Thursday, February 22, 2007

Hamilton Has His Shot at Redemption

As spring training begins, here is one story worth keeping an eye on. Former #1 overall pick, Josh Hamilton, whose life and career were derailed by drug and alcohol abuse, has a shot at making the Cincinnati Reds 25-man roster. The first overall selection in the 1999 draft hadn’t played in an organized game in four years before being reinstated by Major League Baseball at the end of last season. The Reds selected Hamilton in the Rule 5 Draft from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays back in December. His battle with addiction has been a brutal struggle, but now -- clean for nearly a year and a half -- he has fought his way back with an opportunity to turn his tragedy into triumph. The man who Tampa Bay All-Star Carl Crawford called the best baseball player he’s ever seen now has his chance to make headlines on the diamond.

Don’t count out Josh Hamilton. Root for him.

It’s now OK to talk NBA…For Now

Well maybe for just a second. NBA All-Star Weekend has come and gone capped by Sunday’s unwatchable All-Star game. Teams are now back to business back as the second half of the season began Tuesday night. So now that the NBA stretch run is upon us, is it time to starting talking NBA basketball? Not so much. The NBA is all about quantity over quality and there will be plenty of time for fans to turn their attention to the NBA when the never-ending playoffs begin whenever. As March Madness draws near, NBA basketball shouldn’t be on any basketball fans radar until after the conclusion of the college basketball season.

However, there is one event this week in the NBA that is more exciting than the actual product out on the court and that is the trade deadline, which hits today at 3pm. There has been talk galore and most of it will amount to absolutely nothing. However, this doesn’t mean that speculation and rumors aren’t fun to discuss. Bleeding Sports breaks down some of the more prominent trade rumors making the rounds and which ones GMs should pull the trigger on before the deadline.

Memphis Grizzlies trade Pau Gasol to Chicago Bulls

This trade has been talked about for weeks on end. While Kevin Garnett would be a better option for the Bulls, Minnesota is hell belt on keeping the Big Ticket in Minneapolis for the time being. Memphis, meanwhile, isn’t pushing Gasol out the door as hard as he’s trying to bust it down. The major sticking point in this trade is Jerry West’s desire to acquire 2 of the Bulls’ 4 young studs of Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, and Andres Nocioni. Bulls’ GM John Paxson isn’t willing to overpay even for a low post scorer the Bulls’ desperately need.
While I agree there is great risk involved for Chicago, at some point the franchise needs to make a move. The team has been in dire need of an inside threat since trading away Eddy Curry and Bulls aren’t going anywhere until they fill that void. The choice for the Bulls is to either make the deal for Gasol now and make a run in the East or wait, fade in the postseason for the third straight season, then make a run for Garnett in the summer.

Sacramento Kings trade Mike Bibby to Cleveland Cavaliers

This is an interesting rumor that has started to gain momentum. If Cleveland can pull this off they have to go for it. Matching Bibby with Larry Hughes and Lebron may just be what Cleveland needs to get past Detroit and into the NBA Finals. Any trade with Sacramento, would include Drew Gooden heading out West. The challenge for Cavaliers’ GM Danny Ferry is finding a third team that can provide the Kings with an expiring contract and draft picks that Cleveland doesn’t have to offer.

New Jersey Nets trade Jason Kidd to Los Angeles Lakers and Vince Carter to Who Knows

Sounds more and more unlikely that neither Jason Kidd or Vince Carter will be moved before the trade deadline. However, if I were the Nets’ Rob Thorn I would be desperately trying to move both of them. New Jersey wants Andrew Bynum from Los Angeles in exchange for Kidd, who is a player the Lakers’ are unwilling to move. I understand New Jersey refusing to a deal without Bynum, but I still believe that Kidd’s trade value is at its peak right now and if they can’t get Bynum now they shouldn’t expect to him get or any player of that caliber down the road.


As for Vince Carter, he is likely to opt out of his contract after this season and become a free agent. The likelihood of him returning to New Jersey are highly unlikely, however, teams aren’t willing to give up much for a player who could bolt at the end of the season. The Nets are currently 9th in the Eastern Conference and are going nowhere fast. Receiving something in return for Carter is better than nothing. You would think there would be a contender out there who believes Carter could put them over the top and would have something to offer New Jersey. While the Nets may be worried about a public relations backlash from the fans they should be more concerned about building this team for the future and its eventual move to Brooklyn. Nobody in New Jersey goes to watch the Nets play now so what’s the difference.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Bleeding Sports Invades ESPN College GameDay

Special thanks to the Bleeding Sports Marketing Team and their superior effort to promote the site this past weekend at Boston College. Bleeding Sports stole the show prior to and during the ESPN College GameDay telecast from Conte Forum. If only Digger Phelps didn't have to be a playa-hater and position himself right in front of Bleeding Sports' advertising space!

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Still Time to Turn on the Lights

Football may be over, but not to fear. Time to your attention to something more constructive or at least change the channel. Tonight, after the Valentine's Day festivities have died down, consider this triple threat of quality television for the casual sports fan.

At 8, over on NBC, check out Friday Night Lights. Forget about Heroes, Lights is the best new show of the season. Ratings have been underwhelming, but now is as good a time as any to start watching. If you haven’t seen it, time to see what you are missing. This show deserves a larger audience and second season in the fall.

At 9, head over to ESPN and catch Duke at Boston College. Last year’s game was wild with Duke blowing a huge lead only to hold on at the end thanks to a controversial no call. BC is looking to avenge a loss in Durham earlier this season while Duke needs a win in the worst way.

