jonnycomelately

Thank God Barry did not break the record in LA. With that piece of crap Brett Tomko pitching and early in the first when Tomko was in trouble D.J. Houlton was warming up, I thought Bonds was going ya-ya tonight. Though as a Dodgers fan I believe that as a unit we hate the Giants and Barry the most, San Diego was the site of the ole needle toss. He needs to break this record at home or all hell will break loose. He is exiting the most hostile territory into the second most hostile territory. Cmon A-Rod you need to get #500 first before you can break this schmuck's record down the road.

Yes it was the late 70's early 80's in an offense known as Air Coryell named for San Diego head coach Air Coryell. That was the ole chuck and go get it style of offensive football. I like how if an offense becomes successful it gets a nickname. Other than Don Coryell's Air Coryell and Walsh's West Coast Offense, I enjoy Florida's Fun N Gun Offense from the Steve Spurrier days and Thunder and Lightning combinations used several times in professional backfields. Does anyone else know any more that I just can't think of at the time?

The night of possible history has gone by the wayside. Glavine's pen pisses away win 300. Bonds goes 0-for-2 with 2 walks and amidst a 8 homer barrage against the ChiSox A-Rod throws up a hefty 0-for-5. At least the trade deadline was mildly impactful today. I like the Proctor for Betemit trade because the Dodgers can always use another arm in the pen and Betemit was seeing only part time work since Nomar shifted across the diamond to 3rd. The funny thing I kept hearing analysts saying about this deal was "It provides insurance just in case A-Rod opts out." A deadline deal for Wilson Betemit is going to make up for potentially losing one of the top players of our generation...hardly. This is why Steve Phillips should not be on TV.

Wow are teams in the NL East loading up for the stretch run, Atlanta especially. Getting Teixeira will be a huge boost to Atlanta's offense as they've gotten nothing from the 1B position all season. Now they are in talks to get set-up help in Octavio Dotel for Kyle Davies who in all reality is the odd man out in their rotation to begin with. The Mets finally found a steady second basemen and another guy to create havoc at the top of lineup with Jose Reyes, Luis Castillo. The Phillies needed a back-end starter and they got such in Kyle Lohse from Cincinnati. It will be interesting to see if these three teams make more moves leading up to the deadline tomorrow afternoon. If both New York and Philly added another bullpen arm it would make this race even more intriguing than it already is. In another note, the Dodgers need to get a fourth/fifth starter because if I have to see Brett Tomko make another start then I am going to punt my chair through my TV or computer screen, whichever I am watching the game at the time.

I'm in, officially rounding out all the former champs I believe.

Most teams in this discussion are created through miserable management and ownership. As stated before, there is luck problems that plague many a team in professional sports but there are just some that makes you wonder how people can keep their jobs for as long as they have. With this being said, the NBA has really taken the cake on horribly mismanaged franchises. From Billy Knight and the Hawks, who he took from a playoff team in the late 80's and mid 90's to a laughingstock, to Elgin Baylor and Donald Sterling over in Hollywood with the Clippers (whom I'm surprised haven't been mentioned yet). I think these two are the worst in the NBA because most of the time they don't even give their fans a wrinkle of hope. The Clips have made tiny strides in the past decade but when you are counting getting knocked out the first round as progress then you are still a failure. In the baseball realm, the real losers here are the Devil Rays, Royals, and Pirates. The D-Rays are promising but have one pitcher on their team with an ERA under 4.00 and that is closer Al Reyes who is as good as gone at the deadline if a team comes calling. The Royals have been drafting 1-3 for the better part of the decade but when you surround these prospects with mediocre veterans and less than stellar pitching then you have a recipe for a garbage baseball team. The Pirates have not been good since Sid Bream rumbled home in 1992 for the Braves. When they've splurged on players its been a guy who made a living off being part of a cool nickname (Killer B Derek Bell) and a leadoff catcher with less pop than Juan Pierre (Jason Kendall) among other crappy deals. In the NFL, the Lions and Cardinals will never win with the current management they have because they have just prolonged the awful legacies they had before. The Texans are still in the early stages as are the new Browns but both still have much room for improvement. I can't really bring myself to pick out the worst franchise in pro sports today but it is obvious that there is no shortage of choices.

