So let's start off with an admission - I stopped being a huge basketball fan when MJ retired and the Knicks got bad in the early 2000's. I miss hard-nosed basketball - you remember, when they paid for each drive to the basket with a bruise, drew the foul, and smiled because they knew their power forward was going to do the same to the next guy to drive in your defensive end. I missed hard basketball, and while I'm all for the skill and ability shown by big men from outside of the US (see: Nowitzki, Dirk) it hurt to see the Association become a jumper-fest.
Last night, the Bulls and Heat played a REALLY good basketball game. Hard fouls (I didn't see one flagrant, although LeBron got called for one that should be reversed - he showed more patience than Gandhi), drives to the basket, and proof that the juggernaut of the Eastern Conference can be beaten - for at least one game. After a run of dominance not seen in 41 years, the Beast of the East got beat with an old-school, teeth-jarring performance that I can only hope is repeated come playoff-time.
Yes, I'll be rooting for the Knicks again, but if the Heat and Bulls match up at any point, it's must see TV and, fandom be damned, I'm watching good basketball.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Super Bowl Thoughts (not the whole play by play)
Since this is my first post back since 8/2011, I figure I'll just go with current events instead of diving head-first into baseball - we'll have enough time for that later. Here goes with my thoughts on Super Bowl XLVII:
Game analysis: What looked like a blowout at 28-6 turned into a nail-biter with some questionable decision-making in the last two minutes by a coach that looked over his head. The big story was the partial blackout - 34 minutes where both teams were inactive and had to keep busy while New Orleans unscrewed itself. Before the blackout, San Fran looked listless and unable to gather itself under center, leaving its defense to get exposed by Joe Flacco and his amazing receiving corps of Smith, Boldin, Dickson, and Pitta. Afterward, Kaepernick and Co. looked to finally get their heads out of their behinds and were in sync, mixing in good passing with a running game that would have normally gotten the job done.
The untold story: third down. Baltimore went 9-16 on third down, while the Niners were a pathetic 2-9. If you didn't look at that one stat but saw other offensive stats - SF led in total yards, first downs, nearly doubled Baltimore in rushing yards - you'd think San Francisco won by 20 points. But seven drives that got to third down got to fourth down (SF went 0-1 on fourth down also, which we'll get to later), which is a killer for a team that relies on ball control with its run game.
Speaking of the Niners' running game, why on earth are they passing inside the 10-yard line four times? You've got Colin Kaepernick, who's averaging over 6 yards per rush on the season, and Frank Gore, who already had 110 yards on a 5.8YPR average for the game. To top it off, you have two timeouts left and you're facing a defense that is MISSING IT'S NOSE TACKLE. Jim Harbaugh should have a bunch of explaining to do regarding his shoddy clock management and his absurd play calling. You've rushed for close to 200 yards on the game and you have three legitimate threats in the backfield...there's no reason to be passing the ball when you have timeouts in your pocket, down by five points.
All in all it was a great game played by two very good teams. I think Jim got outcoached by John, which makes sense considering John has been doing it longer and has been very successful in his own right. But the players on the field decided the game - Kaepernick threw a costly interception, Jones had the amazing kickoff return TD (which I think was closer to 109 than 108), and the Baltimore defense made the plays it needed when it mattered most. I don't anticipate B'more being able to get back next season - their age concerns me - but San Fran has a legitimate shot at making a repeat run.
The Forty-Niners need to keep innovating the pistol offense and developing Kaepernick as a starting QB - his throwing motion takes way too long and he only makes one read before scrambling. Right now he's all power and light on the finesse, which isn't to say he doesn't show flashes (he's had some really great throws during the playoffs and the Super Bowl itself) but it's not all there yet. At this point they need to treat him like a veteran and throw the book at him - see if he sticks, or find a new QB.
Next year the game will be at Met-Life Stadium, home of the Jets (and Giants). Can't wait for a cold-weather Super Bowl - that's the way it should always be played.
Game analysis: What looked like a blowout at 28-6 turned into a nail-biter with some questionable decision-making in the last two minutes by a coach that looked over his head. The big story was the partial blackout - 34 minutes where both teams were inactive and had to keep busy while New Orleans unscrewed itself. Before the blackout, San Fran looked listless and unable to gather itself under center, leaving its defense to get exposed by Joe Flacco and his amazing receiving corps of Smith, Boldin, Dickson, and Pitta. Afterward, Kaepernick and Co. looked to finally get their heads out of their behinds and were in sync, mixing in good passing with a running game that would have normally gotten the job done.
