http://mired-in-mediocrity.blogspot.com/

So Long For Now...

Actually, this will be my penultimate post (the last one will contain a single link). Details to follow in the final post in a couple of days. I've been hinting at it for a while. I'm pulling a Dan Patrick...minus the farewell radio show, the fanfare, and anyone even caring whatsoever. I'll be trying a different tact. More regimented. More diversified, accessible to the hardcore fan as well as to those just looking for a little entertainment. While this blog itself was by no means a failure, it never did reach its lofty goals. But valuable lessons were learned. Hopefully enough to make a difference on the next go round. Bestever would be a welcome regular contributor if he ever had the time and therefore has an invite to post at any time. I'll also be looking for a few guest posters as well. One final note: In the beginning, the new venture will be heavily tailored to the core audience and material will grow from there. Anyways, the groundwork has been laid, and I look forward to your viewership again after the jump. So long for now...

You Got Anything?

I know it's been a long year Judge, what with your schoolin' and exams, and with me and my work, but we gotta' keep this thing going. Amazingly, I think I've actually watched even less sports and read less about sports than I was when we started this little project. We have to keep it going though, just have to set our priorities and squeeze this in somewhere. The last sporting event I remember watching anything on was the All-Star Game. That was a month and a half ago and you were the only one to post on it. Right now, the only thing that comes to mind is Bonds and I got nothing. Guy breaks a record held by one of the greatest players of all-time playing in a time period where he was so hated because of his race. There's the possibility of enhancement drugs, the fact that Bonds is a total ass, seems like he plays out of spite and not for love, wants to play another year even though he clearly has nothing to offer the game anymore. He's said it himself that his knees are shot and he can barely run. Not very good for an outfielder. He leaves every game early. All that, and I got nothing. Only thing sports related I've done lately is read that book, :07 Seconds or Less. Which was great. Might have to try to catch more Suns games this season. Just don't have sports on the mind right now. So I leave you with this:

Judge? You got anything?

Ichiro!!

Apologies to the many readers of this blog as I have been both busy and sick lately and therefore my favorite water cooler/sounding board has been getting neglected. I’ll do my best with a rather scattered post.

Some thoughts on the All Star Game:

Ichiro wins the MVP in the Barry Bonds lovefest in San Francisco (anyone for some double entendre?) that was the MLB All-Star Game. The compliments were many after the game, which is what happens when you go 3 for 3 and drive in two runs with the first ever inside the park home run in an All-Star Game. NL manager Tony Larussa said that there really is no way to get him out; you just basically hope he hits it at someone. It was a nice spotlight rejuvenation for Ichiro who had fallen from the game’s limelight the past couple of years, despite a couple of stellar seasons, due to his team’s ineptitude on the field. However, things seem to be turning around for the enigmatic superstar. The Mariners are incredibly hot right now and sit only 2.5 games behind the first place Angels in the AL West. Ichiro leads baseball in hits and is second in batting average and has stolen 23 of 25 bases this season. He is rumored to be signing a 5 year $100 million contract extension with Seattle and just last week he inadvertently started a bench clearing brawl in Oakland. Oh, and he is also the author of a couple of infamous quotes which can be found below. So what’s next for Ichiro? Well, as a reward for winning the MVP the Japanese centerfielder was presented with a good old American Chevrolet Tahoe to drive home(pause for irony…..pause over). But even though Ichiro has an MVP, Rookie of the Year Award, 6 Gold Glove Awards, the most hits in MLB history and is on his way to a Hall of Fame Career, I still can’t help but feel his career is lacking something. Sure a World Series title would be nice, but what about a Home Run Derby title? AL All-star manager Jim Leyland said Ichiro hit more Batting Practice homeruns than anyone on the team. Come on MLB! Next year the ASG will be at Yankee stadium. Short Porch in Right Field. Huge Asian population in NY. Let’s get Ichiro in there. He can certainly do better than some of the other “big names”(ahem...Mr. Prince Fielder) in this year’s Derby. And yes, I am serious.

Other Thoughts:

--Vlad the Impaler (talk about double entendre). No batting gloves. No batting helmet. Swing = pure violence. Longest Homerun hit: 503 Feet. Derby Champ. Enough Said.

--Prince Fielder, where’d you go? The man who hit the ball out of the stadium when he was only 15 years old only manages 3 homeruns? Its alright, you’re young. The second coming of Massive Mo Vaughn in his prime. Just hang around a little longer than ol’ Moo, okay?

--Albert Pujols: Here’s the situation: Down by one, bases loaded, bottom of the 9th, two outs, you can either have Aaron Rowand or Pujols at the plate. Who do you choose? Well apparently the correct answer is Rowand because that is exactly what happened. I don’t understand how you can have the reigning NL MVP, and arguably the best hitter in baseball, sitting on your bench the whole game if you are not going to pinch hit him in that situation. It makes no sense. Now, I was rooting for the AL so Ichiro would get MVP, but I still wanted the moment that only the game of baseball can give. It can be such a long boring game at times, but it is for these situations that you stick out the first few innings. You have to savor the chance when it arises. Imagine K-Rod vs. the Poo Holes with the game on the line. Instead we were stuck with Rowand flying out to right to end the game. We were robbed of our moment. We were robbed of our Poo Holes.

--Ken Griffey Jr.: There were some vintage moments there, including gunning A-Rod down at the plate. Read the link to the Ichiro inside the parker that is posted above. It has some classic Griffey quotes in there. Please play as long as you can, Junior. The game will miss you when you retire.

--The Tribute to Willy Mays was classy and well-executed.

--The AL has now won 10 straight (ignoring the ridiculous tie of a few years ago) All-Star Games. They wern't lying when they said these wins come in streaks.

--The Ballpark in San Francisco is the most picturesque park I have ever seen. I need to catch a game there one day.

And now for the aforementioned Ichiro quotes:

--On going to Cleveland: "To tell the truth, I’m not excited to go to Cleveland, but we have to,” Ichiro said through an interpreter. “If I ever saw myself saying I’m excited going to Cleveland, I’d punch myself in the face, because I’m lying.

--On how he convinced himself to get a hit: "Yesterday when I played, inside my head I said 'I want to go home quickly,' and I swung and I was able to get a hit because I wanted to go home," Ichiro said through a translator. "Today I thought, 'I want to hurry up and get something to eat,' and I swung and got a hit today."

--On losing a ball in the sun: "The ball became the same color as the sky,'' he said, through interpreter Ken Barron. "So, I wasn't able to see it ... I was sending mental signals for the ball not to come my way, because during that time of day it's impossible for me to see the ball so I lacked mental signals. I lacked in that area.'"Usually, I don't send mental signals so, because this is the first time, I thought, please don't come my way."

--On breaking out of a hitting slump: "Yesterday, I ate two ice creams," he said through an interpreter. "Usually I only eat one." --On the prospect of meeting his countryman, Daisuke Matsuzaka, for the first time in the big leagues: "I hope he arouses the fire that's dormant in the innermost recesses of my soul. I plan to face him with the zeal of a challenger."

Well, that's all for now. I hope to be back in a couple of days and address things like the NBA draft and Dan Patrick leaving ESPN. But until then, maybe I should go eat an ice cream. Or two.

The Love of the Game Part II....

