A Savage Debate

Well I told you in my last post that The Wonder Years marathon that was on TV had piqued my interest. To be specific, it got me thinking about the Savage brothers, Fred and Ben. Fred was Kevin on the Wonder Years, a kid who grew up in the 60s and had a father that he was petrified of. Ben was Cory on Boy Meets World, where we literally saw him grow up in front of our eyes, from middle school all the way to marriage. But who's better? Fred or Ben?


Are you a Kevin fan?

Well Fred has a leg up since he was an SAE at Stanford. And don't forget how smokin' Winnie was on The Wonder Years. And I realize this shouldn't dictate a debate between who was better but think about it who would you choose? The guy who constantly went after his extremely good looking innocent crush (Winnie) or the guy who got the girl and she promptly decided to put on 10 pounds every season (Topanga)? But the supporting cast around Ben was phenomenal. Shawn, especially before he got all emo when his Dad died, and Eric, who got funnier every season, were indispensable. Fred, meanwhile, had a dorky best friend and an annoying little sister. BUt you could argue that this is something that should favor Fred since he did carry an entire show all by himself.


Or is it Cory Matthews?

However, The Wonders Years wasn't really a versatile show. It was kind of the same concept for every season...and then it ended with Kevin moving away. Boy Meets World on the other hand went from middle school to high school to college to marriage. And I guess The Wonder Years were also similar in that it showed Kevin growing up. You know the more I think this through, Fred and Ben are actually interchangeable. I could seriously envision either one in the other's show and it would still work.

Maybe if we examine their work after the shows went off the air, then we'll be able to determine who is the best. Well Fred had that awful NBC show, Working, that...well...sucked. He was in Goldmember with a cameo role in which I'm sure half of America went "Hell look it's the Wonder Years kid" when he got in that fight with Mini Me. And his most recent endeavors include voice work for both The Justice League and Kim Possible. Wow. That's embarassing. I always wondered who did the voices on random cartoons and now I know: washed up 90s TV stars. Speaking of which, Will Friedle, who played Eric, does the voice of Ron Possible. I saw huge things for him especially after he did My Date With the President's Daughter, which had a rockin' Presidents of the United States of America song as its theme. But now he's just Ron Possible. But back to Kevin, err I mean Fred, atleast he got another sitcom. The closest Ben has been to sniffing the big time of network television was a guest spot on Still Standing (it was a great episode though). Oh before I forget Ben will also be in a film starring Tom Arnold coming out this year. And if you've seen Nine Months, I'm sure you're thinking what I'm thinking: automatic hit. Wait, what? Nine Months was made 14 years ago.

So in conclusion both Fred and Ben were damn lucky to get the parts they did in the shows they did. Each essentially played the same character except they were 10 years apart. But since Fred showed his real depth as an actor when he did that made-for-TV movie where he beat up the girl who played DJ on Full House, he gets the nod over Ben in this one. For the record it was called "No One WOuld Tell" and I realize what the first thought that came to your head was and the answer is no it didn't win an Emmy. The people who run TV are jealous of the Savage dynasty that we got to live through from 1987-2000 when The Wonder Years and Boy Meets World were on, so the award went to somebody else.


I wonder if NBC ever put this bad boy out on DVD.

Supersize Weekend

Back home in Maryland and as you can imagine I had very little to do over the weekend. Its real nice being done with finals and all and frankly it means I can devote myself to sports. And it was quite a weekend for television dedication what with the NFL Draft, the NBA PLayoffs, the NHL PLayoffs, baseball, HBO Sunday, and even a Wonder Years marathon on some random channel on the digital cable (more on this in a future post). But in getting down to business I leave you with this disclaimer: I have a nice HDTV in the basement of my house with two leather chairs and a couch. I literally rotated between the three all weekend while watching the various sports on TV. And if you know me you know that I'm an incessant channel changer, which is a good and bad thing. But I think I caught most of what went on so I figured I'd leave some thoughts.

Let's start first with the NFL Draft...

