Big Trade

Well I guess no one appreciated my Ron Burgundy reference, that's okay though, I keep it classy.

Well the Mets have officially pulled out what the Yankees and Red Sox couldn't. The Mets have brought in possibly the best pitcher in baseball to their clubhouse. After a disappointing finish to last season after high expectations for the Mets, you can expect those expectations to remain as high or even higher for this season.

Having added that piece they were missing, a dominate left hand pitcher (no offense to Glavine, who is back with my Braves this season). I don't understand the Twins logic though. Get prospects from the Mets instead of proven players from the Yankees or Red Sox. Oh well, this just adds another piece to the National League that could improve their league as a whole.

I'm not a Mets fan, since they are in the Braves division, but they should clearly be the division favorite and even the league favorite this season. But you never know in baseball, after the young Rockies proved all the critics wrong last season.

Well, Lebron has clearly stated in the past that he would love to have Kidd as a teammate and he is at it again. Since Kidd has stated, again, that he wants to be traded from the Nets, Lebron has jumped to the mic saying he would love to have Kidd as a teammate.

I have to disagree with Lebron. I think Kidd is past his peak and only have a few years left to play and his contract is to expensive for the player that he is. On the other hand, it would probably help the Cavs as a team, which would be a good thing. But I think the Cavs could get another point guard in a trade if they wanted to. I don't see it happening though. Kidd is just to expensive for any teams to make a bite for him.

But over the next month before the trading deadline, we shall see what goes on.

Chris Webber is back in the league, after signing a one year contract to play for the Warriors, his old team. Back reunited with Nellie, but I don't see this helping the Warriors in a good way. The Warriors are the fastest paced team in the league, and Webber can barely get up and down the court. He might as well just stay down on the defensive side of the court because by the time he got down to the offensive side, his teammates will probably already taken a shot.

Then again he could be a good role model for the younger players in a way. But Baron Davis is happy to have Webber as a teammate, so maybe it will end up being a good thing for the Warriors. We will see on Thursday how it works out as we get a look at Webber and the new look Warriors.

NBA All Star weekend is two weeks away, I'm excited about that.

Busy Weekend

Wow, what a weekend it had been. All kinds of different types of sports going on and boy was it fun to watch.

We had upset Saturday in Men's college basketball, the number one and two ranked tennis players in the world both go down in the semifinal round, Tiger Woods is back, and of course Kobe vs. Lebron.

I'll start with the Australian Open, the first major tournament of the year on the tennis tour. On the woman's side both Williams sister got knocked out in the quarterfinal round, good thing in my opinion. Then after they were gone, Maria Sharapova just took the tournament over. First she upset number one Justine Henin in the quarterfinal round, then she takes down the number three ranked player in the semifinals and then comes out and takes out the number four ranked player in the Finals to claim her first Australian Open major win and her third career major overall.

Boy is she fun to watch, and she is easy on the eyes too. At twenty years old she is clearly at the top of the world as one of the best tennis players. She always puts up a good fight and is always a challenge for her opponents especially with her big service game.

On the other side of the tournament in the men's draw, everyone was thinking the winner was going to be none other than Roger Federer. Well most of the tournament Federer was challenged to play his top game and he was able to answer put until the semifinal round. Novak Djokovic put a straight hurting on Federer taking him out easily in straight sets to end Federers major win run. Djokovic is a young stud who will continue to be a force on the tennis tour. He gave Federer havoc last year at Wimbledon and the US Open. I wouldn't be shocked if Djokovic took over the reigns from Federer in the next couple of years. He has a bright upside.

After the big win over Federer, Djokovic went onto the final round and faced Tsonga who beat Rafael Nadal. Djokovic beat Tsonga in the finals to win his first career Grand Slam Title.

Before I get to Lebron-Kobe, Tiger Woods was back on tour for his first tournament of the season at Torrey Pines for the Buick Invitational, a tournament that he has won three of the last years.

Well to say the least Tiger ran away with the tournament looking dominate as he always is. Woods finished the tournament (-19) under par to take the win by eight strokes. With this win it is his 62nd career win, which ties him with the great Arnold Palmer for fourth most wins all time.

