Over the past several days months, we have seen a player act like a little kid - whining his way to get what he wants. Yes, I am talking about that Albert Haynesworth. During the offseason of 2009, the Redskins and owner Daniel Snyder, being their normal selves, spent over $100 million to pry him from the Tennessee Titans. As usual, the veteran FA's (Free-Agents) that the Redskins bring in usually disappoint.
We saw lots of this when he was with the Titans
Reason is that, when a player is in a contract year (a la Haynesworth in 2008), they tend to play beyond expectations that year. Once they get paid the big $$$, they tend to regress the following year. What made the past season a lot worse on the defensive side is that Haynesworth would wear himself out on first and second down and go to the sidelines because of a "major injury" (basically, be was fatigued and had little stamina) and would miss the important down - third down. And this did not happen one or twice. This scene occurred frequently - pissing off the fans at the game and watching the game on TV.
But we saw a lot of this when he was with the Redskins
(Courtesy of Yahoo!)
In the offseason, he was to get in game shape with the new regime coming in (New General Manager Bruce Adams and new Head Coach Mike Shanahan) for the 2010 season and beyond. Unfortunately, Haynesworth did NOT report to the voluntary OTA's (Organized Team Activities) - where players would unite as a whole from April - July (the down time in the NFL year) and form a cohesive unit and learn the X's and O's from the new coaches - even though he took the $21 million saying he'll stay with the team.
His main complaint was that he was to be the standard nose tackle in a 3-4 defense - a transition from the 4-3 defense in 2009- that he did not like. Therefore, as childish as it may seem, he boycotted the OTA's until an agreement was made. Jim Haslett, the former New Orleans Saints and St. Louis Rams head coach, was signed as part of the new regime to become the current defensive coordinator - whose defenses rely on stripping the ball and scoring TD's. What Haynesworth didn't realize, however, is that he is not solely the NT. In Haslett's fluid system, defensive tackles and nose tackles can become defensive ends and vice-versa.
What made the situation worse during the offseason was that former Redskins (i.e. LaVar Arrington) and current teammates both ripped him into shreads, mainly because he was a me-first type of player.
Because of his boycott and his not-so-great conditioning - see here and here - Haynesworth will be participating on the second team to try and get up-to-speed with Shanny's system.
Just because Haynesworth has failed the conditioning test to get into training camp twice does NOT mean Shanny is being very harsh on him - other, more heavier players (i.e. 350 lb. Maake Kemoeatu, 365 lb. Howard Green and 360 lb. Anthony Bryant) all completed the test on their first try. (btw, Haynesworth is 310 - was originally 350, but lost 40 lbs. in the offseason). Shanny is just being the strict disciplinarian, believing that no one player on this team is above the law - what a great head coach should do after the debacle, the circus of Jim Zorn's mess in 2009.
Wow. It has been a long time since my last post - more than a year. Since my last post, we have a new Batman and Robin (move over, A-Roid and Jeter); Spain has taken over the sporting world; the Washington franchises have a bright future ahead of them; and we have seen a plethora of pitching displays unlike any other - this after baseball's steroid allegations have died down.
Today, I'll be talking about what everyone's been chatting about - Terrell Owens joining the Bungles. Since when did these cats turn into the Cowboys? They have TO, Pacman and Tank Johnson - all of whom played for the 'Boys years ago. I think this match of TO and Chad Johnson Ochocinco will be a perfect fit. Both are identical receivers (outside of Owens' bad hands) and have had a troubled childhood before entering the NFL. Most importantly, though, is that they are were NFL divas. Both have reached a point in their careers as wily old veteran wide receivers who would benefit with a veteran QB. Not only that, but the Bengals have a talented running back in Cedric Benson. With the addition of Owens, the defense will be forced to double-team Ochocinco and thus open running lanes for Benson - who might have a Pro-Bowl-caliber season ahead of him.
The problem is that Owens is a trash-talker, on-and-off-the-field. When he was with the 49ers, he jawed with Jeff Garcia; with the Eagles, he and Donovan McNabb (now a Redskin) would go back-and-forth on the sidelines; the same goes with Tony Romo and Owens. We did not hear much of that when TO was with the Bills, but that's because the whole team was AWFUL. With his age and his contract (only a one-year deal), he should better keep his mouth shut - otherwise disaster may ensue.
Since I am a Redskins fan, I am glad he has joined another AFC team. We will not have to face the Bengals for at least another year.
What do you think of Terrell Owens joining the Cincinnati Bengals?
