The Noise Factor

March is here and we’re approaching all the big stuff: Baseball season is around the corner, NCAA Final Four, NHL and NBA playoffs and if you actually watch this, NASCAR.

That said, sports begins to heat up around this time of year as does the weather.  As I survived another snow storm this evening I was stuck with a -16 degree celcius morning on Thursday.  That’s near zero for you Americans that follow farenheit.

Since spring training is here, I want to mash…

- Wanted to talk about Gary Sheffield’s tirade regarding Scott Boras.  Obviously there are a lot of people who dislike Boras and how he squeezes baseball teams out of tons of money.  That said, I’d love to have Boras on my side.

But before I lend my thoughts on that, I found out Miguel Cabrera will bat 5th this season for Detroit behind Sheffield and Maggio Ordonez.  I’m not going to run around in circles - that’s bullshit.  The right move would be to bat your best hitter, Cabrera, 3rd.  The reason he’s hitting 5th is not to help the team but to not piss off Sheffield and the ego he has.  Sheffield is a “me-first” guy, always has been and always will.  But the guy who will whine and bitch will have another tirade if he doesn’t get what he wants so Detroit will keep him happy.  Besides, they are so loaded that they can get away with it - unless disaster strikes.  It can happen, just ask the Chicago White Sox.

But back to the Boras stuff, Gary was furious about only getting a 3-year contract with the New York Yankees.  This was his quote:

“Can you explain why [Miguel] Tejada gets six years, [Vladimir] Guerrero gets five years and I get three? He cost me two years of a contract because he was trying to tarnish my name,” Sheffield said in 2004. “The whole year in Atlanta, I had to get the players’ association to stop him from writing me threatening letters saying, ‘Either you let me do your contract or I’ll be forced to sue you.’ That’s a threat and harassment.”

I love how people say that Sheffield “speaks his mind”.  What it tells me is his mind is a waste of time.  Why did Tejada and Vlad get more years?  Because THEY ARE YOUNGER THAN YOU SHEFF!!!!  Tejada was born in 1976 and Guerrero was born in 1975.  You, Gary, were born in 1968.  Besides, if you got a 6 year contract you would have asked for a new deal in year 3.  You bitched about your contract in Florida and Los Angeles.  You are like a woman, you can never be pleased regardless of how hard people will work to keep you happy.  And, since you probably had an agreement in place with Boras prior to the contract you signed with New York, he could sue you.

I’m starting to think Barry Bonds treated Gary properly.

- Speaking of Bonds, the bigger the athlete the bigger the impact.  That’s why he has taken the most heat out of anyone who’s taken performance enhancing drugs - that and his supplier got caught.  Tough break for him because there are a lot of guys who have gotten away with it and we’ll never know for sure who did it.  The real question to ask yourselves is was it worth the risk for Bonds despite being a first-ballot Hall of Famer before he began to take the ’shit’?

- Watched the Spurs v. Mavericks last night and it was a great game by the way (if you missed it).  First of all, TNT should be asking the NBA to avoid any and all Miami Heat games.  Second, Tim Duncan last night showed why he is an MVP, a Hall of Famer and why he’s one of the greatest players ever.  Yes, I said ever.  I watched him take over in the final quarter when Manu was tossing bricks and Tony Parker was unable to cut to the basket like he usually does (I doubt he’s 100%).  Perhaps Duncan’s legacy is so big that we forget how valuable he is to his team but after watching him last night I said these words to my brother:

“If San Antonio comes in either 1st or 2nd in the West Conference, Tim Duncan should be the MVP.”

I know, I know, what about Kobe?  Kobe’s 3rd, behind Chris Paul.  By the way, Chris Paul is carving up Utah as we speak.  And New Orleans has an easy schedule over the next week where we could see them rip off another 4 or 5 in a row on top of the last 2 big wins against Phoenix and tonight’s win over the Jazz.

- Speaking of the Jazz, I like them but they are a 2nd round team at best in the West Conference.  So many people are saying “watch out for Utah”.  Watch out for what?  They have a good starting 5 but they are not deep.  Harpring, Millsap, Korver.  That is it.  They may be the #4 seed thanks to their division lead but they are the 6th best team.  Dallas and Phoenix can beat them.

