Fired Up Friday

The Rose Bowl

I could not be more fired up about tomorrow's Rose Bowl.    (Obviously, this has something to do with my Wisconsin allegiances, but still.)  This year's Rose Bowl is a classic matchup of speed vs. power.  It's David vs. Goliath.  Big vs. Small.  North vs. South.  Ask around and most people say it has the looks of a classic.  I see it much differently.  I believe that the Badgers will win the Rose Bowl handily by a margin of two touchdowns or more. 

I feel like there is no reason that the Badgers should not be able to run all over TCU.  Believe me I've heard that TCU is currently the number one ranked defense and they've been the "best" defense in the nation for the last three years, but that means nothing to me because of their schedule.  I don't care if a team can pad their stats and hold teams like Wyoming, Colorado State, BYU, UNLV, and Tennessee Tech under 10 points in a game.  That means nothing.  TCU has NEVER seen anything like the Badgers offensive line before and the Badgers should dominate the line of scrimmage and thus dominate the game.

I'm not saying that this will be a blowout from the start to finish, but I do believe that in the end the Badgers will demoralize the Horned Frogs and end up winning by a couple touchdowns.  With the fifth highest scoring team in the nation, there is no denying that TCU has a very good offense, but its nothing that the Badgers haven't seen before.  The Badgers have already beat the 11th (Ohio State 31-18) and 21st (Michigan 48-28) highest scoring offenses in the nation, while the Horned Frogs struggled against the 19th highest scoring offense in the nation (San Diego State 40-35).  I'm not saying this is completely indicative of what will happen on Saturday, but the one legitimate offense TCU played against they struggled to slow down.

I don't want people to think that I don't think TCU is a great team because they certainly are.  As I write this, I cannot emphasize enough how fearful I am that my predictions will be wrong because of how well smaller schools like TCU and Boise State prepare themselves for their bowl games.  They understand that bowls are their time to shine and they know that they need to perform well to prove themselves to the rest of the nation.

Earlier this week I was discussing bowls with my co-host on Saints Talk Alex Kollack and he was arguing that the only bowl game that truly matters is the National Championship game.  In his opinion, the only people who care about the other bowls are the fans of the two teams playing in each respective bowl.  In most cases, I agree with this opinion, but when it comes to this particular Rose Bowl I could not disagree more. 

This Rose Bowl may be the most important bowl game in the last five years.  I know that a claim of that nature may seem very exaggerated, but I think it could not be more true.  The BCS rankings have finally pitted a non-AQ against a team that pounds the ball on the ground and has a legitimate defense.  The most memorable victory of a non-AQ in a BCS Bowl came in Boise St.'s victory over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, but that Oklahoma team was more of a finesse team with a high scoring offense.  Finesse is not a word often used to describe the Wisconsin Badgers.  If the Badgers would end up dominating the Rose Bowl and physically dominating TCU, it may very well be the end of Non-AQs like Boise State and TCU being ranked in the Top 10 nationally.  The one major concern with these smaller teams has been how they would far in a power conference like the Big 10 and SEC and this game could finally provide an answer.

Big 12 Football

Big 12 Football could also appear on the list of biggest jokes in college football as well.  All kidding aside, this bowl season has proven my previous claims regarding the weakness of the Big 12 as a football conference completely correct.  As a part-time St. Louis resident, I have had to deal with MIZZOU fans tell me over and over again how good the Big 12 is.  I have listened to how difficult they are to stop, how many points they score, how exciting they are to watch, and how good they are as a whole.  I constantly refuted these claims as I attempted to explain that there are two sides of the ball and you need to play both offense and defense.

Then Iowa (#4 Big Ten) beat Missouri (#2 Big 12) without their leading rusher and receiver.  Then Washington (6-6, #4 Pac 10) beat Nebraska (#3 Big 12).  The smile that came from these results has yet to be wiped off of my face.  This bowl season has once again proven to me why I should continue to advocate for "boring" Big 10 Football instead of "exciting" Big 12 football.  "Exciting" Big 12 Football is a product of gimmicky spread offenses and a complete lack of defense, while "boring" Big 10 Football is a product of balanced offensive teams playing against consistently talented defenses.  Open your eyes, Big 12 fans!!!

New Year's Eve

I don't think New Year's Eve is that big of a deal.  It's really not that exciting to me.  New Year's Eve is simply a holiday that celebrates the start of a new day that happens to start a new year and gives everyone an excuse to party.  Meh.

I'm not a Kobe Hater...

As someone who has always enjoyed the athletic talents of Lebron James, I have always been labeled as a hater of Kobe Bryant.  In defending Lebron, it is almost a necessity to compare him to Kobe and then denigrate Kobe for all of the things he could have done better.  Thus, I have wrongly been labeled as a Kobe hater.

I would like to say here that I respect Kobe Bryant more than just about any other player in the league.  The things he does on a nightly basis are awe-inspiring and unbelievable.  In my opinion, he is the best scorer in the league and likely has the best footwork of any player in the league.  I honestly think he is amazing, but as I watched the Lakers' lose three straight games by ten points or more this week I remembered why I don't really like him.

My feelings can best be summed up in a quote from Bill Walton in The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons:
"As a fan, you want him to be perfect for you.  This comes back to your choice--who your heroes are.  You choose to value a certain type of player over anyone else.  He has the right to make his choice to decide who he wants to be, too."

As I read this, I realized exactly why people think I'm a Kobe hater.  Though I may be able to admit just how amazing and awe-inspiring I think Kobe is, I cannot stand the way he attempts to win games.  I hate that he wants to be the person that gets all of the glory and score all of the points, especially in the last few minutes of the game.  I despise that he KNOWS the Lakers have been most successful in the last three seasons when Gasol gets a significant number of post touches in Phil Jackson's Triangle offense, but yet he still has games like this Tuesday against the Spurs where he shoots 8 for 27 and the Lakers lose.

Does Kobe's amazing abilities disappear on these nights?  Does he stop doing the things that amaze me?  No.  He is still the exact same player, but my vision becomes clouded by the way Kobe tries to win games.  I start to focus on his selfish ways and the number of shots he makes.  I focus on this not because he does anything worse than other NBA players, but because I've seen it done differently.  I've seen players do it, in my opinion, the right way.

I enjoy the poetry of basketball.  I enjoy the extra pass to an open teammate.  I enjoy helpside defense and the role player who is willing to put his body on the line and step in to take a charge.  I enjoy the best shooter on the floor making a wide open three, not because of the shooter's sweet stroke, but instead because of the perfect screen set by the power forward.

I LOVE team basketball.  I loved the '04 Pistons who won the NBA title without a superstar.  I still love the San Antonio Spurs led by the greatest power forward of all-time Tim Duncan, who also doubles as one of the most unselfish superstars of all-time.  In the 80s, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson personified the idea of team and helped the Lakers and Celtics win championships with the help of their teammates.

This is why people see me as a Kobe hater.  I clearly appreciate his skills and understand his greatness, but my disappointment in his development as a leader and teammate has led me to ask for more from Bryant.  I know that he understands he can become a better team player and still win, but simply refuses to give up a little glory in order to make his team more successful.

