World Series, Best Game Ever (at least that's what most people are hoping)

The Boston Red Sox finished off their sweep of the Rockies to win the World Series. They were the best team all season and it held up in the post-season. As a Yankees fan, it disgusts me, but I totally respect all they had to overcome to win it this year.
A-Rod opted out of his contract because he didn't know what the team was going to do with Mo, Jorge and Andy. Yeah right. He opted out because his agent told him he could get him $30 million per year. Let's be serious here Alex. It's not like the Yankees have won a ring or even been to the damn World Series with him, so I actually couldn't care less that he's leaving.
Giants beat the Dolphins.
Eagles beat the Vikings.
Chargers beat the Texans.
Browns beat the Rams.
Bills beat the Jets.
Steelers beat the Bengals.
Saints beat the Niners.
Jags beat the Bucs.
Titans beat the Raiders
Colts beat the Panthers
Pats beat the hell out of the Skins.

Let the hype begin! Peyton vs Brady. Both teams undefeated. I might not turn to ESPN for 2 weeks. If you thought the hype surrounding the Pats/Cowboys game was unbearable, wait until they finish with this Pats/Colts game. At least there's actually something on the line in this game. They'll probably meet in the postseason and the winner will have home-field advantage. On an unrelated note, the Pats are pushing it leaving Brady in blowout games late. He could get hurt and I'm not talking about by accident. When you have a 45 point lead, there's no reason to have your starting quarterback in the game. New England is going to try to embarrass the wrong group of players and they are going to find themselves without Tom Brady for the rest of the season. The bad thing about it is that it's only going to cost some team a 15 yard penalty in a game they aren't going to win anyway. I hope it doesn't happen, but it might.

Atlanta Hawks 2007-2008 Season Preview

I got a part to play, we going hard these days, f*ck the harder way, we doing it the harder way.-Talib Kweli (Going Hard)

The Atlanta Hawks have been doing it the harder way for far too long! It can’t be that difficult to field a competitive team, it just can’t. The front office is dubious at best; therefore the team is an enigma. They’re one of the only teams that can give up 2 first round picks and a player in the process of overpaying a free agent by about $15 million. Joe Johnson was a very good player in Phoenix, but the signing hasn’t done much good for the Hawks thus far. For instance, the owners who can’t seem to agree on anything are still at war with each other over this deal. It’s not that Belkin didn’t want Joe; it’s just that he thought they were giving up way too much to get a player that Phoenix wasn’t going to resign anyway. Two first round picks and Boris Diaw did seem like a bit much at the time, but the team needed to do something to at least create the illusion that they’re trying to win. Could another GM have pulled this deal off for less? Hell yeah, but we’re dealing with Billy Knight, one of the most smug individuals you’ll ever come across. He literally thinks he’s smarter than EVEYRONE! Hell, he’s still wearing a nappy ass afro/flat top. I don’t even know how you can pull this hairstyle off, but he’s been doing it for years. Why the hell would anyone trust him to make multi-million dollar personnel decisions when he’s still living somewhere between the years 1973-1993? Its mind boggling I tell ya.

For years this team REFUSED to address the point guard situation/overall talent of the roster. The draft picks they made in the 2 years prior to this draft made absolutely no sense. Marvin Williams was touted as the best player in the 2005 draft. Yep, he was supposed to be better than Chris Paul (the eventual Rookie of the Year) and Deron Williams (has a great John Stockton impersonation). Never mind the fact that the Hawks desperately needed a point guard and already had a plethora of guys on the roster between 6-7 and 6-9. Billy would eventually address that point guard situation by signing Speedy Claxton. I won’t go into detail, but they overpaid him by about $25 million. Anyway, Marvin was supposed to be the best available player and that’s who you’re supposed to draft. At least that’s what Billy kept telling us. Today its not looking like Marvin fits that description, but you never know. It’s too early to close the book on him because we honestly don’t know what he’s capable of. He could be the next great forward or he could be a serviceable bench player. Hopefully going into year 3 he’ll be healthy long enough for us to get an idea of what his ceiling is.

