Kobe deserves MVP, not title

L.A. Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant is an unbelievable Basketball Talent. He also seems like a jerk. I don’t know the guy personally, but he seems reluctant to spread praise around when things are going well, and is quick to blame others when things are not so hot.
Bryant’s loser leave town feud with Shaq is legendary, and his crybaby threats in Los Angeles are known throughout the sports world. Who knows how many titles Kobe would have captured if the Diesel was still playing along side him?
This season has been incredible. Bryant wanted out of tinsel town and went public with it. Lakers G.M. Mitch Kupchak called his bluff, and soon the smoke dissipated. Eventually Jerry West’s successor went out and acquired Pau Gasol from the Grizzlies, the same Gasol who was the cornerstone of West’s teams while in the Bluff City. Gasol has made all the difference in the world and now the Lakers are in position to win it all.
With all that said I don’t want the Lakers to win because I don’t care for Bryant. I don’t like the fact that he’s basically a crybaby who probably was that kid who took his ball and went home. This does not mean I don’t think he’s a fascinating player to watch. Kobe is deserving of this season’s MVP, and you could argue that he probably should have won one or two in the past. So here’s to anyone but the lakers winning it all. When it all comes down to it, this a team sport, and Bryant is a “What’s in it for me kind of guy”.

Tuesday Ramblings(one day early)

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I couldn’t wait till tomorrow to respond to Rob Fischer’s crazy statement on horse racing. Fish has apparently been spending some time with Duke Crews and Ramar Smith of the Tennessee basketball team because smoking some good stuff is the only possible explanation for comparing horse racing to dog fighting and cock fighting. According to Sally Jenkins of The Washington Post, 1.5 horses suffer this type of injury for every 1000 racing starts in the United States. You know how many dogs die for every 1000 dog fights? I would say close to 1000! So please don’t try and tell me that these two “sports” are in any way comparable.

There is no doubt that what happened at the Kentucky Derby Saturday was tragic, but there is no need to overreact. Just because one horse dies in the sports biggest race, doesn’t mean the sport needs major changes. Yes, when you look at the total number of horses, nearly 800, that die in a year it looks like a lot, but not when you consider how many races are run and the fact that, unlike any other sport, most injuries lead to death.

Jenkins’ points about the breeding of animals is something that certainly should be looked into. Like every other sport, the quest for bigger, stronger athletes(horses) will always continue, but if breeding methods are creating animals that are more susceptible to injury, then something should be done. Also, if there is definitive proof that synthetic tacks are safer than dirt, then go ahead and make the change, but any changes that are made must be the result of hard evidence that it is better for the horses, and not just a kneejerk reaction to a public outcry after a tragedy on the sports’ biggest stage.

As far as the winner of the race goes, Big Brown ran the exact race I predicted he would. He may not be a “superhorse,” but compared to his competition he is and has a great chance to win the triple crown. He will win the Preakness easily, and then we’ll see if he can do it at the Belmont against some much more rested horses, where so many recent horses have had their triple crown dreams shattered.

Now, back to the Tennessee basketball player Crews and Smith. Good for Bruce Pearl for having the onions to kick them off the team. Granted, Pearl, like all other coaches, probably gave them many chances, but at least he showed he does have a breaking point and was willing to dismiss two contributors to his team. I just wish we didn’t have so many stories about athletes getting in trouble at both the college and pro levels. When will these guys start realizing what they are throwing away and for what? I’m not expecting them all to be saints, but is it too much to ask for them to go to class, stay off drugs, or not get arrested?

Two more NFL players arrested, you know what we call that? A weekend.

Has any beer company had more technological innovations than Coors? They have come up with cooler boxes, color-changing labels and now the vented can. What? Is there really a big problem with beer can ventilation? I’ve had many cans of beer and I don’t ever remember thinking, “Boy I wish this can had some sort of vent so the beer would come out faster.”

One sign that baseball season is officially underway, Ozzie Guillen loses his mind.

Steve Kerr and the rest of the Phoenix Suns management needs to grow a pair and just fire Mike D’Antoni. It’s clear they don’t want him back so just cough up the money and fire him.

The Hornets game one win over San Antonio was impressive. The Spurs may come back and win this series, but it’s time to recognize that this Hornets team is for real. David West=Most underrated player in the NBA.

I’m not a real emotional guy, but watching the Sportscenter story on the softball player, who was carried around the bases by the opposing team after hitting a home run and blowing out her knee, choked me up a little bit. It’s a great story but the whole thing didn’t really set in with me until I saw this video as part of their story.

The Two Faces of Oscar De La Hoya: A Response to Rob Fischer

The best thing about any Oscar De La Hoya fight is that it attracts attention to the sport of boxing, something it sorely needs. The other side of that coin, though, is that as a result of all that attention, many talking or writing heads will form misguided or uninformed opinions about boxing. Peter Edmiston feels very much the same way about how the World Cup does pretty much the exact same thing for the sport of soccer in the United States.

When I read Rob Fischer’s post about the De La Hoya-Forbes fight (see his latest “Sunday on the Couch”), I knew I would have to respond. And no, this will not be a “boxing is the greatest sport” post, but rather a breakdown of Rob’s thoughts, which mirror what many casual boxing fans wrongly believe. There are two faces of De La Hoya–the promoter and the fighter. Rob, like many others, believe Oscar is a great promoter that is working for the fighters and the fans moreso than the other big promotional companies. At the same time, Rob and many others think Oscar should stick to promoting as he is clearly finished as a fighter. I take exception with both points.

