Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate

LOVE

- Spent the long holiday weekend in New England on the beaches of New Hampshire and southern Maine. The first day we went to Hampton Beach in New Hampshire which was a disappointment because the crowd looked like the rejects from Jersey Shore. Whenever you see an arcade on the boardwalk, I would say that tells you all you need to know about the beach. The rest of the weekend we went to Ogunquit Beach in Maine which had an inordinate number of members of Team Ricky Martin there (not that there’s anything wrong with that) but the beach is awesome. I had forgotten how funny and uneducated the Boston/New England accent is until this weekend brought it back again.

As we’re packing up the car on Monday morning after checking out of the hotel and heading to the beach for the day, a random short little guy in sweatpants with a thick New England accents walks by and randomly starts telling us that the light haze over the city is actually smoke, so be careful with the air conditioning in our room. We’re perplexed, but nod and continue to throw stuff in the car. He gets about 20 yards away, turns back and as if we were still talking to him just throws out there: “Canada’s awn fi-yah! Smoke’s bad. People ahh gonna be lightheaded.” He then disappears into the parking garage. My wife and I look at each other so confused…..did that just happen? And what was he talking about that all of Canada is on fire? Turns out he actually wasn’t crazy and supposedly the wildfires in Canada have produced smoke that somehow had blown down the coast and caused a morning haze over much of New England. Who knew? Canada really was on fi-yah.

- How good is Ubaldo Jimenez right now? The guy has won 10 of his 11 decisions and has an ERA of 0.78. His only loss was a game when he gave up 2 hits and 1 run. The guy has been an absolute monster. It will be interesting to see how long he can keep up this incredible hot pace and what his stats will end up for the season. And he’s doing it with a home field in Denver that has been a nightmare for pitchers over the years. Just an incredible start.

- As much as I would have appreciated Steve Nash and Grant Hill getting a shot a title, it is much more entertaining to have the classic NBA giant matchup of the Celtics and Lakers in the NBA Finals. I will make a prediction for the series later in the week, but I actually just want to point out that I hit both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals on the nose by picking the winners in 6 games. You’re welcome. Three years ago the people of Boston were screaming “Fi=yah Dawk!!” (which is their version of “Fire Doc!” at every game, and now they are in position to win their second title in 3 years. Meanwhile, the Lakers are making their 3rd consecutive trip to the Finals and seeking back-to-back titles.

HATE

- Kendry Morales of the Angels broke his leg when he landed awkwardly on home plate after a walk-off homer. Wow. Somewhere Gus Frerotte is nodding his head in a combination of shame and understanding.

- Enough with the NBA “Power Summit” meeting that is going to take place between LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, and any and all of the potential free agents. Yes, these guys are going to talk to each other about where they are going and who could potentially play together. I hope any franchise that allows these guys to hijack them into changing coaches or directing other signings is ready for the fact that they will have to continue to bow down to these players for their entire contracts. That is a dangerous game to get involved with.

Too Much Ego for Buehrle & Perkins

I have written in the past that I do not like to whine about officiating because they are human, they make some mistakes and they take too much criticism from people that can watch in super-slow-motion-high-definition replays. Yet two event s in two different sports yesterday highlighted a problem with the umpires/officials that doesn’t involve them making bad calls during the course of the game. The problem is that the egos of the umpire/official got in the way, resulting in the ejection of key players in the White Sox game and in the Celtics game.

It has always been said that the best officiated game is one in which you do not even notice or remember the officials. There are tough calls and close calls and as long as an official is mostly consistent and confident in their calls, there is not much else to be said. Yet when the officials start to wedge their way into the key moments of the game and affect the outcome because they make a spectacle of themselves, it is a major problem.

Yesterday in Chicago Joe West was the first base umpire and West already has a reputation as a guy with a quick hook and a knack for making himself the center of attention. He called the slow pace of the Red Sox-Yankees games a “disgrace” to baseball. While he is correct that those games are insanely slow, the umpire is not the guy you want to hear from about it. Fast forward to yesterday and West ejected White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and starting pitcher Mark Buehrle before the 3rd inning was over on two controversial balk calls. Buehrle dropped his glove in disgust after the second balk and was given the heave-ho. Give me a break, Joe. That wasn’t “showing you up” as all of the umpires in baseball like to lean on for a rationale for ejection. In reality, West showed up Buehrle. Bud Selig needs to step in and do something about West before it gets even more out of hand.

