There has been so much talk over the past 10-15 years about who would be the next Michael Jordan. Would it be Grant Hill, Harold "Baby Jordan" Miner, Vince Carter, etc? The list goes on and on. But for a while now, people have been comparing Kobe Bryant to Michael Jordan, saying that he is the closest thing to Jordan since...Jordan. Some people have gone so far as to say that Kobe is even better than Michael, and to that, I say, NONSENSE!

While Kobe's skills are amazing, what has happened during this 2nd round playoff series against the Houston Rockets is all the proof you need to know that Kobe is no Michael, nor will he ever be.
People tend to forget what made Jordan great. It wasn't just his ungodly athleticism, his clutch heroics, or his will to win. It was also his ability to motivate his teammates, and get the best out of them. And if for some reason that failed, then he took it upon himself to make sure the team didn't. In this series against the Rockets, we have seen the Lakers blow out Houston by 40, and also get embarrassed on two different occasions. That level of inconsistency would never have flown under Jordan's leadership.

It's not just this series though. Think back to last year's Finals. The Lakers had a 24-point lead over the Celtics in Game 4, and ended up losing by six! Do you think Michael would have ever let that happen? Or what about the 2004 Finals? The Lakers with Shaq, Karl Malone, Gary Payton, and Kobe fell to the Detroit Pistons in five games! I realize there was some dissention on that team, and Kobe was dealing with issues off the court, but really?!?! Five games!?!

Look, I'm not trying to say Kobe isn't a great player, he absolutely is. He'll go down as one of the greatest of all-time. But there's a big difference in being one of the greatest, and THE greatest, and that spot belongs to Michael.

I'd like to take this time to wish my mom, and all of the other mothers out there, a Happy Mother's Day.  I wrote an entry last Father's Day talking about my relationship with my father, and how there would be a time to discuss my relationship with my mother.

Well, while my father is the one who introduced me to sports, my mother is the one whose love of them continues to grow, and it could not make me happier. I knew things had changed when in 1995, I was up in my parent's bedroom watching the Bulls play the Magic in the 2nd round of the NBA Playoffs. My mother walked in the room, and immediately said, "Is this a tape?" I said, "No, why?" Her response..."Michael's wearing 23..." Impressive, right?!?

A couple of years later, I was away with my baseball team in Florida during March Madness, and when I called home, she began reeling off the names of the teams in the Final Four and discussing their chances!

Today, whether my dad is home or not, she will turn on the Yankee game, watch golf, or even have football on in the background, not because she has to, but because she wants to. Just in the past year, she has learned how hitters will try to hit behind runners, or how pitchers will try to set up hitters. In other words, she's learning the nuances of baseball, and is able to appreciate the game that much more.

And while all of this is great, when I think about sports and my mom, I think of all the practices and games she drove me to growing up. I am one of four kids, and all of us were very active in sports, yet my mom did her best to attend all of our games, even if there were three in one day and a couple going on at the same time. She was running non-stop from game to game, making sure we all felt special. Heck, rewind just a few years ago, and she came to watch a basketball game involving 6th graders because I was coaching! In other words, she's never stopped being that sports mom.

I can remember times sitting in the car in the garage with my gear on and a pitcher of Gatorade at my feet (which she made for me), getting upset because she was running a few minutes late. She'd always walk in and apologize, and then try her best to make sure I got to practice on time. To now look back, and think how I would get upset, I owe her a huge apology. Not once did she ever complain about driving me here, there, and everywhere, but instead she did it with a smile. To look at mothers now, and see how much help some get, I've come to the realization that my mom must have been SuperMom. At least, that's the only explanation I can come up with.

So, Mom, first things first, I'm sorry for ever getting upset at you for being late. If I can do for my kids (whenever I have them), half of what you did for me, then I think I will have done a great job. And second, thank you for all of those countless hours of driving me to games and practices, and for being who you are. If it weren't for your support, I certainly would not be doing what I am doing today. Happy Mother's Day, I love you!

When the New York Yankees were winning World Series championships during the late 90's and 2000, they never made excuses. If a player went down, they simply brought up another one from the farm system, or made a trade that actually made sense. Fast-forward to the present, and the excuses are a plenty.

There has been so much talk over the last two years about whether to make Joba Chamberlain a starter or a reliever, and while I have already written a piece about that, that's not even the issue. The issue is why is it such a big deal if he goes back and forth? Why does he have to be one or the other? Why can't he be a reliever now since the team needs him there, and then maybe be a starter in the future? Why is Joba so much more valuable to the Yankees than Justin Masterson is to the Red Sox? Masterson is a young, hard-throwing right-hander who has potential, yet you don't hear the Red Sox and their fans and media debating whether or not he should be a starter or a reliever. Instead, he does whatever the team needs him to do, and that helps leads to wins.

And before we get off this Joba talk, let me say a couple of more things. Why do people constantly say Chamberlain can be the Yankees version of Josh Beckett? Is that really what they want? Has anybody ever looked at Beckett's career numbers? Granted he is an incredible post-season pitcher, but he has had one good regular season...ONE! He has a lifetime ERA of 3.86, and a history of being on the disabled list. I don't know about you, but if I'm touting Chamberlain to be the next coming of somebody, I want him to be better and more consistent than Beckett.

