Darren Collison Making Most of Paul's Injury
02/07/10 20:44 Filed in: NBA | College
Basketball
Speaking of New Orleans,...
Darren Collison stayed at UCLA for the full four years, and completed a career as one of the top point guards in a Bruin history already replete with names like Walt Hazzard, Michael Warren, Baron Davis, Ty Edney, Pooh Richardson, and an almost endless list of others. When his college career came to an end, he was still a solid draft pick and was rewarded with a million dollar NBA contract. The bad news was that he was drafted by the New Orleans Hornets who already had a guy named Chris Paul at the point, and it appeared that Collison would be little more than a caddy for quite a while.
But, Paul has not been healthy, and a few days ago went out for one to two months with knee surgery. In steps Darren Collison, and in five games since taking over as the starter, he has compiled a 16.6 points-per-game average and has passed off for more than ten assists per game.
He's got a great chance to excel now, and show the rest of the league that he has the talent to be an NBA starter a point guard.
Darren Collison stayed at UCLA for the full four years, and completed a career as one of the top point guards in a Bruin history already replete with names like Walt Hazzard, Michael Warren, Baron Davis, Ty Edney, Pooh Richardson, and an almost endless list of others. When his college career came to an end, he was still a solid draft pick and was rewarded with a million dollar NBA contract. The bad news was that he was drafted by the New Orleans Hornets who already had a guy named Chris Paul at the point, and it appeared that Collison would be little more than a caddy for quite a while.
But, Paul has not been healthy, and a few days ago went out for one to two months with knee surgery. In steps Darren Collison, and in five games since taking over as the starter, he has compiled a 16.6 points-per-game average and has passed off for more than ten assists per game.
He's got a great chance to excel now, and show the rest of the league that he has the talent to be an NBA starter a point guard.
theHoundDawg
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Bruins Scared Straight by Loss to brain surgeons, Win 4 of Last 5
02/04/10 23:50 Filed in: College
Basketball
Since the debacle of January 16, the Bruins have been a
different team. I guess the embarrassment of the
21-point loss to the brain surgeons scared them
straight. That, and the outstanding play of senior
Michael Roll, the improved play of senior Nikola
Dragovic, and the fabulous, continual development of
super-talented freshmen Tyler Honeycutt and Reeves
Nelson, have pulled the Bruins into a first place tie
in the Pac-12, uh, excuse me Mario, Pac-10.
Of course, a big part of the turnaround has been the zone defense instituted by Coach Howland, though tonight the stellar defense during a key 9-0 run was with Howland's preferred (and the Bruin traditional) man-to-man.
Don't get me wrong, this is not a final four team, and maybe still not even a tournament team, but stellar defense which was so lacking for much of the season, improved free-throw shooting, and reduced turnovers could mean that this season that looked so ominous and started so horribly, may not turn out so bad after all.
Of course, a big part of the turnaround has been the zone defense instituted by Coach Howland, though tonight the stellar defense during a key 9-0 run was with Howland's preferred (and the Bruin traditional) man-to-man.
Don't get me wrong, this is not a final four team, and maybe still not even a tournament team, but stellar defense which was so lacking for much of the season, improved free-throw shooting, and reduced turnovers could mean that this season that looked so ominous and started so horribly, may not turn out so bad after all.
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theHoundDawg
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Mario - Who Are the Other Two Schools?
I've laid off Mario Solis for a while. Well, actually
I've avoided listening to him for awhile.
Unfortunately, I saw his broadcast tonight, and I'm glad I did.
Otherwise, how would I have known that the major west-coast college sports conference has added two additional schools. Yep, according to Mario, UCLA, the brain surgeons, and the others now play in the PAC-12!
Thanks for the info, Mario.
Unfortunately, I saw his broadcast tonight, and I'm glad I did.
Otherwise, how would I have known that the major west-coast college sports conference has added two additional schools. Yep, according to Mario, UCLA, the brain surgeons, and the others now play in the PAC-12!
Thanks for the info, Mario.
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theHoundDawg
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Angels Pay, But Don't Learn Any Lessons
01/22/10 16:15 Filed in: Baseball
Following an eight year period during which he was
twice traded, twice claimed on waivers, and once
outright released, Gary Matthews, Jr. had one good year
for the Texan Rangers in 2006. As seems so often to be
the case, that was a free agent year, and Matthews
cashed in big-time, as the Angels gave this career
wash-out a five-year, $50 Million contract.
