Monday, December 22, 2008

Cinderella Teams in Playoffs


Image courtesy of NFL.com / Getty Images.

This season has been a topsy-turvy one in the NFL. Several teams that were in shambles last season are now poised to make the playoffs. Two of those teams are the Baltimore Ravens and the Miami Dolphins, both shown above. The Dolphins were 1-15 last season, a then-NFL record for losses. They switched their front office management, their coach, and some players, and are currently 10-5 and on the cusp of a playoff berth if they beat the New York Jets next Sunday (at NY). The Ravens were 5-11 last season, then switched their coach, drafted a new starting quarterback, and are going to playoffs if they beat Jacksonville next week (at home). Even more intriguing is that Baltimore's head coach and the quarterback, Joe Flacco of Delaware, are both rookies at this level.


Image courtesy of emqb.com / Newscom.

The Atlanta Falcons were predicted to have a terrible season this year with a new coach with no previous NFL head coach experience and a rookie quarterback, but they are a win away from playoffs (they need to beat St. Louis on Sunday). The Falcons quarterback, Matt Ryan, shown above, is a Rookie of the Year candidate (along with Baltimore's Flacco). Meanwhile, the Arizona Cardinals are going to the playoffs for the first time in 10 years and their first division title in 33 years (1975). However, the Cardinals, led by quarterback Kurt Warner, were demolished by the New England Patriots yesterday 47-7 in snowy Foxboro. The Patriots are going to need help if they want to go to playoffs (they need to beat Buffalo next week and hope Miami or Baltimore loses). Considering the Patriots are without star quarterback Tom Brady, linebacker Tedy Bruschi, safety Rodney Harrison, linebacker Adalius Thomas, and running back Laurence Maroney, they are on a remarkable run to a potential playoff berth, led by backup QB Matt Cassel.


Image courtesy of the BBC.

The Dallas Cowboys are on the verge of getting knocked out of playoffs if they lose to division rival Philadelphia on Sunday. If the Cowboys lose, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will take the final spot. So, the playoffs currently look like this:

NFC Playoffs
6) Dallas Cowboys or Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 3) Chicago Bears or Minnesota Vikings
5) Atlanta Falcons or Dallas Cowboys at 4) Arizona Cardinals
First round byes: 1) NY GIants and 2) Carolina Panthers

AFC Playoffs
6) Baltimore Ravens or New England Patriots at 3) Miami Dolphins or New England Patriots
5) Indianapolis Colts at Denver Broncos or San Diego Chargers
First round byes: 1) Tennessee Titans and 2) Pittsburgh Steelers

Friday, December 19, 2008

Slimy Agents?


Image courtesy of the BBC.

A controversy reached boiling point this week when the agents for Los Angeles Dodger shortstop Rafael Furcal, shown above, were presented with a contract offer by the Atlanta Braves for Furcal, but he resigned with the Dodgers a day later at terms nearly identical to the Braves' offer. The Braves front office is furious about it and making their displeasure known in the press. They have advised Arn Tellem and Paul Kinzer, the agents involved, to remove the Braves from their clients' wish list of teams, effectively ending any business dealings between Tellem, Kinzer, and the Braves.


Image courtesy of daylife.com/The Associated Press/Lenny Ignelzi.

Supposedly, the Braves agreed to a contract offer with Furcal via Kinzer, shown above, and Tellem for a three-year deal and an option for a fourth. The Braves were told Furcal would sleep on it, but Kinzer reportedly took the offer to the Dodgers and negotiated a similar deal. The Braves contend that they had a deal and that once Furcal would sleep on it, he'd sign with Atlanta (he played there from 2000-2005.) The agents argue that a deal was never in place and that what they did was above board. If Atlanta follows through on their threat to not sign any players from Tellem and Kinzer's agency, there could be potential problems regarding baseball's collective bargaining agreement (or CBA).


Image courtesy of New York Magazine/Getty Images.

Kinzer and Tellem aren't the first agents to anger baseball teams. Scott Boras, shown above, is the biggest agent in baseball and has a colorful reputation in the sport. Some have called him a variety of names including "The Prince of Darkness" and he is known for getting his players top dollar, even if they aren't worth the amount. For example, when Johnny Damon went from the Boston Red Sox to their archrival New York Yankees a few years ago, he received a contract in the $50 million range, which most observers at the time said Damon was being overvalued. In other words, it's believed by most baseball observers that whoever offers the most money to a Boras client automatically wins the bidding. And while Boras has gotten teams into bidding wars, he's never done anything quite like what Kinzer and Tellem have done to Atlanta. The fact that Boras gets his players top dollar is good for him, that's what he's hired to do. What Kinzer and Tellem did only reinforces the stereotype that agents can be schmucks (if you haven't seen the animated film Bolt, the stereotypical agent makes multiple appearances, each time getting worse) only interested in money, book deals, etc. that the get a cut in.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Which Way Phoenix?


Image courtesy The Arizona Republic/Getty Images.

This summer, Phoenix let its coach at the time, Mike D'Antoni, leave to coach the New York Knicks after D'Antoni and Suns GM Steve Kerr disagreed over the direction of the team. Kerr wanted more defense from the club, but D'Antoni ushered in the Suns' trademark "run-n-gun" style. D'Antoni built a system known as "7 Seconds or Less", an offense designed to take a shot at the basket within 7 seconds. This season, with new coach Terry Porter, shown above, and an emphasis on defense, the Suns aren't the same team and aren't nearly as fun to watch. This isn't to say I don't like to watch them, but rather defense-minded clubs are less fun to watch than offensive powers like Boston and, to an extent, the Lakers.


