Sports Guy North

The following is the power rankings for the top 25 players, on a per game basis, in the NBA this year. This ranking tries to take into consideration all stats as well as the players position, and to some extent potential upside in the next couple of years. My explanations follow, but feel free to send me some explanations for your own choices as well. If I don't get at least one email from an angry Celtic's fan this time, I'm going to be very disappointed. In any event, here are the power rankings:


1. S. Marion (Pho)

Marion has done it all this year. 21.9 points per game, 12.3 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 1.9 blocks, 51.7% from the floor and 80.3% on free throws. Add to that only 1.5 turnovers per game, and there isn't anything Marion hasn't done to make up for Amare's absence. Think of it this way: More three pointers than Pierce, more points than Baron, more rebounds than Ben Wallace, more blocks than Rasheed, more steals than Kobe, better shooting percentage than Nash and better free throw percentage than Joe Johnson. There is no doubting his standing as the best all around player in the league this year.


2. L. James (Cle)

Everyone talks about how LeBron's passing game is a thing of the past, but that's still good for 6.8 assists a game this far. Another all around player, but a little less reliable defensively than Marion. Offer LeBron to any GM in the league straight up for any other player, and I'm certain the deal is made 100% of the time.


3. K. Bryant (LAL)

Kobe is way out in front with 35.4 points per game, and there are a couple of single game performances I don't need to remind people of. There is no better pure scorer in the league, now or in recent history.


4. G. Arenas (Was)

A threat inside and out, Arenas is among the league leaders in 3 pointers, points and steals. He is the biggest reason for the Bullets resurgence in the past couple of seasons, and deserves the ranking among the leagues elite that goes with it.


5. R. Allen (Sea)

Ray is making 3.4 3 pointers a game, to easily lead the league, and is also 91% from the free throw line. 25 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals aren't too bad either.


6. A. Kirilenko (Uta)

While AK47 might only be getting 15 points and 4 assists per game, he makes up for some of the deficit in Blocks, Steals and Rebounds. No one else as strong in those three categories comes close to his point and assist totals.


7. J. Kidd (NJ)

All the Nash die-hards out there aren't going to like seeing Kidd's name come up first. The arguments will read that Nash is still putting up his numbers even though Amare is injured. But guess what - the team left in Phoenix without him is still leagues better than the Nets. Nash is also trailing Kidd in 3 pointers, rebounds, steals, blocks and turnovers.


8. M. Camby (Den)

If Camby could ever be relied on to be healthy for extended periods of time, he'd be the best big guy in the league, hands down. If you compare his numbers to Ben Wallaces, they are even in every statistic, except that Camby shoots 74% free throws versus 44% from Ben, he nearly doubles him in points 14.1 to 7.6, and he even out-blocks him 3.3 to 2.2.


9. E. Brand (LAC)

Elton is in the top ten in field goal percentage, points, rebounds and blocks. His last three seasons with the Clippers have been some of the most under-rated play in the league.


10. S. Nash (Pho)

Nearly a full 2 assists per game lead on anyone else in the league, and hands down the best shot from the free throw line. He may be 10th in these rankings, but I wouldn't be surprised to see his name in contention for his second straight MVP award. His team does still live and die by his play, but a lot of that is because thats how their game is coached. He and Kidd are the class of the league amongst point guards. A class of their own.


11. J. Richardson (GS)

Imagine if you were in a starting lineup that involved Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy. Still, J Rich is among the league leaders in 3 pointers and points, and is one of the more entertaining players in the league to watch on a daily basis. If only the rest of the team would catch up.


12. R. Wallace (Det)

Sheed earned his All Star status this year in spades. 16 points with 2 three-pointers, 1.6 blocks and only 1 turnover per game. Not bad from the free throw line for someone who plays his style of game either.


13. G. Wallace (Cha)

What a shot this kid has, shooting nearly 55%, and not all of it inside. Speaking of inside, he still manages 7.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game, making him another one of the few all around players that help you in every way. And that doesn't even mention his league-leading 2.5 steals per game. In a couple of years i won't be the only one considering Gerald as possibly one of the ten best in the league. His numbers are fantastic, considering this is still just his second full season.


14. A. Iverson (Phi)

Top ten, as always, in Points, Steals and Assists, he still puts up a few too many bricks for my liking. Not to mention a lack of appetite for rebounds, and a few too many balls in the front row of the audience. I sometimes wonder how many points he'd get a game if he actually got equal treatment from the refs instead of 162 free throws and 27 free walks a game.


15. T. McGrady (Hou)

T Mac, as we found out today, will be unavailable to play for 5 to 6 weeks with yet another back injury. It's a shame that he has been plagued with injuries, or he may well have been one of the best players of all time. Even through the pain, though, you can always rely on TMac to be among the league leaders in points. You can't like Houston's chances to do anything at all this season now.


16. K. Garnett (Min)

No the KG of past years, but still leading the league in Rebounds, and among the leaders in shooting percentage. It's a shame that his team crumbled around him, he deserved better.


17. C. Billups (Det)

The second of three Pistons in this list, Billups has been phenomenal for the Pistons this year, stepping up to be the final piece they needed to ensure their Eastern Conference Championship status again. 2.6 points and a full 3 assists more per game over last year, Chauncey has proven he is the #3 point guard in the East.


18. P. Pierce (Bos)

27 points and 7 rebounds isn't too bad, but I would expect more from Pierce. You have to feel for his situation, though, playing on a team that wouldnt even qualify for March Madness without him, let alone have a chance to win.


19. D. Wade (Mia)

Wade has come into his own in the league this year, earning a spot in the league top ten in Points, Steals and Assists per game, and in many ways taking over leadership of the Heat from Shaq. Shaq seems more than content to watch his little buddy take over this time, though, as he appears to be Wade's #1 fan. It would be nice to see them win a Championship together once before Shaq really starts to fade, but I'm not sure there's much anyone can do with the Pistons this year.


20. D. Nowitzki(Dal)

Disco is the only 7-footer I can think of who it's never a good idea to leave open, as he proved by winning the 3-point contest last month. 25.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1 block and only 1.9 turnovers, along with 1.4 3-pointers per game. I am going to field many emails asking how he could be ranked so low. Steals, assists and field-goal percentage? I don't know, I have no real good reason I guess, other than the talent of everyone else. So don't bother asking.


21. C. Paul (NOK)

Speaking of someone who I'm going to field questions about, I've already got Chris Paul in my top-25 list. A list that doesn't included Bibby, Mike James, Knight or Hinrich. But really, who puts up 16.4 points and 8 assists in their rookie season, while only turning the ball over a couple times a game? Lets compare - In Lebron's rookie season, he only had 4 more points per game, while picking up 2 less assists, the same number of rebounds, a half a steal less, and shot a much worse percentage from the free throw line. LeBron also had a full turnover more per game. It could actually be argued that Paul's rookie season, in many ways, is superior to LeBron's. I for one think it is.


22. J. Johnson (Atl)

Joe has to play in Atlanta now, and maybe I just feel bad for him and that's why he's in this list. But Atlanta is an up-and-coming team, as I've mentioned before, and if that continues Joe has to be a big part of it. 20.2 points and 6.5 assists isn't too shabby, though, considering his surroundings.


23. R. Artest (Sac)

Artest is the ultimate steal-machine in the league, and has a nice 3-point shot to go with it. Once he gets fully adjusted to his surroundings in Sac-town, he'll lead them into the playoffs, just like I predicted upon his arrival with the Kings.


24. B. Wallace (Det)

Big Ben's numbers have decreased a little bit this year, but there still isn't a team out there that wouldn't give their sister to have him in their lineup. Top 15 in blocks, steals and rebounds still, and his intimidation factor goals well beyond his numbers, as half the time people just don't challenge him.


25. C. Bosh (Tor)

Chris Bosh has certainly made a name for himself this year, and is in the top 15 in Shooting %, Free Throw %, Points and Rebounds. Anyone who was a team’s leader one year, and follows it up by increasing his output by 6 points and an assist has to be among the leagues top 25, and climbing. Toronto has to keep this man in the plans in order to even dream about competing in the next 3 years.

Here is a look at my recap of the 2006 NHL trade deadline deals. The transactions are set out on a team by team basis, and are shown by highest ranked team on through the lowest. Enjoy.

Carolina

Acquired: Mark Recchi

Deleted: Niklas Nordgren, Krys Kolanos, 2nd Round Draft Pick

Verdict: Nordgren is a career minor-leaguer, who managed to get into 43 uneventful games this year. Kolanos was a waiver pick-up. Recchi’s value was really low based on his +/- this year, but his plus minus was 110% due to the rest of his team. Recchi for a second round pick is a steal for a team that desperately needed to fill Eric Cole’s hole. Not having to pay desperately was a huge bonus. The leagues top team filled their only hole at no immediate expense. That’s how a top team is supposed to handle deadline day.

Ottawa

Acquired: Tyler Arnason

Deleted: Brendon Bochenski, 2nd Round Draft Pick

Verdict: This, on the other hand, appears to be a top team making a deal just to say they made a deal. Tyler Arnason is a chronic under-achiever, which is not something Ottawa needs heading into the playoffs, where under-acheivers flourish historically for the Sens. Bochenski was a high price to pay for Arnason, and throwing in a 2nd Round Pick makes this a definite loss for the Sens.


