Ups and Downs

Another day, another baffling Wolves loss. That seems to be the theme this year.

Let's look at some of the odd streaks of this year.....shall we?

Victory at Denver 11/3, loss at Portland 11/4.

4 game winning streak the week of December 3rd, followed by 4 game losing streak (including two losses to Milwaukee).

Win 7 of 8 in the beginning of January, followed by losing 7 of 9, including losses to Atlanta, Portland, and Seattle.

This team is just so bizarre.....we beat the best team in the league (Phoenix) one night, then lose to a mediocre Sacramento team the next night. Why can't this team find any sort of consistency?

I've thought about it, and I have no idea. I think this team has the potential to get 45 wins, but they'd have to start playing much more consistently.

.....

OK, this was kind of a bullshit entry, but it was really just to appease that bitch Drew.

Anger and Sadness

It's been a while. I'm coming back with loads of rage.

First of all, today was a really sad day for me......it was sad because when the Wolves lost today, it didn't bother me that much. Usually after an overtime loss (a game the Wolves really should've won), it would bug me until the next day.....but not today. After the firing of Dwane Casey, and having a day to process it.....you just realize how in shambles this organization is, and that this team isn't going anywhere.

Can anyone give an argument for NOT trading Kevin Garnett at this point? You're obviously, despite Kevin McHale's delusional assertions, not going anywhere in the Western Conference. What happens next year? You don't have the pieces to make any significant trades. If we were to make the playoffs, we wouldn't have a pick in the draft. We'd basically have the same team as this year, except everyone is older. Then Garnett opts out of his contract, and you have nothing to show for it.

Chicago has reportedly offered Ben Gordon, PJ Brown, and their 1st round draft pick to the Grizzlies for Pau Gasol. Now is the time to call up Chicago and offer them Garnett, while you still can, whether he approves of the trade or not, before it's too late. Garnett is 31, and deserves to be on not only a team with championship potential, but a team whose front office isn't horribly disorganized and downright stupid. If Kevin McHale wants to leave this team on a good note before he hands over the reigns to Fred Hoiberg, his legacy will have to be trading the franchise's most beloved player. What does he have to lose anyway?

Maybe then this state will have something to get excited about. Nobody, including myself, really cares that much anymore.

OK, some Australian Open ranting....

Thus far, the tournament has been sort of disappointing. Sure, there have been some decent matches.....but not really. Here are some of my gripes.....

-ESPN's announcing crew is absolutely horrible. Cliff Drysdale and Patrick McEnroe are tolerable, but Dick Enberg, Mary Joe Fernandez, Pam Shriver, and particularly Mary Carillo (*shudder*) are just atrocious. Listening to their bad jokes and uninsightful commentary makes me wonder how I would do in the booth. Mary Carillo is probably the biggest female blowhard I know of.....a great match is single handedly ruined by her commentary.

-I ranted about how men's tennis is far superior to women's tennis a week or two ago, and this tournament has only gone to prove that. I've compiled the ratio of winners to unforced errors, for the tournament, for the two women's finalists, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.

Through 6 matches
Maria Sharapova: 180 winners to 220 unforced errors, or -40
Serena Williams: 143 winners to 147 unforced errors, or -4

Watching Sharapova play Kim Clijsters made me wanna vomit. How can two players be top 5 in the world, and be playing this horribly? Shall we compare this to the men's semifinalists?

Through 5 matches
Roger Federer: 200 winners to 138 unforced errors, or +62
Andy Roddick: 210 winners to 101 unforced errors, or +109
Fernando Gonzalez: 265 winners to 127 unforced errors, or +138
Tommy Haas: 225 winners to 140 unforced errors, or +85

So let's average it out on a per match basis.....

Maria Sharapova, per match: 30 winners, 37 errors, or -7
Serena Williams, per match: 24 winners, 25 unforced errors, or -1

Roger Federer, per match: 40 winners, 28 unforced errors, or +12
Andy Roddick, per match: 42 winners, 20 unforced errors, or +22
Fernando Gonzalez, per match: 53 winners, 25 unforced errors, or +28
Tommy Haas, per match: 45 winners, 28 unforced errors, or +17

So there you have it. More statistics to show that men's tennis is better than women's. I can't believe I just spent half an hour collecting that data when nobody reads this.

Back to the bitching about the Australian Open....

-I believe the agreement is that after Roger Federer wins the Australian Open this year, the ESPN commentating team will each take turns performing fellatio on him, on court, as he holds the trophy. We get that he's good, but fuck, the guy hits an overhead, and it's suddenly the "brushstroke of a master artist whose canvas is the tennis court". The whole "you're watching the greatest ever" thing was cool for the first, say, 5 majors he won, but just stop it, it's gotten irritating.

