NBA Preview: Lots of Heat on TV

Another week.....another slate of NBA games on National TV (NBA TV doesn't count since I don't get it).....pretty thin slate of stuff but out of the 4 games.....this is the order of interest I have in these games......

4- Bulls vs. Cavs Friday ESPN

The Bulls are off to a pedestrian start. The Bulls have just lost tonight, snapping the Bucks 4-game losing streak. So far, the Bulls haven't done much to follow up on nearly pulling off the biggest upset of the Playoffs.

The Cavs have sleep-walked to a 12-5 start in their we better win a championship to show LeBron he has the best chance by staying in Ohio.

3- Heat vs. Nuggets Thursday TNT

Dwayne Wade is one of the best players in the league...but the Heat on back to back nights is overkill. The last time the Heat were on TV they lost to an inferior Wizards team.

The Nuggets are in the lead in a competitive Northwest division and will be looking to get some distance from their competition.

2- Heat vs. Lakers Friday ESPN

Two chances to watch the Heat....if you miss them Thursday all you have to do is wait another day.

The Lakers are neck and neck with the Suns in the Pacific and should be in good shape to win playing against a Heat team on the back end of a back-to-back

1- Celtics vs. Spurs Thursday TNT

Out of the four games, this match-up is the most likely to be a finals preview. On an unrelated note, this game is the only one of the four involving a player on my fantasy team (Tim Duncan)......in an attempt to help me get one step closer to going undefeated (5-0) at this point......ahhh the uninspirin-ness of early December NBA Action.....It's Amazing

Well, off to watching more episodes of Reaper (I can always count on Hulu to find a show to get hooked on every few months) and reading the book Baseball Between the Numbers that I got in the mail today.

Sports/Music Crossover: Foo Fighters

So...I was channel surfing last night before I went to bed and VH1 was doing a story-tellers episode with the Foo Fighters involved.......y'all know what this means........time to cross-pollinate sports and music based on some Foo Fighters songs

"Exhausted"--Media Coverage of Tim Tebow

Ok I get it, Tim Tebow is the greatest college football player....he's won Heismans.......national championships (possibly another in the pipelines)......and apparently he's a decent human being (as far as we know).......its just the media's love affair with this guy is something that's gotten beyond even the John Madden/Brett Favre zone........well he's graduating to the NFL so this over saturation either move up another level if he makes it in the NFL or transfers on a yet to be determined freshman in 2010.

"No Way Back"- Steve Kragthorpe

It's official, Steve Kragthorpe is not being retained as the coach at Louisville. Kragthorpe's time at Louisville ranks a 12 on the epic fail scale. He inherited a Louisville team that had legit elite status/national title hopes when he arrived in '07....he failed to even place them in a bowl game....they've become doormats in the Big East and their window for greatness was slammed shut in 3 short years. Honestly I don't see him head coaching for a BCS conference team for a long time (if ever).

"The Pretender"-Oklahoma State/ Georgia Tech

Both teams had chances at a BCS berth coming into today and could help themselves a lot by pulling wins over bitter rivals in down seasons. Instead, both teams failed to step up in their big rivalry games and showed themselves as elite pretenders.

"Low"--Rice

The performance of their defense. Granted Rice dropped to 2-10 this year and were playing a Houston squad that has been putting up video game statistics against their Conference USA opposition. With that being said, giving up 59 in one half is so bad that most teams couldn't give up that many even if they tried. It's insane to think about....Houston scored 8 touchdowns in the first half....one touchdown every 3:45.........not the best way to finish out the season.

"Long Road To Ruin"-- Whoever takes the Notre Dame Job

Are you a successful college coach in high demand? Are you tired of winning all those games.....well we got the job for you. In 4-6 years you can go on your Long Road To Ruin by coaching a Notre Dame team that won't win more than 7 of these new fangled games a year. Also, your epic fail has its own tv contract with NBC........I can't wait for their TV contract to not get renewed

"Up In Arms"--The BCS establishment to anyone suggesting they go to a playoff system

Not sure which is more absurd.......that College Football is the ONLY organized sport at any level without a playoff......or the BCS has gotten so self-conscious about the venom spewed towards them for the ineptness of their system....that they set up a Twitter account to spread the propaganda about how complicated a playoff would be

"Home"--Tiger Woods

How much trouble and controversy can surround a person who has an incident outside their home...say hitting the fire hydrant outside their home....and what if said person was the most dominant player in a fringe sport such as golf.....well we've definitely got the answer to this in the last couple days.

It's been bizarre seeing this story go from Tiger Woods was in a car accident to the soap opera of his wife busting out the windows to let Woods out to the couple both declining to talk to the cops to this becoming a TMZ hot topic.

In two short days this story has gone to the Twilight Zone (not the TV show......this refers to stories that are beaten into the ground that are unavoidable)......in other words expect this to be the first and last time I reference this event.

"Breakout"--Oklahoma City Thunder

If last night is any indication, 09-10 looks to be a breakout season for the team formerly known as the Sonics. The Thunder have been improving exponentially since they fired P. J. Carlesimo.....its not like any of his player tried to choke him (again)....its just that this team was a joke until they cleaned house, fired Carlesimo and he had to go back to covering games for TNT.

The Thunder look to be in the playoff hunt this year. They probably won't win it all this year but they will get some playoff experience under their belt. With Kevin Durant to build around, a solid young core, several draft picks and lots of cap room....If they play it smart they could have a Portland-esque nucleus with the sky as the limit.

"Next Year"-- Auburn

Close but no cigar....Next Year is how long Auburn will need to wait for another chance to take down Alabama and to spoil a prospective championship bid.

Bucks/Thunder Running Post: Second Half

7:54 Second half is about to start in the next few minutes.......the Bucks have stayed in it by shooting well from beyond the arc and getting large contributions off the bench....so they've stayed close despite only 2 points from Jennings.....the announcing team gives us the second of 100 reminders that Jennings didn't score in the 1st quarter of the game where he dropped 55

7:57 Considering these teams have changed a lot in the last couple years i'm not sure much can be drawn from this but.....OKC hasn't beaten the Bucks since '07

7:58 Durant nails a 3 with the shot clock running down......ouch

7:59 Bucks have come out of the gate looking turrible

8:00 Off to commercials and one of those Dos Equis commercials with the most interesting man in the world.......these commercials are definitely one of my pet peeves....especially the one where they state that he had an awkward moment just to see what it feels like....coming from someone whose life is a compilation of awkward moments....can't help but take some offense to it.

8:02 Durant Comparison Tally: Gervin 3 Malone 2......i'll move it up to 3.5 since the latest Gervin comparison came with a video montage.

8:03 Thunder on an 18-4 run....nothings going right currently

8:04 Seriously why do they let Gadzuric shoot the ball? 3 times a game is too much

8:05 Can't help but think there is some Ewing theory potential in Redd. The Bucks were rolling when Redd was injured and look to be headed to 0-3 with him back....

8:08 The Bucks are playing so bad right now.....I doubt they could beat a D-League team right now

8:10 Is it too much to ask that the BUCKS MAKE A SINGLE BASKET....... apparently it is

8:13 Discussion quickly turns to the Nets-Kings game and talking about how the Kings game was the Nets best chance for a win considering they play the Lakers on Sunday....selling the Kings short.....the Kings have bounced back.....sure they are 6-8 but they are showing signs of life and are anything but an easy out

8:15 Congratulations Bucks....it took you 6+ minutes to make a basket.....and then another one a minute later....now the broadcasters can stop talking about all time offensive futility records....however, there is still the issue of being down 14 points

8:16 Bucks are 2 for 17 in the third quarter.....even David Eckstein thinks that is terrible

8:18 Well, we know what it takes for Redd to make a shot in this game....questionable goaltending calls against Kevin Durant

8:21 Only the 3rd quarter and the they're out of the game but hey they are on the way up conversations are beginning.....