Time to air out some dirty Landry
I am really unsatisfied with this LaRon Landry pick by the Redskins. I understand he is uber-talented and as he said in his presser today "He's gonna give 100 percent on every play". But the guy plays the same position as Sean Taylor. I was almost in tears when the Skins picked and the ESPN guys started raving about how Landry is going to be the run stopper and Taylor will the be the center field coverage safety. I got news for ya Skins: You tried that last year and it didn't work. Sean Taylor gave up God knows how many long balls and the defense was next to last in the NFL. And if you look at my picks from the previous post you'll notice that I guessed the Skins would pick Landry. What I've come to realize is that the Washington Redskins don't think like normal teams when it comes to the Draft. The Redskins think "Oh man, we can get another Sean Taylor, that will be an awesome secondary. They should be thinking "Oh we already have a Sean Taylor, let's fill an actual need when we have a top 10 pick in the Draft. I would have much rather seen the Skins trade down but according to other reports that really wasn't a possibility. I still think this is a playoff team next season.


Such a blah pick

Can a Skeeps All-Star turn into an All-Pro?
-I think Alan Branch will be the steal of the Draft for the Cardinals to start off the second round. There's a reason this guy was projected as a top 5 pick when he came out. People are questioning his desire, his productivity, and his work ethic. All the football writers at the Daily think he hasn't worked out since the season ended. And I will admit I saw big Alan at Skeeps and Rick's a ton this past semester, but you can't teach his size and athleticism. People want to talk about how poor his workouts were but I want everyone to take a moment and look at his 40 time and bench from the NFL Combine and compare them to that of Amobi Okoye, a consensus top-10 pick. Alan ran a 4.92 40...Amobi did it in 4.97. Alan repped 225 33 times...Amobi 29. Okoye weighed in at 302 at the Combine even though he played about 20 pounds lighter than that at Louisville. Alan weighed in at 326 but remember was still faster. It's easy to get back into shape, it's not-so-easy to be agile at 6'6 and 325 pounds. Besides which, all the man needs is a little motivation. Stick some short, white sorostitutes on the practice field and tell Alan that every good practice he has he'll get a girl. The man has two things that are his kryptonite: food and sorority houses, so you combat one with the other.


I'm just loyal to this guy. I respect the women he goes after at the bars.

-David Harris to the Jets in the second round is what people are calling a steal... and I would agree if it were with a different team. Harris is going to have to play OLB there since Vilma is the clear starter. Harris is a nasty MLB, but I just don't see him transitioning to the outside since he doesn't have that sideline-to-sideline speed and athleticism. Also good to see Leon Hall get drafted in the first round. This year was a weak one for CBs and that's why Hall was rated so highly. Let's be honest with ourselves here: Leon Hall is no better than a No. 2 corner in the NFL, and frankly if he were on my team I would not want to see him on the field except in nickel or dime packages.

Sam Huff is a lunatic...and I love him for it
-Extra props to the Skins for taking Tyler Ecker in the seventh round which leads me into maybe the funniest radio segment I've heard in awhile. So the Dan Snyder-owned radio station had Sonny Jurgenson and Samm Huff commenting on the picks by the Skins and the subject of sixth-round pick linebacker H.B. Blades (Pitt,) came up. Here's what the convo looked like:

Sam Huff: Sonny, he's got initials for a first name. That means you know he can hit.
Sonny: What?
Sam Huff: It's a proven fact that people with initials for first names are big hitters when it comes to the NFL.

My reaction: That's why I love Sam Huff

-Those Steve Spurrier Under Armor commercials were absolutely priceless. The Ol' Ball Coach going "ooooookkkk...click clack" in order to hang up the phone will never get old. They actually showed that commercial during every break on both ESPN and the NFL Network and I seriously laughed every single time.


How did anybody keep a straight face on the set of this ad? If he were that funny as coach of the Skins, I would have given him another year of ineptness.

-Roger Goodell's first NFL Draft and it was the longest ever. I'm really starting to hate this guy. He's bland and thinks he's the shit with this new personal conduct business. Any league that doesn't appreciate the entertainment value of seeing someone get arrested 10 times in a year just doesn't have any common sense. They should be flaunting Pacman as must see TV. What will he do next? Which person will he pistol whip next? Yes, I know he wants the league to be more professional but c'mon have some fun.

I'm putting a thousand bucks on the turtle
-A highlight from day 2 of the draft came from Suzy Kolber's interview with Michael Vick and how he vows that this is the season where he finally matures. This comes just a few days after they found animal fighting at one of his houses that apparently he doesn't actually live in. Vick blamed it on his relatives, but I'm willing to bet a whole bunch of money that Ron Mexico had his own rooster that he bred to be a killing machine. And speaking of Suzy Kolber: is it a rule in television that all legitimate female journalists have to be ugly as hell? Just a question I was wondering about.

