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Super Bowl XLV – Live!
06
February
Brad Stratton

Ok, a little late with this.

7:08 Trying to type, watch, and make noodles. Was about to type that the Packers look better so far, then Green Bay gets a Pick 6. Time to panic in the ‘Burgh yet?

7:18 Is anyone actually expected to go to GoDaddy.com to see more of Joan Rivers?

Pittsburgh showing life after Big Ben started limping. A touchdown would have been big there, big third down tackle on Wallace. 14-3

7:26 Yeah, another special effects laden extravaganza with no plot and racist characters, brought to you by Michael Bay.

7:32 Reminded why I never manage to blog at all. Is it my kids’ bed time yet?

Love the Star Wars commercial. Probably since I “use the force” with automatic paper towel dispensers.

Pittsburgh converts a 1st and 20, starting to drive. Green Bay reminding me of being up 14-0 on the Giants and then giving up two quick touchdowns.

7:41 Biggest hit of the night so far is a log on Roseanne. 15-yard personal foul on the log?

Fun betting line as Ben throws another interception: Better Big Ben QB rating in Super Bowl 40 or 45?

7:48 Anyone know if Jessica Simpson was at the bar where Ben ran up the huge tab a few days ago?

8:09 Halftime. Green Bay still in command, but the Steelers picked up a big score before the half.

Hey, what happened to the Geriatric Super Bowl halftime show?

I’m typing all of this on my Android. Everytime I swype “Super Bowl,” it comes out as “Super Bowel.”

8:18 Fun stat. No team in Super Bowl history has come back from 10 or more points down to win.

8:35 Got bad info. No team has come back from MORE than 10. Washington trailed Denver 10-0, won 42-10 in Super Bowl XXII.

8:51 Second half has been all Steelers so far. The Packers’ offense has been lifeless, and their defensive line is giving up too many yards. Key third and one coming up at midfield. I’d be shocked if Green Bay stopped them.

8:56 First down.

9:01 Thank God the Steelers got rid of Jeff Reed. I could have kicked that better.

9:10 Kinda lame trying to push a player into a punted ball.

Aaron Rodgers is playing lousy right now.

9:31 Packers have 21 points off of turnovers. Only stat you need.

9:38 Admittedly, the Steelers aren’t giving up. Charles Woodson being out is huge right now.

If Steelers lose, this much is clear. God does not want Flozell Adams (rightfully so) to win a Super Bowl.

And the Steelers score on a pass to Wallace. Get the deuce on the conversion on an OPTION! Three point game.

I think the GoDaddy.com server just crashed.

9:50 Earlier in the game, Buck and Aikman commented on the Packers’ play balance so far. Since then, no balance. The Steelers get pressure every play because the Packers aren’t running the ball.

As I typed this, the Packers ran the ball twice. Damn.

Packers are 8 yards from putting the game away.

9:56 And they can’t close the deal. So here we are. 2:10 left, Green Bay up by 6. Only QB to lead a game-winning drive in the final two minutes when nothing less than a touchdown would suffice… Eli Manning.

10:03 Fifty-six seconds left and fourth down.

10:05 Incomplete pass. The Green Bay Packers are Super Bowl XLV Champions!

Again, 21 of Green Bay’s 31 points came off turnovers. Nuff said.

10:17 Trophy presentation on the field. Aaron Rodgers wins MVP. Favre never was a Super Bowl MVP. Poor Brett needs a hug somewhere.

That’s it for me. Promise there will be more posts!

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Penn State vs. Alabama review
12
September
Brad Stratton

I don’t think there’s been such little enthusiasm for a big game since Penn State hosted #1 Miami in the season opener. Sure, Penn State fans were rooting for a Nittany Lion upset, but I think most fans knew a victory was highly unlikely and were just hoping for Penn State to make it respectable. Instead we got a 24-3 loss that was pretty one-sided and probably should have been worse.

The Good

Rob Bolden didn’t have a good game, but for the most part, I thought he played with a fair amount of poise. A lot of people expected the true freshman to look and play scared shitless in his second start and first on the road.

Colin Wagner is 4-for-4 on field goals this season, making his only attempt against Alabama on a 36-yarder. He probably would have gotten more opportunities, but the Penn State offense had a bad habit of shooting itself in the foot in the red zone. That said, so far we can’t make any jokes about being in “Kevin Kelly miss range.”

