After a solid weekend of staying up way too late and not even close to getting enough sleep, I've decided to come back to the blog world. I had a buddy of mine visit for the weekend and I don't believe I've stayed up that late for three straight days since college, but it was good to see him and check out a bunch of local venues.
Surprise, surprise. The "Sweater Vest" is out at Ohio State. I've said for a long time that he always seemed to avoid all the bad mouthing that many other slimey college coaches get. Just because he wears the sweater vest and has "midwest values" doesn't mean he isn't a rule breaker. I'm certainly not saying that he isn't a good coach because he has proven that he is but I'll question a lot of things that he has done. In my personal opinion (like you already know, I have many), he avoided the whole Maurice Clarett situation like a cagey vet. Clarett made a bunch of accusations and nothing came of it because he was considered a criminal. Now that Tressel has gotten accused of all these violations it's about time that people go and look back at some of the other things people have accused the football program of and have been swept under the rug.
The biggest question now is, who takes over at THE Ohio State University? I've got my money on Urban Meyer. As much as he says it's about taking care of himself, I think it's a no brainer of a move for him. He has connections down in Florida still to get the speed guys and OSU will always get the top talent in Ohio. Not sure who else would be considered front runners for the job. Are there any Ohio State guys coaching right now? Does one of my former favorite NFL players, Chris Speilman, get involved in the program? Maybe Andy Katzenmoyer (if he don't remember him, please look him up) will come back as the LB coach and teach golf and health in the PE departent.
Now on to some celebrity crap. Have people heard that former Hopkins HS (MN) standout Kris Humphries gave Kim Kardashian a 20 carat engagement ring? Is she worth it? Ray J, Reggie Bush, and Miles Austin didn't think so. I don't think I've heard of anyone EVER getting a diamond bigger than 5 or 6 carat (thanks Kobe for the 8 carat, "forgiveness ring"). I couldn't imagine how big and ugly that thing is. And I'm not sure why I know this stuff or why I care but I think it's funny.
In about a hour and a half the NCAA Lax Championship game will be on. For some reason, I always like watching the Championship game. It's always on Memorial Day and it's always good lacrosse. As many of you know, lacrosse is pretty big where I grew up and one of my cousins played at UVa and scored a couple of goals in the National Championship game. UVa and Maryland will lock horns in an big time ACC battle. Should be fun.
Last but certainly not least, I'd like to thank all the former and current soldiers for all that they have done or are doing right now. Let's all be thankful for all that they have given us throughout the years. The video below is quite the tear jerker. Happy Memorial Day everyone.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Fiesta Friday
So there has been a little response to my last post and the best part about it is when I question those people that question me, I win. Why? Because when I asked them what I said that wasn't true, they couldn't tell me. Here's the thing about it, I never said that I didn't like it here. I really like the Twin Cities but as I've said numerous times (probably not on the blog) it's a like huge small town. It's consistently six degrees of Kevin Bacon with everyone knowing someone that knows somebody. Confusing??? It's been tough for an "outsider" like myself to get into certain social groups because I didn't go to middle school with that group. I'm not saying anything is wrong with that, it's much like my hometown but just on a larger scale.
Ok, enough of explaining myself (though I shouldn't have to). Onto the ramblings...
The OKC Thunder took a nasty collapse against the Mavs. What I don't understand and never will understand is why do teams go away from what got them there when they have a big lead late in the game. You see the coaches calling plays and yet the players just wait for a pick and roll opportunity in the last six seconds of shot clock. Don't get me wrong, Dirk was ridiculous, but the Thunder's inexperienced really showed. When the Mavs' crunch time guys have been in the league for about 187 years and have been through the playoffs before, they aren't scared of the moment. The Thunder looked tentative. I said at the beginning of the first round that I thought the Thunder would win the West. Needless to say I was wrong, experience is huge in the playoffs. They weren't ready yet. Hopefully, KD will have a little more magic in his backpack next year.
Due to unforeseen circumstances I wasn't able to watch the end of the Heat-Bulls games last night. Judging from the highlights and what people have said, Lebron and D-Wade took over the last couple of minutes. Chicago was much similar to the Thunder in that they would just run down hte shot clock and hope that D-Rose would make a play. Again, don't go away from what got you there. With Lebron covering D-Rose, they had to make some adjustments and make plays but couldn't do it. There isn't enough to surround Rose at the moment. He needs someone else that can consistently get his shot.
Carlos Boozer certainly isn't that guy, and he certainly isn't worth the contract they gave him. Can't fault him for the ridiculous contract the Bulls' management gave him but he's not worth it, period. I'm not sure if he could cover me, let alone a NBA superstar. I couldn't imagine what Tom Thibodeaux is going to do over the next couple of years when he can't play Boozer over Taj Gibson. The Bulls were actually better when he was hurt at the beginning of the year. Typical Dookie.
Being a closer in basketball is not an easy thing to do. You need to take your lumps for at least a couple of years in order to be considered one. Unlike baseball, you don't need sweet facial hair or a crazy mullet. Larry, Jordan, Reggie, and Kobe are perfect examples of being closers. Those guys wanted the ball at the end of the game and everyone knew it. Jordan's last shot and Reggie's 8 points in 9 seconds are perfect examples of being a closer.
Durant and D-Rose aren't there yet. At this point in both of their careers they are still one dimensional at the end of the game. You know what they will do for their team's success. Durant is going trying and take a step back 3 and D-Rose will try to get to the rim. They will need to diversify their games in order to take themselves and their teams to the next level. I'm certainly not saying they aren't good players because they are both unbelievably talented. To quote the infamous Jay-Z, "In order to experience pleasure, you need pain."
As of right now, both Dirk and Lebron have experienced some pain in the NBA Finals. They are both hungry and obviously extremely talented. Their teammates know they want the ball in crunch time situations and like Jordan and Bird their teammates know where to be in order to get themselves shots off of the superstar. Just ask John Paxson and Steve Kerr about knowing how to feed off Jordan. I'm sure there are numerous occasions with Bird but I don't recall because I was like 5 when he was winning championships. Neither Dirk or Lebron are up to either of these NBA greats' level when it comes to closing but I could be speaking a different tune by the middle of June.
Scottie Pippen said that Lebron has the chance to be a better overall player than MJ thought MJ was a better scorer. I don't know if I can disagree with his statement even with Jordan being my favorite player of all time. Lebron has all the physical tools to be the best player ever. Now, there are a lot of guys that have the physical tools to be great but never are because they don't have the mentality. I think Lebron wants that mentality but isn't quite there yet. Though, he has showed me something by covering D-Rose in the 4th quarter in the Eastern Conference Finals. Will he do that again vs. Dirk? Lebron needs to be cutt-throat all the time in order to put himself in Jordan's category. I think he takes plays and some games off because he is so talented because he can. MJ wouldn't allow that. He was too competitive all the time. He wanted to be the best and worked his tail off to prove that. He was a prick.
Kevin McHale is going to named head coach of the Houston Rockets. I think that's a good move for the Rockets because I think he can really coach. Just make sure he gets zero say in any personnel decisions for the franchise. The Twolves are still reeling from his idiotic moves over the years.
The unforeseen circumstances that I wasn't able to watch the tail end of the Heat-Bulls game was that I went to watched The Hangover Part II. I figured I could watch most of the game and I really wanted to see the movie, so I missed a great ending. The movie was very good but as I've read with some other people, please lower your expectations. It's never easy for a sequel to live up to the first one. The movie was definitely funny, with some pretty ridiculous moments, but I'll let you figure out your own opinion.
Not sure if everyone saw the collision that took out Giants' catcher Buster Posey. Well, he broke is leg and could be out for the rest of the year. You never want to see someone get hurt but it was a clean play. People are trying to say that they need to change home plate collision rules in order to protect the catcher. I do understand that but what happened was a freak thing. He's a heck of player and has a bright future but you can't change the rules based off of one play when both teams are playing hard.
Twins are really bad right now. Carl Pavano and his 'stache might be on the trading block soon.
They are talking about adding a boatload of more seats to Michigan Stadium in order for the Wolverines to possibly play in front of 120,000 people. Are you serious? Is the below average team going to draw that many people? And it doesn't seem like they are just going to paint "the seats" smaller to get more people in there. Do they need any more seats? I just don't see the reason to add more. At WVU they have around 60,000 seats and it's all about supply and demand. I guess if you can add ten thousand new seats that means that the football program aka the athletic department will get back $200,000 per home game at the very minimum.
Hope everyone in Minnesota has fun at "The Cabin" this weekend. It's supposed to rain all weekend so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Might do a quite a bit of THIS.
Ok, enough of explaining myself (though I shouldn't have to). Onto the ramblings...
The OKC Thunder took a nasty collapse against the Mavs. What I don't understand and never will understand is why do teams go away from what got them there when they have a big lead late in the game. You see the coaches calling plays and yet the players just wait for a pick and roll opportunity in the last six seconds of shot clock. Don't get me wrong, Dirk was ridiculous, but the Thunder's inexperienced really showed. When the Mavs' crunch time guys have been in the league for about 187 years and have been through the playoffs before, they aren't scared of the moment. The Thunder looked tentative. I said at the beginning of the first round that I thought the Thunder would win the West. Needless to say I was wrong, experience is huge in the playoffs. They weren't ready yet. Hopefully, KD will have a little more magic in his backpack next year.
Due to unforeseen circumstances I wasn't able to watch the end of the Heat-Bulls games last night. Judging from the highlights and what people have said, Lebron and D-Wade took over the last couple of minutes. Chicago was much similar to the Thunder in that they would just run down hte shot clock and hope that D-Rose would make a play. Again, don't go away from what got you there. With Lebron covering D-Rose, they had to make some adjustments and make plays but couldn't do it. There isn't enough to surround Rose at the moment. He needs someone else that can consistently get his shot.
Carlos Boozer certainly isn't that guy, and he certainly isn't worth the contract they gave him. Can't fault him for the ridiculous contract the Bulls' management gave him but he's not worth it, period. I'm not sure if he could cover me, let alone a NBA superstar. I couldn't imagine what Tom Thibodeaux is going to do over the next couple of years when he can't play Boozer over Taj Gibson. The Bulls were actually better when he was hurt at the beginning of the year. Typical Dookie.
