Friday, February 27, 2009

Tucker Starts

Tucker got his chance
Logged big-time minutes and scored
May be start of dream

(A Haggy Haiku)

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It's good to see former Badger Alando Tucker finally get his opportunity at the next level. A rash of injuries to the Phoenix Suns allowed Tucker to start for the first time in his career Thursday against Los Angeles.
He made the most of his opportunity and point guard Steve Nash's absence, scoring a personal-best 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
Playing in garbage time of just six contests during his rookie campaign in 2007-08 and none until the turn of the new year this season, Tucker didn't seem fit for the NBA.
Scarcity can be a beautiful thing.
Tucker -- considered an undersized forward at 6-6 with underwhelming quickness and outside touch -- has played in 15 of the team's 25 games since his recall from the Developmental League. Shaky, garbage minutes again, until Thursday.
He must have done something right in practice this week. Certainly, his exposure to the D-League helped. Suns interim coach Alvin Gentry selected the former first round pick to start -- ahead of Matt Barnes, who has started 16 games this season.
It's only one game. But when you're living day-to-day at the end of the Phoenix bench, solid production like that can make all the difference.
Maybe it's the real start to his professional career.
If so, Tucker, welcome to the NBA.
With solid production, albeit in a blowout loss,

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Crede Sign of the Times


To many, it's about time the Twins spent money.
In reality, that's hardly the case.
The Minnesota Twins reached an agreement with Joe Crede Saturday, signing the oft-injured third baseman to a one year contract.
In any other market at any other time a top-tier free agent, even with chronic back problems, would draw a multi-year deal worth tens of millions of dollars.
Not this year.
So while the Twins went out and bought talent, they didn't and shouldn't pay the price.
Crede's base salary is $2.5 million this season, to become $7 million if he remains healthy and makes 500 plate appearances.
The hope is Crede will add much needed power from the right side of the plate to a team that ranked 29th of 30 teams in home runs.
His17 dingers in 97 games a season ago would have ranked third on the Twins.
If Crede can't shed his back problems and contribute, the Twins give up the $2.5 million -- next to nothing when compared to the $6.6 million they spent to have a career backup, Mike Lamb, at the same position.
Finally, the Twins didn't mess up a free agent sign, and fans have something to smile about even while the economy continues to falter.

Monday, February 16, 2009

2009 All-Star Game: Marketing Ploy

Media circus
Shaq and Kobe share top honor
"Storybook" ending

(A Haggy Haiku)

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It's pretty clear that the media fixed the final ballot to ensure that the two former teammates, turned enemies, turned acquaintances shared the stage one last time.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal finished with six votes apiece and were named co-MVPs of the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.
Together they won three straight championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, though the feuds had already begun.
To each, the other was selfish. Both wanted more touches. Neither could lead in the other's eyes.
Following a disappointing effort for a fourth title, the Lakers disbanded. Shaq left. Kobe nearly did the same.
An NBA title of his own in Miami deepened the pool of mockery. Bryant, after the breakup, remained silent.
O'Neal took it a step further -- and too far -- last offseason, with a rap in a New York night club. He mocked Bryant for losing to the Celtics in the NBA Finals by saying, "Kobe can't do it without me" and "Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes."
Suddenly only O'Neal was seen as the bad guy, so the public relations monolith quickly reported that it was all a publicity stunt. Everything that had happened between the two, just an act.
Not really, Bryant said.
Or was it?
To be sure, the NBA played it as such as the odd couple reunited in harmonious, gregarious fashion Sunday night, feeding more to the other's ego with every lob and behind-the-back pass. Bryant finished with a game-high 27 points and O'Neal added 17 in 11 minutes.
Fact of fiction, feud ongoing or stopped, the NBA got what it wanted: a perfect ending to an imperfect relationship.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Steroids Abound

It should mean something
But the league waited too long
A-Rod did no wrong

(A Haggy Haiku)

