NBA Top 50: Vince Carter (no. 27)

. It's only time,let it pass away., originally uploaded by Hailey Dearyy;.

OtB is counting down the days 'til the NBA 2009-10 season tips off by ranking the top 50 players in the league. On Wednesday there are/were 27 days left.

Ah! Ah! There are fifteen minutes left in the day, Eastern Standard Time! Can I get it in? I haven't missed a day yet! Of course, there are six more hours plus aforementioned change in Hawaiian Standard Time, but that's beside the point, isn't Ye Olde New Bri'ish Folke?

So, let's get right to it. Who's better than the lanky jester of the NBA's internet savvy community? That's right, the guy who, for a few years there in the middle of the aughts became something of a joke. Half-man/Half-amazing? Prone to a lot of half-and-half jokes for awhile there. Of late, Vinsanity has been lauded as quite the team mate, a great pick up for the Magic (even if SVG is already on his tail for not defending! "But coach! They're my team mates!"), and shocker-of-shockers half-sane. As in not Vinsanity but Vince Sanity. Still, VC is the guy who was entirely nonplussed at the acquisition of Bosh in 2003. Was he right? Right enough to get the go ahead for the spot above CB4.

vince carter usa best dunk, originally uploaded by thedanger23.

The Skinny: Vince hasn't averaged less than 20 points a game since his rookie season. He says he's ready, and if "deferring" to Devin Harris last season was any indication (can it really be deferring if Carter took more shots? I guess this could be called the Shaq-method of deferral acting, which ain't exactly bad for Florida team looking for a title...), Vince should be a solid addition to the Magic. What more can I say than 20.8 points, 5.1 pulls, and 4.7 dimes a contest? Oh, and he can still throw it down with more authority than anyone ever to hail from Chapel Hill. That's right, MJ. Wanna fight about it? Or play Bryon Russell one on one for it? Didn't think so.

Why VC is #27: Let's go back to basics. What are the four factors I laid out at the outset of this list? Irreplaceability, Not Salaries, Age, and the Ineffables. I also, of course, have been talking about talent, skill, and effort (or talent maximization). If you could approximate Carter and Bosh's value to their teams while adjusting for any number of variables including pace and position, who would be more valuable? Okay, PER says Bosh, but PER has always skewed towards the big guys. My thing is, the big guys always struggle if their points and wings can't get them the ball well. The wing guys have no such restriction on their effect on the court. Filling in for new Raptor Hedo Turkoglu, Vince Sanity looks to be a big part of SVG's distribution plan. That means, he's a big part of what will go on on a major contender. I'm sorry for those of you who think play should be evaluated as if in a vacuum and good players are good even on bad teams, but that's important.

Hey, Hot Shot! Contender: Ryan Monaghan, originally uploaded by Jen Bekman.

Age, yeah Bosh wins out. But y'know what, this is how far outside the boxscore we are. Not even advanced stats that you can't get from your father's sports page fully whet our whistle here. Thus, a fairly big but also apologetic (in)eff you to anyone who doesn't like my wild card factor to this whole thing. You might write me off as lazy, and I might have to concede that point, but show me first where you lay your pen. Vince Carter positively beats out any of the guys below him on this list on sure thing ineffables coming in to this season. He's going to the Magic, where he's always longed to play, and he's not going to be a bit player. Put it this way, he's not going to be Gary Payton on the 2003-2004 Lakers, he'll be more like Karl Malone. Malone got hurt that year after a long ironman-like career. Carter is seven years younger and hasn't really been brittle since that one year before Bosh even got to the league, though VC carried that label for far too long after that season. Let's hope this year doesn't see Carter take a turn for the geriatric. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Chris & George Lopez's Star, originally uploaded by adriandanganan.

Okay, I'll get you some more content at some other point, but for now: Is Nagamatsu a Mexican name? No, it's Japa-Hawaiia-Kore-Chi-Spani-Portu-Filipino-Irish-Chamorro-English-ese! Dig?

By snagamat with No comments

Ahhh here it goes: Week 3 Prediction Battle Recap

Yeah, feeling a little Kenan and Kel reference today. As Shaqtus would say, "Don't worry about it."

Anywho, time for a quick update to let you all know how GSNHOF and OTB did in this week's version of the prediction battle.

Great Sports Name Hall of Fame, whose picks can be found here, went 11-5. Incorrect choices for wins included the Falcons, Texans, Titans, Steelers, and Dolphins. Damn Cedric Benson is hot right now.

Outside the Boxscore, whose picks can be found here, went 9-7 for the second time. Incorrect choices for wins included Redskins, 49ers, Titans, Buccaneers, Texans, Dolphins, and Cardinals. Too bad for Ben that Brett Farve went into the wayback machine and overcame the 49ers.

Anywho, GSNHOF gains 2 games this week, and the standings are as follows:
GSNHOF 34-14
OTB 28-20 (6 games back)

It seems like GSNHOF is up a considerable amount, but one bad week and things are neck and neck again. Let's see what kind of surprises next week holds.

By SpastikMooss with No comments

NBA Top 50: Chris Bosh (No. 28)

OtB is counting down the days 'til the NBA 2009-10 season tips off by ranking the top 50 players in the league. On Tuesday there are 28 days left.

Busy Bosh was 27 on my list last year, but when I set about compiling this year's and figured him at today's slot, I thought it was low. I checked back at how I'd ranked him in the 2008 offseason, and lo and behold, the same. Look, I think the world of Bosh, and by all accounts he's a great guy, great to have in the locker room or on your computer screen. Yeah. The other thing that puts him higher on my character list than this is his performance in the Olympics, when Dwight Howard pulled a bit of a disappearing act. Still, his failure to make the playoffs two years in a row is damning. Damn damning.

Chris Bosh Bobbled, originally uploaded by longshots.

Look, it's not really all his fault. The team just doesn't have enough cylinders to fire on with Calderon holding all the distribution rights. Hopefully the arrival of Hedo alleviates that factor a bit. Still, can you really say the Raptors were that much worse than the Heat, both teams sans their superstars? Wade willed that team to the playoffs. And, sure, you can make the qualifying statements like Wade is able to will a team because he has the ball in his hands, blah blah blah. But if Bosh can't do that because he's a big man, that just reinforces the idea that the importance of big men is fading. Or perhaps it's their effectiveness that's fading.

Bosh has been mentioned in the same breath as Lebron James and Dwayne Wade and Ama're Stoudamire, especially with the 2010 free agency topic always hot on tongues that wag. The fact of the matter is Bosh isn't quite in the same class as the first two, and wouldn't be in Ama're's either if Stat wasn't looking more and more like crunch time, choking Karl Malone rather than the Mailman of the first 45 minutes of a game. Bosh, again, is a great player (22, 10, 2.5 assists, a steal, and a block per game gets it done, folks), but look for him to make the Pau Gasol step in years to come. He really doesn't seem destined to be a Shareef Abdur-Rahim player, who will always put up good stats for a bad team. Chances are he'll team up with a dynamic wing, and that'll allow the world to truly appreciate Bosh for the complete presence he can be. For now, 28 Mr. CB4.

kanye-west-screenshots-of-good-morning-11, originally uploaded by bapexmalikjones.

I never sleep anymore, by the way. 1:30 a.m. HST, and I gotta wake up before 5 am. Got anything to say, Kanye?