Fired Up Friday

It's Friday and needless to say I'm once again fired up.  Before I get into why I'm fired up, I would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas.  Be sure to enjoy the time you get to spend with your family and friends.  But now let's get to this week's list.

College Football

If you have been keeping up with college football this season, you have heard about Cecil Newton selling his son's services to different college football programs.  You've heard about Terrelle Pryor selling his sportsmanship award and Noah Herron trading an autograph for some tattoos.  And you've heard about the NCAA suspending each of these players for their respective bowl games......Wait a second.  You didn't hear about that last part.

How have these players not been suspended for their bowl games this year?  It is safe to assume that viewers aren't going to be too excited about watching the Buckeyes attempt to beat Arkansas without their star quarterback Pryor, their leading rusher Dan Herron, their second best wide receiver DeVier Posey, and All-Big Ten offensive tackle Mike Adams.  Since viewers aren't going to be interested in watching a bunch of second stringers, the NCAA decided they should just wait until next season to suspend the players.  Heaven forbid the NCAA would do the right thing and lose money.  They'll just manipulate the situation and make some money off the players they are suspending for attempting to do the same thing.

The Cam Newton situation might be even worse.  Everyone knows that the only way to beat Auburn is to stop Newton and the NCAA could have done it.  The most ridiculous part of the Newton story is that the NCAA investigated the situation and found that his father had been asking schools for money.  They proved that all of these were facts.  They then asked Cam Newton if he knew about his father's actions and he claimed that he did not.  Am I really supposed to believe that? 

How do you think Reggie Bush would have reacted if I had used a Delorean to go back in time and tell him that the best way to avoid giving his Heisman back would have been to tell investigators that his father made the negotiations and he didn't know about it?  (That was a long hypothetical.  I hope you enjoyed it.)  Would he have laughed at me? Or just looked at me like I am crazy?

Blake Griffin's Nickname

I'm fired up about Blake Griffin's nickname because he doesn't have one.  How is this possible?!?!  He singlehandedly makes the Clippers watchable.  That's saying something.  When is the last time you were glued to your television when the Clippers were playing?  On any given play you can see the most amazing highlight you've ever seen.  Maybe it's an alley-oop.  Maybe it's a tip dunk.  You just never know what you're going to see next with Blake Griffin, but you do know that you've never seen anything like it before.

Here are some of the suggestions so far:  The Reel Deal, The Poster Child, The Vanilla Gorilla, The Dunk Tank, Blake the Quake, An Injury Waiting to Happen, Bam Bam Griffin, Earthblake, Blakezilla, Cyborg, Poster Prodigy, Fresh Air, UFO, G-Force, Richter 32.0, The Hairless Chewbacca, Master Blaster, The Statement, Quake Gryphon, The Thriller

We need to find one that sticks.  Blake Griffin HAS to have a nickname.  I like Richter 32.0 and the Poster Prodigy.  Let me know what you guys think or if you have any suggestions.

Women's Basketball

I know.  I was surprised I'm talking about women's basketball too, but two things have really fired me up in the last week.  I am tired of hearing about the 89 game winning streak of UConn women's basketball team.  This streak does not compare to the 88 game win streak of John Wooden and his UCLA bruins.  There is simply not as much competition in women's basketball right now as there was in men's basketball in the early 1970s, thus making their streak not as impressive.  There is simply no reason that the #1 team in the country should beat the #12 team in the country by 31 points and that's exactly what happened earlier this week in UConn's game against Stanford.

Eight of the twelve players on UConn women's team were McDonald's All-Americans and the other four were players of the year in their respective states.  With as little women's basketball talent as there is in the world, that is a significant amount of talent to be placed on one team.  As one of the best basketball players in the nation, how can you go from being the best player on your team to not even getting off the bench as a member of the UConn Huskies?  I just don't understand how, as a competitor, you could bring yourself to just be a bench player on UConn.  Why not go to a different team to win a national championship somewhere else and actually challenge yourself?  The NBA equivalent of this would have been Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, Rudy Gay, and Dirk Nowitzki all going to the same team in a NBA composed of over 50 teams.

Another thing I'm fired up about concerning women's basketball is Diana Taurasi.  Taurasi was recently busted in the Turkish league she plays in during the WNBA offseason (Who knew?) for modafinil, a drug that has been involved in several major doping cases.  I've never seen a highlight of Taurasi doing anything physically imposing or anything else that would suggest she has ever taken a performance enhancing drug.  If Taurasi is taking PEDs, then I have to believe that just about every professional athlete in the world is taking PEDs.

Eric Nehm

I just spent three paragraphs discussing women's basketball.  Nothing more needs to be said.

An Appeal to Emotion

I'm sure the last thing many of you want to read about is the Brewers' trade for Zack Greinke, but what I'm going to discuss is much more than that.  Since the trade was announced this weekend, I have read just about every article written about it and have seen the trade broke down many different ways.  Many of these articles have gone into an extensive breakdown of the WAR value of Greinke, of his BABIP, of his K/BB, of his BB/9, and of his K/9.  All of these statistics have become very valuable and are very helpful in measuring the effectiveness of baseball players, but in my mind the statistical evolution has taken away from the beauty of the game.

I understand that statistics have become a great way to make projections for the upcoming season and a way to predict the future, but one thing that statistics do not account for is emotion.  Sure it's unusual for players to make huge statistical jumps from one year to the next, but when there is a whole city involved who knows what can happen.  To understand the emotion involved in this trade, here are a few quotes from the past week.

"When I found out about it, I told my wife it was probably the happiest I'd been since I was drafted 10 years ago." - Zack Greinke

"I feel like I've acquired a CC Sabathia except for two years and maybe longer." - Brewers GM Doug Melvin

"I just wanted to be on a team that was trying to win this year, because as a pitcher you don’t really know how long your career is going to be. I just really wanted to be in a place where they were playing to win games right away. So Milwaukee’s obviously that place, and I’m just really happy that it worked out.” - Zack Greinke

"ZACK GREINKEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!" - The text I sent to my brother upon hearing the news

This is just a subsection of the emotion involved in this trade.  Greinke has gone on the record multiple times saying that it was hard for him to remain motivated to pitch in Kansas City when the Royals were not trying to win.  Motiviation should not be a problem in Milwaukee.  Milwaukee is desperate for a winner.  This was evident in 2008.  Every start by C.C. Sabathia was sold out and I don't see any reason why the same thing won't occur for Greinke.

There is just simply not enough emphasis placed on the emotion of a fan base and the infusion of the excitement of the fans into the team's play.  Athletes are undoubtedly affected by the fan support of a city.  I've seen the Brewers play in front of 20,000 fans in Milwaukee County Stadium.  I've seen the look in the players' eyes and the lathargic play that accompanied the lack of excitement.  I've also seen the Brewers play in front of 43,000 fans in Miller Park.  I've seen the extra hustle the players exhibit and I've seen Craig Counsell jump a few feet in the air to snare the last out of a one-run game.  Maybe the 40 year-old Counsell did a few more plyometric workouts than I thought in the offseason, but until the day I die I will be convinced that the collective will of the entire stadium gave him that extra inch of vertical necessary to catch the ball.

