DAVID STERN… DO SOMETHING PLEASE!!!

I know that the ‘commish’ isn’t all powerful but c’mon now and make a strong suggestion to James Dolan, owner of the Knicks, to get rid of Isiah Thomas.  This guy is the laughing stock of professional sports and the poster boy of what not to do when entrusted with a franchise.  I won’t even talk about any notable character flaws that Isiah reportedly has, I’m only talking about his ability to run an organization. 

The latest Knick debacle was on national television to watch.  It wasn’t bad enough that the Cowboys/Packer game was only found on NFL TV, we got stuck watching the Knicks play the Celtics.  At halftime the Knicks were down 23 and ended up losing by 45 points.  A professional team with one of the highest payrolls in the league got beat by 45 points by a team that was transformed by a proven good gm in Danny Ainge.  I don’t see how Dolan can watch the game last night and see what Ainge has done with the Celtics and wonder why the Knicks are continually taking steps backward.

I could only stand to sit through 10 minutes during the 3rd quarter.  The Knicks had long given up by this time and it showed.  No hustle, no effort and no motivation.  They looked like they didn’t care and the Celtics killed them.  Garnett, Pierce and Allen, the big 3 for Boston, didn’t even play as much as they normally do.  These Knicks were beaten by Glen Davis, Eddie House and Rajon Rondo. 

I felt for sure the Knicks had set a record for lowest points scored in a game but a 40 footer by Nate Robinson saved that from happening.  That was the only excitement of the whole night for the Knicks.  They shot 30% and were outrebounded by nearly 20.  Is Isiah completely to blame, of course not, but someone has to take the responsibility and the owner isn’t going to fire himself.  The axe has to fall on Isiah.

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This guy is the best player in the world.  He is averaging 32 points 9 rebounds and 8 assists a game so far and his team has hardly anything around him.  Dont’ get me wrong I love Drew Gooden on the boards and Big Z in the middle but c’mon this isn’t Jordan, Pippen, Grant and Rodman and it shows.  The Cavs need to get some more quality help for this guy or he may choose to opt out of his contract when it comes due. 

More Stats:

Back to back triple doubles recently

Led his team to a victory over the Celtics who had 1 loss to that point in the season

Averaged 38 points, 9.5 assists and 8.5 assists over his past 5 games

The only player, since Magic Johnson, to have a legit chance at averaging a triple double for a season

The Cavaliers are not the best team by any stretch of the imagination but can you imagine this team without him?  He got them to the finals last year and I wouldn’t put it past him this year.  Yes, they miss Varajao and Larry Hughes but if they can beat the Celtics in the East they can beat anyone. 

The argument could be made that Garnett is the MVP of the season, Tony Parker, Duncan or Ginobli of the Spurs, but for me I take Lebron over any of them.

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The Big Ten has gotten worked for a while now and it is about time that the tables were turned a little bit.  Both conferences have some very good teams like they do every year but this year I think the tide will turn in the Big Ten’s favor.  Here are the matchups as the games begin tomorrow night:

Georgia Tech at Indiana-  Indiana is at home and has one of the most dynamic players/freshman in the country in Eric Gordon.  Indiana is coming off a big loss to Xavier and will be looking to redeem themselves.  DJ White leads them inside and they will be tough to handle for Georgia Tech.  Tech has already lost twice and this one will be a win for the BIG Ten.

Northwestern at Virginia-  Virginia features one of my favorite guards, Sean Singletary, who has been in college for what seems like years.  Northwestern can cause some problems with their offensive setup and schemes but Virginia will win this one at home.

Minnesota at Florida St.-  This one is a toss up.  Yes Florida St is at home, but they have lost there once already this season.  Tubby Smith is out to prove something at Minnesota in his first year of the challenge.  This is a big game because it is games like this one that turn the tide for the entire conference.  I pick Florida St but I can see it going either way.

Wisconsin at Duke-  I hate Duke.  I’m the anti Dick Vitale when it comes to them.  They are small on the inside this year but they make up for it in a number of ways.  Bo Ryan may be one of the best coaches in America but winning at Cameron is near impossible for non conference teams.  I expect it to be closer than anticipated but Wisconsin will need an off game from DeMarcus Nelson and Gerald Henderson in order to have a solid chance.

