Tainted?

It is official--two more beloved baseball heroes have tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. Today the New York Times reported that Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in an anonymous test in 2003. In case you have a short memory, the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and 2007. It's only right to assume that both players were "using" during their 2004 runs, and most likely were "using" in 2007 as well. That would explain why Manny was recently caught using a female fertility drug that men can use to generate testosterone after they have stopped using steroids.

This could also be an explanation of why David Ortiz hasn't exactly lived up to expectations this year or last year. I assume he realized that he should stop taking performance enhancers before he got caught, and now he is suffering.

The Ramirez and Ortiz news was anything but shocking. At this point, I'm not surprised by any of the baseball names that are released. It is somewhat depressing. I'm not the biggest baseball fan, but it stinks that the only era of baseball I've payed attention to is marked as "the steroid era." I just want all the name-releasing to end. Either give up all the names at once, or stop releasing names. It is not fair to the fans and it is not fair to baseball. None of us can move on if names are released every few months...Sheesh

Beware of Dog Killer

Commissioner Roger Goodell has decided that Michael Vick conditionally is reinstated. This means that he is able to sign with a team and practice as well as able to play in the last two preseason games. Is this fair to a man who spent almost two years in jail? Uh, yes, and no. While I think two years is a long time, and Vick has done what he has to do in terms of the law, I also feel like that Goodell deserves the right to suspend Vick for a couple of games. As much as I would like to see Vick playing for an NFL team again, I think he should be punished for lying to Goodell and making the NFL look bad. In the end, Goodell is right--playing in the NFL is a privilege. I think Vick has learned his lesson and hopefully will stay away from dogs from now on.

Farve Please Stay Away

So Brett Farve decided to remain retired today. Unfortunately this means he will probably find some way to be annoying in a couple of months when he changes his mind. Wamp Wamp

Better Luck Next Time

Check out Michael Beasley’s response to not being invited to the USA mini-camp. He posted this on twitter, "So I'm out Vegas and someone jus brought up the USA 2012 team that I didn't get picked to tryout for so i'm kinda in my feelin today!!!!!!" He followed that by tweeting, "Kinda upset sooooo expect me to be on kill mode all season and every season afta for that matter!!!!!!!!!"

Sounds like someone is a little salty hmm……

USA JV TEAM

USA Basketball mini-camp has officially started, which will showcase many of the stars of tomorrow. While there are really only about three to four open spots on the U.S. Olympic roster, 20 players have been invited to compete and workout. The 20 players have been divided into four teams which are listed below:

Blue: D.J. Augustin, Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Paul Millsap & Brook Lopez
White: Devin Harris, O.J. Mayo, Kevin Durant, Josh Smith & Greg Oden
Yellow: Derrick Rose, Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver, Jeff Green & JaVale McGee
Red: Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon, Rudy Gay, Kevin Love & Anthony Randolph

I think Durant and Rose are shoe-ins and everyone else, well...good luck.

P.S. Notice that Michael Beasley is not a part of this list

I See Dunked On People

We all know the infamous "Lebron getting dunked on" tape was somehow released this week. After watching the video, it is very clear to me that anyone would have been embarrassed after being dunked on in that fashion. What was more embarrassing than the dunk was the way Nike and Lebron handled the situation. The dunk was bad, but not quite as bad as I expected. There was really no reason to hide the video.

Of course, it would have made its way onto YouTube and across the internet, but that would only have lasted for so long. Now, we have a situation where Lebron and Nike look bad, Jordan Crawford is basically a celebrity, and whoever leaked the tape to TMZ most likely made a decent sum of money. Lebron and Nike made a nice attempt to keep the tape under wraps but they should have known that there was bound to be more than one person recording that game. I guess all I can say is...nice try.

The good news is Lebron has a lot of more important things to worry about. (Like figuring out how he will lead his revamped Cleveland Lebrons past the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics, hopefully making it to an NBA Championship.) As soon as Lebron wows us with a few ESPN highlights at the start of the season, we'll quickly forget about the video. Surely, at some point during the season, Skip Bayless will remind us of how James was dunked on in his own camp...but by that time, none of us will care anymore.