Detroit

Acquired: Cory Cross, 7th Round Draft Pick

Deleted: 4th Round Draft Pick, Jamie Rivers

Verdict: Bringing in Cory Cross. Wow. Wow. He didn’t fit in with the old NHL, and CERTAINLY does not in the new NHL. Rivers isn’t great, but he’s not a liability. He’s a guy that plays 8 minutes for you and you don’t even notice. Cross is not. Effectively, the Red Wings found a sharp downgrade to one of the worst D-men in the league, and also dropped 3 rounds in the draft on top of it. Clearly outside of Carolina the top teams were not ready for deadline day.


Buffalo

Acquired: 2nd Round Draft Pick

Deleted: Mika Noronen

Verdict: And here is another example. The Sabres had the “burden” of holding onto 3 NHL capable goaltenders, and what they got for one of them was only a second round pick? When goalies were at a premium, and every team wanted one? It’s also very surprising that they traded Noronen instead of Biron. Noronen would have been happy with a backup roll, he was just unhappy in the minors. Biron will not be happy as a backup. They really didn’t solve their problem, and traded a solid goaltending option for a draft pick. That’s just awful.


Dallas

Acquired: Willie Mitchell, 2nd Round Draft Pick

Deleted: Martin Skoula, Shawn Belle

Verdict: I wasn’t actually aware that Willie Mitchell and Martin Skoula were different people. Shawn Belle sounds about right for a 2nd round pick. It’s a fair trade, but not really necessary one. It happened though.


NY Rangers

Acquired: Sandis Ozolinsh, 3rd Round Draft Pick

Deleted: 3rd Round Draft Pick, Ville Nieminen

Verdict: Well, this teams hard to sort out. Losing Ville for a 3rd round pick was a waste. Getting Sandis for a 3rd round pick was great. So, would Ozo for Ville have been a good trade? NYR’s defense was solid, but had no offensive fire-power like Sandis. Hard to say how Ozo will come out of the substance abuse program, but he should be alright. On the other hand, Ville was one of the few Ranger forwards who was competent in the defensive zone. I think with Lundqvist in net this is a good end result for the Rangers, but the end of the season will tell.


Nashville

Acquired: Brendan Witt

Deleted: 1st Round Draft Pick, Kris Beech

Verdict: *OVERPAYMENT ALERT* Brendan Witt is NOT worth a first round pick. Period. What the rest of the trade tells me is that Nashville actually thinks that Kris Beech has negative value. Not just no value, literally negative value. Otherwise this trade doesn’t happen. This will not only not help the Preds, but it could very well hurt them in many ways. This is up there with Buffalo’s deal as the worst of deadline day. Wait, and someone brought in Cory Cross too, didn’t they?


Philadelphia

Acquired: Niko Dimitrakos, Denis Gauthier

Deleted: 3rd Round Draft Pick, Josh Gratton, 2nd Round Pick, 2nd Round Pick

Verdict: Bobby Clarke is stupid. Period. 2 draft picks and Josh Gratton for Denis Gauthier? 2 2nd round picks even. I don’t get it. Niko for a 3rd round pick is harmless, but man. Gauthier is old (30 this year), and hasn’t done anything of note in his entire 9 year career. This is his best season, hitting 12 points in 45 games and a –4. Is that worth 2 2nd round picks? Not even slightly. Stupid.


Calgary

Acquired: 4th Round Draft Pick, Jamie Lundmark

Deleted: Jason Wiemer, 4th round draft pick

Verdict: Lundmark is a great pick up for a 4th round pick. He’s not the first rounder that some thought he would be, but a solid 3rd line player is worth a 4th round pick any day. He is certainly a trade up from Jason Wiemer, who is older, less talented and less productive. So, Lundmark for Wiemer won’t win you a cup, but it is a great end result.


Vancouver

Acquired: Eric Weinrich, 4th Round Draft Pick, Keith Carney, Juha Alon, Mika Noronen, Sean Brown

Deleted: Tomas Mojzis, 3rd Round Draft Pick, Steve McCarthy, Brett Skinner, 2nd Round Draft Pick, 2nd Round Draft Pick, 4th Round Draft Pick

Verdict: Everything else aside, Noronen for a 2nd round pick makes this a great deadline day for the Canucks. Auld and Noronen is a great tandem, now we all just have to hope that Cloutier’s injury doesn’t heal this season. As for the rest of this busy-body mess, Carney trade was stupid (Ozolinsh went for just a third round pick, Carney went for a 2nd and a prospect), Brown was pointless, and Weinrich was a nice pickup that might payoff well. Down 3 draft picks in the process, but nothing major considering the improvement in net.


Los Angeles
Acquired: Tim Jackman, Mark Parrish, Brent Sopel

Deleted: Yannick Lehoux, Denis Grebshkov, Jeff Tambellini, 3rd Round Draft Pick

Verdict: Lehoux for Jackman, my Mom for Belak, no difference. Parrish and Sopel, as I said yesterday, are great pick ups for the Kings, who have solidified their place in the Western Conference playoff race.


Colorado


Acquired: Jim Dowd, Jose Theodore

Deleted: 4th Round Draft Pick, David Aebischer

Verdict: It seems as though the Avs are taking their playoff spot for granted. While they may be only be 1 point out of first in their division, they are also only 6 points from missing the playoffs. This is not a time to experiment on a new goalie while you wait for another to recover from injury, and then not even be sure which Jose will show up. 7 points decide 3rd to 9th place, and they traded away their proven goalie for a risk in the midst of that race. Not the gamble a team, otherwise secure in a high playoff spot, should ever take.


Edmonton

Acquired: Sergei Samsonov

Deleted: Marty Reasoner, Yan Statsny, 2nd Round Draft Pick

Verdict: Well, at this point I’m pretty sure Thronton’s trade has proven that Samsonov is a Rucchin. Reasoner is about the same, throw in a second round pick. If Samsonov is as good as he once seemed, it’s a semi-decent deal. Otherwise the Oilers messed this one up big time.


New Jersey

Acquired: Jason Wiemer, 4th Round Draft Pick, Brad Lukowich, Ken Klee

Deleted: 4th Round Draft Pick, Sean Brown, 3rd Round Draft Pick, Alexander Suglobov

Verdict: Lukowich and Klee are solid defensemen who will fit in well in the swamp. Nobody wants a Wiemer on their team, though. Still, a decent day for the Devil’s.


Anaheim

Acquired: 3rd Round Draft Pick, 2nd Round Draft Pick, Brett Skinner, Jeff Friesen, Sean O’Donnell

Deleted: Sandis Ozolinsh, Keith Carney, Juha Alon, 2nd Round Draft Pick, Joel Perrault

Verdict: I don’t know how to interpret Anaheim’s moves on the day. Got more for Carney than they should have, but less for Ozolinsh. They will probably be about the same before and after the trades, but what a ride anyway.


Tampa Bay

Acquired:

Deleted:

Verdict: Tampa was the only team out of all 30 who wasn’t active around the trade deadline. I’m not really sure what that tells us about their intentions. They are barely in the playoffs right now, and will likely stay in that spot.


Montreal

Acquired: Todd Simpson, David Aebischer

Deleted: 6th Round Draft Pick, Jose Theodore

Verdict: Todd Simpson? OK. The only way this trade happened on Montreal’s side is if they have full confidence in Huet moving into the future. If that is the case, you’d have to think they could fill a bigger hole by trading a Vezina winner than backup goalie. Aebischer is a quality goalie, though, and deserves to be #1 somewhere.


San Jose

Acquired: 3rd Round Draft Pick, Ville Nieminen

Deleted: Niko Dimitrakos, 3rd Round Draft Pick

Verdict: Ville for Niko is a solid pickup. One of the better improvements of the day.


Atlanta

Acquired: Steve McCarthy

Deleted: 4th Round Draft Pick

Verdict: Yeah. OK.


Minnesota

Acquired: Martin Skoula, Shawn Belle

Deleted: Willie Mitchell, 2nd Round Draft Pick

Verdict: It still happened, I guess.


Phoenix

Acquired: Yannick Lehoux, 4th round Draft Pick, Oleg Kvasha, Jamie Rivers, Joel Perrault, Josh Gratton, 2nd Round Pick, 2nd Round Pick

Deleted: Tim Jackman, Jamie Lundmark, 3rd Round Draft Pick, 7th Round Draft Pick, Sean O’Donnell, Denis Gauthier

Verdict: Lots of stuff to sort through here. 2 second round picks for Gauthier still remains the steal of the day. That one’s ridiculous. They improved their draft picks (3 and 7 for 2, 2 and 4), and also got the best player (Kvasha). I think Phoenix might have had the best all around deadline day, but a lot of that credit really goes to Bobby Clarke.


Toronto

Acquired: Alexander Suglobov, Luke Richardson

Deleted: Ken Klee, Draft Pick

Verdict: MLSE got rid of one of their inept GM’s. It’s time to get rid of the other.


NY Islanders

Acquired: 3rd Round Draft Pick, 3rd Round Draft Pick, Denis Grebshkov, Jeff Tambellini, 3rd Round Draft Pick

Deleted: Oleg Kvasha, Brad Lukowich, Mark Parrish, Brent Sopel

Verdict: Look at all those third round picks. 4 NHL players out, 0 NHL players in. You decide the verdict, it’s not that tough.