Rob’s words will be italicized.

“Fighters want to join his stable and his card’s because he has the fighter’s interest at heart. I think fighters would trust him, at least more than any other promoter you can think of. Go ahead, try to give me one that can be trusted!”

It’s probably true that fighters would trust De La Hoya based on his status as a still-active fighter, unlike other mega promoters like Bob Arum (Top Rank) and Don King. But no promoter can be trusted, not even ones that occasionally lace up the gloves themselves.

“Anyway, Oscar has done a great job getting fights that lead to title bouts.”

I’m not sure what Rob is saying in that first sentence; whether he means Oscar is setting up a title fight for himself (the assumed rematch with Mayweather in September), or for his fighters in Golden Boy Promotions. If he means Oscar himself, as it would seem, then it should be noted that De La Hoya–under absolutely NO circumstances–ever has to beat anyone to get a title shot. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that boxing isn’t about titles anymore anyway, only money.

De La Hoya is THE lottery ticket in boxing, the guy EVERYONE from 130 lbs. to 170 lbs. wants to fight. Think about that discrepancy for a second. Manny Pacquiao, currently a titleholder at 130 lbs. and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, is willing to move up to 147 lbs. to fight him. Winky Wright, whose last fight was at 170 lbs. against Bernard Hopkins last July, wants to move all the way down to 154 lbs. to fight him. Belts mean nothing, they all want the big payday that comes with a De La Hoya fight. The fact that Oscar can draw 27,000 people in Los Angeles to a fight against a huge underdog in Steve Forbes who was overmatched and undersized with NO co-featured fight and a pathetic undercard says everything.

“He hasn’t gone the route of Pay-per-view, which gives many more fight fans the opportunity to watch great fights on HBO.”

Again, I’m not sure if Rob is specifically referring to De La Hoya here or his promotional company, but allow me to retort in both respects. Saturday night was the first time Oscar has fought on non-PPV HBO World Championship Boxing since 2001, against the also overmatched and undersized Arturo Gatti. His next EIGHT outings were on pay-per-view, from big events like his fights against Shane Mosley (the rematch), Bernard Hopkins and Floyd Mayweather Jr., to glorified exhibitions against Yory Boy Campas, Javier Castillejo and Felix Sturm.

As far as Golden Boy Promotions, they are just as guilty as any other promotional company about milking pay-per-view for all it’s worth. The fact is, in today’s boxing world, a company is forced to use pay-per-view if HBO or Showtime is not willing to pony up enough money to help an event happen on “free” TV (seeing as both networks are on premium cable, calling it “free” is absurd). Golden Boy did put the Joe Calzaghe-Bernard Hopkins fight from this past April 19 on HBO and not on pay-per-view, but a fight of that magnitude that is not on pay-per-view occurs MAYBE twice a year for boxing.

Plenty of other underwhelming boxing events like Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Mzonke Fana and Bernard Hopkins-Winky Wright (full disclaimer: Winky and Bernard are my two favorite fighters, but to put it on PPV was a mistake) have been put on pay-per-view by De La Hoya’s company. Moreover, in just a few weeks, on May 31st Shane Mosley will face Zab Judah in what should be a very entertaining fight…on pay-per-view–brought to you by Golden Boy Promotions. Oh, and Mayweather-De La Hoya II will not only be on pay-per-view, but the “suggested price” will be at least $10 more than the usual $49.99.

“One thing he needs to do is stop fighting! Oscar has gotten old.”

As much as I will criticize his company, I will not demand him to retire from the ring, not when he is still a very competent fighter easily capable of beating any non-elite fighter in the sport. Let’s not forget that his loss to Mayweather last year was by split decision, and a single point on one scorecard was the difference. Also, while he may not have had a show-stopping performance Saturday night against Forbes, the consensus among boxing people is that he looked very good, maybe not “perfect” like HBO’s Emmanuel Steward was proclaiming, but he did turn in a solid performance. Oscar’s jab and left hook are still top notch, and while his reflexes are not what they used to be, he is by no means over the hill.

De La Hoya is planning on retiring at the end of the year after two more fights–the rematch with Mayweather in September and a farewell bout in December. But those two fights, if indeed that is it for his career, will be huge events and very good for the sport of boxing because of the attention they will bring.

He’s planning on a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September. HE HAS NO CHANCE.

I will again pick Mayweather to win the fight, but I also expect it to be a close, competitive fight. Unfortunately for the casual fan, it will look much like their first fight, which was not exactly a barnburner. De La Hoya definitely has a chance, though, especially if he keeps jabbing in the later rounds, which he inexplicably stopped doing in the first fight. Mayweather has never been as befuddled and limited by an opponent’s strategy as much as he was when Oscar was pumping the jab in the middle rounds of their first fight.

Watching him fight Forbes was one of the worst fights I’ve seen in a long time. To see Oscar fight just once a year is probably enough, but I wish it was worth watching. Saturday night, you had an old former champ fighting a guy that had no interest in winning. Good luck in September Oscar, but do us a favor- Just stick to the promoting. You can do a great deal for the sweet science, but getting in the ring isn’t helping.

