The 3,000

Respect is due.

3,000 K's baby!

Quick Braves Update

It took a four game winning streak, but the Braves are back to .500 sitting 3rd in the NL East. While there has been a little bit of doom and gloom around Atlanta at the disappointing start to the season, I for one am pretty optimistic for the rest of the season. The Braves have already completed their longest road trip of the season. That trip was a total nightmare. Soriano, Moylan, and Glavine, three of our most important pitchers, all went to the DL. Chipper did his annual "tweaking" of a muscle somewhere on his body, and we lost 7 out of the 9 games we played. Yet most of those losses were by a single run, games in which luck plays a huge factor. On top of that, the four game winning streak has featured wins by our 3,4, and 5 starters, headlined by Jurrjen's masterful performance against Los Dodgers last night. At this point, the Braves are a top 6 team both in hitting (going by OPS) and pitching (going by ERA) in all of baseball. We sport a run differential of +30, better than the Mets by a bit and far superior to the Phillies. Teixeira's bat is heating up. Gonzalez will soon return to fill Moylan's void. And Glavine will be back soon. Escobar has validated the faith the coaching staff put in him when they traded Renteria. The Braves offense is primed to score runs and, for once, we have the pitching depth (Bennett, James, Carlyle, and Reyes) to overcome the temporary loss of Glavine and the continued and indefinite absence of Hampton. Yes, a .500 winning percentage with a run differential of +30 over 18 games is frustrating because of all the games that slipped away. However, over the course of the season if we can remain on that trajectory, luck will give way to probability and the Braves will be just fine.

It's Been a While . . .

And so much has happened since I last had a chance to post. Kansas made my brackets happy and won the tournament in a game where the basketball gods clearly intervened in order to enforce their decree that no team that shoots below 60% from the line can ever win a championship. That being said, I think Derrick Rose was extremely impressive all tournament long. He's got the size and strength of a Jason Kidd and, although his passing isn't yet up to Kidd's level, he's got much better quickness and scoring ability. Beasley will probably go number one, but let me just say that if my team got "stuck" with the number two pick, I would not care one bit.

I watched some Champions League action as well. Fenerbache couldn't recapture the magic yesterday at Old Trafford and exit the Champions League leaving no particularly intriguing underdog stories to follow. On the other hand, at least the scum lost to Liverpool. Of all the "Big Four" teams in the Premiership, Liverpool annoys me the least. And as for the Gooners? Well, they've got a boatload of cash and young talent, a good combination for success. However, as the oh-so-wise Ives Galarcep has predicted, Spurs' combination of Juande Ramos and a large chunk of change to put toward summer signings could put them through into the top four next year. I certainly hope he's right. I'd love to knock the Gooners out of a Champions League spot, but I'd certainly settle on knocking out Pool or possibly even the Blues, especially if there's a fire sale this summer at Stamford Bridge. However, I don't think anything would make me happier than stealing the Premiership title from ManU and watching Cronaldo cry . . . hey, we can dream, can't we?

The Hawks have somehow managed to find their way into the eighth playoff spot. Of course, getting blown out by Indy the other night certainly didn't help, but they still are looking pretty good. However, leave it to Woodsen to find some way to encourage the Hawks to mail it in these last three games and fall short of the playoffs once again. I don't care if we make the playoffs this year or not. Another year of a sub-.500 record and little to no improvement means it is time for Woody to go.

The Braves, on the other hand, have not exactly had a dream start to the season. No, I can't complain too much because it is extremely early and, hey, at least we're not the Detroit Tigers (who have looked a lot more like the Tiggers on offense). But 3-6 is not fun, especially when 5 of those losses could easily have been wins with a little more timely hitting or just slightly better hitting. Oh well, I'm not concerned as our starting pitching, with the exception of Chuck "Homer" James looks pretty solid (Seriously, his propensity to give up homers is unbelievable. He's got moderate stuff, but good hitters can sit back and wait for him to hang something and smash it 430 feet). The only thing that concerns me is Soriano's elbow, which has bothered him enough to land him on the 15-day DL. For a bullpen with lots of talent but little experience, it's important to have stability, especially after some of the guys got off to a rocky start. I have faith in everyone in the pen, but it will definitely make things more difficult if Soriano is sidelined for a while. At least getting Mike Gonzalez back in June will be a big boost and give us a proven option at closer.