By snagamat with No comments

NBA Top 50: Devin Harris (No. 29)

The Jury Is Out, originally uploaded by DennisShim.

OtB is counting down the days 'til the NBA 2009-10 season tips off by ranking the top 50 players in the league. On Monday there are/were 29 days left.

The jury isn't quite in yet on whether Harris should be ahead of guys like Josh Smith and Danny Granger, but he gets the nod as we’re in the age of point guards, and he’s the guy who replaced Jason Kidd and then had a break out season. Furthermore, with Mihkail Prokhorov looking to take over the Nets, the for now New Jersey team has all the right kind of momentum going into this season. If Prokhorov does take over, they want to be major players for years to come, and Harris looks to be a big part of that.

By now, the story should be familiar. Five years in, Harris has shown steady ascension to the ranks of the elite. Last season, he posted 21.3 points, 6.9 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game. Put quite simply, those are young Gary Payton numbers. While Harris is not the physical or defensive presence that the Glove was, he is the harbinger of the new wave. A few seasons ago, David Stern changed the rules and made perimeter players practically untouchable. He then, of course, allowed zone defenses, but that's another quibble. The point is, we are firmly ensconced the age of point guards. Five used to be more important than one in this league, and I'm not speaking metaphorically so don't think about that one too long. But how many centers matter these days? Dwight Howard. Shaq? Not really as much anymore. Yao? When not injured. Andrew Bynum, Al Jefferson, Emeka Okafor, Tyson Chandler, Eddie Curry?

301/365 infinity, originally uploaded by spring_peeper.

Okay, that last one kind of speaks to what I'm going for with this. Brook Lopez, maybe someday. When Tim Duncan decided to eschew playing the pivot, the position received its official death knell. Now think how many point guards were important for their team's success last season. Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose, Chauncey Billups, Tony Parker, and, yes, Devin Harris. The future is endless, my friends. Sweet.

By snagamat with No comments

Somewhere Lee Roy Selmon is pouring some "Ripple"

Well, it is finally official that the Detroit Lions have finally ended their 19 game losing streak against the Washington Redskins by the score of 19-14.

During the Fox post-game show, host Curt Menefee made an allusion to former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Lee Roy Selmon pouring some "ripple" after the Lions victory. Selmon was a member of the Buccaneers during their run of 26 consecutive losses which is still the NFL record.

For those of you that do not know what "ripple" is, essentially it is less fortified wine. (Yep, I clearly Wikipedia'd that.) For all intensive purposes, the Lions can now put that losing streak behind them and well, be the Detroit Lions. If that only meant something.

By Ben Chew with No comments

Even words of Brett Favre's daring do's hit China

For those of you who do not know, I am currently in the heart of the dragon (AKA Hong Kong) and arrived only minutes ago.

As I was glancing through the local English news telecast by Pearl TV, this highlight came up of Brett Favre throwing a game-winning touchdown pass to Greg Lewis to beat the 49ers by the score of 27-24. Not only was this the first highlight, they were even kind enough to show it twice.

The throw itself is dare I say impressive and it appears that Brett Favre arm still has that magic left in it. We tend to complain about Favre's omnipresence in the media especially on ESPN but for once I am happy to see him, even if the pass itself happened more than 8,000 miles away.

UPDATE: Here is the entirety of the drive for those who missed it or who did not see it live.

By Ben Chew with No comments

NBA Top 50: Josh Smith (No. 30)

Josh Smith, originally uploaded by Joel Kimmel Illustrator.

OtB is counting down the days 'til the NBA 2009-10 season tips off by ranking the top 50 players in the league. On Sunday there are 30 days left.

There are 30 days left 'til the NBA regular season gets underway. That means there are two days left 'til training camps get fully underway. That means we have a month of days 'til we get games. It means we have one day left for each to count down the top 30 NBA players. Thirty days, thirty players, thirty teams? Well, yes, but the league that does not have league in its title doesn't quite work that way. In a perfect world, each team would have one of the top 30 guys in the league. In a perfect world, every team would end the season at .500. In a perfect world, everyone dies of boredom.

Here to relieve us is our #30 NBA athlete, Josh Smith. Now, the Smith in Atlanta this season not named Joe may not seem to scream individuality and originality from every single pore of his existence. Doesn't seem to. His name doesn't explode off the page/screen, and he doesn't produce headlines like certain other guys on and off this list. What he does do is produce in ways never before thought possible on the court. When you talked about a revolution in the forward position(s) early in the aughts, who thought guys like Gerald Wallace and Josh Smith were coming down the pine?

71797182SC011_heat_hawks, originally uploaded by teddy_nguyen2004.

The two have been written about together, and I would be remiss not to cite those that have come before. Seriously, if you haven't copped the Macrophenomenal Almanac, what the hell have you been doing? Suffice it to say, the comparison is apt. Smith has regularly been a beast defensively, similar to Wallace in the accrual of an impolite amount of steals and blocks. They both score a bit over 15 a game, they both rebound over 7 per, and they both fly around the court with what can only be deemed reckless abandon. The only difference is Gerald Wallace allowed the recklessness to leave his body abandoned, and Josh Smith seems to have internalized it all.

Wallace had a rough season physically. Smith struggled this season after the early ankle injury. It certainly slowed him down, but throughout the season I got the feeling something else was bugging him. Okay, look. I'm not going to hide anything from you. I don't know if it makes for the best writing, but at least it's honest. I spent almost an hour searching high and low across the blogosphere (and maybe my searching powers just aren't what they used to be), and I could not find a reason besides the ankle for Smith's dip in tenacity this past season. I could've sworn someone close to him passed away at the beginning of the season, but it seems that was Zach Randolph's grandma and it just happened to be around the same time. Silly me.

I don't want to give too much creedence to cheap conclusions, but thinking Smith was going through the season with a specter hovering about him has to mean something. He just didn't seem as able to break free for rim rattlers. Not free from the defense. Free from himself. In the playoffs against Miami, J-Smoove caught some flack for showboating at the end of a blowout. Maybe it wasn't the smartest moove, but you can't fault the energy there. In a way, I think it suggests a break out season this year. And I'm not alone in this. We'll see what happens, but one thing's for certain, Smith won't be taking the traditional path. His star doesn't necessarily shine the brightest, and the skill set's not exactly number one dude material. Still, he does have that catalytic nature that all good teams need to get from somewhere. Having it come from a player with such a ridiculous combination of skill and explosive talent makes your team all the more dangerous. The Hawks had a pretty good offseason, and it all puts Smith in a position to wreak all the more havoc.

By snagamat with No comments

Fantasy Drafthelp: Week 3 NFL Fantasy Advice

NFL Week 3 Preview

Here’s a few standard preface notes:

^ Notwithstanding the claims of any website to be your “home for Sunday morning injury report news,” nothing beats Google News – nothing. Entering a player name into this search engine trumps any other means of gathering information because it culls the data from an unbelievably wide variety of sources.

^ Especially earlier in the season, it’s always good to refer to a strong baseline of where players should have been drafted – and nothing beats FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFTOLOGY 2009.

