No Brady, No Problem

Fear not Patriots’ fans, Tom Brady’s torn ACL does not mean all is lost. The Patriots will still win the AFC East and win double-digit games in 2008. The Patriots’ defensive front seven is the best in the AFC, they have one of the top five wide receiver duos in the league, and a great and diverse running game. While quarterback might be the position that you can least afford an injury, the Patriots have the best team to surround a new quarterback. Matt Cassel is stepping into a situation very similar to what Tom Brady was thrust into in 2001 when Drew Bledsoe was injured. If Cassel can manage the game efficiently (find the open man, don’t try to do too much, and limit turnovers) then the Patriots will be fine (just don’t expect to see Brady shipped out of New England before next season like Bledsoe was).

When Tom Brady stepped up and threw a wounded duck in the direction of Randy Moss it was obvious that something was wrong. Most fans could see by the first replay the severity of Brady’s injury and realize he had an injured ACL. While the team was saying that Brady’s return to the game was “questionable”, what was really in question was if he was returning this season. The Patriots’ concern shouldn’t be Tom Brady’s injury as much as it should be the play of the offensive line. Center Dan Koppen and left guard Logan Mankins are Pro Bowl players but the rest of the line is a concern. Left tackle Matt Light can be one of the best at his position but he is coming off of a preseason injury and struggles with speed rushers. Light has a tendency to shrink when he needs to step up, but he is still solid. The real concern is the right side of the line. Right tackle Nick Kaczur is average but the issues at right guard make him more vulnerable. Starting right guard Stephen Neal is a Pro Bowl player but he is injured and not eligible to return until Week 7 at the earliest. Russ Hochstein is a decent fill-in, but not a long-term answer, and he is injured as well. Bill Yates started against the Chiefs, but he should not be a starter on this team at any time. Until the offensive line is healthy the Patriots have a major weakness that will make the offense much less explosive.

This year the Patriots’ defense will have to play up to their potential to win, as the offense will not set another NFL scoring record. The key to the defense rest in two positions, inside linebacker and cornerback. Jerod Mayo will have to play up to his top-10 draft status, and he has shown that potential so far. Mayo’s quickness allows Tedy Bruschi to freelance without having to worry about the middle being covered. The depth at linebacker will also allow Bruschi to get a bit more rest than he had in recent years, something crucial to him staying successful all year. Cornerback is more of a concern. Ellis Hobbs will forever be remembered as the man who was beaten by Plaxico Burress for the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl, but Hobbs is an emerging star. The play of Deltha O’Neal and Terrence Wheatley at the other cornerback position will need to be steady for the Patriots to keep opponents from picking apart the secondary. Fortunately the Patriots strength is collapsing the pocket and forcing the opposing quarterback to make bad decisions. A strong defense will not only make the job of the Matt Cassel easier, but also give the Patriots great field position.

The injury to Tom Brady will make the road to the Super Bowl much more difficult. The Steelers, Colts, and Chargers do not care that Brady is hurt, and will be looking to give the Patriots a dose of playoff payback this year. The Patriots are still the team to beat, but the rest of the AFC can see the blood in the water. The true test for the Patriots will come this year. When every team is gunning for you, and your gunslinger is hurt, do you have what it takes to win it all? Hopefully for Pats fans the answer is yes, but this isn’t Brady’s team anymore. This will need to be a true team effort and the work of Belichick’s magic to have the Patriots still be the NFL’s elite team.

Tragedy Meets Legal Stupidity

The station night club fire was a tragedy, but the drawn out legal issues are more tragic. Many of the civil suits have been settled and some of the companies named are amazing and beyond stupid.
The tragic 20 February 2003 fire at the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., killed 96 people and injured more than 200. It was a stupid stunt: the band playing that night set off fireworks, setting fire to soundproofing foam. With the nightclub's insurance maxed out and no one else to turn to for the expected $1 billion of liability, lawyers in the case sued anyone they could think of in their search for deep pockets to pick. One unlikely victim of the tactic was Clear Channel Communications, which owns a radio station in the area, on the basis that they helped promote the event. In February, Clear Channel announced a tentative $22 million settlement with survivors and the families of those killed. Rhode Island's "joint and several liability" put Clear Channel on the hook; as long as lawyers could show just the tiniest involvement by the company, it ended up having to pay even though they had no part in the fire. {It gets worse}

