Great day in college hoops yesterday, wasn't it?
Maryland stunned UNC (Greivis Vasquez with the triple-double and one of the great performances in MD history -- made me think of Len Bias vs. UNC back in '84.)
Texas beat Oklahoma -- poised to hit No. 1 -- after Blake Griffin's concussion led to 2 points and 3 rebounds in 11 minutes. Needless to say: Without Griffin, Oklahoma isn't a top team.
So who's No. 1? Has to be Pitt, which KO'ed UConn to start the week and hasn't looked back.
I've been a Marquette doubter all season long, but I've also thought that Georgetown would eventually turn it around -- a win vs. Marquette would have helped a lot. Then, Marquette beats G'town; I still don't buy Marquette, but G'town has basically sealed its NIT fate.
It'll help the "UCLA is overrated" bandwagon that they couldn't beat Wazzu in L.A.
Bracket Buster: What we learned? Davidson isn't ready for prime-time, but Butler shook off whatever was bothering them the past week or so to get the biggest win of B-B Saturday... Even without Patrick Mills, St. Mary's handled Utah St.... They might not be a Tournament sleeper pick after winning their 1st-round game last year, but Siena looks very tough.
(Oh, and Jim Calhoun's post-game press conference is a must-see: Is he overpaid in a time when the state budget is in shambles? Or does he create so much new revenue for the school system (and the state) that the ROI is more than worth the cost? My favorite part was when the journalist in question said, referring to the beat reporters, "If you guys did your jobs..." and the reporters all scoffed. Tough room. I suspect they're all under the thumb of Calhoun anyway.)
NFL Combine: Andre Smith...is out? So much for him being the No. 1 overall pick. I prefer my massive investments in massive players to be accompanied by massive commitment from said player. Give me the OTs from UVA or Baylor at the top.
Oh, and Michael Crabtree not only has a stress fracture in his foot, but he is 2 inches shorter than he was listed at all season -- why do colleges DO that? Don't they realize that the truth comes out eventually? Who do they think they're fooling?
KG out 2-3 weeks with a knee strain? Hmm...keep an eye on that this spring, too.
I didn't post yesterday, but I think with Amare's injury, we've seen the last of the 140-point splurges from Phoenix, unfortunately.
Last night: I know the Warriors ran over the Thunder, but how can you not love the Thunder's Young Three of Durant (36 pts, 6 reb), Jeff Green (27 pts, 15 reb, 6 ast) and Russell Westbrook (31 pts, 11 ast)... and that's with another Lottery pick coming in June. How sick would Blake Griffin look with this group?
So about this trainer from the D.R. who seems to be in the middle of both steroids and A-Rod? He also worked with David Ortiz, who always seems to avoid PED scrutiny, yet seemed to find his power at precisely the apex of the PED problem in MLB.
(One more knock against MLB in all this: If they were so "concerned" about the trainer, going back years, why didn't they do anything about it? Think the NFL wouldn't have done something about it? At least the NFL is smart about keeping their rampant PED use on the down low.)
You won't have Emmitt Smith to kick around as an NFL analyst anymore. ESPN isn't renewing his contract -- two years was more than enough to figure out that he's a good guy, but a lousy, malaprop-laden analyst.
-- D.S.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Friday 02/20 A.M. Quickie
Tiger, Trades, Combine, Oscars
Tiger's back -- golf is saved. And it's a pleasant change of pace from A-Rod.
Plus: NBA Trade Dud-line, why Kyle Lowry is the new Shane Battier, why the Lions will draft Andre Smith (not Matt Stafford) and more. Complete column here.
-- D.S.
Plus: NBA Trade Dud-line, why Kyle Lowry is the new Shane Battier, why the Lions will draft Andre Smith (not Matt Stafford) and more. Complete column here.
-- D.S.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Thursday 02/19 A.M. Quickie:
NBA Trades, A-Rod's Cousin, Combine, CBB
After toying around with it throughout the week (and foreshadowing here yesterday), I finally up and lost it in the lead of today's SN column: The NBA is broken.
Why? Because there are about 4 teams actually playing to win (a title) -- the rest are businesses merely trying to manage costs.
I'm not offended by that, per se; I'm offended that they cynically expect fans not to recognize it. Trading Tyson Chandler? Motivated by money. VC? Jamison? All about money.
And, as I said yesterday: "2010" is, for a handful of teams, a worthwhile thing to plan for -- even if it means, by extension, that they're basically giving up on both this season and next season.
But then there's something you can see on the horizon: There will only be a handful of "winners" in 2010 -- LeBron and Wade and Bosh can only play for one team each. And that's if they don't stay with their current teams.
For all of the other teams hording cap space and sacrificing competitiveness, what do you think they'll do with all that money they have saved up. Spend it? I wouldn't bank on that.
I think that the dire economic times plus the dire state of player movement in the NBA -- literally, where we are waiting 2 years for something important to happen -- suggests that the NBA should adopt a model similar to the NFL: No guaranteed contracts.
Oh, the NBA union will never go for that, but it would dramatically change the NBA for the better.
More you'll find in the column today:
*A-Rod's cousin: His life is going to suck this week.
*Guess what: Looks like fans increasingly don't care about PEDs.
*Jeter dares me to ask: Hey, Jetes, you ever take a stimulant?
*The Suns are kind of awesome now.
*I have low expectations for the trade deadline.
*Is this the best class of OTs in NFL Draft history?
*Ken Griffey is a Mariner again. And that's amazing.
*Yikes: What happened to Illinois? Notre Dame? Butler?
*I can't wait for the Fab Five reunion.
Complete column here.
-- D.S.
Why? Because there are about 4 teams actually playing to win (a title) -- the rest are businesses merely trying to manage costs.
I'm not offended by that, per se; I'm offended that they cynically expect fans not to recognize it. Trading Tyson Chandler? Motivated by money. VC? Jamison? All about money.
And, as I said yesterday: "2010" is, for a handful of teams, a worthwhile thing to plan for -- even if it means, by extension, that they're basically giving up on both this season and next season.
But then there's something you can see on the horizon: There will only be a handful of "winners" in 2010 -- LeBron and Wade and Bosh can only play for one team each. And that's if they don't stay with their current teams.
For all of the other teams hording cap space and sacrificing competitiveness, what do you think they'll do with all that money they have saved up. Spend it? I wouldn't bank on that.
I think that the dire economic times plus the dire state of player movement in the NBA -- literally, where we are waiting 2 years for something important to happen -- suggests that the NBA should adopt a model similar to the NFL: No guaranteed contracts.
Oh, the NBA union will never go for that, but it would dramatically change the NBA for the better.
More you'll find in the column today:
*A-Rod's cousin: His life is going to suck this week.
*Guess what: Looks like fans increasingly don't care about PEDs.
*Jeter dares me to ask: Hey, Jetes, you ever take a stimulant?
*The Suns are kind of awesome now.
*I have low expectations for the trade deadline.
*Is this the best class of OTs in NFL Draft history?
*Ken Griffey is a Mariner again. And that's amazing.
*Yikes: What happened to Illinois? Notre Dame? Butler?
*I can't wait for the Fab Five reunion.
Complete column here.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Wednesday 02/18 A.M. Quickie:
A-Rod, NBA Trade Rumors, NFL Combine
It's not that I don't care that A-Rod cheated. It's just that -- in the grand scheme of the era -- I simply can't get outraged about it. And I certainly can't get sanctimonious about it, like so many mainstream sports pundits.
There has got to be some data out there confirming that the outrage is as artificial as A-Rod's inflated stats; I haven't seen it, although there are folks out there (like Neyer) who do a damn good job articulating just how value-less the sanctimonious outrage from some corners can be.
Here's a great quote from another sage sports pundit, King Kaufman:
Far more interesting, at least to me, is that the Hornets gave up on contending for a title yesterday. And, approaching the NBA Trade Deadline, will the Rockets join them?
There are only a handful of teams actually competing for the NBA title this season -- Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, Cavs, Rockets...maybe the Magic (although losing Nelson hurts). That's it.
As I said in yesterday's column: Everyone else appears to be either preparing for the 2010 free agent class -- which, by inference, means that they are basically punting (even tanking, depending on how you define "tanking") on both this season AND next season -- or by SAYING they are preparing for the 2010 free agent class, but are really just trying to cut costs in the face of a terrible economy. The NBA: Where...cost-cutting happens.
(I loved that Michael Lewis article on Battier this past weekend, although Battier came across as weirdly defensive -- and not in reference to his on-court talents.)
Here is what I would like to see -- REAL "Moneyball" in the NBA. Given, say, a $20 million budget, could a savvy GM put together a playoff team made out of bargain and/or cast-off parts? You can't field a team of 5 Battiers and hope to win -- you could definitely find the underappreciated values at each position, though, and win. But who would be on that team?
Meanwhile, today starts the NFL Draft Combine, which has gotten very big -- it is the NFL, after all. I'm looking forward to finding out who runs the eye-popping 40 times; who is the next Chris Johnson?
Get the complete column here. More later.
-- D.S.
There has got to be some data out there confirming that the outrage is as artificial as A-Rod's inflated stats; I haven't seen it, although there are folks out there (like Neyer) who do a damn good job articulating just how value-less the sanctimonious outrage from some corners can be.
Here's a great quote from another sage sports pundit, King Kaufman:
That's the bottom line in this whole steroid business. It was the culture. That shouldn't absolve anybody of blame or deprive you of the right to get on your high horse if you want to -- nothing should deprive you of that --- but if you're looking to honestly figure out what happened in baseball in the late 1900s and early 2000s, you can't ignore the context. There weren't as many question asked. Not by players, not by management, fans, the union, reporters or anybody else.And so today's SN column leads with the A-Rod spectacle from yesterday, but I hope it's the last time that happens -- beyond things that happen on the field. Did he try to self-flagellate? Yes. Did he leave a bunch of reasonable questions unanswered? Yes. That's all to be expected.It's easy to click and cluck about moral relativism, but if a few years from now our culture decides that jaywalking -- which is against the law now -- is a heinous crime, we're all going to have to look contrite at our own press conferences.
Far more interesting, at least to me, is that the Hornets gave up on contending for a title yesterday. And, approaching the NBA Trade Deadline, will the Rockets join them?
There are only a handful of teams actually competing for the NBA title this season -- Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, Cavs, Rockets...maybe the Magic (although losing Nelson hurts). That's it.
As I said in yesterday's column: Everyone else appears to be either preparing for the 2010 free agent class -- which, by inference, means that they are basically punting (even tanking, depending on how you define "tanking") on both this season AND next season -- or by SAYING they are preparing for the 2010 free agent class, but are really just trying to cut costs in the face of a terrible economy. The NBA: Where...cost-cutting happens.
(I loved that Michael Lewis article on Battier this past weekend, although Battier came across as weirdly defensive -- and not in reference to his on-court talents.)
Here is what I would like to see -- REAL "Moneyball" in the NBA. Given, say, a $20 million budget, could a savvy GM put together a playoff team made out of bargain and/or cast-off parts? You can't field a team of 5 Battiers and hope to win -- you could definitely find the underappreciated values at each position, though, and win. But who would be on that team?
Meanwhile, today starts the NFL Draft Combine, which has gotten very big -- it is the NFL, after all. I'm looking forward to finding out who runs the eye-popping 40 times; who is the next Chris Johnson?
Get the complete column here. More later.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Tuesday 02/17 A.M. Quickie:
A-Rod, Pitt, MJD, NBA 2nd Half
The Monday after the NBA All-Star Game is typically one of the slowest days of the sports year.
Sure, there was a very illuminating Pitt-UConn game (revealed: Pitt rules the Big East now), but otherwise, it feels like we're waiting on today's A-Rod press conference -- you hate it, but it's unavoidable. It leads today's SN column, even though I did that with no small measure of self-loathing.
Meanwhile: Am I wrong that Maurice Jones-Drew suddenly becomes the most interesting contender to be the No. 1 overall player drafted in fantasy football?
Complete column here. More later. Still rocking the Carvel ice-cream cake hangover.
-- D.S.
Sure, there was a very illuminating Pitt-UConn game (revealed: Pitt rules the Big East now), but otherwise, it feels like we're waiting on today's A-Rod press conference -- you hate it, but it's unavoidable. It leads today's SN column, even though I did that with no small measure of self-loathing.
Meanwhile: Am I wrong that Maurice Jones-Drew suddenly becomes the most interesting contender to be the No. 1 overall player drafted in fantasy football?
Complete column here. More later. Still rocking the Carvel ice-cream cake hangover.
-- D.S.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Monday 02/16 (Very Birthday) Quickie
Last night's performance by Shaq in the All-Star Game -- from his pre-game dance routine (with those freaky Jabbawockeez) to his MVP performance (in 11 minutes!) -- was surreal because it felt like his Last Hurrah. That leads today's SN column.
What makes it even stranger for me is that as of today -- at least for another two weeks -- he and I are the same age. (My previous gold standard for life-comparisons was Chris Webber, who was born two weeks apart from me. Yeah: Our freshman years of college were EXACTLY the same.)
As both Shaq and C-Webb might agree, 36 is a cachet-less age -- as I posted on my Facebook update today, "too young to be a phenom, too old for gravitas."
I guess in sports, where athlete careers wind down at (or are over by) age 36, that doesn't apply. ("Phenom," however, still applies for coaching jobs -- see Mike Tomlin or Josh McDaniels or Dan Mullen -- or front-office jobs -- see Theo Epstein or Andrew Friedman.)
Don't quite think it applies to folks who fancy themselves as sports pundits. Where Shaq is near the end (and C-Webb is past the end and into his new life as a TV analyst), I'd qualify myself as firmly in "mid-life." (No, not "mid-life crisis," but thanks.)
Last year, I celebrated the end of my relevance as part of the coveted "male 18-to-34-year-old" demographic. This year, I'm thrilled -- as always! -- to be around to celebrate... but for the first time, I spy that "40" hanging out there in the not-so-distant future.
What's the chance I can start a new "36 is the new 26" trend?
Enjoy your day off, if you're taking one. If you're working -- well, enjoy that, too.
More you'll find in today's column:
*A NASCAR non-fan's take on yesterday's debacle.
*NBA ASW round-up
*BC rules! So does Blake Griffin!
*Will Jeter support A-Rod tomorrow?
*Oil Can Boyd, the Wii Fit at Spring Training and More
-- D.S.
What makes it even stranger for me is that as of today -- at least for another two weeks -- he and I are the same age. (My previous gold standard for life-comparisons was Chris Webber, who was born two weeks apart from me. Yeah: Our freshman years of college were EXACTLY the same.)
As both Shaq and C-Webb might agree, 36 is a cachet-less age -- as I posted on my Facebook update today, "too young to be a phenom, too old for gravitas."
I guess in sports, where athlete careers wind down at (or are over by) age 36, that doesn't apply. ("Phenom," however, still applies for coaching jobs -- see Mike Tomlin or Josh McDaniels or Dan Mullen -- or front-office jobs -- see Theo Epstein or Andrew Friedman.)
Don't quite think it applies to folks who fancy themselves as sports pundits. Where Shaq is near the end (and C-Webb is past the end and into his new life as a TV analyst), I'd qualify myself as firmly in "mid-life." (No, not "mid-life crisis," but thanks.)
Last year, I celebrated the end of my relevance as part of the coveted "male 18-to-34-year-old" demographic. This year, I'm thrilled -- as always! -- to be around to celebrate... but for the first time, I spy that "40" hanging out there in the not-so-distant future.
What's the chance I can start a new "36 is the new 26" trend?
Enjoy your day off, if you're taking one. If you're working -- well, enjoy that, too.
More you'll find in today's column:
*A NASCAR non-fan's take on yesterday's debacle.
*NBA ASW round-up
*BC rules! So does Blake Griffin!
*Will Jeter support A-Rod tomorrow?
*Oil Can Boyd, the Wii Fit at Spring Training and More
-- D.S.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Sunday 02/15 (Very) Quickie: HORSE, Dunks
I love AI's new hairstyle -- not that was averse to the cornrows; the short cut just reminds me of how he looked when he was at Georgetown.
Normally, I'm all for the populist vote, but America got it wrong voting Nate Robinson as Slam Dunk Champ over Dwight Howard.
Yes, for theater, I give Robinson huge credit for going "Lex Luthor" to Howard's "Superman," but I give Howard even more credit for letting Robinson dunk over him.
Robinson's signature dunk -- dunking on Howard -- was impressive only because of Howard, because Howard was willing to be a good sport about it.
Between Dwight's dunk on the 12-foot rim (how easy it looked!) and the off-the-side-of-the-backboard dunk (plus his role as Robinson's prop), Howard was the best. (It didn't help Howard that after last season, he didn't have much room to go up. Speaking of which, the judges' scores are ludicrous. You get an 8 for showing up; what's the point?)
But it certainly builds drama for next year (especially if LeBron participates -- btw, whether it's up to judges or fans, there's no way LeBron doesn't win next year. Sorry, Superman.)
(By the way: Technically, Robinson's dunk where he jumped off of Wilson Chandler was illegal, and he should have been penalized for it.)
As for HORSE, if you saw my Twittering about it, you know how I feel. Here's a recap: It was a bust. The shots were mostly mundane, they missed way too many of them (any idiot fan can MISS trick shots) and felt like it dragged on.
