After getting over the initial shock of realizing the season was over, and after moving past the initial anger towards the referees, who gave Blake Griffin a Lebron-like treatment, I just wanted to reflect on this past season for the Michigan Wolverines.

What a great, unbelievable season!

Michigan did what all of us thought was impossible at the beginning of the year: the team got to the big dance, and advanced!  Michigan Basketball fans were treated to two excellent games in the NCAA tournament.  By doing so, I had the most fun I have had watching college basketball in my entire life.  (seeing as how I barely remember, nor could I truly appreciate, the fab five when I was 6-7 years old).  

But, Michigan proved to be a good basketball school yet again by beating teams like Duke, UCLA, Clemson, Illinois, and Purdue, and going down to the wire with top 5 schools like Oklahoma and Connecticut.  Michigan had their ups and downs, and were placed squarely on the bubble for about 3 straight months.  However, they overcame where Tommy Amaker teams failed.  They made the tournament, celebrating like they had just won the lottery when seeing their name on the screen of the selection show.  Not to be outdone, Michigan went in to a tournament game, its first in 11 years, and won on the back of Manny Harris.  The miraculous season ended in upsetting fashion, but in a game that did not lack in thrills.  Michigan had Oklahoma worried, but they just happened to have the best player in college basketball.

So congratulations to Michigan on advancing a round, something teams like Ohio State, Illinois and Minnesota cannot say.  Congratulations for making the tournament with a group of players everyone doubted.  And finally congratulations to the basketball program for hiring the right coach and bringing Michigan basketball back on the map.

While this loss hurts, there is so much to look forward to next year.  Sims and Harris both announced that they would be back next year; our graduating class only includes C.J. Lee, David Merritt, and Javon Shepard, and most importantly, John Beilein is back.  Michigan will have yet another year under their belt utilizing the Beilein system.

The tournament appearance, coupled by the win over Clemson, and the promise of a new basketball facility should entice some nice talent to head up to Ann Arbor.  And even if the talent isn't quite "top-tier," expect Beilein to do what he does best: win with less talent than other coaches could dream of.

So, in the grand tradition of "Putting it in Stone," I will dip into my spiritual gift of foresight and make a prediction.  Michigan will make the Sweet Sixteen in 2010.  

Put it in Stone.

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12:56:  Alright, here is my situation for context.  Over at my friends house, got the DirecTV Mega March Madness Package going, sitting in the lazy boy, computer on my lap, and other "enjoyable items" within arms reach.  I will be in this position all day, and tomorrow and hopefully the rest of march.  

1:01:  A&M made their first 10 shots, can the mormons spark a little of that Joseph Smith magic and come back from an early 20 point lead?  My guess is no.  BYU looks lost.  Speaking of nervous teams, what is Memphis doing?  They are hacking constantly, as Northridge is in the bonus after just 9 minutes of play.  My pick for the finals is worrying me.

1:09:  I had no idea that Andy Samberg played basketball for Butler.  Apparently, he is quite the player as he was Horizon League player of the year (if that means anything?).  Regardless, he is apparently trying to hide his association with Saturday Night Live and playing under the alias of Matt Howard.  Do we have a scandal on our hands?  Decide for yourself.

1:25:  This is unacceptable, all games are at half time currently and forcing me to watch commercials.  We got this package to avoid this very situation.  ANGRY!!!!

1:32:  That was too long, real basketball finally back on.

1:37:  If you are watching LSU-Butler you just heard Nantz say that Butler was "young and hungry."  No one can go to a commercial break quite like you Jim.  In good news this game is getting pretty exciting as Butler is within 1.  Samberg inside is doing some damage.  In bad news for me, my pick of LSU is not looking quite as safe.

1:43:  Seriously Memphis?  You can hold every Conference USA team under 50, but you can't destroy Cal State Northridge?  You are making me very nervous.

2:12:  Important lesson learned from the BYU game:  Do not pick a team of all white guys in basketball, ever.