Summer League Recap

Over the past two weeks or so, we got our first glimpse of the 2009 draft class in summer league. Even though this draft was considered very weak, a few names still drew some attention. Of course, we all wanted to see Blake Griffin in NBA action, but
intriguing rookies such as Brandon Jennings, Stephen Curry, Hasheem Thabeet, Tyreke Evans and Jonny Flynn generated a decent amount of buzz in their first tastes of NBA play.

As you know, summer league isn't just for rookies. There were plenty of second-year and above players filling rosters. A couple of these players showed off their talent and did not disappoint, while others left us questioning if they will ever pan out.

Just to give you a little recap, I will give list a few standouts, dissappointments and surprises from summer league. So without further ado:

Standouts: PTS RPG APG SPG BPG

Anthony Randolph 26.8, 8.5, 1.3, 2.2, 3.0

Tyreke Evans 19.2, 6.2, 4.2, 1.0, .2

Blake Griffin 19.2, 10.8, 3.2, 1.0, .4

Austin Daye 17.0, 8.8, 1.0, 1.4, .4

Andray Blatche 19.7, 11.0, 3.0, 2.0, .7

Brandon Jennings 14.6, 2.6, 8.2, 3.6, .2

Jonny Flynn 15.0, 2.4, 7.4, .8, 0.0

Stephen Curry 17.4, 4.6, 4.2, 2.4, .4

Javale McGee 17.3, 6.3, 0.0, 1.0, 4.0

Anthony Morrow 24.7, 4.7, .3, .7, 0.0

Disappointments:

Corey Brewer 12.8, 4.0, .5, .2, 0.0

Hasheem Thabeet 8.2, 4.6, .4, .2, .8

Donte Green 7.6, 5.8, 1.2, .8, .8

BJ Mullens 5.8, 2.6, 1.0, 0.0, 1.2

Acie Law 5.2, 1.0, 2.8, .6, 0.0

Surprises:

Rodrigue Beaubois 17.0, 3.4, 3.8, 1.4, .2

Marcus Thorton 20.7, 3.3, .3, 2.3, .3

Jodie Meeks 19.0, 2.2, .8, 1.0, 0.0

DaJuan Summers 18.0, 5.4, 1.0, .8, .8

Toney Douglas 9.0, 3.8, 7.0, 2.0, 0.0

Dante Cunningham 18.3, 5.8, .8, 1.5, .5

Quincy Douby 18.0, 4.0, 3.8, 1.2, .4

Taj Gibson 13.0, 10.0, .5, .5, .5

Marcus Williams 13.4, 4.6, 8.2, .2, .4

Adam Morrison 20.8, 5.0, 2.0, .8, .5

Joey Dorsey 9.8, 14.8, 3.0, 1.0, 2.6

I Love Me Some Me

This past week Brett Farve found yet another way to make sports headlines. Farve announced that he will give the Vikings an answer by July 30th as to if he will return for the upcoming season. Instead of analyzing what impact Farve may (or may not) have for the Vikings, this announcement has reminded me of something else that is worth discussing:

Has anyone else noticed that Brett Farve, Shaquille O’Neil and Terrell Owens (T.O.) are always in the sports news? In season, we expect these all-stars to generate buzz. But it seems like, all year round, these three names are always coming up. I’ve wondered, are their names constantly moving throughout the media circle because reporters won’t let them live privately? Or do these guys really thrive on being the center of attention?

Farve for instance: every year we go through the same thing—will he retire? Lately his trend has been: retire, change my mind, un-retire. How many times are we going to see the ESPN specials on Farve’s career just so he can change his mind a month later? How many, “Farve’s last home game” will there be? I understand retiring is a big deal, especially for someone with the competitive nature like Brett Farve, but this is getting old.

Moving on…Shaq, who I think is very funny, seems to struggle from withdrawal when he goes too long without his name in the headlines. Most of the time, the things he does to draw attention to himself are for comedic purposes. Everyone remembers the infamous rap song for Kobe Bryant, “ya’ll know how I be, last year Kobe couldn’t do it without me.” While funny, was that really necessary? Or did Shaq just take advantage of the lack of sports news that summer?