Ok, well, my lunch time is done so I guess that's all for now. A friend and (hopefully) future contributer to Curry and Rice and I are going to be watching MLS primetime tonight. Perhaps I'll get around to doing some MLS stuff later in the day.

Confessions of a sports addict

These are the moments that make me think I might have a bit of a problem. I am simultaneously watching Mets-Phillies on TV, DC-Pachuca on an internet stream, and Devils-Rangers on another internet feed. Baseball, soccer, and hockey. And this is with me still low on sleep thanks to March Madness (and needing to finish my taxes) . . .

The Mets are winning 7-1 in the 4th, and the Devils and DC are both in more meaningful games (Eastern Conference playoffs and CONCACAF Champions Cup respectively), so I'll be turning my attention more to the computer as I eat dinner and then calculate sums from this shoebox full of receipts. Moments like these make me worried about myself, but they also make me utterly grateful for the internet. Because seriously, there's really no other way to make these tabulations tolerable . . .

Oh, I forgot the main reason I wanted to write this post: Joe Morgan. He seems like a nice guy, he really does. But when he's working games for ESPN sometimes I'll look down at my arm and wonder whether sawing it off would feel better than listening to Morgan's commentary does. He's just... dumb. His observations make absolutely no sense, like the time he said that he has always thought that starting pitching is the most important part of the rotation. A little while ago he was talking about how this Phillies pitcher was getting lit up because all of his fastballs were straight down the middle... when replays showed them all clearly on the outside or inside edge. He tried to argue that wins are a better metric for judging a pitcher than ERA is (HA!). He just said something about black people being more excitable than other races - not the first time he's made me cringe with his comments on race. He's always going off on tangents on his own career, and he never seems to come back from them. And half the time when he's talking about his (admittedly storied) career he's just making things up. I just can't stand listening to him. ESPN wised up and replaced Dave O'Brien with JP Dellacamera for its MLS broadcasts; will it eventually wake up and gently let Morgan go?

March Madness: One Shining Moment

Mario Chalmers FTW!



An incredibly exciting tournament comes to a close as Kansas beats Memphis in the championship game. It was really a very good, back and forth game. Both teams played at such a high level for most of the game that it was difficult to pinpoint exactly why one team or the other was ahead at any particular stage. For much of the game, the story was the Kansas D. But the quiet story was Kansas's intense focus on getting inside on every possession. This is generally a good strategy, and only faltered in the second half when they started taking bad contested shots inside. But without Dorsey in OT, Memphis lost one of the major obstacles to the Jayhawk big guys, and Kansas was able to re-establish its dominance in the paint.

Memphis could have still pulled it out, but they didn't get the performances they needed from Rose and and Douglas-Roberts. As good as those two are, they aren't quite "great". I never had the sense during the game that either one was capable of lifting his game in a big spot like Dwyane Wade or Carmelo Anthony. On the other hand, Kansas didn't have a dominant star either. But their team balance meant that they didn't really need one. When they did need a shotmaker, Chalmers, a 47% shooter from downtown, got the job done.

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I guess that's the one thing that really stands about about this final. Despite all the big names in this tournament - Beasley, Hansborough, Love, Curry - this was a game that wasn't about huge personalities. It was about a true team playing good, smart basketball. There wasn't a whole lot of razzle-dazzle, though good passing leads to some nice alley-oops. There wasn't a whole lot of reckless long range bombing or individual one-on-one play. None of these Kansas players are great, individually. But they came together to form something greater than the sum of its parts, and it was good enough to win. It was an excellent ending to a wonderful tournament. I'm not going to lie - I got some chills watching this edition of "One Shining Moment". And when it ended and the screen faded to black... ah, well, when you live for sports, when it serves as an escape from the pressures of real life, you can't help but feel at least a little bit sad when it's over.