Also, in regards to Joba, he has to stop listening to the media about how he's supposed to pitch. I can't tell you how many times people have said he needs to have three or four pitches in order to dominate as a starter, or how he has to pace himself. Really? Why? Did Sandy Koufax have three or four pitches? Does Justin Verlander tire in the 9th inning?

When Joba pitches, you can almost see how he's trying to prove to everyone that he has four good pitches, instead of going with his best stuff, fastball and slider, and mix in a couple of curves or changeups to keep hitters honest. He's like Phil Mickelson in a golf tournament. Instead of bringing the normal allotment of clubs, Mickelson will sometimes bring two drivers, or six wedges. He out-thinks himself as opposed to just going out there and playing golf. Joba needs to go out there and throw his fastball and slider until someone proves they can hit it. Once they prove that they can, then he can adjust, not the other way around.

A quick follow up with Beckett. I will say this right now...unless he agrees to a contract between $10-12 (maybe 13) million a year, the Red Sox are going to let him walk as a free agent. He's no longer their best pitcher, they have Jon Lester and Dice-K locked up, some young pitchers on the rise, and may very well make a run at Jake Peavy. If I'm Theo Epstein and the Red Sox, I let Beckett walk.

Now, back to the Yankees and their excuses. Why is it that the cold weather is such a factor for their pitchers but not the other teams? How come CC Sabathia has had trouble getting his velocity up to 97mph, but Lester, Verlander, and many others haven't? Heck, A.J. Burnett, a Yankee, hasn't even had trouble! So why then, should it take the weather changing for Sabathia and others to "heat" up?

And what's the excuse for Joe Girardi? When the Yankees were looking to replace Joe Torre, I thought Girardi was a great fit. He had experience managing in the National League, he could handle a bullpen, and he had an aggressive style. Well, so much for all of those thoughts. Rarely do you see a hit and run or small ball, and his use of the bullpen this year has been virtually inexplicable. It seems as if no one is ever held accountable, and the excuses for poor performances fly out of his mouth about as often as balls do out of the new Stadium.

If a team is struggling as much as the Yankees are to hit with runners on base, let alone with runners in scoring position, then it would only seem logical to try an take the pressure off of them. How do you do that? Well, how about a hit and run? This way the player has to swing, and is only thinking about putting the ball in play on the ground, as opposed to trying to crush it. Or maybe even a safety squeeze if a runner is on third with less than two outs? You know, something that teams do in the NATIONAL LEAGUE.

Watching the Yankees the past couple of years has been like watching beer-league softball. One night they'll win with a complete-game shutout, and the next they'll serve up batting practice to the opposition. There's been no consistency, except for being consistently inconsistent.

The root of the problem is starting pitching, yet the team spent $243.5 million on Sabathia and Burnett during the offseason to solve that problem. So what's the excuse now?

Amendment To Previous Entry

In the previous entry, I wrote about the new Yankee Stadium, and how much I disliked it. While I still support everything I said, I would like to add a positive that I noticed when I went to the game on Wednesday. With the concourses being so big and open, there is actually a TON of space to grab some food, and stand around to watch the game with a great view. So if you have upper deck seats, you can actually head down to field level, and watch the game from there as long as you don't mind standing.  So far, that to me is the best part of the new ballpark.

The baseball season is about a month old, and on Tuesday night, I made my first ever trip to the new Yankee Stadium. I had spoken to people who had already been there, and I had watched games on TV, but I was very excited, to say the least, about seeing it for myself. Unfortunately, after seeing it, the initial thoughts I had from watching it on TV, and seeing pictures in newspapers and magazines were validated.

I couldn't seem to pinpoint what was bothering me about the New Stadium until last night. While the frieze around the ballpark is awesome, the division of seats is terrible. There's no flow to each section. There are odd angles in the outfield seats dividing the "chair-backs" with the bleachers, and the bleachers themselves look cheap. At least at the old ballpark, there was some color. Here at the new one, it looks like a big block of cement.

As you continue looking to the outfield, you see weird, steel, angular, futuristic structures behind the scoreboards and seats that are home to walkways. It reminds me of the new Soldier Field in Chicago, and if anyone has seen that, well you know what an eyesore that is.

Then, as you continue to look around the Stadium, the wall in front of each section (field, mezzanine, etc.) appears to be a steel fence. In other words, you can see right through it, unlike at the old ballpark where there was a solid blue wall in front of each section where people would hang signs.

And then last but not least, is of course the legends seats, or the section better known as the "ridiculously expensive empty seats. " I actually had the opportunity to sit in those seats last night, and while they were amazing, I felt weird sitting there. The fact that you're separated from the rest of the fans is a bit uncomfortable. You actually feel like you're part of the wealthy class sitting in the Roman Coliseum waiting for everyone else to revolt. In other words, it's not what a baseball game-experience should be.

As much as this pains me to say, seeing what the Yankees have done with this new stadium, trying to squeeze every penny out of each fan, rich or poor, and treating their own (Paul O'Neill) with such a lack of respect, makes me embarrassed to call myself a fan of the team. Oh yeah, it also makes me long for the days of the old Stadium just across the street, the one that actually gave the team a home-field advantage.