Don't get me wrong.  I love the statistical evolution of baseball and will likely write a blog post about advanced statistics (Yeah.  That was a teaser), but there are only so many things you can predict through statistics.  There are no statistics in the world that would have told you the Red Sox were going to come from behind andbeat the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.  There weren't many statistics that projected the Giants to win the World Series last season, but there is no denying the desire of the rabid fans of San Francisco to win a championship.  That is the beauty of baseball.  On any given day, one player can take over a game.  Roy Halladay had never pitched in a playoff game before and with a raucous Philadelphia crowd behind him, he pitched a no-hitter in Game 1 of the NLCS.  There is a certain magic to the game of baseball and sadly it gets forgotten as people get swept up in the over-analysis of statistics in Major League Baseball.

Updates

I've had some readers raise concerns about being unable to comment on the different blog posts I have posted.  This problem has now been fixed.  If you would like to post a comment, comment as a "Name/URL" profile and simply don't include a URL.  Or if you want to be mysterious, post a comment anonymously.

Also, you might notice my Twitter account on the right side of my blog.  This is just one of the many improvements I'm going to start to make to the blog to improve it and make it more interesting for each one of you.  If you have Twitter, my Twitter handle is nehm15.  Check me out!

GREINKE!

Before I begin to outline my thoughts on the Zack Greinke deal, I would first like to congratulate Jim Breen at Bernie's Crew for breaking this story.  As a former writer at Bernie's Crew, I cannot say enough about the hard work Jim has put in over the years and how much he deserves the credit for breaking this story.  As he broke the story last night and people questioned his credibility, I had no doubt that the report was true because of Jim's meticulous nature and the extreme attention he pays to detail.  Great job, Jim!

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As I woke up and took a look at my phone, I noticed that I had three texts and two Twitter notifications which was nothing unusual, but when I took a look at the date on my phone it read December 25, 2010.  I fell asleep last night under the impression that it was December 18th, but as I took a look at the lead story of ESPN.com this morning I realized I had fast-forwarded a whole week to Christmas morning.  As I looked under the Christmas tree, I saw one big present from the Milwaukee Brewers: Zack Greinke.

With two disappointing seasons following the Brewers' first postseason appearance since 1982, Doug Melvin knew he needed to wrap up a present for Brewers' fans and make it a big one.  In my opinion, this is exactly what he did.  Greinke is an ACE in every sense of the word.  I have heard the naysayers bring up his 10-14 record last season or his 4.17 ERA, but none of this phases me.  Last season, the Royals scored two runs or less in 16 of Greinke's 33 starts. Pitching on a team that consistently doesn't give you run support can be frustrating for a pitcher and can contribute to becoming a less successful pitcher. Though every Brewers fan remembers C.C. Sabathia's 11-2 record as a Brewer in 2008, few remember that he was only 6-8 with a 3.83 ERA as an Indian. It's unbelievable how much a simple change of scenery can do for a pitcher.

I'm not saying you need to look at the park factor of moving from Kauffman Stadium to Miller Park (because the difference is minimal with Miller Park being a slightly tougher park to pitch in), but instead take a look at the atmosphere he will be pitching. Throughout Greinke's career, he has pitched in front of small crowds that have had little passion in Kansas City, but the Brewers have drawn over 3 million fans to their home games for three consecutive seasons. I was in Miller Park for C.C. Sabathia's first start in 2008. I was in Miller Park for both of the playoff games in 2008. I have also been in Kauffman Stadium. The electricity produced in Miller Park is nothing like anything Greinke has ever experienced. Also, the immediate support Brewers fans will give to a top-notch starting pitcher is remarkable. There is no doubt in my mind Greinke will get standing ovations for at least the first two weeks of the season and possibly the whole season. With this kind of support, there is no telling how much Greinke can improve.

Greinke's strengths are quite possibly the two traits the Brewers' pitching staff could use most.  Greinke is one of the best pitchers in the league at consistently pitching deep into games.  In the past three years, Greinke has been in the top 10 in the league in complete games, as well as innings pitched.  With a pitching staff that has constantly dealt with injuries (see Gallardo, Yovani and Sheets, Ben), a stalwart in the front end of the rotation will help to steady the rest of the pitching staff.  With Greinke on the staff, the Brewers will now be able to make Gallardo a #2 SP and Shaun Marcum a #3 SP, which is where each belongs.  Gallardo has never been consistent enough to be an ace and walks too many batters.  Instead of being a bad #1 SP, Gallardo is now a very good #2 SP and Marcum is a well-above average #3 SP.

Greinke's ability to limit walks is another great trait that will be added to the Brewers pitching staff this next season.  While Greinke's strikeout numbers are very comparable to Gallardo, Greinke does a great job striking out batters without putting people on base.  In the last three years, Greinke's WHIP has not been above 1.275 and in 2009, Greinke led the league with a WHIP of 1.073.  Gallardo's high walk numbers have been most of the reason why Gallardo has never been able to become an ace as a Brewer.

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Though no one can deny how good Zack Greinke is, there have been plenty of people to say that the Brewers have given up entirely too much to obtain Greinke.  In acquiring the ace, the Brewers were forced to give up Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jake Odorizzi. 

The piece the Royals coveted most was Lorenzo Cain and many Brewers fans were upset the Brewers were forced to give up two major talents to obtain Greinke.  Many Brewers fans loved the speed and excitement Cain brought to the team and remember his white-hot start upon his callup in mid-July, but forget how he cooled as the season went on.  Cain was certainly an above average fielder as well, but Brewers fans have to realize that Cain has only played at the major league level for two months and no one knows if he will be able to put it together for a whole season next year.  In fact, Cain could very well have a season very similar to that of Alcides Escobar last season.  In his second season as a Brewer (and first full season), Escobar's batting stats regressed significantly with his batting average falling from .304 in 38 games in 2009 to .235 in 2010.  He undoubtedly flashed a great glove and made some spectacular plays last season at shortstop, but a franchise shortstop that has an OBP of less than .300 might not be the player you want to stick with for more than a year.

While some people were concerned with the major league talent the Brewers were forced to give up, others complained about the "gutting" of the Brewers minor league system.  Though the Brewers were forced to give up four of their most talented young players, complaints regarding the "gutting" of the minor league system are unfounded considering that for the most part the Brewers' minor league system was very mediocre.  It's not like any of the players given up were stud prospects.  The best player with the highest upside in the entire package was Odorizzi, who many have projected to be a #2 SP at best.  Though it can be scary to give up your best young talent, everything is relative.  If these were upper-level prospects, I could understand the frustrations of Brewers fans, but these players were not highly rated by Baseball America or any other scouting organization for that matter.  Though Jeffress was originally a great prospect for the Brewers as a starting pitcher and garnered a lot of attention, as soon as he was delegated to the bullpen, Jeffress's value plummeted because relief pitchers are not nearly as valuable as starting pitchers.

