The Boston Sports Jinx

If you have lived on the East Coast over the last 10 years, you've undoubtedly heard the heartache and pain that was involved with being a Boston sports fan between the Bird era Celtics through the 2004 Boston Red Sox. And while the great Celtic teams are a source of pride for the city -- any deep rooted Boston sports fan would tell you that all those NBA championships combined didn't add up to the joy of the 2004 (and 2007) World Series Championship. This was because - the city believed its' baseball team was jinxed...

Well - within this 2007-2008 generic sports season - as the sports media has well-documented - there is certainly no jinx in Boston...It's sports interests couldn't be doing any better. The Red Sox won the World Series, the Patriots are going to go undefeated in the regular (and post) season, and the Kevin Garnett led Boston Celtics look like the best team in the NBA.

So what happened to the jinx? It looks like it's become a snow-bird and flown down to South Florida, where most of my sports interests call home...The Dolphins are going to be the first 0-16 team in NFL history. The Heat have won only 5 of their first 20 games and are in last place...The Marlins are the laughing stock of baseball - although I think undeserved (check out Dan le Batards take which I agree with).

Regardless, it's been hard out here for a South Florida sports fan...The problem is, Florida is a transient city. Very few people who live there are born and raised - which means most people move to Florida with an existing favorite team...I'm a die-hard Miami Heat fan because I've been a fan since the franchises very first game - and like a true fan - I could name almost every player who's played on the Heat since 1988. That's rare in South Florida... But not in Boston...

Many Boston sports fans gave up a little bit on the Celtics over the last few years - but in their heart of hearts - they were always Celtic fans - which undoubtedly makes the current situation even sweeter.... This will probably never happen in South Florida. I used to think the Dol-Fans were loyal - as the franchise has been around a very long time - but I suppose it's base is starting to give up on Wayne Huizinga...

Anyway - I'm hoping the jinx is merely a cold and not a virus. I can take it for one year - but not much longer...As a sports nut - it's REALLY painful. (Thank goodness for Fantasy Sports once again) ;)

College Football Chaos

I don't know if I'll ever give up on it -- but I really don't think the aggregate "College Football brand " approval rating could be much worse than it is today. Anyone who argues that the BCS is a quality system is clearly misguided.

While I understand there are complications with the much-desired play-off system, I don't think anyone could argue that it's what College Football "customers" want... College Football is a business... it's a brand.... and while it's not going anywhere (like the NHL in my opinion) - I have to imagine that some fans are going to get sick of the broken system...If fans aren't as interested, than TV broadcast networks will value the rights less, which I'm hoping would open the eyes of the powers that be...

I thought Tom Wetzel (of Yahoo sports) did a very good job of articulating how the play-off system should be run - and I wanted to share. Check out the link if you're interested - it's a good read.

MIchigan Football...2007

It seems as if the biggest story in the sports media world over the last few weeks has been the University of Michigan's abysmal start to the college football season. As I'm a proud Wolverine fan, most people who know me are thrilled to ask me how I'm feeling these days about Michigan Football...As I've gotten the question over 10 times recently -- I decided to blog my feelings...

While I am frustrated, annoyed, and baffled -- I actually have what I like to think is a unique mindset on the situation. You see -- being a loyal fan means that you are with the team through good times and bad. This is a clearly bad time. So... I take notice to the fact that I'm lucky... Lucky in the fact that I am a fan (and alumni) of one of the few college football programs that has the luxury of being a realistic competitor year in and year out. I can think of maybe 5 other college programs that can say that...To put it in perspective - if I went to Indiana - I wouldn't have a college football program to root for... This isn't meant to be a knock on IU -- it's just an example of why I feel it's great to be a Michigan Wolverine - even in times like this.

I do feel bad for Mike Hart, Chad Henne, and Jake Long -- who all came back to repeat as contenders... I'm hoping they are able to taste a championship at the next level...

It's been a very bad start to the year. Does that mean that the season is over? Of course not. We're not going to win the National Championship - but there are some big ten team(s) that could make our season salvageable - even if we go 3-9. Another benefit of being a Michigan fan -- lots of meaningful rivalries...

