The Don Imus-Snoop Dogg Connection

Well, I'm still recovering from staying up for that epic quadruple overtime Canucks-Stars game last. By the way, after watching one for the first time, I'm convinced we need more 4OT affairs. But I figured I'd touch on two stories that have been receiving a ton of attention from the media the past week: Don Imus and Duke Lacrosse. Let's go first to Imus. I'll do Duke lacrosse in a later post, but all I have to say is told you so. But onto Imus...

So I'm sure everyone knows how Imus called the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy headed hos". And obviously it is extremely sexist and racist and is really something that should never be said by anyone, no matter the context. But the hubbub over all of this got me thinking about what Don Imus has done in the past. And looking back the guy has run the gamut of racial slurs and just generally insulting people. Let's have a sampling of some of the best of the worst of Don Imus:

-On Janet Reno's Parkinson's Disease: "I don't know how she gets that lipstick on"

-On Jews: "I remember when I first had [the Blind Boys of Alabama] on a few years ago, how the Jewish management at whatever, whoever we work for, CBS, or whatever it is, were bitching at me about it. [...] I tried to put it in terms that these money-grubbing bastards could understand."

-On a particular Jew, Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post: "Boner-nosed … beanie-wearing Jewboy."

-On the New York Knicks: "Chest-thumping pimps"

-On the job description of producer Bernard McGuirk: "To tell nigger jokes"

-On William Rhoden of the New York Times: "He's a quota hire"


A cowboy hat? Really? Way to fit a stereotype Don

There's definitely more where that came from, and as you can tell, Don Imus is not the most considerate man around. And while he's done some noble things like raise money for charity and recently was a leading advocate in calling out the government for its poor treatment of veterans at Walter Reed, the stuff that comes out of his mouth is inexcusable. But my problem with all of this, including the two-week suspension, MSNBC dropping the televised broadcast of his show, and now the complete firing of Imus, is why do it now. This Rutgers stuff is benign compared to past transgressions. How can you punish Imus now after letting him slide for so long with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. The fact that he's been on the air for so long and gotten such notoriety on television is because he's controversial. NBC and CBS radio knew this guy was going to say stuff like this, so if you're so against it, why put him on the air in the first place? Imus has been pulling stuff like this for 20 years and no one has ever made this big of a deal about it. So why now?

I feel bad for the Rutgers women's basketball team because they had nothing to do with this and got dragged into it by a racist radio host (For the record I also feel bad for them because they play women's basketball...does that make me sexist? I don't know but I do know that the single worst thing in life is having to watch women play basketball). And don't tell me Imus isn't racist. I don't know if he's sexist but I do know he's racist. This wasn't a one-time deal, he's notorious for this as I showed above with his notable quotables. But the blame for this ordeal should be equally doled out amongst Imus and the people who sign his paycheck.

But I found this little truth nugget courtesy of our good friend Snoop Dogg justifying what is said in rap and how it's completely different from what Imus has said. If there's one thing that's for sure in this whole mess it's this: Snoop definitely loves the cheeba. Now whether Don Imus should watch his back, I'll leave that up to you:

"[Rappers] are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We’re talking about ho’s that’s in the ‘hood that ain’t doing shit, that’s trying to get a nigga for his money. These are two separate things. First of all, we ain’t no old-ass white men that sit up on MSNBC going hard on black girls. We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them muthafuckas say we in the same league as him.


I just love putting pictures of Snoop on this blog.
Long live the Dogg.

Wait...The NHL is still around

Although I haven't written about it much, especially lately, I still have a passion for hockey and specifically hockey playoffs. And lo and behold, the NHL season came to a close yesterday and the playoffs begin on Wednesday. I really wish the Caps were in there at the eight spot like I predicted at the start of the year, but injuries caught up to them. They really only have two legitimate lines and a solid goalie and when you have major injuries to any of them it spells disaster. They have a draft pick, Nicklas Backstrum, from Sweden who will hopefully sign on this offseason, adding another impact player on the offensive end.