Tiger looked like his normal dominate form breaking a 54 hole record and cruising to the victory on a raining final round day. Many think this is the year Tiger will bring home the grand slam title winning all four major tournaments this year. The reason being the four courses the tournaments are at Tiger has played exceptional there in the past. With the US Open being played at the exact course that Tiger played this weekend, Torrey Pines. So look out, it could be a big year for Mr. Woods.

In NBA news, there were several big games on today with the first being Celtics-Magic in Orlando. It was a tough fought game with leads going back and forth until inevitably Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu hits a huge game winning three point shot to break a 93-93 tie and give the Magic a huge win as the buzzer sounded.

This was a good game to watch between two of the best teams in the East, though the Celtics were playing without star Kevin Garnett, the Magic played well most of the game and came away with the big victory.

Now of course the highlight of the day was none other than Kobe vs. Lebron or Lakers-Cavs. Well really it turned out being Kobe vs. Lebron and boy did James put on a big show for the LA crowd.

If you wanted to see two good games in one day, then you definitely got it if you watched both of the games on ABC today. The Lakers and Cavs were battling all game long, especially in the fourth quarter, when the Lakers took a eight point lead at one point in the quarter. Then Lebron went to work on both ends of the court, scoring at will and then shutting down Kobe on the other end on defense not giving Kobe a good look at a shot.

Lebron ended up with 41 big points to Kobe's 33 and the Cavs get another come from behind victory 98-98 and have now won nine of their last eleven games. It was fun watching the two best players in the NBA go at each other late in the fourth quarter, yet Kobe couldn't get a good look at a shot and Lebron kept the pressure on the Lakers.

What a fun weekend in Sports.

Don't forget to leave you comments and stay classy. Happy Monday!

The "Boot"

So I turn on the TV and put it on ESPN yesterday and what do I see, a picture of Tom Brady wearing a walking boot. No not a fresh pair of Timberland boots, a "walking boot" that you usually wear for an injury or recovery from surgery.

I'm thinking, why does this even matter. Obviously he didn't leave the game due to injury and obviously he isn't listed as injured, but oh no we have to make it a news story. Sportscenter disappointed me by covering this and actually having people discuss if this will have an impact on how he plays in the Super Bowl.

Then later that evening, they show another picture of his without the boot. So obviously Tom thought it was ridiculous that he got on the news because of wearing that boot. So he took it off when he was going out for a night on the town.

I mean Tom Brady wearing a boot is really a big headline in the world of sports. I don't think so. Why don't you cover the Tennis Major going on out in Australia.

Defending woman's champ Serena Williams was ousted in the Quarterfinals and even Roger Federer had a deep five setter he had to pull out.

Maria Sharapova beat number one Justine Henin in the Quarterfinals to advance to back to back semifinal appearances.

Tiger Woods is set to make his 2008 debut tomorrow in the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines. Woods had a nice time off after a strong 2007 season and bringing home the first ever FedEx Cup Trophy. I'm ready for some golf.

Championship Sunday

Well it is officially that time of the year when there are only two teams left in each conference battling it out to get to the Super Bowl.

From the AFC, we have the undefeated New England Patriots facing a strong San Diego Chargers team.

In the NFC, we have the pesky New York Giants taking on none other than Brett Favre and his Green Bay Packers.

The winner of each game will move on to play in Super Bowl XLII in two weeks on February 3.

The last time Brett Fave led the Packers to the Super Bowl was in 1996 leading them to a victory over none other than the New England Patriots.

Now about 11 seasons later, Favre has another shot to get back to the Super Bowl and inevitably go out as a Champion to conclude his career. Later this evening Favre will be making his 275th consecutive start at quarterback and will have to make a big decision at the conclusion of the Packers season.

Here's what I think Favre should do. The guy is 38 years old, now holds all the major statistical records at the QB position and before this season all the critics wrote him off as done. Well Favre came into the 2007 season looking to get back to the playoffs and boy did his Packers do that and more. Having won 13 regular season games and now back in the NFC Championship and looking like a legit Champion.

I say if the Packers end up winning the Super Bowl, then Favre should call it a career; especially if they beat the Patriots. It is always the happy ending to a story to say you ended your career on a championship winning note. Especially after having probably the best season of his career along with the many records he has broken.

