Continuing my NFL predictions, today with AFC thoughts. If you're interested in hearing about the NFC, just scroll down to the previous post.
AFC North
In the AFC North this year, things look similar to the way they have looked for what seems like forever: Steelers and Ravens battling for the title, with the Browns and Bengals looking up. Now, of course that's not the way it's always been. Actually, the Bengals won the division in 2009, which I believe less and less the more time I spend thinking about it.
The Bengals don't look like they have any shot of eeking out a division title this year, though. They look like they will have an excellent shot at winning the Andrew Luck sweepstakes, which would be a shame since they just drafted Andy Dalton at QB. The Browns seem like they might be a bit improved from last year, when they played a tough schedule. Colt McCoy looked sharp in the preseason, and Peyton Hillis is poised to have another big year.
Still, the division goes through Pittsburgh. The Steelers just refuse to be bad. According to Football Outsiders' DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) projections for 2011, the Steelers are actually the most likely team to win the whole shebang this year. Baltimore will still be good, but not good enough.
AFC East
Despite the Jets' phenomenal performance in last year's playoff matchup, they don't have it in them to challenge the Patriots for a division title this year. Their defense will still be excellent, and Mark Sanchez might improve some more and come closer to being a franchise quarterback, but New England will be infuriatingly good once again. The Patriots lost essentially nothing and added Chad Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth. Those are just the type of players that the Patriots take in and turn their careers around (see: Randy Moss).
Buffalo will be challenging Cincinnati for worst in the AFC, and the best I can see for Miami this year is a surprise 8-8 record. Better luck next year, boys.
AFC West
The Kansas City Chiefs almost inexplicably won this division last year. I don't think it's going to happen again. This year, for once, the Chargers will give football fans what they've been waiting for. A decent to good start so that they don't have to win their last seven games to try and come back and win the division. No, this year the Chargers will give us a full season of mostly good play, and go a solid 11-5 to win it all.
The other teams in the division, the Broncos and Raiders, aren't going to have much to say either. The Raiders are close, but not going to get the job done with Jason Campbell or Terrelle Pryor. Until they get somebody better under center, the Raiders will be stuck in .500 territory. The Broncos have a similar issue in that they are relying on some scrubs at QB as well. They don't have anyone as good as Run DMC on their team though.
AFC South
This is looking like the most wide-open division in all of football as we enter the season. With Peyton Manning not playing week 1, and his status uncertain for the near future, the Colts could fall a bit behind after the first few games. What if Peyton misses five games? They could easily be 1-4 with Kerry Collins at the helm. It would be tough to come back from that.
Of course, the other teams in the division don't look so hot, either. The Jaguars just released David Garrard and are deferring starting duties to Luke McCown for now, which is one of the most bizarre moves I've ever seen a team make five days before the season starts. The Titans might have a little bit of success with Matt Hasselbeck under center instead of Vince Young or Collins. But still, the team aside from Chris Johnson and maybe Kenny Britt seems pretty lackluster. I don't see the Titans factoring into much of anything.
That brings us to the Houston Texans, the team that for the past three years has been dying to get over the hump, but because of poor defense, and occasionally injuries, has seen quick starts dissolve into 8-8 finishes. This could be the Texans' year though. They have a chance to get some distance between themselves and the Colts at the beginning of the year, and with Arian Foster in his leading role another year, the Texans have more ability to close games out on the ground. Texans take advantage of a weak group and secure their first division title.
There you have it. If you wanted me to make a Super Bowl right now, I'd guess Chargers over Saints for all the marbles.
Rejoice in the fact that the NFL's back, and enjoy the season.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
NFL 2011-12. Can the Pack Repeat?
Ever since my last depressing post about the NFL Lockout, things have really taken a turn for the better. The NFL and NFLPA came to an agreement, America rejoiced, I took part in two fantasy football drafts, and we are on the precipice of the 2011-12 season beginning with the past two Super Bowl Champions to play each other in the league's opening game.
