Winning on the road in a proverbially pivotal Game 5? That felt like the Thunder taking The Leap.
If/when they dispatch the Spurs -- perhaps en route to an NBA title (if not this year, then surely soon) -- that will fit the narrative. Then again, three games ago, when the Spurs were up 2-0, we were talking about the Spurs going 16-0 in the crowning achievement of the Dynasty.
Between then and now is what makes the NBA -- all sports -- so amazing.
Celtics-Heat Game 5: Talk about pivotal. Chris Bosh should be back -- we'll see how effective he is. What should be clear is that the Celtics have zero fear of this Heat team -- I'm not so sure about the Heat's own fear... of failure, if nothing else.
Loved this Michael Lewis commencement at Princeton from Sunday: It underscores the most arguably undervalued thing in sports (or anything) -- the role of dumb luck.
Must-see video of the day: The new trailer for the upcoming "Dream Team" documentary. Wow, is this going to be cool.
Sorry for the late post. More tomorrow a.m.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Monday, June 04, 2012
06/04 (Celtics) Quickie
Wow, these NBA Conference Finals are fantastic. I suppose there is still a chance one team could win the next two and they're over in 6, but it sure looks like we're headed for amazing finishes.
Celtics knot it up 2-2: Count me among those who hate the Celtics and loathe the Heat -- in that calculation, the lesser of two evils is the last-legs Celtics dismissing the Heat (although the Heat falling short in the NBA Finals for a second straight year is its own quality form of humiliation for them). I think it could happen, particularly if/when this goes to a toss-up Game 7. (The Heat's lack of any depth beyond LeBron and Wade really shows up in those closing sequences, doesn't it?)
Chris Bosh back for Game 5? You'd think it's a net positive, but the question is this: After sitting out weeks -- and battles -- is he ready to go into a scrum this intense? I'm not just talking about physically -- although if an "abdominal strain" was enough to keep him out for weeks, it's hard to believe he will be able to hand KG elbowing him in the gut a dozen times per game. I'm talking about psychologically -- he is the guy who shows up 2/3 of the way through your road trip with your buddies. It's nice to have him along, but there's a certain "you had to be there" disconnect of the previous experience.
Spurs-Thunder Game 5: Hard to believe SA won't play better back in front of their home crowd. Will be fascinating to see the adjustments they make from Games 3 and 4. (Not sure what kind of adjustment you can make for Kevin Durant destroying you in the 4th quarter or Ibaka not missing a shot. Guess you have to hope a bit for regression to the mean.)
Tiger: Pretty simple -- he's not "back" until he wins a major.
Justin Blackmon: What is it with Jaguars receivers and horrible judgment? What a dope.
Addendum: I realize that last week I missed the morning after the NBA Draft Lottery (aka "Wizards Fans Playoffs"). Needless to say I'm fully on board my Wiz using the No. 3 pick on Bradley Beal, even if Michael-Kidd Gilchrist is available. (If the team had made other choices over the years and was already loaded with shooters, perhaps a different story, even if I do think Beal is going to be a tremendous pro with All-Star potential -- but as it stands, they have no one who can shoot AND a glaring hole at shooting guard. This seems easy to me.) The Bobcats are in a tough spot -- MKG is the right pick, given their desperate need for a SF (not to mention a winner and leader), but as with everyone else on that team, he can't shoot.
-- D.S.
Celtics knot it up 2-2: Count me among those who hate the Celtics and loathe the Heat -- in that calculation, the lesser of two evils is the last-legs Celtics dismissing the Heat (although the Heat falling short in the NBA Finals for a second straight year is its own quality form of humiliation for them). I think it could happen, particularly if/when this goes to a toss-up Game 7. (The Heat's lack of any depth beyond LeBron and Wade really shows up in those closing sequences, doesn't it?)
Chris Bosh back for Game 5? You'd think it's a net positive, but the question is this: After sitting out weeks -- and battles -- is he ready to go into a scrum this intense? I'm not just talking about physically -- although if an "abdominal strain" was enough to keep him out for weeks, it's hard to believe he will be able to hand KG elbowing him in the gut a dozen times per game. I'm talking about psychologically -- he is the guy who shows up 2/3 of the way through your road trip with your buddies. It's nice to have him along, but there's a certain "you had to be there" disconnect of the previous experience.
Spurs-Thunder Game 5: Hard to believe SA won't play better back in front of their home crowd. Will be fascinating to see the adjustments they make from Games 3 and 4. (Not sure what kind of adjustment you can make for Kevin Durant destroying you in the 4th quarter or Ibaka not missing a shot. Guess you have to hope a bit for regression to the mean.)
Tiger: Pretty simple -- he's not "back" until he wins a major.
Justin Blackmon: What is it with Jaguars receivers and horrible judgment? What a dope.
Addendum: I realize that last week I missed the morning after the NBA Draft Lottery (aka "Wizards Fans Playoffs"). Needless to say I'm fully on board my Wiz using the No. 3 pick on Bradley Beal, even if Michael-Kidd Gilchrist is available. (If the team had made other choices over the years and was already loaded with shooters, perhaps a different story, even if I do think Beal is going to be a tremendous pro with All-Star potential -- but as it stands, they have no one who can shoot AND a glaring hole at shooting guard. This seems easy to me.) The Bobcats are in a tough spot -- MKG is the right pick, given their desperate need for a SF (not to mention a winner and leader), but as with everyone else on that team, he can't shoot.
-- D.S.
Sunday, June 03, 2012
06/03 (Durant) Quickie
I love Kevin Durant for a lot of reasons: I love his game, I love his style, I love his dedication, I love his humility schtick, I particularly love his relentlessness and I love that he grew up very close to me. He is the pride of the "DMV."
Wow, was it fun to watch him go off last night -- that stretch in the 4th quarter where he scored 16 straight points for the Thunder was ridiculous. I put together a really good stream of analysis of Durant that came overnight. Give it a read right here.
Hell of a series in the West. Really look forward to that going seven. Meanwhile, out East, it's a must-win for Boston to keep this interesting. Otherwise, you end up with what you've got in the Stanley Cup playoffs -- namely, two road wins for the Kings... and a presumptive title in the bag.
-- D.S.
Wow, was it fun to watch him go off last night -- that stretch in the 4th quarter where he scored 16 straight points for the Thunder was ridiculous. I put together a really good stream of analysis of Durant that came overnight. Give it a read right here.
Hell of a series in the West. Really look forward to that going seven. Meanwhile, out East, it's a must-win for Boston to keep this interesting. Otherwise, you end up with what you've got in the Stanley Cup playoffs -- namely, two road wins for the Kings... and a presumptive title in the bag.
-- D.S.
Friday, June 01, 2012
06/01 (June Already?) Quickie
The dream of the Spurs going 16-0 through the playoffs is over, after last night. But even if the Thunder make it interesting -- and last night's win qualifies -- it's hard to imagine SAS not moving on.
Heat-Celtics Game 3: The question is whether the Celtics have anything left after basically giving it everything in Game 2 and still losing. Maybe they get the home-court bump... but does it really matter?
Spelling Bee: As always, gripping drama from talented kids facing more pressure than any athlete in "real" sports. One of my favorite events of the year.
Hmm: Should UCLA have given Diddy's son a scholarship? Let's flip that: Should Diddy have taken the scholarship for his son or offered to pay? I say the latter -- Diddy can more than afford it.
Hmm, part 2: Is it wrong that Vandy football coach James Franklin wants to know if his potential assistant coaches are married to attractive women, because that's his proxy for whether they can recruit? It's amusing but focuses on the wrong alpha quality for assistant coaches -- salesmanship matters, of course, but I want relentlessness even more. The real question is: Is the assistant coach so focused on football that he isn't married? Or had to get divorced? Or neglects his family? That's harsh, but the reality. I know that many head coaches look for "family men" because that is some sort of indication of their groundedness, but it's a facade -- if an assistant coach said "Hey, Coach, I need to head home early to tuck my kids in and/or have dinner with my wife," he'd be an ex-assistant coach shortly.
This weekend's Must-See: Stanley Cup Game 2, tomorrow night.
My daughter turns 3 months old today -- happy "birthday," Lucy! If you have kids, you know that in the first year, those quarterly milestones are big ones. Takeaway: 3 kids is a handful, but the transition from 2 to 3 wasn't as hard as the transition from 1 to 2.
This weekend is also my Harvard Business School 10th reunion -- I'm not there, unfortunately, but I might have a bit to say about it later.
Enjoy your weekend -- pop over to Quickish for some great reads on the Thunder and a ton of great reads from yesterday, if you missed them.
-- D.S.
Heat-Celtics Game 3: The question is whether the Celtics have anything left after basically giving it everything in Game 2 and still losing. Maybe they get the home-court bump... but does it really matter?
Spelling Bee: As always, gripping drama from talented kids facing more pressure than any athlete in "real" sports. One of my favorite events of the year.
Hmm: Should UCLA have given Diddy's son a scholarship? Let's flip that: Should Diddy have taken the scholarship for his son or offered to pay? I say the latter -- Diddy can more than afford it.
Hmm, part 2: Is it wrong that Vandy football coach James Franklin wants to know if his potential assistant coaches are married to attractive women, because that's his proxy for whether they can recruit? It's amusing but focuses on the wrong alpha quality for assistant coaches -- salesmanship matters, of course, but I want relentlessness even more. The real question is: Is the assistant coach so focused on football that he isn't married? Or had to get divorced? Or neglects his family? That's harsh, but the reality. I know that many head coaches look for "family men" because that is some sort of indication of their groundedness, but it's a facade -- if an assistant coach said "Hey, Coach, I need to head home early to tuck my kids in and/or have dinner with my wife," he'd be an ex-assistant coach shortly.
This weekend's Must-See: Stanley Cup Game 2, tomorrow night.
My daughter turns 3 months old today -- happy "birthday," Lucy! If you have kids, you know that in the first year, those quarterly milestones are big ones. Takeaway: 3 kids is a handful, but the transition from 2 to 3 wasn't as hard as the transition from 1 to 2.
This weekend is also my Harvard Business School 10th reunion -- I'm not there, unfortunately, but I might have a bit to say about it later.
Enjoy your weekend -- pop over to Quickish for some great reads on the Thunder and a ton of great reads from yesterday, if you missed them.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
05/30 (Spurs) Quickie
At this point, I am fully rooting for the Spurs to go 16-0 en route to a title, if only for the novelty -- to go along with the jaw-dropping excellence.
(That it would imply the Spurs sweeping the Heat in the Finals to get there is just a bonus. I think the Spurs will be extra-motivated to destroy the Heat in the Finals, because it is the ultimate validation of the Spurs' awesomeness, which has been largely overlooked throughout the Duncan dynasty.)
Stanley Cup Finals: My 6-year-old son Gabe is picking/rooting for the Kings; my 3-year-old son Jonah (who is the one who actually plays ice hockey) is picking/rooting for the Devils. I love the fact that it's a toss-up, particularly between two teams that two months ago, no one thought would get here.
NBA Lottery: For we Wizards fans, it's the perennial event that is a proxy for our "playoffs." We get unusually into it -- almost always let down. Let's be clear: The team that lands Anthony Davis gets the kind of super-elite talent that is necessary to be an NBA title contender; everyone else at the top of the draft gets a nice piece -- maybe even a starter -- but nothing that will transform a team like Davis will.
USMNT vs. Brazil: Right up the road from me at FedEx Field. Fully expect a Brazil W, but in a friendly, the US has pulled off bigger shockers in the past (like Spain a few years ago). Should be a fun one.
MLB: The Rangers were already the odds-on favorite to win the World Series -- signing Roy Oswalt only firms that up. Meanwhile, the Phillies get the brunt of going all-in when the title window is open -- Halladay breaking down was unexpected and entirely painful for a team trying to keep it together to hold off charges from the rest of the division, which have pushed the Phils down already.
RIP: Condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of CBSSports.com's Craig Stanke, who died suddenly and tragically -- he had been in online sports since the mid-1990s (the SportsLine days), making him one of the real early believers and practitioners in the medium. So sad.
-- D.S.
(That it would imply the Spurs sweeping the Heat in the Finals to get there is just a bonus. I think the Spurs will be extra-motivated to destroy the Heat in the Finals, because it is the ultimate validation of the Spurs' awesomeness, which has been largely overlooked throughout the Duncan dynasty.)
Stanley Cup Finals: My 6-year-old son Gabe is picking/rooting for the Kings; my 3-year-old son Jonah (who is the one who actually plays ice hockey) is picking/rooting for the Devils. I love the fact that it's a toss-up, particularly between two teams that two months ago, no one thought would get here.
NBA Lottery: For we Wizards fans, it's the perennial event that is a proxy for our "playoffs." We get unusually into it -- almost always let down. Let's be clear: The team that lands Anthony Davis gets the kind of super-elite talent that is necessary to be an NBA title contender; everyone else at the top of the draft gets a nice piece -- maybe even a starter -- but nothing that will transform a team like Davis will.
USMNT vs. Brazil: Right up the road from me at FedEx Field. Fully expect a Brazil W, but in a friendly, the US has pulled off bigger shockers in the past (like Spain a few years ago). Should be a fun one.
MLB: The Rangers were already the odds-on favorite to win the World Series -- signing Roy Oswalt only firms that up. Meanwhile, the Phillies get the brunt of going all-in when the title window is open -- Halladay breaking down was unexpected and entirely painful for a team trying to keep it together to hold off charges from the rest of the division, which have pushed the Phils down already.
RIP: Condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of CBSSports.com's Craig Stanke, who died suddenly and tragically -- he had been in online sports since the mid-1990s (the SportsLine days), making him one of the real early believers and practitioners in the medium. So sad.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
05/29 (LeBron Laughs) Quickie
LeBron gets the first laugh: I need to talk about LeBron's laugh, which -- to me -- is by far the biggest story of the day, the kernel of authenticity wrapped in mocking wrapped in the way the Heat leveled the Celtics in Game 1 in a way that seemed entirely routine. Here's the clip:
I'm fascinated by this for a few reasons:
Rather than make LeBron look like a jerk, it made him look triumphant. Obviously, this is in large part because he did it in Kevin Garnett's face, KG being a compulsive asshole on the court throughout his entire career. KG mugged menacingly at LeBron... and LeBron laughed at him. Not in his face -- not quite -- but more like close enough to his face to make us know, yet far enough away to be entirely dismissive. KG looked pathetic; LeBron looked Olympic, like he knew the series was already over.
For me, it was one of the most fascinating on-court moments of LeBron's career -- clearly, he hasn't won anything of substance yet (if "substance" is defined as "championship"), but when we talk about LeBron assuming an alpha role en route to that championship, this is the kind of thing you expect to see.
Let me reiterate: LeBron wasn't being a jerk. He was diminishing a rival to the point where KG's signature scowling now feels like a joke, a punchline.
It was necessary that LeBron pull this off against KG and the Celtics -- if he did it against the mediocre Rockets or the lowly Wizards or even the rising Thunder, he is a bully. Aside from a very specific nostalgia springing from the idea these all-time great Boston players are on their last gasps of relevancy, most fans loathe them and are thrilled to see them mitigated, even if the typically loathed LeBron is doing the mitigating. Few have the basis to laugh KG into NBA oblivion -- LeBron does.
We mocked KG and the Celtics with LeBron, and that is an ultimate result for LeBron.
-- D.S.
I'm fascinated by this for a few reasons:
Rather than make LeBron look like a jerk, it made him look triumphant. Obviously, this is in large part because he did it in Kevin Garnett's face, KG being a compulsive asshole on the court throughout his entire career. KG mugged menacingly at LeBron... and LeBron laughed at him. Not in his face -- not quite -- but more like close enough to his face to make us know, yet far enough away to be entirely dismissive. KG looked pathetic; LeBron looked Olympic, like he knew the series was already over.
For me, it was one of the most fascinating on-court moments of LeBron's career -- clearly, he hasn't won anything of substance yet (if "substance" is defined as "championship"), but when we talk about LeBron assuming an alpha role en route to that championship, this is the kind of thing you expect to see.
Let me reiterate: LeBron wasn't being a jerk. He was diminishing a rival to the point where KG's signature scowling now feels like a joke, a punchline.
It was necessary that LeBron pull this off against KG and the Celtics -- if he did it against the mediocre Rockets or the lowly Wizards or even the rising Thunder, he is a bully. Aside from a very specific nostalgia springing from the idea these all-time great Boston players are on their last gasps of relevancy, most fans loathe them and are thrilled to see them mitigated, even if the typically loathed LeBron is doing the mitigating. Few have the basis to laugh KG into NBA oblivion -- LeBron does.
We mocked KG and the Celtics with LeBron, and that is an ultimate result for LeBron.
-- D.S.
Monday, May 28, 2012
05/28 (Memorial Day) Quickie
First and foremost: Honoring everyone who gave their life in service to the country -- and a special thought for their families who carry their memories every day and, especially, today.
"I need a little bit more dose of nasty": That's Spurs coach Gregg Popovich before the start of the 4th quarter last night, when the Spurs took over -- and overtook -- the Thunder. As it turns out, the X-factor is that OKC didn't see Manu Ginobili this season... until last night.
Franchitti wins Indy 500: With three career wins and wins in two of the last three years, we're in the Franchitti dynasty (along with the gratuitous reference to Ashley Judd).
Northwestern wins women's lax title -- again (again): That's 7 national titles in the past 8 years. I tweeted this out yesterday -- the NU women's lax team is the closest thing we have in sports to Wooden's UCLA dynasty.
Enjoy your Memorial Day. Give Quickish a drop-by today for the best takes on Spurs-Thunder, Franchitti and more.
-- D.S.
"I need a little bit more dose of nasty": That's Spurs coach Gregg Popovich before the start of the 4th quarter last night, when the Spurs took over -- and overtook -- the Thunder. As it turns out, the X-factor is that OKC didn't see Manu Ginobili this season... until last night.
Franchitti wins Indy 500: With three career wins and wins in two of the last three years, we're in the Franchitti dynasty (along with the gratuitous reference to Ashley Judd).
Northwestern wins women's lax title -- again (again): That's 7 national titles in the past 8 years. I tweeted this out yesterday -- the NU women's lax team is the closest thing we have in sports to Wooden's UCLA dynasty.
