods between picks, and the always delightful Dick Vitale. Here's a quick hit of some of the seven best moments in no particular order (besides numerical):

1) Stuey Scott asked Derron Williams if he could beat Kendall Gill in a fight if Kendall was allowed to box and Derron had to wrestle. At some point do they just cut off Stuey's mic? Honestly, at least make a tongue in cheek reference to Ali-Inoki, Wepner-Andre, or the Mailman teaming up with Diamond Dallas Page to fight Hollywood Hogan and Rodzilla if you're gonna go way off tangent like that. Stuey thought this was an insightful journalistic inquiry.

2) Andrew Bynum? I haven't seen a worse background check by a team since the Browns drafted convicted felon Jeremiah Pharms in the 2001 NFL draft. By the way, Pharms was sentenced to a few years in a federal pound you in the ace prison for aggravated assault shortly thereafter. Anyway, has anyone seen Bynum's blog on the web? I'll post it later if I can find the address again but in the meantime, I suggest that you google this sucker as it features some of the most hilarious street cred spellings of words ever; stuff like, "I doez itz rizite." At the end of the day, he smacks of a shy, sensitive, 17 year-old fat kid. There's nothing wrong with that but I can all but guarantee that Kobe and/or Phil throws Andy under the bus by season's end. You'll definitely see Andy eating Reece's peanut butter cups on the bench during a game this season.

3) What happened to Gerald Green? Hmmmm, maybe he's just not that good? He was talked up as top 3 and then falls to the late teens. Everyone is saying that Boston got the steal of the draft. Really? Am I missing something? Whatever his skills may be, Double G is 6'8" and weighs about 155 pounds so he won't be helping anyone for at least two years when he matures physically. That's best case scenario. In the short run, I can't wait for the kid to learn the ropes from "Mr. Team Ball" Paul Pierce. Boston is ripe for dissappointment which I am very happy about since Boston is the worst sports town in America (more on that in a later column).

4) The Spurs picked a 19 year old French volleyball player in the first round. So, does Pop now have a God-complex that he thinks he can win with any international player? At least pick Gabby Reece if you're gonna be silly with the pick. All the commentators shrugged it off by saying, "never heard of this guy but the Spurs obviosuly know what they're doing." Right. I hoped against hope that Barkley would miraculously appear on the broadcast to rip that pick....alas and alack.

5) I love Isiah Thomas. He continues to assemble the worst team ever. Can he get a reality show about running the team? I picture his office randomly catching on fire, getting lost inside MSG, and scheming to acquire as many max contracts as possible. At any rate, Channing Frye is not good. I'm sorry. He's the equivilant of Chris Kaman. I'm sure he'll do great in NY with all of those 6'7" power forwards taking the rebounding heat off of him. Nate Robinson would be an interesting thought were it not for Marbury playing 40 minutes per and ramming the Knicks into the 4th level of hell.

6) Charlie Villenauvaueauueu at #7??? I mean, wow. I can't even intelligently comment on this one. He's been a bust in college so it stands to reason that he'll be a bust in Toronto. At least he can enjoy carrying Bosh's luggage and the stability of the Canadian dollar.

7) Bogut. I must confess that I think that he'll be okay; i.e. he won't be the next Chris Mihm. However, he also won't be Bill Walton as some of the more intoxicated broadcasters suggested. Well, he might be the 1987 Bill Walton. I picture Bogut getting 13 and 8 next season and maxing out at a very solid 17 and 10 but he's not a game changer. Why? Remember the NCAA tourney? You think there are no centers in the pros? Check out the college game. Any legit center should be able to will his team to the Final Four. Even Big Country got OK State to the Final Four since he was being cover by guys 5 inches shorter. "Servicable" Mike Doleac was the center on Utah's last Final Four team. What happens to Utah with the consensus best player in college? Bogut plays well but his team goes quietly in the round of 16. Weak sauce. I'm not sold. He'll go toe to toe with Primo Brezec and Tony Battie but he'll buckle against the big boys.

That's it for now. I'll hold off on free agency until there's something more exciting than Raja Bell joining PHX. Until...

Warning Sign

2005-07-01T10:07:00.000-04:00

The Stu will be MIA to the motherland for the month of July so there will be a decided midwest feel to the blog in the weeks to come. I'm not saying that one should expect extended rants on Drew Carey, the Pretenders, Bernie Kosar, and Howard the Duck....but I'm also telling you that shouldn't not expect such musings.

And if Michael Redd is reading this, which he most likely would be, please, please, please, please....

more to come

Be Careful What You Wish For...

2005-06-23T18:32:00.000-04:00

Nobody Was Expecting This But Me

So, I got my wish, the NBA Finals went to Game 7. A true "final" game of the NBA season. And somehow, my predictions have come true thus far. We've had a blowout by each team, a couple of close games, and two games where each team took over late. We've had a classic Robert Horry performance as he single handedly took over Game 5 and won the game for the Spurs and we've even had a chance to see Tim Duncan crumple in crunch time. The series has provided NBA experts more chances to switch sides than any other series I can remember. After the first two games in San Antonio, no one thought Detroit had a chance. After the next 2 games in Detroit, no one thought San Antonio could win another game. Now, I don't think any of them know what to think. Which is exactly the way it should be. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the 2 best basketball teams in the world play for the championship.

And when Chauncy Billups hits the 3 pointer to win, remember that I'll be saying "I told you so."

Why Break Up the Band After Their First Big Hit?

So, thanks to a trade made today between Phoenix and the New York Knicks, I have some fantasy basketball to talk about. As announced on ESPN, the Phoenix Suns have agreed to send Quentin Richardson and a conditional first round pick to the Knicks for Kurt Thomas.

The purpose of this for Phoenix is to add some much needed muscle to the lineup. The major complaints about this team all year was that they didn't have any muscle. Kurt Thomas can provide that. He has been a solid fantasy contributor for a while now and it is fair to expect him to continue that in Phoenix. But I just don't see that happening. In fact, for me, this trade makes no sense. Phoenix was the surprise team this year, running past teams so fast they didn't know what hit them. They spread the floor with 3 point shooters and set the tempo to every game they were in. Q was key in that attack and was one of the NBA leaders in 3 pointers made. He did fall apart a bit in the playoffs, coming up very short against San Antonio. However, some of that may be contributed to the fact that Joe Johnson was unable to perform up to his standards due to injury. And while this trade was also made so that Phoenix could afford to resign Joe Johnson, they are losing an athletic 2 guard who could run and shoot and was unafraid to just keep shooting. For me, the one thing that this trade reminds me of is the moves made by the 2001/02 Milwaukee Bucks. In the 2001 Playoffs, the Bucks lost to the beloved Sixers in the Eastern Conference Finals. During that offseason, the Bucks decided that they needed more toughness and went out and signed former Kinck Anthony Mason. This cost the Bucks what had made them such a good team the year before and they failed to even make the playoffs in 2002. Phoenix was a surprise team this year because of how well they played, don't be surprised if they fall back down this coming season.

As for how this affects the Knicks, well, if anyone has any idea what Isiah Thomas is doing with that team you are welcome to contribute a guest post. It almost looks like he wants to play Stephon Marbury and surround him with 4 swingmen. Who knows, maybe it'll work.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Sometimes It's Like the Blind Leading the Blind...

2005-06-19T17:51:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, no matter how much you know about a sport, no matter how many great decisions you think you make, they all go wrong. In the year between finishing first and second in my fantasy basketball league, I didn't even make the playoffs. Same with fantasy baseball. In my one NL-only league, I currently have 5 All Star Caliber Pitchers (including 2 closers) on the DL. I kept 3 of those pitchers. Of course, in other leagues, I was just in time to catch Kevin Mensch just as he was coming off waivers and going on an amazing hotstreak. Sometimes it's hard to predict what's going to happen, but it's always fun to talk about them. But, in the second part of A Fantasy Life's baseball catchup article, we continue the discussion with Jason Weitzel of Beerleaguer.com, this time talking fantasy baseball.

1. Who is Derek Lee? Could anyone have predicted this?

JMW - First off, I'm the last person to ask about fantasy this season as I've made nothing but horrible decisions since the draft. In addition, my Phils blog eats up every last bit of baseball brain power. I still need to save room for my other indulgences like movies and comics.

That said, scouts always thought Derek Lee had triple-crown potential, but it hasn't been realized until now. No one could have predicted that a second-half player like Lee would be hot for an entire season. So to answer your question - no one predicted it.

2. What happened to the Cleveland offense? Last year they were filled with superstars, this year they have a bunch of guys who can barely hit above the Mendoza line. And is Victor Martinez the next Matt Nokes?

JMW - Honestly, I don't know enough about Cleveland and Martinez to make that call, but their early futility is a shame because it's wasted some pretty good pitching from Millwood and Westbrook.

However, they're starting to pick it up lately and they're now about .500. I thought they'd win the division, but they're still off pace, with the White Sox and never-die Twins back again. One look at their team stats shows some mediocre SLG and OBP numbers. Hafner leads the team with only 8 homers.

3. Certain players known for being injured have stayed healthy. Should owners continue to count on players like Josh Beckett or sell them while their value is up? Are there any other players on this list?

JMW - The entire Florida pitching staff is on the sell list if you ask me. Beckett is definitely on the sell list with his history of blister problems, Burnett missed a start recently and he's a notorious overthrower, and Willis's value won't be higher than it is now. There's nothing in his past that indicates that he can sustain it. Sell now.

6. Derek Turnbow! Who is this guy? And what is the deal with closers? Every other year they're a hot commodity in fantasy baseball or they're completely forgotten.

JMW - Derek Turnbow is the reason I never draft closers. Right now I have Turnbow and Street and they're doing just fine. I had Brazelbon earlier but let him go. Another in a growing list of poor moves I've made this season.

I think the closer cycle is easy to predict instinctively, with the exception of stupid Jose Mesa. Eventually, the time will come when guys that throw hard get hurt - and you can sense when it will happen, as I sensed with Dotel and Gagne this season. More often then not, injury rumblings often grow into major injury problems. The best way to play the closer game is to watch the injury reports on third or fourth-year closers.

Jason Weitzel is a writer and editor for the Reading Eagle of Reading, PA. He is the keeper of the excellent Phillies blog, Beerleaguer .

It Is Baseball Season Right?

2005-06-16T20:28:00.000-04:00

So, I've been promising a Q&A with Phillies Guru Jason Weitzel, and even though it took a while, I am happy to finally deliver. So here is Part I of the Q&A, where we discuss some important Phillies topics.

1. Before the homestand, I would have asked "What is the matter with the Phillies?" Now I ask, "Who are these guys?" Which ones are the real Phillies? Should we be preparing ourselves for an entire year of these alternating streaks?

JMW - The Phils certainly turned around their fortunes during the Homestand (capital "H"). They delivered timely hits with runners in scoring position, assembled a nice string of quality starts, and the bullpen didn't suffer a catastrophic defeat.

Playing at home always helps, and they faced some teams that were either cold, like San Francisco, or strangers to the park, like Texas or even Milwaukee. That has to be considered.

Breaking it down individually, Bobby Abreu is one of the best outfielders in the game and his hot season should come as no surprise to anyone. Star-in-the-making Chase Utley delivered the big grand slam in the second game against San Francisco. That sent a charge through this team as he officially takes over starting duties at second. What you see is what you get with those two.

I think a big story is how comfortable the role players like David Bell and Mike Lieberthal looked during the homestand. I wouldn't expect that success to continue, however. In addition, Pat Burrell has really overachieved this season and I'm still leery of his mechanics and wrist problems.

Right now, the big concern is in the starting rotation where Randy Wolf could be out, Jon Lieber is starting to slip and Vicente Padilla can't go more than five innings. Do they have the horses? That's the big question now that the bullpen has been fortified with Ugueth Urbina.

2. Was Joe Kerrigan just that bad of a pitching coach?

JMW - Yes. Jon Lieber taught Brett Myers more about pitching than Kerrigan did, as Myers unveiled a new out pitch - a cutter - fashioned after the one Lieber throws. Myers is a totally new pitcher this season.

When it comes to coaching though, I can only base my opinion on results, and as far as I can see, the proof is in the pudding: they're better with Dubee than with Kerrigan. He's certainly more hands-off during the game, much different than professor Kerrigan's in-game "lessons."

3. Jim Thome is a notoriously slow starter, but isn't this starting to border on ridiculous?

JMW - Thome hasn't been healthy or confident all season, visibly pushing to get home runs. He's swinging behind high strikes a lot, fooled on pitches outside a lot. Basically, he hasn't been in a groove all year. Obviously, he's on the downslide of his career, but a combination of physical deterioration and zero confidence has buried him.

Jason Weitzel is a writer and editor for the Reading Eagle of Reading, PA. He is the keeper of the excellent Phillies blog, Beerleaguer.

Finals and Finally a Trade

2005-06-09T19:44:00.000-04:00

NBA Finals Preview

Somehow, I was dead on with my predictions of the Conference Finals: Spurs over Suns in 5 and Pistons over Heat in 7. And now we are in Finals time. And boy, this could easily be a finals for the ages. Neither team is defined by a flashy player, both embody the true definition of "team." What these teams lack in big names, they more than make up for with offensive execution and absolutely amazing defense. In fact, both of these teams are defined by their defense. San Antonio has Tim Duncan and Nazr Mohammed in the middle, with defensive stalwart Bruce Bowen patrolling the outside with Manu Ginobli. Detroit is even better with Rasheed and Ben Wallace (NBA Defensive Player of the Year... again) in the big positions, Tayshaun Prince (A Fantasy Life's Defensive Player of the Year) at the small forward, and a tough guard combo of Billups and Rip Hamilton. Likewise, both teams are incredibly versatile on offense. Either team can go inside to their big men, the Spurs with Duncan and the Pistons with Rasheed, both have dead eye shooters from the outside (Spurs with Bowen and Brent Barry, Pistons with Billups and Hamilton), and both have players who can break the opponent down off the dribble and get into the lane (Ginobli and Parker with the Spurs, Billups and Tayshaun on the Pistons). Even more important that those, both of these teams have experience on the brightest stage as the Spurs won the title 2 years ago and the Pistons claimed it last year.

There are a few differences, even though they aren't as pronounced as others may believe. The Spurs may have a deeper bench, but it doesn't have any players to be counted on. They come off the bench with Barry, Udrich, and some non-descript big men. The Pistons aren't as deep but contain a tremendous 6th man with Antonio McDyess, and some good guards in Lindsay Hunter and Carlos Arroyo. Likewise, most people will say that the Spurs aren't just a slow it down team and can play the game at any pace and still win. I honestly believe that if the Pistons chose to, they could also play the game at any pace. However, the major difference with the teams is that the Spurs seem content to play the game at the other team's pace, the Pistons set the pace themselves. This is something that greatly favors the Pistons. The Spurs may have been able to let other teams dictate pace to them in the early rounds, but they cannot allow the Pistons to do the same; they are just too good when they control the game. This isn't a team that folds in crunch time, they seem content to let teams play around and then go for the knockout punch. Then again, the same could be said for the Spurs. Even the coaching situation is dead even. Greg Popovich and Larry Brown are the best of friends. They both preach the same things to their players. One could say that the situation surrounding Brown's future with the Pistons could be a detriment, but it actually seems like the team plays better despite Larry Brown.

So who wins? Well, the way I see it both teams have one blowout win in them. And then there are the requisite close games going both ways. In the end, I see a hard fought Game 7, both teams going back and forth giving all they have. The Spurs will be leading by 2 as the seconds wind down on the clock and Chauncy Billups lines up for the game winning 3 pointer. It goes down.
Pistons over Spurs, 4 games to 3.

If You Wait Long Enough, You Always Get What You Want.

My good friend Jason Weitzel has some interesting insight into the Placido Polanco for Ugeth Urbina trade at his Beerleaguer Website. Because of his expert analysis, I'll be taking a different look at this trade, because for once, it seems like everyone got what they wanted.

Charlie Manuel wanted to use Polanco as a 6th man of sorts, at multiple positions to keep him in the lineup. Check.
The Phillies wanted to showcase Polanco to get something good for him. Check.
The Phillies fans wanted Chase Utley to be the everyday 2nd Baseman. Check.
The Phillies wanted to get some bullpen help to ease the burden on Fultz, Cormier, Madsen, and Wagner. Check.

Really, it almost seems too good to be true. I guess only time will tell, but for right now, Phillies fans, management, and players can all smile. The downside is that they do not have that ultra utility man anymore and are lacking infield depth for the first time in years. If David Bell gets hurt, who plays third? But that and questions like it are the ones we never want to have answered. Let's enjoy the hotstreak and believe in Ugie. At least until he gives up his first run.

In terms of fantasy value, it remains to be seen what will happen. Early predictions see Polanco easily stepping in for Omar Infante and taking over as the everyday 2nd baseman in Detroit. Infante has struggled this year and Polanco is an easy upgrade. He will get more at bats in Detroit as he won't be stuck platooning at positions. He should not be hurt playing in a pitcher's park like Comerica since he doesn't hit too many home runs. It's impossible to predict what playing in the American League will do to his numbers, but it would be odd to predict a sharp drop for such an intelligent and well rounded player. I can see Polanco hitting around .280 - .300 with a little hit in his power numbers. But if you had him it wasn't for his power anyway. Continue to play him and see what happens.

For the Phillies new setup man Urbina, don't expect his value to jump. He's still a lights out reliever, but still won't be asked to be anything more than a sometimes closer if Wagner needs a day off. Don't expect any serious change in his value. He remains a middle reliever worthy of a roster spot, but there is no reason to break the bank to get him.

Forthcoming Schedule

Seems like everytime I post anymore I'm apologizing for not posting more often. At the current pace it looks like it'll be a once or twice a week occurance, with a guest post here or there. The chat with Beerleaguer's Jason Weitzel is forthcoming, it's just taking a little longer than expected to get things together. Another note is that during the month of July, I will be away. During that time this site will be turned over to Cleveland Correspondant Joel Wertman.

Scousers in the Streets and A Coaching Discussion.

2005-05-27T17:16:00.000-04:00

Instead of Complaining You Should Have Watched It…

Funny story about my attempt to watch the European Cup Final – Seeing as how I was not going to be able to watch the game on its live telecast on Wednesday, I decided to set the VCR to tape it. (Well, I had my brother do it because he remembers how to use that damn thing.) I figured the tape would run for 3 hours and I would be able to come home, relax a bit, then turn on the TV, rewind the tape, and enjoy a nice championship sporting event. So on the way home I am speaking with one of my friends and tell him the game is on and he turns it on as we’re speaking and in a minute or so is screaming at the television. Quickly I hung up as to not hear anymore. A few minutes later another call. Then a text message (that I didn’t look at). So I get home around 5PM, put some stuff away, etc. and then go and turn the TV on at 5:30. Commercial. That’s good; it means that the game is probably over. So I left the TV on and went to stop and rewind the tape, when suddenly, the broadcast of the game comes back on, showing a tie score and the upcoming beginning of penalty kicks. And all the announcers can seem to talk about is how great the game was, how AC Milan got out to a 3-0 lead at halftime, and (as Bob Mitchell predicted was possible) Liverpool came storming back in the second half to tie the game. So what I did was quickly run and put on my Liverpool jersey (I have family there), then sit down and watched the penalty kicks. Somehow AC Milan missed the first two kicks, leaving Liverpool a 2-0 edge early, and with a save by Liverpool’s goalie a few shooters later, Liverpool were the Champions of Europe.

And 2 things that Bob mentioned came true, Liverpool did indeed win a championship that they are not qualified to defend. According to the rules of the European Cup, the English Premiership gets to send this year’s top 4 teams to next year’s European Cup and Liverpool did not finish in the top 4. Some believe that the rules will be amended to allow them to defend their title, but there now remains a certain mystique about this team and their predicament. And it was a wonderful thing to see Stephen Gerrard get to raise the cup as the Captain of his hometown team. Born and bred in Liverpool, Gerrard holding the cup must have been a great experience. I did watch the tape afterwards and boy would I have loved to be able to watch it live. It contained all the things that Americans don’t (can’t?) believe soccer games have. This was more exciting than watching the Red Sox come back 3 games to none on the Yankees last year.

Or You Can Do Something About It…

OK, so I figure it’s about time to talk about Jim O’Brien. As anyone who has read this site before knows, I was a big fan of Jim O’Brien. He was a hard nosed coach who gave players their space but held them accountable. He had a system that he had won with before and stood by. He took the team to the playoffs, and while I do think that they could have perhaps performed better this year, I know that they could have been a lot worse. O’Brien should also be credited with making Kyle Korver some money, showing that Marc Jackson can play basketball, and leading Allen Iverson to his best NBA season. However, it will be his stubbornness in dealing with players and unwillingness to change his system to meet the abilities of said players that he will be remembered for.

Now, to me this is a strange thing. The players stated to have had the most problem with Obie were Samuel Dalembert, Willie Green, and Chris Webber. Dalembert and Green had to deal with inconsistent playing time and Webber was unable to physically perform on defense like Obie wanted. Dalembert and Green are seen as future pieces of the Sixers, Webber has a gigantic contract and isn’t going anywhere till it’s finished. Part of this mirrors the situation that went down in Utah this year. At the beginning of the year, Coach Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz was raving the progress of PG Carlos Arroyo. By the second month of the season, Arroyo was picking up more DNP-CDs than anyone else. Thought to be an integral part of the Jazz for as many years as he wanted, Arroyo was now hoping to be able to pack his bags. And pack them he did, as the Jazz basically handed Arroyo to the Detroit Pistons for nothing. In Utah, it was the coach who had control of the team. In Philadelphia, it is the players who are controlling the situation. But it isn’t just the players, because these aren’t just any players, these are Billy King’s players.

