Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Scattered sports related thoughts

- Dwyane Wade is playing out of his mind. Props to him on an excellent season, as he is carrying a talented but very inexperienced Miami Heat team. I do think though that the way he has completely overshadowed LeBron James in the MVP race is a little ridiculous. LeBron with a little help for once, in the name of Mo Williams, is carrying that team right to the best record in the league. James is averaging 29 PPG, 7 RPG and 7 APG, shooting 48% from the field. He has been his usual stellar self statistically, and is the best player on the best team in the league. Wade is definitely deserving, and the argument can be made that he is playing better than anyone in the league right now, but James should not be overshadowed, and he is still the most legitimate MVP candidate.

- The WBC...What is the point of this? When you have the manager of the U.S. saying things like 'If we lost 2 catchers I'd forfeit the game', and pitchers getting work simply because they need it for spring training regardless of the results, what is the point? A lot of these players don't play winter ball, and it is March, meanwhile other teams have been preparing for this all year round. How is that fair? I don't think anything will happen regarding this, unless a big name player gets seriously hurt. God knows how stubborn Bud Selig is. Congratulations to Japan on winning it.

-NCAA Tourney. It has actually been a pretty nondescript tourney so far, as everything has pretty much went by the book. I am impressed with Ty Lawson, the Connecticut Huskies, the Villanova Wildcats and Blake Griffin. I am very intrigued to see what Lawson does as a professional. I am not impressed with Pitt so far, as they have barely scraped by powerhouses such as East Tennessee State. I do realize the point is survive and advance, I'm just not sold that Pittsburgh's style of play will ever produce consistent tournament success. Call it a jaded or close minded point of view, but I've watched them prove me right year after year. Also, a lot of credit to the Orangemen, as they keep on chugging. Johnny Flynn is another guy I am very intrigued in terms of being a pro prospect.

- Curt Schilling retires- I will probably dedicate an entire entry to this topic in the coming days (mostly his Hall of Fame qualifications, yes I realize that is VERY subjective). Schilling had a very good career, and was on the giving end of Yankee heartbreak three times in the last seven years. He's one of those guys you can't stand but you can't help but respect. Schilling might be a nosy loud mouth, but once game day arrives you can always expect Schilling's best. He is also arguably the greatest postseason pitcher of his generation. Schilling's career produced many memorable moments. Of those what will most be remembered are the performances against the Yankees in the 2001 World Series, and the 2004 American League Championship Series (Game 6, bloody sock).

-Jay Cutler- Coming straight from the "No Surprise" category, I want Jay Cutler to be donning a green and white #6 next season for the New York Jets. That being said, I don't want the Jets to mortgage off the future for the guy either, for a couple of reasons.

1. Who is he going to throw the ball to? I do realize that a QB of his caliber (top then, one of the best pure passers in the business), can make the guys around him better, much like he did for Eddie Royal. But at the same time, we don't have a Brandon Marshall or anything close to him for that matter, and outside of that we have no one with experience playing the position. Does David Clowney and Chansi Stuckey scare you? Well, they scare me, that's for sure.

2. Chalk this up to the conspiracy theorist way of thinking. Well, it is widely thrown out there that Cutler has a large ego, which can work in your favor or against it depending on the guy. But if he does have this large ego, and the Jets then mortgage off the future for the guy doesn't that feed into his ego a little bit. At the same time it could make him feel wanted, so who knows. That is probably too far out there to be legitimate.

As far as his situation in Denver, I think it will end up being like the Anquan Boldin situation. He'll end up playing, and playing well while being "disgruntled", and the trade rumors will continue to surface next offseason.


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