All in all ... again - As a fan, it's been a baffling 2 weeks. It's probably going to be a very frustrating 12 weeks...
This said ... I'm still proud to be a Michigan Wolverine alumni - and this will never fade. I won't defend the poor performance or get frustrated with those classless fans who like to rub my face in it. I don't think I gloat when Michigan is great either. I'm what I like to consider a class-act Michigan Wolverine fan. GO BLUE!!

Two NBA thoughts

First NBA thought: Robert Horry owes Bill Russell and apology
"Who is the best player of all-time" is probably the most popular sports debate topics ever. Rarely is there one conclusive answer to the question - as there are varying viewpoints from different generations, different sports philosophies, different regions of the country/world, etc.

Growing up, the NBA was my favorite sport and Magic Johnson was the type of player I wanted to emulate. Understanding that I was never going to be 6' 9'', I still loved his game. I'm sure there was some time when I thought Magic was the best of all time ... although I don't today. Him and Bird undoubtedly made a enormous impact on the league like no one else - but I'm not sure either was the best. Magic ended up with 5 NBA Championships, Bird ended up with 3.

Michael Jordan is probably the most popular choice as best NBA player ever. It's hard to argue MJ's impact on the global game, his dominance, and sheer beauty playing the game. MJ ended his career with 6 NBA Championship.

There are a bunch of other players of mention in the category such as Wilt, Kareem, Oscar, etc.
But then there's Bill Russell ... who I never saw play. They guy has 10 championship rings - more than any other player! I used to think that the 10 championships were almost enough to give Russell the crown ... but then Robert Horry comes along.

"Big shot Rob" - as Wilbon likes to call him - has been a solid role player on 7 championship teams! More than Jordan, more than Magic, more than Bird, more than Wilt..... You get the picture. Bottom-line, Robert Horry ruins the claim of Bill Russell's as the best player of NBA history - and I think that's sad.

My second NBA thought: When are teams going to learn -- Drafting big, white centers in the top 10 is a huge mistake.
What was Sacramento thinking tonight? Spencer Hawes??
I honestly cannot remember a 7-foot-plus white center being drafted high who actually has an impact on his team. Rafael Araujo? Chris Mihm? Nikoloz Tskitishvili? Chris Kaman? (solid role player - c'mon)

2007 NBA Regular Season Rap-up

Tonight marks the final night of the 2007 NBA Regular Season. Although the NFL has surpassed the NBA as my favorite sport to be a fan of -- I think I'm one of about 16 people who still like the NBA (including the Sports Guy). However, even as an NBA fan, I did find this past regular season disappointing.

Part of this was that my team, the Miami Heat, pretty much announced at the start of the year that they weren't going to really try until the play-offs. This plan was a bit foiled when D.Wade went out for 20+ games, so they had to try a little while he was gone. Props to Jason Kapono who had the best year of his career - and had a huge part of keeping the Heat afloat while the regulars were on cruise control...

Anyhow - some more reasons why I was disappointed about the NBA this year:

• How did the Detroit Pistons get Chris Webber? Oh yea - He just didn't want to play for the losing Sixers anymore so they cut him and he was able to sign with whoever he wanted. Huh?
• Lebron took notes from Shaq and decided to coast for about 50 games.
  
• I can't remember the last time the rookie class was this bad. Anyone who wins the Rookie of the Year honors is by default.
• This entire Tanking situation is out of control. There needs to be a fix and I do believe that D. Stern will make it happen.
• Speaking of D. Stern -- He took Mark Cuban out character. This season Mark was very very quiet.
• The West is still Varsity and the East is still JV. Last year the JV squad upset the Varsity, but that's just because they had the best JV phenom who was waiting for his spot and took it.
  

Not all was bad, though. Some things that are good:

• The Phoenix Suns are fun to watch - especially when they play the Mavs
• David Stern actually took the players side in the Joey Crawford ordeal
• Kobe being so good.... but Phil and the Lakers being so bad...
• Props to Sam Mitchell and the Toronto Raptors. Sam deserves coach of the year in my opinion given the fact that everyone expected them to be in the Oden/Durant sweepstakes, but instead they've got home court in the first round.
  