All of the above has done a marvelous job of distracting baseball fans of bad teams (yours truly) that their teams have further faded into meaninglessness, and owners of bad fantasy baseball teams (sigh...yours truly) that their teams have been eliminated from the playoffs or are so far behind in rotisserie scoring that they might as well not touch their rosters anymore.
But we've spent so much time being excited about the NFL season that we (or at least I) haven't spent that much time thinking about what is actually going to happen during it. Now, there are always those no-brainers that come with an NFL season, such as this year the Bengals will be struggling to win any games, and the Patriots will once again be very good, barring injuries. But there are so many pieces in between those two to be dissected. Will the Buccaneers get over the hump this year? Will the Chargers finally play 16 games up to their potential? What in the world is going to happen in the NFC West this year? So, without further ado, here's my shot at answering those questions and more. NFC preview today, with the AFC coming tomorrow, so this doesn't get too obscenely long.
NFC North
Let's start where things ended last year, with the NFC North and the Green Bay Packers. The defending Super Bowl Champs look to be the clear team-to-beat in the division this year, despite the fact that the Chicago Bears are the defending champs of the North. This year, it is unlikely that the Bears will have as few injuries as they did last year, and as unlikely that the Packers will have as many. With that being said, the Bears better half, its defense, is only getting older. The Packers made very few changes to a mostly young team.
The Minnesota Vikings look like the clear pick for last place in the North this year, with really only Adrian Peterson and Jared Allen to shout about on their team. The final team in the division, the Detroit Lions, is an interesting one, though. With young QB Matt Stafford healthy, the Lions have shown potency on offense, a Texans-like quality in which they are game to play in shootout games. Now, this does not mean they will be especially good, but it certainly means if they get 16 games out of Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Jahvid Best, they could absolutely beat out the Bears for second place in the division. As far as playoffs are concerned? The smallest of chances in my mind. If they were playing in the NFC West, the Lions would be my pick to win it. But they don't play there. Maybe next year, Detroit.
NFC East
The NFC East has been the most competitive division in the NFC the past decade, with the Eagles, Cowboys and Giants all fighting for playoff spots consistently. Even the Redskins have sneaked into the discussion once. I don't see it playing out that way this year though. To me, the Philadelphia Eagles are a clear favorite to win the division. The Redskins and Giants both look like they are in trouble. Washington has just called on Rex Grossman to lead them to the promised land; not going to happen. The Giants have had major offseason issues with injuries and holdouts on defense, and without a good defensive season, it's hard to imagine them getting carried to the playoffs by Eli Manning and Ahmad Bradshaw.
The Cowboys could have something to say about the division title, and I keep hearing about they will have a great year, but I'm not on the bandwagon. I believe we'll see the Cowboys in a wildcard role come playoff time, but I don't see them stacking up to the Eagles. The Eagles are younger, more talented and faster on offense, and their worst starting cornerback will be Asante Samuel. If nothing else, that mean's they'll be picking Tony Romo off in the head-to-head matchups with great frequency.
NFC South
The NFC East has been more consistently competitive than the other divisions, but the toughest division last year was the South. Despite having the NFL worst Carolina Panthers clock in at 2-14 last year, the South boasted the NFC's best team (by record) in the Atlanta Falcons, the 11-5 New Orleans Saints, and the 10-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who also would have made the playoffs if the Bears had been able to beat the Packers in Week 17 last year. The Panthers will once again be a far cry from the other three teams in the division, even if Cam Newton turns out to be a very good player in year one.
In my mind this is the Saints' division to lose in 2011. The Falcons turned in a fantastic home-season last year, and did very well in close games. But the Saints did better than them in the offseason. The Saints drafted Mark Ingram and got rid of Reggie Bush. Now they'll have a real running back instead of one they feel they need to design goofy plays for in order to justify having him on the roster. The Falcons' big move was to draft Julio Jones, who will likely be a good player some day, but not in his first season. Their offense will look very similar, except a year older. Which for players like Tony Gonzalez could be very damaging.