I figured I would take a stab at predicting how the first round would go in this year's playoffs. The NHL is real tricky because frankly anything goes come postseason time. Edmonton was a eight seed last year and went all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. And the winner last year, Carolina, didn't even make the playoffs. Oh yeah and Edmonton isn't in this year either. When was the last time both teams from the championship series the year prior not make the playoffs the next year? No seriously, I'm too lazy to look it up, but if anyone knows feel free to tell me. I bet it isn't very often though.

Also before I go any further, I highly recommend going to YouTube and looking up "Jack Johnson hockey" to see some highlights of JMFJ's first six games as a Los Angeles King. The guy has been laid out a bunch, has laid out others in the process, and gotten in quite a few fights. I really want to see JJ absolutely demolished early on next season, just because I haven't seen it happen in two years. In fact now that I think about it I know exactly who I want him to get in a fight with: Donald Brashear. You know Bras would do it because they guy just loves fighting and you gotta believe Bras would just hammer Jack with his killer left hook. The lesson to be learned is you just don't mess around with a southpaw.


Just look at that picture and tell me you wouldn't want
Bras on your team.

But onto the first round predictions:
Sabres vs. Islanders: Sabres in 5
Devils vs. Lightning: Lightning in 7 (Who fires a coach when you're leading the division. That's the sole reason for this pick.
Thrashers vs. Rangers: Thrashers in 6
Senators vs. Penguins: Pens in 7

Red Wings vs. Flames: Wings in 6
Mighty Ducks vs. Wild: Ducks in 7
Canucks vs. Stars: Stars in 7 (Modano's last hurrah)
Predators vs. Sharks: Predators in 7

Oh yeah and I will be rooting for the Sabres (a little), against the Red Wings (a lot) and I've decided to adopt the Dallas Stars as my team in these playoffs...only because there's no Caps. Remember my team last year was Ales Hemsky and Edmonton...and they went all the way to the Finals.


I realize Marty Turco is a giant douche in the playoffs,
but this is his year. I can feel it

A new favorite MLB player

So I've been looking for a mediocre baseball to latch onto and call my own. And I think I found him.

If you watched Dice-K's first start ever on Wednesday, you'll notice that he only gave up one run...and it came off a homer from my man...David DeJesus of the Kansas City Royals. I just couldn't pass up rooting for a guy from KC and whose last name has Jesus in it. So he fits my criteria for supporting a player: He plays for a bad team, he is supported by the heavens, and God dammit I want a Royals jersey with "DeJesus" on the back. To make this even sweeter, I just looked it up and David DeJesus' middle name is Christopher. Christ DeJesus...my man. I realize the "J" in DeJesus is probably silent, but let's make no bones about it: The far superior last name is DeJesus, pronouncing it with a hard J as to evoke the Lord and Savior everybody talks about at award shows.

DeJesus is coming off a pretty solid season last year, hitting in the high .200s depsite getting off to a slow start. He has some pop in his bat, but not much. His only bomb this year is the one off Dice K. So let's all hop on this DeJesus bandwagon. I've even got a slogan for this campaign in honor of The Doobie Brothers: "DeJesus is just alright to me". I just thought of another one that might work: WWDD...What would DeJesus do? Yeah I think that one works better.

For instance: What would DeJesus do if the Royals were down by 8 runs in the bottom of the eighth and the visiting team fans are just getting on his case. And to make matters worse there's someone in the crowd who yelled "Hey DeJewbag". Well seeing as David DeJesus is a rebel with a mission, he would catch the third out of the inning, take the ball and just bean it at a random fan. It wouldn't matter who he hit, just as long as the message was heard: Nobody fucks with DeJesus.

But seriously, I really want this guy to do something retarded at some point during the season, and then I can point back to this post as his coming out party. Because I don't think any of us really want to mess with a guy whose got jesus on his side.


DeJesus is from Jersey. And he went to Rutgers. A supporter of the armpit of America.
I wonder if he goes skiing in his jeans.