Favre has always been a fun QB to watch and even though he used to take down my Niners in the classic playoff battles they had a few years ago, Favre is probably one of my favorite QBs. He isn't your typical prototype QB and you surely don't want to teach your son to pull all the moves Favre has in his career. But that is what makes Favre so unique and such a fun QB to watch.

Even if the Packers make it to the Super Bowl and end up losing, if I was Favre I would call it a career. Favre is one of the best QBs of the 90s and 00s hands down and he will be talked about for decades to come.

Now here are my picks for today's Championship games...

AFC Championship: New England Patriots 34 - San Diego Chargers 16

NFC Championship: Green Bay Packers 31 - New York Giants 24

The other big news story of the day is in college basketball. Saturday was the day of the upset of top 25 teams. The biggest being the number one team in the nation losing at home to the Maryland Terps. Yes, North Carolina lost 82-80 to Maryland to suffer their first lose of the season after winning their first 18 games. Also UCLA lost at home to USC.

Now there are only two undefeated teams remaining, Memphis and Kansas. Since North Carolina lost to Maryland, all I'm hearing is UNC sucks and blah blah. What the heck does to matter? It's their first lose of the season. Their still 18-1 and this lose will only help them as a team. As a UNC fan, I'm not worried, Conference play is always the toughest part of the season. They are playing in one of the best conferences in the nation. I wasn't expecting them to go undefeated. It rarely happens anyway.

On the other hand, Memphis probably has the best shot at going undefeated. They play in Conference USA which is not nearly as challenging as the ACC. I would be shocked if UNC fell out of the top 5 because they are still a great team. Anyway that is and the season still has about a month and a half left until conference tournaments.

Go Heels!

The News

I just want to run through a couple of stories for the day.

First I want to make it more clear on what I was saying about the Mitchell Report from yesterday.

I wasn't trying to say that it should be okay for professional athletes to use steroids or performance enhancing substances, I was trying to say that the investigative program or whatever it is that the MLB goes by, should make some changes to make it more effective instead of having to go in from of congress in order to prove that athletes are guilty of using such banned substances.

Then again I did say either make a decent rule or just forget it all at hand. I know some people don't think its fair for those to use steroids and such, but if you look at it, how many players are really changing the league with their "enhanced body." Sure many people would say Barry Bonds, but he hasn't been proven guilty yet. There has been allegation after allegation about Bonds.

But think about this. The best player in the entire league, Alex Rodriguez, has never used a drug, at least that is what he says. He is the only player that is dominating the league year in and year out. He hits 50 home runs a season, 100 plus RBIs among other things.

Look at the Boston Red Sox, they have won two championships in the past four seasons. How many stories have come from Boston claiming their players have used steroids.

So all I'm trying to say is, those that have used steroids or other substances, how have they changed the game. Forget about Barry Bonds because he is a whole story by himself. If you really think about it and think of the best players in the league, what difference has it made.

So when you really think about it, how have those players that have used these drugs really changed the league. The answer is not that much really. So stop and think logically when this silly over done topic comes up next time.

Either test every player before each season or come up with a new way to keep banned substances out of the league.

Now the news everyone can't wait to read about...

One night after Kobe scores 48 in an overtime victory, my boy Lebron comes out and scores 51 in an overtime victory over Memphis. Along with the 51 points, he tallied 8 boards and 9 assists. Lebron and company are starting to get back to their form of last season have a sluggish period when they were fighting injuries.

Last night was Lebrons fourth career game with 50 or more points, with 56 being his career high. Of the four games his team has won just two of those games.

Something that baffles me that has happened time after time this football season. Whenever a team is facing the Patriots, the week before there is always a loud mouth, arrogant player that wants to talk trash about the Pats. This week Chargers DE goes and says the Patriots know what's up and the Chargers got this in the bag. So far no player on any team has been able to back up their mouth to help their team beat the Patriots.

I have never been a true trash talker, I'm the type of guy who does his talking on the field. It always makes me chuckle when someone talks trash and then loses. Or even during a game and their team is losing, they continue to talk trash. What does that do? Does it make you feel better as a person. Do you not care that your team is losing and you are just going to do what you want. Silly people.