-This was the first year that the Draft was on two networks, ESPN and the NFL Network. They each had their strengths with the ESPN guys seeming to have more knowledge of who each team was going to pick and the NFL Network being much more polished in its analysis once picks were made. Gotta give some props to Adam Schefter of NFL Network for breaking the Randy Moss trade. By the way, Schefter wrote for The Michigan Daily alongside Rich Eisen back in the day.

-Randy Moss for a 4th round pick. I'm not even going to talk about how unfair it is.

-Mike Tirico was definitely the MVP of the weekend for ESPN. The Ann Arbor native called the Heat-Bulls game in Miami on Friday night, was in NYC for the Draft by noon on Saturday, and then returned to Miami for a 1 o'clock game. That's dedication my friends.

-I can't wait to hear what Skip has to say about Brady Quinn's fall tomorrow on 1st and 10. I hope he rips into his soul, and tries to get under his skin. And speaking of skin...anyone else notice the large pimple on Quinn's face? I was really pissed when they let him go to a private room when the whole world saw that scouts actually watch football games and realized that Quinn racked up great numbers against shit teams.

-It was good to see a team like Philly fuck up the Draft for once. I have dreams of Kevin Kolb one day starting at Fedex Field.


And the dumber (and way fatter) than Tommy Amaker award goes to....Andy Reid and the Philadelphia Eagles for their selections in the 2007 NFL Draft.

Random Musings
-John Maine of the Mets has a 1.35 ERA and is 4-0 to start the season aftert throttling the Nats today. He played for Bowie while I was there and I thought he was good, nit great. Guess i was wrong. The O's must be punching themselves for giving up a 26-year-old possible stud for Kris Benson last year.

-Just some quick things on the NHL from this weekend. Martin Brodeur looks mortal. Buffalo is lucky to be up 2-1, because the Rangers should have won game 2 in addition to game 3. And now that I've watched him a few times I really like Sean Avery. He gets a bad name for some of his antics, but he's a damn good player. Anaheim is coming out of the west, I think that's pretty apparent.

50 aka Dumbass
-This Floyd Mayweather/Oscar De La Hoya reality thing on HBO is pure genius. I need to see this fight next weekend now that I've invested so much emotional interest into the show. This talk of Mayweather being the bad guy is off-the-mark if you ask me. It's hilarious hearing him just call De La Hoya a bitch to his face and see De La Hoya just take it to protect his image. BTW...loved the 50 Cent cameo a couple weeks ago. It led to this little exchange:

FMJ: Me and 50, we real cats. That's what we got in common.
50: Yeah Floyd Mayweather is the 50 Cent of boxing and 50 Cent is the Floyd Mayweather of rap...GGGGGGGGGGGUUUUUNIT!

And if you haven's seen the show yet, you should. Mayweather's uncle and father are hilarious seeing as how they barely speak English because of how slurred their speech is. The men literally breed fighters. They've got their kids and grandkids hitting the bags as soon as they can walk.

- I don't think I've ever seen a crowd like the one at Golden State the past two games. Seriously, with all of them wearing yellow on Friday night, it was one of the most surreal things ever, especially on HD. Baron Davis is just ridiculous right now, maybe the best guard in the NBA during these playoffs. And if this series has told me anything it's that Dirk just isn't at that elite level. And it tells me he may never get there. He's a great shooter and really skilled for a nearly 7-footer, but the bottom line is that he can't create his own shot. You put guys like Steven Jackson and Matt Barnes, who are athletic and have long-ass arms, and Dirk is a mere mortal. That being said, I think the Mavs win Game 5 at home. Can they win at Golden State in game 6 is the question. There's no doubt in my mind that if this goes seven games the Mavs win, but that sixth game is really the Warriors to lose. Oh yeah, Avery Johnson, here's a suggestion: When no one on your team can cover anyone and you're giving up a shit ton of layups...why don't you switch to a zone? But the real highlight of the series has been hearing how much Charles Barkley hates the San Fran/Oakland area. I mean the man has a legitimate beef. Here's a direct quote from Sunday's broadcast that was absolutely hysterical:

"The Bay Area sucks. I'd rather stay at Alcatraz than stay in Oakland or San Francisco. What's the world coming to when the Warriors have famous fans (like Jessica Alba)? I love Tupac though."


