Categories
General Sports

Sean Salisbury’s tactics might be childish, but you can’t blame him for being honest

Maybe it was “Bootgate” or maybe it was Plaxico Burress’ slightly awry (but nevertheless correct) victory prediction. Or maybe it was just because after two weeks of incessant coverage we just couldn’t stomach anymore jibber-jabber from the talking heads on SportsCenter. Any way you slice, we missed out on a sweet catfight between Sean “Shut Up Old Man” Salisbury and John “Crypt Keeper” Clayton.

We normally like Salisbury, but for some reason, he turns into ESPN‘s biggest jackass when sharing the screen with Clayton. Believe it or not Sean, but it is actually possible to be informed and have an opinion about football even if you’ve never stepped foot onto a field. Your history of wearing a jock doesn’t give you any special analytical powers and your school-yard-bully tactics make you look ridiculous.

You might be spot on in this instance, Clayton does look likes he’s been dead for about a decade, but you still look foolish in your approach. Even when side by side with the living Crypt Keeper.

Links:

[The Big Lead]: Salisbury rips Clayton on-air: “Tales from the Crypt”

Categories
College Basketball

We just can’t let go of Bob Knight

Don’t ask us why, we can’t explain it. Bobby Knight is just days into his retirement, but we’re already feeling nostalgic for the Knight era. We’ve hated the cantankerous old fart for decades now, but suddenly it’s as if our best friend took our dog and split town with our old lady. Okay, so it’s not quite that bad, but if we had to equate our inner feelings to something it would be a scab – it’s irritating, it’s a nuisance, it’s annoying and it can be painful, but when it’s gone, you always find yourself feeling where it once was.

Yup, the General was pretty much a verbal Picasso.

Categories
New Orleans Hornets

Around the Rim: Putting in work


1. Double overtime
The Suns didn’t appear to miss Shawn Marion in the least on Wednesday night as they ran up and down the court at breakneck speed, scoring 130 points against the Hornets in a pair of overtimes. And Marion certainly didn’t miss being on the Suns because New Orleans managed to score 131 points, winning on a buzzer-beating Peja Stojakovic jumper. Tyson Chandler missed a doozey, sidelined with the flu, but his teammates stepped up on the road. Stojakovic finished with 26 points while David West grabbed 13 rebounds to go with 21 points and even though Peja gets credit for the win, Chris Paul gets the game ball. Paul just missed setting a new career-high with 42 points to go along with nine assists and a career-high eight steals. Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t in uniform for Phoenix yet and it’s a good thing because he probably got winded just watching. Amare Stoudemire did his best `Showtime Shaq’ impression, scoring 26, grabbing 20 and blocking four shots. Former MVP Steve Nash finished with a triple-double the ugly way – 32 points, 12 assists and 10 turnovers

2. Overtime

The Kyle Korver trade continues to pay dividends for Utah. Korver scored 27 points against Denver, nailing four big-time free throws in the final 20 seconds of overtime to give Utah a 116-115 victory. Allen Iverson had a shot at winning the game and adding to his game-high 34 points, but his shot wasn’t true. The Jazz are 16-2 since acquiring Korver from Philly, but he can’t get all the credit. Deron Williams finished with 29 points, 11 assists and six rebounds while Mehmet Okur had a double-double with 15 and 10. The Denver starters scored 104 points with A.I. (34 pts, 10 ast) and Carmelo Anthony (29 pts, 8 reb) combining for 63. Marcus Camby (17 reb) and Kenyon Martin (10 reb) yielded a ton of boards, but they also committed some boneheaded fouls down the stretch of both regulation and overtime.

3. Losin’ it
Joe Johnson scored 28 points, leading the Hawks to a 98-95 win over the Lakers, but, in the end, Kobe Bryant gave the game to Atlanta. With eight seconds on the clock, Bryant lost his handle of the ball and got hit with an over-and-back violation, turning the ball and the game over to the Hawks. A pair of clutch Johnson free throws with three seconds left sealed the deal. Josh Smith played an All-Star caliber game with 17 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, five blocks and a pair of steals. Oh, but that wasn’t it for Hotlanta. Rookie Al Horford grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds to go with 15 points. Lamar Odom led the Lakers in defeat with 19 points and 11 rebounds while Bryant struggled with more than just his handle, missing 12-of-14 shots for 11 points.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Chris Paul @ Phoenix 50 min, 42 pts (FG: 18-33, 3FG: 4-9, FT: 2-3), 5 reb, 9 ast, 8 stl

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Cleveland (27-20) @ Houston (28-20)
Get ready for a showdown of international superstars when the Cavs and the Rockets hook it up. Nobody in the NBA is currently a hotter commodity than LeBron James. What’s not to like – he’s funny, he’s got sick skillz and he drives like a bat outta hell. On a global scale, Yao Ming’s da man; more importantly, he’s playing like da man. Over his last four games he is averaging 20.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 blocks per game. Coincidentally, the Rockets are undefeated in that span. Then you got the King. Like Yao, James’ squad is a perfect 4-0 in his last four starts (DNP @ Sea), and like Yao, he’s straight ballin’! LBJ has been good for 34.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 2.8 steals over his last four contests.

