Sports News and Notes:
Vol. VI
May 14 th 2009

In My Mind...
I’m back again for another update in this crazy world of sports. There’s a few things that have been going on that I want to touch on. Is Brett Favre still retired? How did they NFL draft shake out this year? Who’s been tearing it up in the Major Leagues? What’s up with Manny Ramirez? Who did the NBA finally crown MVP for the 08-09 season.

So Amazing
Cleveland Cavalier superstar Lebron James has been awarded NBA MVP for the 2008-2009 season. Lebron had one of the best statistical seasons of his career with averages of 28.4ppg, 7.6rpg, and 7.2apg. He is averaging a personal best in field goal percentage and blocks despite only playing 37.7 minutes per game, the lowest of his career. The MVP voting came down to the consensus top 3 of James, Dwyane Wade, and Kobe Bryant. Even though James was the favorite, no one thought that he would win in such a lopsided victory. Although he put up great statistics this year I think it had a lot to do with the recent success of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who owned the best record in the league this season. I have never seen an athlete with his brute strength and cat-like agility. His ability to see the floor makes him even more difficult to deal with night in and night out. Many people consider Kobe Bryant to be the best player in the game right now, and they very well may be right, but Lebron isn’t in the back seat anymore. If Kobe Bryant is driving the car, then Lebron is in the passenger seat right next to him.

Days of our Lives
Every summer, it’s the same ole’ thing. That time of year again for the annual “Brett Favre soap opera“. The media spends so much time tracking his every move to get the latest. One minute he’s retired, and before you know it, he’s in training camp getting ready for the upcoming season. The Minnesota Vikings are in the market for a quarterback and were very interested in the former Packers quarterback. It has been reported that Head Coach Brad Childress was set to meet with Favre in the very near future in Favre‘s native Mississippi.. I first would like to say that I think Brett Favre is one of the all-time great quarterbacks. When you think of Green Bay, you think of Brett Favre. He was a great ambassador for the city and was a Lambeau legend. 
 
I can see Favre going to the Jets, but a division rival? Many say Favre wants to get back at Green Bay General Manager Ted Thompson for turning the team over to new Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Signing with Minnesota would have allowed him to get revenge on Thompson and also a chance at a title. But what about Packer fans? What about his legacy in Green Bay? Everything he built there is diminished if he makes this move. I think it’s less about Favre wanting to win a championship and more about him wanting to stick it to his old team.

So why Minnesota? For the Vikings, it would have made perfect sense because he’s an upgrade over anybody they have now at quarterback. They also have a stout defense, the best running back in the league, and a good offensive line which sounds like the recipe for success in the NFL. The Vikings would have be an instant contender in the NFC and challenged for a Super Bowl title.

For the moment, it seems as if the Vikings will not sign Favre and will go in another direction. But the question is, what will Brett Favre do? Will he stay retired or sign with a team next season? I’m starting to think he gets a kick out of all of this. He knows the media is going to make a big deal of the situation. Why not just call it quits and preserve your legacy? Stay home Brett, just stay home.
Juiced?

LA Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez has been suspended 50 games, testing positive for a banned substance. The substance, human chorionic gonadotropin or hCG, is known as a female fertility drug. Many steroid users take it to get their body’s natural testosterone levels back to normal after a steroid cycle. Ramirez claims he did not know that substance was banned and that it was given to him by his physician for a suspected illness. He plans to make an appeal to shorten or lift the suspension passed down by Major League Baseball. If not, he will lose $7.65 million dollars due to the suspension.
This is very unfortunate, particularly because the Dodgers where playing so well this season. It remains to be seen if they can continue their success without Ramirez. He’s one of the best right-handed hitters I have ever seen. I really don’t know what to think about this situation.  Part of me just wants to group him in with all of the rest of the superstars of the steroid era: Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, A-Rod etc. Then another part wants me to believe that Ramirez is a clean player and just got caught up in a bad situation. Why? Because he’s taken over 15 drug tests in the past 5 years and passed all of them. His size and weight has been fairly consistent along with his stats being consistent over the years as well. And lastly, he wasn’t hand picked by everybody’s favorite baseball “snitch”….Jose Canseco.