As for the Bucs, they will be good again, but not good enough. There just aren't enough weapons on the team yet, and Josh Freeman himself isn't a big enough weapon. Give them another year. They are still extremely young, and will have more to say about what happens in this division from 2012-2016.
NFC West
And now the division that is hard to even talk about. Honestly, these four teams were one Marshawn Lynch run away from turning in the most irredeemably bad performance by a division ever. The big question for the West this year is whether its playoff representative will be 7-9, 8-8 or 9-7. I believe they will have a team that enters the playoffs at 9-7, because one team will emerge as better than the others and beat up on them in divisional games. The two teams that have a chance to do that are the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. It's hard for me to imagine the 49ers and Seahawks winning more than five or six games this season.
I believe the Cardinals are more ready to emerge from the dregs of the West than the Rams. With Kevin Kolb at the helm, Larry Fitzgerald might have a QB that is just barely good enough to get him the ball consistently so that he can again be a factor in the NFL. With Beanie Wells coming off a solid season, the Arizona offense figures to be pretty good. The Rams have the brightest QB of the bunch with Sam Bradford, but he still has a bad offensive line, not much at receiver, and a pretty poor defense around him. The Rams had a shot to seal the conference last year playing against a mediocre Seahawks team, and couldn't do it. This year, they will similarly be playing decent football, but not have the capability to claim the division for themselves.
All of the above has done a marvelous job of distracting baseball fans of bad teams (yours truly) that their teams have further faded into meaninglessness, and owners of bad fantasy baseball teams (sigh...yours truly) that their teams have been eliminated from the playoffs or are so far behind in rotisserie scoring that they might as well not touch their rosters anymore.
But we've spent so much time being excited about the NFL season that we (or at least I) haven't spent that much time thinking about what is actually going to happen during it. Now, there are always those no-brainers that come with an NFL season, such as this year the Bengals will be struggling to win any games, and the Patriots will once again be very good, barring injuries. But there are so many pieces in between those two to be dissected. Will the Buccaneers get over the hump this year? Will the Chargers finally play 16 games up to their potential? What in the world is going to happen in the NFC West this year? So, without further ado, here's my shot at answering those questions and more. NFC preview today, with the AFC coming tomorrow, so this doesn't get too obscenely long.
NFC North
Let's start where things ended last year, with the NFC North and the Green Bay Packers. The defending Super Bowl Champs look to be the clear team-to-beat in the division this year, despite the fact that the Chicago Bears are the defending champs of the North. This year, it is unlikely that the Bears will have as few injuries as they did last year, and as unlikely that the Packers will have as many. With that being said, the Bears better half, its defense, is only getting older. The Packers made very few changes to a mostly young team.
The Minnesota Vikings look like the clear pick for last place in the North this year, with really only Adrian Peterson and Jared Allen to shout about on their team. The final team in the division, the Detroit Lions, is an interesting one, though. With young QB Matt Stafford healthy, the Lions have shown potency on offense, a Texans-like quality in which they are game to play in shootout games. Now, this does not mean they will be especially good, but it certainly means if they get 16 games out of Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Jahvid Best, they could absolutely beat out the Bears for second place in the division. As far as playoffs are concerned? The smallest of chances in my mind. If they were playing in the NFC West, the Lions would be my pick to win it. But they don't play there. Maybe next year, Detroit.
NFC East
The NFC East has been the most competitive division in the NFC the past decade, with the Eagles, Cowboys and Giants all fighting for playoff spots consistently. Even the Redskins have sneaked into the discussion once. I don't see it playing out that way this year though. To me, the Philadelphia Eagles are a clear favorite to win the division. The Redskins and Giants both look like they are in trouble. Washington has just called on Rex Grossman to lead them to the promised land; not going to happen. The Giants have had major offseason issues with injuries and holdouts on defense, and without a good defensive season, it's hard to imagine them getting carried to the playoffs by Eli Manning and Ahmad Bradshaw.
