Real Sports Talk with Sports Brotha

Site Moved

2008-08-27T20:20:00.001-07:00

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

Peace and love

-SB

I'm Lovin' Angels Instead

2008-07-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-07-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-16T15:04:00.001-07:00

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

2008-07-14T09:13:00.001-07:00

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'

2008-07-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

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 Boo zer-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

2008-07-11T12:15:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-07T15:36:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-03T15:15:00.001-07:00

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

The No-hitter that wasn't and the World Record that wasn't

2008-07-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

I hurt myself the other day, so right now, I'm sitting in bed with a soft cast around my foot, with a torn ligament. Don't ask. It's a story worthy of another whole post. Sorry guys, another day.

But anyway, Jared Weaver and Jose Arredondo of the Los Angeles Angels combined to throw a no-hitter and lost. Well, technically speaking, they pitched 8 innings without giving up a hit, and yet still lost, which to me, is pretty hilarious, but sucks at the same time. 2 errors caused the run to score on a sacrifice fly, and the Angels lost the game 1-0. That is a great story.

Now the reason it's not a no-hitter is because the rule related to a no-hitter says basically that there must be at least 9 innings of no-hit ball in order to be considered an actual no-hitter. Watch the masterful performance, including the game deciding errors here

In other news, Tyson Gay, yes that's his real name (stop snickering), ran 9.68 for 100 meters, which normally would have been the world record, but the tailwind was too fast. Apparently, there's a rule in track and field that says if the the tailwind speed is greater than 2 meters per second, the timing is ineligible for world record status. It makes sense, because to not have that rule would just make breaking the world record a matter of natural conditions as opposed to athletic ability. But still, I must say, quite an impressive showing from Mr. Gay.

And finally, the last, yet possibly most intriguing piece of the post. The LeBron James watch is on. In an article, LeBron James is quoted be saying that his favorite city is "New York." Furthermore, he stated that his favorite borough is "Brooklyn." LeBron will be a free agent in 2010, and the Nets are moving to Brooklyn and just dumped a lot of salary in the Richard Jefferson trade. And, Jay-Z is part owner of the Nets.

Is LeBron getting ready to team up with Jay-Z in Brooklyn? Allow me to re-introduce myself...

I wonder how Jason Kidd feels after reading that article...

Wait, last thing, I swear. Apparently, Doc Rivers sold his Gatorade filled suit for $55,000 and donated the money to charity. Big props to Coach Rivers, and big props to Alex J for bringing it up to me.

Peace and love

-SB

Until the dust settles

2008-06-28T10:08:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting to write about the aftermath of the NBA draft, but the dust hasn't settled yet. With trades happening left and right, it doesn't make sense to analyze anything.

So we head to Flushing, New York, and Bronx, New York, where the Mets and Yankees finish the Subway Series. Yesterday the Mets and Yankees split the doubleheader, and Carlos Delgado of the Mets had 9 RBI in the first game. It still doesn't make up for the fact that he's hitting .233, but hey, it's something to talk about. And in the night game, Pedro got shelled (as he usually does against the Yankees) and the Mets were shut out at home.

Is it me or does it feel like the Mets always win at Yankee Stadium and the Yankees always win at Shea? The last few years it's been pretty even, but I've noticed that the Mets tend to win more at Yankee Stadium in the Subway Series than at Shea.

By the way, don't look now, but the Yankees have been playing solid ball for the last two weeks. And Joba looks like a beast. The Yankees are now six games over .500, yet are still 6 games out of first place (courtesy of the Red Sox) while the Mets are only 3 back, but with a worse record. I still think that both teams will end up in the playoffs, but they just need to win the games they're supposed to win. For example, when you play the worse team in the MLB, (Mariners) you should take at least 2 out of 3, if not the sweep. Yet the Mets found a way to lose 2 of 3. Impressive.

By the way, I saw a clip of a show called Farmer Wants a Wife on YouTube, and it's just completely bonkers. The Bachelor meets Old McDonald. All he needs is a dog named Bingo and we've got the perfect trifecta.

And finally...

Why Matt Damon, why?

Peace and love

-SB

Germans had a little Lahm

2008-06-25T21:39:00.001-07:00

So I decided not to do a live game (match?) log. It was definitely a good idea not to. There would have been far too many expletives dropped, and a ridiculous amount of unrelated talk for about 3/4 of the match. Before I get to the cause of my irateness during the game, let's commend Germany on a well played game.

It's funny because the Turks finally played extremely well, and well, they lost. As opposed to being totally outplayed, and eking (is that a word) out a victory. When Lahm crossed over, and made the Turk fall outside the box, I knew that either a Penalty Kick or a goal was coming up, either one favorable for the Germans, and lo and behold, (enter heavenly tune here) Phillip Lahm scores the winning goal.

See this match (game? this lingo is killing me) represented the greatness and what I totally hate about soccer. After the 26th minute, NOTHING, literally, nothing happened until the 79th minute. It was just dreadful watching it, but I decided that at some point, someone was going to score. And they did. Just in time for...

ESPN to drop coverage. Way to drop the ball in the clutch. Nothing happens for over 50 minutes in the match, and then in the 76th minute, just as the crazy finale comes up, ESPN loses coverage. I was ready to pull my hair out. Now what made it worse, was right after Klose scored to make it 2-1 Germany, the Turks scored again, making it 2-2. Guess what we were watching? Replays of the first half, while the "technical difficulties" were being worked out. At this point, I used some words, that my mother would definitely not like to hear from me. And now, for the icing on the cake...

We didn't even see the game winner live. The feed was broken up, and a minute or two after, they showed the replay. Understandable, technical difficulties, but why wasn't there a backup plan? I mean, it's freaking Euro Cup, fools like me who don't even watch soccer are watching. Way to miss a chance at increasing the popularity of soccer in the U.S.

Here's an idea. Why don't you have a backup camera pointed at the "Fan Zone" outside the stadium. There's nothing worse than watching a 1-1 game for 76 minutes, and then seeing crazy Germans jumping up and down, and you're just like, what the hell just happened?

But enough about ESPN, and their terrible coverage.

The best part of the match for me was actually after the match, when I called up my friend. Now her coverage dropped too, but she was watching online, so she had no clue what was going on. She's a hardcore Germany fan, even though she's not German (don't try and figure it out).

The conversation went a little like this:
Me: "Hey"
M (my friend): "OMG did you just see what happened"
Me: "Yea, isn't it crazy"
M: "I was watching online, and it just stopped working, but I heard, I'm so pissed they tied the game"
Me: "You do know that Germany just scored"
M:"... What the !@$%? Oh my *@#$^&% God. Are you *@#$^&% serious? Holy $^&*!"

And so on...

By the way, did anyone notice how small Lahm is compared to the other Germans? When they were hugging him it was like hugging the little Lucky Charms guy.

Peace and love

-SB)

NBA Draft Preview

2008-06-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

I was all excited to write a post on the NBA Draft, and how the Knicks probably would make another terrible decision, but then I read this, written by Bill Simmons and Chad Ford of ESPN. There's not much I can say after reading that article. Sure, it's a little lengthy, but it's definitely worth it. I may give my take a little later on, but right now, Bill and Chad took care of it pretty well.

On a total side note, I'm pondering whether to do a live match log for the Turkey vs. Germany match. I may actually watch it, and writing stuff down may take my mind off the endless passing so I can watch the occasional goal.

Peace and love

-SB

Shaq Rips Kobe

2008-06-24T17:47:00.001-07:00

Wow. I'm trying to move away from basketball, but it's really hard to ignore something like this.

Now Shaq has already said that it was a joke, and him and Kobe are "cool" but I don't know. It seems like underneath it all, there's still some hard feelings.

"You know how I be, Last week Kobe couldn't do without me"

Oh, and also, I just found out that Shaq's volunteer Police Officer Badge is being taken away as a result of this. Fair or not fair?

What do you think?

Peace and love

-SB

Euro Cup 2008

2008-06-21T23:27:00.000-07:00

So I'm not going to pretend that I'm a huge soccer (football) fan. I'm not. I enjoy watching it, I like to see U.S.A. do well, and I have a few players that I like (C. Ronaldo, Ronaldhino, Zidane, etc.). So I like it, but I don't catch every match. Now the Euro Cup is around, and I have to say, some exciting matches going on.

It's down to the quarterfinals, and semi-finals, and the competition is great. Turkey, Germany, and Russia have gotten their place in the semi-finals, and the final semi-finalist will be the winner of Spain and Italy (sure to be a great match).

What I love about soccer is that it is a true team game. You simply cannot win unless your team plays better than the entire team. Unless you're Diego Maradona, you're not going through the whole team and scoring. And say you do, your defense still needs to hold up and your goalie needs to make saves. And the great thing is, even with superstars today, they realize that they need a strong team to work with, otherwise it is extremely difficult for one man to take over. In other sports one individual can have a profound effect, but in soccer, the individual's effort only goes as far as the team takes the effort and makes use of it.

Last thing, then I'll leave you in peace. Props to Chris Martin from Coldplay for this joke. The joke goes like this. What does an Englishman do when England has won the World Cup and the Euro Cup in the same year? He turns off his PlayStation.

Peace and love

-SB

Pay me back. Now.

2008-06-21T23:18:00.000-07:00

The NBA wants its money back from Tim Donaghy. The full story is here.

Basically, the NBA wants Tim Donaghy to pay back money for sneakers, flights, complimentary tickets, and any other perks referees received. Look, I'm not a fan of Donaghy, and I am completely disgusted that he would ever bet on games, but seriously? The NBA wants $1.4 Million back. I think this is rediculous. I mean it's really "laugh out loud" material here.

Another great move by the No Brains Association

Peace and love

-SB

New Basketball Celebration?

2008-06-18T21:29:00.001-07:00

Paul Pierce may have started a new phenomenon.

The "Gatorade Dunk" became legendary when New York Giants players Jim Burt and Harry Carson dumped Gatorade on head coach Bill Parcells once the Giants won Super Bowl XXI in 1987.

(Props to Brittany G from Illinois for this piece of historical information)

Is this going to be the new thing in basketball? It has never been customary in basketball to douse the coach with Gatorade, but will it be now?

I feel like Paul Pierce was so happy, he just wanted a way to start celebrating as soon as possible, and he might have started a new tradition. Coaches watch out!

Peace and love

-SB

Free Willie

2008-06-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

With the NBA Finals over and out of the way, we can now talk about the floundering New York baseball teams. The spectacle known as the New York Mets basically jerked around Willie Randolph for the last week with the whole, "Will he stay or will he go?" The way management handled the situation was rediculous, absurd, and downright disrespectful, especially to a class act. Informing a Manager at around 3 AM, on a road trip, after he has won a game, is no way to let him know.