Other deep pockets included TV station WPRI, which was ironically onthe scene to do a story on the dangers of nightclubs when the fire broke out, which paid $30 million on the theory that their cameraman's equipment blocked an exit. {Wrong place, wrong time. Plus $30 million on a theroy? Insane} JBL Speakers paid $815,000 to settle a charge that its speakers had flammable foam in them{This makes sense to me, speakers for concerts should have fire resistant material if possible}; beer maker Anheuser-Busch ($5 million) and its local distributor ($16 million) because their beer was sold at the nightclub {Ummm, why not? I guess drunk people can't get out of a building? Why not other breweries?}; Sealed Air Corp. paid $16 million, since its foam was used for soundproofing, even though the foam was not rated for such a purpose {They shouldn't be held responsible if someone misused their product}; the State of Rhode Island, $10 million, and the city where the fire occurred, $10 million, for who-knows-what reason; and HomeDepot (amount unknown), where the foam was purchased. {Let's just sue and see what sticks}

Over $110 million in lawsuits settled without any real cause. I know this is a tragedy but why go after companies that are not at fault. It's all about making someone, anyone, pay.

Manny Ramirez Adios

A seven and a half year relationship is now over, as the Boston Red Sox finally gave into the insanity that is Manny Ramirez and sent him packing. This is a bittersweet day for Red Sox fans, a day that brings a tear to your eye while you are looking for someone to high five. Having Manny Ramirez in Boston was like having a psychotic nympho girlfriend. You are ecstatic when you’re riding high, but you want to pull your hair out when you have another bout of utter lunacy. Manny could hit a baseball like few players ever to enter Fenway Park, but he could send you to a padded room when he started his usual antics. The Sox might not be a better team after the Manny Ramirez trade, but they will never have to worry about another episode of Manny being a whiny pain in the butt.

Over the last seven plus years Manny Ramirez asked to be traded out of Boston 147 separate times, not including 25 times that he was “misquoted”. His antics finally became too much, and even his own teammates were encouraging management to trade Ramirez. Manny’s complaining has done so much to hurt his value that the Red Sox had to cover the remaining seven million dollars left on his contract, as well as trade two major league players, just to get back a player with less skill. When people look back at this trade in a few years it may very well look like a disaster. Jason Bay is an All-Star left fielder, but his isn’t in the same class as Manny Ramirez. Craig Hansen is a talented reliever who just needs to figure out how to throw strikes to be a dominant reliever. The key to the trade may be Brandon Moss. Moss is a talented young outfielder that was without a place to play in Boston, much like David Murphy was last year. Murphy was sent to Texas for Eric Gagne, and is now making a run at the American League Rookie of the Year. Moss has the talent to be a .300 AVG/20 Home Run/80 RBI player, and in Pittsburgh he will have a chance to play and develop his skills.

If Ramirez had been more of a professional and less of a nutcase he would have been easier to trade, but was his craziness the real reason that he got the trade he wanted?

Game 4, Best Comeback Ever

Celtics Lakers Game 4 will go down as the best game in NBA history. The Lakers came out playing like a team of ringers taking on middle-aged accountants at a local YMCA. After the first quarter the Celtics set an NBA Finals record for the largest deficit (21 points) and were losing by more points than they scored. In the second quarter the lead grew to 24 points, and was 20 in the third quarter. No matter how good your team is, you do not come back from that in the NBA Finals, it just isn’t possible. That fact was lost on the Celtics.

The group of bench players that were not good enough to lead the Celtics to an NBA Title stepped up and made history. Role players like James Posey, PJ Brown, Tony Allen, and Eddie House sucked the life out of the Staples Center and helped shrink the deficit to only two points by the start of the fourth quarter. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen showed that they had the heart to will the Celtics back into the game, and even take the lead. The Lakers’ fans headed to the parking lot early as the Celtics as the Lakers just couldn’t retake the lead.

A confident Lakers team in the first half were in stunned shock as they looked up at the scoreboard and saw that instead of a tied series they were one game away from golfing. When the Boston Red Sox were losing 3-0 to the Yankees in 2004 I told everyone that they would win the series. I had that same feeling that the Celtics would win Game 4. I have only had four Father’s Days, but on Sunday night I will be watching the Celtics receive the golden NBA Title. Actually I could deal with a loss on Sunday; I want title number seventeen to happen on the fabled Boston parquet.

Lakers Win, Celtics Have Winning Formula

As team sports go, basketball is the game that can most easily be won or lost by a spectacular performance by one player. A triple-double or 50-point game will certainly help you win, but other support players are needed. Would Larry Bird have been as good without Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish, or would Michael Jordan have won so many titles without Scottie Pippen? If you doubt the importance of a quality supporting cast than look no further than LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. One player can carry a team on his back on every level up through college, but the NBA is a different animal. The Lakers versus the Celtics in the NBA Finals is a perfect example of a star’s need for quality teammates.

