The Noise Factor

Before we talk about mainstream sports I’d like to send my condolenses to the family of Jamiel Shaw.  Shaw was a rising star in the high school football scene in Los Angeles before an illegal immigrant shot and killed him.  The day before the shooting, the man accused of the murder was released from jail.  A star athlete who had been recruited by NCAA heavy-hitters like Rutgers is now gone because of California’s weak policy when it comes to controlling “illegal aliens”.  Only the paparazzi can get away with more in that state (it seems).

This is not a political write-up by any means, but when you have a street thug loose in public who isn’t suppose to be in the country says a lot about the safety of the American citizens.  I will place a link, and when you see the reference I ask you not to shrug it off as if the source lacks credibility.  The source’s credibility is tremendous and no matter what, a teenager is dead by murder. 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,340650,00.html

Let’s re-focus…

- Congratulations to Jeffrey Buttle for winning the World Championships for Men’s Figure Skating.  Over the last 20 years Canada has seen some world-class skaters such as Brian Orser, Kurt Browning, and my idol as a kid, Elvis Stojko.  Buttle can do something the others have not: win Olympic gold.  However, he’ll need to land a quad in order to do that.  He won this year thanks to mistakes by his competition and he simply went out and skated flawlessly.  But if he lands a quad he’ll be even more dangerous and a favorite to win it all.

- Some things don’t make sense to me; here is a professional baseball player who has hit .296, .275, .335, .301 and .296 over the last 5 seasons, can play 2 outfield positions, can run very fast and is a proven winner who takes care of his body.  Do you know who this is?  He’s a guy who can’t get a major league job, that’s who.  His name is Kenny Lofton.  I don’t care if the guy is 40 years of age, he’s a bulldog who should have been given a shot with more than Tampa Bay and a minor league deal with Cincinnati. 

- Speaking of a bulldog, Reed Johnson will find his way onto a team very soon.  The Blue Jays cut him loose to save money as they are “overbudget”.  Look, I like Shannon Stewart and I’m glad he is back but to have both him and Matt Stairs on the same team hurts the defense.  Reed can play all 3 outfield positions very well.  The Jays should not have re-signed Stairs in the first place and should have let Adam Lind be the lefty stick off the bench.  Stairs was great last year, but is poised to have a drop-off.

- I love Toronto and the stupidity that surrounds the Maple Leafs.  Now the team has allegedly not worked hard enough at the beginning of the year as an excuse for being crappy.  I’d like to suggest to the mental midgets in my hometown who “bleed blue and white” to admit to themselves that the Toronto Maple Leafs are not a good team because they are not a talented team.  I’d be wasting my time proving that point so I won’t bother.  But if they think they aren’t that much worse than the Montreal Canadiens you are sorely mistaken.  Hey Leaf fans, your problem is that you aren’t bleeding red which is what real humans do.  Might want to start doing that.

- Chad Johnson really doesn’t want to play for the Bengals this year and I don’t blame him.  How can a guy as competitive as CJ be blamed for his team’s putrid performances on defense?  How can he be selfish because of his celebrations when he is no different from Brett Favre?  (CJ is more flashy than #4)  And how can you blame CJ for all the crap that has gone on within the organization?  He isn’t the guy with the rap sheet.  The criticism he has received is bogus and unfair.  At least if you crapped on him for dropping balls that is one thing.  But there are big problems on that Bengals team and he is far from being one of them.  AND, he has spoken highly of Carson Palmer so it isn’t as if he has thrown his QB under the bus.  In short, I am in agreement with Johnson.

- I wanted to leave the NBA last as we have a brand new scenario in which I will unveil in a second.  Before I do I’d like to begin the eulogy speech for the Dallas Mavericks.  We were suppose to see a team that was more superior than any team Dallas has ever assembled thanks to the acquisition of Jason Kidd.  Kidd is a winner…Kidd is a great defender…Kidd is clutch…Kidd makes everyone on his team better…Kidd is…AH SHUT UP!!!! 

I said Dallas would not be better and I was right.  Before I started pounding my chest like Samuel L. Jackson in Coach Carter, look at yourselves and say, “I was wrong about Jason Kidd, I overestimated his worth thanks to the weak East Conference.”

Their MVP, Dirk Nowitzki, fell and suffered sprains to his knee and ankle and as he hit the floor so did Dallas’s playoff chances.  Though Dirk’s played better with Kidd on the floor, it has been a by-product of Dirk believing he’ll be better.  Sometimes you tell your mind one thing and you endup doing it.  Perhaps he told his mind that he can’t play well against Golden State and they lost last year in the playoffs.  I don’t know.  What I do know is if Dirk comes back and helps Dallas make the playoffs and they win a round (somehow), it will show off a toughness that people have not seen from him.  I think he has it in him. 

