Quotable

If I were a GM I would give up almost anything to get Demarcus Cousins. He's gonna be the best low post scorer easily in a few years.

Quick Hits

Well with Robert Griffin III winning the Heisman and being awesome all over television, it's official. The Dolphins will no longer be able to get him. Tony Sparano had to go and with the other coach firings had to leave now so the 'fins don't lose ground on any higher profile coaches. If he has a problem with it I would just suggest he refer to weeks 1 through 7. I hope Stephen Ross doesn't stick with Jeff Ireland, they need to clean the whole house, not just sweep the dust under a chair. To further add to this, Stevie Johnson has recently made it clear the Bills declined his offer and if he were to hit free agency he would be a perfect number two wide-out for the Dolphins.

Now my second tangent is the NBA and it's complete mishandling while trying to come back. Everything from Chris Paul to ticket prices and even League Pass staying full priced. I thought it was bad they could profit from merch while the lockout was happening but now they are just showing us their slimy, money-grabbing backs. Sadly we have to accept it. Any league created by the players for the players was a great idea, but in no way would the execution went smoothly. I wish the Nets Russian billionaire owner would have just started his own, legit league and went after the good players.

-Jason

Fantasy-Land

Please don't wake me if I'm dreaming. I am pretty much all in on the NBA season already so that naturally draws me to the Cavs and their future. Also those past mistakes. While I think Kyrie Irving will end up being good and I like Tristan Thompson to develop as a shot blocker and post scorer more than JJ Hickson would have, I still have my doubts. I still cannot trust the Cavs front office to make good moves. While the Baron/Mo Williams deal was great, I think Hickson could have gotten the team more in return. Likewise I hope they keep Baron and try and trade him next year, but Antwan needs to go this year. I hope they can get another 1st round pick out of him, but that's just wishful thinking. My hope would be snaggin Jeremy Lamb next year if he comes out. That's really my must have guy for the team.

Other than that I continue to day dream about the Cavs, while still having LeBron, trading for Kevin Martin. It would have been polar opposites, but in this case that is a good thing. Kevin is a striking un-resemblance to LBJ. All 6'7 of him is lanky and finesse to James' brute strength and power. Martin is an efficient scorer, proficient as an outside shooter. The only similarities are the ability of both players to get to the line and the fact that both hail from Ohio, that's about as good a combo as you can get in my mind. Alas now Kevin Martin is in no man's land, either part of a trade or betrayed by his current team.

My other thoughts in this little dream I am dreaming involve Baylor's Robert Griffin III. While I hope beyond all hope that he becomes a Dolphin this coming draft (and also wins the Heisman), I know that there are hundreds of variables and with each Matt Moore touchdown pass it becomes less likely. Now another problem potentially arises, after reading this article on Grantland on the star in Waco, it seems to me that maybe he has a problem of too many options. If I were a general manager I would have to question him on how committed he will be to football. Not in an asshole-ish way, just in a make sure this is the decision you want to make kind of tone. The Olympics trials don't come around very often, and likely won't be feasible for him after playing football. Also he seems to enjoy college a lot and while he can go back later it will be very different. And coming back next year gives him one year of law school (which he may want to continue, yet another delay of his football career) and a chance to take Baylor football to heights it has never seen before. There is just a bit of worry with a player this smart and it might require a different take on scouting than some general managers realize.

posted by Jason

Change of Address

To write about LeBron James is to write about a decision, pun intended. Simply put, LeBron is a dividing line and fans of basketball seem to hail the King or hate him. There is no sense reasoning with either group for they are blind to any facts opposing them. ‎"Men will die for an opinion as soon as for anything else," as William Hazlitt once wrote. Sadly he was a pretty crazy philosopher so his merits are about the same as LBJ's for now: irrelevant. Thankfully my eyes are wide open, many times from the incredible feats James seems to accomplish in any given game. Some minor apathy residing in me from years without a true winner to call my home team allows me to stay judgmental and (mostly) fair.

I shouldn't be the one lamenting about LeBron James, in fact I have many posts bashing him for reasons less worthy than this. Maybe it is the indie-ness in me coming out or maybe I'm aware and indebted to his services to the Cleveland Cavaliers. During his seven years here I was facing a mob in saying LeBron was not the be all, end all. My opinions on how pitiful the team around him also didn't win over many Clevelanders. Now since his South Beach departure the tables seem to have turned for us both. I try to be objective and non-biased when actually examining basketball. So when the status quo went from 'I love LeBron' to 'I hate that prick,' patience became my practice. I bit my tongue, figuring the storm would calm soon enough. The Heat Index seemed to do nothing more than raise the temperature. I never hated James when he was in Cleveland, yet I wasn't high on the King James smoke either. Mass memorabilia burning and pure hatred for a man who did so much for such a hapless franchise shook my core though. Yes it was a bit of betrayal, he may have dumped us and all. But was it enough to warrant grown men act merely like pissed off toddlers? I still appreciated what he did for us and couldn't bring myself blame solely him for the failure, regardless of the mistakes. Now I'd be considered a LeBron lover, which is something like lepers around here. Surely a city has never held a grudge on a player like this before.

Flash forward to the 2011 Finals, past the rough start and constant attention put on the Heat. I am upset at the outcome, not because I picked them to win once they got there, but because I felt cheated by LeBron once again. Earlier I predicted an Eastern Conference Finals loss for them, but the way they stream-rolled through the competition I thought this was going to be something special. I felt like the world didn't really get to see them play a complete game and that the inferior (although better coached) team won this time. I mean what better fuck the haters could the Heat, more importantly James, come up with than a title their first year? As for the whole rematch story line, there are no former games to compare this to, despite the constant announcer reminders of that previous battle. This was its own series with different pawns and different, much heavier, story lines than there was in the first match. 2006 doesn't mean a thing five years later when there are only four collective players left from that match up. The good vs. evil plot everyone seemed to love exploring really changed the series from basketball to something seemingly more meaningful. I'm convinced the world thought it saw LeBron and his backyard gang be toppled by the do good Dirk and his Mavericks. Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but wasn't a preseason headline about Dirk's prostitute lover breaking in to his house? The world is hardly what it seems to be sometimes.

That lead to the LeBron clutch time shrinkage frenzy all over again. Yeah he shouldn't score only eight (Eight!) points in a complete game but it happened. I cannot and will not try to explain it here. That is a several thousand word essay in itself. I will say there is a whole list of stars that year alone who also didn't win the ring. Has everyone forgotten about Kobe already? He wasn't supposed to lose to the Mavs either and while his rings are proof he can do it, they also prove he shouldn't have lost. Not to mention his supporting cast for those rings and his coach Phil Jackson who he let down one last time. Finally that LeBron puppet made it to the Finals showdown that Nike convinced everyone they want to see and it's Kobe who collapsed.

