Too Many Coincidences?

Like the fact that Pat Riley is resigning, and
Stan Van Gundy is about to move forward to
the next round of the playoffs. This coming
just a few short years after concocting that lame
excuse a few years back and taking over as coach.
in order to stroke his own ego a go for another
championship.

Or Carlos Delgado getting lambasted by the fans
and the media, all the wile Robinson Cano is 15
for 95 to start the season. That's .158 for those
of you counting at home.

And last but not least my Al Davis Rant of the week
if you will. I found the coincidence a little funny
this week after realizing this. A brief summary for
you. When Jerry Jones purchased the Dallas
Cowboys one of the very first phone calls he made
was to then LA Raiders owner Al Davis. The purpose
was to gain some insight on how to run an NFL
franchise successfully, apparently he paid attention,
the Cowboys have won many titles since then.
Well I found this trio of moves humorous.
One, not too long after Al Davis went after a risky
WR in Randy Moss, Jerry Jones went out and took a
risk of his own with WR Terrell Owens. Just recently
Al made another chancy move and acquired a very
talented but baggage laden Corner in D'Angelo Hall,
not very long after that the infamous yet talented
Adam"Pacman" Jones was slated to play corner and
in the fold for the Cowboys as well. Now just this past
weekend in the NFL draft the Raiders and Mr. Davis
went after an explosive and talented Arkansas RB by
the name of Darren McFadden aka Run DMC, and of
course just a short time later in that first round the
Dallas Cowboys and Jones chose an Arkansas RB
that was an All American before the new Raiders
back and split carries with him in that same backfield
at Arkansas. Yes it's a stretch, but it is fun to ponder
how much of a coincidence it really is, or not.

News And Notes

It was interesting to see Larry Brown sign
on with the 76'ers as an advisor a couple of
years back. Iverson got traded and the team
was a disaster, so the writing seemed to be
on the wall that his return to the bench was
inevitable. What I don't think he expected
was a great job by Maurice Cheeks, a very
good season overall by the team , and a first
round game one road win in Detroit.
So of course, yesterday he resigned to pursue
another coaching job...... Surprise, Surprise

If Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets
don't make it out of the first round again this
year, I don't think trading him is such a bad
idea. Problem is his trade value should skydive,
unless your a team who just wants to win some
more regular season games for a change.

The Washington Wizards response to being blown
out by the Cavaliers in game two 116-86 was a good
one. They blew them out in game three 108-72.
Nice Job ! Game four ought to be interesting.

WAIT! Did Joba just lose a game????????

Someone ought to tell the NY Post that Jake Long
isn't Chris Long and vice versa, as the captioning
in their paper on Friday would have you believe.

Three 1st baseman that once struck fear into the
hearts of every pitcher alive have taken huge falls
from grace. Carlos Delgado is now below the
.200 mark with 1 HR, Frank Thomas was released
this weak after a huge slump, and Jason Giambi's
only extra base hits this year have come against
Mike Timlim. I guess it's time for a new crop.

Danica Patrick & The NHL Playoffs

So I got this comment on my last blog post
that I've chosen to answer here, and it referred
to the fact that I gave no mention to Danica
Patrick's first ever victory, or the NHL Playoffs.
Well here goes. Danica Patrick is a good looking
woman, married by the way, who happens to be
good at what she does. She also happens to be the
first woman to ever win a race in her league, that's
GREAT, except this is no Jackie Robinson feat,
nor is it a Rosa Parks event, and though she does
deserve props for her accomplishment, let's not
make more out of this than it is. A victory by an
average driver, who happens to be a female too.
As for the NHL playoffs, I did mention them not
too long ago. I believe it was a reference to the
NY Rangers possibly facing there old coach Mike
Keenan in the Finals and how interesting it would
make it for the two, but first he and the Flames have
to beat San Jose tonight in a deciding game seven.
That's all I have for now, except if your an NHL
fan I suggest you tune in tonight, it may be one
of their more recent finer moments, two game
sevens with teams that can bring it. Enjoy

Be Careful What You Wish For

Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't
make, and in this case for teams that were
interested Jorge Posada in the off season as a
free agent it may be for the free agent they didn't
sign and they are now breathing a sigh of relief
over losing out in that free agent sweepstakes.
It looks like his four year deal has a strong possibility
of being four years too long, especially if Posada turns
into a part time catcher/DH at best. The Yankees
better hope his health improves, and improves for
the long term, because this dead arm possibility
has got to be scaring them to death.

