Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate

LOVE

- Loved Rajon Rondo’s hustle play against the Magic, which was a perfect illustration of the heart and effort of the Celtics destroying the weak Magic. Up 17 in the first half, Rondo dove head first to steal a loose ball that he and Jason Williams were chasing into the backcourt. Williams had the lead and the edge in the race but Rondo’s effort made the difference, and he then got up with a couple dribbles and made a lay up to increase the blow out. The Magic have shown no heart in the series and will likely be able to schedule tee times for tomorrow morning when their off season begins.

- John Axford’s mustache is awesome. I don’t know anything about the guy, but I logged on to watch the end of Sunday’s Brewers win over the Twins and saw Axford’s mustache on the mound closing out the game. It looks straight out of the 70’s. Almost as important as the facial hair was the fact that he was throwing in the mid to high 90’s. That is something the Brewers entire pitching staff has been missing for years. They haven’t had a guy with an electric fastball that can keep hitters from digging into the batters box and being able to stay in there with no fear of the pitcher owning the inside of the plate.

- Amare Stoudemire responded well in Game 3 to rightfully deserved criticism for being soft during the first two games against the Lakers. He had a monster game with over 40 points and double-digit rebounds. The more impressive part was the versatility he showed on offense while hitting mid-range jumpers, and squaring up and driving past his defenders in addition to his typical mad crashing of the rim on great passes from Steve Nash. Like Amanda Seyfried, he showed the full range of his abilities with his back to the basket/camera (in Big Love) and facing up (in Chloe). The question is whether the rejuvenated Amare will be enough if Lamar Odom gets back on a sugar high in future games because he looked like he ran out of Skittles in game 3.

HATE

- The idea of a cold weather Super Bowl. It does not really have anything to do with the fans or the corporations that buy Super Bowl tickets. The bigger issue is that if the weather does not cooperate, it diminishes the level of play on the field. Yes, games in the snow can be fun to watch on television, but don’t you want to see the best teams playing at their highest level of play? Teams having to play in the rough elements will change the game dramatically and force them to alter the way they played to get to the Super Bowl. Where would you rather hang out with Sara Tomassi – at a ski resort where you are only getting glimpses when you’re at the hot tub of the resort or would you rather spend a week in Miami where she’s in a bikini by the pool all day every day? Seems like a no brainer that you would want to keep the Super Bowl in nice weather to make it the most likely that the teams will be able to showcase their skills on the biggest stage.

- Regardless of your political views, why is President Obama wasting time doing a sit down interview with Marv Alberts? I get the whole “I’m a man of the people and a huge sports fan” angle thing that he has been trying to portray. I appreciate him liking sports, but there seems to be some bigger issues out there in the world that need his attention……finance reform, European debt levels going through the roof, unemployment, an oil spill threatening to wreck the gulf coast, terrorism, etc. And stumping for LeBron to come to Chicago is just pathetic and seems overly contrived.

- RIP to Lima Time. Jose Lima died of an apparent heart attack this weekend in Los Angeles and was only 37 years old. Lima was known for his quirky habits, playing the guitar and talking to himself incessantly on the mound. He had success with the Houston Astros but also played for many teams including the Mets, Royals and Dodgers. He was the type of fun-loving, eccentric personality that you could easily root for as a fan.

The Back Nine - Hitting the Links

Another way to interact……ask me anything. Here’s the link to a page where you can literally ask me anything and I’ll post an answer. It’s really that simple. So have at it. Ask me anything on anything and I’ll have an answer. You can also ask me a question through the icon on the lower right hand side of the page (below the polls but above the links). I will solve the mysteries of life………….

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Paul Shirley, the most famous benchwarmer in NBA history, had an interesting take on the situation in Haiti. Unfortunately, that view got him fired from his role as a contributor at ESPN. At least he has that lucrative pro basketball career…….or never mind. Hope he enjoyed his short time not completely in the shade.

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I lost a ton of respect for Tom Jackson after the Vikings-Saints game when he made the following statement “That’s the thing about Brett Favre; he’s not afraid to throw an interception. That’s one of the things I most admire about him.” Blink, blink, blank stare. What? Then Tommy must love Jay Cutler more than life itself. I mean, is that like saying the thing I like about Brad Lidge is that he’s not afraid to blow saves? He’s not afraid to let Albert Pujols launch one into orbit in the playoffs. The thing I love about Whitney Port is she’s not afraid to be the dullest thing to ever sport a bikini and allow fame whores like Heidi Montag and Kristin Cavalliri to take the spotlight. Or something like that.

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Greg Oden had an ex-flame post pictures of his wang all over the internet (the link is safe – I don’t need to look at his junk). He owned up to it, called it a mistake and is trying to move on. Not much of a story there really as it’s just another lesson on the way crazy women can get back at you. It’s right up there with the crazy mistress for the guy from Oracle/Obama’s cabinet that bought huge billboards outside the house the guy shares with his wife and posted a picture of them. But the part of the Oden presser that was entertaining was the female reporter asking him why he was embarrassed and that “a lot of people are impressed.” Alrighty then lady, why don’t you just ask him to take you to dinner?

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Well of course Brett Favre has to be involved in the whole Tiger Woods scandal, right? Apparently Elin has been staying at the Favre compound while visiting Tig in his sex rehab. So is it because Brett’s place is nicer than any other place in Mississippi? Or is it because Favre never misses an opportunity to kind of come across like a decent person, when in reality it’s just another excuse to get some attention for himself? Then again, maybe Deanna has some advice for Elin on how to deal with a philandering star athlete spouse?