I hadn't seen a NBA thread for the upcoming season yet but with summer leagues in full swing and free agency off to a sluggish start I felt it would be time to get some mid-summer conversation going about the ole NBA. I'm gonna start it off with my early predictions for 2007-2008 surprises award winners and eventual champion. Since it is only July this will all be subject to change (little disclaimer for when I have to explain why my MVP pick plays less games than Eric Piatkowski.) Rookie of the Year: Kevin Durant, Seattle- Not really going out on a limb on this one but it just can't really be anyone else right now because he is on a really bad Sonics team where he will be asked to do the majority of scoring and rebounding. I think he will handle his share of both but he won't get much help. Other possibilities: Marco Belinelli (Golden State), Acie Law (Atlanta), Al Thornton (LA Clippers) NBA MVP: Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers/???- I think it is just a matter of time before Kobe takes his 30+ pt. clutch performances to greener pastures because the Lakers aren't getting any better and it will only take a couple of 1-4 weeks against the tough West to get Kobe chirping trade again. With this being said I feel that if he can get traded early enough in the season to an Eastern Conference team that his production will just go up and he can put a team in the JV on his back to the Finals. Other possibilities: The Usual Suspects AKA Dirk, Nash, Duncan Surprise Team of the Year: New York Knicks- Being a Knicks fan this is just blind optimism at this point but I feel that if New York can acquire Artest without giving up David Lee and keep him and Zach Randolph under control in the most out of control city in the league, NYC, then I feel the Knicks can easily make some noise in the Atlantic and possibly win a couple rounds in the playoffs. But more realistically, Stephon Marbury will go on TV high a couple more times, they won't get Ron Artest but give their mid-level exception to Vitaly Potapenko and just prolong my drinking problem during the NBA months. Other possibilities: Charlotte Bobcats, LA Clippers, Mavericks actually getting it done NBA Champion: Phoenix Suns- They were a Bob Horry body check from doing it last year. This will be their year. Other possibilities: San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, noone else

B.J. Ryan went down with elbow trouble early in the season. Ever since then its been closer by committee with Accardo getting the majority of the chances. He's been decent recently but fell victim to the same thing that got Armando Benitez run out of San Francisco with the late game balk. It seems more and more these days runners in the late innings are using more and more movement and bluffed steals to draw balks on closers. Jose Reyes did it twice to Benitez and Jorge Julio's exit from Florida was expedited by a costly balk. As for Brandon League, he's parts of four seasons with the Jays with mixed results. He was miserable in '05 with a 6.56 ERA in 20 games with a 20 to 17 BB to K ratio and giving up 8 home runs. Last year though he did well in the 7th inning late in the season posting a 2.53 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 33 games striking out 29 while giving up only 9 walks.

Not only is Michael Vick proverbially fucked but this whole fiasco leaves Arthur Blank's Falcons in a precarious situation as well. Vick is in the middle of the most lucrative deal in the NFL outside of Peyton Manning and has left the Falcons with little wiggle room to bring in impact players to surround him. With the prospect of him suiting up for trial rather than football games leaves Atlanta with a miserable QB rotation in Joey Harrington and Chris Redman. If it is certain that Vick will go to trial I would suggest Atlanta make a phone call to Daunte Culpepper. He is a shell of the QB he used to be but I still feel he is leaps and bounds better than Redman and on par if not better than Harrington though Harrington outplayed him in Miami last year. To address Michael Vick as a person, it has been stated that this has been going on since 2001 so this isn't just a passing fancy for him. I haven't been able to watch any TV story on this crap so far because I can't bring myself to watching dogs get slaughtered. And it seems the sick fuck enjoys finding a new way to kill of his unfightable dogs each time, electrocution, hanging, drowning, and beating them on the ground like a wet towel. Throw the book at him if you are the feds and if you are the league. If you are going to take money and game time away from Tank Johnson, Chris Henry, and Pac-Man Jones for the crimes they committed then Michael Vick should not see the field of play for a while too...not getting the benefit of being the face of the Falcons.

