So a quick programming note before we get going with the Pacers. Because of life intervening (weddings, work, road trips, etc.), we will only do the lottery for the mock draft. Hey, we're a fledgling website and we can do whatever we want. So, I'll do the next two picks and that will close the books on the YGLS Mock NBA draft.
Indiana Pacers - DeJuan Blair (F/Pittsburgh)
So, it's looking less and less like this is going to happen tonight, but I'm still picking it for Indy. Blair is exceptionally good at one thing, which is rebounding. He is a great defensive rebounder, but it is on the offensive glass where he will really make his money. Rebounding stats are the most likely to translate equally from college to the pros, so that's a plus for him. The rebounding rates show that he was the best rebounder of the decade; this suggests he will be able to rebound in the NBA.
There are a lot of concerns about two things: his height and his knees. His height is a stupid issue; so, he'll be an undersized 4. He has the reach of a 7'2 guy, so he'll be OK in this respect. His knees are something that can't be controlled; if its an issue for a team, they shouldn't draft him. Players get hurt, and players who play hard will get hurt more, and Blair plays as hard as most people. His face up game needs to be improved drastically, but he'll be able to score a lot of garbage points because he dominates the offensive glass so much.
In short, Blair is the pick here. He fits the grittiness that the Pacers need inside.
Phoenix picks next, so...
Phoenix Suns - Terrance Williams (F/Louisville)
This is beyond the point of the draft where no one has any idea what will happen. What do the Suns need? Guys to play on the wing, and maybe an inside presence to pair with Stoudemire assuming he doesn't get traded.
Terrance Williams is the pick here because I like him a lot. He's very versatile; he can shoot, pass, defend and rebound very well for a guy his size. He has a lot of heart, and he will work to improve his game (especially his shooting). His ceiling isn't as high as some of the other guys left (and I like him only as much as Sam Young but then again, I'm biased). Also, guys who are good at everything but not great at one thing sometimes struggle to find their role if it isn't defined for them. I think he'd be a good fit with Steve Nash, hitting open threes on the secondary break and providing a good presence on defense for a team that is trying to learn how to defend (or at least should be).
25 June 2009
22 June 2009
The Charlotte Bobcats Select...
Charlotte Bobcats - Tyler Hansborough (F - UNC)
No player has been more picked apart than Hansborough, partially thanks to his large body of work. It seems unlikely the Bobcats will actually select the Tarheel. But with an aging front court it may be wise to go for a consistent building block. You can make the case for him to go this high. Of course you can make a similar case another another inaccurately described as "undersized" forward, Dejuan Blair. And I suspect Josh will nab up the Schenley High School product with his next pick.
AP exceprt that got me thinking about Bobcats at least considering Tyler:
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- If there was ever a player who could skip an audition in front of a bunch of North Carolina alums, it's Tyler Hansbrough...
But there was Hansbrough on Wednesday, being led through drills in a pre-draft workout by Charlotte Bobcats coach Larry Brown and assistant Phil Ford, whose career scoring record Hansbrough broke last season at North Carolina.
It's no surprise Brown, North Carolina class of 1963, wasn't about to join the group of critics questioning how the 6-foot-8 Hansbrough will fare in the NBA.
"You know big guys in our league don't like to block out. They don't run on every play. They don't rebound every ball," Brown said. "So if you have the mentality to do those things you have a chance.
"And he's a much better athlete than most people think."
No player has been more picked apart than Hansborough, partially thanks to his large body of work. It seems unlikely the Bobcats will actually select the Tarheel. But with an aging front court it may be wise to go for a consistent building block. You can make the case for him to go this high. Of course you can make a similar case another another inaccurately described as "undersized" forward, Dejuan Blair. And I suspect Josh will nab up the Schenley High School product with his next pick.
AP exceprt that got me thinking about Bobcats at least considering Tyler:
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- If there was ever a player who could skip an audition in front of a bunch of North Carolina alums, it's Tyler Hansbrough...
But there was Hansbrough on Wednesday, being led through drills in a pre-draft workout by Charlotte Bobcats coach Larry Brown and assistant Phil Ford, whose career scoring record Hansbrough broke last season at North Carolina.
It's no surprise Brown, North Carolina class of 1963, wasn't about to join the group of critics questioning how the 6-foot-8 Hansbrough will fare in the NBA.
"You know big guys in our league don't like to block out. They don't run on every play. They don't rebound every ball," Brown said. "So if you have the mentality to do those things you have a chance.
"And he's a much better athlete than most people think."
The New Jersey Nets select ...
The Nets are looking for frontcourt help with their starting guard spots in the hands of PG Devin Harris and SG Vince Carter, who both went over 20 points per game last season. C Brook Lopez, last year's first round pick, had a solid rookie season (13 ppg, 8 rpg) and adding athleticism alongside him will be the Nets goal.
Arizona PF Jordan Hill was one of the top five prospects entering the month but has fallen out of the top 10 here with the strong group of point guards and swingmen. He will be the third frontcourt player off the board after Griffin and Thabeet and should be able to help immediately. Hill averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds as a junior at Arizona, 13 and 8 as a sophomore and played almost 36 minutes per game last year. He defends, blocks shots and rebounds and is a great value for NJ at the 11th pick in the first round.
Arizona PF Jordan Hill was one of the top five prospects entering the month but has fallen out of the top 10 here with the strong group of point guards and swingmen. He will be the third frontcourt player off the board after Griffin and Thabeet and should be able to help immediately. Hill averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds as a junior at Arizona, 13 and 8 as a sophomore and played almost 36 minutes per game last year. He defends, blocks shots and rebounds and is a great value for NJ at the 11th pick in the first round.
20 June 2009
When Life Imitates Art
Most of the YGLS staff has been quiet the last few days due to the wedding of one of our friends, and contributor to this blog, David DiQuattro. With this in mind I had the extreme desire to post to our blog from, and during, his wedding mimicking the Verizon VCast commercial where a groomsmen checks fantasy scores.
So there it is, if a commercial can be considered art. Many well-wishes to the newlywed Dave and Marianne!
So there it is, if a commercial can be considered art. Many well-wishes to the newlywed Dave and Marianne!
18 June 2009
Wikipedia and peer editing
Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I flipped on the MLB network and caught a few minutes of their coverage of the MLB All-Century. So I googled the All-Century team and, of course, checked out Wikipedia's entry. From there, I moved on to the Latino Legends team.
Now, it's likely been updated from what it was, but when I pulled the page up, an anti-steroids crusader had labeled the guilty with (STEROIDS = CHEATER). Now, the reason I say that it's likely that it's been updated is because in 2004, a University of Buffalo professor inserted 13 errors on various Wikipedia entries only to find all of them corrected within a couple hours.
So, evidently there are a great deal of people who watch this stuff like hawks, waiting to catch the possible dissemination of misinformation.
Anyway, the marred article is below.
Latino Legends Team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The Latino Legends Team was an all-time all-star baseball team selected in 2005 to honor the history of Latin American players in Major League Baseball. The players were chosen by fan voting. Ballots were available both online at MLB.com and at Chevrolet dealerships, and over 1.6 million total votes were cast. The team was announced at a ceremony hosted by actor Edward James Olmos prior to Game Four of the 2005 World Series.
[edit] The team
Iván Rodríguez, catcher
Albert Pujols, first base
Rod Carew, second base
Edgar Martínez, third base
Alex Rodriguez, shortstop STERIODS = CHEATER
Roberto Clemente, outfield
Manny Ramírez, outfield STEROIDS = CHEATER
Vladimir Guerrero, outfield
Pedro Martínez, starting pitcher
Juan Marichal, starting pitcher
Fernando Valenzuela, starting pitcher
Mariano Rivera, relief pitcher
[edit] Controversy
Despite being the only native of South America in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Venezuela native Luis Aparicio was not selected. Another former White Sox star was snubbed - Cuban born outfielder Minnie Miñoso. In what was vindication for the organization, Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén became the first Latin-born manager to win a World Series later that night.[citation needed]
Other significant snubs from this team were Puerto Ricans Orlando Cepeda and Roberto Alomar [[HIV]], Cuban-born Tony Perez and Negro League star Martín Dihigo.[citation needed] Dominican Sammy Sosa STEROIDS = CHEATER, a then still-active member of the 500 home run club was left off, as were Rafael Palmeiro STERPODS = CHEATER and José Canseco STEROIDS RAT= CHEATING RAT, renowned Cuban-born sluggers caught up in the steroid scandals of the time.
Now, it's likely been updated from what it was, but when I pulled the page up, an anti-steroids crusader had labeled the guilty with (STEROIDS = CHEATER). Now, the reason I say that it's likely that it's been updated is because in 2004, a University of Buffalo professor inserted 13 errors on various Wikipedia entries only to find all of them corrected within a couple hours.
So, evidently there are a great deal of people who watch this stuff like hawks, waiting to catch the possible dissemination of misinformation.
Anyway, the marred article is below.
Latino Legends Team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The Latino Legends Team was an all-time all-star baseball team selected in 2005 to honor the history of Latin American players in Major League Baseball. The players were chosen by fan voting. Ballots were available both online at MLB.com and at Chevrolet dealerships, and over 1.6 million total votes were cast. The team was announced at a ceremony hosted by actor Edward James Olmos prior to Game Four of the 2005 World Series.
[edit] The team
Iván Rodríguez, catcher
Albert Pujols, first base
Rod Carew, second base
Edgar Martínez, third base
Alex Rodriguez, shortstop STERIODS = CHEATER
Roberto Clemente, outfield
Manny Ramírez, outfield STEROIDS = CHEATER
Vladimir Guerrero, outfield
Pedro Martínez, starting pitcher
Juan Marichal, starting pitcher
Fernando Valenzuela, starting pitcher
Mariano Rivera, relief pitcher
[edit] Controversy
Despite being the only native of South America in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Venezuela native Luis Aparicio was not selected. Another former White Sox star was snubbed - Cuban born outfielder Minnie Miñoso. In what was vindication for the organization, Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén became the first Latin-born manager to win a World Series later that night.[citation needed]
Other significant snubs from this team were Puerto Ricans Orlando Cepeda and Roberto Alomar [[HIV]], Cuban-born Tony Perez and Negro League star Martín Dihigo.[citation needed] Dominican Sammy Sosa STEROIDS = CHEATER, a then still-active member of the 500 home run club was left off, as were Rafael Palmeiro STERPODS = CHEATER and José Canseco STEROIDS RAT= CHEATING RAT, renowned Cuban-born sluggers caught up in the steroid scandals of the time.
17 June 2009
The Milwaukee Bucks select...
The Milwaukee Bucks have been in an interesting situation over the past several seasons. They haven't had a winning record since the 2002-2003 season, but seem to be in the playoff picture more often than not. But I guess that's the way of the Eastern Conference.
They have a lot of talent on their roster and bolstered their lineup last June when they traded disappointing Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons to the Nets for Richard Jefferson. For the Nets, this was essentially a salary dump that cleared cap space for LeBron James. For the Bucks, this gave them a versatile scorer who helped them improve by a total of 8 wins last year.
Chris George correctly pointed out that it's unlikely James Harden would fall as low as he did in our draft (some predict him going as high as number 3 overall). It's also unlikely that the Bucks selection will fall this low. But in our draft he did, so the Milwaukee Bucks will select Jrue Holiday from UCLA.
With Andrew Bogut, Michael Redd, Charlie Villanueva, and Jefferson, the Bucks have a solid core capable of making the playoffs in the East. Ramon Sessions showed promise last year, but you're not likely to win if you have Luke Ridnour playing 28 minutes a game. Holiday will get some of those minutes and can play the one or two guard for the Bucks and provide that boost that could help them return to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
They have a lot of talent on their roster and bolstered their lineup last June when they traded disappointing Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons to the Nets for Richard Jefferson. For the Nets, this was essentially a salary dump that cleared cap space for LeBron James. For the Bucks, this gave them a versatile scorer who helped them improve by a total of 8 wins last year.
Chris George correctly pointed out that it's unlikely James Harden would fall as low as he did in our draft (some predict him going as high as number 3 overall). It's also unlikely that the Bucks selection will fall this low. But in our draft he did, so the Milwaukee Bucks will select Jrue Holiday from UCLA.
With Andrew Bogut, Michael Redd, Charlie Villanueva, and Jefferson, the Bucks have a solid core capable of making the playoffs in the East. Ramon Sessions showed promise last year, but you're not likely to win if you have Luke Ridnour playing 28 minutes a game. Holiday will get some of those minutes and can play the one or two guard for the Bucks and provide that boost that could help them return to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
16 June 2009
With the 9th pick in the YGLS Mock NBA Draft...
Toronto Raptors - Jonny Flynn (G/Syracuse)
It seems as though the Raptors are in this position year after year. Each new year seems to be the year that the Toronto Raptors should be a team that makes a run, should be a team that makes the playoff, or even a team that's competitive, but alas, it never is. This team has a nice nucleus of talent around the basket, and even out towards the perimeter. What it lacks though is passion or a spark. That type of grit that can be brought from a floor general, someone who wants to win. That's why I think the Raptors will select Jonny Flynn.
Imagine the Raptors trotting out on the floor Chris Bosh, Shawn Marion, Andrea Bargnani, Jonny Flynn, and Jose Calderon. Now that's a starting five you don't want to see on a regular basis. It's a recipe for success, and since Bosh is a free agent after this year, you need to show him that Toronto is serious about winning, and make a push this year.
It seems as though the Raptors are in this position year after year. Each new year seems to be the year that the Toronto Raptors should be a team that makes a run, should be a team that makes the playoff, or even a team that's competitive, but alas, it never is. This team has a nice nucleus of talent around the basket, and even out towards the perimeter. What it lacks though is passion or a spark. That type of grit that can be brought from a floor general, someone who wants to win. That's why I think the Raptors will select Jonny Flynn.
Imagine the Raptors trotting out on the floor Chris Bosh, Shawn Marion, Andrea Bargnani, Jonny Flynn, and Jose Calderon. Now that's a starting five you don't want to see on a regular basis. It's a recipe for success, and since Bosh is a free agent after this year, you need to show him that Toronto is serious about winning, and make a push this year.
With the 8th pick in the YGLS Mock NBA Draft...
the New York Knicks select:
New York Knicks - Brandon Jennings (G/Italy)
There is a lot of talk about how this is a weak draft. It may be true in ways, but this draft is really rich in point guard prospects (and of course, point guard is the most important position in the game). Just look at the guys who look like they could lead teams in the NBA for years: Rubio, Jennings, Evans, Ty Lawson, Jeff Teague, Steph Curry, Jonny Flynn, and even Eric Maynor as a sleeper. That is quality, when you consider how many teams need point guards. There are many chances for success in this draft.
So, the Knicks need a point guard. The guards on their roster right now are: Nate Robinson, Quentin Richardson, Cuttino Mobley, Wilson Chandler, Chris Duhon, and Larry Hughes. Re-read that list. They are fragile, old, and overrated at the guard position. They need somebody dynamic who can come in, get instant minutes, and possibly develop into a superstar.
I really wanted to pick Jonny Flynn here but I don't think he's the right pick. Brandon Jennings was a top point guard recruit coming out of high school and skipped college to play in Europe. He didn't play extremely well over there, but it is difficult on kids out of high school. He's a quick, lithe guard who excels in the open court game that Coach D'Antoni wants to run. He is also a naturally gifted defender, something lacking among Knicks guards right now. The Knicks dream here seems to be to find a way to get Rubio; if they can do that, I might be a Knicks fan for life. However, that seems unlikely, and Jennings is the next best thing for them.
