NBA Draft Lottery System

The Lottery

Since the NBA Draft Lottery was last week and the Nets (worst team) got the #3 pick, the T-Wolves (2nd worst team) got the #4 pick, and the Kings (3rd worst team) got the #5 pick, the argument has opened once again about whether or not to get rid of the lottery completely. As it is now, the NBA Draft Lottery works as follows: It is essentially for the top 3 picks in the draft involving the non-playoff teams. Each team has a certain percentage of winning each of the top 3 picks. The worse your record, the better your chances (the worst record has a 25% chance of getting the #1 pick). The first 3 picks are randomly drawn and picks 4-14 are in descending order of record based on the teams remaining. For example: New Jersey had the worst record in the NBA this year. This means that they can do no worse than #4 because if they don’t get top 3, they have the worst record out of the teams remaining. Conversely, the Houston Rockets, who had the best record out of the non-playoff teams, either get a top 3 pick or the #14 pick, nothing in between, 

The Summer of LeBron

Eliminated!

          Lebron James has been knocked out of the 2010 NBA Playoffs so now is a perfect time to say...Told ya so!!! This just strengthens my position that Lebron is not a closer and chokes under pressure. The “best player in the league” has been knocked out of the 2nd round of the playoffs. What does this mean? It means that Lebron James can’t handle the spotlight and do what great players like Jordan and Kobe can do, and that is finish you off. The two players just mentioned will get you on the ground and step on your throat, Lebron can’t do that and has proven it time and time again. Yes, Lebron had a triple double last night in the Game 6 at Boston (27 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists) but, and that is a big but, he shot 8-21 from the field (38%) and had 9 turnovers. 9 TURNOVERS!!!???? In an elimination game??? That’s at least 18 possible points the Cavs could have scored, which would have definitely the pace of the game considering the Cavs lost by 9. If you consider the points that he had 9 turnovers shooting 38% in a loss in an elimination game, in addition to going 3-14 with 15 points in Game 5, the triple double really doesn’t seem that great. Free agency for Lebron officially starts now.

Stupid Phillies’ Fans

The Morons and a Baseball Team

There must be something passing through the water in Philadelphia because this baseball season already has produced 3 of the most moronic fan events, all taking place at Philadelphia Phillies games. I don’t know what is happening there, it’s not like I am bias against the Phillies because I am a Yankees fan, but something is going on because these are some of the dumbest fans I have ever seen. Here is the breakdown of all 3 events in chronological order:

The Vomiter

On April 15, the Phillies were playing the Nationals on the field, but that’s not where the attention seemed to be. In the stands, a man was thrown out after he intentionally vomited on an 11 year old girl. Need I say more? I will. This man, sitting behind an off duty cop and his 2 daughters, actually

Super Fight Mayweather vs. Pacquiao

Boxing Separately

Yesterday Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Shane Mosley in a unanimous decision. On March 13, Manny Pacquiao easily beat Joshua Clottey. The two best boxers in the sport are inexcusably fighting other people. Mayweather, 41-0 with 25 KOs, and Pacquiao; 51 wins, 3 losses and 2 ties; refuse to fight each other because Floyd is accusing Manny of using illegal substances, with absolutely no proof to back up his claims, and that he won’t fight Manny unless he agrees to blood and urine testing 14 days before their fight as well as after. Pacquiao refuses, agreeing to testing 24 days before the fight at the latest, and both sides are at a stand still.

It's Time To Rumble

It’s clear that these two boxers are so superior to their competition that they need to fight each other in order for either of them to get any sort of a 

2010 NFL Draft Thoughts

Tim Tebow

It’s pretty obvious that the most surprising pick in this year’s NFL draft was Tim Tebow going 25th overall to the Denver Broncos. It seems that not many people like this pick because they do not see Tebow as a starting quarterback in the NFL. In my opinion, to understand this pick you have to understand that the Broncos already has Kyle Orton, last years starting QB, and newly acquired Brady Quinn. After the Tebow selection, Mel Kiper Jr. went on a rant saying that he doesn’t see Tebow as a good starter now nor in the long run, but maybe Denver didn’t pick Tebow to be a starting QB. Last year Denver was not shy about running the wildcat offense through their running back, Knowshon Moreno. What if the Broncos picked the former Gator to run the wildcat? In college he was a QB known for his threat 

The Ben Roethlisberger Suspension

The Suspension

Today Roger Goodell announced that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be suspended the first 6 games of the 2010-2011 NFL season. Roethlisberger was handed this suspension as a result of the accusations that he sexually assaulted a college student in a nightclub in Georgia in March. Last week, however, prosecutors decided not to press charges on the quarterback. If Ben behaves well, he can shorten the suspension to 4 games, but misbehavior can result in a longer suspension.