8:24 Jennings has only amassed 3 points so far....it's easy to see that Durant has clearly outplayed Jennings tonight

8:25 Thankfully, the third quarter is over.....there is absolutely nothing good to say about the last 12 minutes of this game....78-63 Thunder

8:29 The 4th quarter is about to start and with that a cliche-ridden interview with Thunder coach Scott Brooks

8:30 Even when the Bucks do something right....they do something wrong. Hakim Warrick gets the dunk but hangs on the rim too much and picks up a technical.

8:31 The conversation of the broadcast has shifted to what the Thunder will do next summer and even led to the suggestion of moving their draft picks for a free agent......

8:35 Jennings drills a 3 the Bucks have it down to 10....he's starting to get into a rhythm...but is it too little too late?

8:36 They just showed a commercial for the new Twilight commercial...grrrhhhh.....IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK TO GO MORE THAN 5 MINUTES WITHOUT TWILIGHT BEING REFERENCED.......even if you want to avoid it you can't.....

8:40 ESPN just showed a graphic showing free throws in the second half....20 for the Thunder...6 for the Bucks....haven't seen a discrepancy that large since the Los Angeles Donahys played the Kings in the 2002 Western Conference Finals

8:41 Let the past-player comparisons continue: Jennings name is used in the same sentence as Nick Van Exel and Tiny Archibald....within seconds of each other

8:43 Bucks struggling to get a defensive stop and struggling to get the deficit into single figures..

8:45 Durant grabs offensive board out of nowhere dunks it .....Thunder up by 17......

8:48 The Bucks look like they've given up while the Thunder are still playing like the game is on the line....i'm pretty sure this isn't sitting well with Scott Skiles

8:49 Harden drills a 3 and the Thunder get the lead over 20 for the first time and follow it up with a Westbrook dunk

8:53 Now if only Andrew Bogut could go more than a game without getting injured....maybe the Bucks could have made this a game

8:55 ESPN cuts to a sign from one of fans....Bucks get struck on ESPN.......Sad But True

8:58 Ahh....Garbage Time...at this point just running out the string until the clock runs out

Well...this game came to an end (finally) with the Thunder coming away with an 108-90 win. This drops the Bucks to 8-6. Even though its been a rough week for the Bucks....I still feel good about them long term. Sure, Jennings has struggled the last few days but he's still young....hes showing plenty of promise in his first 14 games. Still gotta keep things in perspective and realize that even with the losing streak....the Bucks are still much better off than they have been for the last couple decades.

Bucks/Thunder Running Post: First Half

Well, the timing for me + games on TV on this weekend is opportunistically slanted towards the running diary format of blogging. Tonight's occasion. ESPN airing the Bucks-Thunder game on ESPN. Looking forward to it for a few reasons. Obviously the Bucks being involved is one. Second, this is my first chance to watch a complete game where Brandon Jennings plays. Since i'm not a big enough of an NBA fan to get any league package (baseball is the only sport i'll do that for).....the only stuff i've seen from him is through highlight clips/sportscenter, etc.

Also, playing against the team Kevin Durant plays for is another interesting sub-plot. I'm not crazy enough to believe that these are the two best teams in the league.....but they definitely qualify as two of the most interesting (and up and coming teams).........

6:15 And the countdown begins....25 minutes to tip off.....ESPN celebrates it by showing a clip of Kevin Durant reading a piece of paper.......somehow I find this more interesting than the Wizards-Heat game that is still going on.......unless Earl Boykins scores a bunch of points the next five minutes..this game will do little to affect the evening.

6:17 Earl Boykins...hero of the short (by NBA standard) people......according to ESPN...Boykins is the shortest player to score 30 in a game......if he wants to make a name for himself further he should enter the slam dunk competition and become the shortest player to do that....take that Spud Webb

6:18 I'm still stoked that ESPN thought enough about the tonight's game to pre-empt another game (Phoenix-Minnesota) in order to show the Bucks. Usually when the Bucks are involved in something like this...they are the team not being shown

6:21 ESPN shows first footage of the teams shooting around.....shows Jennings and Durant......for now back to Miami and Washington going through the motions.

6:22 Fun Fact: The UFL season is over and some team from Vegas won the championship......This poses the question of if you were the best team in a league that only shows games on Versus....did it actually happen?

6:27 It looks like Chris Kaman's breakout season was not meant to be. The 23-10 machine seems to be regressing to his career norms as his fg% for the year has dipped below his career numbers.....that 23-10 has regressed to 19-8 and Griffin's comeback is on the horizon.......this information (courtesy of Clips Nation) puts his spot on my fantasy team in a little bit of jeopardy.

6:32 ESPN may not solve the pressing problems that may save the world.........but they'll settle for speculating on why Earl Boykins plays for a different team every year.

6:34 Wizards 94 Heat 84...time for some inane studio chatter

6:36 Jennings getting some press for starting in the All-Star Game......They even went to the point of mentioning a player that's not named Jennings or Durant (as they talked about Jeff Green for about 2.5 seconds)

6:38 Say what you will about the circumstances that led to Oklahoma City getting a team (I say Clay Bennett is not a great person) but its good to see that Oklahoma City is coming out to support their team....they showed a shot at the crowd and there's not an empty seat to be found.....so we at least know we're not watching an Los Angeles Dodgers game.

6:40 Right when I slam the Dodgers, the arena plays the song (don't know the name of it) but I know its the same one played at Dodger stadium after the Dodgers hit a home run.

6:42 Durant gets first blood starts game off with dunk.....countered by Carlos Delfino..yes the Bucks have players other than Brandon Jennings...they're just not as good.

6:43 Delfino is en-fuego....for about 10 seconds he was single handedly outscoring the Thunder.

6:44 Gadzuric is getting schooled on the boards.....in other news all days end in Y and the sky is still blue

6:46 Ilyasoya has been having a nice year but physically.....no match for Kevin Durant

6:47 Jennings on the bench....Ridnour in the game.. 14-9 Thunder

6:48 Gadzuric attempted to make a shot....this never ends well...well at least Gadzuric is going to the bench for awhile as well

6:50 Hakim Warrick botches a dunk attempt in an awesomely horribly way...epic fail

6:51 First TV Timeout 16-9 Thunder....hopefully the Bucks can bounce back from a rough start

6:53 Durant draws comparison to George Gervin by the ESPN team....considering i'm too young to ever watch him play...not sure if that's a good thing or just a backhanded compliment

6:55 Delfino busts out another three..singlehandedly keeping them in it....Ridnour 3 tie game

6:56 Delfino actually misses a shot......Durant gets another comparison to another player from the 80s (Moses Malone)

6:57 Good thing i'm not involved in a drinking game where I have to take a drink every time Durant is compared to a player who was in the NBA before he was even born.....anyone doing this will probably be passed out by half time

7:02 Delfino has now scored 13 of 22 Milwaukee Points......Durant has now been compared to Moses Malone and George Gervin twice each.

7:04 Jennings gets on the scoreboard for first time.

7:07 I wonder if the Thunder will get another big name player to complement Durant in the summer of '10. The Thunder are on the way up have a solid core and the cap room to bring in a star. Also, first quarter draws to an end 31-26 Thunder.

7:11 Ahh the mandatory interview with the Head Coach...why do they even bother?

7:13 Jennings just draws the first of 200 mandatory comparisions to A.I.

7:15 Ilyasoya looking strong getting offensive boards....has gotten a couple second chance buckets...timeout...35-32 Thunder

7:18 ESPN shows clip of Michigan State losing to Florida in basketball and calling Florida's win as an upset.....while Florida was unranked and Michigan State is #2, tough to see Florida as the David pulling an upset when they've won national titles this decade.

7:21 Despite a slow start by Jennings game is tied thanks to strong starts by Delfino, Ilyasoya and Ridnour......Jennings ain't gonna be quiet all game so it's good to see the Bucks stay competitive even with not all going as planned

7:23 Ilyasoya steals ball takes it distance for dunk.....

7:23 Bucks running on all cylinders right now...Jennings sinks a jumper 46-40 Bucks.