Wow. The last time I made a post on my blog, Manny Ramirez was not yet suspended, the Wizards were jockeying for the last place crown in the NBA and were terrible, and there were thousands of NFL mock drafts floating around the net.
Since then, 37-year-old Raul Ibanez has been “en fuego,” the Wizards (still terrible) and the Kings got picks outside the top three (which helps the Wiz but not the Kings), and Maryland’s own Darrius Heyward-Bey was picked NUMBER 7 overall in last month’s NFL draft.
First off, lemme get to the MLB All-Star Balloting. After two months, there are lots of surprises in who’s in for the All-Star game. Let’s start in the National League, since the game will take place in the GatewayCity – St. Louis. With no surprise, Albert Pujols is leading all first basemen in votes with 1,240,395 – 713,230 votes ahead of Prince Fielder.
Likewise, Chase Utley is also winning the second base job by a large margin over Orlando Hudson. I find this surprising, since the lead between the two should be a lot less.
Based on the totals so far (as of May 30, 2009), Hudson has the better batting average, nearly double the amount of hits and more total bases. Otherwise, most of the other categories (Runs, RBI, Walks and Stolen Bases) are about the same. I would give the slightest of edges to Hudson.
For third base and shortstop, I see no complaints, other than the fact that Milwaukee Brewers fans (like Redskins fans a la 2008) are ballot stuffing. Otherwise, how are Rickie Weeks (out for season), Bill Hall, J.J. Hardy, Jason Kendall and Corey Hart in the top 10 of their positions? They are ALL having mediocre seasons, and thus shouldn’t even be in the top 10.
What also annoys me is that the Kendall and Pudge are 2 and 3 in voting for NL catchers. Both are veterans that are past their prime. To top it off, All-Star candidates Russell Martin and Brian McCann sit in fifth and sixth in voting – and they are having better seasons that either Pudge or Kendall.
Lastly in the NL are the outfielder positions. I agree that Ryan Braun – another Brewer – and Ibanez are 1-2 in the outfield. I disagree that Soriano is third and Manny – yeah, the same guy suspended for 50 games – is fifth. Soriano is having an off-year – and that could be because he’s having knee problems this month. This should be the order for the NL outfielders:
1.Braun
2.Ibanez
3.Beltran – All-Star-caliber season!
4.Shane Victorino
5.Matt Kemp – One of the main reasons the Dodgers are doing well w/o Manny
6.Adam Dunn
Now to the American League. I was listening to ESPN radio on Saturday afternoon, and I agreed with the commentator’s comments about the voting for the AL. First off, Morneau has better numbers than ALL three first basemen ahead of him – and he was AL MVP three years ago – something the top three first basemen haven’t done! Therefore, he should be starting in the All-Star game next month. I have no issues with the other infield slots – which Kinsler, Longoria, Jeter and Mauer are leading in their respective positions.
But I, once again have issues with the outfield voting. Currently, the top ten are as follows:
1. JasonBay
2. Josh Hamilton
3. Ichiro Suzuki
4. Ken Griffey Jr.
5. Nick Markakis
6. Carl Crawford
7. Nelson Cruz
8. Grady Sizemore
9. Jacoby Ellsbury
10. Torii Hunter
I understand the history behind Hamilton, but this is not 2008! He has had a Disabled List stint, and has not put up All-Star numbers this season. The same goes with Sizemore, who is currently on the DL with left elbow inflammation. The year is 2009, not 1999, people, so why is Junior in the top five in voting? He’s doing horrible as a DH/outfielder compared to the rest of the top 10 outfielders. Markakis, Crawford and Hunter are having career years, and should definitely not be outside the top four.
So here’s my revamped AL outfielders list:
Bay
Crawford
Markakis
Suzuki
Hunter
Ellsbury
Hamilton
Cruz
Sizemore
Granderson
Now that is all said and done, here’s my revamped list for the All Star Game.
As you all may know, today is by birthday! I'm happy to become a full-fleged adult for the first time as I head to college next year. Today's post will cover various sports clippings, such as Tennessee Titans DT Albert Haynesworth's supposed monsterous deal to the numerous and some devastating injuries in the NBA.
Here's a nice tune to Happy Birthday that I made up regarding Haynesworth's deal:
Albert Haynesworth will be rich Albert Haynesworth will be rich Danny boy is giving away 100 million Albert Haynesworth will be rich
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I have quite a bit to say if Redskins owner Daniel Snyder plays Haynesworth. One is that he is coming off a contract year. Typically, players in any major sport (NFL, MLB or NBA) play their best if their season is their last on their contract. That is exactly what Haynesworth did. Also, Snyder is willing to pay $100 million - that's Agent Zero money there! - for one player. Unlike the 2008 Ravens/Dolphins franchises, who built their teams by buying ultiple players off the free-agent market and used the draft to their advantage, Snyder is willing to ONLY pay Haynesworth, less than three other free-agent signees and their four draft picks, of which I presume one of them will be cut. I guess Snyder is going back to his old ways again. Unless the Redskins cut many of their offensive linemen/defense that is 30+ yrs of age, they will still be a mediocre franchise.