THE NBA SCENARIO…

- I’ve narrowed it down to 5 teams that I think can win the NBA title: Boston, San Antonio, Phoenix, Los Angeles and New Orleans.  I’m going out on a limb that one of these 5 will do it.

Now I know what you are thinking: Where is Utah?, New Orleans has no experience and how could you cut every East team out?

First off, Utah is a good team but I see them losing the first round to whomever places 5th, or losing the next round.  Second, New Orleans will not lose due to lack of experience but rather that key players will provide a nice tank job.  If San Antonio loses we can’t blame lack of experience, can we?  I would say someone else happened to be better - which will be the reason the Hornets will lose and not because of a ‘lack of experience’.

Lastly, I am not cutting out the East.  Detroit could make the finals but I don’t see them winning (despite playing awfully well against Phoenix).  And please don’t make me laugh with your “WATCH OUT FOR CLEVELAND” bullcrap.  The Cleveland Crapaliers will not make the finals this year.  I can’t understand how a team like Cleveland get so much love when they’d be behind Sacramento in the West if they played a full season.

This is how I see it.  Where do you stand?

This isn’t an NCAA post.  But Duke certain won today without breaking a sweat

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuke

Everyone knows I love sports so you should not be surprised that today I was watching woman’s figure skating.  I watched the Canadian champion Joanna Rochette skate OK, not great.  The Korean girl, who’s trained by Canadian legend and the better Brian, Brian Orser, skated flawlessly but she was too far back to reach gold. 

But there were two highlights of the day: A Japanese skater falling on a non-jump right on her chest and Kiira Korpi.

When I saw her get introduced on TV I began talking to the TV trying to ask her out.  Obviously I didn’t get the response I was looking for.  But I wanted to be one of the first sports guys to recognize that she is a knockout and a natural.  BUT, make no mistake; I watched her routine and she was solid.  Not strong enough to win a medal but she was a solid skater who has a legitimate shot at reaching the podium in any event she enters.  So in english, she’s a good skater.

And she’s 19 so don’t sweat it.  Yes I verified.

http://www.valio.fi/portal/page/portal/Valioyritys/Yritystieto/Markkinointiviestinta/sponsorointi_ja_kannatusilmoitukset03082006090327/sponsorointikohteet03082006090340/taitoluistelija_kiira_korpi17042007151622

Other stuff…

Tiger Woods is 2-shots back which means everyone ahead of him will have nightmares tonight.  If not, definitely by Sunday.

Only the Oakland Raiders would overpay an overrated player like D’angelo Hall and only a headcase like Hall would be welcomed in a place like Oakland.  It is a match made in heavan.

Someone should tell the Dallas Mavericks to win a big game once in a while.  The Nets, Heat and Bobcats will not make an appearance in the West playoffs.  AND, is it too much to ask Jason Kidd to score more than 5 points?  The trade is blowing up in their faces, as it should.

Kerry Wood may be hurt?  WHAT!!!!?

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons says Brian Tallet’s bullpen job is safe.  Well no kidding!  Don’t bring a guy back too early from Tommy John surgery (B.J. Ryan).  And how can a guy who’s ERA was in the low 3’s last year get sent down to the minors?  Better yet, how can the Jays be high on John Parrish, a guy who’s ERA has been over 5 the last 3 years with walk totals nearly mirroring his strikeouts yet the team isn’t giving Brian Wolfe a fair shake?  Wolfe had 9 walks in 45 innings and an ERA under 3.  I probably haven’t seen Parrish pitch but I bet he’s a piece of shit.  Cut him, or else Gibbons and J.P. Ricciardi should be fired before they are done taping the final roster on the chalkboard.

I’m tired and I’m out.

Nearly two years ago I wrote a post at Fox regarding the state of the NHL and how to fix it. I touched more on the league structure rather than the rules, but I might as well tackle everything. As my RSB’s prep for the NCAA tourney I’ll just come up with something nobody seems to care about. So let me have at it…

- 4 teams will be eliminated immediately: Florida, Atlanta, Washington and Nashville (sorry Nashville)

- 4 teams on the bubble for either relocation or elimination: Phoenix, NY Islanders, St. Louis and Chicago (Blues, Hawks and Isles have a rich past while Phoenix is one of the largest cities in the US and they are a good sports town, unlike Miami who might be large but care less about the Marlins and Panthers in terms of body count).