The 2005 draft made even less sense than the 2004 draft because THIS was the draft when Billy Knight decided to set aside his unlimited basketball knowledge and actually draft a player based upon need. Are you f*cking kidding me? THIS is the draft you decide to get a player you need! This draft class was kind of weak, so it was clear that Brandon Roy was the pick of the litter. Yeah he’s kind of a “tweener”, but he was good at what he did. With the 5th pick, Billy Knight in all of his genius decided to draft Shelden Williams. a.k.a. “The Landlord”. Now it’s one thing to be a defensive stopper in college at 6-9, but only the best of the best can pull that off in the NBA at such a height. Shelden is not that player. Billy told us he was going to shut down that lay-up drill lane the Hawks had been rolling with for the past few years. He didn’t do such a good job. Players were all but being escorted down the lane by secret service agents against the Hawks during most games. Only Billy Knight could talk himself into believing that a player who is a replica of half of the roster he already had was going to come in and shut down the lane. Maybe he’ll be better this year. He was a beast in the Summer League and we all know that means…………absolutely nothing.

We haven’t even discussed poor Mike Woodson. I hate to drag him into this because he walked into a no win situation, but his record is awful! He won 13 games in his first season, 26 games in his second season and 30 games last season. I want to reiterate that the roster he inherited was f*cked up, but something’s gotta give. Either he or the owners have to blink if the Hawks don’t make the playoffs this season. Not because they have so much talent on the roster that there’s no reason they shouldn’t make the playoffs, but because he’s been there 3 seasons and he doesn’t even have one full season of victories to his credit. I honestly don’t understand how someone who’s only won 69 games in a total of 3 years can still be gainfully employed by an NBA team. I don’t care how flawed the roster is; good coaches put their players in position to be successful. Whether or not they take them up on that offer is another story for another day. I’ve been watching this Mike Woodson offense for 3 years and I still have no idea what the hell they’re trying to accomplish. They’re a small team full of finishers so they should be playing a wee bit faster than they have been. He’s insisted on running this half court offense despite the fact that they don’t have the personnel to pull it off. It’s not fair to the fans or Joe when he has to run the pick and roll with someone like Lorenzon Wright or Shelden Williams. That’s just wrong on so many levels. Josh Smith is good around the basket, but unfortunately he likes to shoot three’s. Heaven help them if he makes a three pointer early in the game because he won’t go near the basket again unless it’s on a fast break. There are too many reports during the year about the tumultuous relationship between Josh and Woody and even Salim and Woody. I know you can’t let the prisoners run the asylum, but I’m sure if you poll the fans about who they’re coming to Philips Arena to see, they won’t say Mike Woodson. They’ll probably say LeBron if they’re playing Cleveland, or Kobe if they’re playing the Lakers and so forth and so on…. The point is they won’t say Woody. If it comes down to a decision between Woody or Josh, we can only hope Billy will do the right thing and choose Josh. To most of us this is a no brainer, but they’ve yet to give Josh a contract extension and he’s in the final year of his deal. The fact that they’re even willing to let him hit the market worries me because they’re cheap as hell. They don’t think he’s worth $70 million so if a team offers him more than that they probably won’t match it. If Josh leaves that will give Woody a whole new list of problems and trust me he doesn’t need anything else to worry about. I’d love to think if there isn’t significant improvement in the team they’ll look for another coach, but Woody is Billy’s boy, so he might get an extension no matter what the team does.

New Year, new record, time to do bigger sh*t.-Talib Kweli (Put it in the air)

It’s a new year so that means there are new expectations of this team. They drafted Al Horford and Acie LawIV, and both have a winning mentality. Horford is a back to back NCAA champion while Law is a stone cold killer in late game situations. The consensus leading up to the draft was that Horford was the most NBA ready. The Hawks desperately need that to be true. They’ve been thin in the frontcourt for years. Any help he can provide is greatly appreciated. Law is not looked at as a typical pass first point guard, but if he can manage the game they’ll take it. The team is still literally young in a lot of areas, but some of these younguns have been in the league for several years. They might as well be grizzled vets as far as the NBA is concerned. They can’t use that “youngest team in the league” excuse anymore. That’s so five minutes ago. This is a make or break season for the Hawks as currently constructed. The draft can’t save them next year because Phoenix gets their first round pick whether its number 1 or number 20. This year we should see some kind of improvement in this team. The city of Atlanta is not going to continue to support this team if they insist on putting an inferio…wait; the city doesn’t support this team right now. I know everyone thinks you’re supposed to support your team no matter what, but I think the people in Atlanta have the right idea. Why should they spend their hard earned money to come to Philips and watch a losing team? It makes no sense. Anyway, the East is still relatively weak and I expect the Hawks to be right in the thick of the playoff hunt come March. That shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish considering damn near everyone in the East is normally right in the thick of the playoff hunt in March. Are they 10-12 wins better than last season? Probably not, but I certainly hope so.

