Casspi gets kudos from Nets execs in mass workout

- Doron

- Doron

PS – I’m totally rooting for the Magic right now…

Biggest Surprise: Fulham FC. The last 4 seasons Fulham has finished at 13, 12, 16 and last year 17, having only won 8 games. This year, the team clamped down on defense big time while scoring timely goals and ended up finishing in 7th spot and guaranteeing them a spot in next year’s Europa Cup (new name for the UEFA Cup, the league below the Champion’s League). That will give them some more money to play with too since they now take a share from the TV revenues UEFA will give it out to participants. Fulham should add a true goal-scorer to add to their strong defense and they could repeat this season’s accomplishments.

Biggest Disappointment: This one is a bit of a tie between Newcastle United and Portsmouth FC. Portsmouth had finished last year in the 8th spot and got in to the UEFA cup thanks to their win in the FA Cup, and this year strengthened the squad with the additions of Peter Crouch and Jermaine Pennant (Liverpool) along with a handful of other players. By midseason, manager Harry Redknapp had left for Tottenham, taking top scorer Jermain Defoe with him and owner Alexandre Gaydamak was ready to sell the team along with the most expensive players (he sold Lasanna Diarra to Real Madrid for 20 million pounds). Portsmouth finished the season in 14th place, didn’t come close to repeating last year’s success, and look to sell off even more players this summer. Newcastle, on the other hand, had been dropping in the standings for a few seasons, and this year was the final hit; after 16 seasons, Newcastle has been relegated to the 2nd division of English football. They also have ownership and roster issues, so it will be interesting to see if they lose some top players this summer as well.

Most Valuable Player: This is very tough because I absolutely hate Manchester United and most of their players, especially Ronaldo and Rooney, who together combine to make the biggest asshole athlete this side of Kobe Bryant – they’re exceptionally talented yet everyone but their own fans despise them. Compared to last year, Ronaldo wasn’t as good as himself while Rooney had the same tally. Instead, I’m going to be a homer and give the award to a much more deserving (and likable) player. Steven Gerrard has been the face of Liverpool for years now, and this year he took the team on his shoulders, scoring a career high 16 goals and adding 8 assists to keep Liverpool in the title hunt until the last week of the season and ensuring that the Kop faithful still believe in their team. When the rest of the team felt the pressure, Gerrard kept his game up and led Liverpool to their best season since 1990; next year, the league is Liverpool’s

Side Notes: This summer will be very interesting for the big teams in England. Mother Goose Hiddink will leave Chelsea as manager and the rumor mill says Italian Carlo Ancelotti will take over in his stead. Some players are also likely to leave and as usual Chelsea will be spending some cash on new talent. Christiano Ronaldo is again linked to Real Madrid and might finally take their big money offer; Man U has already offered to buy Franck Ribery from Bayern in case that happens (and people wonder why we hate them). Carlos Tevez will be a very interesting name to watch because he is basically a free agent – no team owns his rights and he can go anywhere they are willing to pay 20-25 million pounds. Liverpool were so happy with their result this year that they are looking to strengthen the squad all around in order to break Manchester’s grip on the league title. Finally, Arsenal had an abysmal year and the fans seem to be fed up with Arsene Wenger’s lack of spending, so look for them to shell out some cash on a big name or two, especially if Adebayor leaves as expected.

- Doron

Anything you can do...

I’m assuming Kobe was up last night watching his friend and colleague Lebron James doing some work against the Magic. And I’m also assuming that he was surprised at Lebron’s buzzer-beater yet totally saw it coming, like many of us did. Who else was going to take that shot to win the game? So when the Nuggets-Lakers series came down to the end of the game and the series lead was on the line, we all know who the ball was going to. For all of his coaching excellencies, there is no secret in who the ball goes to down the stretch in the Zen Master’s playbook; Kobe gets it and that’s that. Kobe hit a clutch 3-pointer over JR Smith and then knocked down the crucial free throws to give the Lakers a 2-1 series lead and took away the advantage the Nuggets thought they stole by winning Game 2 in LA. Kobe absolutely loved it too. He has previously stated that his favorite sound is that of silence while on the road, because it means he gave 20,000 people a reason not to cheer, which usually equates to a win as well.