The Cowboys could have something to say about the division title, and I keep hearing about they will have a great year, but I'm not on the bandwagon. I believe we'll see the Cowboys in a wildcard role come playoff time, but I don't see them stacking up to the Eagles. The Eagles are younger, more talented and faster on offense, and their worst starting cornerback will be Asante Samuel. If nothing else, that mean's they'll be picking Tony Romo off in the head-to-head matchups with great frequency.
NFC South
The NFC East has been more consistently competitive than the other divisions, but the toughest division last year was the South. Despite having the NFL worst Carolina Panthers clock in at 2-14 last year, the South boasted the NFC's best team (by record) in the Atlanta Falcons, the 11-5 New Orleans Saints, and the 10-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who also would have made the playoffs if the Bears had been able to beat the Packers in Week 17 last year. The Panthers will once again be a far cry from the other three teams in the division, even if Cam Newton turns out to be a very good player in year one.
In my mind this is the Saints' division to lose in 2011. The Falcons turned in a fantastic home-season last year, and did very well in close games. But the Saints did better than them in the offseason. The Saints drafted Mark Ingram and got rid of Reggie Bush. Now they'll have a real running back instead of one they feel they need to design goofy plays for in order to justify having him on the roster. The Falcons' big move was to draft Julio Jones, who will likely be a good player some day, but not in his first season. Their offense will look very similar, except a year older. Which for players like Tony Gonzalez could be very damaging.
As for the Bucs, they will be good again, but not good enough. There just aren't enough weapons on the team yet, and Josh Freeman himself isn't a big enough weapon. Give them another year. They are still extremely young, and will have more to say about what happens in this division from 2012-2016.
NFC West
And now the division that is hard to even talk about. Honestly, these four teams were one Marshawn Lynch run away from turning in the most irredeemably bad performance by a division ever. The big question for the West this year is whether its playoff representative will be 7-9, 8-8 or 9-7. I believe they will have a team that enters the playoffs at 9-7, because one team will emerge as better than the others and beat up on them in divisional games. The two teams that have a chance to do that are the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. It's hard for me to imagine the 49ers and Seahawks winning more than five or six games this season.
I believe the Cardinals are more ready to emerge from the dregs of the West than the Rams. With Kevin Kolb at the helm, Larry Fitzgerald might have a QB that is just barely good enough to get him the ball consistently so that he can again be a factor in the NFL. With Beanie Wells coming off a solid season, the Arizona offense figures to be pretty good. The Rams have the brightest QB of the bunch with Sam Bradford, but he still has a bad offensive line, not much at receiver, and a pretty poor defense around him. The Rams had a shot to seal the conference last year playing against a mediocre Seahawks team, and couldn't do it. This year, they will similarly be playing decent football, but not have the capability to claim the division for themselves.
Friday, July 22, 2011
NFL Labor Pains
Ugh.
After the most fun playoffs I've ever had the pleasure of watching (because the Packers won them), the NFL has really lost my interest in the past few months.
We're not supposed to hear about the NFL after the Super Bowl has been played for at least a couple months. But this year, the nation's most popular league has conspired to occupy us for an entire calendar year, with talks of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement instead of fantasy sleepers, quarterback ratings and top defenses.
I'll be extremely original and tell you that I don't care about any of this. At the same time, however, I understand that it has to be worked out in order for there to be football come September, and that is important.
But the way this thing is playing out is ridiculous. Finally, there are reports of a proposed deal, and all the players and owners have to do is vote on it. First, the players were going to vote on it Wednesday, and then the owners on Thursday. Now it's Friday, and the players still have not voted on anything. What is going on?
This is clearly a big deal for the players, and they want to get it right, but honestly, they should simply be reading a document and then voting on it. That should not take more than a couple hours, let alone two days.
Look, I'm not suggesting the players need to blindly vote yes. If they don't like the deal, they should turn it down. But waiting and taking up all this time is the worst possible scenario. Now what happens if they vote no after taking their time? 48 more hours of wasted time that could have been spent doing something more productive, like proposing changes to the current deal on the table. And that makes it 48 hours more likely that the NFL season doesn't start on time this year. That is something all of America doesn't even want to think about.
