Two Things

1.  The Marlins are shipping all their contracts  (Reyes, Johhnson, Buerhle)  and value players to the Blue Jays for prospects.  Ten cents on the dollar.  Incredible, a year after being big spenders and opening a new ballpark Miami has gutted the franchise.  What a difference a year makes!  Jeffrey Loira is up to this old tricks again.  Long live baseball in Montreal right.  A brilliantly evil business mind has screwed over the populace of South Florida.  Toronto with Johnson and Buerhle in the rotation and Reyes in the lineup becomes a contender in the AL East.  Boston and New York are on the downswing.  Love the Jays young GM for this one.  

2.  Royce White of anxiety disorder fame is at odds with the Houston Rockets.  White, who hasn't played this season, has been a no show at recent games and practices.  Awaiting White is a stint in the NBDL.  Both sides are at odds over his treatment?  It seemed as though the Rockets were willing to adapt to him, yet both sides are sniping back and forth.  This has become a perplexing saga.  Who is at fault and is the relationship between the two parties nearing an end?  Royce never missed a game at Iowa State despite his mental illness.  He is a top tier talent and it is a shame to see these issues affecting his career.  His illness is most prevalent at times of change and beginning an NBA career certainly qualifies.  I hope it works out for Royce in the end.  

Thanks Mr. Carter

Years ago a young basketball star decided to attended his college graduation on a game day.  No big deal.  Right?  His pro team the Raptors was a win away from the Eastern Conference Finals.  The media storm following his last second shot miss versus the Sixers that night was immense.  Since that moment the Raptors have been cursed.
Stars left town, McGrady and Carter. and professional basketball in Toronto has never recovered.

Witness last nights triple overtime loss to the Utah Jazz.  As a longtime Red Sox fan I was reminded of the pre 2004 years.  Closing games and some bad luck have become issues for the dinos.
Al Jefferson hits a three to send the game to overtime.  The guy had hit two three pointers his entire career.  Two!  Paranormal.
Demar Derozean was huge scoring 37 for the Raps.  Suddenly thrust into the closer role with his strong play he attempted an indescribable array of twirls and fades in a last second shot attempt to win the game as the first overtime closed.  Dermar!  Act like you've been there before.
The officiating also was atrocious.  Toronto never seems to get calls.  The persistent referee bias against the dinos leaves a molested core of Bargnani and Derozean with hands up in disbelief in the lack of calls.
The roster is devoid of a true star which is a prerequisite in today's NBA.  For whatever reason the Raps cannot attract star power.  So they end up acquiring good players through trades.
Luck has also shown on the injury front.  Kyle Lowry has been sorely missed the past few games.  Fields and Anderson are missed as well for the intangibles.
The overarching concern is that games are still not closed by Toronto.  Their record is 1-6.  They could easily be 3-4.  Opening night against the Pacers and the lack of desire to shut down David West was an wasted win.  Last night should've been another W, the game was bumbled away with late turnovers.  A push to win versus Phillly and Dallas was lacking after horrid early play.

Luck has been an issue for sure and maybe there is a Carter curse but in the end little has changed in DinoLand.

D'antoni and the week that was

Today the Lakers found their new coach.  Mike D'antoni.  The move shocked the world as something seemed to be worked out with the Zen master.  In the end it appears that Phil Jackson wanted to much power within the organization for the liking of the Buss son who runs the Lakers at this point.  So now what? By all appearances the move should benefit Kobe, who has a man crush on D'antoni, and the rest of the stars.  Nash, when he returns, should benefit.  Howard is excellent in the pick and roll system.  Gasol should be able to pick and pop.  Dwight and Nash should definitely flourish.  The uptempo system fits the LA persona as well.  Meeks and Jamison will be key of the bench, they must produce.  We will see.  Lots of pundits have downplayed D'antoni's image as a poor defensive coach.  In the end the playoffs will tell the story with this move.  Defense wins titles.

Week Two

Western Conference

Memphis:  Off to a great start.  Zach Randolph is already piling up the double doubles.   Routed the Heat last night.
Utah:  Impressed with the frontcourt depth: Favors, Milsap, Jefferson, and Kanter.  Look for one of these guys to be traded as Mo Williams at the point looks messy.
Clippers: Keep on rollin.  CP3 is the best point in the league.
Houston:  Harden has fallen back to earth and has too much of the create for everyone problem on his shoulders.  Linsanity appears to be a 26 game NY thing.