The Bad

Evan Royster had a few decent runs against Alabama, with his best being an 11-yard scant in the first half. But he still only finished with 32 yards on 9 carries. For a running back who’s poised to become the Nittany Lions’ all-time rushing leader, he hasn’t been able to get going yet this season. Now, plenty of that blame does lie with the offensive line, which has done a piss poor job of moving the pile. The line was marginally better protecting Bolden, who had time to pass on most plays.

The defense did a crappy job of tackling in the first half, allowing Alabama to move the ball at will. When the Crimson Tide wanted to run, there found open receivers over the middle with ease. When they wanted to run, Trent Richardson breezed through countless holes and broke a countless number of tackles. The worst offense was the Crimson Tide’s third series, which started at their own 3 but three plays later was at the Penn State 37 after runs of 11, 16, and 33 yards. The only thing stopping Alabama was Alabama, who occasionally tried to convert third-and-shorts with short passes that missed their targets. With Alabama running at will, throwing on third and short was just trying to be cute. The only thing keeping the defense out of the ugly section was they were respectable in the second half, as they forced two punts and stopped Alabama on a fourth and two on the last play of the game.

The Ugly

Penn State really should have made the game look more competitive. Three times the Nittany Lions drove the ball down into the red zone, and they handed the ball over with two interceptions and a fumble. Both interceptions came with Bolden getting pressured and unable to step into his throw. On the first interception, with the score just 7-0, Bolden got hit as he threw, and the ball was essentially a jump ball for Alabama to come down with. On Penn State’s first possession of the second half, Bolden threw a wounded duck that got picked off. With Kirk Herbstreit and Brent Musburger commenting on Penn State still hanging around at 17-0, there was a fair amount of optimism for Penn State before the interception. There was this pipe dream of taking the ball in for the touchdown and being down 10 and back in the game. The interception pretty much killed those dreams.

Penn State’s fumble in the red zone was actually a gift from the officials, and I still don’t understand what happened. Down 14-0 and a 2nd and 6 on the 16, Bolden completed a short pass to Chad Powell, who fought to get to the sticks. Instead of getting the first down, he coughed the ball up, and Robert Lester scooped the ball up for Alabama. Lester looked like he was heading for the end zone, until he was brought down at the Penn State 2. Lester fumbled as he went down, and Penn State recovered. However, at least one official (thought it was the referee) signaled a first down for Alabama, leading me to believe that Lester was ruled down by contact before fumbling. A replay seems to confirm that, and the officials confirmed the ruling on the field. BUT THEN THE PENN STATE OFFENSE WENT OUT  ON THE FIELD. I still don’t understand this.

Rankings

Penn State dropped to #20 in the coaches poll, and #22 in the AP poll. The Nittany Lions amazing are ranked BEHIND Michigan in the AP Poll, after the Wolverines won in the final minute to glorified mid-major Notre Dame.

Next up

Penn State goes back to patsies, as they host Kent State, then Temple. They’ll be 3-1 entering Big Ten play, but they it’s on the road at Iowa, which smacked around Iowa State 35-7 on Saturday.

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NHL wins at exercising double standard, Kovalchuk free agent
09
August
Brad Stratton

The NHL succeeded today, as arbitrator Richard Bloch ruled that that Ilya Kovalchuk contract signed with the New Jersey Devils was indeed circumvention and should by nullified.

The Devils signed Kovalchuk to a 17-year, $102 million deal on July 19, which would have paid the Russian winger $6 million for each of the first two seasons, then $11.5 million for each of the next five seasons, $10.5 million in 2017-18, $8.5 million the next season, $6.5 million in 2019-20, $3.5 million in 2020-21, and $3.5 million total over the last six years.

Kovalchuk would have been 44 when the contract expired.

“(Playing until 44) is not impossible,” Bloch said, “but it is, at the least, markedly rare.”

Listen, no one was arguing that it wasn’t circumvention. Since the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement calculates a salary cap hit by the contract’s average (the deal would have paid Kovalchuk an average of $6 million a year), rather than that year’s actual salary, the Devils loaded a lot of cheap years on the back-end to allow the average to drop far lower than the $11.5 million each year from 2012-17. It was a shady deal, no doubt.

But it wasn’t that simple. Marian Hossa signed a 12-year, $62.8 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks in May 2010 that pays him an average of $5.233 million despite being worth $7.9 million for each of the first seven seasons. Hossa, who will be 42 when the deal expires, lifted the Stanley Cup above his head at the end of the season. The NHL investigated the deal, but let the Blackhawks off with a warning.