New York Knicks - Brandon Jennings (G/Italy)
There is a lot of talk about how this is a weak draft. It may be true in ways, but this draft is really rich in point guard prospects (and of course, point guard is the most important position in the game). Just look at the guys who look like they could lead teams in the NBA for years: Rubio, Jennings, Evans, Ty Lawson, Jeff Teague, Steph Curry, Jonny Flynn, and even Eric Maynor as a sleeper. That is quality, when you consider how many teams need point guards. There are many chances for success in this draft.
So, the Knicks need a point guard. The guards on their roster right now are: Nate Robinson, Quentin Richardson, Cuttino Mobley, Wilson Chandler, Chris Duhon, and Larry Hughes. Re-read that list. They are fragile, old, and overrated at the guard position. They need somebody dynamic who can come in, get instant minutes, and possibly develop into a superstar.
I really wanted to pick Jonny Flynn here but I don't think he's the right pick. Brandon Jennings was a top point guard recruit coming out of high school and skipped college to play in Europe. He didn't play extremely well over there, but it is difficult on kids out of high school. He's a quick, lithe guard who excels in the open court game that Coach D'Antoni wants to run. He is also a naturally gifted defender, something lacking among Knicks guards right now. The Knicks dream here seems to be to find a way to get Rubio; if they can do that, I might be a Knicks fan for life. However, that seems unlikely, and Jennings is the next best thing for them.
The Golden State Warriors select...
James Harden, Guard, Arizona State University
First off, if anyone can find me one of those Golden State "the city" tee shirts in gold, with the trolley car on it, I'd pay good money for it. Not a jersey, or a blue tee, mind you.
Second of all, it seems unlikely James Harden will still be around at this point in the draft. But in our mock draft, he is. And regardless of needs, there comes a time you should pick a player this good if he is left. James Harden is a good player. As much as I like Jonny Flynn for his heart, Harden is a bit of a steal at #7.
He is a smart kid, a smart player, and a smart choice. Though only listed at 6'5", his wingspan is over 6'10". He's showing the work ethic to bulk up for the NBA. He's drawing comparisons to Manu Ginboli and Jason Terry.
On the downside, his FG% and 3 point FG% went down his sophomore year and his turnovers went up. But this may be a sign of Arizona State asking him to do too much, especially for what should have been a more balanced modified Princeton offense under Coach Sendek. Because of that offensive system, ASU faced a lot of zone, which he won't see as much in the NBA.
Can the Warriors rebound from such an off year? I believe.
First off, if anyone can find me one of those Golden State "the city" tee shirts in gold, with the trolley car on it, I'd pay good money for it. Not a jersey, or a blue tee, mind you.
Second of all, it seems unlikely James Harden will still be around at this point in the draft. But in our mock draft, he is. And regardless of needs, there comes a time you should pick a player this good if he is left. James Harden is a good player. As much as I like Jonny Flynn for his heart, Harden is a bit of a steal at #7.
He is a smart kid, a smart player, and a smart choice. Though only listed at 6'5", his wingspan is over 6'10". He's showing the work ethic to bulk up for the NBA. He's drawing comparisons to Manu Ginboli and Jason Terry.
On the downside, his FG% and 3 point FG% went down his sophomore year and his turnovers went up. But this may be a sign of Arizona State asking him to do too much, especially for what should have been a more balanced modified Princeton offense under Coach Sendek. Because of that offensive system, ASU faced a lot of zone, which he won't see as much in the NBA.
Can the Warriors rebound from such an off year? I believe.
15 June 2009
The Timberwolves select
Those are chilling words. You get quite a cocktail when you combine bad luck with incompetence. And the Minnesota Timberwolves have both in spades. The Wolves had the worst record in the league in 1991-1992. The lottery didn’t go in their favor and they received the 3rd pick in the 1992 draft. Shaquille O’Neal went first followed by Alonzo Mourning. The Wolves drafted Christian Laettner. Such is the luck of the T’Wolves.
In the twelve years the Timberwolves have participated in the lottery, they’ve never - I repeat - never moved up. The year they picked Laettner was the highest they’ve ever picked in the draft despite a four year stretch in the 90s when they were one of the league’s worst two teams.
So that’s the bad luck. How about the incompetence? The Wolves entered the 1996 draft in an enviable position. In 1995, they took a chance and drafted high schooler Kevin Garnett and had the number five pick in one of the deepest drafts of the 1990s. They had a good core around KG but wanted a point guard to run the show.
Enter Stephon Marbury. This promising point guard out of Georgia Tech looked to be the guy to take. There was also some guy from Santa Clara that the Star Tribune did a story on as a possible pick. But everyone knew the Wolves wanted Marbury, including the Milwaukee Bucks, who had the number four selection. So the Wolves ended up trading Ray Allen and Dean Garrett for Marbury. In hindsight this looks like a ridiculous trade, but at the time Marbury and Garnett looked to be the next Stockton and Malone. How foolish that prediction turned out to be. Marbury turned out to be as selfish as a three year old who refuses to share his toys. Marbury complained that he didn’t like Gugliotta so the Wolves unloaded him to Phoenix. Then he didn’t want to play with anyone who made more money than him. So they traded him to Phoenix where he was reunited with the despised Gugliotta. The rest is history.
You could have handed the keys of the franchise to anyone at this period and it couldn’t have turned out any worse. For some reason, Kevin McHale’s greatness on the hardwood overshadowed his ineptitude in the front office. Glen Taylor stuck with him for years and years.
McHale got caught violating contract rules in the signing of Joe Smith and the Wolves were stripped of five draft picks. The Wolves selected the forgettable Paul Grant in 1997. In 1999, they had two first round picks and selected Wally Szczerbiak ahead of Rip Hamilton, Andre Miller, Shawn Marion, and Jason Terry. With their second pick, they selected William Avery out of Duke over Ron Artest, James Posey, and Andrei Kirilenko. But hindsight is 20/20 so we’ll forgive and forget.
But it was clearly McHale’s fault that for the next three years, they didn’t have a first round pick. So with their next first round pick, three years later, they selected Ndudi Ebi. Wonderful. Great addition to the team.
Oh, and in the meantime, they let future -NBA finals MVP, Chauncey Billups walk.
In 2006, they appeared to have pulled another Allen for Marbury when they selected Brandon Roy only to trade him for Randy Foye.
But this post is supposed to be about the 2009 NBA draft, right? Ok, I’ll get to that. Foye appears to be a serviceable two guard although they drafted him to play point. Sebastian Telfair has shown flashes of competence, but hasn’t shown he’s a starting point guard of a playoff team. They have a solid core with Kevin Love, Al Jefferson, the aforementioned Foye, and solid forwards, Craig Smith, Ryan Gomes and Mike Miller. What the Wolves really need is a point guard.
But in the NBA draft, do you pick the best player or do you draft for need? With both Ricky Rubio and Stephen Curry off the board, that leaves Jrue Holiday and Johnny Flynn as the best point guards available. Demar DeRozan and James Harden could potentially be better talents, but what the Wolves need is a facilitator.
Neither Holiday nor Flynn are the type of floor general the Wolves want. Flynn appears to have a slight edge as a facilitator but is small at 6 feet, 175 pounds.
With all that said, the Timberwolves are going with the best player available, DeMar DeRozan. Harden is more polished, but they’ll select DeRozan because of his upside. They’ll have to make-do with their point guard situation because both Holiday and Flynn are reaches at this point.
If Roy was manning the two guard spot, a point guard would be a no-brainer. But this isn’t the case, is it?
In the twelve years the Timberwolves have participated in the lottery, they’ve never - I repeat - never moved up. The year they picked Laettner was the highest they’ve ever picked in the draft despite a four year stretch in the 90s when they were one of the league’s worst two teams.
So that’s the bad luck. How about the incompetence? The Wolves entered the 1996 draft in an enviable position. In 1995, they took a chance and drafted high schooler Kevin Garnett and had the number five pick in one of the deepest drafts of the 1990s. They had a good core around KG but wanted a point guard to run the show.
Enter Stephon Marbury. This promising point guard out of Georgia Tech looked to be the guy to take. There was also some guy from Santa Clara that the Star Tribune did a story on as a possible pick. But everyone knew the Wolves wanted Marbury, including the Milwaukee Bucks, who had the number four selection. So the Wolves ended up trading Ray Allen and Dean Garrett for Marbury. In hindsight this looks like a ridiculous trade, but at the time Marbury and Garnett looked to be the next Stockton and Malone. How foolish that prediction turned out to be. Marbury turned out to be as selfish as a three year old who refuses to share his toys. Marbury complained that he didn’t like Gugliotta so the Wolves unloaded him to Phoenix. Then he didn’t want to play with anyone who made more money than him. So they traded him to Phoenix where he was reunited with the despised Gugliotta. The rest is history.
You could have handed the keys of the franchise to anyone at this period and it couldn’t have turned out any worse. For some reason, Kevin McHale’s greatness on the hardwood overshadowed his ineptitude in the front office. Glen Taylor stuck with him for years and years.
McHale got caught violating contract rules in the signing of Joe Smith and the Wolves were stripped of five draft picks. The Wolves selected the forgettable Paul Grant in 1997. In 1999, they had two first round picks and selected Wally Szczerbiak ahead of Rip Hamilton, Andre Miller, Shawn Marion, and Jason Terry. With their second pick, they selected William Avery out of Duke over Ron Artest, James Posey, and Andrei Kirilenko. But hindsight is 20/20 so we’ll forgive and forget.
But it was clearly McHale’s fault that for the next three years, they didn’t have a first round pick. So with their next first round pick, three years later, they selected Ndudi Ebi. Wonderful. Great addition to the team.
Oh, and in the meantime, they let future -NBA finals MVP, Chauncey Billups walk.
In 2006, they appeared to have pulled another Allen for Marbury when they selected Brandon Roy only to trade him for Randy Foye.
But this post is supposed to be about the 2009 NBA draft, right? Ok, I’ll get to that. Foye appears to be a serviceable two guard although they drafted him to play point. Sebastian Telfair has shown flashes of competence, but hasn’t shown he’s a starting point guard of a playoff team. They have a solid core with Kevin Love, Al Jefferson, the aforementioned Foye, and solid forwards, Craig Smith, Ryan Gomes and Mike Miller. What the Wolves really need is a point guard.
But in the NBA draft, do you pick the best player or do you draft for need? With both Ricky Rubio and Stephen Curry off the board, that leaves Jrue Holiday and Johnny Flynn as the best point guards available. Demar DeRozan and James Harden could potentially be better talents, but what the Wolves need is a facilitator.
Neither Holiday nor Flynn are the type of floor general the Wolves want. Flynn appears to have a slight edge as a facilitator but is small at 6 feet, 175 pounds.
With all that said, the Timberwolves are going with the best player available, DeMar DeRozan. Harden is more polished, but they’ll select DeRozan because of his upside. They’ll have to make-do with their point guard situation because both Holiday and Flynn are reaches at this point.
If Roy was manning the two guard spot, a point guard would be a no-brainer. But this isn’t the case, is it?
14 June 2009
With the 5th Pick in the YGLS Draft
5. Washington Wizards - Tyreke Evans (G / Memphis)
One of the downsides to an NBA Mock Draft is that you really can't predict a trade. As the GM of the Wizards, for the purpose of this article, I would move heaven and earth to trade this pick or Gilbert Arenas. I want Tyreke Evans with this pick. Jordan Hill is the safe pick but he doesn't fit the team that you have. You have a fast team, a team that likes to push the ball upcourt and play a faster tempo. They are the poor-mans Denver Nuggets.
If this is the case why would you draft a clunky forward that doesn't fit your system? You don't need a orward to make it through the east. Out of the 8 playoff teams in the east only the Magic have Dwight Howard as a legitimate force under the basket. Kevin Garmett is getting old and Elton Brand is a question mark.
So you are at a cross roads as an organization. And at this point I would try to trade Gilbert Arenas or this pick. Tyreke is fast and young and can distribute and score. He fits this team well. Better than Gilbert who is a pure scorer. It's a risky pick and a little early but it's time to break the mold and take a player that is good and fits my team. Tyreke make me proud!
One of the downsides to an NBA Mock Draft is that you really can't predict a trade. As the GM of the Wizards, for the purpose of this article, I would move heaven and earth to trade this pick or Gilbert Arenas. I want Tyreke Evans with this pick. Jordan Hill is the safe pick but he doesn't fit the team that you have. You have a fast team, a team that likes to push the ball upcourt and play a faster tempo. They are the poor-mans Denver Nuggets.
If this is the case why would you draft a clunky forward that doesn't fit your system? You don't need a orward to make it through the east. Out of the 8 playoff teams in the east only the Magic have Dwight Howard as a legitimate force under the basket. Kevin Garmett is getting old and Elton Brand is a question mark.
So you are at a cross roads as an organization. And at this point I would try to trade Gilbert Arenas or this pick. Tyreke is fast and young and can distribute and score. He fits this team well. Better than Gilbert who is a pure scorer. It's a risky pick and a little early but it's time to break the mold and take a player that is good and fits my team. Tyreke make me proud!
Saving the Bucs with Moneyball (Part 1)
I think the case could be made that the Pirates moves in the last two weeks have been filled with Moneyball principles, in a very good way. To me, this theory’s biggest argument is that there are market inefficiencies in baseball; traits that the market values too much, and other traits that the market doesn’t value nearly enough. A team in a financial position like the Pirates is at a great advantage when they can peg those inefficiencies ahead of the curve. From what I can remember, there are two areas in which the A’s were ahead of everybody else utilizing these inefficiency principles: on-base percentage and relief pitching. The Bucs, over the course of the last week, have tried to exploit different inefficiencies. To wit:
- Trading McLouth – the words that were continually thrown around to describe Nate were “All-Star” and “Gold Glove”. It has been covered ad nauseum that his Gold Glove was kind of a joke. I won’t make the argument that his All-Star appearance falls under the same umbrella; he deserved to make it with his great first half last year. However, to use this term to describe him is a bit misleading. Albert Pujols is an All-Star; Nate McLouth made an All-Star Game. There’s a difference to me, but the two are lumped together in media coverage and in the average fan’s mind. The baseball market overvalues terms like “All-Star” and “Gold Glove”. The Pirates exploited this.
- It seems that generally in baseball these days, prospects are also overvalued; teams are less willing to give up “the farm” in order to procure the best major league talent. The Bucs worked a trade that worked in the opposite order of this; of course the argument is that they didn’t get enough.
- To that last point, we look at the return for McLouth, where I believe the Bucs got commodities that are undervalued at the present time. We were able to get two pitchers; pitching is famously a rare commodity to receive in a trade. Further, the Bucs received a LHP who throws mid-90s. Lefties who throw this hard are also rare. In the outfield, they got a centerfielder; the famous axiom in baseball states that talent up the middle is difficult to obtain. Therefore, they were able to get three players that were undervalued by the Braves, because their positions are more difficult to fill.
- Along the lines of this, Gorkys Hernandez signals a trend toward which the Pirates are moving and which has been less valued in the majors: outfield defense. As Charlie at Bucs Dugout has recently shown, the improvement in the Bucs outfield defense has more or less made up for the loss of production by the Bucs OF with the bats. Trading McLouth and inserting McCutchen into the lineup improved what was already one of the top defensive outfields in the league (it could be argued it was the only way to improve on an already stellar outfield defense). Gorkys is a centerfielder who probably will be moved with McCutchen manning this position in Pittsburgh; he’s most likely the replacement for Nyjer (or whoever replaces Nyjer) whenever he is ready. Anything that he can develop with the bat over what Nyjer gives the Bucs (which is little) is a bonus.