Image courtesy of the East Valley Tribune.

Recently, the Suns traded Raja Bell, a good defender and three-point shooter shown above, along with Boris Diaw to Charlotte for Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley. Will this move make the team better? Perhaps, but this season is a transition year for the Suns and it's making a lot of fans in Planet Orange (the Suns' equivalent to Red Sox Nation) upset. With all the talent the Suns have (Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Shaq, and now Richardson), one wonders why they're only 15-10.

On a side note, I added a few links to the blog page recently. First up, I replaced Sean McAdam with Tony Massarotti (aka Mazz) of the Boston Globe. McAdam has since moved from Providence to the Boston Herald, but the Herald's website isn't the greatest to track columnists. Tony's a great baseball writer, a winner of multiple sports journalism awards and offers insight, especially with the Boston Red Sox. His columns are listed here. Next up is Ken Rosenthal, senior baseball writer for FOX Sports. Rosenthal is like Mazz, but on a wider, national scale. Ken's columns are here. Two other columnists were added as well: Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune and Art Thiel of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Both have received awards for their columns, especially Thiel, and are respected within their respective cities. Thiel's columns are here while Morrissey's are here. In addition to these, links to columns in Detroit, Dallas, Los Angeles, Cleveland, and Washington D.C. are available on the main blog page.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Hot Stove Getting Warmer

Even in the current economy, you can always count on baseball teams to spend like crazed Christmas shoppers this time of year. Despite the fact that baseball is in its offseason, this is when the free agency period and player movement begin. Some of the major trades and deals so far:


Image courtesy of Sports Illustrated/CNN.

Slugger Matt Holliday, pictured above, was traded to Oakland from Colorado for relief pitcher Huston Street, outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, and pitcher Greg Smith. While Holliday is now the main hitter in the A's offense, I don't think he'll be the 35-homer guy that he was with the Rockies. Due to the thin air in Colorado, the balls go higher and farther, whereas Oakland is right next to San Francisco Bay, where the dense marine air takes the flight out of balls. Conversely, the pitchers sent to the Rockies have to hope that they don't get lit up every night. In other words, this deal was a good one for the clubs, but a bad one for the players' individual careers.


Image courtesy of Sports Illustrated/CNN.

Pitcher C.C. Sabathia, who previously played for the Cleveland Indians and the Milwaukee Brewers, signed with the New York Yankees for seven years, $161 million. Sabathia is a good starting pitcher, but he's not $161 million good. His yearly salary will be $23 million, the second highest on the team, even more than sure Hall-of-Famer and Yankee icon Derek Jeter ($21 million). Sabathia has a playoff ERA over 5.00 but a 21-8 record against AL East teams excluding the Yankees (Boston, Toronto, Baltimore, and Tampa Bay). Also, C.C. had reservations about playing in New York and, to paraphrase ESPN.com columnist Buster Olney, only greatness will be expected of him from the New York fans. Even if he fails though, he has an opt-out clause in his contract after the 2011 season.


Image courtesy of the CBC.

The Yankees also signed Toronto pitcher A.J. Burnett to a five-year $82.5 million deal. That's $16.5 million a year for a pitcher who's career average is 3.81, not great but not terrible. He has an injury history, but he was dominant against the Red Sox last year, going 5-0. Getting Burnett from a division rival was a bonus for the Yankees, but he's a high risk-high payoff player.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Drama in Dallas


Image courtesy of CBS 11 - Dallas.

This past week, ESPN's Ed Werder reported Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens was upset with Cowboys tight end Jason Witten and speculated that Witten and Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo make plays together without Owens' knowledge (Witten and Romo are roommates).

This charge is absurd for several reasons. First, the offensive coordinator, Jason Garrett, is the primary person who draws up plays. Supposedly, Garrett, shown below, has an "open door" policy, meaning players can provide input to the playcalling. Second, I highly doubt Romo and Witten devote all of their attention to football when they're rooming.


Image courtesy of The Dallas Morning News.

But more importantly, this incident now confirms beyond doubt (as if there was any), that Terrell Owens creates these situations on his own, whether it's in San Francisco, Philadelphia, or Dallas. ESPN.com's Matt Mosley posted an interesting graphic regarding the pass distribution between Owens and Witten here. Owens scores more touchdowns and gets more looks, but Witten, shown below, has a higher pass completion percentage (74% to 52.4%).


Image courtesy of Knowyourdallascowboys.com/Getty Images.

Owens, shown below, said the following to the press on Friday, "What do I have to be jealous of? Look at me, I'm handsome as hell. Anything that goes on, I am going to be the scapegoat. I'm trying to figure out how I make the headlines and I don't even say anything." While the drama may be a media build-up thing, Owens said a lot about his personality and ego whe he said, "Look at me, I'm handsome as hell." Owens seems to be the type of person who needs constant positive reinforcement, constant praise and attention, no matter what the cost.


Image courtesy of The Dallas Observer.

The Cowboys defeated the New York Giants last night 20-8 in a big game for the Boys. Interesting to note, that during the game, the fans in attendance booed Owens, but cheered Witten. If they want to make the playoffs, they have to beat both Baltimore Ravens (Saturday in Dallas), and Philadelphia Eagles (Dec. 28 in Philly). A tall order for sure, but if they can beat the Giants, they can beat the Ravens and Eagles. The drama may have subsided for now, victories do that, but with a locker room reportedly on the verge of being split, there's little room for error in Big D.