Upon another 365

So here we sit on the verge of another calendar year. We are about to enter the year of our Lord 2005. Many things changed, and many stayed the same. I'm not feeling the whole "bulleted point, lets talk about big things-little things, important things-trivial things". There are those who joy in such things, and I leave them to their work.

I am amazed that we have gotten through the first 5 (or is it 4?) years of this millenium so quickly. I remember the turn of the year 2000 and all that was supposed to come with it (Y2K...etc) Now I find myself 5 years later wondering why the year 2000 feels like just a few months ago. I have since turned 21, graduated from college, gotten a job which I have held for nearly 2 years now, moved into my own apartment for a year, moved back home, and started this blog. Major milestones have come and passed, and time just keeps marching.

Here's hoping and praying that 2005 brings more answers, and better questions.

Be safe all.

Upon My Proclamation of a Litmus Test

Call it what you will, but the Suns got smoked by 29 points against the Spurs last night. I'm not patting my own back here, and it is just one game, but two things were evidenced last night; 1)The Spurs should never be overlooked as perennial contenders, and 2) The Suns will have trouble with a dominating defense. I had my doubts about Marion watching the Olympics, backed-off after his fantastic start, and then watched him disappear last night. I'm willing to ride with him for now, but it will be interesting to see how the Suns respond to last night,

Upon a Name Change

This blog, formerly known as "Cleverly Titled Blog" will now be called "The Widening Geier". Its from A WB Yeats poem, and its also a play on my name that the venerable Professor Oser used to make.

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

William Butler Yeats

Upon the Phoenix Suns

The NBA this year has been an interesting ride. The team with the most wins in the NBA is the Phoenix Suns. The addition of Steve Nash and Quentin Richardson were supposed to make this team a bit better, and a contender for a 7-8 spot in the West. As it stands now, the Suns are off to the best start since the Bulls of Jordan's heyday. Without a "true center", the Suns are finding a way to beat all comers, and score a ton of points along the way. The impact of Nash has been undeniable. Since coming over from Dallas in the off-season, Steve has transformed this team to a run-and-gun machine clicking on all cylinders. He is dishing out assists at a very high clip, currently leading the NBA at 11.2 a game. He is leading this team from the point, and he certainly has help.

Shawn Marion has returned as a top wingman, averaging 20 points while pulling down an astounding 11.5 rebounds a contest(4th in the NBA!). Combine these gaudy numbers with his steals (1.85 per, 7th in NBA) and blocks (1.96, 10th), and the Matrix is having an outstanding season. Ouentin Richardson and Joe Johnson are both solid contributors, and feast from three off Nash's penetration-and-dish, as Dirk and Finley used to. In fact, Johnson is hitting at nearly 50% from behind the arc. Finally, there is Amare Stoudamire. This third year player continues to emerge as a beast in this league. Drawing comparisons, and favorable ones at that, to an at-his-peak Shawn Kemp, Amare is continuing to develop his game. He is scoring 25 a game, and punishes the rim with athletic and powerful dunks. Whereas Dirk preferred to prosper with the jump-shot, Amare loves to attack the basket and finish strong. He too is benefiting from excellent passing from Nash, the kind he was a bit too raw to fully appreciate when the played with Marbury during his rookie campaign.

Not much can be said about the Suns bench, except that they do little to off-set the tempo that the starters establish. All 5 starters average upwards of 30 mins each game, with Casey Jacobsen, Leandro Barbosa, and Jake Voskuhl being the only players to see any kind of minutes off the bench. Young Japanese guard Yuta Tabuse was recently waived by Phoenix, but was entertaining while he lasted.

It remains to be seen if the Suns can keep this going. An upcoming game with a Spurs team who are coming around will show how far this team has truly come. They have certainly benefited from the new defensive rules, and are fortunate to have their key contributors performing at a high level. Health is a big question mark for this squad, as an injury to any of the starters would be a big blow, Nash and Stoudamire especially. We have seen similar starts early in the season from other surprising squads, who have come up short when the NBA changes into play-off mode. The running, high-scoring style favored by the Suns tends to bog down in the face of walk-the-ball-up, half-court defense they are likely to face. The absence of a true center may expose a weakness, as foul-trouble on Amare while guarding the likes of Duncan, Garnett and Webber will leave the Suns very thin on the front-line.

I am enjoying watching what the Suns are doing, and would love to see it continue. I will look at upcoming games with the Spurs and Wolves as true litmus tests of how long this run can go.

Merry Christmas

Sitting in my office on December 27th. At work for the first time in my life on this date. Its a crime. On to business.