Being a closer in basketball is not an easy thing to do. You need to take your lumps for at least a couple of years in order to be considered one. Unlike baseball, you don't need sweet facial hair or a crazy mullet. Larry, Jordan, Reggie, and Kobe are perfect examples of being closers. Those guys wanted the ball at the end of the game and everyone knew it. Jordan's last shot and Reggie's 8 points in 9 seconds are perfect examples of being a closer.
Durant and D-Rose aren't there yet. At this point in both of their careers they are still one dimensional at the end of the game. You know what they will do for their team's success. Durant is going trying and take a step back 3 and D-Rose will try to get to the rim. They will need to diversify their games in order to take themselves and their teams to the next level. I'm certainly not saying they aren't good players because they are both unbelievably talented. To quote the infamous Jay-Z, "In order to experience pleasure, you need pain."
As of right now, both Dirk and Lebron have experienced some pain in the NBA Finals. They are both hungry and obviously extremely talented. Their teammates know they want the ball in crunch time situations and like Jordan and Bird their teammates know where to be in order to get themselves shots off of the superstar. Just ask John Paxson and Steve Kerr about knowing how to feed off Jordan. I'm sure there are numerous occasions with Bird but I don't recall because I was like 5 when he was winning championships. Neither Dirk or Lebron are up to either of these NBA greats' level when it comes to closing but I could be speaking a different tune by the middle of June.
Scottie Pippen said that Lebron has the chance to be a better overall player than MJ thought MJ was a better scorer. I don't know if I can disagree with his statement even with Jordan being my favorite player of all time. Lebron has all the physical tools to be the best player ever. Now, there are a lot of guys that have the physical tools to be great but never are because they don't have the mentality. I think Lebron wants that mentality but isn't quite there yet. Though, he has showed me something by covering D-Rose in the 4th quarter in the Eastern Conference Finals. Will he do that again vs. Dirk? Lebron needs to be cutt-throat all the time in order to put himself in Jordan's category. I think he takes plays and some games off because he is so talented because he can. MJ wouldn't allow that. He was too competitive all the time. He wanted to be the best and worked his tail off to prove that. He was a prick.
Kevin McHale is going to named head coach of the Houston Rockets. I think that's a good move for the Rockets because I think he can really coach. Just make sure he gets zero say in any personnel decisions for the franchise. The Twolves are still reeling from his idiotic moves over the years.
The unforeseen circumstances that I wasn't able to watch the tail end of the Heat-Bulls game was that I went to watched The Hangover Part II. I figured I could watch most of the game and I really wanted to see the movie, so I missed a great ending. The movie was very good but as I've read with some other people, please lower your expectations. It's never easy for a sequel to live up to the first one. The movie was definitely funny, with some pretty ridiculous moments, but I'll let you figure out your own opinion.
Not sure if everyone saw the collision that took out Giants' catcher Buster Posey. Well, he broke is leg and could be out for the rest of the year. You never want to see someone get hurt but it was a clean play. People are trying to say that they need to change home plate collision rules in order to protect the catcher. I do understand that but what happened was a freak thing. He's a heck of player and has a bright future but you can't change the rules based off of one play when both teams are playing hard.
Twins are really bad right now. Carl Pavano and his 'stache might be on the trading block soon.
They are talking about adding a boatload of more seats to Michigan Stadium in order for the Wolverines to possibly play in front of 120,000 people. Are you serious? Is the below average team going to draw that many people? And it doesn't seem like they are just going to paint "the seats" smaller to get more people in there. Do they need any more seats? I just don't see the reason to add more. At WVU they have around 60,000 seats and it's all about supply and demand. I guess if you can add ten thousand new seats that means that the football program aka the athletic department will get back $200,000 per home game at the very minimum.
Hope everyone in Minnesota has fun at "The Cabin" this weekend. It's supposed to rain all weekend so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Might do a quite a bit of THIS.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Welcome to Minnesota
Alright, so today I'm going to over everything that I've learned or haven't learned while living the past three years here in Minnesota.
What high school did you go to?
Well that's the first or second question that I would get when I first moved here. I've never known such a place that Woodbury/Edina/Eden Prairie are such a status symbol for me to be important.
You're from NY? Well, you don't have an accent.
Well, thanks for being correct. Sorry for not sounding like someone from Westchester, Queens, Brooklyn, or Long Island. For a little geography lesson, there is more to NY than NYC. I actually grew up four hours from NYC. And by the way, I don't have gold chains or velour track suits (well only one).
The "U"
Let's get one thing straight. The "U" is The University of Miami. It always will be. The "U" is that school's logo. No one else can say that. The University of Minnesota is not "The U." University of Wisconsin is not considered "the U" in that state. The University of Washington is called "U-Dub.' The University of Arizona is called the "U of A." I could go on but I don't want to bore with any more college nicknames.
35E and 35W
Here in Minnesota we have 35E and 35W as highways through the Twin Cities. You would think that 35E would run to the east and 35W would run to the west. Nope, they run North-South. I figured it out after a while but it certainly can become confusing for people coming in. 35E runs North-South on the East of the Twin Cities and 35W runs North-South on the West of the Twin Cities.
I've never been to the State Hockey Playoffs
This is a prime attraction here in the state. Whole towns come and follow their teams when they get to Xcel here in St. Paul. Students at the school get an excused absence from school in order to attend their team's game. It's that important here. All the games are televised, it's like Texas high school football.
No I don't like the Twinkies
"I wish we had all the money in the world to spend on free agents and buy our championships." Oh enough of that crap. Just because the Twins owner is cheap and would rather put money in his pockets instead of spending it on free agents, don't blame the Yankees for trying to put a great product on the field all the time. So now that they have this new stadium, they have created more revenue to spend on the free agent market. So, they spent a boatload of money to keep Joe Mauer in his home state and guess what happens. He gets hurt and he'll never be the player he once was. Plus, no one wants to play here because it's too damn cold.
This new stadium is awesome
Well, not really. It's like every other new stadium. It's nice but it doesn't "wow" me like other stadiums have. I'm not saying it isn't nice but what about separates it from all the other new parks? And don't say the skyline of Minneapolis because all you basically see is the ugly Target Center. Go to the parks in Pittsburgh or Baltimore and they "wow" you. That's what a new park is supposed to do. Also, with this unpredictable weather why wouldn't you put a retrackable roof on the stadium? I would agree with most people that during the summer it's better to be outside but when it's snowing in April and maybe October, you don't want to postpone games because we are in the great white north. I can't comment on the new Yankee Stadium but from what everyone else has said, it's ridiculous. Especially if this guy has anything to say about it.
You haven't been to a Wild game?
No, I haven't. You want to know why? Because I'm a basketball coach, I watch basketball. I do have access to tickets any time I want and I don't go because it doesn't really interest me. Maybe if the Mark Messier led New York Rangers come to town I'll go. Does he play anymore?
The Land of 10,000 Lakes
Not so fast my friend. I wouldn't consider a body of water that I could easily swim across a lake. That is what I like to call a pond. Apparently, there are a lot of lakes up north. I've seen Lake Mill Lacs (I might have the lake in the wrong spot) is an actually lake. When I drove up that way, I couldn't see the other side. I don't think I could swim across it.
Turn Signal
As most of the native Minnesotans know, people here don't like to use their turn signals when driving and it drives me nuts. When turning right or left, you are supposed to flip the turn signal up or down in your car in order to let the person behind you know that you will be turning shortly.
Yield Sign
A Yield sign means to proceed with caution. Much like a yellow light. If you have a lane to yourself there really isn't a need to slow down or stop at a yield sign considering that you have the right away in that lane. I don't know how many times I've completely stopped at a yield sign because the idiot in front of me decided they couldn't proceed with no cars in front of them in their own lane. There are times that I want to give a Macho Man Randy Savage (rest his soul) elbow drop to some of the drivers here.
Minnesota State Fair
I had my first fair experience this past summer. It didn't exactly live up to all the hype. Was it good for people watching? It definitely was, I got to see some of Minnesota's finest and it made me laugh. I can people watch sitting in my office, I don't need to pay $9 to see a bunch of weirdos.
Minnesota "Nice"
When I usually explain to people what my feelings are on what Minnesota Nice really is, they usually laugh or get really defensive, so here I go. I'll give an example to explain it, it's much easier that way. Let's say you are a Minnetonka HS grad and you graduated from there in 2001. You are out in Uptown and you see a fellow Skipper grad at the bar that you haven't talked to since you graduated. You will have a 10 or 15 minute conversation with that person to be "nice" and then afterward you will say, "Why did I even talk to that person?" How I would've done it was I would've avoided that person or say "don't talk to me." There is a reason I haven't talked to you in ten years, so there is no reason for me to talk to you. I won't be fake and act like I care what you are doing and vice versa for you. Instead of wasting 10 or 15 minutes of my night, I'm going to be productive and sing along to the latest T-Pain song.
"The Cabin"
With Memorial Day coming up this weekend, many people will head up "The Cabin" for the long weekend. If you didn't know, you would think that "The Cabin" is a HUGE cabin in Northern Minnesota that every family goes to for extended weekends. It's kind of like me saying when I lived in NY that "I'm going to the City for the weekend." Everyone knew what I was talking about. I was headed to NYC for the weekend. Here in Minnesota, "The Cabin" could be anywhere at least an hour north of the Twin Cities on one of the "10,000" lakes. It's somewhat of a status symbol to be able to say "I'm headed to the cabin." And no, my family or I don't have a cabin to go to.
Fourth of July
I think the nation's birthday is the biggest holiday in the state. Everyone heads to "The Cabin" and the Twin Cities becomes a ghost town. Unfortunately, I've been stuck here in St. Paul each and every 4th of July. It is like anywhere else?
Snow Emergencies
Here in the city of St. Paul nothing and I mean nothing gets touched during the winter until the city declares a 'Snow Emergency.' The city usually won't declare until after the snow completely stops. That means that my street will not get touched until at least two days after the fact. It drives me nuts. When they do declare one, they will tow or ticket the cars on the street. The worst part about it is that I live about three blocks away from the town of Maplewood and the streets there are cleared right after the snow falls. Plus, with all the snow, it's an accident waiting to happen, especially with all the terrible drivers and the cars parked on the street.
Ricky Rubio
Twolves fans, he will never play for the Minnesota Twolves. He is from Barcelona and has played there for a while where it's warm and sunny all the time. Why would he want to go the a place that snows basically the whole season? I know, it sucks when I'm right. The places I think he wouldn't mind playing for are NY (big market), LA (big market, nice weather), and Miami (big market, nice weather). My guess is that if the Twolves don't trade his rights to teams in those places, he'll just be content on staying in Spain.