Boston

Acquired: Marty Reasoner, Yan Statsny, 2nd Round Draft Pick

Deleted: Sergei Samsonov

Verdict: If Sergei is the Rucchin I think he is, they did pretty good for themselves. Sell offs don’t usually result in a decent player and a 2nd round pick.


Florida

Acquired: Ric Jackman

Deleted: Petr Taticek

Verdict: Great pick up. Jackman is much better than playing with AHL players made him seem.


Washington

Acquired: 1st Round Draft Pick, Kris Beech, 2nd Round Draft Pick

Deleted: Brendan Witt, Jeff Friesen

Verdict: They got more for Witt than anyone could have ever imagined. A team building for the future, picking up a 1st and a 2nd round pick for 2 guys that never fit in makes for a great day.


Columbus

Acquired: Draft Pick

Deleted: Luke Richardson

Verdict: Yeah, its something. I guess.


Chicago

Acquired: 4th Round Draft Pick, Brendon Bochenski, 2nd Round Draft Pick, 6th Round Draft Pick

Deleted: Jim Dowd, Tyler Arnason, Todd Simpson

Verdict: Bochenski could be a decent NHLer in a couple of years. 2nd round pick is nice. Arnason’s absence will have some effect, but that’s about it. Not grea,t but a decent day for sure.


St. Louis

Acquired: Tomas Mojzis, 3rd Round Draft Pick

Deleted: Eric Weinrich

Verdict: What would you have done if you were St.Louis’ GM? Seriously, what? They are almost as lost as the Penguins. I’m not sure what they’re trying to do, nor what they should try to do. Fold?


Pittsburgh


Acquired: Petr Taticek, 4th Round Draft Pick, Niklas Nordgren, Krys Kolanos, 2nd Round Draft Pick

Deleted: Ric Jackman, Cory Cross, Mark Recchi

Verdict: They got rid of Cory Cross. That’s pretty good. Not nearly enough for Recchi, although I don’t think they could have gotten more. Mediocre day. Taticek and the draft picks may pay off in the long run for a re-building team.

The NHL trade deadline is historically one of the most active of all sports, and it already looks as though this year will be no exception. For today and tomorrow, I will display and analyze in some form the deals that pass through the NHL offices. In the new NHL so many people could end up so many places for so many reasons, so speculating won’t be too useful. I think at this point we heard every goalie going to Vancouver in exchange for Bertuzzi. These aren’t going to happen. So I will leave such speculation to self-indulgence, and use this forum to display the trades that have actually been made. So here, now, and the actually 2006 NHL Trade Deadline Deals:

Edmonton Receives: Dwayne Roloson
Minnesota Receives: First Round Pick; Conditional Third Round Pick

In addition, the Oilers waived their extra goalie to make room for Dwayner. Which makes me wonder; why wasn’t he dealt to Minnesota in addition to the draft picks? Instead of the Wild calling up a minor-leaguer with no experience, and stealing him from his Houston team who is making a championship run themselves, they could have brought over the Edmonton dead weight, who is actually a decent goalie. If the Canucks don’t pick him up off waivers that will be the biggest ball drop of the deadline. Auld needs a solid backup for the playoff run. NOT a replacement, but a solid backup. This is their chance.

Edmonton wins this trade in spades. With full playing time Dwayner can be a top-5 goalie in the NHL.

Toronto Receives: Luke Richardson
Columbus Receives: Conditional Draft Pick

Why? I’m not even sure the Jackets will end up getting anything at all in return, but I still have a hunch they won this trade. What exactly were the Leafs doing in adding Richardson to the lineup? Was there a hole that needed filling on the Marlies roster? This one is a puzzler. In 44 games this year, Luke has 7 points and is a –18 in limited playing time. There are 9 defensive options I can think of off the top of my head that the Leafs have who are better than this…. Well, 8 as you’ll read in a couple of trades. Unless this guarantees Belak’s departure from the lineup forever, this was not a reasonable move for the Leafs.

Jackets win this trade.

San Jose Receives: Ville Nieminen
New York Rangers Receive: 2006 Third Round Draft Pick

Well, OK. That was one of those trades. Ville is a decent defensive forward, which doesn’t carry much weight in GM’s books. San Jose did a good job picking up a solid Gary Valk type player like every team needs and most don’t have. Leave it to the Rangers to pick up a useless future pick in exchange for picking a small whole in a team that was finally having a great season. The dam should hold, but when you’ve had as much trouble in the past as the Rangers have, you just can’t take these chances for such little return.

Sharks win this trade.

Los Angeles Receives: Mark Parrish; Brent Sopel
New York Islanders Receive: Denis Grebshkov; Jeff Tambellini

Are you kidding me? Parrish has 41 points in 57 games, and has had even better numbers in recent history. Sopel has 27 points in 57 games as a top 2 defenseman, playing a lot of the team’s key minutes. Conversely Grebshkov is a defenseman who has played 8 unnoticeable games so far this year, and Tambellini is a name that the Kings made up and just put on their roster to fill a spot. With that, the Islanders are officially phoning in the season, and have done so with a vengeance. The Kings definitely are the big winner of the trade deadline thus far with this deal.

Kings win this trade.

Colorado Receives: Jose Theodore
Montreal Receives: David Aebischer

Wow. I just don’t understand what happens with goalies sometimes. Theodore is a top-quality goalie, who apparently has some Felix-ish head case issues that caused him a month of pain. Montreal giving up on a French-Canadian Vezina-trophy winner like that is almost unfathomable. For a non-French Canadian, nonetheless. The only way this happens is if they have full confidence in Huet moving into the future. If that is the case, you’d have to think they could fill a bigger hole by trading a Vezina winner than backup goalie.

Conversely, I don’t understand why Aebischer never got the credit he deserved. He has a career .915 save percentage and 89-58-12 record. He is also 25-14-2 this year with 3 shut outs. Apparently, however, they would rather trade away Aebischer and go with 2 unproven goalies with 22 career starts between them, and a .500 record playing against easier competition than Aebischer faced with his far superior record, as they head into the playoff run. Theodore, as you know, is injured, so a lot of their playoff standing will be based on the other pairs play. They then will go into the playoffs with a goalie having the worst year of his career, and who let in 37 goals over a 3-period span a couple months ago. That may be exaggeration, but how is this situation better than sticking with Aebischer? This is a gamble that I can’t see paying off. If Theodore does, however, instantly regain his Vezina-worthy play with the new environment, then the GM of the year, and possibly the Eastern Conference Champions have already been determined. This is, however, beyond highly unlikely.

No one wins this trade.

New Jersey Receives: Ken Klee
Toronto Receives: Alexander Suglobov

If this trade makes room for some youth in Toronto, that’s great for the Leafs. If this is to make room for Luke Richardson then it’s time to fold the team and convince the Penguins to move to Toronto. Suglobov is useless, a 2nd round pick in 2000 who has never been good enough to play more than 2 games. Ken Klee gives the Devils another defensive option, who while not overly talented, doesn’t make too many mistakes. That’s good enough in front of Brodeur.

Devils probably win this trade. Toronto gave away a marginal player for nothing, and by definition marginal is better than nothing.

Other Notes Of Note

It may sound like the great Nation of Hungary’s favourite new feature, but today it’s just a name. I had nothing else to call the other points from the day. Interesting stuff? Maybe. I don’t know. But here they are:

Canada Beat USA in World Baseball Challenge Everyone is making a big deal out of this. In fact, the poll on ESPN’s website today was asking which was the biggest upset in international sports history. It should have said “in AMERICAN international sports history”, but nonetheless, the options were: Puerto Rico over USA basketball 2004, Russia over USA basketball 1972, USA beats Cuba 2000 baseball, USA over Russia 1980 hockey, each of which occurred in the Olympics. Each also an excellent choice, and I would probably pick 1980 hockey, although the Puerto Rican basketball victory was likely more of an upset. Anyway, to lump the Canadian baseball victory in with that group is absurd. The American team that ended up showing up in Arizona did look beatable. The Canadians were also definitely being mentioned as medal contenders. The fact that a medal contender beat one of the favourites in a single game by 2 points is not a big upset. In fact I actually thought the Canadians had a good chance in that game. At least the people at home knew better than all the “experts”. So far in the ESPN vote every single state, along with international vote, picked 1980 hockey as far and away number one, and Puerto Rico basketball and far and away number 2, getting 85% of the vote between them. This is all just another case of Sportscasters trying to make more of a story out of something minor. When they lose to South Africa, then you can talk about upsets.

Bonds On Steroids? What? No way. What a scoop! I had no idea. Whoever wrote this book is breaking one of the biggest secrets ever! The only thing of note in this “story” is that the list of steroids he was on is frighteningly long. It’s seriously like he was trying to set the all time record for most steroids ever taken. And for that, I congratulate him. I mean if you’re going to bother cheating, then you might as well go balls out. And no ones balls are further out than Barry’s, on and off the field apparently.

Raptors Cavs For those of you out there wondering what the pictures on my site have to do with anything I’ve written about, relax you aren’t crazy. They aren’t related. They are just shots the little lady took from the Raptors Cavs game the wife, the JF and I went to tonight. For the most part, pictures you see of Mop Girl were taken when the camera mysteriously disappeared from our watch. Must have been a mysterious stranger with a crush on sweep girl. Same with the video which you can see here – Raptors Mop Girl Damn strangers. Anyway, the game was alright, lots of missed shots and bricks. The Raptors were playing like a team with too much talent to have given up on the season to such a degree. And the finish of the game, with the spaz hitting an open three to carry the Cavs to a 1 point win with no time left, will do nothing to turn that situation around. I’m still hopeful for next season. Raps and Hawks both in the playoffs; Count on it.