There is no question that Kobe Bryant play is the reason the Lakers would win or lose a playoff series. When Bryant won his NBA Titles it was with Shaq as the alpha dog. Now Kobe finally has his own team, as well as competent complimentary players in Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. Throw in the instant offense that Sasha Vujacic can offer and the Lakers can be a brilliant team. Paul Pierce has had a similar experience over the last decade. The Celtics had a few deep playoff runs, but those teams were lead by Antoine Walker (the only player in NBA history that thought he could play all five offensive positions by himself but never play defense). Pierce was better than Walker, but he was a better and less selfish teammate. Now Pierce has another veteran shooter in Ray Allen and a low post threat he has never had in Kevin Garnett. The combination of veteran leadership and hungry youngsters gives the Celtics a deeper rotation than most people expected in October. The one difference in the series is not bench scoring, points off of turnovers, or any other measurable statistic. It all comes down to ego.

During the first two games in Boston the Celtics came out ready to defend that home court at any cost. One of the biggest reasons the Celtics have had success all season is because the best players play as a team, not as a group of individuals. The Lakers’ players played the first two games (both losses) as if they are afraid of incurring the wrath of Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant. No matter how well you play you could have always played better, and Bryant seems to thrive on making sure his teammates know that. Kobe tried to get his teammates involved in the first two games before deciding to try to win by himself in Game 3. The only player that even had a chance to contribute in Game 3 was Vujacic, and he was arguing with Bryant for a chance to get his shots. Lamar Odom spent the game on the bench in foul trouble, and Pau Gasol played a timid game and looked uncomfortable out on the floor. While Paul Pierce was mired with foul issues, and Kevin Garnett couldn’t hit a jump shot, Ray Allen stepped up and kept the Celtics in the game.

Game 3 was won by the Lakers, but it will be remember as the game where the Celtics found the formula to beat the Lakers. Rajon Rondo is a player very similar to Jason Kidd when he entered the NBA. Both are great passers, defenders, and rebounders, but neither were a threat to score unless they drove to the basket. With Rondo in the game the Celtics offense lacked the ability to stretch the defense. The Lakers could collapse off of Rondo since he isn’t a threat to shoot. When Rondo went down with an injury, Sam Cassell and Eddie House stepped up and the game changed drastically. Both House and Cassell look for their shot first, and will take any shot at any time. This forced the Lakers to cover the point guard more diligently, which left them unable to double-team as easily as they did in the first two games. This allowed Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins/P.J. Brown to work in the paint against smaller defenders. The Lakers are stellar perimeter defenders, but they struggle on the blocks. If the Celtics continue to play three outside shooters and two big men then they should be able to score at will against Los Angeles. The key to this success is Rajon Rondo. Rondo missed part of Game 3 with an ankle injury, and his availability is in question for Game 4. The Celtics would be in trouble with House and Cassell running the offense for a full 48 minutes, as House lacks the ball handling ability, and Cassell doesn’t pass enough to keep the Big 3 involved. Rondo’s game is based on speed, so an ankle injury would leave him far less effective. The ideal situation would be a healthy Rondo but playing only about half the game as a precaution. His speed would still cause the Lakers’ guards fits, but when he was on the bench the Celtics would be able to stretch the floor and get the Lakers’ frontcourt in foul trouble. Doc Rivers has taken a lot of heat for not being a great coach, but even a fan can see the opportunity presenting itself. If he doesn’t try to have the Celtics exploit this than Rivers doesn’t deserve to be a coach.

After pulling out a must win in Game 3, what do the Lakers need to do to win the series? They need to collectively man up, Kobe needs to shut up, Lamar Odom needs to show up, and Pau Gasol needs to toughen up. Without Odom and Gasol playing their best then the Celtics will be too tough to defeat. Kobe is talented but he can’t carry the Lakers to four wins by himself. The Lakers will have the crowd on their side for two more games, and the Celtics have struggled on the road in the playoffs. The Lakers need to win all three games at home or else they will be at a monumental disadvantage. If the Celtics can head back to Boston leading the series than they will be able to hoist banner number seventeen by beating the coach tied with Red Auerbach for the most NBA Championships. You can almost smell the victory cigar being unwrapped.

Evan Longoria in AAA is Smart

The Tampa Bay (not Devil) Rays front office deserves a pat on the back for making a move that fans hate. Evan Longoria might not only be the Rays best prospect, but the best offensive prospect in baseball. When it came time to make roster moves the Rays sent Longoria to Triple-A Durham, even though Longoria is a leading Rookie of the Year candidate. By not promoting Longoria until after May 1st the Rays will be able to keep him under contract until 2014, as opposed to 2013 if he started the season in the Major League. It is no secret that the Rays will not be a playoff team this year (or at least until 2010), but with the amazing young players they have, they are looking like the Cleveland Indians of the 1990’s. Is one month now really worth taking the chance of a top player becoming a free agent a year early when you could be a World Series contender?