The Wizards are Done with a capital D

Remember in the last post where I said the Wiz kids were essentially done...well now they are officially done. Word came out today that Gilbert tore his meniscus in last night's loss to the Bobcats. He's out 2-3 months and would only return if the Wizards made the NBA Finals (not gonna happen anymore). This means the Wizards are left with a starting lineup that looks a little something like this: Antonio Daniels at point, DeShawn Stevenson at two guard, Jarvis Hayes at small forward, Antawn Jamison at power forward and Etan Thomas at center. Not exactly an all star team. Not to mention, we are losing quite possibly the most hilarious quote in the NBA today. Gil and Gilbertology will be sorely missed as he rehabs.


I'm sure Gil spend time in his oxygen-thinned air bubble at
home and get better real quick.

But all isn't lost. This Wizards team has a chance at greatness next season, especially if some of these foreigners we've been drafting actually come and play for us. The injuries are just part of the game and you really can't blame anyone for them. You know Gilbert is going to come back with a vengeance wanting to prove himself after this knee injury. I just see this team being extremely hungry heading into next season given the way this season is coming to a close. I think people are forgetting that for a good month and a half before Antawn Jamison went down for three weeks, this team was the best in the East. They beat the best of the best including the Suns, Pistons and Jazz. I really can't wait for next season when I live in 814 and have NBA League Pass so I can watch all the games.

And I don't think people realize the potential of these past draft picks. Juan Carlos Navarro is one of the top 5 players in Europe and has expressed interest in trying out the NBA. Most scouts see him as a solid bench player in the NBA, but still it can't hurt to have more depth on the bench. The two big men we've gotten in the draft, Pecherov and Pietrus, both could potentially develop into legitimate big men if they cross the border. Pecherov in particular is very intriguing because many thought he would make an impact if he played in the NBA this season. He indicated last year that he wanted another year of seasoning in Europe before come to America. And let's not forget about a guy who is already getting some serious minutes for the Wiz now, but hasn't yet reached his potential. Andray Blatche has showed nice touch, some good rebounding skills, and just general hustle in the minutes he's gotten due to some injuries. Some forget that the kid is only 19 years old and came straight from high school. Another offseason to work on his game will be HUGE. I can definitely see him turning the corner next season and showing that he can eventually take over for Antawn at the power forward position.

All in all, Ernie Grunfeld and Eddie Jordan definitely have this team headed in the right direction. If things fall into place next year, I think the Wiz can come out of the East, barring another team making a huge splash in free agency.


The future: Andray Blatche

It's all over

The search is complete. In a statement released by Michigan today, it was announced that John Beilein will become the 19th men's basketball coach in Wolverine history. The deal is believed to be six years and worth about 1.3 million dollars annually, with a base salary of 200,000 dollars. I've got a source within the West Virginia program who told me that Beilein met with the Mountaineers earlier today and told him he didn't leave West Virginia for the money. Beilein wouldn't go any further than that though. Sounds like he and the WVU athletic director didn't exactly get along if you ask me. But I actually don't care about that because Beilein is at Michigan as I sort of predicted from day one of this coaching expedition. I don't think I ever really wavered on the fact that I wanted Beilein. Just ask anyone here at SAE. Now if he can recruit someone like the phenomenon known as "The Snogle" he will have my heart forever.


Welcome to Michigan. Press conference is scheduled
for tomorrow at noon.

There's been so much going on lately, I didn't get a chance to talk about anything but this basketball search. Here's some random stuff that has come through my head lately:

-Opening Day came and went, and I can't exactly say I was surprised that the Nats looked terrible. This team really has a legitimate shot at reaching some epic lows this season. Patterson will win 14-15 games max at the top of the rotation. And then who else? Are you really expecting dynamite seasons out of Shawn Hill and Jerome Williams? C'mon, that's just a joke.