I had a Oscar-related post all mapped out for today, but given the events of the day paying tribute to Hollywood seems far less important. On a day where Theo Fleury threw a puck at a ref’s head while playing in Europe, if I’m not writing about that, you know something major happened.

One of the true sporting legends of our time passed away at the age of 45. A day after suffering a stroke, Kirby Puckett, whose weight gain in recent years was noticeable even on his famous rotund stature, died while recovering from surgery.

Kirby was one of those people who would never be seen without a smile on his face, and a love for life. Even as his waistline expanded in recent years he was happy with it because it was who he was. It was a part of what he was, and he saw no reason to let it trouble him. A smile from start to finish, in a life that could have excused frown lines more than most anyone else’s.

Born into poverty in 1960, he and his 8 siblings grew up in a housing project in Chicago. His career started coming to an early end in 1995 when he was hit by a pitch in his last at bat of the season, breaking his jaw. Months later in the spring he woke up and couldn’t see out of his right eye, which was later found to be glaucoma. In July of 1996, Kirby officially announced an end to his career.

A few years later, Kirby’s wife Tonya accused him of threatening to kill her during an argument. In the ensuing interrogation it came out that there was a history of being abusive and unfaithful, and led to their divorce. Later on, in 2003, another woman brought charges against Kirby of sexual assault, which were later proven to be false. All the adversity, however, led to an end in Kirby’s roll as an executive with the Twins, and likely also had an effect on his immense weight-gain. Some also say that it took away from Kirby’s standing as the most liked man in baseball, and as one of the greatest players of all time.

No matter how you interpret the events of his life outside of baseball, Kirby’s numbers on the field will stand the test of time. Of note from his career accomplishments, were a career .318 batting average, six gold gloves, 2 World Series rings and 10 All-Star Game appearances in only 12 seasons in the majors. He also added 207 home runs and 1,085 RBI’s from his 5’9”, 220 pound playing weight.

What we all remember the most will be the 1987 World Series, the first of his two rings. Down 3 games to 2, Puckett came up huge in game six. Most memorable were his huge leaping catch against the wall to rob Ron Gant of a key extra-base hit, and his home-run in the 11th inning. That home run forced a historic Game 7, which the Twins went on to in 1-0 in extra innings for their first of 2 titles.

Of course there is something else we’ll all remember about Kirby, his “smile, laughter and love for the game”, as Kent Hrbek said. That is easily what we will all remember the most from his playing days, and hopefully when all is said an done what we will remember the most about the man himself. His bright attitude about life, which he somehow carried from the projects and in to the Major Leagues was always heartening and brought joy to many people, in and out of the baseball world. We’ll always remember the smile.




Career Highlights

All Star – 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995
ALCS MVP – 1991
All Star MVP – 1993
Branch Rickey Award Winner – 1993
Gold Glove – 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992
Silver Slugger – 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994
Batting Title – 1989
Hits Leader – 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992
RBI Leader – 1994

Career Highs

Runs – 119
Hits – 234
Doubles – 45
Triples – 13
Home Runs – 31
RBI – 121
Stolen Bases – 21
Batting Average - .356
Fielding Percentage - .994

Mrs. Jones and Me

http://www.tsn.ca/curling/news_story.asp?id=157105
That’s a link to curling going on these days. And this is a link to a curling calendar:
http://www.thecurlingnews.com/calendar.html
The first link is about Jennifer Jones, from a match where Jones took on Jones in the battle of keeping up with the Jones’. Unfortunately the second link isn’t about Jennifer Jones. It is about a calendar that has been put out with nude curlers, called the Ana Arce Team Sponsorship Calendar 2006. Although Jennifer may not be involved, it also isn’t Ed Werenich, as you can see from the photo at the side. As for the possibility of the beauty queen of curling joining the ranks for a future calendar, Jennifer responded disappointingly by saying “I couldn't, I'm too shy. It's very European.”

Borg Selling Out

http://www.tsn.ca/tennis/news_story.asp?id=156920
I hope that “financial security” means a few extra cruises and a BMW, and doesn’t mean food on the table. On one hand, its sad that such a prominent athletes life has come to this point. On the other hand, he has won trophies that are worth a half a million dollars. How many of us can say that about our lives? I have a midget hockey trophy somewhere that might get me fiddy cent someday, if I run into a midget who has a goalie fetish.


Max Power

http://www.tsn.ca/headlines/main_story.asp?id=156955
Congrats to Jonathan Power for regaining the number one ranking in the world. There is nothing better than retiring on your own terms, and at the top of the world. I must say, personally I probably won’t be watching any squash tournaments on TV anymore (and not just because it’s usually on at 3:30 in the morning, which is when I had to watch his final match). He was by far the most entertaining person in squash, and his temper was good for at least a few laughs a game. He was also able to back it up with great play, and will, surprisingly to most of you I’m sure, be missed by me in the Sports world. This was one of my favourite athletes, and it’s great to see him retire the way he wanted.


Question For the Ages

Should I buy this?
http://cgi.ebay.ca/Chris-PRONGER-Canada-gameworn-jersey-2006-Olympics_W0QQitemZ8773224188QQcategoryZ37757QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Casi No No

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article349223.ece
So if mark Cuban had a blog, and some day a casino advertisement came up on his blog, should that affect the Dallas Mavericks? It makes no sense. Man U is separate, and whomever they do or don’t take on as a sponsor has as much bearing on the Buccaneers as Beckham’s inability to be teached maths.

Super Mario Tennis Cart

I’m not sure what to think about this one:
http://worldchumps.blogspot.com/2006/03/wheelchair-tennis-spins-out-of-control.html
My initial thought is “hey cool, they keep the balls in the spokes of the wheels”. Thought shuts down from that point on.

Religion #1

And to end on a couple of sad notes, we turn to the world of organized religion: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3223268,00.html
Racism of any kind makes me sick, and that includes when people normally thought of as being on the minorities side are at the helm. "The greatest danger to our people is assimilation! I urge you in the last minute not to make this move," If you wish to be informed of the dangers associated with marrying gentiles, I am leaving you my cell phone number. Please call me any time and I shall help you." The fact that people in the world still think like that is nothing but sad. If everyone allowed themselves to be assimilated, instead of focusing on differences, the world would be a much better place. What Baruch Marzel said is sickening. 2 people – not a Jew and a Lithuanian – but 2 people are in love and want to get married. They have learned to appreciate each other, from their beliefs to whichever one picks their toes in bed. They are two different people who have found their differences wonderful, and want to enjoy the unique life they make together. Who cares what some old guys say about ridiculous, antiquated beliefs. If they are happy they should do what will keep them that way. Living life any other way is just stupid. Blatantly stupid. Besides, if a certain people only marry his or her own people, there is bound to be a lot of in breading going on. Apparently, though, even Giuliani is all for that world, which is somehow a lot less illegal than I ever though it was: http://ask.yahoo.com/20060223.html
Oh world.

Religion #2

As if that wasn't bad enough, we come to the grand finaly. Now, bear with me on this one; it will come to a sports head eventually. Have a read:
http://www.jonathonforgovernor.us/Home_page.html
This guy is planning on running for Governor of Minnesota, and President in 2008. Oh yeah, and he is a Satanist and a Vampyre. The second line on his page says, “I despise and hate the Christian God the Father. He is my enemy.” He does, however, go on to say

“However, it doesn't mean that I hate all his followers. This Country was founded on religious rights and freedoms. This is guaranteed under the
1st Amendment of our great constitution. This right allows me to worship Lucifer and the Goddess Hecate, just as it allows you to worship the Goddess/God of your choice.”

I hate to say it, but maybe some Jewish leaders out there could learn a little something in being accepting from the Satanic Dark Priest. Not too much, though, as his platform for the election goes on to include the impalement of terrorists and certain prisoners as punishment. Which crimes call for impalement?

RAPE, CHILD ABUSE/NEGLIGECT, DRUG DEALING/PROCESSION, VIOLENCE UPON THE ELDERLY OR WOMEN, RELIGIOUS DECRIMINATION/ATTACKS, DWI/DUI (multiple offenses), CHILD MOLESTATION, MURDER (other than justified), POLICE BRUTALITY/ABUSE OF POWER and JUDICAL/PROSECTUTION MISCONDUCT.

Clearly. So, how is it that a seemingly normal man, an athlete and a soldier, can come to a point in life where he is so worried about looking like a "wuss" to others that he would over-compensate by impaling people for judicial misconduct? What could have started him along such an ugly path? Well, if you read a little further you’ll see this:

“My original sport’s love is racing. As a child my father introduced me to racing Go-Karts, and I have been addicted to racing since. In 2002, NASCAR granted me an NASCAR/Busch Series race license. Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond my control, I have not yet made my NASCAR racing debut. However, it is my plan to do so during the 2006 racing season.”

NASCAR. What a surprise.

Who Cares About the AL Anyway?