It's been fun watching tennis this past week and a half, but none of the matches have really been that noteworthy. All it's done is reinforce the two main views I have about professional tennis these days: 1) Men's tennis is getting boring, not exciting, because of Federer's dominance and 2) Women's tennis is not only boring, but also aesthetically unpleasing.

Super Bowl ramblings sometime later this week.

A Great Day For Sports

Today was an excellent day if you were a sports fan. Let's begin....

First of all, Virginia Tech beat #1 North Carolina today.....they had leads as large as 20 points, only to have them shrink to something like 4 or 5, but held on. It's always great to see unranked teams beat huge established teams like North Carolina or Duke, whom the Hokies beat last week. Great to watch.

Watching Ohio State beat Tennessee was also a highlight. Greg Oden is a man.

OK, then football. Watching Indy play a mediocre offensive game and an excellent defensive game was actually really fun. Watching that last Colts drive made even me, a casual football fan, appreciate just how good they were. How long did that drive take, 7 minutes? Against the best defense in the league? The Colts are for real. Imagine how good they'll be if Peyton Manning comes around.

Then, the Wolves. For 3 quarters, the Wolves were outhustled and pretty much outplayed, but were only down 5 going into the fourth. Then, the Wolves decided to play great basketball, which resulted in their best 4th quarter of the year. They ended up winning 109-98, outscoring Jersey 37-21 in the 4th. That makes 9 out of their last 12.....they're certainly playing well, but I still wouldn't be opposed to them trading away 1 or 2 of their guards for a big man. But I digress.

The Saints-Eagles game just ended. I only got to catch the last 5 minutes or so, but it looked good. Why Andy Reid would decide to go for it on 4th and 10, then punt on 4th and 15, is beyond me. Meh.

So, a good day for sports. Tomorrow may be even better. Preview.....

First of all, the two NFL playoff games.....Patriots-Chargers, Bears-Seahawks. I don't do much football, but I pick the Chargers and Bears to win. Really going out on a limb there, but oh well, might as well pick the favorites. I hope the Chargers beat the Patriots by 80.

The Australian Open starts tomorrow. Finally, something I can sink my teeth into.....

I've already given out my reasons as to why you should watch the Australian Open. Now, for some analysis of what's going to happen on the men's side.....

Everyone's asking "Who's going to dethrone Roger Federer?" We saw some flashes of people stepping up to the plate last year, even as Federer won 3 grand slams and got to the finals of the French. In the finals of each major, Federer won in 4 sets, and all followed the same sort of pattern.....Federer takes the first set, his opponent (Baghdatis, Nadal, Roddick) makes a run and takes the second, a tight third set which Federer eeks out, then Federer dominates the 4th to win. For the most part.

I think the top players are starting to feel more comfortable playing Roger, and starting to even figure him out a little. Whether or not it's going to make a difference whether they win or not is a different story, but what used to be opponents' intimidation is starting to turn to determination. Look for Federer to win a maximum of 2 majors this year, including a loss at the Australian.

For me, the Australian seems like Roddick's major. The way he ended 2006 was impressive.....winning the US Open Series, getting to the final of the US Open, having match points against Federer at the Masters Cup.....but he still seemed like he was figuring out how he wanted to play. With a month to train and hone his skills, I think the Australian might be his best bet for a major. The Rebound Ace surface, which the Australian is played on, is reportedly playing faster then usual, which helps Roddick a lot. He has the confidence of knowing that he's rejoined himself as one of the elite players in the world. It just seems right. He's my pick to win the Australian Open.

Still, there are others that you have to consider, Federer being atop the list. He's won 2 of the last 3, and had match points against the eventual winner 2 years ago. James Blake is another player to be considered, with his huge game and growing confidence. Rafael Nadal, despite his late season slump, is another guy to throw in there. Then there are wild cards like Marat Safin, Fernando Gonzalez, and Richard Gasquet. Everyone expects Federer to win, but the field is really wide open.

Again, I URGE you to give the Australian Open a chance. The TV times on ESPN2 are reasonable, with live coverage in the evening and taped delay matches running in the afternoon. Give it a chance, I beg of you.

Australian Open TV Times

Love<3

Giving McFail Props

Kevin McHale has been criticized for a myriad of bad signings and draft choices. Joe Smith, Troy Hudson, Marko Jaric, Marcus Banks, Nbudi Ebi, and the list goes on. He gets a lot of heat for these choices, and rightfully so.....there have been far better GMs in this league.