- Following cities/states that will get attention for relocation: Winnipeg, Hamilton, Kansas City, Wisconsin/Milwaukee, Portland, Seattle, Houston and Las Vegas. Kansas City has a new facility that can field a team immediately. Houston gets a touch because Dallas has done fairly well and Houston seems like a very good sports town. And why Las Vegas? Seems that everyone wants some form of pro sports down there.

- Move Detroit and Columbus into the East because of the imbalance of teams after the elimination. Detroit will play in the same division as Toronto, Montreal, and Boston to re-new old rivalries. They will also go back to 2 divisions in each league as well as a balance of schedule a-la NFL.

- The season goes too long, but I don’t want to screw with tradition too much so we will put the season game total back to 80 where it belongs. As well, opening night will be October 1st no matter what. The NHL will get their butts kicked by the MLB playoffs anyway, but we’ll make sure to stack games on the nights we believe there will be no baseball.

- Only a couple rule changes: The nets will be closer to the backboards, automatic icing will be applied, goaltenders will play the puck and delayed offside will be back. Auto icing will ensure more plays over the course of the season, hence more action and shots on goal in the long run as well as ensuring more safety to the players.

- The worst team in the NHL will get the number 1 pick in the dispersal draft after the 4 teams are eliminated from the NHL. The second worst gets pick 2 and so on. The talent will be much deeper on each team, therefore it will make for a better league.

After one year of this, there might be another 2 teams dropping from the league or not. What we know is if those teams get their act together they will be off the bubble. If they tumble, they will be gone. It’s what is called a ‘zero tolerance NHL’. The league has no leeway for any screwing around. It is time to get even more serious than ever before about this league. Otherwise, the general public will continue not to.

- We encourage expansion of 1-2 teams. Why we would encourage it is because expansion means revenue for the rest of the league when a potential owner places a bid. I cannot remember the exact figure but I would say bidding for a new franchise in the NHL would be anywhere between 100-300 million dollars. Problem is, they tried this nearly a decade ago with Columbus, Atlanta, Nashville and Minnesota and only struck gold with Minnesota. They would need to land a goldmine again and the odds of that are slim.

Lastly, the executive decisions on suspensions need to change. In order to do that, they must come up with a precedence before the incident occurs. They should have x games for excessive fighting, kicking, blatant cheap shots, running guys into the boards from behind causing bodily harm and pre-meditated acts. Guys like Chris Simon should not be allowed back into the NHL, period. The NHL needs to do this in order to protect the players and maintain a grip on their league.

The floor is now yours.

Over the years we’ve seen publicity stunts by celebrities, and for whatever reason we pay attention to it.  Obviously if you are a well-known person doing something out of the ordinary you will attract attention to yourself.  Just ask the 20-year old female skanks that find their way into the tabloids weekly.

In sports, we heard Billy Crystal played for the New York Yankees in a spring training game.  When at first I thought these games were for the players to prepare for the upcoming season, they decide to make a mockery of it by allowing a washed-up, overrated actor to come in and play against major leaguers.  Not you, not me, Billy Crystal - because he is a celebrity.

Now he may not be the first celebrity to take the field in an actual ballgame but I certainly hope this is the last.  I don’t care if he’s trying to fulfill a boyhood dream.  Baseball players usually tend to lack on-screen presence in movies so they let actors act.  Let baseball players play.  Otherwise, the next time a celebrity walks in the batters box the pitcher should do one thing; knock the fucker on his ass.  You don’t walk in-between the lines and think you can just play baseball for kicks.  These men are fighting for jobs, fighting to stay in the major leagues and the Yankees decide they nothing better to do than let Billy Crystal play baseball for them?  The Yankees don’t need that kind of publicity, let alone Crystal and his lover Robin Williams.  They have bigger fish to fry - like putting out a decent movie or 2.

Chin music will keep celebrities in the stands where they belong.

…I’m not done…

- Jason Kidd is finding out that the West is loaded and apparently his poor play in New Jersey wasn’t a by-product of his frustration over his team.  Right now they are heading for a 1st round knockout.  Although Dallas has some money to work with next year, was the trade REALLY necessary?

- Enjoy it now Houston, your downfall begins next game. 

- Why the East Conference is fraudulent: The Toronto Raptors was one of the better defensive teams in the league.  Then they got blown away by the Lakers, Golden State and tonight by Denver respectively.

- Tonight is a reflection as to why Kobe Bryant is not the front-runner in the MVP race.  When your team loses to the main rival’s team when you lose your new acquisition means you have no grip.

- The last two games for the Cleveland Cavaliers further proved why they shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath as Boston or Detroit.  For those who read my post on Mean’s website, you’ll understand what I’m talking about.