• My "I took and extra step up in 2007" team:
• Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, E. Curry, Gil Arenas, T-Mac,

Going into the post-season - I will obviously be passionately rooting for the Heat. I didn't expect them to win last year - and I don't expect them to win it all (again) this year. I'm hoping for some upsets, especially in the west. I'd love to see Houston or Utah come out of that group - although I wouldn't bet on it.

Finally, if you're looking for a reason to watch the NBA play-offs -- check out the NP3 later this week. It's a pool my buddy runs....

Something in Baseball that I've been waiting for...

Baseball season is upon us... While baseball is my 3rd favorite sport behind Football and Basketball (I don't have a "team" that I'm a hometown fan of... other than my Fantasy teams), I have a full grasp of the game and have always been intrigued by the concept of the switch hitter - Someone who can modify what side of the plate he bats on based on which pitcher he is facing. (Not to be confused with a bi-sexual)

For a long time, I've often wondered if I'd ever see a switch pitcher in my lifetime -- and apparently - I will. This morning, The New York Times did an article on Pat Venditte a Junior at Creighton University. He's a switch pitcher, and apparently pretty good.

He apparently has a custom-made glove that allows him to easily switch hands easily, depending on what side of the plate the batter he is facing is on.

That's all -- but I wanted to share as I truly have been waiting to hear about something like this.

NFL mecca in South Beach

With the NFL Super Bowl to take place this Sunday, I have found myself in Miami the past 2 days at an industry conference. Below are the run-ins of football celebrities that I've spotted (but quite frankly - only approached one or two).

On the plane ride down -- Mike "Greeney" Greenberg from Mike and Mike in the morning. (He seemed a lot taller than I would have figured. I had him pegged at 5'7 - but he appeared over 6 feet)

Last night, we dined in the same restaurant as Edgerrin James. (Note - it was dark - but I'd like to state for the record that my step-mom told me she thought he was good looking). Cue picture of Mr. Edgerrin James...

I also saw Michael Irvin walking on the street yesterday.

Now onto what seemed to be a football telecaster orgy.... I dined at one of my favorite restaurants in the world tonight -- Joe's Stone Crab. Anyhow - here is the all-star case of who sat within 10 feet of me (literally). Although they didn't sit at the same table. It was broken into ESPN and HBO Sports tables...

- Chris Berman (wearing the most wrinkled khaki pants I've ever seen)
- Tom Jackson (he was big)
- Dan Marino (most popular guy in the place)
- Chris Collinsworth (walked with a pretty noticeable limp - but it planning on golfing tomorrow)
- Chris Carter (seemed to be the most friendly and smiling of the bunch)
- Peter King (In my Felch voice - "oh dear friend ... did you read MMQB?")
- Hank Goldberg (now HE walked with a horrible limp. He must have been mourning Barbaro's passing)
- Fat Joe (Random - I know - but no joke - Dan Marino gave him the biggest smile and hug that he gave anyone else in the place)

As much as I love the NFL and as much as I watch these guys on a regular basis - I truly didn't have the desire to approach them. Beyond empathizing with their desire to eat in peace - I just didn't have anything that important or memorable to say to any of them. Saying something just to tell people that I said something seems like amateur hour to me. So instead of saying anything to them .... I just came home and blogged about it. ;)

Nick Satan

A lot of people have asked me this week how I feel about Nick Saban leaving the Dolphins. Rather than go off on a tangent - I'll direct you to Dan Le Batards piece - which pretty much represents exactly how I feel.

In terms of who I hope replaces the guy .... I'm leaning toward Jim Mora Jr. right now. To be honest, though, I fully expecting the Dolphins to hire Mike Shula or something like that...

Michigan and the BCS

I've had this conversation with a handful of folks, so I thought I'd write a little bit about it on my blog.