In the Celtics-Magic game, Kendrick Perkins was hit with two technical fouls and ejected before halftime. As a side note, that gives him 7 technicals during the playoffs which would qualify him for a one game suspension if the league does not recind the technicals from last night (and I think they will take back both of them). Perkins got his first technical when his hand slipped while helping Paul Pierce up and his arm flew back resulting in an elbow to Martin Gortat. The officials hit Perkins and Gortat with a double technical. A bad call overall, but can’t really be argued that much. If the official didn’t see the arm slip, it appeared he threw an elbow. Fine. The second technical was egregious and a result of an official being overly sensitive. After a questionable touch call, Perkins stomped away from the official and whined that it was a bullshit call. Again, he stomped AWAY from the official. Yet the referee quickly slapped him with a technical without pausing to realize that Perkins was walking away and that it would be his second technical and lead to an ejection of a key post player early in the game. Perkins is a notorious whiner but did not deserve to be thrown out.

Officials and umpires need to check their egos at the door and realize that these are athletes competing at the highest level and their emotions are running high. They may react when a call goes against them and not every eye roll or stomping of the feet is “showing up” an umpire. They need to have thicker skin than that because they are affecting games and potentially a playoff series.

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And one final note that shows size does not matter…….in women’s tennis.

Phil Jackson to Coach The Bulls? NO!

There is a rumor, or report – depending upon your perspective, that the Bulls have sent out feelers to Phil Jackson’s people to see if Jackson is interested in coaching the Bulls next season. That is not happening. There are a few reasons he may not be coaching the Lakers next season, but if he is not on the bench in LA he will not be on the bench anywhere. Like Ali Fedotowsky, the new Bachelorette that debuted last night, Jackson and Ali are both in high demand, but their shelf life is very limited. Ali is not really famous and just like all of the past “stars” of the reality shows they should appreciate the attention now because they will be long forgotten in less than a year. Jackson is 64 years old with a tremendous amount of health issues regarding his knees and his back. He can barely pace the sidelines and work the officials during the games. He doesn’t have that many years left to coach.

Reason #1 to go to Chicago: First and foremost is……the money. (you thought I was going to mention that LeBron guy)

He’s making $12 million this season and the Lakers have notified him that he will need to take a significant pay cut to return to the LA bench next year.

Why that won’t drive him out of LA: Part of that pay cut may or may not be related to an agreement for Phil to not travel on all of the Lakers roadtrips and other methods to ease the physical burden on him. Yet that is not reported by the big-four-letter. The only thing reported is a cut in salary for the coach with 10 World Championships. That must be a slight and Phil should head for the exits. In reality, the Lakers may be giving him more respect than any other team would to allow him to step back slightly to maintain his health.

Reason #2 to go to Chicago: He remained on good terms with Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf

Why that won’t drive him out of LA: He is not dating Reinsdorf’s daughter. He is dating Dr. Jerry Buss’s daughter, Jeanie. That’s a mismatch in favor of LA. It just doesn’t seem very likely that he would up and leave his girlfriend’s father’s team . He has a comfortable life with a team and owner that respects him and allows him to do whatever he needs to do.

Reason #3 to go to Chicago: A Young and Talented Team

The lure of coaching a young and talented team with Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and potentially that LeBron James guy. If LeBron were to sign in Chicago the Bulls would have a core of young talent that could challenge for titles for the next 10 years. They would also have the potential cap space to swing a sign and trade with Toronto for Chris Bosh, giving up Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich and draft picks. It can be debated whether Rose and James would be a good fit together as both tend to dominate the ball and are primarily penetrators rather than outside shooters, yet you cannot debate whether that team would have the talent to win it all repeatedly.

Why that won’t drive him out of LA: The Lakers have more talent

Yes, the Bulls would be in line to contend for the next ten years with Jackson & James. However he is currently coaching a team that is two wins away from their third straight NBA Finals appearance. He is currently coaching the best player in the game – Kobe Bryant. Yes, Kobe is more on the downside of his career than the upside, but he remains the best closer in the game, the most clutch performer and fiercest competitor. None of that can be said for James or for Rose at this point. Jackson is 64 years old. Add to that his health concerns and it appears unlikely that he will be coaching more than 3 or 4 more years. Bryant will remain lethal for that long. Gasol will still be among the best big men in the game for that long. Andrew Bynum won’t be 25 in 3 years. Lamar Odom will still be on a sugar high (though the concern is that being married to a Kardashian could drive him to the looney bin). He has young assets like Jordan Farmar to replace Derek Fisher, and Shannon Brown to play the Ron Artest role. Why would he leave a sure thing for a chance to see if LeBron really has that ultracompetitive gear?