The modern era apparently has no room for superstar small forwards. You have to go all the way back to 1986 to see a team who won it all with a small forward as their best player. As always, what defines a small forward and a teams best player will be highly debated. While the 1986 Boston Celtics preached a team game, Larry Bird was their main man. The best player list for the titles won from then until now are littered with big men and Micheal Jordan. It would be ludicrous to assume the NBA is structured to deny a small forward mega-star's ability to win it all though. Besides there are probably an infinite amount of variables as to why no star small forward has captured a ring sing Bird. Maybe LBJ was tired after averaging 38.8 minutes per game in the regular season with an increase to 43.9 MPG in the post season. Don't let me forget to mention the 40.1 MPG he averages for his entire career. I'm exhausted from even typing those minutes out.

Back to Cleveland when he "quit" on his team as the basketball world watched in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Everyone seems to recall the 15 point 7 assist 6 rebound on 3-for-14 shooting performance as the night he "quit." Except that was Game 5 and in the elimination game he threw out 27 points 10 assists and 19 rebounds while having to take 21 of the teams 73 total shots. He didn't have to take those shots you say! Consider the whole team made only a dismal 28 of those 73 shots and then realize that he had dished out 10 assists on those 28 makes. Add in the 8 shots he made and that leaves only 10 made shots that he didn't produce himself or hand out to his team. Admittedly the team went 24-of-34 from the stripe, LeBron contributed only 9-of-12 to that number. Tell me his teammates did not let him down with a straight face and I have the right to punch you in the mouth.

It almost seemed like this was the final test for the Cavs to win over his services for another contract. Had that sorry group of allegedly professional ball players stepped up this one time for him, after he carried them countless other times, maybe the King is still a Cavalier. After that game though he was gone without a doubt in my mind. To put up 27/10/19 and everyone still thrashed him for quitting on the team. It was hardly a team at all, it was one man versus an entire defense. For all the public knows his elbow was actually hurting too. Some point in the fourth quarter, while watching his expressions, something seemed off. This instantly became signs of him giving in to all those front runner fans and media personnel, but to me it seemed like a realization of sorts. He must have been thinking along the lines of: 'If I bust my ass and win this game, I'll have to do it all over again next game. Then next series I'll have to try and take out Dwight Howard and his stable of shooters by myself. After that it'll probably be off to battle the Black Mamba, and his team, alone. Then next year I gotta do it all over again.' Epiphanies usually don't come out of success.

Screwing over a team and a city is certainly something else altogether. Something I have a hard time defending or supporting. However part of the blame needs to rest on the higher ups, it is not the Kings job to secure good players for the team. It almost feels like I know Mr. James now after watching him battle so many nights on the court. When he was young and would have a turnover, then you'd see his brow narrow before he would go all out for a defensive stop and nothing in the world could stop him from getting to the rim to redeem himself. It was so vicious, yet it got everyone up and excited. His patient mind game behind the arc where he does a little foot jab a few times, just to scare the guy, already knowing he is about to rise up and drain the three in his defenders face. That ugly as sin turnaround that will arc to the rafters and fall right in. I know this man on some level, even his short computer generated remarks after the game. I loved that after he murdered Detroit he talked about how the hoop became an ocean and he felt like he could hit anything. It was so honest and different from his normal answers. It felt like LBJ was going to actually succeed in this noble quest to bring a title to Cleveland, be the King and rule the NBA. Instead the man child relied a bit too much on his overbearing physicality to take him to the promised land, a mistake many a player has made. Still fixable for the chosen one, talent starts you off but hard work and will power bring home the real spoils LeBron.

The media folk gave him this ego, a kid growing up how he did doesn't assume he is to be given anything. All the highlight videos starting from local news in northern Ohio, to the internet and to ESPN formed this swelled head. This wasn't like nowadays where it's just information overload and everyone is the greatest depending on what kid's name ESPN promoted last. Watch the documentary More Than A Game (IMDb link) and you can see him go from humble to arrogant. At a point he begins to sign his name as the King, a kid still in high school. Believable after witnessing the attention that gets lavished on him. This kid was given this moniker by the same ones criticizing him for texting other players by saying “Yo, this is King James.”

Now in the present I sympathize with LeBron, I wouldn't like being the bad guy. Not many people have the stomach for that, although in this new age it seems far too common. I make poor choices on occasion and live a far simpler life than LBJ. Yet he is terrorized because he made a bad PR move. It's a good thing his shoulders are that huge because he must feel like he has the weight of the world on them. LeBron is only some four odd years older than me so it is easy to place myself in his shoes and wonder the moves I would make as a city's savior. I can't say for certain I would have stayed, I would have definitely had words with the moronic Danny Ferry and the push over Mike Brown (now Kobe's new plaything). I would had even gone straight to the top to take that asshole Dan Gilbert down a peg. Not being one for theatrics, I don't think I would have gone on television to announce that I'm leaving to play with my friends. Now would that evoke the same pure hatred on me? I can only assume to some extent it would. Maybe earlier talks with management could have changed the whole process and prevented the drama-filled off season from ever happening.

Hopefully one day in the future all parties at fault will realize their mistakes. The fans for turning on LBJ in such a harsh way. The coaching staff for not implementing an offensive system working him off the ball on cuts and teaching him fundamentals or bringing in someone worth his respect. The management for failing to get even one All Star (Mo Williams being a way late alternate does not count) to come play with the best player in the league while he was here. Ownership for turning their back and being nothing more than a blank check to a player and a team that needed guidance in those foreign waters of success and fame. Most of all though LeBron James for not realizing we are more than the cardboard cutouts of NBA 2k12, that we have feelings. The hate would have come out no matter how you handled this decision I realize that, I really do, but you couldn't muster a meaningful apology? A little sympathy for leaving us when we made it so blatantly clear how much we loved you? I've treated one night stands with more dignity than you gave us. If you actually realize your mistake or not is of no concern to us, we do not see you in private with family and friends where you can say how you actually feel. We only saw your emotion on the court, but what we saw delighted us to no end. In this situation we just needed an honest apology and the jerseys that were burned would have only been by drama queens and drunk, uber-bitter idiots. Those quotes you gave saying you could see yourself playing for Cleveland again would have a hint of merit and bring joy to those able to look towards the future. Instead you turned on us more by stating you were from Akron, no mention about our good times. We were used to those automated answers for post game interviews but this was cold. Being a first love who's flame has faded hurts and having the heart breaker himself throw us out in to the cold Cleveland winter didn't help any. Stop me now, I shouldn't throw any more at the man. He lived a whole year as a villain, the enemy to anyone who was wronged before.