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With the addition of Greinke, the Brewers immediately turned themselves into contenders in the National League.  Though the Brewer's rotation is certainly not as good as the Phillies super rotation of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels, it is certainly one of the best in the National League along the lines of the Reds, Giants, and Cardinals.  In a league where pitching continues to play an ever-increasing role in the outcome of the season, Doug Melvin has finally decided to pair a legitimate pitching staff with the big bats he has always been in love with.

The Brewers had one of the best offenses in the league last year and there is no reason to believe the same will not be true this year.  With all of their major position players (Fielder, Braun, Hart, Weeks, and McGehee) returning, the Brewers should certainly present problems for opposing pitching staffs all season.  The most overlooked part of this whole equation is Prince Fielder.  In terms of average and slugging percentage, last season was Fielder's worst as a pro, but I don't see this occurring again because this upcoming season is a contract year for Fielder.  With Scott Boras as his agent, Fielder knows that a big season this year will result in a huge payday and quite possibly a World Series for the Brewers.

Fired Up Friday

If you have ever talked to me for more than an hour, you know that I get fired up pretty easy and will complain about just about anything.  And you will probably hear me say something like, "You know what I'm fired up about?"  So, I've decided every Friday, I'm going to give you the things I'm currently fired up about, so without further adu...

Here is the list of things I am fired up about this week:

The San Antonio Spurs

I'm not so much upset about the San Antonio Spurs, but more the lack of attention the Spurs are receiving.  The Spurs are 21-3 at this point and look like the best team in the league.  If you haven't watched this team yet, I understand why.  You probably think that this Spurs team is the Spurs of the past ten years.  They walk it up and down the floor.  They're slow.  They play good defense.  I'm bored.  Don't make me watch this.  Things have changed though.  The Spurs are now one of the highest scoring teams in the league and can be very excited.  If you don't want to watch them because they're exciting, at least watch them for their cast of characters.

The Spurs have one of the most eclectic group of players in the whole league.  Everything on that team runs through the big man in the middle, Tim Duncan.  Duncan is, in my mind, the greatest power forward of all-time.  Though his greatness is undeniable, his excitement has always been lacking.  He is meticulous to a fault.  If you truly appreciate the game, you will understand just how great he is otherwise I'm sure you'll probably be bored.  (And that fires me up!  Learn the game!  Appreciate Duncan's greatness!)

Now to the rest of the cast.  You have the French point guard formerly known as Tony Parker-Longoria, but he's recently dropped the Longoria.  There's the Argentinian shooting guard, who has the most unusual footwork of anyone in the history of the league.  (More on this later.) And last, but not certainly not least, there is one of my ten favorite players in the league, Matt Bonner. 

With all due respect to Brian Scalabrine, Bonner is easily the best pale red-headed player in the league.  The thing I love about Bonner and Scalabrine is that they both look like The Sandlot's Hamilton Porter all grown up, but they represent two very different lives.  Scalabrine looks like the Hamilton Porter that fails as a professional wrestler and goes on to live in the trailer park on the wrong side of town.  On the other hand, Bonner looks like the successful husband that gave up professional wrestling for the hustle and bustle of the business world.

Another reason I love Bonner is that his shot looks eerily similar to that of a middle school girl.  (Please watch the links side-by-side.  This Caroline girl shoots just like Bonner.)  (Parentheses to my parentheses: Why are there so many videos of this little girl playing basketball?  She's in sixth grade, mom and dad.  You're not getting her a scholarship anytime soon, so lets just calm down with all the filming.)

People Complaining about NBA Referees

Anyone who complains about the referees of the NBA need to get a grip on reality.  We have always known that there are certain calls the referees will make and certain calls that they won't.  And THIS will never be called a travel.  I'm sorry to break your hearts, but if there is a borderline travel at the end of a game, it will NEVER be called.  It's just a fact.  There is no reason to get fired up about it.

Something that did get me fired up about NBA referees is them correctly calling a charge in the Spurs-Nuggets game last night.  This is a really tough call for referees to make because you typically want to let players decide the game and not referees, but in this case that's exactly what happened.  Ginobili understood that Carmelo Anthony was going to storm through the lane on his way to the basket and the best way to stop him was to take a charge.  I couldn't be happier that a group of referees stepped up and made the right call.

Anthony "Showtime" Pettis

I'm sure this is a name almost none of you have heard before, but it's a name you should get to know.  Some of you might recognize Pettis from his time on "World of Jenks", but THIS is the reason you should now know him.  (Don't skip over that link.  Watch it!)

That is the most amazing thing I have ever seen in a MMA fight.  I'm not saying I'm a huge MMA fan or anything, but because Pettis is from Milwaukee I was watching the fight live last night and I was up off my feet when it occurred.  That kick is something you say when you're with your friends watching MMA in your buddy's basement like "Hey man, what if you would run up the side of the wall and kick the guy."  It's not something you would ever expect a professional MMA fighter to do.


Now that I got all of this off my chest, I think I will be able to breathe for another week, but next Friday I will be back with many more grievances on Christmas Eve.

Brett Favre: A Unique Case Study

As I heard about Brett Favre's streak ending at 297 consecutive starts made, a myriad of images from my childhood came to my mind.  I saw a young Brett Favre running around like a little boy with his helmet off during Super Bowl XXXI.  I saw Favre tossing touchdowns with tears in his eyes as he played the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football the day after his father passed away.  I saw a bearded and disheveled Favre throwing an overtime interception against the New York Giants, but none of these images were the image that stood out in my mind.

My brain was instead focused on an image from the future.  An image of Brett Favre standing on the stage in Canton, Ohio six years from now.  An ESPN camera shot looking over Favre's shoulder into a sea of green and gold, but the sea would not be pure, instead it would be dotted with purple and a weird shade of green that doesn't quite fit in.  Then my brain started to question my imagination's image.  Would that sea really be green and gold?  How have things become so bad that I question if the sea would be green and gold?

After 16 incredible seasons with the Packers, Favre became a member of the New York Jets in 2008 and the breakup was not pretty.  Depending on who you listen to you will either here the Packers moved on to the greener pastures of Aaron Rodgers or the team forced Brett to leave and did him wrong.  No matter who you listen to you, there is no denying how ugly it has gotten.  Upon hearing the news of Favre's streak being broken, I received a text from a friend and lifelong Packers fan reading:  "I hate his f*%king guts.  I guess it is safe for Goodell to suspend him now.  A Fraud End to a Fraud Career.  May he enter The Hall a Vikqueen."  As I read the text, I started to comprehend just how much things had changed.  A Packers fan was willingly rejecting arguably the team's greatest player and the player that brought the team its first Super Bowl trophy since Lombardi.  The most disturbing thing is that this sentiment is not uncommon.

I'm not saying it is unusal for an athlete to be hated by fans because there is a long list of athletes fans love to hate.  Barry Bonds.  Kobe Bryant.  Tom Brady.  These guys have been hated by fans for years, but have always had the undying support of their fans.  Any Lakers fan will tell you exactly why Kobe Bryant is better than Michael Jordan.  Any Patriots fan will tell you why Tom Brady is undoubtedly the greatest quarterback of all-time and definitely better than Peyton Manning.  But when it comes to Favre?  I don't see any more than 25% of Packers fans defending him to the death.

