About Me:
Spent half my life in North Dakota. The other half, so far, in the Valley of the Sun. As a kid, I was always playing, watching, reading, or writing about sports. I lost most of the "playing" along the way, but the rest remains the same. I pledge to refrai
About Me:
Spent half my life in North Dakota. The other half, so far, in the Valley of the Sun. As a kid, I was always playing, watching, reading, or writing about sports. I lost most of the "playing" along the way, but the rest remains the same. I pledge to refrai
About Me:
Spent half my life in North Dakota. The other half, so far, in the Valley of the Sun. As a kid, I was always playing, watching, reading, or writing about sports. I lost most of the "playing" along the way, but the rest remains the same. I pledge to refrai
Unfortunately, what was evolving into a great game will be remembered for a single play. Steve Nash was trying to make a play on the ball while Tony Parker was dribbling. Their heads collided, and Parker went down. While Nash was bent over him trying to see if he was okay, he felt a trickle of blood. At first, he thought the blood on his face was Parker's. Not so, as we all know now. Nash has a cut that ran almost the full length of his nose. A cut that would have been applauded vigorously had it occurred the night before in the De La Hoya/Mayweather fight. But this was a basketball game. More on that later.
-I want Tony Parker tested for shot-enhancement drugs. And I want him tested now. And while we're at it, test him for skull density, too. Just a thought. It must be over the limit, to cut Nash like he did.
-I saw the officials call Tim Duncan for a foul when he put his hand on Stoudemire's hip while Amare was going up for a shot. I saw the officials call a foul on Raja Bell for holding Duncan's arm while Duncan was going up for a rebound. Both were good calls. My question is this: how is it that they can see those infractions that most of us miss, yet miss numerous obvious calls that the rest of us see? I guess we should have specified when we said all we want is consistency. We didn't mean consistently bad. But, to their credit, they're not favoring either team, which is all we can ask for. If that means anything.
-Key point in the game-In the third quarter, Duncan is fouled and misses both free throws. The Spurs get the rebound and score. That cannot happen if the Suns want to win this series.
-Steve Nash is a great point guard, but the announcers are gushing a little too much. We all know he can handle the ball and pass with either hand, but sometimes the folks who call the game get a little carried away.
-Speaking of Steve Nash and gushing, I think Mike D'Antoni should have sent Nash to the locker room for treatment when it happened, and moved on without him. I think Nash's injury became a bit of a distraction. I realize that, in the heat of the moment, you want your best guy out there, but it was apparent that he was not going to be available, so get your team together and keep playing. Mike, you're in the big leagues now. And you supposedly have the depth to win a title. Deal with it. Instead of having your trainers scramble to get Nash back on the court, which obviously was not going to happen, go with the guys you got and try to win the game. To be fair, I don't know how much attention D'Antoni was paying to the game versus how much he was paying to Nash, so I can't say for sure, but like I said, I think Nash's injury and subsequent treatment were a distraction.
And now the big story will become Steve Nash's schnozz. It shouldn't be, but I guess that's what he gets for sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong. Well, at least you can't say he doesn't have a nose for the game. And some people say he can't smell defense. Sheesh, I nose better. But I will say this-I can smell a great series. (Sniff,sniff). Yup, nose doubt about it. It's going to be a great one, and no one said getting to the mountaintop was going to be easy, but it will be that much sweeter when the Suns get there. The wizard of schnozz will be back. He wants to win a title to cement his legacy. And he's picked up the scent. Which is a little difficult for him right now, but, as Tom Hanks said in one of my all-time favorite sports moves, it's the hard that makes it great.
With the fifth pick in the 2007 NFL draft, the Arizona Cardinals select offensive tackle Levi Brown, Penn State University. (6'5", 323 pounds). Presumably, the Cardinals wanted Joe Thomas of Wisconsin. Word is that the front office favored Thomas, but the new coaching staff, including O-line coach Russ Grimm, wanted Brown. Since Thomas went two picks earlier to Cleveland, the decision was made for them. Grimm had worked out Brown quite extensively prior to the draft, and Grimm liked what he saw.
