Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Wednesday 05/30 A.M. Quickie:
Bee, Cavs, Kobe, Beckett, Vick, Buss, More!

Spelling Bee Mania! I love the Spelling Bee. Two years ago, I won the Page 2 Spelling Bee Fantasy League title. Last year, I remained enamored with it. This year, I'm still all in.

Darren Rovell and I have been friends for years, and the Bee is one of the things he and I mutually agree is fantastic. He does a much more obsessive job than I do in breaking down the field. He handicaps the race here.

We both agree on one thing: Samir Patel. Drafting Patel led to my Fantasy League title in '05, and I picked him to win last year (he didn't, but has a mean streak). Rovell likens Patel to the Bee's Peyton Manning, and he's right: It's Patel's year. He's my pick to win.

Mike and Mike will be doing the play-by-play. One of the things I liked most about Bee broadcasts was the earnestness of the otherwise anonymous broadcast team matched the sincerity of the kids. I really hope Greenberg and Golic don't turn this into a case of the "cool" kid and the "jock" kid turning the primetime event into a sarcastic mockery of the "smart" kids. That would be like re-living junior high for me, without the beatings. (Here's a hint that, if they do nothing else, will help: It's not about you, M&M, it's about the kids.)

I was looking around for a live-blog, and here's one I found. (Yes, but will they be doing the early rounds, found on the obscure cable channels?)

Meanwhile, around the sports that wish they had the authenticity of the Bee...

Cavs even up series with Pistons 2-2: When Larry Hughes went down with that injury, how many of you agreed with me that the Cavs were d-o-n-e? Hughes replacement Daniel Gibson (21 points) would like to disagree. (Bonus: Undersized combo guards at the NBA Draft "combine" get a boost!)

Kobe teed off on the Lakers front office on the radio yesterday, ramping up the rhetoric -- and perhaps pressing the conditions that the team could-should-would trade him? He has a right to be angry: The team ain't building a contender (which I believe), and the team is blaming him for exiling Shaq (which I think he deserves). I think it's all setting up a summer of intrigue where they could very well trade him. I've got no evidence -- just an intuition. Of course, I think they SHOULD trade him.

Vick Scandal, Day Nth: SI.com says Vick doesn't understand that dog-fighting is wrong. PFT is hearing that league folks think an indictment is inevitable. And there's something about the search/non-search warrant for his property, but I can't work through the thicket of intrigue. Just dig up the damn property already.

MLB Stud, Pitcher: Josh Beckett, who returned from the DL to win his 8th straight decision. ("Straight" should get a mild asterisk, given the break between starts.)

MLB Stud, Batter: Gary Sheffield, who hit 2 HR and had 5 RBI in a 14-2 Tigers clobbering of the D-Rays. For the first two months of the season, it sure looks like the Yankees messed up in letting him go.

Clemens Watch: The only real reason to pay attention to Roger Clemens' prep for the season was that he would make his first start for the Yankees at Fenway. Now, it looks like it'll happen against the White Sox. What a wuss.

(Actually, the other vets on the rotation set up to pitch there, and why mess with their turns? Well, for starters, because Roger Clemens is ALL ABOUT the special rules. Why stop at "doesn't have to travel with the team?" Why not add in: "Enters rotation when/where it makes the most dramatic sense?")

MLB Stats: "FORP." Alex Belth (via Emma Span) is pushing "FORP" (Fun Over Replacement Player), which is a pretty clever concept. Curious who your most favorite "fun" MLB players are. Here's the Belth link.

Duke Scandal: Will any of the "Duke Three" be able to lead normal lives? Reade Seligmann will find out: He has transferred to Brown. We'll see if he brings any stigma with him. That must have made for one hell of an application essay.

Marquise Hill's death was ruled accidental. That compounds the tragedy that he wasn't wearing a life vest.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss arrested for DUI: Forget the 74-year-old man. How about the fact that there was a 23-year-old woman in the car with him? I fully expect LA-based Sports by Brooks to have the photos ASAP. (Please be Lindsay Lohan... please be Lindsay Lohan...)

