Just The Tip - 8-23-10

Back by popular demand, or at the very least necessity, is another edition of Just The Tip, the experimental blog where we’ll try just about anything, just to see how it feels.

Of course the two most interesting sports stories of the week have been covered to death by every media outlet and two-bit blogger all around the web, but it goes without saying that something needs to be said about the inevitable return of Brett Favre to Minnesota and the indictment of Roger Clemens on perjury charges. But in the true spirit of Just The Tip, we’ll keep it short and sweet, so that’s why I’m going to let movie quotes handle it for me.

On Favre’s Return:

On Clemens’s indictment and subsequent continued denial:

“I would never lie. I willfully participate in a campaign of misinformation.”

-         Fox Mulder, The X-Files

Alright, now that we’ve got the given out of the way and dealt with the uncomfortable part, let’s move on.

-         The Red Sox and their fans are finally succumbing to the collapse of Theo Epstein’s “Bridge”. The team fought valiantly to stay in the race this season, but after having lost Dustin Pedroia (twice), Jacoby Ellsbury (thrice), Jason Varitek, Josh Beckett, Victor Martinez, Clay Bucholtz, Jed Lowrie, Hideki Okajima, and various other moving parts to the disabled list throughout the season, Boston finds itself 5.5 games out of a playoff spot with just over a month left to play on the season. It certainly doesn’t help that they are chasing the two teams in their own division that have the two best records in baseball, but still, it stings to know the season is just about over in New England.

-         Can someone please update me how it is that Ben Roethlisberger is practicing with the Steelers and appearing in pre-season games, despite being suspended for at minimum the first four games on the 2010 season? I may be wrong but it seems to me that neither Michael Vick or Pac-Man Jones were afforded such a luxury? This may be the largest double-standard since men were allowed to stand up to relieve themselves while women were forced to straddle the porcelain god. Last time I checked, a suspension entailed sitting out from any activity related the game you play. Enough said.

-         Has someone checked the water coolers in the Orioles dugout lately? Prior to hiring Buck Showalter as manager, the Orioles were sitting at 31-76 on the season. However, after the hiring of Showalter, the Birds are 13-4. This is a team that hasn’t changed any personnel, aside from releasing Garrett Atkins, and has been guided by not one but two different managers prior to bringing Buck aboard. Maybe Peter Angelos should have made a move earlier, but it is doubtful that their position would have improved much given the division they play in. Still, at least fans can remove the paper bags right?

-         The United States Basketball team is again struggling in international competition, having barely survived in two warm-up matches against Lithuania and now Spain. Maybe it has to do with the players that populate team, who are not the same as the ones that lead the U.S. to the gold medal at the Olympic Games, or maybe it is actually the beginning of a bigger picture. In a game dominated by the United States in the past, the international competition showed in 2008 and again in this year’s games that they are closing the gap. American players may still be able to outjump anyone on the floor, but what really lands home is just home much more fundamentally sound the European teams are. American players spend so much time skipping college and learning to play on the playground than they do learning the fundamentals of the game, and that’s why they struggle to maintain their superiority.

Originally published on YouGabSports.com!

No Sport Needs A Super Team

We were all witness to the Lebron James extravaganza that held the fates of New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Miami, and Cleveland in its hands. And we were all less than surprised when James chose to team up with fellow free agents Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade in order to try and win a championship with the Heat.

Fans in Cleveland and New York rightfully felt betrayed and angered by the decision, but all misgivings aside, James followed his desire to win a championship in making his decision, and obviously felt that by helping to create a super team in South Beach was his best means to an end. Then again, nothing is guaranteed in sports, and the games will still need to be played. That all said, there is one thing that bears saying about this whole ordeal:


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NBA Free Agent Summit Is Interesting Move

Alright folks, put your picket signs down and get your panties out of a bunch, I’m not talking about the G-8 Summit. No, that fun event and its protests will be in Huntsville, Ontario from June 25-27, 2010. Sorry for the confusion.

Rather, I’m referring to the recently announced super summit of NBA free agents, planned to occur sometime before the July 1^st start to free agent signings. Apparently Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Joe Johnson, and Chris Bosh are opting to meet in order to discuss their free agency plans in regards to where they hope to sign and what salaries they will demand.

For all intensive purposes, they are pooling their resources to ensure that they all get what they want and know how the dominoes will fall. But wait a second, aren’t they all already part of a union? Why the need to meet separately?

In reality, this sounds more like the other guys want to see what thought process Lebron James is following, so they can know how the fallout will shake out for them. Wade will likely be the next to go after James, with Bosh and Johnson likely to follow depending on the fates of fellow free agents Dirk Nowitzki and Amare Stoudamire, who are not confirmed for this “summit.”

The question is, why hasn’t someone else thought of this sooner? Maximizing salaries and predicting landing spots is something that agents are usually left in charge of. However, in these days of agents over estimating markets and failing to secure long-term deals in all sports, perhaps this is the best way to ensure that everyone gets their fair shake, especially considering the magnitude of the players available is perhaps unlike any previous class ever. No more worries about collusion to control salaries, just playing the game off the court like it is on the court, as a team, to get the best results.

Then again, based on the outcome of said meetings, these players can come off looking pompous and headstrong. They could demand astronomical deals or force “package” signings of multiple players because they know how the market will play out and they know how to leverage the teams based on what is out there.

If past NBA free agency is any indicator, the dominoes will fall fast, so Wade and his summit are doing their best to stay ahead of it. Only time will tell if the decision to act was a smart business move or an effort of futility.

2010 NBA Draft Board Top Five

When the National Basketball Association changed the age eligibility rules for the NBA Draft in 2006, requiring all eligible players to be at least one year removed from the completion of high school, they had to have foreseen the effect it would have on colleges and universities. As evidenced by the top ranked players on the 2010 draft boards, forcing players to go to college for one season doesn't change how these kids are viewed in the eyes of scouts, but rather it just delays the inevitable in regards to them starting their professional careers.


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Lebron James Speculation Is Officially Under Way

For the second consecutive season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have posted the best regular season record in the NBA.

Now, for the second consecutive season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were bounced from the NBA playoffs by a lower seed before reaching the NBA Finals, losing in the Eastern Conference finals to the Orlando Magic in 2009 and now being humiliated by the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 2010 playoffs.

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