Eastern Conference

Knicks:  I am shocked at this.  Wow!  Melo has been a hustler diving into the stands for balls.  JR Smith has played within himself.  The retirement home bench players have produced.  The Knicks should fall back to earth and what happens when Stoudemire comes back and wants touches.  Bad chemistry coming.
Celtics:  Mmm.  Very uneven play.  The big three have done well but the bench hasn't come into form.
Sixers:  Another shocker.  Hanging in there without Bynum.
Pacers:  Granger out three months.  Hill has been great at the point.  Playoffs?  No
Chicago:  Keeping pace as predicted.
Miami:  Can't believe they have two losses.  From what I've seen they look unbeatable when they share the ball and plug in on the defense.
Toronto:  Lowry, how we've missed ya.  Saturdays 7-32 second quarter was the worst pro ball I've ever seen.  The passive shoot first play from Bargnai hinders this team.  Derozean has impressed yet still is a bit uneven.  Valenciunas is a keeper.  Half of the roster belongs overseas.  Fire the GM.

NFL Week 10 Early Returns

Atlanta finally lost one.  The 1972 Dolphins remain the only undefeated team in NFL history.  The Falcons might have had the top record in the league but this team is all flash and no substance.  Matt Ryan is great and the receiving core is immense but defense wins championships. The NFC title game is probably the ceiling for this team.
The New York Football Giants looked awful against the Bengals.  Eli Manning was a mess.  Bradshaw was benched after two costly fumbles.  The defense couldn't stop Dalton and the quick strike passing game.  Over the last few weeks the Giants have hardly looked like a contender. Hopefully, next weeks bye is used wisely by the G-Men.  Regroup, scream, and heal.  It was a sad afternoon as the Giants D/St, Nicks, and Bradshaw did nothing for me in fantasy.
New England won another suspect game.  Again the Bills were not put away and came back to make things interesting at the end until McCourty intercepted a Fitzpatrick pass in the end zone.  The two major concerns with the Pats have been putting teams away and the defensive backfield.  I have seen little improvement in either area.  The Pats will make the playoffs but will be lucky to win one.
Team Gagan is at 4-5 and desperately needs a win to contend for the playoffs.  Lynch, the 49ers, and Miller are still in play for my opponent.  Before the late games my lead is 23 points and my week is played out.  Its going to take a miracle for me to win this week.  Fantasy football has become a depressing thing, all the injuries, the horrendous performances, and the heroics from guys on the bench have taken their toll.  I'd rather not go through it anymore every Sunday.
At least the games have been great and tonight's Bears/Texans game looks like a Super Bowl preview.

SEC curse broken?

I hope so. Please. Please. Please, two of the three major, either Notre Dame, Kansas State or Oregon remain unbeaten.  I am so tired of the SEC bias by the CFB world.  If a one loss SEC team makes the championship game I will lose it.
Bama fell.  Woot!  Johnny "football" Manzell led the Aggies past the Tide.  This leads me to believe that even had the Tide remained unbeaten given the similar styles of play Oregon would have beaten Alabama in a possible title game. Saban would have had a month to prepare though.  Well hopefully we wont have to answer that one.
Some big games on the horizon.  Notre Dame v USC.  Oregon and K State must finish up the regular season and then win conference championship games to remain unbeaten.
Things just got wonderful iin college footballl land.

Laker Land

So long Mike Brown.  On Friday the Lakers coach was axed.  Holy panic move Batman.  Incredible.  He should have been given 20 games to figure it out.  That was not the case.  After a 1 and 4 start the coach had to go.  Kobe aside from the death stare at Mike Brown in Utah must have said something to management.  I guess the move reinforces that the window for the Lakers to contend and win another championship is very short.  Two years.
The main issue with the Lakers is footspeed.  The starters are old(kobe and nash) or big men.(howard and gasol)  Not exactly a unit that fits in with today"s fast paced game.  However, with the right coaching the Lakers can figure it out.
Bench play has also killed the Lakers.  Again the bench can become useful with more time and coaching.
The Princeton offense was a joke.  There is no need to have four future hall of famer's running around thinking too much about the correct play.  For the most part leave them alone and let them play their games.  Brown didn't deserve to be fired so early in the season but this offense was lunacy.  I would argue that the offense could be formulated by the players themselves given their experience.
What's next?  The Lakers are currently talking with Phil Jackson and Mike D'antoni.  Phil seems like a wiser pick should something be worked out.  Apparently he wants more control than his last time in LA given the issues he had with the Buss son.  Phil would like travel restrictions for himself regarding road games and his successor in place.  Look for Brian Shaw to fill this role.  The sides are in talks.  D'antoni seems a poor fit to me.  His uptempo style seems wiser for younger legs than the Lakers have.  Plus the guy can't spell defense.  I really hope something is worked out with Phil.  The triangle would work with the superstars and he is the Zen master.
On Friday the Lakers came out and throttled the Warriors.  It was easy to predict.  They played a self proclaimed playground style.  The classic " we are free, it was the coaches fault " game.  I had a weird feeling as a long time Laker hater Celtics fan.  I was rooting secretly for the Lakers to perform.  I reasoned it out to always wanting to see your rival perform.  The top tier teams are useless unless they are at their best.  The NBA landscape will be great if the Lakers get into contention mode.