Wow, Rob, you must not watch much boxing at all. Unless all you have seen in the last few years was the Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez trilogy (for those of you who don’t know, YouTube it!) and old tapes of Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo and Felix Trinidad-Fernando Vargas. The fact is De La Hoya is one of the more exciting fighters out there, especially considering his superstar status. If you want to complain about big boxing stars stinking up the joint, I will refer you to Bernard Hopkins and even Floyd Mayweather Jr., who for as great as he is, refuses to take risks in the ring.

You won’t find many, if any, boxing fans who didn’t enjoy the action De La Hoya-Forbes more than any other fights this year NOT fought in the month of March (see my previous blog post for more on that month in boxing).
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Well, at least people were watching. As a boxing fan, the sport needs more eyeballs and while their opinions may not be very educated, at least they are investing time in the sport and that is what it needs. As such, allow me to recommend this upcoming schedule of selected fights that deserve your attention, rated on a scale from 1-10 based on how exciting they are shaping up to be:

Upcoming Notable Fights
May 17: HBO Boxing After Dark
James Kirkland vs. Eromosele Albert: 7
Yuriorkis Gamboa vs. Darling Jimenez: 8
Alfredo Angulo vs. Richard Gutierrez: 6
–Kirkland, Gamboa and Angulo are three of the best rising prospects in boxing today, all young, undefeated power punchers. HBO rarely provides a three fights in a single boxing telecast, but if you want to see some promising knockout artists, check this one out. Gamboa (130 lbs./super featherweight) is perhaps the biggest prospect of the three.

May 24: Versus
Ricky Hatton vs. Juan Lazcano: 8
Paul Malignaggi vs. Lovemore N’dou: 1
–Yes, Versus is televising a Ricky Hatton fight. It will actually be broadcast live from Manchester, where Hatton will be packing over 50,000 fans into Manchester Stadium. His fight vs. Lazcano should be exciting, especially considering the atmosphere, but the co-feature between Malignaggi and N’dou will be a bona fide snooze-fest.

May 31: HBO Pay-Per-View
Shane Mosley vs. Zab Judah: 9
Jorge Barrios vs. Rocky Juarez: 6
Jeff Lacy vs. TBA: ?
Abner Mares vs. TBA: ?
–This is one of those cards that belongs on regular HBO, but alas, it will be on PPV. Mosley and Judah both have exciting styles–they love to hit and they get hit–so expect that one to be very fascinating. Both are very talented, quick and hard punchers. Barrios-Juarez is nothing special, but it should be a decent scrap, as Barrios loves to throw even if Juarez doesn’t. Lacy and Mares have exciting styles, but they don’t have opponents yet–so they’ll probably end up fighting a couple of bums.

I’ll post regularly when more exciting fights are draw near, particularly the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito fight tentatively scheduled for July 26, and that fight is the only one in the foreseeable future that would earn a 10 on the excitability scale.

The Biggest Homer Ever

From time to time, it’s important to point out that sometimes our commentators in the world of sports aren’t exactly impartial in their call of the game. Homerism is a fact of life, no matter the country and no matter the sport. Most of you probably think you’ve seen the most blatant homerism already (from Wolo, perhaps)…but you’re wrong. So very, very wrong. THIS is the most incredible commentator ever. To set it up: this is the Milan derby - AC Milan vs. Inter Milan - and to say they’re bitter rivals would be an understatement. The gentleman on the call here would seem to be an AC Milan fan.

Sweet mercy that is some kind of emotion. Perhaps our guys here aren’t homer enough after all. I’d love to see Pete Pranica do this after the Grizzlies hit a key three-pointer at the end of a game:

“THREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! THREEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! MIKE MILLER!!!!!!!! MILLLLLLLEEEERRRRRR!!!!!!!! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!”

Can we get someone on this?

(thanks to Awful Announcing for the find)

Sunday on the Couch

BOXING- Oscar De La Hoya can do a lot for boxing.  He’s such an engaging man and he has done a great job promoting.  Fighters want to join his stable and his card’s because he has the fighter’s interest at heart.  I think fighters would trust him, at least more than any other promoter you can think of.  Go ahead, try to give me one that can be trusted!  Anyway, Oscar has done a great job getting fights that lead to title bouts.  He hasn’t gone the route of Pay-per-view, which gives many more fight fans the opportunity to watch great fights on HBO.  One thing he needs to do is stop fighting!  Oscar has gotten old.

He’s not as quick, unless you want to compare him to Steve Forbes, who he beat by unanimous decision Saturday night in Los Angeles.  He’s planning on a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September.  HE HAS NO CHANCE.  Watching him fight Forbes was one of the worst fights I’ve seen in a long time.  To see Oscar fight just once a year is probably enough, but I wish it was worth watching.  Saturday night, you had an old former champ fighting a guy that had no interest in winning.  Good luck in September Oscar, but do us a favor- Just stick to the promoting.  You can do a great deal for the sweet science, but getting in the ring isn’t helping. 