Could Billy King have gotten something for any of the players mentioned? Of course. Dalembert and Green were coveted players who have shown signs of great potential. It seemed rather likely that they were both going to be dealt at the trading deadline for Antoine Walker. Instead, King made the deal for Webber, knowing that Webber was not a Jim O’Brien type player. Which means to me that Jim O’Brien wasn’t fired because he wasn’t a good coach and didn’t get the best out of some of his players, he was fired because Billy King felt he didn’t showcase his players well enough. And now, hopefully, the Sixers have that coach.

Maurice Cheeks is a legend in Philadelphia (of course, Obie had the hometown pedigree as well) who was part of the Sixers’ only championship team and an assistant coach on the last one that went to the Finals. Enough has been written on Cheeks great relationship with Allen Iverson and his apparent ability to get along with players (at least those not named Darius Miles). All I’m saying is that he better be the coach everyone thinks they’re getting. He was supposedly the coach the team wanted when Brown initially left 2 years ago, and now they’ve got him. It only cost them nearly $20 million for those coaches in between.

Are You Ready For Some Football

2005-05-23T22:48:00.000-04:00

So I said I was going to have a special guest post and boy did I deliver. In my attempts to truly cover all sports and be worldly I learned that there was a pretty important game going on this week. I also realized that I knew nothing about it. So rather than try and learn the in's and out's of a new sport in a few days in order to write about it, I went out and did the next best thing - I got a drunken Scottsman to write it for me. So no, the title of this post does not refer to more NFL draft analysis, but rather the European Cup Final to be played this Wednesday in Istanbul. And now, I present Mr. Bob Mitchell, award winning Scottish journalist, in a segment I have named:

You Don't Have to Be Drunk to Enjoy it, But it Helps...

Bill Shankly, the legendary manager who first set Liverpool Football Club on the path to glory back in the 1960s once famously said: "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I'm very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that."

An uncompromising man who coined soccer truisms that define the game, Shankly was a unique and precocious individual, a master tactician consumed with creating a legacy at Anfield, obsessed with turning that once-ramshackle stadium into a fortress feared throughout Europe.

Yet surely even he would not have dreamed that his beloved Liverpool would this week be taking part in their tenth European final, having already won seven of them on the way to becoming one of the continent's greatest ever clubs.

It's easy enough to understand why Americans have never taken football, or soccer, into their hearts. Used to high-scoring sports, they find it hard to understand how a 0-0 draw can fascinate and beguile.

For the rest of the world though, probably the biggest sporting event of 2005 will be played out in Istanbul this Wednesday when Liverpool tussle with AC Milan for the European Cup. Both sides have had disappointing domestic seasons, Milan narrowly losing the Italian league to bitter rivals Juventus and Liverpool finishing so low in the English Premiership that they will not even qualify for Europe's premier club event next season even if they win it in Turkey this week.

Yet still they find themselves on the biggest stage of all, and within touching distance of the greatest prize of all. And despite their domestic campaigns delivering so little this year, these are two special clubs with a remarkable history of magical European nights.

Milan, who have been crowned European champions six times, are favourites to beat four-times winners Liverpool. The Italians were joint favourites for the trophy alongside Chelsea and Barcelona when the tournament kicked off back in August, while Liverpool have been considered underdogs throughout their unlikely journey to the final.

It's a role in which the Reds of Merseyside have performed well, aspiring to more than even their most ardent fans could have hoped for as new manager Rafael Benitez notched up one unlikely victory after another in his debut season.

Their success in Europe has been all the more stunning given their poor form on the domestic front. Only the first four teams qualify for European football's top competition and Liverpool were pipped into fifth, by local rivals Everton no less, the side that has always been the second team in the city.

This is a team who have won nothing, on the verge of winning the ultimate prize. Underdogs they remain, but the Italian giants have perhaps lost an edge after surrendering their Serie A title to Juventus and scraping through to the European Cup final with a meek victory over unassuming PSV Eindhioven that was snatched from the jaws of defeat.

Liverpool can smell blood, their opponents look physically and mentally drained, while they are buoyed by the against-all-odds semi-final win over recently crowned English champions Chelsea that took them to Istanbul. Milan definitely don't look comfortable and this is the perfect time for Liverpool to be meeting them and claim European club football's biggest prize for the first time since 1984.

Few would begrudge them that success. The English game has been dominated by Manchester United for the last decade, the richest club in the world. Yet for all its undisputed wealth, United still remain the second-most successful team in England and the one most reviled by every other club.

Despite Liverpool's relative dearth of trophy success in recent times, the club still remains one of the continent's all-time greats by dint of their four European Cup wins. Only Real Madrid and AC Milan have won it more times, and to be feted as a truly great team a club has to have sustained a stranglehold on the trophy like Liverpool did in the late Seventies and early Eighties.

European champions in 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1984 Liverpool have also won European football's second tournament, the UEFA Cup, three times. Add to that 18 English titles, six FA Cups and seven League Cups and you realise this is a club that now desperately craves the success it once took for granted.

Coached by Carlo Ancellotti, Milan have been a dominant force on the continent in recent years, but that could all end by the Bosphorus on Wednesday night. They reached the final despite losing to PSV Eindhoven 3-1 in the second leg of the semi-finals, a Massimo Ambrosini header in the first minute of injury time sending them through on away goals after the two teams drew 3-3 on aggregate. Cracks are appearing in their back line, as they slowly slip from experienced to aged. They look vulnerable and Liverpool have the pace up front to harm the favourites.

First of all they must shackle the current European Footballer of the Year, the Ukranian Andrei Shevchenko. To keep him quiet, Liverpool need to break down Milan's attacks in midfield and in captain Steven Gerrard they have the man capable of doing just that. A home-grown Scouser, a local lad come good, it is beginning to seem like Wednesday is his date with destiny.

A tangible, pall of expectation looms over Liverpool. The weight of the past can be a burden, and for two decades every set of players that have pulled on the famous red jerseys have been compared to their trophy winning predecessors. It's a lot to shoulder, but on Wednesday night this latest Liverpool side can at last shake that expectation off their shoulders.

The European Cup Final game will be played this Wednesday and can be seen on ESPN2 at 2:30PM EST.

Bob Mitchell is an award winning journalist (and all around good guy) presiding in Coatbridge, Scotland. Along with soccer, he enjoys rugby, drinking, and fit burds, but not necessarily in that order. When he's not at the bar, he can sometimes be found (in varying stages of sobriety) at the Joe Quesada Message Boards.

Well, that was unexpected...

2005-05-23T18:07:00.000-04:00

According to Stephen A. Smith of the Philadelphia Inquirer and ESPN, the Sixers have fired head coach Jim O'Brien and hired Mo Cheeks. Obviously, I will have a lot to say about this, but rather than put up a posting now that could be wrought with emotion, I will be taking my time attacking this issue and posting about it later in the week. Unless some time gets freed up, it will most likely be pushing the long awaited Beer Leaguer chat. Sorry for any who were looking forward to that, it will be up eventually, but time is very limited right now.

The NBA Final Four

2005-05-23T11:18:00.000-04:00

Before going into my NBA Final Four predictions, just wanted to post the hopeful schedule for this week. I'm hoping to get 3 entries up this week at least. This NBA Playoff talk as one, a special guest post before Wednesday, and a small chat with Beer Leaguer's Jason Weitzel discussing the Phillies and Fantasy Baseball. The chat was something I have been planning for a week or so but haven't had the time to get it done. Hopefully posting about it here will force me to find the time. As for the special guest posting, I don't want to spoil anything but it's something I'm greatly looking forward to. So there's the schedule, now on with the show.

The Final Four...

Well, despite what anyone was thinking or hoping for, the NBA Playoffs have actually held true to form. Only one "upset" thus far (and seeing as how that was the Pacers over the Celtics, it may not have been much of a upset) and we are down to the top 2 teams in each division battling it out over a trip to the finals. If someone would have told me at the beginning of the playoffs it would have held true to form like this, I may have expressed displeasure, but seeing as how these 4 teams were obviously the best in the NBA all year, I realized I would rather have them playing here than see some underdog have snuck this far.

Eastern Conference - Miami Heat vs. Detroit Pistons

(Author's note - I do not currently have access to statistics. Therefore, this will be done from memory. If there are any mistakes because of this, do not hesistate to post in the comments and corrections will be made. This will only hold if I need to reference statistics or head to head results.)

Maybe I'm the only person in the world who thinks so, but for some reason I just don't believe in the Pistons. Every round I see them as being infinitely beatable and yet, every round they seemingly destroy their opponents and advance. But after watching them 2 rounds, perhaps I've started to see the light. They have the best starting 5 in the NBA. They have 4 starting players who, if need be, can take over a game offensively (Rip, Chauncey, Tayshaun, and Rasheed), with Chauncey Billups haven proven time and time again that he can take and make any big shot. They have a frontline that, if you consider Tayshaun's wingspan, might as well be starting three 7 footers. The team excels at both man-to-man and help defenses; and even though Ben Wallace won Defensive Player of the Year, either Rasheed or Tayshaun could also have laid claim to the award as well. The most important part of this starting 5 is the sense of continuity - they're the same players that won the NBA Championship last year. The only problem with this team is their bench. No longer do they have multiple players to count on to contribute, the only one that Larry Brown trusts is Antonio McDyess and the only other one that would scare people is Carlos Arroyo. No matter what, this is a hungry team that still feels they don't get the respect they deserve for the championship they won last year. They play with a chip on their shoulder and most will be quick to point out that they did beat Shaq's Lakers last year in the Finals.

That said, this year's Heat team is not the same as last year's Lakers. Dywane Wade is not Kobe Bryant. Wade is more adept at getting his teammates involved and will gladly differ when the situation calls for it. Shaq, if healthy, is still the most dominant player in the game and no matter what the final result was last year, the Pistons did not shut down Shaq. The true key for the Heat in this series will be the play of their role players. The other three starters (Damon and Eddie Jones and Udonis Haslem) must continue to perform at a high level. Eddie Jones seems to have turned back the clock so far this playoffs and has played exceptionally well on offense and defense. He needs to hit his shots and limit the touches of whichever Piston he ends up guarding (most likely Tayshaun Prince). Damon Jones has continued to run hot and cold in the playoffs just like he had in the regular season. Just as liable to make 5 3's a game as miss 10, one thing you cannot say about Jones is that he will be afraid to shoot. They don't need any 30 point performances from him, but the team does need him to make 1/3 of his 3 pointers and if he can remotely contain Chauncey he'll be able to consider it a success. Haslem is going to have it much tougher. Offensively his role will be unchanged - get loose rebounds, occupy space, make an open jumper; on defense, while Shaq guards Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace will actively challenge Haslem. Sheed can post up, step outside the arc, and moves exceptionally well without the ball. The Heat bench will be equally important. Keeyon Dooling has been on fire this playoffs and needs to keep making his shots. Alonzo Mourning is playing in what could be his final season and it shows in his heart and effort. I would expect to see him on the floor with Shaq a lot as Mourning is a much better defender than Haslem. Miami isn't exceptionally deep either, but certainly have more people on the bench who can play the proper roles than Detroit.

So what happens? Well, I do think I finally see the light. Despite having the best 1-2 punch in the NBA, I just don't see how the Heat can take 4 games from Detroit. This is Wade's first foray this deep in the playoffs and to me he still seems 1 year away. Especially with the health of Shaq in question, it is really hard to pick against Detroit. Miami puts up a valiant effort, but comes up just short.
Prediction - Detroit 4, Miami 3.

Western Conference Finals - San Antonio Spurs vs. Phoenix Suns

I think the way I feel about the Pistons now is the same way I felt about the Spurs a few years ago. But in the case of the Spurs, I have already learned my lesson. This team is just that good. Their backcourt may feature two of the fastest players in the NBA. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli have been able to do whatever they want. They get into the lane at will and have almost proven unguardable. This is obviously helped by having one of the top players in the NBA in clogging up the middle and occupying double teams. Tim Duncan may be softspoken on the court, but his presence is constantly felt in how he helps his teammates on the floor. The most impressive part about the Spurs is that everyone seems to know their role. Everyone does exactly what is asked of them, and if they don't, Coach Pop just brings in someone else who will. This is a team that runs like a well oiled machine. They play amazing team defense and can excel no matter what pace they play. They can get out in the open court and run or slow it down and execute in the half court. And everyone plays defense. Truly, San Antonio might be a perfect basketball team.

And it's a shame about that because Phoenix is a lot of fun to watch. They have been credited with bringing scoring and fast paced basketball to the NBA. They have shooters all over and perhaps the best low post offensive presence in Amare Stoudemire. Steve Nash won the MVP this year by pushing the ball and trusting his teammates. What has even differentiated this team from other fast break teams is that Nash pushes the ball so much, they don't need top create turnovers to keep the pace up. Both Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire run the floor better than any other PF/C combo in the league and that can get them easy dunks and layups whether the other team just scored or not. This team is going to run and shoot 3 pointers and score a ton of points. It just won't be enough.

Now, I know the last time I did predictions for the playoffs and was "aided" by games having already been played I made some very big mistakes. However, the first game of this series could be the perfect microcosm with which to predict the rest. Phoenix ran and scored. They put up over 110 points. They played their game at their pace. And still lost. San Antonio is just that good. Can Phoenix win this series? Certainly. Will they? Not likely.
Prediction - San Antonio 4, Phoenix 1

Last Call For Miller Time...

2005-05-20T12:31:00.000-04:00

So Reggie Miller's career came to a close last night. He put on quite the show too, going off for 27 points, shooting 50% from the 3 point line and 11-16 overall. It is a shame that the rest of his team could not keep up. In the end, it was almost a fitting end for Reggie's career. While it is a shame that he will have never won a championship, last night showed how important he has been to Indiana the city, the Pacers organization, and the NBA in general. Probably the NBA's first great 3-point marksman, Reggie will forever have changed the game with his drive to win and ability to come through when it mattered most.

Now, instead of recapping Reggie's illustrious career, I have decided to tell my own personal favorite Reggie Miller story. If you want a career retrospective you can head over to ESPN.com and read through the numerous ones there. I have not been around long enough to do (what I feel) would be a good enough job of that. So, instead I'll tell a little tale of Reggie watching.

Now, what's amazing about this tale is that it doesn't even involve Reggie hitting a game winner or even the Pacers winning a game. In fact, this story is about one of the games in which the Pacers were eliminated from the playoffs one year. You see, this was the game after the famed "9 points in 9 seconds" game. If memory serves, this game was a Game 7 against the Knicks in New York. And after watching Reggie's heroics throughout those playoffs, I was obviously glued to the tv to watch this one. No way was I missing any Reggie moments.

So the game is underway and pretty much holds to form with the rest of that series. The teams trade runs and the lead numerous times, fights are narrowly avoided, and everyone is feeling the tension. Now, comes the problem, at some point in the 4th quarter my mother decided she needed me to take out the trash. "Fine Mom, I'll do it at the end of the game." And I thought that had taken care of it because she didn't respond. So I returned my focus to the game. A few minutes later, she calls for me to do it again. "When the game's over Mom!" I returned. And she was quiet again. Now, as the game came down to it's last minute of play, it appeared as if the Knicks were taking over and going to win. They established a 2 possession lead and were controlling the ball and the pace of the game. But, knowing the greatness of Reggie like I do, I sat glued to the tv, hoping that he still had some magic left in him. And as the seconds ticked away, I inched closer and closer to the tv, praying for a little taste of Miller time. Instead, with 15 seconds left, I heard her again.

"Sam, get down here and take out the trash."
"I told you I will when the game's over."
"No, do it now."
"Mom, there's only 15 seconds left. It'll be over soon."
"If there's only 15 seconds left then do it now. You won't miss anything."
"But Mom, last game Reggie Miller scored 9 points in 9 seconds for the win. I can't move now or I'll miss it if he does it again."
Silence.

So, today, I thank you Reggie Miller, for providing me with the ammunition to defeat my mother in an argument. It was a joy to watch you play. Thanks for the memories.

Testifying Before Congress, Webber Disputes Claim

2005-05-17T17:54:00.000-04:00

Why Not Send Earl Boykins?

Well, it looks as if it's the NBA's turn to testify before Congress on the subject of performance enhancing drugs. Unlike the witch hunt that the baseball hearings were and the brown nosing contest that was the NFL's hearing, I would expect this one to actually have merit. As stated on this site before, the idea of steroids in the NBA is something very readily dimissed by all NBA "experts." It will be interesting to see how the Senators approach this meeting. Already they have announced "Shaq-sized" holes in the NBA's testing policy, but if David Stern can learn anything from his compatriots, it's that simply admitting (like Tagliabue) it should get you manlove.

Unlike the NFL hearings, where not one current or former player testified (odd since it was just prior to that hearing that news leaked of 5 members of the NFC Champion Carolina Panthers were taking steroids), the NBA and Players' Association has released that 1 NBA player will be testifying before Congress. That man? Juan Dixon. An excellent choice to represent the league, Dixon is a graduate of the University of Maryland and well thought of in the NBA community.

Information for this came from ESPN.

At Least We're Not Arguing About Practice Anymore

Yesterday on ESPN at around 3PM EST, they released a bit of news gained from the New York Post that supposedly, Chris Webber had confided in his friends that he could not play with Allen Iverson. This news story was quickly denied by Webber.

I would take this news with a grain of salt. While it is possible that Webber did make those remarks, it seems awfully out of context. In fact, I would be surprised if any of Allen Iverson's current or former teammates hasn't said that at least once in their time playing with The Answer.

I think the real issue here is that Allen Iverson is still such a source of news. I can't understand why. Didn't he do what he had to to prove that he wanted to win? Didn't he become more of a team player? Weren't people commending him on how much he has grown this year? It's bad enough the Sixer's season is over, can't we let the team relax a bit before starting all this trouble?

A Playoff Conversation...

2005-05-12T13:40:00.000-04:00

To make up for the recent lack of posting, today I decided that the best way to go forward and recap the playoffs and discuss recent NBA happenings was to go with an email chain between myself and Cleveland Correspondant Joel Wertman. We started with the following question and worked our way around the topics from there.

"How far can the Pacers take Reggie Miller in his final season?"

Joel
Good question with the corollary being does Reggie decide to come back next season after his most recent run? In a bizarre way, the Pacers are a feel good story in overcoming the array of obstacles tossed in their path, notwithstanding that much of the problems were self imposed due to the over the top actions of their three best players. Nonetheless, Rick Carlisle is simply a great coach and Reggie is having mid 90s flashbacks. The problem with a deep playoff run for Indy is that the champ is here. Benny Wallace and the boys are gonna be tough to beat in a 7 game series. Indy has far less depth and talent. Reggie will have a few games where he shows his age. In the end, Jermaine will punk out against the Wallaces.
Pistons in 6. Reggie is still going out on a high note (albeit with the refs giving him every call). He SHOULD be happy with that. Reg, don't pull a Dominique.

Stu
Well, there are a few points in there that I agree on. 1) Rick Carlisle is a hell of a coach. More than anything else he has taught his team how to control the game. No matter who is on the court, the Pacers always play the same way. 2) The Pacers are the feel good story of the year, and rooting for them is made a lot easier since Ron Artest is not playing. Consider that this team has not had their predicted starting 5 on the court for 1 game all year and you realize how much they've had to overcome. And 3) Reggie is... well, he's doing his best Reggie impersonations. But what I think you fail to see is tht Reggie's main impact won't be his statistics (although that will help). It will be the fact that an entire team needs to do this for him. Similar to when David Robinson was retiring and the team rallyed around him, Reggie Miller IS the Indiana Pacers. This is why he was A Fantasy Life's MVP of the season. This team wins FOR Reggie, not because of him.
That all being said, it will be tough for them to get past Detroit. But I do think they have the depth and heart to do so. For the Pacers, it's almost as if this series with Detroit is their championship. Detroit is their hated rival and it would mean a lot for the team to get past them. So, for me, I think that the Pacers do get through Detroit after a tough 7 game series. However, I do think that's where Reggie illustrious career will come to an end.
But I did notice that you called Detroit "The Champs." Does this mean you believe they will be able to repeat this year? Or are you going to go with someone else?

Joel
How can you not pick Detroit? They have all the best qualities: 1) best defensive team in the NBA with probably two first team all defensive selections in Tayshaun and Benny Wallace; 2) Proven playoff track record (unlike say Phoenix); 3) hilarious group of celebrity fans like Kid Rock; 4) Shaq proved last year that he couldn't beat the Pistons' depth; and 5) one of the most intimidating home courts in the NBA.
I see Detroit beating San Antonio in the finals which I know is a boring choice but it's still the right one. Phoenix and Miami would be more fun but so would the Browns having a #1 pick that isn't a disaster.

Stu
For some reason I'm still not sold on the Pistons and their ability to repeat. As you can already note, I don't think they'll be able to get past Indiana. They certainly have the best starting 5 in the NBA and easily play the best team defense you could hope for. That said, their bench isn't nearly deep enough to make the run like they did last year. Dice has done well for them all season and Carlos Arroya was a nice pickup but that's about it for their bench contributors. The only thing they have going for them in that regard is their versatility in having players who can play at multiple positions to mask their depth problems.
And let's go with this hypothetical that Detroit and Miami meet in the Eastern Conference Finals. You have to realize that Shaq did handle himself well last year against Detroit. Besides that, he is a lot more motivated this year and Miami has a much better bench than the Lakers did last year. Slava Medvedenko started in the NBA Finals last year for the Lakers. Slava wouldn't even be in the big man rotation in Miami this year. To go along with the powerful Shaq/Haslem combination, Miami brings in a rejuvenated Zo, plus the workmanship of Laettner and Doleac if necessary. And remember, unlike Kobe, Dywane Wade likes to pass the basketball if he gets double teamed. For that reason, I like Miami to win it all.
As for who they're playing... I really want to pick someone other than The Spurs but it just seems so hard. Do the Spurs officially have a cakewalk to the finals?