^ Unless there are any injury questions, we never discuss “gimme” players. Such core players should be started week in and week out unless there is any question surrounding their playing status. Winning teams only need to worry about “playing the matchups” with one, two or (at the most, during bye weeks) three spots in the lineup. With a full slate of games, and players drafted in a certain order for a multiplicity of reasons, we especially don’t advocate much juggling for the first two weeks of the season. Some websites promise you a crystal ball for how to manage high-risk, high-reward juggling during the season. We don’t. We play the percentages. That approach may be boring, but it’s highly effective and much more intellectually honest in what we promise you.

^ By the way, here are your core players who should not be benched if healthy
QB: Brady, Brees, P Manning, McNabb, Rivers, Rodgers, Romo, Warner
RB: M Barber, R Brown, Forte, Gore, Grant, S Jackson, Jacobs, C Johnson, Jones-Drew, Lynch, Peterson, Portis, Slaton, Tomlinson, Turner, Westbrook, D Williams
WR: Boldin, Bowe, Colston, Fitzgerald, Jennings, A Johnson, C Johnson, Houshmandzadeh, V Jackson, Marshall, Moss, Ochocinco, Owens, S Smith, Wayne, R White, R Williams
TE: Clark, Gates, Gonzalez, Witten

^ Links for each game take you to the CBS Sports home page for each game, with stats, analyis and even video previews.

^ All times listed are EDT.

^ Of the non-gimme players we like this week, the stronger plays are the ones in all caps.

Sunday, Sept. 27
Cleveland at Baltimore, 1 p.m. QB Flacco, RB McGahee, RB Rice, WR K Washington, WR Edwards, TE Heap
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. Both QBs, WR Holmes, WR Ward
Washington at Detroit, 1 p.m. RB K Smith, TE Cooley
Jacksonville at Houston, 1 p.m. QB SCHAUB, TE Daniels
San Francisco at Minnesota, 1 p.m. QB Favre, WR Berrian
Atlanta at New England, 1 p.m. QB Ryan
Kansas City at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. RB McCoy, TE CELEK
Green Bay at St. Louis, 1 p.m. WR DRIVER
N.Y. Giants at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. QB E Manning, WR MANNINGHAM, WR S Smith, TE Winslow
New Orleans at Buffalo, 4:05 p.m. QB EDWARDS, RB Bush, WR EVANS, WR HENDERSON
Chicago at Seattle, 4:05 p.m. QB Cutler, WR Burleson, TE Carlson
Tennessee at N.Y. Jets, 1:00 p.m. TE Keller
Denver at Oakland, 4:15 p.m. RB McFadden
Miami at San Diego, 4:15 p.m. All-out on marginal players
Indianapolis at Arizona, 8:20 p.m. RB Addai, RB Hightower, RB B Wells
Monday, Sept. 28
Carolina at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. RB F Jones, WR Muhammad

NFL Week 3 Best Waiver Wire Pickups

NOTE: We only recommend plausible pickups; our threshold is 40% or less ownership in CBSSports.com leagues. These are not necessarily short-term picks, but ones that are the most likely to bear fruit before the end of the season. Players may well show up on this list more than once over the course of the season.
1 WR Garcon
2 WR K Washington
3 RB Choice
4 WR Nicks
5 WR Britt

By Rick Morris with No comments

NBA Top 50: Danny Granger (No. 31)

OtB is counting down the days 'til the NBA 2009-10 season tips off by ranking the top 50 players in the league. On Saturday there are 31 days left.

All indications out of Indiana, or at least out of the Pacers' management's mouths, point to the Pacers being close to making the next step. They didn't do much this summer--they retained coach Jim O'Brien--and Larry Bird says they'll make a big splash next offseason. They're haven't been a lot of people voicing support of this opinion, but we'll give Larry Legend the benefit of the doubt for now. Have you heard any of this? If not, I don't blame you. Indiana has been a bit under the radar since...Stephen Jackson left town. They've done it on purpose, of course, as fallout from Malice at the Palace. But, if the veil has kept you totally incognizant of things going on with them, you may have missed the emergence of Danny Granger.

For now, the Pacers do have that legit star who could be paired with another player of similar caliber to make this a playoff bound team. That player is Danny Granger. He took the step last season from solid, almost-20-per player to bonafide scoring machine. In each season he's stepped up his per game scoring average nearly six points. The 08-09 season also saw him make his first all-star appearance and win the most improved player of the year award. He accounted for 29.6 percent of his team's offense, a staggering number which shows how much of the Pacers' burden he's had to carry. The return of Mike Dunleavy Jr. should help this season, and Free Agent X next season if that truly materializes.

By snagamat with No comments

OTB hits the "The Middle Kingdom"

Hello fans and readers of Outside the Boxscore, this post is here to inform you that I will be on vacation (or what I like to call business) in China and Singapore from September 27-October the 6th. Essentially, selling ourselves to the Asian people.

However, do not fret. Outside the Boxscore will continue to bring you the stories that you covet as Snagamat, FDH's Rick Morris, current GSNHOF/Former OTB writer SpastikMooss and maybe a special guest or two will be filling in for my absence.

This necessarily does not mean that I will not be posting or updating the site when I am overseas but I figure it's better to make sure that you the fans will be covered while I'm gone.

So, hopefully I will be able to spread the word of Ginnifer Goodwin and Michelle Beadle to the Asian people or at least run into Wang ZhiZhi.

Thank You for continuing to follow Outside the Boxscore and feel free to make your asian jokes in the comments.

By Ben Chew with No comments

Send in the Links: (09/25/09)

It's that time again as OTB takes a look around the interweb and blogosphere for the cream of the crop of the stuff that falls into our inbox.

Jennifer Garner, She was on Alias. Remember that?

-> Kelly Pavlik versus Paul Williams on December 5th, New Jersey will be jumpin' (Paneech)
-> What in the world is Ray Lewis wearing? (Dr. Saturday)
-> Plaxico Burress's mug shot, smile for the birdie (The Smoking Gun)
-> Bruce Pearl makes Ku Klux Klan joke, Um.....I will leave it at that (The Dagger)
-> Lamar Odom's called off his "bachelor party" (That NBA Lottery Pick)
-> Huh, I think that how an episode CSI Miami started, CFL player tries to attack another with shovel (With Leather)

YouTube Clip of the Day: We all need motorized shopping carts, now.

By Ben Chew with No comments

NBA Top 50: Blake Griffin (No. 32)

2009 - Blake Griffin, originally uploaded by espnphotos.

OtB is counting down the days 'til the NBA 2009-10 season tips off by ranking the top 50 players in the league. On Friday there are 32 days left.

Around the time of the draft, there was debate over whether a first overall pick in a solid draft was worth more or less than a solid vet who'd been in the league say seven to ten years. Obviously, it depends entirely on the specific players you're comparing. However, when it comes to Blake Griffin, the choice seems obvious. Okay, you wouldn't give up your best guy on your roster to get him, but your second guy? Hell's yeah. There's nowhere to go but up for Griffin, and that's not assuming a low starting position. He even has people talking about the Clippers and Baron Davis as relevant again. I don't know that he'll be that good, but he certainly looks to make an impact right away.

Playing for Oklahoma, Blake was a beast, averaging 22.7 points and 14.4 rebounds. He may be a bit undersized, but that's a tired criticism to begin with. The inexorable work ethic he's already displayed to get to this level make Griffin as near a sure thing as there is. And it all comes together to make him as interesting as any Blake coming out of Oklahoma this year. Maybe it's a good thing he got out of the Sooner state...