Goaltender Roberto Luongo signed a new 12-year, $64 million deal with the Vancouver Canucks in September 2009 that paid him an average of $5.33 million despite being worth $10 million in the first year and $6.7 million for each of the next seven years.  Luongo will be 43 when his contract expires. Once again, the NHL allowed the deal to pass.

Chris Pronger signed a new 7-year, $34.45 million deal with the Philadelphia Flyers in July 2009 that paid him an average of $4.92 million despite being worth $7.6 million in the first two years, $7.2 million in year 3, and $7 million in the fourth year. Pronger will be 42 when the contract expires. The NHL’s only action was to force the “35-and-older” clause onto the contract. That clause, under Article 50.2(c-iv) of the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement, states that when a team signs a player who is 35 or older (as of June 30 prior to the season the contract goes into effect), the team is still responsible for the annual salary cap hit if the player retires before it expires. The Flyers argued otherwise, since Pronger didn’t turn 35 until October 10, 2010, but eventually decided not to officially dispute the decision.

That’s called precedent, and it’s the reason why few people seemed to expect the NHL to win at arbitration. But that’s exactly what happened. Apparently playing until 44 is extremely rare, but 43 isn’t?

Also interesting is that Bloch noted that he didn’t believe the Devils or Kovalchuk acted in bad faith. Supposedly, the NHL chose not to reject the Hossa, Pronger, or Luongo deals because they couldn’t prove the deals were not done in good faith.

So Kovalchuk is now an unrestricted free agent, free to sign with any team. According to Devils’ president/general manager Lou Lamoriello, New Jersey and Kovalchuk are already having discussions on a revised contract. New Jersey probably still remains the best chance for Kovalchuk to sign in the NHL, unless he’s willing to sign a one-year contract.

Kovalchuk reportedly has an offer on the table from SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia for approximately $9 million a year. Losing one of the NHL’s elite scorers to Russia would be a disaster, but the NHL talking a hard stance on these long term contracts, the Russian deal is probably looking pretty attractive right now.

So the NHL rejected the Kovalchuk contract, after allowing the Hossa, Luongo, and Pronger deals to stand. But it’s not too late to do the right thing. The NHL now has precedent. They had an arbitrator side with them to reject shady contracts that appear to circumvent the salary cap.

According to Article 26.10(b) of the CBA, the league is allowed to open investigations of contracts that have already been approved for suspicions of circumventions. Furthermore, 26.10(d) states that there is no time limitation that would prohibit the league from looking at the Hossa, Pronger, and Luongo deals.

It’s time for the NHL to do the right thing. If they refuse to take another look at these deals, it creates an appearance that the league was singling out New Jersey. You might start to wonder if the Detroit Red Wings offered Kovalchuk the same contract, would the NHL have rejected it? If the league fails to act, you might have to say yes to that question.

The Los Angeles Kings were the primary team vying to sign Kovalchuk. The Rangers were also becoming a rumor late in the process, and throughout the grievance uncertainty.  Would the NHL rather have one of their premier players on the only team in the No. 2 market in the country, and on the No. 2 team in the #1 market in the country. Despite being better than the Rangers for most of the last 15 years, the Devils still play second-fiddle. Even with Martin Brodeur, Zack Parise, and Ilya Kovalchuk, the Rangers will still outpace the Devils in attendance and TV ratings. New York may love in a winner, but in hockey, they love the Rangers more.

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Giants 2010 Schedule
01
August
Brad Stratton

Back in 2007, a friend who is a Steelers fan had a season schedule that his uncle had made on his refrigerator. I thought it was really cool looking. So I got a copy of it prior to the 2008 season and remade it as a New York Giants schedule. I made it again in 2009, and it was actually used by a Giants fan club for viewing parties.

So… here is the 2010 version.

In the past, I used Tom Coughlin’s training camp slogan on the bottom of the schedule. This season, I did something different. I read an article by Mike Garafolo of the Newark Star-Ledger, which was titled “Redemption is a common theme throughout Giants organization as camp begins.” I googled for a good quote about redemption, and this was what I found.

So click on the image below to get the full version of the schedule. It’s sized for 8 1/2 x 11 inches (letter-sized).

Enjoy!

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What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas
30
July
Brad Stratton

LeBron is a really great guy.

He must be, if the Worldwide Leader in Sports is to be believed.