 
MLB….Who’s HOT??
Team- LA Dodgers
No question the Dodgers are the hottest team in baseball right now and it looks like it’s not just all about Manny. Although Ramirez leads the team in batting average and home runs, the Dodgers are getting more of balanced attack this season. Second baseman Orlando Hudson  is leading the team in hits and  right fielder Andre Ethier has a team high in RBI’s. Oh, and did I mention that they have the best record in the league with a record 12-0 at home? I know it’s still early, but the Dodgers are looking good.
 

Player- Albert Pujols
Pujols has started this season red hot as he leads the National League in Homeruns(11) and RBI’s (31). He also is averaging .357 this season behind the Mets Carlos Beltran, who’s also having a great year so far. The Cardinals are leading the N.L. Central right now, in big part to the success of Pujols.





NFL Draft Recap

Winners:
NY Giants

The Giants are already a playoff contender, but have a hole at the wide receiver spot, recently vacated by Plaxico Burress. Hakeem Nicks, outside of Michael Crabtree, may be the most NFL-ready receiver in the draft. He’s a physical receiver and can also be a deep threat for them as well. They get another wide out in Ramses Barden out of  Caly Poly, former Wisconsin tight end Travis Beckum in the third round and I think Rhett Bomar was a steal in the fifth round.



Philadelphia Eagles

Donovan McNabb finally is getting help he needs. Jeremy Maclin who was thought to be a top 10 pick, slipped down to them at 19. Second round pick Lesean McCoy will come in and spell Brian Westbrook at running back. Fifth round picks Cornelius Ingram, the tight end out of Florida and cornerback Victor “Macho” Harris from Virginia Tech were excellent picks too.



San Francisco 49ers

New coach Mike Singletary did well in his first draft getting the best wide receiver in the draft, Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree. Alabama’s Glen Coffee and former Ball State quarterback Nate Davis were great values. LSU’s Ricky Jean-Francois has a lot of potential also.





Losers:
Oakland Raiders

You knew I couldn’t leave out the Raiders. I don’t have anything against Darrius Heyward-Bey and he may turn out be a phenomenal player, but at number 7??? This was strictly an Al Davis pick here. Not only did they pass over the best receiver in the draft Michael Crabtree, but if Heyward-Bey was the player they wanted, why not trade down and get him. They could have moved down 10-15 spots and gained some extra picks along the way. Mike Mitchell out of Ohio University, who they chose in the second round, was widely viewed as a second day pick.


Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs obviously wanted to go defense in this year’s draft, but they ended up taking the wrong player at number 3. They chose LSU defensive end Tyson Jackson with linebacker Aaron Curry still on the board. I’m not saying that Jackson can’t be a solid player, but in my opinion, Curry is better. You also can not take a 3-4 scheme defensive end that high and pay him that much money. A 3-4 defensive end rarely gets sacks and mainly just holds their point of attack. Now Jackson should help out against the run, I just would have addressed that position later on in the draft. Donald Washington out of Ohio State is great athlete but could have used another year in college.


A few more things…
Manny Pacquiao recently defeated Ricky Hatton in very impressive fashion. Hatton was knocked out in the second round by a vicious left hook by Pacquiao. Some say he’s a 140lb Mike Tyson and he sure looked like it last Saturday. The victory may have set up a huge mega fight with Floyd Mayweather who recently announced he would come out of
retirement and return to boxing.





New York Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez is now back with the team after recovering from hip surgery. His return should provide a spark to a 13-15 Yankee ball club. Rodriguez actually homered in his first at bat against the Baltimore Orioles. Hopefully that’s a sign of good things to come.







Lastly I want to touch on the NBA playoffs this year. Is it me or is it starting to get really physical out there on the court? Derek Fisher and Rafer Alston have been suspended a game for unsportsman-like play. Dwight Howard almost took out Philly’s Samuel Dalembert with an elbow and Kobe took a cheap shot at Ron Artest as well. I guess that’s just playoff basketball. Overall, the playoffs have been pretty exciting this year, hopefully the suspensions will be kept at minimum so all the players can play and all the ballers can ball.