By snagamat with No comments

OTB's NFL Week 3 Picks

Last week, we bounced back to pull within four games of Great Sports Name HOF in our NFL pick em' battle.

Here is short excerpt from his picks for this week:

Ben gained a bit on me this week (he went 10-6 last week, GSNHOF went 9-7), so this week we're out to show Ben and the OTB team that last week was a fluke. From this point forward, we're aiming to now lose a week to OTB for the rest of the season. Lofty goals, but we're damn good.

Last week was a fluke? No, let's correct this, your first week was a fluke. The odds of picking 14 out of 16 NFL games is pretty low to begin with and I doubt that either of us will come close to that number again. So of course, there will be a drop off the following week. However, I do have a sinking feeling that this week, no ground will be gained.

Here are my picks for this week:

Week 3
SUN, SEP 27 TIME (ET) TV
Washington at Detroit 1:00 PM FOX
Green Bay at St. Louis 1:00 PM FOX
San Francisco at Minnesota 1:00 PM FOX
Atlanta at New England 1:00 PM FOX
Tennessee at NY Jets 1:00 PM CBS
Kansas City at Philadelphia 1:00 PM CBS
NY Giants at Tampa Bay 1:00 PM FOX
Cleveland at Baltimore 1:00 PM CBS
Jacksonville at Houston 1:00 PM CBS
New Orleans at Buffalo 4:05 PM FOX
Chicago at Seattle 4:05 PM FOX
Miami at San Diego 4:15 PM CBS
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati 4:15 PM CBS
Denver at Oakland 4:15 PM CBS
Indianapolis at Arizona 8:20 PM NBC
MON, SEP 28 TIME (ET) TV
Carolina at Dallas 8:30 PM

(LOLCatz picture courtesy of Kissing Suzy Kolber)

By Ben Chew with No comments

Send in the Links: (09/24/09)

It's that time again fans as OTB takes a look around the interweb and blogosphere for the cream of the crop or the stuff that falls into our inbox.

Robin Tunney, she's my type of "Hot Reading"

-> Jayhawk on Jayhawk crime (Bootlegger Sports)
-> For the record, I've only said nice things about Sean Salisbury (Deadspin)
-> Cleveland fans still loyal after 50 years of failure, Failure being the key word here (Paneech)
-> Did I mention that I dislike the Big Ten? Big Ten sets annoying precendence (Not Qualified to Comment)
-> Kimbo Slice will fight on "Next Ultimate Fighter" (Camel Clutch Blog)
-> Carmelo Anthony on Jimmy Kimmel Live (That NBA Lottery Pick)
-> Who will be the successor to Bobby Cox? (No Guts, No Glory)

Video of the Day: Wolf Blitzer's horrendous performance on Celebrity Jeopardy

By Ben Chew with No comments

Even reading a book is not safe, Seattle Mariners pitcher injures himself reading a book

Seattle Mariners closer David Aardsma is mostly remembered as the guy whose name is alphabetically first in most baseball almanacs. Well, he can now be known as the guy who had one of the weirdest injuries of all time.

We get more news from MLB.com:

On the long list of bizarre off-the-field injuries that happen haphazardly to athletes during the course of a long season, David Aardsma's back stiffness may top them all.

It's not often a player gets hurt from reading a book.

But that's what happened to Seattle's right-handed closer, after a five-hour flight to Florida, during which he was scrunched up reading a book. The position tightened his lower back and kept him from playing in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Rays.

Aardsma, who laughed about the injury in the clubhouse after the game, said he felt the tightness during pregame stretches. He thought back to the flight and the way he was positioned.

"It might've been just how I was sitting with my book," Aardsma said. "I don't know. I got here, I was fine. Then I started noticing it during stretches and stuff and it just sort of got me."

Yep, he injured himself reading a book. That is absolutely classic but I will say in his defense, that sitting in an akward position on a plane could defintely cause an injury.

My question is, "What book was he reading that caused this injury?" My odds is that it was "The Old Man and the Sea"

(Courtesy of the MLB.com)

By Ben Chew with No comments

NBA Top 50: Hedo Turkoglu (No. 33)

Banu & Hidayet Turkoglu, originally uploaded by ayse's cakes.

OtB is counting down the days 'til the NBA 2009-10 season tips off by ranking the top 50 players in the league. On Thursday there are 33 days left.

If this ranking took into consideration salary, Hedo would be much lower now than he should've been for last season. The money one makes does not determine worth but market value. Just keep repeating that. Anyway, the Turk's not the bargain he once was, but he's poised to continue making an East team run more smoothly than it does without him, and that's good for something. Last offseason, I ranked Hedo as number 41. That number was obviously a bit low for the influence his play had on this post-season's outcomes.

Hedo shouldn't be your number one guy, but he's valuable for his distributing skills and his ability to make a few clutch shots. Thirty-third will probably be the highest Turkoglu should rank on this kind of list. He peaked at the right time, of course, for contract negotiations. Yay for him and his family. From the type of production you see from Hedo, however, it doesn't look as if the pay off will result in a dip in production. More than anything else, that will come as he declines out of his peak years. He's only 30, but it seems like he's been around forever. I guess that'll happen with all the guys who entered the league at very young ages in the aughts.

Hedo comes into Toronto with the opportunity to define his career. He was a solid bench guy for the first five seasons of his career and, over the last three seasons in Orlando, has become a very good starter in this league. With the Magic's ascension to the Eastern Conference championship, Hedo was propelled into the spotlight. Thus, some of the praise of this offseason (tempered though it may have become), is simply due to timing and exposure. Last season was actually a return to form for Hedo after a breakout 07-08 season when he won the Most Improved Player of the Year award. His stats this past season were down across the board. The question now is how much of a positive factor he can be in Toronto. Will he help lead them to the playoffs and even playoff success? If he does so, he can cement a reputation for heady play and important contributions to contending teams. If he doesn't, he won't be the first.

By snagamat with No comments

The Madden Curse claims another victim...

I figure that most of you are avid video game players and pretty much know about the “Madden Curse.” (For those who do not know, check out this link)

Recently for the cover of Madden 2010, Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Larry Fitzgerald of Arizona Cardinals were featured as the cover athletes for Madden 2010. Polamalu went down with an injury in week 1 and is expected to be out 3-6 weeks.

Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel recently released the “never-before seen” original cover for Madden 2010. Let’s just say, the “Madden Curse” has even claimed Spencer Pratt, like he honestly needed it.

By Ben Chew with No comments

Even NASCAR is going "green"

I can picture it now, the environmentalists tree huggers and the drunk NASCAR fans in a drum circle.

Last week on an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, he mentioned that NASCAR was holding a "green race" over the weekend and NASCAR's initative of going green. If there was not a more unlikely marriage, sans Liza Minnelli and David Gest.

I will say though, that video does make me want some hummus.

By Ben Chew with No comments

NBA Top 50: Ben Gordon (No. 34)

the smurk, originally uploaded by ignaciovlm.

OtB is counting down the days 'til the NBA 2009-10 season tips off by ranking the top 50 players in the league. On Wednesday there are 34 days left.