Well well, 2 columns within a couple of days of each other. That’s something that has been a long time coming. A column on playing for the love of the game could not be better timed considering what I have been witnessing in the College World Series over the last few days. I know, what you are thinking: who watches the College World Series? Well, how about an alumnus of the upstart UC Irvine Anteaters. The Anteaters run into the CWS has been truly remarkable. The school shut down the baseball program in 1992 due to lack of funding. For nearly 10 years the program lay dormant until a student referendum that would add about 100 bucks to each student’s tuition (meaning, yes I did contribute to the revival of the program) in order to revive the baseball team, passed in 2001(you’ll have to check me on the exact date). From then on, Irvine slowly gained respectability and finished with a school record number of wins this season. Still, no one gave them much of a chance at advancing out of the Round Rock Regional, where they would have to beat the Regional’s number one seed, Texas, twice in order to move on. Which they did. They then beat Wichita State on the Shockers’ home field twice in a row before making their first CWS appearance ever, and it has the nation's attention as evidenced by this brilliantly written piece on ESPN.com outlining the love of the game these Anteaters have.

The CWS is a funny creature in that its played at a neutral site (Omaha, Nebraska) and it features two brackets in a double elimination tournament until the finals. Irvine lost by one run in the first game to the vaunted Arizona State Sun Devils who feature the most potent offense in the NCAA this year, averaging nearly 9 runs per game. Faced with elimination on Monday, the Anteaters played their archrivals and 2004 CWS Champion Cal State Fullerton in the longest game in NCAA history. For 13 innings and 5 hours and 40 minutes the two Orange County teams battled tooth and nail. What made the match up even more intriguing was the fact that Fullerton’s coach basically is a second father to Irvine’s coach and taught him everything he knows about the game. Both coaches knew each other’s game plan inside and out and foiled each other’s moves time and again. Just when it looked like it would be over in the bottom of the 13th, as UCI first baseman Taylor Holliday rounded third and headed for home on a single to left, a bullet from Fullerton’s left fielder gunned Holliday down at the plate. The play seemed to take all of the momentum out of the Anteaters until Irvine’s Bryan Peterson singled up the middle to win the game. His second game winning hit in as many games. There was pandemonium on the field. Tears shed on both sides as the coaches embraced and the rivals showed unwavering support for each other.

Fast Forward to yesterday’s game, where Irvine had to play Arizona State again, thanks to the aforementioned double-elimination system of the CWS. I should mention now that the Sun Devils play power baseball. They hit three home runs in their first meeting against Irvine and feature a player who, if his stats were pro-rated over an MLB season, would have about 210 RBI’s. They are a team full of mashers. This is a stark contrast to the Anteaters’ style of play. Irvine plays small ball. Their leading Home Run hitter has all of 13 (and counting) home runs on the season. They have a player who has 31 sacrifice bunts in the 60 games he’s played in. That number is astounding. So how did Irvine make it this far with that offense? Well they have their version of Shilling and Johnson circa 2001 (Diamond backs WS winning team). Scott Gorgen and Wes Ethridge combined to go 25-7 with 227 strikeouts and an ERA of about 2.90 on the season. Gorgen even threw 4 straight complete games to close out the season. But after that 13 inning ball game (started by Ethridge), neither one was ready to go against Arizona State. So Irvine started a freshman pitcher who somehow kept them in the game long enough to allow the Anteaters to forge a 3-2 lead going into the 6th. Then all hell broke lose. After ASU took a 4-3 lead heading into the 7th, Irvine brought in NCAA saves leader Blair Ericsson to stop the bleeding. Ericsson left the game at the end of the 7th with Irvine trailing 7-3. So much for that strategy. With a small ball offense facing a nearly unhittable closer, no one, myself included, gave UCI any chance of a comeback. But that didn’t stop them from loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the 8th and then tying the game on a double to center. The game went to extra innings and in came Scott Gorgen (who got lit up by ASU in the previous meeting) on one days rest to somehow keep the team in the game. He did, and with the near record Omaha crowd of almost 30,000 adopting the Anteaters as their own, light hitting Center Fielder Ollie Linton hit a single up the middle to drive in a runner from third, and UCI became the first team ever to win extra-inning games in back to back games in the CWS.

Afterwards, the players said they just couldn’t bear to let the season end. They were willing to fight, scratch and claw to just keep playing one more day. They were literally “taking pitches for the team” as something like 7 of their hitters got beaned in the last two days. They know that long after the season ends, they’ll have left every ounce of themselves out on the field. They have to win the next two games against defending CWS champion Oregon State, and they have no clue who they will start in either game, but the coach promised that his team would show up ready to play. They always do. The team truly loves the game, and they love playing on the same team as one another. It’s evident in their hustle, heart, and enthusiasm. They do everything as a team. They wear their uniforms the same way, socks the same length, everyone has to have short hair. Well, everyone except for one player. Its been an overly reported story, but Holliday made an appointment back in November to get his hair cut in Omaha, Nebraska on the day after the last game of the CWS is expected to be played. He told the coach he’ll cut his hair after they win the championship. How could the coach argue with that?

Stories like these are the reason it’s hard not to love the purity of college athletics. It’s a purity becoming more and more corrupted by corporate sponsorship. March Madness and the BCS are played with commercialization in mind first, and athletics second. That’s why the basketball postseason lasts so long, and there are still Bowl games being played in mid January, nearly 2 months after some teams finish the regular season. And though those two vaunted postseason’s have given us Cinderella stories like Boise State, George Mason and Gonzaga, far too often they give us 3 commercials for every minute of action played. So you can have your Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, and March Madness sponsored by every corporation. Instead give me two baseball teams staring elimination in the face. Give me a team throwing every pitcher it has out there, mortgaging tomorrow just to ensure that there is a tomorrow. Give me a team that has to call on an unknown freshman to start the biggest game of the season, and then realizing they have no one left to go to should he falter. Give me a 3-2 count in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game with the bases loaded. Hell, give me an 0-2 count with two outs in the bottom of the 13th with a runner on second. Give me underdogs. Give me storylines. Give me Cinderellas. Give me back-to-back-to back games with each game being 100 times more important than the last. Give me situations to savor. Give me drama. Give me passion. Give me moments.

Who knows, Irvine could lose tomorrow and all my interest in the CWS could wane. But for now, give me The Anteaters. And give me The Love of the Game.

Love of the Game

That's why Jr. said he still plays. Even if he gets traded, he'll still love the game. Gone are the days of his backwards hat, bombing 40 every year, and darting around center field like a mad man are over. But, he's still having fun. That's what I read in an article in the USA Today Sports Weekly. I for one believe it and I also believe he is one of the few pure players left in that game. Not in the chemically enhanced sense (although I do believe he's one of the few pure players in that aspect also), but in a playing simply just to play the game sense. Playing just to have fun. Just flat out playing. Sure he could become a DH on some team, but he says he's not ready to do that for at least another couple of years. Sure he was upset that they moved him out of center but he still continued to play the game. He's suffered numerous injuries that derailed HIM being the one we're talking about breaking 755 but, instead, we're talking about a guy that seems to continue playing just to break the record. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Bonds loves the game too, but he doesn't seem like he's playing to have fun anymore. Almost like he's playing out of spite. Plus, he doesn't have that amazing swing Jr. has. And for those who don't know who Jr. is, you should. That's Mr. Griffey, Jr. to you.

