To anyone following this case, this should not come as a big suprise, Isiah Thomas found guilty of sexual harassment.  Don't get me wrong, I believe portions of what Thomas said about Ms. Sanders, but Isiah never denied that he tried to kiss this married woman and MSG even admitted that they had warned Isiah not to do it again.  Is that sexual harassment?  Probably not, but combine that with her firing and it all looks very suspicious.  If Ms. Sanders was as incompetent as Mr. Dolan would have us believe, then why was she hired in the first place?  Why was she given a $260,000+ salary.  Incompetent people don't rise to positions like that.  Oh wait, maybe they do at Madison Square Garden, after all they did hire Isiah Thomas.  This is the same MSG that hired Larry Brown for a record contract and then fired him only one year in and had to buy out his contract for a reported 18 million.

The truth of the matter is that the longer Thomas stays at the helm of the New York Knicks, the longer it will take for a competent coach to rebuild this team.  James Dolan is an even bigger idiot than Isiah because he not only gave him another year to win but he gave him a contract extension a third of the way through the year.  I still think Isiah has something on Dolan or else he would have been fired a long time ago.  Whatever it is, it must be pretty juicey.   Thomas has bad judgment when it comes to players in the draft, trading players, and obviously even whether or not a woman is attracted to him. 

The only question now is how much is this going to cost the Knicks' management.

SoCalSportsFan

A week or so ago I listed my Top 5 in college football.  At that time I was reviled for not putting OK or TX in the top 5, well looks like I was right.  I stand by my top 5 until one of them loses.

1.  LSU:  Should they win the SEC Title and beat Florida twice, they are a lock for the BCS title game.  Should they lose the first game and win the SEC title game they should go to the title game.  Of course the same is true for FL.

2. Florida:  It is going to be tough to win in Death Valley, but if they emerge victorious they deserve to be number 1.  Besides they are the reigning champs.  They may deserve number one status right now.

3.  USC:  Looking vulnerable today against Washington and they still have to play Cal and Oregon. 

4. Ohio State:  Easy walk to finish undefeated in the Big 10 which locks up a BCS birth if USC falters.  Good coaching goes a long way in a not so tough conference.

5.  Hawaii:  High powered offense but not enough competition to get a legit BCS shot.  Better than Rutgers, WV, and Louisville.  Maybe they can play USF in a BCS bowl.

For those who don't think Hawaii should be in the top 5, just look what they did to the same Idaho that USC played.  USC won 38-10, and the Hawaii Warriors have already put up 48 points on them and have 3 minutes left.  Hawaii may not play the toughest competition, but I am telling you they will beat the Boise State team that shocked the country last year in its Fiesta Bowl upset of Oklahoma.  Hawaii has weapons to score with anyone.  Ohio State deserves to stay in the top 4 until someone beats them besides Florida.   Just my humble opinion.

SoCalSportsFan

• Why is MLS still being forced upon us.  It's bad enough that Fox gives a TAB to soccer and an entire site dedicated to soccer, but give it a rest.  The women beat England in the WWS semifinals and the main page major headlines have to do with Georgia beating Alabama, NFL, and Baseball, as it should be.  There are those on this blogging site who continue to tell us to open our minds to soccer.  Soccer is a great game, the world loves it, but America doesn't.  That is not being close minded, we just have more to do here than watch hours of keep away with a ball to see one score.  Other countries, especially third world countries, can not afford to have lush green fields to play a game that requires alot of equipment like football, but they can have a dirt pasture and a ball.  Soccer is the world's most popular sport, but consider that many of the places where soccer is huge have nothing else to keep them occuppied.  Mexico, Brazil, and most of Africa are truly poor countries where children are lucky to grow up with any sports equipment at all.  Americans are more fortunate and more well rounded.  I don't have to enjoy soccer nor do I have to embrace it.  I am a "free" man living in a free country and I choose to watch the NFL, MLB, and the NBA.
• Floyd Landis is not the first cyclist to use steroids, but he is the first to have his title stripped from him.  For the record, his appeal doesn't stand a chance.  Why have we heard so little about this by the ESPN analysts, and yet Bonds was crucified without one positive test?  Landis is the "FIRST" to ever have his title stripped and Bonds is not the first or last to use steroids.  No doubt a double standard exists based upon the whims of the media.
• Barry Bonds will play again next year, but in the AL as a DH.  I am excited to see that happen because he will most certainly get into the 3000 hit club and it will be interesting to see if he continues to lead the league in walks.  People complain that he is not an everyday player, but as a DH, he can play ever day and he has tremendous value.  His on base percentage and slugging percentage was up there with the best.  Good luck Barry on your quest ofr 3000 hits and a sure fire HOF career.
• Isiah Thomas:  Fire the guy Dolan.  It's embarassing. 
• NHL:  Almost as bad as soccer.  The season is underway and no one even knows about it.  I had to check to see how many games have been played.
• Norv Turner's Chargers are 1-2.  It's too late to worry now, but LT is suddenly human and the vaunted Chargers' defense is suspect.  And who says coaching doesn't matter?