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Alex Rodriguez admitted Monday to steroid use for three seasons after accusations arose that he tested positive for the now banned substance in 2003.
The news prompted a Yahoo! Sports columnist to write about the travesty of the game as another one of its bigger than earth stars was caught in the drug scandal.
The game will forever be tainted, yes, but what's done is done.
Baseball could have implemented stricter rules long before Mark McGwire blasted 70 home runs on the juice to oddly enough save baseball from its post strike years of depression (see a contradiction?). And Players could have avoided the stuff out of the kindness of their hearts.
Neither happened.
Instead A-Rod, the biggest name to confess to his wrongdoing (occurring from 2001-03 with the Texas Rangers), played "20 Questions" with Peter Gammons while the entirety of the sporting world looked on with disgust. Admitting wrongdoing has to count for something (ask Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro and Barry Bonds).
No matter, it was legal at the time AND pitchers bulked up with the same product.
Whatever happened to all things being equal?
Catch these cheaters, whatever the cost. It's all for the purity of the game's sake -- that's MLB's new mantra.
What in the world is pure anymore -- if that word is even relevant today? People, for the most part, aren't, so why should a game played, managed, owned and watched by them be?
A-Rod made a mistake. Steroids are bad for the game and worse on the body.
Baseball is never going to be the same, just as the past cannot be changed, but learning from it can help shape a better future.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Torn Apart


Just when the Timberwolves started earning respect, an awkward fall inveitably tore it apart.
Al Jefferson shredded ligaments in his knee Sunday night in the waning seconds of a 101-97 loss -- just the fourth of the new year -- and Minnesota is suddenly starless.
Worse, in a league full of versatile big-men, the Timberwolves now look awfully small.
"Unfortunately for us, the season is not over," said coach Kevin McHale, who has led the Timberwolves to a 13-10 record since a 4-23 start.
Rookie Kevin Love is the only 4 or 5 (power forward, center) who has logged steady minutes this season.
Only 20, the Wolves had hoped his rookie campaign would be about progress and baby steps. Whatever he contributed, the Wolves would take.
Now he must be a playmaker and scorer. Now the ball will run through him in the post. Now the pressure Jefferson felt in terms of double-teams, defenders, scoring and leading will land on Love.
He hasn't played particularly well as a starter, but there is no way around it: Love must rise to the occasion. The rest of the team must too pick up the scoring slack and the 19.7 shots Jefferson attempted per night.
Although the playoffs are out of reach, owner Glen Taylor may think about swapping one of those four first round draft picks for size before the Feb. 19 deadline to assure the remaining fans the team is still swelling and heading in the right direction.
Bigs Jason Collins, Mark Madsen and Calvin Booth are there for moral support. Among them, 21 points have been scored in 22 games.
The Timberwolves are down. They showed it in practice Monday.
Respect at stake, can they get back up?




Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Giant Loss


Super Bowl XLIII may have looked a lot different if one of the stars from last year's big game didn't shoot himself and his team in the leg.
Plaxico Burress has always had character issues. This time he went too far.
And November 29, 2008 will be remembered as the night the New York Giants' season changed.
Inclined to show off his wealth by wearing thousands of dollars in bling, Burress insisted on packing a gun at a Manhattan nightclub.
Instead of someone giving him trouble for his jewelry, Burress mugged himself and his season. His gun went off lodging a bullet into his thigh.
Adding insult to injury, Burress faced felony charges for carrying an unlicensed loaded gun into a nightclub.
The Giants suspended their star receiver indefinitely; they went from sitting atop the NFL at 11-1 and seeming destined to repeat as champions, to stumbling to a 12-4 finish.
Against the Eagles in the playoffs, Eli Manning looked lost, obviously missing his favorite 6-foot-5 target. Manning threw just two touchdowns in his final five games of the season compared to 19 in the first 12.
After seeing what happened to the Giants without a go-to-guy and the flipside with Arizona and Larry Fitzgerald, it's clear New York and Burress need each other.
The Giants better hope Burress keeps his hands they can see them.

Doh-pe


What smells so nasty?
Millions burning into ash
Phelps' high, new low

(A Haggy Haiku)


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He sure can swim, but boy is he dumb.
Olympic hero Michael Phelps made possibly a $100 million mistake: he smoked pot in public.
The incriminating photo published in a British newspaper may cost the 14-time gold medalist his endorsement deals and perhaps a spot on the 2012 Olympics.
You have to ask yourself, Michael: Was it worth it?