The Cardinals could have traded down a few spots and still possibly gotten Brown around number nine or ten, but reports are that no other team saw anything at #5 that they couldn't live without, so the Cards were locked in to the pick. Which is probably a good thing. There was no guarantee that Brown would have still been there at a later pick anyway. And if they had missed on Brown, they would have come up empty on addressing their biggest need. And while Brown may not have been worthy of a fifth overall pick in the eyes of many, the Cards couldn't risk missing on him once Thomas was taken. (Keep in mind last year's starter, Leonard Davis, was a free agent and signed with Dallas).
In the days leading up to the draft, Adrian Peterson's name was bandied about as a possibility if he was still available when the Cards picked. And while team vice president of football operations Rod Graves admitted after the pick they had Peterson rated higher overall than Brown, but he and new head coach Ken Whisenhunt felt that improving the offensive line was the top priority. Plus, with the signing of Edgerrin James before last season, it would be difficult to justify tying up that much money in one position when there were several other pressing needs for a team that finished 5-11 last season. The addition of Brown should allow Reggie Wells to move back to the guard position, where he is more effective, although he did fill in nicely the last few games of last season at the right tackle spot. Hopefully Grimm can upgrade the play of the unit as a whole. Former Steeler Oliver Ross signed with the Cards a couple years ago and has not lived up the expectations the team had for him. Having Grimm back as his line coach should change that and return Ross to the level he played at with Pittsburgh.
"Help, I'm falling. Somebody catch me. Help!" The Cardinals did just that to kick off the second round. With Michigan defensive tackle Alan Branch (6'5", 334 pounds) still available after the conclusion of the first round, Arizona traded up four spots to Oakland's first slot of round two and snatched Branch. Part of the deal called for the Cards to also give up their fourth round pick to the Raiders, a move which will raise at least a few questions due to Arizona's lack of depth in several areas. However, I applaud the move. Optimistically speaking, Branch could prove to be one of the legitimate steals of the draft. Only time will tell, as is obviously the case with each and every draft pick, but it's hard to fault the Cards aggressiveness in picturing Branch as a space-eating, run-stopping mainstay for years to come. The kind of player the team hasn't had since Eric Swann's very promising career was cut short by a serious knee injury in the late-90s. Run defense has been a soft spot for the Cardinals for many years, and Branch is worth the gamble to attempt to fix that problem. He is also a decent pass rusher for a big tackle, with nine sacks and 15 tackles for loss during his career at Michigan. Branch's slide in the draft no doubt expanded the size of the chip on his shoulder as well.
"Mel Kiper has been riding me the whole time," Branch said after being selected by the Cards. "After these next couple of years, I'm going to make sure he eats every word he said." For a player whose motivation was questioned by some, this can only help. Branch expressed his appreciation for the Cards interest in him, and I have a good feeling that this pick is going to work out quite nicely.
Think Sam Mills. Think Zach Thomas. Think James (please call me "Buster," a nickname I've had since I was one year old) Davis. I'm a smallish linebacker (5'9", 239 pounds) who has heard enough of the "you're too small" evaluations. I play with a passion for the game. I am durable, instinctive, and a solid tackler. And we both know if I was 6'1" or better, I would have been picked long before the third round, so consider yourself lucky. You just got a steal. And I must say, nice pick. You did your homework. You obviously are aware of the fact that I was chosen as a first team all-ACC and second team all-American by no less than three college evaluating services after the 2006 season. Like I said, you just got yourself a steal.
Due to the aforementioned trade to move up and grab Branch, the Cards had no fourth round pick. In the fifth round, they selected Steve Breaston (brest-en). Although Breaston (6'0", 193 pounds) leaves Michigan as the fifth leading receiver of all time in catches with 156, this pick caught me off guard. For a minute. Then I quickly insuated, in my simple little, over analyzing mind, that he must be able to return kicks. I couldn't imagine the Cards drafting a receiver otherwise. Well, it turns out he can do just that. He averaged 12.6 yards on 12 punt returns while at Michigan. Twelve-point-six yards per return doesn't sound all that impressive, until you consider how many times a punt returner gets little or no yardage. A 12.6 average is pretty solid. Add to that the fact that he averaged 24.6 yards per kickoff return. In '06, he finished with a career high 58 receptions for 670 yards to boot. Okay, I'm sold. Sounds like a playmaker to me.