On Wednesday morning, a story appeared in ESPN.com. Written by Arash Markazi, it was a first-hand account of a Vegas party hosted by James himself. It wasn’t a very flattering piece, with nude women in a bathtub, go-go dancers holding up placards that spelled “KING,” and James wishing “they’d
have one of these girls with no panties (bring us champagne) instead of the guy.”

Really, the story isn’t the article itself. Las Vegas is known as a destination that requires a lot of discretion. It’s no mistake that one of the cities’ slogans is “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

Anyway, about 15 minutes after the story was posted, it was pulled. Later that day, ESPN.com responds that the story was still in a draft phase and had accidentally been posted before being fully reviewed by an editor.

Later, ESPN changed its excuse. Apparently, Markazi never identified himself as a reporter to James’ group, so ethically, the story should not have been posted.

Which leads me back to the part about James being a great guy. If ESPN’s excuse is to be believed, Markazi introduced himself as a regular guy (certainly not a reporter) and was invited to dine with LeBron, his family, and his friends at a casino restaurant. Then, “Average Joe” Markazi was invited to tag around to a private party in a casino nightclub.

Damn, LeBron is an awesome dude. I’m gonna have to keep my ears open about LeBron’s next Vegas trip. Maybe next time, he’d let me tag along with him to the strip club.

OK, sarcasm mode is off. Here’s what really happened (probably).

1. Markazi identified himself as a reporter. James and his group, thinking it would be a fluff piece, agreed to let him come along.
2. The article was posted. James’ group realized how unflattering it was.
3. James’ group complained to ESPN.
4. The Worldwide Leader, having already refused to publish reports that Brett Favre was passing sensitive information on the Green Bay Packers over to the Minnesota Vikings (months prior to signing with Minnesota), refused to publish news that Ben Roethlisberger had been accused of rape (the first time), and was the network of record for “The Decision,” agrees to take down the story.
5. To help James save face, ESPN makes up some story about the author not identifying himself as a reporter. Which also shows us what a great guy James really is.

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The Cautionary Tale of Kevin Belcher
25
June
Brad Stratton

You know who Kevin Belcher is, right?

Right?Kevin Belcher

Belcher was the 153rd player chosen in the 1983 NFL Draft, the draft that is well-known for having possibly the best crop of quarterbacks ever in one draft. Belcher was an offensive lineman coming out of Texas-El Paso when he was selected in the sixth round by the New York Giants.

Belcher saw action in all 16 of the Giants’ games in 1983, a season where the team went 3-12-1 and nearly cost new coach Bill Parcells his job. Belcher was the starting center in 1984, and even had a four-yard pass reception in a 31-21 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Dec. 9.

But before the 1985 season, Belcher’s career ended when he got in a car accident that exposed nerves. The Giants struggled to replace him until they acquired Bart Oates from the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL.

Belcher’s brief career is relevant today because history may be repeating itself. The Giants recently acquired safety Chad Jones in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Jones, a two-sport star out of LSU, was hyped as a talented player who would bring much-needed depth at the safety position, a luxury the Giants sorely missed in 2009.

“I think right at the end of the OTA’s, (Jones) was starting to emerge and doing things very well on special teams and in the secondary,” Giants coach Coughlin said after New York’s recent mandatory minicamp.

But Jones’s career met the figurative and literal obstacle, as his SUV crashed into a pole Friday morning in New Orleans. Two passengers in the car walked away with minor injuries, but Jones wasn’t as fortunate. He reportedly fractured his left leg, and left arteries and nerves exposed. He underwent surgery in the late morning to return blood flow to his foot, and doctors now believe that he won’t have to lose the foot.

It may seem insensitive to speculate on Jones’s career at this point, but let’s be honest. Hundreds or thousands of people get in accidents every day, yet you’re reading about this one because who he is. Whether you’re a LSU student or alumni, a Giants fan, a football fan, or just a sports fan, you’re reading this because it’s Chad Jones.

Like Belcher, it’s hard to imagine Jones playing another down in the NFL. His foot is/was in danger of being amputated, and his had ARTERIES and NERVES exposed. Frankly, it’s a miracle he’s not dead.

Which brings us back to Belcher. In 2003, 18 years after his accident, Belcher passed away due to “undisclosed reasons.”  It may have been something completely unrelated, or perhaps it’s due to complications from the accident. We really don’t know. But it’s curiously coincidental enough to state that while his career is probably over, we can only hope and pray for Jones’s continuing recovery.