I think if Kevin Pritchard needs to get rid of both these two guys in one shot (or even separately) the first person he should call is Isiah Thomas. He'd take them both in a heartbeat and probably give up David Lee or Renaldo Balkman with Marbury in the process. If that ever happened though with me being a Knicks fan, I think I'd have to make a little day trip to NY to pay Zeke a visit. And James Dolan while I'm at it.

I could care less about the gripes of Celtics, Grizzlies, or Bucks brass about their draft positions due to the flagrant tank jobs each displayed at the end of this season. The Bucks are probably the worst in my opinion because it seemed like they saw their chances of the playoffs fading, they just started shutting down players left and right. The Grizzlies never really shut people down and the C's only really pulled the plug on Pierce, which probably did them more good by seeing that Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, and Al Jefferson could emerge if necessary. Too bad the rest of the team is mangled garbage. The only crisis averted by the lottery this year was the whole Phoenix/Atlanta scenario. Had there been no lottery, Phoenix would've had pick #4 (more than likely Al Horford) no questions asked. But now with Atlanta at #3, they get another chance to get a top pick and try to make a run in the East before they have to give their pick (unprotected next year) to a Western Conference powerhouse. Too bad Atlanta will probably drop the ball again and draft another UNC hype machine in Brandan Wright and he will stink as much as Marvin Williams does. But in retrospect, that's why they're the Hawks.

I don't think I can stomach another Spurs-Pistons series so here's to rooting for the Carlos Boozer Bowl, Jazz v. Cavs. I do not honestly think this will happen but one can only hope. The league is shooting itself in the foot left and right anyways why not root for possibly the lowest rated NBA Finals ever just to round out the carnage. I think it won't even take two games into the Utah series before Bruce Bowen takes out either Deron Williams or Andrei Kirilenko.

My 2007 Predictions: AL EAST- New York Yankees AL CENTRAL- Chicago White Sox AL WEST- Oakland A's AL WILD CARD- Minnesota Twins NL EAST- New York Mets NL CENTRAL- Milwaukee Brewers NL WEST- Los Angeles Dodgers NL WILD CARD- Chicago Cubs AL MVP- Jermaine Dye, Chicago White Sox NL MVP- Carlos Beltran, New York Mets AL CY YOUNG- Johan Santana, Minnesota Twins NL CY YOUNG- Jason Schmidt, Los Angeles Dodgers AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR- Delmon Young, Tampa Bay Devil Rays NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR- Homer Bailey, Cincinatti Reds

I felt the entire slate of events was fairly weak with the exception of Kapono's final round in the 3 point shootout, Gerald Green's first dunk and Dwight Howard's sticker dunk. As stated before Michael Jordan should never be allowed to judge a dunk contest ever again. Even as a Knicks fan, Nate Robinson had no business being in that final...but thats what being 5'9" in a dunk contest will do...get you the sympathy "wow if I was 5'9" I couldnt do that vote". And the skills challenge should just be abolished, each guy did not care whatsoever. And if you want sports comedy/horror watch the Shooting Stars again if you have a chance. Seeing Michael Cooper, George Gervin, and Bill Laimbeer shoot 3's and half courters was like watching a geezer fall down stairs or get punched in the stomach...you chuckled and cringed at the same time.

1. Jack Nicholson 2. Christian Bale 3. Bruce Willis 4. Robert DeNiro 5. Kevin Spacey 6. Al Pacino 7. Edward Norton 8. Benicio Del Toro 9. Brad Pitt 10. David Cross

Pittsburgh's equipment manager better watch out because Najeh Davenport has a thing for taking craps in laundry baskets. As for my team, the Colts, I am fearful for this game against the Giants. Even though Eli looks as if he has down syndrome, I feel that the Giants could pull this one out at home. And all the people on ESPN.com picking Indy just jinxes their season leaving me with nothing but the image of another playoff choke but instead of Peyton or Mike Vandersuck this year it'll be a fumble from Joseph Addai in the red zone that ends their Super Bowl run. Just watch.