Ugh.
After the most fun playoffs I've ever had the pleasure of watching (because the Packers won them), the NFL has really lost my interest in the past few months.
We're not supposed to hear about the NFL after the Super Bowl has been played for at least a couple months. But this year, the nation's most popular league has conspired to occupy us for an entire calendar year, with talks of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement instead of fantasy sleepers, quarterback ratings and top defenses.
I'll be extremely original and tell you that I don't care about any of this. At the same time, however, I understand that it has to be worked out in order for there to be football come September, and that is important.
But the way this thing is playing out is ridiculous. Finally, there are reports of a proposed deal, and all the players and owners have to do is vote on it. First, the players were going to vote on it Wednesday, and then the owners on Thursday. Now it's Friday, and the players still have not voted on anything. What is going on?
This is clearly a big deal for the players, and they want to get it right, but honestly, they should simply be reading a document and then voting on it. That should not take more than a couple hours, let alone two days.
Look, I'm not suggesting the players need to blindly vote yes. If they don't like the deal, they should turn it down. But waiting and taking up all this time is the worst possible scenario. Now what happens if they vote no after taking their time? 48 more hours of wasted time that could have been spent doing something more productive, like proposing changes to the current deal on the table. And that makes it 48 hours more likely that the NFL season doesn't start on time this year. That is something all of America doesn't even want to think about.
Ugh.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Lots of words with W at the beginning
The Women's World Cup has come to a close. The United States has not won for the third consecutive time. Despite being the favorite in the championship game, they did not come out on top.
According to sports writers and bloggers across the country this means they were a failure. Anything short of a world title was a failure. These women (even though none of them played in 1999) were evidently living in the shadow of the U.S.'s last Women's World Cup champions, unable to get the monkey off their back.
Wow. A second place finish in the World Cup, something that countless countries around the world would give endlessly for, is a failure.
Wrong. This group of women was not even close to a failure. In fact, they have done at least as much for women's soccer and soccer in the United States as the 1999 team did.
The 1999 team has two names that sports fans from my generation recognize: Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain. One is probably the greatest American women's soccer player ever, and the other is imprinted in our minds with just her sports bra on up top.
The 2011 team has at least four women that we recognize: Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Hope Solo and Abby Wambach. With the exception of maybe Morgan, all of these women are most recognizable and appreciated due to there soccer prowess, not their level of attractiveness. And what these women have done is way more important right now than any team from the last millenium did.
The monkey may not be off America's back in the World Cup, but it is off soccer's back in America for a little bit. The women from the United States' team accomplished two impossibles with their improbable, exciting run to the final two in this year's Women's World Cup: they made Americans care about soccer, and they made Americans care about a women's sport.
The win against Brazil was unreal. The win over France was awesome. The goals against Japan were amazing. The eventual loss was heart-rending. But America followed along the entire away. Americans, men and women, soccer followers and fairweather fans, blew up Twitter during the finals. And when the U.S. lost, perhaps the most important thing happened: we cared.
America didn't stop worrying about women's soccer right then and there. No, the celebration of this team continued. Because they were exciting. They provided better games than the men's team could muster a summer before, and they gave America a taste of what soccer can really be. Will it make a huge difference in our country's aversion to the world's sport? To be determined. But for a couple weeks, soccer and women ruled the sporting world. They dominated the Open Championship and the Home Run Derby.
Keep it up, "grass fairies" and ladies
According to sports writers and bloggers across the country this means they were a failure. Anything short of a world title was a failure. These women (even though none of them played in 1999) were evidently living in the shadow of the U.S.'s last Women's World Cup champions, unable to get the monkey off their back.
Wow. A second place finish in the World Cup, something that countless countries around the world would give endlessly for, is a failure.
Wrong. This group of women was not even close to a failure. In fact, they have done at least as much for women's soccer and soccer in the United States as the 1999 team did.
