After watching the new Nike-LeBron commercial, I have an idea for their next one...
Start with a rack of basketballs in the corner, and a silhouette in mostly shadows making every three, holding up one finger after the last one and walking away.
Lights up, showing Larry Bird.
Next scene, low-lit court showing a coach throwing chest passes to an unidentified player, nailing bank shot after bank shot from the elbow.
Lights up, showing Tim Duncan.
Next scene, two players going back and forth, one player's defense so stifling that the second player kicks the ball off his foot, stumbles and loses his dribble, etc.
Lights up, showing Scottie Pippen.
Next scene, show a one-on-one where the player sweeps across the lane and floats a baby hook up and in.
Lights up, showing Magic Johnson.
Last scene, low-lit court at foot level, showing how great footwork leads to an easy fadeaway jumper.
Lights up, showing Michael Jordan.
Note - the only distinct part of any player before the lights come up? Their championship rings.
Black card at the end of the commercial - Friends can give a lot of things...
But greatness is earned
Friday, October 29, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
NBA 2010-11 Season Preview: Division Winners, Surprise Teams and Award Winners
With the NBA season about to begin, here’s your primer on everything roundball, and what to expect in the coming season!
-Don’t expect the Miami Heat to run away with league’s all-time best regular season record: Remember, this is a team that was built to win championships, not to go 82-0. They already had to absorb a major thumb injury to Mike Miller, as well as a Dwyane Wade hamstring pull. Who knows what other injuries are going to keep them from their potential. Remember, the ’96 Bulls had an incredible run of health in the year they set the record for most regular season wins – only Dennis Rodman missed significant time that year.
-Do expect the climb to the top to be harder for the Heat than most are predicting: The Lakers are still the team to beat this year, and their biggest advantage (pun not intended) is exactly the Heat’s weakness – size, and good size to boot. Chris Bosh can’t cover Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum (when healthy), and Lamar Odom would also be an iffy matchup as well. Throw in Ron Artest potentially giving LeBron James fits, and you still have to give the advantage to the Lakers in that matchup.
This, of course, assumes that Miami can get through the Celtics and the Magic, both who will also have a size advantage against the Heat. Admittedly, I see the Magic being less of an issue than the Celtics, unless Dwight Howard finally learned something from Hakeem Olajuwon during the offseason and has a much-improved post game.
-Expect the Thunder to push the Lakers to Game 7 – this time in the Western Conference Finals: Kevin Durant is ready to take that next step, and with this young team’s evolution into a tough-minded defensive outfit, they are the toughest out for the defending champs.
-Don’t expect a surprise team to make it further than the second round: This is clearly a top-heavy league, with the top eight teams – Lakers, Celtics, Heat, Magic, Thunder, Mavericks, Spurs and Bulls – being significantly better than the rest of the league. Maybe the Trail Blazers or the Rockets can shake the injury bug enough to surprise one of the top teams out West in the first round – but they are clearly inferior to healthy Lakers and Thunder squads.
Along that same thought, the Bucks and Hawks out East are not ready yet to take down any of the top 3 teams – nor should they pose too much of a threat to the Bulls, either.
-Expect the Knicks to make the playoffs – with or without Carmelo: Even if the Knicks don’t find a way to trade for Carmelo Anthony, the inside-out game between Amare Stoudemire and Danilo Gallinari should be enough to push them into the 7th or 8th seed in the East, and with a stark improvement at PG with the Raymond Felton signing, you have the makings of a couple playoff games in the Garden this year.
Speaking of which…
-Expect Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul to get traded: Anthony is not going to re-sign with the Nuggets, and while I’m not sure if he ends up a Knick or a Net, he is definitely going to be traded. I’m actually surprised that the Nuggets didn’t make the move already, since you have to expect that the packages they could demand in a trade would have to be lessened as the season goes along, and they can’t pull what Toronto did with Chris Bosh and let him leave for basically nothing.
While Anthony trade talk has certainly quieted the early offseason noise from New Orleans, I can very well see the Hornets having another mediocre year, and if they’re clearly out of playoff contention, you can expect Paul to start demanding a trade again. If the Nets strike out on Anthony, they become a co-favorite along with Portland to acquire Paul.