Couple of suggestions for next year:
(1) If you make the first shot and the next two guys make it, too, you get a letter (or you at least have to "prove it.")
(2) Players should have celebrity caddies to help them devise more interesting shots.
(3) At least one fan should be invited to participate -- again, there were moments where I feel like I could have beaten any of them. (And I'm not saying I'm any good.)
But let no one say that Kevin Durant doesn't have a flair for the dramatic -- he came back from last place to win it. But his shot selection at the end was lame: Ooh! You can make 3s! That's not a HORSE shot; that's a shootaround shot.
More:
*Blake Griffin: 40 and 23...absurd numbers in OU's win over Texas Tech. Any doubt he's the best player in the country?
*Arizona was impressive in dismantling UCLA, but pick the Cats in March at your own risk.
*Ken Griffy Jr. to the...Braves?
*Daytona 500 is today: Who's watching?
-- D.S.
Normally, I'm all for the populist vote, but America got it wrong voting Nate Robinson as Slam Dunk Champ over Dwight Howard.
Yes, for theater, I give Robinson huge credit for going "Lex Luthor" to Howard's "Superman," but I give Howard even more credit for letting Robinson dunk over him.
Robinson's signature dunk -- dunking on Howard -- was impressive only because of Howard, because Howard was willing to be a good sport about it.
Between Dwight's dunk on the 12-foot rim (how easy it looked!) and the off-the-side-of-the-backboard dunk (plus his role as Robinson's prop), Howard was the best. (It didn't help Howard that after last season, he didn't have much room to go up. Speaking of which, the judges' scores are ludicrous. You get an 8 for showing up; what's the point?)
But it certainly builds drama for next year (especially if LeBron participates -- btw, whether it's up to judges or fans, there's no way LeBron doesn't win next year. Sorry, Superman.)
(By the way: Technically, Robinson's dunk where he jumped off of Wilson Chandler was illegal, and he should have been penalized for it.)
As for HORSE, if you saw my Twittering about it, you know how I feel. Here's a recap: It was a bust. The shots were mostly mundane, they missed way too many of them (any idiot fan can MISS trick shots) and felt like it dragged on.
Couple of suggestions for next year:
(1) If you make the first shot and the next two guys make it, too, you get a letter (or you at least have to "prove it.")
(2) Players should have celebrity caddies to help them devise more interesting shots.
(3) At least one fan should be invited to participate -- again, there were moments where I feel like I could have beaten any of them. (And I'm not saying I'm any good.)
But let no one say that Kevin Durant doesn't have a flair for the dramatic -- he came back from last place to win it. But his shot selection at the end was lame: Ooh! You can make 3s! That's not a HORSE shot; that's a shootaround shot.
More:
*Blake Griffin: 40 and 23...absurd numbers in OU's win over Texas Tech. Any doubt he's the best player in the country?
*Arizona was impressive in dismantling UCLA, but pick the Cats in March at your own risk.
*Ken Griffy Jr. to the...Braves?
*Daytona 500 is today: Who's watching?
-- D.S.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Yes: Michael Lewis on NBA Stat Revolution
Some surprises are the best. I had no idea that Michael Lewis was writing the cover story of this week's New York Times Magazine, on the "Moneyball effect" in the NBA -- a new emphasis on serious stats, recognizing inefficiencies and more. But I opened my paper, and there it was. Best treat ever. I don't know whether to rush into it now or savor it for later this long weekend. On Valentine's Day, my man-crush on Lewis knows no bounds.
-- D.S.
-- D.S.
Saturday 02/14 (Very Valentine) Quickie
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.
I love that Kevin Durant had his break-out NBA moment last night in the Rookie-Soph game. (46! 46 points! Even in a no-D all-star-ish event, that's amazing. 17/25 FG, 4/8 3-pt, 8/8 FT and a team-high 7 rebounds)
I don't love that there is another "witness for the prosecution" against Barry Bonds. (Where was she before? Was this meant to be a surprise? Although it's pretty damning: The witness said she actually saw Bonds injecting himself. I think Bonds' defense could beat that back -- beyond the "how do we know you're not lying," does she know what was in the syringe?)
I love that Charlie Weis will be Notre Dame's offensive coordinator -- one more area where he can stumble (Oh, save it, ND fans: I'm just playing. I'm sure he'll do GREAT.)
I don't love the Shawn Marion-Jermaine O'Neal trade. (Well, I love trades involving big names, but doesn't this repudiate both teams acquiring the guys in the first place?)
I love that the Falcons are trying to trade Mike Vick -- WHILE HE'S STILL IN PRISON.
I don't love that I have absolutely no idea what to make of the Big East -- just when Villanova looks like it is hitting its stride, they lose to West Virginia (themselves a Tourney-worthy team -- Da'Sean Butler...43? Wow, that was Durant-ish.).
I love that Lane Kiffin has YET ANOTHER recruiting violation. (Sure, it's another ticky-tack one, but at some point they aggregate into a chronic condition.)
I love that the U. unveiled "Alex Rodriguez Park" yesterday.
Hmm: You think that Michael Jordan will make the Basketball Hall of Fame? (He and Stockton and the Admiral are locks, of course. I think Mullin should be considered a lock, too -- and he won't make it, but I'd vote for Bernard King -- plus, Dennis Johnson and Cynthia Cooper, too. And, for coaches, I think Don Nelson and Jerry Sloan should both be in.)
What I'm watching today/tonight:
*NBA All-Star HORSE (DVR)
*Florida-Georgia
*NBA Dunk Contest
-- D.S.
UPDATE: Wow, Arizona sure looked good today while dismantling UCLA. You all know I'm a sucker for UCLA the past few seasons, and I'm no fan of Arizona -- it's hard to know whether to file away this win for my bracket picks in March... or work harder to disregard it, knowing how chokey Zona is in March. That team will be a bracket-buster, one way or the other.
I love that Kevin Durant had his break-out NBA moment last night in the Rookie-Soph game. (46! 46 points! Even in a no-D all-star-ish event, that's amazing. 17/25 FG, 4/8 3-pt, 8/8 FT and a team-high 7 rebounds)
I don't love that there is another "witness for the prosecution" against Barry Bonds. (Where was she before? Was this meant to be a surprise? Although it's pretty damning: The witness said she actually saw Bonds injecting himself. I think Bonds' defense could beat that back -- beyond the "how do we know you're not lying," does she know what was in the syringe?)
I love that Charlie Weis will be Notre Dame's offensive coordinator -- one more area where he can stumble (Oh, save it, ND fans: I'm just playing. I'm sure he'll do GREAT.)
I don't love the Shawn Marion-Jermaine O'Neal trade. (Well, I love trades involving big names, but doesn't this repudiate both teams acquiring the guys in the first place?)
I love that the Falcons are trying to trade Mike Vick -- WHILE HE'S STILL IN PRISON.
I don't love that I have absolutely no idea what to make of the Big East -- just when Villanova looks like it is hitting its stride, they lose to West Virginia (themselves a Tourney-worthy team -- Da'Sean Butler...43? Wow, that was Durant-ish.).
I love that Lane Kiffin has YET ANOTHER recruiting violation. (Sure, it's another ticky-tack one, but at some point they aggregate into a chronic condition.)
I love that the U. unveiled "Alex Rodriguez Park" yesterday.
Hmm: You think that Michael Jordan will make the Basketball Hall of Fame? (He and Stockton and the Admiral are locks, of course. I think Mullin should be considered a lock, too -- and he won't make it, but I'd vote for Bernard King -- plus, Dennis Johnson and Cynthia Cooper, too. And, for coaches, I think Don Nelson and Jerry Sloan should both be in.)
What I'm watching today/tonight:
*NBA All-Star HORSE (DVR)
*Florida-Georgia
*NBA Dunk Contest
-- D.S.
UPDATE: Wow, Arizona sure looked good today while dismantling UCLA. You all know I'm a sucker for UCLA the past few seasons, and I'm no fan of Arizona -- it's hard to know whether to file away this win for my bracket picks in March... or work harder to disregard it, knowing how chokey Zona is in March. That team will be a bracket-buster, one way or the other.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Friday 02/13 A.M. Quickie:
NBA All-Star, ND, NU, Long Weekend
I do enjoy the NBA All-Star Weekend -- although I will say that it is best-viewed through DVR, not live. Mostly, I think it is the best-executed All-Star event of any league... by far. (My tribute to the NBA ASW execution leads today's SN column.)
Normally, I'd be most excited about the Dunk Contest, but I join the rest of the folks who are eagerly anticipating the HORSE contest (GEICO, HORSE, whatever).
I also just downloaded the All-Star live-video iPhone app; I'm curious to see how it works out if I try to watch the events from my phone and not on the couch.
If you're not planning on checking in this weekend, have a nice weekend -- particularly if it's a long one for you. If you are, I'll be updating all three days this weekend.
If not for the All-Star stuff, then certainly for college hoops -- I think Pitt-UConn is as big of a game as there will be in the Big East this season, maybe in all of college hoops.
And here's why: This is as tough of a game as UConn will have without Dyson; if UConn wins or even plays well, they will be in good shape in March -- if they get beat, watch out.
(I also think that Pitt is a legitimately great team -- probably the best team in the country this season. A win at UConn would affirm that -- no top contender would have a better road win.)
Speaking of the Big East, I thought Notre Dame was reeling and Louisville a tough draw...right up until ND upended UL. Again: No one knows anything.
And for the second time this week, I watched one of my teams get beat in the final seconds. Florida's loss at Kentucky was frustrating, but OK; Northwestern's loss at home to Illinois was just brutal. NU out-played UI for 35 minutes, then collapsed at the end. Worse still, a win would have put NU back on the Bubble -- now, they are off for sure. One more year, no NCAAs.
More:
*I'm not a NASCAR fan, but I'm intrigued by Joey Logano.
*Why wouldn't Ken Griffey return to Seattle?
*Pitchers and catchers, folks (and I just got my copy of Baseball Prospectus 2009, which will be a fun way to spend this long weekend)
Complete column here. More later.
-- D.S.
Normally, I'd be most excited about the Dunk Contest, but I join the rest of the folks who are eagerly anticipating the HORSE contest (GEICO, HORSE, whatever).
I also just downloaded the All-Star live-video iPhone app; I'm curious to see how it works out if I try to watch the events from my phone and not on the couch.
If you're not planning on checking in this weekend, have a nice weekend -- particularly if it's a long one for you. If you are, I'll be updating all three days this weekend.
If not for the All-Star stuff, then certainly for college hoops -- I think Pitt-UConn is as big of a game as there will be in the Big East this season, maybe in all of college hoops.
And here's why: This is as tough of a game as UConn will have without Dyson; if UConn wins or even plays well, they will be in good shape in March -- if they get beat, watch out.
(I also think that Pitt is a legitimately great team -- probably the best team in the country this season. A win at UConn would affirm that -- no top contender would have a better road win.)
Speaking of the Big East, I thought Notre Dame was reeling and Louisville a tough draw...right up until ND upended UL. Again: No one knows anything.
And for the second time this week, I watched one of my teams get beat in the final seconds. Florida's loss at Kentucky was frustrating, but OK; Northwestern's loss at home to Illinois was just brutal. NU out-played UI for 35 minutes, then collapsed at the end. Worse still, a win would have put NU back on the Bubble -- now, they are off for sure. One more year, no NCAAs.
More:
*I'm not a NASCAR fan, but I'm intrigued by Joey Logano.
*Why wouldn't Ken Griffey return to Seattle?
*Pitchers and catchers, folks (and I just got my copy of Baseball Prospectus 2009, which will be a fun way to spend this long weekend)
Complete column here. More later.
-- D.S.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Thursday 02/12 A.M. Quickie:
Twitter, Favre, UNC, Pitchers, Catchers
It's very possible that today I became the first person to publish a full-blown sports column made up entirely of Twitter tweets. (It's certainly got to be the first time that has happened within mainstream sports media.)
(And it's not like I simply copied over Twitter posts -- but I made sure to run every item through Twitter to ensure it conformed to the 140-characters-or-less format.)
What a fortuitous moment to try the experiment: Did I really want to spend more than 140 characters talking about Brett Favre's latest retirement? No. Did UNC's dominant win over Duke demand more than two lines? No.
In fact, it felt like classic Daily Quickie -- especially the old "Odds and Ends" area that really was a super-quick-hit take on a random sports topic.
Anyway, check it out here, if only for the novelty.
Things I'm loving today: Dunn, Dayton, Pitchers and Catchers
Things I'm not loving today: Favre, Wake, Duke, Alomar situation.
Appropriately for today's column theme, I'll end it there. More later.
-- D.S.
(And it's not like I simply copied over Twitter posts -- but I made sure to run every item through Twitter to ensure it conformed to the 140-characters-or-less format.)
What a fortuitous moment to try the experiment: Did I really want to spend more than 140 characters talking about Brett Favre's latest retirement? No. Did UNC's dominant win over Duke demand more than two lines? No.
In fact, it felt like classic Daily Quickie -- especially the old "Odds and Ends" area that really was a super-quick-hit take on a random sports topic.
Anyway, check it out here, if only for the novelty.
Things I'm loving today: Dunn, Dayton, Pitchers and Catchers
Things I'm not loving today: Favre, Wake, Duke, Alomar situation.
Appropriately for today's column theme, I'll end it there. More later.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Wednesday 02/11 A.M. Quickie:
UNC-Duke, A-Rod, NBA All-Stars, Dog Show
Let me clarify the lead of today's SN column: I am not saying that UNC-Duke isn't a great rivalry. It is, for sure, the best rivalry in college basketball.
It is also, however, entirely overrated. Because there is no downside for the game's loser. Ever. Not in the regular season. Not in the ACC Tournament. (If they met in the NCAA Tournament? Absolutely. Doesn't happen.) Both teams stroll into the NCAA Tournament field. (The ACC championship, either regular-season or tournament? Honestly: Who remembers those?)
Michigan-Ohio State. Lakers-Celtics. Yankees-Red Sox. These "best" rivalries are enhanced by actual, live-or-die stakes between the two teams: A conference (or national) championship. NBA title. AL pennant.
Again: UNC-Duke is great pageantry and great fun. As far as regular-season rivalries go in sports, it's entirely entertaining. If they ever met in the Final Four, it would be epic. But they don't do that. And so it's hard to call Duke-UNC the "best" rivalry when it's all sizzle, no steak.
Or no stakes.
UPDATE: I'm nothing if not flexible in the face of an interesting counter-argument. The idea that the Duke-UNC winner *could* get the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, triggering a couple of rounds of games that don't take the team too far from home? That counts. But it's not like UNC or Duke -- if they lost this game (as opposed to the other reg-season game as opposed to their inevitable meeting in the ACC Tourney) -- would have that much of a more difficult time in the NCAA Tournament. I think both coaches might even be offended at the idea that home-region advantage is so big that if they didn't get home-region advantage, their team would have a tough time with it. (Based on the last few years, both will choke anyway.)
More you'll find in the column:
*Derek Jeter isn't acting like a captain.
*The BBWAA needs...Jose Canseco.
*Damn you, Jodie Meeks.
*Marquette exposed, as expected.
*JR Smith? What happened to Joe Alexander?
*Mo Williams, All-Star: Stop griping now, Cavs fans.
*UFL: Letting fans vote on Vick is genius.
And, finally...
*Best. Westminster Dog Show Winner. Ever.
Complete column here. More later.
Oh, and I guess Brett Favre is retiring. Whatever.
-- D.S.
It is also, however, entirely overrated. Because there is no downside for the game's loser. Ever. Not in the regular season. Not in the ACC Tournament. (If they met in the NCAA Tournament? Absolutely. Doesn't happen.) Both teams stroll into the NCAA Tournament field. (The ACC championship, either regular-season or tournament? Honestly: Who remembers those?)
Michigan-Ohio State. Lakers-Celtics. Yankees-Red Sox. These "best" rivalries are enhanced by actual, live-or-die stakes between the two teams: A conference (or national) championship. NBA title. AL pennant.
Again: UNC-Duke is great pageantry and great fun. As far as regular-season rivalries go in sports, it's entirely entertaining. If they ever met in the Final Four, it would be epic. But they don't do that. And so it's hard to call Duke-UNC the "best" rivalry when it's all sizzle, no steak.
Or no stakes.
UPDATE: I'm nothing if not flexible in the face of an interesting counter-argument. The idea that the Duke-UNC winner *could* get the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, triggering a couple of rounds of games that don't take the team too far from home? That counts. But it's not like UNC or Duke -- if they lost this game (as opposed to the other reg-season game as opposed to their inevitable meeting in the ACC Tourney) -- would have that much of a more difficult time in the NCAA Tournament. I think both coaches might even be offended at the idea that home-region advantage is so big that if they didn't get home-region advantage, their team would have a tough time with it. (Based on the last few years, both will choke anyway.)
More you'll find in the column:
*Derek Jeter isn't acting like a captain.
*The BBWAA needs...Jose Canseco.
*Damn you, Jodie Meeks.
*Marquette exposed, as expected.
*JR Smith? What happened to Joe Alexander?
*Mo Williams, All-Star: Stop griping now, Cavs fans.
*UFL: Letting fans vote on Vick is genius.