I continue to have people asking me who to take in fantasy baseball drafts, so I thought I would finally start taking a small look at it today. My look will be position-by-position, and National League only. I will list my top-5 recommended players at each position, for leagues with traditional fantasy stats. Sorry guys, this is a little boring, especially if you dont have any interest in Fantasy Baseball.

Catcher


1. Michael Barrett – Should be the best power hitter out of all the NL catchers, but the reality of that this year might mean only 15 home runs. Should get 70 RBI’s, but needs to learn how to walk more often.
2. Brian McCann – Another power hitter who needs to have a better eye to raise his average over .260 this year.
3. Paul Lo Duca – Not who he used to be, but still good for a .275 average and the fewest strike outs of any catcher. Don’t expect any home run power left in that bat of his, though, he’ll be extremely lucky to get to even 10 playing the whole season.
4. Josh Willingham – He’d be the number one choice if you could be certain he’d get 400 at bats on the season. Hard to say for sure, though,
5. Johnny Estrada – Lacks power, speed and an eye (easy 100 strike out bet), but should still have the best average of any NL cather. This position has really lost any of the little flair it gained in the 90’s. Might as well just wait and take whoever is still there after 6 or 7 catchers are already taken. It’s pretty much all the same.

First Base

1. Albert Pujols – Poo Holes. .340 average, 40 home runs, 125 RBI’s. Obvious first overall pick in any league. Everyone knows Poo Holes. Ha.
2. Derek Lee – A .300 hitter with a strike out problem that he backs up well in the home run department. His ability to steal bases, and knock in 120 runs make him a great second round pick in any size league.
3. Todd Helton – Less Home Runs and RBI’s than Lee, but also less strike outs, more walks and a much better on base percentage. Lee’s stolen bases with his power still make him a better choice.
4. Carlos Delgado – Everyone is going to love playing for the Mets this year. A great surrounding cast in the batting order should do wonders for Carlos’ stats again. More home runs and RBI’s could be in the works.
5. Ryan Howard – Could get 40 home runs. Could also lead the league in strike outs. He’s a gamble, but if he pays off it’ll be sweet.

Second Base

1. Chase Utley – Only second baseman capable of 40 home runs and 110 RBI’s.
2. Alfonzo Soriano – Most well rounded – decent power, decent base stealing, decent on base percentage. All around good choice.
3. Marcus Giles – Only second baseman likely to hit over .300, with some speed and power to go along with it.
4. Rickie Weeks – I know what you’re thinking – Weeks ahead of Kent, Vidro and Freel? I say yes. If you need someone to cover every stat, he’s your guy. Unfortunately, he covers strike outs as well.
5. Jeff Kent/Ryan Freel Jeff Kent will get you 25 home runs and a .290 batting average, but remember Freel in leagues that heavily weigh stolen bases. He’ll lead the second basemen by far.

Short Stop

1. Jose Reyes – Home runs and RBI’s are easy to give up if you’re getting 60 stolen bases in return. Stolen bases aren’t in your league, you say? Then Reyes likely shouldn’t be either.
2. Jimmy Rollins – After Reyes is gone, who else is going to get you 185 hits and 35 stolen bases?
3. Rafael Furcal – Not Furcal, 185 hits aren’t in the picture for him. 35 stolen bases aren’t a problem, though, and maybe even 10 triples if he gets lucky.
4. Felipe Lopez – All his stats should be identical to Furcal, except give up stolen bases and gain home runs and RBI’s. If you’re deciding between the two, keep that in mind. He’ll stike out a little bit more as well.
5. Nomar Garciapara – His best feature is that he will likely qualify to play 3 positions in most fantasy leagues. A great backup for any other position, and actually looked really good before being injured last year. Could be a great mid-round steal if he heals properly.

Third Base

1. David Wright – D-Dub is a great candidate for second overall pick, after Poo Holes. 35 home runs, 115 RBI’s, 100 runs, 25 stolen bases, and a .315 batting average aren’t unrealistic expectations here.
2. Miguel Cabrera – Only third baseman capable of hitting for better average than Wright, and will keep up in home runs too. No speed, though, means no stolen bases and fewer runs.
3. Aramis Ramirez – Another .300 hitter with power and no speed. Picking between him and Cabrera is really up to your preference.
4. Morgan Ensberg – Same thing, lower average and less power, but maybe 5 stolen bases instead of none. Why can’t third basemen steal? Shouldn’t third basemen be agile? That’s a reaction based position. Hard to understand why the Eric Hinske’s of the world end up there nowadays.
5. Scott Rolen – See above description almost to a tee.

Outfield

Sorry guys, but there are too many outfielders that are too similar to bother commenting on them. It may just bore me to tears. Just trust me, this is the ranking order, and the reasons for it are excellent!

1. Bobby Abreu
2. Andrew Jones
3. Carlo Beltran
4. Jason Bay
5. Juan Pierre
6. Barry Bonds
7. Adam Dunn
8. Lance Berkman
9. Carlos Lee
10. Jim Edmonds
11. Brian Giles
12. Matt Holliday
13. Pat Burrell
14. Chad Tracy
15. Ken Griffey

Starting Pitcher

1. Pedro Martinez - Not mister perfect like he used to be, but still good for 200 strikeouts in 200 innings, and a 4 to 1 strike out to walk ratio. Could hit the 20 win mark again in New York if he stays healthy.
2. Jake Peavy - San Diego isn’t good enough as a team to get Peavy 20 wins, but in many other locations he easily would. Another pitcher capable of 200 strike outs in 200 innings, and an ERA under 3.00. Despite only 13 or 14 wins, still worth a pick.
3. Ben Sheets - Pitching in Milwaukee, while not as painful as in the past, is still the major knock on Sheets. A strike out an inning, and an ERA just above 3.00 make for a safe pick despite the team.
4. Jason Schmidt – Another strike out an inning pitcher who will log around 15 wins. Seems to be all there is to say about these guys.
5. Roy Oswalt – Less strike outs, but fewer walks as well. Plays on a team that can help him to 20 wins and more than a couple of complete games. Could very well be the second best choice at pitcher.
6. Mark Prior – Like Oswalt but with more strike outs, less wins and less complete games. 3 to 1 strike out to walk ratio, if he stays healthy, is worth a pick up.
7. Chris Carpenter – I hate to tell people to take Carpenter. I have little confidence in his ability to keep his game at the level it was at last year. He may still get 16 wins from playing in St. Louis, and maybe 180 strike outs somehow, so take him if you want. But it’s against my advice, especially if the 6 mentioned above are still available.
8. Carlos Zambrano – See description of Prior above, but knock his strike out to walk ratio down a bit.
9. Brett Myers –3 to 1 strike out to walk ratio, 200 strike outs and playing in Philly means 13 wins. Same old story.
10. Andy Pettitte – Like Myers, less strike outs, less walks and about the same wins. Talking about pitchers sure is boring.
11. Dontrelle Willis - I don’t think this guy will ever be as good as it once looked like he’d be. He’ll be .500 at best this season, but the prospect of what could be is worth still giving him an early look.
12. Brandon Webb – Decent pitcher, like the others there. That’s enough of this starting pitcher thing, 12 is all I can stand. Just consider John Patterson, Tim Hudson, and Zach Duke as well, if you must.

Relief Pitcher

1. Brad Lidge – The only NL closer I’d bet on today to get over 40 saves. An ERA barely over 2.00, and a 4 to 1 strike out to walk ratio are easily within Lidge’s grasp. The class of the NL, unless Gagne can come off his injury better than expected.
2. Billy Wagner – Wagner closing for the team the Mets have assembled is a wonderful thing. Wagner will only walk a guy every 4 innings, and could be the other lock for 40 saves, if not for the fact that something is going to go wrong for the Mets. It just will. That’s just what happens.
3. Derrick Turnbow – definitely not as powerful as you might want your closer, but effective nonetheless. Milwaukee is looking a bit better this year, and certainly likely to win more close games. That bodes well for Derrick.
4. Jason Isringhausen - Good closer on a good team, that may just win too many games out of save range. With a little more power he’d be worth a higher pick, but I’m just not big on taking closers early who can’t even come close to a strike out an inning.
5. Chad Cordero – Some 35 save guy whose got a better strike out to walk ratio than Trevor Hoffman.
6. Trevor Hoffman – Some 35 save guy whose got a worse strike out to walk ratio than Chad Cordero. Word.

Hawks and Raptors Playoff Round

OK, so that’s not the case yet. But next year this just might be something we’ll see. These teams do clearly have some growing to do in the meantime, but they are both also getting there. If you look down the Hawks lineup right now, it’s really not that bad. It looks on the verge of being good enough to be a playoff team in the East. So why the horrible record? You have to wonder about the coaching when this is how the last 25 seconds go with a 3-point lead:

1. Near-steal, with a lucky bounce out of bounds instead of staying with Chucky.

2. This is followed up after the inbounds by a steal. There was only a 1.9 second shot clock/time clock differential, so if worse came to worse in the double teaming, Johnson could have just held the ball and given the Raps only 1.9 seconds to tie up the game with a three. More likely, they’d have to foul him once 10 seconds at most went by. But what does Joe do? 5 seconds into the double team he throws a weak pass into the middle that Chucky easily picks off. That is just not a smart play by any means in that situation. Even just sitting there doing nothing, and letting the shot clock run out would have been a better option.