In retrospect I think LeBron James honestly believed in himself. Despite the spectacle and constant attention I assume he thought his new crew would really win it all and everything would revert back to normal. A return to the praise King James had gotten for years and years earlier. The loss to the Mavericks had to have an effect on him. After all Dwyane Wade beat this team himself a few years ago, how could an even better team lose? It ought to change him, he should be a different soul on the court next year. Maybe a wiser man, maybe the fun will come back to him like he wants. If I were a much more holy person I would pray that his cuts allow him to see the wrongs from his past. That it drives him to work hard and come out as a force of nature this year. That the wounds will heal. Simply put, for all his trials or tribulations he has hardly won anything of grandeur. Truthfully the King does deserve a ring.

The rafters will have a retired #23 LeBron James 2003-2010

Posted by: Jason

Writer's Note: This was written mainly in June after the '11 Finals, at this time I haven't read much in to the hate of LeBron in hundreds of internet articles. However I have engaged in many debates with friends and random Clevelanders about James and at least 97% disagreed with my forgiveness of him early on. I hope that percentage has come down since then, but the city was pretty pissed. I was able to convert a few folks with my strong thoughts though. I haven't yet, but do plan on reading The Whore of Akron (Amazon link) and hope I am not retreading or stepping on any toes here. Scott Raab easily knows more than I do on Mr. James. Also the ESPN interview with LBJ, where he has some seemingly heartfelt words about his mistakes, didn't come out until a few days before I finished the article which is why there isn't much mention of it in here.

I feel like...

Stevie Johnson and Nick young need to hang out and be hip together or something. Seriously go look at their twitters.

True Story

Andre Dawkins is stroking so hard from deep this year. I mean I know Duke lost to Ohio State, but I still think they run the best offense in college. Goddamn do I hate college sports though, the gimmicks are for high school and D-II and below, if you're getting a scholarship play the same game as the pros you are emulating.

Franchise QB

I want Robert Griffin the 3rd as the Miami Dolphins quarterback of the future. Luck would have been it, but that appears not likely anymore. Barkley seems like an Eli Manning level and Landry Jones to me is a Jay Cutler only less mobile (besides the fact that he hasn't been anything good since Broyles went down and seems unable to even hold onto the ball anymore). Both of those QB's are the "franchise" guys for their teams, both have been traded once. With them still come questions and given how big Dan 'The Man' Marino's shadow looms in Miami, I suspect both would be eaten alive by critics if they cannot perform right away. RG3 however, is an enigma. He makes Baylor a team, much like Luck does with Stanford, plus his mobility instantly helps him as a rookie (example: Cam Newton). He is legitimately smart, having graduated already and wanting to work towards his masters in law next year. My worry is that that means he will pull a Matt Leinart and withdrawal from the draft to go back to school, although he'll take much harder classes than ballet. I foresee a run and gun looking offense with him and Reggie Bush and Brandon Marshall. Bring in the grit of Bess and hopefully the improved toughness of Daniel Thomas and that offense could easily take off. Still would need half of an offensive line, a legit number 2 WR with speed, plus there would be bumps on the road for the rookie QB. But the success of Andy Dalton, Christian Ponder and Cam Newton cannot be overlooked. The success rate of young players is higher now because of the information overload. They see what the media bitches about, they know about mistakes players made before and most want to succeed so they do good and listen.

If a new coach comes into Miami, they will take a QB, and we all want a new regime in there. They could move down and get more picks or just grab best available and have another year of Matt Moore with Pat Devlin as the backup. But that would be playing the field and hoping you are either bad enough while rebuilding/improving your team this year for RG3 next year, or hoping that he'll be around where ever you end up in the draft. The best hope is that he stays ranked as the 3rd or 4th best QB after the combine and comes out this year. There are a lot of variables there, but many teams worse than the Dolphins have young QB prospects and he could easily slip down to the bottom of the top 10. Even if it would require trading multiple picks for him, I suggest they do that. I believe this year they have all of their picks finally after the Marshall trade, but losing out on a high pick or two is worth it for the potential game changer RG3 is. I believe that in the first few years Luck will likely be the better player (depending on if he plays), but 5 years after this draft Robert Griffin III will be the best QB of the bunch. Not that Luck will be bad, but Griffin III could be Mike Vick of early last year, only consistent all the time. The only thing that scares me would be the probable injury factor of the sleek mobile quarterback. However Matt Moore is doing damn fine for now and would be a perfect backup. Not to mention this team would and could easily get free agents to fill in the other holes they have. So being a few picks down isn't going to ruin the team, if all goes well the 1st rounder they give up would be in the 30's anyways.

Don't forget to hype it up: #RobertGriffinIIIforHeisman

-Jason

Infrigement

So here are two photos of a little sidebar in the latest college hoops ESPN The Mag issue. Thankfully ESPN will never see this, but if they did I'd bet they would be anger and send me a cease and get fucked letter. In response to that fake letter I say fuck up ESPN, you are too full of yourselves and monopolies are illegal last I checked. Anyways I just think it is insane how skewed these numbers are between Florida basketball and football. First the article and explanation:

Now for a visual representation:

All I can say is that Andre Debose is not worth $1.5 million.

What's An NBA Get You?

Not shit if you're still looking for a job. I'm bitter about it and there has been nothing to post about my favorite sport in the world. I have gotten way into college football this year, since the Dolphins are nothing to write home about and 3/4's of the NFL's top plays this first half of the season were just sloppy ass mistakes on defense. But I don't even like the college sports system, because of greedy bastards that run it and some dumb "insight" that having a completely different game and set of rules helps make these athletes better. Regardless I have been studying up on the whole college basketball scene because I'd lose my damn mind with hearing that constant ball hitting hardwood dribbling sound. Hell even NBA 2k12 is awful, the lockout is far reaching. Anyways I had a dream the other night where LeBron was still on the Cavs and it was this season being played out (a severe case of crazy no doubt). I assume the release of the book The Whore of Akron helped spawned this scenario, but it was a welcomed distraction. Now I have no clue how the lockout stopped and play resumed but it was clear why LeBron stayed with this Cavs team; an Ohio native was traded for instead of Antwan Jamison. Who was this mystery man? None other than Kevin Martin. I'll go ahead and guess that name isn't ringing any bells for the casual fans (believe me right now I wish I could go back to that life) so here is a link to a SLAM article where they anointed him as the 45th best player in the league. That number might sound low but two facts: there are about 360 players in the league in season and of those guys the average NBA career is 4.5 years. So with the constant turnover and taking into account that teams usually use a rotation of 9 players a night, 45 ain't bad. The downfall of no one knowing about this gem of a player made it so that he was off Danny Ferry's radar when he went to gut the team for another "star" to pair with James. Kevin Martin won't sell tickets even though he is from Ohio. Instead he just help lead a Rockets team to a respectable record with a beat up and incomplete team. His strengths of shooting from deep and getting to the line, or in other words creating his own offense, would have been actual boosters. Unlike Jamison's penchant for scoring off others abilities. His knock of not playing defense is also some misinformation, while he won't stop Kobe Bryant, he will make Kobe work on the other end while matching some of the scoring he is giving up. Plus on a team like the Cavs were, team defense makes up for a lack on one players behalf and he has a knack for getting steals. At the worst LeBron and Martin could have switched on and off of the tougher assignment.