With their final pick, the Cards took Ben Patrick, a 6'3", 252 pound tight end out of Delaware, by way of a transfer from Duke. He was the 'best player available' on Kiper's board when he was drafted. Which of course means squat when it come right down to it. But we do know he has great hands and is a solid route runner. On the downside, he has average speed at best, and is not a very good blocker. But his solid fundamentals just may find him a spot on the Cardinals roster. The annals of NFL history are full of fundamentally sound tight ends who turned nary a head at first. Until they were making a catch in traffic. Oh by the way, new Cards head coach was a tight end himself when he played in the NFL, and had a lot of similar qualities that Patrick has.
I would like to present an accurate assessment on the Cards draft, but that's impossible right now. As with any draft, a team never knows for sure what they have until a couple seasons have gone by. On paper, they were not the best team when it comes to their draft picks, but then no one really knows for sure, do they? Yes, they addressed some of their needs. How accurate they were with regards to those needs will be monitored. I for one think they did quite well. But then, this is football's version of the hot stove league, isn't? When we all still think we have a chance.
Thanks to my good friend Miracle and his "Expletive Blog" posts for this idea. (I'm posting this at the risk of being sued by him for, um, 'borrowing' his format).
There has been lots of Suns/Lakers trash talking going on here lately, so I took it upon myself to save everyone the trouble and furnish a one-stop facility, so to speak, where Suns and Lakers fans can show up to rumble. I must publish this caveat, however; I would imagine much of what is said here may not make sense to anyone other than the most die-hard (read: blindly loyal) fans. Beware, and don't over-exert yourself trying to rationalize with someone who is clearly irrational. (cough, cough. J-Dizz, cough, cough . . .)
And now, without further ado (which would probably be too much, and about nothing), Let's get it on!!
Bowie Kuhn, former Major League Baseball commissioner, passed away last Thursday at the age of 80. While he was no more or less popular than the commissioners who preceded him, the memories of his reign over the game leaves baseball fans of that era with a certain degree of emptiness and longing for the way the game of baseball was once revered. In retrospect, the fact that he ruled the game with the best interests of baseball in mind speaks volumes about how far the mighty game has fallen. I imagine the mention of his name means little or nothing to most fans under the age of 30, who subconsciously, through no fault of their own, sustain the idea that the inmates have always run the asylum.
Kuhn oversaw the big leagues from 1969-1984. To be fair, he was a participant in the advent of the designated hitter and occasional World Series night games, something he was criticized roundly for at the time. He also was at the helm during a period of expanding free agency and labor strife, which would seem minor by today's standards, even considering the strike of 1981. Regardless of how much these factors were perceived to undermine the integrity of the game at the time, the amount of that blame should be laid at his feet is debatable, since it occurred during an era of increased player demands in every team sport. Many of those demands were justified, and some were not, as the irresistible force of the pendulum was swinging toward the side of the rank and file after decades of the supreme power of the owners possessed, as I mentioned, in every pro sport.
On the other hand, Kuhn nevertheless possessed enough power to suspend owners George Steinbrenner, Charles Finley, and Ted Turner, for what he perceived as transgressions that were not in the best interests of baseball. At the funeral, former Detroit Tigers' owner Tom Monaghan said, "Bowie would stand up to these owners when he thought they were attacking the integrity of baseball." That is a far cry from the state of today's game. But when Bowie Kuhn was running "The Show," you knew who the real boss was. If the current powers-that-be had stood up to the owners in the mid and late '90s, perhaps the entire issue of performance enhancing drugs and bloated statistics would not even be an issue. It is a Babe Ruth-sized dark cloud hanging over nearly every baseball discussion that involves numbers these days, and it could have been avoided. But that's a subject for another day. Or a day that's already passed, since that discussion has been broached on many occasions.
Stephen Kuhn, Bowie's son, said that his father had an encyclopedic knowledge of baseball. Isn't that what baseball fans, in an ideal world, would want, perhaps even crave or expect, from one who is running the sport?
As I get a little older and a little more removed from the great game that used to be my playground, there are certain unwanted and unwelcomed milestones that appear without warning in my rear view mirror. In the years since I have distanced myself from the game, some of the players I grew up watching and reading about are no longer with us, and it hurts like hell. The numbers of links to my childhood love of baseball are shrinking. The latest of those to leave us is Bowie Kuhn. You're not in the Hall of Fame, Bowie, but in the best interests of baseball, you get my vote.