Enjoy your Memorial Day. Give Quickish a drop-by today for the best takes on Spurs-Thunder, Franchitti and more.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
05/23 (Heat) Quickie
And the world returns to its normal axis, as the Heat dismantle the Pacers and effectively end any shot Indiana had at winning this series. Dexter Pittman's wink -- caught on camera -- after he gave Lance Stephenson a shot to the neck at the end of the game is why he'll probably sit Game 6, not that it matters.
More:
*The NFLPA's collusion lawsuit against the NFL is a joke.
*Larry Bird calls the Pacers "soft": You're not helping.
*The Magic would be a better fit for NBA martinet Jerry Sloan than the Bobcats.
*Kings advance to Stanley Cup finals: Yeah, that would-be penalty was a somewhat dirty move, but if you're Phoenix, you've got to deal and rally. They were going to lose the series anyway, let's be honest.
Sorry for the short (and way-late) post today.
Tons of great stuff on Quickish today (and yesterday, too). Click here for a quick-hit version or just head over to the site.
-- D.S.
More:
*The NFLPA's collusion lawsuit against the NFL is a joke.
*Larry Bird calls the Pacers "soft": You're not helping.
*The Magic would be a better fit for NBA martinet Jerry Sloan than the Bobcats.
*Kings advance to Stanley Cup finals: Yeah, that would-be penalty was a somewhat dirty move, but if you're Phoenix, you've got to deal and rally. They were going to lose the series anyway, let's be honest.
Sorry for the short (and way-late) post today.
Tons of great stuff on Quickish today (and yesterday, too). Click here for a quick-hit version or just head over to the site.
-- D.S.
Monday, May 21, 2012
05/21 (LeBron) Quickie
What I don't understand is pundits who tell me/us that I/we have to like LeBron.
Why can't I simultaneously appreciate that LeBron is jaw-droppingly awesome -- as he was yesterday afternoon -- yet still root against him?
Do these pundits also insist I root for the Yankees? How about Duke hoops? How about the Patriots?
The history of sports is loaded with examples of otherworldly players that we fans appreciate but are otherwise allowed to root against. LeBron is no different.
Meanwhile:
*Dwyane Wade: Nothing like a brilliant bounce-back game to implode the previous day's narrative. (Am I still allowed to root for the Pacers to win the series? No? That's OK: I'm fine watching the Heat get past Indy then get past the Celtics before being dismembered by the Spurs.)
*Spurs: Four, four. The West finals against OKC will be epic, but is it hard to envision the Spurs sweeping again? They probably won't, but at some point -- even if you don't like the Spurs or want to see them win yet another title in the NBA's Duncan Dynasty -- you kind of want them to go 16-0, simply because we haven't seen that.
*NHL: I don't think the Kings have much to worry about. The Devils, on the other hand, should be worried that they are out-playing the Rangers yet still stymied by Lundqvist. If you believe in process over outcome, it should eventually even out -- but (a) not in a short series and (b) not with Lundqvist playing out of his mind.
*Get more: A bunch of great Heat-related reads at Quickish this morning, along with an awesome longishread about the star of "Born to Run" (which was the focus of a Quickish tip from Outside.com last month, but is re-done by the New York Times in fine fashion today). Check it all out here.
-- D.S.
Why can't I simultaneously appreciate that LeBron is jaw-droppingly awesome -- as he was yesterday afternoon -- yet still root against him?
Do these pundits also insist I root for the Yankees? How about Duke hoops? How about the Patriots?
The history of sports is loaded with examples of otherworldly players that we fans appreciate but are otherwise allowed to root against. LeBron is no different.
Meanwhile:
*Dwyane Wade: Nothing like a brilliant bounce-back game to implode the previous day's narrative. (Am I still allowed to root for the Pacers to win the series? No? That's OK: I'm fine watching the Heat get past Indy then get past the Celtics before being dismembered by the Spurs.)
*Spurs: Four, four. The West finals against OKC will be epic, but is it hard to envision the Spurs sweeping again? They probably won't, but at some point -- even if you don't like the Spurs or want to see them win yet another title in the NBA's Duncan Dynasty -- you kind of want them to go 16-0, simply because we haven't seen that.
*NHL: I don't think the Kings have much to worry about. The Devils, on the other hand, should be worried that they are out-playing the Rangers yet still stymied by Lundqvist. If you believe in process over outcome, it should eventually even out -- but (a) not in a short series and (b) not with Lundqvist playing out of his mind.
*Get more: A bunch of great Heat-related reads at Quickish this morning, along with an awesome longishread about the star of "Born to Run" (which was the focus of a Quickish tip from Outside.com last month, but is re-done by the New York Times in fine fashion today). Check it all out here.
-- D.S.
Friday, May 18, 2012
05/18 (Friday) Quickie
*Let's not downplay D-Wade's mid-game sideline rant at coach Erik Spoelstra. That felt like a defining moment of the Heat falling short of a championship -- possibly falling short of even making the Eastern Conference Finals. (Chris Bosh: Heat MVP. Chew on that.)
*The Spurs are awesome, full stop. They have a superstar, regular stars, role players, luck, design, system, a Hall of Fame coach, a Hall of Fame GM. It is, like most championship teams, absolutely not a replicable model for other franchises. (Indiana, however....)
*SEC and Big 12 pair up for a bowl game to rival (or eclipse) the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. Brilliant. Not as brilliant as the SEC forming its own billion-dollar 8-team playoff that doesn't include any other teams, but not bad given they don't seem willing to go that far. (The Big 12 doesn't need Florida State, but they should sign them up anyway.)
*Kerry Wood is retiring: His career was derailed with injuries, but he will always be remembered for the 20-K game, which Bill James once argued was the single-greatest pitching performance in baseball history. My old ESPN.com editor David Schoenfield made a compelling case that Wood's legacy is alerting teams to over-using young pitchers' arms, which has led to much better pitching (and much more hamstrung offense -- an unintended consequence, I'm sure).
*Preakness pick: the NYT's Joe Drape is picking Went The Day Well. The real questions are: (1) Will I'll Have Another pick up another leg of the Triple Crown? (No.) (2) Will Bodemeister finish what he started in the Derby and set up a rubber match at Belmont? (No.) (3) Then who will win? (Creative Cause, with Bodemeister to place and I'll Have Another to show.)
Have a great weekend. Plenty of great reads on Quickish today, with more coming this weekend. Check it out!
-- D.S.
*The Spurs are awesome, full stop. They have a superstar, regular stars, role players, luck, design, system, a Hall of Fame coach, a Hall of Fame GM. It is, like most championship teams, absolutely not a replicable model for other franchises. (Indiana, however....)
*SEC and Big 12 pair up for a bowl game to rival (or eclipse) the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. Brilliant. Not as brilliant as the SEC forming its own billion-dollar 8-team playoff that doesn't include any other teams, but not bad given they don't seem willing to go that far. (The Big 12 doesn't need Florida State, but they should sign them up anyway.)
*Kerry Wood is retiring: His career was derailed with injuries, but he will always be remembered for the 20-K game, which Bill James once argued was the single-greatest pitching performance in baseball history. My old ESPN.com editor David Schoenfield made a compelling case that Wood's legacy is alerting teams to over-using young pitchers' arms, which has led to much better pitching (and much more hamstrung offense -- an unintended consequence, I'm sure).
*Preakness pick: the NYT's Joe Drape is picking Went The Day Well. The real questions are: (1) Will I'll Have Another pick up another leg of the Triple Crown? (No.) (2) Will Bodemeister finish what he started in the Derby and set up a rubber match at Belmont? (No.) (3) Then who will win? (Creative Cause, with Bodemeister to place and I'll Have Another to show.)
Have a great weekend. Plenty of great reads on Quickish today, with more coming this weekend. Check it out!
-- D.S.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
05/17 (Thunder) Quickie
Thunder d. Lakers: For all the offensive pyrotechnics of Durant and Westbrook and Harden, last night's comeback close-out felt like a defining moment for the Thunder.
(As for the Lakers' final shot? Kobe was supposed to get the ball, but MWP saw Blake open in the corner for an entirely reasonable shot. It was the right play to make -- but you can't disprove a negative, which is why Kobe's fans are howling this morning (the way Kobe was shooting at the end of the game, he had far less of a chance of making a contested shot as Blake had of making an uncontested one).
Celtics Take Game 3: I'm not a huge KG fan, but I am absolutely loving his renaissance as an elite talent in his late-30s.
LeBron/Heat/Bosh: Yes, it's harder for LeBron to play power forward than it is for him to play small forward on the perimeter. But it's not like he doesn't have the physique to pull it off -- he's like twice the size of Kevin Love. I'd love to see him go 20/20, but it sounds like he might not be up for the challenge.
NHL: Fantastic (arguably must-have) win for the Devils last night. Totally changes the feel of the series.
NFL: Hard to understand why the Saints aren't giving Drew Brees what he wants.
MLB: You know Pujols is having a tough season when every home run -- and he's now up to all of two of them -- is the lead MLB story of the night.
Preakness: I'll say Bodemeister wins the rematch with I'll Have Another, who won't even place.
Pop on over to Quickish to catch up on the best takes on all these stories, plus some really great other reads.
-- D.S.
(As for the Lakers' final shot? Kobe was supposed to get the ball, but MWP saw Blake open in the corner for an entirely reasonable shot. It was the right play to make -- but you can't disprove a negative, which is why Kobe's fans are howling this morning (the way Kobe was shooting at the end of the game, he had far less of a chance of making a contested shot as Blake had of making an uncontested one).
Celtics Take Game 3: I'm not a huge KG fan, but I am absolutely loving his renaissance as an elite talent in his late-30s.
LeBron/Heat/Bosh: Yes, it's harder for LeBron to play power forward than it is for him to play small forward on the perimeter. But it's not like he doesn't have the physique to pull it off -- he's like twice the size of Kevin Love. I'd love to see him go 20/20, but it sounds like he might not be up for the challenge.
NHL: Fantastic (arguably must-have) win for the Devils last night. Totally changes the feel of the series.
NFL: Hard to understand why the Saints aren't giving Drew Brees what he wants.
MLB: You know Pujols is having a tough season when every home run -- and he's now up to all of two of them -- is the lead MLB story of the night.
Preakness: I'll say Bodemeister wins the rematch with I'll Have Another, who won't even place.
Pop on over to Quickish to catch up on the best takes on all these stories, plus some really great other reads.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
05/16 (LeBron) Quickie
Gabe turns 6 today. For those of you who have been around since the day he arrived in 2006 (announced in the Quickie, I believe), thank you.
He gets his presents tonight, but this morning we gave him his first gift -- a Cam Newton t-shirt jersey. Newton is his favorite player. He didn't even have it on before he did Cam's "Superman" move in celebration. I think it'll be impossible for me not to buy him a real Newton Panthers jersey this fall.
(He is also getting a half-dozen packs of various sport cards -- just in case you were wondering if analog sports fandom was dead. It's not -- turns out 6-year-olds are as fascinated by the facts and data on the back of a sports card as they have been for three generations.)
More:
*Heat lose to the Pacers: Chris Bosh turns out to matter... a lot. But the story of the game was LeBron missing those free throws at the end, then standing around as Mario Chalmers took the would-be game-tying shot at the buzzer. I understand why Spoelstra would use LeBron as a decoy to get the cleanest shot possible, but it sure doesn't look good. If the Heat lose to the Pacers -- and at this point it's 50/50 (which is a lot more tenuous than it was this time yesterday) -- then at least they have the built-in excuse that Bosh wasn't playing, no different than the Bulls getting bounced without Rose.
*Spurs win, handily. It's their title to lose. Today's best read is a sneak peek of this week's SI, which has a great profile of Tim Duncan by Chris Ballard.
*Head over to Quickish for some really great reads about the biggest topics.
-- D.S.
He gets his presents tonight, but this morning we gave him his first gift -- a Cam Newton t-shirt jersey. Newton is his favorite player. He didn't even have it on before he did Cam's "Superman" move in celebration. I think it'll be impossible for me not to buy him a real Newton Panthers jersey this fall.
(He is also getting a half-dozen packs of various sport cards -- just in case you were wondering if analog sports fandom was dead. It's not -- turns out 6-year-olds are as fascinated by the facts and data on the back of a sports card as they have been for three generations.)
More:
*Heat lose to the Pacers: Chris Bosh turns out to matter... a lot. But the story of the game was LeBron missing those free throws at the end, then standing around as Mario Chalmers took the would-be game-tying shot at the buzzer. I understand why Spoelstra would use LeBron as a decoy to get the cleanest shot possible, but it sure doesn't look good. If the Heat lose to the Pacers -- and at this point it's 50/50 (which is a lot more tenuous than it was this time yesterday) -- then at least they have the built-in excuse that Bosh wasn't playing, no different than the Bulls getting bounced without Rose.
*Spurs win, handily. It's their title to lose. Today's best read is a sneak peek of this week's SI, which has a great profile of Tim Duncan by Chris Ballard.
*Head over to Quickish for some really great reads about the biggest topics.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
05/15 (Thunder) Quickie
Gabe turns 6 tomorrow (already?), and I realized too late that I should have pulled him out of kindergarten today to go to the Nats' 1:05 start (featuring Strasburg, no less). Bad parenting.
NBA: I'm not sure the Thunder are going to win the NBA title -- the Spurs are going to be a handful -- but I am sure that they are going to wallop the Lakers so badly it will end the Kobe Dynasty there.
Bosh out indefinitely: They don't need Bosh to beat the Pacers. They don't need Bosh to beat the Celtics (or Sixers). They need Bosh to beat the Spurs. So rest him until the Finals. (Bonus: If they fall short, his injury is a convenient excuse.)
NHL: So the Devils aren't as good as the Caps, is that what we're saying after last night? (Meanwhile, Dale Hunter was never going to stick around -- they'll be hard-pressed to find another coach who can get the team to the brink of the conference finals.)
MLB: Bryce Harper's first career HR. Unclear any player has had a more compelling first two weeks at the MLB level than Harper. (That said: With Kemp on the DL, the best show in the league remains, clearly, Josh Hamilton -- although Harper is a pretty close second.)
NFL: As someone trying to get back to fighting weight (via Weight Watchers, just like Charles Barkley!), I appreciate Donovan McNabb's effort to slim down and re-find his relevancy.
CFB: Would anyone miss Florida State in the ACC if they left for the Big 12? (Unclear why the Big 12 isn't galloping to sign FSU, which would bring the league Florida cachet. They might be nervous about getting crushed by the interloper -- as they should fear about Holgorsen's WVU.)
On my must-read list for the summer: Smart Football's upcoming book "The Essential Smart Football" -- Chris Brown is phenomenal, and he's self-publishing, so worth your support. Get info here.
Love that ESPN is re-upping the "30 for 30" documentary series -- and particularly that they are expanding to digital short films that work better online.
-- D.S.
NBA: I'm not sure the Thunder are going to win the NBA title -- the Spurs are going to be a handful -- but I am sure that they are going to wallop the Lakers so badly it will end the Kobe Dynasty there.
Bosh out indefinitely: They don't need Bosh to beat the Pacers. They don't need Bosh to beat the Celtics (or Sixers). They need Bosh to beat the Spurs. So rest him until the Finals. (Bonus: If they fall short, his injury is a convenient excuse.)
NHL: So the Devils aren't as good as the Caps, is that what we're saying after last night? (Meanwhile, Dale Hunter was never going to stick around -- they'll be hard-pressed to find another coach who can get the team to the brink of the conference finals.)
MLB: Bryce Harper's first career HR. Unclear any player has had a more compelling first two weeks at the MLB level than Harper. (That said: With Kemp on the DL, the best show in the league remains, clearly, Josh Hamilton -- although Harper is a pretty close second.)
NFL: As someone trying to get back to fighting weight (via Weight Watchers, just like Charles Barkley!), I appreciate Donovan McNabb's effort to slim down and re-find his relevancy.
CFB: Would anyone miss Florida State in the ACC if they left for the Big 12? (Unclear why the Big 12 isn't galloping to sign FSU, which would bring the league Florida cachet. They might be nervous about getting crushed by the interloper -- as they should fear about Holgorsen's WVU.)
On my must-read list for the summer: Smart Football's upcoming book "The Essential Smart Football" -- Chris Brown is phenomenal, and he's self-publishing, so worth your support. Get info here.
Love that ESPN is re-upping the "30 for 30" documentary series -- and particularly that they are expanding to digital short films that work better online.
-- D.S.
Friday, May 11, 2012
05/11 (Mother's Day) Quickie
Happy mother's day to all the moms out there, especially my own mom and the mom of my kids -- having the third kid in March makes this mother's day all the more awesome.
Very quickly:
*Kobe: Not happy after puking his guts out, then watching his teammates lay down against the Nuggets in Denver last night, forcing a Game 7. Either his teammates respond on Saturday night -- dramatic in its own right -- or they don't, and it's time to blow up the Kobe Lakers dynasty.
*76ers vanquish the 1-seed Bulls (and the Celtics shrug off the pesky Hawks): I don't think the Sixers have much of a chance against Boston, and I think we're all looking forward to a Celtics-Heat East finals. (BTW: Love Iguodala making his free throws in the 4th quarter, particularly in the final seconds, after struggling with FTs for his career.) For the Bulls, it's just One Of Those Things. The point that they drive themselves to disability through a maniacally intense regular season falls apart as soon as you acknowledge that Rose's knee injury wasn't from overuse, but a freak occurrence.
*Game of the weekend: Caps-Rangers Game 7.
*Great weekend reading: Chris Ballard on Kobe's dad, Joe.
-- D.S.
Very quickly:
*Kobe: Not happy after puking his guts out, then watching his teammates lay down against the Nuggets in Denver last night, forcing a Game 7. Either his teammates respond on Saturday night -- dramatic in its own right -- or they don't, and it's time to blow up the Kobe Lakers dynasty.
*76ers vanquish the 1-seed Bulls (and the Celtics shrug off the pesky Hawks): I don't think the Sixers have much of a chance against Boston, and I think we're all looking forward to a Celtics-Heat East finals. (BTW: Love Iguodala making his free throws in the 4th quarter, particularly in the final seconds, after struggling with FTs for his career.) For the Bulls, it's just One Of Those Things. The point that they drive themselves to disability through a maniacally intense regular season falls apart as soon as you acknowledge that Rose's knee injury wasn't from overuse, but a freak occurrence.
*Game of the weekend: Caps-Rangers Game 7.
*Great weekend reading: Chris Ballard on Kobe's dad, Joe.