French Open: Andy Roddick ain't good on clay. For the second year in a row, he is bounced out of the French Open in the first round. Seven other US players went with him. Eh: Clay is the knuckleball of tennis surfaces – a gimmick.

TV: Kudos to the rookie Big Ten Network for making ESPN's Dave Revsine its signature hire. Beyond being a Northwestern guy, he has always been one of the most underrated talents at ESPN.

My genius friends over at ProTrade have a new live-game application for baseball that could radically change the concept of understanding a game's turning point. Here's the link.

Rookiepedia is back for the NBA Draft.

More later.

-- D.S.

91 comments:

Anonymous said...

as someone who plays nba 2k7 i could tell that the cavs needed gibson over snow, my borhter walways starts gibson because he can shoot so taht when you double lberon you get jayed.

Adam said...

Dan, We will be covering the early rounds broadcast only on C-SPAN 7. Glad you found us.

Unknown said...

Sorry, Dan-o. Look back, I've been singing Gibson's praises the last couple of days.
Hughes out + Gibson in = Cavs win.

I called it before the game.


There's no way M and M don't screw the Bee up. Count on a million jokesa bout how Golic couldn't spell....any of the words.

Unknown said...

by the way, was anyone else strangely giddy that the big celebrity for the Cavs is....Geraldo? Wearing a sweater around his neck?

Cavs have to win.

Matt T said...

How about this, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams and the #11 pick for Kobe.

Joe is a max contract guy (I think) and scores a lot of points, similar to Kobe.

Smoltz left the game in the 4th reinjuring his pinkie and straining his shoulder, he said he probably won't miss his next start.

I hope not, Atlanta's fallen 5 back of the Mets.

CMFost said...

Dan,

Read today's Philadelphia Inquirer, Steven A. Smith has an article in there that he had and interview with Kobe that says it was Buss who decide not to sign Shaq and Shaq was called and agreed that what Kobe is saying is true.



here is a link

CMFost said...

For Celtics fans how about the Celtics trading Pierce, The #5 Pick and any other player on the Roster except Jefferson for Kobe

Joey said...

Daniel Gibson was the steal of the draft for me at the time last year. I wanted the Cavs to take him with their 1st round pick and couldn't believe that he was still there in the 2nd. When he is in the game it opens up the inside for everyone else and when he attacks like last night, the Cavs can really be tough.

CMFost said...

Clemens First Start Should be against the Red Sox, it is the only thing that might gie the Yankees a spark to help get back in the Race for the Wild Card. Clemens pitching well and beating there Rival could do a lot more for the Yankees mind set then pitching against the White Sox.

CMFost said...

Stud - Kevin Youkillis - 2 more hits, another HR, 21 Game Hit Streak and a 9 Game Multi Hit streak.

Michael said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael said...

I think the lesson to be learned about the Cavs is if they have guys in there that Lebron likes to play with (young energetic guys that can make buckets) then they can win alot of basketball games. Larry Hughes is a head case and it should be no suprise they are better without him.

Beckett actually has a no decision in there along with the missed time but 8-0 is still very impressive. My question is: are there alot of other pitchers out there that have a chronic blister problem and do we just not here about them b/c they aren't as big name as Beckett or is he the only person having this issue?

jhawkjjm said...

What people seem to forget (or not even know) was that Gibson was an absolute stud at Texas. This shouldn't be surprising.

Brian Bremer said...

Yeah, I don't think anyone in Cleveland thought Hughes being out hurt us. I thought that was the best thing to happen in the series. Gibson makes that wide open shot in game 2.

TJ said...

I can't imagine ESPN coming up with a worse idea this summer than Mike and Mike calling the spelling bee--they are absolutely wrong for the spelling bee. You hit it exactly, Dan--the no-nonsense, actually knowledgeable announcers were perfect. I can't understand why this is happening. This is a more devastating sports decision than Stern suspending Stoudemire and Diaw. I hope the show is still even watchable.

TJ said...

