Upon the NBA Draft

Renaldo Balkman and Mardy Collins. The Knicks now have a full continget of young players fit for a rebuilding team. Nate Robinson can play the point, with Collins at the 2. David Lee and Balkman at the forwards, and Frye in the middle. This is an athletic team with defenders at almost every position, and two capable playmakers. The problem lies in the fact that they play on the Knicks, and Isiah has one year to fix the team or lose his job.

This moron of a GM/President/Coach has noone but Dolan to check his moves now. He will probably move Frye and Lee for someone like Jerry Stackhouse or Michael Finley, or take a system guy like Shawn Marion out of the system he thrives in (much like he did with Q-Rich) and try to slam some more square pegs into round holes. The Knicks need a young player 1 or two skilled vets approach to winning 40 games and praying for an 8 seed.

Everyone is killing the picks this year, but that seems to be the one thing Isiah can do well. I would not be at all surprised to see Balkman as a Ben Wallace-Udonis Haslem type of player. He will get his ass beat by Curry, Rose, Taylor and Lee in practice, and he will be better for it. Balkman will probably be the marginal type 2 guard who floats around the league, but we'll see.

This draft would in all probability not have helped the Knicks unless they saw the potential to move Marbury. Losing the 2 pick to the Bulls was unfortunate, but I do belive that Curry has a chance still to be a special player. He is entering the Jermaine O'Neal period right now, and was just a highschooler when he came into the league. As presently constituted, Marbury, Francis, Richardson, Frye, and Curry can work as a 5, with Crawford, Lee, Rose, and Robinson off the pine. Make the rookies work, try for a SENSIBLE trade, and maybe, just maybe the Knicks avoid an embarassment.

Upon A-Rod this Year

Something about A-Rod's at bat in the twelfth yesterday just said "walk-off HR". I was watching the gamecast since 1:00, then ran to my car in between the top and bottom of the inning. I got the radion on at a 1-0 count to Giambi, and a few minutes later Alex demolished a pitch over the bullpen. As I drove, I said to myself "He's gotta do it here. If he craps out in this situation its over for him for the season. He might never win the fans back."

Im not one of the moronic fans who think that A-rod sucks. .285 with 15 HR and 55 RBI is just fine at the All-Star Break, and this is with a june swoon. Lets ask a whole bunch of questions-

Would you sign up for a .300 average with 35 HR and 125 RBI? Think that might qualify as a strong season?

The errors are a killer, but you think any team in the league wouldn't trade their 3B for Alex?

How about this for the fairweather bandwagon people who spout off with nonsense:

Would any GM not trade David Wright for Alex Rodriguez?
A sure fire HALL OF FAMER, for a guy who has had 1 1/2 strong seasons?
Lets stop with the Wright coronations huh?
Would you take any non-pitcher besides Puljos before Alex when starting a team?

I am willing to go on record right now, as I have all year. Sleep on Alex and Randy if you want, but I don't want to hear from anyone when they are smashing their way through the league. You sold them right down the river, and there is no renegging.

Upon the NBA Champions

Blog lethargy has led me to slack in my upkeep as far as sports go. Then again, most interested sports fans can simply follow sports through the normal channels, and do not look to my blog as a source of said news. anyway...

The Miami Heat claimed the 2006 NBA championship following a 4-2 series win over the Dallas Mavericks. What once seemed to be a laugher for the Mavs turned into a dominant, albeit controversial, performance for the Heat. Dallas took the first two games at home, but didn't win again. Complaints about officiating and penalties are as much a part of the lasting legacy of this series as the basketball played.

Dywane Wade established himself as a bonafide superstar and clutch performer on the biggest stage, emerging as option #1, 2 and 3 for the Heat down the stretch. The calls and the breaks went Miami's way, and Wade delivered time and time-again. The Mavs switched from swaggering and confident to shaky and disheartened, as crucial misses, tough calls, and dagger shots from D-Wade seemed to steal their heart.

A couple of brief points on the series:

- Please don't overlook the fact that Shaq just makes teammates who are great look incredible. He may not still be able to dominate the game the way he did (i.e. 37ppg in the finals, near quadruple doubles, 30-and-20's), but you simply can not ignore him. No one in the league has a real answer for him at center, excepting maybe Yao, so the double-teams still have to come. Wade was phenomenal, but Shaq gave him the chance to be. If you use the Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) formula, where you replace a star with a good player in the same position, the Heat are 50/50 on Wade vs Shaq. If you put LeBron in Wade's spot, I say the Heat still win a chip. No so if you switch-in Yao, or one of the PF who pretend to be centers in the NBA these days.

- Wade is not better than Lebron, he just won first because he has a better team and coach.

- Darko is still the first member of the 2003 draft class with a ring.

- Alonzo joined Diekembe Mutombo, Vlade Divac, and all the other centers who gave the last bit of everything the had to try for a ring, only Zo actually got one. His blocks in game 6 ended the Series. When he started dominating the layups, the Mavs were DONE.

- Not C-Webb, not Vlade, not Peja, not Bibby; Jason Williams currently stands as the only member of the former Kings, and the first to be jettisoned, who has a ring. Might be the only one to get one too.

- Antoine Walker was never better than Paul Pierce, but also has a ring that his former teammate may never have.