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The Evil Turf!
21
June
Brad Stratton

Some New York Giants fans are in a panic right now, with wide receiver Dominick Hixon’s 2010 season ending before it began. For those who haven’t heard, the receiver/return man went down untouched during the Giants’ recent mini-camp, and torn his ACL. Season over.

The loss of Hixon as a receiver is probably minimal. He’s clearly behind Steve Smith and Mario Manningham on the depth chart, and could have easily been the fourth receiver behind second-year player Hakeem “Don’t Call Me Hicks” Nicks. In addition, the Giants also have Derek Hagan, Ramses Barden, and Sinorice Moss. There is a lot of excitement about Barden and his size (the Giants have been without a tall receiver that Eli Manning can throw a jump ball to since Plaxico Burress went to the slammer), and this injury may force the Giants to give Barden more of a chance.

Yet as minimal as Hixon’s  impact as a receiver is, the loss of the Giants’ kickoff and punt returner can’t be overestimated. Hixon was a player who gave Giants’ fans a surge of excitement every time he made a return. Even when he wasn’t returning punts for touchdowns (like in East Rutherford against Dallas last season), he could be counted on to give the offense good field position with an impressive return.

The Giants could go back to Moss as a return man. Early last season, the Giants took Hixon out of the return rotation, feeling his value as a receiver was too great to risk injury on returns. The 1998 preseason injury to Jason Sehorn continues to haunt the Giants and affect strategy (it was recently reported that cornerback Aaron Ross wanted to return kicks. Fat chance at that.) Anyway, Moss was pretty terrible as a return man.

Hixon’s injury has led to a lot of panic about the new stadium’s artificial turf. The New Meadowlands Stadium uses FieldTurf and a lot of the players (as well as coach Tom Coughlin) commented that the turf was loose and wasn’t very good. Nevermind that the old stadium used FieldTurf as well, and people weren’t tearing their ACLs left and right.

The turf is like a pair of new shoes. You have to break it in first. Once the turf gets a little more usage, it will tighten up and the “What’s wrong with the turf” questions will go away. In fact, it’s possible all these other events at the stadium (for example, college lacrosse was the first event at the new stadium, not football) are being used to help break in the turf.

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BS Sports Blog offers $1.25 for naming rights
11
June
Brad Stratton

BS Sports Blog Stadium. It has a nice ring to it.

Yes, i”m joking. But this isn’t a joke. Online dating site AshleyMadison.com has submitted a formal offer to the New York Giants and New York Jets for the naming rights for the New Meadowlands Stadium. The offer is for five years and totals $25 million.

Now this alone isn’t that interesting, and I wouldn’t normally blog about this, except this isn’t your run of the mill dating site. The site’s motto is “Life is short. Have an affair.”

Yes, that’s right. A site that promotes adultery wants to have their name on the new stadium. Can you imagine? Stephen Weaver at Examiner.com has an awesome take on it.

“Dad, where are we going?”

“To Ashley Madison Field son. We’re going to watch the Giants play.”

“Oh, who’s Ashley Madison?”

“Oh, it’s that great site that split up me and your mom when she found I was cheating on her. Remember, when you cried for a couple days?”

“Oh. Can we go home?”

I think an approval would result in drop in attendance for the Giants, as married women refuse to allow their husbands to attend games in fear of a cross promotion. But it might help the Jets finish selling their PSLs.

Obviously, this has no chance at being accepted. The Maras and Tisches have a family image that would be shattered by accepting such a bid, and the Johnson & Johnson company wouldn’t be too happy if the founder’s great-grandson was openly promoting adultery. But it’s a great way to get your name out. Tons of people (like me) will write about it, and refer to the website (although you may notice there isn’t a link to the company’s website; this is intentional).

This isn’t the company’s first attempt at silly advertising, as they tried to buy ad space in the Official Super Bowl XLIII Game Program, but were rejected by the NFL. Back in February, they offered the city of Phoenix, Az. $10 million to rename the airport. The strapped-for-cash city declined the offer.

Another reason the offer will almost definitely be declined is that it’s too low. The Giants and Jets are reportedly looking for a deal of $20-25 million a year for the naming rights, and a $5 million a year deal isn’t going to cut it.

Sadly, the Meadowlands Stadium hasn’t had the best luck with the naming rights. A previous offer of $25 million a year by Allianz was canceled amid protests that the German-based financial services had ties to Nazi Germany.