-Jason

Aaron Rodgers Is From Another Planet

Just read this article from ESPN where he goes in to detail on what he goes through on a play:

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/34068/rodgerswatch-accuracy-decisions

Don't "Suck For Luck" Just Draft Him

They say you don't have to be pretty to play good football.

The way I see it there are now three realistic possibilities for the Dolphins this year. 1: They actually are the worst team in the league, as I assume and go nearly win less and are awarded Andrew Luck for being impotent. 2: They get their shit kinda, sorta together and end the year with 5-6 wins and out of the Luck sweepstakes. The most likely situation, sadly. 3: They still suck, but not enough. End up unlucky drafting in the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th spot.

Either way I don't see Tony Sparano staying past this year and that should give Jeff Ireland the boot out as well. Of course our owner(s) is(are) retarded so everyone may finish out their contracts and we get more years of mediocrity. You will not see any helping hands towards Chad Henne again, meaning a new QB will be drafted. This leads me to three more situations, this time for the draft. 1: The dream scenario, of course, they get Luck and go mostly offense with the draft grabbing Dwayne Allen (Clemson TE) or a play maker in round 2 along with a Big 10 offensive lineman in the 3rd. Why Big 10? They put out the most consistent lineman by far, my biggest question is do they go pulling guard or get a real right tackle? 2: The likely scenario, of course, they don't get to get lucky and who ever is in charge gets Landry Jones or Matt Barkely. Many fans would like this but what separates these guys from the Matt Lienarts or Joe Flaccos? Luck is the guy because he isn't some fluffed-up guy behind padded stats. He performs, has the stats and the mindset. I say this with full confidence not only because I want him as a 'phin but because everyone is saying it and anyone can clearly see it. He's taking a completely average to bad team and making them a National Title contender. 3: The other plan, basically a wild card because I do not know who will be hired, but it's just take the best player available. So let's say that they see that Matt Barkley and Laundry Jones are either gone or they hopefully see something questionable about them and decide to be bold. Personally I think Kellen Moore is better than those two, however his size and being left-handed combined might make a rough transition to the pros. Nick Foles is as good as Barkley and Jones, just missing a few wins, which makes his leadership questionable. I have always been a fan of Robert Griffin III since he appeared, he impressed by being the offense much like Denard Robinson is for Michigan, only he is able to chuck the rock and know where it'll end up. I feel that if you take him, much like Tebow before, he will bring a presence to the team. He has not won as much as Tebow did, and isn't a saint like Tebow. Although he has that leadership quality, he rallies his team around him and the Dolphins need that more than anything right now. They are just a jumble of players all doing their own things instead of being a well oiled machine, forgive the cliche. Plus his arm is a cannon, so those physical limitations Tebow gets pinged for won't factor in much more than him needing to develop to the speed of NFL defenses. So that would be my guy and then it's back to business shoring up holes in the team.

Assuming the new coaches switch back to the 4-3 and want a non-vanilla offense here are a few more guys I have good vibes on and the Dolphins may be in play for (no one really knows because we are only 5 weeks in). The offense is struggling, I don't know that Edmund Gates is the burner they hoped, our tight end is average at best, still need the right side of the offensive line. Defense is potentially worse, switching to 4-3 you'll need a backup end and either way they need a backup defensive tackle, linebacker-wise Koa Misi and Kevin Burnett are not starters so they need another 'backer and the whole secondary is a mess. Sean Smith is a safety, please change his position so he can make a positive impact. Remember Antrel Rolle a few years back changing up positions? Or how about when the Dolphins tried to throw him money before he signed with the Giants? After that they have Vontae Davis and no one else and you need 3 starting caliber corners in the league anymore. Yeremiah Bell is a great linebacker, maybe if they drafted someone who can cover then the secondary would look a little better. Can't hate on him too much though because he is the only one willing to tackle back there.

I love watching corners however scouting a safety is very hard now because all the players seem to be good at only one aspect of the position anymore. For safetys I haven't seen anyone coming out that is worthy of a pick in the first three rounds. That includes Alabama's guys, Lester can't cover while Barron is a tackler/run stomper. Maybe you go after a bigger or slower corner and toss him back there. My favorite corner poised to drop in the draft would have to be Janoris Jenkins (formerly Florida, now North Alabama). Yes I am Gator biased but he was going up against pro players AJ Green and Julio Jones every week and was not necessarily shutting them down, but holding his own consistently. His size makes him a perfect fit inside on the slot but he is extremely talented on the outside and can shift out for the quicker receivers. I still wish the Dolphins signed Asante Samuel a few years back, maybe now they can trade for him and take on that enormous salary but play making skills. The best linebacker to me is Courtney Upshaw (Alabama) and he would be a perfect fit as the third LB in the Dolphins new 4-3 front. He makes at least one big play a game, usually ending up in a defensive score. Too bad this isn't a league for dreamers and I know grabbing Luck or Griffin III and Upshaw won't happen, especially if I want Janoris Jenkins. Don'ta Hightower though, seems like he's had some struggles this year and may slip on the boards. Maybe he can come in and do the damn thing for them. I just really want a brick wall 'backer, a guy who will hit you and make you not want to come that way again. At the very least I'd like to compare the size of 'Bama kids to real pros. There are also a lot of smaller, faster 'backers who see to be tallying up tackles, all of which seem able to play outside. But because there are so many and I haven't really scouted them other than a few games, I won't name drop for once. As for the extra linemen Billy Winn (Boise St) is getting a bit of pub and I have liked him for awhile now. I think he is a hard worker but may not have that high of a ceiling. I feel like he would be a more durable, dependable answer to Philip Merling finally getting out of town. As for backup defensive tackles I really like Jaye Howard (Florida), he has been tearing up the inside of offensive lines this year. He is not a 3-4 DT and not the most sound at tackling currently, but as an under tackle in a 4-3 system he can take on a blocker then get up field to make a play. His ability to penetrate offensive lines could do wonders for the linebackers. A bigger guy who, like Howard, was highly touted as a high school player is Marcus Forston (Miami Hurricanes). He is big and occupies multiple blockers and has nimble hands, recording two picks in his career. For those who watch Dolphins games, you know that we love defensive lineman who can knock down or pick off passes.

