Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Wednesday 06/13 A.M. Quickie:
LeBron's No-Call, Verlander's No-No, More!

Today's Hot Names: Verlander. Earnhardt. LeBron.

Spurs up 3-0 on Cavs: Here's how we all know, once and for all, there is no "conspiracy" in the NBA: There was no foul call against Bruce Bowen while LeBron was shooting what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer.

Instead, the ref swallowed his whistle: Did Bowen foul LeBron? Obviously. The Spurs had one to give. The question of the morning: Did Bowen foul LeBron in the act of shooting that 3?

Yes. On its face, it doesn't look like it. It looked like Bowen grabbed him before the shot. But in the NBA, where "continuation" is interpreted as liberally as possible, he did foul LeBron while LeBron was in "the act" of shooting.

Consider: The league's biggest star... On his home court... In the franchise's first-ever Finals game in Cleveland... Shooting the game-tying 3-pointer... Not getting the glaringly simple call.

So save your conspiracy theories, because it delivered a worst-case scenario for the NBA:

Not only does the game end controversially, but – far worse – the series goes 3-0 to the Spurs, making San Antonio's fourth title in 9 years a mortal lock.

(By the way, if you thought things couldn't get worse for the NBA after Games 1 and 2, tying the record for the second-lowest scoring Finals game of all time doesn't help things at all.)

Verlander's No-Hitter: How about this: MLB Stud Single-Game Performance of the Year (So Far)... Justin Verlander, for his no-hitter against the Brewers last night (with 12 Ks, too). Hitting 100-plus on the gun in the 9th? That's sick.

I'm still saying that Dan Haren has been the best pitcher in the AL this season, but don't be surprised if AL All-Star manager Jim Leyland doesn't use JV's no-no to vault him as the AL All-Star starter.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. to sign with Hendrick Motorsports: As with Junior declaring his free agency, there really is no analogue in other sports. This is the most marketable name in the sport joining the most successful team in the sport.

(As drivers are universally associated with their numbers, Junior's switch from his iconic No. 8 to either No. 5 or No. 25 is a merchandise marketer's dream. If Kobe's switch from No. 8 to No. 24 vaulted him to the top of the NBA's best-selling jerseys ranking, Junior's switch to a new number will make that seem insignificant by comparison. If I was Junior, I would keep it in the single digits and go with No. 5.)

ESPN.com has its new Editor in Chief: It's Rob King, who I don't know. It's a very interesting choice, because he doesn't have a dot-com background. However, as I've said for 10 years, EIC of ESPN.com is the most powerful editorial role in sports media, so congrats to Rob and all best. (Kudos to SportsByBrooks for breaking the story on blogs, via Sports Biz Daily.)

NCAA CFB: Was Oklahoma giving its players banned supplements? The story isn't that they were, it's that they got caught and exposed. PEDs in college football – hiding in plain sight – is, along with the NFL's version, one of the more accepted forms of willful blindness from sports media and fans. Tracking...

MLB All-Star Voting: THE drama is whether fans will vote Bonds into the NL starting lineup. He dropped to fourth in the latest released vote totals. And NL All-Star manager Tony LaRussa isn't saying whether he'd name Bonds to the team as a reserve.

(Personally, I think Bonds should be in there. Come on, people. Don't you want some drama with your All-Star Game? Bonds is 42,000 behind Alfonso Soriano for the third spot in the outfield behind Carlos Beltran and Ken Griffey Jr.)

MLB Dud: AJ Burnett, who left last night's game with a shoulder injury. Cue ominous music.

More Cubs dugout drama involving Michael Barrett: This time, he mixed it up with pitcher Rich Hill. No punches were thrown, though, so that's obviously a big win for Barrett. Seriously: How many more incidents will there be before he loses the pitching staff entirely?

I love this story about White Sox players offending the sensibilities of Patti LaBelle at a restaurant on Sunday night, with Jim Thome needed to intercede on the team's behalf, because the players were so loud and offensive to the other diners.