Then beginning at 10:30 a little NBA for you Knicks and Warriors fans out there (I know there are still some left). New York completes their three game West Coast road trip at Golden State as both teams look to head into the All-Star beak on a positive note. The Knicks are coming off a wild one point victory last night against the Lakers while the Warriors have lost 3 of 4. The game can be seen on MSG in the northeast.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

As the NFL World Turns

Like I’ve said before, even after the season ends there is never a dull moment in the National Football League.

The San Diego Chargers have fired head coach Marty Schottenheimer. President Dean Spanos and the organization felt like it was a move they had to make. Schottenheimer and GM A.J. Smith’s relationship continued to be a distraction and the coach’s value plummeted after losing five assistant coaches this off-season. The Chargers felt it was no longer worth bringing Schottenheimer back. While critics argue that Schottenheimer choked in the playoffs, you can’t lose playoff games unless you actually reach the playoffs. Schottenheimer has been a consistent winner, which is something the Chargers had never been until Marty Ball arrived.

Let the Jerry Reese era begin! The New York Football Giants made a few roster moves yesterday cutting Carlos Emmons, LaVar Arrington, and Luke Petitgout. Emmons could never stay on the field since signing with New York in 2004. Arrington made little impact before tearing his Achilles tendon in Week 7 at Dallas. The outside linebacker position has been a glaring weakness for Giants the last couple of seasons and it is time for some new blood. Petitgout has been reliable at left tackle, but has chronic back problems, commits too many penalties, is coming off a broken leg, and carried a $5 million dollar salary for next season.

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Mountaineers Make Beilein Toward Return to NCAA Tournament

After reaching the Sweet 16 for a second consecutive year in 2006 not much was expected out of the West Virginia basketball program when the ’06-’07 season began. Back in October, the Big East coaches picked the team to finish 12th in the 16 team league. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year and with good reason. Coach John Beilein lost his top five scorers from last year’s squad and was left with just one returning starter in forward Frank Young. Yet the Mountaineers have managed to defy expectations with a record of 7-3 in the Big East and 18-4 overall. Tonight, rival Pittsburgh visits Morgantown and a West Virginia victory would put them just a game out of first place in the conference.

Mike Gansey, Kevin Pittsnogle, and company may be gone, but the style of play under Coach John Beilein has remained the same. The Mountaineers backdoor opponents to death, toss up a barrage of three point shots, and never turn the ball over. On defense, they still employ the 1-3-1 zone and this season's squad with longer, more athletic players are actually better defensively than at any other time during the Beilein's tenure. However, the toughest challenge is ahead for West Virginia. The Mountaineers follow up tonight’s home game with #6 Pittsburgh by hosting #2 UCLA on Saturday and then play at #23 Georgetown on Monday. This stretch will determine if Beilein’s boys are ready for March, but win or lose these underdogs continue to be one of the most enjoyable teams to follow in college basketball.

Sunday, February 4, 2007

Sunday BLOODY Sunday

Today is the day. Super Bowl XLI is only hours away where a new world champion will be crowned. No such drama in the Bleeding Sports pick’em match up between The Pickmeister and the BS Brain Trust. Going into the Super Bowl the Brain Trust has a record of 8-2 while The Pickmeister stands at 4-6. This competition has been over for weeks and one lesson has been learned: The Pickmeister officially needs a name change. Now on to the picks, enjoy the game.

The Pickmeister’s Super Bowl Pick:

Indianapolis -7 over Chicago

Finally the big game is upon us. Millions of people will be situated in front of their big screen TVs watching the commercials and hoping for a good football game. It’s too bad these games rarely live up to their hype, and it saddens me to say that this one won’t be different. Sure Chicago is a GOOD team, but that’s about all they are. The Bears just aren’t a Super Bowl caliber team, and Rex Grossman sure as hell isn’t a Super Bowl caliber quarterback. All year the Bears have relied on their defense to force turnovers, which they did a league leading 43 times, but unfortunately for them that game plan won’t work against Peyton Manning and the Colts who had only 18 giveaways all year. So the Bears are going to need their offense to play big if they want to have a chance to win. But as we have seen throughout the playoffs, Indy’s defense has stepped up their game shutting down teams who have a better rushing game than Chicago. So what does all this mean? It means that for the first time this year Chicago is going to have to rely on Grossman to win the game, and like I have said before that isn’t going to happen. This one has blowout written all over it. Peyton has been waiting for this game his whole career and will not let it the opportunity pass bye, especially against a team like Chicago. Take Indy to cover the 7 point spread.


The Brain Trust’s Superbowl Pick:

Indianapolis -7 over Chicago

It is well documented that the Brain Trust does not believe in the Bears. Peyton Manning and the Colts offense came alive in the second half against New England and look for the success to continue. The Bears defense is extremely overrated. They give up a lot of yards and since the injuries of Tommy Harris and Mike Brown the D has been giving up a lot of points too. The key for the Colts is to take care of the ball. The Bears only chance is to create turnovers and either score on defense or create a short field for the offense. Rain is expected throughout the game, but sounds like not enough to be a significant factor. The Bears simply won’t be able to pound the ball and expect to win. They need turnovers and consistent play out of Rex Grossman. Having to count on both of those thing happening is unrealistic. The Colts have emphasized ball protection and Peyton Manning is not going to make mistakes against the Bears uncomplicated defensive scheme. As for Grossman, if he couldn’t stay focused during New Years how can be counted on after spending the past week in Miami? You have to put your money on Peyton Manning and Indy.