This is Sir Charles about 100-150 pounds ago if you asked me to guess.

To D. Snyder: Don't fuck this up!

Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. I think I may have gotten way too excited about David DeJesus and I just couldn't muster the energy to get my creative juices flowing. No but seriously, I'm back in Maryland now, having returned from a week of binge partying. So that's the reason for the lack of posts.

But my lack of writing isn't for a lack of sports going on. We've got baseball, we've got NBA playoffs, we've got NHL playoffs and we've got the NFL Draft tomorrow. And since I am so tired of all the coverage given to the Draft by ESPN, we'll get that out of the way right now. I think the Raiders are going to choose JaMarcus Russell when it's all said and done. In fact here's how I think the top 10 is going to play out. Keep in mind that I don't listen to the ESPN guys as much because I simply think NFL teams think a little differently than the analysts. That's why the analysts are analysts and GMs are GMs:

1. Raiders pick Russell
2. Lions trade their pick to someone (whether it's the Bucs, Falcons or whomever) and they select Calvin Johnson
3. Browns select Brady Quinn
4. This is Tampa's pick but if they trade it the LIons take Joe Thomas here. If Tampa keeps it they are going to go for Gaines Adams
5. Cardinals take Thomas if he's still around and if he's not they go with Adrian Peterson
6. Redskins are going to try and trade down. If they can't they go with Laron Landry (it's a stupid pick, I know. But lest we forget the Redskins are run by stupid people).
7. Vikings take Gaines Adams if he's still around. And if he's still around someone if going to want to trade up to get him.
8. If the Lions are here courtesy of a trade with the Falcons, they will take Levi Brown. If it's the Falcons, they will take Best Player Available which will be Amobi Okoye
9. Dolphins take Levi Brown if he's available. If he's not I'm guessing my man Leon Hall will get the nod
10. Without Peterson on the board, the Texans are going to try like Hell to trade down...possibly to the Broncos who will take Patrick Willis, linebacker from Ole Miss.


Do I think Landry will be awesome? Yes.
Would I select basically another Sean Taylor when I have so few picks? No.
Was I shocked as I drove in today to find that Sportstalk 980 was absolutely reaming out my Lord and savior Joe Gibbs? YES.

I think I've left enough room for the maneuvering that is sure to go on come tomorrow afternoon. I'm actually extremely curious how my predictions hold out. I'm literally going to be sitting in front of my HDTV tomorrow watching whatever sports may be on and am going to try and chronicle my thoughts as the day progresses. I'll even try to update periodically so there is some sort of time consistency going on (Does that even mean anything).

DeJesus Update

Everyone's favorite Kansas City Royal has been lighting it up so far this season. I think he might have been motivated by me taking him under my wing. He's batting .333 with three bombs and seven RBIs. However, the Royals sit at a measly 6-11 and are again in last place in the AL Central. If supposed young studs Alex Gordon and Mark Teahan start playing like Major League Baseball players instead of like beer league softball bums, then maybe this team can get out of Nationals-like depths. When it comes down to it, if they follow the lead of DeJesus, things would be just fine.

Now I know a lot of Royals fans are scared about Dave going down with a heel injury, but he missed just one game. He was back in the lineup the very next day. I saw some Royals fan posted on a fan site that he was afraid DeJesus was going to be one of those guys who you could only count on for 120 games every season. And I say back: Are you insane? This is DeJesus we're talking about here. This is the same guy who was approached by Sammy Sosa and told, "I believe in the DeJesus" to which Dejesus reponded by spitting in his face and kicking Slammin' Sammy square in the nuts. True story...atleast that's what I've heard.

On a recent road trip to Toronto, DeJesus went into a bar, got surrounded by a dozen ridiculously good looking women almost immediately, and promptly ordered 12 shots. But being DeJesus he decided to just drink all 12 shots right in front of the women because he hates Canada. He thought the women needed to know their place as inferior. See DeJesus has hated Canada ever since he saw the movie Canadian Bacon starring John Candy. He took it a little too seriously. C'mon even DeJesus isn't perfect...but he's close... He still got four of these good looking Canucks to come home with him. And since he's DeJesus, he gave one of the four to his road roomate...Reggie Sanders. You gotta believe a guy like Reggie doesn't need any help with the ladies, but he'll take a freebee when it comes his way. I'll have more on the legend of DeJesus as the season progresses.