The First, But Not Last

Roethlisberger, under Goodell’s conduct policy, is the first player to be suspended who was not arrested or charged with a crime. Even though he no longer faces charges, I believe that Roethlisberger definitely deserved a suspension and the 6 games handed to him was a good amount. Was it harsh? Yes. Was it too harsh? No. It seems that the only way to teach

Spike Lee as the “Knicks’ Biggest Fan”

Dedicated Fan is More Like It

As a devoted New York Knicks fan, I watch absolutely every game I can. No matter where I am, if there is a chance I can catch some of the game, I will catch some of the game. A great example happened just last week, when the Knicks were playing their 2009-2010 season finale against the Toronto Raptors. Unfortunately, I had a softball game the the same time as the game, so what did I do? I brought my computer and watched between innings. Like I said, any way possible. And since I watch so many games I know how often the following happens and how angry it makes me. I can say that not a whole lot gets my blood boiling more than when Spike Lee is referred to as the New York Knicks’ biggest fan, or some form of that title is used. Over and over again I have

Jets’ Busy Offseason

          At the beginning of the 2009 season, few people had much trust in the New York Jets. The biggest turnoff was what seemed to be a poor offense in the air. Yes, they had Thomas Jones to run the ball, but a team can’t win by just running. The Jets had traded up in the 2009 draft and selected quarterback Mark Sanchez out of the University of Southern California who became their starting quarterback. Not only did they seem to be weak at the QB position with a rookie starter, but it didn’t really seem like Sanchez had anyone to throw to either. But what the Jets lacked on offense they more than made up for on defense, which consisted of, but certainly was not limited to, shutdown cornerback Darrelle Revis. As a result, they made it all the way to the AFC Championship game, 

Duke Wins the 2010 NCAA Tournament

Chalk in the End

When is it a surprise when a #1 seed (Duke) beats a #5 seed (Butler) in the NCAA championship game? Usually the answer is never, but after the large string of upsets throughout the first 4 rounds of the tournament, why shouldn’t it continue into the championship game? At the beginning of the tournament if someone had asked you who would win between Duke and Butler if they were to meet in the national championship game there wouldn’t be a doubt in your mind that Duke would win. What if someone had asked you that same question right before the game started, I bet you wouldn’t answer as quickly. Chances are if you didn’t have Duke in your bracket you were rooting for Butler because who doesn’t want to see an underdog come out on top? But there is a difference in terms of rooting for 

NCAA Experts

A Tournament of Unpredictability

It’s been a wild NCAA basketball tournament thus far. In the first weekend alone, 8 double digits seeds moved on to the 2nd round. 3 of those; #12 Cornell, #11 Washington, and #10 Saint Mary’s; moved on to the Sweet 16. Those don’t even include the biggest upset of them all, when #9 Northern Iowa beat #1 overall seed Kansas in the second round, ruining an unbelievably large amount of brackets country wide. Now the Final Four consists of #5 Michigan State, #5 Butler, #2 West Virginia, and #1 Duke. So raise your hand if you got this Final Four right. That’s what I thought.

The Experts

I woke up this morning and, as usual, put on Sportscenter where I saw Doug Gottlieb making his predictions on who is going to the championship game in Indianapolis and who will eventually be holding the trophy. I sat there and thought to myself “What do I care what Doug Gottlieb predicts, did 

Jeremy Tyler Quits Maccabi Haifa

         In April 2010 high school junior Jeremy Tyler announced that he would be skipping his senior of high school and play professional basketball in Europe for two years before entering the NBA Draft in 2011. In August of the same year, he announced his signing with Israeli team Maccabi Haifa. Tyler played only 10 games for Maccabi Haifa, averaging a mere 2.1 PPG in only 7.6 MPG. On Thursday March 18, 2010 Tyler declared that he will leave his professional team and return to his home in San Diego, California.

Brandon Jennings

One year removed from the Brandon Jennings experiment, Jeremy Tyler decided to take it one step further. While Jennings circumvented the NBA age minimum of 19 by joining Lottomatica Roma, a professional team in Italy, Tyler decided to skip both his freshman year of college AND his senior year of high school. Instead of going into

NCAA Tournament Opening Round Game

         In honor of the start of the 2010 NCAA tournament, it’s time to discuss one of the most pointless games in one of the best sporting events of the year, the opening round game. The first game of the NCAA tournament is played on the Tuesday after Selection Sunday between the two lowest seeded, automatic bid teams. The winner has the honor of playing one of the number one seeds in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. If you ever wondered why 65 teams, as opposed to 64, make it into the tournament, it’s because of this extra game. This year, the opening round game is between Winthrop, winner of Big South Conference, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, winner of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The victor then plays Duke in the first round. Is it me or is this game 100% useless?

