Wednesday, April 30, 2008

The Real Black Hole

Is Al Davis losing his mind? Maybe. Is he losing his football mind? Absolutely. Without a doubt, Al Davis has lost his edge as a football man. There comes a time when one should realize that your life's craft has passed you by. That time is now for Davis.


The Raider's first round pick (fourth overall), Darren McFadden, appears to have all of the tools that are necessary to become a very good NFL running back. Maybe even a great one, only time will tell. The problem is that the Raiders were lacking in much more important places than running back. Their offensive line is atrocious. They lost Warren Sapp off of their defensive front. These two groups are the most important parts of football team. Without them, you can forget about having a successful season.


Apparently, Al Davis has forgotten about the terrible offensive line that the Raiders parade out on the field and fell in love with the hype of the “next Adrian Peterson”. Not to take anything away from Peterson, but the Minnesota Viking's offensive line is pretty good. Much better than the Raiders. I want to emphasis that, much better than the Raiders. How is McFadden or, for that matter, JaMarcus Russell, the number one pick in last year's draft, supposed to improve behind terrible line play? The answer...they're not. Until they get a better line in front of them the two first round draft picks will struggle. So, why did Davis, in a draft that featured 15 linemen taken in the first round, not take an a lineman with his pick?


You tell me.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

#4 to Grace the Cover of Madden 2009



What a big surprise! In case you couldn't tell, that last sentence was supposed to be sarcastic. In case you couldn't tell, the sentence after the first sentence was written with a hint of irony.

I'll save my real thoughts about this new development in the saga that is the legend, BF#4, for our next Brett Favre Minute (Yes! we have a podcast! subscribe to it! It's called The Dick and Bo Show), but suffice to say I believe the so-called "Madden Curse" will continue...

Friday, April 25, 2008

T-Mac! 7 whole points in the fourth quarter! Way 2 Go!



So Tracy McGrady, the bona-fide Houston Rockets superstar finally put an end to his fourth quarter "disappearing act" last night in Salt Lake City. And, as a result, the Rockets, down 0-2 in their first round playoff series with the Utah Jazz came away with a win, 94-92.

At least, that's what the talking heads would want you to believe. In ESPN.com's daily NBA column, "The Daily Dime," Tim Butler reports that T-Mac took a new strategy going into Game 3. T-Mac said,

 "I was just trying to be passive early in the fourth quarter," he added, "and I felt like if we were able to keep it close, I was waiting until the right time to really insert myself on the offensive end."


Oh ok. He was "passive" early on, and thus, the Jazz stopped guarding him, and he was able to string together 7 straight points, with his final bucket putting the Rockets ahead 92-86. Hmm. The final score was 94-92. The Jazz ended the game outscoring the Rockets 6-2, and in a way, T-Mac nearly lost the game for Houston. Let's take a look at the final few minutes, and what exactly McGrady contributed to the win, in clutch time:

With 1:13 remaining in the game, T-Mac bricks a 20 footer. Kyle Korver hits a 3-pointer for the Jazz on the ensuing possesion.

With 47 seconds left in the game, T-Mac gets whistled for an offensive foul, turning the ball over to the Jazz. Mehmet Okur makes a 25 foot three spot on the ensuing possesion.

With 37 seconds left, Rocket's coach Rick Adelman calls a time out, with the Rocks up 93-92, draws up a fantastic play that ends up with T-Mac bricking yet ANOTHER 20 foot jumper. The Jazz get the ball back, and manage to get the ball to Deron Williams who attempts to launch a 3 pointer to win the game for the Jazz...only to have it blocked by Carl Landry. Luis Scola nails a final free throw to make it 94-92, and that's the ball game.

Oh, and T-Mac went 5-9 from the charity stripe. That's not too great for all of you bad at math. This is Houston's SUPERSTAR.