-Don’t expect LeBron James to win the MVP Award again: This year’s MVP will go to Kevin Durant, especially as the Heat take the second half of the season to get healthy for the playoffs. A dark-horse candidate for the MVP – Dwight Howard, but he has to show marked improvement on the offensive end.
-Expect Blake Griffin to win the Rookie of the Year Award: Simply put, the man is a beast, and if he can stay healthy after sitting out all last year with a broken kneecap, he will put up double-doubles with ease. The Clippers have enough talent to make the playoffs, and it starts with Griffin, who will edge out John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins for ROY honors.
-Don’t expect the Cavaliers to win the draft lottery: Simply put, the team with the worst record has won the lottery exactly four times since the lottery was instituted in 1985. So, in combination with losing LeBron this year, there’s a good chance that the Cavs won’t be drafting a new King this year.
-Expect the best record to come from the East again – and don’t be surprised if it’s not the Heat: Orlando and Boston could easily put together as many wins as the Heat, if not more, and I don’t see the Heat playing nearly as hard for home-court advantage as their competitors. There’s also a good chance that the best record will be the only team to crack 60 wins, like last year.
-Expect a repeat winner for Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard will have this award in the bag every year he’s healthy. As for the other major award winners – Coach of the Year will be Tom Thibodeau, Executive of the Year will be Pat Riley, Most Improved Player will be Eric Gordon, and Sixth Man of the Year will be Jamal Crawford.-Don’t expect many new division winners: My picks for the division winners: Boston (Atlantic), Chicago (Central), Miami (Southeast), Oklahoma City (Northeast), LA Lakers (Pacific) and Dallas (Southwest).
-Don’t expect a rematch in the NBA Finals – but don’t be surprised either: Personally, I can’t stand the Lakers or the Heat, but I can’t predict anything else unless someone proves otherwise: Lakers-Heat, Lakers in 7.
-Expect a repeat of the 2000 lockout: This would be a horrendous move by both the owners and the players, especially with the NFL and MLB staring at contentious labor negotiations as well. However, I can’t expect the players to agree to anything the owners come up with that requires a steep drop in revenues that go to players – right now the owners want the players’ cut of revenues to decrease by $750-$800 million from the $2.1 billion they’ll take in this year.
I also don’t see the players’ union successfully breaking down the owners, many of whom probably would be better off financially during a lockout than if they had to run normal operations. If a deal gets done that keeps the 2011-12 season intact, I’d be stunned.
-Don’t expect the Miami Heat to run away with league’s all-time best regular season record: Remember, this is a team that was built to win championships, not to go 82-0. They already had to absorb a major thumb injury to Mike Miller, as well as a Dwyane Wade hamstring pull. Who knows what other injuries are going to keep them from their potential. Remember, the ’96 Bulls had an incredible run of health in the year they set the record for most regular season wins – only Dennis Rodman missed significant time that year.
-Do expect the climb to the top to be harder for the Heat than most are predicting: The Lakers are still the team to beat this year, and their biggest advantage (pun not intended) is exactly the Heat’s weakness – size, and good size to boot. Chris Bosh can’t cover Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum (when healthy), and Lamar Odom would also be an iffy matchup as well. Throw in Ron Artest potentially giving LeBron James fits, and you still have to give the advantage to the Lakers in that matchup.
This, of course, assumes that Miami can get through the Celtics and the Magic, both who will also have a size advantage against the Heat. Admittedly, I see the Magic being less of an issue than the Celtics, unless Dwight Howard finally learned something from Hakeem Olajuwon during the offseason and has a much-improved post game.
-Expect the Thunder to push the Lakers to Game 7 – this time in the Western Conference Finals: Kevin Durant is ready to take that next step, and with this young team’s evolution into a tough-minded defensive outfit, they are the toughest out for the defending champs.