2:27:  As the first round of games look to wrap up, I am satisfied with a 2 out of 3 result.  Memphis almost made me have a heart attack, but they survived.  I am excited to watch the Purdue game as I am hoping for a good showing by the Big 10.

2:48:  I have a new favorite (non-Michigan) player in the tournament: Jordan Eglseder of Northern Iowa.  Why?  Because he is a 7-1, 290 pound white guy.  I have eloquently named him Mr. Larson.  You might remember this famous character from Happy Gilmore, famous for saying "And you can count, on me, waiting for you, in the Parking Lot."  I have watched the entire game and I'm pretty sure he is yet to jump in the air.  I will keep you updated.

3:10:  Not impressed with Cal's play so far.  Purdue is looking strong as well.  The other two games are likely to be massacres. 

3:26:  Sweet Alley-oop dunk by Cal on the backdoor cut.  Well played!  Cal trying to win back my affection after I dissed them sixteen minutes ago.

3:38:  I might be missing it, but Raftery still hasn't said his famous catch phrase "with the kiss" yet.  I'm happy and sad.  By the way, Maryland just got about 7 offensive boards and 0 points to show for it.  Enjoy losing to Memphis on Saturday.

3:50:  Yep, the word graceful was just used to describe Eglseder...  Sarcasm is running high.  On a side note, the Purdue cheer "Boiler-up!" might be the worst in sports.  If you can think of a worse one, I would love to hear it.  But it has to be the most nonsensical cheer ever.  WHAT DOES IT MEAN!?!?  Taken literally, you are asking to turn up a furnace?  Perhaps you work with what you have, and when your nickname is Boilermakers, what else can you do?

3:56:  So, my "friends" have decided to push a certain button of mine.  The button being calling Pizza, "za."  They then took it to the next level and told me that I should get some 'roni on my 'za.  Threats of physical violence and screaming soon followed.

4:20:  This Purdue game just got really tight.  Purdue seems to have downsized their defensive pressure.  They better get their act together after this game because Washington will be a tall task.  To make things worse, they can't even hit free throws.  Hummel going 1-2 from the line is unacceptable.  

4:27:  Wow, I hope you all are watching this Purdue game.  At the beginning I thought it was going to be a blow out, but Purdue's poor free throw shooting accompanied by some cold blooded 3 point makes by Northern Iowa has made this a 2 point game.  I am rooting hard for the Big 10 this year, so come on Purdue!

4:29: Number 11 for Northern Iowa just stupidly took the ball to the basket while down by 4.  You gotta shoot the three!  What are you thinking.  This game is now over. 

4:40: The only real thing to watch in this UCONN-Chattanooga game is to see if Chattanooga will score more than 40 points.  At least the 1-16 match-ups are over early.

5:39:  Not a lot going on, as only Washington and Miss. State are playing.  Miss. State seems to be proving my point that conference championships are detrimental to teams in NCAA Tournament.  While I am sure Miss. State is glad to be here, I doubt they like being stomped on by Washington on tired legs from 4 games in 4 days.  I guess I shouldn't extrapolate as there is plenty of basketball yet to be played, but Miss. State looks like they don't belong here.

7:09:  Nerves are running high right now.  I was just running back and forth down a high way.  Im currently rocking the Tractor Traylor 54 Jersey, Michigan basketball shorts, a maize under shirt and a Michigan hat.  If we lose this game, it wont be for lack of fandom by me.

7:19:  Bad Passes and bad defense.  This is not the sign of a Beilein coached team.  They look nervous and scared.  Snap out of it, Blue!

7:27:  At least we are shooting well so far.  Maybe when Sims actually shows up to the game, we could maybe, I don't know grab a defensive rebound, and he might make some plays...

7:32:  I love that Beilein is sitting Sims right now.  Hopefully, this extra motivation gets him to respond.  In his place Gibson is playing GREAT defense!  Oh speaking of good play, Manny Harris is playing pretty good.  Props to Manny for 2 blocks!

8:08:  At half we are ahead by 3.  Manny is playing incredible, Sims is playing like crap.  If Michigan steps up the defense and Sims shows up, I like our chances.  Keep up the intensity though Manny.

9:36:  Several years of my life were shaved off my overall expectancy, but I am soooooo Happy!

9:55:  Akron really wanted to delay the inevitable, but they finally fell.  Gonzaga looked pretty good towards the end of the game.  I have them in the Sweet 16.  Villanova also gave us a scare (I have them in the elite 8).  I have started watching the Duke game, and Binghamton really likes to run.  Could be an interesting game, but we shall have to see how many "Duke Fouls" are called.  I imagine this game will eventually get out of hand, but I sure love watching Duke struggle.

10:23:  Despite already knowing the inevitable, I am rooting hard for Morgan State.  Go Golden Bears!

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Above are my brackets.  Personally, I am not really very happy with them because my final four is really BORING.  Alas, I tried really hard to not pick this final four (especially because in picking these final four team that would mean that I actually agreed with President Obama about something), but I did.  Click the image to make it bigger and more easily viewable.  Good luck to me!

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As I sit here mulling over my bracket picks (which I will post tomorrow), I thought I would clear my head and write a quick post about the Jay Cutler to the Lions situation.  

So, before I get to far into anything, lets talk about what we "know."  Supposedly, Jay Cutler cannot stand his new coaching staff and has asked to be traded.  We also know that Denver isn't run by Matt Millen, so they aren't boneheads.  Denver seems willing to put him on the block, but they want another quarterback in exchange.  Unfortunately for the Lions, they do not have one of those, or at least none that any other team in their right mind would want.  (No Sparty, no one else wants Drew Staton)

What the Lions do have is a strong desire to get Cutler and more ammunition in terms of picks than any other team can offer.  But, any trade in the near future would likely have to involve another team.  Unless Denver gets desperate, the Lions will have to acquire a solid quarterback before swapping him with Denver. 

Before I get into some trade scenarios, I need to say a few things regarding this trade.  Firstly, I support getting Jay Cutler 100%, provided it is for the right price, of course.  Secondly, I am actually impressed with the offseason Martin Mayhew has done in this first offseason.  His real test will be the draft, but the moves to dump Kitna and acquire Julian Peterson were very impressive.  Kudos, Mr. Mayhew, so far... 

Alright, so how do the Lions get Jay Cutler?  Here are 3 unique and creative ways to get him.

1.  Trade Denver the #1 pick for Cutler+

This trade situation is obviously based on the assumption that Denver loves either Matthew Stafford or Mark Sanchez.  Why any GM would love either of these rookies is beyond me, but if Josh McDaniels is crazy enough to piss off his Pro Bowl quarterback to the point of requesting a trade, he might be crazy enough to love one of these players.  Assuming argumendo, that Denver wants to develop another young quarterback, this is the easiest possibility.  The problem with this scenario is you would have to get something more than just Jay Cutler for the number 1.  There is a big premium on the #1.  There are very few players worth the #1, and they are all untouchable.  Remember the trade the Chargers got for Eli Manning?  They traded the #1 overall pick for the #4, a 3rd rounder, and a first and a fifth round picks in the subsequent year's draft.  To move up 3 spots and get an arguably worse quarterback than Phillip Rivers cost the Giants three extra picks including a 1st rounder.  So, Cutler + Denver's #12 would probably be more than Denver is willing to give up, especially if Denver believes that one of those two QB's could fall to them at 12, which could easily happen.  Perhaps instead the Lions could get a 4th or 5th and next year's first rounder.  That is a fair trade, if Denver badly wants Sanchez or Stafford.

2.  Involve Cleveland.  Now things start to get hairy.  In order to pull this trade off the Lions would need to swap picks with Cleveland and get Derek Anderson.  Here, the assumption that Denver loves Derek Anderson is required to follow this trade scenario.  So, Detroit sends the #1 overall and possibly a late round pick for the #5 and Derek Anderson.  Detroit would then send Derek Anderson and either the #33 or the #20 for Jay Cutler.  This exact same trade scenario could work just as easily with Kansas City just replace Derek Anderson with Tyler Thigpen.  Detroit would, in either situation, get a franchise quarterback and either a top talent OT (Jason Smith or Eugene Monroe) or Aaron Curry.  Not to mention they save million of dollars in guaranteed money by getting out of that #1 slot.  It also gets Denver a quarterback, and some picks, and KC/Cleveland more picks as well.  It is mutually beneficial to all teams, as long as Denver likes one of those quarterbacks enough.

3.  The third scenario assumes that Denver panics.  Detroit sends the #20 and a late round pick, likely next year, in exchange for Jay Cutler.  This won't likely happen because Denver won't panic until training camp, which is well after the draft.  Detroit has to make this trade happen before April 25th. 

So can this deal get done?  I think it certainly can, and I also think the Lions are trying their hardest, but Denver is probably asking too much.  3 way trades are hard to pull off, and take time.  Detroit does have some premium for acting quickly, as the Jets and the Buccaneers are excited about their chances to get Jay Cutler too.  So, get it done Mayhew, I did the hard work, just make a few calls and turn on that charm and persuasion!  Stop reading my blog and get me Jay Cutler!

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I will be honest; I could do without conference tournaments.  They are unrealistic, overhyped, and frustrating.

As a subscriber to this sports blog, you inevitably ran into the ESPN “Championship Week!” commercials.  Also, as someone who reads my likely meaningless words, you probably see eye-to-eye with me on many issues, including how annoying these commercials were.  The hype for these conference tournaments is unbelievable.   Do you really care who wins the Horizon League?  I don’t, until I see a bracket.  And yet, we are berated by an onslaught of inconsequential basketball games – even in the major conferences.  Don’t get me wrong, I love watching college basketball, but I am just trying to get you to see conference tournaments for what they really are: money-makers for television networks.

You may not all agree with me, in fact, for some people, the conference tournament is an image of hope, as sitting atop the figurative Aggro Crag representing a grueling, 4-day tournament is an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.  An automatic bid essentially erasing 4 months of poor play, and replacing a dreadful season with, believe it or not, a conference championship!  Can you believe it folks; it only takes 4 wins to make the NCAA Tournament. 

For some people the conference tournament is a source of fear (see: Penn State, St. Mary’s, San Diego State, etc.).  Teams like Cleveland State (52 RPI, only 2 wins against the top 50, one of those coming in the conference tournament) stole a bid from an arguably more deserving team like St. Mary’s, whose only sin was having their star player get hurt, or Penn State, whose unforgivable transgression was scheduling a relaxed non-conference schedule. 

The reason that this fear exists is simply because teams KNOW they are in.  It is really not surprising that during “Championship Week” there are so many upsets.  The classic upset follows the formula of teams playing for their lives vs. teams that only care about seeding.  If anyone watched the Pitt Game, or the LSU-Miss. State game, you know they didn’t give it their all.

The lack of effort stems from a natural human reaction to a meaningless game: apathy.  If LSU won the SEC would they have gotten a higher seed than 8 seed?  Maybe, but they would not likely have gotten a much higher seed than a 7.  So, what difference does it make to LSU if they lose to Mississippi State and get a day off instead of playing for a conference tournament championship?  Exactly, nothing.

So, unlike any other tournament in major sports, conference tournaments are completely unrealistic.  College Basketball teams never play more than 2 games a week, except in this tournament.  Even in the NCAA tournament, teams get a day off between matchups.  In a conference tournament, teams have to play 3-4 days in a row to win the tournament.  Do good teams really want to wear themselves out for 3 more days before eventually receiving that inevitable #1 seed?  Pitt didn’t, Michigan State didn’t mind settling on a #2.

So, I ask you this.  Would you really miss the conference tournament?  If they moved the NCAA tournament a week earlier (thereby making it really March madness, instead of March/April madness), would you care?  Would you feel outraged if you were a Miss. State fan?  Or would do you sympathize with the Penn State fan?  I guess my point is the season is 30+ games in duration, while the conference tournament is 3-4 games long.  Clearly the longevity of the regular season is a much better representation of a team’s success.  So erase the conference tournament and make the selection committee’s job a little easier because I think most see my point and could really take or leave the conference tournament.

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Before I get into the awesomeness that happened at 6:30 on Sunday night I want to take this time to apologize for my extended absence from writing. I have been busy, but mostly I just haven’t been struck by anything in particular to write about. As Nate put so eloquently, there is a ton of stuff going on this week so I too plan on being an active participant this week.

On that note, today’s post is brought to you by procrastination. Why post today? I can ALWAYS wait till tomorrow…sorry guys.

Ed DeChellis (Head Coach at Penn State) and Tom Izzo split the coach of the year award in the Big Ten this year. Congratulations to both of them are in order for very productive and successful years. Now that my manners are out of the way, I want to tell you that it’s bull crap that both of them won this award over John Beilein.

DeChellis’s Nittany Lions went 15-16 last year and finished seventh in the Big Ten with a 7-11 conference record. Compare that to this year at 22-11 and 10-8 and you can see a significant improvement over the year. Izzo on the other hand, led his Spartans to a 27-9 record last year with a 12-6 Big Ten record. This year the Spartans went 26-6 and 15-3 respectively. Izzo maintained the excellence he so frequently demands and gets out of his players this year.

John Beilein on the other hand went 10-22 last year with a second to last place 5-13 Big Ten record. This year, not only did the records change to 22-10 overall and 9-9 Big Ten, but Beilein’s Wolverines are NCAA Tournament bound for the first time in ten years. After changing around his starters for a big portion of the non conference schedule, he finally settled on starting 4 guards and one forward for most of the Big Ten schedule and into the post season. In a conference loaded with talent (MSU I am talking about you) Michigan starts a pudgy, white freshmen shooting guard at power forward (Zach Novak.) Michigan also starts a committee of walk-ons at point guard or occasionally the defensive liability Kelvin Grady. With not a single starter taller than 6’8 and no smell of a 5 star recruit since the ‘sigh’ Ellerbee days, Beilein was able to completely flip the teams record in one year from the worst in school history to being NCAA Tournament bound.

When it all comes down to brass tacks, DeChellis did a lesser form of what Beilein did but with more experienced players and no past NCAA sanctions looming over his head. Izzo had a great season and his Spartans won the conference out right for the first time since 2001, but does he start any walk-ons? When was the last time Izzo was ever as talent deprived as Michigan is now? Oh yeah, I know, it was before Michigan got in trouble by the NCAA. Congratulations Tom for doing exactly what everyone thought you would do, win, and do so with excessive amounts of talent. So, although both Izzo and DeChellis had admirable seasons, neither of them stacks up even close to what Beilein has accomplished in his short tenure at Michigan.

As for Thursday’s game against Clemson, I pretty much agree with every bit of analysis that Nate has brought up. Although on paper Michigan is an underdog (10 seed and +5.5 points to Vegas,) they are by no means EXPECTED to lose. With Clemson not being very tall either, our 1-3-1 zone may actually be somewhat effective too.

Remember our team’s motto; shoot first, cross the timeline later. When that doesn’t work remember that DeShawn Sims is on your team. Death to Clemson. Its Great to be a Michigan Wolverine.

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It is a busy week in sports, so as a result it will be a busy week for me as well!  Today I offer the Michigan keys to victory.  Tomorrow a post about the Lions getting Cutler, Wednesday I will post my brackets, and Thursday through Sunday, I hope to live blog most of the tournament games as I hope to watch all games (with DirecTV's sweet service)

So, visit often!