- Back to Dallas, they really looked lost last night when Dirk wasn’t hitting his shots.  It’s as if he needs to shoot 50% for his team to win.  Where’s Josh Howard?  Where’s Jason Terry?  Christ, where’s Jason Kidd?  Tonight Dirk is shooting out of his mind and Dallas is barely holding onto a lead against Sacramento.  Then again, the Kidd trade made Dallas a 7-man team.  Yes, 7.  Their starting 5 plus Brandon Bass and Jerry Stackhouse.  That’s how the Kidd deal will burn them unless their starting 5 blows everyone away.

- If Asante Samuel thinks Philly is the team that can get to the Super Bowl he really needs a reality check.  Philly is more than just a shutdown cornerback away from getting back to the Super Bowl.  They will be hard-pressed to make the playoffs in 2008.  Asante was looking to get paid and he got paid.  If he really wanted a ring bad enough he would have caught the Eli pass in the Super Bowl on the play before that miraculous pass.

- One more thing before I leave for the weekend: Some people have talked about the Toronto Raptors being an underrated team in the East this year.  That’s false.  Toronto is exactly what they are suppose to be.  And they will get bounced in the first round.  They have shown they can’t beat Cleveland(and this is before they got better), can’t beat Detroit and I doubt they can hang with Boston.  The Raps are my favorite team but I can’t be naive to think they have any shot at the Conference finals.  They don’t, end of story.

That’s all I got.  Stay warm.

As I sit here watching the tail end of a game that forgot their defense at home, I forgot that Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant have a subplot.  Perhaps because time has passed or that Shaq’s best days are behind him, but this is a wild game between the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers.

I will reiterate what I have said over the last couple of years regarding the Lakers; they may be leading tonight and they may have Phoenix in the head to head season matchup but that does not mean a thing when you hit the playoffs.  However, I will give Kobe his due credit because he should not be lighting it up with the injury he has to his hand.  I may not like the guy or consider him the next MJ but he has battled through what I consider a severe injury (anytime you need surgery it is severe).

That out of bounds call was brutal.

OTHER GAMES…

- Welcome to the West Jason Kidd!  You just got your ass handed to you by Chris Paul.  Lucky for you you haven’t had to face a Chris Paul-type of point guard in the East during your 7 year stay.  Never. 

Now, it was his first game and perhaps some slack should be given.  But if you expect him to outplay some of the best point guards in the game today in the West you are sorely mistaken.  Jason Kidd isn’t Jason Kidd; the man who could go step for step with every guard in the NBA.  He can solve his problems by doing one thing: knock down jumpers.  If he hasn’t done it in 14 NBA seasons don’t expect things to change.

- Memphis v. LA Clippers isn’t a showdown, but apparently the Clip-show wants Mike Miller and Kyle Lowry.  Now I know what you are thinking: why?  First off, LA won’t get a great draft pick based on their record as it stands.  Second, they want to strengthen their guard play and save their behinds if they decide to deal Corey Maggette.  Lastly, Mike Miller is regarded as a decent defender and in that Pacific division they would like to have someone to defend Kobe, Kevin Martin, any Phoenix Sun and Monta Ellis.  That is one division that can light up the scoreboard.

- If things are working in LA, why trade Lamar Odom?  He’s playing his best basketball in an LA uniform right now thanks to the Gasol deal.  Ride the wave.

*********

I want to switch gears here and talk baseball as I read some odd quotes from Alex Rodriguez.  He is an oddball and if you haven’t checked out his latest antics just go to any website and check it out. 

What I gathered in my thoughts weren’t from the quotes regarding the steroid stuff but rather the pattern of A-Rod; he’s a guy who will say something weird and then double back to clarify what he said.  How many times have we heard something that left us scratching our heads?  He isn’t a dummy, is he? 

Well I will give him the benefit of intelligence and just come out and tell you why he has to be on the defensive more than other athletes: He isn’t a good liar and has something to hide. 

He hasn’t handled adversity well in New York, he hasn’t handled the october chokejobs well, hasn’t handled the media very well, didn’t handle the pop-up or stripper incidents in Toronto well and now the steroid stuff.  Quite simple, he doesn’t handle being on the defensive very well.  Guilt perhaps?