Purdue at Clemson-  This closes out Tuesday’s games and it could very well close out the Big Ten’s chances of winning this thing.  Clemson is off to a great start and are ranked in the top 25 currently.  Purdue will surprise people this year.  They have had some good recruiting classes and Matt Painter will get these kids to play solid defense and run a solid motion offense.  They are the type of team that you just don’t want to play because you are never comfortable against them.  I think Clemson will win but it wouldn’t surprise me to see an upset.

I’ll cover the rest of the games in tomorrow’s blog…

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The good old Maui Invitational is my favorite preseason tourney.  All these great teams crammed into a gymnasium with questionable, if any, air conditioning.  Fans are literally fanning themselves with programs and the sweat is wonderfully visible with HD technology.  People wearing shorts in November and those excellent hawaiian shirts that don’t do this color blind fan any favors. 

As the tip off is set for tonight I’m excited for a few reasons, but mainly because this tips off college basketball to me.  Sure teams have been beaten already but when you can sit in front of your tv at midnight and watch a live game you have to appreciate basketball in Hawaii.

Tonights late late game is the one I’m set to watch for sure.  It pits Illinois vs Arizona st. where Herb Sendek will be leading the Sun Devils in their season opener.  Other teams playing are Marquette vs Chaminade, (Marquette won in a semi close game) Duke vs Princeton and Oklahoma St vs LSU.  The tourney is set up for Duke to play Marquette in the finals but some tricky things usually happen on the island this early in the season. 

I like Illinois to beat Arizona st but this will be a very close game.   Illinois will need to play some tough defense because Arizona st will have some serious players.  The depth of Illinois will be a problem but Illinois needs to find a scoring threat to offset Shaun Pruitt.  Arizona St features freshman and Mcdonalds all american James Harden who will be very fun to watch.

Duke will beat Princeton easily and play the winner of Illinois/ARizona st tomorrow.  I expect LSU to beat Oklahoma St because Oklahoma St is down this season.  Sean Sutton will have his hands full with the athletes at LSU.  Though I think that Sutton is a much better coach John Brady the players will make the difference here.  I won’t predict anything beyond this point only that I hope Duke loses somewhere along the way.  2nd round hopefully?

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I could list the whole Chicago Bulls team right now but I won’t.  What I will do is start my list with their point guard.

Kirk Hinrich-  Having a horrible season so far leading this team.  I watched the Suns/Bulls last night and the Bulls had the ball down 6 with a minute to go.  Hinrich dribbled hard to his left and did some pass/shot combo that missed the hoop by 5 feet and no Bulls player was anywhere near where they should be.  That’s the way he’s been this season.  Hinrich is only shooting 18% from the 3 point line and is averaging nearly 3 turnovers a game while only getting 6 assists.  Hinrich is good and nobody cares more or plays harder, but the Bulls were supposed to take a step forward and instead they look like they are stepping into the eastern conference cellar.

Pau Gasol- I thought of drafting this guy for my fantasy team and I’m so glad that I didn’t.  He is off to a horrible start.  Gasol is averaging 16 points but only 6 boards.  He’s a fantasy team killer because he’s too good to sit but not consistent enough to trust.  I expect this to turn around but this guy needs to get more touches.  Rudy Gay has played very well so far in Memphis this season and that has cut into Gasol a little bit but he’s much better than what he’s shown.

Gerald Wallace-  I called this guy my sleeper.  I even took him way too early in my fantasy draft and he’s disappointed.  I’ve faced the facts that he will never be a good shooter but I did expect him to be more on the stat sheet than he is doing right now.  He’s scoring 15 a game, but his rebounds should be higher than 5 and he needs to block more shots.  He is killing my squad and I need him to improve.

Vince Carter:  He signed his off season extension and, like we all knew, he got hurt.  I love Vince and he think he is one of the most talented players to have ever played the game when it comes to athletic ability.  However, he is counted on in Jersey and hasn’t been there so far for his team.  He just suffered a not so good ankle injury and he’ll be out a little longer, but I expect him to continue having a down year.

Ben Wallace:  Chicago Bulls center signed a 4 yr 60 million dollar deal last year and did pretty well for the Bulls.  He has been nursing an injury so far and that can’t be easy, but so far he has been a major disappointment for a team that needs him to be the Big Ben of old.  The team needs Wallace’s toughness and his ability to frustrate players and take them out of their game and so far he’s not doing that.  Ben’s been wearing his 14.95 shoes that he sponsors and many people think they are to blame, but that’s like blaming a bad golf shot on the club.  Wallace needs to get healthy and get the Bulls back to respectability in the NBA.