-MJ.

"The Mitchell Report"

Today I want to discuss the latest and greatest news around the MLB and this "Mitchell Report."

But first some NBA news. Who is the hottest team in the league right now? The Celtics, not. The Spurs, not. The Pistons, no. Try the LA Lakers. That's right, the Los Angeles Bryants. After last nights overtime victory behind Kobes 48 points and game winning shot, the Lakers have now won seven straight games as their record now stands at 26-11. With that record they are tied with the Suns for the division lead and are also about a game out of first in the Western Conference.

But wait a second, their coveted center Andrew Bynum injured his ankle and will be out at least eight weeks. Oh no matter, we still have Kobe. Kobe? Oh yeah the guy that wanted to be traded all summer and the beginning of the season. That guy who loves and praises Bynum. But oh no, what will the Lakers ever do without Bynum for two months. I think one might see Kobes scoring average take a leap upwards from 27 points a game to probably 30 a game.

That is highly unlikely at this point in the season, but don't be surprised if you see Kobe running off a few 50 point games in the next two months. But do you want to know the Lakers key to success so far this season? Bynum is part of it, but the big key has been their point guard play. Derek Fisher. Since Fisher left about two or three seasons ago, the Lakers have struggled mightily at the point guard position replying on Kobe scoring 81 points a game. Now with a true point guard in Fisher, who is a scoring guard, a lot of pressure has been off of Kobes shoulders this season that he didn't want to take on anymore. That is why the Lakers have been playing great team ball between all their teammates.

And also their bench has come into games and given a bunch of support, just like all of Phil Jackson's teams of the past. Just give the stars a few minutes to rest and keep out team in the game and we have the star to help us pull out the victory at the end of the game. That pretty much sums up the Lakers at this point so far this season.

Oh what about the Celtics you ask. Well lets just say they have lost three of their last four games, two to the Wizards, and now look like a normal team. Yeah they still have the best record in the league at (30-6), but the past few weeks they have been playing ball on planet earth rather than the moon. A third of their big 3 has been fighting ankle injuries and all of a sudden they don't know how to win games in the dominating fashion of before.

Or is it because all of this winning has gone to their head and they aren't approaching games the way they were at the beginning of the season when they wanted to prove to everyone they are the best. I personally don't know the answer to that question and I think only the Celtics themselves know the answer.

On the other hand, the Washington Wizards have beat the Celtics twice, more than any other team in the league. How do they do it? No idea, especially when they don't have their coveted "Agent Zero." It's mostly been the Caron Butler show lately as the Wizards are hanging on while Arenas is out and playing .500 basketball.

I mean even a week or so ago, the Celtics lost a game to the Bobcats and played them again a few nights later and almost lost to them again. So I'm not sure what is happening with this supposedly great team, but if they want to win the 'ship, they have to play great ball all season long. Just ask the Dallas Mavericks from last season. They finished with like 15 loses and ended up losing their first round playoff match up to the Golden State Warriors. So I think it is safe to say that no team is unbeatable.

As for Parcells taking the Dolphins to the Championship, all I got to say is, that would be the day. Parcells has a lot of work to do and him being in his 60s, I wouldn't count on it happening in the next five seasons. Not as long as Tom Brady is playing in the same division or even conference as the Dolphins.

Well that part of this post got a little lengthy. I just wanted to give my insight about the news of the day regarding Mr. Mitchell talking in front of Congress about the Steroid battle.

As some of you might know "The Mitchell Report" was released a few weeks ago at the end of 2007 and was a report about all the teams in MLB talking about all those that have used steroids or performance enhancing drugs, which are illegal in the MLB.

Now here's how I feel. I'm not sure exactly why today's hearing was taken place, but I think Major League Baseball has taken this a little too far. Clearly Bud Selig doesn't want, like, or allow any baseball player to use any type of performance enhancing substance. He is clearly taken this matter way to far and by hiring a private investigative group to go around to trainers of players to find out who has used such drugs is just crazy.

I understand it is a new rule for the league, but the rule wasn't put into effect until about five years ago. Now since Barry Bonds has broken Hank Aaron's home run record, Selig is upset and trying to change the face of MLB.