-- D.S.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
05/10 (Expectations) Quickie
We spend a lot of time here talking about expectations.
Is it a "good" season for the Knicks that without Lin (and without Shumpert), they made it to the playoffs, even if they lost in the first round?
Does it matter that they lost to the best team in the league -- a team that a full-strength Knicks team couldn't beat 4 out of 7 under any circumstances?
Would Knicks fans rather have missed the playoffs altogether? (As a Wizards fan, I will tell you that's not a great option.)
I think the expectations for the Knicks -- at least as a 7- or 8-seed -- was that they would lose in the first round. At full strength, you'd hope they would make it an interesting 7-game series (as other presumptive first-round losers are doing across the rest of the league).
But they weren't at full strength. A sweep was inevitable. Thus, losing in 5 -- at least getting the thrill of that Game 4 win at home -- was slightly better than expectations.
(I'm not sure what happens to those expectations next year: If Lin is healthy and Shumpert is healthy and the rest of the team stays healthy and they have a good coach... they might end up with the 4-seed -- maybe 3 -- in the East, which means the expectation is "Get to the conference semifinals before losing." It's not exactly "Four, Four, Four.")
Meanwhile:
The Caps! Now HERE is a team that has surpassed expectations, wildly. I think most folks didn't give them a chance to beat Boston in the first round -- and certainly not to beat the Bruins in Boston in Game 7. Now they have taken the Eastern Conference's top seed to a toss-up 7th game, with all the momentum back from the gut-wrenching Game 5 loss. It is fine to madly hope for a Game 7 win, but if the team loses at Madison Square Garden, it will be hard to feel like fans were robbed (which is decidedly NOT the case in previous years where the team has fallen short and/or choked).
Correction! In yesterday's post, I assumed away that the Eastern champ would win the Stanley Cup over whichever team from the West it faced. Reader Zach Smythe -- alas, no relation to the Cup MVP award namesake -- called me out on it, reminding me the Kings had blitzed through the top two seeds in the West and were very much a viable candidate to win it all. I stand corrected. Thanks, Zach!
Grizzlies-Clippers! The Grizz send it back to LA for Game 6, down 3-2 but certainly capable of winning the next game and forcing a Game 7 in Memphis. So what's more difficult: Coming back from 27 points down in less than a quarter... or coming back from being down 3-1 in a series? Seems like 144 minutes of win-or-go-home is more arduous than 10 minutes of frenzied comeback.
The most interesting thing I read yesterday: Greg Oden's interview with Grantland's Mark Titus. It's really hard not to root for Oden to at least get a chance to play relatively healthy for a little while.
Tonight's must-see: All those NBA Game 6s. Chicago tries to stave off rare 1-seed elimination at Philly, Atlanta (newly rejuvinated by the return of Al Horford, one of my favorite players) tries to stave off elimination at Boston and -- in the late one -- the Nuggets will try to use home-court advantage (and the -- I can't believe I'm saying this -- "JaVale McGee X-Factor") to stave off elimination against the Lakers. Would love to see all of these go 7.
-- D.S.
Is it a "good" season for the Knicks that without Lin (and without Shumpert), they made it to the playoffs, even if they lost in the first round?
Does it matter that they lost to the best team in the league -- a team that a full-strength Knicks team couldn't beat 4 out of 7 under any circumstances?
Would Knicks fans rather have missed the playoffs altogether? (As a Wizards fan, I will tell you that's not a great option.)
I think the expectations for the Knicks -- at least as a 7- or 8-seed -- was that they would lose in the first round. At full strength, you'd hope they would make it an interesting 7-game series (as other presumptive first-round losers are doing across the rest of the league).
But they weren't at full strength. A sweep was inevitable. Thus, losing in 5 -- at least getting the thrill of that Game 4 win at home -- was slightly better than expectations.
(I'm not sure what happens to those expectations next year: If Lin is healthy and Shumpert is healthy and the rest of the team stays healthy and they have a good coach... they might end up with the 4-seed -- maybe 3 -- in the East, which means the expectation is "Get to the conference semifinals before losing." It's not exactly "Four, Four, Four.")
Meanwhile:
The Caps! Now HERE is a team that has surpassed expectations, wildly. I think most folks didn't give them a chance to beat Boston in the first round -- and certainly not to beat the Bruins in Boston in Game 7. Now they have taken the Eastern Conference's top seed to a toss-up 7th game, with all the momentum back from the gut-wrenching Game 5 loss. It is fine to madly hope for a Game 7 win, but if the team loses at Madison Square Garden, it will be hard to feel like fans were robbed (which is decidedly NOT the case in previous years where the team has fallen short and/or choked).
Correction! In yesterday's post, I assumed away that the Eastern champ would win the Stanley Cup over whichever team from the West it faced. Reader Zach Smythe -- alas, no relation to the Cup MVP award namesake -- called me out on it, reminding me the Kings had blitzed through the top two seeds in the West and were very much a viable candidate to win it all. I stand corrected. Thanks, Zach!
Grizzlies-Clippers! The Grizz send it back to LA for Game 6, down 3-2 but certainly capable of winning the next game and forcing a Game 7 in Memphis. So what's more difficult: Coming back from 27 points down in less than a quarter... or coming back from being down 3-1 in a series? Seems like 144 minutes of win-or-go-home is more arduous than 10 minutes of frenzied comeback.
The most interesting thing I read yesterday: Greg Oden's interview with Grantland's Mark Titus. It's really hard not to root for Oden to at least get a chance to play relatively healthy for a little while.
Tonight's must-see: All those NBA Game 6s. Chicago tries to stave off rare 1-seed elimination at Philly, Atlanta (newly rejuvinated by the return of Al Horford, one of my favorite players) tries to stave off elimination at Boston and -- in the late one -- the Nuggets will try to use home-court advantage (and the -- I can't believe I'm saying this -- "JaVale McGee X-Factor") to stave off elimination against the Lakers. Would love to see all of these go 7.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
05/09 (Hamilton) Quickie
Josh Hamilton is on my fantasy team and yet I am near the bottom of the league standings -- I should take a lesson from the Rangers: Hitting is great, but great pitching matters just as much (particularly when you play in a 5x5 head-to-head league).
My favorite Hamiltonian stat: There have been fewer players (16) to hit 4 HR in a game than there have been perfect games (21).
Should the Rangers (over)pay him? When healthy, he is clearly worth the kind of money that has been given to Prince Fielder and Joey Votto. But he is 31, he averages less than 120 games per season and he's got some mileage on his baggage car.
I could see the Rangers being willing to give him more money per year for less years -- I could also see a team with cash and a sense of urgency giving him even more (if not for the Nats' brutal deal for Werth, they could have been huge players, I think).
The Rangers have a lot of money. They have a willingness to spend it. They have a wide-open window to try to win a championship. They have a triple crown contender in the lineup. What would you do?
More:
JaVale McGee: As a long-suffering Wizards fan, I am fairly expert at the inconsistency of McGee. Here's what you need to know: As the 6th-best player on a playoff team, he will thrive -- as an almost child-like knucklehead, he needs structure. Where he got into trouble in DC was that he was expected to be a franchise player, surrounded by no structure. He isn't a player worthy of being paid like a near-superstar. If a team makes that mistake, they will figure it out pretty quickly.
The Hawks and Bulls both push their series to Game 6: I could see both series going 7, which would at least make them interesting. No such luck for the Heat-Knicks.
NHL: The Devils roll on to the Eastern finals. I think the Eastern winner wins the Cup, and it's easy to envision the scorching Devils getting past a spent Caps-Rangers survivor.
Tonight's must-see: Caps-Rangers Game 6. Wish I could be at Verizon Center for that. I'll content myself screaming from the couch with my kids.
-- D.S.
My favorite Hamiltonian stat: There have been fewer players (16) to hit 4 HR in a game than there have been perfect games (21).
Should the Rangers (over)pay him? When healthy, he is clearly worth the kind of money that has been given to Prince Fielder and Joey Votto. But he is 31, he averages less than 120 games per season and he's got some mileage on his baggage car.
I could see the Rangers being willing to give him more money per year for less years -- I could also see a team with cash and a sense of urgency giving him even more (if not for the Nats' brutal deal for Werth, they could have been huge players, I think).
The Rangers have a lot of money. They have a willingness to spend it. They have a wide-open window to try to win a championship. They have a triple crown contender in the lineup. What would you do?
More:
JaVale McGee: As a long-suffering Wizards fan, I am fairly expert at the inconsistency of McGee. Here's what you need to know: As the 6th-best player on a playoff team, he will thrive -- as an almost child-like knucklehead, he needs structure. Where he got into trouble in DC was that he was expected to be a franchise player, surrounded by no structure. He isn't a player worthy of being paid like a near-superstar. If a team makes that mistake, they will figure it out pretty quickly.
The Hawks and Bulls both push their series to Game 6: I could see both series going 7, which would at least make them interesting. No such luck for the Heat-Knicks.
NHL: The Devils roll on to the Eastern finals. I think the Eastern winner wins the Cup, and it's easy to envision the scorching Devils getting past a spent Caps-Rangers survivor.
Tonight's must-see: Caps-Rangers Game 6. Wish I could be at Verizon Center for that. I'll content myself screaming from the couch with my kids.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
05/08 (Rangers) Quickie
The downside of going all-in on the Capitals since my DC homecoming is nights like last night. I thought the 3OT loss was bad -- losing a lead with 6.6 seconds to go in the game... then losing the game a couple minutes into OT... yeesh, that's rough. In a blink, it went from one of the greatest wins in franchise history to one of its worst losses. That's playoff hockey. Wednesday's Game 6 is a must-see.
NBA: As noted here endlessly over the years, expectations are everything. In the case of the Clippers, making the playoffs was great. Winning a first-round series would be incredible. And they should enjoy it now, because the Spurs are going to break them in half.
MLB: Cole Hamels suspended 5 games -- not even one start -- for intentionally hitting Bryce Harper on Sunday night. Baseball's "code" is a funny (even silly) thing, and it became yet another moment for Harper to distinguish himself. He took the HBP in stride, then made Hamels pay when he stole home. Then, Harper had nothing to say about it after the game, as opposed to Hamels, who bragged about it. The punishment is toothless, obviously, and the way this is settled is on the field over the rest of the season.
NFL: Given the scope (and hubris) of the Saints' bounty program -- going all the way to the top -- why do you think Williams and Vita wouldn't tell players to stonewall the NFL's investigation?
College: The Big East commish is out. I've always found it hard to accept Big East bleating about how big-time that football has become (with the Big East on the outside looking in), when it was the Big East itself that established the template for made-for-TV big-time college sports when it was formed 30 years ago specifically to take advantage of the new realities.
Government: So how is the state of Minnesota going to pay for this new stadium?
-- D.S.
NBA: As noted here endlessly over the years, expectations are everything. In the case of the Clippers, making the playoffs was great. Winning a first-round series would be incredible. And they should enjoy it now, because the Spurs are going to break them in half.
MLB: Cole Hamels suspended 5 games -- not even one start -- for intentionally hitting Bryce Harper on Sunday night. Baseball's "code" is a funny (even silly) thing, and it became yet another moment for Harper to distinguish himself. He took the HBP in stride, then made Hamels pay when he stole home. Then, Harper had nothing to say about it after the game, as opposed to Hamels, who bragged about it. The punishment is toothless, obviously, and the way this is settled is on the field over the rest of the season.
NFL: Given the scope (and hubris) of the Saints' bounty program -- going all the way to the top -- why do you think Williams and Vita wouldn't tell players to stonewall the NFL's investigation?
College: The Big East commish is out. I've always found it hard to accept Big East bleating about how big-time that football has become (with the Big East on the outside looking in), when it was the Big East itself that established the template for made-for-TV big-time college sports when it was formed 30 years ago specifically to take advantage of the new realities.
Government: So how is the state of Minnesota going to pay for this new stadium?
-- D.S.
Monday, May 07, 2012
05/07 (Monday) Quickie
NBA: I respect the expectations management by the Knicks that "not getting swept" is cause for celebration.
It sure seems like LeBron wanted to take that last shot -- Erik Spoelstra has to give him the chance.
(Things are less good for the Bulls, who can't fall back on "well, we lost without Rose and Noah," because they entered the playoffs in "title or fail" mode.)
Bryce Harper: In the first week of his MLB career, there have been a half-dozen "whoa!" moments -- none better than him stealing home last night (with a nano-second of glare at Cole Hamels after Hamels hit Harper to put him on 1st base in the first place).
Wild: But MLB's Player of the Weekend had to be Chris Davis of the (best-record-in-MLB) Orioles: 0-8 yesterday against the Red Sox... but he came in to pitch in the 16th and 17th innings and got the win.
Pujols: The question was never going to be if Albert Pujols was going to hit a home run this season, but the issue remains whether he can possibly find form that would have him on pace for 20 HR (let alone the 5 HR is on pace for now).
NHL: No one on the East Coast is paying attention, but the Kings have rolled into the NHL's Western Conference finals. Meanwhile: Caps-Rangers Game 5 tonight is a must-see.
Anniversary: 10 years ago today... "Practice?"
-- D.S.
It sure seems like LeBron wanted to take that last shot -- Erik Spoelstra has to give him the chance.
(Things are less good for the Bulls, who can't fall back on "well, we lost without Rose and Noah," because they entered the playoffs in "title or fail" mode.)
Bryce Harper: In the first week of his MLB career, there have been a half-dozen "whoa!" moments -- none better than him stealing home last night (with a nano-second of glare at Cole Hamels after Hamels hit Harper to put him on 1st base in the first place).
Wild: But MLB's Player of the Weekend had to be Chris Davis of the (best-record-in-MLB) Orioles: 0-8 yesterday against the Red Sox... but he came in to pitch in the 16th and 17th innings and got the win.
Pujols: The question was never going to be if Albert Pujols was going to hit a home run this season, but the issue remains whether he can possibly find form that would have him on pace for 20 HR (let alone the 5 HR is on pace for now).
NHL: No one on the East Coast is paying attention, but the Kings have rolled into the NHL's Western Conference finals. Meanwhile: Caps-Rangers Game 5 tonight is a must-see.
Anniversary: 10 years ago today... "Practice?"
-- D.S.
Saturday, May 05, 2012
05/05 (Very) Quickie
Annual Derby pick, based on my favorite name: Daddy Nose Best (or Daddy Long Legs), with Creative Cause a more likely winner.
Last night's MVP: Pam McGee, JaVale's mom.
Quote of the last 24 hours: "I am coming back. Write it down in big letters. I'm not going out like this." (Mariano Rivera)
I still think the Bulls can win the series with Philly, even if they're now down 2-1. But what's the point? So they can get drilled in the East semis?
I hate the Celtics but I love big games from the ageless KG.
Heard around our house this morning: "Let's! Go! Caps!"
RIP MCA: Got more hits than Sadaharu Oh.
Your weekend longread: "The Kid Who Wasn't There" by ESPN.com's Wright Thompson.
Catch up with the best of Quickish this week -- just go here and scroll down.
-- D.S.
Last night's MVP: Pam McGee, JaVale's mom.
Quote of the last 24 hours: "I am coming back. Write it down in big letters. I'm not going out like this." (Mariano Rivera)
I still think the Bulls can win the series with Philly, even if they're now down 2-1. But what's the point? So they can get drilled in the East semis?
I hate the Celtics but I love big games from the ageless KG.
Heard around our house this morning: "Let's! Go! Caps!"
RIP MCA: Got more hits than Sadaharu Oh.
Your weekend longread: "The Kid Who Wasn't There" by ESPN.com's Wright Thompson.
Catch up with the best of Quickish this week -- just go here and scroll down.
-- D.S.
Friday, May 04, 2012
05/04 (Mariano Rivera) Quickie
There is not a more universally respected baseball player -- possibly not a more universally respected athlete, period -- than Mariano Rivera.
That's my biggest takeaway from the overnight reaction to the news his season (and possibly his career) is over, after a freak knee injury shagging BP flies in centerfield, Rivera's favorite ritual.
(Great stream of reactions to the Rivera news over at Quickish -- check it out here.)
When we look back on the generation of baseball that started with the post-strike Yankees dynasty and lasted until, say, the start of Bryce Harper's career, it will be defined by no player as much as Rivera.
Not Jeter. Not Bonds. Not Clemens. PED scandal? Maybe. "Moneyball?" Partially. Big-spending behemoths? A bit.
But all those things evoke mixed reactions. Not Rivera. There is "Enter Sandman." There is No. 42. There is that cutter. There is yet another save. There is postseason brilliance.
There is universal respect and admiration for Mariano Rivera, the finest practitioner of pitching a baseball as we have seen in generations -- one of the greatest players of all time.
Here's to his recovery and an ending to his career befitting his legendary status.
-- D.S.
That's my biggest takeaway from the overnight reaction to the news his season (and possibly his career) is over, after a freak knee injury shagging BP flies in centerfield, Rivera's favorite ritual.
(Great stream of reactions to the Rivera news over at Quickish -- check it out here.)
When we look back on the generation of baseball that started with the post-strike Yankees dynasty and lasted until, say, the start of Bryce Harper's career, it will be defined by no player as much as Rivera.
Not Jeter. Not Bonds. Not Clemens. PED scandal? Maybe. "Moneyball?" Partially. Big-spending behemoths? A bit.
But all those things evoke mixed reactions. Not Rivera. There is "Enter Sandman." There is No. 42. There is that cutter. There is yet another save. There is postseason brilliance.
There is universal respect and admiration for Mariano Rivera, the finest practitioner of pitching a baseball as we have seen in generations -- one of the greatest players of all time.
Here's to his recovery and an ending to his career befitting his legendary status.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
05/02 (RIP Seau) Quickie
The death of the all-time great NFL linebacker Junior Seau is a tragedy. Did his suicide have something to do with his playing career? Let me step around that:
The fact that it is a topic that is immediately coming up -- whether or not the evidence ends up bearing that out -- is further confirmation that the link between football and brain trauma is both mainstream and entirely intertwined.
The idea remains: If there was a test for CTE or other brain trauma linked to football that could happen pre-mortem, I think tackle football would be over beyond anything but for a lunatic fringe.
The idea remains: Even with the little we know now about the link between brain trauma and football, you would have to be insane to let your child play organized tackle football, at any age.
The idea remains: As powerful as the NFL is -- and it is as close to all-powerful as we get in sports -- I do not believe that in 30 years it will exist in the form that it is in now.