A few other thoughts from tonight . . .

John Calipari:
I really dislike him. He's disingenuous and he doesn't graduate his players and he's complaining about the refs after losing. Loser.

Billy Packer:



I HATE him. Absolutely hate him. He makes incredibly idiotic comments and is more interested in hearing himself talk than saying anything insightful. I mean, sometimes he just makes sweeping generalizations off of premises that are just dead wrong. I'm talking factually incorrect. Oh, and he's also a major conference elitist, homophobic, racist, sexist, and an all-around jerk. CBS, get this guy the hell off the air. While you're at it, Nantz isn't bad, but Gus Johnson needs to be doing the big games. He's the best college play-by-play guy out there.

Marketing:



Look, I understand the need for advertising. I understand that without it, we don't get anything out of the tube except PBS. But you know what? Announcing an official LADDER of the NCAA Basketball Championships, and interrupting the net-cutting to do so, is going too far. Thanks for adulterating such a special moment, CBS and NCAA. I mean seriously, NCAA. You essentially get slave labor from these players who entertain us all and make you a killing but don't get a dime, and you need MORE cash?

March Madness: The Final Countdown

So, here we are. A little over an hour until tipoff, and a massive battle awaits. Kansas and Memphis. Two powerhouses. And one great game ahead.

This has been a pretty incredible tournament - certainly one of the most memorable in recent history. Somehow, simultaneously, we got a combination of unpredictable upsets (to a historic tune in that insane day in Tampa), legitimate Cinderella stories (Stephen Curry is now a part of all-time March Madness lore), and powerhouses rolling. I said at the outset of the tournament that I thought there was a wide gap between the #1 seeds and the #2 seeds, and that turned out to be true. At the end of the day, the four #1 seeds all crashed the Final Four.

We were treated to quite a display in the national semifinals. Memphis came out and just kept control of their game against UCLA all game long. It was ironic that the explosive Tigers quietly dominated the Bruins. Despite the fact that the game was close for a long stretch, UCLA never really looked like winning. The tempo was set by Memphis, and they casually tightened the noose all game long until the experienced, talented UCLA squad found themselves lifeless.

The other semifinal was a back and forth battle. The difference in body language in the first half and the second half was telling for UNC. The Tar Heels looked like a hapless high school (or Ivy League) team playing against a national powerhouse. Roy Williams failed to settle down his team and help them establish some sort of offensive rhythm. Possession after possession, UNC would bring the ball downcourt, fail to create a good shot, and toss something up in desperation as the shot clock expired. Kansas would then grab the rebound, fast break down the floor, and get an easy basket while UNC still stood at the other end shellshocked. You had to feel for Hansborough - he looked more flustered than he ever has in his stellar college career. The second half, however, saw the return of Psycho T. With a fire in his eyes, Hansborough helped power UNC back into the game. They were just too far behind to make it all the way back. A 28 point deficit is almost impossible to overcome in college. Kansas regained control late and booked their spot in the finals.

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So here we are. Kansas - one of the best passing college teams I've seen. Fantastic defense. Fantastic offensive balance. Memphis - bruising backcourt power. Explosiveness. This has all the makings of a true classic. A fitting end to a tournament that I'll remember for years to come.

FIRST HALF UPDATE:
At the break it's Kansas 33, Memphis 28. So far, Kansas has looked like the better team. Their offensive sets have been more precise. Their spacing is exquisite. This has led to a slew of easy baskets in the paint. They are getting, as usual, balanced contributions from their top seven. They have had some sloppiness in passing around the perimeter, which has led to turnovers.