On the offense they have possession with Bess, a number one wideout with Marshall, a young buck at RB in Thomas (who will hopefully keep getting better and I hope a little stronger), not to mention a starting caliber blocking/catching tight end plus a match up problem with Bush. The worst thing is seeing these guys in place with a terrible game plan and average QB making the whole offense hold itself back. They do need a bit more speed at wideout, I would go with someone other than Brian Hartline and his Big 10 speed. Dwayne Allen who I mentioned earlier from Clemson is a play maker at tightend. He makes people miss and has good hands and is pretty aware. He may not be the best blocker, but he reminds me too damn much of Antonio Gates and Alge Crumpler to not be worth the higher round pick. Luck needs a safety blanket anyhow and Fasano is not dynamic enough to make something happen on a check down or broken play. But if Dwayne runs Taj Boyd's arm to a first round selection than Luck's good friend Coby Fleener makes perfect sense. Played with Luck, knows him and he seems to be one of those prototypical TE's that makes plays like Jason Witten. Ryan Broyles is probably the best wideout in college football, just undersized, but there is minor talk about him dropping in the draft. If he falls he is almost more valuable than the play maker TE, however free agency could have plenty of number two wide outs. Sammy Watkins would be my dream guy but he is just a freshman, of course I would also love Trent Richardson or Marcus Lattimore. Bring back the power backs baby. A later round prospect at WR, TY Hilton from FIU. He has an extra gear and is from Florida, can't be any worse than Gates, Wallace or Moore. And no that group of names isn't from a bad Oasis cover band, they are the last names of the receivers on the tail end of the roster. The last name I'll throw out there is Chris Rainey the do-it-all from Florida. They named a position after Percy Harvin figuring no one could make that impact again, well I am here to say that Rainey is not just a track star they threw in that spot. Against Tennessee this year he ran 21 times for 108 yards caught 2 balls for 104 and blocked a punt and had a score or two. He won that game for the Gators. He has that burst of speed, he is legit fast on the track and in pads and he knows how to use that speed against teams. You can watch him slow up on a guy to make a juke work, you see him hit another gear to get the edge on run plays. I know the 'fins have Bush and now Slaton in place. I worry about Slaton after multiple injuries to the legs, Bush always finds a way to get hurt. You can never have enough speed and for his career Rainey has been pretty healthy minus the cramps and pulls you expect on the muscles while playing in 104 degree heat. Besides it always rains in Miami why not make it Rainey on the opponent. Pun intended, obviously.

By the way, fans who don't like Suck For Luck, I understand. It's demeaning to the whole team and if they were to buy into it, than they are in more trouble than I thought. However, like religion, there is no absolute answer. For me it's a positive spin, no more, no less. The team sucks regardless so me hoping for them to suck enough for Andrew Luck is looking for a brighter future in this bomb of a season. I don't want to go winless and I hope these other shitty teams kick up their game so my favorite team is allowed to stay respectable and get a few wins on the table. I pledge to try and not force Suck For Luck in your faces as long as you don't wag your self-righteous fingers in mine.

-Jason

Dan The Man

I have to let people see the dismay of the Dolphins since Dan Marino left us. Here follows the link.

what do they feed those kids in 'bama?

Open Rant To Mr. Ross

Turns out a check down weapon doesn't make a team. I am trying to not overreact and want to stay loyal, notice the optimism in the pre-season post, but I cannot stand these Dolphins anymore. This is less a reaction to the 0-2 start, more a culmination of many things being boiled over by the signing of Nate Jones and Igor Olshansky to try and complete the Miami Cowboys. This is where my dismay starts, at the top.

Our GM and Coach have no accolades other than they worked for Bill Parcels and both do an amazing job of showing that Bill ran the show. They are both average to pathetic dealing with the media which is minor to me, but still a good starting point. Jeff Ireland probably hasn't had a second round pick make the team yet, meaning his drafting is let's get one good player and grab gimmick guys after that. Our skill positions are devoid of talent because of weak drafting and weak free agency signings. Going with what you know (former Cowboys) hasn't made the 'Fins any better. Part of this is on Tony Sparano as well, our offensive line guru coach had one of the most underrated lines in the game and ruined it by mixing and matching bullshit players and jamming square pegs in round holes. It was a joke going after another coach and then signing Tony to an extension, yet it will be a bigger joke if these guys stay after this year. Flip flopping quarterbacks and not giving your week one starter any confidence is usually bad. Making trades public, like the Orton fiasco, is bad. Cutting Benny Sapp, who you handpicked for the team over Will Allen, and then cutting him after week one and resigning Allen does nothing but show how impotent you really are. To make matters worse you go and sign Nate Jones after cutting him a year or two ago and talking up your young corners all preseason. That shows what exactly? That you shouldn't coach and/or GM in this league ever again. And why bother toying with Larry Johnson not once but twice. That's disrespectful, he may have been able to catch on somewhere else instead of being Tony's little plaything.

I have yet to mention making Brain fucking Daboll your offensive coordinator. I have the task of watching every Browns game every year since I live in Cleveland and he is a trick play guy who runs a basic offense and rode Peyton Hillis' battered, bloody and bruised body to this new gig. If the trick plays or "mismatches" aren't working then he has nothing to move the ball. Glad to see his woeful red zone habits were brought to South Beach as well. I don't hate Mike Nolan and I actually like most of this defense, however, our strongest area is the defensive line so why run a 3-4? Our back end coverage is bad so why not run a system that helps that problem and also plays to our deepest position? Also to get back to Jeff Ireland, how many years in a row does our defense need to be eaten alive in the middle of the field before he addresses the issue? Yeah our free safety play is horrid, we could have gone with say Reggie Nelson via a trade and at least he tackles and tries to make plays while staying at home. But the real issue is a nickel corner, we play Brady twice a year and if we make it deep in to the post season that brings usually Brady, Manning or Rivers to us anyway. So why not go out and get three deep at this critical position? I liked Brandon Harris out of the U in the draft this year and he seemed quite obtainable and can play inside and outside which is exactly the type of nickel we need. At the least get a proven second inside 'backer. Free agency this year had an abundance of guys and we looked at none of them except the second or third tier guys.