Evan Longoria will be in a battle with Jacoby Ellsbury, Daric Barton, and Joba Chamberlin for the American League Rookie of the Year award. Starting the season in the minors will hurt Longoria’s chances, but the twenty-two year old can benefit from a few more Triple-A at bats. Longoria is an amazing hitter, but he still struggles at time with off-speed pitches. Last year Jacoby Ellsbury could have started the year in Boston but he was sent to Double-A. Ellsbury hit well over .400, and then was promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket where he became a more polished hitter. When the Red Sox needed Ellsbury he was ready, as he was a major contributor to the Sox stretch run and World Series Championship. Longoria would fit in the Rays lineup on opening day, but is a chance at winning the ROY really worth keeping him in the big leagues? No. Longoria will be a better player when he is recalled, and the Rays will not be missing anything without him in the lineup.

The Rays may have an abundance of talent, but it will take some time before they are able to pass the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays for a chance at the playoffs. Giving their young talent a chance to mature will only benefit the franchise in the long run. Fans may want to see prospects in the Show ASAP, especially when the playoffs don’t seem like an option. Too many players have been rushed to the Majors, only to struggle and never live up to their potential. Giving Evan Longoria more time in the Minors may annoy fans, but when the Rays are in the playoffs in a few years due to Longoria, that one month wait back in 2008 will seem like a great idea.

The Heat Isn't On

Every year at least one NBA team is accused of packing it in early in an attempt to gain a better draft pick. This year is no different, as the Miami Heat are officially in shutdown mode. It will be very difficult for Miami not to finish with worst record in the NBA, and the franchise has made sure they will have the most ping pong balls come lottery day. From trades to injuries to coaching issues, the Heat have had a dysfunctional season, a far cry from their championship season two years ago.

Miami started their makeover by freeing themselves of Shaq’s monster contract in exchange for Shawn Marion, who will likely opt out of his contract after this season, which will free up exorbitant amounts of cap room for next year and beyond. Dwyane Wade has been the lone bright spot for Miami this year, and now he has opted to sit out the rest of the year with an ailing left knee. With injuries to Wade, and at least one player at every position, the Heat are having trouble filling out their roster, and now are trying to scrounge up healthy bodies to occupy the empty seats on the bench. The coup de grace lies with coach Pat Riley, who just announced he was leaving the bench during the season to scout potential draft picks. Are things really that bad down in South Beach?

Riley’s move may be a necessary evil when you are head coach as well as the man that makes the roster moves, but this decision reeks of abandoning all hope. Shouldn’t one of the best coaches in NBA history at least try to portray that he cares about his team in the long and short term? Even if Riley is leaving the bench just for a few weeks, and is doing so to scout potential draft picks, doesn’t that just scream of desperation? Why have scouts if your coach has to leave during the year to evaluate talent? This reminds be of the Cincinnati Bengals when they wouldn’t spend the money to hire enough scouts to properly evaluate talent.

As bad as this move looks it does make a modicum of sense in a convoluted way. As long as the Heat continue their losing ways they will have a top four pick in the next NBA draft. The general consensus among draft experts is that the top talents are all freshmen and sophomores, and only one player (Memphis guard Derrick Rose) has stated that he plans on returning to college. The best player at the moment looks to be Kansas State forward Michael Beasley, who looks like Shawn Marion with more upside. Guards such as Rose, USC star O.J. Mayo, and Indiana’s Eric Gordon are point guards by definition, but both Mayo and Gordon are shoot first guards. With Dwyane Wade as a shoot first combo guard, does Gordon or Mayo really fit? The most talented big men (DeAndre Jordan, Brook Lopez, Anthony Lopez, and Bake Griffin) all project to be good to great players, but none are instant impact players. With so much up in the air with this draft class, all potential picks need to be scrutinized. Depending on which players enter the draft, it is possible this lottery will contain no upperclassmen, or even any player older than twenty. Teams will need to know exactly what they are getting, and the player they draft will be the player that a franchise can be built around. For those reasons it is tough to fault Pat Riley for wanting to make sure he knows his investment inside and out. Being an NBA General Manager or Head Coach are more than full time jobs, and one man trying to fill both roles is a recipe for disaster, even for one of the best minds in NBA history.

Delusions of Randomness

To paraphrase Jon Stewart’s intro for Daily Show correspondent Lewis Black, “Sometimes a news story falls through the cracks, here to catch them is Chris Vining, with his column, Delusions of Randomness.” So I will touch upon stories that didn’t get big headlines, but are still important.