It's very rare for a player once loved to become so hated by a singular fan base.  The only company Favre has in this club is Lebron James and James has is whole career to make up for the mistakes he made this past year.  That's what makes Favre so interesting.  Six years from now many people will assume that Packers fans will have forgiven Favre because time heals all wounds, but I don't know if it is necessarily the same with sports.

Mention Bartman to any Cubs fan and be prepared to be thrown out into the blustery winter winds of Chicago.  Mention Buckner to a Red Sox fan and get ready to be dangled off the top of the Green Monster by your heels.  When you bleed the colors of your favorite teams, wounds take a long time to heal.  If you are cut open by a player you love, you need a lot of band-aids to fix the wound.  In the case of Packers fans, they not only were hit with a massive uppercut when Favre left, but they have been receiving a series of jabs ever since he has left.

As we flash-forward to that fateful day six years from now, there will undoubtedly be a sea of green and gold in Canton, but the question is whether or not the support will be full-fledged.  Though the image is easy to imagine, my imagination struggles to match the image with a sound.  In the back of my mind, I find myself asking, "Was that a BOO?"

NBA Mock Draft

Nothing is more fun than speculating on what a professional sports team will do and no event lends itself to this better than a draft in any of the professional sports.  The NBA draft is just around the corner and I have decided to give it a shot.  In writing a mock draft, I had to force myself to remember how stupid GMs can be.  I had to try to remember that the smartest move isn't necessarily the move a GM will make.  For example, in a NFL mock draft, to correctly pick the Raiders' pick, I would need to look up whoever ran the fastest 40-yard dash time and I would get the pick right.  Or that in a NBA mock draft, I have to remember that the Atlanta Hawks will never pick a point guard, no matter how bad they may need one.  So, without further ado, let's get this thing going.

1. Washington Wizards (26-56)
After a season in which two of the Wizards best players attempted to make the team live up to their previous name by pulling guns on each other in the locker room, the Wizards could use a little excitement to get them going.  There are too many weaknesses to list on this Wizards team, they could really go anywhere with this pick.  I personally think that the best available player is Evan Turner, but popular opinion would say that John Wall is that player.  Like Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans, Wall is another one of John Calipari's one-and-done point guards.  Though the other two have been extremely successful, I'm not sure that Wall possesses the size (Evans) or the explosiveness (Rose) necessary to be as successful as these other two have been in the league.  Nevertheless, I still think the Wizards will go with Wall.

Washington Wizards select: PG John Wall, Kentucky

2. Philadelphia 76ers (27-55)
With a new head coach and the second pick of the draft, this offseason will be very important in shaping the next few years for the 76ers.  With Wall most likely gone with the first pick of the draft, there are a lot of different directions the Sixers could go.  The only truly talented player the Sixers have is Andre Igoudala.  Sure, they have Brand, Dalembert, Young, and Holiday, but none of these players are good enough to be regarded as players that can not be replaced.  As I mentioned earlier, I would undoubtedly select Turner.  I believe Evan Turner is going to be the next Dwayne Wade.  His explosiveness, composure, and general ability to just fill it up night in and night out remind me of all of the things D Wade did while at Marquette.  In other mock drafts, I have seen Wesley Johnson as the pick for the Sixers, but I think it would be ignorant not to pair up Iggy and The Villain (for all of you Club Tril members) for the next five years.  Drafting Turner would allow Igoudala to move from the main scorer to the role of secondary scorer in which he is much better suited and thrives.

Philadelphia 76ers select: G Evan Turner, Ohio State

3. New Jersey Nets (12-70)
The Nets were undoubtedly the worst team in the league and definitely could have used a player like Wall or Turner, but unfortunately they got unlucky in the lottery and will have to settle for one of the other talented players that will be available at #3.  This is one of the predictions I feel most confident in because of the interviews Mikhail Prokhorov has conducted so far.  He has been adamant in the Nets' need for a new power forward to pair with center Brook Lopez, which leads me to believe he will almost certainly go with Derrick Favors.  Favors is the best power forward prospect in the draft and would be a small piece of the puzzle that will help the Nets get started on their path back to relevance.

New Jersey Nets select: PF Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech

4. Minnesota Timberwolves (15-67)
With three picks in the first 23 picks of the NBA Draft, the Timberwolves will be able to make vast improvements on a team that had the second worst record in the NBA.  The T'Wolves don't need a point guard considering they drafted two of them last year and they are pretty well sweet down low with PF Kevin Love and C Al Jefferson.  It would seem to make sense that the T'Wolves would try to find a shooting guard or small forward, but in the last week Love has been quoted as saying he has no idea what his future would look like if the T'Wolves would draft another big man.  I would think that the T'Wolves would understand that it would be ignorant to alienate and upset one of their former first round draft picks, but then again who would have thought the T'Wolves would draft two point guards last year, so anything could happen.  And with that said...

Minnesota Timberwolves select: C Demarcus Cousins, Kentucky

5. Sacramento Kings (25-57)
The Kings have been wildly successful in the draft in the past few years drafting two starters in 2010 Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans and SF Jason Thompson.  With Evans and Thompson making plays and scoring a majority of the points on the perimeter, along with the low-post rebounding and toughness added in the mid-season acquisition of Carl Landry, the Kings only seem to be lacking a legitimate low post scoring threat.  Sadly for the Kings, though, the best low-post scoring option, Cousins, was just drafted by the T'Wolves.  Unable to address their most pressing need, the Kings will be forced to go elsewhere.  Along with a low-post scoring option, the Kings could use a shooter who can help take the scoring load off of Thompson and Evans.  Wesley Johnson from Syracuse might just be their guy.  He can help spread the floor to give their playmakers more room to operate and he can knock down some big shots.

Sacramento Kings select: SF Wesley Johnson, Syracuse

6. Golden State Warrior (26-56)
The Warriors have made some great picks in the last few years, but with Don Nelson's quirky rotation patterns, many of their draft picks have either wasted away or been frustrated with their lack of playing time.  One of the few draft picks to find success under Nelson was Davidson standout Stephen Curry, who nearly won   If the Warriors were a typical NBA team, I would say they could use a low-post scorer, but obviously we know that the Nelson-led Warriors are far from typical.  With that said, though the last thing they need is a wing scorer, I wouldn't be surprised if the Warriors would take Al-Farouq Amino.  After being compared to Michael Jordan in high school, Aminu struggled in his two seasons at Wake Forest to live up to the hype.  He could simply just be a player whose game fits better in the NBA than in college, but only time will tell.

Golden State Warriors select: SF Al-Farouq Aminu

7. Detroit Pistons (27-55)
After a huge-spending spree last year on Ben Gordon and Charlie Villaneuva, the Pistons.......whoa, whoa, whoa.....Let's take a little time to reflect on that.  A spending spree on Ben Gordon and Charlie Villaneuva.  What were the Pistons thinking?  Why would those two players help a team?  Well, anyways, with those two signings the Pistons weren't overly successful.  With Ben Wallace and Kwame Brown as the only two centers on their roster, the Pistons definitely need to fortify their front line and the best available center in the draft would be Cole Aldrich from Kansas.  There were times during this past season that Aldrich looked like the best player in the nation, but there were also times where he looked like a bum.  The main concern with Aldrich is definitely his athleticism and his lack of athleticism is the main reason why I'm not sure he will be able to cut it in the NBA, but it seems like the place the Pistons are going to have to go to fill their rebounding and shot-blocking needs.