This game was very important because there 2 critical streaks on the line: the Nuggets were heading into the game riding a 16 game home winning streak dating back to the regular season while the Lakers had won 6 straight road playoff games against the Nuggets. The Lakers kept their streak going and now the Nuggets need to find a way to use the elevation and their raucous crowd to their advantage and tie up the series again. They can start in 2 key areas. On offense, they should try putting the ball in the hoop, a classic tool used by many championship teams to win. In Game 3, the Nuggets shot an abysmal 39% and were an embarrassing 5-27 (.185!!) from 3-point land. The good news is that they only lost by 6 with those atrocious numbers and the game was close throughout. The second issue is on the defensive end and could be much harder to fix – Kobe had 41 points on only 24 shots, hitting 15 of 17 free throws during the game. JR Smith is serviceable on D, but the Nuggets to work as a team to beat these Lakers, one individual will not be enough. I assume that the Nuggets shooting woes will not continue in Game 4 and that Billups and Melo will be back and raining shots, so that game could be much more dicey for the Lakers, who desperately want to go back home with a 3-1 advantage and the chance to close it out in front of their fans.

Can these playoffs get any better for us fans?

- Doron

Lebron has his own Jordan moment now...

Lebron James was going to take the last shot. Mo Williams wanted to, but even he admitted that options A, B, C and D were all Lebron. With only 1.0 second left on the clock and down two, about to go down two in the series as well, the Cavs were facing their biggest hurdle this playoffs, by far. The shot was spectacular (even though I’m not the biggest Lebron fan) and boy was it important. Not only were the Cavs about to be down 0-2 in the series, they were about to lose both of their games at home. And they had the lead in both games, only to allow the Magic to get back in the game and steal it at the end. That means there is still a lot of work left to be done, and this series is extremely far from solved, for both sides. Game 3 in Orlando should be electric.

Some notes though. Why is Hedo Turkoglu guarding Lebron James on the last play of the game? Lets examine. Lebron is 6’8″ and absurdly fast. Hedo is listed at 6’10″ but is not known as the best defender. Why not put Rashard Lewis, also 6’10″ but much more agile and with freakishly long arms, on Lebron to ensure that his shot is as contested as possible? Now, Turkoglu actually did a pretty good job on the defense, but this is Lebron we’re talking about – you have to make it as difficult as possible for him or he will do exactly what he did – make you pay for it. Also, Corey and I watched the game together and noticed two things. First, Mo Williams was actually disappointed he didn’t take the last shot, which is absurd, because this is Lebron’s team (and league for that matter) so Mo Williams should just hang on his coattails and enjoy the ride. Second, Stan Van had another classic moment after Lebron hit the shot. He just shrugged and raised his eyebrows in the most nonchalant reaction to a devastating playoff loss I’ve ever seen. That should tell you what kind of monster we’re dealing with when coaches find nothing he does surprising.

- Doron

PS – I’d like to apologize for the slow writing recently, I just finished finals this week and will now be writing throughout the summer, so look for some more posts and keep checking the site for updates. Thanks!

James Harrison will be on the sidelines for his team's trip to Washington

Just as he did when the Steelers won the Super Bowl in 2006, reigning Defensive Player of the YearJames Harrison will not attend the team’s visit to the White House.  Harrison says he doesn’t feel like the invitation is all that big a deal.  In one of the dumbest quotes in the history of sports, Harrison told Pittsburgh’s WTAE-TV that if the Steelers hadn’t had a last minute comeback against the Cardinals, “He [Obama] would have invited Arizona.”

Well, ya think James?  The point is the Steelers did make that last second comeback, and they won Super Bowl XLIII.  This isn’t the first time the Steelers have been in the news regarding a trip to the White House.  Not only did Harrison and multiple other players sit out the trip in 2006, but the players who did were also in the news.  Joey Porter, who was an integral part of that Steelers defense in 2006, told reporters that he planned on telling George Bush that he didn’t like the way he was running the country. 

Maybe the Steelers can play some flag football with the Prez

Turns out Joey is all talk, but the real question is this.  Who do the Steelers think they are?  When every other major sports team wins a championship, they go, as a team, to visit the President at the White House.  All politics aside, you don’t turn down an invitation to meet the President of the United States.  Not only that, but this should be something that is done as a team.  You don’t have to enjoy it, but, like I said, you don’t turn down an invitation to the White House.  I’m sure Mama Harrison would agree.