Red Sux, Random NFL Stuff

Wow, I haven't posted anything in a week. I don't even have a good reason for it unless utter laziness is good enough for you.

The Red Sox came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Cleveland Indians. The aces for the Indians sucked big time! Boston's line-up had a field day with them. There's no scenario where you can count out those pesky Red Sox. They just won't quit. I'd admire it if it were any other team, but since it's the Red Sox it aggravates me. I hope the Rockies sweep them.

The Eagles lost to the Bears. They were smart enough not to kick the ball to Devin Hester, but in the end it didn't matter since their offense was so putrid.

The Cowboys beat the Vikings. They keep playing bad teams who have them on the ropes, but insist on losing. Everyone else likes to think the Cowboys just find ways to win, but I say teams find ways to lose against them. I love Tavarus Jackson and I'm proud of him for making it to the league, but the Vikings might need to start grooming someone else to hand their franchise over to. He doesn't have the swagger of a winner and that's just as important as ability. A lot of times he doesn't look like he has much of that either.

The Falcons lost to the Saints. Byron Leftwich got the start and then got hurt in the beginning of the second half. The Falcons can't win for losing. Literally. They need to play the younguns and see what they're capable of because this season is so over for them.

The Pats beat the Dolphins (yawn)

The Giants beat the Niners.

The Broncos beat the Steelers. Great game, and Mike Tomlin looks good in a skull cap.

The Bengals beat the Jets. Chad Pennington might get benched behind that loss. In fairness to him, he isn't the only problem with the Jets. He will take the biggest fall for it though.

The Bills beat the Ravens (yawn)

The Seahawks beat the Rams (yawn)

The Redskins beat the Cardinals (yawn)

The Titans beat the Texans without Vince Young. Madden Jinx is the official injury, but they have it listed as a sprained quad.

Random NFL Stuff

I'm soooooooooooo glad the New England Dallas game is over! ESPN in true ESPN fashion over hyped the hell out of this game! They must have dedicated 30 minutes per Sportscenter episode talking about both of these teams. I just don't understand why. Well I guess I do understand a little. Tom Brady is America's favorite "baby daddy" and Tony Romo is a little media darling, but still. This game won't mean shit at the end of the season. No one won home field advantage if they meet in the playoffs, (which they won't unless it's the Super Bowl) so in the grand scheme of things it was just another regular season game. The fact that they were both undefeated is cute, but it's only the 6th game of the season. Had they both been 10-0 or something I would have been able to understand the hype a little more. Everyone knew Dallas was not going to win that game, I don't even know why we had to spend 2 weeks pretending it was going to be a toss up.
The Saints finally won a game. Bless their Hearts.
St. Louis is still win less and now quarterbackless since their genius head coach insisted on running real plays even though they were down by 19 points. Mark Bulger was already hurt, now Gus Frerote (not sure about the spelling, not gonna look it up) is hurt. Idiots.
Miami still sucks. Trent Green is mulling retirement. Seriously, your team sucks and you were there sucking with them for 4 games, so it's not like your presence is going to change anything. Stay home and play with your kids.
Cincy still sucks. KC won
Braylon Edwards is a cutie and he caught 3 touchdowns for the Browns.
The J E T S still suck. Philly won.
Green Bay beat Washington, Brett threw a couple of interceptions. He's coming back to his old self. He set the NFL record for interceptions. Congratulations.
San Diego beat Oakland. L T scored all 4 of their touchdowns. He's coming around slowly but surely.
Tennessee lost and Vince Young got hurt early. Is it the Madden jinx??? We shall see.
Jax beat Houston.
Chicago lost to Minnesota. Adrian Peterson ran all over the Bears defense! Devin Hester returned a punt for a touchdown and he caught one as a receiver. They clearly need to find ways to incorporate him into their offense more often. At some point teams need to look into kicking to someone other than him. That would take away at least 7 points from Chicago.
The Rockies are one win away from going to the World Series. They have to be the favorite to win it all at this point.
I'm just sayin........