And, finally...
*Best. Westminster Dog Show Winner. Ever.
Complete column here. More later.
Oh, and I guess Brett Favre is retiring. Whatever.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Baseball Prospectus 2009 Projections
Red Sox: 98 wins.
Yankees: AL Wild Card.
Rays: NOT in playoffs with 92 wins.
Indians win the AL Central; A's win AL West.
Mets, Cubs, D'backs and a WC tie in NL.
See the sage analysis here.
(Remember: It was in these projections a year ago that Nate Silver correctly predicted the rise o the Rays and kicked off what would become the Year of Silver, across sports and politics.)
-- D.S.
Yankees: AL Wild Card.
Rays: NOT in playoffs with 92 wins.
Indians win the AL Central; A's win AL West.
Mets, Cubs, D'backs and a WC tie in NL.
See the sage analysis here.
(Remember: It was in these projections a year ago that Nate Silver correctly predicted the rise o the Rays and kicked off what would become the Year of Silver, across sports and politics.)
-- D.S.
Tuesday 02/10 A.M. Quickie:
A-Rod, Apologies, Mizzou, LT, Tiger, More
The headline of today's SN column -- "A-Rod's 'Sorry' Enough" -- was meant to have a double-meaning: (1) He sounded appropriately pathetic, and (2) "I'm sorry" is all fans need to hear.
Fans are infinitely more forgiving than the media, more ready to move on than the media -- which nurses its grudges for maximum sensationalism.
In a decade of Bonds, Clemens, Palmeiro and -- especially -- McGwire, all fans really want to hear is that you're sorry and that you're nominally contrite. There is too much else going on not to move forward from that.
A-Rod provided that apology -- and (for a guy who is pretty much a robot) even some semblance of contrition. Given who he is, it was certainly as contrite as Andy Pettitte -- who, remember, was let off from his cheating by fans and media alike with virtually no backlash after his apology.
(It's important to remember that in the absence of being busted, none of these players would have copped to anything. I'm still waiting for the first player to come forward on his own to admit to cheating. Doubt it will happen.)
I'm pretty sure fans are going to move on. Sure, they'll jeer A-Rod, because it'll seem like fun. But it's not like folks want to see him run out of baseball. And it's not like anyone would dispute that he remains one of the best -- if not THE best -- player in the game.
So A-Rod followed the critical Step 1 of sports crisis management: Apologize.
What could he do next? For starters: Take some of his massive wealth and establish some kind of large fund to educate kids on the dangers of taking steroids. Whether it is effective or not isn't the point; it's the symbolism. He could also volunteer to take monthly steroid tests, making the results publicly known -- even learning the results when the public learns them. That kind of transparency and good-faith effort would go a long way toward helping his image.
I don't expect him to do either, even though they are simple and would be quite effective. A-Rod may very well recognize that "I'm sorry" is enough. It is.
More from today's column:
*Mizzou hoops is for real.
*Big Ben's ribs: Who cares?
*Big Al's knee: A shame.
*Tiger Woods: Westminster champ?
*The First Fan on A-Rod
Lots to cover. Check out the entire thing here. More later.
-- D.S.
Fans are infinitely more forgiving than the media, more ready to move on than the media -- which nurses its grudges for maximum sensationalism.
In a decade of Bonds, Clemens, Palmeiro and -- especially -- McGwire, all fans really want to hear is that you're sorry and that you're nominally contrite. There is too much else going on not to move forward from that.
A-Rod provided that apology -- and (for a guy who is pretty much a robot) even some semblance of contrition. Given who he is, it was certainly as contrite as Andy Pettitte -- who, remember, was let off from his cheating by fans and media alike with virtually no backlash after his apology.
(It's important to remember that in the absence of being busted, none of these players would have copped to anything. I'm still waiting for the first player to come forward on his own to admit to cheating. Doubt it will happen.)
I'm pretty sure fans are going to move on. Sure, they'll jeer A-Rod, because it'll seem like fun. But it's not like folks want to see him run out of baseball. And it's not like anyone would dispute that he remains one of the best -- if not THE best -- player in the game.
So A-Rod followed the critical Step 1 of sports crisis management: Apologize.
What could he do next? For starters: Take some of his massive wealth and establish some kind of large fund to educate kids on the dangers of taking steroids. Whether it is effective or not isn't the point; it's the symbolism. He could also volunteer to take monthly steroid tests, making the results publicly known -- even learning the results when the public learns them. That kind of transparency and good-faith effort would go a long way toward helping his image.
I don't expect him to do either, even though they are simple and would be quite effective. A-Rod may very well recognize that "I'm sorry" is enough. It is.
More from today's column:
*Mizzou hoops is for real.
*Big Ben's ribs: Who cares?
*Big Al's knee: A shame.
*Tiger Woods: Westminster champ?
*The First Fan on A-Rod
Lots to cover. Check out the entire thing here. More later.
-- D.S.
Monday, February 09, 2009
A-Rod: "I'm Very Sorry"
A-Rod was never very popular to begin with, but I think he'll find that fans (if not the media) are a lot more forgiving of a player who (a) 'fesses up and (b) apologizes. Smart move.
(Longtime readers know that crisis management is one of my favorite topics. HOW someone is reacting to crisis, not simply what that crisis may be. A-Rod will pull this off. Now, he only needs the contrition tour: He can start with Gammons, but he's gotta hit Costas on MLB Network, PTI, Baseball Prospectus, the whole gamut.)
For those who like punitive justice, might I suggest subtracting (or asterisking) 156 HR from his career total, covering the years from 2001-2003 that he was in Texas and admitted to using PEDs?
-- D.S.
(Longtime readers know that crisis management is one of my favorite topics. HOW someone is reacting to crisis, not simply what that crisis may be. A-Rod will pull this off. Now, he only needs the contrition tour: He can start with Gammons, but he's gotta hit Costas on MLB Network, PTI, Baseball Prospectus, the whole gamut.)
For those who like punitive justice, might I suggest subtracting (or asterisking) 156 HR from his career total, covering the years from 2001-2003 that he was in Texas and admitted to using PEDs?
-- D.S.
United Football League Launches
I have posted about pro-football start-ups -- and the United Football League -- a lot, and off of today's UFL launch its success all comes down to one thing:
Are they willing to go where the NFL won't -- or can't?
That means one thing: Actively pursue draft-ineligible rising college freshmen, sophomores and juniors and play them in your league. (Hell, they can start with Bryce Brown.) Read more here.
-- D.S.
Are they willing to go where the NFL won't -- or can't?
That means one thing: Actively pursue draft-ineligible rising college freshmen, sophomores and juniors and play them in your league. (Hell, they can start with Bryce Brown.) Read more here.
-- D.S.
Jon Gruden Joins Tim Tebow Bandwagon
When I say that Tim Tebow will be a good NFL QB -- maybe even revolutionary, at least via the Wildcat -- I'm a schmoe. Jon Gruden says it and it's credible. Sigh.
Lewis Writing a Sequel to Moneyball?
As a way to kill time on the subway this morning, I was trying to rank America's Top 10 sportswriters. I won't bore you with my list -- or, at least, today's iteration -- but I will say that Michael Lewis was at the top. (I actually read a recent interview between Darren Rovell and Malcolm Gladwell, where Gladwell calls Lewis' "Blind Side" the best book he has read in years. High praise.)
This profile in The Big Money also ranks him at the top of the country's financial journalists, which seems almost unfair.
But a most interesting detail was found at the end of the column, almost as a throwaway -- Lewis is writing a sequel to "Moneyball?" Wow. (If folks already knew that, sorry to repeat; I didn't.) "Moneyball" was, arguably, the greatest (and perhaps most influential) sports book ever written. How the hell do you write a sequel to THAT? If anyone is equipped to do it, Lewis is.
-- D.S.
This profile in The Big Money also ranks him at the top of the country's financial journalists, which seems almost unfair.
But a most interesting detail was found at the end of the column, almost as a throwaway -- Lewis is writing a sequel to "Moneyball?" Wow. (If folks already knew that, sorry to repeat; I didn't.) "Moneyball" was, arguably, the greatest (and perhaps most influential) sports book ever written. How the hell do you write a sequel to THAT? If anyone is equipped to do it, Lewis is.
-- D.S.
Great Take on A-Rod from King Kaufman
In typical fashion, King Kaufman presents a clear-eyed and sane take on an issue that seems to drive others insane. Worth your time to read.
Update: Joe Sheehan joins the "Best A-Rod takes" list with this sensible analysis.
Update: Joe Sheehan joins the "Best A-Rod takes" list with this sensible analysis.
Monday 02/09 A.M. Quickie:
A-Rod, Lakers, Pro Bowl, Dog Show, More
Wouldn't you rather throw around "Best In Show" quotes all day, rather than talk about A-Rod?
And, yet, this is where we are -- A-Rod (yes: "A-Roid") overload. Leads today's SN column, as you'd expect.
After thinking it over all weekend, I simply can't get outraged. Partially, that's because I'm not surprised he was cheating. Partially, because the whole thing happened in 2003, which is eras ago in baseball terms. Partially, because there's more than enough faux-outrage to go around.
I think most fans are past it all: This notion that there was "cheating" in baseball. Or is. Whatever. With the mainstream media cheerleading all the way, we were happy to turn a willfully blind eye to cheating by McGwire and Sosa during the "Season That Saved Baseball." (Ha.) We were happy to turn a willfully blind eye to Bonds. Clemens, too. Now, A-Rod.
It won't help A-Rod that he isn't particularly well-liked as a player by fans. He is well-respected, but not well-liked. The jeers will be intense, particularly for a guy who seems to hear them quite clearly.
He can be defiant and probably do fine -- it really is hard to get too worked-up over something that happened in 2003. He can 'fess up and do better -- when will athletes learn that contrition helps (see Pettitte) even if it doesn't necessarily save everything (Marion Jones). I suspect he will pursue the former, and 200 home runs from now, only stodgy sportswriters will care.
It continues to amaze me: Everyone -- everyone -- knows that PED cheating is rampant in the NFL; check that, because that makes it sound like it's still outside the norm, rather than THE norm. But no one cares. Like: At all. But there's all this outrage over A-Rod.
I'm no apologist -- I'm just very quick to stipulate that he cheated (I'll presume they all cheated, probably with the exception of Manny, who seems to dumb to cheat) and move on, rather than linger on the contrived outrage.
But given that PEDs weren't technically against the rules back in 2003 -- something you should blame on MLB and the union, rather than the players -- shouldn't we cast a more critical eye on players who took greenies and other amphetamines?
Amphetamines were also a performance enhancer -- enough to be banned by MLB. And they were used and abused by a far wider proportion of MLB players than your traditional steroids. And this is going back, like, decades. If we had test results for amphetamines from 1955-2005, how many players would test positive? (How many wouldn't?)
I'm not saying that's analogous -- it's just something I think about when evaluating how much outrage to assign to this story.
I'm hoping that's all I will want or need to say about it -- as you can see, my thoughts are disjointed at best -- but I suspect this will linger for months, if not longer. I'll pass.
I'd even rather talk about the Pro Bowl... and that's saying something.
Or the Lakers being the team that finally beats the Cavs in Cleveland.
Or the weekend's reveal of the college hoops teams not ready for March yet.
Or, yes, "Best In Show" -- Westminster is today and tomorrow, and nothing says "dog show" like talking about your favorite parts of "Best In Show," which is arguably the funniest sports movie of all time. (Dog shows aren't sports? Then why is coverage found in your sports section?)
Comment about A-Rod if you want to, of course, but I'd rather have your favorite quotes/moments from "Best In Show" -- I'll try to publish comments frequently throughout the day.
In that spirit, I'll leave you with a link to today's SN column and this:
"I'd hate to go on a date with Judge Edie Franklin and have her judge me. That'd be no fun."
-- D.S.
And, yet, this is where we are -- A-Rod (yes: "A-Roid") overload. Leads today's SN column, as you'd expect.
After thinking it over all weekend, I simply can't get outraged. Partially, that's because I'm not surprised he was cheating. Partially, because the whole thing happened in 2003, which is eras ago in baseball terms. Partially, because there's more than enough faux-outrage to go around.
I think most fans are past it all: This notion that there was "cheating" in baseball. Or is. Whatever. With the mainstream media cheerleading all the way, we were happy to turn a willfully blind eye to cheating by McGwire and Sosa during the "Season That Saved Baseball." (Ha.) We were happy to turn a willfully blind eye to Bonds. Clemens, too. Now, A-Rod.
It won't help A-Rod that he isn't particularly well-liked as a player by fans. He is well-respected, but not well-liked. The jeers will be intense, particularly for a guy who seems to hear them quite clearly.
He can be defiant and probably do fine -- it really is hard to get too worked-up over something that happened in 2003. He can 'fess up and do better -- when will athletes learn that contrition helps (see Pettitte) even if it doesn't necessarily save everything (Marion Jones). I suspect he will pursue the former, and 200 home runs from now, only stodgy sportswriters will care.
It continues to amaze me: Everyone -- everyone -- knows that PED cheating is rampant in the NFL; check that, because that makes it sound like it's still outside the norm, rather than THE norm. But no one cares. Like: At all. But there's all this outrage over A-Rod.
I'm no apologist -- I'm just very quick to stipulate that he cheated (I'll presume they all cheated, probably with the exception of Manny, who seems to dumb to cheat) and move on, rather than linger on the contrived outrage.
But given that PEDs weren't technically against the rules back in 2003 -- something you should blame on MLB and the union, rather than the players -- shouldn't we cast a more critical eye on players who took greenies and other amphetamines?
Amphetamines were also a performance enhancer -- enough to be banned by MLB. And they were used and abused by a far wider proportion of MLB players than your traditional steroids. And this is going back, like, decades. If we had test results for amphetamines from 1955-2005, how many players would test positive? (How many wouldn't?)
I'm not saying that's analogous -- it's just something I think about when evaluating how much outrage to assign to this story.
I'm hoping that's all I will want or need to say about it -- as you can see, my thoughts are disjointed at best -- but I suspect this will linger for months, if not longer. I'll pass.
I'd even rather talk about the Pro Bowl... and that's saying something.
Or the Lakers being the team that finally beats the Cavs in Cleveland.
Or the weekend's reveal of the college hoops teams not ready for March yet.
Or, yes, "Best In Show" -- Westminster is today and tomorrow, and nothing says "dog show" like talking about your favorite parts of "Best In Show," which is arguably the funniest sports movie of all time. (Dog shows aren't sports? Then why is coverage found in your sports section?)
Comment about A-Rod if you want to, of course, but I'd rather have your favorite quotes/moments from "Best In Show" -- I'll try to publish comments frequently throughout the day.
In that spirit, I'll leave you with a link to today's SN column and this:
"I'd hate to go on a date with Judge Edie Franklin and have her judge me. That'd be no fun."
-- D.S.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Sunday 02/08 (Very A-Rod) Quickie: A-Roid
Aaand.... welcome to the story that will dominate the next month or two or ever:
A-Rod is a cheater. Or was a cheater. Or whatever. Positive PED test a half-decade ago...yada yada yada...cheater.
I find myself unmoved by this news, for a couple of reasons: Who DIDN'T think he was using PEDs... The entire ERA is assumed to be tarnished by cheaters (why didn't we hear about the other 103 players to test positive?)... The 2003 test seems like forever ago... Oh, god: the media coverage of this is going to make you even more sick than the coverage of Barry Bonds.
So the greatest hitter ever (Bonds) cheated. The 2nd-greatest hitter ever (A-Rod) cheated. "Meh" has become a cliche, but that sums up how I feel about this story. And, yet, it will be unavoidable.
More:
*Gonzaga ain't ready for prime-time: I didn't think Memphis was all that good, and the Tigers just beat down on the Zags.
*Is Duke just not that good or is Miami better than we thought?
*(Clemson is NOT as good as anyone thought, as usual.)
*Just when you thought Xavier was a cool pick to get to the Final Four...
*Given the way Michigan plays against top teams, should their decent-but-not-great record keep them out of the NCAAs?
*Texas loses again (3rd straight L): This qualifies as a tailspin.
*For those of you tracking Northwestern's bubble NCAA Tournaments status, it took a huge hit with a loss at Big Ten bottom-feeding Iowa. Typical NU hoops...
*It seems so strange that Georgetown isn't going to be in the NCAA Tournament. This seemed like such a talented, well-coached team. Biggest disappointment of the year, nationally.
*Adam Morrison traded to the Lakers: He can't play D (which the Lakers do very well), but I see him having a career renaissance on the NBA's top contender.
*Best NBA performance in a win: Dirk (44 pts); best performance in a loss (Ramon Sessions: 44); best fantasy performance: Al Jefferson (36 pts, 22 reb... and he's NOT an All-Star?)
-- D.S.
A-Rod is a cheater. Or was a cheater. Or whatever. Positive PED test a half-decade ago...yada yada yada...cheater.
I find myself unmoved by this news, for a couple of reasons: Who DIDN'T think he was using PEDs... The entire ERA is assumed to be tarnished by cheaters (why didn't we hear about the other 103 players to test positive?)... The 2003 test seems like forever ago... Oh, god: the media coverage of this is going to make you even more sick than the coverage of Barry Bonds.
