Site Moved

Hey everyone, the new site is up at www.sportsbrotha.com

Peace and love

-SB

I'm Lovin' Angels Instead

Mark Teixiera is an Angel. The trade happened earlier today, and the quiet Angels have finally made some noise by acquiring the former Atlanta Braves' slugger. With a non-existent offense, but great pitching, the Angels quietly streaked to the best record in baseball, but a lot of people, including myself doubted whether they could go deep in the post-season with the anemic offense of theirs. With this addition, I'd put them at the top of my list of teams headed to the World Series. Without giving up much, the Angels nabbed Teixeira and bolstered their lineup greatly. Now, the catch to the deal is that Teixeira is eligible for free agency next year, so this may be a "rent-a-player" kind of like what the Brewers are doing with C.C. Sabathia. My take on it? Milk the cow baby! The only thing that was going to prevent the Angels from going deep in the playoffs was their offense and they made a trade to plug the hole. Win, and win now.

This trade also signifies that the Braves have waved the white flag. Their quickly fading from the race in the NL East, and with the wild card almost assuredly coming from the NL Central, I guess the management of the Braves decided that it was time to move Teixiera. Great deal by the Angels, coming out of nowhere.

I was listeneing to the Michael Kay show on ESPN radio today, and an interesting topic came up. Reports have come out that the Mets are in discussion with the Red Sox, and may be interested in Manny Ramirez. The proposed trade was Manny Ramirez and Jacoby Ellsbury for Carlos Beltran. I would do that in a heartbeat. Yes, Manny will be Manny, but the guy is a star, and he's great. Don't get me wrong, Beltran is a very good player, but he's a Jack-of-all-trades, master of none guy. Not only that, I think what really would push me to make the trade even though I love Beltran is the fact that Ellsbury is so young, and he's proven that he can play, even if he is in a pretty bad slump right now. His defense is solid, he's a threat on the basepaths, and his average, besides this year has been all right. I think if this was a proposed trade, I would do it, and who knows, maybe a goofy Manny is the last ingredient needed to finish the recipe.

Finally, the Phillies have indicated that they have no interest in obtaining Manny Ramirez. If you were the Phillies, would you pass on Manny Ramirez? And would you trade Carlos Beltran for Manny Ramirez and Jacoby Ellsbury?

Peace and love

-SB

Been a while...

So, I'm back.

Well, I never really left, but this week has been a bit up and down. I attended a funeral, almost passed out in the heat, watched the Mets take sole possession of first place, started to walk again (on crutches of course), hit the gym again, saw possibly one of the greatest movies ever (no exaggeration) and obtained the nickname "gimp" from a former boxer, so I wasn't going to argue.

The New York Metropolitans currently reside in first place. Yes, I was one of the people who relentlessly ranted against the firing of Willie Randolph, but I can't say I don't like the reign of Jerry Manuel. Maybe his quirky style best fits the likes of jokers like Jose Reyes and Oliver Perez. Mike Pelfrey is finally pitching like the guy we knew he could be, and the offense is coming around. It's all good in Flushing, but can they make a World Series run with the current roster? I don't think so. Starting pitching surprisingly has been all right, but the bullpen is really inconsistent. An arm in the bullpen and a starter might be key to the puzzle. And where the heck did Fernando Tatis come from? It seems like the guy has a big hit in every game. And that's one thing Omar Minaya is very good at. Getting players who can fill in well when needed (see Endy Chavez, Fernando Tatis, etc.). I'm really excited for the second half. Johan Santana's best part of the year is after the All-Star break, so I can't wait to see him put on more performances like his complete game 6 hitter against the Cardinals.

Across town, the Yankees are hot. They've been on a roll, and I like the way they're playing. Joba has been lights out as a starter, and I'm demanding a random steroids check on Mussina. Either he's found the fountain of youth, or something is up. I mean, last year, Steinbrenner was talking about moving him to the bullpen. Moose ain't done yet kids! But seriously, the hitting is clicking, and the pitching has been solid. When Wang comes back, it's going to be a great race between the Sox and Yanks. I think Tampa will finish with a very respectable record, but down the stretch, I'm calling Yanks-Sox for all the marbles. And Joba the hutt has been unbelievable. He hasn't gotten much run support but his ERA is under 3, and he's pretty much giving quality starts every time he pitches. You can't ask much more from a young pitcher.