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Isiah Thomas and the Knicks are at it again bringing attention to the franchise in a negative way.  This time Stephon Marbury is the issue in New York as he skipped the Knicks game Tuesday night in Phoenix. 

Apparently Stephon Marbury was informed by Isiah Thomas that he was going to shake up the roster and not start Stephon against Phoenix and Marbury went AWOL.  Today it was announced that Marbury was fined 180k for missing the game.  I have a feeling that we are just getting started with this story but I want to vent for a bit about this.

How can a guy making 20 million dollars this season not be there for his team?  I’m serious.  The story goes that Marbury found out on the flight to Phoenix that he was going to be benched and he flipped out.  He acted so professionally as to just leave his team when they are facing a tough western conference trip when they really needed him.  Marbury is still a very talented player but his teams don’t win.  He doesn’t make other players better and his career has always been about him and it shows.  These actions don’t even surprise people because they know who Marbury is about.  If I’m the Knicks, cut your losses and buy out his contract and move on.  Either that or trade him to anyone who will take him.  Send him to Seattle or somewhere where losing is ok right now because it’s fits him best. 

I’ve played ball and i’ve been benched before and disagreed with it, but a team is a team and you don’t just leave them because your feelings are hurt.  How do the other players treat him when he or if he comes back?  Talk about a team cancer.  We’ve all experienced these sort of issues in our work environments and see how one person’s negativity can effect an entire organization.  Let him go because the trust is broken between player and coach and that only leads to negatives for the franchise.  We’ve seen it with Marbury before but we won’t see it much more in a couple seasons when he’s ‘Sprewelled’ out of the league.  The term ‘Sprewell’ means that the player refuses to play for apparent lack of respect.  Marbury won’t get the money he thinks he deserves and he’ll be done and doing just fine selling his $14.95 pair of shoes.

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In general, college basketball is a lot of David’s vs Goliath’s and this year it seems that the smaller schools are stepping up and causing some problems already.  For example, Kentucky lost their home opener to Gardner-Webb and it wasn’t even that close.  Gardner-Webb started the game scoring the first 15 points and ended up winning by 16.  They beat Kentucky by running right at them and forcing the tempo and the control.  Not the way that Billy Gilespie wanted to start out there.  The Kentucky fans are the most passionate fans in college basketball and Gilespie won’t have a long stay is this continues.  They won’t put up with losing the way Notre Dame is in football.

Then USC, ranked in the top 20, got pounded by Mercer.  Mercer.  Yes, USC is missing some players but that shouldn’t matter.  Oj Mayo got his career started off with a 32 point 8 turnover game and did I mention the game was in LA.  Mercer.

What it shows is that anything can happen in college sports on any given day or night and it is getting more and more so each season.  I think it has a lot to do with sports being year round now.  Basketball players play all summer and more and more kids are playing than ever.  By the time they get to college they have already played against and with most of the kids they are playing.  It makes a difference. 

Let me end my blog for the day with my greatest case in point….Illinois football.  This team had won 8 games the previous 4 years combined and they went into Columbus and beat top ranked Ohio St.  on Saturday.  I’m a die hard Illini fan and it was one of the best sports moments of my life.  When Ron Zook talks about Illini Nation and making them feel good he is talking about people like me.  I have felt better for 3 days now and I don’t want it to go away.  I imagine that Gardner-Webb players will have this same feeling for the rest of their lives.  When they are faced with self doubt and issues in their way they can always draw back on the time they beat Kentucky at Kentucky and nothing can take that away. 

Don’t you love college sports!!!

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I was talking today with Andy Louder, owner of www.hoopskills.com, about how overpaid Andrei Kirilenko is for the Jazz.  We are Jazz fans and it pains us to watch this guy get paid for what he actually brings to the table each night.  I got to thinking about who the most overpaid guys are this season so i compiled my list of 5.  Please debate with me on these as I have some strong opinions.