The Dodgers scuttled the 3-way Randy Johnson deal, purportedly over reservations about Javier Vasquez. I still have confidence that Unit will find a way into pin-stripes before the season is very old, but the local media had us thinking that Randy would be tucked neatly under the Christmas tree. I still am confident that the Yankees are an improved team from last year, and Boras and Beltran will soon debating dollars with Cashman.

Boston signed up Varitek to a 4-year deal, and made him the captain of the Sox to boot. Smart move by them, lock-up a gamer and the heart of their team. I'd still take Posada, but you have to rank Tek among the top backstops in the game.

Knicks lost Jamal Crawford to what is being termed "turf-toe". Early estimates are 3-6 weeks, but this shouldn't necessarily be a tragedy. The Knicks will miss Crawford's energy and scoring punch. He has shown the ability to get hot and drop 30 on anyone, and when his somewhat erratic jumper is on track he is a match-up nightmare for defenders. He also has displayed a sick crossover which has shaken many two guards this year, and nearly dropped Raja Bell. Plus, he has the ability to handle the ball, and spell Marbury at the point guard position. The Knicks are fortunate that Allan Houston is rounding back into shape, as he will be able to take the starting 2-guard position, which has been his for many years barring injury. Moochie Norris is a capable back-up, and I have liked the little I have seen of Jamison Brewer, a tenacious defender with good elevation.

On the scoring front, Tim Thomas has been asked to step-up for what seems like the 20th time this year. At his best, Thomas is a 6'10 swingman, with the ability to play the 2-3 and even can put in time at power forward. At times with the Bucks he showed the ability to be good for 18-pts a night, with a smooth 3-point stroke for a man his size. He also has the agility and leaping ability to take the ball to the basket against big and quick defenders alike. However, Thomas does have his flaws. He often settles for jumpers, or post-up shots that are not the strength of his game. He is lax on the defensive end, and should be more assertive on the offensive and defensive glass. Stories have circulated about Thomas dealing with several family difficulties during the off-season, and beginning part of the year. I am willing to go benefit of the doubt on Tim for now, and believe that his game will round into form, and that he can combine effectively with Marbury and Houston, or Marbury and Crawford to form an effective scoring trio much like the one he had in Milwaukee with Ray Allen and Glen Robinson.

If this change doesn't occur, rookie Trevor Ariza and the injured Penny Hardaway are both attractive alternatives. Penny is getting up there in years, which haven't been overly kind to his body. Still, he has shown his ability to be an effective contributor to the Knicks with shooting and the savvy of a veteran. Ariza is a hard-working rookie with a nose for the ball. He is a high-flier who plays with great intensity and heart. At 6'8, the Knicks have a good defender who has been matched up against players like Pierce and LeBron at critical moments, and has shown flashes of offensive punch. I am also a big Mike Sweetney fan, and he can dominate when close to the basket with big-man moves developed in the paint at Georgetown and refined by Mark Aguirre.

Finally, lets not forget that while he has been focusing on distributing and getting his team involved, Steph can still fill it up on any given night. He will certainly step up his offensive game with Crawford out.

The Jets got smoked by the Pats, and the Giants lost yet another game they should have won. Football will be relegated to a year-end recap, and hopefully a playoff preview for the Jets.

Peyton Manning caught and passed Dan Marino for the single-season touchdown record in a come-from-behind win over the Chargers. Congrats to Peyton, his O-line, and his receivers, and a big shout-out to the Edge for making play-action a possibility by toiling week after week. His TD numbers are down, and he hasn't gotten the money that Peyton, Harrison, and Stokely are getting, but he is a much a reason for the Colts success as anyone, Manning included.

Here's looking for a good New Year's, and a great 2005.

Upon the NBA

With the approach of arguably the two biggest games of the year in terms of anticipation, its time to take the first look into the NBA season thus far. On December 25th, the Pistons and Pacers will get after it for the first time since the throwdown in D-town, and Shaq will return to the Staples Center when he and the Heat face Kobe and the Lakers. These two games should be blockbuster TV, and may give the league a good shot in the arm. The two most (over) hyped stories of the NBA this year will be played out in front of a huge national televison audience.

Don't expect a repeat in Indiana, as both teams will likely be under strict guidelines both from the front office, and the League. However, the Conseco Fieldhouse should be rocking, and players on both sides should be amped. I look for Detroit, who has struggled of late, to pick up the win here. There is a good chance that Indiana will come out fired up, hustling, crashing the boards, shooting the lights out from 3. They will certainly have the fan support that can turn a 5-0 run into a 15-0 run. However, I think that Detroit will have a much more intact team, and that the match-ups will still favor the Pistons. Larry Brown will have his boys ready to play, and I think the defending champs will pull out a close one.

