On Second Thought...

...maybe we owe Oakland Raider's owner Al Davis an apology.  You see, after his insane press conference to announce the firing of then head coach Lane Kiffin, we posted about how Davis' mind was like a black hole that was killing the Raiders.  We're not apologizing for saying that Davis is running the Raiders into the ground.  We still think he is doing just that with his disastrous free agent signings, poor head coaching choices, and his control freak way of operating the organization.  What we are apologizing for is calling him crazy.  At the time, it seemed that Davis had lost his marbles when he held that press conference.  The stress of being the owner of an underachieving franchise had finally made him crack.  We even ran this picture as evidence of Davis losing his mind.  Pretty convincing, wouldn't you say?

As it turns out...Al Davis appears to be right about Lane Kiffin.  The University of Tennessee hired Kiffin to be their head coach a few months ago.  And since Kiffin's hiring all he has done is come off as a pompous jerk. Multiple. Times.  Apparently, Lane Kiffin thinks he is the greatest coach ever.  Even though he hasn't coached one meaningful play at Tennessee, he called out a coach who has won 2 national titles and lead another team to an undefeated season.  Good luck next year Coach Kiffin.  The Southeastern Conference coaches and players have long memories.  

So, Mr. Davis, Dick and I are very sorry for calling you crazy.  As an apology, we'd like to show our fans the younger, more football aware version of you.

          

   

Dr. Carlan Yates: 0 pts, 0 rebounds, 0 ast, 1 blk

Let me ask you this:  If you were laid off by your employer for financial reasons, then asked to come back to work a few days later for that very employer, would you work as hard for them?  Current economic situation aside, the answer is: probably not.  A similar scenario took place involving the Oklahoma City Thu....New Orleans Hornet's center Tyson Chandler.  New Orleans was trading him to the Oklahoma City Thunder for two expiring contracts when the Thunder rejected the trade because Chandler didn't pass a physical.  So, Chandler ends up back on the Hornets, the team that was trying to get rid of him and his salary.  How can he go out and play his best when the organization he plays for doesn't really want him?  I know most players realize it's a business and they don't really play for the organization.  They play their best for their teammates.  But, still wouldn't you find it hard to give it your all for a place that tried to get rid of you?  

Another interesting twist in this story is that the Thunder's Dr. Carlan Yates who failed Chandler is the same one who performed the surgery on his injured toe.  Is the doctor admitting that he isn't good at fixing injuries?  What does that do for his stock as a doctor if you have an injury that he suggests surgery on?  I would ask him why bother, if he's not going to really fix anything.  This is what Yates told Chandler, " 'He told me, 'I have no doubt you can play on it. I'm just saying it could take a turn for the worse if you come down on somebody's foot or hyperextend it or something.' "  Couldn't that happen to any NBA player?  I don't see how the likelihood of accidental injury increases based on past surgeries.  

Regardless, this is an unusual situation to be in.  The Thunder had an improved team, now they don't.  The Hornets dumped some salary, picked up two expiring contracts, and were headed into the off season with some salary cap room...now they're in the same spot as before.  Tyson Chandler is in limbo. My guess is that the Hornets will move him somewhere before the trade deadline.  Keep and eye on the Thunder as well, their two expiring contracts could play an important role as the trade deadline rapidly approaches. 

We Want Zeke! We Want Zeke! We Want Zeke!

The NBA all-star break is almost upon us. Of course, this means that trade rumors are beginning to make their way around The Dick and Bo Show rumor mill, also known as the Internet. This year's big rumor is that the Phoenix Suns are shopping everyone except Steve Nash. This got Dick and I talking about trades to make our teams better.

Let's lay our teams out at the beginning: Bo - Chicago Bulls/Dick - Houston Rockets. With that said, Dick is tired of the Rockets and their current roster situation, so he is abandoning them until further notice. To improve the team he formerly supported, he wants to get rid of two over-paid, not clutch enough "superstars" - Tracey McGrady and Ron Artest. The Rockets should keep Yao and build around him with their young talent. That is the only acceptable way for the Rockets to keep Dick's booming cheers headed their way. So, let's do this again: Bo - Chicago Bulls/Dick - Cleveland Cavaliers.