- Corey

Artest couldn't carry the load by himself

Western Conference: The Lakers kept hearing about how disappointing their effort and results had been so far in this series. How could the best team in the West let a Houston team without their two top regular season players drag them into a critical Game 7? The Lakers had heard enough, and when the whistle blew starting tonight’s game at the Staples Center, they let everyone know it. Before Houston could blink the lead was already 8-0 and began expanding from there. Houston was never in the game and didn’t have a chance to finish an already improbable run to the Western Conference Finals.

He'll have to be a better leader in the next round...

Although the “BEAT LA!” chants were great and the city of Houston was reinvigorated by unheralded guys like Chuck Hayes and Aaron Brooks (who saw that coming?!) and malcontents like Ron Artest (truly has turned the page and is now a legitimate team player), they were no match for a Lakers team that actually gave a damn. When this group of players comes together and the effort, intensity, and devotion is there, they really are a juggernaut on both ends of the floor. Houston should take pride in taking them to 7 games in a series they had no business winning. The Lakers shouldn’t take pride in how the series went down, but should take lots of notes – on how they were beaten and what it took to finally win when it counted. As the headline states, this series deciding game came down to which team was healthier (Lakers, by a landslide) and which team had the better coach (Lakers), and you can bet the team with Phil Jackson on the sideline wins that contest almost every time.

Eastern Conference: The Battle to Face Lebron & Co. also came down to health and coaching. Doc Rivers (I’m not his biggest fan; Thibodeau and Garnett deserve most of the praise in my opinion) gets some credit for finding a way to keep a team without its vocal leader in contention until the very last game. Tonight was Stan Van Gundy’s game though. Yes, I made fun of him for looking like a porn star (he actually, totally does though) but the man can coach and he can give some hilarious interviews after he does.

This group deserves credit for forcing a Game 7

The Game 6 and 7 gameplans were masterful, using whatever worked and throwing away whatever hadn’t from the other 5 games to give the upper hand to the Magic. In Game 6, that meant a truckload of touches for their angry superstar; Stan knew Dwight would respond with a Herculean effort, and he did, posting 23 points and 22 rebounds. In Game 7, Dwight would need to be a defensive beast (16 rebounds, 5 blocks) and allow the outside shooting of Orlando to create a lead and then slow down the pace to hold it. Hedo was masterful in directing the Magic (25 points, 12 assists, 3 TOs) and opened up the game for Lewis, Alston, and Pietrus to shoot at will.

The important thing to take from these series is that they were awesome. As opposed to the Cleveland-Atlanta series (snore) and the Denver-Dallas series (not as exciting as written about), both of these series surprised and entertained. You can’t ask for much more from two teams who had injuries left and right and opponents who had every reason to destroy them. Let’s hope the next round is just as fun to watch.

- Doron

"I win rings and get paid to do this!"

Seeing that Scalabrine has spent his entire career in New Jersey and Boston, the two of you are more than aware that, while he is often credited as a “high energy guy” he is most notable for his extremely disciplined posture while seated on the bench. For his career, he averages 3.5 points on 39% shooting in less than 15 minutes a game, and in my opinion moves a little slow for such a high energy guy. However, due to some early foul trouble from Big Baby, Scalabrine did get some considerable minutes in last night’s game. My problem with this is, had the Celtics won the game, there would have been a highlight reel made to accompany every post game analysts’ reverence of Scalabrine’s immense contribution off the bench. Though the highlight reel would be very well edited, it would still be much undeserved. Don’t get me wrong, I am not writing you this letter to tell you how much he sucks. I am actually a huge fan; not of the “high energy” guy off the bench that announcers try to make, but of what he really is. Brian Scalabrine helps to bring out the best in all of us. He is the underdog that a true sports fan can’t help but to root for, and like I said before, he gives us hope that we can live up to our greatest aspirations. Who didn’t get excited when he made that great assist from his lazy ass (literally) and then drained a wide open three the next trip down, or when he blocked Rashard Lewis in the closing minutes of the C’s gigantic blow up; now who said white man can’t jump?

Basically, what I’m trying to say is that if this flabby-armed ginger with man boobs can make it in the NBA, Corey can sure as hell call for the Boston Red Sox on live radio and Doron can certainly be Owner/GM/Best Friend to all the players of the New Jersey Nets (Maybe). I look forward to watching Scalabrine next year, in the final year of his contract with the Celtics, and with every game becoming more confident that, if I put my mind to it, I can be the coolest Actuary ever.