Now onto the second game. Noone should be fooled into thinking that this is a game between the Lakers and the Heat. Sure, there will be players from both teams on the floor on Christmas. But, for all intents and purposes, the uniforms should read "Shaq's Team" , and "Kobe's Team", because that is what this tilt is about. Shaq is coming back to his old stomping grounds, and Kobe is looking to prove that it is his house now. I dont need to get into the history of the situation, as it has been played out endlessly since the end of the NBA Finals in June. This past week, Kobe was all over the television with his Karl Malone saga, his prime-time appearance on Shootaround, PTI...etc. He's trying to pull some emergency image repair, and it comes off as nothing less. Then Shaq was on Monday Night Football with his Corvette/Brick Wall analogy. This is going to be an ego-fest, and it should be faaaantastic to watch. Someone will go for 40+ points. Vlade, Chris Mihm, and Brian Cook are in huge trouble in the paint. Damon Jones better lace his kicks up tight, because he is going to get worked by Kobe. I think this game turns on Dwayne "Flash" Wade. He is a supreme talent in this league, and has high "posterize potential" with his quickness and hops from the guard position. I think he will benefit greatly from Shaq's agenda: 1)Win at all costs 1A) Win big 2) Outplay Kobe 3) Get a bigger ovation in LA than Kobe and 4) Prove to Kobe that Wade is a better wing-man. Look for the Heat to win this one, with both Shaq and Kobe going for ridiculous numbers. The whole country is waiting to see Kobe come off a screen and drive the lane as Shaq closes in to stop penetration. Corvette, meet Brick Wall.

I will speak on the Knicks, the surprising starts of the Sonics and Suns, and the rest of the NBA as I see it in future posts.

Who's Back, I'm Back.

So, lets see where we stand.

Red Sox won the World Series. Yep, up 3-0 the Yankees lost the ALCS in 7, and the Sox went on to steamroll the Cards. Hmmmm. Unexpected, yes, but sub-par pitching can only carry you for so long. Hot Stove is buzzing these days. Yankees signed free-agents Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright, and are some Dodger BS away from bringing Randy Johnson and Kaz Ishii into the fold. Jon Leiber is a Phillie, Vazquez would go in the Unit Trade, Duque declined arbitration and Loaiza wasnt offered. In the pen, the Yankees dropped one Felix (Heredia) and signed another (Rodriguez). Mike Stanton brings back some old Championship mojo to the pen. As I see it now, the 2005 Yankees sstaff should shake out like this:

Starters: 1) Randy Johnson 2) Mike Mussina 3) Carl Pavano 4) Jaret Wright 5) El Duque/Loaiza/Kevin Brown/ Sturtze

Relief: Rivera, Gordon, Quantrill, Stanton,Kaz Ishii, Felix Rodriguez, Steve Karsay, CJ Nitkowski, Brad Halsey

Now there is no questioning that this would be a vast improvement over last year, and this staff may challenge as one of baseball's best. The questions are still there to some extent

-Will the Johnson deal finally get done? When it does, will Randy's knee hold up for another year?
- Can Pavano, who is coming off a career year but still a lifetime .500 pitcher, make the transition to the AL, and repeat the success he had last year with Florida? Same applies for Wright from ATL.
- Can the new acquisitions provide a steady bridge to QGR?

I am personally confident that, should all the deals come to pass, the Yankees are the prohibitive favorite for number 27. This is before Beltran is even dealt with. We would have the dominant pitcher in baseball, on a team that can hit for him, and a left-hander to boot. The rotation will have gotten much younger, and an already solid bullpen will now be titanium. George was not going to let a huge collapse to the Sox, much less a Sox World Series stand, and he has acted accordingly.

Now the defending champion Sox (feels weird to type) have undergone some major changes. Out is Pedro to the Mets, in is Boomer Wells from the Pads. Presumably gone is Derek Lowe, and in is Matt Clement. Varitek may not be back behind the dish, and Manny is inexplicably being shopped around again. Curt's ankle is still bad, and he may miss significant time to open the season. They did replace Orlando Cabrera with Edgar Renteria, which is an upgrade on paper. However, the 2005 version of the Sox is not as strong as their predecessors.

With the Big 3 in Oakland down to one, Minnesota running on borrowed time, Seattle picking up Sexon and Beltre, the Angels one year into the Vlad dynasty... etc, the AL playoff landscape should look much different next year. One constant should remain though, the Yankees playing meaningful games in October.

I'll have more on the NL, as well as the NBA later in the week.