My suggestion is to continue sucking, and suck harder than the Chiefs, Colts and Seahawks. Get Andrew Luck and just start anew. I am talking bye coaching staff and front office. Bring back the 4-3, sign some good free agents, or at least ones that weren't former Cowboys, then finally make the draft picks count. This is football, players from later rounds can contribute. Find ones that fit the new system and get this team back on track and moving forward. I have to say that right now I am hardly a Dolphins fan, I've been loyal but I've had it with this team. They could go 14-2 and I still wouldn't like them. This era is over, end it, move on. I don't think it would need to be a huge process to get competitive, maybe a year or two. Our best players would likely still be in their primes when the young guns can contribute, if they get the right young guns in the right system. I openly root for teams that are bad, so that doesn't scare me away, I just need to know that my higher ups can handle their shit. The players will fall in line as will the success on the field once the front office is an office not a wilderness where primal instincts take over and they tear apart what once was a promising team. Bottom line Tony Sparano is 2-5 against the Pats and that will not cut it.

-Jason

P.S. College Football Fans I have been watching a bit more college ball lately and here are my current favorite players to watch go HAM: Sammy Watkins (Clemson WR) Marcus Lattimore
(S. Carolina RB) Chris Rainey (Florida Do-It All) and Robert Griffin III (Baylor QB)

Quick Prediction

Let me start by saying this is a hastily posted post and I've been drinking but it's football season damnit. After reading this article from the Grantland Network and knowing what I do about the 'Phins I've finally decided that I truly believe in Miami having a respectable, playoff team this year.

Here is a key excerpt: If there's any obvious comparison to be made for Henne's early career path, it's Drew Brees. I know. Hear me out on this one. They're both undersized second-round picks from the Big Ten. They both sat out for most of their rookie season and then came in to play for most of their second year. Brees completed 60.8 percent of his passes. Henne completed 60.8 percent of his passes. Brees threw an interception on 3.0 percent of his passes and averaged 6.2 yards per attempt. Henne threw an interception on 3.1 percent of his passes and averaged 6.4 yards per attempt. In his third season, Brees tanked; in fact, to a much worse extent than Henne did. All of his numbers fell off, but what was particularly noticeable was his interception rate, which hit 4.2 percent

I have been looking for numbers to see if Chad can make a leap, any leap, and this may confirm that hope. The ending sounds very downer, but we all know that Drew Brees is fucking Drew Brees. I will concur and put some of that on Sean Payton and that team. But here is what i notice more than his audibles and the new burner in Mr. Gates, Checkdown Chad has the absolute best checkdown back in the league! Reggie Bush is gonna take those little nothing passes and make plays and probably score on an uncanny amount of them. Maybe I'm drinking the yearly pre-season Kool-Aid, but I'm in on the Dolphins and the wagon has plenty of room.

P.S. I want to love Clyde Gates, and hes been doing alright and seems like he'll get chances, but I'm absolutely envious or Denarious Moore on the Raiders. He's like silk on the field. I dont know if you can go with two little, silky speedsters with good hands, but the Raiders got two good looking ones in Moore and Jacoby Ford. Maybe I should call up Tony Sparano and tell him "Suck for Luck" and hope we lose enough for Andrew from Stanford. Sorry Bill Barnwell for stealing all your good shit.

-Jason

The Monta Ellis Runaround

You read the headline now here's the fucking article.

Monta Ellis: 24.1 ppg 5.6 apg 2.1 spg .451 fg% 18.69 per
Derrick Rose: 25 ppg 7.7 apg 1 spg .445 fg% 23.62 per
Dwyane Wade: 25.5 ppg 4.6 apg 1.5 spg .500 fg% 25.65 per

I bet it's somewhat shocking to see Monta Ellis with comparable stats to top 5 PG and league MVP Derrick Rose and superstar SG and future 2010-11 Finals MVP Dwyane Wade. Admittedly he's a notch below those two highly popular players, but they are also better crafted teams and schemes and defensive help than the Golden State Warriors have been since their heyday. The current rumor purposes a trade of Monta mono y mono with Andre Iguodala.

The main idea being Stephen Curry becomes the team leader and gets some size and defense beside him. The problems arising from that probably include: lack of a go to scorer, not to mention Steph realistically having a lower assist total giving Iggy's knock of being somewhat lackluster off the ball in any half court offense. Or what about the multiple rumors that Steph was going to be nothing more than a pawn to give to Suns for Amare on draft night? Not to hate on Curry, I like him and think he'll be a great player in the league, but there are questions. Health may be another concern given he missed several games this year with a nagging ankle injury. One thing we now about Monta is his consistent output each game and his toughness. More shots fall when you play around the rim rather than outside the three line. Also take in consideration the unknown fact that Curry will develop. As it stands he is very comparable to the stats of Jason Terry, who was a sixth man this year. Terry isn't an awful player but has been considered a disappointment by many. Could Curry be nothing more than an undersized two, who can't defend most opposing guards and relies on the long ball?

To be quite frank, the Warriors brass has never given Monta his due respect. One incident on a moped is the only time he rustled some feathers, He has finally grown from all of that in spite of the seemingly distrust ownership has with him. I think it's time he got the back support from the team he's carried on his back so many nights. His stats are honestly comparable with the MVP of the regular season Derrick Rose. What if Monta had defense like that around him so even if he played the same ridiculous minutes most nights he wouldn't have to work as hard as he does on defense. Throw him some better fitting players and a scheme that is designed for him as the primary option on every possession and I guarantee his points, assists and PER will all increase along with the W's. This league is being drawn to more explosive, penetrate, drive and kick point guards and he fits that mold so well. The league and the Warriors included are suffering from a lack of paint cloggers, so these players are more effective and seemingly more prominent than ever. His vision is most definitely poised to find himself a scoring option then his teammates, however let me try and get a better scheme and some players suited for his game.

Houston sure does like Kyle Lowry but I think they'd still take a point guard of the future if it came around. So Golden State offers up Steph and contracts for Kevin Martin and Patrick Peterson and next years pick lottery protected. This allows you to add size at the other guard position but you get to keep the long range dead eye shooting. Plus Patrick Peterson is a good prospect, as the first big off the bench he'll give a good rebound effort and offensive production, even some from the low post, which is silently a need for Golden State. If the Rockets demand Andris Biendris then go ahead and ship him out. Go after Deandre Jordan in free agency, if not then there a some other mediocre options and you draft probably one of the foreigners in this draft. If you get to keep him and we are talking draft then I'm aiming towards Malcom Lee and Chris Singleton. Singleton says he can be the next Scottie Pippen in this league and that's at least what I want to hear him say. If he can actually produce that, then you get more size and a stud perimeter defender and it's not like Dorrell Wright is a certain or sure thing at the forward spot. Malcom Lee is not too shabby a defender himself and as a guard who can handle the ball as well as play off the ball he fits in seemingly perfect with Monta or Kevin. The other option would be one of the foreign bigs who, let's face it, are question marks as to what they'll be in the league. Big guys from other countries are the most mis-scouted group of players I have ever seen. You just can't predict someone else's human nature especially when they are uprooted from their homes and have such a culture shock coming to the USA.