As Randolph said, "I was shocked." I would be too. See the thing that gets me is that besides totally mishandling the situation, the New York Mets need more than just a managerial change. They need players to simply step up and play the way they are supposed to be playing. Surprisingly, the starting pitching (which was a main concern after the #1 and #2 guy) has been quite efficient and comparatively good, but it seems like the bullpen hasn't been able to hold a lead. I can count at least 7 games (there were probably more) the Mets have had leads in the 7th inning, and have blown them. Say they win only 4 of those games. If that's the case, the Mets are tied for 2nd, only back 3 games of the Phillies, in contention. Instead, sloppy play, poor late-inning relief and a lack of offense leaves the Mets 7 games back, and slowly fading.

Now Jerry Manuel is the Manager, and he has already lost his first game. I don't think changing the Manager will do anything until the stars of the team start playing like stars. Randolph was a class act and will be missed. Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports wrote an interesting article that I think everyone should check out.

Peace and love

-SB

Running Log: Game 6 NBA Finals

2008-06-17T18:20:00.001-07:00

I keep pushing off this Willie Randolph article. Anyway, since I usually chat anyway, I decided to just put my thoughts online. I'll be updating every commercial break, so enjoy...

9:12 Just got in. Was playing basketball for a bit, arrghhh, missed tip off, not a good decision. Currently sweaty and nasty. Welcome to my first attempt at something like this. All times are Eastern Standard U.S. Time.

9:14 Kendrick perkins is playing? Interesting. We'll see how this one plays out

9:17 Why does Rondo keep shooting? Jeez this is such an ugly game so far. It’s like everyone is trying to draw a foul.

9:18 Wow, impressive shot by Kobe Bryant. Hmmmm, does it sound familiar? Lakers trying to jump out to a quick start…

9:23 Nice move by Ray Allen. Nice poke by Lamar Odom. Oh boy, here we go, another Boston player going to the locker room only to return 4 minutes later.

9:24 Solid passing by Pau Gasol. P.J. Brown, why would you ever foul Luke Walton. He’s Luke friggin’ Walton for God’s sake!

9:27 Wow, KG is on tonight. This could be a long night for the Lakers. Garnett has that crazy look on his face (crazier than normal, believe it or not)

9:30 Peanut Butter and Jelly. Interesting way to pump up your team. Jeff Van Gundy is either hit or miss with his humor. That joke about the "Big Loaf" was terrible. And KG just put in an Alley-oop, and the crowd is going wild.

9:34 Celtics 24 Lakers 20

9:41 Just got myself a couple of cucumbers to eat. Damn, good defense by James Posey. Kobe had nowhere to go. My friend just pitched me the idea that the NBA wants the Celtics to win this game. I laughed out loud to myself. Oh, what have we here? Glen "Big Baby" coming into the game. Man, he is really big.

9:44 What just happened? Doc Rivers just got a technical foul? I don't blame him. Holy crap, Sasha Vujcic, why are you shooting? Great drive by Lamar Odom, he really could be unstoppable this game if he plays like he can.

9:55 How many times has Posey hit that corner 3. Oh boy, the Celtics are pulling away. Just went from a 3 point lead to a 9 point lead in less than a minute. That's what happens when you got shooters, and the crowd is behind you. The Celtics always do that, they kind of bide they're time, almost chillen, and then they'll just hit you with the big buckets quick

10:00 Jeez, I can't believe how many times Celtics players go in and out of the locker room during the game. And Eddie House never sets a legal pick. He always either gets someone dirty, or is moving.

10:03 This crowd is rocking. Lakers better do something. They're not playing defense, and they're stinking it up on offense.

10:15 The Celtics are up 20. This definitely can't be good for the Lakers.

10:18 When Glen Davis scores, you're in trouble. Celtics are up big. Lakers in big doo doo.

10:20 Halftime. I think the Lakers and I need a break. I'm taking a shower.

10:40 I came in, and I saw the Wired peice on the screen, when the cameras go into the locker room. Literally, my thoughts are exactly what Jeff Van Gundy just said. I have never heard Phil Jackson that loud, or annoyed. It seems like he's just pissed at his team, and rightfully so, it's like they're giving up on the hustle. But really I wouldn't count out the Lakers because of the last few games and the 20 point swings.

10:43 3rd Quarter started, and the Celtics are up 27. Just toying with the Lakers. It just seems like the Lakers are watching the Celtics as they move the ball. They're slow on their rotations, leaving shooters open.

10:45 Kendrick Perkins has 5 fouls already? It's the beginning of the friggin' 3rd quarter. Nice shot by Fisher, Lakers have to stop taking wild threes.

10:49 This is just sad. The Lakers aren't even putting up a fight. There is no fight. At least defensively. Defensively, they look worse than a high school team out there. And they would definitely be outhustled.

10:51 Thank you Mark Jackson. Enough with the numbers. We got the fact that it's June 17th and they're going for the 17th championship, and #17 Havlicek is in the building.

10:52 And thank you Mark Jackson for nullifying your great comment with a rather idiotic one. Do you really think that any team can do well with guys that are committed? The reason the Boston Celtics are winning is not because the guys are committed, but because they have 3 All-Stars on their team that are hungry for a championship.

10:59 Rajon Rondo has more offensive rebounds than the entire Lakers squad? If that stat holds for the rest of the game, the Lakers don't deserve to get within 30 points.

11:04 STOP SHOOTING RADMANOVIC!

11:08 Rondo is playing out of his mind on defense. He just cookied Kobe Bryant.

11:10 Ok, Jeff Van Gundy just made it very awkward commenting on how good John Havlicek looks. Thankfully Mike Breen brought us back with some talk of basketball, doing what a commentator is supposed to do.

11:15 I guess we don't have enough competition shows. So between American Idol, America's Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance, and a slew of other shows, I guess we don't have enough, so we need to add a High School Musical competition.

11:23 Van Gundy took the words out of my mouth, er, I mean, well, you get what I mean. Vujacic is a terrible defender, and Ray Allen just destroyed him throughout the series.

11:25 Celtics up 31. Now they're just piling it on, and you know what, they deserve it. Good for you Celtics.

11:27 Wanted looks like a great action-but-no-plot movie. Some of the stuff in it just looks sick, and Angelina Jolie, well, is Angelina Jolie. And now a commercial for Hancock, which I think is going to be one of the best superhero movies of the summer (in the same breath as Iron Man, Hulk, and Dark Knight)

11:29 Mark Jackson made the comment of the night, maybe of the series. "If the Lakers signed Hancock, I still would pick the Celtics."

11:30 At this point, the Lakers just need to save face. This is rediculous. Down 36 points? OH MY GOD JEFF VAN GUNDY STOP WITH FREAKING #17.

11:32 In one play the divide between the Celtics and Lakers is so evident. Lamar Odom, driving to the hoop, and Kevin Garnett still playing defense, getting the block, playing hard, even though they're up 36.

11:38 You gotta love the crowd in Boston. Singing Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey Goodbye. See, another reason the Celtics are so great at home. The crowd is great. Between the drunk guys, the older crowd, and the young Baahstonians, they all go nuts, and know how to love they're guys. In L.A. When Pau Gasol came out of the game after a stretch where he was unstoppable, he barely got charity applause. That's not how you treat your star when he gives a great effort.

11:46 Final thing about the game. Props to Lamar Odom for actually playing, and giving a strong effort.

Kevin Garnett just got the Player of the Game, but I disagree. I would give it to Rajon Rondo. Without Rondo I don't see the Celtics winning this game. Between the defense, creating plays, and just running the offense well, Rajon Rondo proved that he could get the job done.

Now who should get MVP? My vote is definitely for Paul Pierce. The man played gutsy ball throughout the series, really pushing himself and his team. And on a totally random note, you gotta love the Celtics and they're carefree, fun personality. We saw it in the Red Sox, and now in the Celtics. It's almost a Band of Brothers. Pierce just dumped Gatorade on Doc Rivers. Is that going to be a new celebratory gesture? Who knows, but you know what, hats off to the Celtics, they earned it, and deserve it. And the crowd singing Living on a Prayer, what a crowd. Anyway, back to MVP, Paul Pierce, it has to be. Great Performance throughout.

You know, I'm watching the Celtics celebrate and all I can do is smile, because they deserved it. I love how David Stern immediately got booed the second he got on the mic. KG was hysteric, I thought he was going to have a Joe Namath moment when he told Michelle Tafoya that she looked good. He was euphoric man, totally, well deserved.

And so ends the 2007-2008 season. Defense wins championships. Congratulations to Boston, and Congratulations especially to Bill Simmons, and I think it's about time to play this or this

Peace and love

-SB

Tigaaaah!

2008-06-17T14:52:00.000-07:00

Wow. Tiger Woods just put himself on a whole new level. If there was any doubt about whether he is in the Jordan category, it was all relinquished this past U.S. Open. Playing against doctor's orders (which in my opinion is pretty stupid, yet gutsy at the same time), on a bad knee, and losing the lead late, he stormed back to force an 18 hole playoff by sinking a clutch putt on the last hole. Not only that, again, play had to be extended because after the extra 18 holes they were still tied. Tiger won it in sudden death play. Very reminiscent of Jordan's flu-like symptoms game where he dropped 38 on the Jazz in the NBA Finals.

I read a great article by David Schoenfield of ESPN which lists gutsy performances by athletes. Definitely check it out.

Peace and love

-SB

Sidekicks steal the show

2008-06-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, so Paul Pierce tore the Lakers apart. Of course the Lakers still won making the series 3-2, but he really exposed the defense. And you can tell Kobe Bryant has the utmost respect for Pierce's game, judging by his comments during the game, with the in-game interviews. Random thought: I could definitely see someone going crazy in game 7, during the game while the reporter is trying to ask questions. Not gonna lie, I would enjoy that thoroughly. Anyway...

Pau Gasol finally played close to his potential. He disrupted Kevin Garnett's offense and drew fouls on Garnett. Random thought: What was up with some of those foul calls against Boston? It seemed like every time Garnett made the slightest bit of contact it was a foul.

But back to Gasol. He played like it was game 7, which for the Lakers, it might as well have been. He even made some key buckets down the stretch.

But the MVP of the game definitely had to be Lamar Odom. When the Lakers were struggling, he carried the team offensively, and finally, he woke up. He was playing like a basketball player. Great hustle on the boards, timely baskets, and really opened things up by providing that low post presence.

If Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol continue to play this way, the Lakers have a chance, but they have to figure out what to do about Paul Pierce because he totally tore them apart.

Peace and love

-SB

Breaking News

2008-06-17T00:41:00.000-07:00

I was going to write a post on the previous game of the NBA Finals, but I just got word, literally, just got word, at 3:42 AM Eastern Standard U.S. Time, that Willie Randolph has been fired from the managerial position of the New York Mets. A much more detailed post will follow, but I just had to break the news. And don't ask what I'm doing up at 4 in the morning, because frankly, I don't know.