Buzzer Beater: Speaking of James; for a guy who’s normally good for a few soundbites a day, we were really disappointed that he didn’t give us more when informed of the blockbuster deal that sent Shaq Daddy to the desert.

“Unbelievable,” James said after practice Wednesday. “That’s all I got. It’s unbelievable.”

We don’t think he was necessarily speechless because Shaq returned to the West, we’re figuring he was just realizing that he’ll be defended by Shawn Marion three or four times every year.

Categories
General Sports

"Chunk of Love" – You can say that again!

Shaq is totally confusing us. One minute he’s on the bench with the Heat, the next he’s heading to Phoenix for a physical. And sandwiched in-between the two, Shaq strangely spent some time as a horse jockey. (Poor horse.) Apparently, he didn’t stick with that career endeavor because there was some serious jealousy and hostility going on in the locker room. Turns out the horses aren’t the only ones hung like horses.

Categories
All Other Sports

Warning: Kids, do NOT shower in front of your coach’s duffle bag!


Say what you will about former Texas Tech and Indiana coach Bob Knight, but Bob Knight would never, and we mean NEVER, do something like this.

A complaint filed in U.S. District Court accuses a Webster City middle school coach of using minors with the intent to produce child pornography.

A mini cassette believed to belong to Shawn Mofle, 41, the seventh-grade basketball coach at Webster City Middle School, contained images taken in a locker room at the school, the complaint alleges.

When police officer Shiloh Mork viewed the video, it appeared to have been filmed on four separate dates in January, according to the complaint filed Jan. 30. The video contained images of juvenile boys showering in a locker room.

The video appeared to have been made with a video camera placed in an object such as a duffle bag, the complaint said.

The camera was positioned and then repositioned to maintain focus on the boys groin area. It is clear the videos were not taken accidentally, the complaint said.

Suddenly, strangling, screaming, cussing, hitting and chair throwing look pretty respectable, huh?

Links:

[GazetteOnline.com]: Webster City coach faces pornography charge

Categories
General Sports

What was American Gladiators thinking when they passed on Skitzo?!

We were kind of skeptical about the new American Gladiators after the first episode. Way too much talking for our tastes. But now that we’re fast forwarding through the commercials and the pre/post event chit-chat, it’s a whole lot more tolerable. And it only takes about 15 minutes to watch!

Besides the constant jabber, the main difference between the old version and the new school one is the Gladiators. They just don’t pick `em like they used to. Some of those guys are just plain weird – yes, we’re talking about you Wolf. Still, they beat the heck out of the rejects.

Categories
NFL General

The Pats are bummed, but Nevada sports books: You are the biggest losers!


Besides Eli Manning going down in history as a Super Bowl MVP – we’re still shaking our heads in disbelief – a whole lot of other people found themselves in unexpected position following Sunday’s shocker. Mainly bookies that lost a ton o’ greenbacks when the Patriots didn’t pull through with perfection.

Nevada sports books lost a record $2.6 million on Super Bowl bets when the Giants defeated the Patriots 17-14.

Nevada Gaming Control Board analyst Frank Streshley said large amounts were bet on the money line that the Giants would win outright. Payouts on those bets were as much as 4-to-1 because the Patriots were such heavy favorites.

Sports books handled just over $92 million on the game. That was the third-highest amount ever, but down for the second straight year.

Of course, the easiest money made all weekend was our little wager that New Yorkers couldn’t celebrate without committing random acts of vandalism. Yup, somebody’s finally getting Rock Band!

Dozens of young New York Giants fans jumped on the hoods, trunks and tops of cars and buses along the parade route through lower Manhattan yesterday, partly marring an otherwise joyous event designed to celebrate the football team’s Super Bowl victory.

At least four different incidents were caught on videotape around the intersection of Reade Street and Broadway.

During one of them, youngsters ganged up on a yellow taxi and smashed its windshield with their elbows despite a woman’s efforts to pull them off the car.