The State of the Yankees

I've had a couple of days to think about the demise of my favorite team and now I'm ready to vent. This might be one of those times where the post doesn't flow as well as others, but stay with me. I've made mention of pretty much everything I'm about to make mention of now in previous posts. It needs to be said again and again until something changes.

Joe Torre is going to be made available to the job market this winter and I have mixed feelings about that. They haven't won it all in a few years, but you cannot just discount what this man has done for that franchise. He's been to 6 World Series and he's won 4 of them. The team hasn't missed the post season with him at the helm, yet the Boss is ready to just let him go because they didn't win it all this season. It's kind of crazy when you think about it. I don't know of any fan base other than the Yankees fans who wouldn't be satisfied with this man's resume`. For most fans it's not World Series or bust, but not Yankees fans. We want it all. This ain't horseshoes! Almost doesn't count! Maybe our unrealistic expectations are contributing to the Boss's decision to turn over a new leaf. Owners (good owners) are all about pleasing the fans. What if we're wrong though?

On the other hand, Joe has been there many, many years so maybe it's time for a new voice. Maybe they have gone as far as they can go with him and obviously 4 World Series wins isn't far enough.

This is a little off the subject, but I think it's very relevant. People often say things like "he should be able to go out on his own terms" about college coaches like Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden because they made their college football programs what they are today. Why don't they say the same things about pro coaches? I never understood that logic to be honest. Just because you built the program up you're entitled to stay way past your coaching prime and run it right back into the ground if you see fit.?. I just don't understand how college coaching legends can be unfireable (probably not a word), but someone like Joe Torre isn't given such a courtesy by the media. It's not about the money, because college coaches are just as well paid as professional coaches. So really, what's the difference? I know Joe Torre didn't build up the Yankees franchise, but he's won 4 championships and kept the team in realistic contention the other years. Should he not be able to go out on his own terms?

No one is talking about Brian Cashman or the Boss for that matter. Let's look at some of the people on the roster who had a no trade clause in their contract the past couple of seasons. Jeter, A-Rod, Posada, Damon, Matsui, Giambi, Carl Pavano ( I hate mentioning his name) There's no way to improve the team because you can't trade anydamnbody without their consent. Brian Cashman or the Boss (I'm not sure who's really behind all these moves) put the team at a disadvantage because nobody is movable. They all have no trade clauses and on top of that, they're disgustingly overpaid! Even if you could convince someone to take them and their bloated salaries you'd still have to get them to sign off on it and that's easier said than done. That's no way to run your business. Everyone doesn't deserve a no trade clause and for an owner with the highest expectations he should know better.

It's not all Joe's fault that the team has failed recently. There are some flaws on the roster that they're able to hide April thru September, but there's no hiding in October. The fact is that the team is stuck with a lot of these players. The same players who have come up short in the playoffs the past few seasons. So how does the team get better? The only players they can trade are players that they can't trade! They can't or shall I say shouldn't trade Cano, Wang, Cabrera, Hughes, Duncan or Chamberlain. Basically, the team that has failed us these past couple of years is the same team that's going to fail us in the next couple of years. (minus A-Rod certainly, Posada and Rivera probably) The Boss and the fans are way too impatient to go through a real youth movement, so I suppose we Yankees fans better find a way to get satisfied with being knocked out in the first round. Hell, Braves fans have been doing it for years.

The End of an Era

Its finally over. The Joe Torre era, the A-Rod era, the Rocket era, the Pettite era (possibly) the Rivera era (possibly) the Posada era (possibly). Yep, its all over. Those are some old ass dudes anyway. I think the Yankees are about to be officially engulfed in a "youth movement". The Indians youthful exuberance proved to be too much for the pinstripes. The 2-6 hitters are all dead to me, at least until next season.

Tony Romo threw 5 interceptions and lost a fumble and the damn Cowboys still won! If they had been playing anyone other than the Bills they probably would have lost. They were clearly looking ahead to next week's game against New England. Both teams are undefeated, but something's gotta give.

