HEADLINES
1) The Celtics and the Cavs kicked off the NBA season last night with the Celtics taking a 95-89 win on the road. What did you learn about the first match up of two of the best teams in the East?
Ben: I learned that the Cavs are in trouble defensively. If teams want to sit in the half court offense, then they'll probably be clsoe to a 60 win team this year, but if teams want to get out and run, or run the pick and roll all game -- Cleveland is going to have to win a lot of 115-110 games this year. I don't think they are going to be able to do that.
I also learned that the Celtics will be dangerously close to one injury away from being in trouble throughout the season. Garnett, Allen, Pierce, Rondo, Wallace -- any of those guys go down and the Celtics will be hurting for production.
Boz: I learned a couple things from watching the game last night. First, both teams added other players than the big names that will help the team. For the Cavs, the addition of Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon makes them a much more athletic team and gives them more shooters. For the Celtics, Marquise Daniels gives them a reliable back-up point guard for when Rajon Rando is out of the game.
The second thing that I learned last night is that LeBron James will eventually dislike playing with Shaq at sometime this season. The Cavs are better than 89 points, even playing against the Celtics. Shaq bottles up the middle, which doesn't allow for cutters and drivers to have much success since Shaq, and Shaq's defender, are taking up a ton of space in the paint. He already bottled up a high-scoring Suns offense for the last two seasons and it looked like LeBron had to settle for a lot of outside jumpers last night.
2) In his upcoming book, Andre Agassi admits that he used crystal meth in 1997 and even failed a drug test but lied, saying that he accidently took it to get around the drug test. What do you make of this situation and should it affect Agassi's status as one of the games greats?
Ben: Nope. The year he's admitting to drug use is his worst in his career. And, on top of that, I think Agassi was such a great ambassador throughout his career for the game, he's earned a mistake or two. Granted this is a mistake is serious, and disappointing, but at the end of the day, shouldn't effect the perception of Agassi.
Boz: This is hard for me because Agassi is my favorite tennis player of all-time and, despite this new information, still is. This just shows that no one is perfect and that everyone has their faults and their problems. Despite being a great tennis player, Andre Agassi is a human being and, just like every other human being, makes mistakes. Someone should look into the ATP and why they let Agassi out of that failed drug test so easily.
I firmly believe that this should not change Agassi's status as one of the greatest players of all-time and he should cruise into the Tennis Hall of Fame. If you look at his career, 1997 (the year he admits to using crystal meth) was the worst season of his career. He was injured and only played 24 matches the whole year, while dropping all the way to No. 122 in the rankings. He kicked the drug and bounced back to finish a wonderful career and that's how I'll remember Andre Agassi's playing days.
3) Chiefs running back Larry Johnson has been told to stay away from team activities while the team and the NFL investigate into his use of a gay slur (twice) on his twitter account. What do you make of this situation?
Ben: Get him out of town. Johnson, with the exception of a two year stretch after the Priest Holmes retirement, has been a disappointment. Dick Vermeil called him a baby, said he needed to mature -- well apparently he hasn't matured and needs another lesson. Set him loose.
Boz: It's just another chapter in the downfall of Larry Johnson. He looked like he would be such a promising running back but has just failed to produce (with no help from the offensive line) in the previous couple seasons. Now he's not only using his twitter account to rip into his head coach, but to spit gay slurs at one of his twitter followers. I'm all for the use of twitter by athletes because it is a good way to connect athletes with their fans. However, someone has to teach every single athlete on twitter how to use it properly and what they can and cannot say on the internet. It's almost like teams have to hire on a twitter specialist onto their front office staff just to supervise the player's twitter use. Maybe this time off will help Larry Johnson focus more on football so he can return to somewhat of what he use to be.
4) After Brett Favre said that this year's Vikings team is possible the best team he ever played on, several members of the 1996 Packers team has come out and said there is no way the Vikings are better than the '96 Packers. Who is the better team?
Ben: 1996 Packers. But, what else do you expect Brett to say -- he currently plays for the Vikings, he's going to say the team he's on now is the best team. We just saw this with Richard Seymour. Players suck up to the team they play for in the present and forget how great there teams used to be. '96 Packers were a great football team.
Boz: For now I'll say the 1996 Packers. Look, they won a Super Bowl and it's not gaurenteed that the Vikings will win a Super Bowl just because they have started the season 6-1. If the Vikings win the Super Bowl this season, then it'll become more of a debate. The Packers had the top defense in the league in 1996 and they had a young Brett Favre who was a better quarterback than he is today. The Vikings have a lot more to prove before taking over the '96 Packers.
OVER/UNDER
1) These are the stats for Miles Austin's last two games: 10-250-2 and 6-171-2. Over or under 130 yards receiving for Miles Austin this Sunday against Seattle?
Ben: UNDER. Seattle's secondary isn't bad and those are HUGE numbers to put up 3 weeks in a row. He's got to drop off at some point. He's not Andre Johnson.
Boz: UNDER. That's a lot of yards to put up in three straight games. Austin has been a pleasant surprise for the Cowboys this season, who were looking for a big play threat after getting rid of T.O. Teams are going to start giving him double coverage which brings the yards back down to earth. And for those who are confused, Austin did not go to Monmouth College like Ben and I despite that being what SportsCenter said. He went to Monmouth University.
2) Over or under seven innings pitched for C.C. Sabathia tonight in Game 1 of the World Series?
Ben: OVER. He's a horse and the bullpen is shaky right now.
Boz: OVER. Sabathia is a horse and can pitch as many possible innings that it takes to get the ball straight into the Mariano Rivera's hands. I got Sabathia at 7 1/3 innings before handing off the ball to the Sandman.
3) Oklahoma State wideout Dez Bryant will remain ineligible for the remainder of the season. If Bryant enters the draft, over or under the 10th pick in the draft?
Ben: OVER. NFL personnel people realize what kind of effect a year off can have a player and will not take a chance on a player if they have a bust factor. Sorry, Dez, but Mike Williams and Maurice Clarett have ruined your chances next year.
Boz: UNDER. Bryant still has a ton of talent and will remain in football shape despite not playing the rest of the season. He could still be the top wide receiver taken in the draft and I see him taken anywhere from picks 6-9.
HAPPY HOUR
Ben: Happy 49th Birthday Gerald Perry. The former Cubs hitting coach was let go midseason this year because of poor performance by the Cubs bats. Overall Perry was a good coach and got a raw deal -- but how much to hitting coaches really matter? Really? Adios Gerald, you will probably meet Milton Bradley soon in the unemployment line.
Boz: Happy 60th Birthday to Bruce Jenner. Known as one of the best all-around athletes of all-time, Jenner took gold in the decathalon in the 1976 Montreal games. He is know the proud, or not so proud, step-father to the Kardashian girls and the real father of Brody Jenner... I don't know which one is worse.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment