Thursday, June 28, 2007

I've Got Some Explaining to Do

I apologize for the long break between posts. Summer class is pressing and needing to be taken care of. I will be in Rome from July 9th to the 21st, but other than that, there shouldn't be any breaks in the near future. Onto today's news...



A ton of NBA trade rumors leading up to tonight's draft, mostly involving Minnesota's Kevin Garnett. Phoenix is the likely suitor but what would they have to give up? Consider their lineup (all stats and salaries are for 06-07 season and all stats provided by ESPN.com):

PG Steve Nash $10.5 million, 18.6 PPG, 11.6 APG, 3.5 RPG
Absolutely no way Nash is going anywhere. He IS the Phoenix Suns.

SG Raja Bell $4.5 million, 14.7 PPG, 2.5 APG, 3.2 RPG
Excellent three-point shooter and great defender (especially on Kobe Bryant). Not likely to be dealt.

F Boris Diaw $1.87 million, 9.7 PPG, 4.8 APG, 4.3 RPG
Not a vital part of the offense and an okay defender. I consider him the "weak link".

F Shawn Marion $15 million, 17.5 PPG, 1.7 APG, 9.8 RPG
Career-long Sun but most likely to go based on his salary. That 17 PPG and 9 APG will be hard to replace.

C Amare Stoudemire $12.4 million, 20.4 PPG, 1.0 APG, 9.6 RPG
Same boat as Marion.

Bench PG Leandro Barbosa $1.6 million, 18.1 PPG, 4.0 APG, 2.7 RPG
The reigning 6th Man Award Winner isn't going anywhere. He's a sparkplug.

Compare those with Garnett's stats:
F Kevin Garnett $21 million, 22.4 PPG, 4.1 APG, 12.8 RPG

As much as I would love to see Garnett in a Phoenix uniform, the only way I see an upgrade is if Shawn "The Matrix" Marion goes and that's going to be tough for Suns fans because he's been there his entire 8 year career. If the Suns want to upgrade, I'd like to see them upgrade from Boris Diaw and the bench, which has Barbosa and Kurt Thomas, but not much else. The other big thing is the money issue. Phoenix wil be taking on an extra $6 million if Garnett arrives and Marion departs.

Also, some late-breaking news involving Indiana Pacer Jermaine O'Neal. Rumor has it that the Nets have offered Nenad Krstic, Richard Jefferson, and Jason Collins for O'Neal. The Knicks and Trail Blazers have reportedly talked of a Zach Randolph and Martell Webster for Steve Francis and Cganning Frye deal. These late headlines courtesy of Yahoo Sports.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Tying Up Loose Ends/Where are the Cavs?

After having to take an unannounced leave, I'm back to tie up some loose ends. The ongoing Billy Donovan story has concluded with his return to the University of Florida and the Orlando Magic hiring Stan Van Gundy. Stan, brother of recently fired Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy, is a familiar face to Florida pro basketball since he was an assistant coach on the Miami Heat just a few years ago. As for Donovan, he is now the highest-paid coach in college basketball and the more than 200 fans who bought season tickets have been offered refunds by the Magic.

On another NBA note...Where are the Cleveland Cavaliers?! They're playing the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals and are down 3-0 in the best of seven series. They were blown out in San Antonio during Games 1 and 2 and lost on their home court in Game 3. LeBron James didn't even make the final shot last night! He, above all the other Cavs, is in the ultimate conundrum because of the hype placed on him and his superstar status in the NBA. As for the NBA in general, this is one of the worst NBA Finals I've seen in some time. The real NBA Finals this year were the Suns/Spurs and Jazz/Spurs series. I am hoping that Cleveland pulls a miracle, but I know that the odds of that happening are very, very slim.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

DUCKS WIN THE STANLEY CUP!


Photo courtesy of the Washington Post.

I'm short on time today, so I'll post more on this later.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Donovan Contract Close to Voided



Image courtest of the AP via CNN/Sports Illustrated.