- I am watching the tail end of The Godfather Part III.  I forgot how great the Godfather movies were.

On that note, my post is done for the night.  The current temperature in Toronto is 16 degrees farenheit.

Do you think throwing your wife under the bus and allowing that bus to go forward and backward on her jacked up physique calls for desperate measures?

That’s the feeling I got from the whole controversy surrounding Roger Clemens this week.  Brian McNamee played this perfectly.  Just when The Rocket was ready to skate on this steroid issue McNamee drops the wife card and all hell breaks loose.  Top it off with Andrew Pettitte rolling on his buddy and you have a man who can be convicted by the public.  You can try to save your friends but when you have a gun to your head and you face criminal prosecution if you lie to save a buddy, loyalty can be thrown out the window.

I understand there are some angry people who feel Barry Bonds has been taken a beating while Clemens has ’skated’.  In fact, it has turned into a race thing as well.  This isn’t about race.  Barry got whacked by everyone outside of San Francisco because A) He’s a jerk, B) He was breaking records and C) He was playing like a 30 year old than a guy who should have been in street clothes waiting for his call to the Hall of Fame.

This isn’t the time to defend Barry Bonds because we haven’t gone after Rocket.  Back in late 2003 we reserved judgement (somewhat) until the evidence mounted.  We will do the same to Clemens because he really isn’t a likable guy.  It will also save Roger if he never plays another game.

But this shouldn’t be a racial thing and nobody should be defending anyone if we know deep inside they did something wrong in the first place - especially if Bonds really did fail the drug test in 2001 merely weeks after breaking the home run record.

- The Dallas Mavericks certainly feel the time to win a title is now, and they may be correct.  Or they may not, and their depth takes a beating because of this proposed deal with the New Jersey Nets.  To ensure they get full value for dumping Jason “I act like a little” Kidd, they have taken an up-and-coming point guard (Devin Harris) and a big man who I think has the potential to be the next Mutombo (Diop).  Saving 11 million dollars and obtaining draft picks does not hurt either.  I give the slight edge to Jersey in this deal.

But Dallas gets their guy in Kidd and when he’s on his game he is one of the best passers in the game.  However, the guy is 34 years old.  Dirk will be 30 this year and Jason Terry is no spring chicken.  Josh Howard has a bright future but aside from him who can they turn to?  Dallas has now narrowed their chances of winning to roughly 1-2 years.  Can you hang your hat on a 37 year old Kidd 3 years from now?  No.  And I’m not sold on Dallas being the hot team in the playoffs after the abortion we witnessed against Golden State.  Dallas is a conference finals team at best - and they have shot themselves in the pants beyond 2009.

- What will Major League baseball do to save face with certain reports coming out about players failing drug tests?  Are we going to find someone to do an investigation on the people who are running the game?  This is where congress needs to step in, if anything.  Congress cannot control what people in an organization does, but if they were going to take an interest in an organization they ought to look at it from the top.

My grandkids will research some baseball information and will walk up to me and ask why Bud Selig stayed in power for so long.  I won’t have a clear answer.

- With all this steroid talk, Pedro Martinez feels even better about his dominance between 1997 and 2003.  Why not?  He, John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson should be proud of what they accomplished as starting pitchers in the juiced era.  I guess those guys weren’t desperate enough to try it.

- Kobe Bryant is desperate to win a ring and prove his critics wrong.  Why?  Because he has a torn finger ligament and doesn’t want surgery.  I guess this guy REALLY wants to prove that he can win a title without Shaq and do it on his terms.  Good luck with that, because the wild wild west will be an absolute shootout.  Bring your best and bring your vest Kobe.

- Who plays with more desperation on the PGA Tour?  The number 1 player in the world who has enough money to buy a continent or the rest of the field who aren’t even close to what the top player has achieved in his young career?  Food for thought.

- I’ll give you an example of one team who isn’t playing with any desperation: Miami Heat.  Why does TNT have to kill me every Thursday night with Heat games?

Time to go.  Whatchu got?