Twenty players scored 20 points per game or more last season in the NBA. That's about par for the course. Among those twenty, there are of course the obvious scoring leaders such as Kobe, Dwayne, and LeBron. There are the perennial 20 ppg club members and the much publicized new comers Devin Harris and Danny Granger. And then there's Ben Gordon. Gordon's long been touted as instant offense, and far be it from me to dispute that. He puts points up, hands down. The question, though, is whether or not that's good for your team. He was fairly important to what Chicago was doing last year, and looks to be the same in Detroit. The jury, however, has been out since he got to the league. Is he too small? Does he give too much up on defense? His defense has been worse, according to Basketball Reference's defensive rating stat, the last two seasons, but that's probably attributable more to Chicago's coaching situation than to Gordon's actual prowess or lack thereof. And it's not like Gordon scores and does nothing else. Three rebounds and three assists a game won't set the league on fire, but it's serviceable.

The real question comes in how the offense flows in relation to BG. You might have a hard time naming all twenty players who went for 20 ppg last season, but presumably coming up with the twenty players who took the most shots last season would be easier. Or how about the top ten? Again, we would see Wade, Bryant, and James atop the list, joined by Nowitzki, and Durant as obvious entrants. The list is filled up with other, less obvious names that still make sense on this list: Brandon Roy, Joe Johnson, Antawn Jamison, and Vince Carter. (I guess the whole story about Carter giving it up for Devin Harris in Jersey was a bit blustery) But who fills in the ten spot? That's right, you guessed it, Ben Gordon. Should he be taking the tenth most number of shots in the league in any given season? I hesitate to rush encouragement. But let's take another measure to look at how Gordon contributes to a team.

Leaf Cutting Ants, originally uploaded by fen_snapz.

His usage was the lowest ever this year, which probably comes from relinquishing some of the ball handling pressures to the steady presence of Derrick Rose. Usage, if you're not familiar, is a calculation of how often a play ends in a field goal attempt, turn over, or trip to the free throw line for a player. Gordon went for 25% in 08-09. For comparison's sake, Dwayne, LeBron, and Kobe each used 36.2, 33.8, and 33.2 percent of their team's possessions, respectively. Derrick Rose used 22.6 percent. The interesting thing this season will actually be watching Detroit negotiate this, because new Gordon team mates Rip Hamilton and Charlie Villanueva each used more of their team's possessions than did BG last season. Having 80 percent of your offense used up by three players? That could be iffy.

So why is he #34? We're giving him a chance. He moves to Detroit in what should be an auspicious move for him, if not for the Motor City franchise. Would you rather have Kevin Martin on your team? Perhaps. But Ben Gordon has proven himself a solid contributor for teams that can push at the contending ranks. He has proven himself a 20 ppg scorer, which doesn't just happen. He's proven quite durable, which really helps his case. And he's 26, which means the bulk of his prime is ahead of him. Furthermore, Gordon simply holds a decent case of good karma for being a bit of a scape goat whenever Chicago felt it was skimping along. Did the other Ben in Chi-town without a pair of horns let the worries of the franchise keep him from producing? Nope. Perhaps as he goes forward, a bit more constraint and self-reflection will be a positive thing. One last stat indicates Gordon steadily improves in this regard, though. His field goal percentage and true shooting percentage have continued to get better. Last season, BG recorded a .573 true shooting percentage, which takes into account three point shooting and free throws. As in, yes, he can put it in from most spots on the court, and he's getting better at it. Hooray.

By snagamat with No comments

NFL Prediction Battle Week 2: OTB gains on the GSNHOF

Ah week two. Some blow outs, but a lot of great games. With a lot of great plays, like the Andre Johnson one pictured above. Which both Outside the Boxscore and the Great Sports Name Hall of Fame predicted WRONG.

So that sucks.

And overall, the two blogs finished pretty close this week, with Outside the Boxscore edging the competition by a win:
GSNHOF's picks (9-7)
OTB's picks (10-6)

Overall though, GSNHOF is still up 4 games:

Current Standings (After 2 Weeks)

23-9 - Great Sports Name Hall Of Fame
19-13 - Outside The Boxscore (4 Games Back)

The gap closed a bit, but we'll see what happens in week 3. Predictions will be up later this week, and make sure you take a look at them so you can be amazed by how well we did (or just make fun of us for doing such a terrible job, either/or). And if you're particularly interested, I made a home post for the competition at GSNHOF (You can check it out here.)

By SpastikMooss with No comments

Neil Patrick Harris + Harlem Globetrotters = Bad Joke

Just when you the thought it was safe to watch the Primetime Emmy awards and not have to be bombarded with anything relevant to sports, there was this skit with host Neil Patrick Harris and Harlem Globetrotters, Big Easy Lofton and Flight Time Lang.

The joke mainly had to consist of an Emmy contest winner who got to attend the show and had the best seat in the house. I guess you can take it from there. Even Neil Patrick Harris could not save this one.

Some of you might ask, why were the Harlem Globetrotters at the Emmy Awards? Well, Lofton and Lang are contestants on this season's Amazing Race which received the award for "Best Reality Show." You get it, "Globetrotters."

(lowers guns to mouth)

By Ben Chew with No comments

What's Next for Plaxico Burress? Oh Yea, "Prison"

The Plaxico Burress gun incident was one of the strangest things to happen in an NFL offseason. Now, we finally will have closure and Burress was sentenced to two years in prison at the Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill, New York.

We get more of this story from ESPN

One-time Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress was sentenced to two years in prison Tuesday for violating New York's stringent gun laws and was immediately taken into custody following his hearing.

Burress agreed to the plea deal last month and pleaded guilty to a lesser firearms charge. The charges stemmed from an incident late last fall, in which Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh at a Manhattan nightclub.

Former Giants receiver Plaxico Burress carried his son Elijah into court on Tuesday, and then told him goodbye.

He is expected to serve about 20 months with credit for good behavior, followed by two years of probation

In some way, I feel sorry for Plaxico Burress since the only person that he hurt was himself. While other NFL offenders such as Donte Stallworth, Adam Jones, and Tank Johnson get off with lower sentences for comparable or worse crimes. The logic just does not seem to add up here. However, this is New York City. The beacon of crime, the location set for three different "Law and Order's," so it is expected to have one of the toughest gun laws in the nation. Plaxico is just the unfortunate individual who gets stuck in the crosshairs.

Although, I do not condone what Plaxico did, two years is a very long time and he will have to dramatically shift his multimillion dollar lifestyle to a life of sleeping among other convicted felons. Hopefully, he will come bearing gifts, so he will be left alone to think about that night where he went from an elite NFL wide receiver who was a Super Bowl hero to a guy on the idiot-burn for most radio talk shows.

In the end, life and luck is a fickle mistress in which it can turn at anytime and in Plaxico Burress's life, it came up snake eyes.

By Ben Chew with No comments

NBA Top 50: David West (No. 35)

Feb. 6/09 - Raptors vs Hornets, originally uploaded by Raps Fan.

OtB is counting down the days 'til the NBA 2009-10 season tips off by ranking the top 50 players in the league. On Tuesday there are 35 days left.

David West is a fine, fine player. He was number 35 on my list last year, and he's 35 on my list this year. The Hornets had a great 07-08 outing and just a so-so 08-09 season. West was consistent. He was a little less efficient, but he had a little less help up front for New Orleans and had to play more minutes. He's 29 this season, which means he's right smack dab in the middle of his prime. Hopefully the arrival of Emeka Okafor will help out a bit. Oak and West could be the most understated front court in the league, and one of the more potent. David West isn't a leading man, but he's very, very close. See you tomorrow. I gotta get some antibiotics.