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A New York Super Bowl? The horror!!!
27
May
Brad Stratton

So on Tuesday afternoon, the NFL announced live on NFL Network that the site of the 2014 Super Bowl will be New York/New Jersey, at the new Meadowlands Stadium. It will be the first Super Bowl to be held in an open-air stadium in a location that is generally cold that that time of the year (Super Bowl IV was held in Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, and the temperature was 39 degrees, so it’s not going to be the first cold-weather Super Bowl).

(By the way, doesn’t NFL Mobile rock? I was at the Maryland MVA getting my driver’s license renewed, but got to watch the announcement live.)

Anyway, since the announcement, numerous stories have come out in the media about what a horrible idea this is. I’ve summarized these stories below.

It’s going to be cold!!!!!!!!!

It’s going to be windy!!!!!!!!

It’s going to be snowing!!!!

No one is going to want to go!!!!!!

Good luck getting someone to perform at halftime!!!!

The weather could affect the game’s outcome!!!!!

They’re gambling with an American institution!!!!!

What about all the parties???

The game is supposed to be in Miami!!!!! (exclusive to South Florida media)

In short, what a crock of shit. Most of these comments are too stupid to really be covered, but then again, what’s the point of this post otherwise?

1. Every team in the NFL is used to playing in cold weather. The players come from different colleges and universities from around the country, including schools in….GASP….cold-weather locations. And every division in the NFL has at least one team in a moderately-cold or worse location (Carolina had an average temperature in the 40s in December and January, and Tennessee has average temperature in the 40s in December, and in the 30s in January). And every team in the NFL has to go to different locations around the country to play games, including locations in…GASP…cold-weather cities!

2. So Joe Gibbs has told the story about the time his Washington Redskins went to Giants Stadium and lost 17-0 in the NFC Championship Game. The game was notoriously windy, to the point that Giants punter Sean Landeta is largely considered the game’s MVP. Dear Joe, maybe if Gary Clark hadn’t dropped a perfectly-placed, wide-open, guaranteed-touchdown bomb, your team might have been more competitive. Dear Joe, maybe if your team hadn’t botched a field goal snap, your team might have been more competitive. Dear Joe, maybe if your offensive gameplan didn’t require your QB to throw the ball 50 times, your team might have been more competitive. Dear Joe, the last I checked, wind is not exclusive to cold-weather locations.

3. Greg Cote of the Miami Herald is a funny guy. He commented on the probability of snow during the Super Bowl. Hey Greg, this isn’t Buffalo, with an average of 24 inches in January and another 17 in February. Nor is it Syracuse, with 30 and 25 inches. The National Climatic Data Center has been tracking snowfall in New York for 134 years. Central Park (the closest location they measure) gets 7.5 inches in January and 8.5 in Febuary. Those totals are spread over a month. Usually it’s an inch here, two inches there, a half-inch another time, one and half after that. Last winter was the execption, not the rule. I grew up in New Jersey, about 45 minutes away from Giants Stadium. I could count the number of White Christmases on my 32 on one hand. Yes, it could snow. Yes, it might snow. No, it probably won’t snow. And if it does snow, well I call that “Football Weather.”

4. Ever watch Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin’ Eve. Every year, it’s estimated that about a million people gather in the middle of the night to welcome in the new year. And you’re afraid people won’t go to a football game that’s 15 minutes away, starts at 6 p.m., and is over by 10 at the latest?

5. Here is a list of the performers who have appeared in the middle of the night on New Years Eve in Times Square: Jennifer Lopez, Daughtry, the Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift, Jesse McCarthy, Miley Cyrus, and Carrie Underwood. This was just in the last three years. Notice that none of these acts are eligible for an AARP meembership. This is a good thing.

6. What is a true champion? A team that does one style very well and sticks to it, or a team that is able to succeed in multiple conditions and makes the neccessary adjustments?

7. This may be the dumbest statement of all. The wind chill was -18 degrees in the 2008 NFC Championship Game in Green Bay. Was the Giants’ win somehow cheapened by this? Should we have postponed the Ice Bowl and waited for a warmer day. I hear Raiders’ fans whining about the Tuck Rule game, but it’s because of the Tuck Rule more than the snow on the ground. There have been some classic games in the cold (there have been some duds as well, but there have been plenty of dud Super Bowls as well).

8. What about all the parties? This is New York City. You think NewYork doesn’t know how to party? The week leading up is going to have some of the best parties the Super Bowl has even seen. Only Vegas and New Orleans could outdo New York.