Over the last two years you have seen some whacky letters written by me to prominent female sports figures.  Just in case you have never seen it, I’ll give you an example of what I’ve written in the past while blogging on Fox…

Dear Charissa Thompson,

Behind all the big burly men and Chris Rose on BDSSP stands a beautiful blond who never gets the recognition she deserves.  When they ask for someone to ask the questions to the hardest guests, you answer the call.  This valentines day, answer my call and I’ll make sure to be the hardest guest you’ve ever had - in your bedroom.

Sincerely yours,

The Dan

- As you can see, there is a reason I will be working instead of dating on the 14th. 

All seriousness, valentine’s day is designed to take one day out of your life to appreciate those you are close to.  I may not have a date this year, but The Mom has some flowers that will be delivered to her shortly.  Seeing a smile on The Mom’s face will do more wonders for me than having a date that maybe appreciates you.  So if you don’t have someone in your life like me you can still make it worthwhile.  Find a way.

Valentine’s day is actually a symbol of what has occurred over the last year in my personal life.  A year ago today I stood in the CN Tower staring at someone I had cared about.  Can’t believe it has already been a year since that night.  That night sparked a transition for me; I was a son, an athlete and a man who felt he had finally found someone he could trust.  Found someone who was selfless, had incredible integrity and was genuine. 

We’ve all been there at one time or another.  We’ve also been sorely mistaken.

For the record, that was the reason for my hiatus back in August.  That was why I wrote my non-sports blogs for a day or two.  And that’s why I really took a step back and missed the falling out from Fox.  I needed to deal.  Can’t deal with personal problems at work - you have to WORK. 

So I sit here and reflect after a wild one year anniversary of what I call a “gut” decision.  I am thankful to know what I was dealing with before it was too late.  But what does this have to do with sports?  Only one thing - an escape.  Sports isn’t a job to us.  But if we play pick-up basketball or play on a softball team we use it as an escape from our daily lives.  For an hour or two you can bury all your problems and feel free.  You have to love what sports can do for a person who may be dying inside. 

For that, I am thankful for sports, for writing, and for the common joy we have for sports. 

Lastly, if you do have a valentine’s night planned out I wish you a great night.  I’ll be listening to John Tesh and Delilah all night.  Cheers.
 

I am not sure if this place exists in America, but on Friday night I saw down for dinner with The Dad and The Brother at Lonestar.  It’s a Texan-style restaurant with the usual fixings of fajitas, burgers, burritos and all the guacamole you can ask for.  There were 3 highlights from the night; Our server’s name was Meg and it was a dude, some skank who had to have been drunk at 7PM EST asked if she could sit with us and the three of us talked sports and politics. 

We came to the consensus that Mitt Romney just didn’t want to continue spending his own money on his campaign and incredible hair, and that Bi-rack Obama has Hillary Clinton by the balls with all the funding he has.

This is sports, so lets get to it….

- We talked about the Buffalo Bills coming up to Toronto for a game and how the stadium, the fans and the Canadian Football league will handle this.  Consider Toronto the equivalent to London or Mexico where the NFL has played games before. 

Despite/because of the nearly 20 000 less seats The Rogers Center has to fill over Ralph Wilson Stadium, they will obviously jack prices up for the regular season games.  That said, can Toronto sell the place out 3 years from now when the novelty begins to wear off?  It will certainly test the loyalty of Football fans in the city.  Unless you have a blue maple leaf on your chest you aren’t guaranteeing anything from the fans.

That is exactly what the Toronto Argonauts are hoping for.  However, they will benefit from this because the deal they have made is those with Argos season tickets have first dibs on the NFL game.  That’s like having NBA season tickets and being told you have the best shot at WNBA tickets - only you actually care.  BUT, there is always a catch.

If Toronto gets an NFL team within the next 10 years the Argos and Hamilton Tiger Cats (who should have done everything to get in on the same deal the Argos have with the NFL), will be in trouble.  The Argos would need to make a deal in order to make some more revenue.  Why?  Because their fear is the NFL will take CFL fans away from them.  Therefore they don’t want to take any chance - they hope it doesn’t work out.