In beantown, Manny is being Manny. He has again stated that he would be fine if he was traded. But see, here's the problem. He's that damn good, that it's tough to get equal value in a trade. And with the Red Sox seemingly headed to the postseason, why mess around now? Let Manny be Manny, and enjoy the ride, because regardless of where he is, he will produce, so I'm pretty sure the Red Sox will ride this one out.

In other news, Brett Favre is free. Well, not really, but who can't hope a little bit. This may be wishful thinking, but there have been reports that Favre could be headed to New York. Oh man, I would love to see #4 run out onto the field to get the first play in the Meadowlands. Of course, he would disregard the play, and sling it, regardless of the situation, but that's beside the point. Jets fans, there may be hope.

Final thing I want to say, and it has nothing to do with sports. I went to a funeral today, (where I almost passed out, another story) and if you ever want to keep it real, just take a trip to the cemetery. You don't need to attend a funeral or anything, but just take a trip to a cemetery, and you're perspective on life will change. One of my friends who had a near-death experience last year turned to me at one point and said, "that could have been me." Take a trip to the cemetery, trust me.

My heart goes out to a good friend of mine, Ameer, who lost his cousin recently. Keep him and his cousin in your thoughts and prayers.

Peace and love

-SB

Ballin' 4 Darfur

I'm going to be helping out with a basketball tournament, Ballin' 4 Darfur. I think it's a great idea, a great cause, and a great way to raise money for the victims of the genocide in Darfur. It's happening in Westbury, NY on Saturday, July 26. It's a 4 on 4 tournament with a maximum of 2 subs, making the max per team 6 players.

So how do you register? Simple. Email me. I have a website in the works, but for the people that have been bugging me about it, I have a temporary solution. Email me at SportsBrotha@gmail.com with your team name, and a list of players on your team. The subject of the email should be Ballin' 4 Darfur. So this is an example of how to register your team:

Subject: Ballin' 4 Darfur

Body (of the email message):
Our team name is Team Illegal.
Our Team members are:
1. Tim Donaghy
2. Floyd Landis
3. Jose Canseco
4. Roger Clemens
5. Marion Jones
6. Barry Bonds

And with that, you'll be registered. So send me an email at SportsBrotha@gmail.com with the information that I mentioned above, and I'll get back to you letting you know that you're registered.

Peace and love

-SB

A game for the ages

The worst part about being hurt is that everyone turns into a doctor. Especially if you have women in the house. Recently, I've had an influx of family come over, which I don't have a problem with, but what I do have a problem with, is when the women gang up on you. And they come in waves. I've had the same message told to me in 4 different ways far too many times these past days. Back to everyone being a doctor. The doc said that I can start to put a little weight on my left leg, so now the women of the house are calling for me to start walking everywhere with crutches. It's like they only heard the part where the doc said he can walk, but didn't listen to any of the cautious advice he gave. Great, so I can be Kerry Wood without the fastball.

Anyway, last night's All-Star game at Yankee Stadium was amazing. Even before the first pitch, when they had the Hall of Famers on the field with the current All-Stars, I knew this was going to be a special night. That was a great way to start one of the last great games at the stadium. By the way, Tony Gwynn is still...well, he's still Tony Gwynn. Doesn't look like he's lost much weight since his playing days. I think my favorite Hall of Famer from the group has to be Yogi Berra. And I'm not even a Yankee fan. When they brought him up to the booth, and did a little interview with him, he was hilarious. I mean, the guy knows how to have fun, and seems like a great, down-to-earth, humble guy. Plus he gave Steinbrenner a peck on the cheek that Steinbrenner didn't seem to know how to handle.