Lack of Creativity
Here is my school nickname rant. First I'll go with the Minnesota colleges. St. Thomas Tommies, St. John's Johnnies, St. Olaf Oles, Augsburg Auggies, and Gusatvus Adolphus Gusties. I know, they are very unique names but not creative at all, so if the rest of the conference did the same here is what their nicknames would be with the real ones next to it. Concordia Cordies (Cobbers), Bethel Bethes (Royals), St. Mary's Marys (Cardinals)(best one yet), Carleton Carls (Knights), Macalester Mackies (Scots), and we can't forget the Hamline Hammies (Pipers). Even the high schools join in on the fun. White Bear Lake Bears and Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Lakers to name a few. Even a Wisconsin college joined in on the fun with UW-Stevens Point Pointers.
That's all I can think of now, I'm sure there is more and if you have any that you can think of, throw that right in the comment section.
I'll have more on the Bulls-Heat series tomorrow to go along with the Mavs-Thunder game from tonight.
What high school did you go to?
Well that's the first or second question that I would get when I first moved here. I've never known such a place that Woodbury/Edina/Eden Prairie are such a status symbol for me to be important.
You're from NY? Well, you don't have an accent.
Well, thanks for being correct. Sorry for not sounding like someone from Westchester, Queens, Brooklyn, or Long Island. For a little geography lesson, there is more to NY than NYC. I actually grew up four hours from NYC. And by the way, I don't have gold chains or velour track suits (well only one).
The "U"
Let's get one thing straight. The "U" is The University of Miami. It always will be. The "U" is that school's logo. No one else can say that. The University of Minnesota is not "The U." University of Wisconsin is not considered "the U" in that state. The University of Washington is called "U-Dub.' The University of Arizona is called the "U of A." I could go on but I don't want to bore with any more college nicknames.
35E and 35W
Here in Minnesota we have 35E and 35W as highways through the Twin Cities. You would think that 35E would run to the east and 35W would run to the west. Nope, they run North-South. I figured it out after a while but it certainly can become confusing for people coming in. 35E runs North-South on the East of the Twin Cities and 35W runs North-South on the West of the Twin Cities.
I've never been to the State Hockey Playoffs
This is a prime attraction here in the state. Whole towns come and follow their teams when they get to Xcel here in St. Paul. Students at the school get an excused absence from school in order to attend their team's game. It's that important here. All the games are televised, it's like Texas high school football.
No I don't like the Twinkies
"I wish we had all the money in the world to spend on free agents and buy our championships." Oh enough of that crap. Just because the Twins owner is cheap and would rather put money in his pockets instead of spending it on free agents, don't blame the Yankees for trying to put a great product on the field all the time. So now that they have this new stadium, they have created more revenue to spend on the free agent market. So, they spent a boatload of money to keep Joe Mauer in his home state and guess what happens. He gets hurt and he'll never be the player he once was. Plus, no one wants to play here because it's too damn cold.
This new stadium is awesome
Well, not really. It's like every other new stadium. It's nice but it doesn't "wow" me like other stadiums have. I'm not saying it isn't nice but what about separates it from all the other new parks? And don't say the skyline of Minneapolis because all you basically see is the ugly Target Center. Go to the parks in Pittsburgh or Baltimore and they "wow" you. That's what a new park is supposed to do. Also, with this unpredictable weather why wouldn't you put a retrackable roof on the stadium? I would agree with most people that during the summer it's better to be outside but when it's snowing in April and maybe October, you don't want to postpone games because we are in the great white north. I can't comment on the new Yankee Stadium but from what everyone else has said, it's ridiculous. Especially if this guy has anything to say about it.
You haven't been to a Wild game?
No, I haven't. You want to know why? Because I'm a basketball coach, I watch basketball. I do have access to tickets any time I want and I don't go because it doesn't really interest me. Maybe if the Mark Messier led New York Rangers come to town I'll go. Does he play anymore?
The Land of 10,000 Lakes
Not so fast my friend. I wouldn't consider a body of water that I could easily swim across a lake. That is what I like to call a pond. Apparently, there are a lot of lakes up north. I've seen Lake Mill Lacs (I might have the lake in the wrong spot) is an actually lake. When I drove up that way, I couldn't see the other side. I don't think I could swim across it.
Turn Signal
As most of the native Minnesotans know, people here don't like to use their turn signals when driving and it drives me nuts. When turning right or left, you are supposed to flip the turn signal up or down in your car in order to let the person behind you know that you will be turning shortly.
Yield Sign
A Yield sign means to proceed with caution. Much like a yellow light. If you have a lane to yourself there really isn't a need to slow down or stop at a yield sign considering that you have the right away in that lane. I don't know how many times I've completely stopped at a yield sign because the idiot in front of me decided they couldn't proceed with no cars in front of them in their own lane. There are times that I want to give a Macho Man Randy Savage (rest his soul) elbow drop to some of the drivers here.
Minnesota State Fair
I had my first fair experience this past summer. It didn't exactly live up to all the hype. Was it good for people watching? It definitely was, I got to see some of Minnesota's finest and it made me laugh. I can people watch sitting in my office, I don't need to pay $9 to see a bunch of weirdos.
Minnesota "Nice"
When I usually explain to people what my feelings are on what Minnesota Nice really is, they usually laugh or get really defensive, so here I go. I'll give an example to explain it, it's much easier that way. Let's say you are a Minnetonka HS grad and you graduated from there in 2001. You are out in Uptown and you see a fellow Skipper grad at the bar that you haven't talked to since you graduated. You will have a 10 or 15 minute conversation with that person to be "nice" and then afterward you will say, "Why did I even talk to that person?" How I would've done it was I would've avoided that person or say "don't talk to me." There is a reason I haven't talked to you in ten years, so there is no reason for me to talk to you. I won't be fake and act like I care what you are doing and vice versa for you. Instead of wasting 10 or 15 minutes of my night, I'm going to be productive and sing along to the latest T-Pain song.
"The Cabin"
With Memorial Day coming up this weekend, many people will head up "The Cabin" for the long weekend. If you didn't know, you would think that "The Cabin" is a HUGE cabin in Northern Minnesota that every family goes to for extended weekends. It's kind of like me saying when I lived in NY that "I'm going to the City for the weekend." Everyone knew what I was talking about. I was headed to NYC for the weekend. Here in Minnesota, "The Cabin" could be anywhere at least an hour north of the Twin Cities on one of the "10,000" lakes. It's somewhat of a status symbol to be able to say "I'm headed to the cabin." And no, my family or I don't have a cabin to go to.
Fourth of July
I think the nation's birthday is the biggest holiday in the state. Everyone heads to "The Cabin" and the Twin Cities becomes a ghost town. Unfortunately, I've been stuck here in St. Paul each and every 4th of July. It is like anywhere else?
Snow Emergencies
Here in the city of St. Paul nothing and I mean nothing gets touched during the winter until the city declares a 'Snow Emergency.' The city usually won't declare until after the snow completely stops. That means that my street will not get touched until at least two days after the fact. It drives me nuts. When they do declare one, they will tow or ticket the cars on the street. The worst part about it is that I live about three blocks away from the town of Maplewood and the streets there are cleared right after the snow falls. Plus, with all the snow, it's an accident waiting to happen, especially with all the terrible drivers and the cars parked on the street.
Ricky Rubio
Twolves fans, he will never play for the Minnesota Twolves. He is from Barcelona and has played there for a while where it's warm and sunny all the time. Why would he want to go the a place that snows basically the whole season? I know, it sucks when I'm right. The places I think he wouldn't mind playing for are NY (big market), LA (big market, nice weather), and Miami (big market, nice weather). My guess is that if the Twolves don't trade his rights to teams in those places, he'll just be content on staying in Spain.
Lack of Creativity
Here is my school nickname rant. First I'll go with the Minnesota colleges. St. Thomas Tommies, St. John's Johnnies, St. Olaf Oles, Augsburg Auggies, and Gusatvus Adolphus Gusties. I know, they are very unique names but not creative at all, so if the rest of the conference did the same here is what their nicknames would be with the real ones next to it. Concordia Cordies (Cobbers), Bethel Bethes (Royals), St. Mary's Marys (Cardinals)(best one yet), Carleton Carls (Knights), Macalester Mackies (Scots), and we can't forget the Hamline Hammies (Pipers). Even the high schools join in on the fun. White Bear Lake Bears and Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Lakers to name a few. Even a Wisconsin college joined in on the fun with UW-Stevens Point Pointers.
That's all I can think of now, I'm sure there is more and if you have any that you can think of, throw that right in the comment section.
I'll have more on the Bulls-Heat series tomorrow to go along with the Mavs-Thunder game from tonight.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Tuesday's Special
As I talked yesterday about the idiot of an owner the Mets have, he passed out a few more gems for me to make fun of. He said the Mets were "bleeding money" right now. I guess that means they are losing mucho dinero. He always said that the Mets are in $470 millions worth of debt right now. Please tell me how MLB hasn't stepped in to get rid of this fool. Didn't they do the same thing with the Dodgers? At least Frank McCourt (the Dodgers' psuedo owner) lost his money to a money hungry woman. Wilpon lost his $1 billion to Bernie Madoff and his glorious Ponzi scheme. I've said this before about the owners and I'll say it again. These guys or gals didn't make their money by being stupid. Well, this guy lost his money by being a complete and utter fool.
After watching the disaster of a game for the Thunder last night, I have to comment on that collapse. The Thunder clearly had control of the game and looked to be headed by to Dallas with the series knotted at 2-2 all until James Harden fouled out. That was a huge difference. What Harden adds to the Thunder is clearly giving both Westbrook and Durant space to "do work." He's a very good shooter and a great passer. With him out, the Mavs could run at both Westbrook and KD at any time. Thabo flat out ain't getting it done from the perimeter. What was KD thinking when he launched that 30 footer with three seconds left on the clock? He had two guys running to him besides his own defender. He needs to have the ball in his hands but he is more than capable of getting a better shot than what he got.