- Curt Schilling may be done.  One of the best clutch pitchers of his time who can walk away from the game today knowing that he left absolutely EVERYTHING he had on the baseball field.  I always credited Anaheim for staring down the New York Yankees back in 2002 when other teams would crumble to the mystique and aura of the Bronx Bombers, but I really should have given full credit to Schilling, who pitched his guts out 3 times against the Yanks when they were suppose to walk all over Arizona.

My brother mentioned that Schilling may have known about the injury and that was the reason he may have taken the 8 million rather than command the 11 or 12 he would have got if he fought for it.  Perhaps he felt he could rehab his shoulder to the point that he could give Boston 25 starts and some gritty playoff starts.  That said, it makes sense that Schilling would admit to the shoulder problems right now AND it makes sense why they set the contract up that way. 

- If Boston knew this, why weren’t they going after Erik Bedard or Johan Santana?  Boston is no better than they were last year.  The Yankees haven’t improved either.  

That isn’t me saying Toronto will win the division or come in second place.  I don’t think so at all.  But it certainly tells me Boston and New York feel pretty confident that they will blow every East team away this year.  All I say is “stay healthy”.

- Roger Clemens wife MAYBE on HGH?  Not sure if you noticed but she does look rather muscular.  Just an observation.

CANADIAN CONTENT: I have heard this song 3 times today and can’t get it out of my mind - Paralyzer by Finger Eleven.  If you have never heard of it before check it out at YouTube or something.  Not sure why I am suggesting it but there it is.  I don’t have any hot girls to post up here.  

I still carry a black book with me so, whatever….  

The juices are still flowing as the shock over what went down with the Super Bowl still resonates inside of me.  14 years of rooting for one NFL team I have been blessed to see 5 Super Bowl appearances and 3 rings.  A lot of you are still waiting to witness championship glory for the first time (Browns fans anyone?).  Better yet, you may live in an area that doesn’t have a football team (L.A.?).  I know I’ve been lucky, fortunate, blessed etc.  But this one stings.

If someone came up to me and said, “New England is going to lose 1 game all year”, I would have asked which team in the regular season bit them in the backside.  Whenever a team goes 18-1 you think they can’t lose the title.  But they lost in the Super Bowl - to an NFC that I feel is still depleted in terms of talent. 

The better team lost.  The better team this past Sunday won.  The better quarterback won.

Time to lay off Eli Manning.  He has the same amount of rings as Favre and his own brother what’s his face? (humor).

Maybe eliminating attitude problems is the way to go.  Jeremy Shockey should be happy he gets a ring mailed to him.  How does that hand look Tiki?  You may not be able to see your hand with your ego in the way.

Sorry for rambling, let me get this back on track; what probably bothers me the most is I believe that was the last great run New England will have.  The 30-somethings on defense cannot be replaced at the drop of a hat.  It’s simply not that easy.  I believe the Pats will continue to make the playoffs but the run is over; they will need a couple years to reload with cornerstones like Tom Brady, Laurence Maroney and Richard Seymour.  As a fan, perhaps its time to take some bumps.  Aside from 2000 and 1995, the Pats have been respectable to dominant.  A fan can’t ask for anything more out of a team from the NFL.

OTHER STUFF:

- Maybe he’s born with it, or maybe it’s maybeline.  Obama wears lipstick.  It has to be. 

- Bobby Knight retires.  He walks away without having anything else to prove.  He’s done everything a coach can do at the NCAA level.  What he should do is sports commercials.  I think he’d be priceless.

- Did I mention how much I love Alexander Ovechkin?

- The New York Yankees will make a real move this off-season, right?  They can’t walk into this season with the idea that they will waltz into the playoffs.  Didn’t they struggle last year?  Don’t they know Detroit just loaded up?  They may want to improve their team.

- Speaking of Detroit, I am so excited to watch this Tiger team.  The dynamics of this team is intriguing.  The pitching staff simply needs to stay healthy and if that happens they will be dangerous.  They should be able to mash at least.

- Did Jason Kidd turn into a tin-man overnight or has he always faked playing with heart?  Someone get his heart beating again because he puts the lack in slack.

The writing above has ensured no pictured will be taken and used on another website by another writer.