Now you have Monta as the point allowing him to guard players more his size, let him keep a shooter but gain size by adding Kevin Martin, and pair that with a healthy David Lee who we have to train to just follow Monta and the ball to rim and clean up any messes, as your core. While none of the aforementioned are outstanding defenders each are gamblers who come up with consistent steals or deflections and could all pretty outstanding in half court or up temp offenses. Throw in Ekpe Udoh and Chris Singleton as defenders with that core and a better, or actually any, scheme on defense where our shortcomings are better hidden. The bench is also stronger you've got what sounds like a playoff player. Assuming they retain Reggie Williams and add a second round prospect that can contribute (which would likely be a project big man maybe Jon Leuer or a guard able to play both spots like a Nolan Smith) you also now have Patrick Peterson and Andris Biendris who would either start still or be Ekpe Udoh, both are good as a bench big. Add in assuming one free agent, maybe they go after Aaron Affalo, Deandre Jordan, Samuel Dalembert or even Tayshaun Prince (who may or may not be washed up) could come back to Cali. Also you always have to be aware of this years hidden gem shooters, Gary Neal and Shawne Williams always having potential to be tempted by the fast paced, volume shooting team the Warriors always are at heart.

All of that and maybe an extra pick next year, which could easily be used to get an actual center and you have a very deadly regular season and playoff team. I would agree that anyone else could very easily make an equally or even more compelling argument for Curry. Also a lot of my thesis, if you will, is based in unknown qualities of fictional teams and best case scenario endings. One would have to be quite stubborn though to not realize that these opinions come mostly from facts and knowledge of the game, especially its players. Of course that same person, no matter how naive and bitter that I considered Steph Curry nothing more than a trade chip, would have to try damn hard to not see Ellis as one the most excitingly, explosive guards in the entire league.

posted by Jason

lamarcus aldridge is a fucking video game. so good.

jimmer sucks

He's a short slow shooter who needs the ball and pulls up early in the shot clock with 35 footers and shoots 10 3's a night if he's making them or not. He's alright in the paint with his shot and fakes but that won't happen in the pros with those tall trees and when he has to go against NBA speed at guard he won't be able to do anything more than shoot open jumpers from kick outs. Plus he's turnover prone 3.8 to 4.5 assists on the year and it's gotten worst throughout his career as he got more mins

best quote from chris bosh ever

He hasn't, but we were at a Christmas party recently, and he said that he and his wife had been together for 43 years, and she stopped him and said, "No, it's actually only been 42." And he went, "Okay, then I must have just been dreaming about you for one of them." And everybody was like, "Oh, I gotta write that one down."

Keith bogans only offense for the bulls is receive a pass, shot fake, maybe take a couple dribbles and pass it back

Yes

Tim duncan bank shots

Loyal Only to Cloth and Country: The Melo Saga Ends

As i write this there is a little black cat sitting on the loveseat with me licking my hands and trying to close my laptop. this has no purpose to the story other than 1. it's fucking adorable and 2. it makes it super hard to type
So the deal's finally done and I'm just a little shocked only because with all the media bullshit I figured I would accidently watch it happen live on ESPN. now that the deal is done i just want to give out a few points
i think it will work as well as or maybe better than the heat because of chauncey who i publicly and privately hate but has that vet coolness about him.
im glad to see two of my fav former western conference scorers on the same team and in the east so i can watch them. add to that, that theyll make the knicks revalvant again and that is a good thing.
corey brewer. now my dream of dantoni letting brewer be the point forward wont happen he will now be watchable because hes on a good team. also he could flourish here or he could be traded somewhere hell be effective
also now what happens, what moves that have been on hold go through this week and also the parrells that may appear like does amare really want melo there

sidenote: i really thinnk that russel westbrook is currently at the same level or a tier below rose right now. but in watching the two of them i feel like drose is basically what hell always be and the westbrook can develop into something the league really hasnt seen before. hes got the speed and the dunking abilitly and his jumper improves each year, it reallys looks alot like roses bytheway, but its his passing. drose seems to be at his best driving and dishing but the rest looks average. westbrooks seems to be flowing or something they float there when they need to float they bounce when they have to bounce and theyre bullets when they gotta be. but the best is reading articles about him. he studies the game alot and the kemba i remember before was inconsistent and not the best shooter. now i know he worked on the shooting himself but in reading the latest espn the magazine i came to find that he got some help from westbrook on how to handle his speed. i like that the most that he knows enough to teach someone and it works.

Could They Finally Figure It Out?

:)

Have the Warriors got their shit kinda, sorta together? Beating the Thunder, a young good team, that usually wants to fight (but looked sloppy). I think it's all a matter of finishing the roster and Monta and Steph and David all working on separate two man games like Ben and I. Monta and David run the pick and roll and if the roll don't work and Monta is heading to the rim, then Mr. Lee just follows and cleans it up if it misses and all the while Steph finds proper spacing should Montana decide to pass. That's three high percentage options off one measly screen, why wouldn't that work in crunch time with the extras on that team all able to hit open shots should you dare double one of them. I may be merely stuck in a love Monta moment but at least I can post another picture of him.


UPDATE: My man, the Young man. Get paid this offseason.

-Jason

Dolphins Draft Thingy

im not gonna do a full blown mock draft or anything, in fact this post started as a mock trades that should be made/kinda player value, future nba player moves kinda deal. but now ive been reading mock drafts and been playing some madden so im gonna do a dolphins draft post with a free agent one to come in the future.

i believe the dolphins and chad henne in particular had too high expectations for last season. karlos dansby is a pretty good linebacker but hardly the dominating force that he's paid as. i thought jon beason may have been gettable mayb im just dreaming. chad had a pretty whatever kind of year and i expected a little more outta him but nothing to great. after all it was still only his second season starting. my disappoint is in the run game. our backs were nobody's and the play calling (which is going to get even more god awful with brian daboll) was atrocious. so lets get to the players i think they should get, not what they may actually be going for.

round one is the biggest mystery to me. its the kinda year where anyone can go anywhere. i wouldnt oppose a trade to get a lower first and a second rounder with it. my needs to go ol, dl, lb because any other position of need is a reach. but ill go a little awry, brandon harris, cb from the u. he looks so good playing and really has a knack to get stops in the run game. now i am only going corner because i think its a steal if hes available and sean smith is a better prospect at safety, he just needs to be able to see everything happen and react. now no second round pick is a real bitch because i feel they could bring in two players that would play next year with the second and third round picks. instead of two we'll only get one. its also alot harder to project whos going where so some of these picks may fluctuate completely.