Other observations from the fight- 

• I HATE when fighters start to showboat in the ring when they are getting killed.  Was Steve Forbes actually proud of himself that he lasted 12 rounds with Oscar?  It looked like that was all he was trying to do.  Congratulations on the loss.  You looked like an idiot dancing around when you won, arguably, one round.
• When are we done with Larry Merchant?  His “humorous” quips are only funny to him and they take 5 minutes to get the thought across.  His post fight interviews are nothing but laughable.  Please get rid of Larry, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but get Max Kellerman more involved.  It sounds like Lampley wants to hit Larry in the head with the microphone every time he finishes a point.
• I love what Oscar’s doing for boxing, but quit putting Sylvester Stallone in the 2nd row in view of the main camera.  Every time I watch a De La Hoya sanctioned event, I can’t get my eyes off of how terrible he looks.  In Hi-Def, Sly looks like he puts his face on with a spatula!  Can’t imagine what his pillow looks like every morning after he melts at night.

THE DERBY- Big Brown was certainly impressive at the Derby.  He had such a great run, and made it look easy with three-time Derby winning jockey Kent Desormeaux.  After going off at 2-1, I can’t imagine how much of a favorite he’ll be in two weeks at the Preakness.  No horse has captured the triple crown since Affirmed in 1978.  He may have looked great on Saturday, but don’t buy into the “superhorse / triple crown” talk.  We’ve said it each year after the Derby.  It’s been 30 years, so just relax!  Plus, indications are that no other Derby horse will follow Big Brown to Pimlico.  Enjoy that field of unknowns when you try to break it down.  I won some money with Big Brown putting down $40 to win which paid off $136.  My trifecta box didn’t pay out, but was close- Big Brown (1), Denis of Cork (3), Colonel John (6), and Gayego (17).  Ok, maybe it wasn’t that close, but I got 2 of the three in my tri. 

After the race, runner up Eight Belles was euthanized after fracturing both front ankles.  Dr. Larry Bramlage said he had never seen such an injury.  He was also asked if he thought fillies running against colts was a good idea.  He said, “One death is not an epidemic.”  Didn’t know this was the first death in horse racing.  I love horse racing.  It’s fun to wager and it’s great to watch these beautiful beastly animals running with such power.  But when are we going to stop giving horse racing a free pass because we have pretty flowers, pretty hats, pretty people, and pretty drinks that make the event everything but the race?  How far above cockfighting and dogfighting is horse racing?  Really?  These animals are overworked and pushed to the limit so owners and fans alike can buy a few more mint juleps.  Horse racing only exists because of the betting.  We would never watch, or care, if betting wasn’t involved.  There were 55 horse racing deaths between 2004-06.  That’s 55 deaths at one track- Del Mar near San Diego.  The picture alone is hard to look at.

 

The difference between cockfighting and dogfighting and horse racing is that horses aren’t trained to kill.  However, they are trained in a manner that could kill them.  When is Congress going to question horse racing safety?  I guess they’re making too much money on it too.  And this from trainer Larry Jones- “Eight Belles ran the race of her life.  She was glad to do it.”  REALLY?  Glad to run and die?  Glad to be trained hard, run with colts, get slapped on the ass by some tiny fella on top, and DIE?  GLAD TO DO IT?  This is where I have a serious problem.  I am sickened when horse people talk about these animals as if they know what they’re thinking.  These horses have no idea what’s at stake other than a big oat bag when they finish running.  Lesley Visser always referred to the animals thoughts going into a race, although she sometimes looked like she could have been related so maybe she did know.  But how and why do we justify the horse’s thought process on race day?  We treat them as if they are people.  THEY ARE NOT!  If they were, we wouldn’t allow the sport to go on.  What other sport loses an estimated 800 athletes in the USA per year to death?

Other thoughts of the week-

• Why do women’s bathrooms have a lid on the seat?  Is the lid ever raised for anything?  Anything?  It’s time to sell my idea of the one-piece-toilet, soon to be found in women’s bathroom stalls everywhere.
• My favorite quote from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure might be, “GOOD MORNING MR. BREAKFAST!”
• The movie, Italian Job, might have the best 30 minute start of any movie I’ve ever seen.  After the first 30 minutes you can finally take a breath.  But get ready for more action packed excitement.  Besides, how do you not like a movie starring Charlize Theron?
• One skill I take for granted is the ability to swim.  Everyone should learn how to swim.  It won’t take long and you shouldn’t be embarrassed.  It could save your life or someone else’s life some day.  As I always say, “Don’t ever underestimate the power of water.”  Click on the link below to find out more information.
• http://educatelink.localwin.com/Swimming/Memphis.html
• The worst chore ever- cutting grass!  I WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN!  EVER!
• My NHL pick, the Pittsburgh Penguins, are simply relentless.  With two young stars and a young cast around them, the Pens should be competing for Lord Stanley’s Cup for a long time.  That’s great for the NHL because they are amazing to watch and their offence is spectacular.  The Pens always look like they’re on the powerplay because of their terrific passing.  Can’t wait to watch them hoist the Cup.
• There’s plenty of room on the Tom Thibodaux bandwagon.  I don’t plan on jumping on board.  In case you haven’t heard of him, he’s an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics and he’s apparently the next great head coach.  He’s credited for the Boston Celtics defensive resurgence this season.  You know what else helps?  Having three superstars who never miss their shots!  It sure makes it a lot easier to guard when teams are constantly pulling the ball out of their own basket.  He’s the most overhyped assistant coach since Quin Snyder was at Duke with Coach K.  It earned the Mighty Quin a head coaching job at Missouri.  That sure worked out.  He’s carrying bags, handing out water bottles, and oh yeah, coaching the Austin Toros in the DLeague. 
• Best commercial on TV right now- Beggin Strips.  Can’t get enough of the dog screaming, “BACON!”, as he sniffs through the house.
• Zaza Pachulia is the Julian Tavarez of the NBA.  Cool it down dude!  Seriously.
• If David Archuleta actually wins American Idol, which he probably will, just book the tour now with Miley Cyrus.  No one over the age of 16 would pay anything to see him sing. 
• Please tell me that Dwayne Wade and Star Jones are just friends.  PLEASE!  Dwayne is still one of the smooth guys in all of sports.  Star Jones?  Charles Barkley called her a cougar!  I bet that’s the first time that happened in her life!  Wade did say that they are just friends.  Whew.  Below are Star and Dwayne, Star (Before and After), and Dwayne and his lovely wife. 