So the greatest hitter ever (Bonds) cheated. The 2nd-greatest hitter ever (A-Rod) cheated. "Meh" has become a cliche, but that sums up how I feel about this story. And, yet, it will be unavoidable.
More:
*Gonzaga ain't ready for prime-time: I didn't think Memphis was all that good, and the Tigers just beat down on the Zags.
*Is Duke just not that good or is Miami better than we thought?
*(Clemson is NOT as good as anyone thought, as usual.)
*Just when you thought Xavier was a cool pick to get to the Final Four...
*Given the way Michigan plays against top teams, should their decent-but-not-great record keep them out of the NCAAs?
*Texas loses again (3rd straight L): This qualifies as a tailspin.
*For those of you tracking Northwestern's bubble NCAA Tournaments status, it took a huge hit with a loss at Big Ten bottom-feeding Iowa. Typical NU hoops...
*It seems so strange that Georgetown isn't going to be in the NCAA Tournament. This seemed like such a talented, well-coached team. Biggest disappointment of the year, nationally.
*Adam Morrison traded to the Lakers: He can't play D (which the Lakers do very well), but I see him having a career renaissance on the NBA's top contender.
*Best NBA performance in a win: Dirk (44 pts); best performance in a loss (Ramon Sessions: 44); best fantasy performance: Al Jefferson (36 pts, 22 reb... and he's NOT an All-Star?)
-- D.S.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Saturday 02/07 (Very) Quickie
In the debate whether Kevin Durant or Greg Oden has made the better pro -- to the extent that last night's first head-to-head match-up between the two can be used as a proxy -- Durant wins: Not just for scoring 31 points to Oden's 4, but because KD's Thunder beat Oden's Blazers. (But let's not make any career-long pronouncements -- and this comes from Mr. Instant History.)
Marquette was SO overrated -- and if they lost to South Florida, just wait until they play their final 5 games of the regular season, as brutal of a stretch as exists in the country over those last 5 games. Marquette's record and ranking were built on the softest of schedules.
Chiefs hire Todd Haley: I'll skip the easy jokes about his problems with his star receivers and simply echo yesterday's comment -- given the first-year success of rookie coaches like Smith, Harbaugh and Sparano, Haley better show progress immediately. The era of "Just give me a couple years to get things going" is over.
LeBron loses the MSG triple-double -- not just the triple-double, but the 50-double-double, which put him in truly rare air. (I had forgotten that the NBA had stripped Hakeem of his quadruple-double in the same way, after the fact.) The new accounting is not insubstantial -- LeBron's 50-double-double was more impressive than Kobe's 61; LeBron's 50 (plus double-digit assists and single-digit rebounds) is not.
Name to Know: Erin Hamlin. You can not care about women's luge at all, but Hamlin snapping the epic dominance of the German lugers was damn impressive.
More later, hopefully. Enjoy your Saturday.
-- D.S.
Marquette was SO overrated -- and if they lost to South Florida, just wait until they play their final 5 games of the regular season, as brutal of a stretch as exists in the country over those last 5 games. Marquette's record and ranking were built on the softest of schedules.
Chiefs hire Todd Haley: I'll skip the easy jokes about his problems with his star receivers and simply echo yesterday's comment -- given the first-year success of rookie coaches like Smith, Harbaugh and Sparano, Haley better show progress immediately. The era of "Just give me a couple years to get things going" is over.
LeBron loses the MSG triple-double -- not just the triple-double, but the 50-double-double, which put him in truly rare air. (I had forgotten that the NBA had stripped Hakeem of his quadruple-double in the same way, after the fact.) The new accounting is not insubstantial -- LeBron's 50-double-double was more impressive than Kobe's 61; LeBron's 50 (plus double-digit assists and single-digit rebounds) is not.
Name to Know: Erin Hamlin. You can not care about women's luge at all, but Hamlin snapping the epic dominance of the German lugers was damn impressive.
More later, hopefully. Enjoy your Saturday.
-- D.S.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Friday 02/06 A.M. Quickie:
Lakers, Phelps, Cassel, Summitt, More
The Lakers are the NBA team to beat.
USA Swimming is idiotic.
Pat Summitt is the best coach in college basketball.
Matt Cassel will play the '09 season as a Pat.
Zaga-Memphis is the Game of the Weekend.
Who else isn't watching the Pro Bowl?
Ray Allen is the All-Star super-sub.
Brad Pitt as Billy Beane? Don't see it.
All that and a lot more in today's SN column. Sorry for the short post. More later.
-- D.S.
USA Swimming is idiotic.
Pat Summitt is the best coach in college basketball.
Matt Cassel will play the '09 season as a Pat.
Zaga-Memphis is the Game of the Weekend.
Who else isn't watching the Pro Bowl?
Ray Allen is the All-Star super-sub.
Brad Pitt as Billy Beane? Don't see it.
All that and a lot more in today's SN column. Sorry for the short post. More later.
-- D.S.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Varsity Letters Tonight: Leitch, MMA, Walsh
If you live in NYC, the Varsity Letters Reading Series returns tonight at Happy Ending, 8 pm and FREE. Featuring: Will Leitch, Jon Wertheim on MMA and a guy who wrote the book on Bill Walsh. Should be a great event, as always. Hope to see you there! More info here.
-- D.S.
-- D.S.
Thursday 02/05 A.M. Quickie:
LeBron, CFB Signing Day, Duke, Koufax
I did not possess the imagination to envision how LeBron might top Kobe's 61 at MSG.
I see it now: 50+ points AND a triple-double. Based on the history, scoring 60+ seems sort of blah when compared to the 50-3D.
So it even managed to nudge over Signing Day as the lead of today's SN column.
That doesn't mean I don't go crazy over Signing Day:
*Alabama wins. You can keep Ohio State (I guess if you are from the Midwest and you don't want to win national titles, OSU is the place to go) and even LSU, I think Bama had the best class.
*Manti Te'o to Notre Dame: What will be particularly fun is when Te'o leaves for 2 years on his mission -- Catholics and Mormons don't historically have a great relationship, do they? (Or is that Evangelicals and Mormons?)
*The SEC rules: And I don't say that with bias -- they put 10 teams in the Top 25, including late-starting/fast-finishing Lane Kiffin at Tennessee and Dan Mullen at Mississippi State.
Meanwhile:
*Duke got walloped.
*Since beating Duke, Wake has been terrible.
*Another home loss for Texas?
*Koufax: Scammed by Madoff.
*Phelps on Phelps.
*And another gratuitous shot at Jeter.
Complete column here. More later.
-- D.S.
I see it now: 50+ points AND a triple-double. Based on the history, scoring 60+ seems sort of blah when compared to the 50-3D.
So it even managed to nudge over Signing Day as the lead of today's SN column.
That doesn't mean I don't go crazy over Signing Day:
*Alabama wins. You can keep Ohio State (I guess if you are from the Midwest and you don't want to win national titles, OSU is the place to go) and even LSU, I think Bama had the best class.
*Manti Te'o to Notre Dame: What will be particularly fun is when Te'o leaves for 2 years on his mission -- Catholics and Mormons don't historically have a great relationship, do they? (Or is that Evangelicals and Mormons?)
*The SEC rules: And I don't say that with bias -- they put 10 teams in the Top 25, including late-starting/fast-finishing Lane Kiffin at Tennessee and Dan Mullen at Mississippi State.
Meanwhile:
*Duke got walloped.
*Since beating Duke, Wake has been terrible.
*Another home loss for Texas?
*Koufax: Scammed by Madoff.
*Phelps on Phelps.
*And another gratuitous shot at Jeter.
Complete column here. More later.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Wednesday 02/04 A.M. Quickie:
National Signing Day Mania!
Sorry for the woefully late post today. Obviously, I am so excited about National Signing Day that I couldn't even blog. Hopefully, you saw the column at SN earlier today. If not, here you go.
I get very excited about the guys who sign with my team, but I simply can't get outraged or mad when a kid -- even a previous commitment -- backs out and goes elsewhere.
Maybe it goes back to college, where I spent a semester being wooed by one fraternity and seemed like a lock to pledge there, only to go to a rival fraternity after an agonizing decision process.
Some of the guys at the first fraternity were cool about it; a bunch of them were really dickish. It's like: I'm 18, being "recruited" and mistakenly think I'm all that -- give me a break.
So good luck to you, Nu'Keese Richardson. If nothing else, it'll be fun greeting you and your new Vols teammates at the Swamp next September.
(And welcome Jelani Jenkins, Andre Debose and Co.!)
More tomorrow!
-- D.S.
I get very excited about the guys who sign with my team, but I simply can't get outraged or mad when a kid -- even a previous commitment -- backs out and goes elsewhere.
Maybe it goes back to college, where I spent a semester being wooed by one fraternity and seemed like a lock to pledge there, only to go to a rival fraternity after an agonizing decision process.
Some of the guys at the first fraternity were cool about it; a bunch of them were really dickish. It's like: I'm 18, being "recruited" and mistakenly think I'm all that -- give me a break.
So good luck to you, Nu'Keese Richardson. If nothing else, it'll be fun greeting you and your new Vols teammates at the Swamp next September.
(And welcome Jelani Jenkins, Andre Debose and Co.!)
More tomorrow!
-- D.S.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Tuesday 02/03 A.M. Quickie:
Kobe 61, SB 43, UConn, UWGB, Paris, More
There is a longstanding perception that there is some sort of "lull" from the end of the NFL season until, say, March Madness.
That's insanely wrong, of course. Between CFB's National Signing Day (tomorrow, as big a single day as there is in the college football year); the NBA All-Star Game; Daytona 500; Bracketology jostling; and the start of spring training (and your fantasy baseball drafting), it's plenty busy.
Still, of any day in the sports year, the day after the Super Bowl, you just don't expect much. Among other things, that's why Kobe's 61 was so epic. (Leads SN column.)
Beyond it being the highest point total in the NBA this season. Beyond it being at Madison Square Garden, eclipsing MJ's 55 and King's 60. Beyond it being one more thing to add to Kobe's myth. Beyond it came on the day that we learn Bynum is out 3 months (or more).
It was even more spectacular because there was nothing else going on. It was right player, right place, right moment, right kind of performance -- all the way.
Other storylines you'll find opined in today's column:
*UConn: Who's afraid of No. 1? Winning at L'ville is no joke.
*Butler: Overrated? Or is Wisco-Green Bay pretty good?
*Courtney Paris: Best women's CBB post player ever?
*Chris Paul injured: Yikes. "Injury-Proves-MVP" theory.
*Michael Phelps: No endorsement hit for bong hit. (Duh.)
*Manny turns down 1Y/$25M -- hey, he wanted 4Y.
*Clemens: Screwed (as if you didn't know he was already)
*SB 43 Hangover: Sure, I'll take Pittsburgh to repeat.
Check out the entire thing here. More later.
-- D.S.
That's insanely wrong, of course. Between CFB's National Signing Day (tomorrow, as big a single day as there is in the college football year); the NBA All-Star Game; Daytona 500; Bracketology jostling; and the start of spring training (and your fantasy baseball drafting), it's plenty busy.
Still, of any day in the sports year, the day after the Super Bowl, you just don't expect much. Among other things, that's why Kobe's 61 was so epic. (Leads SN column.)
Beyond it being the highest point total in the NBA this season. Beyond it being at Madison Square Garden, eclipsing MJ's 55 and King's 60. Beyond it being one more thing to add to Kobe's myth. Beyond it came on the day that we learn Bynum is out 3 months (or more).
It was even more spectacular because there was nothing else going on. It was right player, right place, right moment, right kind of performance -- all the way.
Other storylines you'll find opined in today's column:
*UConn: Who's afraid of No. 1? Winning at L'ville is no joke.
*Butler: Overrated? Or is Wisco-Green Bay pretty good?
*Courtney Paris: Best women's CBB post player ever?
*Chris Paul injured: Yikes. "Injury-Proves-MVP" theory.
*Michael Phelps: No endorsement hit for bong hit. (Duh.)
*Manny turns down 1Y/$25M -- hey, he wanted 4Y.
*Clemens: Screwed (as if you didn't know he was already)
*SB 43 Hangover: Sure, I'll take Pittsburgh to repeat.
Check out the entire thing here. More later.
-- D.S.
Monday, February 02, 2009
Monday 02/02 A.M. Quickie:
Super Bowl Analysis, Ads, Bruce, More
First this: That was a great game, an all-time great game.
If the regions involved were "New York" and "Boston" rather than "Pittsburgh" and "Arizona," we'd be calling it even better than last year's game, which had hype, an upset and a Best Play Ever.
This game had little hype, a back-and-forth near-upset (almost as amazing as a real upset) and not quite the Best Play Ever, but at least three memorable plays (Harrison Pick-6, Fitz's 2nd TD, Holmes' Catch) that are likely to be in the top tier of "most memorable" Super Bowl plays.
And controversy:
Don't think for a second -- a second -- that if it was Big Ben (or Tom Brady) "throwing" that ball, it wouldn't have been reversed by review as a fumble and turned into an incomplete.
I do think the Cards got jobbed -- I think Warner's arm was going forward. At the very least, it merited a full earnest review; it felt like the refs let the Steelers hike the ball too quickly to end the game. Gamesmanship by Pittsburgh, but shoddy work by the refs.
Because -- and this is key -- you could totally see the Cardinals scoring on a last-second play. Larry Fitzgerald, of any player in the league, could have willed that to happen. And I think he had earned the chance to try.
The refs blew the play twice: First, by ruling it a fumble, not an incomplete pass; finally, by not allowing a proper review, robbing the Cards -- and fans -- of one last play of an amazing game.
You can check out my Twitter feed from last night for the running commentary. My favorite ads were different than the USA Today AdMeter or other reviewers. I liked the Potato Heads. I liked Alec Baldwin in Hulu. I was oddly grabbed by "Land of the Lost."
I'm not one for animal ads, and I think that the slapstick humor is so overdone as to be cliche:
Doritos "Crystal Ball" ad won the USA Today AdMeter comp; doesn't anyone remember that Sprint did this last year with the "thrown-phone" ad? Of course, you can never discount the power of the Groin Shot.
My new litmus test was whether you liked "Pepsuber" -- it was terrible...like a bad SNL sketch, which I think it was actually trying to parody. I like Kristin Wiig, too, but...cripes, awful.
On the other hand, you have to understand the genius of Cash4Gold.com doing a Super Bowl ad -- not for the cheesy McMahon/MC Hammer cameos, but as a sign of the times we are living in that Cash4Gold.com is a Super Bowl sponsor at all.
I thought Bruce Springsteen was excellent -- all you want is high energy and some songs you know and enjoy, and he delivered on that. I also took it incredibly personally when he looked at me through the TV and told me to drop the chicken finger -- I was literally holding a chicken finger in my hand when he said it, so it was both amazing and totally unnerving.
(Seriously: Why "chicken fingers?" Are they really that popular of a Super Bowl snack food? I didn't think so -- within the chicken family, I have to believe that wings rank far higher on the popularity list. It's as if Springsteen was hanging out in my living room with me. Freaky.)
A few other notes:
James Harrison's 100-yard Pick-6: Despite the fact that the Cards played their way back into the game (no: the lead!), I think this will go up there among the top few most consequential plays in NFL history. The swing was simply too wide; it changed everything. If he hadn't have scored, another story -- but he did, and it was 100 yards, just as Arizona was knocking on its own TD.
Larry Fitzgerald: Even in defeat, he added to his legend -- his ongoing legend, I should say. That 2nd TD was absolutely amazing.
Santonio Holmes's "Catch": I'm willing to concede the TD, obviously, but I honestly don't think he got his right toe on the turf; I think it was trapped behind his left shoe and never actually touched the ground. Too close to call, but on a play that big -- with HD cameras to prove it -- it would be nice to have a conclusive shot that the right toe touched.
What next for Kurt Warner: I hope he comes back. First, he is back at the top of his game, with an amazing array of receivers to go to, including the best WR of the generation. Why leave after that? There is this idea of going out on top -- there is no way the Cards repeat as NFC champs or acquitting themselves in a Super Bowl as they did here. But if he can perform, why leave now, just when he has re-built the Warner Bandwagon?
How can you not love the Cardinals? I wrote this in the SN column, but it's worth restating:
More in the column: HOF, Bynum, Wake, Clemente, Nadal and -- of course -- Phelps.
Leave your own SB analysis -- about the game, the quasi-controversy, the stars, the ads, the pomp, etc. -- in the Comments. I'll update as fast as I can get to them.
-- D.S.
If the regions involved were "New York" and "Boston" rather than "Pittsburgh" and "Arizona," we'd be calling it even better than last year's game, which had hype, an upset and a Best Play Ever.
This game had little hype, a back-and-forth near-upset (almost as amazing as a real upset) and not quite the Best Play Ever, but at least three memorable plays (Harrison Pick-6, Fitz's 2nd TD, Holmes' Catch) that are likely to be in the top tier of "most memorable" Super Bowl plays.
And controversy:
Don't think for a second -- a second -- that if it was Big Ben (or Tom Brady) "throwing" that ball, it wouldn't have been reversed by review as a fumble and turned into an incomplete.
I do think the Cards got jobbed -- I think Warner's arm was going forward. At the very least, it merited a full earnest review; it felt like the refs let the Steelers hike the ball too quickly to end the game. Gamesmanship by Pittsburgh, but shoddy work by the refs.