NFL: Pacman Jones won't appeal his season-long suspension. If he was smart, he'd spend the season working out, doing community service and rehabilitating his image by being on TV and online. Does he want to keep a blog about the experience? I'm happy to ghost-blog it...

More NFL: Classic Deadspin "someone-sent-me-awesome-photos" post about Jeff Reed, who is no stranger to Deadspn "someone-sent-me-awesome-photos" posts.

NBA Rumors: Why are there legs to this idea Kobe can be traded to the Knicks? The already-crappy team will be gutted of its remaining talent and Kobe -- even in the weak East -- would have a tough time. Kobe needs to be traded to a team that won't lose all of its decent parts to get him. What was so wrong with my idea to trade him to the Bobcats for a re-signed Gerald Wallace and Adam Morrison, plus the Bobcats' No. 1 picks this year and next year? With that No. 8 pick, the Lakers could grab one of the talented big men to play alongside Andrew Bynum.

NBA Draft: Believe it or not, I don't like Joakim Noah as much as I like the other four players in Florida's starting lineup. I do think he takes an inordinate, unfair amount of crap from fans, though I know if he wasn't on my team, I'd probably be mocking him, too.

But you have to give him credit – not scorn – for playing the game the right way: At a minimum, with passion and hustle and with little regard for his own personal stats and entire regard for the concept of "team."

His recent criticism of players who won't go head-to-head against him in draft workouts (cough-Brandan Wright-cough) is totally consistent with his competitive attitude. And that will be an asset for any NBA team.

I was asked to write a preview of Noah for the Atlanta Hawks blog, and here's a link. Here's the takeaway: If a team wants him to be the first, second or even third option on offense, they will be disappointed. But if David Lee can average a double-double off the bench for the Knicks, Noah sure as hell can do the same thing for another team, with a fair number of blocks, steals and assists thrown in.

Golf: U.S. Open is nearly here, and Stuart Appleby says a plus-10 might win the thing. Fortunately for the PGA, golf's drama is about relative scores, not absolute scores.

Cricket: Did Pakistan's cricket coach really die from natural causes, and not from being strangled? Well THAT's not very dramatic...

Karma: Duke LAX prosecutor Mike Nifong himself facing ethics charges.

Sports and Pop Culture: Watching Daily Shows the next night after they are originally on is terrible for my ability to pick out must-see clips. But John Hodgman's "Resident Expert" segment about MMA was totally amazing. Go to ComedyCentral.com to find it. It's worth it.

Blog Industry: Congrats to TVNewser's Brian Stelter, who has parlayed his blog into a bonafide job with the New York Times... and he's all of a few weeks out of college. I haven't seen this written elsewhere, but I'll say it: He is now officially, inarguably, the biggest success story of the blogosphere. And damn likeable too, damn him. You REALLY want to hate a guy like that...

Condolences to family, friends and fans of "Mr. Wizard," Don Herbert, who probably did more to advance an interest in science in this country than anyone else in history.

-- D.S.

72 comments:

Luke Bell said...

As a Brewers fan, that no-no really stung last night. But Verlander had some unreal stuff. Tip o' the cap to him.

Geoff said...

My boss gave me 4 tickets to last nights Tigers game, so I got to go down there with 3 friends and see a no-hitter in person. I finally have a "I was there... " sports story. It was just electric in the stadium. Still excited this morning.

CMFost said...

.287, 13 HR's and 30 RBI's would make Bonds a borderline All Star. I would think it would be Ironic if he was not on the team. Let's not have another Cal Ripken moment and leave someone who deserves to be on the team off just so you can let an aging star player on that might not deserve it.

ToddTheJackass said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
CMFost said...

One of the guys on ESPN last night said it perfectly about Jr. going to Hendrick. He basically said Hendrick Racing has become the Yankees of NASCAR. They bring the most money in and spend the most to have the best drivers. I guess the only difference that Hendrick has won a championship recently and will probably win another this year.

ToddTheJackass said...

I voted for Bonds.