Having the Yankee Hall of Famers throw out the first pitch to the current All-Stars and Manager had a nice touch to it. I'm not even a Yankee fan and I thought that was cool so I'm sure Yanks fans enjoyed it. Final thought about pre-game ceremony: I didn't really feel the whole Sheryl Crow playing the guitar and singing. If anything was average about this night, it was the performance of the Star Spangled Banner.

Now about the game. The game was great. Amazing. Epic. Insert synonym here. And I know I said the same about Federer v. Nadal, but can anyone say that they didn't enjoy this game as much, or this was as thrilling?

The first 4 innings belonged to the pitchers, hands down. On both sides, hitters were getting mowed down mercilessly, strikeout after strikeout. Some of the pitches were just plain nasty (see Ben Sheets). I must say that I was quite impressed by Cliff Lee, he deserved the start. Then after that, things started getting exciting. Matt Holliday hit a home run, Lance Berkman had an RBI, and the NL was suddenly up 2-0 entering the 7th inning. Enter J.D. Drew. The man lauded as having so much potential and never tapping it, finally became an All-Star, and made up for lost time. He blasted a 2 run shot, and just like that, it was tied up. At this point, I'm thinking, how ironic. The guy that no one wanted became an All-Star, and hit a home run as a member of the Red Sox, in Yankee Stadium. And possibly the oddest thing about it all was the fans cheering for him. Go figure.

So the N.L. comes back in the top of the 8th and scores a run through some great hustling by Miguel Tejada. Say what you want about the guy, but he can still play well. So I'm thinking, lead safe, right? And then Manager Clint Hurdle of the N.L. brings in Billy Wagner. Every true Met fan expects some kind of fiasco with Billy Wagner. I'm not going to lie, I didn't see the hits coming, I was thinking Grady Sizemore home run. Either way, all of our thoughts were confirmed when indeed Mr. Wagner proceeded to give the lead right back.

The extra innings were so great, because both sides actually wanted it to end, so it seemed like each side was just trying to get that 1 run across by any means necessary. Did anyone do a more fine job that Dan Uggla in the field? Did he have more putouts or errors?

Seriously, Uggla is terrible defensively. Not that we didn't know it, but the game only emphasized the point. So as an All-Star, if his fielding is off, he should still be able to at least get some hits and make up for it right? How does 0/4 with 3 strikeouts sound? Great performance by Uggla. He almost lost the game for the N.L. himself in the 11th when his two errors helped in loading the bases.

Speaking of the 11th...

I think that was the most tense inning of the night, for the players at least (we'll get to the managers in a second). Bases loaded, no outs for the A.L. Golden opportunity to win the game. It's been a long night, so even a sacrifice fly will do, just get a run home. Great defense by the N.L. to extend the game, but A.L. C'mon! Seriously, you guys can't get a run home with no outs and bases loaded?

The worst inning for the managers was every inning after the 12th. Both sides were running out of pitchers and neither manager wanted to use the guys on medium rest (Kazmir and Webb). The moment of the night was when the winning run scored, and Terry Francona had relief all over his face. It must have been tough as hell for the managers to ask Kazmir and Webb to pitch on little rest. Although I'm a little guilty, I was looking forward to seeing David Wright and J.D. Drew pitch.

Francona is a class act. There are some guys that you just automatically respect, and Francona is one of them. He let Jeter and A-Rod play a little bit of the inning just so the fans could cheer them, and not only that, just his demeanor and mannerisms make him respectable.

Final thoughta: Russell Martin is going to have a great career. The guy can play defense, hit, run, and manages the game well. A real leader, and as long as he stays healthy, he should have a great career.

I was totally waiting for Bud Selig to run out in the 15th inning, tackle Scott Kazmir to the ground and declare another tie. Fortunately, he was busy with Sheryl Crow and Sarah Jessica Parker.

The game ended at 1:41 AM Eastern Standard U.S. Time. Way to go after the young audience MLB. Way to really invest in your future. Because there were just so many kids between the ages of 5 and 13 awake during the extra innings, when the best part of the game happened. Way to plan ahead MLB.