-As for predictions throughout all of the Majors...well I'll give it a shot.
AL EAST CHAMPION: Boston Red Sox
AL CENTRAL CHAMPION: Cleveland Indians
AL WEST CHAMPION: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
AL WILD CARD: New York Yankees

NL EAST CHAMPION: New York Mets
NL CENTRAL CHAMPION: Cincinnati Reds
NL WEST CHAMPION: San Francisco Giants
NL WILD CARD: Philadelphia Phillies

-Florida proved that the whole coasting and then turning it on when it counts theory is absolutely true. Greg Oden played great, but was that game ever really in doubt? Speaking of Oden...I'm going on a hunch here but I truly believe he and Mike Conley are going to come back for a sophomore season and try to lead the Buckeyes to a National Title. They've got to be the favorites, unless all of these Florida juniors return. That would shock me though.

- The Redskins need to stop trying to collect these big timers like Lance Briggs and JaMarcus Russell. The trade-up in the Draft rumor really upset me because it just makes it seem like the people running the franchise literally have no clue what they are doing. As I typed that I realized " Wait a minute, what in the past proves they know anything about football?" When is that front office going to get a clue and fire Vinny Cerato and hire a real GM.

- The Wizards are in trouble...serious trouble. Losing Caron Butler for the rest of the regular season and most of the playoffs hurts a whole lot. There's really no way the Wiz can come out of the East without him. The news that Haywood had been benched for Etan Thomas didn't really surprise me. Besides a nice little 10- 15 game stretch where he averaged 10 and 10, Brendan has been giving this team nothing but headaches. In fact, I believe Brendan Haywood needs to be traded, especially while his stock is still at a decent level. His pouting is simply unacceptable, especially for a guy who sucks balls. Seriously though I've never seen a more untalented basketball player act like he is some sort of indispensable piece of the puzzle. Brendon, I've got news for you. You wouldn't be starting on any other playoff-caliber team in the NBA. You're lucky that to be in DC. I hope Etan shows us he was worth that big deal a few years back now that he's replaced Haywood in the lineup.


I'm not saying he does it, but I wouldn't be shocked if someone
told me Brendan sits down to pee.

That's all I got for now, but keep your eyes out for a future post about Detroit and its sports fans...and specifically why DC sports fans are a whole lot better (Yes, I realize I'm biased on this but I've got some great arguments).

An insane weekend

Wow, I can't really believe all that occurred on this historic Paddy Murphy Weekend. For those who don't Paddy Murphy is a three-day boozefest in which we just obliterate ourselves over the course of a weekend. There were plenty of alumni here making it even more ridiculous. The damage to the house is unprecendented, reaching the levels of the Fall '04 bid night (where every door in the basement needed to be replaced). Someone may have broken the glass of the front door of University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman's house too. But pretty much it was an incredible weekend filled with debauchery beyond belief. Can't wait for next year when I'll be a senior. This is going to be a quick little update since there is a lot going on with Michigan basketball.

-The Detroit Free Press and Detroit News are reporting that Beilein got offered the job last night, and has 24 hours to accept it. This means we could hear an announcement as early as this afternoon. Chances are more likely that there will be a press conference tomorrow if he accepts. I hope he does.

-Brent Petway was hilarious in that slam dunk contest. It's too bad he couldn't pull off some of the dunks he tried. The one he did pull off was sick though. Speaking of which, in any dunk contest yoe've watched: Has a power forward or center ever won? It seems to me like it's always guards.


The most untalented talented player of all time: Brent Petway.
Those glasses and the dance from the dunk contest were legit.

-I'm accepting an internship with Metro New York in NYC. I'll be covering sports, and specifically a lot of baseball (i.e Yanks and Mets) SO expect some inside info on those teams once I move to the big city.

That's all I got for now. Let's hope this coaching business gets figured out real soon. C'mon Beilein.

An Ode to Skip Bayless

I am sitting here in front of the TV and I just felt compelled to write this post. I think Skip Bayless is truly the greatest talking head in the sports business. You have to respect his opinion, because a lot of the times he's right when you look back. Not to mention that gain his admiration and respect you have be an elite player. If you get respect from Skip Bayless, you've made it places. Kobe, Roger federer MJ, Tiger Woods, Pete Sampras, LaDainian Tomlinson, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson. Those are the elite that he recognizes. LeBron. Nope. AROD (both of them). Nope.

Mickelson? Nope.
Serena? Nope.
Peyton? Maybe after the title.