The Play-In Game

Originally named the “play-in game,” the NCAA now refers to it as the “opening round game” because technically the two teams playing in it are in 

Floating Realignment in MLB

The Committee

Commissioner of Major League Baseball Bud Selig created a “special committee for on-field matters” that has already come up with a big idea for a change. The committee proposed the notion of floating realignment. Under floating realignment, teams will be able to change divisions based on payroll, location, and potential to make the playoffs. For example, a team like the Tampa Bay Rays, who are in the AL East, could move to another division so that they can get out of the shadow created by the Yankees/Red Sox and compete for a playoff spot without having to compete with those two teams every year. Conversely, a rebuilding team, such as the Kansas City Royals, can move to the AL East 

Baylor’s Brittney Griner Suspended

The Punch

In a women’s college basketball game between Baylor and Texas Tech, Baylor freshman phenom Brittney Griner and Texas Tech’s Jordan Barncastle got their arms tangled up while Barncatle was trying to guard Griner in the post. Barncastle was called for a foul as she spun Griner around and tossed her aside by the arm. Griner responded by throwing a punch at a defenseless Barncastle, who wasn’t even looking at Griner at the time, hitting her square in the face and breaking her nose. Griner was ejected from the game. If you haven't seen it, here is the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtaPtQnu370

The Punishment

As a result of her punch, Griner has been suspended for two games (one by the NCAA and one by the school.) Baylor has one game left in the regular season so Griner will miss that game and Baylor’s first round game of the Big 12 tournament. This seems to be an absolute joke of a 

Possibility of NBA Retiring Michael Jordan’s 23

          Everyone knows that Michael Jordan is more than likely the best player in NBA history. If you don’t agree with that, since there is no definitive list, you should agree that he is definitely top 2, but definitely reconsider your stance on who is number 1. However, as great as Jordan was on the court, can you mention him and someone like Jackie Robinson in the same sentence? Probably not, but Lebron James seems to try to.

The Thought

We may not know if Lebron James is going to have a new team for the 2010-2011 season, but we do know that he will have a new jersey number. James said he filed paperwork to change his number for next season from #23 to #6, the number he wore for Team USA during the Summer Olympics. James has been enthusiastic about his beliefs that the NBA should retire

Nate Robinson’s 3 Straight Dunk Contest Victories

         I know this is a little late in comparison to the 2010 SLam Dunk Contest, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t still be said. If anyone is less deserving of just one dunk contest trophy, let alone three, it’s Nate Robinson. If you break down the three contests in which he won, he only really deserved to win the 2009 competition, still arguable though, when he beat out Dwight Howard. Here is a breakdown of the 3 he won.

2006 Dunk Contest

In the end, the two best dunkers made it to the the finals, Nate Robinson of the Knicks and Andre Iguodala of the Sixers. But in the finals, injustice occurred. I have to make a side note about the 1st round though: In my opinion, Dala’s second dunk, an alley-oop

NCAA Tournament Expansion

Argument For

Over the past few years, there have been serious talks about expanding the Division 1 NCAA Tournament from 65 teams to 96 teams. The argument is that with the increase in parity among teams, it is getting more and more difficult in deciding which at-large teams are worthy of playing in the prestigious postseason. Every year it seems like the NCAA committee makes at least one mistake in selecting a team that doesn’t deserve to get into the tourney along with neglecting one team that did deserve it, and that’s where the argument of expansion stems. But I am here to argue the other side of this debate.

The Cinderellas

March Madness is arguably one of the greatest sporting events in the world. There are few other events that may be able to top it. What makes March so mad is the single elimination system. This gives underdogs a much greater chance to do well in the tournament than any other type of playoff format because they don’t have to be the best team in the country, 

New York Knicks Trade for Tracy McGrady

Trade

I am going to make myself very clear, I am a HUGE New York Knicks fan. Only HUGE in all caps is still an understatement. As a Knicks fan, I have obviously lived through a lot, particularly the dark ages of “he who must not be named.” But he is gone and Donnie Walsh has taken control as General Manager and has done a great job of clearing cap space for the highly anticipated summer of 2010. This past trade deadline, Walsh traded for Tracy McGrady and his expiring contract of almost $23 million. When asked what I thought about the trade, it’s a question that has no answer now, but will have a very distinct one in just a few months.

McGrady

Speaking in the here and now, the trade for McGrady was very smart because it gets people into the seats at the greatest stadium in the world, 

Lebron James’ 2010 Free Agency

Redeem Team Take 2

Lebron James has come out and said that he would prefer a championship ring over a maximum contract. If that’s true, then it is time to put his money where his mouth is. Sign a minimum contract with a team and let them sign higher priced players to play around him. 3 of the 4 stars of the 2003 Draft and the 3 headliners of the 2010 draft class, James, Dwyane Wade, and Chis Bosh, have 1 ring combined. Lebron has made it to the finals once, where he got swept by the Spurs in 2007, Wade won in 2006 but hasn’t come close since, and Bosh has been to the playoffs twice, never making it past the first round. In order for one of them to have the best chance of winning some jewelry, 

Tiger Woods’ Apology Speech

The Apology

Tiger Woods has “apologized” for his series of affairs that he had in the past although he was married with kids. You may have noticed that I put apologized in quotation marks. That’s because Tiger may have considered his speech apologetic, but nobody else should. The man who everyone thought was above it all, the man who everyone thought could handle the fame and money, and other than his inappropriate raves on the golf course, was pretty much the perfect celebrity in the eyes of many, really wasn’t that above it all after all. It seemed like neither his fame nor his money had gone to his head... and then came black friday, when his car crashed into a tree and somehow triggered a slew of women coming out and saying that they had an affair with Tiger.

Heartfelt Speech

But back to the speech. Before the press conference even started, it was obvious that he would be reading off lawyer written notes so as not to 

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