   

Along with her weight, I think Star lost her hair too.  Mrs. Wade is still finer.

Those who celebrated birthdays this week- John Daly (42- his liver and lungs are 108), Jay Leno (58), Jessica Alba (27- #1 on my list), Andre Agassi (38), Jerry Seinfeld (53), Michelle Pfeiffer (50- one of the all time great cougars, and maybe top 5 of all time), Uma Thurman (38- one of the all time overrated cougars EVER), Isiah Thomas (47), Willie Nelson (75- wow, he doesn’t look a day over 87 these days), Stu Appleby (37), David Beckham (33), Christopher Cross (57), Randy Travis (49), George Will (67), and my partner Will Askew (29)

Have a great week everyone!

Thursday Morning

I’m back to blogging after a week and a half in North Carolina visiting my brother and other family (Ed: This is why I’m a Carolina fan, for all two of you who read this and were wondering). While I was there, I had a wonderful time, went out in Chapel Hill a few times, but unfortunately was not around for Tyler Hansbrough being a Golden God:

Or Bobby Frasor, for that matter:

I was next door at my brother’s frat house, though, and had a great time watching 18-22 year old girls prance around in bikinis at his fraternity’s Beer Slide Party. Although I did not participate in the aforementioned Beer Slide, it looked like fun.
I guess Buzz Bisinger won’t be reading this. EXPLICIT LANGUAGE ON THIS VIDEO:

That was from Costas Now the other night on HBO (obviously). As for my opinion on this matter, it would be pretty hypocritical of me to sit here and criticize bloggers, because what I do is the same thing in a different medium. Despite the fact that a lot of these blogs are extremely mean-spirited, I enjoy them. Buzz, I think, made a couple of huge mistakes in his argument. First of all, I think he lumps bloggers and commenters on their blogs together, which is irresponsible and incorrect. Secondly, I think he fails to realize that I have just as much right to an opinion as he does. Obviously, I am not as qualified to give the opinion as he is, his being a sports columnist and author or whatnot, but I still have a right to my opinion. Just a fantastic clip, and you gotta feel for Braylon Edwards, who may have fired his agent today.

We had Caleb Campbell on the show yesterday in the 5:00 hour, and what a terrific kid he is. The guy was interviewed by ESPN when he was drafted, but Dan Patrick a couple of days ago, but sounded as happy to be on the air with three dudes from Memphis as he was to be on with the big timers. Detroit got a great kid, whom I hope turns into a good football player.

BCS Mess Will Continue

At least SEC Commissioner Mike Slive stepped up to the box, unfortunately he took a 3-2 curve ball right over the heart of the plate. On Wednesday BCS officials rejected a proposal from Slive for a mini 4 team playoff that would culminate in a plus one format. Division 1-A College Football continues to be the only sport (Collegiately or Professionally) to not determine a champion by some form of a playoff.
Here was the quote from ACC Commissioner John Swofford…”After a very thorough discussion among the group, we have decided that because we feel at this time the BCS is in an unprecedented state of health, we feel it’s never been healthier during it’s first decade. We have a made a decision to move forward in the next cycle with the current format”. Slive responded by saying that he wasn’t surprised, and quite frankly, should any of us be?
College Football is a great sport and there’s not much I can find fault with. The BCS however is something that the majority of college pigskin fans are unsatisfied with. A four team playoff is a move in the right direction, but the powers at be are not interested in making the majority happy. They know how good they have it, and hey realize how much money is involved with the system in existence.
The biggest roadblock for a playoff is the Pac 10 and Big 10 Conferences and their relationship with the Rose Bowl. In fact, Rose Bowl officials feel they have already compromised too much in being involved with the BCS, so a playoff is out of the question. Those not involved with either the Pac 10 or Big 10 have other concerns like making College Football a two semester sport and lessen the importance of the regular season.
Look, I have neither the time nor the patience to list the many reasons why that is a bunch of you know what. Nobody seems to mind when the College Hoop season lingers on for three additional weeks while student athletes miss multiple days of school. Face it, this is only about the almighty dollar.
So forget about equality among the programs. Forget about everyone getting a piece of the pie. This is about the Kings in their Castles who still decide who gets the gold and how. Let us never rattle the Pomp and Circumstance that make up the Big Bowl Games. They will tell you how important tradition is, but when it comes down to it, sometimes even good things can improve, even if it means breaking traditions and starting new ones.