I’m psyched about having the Super Bowl in the Meadowlands. I’ll probably be watching the game on TV in my home in Maryland, but this game could have classic written all over it.

By the way, let’s not forget the real reason so much of the media is against the game (although they aren’t printing it). The writers and bloggers all lose their week-long vacation to a sunny location. Mike Greenberg of ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning admits that he will miss lounging by the pool after their show is over. No beaches + no bikinis = WAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!

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Lebron to the Nets?
17
May
Brad Stratton

Let me start with this disclaimer. Lebron James is probably not going to the New Jersey Nets. But let’s just entertain the notion for now, OK?

After a disappointing second-round exit for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the basketball player known as “King James” ended another season without a NBA title. For the citizens of the greater Cleveland area, this begins a month and a half of panic, where the end result could be a result to the irrelevance the franchise had before James stepped through the door.

For years, it has been believed that Lebron has been frustrated with his supporting cast’s inability to help him get over the hump. Yet Cleveland has shown the ability to contend for the Eastern Conference title, reaching the conference finals in 2006-07 and again last season. But this season represented another setback, as the Cavs didn’t even make it to the conference finals.

From everything I’ve read, it seems the most likely destinations for Lebron are (in no particular order) the Nets, the New York Knicks, the Chicago Bulls, the Cavs, the Miami Heat, and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Chicago Bulls: This is a team that would be an instant title contender with Lebron on the roster. But I don’t see it happening, because of one man: Michael Jordan. He’s widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time, and His Airness is a revered god in Chicago. James himself wears No. 23 in homage of Jordan, just like how several defensive players in the NFL wear No. 56 in homage of Lawrence Taylor (although if the rape charges amount to a conviction, there probably won’t be a lot of players jumping to pay homage anymore).

The problem with Jordan’s legacy is that Chicago will always be his town. Lebron could go to Chicago and won five titles, but it will never be his town like it’s Jordan’s. He’ll be viewed as the next Michael Jordan, and 20 years later, no one in Chicago will be talking about who the next Lebron is. Steve Young succeeded in emerging from Joe Montana’s shadow to win a Super Bowl for the San Francisco 49ers, but in 20 years (or 10, or 5, or probably now), Steve Young is not going to be the first quarterback people think of when someone mentions the 49ers. I just don’t see Lebron willfully stepping into a situation like that.

Miami Heat: This is a possibility. They have Pat Riley running the show, a free agent-to-be in Dwayne Wade who would probably resign with the Heat if Lebron goes to Miami, and of course…it’s freakin’ Miami! The Heat would immediately contend in the Eastern Conference, and would probably be the favorite in the Southeast Division.

The biggest hangup with Miami is whether or not Lebron could co-exist in Miami. Dwayne Wade is probably one of the top  5 players in the NBA, and Miami is his team. I don’t know if Lebron would be willing to go to Miami and take a backseat to Wade. Just like how going to Chicago would be going to Jordan’s team, going to Miami would be going to Wade’s team. He won’t be “The Man” in Miami, and I question if we wants that.

Los Angeles Clippers: This would be an enticing option. Lebron would have a solid supporting cast with Baron Davis and Eric Gordon, and I imagine getting to compete against Kobe Bryant for Los Angeles’ affection would be enticing offer. But Donald Sterling has a reputation as a cheap skate, and although he has made certain high-priced signings in recent years that might rebuff that reputation, Lebron would likely have some pause that Sterling would do whatever it takes to bring a title to the Clippers.

New York Knicks: This is the sexy pick. In fact, there are plenty of Knicks fans who already view this as a done deal. And that very well may be the case. The Knicks have Madison Avenue, Madison Square Garden, and Lebron would be a god similar to Jordan if he were to bring multiple titles to the Knicks. Head coach Mike D’Antoni runs the kind of dribble-drive offensive system that intrigued Lebron enough to meet with Kentucky coach John Calipari last summer.