More:
*I found the Saints' bounty program abhorrent, yet I think that giving Vilma a year's suspension -- same as the head coach -- is overly severe. If Vilma gets a year, Sean Payton should get five.
*As I get older, I come to appreciate Kobe's singular moments of brilliance so much more. Appreciate him, folks, because when he's gone, it's hard to see who will replace him. (Durant? Maybe, but Durant -- while relentless -- is too nice. Kobe's level of aggressive obsessiveness is the last of a bygone era.)
*The Bulls are cooked. Could be this round, could be next round. The fact is that they're done, and that even getting out of this Philly series should be viewed as overachieving.
*The Caps offer free admission to their a.m. skate-arounds, and I took my 3-year-old, who is obsessed with hockey, to practice today. He went bonkers. It was an awesome moment.
-- D.S.
The fact that it is a topic that is immediately coming up -- whether or not the evidence ends up bearing that out -- is further confirmation that the link between football and brain trauma is both mainstream and entirely intertwined.
The idea remains: If there was a test for CTE or other brain trauma linked to football that could happen pre-mortem, I think tackle football would be over beyond anything but for a lunatic fringe.
The idea remains: Even with the little we know now about the link between brain trauma and football, you would have to be insane to let your child play organized tackle football, at any age.
The idea remains: As powerful as the NFL is -- and it is as close to all-powerful as we get in sports -- I do not believe that in 30 years it will exist in the form that it is in now.
More:
*I found the Saints' bounty program abhorrent, yet I think that giving Vilma a year's suspension -- same as the head coach -- is overly severe. If Vilma gets a year, Sean Payton should get five.
*As I get older, I come to appreciate Kobe's singular moments of brilliance so much more. Appreciate him, folks, because when he's gone, it's hard to see who will replace him. (Durant? Maybe, but Durant -- while relentless -- is too nice. Kobe's level of aggressive obsessiveness is the last of a bygone era.)
*The Bulls are cooked. Could be this round, could be next round. The fact is that they're done, and that even getting out of this Philly series should be viewed as overachieving.
*The Caps offer free admission to their a.m. skate-arounds, and I took my 3-year-old, who is obsessed with hockey, to practice today. He went bonkers. It was an awesome moment.
-- D.S.
Monday, April 30, 2012
04/30 (Clippers!) Quickie
My goodness: That Clippers comeback last night -- a 28-3 run to finish the game to come back from down 24 with 9:13 to play in the game. Watch highlights from the run here.
It's way too early to say it was a back-breaker for the Grizzlies. They lost home-court advantage, sure, but there's a better case it will be ultra-motivating than it will be ultra-deflating.
(Put it this way: Of the first round's 8 teams that lost in Game 1, I feel most comfortable with the Grizzlies' chances of coming back, even if they suffered the most stunning loss.)
Celtics lose Game 1 in Atlanta, and the headline is that Rondo got tossed and could miss Game 2 -- again, I'm not sure if an 0-2 hole after the first two road games is so problematic for Boston.
Is Andrew Bynum the best center in the NBA? He's certainly the best center in the playoffs. It would be fascinating to see him as the centerpiece of a team, rather than the "next-best guy behind Kobe."
The new Brooklyn Nets' look was revealed this morning, and if there is a single defining characteristic, it is the near-total emphasis on "Brooklyn," rather than "Nets." They realize that's where the cachet is.
My favorite video today: Batting Stance Guy on Bryce Harper:
Today's must-watch/must-follow sports event: Man City vs. Man U.
-- D.S.
It's way too early to say it was a back-breaker for the Grizzlies. They lost home-court advantage, sure, but there's a better case it will be ultra-motivating than it will be ultra-deflating.
(Put it this way: Of the first round's 8 teams that lost in Game 1, I feel most comfortable with the Grizzlies' chances of coming back, even if they suffered the most stunning loss.)
Celtics lose Game 1 in Atlanta, and the headline is that Rondo got tossed and could miss Game 2 -- again, I'm not sure if an 0-2 hole after the first two road games is so problematic for Boston.
Is Andrew Bynum the best center in the NBA? He's certainly the best center in the playoffs. It would be fascinating to see him as the centerpiece of a team, rather than the "next-best guy behind Kobe."
The new Brooklyn Nets' look was revealed this morning, and if there is a single defining characteristic, it is the near-total emphasis on "Brooklyn," rather than "Nets." They realize that's where the cachet is.
My favorite video today: Batting Stance Guy on Bryce Harper:
Today's must-watch/must-follow sports event: Man City vs. Man U.
-- D.S.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
04/29 (Sunday) Quickie
That Derrick Rose injury is awful -- for him, for Bulls fans, for all fans. I worry about a complete, back-to-the-way-he-was recovery, but I am 100% rooting for it (as everyone is... apparently, except that Nike shoe designer who tweeted out a mocking message to Rose about wearing adidas).
This Kevin Durant game-winning floater to lead the Thunder over the Mavs in Game 1 defines "shooter's touch."
It's hard to tell whether the Heat are great or the Knicks just that over-matched. Let's table that until the Heat get past the Celtics or Bulls (even without Rose).
Bryce Harper's debut: Wow. The laser double? The equally laser throw from the outfield? The heady sac fly? His innate unfazedness about the whole thing? Say this for his being groomed for the Majors since you were 11 or 12 -- at 19, he looks entirely comfortable there.
(The best part was the fan behind home plate who mooned the camera just as Harper was slapping his first MLB hit -- TV producers need to relax and just show it. It's just a tusch, not full-frontal.)
Meanwhile: Matt Kemp. Whew. 11 HRs in April... with a day or two left.
NFL Draft: My favorite pick of the final day was the Pats (of course) taking Ohio State's Nate Ebner, a walk-on special-teams player who was on exactly zero NFL draftnik radars. (Anything that makes the draftniks look silly -- and when Belichick drafts someone they've never heard of, they look silly -- is fine with me, and you get the sense Belichick did it, in part, to tweak the so-called draft "experts.")
Lamest pick of the draft: How could the Redskins pull off making the draft's best pick -- RG3 -- and its worst one, too? The Redskins using a 4th-round pick to take Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins. How dumb was this? Let's count the ways: (1) They already drafted RG3 in the 1st; (2) it causes unnecessary "controversy" distractions; (3) they are so loaded everywhere else they can't find talent they wanted more than an extraneous rookie QB? For all those who mocked the Jaguars for taking a punter in the 3rd round or the Patriots for taking a 6th-round Illinois safety in the 2nd round, this is arguably worse.
NHL: After the exhausting series against the Bruins, you could kind of see the Caps getting drummed out of Game 1 vs. the Rangers coming -- the thing is far from over, but it was an end to the "one-goal-away" momentum that the Caps had held throughout the first round, even in losses.
Congrats to Chandler Harnish, who joins the exclusive fraternity of "Mr. Irrelevant."
Great Sunday read: The New York Times profile of Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. It's awkward timing with the Rose injury, but Thibs' brilliance will be even more on display as Chicago tries to navigate the rest of the playoffs without Rose.
On the radar today: Flyers-Devils, Lakers-Nuggets, Bryce Harper's at-bats.
-- D.S.
This Kevin Durant game-winning floater to lead the Thunder over the Mavs in Game 1 defines "shooter's touch."
It's hard to tell whether the Heat are great or the Knicks just that over-matched. Let's table that until the Heat get past the Celtics or Bulls (even without Rose).
Bryce Harper's debut: Wow. The laser double? The equally laser throw from the outfield? The heady sac fly? His innate unfazedness about the whole thing? Say this for his being groomed for the Majors since you were 11 or 12 -- at 19, he looks entirely comfortable there.
(The best part was the fan behind home plate who mooned the camera just as Harper was slapping his first MLB hit -- TV producers need to relax and just show it. It's just a tusch, not full-frontal.)
Meanwhile: Matt Kemp. Whew. 11 HRs in April... with a day or two left.
NFL Draft: My favorite pick of the final day was the Pats (of course) taking Ohio State's Nate Ebner, a walk-on special-teams player who was on exactly zero NFL draftnik radars. (Anything that makes the draftniks look silly -- and when Belichick drafts someone they've never heard of, they look silly -- is fine with me, and you get the sense Belichick did it, in part, to tweak the so-called draft "experts.")
Lamest pick of the draft: How could the Redskins pull off making the draft's best pick -- RG3 -- and its worst one, too? The Redskins using a 4th-round pick to take Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins. How dumb was this? Let's count the ways: (1) They already drafted RG3 in the 1st; (2) it causes unnecessary "controversy" distractions; (3) they are so loaded everywhere else they can't find talent they wanted more than an extraneous rookie QB? For all those who mocked the Jaguars for taking a punter in the 3rd round or the Patriots for taking a 6th-round Illinois safety in the 2nd round, this is arguably worse.
NHL: After the exhausting series against the Bruins, you could kind of see the Caps getting drummed out of Game 1 vs. the Rangers coming -- the thing is far from over, but it was an end to the "one-goal-away" momentum that the Caps had held throughout the first round, even in losses.
Congrats to Chandler Harnish, who joins the exclusive fraternity of "Mr. Irrelevant."
Great Sunday read: The New York Times profile of Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. It's awkward timing with the Rose injury, but Thibs' brilliance will be even more on display as Chicago tries to navigate the rest of the playoffs without Rose.
On the radar today: Flyers-Devils, Lakers-Nuggets, Bryce Harper's at-bats.
-- D.S.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
04/28 (Very) Quickie
I'd say it's a pretty good sports day today: End of NFL Draft, start of NBA Playoffs, Caps-Rangers Game 1, Bryce Harper's MLB debut (with Stephen Strasburg pitching, no less).
My favorite NFL Draft storyline from last night was Rutgers WR Mohamed Sanu -- victim of a nasty prank call on Thursday night that he had been drafted by the Bengals -- was... drafted by the Bengals.
(Runner-up: Much-maligned former Florida CB Janoris Jenkins was taken in the 2nd round by the Rams -- arguably the most high-risk/high-reward prospect since Randy Moss.)
Heat-Knicks at 3:30 is the most must-see NBA game -- although Thunder-Mavs tonight is close. If the Knicks were going to steal one, today is the day.
DC is having a hell of a sports week, but as exciting as drafting RG3 and the MLB promotion of Bryce Harper might be, this afternoon's opener against the Rangers is the biggest event.
That said: There are few MLB "live cut-in" at-bat moments worth making sure you're around for -- even though the chances are he'll fizzle in his first game, Harper feels worth tuning in to check out.
-- D.S.
My favorite NFL Draft storyline from last night was Rutgers WR Mohamed Sanu -- victim of a nasty prank call on Thursday night that he had been drafted by the Bengals -- was... drafted by the Bengals.
(Runner-up: Much-maligned former Florida CB Janoris Jenkins was taken in the 2nd round by the Rams -- arguably the most high-risk/high-reward prospect since Randy Moss.)
Heat-Knicks at 3:30 is the most must-see NBA game -- although Thunder-Mavs tonight is close. If the Knicks were going to steal one, today is the day.
DC is having a hell of a sports week, but as exciting as drafting RG3 and the MLB promotion of Bryce Harper might be, this afternoon's opener against the Rangers is the biggest event.
That said: There are few MLB "live cut-in" at-bat moments worth making sure you're around for -- even though the chances are he'll fizzle in his first game, Harper feels worth tuning in to check out.
-- D.S.
Friday, April 27, 2012
04/27 (Draft and More) Quickie
Whew, what an absolutely loaded morning. Let's get to it:
NFL Draft: The big storyline was the flurry of trades near the top. Kudos to the teams that traded up, taking advantage of a brief "Moneyball"-style inefficiency of the new labor deal that creates new rookie cost certainties that make taking a pick high not nearly the financial risk it once was.
The other big storylines:
*Luck and RG3 go 1-2, as expected. RG3's socks were a highlight, and it is hard to imagine there is a fan base more fired up about their pick than the Redskins fans.
*The Giants' rivals go big: The Cowboys traded up to No. 6 to get exceptional LSU DB Morris Claiborne, which was arguably the biggest power move of the night. The Eagles traded up to get exceptional Mississippi State D-lineman Fletcher Cox, which was another phenomenal deal. (And that's on top of the Redskins trading everything to get RG3.) Big moves needed, big moves made.
*The consensus winner? Arguably the Pats, a team that historically trades down/out of the first round instead traded up -- twice -- to get DE Chandler Jones and LB Donta Hightower. It is an instant upgrade to a defense that was suspect (even porous) last year. (The Pats could cap the coup by finagling embattled DB Janoris Jenkins early in the 2nd round; Bill Belichick has historically liked Urban Meyer's stars at Florida, even if they have potential red flags.)
*"Value" picks: As talents surprisingly slide down the board, better/playoff teams are there to snag them, with no better example than the Steelers getting Stanford OG David DeCastro. (Other late picks that pundits liked: The Chargers getting DE Melvin Ingram and the Bucs getting RB Doug Martin.)
*"Reaches": The Chiefs taking mercurial Memphis D-lineman Dontari Poe at 11 was questioned, as was the Seahawks taking West Virginia DE Bruce Irvin when Ingram and Quentin Coples (drafted by the Jets) were available. The 49ers were questioned for taking Illinois WR AJ Jenkins late in the 1st -- he was graded as a high 2nd-round pick, so it wasn't quite a reach, but he didn't have nearly the positive evals of LSU WR Rueben Randle. And then, of course, there was the biggest risk in the draft: The Dolphins taking Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill at No. 8.
*Brandon Weeden: The Colt McCoy Era appears to be over in Cleveland. The Browns spent a first-round pick on the 28-year-old rookie QB from Oklahoma State, who can't possibly be less effective than McCoy, who will still have a long NFL career, simply as a back-up who gets occasional chances to start when the QB1 gets injured. Weeden's transition would be clearly helped by the presence of new RB Trent Richardson in the backfield.
*Looking ahead to the 2nd round: WR Rueben Randle is the top name on the board, but it will be intriguing to see where Janoris Jenkins lands -- he is, by far, the most talented prospect left.
More:
*NHL Game 7 thrillers: Devils win in OT, Rangers hold off Senators. The East semifinals might as well be sponsored by the Amtrak Acela -- Rangers-Caps and Flyers-Devils. Should be fun.
*NBA Playoffs set: The leading storyline is clear: It is "championship or fail" for LeBron and the Heat. I'll stick with my preseason prediction of Thunder-Bulls in the Finals, with Chicago knocking off Miami in the East finals -- by far the most highly anticipated match-up of the playoffs.
*First-Round Picks: Chicago over Philly in 5; Boston over Atlanta in 6; Indiana over Orlando in 5; Miami over New York in 6; San Antonio over Utah in 7; Memphis over the Clippers in 7; the Lakers over the Nuggets in 7; Oklahoma City over Dallas in 7. Wow, does the West look fun to watch.
*NBA History: Worst team ever? The Bobcats finished the season with the worst winning percentage of all time. I love superlatives, so it's intriguing that "Worst Team Ever" is on the table. You have to adjust a bit for the compressed season and lack of any development time, but even in a full 82-game season with summer league and training camp, I'm not sure the Bobcats do much better.
*A playoff is coming to college football: It will be only a four-team bracket -- and I will guarantee you there is even more of a clusterf--- around picking that 4th team than there was picking the 2nd team in a two-team title game -- but it certainly beats the current system.
*Manager Pep Guardiola quits Barca: Does he want to coach the Wizards? (OK, how about my 5-year-old's kindergarten team?)
*MLB: Carl Crawford is being shut down for a while, and it adds insult to injury to insult for the Red Sox, who shelled out a gazillion dollars for him only to see him underperform last year -- and, now, not perform this year. (More Red Sox: They did shell Philip Humber, coming off his perfect game. So there's that.)
The morning after the draft is a fun moment -- it's all promise and potential, with more picks coming tonight and all weekend, with the hope that your team is getting better. Same with the day before the NBA Playoffs start: If your team is in it, they have a theoretical chance, and you can spend today talking yourself into thinking your team can at least beat expectations (if not win a title). And if your team is out of the playoffs, like mine, you can begin to scheme a plan for the offseason moves. Not sure what to tell you if you're a Barca fan, though....
-- D.S.
NFL Draft: The big storyline was the flurry of trades near the top. Kudos to the teams that traded up, taking advantage of a brief "Moneyball"-style inefficiency of the new labor deal that creates new rookie cost certainties that make taking a pick high not nearly the financial risk it once was.
The other big storylines:
*Luck and RG3 go 1-2, as expected. RG3's socks were a highlight, and it is hard to imagine there is a fan base more fired up about their pick than the Redskins fans.
*The Giants' rivals go big: The Cowboys traded up to No. 6 to get exceptional LSU DB Morris Claiborne, which was arguably the biggest power move of the night. The Eagles traded up to get exceptional Mississippi State D-lineman Fletcher Cox, which was another phenomenal deal. (And that's on top of the Redskins trading everything to get RG3.) Big moves needed, big moves made.
*The consensus winner? Arguably the Pats, a team that historically trades down/out of the first round instead traded up -- twice -- to get DE Chandler Jones and LB Donta Hightower. It is an instant upgrade to a defense that was suspect (even porous) last year. (The Pats could cap the coup by finagling embattled DB Janoris Jenkins early in the 2nd round; Bill Belichick has historically liked Urban Meyer's stars at Florida, even if they have potential red flags.)
*"Value" picks: As talents surprisingly slide down the board, better/playoff teams are there to snag them, with no better example than the Steelers getting Stanford OG David DeCastro. (Other late picks that pundits liked: The Chargers getting DE Melvin Ingram and the Bucs getting RB Doug Martin.)
*"Reaches": The Chiefs taking mercurial Memphis D-lineman Dontari Poe at 11 was questioned, as was the Seahawks taking West Virginia DE Bruce Irvin when Ingram and Quentin Coples (drafted by the Jets) were available. The 49ers were questioned for taking Illinois WR AJ Jenkins late in the 1st -- he was graded as a high 2nd-round pick, so it wasn't quite a reach, but he didn't have nearly the positive evals of LSU WR Rueben Randle. And then, of course, there was the biggest risk in the draft: The Dolphins taking Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill at No. 8.