The 1999 team has two names that sports fans from my generation recognize: Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain. One is probably the greatest American women's soccer player ever, and the other is imprinted in our minds with just her sports bra on up top.
The 2011 team has at least four women that we recognize: Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Hope Solo and Abby Wambach. With the exception of maybe Morgan, all of these women are most recognizable and appreciated due to there soccer prowess, not their level of attractiveness. And what these women have done is way more important right now than any team from the last millenium did.
The monkey may not be off America's back in the World Cup, but it is off soccer's back in America for a little bit. The women from the United States' team accomplished two impossibles with their improbable, exciting run to the final two in this year's Women's World Cup: they made Americans care about soccer, and they made Americans care about a women's sport.
The win against Brazil was unreal. The win over France was awesome. The goals against Japan were amazing. The eventual loss was heart-rending. But America followed along the entire away. Americans, men and women, soccer followers and fairweather fans, blew up Twitter during the finals. And when the U.S. lost, perhaps the most important thing happened: we cared.
America didn't stop worrying about women's soccer right then and there. No, the celebration of this team continued. Because they were exciting. They provided better games than the men's team could muster a summer before, and they gave America a taste of what soccer can really be. Will it make a huge difference in our country's aversion to the world's sport? To be determined. But for a couple weeks, soccer and women ruled the sporting world. They dominated the Open Championship and the Home Run Derby.
Keep it up, "grass fairies" and ladies
Saturday, July 16, 2011
MLB Second Half--Hoping for Losers
As Major League Baseball begins its second half of action after the All-Star break, the playoff picture really begins to take shape. After 10 or 15 games, it becomes pretty clear whether or not a certain team is going to be in contention for a playoff spot or not.
For the New York Mets, that time frame could be as short as three games. Going into the break, the Mets sat 7.5 games back from the Atlanta Braves, the leaders in the NL Wildcard race. Their second half started with a home series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Were the Mets to get swept, while the Braves won a series or picked up a sweep of their own, that would put the Mets 9.5 or more games behind, effectively out of contention for 2011.
Regardless of the Mets' success or failure in the first series, though, the likelihood is that things will not pan out for them. They will most likely continue to fall further behind the Phillies and Braves and out of the race.
For the Mets, like most teams that fall behind, that would mean they would start looking at making trades to clear some cap space and getting some good prospects for the following season. Already the Mets have moved Francisco Rodriguez, but that is not making a big difference for them. Now the trade talks have extended to Carlos Beltran and even David Wright.
Beltran is an understandable trade, because his contract will be up after this season, and it is unlikely the team will be able to resign him. But why Wright? The guy who has been the star and carried the team for four straight seasons? No, that would be foolish. They will not need that much money to resign Reyes, and the thought of keeping Reyes, Wright, Ike Davis, and new young star Justin Turner makes the Mets' infield sound downright scary.
Can't the Mets' front office see that they are going to have a decent offense even if they don't get Reyes back next year? The young talent they are grooming has been forced to step in early, and they have delivered. It makes sense that they would continue to do so. Go get some pitching, and leave the lineup alone. With Johan Santana back and more strong starter to back him up, the Mets might actually have something to say about the NL East next year.
For the New York Mets, that time frame could be as short as three games. Going into the break, the Mets sat 7.5 games back from the Atlanta Braves, the leaders in the NL Wildcard race. Their second half started with a home series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Were the Mets to get swept, while the Braves won a series or picked up a sweep of their own, that would put the Mets 9.5 or more games behind, effectively out of contention for 2011.
Regardless of the Mets' success or failure in the first series, though, the likelihood is that things will not pan out for them. They will most likely continue to fall further behind the Phillies and Braves and out of the race.
For the Mets, like most teams that fall behind, that would mean they would start looking at making trades to clear some cap space and getting some good prospects for the following season. Already the Mets have moved Francisco Rodriguez, but that is not making a big difference for them. Now the trade talks have extended to Carlos Beltran and even David Wright.