At the end of the day, Phil has everything he wants in Los Angeles with the Lakers. He has the best team that will remain a title contender the next few years. He has the girl, thanks to the owner. He has made more than enough money in his career to comfortably take a pay cut for less travel and wear and tear on his body. Phil Jackson will be the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers next season.

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.

Degenerate Friday!! Random Ramblings

Before I get to any gambling talk, a couple of random thoughts…..

First, who the hell invented button-flys on pants or shorts? My wife bought me a new pair of khaki shorts because she said cargo shorts were more out than Ricky Martin. Anyway, they’re your basic shorts except that they have a button fly. A button-fly must have been invented by a woman and signed off on by a guy who has never gotten any in his life. Let’s see, a girl – we’ll say Diora Baird for fun - finally decides to give you some action, but you’re going to make it extremely difficult to get into the junkyard to play with your junk. And while she’s fiddling with the buttons, your chubinski has went softer than the Suns defense. Great idea Mr. Clothes Designer.

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I’m in the gym yesterday afternoon in Manhattan and notice a girl is wearing a pair of shorts with “Wisconsin” across her rear end. Interesting, and then I notice she’s also wearing a t-shirt with “Wisconsin” across her chest. So in many instances I would ask her if she went to Wisconsin or was from Wisconsin. However, in this instance, what’s the proper way to approach a girl and tell her that you noticed she had Wisconsin across her butt and across her chest….but I wasn’t checking out her butt or her chest. And since she was wearing headphones, do I motion towards her butt or chest? Yeah, that’s not going to go over well. Let’s just move on……..

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Maybe the Magic and the Suns will get back into their series this weekend. Maybe not. My degenerate picks for the week:

Saturday: Boston (-3.5) at Orlando
Sunday: Phoenix (-3) vs. Los Angeles

Maybe the Suns can hope for their fans to be almost as rowdy as these European hoops fans (wait for the 35 second mark)……

Fire Ken Macha?

As the Brewers slide has reached 9 games and counting, the heat under manager Ken Macha’s seat has reached a boiling point. The Brewers are a miserable 15-25 for the second-worst record in the National League (only one game ahead of the Astros) so fans and the media believe that management needs to do something to shake things up and show that they are dedicated to winning. The pitching staff has the 3rd worst ERA in all of baseball, are one of only 8 teams that do not have a single complete game and have issued the 5th most walks in baseball. While I am not the biggest fan of Macha, I don’t believe that firing him will fix any of the problems the Brewers have.

What would firing Macha really accomplish? Would firing Kenny change the fact that the starting pitching rarely makes an appearance after the 6th inning? Would firing him cause Trevor Hoffman to stop blowing save opportunities? Would firing Macha solve the rest of the bullpen collapse that has taken place where there is not one reliable arm out there? Would firing Macha get Prince Fielder to focus on hitting and this season instead of looking ahead to his free agency? I think the answer to all of these questions is a resounding “No.” So why would they fire him? Because Macha has less personality (at least outwardly with the media) than Audrina Patridge, and therefore it appears he is incapable of rallying the team to stop the slide.

The demise of the Brewers was less of a surprise than the revelation of a sex tape involving Kendra Wilkinson. To fix their NL-worst starting rotation from last year, they signed a 33-year old who had just put together a couple of strong seasons (Randy Wolf) and a left-handed Jeff Suppan clone in Doug Davis, whom they had already let go a few seasons earlier. They brought back a 42-year old closer. They continue to hold out hope for a Manny Parra to become an average major league pitcher, and they have now held on too long and he has lost any and all trade value. Why did we believe that this pitching staff was good enough to compete with the Cardinals, Reds, or any of the other solid teams in the National League?

The other end of the equation, is who would be the replacement for Macha? Dale Sveum? Yes, he was the interim manager that held the post for the last few weeks of 2008 and into the playoffs. Did he really do anything other than have more life than Ned Yost? He was so unimpressive that he was not really considered for the full time gig for 2009. And now suddenly he is going to be the answer to fix the Brewers? I just don’t see it. So where do they go instead? Willie Randolph? Is he a big change from Macha? Probably not. The point is that the Brewers should not fire Macha without knowing who they are going to replace him with and if that person is really going to make a difference. Michaelangelo wouldn’t have been able to paint the Sistine Chapel if he was using finger paints.