Links:

[KTVU.com]: Super Bowl Upset Costs Bookies
[NewsDay.com]: Arrests for vandalism made during Giants parade

Categories
Cleveland Cavaliers

Around the Rim: Beantown letdown


1. 30 X 9 = A place in history
We’re pretty sure it’s safe to say it now: “They’re baaaaaacckk.” With a 114-113 victory over Boston on Tuesday night, Cleveland improved to 27-20 on the season which might not sound too spiffy, but don’t forget these guys were 10-14 in mid December. Not surprisingly, the Cavaliers won because of another outstanding effort from LeBron James. Something about lining up across from the fellas in green brings out the best in LBJ as he became the only player besides the “ultimate playa” Wilt Chamberlain to score at 30 points on Boston in nine consecutive games, finishing with 33. Oh, and he also threw in 12 assists, nine rebounds and five steals. Even without Kevin Garnett in the lineup for the fourth game in a row, Boston had a chance late thanks to 24 points from Ray Allen and Paul Pierce’s 19.

2. Giant trade talks in Phoenix. Literally giant

So, the big rumor floating around the NBA is that Shaq will most likely be heading to Phoenix for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. Now, we understand why Miami wants to move the Diesel; we just don’t know why the Suns want to take on him and his enormous contract. Shaq is a shell of his former self and at this point he’s just hanging on for another ring anyway he can get one. Phoenix might have added another All-Star to their lineup, but this deal favors the Heat in a big way. Marion is one of the most underrated players in recent history, averaging 18.4 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.88 steals and 1.36 blocks over nine years. Along side a healthy Dwyane Wade, box scores won’t have enough space to hold all their stats! And one more thing Marion provides that should really please his potential coach-to-be is his durability. The Matrix has only missed five games in his entire career!

3. 76ers 1-8-7 the Wiz
Things went from bad to worse to holy $#!+ for the Wizards last night. Everything was lined up for an easy road victory against the 76ers but, suddenly it all went haywire as Caron Butler left the game with a strained hip flexor in the third quarter. Once he was out of the way, Philly proceeded to rip off a 17-0 run to erase a 12-point lead, snatching a 101-96 victory from the jaws of defeat. The other A.I. – Andre Iguodala – led the Sixers with 20 points while Thaddeus Young scored 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Andre Miller was smoking right along with 11 points and a season-high 14 assists, but Maurice Cheeks mysteriously benched him during the big run. It might have been a strange move, but at 19-30, nobody in Philly is going to argue with a winning strategy. Well, nobody except Miller.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: LeBron James vs. Boston 42 min, 33 pts (FG: 11-21, 3FG: 4-8, FT: 7-10), 9 reb, 12 ast, 5 stl, 2 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Utah (31-18) @ Denver (29-18)
You knew that the Jazz wouldn’t remain on the outside looking in at the playoff picture for long and, sure enough, here they are rolling over opponents and resembling the team that went to the West Finals last season. This is definitely not the same Jazz squad that lost to Denver three weeks ago. Utah is riding a nine-game winning streak into the Mile High City where the Nuggets own a 20-5 record. Overall, Denver has won seven of their last 10 games, including their current three-game streak. The wild card in this game will be Mehmet Okur’s long range ability that can draw Marcus Camby out of the paint and away from the basket on defense.

Buzzer Beater: Who needs Tony Parker when you’ve got Damon Stoudamire? Okay, not really, but Stoudamire did pretty decent in his first action of 2008, scoring 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including a pair of treys, helping the Spurs roll over Indiana 116-89. San Antonio clamped down their patented defense in the third quarter, limiting the Pacers to just nine points, and the route was on. Tim Duncan led six Spurs in double-figures, scoring 19 points to go along with 15 rebounds and six assists in just 32 minutes of action.

Categories
College Basketball

The General quietly walks off the court for the last time


What can you say about Bob Knight that hasn’t already been said? Not much. The guy’s been called every name in the book from a S.O.B. to the G.O.A.T. And they all ring true in their own right. He was a pompous, arrogant, no-nonsense prick when he wanted to be, but there is no denying the longevity or the sustained success he achieved. 902 victories!! All the coach has to say is “scoreboard” when it comes to his legacy. But more importantly, when it comes down to the term “student athlete”, he made it a reality. Say what you will, but he graduated players and that should say as much about the guy as his red face and obscenity laced tirades. Even in retiring, the old ball coach was game planning.

Pat Knight has been the head coach designate since 2005.