After the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Cavs this past weekend, handing Lebron James and rest of the Cavs their first home loss of the season, Dick realized what I had been saying all along. The Cavs need to be deeper in order to win a championship. Here's the first trade to shore up the Cavs that Dick would like to see happen: Cleveland trades Wally Sczcerbiak to the Los Angeles Clippers for Marcus Camby and another player for salary cap purposes. This immediately gives the Cavs depth in the front court, a decent scorer, and an excellent defender/rebounder. If this happens, I say look out Eastern Conference.

Here's the second trade: Cleveland sends Wally Sczcerbiak and Eric Snow to Phoenix for Shaquille O'Neal. This trade is plausible on many levels. The Suns get two expiring contracts and, if the rumors are true, expiring contracts are exactly what you want if you are trying to dump salary. The Cavs get a proven post player who will make them the team to beat in the East. Now you might be thinking, Shaq is old and pretty washed up. Actually, I agree with that. But check out his stats from this season so far. Not too bad. Plus, he'd be able to split time in Cleveland with Big Z.

Now, on to my team, the Chicago Bulls. I'll make this quick. The Bulls need a dominant low post player. The Phoenix Suns are trying to dump big salaries. The Bulls should send Kirk Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas to the Suns for Amare Stoudamire. This trade could work for the Suns because, not only they would be getting rid of a big salary, they could use Hinrich as Steve Nash's replacement. Nash is an expiring contract next year that could be a nice piece in a trade. It'd be great to see Derrick Rose and Stoudamire running the floor together or working a pick and roll.

All of our discussions about trades led us to this epiphany...we need Isiah "Zeke" Thomas back running a team. Talking about trade rumors are just like making predictions for NFL games. They're pretty useless because we are just guessing and, most of the time, we, along with the other "experts", are wrong. So, in order for the NBA to have exciting trades every year and not just rumors, Commissioner David Stern should mandate that Zeke becomes the general manager of Oklahoma City, Sacramento, Memphis, or Los Angeles Clippers. This is the team that we think Zeke would've rounded up this year:

Jermaine O'Neal - C, $21.3 million with 2 years left

Ben Wallace - PF, $14.5 million with 2 years left

Larry Hughes - SF, $12.8 million with 2 years left

Tracey McGrady - SG, $20.3 million with 2 years left

Kirk Hinrich - PG, $10 million with 4 years left




















Although there are four players that have expiring contracts in two seasons, we're sure Isiah would sign at least 2 of them to ridiculous contract extentions. Be sure to notice how Bulls General Manager John Paxson signed two of the contracts (Wallace and Hinrich) and has another one (Hughes) on the team. Good job Mr. Paxson.

You Just Watched the Greatest Game from the Greatest Franchise...or Maybe Not

Hello again faithful fans.  Dick and Bo here with another exciting post announcing the new podcast.  Dick's Super Bowl hangover leads him into one of his classics rants.  You need to listen to it.  Seriously.  After regrouping, we move on to discussing the Super Bowl itself.  We both agree that it was a pretty entertaining game to watch.  And, as fans, that's what we all want, right?  Was it the greatest Super Bowl ever?  It's really hard to step back and compare Super Bowls the week after a good one finishes.  I doubt this game was better than last year's but, we've had an entire year to analyze the previous Super Bowl.  Let's all just agree that the game was entertaining to watch and leave it at that.  

One of the other topics we discuss about the Super Bowl was if the Pittsburgh Steelers were now the greatest franchise in sports.  I say they are top 3.  Number 1: New York Yankees.  Number 2:  Boston Celtics.  Number 3: Pittsburgh Steelers.  I base this on number of championships that each franchise has won.  The Steelers did win their 6th Lombardi Trophy last weekend.  I also point out that the Steelers have done this under one family as owners.  Seemingly valid points, no?  That's right about when Dick dropped some knowledge on me.  Yeah, apparently the Green Bay Packers lead the NFL with 12 championships followed by the Chicago Bears with 9. Check it out here.  After going all "Christian Bale" on our research department, I have to agree with Dick. I completely forgot to add in the NFL championships that franchises won before the creation of the Super Bowl.

