Author: Vin

Vin is a Philly boy who shouldn't be invited into your house because he'll judge you on your book and music collection. He owns Dawkins, Utley, Iverson, and Lindros jerseys, which is all you really need to know about him. He can be reached at [email protected].

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Celtic Pride


1. Mr. Everything
Boston is tied for the second worst record in the league at 2-6, including a pair of three game losing streaks. But it’s not due to a lack of effort from the team’s lone superstar. Paul Pierce is averaging 26.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists. Pierce is the only player in the league to lead his team in total points, rebounds and assists. He also leads his team in minutes, defensive rebounds and steals, and his field goal and three point percentages are higher than his career averages. Unfortunately, Pierce can’t beat teams by himself. Wally Szczerbiak gives the team a good complimentary scorer but it is not enough to compensate for a team that lacks depth, defense and overall talent. Boston is currently very, very far away from competing for a championship and it’s a shame to see a guy give his all, just to keep racking up the loses. At least Pierce is acting like a professional and playing hard for his money despite the situation; many veterans of his caliber would be demanding for a trade in the same circumstance.

2. Gimme a Break!
The players are already sick of the all the changes’ going on in the league right now and it’s not just about the new composite ball. In addition to the crackdown on whining and reactions to official’s calls, the league has brought in a whole new set of officials to oversee the lesser noticed violations that go on during games. These officials oversee the players and issue disciplinary consequences for infractions such as, players removing their jersey from their shorts when going to the bench or having their name printed on a wristband they are wearing. They also make sure that the players remain still and do not chew gum during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Furthermore, the fashion police strictly prohibit the wearing of wrist bands on a player’s bicep. The breaking of these and about 12 other absurd rules can get players slapped with a fine from David Stern. Stern is still trying to repair the image of the league after the ugly incident in Detroit two years ago, but he is doing so at the expense of his work forces’ satisfaction. The players aren’t happy with the strict enforcement of these rules and, frankly, who can blame them. They are quite trivial. However, NBAers need to be prepared to pay the fines for any violations because Stern’s watchdogs are out in full force.

3. Inside, Inside the NBA

Now that world has been shocked by the dancing prowess of NFL legends Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith, who’s going to be the next athlete to show off their twinkle toes on primetime television? Could it be TNT’s own, Charles Barkley? On Thursday’s episode of Pardon the Interruption, the question of participating on the program was asked of Barkley. Sir Charles responded by saying he would go on Dancing With the Stars if the PTI’s host, Tony Kornheiser, would stop wearing a hideous, bright red jacket he sports from time to time. Last night on Inside the NBA, in quite possibly the funniest moment in the history of the show, everybody got a preview of what could be as the crew played a tape of Smith’s body with the Chuckster’s head attached as he performed the samba in a shiny, bright green shirt. It was played repeatedly until the end of the show while Barkley’s colleagues hysterically laughed to the point of tears. Barkley’s only comment during the footage was “That’s better than peanut butter and jelly.”

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Baron Davis vs. Sacramento 44 min, 36 pts (FG: 12-20, 3FG: 2-5, FT: 10-10), 8 reb, 18 ast, 3 stl

Friday’s Game to Watch: Utah (7-1) @ Seattle (4-5) Utah has the best record in the NBA and is riding a three game winning streak, including a win over the Clippers without the injured Andrei Kirilenko. Carlos Boozer is getting some early MVP consideration and Deron Williams is shaping into the point guard Utah has lacked since the retirement of John Stockton. Seattle had a three game winning streak snapped at home versus Philadelphia on Wednesday and will look to the combo scoring of Ray Allen (25.1 points per game) and Rashard Lewis (23.7) to begin a new winning streak at the expense of the league’s best team.

Categories
Philadelphia 76ers

Chris Webber wants out of Philly


According to the Sacramento Bee (way to get the scoop Philly newspapers…), Chris Webber wants to be traded since his new offensive role this year involves sitting during 4th quarters of tight games.


I’m not going to keep playing like this,” Webber told the Bee after scoring six points in 23 minutes Wednesday as the Sixers beat Seattle, 96-90. “I don’t like this role. So you can take that however you want.

So basically, one of the two untradable players under Billy King’s stewardship wants to be traded. Webber is slated to make $20.7M this season and $22.3M next year.