@cmfost, I think Clemens should come back against anyone other than the Red Sox. The Yanks are still only about 8 games under .500, and are officially playing for the wild card. They shouldn't even think about the Red Sox, so nothing could be more devastating then starting the Rocket off with a shelling from Boston, which I think is more likely than a solid start first time back in the AL.

Joey said...

Am I the only one who thinks the spelling bee sucks and should not be covered by a sports network?

Unknown said...

Yes.

Jen said...

NO Dan, I did NOT agree with you on the Cavs being D-O-N-E since Hughes went down. I would have commented on it yesterday if I had been around. It's obvious that you haven't been paying attention to Hughes' lack of scoring in the playoffs.

quikag182 said...

STUD= Delgado. 2HRs including a 12th inning walk-off. 4 HR in last 3 games.

Kurt said...

Dan, your last two links are broken, might want to fix them.

RevScottDeMangeMD said...

@joey...

as much as i enjoy shanoff's columns and blogisms (is that a word?) i have to agree with you. actually, i think the spelling bee is on ABC. but yeah, shanoff believes it's a sport and i just can't seem to understand how. i also remember him saying that "spellbound" is the best documentary. it's really good, but nowhere near "hoop dreams."

mattie said...

Can we get a DUD for Armando Benitez? I say that as a Mets fan who still rather enjoys having him blow games to GIVE Mets wins instead of losing games for them. Was he completely psyched out by Reyes or what? It's not every day you see someone manufacture a run by getting the guy to balk him home. The homerun by Delgado was a foregone conclusion after that.

Mike & Mike at the Spelling Bee is the worst idea EVER. How truly stupid are TPTB at ESPN?

Go Cavs!

Brian in Oxford said...

If I'd known the Giants were going to bring in Benitez, I might have kept the game on last night.

Great "holy shit!" moment with Aaron Hill stealing home against the Yankees. The video was the catcher freaking out calling for the ball, while Pettitte couldn't see it coming. (Smart move of the batter getting the hell out of the way -- if you drill the batter, the runner has to go back to third.) It was one of those split-second things where you don't understand what's happening, as it's happening.

The spelling bee is okay on ESPN. It reminds me of when ESPN used to show really weird stuff all the time that wasn't just football, poker, or sox-yanks 24-7. But I fear that Mike and Mike will suck ass doing it. And thinking about it, either one (even Golic) by himself or with a real analyst would be okay. It's just the pairing of the two together that's going to bring it down.

Words I lost spelling bees on:
4th grade: persuade
6th grade: cypress (I spelled Cyprus)

Unknown said...

The spelling bee is a sport as much a Jeopardy is a sport. I enjoy watching both (Jeopardy moreso), but they are in no way sports. A fantasy league for the spelling bee? Not only do I find it horribly inane and boring, I also find it a little demeaning to the kids. It would be like a fantasy league for the Little League World Series; these kids do not need Internet jackasses arguing over who amongst them is the best.

Unknown said...

Don't forget that in the NBA trade's have really specific rules. Here are a few that work.

Trade 1:
Kobe and Vladimir Radmanovic for Ben Wallace, Ben Gordon, and Thabo Sefalosha.

Trade 2:
Kobe and Ronny Turiaf for Paul Pierce, Al Jefferson, and Gerald Green.

Trade 3:
Kobe for Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, and Marvin Williams.

Trade 4:
Kobe and Maurice Evans for Antwan Jamison, Antonio Daniels, and the 16th and 47th pick in this years draft.

Trade 5:
Kobe and Andrew Bynum for Ben Wallace, Ben Gordon, and Luol Deng.

ToddTheJackass said...

MLB Studs and Duds from yesterday:

Studs:
1. Carlos Delgado - 2HRs, 3RBI, Walk-off HR in 12th
2. Gary Sheffield - 3-6, 2HR, 5RBI
3. Jeremy Bonderman - 6.1IP, 1ER, 4H, 0BB, 8Ks
4. Justin Morneau - 3-4, HR, 4RBI
5. Orlando Hudson - 4-6, 4RBI

Duds:
1. Armando Benitez - BS, L, 0.2IP, 2ER, Balk
2. Casey Fossum - L, 1.0IP, 5ER, 7H
3. John Danks - L, 3.1IP, 6ER, 9H, 4BB, 2HR
4. Braden Looper - L, 5.2IP, 6ER, 7H, 5BB
5. Andy Pettite - L, 7.1IP, 3ER, Allowed SB of Home

Honorary Stud: Aaron Hill, for stealing home.