I'll start by saying I've always been in favor of a NCAA Football play-off - even if it was for 6 teams. Every year there is an issue with the current system - and nothing is ever done about it. My buddy, Salis, had a good point yesterday (which is rare) ;) ... He said, if you ran a business and there were problems with the same operational function of your business every year - that you'd be forced to change that system - even if it meant a short-term decrease in profit.... But ... seems as if the Bowl Championship committee's doesn't have to play by normal rules. They seem to believe that controversy is good - because it promotes the series (which is such BS!)

This year - the lack of clarity continues around the "right" match-up of #1 vs. #2.

Being a Michigan fan - I clearly believe that Michigan should be playing on Jan 8th against Ohio State. I think Michigan has demonstrated it's talent, success, and it's claim to represent one-loss teams against Ohio State. I've watched about 5 or 6 of Florida's games this year - and I truly think they are not a good football team. I actually believe that LSU is the best team in the SEC this season -- they just happened to play all their toughest opponents on the road... USC isn't a good football team either.

Anyway - that's my opinion - and it means nothing in the grand scheme of things...

This being said, I've been very surprised at how I've felt the past few weeks about going to the National Championship game... Of course, I really wanted Michigan to play in the game -- but there was something missing. If Michigan played against OSU in the Fiesta Bowl and won -- I'd be very happy -- but not 100% satisfied. After losing to Ohio State - it was like even a National Championship would not have made the season a complete success. Yes - playing on the road is a disadvantage and we only lost by 3 points ... but that still doesn't erase the fact that we lost to Ohio State.

Many of my fellow Michigan fans don't agree with this feeling - and that's cool. I understand the ability for "revenge" on a neutral field, but not sure that alone would make the season whole to me.

If anything, though, I'm hopeful that Michigans impact on yet another totally botched BCS system -- helps pave the way for a better NCAA play-off system in the near future.

Go Blue!

Ball Park Derby

My buddy Salis and I have a competition of sorts I felt worthy of sharing. Neither of us is the biggest baseball fan in the world - but we both found an intriguing commanality within building a resume of visitied professional baseball parks. It makes for a fun summer "thing to do" (especially with my frequency of business travel schedule and his lack their of business travel). It is with this I thought I'd give an update. Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending my 13th professional baseball stadium (Ameriquest Field) -- towering over Andrews' 11.

For future reference (because I think we've asked each other for one anothers list at least 10 times) here are the 13 stadiums I have been to (in no particular order):

1. Yankee Stadium (Yankees)
2. Shea Stadium (Mets)
3. Dodger Stadium (Dodgers)
4. Skydome (Blue Jays)
5. Old Tiger Stadium (Tigers)
6. Fenway (Red Sox)
7. Wrigley (Cubs)
8. US Cellular (White Sox)
9. Pac Bell (SF Giants)
10. Camden Yards (Orioles)
11. Pro Player Stadium (Marlins)
12. Miller Park (Brewers)
13. Ameriquest Field at Arlington (Rangers)

Here are the 11 that Salis has been to:

1. Shea Stadium
2. Yankee Stadium
3. Fenway
4. Old Pittsburgh Stadium (Pirates)
5. Turner Field (Atlanta)
6. Oakland (A's)
7. Pac Bell
8. Wrigley
9. US Cellular
10. Veteran Stadium (Phillies)
11. Olympic (Montreal Expos)

As we get older, I'm looking forward to visiting ball parks with Salis and checking off stadiums (with or without corporate marketing names) off our list...

2006 NBA CHAMPS

I think a previous post (on attending Game 3) summed up a lot of my feelings about the Heat, but below are some quick feelings after the Heat have won their first NBA Championship!

-- After 18 years of hard luck – it feels AMAZING to know that the Heat will finally raise a Championship banner in their arena

-- It also feels great that almost instantaneously after the win, I received about 10 text messages from friends. I guess I’ve done a good job over the years of branding myself a die-hard Heat Fan. I feel like even some of my Knick fan friends are happy for me.