But wait… this is the NBA so that means by the trade deadline in February, he will be tradable because GMs will be willing to take on $30M of salary because Webber goes off the books after the 2007-2008 season. The NBA salary cap rules are almost as silly as Major League Baseball’s lack of a salary cap. Then of course, there’s always the the retarded GM willing to sign huge stiffs to long term contracts. (Hello Chris Mullin, Isiah Thomas, Danny Ainge, Kiki Vandeweghe…etc…etc…)

Links:
[Sacramento Bee]: With a reduced role, Webber wants trade

Categories
New York Yankees

You can’t cheat death

Just a quick follow up to the Corey Lidle tragedy here. We certainly aren’t making light of it but this is like Final Destination 6 or something:

A 68-year-old man who almost accompanied Cory Lidle on his fatal flight in New York City last month died in a plane crash in California on Tuesday.
…
According to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Bob Cartwright, whose friend and personal pilot died in the plane crash that also killed the New York Yankees pitcher, and two other men died when their private plane crashed into the shoreline of Big Bear Lake, near Cartwright’s mountain home in Sugarloaf, Calif.

Talk about bad luck.

Links:
[MSNBC]: Man skips Lidle flight, dies in later plane crash

Categories
All Other Sports

Odds and Ends: Around the Blogosphere


Two great stories in the blogosphere today. The first from There’s Your Karma, Ripe as Peaches: “I couldn’t wrap my brain around the possibility that a person I once revered as more than a man could get in a dancing competition and proceed to out-gay Mario Lopez…”

The second is from Can’t Stop the Bleeding. We don’t know what the story is actually about but he managed to make a reference to Roland Przybylewski AND use the word effect as a verb correctly. Well done, sir.

In other news…

[CNN Money]: Why I hate Monday Night Football

[ESPN]: Here’s an idea – how about Bonds just leaves baseball period?

[USA Today]: Average college coaches salary up to $950k a year

[ESPN]: LPGA to start drug testing… cause you know, everyone was so up in arms about steroids in womens golf

[The Offside]: The High Cost of being a WAG

[Awful Announcing]: Dissecting Jemele Hill’s first ESPN Page 2 Column

Categories
Philadelphia 76ers

Iverson is a good guy


There are so many negative stories involving athletes that it’s good to point out these good guy stories every once in a while. Even though we make fun of Allen Iverson a lot (the practice?! video is really funny), he is one of our favorite athletes. Sure he’ll get arrested over a trumped up charge and his boy will get fined for parking his Bentley in a handicap spot, but then he’ll turn around and do something like this:


Allen Iverson will pay for the funeral of a man who died three years after he was shot in southwest Philadelphia because he refused to hand over his Iverson jersey to a group of teens.
…
The shooting left Johnson paralyzed, in a wheelchair and eventually on a ventilator. Last week, the ventilator failed, and Johnson suffered irreparable brain damage. The family chose to take him off it.
…
“If they were that serious about that jersey I would have given them 100 jerseys if they wanted it,” Iverson said. “It was just tough, just to see somebody die for something senseless like that, over a jersey, over something material.

Links:
[Philly.com]: Iverson offers to pay for funeral

Categories
New York Yankees

Why must Derek Jeter ruin Jessica Biel?


If you took a poll of 1000 random men, 995 of them would have Jessica Biel somewhere in their top 5. (Those that don’t are likely… how do you say mens who go bang bang bang in another men’s anus?) In any case, Jessica Biel is definitely a woman we love and the rumors linking her to Derek Jeter are definitely disheartening. (We thought we had a chance!)

From Page Six:


DEREK Jeter has a new babe. The Yankee shortstop went out in L.A. Tuesday night with his new squeeze, Jessica Biel . According to our spy, the couple were huddled in a corner of hot club Hyde, “laughing and giggling together.” At one point, Jessica, voted Esquire’s “sexiest woman alive” in 2005, went to the restroom and three girls quickly scurried over to chat with Jeter. But as soon as Biel returned, he put all his attention on her. The two left together. A Biel rep didn’t return calls.

Well, all things considered, Derek Jeter nailing Jessica Biel isn’t as bad as when Tom Cruise absolutely ruined Katie Holmes, even if he does play for the hated Yankees. After all, Scarlett Johannson came out relatively unscatched. Still, we hate Derek Jeter. But this is much better than the Tony Romo – JoeJessica Simpson rumors.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: The Polls Are Open



Fishing All-Star?