As for the NBA Finals, I'm quite disappointed. After "The King's" performance in the Detroit series, I should say I'm extremely disappointed. It almost reminds me of Dirk from last year. He just didn't seem to have enough heart in it. And when he did, it was too late. Sure it's good to have good 4th quarters but, it doesn't matter if you still don't win. All I have to say is I'm actually glad I missed most of this Finals match up. I assumed Cleveland would lose. I also assumed they would at least take one game. ONE GAME! The kingdom is crumbling.

Stanley Cup, didn't watch any of it. Only caught highlights. I'll be catching more hockey next season. I'll be jumping on board with the Chicago Blackhawks. Although I think it's about 15 or so years late since the last time I can remember them being decent was about that long ago. But, congratulations to the Ducks and GOLDBERG the Goalie.

Final note, LeBron, next season is your chance to have your "No heart, I'm all heart Mother F**ker!" moment like Rod Tidwell. Dirk missed the boat on that this year in the playoffs even though it seemed he would have that moment after that kind of season. On seeing a great one rise from the ashes.....Still Waiting...

Somewhere, Emilio Estevez is Smiling...

Congratulations to the Anaheim Ducks. Hell of a playoff run. I love a lot of sports more than hockey, but when playoff hockey is at its best, there are not many things more interesting. It also helps to watch it in HD....and have a rooting interest.

The Raging Inferno…

That’s what Barkley termed LeBron James tonight, and though I don’t quite get the reference, from just the literal meaning of the words, its really hard to disagree. We really were all witnesses tonight to one of the greatest playoff performances in the history of the NBA. James was a man on a mission in the 4th quarter and two overtimes. He scored 28 of the Cavs’ 29 final points. He would not let his team lose. Every time the Pistons made a run, LeBron fought them off seemingly by himself. With his team needing clutch baskets at the end of regulation, he drove to the hoop for two thunderous dunks. Three’s over double teams; guarding Chauncey Billups down the stretch; LeBron rose to the occasion like the Great One’s always do. It was like a homage to the Good Old Days. Truly Jordanesque. And I am not one to use that term lightly. I could use 15 different superlatives to describe the performance I witnessed tonight, but it still wouldn’t be enough. So I’ll just say this. Three simple words: Thank You, LeBron. Thank You for putting the spotlight back on the game itself, just when it seemed like Kobe’s histrionics would be all anyone was going to talk about for the next week. Thank You for revitalizing the term Superstar, as we had way too many self-proclaimed superstars before. Thank You for pushing the Pistons to the brink of elimination and therefore allowing the NBA to take one step away from the ratings elimination that a Spurs-Pistons Finals would result in. Thank You for showing everyone that when the game is played the right way, there is nothing more enchanting than a player that is in the mythical place that is the Zone. But most of all, after a mundane Spurs-Jazz series and the defensive slop fest of the first two games of this one, thank you for rejuvenating my love for the game. The World has been waiting for this performance for sometime now. You gave us all a taste in games 3 and 4 but tonight, tonight was a night that fans will talk about for a long long time. It was a sight to see, I mean truly, a sight to see. So Thank You LeBron. Thank You.

The Sweet Smell of Napalm in the Morning....

I woke up this morning to news that Kobe Bryant demanded a trade from the Lakers. He was throwing everyone under the bus (no pun intended) and ripping the team for violating his trust (a small incident in Eagle, Colorado involving a woman not named Mrs. Bryant comes to mind when we speak of trust, but that's neither here nor there). Anyways, considering the name of this site, I figured I'd have to emerge from my batcave to weigh in on the latest Kobe news from way up here on my high horse. Despite my snide remarks earlier, and I can’t believe that I’m about to say this, but in a way I can sympathize with Kobe. I wrote at length a few columns ago about this whole ordeal so I won’t expound on it excessively. However, if Laker management really did lie to him about the willingness to try and be competitive immediately, then they are getting what’s coming to them. According to Phil Jackson, Laker owner Jerry Buss told Kobe, back when he was a free agent, that they were committed to winning now (which was the reason he re-signed with them...well that and $137 million), and then turned around and told Jackson they were planning to rebuild the long way and had a plan to “scale back” to save some cash. Couple that with the revelation that Buss had already decided he was getting rid of Shaq no matter what Kobe said or did, and I think the Laker organization deserves any and all bad press they are getting from this. And you wanna talk about karma coming back to bite you in the ass? Props to the 74 year old Buss who got pulled over for driving under the influence with a 23 year old woman in the car….who wasn’t his daughter or granddaughter. Hmm…wonder where he was in a hurry to get to?

Ultimately, do I think Kobe is going anywhere? No. After taking such a strong stance this morning on Stephen A. Smith’s radio show, he seemed to back off somewhat on Dan Patrick’s show a couple hours later. Then on the local radio stations out here he stated his heart was in LA. Kobe and the Lakers will work this out. They have to. Laker management would be stupid to not do anything in their power to mollify him. Then again they traded one of the three best big men of all time for 40 cents on the dollar so stupid might be the best word to describe them. But putting all that behind us for one second, where would be the three places I’d like to see Kobe end up? (all trades work under the salary cap thanks to ESPN.com’s trade machine)

3. Phoenix (for Captain Barbosa, Marion, the Hawks number one and Marcus Banks): Imagine a lineup of Nash, Bell, Bryant, Diaw and Stoudamire? Plus trade throw in Radmanovic, James Jones, and Kurt Thomas coming off the bench. NBA champions right there. That would be the funnest team to watch bar none. Plus it would virtually ensure that I would never have to watch another NBA Finals matchup of San Antonio and Detroit.

2. Denver (for Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Diawara and J.R. Smith): Pair Kobe and Iverson up with George Karl and those would be some high scoring games. Plus we get the added bonus of Kobe returning to Denver where the alleged rape occurred. Kobe has a no-trade clause, so this will never happen. One can dream though.

1. New York (for Channing Frye, David Lee, Nate Robinson, Jared Jeffries, and Jamal Crawford). The Lakers would get the least value out of the three deals, and Kobe would get to fight for the ball in New York with Marbury and Steve Francis while Eddy Curry eats his way out of the league. Plus with the Lakers being so bad I’ll need another team to really hate, and I’ve never liked the Knicks to begin with. With Isaiah Thomas as their coach their “hateable” potential will be through the roof. Not to mention, as much as I hate the Lakers and Kobe and the Knicks, I love basketball even more. The NBA needs to be relevant again and having a marquee player in NY (instead of a trainwreck of a basketball team whose owner got so excited that they almost made the playoffs in the wretched Eastern Conference, despite having the highest payroll in the league, that he gave his coach a contract extension) will undoubtedly help the league. It’ll be the best of all worlds.

P.S. The best part of all of this is listening to some of the more crazy Laker fans be completely shocked that it all came to this. Where is that sense of entitlement now?

THE FLYING V...

Well, well. I’m back. And I see that nothing has changed. I’ve been fighting a cold, anxiety, and law books recently, and though I’m not quite back to 100% yet, what can I say? I am a gamer. It’s the playoffs, and you know the old saying; no one is at 100% this time of year anyways. As the greatest athlete you’ve most assuredly forgotten about would say: “Playing with pain, baby that don’t phase me. Any bitch ass who thinks I’ve lost a step is in for a surprise”. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do and not a lot of time to do it in so let’s get started…

The Anaheim (No longer "Mighty") Ducks are in the Stanley Cup Finals thanks to a miracle game 5 win and holding off a furious rally by Detroit in Game 6. And you can got to Hell Brett Hull. Way to be an unbiased commentator of the game. Last I checked you had 1 assist in the entire SERIES against the Ducks a few years ago. You know, before you retired. I wouldn’t be questioning anyone’s heart just yet. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love playoff hockey. Just love it. The only problem is, its on Versus, so I can't watch it. Bastards. Okay, now that I've killed off the few readers we have by talking about Hockey, back to sports people actually care about…

There goes the good old days of the NBA playoffs. I’ve caught maybe 5 quarters out of the 4 games played in the Conference Finals. Let’s hope for a Jazz-Cleveland Series, if only to see if that will get even lower ratings than the Debacle that was Detroit-San Antonio 2 years ago. The electricity is gone.