Firing Macha might make the fans and the media happy, but be reasonable about what effect it will actually have on on the field performance.

Always An Adventure With Airtran

I’ve mentioned in the past my disdain for Airtran, easily the worst of the so-called value airlines. Flying Airtran is just like partying with the North Carolina basketball team…only the exact opposite. It was another recent adventure trying to get back to New York from Milwaukee this week with the airline. I had booked a one-way flight from Milwaukee to LaGuardia as I had flown into Chicago for my brother-in-law’s graduation. Get to the airport, through security and board the plane without issue. As I’m watching the plane board, I’m noticing that the flight is less than 40% full, which is always a bad sign. Sure enough, immediately after everyone has boarded, they announce that there is a 30 minute ground delay, which isn’t a big deal except that they are going to allow people to deplane while waiting. Always a bad sign, meaning they know it’s going to be more than 30 minutes. Sure enough, within 10 minutes, they announce the flight has been cancelled due to “weather in New York.” Really? Do they really think we’re this dumb and gullible? I had spoken with my wife and looked at the weather on my blackberry. I’m not a weather man (I’m right more than 30% of the time, so I’m overqualified) It was 60 degrees, cloudy with no rain and winds under 10 miles per hour in New York. So that’s the weather cancelling the flight? Or is it actually that the plane was so empty it didn’t make business sense to waste the fuel flying an empty plane out to New York? I understand the decision, but don’t just make things up.

As we’re deplaning the lady at the desk is overwhelmed by the people begging her for information about what’s going to happen and what flights they can get. She starts telling people they will either be on the next flight or be routed through Atlanta. As I’m walking to another agent at a gate 50 yards away (in order to circumvent the line and get rebooked immediately) I get an email from Airtran notifying me that my flight was cancelled. Thanks Airtran for keeping me informed about my flight after I’ve exited the plane and am already rebooked on a different flight.

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A couple of quick thoughts while cruising at 35,000 feet…..

The Celtics have absolutely dominated the Magic in no small part because Vince Carter has went back into his shell as a less than clutch performer. With a healthy Garnett, an accurate Pierce and a dominating point guard in Rajon Rondo, the Celtics look unstoppable. The Magic are lost offensively because the Celtics are inviting them to feed Howard in the post so they can foul him and not leaving the Magic shooters open on the perimeter. The only way the Magic can score is with penetration and the only guy on their roster capable of doing that is Carter because Rondo has owned Jameer Nelson. And Carter isn’t capable.

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I was going to save this for a separate post, but it may be time to put Trevor Hoffman out to pasture. It’s a shame that the future Hall Of Famer and all-time saves leader has fallen so far so fast, but he just doesn’t have it. He has blown 5 of 10 save opportunities and has an ERA over 13. The problem the Brewers have is who to put in that spot. LaTroy Hawkins has closing experience, yet he’s on the disabled list and has been hammered this season as well. Todd Coffey just came off a shelling at the hands of the Reds so his confidence can’t exactly be peaked. Does that leave Carlos Villanueva as the closer by default? The Brewers are on pace for a 100 loss season as of this moment and need to do something to turn the tide of this ship. More tomorrow on the people calling for Ken Macha’s head……..Kenny is not the one blowing late game leads and Kenny is not a starting pitcher that can’t last past the 6th inning and Kenny is not the underachieving first baseman worrying more about his contract than about earning this year’s salary.

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The Lakers will take a commanding lead in the series tonight, and the reason will be that despite the Suns playing better defense this year than they have in the past, they are still not playing complete defense. The biggest culprit? It’s easier to score on Amare Stoudemire than it is to score as a cast member on Gossip Girl. Doug Gotlieb described Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol as getting “microwaved” by Stoudemire’s “defense” because as soon as you see him guarding you, you’re already warmed up and about to be on fire. And then for Amare to come out and say Odom had a lucky game when he got lit up for 19 points and 19 rebounds? And yet despite his obvious deficiencies, Amare is going to opt out of his contract this summer and someone is going to give him an outrageous contract. Just doesn’t make sense and I’ve questioned it in the past as well.