These are all of the implications that Moneyball and its principles had on the trade that the Bucs completed last week. The average Bucs fan was irritated by this trade; it’s just the same old Pirates, trading big leaguers for prospects, shaving money off of the payroll. McCutchen will be traded in the offseason for four minor leaguers – I received an actual text that stated this. A couple of points about this, before moving on to the Bucs Moneyball draft:
- As stated before, McLouth was expendable. The Bucs actually were ahead of the curve because they traded him near his peak value. This is different from any trade in which the Pirates have previously engaged. Critics point to trades like the Bay and Nady trades of last season, the Kendall trade of 2004, the Aramis Ramirez trade in 2003, the Giles trade of 2004, and a litany of trades made in the 90s (when this procession of futility began). Let me comment on those each of those trades individually:
- Jason Bay – not at his peak value; in fact, he was at about bottom value after the 2007 season (witness the package the Indians offered for him that offseason). The Bucs were lucky that he was as good as he was during 2008’s first half, increasing his value. At his age and contract situation, he was not a guy that was going to be part of the next great Bucco squad.
- Xavier Nady – (and Marte if you want to throw him in) he was in the middle of his career season. His value was inflated, so by that standard, it is the most comparable to the McLouth trade. But Nady didn’t have a history of doing what he did in 2008; instead, his history was riddled with injury. It isn’t surprising that he hasn’t been anything like his April-June 2008 self since getting to the Yanks.
- Brian Giles – he was on the decline, his contract was onerous, and the clouds of steroids have gathered over him since he left Pittsburgh. A return of Bay made this trade good enough.
- Jason Kendall – one of the biggest contract blunders in a long list of contract blunders for the Bucs. They signed a singles hitter to a $60 million contract right before moving into PNC Park to signal a “commitment” to winning to the fanbase. The Bucs couldn’t get him and his bloated salary off the book quickly enough. This is the problem with allowing the fans to dictate moves made by the front office.
- Aramis Ramirez - the only trade on this list that is indefensible and unacceptable. There is nothing I can say to make this trade feel better. The Bucs were under the gun to cut payroll immediately, and this is how they chose to do it. We could talk about the fact that A-Ram had been struggling for a season and a half before this trade, and how he wasn't at that time worth the salary that he was making. However, he was about 23 years old and to just give up on him was disappointing. There isn't really much else to say. When the current front office trades McCutchen for a decendant of Bobby Hill, then I will give up on them, but until then I will believe they won't make a trade like this.
This is just a short exposition on the Bucs, their front office, and how they are employing the techniques outlined in Moneyball. It is the first of a two part series. The second part will be posted some time this week, when I have a chance to hash out these thoughts, but it will focus on the draft, the minor leagues, international signings, and player development, in light of Moneyball principles.
13 June 2009
On Game 7s, The City of Champions, 17 years of losing, and that motherf&*$#r Scottie Reynolds
Well, I'm sitting in my apartment mere hours after the Pens won the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1992. I'm not a huge hockey fan, but playoff hockey is alright by me; good enough to watch the Pens for two months (and grow my playoff beard). The situation in the city is crazy. I watched the first two periods at PNC Park while attending the other game between Pittsburgh and Detroit tonight (the Tigers prevailed, 3-1). It was unbelievable how many Detroit fans were at the ballpark, watching the game in the Hall of Fame Club in their lipstick-red Wings jerseys. I left after the 2nd period, traversing downtown unaware of the bomb threat at the corner of Ft. Duquense Boulevard and 9th Street, trying to get home in time for the 3rd period. The Pens, of course, pulled it out in an intense final six minutes when the Wings attacked and attacked, and the Pens were just trying to buttress the fort. The intensity was heightened by the fact that it was Game 7.
Game 7s are one of the most special things we get in return for our love of sports. When two teams are so evenly matched that it comes down to one game and often times one pitch or shot, the moment rises in importance. The passion and grit come to the forefront. These are guys that have played over 100 games in basketball and hockey, and around 180 in baseball, and they are on the biggest stages they will ever see. The mistakes are magnified; the heroes deified; the memories crystallized. Everybody remembers game 7. EVERYBODY. Even for those bandwagon Penguin fans like myself, the memory will last long after the Stanley Cup Champs t-shirt shrinks and fades.
Pittsburgh has regained the title "City of Champions". We remain a city of many monikers (Steel City, Iron City, Robo-burgh, America's Most Livable, The City of Bridges) but this one remains my favorite, and we've wrested it back from Boston. To have the Steelers and Pens win within months of each other is incredible; both major pro sports champions are from Pittsburgh at this point of 2009. And the point that I keep coming back to is this: the last time the Pens won the Cup, 1992, was the same time the Bucs last made the playoffs.
Since that time, the Bucs of course have had 17 losing seasons in a row. For a fan like me, this is torture, and in a perverse way it is multiplied by these other teams winning coupled fact that I really consider myself more of a Bucs fan than any other 'burgh team. Watching the ferver that the Pens and Steelers create excites me for many reasons, but probably none more so than it reminds me why I remain an ardent Pirate supporter. Some day, I hope that my favorite team from the 'burgh has the same zealous following currently enjoyed by our other pro teams. I have no doubt that it will happen; it's just been a really, really, really long wait, and it won't be over for another few years. At least maybe my other favorite team, the Pitt men's hoops team, can be more successful.
Speaking of men's hoops...Scottie Reynolds really screwed up what could have been an even better year for 'burgh sports. His lame attempt at cementing March fame kept Pitt out of their first real Final Four. Even so, Jamie Dixon led his team deep into March and continues to build a winning program. While constantly let down by the Bucs around mid-May, Pitt hoops is able to hold my attention and engender my support for an entire season; at some point, due to the battle of attrition, they may have to pass the Bucs as my favorite team in Pittsburgh.
At least none of my sports dreams are really hitched to the fading star of Dave Wannstedt.
Game 7s are one of the most special things we get in return for our love of sports. When two teams are so evenly matched that it comes down to one game and often times one pitch or shot, the moment rises in importance. The passion and grit come to the forefront. These are guys that have played over 100 games in basketball and hockey, and around 180 in baseball, and they are on the biggest stages they will ever see. The mistakes are magnified; the heroes deified; the memories crystallized. Everybody remembers game 7. EVERYBODY. Even for those bandwagon Penguin fans like myself, the memory will last long after the Stanley Cup Champs t-shirt shrinks and fades.
Pittsburgh has regained the title "City of Champions". We remain a city of many monikers (Steel City, Iron City, Robo-burgh, America's Most Livable, The City of Bridges) but this one remains my favorite, and we've wrested it back from Boston. To have the Steelers and Pens win within months of each other is incredible; both major pro sports champions are from Pittsburgh at this point of 2009. And the point that I keep coming back to is this: the last time the Pens won the Cup, 1992, was the same time the Bucs last made the playoffs.
Since that time, the Bucs of course have had 17 losing seasons in a row. For a fan like me, this is torture, and in a perverse way it is multiplied by these other teams winning coupled fact that I really consider myself more of a Bucs fan than any other 'burgh team. Watching the ferver that the Pens and Steelers create excites me for many reasons, but probably none more so than it reminds me why I remain an ardent Pirate supporter. Some day, I hope that my favorite team from the 'burgh has the same zealous following currently enjoyed by our other pro teams. I have no doubt that it will happen; it's just been a really, really, really long wait, and it won't be over for another few years. At least maybe my other favorite team, the Pitt men's hoops team, can be more successful.
Speaking of men's hoops...Scottie Reynolds really screwed up what could have been an even better year for 'burgh sports. His lame attempt at cementing March fame kept Pitt out of their first real Final Four. Even so, Jamie Dixon led his team deep into March and continues to build a winning program. While constantly let down by the Bucs around mid-May, Pitt hoops is able to hold my attention and engender my support for an entire season; at some point, due to the battle of attrition, they may have to pass the Bucs as my favorite team in Pittsburgh.
At least none of my sports dreams are really hitched to the fading star of Dave Wannstedt.
12 June 2009
The Sacramento Kings select ...
Sacramento, at 17-65, had the best shot at landing Blake Griffin with the top pick. Instead, they fell out of the top 3 and landed at No. 4, the lowest they could have been slotted, with the consensus top 3 players in Griffin, Rubio and Thabeet off the board.
The Kings will be considering SG James Harden, SG Tyreke Evans and PF Jordan Hill with their pick, but with their roster I like Davidson PG Stephon Curry in this spot. Their best player and only consistent scorer is SG Kevin Martin (24.6 ppg) and they've taken front court players C Spencer Hawes (2007) and PF Jason Thompson (2008) with their last two first round picks. SF Francisco Garcia is one of the more undervalued players in the NBA and can be a playmaker with Curry and Martin alongside him.
Curry, of course, has an NBA pedigree with his father Dell shooting 40% from the 3-point line in his 16-year career. Stephon scored well over 2,000 points in his three years, led the nation in scoring as a junior at 28.6 ppg and added 5.6 assists after moving to point guard. He's obviously not a traditional NBA point guard but will be one of the better shooters in the league right away, can give Sacramento a 40-45 ppg backcourt with Martin and is a huge upgrade over the point guards currently on the roster.
The Kings will be considering SG James Harden, SG Tyreke Evans and PF Jordan Hill with their pick, but with their roster I like Davidson PG Stephon Curry in this spot. Their best player and only consistent scorer is SG Kevin Martin (24.6 ppg) and they've taken front court players C Spencer Hawes (2007) and PF Jason Thompson (2008) with their last two first round picks. SF Francisco Garcia is one of the more undervalued players in the NBA and can be a playmaker with Curry and Martin alongside him.
Curry, of course, has an NBA pedigree with his father Dell shooting 40% from the 3-point line in his 16-year career. Stephon scored well over 2,000 points in his three years, led the nation in scoring as a junior at 28.6 ppg and added 5.6 assists after moving to point guard. He's obviously not a traditional NBA point guard but will be one of the better shooters in the league right away, can give Sacramento a 40-45 ppg backcourt with Martin and is a huge upgrade over the point guards currently on the roster.
11 June 2009
With the 3rd pick in the YGLS Mock NBA Draft...
the Zombie Sonics select:
3. Oklahoma City Thunder - Hasheem Thabeet (C/Connecticut)
The pick should be Rubio here if the Grizz do what is expected and take Thabeet themselves. I'm not sure that will happen though, as the Zombies publicly state that they like what they have in Russell Westbrook. To paraphrase former Senator Lloyd Bentsen, Russell Westbrook is no Ricky Rubio. Rubio to Durant would provide immeasurable amounts of joy over the next decade and more. However, he's gone here, so I have to move on.
Thabeet is my joyless pick here. His obvious NBA comparison is Dikembe Mutombo. I, like most, think that Thabeet will come in and block 3 shots a game (providing above average interior defense) and probably be able to average double digit rebounds. His offensive game is way behind his defense. Does he have the ability to score in the league? Not right now; he'll probably average 7-8 ppg as a rookie. But he does have a good work ethic; he can work on post moves and maybe get to a point where he averages something along the lines of 13 ppg, 13 rpg, and 3 bpg.
One of my big problems with the NBA Draft is that teams too often pick based on "upside" and not enough on constructing a team. This came to a head in the late 90s/early 00s. The reason for this? Too many high schoolers who weren't ready for the League declared anyway. I won't jump into the age limit debate, but I don't think it can be argued that high schoolers ruined the draft because everyone was looking for the next Kobe. In other words, all NBA GMs are impulsive and can't stop themselves even when they recognize that there are surer things in the draft; they are lured by the siren call of high school upside. Unfortunately, just as often as drafting a Kobe, Garnett, or Lebron, they instead choose a Robert Swift, Kwame Brown, DeSagana Diop, Ousmane Cisse, Travis Outlaw, James Lang, Dorell Wright, or Leon Smith.
What I mean to say here is that I shouldn't criticize whoever takes Thabeet. He will be a useful NBA player for a decade, one of the best in the league in two specific skills (rebounds and blocks). It just isn't a very sexy pick (which, yes, is what I was railing on in the above paragraph).
3. Oklahoma City Thunder - Hasheem Thabeet (C/Connecticut)
The pick should be Rubio here if the Grizz do what is expected and take Thabeet themselves. I'm not sure that will happen though, as the Zombies publicly state that they like what they have in Russell Westbrook. To paraphrase former Senator Lloyd Bentsen, Russell Westbrook is no Ricky Rubio. Rubio to Durant would provide immeasurable amounts of joy over the next decade and more. However, he's gone here, so I have to move on.
Thabeet is my joyless pick here. His obvious NBA comparison is Dikembe Mutombo. I, like most, think that Thabeet will come in and block 3 shots a game (providing above average interior defense) and probably be able to average double digit rebounds. His offensive game is way behind his defense. Does he have the ability to score in the league? Not right now; he'll probably average 7-8 ppg as a rookie. But he does have a good work ethic; he can work on post moves and maybe get to a point where he averages something along the lines of 13 ppg, 13 rpg, and 3 bpg.
One of my big problems with the NBA Draft is that teams too often pick based on "upside" and not enough on constructing a team. This came to a head in the late 90s/early 00s. The reason for this? Too many high schoolers who weren't ready for the League declared anyway. I won't jump into the age limit debate, but I don't think it can be argued that high schoolers ruined the draft because everyone was looking for the next Kobe. In other words, all NBA GMs are impulsive and can't stop themselves even when they recognize that there are surer things in the draft; they are lured by the siren call of high school upside. Unfortunately, just as often as drafting a Kobe, Garnett, or Lebron, they instead choose a Robert Swift, Kwame Brown, DeSagana Diop, Ousmane Cisse, Travis Outlaw, James Lang, Dorell Wright, or Leon Smith.
What I mean to say here is that I shouldn't criticize whoever takes Thabeet. He will be a useful NBA player for a decade, one of the best in the league in two specific skills (rebounds and blocks). It just isn't a very sexy pick (which, yes, is what I was railing on in the above paragraph).
The Memphis Grizzlies Select...
2. Memphis Grizzlies - Ricky Rubio (G/Spain)
I am making this pick based on basketball ability -- not the potential situation of Rubio refusing to play for certain teams. I realize an actual GM therefore has a harder job.
NBA Teams have the smallest rosters of the major sports and hence the highest average salaries. These factors plus the somewhat underdeveloped nature of statistics (especially for measuring the quality of defense) -- and some intellectually questionable GMs have led to a lead with comical choices from time to time. More teams should go for the sure thing.
So who's the sure thing at #2? You could argue its Thabeet. The big guy will always have his height (though that might suggest the possibilities of injuries), and should soon be the league's first or second leading shot blocker. His rebounding on both sides of the ball should be very good, though his performances against a physical Dejuan Blair weren't that impressive. Harden, Hill, and Evans all look very talented; additionally, Flynn and Curry are sentimental favorites of mine as a college hoops fan, and they both have upsides as well. Any of them could be good contributors relatively soon.
But Ricky Rubio is going to be an NBA star. He has Nash-esque court vision, he hustles, he already draws fouls in a European league that calls less of them on shooting plays, he has good footwork, great ball handling skills, and has been playing pro ball since he was 14. There are well his noted downsides, especially his flat footed jump shot and questionable defensive lateral ability. However, these downsides never stopped the consistent play of Mark Jackson, second in NBA history in assists. And Rubio will be more explosive than Jackson was.
Ricky Rey, welcome to America. I hope you end up as eccentric an NBA player in personality and game as your idol, Pete Maravich.
I am making this pick based on basketball ability -- not the potential situation of Rubio refusing to play for certain teams. I realize an actual GM therefore has a harder job.
NBA Teams have the smallest rosters of the major sports and hence the highest average salaries. These factors plus the somewhat underdeveloped nature of statistics (especially for measuring the quality of defense) -- and some intellectually questionable GMs have led to a lead with comical choices from time to time. More teams should go for the sure thing.