Joel
Wait a second. So, Laettner and Doleac have to give a "workman like effort" just because they're white....I'm just messing with you. We all know they get by on tenacity and intelligence. Miami is still banking on guys like Damon Jones (nice run guy) so I remain unconvinced.
The Spurs look like the smashing machine right now out west. The Sonics have about as much of a chance of beating the Spurs as South Bend Central would have against Hickory if you watched Hoosier tonight. BTW, have you seen the deleted scenes from the expanded edition of Hoosiers? I am curious if it's worthwhile???
Any who, the Suns play a similar brand of ball to Seattle but PHX plays it better. Problem being that it's pretty one dimensional fun and gun with Nash driving and dishing for open looks. I like the Spurs to roll because they can beat you in a lot of different ways. Phoenix can't do that. When it becomes a grind it out, half court game (and it will), the Spurs will roll. Has anyone seen Amere complete a post move yet? He only scores on dunks. Seriously. Plus, I see a situation where Nash gets embarrassed by Parker and we start hearing whispers about maybe Nash shouldn't have won MVP. I have a question after you answer your Spurs question. When the Cavs can't get Ray-Ray or Michael Redd AND Z walks because he wants too much money.....then who do the Cavs spend $25 million on???

Stu
Relying on Damon Jones is a bit scary, but since all they ask him to do is chuck up 3 pointers I don't think it'll be too much to handle.
I really want to pick Phoenix over San Antonio but I just can't. Like you said the Spurs can run with Phoenix AND slow down the game and take over. They are far too versatile in that for Phoenix to be able to take them down. San Antonio is the one team that seemingly doesn't need to impose its will on opponents, because no matter the style of play, they can win.
That said, I do believe that Dallas would actually be the toughest matchup for the Spurs. Dirk will pull Duncan away from the basket and as bad as he is, I'll take Erick Dampier over Rasho anyday of the week. Dallas also has a glut of swingmen to bring in the game and, like San Antonio, can both run and execute in teh half court. They're deeper than the Spurs and since Van Horn went out, Dallas actually looks like they have a pulse. Also, Jason Terry hasn't missed a shot in 3 months and I have faith in the Dallas guards to be able to slow down Manu and Tony Parker. If they can somehow manage to make it through Phoenix, Dallas can certainly give San Antonio a run for their money. Will they win? Probably not, but at least they should be able to make a series out of it.
As for your Cleveland question, the first thing they should do is offer Phil Jackson all the money in the world to come coach. That might be enough to entice Z-Eel to sign up for less. However, the best move the Cavs could make if they don't get the 2 guard of their dreams would be to do a sign and trade deal with Big Z. Even if the Cavs aren't willing to overpay for him, some team out there will be. Centers like Ilgauskus are hard to come by and a team will definitely give up a great deal to get him. If that fails then I see no other option for the Cavs but to go out and spend all their money on...

Antoine Walker. (hahahahahahahaha)

Joel
No, not Antoine Walker. I was thinking more along the lines of a solid core group that includes Magliore, Dickau, and Bobby Simmons. I've heard Brevin Knight's name tossed around in Cleveland circles but that's not a good idea. You don't want a PG that will take away from Lebron having the ball in his hands as much as possible. So, a shooting type like Dickau would be preferable and just let Lebron handle it. Jordan and Pipper were always primary ball handlers for Chicago. It doesn't have to be your one guard.
So, what is the most disturbing news of the week....1) Lebron fires agent for his buddies from high school; or 2) Chappelle ends up in a South African nut house???
I'm on the fence....

Stu
Well, the Antoine Walker suggestion was just to see if I could get you riled up a bit at the thought of Antoine chucking up 3 pointers while Lebron stands on the court crying. Magloire will probably demand the same amount of cash Big Z will want so he's probably out of the question. Simmons might be a nice addition to the team since he's a great shooter and has added range. If he could handle the ball better he would be perfect. As for Dickau, well, you'd be asking him to play the same role as Damon Jones on the Heat and you just spoke of how you wouldn't want to rely on Damon so why Dickau? In that sense they'd be better off trying to sign Mighty Mouse.
Well the Chapelle news is disappointing. Just as he was getting really famous he goes crazy. But that's not unusual for stars to do. The Lebron news is disturbing because for someone who is supposed to be as intelligent as he is, it's just plain stupid for him to hire his friends as his representation.

OK, so after you answer your question, let's start wrapping this up with a final couple of questions:
1. What's the most disappointing thing in the playoffs thus far?
2. What's the most pleasant surprise of the playoffs?

Joel

You think Magliore and Z get the same money? I think Z gets a max contract and Magliore probably gets $10 million. Although, Adonal's giant wallet screws up the center market. Stupid, stupid Chris Mullin. AND Mighty Mouse is a great idea that I hadn't considered. He actually acted like a grown man this year so I'd be willing to expose Lebron to him.
The most disappointing part of the playoffs has been the lack of worthwhile underdogs. You could argue that everything has gone as expected. Denver probably had the best shot in the west of beating the Spurs and they got plowed under. The 76ers and Nets laid down and died almost immediately. Every other matchup was fairly even so it was tough to even find an underdog. It's still be entertaining but kind of bland like an episode of the Dukes of Hazard. You know exactly what's gonna happen. (DOH being that the Duke boys get framed, get chased by the cops where they go to commercial as they're about to crash and the voice over says something like, "looks like the Duke boys gonna die here" and after commercial they just drive around it and eventually clear their name while Roscoe wrecks at least 2 cop cars).

Stu
Magloire definitely gets max money. All Star centers don't exactly fall into your lap and if healthy, Magloire is a top center in the West. Some GM will be crazy enough to make him a very wealthy man. I think that the Mouse will be a nice addition to any team right now. Like Rasheed proved, you leave Portland and good things happen.
The lack of underdogs is something we're going to have to get used to. Since the NBA expanded the first round to 7 games, it's a lot harder for an underdog to sneak out with a win. And like you said, with the 3 divisions in each conference, the parity is much more evident in most series.
For me, as much as I'd like to say Kyle Korver's disappearance was the most disappointing, I have to say it was Tracy and Yao's inability to get out of the first round of the playoffs. Sure they were playing a better overall team but at some point these guys need to learn how to make their way a little further into the playoffs to prove their status as elite NBA players. There is no excuse for them going up 2-0 in that series and then dropping it 4-3. Inexcuseable.
OK, so now for my most pleasant surprise and then I'll pass it back to you for the last word.
For me, the best surprise of the playoffs has been the outstanding play of Jason Terry as PG for the Mavs. He held his own all year but I was very skeptical that he would be able to continue in the playoffs. Meanwhile, after suriving the humbling experience of losing his first 2 home playoffs games, Terry has run his team efficiently and hasn't missed now in 3 years. He's doing everything that Dallas could ever have hoped he would do and more.

Joel
Best surprise was my ability to catch up on my sleep. I'm with you that the 7 games series take away much of the suspense. Unfortunately, this will not change because there is too much money to be made on additional broadcasts. I wish the series were even shorter; best of 3 in the first, best of 5 in the semis, and best of 7 only in the conference and NBA finals. It would be like the NCAA tourney where an upset can happen at any time. I guess a close second on pleasant surprises would be the hilarity of Dirk calling out Dampier. His attempt at hiding his German accent always makes for good comedy as he sounds like the nihilist's bad German accents in The Big Lebowski. I was begging him to tell Dampier that he believes in nothing and that he was gonna cut off his johnson if he didn't start clogging up the lane.

Not sure if there's a better way to end than that.

An Unforeseen Dilemma...

2005-05-09T15:25:00.000-04:00

Because of situations out of my control (i.e. switching projects at work), it does not look likely that A Fantasy Life will be able to follow the regular schedule for the next week or so. As it stands, I may be able to access the internet for a time each day, but without proper access to statistics and therefore inability to give proper analysis, I feel it would be better to just not post rather than post something done halfway. In the meantime, I am hoping that Cleveland Correspondant Joel Wertman gets his computer set up soon and then I can turn the blog over to him while I am unable to post. I'm going to do my best to get some stuff done for this week, perhaps even writing some running commentary during the games, but don't want to make any promises. I thank all regular readers for their understanding and want everyone to know that A Fantasy Life won't go long without any posting, after all, what kind of Fantasy Life would it be then?

Final Grades

2005-05-05T13:57:00.000-04:00

Before handing out the Sixers final grades of the season, I point you to the right, where a new poll has been established. There you will be asked which of the 3 main free agents (Korver, Dalembert, Green) of this team should be resigned. The poll will remain for a bit and I encourage voters to vote more than once. You want all 3 back, vote for all three, you want one more than the others vote for him more, and so on. The poll will be taken down at my discretion (read: when I come up with a better one).

Remeber, Your Final Counts as 10% of Your Grade.

Alright, so without further ado, here are A Fantasy Life's final grades on the 76ers this year. The grades are based on how they performed up to expectations.

The Starters
Allen Iverson - Start at the top with the team leader. Iverson was forced into that leadership role this year. No longer could he hide with the other veteran players that Larry Brown and Billy King had put around him to protect him. He started the season at a new position, and was asked to bring youngsters Dalembert, Korver, and Iguodala along as quickly as possible and get the Sixers back into the playoffs. All he did was respond with what everyone seems to think is his best season ever. 30+ pts, 8+ assists. He really did do it all. He made sure that Iguodala got easy baskets to help his confidence, showed the utmost confidence in Kyle Korver, and kept feeding Dalembert easy dunks in the lane. Meanwhile, he was still a ballhawk on defense, among the tops in the NBA in steals. The year wasn't totally perfect for him though. At times he was very apt to go right back into ball hog mode and not even see his teammates. And those games of 10+ turnovers can never happen again. If Allen can ever learn that he can allow his teammates to create their own shot and control the ball a little more and take 2 less stupid shots a game, he might prove himself to be an all time great. In the meantime he remains a hell of a player to watch, but one still needing a little bit more.
Grade: B+

Andre Iguodala - This is a guy who exceeded all expectations. Scouts new he was athletic and would contribute, but no one could expect this much. The only Sixer to start every game this year, Iggie proved that he is much more than just an athlete. He was always asked to guard the opponent's toughest perimeter player and took this challenge head on. It was rare to see him fail. Coming into the league scouts questioned his shot, by the end of the year he was confidently stroking 3 pointers from the corner. He does just enough of off everything in the game that Doug Collins began comparing him to a young Scottie Pippen. If Andre can be half the player Pippen was, then all of us in Philadelphia will be happy. He's got all the talent and apparent drive to make it happen too. There is a lot of room for improvement from Andre, but for his first season, he passes with flying colors.
Grade: A

Kyle Korver - If I gave this grade out at the end of the regular season when I gave him A Fantasy Life's Most Improved Player Award, Korver might have warranted an 'A'. Now that the playoff are finished and we all saw him disappear when it mattered most, I'm left wondering if I should retroactively give the MIP award to someone else. I've detailed the strides I felt Korver made this year. From his defensive positioning to his ability to find just the right spot on offense, Korver was a surprise that everyone seemed to adore. It's a shame that when it mattered most, Korver fell apart. He should have other chances to redeem himself, but for his playoff performance alone we've got to deduct serious points. If he ever learns that he can shoot from inside the arc, he'll be even more deadly.
Grade: C- (B regular season, F for the playoffs)

Chris Webber - People have gotten mad at me I was so easy on Chris Webber this year. I, like many, were too quick to praise the deal that brought him here as the saving grace for this team, but unlike most, I was not ready to bail out when it didn't immediately materialize. Webber whined a bit that he didn't fit in right away. It was stated that he clashed on every turn with Coach Jim O'Brien. Yet he tried to remain positive and keep doing what he could to help the team. Going from a team where the offense revolved around him to a team where he would have to be a secondary star would be hard for anyone to deal with, Webber seemed to handle it all as best as he could. It did seem that we were finally starting to see glimpses of what he could bring late in the season and in the playoffs; and because of that, I will continue to preach patience. Webber is too smart of a basketball player not to figure this out. With an entire offseason, plus preseason to make it work, I have little doubt that Webber will come through. But until then...
Grade: Incomplete

Samuel Dalembert - Boy was this a roller coaster year. Early on he really struggled to figure out what Jim O'Brien was asking of him. The projected starter before the season started, he sat on the bench at the beginning of the year watching the less athletic Marc Jackson play the bulk of the minutes in the middle. Whether it was forced by the hand of Billy King or not, Dalembert eventually did break into the starting lineup. He struggled with foul trouble all year and is still often caught out of position, but he is the player the Sixers need most. An athlete of the highest order, Dalembert runs and jumps like a gazelle, can block shots at a tremendous rate, and has the soft hands necessary to catch Iverson's passes. People quick to paint him as regressing this year still forget that he hasn't been playing the game long and everything he has done up until now has been on raw talent alone. That has to change. He has to grow and get better. And he has to learn to stay out of foul trouble. In the meantime, what would have been a barely passing grade during the season was helped by his incredible playoff performances. If he plays next year like he did in the playoffs, this team could be very good.
Grade: C

The Front Office
Coach Jim O'Brien - It certainly was an up and down homecoming for Jim O'Brien. Hailed as a savior returning to his home town, O'Brien may have been saddled with unreasonable expectations. People seem to forget that he had to instill a new offense and defense, rely on 3 young players for significant minutes, somehow relate to Allen Iverson, and then incorporate Chris Webber into the scheme of things. Always doing things his own way, Obie was unafraid to sit players who "didn't get it" and was willing to give anyone a shot at proving themselves. He handed Allen the ball and told him to lead and it worked out very well. He still needs to be a little more willing to adapt his systems for the players he has, but in the end, he coaxed the playoffs out of a team that people weren't sure that to make of them. In the end, Obie did exactly what everyone had hoped he would do, no more, no less. And therefore...
Grade: B-

GM Billy King - Somehow he was able to pawn off the absolutely awful contracts of Kenny Thomas, Corliss Williamson, and Brian Skinner and turn them into Chris Webber. Of course, since he signed 2 out of those 3 contracts it was his own mess he was cleaning up. But it appears that the draft choices of at least Korver and Dalembert have started to work out quite nicely. Even Allen Iverson gave a semblance of praise to King when, in his interview after the final game) said that the Sixers organization had put some very nice pieces next to him on the floor. Eventually, his legacy here will rely on how the Webber trade works out, but for the continued development of his players, for having the gall to make the Webber trade, for cleaning up his own mess, and having the team make the playoffs Billy King earns himself...
Grade: C+

The Bench
Marc Jackson - Like Korver, this grade would have been a lot higher if we didn't count his disappearance in the playoffs. Jackson was a sometimes starter, but always a man playing hte bulk of the minutes in the middle. He has less lift in his legs than even Chris Webber, but he bangs hard down low, draws fouls, makes a good percentage of his jumpers and free throws, and knows where to be defensively. Jackson isn't one to be caught out of position too much on either end of the floor. He'll never be a superstar, but you always know you'll get the maximum amount of effort from him. Shame it didn't equate to anything good in the playoffs.
Grade: C (B+ regular season, F playoffs)

Aaron McKie - With Aaron McKie, I think it's become a case of the mind is willing, but the body just can't keep up anymore. We're basically watching him decompose before our eyes. Still good for an outburst from time to time, Aaron is not the former 6th Man of the Year winner we all came to love. He's smart enough to know what he can do and make the proper contributions, but anymore he's on the team to teach and keep Allen under control.
Grade: C-

Willie Green - During the regular season all I really learned about Willie Green was that he had a non-smoking clause in his contract. Projected as a starter at guard, Obie learned real fast what other coaches struggled with: you can't play a diminutive guard next to Allen Iverson, especially if he has a questionable long range shot. Willie basically plays the exact same game as Iverson, and was therefore relegated to backing up the man who leads the NBA in minutes played every year. From time to time when Allen was out Willie would come in and show exactly what he could do. There is the temptation to slam him for missing the free throw with 3.1 left in Game 4, but since he made the next one, I will not join in. It seemed that he was using the playoffs to prove he could play next to Iverson, but first that's up to him to develop his jumper and for the Sixers to see if they even want to bring him back. Maybe the expectations were unreasonable, but they were there. And for that reason, Willie gets...
Grade: D

Rodney Rogers - Even though it should have been easier for him to transition back to a Jim O'Brien coached team, I am going to give the benefit of the doubt here and hand Rodney the same grade as Chris Webber got. Next year I will be expecting more.
Grade: Incomplete

None of the other players on the bench got enough minutes to even earn a mark. Josh Davis played well considering who he was, and John Salmons likewise will show that he actually does know how to play basketball from time to time.

The Ending of Our Story

2005-05-04T13:21:00.000-04:00

Well, I had hoped to spend today's blog entry dissecting last night's Sixer's game. However, seeing as how they lost another tough one and now are finished for the season, it would be a moot point to go over the good and bad from last night. With the next game scheduled for some time in October and no inside knowledge of who will be staying and going in free agency or trades, there's no reason to sit here and go through the final loss of the season. Instead I will spend tomorrow's post going over A Fantasy Life's season ending grades for the Sixers, and possibly looking a little at next year. Then, starting next week, we'll get more in depth with the rest of the NBA Playoffs as well as moving along into some fantasy baseball talk.

Let Us Pray...

2005-05-03T12:58:00.000-04:00

Well, it appears that tonights game could (repeat: COULD) be the final time we see the 2004-05 Philadelphia 76ers on an NBA court. Therefore, instead of a regular post, I felt it would be best for us all to put our heads together and concentrate.

Say it with me...

Dear God,

Allow our beloved Sixers this win (and the next 2). They deserve it. They've fought for us all year. They've fought through adversity and no one believing in them. Please God, don't let the ride end yet.

Thanks.



Damn Right. Let's do it. GO SIXERS!!!!!

I've Got A Headache THIS Big...

2005-05-02T14:16:00.000-04:00

Don't ever expect to get anything done at work after 4 straight days of drinking. My eyes can barely focus, my head is pounding, and concentration is not really a possibility. Yet because I promised to be back in full force today, I don't want to let any loyal readers down. I would comment on all of the current series (even the now completed ones), but seeing as how the wedding took up a great deal of my time, the only game I was actually able to watch since Wednesday night was (sadly) yesterday's OT Sixer's loss to the Pistons. Which brings me to today's topic...

Man, This Instant Korver Sure is Taking a Looooooong Time to Brew

Watching this series, Sixers fans have been treated to some very good signs.

Allen Iverson is still Allen Iverson. He's putting up very good numbers and doing whatever he can to win games.
Chris Webber appears to be hitting his jump shots. In fact, he's finally starting to look like the player all Sixers fans thought the team was getting.
Andre Iguodala does not appear scared anymore. The bright lights of the playoffs threw him off his game early in the series, but as expected, the home court has re-energized him. He's still making some rookie mistakes, but he's now learning how to perform in the playoffs.
The great leaps that Samuel Dalembert is making. As much as Iguodala is learning in these playoffs, Samuel Dalembert, while playing against one of the most formidable front lines in basketball, has more than held his own. He has stayed out of foul trouble and on the court for long stretches of games. Yesterday's game was the only one in which he failed to record a double double (missing by 1 point). He has had some trouble quickly rotating out to Rasheed Wallace as Sheed has fired at will from beyond the arc, but the good is enough to outweigh the bad. Dalembert is making his presence known on the court, which is more than I had anticipated.

Obviously, with the team down 3 games to 1, all has not been good. And like the problem described above of Dalembert's sometimes inability to rotate to the arc fast enough, there really has been one glaring problem for the Sixers in this series.

Kyle Korver can't get open.

This is what draft experts spoke about when Korver first entered the NBA. They spoke of his lack of overall speed and how he would be unable to get open looks in the NBA. He avoided that for most of the year, but now, with A Fantasy Life's Defensive Player of the Year, Tayshaun Prince guarding him, Korver has found it incredibly difficult to get any shot off, let alone an open look. Normally, with the whirling dervish known as Allen Iverson driving into the teeth of the defense, Korver can position himself beyond the arc, wait for his man to collapse on Iverson, and get an open look at the rim. Well, with the speed and incredible wingspan of Prince, not to mention the Pistons not needing him to collapse on Iverson, Korver can't get open. This is making Korver press and play tight. He's forcing up any shot he gets and is becoming increasingly frustrated.

The team even went so far as to sit Korver for most of the game and give his minutes to Willie Green. For the Sixers to hold any hope, they need to continue to go with Green. He can create his own shots off the dribble, get to the free throw line, isn't afraid to shoot, and maybe most importantly, he moves Iggie to the SF position, leaving Tayshuan to have to guard Andre and his greater athleticism. For the Sixers to have any hope of even forcing a game 6, they need to keep Willie Green on the court. Because it is doubtful that Korver will learn to adapt quickly enough to have any impact in this series at all.

So what can Korver do to correct this and make an impact on the series? Well, here at A Fantasy Life, I have spent quite a bit of time talking about the great strides that Korver made this season. I even went so far as to name him A Fantasy Life's Most Improved Player. And while it is easy for anyone to notice the great strides Korver has made defensively and in terms of positioning himself on the court, he remains a one trick pony offensively. It is undoubtable that Korver made and remained on the Sixer's roster because he could hit the 3 pointer. But it's about time for him to actually add things to his offensive repetoire. Even if he starts of with just a head fake, that will probably open the floor up to him a great deal. Korver needs to realize that some teams are not going to simply allow him to stand around outside the arc. He also needs to realize that shooting yourself out of a slump will eventually work, but really, there are two things that make the hoop seem bigger: layups and free throws. Until Korver can find a way to add those simple basketball elements into his offensive game, he'll remain useless against a team like Detroit that can simply shut down the outside shooting that made his game valuable.

Better Late Than Never...

