Hopefully you all have seen this by now: Brandon Inge/Jim Leyland Talk to the Media
Teams in the Western Conference are feeling crazy, nervous, and risky.
Especially the Spurs, Suns and Mavericks.
Those teams are beginning to realize they aren’t the Big Three out West anymore. The best teams in the West are the Hornets, Lakers, and Jazz.
Oh not to mention the Pistons and the Celtics are better than all three of those former Western Conference powerhouses.
*** Just a side note, can we like expand the amount of playoff teams in the west? I would love to see another Golden State/Dallas series this year, only the team playing the role of Golden State could be Portland and the team playing the role of Dallas could be Phoenix. There are like 6-10 really good teams in the West, and what like 2 good teams in the East? Fine you wanna throw Orlando and Cleveland in there? Fine, 4. But, I mean seriously, Atlanta? New Jersey? These teams aren’t playoff teams. ****
*** Another aside here, kudos to Mitch Kupchak for getting one of the best centers in the league for Kwame Brown and draft picks. Cocaine is a hell of a drug, huh Memphis? ***
Things are looking desperate for the teams who have been so good the past few years in the West. Phoenix did an equally drug induced move by trading Shawn Marion for an old, injured and washed up Shaq. The Spurs need help at point guard and think they found it in... Damon Stoudamire? The last time Might Mouse was relevant was when he was still playing for Lute Olson. Now, the Mavs just lost Josh Howard to a hurt back and it shouldn’t be long until they pull the trigger on something stupid. And even the throwing 6 players and a draft pick for Jason Kidd isn’t working out to well. By the way, the Mavs scored like 67 points against the Pistons in Detroit, and have been completely exposed ever since losing to the Warriors last year.
But, the fact is none of those teams matter (except maybe the Spurs). The new West is led by Kobe, Chris Paul, and Deron Williams. The Western Champion will be either the Lakers, Hornets, Jazz (or Spurs, NEVER leave out the defending Champs). Is it even a question that Kobe is the best player in the NBA or that Chris Paul is the best point guard in the league?
The West is also panicking because none of them seem to be able to be the Celtics (perfect against the West) or the Pistons. The rest of the East may be horrible, but the winner of the West will have to see one of those teams in the Finals. The West is good, a far superior conference over all, but no team is better than the Celtics or the Pistons.
The most amazing thing in the West is that there is 5 or 6 or even 7 teams, if you want to throw in Denver, are all very even. Such is not the case in the East. There are two clear favorites in the East. The West could be very interesting.
Now just because I picked out my favorite teams in the West, and by favorite I mean the teams I think are the best, they doesn’t mean they are the obvious favorites. The reason for that is because all the teams are so evenly balanced. Really anything could happen.
But the fact is, I don't care who they trade for. Is Jason Kidd really going to make the Mavs that much better? It will make them better certainly, but all it will do is get them to the level of the teams that are already better than them. Also, because winning the West is going to require winning 2 or more likely 3 really tough, balanced and long series against good western conference teams, Pistons and Celtic Fans should not be worried. Whoever wins the West is going to be tired and worn out. Plus the Pistons and Celtics are better teams anyway.
So Trade all you want West, nobody in your conference can beat the Pistons or Celtics regardless. They are too good, too deep and experienced.
Well it wouldn’t be a put it in stone if I didn’t make some picks. So here goes:
Phoenix will make an early exit, first or second round.
The Lakers will win the West.
The East claims the championship.
Seguir leyendo...There is so much talk these days about “Fire Millen” and how Matt Millen is such an idiot. While these things are true, as Millen is yet to select a player in the draft of any real impact, or sign a value free agent; Millen is not the problem. Also, a lot of attention is paid to the coaches who all found their careers going into a black hole known as Detroit. But, we could have Tom Landry as our coach and still not make the playoffs. The reason why? William Clay Ford, Sr. owner of the Detroit Lions.
William Clay bought the Lions in 1964. The Lions were an extremely successful franchise in the ‘50s winning championships in ’52, ‘53, and ’57 (Bobby Lane = amazing). Since taking ownership of the Lions, they have never been the super bowl, rarely in the playoffs (only because Barry Sanders is so good he overcomes how retarded William Clay is).
You would think that with a name like Ford (a family company), William Clay would have some part of the company. But he failed miserably at that. His division of the company was short lived and merged with Lincoln. He helped design 2 cars, but most of that is giving him too much credit. Basically the Fords bought the Lions so William Clay would have something to do, and so he wouldn’t touch and screw up the Ford Motor Company. Obviously, no one will ever say this out loud, but it is an understood fact that many in the media have expressed.