Beltran is an understandable trade, because his contract will be up after this season, and it is unlikely the team will be able to resign him. But why Wright? The guy who has been the star and carried the team for four straight seasons? No, that would be foolish. They will not need that much money to resign Reyes, and the thought of keeping Reyes, Wright, Ike Davis, and new young star Justin Turner makes the Mets' infield sound downright scary.
Can't the Mets' front office see that they are going to have a decent offense even if they don't get Reyes back next year? The young talent they are grooming has been forced to step in early, and they have delivered. It makes sense that they would continue to do so. Go get some pitching, and leave the lineup alone. With Johan Santana back and more strong starter to back him up, the Mets might actually have something to say about the NL East next year.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Basketball in Turkey
...doesn't seem like it would be that much fun to me. Sure, it still beats out roofing, laying concrete or, god forbid, being a stay-at-home parent because you would still be paid extremely well to play a sport for a living. But it doesn't trump staying at home (or going wherever you want to) and just living off the prodigious sum of cash you've been paid to be a professional athlete the past few years, does it?
Well, according to Deron Williams, the answer to that question is yes. ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported that Williams is planning on going to play in Turkey if the NBA lockout remains in place through the fall. This, of course, has sent all sorts of shockwaves through the minds of NBA personnel. To me, it it just dumbfounding. There are only two reasons Williams could possibly have for doing this: (a) he's broke, or (b) he REALLY REALLY loves playing basketball.
If Williams is in fact broke, then he should definitely go play overseas. Supposedly he's being offered $5 million, plenty of money to get by for a year or two. But I'm just not sure I buy it, given that Williams is making just shy of $15 million a year right now.
The stunning thing is, though, the answer to why he's threatening playing in Turkey can't possibly be option B. If Deron Williams REALLY REALLY loves playing basketball, then he wouldn't have stopped working hard while he was with the Jazz and forced them to trade him. It just wouldn't have worked out that way.
So Deron, what's the deal, man? Don't you understand that you aren't going to have any friends in Turkey, the clubs aren't going to be what you're used to (although perhaps a eurotechno trance club is right up D-Will's alley) and the women aren't going to be as excited about you as they were in the U.S.? You get all that, right? Then why not just stick around here and spend the weekends in NYC, LA and Vegas? That sounds awesome. Just blow $10 million in a year on trips to bars, clubs and casinos. And when things are ironed out with the NBA, your contract will still be around, and you'll go back to bringing $15 mill in.
Far be it from me to tell Deron Williams what to do. If he actually wants to go to Turkey and play basketball, he should go for it. But I wish he'd tell me why he's doing it first. Cause I just don't understand.
Well, according to Deron Williams, the answer to that question is yes. ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported that Williams is planning on going to play in Turkey if the NBA lockout remains in place through the fall. This, of course, has sent all sorts of shockwaves through the minds of NBA personnel. To me, it it just dumbfounding. There are only two reasons Williams could possibly have for doing this: (a) he's broke, or (b) he REALLY REALLY loves playing basketball.
If Williams is in fact broke, then he should definitely go play overseas. Supposedly he's being offered $5 million, plenty of money to get by for a year or two. But I'm just not sure I buy it, given that Williams is making just shy of $15 million a year right now.
The stunning thing is, though, the answer to why he's threatening playing in Turkey can't possibly be option B. If Deron Williams REALLY REALLY loves playing basketball, then he wouldn't have stopped working hard while he was with the Jazz and forced them to trade him. It just wouldn't have worked out that way.
So Deron, what's the deal, man? Don't you understand that you aren't going to have any friends in Turkey, the clubs aren't going to be what you're used to (although perhaps a eurotechno trance club is right up D-Will's alley) and the women aren't going to be as excited about you as they were in the U.S.? You get all that, right? Then why not just stick around here and spend the weekends in NYC, LA and Vegas? That sounds awesome. Just blow $10 million in a year on trips to bars, clubs and casinos. And when things are ironed out with the NBA, your contract will still be around, and you'll go back to bringing $15 mill in.