Baseball
The Red Sox finally decided to give Terry Francona (the most successful Sox manager in decades) a three-year contract extension. Francona is now signed through 2011, and as long as nothing drastic changes (Manny Ramirez goes insane and tries to mentor upcoming prospects)he has a great chance to lead the Red Sox to another World Series Championship in the next four years. Francona is a class act and does a great job of handling the Boston media.

Kudos to the Red Sox for signing Bartolo Colon to a minor league contract this week. Curt Schilling will be lucky if he can pitch with any effectiveness again, and Colon is a low risk (and cost) investment to make sure the Sox have depth in the rotation. Colon is not the Cy Young pitcher he was, and despite being an injury risk, he provides Clay Buchholz a chance to be brought along slowly. If the Sox can get anything above twenty starts they would be in a great position, as Colon can still pitch when he is on his game. For those people complaining about the rich getting richer, Colon was still unsigned when Spring Training opened, and was signed for chump change. He was more than fair game.

The Tampa Bay Rays dropped the “Devil” from their name but they might sign the Devil to their roster. Barry Bonds has arisen as a target for Tampa, which might not be as bad of an idea as it sounds. The Rays are young and talented, and Bonds would take a rapidly improving offense to dangerous levels. Bonds would also provide insurance for Cliff Floyd and Roco Baldelli. If Evan Longoria can be effective in the Majors this year, than the Rays have one of the top 10 offenses in baseball, and that is without Bonds. Adding the *All-Time Home Run King* would make the Rays a Wild Card threat, but the health of Scott Kazmir and Troy Percival will be key factors toward the Rays’ quest to get out of the AL East cellar.

Koby Clemens has been caught in a very tough spot for the Astros. While he is in Major League Spring Training he is subject to the substance advise of Miguel Tejada. If/when Koby is sent to Minor League Camp he will have his father to talk with. The younger Clemens should say he has visa problems and skip camp, or show up for another teams’ Spring Training.

Not only is Jonathan Papelbon the best young closer in baseball he showed that he could bust a move during the playoffs, and people took notice. Paps was offered a spot as a contestant on Dancing With the Stars, however he turned it down when he realized he had to dance to music that wasn’t played by the Dropkick Murphys.


Football
Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor are family, and were teammates on the Dolphins up until Bill Parcells rolled into town. Taylor is now working on his footwork as a member of the Dancing With the Stars cast. Thomas was pushed into the unemployment line until Jerry Jones offered Thomas a chance to play in his home state of Texas. Thomas will make the Cowboys better on defense, even if his skills are diminishing. His knowledge and leadership will be key to the Cowboys defense, and his locker room presence cannot be underestimated. He also hates vacationing during bye weeks.

The Atlanta Falcons won the coin flip to give them the third pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. The downside is that the Falcons have so many holes that they could have used a lower pick. The benefit is that more players would be off the board so they would have an easier time picking which player will be blamed for a string of losing seasons.

Peter King of Sports Illustrated predicted that the Giants would win the Super Bowl against the Patriots if they could apply consistent pressure on Brady. He also suggested the Giants might win if they could outscore the Patriots. I am a Peter King fan but my three year old knew the game was in trouble when the Pat’s line had trouble blocking the rush.

Rex Grossman was resigned to a one year, three million-dollar contract by the Chicago Bears. No seriously, the Bears resigned him and Kyle Orton in the same week. That is a punch line, but I can’t even come up with a joke.


Basketball
Former players Keith Van Horn and Aaron McKie were included in trades despite not being active players. In an attempt to bolster their roster the Celtics had a trade in place to send Bob Cousy to Memphis for Mike Conley. Memphis was looking to add veteran leadership and cut payroll (Cousy was making 5 figures in his last contract) and the deal was perfect for both sides. The trade fell through at the last minute when Memphis was unable to find a pair of shorts short enough for Cousy to wear.

Yao Ming suffered a stress fracture in his foot and now will be out for the season. While this is a shot to the Rockets playoff chances, the worse news is that Yao’s backup is Dikembe Mutombo, who has scored a whopping seven points this season. The Rockets do not have any players 6’10’’ or taller besides Steve Novak, who weighs in at a massive 220 pounds and has played less than fifty career games.

Sam Cassell has asked to be bought out of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers so he can sign with (most likely) Boston or Denver. What makes Sam I Am even more attractive is that he has already missed 15 games due to injuries this year. When questioned about his health Cassell had this to say, “The Celtics are getting damaged goods if I do go over there," Cassell said. "But I'll be all right." Nothing says sign me like that quote.