3. Foul a guy shooting a three pointer to tie the game???? That’s just awful. Especially when you weren’t even close enough to contest the shot, and you’ve fouled him well after it’s up. Plus, honestly, if you are the Raptors, who would you most want taking three free throws to tie a game in the final seconds? Mope has been huge for the Raps lately, and has always been a cucumber.

These are the kinds of mental breakdowns that come with a team trying to come to grips with itself. They then started the overtime period with a turnover, followed by allowing a basket off an out numbered offensive rebound. Luckily, however, they were playing against another team in the same situation, and they managed to hold onto the win in the end.

Both these teams are better than their records show. The Raptors themselves now have 10 losses on the season that are by 3 points or less. Flip half of those games and this is a completely different season. Nonetheless, these teams are both headed in the same direction, and fortunately for them it’s away from being the jokes of the league. A March game next year between these two teams will mean a lot more than this one did. Hopefully it’ll still be as much fun anyway.


The Boone-Docks

Bret Boone announced his retirement today. In talking with MLB.com, he had the following to say:

“Something I've loved my whole life has become a major, major job for me, I don't think it would be fair for me - or fair to the Mets - to continue something I've loved my whole life and had so much passion for, and all of a sudden that passion isn't there anymore. It wasn't as easy as three or four years ago to get out there every day, but to me, I just lost it. I lost the edge."

No offense to Mr. Boone if it isn’t the case, and it very well might not be, but the edge he is referring to there may not be natural, if you know what I mean. And yes, Don Cherry, I know that I don’t have tangible proof, but this isn’t a blank claim on a big group of people. It’s mostly based on that other-wise unexplainable record season the Mariners had a few years back. To be specific, in 2000 with the Padres, Boone hit .251 with 19 home runs and 74 RBI’s. At the start of the next season Brett looked very different, and backed up the new buff by hitting .331 with 37 home runs and 141 RBI’s.

Could it have just been a new work out routine? Of course. But this past season when attention was paid to steroids, Boone’s numbers came back down to .221 with 7 home runs (and he also made $9,000,000 while doing it, by the way). It’s definitely fishy to say the least. But without any concrete evidence we’ll have to accept the new work out routine in 2001, and then age and loss of passion as the reason for his increase then decrease in production. And we’ll accept it with an uneasy smile. Steroids or not, he did flash a pretty glove from time to time. Now that’s something I’ll always remember him fondly for. All the steroids in the world can’t help you develop that kind of flair.

It’s not early to bed today, but on the other hand it was late to home. In either case, I’m tired and that can only mean one thing. It’s time for the great nation of Hungary’s favourite new feature: Notes of Note.

Beckham to Fail Grade One

So here it is, from the Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/02/27/1140888775438.html

But that’s not enough. This is too good; I’m going to have to paste it again on my site to make sure you bother to read it:

England football captain David Beckham has confessed he is befuddled by his six-year-old son Brooklyn's maths homework.
Beckham, 30, admitted to being baffled when Brooklyn recently asked for help with a school assignment and had to turn to his former Spice Girls pop star wife Victoria to help out.
"Their homework is so hard these days. I sat down with Brooklyn the other day -- and I was like, 'Victoria, maybe you should do the homework tonight'," Beckham told the Mail on Sunday newspaper.
"I think it was maths, actually. It's done totally differently to what I was teached when I was at school, and you know, I was like, 'Oh my God, I can't do this'.
Brooklyn was like, 'Please do it with me', and I'm like, 'I'll read your book with you'."
The Real Madrid midfielder's son attends the exclusive Runnymede College in the Spanish capital, which follows the British national curriculum.
The Mail on Sunday gave examples of some national curriculum maths questions set for seven-year-olds.
They include: "Bet went to the shop at 11:45. She came back half an hour later. What time did she come back?" and "What is 12 divided by three?"
Beckham also admitted he has no "lucky" pre-match routines, with them too being tough to remember.
"I find that if I follow a routine ... it gets to the stage where you are thinking, 'Right, was it the left side ... the left boot I put on first, or the right side?'
"There are so many things that can go through your mind."
Beckham is set to skipper England in Wednesday's friendly against Uruguay at Liverpool's Anfield stadium.

As much as I don’t like soccer, this one is just too easy to bother with. I’m going to have to hope that he was just trying to build his kids confidence. You know, have his kid see in the papers that he could do something that daddy found tough, help make him feel good about his little self. I fear, though, this isn’t the case, especially since the last time I checked “teached” still wasn’t a word. Like, It’s like a well thing that, like maths is his, like only weekness. Not only that, he also said he’s too stupid to have a good-luck routine because he’d never even be able to remember right from left. This is the best of the soccer world, ladies’ and gentlemen. How can he be the captain of a national team? I don’t care how good he is, there’s clearly no way that anyone who knows him can respect his intellect. Unless all soccer players get the “Captain of the Football Team” special tests handed out to them growing up in England. That would explain why he thinks tough maths like 10 divided by 2 weren’t ever on his high school algebra exams.

Not Mighty Mouse

Phoenix Suns star Amare Stoudemire has been cleared to practice some 5-way play on top of the 1 on 1’s he has gotten back into lately. Amare himself said that “I felt really good with the one-on-ones, and it's not going to change anything if I skip some steps, so I might as well get in five-on-fives.” I speak for all men when I say Amare has once again ensured his spot as our number one hero. For most of us, the step from 1-on-1’s to 3-way play is a lofty enough goal, most-often unreachable even. This man thinks it’s nothing to skip right on up to 5, and kudos to him for his bravado. Anyway, Phoenix holds the 4th best record in the league, strongly on Nash’s shoulders, without Amare. What they’ll be able to do with the best big-man in the league back in the lineup must be a scary thought for the rest of the west. I can’t imagine any other team in the west, outside of Dallas, who would be able to make a run at these guys. Sacremento’s only 2.5 out of the playoffs now, and could be a bit of a surprise, but I don’t think that covers the Suns with Amare. Even the Tru Warier can’t compete with that.

The Link Above

Oh yeah, if you click on that link I pasted up there under the Tru Warier, be sure to CRANK your speakers! I’ll accept your thanks in advance. The tunes you find there are so Phat that Rita McNeil looks like Kate Moss now! Set the player to “Oh Yeah”, sit back and enjoy!

Oh Oh. Yeah Yeah. Oh Oh. Yeah Yeah. Oh Oh. Yeah Yeah. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Yeah.

Does anyone out there think that Ron realizes that his creative misspelling of Warrior is actually itself a word itself? Wary, meaning characterized with caution, making the Tru Warier the person who is ultimately and truly characterized by being cautious and never taking chances. Does Ron realize, or did he have some of Beckham’s tests handed out to him as well?

Help With a New Poll

OK, so once I finally get around to colour-commentating the White-Guy Dunk Contest, I’ve decided now that the new poll will be “Which Athlete Is the Dullest”. So far I have Beckham, Artest and Bobby Clarke as nominees (see any quote from Clarke of the last decade if you doubt that choice), and I’ll be looking for any other suggestions you have. I heard rumours about an NHLer getting 5 out of 30 on a test similar to Beckham’s questions, if someone could find a name to put on that for me that would be great. So get your suggestions in today. onds

Ms. Barry Bonds

If you see that headline and Paula Abdul doesn't come to mind, then consider yourself a much luckier person than me. And do your best to avoid what lies behind that headline at all costs.

When You’re Right, You’re Me

Brian C signed on as the Raptor’s new GM today, and like I said on Friday, it was a match made in heaven. Actually, I’ve quoted some other people already today, so why not quote myself this time. Here is what I had to say about it:

“I think that Mr. Colangelo is incredibly smart, and knows the best way to keep his reputation as being a great basketball mind in tact. Toronto is a team whose most recent GM has taken more flack than anyone who isn’t named Isiah. Quietly, however, the Raptors have built a solid team that will certainly moves its way to the top of the East over the next couple of years. All someone would have to do is step in there and convince people to stay, use the huge amount of cap space Babcock and Emery got the team for the offseason and bring in a big man and a 3 point bench player. If anyone can convince people to play for him, it’s a GM with the reputation of Colangelo. There has never been a more perfect fit in the NBA – the Raptors will finaly have a means to convince players to play in Toronto, while Colangelo will have an easy ride to another executive of the year award. In my mind there is no way this teaming doesn’t happen. Something this easy is just destiny.”

And the B.C. effect has already started. One of the people Colangelo’s reputation would be best used on has already taken note. When asked about the B.C’s hiring, Superstar and future free agent Chris Bosh said, “"He's a successful GM. He has a good rep. You can see his work right now. It's real good to know, just to have somebody come in who has pretty good credentials." The B.C. effect is already paying off, the Superstar is happy, the team is young and talented and has the money to spend in the off-season, and a better chance to do it now. I’m getting my season tickets today; this is the team to watch in the East next year.

Why, though, did the Suns let their GM talk to another team when they are sitting in 4th place overall and looking like the favourite heading into the playoffs? Nothing about that makes sense. Was there that much bad blood with the new ownership that they would allow a parting of ways in the middle of such a season? If that is the case, why did the GM’s dad sell the team to people his family didn’t get along with? Is money really that strong? So strong that he was willing to give up thirty some odd years of family ties to the Suns, who they built and re-built from scratch? That part is baffling, but the ownership allowing the PC to skip away mid-season is just stupidity. And they don’t even have someone in place to replace him. That really must be some bad blood.