-Don’t expect a surprise team to make it further than the second round: This is clearly a top-heavy league, with the top eight teams – Lakers, Celtics, Heat, Magic, Thunder, Mavericks, Spurs and Bulls – being significantly better than the rest of the league. Maybe the Trail Blazers or the Rockets can shake the injury bug enough to surprise one of the top teams out West in the first round – but they are clearly inferior to healthy Lakers and Thunder squads.
Along that same thought, the Bucks and Hawks out East are not ready yet to take down any of the top 3 teams – nor should they pose too much of a threat to the Bulls, either.
-Expect the Knicks to make the playoffs – with or without Carmelo: Even if the Knicks don’t find a way to trade for Carmelo Anthony, the inside-out game between Amare Stoudemire and Danilo Gallinari should be enough to push them into the 7th or 8th seed in the East, and with a stark improvement at PG with the Raymond Felton signing, you have the makings of a couple playoff games in the Garden this year.
Speaking of which…
-Expect Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul to get traded: Anthony is not going to re-sign with the Nuggets, and while I’m not sure if he ends up a Knick or a Net, he is definitely going to be traded. I’m actually surprised that the Nuggets didn’t make the move already, since you have to expect that the packages they could demand in a trade would have to be lessened as the season goes along, and they can’t pull what Toronto did with Chris Bosh and let him leave for basically nothing.
While Anthony trade talk has certainly quieted the early offseason noise from New Orleans, I can very well see the Hornets having another mediocre year, and if they’re clearly out of playoff contention, you can expect Paul to start demanding a trade again. If the Nets strike out on Anthony, they become a co-favorite along with Portland to acquire Paul.
-Don’t expect LeBron James to win the MVP Award again: This year’s MVP will go to Kevin Durant, especially as the Heat take the second half of the season to get healthy for the playoffs. A dark-horse candidate for the MVP – Dwight Howard, but he has to show marked improvement on the offensive end.
-Expect Blake Griffin to win the Rookie of the Year Award: Simply put, the man is a beast, and if he can stay healthy after sitting out all last year with a broken kneecap, he will put up double-doubles with ease. The Clippers have enough talent to make the playoffs, and it starts with Griffin, who will edge out John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins for ROY honors.
-Don’t expect the Cavaliers to win the draft lottery: Simply put, the team with the worst record has won the lottery exactly four times since the lottery was instituted in 1985. So, in combination with losing LeBron this year, there’s a good chance that the Cavs won’t be drafting a new King this year.
-Expect the best record to come from the East again – and don’t be surprised if it’s not the Heat: Orlando and Boston could easily put together as many wins as the Heat, if not more, and I don’t see the Heat playing nearly as hard for home-court advantage as their competitors. There’s also a good chance that the best record will be the only team to crack 60 wins, like last year.
-Expect a repeat winner for Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard will have this award in the bag every year he’s healthy. As for the other major award winners – Coach of the Year will be Tom Thibodeau, Executive of the Year will be Pat Riley, Most Improved Player will be Eric Gordon, and Sixth Man of the Year will be Jamal Crawford.-Don’t expect many new division winners: My picks for the division winners: Boston (Atlantic), Chicago (Central), Miami (Southeast), Oklahoma City (Northeast), LA Lakers (Pacific) and Dallas (Southwest).
-Don’t expect a rematch in the NBA Finals – but don’t be surprised either: Personally, I can’t stand the Lakers or the Heat, but I can’t predict anything else unless someone proves otherwise: Lakers-Heat, Lakers in 7.
-Expect a repeat of the 2000 lockout: This would be a horrendous move by both the owners and the players, especially with the NFL and MLB staring at contentious labor negotiations as well. However, I can’t expect the players to agree to anything the owners come up with that requires a steep drop in revenues that go to players – right now the owners want the players’ cut of revenues to decrease by $750-$800 million from the $2.1 billion they’ll take in this year.
I also don’t see the players’ union successfully breaking down the owners, many of whom probably would be better off financially during a lockout than if they had to run normal operations. If a deal gets done that keeps the 2011-12 season intact, I’d be stunned.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Zack Greinke on the Move? But Where Exactly? More Notes From Around Baseball
Without the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Phillies, Cubs, White Sox, Dodgers or Angels to drive up the haul that the Royals could get in return, who’s left to make the Royals move their ace?