2005-04-27T11:43:00.000-04:00

I apologize to regular readers for the lateness of my coverage of the 1st Round of the NBA Playoffs. As I wrote yesterday, there have been events that have taken my time away from here. That said, actually being able to see some of the games before writing my predictions certainly can't hurt. So without further ado, here is A Fantasy Life's look at the first round of the NBA Playoffs...

Western Conference
Phoenix vs. Memphis - A lot of people seemed to think that Memphis could give Phoenix trouble. The teams split the season series and Memphis has a glut of young talent (especially at the swingman SG/SF position) that can attempt to find a nice medium between slowing down and matching Phoenix's blistering pace of play. For me, I think it's a case of almost enough. As shown in Game 1, Memphis can give the impression that they can keep the game close. No game in this series should ever feature a 20+ point lead for the Suns. However, it remains to be seen if Memphis can score enough to get any lead under 10. Which means we'll be teased a lot into thinking that this series is closer than it is. Memphis should probably be able to win a game at home, but that'll be it. These teams look a lot alike in terms of makeup, and Memphis can run fairly well, but Phoenix is just more talented across the board. Unless Pau Gasol outplays Amare Stoudemire, this series will be over quickly.
Prediction - Phoenix wins 4-1
San Antonio vs. Denver - The Spurs did not want to face the Nuggets in Round 1. But to be fair, nobody wants to see Denver. Anyone who follows the NBA knows the Nuggets have been the hottest team in the NBA since the All Star break. George Karl has lit a fire under this team that just won't go out. He has mazimized his young and energetic frontline, getting them to harness their physicality to the utmost. Carmello Antony is playing like the superstar everyone thought he should be. To make matters worse for the Spurs, Tim Duncan is obviously not at 100%. It is unlikely that he will be at all for the playoffs, let alone for this series. For the Spurs to have a chance, they need Manu and Tony Parker to take over this series. Both have the potential to do so, but after Game 1 it seems like they are shying away from the challenge. They have had to focus their energies to their defense in order to make up for Duncan's injury. But really, this comes down to one thing: Denver wants this more. You can see it by looking at the players. Without the settling influence a completely healthy Tim Duncan brings, San Antonia looks as if they have no idea what they are doing. This one is going to end quickly unless that changes.
Prediction - Denver wins 4-2
Seattle vs. Sacramento - Seattle struggled to the finish line. They clinched the 3rd seed in the playoffs because a team below them lost. They had to deal with injuries to major contributors in Antonio Daniels, Rashard Lewis, and Vlad Rad. Plus, the ongoing struggles for Danny Fortson to keep his head on straight. Yet somehow they have survived. And they found the perfect opponent in Sacramento. Sacramento misses Chris Webber a lot more than they would like to admit. But that's what happens when you trade a player the entire team has been built around. Sacramento also had to deal with injuries and are now just working Bobby Jackson and Brad Miller back into the lineup. To have to do that and deal with not having Webber is just too much for this team. Two other things make this a lost cause for Sacramento, Jerome James (as Charles Barkely put it) turning into Jerome James, and Rick Adelman not being able to coach. James has turned into a monster. He is aggressive and against the weak willed Kings that has made him look unstoppable. And last night Adelman proved himself to be the worst coach in the league. With 6 minutes remaining and his team down 10, Adelman decided it would be better to leave his 2nd unit in the game, rather than re-enter any of his starters. I don't know about anyone else, but if I were in that situation, I would rather rely on Bibby, Mobley, Peja, Thomas, and Miller than the collection of stiffs they were trotting out.
Prediction - Seattle wins 4-0
Dallas vs. Houston - Here's the one series out West where having the 2 games already played really helps. If I didn't have those games as reference I would have been picking Dallas. In fact, I thought Dallas was a good sleeper to sneak out of the West. Now I know better. T-Mac is doing whatever he can to win in the playoffs. He knows that this is his time to prove everyone wrong: from those who thought he was selfish in leaving Toronto, to those who thought he didn't do everything he could in Orlando. And T-Mac is coming through with everything the team needs. Cover the opponents best player? Check. Score points when the team needs it? Check. Get everyone else involved on the offensive end? Check. Take the pressure off of Yao Ming and allow him to grow on his own? Check. Because of last year, people seem to forget that McGrady was considered one of the best players in the NBA. He's making them remember now. Dallas has no answers and without a point guard who can calm everyone on the floor and make good decisions on offense and defense, they will have no chance.
Prediction - Houston 4-0

Eastern Conference
Miami vs. New Jersey - My good buddy Yorkis thinks that the Nets had a shot in this one. I think he's hedging his bets now. New Jersey had a fantastic end to the season with Vince Carter putting the team onhis back and carrying them into the playoffs. And getting Richard Jefferson back does help them out. But in the end, Carter and Jason Kidd are not going to be enough to beat the Heat. Jefferson, normally an outstanding defender, isn't in good enough shape to keep Dywane Wade under wraps. And no matter how good Nenad Krstic has looked this year, he still isn't equal to Alonzo Mourning, let alone Shaquille O'Neal. The Miami role players have also taken the playoffs to prove that they can do their job. It'll be interesting to see how they fare in New Jersey, and also how the Nets less experienced players handle that as well, but Miami is just too good with Shaq and Wade.
Prediction - Miami wins 4-2
Chicago vs. Washington - Anyone who thinks this is going to be the most exciting series is probably right. Two teams, filled with young players itching to prove themselves in the playoffs and 2 coaches who have done marvelous jobs in turning these players into winners. But really, this series doesn't come down to scouting out which team is better. I have a feeling that home court will be of the utmost importance. When you're in a new pressure filled situation, nothing helps comfort a player like being on their home court. This experience is all new to them and anything that helps them calm down and keep their composure is good. The loss of Deng and Curry does hurt, but these Bulls were a team by committee anyway. As long as the 4th quarter performers of Chandler and Gordon do their jobs, the Bulls should be able to maintain home court and win out in this series. But it'll be close.
Prediction - Bulls win 4-3
Boston vs. Indiana - Boston was revitalized by the return of Antoine Walker this season. So much has been written about it that I won't recap here. Boston has better players, more depth, and more energy. So why aren't they going to win this series? 2 reasons. 1) The Pacers are just a smarter team. Rick Carlise (although he didn't win the Manlove Coach of the Year Award) may be the best coach in basketball. He never had his projected starting lineup on the court for a game this year. Injuries, suspensions, you name it; this team has gone through it all and persevered. He makes all the right adjustments on the court and keeps his team playing under control. And 2) Reggie Miller still plays for the Pacers. He's one of the greatest playoff performers in NBA history. And in his final season in Indiana, the team has really rallied around him. They want to win this one for Reggie more than anything else. There's a reason he won the Manlove MVP Award. And that's the reaosn the Pacers take this series.
Prediction - Indiana wins 4-2
Detroit vs. Philadelphia - Nobody seems to think the Sixers have a chance (except me). And the first 2 games of this series did nothing to sway them. The Pistons have the same starting 5 that won them a championship a year ago. They have the continued development of Tayshaun Prince. And they have a bench and rotation of players that maximizes what they do. But this series won't come down to that. Like the Bulls/Wizards series, this game will come down to the Sixer's young inexperienced players. Allen Iverson will be Allen Iverson. Chris Webber will be Chris Webber (whatever that means). But to even stay competitive in this series, the Sixers need good production from Iguodala, Dalembert, and Korver. Iggie has not played up to the standards he set for himself in the regular season. Dalembert has been good underneath, but needs to stay out of foul trouble. And Kyle Korver really needs to find a way to get open. He's only taken 9 shots in the first 2 games. He should be shooting 9 3's a game. The problem here is that Tayshaun Prince ends up guarding him a lot and doesn't leave to double down elsewhere. The Sixers need to do more to get Korver open. They deperately need his outside shooting. They also need good production from their incredibly unathletic bench. Like the young players in the Bulls/Wiz series, my hope is that being back on the home court on Friday gives them a good sense of comfort and gets them energized to play the way they know they can. Otherwise this series will be over in 4 games.
Prediction - Philadelphia wins 4-3 (Seriously, did you think I could pick against my beloved Sixers?)

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That'll be it for this week. A Fantasy Life will return next week for a bigger slate of entries. Until then, enjoy the rest of the week and have a good weekend.

New Poll, Busy Schedule, and NFL Draft vs. Lord of the Rings

2005-04-25T11:10:00.000-04:00

A Playoff Poll

If you look to the right, you will notice that a new poll has gone up. You can vote there on whether or not you believe the Sixers can defeat the Pistons in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. And since the first round of the NBA playoffs takes about 3 months to complete, there will be plenty of time to vote. The poll is open for interpretation as well. I have yet to find a NBA "expert" who gives the Sixers much of a chance, so instead of asking if they will win, I only ask if people think they can. And after the first game on Saturday, I think the believers will be few and far between.

Excuses Are Like Bellybuttons...

Just as an FYI for any regular readers, this will be a short week at A Fantasy Life. I am in the midst of working 11 straight days and will be leaving on Thursday afternoon for a wedding in State College. Therefore, it may be tough for me to put out anything more than 2 posts this week. For this you all have my apologies. I assure you that I will be back in full force next week. I spent most of the weekend trying to figure out what to make of 5th round NFL draft picks, boning up on my baseball, and watching the numerous basketball games. This week we'll have the NFL Draft Review (see below) and an NBA Playoff Preview (which is greatly helped by them playing some games already) tomorrow or Wednesday.

My God, When Will the Madness End?!?!

I must point something out. If A Fantasy Life Cleveland Correspondant Joel Wertman were not on vacation, this would be his article. That man loves the NFL draft. And being a Browns fan, you can understand why it would be his favorite NFL event of the year. However, he is on vacation and therefore the draft review is left up to me.

It was with great trepidation that I went into my preparations for a draft article last week. I knew that 2 events would take priority over it already: 1) that I was working; and 2) the NBA playoffs. Still, I hunkered down and at 12 noon on Saturday opened up an internet browser at work to check it out. I think there were a grand total of 3 picks before I made it back to my hotel at 4:00. That's my main problem with the NFL draft. The damn thing takes way too long. 15 minutes per pick?!?! Are you kidding me? For crying out loud, there are times when the first 3 picks in the draft will already be signed to their new teams and the teams will still take all 15 minutes before making the announcement. It takes so long, that I was able to watch the first half of the Sixers game, then check the draft board at halftime and find that I missed 2 picks. (Which was compounded by the fact that WR Matt Jones from Arkansas, the player I had hoped the Eagles would draft at 31, was selected 21 by Jacksonville.) It took so long, that I didn't even get to see the Eagles first round pick, because by the time they got to it, the draft had already been moved over to ESPN2, and I don't get that in the hotel!!

Here's the comparison for those wondering about the post title:

Lord of the Rings Trilogy Extended Edition: Running time of approximately 15 hours, if I was forced to watch all the way through this I would easily fall alseep 5-10 times. Either that or get up and kill myself in the middle.
NFL Draft - I have no idea. Isn't it still going on? I think it made me fall asleep both at my desk and at the hotel.

Alright, enough complaining about it, there are obviously some topics that deserve merit.

Fantasy Speculation Only - For the purposes of this review, I am not discussing Offensive Lineman and Defensive Picks. I'm only going to be talking about possible fantasy implications and unless your league has categories for these positions, it's useless to talk about the impact of those players here. If you want to know about your team's 4th round offensive tackle selection, Mel Kiper is over at ESPN with a full review.

Stay Away From the Rookie QBs - This one should be obvious, but there is bound to be someone in your fantasy league that takes Alex Smith and is smiling when they do it. Seriously, unless you're trying to stack a keeper team, there is no reason to put a rookie QB on your roster. They are invariably on the teams trying to rebuild and will be a few years away (at best) from being really productive fantasy players. People may try and point to Big Ben last year (yes, the reason I will call him that is I don't want to look up the proper spelling of his last name), but as much team success as he had, he was not exactly a fantasy stud and spent the year mostly handing off. There may be a rookie who ends up starting for a good team because of injury, but the chances that you'll draft him are minimal. Enjoy the progress these guys make and keep them in mind, but don't put them on your fantasy team.

Hit or Miss Wideouts - Wide Receiver is one of the toughest decisions in terms of drafting a rookie. Sometimes they can come in and blow up (Randy Moss); othertimes they come in and blow up portions of their body (Charles Rogers). Sometimes they come in and just plain stink (Reggie Williams). Some of these guys could be taken as backups for your fantasy teams. Williamson in Minnesota will have the opportunity to perform at a high level, as he will be asked to run the deep routes that were previously Randy Moss'. Mike Williams gives Detroit and incredibly talented and deep receiving corps and he may be good for a few touchdowns and some nice yardage. Braylon Edwards might be the one guy worth taking a chance with early. He's the only real wideout in Cleveland and will make a nice tandem with Kellen Winslow (if Winslow stays healthy). Edwards has the size and speed to be a dominant wideout in the NFL. For selections taken beyond the first round, be sure to keep up to date with teams depth chart once the mini-camps start. Sometimes they can sneak up on you and there is sure to be a surprise contributor hiding in there (a la Anquoin Bouldin). Matt Jones of Arkansas has the most talent of all of these players, but is making the switch from college QB to pro WR. If he can make that transition quickly, watch out for him, he's going to be a special football player.

Rookie RBs - Now here's the position where you could wind up with a monster. Like Rookie QBs, the expected contributors from running back in the draft went to poor teams. However, unlike the QB who most likely has poor receivers to throw to, the rookie running back can make it work on their own. Barring injury or just outright sucking, the rookies will be handed the ball and asked to carry the load on a regular basis. This means that although they may end up taking a pounding and will certainly have games where they disappear, they'll also have more games with 20+ carries and will be able to give you a 1000 yd season with a decent number of touchdowns. This should be obvious with the top 3 RBs selected this weekend. Benson (in Chicago) and Brown (in Miami) are going to get the ball a lot. But the real winner out of the 3 early picks is Carnell Williams. He goes to Jon Gruden in Tampa where Gruden will do everything he can to make the most of his elusive back. Williams was considered by many to be the worst of the 3, but it says here that he'll easily put up the best numbers next year. Draft pundits and experts are criticizing Denver's selection of Maurice Clarett in the 3rd round. They should learn to never doubt Mike Shanahan about running backs. Give Clarett time to get himself reacquainted with playing football (he hasn't played in 2 years!!) and by midseason, expect him to take over for the Broncos and put up very good numbers. This is a young man with lots to prove and he was put in the perfect position on the perfect team to do so.

The players mentioned here are the ones who could be seen as good fantasy pickups. This is obviously subject to change with injuries and players not being as good as they had hoped. As mentioned above, keep an eye on team depth charts as we get closer to the regular season, you never know when someone unexpected might show up.

One last thing about the draft. I would be remise if I didn't mention the biggest surprise of them all. The exceptional commentating by St. Louis WR Torry Holt. Holt was a study analyst for this show and was exceptional. Intelligent and articulate, he both knew how each of the players drafted did in college and could give, from a pro's perspective, how they could best be maximized in the pros. Humorous and insightful, there is no doubt that Holt will go from exceptional WR to exceptional analyst once his playing career is over.

The Manlove Awards Continue...

2005-04-21T13:46:00.000-04:00

I realized that I had no pictures of the trophies that these players were getting for their Manlove Awards, so before I continue let me rectify that.



Because nothing says "Manlove" like a trophy of a dude in his pajamas... or a chick in a martini glass.

Now, back to the show...

Announcing Manlove - Doug Collins. For some reason, I don't believe that NBA announcers are given their recognition. Therefore I have instituted this award. And for the forseeable future, Doug Collins looks like he'll be the winner. Nobody is more knowledgeable about the game of basketball than Doug Collins. Being a coach recently, he not only knows all of the player tendencies but also the team and coaching tendencies as well. He conveys this in a way that any casual sports fan can understand and always brings that extra sense of enjoyment to the broadcast. There is never a doubt that Doug Collins knows his stuff and truly enjoys doing what he does. He even gets brownie points, because above any other announcer in any sport, Doug understands Philly fans. When Chris Webber was hearing boos in a recent game, Collins pointed out that the boo's weren't out of hatred, but frustration, continuing to point out how much Philly fans want to love Chris Webber. Well, I'll tell you one thing Doug, they certainly love you. Special Runner-up goes to Tommy Heinsohn of the Boston Celtics announce team. If they hadn't traded his beloved Waltah away, he might have been able to wrestle this one away from Mr. Collins.

Resurrected Manlove - Damon Stoudamire, PG, Portland Trailblazers. Just think, last year he barely played. This year, he began the season as the starter, but quickly made his way to the bench. Who knew that it would help resurrect his career. He somehow found his stroke and while fantasy owners were giving up on him, Mo Cheeks found renewed faith. After being re-inserted in the starting lineup, Stoudamire was given free reign on the court. He shot from downtown at will, and for the first time in his career, really started making them. 18 straight games of 15+ points, including 14 of 20+ and a monster 54 point effort. He also didn't miss a free throw for over a month and even playing the combo guard in Cheeks' miniscule backcourt, he picked up good assist numbers and better than expected rebound totals. People may have thought he had something left to contribute, but no one say Mighty Mouse ressurecting himself and returning to save the day.

Unexpected Manlove - Bobby Simmons, SG/SF, LA Clippers. Did anyone know who this guy was on draft night? Even when he exploded for 32 points opening night, did anyone else believe that it was anything more than a fluke? Bobby Simmons, a player not even expected to start in preseason, kept proving people wrong all year. And just when people thought he would be a solid source of points, rebounds, and percentages, he decided he could do more, adding a 3 point shot and getting more effective at swiping the ball. No one knows if he'll be able to do it again next year, but this was one hell of a source of unexpected manlove.

Better Than Advertised Manlove - Jason Richardson, SG, Golden State Warriors. Everyone knew he could jump. Everyone knew he could score a bit. What people didn't know were the leaps and bounds his game would take this year. Richardson went anywhere from the 4th -7th round in average fantasy drafts. In the end he was a top 20 player. He failed to score double digits only twice all year. He was easily the best player in the NBA for the entire month of February and he remains the best rebounding guard in the league. He added consistency and range to his jumper and while it remains to be seen what a whole year of playing next to Baron Davis will do, for this year, J-Rich showed everyone exactly what he's capable of.

And now, for the final 3 awards of the night, I will bring in A Fantasy Life Cleveland Correspondent, Joel Wertman, as we each give our selections.

Least Manlove Possible:
Joel - In a slam dunk, runaway, tru warier style it is Ronald Artest. This crazy bastard did something that you will remember on your death bed. I think this is our generation's answer to Kermit Washington nearly decapitating Rudy Tomjanovich. The fantasy impact was tremendous as he was probably an early 2nd round selection at worst in most drafts. AND dude was tearing it up through the first 10 games. But his owners basically got nothing. There hasn't been a worse 2nd round flop since Qunicy Morgan. Side note, have we heard anything about his girl group? Was he upstaged by Diddy's Making the Band 3? I gots to know...
Stu - I hate to have to do this because it's a player I love to watch and I know it isn't his fault he got hurt but there is no way I cannot give this to Andrei Kirilenko. He is such an amazing player and this year had become a sought after 1st round selection. Even worse, he was such a tease early on averging 5+ block per before his early season injury. Simply put, Kirilenko was a guy who you drafted expecting to put up monster numbers in neglected categories. And he didn't deliver. Even worse, while he was out the Jazz went totally into the tank and he came back and was forced to play the role of "savior." That was too much pressure to put on him and if you waited through the entirety of the injury hoping to get him back to full strength you may have gotten some flashes of brilliance, but not nearly enough to make the impact you wanted.

So Much Manlove It's Incalculatable:
Joel - I think the easy response is for me to give this award to basketball Jesuz (Lebron). You can probably write him down for fantasy MVP and #1 pick in the draft for each of the next 15 years. But I'll be complicated and say that the award shouldn't be based solely on putting up big numbers. I, for one, think ppg is a the albatross of fantasy ball because you become distracted from the overall picture. Scorers often bring very little else to the table and often take things off the table (think Vince Carter before he started to give a crap). Scoring has to be the #1 crapshoot category on a weekly basis. For my money, the best dudes help you win categories consistently. As such, Ben Wallace is the man as he puts up huge numbers for some of the more neglected categories; boards, blocks, and steals. Here's a guy that can put you over the top in 1/3 of the categories single handedly. Plus, when he blows out the afro he looks like an extra from any of the following: 1) the scene in Blue Chips where Shaq is balling in a barn on the bayou; 2) any Ludacris video; or 3) a grainy footage of the 1974 NBA finals. That's some versatility which is the hallmark of any MVP.
Stu - It's real hard to pick against Shawn Marion here. Somehow because of the unknown about where he would play this year he fell to the late first/early second round of most drafts. It's also always easy to look at the production from KG and Lebron and hand this award to them. However, there is a player who can do more for your fantasy team than the others. Dirk Nowitzki. Now, there is a proviso in that he only wins this award if he is eligible at center in your fantasy league (he was for mine). Center is unarguably the weakest position in fantasy hoops. Finding a center who can help in most categories is hard enough, but finding one with no discernable weakness is damn near impossible. Except for Dirk. Check out the numbers. He scores (26 per), he does the "center things" (10 boards, 1.5 blocks), he shoots well (45% FG, 80% FT), doesn't turn it over too much (2.3 per), and even better than all of that, he has the skill set of a 2 guard (1.3 3's and 1.4 steals per). To get all of that from a center is like getting a gift from heaven. For these reasons alone, as long as Dirk is eligible at center, he is easily the most valuable player around.