But there are some problems here as well. While the Knicks can offer a second max contract to a free agent, the rest of the roster is pretty barren. Currently, the Knicks’ best is probably David Lee, whose rights would have to be rescinded in order to have enough cap space to offer that second max contract. So even with Lebron and a second stud player, the Knicks aren’t winning anything in 2010-11. Of all the options available to Lebron, this would probably be the worse supporting cast he would have

One might also wonder if having James Dolan as a boss would be a detractor. While General Manager Donnie Walsh is steering the ship, Dolan is pretty much thought of as an incompetent owner. After all, the man allowed Isiah Thomas to make the Knicks a laughing stock for five seasons, and kept him around at least two years too long. Thomas being accused of sexual harassment might have been the final straw, and one wonders if Dolan might have stuck with Isiah for another year had that not happened. So you have to wonder if Dolan will really be making the best decisions for his team, and will Lebron end up paying for that. (this is probably a minor point, however)

Cleveland Cavaliers: A lot of people think that the Cavs’ lost to the Boston Celtics ended any chance that the King stays in his hometown state. After all, once again the efforts to bolster Cleveland’s roster were not enough to reach the NBA Finals. But things may be different this time around. Lebron injured his elbow in the first round against the Bulls, a 4-1 series victory. While James didn’t state that the elbow was a problem, there seems to be a perception that Lebron’s play was affected by the injury. If Lebron did not have the injury, it’s possible that Cleveland is playing Orlando right now, not Boston. So instead of blaming the people around him, Lebron could be pointing the finger at himself, and why would he feel the need to jump ship when he could have been the primary cause for the Cavs’ early playoff exit.

On the other hand, Lebron’s teammates didn’t exactly up their game  to make up for Lebron’s struggles. In fact, many people seem to believe that they simply gave up in the closing minutes of the Game 6 series clincher. That’s not a good way to put a closing statement mark of an otherwise successful season, and if that’s what Lebron remembers, then his hometeam team takes a hit in the Lebron sweepstakes.

New Jersey Nets: As a Nets’ fan, I’m sure you will question how objective I can be here. Of course, I would love to see Lebron on my team, but who wouldn’t? So in an effort to appear semi-objective, I’ll start with the cons first.

The Nets won just 12 games last season. Until a last surge where they won five of their last 12 games, the Nets appeared destined to eclipse the 1972-83 Philadelphia 76ers for the most losses in league history (73). New Jersey did manage to start just 2-28, the worse start after 30 games in league history.

The Nets also suffer from playing in the same vicinity as the Knicks. Even when the Nets were winning back-to-back conference titles in 2002 and 2003, New York City was still a Knicks town. And while the attraction of Lebron James on the Nets could help the tide (by securing a lot of bandwagon fans), it’s far from a guarantee. Also, while Knicks have enough cap room to offer two max contracts, New Jersey can offer only one.

That being said, there are some reasons for Lebron to be intrigued by the Nets. Before the Knicks cleared enough space on their roster, the Nets were seen as a serious contender for Lebron’s services because of minority owner Shawn Carter, better known as rapper Jay-Z. Apparently Lebron and Jay-Z are buddies, so it’s believed that might help the team. New principal owner Mikhail Prokhorov might also attract Lebron, as he is the 39th richest man in the world, and is expected to go the extra yard to make the Nets contenders again.

Also, the Nets seem to have finally finalized the eventual move to Brooklyn. For years, former owner Bruce Ratner talked about moving the franchise to the Atlantic Yards site in Brooklyn (right where Walter O’Malloy wanted to move the Brooklyn Dodgers before he relocated the baseball club to Los Angeles in 1957), but the project was held up in lawsuits after lawsuit. But Ratner’s group has prevailed in some major decisions lately, and was able to break ground on the new arena back on March 11.

The Nets also seem to offer Lebron a better supporting cast than the Knicks. Brook Lopez has been a pleasant surprise for the Nets, and appears to be one of the better big men in the league. New Jersey also has the best chances of securing the first overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, although still only a 25 percent chance at that. But if the Nets do secure the top pick in the draft lottery tomorrow night, they would be expected to draft highly-touted Kentucky point guard John Wall. Such a move could make current point guard Devin Harris expendable. Harris was an all-star for the Nets in 2009, but injuries lessened his impact this season, and by trading Harris away, the Nets would be able to offer two max contracts instead of one.

So where is Lebron going? The honest answer is, only Lebron knows. Everything else is just speculation. The Chicago Tribune reported today that William Wesley, a member of James’ Circle of Trust, has contacted the Bulls, Nets, and Clippers about bringing in Calipari as head coach, with the belief that James would follow. But there is some doubt that Calipari would leave Kentucky, that Wesley has that much influence, or that James would demand a certain coach on his new team.

If I had to guess, I think the Bulls, Nets, Knicks and Cavs are the teams with the best chances of getting Lebron. The Bulls would surprise me, however. And if Lebron returns to Cleveland, I bet it would just be another three-year deal.

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