Detroit Pistons select: C Cole Aldrich, Kansas

8. Los Angeles Clippers (29-53)
I would say that the Clippers are probably about a Lebron James away from being relevant.  Unfortunately, Donald Sterling is still the owner and they have a general manager who has served under Mike Dunleavy, Sr. for the last few years.  It seems much more likely that the Clippers will get the consolation prize and I'm not talking about Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh, I'm thinking more along the lines of Joe Johnson or maybe Ray Allen or maybe even Udonis Haslem.  The Clippers don't have any really glaring weaknesses and will essentially have two lottery picks this year with the addition of this pick and a healthy Blake Griffin.  In all reality, they could go anywhere.  If I've learned one thing about the Clippers, it's that Chris Kaman does not like having other post players around to steal his shots, so I think the logical pick for the Clippers would be a guard.  Just a guess here...

The Los Angeles Clippers select: G Xavier Henry, Kansas


To be continued....

Getting a Little Nashty

After watching Steve Nash dismantle the Spurs with one eye, I couldn't help but start to think about the greatness of Steve Nash.  Year after year, the Suns have been eliminated by the Spurs and it was great to finally see the Suns beat the Spurs and move onto the Western Conference Finals.  Though the Suns are overmatched in their upcoming series against the Lakers, I think it is necessary to take a look at Nash and his career before losing sight of how great he is when the Lakers begin to dominate the Suns.

Since becoming a member of the Suns in 2004, Nash has been the team's point guard and consumate leader.  The Suns would be absolutely nothing without Nash and everyone in the league knows it.  Even with every team trying to slow him down, Nash has put together some of the most ridiculous statistical seasons of all-time as a Sun including two MVP seasons and five seasons averaging more than ten assists.  Now there are obviously skeptics who claim that Nash's success was solely based on the run-and-gun system Mike D'Antoni implemented in Phoenix and his two MVP seasons were flukes.  These skeptics need to look no further than this past season to truly understand the greatness of Steve Nash.

With new coach Alvin Gentry, the Suns have slowed down and become more of a half-court team.  The Suns are no longer looking to get a shot up within the first six seconds of their possessions and they are no longer focusing on offense only.  The Suns have become a complete team in every sense of the word.  Sure there will still be times when you see Steve Nash through a pass the length of the floor for a slashing Grant Hill or you will see Nash pull up for a three in transition, but for the most part you will see Nash walk the ball up the floor and enter into the offense.

Even with this slower approach, Nash was still able to have a good season statistically (16.5 PPG, 11.0 APG) and lead his team to the third spot in the Western Conference playoffs.  His leadership is what I believe sets him apart from other point guards in the league.  After Suns GM Steve Kerr made the absolutely horrendous decision of attempting to become tougher by adding Shaquille O'Neal last year, many people would not have blamed Nash for being upset and asking for the first ticket out of Phoenix, but that isn't in Nash's DNA.  Nash is exceedingly loyal and would never think of leaving Phoenix.  Instead of whining and complaining, he toughed it out and remained the leader of a team that suddenly has the best chemistry in the league (Chemistry example).  There aren't many superstars in this league that would be okay with only playing THREE minutes in the fourth quarter of a road playoff game just so a bench player (Goran Dragic) could stay in the game and continue his hot shooting. (In fact, this same thing occurred in the Game 2 of the Lakers-Jazz series and C.J. Miles had a hot shooting fourth quarter and Jerry Sloan brought Deron Williams back in the game and put Miles back on the bench.)

While averaging both a high number of assists and points, Nash remains one of the most efficient players of all-time.  Larry Bird and Steve Nash are the only two players in NBA history to shoot 90% from the free throw line, 50% from the field, and 40% from the three point line in a season.  Nash has now done it FOUR times.  That is absolutely ridiculous.  Nash doesn't take shots he shouldn't take and knows the shots that he can make.  Also, his 90% FT shooting makes him indispensable at the end of games because he can knock down the big shot to give your team the lead and, once your team has the lead, he is able to seal a victory with his phenomenal free throw shooting.

All of these reasons are why I believe Nash is the best point guard in the NBA.  Many people believe that Chris Paul or Deron Williams deserve that distinction, but though both of them are great players, I'm not sure either of them have learned how to lead a team like Nash yet.  (Williams is much closer than Paul.  You would have never seen Nash quit on his coach like Paul did with Byron Scott in the past two years.)  Neither of these guys are as efficient as Nash, either and their shot selection can be questioned at time.  For example, though Williams is thick and powerful, he took a contested jumper against the Lakers in Game 3 and you have to question why he didn't take the ball to the basket with a smaller Derek Fisher guarding him.

With a 36-year-old body and over 1000 games played, Nash might not have many seasons left.  Whether or not you agree with my position, just take some time and watch him play.  I'm sure you won't regret it.

The Blueprint for Success

After following the Bucks in St. Louis during this past school year, I got greedy and felt that I needed to be a part of the dear feering going on in Milwaukee.  So with the amazing connections I have in Milwaukee, I managed to finish up my final two papers a day before I was planning on finishing them (Sorry, Dr. Murray and Dr. Gournelos) and snuck up to Milwaukee in time for Game 6.  We all know how Game 6 and Game 7 went for the Bucks and I couldn't help but feel responsible.  Because I felt so guilty, I felt it necessary to layout a plan for success for the Bucks this offseason.  A blueprint for success, if you will.

1. Resign John Salmons
• This is obviously only the case if Salmons was to decide to exercise the player option of his current deal and opt to become a free agent.  If Salmons opts to become a free agent this summer, resigning him should immediately become the Bucks first priority.  The addition of Salmons at the trade deadline was huge and Salmons immediately stepped into the Bucks lineup and became the go-to-guy in the fourth quarter that the Bucks were missing.  Without Salmons, the Bucks will not have a consistent scoring option on the wing and will have to rely on Brandon Jennings to be a scorer, a role which makes the Bucks worse as a team.
2. Get Bogut and Redd Healthy
• Today, even with missing the last 6 games of the season, Andrew Bogut was named to the ALL-NBA 3rd team.  Bogut was an absolute beast this year for the Bucks and was much of the reason for the Bucks' success.  Most impressive was Bogut's improvement on defense, where he averaged 2.5 blocks per game, which was second in the league only behind Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard.
• Along with getting Bogut back, the Bucks will also get a healthy Michael Redd back on the team.  Though Redd has not been able to remain healthy the last few years, a healthy Michael Redd can be a truly dangerous scoring threat and could definitely help the Bucks next season in their quest to return to the playoffs for a second straight here.
3. Show Michael Redd game film of Jamal Crawford (Hawks '09-'10) and Ben Gordon (Bulls '08-'09).
• Without Michael Redd for most of the past season, the Bucks were able to make the playoffs and their chemistry seemed much better without Redd.  I believe the biggest mistake the Bucks could be next season would be to place Michael Redd back into the starting lineup based on his past accomplishments instead of his actual ability.  Instead, the Bucks should force Michael Redd to watch the game film of Crawford and Gordon and understand what it is like to be the "gunner" coming off of the bench.  Many of the best teams in the league have a player than can score in bunchs off of the bench and they are the players that fuel many of the team's runs.  Look no further than the way Jamal Crawford played in the last couple games of their first round series against the Bucks this year.  The Bucks need a gunner to fuel their scoring while Jennings and Salmons are on the bench.
4. Get more athletic through the draft.
• In the Bucks' midseason trade with the Bulls, the Bucks swapped picks with the Bulls and moved up two picks to the 15th pick of the first round.  With this pick, it is essential for the Bucks to become more athletic, whether it is at small forward, shooting guard, or power forward.  In my personal opinion, Ekpe Udoh would be a great pick for the Bucks because he is someone that could finish in the lane and elevate above the rim.  Another great pick would be Xavier Henry, if he would fall to the Bucks.  The Bucks were second last in the league in shooting percentage because of their reliance on jump shots and an athletic forward or guard would help the Bucks get into the lane and get better shots.