And now for the coveted All Manlove Teams:
Joel -
G: AI - Simply fearless, his balls must be like 2 oversized watermelons. Plus, he's a perennial choice by virtue of one of the greatest quotes ever, "man, we talkin' 'bout practice!"
G: Tabuse - to think that a Japanese baller could be accepted with open arms on the IL of an NBA team in mainland America after the spirited attacks on Oregon in 1942, well, it warms your heart.
F: Tayshaun - after watching him in college did anyone really believe that he could play in the NBA? He's been playing with the house money since day one and he's on the verge of being an allstar.
F: Baketball Jesuz - no explanation needed (subject to becoming basketball satan if he ever leaves C-town)
C: Shaq Fu - I mean really, is there any doubt that he's the best player in the NBA despite making about half of his free throws? Dwyane Wade went from fringe all star to all NBA candidate because he hasn't faced a double team since last year's playoffs.
Stu -
G: Gilbert Arenas - Amazing what he did this year. Sure he isn't a traditional PG and doesn't pile up monster assist numbers but he was placed in a system that took full advantage of his scoring. He was trusted with the ball in his hand and delivered. The steals, 3's, and extra board or 2 are more than enough to put him on this list.
G: Dan Dickau - Sure it was a short run of fantasy relevance but did anyone ever expect this guy to even play more than 10 minutes a game? Somehow he ended up on the floor and put up good numbers. It may never happen again, so for perhaps this one time only, Dan Dickau gets some manlove. Now if only he could drive past the ladies tee...
F: Rashard Lewis - Seriously, where did he come from? Somewhere along the line he went from a guy who could score a little to a poor man's Shawn Marion. But even that comparison isn't far because he hits more 3's than The Matrix. Nothing but more manlove in this guy's future.
F: Shawn Marion - Seeing his name there made me realize I hadn't given him any credit for once again putting up great numbers in every category.
C: Eddy Curry - I mean, seriously, even with the late season injury, was it ever even a question who got this one?

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Thanks for attending the 1st ever A Fantasy Life NBA Manlove Awards. Due to the length (and the frustration of blogger deleting half my post for some reason two times), there will be no posting tomorrow. I will be back next week with NBA Playoff Recaps and Predictions, as well as an NFL Draft Report.

1st Annual A Fantasy Life NBA Manlove Awards (Part 1)

2005-04-20T14:26:00.000-04:00

In some amazing twist of fate, the final day of the NBA season finds itself landing squarely on April 20th. For some that date has some meaning, for others it may not. This is not the forum to discuss it, but if you do celebrate 4/20, a happy holidays to you. As for me, I'll be firmly planted in front of a television watching teams do battle for final playoff positioning and rooting on my players in an incredibly tense fantasy league finals.

In the meantime, with the end of the season upon us, I decided that it was time to start handing out some hardware. In this, Part 1, of A Fantasy Life's first ever Manlove Award ceremony, I will be stating who I think should win the "regular" NBA season ending awards. Part 2 (and any other subsequent parts) will consist of Joel Wertman and myself handing out the more personalized Manlove Awards, made up by us.

So, without further ado, onto the Award Winners...

Executive of the Year - Rockets GM, Carroll Dawson. If he only made the fantastic trade in the offseason to rid the Rockets of perrenial team cancer Steve Francis and got his team a top 5 player in T-Mac Dawson would be in the running for this award. Instead he did more than that. He realized early on that even with T-Mac and Yao, this team had some glaring holes. So he effectively added extra depth to his backcourt without giving up much in return. A team that originally started Tyronn Lue at PG, now boasts a confident and deep guard rotation of Mike James, Bob Sura, David Wesley, and John Barry. Not too shabby.

Most Improved Player - Kyle Korver, SF, Philadelphia 76ers. You can say it's a "homer" call if you want. I certainly won't deny that I've seen him play more than others. You can also say that his 3 point range was obvious last year, and I can't deny that. You can also say that he would owe this hardware to Jim O'Brien and I wouldn't even argue with that. However, you also cannot deny the strides Korver has taken this year. Seen solely as a 3-point specialist, Korver has played every game this year, has averaged 30+ minutes and 11 pts per game. Not only that, but he has shown an ability to get to the right spot on the floor on both offense and defense. He doesn't have the greatest athletic skills around, but he has a great basketball IQ and good initial quickness that allows him to sneak his hands in for steals (1.3/game) and get out in the open floor and find the right spot on the floor. A fearless player who has worked hard to gain the respect and trust of his teammates, Korver is an easy selection for Most Improved Player.

Coach of the Year - Eddie Jordan, Washington Wizards. This essentially comes down to Seattle's Nate McMillan and Washington's Jordan. Both coaches turned around teams that were cellar dwellars and not expected to do much this year. The reason I give this to Jordan over McMillan is because Nate had at least 1 former playoff performer and perrenial All Star (Ray Allen) on his team. Jordan had none. He had to turn around not only a franchise that had been saddled as losers, but also individual players who had never really known winning. He brought a hectic style of offense that showcased his 3 headed scoring machine (Arenas, Hughes, Jamison), placed his big men in a position where they had no other real job but to rebound, and turned Hughes loose on defense. If only he had gotten something out of Kwame Brown and we could consider this the perfect coaching job. There is still room for improvement in Washington, but with Eddie Jordan coaching the team, there's little doubt whether or not they will make it.

6th Man of the Year - Tyson Chandler, PF/C, Chicago Bulls. His rookie teammate will get more publicity for this award, but he'll get his hardware elsewhere (see below). Because as great of a bench scorer Ben Gordon has been, the Bulls have won their games with defense (top of the league in opponent's FG%), and it has been Tyson Chandler leading the way. Chandler has more 4th quarter blocks and rebounds than anyone in the NBA. Often times, Coach Scott Skiles went with Chandler on the court with 4 other perimiter players and didn't fear one bit about opposing offenses getting to the basket. He has averaged 8 pts, 9.7 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in barely more than 27 minutes per game. He is an incredibly dominating shot blocker and seems to be able to get any rebound he wants. Gordon may have provided the flashy highlights off the bench, but it was Tyson Chandler who really kept the Bulls winning games.

Rookie of the Year - Ben Gordon, G, Chicago Bulls. Of course, just because I gave Tyson credit for winning games doesn't mean I will completely discredit Gordon. While you can point to the low post players like Emeka Okefor and Dwight Howard and say they both exceeded expectations and had marvelous years, it has been Ben Gordon who has produced when it mattered most. Okefor put up nice numbers for a Charlotte team that didn't really have much to begin with. Howard was a rebounding machine and could actually score if they got him the basketball. But Gordon's 4th quarter heroics can not go without reward. This guy had more double digit scoring 4th quarters than anyone in the league. He averaged 15 pts a game in barely more than 24 minutes. He scored 20+ points 24 times this year (all off the bench) and was the player the team turned to when it needed a big basket. The other rookies certainly played well, but Gordon played well when it counted. He handled his early demotion from the starting lineup with class and performed when it counted.

Defensive Player of the Year - Tayshaun Prince, SF, Detroit Pistons. You look at his stats and wonder how a guy who doesn't even average 1 block or 1 steal a game could be considered the best defensive player. Well, it's mostly because team's know not to challenge him. He is oftentimes asked to guard the opponents best scoring swingman and does so with great aplomb. His wiry frame and long arms make it nearly impossible for anyone to get off a good shot against him. Just last week he kept Lebron James from getting even a good look at the basket for a game tying shot. In a year where everyone seems to notice the great strides he's making offensively, it's time to give proper recognition to Tayshaun's defensive prowess, no one in the league is better.

Most Valuable Player - Reggie Miller, SG, Indiana Pacers. I swear, I just made up my mind on this award after staring at "Most Valuable Player" for about 15 minutes. It's easy to say that Steve Nash is the cog that makes the Phoenix Suns go and it's always easy to say that Shaq makes his team a championship contender. However, what must not be overlooked is the amazing season by the Indiana Pacers. They had Ron Artest on the court for less than 10 games. They lost Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal to long suspensions. They again lost Jermaine O'Neal to injury and it looked like they would not even make the playoffs. Instead, Reggie Miller found an extra bit of gas in the tank, put the entire team on his back and willed them to the playoffs when no one thought it possible. In his final season in the NBA before walking off into the sunset like any good gunslinger, Miller has solidified his place as the face of a franchise and one of the greatest players to ever play the game. His mantelpiece is surprisingly short of hardware. He deserves this more than anyone else. I know it's a very odd pick, but it's mine.

[Author's note - Before anyone asks, Eddy Curry was tops on the list of every award. All the players listed were actually the runners up.]

The Final Countdown...

2005-04-19T13:56:00.000-04:00

Well, it only took 81 games to do it but the Sixers have clinched a playoff spot with a victory last night against the Milwaukee Bucks. Sadly, because of hotel cable, I was unable to watch the game in order to give a recap. However, reading through the AP game recap, it seems as if they really did everything right. Iverson scored and handed out assists. Webber made almost 50% of his shots and put up a nice statline of 18-8-6. The team managed to put up the most first half points they scored all year with 70 points at the halftime buzzer.

Now the only question is where the team will end up in the playoff seedings. With only 1 game to go against the lowly Atlanta Hawks, the Sixers could either end up with the 6, 7, or 8th seed. Optimally, they would want the 6th seed, as it would give them their best chance to advance a round by playing their rivals, the hated Boston Celtics. To get this they first need to win their game on Wednesday and hope that Chicago can beat Indiana. If the Sixers do win and the Bulls cannot beat the Pacers, then the Sixers will be the #7 seed and face the Detroit Pistons. I don't even want to think that they could possibly lose to the Hawks. Besides, with the Sixers as the 6 seed and the Pacers at the 7, the NBA gets 2 marquee first round matups in the East: Philly/Boston and Detroit/Indiana. And we all know that what the NBA wants, the NBA gets.

I will be back tomorrow with Part 1 of the Inaugural A Fantasy Life Manlove Awards.

Poll Results and Some Football Insight...

2005-04-18T13:07:00.000-04:00

Add It Up

So, I have officially ended voting in the Sixers Playoff Poll. I left it up for the last few weeks to see how voting would go and how it could possibly change over the course of the current Sixer's playoff push. The final tally (you may still vote, although it is now unofficial) was 8-2 in belief that the Sixers will make the playoffs. It was close there for a while, even resting at a tie for about a week. In the end, the Sixer's winning ways swayed the readers into believing in them again. With 1 win in their final 2 games, the Sixers can prove A Fantasy Life readers right and clinch a playoff birth.

The next poll will be up later this week.

Segue...

So, if you have been reading this site from it's meager beginnings, you may have been asking, "Stu, if you're such a fantasy guru, why haven't you posted anything about fantasy football?" Well, the answer is rather simple. Firstly, I have been very caught up with basketball. Between my own fantasy team making the finals and the Sixers struggling to make the playoffs my efforts were best spent elsewhere. Also, with such a long offseason and so much of it left to go, I felt that some moves were cosmetic only and as is always the case, rosters would remain in a state of flux right up until opening kickoff. However, there have been some rather important moves made thus far and it would be shirking my responsibilities if I failed to comment at all. So as we gather up for the NFL draft this Saturday (which will most likely be the topic of my first football related article), I decided to enlist the aid of A Fantasy Life's newest correspondant, Marc Rachild. So, without further ado, I now present Marc's own segment, that I like to call...

The Mind of a Married Fantasty Football Fan.

Today’s NFL is a 12 month season. After the Supper Bowl starts free agency, then the draft, then post draft free agency, then training camps. As we approach the draft I felt that it was appropriate to look at the first round of free agency and it impact upon the projected performance of some our favorite fantasy players.

Most fantasy football fans will agree that Randy Moss’s move to the Oakland Raiders was the biggest move of the offseason. Arguably the premier wide receiver in the NFL, Moss should have an instantaneous impact on the Raiders. With Kerry “Get Me a Tom” Collins at the helm, Moss should not have a problem putting up the gaudy stats that we have grown to expect from him. Collins always had a strong arm and the ability to throw the ball down the field, and now with Moss and Jerry Porter to throw the ball he should be a top five quarterback. Jerry Porter will also benefit from having Moss draw double coverage on most plays. Expect Porter to be setup as the slot receiver, where he is most comfortable, resulting in increased performance. One caveat to this is Randy Moss’ increased fragility. In recent years he has shown an inability to stay on the field for all 16 games. One must wonder whether the move to Oakland will keep him there or not.

Randy Moss No Change 1400yds 12TDs (if healthy)

Kerry Collins Upgrade 4500yds 35TDs

Jerry Porter Upgrade 1100yds 10TDs

The good side of free agency is when you team signs a Randy Moss or a Terell Owens, but there is a down side. When you team looses a key player, and you know their replacement is not at the same level. Green Bay has taken two big hits to the O-Line with Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera defecting to Carolina and Dallas. Wahle and Rivera are two of the best in the NFL, and their absence should put a major strain on the (fudge) Packers. I would expect A. Green’s numbers to decrease in 2006. It will be tougher to run when there is no open hole. In addition to the running game Green Bay’s passing game should struggle. Brett Favre is entering the 15^th year of his career, how many hits can he take before he is missing games and back on pain killers.

Ahman Green Downgrade 900yds 5TDs

Brett Favre Downgrade 1800yds 9TDs (in 8 Games)

Javon Walker Downgrade 800yds 7TDs

After deciding on an agent Plaxico Burress signed in NY, where he will be the number one receiver. With a second year QB and double coverage this has the makings of another Peerless Price-like signing, a great number two receiver, but a below average number one. Expect Burress to have a sub par season. “Well Dressed” Amani Toomer is no Hines Ward and Eli Manning is no Ben Roethlisberger.

Plaxico Burress Downgrade 600Yds 4TDs

The first round of free agency has concluded and now it is time to focus on a draft that could be one of the deepest since 1999 when such stars as D. McNabb, E. James, R. Williams, T. Holt, C. Baily, D. Culpepper, and J. Kearse entered the NFL. Have fun with basketball and baseball but don’t forget that the NFL season never ends.

Get Well Soon...

2005-04-14T15:59:00.000-04:00

I really don't like to post more than once a day, but something was just announced that I needed to point out. Today, the Chicago Bulls put Eddy Curry on the shelf for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. He has been sidelined with an irregular heartbeat since March 30th. The initial tests were inconclusive and he went for more extensive testing in Boston and Minnesota. The Bulls have a scheduled news conference tonight to discuss Eddy's condition.

For regular readers of this blog, it is obvious that Eddy Curry is my favorite player in the NBA. Watching and rooting for him is some of the most fun I've ever had. He frustrates you a lot, but when the light bulb flashes and he turns it on, he sure is a joy to watch on the court. He has been a fixture of my fantasy teams for the last 2.5 years. Sadly, this injury comes at the worst time for him. He was The Bulls leading scorer, the team was winning and it really seemed that he was putting all the pieces together to make gigantic leaps in his career.

Get Well Eddy. It isn't A Fantasy Life without you on the court to root for.

The Big Issue...

2005-04-14T14:06:00.000-04:00

Damn that Scoop Jackson over there at ESPN Page 2. Damn him I say. I was all set to start writing my thoughts on Jermaine O'Neal's comments and then I read his article. Not only was it well thought out and well written, but he made most of the points I was going to make here. Rather than re-iterate all of them, I'm going to tell you to go read it and then come back and finish this entry. Seriously. Go now. Here's the link.

Finished? Good. Let's discuss.

OK, so let's sum up Jackson and O'Neal's point as concisely as possible. What they were trying to say is not that the NBA and David Stern are racist. They were not trying to prove that the NBA's proposed 20 year old age limit was racially motivated. However, the one thing that they were trying to point out is that it will be affect African Americans, and for the most part, only African Americans. Robert Swift is the only caucasion to ever be drafted straight from high school to the pros. And even when something is not racially motivated, if it only is going to affect one race, then race becomes an issue.

So, instead of taking this time to re-iterate what Jackson said, instead I'll take the time to look at some of the other issues that come out of this proposed age limit.

First of all, when O'Neal spent some time clarifying his statements, he pointed to the fact that the only other sport that does not allow high schoolers to be drafted is the dictatorship that is the NFL. Both baseball and hockey (yeah, I don't know what hockey is either) allow high schoolers directly into the draft. Now, it was pointed out that both baseball and hockey have minor league systems that allow for teams to send their youngsters to develop. In the NBA, these same youngsters end up having to be kept on a roster, where it's said they take veteran jobs. The whole "taking a veteran's job" part is debateable. Seriously, would you rather have a 35 year old averaging 10 minutes of playing time and putting up 4-3 knowing that's all he was going to be or a 18 year old, playing those same minutes and putting up those same stats with the possibility that they would blossom into something special? I know that I would take the youngster any day of the week. Also, isn't another part of the new CBA going to include the further expansion of the NBDL as the NBA's minor league system? If that is going to be the case and the NBA will have a minor league system, then why is the age limit necessary? Seems a little redundant to me. The NBDL would be perfect for teams to send their "prep-to-pro" prospects to get them playing time and watch them develop. The NBDL isn't supposed to be for college seniors to develop, they are expected to be able to come in and produce. The NBDL is for those players who still need to develop, namely, the ones directly from high school.

Then there's the more popular answer. "These kids need to go to college. College is very important. College is this and college is that." What a load of crap. Who are we to tell people that they have to go to college. Especially the stereotypical youngster that declares for the NBA. These players usually fall into one of two categories: 1) They are poor and would like to be able to play basketball for a living and feed their families. And more importantly, someone is willing to pay them. and 2) They have no interest in going to college to learn. They want to play ball. Who is David Stern or anyone else to be the person to tell these kids how they have to live their lives? Who is he to force these kids to go to college where they can be exploited by the NCAA? Who is he to tell them that they aren't old enough to earn a living? It's a load of crap I say. (I really want to swear about this but I'm restraining myself.) And yes, I did say "exploited by the NCAA." That's what would happen. These kids have no interest in learning and only interest in playing basketball. If they went to college it would only be to play ball. They would make no money from that. The NCAA would. That's exploitation.

The last other debatable issue is whether or not this only affects African Americans. After all, aren't the Europeans that are getting drafted under the age of 20? Yes, but as Jackson points out in his article, these players are already professional. They are already earning money to play basketball. And if they're not allowed to come to the NBA they will continue to be paid to play where ever they are at. Of course, people could say, "Well, why don't these high school kids go over to Europe and play?" Well, first of all, most of them are poor and want to feed their families. They can't afford to go to Europe to play, and it is doubtful that the European teams would pay to bring them and their families over. In fact, chances are they'd only do that for the really good ones (read: Lebron) and then who's to say that the NBA has enough to bring those kids back? Another thing about going to Europe would be the incredible culture shock. These kids have a hard time adjusting to life on their own in the NBA, let alone in a foreign country where they don't speak the language. There just isn't enough money or incentive for these kids to make this trek.

In the end, whenever the words "race", "racism", or "racially motivated" are brought up, fire alarms go off. People stand up to defend themselves and the argument turns away from the real subject at hand. And the real subject at hand is that these (most of the time) poor, underpriveledged African Americans want the chance to make money and play basketball. And, that it is their right to do so.

_____________

I was considering trying to write up a recap tomorrow of the Sixers/Heat game tonight, but I think would rather just enjoy it as a fan. I would also like to leave this posting up for as many as possible to see it. I'll be back on Monday with a recap of Sunday's Sixers/Nets tilt. Hopefully I'll be in a good mood when I write it.

GO SIXERS!!!

Anger and Disappointment...

2005-04-13T13:12:00.000-04:00

The discussion of the NBA's proposed age limit and it's possible repurcussions will be the topic of tomorrow's week ending post. Today instead, I want to talk briefly about the mockery of a Sixers game last night.

So, the Sixers end the season 3-1 in their series with the hated Boston Celtics. That's good right? Well, it is because they beat the Celtics 3 times this year. But it isn't because this is the one they needed to win. If the Sixers had won the game last night, they would have only been 1 game behind Boston in the Atlantic Division and the subsequent #3 playoff ranking. They got out to a nice lead early, and the teams traded runs in the first half, seeing the Sixers end up on top after 2 quarters. However, the rest of the game didn't go so well and they ended up dropping the game. Now, they are in the 8th playoff spot, sandwiched one game away from both Cleveland for the 7th seed and New Jersey for sitting at home and watching the playoffs.

There were many problems yesterday. Chris Webber continued his struggles from the field. He failed to reach double digit points yet again, and even shot below 50% from the FT line. However, he also managed to play effective defense against Antoine Walker and managed 3 blocks. This also was his first game back from injury and despite shooting below 50% from the line, the fact that he got to the line 5 times in encouraging. This was also Allen Iverson's first game back from injury and he played it with 2 injured thumbs, so some of his mishaps may have been excuseable.

There were two main issues that I thought highlighted the problems:

Andre Iguodala's foul trouble. He only managed 19 minutes in the game and picked up his 5th foul early in the 4th quarter. Iggie is the Sixers best man defender and because of that, he is always matched up defensively on the other team's best swingman. This was one of the rare instances this season that an opponent got the better of him. Paul Pierce scored 27 points, and took 14 free throws. Likewise, Ricky Davis took 10 free throws. For the Sixers to win games, they must get to the line more often then their opponents. It was obvious right from the start that this was not going to be one of those nights.
With less than 1 minute remaining, down 3 points, the Sixers called a timeout to set up a play. Somehow, this play ended up being for Marc Jackson. Now, I love Marc Jackson. He's a Philly boy born and bred. However, with the game on the line (and considering he had missed 2 layups previously) I do not want the ball in his hands. At that time, I want Iverson driving, Korver shooting, or Iggie dunking. Nothing else will do.

Well, I could probably go on and on about things, but I'll stop there. Just those 2 things would put the Sixers in better position to win. I shall be back tomorrow with that look at the NBA's proposed age limit.

Just Call Me a Trendsetter...

2005-04-12T15:23:00.000-04:00

I'm not entirely sure how this all seemed to happen directly after my article on perception and the possibility of steroids in the NBA, but today on ESPN.com, there were 2 seperate articles that dealt with some of the ideas I brought up.