So who's the sure thing at #2? You could argue its Thabeet. The big guy will always have his height (though that might suggest the possibilities of injuries), and should soon be the league's first or second leading shot blocker. His rebounding on both sides of the ball should be very good, though his performances against a physical Dejuan Blair weren't that impressive. Harden, Hill, and Evans all look very talented; additionally, Flynn and Curry are sentimental favorites of mine as a college hoops fan, and they both have upsides as well. Any of them could be good contributors relatively soon.
But Ricky Rubio is going to be an NBA star. He has Nash-esque court vision, he hustles, he already draws fouls in a European league that calls less of them on shooting plays, he has good footwork, great ball handling skills, and has been playing pro ball since he was 14. There are well his noted downsides, especially his flat footed jump shot and questionable defensive lateral ability. However, these downsides never stopped the consistent play of Mark Jackson, second in NBA history in assists. And Rubio will be more explosive than Jackson was.
Ricky Rey, welcome to America. I hope you end up as eccentric an NBA player in personality and game as your idol, Pete Maravich.
10 June 2009
The Los Angeles Clippers Select ...
1. Los Angeles Clippers - Blake Griffin (F/Oklahoma)
So we're taking a look at the draft not as who the Clippers will take, but who they should take. If I am the GM of the Clippers I still have a hard time taking Griffin and here's why. He fits the same trap that every GM falls in each year. Good player but you're picking on upside. He has a ton of potential. If the Clippers hadn't signed Baron Davis last year, I would pick Rubio. But now your lot is cast with Baron Davis and his back. Even though Griffin is drafting on potential, he'll fill a need you'll have once you get rid of stiffs like Zach Randolph and Marcus Camby. Replacing Zach Randolph with the work ethic of Blake Griffin is a clear upgrade. One you can't pass up if you're the Clippers.
So we're taking a look at the draft not as who the Clippers will take, but who they should take. If I am the GM of the Clippers I still have a hard time taking Griffin and here's why. He fits the same trap that every GM falls in each year. Good player but you're picking on upside. He has a ton of potential. If the Clippers hadn't signed Baron Davis last year, I would pick Rubio. But now your lot is cast with Baron Davis and his back. Even though Griffin is drafting on potential, he'll fill a need you'll have once you get rid of stiffs like Zach Randolph and Marcus Camby. Replacing Zach Randolph with the work ethic of Blake Griffin is a clear upgrade. One you can't pass up if you're the Clippers.
The Golden Era of Pennsylvania Sports
Many folks on this blog have Pennsylvania ties, so expect some level of local-ism to show up now and then.
I was thinking about how it's been a nice run for the Steelers, Pens, and Phillies lately --
But how about 1975-1985 in Pennsylvania?
Pro Football:
1975 - Steelers win super bowl
1976 - Steelers win super bowl
1979 - Steelers win super bowl
1980 - Steelers win super bowl
1981 - Eagles win NFC championship; play in their first super bowl
College Football:
1976 - Pitt Panthers are AP and near consensus national champions.
1980 - Pitt Panthers are NY Times and other media national champions (not AP though)
1981 - Pitt wins minor national championship foundation title retroactively; Penn State wins minor dunkel national title
1982 - Penn State is AP and near consensus national champion
1985-86 season - Penn State is AP national champions again.
Pro Hockey:
1975 - Flyers win their second straight Stanley cup
1976 - Flyers reach the finals again
1979 - Flyers reach the finals again
1985 - Flyers reach the finals again
Pro Baseball:
1975 - Pirates in nlcs (Phillies second)
1976 - Phillies in nlcs (Pirates second)
1977 - Phillies in nlcs (Pirates second)
1978 - Phillies in nlcs (Pirates second)
1979 - Pirates win their 5th and most recent world series championship. They also have have the national league mvp, nl championship series mvp, the world series mvp, and the all star game mvp.
1980 - Phillies win their first world series championship.
1981 - Phillies win nl east in strike shortened season
1983 - Phillies "wheeze kids" go to world series, lose.
Pro Basketball:
1975 - Sixers return to the playoffs for the first time in 5 years
1976 - Sixers go to the NBA finals, only to lose to Bill Walton's Trailblazers.
1977 - Lose to Bullets, who win nba title
1980 - Go to NBA finals again, lose to lakers.
1981 - Go to NBA finals again (with Celtics fans chanting "beat LA", in a rare moment of east coast solidarity) and lose to Lakers
1982 - Moses takes over! Sixers go 12-1 in nba playoffs, "fo fi fo", winning it all.
1985 - New look Barkley sixers return to eastern conference finals again.
College Basketball:
1985 - Villanova Wildcats become lowest seeded team to ever win a national title.
Boxing:
1983 - "Easton Assassin" Larry Holmes wins Heavyweight Championship.
MVP's:
1975, 1976 - Bobby Clarke
1978 - Dave Parker
1978 - Terry Bradshaw
1979 - Willie Stargell
1980, 1981 - Mike Schmidt
1981 - Dr. J
1983 - Moses Malone
Sports Movies Filmed in and/or Set in Pennsylvania during this time:
1976 - Rocky
1977 - Slapshot
1979 - The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh
1979 - Rocky 2
1982 - Rocky 3
1983 - All the Right Moves
1985 - Rocky 4
Has any state ever matched this output in a 10 year period?
I was thinking about how it's been a nice run for the Steelers, Pens, and Phillies lately --
But how about 1975-1985 in Pennsylvania?
Pro Football:
1975 - Steelers win super bowl
1976 - Steelers win super bowl
1979 - Steelers win super bowl
1980 - Steelers win super bowl
1981 - Eagles win NFC championship; play in their first super bowl
College Football:
1976 - Pitt Panthers are AP and near consensus national champions.
1980 - Pitt Panthers are NY Times and other media national champions (not AP though)
1981 - Pitt wins minor national championship foundation title retroactively; Penn State wins minor dunkel national title
1982 - Penn State is AP and near consensus national champion
1985-86 season - Penn State is AP national champions again.
Pro Hockey:
1975 - Flyers win their second straight Stanley cup
1976 - Flyers reach the finals again
1979 - Flyers reach the finals again
1985 - Flyers reach the finals again
Pro Baseball:
1975 - Pirates in nlcs (Phillies second)
1976 - Phillies in nlcs (Pirates second)
1977 - Phillies in nlcs (Pirates second)
1978 - Phillies in nlcs (Pirates second)
1979 - Pirates win their 5th and most recent world series championship. They also have have the national league mvp, nl championship series mvp, the world series mvp, and the all star game mvp.
1980 - Phillies win their first world series championship.
1981 - Phillies win nl east in strike shortened season
1983 - Phillies "wheeze kids" go to world series, lose.
Pro Basketball:
1975 - Sixers return to the playoffs for the first time in 5 years
1976 - Sixers go to the NBA finals, only to lose to Bill Walton's Trailblazers.
1977 - Lose to Bullets, who win nba title
1980 - Go to NBA finals again, lose to lakers.
1981 - Go to NBA finals again (with Celtics fans chanting "beat LA", in a rare moment of east coast solidarity) and lose to Lakers
1982 - Moses takes over! Sixers go 12-1 in nba playoffs, "fo fi fo", winning it all.
1985 - New look Barkley sixers return to eastern conference finals again.
College Basketball:
1985 - Villanova Wildcats become lowest seeded team to ever win a national title.
Boxing:
1983 - "Easton Assassin" Larry Holmes wins Heavyweight Championship.
MVP's:
1975, 1976 - Bobby Clarke
1978 - Dave Parker
1978 - Terry Bradshaw
1979 - Willie Stargell
1980, 1981 - Mike Schmidt
1981 - Dr. J
1983 - Moses Malone
Sports Movies Filmed in and/or Set in Pennsylvania during this time:
1976 - Rocky
1977 - Slapshot
1979 - The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh
1979 - Rocky 2
1982 - Rocky 3
1983 - All the Right Moves
1985 - Rocky 4
Has any state ever matched this output in a 10 year period?
Not to be
Joe Montana's son Nick just committed to Washington over Notre Dame and other schools. Notre Dame has some talented quarterbacks in the fold (especially if Clausen starts to live up to his potential), but ND alumni won't be happy with Charlie Weis failing to nab the son of a Notre Dame favorite son.
The long rumored "Return to Glory" won't come via a return to Montana. Instead we have to pin our hopes on this guy:
Maybe Nick is a good Catholic who doesn't want to got to a Catholic University that gave an honorary degree to this guy:
You never know.
09 June 2009
YGLS Mock NBA Draft
The NBA draft is obviously the sweetest draft of all four major professional sports in America. There are countless reasons that this is true. Probably the most pure basketball reason is because the worst teams in the league have a chance to draft their savior. Look at the guys who have transformed NBA franchises this decade: Lebron, 'Melo, D-Wade, Dwight Howard, and (soon to be) Kevin Durant are some of the most prominent examples.
The Draft is also a blast for those of us that are die-hard college hoops fans, because it is fun to see how real "experts" value the guys we've loved over the past few editions of March Madness. Which team will pull the trigger on Davidson guard Stephen Curry? How about Pitt's duo of Dejuan Blair and Sam Young? These guys have faults, which will cause them to drop, but someone will pull the trigger. It is always fun to see which teams take which gambles.
It helps that the NBA teams have the worst set of collective front offices in sports. These guys hand out multi-million dollar contracts as if they are hawking alternative newspapers at the corner of Broadway and 41st. It all makes the management aspect of the NBA enjoyable and maddening at the same time.
The combination of managerial incompetancy and college basketball royalty makes this draft an especially fun one to mock. Therefore, at YGLS over the next two weeks, we will have writers contribute to make picks for each NBA franchise. We will start with Keith, who will be drafting for the Los Angeles Clippers at #1 overall. Keith, you are on the clock!
The Draft is also a blast for those of us that are die-hard college hoops fans, because it is fun to see how real "experts" value the guys we've loved over the past few editions of March Madness. Which team will pull the trigger on Davidson guard Stephen Curry? How about Pitt's duo of Dejuan Blair and Sam Young? These guys have faults, which will cause them to drop, but someone will pull the trigger. It is always fun to see which teams take which gambles.
It helps that the NBA teams have the worst set of collective front offices in sports. These guys hand out multi-million dollar contracts as if they are hawking alternative newspapers at the corner of Broadway and 41st. It all makes the management aspect of the NBA enjoyable and maddening at the same time.
The combination of managerial incompetancy and college basketball royalty makes this draft an especially fun one to mock. Therefore, at YGLS over the next two weeks, we will have writers contribute to make picks for each NBA franchise. We will start with Keith, who will be drafting for the Los Angeles Clippers at #1 overall. Keith, you are on the clock!
08 June 2009
Answer my Question, Bill Simmons! (Vol. 1)
This is volume 1 in an ongoing YGLS series regarding questions we have sent to The Sports Guy and have gotten no response on.
In the impossibly great movie Hoosiers, there is a line that makes no sense.
Coach Dale says "Cletus?-?"
Cletus responds "Hmm?"
Dale - "What are you doing down there?" [sort of sitting down near a wall]
Cletus responds: "Floatin'."
Coach Dale then moves on and the viewer is left to assume that Coach Dale knows what "floatin'" is too.
I've e-mailed Simmons. A friend and I perhaps illegally* found addresses for Gene Hackman and screenwriter Angelo Pizzo, and wrote them letters too. I've talked to people, on the Internet and in person, from Indiana...even people from Muncie, Indiana. None of them have any idea what Cletus means by saying he's "floatin". I've had people on Internet message boards ask their dad who once drank with Bobby Plump what "floatin" means.
They have various guesses that Cletus is hung over, confused, Jonsening for a drink, tired, lost in thought, or napping. But there is really no explanation that more than one or two people have guessed. No consensus. Why was he on the floor? What was he doing? What is "floatin'"?
So Hoosiers is your favorite movie, Sports Guy. Therefore,
ANSWER MY QUESTION, BILL SIMMONS!
*Dear legal authorities, I didn't do anything illegal.
My Dirty Little Secret
I like hockey. I always have. It's a faster version of soccer with a little less organization, but still an incredibly skilled sport. We've all tried to skate in a circle around a rink before, while holding someone's hand for balance even (or maybe in a lame attempt to try to score with a significant other) and it's hard. Now speed that up, slap a stick in your hand, add people trying to knock you down, while chasing down a small hard disc, and you have hockey. The speed, the stamina, the skill, the center of gravity, and the endurance are all so impressive.
My love of hockey was simple early. The Pittsburgh Penguins were good, and so I liked hockey. And then it matured, I enjoyed watching hockey, specifically playoff hockey. Then the New Jersey Devils ruined the sport by winning the 1995 Stanley Cup. It ruined the sport. I still loved it, but it became a grind, a game of traps, shut outs, low scores, and just boring. This is part of the reason I hate the Devils still to this day. Not only is their mascot pure evil (which if you google image search The Devil you come up with surprisingly few good image hits), but they set the sport back about ten years. I tried to follow hockey through college, but just didn't have it in me.
But after the lockout, several smart rule changes, and the influx of really good young talent the sport is back. And the Stanley Cup Finals, and the playoffs in general, have been fantastic. So without further ado, I'd like to present a list of ten great, or not so great, things about this years Stanley Cup Finals.
10.) The Enterprise Mom Commercial - I thought this one died years ago, but unfortunately some suit at Enterprise saw fit to bring it back. Just dreadful. Moooooooom.
9.) Playoff Beards - I bet you could hide at least twenty-four Swedish Fish in there, which are delicious by the way, and still have room for a few more. Playoff Beards are great because it's the tangible evidence of just how long these playoffs truly are. If you advance to the finals you have been playing almost every other night for about two months straight. Very impressive.
8.) Versus and NBC - First the good. I love that these two networks can just share the same coverage teams. It's nice that although on two networks you get continuity between opinions, announcing, and a familiar feel.
7.) Versus and NBC - They both really stink. So I also have continuity in perpetual suckitude. How hard is it to cue up a replay? I can do it, without thousands of dollars of technology at my finger tips, with a stupid tivo unit. Give me some replays. Also don't be swayed by the latest momentum shift or blow of the whistle. Have an opinion and hold to it a little bit. Are the Red Wings tired or veteran? Pick one. It's pretty simple really. The Penguins played better in games three and four and won. The Red Wings played better in game 5 and won. So have an opinion and don't be afraid to stick with it.
6.) The matchup - This one has been overplayed by now, but Detroit - Pittsburgh was what everyone wanted all year. Both teams, and stars, delivered. Not like some other team in some other sport that shall remain nameless ...
5.) Refereeing- Very hands off until Game 5. I don't blame the Refs for that one. Somehow the Penguins decided to go off the deep end. But if you have the two least penalized teams in the game playing each other, let them play. Don't feel you have to make calls since you're standing on the ice. Great refereeing.
4.) Bill McCreary's Mustache - If you're going to mention good officiating you need to mention the top dogs great 'stache. Just imagine being upset that one of your players is going to the sin bin, and then they zoom in to show Bill McCreary with the penalty call, and you see that 'stache. It's hard to stay angry.
3.) The quality of the play - It's been a well played series. As I see it you have a very talented and deep Detroit team going against a top heavy and young Penguins team. I said before the series started that if they played this series 10 times, the Red Wings would win 7 of them. The Penguins have a chance but it just requires perfect play. The Red Wings have all around better talent. The Penguins had those chances to steal game one or two. They played really well, but just didn't quite seal the deal on the offensive end. Now their backs are against the wall, and unless they can get some better forechecking going, they're going to be done in six, or seven. You can't let Detroit move freely from the defensive zone to the offensive zone. They're too big and fast. Freaks of nature really. I wonder how the Swiss National team isn't better when I watch the Red Wings play.
2.) Did I mention the Enterprise commercial that runs approximately 5 times a game?
