Wednesday, November 03, 2010

11/03 Quickie: Wall, Heat, Moss, Shanny

John Wall breaks out, only 3 games in: As a Wizards fan (do I even need to add the "long-suffering" tag anymore?), Wall's 29-point, 13-assist, 9-steal (ahem: 8 turnover) game, leading the Wiz to a home-opening win over the Sixers was amazing to see. Let's not give Rookie of the Year to Blake Griffin just yet. Not while Wall is dazzling in the highlights and the box scores.

And let's not forget Wall doing the Dougie as part of his player intro.

Heat Watch: Another win, with LeBron as de facto point guard. He can call himself whatever he wants, but he is the team's passing engine (12 assists last night, but not a single rebound). This is entirely in line with Free Darko's "positional revolution," where old labels ("point guard" "shooting guard", etc) simply don't apply.

Who will claim Randy Moss? A non-playoff stinker with nothing to lose (Bills? Rams?) -- or a playoff contender willing to take the risk (Jets? Dolphins?) Someone will, and that team will have an instant pop of interest. Yes, I'm with the group that wants to see him on the Jets.

I love the story about Moss freaking out on the Vikings team caterer. And yet who among us hasn't had a moment of disappointment at a buffet? (Kidding.)

Mike Shanahan vs. Donovan McNabb, Cont'd: JaMarcus Russell? Really? That takes the story into a third day, then this: Kyle Shanahan said the coaches told McNabb he might be benched. Of course, McNabb immediately went to the media and refuted that. I don't trust the coaches. That's as a rule. But more specifically, I don't trust the Shanahans -- at least on this. Too many inconsistencies over the past few days.

Shawn Merriman waived, too: What a mighty-have-fallen moment.

Big East football expanding: TCU feels like a no-brainer, and Central Florida would be an awesome add -- although South Florida will never let that happen. But if you're going to add football schools, why wouldn't you add ones that are located in football-insane regions?

RIP Nick Bell: Cripes, so fast. The Mississippi State football player was diagnosed with cancer just a month ago. Condolences to his family, friends and the Mississippi State community.

MLB Hot Stove: Jeter Watch. Hal Steinbrenner on the Jeter contract negotiations: "There's always the possibility that things could get messy." That's what you call foreshadowing.

Managerial Carousel: Brewers hire Angels' coach Ron Roenicke. Won't help.

World Series hangover: Indeed, it was the least-watched Series ever (tied for that mark, at least), but it's such a useless designation. Doesn't take anything away from the Giants or their fans. If casual fans nationally didn't tune in because they were watching football or trick-or-treating or just not caring about the Giants or Rangers, it's only a big deal to Fox and its obligation to deliver some pre-determined audience level to advertisers.

NBA Contract Extension Deadline: Mike Conley? Didn't see that one coming. That guy has been overrated since the minute he got all that love in his one year at Ohio State -- and certainly when he was tabbed as a Top 5 NBA pick. That's not me with revisionist history in the wake of his mediocre NBA career; at the time of the draft, I was very bearish on his NBA potential. And yet... he gets paid! All it takes is one irrational team.

Women's Hoops: UConn as No. 1? YOU DON'T SAY.

MSG asbestos scare: Great to know I took my kid there last winter. Take a deep breath, kid! That's the smell of Knicks failure carcinogens!

-- D.S.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

How exactly are the Rams are a non-playoff stinker but the Dolphins are an intriguing contender?

I'd give the Rams a much better shot of winning the terrible NFC West than the Dolphins getting a wild card spot.

Unknown said...

So you are just assuming the Rams are not going to the playoffs? That's a very reckless assumption; who is going to take over that division?