Matthews rewarded the Angels by reverting to his career performance levels, averaging just under .250, 10 homers and 56 RBI for the three years he's played in Anaheim, and played barely good enough to keep his starting spot for the first year only. Cutting their loses, the Angels have now traded Matthews to the NY Mets, for underachiever Brian Stokes (6-11, 5.02 over four seasons). That, folks, is the GOOD news. The Angels also agreed to pay the Mets $21.5 Million to pay all but $2 Mil of Matthews' salary over the final two years of his contract.
Well, at least the Angels learned a lesson from all of this. Presumably that lesson is that it is not wise to hand over several million dollars to a journeyman player who has one solid year after several mediocre years. Right? WRONG!
The Angels have repeated the same mistake by signing the mediocre Joel Pineiro to a two-year, $16 Million contract, the same Pineiro who has bounced between three other teams, and before his decent 15-12 2009 season with St. Louis, had been 35-47 with an ERA over 5.00 from 2004 through 2008.
When Pineiro goes 6-13 this year, maybe then the Angels will actually learn something.
Matthews rewarded the Angels by reverting to his career performance levels, averaging just under .250, 10 homers and 56 RBI for the three years he's played in Anaheim, and played barely good enough to keep his starting spot for the first year only. Cutting their loses, the Angels have now traded Matthews to the NY Mets, for underachiever Brian Stokes (6-11, 5.02 over four seasons). That, folks, is the GOOD news. The Angels also agreed to pay the Mets $21.5 Million to pay all but $2 Mil of Matthews' salary over the final two years of his contract.
Well, at least the Angels learned a lesson from all of this. Presumably that lesson is that it is not wise to hand over several million dollars to a journeyman player who has one solid year after several mediocre years. Right? WRONG!
The Angels have repeated the same mistake by signing the mediocre Joel Pineiro to a two-year, $16 Million contract, the same Pineiro who has bounced between three other teams, and before his decent 15-12 2009 season with St. Louis, had been 35-47 with an ERA over 5.00 from 2004 through 2008.
When Pineiro goes 6-13 this year, maybe then the Angels will actually learn something.
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theHoundDawg
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Losing More Than Its Own Reward in NFL Coaching Ranks
01/19/10 11:16 Filed in: NFL
Ten days ago, likely suffering from some terminal brain
malady that is about to bring about my demise, I gave
credit and kudos to two sorry excuses for NFL coaches,
Wade Phillips and Norv Turner.
Silly me. I thought the Dallas and SD hot streaks had something to do with their head coaches, when in reality, the streaks were despite their head coaches.
The only person so far to be more embarrassed about this turn of events should be Charger president Dean Spanos, who, in light of his team's horrendous performance against a clearly inferior Jets' team, rewarded Turner with a three-year contract extension through 2013. You've got to be kidding.
On top of this, ESPN has reported that Jerry Jones has told Phillips that he will exercise the team's 2010 option on Phillips' services and that he will be back running the Cowboys next year.
Spanos has demonstrated for years his total lack of football knowledge and minute business acumen, but you would think that Jones would have had enough, especially with his track record of coach musical chairs.
Also, yet another abject failure in the NFL coaching fraternity, Chan Gailey, has been given another shot, now employed to bring the Buffalo Bills back to respectability.
Silly me. I thought the Dallas and SD hot streaks had something to do with their head coaches, when in reality, the streaks were despite their head coaches.
The only person so far to be more embarrassed about this turn of events should be Charger president Dean Spanos, who, in light of his team's horrendous performance against a clearly inferior Jets' team, rewarded Turner with a three-year contract extension through 2013. You've got to be kidding.
On top of this, ESPN has reported that Jerry Jones has told Phillips that he will exercise the team's 2010 option on Phillips' services and that he will be back running the Cowboys next year.
Spanos has demonstrated for years his total lack of football knowledge and minute business acumen, but you would think that Jones would have had enough, especially with his track record of coach musical chairs.
Also, yet another abject failure in the NFL coaching fraternity, Chan Gailey, has been given another shot, now employed to bring the Buffalo Bills back to respectability.
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theHoundDawg
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Season Approaching and the Dodgers Are Half a Team Short
01/17/10 14:43 Filed in: Baseball
Orlando Hudson. Ron Belliard. Vicente Padilla. Brad
Asmus. Juan Pierre. Jim Tome. Juan Castro. Mark
Loretta. Jamie Hoffmann. Randy Wolf. Jon Garland. Doug
Mientkiewicz. Tony Abreu.
All gone from last year's roster.