Peace and love

-SB

Father's Day

2008-06-15T08:48:00.001-07:00

Happy Father's Day to everyone out there. Although I don't personally believe that we should specifically have one day for our Fathers (I think we should appreciate them everyday), it's an interesting creation, that pumps money into the economy.

So I decided to do a little something on my favorite Father-Child Athletes. Here we go.

Muhammad Ali and Laila Ali
"The Greatest" and his daughter. Two of the most competitive and successful boxers of their respective times.

Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr.
I wrote before, Ken Griffey Jr. is one of my favorite athletes ever. Both actually played together on more than one occasion, and also hit back-to-back home runs, something never accomplished by a Father-Son duo.

Bobby Hull and Brett Hull
These two may be the best Father-Son tandem of all-time. Both are in the top 8 in career goals, and Bobby Hull actually had a big impact on the way hockey is played today (slap shot, curved stick). Amazing how the best duo is in hockey...

Felipe Alou and Moises Alou
Couldn't leave them out of this one. Felipe had a pretty solid career, Moises of course has one too (when he's not injured of course). Recently Felipe managed the San Francisco Giants, and Moises played for them.

The Mannings
Archie, Eli, and Peyton. Ok fine, I don't like Peyton, or Eli, and don't care much for Archie, but still, I had to throw them in. They're the royal family of football. Peyton and Eli won Super Bowls, and Archie had a Hall of Fame career. Plus they make great commercials.

There are definitely more Father-Child athletes, but these are just a few of my personal favorites. If you have another one, feel free to drop a comment

Peace and love

-SB

Can't hold it any longer

2008-06-14T08:35:00.000-07:00

I tried my best to delay this post as long as possible. But alas, the inevitable has come. I must write about how the Boston Celtics took a 3-1 lead over the Lakers, winning the pivotal game 4 in Los Angeles. First, hats off to Boston for making a ridiculous comeback and stealing all the momentum from the Lakers. Now, more importantly, I can't tell you how disappointed I am in the Lakers.

They wasted an amazing opportunity to win the series. Let's say for a second that they win game 4 and the series is tied 2-2. Now there's a lot riding on game 5, and it's in L.A. where the Lakers have won 2 in a row, so they should have the upper hand and win game 5, going into Boston with a 3-2 lead. Oh, what could have been.

Instead...

The Lakers are down 3-1 and are on the verge of losing the Championship at home. Honestly, after watching that lackluster performance, I have lost all faith and confidence in the Lakers. I thought they turned it around for good in that furious fourth quarter of game 2, but similar to what the Lakers did, the Celtics stormed back from 24 down to actually win the game.

Honestly, I really can't write about the game any more than I already have. For a full, detailed report, you can read the game 4 diary of Bill Simmons, one of my favorite sportswriters, also a die-hard Celtics fan. Here it is.

Do the Lakers have a shot at winning the NBA Championship this year?

Peace and love

-SB

Is it fixed?

2008-06-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

Recently a report came out, actually, I think it was a statement by Tim Donaghy. Basically, what he said was that the NBA rigged playoff series in 2002 and 2005. David Stern, Commissioner of the NBA, said, "The allegations about that are incorrect."

The full story, presented by Yahoo! Sports is here

My take on all this is that first and foremost, as Jeff Van Gundy, former coach of the Houston Rockets (the team that was part of the alleged rigged series in 2005) said, "I don't want to give any credibility to him (Donaghy)." Of course there is the possibility that what he was saying was true, but what bothers me about the whole situation is a couple of things.

First, why did he have to wait right before the sentencing, and right in the middle of the NBA Finals to unleash these allegations? This only weakens the strength of his allegation. It looks like he's doing this, maybe even making this up, just to either draw attention, or to try and leverage some sort deal where he gets less prison time.

Second, the person he is calling into question is Bob Delaney. Now he may not be a household name, but I know a little something about Bob Delaney. He's a decorated former New Jersey State Trooper who infiltrated the mob. He worked undercover for 3 years, risking his life, wearing a wire, and ultimately lead to 100 cases of mob men that ended up behind bars, dead, or on the run. Delaney said, "This is not the first time a known or convicted criminal has lied about me before the judicial system."

Again, I don't want to give any credibility to what Donaghy is saying, and I don't think Bob Delaney did anything wrong, but one has to wonder about the potential of NBA conspiracies. There are whispers, even to this day, that David Stern forced Michael Jordan to retire the first time, because he had a gambling problem. Also, what about the trades that brought Kevin Garnett to the Celtics and Pau Gasol to the Lakers? They were pretty lopsided.

One has to wonder...

What do you think?

Peace and love

-SB

2-1

2008-06-12T01:28:00.001-07:00

Game 3 was so ugly. I'm sorry, but so many missed free throws, layups, and just some really bad offensive play on both sides. Of course there were the bright spots (Sasha "The Machine" Vujacic, Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen) but mostly it was just bad basketball. Real messy.

But, that being said, it was entertaining as hell. The Lakers, it seemed just wanted the Celtics to get back into the game, and it seemed like the Celtics just didn't want to take the lead. Either way, besides what I stated in a previous post,(that the Lakers would win) a few things stood out to me.

Who said the series is over? Me. I still think it's over.

Did you see the way "The Machine" Vujacic played? That was all carrying over from the furious game 2 rally. Granted, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom stunk it up (and even that is an understatement) and Kobe couldn't hit a free throw, but the Lakers still pulled it out. Vujacic took the big step in game 3.

Gasol has been playing very timid with the basketball when he's not near the hoop. At one point in the 2nd quarter, he got the ball around the free throw line, and Kevin Garnett literally gave him like 4 feet. Gasol didn't shoot and immediately looked to pass it off. You gotta take that shot man.

The only reason the Lakers won the game, given how Gasol and Odom played was because Pierce and Garnett played pretty much just as bad. But I don't think these guys will continue the horrendous play.

I want to talk about Kobe and Doc Rivers. First of all, I don't know what to say about Doc Rivers. If the Celtics had any chance to win that game, he blew it. If you're Boston, the way Kobe Bryant played yesterday, the only way to play defense on him was to get the ball out of his hands. The Celtics were doing that for some time, and it worked until Vujacic hit that big 3. But even then, why would you switch to single coverage, and let him beat you. If I was Doc Rivers, I would throw two guys up top on Kobe, then tell the second, to immediately drop back to cover the open man. We're talking about Kobe Bryant here. This is the man who has the greatest killer instinct in the post-Jordan era.

Speaking of which...

I hate comparing players to Jordan, but this one screamed Jordan-esque all over it. And who knows, if Kobe keeps this up, we'll be saying Kobe-esque. Down the stretch, with the game on the line, he took over. Poor Ray Allen couldn't do anything. That was how it was with Jordan. Game on the line, you know who's going to take over. And once I saw that the Celtics backed off, and put Ray Allen on Kobe, I said, Game Over. That was a performance definitely worthy of being in the same category as Jordan.

Last thing. Pau Gasol DEFINITELY looks like the insane character Haywire from PrisonBreak (season 1 and season 2)

Peace and love

-SB

Congratulations Ken

2008-06-12T01:01:00.001-07:00

Watching baseball when I was young, I had one hero. He was the Center Fielder for the Seattle Mariners, and was the young phenom who was supposed to own the single season record for home runs. I remember Sports Illustrated running big articles on Mark McGwire and Ken Griffey Jr. on the chase to 62 (that was the home run record then).

He then wanted to play for Cincinnati, to be closer to home. So that he could play in front of his family, and his role model, his father. He still scaled the walls, and dove in the field, robbing players of hits and home runs. Won some more gold gloves, and played in some more All-Star games. This was the man who was supposed to break the All-Time record for career home runs. This was the man who would honorably take over the throne of the most impressive record in baseball from Hank Aaron. This was the man who was going to be considered the best all-around outfielder to play the game of baseball.

Then injuries got the best of him. He slowly faded, almost into oblivion, until he re-emerged recently. Ken Griffey Jr. hit the 600th homer of his career a few days ago, amid little fanfare, which seemed perfectly fine to him.

So I just want to take this moment to say Thank you, to Mr. Ken Griffey Jr.

Thank you for being an honorable athlete. Never have you been mentioned in the same sentence as steroids, performance enhancers, or illegal substances. Thank you for respecting the integrity of professional athletics. Thank you for being so humble, you barely even acknowledge the magnitude of your accomplishment. Thank you for breaking the mold, and not being the traditional athlete. Thank you for being someone children can go to the ballpark and tell their fathers "I want to be like him." Thank you for electrifying us throughout your career. Thank you for being a class act. And most of all, thank you for being you.

Congratulations Ken Griffey Jr.

Peace and love

-SB

Lose the game, win the series

2008-06-09T23:45:00.000-07:00

38 free throw attempts for the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. 10 for the Los Angeles Lakers. 13 for Leon Powe, 10 for the Lakers. 26 for the Celtics in the 3rd quarter, 2 for the Lakers. Seems like there's some sort of pattern here.

The referees blew their game. The disparity was just so much, and it's not that the Lakers weren't getting hit. There were many times on drives to the basket, especially with Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Gasol was visibly hit more than a few times under the basket but there were no calls. Not only were they not getting any calls, it seemed like every time a Laker touched a Celtic near the basket, it was a foul. For some reason, it seemed that the refs really had it in for Kobe especially. Quick, someone check if Tim Donaghy was reffing the game.

In the first quarter, he picked up 2 fouls, both of which were a result of great acting by Ray Allen. The first, Allen flailed his arms like Kobe was really pushing him, and the second, I can't even explain what happened, because I don't even know. Kobe was getting position on Allen, and I guess maybe his arm hit Allen, and immediately the refs called a foul. I was confused. Kobe was confused. I think even Allen was surprised it was a foul. On a total side note, these guys absolutely despise on another. Here's a little background

But anyway, as I was saying, the officiating was terrible. But even then, there's no excuse for the way the Lakers played. For three and a half quarters, they let the Celtics run all over them, the staple moment coming when Leon Powe ran through 3 Lakers for an uncontested dunk. When a man named Leon Powe scores 21 points on you, you don't deserve to win. When Rajon Rondo continues to drive the lane, blowing by your point guard, and drops 16 assists, you don't deserve to win. But it's all right for the Lakers. There is still hope. Actually, there is more than just hope, they have actually already won the Championship.

Game 2 featured on of the most thrilling comebacks-to-fall-short ever. Down 22 points entering the 4th quarter, the Lakers were dead. All right, so 22 down to start the 4th quarter and coming back is pretty impressive. What about down 24 with just over 7 minutes to play? The Lakers went on a ferocious run, with Kobe leading the charge. He had the look in his eye. And we all know that look. For lack of better terminology, we can call it the "Eff you" look. This is the point where no matter what the score is, no matter how good or bad you have played thus far, and no matter what the situation, you are not going to go down without a figh. Kobe was in that mode.