Memphis hasn't looked quite as sharp, largely because Kansas is shutting down Derrick Rose. He's getting cut off every time he drives and being forced to toss it back outside in desperation. He's turned it over a few times. His inability to penetrate has made it tough for anyone else on Memphis to get going. Anyone else, that is, except the incredible Chris Douglas-Roberts, who is making things happen all by his lonesome. He's got 13 - almost half of his team's 28. But he can only carry them so far. Rose has to get going and make it possible for guys like Dozier and Dorsey to get more easy baskets. Speaking of the double D's, they're going to have to watch their fouls, because there's not much on the bench for Memphis.

It will be interesting to see what adjustments Memphis makes at halftime. They have to find a way to get the halfcourt offense going. Stepping up the defense will be difficult against a Kansas team as balanced and as good at passing as this one is. But if Rose can get going, then this will be a different game altogether.

UPDATE AT 8 MINUTES TO GO:
The Tigers have pulled ahead. Both teams are playing at an exceptionally high level right now. Rose isn't quite untracked yet, but he's had more success penetrating and has hit a deep three to help add some juice into the Memphis attack. The team is cutting better now and the passing out of the middle has been better.

Meanwhile, Kansas has slowed down a little bit. They're taking a couple of bad shots inside. Also, because they were getting so many easy buckets inside early, they had almost nothing going outside - and they still have had almost no outside shooting. They're going to need to take advantage of their ability to get it inside and their great floor spacing to open up some outside shots. Rush and Chalmers can definitely hit those shots.

3:49 TO GO:
The Memphis resurgence is in full effect. Kansas can't get a bucket, and Rose just used his exceptional upper body strength to muscle in the first 2 points of a three-point play.

Oh, and what an incredible off-balance shot from Rose! With the shot clock running down, he tossed up a prayer and banks it in. That's the stuff of destiny. Hard to see Memphis losing now. They're up 8. However, I'm almost sure that one of his feet was inside the line when he went up for that shot. They gave him a three. It looked to me like a two.

And, it looks like I was right. Shot is changed to a two. Memphis by 7 it is.

44 SECONDS TO GO:
Woo-boy, what a finish this will be! Kansas with a furious comeback. The big play was a steal and a three off a Memphis inbounds. CDR just missed the first end of a one-and-one - will free throw shooting do in Memphis after all? Memphis by 2 with the ball!

Kansas misses a golden opportunity as Memphis misses the shot and Kansas pushes the ball down the floor on a fast break. Unfortunately it's not fast enough as a gang of Tigers swats the layup attempt away. CDR is fouled and misses both, but Dozier gets a HUGE offensive rebound - big mistake by Kansas there. They should have the ball now, but instead it's Rose on the line for 2.

Misses the first!

Makes the second!

Kansas rushes downcourt, almost loses it, time running out, Chalmers with a long three...

IT'S GOOD! WHAT A SHOT! PURE! NOTHING BUT NET! MARIO CHALMERS!

Dozier misses the desperation shot and we're going to overtime!

WHAT A FINISH!

Dorsey has fouled out. Memphis has missed 4 of it's last 5 at the line - so much for "they'll make them when it matters", eh Coach Cal? Kansas quickly scores the first two of overtime on a steal and a Rush layup - fasten your seatbelts!

2:29 TO GO IN OT:
Kansas has all the momentum. The precision halfcourt offense is back, and with no Dorsey guarding the rim, the Kansas big guys are getting better looks once the Jayhawks break down the Memphis defense.

Kansas is on an 18-3 run. Memphis down by 6, but certainly still with a shot. Have to stem the tide with a score here.

57 SECONDS TO GO IN OT:
Memphis is blowing it mentally - nonexistent transition D leaves Rush with an open layup - and then when he misses, there aren't even any Tigers around to contest the rebound, so Rush easily puts it in on the second try. As an impartial observer, that had more the look of tragedy than of comedy, but in any other situation, it'd have been the latter. And yet despite the wheels coming off, CDR nails a three and pulls his team to within 3. Kansas with the ball. This game is not over yet.