If you notice the team that the Mavs put on the floor compared to the Thunder. They have Kidd, Terry, Marion, Dirk, and Tyson Chandler in during crunch time. You can't help off of Terry. You have to respect Kidd and Marion from 3 and Chandler is athletic enough to get all rebounds. You don't need to run plays for Marion or Chandler and they can still be successful. Now the Thunder on the other hand (at least last night with Harden out) put Westbrook, Thabo, Durant, Collison, and Ibaka. Westbrook and Thabo aren't shooters or will never be shooters. Collison and Ibaka are both solid players but they certainly don't open up space for Durant or Westbrook. Thunder needs to put another shooter on the floor if Harden is out. Maybe throw Maynor at the point or put Daequan Cook in there and have Durant cover Dirk. He can't do any worse considering Dirk is averaging what seems like 78 points per game this series.
Could someone tell Westbrook that he isn't a jumpshooter? How many 3's is he going to airball? I don't understand. Do what you do best. His game is getting to the rim and making 15 to 17 feet pullup jumpers. If the stats are still correct up to this point but Westbrook is leading the Playoffs in field goal attempts in the fourth quarter and that's with Durant, Dirk, D-Rose, Lebron, and D-Wade still playing.
How good is Dirk? He is the ultimate YMCA over 40 league player. One footed runners, fadaways, one footed fadaways, and whatever else he decides is his shot of the day. They keep on saying Nick Collison is doing a great job defending him. I think Collison is doing a great job of not giving him space but he needs to contest with his left hand not his right. When you think about it, you have to contest with the opposite hand that the offensive player is shooting with. I hope that makes sense. It should be a mirror image of the shooter. Comprende?
I love how the NBA puts Joey Crawford on every big game. He totally controls the game and has a quick trigger when it comes to "T's." If there is ever a Game 7 in either series, he'll be on the game. Just watch.
How many unnecessary yells will we hear tonight from Carlos Boozer and Chris Bosh? Over/under is at 14. Any takers?
I started working out again after taking a full week off after my marathon. I've decided that I needed to get better beach muscles since there are soooo many beaches here in Minnesota. And a beach on a "lake" that I can swim across doesn't count. Well, I'm using these things called TRX straps and it's super intense. I'll look like Joe Burger in no time.
Tomorrow or Thursday I will bring to you the "Welcome to Minnesota" post which I am already laughing thinking about it.
After watching the disaster of a game for the Thunder last night, I have to comment on that collapse. The Thunder clearly had control of the game and looked to be headed by to Dallas with the series knotted at 2-2 all until James Harden fouled out. That was a huge difference. What Harden adds to the Thunder is clearly giving both Westbrook and Durant space to "do work." He's a very good shooter and a great passer. With him out, the Mavs could run at both Westbrook and KD at any time. Thabo flat out ain't getting it done from the perimeter. What was KD thinking when he launched that 30 footer with three seconds left on the clock? He had two guys running to him besides his own defender. He needs to have the ball in his hands but he is more than capable of getting a better shot than what he got.
If you notice the team that the Mavs put on the floor compared to the Thunder. They have Kidd, Terry, Marion, Dirk, and Tyson Chandler in during crunch time. You can't help off of Terry. You have to respect Kidd and Marion from 3 and Chandler is athletic enough to get all rebounds. You don't need to run plays for Marion or Chandler and they can still be successful. Now the Thunder on the other hand (at least last night with Harden out) put Westbrook, Thabo, Durant, Collison, and Ibaka. Westbrook and Thabo aren't shooters or will never be shooters. Collison and Ibaka are both solid players but they certainly don't open up space for Durant or Westbrook. Thunder needs to put another shooter on the floor if Harden is out. Maybe throw Maynor at the point or put Daequan Cook in there and have Durant cover Dirk. He can't do any worse considering Dirk is averaging what seems like 78 points per game this series.
Could someone tell Westbrook that he isn't a jumpshooter? How many 3's is he going to airball? I don't understand. Do what you do best. His game is getting to the rim and making 15 to 17 feet pullup jumpers. If the stats are still correct up to this point but Westbrook is leading the Playoffs in field goal attempts in the fourth quarter and that's with Durant, Dirk, D-Rose, Lebron, and D-Wade still playing.
How good is Dirk? He is the ultimate YMCA over 40 league player. One footed runners, fadaways, one footed fadaways, and whatever else he decides is his shot of the day. They keep on saying Nick Collison is doing a great job defending him. I think Collison is doing a great job of not giving him space but he needs to contest with his left hand not his right. When you think about it, you have to contest with the opposite hand that the offensive player is shooting with. I hope that makes sense. It should be a mirror image of the shooter. Comprende?
I love how the NBA puts Joey Crawford on every big game. He totally controls the game and has a quick trigger when it comes to "T's." If there is ever a Game 7 in either series, he'll be on the game. Just watch.
How many unnecessary yells will we hear tonight from Carlos Boozer and Chris Bosh? Over/under is at 14. Any takers?
I started working out again after taking a full week off after my marathon. I've decided that I needed to get better beach muscles since there are soooo many beaches here in Minnesota. And a beach on a "lake" that I can swim across doesn't count. Well, I'm using these things called TRX straps and it's super intense. I'll look like Joe Burger in no time.
Tomorrow or Thursday I will bring to you the "Welcome to Minnesota" post which I am already laughing thinking about it.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Daily Rambling
I liked the way my last blog went, so I'm keeping it going...
Ed DeChellis resigned today at Penn State, his alma mater, to take the head job at The Naval Academy. This was clearly a shocker. Plus, he is leaving roughly $200,000 per year at the table from the Nittany Lions. It's definitely one tough job to another. Penn State is and always will be a football school and not until they actually invest money into the program will they consistently be "ok" in the Big Ten. Yes, they did make it to the NCAA Tourney this year. That had a boatload of seniors and there wasn't much coming back. There was a bunch of talk throughout the year that the hoops team had to practice in a rec facility that was flat out awful. This was ever as they prepared for the Big Ten Tourney and then the NCAA Tourney. I understand Bon Jovi being a big deal but book them when the season is over. I'd be extremely frustrated if I was him too. They have great support for their hoops team at Navy, though it's a tough recruiting situation. Should be interesting to see where each program goes.
Fred Wilpon just questioned the talents of a bunch of his players for the Mets. You would think that an owner would at least be a little supportive of his team. Instead, he bashes his better players that have busted their tail for him the last several years. Don't blame them for you being an idiot and getting ALL of your (and some of the Mets') money getting caught in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. The Mets are in trouble and I'm sure they will be sold within the next few years. They have to compete with the Yanks and obviously that isn't happening right now. Bring Wally Backman back.
I've already rambled a little bit about the Heat-Bulls series but last night was quite entertaining. Joakim Noah said something that sounds like "puck too maggot" to a fan. I thought I was the only one to see it and then I got confirmation from my buddy Derek that he saw it as well. Today, he got fined $50k for his comments. What I don't understand is how Kobe got fined $100k for basically the same thing. Is the next guy going to get fined $25k? Not that I like Kobe or anything but make the fines the same for the same offense unless it's salary based and I think Kobe makes twice as much as Noah.
Is anyone else sick of seeing Carlos Boozer get blown by every single offensive possession for the Heat? Watching him trying to defend is like watching an old dog trying to play with a miniature pincher (visualize it). Tom Thibodeau is in a tough spot. Does he play Taj Gibson, who can actually defend or Boozer, who can make a 17' jumper? Thibodeau has mixed it to up throughout the playoffs and most of his decisions have been really good. The Heat have created some matchup problems and for the Bulls to win the series he is going to have figure who plays the crunch time minutes.
The Blazers fired their GM after him working for ten months. Thanks for your work, toot-a-lew. The Blazers said he wasn't the right fit. The only move that he was able to make was the Gerald Wallace for Joel Pryzbilla, Dante Cunningham, and a couple of draft picks. I think it was a decent trade but no one in the Blazers thought so.
In the great news of the day, I just saw a commercial for the Red Cross to help the victims of the tornado that hit Joplin, MO and surrounding areas. It's about time that people in the US actually look after themselves instead of helping others (as in other countries). There have certainly been a ton of tragic events throughout the world and we as a country go help them right away. I know that is what we do as a country because we are "The World Power" but let's take the airplane oxygen mask theory on this one. Help yourself before you help others. Let's try to get New Orleans back to normal instead of being in a state of disaster like a lot of the city still is.
The renovation of Hutton Arena has begun. They are putting in new urinals in the men's bathroom. They took the old ones out today and almost knocked a hole in my office wall. Besides the urinals, the sanding of the Hutton Floor started today and the ugly looking Piper was partially taken from us. The new floor will be installed and finished within the next month. It should look really good and it won't be a hodge podge of lines like it has been. It'll have less visable lines and will look "cleaner" than before.
That's all for now, you might see one tomorrow. Tell a friend about the best blog on the planet.
Ed DeChellis resigned today at Penn State, his alma mater, to take the head job at The Naval Academy. This was clearly a shocker. Plus, he is leaving roughly $200,000 per year at the table from the Nittany Lions. It's definitely one tough job to another. Penn State is and always will be a football school and not until they actually invest money into the program will they consistently be "ok" in the Big Ten. Yes, they did make it to the NCAA Tourney this year. That had a boatload of seniors and there wasn't much coming back. There was a bunch of talk throughout the year that the hoops team had to practice in a rec facility that was flat out awful. This was ever as they prepared for the Big Ten Tourney and then the NCAA Tourney. I understand Bon Jovi being a big deal but book them when the season is over. I'd be extremely frustrated if I was him too. They have great support for their hoops team at Navy, though it's a tough recruiting situation. Should be interesting to see where each program goes.
Fred Wilpon just questioned the talents of a bunch of his players for the Mets. You would think that an owner would at least be a little supportive of his team. Instead, he bashes his better players that have busted their tail for him the last several years. Don't blame them for you being an idiot and getting ALL of your (and some of the Mets') money getting caught in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. The Mets are in trouble and I'm sure they will be sold within the next few years. They have to compete with the Yanks and obviously that isn't happening right now. Bring Wally Backman back.
I've already rambled a little bit about the Heat-Bulls series but last night was quite entertaining. Joakim Noah said something that sounds like "puck too maggot" to a fan. I thought I was the only one to see it and then I got confirmation from my buddy Derek that he saw it as well. Today, he got fined $50k for his comments. What I don't understand is how Kobe got fined $100k for basically the same thing. Is the next guy going to get fined $25k? Not that I like Kobe or anything but make the fines the same for the same offense unless it's salary based and I think Kobe makes twice as much as Noah.