Another example—Shaq’s remarks for Stan Van Gundy this past season. To sum up his remarks, Shaq basically called Van Gundy a bum and bashed his coaching career. Shaq definitely went overboard with this, but once again gave us something to laugh at.

How about when Shaq said, "tell Yao Ming, 'ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh,''' resulting in accusations that he was a racist. Did some people find it funny? Of course. But was it just another reason for Shaq to generate more media buzz? Probably. I could go on and on about Shaq but I think you get the point.

Last but not least, I am somewhat torn with T.O. On one end of the spectrum, we have Farve, who continues to find himself unintentionally in the headlines because of his retirement uncertainty. On the other end, we have Shaq, who actively pursues the front pages to make his announcements. But where does T.O. stand? He does a lot of instant media buzz-worthy things, like the mini workout in front of his house for a gathering of reporters, but he is also targeted for everything he says or does. Obviously T.O. feeds from the attention, that’s why he takes shots at former teammates like Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo through the media.

If you haven’t heard, T.O. also has a new reality TV show on VH1—just another reason for T.O. to get some buzz. Even through all his cries for attention, I still think trouble follows T.O., even when he doesn’t ask for it.

So, I’ve come to the conclusion that unlike the extremes of Farve, who unintentionally seeks attention, and Shaq, who intentionally seeks attention, T.O. falls in the middle. Regardless, all three can be annoying at times.

Free At Last

Today, July 20, 2009, marks the day Michael Vick became a free man once again. After months in jail and two months in home confinement, Vick has paid his dues. Vick is currently in the process of patching up relationships with family and the community. Tom Shaw, an NFL trainer and longtime friend of Vick's said, “Vick is ready to start the second half of his life.” He also suggested that Vick is in good spirits and is mad at no one.

While I find it highly unlikely that, once Roger Goodell grants Vick reinstatement into the NFL, no team will take a chance on him, Vick is prepared to move on with life with or without professional football. So far, in life after prison, Vick has found himself working a construction job and is doing work with the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Hampton Roads, Virginia. I'm sure Vick will be doing more volunteer and community work in the future, which will help him repair some of the relationships he has severed with those followers who abandoned him. In general, society is not ready to forgive Vick, especially the people who were never a fan of his to begin with.

A lot of scouts and analysts have questioned if Vick will be able to play quarterback again, which seems pretty silly to me. Vick played quarterback in the NFL for six seasons, and besides him being a highlight reel waiting to happen, he was a successful quarterback. As I look at a few rosters in the NFL right now, I refuse to believe Vick can't compete for the starting job in say...Cleveland, Denver, San Francisco, or Carolina. Even if he isn't going to start, he can be a very effective quarterback in the wild cat formation. At the age of 29, Vick may not “wow” us the way he used to, but he can still play in the NFL. If Goodell allows Vick back into the league, it will be interesting to see what teams are willing to take a chance on him. I just hope wherever he may land in the future, he is able to contribute and leaves his past behind.

Don't Call It A Comeback

On Wednesday, July 15th, Pedro Martinez and the Philadelphia Phillies made it official--signing a one-year, $1 million contract. It is not surprising on Pedro's end, he thinks he still has something left in the tank, but why would the Phillies want him?

Well, the answer to that is very simple--the Phillies have been plagued with injuries in their pitching rotation all year. It is a low-risk, high-reward move. Pedro's expectations are limited, so, if anything, he will surprise most of us and play better than expected. The Phillies, who appear to be desperate for pitching, are only using $1 million, so the move makes sense.

Obviously Pedro won't play at a 20 win, 200 strikeout level of play like he used to, but if he can serve as any improvement from what the Phillies have now, they got their money's worth. Martinez is a former three-time Cy Young award winner with a career ERA of 2.91. At the age of 37, his play this year will probably not reflect his career averages, but he can still be a useful addition as the Phillies try to repeat last year's success and win back-to-back MLB Championships.