First, Marc Stein, wrote a piece about why steroids are not prevelant in the NBA. Sadly, once again he fell to generalizations about the possible benefits with proper training and the stereotype of NBA players (which was even seconded by some of those selfsame NBA players!!). It's time we stopped believing stereotypes just because they create millionaires. Of course, the article also points out that the NBA has a very good steroid policy and it doing whatever it can to prevent steroids from even becoming an issue. Like I said before, A Fantasy Life will not proclaim anyone to be on steroids without facts to back it up, but to be honest, these interviews are starting to sound a lot like the one's we hear from baseball players. Barry Bonds statements about steroids not improving hand-eye coordination compared to Massenburg saying they won't help you hit a jumpshot. Hill and Massenburg saying they never heard about steroids in the locker room sounds eerily like John Kruk saying the same thing, and we all know that Lenny Dykstra was taking them in '93. If I believed in coincidences I would just say that that's what it is, but I don't and therefore will remain skeptical.

The second piece is not about steroids, but about racism. ESPN news services found statements from Pacers power forward Jermaine O'Neal where he claimed that the NBA's proposed age limit was racist. He pointed out that the last 2 Rookie of the Year winners were both straight from high school (and to be honest, it should be another high schooler who wins it this year). O'Neal also points out that there were 7 prep-to-pros in the All Star game this year. I can only think of one white high school player who was drafted out of high school, that being Seattle Supersonic center Robert Swift. O'Neal's comments may be quickly dismissed, but there is some merit to it. In fact, if I remember, I may now make tomorrow's posting about that.

Some quick bits and a continuing discussion on perception...

2005-04-11T13:30:00.000-04:00

As If On Cue

Interestingly enough, one day after my posting about the idea of steroids in the NBA, David Stern answered something about it in his ESPN chat.

Carlos (Chicago, IL): Commisinoer Stern, now that the NFL and MLB have been called on the carpet because of their steroid scandals, do you think it's time for the NBA to meet the issue head on before any scandal arises out of issues like Sean Elliot's and Alonzo Mouning's kidney issues?

NBA Comm. David Stern: Yes. We are actively engaged in discussionw with our players about continuing the ongoing process of updating our anti-drug agreement. I should add we have also received communcations from the House of Representative and expect to be invited to visit in the near future.

So it would seem that dispite the opinion of the "experts" in the media. David Stern is taking a pro-active approach in dealing with the possibility of performance enhancing drugs in the NBA. Bravo Mr. Stern. A Fantasy Life salutes you.

What's in a Name?

You may have noticed that the description of this site has changed. It started out solely for me to discuss fantasy sports, but as I have gotten more and more into it I realized that I basically just liked to talk about sports. I'll still devote much time to fantasy, but figured it was time to update the description. I'm not totally happy with what I have now, so if there are any suggestions they are welcome in the comments section below.

Perception vs. Reality

After reading my post on the possibility of steroids in the NBA, A Fantasy Life's Cleveland Correspondant, Joel Wertman, could not sit by and not express his own views on the misconceptions around NBA players.

Take it away Joel:

>>The real issue I take with the ESPN experts is that their comments more so smack of naivety and overprotection as opposed to veiled racism. Taking steroids does not automatically make you bulky unless: 1) you also eat copious amounts of food to back it up; and 2) lift in a manner that adds bulk (low reps, high weight). True, huge chest and biceps actually would hurt a basketball player but come on "experts," basketball is a completely different style of training! Some variation of serious absolutely would (and probably does) help a lot of NBA players. What's to stop a basketball player from taking steroids and developing the more useful body parts (triceps, shoulders, quads) without getting bulky (lower weight, higher reps)???

The public perception of NBA players is a bit dicier. I don't disagree with the Stu that the black/white (athlete/thinker) argument still receives some play but it is an oversimplification of the public's perception of the sport. You'll never hear these comments from anyone with real knowledge of basketball and the NBA. It's really just a flippant ignorant comment which reflects little thoughtful consideration. On the flip side, the NBA is absolutely populated by overprivelaged millionaires who can't shoot and don't understand the rudimentary aspects of help defense. We're stuck with that unless we can abolish that NBA feeding system known as AAU which runs like an AND 1 mix tape.

I must also confess to you that I believe in my heart of hearts that Michael Jordan was defeated by Dominique Wilkins in the slam dunk contest in Chicago. I believe that he shoved Bryon Russel to the ground to free himself for a title winning jump shot. I believe that he stole Craig Ehlo's smile. I also believe that he is the single greatest basketball player of my lifetime. Don't forget that Jordan was widely heralded as the greatest practice player of all-time. He also lost the mantle of greatest athlete in the NBA right around the time he won his first title. Let's be honest, Jordan was no better athlete than say, Rex Chapman. Sure, he was a physical freak but so is EVERY NBA player...well, maybe not Hot Plate Williams but you get my drift. Jordan's most defining quality was not his athleticism but rather his assassin like attitude toward a game. Noone was ever more competitive.

Larry Bird actually was one of the hardest worker of all time. Just look at his ugly shot, one of the most technically flawed in NBA history (he didn't crack his wrist and follow through). Yet, he developed one of the deadliest shots in history. Either hand, too, as the man routinely shot and made left handed runners from 15 feet out. He also was a supremely skilled ball handler. On the other hand, Larry Bird unquestionably was wrongly pigeon holed as the gritty, thinking player with no athletic ability. Right, wrong, or indifferent this perception was sparked by the "hey, he looks like me, he must be like me" perception of Bird in the 80s. Folks, trust me. Larry Bird was not like you. Everyone focuses on the fact that he couldn't jump (he couldn't) and forgets that he was also a physical freak; a 6'9" small forward (in the 80s!), with a quick first step, farm boy strength (he averaged a double/double numerous times) and possessed ridiculous peripheral vision (maybe only rivaled in all of American sport by Bird's less athletic contemporary Ervin Johnson or Ronnie Lott).

So, what have we learned from wasting the last 3 minutes reading this? 1) There's never a bad time to use the word flippant; 2) There's never a bad time to put something in parentheses (never); and 3) some people are just dumb.

Why Not in the NBA?

2005-04-07T13:17:00.000-04:00

For the last few days I've been talking about writing this article. I mentioned the words "steroids," "NBA," and "racism." But let it be known now, that in now way I am calling anyone a racist, nor making any allegations of anyone in any sport (NBA or otherwise) taking steroids. That's not my place, and I don't want some unfortunate googling by someone to cause ill will towards A Fantasy Life. My purpose in writing this article is to question why no one thinks that steroids could be prevelant in the NBA. With Congress now bringing in people from all professional (and amateur) sports to speak on performance enhancing drugs, I felt that it was a good time to look at it.

(Note - Like his NFL counterpart Paul Tagliabue, NBA Commissioner David Stern rules his league with an iron fist. He controls everything. If a steroid scandal were to hit the NBA, it would quickly be swept under the rug. This is why a news report of 5 members of a Super Bowl team being prescribed steroids has fallen so quickly out of the public eye. If it were the St. Louis Cardinals about whom that report was written it would be the biggest story of the year. But I digress.)

Being an avid NBA fan, I always find myself on ESPN, asking many questions in their "expert chats." During the course of this year, Both Mark Stein and Pro Basketball Weekly's Ken Bikoff fielded questions about the possibility of steroids in the NBA. Here's what they had to say:

On March 9th

P (San Francisco): Hey Marc, random question ... have you heard any whispers of steroid use in the NBA? Have you ever suspected anything?

Marc Stein: While admitting that I'm hardly an expert on this topic ... no. I've asked lots of players and the consensus I get is that steroids doesn't appeal to NBA guys because added bulk generally wouldn't be a boost in such a fast-reaction sport. Don't see steroids becoming an NBA problem any time soon. Hopefully.

On February 15th

Paul (Dallas): Now that Baseball has taken care of steroids and football has long since worked on it, any chance that the NBA will start work on removing these from the game?

Ken Bikoff: Call me an ostrich, but I just don't think they are a big problem in the NBA. It doesn't help being muscle-bound or crazy big. It hurts flexibility and explosiveness. I think that's why there has never been a scandal like the one we are seeing in baseball right now. Steroids don't improve a jump shot and it isn't conducive to a quality basketball player.

Jeff (Cleveland): Using your theory, though, pot shouldn't be in big use either, but it seems to be about as common as aspirin in the NBA

Ken Bikoff: Ah, but weed doesn't lead to physical problems or ruin your explosiveness. Have you ever seen someone dump a bag of Cheetos in front of someone who is stoned? That's explosiveness. One is a supposed performance-enhancing drug, while the other is recreational. It's apples and oranges.

PaulieP (Tempe): If you could take a guy Manute's size and turn him into Shaq, that would be a good thing, wouldn't it? Not that Shaq is on steroids (please don't hurt me officer O'Neal)

Ken Bikoff: Size without skills doesn't mean anything. If nothing else, you will be dealing with physical problems. Just ask Gheorghe Muresan.

And Once again on March 8th

Myron (Fort Lauderdale, FL): Now that baseball and football have dealt with the issue of steroids, do you think it's time for the NBA to step up and deal with the rampant use currently clouding the game?

Ken Bikoff: I just don't think it exists at an NBA level. We talked about this a couple of weeks ago, and I just don't think bulking up and getting stronger is as much of a positive in basketball. It can sap quickness and explosiveness. The NBA just doesn't have a big problem on its hands like baseball does.

Now, let's first take a look at why these experts feel steroids would not be a help in basketball. Both Stein and Bikoff mention that added bulk and being "muscle bound" would not be beneficial in the NBA. Both of them also mention that the added size and strength would zap any quickness. Obviously these guys don't follow the news that closely. Too much emphasis is on the supposed steroid users in baseball: McGwire, Bonds, and Sosa, as well as the admitted users of Canseco and Caminetti. If you only followed the major media reporting, you would only believe that baseball has the sustained steroid problem. Not only that, but only the major home run hitters were taking it. Meanwhile, Track and Field had their first real steroid scandal in 1988 with Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson failing a drug test after winning an Olympic Gold Medal and setting a world record. In fact, modern track athletes Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery, C.J. Hunter, and others have been accused of steroid use. HBO Real Sports even had a segment with a female sprinter who won many races that she credited to steroids. So obviously, steroids can be used to increase speed and quickness.

But taking a look solely at adding muscle mass, in the second chat quoted above, Paul P asks Ken how he could think that adding bulk to someone like Manute Bol wouldn't be beneficial. Bikoff responds by saying that skill is still needed and that it is more important than size. This is the same argument Barry Bonds makes about steroids, saying that in no way would steroids make you a better baseball player. Steroids cannot improve hand-eye coordination. It cannot give you softer hands. However, what if a certain level of skill is already there? For someone like Shawn Bradley, no one ever questioned whether he could play basketball, just whether he could play in the NBA or not. For years it was noted that Bradley's only problem was his inability to add mass to his wiry frame. Therefore, Shawn Bradley could probably have benefitted as a basketball player by taking steroids (and as a Sixers fan, I almost wish he had). The added bulk may not be a help to a point guard who relies on his quickness, but what about a 6'8" skinny power forward? What about a 7' back to the basket player who is skinny as a rail? In this case, the added bulk would most certainly help them out. It would certainly give them more strength in the post and they would be able to grab rebounds much easier. If the skills are there (and really, they're in the NBA, it would behoove them to actually be able to play basketball) then the steroids can make them better.

So if these experts were wrong on those counts, what are other possible reasons for an NBA player to take steroids? Well, it isn't for endurance. The Track and Field athletes who were suspected or found out to have used steroids were either the field athletes or sprinters and not the endurance runners. Of course, this is contradicted by the accusations that Lance Armstrong and other endurance cyclists have used performance enhancing drugs. So this is a bit up in the air. But, what has been said is the main reason for baseball players using steroids is not for added mass or speed, but instead in help with rehabilitation. There is a lot of pressure for professional athletes in all sports to be able to compete everyday. They often play through excruciating injuries that would keep me in bed all day. Steroids have been noted to help people recover more quickly from these types of injuries. They help maintain strength as well as build it. Wouldn't this be beneficial for basketball players? They do sustain injuries over the long 82 game season, why wouldn't they want to take something that would help them maintain their strength over those 82 games? Why wouldn't they want to take something that would speed up their recovery time and put them back on the court?

Alright, so I think that I have shown that steroids could obviously be beneficial to an NBA player. So why are people still so quick to dismiss the idea? Well, it bring me back to my initial thought and an anecdote I was told once. The idea was to compare Michael Jordan and Larry Bird and the public conception of them. Mainly it brought out how people believe that Michael Jordan was the most gifted athlete ever and made it to the NBA based solely on that talent, while Larry Bird had to work twice as hard as anyone else to make it. Now, this isn't to say that Bird didn't work hard or that Jordan didn't have talent, but to say that Bird didn't have talent and Jordan didn't work hard is ludicrous. Even worse, it's racially motivated. It is an incredibly racist thing to say that the black athlete made it by strictly because of God given talent while the white athlete had to work hard to get his. Both men were incredible athletes and both worked incredibly hard to get to where they were going. But the point of that little comparison is important, because it is also the reason that most people are so quick to dismiss the idea of steroids in the NBA.

There is a stereotype about the African American stars of the NBA. That they're talented but lazy. They do nothing but play basketball and smoke pot. They don't work out in the weight room, they don't practice (thank Allen Iverson for that one), and they generally don't care. Anyone who has taken steroids will tell you, it isn't just the steroids that make you strong; it takes a great deal of hard work to put steroids to their intended use. It takes hours in the weight room every day to get the maximum results from these performance enhancing drugs. These experts can't be so naive that they don't see the possible benefits for any athlete to take steroids. I don't think that little of them. Therefore, it must be them falling into believing the stereotype. That the famous African American basketball player is too much of a lazy thug to even care about working out with weights. That these people wouldn't even put in the time to make the most out of their performance enhancers. And that is a racist remark. Is it the worst thing that could be said? Not at all. But it still belies an underlying racism towards the NBA and it's stars, not just from the media covering them, but also from the public watching them.

I will point it out again (since the article was longer than I thought), that I do not mean to say any of these ESPN "experts" are racist. They would not be covering a predominantly black sport if they were. This isn't just showing an underlying racism by them, it's showing it from the general public. Also, in no way would I ever accuse an athlete in any sport of taking steroids without actual proof (which is why I refrained from possible examples in the article). Finally, I do want to say that while I may have shown how steroids can be beneficial to professional athletes, in no way would I ever advocate their usage.

The Greatest Opening Pitch Ever

2005-04-06T10:36:00.000-04:00

My research for my Steroids in the NBA entry is taking a little longer than expected and may not be ready today, but in the meantime, I saw this bit of information and thought I would pass it along. If I have not made it clear thus far on my blog, I find that Mark Grace is easily the greatest baseball player of all time. This is not up for debate. And with that Mark Grace love comes an affinity for all things Cubbie in the late 80's and throughout the 90's. And with that bit of exposition I bring you this news, from Gary Miller's Clubhouse Confidential.

PHOENIX -- One of the oddest and oddly charming ceremonial first pitches on Opening Day was at Bank One Ballpark. It's not enough that a full house had to endure the liberal sprinkling of Cubs fans throughout the stands, but the Diamondbacks' selection to throw out the first pitch was the Cubs' newly minted Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. And who was picked to catch him? Mark Grace.

AP Photo/Paul Connors
Full of Grace: Ryne Sandberg gets a hug from his former Cubs teammate.

Granted, Grace was part of Arizona's world champions in 2001 and is one of its broadcasters, and Sandberg is a longtime resident of the Grand Canyon state, but it still was odd having two players so deeply associated with the opposition welcoming in a new season. At first, Sandberg was insulted the "first pitch" rubber was placed halfway between the mound and home plate, but as he moved back to the one 60-feet, 6-inches away, his longtime teammate had a better idea. Grace dashed over to his spot at first base and fellow Gold Glover Sandberg moved out toward second to complete their improvised ceremony from there.

Shame that the pic only shows Gracey's back. But the fact that he ran to first and had Sandberg throw the ball to him from Second Base solidifies my belief that Mark Grace is the best baseball player ever.

A Smallish Return

2005-04-05T13:38:00.000-04:00

Man it feels good to be back posting again. I will say this though, today's blog entry will be of the smaller ilk again. Yesterday was the first time since Friday where I was able to open a computer or turn on a television (which felt really good), so my normally in depth analysis of Sixer's games and basketball stats will have to wait. In the meantime, here are some small tidbits to chew on:

It's officially baseball season. I have refrained from speaking too much about baseball and the Phillies for the time being and most likely won't bother with in depth baseball analysis for a few weeks. Why? Well, if I were to write about things now I would be complaining about hypotheticals. If I wait for a few weeks, there should be enough trends for me to complain about something with some actual substance. The same holds true for fantasy analysis but that will be coming a little more often. As it is, I am starting the fantasy baseball season with 3 different teams, a full MLB team, an AL-only league, and an NL-only league. Should be an exciting season. Richie Sexson's two big dingers yesterday may be enough to push him into this season's Inaugural PWGML list, and it almost makes up for the fact that I have 4 pitchers starting on the Disabled List in my NL-only team. Scott Kazmir also makes his first appearance of the year today. In his quest for manlove Kazmir has landed on 2 of my fantasy teams.
My first round bye is up and I am now firmly prepared to begin the semifinals in my Fantasy Basketball league. Although, with a playoff roster freeze not allowing any adds/drops unless a player goes to the IL or is out the rest of the year, my depleted roster including Eddy Curry and Bobby Simmons seems a little scary to me. At least Eddy was released from the hospital. That's good news. Get well Eddy, your health and continued success in the NBA is more important than me winning a fantasy league. But the Bulls would sure like to have you on the court for the playoffs.
In lieu of my not heavily covering baseball until it is all I have left to cover, I will continue to point out Jason Weitzel's fantastic Berk's Phillies Fans blog. An exceptional bit of writing, Jason will be continuously discussing the baseball season as it progresses.
The Sixers looked horrendeous against Phoenix and Dallas, but somehow managed to squeak one out against the hated Celtics. When their recent stretch of games started I said I would count it as a success if they did beat the Celtics. However, with Chris Webber sidelined with a hurt shoulder, I'm hoping the team can keep the wheels on long enough to make the playoffs. The real problem with Webber isn't the fact that he's missing games, it's the fact that he's missing practice. The team was finally starting to work together in including him, I hope this extended time away doesn't damage the building team chemistry.

That's all the thoughts for today. Barring something strange happening that needs discussion, my next entry will be an in depth look at why there is an immediate dismissal of a possible steroid problem in basketball and the possible underlying racism behind it.

Tears and Plugs

2005-03-31T12:56:00.000-05:00

Crying Again

I was going to write up a recap of the Sixers horrible defeat to the Suns last night. I would have written about what they did wrong (too many quick shots, not enough attacking the rim and getting to the FT line, and too much collapsing on a penetrating Steve Nash) and what they did right (nothing). However, I just read a bit of news that really put a damper on my day.

Eddy Curry is being treated for irregular heartbeat. Please get healthy Eddy. Please.

Plugs and Excuses

You may have noticed a lack of postings this week. There are a few reasons for this.

I earned a first round bye in my fantasy basketball league. Therefore I've tried to relax a bit in my analysis and take some time to just enjoy the game.
Living in a hotel does not allow me to watch an optimal amount of games.
This is Sin City Week. The greatest comic book ever becomes what surely will be the greatest movie ever and my enthusiasm is there.
Preparation for the Liberty Bell Judo Classic. If you are in the Philadelphia area and would like to see one of the best Judo Tournaments on the East Coast, come by Lincoln High School this weekend. I'll be working there rather exclusively this weekend and have been steadily preparing for that.

All this leaves me far too little time to write up a proper post for the rest of the week. Besides, all my free time is spent praying for Eddy Curry's speedy recovery.

On the Cayahoga River...

2005-03-29T13:22:00.000-05:00

Today is a special treat for all the readers out there. I have turned over control of the board to A Fantasy Life's Cleveland Correspondant, Joel Wertman. I gave full range of topics to choose from, so I expect something classic. Take it away Joel, but be prepared dear readers, after all he is from Cleveland. (look, I even gave him a picture)

Who would have been the Indians mandatory all-star in the movie "Major League?"

As a point of reference, I count watching "Major League" in a theater packed with victory starved late 80s Indian fans as one of top 5 sports memories of my life. People were honestly cheering and high fiving during the one game playoff. Simply put, an unbelievable moment that would be impossible to replicate. You must also trust me that all of these stats are in the movie if you look for them.

Couple of important factors right off the bat: 1) the team got off to a slow start (15-24), rebounded by mid-August (60-61) before going on a tear to finish the season at 92-70; 2) We need to project stats as of mid-July; 3) Clue Haywood won the triple crown by hitting .341 with 48 homeruns and 121 rbis; 4) anyone who played a vital role in the Indians success that season would have been more prominently featured in the movie (so eliminate 1B Metcalf, opening day starter Keltner, SS Melina, and LF Tomlinson). The choice clearly comes down to the 6 guys with speaking roles in the American Express Comerica.

Eliminate Ricky Vaughn right off the bat. It's possible that he didn't record an out until June. I'm guessing that his line at the break was something like 3-7 with a plus 6 ERA.

Dorn would be an interesting choice except he's one of the few guys who's stat line for the season was revealed: .271 with 86 rbis hitting in the 3 hole. Plus, Harry Doyle tells us that he got off to a slow start. I'm guessing that he was hovering around .240 at the break. No chance. (As an aside, the treatment of the Dorn character in Major League 2 is downright criminal).

Willie Mays Hayes is out. He finished the year hitting .291 (after a huge last 1/4 of the season) and only had 17 stolen bases when the hot streak began (before apparently stealing 45 more bases over the last 41 games). He almost always swung at the first pitch so his on base percentage was probably awful. Plus, he was a rookie and wouldn't have gotten any respect.