Who's #1?

After catching a vicious stomach virus that lasted from roughly 12:15-1:30 this afternoon, I was forced to miss my British Literature class and watch the Big East Tournament.  I would have much rather discussed the metaphor and rhyme scheme in Ode to the West Wind by Percy B. Shelley, but instead I was forced to watch Georgetown and Syracuse battle in Madison Square Garden.  Ugh.  What an awful afternoon.

Ultimately, Syracuse lost and I was forced to wonder if they just lost one of the #1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.  As of right now, I think there are two locks to be #1 seeds: Kansas and Kentucky.  Beyond that, there are a couple candidates, but none of them have really distinguished themselves.  Let's take a look at the resumes of a couple candidates.

1. Syracuse - (28-4) - (15-3 Big East) - #3 in AP Poll
• Syracuse has been looked at as a lock for one of the #1 seeds, but with losses in their last two games, some have started to doubt their legitimacy as a #1.  Even with those two losses, Syracuse still only has four losses and has been the best team in the bet conference in the nation all year.  It would be hard to give them anything but a #1 seed, but things could get interesting if the injury suffered by Arinze Oniwaku today is serious.
2.  Duke - (26-5) - (13-3 ACC) - #4 in AP Poll
• Duke has a very interesting candidacy this year because typically being the best team in the ACC would nearly automatically get you a #1 seed, but the ACC hasn't been nearly as good this year.  Duke has played a tough non-conference schedule, though, and if they win the ACC Tournament, it would be hard to keep them out of a #1 seed.
3. Ohio State - (24-7) - (14-4 Big Ten) - #5 in AP Poll
• Ohio State is in contention for a #1 seed for one reason and one reason only: Evan Turner.  Sadly, though, Turner is also the reason why they are not in contention.  In December, Turner got injured on a dunk and missed six games.  Ohio State lost three of these six games without him, which means they have only lost 4 games with Turner in the game.  If Ohio State would win the Big Ten Tourney, it would be hard to keep them from receiving a #1 seed.

If you have been keeping track,  that means I think there are three teams that deserve a #1 seed with only two #1 seeds available.  Two of these teams' destinies depend on what they do in their respective conference tournaments, which means the next three days should be a lot of fun.

Random Thoughts...

On the upcoming NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament:

• There is no clear cut favorite this year.  It will be an extremely difficult year to fill out a bracket.
• The tournament field this year is unbelievably weak.  There has been talk of six Atlantic 10 teams making the tournament this season. SIX!  Are you serious?
• Senior leadership is hard to find.  The only team in the Top 5 that has significant senior leadership is newly #1 Kansas.
• I have an absolute man-crush on Scottie Reynolds.  I'm still not sure why, but I find it very hard to pick against him.  In my opinion, he is the best point guard in the nation.  (I have seen mock drafts that have him being drafted in the second round.  NBA teams are crazy!)
• Evan Turner is an absolute monster.  Turner is leading the Big Ten in points and rebounds and is second in assists and steals.  And he has played half of this season after BREAKING HIS BACK!  He returned from a broken back and might have been ever better than before he got injured.
• The Big Ten is scary good.  (I don't care if I am biased.  They are.) 
• Ohio State is seriously dangerous with a great supporting cast along with Turner. 
• I would love to talk about Purdue, but they won't be the same team without Hummel. 
• As always, Michigan State will be a threat to reach the Final Four with their typically talented and well-coached team. 
• Wisconsin will be a tough out this year with Trevon Hughes in the backcourt and Jon Leuer back from injury.  (Leuer's injury was a blessing in disguise for this team because role palyers like Jordan Taylor and Keaton Nankivil learned how to step-up into bigger roles.)
• The Pac 10 is scary bad.  They don't deserve more than one team in the tournament, but because of the weak field they might get two.
• The mascot of Coastal Carolina University is the Chanticleer.  What is a Chanticleer?  A chanticleer's origins can be found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.  A Chanticleer is a proud and fierce rooster that protects the barnyard.  Figured you wanted to know.

New Face in New Orleans

For the last few years, if you would take a look at the box score of any New Orleans Hornets game, you would likely see the stat line of the Hornets' point guard look something like this: 21 points, 11 assists, and 5 rebounds.  this was obviously the stat line of Chris Paul.  After being dragted 4th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft, Paul earned Rookie of the Year honors and developed into a NBA superstar.  The last two years, Paul has been in consideration for NBA MVP and has been nearly unstoppable.

Paul was playing just as well this year, but then Paul got injured a month ago and was forced to have surgery on his left knee.  Hornets fans' collective breath stopped and their hopes for any success for the rest of the season were lost.

Then something happened.  After the All-Star Break, the box score started to read things like "24 pts, 9 asts, 4 rbs" and "18 pts, 12 asts, 13 rbs", but Chris Paul was still not in the line-up.  The Hornets were now being led by rookie point guard Darren Collison.  Collison, the 21st pick out of UCLA, has been putting up Paul-like numbers since the All-Star Break.  Which brings up two questions: "What kind of water do the point guards in New Orleans drink?" and "How talented is Chris Paul?"

Though Collison's success is a great story, I would much rather discuss the implications of his success for Paul.  In New Orleans, Paul has always been allowed to dominate the ball on the offensive end and attempt to make plays.  Paul has been such a dynamic force that it was unthinkable that anyone else could have been successful in the the same situations.  Paul was being called a "once-in-a-lifetime" talent and the best point guard under six feet tall since Isiah Thomas, but now his performances do not seem that special.

Collison is putting up very similar numbers to Paul and he is only a rookie.  Does this mean that any point guard in the league inserted in to the New Orleans lineup could do the same things Paul could?  I don't think so, but it definitely does ahve certain implications for Paul.  The assembled in New Orleans is perfect for a point guard who can manage a team and get into the lane and that is exactly what both Collison and Paul can do.