Last ironic point. J.D. Drew getting the All-Star game MVP. Now that in itself is ironic, but the fact that he's a Red Sox player getting it at Yankee Stadium, in it's last year of existence... well, how's that for irony?

Peace and love

-SB

Midseason Awards

Order! Order! Order in the Court!

Order has been restored my friends. The Tampa Bay Rays are not in first place at the All-Star break, as predicted by yours truly. Reaching the All-Star break allows us to pause, take a second to recognize our first half top performers.

AL MVP
Josh Hamilton

He's had a great first half, and it almost seems illogical that he's played more games this year in the first half than he did all of last year. Racking up 21 homers, 95 RBI, .310 batting average, and throw in 7 stolen bases, and you got a solid performer. Not only that, the Texas Rangers, who signed him in the off season are actually respectable. They are over .500, and not to far off from a playoff spot. And what a story he's had. Battling through recreational drug problems, taking time off from baseball, and coming back with a bang. I love it.

Honorable Snubs: Ian Kinsler, Alex Rodriguez

NL MVP
Albert Pujols

Having his usual great year, but this time, the Cardinals are contending for a playoff spot. Pujols is playing great, and is leading a team that has so many holes into the playoffs. Chase Utley and Lance Berkman have been great too, but in Utley's case, he has a great team around him, and Berkman's team is going nowhere fast. To me, valuable also has to do with winning. I would never be able to give the MVP to a player on a last place team. Just doesn't fly. So Pujols it is.

Honorable Snubs: Chase Utley, Lance Berkman, Chipper Jones

AL Cy Young
Justin Duchscherer

He should get an award just for having a last name like that. His name barely fits on his jersey! Still it doesn't beat Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Anyway, Duchscherer's ERA is 1. 82, which is absolutely bonkers, and his WHIP is 0.87. What this means is that on average he gives up less than 2 runs in a 9 inning game, and in every inning, he gives up less than 1 walk or hit. I'm sorry, but that's just bonkers for me. Maybe it's because I grew up post-Bob Gibson, but 1.82 for a starting pitchers ERA is ridiculous.

Honorable Snubs: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Cliff Lee, Mariano Rivera

NL Cy Young
Edinson Vólquez

With a 12-3 record, 2.29 ERA and 126 strikeouts in 117.2 innings, it's hard to argue against those numbers. I'm not going to lie, I've never heard of this guy before this year, and I also don't think that he will end up getting th Cy Young at the end of the year, but his first half numbers are definitely worthy of first-half NL Cy Young. One of the bright spots on yet another mediocre Cincinnati team.

Honorable Snubs: Tim Lincecum, Dan Haren, Ben Sheets, Johan Santana

Managers of the First Half
Lou Piniella and Joe Maddon

I would have went with Ozzie Guillen just for the fact that he makes me laugh, but I had to be somewhat serious. Lou Piniella of the Chicago Cubs took a team that was good, and is bringing them to the promised land. Finally, a team the North Side of Chi-town can be proud of. In first place, and with the addition of Harden, the Cubs only look to be going up. What about the Rays. I ridiculed them, hated on them, said they were a fluke, yet they're still in contention to get into the playoffs, and are on pace for for an over 90 win season, something unimaginable for the franchise. Joe Maddon's done a great job motivating the young Rays. It will be interesting to see how they respond to their recent 7 game slide heading into the All-Star break.

Honorable Snubs: Tony LaRussa (Cardinals), Jerry Manuel (Mets, I had to, otherwise he would cut me), Terry Francona (Red Sox), Ozzie Guillen (White Sox, Here's one example why)

By the way, Mets are on a 9 game winning streak. Hey now! And wait, they're only 1/2 game back of the Phillies for first place. You hear the footsteps yet? We're coming...

Peace and love

-SB

Wheelin' and Dealin'

The dust has settled. People have moved, teams have moved, and deals have happened quicker than a New York minute. It happened in baseball, basketball, and even football.