*Brandon Weeden: The Colt McCoy Era appears to be over in Cleveland. The Browns spent a first-round pick on the 28-year-old rookie QB from Oklahoma State, who can't possibly be less effective than McCoy, who will still have a long NFL career, simply as a back-up who gets occasional chances to start when the QB1 gets injured. Weeden's transition would be clearly helped by the presence of new RB Trent Richardson in the backfield.
*Looking ahead to the 2nd round: WR Rueben Randle is the top name on the board, but it will be intriguing to see where Janoris Jenkins lands -- he is, by far, the most talented prospect left.
More:
*NHL Game 7 thrillers: Devils win in OT, Rangers hold off Senators. The East semifinals might as well be sponsored by the Amtrak Acela -- Rangers-Caps and Flyers-Devils. Should be fun.
*NBA Playoffs set: The leading storyline is clear: It is "championship or fail" for LeBron and the Heat. I'll stick with my preseason prediction of Thunder-Bulls in the Finals, with Chicago knocking off Miami in the East finals -- by far the most highly anticipated match-up of the playoffs.
*First-Round Picks: Chicago over Philly in 5; Boston over Atlanta in 6; Indiana over Orlando in 5; Miami over New York in 6; San Antonio over Utah in 7; Memphis over the Clippers in 7; the Lakers over the Nuggets in 7; Oklahoma City over Dallas in 7. Wow, does the West look fun to watch.
*NBA History: Worst team ever? The Bobcats finished the season with the worst winning percentage of all time. I love superlatives, so it's intriguing that "Worst Team Ever" is on the table. You have to adjust a bit for the compressed season and lack of any development time, but even in a full 82-game season with summer league and training camp, I'm not sure the Bobcats do much better.
*A playoff is coming to college football: It will be only a four-team bracket -- and I will guarantee you there is even more of a clusterf--- around picking that 4th team than there was picking the 2nd team in a two-team title game -- but it certainly beats the current system.
*Manager Pep Guardiola quits Barca: Does he want to coach the Wizards? (OK, how about my 5-year-old's kindergarten team?)
*MLB: Carl Crawford is being shut down for a while, and it adds insult to injury to insult for the Red Sox, who shelled out a gazillion dollars for him only to see him underperform last year -- and, now, not perform this year. (More Red Sox: They did shell Philip Humber, coming off his perfect game. So there's that.)
The morning after the draft is a fun moment -- it's all promise and potential, with more picks coming tonight and all weekend, with the hope that your team is getting better. Same with the day before the NBA Playoffs start: If your team is in it, they have a theoretical chance, and you can spend today talking yourself into thinking your team can at least beat expectations (if not win a title). And if your team is out of the playoffs, like mine, you can begin to scheme a plan for the offseason moves. Not sure what to tell you if you're a Barca fan, though....
-- D.S.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
*The Caps ousted the Bruins in a thrilling OT Game 7.
*The Nationals have the best record in the National League.
*The Wizards (the Wizards!) have won six straight (six!)
*The Redskins are drafting RG3 tonight.
Times have been lean for fans of DC sports teams. For one day, not today.
Picked a good moment to relocate here, apparently.
*The Nationals have the best record in the National League.
*The Wizards (the Wizards!) have won six straight (six!)
*The Redskins are drafting RG3 tonight.
Times have been lean for fans of DC sports teams. For one day, not today.
Picked a good moment to relocate here, apparently.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
04/25 (Pre-Draft) Quickie
It's the eve of the NFL Draft. With Luck and RG3 locked in to the top two picks, my three most intriguing storylines:
(1) What do the Vikings do at No. 3?
(2) Do the Dolphins reach for QB Ryan Tannehill at No. 8?
(3) Who takes a risk on uber-talented CB Janoris Jenkins?
Otherwise, I fully expect the Draft to dominate tomorrow, as everything NFL-related tends to dominate. (As for the league's attempts to keep draft picks off Twitter before the commissioner announces them at the podium: Good luck with that. Information wants to be free.)
More draft coverage at Quickish. Check it out!
More:
*Metta World Peace suspended 7 games: Most folks seem to think this was appropriate. Seems right.
*Soccer: Chelsea pulls off a Champions League stunner, playing 10-v-11 against Barca at Camp Nou and not only winning in aggregate, but playing Barca to a standstill in the game itself.
*NHL: So excited for Caps-Bruins Game 7 tonight. And even if I'm not a fan of either team, tomorrow's Devils-Panthers Game 7 is must-see, too. (As is Rangers-Senators Game 7.)
*MLB Hero of the Night: Yu Darvish, with 8+ IP and 0 ER against the Yankees, with 10 Ks and only 2 BB. A signature game for the highly touted rookie.
*NBA: Tankmania! The Warriors out-tanking the Hornets means that the Wizards don't have to tank the final two games in order to maintain their hold on the No. 2 Lottery spot. Success!
*ICYMI, don't miss Lee Jenkins' SI cover story on LeBron.
-- D.S.
(1) What do the Vikings do at No. 3?
(2) Do the Dolphins reach for QB Ryan Tannehill at No. 8?
(3) Who takes a risk on uber-talented CB Janoris Jenkins?
Otherwise, I fully expect the Draft to dominate tomorrow, as everything NFL-related tends to dominate. (As for the league's attempts to keep draft picks off Twitter before the commissioner announces them at the podium: Good luck with that. Information wants to be free.)
More draft coverage at Quickish. Check it out!
More:
*Metta World Peace suspended 7 games: Most folks seem to think this was appropriate. Seems right.
*Soccer: Chelsea pulls off a Champions League stunner, playing 10-v-11 against Barca at Camp Nou and not only winning in aggregate, but playing Barca to a standstill in the game itself.
*NHL: So excited for Caps-Bruins Game 7 tonight. And even if I'm not a fan of either team, tomorrow's Devils-Panthers Game 7 is must-see, too. (As is Rangers-Senators Game 7.)
*MLB Hero of the Night: Yu Darvish, with 8+ IP and 0 ER against the Yankees, with 10 Ks and only 2 BB. A signature game for the highly touted rookie.
*NBA: Tankmania! The Warriors out-tanking the Hornets means that the Wizards don't have to tank the final two games in order to maintain their hold on the No. 2 Lottery spot. Success!
*ICYMI, don't miss Lee Jenkins' SI cover story on LeBron.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
04/24 (Loomis) Quickie
Two words: Mickey. Loomis. "Loomis" is kind of a Dickensian name for an NFL GM with the league -- certainly the media -- bearing down on him over an alleged eavesdropping scheme. He vehemently denies it, but it's hard to imagine the news would get leaked if it wasn't at least truth-ish. What he probably needed to say was "I totally did that other bounty stuff, but I swear I didn't do this."
NFL Draft: The most interesting thing I read yesterday was the mock draft from NFL Films' Greg Cosell, who based his picks entirely on watching tape of the prospects (and, presumably, team need), with none of the troubling "scuttlebutt" (or disinformation) to sully his picks. That's how you end up with Janoris Jenkins in your Top 5. (Most interestingly, he grades RG3 higher than Luck.)
Meanwhile: RG3 got permission from the NFL to have "Griffin III" on his jersey nameplate. I'll bet his No. 10 Redskins jersey will be one of the Top 5 best-sellers in the league next year.
Tebow Watch: The Jets are going to use him on punt-protection, which drew some guffaws, but I think it's brilliant: Teams punt way too often as it is; Tebow gives the Jets a viable option to do something out of the punt formation besides punt, each and every time they line up to punt. That gives the return team something new to think about and an edge to the Jets.
CFB: Arkansas hires John L. Smith as temporary head coach while they figure out who they want to hire. Aside from screwing over Weber State, which had just hired JLS to be their head coach, it's a pretty brilliant move: Arkansas gets continuity from a previous assistant (one who has head-coaching experience), while setting up the understanding with him that it's a one-season gig; they can start recruiting his replacement immediately. (If you don't think that kind of head-start is important, ask Notre Dame how that went when Florida got a 6-week jump on them for Urban Meyer.) The New York Times' Pete Thamel was right: Arkansas is the most fascinating team in college football next season.
NBA: My Wizards have won four straight, and all I can think of is: "If they blow their previously locked-in No. 2 Lottery position...." Ah, don't you envy the life of a Wizards fan?
NHL: Rangers taking Senators to a Game 7. Nice pairing with the Caps taking the Bruins to a Game 7. Unfortunately, both are likely to end with the favorites escaping on home ice.
Nets say goodbye to New Jersey: As a die-hard fan of the borough of Brooklyn, I say Welcome.
Watch for: the perennial pre-draft rumor-mongering heading into the final 48 hours before the draft commences Thursday night.
-- D.S.
NFL Draft: The most interesting thing I read yesterday was the mock draft from NFL Films' Greg Cosell, who based his picks entirely on watching tape of the prospects (and, presumably, team need), with none of the troubling "scuttlebutt" (or disinformation) to sully his picks. That's how you end up with Janoris Jenkins in your Top 5. (Most interestingly, he grades RG3 higher than Luck.)
Meanwhile: RG3 got permission from the NFL to have "Griffin III" on his jersey nameplate. I'll bet his No. 10 Redskins jersey will be one of the Top 5 best-sellers in the league next year.
Tebow Watch: The Jets are going to use him on punt-protection, which drew some guffaws, but I think it's brilliant: Teams punt way too often as it is; Tebow gives the Jets a viable option to do something out of the punt formation besides punt, each and every time they line up to punt. That gives the return team something new to think about and an edge to the Jets.
CFB: Arkansas hires John L. Smith as temporary head coach while they figure out who they want to hire. Aside from screwing over Weber State, which had just hired JLS to be their head coach, it's a pretty brilliant move: Arkansas gets continuity from a previous assistant (one who has head-coaching experience), while setting up the understanding with him that it's a one-season gig; they can start recruiting his replacement immediately. (If you don't think that kind of head-start is important, ask Notre Dame how that went when Florida got a 6-week jump on them for Urban Meyer.) The New York Times' Pete Thamel was right: Arkansas is the most fascinating team in college football next season.
NBA: My Wizards have won four straight, and all I can think of is: "If they blow their previously locked-in No. 2 Lottery position...." Ah, don't you envy the life of a Wizards fan?
NHL: Rangers taking Senators to a Game 7. Nice pairing with the Caps taking the Bruins to a Game 7. Unfortunately, both are likely to end with the favorites escaping on home ice.
Nets say goodbye to New Jersey: As a die-hard fan of the borough of Brooklyn, I say Welcome.
Watch for: the perennial pre-draft rumor-mongering heading into the final 48 hours before the draft commences Thursday night.
-- D.S.
Monday, April 23, 2012
04/23 (Metta World WTF?) Quickie
Metta World Peace's elbow to the jaw of James Harden -- plus a concussion, naturally -- may or may not have been maliciously intended, but it sure seemed like more than an accident.
With MWP, you can never tell what is intended and what is incidental, and I hesitate to try to climb in his head to figure it out.
All you really need to know is that the 'bow drew massive outrage, and that outrage will likely lead to a massive suspension for MWP, into the playoffs.
(Frankly, the best idea I heard was suspending him a few more games than Harden will have to sit out -- the NBA is behind MLB, the NHL and the NFL when it comes to concussions. We'll see how long Harden is out. I'm presuming it will be less than Sidney Crosby but more than your typical NFL player.)
More:
*NHL: Bruins force a Game 7. Dammit. As I'm all in on the Caps now, this was their shot. Even if the Caps won in Boston in Game 5, I really don't think they can win there in Game 7. The Caps weren't supposed to win this series -- they have given it just about as great of an effort as possible.
*The Rangers are playing the Yankees today, and it's worth asking whether the Rangers are the new Yankees (or, perhaps more accurately, the new Red Sox) -- loaded with talent on the mound and in the lineup, with a super-smart GM and an ownership group willing to spend a ton. A killer combo.
*Today is the Nets' final game in New Jersey. It has been an era marked mostly by laughable problems, with one small flurry of greatness (those Kidd-led Finals teams of the early part of the 2000s) and one horrible tragedy (the death of Drazen Petrovic). Otherwise, it is one of the most woeful franchises in sports -- I do believe things will turn around in Brooklyn, if only because even with a sub-par product, they will have the cachet of Brooklyn.
*It's NFL Draft week. With Luck and RG3 locked in to the first two picks, the next-biggest storyline is which QB-starved franchise picks Texas A& QB Ryan Tannehill. The presumption is that the Dolphins will take him at No. 8, with no teams willing to trade up with the Jaguars at No. 7 to swoop in and swipe him. He's just not worth it in the way RG3 was for Washington. (I need to write a little more about this, but my lifetime disinterest in the Redskins -- from actively disliking them, as a DC-area resident no less, to general apathy about them -- is put to the test, because I am a huge RG3 fan and can't wait to watch him up close.)
*BTW: The best player in the draft is Alabama's Trent Richardson, the best RB college football has produced since Adrian Peterson, and the first RB I have seen since Ron Dayne his freshman year at Wisconsin that made my eyes pop with his sheer power. "Franchise" RBs just aren't as valued as they were in years past -- that's the evolution of the game -- but for however many years he is active, Richardson will be fantastic.
*Some terrific reads from this past weekend. They have been collected on Quickish -- give them a read here.
-- D.S.
With MWP, you can never tell what is intended and what is incidental, and I hesitate to try to climb in his head to figure it out.
All you really need to know is that the 'bow drew massive outrage, and that outrage will likely lead to a massive suspension for MWP, into the playoffs.
(Frankly, the best idea I heard was suspending him a few more games than Harden will have to sit out -- the NBA is behind MLB, the NHL and the NFL when it comes to concussions. We'll see how long Harden is out. I'm presuming it will be less than Sidney Crosby but more than your typical NFL player.)
More:
*NHL: Bruins force a Game 7. Dammit. As I'm all in on the Caps now, this was their shot. Even if the Caps won in Boston in Game 5, I really don't think they can win there in Game 7. The Caps weren't supposed to win this series -- they have given it just about as great of an effort as possible.
*The Rangers are playing the Yankees today, and it's worth asking whether the Rangers are the new Yankees (or, perhaps more accurately, the new Red Sox) -- loaded with talent on the mound and in the lineup, with a super-smart GM and an ownership group willing to spend a ton. A killer combo.
*Today is the Nets' final game in New Jersey. It has been an era marked mostly by laughable problems, with one small flurry of greatness (those Kidd-led Finals teams of the early part of the 2000s) and one horrible tragedy (the death of Drazen Petrovic). Otherwise, it is one of the most woeful franchises in sports -- I do believe things will turn around in Brooklyn, if only because even with a sub-par product, they will have the cachet of Brooklyn.
*It's NFL Draft week. With Luck and RG3 locked in to the first two picks, the next-biggest storyline is which QB-starved franchise picks Texas A& QB Ryan Tannehill. The presumption is that the Dolphins will take him at No. 8, with no teams willing to trade up with the Jaguars at No. 7 to swoop in and swipe him. He's just not worth it in the way RG3 was for Washington. (I need to write a little more about this, but my lifetime disinterest in the Redskins -- from actively disliking them, as a DC-area resident no less, to general apathy about them -- is put to the test, because I am a huge RG3 fan and can't wait to watch him up close.)
*BTW: The best player in the draft is Alabama's Trent Richardson, the best RB college football has produced since Adrian Peterson, and the first RB I have seen since Ron Dayne his freshman year at Wisconsin that made my eyes pop with his sheer power. "Franchise" RBs just aren't as valued as they were in years past -- that's the evolution of the game -- but for however many years he is active, Richardson will be fantastic.
*Some terrific reads from this past weekend. They have been collected on Quickish -- give them a read here.
-- D.S.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Friday 04/20 (Fenway) Quickie
Fenway turns 100: I like the pageantry. I like the park. I'm partial to Wrigley.
Heat d. Bulls: For the last time, none of this matters -- let's see who emerges from the playoff series.
(For that matter, not only can I not get outraged at the "anti-tanking" movement led by my friends -- and the very smart folks -- at TrueHoop, but I find myself kind of supporting a team's right to tank.)
Anonymous scouts vs. RG3: I'm a huge RG3 fan. My problem with the anonymous scout-bashing is that it is entirely unaccountable -- you can find someone to say something nasty or contrarian about anything (and you can usually find some wannabe pundit to do it on the record). Oh, and that I think the NFL Draft media coverage is an exercise in reporters getting played on a daily basis. And that I'd put my money on RG3 every time.
NHL Playoffs: I'm all in on the Caps (he says as he prepares to drive 50 miles to the nearest hockey super-store to buy gear for my 3-year-old, who is obsessed with hockey and moving from skating lessons to full-blown hockey lessons next week... I know, I know...)
Dwight Howard is done for the season, including the playoffs: Not that the Magic had any shot before, but now they're just wasting everyone's time. The real question is whether Howard is on the team NEXT season.
Roger Goodell goes to L.A.: There's no question the city is getting a team, it's just a matter of when (and which team will relocate).
MMA: I am kind of ashamed to say that I have never watched a "big" UFC event live. That might change tomorrow night for Jones-Evans.
Have a good weekend -- updates here and on Quickish all weekend.
-- D.S.
Heat d. Bulls: For the last time, none of this matters -- let's see who emerges from the playoff series.
(For that matter, not only can I not get outraged at the "anti-tanking" movement led by my friends -- and the very smart folks -- at TrueHoop, but I find myself kind of supporting a team's right to tank.)
Anonymous scouts vs. RG3: I'm a huge RG3 fan. My problem with the anonymous scout-bashing is that it is entirely unaccountable -- you can find someone to say something nasty or contrarian about anything (and you can usually find some wannabe pundit to do it on the record). Oh, and that I think the NFL Draft media coverage is an exercise in reporters getting played on a daily basis. And that I'd put my money on RG3 every time.
NHL Playoffs: I'm all in on the Caps (he says as he prepares to drive 50 miles to the nearest hockey super-store to buy gear for my 3-year-old, who is obsessed with hockey and moving from skating lessons to full-blown hockey lessons next week... I know, I know...)
Dwight Howard is done for the season, including the playoffs: Not that the Magic had any shot before, but now they're just wasting everyone's time. The real question is whether Howard is on the team NEXT season.
Roger Goodell goes to L.A.: There's no question the city is getting a team, it's just a matter of when (and which team will relocate).
MMA: I am kind of ashamed to say that I have never watched a "big" UFC event live. That might change tomorrow night for Jones-Evans.
Have a good weekend -- updates here and on Quickish all weekend.