5.  SHAQ-  The guy is set to make 60 mill over the next 3 seasons.  60 million dollars and now nobody even double teams the guy.  I know that he isn’t playing with Dwyane Wade and I’ve heard all the excuses.  He’s rarely healthy for a full season and gets fouled any time he has an easy scoring opportunity.  He simply isn’t worth the money that he is to be paid this year, but imagine 2 years from now.  If things don’t improve I sadly see a buyout in the future of one of the most dominating players ever.

4.  Steve Francis-  16.4 million this season to sit behind 2 guards in Houston.  This is amazing.  Apparently he showed up out of shape to camp and is in the Rick Adelmans doghouse already.  16.4 million is a lot of money for no production really.  It is a long season and this guy is a proven NBA player so I may change on this one.  But for now, it is what is…a waste of money.

3.  Stephon Marbury- 20 Million.  Stephon is making 20 million to play a decent point guard for one of the most notorious lousy franchises in the NBA currently.  He puts up numbers a bit, but this guy is questionable if he is worth half of his contract.  He is more talk than game and needs to lead his team to the playoffs if he wants his rep to change.  I dont’ see that happening.  He’ll keep underperforming and living off his reputation.

2.  Andrei Kirilenko- 13 mill this year.  He has many more years to go on his max contract that he got a couple years back.  He averaged 8 points and 5 rebounds last season and isn’t going to do much better this year.  He struggles more than 5 feet away from the hoop now and has a hard time finishing near the basket.  He is a decent defender and that’s where his strength is but that’s about it.  Either Utah isn’t the right fit or this guy is just way overpaid.  I think it’s probably both.

1.  Michael Finley-  IN A LANDSLIDE.  Finley is set to be the second highest paid player in the league this year behind Kevin Garnett.  Finley has been a shadow of himself for years now and isn’t even a top option in San Antonio.  He is nothing more than a 22 million dollar a year role player for the champions.  That means Michael Finley gets paid almost 265 thousand a dollars a game for less than stellar production.  Must be nice.

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I’m an avid Illinois basketball fan and it broke my heart to see Rose sign with Memphis and I sold him short because I said that nobody will get to see the kid play because Memphis is in such a weak conference that they won’t get as much tv time.  I’m wrong.  I’m wrong.  I’m wrong. 

 If anyone has watched any Memphis highlights the past few days you’ve seen a player who is amazing in Derrick Rose.  Kid’s a true freshman and if there is a more talented college player in the country I’d love to see him.  I had watched some video clips of Rose from high school and I wondered how that would translate into college and it is amazing.  Sure he has played 2 ‘exhibition’ games so far basically but he’s putting on a show.  In his first game he had 4 dunks with one of them being a tip dunk where he came in from the wing.  What is amazing is that this kid is a true point guard who is a blur with the ball in his hands.  I had heard he couldn’t shoot the ball, but his form looks good and his elevation is great on his jumper.  Derrick Rose will be a top 5 pick in next years NBA draft and any fool can see it. 

There is no way that Memphis will NOT be on tv this year.  The public will demand it and he will be seen.  Coach Calipari got an amazing recruit and college basketball is better for it.

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The NBA kicked off last week and we have some serious surprise teams.  I was able to watch the NBA via the free week of the League Pass and I was able to watch the Hornets a few games and I came away very impressed.  For starters, Chris Paul, David West, Tyson Chandler and Peja all looked very good.  I love Deron Williams, but Chris Paul is the best young guard in the league.  He is an excellent player that really gets this team to go.  He can penetrate and get in the lane at will and when teams drop down on him he can kick it out to Peja or even David West.  West looked great so far coming off his injuries and I was very impressed with his ability to hit the 15 footer.  Chandler is a menacing defender underneath.  They looked very good so far.  The question mark here is the teams health.  This is true of most teams but especially here.  The Hornets need a healthy Peja, Paul and West to be a force.

On the flip side we have the Chicago Bulls.  Many people have picked the Bulls to make a conference finals run but they haven’t won a game yet.  Most recently they lost to the 76ers at home and the 76ers looked bad.  The Bulls aren’t scoring consistently and Hinrich and Deng are underperforming so far.  The Bulls are notorious slow starters but this is not the team anyone expected.  Wallace is getting old right before our eyes and being outplayed by Tyrus Thomas.  Joe Smith has even looked better than most of the guys they have on the floor.  I don’t think the Bulls will miss the playoffs, but they need to really start to play better or trade for Kobe because like him or not Kobe is a winner.

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