-- Big up to my boy Steve Pugliese, who has shared the 18 year run with me. We’ve both have had some roller-coaster feelings about the Dolphins over the years – but this had never been the case with the Heat. Since 1988 – we’ve been passionate, loyal fans who have always imagined last night happening. Small props to Colediggy who did attend the first game the Heat ever played in 1988 with me (against Dale Ellis and the Supersonics), but has been a Bulls fan over the years…

-- Big ups to my old man, PG. He has gotten season tickets for every year in some way, shape, or form. (The seats we shared with the Puglieses’ next to the old lady were my favorites… Cinnamon Almonds…Cashews…)

Now for the team:

-- Dwayne Wade is getting TONS of hype after his finals performance and he 100% deserves it. Heat fans have known he’s the man for 3 years – now the whole world is privy to that. As I said in my last post, he is officially my favorite NBA Player of all-time

-- Speaking of Dwayne Wade ….. where the hell has Converse been during these finals????? They FINALLY land a superstar that Nike, Reebok, or Adidas do not and they don’t scream this at the top of their lungs during the Finals? Who is running their marketing department?? (Note: Converse is officially owned by Nike, but operated as a seperate brand.Also, Reebok and Adidas are now the same company)

-- I won’t admit that I was wrong about Antoine Walker – but I have to say that he earned my respect. It will never be pretty to watch him in the game, but the guy played a role on this Championship team and for that I must respect him. Shimey all you want Twon …. You earned it.

-- Alonzo Mourning deserved a ring. A lot of people hate him because of his jumping around from different teams in that short spurt – or maybe because he was a little immature when he first got into the league …. But I’ve always loved Zo’s game. Yes, he has the “survivor” story through his kidney troubles – and he deserves every bit of praise for it…. But that’s not why I love Zo. Again – I love his game. He’s a hustler, a defensive force, a role player – does whatever the coach asks of him and doesn’t complain. Last night, possibly his final game in the NBA was a microcosm of all this. He was awesome and exactly what the Heat needed. He’s a class act (not to forget a Pimp dresser) and I’m above all happy that he has finally won a ring.

-- Dwayne Wade was the clear-cut MVP, but large props must go to James Posey who seemed to always be doing something positive for the team. Props also to Udonis Haslem who made All-NBA Dirk look like a Dirk who wouldn’t have made the All-Star team.

To sum up, being a loyal fan for so long, I definitely feel like I’ve won the Championship too. No, I’m not one of those psycho people who actually think they’ve won the ring too – but it just feels grea!. To me, it just proves that if you stick with something and you are loyal with it – that it is rewarded over time….. LET’S GO HEAT! (or should I say CHAMPS)!

An In-Person Instant Classic

I had waited 18 years for last night... and I'm pretty sure it was well worth the wait.

The Miami Heat are far-and-away my favorite sports franchise of all-time. My father has had season tickets for the Miami Heat since 1988 - the team's inaugural season. I can name almost every player that's every worn a Heat jersey... I have battled through the cellar years (0-17 to start the season), the Knicks Rivalry (including being at "The Alan Houston shot" game), and everything else that has been the Miami Heat journey.

Last night was the franchise's first home NBA Finals game ever --- and I was there! Before the game even started - I turned to my dad and said, "I'm so glad I'm here right now" ... which in hind-sight was the under-statement of the evening...

As a quick overview -- the Heat have inspired me this play-off season by beating all of their prior three opponents in no more than 6 games...Since game 1 of the finals, however, they have been atrocious. They have lacked any sense of confidence and it this has been exposed by a very well-rounded and well-coached Dallas Mavericks team.

Now onto game 3 - In the first half, neither the Heat nor the Mavs looked very good - but the Heat was up by 9 at half-time, so I wasn't about to complain ... The third quarter was a big kick in the nuts ... Dallas outscored Miami by 18 points, flipping the 9 point lead to their advantage going into the 4th Quarter ... 10 minutes to go in the game, Dwayne Wade (already my favorite basketball player of all time after only 3 years in the league), gets his 5th personal foul... The Heat go down 13 ....
During a Heat time-out, my father looks at me and says "If Wade gets his 6th and this lead gets extended -- we're outta here" ... I felt like I got punched in the gut ... not by my dad's statement, but more because I started to feel like the Heat were really going to go down 3-0. But, I wasn't ready to give up ....So I turn to my dad and said "we're not leaving --- you gotta believe!! Do you believe??!!) .... And the rest is well documented in any sports journalism from today... Dwayne Wade was just as amazing as he has been all year .... Udonis Haslem and James Posey played some great defense .... Gary Payton reminds us that he's actually on the Heat... and a 90% Free Throw shooter misses a shot, when a 45% shooter makes two when it counts...