His teammates up to that point, blew a chance to make it a game earlier in the 4th quarter when they got timid, and unsure of themselves, yet still shot the ball when Kobe was heating up. So with over 7 minutes to go, Kobe led the charge, and they started chipping away. Kobe put in a few tough buckets (what he was missing in game 1), and the lead shrunk from 24 to 13. James Posey then hit a 3 to make the Celtics lead 16 again. After that, it was all L.A. With under a minute left, the Lakers closed to within 2 points on a pair of Kobe Bryant free throws. After that Paul Pierce went to the free throw line (what a surprise) and hit two free throws. What happened next was irrelevant I believe, and actually the fact that Boston won is irrelevant too.

Sure, it would have been nice to go to L.A. tied 1-1, but what happened in the last 7 minutes sealed the deal for Boston. In a tough situation, they couldn't hit the big shot. When the Lakers went on the run, no one on the Celtics could stop the run. Not only that, whatever poise and composure they had, they lost. But still that's not the reason they have lost this series.

The reason that the Boston Celtics will not win the NBA Championship this year is because of what their coach warned them against. Doc Rivers, during the Lakers onslaught, told his team, that he does not care about the score of this game, but they cannot let the Lakers get comfortable for next game. And by Lakers, he was speaking specifically about the role players. In those last 7 minutes, the Lakers proved to themselves that they can win this Championship. Even after they played terrible defense, gave up on the game, and were getting screwed by the refs, they made it a game. The Lakers now have the confidence required to win it all. In games 1 and 2, up until the huge run, no one besides Kobe Bryant had that confidence. And in game 2, Kobe himself was losing confidence in his teammates, you could see it all over his face. But as Doc Rivers warned, the Celtics let the Lakers back in the game, diminishing a seemingly insurmountable lead. Strike up the band, and get the parade ready, because L.A. is going to have a party.

Peace and love

-SB

Rivalry?

2008-06-09T20:41:00.001-07:00

First off, I want to thank everyone for the support they've given me, I really do appreciate it.

Switching gears now, away from the NBA Finals for a quick minute, we focus on the French Open today. The clay court tennis tournament has foiled numerous tennis greats (see Pete Sampras), and has made legends (Bjorn Borg). Rafael Nadal is well on his way to becoming legendary. He won his 4th straight French Open, dismantling Roger Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0. Straight sets. Wow.

If you're ranked #1 in the world, you just can't go down the way Federer went down. Granted, Nadal was on his game, making only 7 unforced errors the entire match, but there's no excuse for a straight set slaughter in the Final of the one major championship you haven't won. A lot of people are calling it the great rivalry between Federer and Nadal, but is it really a rivalry?

ri·val·ry-
n.
The state or condition of competition or antagonism.

There is no competition. It's all one-sided. If Federer is Superman (which he has not looked anywhere close to as of late) Nadal is Kryptonite. Federer just doesn't have an answer for him. out of the 17 times they have played, Federer has lost 11 of them. Not to say that Federer isn't trying, but for God's sake, you're #1 in the world. Handle your business, and take care of Nadal.

Peace and love

-SB

Death in the Family

2008-06-09T12:35:00.001-07:00

There was a death in my family early this morning. My grandfather passed away, keep him in your prayers.

Peace and love

-SB

Trouble in Paradise?

2008-06-07T23:24:00.001-07:00

Thursday night we witnessed over 50 men in tights running at each other, tackling one another and definitely touching each other in a less then friendly manner.

Boston vs. Tampa, and we were also treated to a rare version of Boston vs. Boston. So it seems that all is not well in Beantown.

There was some bad blood between Crisp and the Tampa Bay Rays that I don't really feel like getting into, so anyway, he got hit, and charged the mound. I must say, I was impressed a bit with his Matrix-esque dodge. Heck, he should fight Oscar De La Hoya now that Floyd Mayweather retired.

So they got into a brawl. I don't care much about that. What I do care about is Boston vs. Boston, which is really just Manny Ramirez vs. Kevin Youkilis. Both are loved by Red Sox nation for their respective reasons. Youk as he is lovingly called by the faithful plays his heart out every pitch, almost like a Paul O'Neil in terms of demeanor and attitude. Manny is laid back and he's...well let's just say his hat is on too tight most of the time. So why would one of the most relaxed players in baseball be upset at one of the most relentless, energetic players?

Manny was upset because Youk had a habit of throwing things around after a bad at-bat, presumably because he was upset with himself. Manny's point is that since the Red Sox are winning, there's no need for that kind of display, it takes away from the team winning.

For once, I think the man makes a legitimate point. I personally feel, especially in baseball, that if you don't do well, first off, you have no reason to throw things around in the dugout. Maybe once in a while, but the fight was because it was becoming a frequent occurrence. Secondly, winning heals everything. If you're team is winning, and on a roll, who cares if you have a bad at-bat? Make up for it in the field, but always keep it in perspective that you are still winning the game.

Is this going to have any lasting effect? Winning heals everything baby. They'll probably have a team meeting, settle their differences and keep rolling. This team is too good to be bogged down by stuff like this.

In other news, Big Brown lost at Belmont today. So much for the "forgone conclusion" his trainer put forth. Don't count your chickens before they hatch. And if they don't hatch, well, I guess you can eat the eggs then.

Peace and love

-SB

Willis Reed Moment?

2008-06-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

I was writing this morning, for another blog, so I got lazy. This sweltering heat is definitely doing a number on New York. And to think, I come back from Texas, to New York and it gets hot again. Go figure.

So a lot was made of the Paul Pierce issue. Mentions of Willis Reed came up, and I scoffed. Respectfully of course.

See, here's my issue. The Pierce injury doesn't even compare at any level to Willis Reed. Reed's moment came in Game 7, with the NBA Championship on the line, and he could barely move, limping onto the court.

Before I continue, I want to state that I do not believe Pierce faked the injury as many are insinuating. As a former athlete who went through numerous injuries, I know the feeling of being on the sidelines, while your teammates are continuing to play. You don't want anything more than to get back on the playing field and do what you can to help win. I think that he was injured, and then the magnitude of potentially not being able to play in the NBA Finals was enough to muster his energy, and find a way to get back on the court. Considering it's the first time in his career he's had a whiff of something great, I'm pretty sure he wasn't going to just go down like that. I don't think the severity was near the injury of Reed's, but the knees are very tricky. There are numerous muscles, ligaments, and tendons attached, so any burning sensation could disable your movement temporarily until you properly stretch. I will say though that I am pretty astonished at how quickly he came back.

The only comparison it could muster with Willis Reed would be the effect that it had on the respective teams of the players. They each played inspired ball, and would not lose. But in terms of objectively looking at it, Pierce is no Reed, sorry.

Peace and love

-SB

Game 1 Reactions and More...

2008-06-06T21:37:00.001-07:00

I was sitting at the airport in Houston, trying to connect to the internet, and there were like 5 networks I could have connected to. So I thought, It’s all good, except a few frustrating minutes later, I found out that the ones I could connect to, charged some excessive fee, like 8 bucks for a day. I think that we pay enough for tickets and traveling, and we can’t even get complimentary wireless internet. Oh, and not only that, now majority of airlines are charging extra for checking in 2 bags. Yes, here in America, our economy is doing great. But anyway…

On to a bit more relevant stuff. Game 1 of the NBA Finals was pretty interesting. We had a Willis Reed moment, a reverting supserstar, and a jam that did more than count as 2 points.

Kevin Garnett’s jam (see above clip) really slammed the door on any kind of comeback the Lakers could muster. That was the official “nail in the coffin” for the Lakers. If they had any shot at winning Game 1, it was Pau Gasol getting that rebound. Everyone was waiting for something to erupt over. After all, how long has it been since the Celtics have been in the Finals? These days Boston fans are just waiting for something to celebrate.

Kobe Bryant last night played like the Kobe that caused the destruction of the Lakers dynasty. When he was out of the game, the Lakers got to within 4 points, and then Kobe came in. I’m not saying that his contributions are detrimental to the team, but what I am saying is that Boston’s defense was so tight on Kobe, yet he still took difficult shots instead of playing smart basketball. To illustrate what I mean, here are a few quotes from Phil Jackson’s book The Last Season, written in 2004.

“Kobe scored 25, but needed 27 field-goal attempts. Instead of driving to the hoop, Kobe settled for difficult shots with Prince in his face.”
“If a player tries to score every time he touches the ball, the system will break down. Success depends on everyone, at one time or another, accepting, if not embracing, the role of playmaker.”

This was Jackson speaking about Kobe in 2004, but substitute Prince with the Boston defense, and he might as well have said that after Game 1.

Simply put the Lakers will not win if Kobe doesn’t trust his teammates.

I’m kind of tired so I’ll write about Pierce/Willis Reed tomorrow.

Peace and love

-SB

Broken Rules

2008-06-05T14:02:00.001-07:00

I broke my own rule. I watched hockey. There was something about the game that just made me watch it. I didn't watch the whole thing, no way. You don't just go from crawling to running. I watched almost all of the 3rd period, when it really mattered and got somewhat legitimate.

I immediately noticed what at first made me hate watching hockey. Yes, I used to watch hockey many moons ago, but what turned me off, was the constant motion, the fast-paced action, and the constant changing of possession with no score. So at first, I was turned off, again, but I forced myself. I mean for God's sake, it's the Stanley Cup finals. If I couldn't watch this, there was no way I could even consider following hockey.

So I pick up the 3rd period, and the Red Wings were up 2-1. After about 4 minutes I got used to the break-neck pace and the constant skittering of the puck all over the ice, and this time around, it didn't bother me as much. So later in the 3rd, the Red Wings scored, when the Penguins goalie knocked it in himself, and I found myself actually disappointed. I was actually rooting for a team?

For some reason I just gravitated towards Pittsburgh. Maybe it was the whole underdog thing, maybe it was because they have the hockey equivalent of LeBron James on their team. But when they were down 3-1, and they had a power play with about 2 minutes left, I found myself immersed in the game. And when they pulled the goalie, and a sense of urgency swept through the arena, I felt it. What has the world come to?

The Penguins scored with about a minute and half to go, and I found myself raising my arms triumphantly, believing that they had one more in them. Time passed, and the Penguins attacked relentlessly, playing like there was no tomorrow, and it came down to the last second.

With time passing and the Detroit Red Wings simply trying to hold on for the win, the Penguins made one last gasp effort, and I was actually on edge, hoping that the Penguins would score. It came down to the last shot, and Chris Osgood, the goalie for the Red Wings made the save that saved the Stanley Cup. Watch the clip, and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Hockey has potential my friends. I'm a bit lukewarm about it at this point, but if this experience has shown me anything, it's that hockey can be exciting.

But one thing is for sure. That was a great way to end the Stanley Cup finals.

Peace and love

-SB

Owned? I think so

2008-06-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

So Tiger Woods bashed hockey. Interesting. At least he said what everyone was thinking, but of course, he ended up getting owned, when game 5 garnered the most attention hockey has had in a long time. But in all seriousness, this can't get any better. A golfer (granted, the best in the world) takes a shot at hockey. Neither is really relevant so it's like a squabble in the playground in elementary school.