Dirk is also on the Skip Bayless no respect list.

My point is he's not like the typical guy on sports who feels the need to play it safe. He always takes an opinion that no one thinks is logical and makes it logical. He's a really smart guy and he doesn't feel the need to take the popular point of view. Skip is an NBA guy and he's primarily the reason I've switched over to watching a boatload of professional basketball. Skip will always choose an NBA game over a college basketball game because it makes sense to watch the game with the elite of the elite players. They are pros for a reason. Every player in the NBA was one of the best on their team in college.

Bayless is hilarious too. He's so ornery, it's just awesome to hate him. He's such a douchebag to the point where it reaches comedy. He's like the Eric Cartman of the sports world. A jackass to the extreme — so extreme we are compelled to enjoy it.

Go watch Skip on 1st and 10 and Cold Pizza (highly underrated show) because you're missing out if you aren't.


What a jackass. What a genius.

I know I talk a lot about this coaching search...

But c'mon, for me this is a huge deal. I've been dreaming all season to cover a coaching change. The latest info has this coaching search ending in the very near future. In fact it could possibly end by Monday. Bill MArtin is waiting for Beilein's season to come to a close tomorrow after the NIT Final (Speaking of which, the WVU guy made a ridiculous game winner in the NIT semis against Mississippi State). But it may not be his job to lose as once thought. Apparently Martin has already tried to lock up Lon Kruger of UNLV, but they couldn't agree on the right figures. Kruger has midwest connections and is an established coach having led UNLV, Illinois, Florida, and Kansas State to the NCAA Tournament. He led Florida to the Final Four in '94 (where they lost to Grant HIl-led Dukies) and he got Illinois to the Elite 8, while laying the ground work for Bill Self's successful run there. Kruger's one drawback is his aversion to the AAU coaches that dominate the recruiting circuit. He just didn't feel like dealing with the Chicago ones as the Fighting Illini coach, and from what I hear, the Detroit AAUs are even worse and more political.

And I guess Kruger is an adequate fit, something just doesn't feel right about it. For me it just doesn't sound right when I say the phrase "Michigan coach Lon Kruger" or "Coach Kruger". "Michigan coach John Beilein" comes out a whole lot smoother if you ask me. I just don't understand why some Detroit columnists just hate him. They say he can't recruit, they say his offense is just a system, not something that can get you to a national title. Well guess what, I think he will be able to recruit because of how rich the Detroit talent pool is. Ann Arbor is just 45 minutes away and a lot of these guys are family-oriented and want to be close to home. Everytime I talked to Alex Legion, and I asked what made him come it was, "my mom loves coach Amaker". He cared what his Mom thought, and wanted to stay home. A lot of these Detroit kids have this attachment to Detroit. DeShawn Sims talks about how homesick he got all season, and how much he wants to make a difference in his neighborhood while in college. He doesn't want to leave the neighborhood completely behind him. Manny Harris was the same way. He had an entourage of 20 family members at every game I saw him play. So don't give me this recruiting crap. Beilein just seems like the right choice to me. I really think this team, if it keeps Manny and Alex, will make the NCAA Tournament next season with John Beilein as head coach. My gut just tells me that.

But right now the reality is that unless Beilein has a good interiew, the Kruger signing is imminent. Kruger wants to be here, the money just needs to get sorted out. But Martin is waiting for an interview with Beilein first. A report came out on CBS SPortsline today saying that Kevin Stallings of Vanderbilt was the frontrunner for the job. I say don't believe it. The national websites are usually a few days behind the local media. I really believe Bill Martin has his list down to two guys: Kruger and Beilein. We just gotta see what happens from here. I hope Bill makes the right call.


I don't think I'm the only who feels like he isn't the right guy.
He's so average it hurts. We'll be better than with Tommy...
But how much better?