SoCalSportsFan

Arguments abound over whether talent or coaching wins ball games.  The truth of the matter is that it takes both talent and good coaching to win.  Talent can only take you so far as will coaching.  Good coaching can help lesser programs beat top tier programs, Appalachian State vs Michigan, while poor coaching with good talent can limp along and never win the big game.  USC is an example of a program with both good coaching and a stockpile of talent.  I might add that in the college game a good coach is above all else a good recruiter.  Anyone can learn x's and o's, but few can compel the top young men to attend their university to learn their system.  Pete Carrol is one of the best at this.

Furthermore, coaches who come from the NFL are lauded because they are supposed to know the professional game and somehow translate that into more wins than the standard NCAA coach.  The reality is that coaching in the NFL has no correlation to more wins in the NCAA just as NCAA coaches who are successful in the college game are not always successful in the NBA.  Success in one league or another does not guarantee success in the other.  With that said, here are just a few coaches who have tried to make that transition and have failed miserably.

• Bill Callahan:  Here is a guy who took over from Frank Solich and has yet to attain the glory that Frank Solich had, and yet just received a contract extension to 2012.  In three short years Callahan has compiled a 24-16 record while Solich had a 58-19 record.  Solich finished with 9 wins in five of his six seasons with Nebraska and went to six consecutive bowl games.  He even went to the National title game the year before he was fired.  What has Callahan done?  He has gone 5-6, 8-4, 9-5, and most recently allowed Ball State to score 40 points and almost win the game.  In my opinion, this is one of the worst coaches in college football.  Nebraska was a power house and Callahan has turned them into a mediocre team in a mediocre conference.
• Charlie Weis:  The way Ty Willingham was treated has nothing to do with Weis' record at Notre Dame, but it certainly magnifies the ineptitude of those over the Fighting Irish program.  Weis has no excuses as he is now coaching with players he recruited.  His offensive genius has a team that has produced one offensive touchdown in four games and is the first Irish team to ever go 0-4 in its first four games.   For all the hype about Charlie's  offensive genius, just maybe the real mastermind at New England is Bill Belichick.

Hopefully, NCAA Presidents will think twice before firing that loyal employee to go after the latest and hottest NFL assistant coach to replace an existing one.

SoCalSportsFan

Having just driven back from LAX, I need to destress a bit so I think I will rant about a few of my favorite losers.

Norv Turner:  Earlier this year I predicted the Chargers would be lucky to go 10-6.  People reminded me that the Chargers were returning all the key pieces in last year's 14-2 squad.  It was at that point that I reminded them the Chargers also replaced a great coach with Norv Turner.  Whatever the reason, Norv is not a winner.  Never has been; never will be.  LT is off to a slow start and Rivers appears to be in a true "sophomore" slump.  My prediction of 10 wins may have been a bit too optimistic.

Isiah Thomas:  How does this guy still have a job?  Not only has he made some horrendous deals for the Knicks, he is involved in a lawsuit for sexual harassment.  Any other coach would have been long gone, but what does Dolan do?  He gives Isiah a raise and a contract extension.  It is the most bizarre employee/employer relationship I have ever seen.

MLS:  When the biggest news in soccer in the US is that Beckham isn't playing then how sad is the state of affairs for MLS?  The fact is that women's soccer in the US is more popular than MLS.  That in and of itself should tell you where MLS falls in the pecking order.  In the food chain of major sports in the U.S., MLS falls somewhere between the WNBA and PBA.  Come to think of it, PBA is bigger.

SoCalSportsFan