1.) Superstitions - I love the superstitious nature of hockey. Whether it's beards, or unwashed socks, or fans that do things just because they have before and it's tradition. It's a lot like baseball in those regards. When you play these long series things are bound to creep up. From octopus on the ice to goalies touching the pipes during stoppage of play to not touching the Prince of Wales trophy. The list goes on. Perhaps it's why during every game I eat two of these ... What? It worked in games three and four! I have to keep trying!
My love of hockey was simple early. The Pittsburgh Penguins were good, and so I liked hockey. And then it matured, I enjoyed watching hockey, specifically playoff hockey. Then the New Jersey Devils ruined the sport by winning the 1995 Stanley Cup. It ruined the sport. I still loved it, but it became a grind, a game of traps, shut outs, low scores, and just boring. This is part of the reason I hate the Devils still to this day. Not only is their mascot pure evil (which if you google image search The Devil you come up with surprisingly few good image hits), but they set the sport back about ten years. I tried to follow hockey through college, but just didn't have it in me.
But after the lockout, several smart rule changes, and the influx of really good young talent the sport is back. And the Stanley Cup Finals, and the playoffs in general, have been fantastic. So without further ado, I'd like to present a list of ten great, or not so great, things about this years Stanley Cup Finals.
10.) The Enterprise Mom Commercial - I thought this one died years ago, but unfortunately some suit at Enterprise saw fit to bring it back. Just dreadful. Moooooooom.
9.) Playoff Beards - I bet you could hide at least twenty-four Swedish Fish in there, which are delicious by the way, and still have room for a few more. Playoff Beards are great because it's the tangible evidence of just how long these playoffs truly are. If you advance to the finals you have been playing almost every other night for about two months straight. Very impressive.
8.) Versus and NBC - First the good. I love that these two networks can just share the same coverage teams. It's nice that although on two networks you get continuity between opinions, announcing, and a familiar feel.
7.) Versus and NBC - They both really stink. So I also have continuity in perpetual suckitude. How hard is it to cue up a replay? I can do it, without thousands of dollars of technology at my finger tips, with a stupid tivo unit. Give me some replays. Also don't be swayed by the latest momentum shift or blow of the whistle. Have an opinion and hold to it a little bit. Are the Red Wings tired or veteran? Pick one. It's pretty simple really. The Penguins played better in games three and four and won. The Red Wings played better in game 5 and won. So have an opinion and don't be afraid to stick with it.
6.) The matchup - This one has been overplayed by now, but Detroit - Pittsburgh was what everyone wanted all year. Both teams, and stars, delivered. Not like some other team in some other sport that shall remain nameless ...
5.) Refereeing- Very hands off until Game 5. I don't blame the Refs for that one. Somehow the Penguins decided to go off the deep end. But if you have the two least penalized teams in the game playing each other, let them play. Don't feel you have to make calls since you're standing on the ice. Great refereeing.
4.) Bill McCreary's Mustache - If you're going to mention good officiating you need to mention the top dogs great 'stache. Just imagine being upset that one of your players is going to the sin bin, and then they zoom in to show Bill McCreary with the penalty call, and you see that 'stache. It's hard to stay angry.
3.) The quality of the play - It's been a well played series. As I see it you have a very talented and deep Detroit team going against a top heavy and young Penguins team. I said before the series started that if they played this series 10 times, the Red Wings would win 7 of them. The Penguins have a chance but it just requires perfect play. The Red Wings have all around better talent. The Penguins had those chances to steal game one or two. They played really well, but just didn't quite seal the deal on the offensive end. Now their backs are against the wall, and unless they can get some better forechecking going, they're going to be done in six, or seven. You can't let Detroit move freely from the defensive zone to the offensive zone. They're too big and fast. Freaks of nature really. I wonder how the Swiss National team isn't better when I watch the Red Wings play.
2.) Did I mention the Enterprise commercial that runs approximately 5 times a game?
1.) Superstitions - I love the superstitious nature of hockey. Whether it's beards, or unwashed socks, or fans that do things just because they have before and it's tradition. It's a lot like baseball in those regards. When you play these long series things are bound to creep up. From octopus on the ice to goalies touching the pipes during stoppage of play to not touching the Prince of Wales trophy. The list goes on. Perhaps it's why during every game I eat two of these ... What? It worked in games three and four! I have to keep trying!
07 June 2009
Sugar
A lot has been going on. Consequently, my sports viewing has tapered off a bit. (I have still been a frequent reader of Matt Mosley and Peter King, and have checked the standings to see the typical peaks and valleys of another infuriating Mets season) But down here in Asheville, NC I have had two brushes with a wonderful part of the American professional sports landscape: Minor League Baseball.
My fiancee Marianne and I went to an Asheville Tourists game on Thursday (the Tourists are the single A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies). We bought the cheap seats, because I wanted to be "high up and behind home plate." Of course, in this minor league stadium, there is no "high up." There is one deck where the "box" seats are separated from the bleacher seats by 5 feet.
The stadium was built into the side of a hill, and was thus quite a-symmetrical (360 to the power ally in left, 320 to right, with a slightly elevated wall in right field) The stadium did have an electronic scoreboard that flashed player pictures, info and stats, but I was annoyed that the batting order wasn't posted anywhere on the scoreboard.
The game promotions were a good time. One involved asking a little girl to guess the game's attendance from 3 choices. She guessed 1,410, which was said to be the correct answer. They were clearly lying. Some people had shuffled out by this late point in the game, but I thought there were about 300 people in the stadium at that point of the game. I'm not entirely sure the stadium could fit 1,400.
A second promotion required Ms. Asheville to successfully throw a baseball into the back of a hatchback from about 20 feet. That's right, the back of a hatchback. She couldn't do it. Perhaps next time they should use the broad side of a barn. Now, Ms. Asheville can be exonerated since she was wearing wedge shoes, but she must be chided for not thinking to take the shoes off. Let's hope she doesn't talk about "U.S. Americans" and their dearth of maps during the Q&A portion of the Ms. North Carolina pageant.
Another favorite was the "frisbee toss." No high-powered mechanical guns needed to propel them into the stands. Just a girl throwing frisbees at people.
The game stunk -there were 9 errors, but the concessions were good. Good local beer at a reasonable price is a big plus.
In all of this, what strikes me the most is the juxtaposition of serious and silly, professional and wildly unproffessional. There are men here - serious athletes - who are pinning serious hopes on their performances in these game. But in between innings, beauty contestants are trying to throw baseballs into hatchbacks. The professional seriousness of the stadium workers, juxtaposed with the silliness of a lot of their work captured this. (Like the worker who was very seriously carrying the life raft that was used in their version of the pierogie race)
Today I watched the independent film Sugar. It's quite a good film about a Dominican pitcher trying to make it in the big-leagues. It is completely non-formulaic. You should see it. It does a good job of capturing the strange juxtapositions I spoke about - it combines funny, serious, silly and absurd scenes very well. For such is baseball. For such is life.
My fiancee Marianne and I went to an Asheville Tourists game on Thursday (the Tourists are the single A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies). We bought the cheap seats, because I wanted to be "high up and behind home plate." Of course, in this minor league stadium, there is no "high up." There is one deck where the "box" seats are separated from the bleacher seats by 5 feet.
The stadium was built into the side of a hill, and was thus quite a-symmetrical (360 to the power ally in left, 320 to right, with a slightly elevated wall in right field) The stadium did have an electronic scoreboard that flashed player pictures, info and stats, but I was annoyed that the batting order wasn't posted anywhere on the scoreboard.
The game promotions were a good time. One involved asking a little girl to guess the game's attendance from 3 choices. She guessed 1,410, which was said to be the correct answer. They were clearly lying. Some people had shuffled out by this late point in the game, but I thought there were about 300 people in the stadium at that point of the game. I'm not entirely sure the stadium could fit 1,400.
A second promotion required Ms. Asheville to successfully throw a baseball into the back of a hatchback from about 20 feet. That's right, the back of a hatchback. She couldn't do it. Perhaps next time they should use the broad side of a barn. Now, Ms. Asheville can be exonerated since she was wearing wedge shoes, but she must be chided for not thinking to take the shoes off. Let's hope she doesn't talk about "U.S. Americans" and their dearth of maps during the Q&A portion of the Ms. North Carolina pageant.
Another favorite was the "frisbee toss." No high-powered mechanical guns needed to propel them into the stands. Just a girl throwing frisbees at people.
The game stunk -there were 9 errors, but the concessions were good. Good local beer at a reasonable price is a big plus.
In all of this, what strikes me the most is the juxtaposition of serious and silly, professional and wildly unproffessional. There are men here - serious athletes - who are pinning serious hopes on their performances in these game. But in between innings, beauty contestants are trying to throw baseballs into hatchbacks. The professional seriousness of the stadium workers, juxtaposed with the silliness of a lot of their work captured this. (Like the worker who was very seriously carrying the life raft that was used in their version of the pierogie race)
Today I watched the independent film Sugar. It's quite a good film about a Dominican pitcher trying to make it in the big-leagues. It is completely non-formulaic. You should see it. It does a good job of capturing the strange juxtapositions I spoke about - it combines funny, serious, silly and absurd scenes very well. For such is baseball. For such is life.
Outdoor Life Network
Greetings to all those near and far in the YGLS readership which at this point may be no more than one man who may or may not have some chicken wire. My name is Keith Davis and I feel before I hit my first post a little introduction is necessary. It's only fair for me to share of myself if I ask you to place us somewhere in your bookmark list to visit daily right? No, visit a few times a week? Ok, that works.
I was part of the original YGLS effort. Everything about it was pure, fresh, raw, unedited, and difficult to do. Seeing as how only 2 of us, ok maybe 1.5, had web editing skills, it was just brutal. What's a shame though because we had a wide array of sports knowledge, and passion, that is needed to accurately follow each sport. I think this is reflected even in our one week of rebirth. We have articles from Tennis (thanks Aaron) to Soccer (thanks Josh) to NBA age limits (Thank you Christopher and Chris). And what's great is that it's not a polished unified movement. It's a blog, and that's sports. Sometimes the polished sports, the highly orchestrated efforts advance and sometimes it's the scrappers like Kelly Pavlik who train with tires in warehouses that come out on top. Sports can't be duplicated or predicted. It's the old cliche of a team being better on paper, but the game still has to be played.
Well I think this YGLS effort will be better in its reincarnation as a blog. When I wrote for the site four or five years ago I was a 22 year old frustrated Pittsburgh Steelers fan. We had been so close for so long, but hadn't reached the summit. Well since then the Steelers have a new coach, a solid foundation, and of course two Super Bowl Championships. These were the best things that could ever have happened to me. I no longer have a single focus, an inability to think rationally about sports, and frequent heart palpatations.
It was like the release of a pressure valve. Now if the Steelers are bounced from the playoffs by the Jacksonville Jaguars, it hurts, but I no longer stare at the wall for approximately 30 minutes in stunned silence. We've all been there, we know the feeling, but now I'm free. I've been able to more freely explore and enjoy my team unbiased with the blinders off for what they are, or are not.
I can also say that I've grown more deeply into my following of every sport: soccer, hockey, basketball both college and pro, and golf. I'm able to enjoy the sport and look for the beauties and strength in them. It's a slow maturation of an angry sports fan to someone who loves the beauty of each game. I don't follow baseball. Never have, never will. I can't stand the sport, so I won't pretend to understand it or make you listen to my commentary of it at all, except for maybe the occasional rant.
I expect to post some thoughts on the Stanley Cup Final. We've not touched on it and anytime a major sport awards a championship I believe it deserves to be discussed. Not to mention that I've spent the last two months of my life watching playoff hockey. No not hitting the refresh button on my browser, but actually sitting in the chair for 2.5 hours a night watching the network formally known as the Outdoor Life Network. Until then, stay classy.
I was part of the original YGLS effort. Everything about it was pure, fresh, raw, unedited, and difficult to do. Seeing as how only 2 of us, ok maybe 1.5, had web editing skills, it was just brutal. What's a shame though because we had a wide array of sports knowledge, and passion, that is needed to accurately follow each sport. I think this is reflected even in our one week of rebirth. We have articles from Tennis (thanks Aaron) to Soccer (thanks Josh) to NBA age limits (Thank you Christopher and Chris). And what's great is that it's not a polished unified movement. It's a blog, and that's sports. Sometimes the polished sports, the highly orchestrated efforts advance and sometimes it's the scrappers like Kelly Pavlik who train with tires in warehouses that come out on top. Sports can't be duplicated or predicted. It's the old cliche of a team being better on paper, but the game still has to be played.
Well I think this YGLS effort will be better in its reincarnation as a blog. When I wrote for the site four or five years ago I was a 22 year old frustrated Pittsburgh Steelers fan. We had been so close for so long, but hadn't reached the summit. Well since then the Steelers have a new coach, a solid foundation, and of course two Super Bowl Championships. These were the best things that could ever have happened to me. I no longer have a single focus, an inability to think rationally about sports, and frequent heart palpatations.
It was like the release of a pressure valve. Now if the Steelers are bounced from the playoffs by the Jacksonville Jaguars, it hurts, but I no longer stare at the wall for approximately 30 minutes in stunned silence. We've all been there, we know the feeling, but now I'm free. I've been able to more freely explore and enjoy my team unbiased with the blinders off for what they are, or are not.
I can also say that I've grown more deeply into my following of every sport: soccer, hockey, basketball both college and pro, and golf. I'm able to enjoy the sport and look for the beauties and strength in them. It's a slow maturation of an angry sports fan to someone who loves the beauty of each game. I don't follow baseball. Never have, never will. I can't stand the sport, so I won't pretend to understand it or make you listen to my commentary of it at all, except for maybe the occasional rant.
I expect to post some thoughts on the Stanley Cup Final. We've not touched on it and anytime a major sport awards a championship I believe it deserves to be discussed. Not to mention that I've spent the last two months of my life watching playoff hockey. No not hitting the refresh button on my browser, but actually sitting in the chair for 2.5 hours a night watching the network formally known as the Outdoor Life Network. Until then, stay classy.
Twilight
"I have a great record against anybody right now, so it doesn't really matter who I play in the final. I'll be in there as the big favorite. But I play my best in the finals, in the important matches. That's why I'm number one. There's no secret...I'm not overconfident, but very confident."
I think anyone who even remotely follows professional tennis knows this Federism isn’t exactly in line with his performance in the past few years. My love affair with Roger Federer has definitely heated and cooled over the years. However, I don’t think I’m too far out on a limb to say that I’m with most tennis-lovers who want him to pull through against Robin Soderling on the red clay in Roland Garros today.
Federer came onto the scene in 1999 as one who served well, hit his baseline strokes well, volleyed well, and moved well. But he did nothing extremely well, at least not right away. In a matter of a few years he cut off the pony tail, kept grinding against the best in the world, “well” became “exceptionally well,” and a legend/machine was born.
Federer’s play started to rise significantly at the time when the Agassi/Sampras rivalry started to fade. My Agassi memories go way back to me falling to my knees and yelling with delight at a restaurant’s bar in Mt. Bethel, PA after (an also pony-tailed) Andre beat Goran Ivanisivic in five sets at Wimbledon in 1991. I was 10. Let’s just say that the twilight of Agassi’s career at the turn of the century was a twilight of sorts for me too. I was still grieving and not ready to embrace a new hero just yet. When Roger started winning all the time, it was kind of cool at first, but then he kept winning…easily…all the time. Then he started giving really arrogant press conferences and wearing cardigans to trophy presentations and I thought, “Enough’s enough. This guy’s a prick. I will root against him.”
And so it was. And I did. I’d follow the headlines of major tournaments and always hope for the number 1 seed to fall. He practically never did. Australian after Australian, U.S Open after U.S. Open, Wimbledon after Wimbledon were pretty anticlimactic for me.