CMFost, you're looking at the wrong numbers for Bonds. It's that he's leading all MLBers in OBP by a considerable margin (.493 to Ortiz's .452), not to mention has the highest OPS of all NLers.

Is he an asshole though? Absolutely, and if you don't want to vote him in on that, I have no problem with that.

Darklawdog said...

CM,

Half of the starters are underserving All Stars and they still get on the team.

Clinton (Indianapolis) said...

Now that the Spurs are up 3-0, we have to endure at least one evening of the annoying "Teams to come back from 3-0 deficit to win a series" graphic and see the g%&damn 2004 Red Sox up there.

Andy said...

CM, wasn't Ripken the MVP of his last All-Star game?? Maybe his stats say he didn't deserve to be there, but he's an all-time All-Star in my book based on his character and career. Plus, his performance in the game justified his presence there. Just my thoughts...

pv845 said...

It was a good no-call. Refs didn't call the foul early and would be getting scorn had they called it and not given him the continuation.

I would like to see Noah's competitiveness get posterized like he is going to in the NBA. I whole-heartedly agree he played the right way. BUT he is a baby and is not going to be worth a crap in the bigger NBA game.

Roge said...

How's this for a comparison:

Dale Jr to Hendrick is like Arod to the Yankees.

Both the biggest names in the sport going to the best team in the sport for the most cash. Seems to fit for me.

soxfan2550 said...

regarding the cricket coach in report on npr they had this cricket guy say" he was overweight, had diabetes, enlarged heart and high blood pressure and there was an empty bottle of champagne next to his body after an unexpected loss to ireland. you would think natural causes would be their first choice?" what a joke...

Perks said...

RIP Mr. Wizard.

But the person who "did more to advance an interest in science than anyone else" in US History?

CMFost said...

Roge that is about right considering neither A-rod or Dale Jr. has won the Championship there sports

Anonymous said...

Good job by ESPN last night to switch to the Verlander no-hitter. They interrupted a rerun of a poker tournament (that I was flipping to during commercials of the Yankee game). That was exciting especially in light of Schilling losing his with 2 outs in the 9th.

Tigers are playing great ball lately. It will be tough for the Yanks to catch them. Maybe it will be easier to catch Cleveland now that Detroit tied them.

Geoff said...

Ah, that answers a question I had... was wondering if ESPN was cutting into regular scheduled programming to show Verlanders last couple of innings. Glad to see they remembered there are teams outside of Boston and New York that can make news.

jhawkjjm said...

I was heartbroken when I heard about Mr Wizard. I grew up watching him.

And I'm going to pay devil's advocate on the no-call on LeBron. I think the NBA wants this over with before any more damage is done. And having the "King" get fouled on a tieing 3 and no call allows people to say "He probably would have made it if they called the foul". However, if they do call it and he misses at least 1 free throw and the Cavs still lose... it's LeBron choked with the game on the line. Not the image you want for the "King".

And Verlander hitting 102 in the 9th!?!?! You kidding me. Gotta love the adrenaline rush.

ToddTheJackass said...

MLB Studs and Duds:

Studs:
1. Justin Verlander - W, 9IP, 0ER, 0H, 4BB, 12Ks
2. Hong-Chih Kuo - W, 7IP, ER, 5H, 4Ks, (HR batting)
3. Tim Wakefield - W, 8.0IP, ER, 4H, BB, 3Ks
4. Cole Hamels - W, 8.0IP, 2ER, 6H, BB, 8Ks
5. Carlos Pena - 2/4, HR, 2B, 5RBI

Duds:
1. Brad Thompson - L, 4.1IP, 8ER, 10H, 4BB
2. Daniel Cabrera - L, 4.2IP, 7ER, 7H, 4BB, 3HR
3. Tony Graffanino - 0/4, 4Ks
4. Brad Lidge - BS, ER, 2H, BB
5. Cla Meredith - L, BS, 0.1IP, 2R, 3H, BB

Team Stud: Yankees, for their 7 game winning streak

Team Dud: Mets, for losing 8 of the last 9

jhawkjjm said...