Yankees, Random Football Stuff

Yankees won. They're still down 2-1 but at least they didn't get swept like Chicago, Philly and Los Angeles/Anaheim. The Rocket tried to do us in, but Phil Hughes came out and saved the season for at least one more day. The Boss says if Joe loses this series he's out of there. What's new?

The Saints suck. Still. Is Sean Payton still a genius?

The J E T S suck. Is Eric Mangini still a genius?

The Chargers finally won another game. Their division is extremely weak this year so they are still very much in playoff contention.

The Pats and Colts are still undefeated. (yawn)

The Steelers beat the Seahawks and in all of the highlights no one cut away to Mike Tomlin on the sideline. How dare they deprive the ladies of getting a glimpse of him in those shades?

Trent Green suffered another concussion. Where is his wife or parents or brother or sister or somedamnbody to tell him to stop? Seriously, he needs to stop!

The Falcons lost to the Titans and they did it behind Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich. They had several chances to win the game, but they never took advantage of their opportunities. Vince played horribly, but not as horribly as the Falcons one/two punch at QB.

The Bears beat the Packers for their second win of the season. Brett showed us the Brett of old in the second half. He was trying those little flip passes and throwing into places he shouldn't have. He only threw 2 picks though. That's a good day for him.

Matt Leinart broke his collarbone. That's too bad because just the other day he proclaimed that the team should ride or die with him. It looks like they'll have to ride or die with Kurt Warner for the foreseeable future.

The Redskins beat the Lions. I thought Detroit was for real. That's what everyone said when they were 2-0. They're not looking so good right now. They don't deserve to be winners ever after the way they treated Barry. It's karma.

0-2

A-Rod is dead to me.

Random Stuff

So the Yanks got spanked by the Indians tonight 12-3. C.C. Sabathia was pretty damn good tonight and Wang was not. He's dead to me. LeBron James was there and he was wearing a Yankees cap. I thought he might go to the game, but I didn't think he'd wear a Yankees cap. People are outraged about his allegiance to New York and I really don't understand why. Who the hell cares who LeBron is cheering for?? Is it going to affect the outcome of this series? I doubt it.

The Phillies and Cubs are in trouble now. The Phillies are down 0-2. They can come back, but the way the Rockies and are playing right now it ain't lookin good. The Cubs are down as I type this, but if they somehow win this game, I'll amend this post in the morning.

Marion Jones admitted to using steroids. Let's just say you aren't knocking anyone over with a feather because of that confession.

The Falcons began their attempts to recoup $22 million dollars from Mr. Vick. The NFLPA says Mr. Vick is protected by the CBA. I don't know the details of the CBA and at this point I don't care. I'm just shocked the NFLPA is arguing on behalf of one of it's players.

MLB Playoffs

The Rockies stole home field advantage from the Phillies this afternoon.

The Red Sux beat up on the Angels. This series is a tricky one for me because as a Yankees fan I hate the Red Sux, but I'm well aware of our struggles against the Angels. I don't know who I want to lose this series more. Yes I'm assuming we'll beat the Indians. Anyway, I think my hate for the Red Sux supersedes everything else, but the Angels are beat the hell up. They'll probably get swept.

The Cubbies lost to the Diamondbacks. This isn't that big of a deal since the D'backs do have home field advantage. The Cubs will have to win in Arizona at some point though. Arizona has a player named Chris Young who is an absolute cutie. How could MLB hide him from me all season. Unforgivable! Hell to be honest, when I heard any mention of him I just assumed he was caucasian. I was shocked to find out he's colored! I'm not shocked because of his name, I'm shocked because of the lack of colored players in MLB right now. I was just as shocked a couple of years ago when I found out Khalil Greene was white. Making assumptions about someones race based on their name isn't just a problem in Corporate America. I know it's wrong, but if you heard the name Khalil Greene and you hadn't seen him you probably would have assumed he was colored too. I'm just sayin.....