I have often said that from mid-March to mid-April is the best time of the year for sports. Starting with March Madness and ending with the Master's, you have wall-to-wall excitement, and this year was no different. But unlike years past, this year had an added bonus, the NCAA Division I Hockey Tournament.

While the hockey tournament always comes at this time, this year's tournament was extra special. For those of you who only watch hockey during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, well imagine every game being a Game 7. That's right, win and go on, lose and go home. So forget about five-minute overtimes, and forget about ties, it's all about sudden death in March and April.

On Saturday night, the number 1 ranked Boston University Terriers hosted the Miami University Redhawks in the championship game of the Frozen Four. BU, which was the most talented team all season long, and heavy favorite to win, trailed Miami 3-1 with a minute to play.

The Redhawks, which had never played for a National Title in any sport, was a minute away from pulling off one of the greatest upsets in the history of college sports.  It would have rivaled Villanova beating Georgetown in 1985, or NC State upsetting Houston in 1983, or Fresno State capturing the College World Series crown last year. But with a minute to go, BU pulled off one of the most miraculous comebacks in Championship Game history, in ANY sport.

The Terriers pulled their goalie with 3:32 remaining in the third period, and scored with 59.5 seconds left in the game to make it 3-2. Less than 45 seconds later, with 17.4 seconds on the clock, BU scored another goal to tie it up at three.  That's right, two goals in 42 seconds, having scored only one in the previous 59 minutes!

On the brink of suffering a devastating and potentially embarrassing loss, BU did what few thought they could. They would go on to win the game in the first overtime to capture their first National Title since 1995.

As incredible and remarkable as this was, what even fewer people realize is that the entire Tournament was like this. In the West Regional semi-finals, Minnesota-Duluth trailed 4-2 with a minute to play against Princeton, and scored two goals in 40 seconds, including the game-tying goal with 0.8 seconds remaining to send it into OT! Duluth then won in the extra period.

In the Midwest Regional semi-finals, Cornell trailed Northeastern 2-0 in the third period before scoring three unanswered goals, including the game-winner with 18 seconds left, to stun the Huskies of Northeastern.

In the Northeast Regional semi-finals, New Hampshire trailed the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota 5-4 with 10 seconds to go in the third period. Can you guess what happened? Yep, they scored with 0.1 seconds left to tie it up and send it into overtime! 45 seconds into OT, the Wildcats of New Hampshire once again stunned North Dakota by scoring another goal to send the Fighting Sioux home.

And in the East Regional final between the Air Force Falcons and Vermont Catamounts, UVM thought they scored a goal with one second remaining in the first overtime, but after review, it showed that an Air Force player deflected the puck out of mid-air as it was on the goal-line to prevent it from going in.

The madness would continue in the second overtime when after a 12 minute and 30 second review, the Vermont Catamounts were awarded a goal to a play that occurred minutes before play was even stopped.

So when it was all said and done, it was only fitting that BU won in the fashion that it did. Because of that game, people will remember that Tournament, and I for one, consider myself extremely fortunate to have been a part of it.

Good Things Do Come to Those Who Wait

Congratulations to Matt Gilroy of Boston University and Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina. These are two guys who had the chance to pass up their senior year in college for the riches of professional sports, but instead turned that down in order to chase a National Championship. They both accomplished their goals.

While I understand that neither would have been the top prospect in their respective sport, they certainly had the opportunity to do what many others have done in the past, but instead they realized they only get one shot at college, and it is the best time of their lives.

It's nice to see people rewarded for hard work and dedication, and both of these guys were. Gilroy, who was not even on scholarship this year, won a National Championship and the Hobey Baker Award, and Hansbrough got his National Championship after getting his Player of the Year Award last year.

Quick Hits

• Did anyone else notice that CC Sabathia used a Rawlings glove on Opening Day after using a Nike glove all spring and last season, but switched back to the Nike glove for his second start? Maybe I'm crazy and a bit too superstitious, but there's no way I would have ever changed gloves, and I'm a Rawlings guy!

• Nick Swisher could be the best thing that happened to the Yankees in years. He doesn't try to be corporate like people think Yankee players should be now, but instead he's himself. Joe Girardi needs to get him in the lineup more often than not.

• And speaking of Girardi, I realize the season is young, but one thing he does not want to get into is the habit of is micro-managing his bullpen. I realize he did a fantastic job with the `pen last year, but he shouldn't worry so much about matching up lefties and righties. With guys like Damaso Marte and Phil Coke, he's got lefties that aren't lefty specialists, therefore he can leave them in to get the righties out as well; something he should've done in yesterday's game against the Royals.

• I have to admit, after watching the Master's for 5.5 hours yesterday, I was a bit disappointed in how it ended. For all the drama early on with Tiger and Phil, and then Kenny Perry's great shot at 16, it ended as a dud with Perry missing the green and Angel Cabrera having two putts from 10 or so feet to win.

That's it for now. I'd love to hear your thoughts and questions, so please pass them along. Hope you had a great Holiday.