So really, T-Mac's new strategy for fourth quarter play is to:

1) Absolutely disappear for the first 8 minutes
2) Once the opposing team forgets that I exist, take a bunch of wide open shots in succession, and be aggressive for 2 minutes, so that nobody can call me a "disappearing act"
3) Take low percentage shots in the final seconds/minutes, and hopefully my teammates will come through with clutch plays...because I can't. (Except that one time I scored 13 points in one minute).

Anyway...good luck T-Mac, you are gonna need it to win another game in Utah. But Bo and I were discussing it, and it makes sense that someone related to Vince Carter would have so many troubles in the playoffs.

Rockets fans, blame Vince Carter for all your woes!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Almost Like He Planned It This Way

Kobe Bryant sure has learned a lot from Phil Jackson. No other player or former player of Jackson's was able to pull off what he did this year. I mean, not even Michael Jordan utilized the psychological games that Phil plays to the extent that Bryant did this season. MJ used fear to motivate his teammates. If they didn't perform to a higher level, he would berate them during practice. He would scream at them until he reduced them to nothing. Either they fought back and stepped up their game or they didn't last long as his teammate. Shaq didn't need to use any of Phil's motivational games because his teammates respected his size. When you're 7'1 you don't need any psychological ploys to motivate people.


We all know about Kobe. We have all heard about how he isn't a good teammate. How he never really connects with his team. He never gets close to his teammates or lets them in. He is a very driven competitor who holds himself and his team to a very high standard. At times this forces him to keep his distance from his team. It also, at times, makes him publicly call out his teammates.


Before this season started, Kobe said that he was done playing for the Lakers and demanded a trade. Bryant was furious with the Lakers for not bringing in another high caliber player to compliment his game. Each time he complained to the media it was like he was slapping his teammates in the face. They must have been growing increasingly angry each time they read or watched Kobe complain. The Lakers shopped Kobe around seeing if they could get a reasonable return for him but no team offered enough. So, Bryant started the season with the same team surrounding him that he had refused to play along side during the off-season. What people didn't expect was the immense growth of the Laker's other players. They finally seemed to be developing into the players that they were originally thought to be. As the season progressed and the Lakers continued to do well, they finally traded for the high caliber player that Kobe demanded during the off-season.


The point I am trying to get across is that Kobe didn't ever want to be traded from the Lakers. The daily shots that he took at teammates were not meant to belittle them, but they were meant to make them work harder. They became better players because Kobe called them out. He questioned them, in front of everyone who would watch or listen. If that doesn't make a professional athlete want to get better and prove someone wrong, then nothing will. Before we jump all over Kobe for appearing to be a spoiled brat, maybe we should think about why he would do something like that. Maybe all of these years with Jackson have started to rub off. Maybe it was a bit of psychological warfare. We can't prove that Kobe meant his pre-season comments one way or another but we do know one thing...the Lakers are the #1 seed in the Western Conference for these playoffs. And the way the West played out this season, that is no small feat.




Sunday, April 13, 2008

Why Weren't You at Practice Yesterday?

Keeping up with sports can be an overwhelming task in today's world. There are multiple television channels dedicated entirely to sports, or, in the case of the NFL Network, dedicated to one sport. The Internet provides endless amounts of game analysis, statistics, and background stories for every sport you can imagine. The sports television channels have become so successful that they have spun off their own radio show versions. Not that TV came before sports talk radio but, ESPN existed as a television channel before it did as station on the radio. So, for the times that you are away from a TV, you can listen to people talk about sports.

Don't get me wrong about all of this, I enjoy it as much as the next person. But, you would think that with all of the media dedicated to sports, we wouldn't be concerned about not being able to watch an important game during a crucial part of the season. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened the other night. This past Friday night there was a televised MLB game (Red Sox vs.Yankees) and a televised NBA game (Cavs vs. Bulls). I have no problem with either of these games being shown. My issue lies with the fact that in one of the most exciting years in a long time for the NBA they did not show the Suns / Rockets game. The two games that I mentioned were on two channels. Two. That's it. There wasn't one other available channel to show the Suns / Rockets. The NBA season is winding down. The Western Conference is in a tight playoff race and, somehow, the NBA didn't bother showing the game. I bet a lot more people would have tuned in to that game then the Cavs / Bulls. Especially, after watching the Cavs get beaten by a weaker team.