Speaking of the NBA blowing the moment, where was the Commish fixing the draft lottery? The best rookie crop since 2003’s stellar class of Lebron, Carmelo, Bosh, Wade, Hinrich, Josh Howard, David West, Boris Diaw, and Captain Barbosa….and the two best players are going to be playing in the Pacific Northwest. Fans in Boston are in shock right now. Simmons probably cried himself to sleep. They were guaranteed 2 out of the top six picks in the draft the year Duncan came out and they ended up picking three and six. Fast Forward 10 years later and with a 40% chance to get either Durant or Oden, they got the 5th pick….likely some guy from China. Speaking of those two picks the Celtics had…one was Chauncey Billups and the other was Ron Mercer. Smart move letting Billups go. Very Smart. Basketball Karma has a funny way of coming back to bite you in the ass like that.

Mike Vick fights dogs. Clinton Portis agrees with him (People can’t understand why dog fighting warrants concern, they say it’s a cultural thing. Well, dog fighting is a illegal and agree with it or not, you break the law, the NFL will make you pay). Ricky Williams can’t stay sober (People can’t understand why you can be drunk and play, but not high. Well, pot is illegal, and agree with it or not, you break the law, the NFL will make you pay). Chris Henry shot a gun out of a moving vehicle while wearing his OWN jersey (Then says it’s the job of the fans to support him no matter what he does). A.J. Nicholson gets charged with domestic battery, and the woman later recants her story and says she hit herself during the argument. Um, okay. Pacman Jones promises the Commissoner that he will never go to strip clubs again and he has a self-imposed curfew of midnight. Where was he the night before he made the promise? A strip club. What happened a couple of nights later? He got pulled over for speeding at 2AM. Gotta love the NFL. Season starts in 4 months.

Before I forget about baseball, I’m finding the Brewers to be an enjoyable team to watch. Prince Fielder is a Mo Vaughn Clone. You know, before he ate himself out of the league. Also, the son of Cecil. Love the sausage races during the seventh inning stretch as well. Including when DRandall Simon hit one of them with his baseball bat during the race. Plus you gotta like any team called the Brewers…














Jason Giambi is in trouble for calling out MLB on the Steroids. Personally I think its refreshing that someone called MLB management a bunch of liars and cheats. After all it takes one to know one. And Bud Selig should be there when Bonds breaks the record. Steroids occurred on his watch. Now he should have to deal with…

Finally, going back to the quote at the top of the article; I’m wondering if any of you know who it is I’m talking about (hint: TTT). I’ll write an article on him sooner or later. Stay Tuned…

We Will Not Go Down Without A Fight

Well the Bulls lost. I had to go to work with 3 minutes left and the Bulls trailing but, fighting. Fighting for pride, fighting for respect, fighting for survival. Chicago loves teams and players that just won't give up. That is why Chicago loves this Bulls team, even if they don't win a Championship. When I came home this morning and checked ESPN.com, I was utterly saddened. I wasn't disappointed, just felt bad for them. I was proud of my Bulls when I was watching them last night and I am excited to see what develops next season as this young team matures a little more. As for the Pistons...we'll meet again.

Now, on to the Judge, I liked the beginning of your post. It's EXACTLY what Kobe is like and it really cements the reasoning behind the naming of this site. He can imitate Jordan on the court all he wants but, he just can't seem to get it off the court. Like you said, absolutely no class. As for the great duos references, least favorite: Stockton and Malone (you should know that); favorites: Rob and Big (naturally), Wennington and Kerr (still dream of the good ol' days of the Wennington and Kerr Bulls).

Speaking of the good ol' days, I think we have reached them once again. Basketball, more than any other sport, seems to be gaining lots of speed with no intentions of slowing down anytime soon. There's a good lot of superstars out there now but, that's not what intrigues me. It's the amount of teams that actually play team-oriented basketball. As exciting as it is too see one player completely dominate the game, it's that much more exciting to see a whole team do it. Let's hope this trend continues. And I'm with you on the Finals thing Judge. Hate to see the Spurs/Pistons match up again.

On Dirk, I think critics should tear him to shreds this off-season. Maybe then he will develop the fire that he needs to display more frequently on the court. Sure they had the best record in the league and I'm not trying to take anything away from the Warriors but, he just doesn't seem to have that intensity that will drive him to greatness. If people tear him down, one of two things will happen:

1. He'll come back next season with a renewed vigor. They'll break 70 wins next season, win the title, and Dirk will hold the regular season and Finals MVP Awards. Also, he'll get to say, "IN YOUR FACE MOTHER FU**A'S!!!!"
2. He'll come back next season with less drive than he had against the Warriors. They'll make the playoffs, carried by the rest of the team and great coaching but, again get eliminated in the first round...probably a sweep. Dirk will be written off after the season and people will talk about what a great player he should've been had he had that desire.

Not a big fan of Nowitzki, especially after the Finals last year, but I respect his game. Just needs that something extra to be considered a great player. Unfortunately, that something is usually built-in to people and he doesn't seem to have the right parts.

Last note, if the Judge decides to barrel down on me with that bus he better think twice. I'll pull an Indiana Jones from the Raiders of the Lost Ark when he gets drug by that truck, climbs up, beats the shit out of him and throws him out. Classic Indy.

P.S.-Welcome back, Good Ol' Days. Hope you can stay.

Where is My Scottie Pippen?

(Apologies in advance for the long column, but its good---I swear it is)
So I’ve basically strapped this site to my back and I’m taking on all challenges. But its pretty tough. Sure, I am AMAZING. But when I signed on to do this, I was promised help. Where is my help?! Sure I hate sharing all the glory, of MY site with others but now I see how hard it is to do it all alone. I mean is the best help I can get some guy who delivers only when he feels like it? Sure, he’s great when he shows up, in fact he’s nearly TSJ-esque. Just look at his last column with the Bullsh*t title and reference to Hibachi. I mean that is superstar stuff. But that was a few columns ago and he has yet to show up again. Every time I think we’re going good he disappears on me again; and its one excuse after another. He has to work. He has to sleep. He’s sick. Is this what I signed up for? I think not. Okay he has actual, real life concerns to worry about, but fuck that shit man, I need MY help. I need MY glory. And the only way I’m going to motherfucking get my glory is to get some fucking help around here. I get the credit when things go well, and deservedly so but I’m sick and tired of getting the blame if a column comes off poorly. You think I have time to proofread this shit man? Does it matter that he doesn’t get paid for this? Of course not man, its all about TEAM and HEART and all that stuff. And of course I’ll support him when things are going well, but I swear he’s pulled a no-show for the last time and now I’m throwing him under the bus. So look, this is how its going to be. We need to make some changes around here this summer. I mean I’m the motherfucking Jordan of writing, where is my Scottie Pippen? Where is the Abdul-Jabaar to my Magic Johnson? The Rice to my Montana? The Stockton to my Malone? The Alomar to my Vizquel? The Henderson to my Stroud? The Rob to my Big Black? (Pause for Classic Picture...