“There’s a transition that’s going to take place here from me to Pat and I’ve dwelt on this all year long – about what would be the best way to do this, and how it would be best for him and for the team and for what we can do in the long run to make this the best thing for Texas Tech,” said Knight, who retires with 902 career victories. “I didn’t know, I’ve never really known when I was going to step down from this job. As I thought about it, my first thought was at the end of this season.”

Knight said he spoke with Newell for about an hour and an half Sunday.

“My thinking was that for Pat and for this team – most of which is returning next year – the best thing for the long run for this team would be for Pat and his staff to coach these remaining 10 games,” Knight said. “And (to) get an understanding, get a real feel for each other, be able to think over the course of the spring and summer going into next season about how people had played, how things had been done offensively or defensively, what could be done or couldn’t be done, what to stay away from, what to work on and develop that from a game standpoint as the coach in charge of everything rather than as an assistant coach.

“It was always a problem for me as to just what would be the most effective way in this transition, to make this transition. And with all the thought that I put into it, that’s exactly how I felt that it should be.

But, coach, before you go off into the sunset; can you tell us what the future holds for Bob Knight?

Links:

[Texas Tech Red Raiders]: Coach Bob Knight Retires
[CBS4.com]: Bob Knight Resigns From Texas Tech

Categories
Denver Nuggets

Around the Rim: Fight to the finish


1. No Answer for Iverson
The race for the Northwest Division crown reached a fever pitch with the recent reemergence of the Utah Jazz. But right behind Utah in the standings sits the Nuggets and the Blazers who just happened to be in action against one another on Monday night. It took overtime and 53 points between Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony, but the Nuggets snuck out of the Rose Garden with a two-point victory, increasing their lead over Portland to two games. The Answer’s 14-footer sealed the deal for Denver and broke the heart of Brandon Roy who spearheaded the Portland attack, scoring 26 points to go with seven rebounds and eight assists. Utah’s one game lead over Denver could evaporate into thin air on Wednesday when the team’s get together for the second of four meetings this season. On Jan. 17, Linas Kleiza dropped 41 points on Utah while Marcus Camby grabbed 24 rebounds and blocked 11 shots in a Denver victory.

2. Turkog-loser

Hedo Turkoglu is doing an awfully good job at make Eastern Conference coaches look like fools. Since being left off the list of All-Star reserves last Thursday, Turkoglu shot a combined 19-of-31 from the field, including 4-of-7 behind the arc, going into Monday night’s game against the Mavericks. Dallas kept Hedo in check offensively, but he recorded his first triple-double with 13 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds. Too bad it was in defeat. Josh Howard scored 28 points, helping the Mavericks to a 107-98 victor after letting a 19-point lead shrink to three in the fourth quarter. Dirk Nowitzki finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists as Dallas snapped a two-game losing skid.

3. Canadian celebration
The Raptors rocked the Heat last night by 32 points, but blowouts are as common as bikinis in South Beach these days. As usual, there were no highlights for Heat fans, but Toronto fans on the other hand were like fat kids in a candy store. Chris Bosh scored 24 points, Andrea Bargnani had 22, Anthony Parker finished with 18 and Jose Calderon went off for a double-double. But the cherry on top of the sundae came in the beginning of the second quarter when T.J. Ford stepped on the court for the first time since taking a nasty fall on Dec. 11. The little guy had a decent return with four points and four assists in 18 minutes of action.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Al Jefferson vs. Houston 38 min, 33 pts (FG: 14-26, FT: 5-5), 16 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 3 blk

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Boston (36-8) @ Cleveland (26-20)
If the Cavs plan on making it back to the NBA Finals, they better get prepared to run into Boston along the way. So far, the home team has dominated the series this year with Cleveland grabbing a five point victory on their home court and the Celtics winning by 10 in Beantown. Tonight the Cavaliers will have more than home court advantage to benefit from because Boston will likely be without Kevin Garnett agains. Sounds like a lot for Boston to overcome considering the Cavs are 8-2 in their last ten games, but, so far, the Cs are doing all right being Ticket free. Boston is on a two-game roll, coming off a big win against Dallas last Thursday with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen scoring 26 points apiece.

Buzzer Beater: If chicks really do dig the long ball then Kyle Korver is getting some mad love from the Salt Lake City groupies right about now. Korver knocked down six 3-pointers, leading the Jazz to a team record for treys in a game, converting 14-of-22 in a 110-88 defeat of New Orleans. Mehmet Okur hit four while Deron Williams nailed three 3-pointers in the record-setter. The Hornets weren’t bad from downtown either, making 10-of-18.