Cerrano is an interesting choice and I almost went with him. First off, he would have been a big national media story as the first ever Cuban ball player to defect and the inspiration for future generations of Cubans rafting into South Beach. I wonder if he was on Castro's enemy list, probably. Anyway, he'd have been a great sympathy pick. He also probably got off to a decent start before the league caught up and figured out that he couldn't hit breaking pitches. However, we all know that Cerrano struck out…a lot. I think his career probably mirrored Rob Deer….and Rob Deer was no all-star.

Jake Taylor? Former all star with Boston at an historically weak position. Clear cut inspirational leader but his numbers must have been weak. After all, he spent the two previous seasons in Mexico and was pushed out of the league by the next spring. He got by on guts, probably played above average defense, called a good game, and hit about .240. I'm also guessing that he only played 100 games or so because of his knees.

The answer is Harris, has to be. He picked up his 9th win in a complete game for the Tribe's 60th victory of the season. So, he probably was at 7 or 8 wins at the break. Most importantly, Harris probably had between 200-250 career victories. He was probably in his 20th season in a solid but unspectacular major league career so he gets huge sympathy points on a team with no clear cut all-star. BTW, he probably won 6 of his 8 starts down the stretch to finish with 15 wins on the year.

The lesson, as always, is that I have too much free time.

The Ressurection...

2005-03-28T14:05:00.000-05:00

PC Load Letter?!?! What the !@(# Does That Mean?

This time I'm putting my reference to John Hollinger early in the article. As stated before, here at A Fantasy Life, John's new stats are a welcome addition to basketball numbers, but he sometimes uses numbers that cannot be accessed. So once again, if he googles the internet in a search to see if anyone mentions him, John, all of us basketball lovers out here need access to individual pace factor and how to generate PER. Thanks.

This provides a nice segue into today's correction. In his most recent article on ESPN Insider, Hollinger created another new stat, Pure Point Rating, to measure more accurately a point guard's contributions to his team. In this article he writes that there are 3 steps to each assist: one player getting open, one player making the pass, and the first player then hitting the shot. Since the assister only executes 1 part of that play, he should only be credited with 1/3 of the scoring output (which in turn is 2/3rds of a point or 1/3 of 2pts)

Previously at this site, when creating stats to measure a player's worth to his team, I have valued assists as 2 points. The simple way I figured it was that an assist leads to a basket, each basket is worth 2 points, therefore an assist is worth 2 points. Based on Hollinger's logic (and the fact that he is a paid basketball expert), I will change the worth of the assist to match his 2/3 of a point. Of course, this fails to take into account the 3 pointer.

*Author's Note - I did plan on linking his article and quoting his explanation of the worth of an assist but was unable to access ESPN Insider.

Back Up In That A$$

Suddenly the Sixers are 6-2 in their last 8. They are over .500 for the first time since... well, I don't want to go searching for the date, suffice to say it's been a while. They are now firmly in the 7th spot in the East. They are also 1 game behind Cleveland for the 6th seed and 2.5 games back of Boston for the Atlantic Division (and subsequent 3rd seed in the playoffs). Seems that while others were preaching doom and gloom, A Fantasy Life was correct in their desire for patience. There are still some problems but over the weekend Sixers fans were able to see:

Donyell Marshall's previous 3 point barrage against the Sixers cut in half. Sure he still made 6 of them but any progress at this point is laudable.
Allen Iverson make a tremendous game winner in that game against Toronto.
Chris Webber score 32 points in the game against Toronto.
Andre Iguodala put the clamps on Kobe Bryant.
The Sixers win a game against the Lakers with their defense. With both of their superstars not able to "hit the broad side of a barn," (as Allen Iverson was at one point 2-20 shooting), the Sixers tightened up defensively, forced turnovers, and got out running in the open floor. This also makes use of another Chris Webber asset, as even though he has only 1 leg and can't get out in transition, he can still make one hell of an outlet pass.
The offense is starting to get accustomed to having Chris Webber. They are finally starting to realize that once the ball enters into him in the post, the best thing to do is to move around him and let Webber get them the ball. Yesterday, Allen Iverson was struggling throughout the game, then in the 4th quarter entered the ball to Webber on the elbow, made a quick cut, got a fantastic pass back from Webber in an open spot, and got his first clean look all game. Yes, he also made the shot. Just wait until the rest of the team figures out how to do that.

OK, so after all that, we still need to hold off on printing those playoff tickets. Because even after watching all those positives, there are still some more issues that need ironing out.

The defense, while showing marked improvement, is still liable to get lit up from the outside. Donyell continuing his barrage (18 in 2 games, are you kidding me?), followed by a similar outburst from Kobe Bryant yesterday. Sure Iguodala did a damn fine job against him and a few of Kobe's 3's were from far away with a hand in his face. And they continued to impliment more zone principles into the defense to hide the defensive shortcomings of their players. Now, here at A Fantasy Life, I have been very kind to Chris Webber. I preached patience in terms of letting Obie and the team acquainting themselves to Webber's style of play. But now it's time to call out C-Webb too. If Coach Obie can make adjustments to better use/hide Webber in the defense, Webber must also make some concessions and get out and guard the ball handler on the pick and roll. He's extending a little bit, but there were quite a few instances in the 4th quarter yesterday when I found myself yelling at Webber to get out and put a hand in Kobe's face.
The uncertainty of who plays off the bench is ridiculous. The Sixers need to have a steady rotation going into the playoffs. Right now, I would say they have 7 players set in the lineup. Starters Iverson, Iguodala, Korver, Webber, and Dalembert, along with reserves McKie and Jackson. Normally, a team will go to an 8 man rotation in the playoffs, giving each of the players enough time on the court to establish themselves and do whatever it is they are supposed to be doing. It looks like the 8th player in the rotation should come down to a fight between John Salmons (who I still believe should be starting) and Rodney Rogers. The problem with that assumption is that in the last two games both have collected a "DNP-CD" instead of actual game time statistics. With the lack of depth in the frontcourt, Rogers is obviously more needed than Salmons. He extends the defense with his range and serves as an adequate backup at each frontline position. Hopefully, this situation will be sorted out in the current road trip.

One final Sixers note. It was requested that I write an article/entry about how Rodney Rogers stinks and the team should instead have traded Big Dog's contract and Willie Green for Latrell Spreewell instead. And while I agree with 2 points made in the argument, namely that Rodney Rogers stinks and Willie Green should have been traded at the deadline; the call for Spreewell is laughable. Just think of the trouble Obie had in acclimating Webber to the team. Now imagine if he had to incorporate known headache Spreewell also. And with the way he has griped over minutes and money this year in Minnesota, what would give the impression he'd be less trouble in Philadelphia as he shared time with youngsters Iguodala and Korver. No, the Rogers acquisition was the correct one. He can provide depth and shooting range for a frontcourt that is severely lacking both. It just remains to be seen if he actually will.

Watch Out For That Cornholing.

Let it be known right now that I am not a fan of Villanova University. In fact, I felt very dirty rooting for them during the tournament. But seeing as how they were the best chance to have a local team do some damage, I watched and rooted for them as they made their way to the Sweet 16.

Now, let it also be known that I hate the idea of blaming a loss on the referees. They play 40 minutes of basketball to determine a winner, one call should not make the difference. Villanova also held a lead throughout most of the game and let North Carolina back into it. But this must be said. The traveling call on Allen Ray with less than 10 seconds remaining was awful. It was an obvious call to keep the top team in the tournament. And it was made even worse with famed college basketball announcers Verne Lunquist and Bill Rafferty doing nothing but claiming it as the right call.

First of all, unless someone grabs the ball and runs down the court, you don't call traveling in that situation. It just isn't done. You let the kids playing actually decide the winner of the game. This was a case of the referee stepping in and making a call to let everyone know who was in charge. But Rafferty and Lunquist's call of it made it even worse. The fact that they defended the call was bad enough, but they then decided to show the replay twice and implored the viewer to count the steps. Each time Rafferty watched the highlight he exclaimed "Definitely 3 steps." Well Bill Rafferty, I don't know where you learned to count, but where I was taught we learned that there is a number between 1 and 3. That number is 2. And that number represents not only the legal number of steps a player may take, but the exact number of steps taken by Allen Ray on his late game drive to the basket.

It's ridiculous that something like this should happen. Let alone that the announcers would show their bias by backing the wrong call and that not one national reporter has decided to point it out. This should have been the most wide open tournament in recent memory. Instead the referees, announcers, and experts proved what everyone else thinks - a big name school will always win and if North Carolina is needed in the tournament to keep an ACC presence alive everything will be done to keep them there.

Have They Turned a Corner?

2005-03-24T13:57:00.000-05:00

Let me get 1 rib.

Sometimes I think I should be an NBA coach. Last night the Sixers looked really good in their game against the Detroit Pistons. It was rather amazing. They got out to a big lead early and I swear that at 2 seperate occasions in the first quarter I got down on my knees and thanked someone. Let's take a look at what they did that worked and what they possibly still need to work on and how they finally made me look like a genius with some of my suggestions. It may have taken a very bumpy stretch to work through and the benefit of 3 consecutive days off for the first time since Webber joined the team but it almost appears that Sixer's fans are finally getting what they hoped for.

Defensive Issues. At approximately the 5 minute mark in the first quarter of the game yesterday, ESPN play by play announcer Brent Mussberger made the following statement with a bit of surprise in his voice, "And the Sixers are no playing a zone defense." This is something I said needed to happen as soon as Webber arrived; so I looked at it, and they really were playing a zone. Yes it was a shock. Yes it was different. And most importantly, YES, IT WAS AFFECTIVE. Each player covered his area. Kyle Korver's quick hands masked his slow legs. Samuel Dalembert was able to offer help from the weakside in blocking and detering shots. Chris Webber looked less like a matador as the zone helped protect his limited movement. Not only that, but even when they went into a more standard Jim O'Brien defense, they included more zone principles to it. And the door swung both ways in this, as Chris Webber actually made the effort and helped out on the guards coming off the pick and roll. All said, even though the Pistons were playing without Rip Hamilton, it was a solid defensive effort and hopefully more will come out of it.
Establish Webber early. On at least 1/3 of the possessions in the first quarter Chris Webber had the ball in his hands in the post. They went to him on both elbows in the high post. They established him down low in the low post. He even got to the free throw line early (although it was his only trip and he missed them both). All of this is good and Webber responded by shooting well from the field (9-19 on the game). And just like with the defense, it seems he's trying his best to fit in with some of what Obie wants him to do as Webber's second shot from the field less than 2 minutes into the game was a 3 pointer. There were some issues here, but they will be discussed further down.
Other positives. Kyle Korver did not shoot too much. Often with Korver as soon as he touches the ball he lets fly. It was nice to see him not be the end point of the offensive set all the time and actually move the ball around to some of the others... Andre Igoudala scored his first triple double. It was a minimalist triple double at 10-10-10, but it really shows his growth as a player both offensively and defensively. The addition of Chris Webber should really allow AI2 to grow.

Ah, but being a Philly fan, the game could not have been ALL positives. Here are a few things that need to be pointed out.

It's just what they're used to. Early in the game when the entry pass went in to Chris Webber, the team seemingly ran away to leave him alone with the defender. This is how they play with Iverson. They hand him the ball and let him improvise. Iverson is the type of player who will bring other defenders to him, therefore, the Sixers are able to stand around while he's playing and he'll get them open shots. This is not how Chris Webber plays basketball. Maybe young Chris Webber with 2 good knees could do this, but old Chris Webber with 1 knee can't. When he gets left alone on an island like that he has to create his own shot. And especially against the front line of Rasheed and Ben Wallace, he's going to have trouble. The team needs to create movement around Webber. If they get open he'll get them the ball. That's what he does. But if they stand around and leave him on his own, he ends up having to try to go 1 on 1 and invariably forces up a not so good shot. Towards the end of the game it seemed as if they had started to get the hang of how to move around Webber. That should come with time.
Iverson is still turning the ball over too much. He's now had games of 8, 11, and 12 in the last month. Way too many. At this point I don't know what can change with the way he plays and he's bound to have some turnovers, but I'd almost rather see him take a bad shot than make a bad pass. He needs to remember that he's still barely 6 feet tall and occassionally his shot will get blocked.
Rodney Rogers is scared of his shot. This man is out of shape and has no confidence. He passed on 2 wide open 3 pointers while he was on the court, which is the exact opposite of what he was brought in to do.

Ok, so it was a very nice start, but we all must remember, it's just a start. I'm going to continue to preach patience with this team. Too many people want Obie fired for not making it work right away. The Sixers were still playing .500 basketball while the Celtics took off and have been the hottest team in the league. But please, be patient. If last night's game showed us anything it was that all parties involved are making strides towards working together. They'll still hit some bumps in the road, but if they could back themselves into the playoffs by barely playing together, then even the slightest hint that they're turning into an actual basketball team means they could actually be (dare i even begin to think it again) dangerous in the playoffs.

Don't make me hobble after you.

John Hollinger's latest article established a new stat that determined what percentage of his team's possessions each player used. It's actually rather ingenius. The number one player was obviously Allen Iverson and Hollinger used his stats to make some points about how Iverson's style of play hadn't been adversely affected by playing with Chris Webber and that Webber obviously was not getting the touches he was used to in Sacramento. This is a similar point that I (and most other basketball people) were making since the trade. And this brings up something else. In the article where Hollinger introduced the "Player Efficiency Ratings" he made some connections about how the stats can be used for deciding between fantasy players. This is a point I made when I took a look at his Brick Index and True Shooting Percentage stats. Now, I'm not saying that John Hollinger is copying my stuff. Nor would I even be mad if he was, as I obviously use his work for some of my posts. But I will make this one plea, in the instance that Hollinger does read this blog or just simply googles his name to see who's talking about him:

John, I like the stats. I like your work on ESPN. However, the one reason I really like your stats is because with most of them I can figure out myself. TS% and BI were easy enough once I found the numbers. However, you gave your readers no equation to figure out PER, and the new stat requires knowledge of individual team pace factors. I'm not sure how to get these, so if you could even create these as stat listings on ESPN or your own site it would be greatly appreciated.

PWGML Lists.

First, I will not be compiling a PWGML Baseball list. I figure there can't be any changes to it until they actually start playing baseball. I will give a quick update though. After the first draft (which was my only full MLB draft) in which I was unable to draft any of the players, I am happy to report that I was more successful in later drafts. Even though I was still unable to draft Sean Casey in my NL-only league (he was taken 2 picks before I was ready to take him), I still have David Wright on that team and was able to grab Jeremy Bonderman for my AL-only team. Hopefully these guys will remain on the PWGML Baseball List once they actually start playing.

Ah, but the basketball list is going strong. And here it is (once again, remember this is Eddy Curry's list, but to give others a chance I have retired him from it):

Donyell Marshall. Last year I hated him. I drafted him in Round 7 and when he could not get consistent minutes in the Bulls rotation I cut him. Then he went to Toronto and ended up a top 15 fantasy player. For another fantasy team. So this year, in Round 5, I took a chance on him again. Then I found out that he wouldn't be starting in Toronto this year and most likely would be traded. So I watched as he got inconsistent minutes, titillating me and other owners with the occasional good game, in the dire hopes that he would be traded somewhere they would play him. Never happened and he's still coming off the bench for Toronto. At that point I was almost rady to give up, but I held firm. And it's paying off somehow. In the last month he has failed to reach double digit points only 3 times. He has had 5 double doubles and 4 other games with 9 rebounds. He has 5 games of 4 or more 3 pointers including the record setting day (12) against the Sixers. And perhaps most importantly, with the extended minutes on the floor he is getting those all important hustle stats, averaging at least 1 block and 1 steal per game. Donyell, it has been a long journey, but I think you're finally ready for some manlove.
Tayshaun Prince. When I drafted Tayshaun in the first round, A Fantasy Life's Cleveland correspondant Joel Wertman exclaimed, "He'd be great in this league if there were a stat created for playing good defense." Well Joel, who's laughing now. While Wertman was right and Tayshaun's great defense doesn't turn into statistical contribution often, he has more than solidified his status as a 12th round steal. In the last month, Tayshaun is averaging better than 18 pts and 5 rebounds per game. He comes through with the occcasional decent game of assists and has been a consistent source of steals. But it's his scoring that has really been taking off. Before February he had only scored 20+ points in 2 games. Since then he has done it 9 times, and even more importantly has failed to score double digits only twice. The best part is that he's such a good all around player it's almost as if he never leaves the court. That is why the much ballyhoed Tayshaun gets an ample dose of Manlove.
Jason Richardon. Somewhere along the line this guy became a superstar. He was always an exciting player to watch, and boy can he dunk, but for thus far in his career he hasn't been seen as a truly special player. That is all starting to change. His scoring is up (22 pts per in the last month), he rebounds better than most (if not all) guards at 6 per, gets a good number of assists (4), and is actve enough to be counted on for 1+ steal per game. But it has been his increased accuracy that really helps. A career 43% shooter, Richardson has shot better than 47% in the last month from the floor. He has even taken great strides to improve his FT%, which in the last month is up at 82% (compared to 70% on the rest of the year and for his career). Maybe it's his excitement over getting to play with Baron Davis. But whatever it is, J-Rich owners can stand tall and proud and give the man some Manlove.

A Rebuttal, The Problems of Day-to-Day, and a Tale of Two Teams...

2005-03-23T08:51:00.000-05:00

Come and Knock on Our Door

Firstly, A Fantasy Life would like to state that all the opinions expressed on this website are my own. Whenever possible I state facts and examples to back up what I am saying. However, I will always understand that there are other points of view. In that vein, I would like to introduce Joel Wertman, Ohio native and Cleveland sports fan. (Yes, we all feel bad for Joel.) After my recent posting about the firing of Paul Silas, I received an email from Mr. Wertman expressing an opposing viewpoint from my own, which I will share with you now (with my comments in the parentheticals):

"As I inch closer to the all important bye week (our fantasy league gives byes to the top 2 teams), I feel compelled to comment on the Paul Silas firing:
1) he had no rotation
2) he repeatedly said that the team was terrible without Lebron (making it impossible to trade any of those guys for a shooter)
3) he had no zone offense
4) he NEVER made an in game adjustment
5) he lost the respect of the team including Lebron

After watching him for a year and a half, I can honestly say that he is one of the worst strategy coaches of all time. Two recent examples are benching your 3rd leading scorer because he had a few bad shooting nights and benching Spoo (apparently the nickname for Drew Gooden) the night v. Webber. C-Webb can't cover anyone so by all means one should bench a guy who can score in the post for someone who settles for 18 foot fall aways."

The Cavs did win their first game under Coach Malone last night. Defeating the Detroit Pistons with some serious help from their bench. So perhaps Joel is on to something. I still feel that expectations were heightened by early season success and that they would not have missed the playoffs with Silas, but maybe this coaching change can set off a spark for the team. I guess when you play in Cleveland, you have to take every chance possible.

Three's Company

The Clippers have gotten back their full compliment of point guards. On March 21st against Portland, Rick Brunson started the game and played 13 minutes, Shaun Livingston played 22 minutes, and Marko Jaric tallied 24 minutes. Sadly, the implications of having all of them back means that most likely, none of them will be worthy of a fantasy addition. Brunson is worthy of a spot only in dire circumstances and that was only when he was the only PG on the roster. Livinston is full of talent and is the PG of the future in Clipperland, but still young and raw. Jaric is the best player currently but has an expiring contract and with Livingston in town his future role with the team is in question. Aside from that, as fragile as Jaric and Livingston have been it's hard to imagine that either will stay healthy for long. If either one of those guys can stay healthy and can consistently garner 30+ minutes of playing time then he's worth a fantasy roster spot. But don't say I didn't warn you if they end up as dead weight on your team.

We've Been Waiting For You

Some readers out there may be wondering why I haven't advised them to go out and grab Ronald "Flip" Murray in Seattle. Seattle has been hit with the injury bug rather hard lately. Ray Allen, Vlad Rad, and Antonio Daniels have all missed games. And when he gets on the court, Flip is a scoring machine. He's likely to see more time in the coming weeks. However, this situation brings out the second problem of players being listed as "Day-to-Day." The first issue that A Fantasy Life has brought up is that when a player is listed as "Day-to-Day," one never really knows how well he is feeling. From that assessment, they have no idea how serious the injury is and when the player will actually step on the court again. The second caveat to this diagnosis is that you must be weary in picking up one of those player's replacements. Because not knowing when the original player will be back means that you don't know when the player picked up will be losing all their minutes and fantasy relevance again. This means that as an owner you are either stuck with an injured player with no timetable for their return or stuck with a presently productive player who's fantasy contributions could be snatched away at any minute. Not good times.

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter... Spray.

Alright, so that title deviated from the theme. Sue me. I find it funny and somewhat appropriate.

If the NBA season ended today, the 8th and final playoff teams in their respective conferences would be Denver (West) and Philadelphia (East). While Denver has been the hottest team in the league, going 12-1 since the All Star break (and really, when your coach where's a throwback jersey on the bench instead of a suit that pretty much guarantees victory), the 76ers have taken a slightly different path. There is something of a battle going on out West between Denver, Minnesota, and the Lakers for the last spot, but at this point, it seems Denver is going to run away with it. In the East it's almost the opposite, as teams seem to be backing themselves into and then out of the playoffs. Orlando held the 8th spot recently, but can't seem to win. They are 4-11 since the All Star Break. The 76ers meanwhile, are 6-7 since the All Star Break, 6-6 since the acquisition of Chris Webber. Just imagine, if the Sixers were actually playing like everyone thought they would be since the trading deadline they would almost have the playoff berth locked up. Instead, they're still struggling, and most likely will now lose themselves out of the playoffs just like Orlando before them.

Where's the Beef?