7:25 Candidate of the day to get their coaching reputation tarnished in 4-6 short years......Er I mean take that prestigious job at Notre Dame....Brian Billick

7:30 Durant connects on back end of alley-oop to fire up crowd...Bucks counter with bucket 48-44 Bucks

7: 36 Harden knocks down a trey....the Thunder take the lead back and the Bucks go on to turn the ball over.....no bueno

7:38 First half ends with Durant not getting a shot off before the buzzer 51-50 Thunder

Game has been as good as advertised for the first half.....i'll have the second half running post up after the game

Steak and Football Day Diary/Live Blog: Second Half

Well, the Second Half should be starting soon. The Packers are up 13-7 at this point but the lead should be significantly larger by this point. I'm not too crazy about the Packers settling for field goals. But it could be worse, I could be a Lions fan.

11:21 Seriously with 256 total yards to 81 and it's only 13-7?

11:22 Woodson pick...third of the Day........it's interesting Stafford doesn't play as well when the other team isn't the Cleveland Browns.

11:23 Well for now....it's being challenged by the Lions....we'll see what happens after some commercials.

11:29 Wow what a way to capitalize. I like that they went for it on 4th and 2 I just don't like that Rodgers ended up getting sacked and fumbled.

11:33 Packers are stuck inside their own 10 again.....Jordy is having a turrible game on special teams.

11:36 Rodgers hits driver with another long pass....the last time they did this the drive ended in the Packers only touchdown....hopefully that trend continues...will it....we'll see

11:39 In the Red Zone for the 4th time thanks to a good catch by Jordy

11:41 TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!! Driver helps Rodgers finish what they started. Rodgers was under pressure and had a half-second window to get the ball to Driver. 20-7 Packers.

11:47 I've ranted about commercials I don't like enough today so i'll talk about one that I do like. The Miller Lite commercial that passes itself off as one of those Dating Websites for the first 20 seconds as the guy rants about finding the one and then he makes googly eyes over a Miller Lite....someone needs to put the E-Harmonies of the world in their place.

11:51 Stafford nearly got picked off for a 4th time. Still doing a pretty good Jay Cutler impersonation though.

11:52 Wide Right. Packers Ball. Still 20-7

11:54 We're not even out of the 3rd quarter yet and Rodgers has kept his 4-game streak alive of passing for 300+ yards against the Lions.

11:55 Rodgers to Jones for his 4th of the year.....27-7 Packers

11:57 So Joe Buck and Troy Aikman don't know who votes on the Turducken award or whatever the name of that Turkey thing is......seriously Joe you broadcast games for a living and have been calling games for FOX forever and Troy in addition to being a broadcaster you played for the Cowboys who always play on Thanksgiving.........your guys' job is to give people insight on these types of things..

12:02 The Lions punting unit makes it 80th appearance of the day

12:06 You know the game is getting out of hand when the broadcasting team is talking about their Fantasy Football teams. Knowing that Joe Buck's fantasy team is 2-8ish.

12:09 Stafford completes a 47-yard pass to Northcutt, now in the Red Zone.....they are starting to show some signs of life.

12:13 Packers D Bends but doesn't break on D--2nd and goal from the 1--three incomplete passes--Packers ball still 27-7.

12:15 And that is why you DO NOT RUN FROM YOUR OWN 1 YARD LINE.....At least McCarthy was smart enough to challenge.....27-9 is better than 27-14

12:21 33-yard return by Northcutt.....not great for the packers special teams but they've definitely done worse

12:24 Stafford converts on 4th down and find themselves back in the Red Zone.

12:26 Lions convert on 3rd.....between this game and S.F. Game I do have long-term concern about the Packers finishing off opponents.....they may be able to get away with it against these teams but they can't be pulling this off against playoff-caliber opposition.

12:28 Field goal unit coming on for Detroit 27-12 Pack 5 minutes left.

12:31 Packers were playing for onside but don't get it .....good to see Woodson get a chance to return a kick

12:32 Cut away to the Silverdome.....sorta disturbing that it only sold for $583,000 the clip they just showed on TV it looked disturbing seeing it as pretty much an abandoned property.

12:34 Packers run on 3rd and 3 to the surprise of no-one. 3 and out for the Packers 27-12 Pack 4 minutes left....no timeouts for the Lions.

12:36 Stafford throws a pick-six to Woodson. 4th Pick overall, 2nd pick for Woodson. 34-12 Packers

12:41 You know the game is pretty much over: When the broadcasting team talks about how the losing team (Lions) will be good at some unspecified point. While the Lions are terrible this year....this actually comes with sound reasoning....Stafford has shown signs of eventually justifying his #1 pick status.......give it a couple years and there's a solid chance he'll turn the Millen era into nothing more than a bad memory.

12:45 McCarthy is now 2 for 2 on challenges for the day

12:49 You know the game is decided when: Matt Flynn is on the field. This earns the Captain Obvious statement that Packers Back QBs don't get much playing time.

12:52 Well it's official......the game is over the Packers beat the Lions 34-12.

This obviously helps the Packers. They've now won three straight losing to Tampa and have moved to 7-4. There obvious a lot more football to be played.....as much as i've liked the Diary/Running Blog format thing.....the end of it comes now (for now)..

Not really feeling the Cowboys-Raiders (unless McFadden has a big game and leads my fantasy team to victory). I don't get NFL Network so I can't watch the Giants-Broncos from my lap top.........Plus I have about a few thousand calories to shove down my throat between now and the end of the day.

Steak and Football Day Diary/Live Blog: First Half

Trying something new for the holiday. In light of there being football, the Packers playing at 9:30 and not having to go in to work today....I decided to try a live blog about the sports action today

9:19 Forgot that watching Fox Pre-Game means Frank Caliendo and his lame John Madden impersonation. Hes giving a bad name to the what i'm thankful holiday line.....with a lame plug-in for the show Strahan is on (Brothers) that will be lucky to make it out of the first season...to add insult to injury hes picking the Lions

9:22 Not football related but I'm less than one second into reading the stuff on my Google Reader List (one of the more under-rated tools of Gmail in my opinion) and Allen Iverson is already considering un-retiring. Seriously.....hes been "retired" for day. I'm not surprised about this development but c'mon even Brett Favre pretends to retire for at least a few months.

9:27 Ahh the loveliness of a Joe Buck broadcast....telling us stuff I already know....you think I don't know its key that the Packers overcome injuries to Kampman and Harris...thank you captain obvious

9:31 A bit of a discrepancy....they had some anonymous studio person briefly talking about the games that mentioned this was the 20th Thanksgiving meeting between the Packers and Lions...then they cut away to Buck and Aikman who say its the 19th Thanksgiving meeting...someone's right....someone's wrong.....this is definitely a Wikipedia moment.

9:37 Filtered through Wikipedia Packers are 12-18-2 all time on Thanksgiving and 6-11-1 against the Lions meaning this is the 19th match-up

9:37 Not the best way to start a game.....Jordy Nelson starts by fumbling the kick return and letting the Lions start at the Green Bay 20......no bueno.

9:39 Really...that passes for roughing the passer these days? C'mon Matthews barely touched Stafford

9:40 Really does anyone actually use the phrase "He went to Jared" in real life. Does this line actually work. It seemed odd to me the first time. Seriously, the first few times I had to sit through an insufferable he went to jared commercial I thought it was just a bad Subway commercial.

9:42 Not even 2 minutes in and the Lions have a touchdown. Thanks a lot Jordy.

9:46 At least this kickoff wasn't fumbled. Another minute into the game another penalty. Who do they think they are, The Oakland Raiders?

9:56 Not a good sign. The Packers had a drive for 8 minutes and all they get is a lousy missed field goal. We could be in for a long game.

9:59 Could we be seeing Mike Martz try to get a spin-off to the greatest show on turf? I've stumbled across a couple articles with rumors (mainly) about him being interested in Buffalo and one article about him possibly being the Bears coach.