One For the Ages

What better way to cap off the Notes of Note that focused mostly on stupidity, then by bringing up soccer yet again. A player in Rumania was sent from Second Division club UT Arad down to Fourth Division club Regal Horia. In exchange, UT Arad received 15kg of meat.

No really, 15kg of meat.

Want more? Upon hearing of the trade, Marius Cioara retired instead of reporting to the Fourth Division, somehow making the team who got 15kg of meat in a trade the team that got the better of the deal. If you think about it, Marius himself could have been converted into 80kg of meat, but they managed to come out ahead in the trade anyway. So it got me thinking; whom else in the sporting world would this be true of, if they weren’t to retire as well. Wade Belak and Andre Roy quickly come to mind. Maybe Bobby Kielty, depending on whom you ask. I’m sure there are others, but they escape me now, and none will ever actually be traded for meat (now that Rob Babcock isn’t responsible for trading away Jalen Rose, that is). That is an honor reserved for the always baffling, rarely entertaining world of soccer.

Want more? When asked about the trade, a Regal Horia official said “We are upset because we lost twice - firstly because we lost a good player and secondly because we lost our team's food for a whole week." Ha.

Want more? Cioara said that he retired to go find work somewhere in Spain in either agriculture or construction. In other words “I’m not ready to quit, I need to keep working, but I would rather be unemployed and scrounge around Spain for anything I can find rather than report to your team”. And yet I’m sure there are many people toiling in the Rumanian Forth league with “hopes” of making it big (although I make this claim having previously been unaware that a 2nd division existed in Rumania, let alone a 4th division). I wonder how those hopes are fairing after this trade. “A guy that was just traded for meat is too good to play on my team? Wow. Like, I bet he can like divide and stuff too.”

Goodnight everybody!

Closing Ceremony’s

Ladies and Gentlemen: you have your televisions back. Skeleton and biathlon will be replaced in your prime time lineups again with “classics” like Survivor and Desperate Housewives and whatever the other crap is these days that people are told to like. In fact, no matter how hard you try you won’t find any sports from the Olympics, apart from Alpine and Hockey, even outside of prime time hours on your TV for 4 years (unless you live in Canada where the Scott and Brier have the next month under wraps as well. And for curling fans, with Kelly Law absent from the Scott, my curling attention will be on hold until the Brier starts up in a couple weeks). Since most Olympic events aren’t really worth watching (until barrel jumping is introduced in 2018 that is), this really isn’t a big deal. The games are over, and USA was just barely able to hold Canada off in the medal race, finishing with 25 medals to Canada’s 24. American has 10 times more people than Canada, and shares a good deal of similar climate, which makes this result incredible. But it also got me thinking. Canada itself is quite populous compared to the other Winter Olympic countries – the 12th largest of the 26 medalling nations to be exact. Here, now, are the medal standings if all nations’ results were scaled to the same population (around 13.3 million people):

55 Norway
37 Austria
30 Estonia
25 Switzerland
23 Finland
21 Sweden
9.7 Canada
8.9 Croatia
7.3 Netherlands
5.8 Latvia
5.2 Czech Republic
4.7 Germany
3.0 South Korea
2.5 Italy
2.5 Slovakia
2.1 Russia
2.0 France
1.8 Bulgaria
1.3 Australia
1.3 Belarus
1.1 United States
0.7 Poland
0.6 Ukraine
0.2 Great Britain
0.1 China
0.1 Japan

Canada still fares fairly well in this measure, with their record setting medal-haul coming in 7th in the standings. The Americans, on the other hard, would win a disgraceful single medal, finishing in 21st out of 26 countries on a medals per population basis.

Here are a couple of further notes about Canada’s record-setting haul:

Canada was the only Nation who medalled in 10 of the 15 Olympic disciplines.
Canada finished with 45 top 5 finishers, which tied them for first overall.



Minnesota T’Whiners

Wow. Did anyone see this thing? I hope for your sake that you didn’t. Look it up if you must, but I am not going to give that guy any more coverage here. It was the ultimate soccer play, if you know what I mean, and it came from a fan in the audience. Pathetic. Z was clobbered on the head by Wallace yesterday for a decent number of stitches, and I didn’t see him taken off on a stretcher. Just pathetic, guy. I can’t wait to see your lawsuit thrown out, which it damn-well better be.

Who NASCARes?

My fortunately named team pulled it out again, as “Jimmie Johnson’s Bush Sacks” leader, Jimmie, came in second place to some other guy, and just ahead of some hicks whose names escape me. I am clearly the NASCAR pool master now! Speaking of NASCAR, there were some highlights of the race on TSN, and Hillary Duff was there to drop the flag. What’s that all about? I would wager anything that she hadn’t seen a NASCAR race before, unless her daddy made her suffer through some as a kid. What an odd choice.

Groin Watch

One last day of games at the Olympics, and one more addition to the Groin Watch. This one is horrible news for the Rangers, as Jaromir Jagr has been added (for the second time) to the list of Olympic casualties, choosing this year’s popular injury to do so. Before the games started I said that the players whose teams could least afford to lose them to injury during the Olympics were Hasek, Elias and Jagr. I guess it was the kiss of death since all three of them are among the injured from the games. All three.

I said it many times before, and I’ll say it again one last time before 2010: they should not hold these tournaments with NHLers if they occur during the playoff run. How do Canucks fans feel right now, having lost 2 more blueliners to injury on a squad that was short to begin with? How do Sens fans feel about relying on Emery in net as their playoff spot is determined? And it’s not just injuries. 4 years ago Tommy Salo was one of the hottest goalies in the NHL going into the Olympics. During the games he had that long goal go in on him over his shoulder to knock Sweden out of the games. He took more heat for that goal than he should of, and to the degree that it happened it’s no wonder it shook his confidence. He was never the same since, and that pretty much finished off Edmonton’s season. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of NHLers representing their countries in a kind of all-star game where everyone plays like they care. It makes for a great watch… in June or September. But for people who really care about hockey, they care about the NHL and their teams. Having NHLers in the Olympics does nothing but hurt NHL teams, and their fans once the league starts up again. Can the Rangers actually win games without Jagr? It’s hard to picture too many.

Sure, USA and Canada had trouble medalling with only amateurs in the games (probably at least partially why the rules were changed), but it was still fun to watch. It was the one chance for amateur players to actually make a name for themselves. Something for them to strive for in their game. The professionals had the Stanley Cup, and the Canada Cup (ie. World Cup), and this was the only showcase for anyone else. Sure, that meant someone like me would be playing, and inevitably losing badly to Russia, but so be it. At least Ohlund would still be around for the playoff run under that scenario, and once the games are over, does anyone really care anymore about individual results? Not nearly as much as hockey fans care about a playoff spot.

Apologies

It's Saturday night, and it's about the time I'd normally get around to a post for today. The wife, however, seems sad and has a sore back, so I'll be using this time to give her a nice long back rub instead. I guess that's what have I ever don’t to desrve a hot girl (and for those of you new to Sports Guy North, no I'm not illiterate, and please don't ask if hooked on Phoenix worked for me). Goodnight everybody, and remember to email me about the baseball pool (i wouldnt even know how to abuse your email address and information if I wanted to, so don't worry about it).

NA Medals

Canada (24) - Clara Hughes, Ladies 5000m Speed Skating, Gold
Francois-Louis Tremblay, Men's 500m Short Track Speed Skating, Silver
BEDARD Eric, GUILMETTE Jonathan, HAMELIN Charles, TREMBLAY Francois-Louis, TURCOTTE Mathieu, Men's 5000m Relay, Short Track Speed Skating, Silver
Cindy Klassen, Ladies' 5000m Speed Skating, Bronze

USA (25) - Apolo Anton Ohno, Men's 500m Short Track Speed Skating, Gold

Sports Guy North's Fantasy Baseball

It's the middle of winter, the snow's falling and the thermometer has finally dropped below freezing, so that can mean only one thing - it's a beautiful day for a ball game; let's play two! That's right, Pitchers and Catchers have reported to "spring" training already, and questions have begun coming in to me about who I would advise taking in fantasy drafts. Here's the easy answer - I'm not telling yet. The reason being that I've decided to reward my loyal readers with a FREE Fantasy Baseball league. This league will be roto, with prizes for the ultimate winner, and for the person with the most dominant week. The prizes will be determined by my Sports Guy North related advertising revenue between now and the end of the baseball season, so if you are lucky enough to get a team don't forget to start padding the prizes. You all know how that works. Also, every week the weekly leader will get a small feature article where they can speak their mind and/or advertise their blog or anything else. Since a lot of my readers are bloggers, this might be the biggest draw, not to mention the pride that goes along with finally proving that you know sports better than, say, the guys over at Forward Progress.

How can I enter, you ask? Well, since I am limiting the pool to 50 people, you have to prove to me that you have been reading, and you aren't just looking to win. Send and email to

SportsGuyNorth@gmail.com

with your answers to the following questions:

1. Who is the worst defenseman in the NHL?
2. Which Basketball Player Can Name Sports Guy North As His Number One Fan?
3. Who Is Your Rucchin Of The Year and Why?

Simple as that. Remember also to mention what city you are from. I have a list of 25 servers that access my sight the most often, and if you're from one of those places, you'll likely be at the top of the list if a tie breaker has to be implemented.