-- D.S.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
04/19 (Summitt) Quickie
*End of an era with Pat Summitt stepping down: Greatest college basketball coach of all time.
*Colts going to draft Luck: No! You're kidding! The "Suck for Luck" cycle is complete.
*Bo Ryan hates transfers: Another battle the NCAA is going to eventually lose, because it doesn't pass the common-sense test.
*Cliff Lee going 10: Awesome for its novelty/throwback-ishness.
*Pudge Rodriguez is retiring: First-ballot Hall of Famer.
*Dwight Howard wants Stan Van Gundy out: For real this time. SVG will be fine -- he'll make a mint on TV or coaching a different contender (he'd be fantastic in NYC, although the Dolans would hate him). Can't say the same thing about D12.
*NHL: The Penguins are still going to lose the series, but at least they won't experience the humiliation of a sweep.
*Today's best read: ESPN Mag's Tom Friend on RG3.
-- D.S.
*Colts going to draft Luck: No! You're kidding! The "Suck for Luck" cycle is complete.
*Bo Ryan hates transfers: Another battle the NCAA is going to eventually lose, because it doesn't pass the common-sense test.
*Cliff Lee going 10: Awesome for its novelty/throwback-ishness.
*Pudge Rodriguez is retiring: First-ballot Hall of Famer.
*Dwight Howard wants Stan Van Gundy out: For real this time. SVG will be fine -- he'll make a mint on TV or coaching a different contender (he'd be fantastic in NYC, although the Dolans would hate him). Can't say the same thing about D12.
*NHL: The Penguins are still going to lose the series, but at least they won't experience the humiliation of a sweep.
*Today's best read: ESPN Mag's Tom Friend on RG3.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
04/18 (NFL Schedule) Quickie
It is a testament to the power of the NFL that the release of its schedule last night was the biggest deal in sports.
The headline/headliner is Peyton: He opens against the Steelers, and if there is a single game that everyone is circling as the most hyped game of the year, it's Broncos-Pats.
Otherwise, it has become a signature moment of annual optimism: Looking through the schedule and thinking your team has as good as any of making the playoffs.
(Good Quickish stuff on the NFL Sked here.)
More:
*Moyer Mania: 49-year-old Jamie Moyer becomes the oldest pitcher ever to get an MLB win. Again: There isn't a single player more worth seeing in person this season than Moyer.
*Kentucky 5 goes pro: I absolutely do not understand any hand-wringing about "one-and-done" players -- the only hand-wringing worth doing is over the existence of any age limit, period.
Don't get how people would want to force these kids to have to stay in school, particularly if the NBA -- the market -- signals (via projected draft position) they are clearly ready to enter the league.
*Anthony Davis will be the No. 1 overall pick. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist ("MKG") will be either No. 2 or No. 3. Terrence Jones will go in the Lottery. Marquis Teague will go in the first round. Doron Lamb might go in the first round, but probably the second. Not a bad class.
*NBA: That was a pretty good game by Melo and a pretty good win by the Knicks -- they will open the playoffs with either the Heat or Bulls and New York's best-case scenario is simply to keep things interesting through 6 or 7 games before losing in the first round.
*Ozzie is back: It's like he never left (except he will likely be way more careful about what he says -- to the extent that Ozzie can ever be too careful about things like that).
*Time's 2012 "Top 100 Most Influential People" list included six athletes: Novak Djokovic, Jeremy Lin, Lionel Messi, Oscar Pistorious, Tim Tebow, and Yani Tseng.
More later. Tons of great stuff on Quickish yesterday -- Will Leitch's GQ cover story on Derrick Rose, Wright Thompson on Ozzie Guillen and politics in Miami, Peter King's mock draft for this week's SI, Part 3 of John Branch's excellent series on a girls' high school hoops team in Tennessee being run by the local correctional system. Click here to check it out.
-- D.S.
The headline/headliner is Peyton: He opens against the Steelers, and if there is a single game that everyone is circling as the most hyped game of the year, it's Broncos-Pats.
Otherwise, it has become a signature moment of annual optimism: Looking through the schedule and thinking your team has as good as any of making the playoffs.
(Good Quickish stuff on the NFL Sked here.)
More:
*Moyer Mania: 49-year-old Jamie Moyer becomes the oldest pitcher ever to get an MLB win. Again: There isn't a single player more worth seeing in person this season than Moyer.
*Kentucky 5 goes pro: I absolutely do not understand any hand-wringing about "one-and-done" players -- the only hand-wringing worth doing is over the existence of any age limit, period.
Don't get how people would want to force these kids to have to stay in school, particularly if the NBA -- the market -- signals (via projected draft position) they are clearly ready to enter the league.
*Anthony Davis will be the No. 1 overall pick. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist ("MKG") will be either No. 2 or No. 3. Terrence Jones will go in the Lottery. Marquis Teague will go in the first round. Doron Lamb might go in the first round, but probably the second. Not a bad class.
*NBA: That was a pretty good game by Melo and a pretty good win by the Knicks -- they will open the playoffs with either the Heat or Bulls and New York's best-case scenario is simply to keep things interesting through 6 or 7 games before losing in the first round.
*Ozzie is back: It's like he never left (except he will likely be way more careful about what he says -- to the extent that Ozzie can ever be too careful about things like that).
*Time's 2012 "Top 100 Most Influential People" list included six athletes: Novak Djokovic, Jeremy Lin, Lionel Messi, Oscar Pistorious, Tim Tebow, and Yani Tseng.
More later. Tons of great stuff on Quickish yesterday -- Will Leitch's GQ cover story on Derrick Rose, Wright Thompson on Ozzie Guillen and politics in Miami, Peter King's mock draft for this week's SI, Part 3 of John Branch's excellent series on a girls' high school hoops team in Tennessee being run by the local correctional system. Click here to check it out.
-- D.S.
Monday, April 16, 2012
04/16 (Monday) Quickie
*Damn: The Flyers are putting on an impressive beat-down.
*Calm down: The Heat beating the Knicks isn't quite the Heat beating the Bulls.
*However: The Lakers have to figure out if it's Bynum's team or Kobe's team.
*Sports x Pop Culture: "Mad Men" incorporating the 1966 World Cup.
*Today in Tebow Hysteria: Tebow at a Yankees game! (In a Yankees hat!)
*Two words: Matt. Kemp.
*Great read: John Branch's series in the NYT about the girls' hoops team administrated by the local correctional system.
*By the way: Tebow's new Nike jersey sold out on its first day of availability.
More later.
-- D.S.
*Calm down: The Heat beating the Knicks isn't quite the Heat beating the Bulls.
*However: The Lakers have to figure out if it's Bynum's team or Kobe's team.
*Sports x Pop Culture: "Mad Men" incorporating the 1966 World Cup.
*Today in Tebow Hysteria: Tebow at a Yankees game! (In a Yankees hat!)
*Two words: Matt. Kemp.
*Great read: John Branch's series in the NYT about the girls' hoops team administrated by the local correctional system.
*By the way: Tebow's new Nike jersey sold out on its first day of availability.
More later.
-- D.S.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Saying Goodbye to Gram
My Gram passed away yesterday. She was 93. She was my roommate.
She spent the last 14 years without my Pop. He died in 1998 after a year of living with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. That’s what brought me to their house in the Midwood section of Brooklyn in 1997 as a sort of valet for them as he battled, and that’s how she and I ended up as roommates after he passed away.
It wasn’t quite the Brooklyn-hipster lifestyle. She lived pretty far out in the borough. No cable. No dishwasher. No dryer. She didn’t drive. She didn’t eat red meat. We ate simply; the highlight was Friday night Shabbat dinners, usually featuring a potato kugel from the “good” kugel store on Avenue M and, hopefully, a black and white cookie.
Usually, we would break out the mini-TV and put it on the kitchen table as we ate, watching the local NBC news broadcast at 5, then the PBS NewsHour at 6. She liked politics. As the wife of a 40-year New York Timesman, she was a devoted reader of the paper.
(Even after she left New York and moved into the assisted-living facility in Maryland, she kept the subscription -- in her room yesterday, I found a copy of my piece from the Sunday Times a few weeks ago on a table. I have the voicemail she left me on the day it came out; it’s nice to know that at age 39, I can still make my Gram as proud of me as she was on that call.)
I tried to be as helpful as possible, but -- after all -- we were roommates. Given that I was 25 and she was 79, there would be squabbles, of course. But we got along pretty well. Gram knew I had her back, and I knew she had mine. She only called me “Daniel,” a holdover from when I was a little boy. When I was feeling particularly cheeky (or exasperated), I’d call her by her first name, “Lil.”
The months after my Pop died were hard for her, but we didn’t talk about it very much. I know she appreciated my help but I also know she needed to figure out how to live by herself. We finally decided I should move out -- she needed to find her footing on her own, without her husband of 50-plus years; it was time for me to find a non-octogenarian lifestyle in New York.
Besides, I would still be in New York to ferry her around if she needed it -- to doctor’s appointments and family events that she would never miss. She had a lot of friends and stayed active (that was something the folks at the assisted-living facility kept telling us -- Gram was always participating in whatever they had scheduled for the residents).
A few years later, I was in between years of business school and back in New York for the summer -- I think it was a foregone conclusion for me that I would be living with her. I think it messed with her system to have me around again, but I think she liked having me rattle around the house again. And at least this time she knew there was an end-point.
My favorite moment with Gram was that summer. You can imagine living in Midwood with an 82-year-old wasn’t exactly conducive to dating, although that was a lot more about me suggesting 5:30 dinner reservations than anything Gram did. I had gone out on a date -- my first in a long time -- and I had stayed out all night, which was not anticipated.
I called Gram the next day from Manhattan -- sort of a “Talk of Shame.” I let her know I was OK... and that, uh...well...actually, I would be staying in Manhattan for the rest of the day and another night with this girl from the date. (Obviously, it was a pretty good first date, although not exactly the kind you would want to talk about with your grandma-roommate.)
I could hear Gram chuckle through the phone. She had a lot of strong opinions, but she could be very “live and let live.” She knew I was happy. A few weeks later, as I was getting ready to move out of her house, presumably for the last time, I confided in her that I already knew this girl was going to be it. Gram and my wife had an amazing relationship over the past 10 years.
Gram was no-nonsense and wasn’t big on sentimentality. I know she missed my grandfather dearly, but she did not burden the rest of us with that grief. But she loved her two daughters and her five grandkids and she was particularly proud of her nine great-grandkids. I am so glad she got to meet her ninth great-grandkid, Lucy, who was born 6 weeks ago. I am so glad that, by moving to DC, we spent the last 8 months being a 10-minute ride from where she lived. (Obligatory plea that always seem to happen in moments like this: “You don’t call your grandparents enough, if you’re lucky enough to still have any. Call them to say hi and tell them a story about what you’re up to.”)
There is a special feeling I have for my Gram, unlike anything I felt for my other grandparents or my own parents and siblings or even my wife and kids.
Think about your favorite roommate ever -- the kind of loyalty and familiarity you develop. It’s not about the signature moments (although those stand out) as much as the pleasant hum of the every day. Gram and I had a unique and odd set-up, one that I don’t think either of us asked for or saw coming 20 years ago when it was your standard “proud grandma” / “loving grandson” dynamic -- senior and kid.
But for the last day, it has made things so much happier for me, to remember that “sit-com”-ish premise of our living situation -- hopefully, I made her life easier (maybe even happy). Living with her certainly made my life happier. But so much sadder right now.
-- D.S.
She spent the last 14 years without my Pop. He died in 1998 after a year of living with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. That’s what brought me to their house in the Midwood section of Brooklyn in 1997 as a sort of valet for them as he battled, and that’s how she and I ended up as roommates after he passed away.
It wasn’t quite the Brooklyn-hipster lifestyle. She lived pretty far out in the borough. No cable. No dishwasher. No dryer. She didn’t drive. She didn’t eat red meat. We ate simply; the highlight was Friday night Shabbat dinners, usually featuring a potato kugel from the “good” kugel store on Avenue M and, hopefully, a black and white cookie.
Usually, we would break out the mini-TV and put it on the kitchen table as we ate, watching the local NBC news broadcast at 5, then the PBS NewsHour at 6. She liked politics. As the wife of a 40-year New York Timesman, she was a devoted reader of the paper.
(Even after she left New York and moved into the assisted-living facility in Maryland, she kept the subscription -- in her room yesterday, I found a copy of my piece from the Sunday Times a few weeks ago on a table. I have the voicemail she left me on the day it came out; it’s nice to know that at age 39, I can still make my Gram as proud of me as she was on that call.)
I tried to be as helpful as possible, but -- after all -- we were roommates. Given that I was 25 and she was 79, there would be squabbles, of course. But we got along pretty well. Gram knew I had her back, and I knew she had mine. She only called me “Daniel,” a holdover from when I was a little boy. When I was feeling particularly cheeky (or exasperated), I’d call her by her first name, “Lil.”
The months after my Pop died were hard for her, but we didn’t talk about it very much. I know she appreciated my help but I also know she needed to figure out how to live by herself. We finally decided I should move out -- she needed to find her footing on her own, without her husband of 50-plus years; it was time for me to find a non-octogenarian lifestyle in New York.
Besides, I would still be in New York to ferry her around if she needed it -- to doctor’s appointments and family events that she would never miss. She had a lot of friends and stayed active (that was something the folks at the assisted-living facility kept telling us -- Gram was always participating in whatever they had scheduled for the residents).
A few years later, I was in between years of business school and back in New York for the summer -- I think it was a foregone conclusion for me that I would be living with her. I think it messed with her system to have me around again, but I think she liked having me rattle around the house again. And at least this time she knew there was an end-point.
My favorite moment with Gram was that summer. You can imagine living in Midwood with an 82-year-old wasn’t exactly conducive to dating, although that was a lot more about me suggesting 5:30 dinner reservations than anything Gram did. I had gone out on a date -- my first in a long time -- and I had stayed out all night, which was not anticipated.
I called Gram the next day from Manhattan -- sort of a “Talk of Shame.” I let her know I was OK... and that, uh...well...actually, I would be staying in Manhattan for the rest of the day and another night with this girl from the date. (Obviously, it was a pretty good first date, although not exactly the kind you would want to talk about with your grandma-roommate.)
I could hear Gram chuckle through the phone. She had a lot of strong opinions, but she could be very “live and let live.” She knew I was happy. A few weeks later, as I was getting ready to move out of her house, presumably for the last time, I confided in her that I already knew this girl was going to be it. Gram and my wife had an amazing relationship over the past 10 years.
Gram was no-nonsense and wasn’t big on sentimentality. I know she missed my grandfather dearly, but she did not burden the rest of us with that grief. But she loved her two daughters and her five grandkids and she was particularly proud of her nine great-grandkids. I am so glad she got to meet her ninth great-grandkid, Lucy, who was born 6 weeks ago. I am so glad that, by moving to DC, we spent the last 8 months being a 10-minute ride from where she lived. (Obligatory plea that always seem to happen in moments like this: “You don’t call your grandparents enough, if you’re lucky enough to still have any. Call them to say hi and tell them a story about what you’re up to.”)
There is a special feeling I have for my Gram, unlike anything I felt for my other grandparents or my own parents and siblings or even my wife and kids.
Think about your favorite roommate ever -- the kind of loyalty and familiarity you develop. It’s not about the signature moments (although those stand out) as much as the pleasant hum of the every day. Gram and I had a unique and odd set-up, one that I don’t think either of us asked for or saw coming 20 years ago when it was your standard “proud grandma” / “loving grandson” dynamic -- senior and kid.
But for the last day, it has made things so much happier for me, to remember that “sit-com”-ish premise of our living situation -- hopefully, I made her life easier (maybe even happy). Living with her certainly made my life happier. But so much sadder right now.
-- D.S.
4/13 (Page 2) Quickie
When Page 2 launched in the fall of 2000, I immediately emailed my former colleague on the ESPNet.SportsZone edit desk, Kevin Jackson -- now in charge of the project with a universally esteemed magazine lifer named Jay Lovinger -- and asked how I could be a part.
It started with a gimmicky "What's Hot, What's Not" list on New Year's Day of 2001, then continued over the next 18 months or so with regular contributions, including a weekly "What's Hot/What's Not" column. It was a lot of fun, and it was a nice change of pace from my work in business school.
In the spring and summer of 2002, as I was finishing up my MBA, I was thinking about how online news consumption was changing and came up with an idea I thought would work as a daily conceit -- not to mention a way for me to claim my dream job as a daily national sports columnist.
I pitched the idea for what would become the Daily Quickie to Jackson and Lovinger over the summer. They helped me hone the concept (I just found some of the early emails, and they are awesome) and the column launched in January of 2003.
Gratifyingly, people liked it and I got to keep doing it every day, batting lead-off for a lineup that included heavy hitters like Wiley, Simmons, HST and Halberstam. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I never took for granted.
When I left Page 2, I wished them nothing but the best -- I maintain the sentimentalism of an alum -- and I have been thrilled to see Jackson ascend to become a key leader within ESPN.com, to see Schoenfield become one of the most essential baseball writers in the country, to see Lovinger spearhead the incredible E-Ticket initiative and to see the rest of my Page 2 colleagues find great success, both on and off ESPN.com.
With no disrespect to the folks who managed Page 2 over the past five years, those first five years -- pre-sportsblogs, pre-Facebook, pre-Twitter -- were something very unique and special, with the kind of willingness to experiment and innovate that was rare in mainstream sports media and, hopefully, inspiring (or at least entertaining) to folks who saw it.
Page 2 ends today. There will be new ideas starting next week, and hopefully they will let their imagination go -- the landscape couldn't be more different (or competitive) than it was 12 years ago. The legacy of Page 2, at least for me, is that it's OK to try -- that's a kernel worth keeping.
It was a good run -- a fun run -- and I'm proud to know I played a small part.
-- D.S.
It started with a gimmicky "What's Hot, What's Not" list on New Year's Day of 2001, then continued over the next 18 months or so with regular contributions, including a weekly "What's Hot/What's Not" column. It was a lot of fun, and it was a nice change of pace from my work in business school.
In the spring and summer of 2002, as I was finishing up my MBA, I was thinking about how online news consumption was changing and came up with an idea I thought would work as a daily conceit -- not to mention a way for me to claim my dream job as a daily national sports columnist.
I pitched the idea for what would become the Daily Quickie to Jackson and Lovinger over the summer. They helped me hone the concept (I just found some of the early emails, and they are awesome) and the column launched in January of 2003.