10:03 The Packers actually did something good. Clutch 3 ard 4 interception by Nick Collins. The Packers need to capitalize on this and tie the game.

10:05 While I do like what i've seen out of Ryan Grant the last few weeks....It seems that the play-calling has been a bit too conservative early on....this almost cost them the game against San Francisco...don't want it to cost them today.

10:07 Just as I say that Rodgers goes downfield and BOOM....68 yard completion to Driver...inside the Detroit 10....also like to mention that I like what I see out of the O-Line so far..playing a lot better today than most of the season....Rodgers would have had all day to make that pass.

10:10 Donald Lee scores his 1st TD in epic fashion leaping over a couple of Lions defenders. Joe Buck just dropped the useful nugget of this being Rodgers 30th career red zone TD Pass (vs. 1 interception).

10:15 Packers just lucked out. Kevin Smith had plenty of room to run and trips over. They go on to convert on 3rd down so it they didn't luck out that much.

10:22 Packers stuck at their own 4.....own 6 now facing a 3 rd and 8 they need to step up again on this play.

10:23 Clutch 3rd down play Rodgers was on the ropes a little bit throws it where only Jones can get it First Down.

10:30 The Lions have now committed penalties on back-to-back plays. Last time I remember seeing that was a few years ago when the Raiders and Packers played...the Raiders had 1st downs nullified by penalties...three plays in a row

10:34 Packers fall just short of getting in end zone. Crosby actually makes field goal 10-7 Packers.

10:34 Radio Shack has gotten into the early lead for most insufferable Black Friday jingle.......it looks like i'll have let's all go to shack fridays stuck in my head...whether I want it or not.

10:39 Another third down play...another interception

10:44 Ahh...The Two Minute Warning...Packers in the Red Zone....Need to punch it in before the half

10:46 Ok, whose idea was it to put one of the Wilson brothers on an AT & T commercial and to air it every five minutes? Really, the phone coverage of Akron, Ohio and Tempe, Arizona does absolutely nothing for me.

10:50 Fox plugging American Idol and about how it's changed music (they just forget to mention that its changing music for worse)

10:51 Packers fail to capitalize inside the Lions 10 (again) time for the field goal unit to make another appearance. 13-7 Pack.

10:57 Lions in last ditch attempt before the half :09 remaining...thrown out of bounds

10:59 First Half ends with Clay Matthews chasing Stafford across the field and finally sacking him.

Hmm...time for half time and to step away from the computer a little bit.....be back with my second half observations when the teams get back on the field

The Vent: 11-25 Edition

A few days have passed.....a few more things to Vent about that bug me for one reason or another.

5- Allen Iverson Retirement

This one is more of a pre-emptive Vent If/When Iverson decides to un-retire. Based on past bitter experience (Brett Favre...cough...cough) and the less than stellar way he went out in Memphis, I have a sinking feeling we will be hearing speculation/rumors about un-retirement in the next few years.

Considering that there were teams drawing interest in him.....if the right situation comes along and a team is willing to let him be the #1 option instead of a Sixth Man......this has potential to become an over-hyped story in the next few years.

4-Dike Vitale Really Likes Duke Basketball

I made the mistake of channel surfing and leaving the TV on the ESPN broadcast of the Duke-Arizona State game. This game happened to have Dick Vitale on the broadcast team. While i'll give Vitale credit for actually being passionate about college basketball (Joe Buck could learn a lesson or two) Vitale loses said credit for falling head over hells in love with a chronically unlikeable Duke team. He wasn't on his A-Game for this stuff tonight but he was in his normal gushing mode about how impressive and classy Duke basketball is. Plus c'mon being a fan of Duke basketball is too easy.......i'd be more impressed if someone gave the same fawning treatment to their football team.

3-The Happy Gilmore Ruling

Canadian Courts + Adam Sandler Movies = Illegal

So the Canadian Courts Think that

A) I'm pretty sure the "Happy Gilmore" swing played a secondary (if any) role in the incident leading up to the lawsuit: I'm pretty sure its more related to some of the other facts such as:

they brought along 28 cans of beer, a bottle of tequila, and “some marijuana.” After nine holes, Mr. Hayter, bought more beer.

By this point, Hayter was sloshed enough to be practicing power slides in the golf cart, and “nearly drove into a pond,” according to the court documents.

On the 16th hole, Hayter sliced his tee shot into the woods. He hit a second tee shot, which “dribbled up the fairway.” At that point, his golfing buddies, not surprisingly, started to walk down the fairway toward their respective balls. But Hayter wasn’t done. He teed up a third ball and took a running start before swinging at the ball – your classic Happy Gilmore swing.

The ball struck Alan Bezanson in the wrist.

In summation, one of the few chances to apply Adam Sandler movies to real life is ruined because of a bunch of drunken idiots. Also, what are they going to do next....make golf carts illegal? I may not be a lawyer but I took the LSAT enough times (twice) to smell a frivolous lawsuit when I see one. Seriously, power slides, almost driving the cart into a pond, hard liquor plus a side of reefer....by this point anything should have been expected.....including but not limited to Adam Sandler re-enactments gone horribly wrong.

2- Charlie Weis--Talking About Stanford

This one is about missed opportunities (and for once i'm not talking about Notre Dame's on field performance). We had a golden opportunity for the college football equivalent to Jim Mora's playoffs rant. I stumbled across it on ESPNews and there were a couple YouTube clips......It's pretty epic and ranks high on the unintentional comedy scale. The thing that is bugging me is it's not getting the legendary status it deserves. Pretty much, Weis is in the press conference and everyone wants to ask him about Jimmy Clausen/State of the Union/the injuries from his bar fight and Weis is responding to everything by saying "We're talking about Stanford".....all in all an epic stone-walling of the press....it's moments like this that almost make me sad he's going to be out a head coaching gig on Monday.

Seriously the NFL has the market on press clips from Diddly Poo, To Playoffs?!, To You Play To Win The Game.........Charlie Weis could redeem himself from his mediocre stint at Notre Dame by becoming immortalized for talking about Stanford............

1-ABC

This one's not sports related but something I need to get off my chest. The last four weeks i've gotten hooked into their new show V (which takes the lead over Flash Forward in strongest Lost-replacement for ABC...Flash Forward isn't a bad show....the story is just too slow) anyways V has built itself up for a few episodes and the story is starting to get good. Then we get to the end of the episode and they're not coming back until March......c'mon if your gonna take a few months off at least give us more than a month of episodes first.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Week 12 Preview

Well....Turkey Day for most of us is upon us (It's Steak and Football day for me)....and since Thursday is right around the corner....its time for the Week 12 Preview:

Tier I: Cheese Head Tier

Packers 6-4 vs. Lions 2-8

Yeah, the Packers did win against the 49ers on Sunday but did so in the least inspiring fashion possible. They looked poised to blow out the Niners at halftime only to come close to losing the game all together. Worse yet, Aaron Kampman and Al Harris were lost for the season. This places their D at a disadvantage but they do have a week to work out the kinks since they are playing the Lions.

The Lions managed to pull out a win mostly on the arm of Stafford with some assistance from Eric Mangini's inept coaching and the fact that they were playing an even more atrocious team in the Browns. Stafford is battling injury and is unlikely to play. The Lions look to fulfill the yearly tradition by getting blown out on Thanksgiving.

Packers 42 Lions 14

Tier II: Best Games of the Week

Giants 6-4 vs. Broncos 6-4

What looked to be a possible Super Bowl preview a few weeks ago has turned into a battle between two teams fighting for their playoff lives. The Giants managed to slow the bleeding by getting past Atlanta.

The Broncos have gone from elite to free-falling in four short weeks. The Broncos are coming off being straight out embarrassed by the Chargers. Both teams need this win...the Broncos need it worse but the Giants want it more.