Speaking of owned, Barack Obama got the nomination for the Democratic Party. I don't like to get into politics much, but hearing Hillary Clinton speak after she lost any chance of being the presidential candidate, you would think that she was the candidate. Not only did she fail to congratulate Obama on winning the nomination, she did nothing to encourage her supporters to even think about supporting Obama, who by the way is from the same party. Yet Clinton claims she wants to see Democrats in the White House. Anyone smell a sore loser?

I was on youtube today, and I remembered when a buddy of mine sent me this hilarious video about people getting owned. So I just typed in owned, and watched a bunch of them. By far, even though this is an old one, this is my favorite

Last thing. I do not endorse alcohol in any way shape or form, and a great article by Paul Jackson of ESPN can only begin to explain why I am against it. 10 cent beer night in Cleveland turned into a fiasco.

Peace and love

-SB

Thoughts. Yes, I do think once in a while

2008-06-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

So I've been traveling a bit, went to Chicago, Louisiana, and right now, I'm currently writing from Texas. It is freaking hot down here. Without exaggeration I can say that there have been times where I've stepped out, and my Speed Stick Deodorant fails me. That's the New York part of my body not reacting to the scorching sun down here. Also, I regained my love for driving fast, which is fine here because the highways have 4-5 lanes on each side, and everyone is driving around 70 MPH (Note: I do not endorse excessive speeding). I stopped driving fast when I got pulled over in New York going 70 in a 40, but that's another story for another day.

I love driving in Texas, but every good thing has its drawbacks and this is no exception. See it's all good if your driving 70-80 and everyone is moving smooth, but there's always That Guy. Everyone knows him. And it's usually a him, but women can't be totally exempt from this. Anyway, he cuts you off, and unnecessarily tailgates you even when you're going 10 MPH above the limit. Yes, That Guy is the one that causes problems. See in New York, That Guy is just a pain in the butt, and you just ignore him. But down here, you have to move away, because he changes lanes without signaling, crosses 4 lanes while going 80, and cuts in front of you then hits the brakes. And when it rains, oh man, forget about it. When it rains down here, it pours. And I don't mean like thunderstorm, I mean like monsoon. Driving in that kind of weather, combined with the driving down here, it's kind of like winning and the Knicks, they just don't go together.

So one day, I'm in the car, on the highway, and some hotshot (probably That Guy) in a red Mustang tries to cut me off, in the rain. Big mistake. The Mustang spins across 4 lanes and stops right before it can crash into the guardrail. No joke, the thing was like a top, just doodling along. On another occasion, I was in a van with the family, and it was pouring as usual, and we were going downhill on the highway. What happened next is rediculous. We lost tracking, fishtailed into the left divider, skidded across the highway, missed the right guardrail, and somehow ended up in the middle lane again. By the way, the whole time I was praying to God, saying, hell no, I ain't ready to go yet. So I guess no one is really immune to the Texas Driving Syndrome.

I think that the lack of good driving (TDS) stems from the lax laws in Texas regarding driving. Kids that are 16 can drive with a full licence. When I was 16, I was still wondering why hair grew out of funky places. Kids at that age can drive here. All I have to say is thank God up in New York we're a little more strict about driving laws.

I've been in and out of sports, the traveling, meeting family, seeing people again for the first time in 10 years, all that stuff is getting me off my game. Good thing I don't take too many trips.

Congratulations all around to:
-Usain Bolt for breaking the World Record in the 100M, effectively becoming the fastest man in the world
-Manny Ramirez for not being an idiot (whoops, my subconscious just took over) hitting his 500th home run.
-The Kansas Jayhawks, who were invited to the White House only 3 months after they were of any relevence.
-Joba Chamberlain for finally becoming a man (wipe tears from my eyes) and starting a game
-The Pittsburgh Penguins for making the NHL semi-relevant again

There is the possibility that the two fastest men in the world could be squaring off in June, so heads up for that, should be intriguing.

So yesterday I'm online, and my buddy Mo$ asks me if I follow hockey. I scoff, but respectfully reply that occasionally, so I don't have to totally lie. And he goes on about this sick game that happened, so then I go watch some highlights, and you know what, I actually felt bad that I missed the game. I know, it's crazy, that I could feel this way about hockey, but Stanley Cup finals, series on the line, triple overtime win by the Penguins seems pretty exciting to me. Yes, I may be endorsing watching hockey, an activity I once regarded as not a sport. But, only for the Stanly Cup Finals.

And finally Joba Chamberlain will take the mound tonight for the first time as a starter. I don't know what to say, but here is an article that I love written by DJ Gallo of ESPN.

Peace and love

-SB

You be the ref

2008-05-28T13:31:00.001-07:00

Foul or no foul? You make the call
Let's assume you're not Tim Donaghy and you don't have money on the game.

At least we know what Kobe thinks

Peace and love

-SB

Kobe All Day

2008-05-25T11:47:00.001-07:00

So Kobe Bryant uploaded his second viral video. To be totally honest, I doubted the legitimacy of the first video, and this one only furthers my doubts. To clarify, I'm not doubting whether Kobe Bryant has great hops. I'm doubting whether he actually jumped over an Aston Martin and whether he actually jumped over the pool full of snakes. It's good for marketing, and it's entertaining, so props to Kobe.

What do you guys think? Real deal or no?

Peace and love

-SB

Sir, you need to calm down

2008-05-24T16:45:00.000-07:00

So the other day, I went to the gym, and needless to say, I heard some sports talk that didn't make sense. Towards the end of the ridiculous conversation, one man said to the other "I'll be happy when Randolph and Minaya are gone." I just shook my head, and walked past.

Really. Fire Minaya. Stupidest thing I've ever heard. The man built the team, took it from being an annual underachieving group of losers, to being a legitimate annual contender. Fire him? Whatever you're smoking, get me some of it.

Fire Randolph? Maybe. But is that the solution for the Mets? No freaking way. There are way too many problems to put the blame on Willie Randolph. Case in point, last night. So last night the Mets were two outs away from wrapping up a win, and of course, Billy Wagner is on the mound, closing out the game. Last year, Wagner had a great start, and this year, he's been no different. Yet he couldn't come through in the clutch last night, giving up a home run and blowing the save. So can we blame Randolph for that loss?

How about the dismal hitting of the Mets? Jose Reyes, the catalyst for the Mets is hitting .272. David Wright and Carlos Beltran, the two major RBI producers are hitting .283 and .256 respectively. Can we blame Randolph for that? And the pitching situation? Forget about it. The collective ERA of the team is 4.12, and the only bright spots have been Wagner (9 saves, 0.45 ERA) and John Maine (5-3 3.29 ERA). Even Johan Santana hasn't been as good, in my opinion as he should be. He has given up way too many home runs, although I'm confident he'll hit his groove after the All-Star break.

How can people be calling for the firing of Randolph? Making a change for the sake of change is not going to help the Mets and strictly from a managerial standpoint, Randolph has been solid. He hasn't made any real mistakes, and can't really be blamed for the woes. The Mets aren't hitting, they're not pitching, and usually when you don't do these things, you don't win baseball games.

The Mets just need time to improve, and I'm not worrying too much right now. In the NL East, where they're only 3 games back, and they're at .500, anything is possible.

Peace and love

-SB

Get off my back

2008-05-23T20:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, we need to clarify something. Yes, I wanted Chris Paul to win MVP of the year, but at no point was I hating on Kobe Bryant. I just felt that if we took away Chris Paul from the Hornets and Kobe Bryant from the Lakers, both teams would be garbage, but the Hornets would be worse. That's my definition of an MVP. Is Kobe a great player? My personal opinion is that at this point he's the best in the league. So Stop Hating On Me! That being said....

Ridiculous first game for Mr. Bryant. 2 points in the first half, and it seemed like the Lakers were headed for a long series again, and I would be wrong, again. However, the Michael Jordan in Kobe came out in the second half, and he played like a BEAST. The final "screw you, I'm going to score anyway" came at the end of the game with the beautiful sweeping fadeaway in the lane over Bowen. That, was the nail in the coffin. Not just for the game, for the series. Kobe Bryant is a man on a mission, hungry for that championship, starving from all the recent losses. And he's coming to the dinner table. Not only is he destroying the Spurs by scoring at will, he's making everyone around him better, one of the greatest, yet most underrated qualities of Jordan. By the time I'm done writing this post, the Lakers will have a 2-0 lead on the Spurs and be in excellent position to take the series.

In the Junior Varsity Championship, the Pistons evened it up, and Boston has lost their home-court advantage (That's right, you know who called it). Uh-Oh. Boston has to win on the road? Good Luck. Like I thought, we're headed for a rematch of Lakers-Pistons.

This time around, Kobe is smarter, and individually his skills are better. Last time around, there were too many stars, too many egos, and an identity struggle within a team who didn't know whether they should go with the Diesel, and pound it down low to Shaq, or let Kobe do his work, which the last time around, he hadn't perfected. Now, Kobe's skills are honed, he can score any way he wants, and what's scary is that he is actually willing to give the ball up and get his teammates involved. What a concept.

Before I'm done, shout out to illstand1, created a great site, automatically updating score of the NBA, and I'm sure he's working on some new stuff too.

Get off my back!

Peace and love

-SB

No-hitter? No big deal

2008-05-20T22:54:00.000-07:00

It was towards the end of 2006 that Jon Lester was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma, a type of cancer that forms in the body's lymph system. Monday night, he threw a no-hitter.

"I just wanted to be a normal guy and go out there and pitch and get criticized for my pitching," Lester said, "and not, 'oh, he had cancer so we'll go easy on him.' "

I don't think that's too much to ask for. Especially after a no-hitter.

You know, the Red Sox are looking eerily similar to another dynasty in the late 90's. Does anyone else think they resemble the late 90's dynasty, the New York Yankees?

Think about it for a second. Some similarities:

Good pitching-solid starters, dominant closer, homegrown talent coming from within the organization
Timely hitting-a few bashers with majority of the lineup being solid and getting on base frequently
Solid defense-no real holes, everyone knows their role and plays hard
Smart manager-managers manage the game (I sound like John Madden right now). But in all seriousness, neither manager made any stupid mistake (see Grady Little) and manages in a free flowing manner, letting the players play, and be the focus of the game

Sound familiar at all? Let the debate begin...

Peace and love

-SB

Got green?

2008-05-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

Pretty sick game yesterday. Classic battle, mano y mano, Pierce v. LeBron. Two great guys going head to head. Great game by both guys, and only Pierce's play prevented the LeBrons from going to the East finals. By the way, Boston still hasn't won a road game and they're in the Eastern Conference finals.