To anyone on the east coast who may have headed to bed after three quarters of Wednesday night's Suns/Mavericks game with the Mavs holding a 91-76 lead and all the momentum, Yogi Berra would like to speak with you. He'll be in touch. I imagine it'll go something like, "It ain't over 'til it's over . . . "
Wow, what a game. Suns win 129-127 in two overtimes. Where do I start? Oftentimes, as we all know, big matchups that are anticipated in sports don't measure up to the hype. Occasionally though, they do. The temptation to borrow Sports Illustrated's cover title "The Epic Battle," which they used after the third Ali-Frazier fight, a.k.a. the "Thrilla in Manila," was overwhelming. But then I realized that this was not an epic battle. It sure seemed like one, but in reality it was just a regular season game. And the best one I've seen in quite some time, perhaps ever. And the similarities to Ali-Frazier III are uncanny. Like Ali in that bout, the Suns dominated early, racing out to 32-18 end of first quarter lead. Like Smokin' Joe, the Mavs punched back in a big way, whittling the deficit to 60-53 by halftime, and then blitzed the Suns with 38-16 third quarter. And like Ali, the Suns, with one foot in the grave, somehow summoned whatever it is that separates the truly great professional athletes from the unsavory ones we hear too much about, responded, outscoring Dallas 35-20 in the final period, capped off by Steve Nash's three pointer to tie it with just under three seconds left. Nash had ten points in the final minute of regulation, which began with Dallas holding a seven point lead. The two overtimes were as good and tense as competition can get. The only negative of a game like this is that the longer it goes on, the more that significant plays during the game get overlooked, such as Shawn Marion flying into the picture to rebound Nash's initial attempt to tie the game and dishing it back to Nash for the biggie. But I suppose the fact that significant plays get pushed to the back of one's memory is a by-product of an epic battle. Oops, there I go using that phrase again.
A few observations that I didn't overlook:
-Heading into tonight, Dirk Nowitzki would've been my choice for MVP. After tonight, I'm not sure. One thing I am pretty sure of, though; it's a two-horse race between he and Nash. (Not to take anything away from Nowitzki, but was I the only one watching who thought he got an inordinate amount of calls from the officials? I won't elaborate on specific ones here, so as not to take away from a stellar game, but I almost fainted when he got a "T" called on him late in the game. Hard to imagine how a guy that gets that many calls can complain to the refs.)
-All of the critics who keep re-iterating the stereotypical "Steve Nash plays no defense" can now officially cease and desist. In the overtime periods, Nash took a big charge and later had a huge deflection of a pass and subsequently knocked the ball of Jason Terry and out of bounds--a couple of the afore-mentioned plays that may be overlooked considering of the enormity of the outcome. Steve Nash is not a defensive stopper. Never has been, never will be. But enough already.
-Dirk and Steve can fight over the MVP this year, and perhaps next. But soon, very soon, Amare Stoudemire will be mentioned in the same breath. Forty-one points, ten rebounds. Sixteen of nineteen from the field, nine of twelve from the line. If there were any doubts about his health after missing all but three games last season following microfracture surgery, they have just been erased.
-One telling sign; Immediately following the game, before they even broke for a commercial, the local radio broadcast tandem for the Suns, Al McCoy and Tim Kempton, had Amare on for a few minutes. He was noticeably calm and composed, which surprised me after such a big victory. A few minutes later, the local TV station covering the game had Suns assistant coach Alvin Gentry on for an interview. He, too, was subdued--obviously pleased with the victory but saying a couple times that he wouldn't overstate the importance of the win. There was no celebration, even minor, from the Suns. Though the folks at home no doubt bordered on cardiac arrest on more than one occasion.
-One would think in a double-overtime game between two of the best teams in the league would have been at least fairly close all the way through. The quarter scores I mentioned above show anything but. Which made this game all the more remarkable.
-I keep hearing about each team's "Big Three." It doesn't appear this game did much to discern any significant difference between either team's three main players. Just one more reason why we are all anxiously awaiting and hopeful for a Suns/Mavericks showdown in the western conference finals. Thankfully, though, there are enough games left in the regular season to allow my heartbeat to return to normal after tonight's epic battle. (Dang! I'll try to stop that.)
Send Message
Add Friend
Block User
Invite to Group
Report User 
Prospect