It looks like the NL Central is the place to be. Both the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs added big arms to their pitching staffs. This ain't a scene, it's an arms race. C.C. Sabathia and Rich Harden going respectively to the Brewers and the Cubs. Both are rent-a-players, and for two teams trying to make it this year, why not? The Brewers just added a pitcher who gives them a legitimate 1-2 punch, and the Cubs, who are already in first place can only gain by taking on Harden. Yes, Harden has a history with injury problems, but for a first place team, having him on the staff can do more help than harm.

We now movez on to the NBA, where Elton Brand totally Falked the L.A. Clippers. He Carlos Boozer-ed them. Played them like a fiddle. Call it whatever you want, but Elton Brand totally shocked everyone when he came east to the Philadelphia 76ers. Right when it seemed that the Clippers would make a decent run, after signing Baron Davis, Brand bolts. What this ultimately does is make the 76ers a legitimate contender. They went from being a borderline playoff team to a top 5 team in the East. A lot of people haven't been exposed to Elton Brand, because he's been stuck on the Clippers, but this is a guy who has put up over 20 points in his career, and is a force on the defensive end, and good rebounder to go with it. Great move by the 76ers.

And finally the Brett Favre fiasco continues. It really is a tragedy. I love Brett Favre, but I don't disagree with what the Packers are doing. Apparently, the fans think otherwise. Today there was a rally to support Favre, and lobby for him to take the starting role again. Really, a rally? Good God, please give the people in Green Bay something to do. All jokes aside, Aaron Rodgers is ready to go. Immediately after the season, the team started preparing him, and now he's ready to lead the team. Although it would make for a good movie scene...

Aaron Rodgers steps into the huddle, looks into his teammates' eyes. Waiting for the play from the coach, he feels a tap on his right shoulder. "I'm back, kid" says the voice. Rodgers turns around tensely to face... Brett Favre.

Only in a movie. I think...

Peace and love

-SB

NBA Draft Recap: Abridged Edition

I had to do it. I really tried to not write about the NBA draft, but I couldn't stop myself. Yes, the draft happened some time back, and the free agency wheel-of-fortune hasn't stopped spinning, but I had to do this, so here we go.

I would have preferred for Chicago to take Michael Beasley with the #1 pick, because that's what made sense for them. Now they have a stacked roster of guards, and we'll see what happens. Of course Derrick Rose has been compared to Chris Paul and is being hailed as "the next CP3," so they think they made the right move, but I think I'll wait for him to develop before making all these boisterous claims. I'm not totally sold on Rose, but hey, that's just me.

I'm a big fan of Michael Beasley. I think he's going to be Rookie of the year and put up at least 14 points and grab 7 rebounds a game playing alongside Dwayne Wade and Shawn Marion. He can definitely score, the question is, can he play a lick of defense?

Minnesota made the right move by taking O.J. Mayo, but I don't know if I would have necessarily traded him to Memphis for Kevin Love and company. Memphis Grizzlies fans, I pity you. Yet again, your General Manager Chris Wallace has made a boneheaded decision in taking on another young guard, making your grand total of young guards with good potential at... (fill in large number here). My deepest condolences to you for the death of your 2008-2009 season.

The rest of the draft went by all right, wasn't much of a seat-grabber, but I do want to point out two things.

The Toronto Raptors are going to be good. Real good, real soon. They got Roy Hibbert with the 17th pick in the draft. He was at one point projected as a lottery pick. He's a solid big man, and with the core that the Raptors have, the East could be on the way back to respectablity.

I have to talk about my Knicks. The New York Knicks took Danilo Gallinari, who arrived amid numerous boos from Knick fans. I don't know what to expect really. Some people compare him to Dirk Nowitzki, others think he's a dud. I personally am not expecting much from him, but considering who was left, I don't think Donnie Walsh made the wrong pick. And who knows, if he blossoms into something, the same people that booed him will cheer him with that much enthusiasm at the Garden.