NASCAR
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a new team but the same winning ways. Junior hasn’t been allowed in the winner’s circle in over five-dozen races. Maybe he should spend less time doing commercials and spend more time on figuring out why his engines keep blowing up. Just a thought, I’m no car expert.


Hockey
The trade deadline just passed and players were moving all over North America (except to Mexico, there is no ice there). The Penguins acquired Marian Hossa, the top forward available, and the player that can put the Penguins in position for a Stanley Cup run. Wait, Penguins adding payroll? Weren’t they going to be sold and moved to Canada earlier this year?

In what has become an all too familiar scenario, the Boston Bruins promised to be active at the trade deadline but failed to bring in anyone at all, even a fourth line bench warmer. The Bruins are clinging to a playoff spot but are falling fast. Why are season ticket sales down again?

That is all I have this week, remember if you heard it here first you need to pay closer attention to real sports reporters! I will be back when I return.

Can the Cavaliers Really Contend?

LeBron having a supporting cast = Good
This supporting cast = Not So Good

With seconds remaining before the NBA trade deadline the Cleveland Cavaliers remade their roster surrounding LeBron James. The Cavs orchestrated a three way trade with Seattle and Chicago, a deal that allowed them to jettison bad contracts (Larry Hughes), moody players (Drew Gooden), and spare parts (Ira Newble, Shannon Brown, Cedric Simmons, and Donyell Marshall). Cleveland was able to bring in four players that can make an immediate impact, Seattle guard Delonte West and forward Wally Sczerbiak, and Bulls forwards Ben Wallace and Joe Smith. Despite bringing in a serious upgrade in talent, the Cavs might be worse off in the short run, and are far from being the favorites in the Eastern Conference.

There is little doubt that LeBron James is the best player in basketball, and he led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals last year with very little consistent support. Zydrunas Ilgauskas has been an All-Star caliber center in the past, but he has been on a decline the last two years, and too much weight has been placed on his shoulders. Shooting guard Sasha Pavlovic and power forward/center Anderson Varejao were the sparks that helped Cleveland exceed expectations last year, but both have been out with injuries for a month. Varejao could be back in a week, but Pavlovic’s return is still a month away. Cleveland had recently been fueled by a poor mans’ Allen Iverson (shooting guard in a point guards’ body) Daniel Gibson, but he just injured his ankle and is likely out for at least a month. Once these players return the Cavs will be much improved, but will the team have any chemistry?

While the Cavs would have preferred to add an impact star (Shawn Marion, Pau Gasol, Jason Kidd, or Michael Bibby) as opposed to revamping their entire roster mid-season, this shake up was a necessity to turn around the team’s performance. The issue with this trade is that the Cavaliers will certainly have more depth, but they still don’t have any impact players besides LeBron James. All four of the new players are having sub-par years compared to their career averages, and only Delonte West isn’t on the downward slope of his career. Will the Cavs really be able to compete for a title this year?

So how will these new acquisitions fit in with the Cavs? Joe Smith is a veteran that can play power forward and center, giving Zydrunas Ilgauskas a chance to stay fresh during the stretch run and playoffs. Since Larry Hughes was sent to Chicago and Gibson and Pavlovic are hurt, Cleveland lacks a shooting guard. Delonte West is a true point guard that has been shuffled from the point to shooting guard since college. The issue is that West shoots less than forty percent from the floor as a shooting guard, and James handles the ball as much as most point guards. Wally Sczerbiak may see the most time at shooting guard, however he is a defensive liability and lacks the speed to keep up with any guard in the NBA. Sczerbiak is a pure small forward, but LeBron will not be losing any minutes to him. Wally is a big contract and good scorer but has no place to play without compromising more than he offers. The real problem in this deal is Ben Wallace and his contract. Wallace has a wealth of playoff experience, but he cannot score, and his defense and rebounding has dropped immensely since leaving Chicago. Wallace has gone from star to liability almost overnight, and Joe Smith and Drew Gooden are better than Wallace at this point in his career. Wallace’s reputation as a star may keep Anderson Varejao on the bench more than he should be, thus hurting the Cavs playoff chances.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be a major force for any team that plays them in the playoffs; at least once they are healthy. Teams like Boston, Detroit, and even Orlando now have a better chance at beating the Cavs in a playoff series because of the players the Cavaliers acquired. Once healthy, the Cavs have no true point guard, undersized and average shooting guards, the best small forward duo in basketball, and too many players to get serious minutes at power forward in center. You may say the Cavs have depth, and they do. What they don’t have is a clear distinction between starters and backups. Expect a lot of lineup juggling around LeBron and Ilgauskas. The Cavs are battling for a first round playoff series at home, however they are giving up more points per game than they are scoring, a trend that looks to continue until the entire roster is healthy. Last year the Cavs rode their hot hands to the NBA Finals, but they now have more players to put on the floor and fewer players that can score. The Cavs may have made a big splash at the trade deadline, but they are far from being the realistic favorite to repeat in the East. King James may be ecstatic that he has new teammates, but that may change once they all take the floor together.