Tuesday Ramblings(One day late)

So now we find out that Roger Clemens is not only an alleged steroid user, but also an alleged pervert. Does Clemens really expect us to believe that everyone is just out to get him and that none of this is true? Come on Roger, that only worked for Lance Armstrong.

Let’s not kid ourselves about Mindy McCready either. It’s no coincidence that this information came out right when she had a new album and some other projects coming and she is trying to put her career back together after a drug arrest. Whatever the motive, I tend to believe it is true.

If I am Billy Ray Cyrus, I’m really hoping Clemens isn’t a Vanity Fair reader.

Now for the weekly American Idol chat. Greg Gaston may be right, maybe the show has run its course. The ratings are down this year and last week’s results show was the lowest rated episode in five years. That’s not the point this week though, if you watched last night’s show you will know what I mean when I say to Paula, “Just say no!”

What a train wreck!

How disappointing have the NBA Playoffs been? I was really excited heading into the postseason, especially with the matchups in the Western Conference. They have all been duds though. The two best series have been the two Eastern Conference series that everyone thought would be sweeps with Detroit-Philadelphia and Boston-Atlanta. I hope the playoffs pick up in round two.

Speaking of the playoffs, my most disappointing performance came from Phoenix. I, like many others, picked the Suns to beat the Spurs and then they lose 4-1. It makes the Shaq trade look like a mistake in the end. I do wonder how things would have went if the Suns had held on to win game 1 like they should have.

I don’t like to grade the NFL draft because frankly I haven’t seen nearly as much of the players as the guys who drafted them, so I assume they know what their doing. I know there will be many busts, but I’m not going to try and guess as to who they’ll be. I prefer to look at the draft about three years down the road to see how teams did. There’s a reason that even someone like Mel Kiper grades all but one team with a B or C, it’s because he knows it gives him a much better shot at being right. When your title is “Draft Expert” you don’t really want to go out on a limb and end up looking like an idiot a couple years from now.

I will offer this analysis of the draft though, if I was Atlanta, I would have taken Brian Brohm in round 2 and Glenn Dorsey at #3 overall rather than take Matt Ryan at #3, but again, those guys put a lot more work into studying the players than I do.

Here are some interesting articles about all time bad draft picks. This one takes a look at each team’s worst first-round pick ever. This one is just a list of the worst first rounders of all time regardless of team.

That will do it for now. Have a good day.

Sunday on the Couch

Before I get to my thoughts of the week, I am stunned by the response I got regarding Bucky Covington.  Women love this guy!  Really?  This guy?

Wow!  He’s a cross between Leif Garrett and my dog!

Here’s what happened to Leif Garrett…..

Hope the same doesn’t occur to Bucky!

You Bucky Covington fans probably think Kellie Pickler is a great country artist as well.  Sure she looks great and all (thanks to a terrific surgeon), but I hope you’re not all falling for her sweet, innocent, and stupid, country girl routine.  She’s a fraud.  If she cries one more time singing “I Wonder”, I think I’m going to throw up!  Also, in response to Peter Edmiston’s classless attack on me, I can’t believe he’d actually write the words, “I Love Bucky Covington.”  You should be embarrassed and apologize to all of your coworkers.  I wanted to respond to his attack via the blog all week, but I thought I’d be a professional about it- something Peter has not been when it comes to Bucky.  Were you saying those things just to impress all of my women listeners?  Didn’t you just get married.  Sorry, maybe I shouldn’t go there.  I shouldn’t be childish like Peter, but HE STARTED IT!  I digress.

On to my thoughts of the week……..

The NFL Draft is over.  Thank goodness.  At least I get another 4 months without Chris Berman screaming at me.  You know who really thinks Chris Berman is funny?  CHRIS BERMAN!  I will not grade this year’s draft, because general managers, coaches, and scouts did a lot more work than I did, so who am I to question their selections?  Give them three years before we decide.  Remember 2 years ago when the Texans were foolish for taking Mario Williams over Reggie Bush?  They’re not looking so foolish now!  What I will grade are the “experts” predictions of the first round.  On Friday, I posted mock drafts from the Sports Bar (Me and Weinberger), Pat Kirwan (NFL.com), Mel Kiper (ESPN), Pete Prisco (cbs.sportsline.com), Clark Judge (cbs.sportsline.com), Charley Casserly (CBS Sports), and Scout.com.  Here are the results:

Picks that were dead on: Kiper- 9, Judge- 7, Me- 6, Kirwan-6, Scout.com- 6, Prisco- 5, Casserley- 5, Weinberger- 4.

Number of correct players in the top 10: Me- 9, Kiper- 9, Casserly- 9, Weinberger- 8, Kirwan- 8, Prisco- 8, Judge- 8, Scout.com- 8.

Number of correct players in the first round: Me- 26, Casserly- 26, Kirwan- 25, Prisco- 24, Judge- 24, Kiper- 23, Scout.com- 23, Weinberger- 22.