This draft we had some pretty interesting names including Marreese Speights, JaVale McGee, Kosta Koufos, and Serge Ibaka. And that's only from the first round! We also witnessed possible the greatest number of players with names that could easily be confused for players in the WNBA. Take for example, Brook Lopez, Alexis Ajinca, and my personal favorite, Courtney Lee. And finally, we had five players in the first round that abbreviate their first name into initials (O.J. Mayo, D.J. Augustin, J.J. Hickson, D.J. White, J.R. Giddens, O.J. Simpson. Ok, I made up the last one)

Peace and love

-SB

Even Superman has his Kryptonite

Classic. Epic. Legendary.

Yesterday I witnessed the greatest tennis match of my life. Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer. I was shocked when it actually happened, because when I watched Federer take a 6-5 lead in the 3rd set, I said to my dad, there's no way Federer is losing this. And for the longest time, it seemed that way, but ultimately Nadal pulled through.

It felt strange, almost wrong, to see Federer holding the 2nd place silver dish while Nadal chewed on his gold trophy. Was this really happening? Did Rafa really just beat Roger Federer on grass?

I was extremely impressed by Nadal this weekend though. In previous years, when Nadal lost the 3rd set, or even squandered away 2 Championship points in the 4th set, he would have been wounded so much that Federer's mental edge would have caused Nadal to lose. This time around, no matter how back-breaking Federer's serves were, no matter how much Federer fought back, and won the mental battle in the 3rd and 4th sets, Nadal was not going to let this match slip from him. He had worked far too hard, went through too many losses, and slipped up too many times to let it happen again.

By far, the greatest match I have ever seen. Not only was it tantalizing to the point that every shot mattered, every rally was one to watch, because each player went at it his hardest every shot. Nadal's grunts (which I personally detest, but hey, it works) could be heard frequently on every forehand and backhand, and Federer wold lunge, hitting balls that were seemingly out of reach. Not even the old days of Pete Sampras compared to what we witnessed on Sunday.

I personally am a Federer fan, only because the way he plays, it looks so easy. Watching him hit a 101 mph forehand with such ease makes it seem like I could get up off the couch and do it. He just has a certain smooth flair to his game that I can't help but admire. That being said, hats off to Rafael Nadal for playing the best match of his life. Even after Federer "woke-up" as I call it, and finally started playing with passion, Nadal was able to keep with him, ultimately winning a match he deserved to win.

By the way, how crazy was the weather yesterday in Britain? MVP definitely goes to the grounds crew. Where can I get a pair of those green jackets and shorts?

Final tennis thought: I can't imagine how hard Federer is going to train for the U.S. Open...

I don't want to gloat too much, but who called it? Favre is coming back. I knew the tough guy from Mississippi just needed a break. You know a certain team could use a good quarterback, and I definitely wouldn't mind seeing him in one of these

Finally, the Tour de Dope, I mean, Tour de France (honest mistake, seriously) started. Let's see how it goes, and how many riders fail drug tests, I mean, finish well.

Peace and love

-SB

Happy 4th

I'm going to be out for a few days, as will majority of the nation. Although I was hearing on the radio, a lot of people are re-thinking whether to go out or not with gas prices so high. I don't blame them. Go green baby!

Speaking of green...

Wimbledon finals coming up. The women's has the Williams sisters pitted against each other in the finals. And not to take away from them or anything, but their road has been relatively easy. It was the first time in Wimbledon history that none of the top 4 seeds reached the quarterfinals.

On the men's R-Fed (Can I call him that?) is gearing for a possible showdown with Rafael Nadal in the finals. That is assuming they both win their semi-finals matchup. It will be really interesting to see what goes down in the final, because many "experts" claim that the reign of R-Fed is over. I don't buy it. Until Nadal beats Federer in a Wimbledon final I can't believe that Federer will lose.

The 4th of July is coming up, so everyone have fun, be safe, and please try not to get arrested.

Oh, final thought. I was listening to the radio today and apparently there's a shortage of fireworks. I just laughed when I heard that. Also, in New York at least Police are cracking down like crazy. I heard that if you get caught with fireworks in your car not only do the fireworks get confiscated, but the car gets confiscated too! That's just ludicrous to me. Does anyone know if they're doing this in other states?

Anyway, have fun, don't do anything too stupid, and party like a rockstar.

Peace and love

-SB