However, I watch tennis in spurts. Tennis is weird like that. It seems to cater to the jobless because it’s on from 9-5 most of the time, and you kind of have to watch a whole tournament unfold to really get sucked into following it professionally. During a spurt while in Grad school, I kept watching tournaments in the summer and I kept watching Federer. He was still winning handedly at that time (although Rafa had just started giving him trouble, but on clay only) and I knew a “W” was almost a foregone conclusion when he came through the tunnel. I don’t know what happened, but the completeness of his game just started to grab me as I kept observing it. The guy was great at EVERYTHING. I have played competitive tennis at the high school level and watched enough pro tennis to know that most guys (and gals) have one or two things they do VERY well. They try to use some combination of their strengths and others’ weaknesses to fight for the win. When I was playing my best, I could serve and volley well. I was winning when I was killing my first serve for winners and getting to the net for a quick put-away. If you could keep me back on the baseline hitting sub-par backhands and moving like Greg Oden, you had a nice chance.
Roger had everything in his prime. He moved like a ballerina. He could rack up 30 aces a match. He combined grace and power at the net. He had trick shots…I kind of just morphed into a fan. He could accept a trophy wearing a Speedo for all I cared. Then Rafael Nadal started to put it together on all surfaces and some of the best tennis in the last twenty years was brought to the main stages. I shared many a Grand Slam Final with my brother, David marveling at these freaks who could run down every ball, hit baseline winners from their knees, and who always seemed toughest with their backs against the wall. But, I always pulled for Federer. And at first it was kind of cool to see him struggle against Rafa. It was cool to see him run into an obstacle (for once) right as he was about to eclipse Pete Sampras for most Grand Slam Championships ever. Then it kept happening. Then Roger stopped shaking his head after matches, and he started crying. Can anyone say “Uncomfortable?”
Roger has a chance today to win a title on the red clay at Roland Garros to complete a career Grand Slam. This hasn’t been done since my man Agassi. Federer also has a chance to get his fourteenth total Grand Slam and tie Pete Sampras. If he gets fifteen to become the all-time leader, his recent struggles with Nadal will be considered part of his legend and add to his iconic stature. If not, the story may turn into a bit of a tragedy…some might even say he was a let-down. Sampras dug deep in his twilight and pulled out his fourteenth Slam at the U.S. Open against his old rival Agassi to become the all time Slam leader. Pete never won at the French. Andre won all of them at least once, but never enough times. Let’s hope Roger can unequivically pass them both by overcoming his nemesis of surface today, and then his true nemesis, Mr. Nadal, to get to 15 Grand Slams. After that, he can accept his Championship trophies naked for all I care…
I think anyone who even remotely follows professional tennis knows this Federism isn’t exactly in line with his performance in the past few years. My love affair with Roger Federer has definitely heated and cooled over the years. However, I don’t think I’m too far out on a limb to say that I’m with most tennis-lovers who want him to pull through against Robin Soderling on the red clay in Roland Garros today.
Federer came onto the scene in 1999 as one who served well, hit his baseline strokes well, volleyed well, and moved well. But he did nothing extremely well, at least not right away. In a matter of a few years he cut off the pony tail, kept grinding against the best in the world, “well” became “exceptionally well,” and a legend/machine was born.
Federer’s play started to rise significantly at the time when the Agassi/Sampras rivalry started to fade. My Agassi memories go way back to me falling to my knees and yelling with delight at a restaurant’s bar in Mt. Bethel, PA after (an also pony-tailed) Andre beat Goran Ivanisivic in five sets at Wimbledon in 1991. I was 10. Let’s just say that the twilight of Agassi’s career at the turn of the century was a twilight of sorts for me too. I was still grieving and not ready to embrace a new hero just yet. When Roger started winning all the time, it was kind of cool at first, but then he kept winning…easily…all the time. Then he started giving really arrogant press conferences and wearing cardigans to trophy presentations and I thought, “Enough’s enough. This guy’s a prick. I will root against him.”
And so it was. And I did. I’d follow the headlines of major tournaments and always hope for the number 1 seed to fall. He practically never did. Australian after Australian, U.S Open after U.S. Open, Wimbledon after Wimbledon were pretty anticlimactic for me.
However, I watch tennis in spurts. Tennis is weird like that. It seems to cater to the jobless because it’s on from 9-5 most of the time, and you kind of have to watch a whole tournament unfold to really get sucked into following it professionally. During a spurt while in Grad school, I kept watching tournaments in the summer and I kept watching Federer. He was still winning handedly at that time (although Rafa had just started giving him trouble, but on clay only) and I knew a “W” was almost a foregone conclusion when he came through the tunnel. I don’t know what happened, but the completeness of his game just started to grab me as I kept observing it. The guy was great at EVERYTHING. I have played competitive tennis at the high school level and watched enough pro tennis to know that most guys (and gals) have one or two things they do VERY well. They try to use some combination of their strengths and others’ weaknesses to fight for the win. When I was playing my best, I could serve and volley well. I was winning when I was killing my first serve for winners and getting to the net for a quick put-away. If you could keep me back on the baseline hitting sub-par backhands and moving like Greg Oden, you had a nice chance.
Roger had everything in his prime. He moved like a ballerina. He could rack up 30 aces a match. He combined grace and power at the net. He had trick shots…I kind of just morphed into a fan. He could accept a trophy wearing a Speedo for all I cared. Then Rafael Nadal started to put it together on all surfaces and some of the best tennis in the last twenty years was brought to the main stages. I shared many a Grand Slam Final with my brother, David marveling at these freaks who could run down every ball, hit baseline winners from their knees, and who always seemed toughest with their backs against the wall. But, I always pulled for Federer. And at first it was kind of cool to see him struggle against Rafa. It was cool to see him run into an obstacle (for once) right as he was about to eclipse Pete Sampras for most Grand Slam Championships ever. Then it kept happening. Then Roger stopped shaking his head after matches, and he started crying. Can anyone say “Uncomfortable?”
Roger has a chance today to win a title on the red clay at Roland Garros to complete a career Grand Slam. This hasn’t been done since my man Agassi. Federer also has a chance to get his fourteenth total Grand Slam and tie Pete Sampras. If he gets fifteen to become the all-time leader, his recent struggles with Nadal will be considered part of his legend and add to his iconic stature. If not, the story may turn into a bit of a tragedy…some might even say he was a let-down. Sampras dug deep in his twilight and pulled out his fourteenth Slam at the U.S. Open against his old rival Agassi to become the all time Slam leader. Pete never won at the French. Andre won all of them at least once, but never enough times. Let’s hope Roger can unequivically pass them both by overcoming his nemesis of surface today, and then his true nemesis, Mr. Nadal, to get to 15 Grand Slams. After that, he can accept his Championship trophies naked for all I care…
06 June 2009
The Ethics of Spinoza, pizza, race, and Matt Carroll
When I was 12 years old and played first base for the little league (baseball) Giants, I engaged in a pizza eating contest with NBA 5.5 million a year man Matt Carroll (aka the North Hills of Pittsburgh version of a Jason Kapono with some more defense and less backpack-er cred.)
From the best of my memory, I believe I ate 13.5 slices and Carroll ate 12. However, in an early moment of dishonesty, I threw out half a slice in the bathroom. This was discovered by a teammate who exposed me. In my defense, I threw the half-slice in the bathroom trash instead of flushing it down the toilet because I would have felt guilty of the toilet was clogged because of my cheating.
Still, it raises a question: did I lose the contest because of an automatic disqualification? Or did I win because even after subtracting the thrown out slice, I still was up on him? I don't know what we decided, but lacking official rules, history can remember it however people decide to remember it. Ultimately, reading "Ethics" by Spinoza on my bus ride to work didn't shine much light on this question for me.
So let me move into my other thought...every morning on that same bus that I read Spinoza on, we travel by Allegheny Traditional Academy on Pittsburgh's Northside. It's a K-5 school and a "Traditional Academy"-track Magnet, complete with dapper uniforms. According to its website, it's approximately 60% African American, 30% white, 7% multiracial. It has a pretty good reputation as a school. One demographic not on the school's website is obvious though: the basketball court behind the school is always exactly 100% African American.
The white kids are there in front of the school every day...playing yu-gi-oh, probably talking about playing basketball on PS3, skateboarding...maybe in the winter I'll see some snowboarding and a variety of XXXXXTREME mountain dew "sports" like zip-cording across the Golan Heights as televised by ESPN-8/The Ocho. But come on little white dudes, play some hoops! Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki won MVP awards. And Nash deserved at least one of his two: plus he doesn't sound like an Ivan Drago when he talks either. I would have assumed he was American if i didn't follow his career closely.
Stephen Jay Gould did a lot to fight against racism in his life, especially by engaging against racist junk science as a public intellectual and writing books like The Mismeasure of Man. He was also a huge sports fan and wrote some very interesting observations from a scientific standpoint (for instance -- streaky shooters don't actually exist from a statistical standpoint -- that is just in our popular imagination.) Anyway, Gould wrote that he didn't mind admitting he often rooted for a sort of "racial underdog" in sports too. He wasn't pulling a Jimmy-the-Greek or decrying the decline of the white athlete or any such thing: he thinks those of us who often like to side with the underdog in life will find a 1985 Dwight Gooden or 1985 Larry Bird particularly interesting. I have to agree. We like interesting stories. A white kid from West Virginia with a street game like Kings-era Jason Williams is interesting. Tiger Woods has excited people around the world, not just because he is the best at what he does, but because he doesn't look like most golfers either. We shouldn't deny the obvious.
In conclusion, Matt Carroll...you were a really nice guy. You talked to even the least popular player on our team, who was a home schooled kid of the strangest sort. You managed to run a fair pizza eating contest. You blocked my hook shot, which no one had ever done before.
And you're no Larry Bird. And despite the Slam interview with Larry Bird where he said its unfair to ask any white player to be the next Larry Bird (just like he didn't like being held to the standard of being expected to be the next Rick Barry), a great white American player who wasn't drafted purely for his 3 point shooting ability or his height would be a fun thing for the league. If he is a kid who put down the Wii controller to shoot outside of Allegheny Traditional Academy, all the better. If he ends up on a team with the first great Chinese point guard, all the better. It makes for an interesting story.
From the best of my memory, I believe I ate 13.5 slices and Carroll ate 12. However, in an early moment of dishonesty, I threw out half a slice in the bathroom. This was discovered by a teammate who exposed me. In my defense, I threw the half-slice in the bathroom trash instead of flushing it down the toilet because I would have felt guilty of the toilet was clogged because of my cheating.
Still, it raises a question: did I lose the contest because of an automatic disqualification? Or did I win because even after subtracting the thrown out slice, I still was up on him? I don't know what we decided, but lacking official rules, history can remember it however people decide to remember it. Ultimately, reading "Ethics" by Spinoza on my bus ride to work didn't shine much light on this question for me.
So let me move into my other thought...every morning on that same bus that I read Spinoza on, we travel by Allegheny Traditional Academy on Pittsburgh's Northside. It's a K-5 school and a "Traditional Academy"-track Magnet, complete with dapper uniforms. According to its website, it's approximately 60% African American, 30% white, 7% multiracial. It has a pretty good reputation as a school. One demographic not on the school's website is obvious though: the basketball court behind the school is always exactly 100% African American.
The white kids are there in front of the school every day...playing yu-gi-oh, probably talking about playing basketball on PS3, skateboarding...maybe in the winter I'll see some snowboarding and a variety of XXXXXTREME mountain dew "sports" like zip-cording across the Golan Heights as televised by ESPN-8/The Ocho. But come on little white dudes, play some hoops! Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki won MVP awards. And Nash deserved at least one of his two: plus he doesn't sound like an Ivan Drago when he talks either. I would have assumed he was American if i didn't follow his career closely.
Stephen Jay Gould did a lot to fight against racism in his life, especially by engaging against racist junk science as a public intellectual and writing books like The Mismeasure of Man. He was also a huge sports fan and wrote some very interesting observations from a scientific standpoint (for instance -- streaky shooters don't actually exist from a statistical standpoint -- that is just in our popular imagination.) Anyway, Gould wrote that he didn't mind admitting he often rooted for a sort of "racial underdog" in sports too. He wasn't pulling a Jimmy-the-Greek or decrying the decline of the white athlete or any such thing: he thinks those of us who often like to side with the underdog in life will find a 1985 Dwight Gooden or 1985 Larry Bird particularly interesting. I have to agree. We like interesting stories. A white kid from West Virginia with a street game like Kings-era Jason Williams is interesting. Tiger Woods has excited people around the world, not just because he is the best at what he does, but because he doesn't look like most golfers either. We shouldn't deny the obvious.
In conclusion, Matt Carroll...you were a really nice guy. You talked to even the least popular player on our team, who was a home schooled kid of the strangest sort. You managed to run a fair pizza eating contest. You blocked my hook shot, which no one had ever done before.
And you're no Larry Bird. And despite the Slam interview with Larry Bird where he said its unfair to ask any white player to be the next Larry Bird (just like he didn't like being held to the standard of being expected to be the next Rick Barry), a great white American player who wasn't drafted purely for his 3 point shooting ability or his height would be a fun thing for the league. If he is a kid who put down the Wii controller to shoot outside of Allegheny Traditional Academy, all the better. If he ends up on a team with the first great Chinese point guard, all the better. It makes for an interesting story.
World Cup Qualifying Match Day 5 - On to Chicago
As the weekend is upon us, and I sit here at my desk at work, I am getting excited for the big sports weekend at hand. Stanley Cup Finals with the Pens involved, some golfing with Keith, the Belmont, and McCutchen’s continued debut for the Bucs are all on mind; however, something else has captured my imagination above all of this: the U.S. Soccer World Cup qualifier versus Honduras, at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
I, along with many of my collegues, am a big fan of European football, especially when the national side is on the pitch. U.S. Soccer is almost at a crossroads here for the 2010 Cup, as after tomorrow’s match, half of the qualification round will be over. The U.S. right now are 2-1-1, with wins coming against Mexico and Trinidad, a draw at El Salvador, and an ugly 3-1 defeat at the hands of Costa Rica earlier this week. During Cup qualifying, it is important to get points at home and pick up a few points here or there on the road. After the first half of qualifying, the U.S. will have two home matches remaining against three on the road. Since this is the almost halfway point, it seemed like a good time to ask three burning questions of U.S. Soccer:
- What the heck happened in Costa Rica? The U.S., plainly and simply, did not show up. There are a lot of reasons that we got destroyed in San Jose. It is a ridiculous atmosphere (as most of them are in Central America), where the crowd is loud, boisterous, and right on top of you. These crowds are infamous for their nastiness and vulgarity; it is not uncommon for someone to throw bags of urine at the American players. Add to this that the Yanks traditionally do not experience much success in Costa Rica. It totals up to portend that the U.S. may have not had a chance at all going into the match. Still, the poor quality of U.S. play cannot be overlooked. The Ticos notched two goals in the first 12 minutes of the match, and the U.S. never recovered. They scored a meaningless penalty in the 90th minute (taken skillfully by Donovan), but a listless performance needs to be remedied against Honduras tomorrow.