So why is William Clay the worst owner of all time? Basically, it comes down to two fundamental things that any owner of a real company would be immediately fired for. (1) He doesn’t care about the success of the team from a NFL standpoint and (2) He hires people he likes, and doesn’t hold them accountable.
Starting with number 1. So, you know how anytime you watch an important game there is always that scene of the owner looking on concerned? You never see that. In fact, I doubt any of you reading this right now even knows what William Clay looks like! I know what Mike Illitch looks like, I know what Robert Kraft looks like, I certainly know what Mark Cuban looks like; but not Ford.
Fine? Don’t buy that? Have you ever heard a media report of William Clay speaking out about the Lions? Have you ever heard of a reporter doing an exclusive interview with William Clay Ford? No, because he never talks to the media. And why should he? All they are going to do is ask tough questions that he doesn’t want to answer. He would rather sit secretly in his luxury suit (if he even goes to games anymore), collect his check and not have to do anything to run the Lions. What difference does it make to him if the Lions go 0-16? He is still making money on the team because he knows fans will still pack Ford Field.
He doesn’t care about the team because he doesn’t spend money of the team. The salary cap in 2007 was 109 million dollars. The Lions spent 81 million. I understand that it is highly possible that no free agents wanted to come to Detroit, but everybody has their price. With 28 million dollars to throw around, I’m guessing you might be able to entice someone to come here. Its also true that spending a lot of money doesn’t always translate into success (the Panthers spent the most money this year, Patriots #2). But the bottom 6 in terms of payroll last year were Bill, Jets, Chiefs, Lions, Dolphins, Raiders; and none of them got even close to the playoffs.
Of course there are differing schools of thought on the subject of paying for players through free agency. The Patriots spent a ton this year with Moss, Welker, Stallworth, and Adalius Thomas; while the Colts do not have a single player starting for their team that was not drafted by the Indianapolis Colts. Both of those teams did pretty well. The fact is the Lions are so bad, that they need to rebuild through both. Go out and pay for a star (Asante Samuel) and fill holes in the draft by finding diamonds in the rough in late rounds. The Lions have no late round impact players that they drafted, and most of their high round draft picks have been absolutely abysmal. Of course this is Matt Millen’s fault mainly, but it all points back to the guy who hired Millen: William Clay Ford.
Which brings me to my next point. William Clay hires people he likes, not people who are good for the Team. Upper management of the Lions is a fiasco. I can’t even imagine what Christmas parties are like there. Case and point: Matt Millen. How does he still have a job? WHY DID HE GET THE JOB IN THE FIRST PLACE??? He was a TV announcer with NO prior experience. From all reports though William Clay and Matt are best buds. They have dinners together, they discuss team moves together, and they hold hands and skip after ever Lions loss. How can you run a company where everyone hates the guy making all the decisions? How can you run an organization where the guy making all the decisions makes the wrong decisions 95% of the time. How can you have a member of the coaching staff who publicly makes an ass of himself by driving to Wendy’s drunk and naked still on staff? The Lions are a joke and I am sure every GM and owner in the league knows it.
Remember these quotes by Joe Theismann?
“Matt Millen hasn't helped former players get into management because he's done a lousy job."
"Could I or anybody do a better job (with the Lions)? I don't know. But it would be a wonderful challenge."
You probably could do a better job than him Joe. Heck, I probably could (I mean my Madden Franchise has won the Super Bowl 5 years in a row). The fact is we will never find out because Millen won 7 games this year. He will keep his job. He will keep it because William Clay is too lazy to actually fire the guy and find a replacement. Plus, firing him would cause a real strain on their relationship; causing Matt might throw his half of the “BFF” necklace at William Clay and run away crying, go write on his Xanga about how mean William Clay is and turn all their mutual girlfriends against William Clay.
Alas, William Clay will never sell the Lions, and he will probably live forever. But the problems of the Lions will never change until he is gone.
Seguir leyendo...Tom Jackson, How Wrong You Are.
While watching NFL PrimeTime last night before going to bed, I thought to myself Tom Jackson must have heard about how immensely popular my blog is. I say this because Tom Jackson seems to be trying to get into the niche of bold predictions. Unfortunately for him, I think he is way off. He predicted that this loss will have long term implications for the Patriots. Basically, he is suggesting that the Patriot’s dynasty is over.
How wrong you are, Tom.
Trust me, I know what you are thinking. Teams that lose the Super Bowl always struggle the next year. I mean the Bears did lose twice to the Lions this year. But, the Patriots had a perfect season and they, unlike the Bears, have a guy who can play Quarterback pretty well.
Really, what this argument comes down to is free agency and the draft.