Gratifyingly, people liked it and I got to keep doing it every day, batting lead-off for a lineup that included heavy hitters like Wiley, Simmons, HST and Halberstam. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I never took for granted.
When I left Page 2, I wished them nothing but the best -- I maintain the sentimentalism of an alum -- and I have been thrilled to see Jackson ascend to become a key leader within ESPN.com, to see Schoenfield become one of the most essential baseball writers in the country, to see Lovinger spearhead the incredible E-Ticket initiative and to see the rest of my Page 2 colleagues find great success, both on and off ESPN.com.
With no disrespect to the folks who managed Page 2 over the past five years, those first five years -- pre-sportsblogs, pre-Facebook, pre-Twitter -- were something very unique and special, with the kind of willingness to experiment and innovate that was rare in mainstream sports media and, hopefully, inspiring (or at least entertaining) to folks who saw it.
Page 2 ends today. There will be new ideas starting next week, and hopefully they will let their imagination go -- the landscape couldn't be more different (or competitive) than it was 12 years ago. The legacy of Page 2, at least for me, is that it's OK to try -- that's a kernel worth keeping.
It was a good run -- a fun run -- and I'm proud to know I played a small part.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
04/11 (Petrino) Quickie
Let's not give Arkansas AD Jeff Long too much credit: Bobby Petrino HAD to be fired. This wasn't a moral issue; it was an employment-law issue. It's not that Petrino isn't bigger than the Arkansas football program -- it's that he isn't bigger than the legal bill the school would have racked up had they kept him around after he hired his mistress. That said: Long gets credit for letting his outrage show on TV last night, which -- in a climate of "college sports are so corrupt!" -- gets points for being refreshing. But let's make it clear: This wasn't "Profiles in Courage" as much as "CYA."
Now, did Ozzie Guillen HAVE to be suspended by the Marlins? Yes, and as Joe Sheehan and some others have pointed out, it was entirely about the money -- the damage done to the Marlins' business by Guillen popping off about Castro in a way that seemed even remotely sympathetic, in a town where Castro is Public Enemy No. 1. The team had to worry about its relationship with fans in the area, both in the short- and long-term. I'm all for folks in sports saying whatever they want about politics or society, but that doesn't mean they don't need to be careful about what they say and consider the audience. As has been pointed out elsewhere, if Guillen said the same thing about Castro while managing the White Sox in Chicago, it's much less of a big deal. But in Miami? Ozzie should be suspended for the lack of judgment alone.
More:
*I don't hate the Celtics in twilight nearly as much as I did when they were title contenders -- I will certainly root against them, but I hope last night's Boston win over the Heat is an indicator that they are ready to make their share of the playoffs interesting. If they can push the Bulls to 6 or 7 games in the Eastern Conference semis, that's as much as you can ask of them. (They would be much better off if they were matched up with the Heat in the semis than the Bulls, who are less likely to fold if bullied.)
*Where will the top two prep hoops prospects -- Nerlens Noel and Shabazz Muhammad -- say they are going to spend next year in college, when they announce tonight? I'm holding out a smidgen of hope that Noel picks Georgetown, but I think both will pick Kentucky -- as they should. (If Noel does spurn UK, it'll be for Syracuse, not G'town.)
*Bill Parcells isn't going to coach the Saints: That's too bad, because that would have been a lot of fun.
More later -- pop by Quickish all day for great takes on the big stories.
-- D.S.
Now, did Ozzie Guillen HAVE to be suspended by the Marlins? Yes, and as Joe Sheehan and some others have pointed out, it was entirely about the money -- the damage done to the Marlins' business by Guillen popping off about Castro in a way that seemed even remotely sympathetic, in a town where Castro is Public Enemy No. 1. The team had to worry about its relationship with fans in the area, both in the short- and long-term. I'm all for folks in sports saying whatever they want about politics or society, but that doesn't mean they don't need to be careful about what they say and consider the audience. As has been pointed out elsewhere, if Guillen said the same thing about Castro while managing the White Sox in Chicago, it's much less of a big deal. But in Miami? Ozzie should be suspended for the lack of judgment alone.
More:
*I don't hate the Celtics in twilight nearly as much as I did when they were title contenders -- I will certainly root against them, but I hope last night's Boston win over the Heat is an indicator that they are ready to make their share of the playoffs interesting. If they can push the Bulls to 6 or 7 games in the Eastern Conference semis, that's as much as you can ask of them. (They would be much better off if they were matched up with the Heat in the semis than the Bulls, who are less likely to fold if bullied.)
*Where will the top two prep hoops prospects -- Nerlens Noel and Shabazz Muhammad -- say they are going to spend next year in college, when they announce tonight? I'm holding out a smidgen of hope that Noel picks Georgetown, but I think both will pick Kentucky -- as they should. (If Noel does spurn UK, it'll be for Syracuse, not G'town.)
*Bill Parcells isn't going to coach the Saints: That's too bad, because that would have been a lot of fun.
More later -- pop by Quickish all day for great takes on the big stories.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
04/10 (Instagram) Quickie
I'm a big fan of Instagram, a big fan of entrepreneurship, a big fan of great user-experience -- I'm very happy for the founders of Instagram on their billion-dollar sale to Facebook.
I think Instagram has a big place with sports fans -- you've seen it here and there -- and there is a lot more to do with it. More than that, it is a triumph of the mash-up of the social and the visual, both of which are core to the sports-fan experience. If you are a fan of this stuff, it is worth your time to read some of the backstories to Instagram's start and growth that are floating around -- not to mention the analysis of why this was a smart move for Facebook.
FWIW: Want some everyday relevance of Instagram in sports? How about this photo posted on Instagram by Shabazz Muhammad, the top-ranked high school hoops player (and guaranteed Top 3 pick of the '13 NBA Draft), who will make his college choice today.
More:
*Ozzie Guillen: Needs to apologize, even if he doesn't believe it. Gotta know your audience.
*OK, so Yu Darvish struggled in his debut, but the Rangers' barrage of run support was a good reminder of why he was lucky to end up with Texas.
*The Mets are 4-0. Amazing.
*Derrick Rose ankle: Needless to say, if he's not full strength, the Bulls are still good enough to get to the Eastern conference finals, but not good enough to topple the Heat.
*Baylor vs. NCAA: Were the coaches given bad advice by the school's NCAA compliance officer? Better hope so, because if not, that's some serious phone-call violatin'.
Pop by Quickish all day for the best takes on the biggest stories.
-- D.S.
I think Instagram has a big place with sports fans -- you've seen it here and there -- and there is a lot more to do with it. More than that, it is a triumph of the mash-up of the social and the visual, both of which are core to the sports-fan experience. If you are a fan of this stuff, it is worth your time to read some of the backstories to Instagram's start and growth that are floating around -- not to mention the analysis of why this was a smart move for Facebook.
FWIW: Want some everyday relevance of Instagram in sports? How about this photo posted on Instagram by Shabazz Muhammad, the top-ranked high school hoops player (and guaranteed Top 3 pick of the '13 NBA Draft), who will make his college choice today.
More:
*Ozzie Guillen: Needs to apologize, even if he doesn't believe it. Gotta know your audience.
*OK, so Yu Darvish struggled in his debut, but the Rangers' barrage of run support was a good reminder of why he was lucky to end up with Texas.
*The Mets are 4-0. Amazing.
*Derrick Rose ankle: Needless to say, if he's not full strength, the Bulls are still good enough to get to the Eastern conference finals, but not good enough to topple the Heat.
*Baylor vs. NCAA: Were the coaches given bad advice by the school's NCAA compliance officer? Better hope so, because if not, that's some serious phone-call violatin'.
Pop by Quickish all day for the best takes on the biggest stories.
-- D.S.
Monday, April 09, 2012
04/09 (Bubba) Quickie
I'm torn by Bubba Watson's Masters win.
On the one hand, it's a victory for non-conformity -- as Bubba's mythology goes, he has never taken a proper lesson. That unconventional shot on the second playoff hole -- one of the most memorable in Masters history -- was a perfect symbol of "Bubba golf."
On the other hand, we like to talk about "process over outcome" -- we like to think that if we get professional help, our performance will improve. Maybe that's a myth, but more likely, it'll get you to a 90% or 95% outcome but potentially not let you be an outlier, with an accompanying outlier result. (On the other other hand, maybe he debunks the notion of gurus, which isn't a bad thing.)
In other words, Bubba isn't a model -- he's an exception. And we should appreciate and enjoy that exception for all the same reasons we appreciate and enjoy lots of exceptions out there. I just wouldn't look at it as a model.
(Check that: I wouldn't look at it as a model of how to win a Masters -- I would absolutely look at it as an example of someone who seems to have his priorities in order: He is open with his emotions, he is a devoted new father and husband, he spends his money on pop-culture kitsch, he seems hyper-competitive but not to the point of losing his humanity.... we could all learn something from that kind of "Bubba" lifestyle.)
-- D.S.
On the one hand, it's a victory for non-conformity -- as Bubba's mythology goes, he has never taken a proper lesson. That unconventional shot on the second playoff hole -- one of the most memorable in Masters history -- was a perfect symbol of "Bubba golf."
On the other hand, we like to talk about "process over outcome" -- we like to think that if we get professional help, our performance will improve. Maybe that's a myth, but more likely, it'll get you to a 90% or 95% outcome but potentially not let you be an outlier, with an accompanying outlier result. (On the other other hand, maybe he debunks the notion of gurus, which isn't a bad thing.)
In other words, Bubba isn't a model -- he's an exception. And we should appreciate and enjoy that exception for all the same reasons we appreciate and enjoy lots of exceptions out there. I just wouldn't look at it as a model.
(Check that: I wouldn't look at it as a model of how to win a Masters -- I would absolutely look at it as an example of someone who seems to have his priorities in order: He is open with his emotions, he is a devoted new father and husband, he spends his money on pop-culture kitsch, he seems hyper-competitive but not to the point of losing his humanity.... we could all learn something from that kind of "Bubba" lifestyle.)
-- D.S.
Friday, April 06, 2012
04/06 (Another Opening Day) Quickie
*Nats win! (See yesterday's thing.)
*Same old, same old for the Red Sox. Same old, same old for Verlander.
*Toronto's 16-inning win feels like an omen we'll look back in in September.
*Powerful: The "Rangers Fans" statue of Shannon and Cooper Stone.
*Henrik Stenson's 8 on 18 was far more compelling than anything Tiger did.
*D12 vs. SVG: Why hasn't the Magic let SVG go yet? Yikes.
*Petrino: The wins and the skeeviness are all of a piece. Arkansas knows it.
*Gregg Williams' NFL career is over. But SHOULD it be over? I say yes.
*The Caps have eked into the NHL playoffs. Can't end up worse than cruising in.
*Yesterday's best thing: That Cubs-vs-Sox New Era ad. Brilliant.
*To those celebrating, a good Easter and/or good Passover to you.
*My favorite Passover treat: Chocolate-covered marshmallow bars, frozen.
-- D.S.
*Same old, same old for the Red Sox. Same old, same old for Verlander.
*Toronto's 16-inning win feels like an omen we'll look back in in September.
*Powerful: The "Rangers Fans" statue of Shannon and Cooper Stone.
*Henrik Stenson's 8 on 18 was far more compelling than anything Tiger did.
*D12 vs. SVG: Why hasn't the Magic let SVG go yet? Yikes.
*Petrino: The wins and the skeeviness are all of a piece. Arkansas knows it.
*Gregg Williams' NFL career is over. But SHOULD it be over? I say yes.
*The Caps have eked into the NHL playoffs. Can't end up worse than cruising in.
*Yesterday's best thing: That Cubs-vs-Sox New Era ad. Brilliant.
*To those celebrating, a good Easter and/or good Passover to you.
*My favorite Passover treat: Chocolate-covered marshmallow bars, frozen.
-- D.S.
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Cub Fan, Nats Man
The Nats-Cubs season-opener feels awkward for me.
When I was a kid growing up in the DC suburbs, I loved the Cubs. Loved. Loved loved loved. Die-hard. I was 11 for 1984's "Next Year Is Here."
I called my local cable company -- which hadn't been around very long, mind you -- to lobby them to add WGN SuperStation.
I had a Cubs hat that I wore around so much that it wore out. I took a Sharpie and wrote "8/8/88" on my baseball glove, commemorating the night the lights went on at Wrigley.
In my freshman facebook entry for college, among my interests, I listed "Chicago Cubs."
20 years ago, the idea of going to college in Chicago and being able to drop by Wrigley as often as I wanted -- which I did -- seemed like a dream.
When I graduated college, I moved into an apartment in Wrigleyville, about three blocks from the field -- close enough we could sit on our stoop and trade cans of beer for free tickets.
Somewhere along the line, I went from die-hard to not being a fan at all. There's no question that part of it came from me losing some of my passion for baseball. Some of it, ironically, came from the proximity -- being a displaced Cubs fan felt special; being in the middle of it was, weirdly, less appealing. But, looking back, a lot had to do with my interest in baseball fading -- a strange thing for a one-time Strat-o-Matic addict.
Fast-forward to 2012. I have moved back to the DC area. Baseball-wise, the biggest difference between the early-90s and now is the presence of the Nationals. Not just the presence, but the buzz -- Strasburg. Harper. Zimmerman. That rotation! That bullpen! Davey Johnson! Mike Rizzo! Thomas Boswell!
A few years ago, the Nats piqued my interest -- I had grown up going to Orioles games (for years, my dad had the "Sunday home game" ticket package), but I never had the connection to them, aside from an abiding regional love for Cal Ripken, which every kid had regardless of who they grew up rooting for.
That the Nats went from a sorry team to one of the most promising in baseball was compelling. They have a must-see ace and a must-see hitter-in-waiting. I began to follow the team, but once I actually moved down here, I started following them much more closely.
I really like baseball -- particularly the "national" stories and the intellectual approach that has taken hold of the game and its complementary analysis. (I don't mind saying that subscribing to Joe Sheehan's baseball newsletter helped my enjoyment of the game substantially.)
But now I find myself gravitating towards rooting for a team again. I'm still very sympathetic for the Cubs -- I cannot possibly turn against my 13-year-old self -- but I consider myself a burgeoning Nats fan, even a bandwagon Nats fan (then again, every DC area fan who adopted the Nationals simply out of proximity or regional allegiance is a bandwagon fan).
More importantly, once again, I consider myself a real (or "real") fan (or "fan") of a specific team, nonetheless.
Ironically, the first MLB game that I took my oldest kid to was a Cubs game, two summers ago. He loved it. The video I have of him singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" remains one of my favorite moments of being a parent.
Even more ironically, he has no interest in the Nationals -- like any kid born and raised in New York, he is... much to my regret... a Yankees fan. My impulse is to try to break him of that, but who am I to manipulate his fandom like that? That's his thing.
Now, if the Nationals get good and he grows up from age 6 to age 16 watching Strasburg mow down hitters and Harper jack homers and the team win division titles (or even a World Series or two), he may change his mind.
That would certainly be taking after his dad.
-- D.S.
When I was a kid growing up in the DC suburbs, I loved the Cubs. Loved. Loved loved loved. Die-hard. I was 11 for 1984's "Next Year Is Here."
I called my local cable company -- which hadn't been around very long, mind you -- to lobby them to add WGN SuperStation.
I had a Cubs hat that I wore around so much that it wore out. I took a Sharpie and wrote "8/8/88" on my baseball glove, commemorating the night the lights went on at Wrigley.
In my freshman facebook entry for college, among my interests, I listed "Chicago Cubs."
20 years ago, the idea of going to college in Chicago and being able to drop by Wrigley as often as I wanted -- which I did -- seemed like a dream.
When I graduated college, I moved into an apartment in Wrigleyville, about three blocks from the field -- close enough we could sit on our stoop and trade cans of beer for free tickets.
Somewhere along the line, I went from die-hard to not being a fan at all. There's no question that part of it came from me losing some of my passion for baseball. Some of it, ironically, came from the proximity -- being a displaced Cubs fan felt special; being in the middle of it was, weirdly, less appealing. But, looking back, a lot had to do with my interest in baseball fading -- a strange thing for a one-time Strat-o-Matic addict.
Fast-forward to 2012. I have moved back to the DC area. Baseball-wise, the biggest difference between the early-90s and now is the presence of the Nationals. Not just the presence, but the buzz -- Strasburg. Harper. Zimmerman. That rotation! That bullpen! Davey Johnson! Mike Rizzo! Thomas Boswell!
A few years ago, the Nats piqued my interest -- I had grown up going to Orioles games (for years, my dad had the "Sunday home game" ticket package), but I never had the connection to them, aside from an abiding regional love for Cal Ripken, which every kid had regardless of who they grew up rooting for.
That the Nats went from a sorry team to one of the most promising in baseball was compelling. They have a must-see ace and a must-see hitter-in-waiting. I began to follow the team, but once I actually moved down here, I started following them much more closely.
I really like baseball -- particularly the "national" stories and the intellectual approach that has taken hold of the game and its complementary analysis. (I don't mind saying that subscribing to Joe Sheehan's baseball newsletter helped my enjoyment of the game substantially.)
But now I find myself gravitating towards rooting for a team again. I'm still very sympathetic for the Cubs -- I cannot possibly turn against my 13-year-old self -- but I consider myself a burgeoning Nats fan, even a bandwagon Nats fan (then again, every DC area fan who adopted the Nationals simply out of proximity or regional allegiance is a bandwagon fan).
More importantly, once again, I consider myself a real (or "real") fan (or "fan") of a specific team, nonetheless.
Ironically, the first MLB game that I took my oldest kid to was a Cubs game, two summers ago. He loved it. The video I have of him singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" remains one of my favorite moments of being a parent.
Even more ironically, he has no interest in the Nationals -- like any kid born and raised in New York, he is... much to my regret... a Yankees fan. My impulse is to try to break him of that, but who am I to manipulate his fandom like that? That's his thing.
Now, if the Nationals get good and he grows up from age 6 to age 16 watching Strasburg mow down hitters and Harper jack homers and the team win division titles (or even a World Series or two), he may change his mind.
That would certainly be taking after his dad.
-- D.S.
04/05 (Opening Day-ish) Quickie
Is it baseball's Opening Day yet? (What does it say that I have to ask for clarification?)
*The top storyline is whether Albert Pujols can get the Angels to the playoffs.