High fives for a Sosa loogie.

Basketball at its finest

Well the NBA regular season came to a close last night, and I'm sitting here in front of my computer a mere four hours away from being done with my last exam. So that means I'll have plenty of time to follow the NBA playoffs to the fullest extent of my ability. Following last night's developments I'm actually encouraged as well. Cleveland got the 2 spot and the Wizards win over the Pacers kept them locked in the 7 spot. And if there's one team I think the Wiz kids actually have a shot against right now with their depleted lineup, it is the Cavs. They've basically got LeBron. And yes I realize they beat us in a seven-game series last year when we were healthy, but let me dream atleast.

And looking at the first-round matchups, there are definitely some intriguing matchups, especially in the East. Vinsanity making his return to Toronto in a playoff series should be interesting. For it to work though, those Canadians need to show no mercy when Vince comes to the Air Canada Center. And then there's Miami-Chicago. That's just unfair because I could see either one of those teams taking the East and making the NBA Finals, yet one of them is going to be eliminated in the first round. The matchups in the West aren't bad either. That Rockets-Jazz series will go down to the wire and the Warriors are the one mediocre team in the west that could give the Mavs fits. Also, don't forget that Kobe himself took the Suns to seven games last season. And when you have two players as good as Iverson and Melo on the same team, anything can happen. SO without further adieu...my NBA playoff picks, which should be more accurate than the NHL picks:

Eastern Conference
Detroit Pistons vs. Orlando Magic: Pistons in 5
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards: Cavs in 6
Toronto Raptors vs. New Jersey Nets: Nets in 6
Miami Heat vs. Chicago Bulls: Heat in 7 (Best series of the first round right here)

Western Conference
Dallas Mavericks vs. Golden State Warriors: Mavs in 5
Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Suns in 6
San Antonio Spurs vs. Denver Nuggets: Spurs in 5
Houston Rockets vs. Utah Jazz: Rockets in 6


I hope Raptors' fans treat Vince like the half-assing bum that he is.
But the Nets are my upset pick in the first round.

As the Legion Turns

Oh man, this whole Alex Legion recruiting thing is getting absolutely ridiculous. So just to update you on this kid...he's a top-50 recruit, who starred for Detroit Country Day and then transferred to Oak HIll for his senior year this season. At Oak Hill he led the team in scoring with just under 20 a game. He verballed to Michigan back in the winter of '05 as a junior only to de-commit following the Final Four in '06 (for reference this is the first Florida Natty Championship). Then in the fall of '06 he re-committed to Michigan because of he and his mother's affinity for Tommy Amaker. He even signed his national letter of intent and told me on the phone in January that the two reasons for coming back to Michigan was TA and Manny Harris signing on to come be a Wolverine. BUt he also mentioned in that same interview that without Tommy he would have a tough time coming back. Flash forward to the firing of TA and the hiring of John Beilein. After a couple weeks of meeting and talking with Beilein, Legion decided he wanted to re-open his recrutiment yet again and get out of his LOI.

So let's stop here for a moment. That leaves us with a verbal, a de-commit from the verbal, a de-commit from the de-commit and a subsequent National LOI, and now a release from said LOI (for the record that's a decommit from the decommit of the decommit). Confusing, yes I think so. But it gets better.


Imagine if this guy played for any team supported by Bill Simmons.
No seriously, imagine how pissed Simmons would be at this kid.

Beilein was more than happy to let Legion out because as I've said before on this blog: The man wants players who want to be here. But at his welcome rally yesterday Beilein said he is looking for players in Europe to use that scholarship on. Whether he's actually going to do this I don't know, but it puts the pressure back on Legion to make a decision. In another genius move by Beilein, he basically told Reed Baker that he wasn't going to have a scholarship this year and that he could walk on if he wanted. I love that move because for as great as Reed was this year (he wasn't but he did provide me with a nice little article with a sweet lead about his sneakers) the guy didn't deserve to be wasting a valuable scholarship. So now if Legion comes, we'll have an extra scholarship for next year's recruiting because we were only going to have one since Ron Coleman will be the only person on the team graduating.