Not one addition to the pitching staff, and overall only reserve infielder Jamey Carroll has been added.
Spring training is in five weeks, isn't it?
The McCort divorce was seen as a major roadblock to improvement over last year, but letting all of these players go with no replacements is somehing that was not foreseen. Granted, this week Chad Billingsley and Matt Kemp were signed to big raises, but if this were a year earlier, maybe both would have gotten longer-term contracts.
The Giants and Arizona will both be greatly improved over last season, and San Diego may also be even better than what they showed the last few weeks of the year. Colorado, as good as they were last season, has yet to put together two goods years in a row, and they have lost a couple of key guys, most importantly, Jason Marquis.
Nevertheless, the NL West overall will be substantially improved throughout, with one glowing exception as of now: the Dodgers.
Unless some major work is done pretty soon, the Dodger roster figues to be filled out with a host of minor leaguers and guys who have spent their careers on the Albuquerque-LA shuttle, like Eric Stults, AJ Ellis, Chin-lung Hu, Scott Elbert, and of course the talented but always injured Jason Repko.
Aren't there a few bucks in the coffer to bring back a Vicente Padilla, or even Orlando Hudson (though he probably would not consider it, with what the team did to him the end of last season), or how about a Jarrod Washburn or Erik Bedard? Wouldn't Eric Byrnes or Endy Chavez make a great fourth outfielder on this team, and how about a Jose Molina for the back-up catcher?
Come on Frank, let Ned do something!
All gone from last year's roster.
Not one addition to the pitching staff, and overall only reserve infielder Jamey Carroll has been added.
Spring training is in five weeks, isn't it?
The McCort divorce was seen as a major roadblock to improvement over last year, but letting all of these players go with no replacements is somehing that was not foreseen. Granted, this week Chad Billingsley and Matt Kemp were signed to big raises, but if this were a year earlier, maybe both would have gotten longer-term contracts.
The Giants and Arizona will both be greatly improved over last season, and San Diego may also be even better than what they showed the last few weeks of the year. Colorado, as good as they were last season, has yet to put together two goods years in a row, and they have lost a couple of key guys, most importantly, Jason Marquis.
Nevertheless, the NL West overall will be substantially improved throughout, with one glowing exception as of now: the Dodgers.
Unless some major work is done pretty soon, the Dodger roster figues to be filled out with a host of minor leaguers and guys who have spent their careers on the Albuquerque-LA shuttle, like Eric Stults, AJ Ellis, Chin-lung Hu, Scott Elbert, and of course the talented but always injured Jason Repko.
Aren't there a few bucks in the coffer to bring back a Vicente Padilla, or even Orlando Hudson (though he probably would not consider it, with what the team did to him the end of last season), or how about a Jarrod Washburn or Erik Bedard? Wouldn't Eric Byrnes or Endy Chavez make a great fourth outfielder on this team, and how about a Jose Molina for the back-up catcher?
Come on Frank, let Ned do something!
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theHoundDawg
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SC Scum and NCAA, and, Oh, Yea, Bruin Disgrace
Well, according to the late Mike Garrett (about two
monhts to go, at most), OJ Mayo has joined the NFL's
second-biggest scumwad r bush in their failure to
cooperate with investigations into their illegal
activities while enjoying the cardinal and gold glamour
and classroom experience (thought I'd throw in a good
laugh).
It is well known that bush took his Heisman and ran to the NFL where he had to take a pay cut, and refused to talk to NCAA investigators and others looking into his $1/2 million in ill-gotten riches while in the employ of petey and MG. Mayo followed in those footsteps to the NBA and as ESPN and the Daily News reported, refused to discuss the matter, as sc self-imposed all those darling little penalties.
While sc fully deserves what it is getting for employing criminal elements like petey, timmy, bush and mayo, the likes of bush and mayo should have had the decency to try to help out the school that paved the way for their future careers.
On another, equally sickening note, I really misspoke back on Dec. 24 when I though I saw a glimmer of hope in the Bruin basketball team. We all knew the team would not be very good this season, but never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect the team to be as bad as the brain surgeons figured to be. Alas, the brain surgeons, who had been playing reasonabley well most of the season, yesterday wiped the Wooden name off the hardwood with the horrible Bruin team. This was the most embarrassing exposition of Bruin bb in my memory, and I've been atttending Bruin games for five decades (Six, if I ever suck it up and go to a game this season - can't even watch them on TV right now).