*My most must-see player of the season is 49-year-old Jamie Moyer.
*There is no chance that the sport can match last season's "Game 162" finale.
*That said, the new playoff format will keep things interesting all the way.
*If you read one thing: Schoenfield's "100 Reasons to be Excited"
*Saints/Gregg Williams: The "Go lay that mother-f---er out!" audio -- listen here -- is the most damning evidence that could be produced. I stand by my initial take: Gregg Williams is finished in the NFL. "Indefinitely" isn't "back next year" -- the league will make him a radioactive hire.
*Masters: Tiger is the main event. Rory is must-see, but Tiger is who everyone will be tracking between now and Sunday. (The best Masters read I found was this one by ESPN.com's inimitable Wright Thompson.)
*Should Augusta National admit women? Yes. As a private club, it's their prerogative not to, but I perennially find it interesting that the sports-media world creates the cognitive dissonance to know the exclusion is wrong yet still slather over the club. Let's not give the club too much power; if everyone stopped covering it -- and if the PGA stopped supporting it (which will never happen) -- they would admit as many women as someone tells them to.
*Heat tip Thunder: I think 99% of NBA fans -- sorry, Bulls fans -- would be thrilled with a Heat-Thunder Finals. That game had a playoff intensity -- only weeks away. (Want a great read on LeBron? Kevin Van Valkenburg -- a writer I really like -- makes his ESPN Mag debut with a good piece on LeBron's place in the NBA world.)
*Must-see video clip from last night: Blake Griffin posterizes Pau Gasol...twice.
*MLB Opening-ish Night: The Marlins park is really nice. The team may take a few more weeks (months?) to get it together. Impressive to see the Cards start so fast in the post-Pujols Era.
*MLB Opening-ish Day: Aces all over the place, including Verlander, Halladay and Kershaw. But my must-see today is Stephen Strasburg when the Nats open the season at Wrigley against the Cubs at 2:20 ET.
*NBA Draft: Jared Sullinger is in, as expected. His NBA potential, however, is much more murky. Like Harrison Barnes, he's a Top 10 pick, but not close to the Top 5 (Top 3?) pick he would have been a year ago. He is not the next Kevin Love. If he's lucky, he's the next DeJuan Blair. But I actually think Blair was the better college rebounder. The comp I always come back to is Danny Fortson, who had a nice little NBA career, but was hardly a star.
*Calipari says he's staying in college: I believe him -- he is at the pinnacle of the sport, with a system that ensures he is a championship contender every year. Why leave that? Want to see Calipari think twice about staying in college? Eliminate the one-and-done rule, which is Cal's arbitrage.
Enjoy Opening Day -- or whatever it is.
-- D.S.
*The top storyline is whether Albert Pujols can get the Angels to the playoffs.
*My most must-see player of the season is 49-year-old Jamie Moyer.
*There is no chance that the sport can match last season's "Game 162" finale.
*That said, the new playoff format will keep things interesting all the way.
*If you read one thing: Schoenfield's "100 Reasons to be Excited"
*Saints/Gregg Williams: The "Go lay that mother-f---er out!" audio -- listen here -- is the most damning evidence that could be produced. I stand by my initial take: Gregg Williams is finished in the NFL. "Indefinitely" isn't "back next year" -- the league will make him a radioactive hire.
*Masters: Tiger is the main event. Rory is must-see, but Tiger is who everyone will be tracking between now and Sunday. (The best Masters read I found was this one by ESPN.com's inimitable Wright Thompson.)
*Should Augusta National admit women? Yes. As a private club, it's their prerogative not to, but I perennially find it interesting that the sports-media world creates the cognitive dissonance to know the exclusion is wrong yet still slather over the club. Let's not give the club too much power; if everyone stopped covering it -- and if the PGA stopped supporting it (which will never happen) -- they would admit as many women as someone tells them to.
*Heat tip Thunder: I think 99% of NBA fans -- sorry, Bulls fans -- would be thrilled with a Heat-Thunder Finals. That game had a playoff intensity -- only weeks away. (Want a great read on LeBron? Kevin Van Valkenburg -- a writer I really like -- makes his ESPN Mag debut with a good piece on LeBron's place in the NBA world.)
*Must-see video clip from last night: Blake Griffin posterizes Pau Gasol...twice.
*MLB Opening-ish Night: The Marlins park is really nice. The team may take a few more weeks (months?) to get it together. Impressive to see the Cards start so fast in the post-Pujols Era.
*MLB Opening-ish Day: Aces all over the place, including Verlander, Halladay and Kershaw. But my must-see today is Stephen Strasburg when the Nats open the season at Wrigley against the Cubs at 2:20 ET.
*NBA Draft: Jared Sullinger is in, as expected. His NBA potential, however, is much more murky. Like Harrison Barnes, he's a Top 10 pick, but not close to the Top 5 (Top 3?) pick he would have been a year ago. He is not the next Kevin Love. If he's lucky, he's the next DeJuan Blair. But I actually think Blair was the better college rebounder. The comp I always come back to is Danny Fortson, who had a nice little NBA career, but was hardly a star.
*Calipari says he's staying in college: I believe him -- he is at the pinnacle of the sport, with a system that ensures he is a championship contender every year. Why leave that? Want to see Calipari think twice about staying in college? Eliminate the one-and-done rule, which is Cal's arbitrage.
Enjoy Opening Day -- or whatever it is.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
04/04 (Opening Day-Ish) Quickie
It's the week of both men's and women's college hoops title games, MLB Opening Day(s) and The Masters, and yet yesterday's biggest story -- by far -- was the reveal of Nike's new NFL uniforms.
Curious about the mania, I was up in NYC yesterday for the event -- more on that later -- but even though I was sure it would be a big story, even I underestimated (foolishly) just how big.
(Quick verdict: I like the Seahawks turning themselves into the Oregon of the NFL... I am legitimately curious whether the tighter-fitting jerseys will make holding -- or tackling -- more difficult... $100 for the replica jersey seems high, but people will pay. On the way out of town, I dropped $30 at Modell's for a Tebow-Jets T-shirt. Because I am an idiot.)
More:
*MLB Opening Day-ish: Wow, is MLB screwing up Opening Day or what? In an era of the NFL turning "Kickoff Weekend" into multi-day event, MLB is doing a Bizarro version -- a mish-mash of opening days (no capital-O/capital-D), simultaneously missing a window of extreme fan interest (and nothing going on on the schedule) on Monday, yesterday and today. In a week, we'll be in full swing and we'll have forgotten, but this feels like a swing and a miss. Check that: It feels like standing there watching strike three go by with the bat on your shoulder.
*Baylor goes 40-0: It's unprecedented -- not the unbeaten season, but racking up 40 wins while going unbeaten. Brittany Griner cements her legacy as the most dominating player in the history of women's basketball -- and she sounds committed to returning to Baylor next year, which would make them the wildly prohibitive favorite to repeat (and, perhaps, repeat 40-0).
*Heat clinch a playoff spot: Biggest "meh" news of the day. Like Kentucky, the Heat are "Championship or Fail." Period. Let's talk again in early June.
*Joe Flacco says "I think I'm the best" QB in the NFL: It would be weirder if he said "I think I'm not in the Top 5, but definitely in the Top 10... probably."
*Masters goofy story of the day: The guy who claims his dog ate his Masters tickets. Instead of paying attention to that, read Spencer Hall's eulogy to his beloved dog, Isis.
*David Stern wants to expand the NBA Draft age-limit to two years: No. No, no, no, no, no. Terrible idea. (To be very open: I think there should be no age limit for the NBA Draft, and instead of artificially and arbitrarily limiting the professional opportunities for the kids, the NBA should make a bigger effort to get their GMs not to screw up the picks, either the selection or the subsequent development... not that taking prep-to-pro prospects is a bad idea. In fact, it's typically a way better idea than taking a college kid.)
Curious about the mania, I was up in NYC yesterday for the event -- more on that later -- but even though I was sure it would be a big story, even I underestimated (foolishly) just how big.
(Quick verdict: I like the Seahawks turning themselves into the Oregon of the NFL... I am legitimately curious whether the tighter-fitting jerseys will make holding -- or tackling -- more difficult... $100 for the replica jersey seems high, but people will pay. On the way out of town, I dropped $30 at Modell's for a Tebow-Jets T-shirt. Because I am an idiot.)
More:
*MLB Opening Day-ish: Wow, is MLB screwing up Opening Day or what? In an era of the NFL turning "Kickoff Weekend" into multi-day event, MLB is doing a Bizarro version -- a mish-mash of opening days (no capital-O/capital-D), simultaneously missing a window of extreme fan interest (and nothing going on on the schedule) on Monday, yesterday and today. In a week, we'll be in full swing and we'll have forgotten, but this feels like a swing and a miss. Check that: It feels like standing there watching strike three go by with the bat on your shoulder.
*Baylor goes 40-0: It's unprecedented -- not the unbeaten season, but racking up 40 wins while going unbeaten. Brittany Griner cements her legacy as the most dominating player in the history of women's basketball -- and she sounds committed to returning to Baylor next year, which would make them the wildly prohibitive favorite to repeat (and, perhaps, repeat 40-0).
*Heat clinch a playoff spot: Biggest "meh" news of the day. Like Kentucky, the Heat are "Championship or Fail." Period. Let's talk again in early June.
*Joe Flacco says "I think I'm the best" QB in the NFL: It would be weirder if he said "I think I'm not in the Top 5, but definitely in the Top 10... probably."
*Masters goofy story of the day: The guy who claims his dog ate his Masters tickets. Instead of paying attention to that, read Spencer Hall's eulogy to his beloved dog, Isis.
*David Stern wants to expand the NBA Draft age-limit to two years: No. No, no, no, no, no. Terrible idea. (To be very open: I think there should be no age limit for the NBA Draft, and instead of artificially and arbitrarily limiting the professional opportunities for the kids, the NBA should make a bigger effort to get their GMs not to screw up the picks, either the selection or the subsequent development... not that taking prep-to-pro prospects is a bad idea. In fact, it's typically a way better idea than taking a college kid.)
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Congrats, Quickish Readers Bracket Winners
Huge congratulations to the three folks who tied for the championship of the "Quickish Readers" group of ESPN.com's Tournament Challenge: "Giggs," "DResvilla" and "TeeMabry22."
I can't help but post with pride that my 5-year-old Gabe picked his own bracket this year, entirely by himself (handwritten and all) and finished in the 92nd percentile nationally. Not bad.
If you used the "National Bracket," you'd have finished in the 87th percentile.
If you simply picked all higher seeds, you'd have finished in the 82nd percentile.
If you used Barack Obama's picks, you would have finished in the 64th percentile.
I got off a multi-year schneid by finishing in the 70th percentile.
And if you used SI.com's "Survival Analysis" from Harvard Sports Analysis Collective's John Ezekowitz, you would have finished in the 97th percentile. Keep that in mind for next year.
I can't help but post with pride that my 5-year-old Gabe picked his own bracket this year, entirely by himself (handwritten and all) and finished in the 92nd percentile nationally. Not bad.
If you used the "National Bracket," you'd have finished in the 87th percentile.
If you simply picked all higher seeds, you'd have finished in the 82nd percentile.
If you used Barack Obama's picks, you would have finished in the 64th percentile.
I got off a multi-year schneid by finishing in the 70th percentile.
And if you used SI.com's "Survival Analysis" from Harvard Sports Analysis Collective's John Ezekowitz, you would have finished in the 97th percentile. Keep that in mind for next year.
04/03 (Kentucky) Quickie
And so Kentucky did one of the hardest and most compelling things in sports -- certainly college sports: Win it all when they were expected to win it all. In the harsh dichotomy of "Championship or Fail," they won.
But there is another reason this Kentucky team is so compelling, and it has been covered by some of the great college writers out there: It is a validation of John Calipari's "one-and-done" system that takes maximum advantage -- arbitrage, really -- of the inane and arbitrary rules about NBA eligibility set out by the NBA and exploited by the NCAA. It shouldn't be studied by other coaches -- it should be studied at Harvard Business School.
Now, here's the caveat: It might be replicable -- oh, sure, Calipari will bring in another No. 1 recruiting class or batch of one-and-done freshmen, whose next stop is the NBA Lottery -- but it's not sustainable, at least if you define "sustained" as "winning championship after championship."
*It won't include Anthony Davis, who is nothing less than the most game-changing defensive talent (freshman or otherwise) in modern college hoops history.
*It won't include Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the ultimate "glue guy" -- who also happens to be the consensus No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft behind Davis.
*It won't include that smidgen of upperclass experience -- Terrence Jones and Darius Miller and Doron Lamb (no slouches, themselves) -- that remains a prerequisite for March success.
It will, however, include John Calipari, who is as much arbitrageur as coach (although I entirely believe the sincerity of his "players-first" commitment) and who might lose Davis and MKG, but who will replace them with the best available freshmen talent.
And he now has a championship template to point them to: Defensive intensity. Offensive brilliance. But, more than anything, sublimating their "one-and-done" NBA dreams for the good of the program and for the chance to make that one year a championship year: "Title or bust."
Calipari has seen the fulfillment of a system -- a template -- he created a few years ago. It might not always result in national titles, but it puts him in the best position to win them and it puts his players in the best position to maximize their college and pre-NBA potential. That's all you can ask for.
Don't miss the Quickish coverage of Kentucky and Calipari's ultimate triumph.
-- D.S.
But there is another reason this Kentucky team is so compelling, and it has been covered by some of the great college writers out there: It is a validation of John Calipari's "one-and-done" system that takes maximum advantage -- arbitrage, really -- of the inane and arbitrary rules about NBA eligibility set out by the NBA and exploited by the NCAA. It shouldn't be studied by other coaches -- it should be studied at Harvard Business School.
Now, here's the caveat: It might be replicable -- oh, sure, Calipari will bring in another No. 1 recruiting class or batch of one-and-done freshmen, whose next stop is the NBA Lottery -- but it's not sustainable, at least if you define "sustained" as "winning championship after championship."
*It won't include Anthony Davis, who is nothing less than the most game-changing defensive talent (freshman or otherwise) in modern college hoops history.
*It won't include Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the ultimate "glue guy" -- who also happens to be the consensus No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft behind Davis.
*It won't include that smidgen of upperclass experience -- Terrence Jones and Darius Miller and Doron Lamb (no slouches, themselves) -- that remains a prerequisite for March success.
It will, however, include John Calipari, who is as much arbitrageur as coach (although I entirely believe the sincerity of his "players-first" commitment) and who might lose Davis and MKG, but who will replace them with the best available freshmen talent.
And he now has a championship template to point them to: Defensive intensity. Offensive brilliance. But, more than anything, sublimating their "one-and-done" NBA dreams for the good of the program and for the chance to make that one year a championship year: "Title or bust."
Calipari has seen the fulfillment of a system -- a template -- he created a few years ago. It might not always result in national titles, but it puts him in the best position to win them and it puts his players in the best position to maximize their college and pre-NBA potential. That's all you can ask for.
Don't miss the Quickish coverage of Kentucky and Calipari's ultimate triumph.
-- D.S.
Sunday, April 01, 2012
04/01 (Very) Quickie
Kentucky -- Anthony Davis, specifically -- was as good as advertised. Louisville made a game of it, and though moral victories don't amount for much (especially within the boundaries of the state of Kentucky), in this case Louisville can say they played one of the great teams of the past 10 years about as closely as they could. (About those 16 missed dunks/layups....)
Kansas-Ohio State was a bit ugly, but KU earned it with that gritty comeback. Withey dominated -- folks who think Jared Sullinger is a great NBA prospect need to take that as a reality check... Sullinger might be a decent rotation player, but he's the next DeJuan Blair, not the next Kevin Love. (Not even close.) Thomas Robinson didn't have a great game, either.
I'm not sure how many fans think the title game will be close -- it'll be closer to a coronation for one of the great teams of the past decade, for Calipari's first national title team and for the validation of his system of embracing one-and-done talents.
Of the 15 NCAA champs since Kentucky's dominating '96 team, I'd slot this Kentucky team inside the Top 5 -- not quite at the level of '07 Florida, '05 UNC or '01 Duke, but better than '06 Florida, '09 UNC or '03 Syracuse (which, up until Anthony Davis, had the most talented and dominating freshman in NCAA Tournament history).
FWIW: I think '06 Florida would give '12 Kentucky a game, if only because the Gators could throw Joakim Noah and Adrian Moss and Chris Richard at Anthony Davis, but Kentucky would have no answer for Al Horford -- Terrence Jones would have been throttled. Corey Brewer vs. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist would have been a jaw-dropping wash.
Of course, that's only if Kentucky fulfills its massive expectations and closes this out. It is hard to imagine that they won't. At that point, we have to be talking about Anthony Davis not as the best freshman of all time (displacing Carmelo and, to a lesser extent, Kevin Durant), but as the best college basketball player of the past 20 years.
-- D.S.
-- D.S.
Kansas-Ohio State was a bit ugly, but KU earned it with that gritty comeback. Withey dominated -- folks who think Jared Sullinger is a great NBA prospect need to take that as a reality check... Sullinger might be a decent rotation player, but he's the next DeJuan Blair, not the next Kevin Love. (Not even close.) Thomas Robinson didn't have a great game, either.
I'm not sure how many fans think the title game will be close -- it'll be closer to a coronation for one of the great teams of the past decade, for Calipari's first national title team and for the validation of his system of embracing one-and-done talents.
Of the 15 NCAA champs since Kentucky's dominating '96 team, I'd slot this Kentucky team inside the Top 5 -- not quite at the level of '07 Florida, '05 UNC or '01 Duke, but better than '06 Florida, '09 UNC or '03 Syracuse (which, up until Anthony Davis, had the most talented and dominating freshman in NCAA Tournament history).
FWIW: I think '06 Florida would give '12 Kentucky a game, if only because the Gators could throw Joakim Noah and Adrian Moss and Chris Richard at Anthony Davis, but Kentucky would have no answer for Al Horford -- Terrence Jones would have been throttled. Corey Brewer vs. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist would have been a jaw-dropping wash.
Of course, that's only if Kentucky fulfills its massive expectations and closes this out. It is hard to imagine that they won't. At that point, we have to be talking about Anthony Davis not as the best freshman of all time (displacing Carmelo and, to a lesser extent, Kevin Durant), but as the best college basketball player of the past 20 years.
-- D.S.
-- D.S.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