Hopefully, Haynesworth won't do this again, since he now sees OL Andre Gurode twise a year now...
Now, to injury central in the NBA. Almost every team has suffered some sort of devastating injury, with multiple mediocre teams (i.e. Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers) getting hit with the injury plague the worst. Here's a list of NBA teams that have dealt with major injuries (major injuries referring to star players getting injured for multiple (3+) games):
Washington Wizards: PG Gilbert Arenas Charlotte Bobcats: SF Gerald Wallace (Now healthy) Orlando Magic: PG Jameer Nelson (B/c of this, ended up trading for Skip to my Lou PG Rafer Alston Boston Celtics: PF Kevin Garnett Philadelphia 76ers: PF Elton Brand (Although he was a hinderance rather than a help) Toronto Raptors: PG Jose Calderon and PF Chris Bosh (Now healthy) and ex-Raptor PF Jermaine O'Neal (now with Miami Heat) Cleveland Cavaliers: C Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Now healthy), SG Delonte West Milwaukee Bucks: SG Michael Redd, PG Luke Rindour, C Andrew Bogut and MASCOT Bango (all out for season)
(You can see Bango limping after being hit in the groin. OUCH!)
Indiana Pacers: PF Mike Dunleavy, PG T.J. Ford Denver Nuggets: PF Nene Portland Trail Blazers: Oft-injured center Greg Oden (He'll NEVER play a full 82-game season) Utah Jazz: SF Andre Kirilinko (a.k.a AK-47), PF Paul Millsap (Now healthy), PF Carlos Boozer (Now healthy) and PG Deron Williams (Now healthy) Minnesota Timberwolves: C Al Jefferson Los Angeles Lakers: C Andrew Bynum Phoenix Suns: C/PF Amare Stoudemire Golden State Warriors: C Andres Bientrins Los Angeles Clippers: PG Baron Davis (Now healthy), PF Zach Randolph (Now healthy) and C Marcus Camby Sacramento Kings: SG Kevin Martin (Now healthy) San Antonio Spurs: SG Manu Ginobili Houston Rockets: C Yao Ming (Now healthy), SF Ron Artest (Now healthy) and SG Tracy McGrady New Orleans Hornets: C Tyson Chandler Dallas Mavericks: SG Jason Terry and SG Jerry Stackhouse (Now healthy)
That is more than 66% of all NBA teams, and 81.25% of ALL current playoff teams. OUCH!
Now, for my Video of the Day: It's of LeBron James' 55-point outburst against the injury-depleted Bucks. He was shooting three's from near halfcourt, like 40 feet away from the basket!
Let's recap the All-Star festivities that took place last weekend.
First, the All-Star Celebrity Game.
I watched bits and pieces of the contest. I think I saw more airballs than baskets made during the game.
Best Harlem Globetrotters Show: Handles (a Harlem Globetrotter himself), when he started dribbling like crazy at the top of the key in various ways. He even kept his dribble even AFTER the foul! I found that quite amusing.
Best Alley-Oop: T.O. and Handles near the end of the first half. On a fast break, Handles lobs the ball off the backboard and, well, you know what comes afterward.
Craftiest Move During Game: Jon Barry, the analyst during this game, was going to get drenched with Gatorade/water during a free-throw attempt. We will let you see what happens next.
Now, to the Sophomore/Rookie contest. I didn't see the entire contest (like the celebrity contest, I caught bits and pieces of this one as well), although I saw the end of the greatest scoring performance by an NBA player during an All-Star game.
Not much to say about the event, but this is the only point that I saw repeatedly.
Most Overhyped Dunk: With less than a minute left in the game, Kevin Durant notched his final basket - a reverse dunk - as an exclamation point for the game, which gave him 45 points - an All-Time All-Star-Game-High points in a game. It was the one dunk that was shown in every highlight regarding this contest.
Now, onto Saturday night!
First comes the H.O.R.S.E contest. Or should I say "H.O.R.S.E. sponsored by GEICO." But you get the point.
If you did not get a chance to see the contest, here it is in its entirety.