The untold story: third down. Baltimore went 9-16 on third down, while the Niners were a pathetic 2-9. If you didn't look at that one stat but saw other offensive stats - SF led in total yards, first downs, nearly doubled Baltimore in rushing yards - you'd think San Francisco won by 20 points. But seven drives that got to third down got to fourth down (SF went 0-1 on fourth down also, which we'll get to later), which is a killer for a team that relies on ball control with its run game.
Speaking of the Niners' running game, why on earth are they passing inside the 10-yard line four times? You've got Colin Kaepernick, who's averaging over 6 yards per rush on the season, and Frank Gore, who already had 110 yards on a 5.8YPR average for the game. To top it off, you have two timeouts left and you're facing a defense that is MISSING IT'S NOSE TACKLE. Jim Harbaugh should have a bunch of explaining to do regarding his shoddy clock management and his absurd play calling. You've rushed for close to 200 yards on the game and you have three legitimate threats in the backfield...there's no reason to be passing the ball when you have timeouts in your pocket, down by five points.
All in all it was a great game played by two very good teams. I think Jim got outcoached by John, which makes sense considering John has been doing it longer and has been very successful in his own right. But the players on the field decided the game - Kaepernick threw a costly interception, Jones had the amazing kickoff return TD (which I think was closer to 109 than 108), and the Baltimore defense made the plays it needed when it mattered most. I don't anticipate B'more being able to get back next season - their age concerns me - but San Fran has a legitimate shot at making a repeat run.
The Forty-Niners need to keep innovating the pistol offense and developing Kaepernick as a starting QB - his throwing motion takes way too long and he only makes one read before scrambling. Right now he's all power and light on the finesse, which isn't to say he doesn't show flashes (he's had some really great throws during the playoffs and the Super Bowl itself) but it's not all there yet. At this point they need to treat him like a veteran and throw the book at him - see if he sticks, or find a new QB.
Next year the game will be at Met-Life Stadium, home of the Jets (and Giants). Can't wait for a cold-weather Super Bowl - that's the way it should always be played.
Friday, August 5, 2011
On umpires and referees
This post is referencing a point from Buster Olney's column today (8/5/2011) regarding Yadier Molina's five game suspension for bumping and spitting on Rob Drake. I made a comment regarding this under his column, and I want to repost it here as well because it's a fair talking point and in dire need of attention from MLB:
Thursday, August 4, 2011
A-Rod the Idiot
The idiom goes: where there's smoke, there's usually fire. If that's the case, then Alex Rodriguez has probably got a four-alarmer blazing right about now. This isn't his first time being linked to an underground poker game - last time Selig essentially slapped him upside the head and sent him on his merry way. One PED story and one decently put together but utterly useless magazine article later, A-Rod is back in the limelight for doing something stupid again.
Friday, July 29, 2011
To trade or not to trade...
The Yankees have a problem - the starting rotation behind CC Sabathia is full of question marks. Burnett is enigmatic at best, Hughes may or may not come back from his injury, Colon and Garcia are on borrowed time, and Nova is at points brilliant while sometimes showing his inexperience. With the Yankees offense the way it is this team is nearly a lock to make the playoffs - they're on pace for roughly 92-95 wins, which may not win the division but will surely lock up the wild card. The problem, then, is where to improve the team for October.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
A quickie: The Yankees and 7/31
OK, so the Yankees are hanging right with the Red Sox (even after last night's loss) and are always buyers at the trade deadline. On ESPNNY, the Yankees' Daily Briefing (a must read for every Yankee fan; it goes up in the wee hours and usually leads the ESPNNY Yankees blog until a few hours before game time) asked here and here about what the Yankees should do regarding third base and the rotation. I think it's fairly simple - they should do nothing major.
The Yankees best work is done between November and March regarding acquiring talent. There's no reason to overpay for a player in July when you're already expected to be in the playoffs in some form (Baseball Prospectus has the Yankees at 93.8% after last nights loss), and with the playoffs being baseball's version of a crapshoot it makes no sense to try to acquire that which the Yankees likely already have in their system. The bullpen is about to become crowded again when Soriano returns, the rotation has Nova backing it up (although Colon and Garcia could turn into pumpkins any minute now), and A-Rod is only out for another 3-5 weeks.
If Cashman can trade for a piece without giving up much of the farm (and without letting Levine negotiate), then he should do so. The Yankees need a lefty bullpen guy besides Boone Logan to matchup with in the playoffs and possibly a backup infielder that can actually field his position (sorry Nunie, but you need "seasoning"). There's no reason to acquire a front-line starter because of the nature of the playoffs - one win in the standings before October will mean nothing once the playoffs start.