Not showing the Suns / Rockets game on Friday night was irritating, but, it didn't aggravate me until I happened upon ESPN2 on Saturday morning. ESPN2 was televising the Florida Gator's spring football game! The game came complete with commentators and everything. Not just any announcers, either. They brought out their College Football GameDay crew. Spring football games are a fun event...for the players, students, towns, and university. They are the culmination of a lot of hard work that went into spring practice and it provides a great atmosphere for everyone involved. The fans don't bring their do or die attitude that comes with the regular season. The coaches aren't afraid to take chances and have a little fun.

However, let's be honest with ourselves. A spring game is a glorified practice. Coaches are on the field observing and correcting mistakes made by the players. The “game” is scripted. For the most part, the offensive coaches know what the defensive coaches are running and vice versa. The projected starting quarterback usually doesn't get tackled. I mean, the referee's wear shorts for crying out loud!

There is no reason for spring games to be on television...unless...you can use it for a recruiting tool. I mean, sure, national signing day already happened. But, it's never too late to think about next, next season. The kids who are being recruited get a chance to see the teams that they are thinking of joining. They get to see the fun and excitement that the spring game offers. The commentators tell stories and give background information on the team. It is a great recruiting tool, but it doesn't make good sports television. In fact it makes terrible sports television.

So, please, please, stop using television as a blatant recruiting method. Instead, put on games that have some meaning. Games that matter in a playoff race. Games that pit two good teams against each other. Games that will stir up some interest in their respective league. Games that are the reason sports were televised in the first place...to be entertaining.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

All Four Number Ones

You might have heard over this past week that all four number one seeds in the men's basketball tournament made the final four. The supposed top four teams in the country made it to the end, just as the selection committee planned. It was the first time this happened. As it turned out, the results of the opening games of the final four were not much different than a number one seed playing a sixteen seed in the opening round. Kansas won by 18 points and, at one point, were up 40 – 12 on North Carolina. Memphis won by 15 over UCLA during which, they essentially rendered Kevin Love and Darren Collison ineffective. So, what exactly does that mean?


It means that the two best teams in the country are playing for the national championship. Right now we all should be extremely excited for the national championship game. The two best teams in the country are going head to head. If both teams play to their potential, we are in for a great game, maybe, one of the all-time best. Kansas put on a clinic against North Carolina in the first half. They out played, out hustled, and out executed the favored Tar Heels. In the other game, Memphis used their size and talent at guard to overwhelm UCLA. The Bruin guards were taken advantage of while playing defense. Offensively, UCLA wasn't much better off. Memphis held two of the three UCLA perimeter players to less than ten points.


Two things stood out to me as I was watching the Memphis/UCLA game. Kevin Love needs to stay in school for at least two more years. His outlet passing is a thing of beauty. I will not argue with that. What the Memphis game showed, was a team full of athletic big men could make Love ineffective, scoring wise. Unfortunately for Love, NBA teams are full of athletic big men. I am not saying that I think Love will be a bad NBA player, but, he should enjoy his time in college and try to win a national championship or two. The other thing that stood out was that Derrick Rose is the real deal. He made one of the country's other top guards, Collison, look ordinary. Strike that, Collison looked extremely pedestrian. If Rose decides to come out early, he sealed the deal as the top guard in the draft. Potentially, the first overall pick. There aren't too many teams that should pass up a point guard with his potential.


Anyway, back to the championship game. This has potential to be one of the best championship games of all time. It doesn't matter that the first two final four games were blowouts. The tournament is played to crown a champion, not to create entertaining national semifinal games, right? Isn't that why we watch? The best teams should be there at the end. And this year, without a doubt, they are.