Best Comeback Performance: After coming to G-E-I-C, and on verge of elimination, KD took charge and blew away the competition with an array of EASY jumpers that the other two players - OJ Mayo and Joe Johnson - failed to make.
Best Starting Performance: OJ Mayo, who started off very strong, and was the last player to get a letter in the game. Although he started off hot (He made a shot from the stands at half-court), he ended with a cold streak and gave the game to KD.
Worse Performance: Joe Johnson, who flubbed spinning the ball off his finger TWICE and AIRBALLED a behind-the-back shot from the paint.
Next is the Haier Shooting Stars competition.
The contest was almost what I expected, except for the very end. Here's a recap:
Worst Ending Performance: Team Phoenix (Ex-NBA player Dan Majerle, NBA player Leandro "The Brazilian Blur" Barbosa and WNBA player Tangela Smith) made ALL five shots in FIFTEEN seconds! They had 38 seconds - an ample amount of time to make a half-court shot to win the title in the championship round. Unfortunately, the home team failed to do so and gave the title to Team Detroit.
Third on Saturday's platter is the Playstation Skills Challenge.
There is only two things to comment on in this contest. Here's a recap.
Best Performance: Derrick Rose, who did well and topped the contest off nicely with a double-clutch backwards dunk to clinch the title. But he did get the following award as well
Worst Look Receiving Trophy: As one commenter put it "Rose looked as if someone told him his mother died and was given poop to eat when he was receiving his trophy."
Your decision.
Worst Performance: Tony Parker, who flubbed his way to last place in the competition. According to NBA.com: "The Spurs' point guard now holds the dubious distinction of having the two slowest times ever recorded in Skills Challenge history. In 2003, Parker finished the course in 45.5 seconds." It was Valentine's day, so I bet he cared more about his wife, Eva Longoria-Parker.
I would do the same as well.
The fourth contest was probably the WORST I have ever seen in a LOOONG time.
Worst Performance: Kapono (Couldn't win a third straight contest), Roger Mason (I had him winning the contest!) and Rashard Lewis (How could you go into the championship round and score only 7 points out of 30?)
He Proved Me Wrong Performance: If you read my last post, I made a rant that Daequan Cook shouldn't even be in the contest. He proved me wrong Saturday night, winning the shootout easily.
Last, but certainly not least on Saturday night was the dunk contest.
Worst Use of Attempts: Pau Gasol. Had he gotten the dunk routine correctly, Rudy might have been in the finals. Because he flubbed many times, that cost Rudy possibly a trophy.
Planned? I don't think so: Many NBA fans were saying that the whole dunk contest was planned, that Dwight Howard and Nate Robinson - the two dunk contest champions - were set to meet in the final round, that Dwight Howard did not deserve TWO 50's in the first round, and that the dunks were very unoriginal. I agree with the last two comments but NOT the first comment.
Best Original Dunk: Dwight Howard's third dunk (first in the final round), where he threw the ball against the side of the backboard and dunked it in.
Worst Use of Texting: I disagree that fans should have the first and only say in the final round. I liked the dunk contests where the final round was decided by the judges. Otherwise, what are they there for? Show? I think that the judges should vote on ALL dunks, and IF there is a tie in the final round after both dunks were made, the fans should then decide.
Worst Dunk: DH's 12-foot dunk. I say this because it took 15 minutes for him to go to the "phone booth", draw another hoop out and then do a normal two-hand flush on the 12-foot basketball hoop. EASILY the worst dunk.
Best Creativity: Nate Robinson. Clever that after the first round, decides to change from his normal Knicks uniform and switch to the St. Patrick's Day jersey's, with lime-colored shoes and basketball - just to become Kryptonite to DH's Superman. He deserved to win, although there was too much entertainment and not enough dunks. After all, it's a dunk contest, not an entertainment contest, people!
Now, to the final performance of All-Star weekend, the All-Star game.
This was enjoyable, but, NBA All-Stars, lay off on the defense! Jeez! It's just an All-Star game, not the NBA Finals!
Well, here are the highlights:
Best Single-Player Introduction: Shaquille O' Neal. Or shall I call him the "Big Shaqawockee"? Excellent performance by the big man in what could be his LAST All-Star game, ever. When was the last time Shaq wasnt part of All-Star weekend?
All, in all, the All-Star festivities were okay, at best.
Grade: C+
Now for the Video of the Day. Today's video is of the Dance-off with Shaq, DH and LeBron during All-Star weekend 2007. Like I always say, Enjoy!
It's All-Star weekend, and I'm ready for the festivities! But before I go into my top events, there is other NBA news that tops this weekend's headlines.