ESPN (deservedly) gets flack about focusing on the Yankees-Red Sox. But they almost always pick up the feeds on no-hit attempts unless the other provider doesn't allow them, which is what happened with Beurhle's (or however you spell his name). I also remember seeing them cut in when someone would be going for a 4 home run game.

Michael said...

Dale Jr is probably different than A-Rod because people like little E. however he is switching to a Yankees esque team in that you love them or hate them so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

There was a GATORS story that Dan didn't mention from the news yesterday. A B-Ball backup, Brandon Powell, and Kick returner extrodinairre Brandon James, were arrested for trying to buy pot from a police informant. It will be fun to see how that is handled when the season starts in two months and noone will remember or care.

Lebron didn't get the call because of all of the Dwayne Wade backlash last year. Now he is getting killed in critical situations and the refs don't want to call it because of all the criticism from Dwayne Wade getting every call under the sun in last years playoffs.

Kevin said...

Here's my take on the foul thing: The ref didn't think it was going to be a shooting foul (it's not like James was going towards the hoop and it ended up being an awkward shot), so he didn't want to call a 2-point foul, instead wanting Lebron to get the chance to tie it. He was trying to help the Cavs out.

As a sidenote...anyone see ESPN's new baseball "rankings"? Here's a hint: they suck.

chipp said...

Curious: is there a more potent top of the line-up right now than Seattle? 1-4 hitters:
Ichiro: .333
Lopez: .295
Vidro: .293
Ibanez: .295

CMFost said...

Chipp how about the Red Sox new top 4 as of last night

Pedroia - .314
Youkillis - .335
Ortiz - .340
Manny - .289

chipp said...

Yikes! Thanks, I just wasn't sure if anyone had a stacked order. I'll bet BOS's OBP is a lot higher as well.

Anonymous said...

Todd,
I have to add a team stud award to Seattle right now. They are playing great ball.

Chipp, you are right, the top of the Seattle lineup right now is playing great.

Geoff said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ToddTheJackass said...

Chipp, considering Ibanez only has 4HR, yeah, there probably is. The Tigers definitely are better 1-4, and the Yankees (if Abreu is hitting) or Mets (depending on who is hitting 2nd), might rank higher than the Mariners.

But the Mariners offense right now is undoubtedly the most underrated in baseball, especially considering Sexson really isn't hitting. Their bullpen might also be the most underrated as well.

Geoff said...

Granderson - .288 - 13 triples
Polanco - .344
Sheffield .281 - 17 home runs
Ordonez ... don't even need to list his stats.

IkeKrizzule said...

Re: Verlander hitting 102
After watching last years playoff games in Detroit I have zero trust in a number coming from the radar gun there. Everyone seemed to be throwing 95+, and I seem to remember Kenny Rogers hitting 98 with regularity.

Chopper Dave said...

1) The Spurs did NOT have a foul to give. Neither team did.

2) The two teams did NOT tie the lowest score for a Finals game. The lowest score was a combined 145. They showed that stat during the game. 75+72=147.

Geoff said...

You remember wrong. They never showed Kenny Rogers hitting 98.

Natsfan74 said...

I know it doesn't compare to Boston, but the Nationals have a great top of the order as well.... just nothing behind it.
Belliard: .295
Guzman: .336
Zimmerman: .247 (but leads team in HR)
D. Young: .339

Anonymous said...

It was definitely a foul, as Bruce Bowen was intentionally trying to wrap him up before he could get a shot off, which is a good strategy that we rarely see.

However, it certainly shouldn't have been a 3 shot foul. Calling continuation on that play would have been worse than not calling anything.

I think either Delaney figured that the attempted foul either didn't mess up the chance at a decent look and wanted to give him a chance to tie, OR pretty much said "at least act like you got fouled if you're gonna try to draw a foul". Taking "that" shot and trying to draw a continuation should never be rewarded in that situation, regardless of who you are.

Everybody wants to complain about LeBron not getting calls, but on neither this or the end of E.C. Finals Game 2 did he try and sell a foul.