Far be it from me to tell Deron Williams what to do. If he actually wants to go to Turkey and play basketball, he should go for it. But I wish he'd tell me why he's doing it first. Cause I just don't understand.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
The Van Gundy Observation
Game One of the NBA Finals is in the books, and the Heat are already looking good to capture the title. During the 4th quarter of last night's game, color commentator Jeff Van Gundy made an observation as the Heat were beginning to take control of the game and the Mavericks were trying to stay alive.
I won't get the wording exactly correct, but Van Gundy said something to the affect of: the difference in the game right now is that Dallas doesn't have Lebron or Wade.
Uh, no kidding Jeff. It was a mind-numbing observation that made me laugh when I first heard it. As I thought about it more, though, I understood what he meant. And I realized that Van Gundy's point is the same reason he and I picked the Heat to win the NBA Championship when James, Wade and Bosh decided they would team up in Miami.
Van Gundy's wasn't just trying to show that he was capable of differentiating the Miami jerseys from the Dallas ones. The point he was making (which, granted, could have been done more eloquently) was that Dallas just doesn't have the star power to stick with the Heat in those late game situations. In the NBA, perhaps more than in any other league, the stars make the difference late in the game.
Because they play offense and defense, fantastic athletes like James and Wade can summon up a little more effort on defense in the fourth quarter and be dominant players on that end of the floor. You just don't see it all game, because playing like that for 35-38 minutes would hurt their offensive production.
Just think about the last few games for Miami. Last night against Dallas, it was Wade making shots, getting steals, skying over bigger players for rebounds, and getting assists in transition. He was unbelievable. In game five against Chicago, it was James, hitting threes, hitting the go-ahead jumper, shutting Derrick Rose down (in game four in Miami as well) down the stretch, and of course getting the big block to close out the game.
Sure, the Mavs have Dirk, but he's not as gifted athletically as Miami's players are. Dirk is certainly capable of ratcheting up his defensive effort in crunch time, but he doesn't become a difference maker in the way the stars on the Heat do. His offense is incredible, but that is only going to be able to get his team so far in this series. I don't see a player on the Mavericks that is capable of changing the game on the defensive end of the floor when they need it most.
And that is why (sigh) the Heat are going to win this championship, and the future of the NBA will hang in the balance.
I won't get the wording exactly correct, but Van Gundy said something to the affect of: the difference in the game right now is that Dallas doesn't have Lebron or Wade.
Uh, no kidding Jeff. It was a mind-numbing observation that made me laugh when I first heard it. As I thought about it more, though, I understood what he meant. And I realized that Van Gundy's point is the same reason he and I picked the Heat to win the NBA Championship when James, Wade and Bosh decided they would team up in Miami.
Van Gundy's wasn't just trying to show that he was capable of differentiating the Miami jerseys from the Dallas ones. The point he was making (which, granted, could have been done more eloquently) was that Dallas just doesn't have the star power to stick with the Heat in those late game situations. In the NBA, perhaps more than in any other league, the stars make the difference late in the game.
Because they play offense and defense, fantastic athletes like James and Wade can summon up a little more effort on defense in the fourth quarter and be dominant players on that end of the floor. You just don't see it all game, because playing like that for 35-38 minutes would hurt their offensive production.
Just think about the last few games for Miami. Last night against Dallas, it was Wade making shots, getting steals, skying over bigger players for rebounds, and getting assists in transition. He was unbelievable. In game five against Chicago, it was James, hitting threes, hitting the go-ahead jumper, shutting Derrick Rose down (in game four in Miami as well) down the stretch, and of course getting the big block to close out the game.
Sure, the Mavs have Dirk, but he's not as gifted athletically as Miami's players are. Dirk is certainly capable of ratcheting up his defensive effort in crunch time, but he doesn't become a difference maker in the way the stars on the Heat do. His offense is incredible, but that is only going to be able to get his team so far in this series. I don't see a player on the Mavericks that is capable of changing the game on the defensive end of the floor when they need it most.
And that is why (sigh) the Heat are going to win this championship, and the future of the NBA will hang in the balance.
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