Biggest stretch pick that wasn’t taken in the first round (actual draft spot): Me- Phillip Merling 21 (32), Weinberger- Calais Campbell 17 (50), Kirwan- Devin Thomas 15 (34), Kiper- Devin Thomas 11 (34), Prisco- Devin Thomas 11 (34), Judge- Devin Thomas 11 (34), Casserly- Devin Thomas 11 (34), Scout.com- Devin Thomas 11 (34).  For the record, I was the only one that did not have Devin Thomas going in the first round. 

It sure looks like I was the best expert this weekend.  What made me even more of an expert is that I didn’t watch a minute of the overrated draft coverage.  What a bore.  It was a gorgeous Saturday afternoon so I went and played golf with the world renowned executive chef at FedExForum, Mark the Chef.  We played 18 at T.O. Fuller State Park Golf Course.  I know that it’s labeled as the best kept golfing secret in the mid-south.  It really shouldn’t be.  The course has gotten better every year that I’ve been here.  Plus, it might be the most unique course I’ve ever played.  Between the hills, the doglegs, the blind shots, and the par 3 fourth, you’ll never experience anything like it.  They should label T.O. Fuller as the most unique golfing experience in the Mid-South.  That fourth hole could be argued as the hardest hole on the planet.  It’s not a good hole for my golf game, because there’s danger everywhere.  As a matter of fact, I picked my ball up after 6 shots and three hills climbed.  It was my first outing of the year, and I certainly have a lot of work to do.  I’m thinking of retiring from playing my own ball and going strictly to being a scramble player.

While I was golfing, I had the house cleaned.  Why do we feel the need to clean before the cleaning people come over?  It makes no sense, but I was guilty of it.

John Calipari has some holes to fill on his coaching staff.  His first call should be to Ryan Miller.  Ryan was an end of the pay-scale coach for Cal a few years ago.  He went on to Pepperdine under Vance Walberg, and then to New Mexico under Steve Alford.  Miller did a great job recruiting for both schools and is very familiar with Cal’s system thanks to his time at Memphis and Pepperdine.  No one knows the system as well, and you couldn’t find a better guy to represent the University of Memphis.  I hope to see him on the bench at FedExForum next season.

Were we really supposed to be as shocked as ESPN was when we heard that Josh Howard occasionally smokes weed?  Is that really a big story?  If the Dallas Mavericks want to get rid of him for that, I know a great place he should go.  I’d love to see him knocking down shots for the Grizzlies next year.  In fact, when the Mavs, Nuggets, and Suns all lose, I hope Chris Wallace is on the phone trying to get some players for the Grizzlies.  I’ll take Howard, Brandon Bass, Marcus Camby, Eduardo Najera, JR Smith, Linas Kleiza, or Amare Stoudamire.  Any one of them could help the Grizz and I’m sure a few of them could be had.

Should we pencil in Tracy McGrady on the overrated list?  He is a great player, but has never won a first round playoff series, and has disappeared numerous times in the 4th quarter.  Sure he’s always the focus of the defense and sees plenty of double teams, but he’s a superstar.  He’s supposed to overcome those things.  There’s no room on my team for him.

How can the New York Knicks go through this interviewing process without interviewing Patrick Ewing?  Ewing might not be a great head coach, but he deserves an interview, especially from the Knicks.  One of the all-time great Knicks has at least paid his dues.  What has Marc Jackson done, other than being unlistenable on NBA broadcasts?  What gives him any credibility to be a head coach?  Dwight Howard credits a lot of his success to Ewing.  He’s not just a big man coach either.  He prepares games just like any other assistant.  He’s been coaching for years and deserves the shot.  I don’t know why I am surprised.  They are the New York Knicks- the biggest embarrassment in sports.

Farewell to Swig.  One of my favorite spots in town has closed its doors.  It’s too bad the company hasn’t taken care of the place in Memphis.  It was a great spot for the locals downtown and the bartenders there were some of the best in Memphis.  They always made a great drink and they always remembered you when you came in a second time.  They took care of their customers and always provided a friendly atmosphere.  It’s too bad it’s gone.  The food was great too.  Oh, how I’ll miss those fried olives.  I hope someone buys the place and re-opens it, because I’ve grown a little tired of Beale Street.

There are two horrible movies that I always watch when they’re on.  Not because they’re great movies, but because they’re watchable because of who’s in them.

As a matter of fact, I can’t watch anything with Brendan Fraser or Freddy Prinze- Except these two movies.  Jessica Biel and Liz Hurley are just simply amazing.  It’s worth your time to google images of both.  Guh!  Hurley is one of the all time cougars, while Biel is one of the all time sexy human beings.  Memphis’ own Justin Timberlake certainly stepped up in talent when he dumped the much overrated Cameron Diaz for Jessica.  Kudos JT!

Birthdays this past week:  Jesse Orosco (51), Tony Danza (57- seems just yesterday he was cleaning for Moner, Angela, Samanta, and Jonatin), Glen Campbell (72), Jack Nicholson (71), Chipper Jones (36), Barbara Streisand (66), Kelly Clarkson (26- Bucky wishes he had her success), Tim Duncan (32), Al Pacino (68), Renee Zellweger (39- sour puss), Carol Burnett (74), Chuck Knox (76), Kasey Kasem (76), Sheena Easton (49- former cougar).