Honorary Team Stud: Detroit, with 22 hits.

Matt T said...

@Guyinthecorner -

I don't know enough about the specifics of the trades and salary cap stuff, so that was just a wild guess on mine.

Kobe is great, but no way the Hawks give up 3! starters for him, especially Josh Smith who is one of the most underrated (unless you do fantasy basketball) young guards.

Unknown said...

matt t-

I'll see if I can work out something more even.

Jingoist said...

Anyone else catch this...?



Looks like A-Rod has a hobby.

ToddTheJackass said...

Wow, since when did MSNBC become so tabloid-esque.

I'm sure the bad-Yankees fans (the ones that boo A-Rod), will find some way to twist this into blaming him for the Yankees failing. Something along the lines of "Women weaken legs" or something like that.

But come on, give the guy a little privacy.

Unknown said...

Kobe and Brian Cook for Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Josh Childress, and the 11th pick?

Roge said...

Honestly... the spelling bee? It's the most retarded thing that is played on ESPN. Who cares about these kids who can spell words that no one ever uses? Why do we even have these words in the first place?

ToddTheJackass said...

Isn't Kobe from Philly? Isn't there some way that they could work out some kind of trade for Iguodola+?

(I really don't follow the NBA, so this could be a really stupid idea).

CMFost said...

It actually was not MSNBC that had the orginal story I believe the picture of A-Rod was on the cover of the New York Post this morning.

ToddTheJackass said...

Also Dan, can you tell us more about how the Fantasy Spelling Bee? Is there some way that we can work this out and have people from the blog participate in one?

I am curious, and I think Brian would be down.

Unknown said...

I can try to figure something out for Philly but remember that they hate him there. He is routinely booed. But that might be cause he's playing for the other team. I can't imagine fans, as grumpy as there are in Philly, not being happy to have Kobe.

TBender said...

Because Jeff we need words for diseases that affect 3 cells in a person's left arm versus one in the right arm.

TBender said...

And didn't Benitez balk twice?

Is basestealing such a lost art that there's only one guy left who can do it at such a high level? Oh where has Whiteyball gone? :)

Reminds me of Brett Butler being the last guy who could successfully bunt for hits on a regular basis.

Unknown said...

Kobe, Maurice Evans, and Sasha Vukacic for Samuel Dalembert, Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala, and the 12th pick.

Matt T said...

@guy

That's a much better trade.

CMFost said...

If you want to see if your favorite team can trade for Kobe


check this out


I ahve the Celtics Sending Pierce, Green and the #5 Pick to the lakers for Kobe and Bynum

ToddTheJackass said...

Yes, Benitez balked twice. My bad.

As far as stolen bases, I think the reason they are down is three-fold.

1. Pitchers in the minor leagues are being instructed more on the art of pitching from the stretch. In previous eras, this wasn't as emphasized at all levels, especially in the farm systems.

2. The steroids era (or the Chicks dig the long ball era), really emphasized power as a more important tool than speed. Scouts and systems likely responded by drafting and developing power over speed.

3. The sabermetricians also put a slight damper on the stolen base, figuring that in order to actually benefit your team's run output, a person needs to steal at around a 70% success rate.

But it's sad we'll never see another Rickey again.

Unknown said...

It is too bad the stolen base is becoming such a rarity in baseball. It is easily the most exciting one-player, one-base play. Last night's steal of home was great by Hill.

Unknown said...

CM-

Actually that thing doesn't quite work. It doesn't take into account a couple of the rules. For instance, it will allow you to do the Kobe/Nowitzki trade even though it's not actually allowed. As I stated yesterday, that trade does work if you add Devin Harris. What's weird is that the ESPN trade checker allows that trade also. That's how you know that it doesn't really work. You can't just add another 3 and a half million to an NBA trade.