...Okay, Continue)The Apollo to my Rocky? The George to my Jerry? The Tubbs to my Crockett? The Patrick to my Olbermann? The Wennington to my Kerr? The Shaq to my Ko…..um yeah, we won’t be going there…

Okay, of course everything I wrote up there was BS and I don’t mean any of it. But Kobe basically pulled this crap on Lamar Odom a few weeks ago and seemingly everyone around here runs to his defense. “Oh Kobe, you are so great you deserve all the help you can get. I know, let’s trade Smush Parker and Brian Cook for Kevin Garnett. What’s that you say, T-Wolves GM and former Celtic Kevin McHale doesn’t want to help the Lakers? Oh, that’s okay because New Jersey will definitely trade us Jason Kidd for Sahsa Vujacic, afterall they need a Serbian player to play along Center Nenad Kristic. No? They won’t do that deal. I can’t believe it. Can’t they see how GREAT Sasha is? Fine. We’ll give Indiana Luke Walton for Jermaine O’Neal. That will work won’t it? What do you mean no? But we are the Lakers!? We NEED these players. We DESERVE these players!”

Alright, so maybe its not that bad, but you know its bordering on the brink of insanity over here when even the Laker homer radio hosts are telling the fans their expectations are unrealistic. Does the GM need to go? Absolutely, though since you can’t find a Laker Hater bigger than me, I don’t mind if Kupchak continues to run the franchise straight into the ground. Taking off the Hatred Glasses for a second, the Lakers are at a crossroads here. They either trade 19 year old Andrew Bynum for some immediate help for Kobe Bryant and make good on the few prime years he has left, or the get rid of Kobe Bryant for some young talent and draft picks and start from scratch around Jordan Farmar and Bynum. I personally would trade Bynum. As much as I hate Kobe, he is a phenomenal player and the one player I’d want on my team with the game on the line….its not even close. There is no way you’d get equal value for him if you traded him, so move Bynum and live with it if he becomes the next Shaq a few years down the line. Kobe put himself in this boat when he ran Shaq out of town….but he didn’t have to stay with the Lakers either. They promised him help. They traded the only all-star they got for Shaq (Caron Butler) to Washington for Kwame Brown (Kwame Brown!). That’s not help. Hey Lakers management, you promised him help but it looks like you are content to live off the gate that a top 3 player brings in every night (see: Garnett, Kevin).

All that being said, if you are Kobe Bryant, you cannot throw your teammates under the bus like that. Lamar Odom played with a separated shoulder in the playoffs and put up 19 points and 13 rebounds per game. He’s deferred to you to a fault and defended your every move, and you dump him the moment the season’s over. Classy. Real Classy…

On that note, just contribute when you can, BE. I know you’ll bring your A game when you do contribute and that’ll be good enough for me…unless of course Simmons wants to start writing on this blog. Then, well….try and line up between the tires of the bus as it passes over your head….

The Rumors of Your Demise Were Greatly Exaggerated...

So after everyone wrote off the Bulls (that one includes me), Suns and Nets, we are headed for Game 6’s in all three series. Obviously, the Suns were guaranteed to get to a 6th game after the improbable win in Game 4, but no one gave them a chance in Game 5. But not only did the Suns play well, they nearly pulled off the upset. Agree or disagree with the suspensions (I think it’s a dumb rule, but given the precedent the NBA had to enforce it), everyone outside of San Antonio had to have been rooting for the Suns tonight. And don’t forget the Suns played all last year without Stoudamire and went to the Western Conference Finals. The confidence that they had done it before had to have helped. Either way, it was a thrilling game that went down to the wire before San Antonio finally pulled out defensive stop after defensive stop. It was an unbelievable effort by Phoenix and they left everything out on the floor, but one has to wonder if they’ll have anything left for Game 6 on the road.

The 2 East series are different. The Nets and Bulls, both facing 3-1 deficits, pulled off big wins on the road in Game 5 and now have all the momentum going home in Game 6. Vince Carter is going to get a lot of money thrown his way this offseason if he plays the rest of the postseason the way he played Game 5. Okay, so he only had 12 points, but the 10 assists are what caught my eye. If he can be a distributor as well as a scorer, that means he is slashing to the basket and not just shooting jump shots from 25 feet because he’s scared of contact. The man is a living breathing Jekyll and Hyde. I mean this is the same guy who jumped over and dunked on a 7’2 Frenchman in the Olympics (cue the joke about the French surrendering, or something along those lines), yet got pushed out of the post by Eric Snow (Eric Snow!) at the end of Game 4. I can’t wait for Orlando to sign him to a 5 year $75 million contract this summer so he can be a 6’6 version of Steve Kerr as his career winds down.

As for the Bulls, well they’ve made me eat crow so far (yeah, I’m sure that’s the reason they’ve won the last two games). When their jumpers are falling, they can be nearly unbeatable. If they are not, they can barely beat anyone. It’s all hustle, guts, defense and jumpshots for the Bulls, and we saw how far that formula took the Warriors. That being said, if the jumpers fall at the United Center in Game 6, the building will likely explode and the Pistons will have all of the pressure on them going back home for Game 7. Gotta like the Bulls chances in that scenario. Chris Webber and a Game 7. He’s broken my heart so many times before, its time for him to break someone else’s for a change. The Pistons should just declare him injured and sit him down now, otherwise he’ll be suffering from what Charles Barkley so eloquently calls “a tight sphincter” in Game 7.

The MVP and a Classic Series...

Ladies and Gentlemen, these guys are the holders of the last 3 MVP trophies. (Pause for effect) However, one of them is still playing in what is amounting to be one of the best series of all time and the other, more current winner, is probably getting shitfaced like that back home in Germany. Nice first round exit Dirk...

As far as Steve Nash goes, he delivered in the clutch again. The guy is simply amazing. First he dropped 22 dimes on the Lakers in round 1, and now he strapped the Suns to his back in the biggest game of the season and practically willed them to victory. Now the series heads back to Phoenix 2-2, and they would have all the momentum if not for that damn Robert Horry. The man who caused me to become catatonic back in 2002, body checked Nash into the scorers table in the closing seconds of the game tonight. Raja Bell, a crazy bastard if there ever was one (and hero of this blog) nearly came to blows with Horry. This understandably caused an uproar on the Phoenix bench and All NBA First Teamer Amare Stoudamire, along with key role player Boris Diaw left the bench area just for a split second to get a better view of the action. In the NBA, this results in an automatic suspension. If the NBA suspends Stoudamire, Diaw and Horry, this will be a huge benefit to the Spurs and further showcase the brilliance of Horry. I suspect this was the type of outcome he was looking for as the event escalated. Either way though, between this incident, 1st Team Dirty player Bruce Bowen kneeing Nash in the nuts, and Stoudamire calling the Suns out as dirty, we could legitimately have some bad blood on our hands (see a couple pictures down). Nash and Duncan, two of the most mild mannered guys in the league even got into it in the first half. And after the game Nash said he had been working on his "Guns" and was looking to get a couple shots in on Horry afterwards. Good stuff all around. I hope this series goes 7 games, and I hope the Suns win.

The Ruination of the NBA...