FINAL SCORE: Kansas 75, Memphis 68
Kansas hits its free throws and the Tigers doesn't have a miracle in them. Incredible comeback by Kansas. After the Rose three, it really seemed like this night belonged to Memphis, but they were upstaged by Kansas and Chalmers, who was named MOP. Arthur was quietly consistent all game long and was really better, but you can't not give the award to the guy who hit the shot that saved Kansas.

What a fantastic final. That was, as I had hoped it would be, one for the ages. Only one thing left now... and down come the nets. Here's to One Shining Moment for the Kansas Jayhawks, 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Champions.

March Madness: The Beginning of the End

We have got a great couple of games tonight. I'm watching UCLA-Memphis right now and it has been very entertaining. Before the game ends though, I wanted to post the best bracket I've seen from anyone I know: that of my own brother, Nayir.

This bracket is in the 99th percentile on Yahoo:



Not bad, eh?

Pain

Yesterday, April 2, I happened to be back in Jersey for a night, and was able to catch a Knicks game on TV for the first time in over 3 months. I turned to MSG and saw there were about 5 seconds left in the first half. The Knicks were losing 73-60, and the Grizzlies had the ball. Mike Miller dribbled up the court, took a three... and got fouled. With less than a second left on the clock.

I immediately wished that it was April 1. I wished that play was just an April Fools joke. Instead, it's a microcosm of the Knicks' reality of a season. Absolutely inept on the defensive end, running around like headless chickens on offense, and happy to mail in the first half of every game just to show "guts" and "determination" by making a furious second half comeback that always falls juuust short in the end, these Knicks cause me such pain that I didn’t even bother watching the second half.

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It hurts a bit to think that we've had this blog for a few months, and yet it's just now that I'm first writing about the team that has been most important to me for most of my life – and the NBA has been in season the whole time. In fact, we've each written multiple NBA posts, but I haven't had the will to write about the train wreck that is the New York Knicks. Is there a more hopeless team in professional sports? There are other teams that lately have perennially been bad, sure, but is any team in such a condition that there is absolutely NO way, even with a ton of luck, of their competing for a championship in the next three years?

The salary cap is a mess, and has for years been the main source of my depression as a Knicks fan. It seems that the Knick front office plan has been to make the Knicks the team that will be the sole buyer for marginally useful players with terrible contracts, as if this were some sort of competitive advantage. Trade for Penny Hardaway, Shandon Anderson, Stephon Marbury, sign Jerome James and Allan Houston to contracts 25% over their respective market values... This "strategy" (quite obviously and stupidly) ignores the fact that it's a philosophy centered on acquiring players who are not that good, are undesired by ANY other team, and are incapable of forming a core of a team that can actually win basketball games. It's not a bad strategy if your owner has deep pockets AND you already have a core that's capable of advancing at least into the second round of the playoffs, and you just need a little extra help to get over the hump. It IS a bad strategy if your team has nothing, no core, no direction, no leadership.

If the front office has had some kind of (misguided) philosophy when it comes to payroll matters, it has had absolutely none in terms of actually building a cohesive team. The years since the Ewing-Sprewell-Houston days have lacked any sort of commitment to a plan for more than a year. Some would blame the high pressure of the NY market, but no other NY franchise yields so submissively to changes in the wind. A number of decisions illustrate this. The most recent is the demise of Eddy Curry, who ended up becoming a bit player after Isiah's claims that he would be the centerpiece of the Knicks' offense for years to come. The one-and-done Larry Brown year is another. This is a guy who once coached the Spurs to a 21-win season. The next season they won the division. Sure, in his one year with the Knicks he juggled the starting lineup enough to set records. So what?? It's not as if he had anything to work with! What would you do besides try every possible combination?