Super Bowl Conspiracy

The Giants won the Super Bowl fair and square, they knew what they had to do to disrupt the Patriots and they did. I am not taking their win away from them at all. The Patriots had plenty of time in the game to make adjustments, but it was too little too late, and they made some bad decisions. For the first time all year the ball didn't bounce the Patriots way.

However I would be remiss if I didn't share this tidbit I found that shows something was up with the clock in the final two minutes. Click the link and watch for yourself. The video isn't great but it is explained very well and shows that there was a questionable finish to that game that nobody is talking about.

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=27384

This link shows a video of how the refs screwed over the Pats in the last 90+ seconds of the Super Bowl. The funny thing is that the issues the person mentions (uncalled penalties, clock issues) are not reviewable. I thought something seemed wrong watching the last part of the game, and I was positive I saw the game clock go from :58 to :59 before a play.

The Pats should have tried to go for a field goal, but this shows the Giants never even had enough time to get the touchdown pass off. If the clock was run correctly than the plays would have been different and they still may have scored, but we will never know.

Move over 1985 Draft Ewing Envelope, we have a new New York conspiracy.

LeBron James Shut Up

Being the best basketball player on the planet must give LeBron James the ability to get away with comments that make him sound like a moron. When Shaq was traded to Phoenix for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, both James and Cavaliers coach Mike Brown were pleased to see The Diesel join the Western Conference, but they were remiss that talented players were not coming to the East, especially to Cleveland. The Cavs have had their once promising season turn somewhat grim after injuries to Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao. The Cavs have been left depleted and lacking in firepower outside of James, especially with the streaky play of Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Larry Hughes. What LeBron needs to realize is that Cleveland isn’t going to get another star player soon, and the East is better and deeper than last year.

For years the Western Conference has been better and deeper than the Easter Conference, almost on par with the difference between the American and National Leagues in baseball. The balance of power is shifting with Toronto and Orlando becoming legitimate threats instead of cellar dwellers. If memory serves me correctly one of the biggest free agent signings this offseason was the Magic signing Rashard Lewis, who played in the Western Conference. Also the team with the best record in basketball, the Boston Celtics, traded for two Western Conference All-Stars (Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett) and only had to give up one player that is even close to being a star (Al Jefferson). Even the trade of Shaq means more to the Suns than the Heat only because they can win a title with him. The Heat have the worst record in basketball and that is with Shaq out hurt and Dwyane Wade battling injuries. Shawn Marion is a 20 point 10 rebound player for 82 games a year while Shaq’s numbers (15 points 8 rebounds) have been on the decline the last three years and is lucky to play in 2/3 of his teams’ games. At this point Shaq’s name is better than his game, and Marion is an All-Star caliber player. This deal is a steal for the East.

It would be tough to argue that the Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t in rough shape, despite being the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. They are in strapped with the salary cap unless another team is willing to take on Larry Hughes’s ridiculous contract (get Isiah Thomas on the phone). The team doesn’t have a true point guard, Hughes plays the point as an out of position shooting guard. LeBron handles and distributes the ball the way Michael Jordan did in his prime, with the offense revolving around him. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is an All-Star center but his play has been sporadic and he is on the down slope of his career due to injuries. Drew Gooden is an average at best power forward and the backup guards are offensive minded without enough offense, defense, or playmaking ability. The Cavs have LeBron and whoever else decides to contribute on a given night. There isn’t another playoff caliber team in the NBA that is so devoid of talent surrounding their top option.



How the Cavaliers are as good as they are remains a mystery. While you can’t fault James for wanting a second fiddle, the Cavs continue to shoot themselves in the foot and end up unable to make a move that would be of any real long-term benefit. The Cavs are one solid player away from a title, but one injury away from being a middle of the road team without playoff hopes. A serious injury to LeBron and the Cavs are lottery bound. King James can complain all he wants, but unless the Cavs can find someone willing to play in Cleveland for pennies on the dollar than they will be a one man show not talented enough to win a title for the next several years.

According to an ESPN Story here are the quotes in question

"Unbelievable," James said after practice Wednesday. "That's all I got. It's unbelievable."When James was asked if being paired with Kidd, his teammate last summer on the U.S. national team, could win the Cavs their first championship, "Yeah," James said. "It's that easy.""It helps," he said with a laugh. "It does help when you have guys on the team that are perennial All-Stars or can go out there and produce every night and you know what you're going to get.""It can mess up the chemistry a little bit and it could take a little longer for them to fit in, maybe not," he said. "The reward is you get a good player. Like the Lakers, they got a guy [Gasol] who has averaged 20 [points] and 12 [rebounds] for his whole career. Last night, Kobe Bryant gets six points and the Lakers win by 15, that's the reward.