It is well known that bush took his Heisman and ran to the NFL where he had to take a pay cut, and refused to talk to NCAA investigators and others looking into his $1/2 million in ill-gotten riches while in the employ of petey and MG. Mayo followed in those footsteps to the NBA and as ESPN and the Daily News reported, refused to discuss the matter, as sc self-imposed all those darling little penalties.
While sc fully deserves what it is getting for employing criminal elements like petey, timmy, bush and mayo, the likes of bush and mayo should have had the decency to try to help out the school that paved the way for their future careers.
On another, equally sickening note, I really misspoke back on Dec. 24 when I though I saw a glimmer of hope in the Bruin basketball team. We all knew the team would not be very good this season, but never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect the team to be as bad as the brain surgeons figured to be. Alas, the brain surgeons, who had been playing reasonabley well most of the season, yesterday wiped the Wooden name off the hardwood with the horrible Bruin team. This was the most embarrassing exposition of Bruin bb in my memory, and I've been atttending Bruin games for five decades (Six, if I ever suck it up and go to a game this season - can't even watch them on TV right now).
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theHoundDawg
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Buss Role in Kiffin Deal Defies Logic
01/13/10 23:32 Filed in: College
Football
Today's revelation that Lakers' owner and sc grad Jerry
Buss paid the University of Tennessee the goodly sum of
$800,000 as a buy-out of Lane Kiffin's contract is an
eye-opener.
Draconian NCAA rules make penny-ante "offenses" into felonies, but this is legal?
sc, the second largest private land-owner in Los Angeles County and the beneficiary of untold riches generated by virtue of the illegal activities of its men's athletic department really does need all this economic help from its fan base. Heaven forbid they would have to pay this, or gee, what if Kiffin had to pay this himself, like, well, ANY OTHER COACH breaching a contract would have had to?
Draconian NCAA rules make penny-ante "offenses" into felonies, but this is legal?
sc, the second largest private land-owner in Los Angeles County and the beneficiary of untold riches generated by virtue of the illegal activities of its men's athletic department really does need all this economic help from its fan base. Heaven forbid they would have to pay this, or gee, what if Kiffin had to pay this himself, like, well, ANY OTHER COACH breaching a contract would have had to?
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theHoundDawg
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Breaking News - Lane Kiffin New Head Brain Surgeon
01/12/10 19:28 Filed in: College
Football
Power Shift Coming in AL West?
01/12/10 15:42 Filed in: Baseball
The Angels have dominated the AL West for most of the
past decade, but free-agent losses in Anaheim and open
checkbooks in Seattle and Texas may mean tougher times
for Mike Scioscia's guys this coming season.
The Angels can still field a dangerous offensive team and stellar defensive crew, despite the losses of Chone Figgins and Vladimir Guerrero. Maicer Izturis won't miss a step defensively at third, but he is not the top of the lineup catalyst the team has had for so long in Figgins. With a history of yearly injuries limiting the playing time of Howie Kendricks, Erick Aybar, Figgins, and Isturis himself, not having an Isturis as a fill-in for all three positions will be a major detriment to the team. Perennial prospect Brandon Wood may finally see some playing time in that role, but can he do the job defensively? Guerrero suffered through an injury-plagued 2009 and replacement Hideki Matsui who also limped through a poor early 2009 contributed significantly to the scumstripes' stretch run and was, somehow, World Series MVP.
It is on the mound where the Angels 2010 fortunes will be decided. Since he was brought up form the minors in July, 2002 and led the Angels to the World Championship, John Lackey has been the warhorse and ace that the Angels have relied on to anchor their starting staff. They now have to make due without him. Jared Weaver will have to step into the "Ace" role, and Joe Saunders and a hopefully healthy Scott Kazmir will form a formidable top three. A return to form for Earvin Santana could take care of one of the other starting spots, but there is no answer on the current roster to adequately fill the final spot. Trouble will we brewing if May comes around and the fifth starter comes from among Sean O'Sullivan, Bobby Mosebach and Anthony Ortega, who appear to be in line for the spot. A far better choice, from pitchers currently on the roster, would be Matt Palmer.
Questions also abound in the bullpen, where the hot and cold Brian Fuentes is still the stopper, and the very questionable Fernando Rodney has been signed to keep him on his toes while filling the set-up spot, though a healthy Scott Shields should be able to re-take that spot.
More troubling than foreseeable Angel deficiencies is the improvement made in Seattle and Texas.