So what did we learn from this series?
-LeBron James is getting better and better, and the Cavs are one player away from being in the Finals every year.
-Boston is beastly at home and still has heart.
-LeBron is falling prey to the Dwayne Wade effect.

Sidenote: The Dwayne Wade effect is when a player drives to the hoop expecting a foul call. In the 2006 NBA Finals, every time Wade drove to the hoop he got a call, and even some phantom calls. Much to the Mavericks dismay, every time they came close to Wade near the hoop the refs were ready to blow the whistle. Last thing about the 2006 NBA Finals, we now know why Josh Howard called that boneheaded timeout in Game 5 that in my opinion lost them the series.

So back to LeBron and the Wade effect, he was looking for that call after being indecisive. Right after the shot, he looked towards the ref like he expected a call. It was a good non-call by the refs, the Celtics just played good defense on that play. If anything this will just motivate him to get better in the off-season. His jumper this year (except against Boston) improved greatly from last year, so it's going to be fun to watch him in the coming years.

Random Thoughts:
-Mets should play the Yankees more often
-Really want the Hornets to win especially after Cheap Shot Bob struck again
-This week is the Finale of American Idol
-Baseball definitely needs instant replay. Here's why
-Leona Lewis is a really good singer
-Maybe this isn't the best headline for what Barack Obama was saying

Peace and love

-SB

Audio Cast 2

2008-05-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

Also available for viewing on Google Video. Enjoy.

Peace and love

-SB

Time to go?

2008-05-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

This year we've seen more than one famous athlete retire, but it seems like everyone these days is deciding to call it a career. Brett Favre hung up the cleats early this year (at least until Aaron Rodgers gets hurt) and now Annika Sorenstam as well as Justine Henin intend to retire. Both have announced that they're done, with Henin's effective immediately and Sorenstam's at seasons' end.

I guess what people are starting to learn is that there is more to life than sports. Did I really just write that? Yes, it's true, winning gets old at some point, and you don't have that competitive spirit anymore. Both Henin and Sorenstam probably could have performed well in their respective sports, but they made the decision that they felt was right for them.

And can we, as people on the outside looking in really blame them? How many of us go through the grind of participating in tournaments, games, training, and prepare year round to win? Comparing it to a traditional job, or course athletes get paid much more, but I wouldn't be surprised if they need to put in the same amount of time working on their skill, if not more. Not only must they continuously get better at what they do, but must maintain their great physique and body condition (amendment for baseball players). It takes a toll on the body, and mind, and sometimes, it's just time to say it's over.

In other news...

-Tim Donaghy only bet on over 100 games that he worked.
-John Amaechi is moving to California
-Just Kidding
-Home teams' record in round 2 of NBA Playoffs drops to 21-2
-Subway series starts today
-Yankees are in last in the AL East
-Hockey is apparently still a sport
-Props to Yahoo! for officially coining Robert Horry "Cheap Shot Bob"
-From this point forward, I will refer to Horry as "Cheap Shot Bob"

Peace and love

-SB

Back with a vengeance

2008-05-16T14:36:00.000-07:00

I'm baaack. So I've been slacking a little bit, been a little off my game, but I'm back. The site will be updated frequently, we have some Audio Casts coming up, some new correspondents, so a lot of exciting things coming up.

Peace and love

-SB

Audio Cast 1 Up!

2008-05-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, It has been done. I have successfully put up an Audio Cast online.

After much work and more confusion, the first of many Audio Casts is up. Check it out right here

We're going all out with the NBA Playoffs, so get to it. Now.

Peace and love,

-SB

Best of the West

2008-04-18T20:53:00.001-07:00

The Playoffs start tomorrow. And in case you didn't know, the NBA wants you to know that "There can only be one."

So here goes the toughest conference in all of sports. See the bad thing about this is that I can see 5 or 6 teams taking the west, and the difference between 1st and 8th is just 7 games. Every team has 50 wins. That's just ridiculous. I'm going to abridge this version, and talk about the West in some more posts, 'cause it's that damn good.

1. L.A. Lakers vs. 8. Denver Nuggets

This is one of the few series in the West that will not go deep. The Nuggets are fun and entertaining to watch, and have a great offense, but that's about it. Defensively, they are weak, and with a hungry Kobe Bryant, it's really no contest. I don't even want to analyze this anymore, straight up.

Prediction: Lakers in 5

2. New Orleans Hornets vs. 7. Dallas Mavericks

I really like New Orleans, but the Mavericks are pretty hot right now. This is what I hate about this year; I can see either of these teams winning it all if their cards fall right. I'm going to go with New Orleans because Chris Paul simply will destroy Jason Kidd. By the way, Byron Scott is the coach of New Orleans and Jason Kidd, the point guard for Dallas is the one who cause Scott to be fired. Should be an interesting series.

Prediction: Hornets in 7

3. San Antonio Spurs vs. 6. Phoenix Suns

This series really ticks me off. And I'll write about it in another post, explaining why, but this series is going to be the best series of the playoffs. It couldn't have been scripted better. Heated rivalry, new players, clutch performances, what more can you ask for? The Suns brought in Shaquille O'Neal specifically for this kind of matchup. Duncan vs. Shaq. This series I'm definetely going to elaborate on, but for now:

Prediction: Suns in 7

4. Utah Jazz vs. 5. Houston Rockets

This should be an interesting "What If?" series. There are a bunch of "What If''s" that come to my mind when I think about this series, the biggest one being What If Yao Ming didn't get hurt? I think the Rockets would have finally made it through the first round. That being said, for now, all I have to say is:

Prediction: Jazz in 6

I'm cutting this post short because in the coming days, I will definetely write a lot more about the West, maybe even each game. Stay tuned.

Peace and love

-SB

Beasts from the East

2008-04-15T20:58:00.001-07:00

I was talking to my friend about the last post, and he told me write about Jose Reyes. Being a Mets fan, I of course was all for it, but I wanted to know exactly what he had in mind. So he said, literally, "About his Jesus-like ability to steal bases in 2 seconds."

But I'm thinking, with the NBA Playoffs coming up, I got a full summer to write about baseball, but the playoffs will be over soon (trust me, time flies). So here's the millionth sports column on the NBA Playoffs. Enjoy

The Eastern Conference of the NBA. Let's do it.
1. Boston Celtics vs. 8. Atlanta Hawks

So Boston rolls up with the best record in the NBA, and Josh Smith says that the Hawks are going to "shock the world" and beat the Celtics. Brotha, your team slipped into the playoffs, and now you're going to take down the #1 team in the east? I think not. With the addition of Mike Bibby, the Hawks have become a better team and the stress of point guard duties are no longer put on Joe Johnson, a natural scorer, but seriously? Does anyone really think the Hawks have a shot. Not only are the Big 3 (Garnett, Pierce, Allen) firing on all cylinders, the bench has stepped up big time. In one of the Celtics victories, thebench single-handedly defeated the Hawks. How's that for shocking the world. Bottom line is, Celtics are just too good for the Hawks

Prediction: Celtics in 4

2. Detroit Pistons vs. 7. Philadelphia 76ers

This should be another quick matchup, and it's going to come down to rebounding. I always argue with my buddies about this, and they think I'm crazy, but work with me here. Rasheed Wallace, in his day, and with his potential, could have been the greatest player ever. I'm not joking. The guy can rebound, shoot 3's, hit fadeaways, post up, drive the lane, and play some nasty defense. If he actually wanted to be the go-to-guy, he would have torn it up. Now, he's older. Of course he's not going to produce like he did back then, but he's still got the skills. But is he hungry enough to produce? I think he is. On the flip side, the 76ers, even though they took 2 games from the Pistons in the regular season, don't look sharp at all. They stumbled into the playoffs, and they just can't match the Pistons. I'll give Iguodala a lot of credit for being the star this year, and Andre Miller, for finally becoming a franchise point guard, but let's face it, the 76ers are not taking down Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, and Tayshaun Prince in the playoffs. Every year, it's like the Pistons just wait until the playoffs start to start playing. And don't sleep on the Pistons bench either. They are surprisingly good coming off the bench

Prediction: Pistons in 5

3. Orlando Magic vs. 6. Toronto Raptors

To me, this series is going to be entertaining to watch. When T.J. Ford got injured, it opened the door for Jose Calderon, who is currently working on a One million-to-one Assist to turnover ratio. That being said, T.J. Ford is still a very good point guard, and his loss held the Raptors back. Coupled with injuries to Chris Bosh, it made for a tough season for the Raptors. On the other side, the Magic enjoyed a breakout season by Hedo Turkoglu. He stepped up huge this year. The guy improved his game so much, and hit some big shots this year, and that should be key for Orlando in the playoffs. Dwight Howard is going to be a beast and is inevitably going to have at least one 25 point 15 rebound game, so what I really want to know is how the Raptors are going to guard him. He's a decent passer, and the Magic have a bunch of shooters, so double teaming him may not be the best option, but he's a tough matchup one-on-one. Some analysts say that the guard play of the Magic is better than the Raptors. I say those analysts need to get off of whatever they are on, and look at Calderon and Ford. They easily outplay Nelson and Arroyo, but the Raptors frontcourt definitely can't handle Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, and Howard.

Prediction: Magic in 6

4. Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards

This is going to be the series to watch in the East, simply to see how LeBron James tries to take on the Wizards by himself. I almost feel bad for the guy. The reason I say almost is that I can't feel bad for anyone who is set to make $20 million a year (not including endorsements). I'll tell you what's going to happen. LeBron will have 30, maybe 35 a game, but he really needs help. In previous years against the Wizards, he might have been enough to take them out, but we're talking about a resurgent Washington team that made the playoffs without their best player. And get this: he's coming off the bench for the playoffs. Gilbert Arenas, the self-proclaimed "assassin" is back from injury, and will be the difference. I don't have any doubts in Arenas' ability to come off the bench and spark a big run. Would I trust him in a situation with the Wizards down at the end of a game? In the words of Stone Cold Steve Austin "Hell yea." People are going to argue that Wally Szczerbiak, Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, and Delonte West are going to make a big impact. I say there's as much truth in that as there is in Bill Clinton's statement. C'mon, seriously? I think this time around, the LeBron James' won't be able to take down the Wizards.

Prediction: Wizards in 7

Peace and love

-SB

Not so Staggering Statistics

2008-04-12T20:56:00.001-07:00

What's up to all my minions, how is everything? Sports Brotha here, with a new site coming at you. That's right, we are officially a .com now, so visit our site, www.sportsbrotha.com

I've been working on that the last few days, but now I'm back. I'm going to stay away from the real sports talk that we do everyday and just for this post, throw some staggering (or not so) statistics at ya. Baseball season just started so let's go with some baseball news. Ready? Go!