A much more acurate trade checker can be found at....
http://www.realgm.com/src_tradechecker/1/

Travis said...

MLB Stud, Pitcher: Josh Beckett, who returned from the DL to win his 8th straight decision. ("Straight" should get a mild asterisk, given the break between starts.)

Dan.... you seem to discount Beckett's winning his 8th straight decision....but lets remember while he did have a break between starts...2 weeks....he didnt get a rehab start or anything... I think it makes it more impressive that he went two weeks without pitching and came right back and dominated one of the best offensive teams in baseball!

Unknown said...

Here's another one....

Kobe, Bryan Cook, and Jordon Farmar for Kevin Garnett, Craig Smith, and the 7th pick.

Jingoist said...

Ever think how ridiculous Rickey Henderson was?

Figure this... his 3 100+ steal seasons ('80, '82, '83) he had an average OBP of .411 and he stole on average 113 bases. He was on base 225 times on average those years (based on 547 ABs), which means he stole a bag just over 50% of the time, not counting the caught stealings (averaged 29 CS those years). And of course, not counting double steals (i.e., 2nd and/or 3rd base and/or home).

Bottom line is wow. You knew the guy was running and you couldn't stop him.

R.A. Porter said...

Just because Americans blow on clay doesn't make it "the knuckleball of tennis surfaces – a gimmick". For basic economic reasons we've built and renovated most courts in the US to hard surfaces. Grass plays similar to hardcourt - fast, shorter bounces, and if you grew up on muni courts you're used to the wild hops - so as a nation we do quite well there.

If anything is a gimmick at this point, it's grass. The clay court season is about four or five times longer than the grass season (basically, Wimby and one or two tuneups) and attracts most of the world's top players. More Euros sit out the grass season than Americans sit out clay.

Our inability to succeed doesn't invalidate the surface.

Unknown said...

There was that statistic about Rickey...
If he got a decent jump he could make it from his average lead to second base in 2.9 seconds. When they timed the fastest pitcher to catcher, catcher to second base times the fastest recorded was 3 seconds. So as long as he got a decent jump it was actually impossible to throw him out.

ToddTheJackass said...

@R.A.

But the weird thing is, the Americans haven't always failed on Clay. This is a relatively recent phenomenon. Agassi, Courier, Michael Chang, etc., were all very successful on clay. More than anything, I think it's just a lack of great Americans, or a lack of versatility in the current Americans' games that is the problem. Roddick and Blake rely too much on their serves and powerful groundstrokes, which don't translate well on clay. Another big difference between Roddick + Blake and Agassi, Courier, + Chang is that all of those guys played with very good footwork and balance, and certainly that's not the case for Roddick.

Although it is certainly possible that the Spaniards and the rise of other clay-court specialists has really dwindled the Americans' chances of winning.

verbal97 said...

todd,

I think it's actually the rise of specialists in the modern game. Once upon a time, Borg did the French Open/Wimbledon double in the same year 3 times and won a total of 5 Wimbledons and 6 French Opens. That would be unheard of now. There was a stretch in the 80s where the best hard court players also won in France (Lendl and Wilander). Hell, even the best serve and volley player of all time (Edberg) made it to the French Open finals in '89, losing to a previously unknown Michael Chang. The rise of clay court specialists in the '90s like Bruguera, Muster and later Kuerton made it virtually impossible to be successful on clay unless you played on it almost exclusively (minus the early and late hard court seasons).

CMFost said...

Baseball has change so much we will never see a 100 stolen base guy again or a pitcher that has more then 35 starts


on an off note - Guy are you going to respond to my trade counter proposal.

ToddTheJackass said...

When's the last time a non-"specialist" won the French Open on the Men's side?

chitown italian said...

Matt Schaub for Falcons QB in 2007!!! Oh wait, the Falcons got rid of a great back up.

Hahaha!