On offense, the Patriots don’t look too much different. The biggest story of the offseason for them will be Randy Moss’s unrestricted free agency. But, I am guessing that New England probably wants him back next year. Also, this is the first year ever the Randy hasn’t thrown some sort of shenanigan. My guess is he likes it playing there too. The Patriots will have to fork out a lot of money to do this; something they are not known for doing. Regardless, Randy will probably be reasonable and resign fairly easily. The Patriots will still have Stallworth, Welker, Watson, and Maroney as their other skill players, and they wont miss Troy Brown or Jabbar Gaffney. They should still be scary on offense.
Defense is another story. Their best secondary player is a free agent and also not one of Bill’s favorite players. He is not coming back. Tedy Bruschi is also a free agent and so is Junior Seau. Other important role players in the secondary are also free agents like Randall Gay, Eugene Wilson and Chad Scott. I think we all know Bruschi isn’t going anywhere if the Pats think he still has enough left. Seau is probably going to be jobless and some of those other players will certainly test the free agent waters hoping for more money.
Another big problem for the Pats defense is age. Vrabel, Bruschi and Seau were 3 of the 4 Linebackers playing in that 3-4 defense Belichick who are 32, 34, and 39 respectively. Also, Rodney Harrison is 35 and no longer on the Juice. While those ages are pretty high in football years, its not really that old (other than Seau). They might be more susceptible to injury in the near future, but they can still be effective in the next few years.
But most importantly, the Patriots still have the draft. They may have lost their #32 pick (pack of cheaters!), but they still have the 49ers’ #7 pick. They could easily draft a shut down CB in Jenkins, Talib or McKelvin to replace Samuel. Or they could draft Keith Rivers to replace Seau (move Vrabel to MLB). Or they could take the best available defender (probably Gholston) and hope to fill holes in the subsequent rounds. I dont know if you know this but the Pats have pretty good success in later rounds. They got this kid named Tom Brady in the 6th round. I heard that is working out pretty well for them.
Look Tom Jackson, I know that for the first time you saw that Tom Brady is fallible and Bill Belichick isn’t a genius, and can be completely retarded (go for it on 4th and 13, instead of a 47 yard field goal?) but seriously, they are not going to have the season the Bears, or the Eagles had from a few years back.
Lets look at a similar situation, the Detroit Pistons.
While no one would ever say that the Pistons were heavily favored to beat the Spurs in ’05, they were the defending champs. They went into San Antonio, game 7 of the NBA Finals, beat the Spurs for 3 quarters, but ended up losing a heart breaker. I remember similar predictions about how the Pistons were getting too old, and their run as a team was up. However, the Pistons came back the next season angry. They drafted Jason Maxiel and won more than 60 games in the regular season. The problem was they had a new coach and no reserves. They wore themselves out and ended up losing to the Heat after struggling against the Cavs for 7 games. But, even after that year they made another run to the Conference finals, and again this year are proving to be one of the best teams in the NBA.
Like the Pistons, the Patriots lost a heart breaker in a championship game. They won 90% of the game and just couldn’t get it done.
Obviously, the NBA and the NFL are very different, but the “nobody respects us” attitude is what teams like the Pistons and the Patriots thrive on. The Pats got all the love this year, and I’d bet they come back angry next year and cause some havoc in the playoffs.
Heck, I dont just bet they will, I’ll put it in stone that they will.
As much as I’d love to see the Patriots not in the playoffs next year (GO CHARGERS!) we are going to have to put up with them for a few more years. They are just too good and they have really good people in the front office (take note William Clay). Like the Pistons, they are gonna stick around and annoy everyone who isn’t a fan of that team.
Seguir leyendo...BASEBALL PREDICTION TIME!!!!
Ahhh, yes. I know its only the first of February, but I want to put it in stone early so I can rub it into all of you how awesome I am in October.
Basically, I am going to follow the same discussion I had with a pair of really good friends last spring at McFaddens on Thursday night (I actually kind of miss that place on Thursday nights!). We predicted who would be the playoff teams, who would be the MVP, and who would win the Cy Young. My predictions last year were AL: Cleveland, Detroit, New York, and LA. NL: Chicago, New York Mets, Dodgers, and the Phillies. 5/8 ain’t bad, but I expect to improve on those predictions. I honestly do not remember my MVP predictions, but my Cy Young picks were Peavy and Santana, ouch.
AL:
AL East: Boy its hard to pick against the defending champs, especially with the pitching they have. Josh Beckett had an amazing year, which i find hard to believe he will repeat. Also, AL Hitters sure seemed to figure out the “gyroball” the Dice-K throws. Plus, they still have Lugo playing short stop for them (yikes!). The only way that the Red Sox win the division is if Manny has a monster year. Which he easily could because his performance relies on that 20MM option the team has on him next year. I cant pick a team that has 3 first year starters. Here is a prediction for you though. Joba will struggle in the starting spot, and hitters will figure him out quickly.