Olympic Hockey

I was ready to write a big article about the Olympic hockey semi-finals, but the Kasparitis sucked the entire desire out of my by being Kasparitis. I don't even want to give credibility to him by mentioning anything he did that pissed me off. Anyone else who saw the game has to feel the same. This guy has been ruining hockey for way too long now, and needs to be stopped. Violently. There is no way that I'm the only one who is cheering for this. Anyway, the results of these two games were exactly as I expected (although one was a little higher scoring than I thought it would be), bringing my record to 6-0 predicting the playoff round. That's nothing to brag about, though, because there's no reason to have gotten any of these games wrong. None of them were in doubt on any level. Russia should take the bronze in much the same way, no, but the Gold medal game might actually be decent. I'm still sticking with my pre-Olympic pick in Finland, but it should be a good game anyway. Sweden is more than capable of throwing in a surprise or two, along with some entertaining hockey. Even Freddy Modin scored a pretty one in this tournament. I know I've mentioned that already, but I'm still trying to come to terms with it. I'm not sure I ever will.

Barrel Jumping

This picture from Russia's win over Canada brought one thing to mind for me - Barrel Jumping. What happened to this sport? I used to love random sightings of it on Wide World of Sports back in the day. I could watch it for hours. Unfortunately, in this overly safety-conscious world, it seems to have disappeared. I could watch this stuff all day, and I really think that if it was added to the Olympics it would easily be one of the most popular events.

Even without the barrels, they need to come up with some other Winter Olympic events that amount to the equivalent of the Field half of track and field. Speeds skating already has the track part covered. Barrel Jumping can cover the long jump. Shot put might not be a good idea on ice, but how cool would pole vault be with a skate up to the jump? At the speed that skaters could get up, the jump heights could get out of control. If anyone else has some other field events they'd like to see in the winter, please suggest them. Also, if you know somewhere me and the JF can go to watch some barrel jumping this winter, speak up as well. I just can't get enough of that mostly defunct sport!

NA Medal Counts

Americans put a little distance on Canada in the battle for second place today, picking up 3 medals to only one for Canada. This should ensure their finish ahead of the Canadians, but it was a good run while it lasted. 2010 in Vancouver should be a great battle. Remember to join me there for the 2-man luge. It'll be the event of the century!

Canada (20) - Russ Howard et Al, Men's Curling, Gold

USA (23) - Julia Mancuso, Ladies' Giant Slalom, Gold
Chad Hedrick, Men's 10,000m Speed Skating, Silver
Pete Fensen et Al, Men's Curling, Bronze

Today I’m going to handle a couple of the questions that people have been sending my way. Typically Internet people call this the mailbag. That’d dumb. I didn’t receive anything physically in the mail, and even if I had it probably wouldn’t have been delivered in a bag. Have you ever gotten a bag in the mail? Not likely. So I’ve decided to call this what it is:

Dealing With Your Crap

1 – How Can I Find Highlight Footage of the NBA Dunk Contest?

You can find it the same damn way that I did – google it. If you’re too lazy for that, just click below. It is worth another look. Nate doesn’t appear to be completely out-matched when you aren’t forced to watch the 30 misses. AI is still the clear winner, though. The dunk off the backboard may have been the best dunk ever, but I really love his behind the back dunk. It just looks so smooth, like as if it was the best take out of 30 attempts…

NBA Slam Dunk Contest Video Footage

2 – Who Would You Have Picked for Team USA?

The American choices weren’t as glaringly bad as Team Canada’s, but they weren’t good either. Ryan Miller was of course the big over-sight, but a few other young kids were left off too that shouldn’t have been. Here is what my lineup would have looked like:

Defensemen

Schneider Leetch
Berard Rafalski
Preissing Liles
Hatcher

Others to Consider - Gil, Hill, Martin, Corvo

Forwards

Tkachuk Rolston Gionta
Cole Conroy Modano
Blake York Smlinski
connoly cullen drury
Gomez

Others to consider - Weight, Arnasson, Langenbruner

Goalies

Ryan Miller
Rick DiPietro
Tim Thomas

Others to consider - Grahame

3 – Do You Think the Raptors Should Pick Up Half-a Man’s Option After Next Year?

Seriously? Of course they should! Who wouldn’t want to pay $3 million dollars to the worst player on their NBDL affiliate team? There is no way that Half-a Man is destined to play in Spain or Italy, and then coach some random elementary school team over there. Nothing in his “game” gives that indication.

4 – Do You Really Think Pronger Is The Worst Defenseman Ever

This is a tough question. It’s a very bold statement in a world that includes Wade Belak and Sergei Gonchar, but I don’t care. I would take Aki Berg on my team any day over Pronger. Maybe that’s a problem in me, and it likely is, but I really can’t stand the way Chris Pronger plays. On top of that you can tell that he thinks he is really good, and that just makes it so much worse. The biggest factor of all, however, was his picking up the MVP one year. That was the biggest travesty in the history of sporting awards, and it will forever taint his game. It’s too bad that Canada didn’t win a medal, but I love the way it happened. I hope it will put a rest to the Pronger-idling that seems to go on inexplicably in the hockey world. It has to, right?

5 – what have you ever don’t to desrve a hot girl?

Priceless stuff. Keep that hard-hitting, well-thought and expressed talk coming!

6 – Did You Really Think the Raptors Could Have Made the Playoffs After Starting 1-15?

Yes. I did. That’s why I said it over and over back then. To be honest, they would still be hot in the race if not for a few mental lapses. There are about 7 or 8 specific games I can think of where they fell apart as a team and didn’t bother to just win a game that was theirs to lose. Just look at recent happenings. They are 6-4 in their last ten games, and that could have easily been 10-0. Two overtime losses against the Clippers and the Spurs that could have been over before OT, and then the two recent devastating shutdowns against New York and Memphis. If they had won just those 4 games that obviously could have gone their way, the Raptors would be only 2.5 games out of the playoffs right now. No one would be questioning me if that were the case. I do think now that those 4 losses are enough to finish their chances this year. If they keep this core, however, next year will be a different story. This team is young, and just learning to play together. With another year under their belt, the recent stretch would almost certainly have been a 10-0 run. I’ll predict right now that the Raptors will win 45 games next year. I reserve the right, however, to change that estimate if significant changes happen in the off-season.

7 – What Do You Think About the Raptors Hiring Colangelo As Their New GM

I think that Mr. Colangelo is incredibly smart, and knows the best way to keep his reputation as being a great basketball mind in tact. Toronto is a team whos most recent GM has taken more flack than anyone who isn’t named Isiah. Quietly, however, the Raptors have built a solid team that will certainly moves its way to the top of the East over the next couple of years. All someone would have to do is step in there and convince people to stay, use the huge amount of cap space Babcock and Emery got the team for the offseason and bring in a big man and a 3 point bench player. If anyone can convince people to play for him, it’s a GM with the reputation of Colangelo. There has never been a more perfect fit in the NBA – the Raptors will finaly have a means to convince players to play in Toronto, while Colangelo will have an easy ride to another executive of the year award. In my mind there is no way this teaming doesn’t happen. Something this easy is just destiny.

8 – The Cletics are not ****ing racist. You’re the ****ing racist, you racist ****ing white-hating p***s-lick dumb. You don’t know anything about sports, you should be ****ing ashamed of ripping off boston sports guy and ****ing making **** up you **** *** *** ****ing *** face. Get a life.

I concur?

9 – Do You Miss Ross Rebagliatti?

I’m not sure what you’re imnplying there, or why you ask, or anything about what’s going on. Truly puzzling question. But yes. Yes I do miss him. Dearly.

10 – Did You Really Pick Finalnd To Win The Olympics and the USA to Blow?

Yes, I did. I picked Finland over Canada in the gold medal game, and Russia over the Czechs for the bronze. It was very easy to see that the states were going to do horribly. I still find it hard to believe that anyone didn’t think that.

11 – Why Do You Hate Canada?

This question seemed right out of left field. I can only imagine it came up because I keep expressing surprise at the Canadians sticking right with the Americans in the medal standings. Historically, however, this has not been the case. I may be wrong, but didn’t Canada set their record in the 1992 games by winning 7 medals? With a couple of days, and a guaranteed medal already left in curling, Team Canada stands at 19 medals, and 20 for sure by the end of the games. That is a ridiculous turn-around in a decade. Going into these games, in the all-time medal standings, the USA had 193 medals, and the Canadians had 96. Norway led the way with 263.

Put it this way – Canada has already increased their all-time medal total in the Winter Olympics by 20% (compared to the USA by 9.8% and Norway by 6.8%). So to say I’m surprised by Canada’s relative medal count would, and should be an understatement. Canada is actually ahead of Norway in the medal standings at this point. There is no way that anyone anticipated that. Canada smashed their record in medals in 2002, and were still doubled by the Americans count. I do not hate Canada, but that doesn’t mean these Olympics haven’t been a surprise. Anyway, I’ll finish off Dealing With Your Crap as I‘ve finished off every article lately - with today’s North American medal hauls:

Canada (19) – KLEIBRINK Shannon et Al, Women’s Curling, Bronze

USA (20) – Sasha Cohen, Women’s Figure Skating, Silver
Rosey Fletcher, Ladies’ Parallel Giant Slalom Snowboarding, Bronze


If you have any questions for Sports Guy North, email him at SportsGuyNorth@gmail.com