Giants 28 Falcons 24

Steelers 6-4 vs. Ravens 5-5

Another game between two teams fighting for their playoff lives. The Steelers are coming off an embarrassing loss to Kansas City and Ben Roethlisberger is dealing with concussion issues. The Ravens are in an even more urgent situation but I still think they have a playoff run in them. The Steelers have too many issues surrounding them right now and Flacco is due for a big game.

Ravens 21 Steelers 14

Patriots 7-3 vs. Saints 10-0

One of the better Monday Night match-ups this year. The Patriots nearly knocked off the leagues other undefeated team a couple weeks ago but lost after a questionable 4th down play call. The Saints have been an elite team this year but they have a tendency to play down to their level of competition. The Saints too close for comfort game against St. Louis has me thinking the Saints will lose their first game sooner not later and the Patriots are likely to make the most out of a second chance to take down an undefeated team.

Patriots 35 Saints 24

Tier III

Colts 10-0 vs. Texans 5-5

The Colts are rolling towards another playoff run. The Texans are an interesting team. They are equally capable of pulling the upset or pulling a no-show. The Texans will keep it interesting but theres too many holes in their running game and this will be enough for them to not beat Indy.

Colts 28 Texans 17

Cardinals 7-3 vs. Titans 4-6

The Cardinals look like they are going to coast to another NFC West title. The Titans are a team on a mission to give hope to future NFL teams that start 0-6. Although this was from 2008, this sums up this game for Arizona in the context of this season.

Titans 20 Cardinals 10

Bears 4-6 vs. Vikings 9-1

While the Bears are pretty much done for the season, when any mix of Minnesota, Chicago and Green Bay is involved....all conventional bets are off. In other words, this is my upset special of the week.

Bears 35 Vikings 28

Tier IV: Close Games, Bad Teams

Seahawks 3-7 vs. Rams 1-9

This takes the cake for the clunker game of the week. Last week's clunker game (Cleveland/Detroit actually turned out to be one of the better games of the week)......i'm attributing more to random chance more than a new trend. Expect this game to be unwatchable.

Seahawks 10 Rams 3

Panthers 4-6 vs. Jets 4-6

Anytime a failing New York team is involved it's at least worth checking out to see the train wreck.

Panthers 17 Jets 10

Jaguars 6-4 vs. 49ers 4-6

The Jaguars are coming off a last-second win against a bad Buffalo team. The 49ers playoff hopes are on life support (mainly due to the Niners habit of playing conservative until they fall behind by 3 touchdowns). While letting Alex Smith air it out give the Niners their best chance, i'm not quite sure that Mike Singletary feels the same way. The Niners lose due to too much early conservative play calling.

Jaguars 21 49ers 13

Tier V: Avoid these games (Unless you are a fan of these teams or there are fantasy implications and even then its a questionable decision to watch these games)

Raiders 3-7 vs. Cowboys 7-3

The Raiders are coming off a fluke win and have at least figured out that JaMarcus Russell is not the answer. The Cowboys have scored a whopping 14 points the last couple weeks but luckily for them one of those games was against the Redskins. Still, the Cowboys are too talented offensively to be this bad for more than a couple weeks.

Cowboys 31 Raiders 10

Buccaneers 1-9 vs. Falcons 5-5

Buccaneers are going nowhere, the Falcons are on the outside looking in on the playoff picture and have more talent.

Falcons 28 Buccaneers 0

Dolphins 5-5 vs. Bills 3-7

The Dolphins have been decimated by injuries to Chad Pennington and Ronnie Brown but still look to have a pulse. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ricky Williams carry this team to the playoffs. The Bills...well they're the same old Bills.

Dolphins 35 Bills 17

Browns 1-9 vs. Bengals 7-3

The Browns blew their best chance to win a game on Sunday. At this point they are counting down 6 games to the draft and the possible start to the Mike Holmgren era. The Bengals are coming off an embarrassing loss to an inferior Raiders team. The Bengals are going to take the frustration out on someone...it might as well be their bitter 1-9 cross state rivals.

Bengals 45 Browns 10

Redskins 3-7 vs. Eagles 6-4

At this point the Redskins are going in neutral until the inevitable end of the Jim Zorn era. The Eagles are in the thick of the playoff race. The Redskins aren't even close to having enough in them to play spoiler.

Eagles 31 Redskins 6

Chiefs 3-7 vs. Chargers 7-3

If nothing else the Chiefs managed to improve on last year's win total. On the other hand they went 2-14 last year so improvement doesn't say much. They pulled a win over Pittsburgh out of nowhere. San Diego is in high gear right now and have destroyed everything in their path for the last month and a half.

Chargers 42 Chiefs 10

Counting Down The NBA Games: 11/23 Edition

Alright so I haven't really talked about the NBA too much. I decided to add a new feature where I preview the NBA games that have been deemed worthy enough for national television coverage. I'm going to count the games down based on how interesting I am in the games.

5- Wizards vs. Heat --Friday ESPN

This game looked better a month ago than it does now. The Heat have done their part and started off solid. They haven't been great but so far they at least look to get back to the playoffs. The Wizards were seen as a sleeper team that was supposed to improve with Flip Saunders as coach and a healthy Gilbert Arenas. Then they started 3-9 and look poised to get blown out on National Television. Stay Classy DC.

4-Bulls vs. Jazz -- Thursday TNT

Michael Jordan isn't walking through that door! Scottie Pippen isn't walking through that door! Karl Malone isn't walking through that door! John Stockton isn't walking through that door!

There will be better games...There will be worse games...This game just isn't doin it for me.

3- Heat vs. Magic-- Wednesday ESPN

Worth watching because of their stars (Dwayne Wade/Dwight Howard) but since there is a second chance to watch both teams....this one isn't really a must watch.

2-Magic vs. Hawks --Thursday TNT

Possible Eastern Conference Finals preview. The Magic are at the top as expected and look primed to defend their Eastern Conference Championship. The Hawks have slowly but surely risen from the abyss to become a pretty good team.

Is it just me or does the talk about the Hawks being a surprise team sell them short a little bit. Sure they've started stronger than predicted but it hasn't been a night and day difference. They almost upset Boston a couple years ago, they made the second round last year, they were expected to win about 45-50 this year. Granted, at their rate they look like they'll break through at fight for conference supremacy but its not this team was expected to be a push over.

1- Bucks vs. Thunder --Friday ESPN

This game was a late add for ESPN. The Bucks are definitely the most pleasant surprise in the NBA this year. They were pretty much left dead...predicted to be one of the worst teams in the league and....BOOM Brandon Jennings breaks out...exceeds expectations and proves his skeptics wrong (such as myself)...granted the Bucks got worked by the Spurs tonight but the Bucks have legitimate hope for the first time in a while.

Their opposition is another young team hoping to break into the playoffs (Thunder). They may not be the best team in the league (yet.....check back in a couple years) but they are definitely one of the more interesting team.

Milwaukee and Oklahoma City may not be the biggest markets but the teams have two of the brightest young stars in the league (Jennings and Durant) and this should make for a good Friday Night Match-Up.

The Vent: 11-21 Edition

I'm going to test out a new feature in this post......where I vent my frustrations about five random things that i've found irritating and/or wrong about the sports world....why? because....that's why.......

5- Lou Holtz

I was watching ESPN during the after the 12:30 game and before the 4:30 game (Pacific Time) games.......they were talking about how Notre Dame had a disappointing year (something that shouldn't be a shock by now since they seem to go 6-5 every year)....pretty much, i'm only paying partial attention to what they were saying but noticed quickly when Lou Holtz went on to claim that Notre Dame will be dominant again and they would be back in the title game.

Now if we were talking about a team that has been good recently bad had a bad season (i.e. Oklahoma) I could buy the argument but Notre Dame, we've been through this song and dance since the mid-90s. Seriously, the media has been so pathetically desperate for Notre Dame to be good every year the discussion comes up like clock work about how Notre Dame is coming back this year and this is the year that they re-claim their place in the BCS. Seriously, the more desperate they get about this....the more I want Notre Dame to lose.