- Spikes up in baseball is part of the norm in a way.  However, nobody asked Shelley Duncan to put his cleats on, near or around the testicles of the second baseman.  Was he intending to go after the testes I don’t know.  But when you go hard to break up a double play you will always run the risk - something Johnny Gomes perhaps didn’t realize.  Speaking of not realizing, Gomes may want to put the ball in play more.

- San Antonio does know it March, right?  They can start winning games they are suppose to anytime.

- For all the hockey fans, how about San Jose?  Or how about Florida?  Damn, talk about stepping up your game when it matters the most.  And no, I am not referring to the Leafs.  They don’t know the value of a #1 pick because they had it within their grasp until they decided to use maximum effor to end the season.  Morons.

- Put Alexander Ovechkin in the Hall of Fame.  There are worse players in the hockey shrine as it is.  Stop wasting my time.  This guy is the best player and most entertaining interview in the game.  If the NHL wasn’t obsessed with Canadians and gave the Russians a fair shake perhaps they would know how to market Ovechkin to the American people.Yes, I just dropped that the NHL can be prejudice.  Keywords: can be.

Let’s all have a great weekend.

I’d like to thank each and every one of you for the support of local radio.  As you all may remember, I use to host a sports show for over a year that was fueled by the Fox Bloggers for the most part.  I do not work for the company, but I have a vested interest on how things play out for them.

Long story short, the CRTC (Canada’s version of FCC) is playing hard ball with the company.  The town of Markham had a frequency a long time ago that did not work out.  The new people involved have established relationships with the town, the mayor, the newspaper and local charities.  But still, the CRTC is play the “once bitten, twice shy” card.  That said, my former news guy Eric has started a petition.  I’d like to thank those of you who have signed the petition, and if you haven’t had the opportunity to do so here is the link:

http://www.petitiononline.com/ch0ev931/petition.html

Ok, to sports we go…

- With everything going in the right direction for Milwaukee it would not be a wise decision to screw with the next franchise guy, Prince Fielder.  If Doug Melvin does not lock him up to a long term deal he will lose him.  Prince will remember this and he will turn his back on the franchise who feels that 50 homers is not a good enough reason to restructure a rookie contract.  This is a business and Milwaukee will be on the losing end of this if they don’t wise up.  And they will be back to being a laughing stock in the MLB when this is all said and done.

- Same can be said for Boston, who signed Jon Papelbon to $775 000 this upcoming season.  I know you guys want to say, “they make more than regular civilians”.  Well let’s get some things cleared up before coming to me with that excuse…

1) Regular civilians don’t sell people tickets to watch them work

2) Athletes do work hard away from the game itself and have to put in more homework than some may think

3) A baseball precedence has been set.  That said, Papelbon has showed he is a top 3 closer in the major leagues and should be paid rather well for that.  Meaning better than $775 000.

I am with you when you argue that ticket prices should be dropped along with player salaries.  I’m all for it.  But first and foremost sports is a business and they think by jacking ticket prices and concession prices we will take the bait.  And we have for the most part with the exception of certain teams who suck, can’t compete and don’t have the resources to compete.  Nobody said business was fair.

- Brett Favre: “I can play, but I don’t want to.” - I know dude.  I know you can still play.  I never said you couldn’t.  But don’t worry because I’m the only one who thinks you just came back for Marino’s records and I have a deep feeling that I’m right.  Otherwise, show some jubilation when your running back takes it to the house the same way you do when a wide receiver catches your touchdowns in your next life.

Now I’m really starting to believe the hate on T.O. may be a bigger race thing than I originally thought.  That’s a post for another day…

- Gotta respect what the Houston Rockets are doing, but they are still a 1st round knockout when I watch them.  They just don’t match up well with a lot of the West teams.  This isn’t to say that Tracy McGrady is a loser or can’t win.  That’s not what I’m saying at all.  He just plays in a tough conference and has lost his running mate, Yao Ming.  If T-Mac is a total loser than we would have harped on Kevin Garnett 5 years ago when HE couldn’t get through the first round during a West conference that was strong, but not as strong as it is today.  Personally, I have never seen a stronger conference in ANY sport than the NBA West.

- The more I look at the AL East the more I think “ripe for the picking”.  I really don’t think either ballclub had a stellar off-season by any means.  When Bartolo Colon was your clutch pick up there is a problem (and I don’t count the retained players).  But I don’t believe Toronto has the weapons to overtake either one of them, unless one of the teams suffers major blows on the injury front.  Even still, that doesn’t mean the wild card team will come out of the East.  The Central may have something to say about that.