These poor decisions have been sequentially blamed on Ernie Grunfeld (in the late Ewing years, though his period is now respected), then Scott Layden, and now Isiah Thomas, but the common link has been owner James Dolan. What sort of inept fool is this man? Clearly the only reason that he is an executive of a major company is that he inherited the position from daddy. What sort of businessman is he? Last year, the Knicks pulled into 8th place in the Eastern Conference late in the season. Dolan immediately gave Isiah a 5 year contract extension. This still blows my mind. FIVE YEARS? The Knicks went on to lose 19 of their last 22 games to miss the playoffs by a mile, and are heading to another finish in which they will come nowhere close to 30 wins. What to do now, James? Clearly your faith has been misplaced and the situation has spun embarrassingly out of control, but you've left yourself without an option thanks to your inexplicable loyalty to a man whose peak has been to achieve mediocrity (as opposed to utter failure) for one day.

Of course, in the calculus of Dolan, there is still a way to rectify matters, which he seems to think was to hire Donnie Walsh from the Pacers to be the Knicks new president of basketball operations. In one sense, this is a sound move. Walsh is a salary cap guru, and perhaps he can work some magic to get the team under the cap in two years, even if it's still completely uncompetitive. That will be progress. The curious thing is the idea that Walsh can take over these duties while Isiah continues to coach the team. Their relationship isn't without precedent – Walsh gave Isiah his first head coaching job with the Pacers. But how tenable is the current situation? Isiah cedes personnel control to the new guy, but continues coaching the team? How will the players respect Isiah? Can Isiah make impartial decisions with regards to playing time when his options are split between his acquisitions and Walsh's?

Aside from the question of whether it's wise to give a new guy one of Isiah's two current roles, there is the question of whether or not he is actually a good coach. Common opinion seems to be that he is not a bad coach. Really? What successful adjustments has he made in his time as Knicks coach? Has he taught them how to play defense in all this time? Clearly not, as evidenced by 130 points they gave up to the Grizzlies last night (ugh!). Has he resolved the problem of having talented players playing below their potential? No. In Eddy Curry, Zach Randolph, Jamal Crawford, and Stephon Marbury, he has arguably four capable scorers. Stephon has been such a disaster that he's no longer playing (and what's more, they no longer miss him), and Curry became a non-factor before his season-ending injury (in my opinion, he never had the skills to be one anyway). Randolph continues to futilely put up at least 18 and 9 every night (he is a true talent), while Crawford is given free reign to jack up terrible jumpers and shoot 40% from the field every night. Isiah doesn't have a clue in the way of getting the team to play cohesive offense or defense. There is talent on this team – aside from those four, you have a very capable outside shooter and defender in Quentin Richardson, an incredible rebounder in David Lee, and instant backcourt offense off the bench in the form of Nate Robinson. Are you telling me that this team doesn't have the talent to make the playoffs in this putrid Eastern Conference? For the final nail in the coffin, just take a look at Isiah's body language and comments at every halftime where the Knicks are losing by double digits and every postgame press conference after the Knicks lose by 20. He says the same things, shows no hint of innovation with X's and O's, no ability to inspire. He just always sounds defeated, and then smiles and says they just need to make shots, that the shots are there. No, Isiah, they're not. The team is not taking high percentage shots, but they sure are giving up a lot of them. And this has been the case for ages now. I submit, once and for all: ISIAH THOMAS IS NOT A GOOD COACH. He was once a great point guard. He is not good at anything else related to basketball.

(I'm not even going to go into depth describing the shame surrounding the Isiah Thomas sexual harassment lawsuit, in which everyone at the Garden came off looking like goons - not to mention Stephon Marbury, who had the gall to casually talk about his tryst with a Knick intern in the back of an SUV parked outside a strip club. This from a married father.)

The Knicks are not going to be any good for a long time. They won't get under the cap for another three seasons, and even then they'll have to sign more players to fill out the roster, bringing the payroll back up. The next two years at least are completely hopeless. I can't tell you how depressing and painful this is. This storied franchise, one that was a factor year after year after year... it's now a joke to everyone else, but not to us. Not to me. I'm angry. But it's hopeless. All I can do is turn my attention to the Mets, Tottenham, the Red Bulls, the Devils, until the day the Knicks have put all this behind them and are relevant once again.