By snagamat with No comments

How Brett Favre makes decisions

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre has been known to have issues in decision-making specifically dealing with his retirement and pension for throwing interceptions.

Well, the peeps over at Global Sports Fraternity have finally figured out why Favre has issues with decision making.

Sometimes the angel on your shoulder just comes up with better reasons.

(Courtesy of Global Sports Fraternity)

(NSFW due to language)

By Ben Chew with No comments

NBA Top 50: Gilbert Arenas (No. 36)

Gilbert Arenas, originally uploaded by saurav_singh.

OtB is counting down the days 'til the NBA 2009-10 season tips off by ranking the top 50 players in the league. On Monday there are 36 days left.

If Caron Butler doesn't have any angles left to explore, team mate Gilbert Arenas hasn't left any new angles for sports writers to explore 'til he sees some real action this season. Hibachi has been on the virtual shelf for two seasons, playing 13 games on 07-08 and two last season. The few glimpses we've been afforded have indicated Arenas may have a few tricks up his sleeve, but all opinions are being held until he can stay on the floor for more than a handful of games. In two spins 'round the old hard wood last season, Arenas dished out 20 assists, a significant jump from his average output of 5.5 dimes per prior to all the knee troubles.

Stories coming from the Arenas camp have him much more solid physically this time around, as he's been training with the legendary Tim Grover. With Gil coming back, the Wiz could be a dark horse contender this season, or they could be just at the cusp one more time, or riddled with injuries one more time. No one's betting on this team right now, the masses aren't exactly brimming over with faith that Gil will be the dynamic force he has been in the past. At the same time, no one's exactly betting against him either. The point is, Agent Zero is one of the big question marks heading into this season.

Gilbert Arenas, originally uploaded by grtaylor2.

I had him ranked as the 20th most valuable player last offseason, when he was more of a relevant factor in most people's memories, and when I was less knowledgeable. He could end up being a much more important player than even that 20 ranking this season. He's ranked this low, however, because the ineffables have just been riding hard against him for so long. This list is meant to be a gauge of how a player comes to this season, not a predictor of how he'll play. In that sense, Gil comes to 09-10 from a series of low points in his career. Why, then, does he get the nod over Caron Butler? Because there has been no Ewing Theory in effect here. The Wiz have simply not been upper echelon material since he (and Brendan Haywood) went out. Here's hoping a healthy Wizard team can make some noise in the East. Not because the East needs it, just because Gil makes watching worth our while.

By snagamat with No comments

With Apologies to Antawn Jamison...

In the 2000-2001 season, the Milwaukee Bucks rode their "Big 3" of Ray Allen, Sam Cassell, and Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson to a 52-30 record and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals where they lost to the Iverson led Sixers in a 7 game series. The Lakers were in the process of steam-rolling the competition to the tune of 15-1 in those playoffs, and the East was seriously depleted. Outside the "Big 3," the Bucks didn't start anyone more than 45 games, and some of those not so big fourth and fifth men included Mark Pope (45 starts), Jason Caffey (33 starts), Scott Williams (31 starts), and Tim Thomas (16 starts).

In 2002-2003, Big Dog was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, where he put up decent numbers before idling into retirement through Philadelphia and San Antonio. Robinson played 11 seasons and retired at the tender age of 32. Washington Wizard Antawn Jamison is entering his 12th season he's been 33 since June. For one year in Dallas, Jamison looked like he might go from 20 point scorer to journey man in much a similar fashion to that of Robinson.

While George Karl was right, and scoring 20 points per game is no small task, 20 ppg doesn't always a top 50 player make. Sure, most of the players who score 20 ppg are all-stars and league leaders in terms of quality play. Some, however, seem to put up their 20 points a night in a virtual black hole. With that in mind, we take a look back at the top 20 ppg scorers of the decade who just didn't look right alongside the likes of Iverson, Kobe, Shaq, LeBron, and Wade. Al Harrington and Co, we salute you for pushing us towards more advanced stats that disprove your effectiveness.

By snagamat with No comments

Fantasy Drafthelp: Week 2 NFL Fantasy Advice

Here’s a few standard preface notes:

^ Notwithstanding the claims of any website to be your “home for Sunday morning injury report news,” nothing beats Google News – nothing. Entering a player name into this search engine trumps any other means of gathering information because it culls the data from an unbelievably wide variety of sources.

^ Especially earlier in the season, it’s always good to refer to a strong baseline of where players should have been drafted – and nothing beats FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFTOLOGY 2009.

^ Unless there are any injury questions, we never discuss “gimme” players. Such core players should be started week in and week out unless there is any question surrounding their playing status. Winning teams only need to worry about “playing the matchups” with one, two or (at the most, during bye weeks) three spots in the lineup. With a full slate of games, and players drafted in a certain order for a multiplicity of reasons, we especially don’t advocate much juggling for the first two weeks of the season. Some websites promise you a crystal ball for how to manage high-risk, high-reward juggling during the season. We don’t. We play the percentages. That approach may be boring, but it’s highly effective and much more intellectually honest in what we promise you.

^ Links for each game take you to the CBS Sports home page for each game, with stats, analyis and even video previews.

^ All times listed are EDT.

^ Of the non-gimme players we like this week, the stronger plays are the ones in all caps.

Sunday, Sept. 20
Carolina at Atlanta, 1 p.m. Offensively, we say all-out on the marginal players here. The Atlanta D is a good bet, though.
Minnesota at Detroit, 1 p.m. QB Favre, WR Berrian, RB K Smith
Cincinnati at Green Bay, 1 p.m. WR Driver
Arizona at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. RB Wells (WR Boldin and Breaston not good bets because of injury)
Oakland at Kansas City, 1 p.m. RB MCFADDEN (QB Cassel was looking like a good bet, but now is still questionable due to injury)
New England at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m. RB T JonesN
ew Orleans at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. All-in for borderline Saints with RB Bell for Thomas due to injury, WR D Jackson (no on QB Kolb, who hasn't proven he is up to a situation such as this
Houston at Tennessee, 1 p.m. RB White, TE Daniels
St. Louis at Washington, 1 p.m. QB Campbell, WR S Moss
Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 4:05 p.m. TE Winslow, RB F JACKSON, WR EVANS
Seattle at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m. QB Hasselbeck, RB J Jones, TE V Davis
Pittsburgh at Chicago, 4:15 p.m. QB Roethlisberger, all-out on marginal Bears
Cleveland at Denver, 4:15 p.m. All-out on non-gimme starters in this one
Baltimore at San Diego, 4:15 p.m. All-out for marginal Charger starters (including RB Sproles, who starts for the injured LT), RB RICE, TE Heap
N.Y. Giants at Dallas, 8:20 p.m. QB E Manning, all-out on other borderline starters in this game (due to the WR situation for both teams still being very fluid and unpredictable)
Monday, Sept. 21
Indianapolis at Miami, 8:30 p.m. All-out for both teams

By Rick Morris with No comments

NBA Top 50: Caron Butler (No. 37)

Caron Butler, originally uploaded by Joel Kimmel Illustrator.

OtB is counting down the days 'til the NBA 2009-10 season tips off by ranking the top 50 players in the league. On Sunday there are 37 days left.