Throughout his AL tenure, Guerrero has done more offensively against the Rangers than any player has against any other team in baseball. He loves to hit in Arlington, and if he stays healthy, he should have a monster season. Texas' young starters were very impressive the last half of 2009, and their young staff anchored by 17-game winner Scott Feldman figures to continue to improve. Former Angel spot lefty Darren Oliver returns to Texas and will be a big addition to their pen.
The question mark that they will also rely on is Rich Harden. More on that later.
Seattle traded for Cliff Lee and now boasts probably the top one-two starting punch in the AL in Lee and Félix Hernández. They've added Figgins and another former Angel in Casey Kotchman for the infield corners, and will get a full season from one of the most underrated players in the game, shortstop Jack Wilson. They've also added Milton Bradley to the outfield. More on that later.
Both these teams should be vastly improved, but is what they did enough, and were all of the acquisitions wise ones? Enough - no. Wise - no. The Angels still feature significantly more talent across their roster than either Seattle or Texas, and with Mike Scioscia calling the shots have a built in advantage. But the real reason the Angels will repeat as AL West champs is this. A year ago, all the experts said the Chicago Cubs were the team to beat in the National League. I said - and you can look it up in my pre-season picks from last year - that "No team that relies on Milton Bradley or Rich Harden will ever win anything." This proved correct last year, and will be true again this year. Seattle cannot win a division title if they have to rely on Bradley, nor can Texas relying on Harden.
The Angels can still field a dangerous offensive team and stellar defensive crew, despite the losses of Chone Figgins and Vladimir Guerrero. Maicer Izturis won't miss a step defensively at third, but he is not the top of the lineup catalyst the team has had for so long in Figgins. With a history of yearly injuries limiting the playing time of Howie Kendricks, Erick Aybar, Figgins, and Isturis himself, not having an Isturis as a fill-in for all three positions will be a major detriment to the team. Perennial prospect Brandon Wood may finally see some playing time in that role, but can he do the job defensively? Guerrero suffered through an injury-plagued 2009 and replacement Hideki Matsui who also limped through a poor early 2009 contributed significantly to the scumstripes' stretch run and was, somehow, World Series MVP.
It is on the mound where the Angels 2010 fortunes will be decided. Since he was brought up form the minors in July, 2002 and led the Angels to the World Championship, John Lackey has been the warhorse and ace that the Angels have relied on to anchor their starting staff. They now have to make due without him. Jared Weaver will have to step into the "Ace" role, and Joe Saunders and a hopefully healthy Scott Kazmir will form a formidable top three. A return to form for Earvin Santana could take care of one of the other starting spots, but there is no answer on the current roster to adequately fill the final spot. Trouble will we brewing if May comes around and the fifth starter comes from among Sean O'Sullivan, Bobby Mosebach and Anthony Ortega, who appear to be in line for the spot. A far better choice, from pitchers currently on the roster, would be Matt Palmer.
Questions also abound in the bullpen, where the hot and cold Brian Fuentes is still the stopper, and the very questionable Fernando Rodney has been signed to keep him on his toes while filling the set-up spot, though a healthy Scott Shields should be able to re-take that spot.
More troubling than foreseeable Angel deficiencies is the improvement made in Seattle and Texas.
Throughout his AL tenure, Guerrero has done more offensively against the Rangers than any player has against any other team in baseball. He loves to hit in Arlington, and if he stays healthy, he should have a monster season. Texas' young starters were very impressive the last half of 2009, and their young staff anchored by 17-game winner Scott Feldman figures to continue to improve. Former Angel spot lefty Darren Oliver returns to Texas and will be a big addition to their pen.
The question mark that they will also rely on is Rich Harden. More on that later.
Seattle traded for Cliff Lee and now boasts probably the top one-two starting punch in the AL in Lee and Félix Hernández. They've added Figgins and another former Angel in Casey Kotchman for the infield corners, and will get a full season from one of the most underrated players in the game, shortstop Jack Wilson. They've also added Milton Bradley to the outfield. More on that later.
Both these teams should be vastly improved, but is what they did enough, and were all of the acquisitions wise ones? Enough - no. Wise - no. The Angels still feature significantly more talent across their roster than either Seattle or Texas, and with Mike Scioscia calling the shots have a built in advantage. But the real reason the Angels will repeat as AL West champs is this. A year ago, all the experts said the Chicago Cubs were the team to beat in the National League. I said - and you can look it up in my pre-season picks from last year - that "No team that relies on Milton Bradley or Rich Harden will ever win anything." This proved correct last year, and will be true again this year. Seattle cannot win a division title if they have to rely on Bradley, nor can Texas relying on Harden.
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theHoundDawg
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