Monday, February 2, 2009

Mid-season Shopping

Expect the Minnesota Timberwolves to be active participants in the NBA's midseason shopping spree.
Not in the interest of making this year's playoffs, the Timberwolves will likely be testing the market to see if they can't acquire a few role players or future draft picks ahead of the Feb. 19 trading deadline.
Here are those who may be dealt.

1. Mike Miller: the reason Minnesota made the deal with Memphis exchanging O.J. Mayo for Kevin Love, has had an unproductive, injury-riddled half season. Miller was supposed to add range to the Timberwolves' paint-heavy offense. That hasn't happened and, according to owner Glen Taylor, may land him in a different uniform by the 19th.

2. Rashad McCants: A shooter who can't do much else. McCants has been the model of the Timberwolves under former coach Randy Wittman: undisciplined, lazy and selfish. Coach Kevin McHale hasn't played the former No. 1 pick (14th overall in 2005) since Jan. 7. In the last year of his rookie contract, McCants could provide a viable scoring threat for the second half in the right environment. It's hard to imagine any takers, but if Gerald Green was tradeable, there's a chance. Otherwise McCants will be stuck seeing more of the lonely end of the bench.

3. First Round Draft Picks: worthwhile, but superfluous at a certain point. NBA teams can only carry 12 men on their active roster and 15 total. Four first-round picks is a bit much no matter how you look at it because contracts are guaranteed. Look for Minnesota to try and package one or two picks with McCants or Miller, rather than trading straight up for a current player.

Missing Piece=Kobe Time

There's certainty amidst doubt.
Kobe Bryant will pick up his scoring while teammate Andrew Bynum recovers from a torn MCL. That's what he does.
But is it enough?
Last season Bryant dropped 48 points the game after the Lakers' big man sprained his left knee and missed the remainder of the season. This year he went for a Madison Square Garden record 61, including a perfect 20-of-20 from the line in a 126-117 Lakers win.
His average rose from 27.0 PPG with Bynum in the lineup to 29.3 without a year ago. A similar climb should be expected this go-round as well.
For the most part, the Lakers have coped fine minus Bynum's presence in the center. They won at roughly a .700 clip in 2007-08 regardless of who manned the middle.
At 38-9 in 2008-09, the Lakers' competition is virtually non-existant. San Antonio is closest, sitting 5.5 games back (32-14). Winning seven out of 10 the rest of the way should secure the No. 1 seed.
Where the injury will matter is if Bynum, like a season ago, cannot fully recover, find a rhythm and contribute come playoff time. It was Kobe versus the Celtics in the NBA Finals. That -- and blinks from Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and the rest of the Lakers -- simply won't do.
Bynum brings a big body that isn't intimidated or timid. He doesn't need to score to make his presence felt.
Against West and the best the East has to offer in Boston, Orlando and Cleveland, the Lakers are going to need him back if they want a 10th NBA Championship.

Super Time


The commercials brought the viewers, but the game kept them tuned in.
Pittsburgh defeated Arizona 27-23 in one of the most exciting fourth quarters, if not games ever.
Funny, because with a defense first Pittsburgh team competing against an average until the postseason and awful historically Arizona team, the Super Bowl seemed duller than Ben Stein's voice.
Arizona battled back from a 20-7 deficit to take a 23-20 lead on a catch and run of 64 yards by Larry Fitzgerald, his second touchdown of the fourth quarter.
The clock read 2:37.
Too much time.
The Steelers calmly drove six plays and 72 yards in less than two minutes to set up first-and-goal from the Cardinals' 6. Two plays later and what seemed like the Lord of the Rings trilogy later (Arizona's front four got absolutely no pressure), Ben Roethlisberger lofted a ball for Santonio Holmes in the back right corner of the end zone. Becoming one with the ground, following a well-timed jump and catch, Holmes hit the turf just as the reality of a comeback for naught struck the Cardinals.
Touchdown.
The Cardinals had one last-ditch drive, in the closing seconds, but Kurt Warner fumbled.
The game also featured a 100-yard interception returned for six right before the half that put Arizona in an emotional hole deeper than Lake Baikal and a goal line stand that prevented Pittsburgh from opening up a big lead early.
Endless heart, emotion and big plays ruled the night.
And no matter who you were rooting for, the Super Bowl was truly an enjoyable spectacle.