Both times he just jumped back and faded away on his shot. You need to draw the contact and move into the man, then you basically force them to call something. It's just common sense.

I know people are complaining because the Finals suck this year, but NBA playoff officiating has never been better.

Superstars getting ridiculous calls may be great for the casual fan and the entertainment value of the league, because it's great for the marketing of the league when the superstars win. However, it kills the league's credibility in the eyes of true basketball fans when you have abominations like Game 6 of the '02 W.C. Finals that makes the NBA look more fixed than boxing.

ToddTheJackass said...

I don't know if we can list that for the Red Sox, since that was the ONLY game this year where that's been the 1-4. I really hope they keep that 1-4 though, as between Pedroia and Youk, they will see a ton of pitches and work pitchers well before Ortiz and Manny.

Do we want to do All-Star ballots today?

Mookie said...

David Lee was a much better offense player in college than Noah even if his numbers don't show it. Out of Roberson and Walsh, he was clearly the better player at the time and remains so to this day. Many of Noah's field goals were garbage points whereas Lee actually had some low post moves. Don't get me wrong, I like Noah, but I see him as a slightly lesser version of Marcus Camby whereas Lee was one of the most efficient and productive players in the league on a per minute basis. Lee is also stronger than Noah and while not as long he is almost as athletic- let's remember that Lee was in the McD's AA Dunk tourney.

CMFost said...

All - Star Ballot -
AL:
C- Posada
1B - Ortiz(No DH, NL Park)
2B - Polanco
SS - Cabrera
3B - A-Rod
OF - Manny, Mags and Vlad
SP - Haren or Beckett

NL:
C - Molina(SF)
1B - Fielder
2B - Utley
SS - Reyes
3B - M. Cabrera
OF - Holliday, Soriano, C. Lee
SP - Peavy

Jingoist said...

You can't compare A-Rod to the Yankees with Junior going to HMS. A-Rod was a trade from the Rangers, with the Rangers picking up about half the tab of A-Rod's $20 mil per.

Junior is a free agent and signed with (probably) the highest bidder. It's more like when A-Rod signed with Texas, leaving Seattle behind for the largest-ever MLB contract.

But make no mistake, the move for Dale Jr., in the end, is bigger than that. HMS just locked its name on everyone's lips for the next decade at least. And to do it they dumped a perennial top 10 (K. Busch), told the best all-around driver in the sport ('05 Cup winner Johnson) to take a back seat and told arguably the most successful driver in history (4-time Cup winner Gordon) he's #2 to one of his biggest rivals (Junior). That my friends is just how big this is.

ToddTheJackass said...

AL:
C - Posada
1B - Ortiz
2B - Roberts
SS - O-Cabrera
3B - A-Rod
OF - Vlad
OF - Magglio
OF - Sizemore

P - Haren

NL:
C - Martin
1B - Prince
2B - Utley
SS - Reyes
3B - M. Cabrera
OF - Holliday
OF - Byrnes
OF - Bonds

P - Peavy

PatriotsNation said...

@ CMFOST NL - Russell Martin has to be the starting catcher!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Speaking both of Bonds and of ESPN cutting to coverage, how many more dingers does Barry have to hit before the networks begin to interrupt programming to show his at-bats?

CMFost said...

J - Why does Martin have to be the starting catcher for the NL. Molina and Martin have comparable stats take a look:

Molina:
.303 6HR, 33 RBI, 63H, .330 OBP, .457 Slg, .787 OPS

Martin:
.297 7HR, 41 RBI, 65H, .364 OBp, 466 SLg, 830 ops

verbal97 said...

AL:
C - Posada
1B - Morneau
2B - Upton
SS - Jeter
3B - A-Rod
OF - Vlad
OF - Magglio
OF - Sizemore

P - Haren

NL:
C - Martin
1B - Prince
2B - Utley
SS - Reyes
3B - M. Cabrera
OF - Holliday
OF - Griffey
OF - Pence

P - Peavy

ToddTheJackass said...