-Brian Bannister of the Kansas City Royals has as many wins as the Detroit Tigers.
-The Kansas city Royals are in first place. This may be the latest point in the season they have ever been over .500
-A-Rod makes more in one year than the entire Florida Marlins team
-Johan Santana has given up more home runs (4) than David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez have combined to hit
-Justin Germano of the San Diego Padres is on pace to have an Earned Run
Average (ERA) of 0.00
-Mark Reynolds of Arizona is leading the National League in home runs. He's on pace for 67 home runs, as well as on pace for 202 RBI's. I guess he'll need some "flaxseed oil" to get up to 73.
-The American League is undefeated in interleague play
-The National League has not won a game in interleague play
-The White Sox tried desperately to trade a guy who is hitting .341 and leads the AL in RBIs.
-The Baltimore Orioles are in first place
-The New York Yankees lead the Tampa Bay Rays by 1/2 game. They also lead them in payroll by $165.2 million
-The NL East has one team over .500
-The AL East has one team under .500

One note about the blue font. Normally I don't do it, but my buddy specifically requested it. So I said, you know what, what the heck, with a post like this, all is fair, let's do it.

Peace and love

-SB

Can't let go

2008-04-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

It's a beautiful day today, sun's shining, people in park, some Frisbees going around, and Brett Favre is rethinking his retirement. The story, brought to you by Yahoo! Sports was broken in yesterday, and you can read the article here. But seriously, can we end the drama once and for all? Before this season, the question came up, and the debate started raging if Brett Favre would actually retire this year. So he doesn't. Plays the whole year, leads team to playoffs, leads the team out of the playoffs, and then announced he's going to retire. Game over, right? Read the article.

Favre is proposing that if Aaron Rodgers got hurt, Favre said, “It would be hard to pass up, I guess.” Translation: I need a break from football, but I still want to play.

There were talks of Favre joining another team, also reported by Yahoo! Sports, but I didn't buy it. I knew that if he ever came back it would be with the Packers, but that was a big if. And to be quite honest, if I'm a Packers fan, I'm happy for the guy, but I know that we have a good quarterback in Aaron Rodgers coming up. I remember in the game against Dallas, when Favre went down, Rodgers had a pretty solid game. His line was 18 for 26 passing, 201 yards, 1 TD 0 INT and 30 yards rushing. This is against the team with the best record in the NFC, so he can obviously play.

I'm not big into the media creating a big hype over the decision of athletes, but this is different. Now Favre is jerking us around, saying I might be back, or I could be back. This man is a legend, so for him to be doing that to us, of course we're going to be interested. I just feel like the fans in Green Bay deserve better than to be on this emotional roller coaster with the best player to play for Green Bay.

By the way, I can't finish this post without mentioning this

What a tough guy.

Peace and love

-SB

To Tank or Not to Tank?

2008-04-08T20:49:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year again. Where every team in the NBA is fighting for a better position. The good ones, fighting for a playoff spot, and the bad ones for the draft. This brings up the age-old question. Should a team tank (purposely lose) games in order to have a better chance at a good draft pick.

Originally, when I thought of this subject to write about, I was like, what the heck am I going to write about, I'm totally against it. And then I realized that every night I root for the Knicks to lose. It's gotten that bad, where I think that the Knicks can actually do something good with their draft pick. All this hope from the recent acquisition of Mr. Donnie Walsh. Let's just put it this way: we suck with our first round picks. In the last decade, we've had two solid first round picks, Channing Frye and David Lee, neither of which are superstar material. We passed on Ron Artest in 1999, and took Fredrich Weiss, who decided to stay in France instead of come to the NBA. That turned out real well for us, because Ron Artest, who is that guy? Not like he can play defense, or put up 20 points a night, right? Because he's just some scrub in the NBA who we passed over because we got the better end of the deal, right?

So here's where I'm going with the whole tanking thing. In a draft class as talented as the one coming out, I don't blame any team for tanking. The Heat ended D-Wade's season really early. Hmmmmm, wonder why? But what ticks me off is that now that I want the Knicks to lose, so maybe we can get a Michael Beasley, an O.J. Mayo, a Derrick Rose, Psycho T, etc. the Knicks are winning. What gives? You want them to win, they lose. You want them to lose, they win.

So I'll give them credit for trying, and not completely throwing in the towel, but please, let's not drop lower than 4th, so our GM will have to actually make a decision on who to draft.

Or you know what, better yet, let's trade our great draft pick for an overweight center who puts up 14 points a game, doesn't know the meaning of defense, gets less rebounds than my little sister, get's blocked more times then he blocks shots, and averages less than 1 assist a game.

Good trade, don't ya think?

Peace and love

-SB

Super Mario

2008-04-07T20:59:00.001-07:00

I just witnessed one of the most ridiculous tournaments of my life. I'm still in disbelief over the last 2 minutes of the second half of the National Championship game. Wow. Can someone say choke? Memphis Tigers, congratulations, you showed us the importance of free throws. With around 2 minutes left, I was marveling at how well Derrick Rose had just played, how he would be the tournaments Most Outstanding Player, how great of a sidekick Chris Douglas-Roberts (CDR) was, and how he could be a solid NBA player as well. That was before Memphis started blowing the game.

At first, Kansas fouled, and Memphis hit their free throws, exchanging two points for two points. But when Sherron Collins of Kansas hit a huge three, to cut Memphis' lead to six, the game had comeback, and great finish written all over it. Memphis was still fine the next time they were fouled, with CDR hitting both his free throws with 1:39 to go. And then, the real Memphis came out. I mentioned in an earlier post, that if you're ever losing to Memphis late, just foul them. Well Kansas heeded my advice to their benefit. At 1:15, CDR missed the front end of a one-and-one, and I was thinking, oh boy, Memphis is in trouble. At this point Kansas had cut the lead to 2 at 60-62, so I was just waiting for it to happen. Then Memphis blocked a layup attempt by Collins, and had a fast break. Now CDR had a look at a layup, and took it, getting fouled with 16 seconds to play. This play killed me. Why would you go for a layup, when you know the guy is not going to let you score, with 16 seconds to go, when you can pull out, and run out the clock. The way Memphis was moving the ball, it would have been tough for Kansas to steal the ball, and pulling the ball out, would take some more precious seconds off the game that Memphis was letting slip through their hands. At this point I was pulling my hair out of my head.

CDR had already just missed the front end of a one-and-one, so now he had two shots to redeem himself right? He missed both free throws. Both! You just don’t do that in the National Championship. All right fine, he missed the free throws, but how did Kansas let Robert Dozier get the offensive rebound? So they get the rebound, and get it to Derrick Rose. I’m thinking, game over, Rose is on the line, probably going to MOP, right? He misses the first free throw. So at this point, I’m like holy crap, they keep leaving the door open for Kansas. And to be totally honest, Rose’s shot looked like it was good from the beginning and it just rimmed out. He hit the second one extending the lead to three.

So now I’m like, they’re up 3, Kansas has hit, what, maybe 2 or 3 three pointers the whole game? There’s no way they’re coming down the length of the court, putting up a three that everyone knows is coming and actually have it go in, right? Enter Mario Chalmers. With two Memphis guys jumping at him, arms fully extended, Super Mario hit a beautiful cold-blooded three. He made it look ridiculously easy, like it was a game of horse, and he just ended it. And just like that, Memphis who was on the verge of winning the National title, let Kansas back into the game, and gave them new life heading into overtime.

Once the game went into overtime, I knew it was over. There’s no way a team has a great come back like Kansas and ends up losing. After Super Mario saved them, Kansas was going to win. I knew this, everyone in the stands knew this, and Memphis knew it, you could tell by their body language.

I want to go back to the free throw shooting. I noticed that CDR had this look of frustration, like he knew he was doing something wrong on his free throws, and that’s what killed him. Today I had a bunch of free throw shooting contests with my buddy, and needless to say, he beat me every time (I would hit 8 of 10, he would hit 9). But what I realized was that he always hit the last one, while I constantly missed the last one. And it’s a very simple reason. On the last one, I wanted to make it so bad, I analyzed every single aspect of the shot. Am I bending my knees enough? Did I look at the hoop enough? Am I following through correctly? Thinking so much about these things actually made me miss the shot instead of getting it in, like the other shots before it. I saw it all over CDR’s face. He was thinking. At the free throw line, you don’t think; just shoot.

I noticed this big difference between CDR and Derrick Rose’s free throws. When CDR shot the ball, you knew it was a miss, but when Rose put up his first shot, not only did it look good, but he seemed confident about it, and it was just natural. It happened to rim out, but he came back and hit the next one. Had Rose taken the free throws that CDR took, guaranteed, he would make at least 2 of 3. That’s the difference between a good player and a great player. But then again, the “great player” missed a free throw that would have put the game away.

The Madness is over.

Peace and love

-SB

Then there were 2

2008-04-05T20:59:00.001-07:00

Wow. What just happened? I'm in temporary shock over the fact that not only did UCLA lose, but the two winners I predicted a few games back, before the semi-finals were completely wrong.

See, here's another thing that ticks me off. Announcers that really forget they're on TV, or are just plain and simple, stupid. I'm sorry, but I had to say it. And to be quite honest, I didn't know who was calling the games, but watching the Kansas game, around half time, I heard "Kansas should watch out, they don't want to let the game get out of hand." Dude, Kansas was up by 17 points. 17 freaking points. Sure, they weren't up by 28 like they were earlier, but how long can you be up 28 against another #1 seed? I ended up putting the game on mute and watching (true story).

Ok fine, I was totally off. But hey, like my buddy reminded me, I did say, "Of course since I predicted it, the way my bracket's been going, it'll probably end up being Memphis vs. Kansas" But I gotta say, hats off to both teams, they were sick.

That being said, what the heck happened to the Love Boys? The Bruins kept it close, but it felt like they weren't in their element. Their run and gun style was replaced by sluggish half-court play. What's up with that? Besides, who needs to even cross halfcourt when Kevin Love can do this. I also felt that Love didn't get nearly enough touches throughout the game, and never was really in tune with everyone. When you got a guy like Kevin Love, and he's not really integrated into the game plan, and isn't really involved, you deserve to lose. And with the loss, I can officially burn my bracket now.

Last thing about the Memphis-UCLA game. Derrick Rose is nasty. I heard a lot about him, but I never really watched Memphis play a full game. All I can say is that the Knicks better tank every single game from now until the end of the year.

Now regarding the UNC fiasco. Kansas was crazy. I've seen them play during the season, but man, this was something else, jumping out to a 40-12 lead on UNC. When I started watching the game, I did a double-take (I turned it on when it was 40-12). I even asked my sister to read me the score, to see if I was all right. Yes, UNC was losing 40-12. They made a hell of a comeback, I'll give them that, but it was just too much, especially emotionally. Going from 28 down, to bringing it to 5, but just can't close the deal, it takes a toll. And what was up with the non-calls whenever Hansbrough touched the ball? He got hacked a bunch of times down under, and no calls. I mean give the guy a little respect, he was just named Player of the Year. Another thing I noticed, that just ticked me off was the amount of little floaters, and 6-8 foot jump shots UNC missed. Good Morning fellas, you lose, you're out, gotta hit these shots.