Because -- and this is key -- you could totally see the Cardinals scoring on a last-second play. Larry Fitzgerald, of any player in the league, could have willed that to happen. And I think he had earned the chance to try.
The refs blew the play twice: First, by ruling it a fumble, not an incomplete pass; finally, by not allowing a proper review, robbing the Cards -- and fans -- of one last play of an amazing game.
You can check out my Twitter feed from last night for the running commentary. My favorite ads were different than the USA Today AdMeter or other reviewers. I liked the Potato Heads. I liked Alec Baldwin in Hulu. I was oddly grabbed by "Land of the Lost."
I'm not one for animal ads, and I think that the slapstick humor is so overdone as to be cliche:
Doritos "Crystal Ball" ad won the USA Today AdMeter comp; doesn't anyone remember that Sprint did this last year with the "thrown-phone" ad? Of course, you can never discount the power of the Groin Shot.
My new litmus test was whether you liked "Pepsuber" -- it was terrible...like a bad SNL sketch, which I think it was actually trying to parody. I like Kristin Wiig, too, but...cripes, awful.
On the other hand, you have to understand the genius of Cash4Gold.com doing a Super Bowl ad -- not for the cheesy McMahon/MC Hammer cameos, but as a sign of the times we are living in that Cash4Gold.com is a Super Bowl sponsor at all.
I thought Bruce Springsteen was excellent -- all you want is high energy and some songs you know and enjoy, and he delivered on that. I also took it incredibly personally when he looked at me through the TV and told me to drop the chicken finger -- I was literally holding a chicken finger in my hand when he said it, so it was both amazing and totally unnerving.
(Seriously: Why "chicken fingers?" Are they really that popular of a Super Bowl snack food? I didn't think so -- within the chicken family, I have to believe that wings rank far higher on the popularity list. It's as if Springsteen was hanging out in my living room with me. Freaky.)
A few other notes:
James Harrison's 100-yard Pick-6: Despite the fact that the Cards played their way back into the game (no: the lead!), I think this will go up there among the top few most consequential plays in NFL history. The swing was simply too wide; it changed everything. If he hadn't have scored, another story -- but he did, and it was 100 yards, just as Arizona was knocking on its own TD.
Larry Fitzgerald: Even in defeat, he added to his legend -- his ongoing legend, I should say. That 2nd TD was absolutely amazing.
Santonio Holmes's "Catch": I'm willing to concede the TD, obviously, but I honestly don't think he got his right toe on the turf; I think it was trapped behind his left shoe and never actually touched the ground. Too close to call, but on a play that big -- with HD cameras to prove it -- it would be nice to have a conclusive shot that the right toe touched.
What next for Kurt Warner: I hope he comes back. First, he is back at the top of his game, with an amazing array of receivers to go to, including the best WR of the generation. Why leave after that? There is this idea of going out on top -- there is no way the Cards repeat as NFC champs or acquitting themselves in a Super Bowl as they did here. But if he can perform, why leave now, just when he has re-built the Warner Bandwagon?
How can you not love the Cardinals? I wrote this in the SN column, but it's worth restating:
The Cardinals deserved to win more than any other Super Bowl runner-up in history. At a minimum, the Cardinals have wiped out the franchise's legacy of being the NFL's biggest losers. They earned something almost as good as a Super Bowl title tonight; they earned the respect of fans everywhere.I haven't seen a Super Bowl loser ever earn this much cred. For a franchise this bedraggled, it was as close as it gets to a moral victory. At the very least I think they came much closer to winning their Super Bowl than the Pats did against the Giants a year ago.
More in the column: HOF, Bynum, Wake, Clemente, Nadal and -- of course -- Phelps.
Leave your own SB analysis -- about the game, the quasi-controversy, the stars, the ads, the pomp, etc. -- in the Comments. I'll update as fast as I can get to them.
-- D.S.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Saturday 01/31 (Not A) Quickie
Taking the morning/day off, conserving my strength for tomorrow night's 2nd Annual Super Bowl Live-Twitter Extravaganza. Enjoy the day.
-- D.S.
-- D.S.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Friday 01/30 A.M. Quickie:
Cardinals, Magic, Gonzaga, All-Stars, More
Cardinals 20, Steelers 16. But I'm less concerned about the score than simply picking the Cardinals to win, which leads today's SN column.
Here's the thing: After last year's Super Bowl, there is simply no such thing as "upset" anymore. But the closest thing to it would be to utter the phrase "Cardinals: Super Bowl Champs."
I suspect that Pittsburgh's defense is going to be the toughest the Cards have faced this season. But I'm not sold on the Steelers' offense, and the Cards have been defying expectations all month.
For those of you who remember last year's experiment with Twitter (back before EVERYONE was doing it) during the Super Bowl -- it beats a live-blog! -- should check it out on Sunday night: twitter.com/danshanoff.
(I'm sure this year, there will be a ton more folks tweeting during the game. The more the merrier, I say. Following lots of people active during the game will just make your Twitter stream that much more fun and interesting.)
Meanwhile, other things you'll find in the column today:
*SB Ads preview: Coke FTW? Or sacrilege?
*Obama picks the Steelers: That's not change.
*Gonzaga beats St. Mary's: With a HUGE caveat.
*Magic beat Cavs: LeBron will get those calls in May.
*Nelson an All-Star: But not Rondo? Come on.
*Wells gripes about Torre: You don't say!
It's a fun-filled Friday before the Super Bowl. Check out the column. Check back here all weekend long. And, if you're not planning to come back until Monday, enjoy the game.
-- D.S.
Here's the thing: After last year's Super Bowl, there is simply no such thing as "upset" anymore. But the closest thing to it would be to utter the phrase "Cardinals: Super Bowl Champs."
I suspect that Pittsburgh's defense is going to be the toughest the Cards have faced this season. But I'm not sold on the Steelers' offense, and the Cards have been defying expectations all month.
For those of you who remember last year's experiment with Twitter (back before EVERYONE was doing it) during the Super Bowl -- it beats a live-blog! -- should check it out on Sunday night: twitter.com/danshanoff.
(I'm sure this year, there will be a ton more folks tweeting during the game. The more the merrier, I say. Following lots of people active during the game will just make your Twitter stream that much more fun and interesting.)
Meanwhile, other things you'll find in the column today:
*SB Ads preview: Coke FTW? Or sacrilege?
*Obama picks the Steelers: That's not change.
*Gonzaga beats St. Mary's: With a HUGE caveat.
*Magic beat Cavs: LeBron will get those calls in May.
*Nelson an All-Star: But not Rondo? Come on.
*Wells gripes about Torre: You don't say!
It's a fun-filled Friday before the Super Bowl. Check out the column. Check back here all weekend long. And, if you're not planning to come back until Monday, enjoy the game.
-- D.S.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Thursday 01/29 A.M. Quickie:
Wake, SB 43, Bonds, WRs, All-Stars
Recovery continues!
I'm torn between giving Wake all sorts of credit for beating Duke -- and remembering that Duke recently has been abysmal in the NCAA Tournament, so how much stock should I put into beating them?
Because right now, I'm inclined to think that Wake looks more like an NCAA champ than any other team -- size (depth of size), great defense, go-to scoring guard. I can't believe it's not a fully loaded bandwagon, though, which is more telling than, say beating Duke.
Meanwhile, I find the Big East to be ludicrously loaded -- Nova beats Pitt, Providence beats Syracuse, Georgetown is beaten by whomever.... I'll stick with my original pronouncement: This conference will get 8 or 9 teams in the NCAA Tournament; the acid test of its awesomeness is how many of those teams get to the Sweet 16 or even the Elite Eight.
Not sure if I can visualize how a Wake or a Duke or a UNC or an Oklahoma would do in the Big East, with the game-in-game-out punishment. When you look at Wake's remaining schedule, it seems fairly mild -- yeah, a game at Duke, but beyond that...what, exactly? You simply can't say that about the top teams in the Big East. You can't go more than a game or two without playing another team in the Top 25.
Super Bowl: Eh, Super Bowl week is so overrated. The lull on Wednesday and Thursday and Friday before the game is stupefying. The only fun is in making the pick on Friday -- mine is coming tomorrow.
NBA All-Star Reserves announced tonight: What I would like to see is less "same old stars" and more new guys whose play this season has merited inclusion (Danny Granger, Devin Harris, Jameer Nelson, Rajon Rondo) -- it's in the NBA's best interests to raise the profile of younger guys, rather than celebrate the longtime all-stars like Paul Pierce.
Complete SN column here. More later.
-- D.S.
I'm torn between giving Wake all sorts of credit for beating Duke -- and remembering that Duke recently has been abysmal in the NCAA Tournament, so how much stock should I put into beating them?
Because right now, I'm inclined to think that Wake looks more like an NCAA champ than any other team -- size (depth of size), great defense, go-to scoring guard. I can't believe it's not a fully loaded bandwagon, though, which is more telling than, say beating Duke.
Meanwhile, I find the Big East to be ludicrously loaded -- Nova beats Pitt, Providence beats Syracuse, Georgetown is beaten by whomever.... I'll stick with my original pronouncement: This conference will get 8 or 9 teams in the NCAA Tournament; the acid test of its awesomeness is how many of those teams get to the Sweet 16 or even the Elite Eight.
Not sure if I can visualize how a Wake or a Duke or a UNC or an Oklahoma would do in the Big East, with the game-in-game-out punishment. When you look at Wake's remaining schedule, it seems fairly mild -- yeah, a game at Duke, but beyond that...what, exactly? You simply can't say that about the top teams in the Big East. You can't go more than a game or two without playing another team in the Top 25.
Super Bowl: Eh, Super Bowl week is so overrated. The lull on Wednesday and Thursday and Friday before the game is stupefying. The only fun is in making the pick on Friday -- mine is coming tomorrow.
NBA All-Star Reserves announced tonight: What I would like to see is less "same old stars" and more new guys whose play this season has merited inclusion (Danny Granger, Devin Harris, Jameer Nelson, Rajon Rondo) -- it's in the NBA's best interests to raise the profile of younger guys, rather than celebrate the longtime all-stars like Paul Pierce.
Complete SN column here. More later.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Jeff MacGregor on Media Day
MacGregor nails it. (Didn't know he was now full-time for ESPN.com and the Mag, but he is one of my all-time favorite sportswriters. I presume all of you have read "Sunday Money" by now.)
-- D.S.
-- D.S.
Wednesday 01/28 A.M. Quickie:
Wake, Duke, Media Day, Cavs, A-Rod, More
So Media Day was sort of a dud, I think.
I have been very excited about Wake-Duke tonight. Then I had a standard reality check: College basketball regular season games -- these "Game of the Year" candidates -- are entirely overrated.
So Duke wins? So Duke loses? So what? Everything in college basketball is back-loaded to the NCAA Tournament. If you are a "national" contender, it's all how you do in late March.
Duke's No. 1 ranking this week? A win over Wake? An ACC title? Hell, even a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament? Meaningless, unless Duke wins the national title.
(It's a bit more complicated for Duke: They have been so awful the last few Tournaments that even a Final Four appearance would be some kind of validation.)
Anyway, as I said in today's SN column, I'll definitely watch the game tonight -- but, as with every game I watch during CBB's regular season, it's with one eye on the TV and another on my bracket in March.
Complete SN column here. More later, although the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before the Super Bowl are traditionally some of the slowest days of the sports year.
-- D.S.
I have been very excited about Wake-Duke tonight. Then I had a standard reality check: College basketball regular season games -- these "Game of the Year" candidates -- are entirely overrated.
So Duke wins? So Duke loses? So what? Everything in college basketball is back-loaded to the NCAA Tournament. If you are a "national" contender, it's all how you do in late March.
Duke's No. 1 ranking this week? A win over Wake? An ACC title? Hell, even a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament? Meaningless, unless Duke wins the national title.
(It's a bit more complicated for Duke: They have been so awful the last few Tournaments that even a Final Four appearance would be some kind of validation.)
Anyway, as I said in today's SN column, I'll definitely watch the game tonight -- but, as with every game I watch during CBB's regular season, it's with one eye on the TV and another on my bracket in March.
Complete SN column here. More later, although the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before the Super Bowl are traditionally some of the slowest days of the sports year.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday 01/27 A.M. Quickie:
Super Bowl Media Day, Marquette, Chris Paul, More
An annual tradition for me: Dinging Super Bowl Media Day, which leads today's SN column.
That said: I am intrigued to see what kind of impact that Twitter may have on the event. Media Day was already pretty stale -- in the 24/7 sports era, who needs "get all your quotes for the week in one place!"
I'm not holding my breath: Like blogs a few years ago, Twitter has been slow to catch on among mainstream sports media -- I know the political cycle lends itself to Twitter, but why do mainstream political reporters adapt to new media so much better than mainstream sports writers?
I'm hoping that there are enough progressive sports media types in the Media Day to make Twitter a go-to place for instant news and analysis.
Meanwhile: Is Marquette for real? Winning at ND suddenly isn't what it was a week ago, and Marquette's schedule is back-loaded -- see the column for their harrowing final 5 games.
A lot more in the column today. Check it out here. I'm still in recovery mode.
-- D.S.
That said: I am intrigued to see what kind of impact that Twitter may have on the event. Media Day was already pretty stale -- in the 24/7 sports era, who needs "get all your quotes for the week in one place!"
I'm not holding my breath: Like blogs a few years ago, Twitter has been slow to catch on among mainstream sports media -- I know the political cycle lends itself to Twitter, but why do mainstream political reporters adapt to new media so much better than mainstream sports writers?
I'm hoping that there are enough progressive sports media types in the Media Day to make Twitter a go-to place for instant news and analysis.
Meanwhile: Is Marquette for real? Winning at ND suddenly isn't what it was a week ago, and Marquette's schedule is back-loaded -- see the column for their harrowing final 5 games.
A lot more in the column today. Check it out here. I'm still in recovery mode.
-- D.S.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Monday 01/26 A.M. Quickie:
Super Bowl, 100-0, Torre, Louisvillle, Lakers
After a few days away from the column, I have to have my say about the "100-0" game, and I get a hook to do it in today's column because the school fired the coach, who seems entirely unrepentant.
Otherwise:
*It's Super Bowl week. (Much more tomorrow.)
*Joe Torre: Is A-Rod HIS fault?
*Duke No. 1? How about...Louisville?
*The Lakers still rule.
*More on Pat White.
Complete column here. More later, hopefully. I'm pretty laid out still.
-- D.S.
Otherwise:
*It's Super Bowl week. (Much more tomorrow.)
*Joe Torre: Is A-Rod HIS fault?
*Duke No. 1? How about...Louisville?
*The Lakers still rule.
*More on Pat White.
Complete column here. More later, hopefully. I'm pretty laid out still.
-- D.S.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Sunday 01/25 (Very) Quickie
UConn drops Notre Dame in South Bend: Just one more big-time Big East battle, notable mostly for snapping ND's endless home win streak, which you could kind of see coming. But, like every Big East game this season, totally meaningless until we see how many of these 9 or 10 Big East top teams make it to the Sweet 16.
Duke No. 1? I watched the first half of the Duke-Maryland game, because I knew that the Terps always give Duke a game -- even at Cameron. Whoops: I came for the rivalry but I stayed to witness the carnage. I haven't seen a first-half beat-down like that in a long time.
So, yeah: I'm sure Duke will be crowned No. 1 this week, but I'm picking Wake on Wednesday.
(Washington beats UCLA: Don't sleep on how thoroughly competitive the Pac-10 is this season. It's like Big East Lite.)
Senior Bowl: Pat White Show. All week long, scouts had been ripping Pat White. In the game, he did what he does in every bowl game -- win. 95 yards passing and 2 scoring drives. Now, that doesn't mean he can play QB in the NFL, but he has a good future ahead as a Wildcat specialist.
RIP Kay Yow. A legend in women's basketball. Condolences to her many many friends, fans and admirers.
-- D.S.
Duke No. 1? I watched the first half of the Duke-Maryland game, because I knew that the Terps always give Duke a game -- even at Cameron. Whoops: I came for the rivalry but I stayed to witness the carnage. I haven't seen a first-half beat-down like that in a long time.
So, yeah: I'm sure Duke will be crowned No. 1 this week, but I'm picking Wake on Wednesday.
(Washington beats UCLA: Don't sleep on how thoroughly competitive the Pac-10 is this season. It's like Big East Lite.)
Senior Bowl: Pat White Show. All week long, scouts had been ripping Pat White. In the game, he did what he does in every bowl game -- win. 95 yards passing and 2 scoring drives. Now, that doesn't mean he can play QB in the NFL, but he has a good future ahead as a Wildcat specialist.
RIP Kay Yow. A legend in women's basketball. Condolences to her many many friends, fans and admirers.
-- D.S.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Saturday 01/24 (Very) Quickie: Catching Up!
So you have one unexpected appendectomy and you miss all sorts of good stuff...
Chiefs fire Herman Edwards: You knew this was coming, and you can't say he didn't deserve it. But with a new GM, there was no way Edwards was going to be retained.