It was an interesting scene in Toronto tonight as I arrived to the Air Canada Centre just an hour after news broke of the big trade between the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies. Over the last couple seasons we have waited to see if the Lake-show could pull the trigger on a deal - or if they had the players to deal for an impact player.

With Kwame Brown’s contract about to expire and Memphis’s intent to rebuild it made sense to make a deal. Memphis grabs a young kid, a relatively young guy in Brown and 2 draft picks that need lots of prayer to become impactful. This allows the Grizz to start over amd they will have some cash to show for it.

The Lakers grab a guy who can make an immediate impact. This move allows them some breathing room as Andrew Bynum recovers from injury, and it gives them a blanket if Bynum does not return to form. If he does return to form it allows Lamar Odom to slide to the small forward position while Pau plays the 4. And, it gives them a deeper bench when Luke Walton slides beside some of the other contributors like Ronny Turiaf and Jordan Farmar.

This is a win-win for both teams without a doubt. The need to crash the boards is imperative in the West and Los Angeles has more weapons than they know what to do with. I should know; I watched a depleted Laker team roll over the Toronto Raptors. Kobe Bryant was on tonight and unlike last night he got some help offensively. Tonight’s game proved that Toronto may be able to score but can’t hold it together defensively on a consistent basis. But with L.A. playing their 2nd game in as many nights they should have been stronger out of the gate. Lakers got momentum and never looked back.

Last point on the Lakers: Prior to this deal I was still not on-board with putting them into the serious contender category despite their strong record. Now, my view has changed. They are absolutely a team that should be a factor in April. This is a team built to go past round 1. If they don’t there is a problem. They now have a great starting 5 (with Bynum back) and the forward position was a bigger need than point guard. Derek Fisher can run the show because he won’t try to do too much. He knows the offense, he knows his limitations, he can still hit shots and knows how to play in big games. Specifically speaking, Paul Gasol is a better acquisition than Jason Kidd.

Other stuff….

- I just realized Fox used the “Pau-er” line. I’m pissed.

- After his 13.5 million is up in 2008, Johan Santana will pull in 137.5 million over 6 years. That is phenomenal. Hope the kid can hit.

All seriousness, the guy is one of the best pitchers in baseball and barring any setback or injury he should contend for a Cy Young. Being able to avoid a big bopping DH and getting the opportunity to face pitchers with 1 or 2 out and runners on base will pay off for Johan. It is a different ballgame with different scenarios when you play in the National League in comparison to the American League.

As for the contract itself, a lot of bad pitchers get paid a ton, so this is not a surprise and not out of this world in comparison to the #3 pitchers who make 8 figures per year.

- When Bill Belichick says his team is “ready to roll”, I tend to believe him. Some may feel the New York Giants can beat New England and they may be right, but I don’t see it. Yes, they played the Pats tight IN New York IN the cold IN front of their hometown. In Arizona it will be warm and it is a neutral site. The way I see it, the conditions favour the New England passing attack. Passes that went through the hands of receivers will be easier to catch, and nobody is as accurate or precise as Tom Brady - even if he is disrupted in the pocket.

The real question should be if Eli Manning can continue his excellent play. In my mind, he’s grown as a player over the last month or so. And he should be proud of the way he has battled throughout the playoffs. He has beaten two teams he wasn’t suppose to beat, outplay both quarterbacks and has defied expectations, which brings me to this…

- Tiki Barber is trying to protect himself now that his former team has made it to the Super Bowl the year after he reitres. Tiki came with baggage and now that the baggage is gone the team can re-focus. He had his quarrels with Eli Manning, Tom Coughlin and Michael Strahan. This isn’t a coincidence. Somewhere down the line we have to look and say that maybe New York really IS better off without him. I think they are.

- Who are we kidding when Pat Riley says Shaquille O’Neal should be in the All-Star game? Should Magic be playing as well?

- Again, I realize nobody really cares about hockey but I will say it again: Alexander Ovechkin is THE best hockey player on the planet. He is one of the very few players who has to single-handedly carry his team to victories. I wonder how long he can keep this up. Eventually he will need a stud playing alongside him.

Time to unwind. And get ready for the Super Bowl. I hope to witness history this Sunday. It will be nice to explain how I got to watch a Football team go undefeated in one season. Doesn’t come around often folks.

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