Regardless of what happens in this series -- I will never ever forget being at Game 3 of the 2006 NBA Finals. (Thanks Dad!) For those of you who know how passionate I am about the Heat -- you should know that this game certainly made that passion deeper (if that is possible). I'm an original Miami Heat fan - and will be one until I die...... LET'S GO HEAT!!!

My Bitterness with the NBA

Last night, the 2005 NBA season came to a close with Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs claiming the NBA title. I was actually very interested in the 2005 NBA season, until the play-offs really annoyed me.

Yes,– I am quite bitter because my beloved Miami Heat were ousted by the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals, but there were things throughout the whole play-offs that rubbed me the wrong way (and yes, there is a right way to rub me). Anyway...I propose that next year 2 new rules are put in place for the NBA:

1. No players other than the captain is allowed to speak to the refs. If a player speaks to a ref, regardless of what is said, it should be a technical foul. It seems nowadays ANY player (other than Shaq) has something to say to the ref on every call. Not every player does it every time (i.e. Kurt Thomas who has never committed a single foul according to him), but at some point I have seen the majority of players turn into cry-babies. Now clearly these players don'’t believe that by them arguing, the ref is going to reverse the call... BUT... What they do hope is that they guilt the ref into the next call or the one after that. So not only is it painful to watch, but I think it has some un-natural effects of the flow of the officiating.
2. Technical Fouls for all flops. For those that don'’t know what I'’m talking about, anytime a player over-exaggerates the impact of contact, it i’s called a "flop"”Players flopping is beginning to become a worse and worse part of the game and there needs to be a penalty for it. Players cannot believe that there is no harm in doing it and the only thing I can thing of to get this point across is an immediate technical foul. I'’d even go as far as having a committee reviewing game tapes and fining players after the fact, even if the refs miss the call during the live game.

I have often believed NBA games were way to controlled by referee’s. It is for this reason, there is always up and down flows in most games…It is also the reason why David Stern is consistently being accused of having control of the outcome of games. Although this conspiracy theory is quite interesting, I don't buy it. If this was the case, the boring San Antonio Spurs would not have been playing the boring Detroit Pistons in the Finals… However, David does have a lot of power and control. I like to consider him a smarter, more successful version of Vince McMahon. Just as much a bully, but with his brain rather than brute force. And he, too, prefers his organizations'’ single personalities to be the face of the entire league. Will he face the same fate as Vince and his Organization? No, I don'’t think so, but he is endanger of his league becoming more of a soap opera than a competition, and that is just not cool with me.

Sportscenter-aholics Anonymous - Not anymore...

It is safe to say that 4 years ago, I watched at least 1 full hour of Sportscenter a day. It has taken quite some time to pull away from my addiction, but thanks to 2 things in particular, I have been able to successfully halt most of my Sportscenter watching :

1. The invention of Digital Video Recorder (I’m a Tivo loyalist)
2. Mike Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser from PTI

First, the DVR...This is definitely not the last time I will include my love for the invention in a post, but I believe it is the first. For those of you who don’t have it, GET ON IT! Beyond the reasonable price and ease of use (even my consumer-electronics-challenged father knows how to operate it – sorry PG), my TIVO has truly made my day more complete. It allows for more efficient television watching, which means no “filler”. I’ve learned over the past few years that Sportscenter was just that for me … A time-passer in between TV programs. This is not to say that I didn’t enjoy watching the program, as I certainly would rather watch sports than the Lifetime movie of the week – but now I have a multitude of saved programs to chose from. One of these programs is PTI, which gives me the Sports fix I need in about 22 minutes (thanks again Mr. Tivo).