So who replaces him? I don't think it will be Mike Shanahan, and the original reporting -- then retracting -- of the story indicates that they are going another way. I expect that Pioli doesn't want a re-tread. If he had only acted faster, he could have had Josh McDaniels. (But maybe he wants to go away from the Belichick coaching tree. Or will he go after Kirk Ferentz?)
LeBron hits a buzzer-beating game-winner: Of course he did. As the votes for "First-Half MVP" roll in, I have to believe James is going to win in a landslide.
(More intriguing: Eric Gordon had 41 last night in a Clippers win over the Thunder. Yes, it was the Thunder, but I'm convinced there aren't a TON of players in the NBA who can just go out and score 41, particularly as a rookie. Maybe 50 total? 100? No more than 30 percent of the league. But you just KNOW that OJ Mayo is saying: "Oh, I can totally beat that...")
UPDATE: I'm a total moron. Um, beyond Gordon's 41...how about Durant's 46? I guess in a loss (and the haze of post-op Vicodin) it gets lost.
Northwestern wins at Michigan State: You have to understand the historical (and recent) futility of NU hoops to recognize how massive this was. Top 3 regular-season win in the last 20 years ('88 vs. Indiana; '94 vs. Michigan... the '94 NIT win over DePaul doesn't count.)
No. 1 Wake Forest loses to Virginia Tech: Well, now I have NO idea what bandwagon to climb on. (Meanwhile: West Virginia beats Georgetown -- god, the Big East is so freaking amazing this season.)
Celtics clock the Magic: Obviously, Boston wanted to prove they were still tops in the East -- and wow did they ever. That was some textbook defense -- and why Orlando won't topple Boston this spring in the playoffs. The young Magic should consider acquiring a rotation player with deep playoff experience, if only to show them how to step up when it matters.
NBA All-Stars: The only intrigue was Amare. Otherwise: I'm glad Chris Paul earned the starting spot; I'm not sure Allen Iverson deserves it, unless he is the designated "just plain popular, if not deserving" spot. Which is totally fair -- it IS an exhibition, after all. Reserves should be more interesting.
Cubs get a new owner: I like that the guy is a Cubs fan. Used to live near Wrigley. Met his future wife at a Cubs game. Of the three qualities you want in a sports owner, they are: (1) Tons of money (and willing to spend it); (2) Smart enough to hire smart people to run the team; (3) A true fan of the team.
Lions hire Scott Linehan as Offensive Coordinator: Love this hire. Linehan couldn't head-coach his way out of a paper bag, but as an OC, there's no denying the guy is smart. And he joins up with a really smart H.C. in Jim Schwartz.
Jeff Kent retires: Not a nice guy, but his stats are undeniable. Haven't had a chance to see how the SABR-friendly folks have weighed in on him, so how else would I know what to think about it?
Ben Sheets to the Rangers? That has to come with a huge "IF he's healthy..." caveat. Think he's willing to sign a deal that ties payment to his health? When healthy, a top 5 pitcher in the league. But he's hardly ever truly healthy.
Senior Bowl tonight: And the biggest winner was BJ Raji, the BC DT. And I'm so thrilled to see Derrick Williams have a great week and move himself into the first round. What a great player he is, right up there with Harvin and Maclin as the most dynamic and versatile WR talents in the country.)
Back tomorrow a.m. as usual.
-- D.S.
Chiefs fire Herman Edwards: You knew this was coming, and you can't say he didn't deserve it. But with a new GM, there was no way Edwards was going to be retained.
So who replaces him? I don't think it will be Mike Shanahan, and the original reporting -- then retracting -- of the story indicates that they are going another way. I expect that Pioli doesn't want a re-tread. If he had only acted faster, he could have had Josh McDaniels. (But maybe he wants to go away from the Belichick coaching tree. Or will he go after Kirk Ferentz?)
LeBron hits a buzzer-beating game-winner: Of course he did. As the votes for "First-Half MVP" roll in, I have to believe James is going to win in a landslide.
(More intriguing: Eric Gordon had 41 last night in a Clippers win over the Thunder. Yes, it was the Thunder, but I'm convinced there aren't a TON of players in the NBA who can just go out and score 41, particularly as a rookie. Maybe 50 total? 100? No more than 30 percent of the league. But you just KNOW that OJ Mayo is saying: "Oh, I can totally beat that...")
UPDATE: I'm a total moron. Um, beyond Gordon's 41...how about Durant's 46? I guess in a loss (and the haze of post-op Vicodin) it gets lost.
Northwestern wins at Michigan State: You have to understand the historical (and recent) futility of NU hoops to recognize how massive this was. Top 3 regular-season win in the last 20 years ('88 vs. Indiana; '94 vs. Michigan... the '94 NIT win over DePaul doesn't count.)
No. 1 Wake Forest loses to Virginia Tech: Well, now I have NO idea what bandwagon to climb on. (Meanwhile: West Virginia beats Georgetown -- god, the Big East is so freaking amazing this season.)
Celtics clock the Magic: Obviously, Boston wanted to prove they were still tops in the East -- and wow did they ever. That was some textbook defense -- and why Orlando won't topple Boston this spring in the playoffs. The young Magic should consider acquiring a rotation player with deep playoff experience, if only to show them how to step up when it matters.
NBA All-Stars: The only intrigue was Amare. Otherwise: I'm glad Chris Paul earned the starting spot; I'm not sure Allen Iverson deserves it, unless he is the designated "just plain popular, if not deserving" spot. Which is totally fair -- it IS an exhibition, after all. Reserves should be more interesting.
Cubs get a new owner: I like that the guy is a Cubs fan. Used to live near Wrigley. Met his future wife at a Cubs game. Of the three qualities you want in a sports owner, they are: (1) Tons of money (and willing to spend it); (2) Smart enough to hire smart people to run the team; (3) A true fan of the team.
Lions hire Scott Linehan as Offensive Coordinator: Love this hire. Linehan couldn't head-coach his way out of a paper bag, but as an OC, there's no denying the guy is smart. And he joins up with a really smart H.C. in Jim Schwartz.
Jeff Kent retires: Not a nice guy, but his stats are undeniable. Haven't had a chance to see how the SABR-friendly folks have weighed in on him, so how else would I know what to think about it?
Ben Sheets to the Rangers? That has to come with a huge "IF he's healthy..." caveat. Think he's willing to sign a deal that ties payment to his health? When healthy, a top 5 pitcher in the league. But he's hardly ever truly healthy.
Senior Bowl tonight: And the biggest winner was BJ Raji, the BC DT. And I'm so thrilled to see Derrick Williams have a great week and move himself into the first round. What a great player he is, right up there with Harvin and Maclin as the most dynamic and versatile WR talents in the country.)
Back tomorrow a.m. as usual.
-- D.S.
What's Wrong With Sports Journalism
The canard of no cheering in the press box, the absurdity of which won't be illustrated any better than Larry Fitzgerald's father. I say: Cheer away, Dad!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Obamaball: Sally Jenkins' Agenda for Sports
As usual, a provocative take from the Washington Post's Sally Jenkins -- laying out an agenda of sports reform for President Obama. I would call it hit-or-miss:
(1) Get rid of the BCS. Really? As the No. 1 priority? For a thoughtful sports thinker like Jenkins, this is ludicrous. (She is correct, however, that a simple threat of taking away college tax benefits would be a game-changer.)
(2) Declare freshman ineligible. Hate it. Only if it went hand-in-hand with insisting that the NFL and NBA got rid of their age minimums for draft eligibility. Forcing a pro-worthy player to toil in college for two years -- when they have no actual interest in college beyond its role as a stepping-stone to the pros -- is counter-productive.
(3) Dress more appropriately for golf. A bit prudish, but fair.
(4) Play Candace Parker 1-on-1 at the White House, to generate more support for women's basketball. I like the symbol, but it's pretty empty -- leagues must move the needle themselves.
(5) National Anthem played IN TUNE at all sports events. Fair, but here's a better idea: Ditch the Anthem for "America the Beautiful" or -- as witnessed Sunday -- "This Land Is Your Land."
(6) Save tennis. Eh. This is like saving the banking industry -- the sport did this to themselves.
(7) Final Four back in arenas, not domes. Better idea: 75 percent of tickets must be ear-marked for fans. Even better idea: All major sports championships must earmark more tickets for fans than are given to corporate sponsors, and at reasonable rates.
(8) Equal pay for women's sports. I fully support it, but Jenkins cherry-picks the Pearl-Summitt comparison. When women's sports bring in the revenue of men's, it is a stronger argument. (See women's tennis, where pay inequity is a joke.) For women in the front office? Absolutely. And, while we're at it: More women and minorities in the front office.
(9) Pardon Marion Jones. You've got to be kidding me. I'm sorry that prosecutors haven't done a better job with the other steroid felons, but that doesn't mean Jones should get off. Her betrayal of sports and fans was one of the Top 3 worst of the 20th Century in American sports. She didn't seem particularly remorseful when she was collecting all those medals -- or collecting all those endorsement checks.
(10) Force Dan Snyder to hire a GM. Now THERE you go.
I would add a few others:
-Obliterate AAU and start over.
-Mandate any team relocating to give a substantial cash rebate to fans.
-Develop an unobtrusive test for HGH.
-Legalize sports gambling but tax the hell out of it.
-Name Tim Tebow to lead President's Council on Physical Fitness.
From the serious to the silly, do you have any other items on a sports to-do list for Obama?
-- D.S.
(1) Get rid of the BCS. Really? As the No. 1 priority? For a thoughtful sports thinker like Jenkins, this is ludicrous. (She is correct, however, that a simple threat of taking away college tax benefits would be a game-changer.)
(2) Declare freshman ineligible. Hate it. Only if it went hand-in-hand with insisting that the NFL and NBA got rid of their age minimums for draft eligibility. Forcing a pro-worthy player to toil in college for two years -- when they have no actual interest in college beyond its role as a stepping-stone to the pros -- is counter-productive.
(3) Dress more appropriately for golf. A bit prudish, but fair.
(4) Play Candace Parker 1-on-1 at the White House, to generate more support for women's basketball. I like the symbol, but it's pretty empty -- leagues must move the needle themselves.
(5) National Anthem played IN TUNE at all sports events. Fair, but here's a better idea: Ditch the Anthem for "America the Beautiful" or -- as witnessed Sunday -- "This Land Is Your Land."
(6) Save tennis. Eh. This is like saving the banking industry -- the sport did this to themselves.
(7) Final Four back in arenas, not domes. Better idea: 75 percent of tickets must be ear-marked for fans. Even better idea: All major sports championships must earmark more tickets for fans than are given to corporate sponsors, and at reasonable rates.
(8) Equal pay for women's sports. I fully support it, but Jenkins cherry-picks the Pearl-Summitt comparison. When women's sports bring in the revenue of men's, it is a stronger argument. (See women's tennis, where pay inequity is a joke.) For women in the front office? Absolutely. And, while we're at it: More women and minorities in the front office.
(9) Pardon Marion Jones. You've got to be kidding me. I'm sorry that prosecutors haven't done a better job with the other steroid felons, but that doesn't mean Jones should get off. Her betrayal of sports and fans was one of the Top 3 worst of the 20th Century in American sports. She didn't seem particularly remorseful when she was collecting all those medals -- or collecting all those endorsement checks.
(10) Force Dan Snyder to hire a GM. Now THERE you go.
I would add a few others:
-Obliterate AAU and start over.
-Mandate any team relocating to give a substantial cash rebate to fans.
-Develop an unobtrusive test for HGH.
-Legalize sports gambling but tax the hell out of it.
-Name Tim Tebow to lead President's Council on Physical Fitness.
From the serious to the silly, do you have any other items on a sports to-do list for Obama?
-- D.S.
Cool (Paid) Writing Opp About Fantasy MLB
My company is launching a comprehensive fantasy baseball preview, and I wanted to invite anyone interested to register at the site and take part. The individual preview articles (by position, team, category) are paid -- not a ton, but something -- and you will have an additional clip to point to. Plus, it should be fun; in the end, you're writing about baseball. The claims are going fast, so check it out. Sign up, go to the "Call for Content" area, look for the baseball assignments, claim them and get paid to publish about fantasy baseball. -- D.S.
Obamaball: Sox vs. Cubs At The C-in-C Ball:
Take Me Out To the (Inaugural) Ball Game
During the Commander-in-Chief Ball, did you see Obama's interview with all those military folks from Chicago?
Obama was like "White Sox or Cubs?" He's being televised on multiple networks live, and THAT is what he wants to ask them about. It's a question only a real fan cares about.
And they all (all but one) kept saying "Cubs," and you could see Obama was playfully miffed. "Terrible," he muttered. I love that.
-- D.S.
Obama was like "White Sox or Cubs?" He's being televised on multiple networks live, and THAT is what he wants to ask them about. It's a question only a real fan cares about.
And they all (all but one) kept saying "Cubs," and you could see Obama was playfully miffed. "Terrible," he muttered. I love that.
-- D.S.
Wednesday 01/21 A.M. Quickie:
Obama, Gruden, Parcells, Duke, More
OK, so back to work. Or get started working.
But it almost felt like the sports world -- along with everyone else -- came to a standstill yesterday for the Inauguration. (Leads today's SN column.)
No matter: No. 44 is at work, and the rest of us are, too.
Should Jon Gruden be at work...at Notre Dame? ND fans unhappy with Charlie Weis may see Gruden as a fun alternative, but pro-to-college coaches tend to...well...suck.
Bill Parcells is still at work for the Dolphins: And it sounds like he will be, at least for the next year.
College seniors are looking for NFL work at the Senior Bowl: Is Pat White auditioning as a QB or a Wildcat specialist that every team will want/need next season?
(And will Oklahoma exile Rhett Bomar pull off the Comeback of the Year in college football?)
Gerald Henderson is hard at work for Duke: I don't expect Coach K to tell Singler and Scheyer and Paulus to defer to Henderson, but they should -- he is the best player on the team.
Bill Self might be working a little TOO hard: John Wall IS awesome, but Self knew better than to talk with him -- he even said so when he talked with him.
Can we get Theo Epstein in the new administration in some capacity? His ability to avoid arbitration shows that he can generate consensus and results. (It's not like Papelbon got the short end: From $800K to $6.25M.)
Does Ryan Howard's work in '08 deserve a huge raise in '09? He made $10M in arbitration before the '08 season; then he had another monster season. Does that qualify him for a raise to $18M? Maybe on the open market, but probably not in arbitration if the Phillies do the right thing and at least offer him a raise into the mid-teens.
Complete SN column here. More later. Back to work, everyone.
-- D.S.
But it almost felt like the sports world -- along with everyone else -- came to a standstill yesterday for the Inauguration. (Leads today's SN column.)
No matter: No. 44 is at work, and the rest of us are, too.
Should Jon Gruden be at work...at Notre Dame? ND fans unhappy with Charlie Weis may see Gruden as a fun alternative, but pro-to-college coaches tend to...well...suck.
Bill Parcells is still at work for the Dolphins: And it sounds like he will be, at least for the next year.
College seniors are looking for NFL work at the Senior Bowl: Is Pat White auditioning as a QB or a Wildcat specialist that every team will want/need next season?
(And will Oklahoma exile Rhett Bomar pull off the Comeback of the Year in college football?)
Gerald Henderson is hard at work for Duke: I don't expect Coach K to tell Singler and Scheyer and Paulus to defer to Henderson, but they should -- he is the best player on the team.
Bill Self might be working a little TOO hard: John Wall IS awesome, but Self knew better than to talk with him -- he even said so when he talked with him.
Can we get Theo Epstein in the new administration in some capacity? His ability to avoid arbitration shows that he can generate consensus and results. (It's not like Papelbon got the short end: From $800K to $6.25M.)
Does Ryan Howard's work in '08 deserve a huge raise in '09? He made $10M in arbitration before the '08 season; then he had another monster season. Does that qualify him for a raise to $18M? Maybe on the open market, but probably not in arbitration if the Phillies do the right thing and at least offer him a raise into the mid-teens.
Complete SN column here. More later. Back to work, everyone.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
TrueHoop Network Pwns NBA Coverage
News broke yesterday of ESPN.com's new blog network of NBA team bloggers. Henry Abbott announced it today, quite skillfully and comprehensively. And it's a very smart idea.
The benefit to ESPN is obvious: They substantially increase their depth of coverage on a team-by-team basis; they earn a lot of "blog cred"; and they now own all that blog traffic.
The benefit to the bloggers is obvious: Their sites are put in front of a vastly larger audience; they get to align themselves with the mainstream legitimacy of ESPN; they keep editorial control.
Feeling the brunt: Local newspaper NBA coverage. Oh, there is a critical role for the beat reporter; the best bloggers lean on (and credit) local beat folks.
But with the ESPN imprimateur, these bloggers -- the savviest ones, at least -- are one step from being solvent enough to expand their coverage to include beat reporting.
(Makes you wonder: Where is the loose confederation of newspapers that pay for NBA beat coverage, coming together and creating their own network of online content?)
Things I would like to see:
ESPN aggressively integrate the blogger content into their daily NBA coverage -- not just top stories, but into features, analysis, game recaps and more.
The bloggers take advantage of the affiliation with ESPN -- which team media relations departments can't help but respect -- to expand their coverage innovatively.
This has been hanging out there as an opportunity for every major sports-media site out there -- for years (even with SB Nation corralling some of the best into their network).