Early Returns, Not Good

For the Mets and Yankees, and even that team in
Minnesota the Twins the early returns are in, and
the Yankees are the ones with the BAD early returns.
Yes it true that in three or seven years from now this
can change dramatically, but in our win now society,
and especially NY, the latest numbers are like this.
The Mets got Johan Santana, who is by no means
an early Cy Young candidate, but isn't a bust at
2-2 with a 3.25 ERA 28 Strikeouts, and a mere four
walks, but more importantly a huge presence for
The Mets. The Twins on the other hand may be
thankful for the trade they didn't make. The one
they did however got them this. Carlos Gomez
is hitting a light .260 with a horrendous 20 strikeouts
to his name, but has nine stolen bases, and will most
likely round into shape. The pitchers they received
are looking good where they are, and where they are
for now is the Minors. The main guy Phillip Umber
is a disappointing 0-2 with a 5.16 ERA, and though
he was the main guy in the deal the other two added
into the deal might just make up for his numbers.
Deolis Guerra is 1-0 with an impressive 0.60 ERA in
15 innings with 12 strikeouts, Kevin Mulvey is 2-1 with
'a very impressive 1.05 ERA and 20 strikeouts and a
mere 3 walks in 17 2/3 innings. I did however save
the best for last, and that is the guys the Twins didn't
get. Ian Kennedy has failed to get out of the third
inning at least twice this season, he is 0-2 with a 9.64
ERA with 13 walks in 14 innings. The other guy they
wanted Phillip Hughes is not fairing better at all
eitherm, with a 0-3 record and and ERA of 8.82 and 10
walks in 16 1/3 innings. These numbers will most
likely change, but with the high exposure of these
trade talks last off season, people are looking at
right now, and right now the Yankees are 9-10,
and the Mets are 10-6, and though the Twins are
8-10, no one expected anything from them right
NOW anyway, this trade for them was for their
future,and right now the present has the Yankees
as the biggest losers, but let's be fair,................
That Can Change.

Questions

Would the Knicks still have been this bad
this season if the sexual harassment scandal
had not taken place?

What team did Kobe Bryant get traded to?

Does anyone besides Indians fans realize that
their record is as bad as Detroit's, or is it all
the hype and bad blowouts that has highlighted
the Tigers miserable start so far?

Can you smell the end for Martin Brodeur?

Why don't they have pools for NFL mock drafts,
like they do for the NCAA Tournament?
Your chances are about as good if not better.

How interesting would it be if the NY Rangers
faced the coach that broke the Stanley Cup Hex
for them in the finals, with Mike Keenan and the
Calgary Flames? Hmmmmmmmmm

It's Never Too Early

Here a few early season contenders for
being in trouble with their managerial
jobs:
Willie Randolph: A strong contender,
and NY is no place to hide, a slow start
won't help, and even if it isn't his fault, it is,
that Johan Santana is 1-2 and the bullpen
is horrible.
Jim Leyland: If he wasn't such a God in
Detroit he actually might have been fired by
now, because they are grossly under achieving
and the embarrassing losses are already piling
up,. Right now they Stink
Joe Girardi: If this was 2009 he'd be a true
contender, BUT, there are no other real
contenders, and NY always gets my vote,
and apparently that of the national media as
well. He's safe, but I'm not so sure Cashman
will survive if this continues.

Food For Thought

Do the Phillies own the Mets?
Is the Tigers blockbuster off season
trade looking more and more overrated?
Can the Royals and Orioles keep this up?
Are the SF Giants that bad?, and more
importantly why is Barry Zito topping out at
83MPH in the second year of a seven year deal?


Mets fans if you think things are bad, consider
this; two pitchers the Mets threw money at and
didn't get, Barry Zito, and Mike Hampton are
a combined 64-63 and a quarter of a Billion dollars
richer, all the while missing major time and stinking
up the joint for their respective teams ever since
they chose other teams beside the Mets.
Hey, it could be worse, more gut wrenchingly worse.

Elvis Has Left The Building

The Memphis Tigers did not end the end the
way they would have liked, but their critics
have nothing to crow about. They were labeled
soft all year, and then went on to lose only two
games despite being the third worst free throw
team in the country. They also dismantled a
tournament favorite in UCLA, and had the
Championship within their reach, but they
have nothing to be ashamed of, and everything
to be proud of. As we know the best team does
not always win, and though Kansas is certainly a
worthy champion, Memphis is no loser.
Let me end this without mentioning that this
would not have been possible without the
never say die fight in the Jay Hawks.
Bravo, Bravo to both of these champions.

Surpised Yet?

Baltimore Orioles 4-1
Kansas City Royals 4-2
Detroit Tigers 0-6
St. Louis Cardinals 5-1
Colorado Rockies 1-5
Don't be, it's way too early.
But hey, this is what sparks those water
cooler conversations, doesn't it?

The Year Ahead In Baseball

So depending on your team, you are either two
or three games into the season, and either really
pleased, or hugely disappointed, but more likely
in the middle, and taking a wait and see attitude.
Well I will take the suspense out of it for you and
give you the results now. Here goes, and jot them
down so you won't accuse me of cheating later.
NL East NY Mets
NL Central Chicago Cubs
NL West LA Dodgers Wildcard Cincinnati Reds
AL East Boston Red`Sox
AL Central Detroit Tigers
AL West Seattle Mariners Wildcard Cleveland
Indians
Surprises Kansas City Royals and Cincinnati Reds
Disappointments NY Yankees and Philadelphia
Phillies
World Series Match up Mets vs. Indians

Champs Cleveland Indians