First, you better believe I went there with "Your Chicago Bulls". Cue up the Allen Parson's Project (speakers needed). Get the Brooms out. Secondly despite, the absence of Hibachi (great reference, BE) and that loss by the artists formerly known as the Jordanaires, the Playoffs as a whole are sweet right now. There are clashing styles and old school brands of basketball in every series. We have a legitimate feel good story in Derek Fisher, a sheer underdog in Golden State, perennial fan favorites in Chicago and Phoenix, and a one man team actually performing the way a one man team should (i.e. an anti-Kobe brand of basketball) in Lebron James and the Cavaliers. So why is it that I'm dreading the approaching NBA Finals right now? Its because of that picture right there...that series was barely watchable 2 years ago. All of the good work and good will the NBA will have generated this postseason will be for naught if that matchup right there comes to fruition in June. This series is not even for the basketball purist. Two defensive juggernauts, no bona-fide charasmatic superstars (Timmy Duncan does not count), and scores in the low '80s will not be enjoyable for anyone outside of San Antonio and Detroit. It'll be another crapfest of brilliantly executed half-court offenses with stifling defenses and zero fastbreak points. If its gonna play out that way, you have to at least give me some hard fouls, bad blood, cheap shots and a Rasheed Wallace primordial scream/meltdown. I doubt we'll even get that though. It'll be like the Houston-New York series circa 1994 that was pre-empted by "The Juice" fleeing the cops on LA highways in a white Bronco (or as I like to think of it, the day that changed the rest of my life...especially given my unfortunate career choice).

So NO! Give me a Phoenix/G-state matchup in the Western Conference Finals (please oh please oh please make this happen....ultra-religious former Laker Michael Thompson even claims that God wants to see that matchup), followed by the winner playing anyone from the East. Or give me a Bulls/Spurs matchup at the worst. Just don't give me a Spurs-Pistons matchup. Right when the NBA is on the cusp of being BACK, of ditching one of the two bad raps it has going for it (slow boring play and a thug image....don't get me started on the latter which is just a bunch of hypocricies of white people who blame the NBA but look the other way when it comes to the NFL), this finals matchup would ruin it all. Unless the Bulls pull off a 2004 Red Sox miracle or suddenly become the '96 Bulls, the Pistons will crush the rest of the East. And San Antonio is already up 2-1 on the Suns. The End is coming. Someone get the commissioner on the line, and let's see if we can get Joey Crawford reinstated so he can ref this Suns-Spurs series now, before its too late.

Chicago BullS**T

Can't believe you went there with the Bulls. Not saying I don't agree with you on that matter but, I still can't believe you said that. Right now, after blowing game 3 after a phenomenal first half, I'm just hoping that they win at least one. So glad the Warriors won one. How awesome would it be if they went all the way? Interesting Finals match up: Bulls vs. Warriors...I BELIEVE! I'm not too excited about the Cavs in the playoffs either. Would've been better if Hibachi was playing in the Washington series. Then again, most of the games were probably on TNT and I don't get that damn channel. I'm going to have to find a good bar around here or something.
As far as where I've been, sick and work. Had to work some long days (and nights) and caught a cold somewhere along the way. Been thinking about getting a new phone though so I can post to this blog, assuming it lasts, from work or wherever. Just wanted to post something up here to stay updated somewhat. Still pretty tired and have to work tonight, so I'll probably post longer tomorrow after work.

M.I.A.

Hey BE, where've you been man? I changed your status to admin (I always thought it was set to that, but didn't realize until now that it wasn't). Don't know if that affects your posts or not though.

Quick hits: The Warriors blew out the Jazz today. Had 70 points at the half. Ridiculous.....Beginning of the End for Michael Vick? Talk about an overrated QB.....John Henderson will no longer get slapped in the face before games this year. I will take up the practice in his honor....Whatever happened to the Scottie Pippen comeback everyone talked about around the allstar break? Thankfully it never happened....Heartbreak Kid, that's gotta just confuse Mr. T over there....Lost in all this Bonds hoopla is Sosa creeping towards historic marks as well.....Its 1 AM and I'm out like the Bulls in the playoffs...

Recovering the Fumble…

Been way more than 24 hours since I posted which is too long.

The NBA playoffs are picking up again, though I have to say I’m not that interested in the Nets-Cavs series. Oh well, 3 out of 4 is not bad. Notes on each series

Nets-Cavs: Lebron is finally rising to the occasion. I’ve been waiting to see him step up like this for 2 years now. His coach was at the podium after game 2, and said they ran one play all night, get the ball to Lebron and let him run the show. What’s even better is Lebron asked for that responsibility. Point Guard’s vision in a power forward’s body…all he is lacking is a killer instinct. I’m not the biggest fan of his, but the more legit, not media-created, but actually legit stars in the league the better. The NBA has been going down hill for a while, and now that its back on the upswing after last year’s playoffs, Lebron can help bring it back.

Pistons-Bulls: Heartbreaker of a loss tonight. The series is over now. Likely a sweep. I still can’t get over the fact the Bulls should’ve been playing the Nets while the Cavs gave the Pistons a run for their money like last year. You reap what you sow I guess. The Bulls are one low post threat away from dominating the East next year. Would you trade the Knicks’ lottery pick (acquired in the Eddie Curry trade), Tyrus Thomas, and Thabo Sefolosha (with the possibility of adding in Chris Duhon) for Pau Gasol? How about making a run at Jermaine O’neal but giving up Andres Nocioni along with the rest of that package? It’d at least be worth considering. Imagine a lineup of Hinrich, Gorden, Deng, O’neal/Gasol, and Ben Wallace. They’d be the automatic favorite to win the East. I know its important to look at the future with this young team, but they just dropped $60 million over 4 years for Ben Wallace. You might as well try and win the whole thing in the next three years.

Warriors-Jazz: The first of two old school series, and features the best story so far of the playoffs. Derek Fisher was back east with his daughter who was having surgery for cancer, then both he and her got on a plane and flew back just in time for the game where he proceeded to hit a huge 3 at the end of the game. Outside of that, Baron Davis has been clutch for Golden State. Literally put them on his back and carried them through the first two games of the series. Sure they lost, but its been a more transcendent then even Lebron’s performance. Its time for the rest of his supporting cast to step back up like in the Dallas series as the series shifts back to Oakland for game 3. Oh, one more thing, I can’t believe Utah’s Carlos Boozer was a second round pick. The man is a beast.

Suns-Spurs: The best series by far. The Suns’ “Hustle and Flow” offense vs. the Spurs old-school style defense. The Suns have the better talent, the Spurs have the better team. Everyone is already guaranteeing that this thing is going 7 games. I’d say that’s a pretty fair assessment. Shawn Marion is completely underrated as he is checked lightning quick (and soon to be married to Eva Longoria) Spurs’ guard Tony Parker in game 2 after Parker lit them up for 32 points in game 1. Oh, by the way, check out that picture of Steve Nash after a collision with the aforementioned Parker. It might’ve ended up costing the Suns the game as they couldn’t get the bleeding stopped (cut to the bone) and therefore he couldn’t reenter the game in the last two minutes. He had to sit by as the Suns squandered chance after chance to pull the game out. Nash responded nicely in game 2 and I’ll be interested to see how this should be MVP performs in San Antonio for game 3.

Punts:

• Making the site public- Its something I’d like to do. After all anyone on blogspot can read it now anyways, hence the nicknames (which is what most bloggers do). I can’t imagine RT people would be that interested in our topics anyways, which is mainly the reason this site started. Your input would be good on this topic.