Kudos to Henry and ESPN for making this happen. They would be smart to do something similar in the other sports, too; THIS is what a "blog network" should be.
-- D.S.
The benefit to ESPN is obvious: They substantially increase their depth of coverage on a team-by-team basis; they earn a lot of "blog cred"; and they now own all that blog traffic.
The benefit to the bloggers is obvious: Their sites are put in front of a vastly larger audience; they get to align themselves with the mainstream legitimacy of ESPN; they keep editorial control.
Feeling the brunt: Local newspaper NBA coverage. Oh, there is a critical role for the beat reporter; the best bloggers lean on (and credit) local beat folks.
But with the ESPN imprimateur, these bloggers -- the savviest ones, at least -- are one step from being solvent enough to expand their coverage to include beat reporting.
(Makes you wonder: Where is the loose confederation of newspapers that pay for NBA beat coverage, coming together and creating their own network of online content?)
Things I would like to see:
ESPN aggressively integrate the blogger content into their daily NBA coverage -- not just top stories, but into features, analysis, game recaps and more.
The bloggers take advantage of the affiliation with ESPN -- which team media relations departments can't help but respect -- to expand their coverage innovatively.
This has been hanging out there as an opportunity for every major sports-media site out there -- for years (even with SB Nation corralling some of the best into their network).
Kudos to Henry and ESPN for making this happen. They would be smart to do something similar in the other sports, too; THIS is what a "blog network" should be.
-- D.S.
Tuesday 01/20 A.M. Quickie:
Obama, Obama, Obama
Today is the biggest, proudest, most momentous day of my lifetime, at least my lifetime as an American.
That said, the moment defies superlative, defies hyperbole.
It is impossible for me to do it any justice. (Just watching the pundits on the morning news shows, you see how absurd it is to even try.)
There are the obvious sports tie-ins -- Obama as Fan-in-Chief (today's SN lead item), the tie-ins to the No. 44 (I have my own tribute).
The sports angle is cutesy, but I am far more heartened that we are entering a new era where smart is cool, competence is valued, execution is everything.
Otherwise, it largely defies description. It is just something to marvel at, to wonder at -- collectively -- like those images of the crowds on the Mall right now.
The moment is simultaneously intensely personal and entirely national. I'm left with the utterly inadequate: Wow.
-- D.S.
That said, the moment defies superlative, defies hyperbole.
It is impossible for me to do it any justice. (Just watching the pundits on the morning news shows, you see how absurd it is to even try.)
There are the obvious sports tie-ins -- Obama as Fan-in-Chief (today's SN lead item), the tie-ins to the No. 44 (I have my own tribute).
The sports angle is cutesy, but I am far more heartened that we are entering a new era where smart is cool, competence is valued, execution is everything.
Otherwise, it largely defies description. It is just something to marvel at, to wonder at -- collectively -- like those images of the crowds on the Mall right now.
The moment is simultaneously intensely personal and entirely national. I'm left with the utterly inadequate: Wow.
-- D.S.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Monday 01/19 A.M. Quickie:
Cardinals, Steelers, Fitzgerald, ACC
As praised in today's SN column (though not quite in this way), the Cardinals' run to the Super Bowl is amazing on at least two levels:
To start, simply the fact that the Cardinals is going to the Super Bowl is huge on its face. (The Cardinals! The worst franchise in NFL history!)
But add on top of that, it's not like they were dominant this season or destined for the Super Bowl, like Kurt Warner's 1999 Rams team, which went from chump-ish to champs on a rail.
No, each and every week of these playoffs, the Cards have been discounted -- or counted out entirely. First round at home? Underdogs. Division round on the road? Underdogs. NFC Title Game at home? Underdogs. Meanwhile: Win, win, win. And decisively, each time.
It's a neat bit of judo: They are taking your expectations -- which couldn't be lower -- and using them to make their own accomplishments all the more incredible. If we EXPECTED them to win each week, it wouldn't nearly be as sweet as it is now.
For decades, the Cardinals were worse than losers -- they were irrelevant. Now: They are the latest incarnation of America's Team -- how can you root against them now?
But, please: Pick against them one more time.
Meanwhile, other things you'll find in today's SN column:
*Larry Fitzgerald has been elevated to NFL God status.
*Kurt Warner makes Tim Tebow look like an atheist.
*The McNabb Era is over in Philadelphia?
*The McGahee Era is over in Baltimore?
*Steve Spagnuolo will do more with less than Rex Ryan will do more with more.
*LeBron in a Browns jersey IS kind of awesome.
*Wake and Duke may be 1-2, but the Big East still rules.
Complete column here. More later. Enjoy your MLK Day -- the way the NBA treats it (with plenty of afternoon games and a marquee event -- Cavs-Lakers -- tonight) is kind of awesome.
-- D.S.
To start, simply the fact that the Cardinals is going to the Super Bowl is huge on its face. (The Cardinals! The worst franchise in NFL history!)
But add on top of that, it's not like they were dominant this season or destined for the Super Bowl, like Kurt Warner's 1999 Rams team, which went from chump-ish to champs on a rail.
No, each and every week of these playoffs, the Cards have been discounted -- or counted out entirely. First round at home? Underdogs. Division round on the road? Underdogs. NFC Title Game at home? Underdogs. Meanwhile: Win, win, win. And decisively, each time.
It's a neat bit of judo: They are taking your expectations -- which couldn't be lower -- and using them to make their own accomplishments all the more incredible. If we EXPECTED them to win each week, it wouldn't nearly be as sweet as it is now.
For decades, the Cardinals were worse than losers -- they were irrelevant. Now: They are the latest incarnation of America's Team -- how can you root against them now?
But, please: Pick against them one more time.
Meanwhile, other things you'll find in today's SN column:
*Larry Fitzgerald has been elevated to NFL God status.
*Kurt Warner makes Tim Tebow look like an atheist.
*The McNabb Era is over in Philadelphia?
*The McGahee Era is over in Baltimore?
*Steve Spagnuolo will do more with less than Rex Ryan will do more with more.
*LeBron in a Browns jersey IS kind of awesome.
*Wake and Duke may be 1-2, but the Big East still rules.
Complete column here. More later. Enjoy your MLK Day -- the way the NBA treats it (with plenty of afternoon games and a marquee event -- Cavs-Lakers -- tonight) is kind of awesome.
-- D.S.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Sunday 01/18 (Very) Quickie
Countdown to NFL conf-title games...
So, with Pitt losing at Louisville (with the way the Big East is this year and the way Louisville is playing in Big East play, that's hardly a scarring mark for Pitt), who should be No. 1?
It's down to either Duke or Wake.
Duke handled Georgetown impressively/aggravatingly enough, but they did it at home. At a neutral site or on the road, I'm not sure they beat the Hoyas.
Meanwhile, Wake won at Clemson -- you can say that Clemson was overrated/product of cupcake schedule/etc., but it was a rocking environment, and Wake handled it.
Plus, Wake has that win over UNC, which Duke doesn't have (yet), so I would give my No. 1 vote to Wake -- not that being No. 1 in any given week in college hoops means anything.
(Re: Duke, they need to make Henderson the focal point of the offense; he is their most potent offensive threat -- although he really needs to shave his head, because that widow's peak balding situation isn't intimidating at all.)
Also: Very impressive wins by Syracuse (over ND) and Arizona State (over UCLA, at UCLA)
Rams hire Giants DC Steve Spagnuolo: The Rams are a mess, but -- in line with my comment about Schwartz and the Lions -- this is the best thing to happen to the Rams franchise since they won the Super Bowl.
Spagnuolo is one of the top minds in the NFL, and should accelerate the turnaround. As they are saying around Washington this week: Smart is the new cool and youth is the new cool. Hires like Schwartz and Spagnuolo and McDaniels and Morris underscore that.
NBA: Magic keep rolling through the Western Conference, this time toppling the Nuggets.
Hot Stove: Phillies sign Hamels to 3Y/$20.5M deal. Seems like a bargain, given the money being thrown around at guys like Sabathia -- in the next year, Hamels will emerge as his superior.
--
Saw Slumdog Millionaire last night. I have seen all of 2 movies in the theaters in the last year (Slumdog and Dark Knight), but Slumdog was one of the Top 10 or 20 best movies I have ever seen. Really enjoyed it. Hope it wins a Best Picture Oscar.
-- D.S.
So, with Pitt losing at Louisville (with the way the Big East is this year and the way Louisville is playing in Big East play, that's hardly a scarring mark for Pitt), who should be No. 1?
It's down to either Duke or Wake.
Duke handled Georgetown impressively/aggravatingly enough, but they did it at home. At a neutral site or on the road, I'm not sure they beat the Hoyas.
Meanwhile, Wake won at Clemson -- you can say that Clemson was overrated/product of cupcake schedule/etc., but it was a rocking environment, and Wake handled it.
Plus, Wake has that win over UNC, which Duke doesn't have (yet), so I would give my No. 1 vote to Wake -- not that being No. 1 in any given week in college hoops means anything.
(Re: Duke, they need to make Henderson the focal point of the offense; he is their most potent offensive threat -- although he really needs to shave his head, because that widow's peak balding situation isn't intimidating at all.)
Also: Very impressive wins by Syracuse (over ND) and Arizona State (over UCLA, at UCLA)
Rams hire Giants DC Steve Spagnuolo: The Rams are a mess, but -- in line with my comment about Schwartz and the Lions -- this is the best thing to happen to the Rams franchise since they won the Super Bowl.
Spagnuolo is one of the top minds in the NFL, and should accelerate the turnaround. As they are saying around Washington this week: Smart is the new cool and youth is the new cool. Hires like Schwartz and Spagnuolo and McDaniels and Morris underscore that.
NBA: Magic keep rolling through the Western Conference, this time toppling the Nuggets.
Hot Stove: Phillies sign Hamels to 3Y/$20.5M deal. Seems like a bargain, given the money being thrown around at guys like Sabathia -- in the next year, Hamels will emerge as his superior.
--
Saw Slumdog Millionaire last night. I have seen all of 2 movies in the theaters in the last year (Slumdog and Dark Knight), but Slumdog was one of the Top 10 or 20 best movies I have ever seen. Really enjoyed it. Hope it wins a Best Picture Oscar.
-- D.S.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Saturday 01/17 (Very) Quickie
Twitter-style: What are you doing?
Getting ready for a fantastic afternoon and evening of college hoops. I would say I am most intrigued by Georgetown at Duke, but followed closely by Wake-Clemson and Pitt-L'ville.
Bucs fire Jon Gruden: Now that was a bit unexpected. They must have seen a lot more potential in D.C. Raheem Morris (maybe because the Broncos did first?) than Gruden, who will undoubtedly land somewhere by next season -- but who now officially becomes a coaching retread. Meanwhile, between the 32-year-old Morris and the 32-year-old Josh McDaniels, the trend is definitely for the younger promising head coaches with less of a resume than the...ahem...retreads.
The Magic are on fire: They beat the Lakers last night (despite Kobe's triple-double...in large part thanks to Dwight Howard's 30th double-double and the continued scorching play of should-be All-Star Jameer Nelson -- I'll admit I was a draft-night doubter about him, but he has turned into a sensational NBA player (undoubtedly benefiting from the right context).
Cripes: It is WAY too cold out.
-- D.S.
Getting ready for a fantastic afternoon and evening of college hoops. I would say I am most intrigued by Georgetown at Duke, but followed closely by Wake-Clemson and Pitt-L'ville.
Bucs fire Jon Gruden: Now that was a bit unexpected. They must have seen a lot more potential in D.C. Raheem Morris (maybe because the Broncos did first?) than Gruden, who will undoubtedly land somewhere by next season -- but who now officially becomes a coaching retread. Meanwhile, between the 32-year-old Morris and the 32-year-old Josh McDaniels, the trend is definitely for the younger promising head coaches with less of a resume than the...ahem...retreads.
The Magic are on fire: They beat the Lakers last night (despite Kobe's triple-double...in large part thanks to Dwight Howard's 30th double-double and the continued scorching play of should-be All-Star Jameer Nelson -- I'll admit I was a draft-night doubter about him, but he has turned into a sensational NBA player (undoubtedly benefiting from the right context).
Cripes: It is WAY too cold out.
-- D.S.
Friday, January 16, 2009
LeBron As a Cleveland Browns Player
This upcoming State Farm ad featuring LeBron as a player for the Cleveland Browns should get a ton of attention. Kudos to Sparty And Friends -- a blog started by disaffected ex-DanShanoff.com commenters! I'm so proud! -- for being all over this one. (h/t: True Hoop for taking it wide)
UPDATE: I am surprised that Nike-loyal LeBron put on anything with a Reebok "vector" logo, but I presume that is what he had to do to wear an actual Brown uni. I will say this: If Reebok doesn't ambush the LeBron marketing power by creating and selling No. 23 Browns jerseys, they are insane. In fact, how could they not have them ready for sale Monday, after the commercial airs nationally?
-- D.S.
UPDATE: I am surprised that Nike-loyal LeBron put on anything with a Reebok "vector" logo, but I presume that is what he had to do to wear an actual Brown uni. I will say this: If Reebok doesn't ambush the LeBron marketing power by creating and selling No. 23 Browns jerseys, they are insane. In fact, how could they not have them ready for sale Monday, after the commercial airs nationally?
-- D.S.
Friday 01/16 A.M. Quickie:
Cards, Eagles, Harvin, Sanchez, CBB Wknd
Start with this: In today's SN column, I'm picking the Eagles and the Steelers -- two of the more passionate/insufferable fan bases in the NFL (if not all of sports).
It's easy to root for the Eagles for two reasons: (1) They have never won a Super Bowl, and (2) I picked them to win the Super Bowl before the playoffs started.
That said, I'd give up both -- even being right! -- for the Cardinals going to the Super Bowl; as someone who values novelty as much as I do, it's just one of the ultimates.
Meanwhile, there is good reason to root for Eagles-Ravens:
The idea of two 6-seeds running the table on the road is the ultimate manifestation of "parity" -- it should make any expert doubt everything they might think they know about how the NFL works.
The strongest line from today's column: "Hiring Jim Schwartz is the best thing to happen to the Lions since they drafted Barry Sanders."
Percy Harvin going pro: I'm torn. He is/was one of my favorite all-time Florida players; it's arguable he was the most talented player to ever put on a Florida uniform.
His injury history and his status as a lock first-rounder (I'm predicting that he falls no further than the Patriots) means that he had no choice but to turn pro now.
Will Florida miss him next season? Absolutely, even with Tebow coming back.
Harvin was one of the rare players -- even more than Maclin or Derrick Williams or Jahvid Best -- where anytime he came on the field, the defense was distracted to the point of changing the play by his mere presence.
Dr. Saturday has a phenomenal quote about it from yesterday: "The only things that ever really stopped Harvin were his own ankle and hamstring, which just aren't evolved to handle that much torque."
That said: This was a breakthrough year for Florida playmakers -- although none are as good as Harvin, a couple of them are just as fast. Jeff Demps was a home-run threat every time he touched the ball (he isn't the receiver that Harvin is); Chris Rainey is a playmaker (but more injury-prone than Harvin). Brandon James is sort of Harvin-Lite. Deonte Thompson has a ton of potential. Incoming freshman Andre Debose may very well be the next Harvin. They will miss him, but there is plenty of depth -- see the way Florida beat Alabama, even without Harvin.
Meanwhile, Pete Carroll is a bit of a d'bag for ripping Mark Sanchez's decision to turn pro. Yeah: Like Carroll is now going to go out and actively recruit the kind of player who doesn't have the ability to turn pro after 3 seasons. Quit whining.
The end of the college football season signals the moment for a lot of fans to re-engage in college hoops, and Saturday's lineup -- no CFB, no NFL -- is an amazing moment to do it:
No. 1 Pitt has arguably its toughest game of the year, at Louisville, which has those bad non-conf losses but is sizzling in Big East play.
Georgetown at Duke: One of the Top 3 non-conference games of the season, G'town is coming off a huge win over Syracuse this week. Speaking of which...
Notre Dame vs. Syracuse: Yet another titanic Big East battle in a season where you can't go a few days without another one.
Wake Forest at Clemson: Is Wake the best team in the country? Is Clemson for real? Answers to both will be available.
Complete column here. Have a great weekend everyone. College hoops feasting on Saturday. NFL conference-title games on Sunday. Great weekend of sports. More later.
-- D.S.
It's easy to root for the Eagles for two reasons: (1) They have never won a Super Bowl, and (2) I picked them to win the Super Bowl before the playoffs started.
That said, I'd give up both -- even being right! -- for the Cardinals going to the Super Bowl; as someone who values novelty as much as I do, it's just one of the ultimates.
Meanwhile, there is good reason to root for Eagles-Ravens:
The idea of two 6-seeds running the table on the road is the ultimate manifestation of "parity" -- it should make any expert doubt everything they might think they know about how the NFL works.
The strongest line from today's column: "Hiring Jim Schwartz is the best thing to happen to the Lions since they drafted Barry Sanders."
Percy Harvin going pro: I'm torn. He is/was one of my favorite all-time Florida players; it's arguable he was the most talented player to ever put on a Florida uniform.