- What was Bob Bradley thinking with the lineup against the Ticos? Bradley started with a 4-3-3 formation in San Jose. You read that correctly; the U.S. had three men on the attack. When was the last time this happened? My formative futbol years were watching Bruce Arena’s squads employ a single striker at the top of the formation (usually Brian McBride). These Arena teams would utilize a patient type of soccer, defending and defending and waiting for a chance to counterattack. They were not always the most fun to watch (certainly not comparable to, say, the Dutch Oranje) but they got results and had a great finish at 2002 Korea/Japan. On Wednesday, the Yanks had Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey flanking Landon Donovan. This left their back four exposed when the midfield pushed up into the attack. Add to the fact that Marvell Wynne looked lost on the pitch, and DeMarcus Beasley is currently being miscast as a left back, and you get a defence that looked uninspired, disorganized, and lacking confidence. What can be done about this? I am not tactical expert, but I think a 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 would be more appropriate. I think something with Donovan and Altidore up top, Dempsey and Beasley on the outside with Mastroeni and Bradley manning the central mids, and a backline of Hedjuk, Onyewu, Bocanegra, and Bornstein with Tim Howard in goal would be an effective, responsible way to start the match.
- What is the overall goal of U.S. Soccer? This is the most important question for me right now. It is important to determine what we will consider success in South Africa. On the backs of the impressive finish in Korea, expectations were way too high for the squad that went to Germany. U.S. typically does not play well on European soil. Couple this with the fact that teams have more success on their home continents in World Cup play, and it was easy to predict that the U.S. would bow out before the Round of 16 (side note - getting in the Group of Death with Italy, Ghana, and the Czech Republic certainly did not help matters, nor did FIFA's archaic seeding system that valued the results of the '98 Cup more than it did the complete domination of Mexico by U.S. from 2000 through present times; Mexico were seeded, U.S. were not, and Mexico ended in a group with Portugal, Angola, and Iran. Also ignore the fact that I didn't predict this at the time). So what factors go into determining how the U.S. should do in South Africa? It is unwise, in my opinion, to ignore the importance of the group in which U.S. are placed. Therefore, the factors seem to me to be: (1)form, (2)continuity of success (from '02, allowing a hiccup in Germany), (3) difficulty of group (to be assessed in December 2009), (4) location (it should be one of the most neutral sites possible in the world, no advantage to anyone except for the home Bafana), and (5) the quality of manager decision-making (currently, the biggest question mark on this squad). For me, a reasonable goal would be to advance to the knockout stage and threaten to get to the quarterfinals (if not get there entirely). We can look at the world footballing order right now and determine that U.S. are not one of the top 8 footballing nations in the world. However, luck in the form of a few breaks is always huge at the World Cup finals, and the U.S. have the ability to get to the round of 8. Where do we go after 2010? When will we compete for a World Cup tournament title? This is the question that needs to be asked of U.S. Soccer administration.
05 June 2009
Regarding the NBA age limit
This is a complex issue so I’m not even going to try to tackle every aspect. Let me say this: I’m actually in favor of moving the age limit up to age 20.
So let's ask this: Who would benefit from lowering or even eliminating the current age limit? The fans? Absolutely not. The NBA players? Sort of. But most NBA players will get paid in time and will get paid handsomely. The real winners of eliminating the age limit would be those middling prospects who would get paid lavishly upon the assumption that someday, somehow, they’ll prove their worth.
Through the years, we’ve discovered plenty of folks like this. We could start with the mildly successful ones – that is to say, the ones that remain in the league:
DeShawn Stevenson, Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, Desagana Diop, Kendrick Perkins, Robert Swift, Sebastian Telfair, Shaun Livingston, Gerald Green, and Martell Webster.
I could go on and on with a list of guys who got paid a year or two earlier for skipping college. But these guys would eventually get their money. Is the game better off for getting these players a year earlier? Not really. Is the game worse off because Carmelo Anthony decided to win a championship with Syracuse? Absolutely not.
The game is, however, worse off for having to take chances on the likes of Ndudi Ebi out of high school. Those lottery teams that rely on the draft to rebuild are very much hurt by weak drafts filled with flimsy teenagers who may or may not fulfill their potential.
If the issue really is about money, then the players association should use their leverage not to lower the minimum age but to change the Collective Bargaining agreement so players coming in the league at age 20 can still receive two maximum contracts.
If this were to happen, everyone wins. Except Ndudi Ebi. But why should we be concerned about him anyway?
So let's ask this: Who would benefit from lowering or even eliminating the current age limit? The fans? Absolutely not. The NBA players? Sort of. But most NBA players will get paid in time and will get paid handsomely. The real winners of eliminating the age limit would be those middling prospects who would get paid lavishly upon the assumption that someday, somehow, they’ll prove their worth.
Through the years, we’ve discovered plenty of folks like this. We could start with the mildly successful ones – that is to say, the ones that remain in the league:
DeShawn Stevenson, Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, Desagana Diop, Kendrick Perkins, Robert Swift, Sebastian Telfair, Shaun Livingston, Gerald Green, and Martell Webster.
I could go on and on with a list of guys who got paid a year or two earlier for skipping college. But these guys would eventually get their money. Is the game better off for getting these players a year earlier? Not really. Is the game worse off because Carmelo Anthony decided to win a championship with Syracuse? Absolutely not.
The game is, however, worse off for having to take chances on the likes of Ndudi Ebi out of high school. Those lottery teams that rely on the draft to rebuild are very much hurt by weak drafts filled with flimsy teenagers who may or may not fulfill their potential.
If the issue really is about money, then the players association should use their leverage not to lower the minimum age but to change the Collective Bargaining agreement so players coming in the league at age 20 can still receive two maximum contracts.
If this were to happen, everyone wins. Except Ndudi Ebi. But why should we be concerned about him anyway?
Allow Me to Introduce Myself
So, as my kickoff to the reincarnation of YGLS, I wanted to introduce myself the only way I know how: by talking about sports. This is a column that I wrote for the old incarnation, edited to reflect a more timely nature (for example, I talk about attending the 2006 World Cup - oops!). Enjoy!
_______________________________________________________
There are many people in this world who can be classified as casual sports fans. You know the type; they will tune in to watch the local team play every once in awhile on an NFL Sunday afternoon, head out to the ballpark when there is a business function at the game, and maybe make a couple of snide comments when the next NBA baller is invariably incarcerated for some type of domestic disturbance. These people do not live and die by each and every shot, pass, or pitch. They watch the game, and continue their lives as if nothing has happened.
I can thank the good Lord above that I am not one of those types of people.
I fall into that other class of people. You know this type as well; I cry when my team is eliminated yet again in the AFC Championship game, I will always believe that “this is the year” for the Pirates, and I will turn on a game between UTEP and Pacific and pick a team to root for, only to be let down when the team loses a tough game on the road. I have to tell you, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I think it is correct to call my love for sports an affair. We have had a passionate courtship that began at the ripe old age of five for me. The only difference between sports and girls? I never once, for any reason, believed that sports had “cooties”. Think about it: you fall madly in love, only to at various points be let down. I guess another difference would be that a girl can (hopefully) cook; although a huge bucket of wings at a sporting event surely passes for a nutritious dinner.
There are two events early in my life that sealed just how big of a sports fan I would become. The first occurred in April 1987, when I attended a Phillies-Pirates matchup at Three Rivers Stadium. I went to this, the first sporting event I can remember, with my father Jon and my grandfather Frank, each of whom had a huge impact on my life, sports-wise and otherwise. I do not remember much from the game, except for this: as we arrived home after leaving the game early, my mother informed us that Mike Schmidt had hit his 500th career home run…right into the right field seats that we had vacated moments earlier (I also oddly remember going home that day, turning on the huge stereo/record player we had, and hearing the song "We Built This City"...weird memory).
The second moment in my nascent sports life occurred at a Philadelphia 76ers game when I was in first grade. My aunt had bought us incredible seats, courtside, about six rows back. This posed a problem for me, though, since I was probably about four feet tall; I could barely see. I would creep out into the aisle to watch the action with my wide eyes and a huge smile on my face. At one point, the Sixers’ star forward, Charles Barkley, got the ball in the post and put up a shot while being fouled. The force of the violation threw him to the ground, and he watched in anticipation as the ball hung on the rim for what seemed to be decades. When the ball fell ominously to the floor, Sir Charles started banging the court with his fists in frustration. At the same time, my heart fell as I watched from the aisle. What would occur next would change the way I viewed life forever. As Barkley prepared to get up, he noticed me standing disappointedly in the aisle. He looked over at me, then winked and smiled. I immediately told my dad that Charles had replaced Michael Jordan as my “new favorite player”.
These early events in my life propelled me to be the person I am now, which is to say a person who puts sports at the very top of his life’s priorities. This has manifested itself into a number of wonderful opportunities to attend sporting events in my twenty-four years on good ‘ole terra firma. Here is a list of the sweet sporting events attended so far in my life: two games in an NLCS, the 1994 MLB All-Star game, the 1994 and 2007 U.S. Opens at Oakmont, the Big East basketball championship numerous times, Steve McNair’s last record-breaking collegiate game at Alcorn State, the Belmont Stakes when a triple crown was on the line, two U.S. World Cup qualifying matches, the 2005 Orange Bowl National Championship, the 2006 Oragne Bowl Classic between Penn State and Florida State (3 OTs), and a few AFC Championship games, including a win in January 2009. The resume also includes countless baseball games at stadiums from Detroit to the Big Apple, many Steeler games, a handful of Penguin matches, college football games in some of the best SEC stadia including Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina, and enough Pitt basketball and football to satisfy most for a lifetime. Events coming soon that I will hopefully attend include the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and anything else that would enhance my resume as a sports addict.
I once had a flirtation with making sports my career. I had an internship with an NFL franchise during training camp, then worked as a graduate assistant with the football team at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. However, there was one thing that I could never reconcile, and that was the fact that working for a sports franchise would almost assuredly mean a drop in my passion for sports in general. I am sure I could have still been a fan, but it could not have been my life’s priority, and that’s the way I want it.
I guess that there is a point to my story. People have diseases, many which are life-threatening. When this happens, the outpouring of support is both wonderful and indispensable. Therefore, the next time that you hear of a sports fan crying over a painful loss or celebrating a bit too much after an exhilarating win, remember that diseases are contracted, not willfully invited into one’s life. Give that fan a break; it could very well be me.
_______________________________________________________
There are many people in this world who can be classified as casual sports fans. You know the type; they will tune in to watch the local team play every once in awhile on an NFL Sunday afternoon, head out to the ballpark when there is a business function at the game, and maybe make a couple of snide comments when the next NBA baller is invariably incarcerated for some type of domestic disturbance. These people do not live and die by each and every shot, pass, or pitch. They watch the game, and continue their lives as if nothing has happened.
I can thank the good Lord above that I am not one of those types of people.
I fall into that other class of people. You know this type as well; I cry when my team is eliminated yet again in the AFC Championship game, I will always believe that “this is the year” for the Pirates, and I will turn on a game between UTEP and Pacific and pick a team to root for, only to be let down when the team loses a tough game on the road. I have to tell you, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I think it is correct to call my love for sports an affair. We have had a passionate courtship that began at the ripe old age of five for me. The only difference between sports and girls? I never once, for any reason, believed that sports had “cooties”. Think about it: you fall madly in love, only to at various points be let down. I guess another difference would be that a girl can (hopefully) cook; although a huge bucket of wings at a sporting event surely passes for a nutritious dinner.
There are two events early in my life that sealed just how big of a sports fan I would become. The first occurred in April 1987, when I attended a Phillies-Pirates matchup at Three Rivers Stadium. I went to this, the first sporting event I can remember, with my father Jon and my grandfather Frank, each of whom had a huge impact on my life, sports-wise and otherwise. I do not remember much from the game, except for this: as we arrived home after leaving the game early, my mother informed us that Mike Schmidt had hit his 500th career home run…right into the right field seats that we had vacated moments earlier (I also oddly remember going home that day, turning on the huge stereo/record player we had, and hearing the song "We Built This City"...weird memory).
The second moment in my nascent sports life occurred at a Philadelphia 76ers game when I was in first grade. My aunt had bought us incredible seats, courtside, about six rows back. This posed a problem for me, though, since I was probably about four feet tall; I could barely see. I would creep out into the aisle to watch the action with my wide eyes and a huge smile on my face. At one point, the Sixers’ star forward, Charles Barkley, got the ball in the post and put up a shot while being fouled. The force of the violation threw him to the ground, and he watched in anticipation as the ball hung on the rim for what seemed to be decades. When the ball fell ominously to the floor, Sir Charles started banging the court with his fists in frustration. At the same time, my heart fell as I watched from the aisle. What would occur next would change the way I viewed life forever. As Barkley prepared to get up, he noticed me standing disappointedly in the aisle. He looked over at me, then winked and smiled. I immediately told my dad that Charles had replaced Michael Jordan as my “new favorite player”.
These early events in my life propelled me to be the person I am now, which is to say a person who puts sports at the very top of his life’s priorities. This has manifested itself into a number of wonderful opportunities to attend sporting events in my twenty-four years on good ‘ole terra firma. Here is a list of the sweet sporting events attended so far in my life: two games in an NLCS, the 1994 MLB All-Star game, the 1994 and 2007 U.S. Opens at Oakmont, the Big East basketball championship numerous times, Steve McNair’s last record-breaking collegiate game at Alcorn State, the Belmont Stakes when a triple crown was on the line, two U.S. World Cup qualifying matches, the 2005 Orange Bowl National Championship, the 2006 Oragne Bowl Classic between Penn State and Florida State (3 OTs), and a few AFC Championship games, including a win in January 2009. The resume also includes countless baseball games at stadiums from Detroit to the Big Apple, many Steeler games, a handful of Penguin matches, college football games in some of the best SEC stadia including Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina, and enough Pitt basketball and football to satisfy most for a lifetime. Events coming soon that I will hopefully attend include the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and anything else that would enhance my resume as a sports addict.
I once had a flirtation with making sports my career. I had an internship with an NFL franchise during training camp, then worked as a graduate assistant with the football team at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. However, there was one thing that I could never reconcile, and that was the fact that working for a sports franchise would almost assuredly mean a drop in my passion for sports in general. I am sure I could have still been a fan, but it could not have been my life’s priority, and that’s the way I want it.
I guess that there is a point to my story. People have diseases, many which are life-threatening. When this happens, the outpouring of support is both wonderful and indispensable. Therefore, the next time that you hear of a sports fan crying over a painful loss or celebrating a bit too much after an exhilarating win, remember that diseases are contracted, not willfully invited into one’s life. Give that fan a break; it could very well be me.
I'd rather talk about 19 year olds than the NBA Finals
I guess the Lakers won some game last night.
Meanwhile, Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! sports, one of the more underrated sports writers from one of the more underrated sports websites , put out an interesting piece about the NBA's 19 year old age limit. It made me wonder if the 19 year old age limit could become the top off-season issue of 2009 before the 2010 Goldrush.
Key Figures in the 19 year old age limit debate:
It could be an interesting showdown if the three men end up battling it out in the halls of Congress...though I would think their time would be better spent working on issues like the Great Recession. Interestingly enough, all three would probably describe themselves as political liberals or progressives but have different thoughts about this age limit. It's easiest for me to disagree with Stern.
Though from most objective measurements such as growth of the league and global reach, Stern has done a good job as Commish, personal grudges (maybe or maybe not fixing playoff games like when Doug Christie's face somehow fouled Kobe Bryant's elbow, the creation of a Zombie Sonics, the refusal to admit any mistakes) turn me against him.
But it shouldn't be personal. Ultimately this is an economic issue. The position of Commissioner in sports has always been to back the owners; it's not a neutral job (see "Eight Men Out" for some history.) I believe the NCAA and NBA both benefit from the 19 year old age limit -- or any age limit, for that matter. The NBA gets to structure its collective bargaining agreement in a way to prevent players from gaining two maximum contracts; the NCAA gets rent-a-players like Derrick Rose for a year to increase their revenue as well, especially from March Madness, their biggest cash cow. Does anyone think that Rose's financial, intellectual, or basketball life was improved by spending a year playing in Conference USA? I'd love to hear the argument.