1. All-Stars?
The nominations for the All-Star Game to be held in Las Vegas are available, and apparently the NBA officials decided to do some gambling of their own with the ballot. 120 players made the list. Do we really need a list of 120 players when everybody knows that there are really only about 40 to 45 that actually deserve consideration? The slogan for this ballot should have been, “What’s discussed in the league office, stays in the league office,” because some of these nominees are a joke. To name a few: Luol Deng, Hedo Turkoglu, Juan Dixon, Francisco Elson, Zaza Pachulia, Luke Ridnour, Speedy Claxton and Chris Mihm. Seriously, Chris Mihm? I know he’s done for the season but even if he wasn’t, who would seriously expect him to make it as the starting center for the western conference? Obviously, these players are in the NBA for a reason and that is because they have talent, but remember that fans only get to vote for the starters of the all-star game. So, it makes no sense to even waste ink on printing the names of guys like Primoz Brezec. But, hey, it’s your vote. If you want to see Chris Kaman and Nenad Krstic line up across from each other at tip-off, then, by all means, go perform your duty as a fan and make your voice heard.

2. Child’s Play
NBA.com released their current top-ten list for the MVP and there are some unexpected names on the list. Sure, you have a couple of past winners, Kevin Garnett at sixth and Tim Duncan at seventh, but so far it seems that this is a young man’s league. The list is topped by LeBron James, who is only 21 years old with three years of experience. Following James on the list is Carlos Boozer (24 with 4 years experience), Zach Randolph (25/5), Yao Ming (26/4) and Lamar Odom (27/7). Behind Garnett (30/11) and Duncan (30/9) are Chris Paul (21/1), Dwight Howard (20/2) and Joe Johnson (25/5). The average age of the players, not including past winners, is only 23.6 years old with 3.9 years of experience. Obviously, the league is not only getting younger but players no longer take years to become elite stars. If one of these young studs wins the award, they will certainly be one of the most inexperienced MVP’s in the history of the game.

3. Upset City
For a team that is 6-2, San Antonio sure isn’t playing like a dominant, championship caliber club. The Spurs had their 5 game winning streak snapped by the, now 2-6, Bobcats last night in overtime, 95-92. San Antonio allowed rookie Adam Morrison to light them up for a career high 27 and lost to Charlotte for the first time in Bobcat history. But it’s not just that, SA had to make a furious rally to beat Houston on Tuesday after falling behind by 19 in the third quarter. New York put together a late streak and almost stole one in the teams’ first match-up and then hung around again in the second game between the two. It took overtime to beat Phoenix and Cleveland gave the Spurs their first loss in San Antonio. The team might be 4-0 on the road for the first time in the team’s history but they have lost two out of four at home and they are ninth in the league in turnovers. While it’s good that San Antonio knows how to win the close games, it shows that the Spurs are not yet committed to playing strong for a full 48 minutes.

4. When Kobe Attacks
It is not uncommon for players in the NBA to throw elbows, but they are usually directed at other players, not fans. However, a Tennessee man claims that Kobe Bryant did just that during a Memphis home game in November 2005. Bill Geeslin is suing for more than $75,000 in damages resulting from Bryant’s elbow blow. According to the lawsuit, Bryant left the court, apparently after a loose ball, and landed on Geeslin who was sitting courtside. Without being provoked, Kobe, allegedly, violently struck the fan in the chest with his elbow. The settlement is supposedly intended to cover the costs of medical treatment for unspecified injuries from the “assault and battery.” Either that or he is just another greedy parasite trying to retire early on the dime of a wealthy celebrity.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Jason Kidd vs. Milwaukee 38 min, 25 pts (FG: 9-14, 3FG: 3-5, FT: 4-4), 8 reb, 11 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Chicago (3-4) @ Houston (5-3) Houston is 2-1 at home and looking for revenge after blowing a late lead against the Spurs on Tuesday. Yao Ming is the current Western Conference Player of the Week and is establishing himself as the most dominant center in the league, averaging 26.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. The Bulls are playing in their second game of a long, seven game road trip that includes all three Texas teams. Chicago is 1-3 away from home this year and need a road win badly, for confidence sake.

Categories
NHL General

Crashing the Zamboni: Penguins, NHL Luck Out



No more red for Malkin

1. Malkin Staying In NHL
After an ongoing dispute with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Russian Super League, a federal judge ended all debate and declared that rookie sensation Evgeni Malkin could stay with the NHL… from the AP:

Metallurg Magnitogorsk, a Russian Super League team, claims that Malkin is under contract in his native country. The club sought a preliminary injunction that would have banned the forward from playing for the Penguins until the matter is resolved.
But the ruling Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska clears the way for Malkin, a star rookie with Penguins, and minor leaguers Andrei Taratukhin of the Calgary Flames and Alexei Mikhnov of the Edmonton Oilers to stick with the NHL franchises.