Greg Jones (mich. st LB), Austin Pettis (boise st wr), demarco murray (okla RB) all seem to be projected around here. Problem is we can't get all three so who to take?? Austin Pettis is in the mix mainly because of his value if hes still available. He seems like he'll be a great number two posseion reciever. Think of Housh when he flanked chad johnson. and lets face it brain hartline and davon bess are both slot recievers, bess being the better one. Greg jones is here because he was just a machine at linebacker in college. he just does everything right, his only knock is not really making plays. well we need a second inside linebacker in the worst way and jones would be a stellar fit and make our 3-4 defense actually work. the player i will take though is demarco murray. this kid just scores. and what we need on that offense is a player who can score on a single big play. they say hes fast, i cannot judge speed in college football but he looks fast. these jammal charles and chris johnsons' are about to take over. lets get in on it now and let him be the change of pace to ronnie brown.

If any wisconsin olineman falls this far im probably taking him. but the guy i really like is D.J. Williams (ark te). chad needs some more hands and speed out there (mario manningham please?) and just who does he like in the redzone, the tight end. i wouldnt mind keeping fasano as a blocking te but you strat d.j. and let him use his speed and hands to help chad as a pacifer. now anything past round four is just unknown lets be honest here. some names that could be around there and i like are Kelvin Sheppard (lsu lb), if we miss out on greg jones, then this is who id like. he looks like a giant safety out there, i just like that maybe better as an olb. I think there may be one of these 2nd or 3rd round dt's with "problems" fall down this low and we need any potential talent we can get at DT. Ahmad black, always around the ball, big hits and secure tackler first. yerimah's replacement. Ricky Stanzi, bicep tattoo. we need a returner and a nickle corner, i dont think theres a player this low that can fill that double need but ill name some guys who could at least return kicks for us. quizz rodgers, another fast back hes got vision and speed i love him and dont care that i have two rookie speed rb's as my backups. noel devine is probably my favorite choice but i dont know if he has an offensive position. John Clay... LOL, JK. Jeremy Kerley (tcu wr) seems like a playmaker but might be slow and therefore another davon bess. sidenote i really like Jeff Maehl (oregon wr) and yes i know hes white, maybe the next julian edleman. and to be honest i dont know one corner who could be a returner maybe one of oregons dudes is coming out. anywho im up in madden.

-jason

No Ballers Allowed

Pure scorers like Monta Ellis, Kevin Martin and to a lesser extent J.R. Smith and Nick Young often get bad raps for too many awful shots or needing the ball or not playing defense. They've been called playground ballers and much, much worse. So they are criticized for playing their roles when other players, defensive guys like Luc Richard Mbah a Moute or Thabo Sefolosha are almost praised when all they contribute is on the defensive end. Why aren't they held to a higher standard? Isn't being a consistent scoring threat harder than actually trying on defense? I mean there are so few examples of defensive players who have a niche offensively, Aaron Affalo and Shane Battier come to mind.

Don't get me wrong I like all of these players I have mentioned it just strikes me odd how my criticism hits these offensive players when maybe all they need is a trade. How does Monta not make the T'Wolves a legit playoff team? Even Nick Young would thrive as the main offensive threat next to Beasley and Love. Kevin Martin is having a bit of a career year this year which seems to have made him a known commodity. But even a few years ago when he wasn't as well known he still was a scorer which is why, in one of my countless attempts to save the Cavs, I thought he would be an amazing fit next to LeBron. The best player in the league could still be here tweeting about how fucking cold it is, but how warm the ring around his finger is. Maybe the Cavs needed a big who is a scorer like Amare to get that ring but Kevin Martin wouldn't lose 25 in a row like our missing piece Antwan did and still is losing. While he is playing to get traded, I think we should make him stay and rot, but I'm just bitter.

Now remember a few years back before LeBron, Wade and 'Melo brought home a gold medal how 'Melo was still not getting it? He was an amazing scorer but not yet a superstar. This is where I think Monta is currently. Sad;y he won't ever be invited to play for Team USA and get all that knowledge and leadership, so for him to make this transformation he needs to do it on his own. While the SportsCenter highlights need to keep coming, the main part is sticking with Golden State next year and leading them to their potential. I don't even believe he will have to change his game or be better on defense or pass more. Just keep being a baller but also a leader and fuck that team into the playoffs with Steph Curry.

Sidenote: This little 'Melo to LA deal excites me. It's for the future of LA and I don't know if he helps them three-peat this year, but dropping Bynum and his unearned high sense of self worth for 'Melo and bringing some other team in so they can hopefully move Artest and possibly even bring in Nene'. Just man oh man, makes you wonder.

-Jason

Oh Cavs

Here's a story on the miserable cavs. Don't worry David Stern hates LeBron James so he'll make sure the Cavs "win" the lottery.

-jason

The Top Five?

Here's an alright article on the top five, five-man units in the NBA and how they may all disappear next year. Now really the only part I want you to pay attention to is the fifth and final team. How are they? You guessed the Cleveland Cavaliers! Now take it from a Cavs fan, I can't even watch our games anymore. Seriously I just get updates after each quarter on my phone and that enough for me. This team is that bad, 57 points really? Obviously I'm a little upset, because my hometown team loses by 30 night in and night out. I hope we're really tanking, Terrance Jones or Kemba Walker look real good to me, otherwise that means greater problems loom. Byron Scott is doing an awful job. I thought he fit and would be a nice coach, but if it is truly his will to start Manny Harris, then he wants or needs to leave.

It's at the point where these trade rumors need to stopping being rumors. Bring in Gerald Wallace, do it, it'll be depressingly more exciting than this slop they dump out there on a nightly basis. The Cavs could be given a Forfeit Exemption if such a thing exsists. Worst in all of this is the fact that it doesn't have to be this way. We could have kept the savior, or done good work in previous years and still have something to hang a hat on. Now we have the shivering relizations that our owner needs checked into the looney bin and LeBron is a huge prick but it doesn't matter because he'll win plenty of games while we fade into obscurity. But the absolute worst in all of this, as a basketball fan, is how close that team was to winning it all. That depsite all the shitty management moves and media crap this guy almost took a team and made them a power franchise even in the modern day game of basketball. Now all we get is an extra .500 or worse team in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Fucking great...



--Jason

Also that Villinova vs Uconn game from Monday I believe was awesome. I know Kemba Waler is awesome and everything, but this Jermey Lamb guy is someone to watch.

The Marshawn Lynch Touchdown Run

I've just seen this run on Sportscenter so many times and every time it is awesome. Get fucked Tracy Porter!!

-jason

LOL

I'd say Amare has a huge dick, but I've seen that ESPN body magazine already.

-Jason