The Yankees best work is done between November and March regarding acquiring talent. There's no reason to overpay for a player in July when you're already expected to be in the playoffs in some form (Baseball Prospectus has the Yankees at 93.8% after last nights loss), and with the playoffs being baseball's version of a crapshoot it makes no sense to try to acquire that which the Yankees likely already have in their system. The bullpen is about to become crowded again when Soriano returns, the rotation has Nova backing it up (although Colon and Garcia could turn into pumpkins any minute now), and A-Rod is only out for another 3-5 weeks.
If Cashman can trade for a piece without giving up much of the farm (and without letting Levine negotiate), then he should do so. The Yankees need a lefty bullpen guy besides Boone Logan to matchup with in the playoffs and possibly a backup infielder that can actually field his position (sorry Nunie, but you need "seasoning"). There's no reason to acquire a front-line starter because of the nature of the playoffs - one win in the standings before October will mean nothing once the playoffs start.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
The Uselessness of the All Star Game
There are roughly 750 MLB players on active rosters, with (my guess) an average of four players per MLB disabled list. [Disclaimer: I could find no resource with total MLB numbers. If someone can find one I would be grateful] That makes a total of 870 players under contract in the major leagues, which would make it the second largest league in terms of players at the highest level (football being first, hockey behind and basketball way behind). Of that 870, 67 players were voted and/or selected for the All Star Game to be played this Tuesday. As of this writing, we're up to 84 "All Stars," which is roughly 10% of the total number of people that played in the majors this season by my count.
So, if you've been selected for the All Star game you're allowed to a) invent an injury, b) beg off the team, or c) actually get injured in order to get your three days off. Obviously getting injured is not the ideal way to get out of the game, nor do I hold it against a player that is legitimately injured from not participating. Begging off and inventing an injury to me seem to be the same thing - making an excuse to get out of the game. Look, the fans voted most of you into the game...unless you're really hurt suck it up and play a few innings! Nothing ticks off the fans more than being given the metaphorical finger.
After the famous All Star Tie Bud Selig made the All Star Game count - the winning league also won home-field advantage for the World Series. This smacked of dumb on so many levels. With this rule, the token picks of a couple of junky teams in whichever league can decide where Game 7 might be held. As a fan of the Yankees, I don't like the fact that a member of the Royals (heaven forbid he's pitching) might give up the go-ahead run and force the Yankees to go to Philadelphia for game 7.
Also, let's not forget that some of the best players on both sides have begged off the team - we're already into the second tier of backups being named for this season. It's getting to the point where you don't even pay attention to the "fan voting" and you simply wait until the final changes are made a day or so before the game itself. As a fan, I can't get excited if half (or more) of the players that were selected aren't playing.
How useless is the All Star Game? Scott Rolen, he of the .276 OBP (yes, on base percentage, not batting average) is a replacement because he was third in the third-baseman voting. Nothing against Scott Rolen - he's been a good player for a long time - but when we're putting a guy that makes an out MORE THAN 70% OF THE TIME into a game that could potentially decide the World Series location, it's time to reexamine what we're looking at.
So, if you've been selected for the All Star game you're allowed to a) invent an injury, b) beg off the team, or c) actually get injured in order to get your three days off. Obviously getting injured is not the ideal way to get out of the game, nor do I hold it against a player that is legitimately injured from not participating. Begging off and inventing an injury to me seem to be the same thing - making an excuse to get out of the game. Look, the fans voted most of you into the game...unless you're really hurt suck it up and play a few innings! Nothing ticks off the fans more than being given the metaphorical finger.
After the famous All Star Tie Bud Selig made the All Star Game count - the winning league also won home-field advantage for the World Series. This smacked of dumb on so many levels. With this rule, the token picks of a couple of junky teams in whichever league can decide where Game 7 might be held. As a fan of the Yankees, I don't like the fact that a member of the Royals (heaven forbid he's pitching) might give up the go-ahead run and force the Yankees to go to Philadelphia for game 7.
Also, let's not forget that some of the best players on both sides have begged off the team - we're already into the second tier of backups being named for this season. It's getting to the point where you don't even pay attention to the "fan voting" and you simply wait until the final changes are made a day or so before the game itself. As a fan, I can't get excited if half (or more) of the players that were selected aren't playing.
How useless is the All Star Game? Scott Rolen, he of the .276 OBP (yes, on base percentage, not batting average) is a replacement because he was third in the third-baseman voting. Nothing against Scott Rolen - he's been a good player for a long time - but when we're putting a guy that makes an out MORE THAN 70% OF THE TIME into a game that could potentially decide the World Series location, it's time to reexamine what we're looking at.
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