Is anyone else sick of seeing Carlos Boozer get blown by every single offensive possession for the Heat? Watching him trying to defend is like watching an old dog trying to play with a miniature pincher (visualize it). Tom Thibodeau is in a tough spot. Does he play Taj Gibson, who can actually defend or Boozer, who can make a 17' jumper? Thibodeau has mixed it to up throughout the playoffs and most of his decisions have been really good. The Heat have created some matchup problems and for the Bulls to win the series he is going to have figure who plays the crunch time minutes.
The Blazers fired their GM after him working for ten months. Thanks for your work, toot-a-lew. The Blazers said he wasn't the right fit. The only move that he was able to make was the Gerald Wallace for Joel Pryzbilla, Dante Cunningham, and a couple of draft picks. I think it was a decent trade but no one in the Blazers thought so.
In the great news of the day, I just saw a commercial for the Red Cross to help the victims of the tornado that hit Joplin, MO and surrounding areas. It's about time that people in the US actually look after themselves instead of helping others (as in other countries). There have certainly been a ton of tragic events throughout the world and we as a country go help them right away. I know that is what we do as a country because we are "The World Power" but let's take the airplane oxygen mask theory on this one. Help yourself before you help others. Let's try to get New Orleans back to normal instead of being in a state of disaster like a lot of the city still is.
The renovation of Hutton Arena has begun. They are putting in new urinals in the men's bathroom. They took the old ones out today and almost knocked a hole in my office wall. Besides the urinals, the sanding of the Hutton Floor started today and the ugly looking Piper was partially taken from us. The new floor will be installed and finished within the next month. It should look really good and it won't be a hodge podge of lines like it has been. It'll have less visable lines and will look "cleaner" than before.
That's all for now, you might see one tomorrow. Tell a friend about the best blog on the planet.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
All Over the Place on this One
I'm going to jump from place to place on this one so be ready...
The Hamline baseball team went 1-2 in the NCAA Midwest Regional this past weekend at UW-Whitewater. They won the first game against St. Scholastica in 13 innings. They then face the #2 seed UW-Whitewater and took a tough loss, 7-6, in 10 innings. They lost their final game to #1 seed UW-Stevens Point 5-0 to end their season. Whitewater ended up winning the Regional and is headed to the D3 College World Series. They finished their season at 29-15 with the program's first even MIAC Championship as well as setting a school record for wins in a season. Congrats to a great group of guys that really busted their tails all year long.
Apparently we had some tornadoes touch down in the Twin Cities area today. Pretty bad damage over in Minneapolis but nothing happened here. I heard the tornado siren but actually mowed my lawn about a half hour after hearing it. The only tornado I want to see is the 'Texas Tornado' Kerry Von Erich from professional wrestling fame.
As most people in the sports world know, former NY Ranger and MN Wild player Derek Boogaard died last week at his apartment in Minneapolis. He died from a mixture of alcohol and oxycodone. The coroner labeled it as an "accidental death." I don't think I'm going on a limb here but I don't think it was by any means "accidental." He knew what he was doing by mixing those to potent substances. That's like someone saying that Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of druge. It's not accidental, it's far from it. For whatever reason, something was that bad in their lives that they decided to end it. They knew the consequences beforehand and had little regard for the people that are close to them and that was obvious with their actions. It seems like Boogaard was an all around good guy but don't call his death 'accidental.'
I'm so sick and tired of people "thanking God." after their performances. God doesn't give two poops about the basketball game you are playing. He has more important things to worry about than your basketball game. Look, I go to church on a pretty consistent basis but I'll thank my teammates before I thank God. It was the same way in college when one of my teammates consistently preached about God and lived a lifestyle that wasn't on par (or bogey for that matter) with his preaching.
Just this past week Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany talked about giving student-athletes extra money for their scholarships. The money could range from anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 per year for extra spending money. The idea behind it is that these players potentially generate millions of dollars for their respective universities. So, now a roughly $100,000 or more education isn't enough? What sports will get this extra stipend, all sports or revenue sports? What about the non-BCS conferences that don't have the extra money that the SEC, Big Ten, or Pac-10 have?
Way too many factors in this decision. It could cause major problems within the NCAA if passed. Do many people know that these student-athletes (specifically men's hoops and football) get roughly $1,000 a month for their scholarship checks to cover their room and board? On top of that money, they can get a significant amount of money from their Pell Grant. Another way to get money is to file for independence from their parent(s) and since they technically don't make money, they live in Section 8 housing for super cheap. They can also file for food stamps. So, with minimal expenses their scholarship check goes a LONG way. I know a bunch of guys at WVU would immediately head to the cell phone store and get the newest phone or buy the newest video game as soon as they got their check. They have plenty of leftover money. They don't need to get paid extra.
What's with this whole Rapture business? Why and how did that idiot that came up with it even become relevant? Even the priest at my church joked about it today. It's amazing how these idiots get a little following and all of a sudden it blows up and people are talking about the whole deal. And me talking about it right now doesn't help but like 15 people read this on a consistent basis.
Could the Kyle Korver and Mike Miller matchup here in the Eastern Conference Finals be any more of a prototypical white shooter matchup. Both are small town America white shooters, weird. I wish I had some of Miller's tats though. They might be worse than some of the tats the guys on our team have.
Could Carlos Boozer and Chris Bosh be the most overpaid spotup jumpshooters in NBA history. Don't get me wrong, both are very good at what they do but neither can create a shot for themselves. Both are notorious for yelling after making a decent play that was initiated by someone else. It doesn't help that Boozer is a dookie, so I can't like him, ever.
The NBA Playoff commericials are awful. A talking basketball? You couldn't come up with someone better? The "Where Amazing Happens" and this one below are my all time favs.
I told you this would be all over the place. As usual, I was true to my word.
The Hamline baseball team went 1-2 in the NCAA Midwest Regional this past weekend at UW-Whitewater. They won the first game against St. Scholastica in 13 innings. They then face the #2 seed UW-Whitewater and took a tough loss, 7-6, in 10 innings. They lost their final game to #1 seed UW-Stevens Point 5-0 to end their season. Whitewater ended up winning the Regional and is headed to the D3 College World Series. They finished their season at 29-15 with the program's first even MIAC Championship as well as setting a school record for wins in a season. Congrats to a great group of guys that really busted their tails all year long.
Apparently we had some tornadoes touch down in the Twin Cities area today. Pretty bad damage over in Minneapolis but nothing happened here. I heard the tornado siren but actually mowed my lawn about a half hour after hearing it. The only tornado I want to see is the 'Texas Tornado' Kerry Von Erich from professional wrestling fame.
As most people in the sports world know, former NY Ranger and MN Wild player Derek Boogaard died last week at his apartment in Minneapolis. He died from a mixture of alcohol and oxycodone. The coroner labeled it as an "accidental death." I don't think I'm going on a limb here but I don't think it was by any means "accidental." He knew what he was doing by mixing those to potent substances. That's like someone saying that Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of druge. It's not accidental, it's far from it. For whatever reason, something was that bad in their lives that they decided to end it. They knew the consequences beforehand and had little regard for the people that are close to them and that was obvious with their actions. It seems like Boogaard was an all around good guy but don't call his death 'accidental.'
I'm so sick and tired of people "thanking God." after their performances. God doesn't give two poops about the basketball game you are playing. He has more important things to worry about than your basketball game. Look, I go to church on a pretty consistent basis but I'll thank my teammates before I thank God. It was the same way in college when one of my teammates consistently preached about God and lived a lifestyle that wasn't on par (or bogey for that matter) with his preaching.
Just this past week Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany talked about giving student-athletes extra money for their scholarships. The money could range from anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 per year for extra spending money. The idea behind it is that these players potentially generate millions of dollars for their respective universities. So, now a roughly $100,000 or more education isn't enough? What sports will get this extra stipend, all sports or revenue sports? What about the non-BCS conferences that don't have the extra money that the SEC, Big Ten, or Pac-10 have?
Way too many factors in this decision. It could cause major problems within the NCAA if passed. Do many people know that these student-athletes (specifically men's hoops and football) get roughly $1,000 a month for their scholarship checks to cover their room and board? On top of that money, they can get a significant amount of money from their Pell Grant. Another way to get money is to file for independence from their parent(s) and since they technically don't make money, they live in Section 8 housing for super cheap. They can also file for food stamps. So, with minimal expenses their scholarship check goes a LONG way. I know a bunch of guys at WVU would immediately head to the cell phone store and get the newest phone or buy the newest video game as soon as they got their check. They have plenty of leftover money. They don't need to get paid extra.
What's with this whole Rapture business? Why and how did that idiot that came up with it even become relevant? Even the priest at my church joked about it today. It's amazing how these idiots get a little following and all of a sudden it blows up and people are talking about the whole deal. And me talking about it right now doesn't help but like 15 people read this on a consistent basis.
Could the Kyle Korver and Mike Miller matchup here in the Eastern Conference Finals be any more of a prototypical white shooter matchup. Both are small town America white shooters, weird. I wish I had some of Miller's tats though. They might be worse than some of the tats the guys on our team have.
Could Carlos Boozer and Chris Bosh be the most overpaid spotup jumpshooters in NBA history. Don't get me wrong, both are very good at what they do but neither can create a shot for themselves. Both are notorious for yelling after making a decent play that was initiated by someone else. It doesn't help that Boozer is a dookie, so I can't like him, ever.
The NBA Playoff commericials are awful. A talking basketball? You couldn't come up with someone better? The "Where Amazing Happens" and this one below are my all time favs.
I told you this would be all over the place. As usual, I was true to my word.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Baseball Team Wins 1st NCAA Game
The Hamline Baseball team won their first game of the NCAA Midwest Regional today against St. Scholastica 3-2 in 13 innings. Cass Kreitlow went 12 tough innings for the Pipers. Rannon Arch shut down the Saints in the 13th to close out the game. They will play tomorrow against the home team UW-Whitewater at 4pm. You can follow the game HERE.
Believe it or not, this was the second 12 inning outing of the year for a Hamline starter. Casey Benford went 12 in a 1-0 victory over UW-Stout about two weeks ago.
I forgot to mention this before but this was the baseball teams first ever MIAC Championship. A huge accomplishment for Coach Jason Verdugo. When he first got here, guys came to practice in jeans and the team had worse equipment than the local Little League teams. This is great for our athletic department, hopefully it fuels some friendly competition amongst us coaches and players.