Precious Rehabilitated Pits, Super Classy Pats

What a day! Not really, but it sounds good. Anyway, some things have happened lately that perplex the hell out of me.
For starters, the people holding the 49 dogs in the Mike Vick dog fighting scandal are convinced that all but 1 of them can be placed with new owners. Um, all I have to say is if you get one of those dogs and it attacks or kills you then you deserve it. It's debatable whether or not Pits are naturally aggressive, but you've got to be a damn fool if you bring one of those dogs into your home! You already know what their history is, so you know there's the potential that they could snap and you have no idea what might trigger it. These dogs have been trained to kill and I just don't think they're going to lose those instincts in a matter of months. All of this is potentially bad news for Mr. Vick. Let's say John Doe gets one of these precious rehabilitated Pit Bulls and all goes well for a few weeks. Then, all of a sudden this precious rehabilitated Pit snaps and attacks John Doe, but thankfully he lives. There will be a civil suit against one Mr.Vick. I'm not a lawyer, but please believe you can sue anybody in this damn country. People are suing God for God's sake! The minute one of these precious rehabilitated Pits attacks or kills someone they'll be trying to hold Mr. Vick liable. Just wait and see. They won't go after the animal shelter that reassured them that these dogs were precious and rehabilitated, they'll go straight for Mr. Vick. Everyone assumes he's made of money but the people who work in these shelters which is a thankless low paying job (allegedly, I don't know one way or the other) are not. Even though logically it would make more sense to go after the shelter, they'll trust their gut and go after Mr. Vick for a few million dollars which should end all of their pain and suffering. Hopefully none of this will come to fruition, but the possibility is certainly there. I hope no children are injured, but to the adult that brings this precious rehabilitated Pit who has a history of violence into his or her home, you deserve whatever happens to you. When you have the 2007 version of Cujo on your hands, just remember you asked for it!
I was listening to Colin Cowherd today (don't ever do this) and he went on this diatribe about how classy the Pats are and how unclassy the Bengals are. Now we all know a lot of the Bengals are far from being choir boys, but to get on national radio and act like the Pats are infallible just because half of them haven't been arrested recently is absurd. We've all done some questionable things in our pasts, maybe nothing illegal but I'm sure you've done some things you aren't proud of. The Pats are no different. Hell, Tom Brady is a "baby daddy", but for some reason him knocking up a girl who lives 3000 miles away just doesn't seem to be a bad thing. That's real classy. Never mind the fact that he won't be a part of this child's life for 7 months at a time unless his baby momma packs up her shit and travels to New England to ensure that he has a chance to be an involved dad. It doesn't really matter though because he wins games. Bill Belichick was misinterpreting NFL rules about videotaping other teams in between committing adultery. Yeah that wreaks of class! Rodney Harrison has been busted for using illegal steroids as far back as the 2004 Super Bowl. There are but a handful of people who are as classy as he is. Let's not forget about ol' Randy and his issues. It's amazing how you can go from problem child/clubhouse cancer to consummate professional teammate when you are on pace to catch 30 touchdowns. None of his past indiscretions matter now that he's with the classiest of classy organizations. There's no one I want my kids looking up to more than this guy. (I don't have kids, but even if I did I wouldn't let them worship someone just because he can catch a ball or run fast or jump high. That's a whole other issue for another day though). Anyway, if this Mike Vick situation has taught us anything its that we have no idea who these people really are when the lights go off and the cameras stop rolling. They could be just as unscrupulous as the next dude and in a lot of cases we'll never find out about it. Yes the Pats are a good team and they keep whatever problems they have in the clubhouse for the most part, but let's not act like they're beyond reproach. They have some trifling mo'foes on their team just like everyone else! People are just willing to overlook it because they're winning. I'm just sayin......

Rockies In!

The NL playoffs are FINALLY set! The Rockies beat the Padres in 13 innings to win the wild card. It was a very entertaining game to say the least. Long story short, the Padres took a 2 run lead in the top of the 13th and Trevor Hoffman came out and promptly gave it back, plus one. Trevor Hoffman is one of the best closers the game has seen, but he hasn't saved a meaningful game in..... never. If it's the middle of June there's no one you want on the mound more, but when the games really, really matter you might want to look elsewhere. Anyway, he gave up 3 runs and didn't even record an out. Poor thing. Replays showed that Matt Holiday may not have even touched the plate, but that's neither here nor there at this point. The Rockies won, so they get to face the Phillies. This is the best possible outcome for MLB because these are the 2 hottest teams in the NL. Plus, we've seen the Padres in the playoffs recently and it's not pretty!
The Pats beat the Bengals. There are a lot of 1-3 teams in the NFL who were supposed to be way better than they have shown. The Bengals are one of them.
A University of Memphis defensive lineman was shot and killed. He was only 21.