As I write this, I'm almost positive that a lawsuit is being compiled to be filed against The Dick and Bo Show.  The reason?  We inadvertently forgot to give credit to the fan who sent in the suggestion for our...Separated. At. Biiiiiiirth...segment.  So, with sincere apologies, we'll do it here.  

The Dick and Bo Show fan extraordinaire,  Jessica Monday writes, "Great show guys, keep up the good work.  Would it kill you to talk about the WNBA sometime?  Anyway, here's a suggestion for separated at birth.  Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones and Actor Henry Gibson.  Henry Gibson is the older, creepy neighbor from the movie, "The Burbs", in case you don't know.  My boyfriend doesn't agree with me, but, he generally doesn't know much about anything."  

Thanks, Jessica.  We really appreciate your listener ship/readership and support.  We don't talk about the WNBA because Dick doesn't think it's a legitimate sport.  I disagree.  I'll try to keep up the good fight and get a podcast about it eventually.  So, as we mentioned during the podcast it appears that Jerry Jones and Henry Gibson are almost certainly...Separated.  At.  Biiiiiiiirrrrth.

Who says plastic surgery doesn't lead to anything good?  If Jerry Jones hadn't had so much work done he never would've made it into this segment.  Check out the podcast when you get a chance.  And keep checking back for more shows in the coming weeks.        

        

Divine Intervention at a Super Bowl?

Yes folks, it's the rare 3 for 1 deal.  A new blog post, a new podcast, then another new blog post  all in one day from your friends at the Dick and Bo Show.  I know, I know, you can hardly contain yourself, but at least give it your best shot.  We tried to keep our Super Bowl podcast short because really, what could we possible talk about that hasn't been talked about already this week.  So, the podcast only covers two things:  the game itself and Bill Simmons.   

There's some interesting banter about Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and which one of them is Hall of Fame worthy.  Other than that we keep it simple and make our picks.  I chose the Steelers based on sound knowledge of the game of football and, on paper, the Steelers' defense looks pretty unbeatable.  Dick, forever raging against the machine, chose the Cardinals.  Surprisingly, not based on anything other than the fact that Warner was going to get a "helping Hand".  All in all, he has just as much of a chance of getting his pick right as I do.  That's why predictions don't matter.  

We dedicate the second half of our show to Bill Simmons.  And his, as of lately, well below average sports reporting.  Simmons called us, along with anyone else who has a blog or podcast, out in his last article.  Well, Willie.  You want the thunder?  You called down the thunder!!!  Our advice to you:  Become relevant again and you won't have to keep looking over your shoulder to see who's chasing you down.  Here's a hint:  It's the extremely underrated DJ Gallo.  It's almost as if Bill Simmons is quitting on the ESPN team like Manny Ramirez did to the Boston Red Sox.  Does Simmons want to get traded to Sports Illustrated?  Is Scott Boras his new agent?  Wake up, Sports Guy before it's too late.

Check back next week for a recap of the Super Bowl.  Until then, try to ignore the pregame shows and enjoy the game. 

Lebron makes the Kool Aid. Dick drinks it.

I can save you some time with our latest podcast.  Instead of listening to it, you can read the short transcript of it that I provide below:

Dick:  Welcome back...Let's talk about the NBA...

Bo: I think the L.A. Lakers are going to win it all this year.

Dick: Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs.  Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs, Cavs.  Who is going to win the MVP?

Bo:  I think hands down it's Lebron James.

Dick: Lebron, Lebron, Lebron, Lebron, Lebron, Lebron, Lebron,Lebron, Lebron, Lebron, 

Lebron, Lebron, Lebron.  Lebron, Lebron, Lebron, Lebron, Lebron, Lebron, Lebron,Lebron.

Ok, I'm just kidding.  That's not the real transcript.  Dick makes some very insightful points, as usual.  As you can probably tell, we talk about the NBA at it's mid-point.  It seems to us, that the league is becoming more competitive.  The Western Conference, though getting older, still has a bunch of top teams.  The Eastern Conference, while still young, is steadily improving.  With the  young crop of talented players and the balance that is forming between the conferences, the NBA is setting itself up for a great run over the next 5 - 10 years.  As fans of basketball, we should all be looking forward to the next few years.  Maybe, the NBA can return to it's heyday and we can all forget about the last 8 years.