Ming Dynasty

One story that has occupied sports headlines last week was Yao Ming’s announcement to have major surgery on his fractured foot. Unfortunately for Yao, this means that the chance of his return for this upcoming season has plummeted. Even with the surgery, there is still a possibility that Yao’s injury could be career-ending. With Yao being one of the top, if not the best center in the NBA, I hope this injury does not bring his career to an end. The Houston Rockets took a chance when they drafted the freakishly tall international star in the 2002 draft. Coming from China, Ming was basically Michael Jordan of his country, but with international praise as well. Even with all the hype, how many guys over seven feet have actually panned out in the NBA?

Yao Ming stands at a towering 7'6", and was labeled as a soft, do-it-all center (which sounds really promising coming out of China). So, with all the expectations for Yao to be the ‘next big thing’ and a pioneer for future Asian NBA all-stars, Yao delivered and has become a dominant center.

However, Ming has unfortunately been plagued with foot injuries in the past five years, much like his injury-prone teammate, Tracy McGrady. Many all-star seasons and playoff runs have come up short because of Ming’s inability to stay healthy. At the age of 28, if the 2008-09 season was the last of Yao, I will remember him for his career averages of 19 pts, nine rebounds and almost two blocks a game.

Oh yea, Jianlian Yi should be thanking Yao—Without Yao becoming the first player from China to be become a superstar in the NBA, I don’t see Yi getting drafted as high as he did in 2007.

Best Dunk Ever?

So, the other day, I got in an argument with someone about what the best dunk of all time is. I think, hands down, Vince Carter takes the cake with this one (Keep in mind this guy is 7" tall):



If you think another dunk is better, let me know and I will post it.

The Champ Is Here

Following UFC 100, the big story was Brock Lesnar's assault on Frank Mir and then Lesnar's post-fight antics. Before I get started, I want it to be known, I AM A BROCK LESNAR FAN and always have been. Continuing on, after months of hype and trash talking (mostly by Frank Mir), Brock finally got his rematch from their first bout. This fight was sure to settle the score. In the first fight, Brock had complete control until Mir caught him in a kneebar, causing him to submit. I believed going into Saturday's match that, if Mir won, then he is just better than Lesnar. But if Lesnar won, he would be better than Mir, proving the first fight was a fluke. Either way, unless the fight went the distance there would be no need for a rematch. If you did not see the fight, I will sum it up for you in one word: abuse. The fight was never close in the one and a half rounds it lasted. Brock came in with a game plan that Frank Mir had no answer for.

Moving on to the post-fight controversy...As Brock celebrated his win over the hometown favorite, he was showered with boos. Alright, that was expected. After all, like I just stated, Frank Mir was fighting in his hometown of Las Vegas. The first questionable thing Lesnar did was stick his middle finger up at the crowd for booing him. I dont agree with Brock's reaction, but hearing an outburst of crowd-wide boos after an emotional and dominant victory would probably cause most people to respond in a disrespectful manner. Brock quickly used his mic time to show off some of his WWE skills. Yes, all of you that hate anything that has to with WWE having any kind of connection to UFC, sorry. Brock had four years of WWE experience working the crowd, whether it was for good or evil. His post-match interview was no different. After being asked what he his plans for after the fight were, he responded by calling Budweiser out, saying he was going home to drink a Coors because Budweiser won’t give him any money. Was this the smart thing to say? Of course not. Why did he say it? Who knows, he was fired up and being emotional. That’s still no excuse for what he said, but I'm sure in his talk with UFC President Dana White later that night, White made it clear that sponsor-bashing will not be tolerated.

In Brocks closing comments he also said he may even, "get on top of his wife" later. Did he need to say that? No. Were there kids watching? Yes. Was that disrespectful to his wife, Sable? Maybe, but probably not. It was pay-per-view, its not like he said, "I may f*ck my wife like crazy later." And disrespecting Sable, haha, this is the same woman that posed naked for Playboy and appeared a little less-than-ladylike on many occasions during her time in the WWE. I'm sure she didn't mind the attention.