The Penguins and the NHL must be thanking their lucky stars. Malkin is what the Pens have needed for a while as far as options on the ice – and he’s a marketing machine for the NHL, much like Alex Ovechkin has proved to be after his incredible rookie campaign.

2. Surviving a Scare
The Nashville Predators were able to hold off a pesky Columbus club on Wednesday night, propelling to a 5-4 win. The Preds scored the final two goals of the game in the third to help themselves to the victory – they were netted by David Legwand and Scott Nichol with less than 10 minutes to play. This was a pretty important victory for Nashville, who continued to stay on Detroit’s tail in the Central. As we said before, it looks to be a two-team dogfight for possession of that division, and the race will be close throughout the remainder of the season. The Red Wings have won nine straight, and are clearly the hottest team in hockey. If there was one positive to come out of this game for the Jackets, it’s the solid play of Rick Nash, who scored two goals and racked up an assist in the game.

3. Can’t Capitalize
The Bruins downed the Caps on Wednesday in Washington, taking it to a shootout and converting for the 3-2 victory. After Boston jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the 1st, the Capitals stepped up their D for the final two periods, shutting out the Bruins for the rest of regulation and overtime. In shootouts, Boston’s Patrice Bergeron got one by Washington goaltender Olaf Kolzig to secure the victory. In the game, Tim Thomas saved 33 shots off the sticks of Caps’ players, including shutouts in the final three segments of the game. The Bruins’ Marc Savard earned two assists, extending his points streak to seven games.

Check It Out
CBS Sportsline’s Wes Goldstein repots that the Capitals’ days of misery have finally passed by. With a building block like Alex Ovechkin, is tough to disagree — Washington looks to be a legitimate contender not only in the Southeast Division but in the Eastern Conference as a whole.

Game of the Night: Minnesota at Nashville
Wild have lost four of last five games

The Last Shot
Alexander Ovechkin fired his agent, Don Meehan, on Wednesday. This comes as a bit of a surprise to us, as Meehan is known to be a solid agent in the hockey world, working for clients like Jerome Iginla and Jose Theodore.

Categories
College Football

Odds and Ends: A vote for Ohio State


Are you having trouble deciding who to root for in the uber-hyped Game of the Century between Ohio State and Michigan this weekend? Well, maybe this will sway you in the direction of the Buckeyes.


Steve Snapp, associate athletics director for communications, turned down a ticket request from the band Nickelback.

“I told them, `Not that I don’t appreciate your music, but even if you were John Lennon and calling for four for the original Beatles, I couldn’t do it,'” Snapp said.

Actually, Nickelback, if it was anyone but you guys, he would have found some tickets. He simply has enough good taste to not allow the worst rock band in the history of the world to be in the stadium and mar such an exciting event. (Thanks to The Hater Nation)

In other news…

[Inside Bay Area]: Art Shell ponders, “Is Prozac in the substance abuse policy?”

[Yahoo]: Patriots pay 51 cents for the rights to Vinny Testeverde

[NY Post]: Is backing from Isiah Thomas a good or bad thing?

[Off Wing Opinion]: The Fighting Sioux At UND Fight On

[Can’t Stop the Bleeding]: The CFL’s Anti-Pinball Bias, Explored

And finally… not exactly sports related but a drunken elk is funny.

Categories
Boston Red Sox

Red Sox pay $51M for rights to Daisuke Matsuzaka

The Red Sox spent 6 Billion Yen just to be able to negotiate a contract with Matsuzaka. Losing bids were not revealed but it is rumored that the Mets had the second highest offer of $38M and the Yankees bid about $32M.

Boston has until December 15th to negotiate with Matsuzaka’s agent Scott Boras. (Is there any question that he’ll just be known at “Matty” in Beantown? Or they might just call him Sully for the hell of it.) There is speculation that the asking price might be as high as $16M a year for three years. Factor in the $51M and you’re talking about $99M for 3 years or $33M per. If they cannot reach an agreement, the Red Sox keep the $51M and Matsuzaka goes back to the Seibu Lions and will be on the block again next year.

Here’s one reason the $51M might be worth it — the gyroball.

Links:
[Boston.com]: For $51m, Sox get go-ahead on Matsuzaka
[Sawxblog]: $51 Reasons the Red Sox will benefit from Daisuke Matsuzaka
[The Hardball Times]: When Will Daisuke Matsuzaka’s Arm Fall Off?