But back to Legion. He now has to make a decision because JB has stated publicly he's content to find a player who really wants to be there or he'll sit on it and use it as an extra scholarship for next year. But in today's Detroit Free Press, the plot thickened even more with this quote from Legion's mother:

Legion's mother, Annette Williams, blames Tim Green -- whom Legion has referred to as his godfather and mentor -- for the confusion. "I want to make it clear, Tim Green is not part of this process," Williams said Tuesday. "I'm tired of him trying to persuade my son against the University of Michigan and his family."
"I've been quiet for four years, but Tim Green does not speak for my son, and I'm tired of him trying to make decisions for my son," Williams said. "Mr. Green wants my son to go to Connecticut or UCLA, but my son will go to neither institution."

For the record it appears Legion's list of possible destinations include UCLA, Kentucky, UConn, Kansas and Michigan. Just from looking at that list it looks like Legion is goner and I have to say I love the attitude Beilein is taking on this. Alex Legion is not going to make your program, but he could break it. The kid is notorious for being a me-first kind of guy and no matter his talent, could undermine what JB is trying to accomplish. if we get him great, if we don't, Beilein is going to move on. It's like ignoring a girl and making her want you that much more. Or she could be some huge slut and get so excited about giving dome to a guy like Bill Self or Billy Gillespie that she's gone forever.

So you're getting someone who genuinely likes you or you're getting a gigantic whore.

Either way the balls are in Alex Legion's court (or mouth) now.


One thing is for sure in this whole mess:
John Beilein doesn't like blowjobs.

Non conference = AWESOME

So I was at Scorekeepers last night (for all non-Michigan folk it is the popular underage place in Ann Arbor, kind of like the Cornerstone equivalent) and ran into one of my inside guys for Michigan basketball and he had some interesting news about the upcoming schedule for the Wolverines. And all of it looks awesome for me, but it does present some dilemmas.

To start off the season, Michigan will be going to the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage. I've already called dibs on the trip because how often is it that you get to go to Alaska for free. The only problem is that the tournament is over Thanksgiving break, which would obviously mean I would miss Thanksgiving. Any suggestions from guys back in Potomac? Should I go?


Beautiful downtown Anchorage

In something from the not-so-well-known department, my source tells me that it appears Michigan will again be playing Duke next year...AT CAMERON! My dream has been completed. I will now have the ability to go watch a Duke basketball game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Just picture a pediphile who drunkenly stumbles into a park playground completely filled with little children without parental supervision. Well, I'm about ten times more excited about this Duke game.

Apparently, this is simply a continuation of a contract Duke and Michigan signed years ago. However, they put the series on hold when Amaker was coach here in Ann Arbor because Coach K and him were uncomfortable facing each other. They actually played one game, where Duke annihilated Michigan and then ended it. After TA was fired, Duke sent an e mail to the Michigan athletic department very soon thereafter saying they wanted to resume the series. It tells me that Coach K is none too pleased over his golden child getting fired. My dilemma is who do I root for? Everyone knows how long my love for Duke goes for. I'll have to deal with that bridge when I cross it in the winter.

That Duke game is not part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge though. Boston College will be traveling to Ann Arbor for that. And speaking of Boston, Harvard and Michigan are already in negotiations to eliminate the game scheduled between the two for next season. Amaker and Michigan just don't want to play it.

The Wolverines will also be facing Georgetown in DC at the Verizon Center (YES!) over winter break. And the series with UCLA continues with a game at Crisler Arena. Bill Martin said he wanted a tougher non conference schedule, and frankly, I think he may have gone a bit too far. On a team that will likely start two freshmen and two sophomores, the non conference schedule reads like this: Great Alaska Shootout, BC, at Duke, at Georgetown, UCLA. That ain't easy. But atleast with Beilein we won't have to automatically chalk up losses in every road game. Did I mention we won't have to watch world-class athletes run around the court in circles, while the coach simply yells 'Motion"? Have fun with him Harvard. You thought he was bad with decent recruits, let's see that offense with unathletic scrubs who happen to be smart and semi-coordinated.


I'm doing that thing with my hands when I get really excited
just thinking about going to Cameron

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.