Anibal Sanchez and Cla Meredith are just two examples of how the Red Sox need to really take a closer look at their minor league pitching prospects before making deals for players Josh "Home Run Machine" Beckett and Doug "Interstate" Mirabelli while giving up pitchers that turned out to be pretty decent. As everybody knows, yesterday Sanchez no-hit the D-Backs. He was the secondary part of the Beckett/Lowell trade where Hanley Ramirez was the big gem in the crown. Sanchez was no slouch but wasn't projected to the Majors by Sox standards until 07-08. And it's not like he was 1-8 with a 12.23 ERA coming into his no-hitter he is now 7-2 with a 2.89 ERA and is a major player in bringing the Fish back into the Wild Card hunt. In the case of Cla Meredith, a throw-in in the Bard for Mirabelli back-up catcher bonanza, he is in the midst of a 29 inning scoreless streak, a Padres team record. After a couple bad outings in the minors this year he was viewed as a lost cause and trade bait to make the money a near even swap in the deal. Not even mentioning Bard who is near doubling Mirabelli's batting average and can surely throw out more runners than Javy Lopez is beside the point. Meredith has a 5-1 record and a 0.75 ERA. Granted both of these youngsters were traded to the National League which is the considerably weaker league, they would've made much better options than Jason Johnson, Rudy Seanez, Kason Gabbard, David Pauley, Kyle Snyder, and the biggest hype bum in the Red Sox farm system Craig Hansen. The only one that stood a chance now has cancer, Jon Lester. You hate to see that happen to anybody but especially to a rookie who was destined to be a staple in the rotation for years to come. And also they ran Papelbon into the ground, this kid has Mariano potential but he needs to grow into it.

In a nutshell, the drafting of Mario Williams over Reggie Bush may not necessarily lead to Williams attaining "bust" status but he will always be compared to Bush no matter what he does. It's an unfair comparison playing two different positions (unlike the Manning/Leaf debate of 98) but Reggie Bush is a game changing back while Mario Williams is just a speed rusher who ruined a bunch of ACC jabronis while struggling against some of the better offensive lines in the conference. I believe in drafting for need over "best player available" but not with the #1 pick. You pick the best player. Picking for need early usually burns you but only time will tell.

Stick a fork in the Dodgers, they are done. I know it is only 3 games into the season but with the way the injury bug is hitting this team I am going to be nothing but frustrated this entire baseball season. With a DL that consists four former All-Stars (Eric Gagne, Nomar Garciaparra, Kenny Lofton, and Cesar Izturis) and a former starter in the outfield (Jayson Werth) the pickins are slim and I just don't see it getting any better. Hopefully Baez can replace Gagne admirably but who knows, he could be the All-Star he was in Tampa or the Home Run Derby-ish pitcher he was that got him shipped out of Cleveland.

The Philadelphia Phillies also just got a Alex Gonzalez of their own. This one's a third baseman and has a little more pop than his namesake going to Boston. I'm still floored that Jeff Weaver has yet to find work. I know his price tag at this stage of the game is ridiculous and Scott Boras is his agent but somebody needs to sign this guy. He'll eat up innings and get you double digit wins every year.

For any Celtics out there confused by this trade, you are not alone... http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5283900 Danny Ainge is just befuddling people coast to coast.

Two in a row for the Knicks after an 0-5 start. They still look like crap though. Jerome James is averaging more fouls per game than points and Quentin Richardson is just a chucker. Jamal Crawford needs to start with Marbury in the backcourt and have the rookies play a bigger role. Nice to see Channing Frye come to life the other night but he still plays timid. I still don't think the Knicks are a playoff team evene though they just beat two Western Conference teams in a row.

The heavyweight division is crap, if Rahman becomes champ then there will be two champions crowned in the past year without either defeating the current champion. There was the whole James Toney steroid thing that gave the belt to John Ruiz and now the sudden retirement may give the belt to Hasim Rahman by default. I don't know what the rules are but this division is flatlining...really fast. And even the other major champion, Chris Byrd, is nothing to write home about. He pussyfoots around the ring and just throws enough little jabs to win each round. We need someone in the heavyweight arena with a killer instinct that just bowls over people. At first I believed that to be Samuel Peter but his rise has been sidetracked by a ridiculous decision loss to the less talented of the Klitschko brothers, Wladimir.