Its nice that they have the tradition and WERE a great football program.....but their time has come and gone and having people like Lou Holtz proclaim that they will be great again is one of my bigger pet peeves (my take on the Notre Dame football debacle...one failed coach is an accident (Bob Davie) two failed coaches is a trend (Willingham) three failed coaches means why should we care (Weis).

4- Cupcakes in November

In all the talk about how some of the smaller schools have a weak schedule.... the two SEC teams that will fight for one of the title game slots (Florida and Alabama) schedule teams in November (UT-Chattanooga and Florida International) to run up the score and to appeal to voters. C'mon its one thing to do this in September when its indistinguishable from all the other one-sided match ups but in November.....Shame On You

3-Jack McDowell

Anyone that had the gall to flip off Yankee fans gets bonus points from me. However, he loses points for how much he values the useless win statistic.

In McDowell's discussion about the Cy Young Awards, he diverges into the "dangerous" slippery slope of recognizing great seasons from pitchers who lose wins due to poor run support....the most head-scratching part is this:

Now that they have officially allowed full season 15 game winners to represent the best in the game, you start to worry about perennial low ERA, high strikeout guys like Vasquez being propelled to the highest level of respect...when they shouldn't. What is the difference how many strikeouts a guy has if they can't ultimately win games?

Yes, while the object for pitchers is to play to win the game, there is way too much stuff out of the pitchers control to dictate the value of a pitcher based on the wins alone. Also, I don't know about the next person but I'd rather have the pitcher with a lower ERA, ERA+, FIP, etc. to get Cy Young Votes than a pitcher who is terrible in this area. While Vasquez getting a second place vote for the Cy Young seems a bit odd, he did have an excellent season and for McDowell to get all antsy because the best pitcher in the game won 16 games (because he was stuck on the Royals) and to write off Vasquez because he won only 15 and didn't get the recognition for having a great year just bugs. More stuff like this and we could have another Joe Morgan on our hands .

2- Bill Simmons suspended from using twitter

ESPN to me is one of those vices I can't shake. I know it's unhealthy but they do sort of control the Sports TV world and you can't just avoid it.

This is one of those moments where i'm annoyed by ESPN and can't wait for the day when they lose their share in the Sports Broadcasting Area.

If in fact the WEEI guys were ripping on Simmons, he has his right to lash back. It may not be the most professional thing, but to tell someone they can't post on their own Twitter account is overkill. For ESPN it doesn't seem to be the best idea as Simmons is one of the more recognizable ESPN personalities (for better or worse) and screwing over Simmons like this seemed like a bad thing. Plus...its a free country if he wants to tweet about whatever he shouldn't have big brother telling him not to do so.

1- Clippers Broadcasters

I thought that between their play on the field, their owner and the fact that Mike Dunleavy is still head coaching in this league, I thought there was no way for the Clippers to further embarrass themselves.

Well, I was wrong. Their broadcasters attempted to make a joke out of the Grizzlies player Hamed Haddadi being the first player from Iran to play in the NBA. It was an epic fail.

Seriously, they resorted to bad Borat jokes? That is just wrong on so many levels. Anyone that knows me knows that i'm not easily offended but these guys should have enough common sense to figure out that they are there to broadcast a basketball game.....not to act confused about the country of a player's origin if they did their research they would have figured that out before the game and had conduct this poor attempt at humor beforehand when they weren't miked up...plus the the Borat analogy....Seriously? While its one of the better comedies this decade the Borat character and comparing people to that character is something that should not be loosely tossed around let alone during the middle of a Clippers-Grizzlies game....

Brewers Add Another Catcher

Today, the Brewers claimed catcher George Kottaras off waivers from the Red Sox.

Here are my initial reactions to this acquisition:

-This is a low-risk pick-up. If he manages to break through (like McGehee did) awesome....if not its not going to haunt them several years down the road.

-Having another catcher on the Brewers roster gives me hope that we are another step closer towards Jason Kendall not catching 130+ games in 2010.

-Hasn't proven himself as a big leaguer. He got 107 at bats in Boston this year and had a line of .237/.308/.387 78 OPS+.

-He's not that old....but he isn't that young either (26)....he probably doesn't have too many chances to prove himself in the bigs.

-Looking at his minor-league numbers it looks like he has some pop in his bat (hit 22 homers in Pawtucket in '08) but his overall minor league numbers have 4A/Journeyman written all over them.

-(While the data is incomplete).......he didn't seem to stand out defensively in the minors (only caught 24% of attempted base stealers)

-Regardless of what happens, Kottaras has done pretty good for a Player To Be Named Later (He was traded for David Wells back in '06).

-According to where you look, Kottaras DOB is either 5/10/83 or 5/16/83...regardless of which day is accurate....amongst the Brewers 40-man roster hes the closest to my age (he's either 6 days or 12 days younger depending on actual birth date)

-It should be interesting how this catcher situation falls out. I would be shocked if he was the regular starting catcher but he has a decent chance to catch on as a back-up. In terms of expectations and talent.....Kottaras and Rivera are both players that are good enough to come off the bench but not good enough to be the #1 catcher. Its likely to come down to who has the better spring Kottaras or Rivera.

-138 Days Until Opening Day

Live from Mountain View, Its the Week 11 Preview

What's on tap for Week 11?

Tier I: Cheesehead Tier

49ers 4-5 vs. Packers 5-4

An epic showdown between two teams fighting for their wild-card lives. More importantly an epic showdown between my Packers and the NFC team located closest to where I live. The 49ers are coming off a victory that came courteousy of Jay Cutler and his 5 interceptions.

The Packers needed to win last week in the worst way and aided by a strong defensive performance (especially from Charles Woodson) came away with the victory. Not sold on either team as a contender but the Packers are in better shape right now.

Packers 24 49ers 14

Tier II: Best Games of the Week

Colts 9-0 vs. Ravens 5-4

The Colts are coming off a strong come from behind victory over the Patriots (aided by an interesting coaching decision by Bill Belichick. The Ravens are coming off an uninspiring victory against the Browns.

Colts 27 Ravens 24

Chargers 6-3 vs. Broncos 6-3

The Chargers have come back from their typical slow start to tie Denver for the top spot in the AFC West. The Broncos have been a confusing team. They start 6-0 out of nowhere and once people come around on them being an elite team, they stoop to the level of losing to the Redskins.

Chargers 35 Broncos 24

Tier III: Worth Checking Out

Dolphins 4-5 vs. Panthers 4-5

A must-win for both teams. The Dolphins have had their opportunities to have a strong follow up to '08 but have struggled to finish out any of their elite opposition. The Panthers have staggered into '09...they've managed to get a few wins along the way but i'm not sold on them as a play-off contender.

Dolphins 31 Panthers 17

Falcons 5-4 vs. Giants 5-4

Both of these teams had high expectations after a strong '08 and a quick start to '09. The Giants seemed to be one of the elite teams this year (about a month ago) and now are struggling for their playoff lives. The Falcons looked like they were going to have a strong follow up to '08. However, Matt Ryan has regressed from a strong rookie season and Micheal Turner has injury issues surrounding him. Pretty much, both of these teams are flawed and need every break they can get.

Falcons 28 Giants 21

Eagles 5-4 vs. Bears 4-5

This seems to be the week of match-ups between teams fighting for their playoff lives. The Eagles made last weeks game against San Diego interesting but were done in by their inability to get touchdowns early in the game. The Bears have been felled by Jay Cutler's propensity for multi-interception games.

Eagles 24 Bears 10

Titans 3-6 vs. Texans 5-4

The Titans are doing their best to come back from their 0-6 start. The Texans are in playoff limbo and floating around the .500 mark. The Texans always seem to hang around .500 and I don't see how this season will be any different

Titans 17 Texans 14

Tier IV: Close Games, Bad Teams

Browns 1-8 vs. Lions 1-8

It seems like every week there is a match-up between two teams so bad, that talking about them is a waste of team. This is the waste of time match up of the week.