Given that he wants to win now, you can knock off Seattle, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Florida, Houston, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Washington and Arizona from that list. I’d also eliminate Oakland, San Diego, Toronto, San Francisco, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Detroit, and St. Louis for a variety of reasons (low or tight budget, young pitching depth already, a stud pitcher or two in their rotation already).
Handicapping the teams left who should be in the race for Greinke:
1. Minnesota Twins – They have the most to gain by making the deal. It would set up the rest of the rotation much better, dropping Francisco Liriano to No. 2 and allowing the promising Brian Duensing to stay as the No. 3 pitcher. Putting a Cy Young-quality strikeout ace at the front of the rotation would make them a much bigger threat in the postseason. The big question here is if they have enough to make the deal after trading for Matt Capps and Brian Fuentes at the trade deadline this year. The Capps deal especially might hurt in the long-term, given that they had to give up Wilson Ramos, a highly promising catching prospect, in the deal.
2. Colorado Rockies – How much better would the Rockies have been with Greinke behind Ubaldo Jiminez, especially in their relatively mediocre first half? The Rockies are known as an organization that drafts well, so they should have the prospect depth to make the deal. The question then becomes whether they want to develop their prospects from within or make the move for Greinke.
3. Cincinnati Reds – They have a ton of pitching depth, but they could absolutely use another top-line starter to help seal up their rotation. With an already potent lineup and a ton of young pitching, they could easily make this move, so like the Rockies, it depends on whether they would move their young prospects or develop from within.
4. Texas Rangers – The bounceback move if they lose Cliff Lee in free agency to the Yankees – like everyone expects to happen, it seems – would be to trade for the best young pitcher available. Just like the Reds, they have the depth in their organization, but unlike the Reds or Rockies, they would face a huge loss in losing Lee this offseason which could immediately be remedied by picking up Greinke.
The big problem in this scenario is that Greinke’s desire to avoid a big market – while a smart idea, given that his makeup seems better for a small market – could very well keep a trade from happening. You have to believe that the Royals would have to be overwhelmed in order to trade a 26-year-old Cy Young winner who is under club control through 2012. I would expect the team to end up with Greinke to give up a Teixeira-to-the-Braves-type of package.
But given the teams I’ve eliminated from contention for various reasons, I could also easily see the remaining teams not coming up with enough to close the deal. This is going to be a story for most of the offseason, but I definitely see the Twins getting it done.
Notes from Around the League
- With all the attention being paid to Greinke all of a sudden, if you’re one of the big-market teams that needs another starter, wouldn’t you make your Greinke-level offer to the Mariners for Felix Hernandez? He’s a better pitcher right now, he’s younger, and he’s not openly available, so maybe you can give the Mariners a huge offer and get the deal done quickly. Two top pitching prospects (or an already-in-the-majors starter plus a prospect) and two position players (catcher and infielder) should get Seattle’s attention.
- Remember, the Phillies traded Cliff Lee because they felt they couldn’t afford him… then resigned Joe Blanton for what Lee was making this year. Add to that the fact that Philly didn’t even get top prospects back for him, and this could be a move that haunts the Phillies for years, especially if they never become the dynasty they had the chance to become.
- One pitch in two games in the ALCS is all the difference right now. Josh Hamilton’s HR off of Andy Pettitte in Game 3 and Bengie Molina’s bomb off AJ Burnett completely changed the complexion of both games, and even though both games had blowout-type finals, neither game really fit the bill of a blowout.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
BCS Poll Analysis: Don’t Expect Boise State or TCU in the Championship Game Without Major Help, Alabama Still in the Hunt
With the first BCS Poll results out this afternoon, here’s my thoughts on the rest of this season in college football.