- Gary Payton hit two of the biggest shots in the Finals, and got some karma for being on some SICK Sonics teams in the 90s who never got to the top of the mountain. Good for him for losing the ego and getting what he always wanted.

- In one of my favorite and also one of the most unfair moments of the NBA, the following players now have NBA Championship:
Shandon Anderson
Michael Doleac
Jason Kapono
Wayne Simien
Dorell Wright
Earl Barron
Derek Anderson

Thats all for now.

Upon things to be Glad For

Despite strong performances in the face of adversity, the Yankees and Mets are perhaps the two least surprising division leaders in baseball as teams enter June. Many NL pundits had the remodeled Mets in first, but few thought Cincinnati and Arizona would be there with them. The Texas Rangers have overachieved with their primarily offensive club, and after one-third of a season the Detroit Tigers will not go away in the AL Central. This early baseball season has provided many great stories, which I want to address before the gathering steroid/HGH storm descends.


New York Baseball Part 1- Subway Series II?-

The 2000 World Series brought many New York old-schoolers back to the days of the Yankees, Giants, and Dodgers. The final 4 games to 1 outcome overshadowed one of the better and more closely contended Series in recent memory.

This season, the Yankees and Mets possess nearly identical records (35-23 NYY, 36-23 NYM), and both have hopes of representing their league in the big show. The Mets took the first set of interleague games 2-1, and could have swept the Bombers absent an implosion from Billy Wagner. Look to the next series in the Bronx for some pre 4th of July fireworks. The health of the Yankees and the durability of an as-yet unproven Mets squad will determine if another cross-town showdown is in the cards for October.

New York Baseball Part 2- Young Guns, Old Guard-

The combination of youth and experience is alive and well on both sides. Tom Glavine and Pedro are keeping the Mets on top, with Glavine continuing a strong second-half of 2005 with a stellar start to 2006. Julio Franco is 47 years old and playing on another first-place ball club, which needs no further explanation. On the young side, David Wright is a star, Jose Reyes is exciting, and Lastings Milledge has a buzz around him that we haven’t seen in a while (though I’m not sold on him).

In the Bronx, while Randy Johnson continues to run hot and cold, Mike Mussina is rolling and Bernie Williams has filled in on this MASH-unit and made things happen. Melky Cabrera is working to make people forget his appearances in 2005, and things like pulling a Manny Ramirez HR back in the yard will go a long way toward doing that.

Strong teams are built on successful combinations of young bodies and veteran savvy, and the NY squads have both.


The Tigers Earn Stripes-

Perrennial laughing-stock and cellar dwellers Detroit have surprised nearly everyone by surging to baseball’s best record, and sustaining it. Recent games against the Yankees, Red Sox, and defending champ Chicago have brought them back to Earth a bit, but they were in all of those games, and a wild card does not seem out of the question. The young arms they have stockpiled (Verlander, Zumaya, Bonderman) have finally come around, and Kenny Rogers is having great season under the radar. Skipper Jim Leyland has baseball fans hoping in Detroit for the first time in a while. We’ll see if they can continue to play over their heads, and hold off a more talented White Sox squad.


The Merciful End of the Bonds-a-thon-

The TV show has been pulled, 715 has come and gone, and we aren’t subjected to a cut away for every at-bat. I wonder if Ruth looked this done at the end, dragging his broken down frame around the bases and hobbling out in the field.

The Return of Jason Giambi-

I know it may wind up being HGH, but Giambi is a major ballplayer again, proving that his unbelieveable July from last year was not a fluke. The Yankees offensive MVP so far in my opinion.

Bronson Arroyo says "Wily Mo this!"-

Traded from the Sox for some supposed insurance in the lineup, all Arroyo has done is go crazy in Cincy, both on the mound and even more surprisingly at the dish. he is hitting HR, winning games for a streaking Reds club, and probably still playing in his terrible rock cover-band. The Red Sox got Wily Mo Pena, who rarely hits like Ortiz, but often fields like him. Their supposed plethora of pitching, which made Bronson Arroyo "expendable", has been anything but solid after 1 and 2. The only negative is Arroyo's insistence on the white-guy corn rows.

While the name Jason Grimsley threatens to cast another cloud on the game, I am happy with what I have seen so far from Major League Baseball. Stay tuned for my “other” list, which will detail things we as fans could do without this season.(It does promise to be longer)

Upon the Injury Bug

So picture the Mets without Jose Reyes, Beltran, Floyd, Miledge, and Wagner.

The Red Sox without Manny, Nixon, and Papelbon (as Coco crisp is out)

Any team without their entire Opening Day outfield, plus occasional outs from their superstar and their closer. Thats what the Yankees have to deal with on a daily basis, wondering who is healthy enough to run out there. They just ran off a 5, should have been 6, game win streak with household names like Melky Cabrera! (who may be a player), Terrence Long! (who was on the waiver wire looking for work), Andy Phillips!, and Miguel Cairo!. Bernie Williams who was intended as a spot starter and DH is back to his everyday centerfielder role. I am happy to see the Yankees play winning baseball with role players surrounding 3 stars, as it shows a grit that is admirable. These are all professionals after all. Still, the 2006 season is more MASH unit than Murderer's Row.