Going back to Brock using his WWE mic skills--whether you liked what he said or not, and it appears most didn't, he has officially made himself the bad guy in the heavyweight division with a bulls eye on his head. This is perfect for him and for UFC as well. Fans may not love him for his personality, but all his fights have endless marketing potential and will generate huge publicity as UFC tries to find the man who can shut Brocks mouth. Since the fight, Brock has issued an apology for his actions. Was it a sincere apology? Who knows, but I'm sure Dana White had a lot to do with it.

Moving further along, since the fight, I have been reading a lot of message boards where people have been discussing Brock Lesnar's disrespect for the sport, his opponents and the fans. They also challenge how good he actually is, saying he is only good because of his weight. In general, people are upset about how he didn't win the fight with class.

Well, I can't refute everything said about Brock on the message boards, but I will only say a few things. Summing up what I said in the previous paragraph, fans will either love or really hate Lesnar at this point. Either way, more will watch his fights, whether they want him to win or get his face kicked in. Brock’s comments may not have represented the “product” UFC is trying to produce, but it sells. Brock’s attitude after the fight seemed more like the old UFC, where almost anything was allowed and most people did not respect the sport at all.

I admit, UFC has come along way and probably isn’t trying to look back on what they used to be—but what Brock did won't hurt the company. Brock did not follow the typical blueprint of winning with class and being over-appreciative of the fans, but I seriously doubt any of those fans in attendance will stop watching Brock Lesnar fights because of his actions on Saturday.

Now, I'm going to address what bothers me the most about the Brock Lesnar critics. I keep reading that he only wins because of his weight. Example: "he outweighs everyone by so much, he should win." Yes, Lesnar is heavier than most of the fighters in the heavyweight division, but why is that his problem? He is not violating any rules and he should not be looked down upon because he is huge, very strong and super athletic for his size. To me, that sounds like a person who needs good coaching before they are a dominant fighter in the UFC.

I won't say Brock is the best heavyweight fighter in UFC, especially because he has only had five fights. I'm not saying he will be a future hall-of-famer, but what I am saying is that he has been dominant in his fights, except for the kneebar by Mir.

After watching Saturday’s fight it is obvious that he is becoming a much better-skilled MMA fighter. You can argue that weight is not a skill…Alright, no problem. But if you have the weight, why not use it to your advantage?

In the first fight with Mir, Brock wanted to rush him and thought he could just beat him to death. This time around, he took his time. He wrestled with Mir and put him in a position where he couldn't really do anything in the first round. He tactfully used his weight to keep Mir on the ground and on the bottom.

I've read blog comments about Brock’s weight advantage that compare his weight to George St-Pierre's speed, claiming that Brock’s 265+ lb weight is an unfair advantage, similar to GSP’s quickness. I don't agree with that, but Brock by no means should be discredited for any wins just because he significantly outweighs his opponents. Quickness and weight are not really comparable in this situation.

Honestly, I can go on and on about why you shouldn’t hate Brock Lesnar. I can understand not liking him, but some of the reasons I have read seem like poor excuses for just not wanting to admit that he is very dangerous and can be really good.

This was not written to persuade people to like Brock. If you don't like him, you don't like him. I just ask, if you don't like him, at least respect him for what he does in the Octagon and don't make up bad excuses for why other people shouldn't like him.

If you want to see Lesnar vs Mir 2, it is currently on youtube:



I doubt the video will be up long, so enjoy while it last.

Lebron Posterized at Camp

As usual I stop in for ten seconds and drop something huge...pause.

Ladies and Gents we found it first...footage of Lebron James getting dunked on by a college kid at his own summer camp. Enjoy...

Click Here - ouch

Arturo Gatti

On July 11, 2009 Arturo Gatti was found dead at the age of 37 in a Brazilian hotel. As of right now,
Gatti's wife is the prime suspect for the murder. Gatti will go down as a hard-nosed, gut-it-out kind
of fighter. He gave us very memorable fights, especially during his feud with Mickey Ward. Boxing
has lost one its most exciting fighters, R.I.P. April 15, 1972-July 11, 2009.