AL West: This one seems easy to me, its Seattle. They have done some good things to improve their rotation with the addition of Silva and what looks like the addition of Eric Bedard. I also expect a really big year from Kenji Johjima and Yunieski Betancort. The Angles also have a good rotation and a good bullpen, but are Chone Figgins and Garrett Anderson really going to have the same season as last year? Torii Hunter should have a solid season, but he seems to me like a player playing for his next paycheck. But he is guaranteed 18MM a year. Based on all these factors, I’m picking Seattle. For the record though, I wouldn’t trade Adam Jones for Bedard straight up. Seattle may win the division this year, but they will regret this trade if it goes through.
AL Central: Ahhh the division so near and dear to my heart. Its hard to stay objective here given that I actually hate with a passion every team that isn’t named after a Big Orange Cat with stripes. I will do my best. This is essentially a 2 horse race between Cleveland and Detroit. The twins added some depth to their outfield, but they lost Torii Hunter. They will also likely lose their best pitcher before spring training (watch out for Liriano, until he ultimately ends his career by trying to throw that ridiculous slider again). The White Sox will have a much better season, but they traded away so much pitching that i do not think they will be able to keep up (unless Contreras wins the Cy Young or something). I dont have a lot of faith in Floyd or Danks. And as for the Royals? Well they still have no identity and will lose confidence having to play Cleveland and Detroit 38 times.
So who is it, Cleveland or Detroit? I am going to go with Detroit. If Joel Zumaya wasn’t hurt this would be an easy decision. I like our pitching staff a lot, and I expect a bounce back year from Bonderman and Rogers. Plus, the Tigers should be able to provide run support. I just believe that going up and down that all star lineup will wear pitchers down. Here is an extra little nugget for you. Granderson will begin to figure out lefties and hit them about .275. He is going to become a mega superstar this year. Look out Miguel. I believe that Carmona and Sabathia will have worse years than last. Oh and Maggs will still hit over .330.
Wild Card: Ya know, I really want to take a team out of the West given just how bad the A’s and Rangers are. But I can’t. Cleveland certainly has a good chance here because the Central now has 2 bad teams to beat up on and one probably mediocre team. But, I think we will have to suffer through another year of the Yankees and Red Sox being in the playoffs. I wanna puke.
Cy Young: I am all about being bold (please ignore AL Central pick when i say this). And I do not know why, but I love Seattle this year. Therefore my pick for Cy Young is King Felix. If they win the west they are going to need him to step up in a big way and I think he will.
MVP: I am gonna pick Manny Rameriez. I think he will step it up in anticipation of that 20 million dollar options sitting out there.
NL:
NL East: I am going the Mets. They needed more pitching, and got it with the addition of Johan. Atlanta is getting better, but I still think the Mets get revenge from an awful year last year and win the division. Plus they now have the best pitcher in baseball, and he now has an easy out ever 8 batters. Pedro will need to stay healthy for them to be dominant however. But they will still win this division by quite a few games.
NL Central: Nobody really jumps out at me here. I really dont like the team the Cubs have put together and even if they get Brian Roberts I dont think he will be that big of an improvement. The Brewers are a possibility, but will Ben Sheets even stay healthy? Plus they are horrible defensively. Cardinals could be a better, but I dont know, they still lack pitching. Toss up here, so I will just pick the Brewers. I really have no good reasoning for it, other than because i love Prince Fielder.
NL West: This one is a pretty easy pick for me. The Diamondbacks are young but have a ton of pitching (Dan Haren, Randy Johnson, Brandon Webb, Nice). I really like them to win this division. They won it last year with next to no run support (actually letting in more runs than scoring). I expect a year of experience will do a lot for those young players like Justin Upton, Connor Jackson and Chris Young.
NL Wild Card: The Rockies won this last year with an amazing late season run. Not this year though. The Dodgers are going to be the wild card team this year. They have some good pitching with Brad Penny and Derek Lowe; I like the addition of Hidoki Kuroda (ground ball specialist out of Japan). They may even challenge the Diamondbacks for the division, but the wild card is definitely coming out of the West again. Its a really good division.
NL Cy Young: I’ll tell you what, I want to pick Aaron Harang. But Cy Young’s don’t generally get picked on non-playoff teams and I dont see the Reds making a run this year. So, I am gonna pick Brandon Webb. He won it two years ago, and certainly has the talent to do it again.
MVP: Prince Fielder. He will probably hit 50 HRs. That’s enough to give him the MVP.
It feels good to be able to be seriously talking about Baseball again. 14 days until pitchers and catcher report. Spring Training is coming and you know what that means, a very happy Nate.
You probably disagree somewhere with me, but put up your opinions in comments.
Mine are put in stone.
Seguir leyendo...