Association Conclusions After A Couple of Games

Great to have the NBA back.  What a week of story lines.  The Beard going beserk for the Rockets averaging 41 points a game so far.  The Lakers are 0-3.  Toronto inexplicably signing Derozan to an extension.  Charlotte besting the Pacers to start the season 1-0.  The Celtics starting 0-2.  Big Baby throwing in 29 in a win over the winless Nuggets.  So what can we draw on from the first few games of the season?

Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.

Will Harden lead the league in scoring?  Probably not but he definitely is out to prove he is a #1 option on a team after his controversial trade from OKC.  Look for Harden to be a top 10 scorer this year for the Rockets.

The Lakers have looked awful so far losing their first three games.  They fell to Dallas, Eddy Curry plays for the Mavs, enough said.  Portland also beat the Lakers.   The Blazers are talented and a team to watch for this year.  Liliard is a scoring blur at the point guard position and should push for rookie of the year.  Mathews, Batum, and Aldrige are all young and solid players.  Last night the Lakers loss to their rivals the Clippers.  They looked slow and unable to overcome a large lead because of their age and pace of play.  Kobe had to take over and scored 40 points.  There has been lots of gesticulating and finer pointing on the court from the Laker players.  Steve Nash is down with a leg injury and LA has no bench.  It is early and the panic over the Lakers start is hilarious to observe from afar.  How long until the Princeton offense is abandoned?  Will Mike Brown lose his job if this start continues for another month or so?

The Bobcats victory over the Pacers was a pleasure.  Charlotte is hapless team with little talent.   The delight from the players over the W was almost collegiate.  The Pacers will struggle without Danny Granger, they almost lost another nail biter to the Raptors in their first game.  Paul George has not made the leap to being an elite player after last years playoff struggles.

I expect the Celtics and Nuggets will start winning games and be among the top seeds in their conference.

The Raptors began the season with a last minute loss to the Pacers on Halloween.  JV was a pleasure to watch getting a double double in his first NBA game.  Lowry was ferocious.  Calderon was huge off the bench.  Bargnani got his points with a horrendous shooting percentage, ugh.  Derozean showed a willingness to go to the hole and take contact.  The other wings, Fields and Ross, however were atrocious.  Fields clunked his way through the game and Ross didn't seem ready for the bright lights of the league.  In the end if they had figured out how to stop David West the Raps should have won going away.  Things to look for as we go forward.   Who will produce on the perimeter and wing aside from Derozean?  How long before the high screen offense from JV and Bargs is neutralized and does a high low post with that pair take over?  When will Lowry flip out on some of his passive teammates?

With the advent of November came contract extensions for players on rookie deals. Harden got 5 years for 80 million.  It looks like the Beard will be worth every penny.  Steph Curry extended for 4 years and 44 million.  Health and staying on the court make me wary of this deal.  Lawson re-upped with the Nuggets for 4 years and 46 million.  Lawson is a top ten point guard and somehow the market values that salary for his production.  In a widely chastised move Bryan Colangelo resigned Demar Derozean for 4 years and 38 million. Stat geeks have continuously pounded the numbers and concluded that Derozean is not a below average.  So why did Colangelo handicap the Raptors financial flexibility by signing Derozean to an extension?  To validate the high pick spent on Derozean.  Colangelo outbid himself on this one.  It would have been better to wait out the season, see what the market is for Derozean, and what was on the market for the Raps.  Derozean is the Raptors #3 option behind Lowry and Bargnani.  Hopefully at 23 years old he continues to develop and proves us all wrong..  However, this all could have been taken care of in the offseason.

Looking forward to catching the Raptors game tonight versus the Nets.  Will the emotion of Superstorm Sandy and the regular season opening of the one billion dollar Barclay's Center be too much for the Raps to overcome?
I also will keep an eye on some CFB.  LSU and Alabama face off in an SEC tilt which is sure to be a boring defensive battle.  Out west Oregon faces their first true test against USC.  Some points will be put up in this one and I hope USC can hang in there and make this one close