The Marion trade finally went through! After two dismal seasons in Miami, where he was out-of-place, he goes to Canada and be part of the newest Big Three - The Matrix with Calderon and Bosh. It's similar to the trio back in Phoenix from the 2005 season, where Marion was with another premier point guard (Steve Nash) and power forward (Amare Stoudemire). Maybe that's what Toronto Raptors' GM Bryan Colangelo was thinking. After three months of waiting, the trade finally took form.
Now, back to my post on the All-Star Outlook. I'm gonna be missing the celebrity all-star game (i mean, who watches that AWFUL game???) but ill watch part of tonight's Rookie vs. Sophomore Challenge.
This will be an exciting event to watch. I got a chance to see the rosters and there was something that stood out to me: Dwayne Wade (Rookie Assistant) and Dwight Howard (Sophomore Assistant) are the coaches! How's that for entertainment purposes? Other notables to look at:
* Kevin Durant (Sophomore) vs. his teammates, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook (Rookies)
* Likewise, Eric Gordon (Rookie) vs. Al Thornton (Sophomore)
* Marc Gasol and Rudy Fernandez reunite (They were both on Spain's roster during the '08 Olympics)
Last year's contest was exciting as well. LeBron James' former sidekick, Daniel "Boobie" Gibson, hit 11 - That's right, ELEVEN - three-pointers as a rookie in 2008. He wan't invited this year. b/c LBJ's current sidekick - veteran Mo Williams takes his place in the All-Star festivities.
But these lineups - in 2008 and this year - do not match up with what could be the greatest Rookie Challenge lineup this decade. There was LBJ, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Josh Howard on the Rookie side - and Carlos Boozer (Who used to be LBJ's teammate once upon a time), Manu Ginobili, Nene, and Amare Stoudemire on the Sophomore's side.
Now to Saturday night.
The H-O-R-S-E challenge seems like a dud, since there are two shoot-first guards - Joe Johnson and Kevin Durant - versus a point guard/shot-maker in rookie O.J. Mayo. Like most NBA fans, we were all expecting a contest with LeBron, Wade and Kobe Bryant. Oh well. Let's see how this turns out. Only problem is that, when does the contest occur? I know that it's prior to the main events tomorrow, but at what time? I saw that it could occur at around 5:30, but I thought it will be at 7-ish. I should wait and see.
Maybe this guy should have been invited:
Next comes the Shooting Stars contest, where an NBA legend, a WNBA player and a current NBA player take part in a shooting contest against trios from other cities.
Last year's trio of Tim Duncan, the Admiral - David Robinson - and Becky Hammon are the defending champs, and i bet there will be a repeat. For one, the other teams - Detroit, LA and Phoenix - all have coaches as ex-NBA players. The Admiral is still in shape and could aid his group in yet another win.
Then there is the Playstation Skills Challenge. This year, the competitors are: Nets' PG Devin Harris, Spurs' PG Tony Parker, Bulls' rookie Derrick Rose, and Cavs' Mo Williams (Replacing Magic PG Jameer Nelson). There will be a new champion this year, since last year's champ, Jazz PG Deron Williams was not invited. Speaking of Williams, he set a record during the championship of the Challenge last year.
Here, take a look:
I hope there's a new record this year!
Fourth on the Saturday All-Star event list is the Three-Point Contest. Raptors' guard Jason Kapono is the two-time-defending champ, and looks to reclaim the crown for the third straight year. He doesn't seem to have a challenger, unlike previous years. (Spurs' guard and ex-Wizard Roger Mason could be the dark horse tomorrow night) But what shocks me was that Celtics' SG Eddie House was NOT invited and Heat guard Daequan Cook WAS invited. In one game this year, House hit a career-high EIGHT three-pointers. In SIX games this year, Cook failed to make a three-pointer, his season-high is 6 makes in a game, and his 3-point-percentage is 41.1%. House, on the other hand, has a percentage of 42.1%. EDGE, House.
I find it a travesty not to include House but include Cook in the contest.
Lastly, the dunk contest - the BEST part of the Friday and Saturday events. There's defending champ, Magic center Dwight Howard, injury replacement and former dunk participant J.R. Smith , former dunk champion ('06) lil' Nate Robinson, and rookie and not-so-great dunker Rudy Fernandez. Howard has said that he has something up his sleeve, so we'll have to wait and see.
Here's Smith's video of his last contest performance in '05:
Now, here's Robinson's victory from 2006:
Lastly, it's Superman!
To conclude, here's my Video of the Day. Since I'm in an All-Star mood, here's a clip of the BEST dunks by one player in a dunk contest. (It's in two parts)