I know, I promised PWGML lists today. And I do have them ready, but seeing the size of this post already I feel it may be better to wait until later today or tomorrow to start handing out more manlove. Patience dear readers, patience. There will be a time for Manlove later.

Here, There, and Everywhere...

2005-03-22T15:19:00.000-05:00

I was trying to find something substantial in the fantasy sports world to talk about today but couldn't form a proper train of thought. Instead you get bits of ramblings about whatever I can think of.

John Chaney will coach Temple Basketball next year. This is good news. I stated when the "Goon" incident happened that I felt that it was all completely blown out of proportion. Good to see that everyone is letting the dust settle and everything get back to normal. Chaney will continue to be an hornery old man, who's time as coach is probably coming to an end, but in the meantime, he will continue to preach good defense, solid guard play, and mold young underpriveledged African Americans into pillars of the community. Best of luck next year Coach, A Fantasy Life would like to see the Owls back in the tourney where they belong.
Steve Francis was suspended for 3 games for kicking the official. I expected a much worse suspension then that. With the precident of Dennis Rodman's 11 game suspension for a similar act to the major suspensions handed out after the "Malice at the Palice," Francis got off very easy. Seems that not only is his new coach willing to give into Steve's every demand, but now the NBA is happy to continue to baby him. Shame, this way he'll always be a loser and bad teammate. Keep crying Steve, apparently it works. (Note - A Fantasy Life will never refer to Francis by his self given nickname of "Stevie Franchise," instead, if a nickname is used, it will be one created for Francis by my good friend Tim Greco, "Basketball A.I.D.S.")
Barry Lamar Bonds has hinted that he may be out at least until the middle of this season, and possibly even until next season. He cites his ongoing knee problems and the constant questioning from the media as reasons he will be taking his time to make sure he's 100%. In fact, in his media session today he used the phrase "tired" 14 times. I am a big supporter of Barry Bonds. I believe that he is the greatest baseball player of the modern era, steroids or not. And I also believe that the media hounding he has gone through has been more than enough to make a normal man snap. Seriously, if he was abusing steroids, wouldn't he have had an episode of "roid rage" by now? (note - I said "abusing steroids," not "using steroids.") He is so close to breaking the all time career home run record that the media should be singing his praises, not constantly hounding him with questions about steroids that he can't even answer. Can't they just give the guy a break? I for one could care less about the sancitity of baseball's hallowed numbers; I believe records were meant to be broken; and I also believe that this media witch hunt on Bonds is keeping people from realizing what a monumentous occasion we could be witnessing. It's a damn shame.
Lamar Odom suffered a slight tear in his shoulder. He suffered the injury on Friday (3/18) against the Pacers and did not travel with the team to Utah. The Lakers have given his fantasy owners the proverbial kiss of death. Odom is listed as "Day-to-Day."
Eddy Curry returned to the lineup yesterday after missing 3 games with a hamstring injury. He claimed not to be back at 100% yet but still managed 24 pts and 6 boards in 24 minutes. Be ready, A Fantasy Life reported before that this is the time of year where Curry seems to really turn it on, there is a reason he gets manlove afterall.

Tomorrow I'll be back with updated PWGML lists for both Baseball and Basketball.

How did I miss this...

2005-03-21T16:34:00.000-05:00

Somehow I forgot to mention a very big injury that happened yesterday. Tim Duncan left the Spurs/Pistons game in the first quarter after coming down on Rasheed Wallace's foot and injuring his ankle. It was immediately disclosed that Gregg Popovich would sit Duncan at least 2 games. Today, the Spurs placed Duncan on the injured list which means he will miss at least 5 games. Because they have already clinched a playoff birth, it would be unwise for San Antonio to rush Duncan back just to try and keep a high seeding in the playoffs. It would be very unlikely for him to come right back from the IL and play big minutes. Sorry to report that if you were counting on Tim Duncan for your fantasy playoffs it doesn't look so good.

In the meantime, see if Nazr Mohammed is available in your league. He will likely step into the starting lineup for Duncan. Robert Horry gets an initial upgrade as well but I would watch him for a bit to make sure he's worth a roster spot.

The More Things Change...

2005-03-21T14:11:00.000-05:00

Studies have statistically shown that there's less chance of an incident if you do it at the end of the week.

So, I come back from a weekend full of drunken debauchery to see that 2 more NBA coaches were shown the proverbial axe. Well, that isn't quite fair since Don Nelson took himself out of the role, but none the less, we now have had 3 coaching changes in the last week. I went over my thoughts on the Johnny Davis firing on Friday, the other 2 changes will be tackled now (before getting to some random weekend notes).

-- Paul Silas was fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers today. Former assistant Brendan Malone will take over as the interim coach. Silas had only been the coach of the Cavaliers for the last 2 seasons. He was brought in to help guide manchild Lebron James from NBA Air Apparent to King of the Mountain. Last year the team seemed like it was heading for the playoffs before Jeff McInnis' shoulder injury sent the team into a skid. This year, the Cavaliers came out of the gate incredibly hot, riding Lebron for all he was worth. It certainly seemed like he would be taking over the NBA sooner rather than later. They challenged Detroit for first place in the Central Division for much of the early part of the year and went into the All Star Break at a very respectible 30-21.

Since then the team has collapsed. They have lost 9 of 12 since the break and 9 straight road games have ended in defeat. Silas has experimented with changing his starting lineup. For 2 games, Tractor Trailer was inserted as the starting PF over Drew Gooden. That didn't work and Gooden was quickly inserted back into the lineup. Last night, Silas did not start (or even play at all) Jeff McInnis, instead going with Eric Snow as his starting PG. It was another failed experiment as the team couldn't even capitalize on Lebron James career night of 56 points in a loss to Toronto. This was all compounded when Silas was recently quoted making deraugatory remarks about his former starting PF, Carlos Boozer.

But was any of this Silas' fault? Well, A Fantasy Life sees this as a similar firing to Johnny Davis. A coach who's team got very hot at the beginning of the year and that lead to nothing but bloated expectations. The team was recently sold and the new owner wanted to have his own people in charge of the team. The team may have been on a cold streak lately, but to fire the coach of the 5th best team in the conference for a losing streak may be a bit much. Unless the Cavs had fallen out of the playoff picture, there was no reason for the team to raise the white flag like they did. This was a team still coming into place. How can they be expected to grow with this change? One thing that the Cavaliers must do now is find a coach that they will trust. They cannot just hire a big name and then fire him if he hits a similar losing streak to Silas. This is a team that must maintain consistency; they must allow their team to grow together; or else they face the stigma of possibly losing Lebron James to free agency. And that would not be worth all the coaches in the world.

-- Don Nelson resigned as coach of the Dallas Mavericks. Nellie was the second winningest coach in NBA history, and even though he had never made the NBA Finals, he was still considered one of the best basketball minds of all time. He created a winning atmosphere in Dallas, made NBA stars out of Dirk Novitzki and Steve Nash, and helped turn the NBA back into a league that focused on offense. For that he will always be fondly remembered in Dallas. And they won't be getting rid of him completely either. He does hold a position of President of Basketball Operations. Plus, it isn't as if this one should be such a shocker.

It was widely speculated that Nellie, even though he has another year on his coaching contract, would be finished as head coach of the Mavericks after this season. He had personally picked Avery Johnson to be his successor, letting Johnson run practice and even handpicking some games for Avery to coach with Nelson as his assistant. The number of games Avery had coached went up on two other occasions - first, when Nellie had to take some games off for his own health issues, and another because of the health problems of his wife. Johnson filled in admirably on all accounts. Even by Nelson's own admissions, the team was responding better to Johnson than Nelson. Johnson had been better at preaching defense and also getting through to free agent acquisition, Erick Dampier. Sending Dampier into a string of double doubles and getting the big man to actually play to his capabilities.

Knowing that he would no longer be coaching the team after this season, Nellie made the wise choice in stepping down now and handing the coaching reins over to Johnson. Bravo Nellie, it isn't often that a coach will make a decision like that. This is the type of change that can often serve to catapult a team to the next level. Dallas just went from possible Western Conference sleeper to team no one wants to play.

-- Do not expect any fantasy implications from these changes. Both teams are still in the playoffs in their respective conferences and neither has any young players that management is trying to get into the lineup (as was the case in Portland).

Yes, this is a very terrible idea.

Steve Francis was suspended indefinitely for kicking a courtside photographer. Dennis Rodman was given an 11 game suspension when he did the same thing in 1997. But with such a precidence combined with this year's brawl at the Palace, you can expect Francis to possibly be suspended for the rest of the year. I would expect no less than 15 games.

As for Francis, this year has proved 1 thing. He is a crybaby and will never win in the NBA. It's a shame too. In a season that started off so well for him as he helped turn around the Orlando franchise it has quickly fallen into shambles. He whined when his friend Cuttino Mobley was traded to Sacramento. He complained when he was moved to the SG in the starting lineup. In fact, all he does is complain.

Hey Steve. GROW UP.

You know what I would do with a million dollars?

For everyone out there that stashed Jamaal Magloire on their IL early on and waited through his entire injury can now pat themselves on the back. Magloire is back and he is easily the best player in New Orleans. Expect big things from him the rest of the way, just don't watch any of their games. They're still the Hornets afterall.

Fixing the Problems...

2005-03-18T10:39:00.000-05:00

There's an Elephant in the Room and Everyone Wants to Talk About It.

Since it is the stretch run of the NBA (fantasy) season, I have maintained a steady focus on basketball. However, with the joke that was yesterday's Congressional Steroid Hearings it becomes hard not to even talk about it. So I'll share some thoughts. Now, I won't be going into how I feel about it. Too many people are pointing too many fingers and I think that Jim Caple's latest Off Base article summed up my thoughts nicely. I also won't talk about how I felt the players "performed" before Congress, that is covered quite nicely by Jayson Stark and Darren Rovell. In fact, I couldn't even tell you how I thought the players did before Congress (aside from taking turns throwing Jose Canseco under the bus) since I stopped listening to the radio broadcast after they were sworn in and delivered their opening statements. After that, the hearing took a short recess to allow the Congressmen to handle some official duties. During this recess, the radio microphone was left on and no commercials were played. Someone should have told the people in the nearby vacinity because you could hear everything that they had to say. Mostly it was one man (and boy do I wish I knew who it was), talking on the telephone, ripping into all the players who had showed up. He called them all liars, made comments about how all of them took steroids, and had given the impression that he felt all of them were idiots. He laughed and joked at their expense. This brings out my one biggest problem with this whole "Steroid Scandal."

The only reason that this has gotten the sustained publicity from first the sports media, then the national and international media, and now the United States government is because it is such an easy story to cover. There are no "good guys," only "bad guys." News stories are so much easier to cover when the media simply has to point a finger at someone and say "You are a bad person," and not one person will take the other side. No one will say steroids are good. Steroids are bad and people who take steroids are bad. That's the theme of all of this. And the court of public opinion, the media, and (based on yesterday) even the government has already made up their minds. Mark McGwire said it best in his opening statement yesterday when he pointed out that if any of the players said they hadn't taken steroids they were considered a liar, and if they came out and admitted it, they were a villain. This was a no win situation. And Congress' allowing the parents of a "steroid suicide victim" to come out and speak was ridiculous. This may be cold blooded, but I have to say it. It is not the fault of Major League Baseball that this kid took steroids and then killed himself. It is the fault of his coaches and teachers who let him try to gain weight through steroids. It is the fault of the parents who failed to notice such major changes in their son's physique and mental health. And it is the fault of that boy, who was so stupid that he didn't see any dangers in what he was doing. Major League Baseball cannot be blamed for his death. That's stupid and shortsighted. And besides, if this kid was crazy enough to do all that just to see if he could play professional sports, he was probably going to end up as a tragic figure anyway.

In the end, the same thing that will get McGwire tarred and feathered by the media is exactly the point. McGwire constantly reminded Congress that he was not there to discuss the past. He was there to talk about the future. Yet Congress insisted on asking him questions about his past. Why? Did they somehow figure out a way to fix it? Many jilted lovers and fired employees would like to know how to fix the past. It just isn't possible. McGwire was trying to help put this whole scandal on track to be fixed for the future. It's something that was re-iterated by ESPN 2's Cold Pizza host Jay Crawford. You can't even prove that these players did or did not do steroids. Why are we still focusing on that (please, no mention of the sanctity of records)? Let's clean up the game now, and keep it clean for the future. Let's stop pointing fingers at obvious villains and start looking at ourselves. Let's stop trying to trash sport heroes, and start being better fans, parents, and force the Government to actually hold Congressional Hearings on important politcal issues.

Daniel Larusso's Going to Fight.

Allen Iverson said he will be available to play today. The medical staff put it at 50/50. Here at A Fantasy Life, I would like to see him sit this one out. Not because I don't like to watch him play or don't think he's good for the team. Mainly, I think that Iverson should sit down because it will force Jim O'Brien to put in more plays to make Chris Webber the focal point of the offense. And it won't be because the team completely changes without Allen, as Willie Green nicely fills in that role. But it will allow the rest of the team to really see what it will be like with Webber as the focal point. It will give Iverson the chance to watch from the outside, what happens while Webber has the ball in his hands. Because Iverson dominates the basketball so much, a game without him on the floor is good for the other players to see more of what they can do, it allows them to try new things in the offense, and forces them to work harder on defense. I'm not saying that it will work. Webber could continue to struggle and they could get blown out. But at this point, I think they need to give it a shot.

Here's another thing the Sixers must do. Move Kyle Korver to the bench in favor of John Salmons. Korver has been something of a revelation this year for the team. Jim O'Brien loves the 3 pointer and Korver may be the only consistent threat on the team. But if you look at his splits for the year, you will see that as a sub, Korver only plays 28 minutes per game (as compared to 36 as a starter), yet his statistics only take a minimal hit. As a starter he averages 12 pts, 4.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.9 3's a game. As a sub, he averages 11 pts, 4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.8 3's a game. Is the difference that much that he needs to be starting? No. The Sixers main problems have been defense and turnovers. Therefore, with John Salmons in the game, Andre Iguodala can be moved back to his natural SF position. Salmons is also a much better defender with better overall speed than Korver, and he can easily handle the ball at times, to alleviate some of the responsibility of handling the ball all the time from Iverson. This would allow them to set more of a defensive tone early on, establish what they want to do on offense before bringing in the 3 point threats to really open things up, and most importantly, allow Webber and Iverson to establish themselves early on without having to share too many looks with Korver.

Win Lose, No Matter.

Johnny Davis was fired yesterday after his team dropped another one, this time in L.A. to the Clippers. Most thought that the Magic were overacheiving this year. Afterall, they traded away their superstar to Houston for a collection of guards who had been to the playoffs once. But this was a team that started off the year hot and seemed to continue on a roll. So expectations went (unrealistically) through the roof. If at the beginning of the year you were to ask GM John Weisbrod if he would be happy fighting for a playoff spot on March 18th he would probably been very welcoming of the idea. Yet, now, he isn't.

But Johnny Davis (no matter what he actually brings to a team as a coach) wasn't the problem. Somewhere along the line those raised expectations got to his head. He forgot that his team was fairly new to each other. He forgot that Steve Francis hasn't exactly been known as the most mature of NBA players. He failed to look at important statistics like pace factor when he said the team needed more defense. (note - The Magic were ranked 13th in the league in defense according to pts/100 possessions.) And most importantly, he forgot that he had a young team that should have been allowed to grow. This is just another sad example of the "Win now" attitude possessed by most GMs in professional sports, when they forget that a winning team actually has to be able to grow together.

As for how this affects the fantasy value of anyone on the team, don't look for any major changes. Even though the team has gone on the recent losing streak with Jameer Nelson at the PG, with the recent injury to Doug Christie, they lack any depth in the backcourt to make a change and it isn't as if Nelson hasn't been producing (he has, and very well I might add). Meanwhile, this also coincides with Dwight Howard finally figuring out how to break down the "Rookie Wall" with 3 15+ rebound games in his last 5. In the end this was a cosmetic change, and one that probably should have been made before the season started. Johnny Davis should never have been allowed to continue coaching the team, he's a career assistant. Look for Weisbrod to try and find a coach who is harder on his players. Hey, being a hockey guy himself, he could look there for help and hire Mike Keenan, he's always been seen as a tough guy and I hear he needs a job anyway.

It's a Celebration B*tches!!!

2005-03-17T11:45:00.000-05:00

OK, I had many, many thoughts I had intended to post today. But it doesn't look like it'll get done. Between listening to the joke that is the Congressional Baseball/Steroid hearings to the NCAA tournament opening round games to the fact that I plan on drinking so much green beer it discolors my urine, I will not have nearly enough time to put up a proper post. So, to all the loyal readers, get out of the house, find you favorite local drinking establishment, have some Guinness and green beer, and enjoy this amazing day of sports.

If my head isn't pounding too hard tomorrow I'll be back to discuss why Iverson sitting out a few games is actually a good thing, the firing of Johnny Davis and how it affects the Magic, the return of Jamaal Magloire, the injury to Antawn Jamison, and maybe even touch upon my thoughts on the whole steroid issue.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

A Finger, a Shoulder, and Some Guys With Leg Problems...

2005-03-16T13:36:00.000-05:00

Why You Little!!!

Last night the Sixers won a game. That's good. Last night, Allen Iverson chipped a bone in his left thumb. That's bad. Today he is getting fitted for a cast and has been listed by the Sixers as "Day-to-Day", otherwise known as the 3 worst words fantasy basketball owners can hear in succession. For most players, this type of injury would probably send them to the injured list. But this is Allen Iverson. The man has a tendency to play through any injury imaginable. A few years ago while the Sixers were on their way to the NBA Finals, Iverson seperated his shoulder in the middle of the season and was expected out for 4 weeks. He returned in 2 games. The Sixers next play in back to back games on Friday (@Cleveland) and Saturday (home vs. Chicago). It may be a bit much to assume he'll be in both of those games, but anything less than a return to the court on Saturday would be surprising. The team is fighting for a playoff spot and desperately needs him. You can keep Iverson in your fantasy lineup without worry.

Why You Big!!!

It doesn't look good for anyone who was hoping the get Jermaine O'Neal back in time for their fantasy playoffs. He has been hurt with a seperated shoulder since a March 3rd game against Denver and has missed the last 6 of the Pacers' games. The team was hoping the injury would not require surgery, but 2 weeks later, the swelling still has not subsided enough for the doctors to even make a decision. This is a huge blow to the Pacers hopes of making the playoffs in Reggie Miller's final season. The team is barely holding onto one of the final 2 playoff spots. It's probably a bigger blow to your fantasy team however, as O'Neal was averaging a career high 24.8 pts/game. A Fantasy Life went over some big men replacements in Monday's post. Check them out and see if they're still available.

Colonel Klink, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

For the second straight day, I am crying as I type my blog entry. As I perused the box scores from yesterday's games, I noticed that Eddy Curry had failed to get 30 minutes for the first time in 4 games. I had figured it was due to the return of the "Evil Scott Skiles," who rides Eddy way too hard and has been known to sit Mr. Curry for the entire 4th quarter of many a Bulls game. But before I went ahead and wrote another nasty letter to the Bulls organization, I perused the daily notes and found that Eddy had hurt his hamstring and that forced him out of the game with a little more than 6 minutes remaining. Eddy is optimistic that he will play tonight, here's hoping that he doesn't do any unnecessary damage to the hamstring. It's the first time all year that I'm actually asking Scott Skiles to keep a close eye on Eddy's minutes.

Dear Mr. Burns...

A Fantasy Life has been continuously highlighting the Sixers problems since their blockbuster deal that brought Chris Webber to the team. I have made note of the fact that Webber seemingly hasn't hit a shot since the trade; Iverson is still controlling the ball way too much, and Coach O'Brien will not make any strategical changes to his system in order to make better use of the players he has. Last night the team won, yet Webber's struggles continued as he only scored 5 pts on 8 shots and pulled down 5 rebounds. In fact, if you look at his stats since coming over, it appears that the Sixers have turned Chris Webber into Kenny Thomas. Hey, I liked Kenny Thomas too, but not enough that I'm willing to turn Chris Webber into him.

Sooner or later, if this ship isn't righted, someone will have to take the fall. It won't be Iverson. He's the face of the franchise and as they say "puts butts in seats." It likely won't be Webber. It was amazing to Kings GM Geoff Petrie that he got someone to take Webber's contract now, who will want it next year after the way it looks like he's going to finish this year. That leaves only 1 man. Coach Jim O'Brien.

Look, I really want to like O'Brien. If A Fantasy Life existed last year when Randy Ayers was fired, I would have started my own petition to bring in Obie. He has a Philadelphia pedigree, going to high school at Roman Catholic (alma mater of Eddie Griffin, Mark Jackson, and Marvin Harrison) and college at St. Joe's. He even turned around the hated Celtics after the failed Rick Pitino experiment. But he is having serious trouble with the Sixers. Last night on ESPN's Sportscenter, Stephen A. Smith was interviewed about Chris Webber's struggles. Smith made a few points: Webber likes being in Philadelphia; he likes all of his teammates; he even thinks that he will be able to play well with Allen Iverson; but he hates playing for Jim O'Brien. Even John Smallwood's Daily News article (registration required) from today says that O'Brien may be on the chopping block and that last night's win may have only been a slight reprieve.

This team is too talented to not make the playoffs. However, I can understand how hard it is for O'Brien to come up with a new defensive scheme that doesn't bring to light his many players deficiencies, when the current one has worked so well for him in the past. It would be nice if the Sixers could keep O'Brien and have him lead them back into the world of NBA relevance. In fact, I'm so in favor of giving Obie a chance I will refrain from calling for his head the rest of this year. Let's all just calm down and continue to try and be patient. Let's trust the team to work itself out. But if it doesn't, then the whole can of worms will open up again next year.