For the last three years, people have marveled at the numbers Paul has put up, especially his assist totals, but really his numbers are completely inflated.  When Mike D'Antoni was the head coach of the Suns many NBA analysts were quick to discount the accomplishments of Steve Nash, some going as far as to say he didn't deserve the two MVP awards he won.  But now that it is apparent that the same thing may be occurring in New Orleans, no one has really stepped up to say the same thing.

Paul has benefited from a game plan completely centered on maximizing his performance.  As a Hornet, Paul has had great pick-and-roll post players, as well as great spot-up shooters in Peja Stojakovic, James Posey, and Marcus Thornton.  He has been put in a system that gives him multiple opportunities on every single possession to get an assist.  Now that a new point guard has been put in this position he is thrivingi in the exact same situations that Paul was.  Leaving us to continue questioning how talented Chris Paul really is.  Is he really a superstar.  Is he expendable with the emergence of a new young point guard?  Could the Hornets even think of trading him?

In my opinion, I think they could trade Paul.  I can't even imagine what kind of return they could get for Chris Paul.  I can't think of a time a team has ever traded a true point guard in the middle of his prime in the NBA.  There is no way that the Hornets wouldn't be able to get at least another legitimate scoring option and some more young role players to assemble around Collison and West.  A starting line-up of Collison-Thornton-(Scorer obtained in trade)-West-Okafor could do some damage in a very talented Western Conference.  If the Hornets would make this move they could become a mainstay in the top five of the Western Conference instead of team that struggles to make the playoffs.

WITNESS

After seeing this video, I had no choice, but to write about one of my favorite sports subjects. Some call him King James, some call him the Chosen One, some even call him the Akron Hammer, but I will just call him Lebron James.

I absolutely love watching Lebron James. I refuse to pass up any opportunity to watch him play because in my mind Lebron James is the most amazing athlete of all time.

Lebron James is 6'8" and weighs 260 pounds. Take a second and just think about that. (Keep thinking about...keep thinking...okay.) Lebron James is absolutely massive. Just to help you comprehend how large he is, I have found a few comparable bodies:

• Justin Tuck - DE, New York Giants - 6'9", 275 pounds
• Julius Peppers - DE, Chicago Bears - 6'7", 283 pounds
• David Lee - PF, New York Knicks - 6'9", 250 pounds
• Elton Brand - PF, Philadelphia 76ers - 6'9", 254 pounds
• Zach Randolph - PF, Memphis Grizzlies - 6'9", 260 pounds
• Karl Malone - PF, Utah Jazz - 6'9", 256 pounds

If you take a look at these bodies, you will find all-pro NFL defensive ends or all-star NBA power forwards. Last time I checked, Lebron James does NOT play power forward. I included Karl Malone because as a surefire Hall of Famer and arguably the greatest power forward of all time, Malone was famous for hammering home dunks on fastbreaks led by John Stockton. As a guard, Lebron not only finishes fastbreaks, he also starts them many times.

There has never been a physical specimen like Lebron James before. He is the size of an NBA power forward, but he has the quickness and agility of a point guard. The things he does on the floor are absolutely unbelievable and at times unthinkable. After watching him night in and night out, I can't help but think that Lebron might have become the NBA's best player.

Before they even finished reading that sentence, I could hear every Lebron hater in the world say: "Lebron is a stat stuffer. Lebron is overrated and overhyped by the media. Where are his rings?"

I have heard all of these arguments before and they are all valid. When it comes down to deciding the best player in the NBA, there are really only two choices: Lebron and Kobe. I'm not going to pretend to like Kobe. I have never really liked him, but I have always respected what he can do. Kobe is undoubtedly the best closer in the game and no one in the league is better than him at creating their own shot. Though he does several things well, at this point, I believe Lebron has surpassed Kobe as the NBA's best player.

It has been a long time since we have seen a player put up numbers like Lebron James. As of March 6, Lebron is averaging 30 points per game (1st in the NBA), 8.5 assists per game (6th), and 7.2 rebounds per game. Lebron is on pace to become the first player of all time to win the NBA Player of the Month award every single month of the season. These stats become even more impressive when you take a look at the team Cleveland GM Danny Ferry has assembled in Cleveland.

Throughout Lebron's career, Cleveland has paired him with Zydrunas Ilgauskas at center. I am adamantly against calling Ilgauskas a center. I don't remember the last time I saw Big Z make a post move, but I do however remember seeing Big Z standing in the corner looking for an open three on nearly every Cavaliers' offensive possession in the last 5 years.

To help remedy this problem, the Cavaliers brought in Shaquille O'Neal this offseason. The Shaq that came to Cleveland was a shell of his former self. He was no longer the top center in the league. He was no longer the force that played 38 minutes a game, while averaging 28 ppg and 12 rpg during the 2000-2002 seasons when he helped Kobe obtain three of his four titles. In Cleveland, Shaq has struggled to find a flow and Cleveland has actually been more efficient without Shaq in their lineup.

Through his first six season's in Cleveland, along with the lack of a true post presence, Lebron has also been forced to deal with poor point guard play. Lebron was forced to play with the likes of Eric Snow, Alvin Williams, and Jeff McGinnis. There was a lot of attention paid to the Cavs bringing "All-Star" point guard Mo Williams two years ago, but this move seemed relatively unimpressive to me. (As a bucks fan, I know Williams all too well.)

Mo Williams is a shoot-first point guard, who is most effective when he can dominate the ball and shoot off the dribble, but is not a great spot-up shooter. None of these attributes fit well with Lebron's game. Honestly, there are probably about ten or more point guards I would rather have. (Point guards I would rather have (in no particular order): Nash, Williams, Paul, Rondo, Rose, Kidd, Westbrook, Harris, B. Davis, Billups, Brooks)

I'm not even going to discuss the wing players and power forwards Lebron was forced to play with. When J.J. Hickson, Ricky Davis, and Joe Smith are three names that would be brought up in the discussion of Lebron's best running mate at these positions, there is clearly something wrong.

On the other hand, Kobe has had the pleasure of playing with some of the best team's of the last ten years. As I already mentioned, Kobe won his first three titles with the help of Shaq who was argubably the most dominating low post player of all time. Last year, when Kobe won his fourth title, his Lakers team was likely the most talented team in the league. Kobe was once again able to play with a top five center (Pau Gasol) and one of the most dynamic forwards in the league (Lamar Odom) en route to his fourth NBA championship ring.

Even though I'm sure I haven't convinced any of you Lebron haters to think any differently, I hope you can at least step back and appreciate what Lebron does on a nightly basis. Instead of nitpicking and being completely critical of everything Lebron does, please just take some time to watch the show he puts on night in and night out.

Because some day, your kid or grandkid will ask you if you got to watch Lebron James play basketball and hopefully you will be able to say with a smile, "Yes, I was a witness..."

Welcome

Nehm of the Game is a blog written by me, Eric Nehm. (It's pronounced name. Yeah, I did just use a pun in the title of my blog. Get used to it. I like puns.) I am a Sophomore at Maryville University, where along with pursuing a double major in English and Communications, I play basketball.

This blog will be dedicated to the random thoughts I have about various sports topics. I may also include some of the experiences I have as a Division II Basketball player here at Maryville. I might have some others contribute from time to time as well. Read some posts and see if you can catch up.