Lions 10 Browns 6

Bills 3-6 vs. Jaguars 5-4

The Bills fired dick Jauron today. Unfortunately for them, this is going to do nothing to improve the talent that they are fielding. The Jaguars have somehow managed to get in the playoff discussion not standing out in any conceivable way. We can't even say they are the good bad team (they have losses to Seattle and Tennessee). They aren't that good at offense (21st) or defense (23rd)..but they've managed to have more points than the other team more often than not. Considering they have a winnable stretch in the next few weeks (Buffalo, San Francisco, Houston and Miami) they could be one of the weakest playoff teams in recent memory. This will be a bigger possibility at the end of the weekend.

Jaguars 21 Bills 13

Tier V: Avoid these games (Unless your a fan of one of the teams playing and/or there are Fantasy implications and even then watching these games is questionable)

Redskins 3-6 vs. Cowboys 6-3

The Redskins actually won a game on Sunday...against a playoff contending team. The Cowboys were rolling coming into Sunday until they got rolled in Lambeau. Both of these trends reverse on Sunday.

Cowboys 31 Redskins 10

Steelers 6-3 vs. Chiefs 2-7

The Steelers are coming off a tough loss to the Bengals. The Chiefs were the "winner's" of last week's pillow fight against Oakland. The Steelers get a rebound victory here.

Steelers 28 Chiefs 0

Seahawks 3-6 vs. Vikings 8-1

The Seahawks blew their last opportunity to contend for the NFC West. This team really doesn't have much to play for and a candidate to go through the motions. The Vikings get another weak opponent to beat up on.

Vikings 35 Seahawks 7

Jets 4-5 vs. Patriots 6-3

The Jets haven't been the same team since their loss to the Saints. The Patriots are coming off a tough loss to the Colts.

Patriots 31 Jets 3

Bengals 7-2 vs. Raiders 2-7

The Bengals have cement themselves as the surprise team of '09 and continue to gather up impressive wins (such as Sunday against the Steelers).

The Raiders lost last weekends pillow fight against the Chiefs. The Raiders don't stand a chance against a team with something to play for.

Bengals 28 Raiders 9

Saints 9-0 vs. Buccaneers 1-8

The Saints almost found a way to not win against St. Louis. Tampa found a way to not win against Miami. The Saints have shown a dangerous tendency to play down to their opposition, still the reality is we have an undefeated team playing a 1-8 team.

Saints 42 Buccaneers 17

Cardinals 6-3 vs. Rams 1-8

Cardinals are cruising towards repeating as NFC West Champs. The Rams are cruising towards the race for the #1 pick in 2010.

Cardinals 42 Rams 3

Alright I Admit, I'm an Idiot

Alright, so I wrote about Brandon Jennings shortly after he got drafted in June. To say that the assessment was less than optimistic was an understatement. You can read the carnage here.

During the five months i've been blogging, i've occasionally given a counter-point (i.e. harshly criticized) some articles that I felt were so off, I couldn't go without saying something about it...not something I do often but it happens from time to time.

Well, in light of Brandon Jennings' 55-point outburst the other night, I decided it was time to give this treatment to a blog post, only this time the writer i'm calling out is myself. Amongst the "highlights"

I was already not digging the Bucks first round pick of Brandon Jennings when it was initally made on thursday,

Fair enough, the Bucks have made some draft day blunders. Trading Dirk for Tractor Traylor and drafting Joe Alexander are a couple examples of this.

However, the evidence of NBA-caliber talent is not (currently) stacked in his favor. First, he got picked 10th in what looks to be one of the weakest drafts in recent memory. Second, he didn't exactly impress in his two European stints maxing out at 7 points/game and 38 pct. shooting. It would be too early to write him off completely at this point, but he is nowhere near being good enough to start at this point.

One of the reasons he got pushed down to 10th was the Knicks passing on him even though he would have helped turn them around. Second, I made a horribly false analogy between Euro-Ball and the NBA. He was still 19 at the time and apparently he developed his skills against some competitive talent and became NBA ready I underestimated how much Jennings improved in his year in Europe.

but he is nowhere near being good enough to start at this point.

Yeah, i'm an idiot. Nowhere near good enough.....well he's good enough to break a club record held by Kareem and make the Bucks relevant. Obviously hes not gonna drop 55 on any given night, but hes not just good enough to start for the Bucks, he good enough to start anywhere.

I am not sold on Jennings as an NBA player.Best case, I see Jennings as either a) trade bait or b) a long-term option where he's a backup for a couple of years before being placed in the starting line-up

To say that I was horribly wrong on this assessment is an understatement. I definitely don't want him to be traded if hes going to turn the Bucks around (and possibly save basketball in Milwaukee) and hes definitely a bigger asset to this team than Luke Ridnour and Ramon Sessions.

Speaking of Sessions, I said:

Jennings acts like the Bucks are going to clear his path to the starting job by not re-signing Ramon Sessions (which would be a HUGE mistake

This was something I stuck by until the season started. This posting was already looking pretty bad even before Saturday night...and Sessions' start for the T-Wolves played a part in this. This (along with the rest of this posting) is filed under the...wow I actually said that.

Well point being is I couldn't have been more wrong about my initial assessment of Brandon Jennings. And in this case....I was so wrong about it that I had to call myself out on it.

An Award List.....With A Twist

So, it was announced the other day that two ex-Brewers, Bill Schroeder and Greg Vaughn into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame.

This piqued my curiosity about other Major League Players to play in the Cape Cod League. It turns out there are plenty of Cape Cod League Alums playing in the Big Leagues. The most recent list of Active Players is this list from 2008 (I had no luck finding a list from '09). Anyways with many of the major baseball awards being handed out soon, I decided to do my own top 10 list for the Most Valuable Player. The one caveat for making this list is this list is limited to Cape Cod League Alums.

10- Mark Reynolds .260/.349/.543 123 OPS+

Reynolds made some major strides as a player this year. Reynolds seems destined to become the 2010s version of Adam Dunn. He re-wrote the record books as he struck out 223 times this year. Still, he had a solid year and proved to the league that he will be a force to reckon with (when he makes contact)

9-Carlos Pena .227/.356/.537 130 OPS+

The American League, injury prone equivalent to Reynolds. Despite missing the last month of the season, Pena still managed to lead the AL in homers.

8-Adam Lind .305/.370/.562 144 OPS+

The Blue Jays may have had a bad year, but without Lind it would have been much worse. 2009 was Adam Lind's first year playing full-time and he made the most of it. Lind's season definitely qualifies as one of the most secretive 30+ homer seasons of this decade.

7-Evan Longoria .281/.364/.526 130 OPS+

Longoria was able to avoid the sophomore slump and have a solid season. The only damper is Tampa Bay was not able to follow up on last years World Series appearance and leading the AL in GIDP. Still, Longoria is going to be a star for many years to come and he demonstrated why in '09.

6-Lance Berkman .274/.399/.509 139 OPS+

One of the few bright stops in an otherwise terrible year for the Astros. It should be interesting to see how long he can keep his productivity up.

5- Jason Bay .267/.384/.537 134 OPS+

Jason Bay had a strong year in his first full year in Boston. He did a good job keeping the left field spot in Boston productive. He definitely showed why hes going to be one of the most sought after free agents in the winter.

4-Kevin Youkilis .305/.413/.548 145 OPS+

Another solid year from Youk. In these rankings, Youk and Bay are fairly interchangeable.

3- Tim Lincecum 15-7 2.48 era 176 ERA+

The only pitcher to appear on this list. Lincecum had another excellent year and further cemented himself as one of the best pitchers of our generation. He already has one Cy Young Award to his name......with possibly a second one coming soon.

2-Chase Utley .282/.397/.508 136 OPS+

An elite second baseman on a Phillies team that went to a second straight World Series. Plus he was mentioned prominently in an episode of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia as Mac was trying so hard to meet him and hand deliver a letter to him.