I love it but the Bears still need a QB.

verbal97 said...

Since 1990, only three players have won the French Open and at some other point in their careers won a different Grand Slam tournament.

1991-1992 - Jim Courier, also won two Australian Opens (1992 and 1993).

1996 - Yevgeny Kafelnikov, also won one Australian Open (1999).

1999 - Andre Agassi, won a career grand slam, 4 Australian Opens (1995, 2000, 2001, 2003), 1 Wimbledon (1992) and 2 US Opens (1994 and 1999).

Anonymous said...

kobe wants out. let the trade talk begin.

ToddTheJackass said...

Yeah, that certainly validates the argument for the Clay-Court specialists.

But still, I think another large part toward explaining why the Americans can't play on clay is that the current core of Americans are all power players who rely on their serves more than anything, which just doesn't translate well on clay.

In a related note, I heard Mark Philippoussis (sp?) is having his own reality show.

ToddTheJackass said...

So has anyone else noticed the early parallels of this year's AL East race and last year's NL East race?

Basically one team (Mets, Red Sox) building a seemingly insurmountable lead over the other teams, one of whom had dominated the division (Braves, Yankees) for so long. If only the D-Rays would be having a better than expected year with all the yougsters, the comparison would be perfect.

I'm not saying it's over in the AL East, but each day that goes by it really just seems like it's going to be nearly impossible for the Yankees to come back and win the division.

verbal97 said...

I don't think there is a tennis player that had as disappointing a career as Philippoussis.

CMFost said...

Kobe was just on the Radio and stated to Steven A Smith that he wants to be traded and that there is nothing the Lakers can do to make him change his mind.

ToddTheJackass said...

I dunno Verbal, Philippoussis was always so one-dimensional. I think Safin's career has been more disappointing, since there were times where it looked like he was far and away the best in the world. Philippoussis never had much of a ground game.

Kurt said...

Hey Todd, Pettite's a real dud alright, that's why his ERA is 2.51 and Josh Beckett's is 2.65.

ToddTheJackass said...

I'd love to have Pettite on my team, but there's no doubting that Pettite royally fucked up by not checking on Aaron Hill last night. He did pitch well enough he probably shouldn't have been a dud, but it's not like Hill is Jose Reyes or Carl Crawford. That play wasn't even close.

CMFost said...

Yet Beckett is 8-0 and Petitte is 3-4.

Sam said...

Kurt,
Pettite is a great pitcher having great year, but the ERA is not that much different. And I am not sure if you have seen this stat so I will tell you...one is 8-0 and the other is 3-4. I will take the one with an 8-0 record any day.
Todd is right too. He has to check on Hill. That is pitching 101.

ToddTheJackass said...

Also, for what it's worth, Pettite's WHIP is 1.31, and Beckett's is 0.97.

Not to mention Pettite's K/9 ratio (4.77) and K/BB ratio (1.65) are vastly inferior to Beckett's 8.49 K/9 and 4.15 K/BB ratio.

Pettite has pitched really well though, with Quality Starts in 82% of his starts.

Natsfan74 said...

Todd -- I just hope the AL East turns out the same way, with the insurmountable lead coasting to the final in a division with only one playoff team. But it's time for the Orioles to make the Phillies type charge and finish close enough to scare people without ever being being a credible playoff contender.

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

verbal97 as much as I loved Edberg growing up I think the greatest serve and volleyer in tennis history is Pete Sampras.

ToddTheJackass said...

Rafter was a pretty great serve and volleyer too. Edberg was maybe was more fundamentally sound, but I'm not sure if he was more effective per se than Rafter. (I wish I knew more about the Bill Tilden and Rod Laver eras though). And the best pure volleyer had to be McEnroe.

solomonrex said...

If you're the Lakers, you're not making a deal without a proven box office draw. That's a short list, so i'm guessing:

AI and Camby for
Kwame and Kobe

or

Kobe for Tracy McGrady straight up

or

Kobe for KG (kobe would probably veto)

or

Kobe for Agent Zero and Caron Butler

I really like the idea of raiding Toronto for youth and building buzz around Bosh, but I don't think the Raptors can make the cap work, according to the trade machine.

verbal97 said...