Patriots Cheating or Jets bitter?

Whenever the topic of the New England Patriots recent audiovisual scandal was mentioned one though jumped to the forefront of my mind. Hemorrhoid cream. Strange I know, but it is a quasi-logical progression of mind ramblings that makes at least some sense. Eric Mangini was once a Patriots defensive coordinator who left to coach the New York Jets, a job the Bill Belichick didn’t think was the best fit for him. Since that time Mangini has been determined to use any and all means he has at his disposal to hurt his former club. He signed free agents that didn’t have any real spot on the Jets roster, but their departure left a void for the Patriots. Mangini has seemed focused on beating his former boss, almost to the point of obsession. If the Patriots had been violating league rules than it is possible that a former employee would know what to look for and where to look (especially if he was the beneficiary of information while with the Patriots).

Take a stroll down memory lane almost a quarter century ago to another game in New York, this time at Yankee Stadium. New York Yankees manager Billy Martin (in his 6th of 14th stint as Yankees manager) had inside information that Kansas City Royals future Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett had an illegal amount of pine tar on his bat. When Brett hit a go ahead home run in the ninth inning, Martin used the information he knew about the illegal bat (information which he had been keeping secret until he needed it) to convince the umpires that Brett had broken the rules. The umpires agreed, the home run was negated, and George Brett produced one of the most famous tirades in sports history. After MLB officials decided that Brett didn’t “Break the spirit of the rules” the game continued and the Royals won. George Brett went on to become the most famous Preparation-H spokesperson ever, and Billy Martin became yet another bitter New York coach.

So Eric Mangini takes his inside information, squeals once the Patriots beat his team, and gets revenge on his former employer. If the Patriots were not videotaping or using radio signals to help beat the Jets they may have only won by 17 not by 24 (38-14). The Jets are a fringe playoff team at best, and even if the Pats did cheat, they didn’t need to to beat the Jets. The last thing you want to do is piss off Bill Belichick and the Patriots, and San Diego found that out in a big way on Sunday, losing 38-14. San Diego was a Super Bowl favorite and the Patriots simply abused them for sixty minutes Sunday night, just like how Sixty Minutes abuses common sense earlier on Sunday nights. The Patriots have already been fined and forced to forfeit a first round pick (they won’t miss the playoffs and have to give up the second and third round picks) and it seems like Mangini will do anything he can to try to get the Pats to be forced to forfeit their win. Are the Jets that desperate for a win? Well, they should be.

A few things strike me as unusual about this entire situation, besides that one of the best coaches ever felt the need to try to evade the rules. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was interviewed before the Patriots/Chargers game and he seemed to be hiding that this story still had a few chapters left, and that he expected that there would be more issues for the Pats in the future (and the questions about which first round pick the Pats would have to give up seemed to surprise him, almost as if he didn’t know that the Pats own the 49ers first rounder next year). During the game we were informed that the Jets are now accusing the Patriots of using radio transmitters in the defensive players helmets in an attempt to relay signals to try to shut down the Jets anemic offense. Despite missing Pro Bowl defensive end Richard Seymour with a knee injury, Pro Bowl safety Rodney Harrison to a league suspension, and only getting limited action from Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel, the Patriots still dominated the Jets (and Chargers as well). The Patriots don’t need any help to dominate; they don’t even need their best players on the field.

When John Madden was talking about the usefulness of videotaping opponents, he actually made an insightful comment, which is a news story in itself. Madden commented that he never needed video because it took away from natural coaching instincts, and created too much confusion. With only seconds before each snap, substituting personnel and changing formations seems to be a bit prohibitive to running a smooth defense. This would be a very uncharacteristic and reactionary tactic for a coach like Belichick that prides himself on making teams adjust to what he brings to the table.

Now that the Patriots have to turn over any and all notes, video, audio, and who knows what else, to the NFL will this show the Pats have been cheating, or that one former coach was a bit bitter? While most coaches seem to be against Mangini, you can’t fault him for trying to protect his team. In the end it won’t make a difference, the Patriots will cruise to the AFC East Crown, finish first or second in the AFC, and will make the AFC Championship, if not advance even further. With scandal surrounding this team, the Patriots are the one franchise that has consonantly been able to thrive when their backs are against the wall, and this team will be no different, just don’t hold your breath waiting for Tom Brady to endorse rectal cream.