Sincerely Yours,

Garrett Hoffman

Don't trust any "Oxi-Clean" he gives you...

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4169661&categoryid=2378529

There’s the link.  Apparently he’s got some pop in his bat, but the pitch is at about 1:05.  If you’re a Bills fan, turn away.

- Corey

Most Surprising Team in the AL: Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays are atop the toughest division in baseball, and are doing it without A.J. Burnett (signed with Yankees), Jesse Litsch, Shawn Marcum, Dustin McGowan, and B.J. Ryan (all on the DL), who accounted for 56% of the team’s wins last year.  Roy Halladay is 7-1, which is no surprise, and has cemented himself as the top starter in the American League.  Aaron Hill and Adam Lind are off to hot starts on the offensive side of things.  If Tampa Bay taught us anything last year, don’t sleep on the Blue Jays, this team is winning for a reason

Most Disappointing Team in the AL: New York Yankees

The Bombers find themselves at 16-17 today, certainly not what fans expected after the blockbuster offseason the Yankees had.  But just because the Yankees won in December, that doesn’t mean it will translate into the regular season.  It seems every year the Yankees start slow, and manage to creep back as the season goes on.  Joe Girardi and Co. need to figure out how to get the ball to Mariano Rivera in the 9th, because there’s no doubt guys like Teixeira will come around eventually. 

Most Surprising Player in the AL: Zack Greinke

With apologies to the aforementioned Aaron Hill, Greinke has been beyond unbelievable.  At 6-1 with a 0.51 ERA, the righty is making a believer out of everyone who watches baseball.  His one loss was a 1-0 defeat against the Angels where he was matched pitch for pitch by Joe Saunders.  He’s given up 3 earned runs in 53 innings pitched.  It’s quite the leap for someone who missed nearly all of the 2006 season after being treated for depression.  Here’s hoping Dontrelle Willis can make a similar comeback.

Most Disappointing Player in the AL: David Ortiz

After watching Papi go 0-7 with 12 runners left on base yesterday in a 5-4 loss to the Angels, there’s no doubt he has to get this distinction.  Red Sox fans are still awaiting his first home run of the year.  There are times where he looks lost at the plate, and there are times where his swing looks good but he’s just late on everything.  As the struggles continue for Ortiz, it’s only a matter of time before Terry Francona drops him out of the 3-hole, where he’s been a fixture for the past 5 years.

Most Surprising Team(s) in the NL: Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds

Pretty much everybody thought that the Cubs would run away with this division early, and while they are very much in the hunt, so are these three teams.  Milwaukee and St. Louis are tied atop the division at 21-14.  Milwaukee has done it with Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun in the heart of their order, and the Cardinals have succeeded with pitching coach wizard Dave Duncan once again doing wonders with guys off the scrap heap.  The Reds are tied with the Cubs at 20-14, and have overcome a slow start by Brandon Phillips to very much stay afloat in this in the Central.  I hope this division stays as competitive as it is now, this could be a fun race.

Most Disappointing Team in the NL: Arizona Diamondbacks

My pick to win the NL West has done nothing but make me look like a fool.  They fired manager Bob Melvin after a 12-17 start, and now find themselves at 13-22.  Brandon Webb has yet to make a start for Arizona, and top prospect Max Scherzer has begun the season 0-3.  Offensively, the team just isn’t getting enough runners on base.  The team is collectively hitting at .232 with a putrid OBP of .307.

Most Surprising Player in the NL: Shairon Martis

You say, “Who?” Exactly.  Martis and Ryan Zimmerman have been the only bright spots for the Nationals so far this season.  Martis is 5-0 in 7 starts this season, with a 4.10 ERA.  He turned 22 in March and if he can go 5-0 pitching for an offense who struggles to score runs on a nightly basis, you know he’s something special.

Most Disappointing Player in the NL: Manny Ramirez

As you know, I was personally disappointed in Manny for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug.  His teammates and Dodger ownership were also disappointed in him because he has yet to address his team about his actions.   Word does come out today however that Manny has in fact flown to Miami to meet with his Dodger teammates.  As I said before, this whole situation has been extremely disheartening for many baseball fans.

So that’s all I’ve got about baseball so far this season.  There’s still plenty more to go and I hope you enjoy the season as much as I have so far.

- Corey