Entering the eighth year of his career, Caron Butler doesn't look like he's got any new angles to explore. He's a known quantity. I had "Tough Juice" ranked at 24th last year. I thought he had more to offer, more possibility for maximization within his potential bubble. But he missed the 70 game mark for the third year in a row, and the Wiz were pitiable, so I can't in good faith rank him higher than this. His numbers read like an actualization of what a well rounded player should be: 20.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.6 steals for good measure. Still, watching him play, you can't help but wish his skills were put more often to dominating the game. He falls into the category of players like Carmelo Anthony and Pau Gasol who seem to have the skills to dominate a ball game but just slightly too adjusted personalities to destroy all those in their way. It's an old argument. You can wish these kinds of players were different dispositionally, but then they'd be fundamentally different.

Think Ron Artest. Perhaps he could've been the best second fiddle since Pippen, but he pushes way too much at his limits. Caron lives within his limits, which aren't many, and I accept that this puts him ten spots ahead of Artest and thirteen spots back from where I thought I could put him last year. Control is more admirable than the alternative. Watch that video. It's the kind that reminds you why rankings like this mean nothing, and why basketball continues to prove time and time again to be more than just a game.

By snagamat with No comments

Lamar and Khloe: The Young and The Feckless

I don't know what to do with this. I just got home from a nice family meal on a Saturday night, and that was hectic enough as it is. I can't imagine trying to have any kind of social life with paparazzi on me like flies, as they are in this video of newly "engaged" Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardashian. This is the part of the NBA off season where things get a little nasty. Everyone's waiting to exhale into training camps, and things start to reveal themselves unnecessarily just because of the season. The lockout of the refs. Delonte West's arrest on weapons possession charges. And this. Lamar and Khloe.

It's been posited that the whole thing is a publicity grab, and I tend to agree. Khloe has a pair of reality tv shows to stunt, and Lamar's coming out with a new clothing line. I hate this stuff, but if the fans and press are going to use you as in the video above, then why not get something back from all the attention? I need some old school to clear the air for me:

By snagamat with 1 comment

NBA Top 50: Carlos Boozer (No. 38)

IMG_7582, originally uploaded by TikaBelle.

OtB is counting down the days 'til the NBA 2009-10 season tips off by ranking the top 50 players in the league. On Saturday there are 38 days left.

Boozer should be higher than this. He really should. He's an Olympian, sure. The Lost Olympian, sure, but still an Olympian. The argument about that, anyway, goes that Coach K didn't want to show favoritism to the former Dukie he coached. Of course, this was all before Boozer showed his true Benedict Arnold tendencies. It seems under Coach K's quiet tutelage, Boozer's a stand up citizen despite the last name. However, left to his own devices, Boozer does things like screw over Cleveland andLeBron James. He's in the process of doing the same to the Jazz. And if you're like me, you gotta be shaking your head and wondering why. Why angle oneself out of awesome opportunities? Pride? Masochism? I offer for your consideration a third reason. Bill Simmons has the Ewing Theory. I present to theblogoverse, the Nash Effect.

The Nash Effect states that when there are too many positives in a basketball equation, often catalyzed by one ineffable, uncriticizable player, it is inevitable that some positives will become negatively charged, usually due to low self perception and a general not-hugged-enough syndrome. The keynote example of this is, of course, the Steve Nash era in Phoenix. By all accounts, Nash is a great team mate and has made playing basketball a joy for team mates and fans alike. However, solid players seemed to hemorrhage out of Phoenix like car factories out of the US. (Ouch. Too soon?) You might blame it on the tight wallet strings of ownerSarver, whose reign over the Suns started just as the Nash Era was getting away.

You could certainly say Joe Johnson was the first victim to this penny pinching, though he did make comments about wanting to be more featured on a team. Shawn Marion, however, was a bit more vocal in his wish to leave just so he could be "the man" somewhere. Marion's now playing with the team that looks like Nash's "friend zone." Dirk and Mark Cuban, perhaps they were the first victims of the Nash Effect. And Jason Kidd should be seen historically as the man who got Steve Nash's sloppy seconds, even if Kidd will get into the Hall and Nash might not. Even Shaq, who wasn't exactly a beautiful meshing of talents with the Nash Era, got a bit of renaissance in him and then bolted.

Gymnastics Mississauga, originally uploaded by danpire.

Why does it happen? Team mates who leave never disparage Nash directly, and in this Nash Effect is somewhat similar to the Ewing theory in its' ramifications' perverse subtlety, but that they haven't felt "featured" enough has been the common theme (Shaq, as always, is the outlier). The logical, pop-psych jump I'm asking you to make is that despite players such as Johnson and Marion knowing it's a perfect situation--they won 62 games in 04-05!--they opted out because they didn't think they deserved such an opportunity. It's a classic result of low self perception. Because these players don't think they deserve success and adulation as part of a revolutionary movement, they choose to self-sabotage and move their games to stix. Better to not try for ultimate career success than to make an honest effort with a team for the ages and fail, goes the thinking, and it stems from the worry that that ultimate failure will be the Nash Effect victim's fault. It's not, homies. It's just your ghostly demons. Realize them and realize your potential. Leave them unheeded and let them whisper your subconscious while you sleep, and you'll end up just another NBA underachiever.

Let's return to Boozer, though, shall we? How does Boozer fit into the Nash Effect? Obviously, he hasn't come across having Nash as a team mate, but he has had major facilitators who also demand the limelight, even if they don't demand it explicitly. (I remember a story about Deron Williams taking his interviews outside the locker room, but I can't seem to find it and perhaps it was another player...) Teaming with Lebron James for his development and subsequent prime? Uh, yeah, only idiots or legit 1A's should be getting up on that statement. Now, I'm not calling Boozer an idiot. It's regrettable really, because he fell victim to the Nash Effect. It could look like the sad lure of money that drew 'Los away or an egoistic streak that really doesn't seem apparent in his general comportment. Instead, I offer you the Nash Effect as a third angle with which to view Boozer's sad skittering away from success. Over the last year or so, Boozer's been rumored moving away from Utah. If the Jazz fans booed Derek Fisher for leaving because his daughter had a serious condition, what will they do if Boozer leaves?

go lakers!, originally uploaded by valerianicole.

Now why, you ask, is Carlos trying to leave Salt Lake City? Is it because he's tired of working for HoF'er Jerry Sloan and his old school ways? Is it because he thinks Paul Millsap is going to supplant him in the starting lineup? Are AK47's copies of Crime and Punishment somehow getting into Boozer's locker? Did Andrei not let Boozer take her out? Or was it that Boozer's wife wouldn't let him take anyone out but her, heaven forbid! Only God knows what goes on inside that melon of Boozer's. Few people would tell you Boozer has been talking about leaving because he doesn't want to play with Deron Williams anymore. I am one of those few, even if 'Los himself isn't. Boozer has Nash Effect written all over him. Why else would he consciously flee situations where he's gifted with nearly perfect distributors who are willing and able to get him the ball in ideal situations? 'Los doesn't think he deserves to win, and it's sad.

In one way of looking at the Nash Effect, you could actually see the fall out meaning these victims are willing to play a less golden-boy role in this league. As in, be the villains? Alright, I'll get off my stupid soap box. But first, I salute you Carlos Boozer, for courageously taking yourself out of the highly coveted spots on contenders and teams of the future. Young bigs the world over thank you. Remember to take a photo of the fruitbasket they give you at the Memphis signing in three years after all the current and relevant talent has gone. Anyway, some details.