I understand people argue that taking such drugs gives the player an "edge" and blah blah, but the Report said one every team there was at least one player who had used a banned substance. The thing is some players used a drug to help them recover from injury. And that is the case for most of the players who have spoken publicly about the matter.

Along with this rule there are consequences such as being suspended a certain number of games for the first and second offense and then correct me if I'm wrong, you are banned from the league on your third offense.

So instead of going through all this investigative congressional mess, why not be the commissioner that you are and warn the players that under any circumstance should you use a banned substance because it will hurt career.

So either enforce this new rule or just let it go and let the players do whatever they want to their bodies, heck it might even "spice" up play around the league even. Like I've said before, we are in a new day and age within the sporting world. Athletes are more talented than they were back in the 1900s. So no matter what, the style of play will only continue to get better and change in the years to come.

Thanks again to all the readers, be sure to share with friends. Comments are always welcome.

I have returned

Yes I am still alive and kicking. Sorry for the long layoff, but I'm back at my job now and trying to come up with new ideas for 2008.

Oh and by the way Happy New Year to everyone out there. I know the month is half way over now, but it's never to late to wish everyone well.

As some of you might know I am approaching one year writing this blog. It was suggested by my sister and brother-in-law. Now as I am approaching my one year birthday, I think it is time to take things to the next level and towards my future career. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas for me, feel free to leave comments because they will only help me to improve and get better. Some of you might have noticed I put up a poll asking if you think my blog is interesting. Please give me your vote and leave any comments or suggestions you think I could use. Oh and I changed the title of my blog because some friends like to joke on me and call me Mr. SportsSmak and try to make me mad, so I just wanted to make a change for '08.

Now on to the interesting stuff. Well what has happened since the last time I wrote a serious post...

Well the Patriots finished the season 16-0 and have won their divisional round playoff game and now stand at 17-0 with the San Diego Chargers standing in their way of perfection. The Pats beat the Chargers at the beginning of the season, but the Chargers started 1-3 and are now a hot team having won six straight games. The problem is the Patriots are undefeated so you can't really talk much about how great they are doing.

Along with the undefeated record, their offense has broken many records along their way. Brady threw 50 touchdown records and Moss caught 23 of those touchdowns. Both of those stats are new records in the book. They also broke the record for most points scored by a team, along with several others I don't feel like naming. Bottom line is the Patriots are a good team.

On the other side of the league, the final two teams in the NFC are the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants who have won two road games in the playoffs and are riding a nine game road win streak heading to Green Bay on Sunday.

Out of the four teams left playing, I have to say I have no complaints as all four teams are and have been playing great football as of late. I think any team could win the Championship. But as I said before the Playoffs began, I chose the New England Patriots to face the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl 42. But with the way the Chargers and Giants are playing right now, either of those teams could pull off the upset, especially the Chargers.

The problem with the Chargers is they have several key injuries that if those players can't play on Sunday could reduce their chances of upsetting the Pats. All they need is their defense to play like it did against the Colts and they could give them a run for their money.

In other news, the College Football National Champion is the LSU Tigers after a dominating win over Ohio State. This game didn't really interest me. I think many people felt LSU was going to win this game. Like I have mentioned in the past, I am NOT a fan of the "BCS." Or as I like to call it, "Bunch of Cheesy Stuff."

Anyway, I think those old fogies that run on the committee need to push College Football into the future and make a playoff system hands down. Just about every other important sport does it, including other NCAA Sports. Yeah football is a demanding sport, but that is why they play the game to win a Championship. Reduce the number of games during the regular season and come up with a playoff system is all I have to say about that.

NCAA Basketball has entered Conference Play and the top three teams in the Nation stand as so: North Carolina (17-0), Memphis (15-0), and Kansas (16-0). Each of these teams have proved so far their are the top of the class and will continue their route to perfection in the next coming months in conference play.

Well I think that is a good return post. I'll check in with the NBA in the next few days.

Take it easy and please leave comments with ideas and suggestions.

Thanks!

New things for 08

I know, I know, I haven't posted anything in awhile, but I will get back to work here shortly. Trying to come up with some new and improved ways to go about this blog. Just wanted to give those fans an update.

-MJ