Yes, Sampras was great, but as a serve and volleyer Edberg was better. Sampras had a more complete game hence the 8 more grand slam titles (for instance look at their backhands and returns). Rafter was good, but not nearly as good as Edberg. I remember one year (can't remember which) when Edberg lost in the US Open without his serve being broken.

verbal97 said...

Scratch that...it was in the 91 Wimbledon semi-finals against Michael Stich in 4 sets. Edberg broke Stich once, Stich won the other 3 sets in tiebreakers.

Unknown said...

solomonrex-

First of all, there's no way that Kobe allows a trade to Toronto.

Kobe for KG straight up doesn't work anyway. KG makes too much. My trade was Kobe, Bryan Cook, and Jordon Farmar for Kevin Garnett, Craig Smith, and the 7th pick. That one works.

Kobe for Agent Zero and Butler doesn't work either because of Butler's BYC. The Kobe to DC trade would be something like Kobe and Maurice Evans for Antwan Jamison, Antonio Daniels, and the 16th and 47th pick in this years draft.

Natsfan74 said...

Guy -- I kind of like that Wizards for Kobe trade. Actually, I hate Kobe, but I would love to see him fight Gilbert Arenas every night for the ball and for attention.

But that trade could actually make DC a contender in the East next year. They would have been one this year, without all of the stupid injuries in the 2nd half.

Unknown said...

I'm starting to dislike the Wiz trade. I'll figure out a better one.

Unknown said...

Here it is...
Kobe and Vladimir Radmanovic for Antwan Jamison, Antonio Daniels, DeShawn Stevenson, and the 16th pick.

chitown italian said...

Here's my Just Shut Up List (in no particular):

Everyone talking tennis on here (sorry bad day at the office)
Kobe Bryant
Terrell Owens
Guys who beat their women (Brett Myers, Elijah Dukes, Bobby Cox, etc.)
Bud Selig and Barry Bonds (Just get a room already)
Lance Briggs (Quit crying about having to play a game for $7M dollars, blame the Union not the Bears. Email ask55@lancebriggs.com. Let him know how you feel about him crying)

Please feel free to add to the list

kirby077 said...

@ Guy

You're just messing around with these trade scenarios involving the Wizards, right?

Those are some horrible proposals.

Come to think of it, the Lakers are in a real bind since there aren't any teams to trade with. Seriously, if you had Kobe, who would you trade him for? LeBron, D-Wade? I think that's it.

chitown italian said...

Forgot one:

Women who beat their men (Tawny Kitean (sp?))

Unknown said...

Kobe has 3 years max of elite play, imo. That is enough for some teams, I'm sure. But I wouldn't give up any U-26 star players for him.

I think he'll play in a Lakers uniform next year.

verbal97 said...

you also forgot italians from chicago

chitown italian said...

no i didn't verbal. you must be a big tennis fan.

verbal97 said...

eh, i'm just joking around.

Unknown said...

Interesting that Kevin Youkilis has joined fellow teammate Curt Schilling into the blogosphere. http://kevinyoukilis.mlblogs.com/

ToddTheJackass said...

No Bandwagon Florida fans on your list Chitown? They're worse than us talking about tennis, right?

Anonymous said...

so kobe backed of hiss ocmments if they fire the dude who leacked the info. what, so because one guy you want to get traded kobe start thinking.

chitown italian said...

just razzing you verb. i can take a joke.

todd - any band wagon fans should be tossed overboard: gators, marlins (and the two WS series titles in less than 10 year but I'm not bitter about that at all), red sox (yup I went there), danica, etc.

Anonymous said...

too add to the list of people who need to shut up:

people who like billy packer
people who tolerate billy packer

TBender said...

A little late on following up the Stolen Base and Rickey...

Better example is Vince Coleman.
Career 752 SBs (80.9% success), .324 OBP.

He was running everytime he got on base.

TBender said...

Larry, you forgot one more:

Billy Packer