Here are my reasons to be hopeful for a Michigan victory on Thursday evening:

1. Coaching.  Beilein has as history of success in the NCAA tournament, Prunell has lost every single tournament appearance in the first round.  Any sort of “chess match” between these two will clearly go to Michigan’s Beilein.
2. Clemson is not a team with tremendous size.  Everyone knows Michigan is a small team and any 4.8 rebounds per game type becomes a 8-9 rebound per game type.  That said, almost any team will have a size advantage against Michigan, but Clemson doesn’t have much of one.  Clemson is not like a Florida State or Ohio State that just could beat Michigan because of a clear size advantage.  Booker is a good player, but I think the size advantage is not enough to overcome Michigan’s defense and shooting advantage.
3. Pace of Play/Clemson’s press.  Michigan has never struggled with a press all year.  Because they are a well coached team that isn’t looking to run, Michigan’s three guard offense will not struggle with this press.  Michigan will look to get it over the timeline and set up their offense.  They proved my theory by beating strong teams.  UCLA tried to press us to no avail.  I expect Kelvin Grady to play a little bit bigger role in handing the ball, but walk-on CJ Lee has been fairly careful handling the point (only 19 turnovers all year, 2.8 assist/turnover ratio).   The pace of play will put Clemson in long defensive sets.  Michigan will confuse Clemson with their constantly changing defensive zones and looks, slowing the pace down even on Clemson’s side of the ball.  The UCONN had one of their lowest scoring games of the season against us, and expect Clemson to suffer the same fate.  The lower the total points, the more Michigan gains an advantage.
4. Free Throw shooting.  As with any NCAA tournament game, I expect it to be close and the winner will probably be the team that shoots free throws at the end of the game.  Michigan ranked first in the big ten with a 75.5% free throw shooting with one of the best free throw shooters in Manny Harris shooting almost 86%.  Clemson as a team shoots 68%.  Expect Manny to drive, get to the line, and convert.
5. Lastly, Trend.  Michigan is on a bit of an upswing in their schedule, while Clemson has been struggling more as of late.  Also, Michigan seems to really show up for big games.  They played their heart out against UCONN, Duke, UCLA and all their big games.  They needed a win against Iowa and destroyed them.  This is the biggest game of the year and I have no doubt they will play their hardest.  

Please add your own.  Talk to you tomorrow!

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I’m sure I will lose the very few people who might enjoy reading some of the nonsense I write on this blog, but I can’t help but laugh at the hatred that’s being thrown in the general direction of the Pistons these days, and in a more direct way to my boy Joe. Now the title of this post is obviously overblown. He is in no way a part of the running for GM of the year in any circle of people not associated with a GED reunion. But there is definitely a foresight shown by Dumars that the average fan, and many talking heads, doesn’t seem to appreciate.

Obviously the trade Joe pulled to send Chaunce to the Nugs for AI appears to be one of the worst trades the franchise has ever suffered. Chauncey has led the Nuggets to one of the top spots in the West, joining the Lakers and Spurs as true Western Conference contenders. Meanwhile, the Stones have been relegated to .500 ball and fighting for a playoff spot after making the Eastern Conference Finals for the past six years. Looking at the impact of the trade over the course of the year would lead one to believe that it was as much of a “no contest” loss for the venerable Dumars as OJ Simpson’s murder trial, but it all had to play itself out there too didn’t it?

I’ve written previously on how I believe Rodney Stuckey is the young, dynamic point guard of the future who has a Finals MVP in his future. I wrote that the cap flexibility that the Pistons have created will give them a great chance to find an All-Star big man to go along with Stuck, Rip, and Tay. And I’ve also stated that AI should come off the bench and be the expiring contract has-been that should be hogging the ball with the second teamers, which was what the Sixers had when he was there anyway. And while those are all compelling reasons to continue to believe that this was a good trade for the future, we have an amazing example set before us as to another reason that Joe pulled the trigger.

Joe Dumars was the starting point guard of the Bad Boys with Isiah (no I didn’t spell that wrong) and Company. He saw first hand what a group of hard nosed veterans who were still in their prime could do to the opposition and their star power. So he went about turning the Pistons into the same bunch of team oriented players who could go up against the opponents big guns shut them down. And within a few years, Joe had won a Championship and came within a quarter of winning back-to-backs as a GM like he did as a player.

But this is where the stories diverge. The Brass of the Pistons in the late 80’s kept the core together as they got older and watched them win fewer and fewer games, hoping that another run was in their old and tired legs. What the higher ups failed to see was that they were starting a Geriatric Committee posing as an NBA franchise. Their skills began to decline at a rapid pace, but kept hoping for “one more run” with an aging core that never materialized. Dumars was a part of those Championship teams and was a key member of participating in them. But he was also a member of the team during a good portion of the 90’s, when the team was relegated to the cellar because the younger, up and coming teams of the NBA had caught and surpassed them. This began a horrible streak for our beloved ballclub. They made a habit of not making the playoffs, had high draft picks, and had Terry Mills as their center for close to a decade. The Palace was a Ghost Town of it’s former self, and was in constant rebuilding mode reminiscent of our current Lions organization.

Basically, Joe saw first hand that a core which is kept together too long hoping for that “last great run” is only fooling themselves. And when Joe D. saw that the team had peaked, and were ousted in the ECF for a string of four straight seasons, he knew that that the time had come to react, no matter how hard that might be during the present season. He traded their floor general and brought in a “superstar” with an expiring contract who didn’t play the style that the team prides themselves on. While he knew this would throw off chemistry, he also knew that it would put himself in a position to get a player he missed out on when he had the 2^nd pick of the draft. Joey has made mistakes, yes, but he always works hard to rectify them. He missed out on Bosh, Wade, and Melo, but he is now in a position to redeem himself. He will now look to pair a player of that caliber with their core. It’s quite obvious that Stuckey, Rip, and Tay are the core guys that will be a part of this team in the near future, and it is no coincidence that they are the youngest players from the team that won the ‘Ship in ‘04.

In essence, this is a probable one or two year “rebuilding” period, in which Joe has handed the keys of the franchise to his younger players while increasing the odds of landing a big time free agent over the course of the next two seasons. Meanwhile, we are still beating some of the top teams in the league and will most definitely make the playoffs after Curry finally got the rocks to put his future, Rip, into the starting lineup and benching free agency fodder AI, who is more equipped to play with the second stringers anyhow. Remind me to send a Thank You letter to Allen’s back problems. Bringing AI off the bench with a defensive team around him with an outside shooter to dish to makes the 2^nd unit as good as the Sixers were when THEY made it to the finals with AI. . . . Maybe not quite but you can understand what I’m getting at. ESPN has also reported that AI is willing to do “whatever it takes” to help the Pistons win a championship when his back is healthy enough to allow him to play. Of course, AI is in a contract year and doesn’t want to be considered a cancer going into the (probable) final free agent period of his career. Whether this is just lip service, or a true desire to win at whatever cost, you can’t help but like the chances of the Stones getting “hot” at the right time as Rip put it on PTI Thursday.

Yes, Chauncey is having a great year, and has elevated the play in Denver dramatically. This has most assuredly pushed the knife a little further into Joe D’s back, as he is dealing with trading his prize point guard and now also has to deal with fans and media who always want to win. Yet no one wants to remember what happened to the Stones in the ‘90s. The move impacts the next four years, in which Chaunce will be getting paid twelve million dollars a year as he loses a step, ala Ben Wallace, with the multiple teams he has played for and the albatross contract he is playing out. The next year that Ben is sought after is the year his contract expires. Point taken? So when a team can be a playoff squad with the chance to once again go deep into the postseason while “rebuilding” you have to look at it as a success. There will be no decade long slump in this organization with Dumars at the helm, and that is why he has my worthless vote for GM of the year.

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