Except CM that you didn't list stolen bases, of which Martin very impressively has 11.

I believe there was a line about Bengie in terms of his speed a few years ago. "If Bengie were in a race to get to first base against a pregnant woman, he'd come in third".

Also, of the stats you listed, Martin still comes out better.

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

Looks like Martin is better in almost all those stats plus you conveniently left off steals I see!!

Martin - 11 steals

Molina - 0 steals

Martin is incredible!!

CMFost said...

since it is a catcher position you can looks at Defense:

martin - 6 errors, .988 F%, SB Against 36
Molina - 1 Error, .997 F%, sb against 21

WuzUpG said...

Bonds needs to be on the All Star team, which is being held in our home park! Baseball is the only ASG that needs to have at least 1 representative from each team. Is there anyone else on the Giants more worthy than Bonds?

verbal97 said...

There's not much between the two and they're both going to be on the NL roster, so it's not that big an argument.

PatriotsNation said...

Yep and Martin is known as one of the best catchers at handling pitching staffs and a leader with Dodgers! Martin will start!

CMFost said...

wuz - How about Randy Winn, Molina or Matt Morris?

ToddTheJackass said...

It'd be incredibly hypocritical of Tony LaRussa, the man who coached McGwire for most of his career, to try and take the moral high ground on the Steroid issue.

Coach Chip said...

What if Zito has a no-hitter going and a ball drops in front of Bonds that would have been caught by a fielder playing with non-wooden legs? Not making an error mind you, just not making the play? Can Sabermetrics figure out a stat to give credit to a pitcher for a no-hitter even if they give up a few hits based on bad defense.

PatriotsNation said...

From Jaime Campbell's blog:
** I was disappointed to find that Bonds did not possess a locker in the Giants’ clubhouse that looked like a mini recreational room. I’d heard about an over-sized leather chair, and flat-screen TV… and didn’t see either. It appears the only thing that makes Bonds’ locker different from say, Vinnie Chulk, is that Barry has two. No big deal. So does the other Barry (Zito). And the entrance to the locker-room also features a sign warning the dangers of steroid use. I’ve been in darn near every clubhouse in major league baseball, and I can tell you with honesty it’s the first time I have seen a warning of this kind.**

Jon said...

Molina vs Martin....how about Reyes vs Ramirez?

Reyes - .308/2/28/45/31
Ramirez - .319/8/18/56/21

Looks like Ramirez might have a slight little edge.

ToddTheJackass said...

NL SS is ridiculously loaded right now. Reyes, Hardy, Hanley, Rollins, and Renteria are all having great years.

Zachariah Durand said...

Well the Lebron "missing the final shot/being fouled" question really doesn't hold much water. If anything it just proves LJ is still no MJ. MJ would have made Bowen look the fool much like Byron Russel. Actually its amazing how much the end of that game was an opposite mirror for Lebron and MJ. Lebron had an opportunity to strip the ball from Duncan in the post, and failed, where MJ stripped from Malone, then he had a chance to fake out (push off, whatever) bowen and knock down the big shot, instead he let Bowen ride him.

pv845 said...

Just from watching the games this year, the biggest difference between the "King" and MJ is MJ was always aggressive and Lebron is too easily taken out of his game. LBJ has the size, speed, and athletism to beat any person to any spot (most importantly the rim). Instead he settles for layups, passes or shoots mid-range shots. For a person that we are all supposed to "witness" as the next great one, he sure seems to lack the killer instinct. JMO

Anonymous said...

re: Joakim Noah

You know, JP Losman spent the pre-draft talking trash to the other QBs expected to go in the first round.
Even called Big Ben a girl for not racing a 40 with him.

I wonder...who is the better pro?

Re: Bonds in ASG
Whatever, I'm just glad Junior has a shot at a spot. I think it would likely be his last all-star game, and a great gift of acknowledgement from the fans.
Hmm..given that...I think I can live without Bonds in the ASG.

Anonymous said...