• Bonds and Schilling- First time I’ve been on Bonds’ side in a long long time. Schilling is a hypocrite.


• Baseball in general- Brewers 7 games up in first place. Cecil Fielder’s son Prince is lighting it up.


• Ducks playoffs- Gotta beat the hated Red Wings for a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.

World Peace...

Okay so maybe not world peace, but things would be a lot better if Junior Griffey broke the record. One of the most charasmatic players of any era, it really sucks that injuries derailed his career.

JUNIOR!!

O.K. Judge, didn't even read your post yet so I'll make this short. Just wanted to ask if you caught this thing on SportsCenter yesterday on Ken Griffey, Jr. They were talking about how he probably would've broken the HR record already had he not gotten injured so much. Man, how sweet would that be. Junior probably would've broken 800 before his career was over if he hadn't been injured so much. Oh man, what could've been.

This is SportsCenter...

Law school finals are finally over, so its time to catch up some posts….

BE, you were mentioning a few posts ago about the decline of sportscenter and I tend to agree with that. I think what ESPN has done for sports has been phenomenal, but between Cold Pizza, Baseball Tonight, PTI, Around the Horn, Rome is Burning, NBA Fast Break, and the 15 different NFL shows, there is really not a whole lot left for sportscenter, especially when you consider ESPNews as well. I mean Sometimes its good to just sit back and watch the highlights, but Sportscenter has always been known for being just the right mixture of cool and sophisticated, along with a good deal of catch phrases…"en fuego” anyone? I still like John Anderson and Scott Van Pelt, but outside of them the personality of the show is really lacking. It takes a certain kind of person to be able to handle the show correctly. I’m not a huge fan of Stu “Cool as the other side of the pillow” Scott, but at least I know who he is (if that’s not a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is). Gone are the days of The Big Show with Dan and Keith. As Aaron Sorkin once said, it was the best writing on television in any format. And I’d agree with that as it was smart, funny, sophisticated and filled with a lot of running gags. Oh well, at least I get to listen to them on the radio everyday. Sorkin by the way wrote A Few Good Men, The West Wing, Sports Night (a show he was inspired to write while he was in rehab and watching Sportscenter and based it on Dan and Keith) so he does know what he’s talking about.

Right now for my money, the best sports related TV show is Inside the NBA on TNT. Ernie, Kenny, and Charles are hilarious. Ernie has won couple Emmy’s, as has the show. Barkley is off the charts funny. They even did a donut taste test with him the other day, where they blindfolded him and made him guess which was the Krispy Kreme. Tonight someone wrote the show and asked if Ernie was black or white, so the producers edited Ernie's head onto the famous photo of John Carlos at the olympics wearing the black glove and raising his fist in the air. Hilarious. Anyways, back to sportscenter. One thing that I will always love about sportscenter is the commercials. Including the new one with David Ortiz (whose book I haven't read by the way), Jorge Posada and the Red Sox mascot. Which almost cracks my top 5 of all time. The others (off the top of my head and subject to change):

#10- LT in the Mailroom
#9- Driving Mascot
#8- Bribing
#7- The Closer and the The Perfect Show
#6- Betrayal
#5- Star Wars
#4- Hazing
#3- Brats Eating Brats
#2- Y2K
#1- Big Buddies


Time to crash, but I urge you to watch them all. Great stuff. Especially that Brats eating Brats one. Totally underrated. By the way, Scott Van Pelt really reminds me of another tall goofy white guy we know. Check him out in these two: Dinner Time and American Cheese.

Message Received

I get what you're saying about labeling this a video games blog too. Seems we are both able to view sports more consistently than playing games anymore. And I will be posting about a new to me game I've just started participating in lately. But that'll be another day.
Since you brought up books, let me ask if you've read the Big Papi book. Well, have you? I haven't. But at my new job I notice a lot of the new books that have come out while on breaks. I remember watching a special on ESPN about him that was comparing him to Babe Ruth in ways and I'm interested to find out what's in this book.
As far as the Bulls getting a bad draw...tell me about it. Both games in this Detroit series have been blowouts. Horrible. Worst part about it is that I didn't get to see either game because of being on TNT and my work schedule. Actually, that's probably the best part about it. It would've been pure torture watching DA BULLS getting demolished like that. My sports as of late has mostly been watching the tickers at the bottom of the screen to find out who won what. This is getting bad for me Judge. How can I expect to finally try to get into hockey for the first time next season if I don't have any time. I'm going to have to get to work on a DVR computer...

Down by 1, 14 hours left....

Point well taken on the new sports issue. I think soccer will stick around, and I agree that Mr. Posh Spice is not the answer to the issues MLS faces....and I look at Bonds like Kobe. I wasn't rooting for him to get clotheslined by Raja Bell, but its not like I was upset when it happened....quite the contrary actually.

Last final later today so this will be the last you hear from me for about the next 12-24 hours. Got a lot I want to try out with this blog so look for me to come back in a big way (I hope). A quick couple of punts....

• Sportscenter thoughts in an upcoming post
• The Bulls, Warriors and Suns all got horrible draws in this year's playoffs, but only the Bulls were in a position to do something about it. If they lose the series its because they lost to the Nets on the second to last day of the season. They should be in the number 2 seed right now playing New Jersey at home, not Detroit on the road.
• As for your thoughts about making this a sports and video game blog...I'm hesitant to throw that label up there. If a game (or movie, or TV show, or book for that matter) happens to pop up that we feel like has to be mentioned here, then it will be. But sports is a more fluid subject matter and lends itself better to a daily blog.
• Speaking of books, I just ordered a book by former NBA player Paul Shirely. Who? You ask. He's the author of this blog:

Alright then, I'll be back like my governor....

New Sports

Looking at sports in general right now, I don't think you could introduce any sport these days and it be as successful as these sports grew to be. Look at UFC or Arena Football. Same as MLS, both just cult followings. UFC is supposedly "bigger" than boxing but, look how bad boxing has become. Nobody knows the champions anymore and the only time people get interested is when an old boxer steps back into the ring. People are so stuck on their old ways they don't want to give anything different a chance. Baseball players as a whole were killing their own sport. Hockey players didn't learn from that lesson like they should have. Basketball wasn't followed so much the year they came out of strike if I remember correctly. Bonds also seems to think he knows what Aaron went through because he's a black man too. No way. That would be like a professional athlete saying he's a slave. It disgraces your race, yourself, and the men who fought through unimaginable things to make the world what it is today. But when he breaks the record, I hope they put a huge asterik by it and write it in italics so that years on down the road when some old man takes his grandkid to Cooperstown and they ask him "Grandpa, what does that mean?", "Oh, that. Barry Bonds....That SOB. I wish somebody would've beaned him in the head." And the problem with this era is that it will be remembered as the Steroid Era. It tarnishes everything all the players do in this time regardless of whether or not they're on "performance enhancers". If you ask me, great pitching is better than great hitting any day. But like you said, most of those guys are probably juiced too. Terrible.
On MLS, I think that league will actually survive this time. They just need a breakout star that can appeal to the masses. It's not Beckham. It could be that 17 year-old kid that got signed. If he's as good as they say, I haven't seen him play yet, then he could be their saving grace. The best part is, there isn't too much pressure on him because soccer isn't too nationally recognized yet. It will change though. I can't believe it didn't change after that awesome women's team.
That's it for me, off to sleepy land. Been almost 24 hours now. And Judge, just admit it, you'd love to see Bonds get beaned.