- The verdict is true when it comes to golf; I watch, but I’d rather watch when Tiger plays.  Someone asked me if it mattered whether Eldrick was in or not and when I thought about it for a while the answer was yes.  I can’t get jacked up if Jum Furyk, Phil Mickelson or Adam Scott are the best players in the tourney (I love Furyk, don’t get me wrong).  Sorry guys!  But we’re closing in on the majors so buckle up.

- It’s been nearly a year since I’ve been to Florida and I miss it so much.  Great weather and great times.  Damn I could use some Spring Training baseball right now…

That’s all folks.  Have a great weekend while I shovel about 9 inches of snow tomorrow.

Today we found out that beloved Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre has called it a career.  After many great years and a near-Super Bowl appearance, #4  has stated that he is “tired”.  He has accomplished everything you possibly can in the game of Football.

Lets step away from what we have heard and think about the decision that has been announced.  Can you put the pieces together as to why the decision is being made now?  Before you answer that, let’s take another step backward into 2006…

2 years ago he had completed one of the worst seasons of his NFL career.  He threw for more interceptions than touchdowns, his team was going nowhere and he had thrown his number 1 receiver under the bus prior to the season opener - where that very same receiver got injured in the opening game and lost the rest of his season (Javon Walker).

Now at this time 2 years ago, Brett was unsure about continuing his career.  It could have been a ploy to force the organization’s hand in trading him to a contender or he really was indecisive about coming back to the daily grind.  Regardless, the organization had to know the answer sooner rather than later to figure out what their next move was going to be: rebuild entirely or try to put pieces around Favre.  Well when Favre finally decided to come back there could have bee a number of reasons: he wasn’t ready to stop playing, he felt like he had something to prove after the dismal 2005, he still wanted to win badly or he wanted to break all the passing records.  Who knows except for Brett Favre.

So he plays better in 2006 where his team still finished poorly, though there was optimism in Green Bay after the team’s strong play near the end of the regular season.  So Brett decided to come back, with Dan Marino’s records in sight.

Nobody expected Green Bay to nearly get to the Super Bowl.  I don’t care who you are, the shot was dismal at best.  But we saw a Green Bay team who’s defense had matured considerably, the offensive line improved dramatically, the wide receivers came into their own and they found a running back who could change games.  They had a great season.  They seem poised to build on their strong 2007 season - or so we thought.

So after all of that, what made Brett play the last two years?  And why has he decided to end his career now?

Right now. if I were to post this at Fox I’d take a beating for what I am about to do…

First, if Randy Moss had decided to become a Packer Brett Favre would be back in 2008.  Guaranteed.  And the wide receiving group on Green Bay is underrated; these guys can play.

Second, how do you walk away from a team who came so close to the Super Bowl?  Wouldn’t you want to be part of it?  Wouldn’t you want to leave the game on top?  Whether you do or not, you are taking the chance because you FINALLY get to play for a contender again who is close to winning the Super Bowl.

Third, was your decision based on being mentally drained or did you get your records and say, “fuck everyone”?

The Brett Favre we allegedly know would not leave a team after imploring them to build a contender.  That said, he’s played the last 2 seasons for himself and individual accomplishments.  Anyone who calls this NFL player selfless needs their head examined. 

Privately, the Packer organization has to be pissed.  Nobody is sure if Aaron Rodgers is ready but if they knew this was coming they would have begun to get him ready for 2008.  This is the year for the Green Bay Packers and they will have to play an essential rookie quarterback to take them further than the season before.  All Green Bay was asking for was one more season out of Favre.  Was it too much to ask? 

To criticize someone’s decision to retire may be out of line.  But the difference between 2006 and now is Favre holds the all-time passing yard and touchdown records.  I find the timing of this decision odd to say the least.  Though I have called him selfish in the past, I never questioned his desire to win.  The motives to come back and play seem to point in the other direction.

At least the man retired while skating under scrutiny of any kind whether he deserved it or not.  If only Chad Johnson was treated the same way for his desire to win, compete on the field and have fun the way people have described #4.

Other quick hits…

- Although sad to hear, we have to give John Wooden props for not only staying alive at 97, but shaking off the fall.  People his age would have died from that.  The man is strong.

- Last I checked Stephon Marbury was under contract with the New York Knicks.  Isiah Thomas is treating him with no respect and no class.  How does Isiah have a leg to stand on?

- Larry Hughes may not have liked his time in Cleveland, but we didn’t like watching him either.  He may have had to give up doing certain things for the team which cramped his style but he took enough shots to be better.  Horrible shooting can’t be blamed on anyone but the shooter.

- Can the Dallas Mavericks win a big game?  

The floor is yours.