Speaking of the heyday, remember the 3 Headed Monster approach to defending Shaquille O'Neil?  Phil Jackson used this as the Chicago Bulls coach whenever they played Shaq.  Basically, they took 3 big men and fouled Shaq constantly.  This was used to ensure that Shaq didn't get easy baskets.  Instead, he would be forced to shoot free throws, which we all know is a trouble spot for him.  At the same time, the 3 big men wouldn't foul out because they were spreading out the fouls amongst them.  That strategy went by the way side years ago but, if we were to pick three current NBA players to use for that reason it would be three guys who appear to be - Separated. At. Biiiiiiiiirth.  

       

Allow me to introduce, Brook, Robin, and Shane Battier-Lopez.  What?  You don't think they look like they could be triplets?

How about now?  Yes, the combination of the Lopez twins bares a striking resemblance to Shane Battier.  Ok sports fans, we'll be back soon with our Super Bowl edition.  Check back before the big game for another post and podcast.  Until then.  

    

Dick and Bo turn into everyone's grandparents

So, yeah.  We have a new podcast to listen to.  Check it out.  I mean...check it out, please.  For the podcast we talk about, you guessed it, the NFL playoffs.  Have you noticed how strange they've been?  We have.  They've affirmed our belief that making picks is a waste of time.  Of course, we wouldn't be saying this if we'd gotten any picks right.  

One thing that bothered me about our podcast was how we got all nostalgic about the quality of quarterback play in 1994 compared to now.  I mentioned this to Dick and he didn't seem to have an issue with our discussion.  But, since I'm writing this, I get to share my opinion.  We messed up.  After thinking about it, I don't really think that quarterbacking was that much better than it is now.  Sure, in 1994 you had great and future first ballot hall of fame quarterbacks playing - Joe Montana, John Elway, Dan Marino, Troy Aikman, and Jim Kelly.  You also had Steve Young and Brett Favre.  However, at this point in their careers, Young and Favre hadn't won a Super Bowl.  Both of them were good quarterbacks but, neither were absolute hall of famers.  So, after my research, in 1994 there were 5 guaranteed, no doubt hall of famers playing quarterback.  Let's take a look at today's QBs.  By my calculations, there are 3 first ballot hall of famers - Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Brett Favre.  Am I missing something?  There were only 2 more for sure hall of famers playing in 1994 than there are playing today.  Not really a huge number, right?  Ok, so in 1994 there were, including Young and Favre, 7 hall of famers starting at QB.  Right now there are 3.  Favre is included in on both lists because, he's that old.  Who's to say that any of these quarterbacks playing today- Ben Roethlisberger, Donovan McNabb, Kurt Warner, Matt Hasselbeck, Eli Manning, Phillip Rivers, Drew Brees - won't eventually get into the hall of fame?  Even if only 2 of the 7 get into the hall of fame, it severely hurts the argument about the 1994 quarterbacks.  Let's not just talk about hall of famers either, both 1994 and 2008 have their share of QBs who are good but not great - '94's Boomer Esiason and Randall Cunningham.  '08 has Carson Palmer and Tony Romo.  There are also plenty of quarterbacks from both years who would qualify as less than spectacular.  1994 - Erik Kramer, Rick Mirer, and Dave Brown.  2008 - Kyle Orton, Derek Anderson, and Tarvaris Jackson.  Obviously, only time will tell if the QBs of 1994 were truly better than the quarterbacks from 2008.  And yes, when we were younger, Dick and I had to walk 15 miles to school...uphill...both ways...through snow and rain.  Things were better back then or maybe they weren't.  We're getting too old to remember.    

On to everyone's favorite segment.  Separate. At. Biiiiiiiirth.  One guy is the coolest coach in the NFL.  The other guy is the coolest actor to play Willie Mays Hayes in the Major League movies.  No, not Brad Childress and Wesley Snipes.  

These guys:

  

That's right.  Omar Epps and Mike Tomlin.  Take a good look.  Twins, right?  At least brothers.  Until next time.