For those that do not watch the show, PTI is a sports opinion show of 2 Washington Post writers, Mike Milbon and Tony Korheiser. These two guys are old friends and have been compared to an old married couple who bicker about everything. The format is clear and concise with the topics of discussion displayed on the right hand side of the screen - each given a strict time limit. Once that limit is hit, they move on to the next topic, as not to spend too much time on one topic throughout the show. This enables a complete wrap-up of the major sports stories, along with the entertainment value of Sportscenter. Although the show cannot cover everything, I find that the internet can certainly provide the box scores, etc that are missing from PTI.

So that's it. I still appreciate Sportcenter, but I'm no longer an addict. Thank you PTI. Thank you TIVO.

Madness

Yesterday was very tough for me… There were 16 NCAA Tournament games going on (starting at NOON and continuing into the wee hours of the morning) on a THURSDAY. Today – I will go through the same torture… Having to work, while this event is going on is more tortuous then some of the worst stressful days on the typical job….

Thought: You know how most companies have the “2 religious holidays rule” (although most companies don’t promote this) where you are allowed to take 2 days off for religious holidays not included in the typical schedule (in addition to the typical allotted vacation and personal days)... Well, can’t these 2 days go towards that…? I have the same energy towards my work today – as I would had I come into work on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, where we fast until sundown….

I guess if I was REALLY passionate about it I could take 2 of my “personal days” allotted, however, this year that’s not an option…. I’m off all next week – going on a cruise with my family and Amy. So I guess … who I’m I to complain … Peace. I’m out until next week.

Plus/Minus stat in the NBA

In this "Moneyball" / Fantasy game sports world that now exists - statistics in sports has never been more followed and studied by the masses. In the major sports where an individuals' statistics are determined almost solely on that individual (Baseball and Football), a player's value is largely judged on the stats they accumulate. Rushing yards, Touchdowns, Home Runs, Strikeouts, etc... (The one exception could be a Tom Brady who keeps producing the biggest stat of them all - WINS - but again, these are the small exceptions).
In other team sports like Basketball and the defunked NHL - a player could be highly valuable to a team without producing in the major statistic categories like points/rebounds/assists or goals/assists respectively. I believe that Hockey actually HAD done one thing right in their game by keeping the "plus/minus" statistic. For those who don't know, the plus/minus statistic is a simple equation: How did your team fare in goals while you were on the ice versus how did your team fare in goals when you were not on the ice. A player with a high "plus" number can be perceived as highly valuable as that players team obviously did better with that person on the ice...

I know that many NBA teams and coaching staffs (like Danny Ainge used to do in Phoenix) track this stat - but I think the NBA should have this as a standard tracked statistic by the league. Yes - I am a fantasy junkie - so I think it would be a great addition to that aspect of the game, but I truly believe that this stat could potentially tell a lot. Good defenders or "energy" guys could have a metric put against their value rather than relying solely on "fitting into coaches system," etc. This wouldn't completely change the game - but certainly could give guys who have different styles a better chance at making the league....

On a similar note: Shot out to Dave Stempler for sending me this cool site that tracks similar stats.

Alonzo Mourning

After about 2 months from being traded, the Toronto Raptors today announced they have agreed to buy-out terms with Alonzo Mourning...Speculation has Zo returning to Miami to play with the Heat for a title run... I have 2 thoughts:
1) Why did Toronto trade Vince Carter again... ? For Eric and Aaron Williams (no relation) ?
2) Should the Heat really have strong interest in Zo ?

The first thought, I couldn't care too much about... Yes, VC has stepped up his game as of late - but wasn't of much value to the Raptors - as management obviously just wanted him out...

The second thought is of more interest to me, being a Heat fan since 1998 - I obviously love what Zo stands for, but I'm not expecting the Zo of old to appear. Although I was a bit bitter when Zo went to New Jersey to get one last payout, I'm hoping he comes to the heat and plays a role. 15 - 20 minutes a game, grabbing boards and giving Shaq and Haslem some breathers. We shall see how the story on-folds...