According to various media outlets, Billy Donovan and the Orlando Magic are close to voiding the contract he signed with the team on Friday. Some have spoken out against Donovan due to the impact that voiding this deal has on the Magic. In Luke Winn's SI.com article, a source told Winn, '"What [Donovan] did was not taken lightly around the league. It was publicly embarrassing, and for the Magic, it was personal. If he had done this at Memphis [to the Grizzlies], it would have been forgotten more easily. But he did it in Florida, on his home turf. He gave them a ton of momentum for a new arena, for turning around the franchise, and then killed it. There are a lot of GMs that would be hesitant to offer him a job. They took it to mean he was backing away from the challenge, and that he was insecure about coaching in the NBA."' While some of their charges are legitimate, we the general population do not know the complete details from Donovan's perspective, since he has been mum for the duration of this dispute. We need to consider that he has been at Florida for 11 years and just won two national titles there. Also, Gainesville is 1 hour and 44 minutes away from Orlando, so his family wouldn't be living in the same home or town that they had been in for the past 11 years. This clearly was not a money issue (U of Florida was offering 3.5 million, the Magic offered 5.5 million a year, according to Winn). Yes, the Magic will be embarassed by this and they'll have to refund the season ticket holder who bought tickets based on Donovan's hiring, but would you want a coach who doesn't have his heart in it? It's unfortunate that he figured out where his heart was after he signed the Magic contract, but until he publicly says what happened, all we can do is speculate as to why he changed his mind.

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Ducks Close to Winning Stanley Cup...But Does Anybody Care?



Photo courtesy of the CBC.

The Anaheim Ducks are a win away from hoisting the Stanley Cup if they win their next game (Wednesday at Anaheim). While there has been a fair amount of media coverage from ESPN.com and other national sports outlets, there hasn't been a ton of coverage locally. It wasn't until this past weekend that the Los Angeles Times devoted a considerable amount of space to the Ducks. If anything, it shows just how far hockey has fallensince the lockout a year ago. Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup finals were not on a major broadcast network (like Baseball's World Series or Basketball's NBA Finals), but rather on Versus, the channel formerly known as Outdoor Life Network, or OLN. According to a Los Angeles Times article, only 50% of the L.A. market gets Versus. That's not going to help build a fan base, especially here in Southern California. So, here's to hoping the Ducks win the Cup, but I have a feeling there won't be much of a reaction here in SoCal.

Monday, June 4, 2007

And I Thought Kobe's Flip-Flop Was Bad...


Image from CNN/Sports Illustrated.

Late last night, news broke that new Orlando Magic coach Billy Donovan, former coach of the two-time national champion Florida Gators, wanted out of his contract that he signed with Orlando three days ago. According to Andy Katz on ESPN.com, Donovan signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract on Friday. The Orlando Magic issued a statement early this morning, saying, "While Central Florida, the Orlando Magic and Billy were energized with the announcement of his contract signing on Friday, we know there was a different feeling in Gainesville and people have been tugging at him since that time."

According to Katz's column, "Donovan's hiring Thursday prompted the sale of 200 Magic season tickets by Friday afternoon. Magic communications director Joel Glass confirmed that number after Friday's news conference introducing Donovan to a standing ovation from the entire on-site Magic organization at the RDV Sportsplex in Orlando."
I pity the Orlando Magic and their season ticket holders. Imagine waking up Friday, you hear your Orlando Magic just signed Billy Donovan, you purchase season tickets, then he tries to get out of his deal. Donovan's got himself into a bind, tick off University of Florida fans in Gainesville or Orlando Magic fans. With Kobe's flip-flopping trade requests last week, it seems that if you feel the need to flip-flop, you might want to work in the NBA.

Friday, June 1, 2007

Book Review: The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty


Despite the ongoing story regarding Kobe, I've been hankering to write a baseball-related entry. So, I'm changing gears for today and presenting the following book review:

I purchased Buster Olney's The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty a couple of years ago and finished re-reading it recently. Yes, re-reading it. It's a great book about the pressure on the New York Yankees to win a World Series every year. The thing that makes the book work is that no one is made to be the villain, but rather people with significant flaws. Each chapter focuses on one person (everybody from pitcher Roger Clemens to centerfielder Bernie Williams to general manager Brian Cashman) while giving snippets of the game that brought the Yankee dynasty to an end: Game 7 of the 2001 World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. But the most intriguing aspect of the book is its portrayal of team owner George Steinbrenner. What drives Steinbrenner is an insatiable hunger for World Series championships every year,so much so he is willing and very capable to spend any amount necessary to make his dream of never-ending championships possible. Olney doesn't portray Steinbrenner as bad, just having an unbridled passion and craving for victory with the power and pocketbook to match. Even though I am not a Yankees fan, I strongly recommend this book to anybody that is a baseball fan. This book is available on Amazon.