The Skinny: If LaMarcus Aldridge has a sweet, high release, Boozer has some other world, gonzo stuff going on. The ball seems to rock back with Booz and he cradles it well below his defender's outstretched arms, and then somehow it arcs slowly over the fingers of the well meaning defender. I've seen him arc shots like that over the healthy Yao, and that's no small feat. It has honestly reminded me of the Jordan fade-away at times. Plus, he goes for 20 and 10, at least, when healthy. Last season he was a little banged up, but all indications point to a healthy season.

Why he's #38: Boozer goes this low because you just don't trust him anymore. I gotta think that aversely affects that locker room. When you talk about irreplaceability, he's not exactly an untouchable when he has an open request to move on the table. When you talk about skills and talent, he's got 'em. He's kind of the talent-realization we hoped to see in the careers of guys like Elton Brand and Kenyon Martin (not in terms of skill set, but just in seeing them as undersized 4's who were looked at as potentially highly productive...they all have been, but it hasn't quite translated to the kind of career you'd hope for with the other two). The ineffables, though? That's where Boozer gets tripped up. It's fine that he's a solid player, and it's fine that he's going to make the best business decision for him and his family. But as a team mate, if you're not consciously questioning this guy's heart and love for the game, then certainly your subconscious is screaming it at you.

By snagamat with No comments

Who's Really Behind the NBA Officials Lockout?

So the big news around the NBA is the lockout of the referees. Stern and Co. have made it clear that they won't bend to the pressures exerted (rightfully so, in my opinion, and Shaq's) by the officials' union. The lockout will likely go at least into the month of October, if not 'til its end. That means replacement refs will be manning or womanning the exhibition games of the offseason, and perhaps the start of the season. The blogosphere's a little nervous, remembering how attrocious the presence of replacement refs was at the start of the 95-96 season. The thinking is Stern wants to send a message to the players' union, letting them know the tough economic times are necessitating different measures across the board, measures he's not afraid to take. I wouldn't put it past old Davey-boy to actually be the force behind the world-wide recession. Sounds like him, right? Making the world seem bleaker such that his product could be the gleaming beacon of light. Or something.

Anyway, while everyone's got the above video on repeat, hoping they'll get the call up to sub-ref the lig (and leave Manitoba!?!), I'm actually thinking someone else is behind this whole ref lockout thing. This smacks of something LeBron James would do, and it would complete a trifecta of heel moves by the King since his off season started. What would LeBron James possibly gain from having replacement officials? Well, he gets to rep his friend Drake's song, "Replacement Girl." Obviously.

In reality, it was me. I paid off both Stern and James so that I could bring you this special Saturday edition of the 2 A.M. Two-fer. Go figure.

By snagamat with No comments

NBA Top 50: LaMarcus Aldridge (No. 39)

OtB is counting down the days 'til the NBA 2009-10 season tips off by ranking the top 50 players in the league. On Friday there are 39 days left.

I was going to write you a nice, semi-lengthy post about LaMarcus Aldridge, but I spent an hour and a half on an IV after work today, so I'm a bit worn out. Don't worry, just a minor infection, and certainly not contractable over the kind you can get from your wireless connection. I guess it's not that short, it just doesn't feel as fully fleshed out as some others. Maybe there's a reason. Anyway, here's the...

Skinny: LaMarcus came in with the infamously not famous 2006 draft class, along with fellow Blazer and only real A-lister from that year Brandon Roy. He's been making up for or replacing underachievers his whole career. It started on draft night, when he was traded for Tyrus Thomas. His sophomore leap to reliable second option made the acquisition of Channing Frye a non-memory, and Frye even seems younger now than the fairly well established Aldridge at the point (though he's actually two years older and was drafted a year before). Lastly, though he doesn't play the same position as Oden, LaMarcus' play has been solid enough that this Portland team is still included in the "contenders of tomorrow" discussion despite Oden's lackluster showing.

LaMarcus Aldridge, originally uploaded by etchasketchist.

But never mind all that. What makes LaMarcus awesome? He's the silky smooth exterior design that makes Roy's deliberate clockwork ministrations on the court so deadly. He's the answer to a question: what will the future of the power forward position look like? He shoots from outside, but not necessarily the three. He puts it on the floor and takes it to the hole without trying to be a point guard. He is the silky smooth incarnation of all that we've been talking about for years (since KG and Dirk started the talk of revolution on the wind). And he does it all with a quiet perseverance that belies his years more than any wrinkled old faces of team mate Greg Oden or Cav Lebron James.

Why's he's #39: He's great for the above reasons. Okay. Why isn't he ranked higher, then? The general criticism on him is a lack of true lowpost game. Sure, the pairing with Roy makes this less important, but it'd still be nice to have in that arsenal. He could be better on defense. Blah, blah, blah. All that will come. Okay, so 39 isn't too low. Is it too high? Why does Aldridge get the go ahead dunk ahead of Bynum or Jefferson (well, not if we're playing an actual game, but in metaphoricalistic land...)? I liked Aldridge here because he has proved he has the goods, even if the goods he has aren't ultimately quite as "good" as the other two young bigs mentioned. LA is like the Dustin Hoffman of this biz. He's not as explosive or glitzy as guys like Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise, or Al Pacino, but perhaps that's what makes his gold all the more valuable.

sp.blazers.079.cdb.jpg, originally uploaded by oregonianphoto.

Though he's had some injury problems, he's still been a secondary force on a team that pushed the Lakers last season and should've gone further in the post season if they hadn't gotten stuck with exactly the wrong match up. In the nexus of talent, maximization, and skill, Aldridge has proven himself in the latter two. Sure he was picked second in that draft, ahead of his all-star-already team mate, but people figured he was a size pick that wouldn't translate into the kind of success he has. He's worked hard to prove that perception wrong. In the process, he's built up a nice repetoire of moves such that many young post players wouldn't even know what to do with such a bounty.

By snagamat with No comments

Send in the Links: (09/17/09)

Programming Note: I will be in San Diego over the next three days. So I will be off enjoying the sun and a nicely scheduled break from this site. Expect solid posts from Rick Morris, Snagamat, and maybe even Spastikmooss over the weekend. See all of you on Monday.

It's that time again as OTB takes a look around the interweb and the blogsphere for the cream of the crop or the stuff that falls into our inbox.

Halle Berry, that's my favorite type of berry.

-> Dominique Wilkins can still throw it down! (Ball Don't Lie)
-> Another reason to not like Tim Tebow (No Guts, No Glory)
-> Thanks for being a decent human being, Vince Young (With Leather)
-> Ernie Harwell, One Class Act (Detroit4Lyfe)
-> Byron Russell wants a piece of MJ (NESW Sports)
-> A Day in the Life of Bobby Cox (Styles Points)
-> Reggie Miller's First Game in the NBA (That NBA Lottery Pick)
-> What's really wrong with the Bears? (Not Qualified to Comment)
-> The Saga of Dickless Rifle (Great Sports Name HOF)
-> A conversation between God and Richard Seymour (Googling Atlee Hammaker)

YouTube Clip of the Day: Taylor Swift can't get a word in on "The View"

By Ben Chew with No comments