His injury history and his status as a lock first-rounder (I'm predicting that he falls no further than the Patriots) means that he had no choice but to turn pro now.
Will Florida miss him next season? Absolutely, even with Tebow coming back.
Harvin was one of the rare players -- even more than Maclin or Derrick Williams or Jahvid Best -- where anytime he came on the field, the defense was distracted to the point of changing the play by his mere presence.
Dr. Saturday has a phenomenal quote about it from yesterday: "The only things that ever really stopped Harvin were his own ankle and hamstring, which just aren't evolved to handle that much torque."
That said: This was a breakthrough year for Florida playmakers -- although none are as good as Harvin, a couple of them are just as fast. Jeff Demps was a home-run threat every time he touched the ball (he isn't the receiver that Harvin is); Chris Rainey is a playmaker (but more injury-prone than Harvin). Brandon James is sort of Harvin-Lite. Deonte Thompson has a ton of potential. Incoming freshman Andre Debose may very well be the next Harvin. They will miss him, but there is plenty of depth -- see the way Florida beat Alabama, even without Harvin.
Meanwhile, Pete Carroll is a bit of a d'bag for ripping Mark Sanchez's decision to turn pro. Yeah: Like Carroll is now going to go out and actively recruit the kind of player who doesn't have the ability to turn pro after 3 seasons. Quit whining.
The end of the college football season signals the moment for a lot of fans to re-engage in college hoops, and Saturday's lineup -- no CFB, no NFL -- is an amazing moment to do it:
No. 1 Pitt has arguably its toughest game of the year, at Louisville, which has those bad non-conf losses but is sizzling in Big East play.
Georgetown at Duke: One of the Top 3 non-conference games of the season, G'town is coming off a huge win over Syracuse this week. Speaking of which...
Notre Dame vs. Syracuse: Yet another titanic Big East battle in a season where you can't go a few days without another one.
Wake Forest at Clemson: Is Wake the best team in the country? Is Clemson for real? Answers to both will be available.
Complete column here. Have a great weekend everyone. College hoops feasting on Saturday. NFL conference-title games on Sunday. Great weekend of sports. More later.
-- D.S.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
AOL Sports Is Dead, Long Live Fanhouse
It seems crazy to me that I actually began my career in online sports media before AOL Sports even really existed -- my company, Real Fans Sports Network (ne Extreme Fans), provided original sports content daily (constantly) to the AOL audience back when it was an aggregation of AOL-funded destination areas within AOL's "walled garden" of subscribers. I mean, come on: I was fluent in Rainman!
(We were a scrappy start-up literally inventing original online sports content -- we weren't the only ones, of course, but we had a prominent platform on AOL and we were wildly successful given our resources. One of the founders was Hank Adams, now CEO of Sportvision. One of my co-workers is Rob Peterson of NBA.com. One was Matt Sampson, who was critical to the first step of Bill Simmons' career. I'll write more extensively about it some day. But I digress...)
Then came AOL Sports -- which was still a collection of partners, like SportsLine and the NFL. Then AOL Sports went onto the Web. Then things were slow.
Then Jamie Mottram created and launched Fanhouse as part of AOL Sports and delivered a key evolutionary moment for online sports media.
Now it's just Fanhouse, quick-hit original content off the day's big sports headlines -- just like we at Real Fans were doing in 1995. Everything old is new again, I guess. Except Jay Mariotti still thought newspapers were the place to be.
-- D.S.
PS: I ask this every time I mention it, but if any of you were on AOL back in the mid-90s and remember Real Fans, please don't be afraid to share. Man, was that an experience.
(We were a scrappy start-up literally inventing original online sports content -- we weren't the only ones, of course, but we had a prominent platform on AOL and we were wildly successful given our resources. One of the founders was Hank Adams, now CEO of Sportvision. One of my co-workers is Rob Peterson of NBA.com. One was Matt Sampson, who was critical to the first step of Bill Simmons' career. I'll write more extensively about it some day. But I digress...)
Then came AOL Sports -- which was still a collection of partners, like SportsLine and the NFL. Then AOL Sports went onto the Web. Then things were slow.
Then Jamie Mottram created and launched Fanhouse as part of AOL Sports and delivered a key evolutionary moment for online sports media.
Now it's just Fanhouse, quick-hit original content off the day's big sports headlines -- just like we at Real Fans were doing in 1995. Everything old is new again, I guess. Except Jay Mariotti still thought newspapers were the place to be.
-- D.S.
PS: I ask this every time I mention it, but if any of you were on AOL back in the mid-90s and remember Real Fans, please don't be afraid to share. Man, was that an experience.
Obamaball: Alexander Wolff FTW With the Definitive Article on Obama and Basketball
Just about a year in the making -- since the primary season began a year ago and Barack Obama's passion for basketball became a huge storyline, certainly among sports fans -- here comes what will likely be the definitive piece about Obama's love of hoops, from SI's Alexander Wolff.
(Ironically, Wolff recently took the SI buy-out -- this piece might serve as the basis for a very successful book that can help off-set that recent career change.)
Anyway, a must-read and kudos to Wolff. (This is going to come across like an insult, but it's really the opposite: It doesn't happen much anymore, but sometimes SI delivers the "signature" take on a story. I think this is one of those times.)
-- D.S.
(Ironically, Wolff recently took the SI buy-out -- this piece might serve as the basis for a very successful book that can help off-set that recent career change.)
Anyway, a must-read and kudos to Wolff. (This is going to come across like an insult, but it's really the opposite: It doesn't happen much anymore, but sometimes SI delivers the "signature" take on a story. I think this is one of those times.)
-- D.S.
Thursday 01/15 A.M. Quickie:
Bradford, Sanchez, Boldin, CP3, More
Sorry for the late/short post. Here's the column, if you haven't seen it yet. Gist of the lead: Not sure there has been a triumvirate of QB star power in college football like Tebow-McCoy-Bradford next season. More later.
-- D.S.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Wednesday 01/14 A.M. Quickie:
Meeks, Pioli, Magic, Mays, Kiffin
Because his college career came at the peak of my teen-aged development as a sports fan, I maintain something of a nostalgic fascination with Chris Jackson during his career at LSU.
If you're under 30, you probably don't remember him much, if at all -- or, more likely, you know him far better as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, summarily drummed out of the NBA, basically for being a Muslim. ("If you're under 30?" Cripes. Smack me for ever offering up that patronizing clause again.)
Anyway, in college, Jackson was absurdly good. Like: Makes-Stephen-Curry-look-pedestrian good. And one time in 1989, he scored a double-nickel vs. Ole Miss, and that came up last night when Kentucky's Jodie Meeks scored 54 at Tennessee.
Meeks had already scored 46 a month ago vs. App State -- but topping 50 in major college hoops, on the road no less, is putting yourself in very rare air. On an otherwise slow sports night where I was a lot more interested in the "Idol" premiere than any sports being shown on TV, it was a prolific performance. And so it leads today's SN column.
Other storylines you'll find:
*Why KC hiring Scott Pioli is the NFL best move of the offseason.
*Why the Magic are so on fire right now.
*Why the Coaches' poll will continue to frustrate you.
*Why Taylor Mays could win the Heisman.
*Why Lane Kiffin put his newborn in a tough position.
Check it out here. More later.
-- D.S.
If you're under 30, you probably don't remember him much, if at all -- or, more likely, you know him far better as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, summarily drummed out of the NBA, basically for being a Muslim. ("If you're under 30?" Cripes. Smack me for ever offering up that patronizing clause again.)
Anyway, in college, Jackson was absurdly good. Like: Makes-Stephen-Curry-look-pedestrian good. And one time in 1989, he scored a double-nickel vs. Ole Miss, and that came up last night when Kentucky's Jodie Meeks scored 54 at Tennessee.
Meeks had already scored 46 a month ago vs. App State -- but topping 50 in major college hoops, on the road no less, is putting yourself in very rare air. On an otherwise slow sports night where I was a lot more interested in the "Idol" premiere than any sports being shown on TV, it was a prolific performance. And so it leads today's SN column.
Other storylines you'll find:
*Why KC hiring Scott Pioli is the NFL best move of the offseason.
*Why the Magic are so on fire right now.
*Why the Coaches' poll will continue to frustrate you.
*Why Taylor Mays could win the Heisman.
*Why Lane Kiffin put his newborn in a tough position.
Check it out here. More later.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Utah As No. 1: A Second Thought
There are a few good reasons for me to accept the legitimacy of Utah as the No. 1 team in the country:
(1) I voted them No. 2 and think that they are the only team right now that could give Florida a game. I'm not saying they would win, but I am more than convinced they could win.
(2) Your comments and feedback. You all make terrific arguments for Utah. (That said: I remain convinced that the AP voters who voted for Utah were, largely, just trying to be contrarian.)
(3) On almost all matters related to Florida football and statistics, I defer to the thoughtful thinkers at Saurian Sagacity. And so it was to my surprise -- an oddly pleasant one, actually -- that on their final BlogPoll ballot, they voted Utah at No. 1 ahead of Florida.
More than that, they backed it up with some very convincing arguments.
I maintain that Florida is the best team in the country. I maintain that Utah is a strong No. 2. I concur that - as in previous years - we will never know and that this is all speculation. (And, let's point out: If there was a 4-team playoff, Utah would not have been invited.)
I am more than willing to admit that I can't possibly sidestep my own bias in making the distinction between them. As quick as I am to credit Utah -- and I am proud to evidence that I have all season -- there is no getting around my own bias here. (Fair question: How would a "pre-2001" Dan Shanoff have voted?)
What I will say is that though I have tried to provide at least a few provocative opinions in my life, ranking Utah at No. 2 was not one of them -- this was no novelty pick, made for the sake of undermining the BCS or, worse, self-promotion. They are a truly excellent team.
(Hopefully, they and their fans take at least some solace in ranking as high as they possibly could have under the current system -- and stirring a debate that they even might be the best.)
Kudos to the Saurian Sagacity crew -- as die-hard Florida fans as anyone (and they are more than happy to boastfully celebrate an SEC title, as well as a win in the BCS title game) -- for their intellectual forthrightness and commitment to the knowable.
-- D.S.
(1) I voted them No. 2 and think that they are the only team right now that could give Florida a game. I'm not saying they would win, but I am more than convinced they could win.
(2) Your comments and feedback. You all make terrific arguments for Utah. (That said: I remain convinced that the AP voters who voted for Utah were, largely, just trying to be contrarian.)
(3) On almost all matters related to Florida football and statistics, I defer to the thoughtful thinkers at Saurian Sagacity. And so it was to my surprise -- an oddly pleasant one, actually -- that on their final BlogPoll ballot, they voted Utah at No. 1 ahead of Florida.
More than that, they backed it up with some very convincing arguments.
I maintain that Florida is the best team in the country. I maintain that Utah is a strong No. 2. I concur that - as in previous years - we will never know and that this is all speculation. (And, let's point out: If there was a 4-team playoff, Utah would not have been invited.)
I am more than willing to admit that I can't possibly sidestep my own bias in making the distinction between them. As quick as I am to credit Utah -- and I am proud to evidence that I have all season -- there is no getting around my own bias here. (Fair question: How would a "pre-2001" Dan Shanoff have voted?)
What I will say is that though I have tried to provide at least a few provocative opinions in my life, ranking Utah at No. 2 was not one of them -- this was no novelty pick, made for the sake of undermining the BCS or, worse, self-promotion. They are a truly excellent team.
(Hopefully, they and their fans take at least some solace in ranking as high as they possibly could have under the current system -- and stirring a debate that they even might be the best.)
Kudos to the Saurian Sagacity crew -- as die-hard Florida fans as anyone (and they are more than happy to boastfully celebrate an SEC title, as well as a win in the BCS title game) -- for their intellectual forthrightness and commitment to the knowable.
-- D.S.
Tuesday 01/13 A.M. Quickie:
Cardinals, Curry, Oklahoma, Louisville
The Cardinals are the new "America's Team." How do you define an "America's Team?" That leads today's SN column, but -- in short -- it's the bandwagon that everyone jumps on when the vast majority of fans have no other rooting interest than the most compelling storyline available.
In this case, the Cardinals aren't just compelling -- it's a once-in-a-lifetime moment for any fan under the age of, say, 60... folks who have never known anything BUT the Cards sucking.
As I point out in the column, this is much different than the jumping on the bandwagon of the Rays run: The sheer decades-long history of ineptitude qualifies the Cardinals as their own unique brand of novelty. And, in the absence of your own team still alive, it's worth rooting for.
Meanwhile:
*Baseball Hall: Again, who in their right mind wouldn't vote for Rickey? Meanwhile, I'd love to hear why Jim Rice is more Hall-worthy now than he was last year/5 years ago/10 years ago. I think he won a war of attrition, and more voters than not simply gave in to their buddies.
*Oklahoma makes its claim as a national contender -- and as the best team in the Big 12.
*Did I jump off the Louisville bandwagon (and onto Wake's) too early? Notre Dame fans say "Yes."
*Both Josh "No, really: I smile!" McDaniels and Jim "No, really: I love a turnaround job!" Schwartz said all the right things to make Broncos and Lions fans happy.
*Tebow shoulder surgery! (No: I'm actually not that breathless about it...certainly not as breathless as I am about Myron Rolle officially putting off the NFL for Oxford. THAT rules.)
*Eddy Curry: Um...yeah...about that. Lawsuits are easy to file; this driver guy knows exactly what pressure point to push for an NBA player -- play the "gay" card. Curry may win the day on the lawsuit, but he will never ever shake this allegation. It will define his career, unfortunately.
Complete column here. More later.
-- D.S.
In this case, the Cardinals aren't just compelling -- it's a once-in-a-lifetime moment for any fan under the age of, say, 60... folks who have never known anything BUT the Cards sucking.
As I point out in the column, this is much different than the jumping on the bandwagon of the Rays run: The sheer decades-long history of ineptitude qualifies the Cardinals as their own unique brand of novelty. And, in the absence of your own team still alive, it's worth rooting for.
Meanwhile:
*Baseball Hall: Again, who in their right mind wouldn't vote for Rickey? Meanwhile, I'd love to hear why Jim Rice is more Hall-worthy now than he was last year/5 years ago/10 years ago. I think he won a war of attrition, and more voters than not simply gave in to their buddies.
*Oklahoma makes its claim as a national contender -- and as the best team in the Big 12.
*Did I jump off the Louisville bandwagon (and onto Wake's) too early? Notre Dame fans say "Yes."
*Both Josh "No, really: I smile!" McDaniels and Jim "No, really: I love a turnaround job!" Schwartz said all the right things to make Broncos and Lions fans happy.
*Tebow shoulder surgery! (No: I'm actually not that breathless about it...certainly not as breathless as I am about Myron Rolle officially putting off the NFL for Oxford. THAT rules.)
*Eddy Curry: Um...yeah...about that. Lawsuits are easy to file; this driver guy knows exactly what pressure point to push for an NBA player -- play the "gay" card. Curry may win the day on the lawsuit, but he will never ever shake this allegation. It will define his career, unfortunately.
Complete column here. More later.
-- D.S.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Florida: Your BlogPoll National Champion
Florida is No. 1, crowned the 2008 BlogPoll National Champion. (FWIW, Utah is No. 2.) Doc Saturday has a breakdown (as does BlogPoll administrator Brian Cook), and -- perhaps to credit to both the Doc and to me -- both he and I had Florida at No. 1 in the preseason, as did 12 other BlogPollsters. Next season, that won't be nearly so impressive.
Rickey: 24 Votes Shy of Unanimous HOF
How can 24 self-proclaimed (and BBWAA-"accredited") baseball "experts" leave Rickey Henderson off their Hall of Fame ballot? There should be a rule where if you leave out an "obvious" pick, you lose your voting privileges for some X amount of time. There is voter prerogative, and then there is you-have-no-excuse wrong.
-- D.S.
-- D.S.
Dash Bennett on The Passion of Tim Tebow
Deadspin's Dash Bennett is the sports-blog Rookie of the Year of 2008, stepping into Deadspin's maw and constantly delivering.
Despite the superlatives and the storylines, writing a post about Tim Tebow of nationalized scope and any non-superficial depth is not easy -- it is mostly left to regional players and (ahem) fawning bandwagoneers.
Bennett pulled it off here, and I'm not just linking to it because he sympathetically points out my own post on the matter (and my SN post, at that, not even my blog post from yesterday).
To reiterate: Among the superlatives, perhaps the most devastating is this -- there have been and will never be more expectations placed on a player than there will be on Tebow in '09.
-- D.S.
Despite the superlatives and the storylines, writing a post about Tim Tebow of nationalized scope and any non-superficial depth is not easy -- it is mostly left to regional players and (ahem) fawning bandwagoneers.
Bennett pulled it off here, and I'm not just linking to it because he sympathetically points out my own post on the matter (and my SN post, at that, not even my blog post from yesterday).
To reiterate: Among the superlatives, perhaps the most devastating is this -- there have been and will never be more expectations placed on a player than there will be on Tebow in '09.
-- D.S.
Obamaball: White House Pick-Up Hoops
We're just over a week away from the era of pick-up basketball games at the White House. And that story led yesterday's New York Times' Sunday Styles section. If you love basketball, it really will be awesome. I have said this before: Hoops will reign as the national pastime.
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