On Barry Bonds...

Alright a quick post in between studying for finals. On Barry Bonds, I don’t think my feelings are as strong as most people’s, though I have no qualms with people hating him. Maybe it’s because I didn’t start following baseball until 2000 or so. Everyone and their mother knows Bonds is juiced up, though not in the way most people are thinking. I doubt he ever took steroids, but we KNOW he took HGH. That is why his feet and head literally got bigger in his 30’s and 40’s. He sullied the reputation of the game that is for sure, but not anymore than anyone else in baseball did, including The Commish. Just like the hitters who did it, there are pitchers who are doing steroids and HGH as well. And Bonds is the only one putting up ridiculous all around numbers like this over that period of time. The way I see it, is it’s like a test at school; you are graded against your peers. If everyone fails a test, the person with the highest failing grade will still get an A. Conversely, if everyone gets an A, the person with the highest score, will be the only one guaranteed of getting that grade on his transcript. Bonds was the greatest of this steroid era, he deserves credit for that. And besides steroids and HGH weren’t illegal then.

The problem with baseball is that it is so pervasively entwined with history, the records are cherished beyond reasonability. I mean, part of that is what makes the game so great, but can you honestly tell me that if the game was introduced today, it would be as popular as it is? I think a valid argument could be made that it might not even survive outside of a cult following (see Major League Soccer). Yes, it may be a great record to have, but I think ultimately people are going to remember Bonds and the record how they are going to remember it. Just like I’m sure there are those out there who will always think of Babe Ruth, not Hank Aaron, as the greatest HR hitter of all time. Let’s let history judge Bonds, and this entire era for what it is, and eventually everything will be put into its proper context. That’s usually how it works. All that being said, would I like to see Bonds break the record? Hell No! I think he’s a complete asshole and ESPN’s Bonds on Bonds nightmare proved that last year. It’s a shame that he is passing a man who had to deal with death threats because of his race, yet handled it with class. Part of me thinks that baseball is getting its just desserts; it looked the other way when Sammy and Big Mac restored the game after the strike, but now it’s paying the price as Bonds continues this historic run. It’s just too bad that Hammerin’ Hank has to pay the price as well. Records are made to be broken though, and whether its Ryan Howard, Albert Pubjols or the venerable A-Rod, someone will pass Bonds…we can only hope.

I’ll hit the rest of your points later today. Back to the books…

BestEver In The House!

That's right, BE in the house that the Judge built. Hopefully we'll be "In the House" longer than LL Cool J. I don't know why you didn't think of this earlier TSJ, but great idea none the less. First off, love the name of the blog. Could've worked with Barry Bonds too but Kobe will be fine. Secondly, for some reason, while watching hockey highlights of all things, I started thinking about some of the things our generation has witnessed in sports history, and some of the things we missed. We have seen some of the greatest athletes to ever grace this planet come and go. We have missed some of the greatest. Which brings me to my idea. We should make a list of the top 5 athletes of our generation and top 5 athletes of the past. Then we will consolidate those lists into a top 5 of all-time. I'm not saying statistically the top athletes, but more like a personal favorite top 5. So this means not looking into sports books for the answers, just whatever you can think of in your head that you remember. Shouldn't be too hard.
Is it just me or would anyone else not mind if Bonds got beaned in the head? I just don't think he should have that record. I can't say for sure if he took anything but just look at him a few years ago and look at him now. Big difference. He used to be a 40/40 guy and now he's just a power hitter. I know you have to consider age into the fact that he can't run fast anymore from the abuse his knees probably took over the years, but you can't tell me that he can't run because of his age but he can hit like crazy regardless of it. Anyways, all I'm saying is that if a pitcher throws a headhunter and makes contact, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.
I really have to get Tivo or something. I've missed just about every NBA playoff game this year. Maybe I'll just set my computer up to record those games. Sportscenter sucks so much now I'd rather watch ESPN News. Only problem is that it seems like they breeze through the highlights and also don't group them all together by sport. I saw the highlights for the Suns-Spurs game and then they went to Hockey, then Golf. I changed the channel and by the time I put it back they were showing the score to the Cavs-Nets game. I got the score but I'd like to see some highlights too. I guess that's what the internet is for.
Well, before I sign off, one more thought. Judge, we should really make this a video games and sports blog. I know you probably watch sports more than you get to play games anymore, but just let it be known that video gaming is appropriate subject matter. Until next time...

The Opening Kick...

Let's give this a go. I'm hoping to get a picture up of the infamous clothesline, but I can't find one that is large enough. Anyways, here it is, a sports blog in and of itself. No more having to time share space with other people's Rational Thoughts. Nope, its just the good stuff here. All sports, all the time (so long as damn law school doesn't keep getting in the way). Should be joined by the BestEver in a day or two, perhaps turn this blog into an internet version of the talking heads you hear on the radio from time to time--well, you know, minus the forced laughter and kiss ass interviews.

So first things first. The title of this blog. I'll get to my reasons (and save the vitriol) for hating Kobe Bryant in another post sometime, but I'll just say up front its not because he ran Shaq out of LA. As a life long Laker hater, I couldn't have been happier that two monstrous egos couldn't co-exist in a city where even the papparazi think they are superstars, but I digress. The reasoning behind titling the blog Hating Kobe Bryant, is partly because a name like "John Henderson Scares Me" is too obscure, "Bill Wennington's Bulls" is likely copyrighted by Steve Kerr, and "Make it Rain--by Mrs. Pacman" is too played out. But mostly I stuck with hating Kobe Bryant, because I just couldn't think of anything else. And well, I guess I really am not that fond of him. How creative.

For now, a couple of quick sports thoughts of this past week, as I punt this over to Bestever:

• Absolutely unbelievable win for the Warriors. That fan support there was tremendous. Looking at the support Sacramento puts out for the Kings, even in their craptacular early 90's years, its pretty clear that Bay area basketball fans are some of the best...you could learn from them Laker and Clipper fans.
• Gut wrenching loss for Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs. Its all been said already by every sports internet site and radio and tv shows, but I just can't believe this team has lost 8 out of 10 playoff games going back to last year. I've never seen a "great" player be so completely invisible in a deciding game. In fact the biggest impact Dirk had on the game and on fans' memories was that he had no impact at all. Where was his fire? Hell, where was the team's fire? When Austin Croshere is the only guy commiting hard fouls and showing any kind of heart, its time to take a good hard look at your roster, Mark Cuban.
• Charles Barkley looked like a giant lemon Thursday night--on my favorite studio show of all time--when he had to wear the Warrior's "We Believe" T-shirt
• Golden State, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago all advance and Utah and Houston are duking it out in a fairly entertaining series....what is this the early '90s?
• I love the NFL Draft, and you should too.
• Finally, I'm a fan of the Jags, Clippers, Angels and Ducks lest someone accuse me of sports bigamy down the road. Also, I absolutely hate bandwagon jumpers (this is you Laker fans....fittingly there are less of you now).
• A quick note on the name I'm using to write my posts. TSJ, stands for The Sports Judge, which is a play on words for obvious, and not so obvious reasons.
• Oh, and one more thing...my other favorite sports blogs are: Deadspin, The Big Lead, Awful Announcing, True Hoop...and I do read Simmons from time to time.

I leave the next one to you...