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A friend of mine has a relaunched blog: Who’s On Second. He’s a die-hard Yankee’s fan with strong opinions across the board on sports. He also has tons of info on sports card collecting as well. So check it out and send some traffic to both of us.

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I know it’s a day late, but in case you dvr’d the State of the Union last night and are going to watch it while drinking this evening, here are the ground rules for the drinking game. My personal favorite:

“If you want to get buck shitty: Do a shot of liquor every time Obama uses the words "Rescue, Rebuild, or Restore." Optional flourish: Do a shot of just beer every time he uses certain accepted synonyms for those words, like, "salvage," "reconstruct," and "Haiti."

Today, I’m going to end world hunger, stop all wars, bring terrorists to their knees, give everyone a job, and fix the economy. Wait, just saying it with great emphasis and a smug smirk doesn’t make it happen? Who knew? Well, if all else fails, I’ll just continue to blame it all on those before me that screwed it up too much for even me to fix it.

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This guy is awesome. Just a nice way to get back at a company for not returning a call or email. It also reminds me of Seinfeld (very early on in the show) when George got fired but decided to show up to work anyway like nothing ever happened and acted like it was all just a joke.

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I’m definitely not the leading edge tech guy out there, and I’m sure the new Apple computer will eventually be a pretty sweet revolution. But right now, doesn’t it kind of look like a Saturday Night Live commercial for a really, really big iPhone? And others are already having a field day with the name iPad, referring to it instead as the iTampon. Should be interesting to see if the public is buying it.

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Tuesday Ramblings

Gilbert Arenas and his Washington Wizards teammate Jarvis Crittenden pulled guns on each other in their own locker room after an argument about a gambling debt. Is any of this a surprise? The fact that Hayden Panttiere has boobs and that she’s dating boxing champion Wladamir Klitschko is a surprise. NBA players with guns in the locker room is not a surprise. But the one-liners or newspaper headlines are almost too easy……just a few samples:

Agent Zero and his not so secret weapons

Arenas is a Shooting Guard Gone Wild

Arenas takes the “Gunner” label to new levels

Agent Zero makes his case for the team to go back to the Bullets nickname

Arenas got confused playing at the Target Center in Minnesota

And so on, and so on, and so on. The story is just another example of how these athletes continue to test the levels of stupidity they can reach. These guys have the money, so your bodyguard, manager or your boys should be doing all of the gun carrying and driving after a night of downing Patron. That's the price they have to pay for being part of your celebrity athlete posse.

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While the Fiesta Bowl was entertaining to watch, I’m pretty sure it didn’t do anything to help the case for a playoff. Both TCU and Boise State would have been the Michael Spinks to Florida, Alabama or Texas’s Mike Tyson. They are good football teams but they do not have the athleticism, size or speed to truly play with the big boys. I loathe the current system of spread out bowl games (I almost forgot there were more games to play after a 2 day break), the playoff wouldn’t make a difference. Small schools with gimmicky offenses and trick plays (why are teams EVER surprised when Boise State fakes a punt??) may win one game against the powerhouses, but they would not be able to advance through multiple rounds of games. Can you see Boise State beating Georgia Tech and then following it up by beating Ohio State and then having to still beat Alabama in a championship? Neither can I. It’s kind of like Gwen Stefani - she’s not for everyone, and she’s not going to stack up against the most talented musicians or women, but she has her moments of brilliance and can be entertaining.

So until we have a better solution than a playoff - maybe a “plus-one” system where after the bowl games are played we have one final championship game? - we shouldn’t mess with the current system.

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USC was put on probation for the improper benefits that OJ Mayo received from boosters during his one year on campus. Memo to all coaches at USC: Stay away from great athletes named OJ that want to wear #32. They tend to bring trouble to Los Angeles. Mayo didn’t (allegedly) kill his ex-wife and her lover, then have his buddy lead the cops on a low-speed chase down the 405 in a white Bronco, and spend the next 15 years looking for the killer on golf courses all over southern California. Yet his brief time didn’t produce overwhelming success on the court and his off the court actions will cause a lasting headache for the entire program.

The only thing more contrived and bogus than the Obama Beer Summit with Henry Gates & James Crowley is NCAA probation. When a program violates the rules, the NCAA cracks down by making teams “vacate” victories during the time of the violation, takes away scholarships and bans

the team from the postseason. Who does this punishment actually affect? In many instances, the players that are the cause of the probation have left school early for the pros. The coaching staff has the ability to leverage the success they enjoyed with the violating player into a bigger, higher-paying job and leaves campus. So the people that have to pay for the violation are the new coaching staff and the players still around on the team who have lost a scholarship and the hope of postseason play.

And if those players want to transfer to a school with an opportunity to play in the postseason, they have to sit out a year after transferring. A coach who jumps programs doesn’t pay any penalty - after crashing the rental car into a tree, he walks away and heads to the bar to toast to his next big pay day. Yes, I’m talking to you, John Calipari or Jim Harrick. These guys crashed multiple programs (Calipari at UMass and Memphis, and Harrick at UCLA, Rhode Island and Georgia) and were continually given new programs to run. Bobby Knight may have been a prick and mistreated his players, but he was dead on when he said that he was glad he was no longer coaching because the game lacked integrity and John Calipari was the perfect example of that lack of integrity. Maybe the game would have been better off if John Cheaney (who is among the few coaches that look like their mascot - the Owls) had actually been able to carry out his threat on the then-UMass coach…………