Believe it or not, this was the second 12 inning outing of the year for a Hamline starter. Casey Benford went 12 in a 1-0 victory over UW-Stout about two weeks ago.
I forgot to mention this before but this was the baseball teams first ever MIAC Championship. A huge accomplishment for Coach Jason Verdugo. When he first got here, guys came to practice in jeans and the team had worse equipment than the local Little League teams. This is great for our athletic department, hopefully it fuels some friendly competition amongst us coaches and players.
Is Durant a Younger Dirk?
Last night as I was watching the show that both Dirk and Durant put on I kept on thinking how these guys would be viewed if there roles were reversed. Let's say Durant was from Europe and Dirk was the American golden child. Or let's say that Durant came into the league first and Dirk was leading OKC to the Western Conference Finals.
Would Durant be labeled as Euro-soft? Though he is more athletic than Dirk but I could see it. He flops around quite a bit and generally gets calls. KD usually is content with taking jumpshots just like Dirk did when he was younger. I would say that right now KD is definitely more of a scorer than Dirk was at his age but Dirk's array of runners and fadeaways are unmatched by anyone that has ever played the game. Maybe KD will develop that in his game but I doubt it.
One thing I would like to mention is that both of these guys are unbelievable talents. I think Durant is a more athletic version of Dirk but there certainly are a lot of similarities between the two. Both are hovering around the 6'10" to 7'0" mark (I don't think either of them are that tall or at least 7 foot, but that's what everyone says), both are perimeter oriented, and both have skills that you don't see of guys their size. They both have an array of shots that are essentially unguardable.
After Dirk's performance of 48 points on 15 shots, 24-24 from line, the commentators were talking about him being a top 30 player in NBA history. That's a heck of a statement but if you look at his all time stats of 23ppg and 8.4rpg while shooting 48% from the floor, 38% from 3, and 88% from the line. I'm going to have to agree.
If you look at Durant's career stats as of right now his putting up a little more points and a little less rebounds while his shooting percentages are a little lower. I think as he continues to grow his stats will be better than Dirk's as a whole but it's a heck of an accomplishment for him to be put in the same group right now through his four year career.
Question is, who do you want to build your franchise around, Dirk or Durant?
Would Durant be labeled as Euro-soft? Though he is more athletic than Dirk but I could see it. He flops around quite a bit and generally gets calls. KD usually is content with taking jumpshots just like Dirk did when he was younger. I would say that right now KD is definitely more of a scorer than Dirk was at his age but Dirk's array of runners and fadeaways are unmatched by anyone that has ever played the game. Maybe KD will develop that in his game but I doubt it.
One thing I would like to mention is that both of these guys are unbelievable talents. I think Durant is a more athletic version of Dirk but there certainly are a lot of similarities between the two. Both are hovering around the 6'10" to 7'0" mark (I don't think either of them are that tall or at least 7 foot, but that's what everyone says), both are perimeter oriented, and both have skills that you don't see of guys their size. They both have an array of shots that are essentially unguardable.
After Dirk's performance of 48 points on 15 shots, 24-24 from line, the commentators were talking about him being a top 30 player in NBA history. That's a heck of a statement but if you look at his all time stats of 23ppg and 8.4rpg while shooting 48% from the floor, 38% from 3, and 88% from the line. I'm going to have to agree.
If you look at Durant's career stats as of right now his putting up a little more points and a little less rebounds while his shooting percentages are a little lower. I think as he continues to grow his stats will be better than Dirk's as a whole but it's a heck of an accomplishment for him to be put in the same group right now through his four year career.
Question is, who do you want to build your franchise around, Dirk or Durant?
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The Gay Athlete
As some of you know former Villanova basketball player Will Sheridan officially came out of the closet the other day along with Phoenix Suns' President Rick Welts. Welts became the first prominent figure in professional male sports to come out. I'm sure it was a very difficult thing to do especially the way sports are portrayed in the US by the media.
In the media, college and professional sports are considered to be a no holds barred area for homosexual bashing. Not that I've been around the locker room on a consistent basis for a while but I definitely don't think that is true especially when it comes to college athletics. I can't say for sure about the pros but I would think it's the same. Are there some things that are said in the locker room that wouldn't be said in public? You bet there is, but it's not to the extent that people think. In most cases it's just "busting each other's balls." Basically, it's just messing with each other as any family would do (well, at least my family).
Per usual, the media really doesn't have a clue what's going on. In the famous words of former Colts' GM Bill Tobin to "Draft Expert" Mel Kiper, "Have you ever put on a jock strap?" The media has very little access compared to what they use to so maybe when the team columnists traveled with the team they would know better but that just isn't the case anymore. It would be ignorant for me to say that there isn't gay bashing in the locker room but it isn't what people think.
Charles Barkley makes a couple of great points in this article. In all reality, I'm sure I've played with or coached someone that is gay. I don't really know and don't really care to be honest with you if they were gay or not. My job as a coach is to find the best basketball players I can, whether he be straight or gay. I also think that society has become much more excepting of male players coming out of the closet.
HERE is the article about Will Sheridan. I actually worked basketball camp at Villanova during Will's freshman season and he seemed like any other player on the team. The only exception was that all the campers booed him when ever he touched the ball when the players scrimmaged. Maybe the campers knew something that we didn't know at the time but that's highly unlikely. Throughout the article it talks about how his teammates where very accepting of him and his lifestyle. And it's not like he is that much different from anyone else. He likes men and many of his teammates like women, just about everything else they had in common. They were all at Villanova to get a degree, win a national championship, and to increase their chances of being successful after college.
On another note. The Hamline baseball team plays in the NCAA Regionals tomorrow against St. Scholastica at UW-Whitewater at 4pm Central Time. It's a six team regional with the winner heading to the D3 College World Series in Appleton, WI.
In the media, college and professional sports are considered to be a no holds barred area for homosexual bashing. Not that I've been around the locker room on a consistent basis for a while but I definitely don't think that is true especially when it comes to college athletics. I can't say for sure about the pros but I would think it's the same. Are there some things that are said in the locker room that wouldn't be said in public? You bet there is, but it's not to the extent that people think. In most cases it's just "busting each other's balls." Basically, it's just messing with each other as any family would do (well, at least my family).
Per usual, the media really doesn't have a clue what's going on. In the famous words of former Colts' GM Bill Tobin to "Draft Expert" Mel Kiper, "Have you ever put on a jock strap?" The media has very little access compared to what they use to so maybe when the team columnists traveled with the team they would know better but that just isn't the case anymore. It would be ignorant for me to say that there isn't gay bashing in the locker room but it isn't what people think.
Charles Barkley makes a couple of great points in this article. In all reality, I'm sure I've played with or coached someone that is gay. I don't really know and don't really care to be honest with you if they were gay or not. My job as a coach is to find the best basketball players I can, whether he be straight or gay. I also think that society has become much more excepting of male players coming out of the closet.
HERE is the article about Will Sheridan. I actually worked basketball camp at Villanova during Will's freshman season and he seemed like any other player on the team. The only exception was that all the campers booed him when ever he touched the ball when the players scrimmaged. Maybe the campers knew something that we didn't know at the time but that's highly unlikely. Throughout the article it talks about how his teammates where very accepting of him and his lifestyle. And it's not like he is that much different from anyone else. He likes men and many of his teammates like women, just about everything else they had in common. They were all at Villanova to get a degree, win a national championship, and to increase their chances of being successful after college.
On another note. The Hamline baseball team plays in the NCAA Regionals tomorrow against St. Scholastica at UW-Whitewater at 4pm Central Time. It's a six team regional with the winner heading to the D3 College World Series in Appleton, WI.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Cellcom Green Bay Marathon
As I sit here in my hotel room across the street from Lambeau Field, I realize that my life as a marathon runner is over. After yesterday's performance, I've decided to hang it up. My body is not built for the 26.2 mile trek that I did yesterday morning. I'll stick to 5k's, 10k's, and maybe half-marathons.
I arrived here in Green Bay on Saturday afternoon, picked up my "goodie" bag at the Lambeau Field Atrium and then headed to my hotel. I wasn't really sure what to expect. The race started at 7am with weather conditions were going to be ideal minus the 30 mile an hour winds. I didn't plan on the wind and had to buy a long sleeve shirt.
Saturday morning rolled around really quick and I was ready to go. The race started on Lombardi Ave, right in front of Lambeau. I found the three guys that were the pacesetters for the planned four hour marathon. Once the race got started, I was caught in the middle of the roughly 8000 half and full marathoners and it took a solid two minutes to get to the start line. I felt really good right from the get-go. I decided I wasn't going to listen to music until I started struggling and needed a boost.
As we ran through the streets of Green Bay, I was surprised by the support of the community. It was great to see all the people out in lawn chairs and some even drinking beer (Welcome to Wisconsin moment). I had a little potty break about 5 miles in and then had to catch up with the four hour group and then caught a a groove. After the half marathoners split with us, we headed for the river and that is where the pain began. Not quite the type of pain you would think of though. The wind was so intense that it forced me to really concentrate on not falling over.
I finally put some tunes on at the 13 mile mark and actually went ahead of the four hour group. I was feeling good and the music was definitely helping. We ran along the river for what seemed like forever and it wasn't easy. The wind brutal and I was trying to draft a little bit but it didn't matter. Right around the 19 mile mark the four hour group caught up with me and I tagged along but not for long. I think I lasted with them until the 21 mile mark.
Between the 21 and 24 mile mark I really struggled. My feet were throbbing and my legs weren't responding like I wanted to. Going in my longest run was 17 miles so this wasn't unexpected but I thought I could and would fight through it. I certainly didn't. Through these mile markers I probably walked 3/4 of the way and lost a lot of time. I tried to run a couple of times and there wasn't much left.
Right before the 25 mile mark I could finally see Lambeau again and all of a sudden my body decided I could run again. I caught a great song to finish to in "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (check out this father and daughter cover HERE). So I had I smile on my face as I ran towards Lambeau. Little did I know that we were headed for the tunnel and I was able to run a lap around the actually field. It was a pretty surreal moment. After the running around the field (I could've done the Lambeau Leap but legs said no thanks) I headed back to the tunnel and to the finish line.