Quick Stuff

The coaching front has been pretty quiet lately and frankly I'm getting a little bored with it. Bill needs to pick a coach quickly. Either Michigan is about to make some huge news or they're stuck. I think Bill Martin has a short list compiled and he's going to make his move this weekend at the Final Four. I have no idea what that short list is but in the past few days many sources have said Martin has decided to choose an established coach if her can. That would likely rule out candidates like Butler's Todd Lickliter, GW's Karl Hobbs, and Southern Illinois' Chris Lowery. It's also been said that Lon Kruger is completely out of the mix because of the difficulties he had recruiting the Chicago AAU circuit during his days at Illinois. The Detroit AAU folk are just as difficult as the Chicago leaders.

Paddy Murphy is this weekend so I've been real busy, that's why I'm making this short. I'll definitely post again when I get the time.

The search continues and more

Figure I'd post a bunch of stuff now that the Elite 8 is upon us. Man, there are some good matchups out there. But first some Michigan coaching news.

-Well obviously Tubby Smith is off the market now that he signed with Minnesota. I'm not really upset about him signing with the Gophers, although it adds yet another elite coach into the Big Ten, but I am upset that Michigan is now going to need to compete with Kentucky for a coach. Luckily, it looks like the Wildcats have their sights set much higher in regards to a new coach (i.e Donovan and Izzo). In recent days there's been a new name added to the mix in terms of Michigan's search and it's Kevin Stallings, the Vanderbilt coach. He's led his team to two sweet 16s in the past four years and knows what it is like to coach at a school with strong academics.

-That leaves us with this list of hopefuls: Beilein, Lowery, Kruger, Stallings, Hobbs (yes, he's back in the mix apparently).


The new guy: Kevin Stallings.
The real question is:
Do I want a coach who's balder than my Dad?

-Here's my problem with this whole search. If you were a coach and you had to choose between Iowa, which lost coach Steve Alford to New Mexico (by the way tell me how that makes any sense), why would you choose Michigan? There's no practice facility, a shitty arena, and in general no committment to the sport of basketball. I'm sick of this athletic department parading around like they can just walk into a room, show off the block M and get there way. It just doesn't work that way, especially for a program that hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament in nine years. Michigan needs to get off its pedestal and act more desperate, which is what they are. They should be doing whatever it takes to get the right person in place, and that means making improvements to Crisler, building a practice facility and not being cheap in terms of salary.

-Has anyone looked at these Elite 8 matchups? With such a lack of upsets, these games have instant classic written all over them. Kansas-UCLA? That's a matchup that could be in the National Championship not the Elite 8. The other three games are just as good. Georgetown-UNC, Florida-Oregon, and Ohio State-Memphis, God damn that's awesome. I've got UCLA, Georgetown, Florida and Ohio State winning...but not in my bracket...I had Texas A&M going.

-How in God's green earth did the officials miss that travelling call on Jeff Green? That is the worst officiating miss in a big game I've maybe ever seen. He was like running, it wasn't even close. And then when the replay ran during the next game, Billy Packer was still saying Green didn't travel, even though they were showing the highlight in slow motion to emphasize the travel. I actually didn't hate Billy Packer before this (unlike others, most notably Bill Simmons) but c'mon. Green travelled and Vandy should have won that game.

-I'm not that upset that the Wiz kids are about to lose the division lead in the Southeast to the Heat, but I just really don't want them getting into a series with the Heat in the playoffs. The bottom line is that they simply just can't beat the Heat. They can get by anyone else in the East, but not the Heat. What sucks is that this would have never happened had the Wiz been healthy. Ever since that dynamite December and January, they haven't had the Big 3 together for more than one game at a time. First Antawn went down, and now Caron is on the shelf. Hopefully Caron comes back in the next week or so, and the Wix regain their footing. I know nobody wants to face the Wizards because when healthy, they are part of the East's elite. After losing to Golden State last night, it's pretty important that they close this West Coast trip strong. Two wins would be nice, but one is more realistic.

-Wait a minute. Hold the phone. They caught pro wrestlers using steroids! I'm shocked. And appalled for that matter. I mean who would have ever thought an organization whose CEO (Vince McMahon) also uses steroids would have employees who use them too. This news was worse that when someone told me pro wrestling was fake in fourth grade. Ughhh I'm just digusted.


Sting is the only one I can really trust anymore