Remember a few years back, they had an all century team and even honored Ted Williams at it? If memory serves me correctly, the only active players to make it were Roger Clemens, Griffey Jr. and Mark McGuire. Right now, I think the only one of the three to still make it is Clemens. Griffey was unlucky enough to get too many injuries.

IkeKrizzule said...

I haven't seen Molina enough to commment on his D this season, but last year with the Jays he was terrible. His lazy blocking of the pitches led to too many passed balls and wild pitches (charged to the pitcher, but because Molina didn't make the proper effort to get in front of the ball). Also he threw out a very low percentage of base stealers.

It was probably a big factor in the Jays not picking up his option ... that and the fact that he's the slowest player in the majors.

chipp said...

What about Johjima over Posada at C? SBA is WAY in favor of Johjima. Kenji hasn't played quite as many games as Posada because Burke is a quality back-up (batting .421 in 17 games).

ToddTheJackass said...

V-Mart is also putting up great numbers for the Indians. My East Coast bias is to blame for voting Posada.

marcomarco said...

Special thanks to the Spurs D for the lowest scoring playoff game in history.

thanks to the No foul call for the Spurs covering +1.5 (i can't believe they were the dog last nite)

marco 6 - bookie 0

Anonymous said...

No, Griffey would still make the All-Century team because that was for 1900 to 1999. Junior just wouldn't make this century's All-Century team.

hutlock said...

Can we all just please stop with the MJ/LBJ comparisons? It isn't fair to either of them. MJ might have made those plays, he might not have -- but MJ wasn't in those situations at age 22 and four years in with a garbage team behind him. MJ has a LONG career to look back at, LBJ has just started. You want to compare them, wait until LBJ retires and then do it.

jhawkjjm said...

"MJ would have made Bowen look the fool much like Byron Russel."

You wouldn't be referring to the obvious push off are you?

Anonymous said...

No matter how many times it is repeated I think people forget that Lebron is so far ahead of everyone by age. The 2 people that everyone compares him to are MJ and D-Wade. One of my favorite statistics ever is that when LeBron won rookie of the year he averaged 20.9/5.9/5.5 pts/ast/reb. At that age MJ averaged 13.5/1.8/4.4 at UNC and D-Wade averaged.... nothing because he was academically ineligable.

LeBron is not on the same court as the rest of them. It's that simple. It isn't fair to compare him to anyone.

A.P. Boynton said...

Lincecum is more deserving on the Giants than is Bonds.

Youkilis should be the AL starting first baseman. Ortiz is having a down year as is Manny. I am a huge Red Sox fan but the Sox are winning in other ways instead of relying on those 2. I loathe the All-Star game and the voting system but here is what I would do:

AL
C - Posada (can't deny he is great)
1B - Youkilis
2B - Jose Lopez
3B - A-Rod (damn him!)
SS - Orlando Cabrera (he is having a better overall season than Jeter)
OF - Vlad, Magglio, Torii Hunter
SP - Beckett or Dan Haren, perhaps Verlander

NL
C - Brian McCann
1B - Prince Fielder (Pujols is not that good this year)
2B - Chase Utley
SS - Jose Reyes
3B - Miguel Cabrera (Wright is a close 2nd)
OF - Soriano, Griffey, Francouer
SP - Peavy

Erik Tylczak said...

I'm amazed by the comments (and statements by folks in the media) about how the ref was trying to help the Cavaliers by allowing the shot to go up, and how this makes it okay.

That's funny, because I was pretty sure that in all the legitimate sporting events that I watch, the referees' jobs are not to help either team out. A referee's job is to enforce the rules.

The NBA dies a little more to me each game.

Nate Jones said...

Dan, I please get off of the Kobe being traded deal. I hope you don't honestly think that is going to happen.

And your Bobcats deal would never fly because Adam Morrison is terrible!

Anonymous said...

youre a cheating ass piece of trash. go die please

Anonymous said...

so how does it make your fan base feel that you cannot win anything unless you cheat? youre a piece of white trash that needs to go die