-The weekend’s results ultimately hurt Boise State’s title chances the most. With Nevada’s loss and subsequent tumble out of the AP Top 25, combined with Oregon State’s 3rd loss to Washington in double overtime, the glaring weakness in overall strength of schedule just got worse for the Broncos. Whereas if Oregon State held on and ran the table in the Pac-10, and Nevada was unbeaten entering the Nov. 26th matchup, Boise State would have potentially beaten three Top-25 teams, one on neutral turf and another on the road, including two potential BCS-AQ conference champions.
Now, there’s a distinct possibility that they won’t play another ranked team this season, and only one team on their schedule for the year will end up ranked. That, plus the fact that you have Oklahoma, who only has No. 14 Oklahoma State on their schedule before the probable Big 12 Title matchup with Nebraska, and Oregon, who should run the table in the Pac-10, already ahead of them, and expect Boise State to make another BCS game – just not the one they were hoping for.
-TCU also got knocked down a peg, with Air Force losing a week before their matchup with the Horned Frogs, taking another ranked team off their schedule. Oregon State’s loss also hurts TCU, since they beat the Beavers to start the season.
I’d actually give them a better chance of making the title game than Boise State, since they still have No. 9 Utah on their schedule, and anyone who knows college football knows that impressive wins are more important at the end of the season and not the beginning.
-Ohio State’s loss to Wisconsin will probably kill off their title chances, as they took a steep drop down in the rankings from No. 1 to No. 10. It’s not impossible for them to get close, at least, if they win out and a combination of things happen:
1. Auburn, LSU and Alabama all beat each other, leaving both Auburn and LSU with a loss and Alabama with two. LSU and Alabama would be out of the title picture completely, and Auburn would probably fall behind Ohio State in the polls.
2. The winner of the TCU-Utah game already has a loss entering that game – TCU being the best-case scenario for Ohio State, as they would probably jump ahead of TCU after they lost, then would leapfrog Utah after they lost to TCU.
3. Boise State’s strength of schedule keeps them locked at No. 3, or they lose to Nevada. It really wouldn’t surprise me if Boise State doesn’t move up past No. 3 in the BCS, and if Ohio State ran the table, a one-loss Buckeye team probably would get the nod over the Broncos.
4. Either Oklahoma or Oregon take a bad loss in the upcoming weeks that puts them behind Ohio State in the polls.
5. Michigan State loses. To anyone, really. Iowa would be the best bet to pick them off if you had to ask me.
Granted, this is a lot to ask to happen, but this is college football. Weirder things have happened.
-Dark horse candidates for the BCS Title game: Missouri and Alabama. Mizzou has a big opportunity in the next two weeks, with No. 1 Oklahoma next weekend and No. 16 Nebraska the following weekend. In fact, with 3 of their next 4 games against Top-25 opponents, the Tigers could run the table and put themselves right in the title mix. As long as their defense is not a mirage (No. 2 in the country in scoring defense), they can pull it off.
Alabama, meanwhile, has Auburn and LSU still on their schedule, plus get a chance to pad their resume by winning the SEC Championship against either South Carolina or Florida. Even with the loss, their resume to play in the title game would almost be unmatched if they run the table from here on out, as they would be 7-1 against ranked teams, and have 4 wins against teams ranked in the Top 10.
-I’d include Michigan State in the conversation as a dark horse, but without playing Ohio State, their schedule is going to suffer in comparison to other teams. In fact, if Missouri upsets Oklahoma this week, I’d fully expect them to leapfrog the Spartans in the standings. I just don’t see their schedule moving them past TCU and Boise State, especially with only No. 15 Iowa remaining as a ranked opponent.
-Utah would also be a candidate to make a surprise run at the BCS Title game… except I can’t see them beating TCU. I don’t want to dismiss their chances completely, but I fully expect TCU to go unbeaten, and probably miss out on the title game.
-As it stands right now, here are my BCS Bowl projections (subject to change in the top 2 who would play in the title game):
BCS Title Game – Oregon vs. Oklahoma
Rose Bowl – Michigan State vs. Boise State
Orange Bowl – Auburn vs. TCU
Sugar Bowl – West Virginia vs. Alabama
Fiesta Bowl – Ohio State vs. Virginia Tech
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