1-Mark Teixeira .292/.383/.565 149 OPS+

Teixiera had a strong first year for the Yankees. As much as I don't like the Yankees, Teixiera did enough to rise above the competition from his Cape Cod League Alumni. Still doesn't change the fact that he's not going to get the actual MVP (That goes to Joe Mauer)

Braden gets cut, McCarthy gets even and Doc gets a YouTube Clip

Things in the sports world that have piqued my interest today.

The Brewers turn down 2010 option for Braden Looper.

My Take On This:

In the words of the famous rapper Lil Jon Yeeeeahhhhh!!!!!!!!!! I wasn't exactly thrilled with J.J Hardy being turned into Carlos Gomez....I feel a little more optimistic about the 2010 season knowing that Braden Looper will be giving up 35+ homers else where. While he did lead the Brewers in wins with 14......he really didn't pitch that well and no lead no matter how big felt safe with him on the mound. Another bright spot of this is this is 6.5 million dollars better spent on an upgrade (i.e John Lackey, Doug Davis, anyone else, etc.)

Long Time Packers employee Mike Wood Gets Fired for (allegedly) saying don't lay an egg to coach Mike McCarthy

My Take On This:

Whaaattttttt!!!!!! Seriously....if this (alleged) story is true...this is a big time power trip. The Wood had worked for the Packers for 22 years and he loses his job over a comment. This is some serious bad karma for McCarthy. First, considering the Packers play the last couple weeks, it was advice that McCarthy should have taken seriously. Also........in the aftermath last weeks loss to the previously winless Bucs, if anyone should lose their job its not the maintenance worker.

I finally got a chance to watch the animated short from No Mas about Dock Ellis' no-hitter that he threw on LSD.

My Take On This:

Drugs are bad m'kay..........Definitely an amusing clip about one of the more interesting no-hitters in MLB history. Seriously, this has got to be one accomplishment that is not going to be replicated. I can't wait for MLB Network to show this as one of their all-time games. Words can't do the video justice...check it out if you get the chance.

Coach Of The Year.....Just Not This Year

Well, the biggest story of the day is the New Orleans firing their coach Byron Scott. Another example of how quick a coach can fall from grace

He inherited a pretty bad team in '04, guided them through the post-Katrina years when they played their home games in Oklahoma City, ended up getting a franchise player in Chris Paul and seemed destined to bigger and better things.

Scott's time in New Orleans peaked in a strong 07-08 season when they got to the second round and he won a coach of the year award. At that point, it seemed like the Hornets were headed upwards towards the elite but that hasn't been the case since. The Hornets took a step back last year and everything came to an end after a 3-6 start and a blowout loss to the Suns.

Theres gotta be some balance to this.....being the best coach of the league and then little more than a year later, your not good enough to keep your job. That does feel a bit extreme. The way I see it...this is the same coach that got the New Jersey Nets to the finals (twice...ok it was in a bad eastern conference....but still one of those things I thought would never happen)....

My guess is hes back in the league coaching somewhere by the start of next year.

On a side note, does this mean that last years Coach of the Year, Mike Brown is on the hot seat. The Cavs haven't started that fast this year and there is a lot riding on whether the Cavs could win it all this year. My guess if they don't win it this year and/or they lose LeBron, Mike Brown will join Scott as another Coach of the Year that lost his coaching gig.

Week 10 Preview

The NFL Preview gets pushed back a day earlier this week with the start of NFL Networks Thursday night slate of football games.......Now off to the games

Tier I: Packers Game

Packers 4-4 vs. Cowboys 6-2

Wow.........still shocked, disgusted, etc. that the Packers couldn't finish against Tampa. In a related note, it may be time for Mike McCarthy to update his resume. The Packers are facing a red-hot Cowboys team that has only been getting better the last few weeks. I don't have a good feeling about this game...Cowboys are going to have their way with the O-Line.

Cowboys 42 Packers 24

Tier II: Best Games of the week

Patriots 6-2 vs. Colts 8-0

Definitely the best game of the week. I see this being an epic Sunday night match-up. The Patriots have been re-adjusting to having Tom Brady behind center and the Colts have been destroying everything in their path. I'm picking the Colts because a) They haven't lost in the post-Dungy era yet and b) Peyton Manning has been carrying my fantasy team all year long and picking against him would probably be bad karma.

Colts 35 Patriots 31

Bengals 6-2 vs. Steelers 6-2

The Bengals are definitely the feel-good story of the NFL this year. It looked like it was going to be another bad year for them after their heartbreaking loss in week 1 and just about everything thats happened since 1990.

The Steelers have bounced back strong since a slow start as they look to repeat as Super Bowl Champs. They are coming off a good win against Denver. This game is going to be close but the Steelers have more experience in clutch situations and that will be the difference here.

Steelers 17 Bengals 14 (OT)

Tier III: Worth At Least Checking Out

Bears 4-4 vs. 49ers 3-5

Not the most enticing way to start the Thursday night schedule available to about 15% of the nation. Still there are some interesting sub-plots. With the Bears playoff hopes on the rope, do they get a must-win and bounce back from a blowout loss to Arizona.

For the 49ers can they get themselves back on the winning track and contend in a weak NFC West. Can they get their first win since switching over to Alex Smith? I say not.

Bears 28 49ers 21

Eagles 5-3 vs. Chargers 5-3

The Eagles have been on and off for the last month. The Chargers have gotten into their mid-season groove and have the closed the gap in a suddenly winnable AFC West. The Chargers notch themselves another win against the NFC East.

Chargers 31 Eagles 20

Seahawks 3-5 vs. Cardinals 5-3

This is probably the Seahawks last chance to get in contention for a weak NFC West. The Cardinals have been inconsistent all year and coming off a good win against the Bears. Not sure which Cardinals team shows up....but they win either way.

Cardinals 35 Seahawks 17

Tier IV: Close Games, Bad Teams

Bills 3-5 vs. Titans 2-6

The Bills are going nowhere.....which makes this year indistinguishable from the rest of this decade. The Titans have a winning streak going and are attempting to salvage whats left of a lost season. The Titans wont salvage much but they'll at least get the winning streak up to 3 first.

Titans 21 Bills 10

Jaguars 4-4 vs. Jets 4-4

Right now on ESPN Classic they are showing a replay of the 2001 GMAC Bowl back when David Garrard was the QB at East Carolina team that blew a 30-point lead and lost to Marshall 64-61. Both the Jaguars and Sundays game against the Jets will be about 1 gazillion teams less interesting.....on the bright side at least they don't have to go to Alabama to play.

The Jets season looks to be headed nowhere after their quick start. Mark Sanchez has seen his share of rookie struggles and I see his struggles continue on Sunday.

Jaguars 14 Jets 10

Chiefs 1-7 vs. Raiders 2-6

The worst game of the week. These teams aren't as bad as the Lions and Rams but they're not that much better than them.

Raiders 3 Chiefs 0

Tier V: The Blowouts (A.K.A Avoid unless you have a rooting interest and/or fantasy football implications tied to these games...and even then watching these games is questionable)

Broncos 6-2 vs. Redskins 2-6

The Broncos have hit their first rough patch in the last couple of years. In other words, they are playing the Redskins at the perfect time.

Broncos 31 Redskins 7

Saints 8-0 vs. Rams 1-7

Drew Brees and the Saints are definitely putting up video game numbers against the Rams. This game will pretty much be over midway through the 1st quarter. For Rams fans, there is no silver lining in this game.

Saints 70 Rams 0

Lions 1-7 vs. Vikings 7-1

Similar scenario, different teams.

Vikings 49 Lions 3

Falcons 5-3 vs. Panthers 3-5

Falcons are sitting on the playoff bubble and need to make a statement. The Panthers...well its definitely not their year.

Falcons 42 Panthers 10

Buccaneers 1-7 vs. Dolphins 3-5

The Bucs are coming off their gift-wrapped victory last week. The Dolphins are coming off another tough loss to an elite team. The Dolphins have been the good bad team this year and they take care of business (unlike some other teams) against Tampa.

Dolphins 35 Bucs 13