But, just as Kevin is criticized for his mistakes, we must commend him for his good choices. Randy Foye is proving himself almost every game to be a big time player, and McHale's draft-day manuevering to not only get Foye, but "cash considerations" was clever. Craig Smith, despite his recent "slump", might prove to be the SOD (Steal Of the Draft). Rashad McCants is expected to return in the coming weeks, and based on last season (particularly the latter portion), he will be an impact player.

So mozel tov, Kevin. It looks as though you've made some good draft decisions these past 2 seasons. This doesn't make up for the other horrible decisions and Nbudi Ebi, but I'll give credit where credit is due.

With that being said, here's some videos of our young studs.




Randy Foye hitting the game-winning basket against the Chicago Bulls.



Craig Smith (aka the next Round Mound of Rebound) with one of the most ferocious dunks I've ever seen.



Rashad McCants' pretty reverse layup. I love how smooth he looks driving to the basket.

Again, props McFail.

Tennis

I'd like to take this opportunity to get away from basketball and talk about my other sporting passion: tennis.

Tennis is a big part of my life. I've played for all my life, and eventually ended up as the number 1 singles player for Farmington in my senior year. I've also taught tennis for 5 or 6 years now, and these days, it makes up a decent part of my income. Tennis is something, I hope, will always be in my life.

Let's talk about professional tennis, more specifically men's tennis. Let me start of by stating my opinion: men's tennis is far superior to women's tennis for a number of reasons....

1. The men, being physically stronger, are capable of a lot more things on the court.
2. In grand slams, they play best of 5 sets instead of best of 3, leading to really epic endings.
3. The diversity of player in the men's game far surpasses the women's.
4. There's far more depth in men's tennis than women's.
5. The quality of matches is far better. Examples:

US Open Women's and Men's finals. In the women's final, Maria Sharapova beat Justine Henin-Hardenne 6-4, 6-4. 20 games. There were a total of 35 winners compared to 43 unforced errors. Compare that to the men's final between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick, which Federer won 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. 37 games. A total of 102 winners compared to.....42 unforced errors. You do the math.

OK, that's my rant. I'm sorry. I just get tired of women's tennis getting all the publicity, with Venus and Serena Williams, and Maria Sharapova, etc etc. I'm glad to see the men's game get a little more exposure with Roger Federer's brilliance leading the way, but there's SO much more to it than just Federer.

I'm just saying.

Now that I got that out of my system, I'd like to invite you all to watch the Australian Open, which starts in a week or two. All of the various tournaments have their own particular characteristics, and I dare say that with the exception of the US Open, the Australian Open might be the most exciting and watchable of the Grand Slams. Why, you might ask? Well, I'll tell you!

Wimbledon is dominated by quick points and big serving, making it a little bland to the casual viewing public. The French Open is more centered around defense and outlasting your opponent, making it equally as tedious. Then you have the Australian and US Opens, where the surface is more equal for everyone involved. The Australian Open also has the factor of intense heat, with the on-court temperature sometimes reaching well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, leading to tons of drama. The rowdy, but enthusiastic, Australian crowd is also a highlight.

With that in mind, here are a few of the great Australian Open matches from over the years, with some commentary....

2005 Australian Open Semifinal
Marat Safin bt. Roger Federer 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(6), 9-7

Sorry for the low quality video and odd musical choice, but just looking at this match again gives me chills. This is probably the best match of the last 5 years in men's tennis, with the possible exception of Agassi-Blake from the '05 US Open. This match lasted well over 4 hours, and even at the end, these guys were still crushing the ball. Unbelievable.

2003 Australian Open Quarterfinal
Andy Roddick bt. Younes El Aynaoui 4-6, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4, 21-19

An even 5 hours. 484 points. Unbelievable. I included the last 2 games of the match, and as you can tell, the atmosphere was electric. The quality of play was also excellent throughout, even as the match approached 4 and eventually 5 hours in length. I remember seeing the score line on espn2's bottom line, and thinking it was a typo. Unbelievable.

2000 Australian Open Semifinal
Andre Agassi bt. Pete Sampras 6-4. 3-6, 6-7(0), 7-6(5), 6-1

The greatest rivalry tennis has probably ever seen, Agassi and Sampras, took center stage at the Australian in 2000. The contrast is perfect: the classic serve-and-volleyer Sampras against the greatest returner in history Agassi. The results were spectacular, as the video of the tiebreak indicates. The 2 second-serve aces Pete throws in are my favorites.

I haven't been able to get the complete TV listings for the Australian, but when I do, I'll post them here. I'm not asking that you watch every match like I will.....but just give it a chance. I consider myself a pretty big sports fan, and I am yet to find a sport that has more drama than tennis. I urge you to find out for yourself.