I officially finished the marathon at 4:14 and 30 seconds. It was a Personal Record for me and I was excited about that though I didn't break four hours. I then headed back to the hotel (it's a couple of blocks away) and got some food and fluids back in me as I laid on the floor with my legs elevated on the bed. Overall, It was a good experience but I'll never be to feel the joy (or pain) of finishing another marathon.
Edit: Just got an email from the organizers that everyone ran a little over 800 feet further than the regular 26.2 miles. So I'll get the adjusted time here soon and it will be a little better than what I thought.
Now back to St. Paul to congratulate the baseball team on winning the MIAC Championship yesterday. I believe they will play the regionals at UW-Whitewater starting on Tuesday.
I arrived here in Green Bay on Saturday afternoon, picked up my "goodie" bag at the Lambeau Field Atrium and then headed to my hotel. I wasn't really sure what to expect. The race started at 7am with weather conditions were going to be ideal minus the 30 mile an hour winds. I didn't plan on the wind and had to buy a long sleeve shirt.
Saturday morning rolled around really quick and I was ready to go. The race started on Lombardi Ave, right in front of Lambeau. I found the three guys that were the pacesetters for the planned four hour marathon. Once the race got started, I was caught in the middle of the roughly 8000 half and full marathoners and it took a solid two minutes to get to the start line. I felt really good right from the get-go. I decided I wasn't going to listen to music until I started struggling and needed a boost.
As we ran through the streets of Green Bay, I was surprised by the support of the community. It was great to see all the people out in lawn chairs and some even drinking beer (Welcome to Wisconsin moment). I had a little potty break about 5 miles in and then had to catch up with the four hour group and then caught a a groove. After the half marathoners split with us, we headed for the river and that is where the pain began. Not quite the type of pain you would think of though. The wind was so intense that it forced me to really concentrate on not falling over.
I finally put some tunes on at the 13 mile mark and actually went ahead of the four hour group. I was feeling good and the music was definitely helping. We ran along the river for what seemed like forever and it wasn't easy. The wind brutal and I was trying to draft a little bit but it didn't matter. Right around the 19 mile mark the four hour group caught up with me and I tagged along but not for long. I think I lasted with them until the 21 mile mark.
Between the 21 and 24 mile mark I really struggled. My feet were throbbing and my legs weren't responding like I wanted to. Going in my longest run was 17 miles so this wasn't unexpected but I thought I could and would fight through it. I certainly didn't. Through these mile markers I probably walked 3/4 of the way and lost a lot of time. I tried to run a couple of times and there wasn't much left.
Right before the 25 mile mark I could finally see Lambeau again and all of a sudden my body decided I could run again. I caught a great song to finish to in "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (check out this father and daughter cover HERE). So I had I smile on my face as I ran towards Lambeau. Little did I know that we were headed for the tunnel and I was able to run a lap around the actually field. It was a pretty surreal moment. After the running around the field (I could've done the Lambeau Leap but legs said no thanks) I headed back to the tunnel and to the finish line.
I officially finished the marathon at 4:14 and 30 seconds. It was a Personal Record for me and I was excited about that though I didn't break four hours. I then headed back to the hotel (it's a couple of blocks away) and got some food and fluids back in me as I laid on the floor with my legs elevated on the bed. Overall, It was a good experience but I'll never be to feel the joy (or pain) of finishing another marathon.
Edit: Just got an email from the organizers that everyone ran a little over 800 feet further than the regular 26.2 miles. So I'll get the adjusted time here soon and it will be a little better than what I thought.
Now back to St. Paul to congratulate the baseball team on winning the MIAC Championship yesterday. I believe they will play the regionals at UW-Whitewater starting on Tuesday.
Friday, May 13, 2011
NBA Playoffs
Like I said before, this year's playoffs has been fantastic. Great games, great individual performances, big time plays by unheralded guys. I'm loving it. Obviously, there have been some things that have concerned me and I might just bring them up in today's glorious blog.
I was watching Game 5 of the Heat-Celtics series and it was a battle. The Heat prevailed with The Decisionmaker (Lebron, for those that couldn't figure it out) making a bunch of big plays in the last two minutes. Quite a performance for sure. I did notice a bunch of different things after this round completed.
1) The Heat celebrated like they won the NBA Championship. Just to get the facts straight, they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals as the favorite over the Celtics. The Celtics weren't 100% with having Rondo severely hurt from a couple of games before. Tough to put other guys in crunch time when they haven't done it all year. The Decisionmaker was on his knee like he was joining Tim Tebow in prayer after scoring a touchdown. It wasn't just one of those "Thank God" kneels either, it was one of those where I think he prayed to Buddha, Confucius, Allah, and Blake Lively (a top of the line goddess). They are supposed to win that series. Good thing Chris Bosh didn't get caught up in the moment like he did in the Heat's only loss of the series.
2) Did anyone else notice all of the Celtics except Ray Allen and Delonte West just straight bounce to the locker room after the game? In a society where everyone talks about sportsmanship all the time and none of their guys got ridiculed at all. Lebron did the same thing last year or the year before and he got killed for it. A little double standard on that...
3) Could ABC show Rondo's injury another 754 times. Yeah, it was gross and the elbow shouldn't bend that way, but come on, I don't need to see it from 7 different angles.
4) How in the world is Kevin Garnett still on the NBA All Defensive Team? He was a very good defender but that certainly isn't the case anymore. I know he's a veteran and it's culmination of his career but Tyson Chandler should be bumped up from the 2nd team. He transformed the Mavs into a title contender with his toughness. KG looked like nothing but an old dude all year. Enough that he had to resort to THIS. Too many miles on those legs for him to be dominant defender.
In other news, I'm heading out on Saturday to Green Bay, WI for my second marathon to be run on Sunday. Looking forward to beating the crap out of my legs for 26.2 miles in hopefully a little less than four hours. It starts and finishes in the parking lot of Lambeau Field. I was hoping to make the Lambeau Leap after I finish but I think that's highly unlikely. I just might have to wear my Lions hat to make the Cheeseheads mad.
I was watching Game 5 of the Heat-Celtics series and it was a battle. The Heat prevailed with The Decisionmaker (Lebron, for those that couldn't figure it out) making a bunch of big plays in the last two minutes. Quite a performance for sure. I did notice a bunch of different things after this round completed.
1) The Heat celebrated like they won the NBA Championship. Just to get the facts straight, they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals as the favorite over the Celtics. The Celtics weren't 100% with having Rondo severely hurt from a couple of games before. Tough to put other guys in crunch time when they haven't done it all year. The Decisionmaker was on his knee like he was joining Tim Tebow in prayer after scoring a touchdown. It wasn't just one of those "Thank God" kneels either, it was one of those where I think he prayed to Buddha, Confucius, Allah, and Blake Lively (a top of the line goddess). They are supposed to win that series. Good thing Chris Bosh didn't get caught up in the moment like he did in the Heat's only loss of the series.
2) Did anyone else notice all of the Celtics except Ray Allen and Delonte West just straight bounce to the locker room after the game? In a society where everyone talks about sportsmanship all the time and none of their guys got ridiculed at all. Lebron did the same thing last year or the year before and he got killed for it. A little double standard on that...
3) Could ABC show Rondo's injury another 754 times. Yeah, it was gross and the elbow shouldn't bend that way, but come on, I don't need to see it from 7 different angles.
4) How in the world is Kevin Garnett still on the NBA All Defensive Team? He was a very good defender but that certainly isn't the case anymore. I know he's a veteran and it's culmination of his career but Tyson Chandler should be bumped up from the 2nd team. He transformed the Mavs into a title contender with his toughness. KG looked like nothing but an old dude all year. Enough that he had to resort to THIS. Too many miles on those legs for him to be dominant defender.
In other news, I'm heading out on Saturday to Green Bay, WI for my second marathon to be run on Sunday. Looking forward to beating the crap out of my legs for 26.2 miles in hopefully a little less than four hours. It starts and finishes in the parking lot of Lambeau Field. I was hoping to make the Lambeau Leap after I finish but I think that's highly unlikely. I just might have to wear my Lions hat to make the Cheeseheads mad.
Monday, May 9, 2011
NBA Draft Entries
Yesterday, I talked about the NBA Draft and how some kids flat out make mistakes and make the wrong decision either way. I forgot the deadline to officially enter the draft was last night at 9pm, I'm going to write a little bit about some guys that I thought made some questionable decisions.
Shelvin Mack - Butler
I'm not shocked that he entered but he doesn't have exactly have what the NBA looks for. He isn't a great athlete per NBA standards. He did play really well during the NCAA Tourney and did really well with USA Basketball last summer. My guess is that he is a middle second rounder though I think he'll be a decent NBA player.
Cory Joseph - Texas
Follows two other Texas guys in the draft with Jordan Hamilton and Tristan Thompson. I was hoping he would join forces with Thompson and incoming Myck Kabongo to form the Canadian connection for the Longhorns. Apparently the Joseph's (his brother is former Gopher Devoe Joseph) don't like coaching. Not sure if he'll be drafted.
Carleton Scott - Notre Dame
Had a great year last year for the Fighting Irish. More of a tweener at the NBA level. Was a 4th year junior this past year and is graduating. Probably didn't want to stick around for a little rebuilding that ND will go through. Not an NBA player, will probably head to Europe.
Jeremy Green - Stanford
Honestly don't remember him at all while watching some Pac10 games this year. He was the Cardinal's leading scorer the 2nd half of the year for a team that was 15-16. From my understanding he was suspended from school for academic reasons and that is probably why he is leaving. Late second round to not drafted.
Terrance Jennings - Louisville
Was considered an Amare Stoudamire clone in high school. Not so many anymore. Certainly has explosiveness but hasn't developed like he should've. Too many people in his ear. Probably thought with Sullinger, Perry Jones, John Henson, and Harrison Barnes staying in college that this was his best shot. Late second to undrafted, probably hoping for a Samardo Samuels like experience. He went undrafted and got minutes for a crappy Cavs team this year.
DeAndre Liggins - Kentucky
Was tabbed a big point guard coming out of high school. Not exactly the case once he got to Kentucky but has developed under Coach Calipari. He can now make jumpshots and made some big ones in the tourney. Has an NBA frame and is a good defender but I don't think he's ready yet. Has to be a Tony Allen type player but Allen has a lot more 'mean' in him. Late second round to undrafted.