A few youths will buck the system like Jeremy Tyler but if the age limit is not changed in contract negotiations I fear the next American Ricky Rubio (who has played pro ball since he was 14) will be forced to waste a year as a Kentucky Wildcat or maybe traveling to Europe, which I don't think is good for the players or the fans*. And aren't those the two groups the game should reward first?
*I realize Kentuckians might be excited by that hypothetical prospect but I consider most of them zealots and crooks, not fans.
Meanwhile, Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! sports, one of the more underrated sports writers from one of the more underrated sports websites , put out an interesting piece about the NBA's 19 year old age limit. It made me wonder if the 19 year old age limit could become the top off-season issue of 2009 before the 2010 Goldrush.
Key Figures in the 19 year old age limit debate:
- NBAPA Executive Director Billy Hunter, the not-so-public-but-effective union leader
- NBA Commissioner and Council on Foreign Relations member David Stern, aka public enemy #1 (to some of us)
- Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Tenn) , perhaps best known for being the white guy easily re-elected to the house in a majority black congressional district
It could be an interesting showdown if the three men end up battling it out in the halls of Congress...though I would think their time would be better spent working on issues like the Great Recession. Interestingly enough, all three would probably describe themselves as political liberals or progressives but have different thoughts about this age limit. It's easiest for me to disagree with Stern.
Though from most objective measurements such as growth of the league and global reach, Stern has done a good job as Commish, personal grudges (maybe or maybe not fixing playoff games like when Doug Christie's face somehow fouled Kobe Bryant's elbow, the creation of a Zombie Sonics, the refusal to admit any mistakes) turn me against him.
But it shouldn't be personal. Ultimately this is an economic issue. The position of Commissioner in sports has always been to back the owners; it's not a neutral job (see "Eight Men Out" for some history.) I believe the NCAA and NBA both benefit from the 19 year old age limit -- or any age limit, for that matter. The NBA gets to structure its collective bargaining agreement in a way to prevent players from gaining two maximum contracts; the NCAA gets rent-a-players like Derrick Rose for a year to increase their revenue as well, especially from March Madness, their biggest cash cow. Does anyone think that Rose's financial, intellectual, or basketball life was improved by spending a year playing in Conference USA? I'd love to hear the argument.
A few youths will buck the system like Jeremy Tyler but if the age limit is not changed in contract negotiations I fear the next American Ricky Rubio (who has played pro ball since he was 14) will be forced to waste a year as a Kentucky Wildcat or maybe traveling to Europe, which I don't think is good for the players or the fans*. And aren't those the two groups the game should reward first?
*I realize Kentuckians might be excited by that hypothetical prospect but I consider most of them zealots and crooks, not fans.
04 June 2009
The Unanswered Questions of God's Game: Hoops and the Futile Search for Answers
As I sat up in my bed at 3 am last night, I thought about what could I possible write my first ever blog entry about. My own hypocrisy, as someone who has occasionally scoffed at the rise of the blogosphere during the decline of traditional paid journalism in a way that rivaled the vulgariy of David Simon's season 5 rants in response to the decline of print media? Probably not. I did, however, have a lot of questions about the greatest sport at this point of human evolution. So let me ask these questions: rhetorical, factual, probing, sparked by these NBA playoffs, or swimming in my brain for years.
- Why don't Americans chant like this? (remember: some of these questions are rhetorical, no one needs to write a Philhellenist treatise on Greek nationalism or the condition of the Mediterrenian welfare state.) Speaking of Greece, Josh Childress did a fine job in the finals, but Panathinaikos took their 2nd title in 3 years.
- is 23 > 24? I think so, but I'm too angry to think about Kobe with a post-Shaq ring.
- How quick can I jump on the Magic bandwagon because of my Lakers-loathing?
- How do I rank Wilt Chamberlain's most crazy accomplishments? Some possibilities are the 100 point game, the 50.4 PPG season, the 55 rebounds on Bill Russell game, bedding 20,000 women, never fouling out of a game ever, leading the NBA in assists to prove he could, the only player to ever record a quadruple double double (which he did 5 times), the only player to get a double-triple-double, playing 79 complete games out of 80 in a season (only sitting for 8 minutes that entire season), his incredible series against a young Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? My natural political instincts would normally make me skeptical about a friend of Richard Nixon who had a theory by Robert Nozick named after him, but I'm fascinating by his freakish career and accomplishments. I wonder if any good volleyball videos of Wilt exist...
- Why is it so easy to hate Duke? Why? Why? Why? Why? I don't even usually follow the ACC that closely, but I have no level of hatred like this for any team north of Mason-Dixon.
- Will we see a rematch of Calipari vs. Self NCAA championship next year? Kansas 82, Kentucky 68. Kentucky gets the death penalty by 2012.
- Are the Spurs done for good or was this a lull thanks to a strong west and injured Ginobli? What type of character does infamous geek Tim Duncan play in Dungeons and Dragons? I'm thinking a Paladin with a particular dignity and quiet strength. (The Spurs are still boring, forever.)
- How will the refs call/be allowed to call Euro-flopping next year?
- What inspired the Freedarko hatred of Mike Breen? I suppose the blog speaks for itself on this issue. And why did I buy it so quickly? Suddenly I'm a Breen-hater. Oy! Thank G-d for Van Gundy calling Van Gundy?
- Speaking of broadcasting, what's with Bill Walton's bad back excuses? He played basketball much more hurt than this. We need you back, Bill. During his legendary Boris Diaw piece I linked, you can hear him stutter briefly; I find it particularly inspirational that a shy man with an admitted Stuttering problem is one of the top color men in the game.
- Also, Bill, why does your son suck?
- If stupid ESPN gets the Summer Olympics, does it mean I'll never hear the NBA on NBC theme ever again?
- Most urgently, are these the best NBA playoffs ever, or the worst? ("neither" is an option too, though not a very exciting one to write about.)
Arguments:
+ Celtics/Bulls series, specifically Rondo's incredible duel with Derrick Rose.
+ The Nuggets putting up the best offensive performance in NBA playoff history, and having the chance to watch that game, and rooting for that very result.
+ Mabye we'll get to see Melo in a Pirates hat at watching the finals.
- The Nuggets aren't in the finals. No chance for me to make a "Billups for HOF!" arguments. No "Is Birdman actually net positive?" debate. No tattoos per square inch statistics. No redemption.
- Kobe.
- Bryant.
- "Staples".
- The fact that the Bad Boys Pistons "changed the game forever" and no fast break-first team since the Showtime Lakers have won a title. The game slows down, valuable points per possession rule, and good defense and frequent fouling make me flip over to Simpsons re-runs.
- No Suns in the playoffs.
- No Warriors even near the playoffs.
It seems the best hope for a high flying team to take back the trophy is Lebron either joining D'Antoni's Knicks in 2010-2011 or Jay Z Presents The Brooklyn Nets. Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will?
Waiting for a fast break championship,
I Remain,
Chris George
03 June 2009
YGLS Reborn
We’re Baaaaack.
That’s right. After a four year hiatus, the Youvegottalovesports.com crew is back. And in this incarnation, we’re a blog. Now for those of you who just whacked your foreheads and exclaimed, “Why, why another blog,” we understand that we probably need some sort of explanation.
Let’s start out by explaining that there are people out there that are in the business of tracking blogs. What a joyous life that must be! Anyway, these esteemed folks estimated in 2005 that there were a total of 25 million blogs out there in cyberspace. These same folks were tracking a whopping 112 million blogs in 2007. If we extrapolate out at the current rate of growth in the blogosphere to, say, the year 2017 (which, by the way, is also the year that some experts predict that Social Security will become insolvent, if you believe all that ), there will be, according to my math, roughly sixteen blogs for every man, woman, child, and Jack Russell Terrier on the planet. We’re not just talking man, woman, and beast in the US. We’re talking about the huddled, unwashed masses in the third world as well.
With all these blogs bouncing around dat der fancy interweb, we need to ask ourselves, why another? Well, there’s no doubt that blogging comes with a healthy dose of egotism. We blog because we feel like we have something worthwhile to say. We can empathize with George Costanza when he said:
GEORGE: I like sports. I could do something in sports.
JERRY: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. In what capacity?
GEORGE: You know, like the general manager of a baseball team or something.
JERRY: Yeah. Well, that - that could be tough to get.
GEORGE: Well, it doesn't even have to be the general manager. Maybe I could be like, an announcer. Like a color man. You know how I always make those interesting comments during the game.
JERRY: Yeah. Yeah. You make good comments.
GEORGE: What about that?
JERRY: Well, they tend to give those jobs to ex-ballplayers and people that are, you know, in broadcasting.
Man, you should hear the comments we make during games. Fantastic stuff. So, a group of college friends got together and launched a new website for the rest of us to coincide with ESPN’s launch of its 17th network, ESPNU. We’d grown tired of ESPN showing poker and original series on Dale Earnhardt and athletes playing catchphrase on Sportscenter. We wanted a website that concentrated on sports, but with a funny and sarcastic edge to it. We also riddled our stories with pop culture references due to our obsession with that as well. Our website’s name was both an expression of our passion for sports, and also paid homage to our favorite show, Seinfeld.
Thus, a website was born. There are multiple narratives out there to explain the demise of our original website. Some say our founder was an idealist; you might even say a cockeyed optimist. He thought that a group of middling college students could not only launch and keep up a popular sports website - he thought it could eventually make a profit. The workload, along with finals and, you know, real jobs eventually killed the site.
Others contend that the URL was lost in a high stakes poker game with the model from godaddy.com.
The most likely story, though, is that our fine website was a victim of the housing bubble. For months, everything was going well. Our CFO talked us all into sinking vast amounts of our revenue into these credit-default swaps he said would buy us each a house in the Hamptons. He said it was like making sausage. You didn’t want to know what was in it, but in the end we would have a fine product. It turns out, much of the product we were purchasing was a combination of Detroit area mortgages and financing for a company that was building luxury homes in the Youngstown, Ohio area. We also met this charming financial planner named Bernie Madoff. Nevertheless, four years and a hellish Chapter 11 bankruptcy later, we’re all back in our parents basements – which incidentally is really where most blogs are created and updated.
So, like a Phoenix rising from Arizona we’re back with a vengeance and ready to take the sports world by force. Our original site was pretty awesome, but this one will be even better. We’ll have shorter, quicker responses to events. Let’s say Chad Johnson changes his last name to his home address. We’ll be all over that story with a mocking tribute in no time.
The original website made its debut when Facebook was an infant that no one really knew how to use. Youtube was still months away from conception. Our nation’s life expectancy has tripled in that time. We’re ready to make a big splash.
Our staff has (mostly) gone on to start distinguished careers. Just off the top of my head, I can list four Master’s degrees and two guys who are ABD PhD candidates. Those credentials will provide keen insights into both who will win this year’s French Open as well as who will win “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!” (If there even is a winner on that show. This guy is not responsible for reality TV coverage). I am confident our readers will be pleased with our coverage of the various awards shows as well, from the Grammys to the Daytime Desi’s.
Feel free to comment below on items from your excitement level about the return of YGLS to possible reasons for its return. I’ll start us off with one erroneous reason for our return. We did not return to give Grove City College to give it some positive press in response to the Vincent DeSalvo debacle.
That’s all for now. Keep checking in for the best in sports coverage, replete with ridiculous allusions (try counting how many are in this article alone). Until my next post, Christoff, signing off.
That’s right. After a four year hiatus, the Youvegottalovesports.com crew is back. And in this incarnation, we’re a blog. Now for those of you who just whacked your foreheads and exclaimed, “Why, why another blog,” we understand that we probably need some sort of explanation.
Let’s start out by explaining that there are people out there that are in the business of tracking blogs. What a joyous life that must be! Anyway, these esteemed folks estimated in 2005 that there were a total of 25 million blogs out there in cyberspace. These same folks were tracking a whopping 112 million blogs in 2007. If we extrapolate out at the current rate of growth in the blogosphere to, say, the year 2017 (which, by the way, is also the year that some experts predict that Social Security will become insolvent, if you believe all that ), there will be, according to my math, roughly sixteen blogs for every man, woman, child, and Jack Russell Terrier on the planet. We’re not just talking man, woman, and beast in the US. We’re talking about the huddled, unwashed masses in the third world as well.
With all these blogs bouncing around dat der fancy interweb, we need to ask ourselves, why another? Well, there’s no doubt that blogging comes with a healthy dose of egotism. We blog because we feel like we have something worthwhile to say. We can empathize with George Costanza when he said:
GEORGE: I like sports. I could do something in sports.
JERRY: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. In what capacity?
GEORGE: You know, like the general manager of a baseball team or something.
JERRY: Yeah. Well, that - that could be tough to get.
GEORGE: Well, it doesn't even have to be the general manager. Maybe I could be like, an announcer. Like a color man. You know how I always make those interesting comments during the game.
JERRY: Yeah. Yeah. You make good comments.
GEORGE: What about that?
JERRY: Well, they tend to give those jobs to ex-ballplayers and people that are, you know, in broadcasting.
Man, you should hear the comments we make during games. Fantastic stuff. So, a group of college friends got together and launched a new website for the rest of us to coincide with ESPN’s launch of its 17th network, ESPNU. We’d grown tired of ESPN showing poker and original series on Dale Earnhardt and athletes playing catchphrase on Sportscenter. We wanted a website that concentrated on sports, but with a funny and sarcastic edge to it. We also riddled our stories with pop culture references due to our obsession with that as well. Our website’s name was both an expression of our passion for sports, and also paid homage to our favorite show, Seinfeld.
Thus, a website was born. There are multiple narratives out there to explain the demise of our original website. Some say our founder was an idealist; you might even say a cockeyed optimist. He thought that a group of middling college students could not only launch and keep up a popular sports website - he thought it could eventually make a profit. The workload, along with finals and, you know, real jobs eventually killed the site.
Others contend that the URL was lost in a high stakes poker game with the model from godaddy.com.
The most likely story, though, is that our fine website was a victim of the housing bubble. For months, everything was going well. Our CFO talked us all into sinking vast amounts of our revenue into these credit-default swaps he said would buy us each a house in the Hamptons. He said it was like making sausage. You didn’t want to know what was in it, but in the end we would have a fine product. It turns out, much of the product we were purchasing was a combination of Detroit area mortgages and financing for a company that was building luxury homes in the Youngstown, Ohio area. We also met this charming financial planner named Bernie Madoff. Nevertheless, four years and a hellish Chapter 11 bankruptcy later, we’re all back in our parents basements – which incidentally is really where most blogs are created and updated.
So, like a Phoenix rising from Arizona we’re back with a vengeance and ready to take the sports world by force. Our original site was pretty awesome, but this one will be even better. We’ll have shorter, quicker responses to events. Let’s say Chad Johnson changes his last name to his home address. We’ll be all over that story with a mocking tribute in no time.
The original website made its debut when Facebook was an infant that no one really knew how to use. Youtube was still months away from conception. Our nation’s life expectancy has tripled in that time. We’re ready to make a big splash.
Our staff has (mostly) gone on to start distinguished careers. Just off the top of my head, I can list four Master’s degrees and two guys who are ABD PhD candidates. Those credentials will provide keen insights into both who will win this year’s French Open as well as who will win “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!” (If there even is a winner on that show. This guy is not responsible for reality TV coverage). I am confident our readers will be pleased with our coverage of the various awards shows as well, from the Grammys to the Daytime Desi’s.
Feel free to comment below on items from your excitement level about the return of YGLS to possible reasons for its return. I’ll start us off with one erroneous reason for our return. We did not return to give Grove City College to give it some positive press in response to the Vincent DeSalvo debacle.
That’s all for now. Keep checking in for the best in sports coverage, replete with ridiculous allusions (try counting how many are in this article alone). Until my next post, Christoff, signing off.
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