Have a great week.

NFL Mock Draft

Below are the NFL first round Mock Draft’s for The SportsBar (Fish and Weinberger), along with Pat Kirwan (NFL.com), Mel Kiper (ESPN.com), The Sports Xchange, Pete Prisco (cbs.sportsline.com), Clark Judge (cbs.sportsline.com), Charley Casserly (CBS Sports), scout.com. *Denotes majority pick.  Some picks- 6, 12, 15, 28- had a tie.  One player (Tyrell Johnson was the majority pick in 2 spots- 30, 32) 

             Fish         Weinberger    Kirwan          Kiper           Prisco           Judge         Casserley         Scout

1. J. Long*       J. Long*         J. Long*        J. Long*       J. Long*       J. Long*       J. Long*        J. Long*
2. C. Long*     C. Long*       C. Long*      C. Long*      C. Long*      C. Long*       C. Long*       Dorsey
3. Dorsey*      Dorsey*         Dorsey*       Dorsey*       Dorsey*       Dorsey*       Dorsey*         Ryan
4. McFadden* Gholston       McFadden*   Gholston     McFadden*  McFadden*  McFadden*   McFadden*
5. Gholston*    Ryan            Gholston*     Harvey        Clady           Clady          Gholston*     C. Long
6. Ellis             McFadden*   McKelvin      McFadden*   Ryan*         Gholston*     Ryan*          Gholston*
7. Rivers*         Ellis              Ryan             Ellis            Gholston      Rivers*        Mayo            Rivers*
8. Ryan*           Clady            Ellis             Ryan*          McKelvin      Ryan*          Clady            Jenkins
9. Harvey         Rivers           Rivers           Rivers         Ellis*             Ellis*           Ellis*            Ellis*
10. McKelvin*    Cromartie     Albert           McKelvin*   Rivers          McKelvin*     Rivers         McKelvin*
11. Cromartie    Harvey          Harvey       D. Thomas*  D. Thomas* D.Thomas*  D. Thomas* D. Thomas*
12. Clady*          Otah             Clady*          Albert        Stewart*      C. Williams* C. Williams*  Stewart*
13. Otah            C. Williams   C. Williams   Stewart      Harvey*         Harvey*       Harvey*         Harvey*
14. C. Williams  Mendenhall  Otah*            C.Williams  Albert           Otah*           Otah*            Clady
15. Mendenhall* Talib           D. Thomas     Mayo*         Mayo*          Mayo*        Mendenhall*  Mendenhall*
16. Jenkins         Jenkins       Cromartie*     Jenkins       Cromartie*   Cromartie*  F. Jones       Cromartie*
17. Albert*        Campbell      Jenkins          Clady          Jenkins        Albert*         Albert*           Otah
18. Talib            Cherilus       Stewart      Mendenhall* Mendenhall* Mendenhall* McKelvin       Albert
19. Phillips        D. Jackson   Hardy             Otah*          Otah*          Cherilus       Stewart          Talib
20. Stewart        McKelvin      Cason           Talib          D. Jackson*    Jenkins     D. Jackson*      Hardy
21. Merling*        Merling*     Phillips        Cromartie     Merling*       Merling*      Merling*         Sweed
22. F. Jones*       M. Kelly     Mendenhall    F. Jones*       Talib           F. Jones*     Cromartie      F. Jones*
23. Cherilus*       Albert        Cherilus*        Balmer        Balmer         Stewart        Cherilus*       Merling
24. D. Jackson     Sweed*        Sweed*         Merling       Sweed*         Balmer         Sweed*        D. Jackson
25. Keller*           F. Davis       Balmer         Campbell     M. Kelly        Keller*         Keller*            Keller*
26. Balmer         D. Thomas   Merling         J. Jones        F. Jones     J. Charles     L. Jackson*    L. Jackson*
27. S. Baker        Flowers*      F. Jones        Flowers*     C. Williams  Flowers*      Jenkins        C. Williams
28. M. Kelly*       F. Jones        Talib            Hardy*          Brohm         Hardy*       J. Charles      M. Kelly*
29. Mayo*            Mayo*         Mayo*          M. Kelly       Cherilus     D. Jackson     Balmer         Cherilus
30. T. Johnson* T. Johnson*  Flowers         Cason           Cason       T. Johnson*   Cason        T. Johnson*
31. NO PICK       NO PICK      NO PICK       NO PICK       NO PICK       NO PICK      NO PICK       NO PICK
32. Flowers       L. Jackson   T. Johnson*  T. Johnson*  T. Johnson*    Phillips       Phillips         Groves

Enjoy the draft.  I’ll be playing golf!  Best chances, according to our Mock Drafts, of Chris Berman calling out the first stretch:

• Fish- Harvey
• Weinberger- Ryan
• Kirwan- McKelvin
• Kiper- Harvey
• Prisco- Thomas
• Judge- Thomas
• Casserly- Mayo
• Scout- Jenkins

3 things to get annoyed with during the coverage- Boomer running out of breath, Mort saying “My sources”, and Kiper talking 40 times.  My advice- If you really want to watch, TiVo it and watch it later.  We’ll compare our mock drafts and give you the scorecard Sunday on the Couch.