Ralph Sampson III - Minnesota
I've thought all along that he was soft and wasn't better than Colton Iverson but was given every opportunity because of his name. Have fun in Europe or the D-League. (Edit - Apparently he is returning to Minnesota, he still isn't any good. He is not a NBA player period)
Darius Morris - Michigan
Numbers jumped through the roof for his sophomore year. Led the overachieving team to a NCAA berth. Played really well in some big games for them. His confidence is at an all time high but I don't think he's ready. He isn't a very good shooter though his numbers were drastically better. If he can pick up Beilein's offense, the NBA shouldn't be a problem. Intriguing because he's a 6'3-6'4" point. Late first round to middle second.
Josh Selby - Kansas
Was All World coming out of high school. Was suspended by the NCAA for the first bunches of games. Hit the game winner and was leading scorer in his debut vs. USC and that was about all we heard from him the rest of the year. He was surrounded by a lot of veterans that had a ton of experience and he was left in the background. I'm sure people are still intrigued by him because of what he did at the high school level. He's a strong, physical combo guard. My guess is he goes in the 20s in the first round but I've been seeing that he is still a late lottery guy.
It's definitely going to be interesting to see if and where these guys fall. Like I said in the last update, a lot of people are these guys ear telling them how great they are. Could be interesting when they don't get a call on draft day.
Draftexpress is considered the standard when it comes to the draft. I'm not a big fan of their site as far as their format is concerned but their guy does a lot of work and seems to have a pretty good gauge of what's going on.
Shelvin Mack - Butler
I'm not shocked that he entered but he doesn't have exactly have what the NBA looks for. He isn't a great athlete per NBA standards. He did play really well during the NCAA Tourney and did really well with USA Basketball last summer. My guess is that he is a middle second rounder though I think he'll be a decent NBA player.
Cory Joseph - Texas
Follows two other Texas guys in the draft with Jordan Hamilton and Tristan Thompson. I was hoping he would join forces with Thompson and incoming Myck Kabongo to form the Canadian connection for the Longhorns. Apparently the Joseph's (his brother is former Gopher Devoe Joseph) don't like coaching. Not sure if he'll be drafted.
Carleton Scott - Notre Dame
Had a great year last year for the Fighting Irish. More of a tweener at the NBA level. Was a 4th year junior this past year and is graduating. Probably didn't want to stick around for a little rebuilding that ND will go through. Not an NBA player, will probably head to Europe.
Jeremy Green - Stanford
Honestly don't remember him at all while watching some Pac10 games this year. He was the Cardinal's leading scorer the 2nd half of the year for a team that was 15-16. From my understanding he was suspended from school for academic reasons and that is probably why he is leaving. Late second round to not drafted.
Terrance Jennings - Louisville
Was considered an Amare Stoudamire clone in high school. Not so many anymore. Certainly has explosiveness but hasn't developed like he should've. Too many people in his ear. Probably thought with Sullinger, Perry Jones, John Henson, and Harrison Barnes staying in college that this was his best shot. Late second to undrafted, probably hoping for a Samardo Samuels like experience. He went undrafted and got minutes for a crappy Cavs team this year.
DeAndre Liggins - Kentucky
Was tabbed a big point guard coming out of high school. Not exactly the case once he got to Kentucky but has developed under Coach Calipari. He can now make jumpshots and made some big ones in the tourney. Has an NBA frame and is a good defender but I don't think he's ready yet. Has to be a Tony Allen type player but Allen has a lot more 'mean' in him. Late second round to undrafted.
Ralph Sampson III - Minnesota
I've thought all along that he was soft and wasn't better than Colton Iverson but was given every opportunity because of his name. Have fun in Europe or the D-League. (Edit - Apparently he is returning to Minnesota, he still isn't any good. He is not a NBA player period)
Darius Morris - Michigan
Numbers jumped through the roof for his sophomore year. Led the overachieving team to a NCAA berth. Played really well in some big games for them. His confidence is at an all time high but I don't think he's ready. He isn't a very good shooter though his numbers were drastically better. If he can pick up Beilein's offense, the NBA shouldn't be a problem. Intriguing because he's a 6'3-6'4" point. Late first round to middle second.
Josh Selby - Kansas
Was All World coming out of high school. Was suspended by the NCAA for the first bunches of games. Hit the game winner and was leading scorer in his debut vs. USC and that was about all we heard from him the rest of the year. He was surrounded by a lot of veterans that had a ton of experience and he was left in the background. I'm sure people are still intrigued by him because of what he did at the high school level. He's a strong, physical combo guard. My guess is he goes in the 20s in the first round but I've been seeing that he is still a late lottery guy.
It's definitely going to be interesting to see if and where these guys fall. Like I said in the last update, a lot of people are these guys ear telling them how great they are. Could be interesting when they don't get a call on draft day.
Draftexpress is considered the standard when it comes to the draft. I'm not a big fan of their site as far as their format is concerned but their guy does a lot of work and seems to have a pretty good gauge of what's going on.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
NBA Draft
I know the Draft isn't until the middle of June of but I figured I would throw some ideas into the mix. The deadline to officially put your name in the draft just passed on May 8th and a few guys decided to pull their names out and a few put their names in. It's a very interesting balance that these guys need to find in order to put themselves in the correct position for them to be the most successful.
It seems like every year a boatload of kids declare for the draft to try and figure out where they stand with NBA personnel. It's not a perfect system by any stretch of the imagination but it's what is in place. I'm not a fan of the whole draft process because of the way it's structured. I don't have an issue with guys going straight from high school to the pros. If you are good enough to play in the NBA you should be given every opportunity to play there. I think the NBA should change the age minimum rule and let the high school kids go if they want and then force the kids that go to college to stay there a minimum of two years. This one year system is extremely flawed.
MLB lets you get drafted after high school, after JUCO, and then after your third year of college. There are a couple of rules in the mix as well and that system works for them. They also have a great minor league system that allows these kids to develop over the course of time. The NFL doesn't allow you enter the draft until three after your high school graduation. Both MLB and the NHL make you automatically eligible for the draft based off your year in school or age. So, if you are aren't drafted then you are eligible to be signed by any team.
There are quite a few horror stories about guys declaring and not getting drafted or not getting drafted where they can get guarantee money. There has been a couple of high school guys that thought they were ready for the big time and according the NBA they weren't. These guys were Korleone Young, Ousmane Cissi, and Tony Key. I believe Young was at least drafted by the Pistons but didn't make it. There have been a fair share of college guys that have left early and didn't get drafted as well. It's a tough balance for these guys as with many of them, their family is relying on them for financial support and they have no other choice. Sometimes, too many people are in their ear and telling them our great they are. In reality, they aren't ready at the time or will never be ready.
Two example of players leaving early and then not getting drafted where they wanted are Gilbert Arenas and Carlos Boozer. Both of these guys were drafted in the second round. And obviously, they have had successful NBA careers and have made teams look stupid for not drafting them. Being a second round pick could be better for you financially because you wouldn't be locked into the rookie salary cap and are able to get to free agency quicker. The major issue is that the contract isn't guaranteed, so the team isn't locked in to your contract.
There have also been some times when a player didn't leave early at the right time and it ended up costing them a chance to make significant money in the NBA. Brett Nelson is a perfect example. He was great as a combo guard at Florida during his sophomore and his stock was really high. He choose to head back to school and eventually never played in the NBA. He still had a great college career but he could've had an extreme amount of money and didn't get anything. Sometimes you have go when the fire is hot.
Five potential lottery picks decided against heading to the the draft this year. John Henson and Harrison Barnes from UNC, Terrance Jones from Kentucky, Perry Jones from Baylor, and Jared Sullinger from Ohio State all decided that another year of college would do them good for their development. I think if you are a lottery pick it's a no brainer to leave college. These guys all thought differently and I commend them for it. It will make next year's draft very good one.
It seems like every year a boatload of kids declare for the draft to try and figure out where they stand with NBA personnel. It's not a perfect system by any stretch of the imagination but it's what is in place. I'm not a fan of the whole draft process because of the way it's structured. I don't have an issue with guys going straight from high school to the pros. If you are good enough to play in the NBA you should be given every opportunity to play there. I think the NBA should change the age minimum rule and let the high school kids go if they want and then force the kids that go to college to stay there a minimum of two years. This one year system is extremely flawed.
MLB lets you get drafted after high school, after JUCO, and then after your third year of college. There are a couple of rules in the mix as well and that system works for them. They also have a great minor league system that allows these kids to develop over the course of time. The NFL doesn't allow you enter the draft until three after your high school graduation. Both MLB and the NHL make you automatically eligible for the draft based off your year in school or age. So, if you are aren't drafted then you are eligible to be signed by any team.
There are quite a few horror stories about guys declaring and not getting drafted or not getting drafted where they can get guarantee money. There has been a couple of high school guys that thought they were ready for the big time and according the NBA they weren't. These guys were Korleone Young, Ousmane Cissi, and Tony Key. I believe Young was at least drafted by the Pistons but didn't make it. There have been a fair share of college guys that have left early and didn't get drafted as well. It's a tough balance for these guys as with many of them, their family is relying on them for financial support and they have no other choice. Sometimes, too many people are in their ear and telling them our great they are. In reality, they aren't ready at the time or will never be ready.
Two example of players leaving early and then not getting drafted where they wanted are Gilbert Arenas and Carlos Boozer. Both of these guys were drafted in the second round. And obviously, they have had successful NBA careers and have made teams look stupid for not drafting them. Being a second round pick could be better for you financially because you wouldn't be locked into the rookie salary cap and are able to get to free agency quicker. The major issue is that the contract isn't guaranteed, so the team isn't locked in to your contract.
There have also been some times when a player didn't leave early at the right time and it ended up costing them a chance to make significant money in the NBA. Brett Nelson is a perfect example. He was great as a combo guard at Florida during his sophomore and his stock was really high. He choose to head back to school and eventually never played in the NBA. He still had a great college career but he could've had an extreme amount of money and didn't get anything. Sometimes you have go when the fire is hot.
Five potential lottery picks decided against heading to the the draft this year. John Henson and Harrison Barnes from UNC, Terrance Jones from Kentucky, Perry Jones from Baylor, and Jared Sullinger from Ohio State all decided that another year of college would do them good for their development. I think if you are a lottery pick it's a no brainer to leave college. These guys all thought differently and I commend them for it. It will make next year's draft very good one.
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