I'm done with March Madness, maybe I'll congratulate the winner or whatever, but right now I'm as confused as this guy

Last thing, and this one has nothing to do with sports. John Mayer is the man. Read about why

Peace and love

-SB

Playoffs time, Fantasy style

2008-04-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again. Playoffs are rolling around. For those of you that are in fantasy basketball leagues, it's crunch time. This is what the whole season boils down to.

What's great about fantasy basketball as opposed to baseball or football is that very rarely do stars rest. Even if their team has clinched home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, they will still play. They may not play as much, meaning their numbers will drop, but at least it's not football where you're relying on your quarterback to win you a playoff game, only to find out he's going to "take it easy" and rest since his team has already clinched a spot in the playoffs. That kills me. It's always killed me in baseball, because all the players on good teams are resting, and all the players on bad teams, if they show the slightest sign of injury, they're done for the year. Come on, help a brotha out!

Basketball is great though, because even though Elton Brand and the Clippers have no shot at getting into the playoffs, he's still playing and getting me some decent stats (great late season pickup). Even if he does have his own intentions in mind (contract year) he's still playing the last 8 or so games, and probably being the reason I win the championship this year.

Ok fine, it's a bit premature, but I haven't lost in my league since November 19th of last year. Undefeated since then and rolling through the playoffs (Reminds me of a certain football team...knock on wood), beating my opponent 6-2 at the moment. I should be able to seal the deal because my key contributors are in the west, where it'll be a fight until the last game.

I'm not going to front and say I'm a fantasy guru, but I did my homework this year. Turkoglu was a great sleeper for me, as was Brad Miller (ranked 33rd in Yahoo!), Danny Granger (20th) and I had a couple of great waiver pick-ups (Rafer Alston, Francisco Garcia). Chris Paul tore it up this year, and the Shaq trade made Amare worth the 13th pick overall.

Well for those of you that didn't make it to the playoffs, draft better next year, or just pay attention to who's hot and get to that waiver wire quick. And please, half of my buddies aren't in the playoffs because they don't update their teams. Don't do that to yourself.

Peace and love

-SB

Short N Sweet

2008-04-03T13:07:00.001-07:00

This one, to keep up my my vow of "daily dose" is going to be really short. I do have a bio test tomorrow, so let's get started.

Welcome back Gilbert Arenas and Pau Gasol. You know, the Wizards were doing fine without Arenas, showing they can actually play without him and have a decent team besides Arenas. I'm curious to see how it plays out for the Wizards in terms of chemistry the remainder of the season and playoffs. It didn't work out too well last night

A lot of people are already crowning the Lakers the champs of the west, going to the finals, whatever it is. I can't buy it until I see a healthy Pau Gasol and healthy Bynum. You know what, screw the healthy Bynum, if Pau Gasol plays at 100%, the Lakers are going to be real scary. Heck, Kobe by himself almost took out the Suns last year, can you imagine what he could do with a solid Pau Gasol?

Do the Celtics look good or what? They could actually keep up with the Western Conference winner in the Finals. I was looking at their record and was shocked at their success against the West. Can they take 4 of 7 from the West Champ? Probably not, but I think they'll give them a good run for their money.

Final Point: Detroit scares the hell out of me. The Pistons are laying low, under the radar, but are pretty solid this year again. They've performed fairly well against the Celtics. During the regular season they were the only ones who actually gave the Celtics some trouble. I would watch out for them, and if I was a Celtics fan, hope that somehow they get upset early.

Peace and love

-SB

Madness? This is...The Final Four!

2008-04-02T11:27:00.000-07:00

With college basketball season winding down with the Final Four, I really can't believe what happened this year. All #1's made it to the Final Four. Even Kansas. I know, strange but true, Kansas actually went deep into the tournament this year.

My bracket is destroyed. There's definitely some random guy in some office pool who knows nothing about college basketball that picked all the favorites that's about to win thousands. What's so great about March madness is that this occurrence has never happened. Never have all 4 #1 seeds been in the Final Four.

I'll tell you who I was thoroughly shocked with. Psycho T. He played the best game of his season at the most crucial point for his team. With the game on the line, Tyler Hansborough played out of his mind, knocking down midrange shots, getting boards, and basically singlehandedly lifting UNC to the Final Four. Pretty clutch if you ask me. Speaking of clutch...

Stephen Curry. What happened in the game against Kansas? He still had a great game, but what was that ridiculous sequence at the end? Sure Kansas was guarding him well but if you are the team, (that's not a misprint) you have to take the last shot. He kept dribbling, waiting for his opportunity, and then passed off. There was a point where he should have decided, all right, screw it, they know I'm gonna take the shot, my team knows it, I know it, but I'm gonna do it anyway, and make it. That was not a shot to be passing off, and honestly, if he pulled up from 30 feet away, the way they've been playing, I would have been surprised if he missed it. All in all Davidson had a great run, (even though they destroyed my bracket) and Curry put himself on the map.

In other news, I still like UCLA to win it all. That's the one part of my bracket that's still intact. Kevin Love has been tearing it up, along with the run and gun style they like to play. I like watching them, and I think their close game against Texas A&M woke them up. Good Morning Love and company, you lose, you're out. I don't think Memphis has a chance against them, and if it's close, just tell UCLA to foul Memphis.

Again, I'm shocked Kansas made it this far without falling, but I can't see them beating UNC. UNC has been proving me wrong since the tournament started. At first I said, they won a lot of close games that shouldn't have been close, so I doubted that they could make it to the final four without being upset. I doubted that Psycho T was as good as he is, and I was wrong. He's better than people think, plus his heart is as big as a friggin' refrigerator. I'm saying UNC vs. UCLA with the Love boys pulling out a tight one.

Of course since I predicted it, the way my bracket's been going, it'll probably end up being Memphis v Kansas

Final Note: Like the storyline of UNC Coach Roy Williams vs. his former team Kansas

Peace and love

-SB

Kobe or Lebron for MVP? Neither

2008-04-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

So the NBA season is coming to a close, and I figured, what the heck, every sportswriter in America has thought about, discussed, or wrote an article about who the MVP should be this year, so here's my take.

LeBron is having a killer year. There is no question about it. For all the haters out there who say he's in the east, boo hoo, he's putting up nearly triple-double numbers up every night (30.4 pts 8.1 rebs 7.3 assists). Is any player more valuable to his team? Maybe, maybe not, but the stats show Cleveland to be 0-6 without King James. He does everything on the court on a regular basis except shooting 40 foot shots (unless he's playing the Knicks, see here).

Kobe Bryant is having his usual year, putting up great numbers again, but not up to LeBron's standards (28.6, 6.3, 5.4) but I'll cut him some slack because he does play in the toughest conference in sports. What's different this year is that the Lakers are actually winning. But here's the catch, the Lakers are loaded right now, ready for a championship run with players like Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum (If he ever gets healthy), Lamar Odom (has he ever hit a clutch free throw?) and Derek Fisher. This year Kobe's got the tools to make a serious run.

Facts being stated, while both these players hold an obvious statistical advantage to anyone in the league, there is one player who I would name MVP over both of them.

CP3.

Chris Paul is ridiculous. He's leading the league in steals, assists, and puts up 21.5 points a game. Stats aside, what he's done for his team is mind-boggling. He's brought back Tyson Chandler from the dead and made David West into an All-Star. The New Orleans Hornets have 50 wins this year. No that's not a typo, they have 50 wins and are tied for first. First place in the Western Conference. Not only that, he doesn't have any bona fide All-Star. Say what you want about David West making the All-Star game, but without Chris Paul, he's another role player.. That goes double for Tyson Chandler. Tied with last year's champs for first in the toughest conference in all of sports. The way he plays is just fun to watch. I would go so far as to call him either the best or 2nd best point guard in the NBA (depending on whether you're a Suns fan or not). He tore it up in the All-Star game dropping 16 dimes and almost leading the West on a crazy comeback.

Without half the talent that some of the teams in the West have, the Hornets are leading the West, thanks to CP3. Will he get the MVP? I hope so, but realistically it will probably go to Kobe Bryant.

All I have to say is, CP3 for MVP.

(I wonder how Hawks fans are feeling right now..)

Peace and love

-SB

Opening day in the USA

2008-03-31T20:07:00.000-07:00

The MLB is back in the USA. After starting the season in Japan (baseball in the morning?) baseball is back in America, and started with a bang. The Nationals beat the braves on a walk-off home run by Ryan Zimmerman. They won again today against the Phillies. Couple of things I was thinking about

The Nationals can actually be spoilers this year. I have the feeling they're going to be a gritty, comeback team that gives winning team fits with their style of play, but aren't going to go anywhere. With a few good players, a nameless rotation and no consistent fearsome hitter in the middle of the lineup, it's hard to see them finishing over .500 no matter how many early wins they get.
Lastings Milledge is a bargain and should be one of the few bright spots for the team. The Nationals got him for 75 cents on the dollar, and his "professionalism" issues with the Mets won't be that big an issue in Washington where the media doesn't eat everyone alive. He should have a breakout year with his power numbers but I don't see his average skyrocketing, and hovering around .270. He reminds me a bit of Manny Ramirez, but still a ways to go.

I was watching today's Mets opener against Florida, and I love Johan Santana. As a die-hard Mets fan, I couldn't help but smile as Florida hitters flailed at his pitches in the wind down in Florida. Santana was dominant today, but a mistake showed his weakness that may bite him later on. He gave up a two run homer, something he has been prone to as of late. I am curious to see how he will perform against heavy hitters who frequently strike out, but also frequently hit home runs (see Adam Dunn, Ryan Howard, Pat Burrell, etc.). He looked smooth today, but I can see him running into minor bumps down the road. Will he get 20 wins? Barring injury, of course, especially with the Mets offense behind him.

The Yankees were rained out today, and I was a bit disappointed. Chien-Ming Wang was scheduled to start today and I wanted to see how he came back from his shelling in the playoffs. I don't think that would carry over, and I think the dominant pitcher who won 19 games last year would show up, but we'll have to wait and see. As much as I hate to say it, the Yankees should be a legit contender this year with an upgrade coming in the form of their youthful pitching. It still remains to be seen whether they will pick up the winning ways immediately or will take some time, but the Yankees should be fine this season (unfortunately)

That's all for now, stay tuned

Peace and love

-SB

Who's on first?

2008-03-31T20:00:00.000-07:00

Well, folks, here it is. The first one, numero uno, the one that starts it all. This is the Sports Brotha coming at you live, we are up and running and we are ready to go. Hop onto the bandwagon before it gets too crowded. No topic is off limits for the Sports Brotha, and will tackle topics as per request.

Thanks everyone, and spread the word. Email is always an option (SportsBrotha@gmail.com) or simply visit the site www.sportsbrotha.blogspot.com

Peace and love

-SB