Graciously passed along by The Realests…
Rick Majerus isn’t a big… actually, you know what, I’m not going to ruin the surprise for you.
Archive for June 28th, 2006
June28
For Your Draft Needs…
I decided I’m not going to liveblog the draft tonight or anything, despite the fact that it’s probably my favorite night of the sports summer… too many others have it covered, and if I did it, I’d want to do the whole thing in an impression of Steven A. Smith, HOWEVA… I don’t think you’d enjoy that.
But for live coverage tonight… ride with some combination of TrueHoop and Sports Bloggers Live/The Basketball Jones. The SBL guys got things underway last night with some live interviews from the cognac room of the 40/40 Club, some coverage and some pictures of the pre-draft party, and this interview with a half-drunk Chris Webber. There aren’t a lot of big-name guys in the NBA that I’d like to have on my team less than Chris Webber, but… it’s hard to dislike the guy after listening to this interview.
I’m psyched for this thing. And I think it’s a pretty good draft… it’s not top-heavy, but I like the depth. The only think I’m not looking forward to is the succession of Stuart Scott post-draft interviews. “Hey, I know you barely understand English, but what’s it like to be straight butta, homey?” I think there’ll be at least one big trade that goes down tonight, too.
June28
Feeling The Draft…
I haven’t said much on the NBA draft… mainly because the coverage elsewhere is better than anything I could do. But I do want to say quickly that the Bulls shouldn’t feel like they have to pick a big man if they don’t like Aldridge… I don’t think he’s going to be anything that special. Go with the best player available, and sign Joel Przybilla. The Bobcats have to take Brandon Roy at #3… and if Portland passes on Adam Morrison, I can’t wait for the John Canzano article about it in the Oregonian.
Here are three other players I like…
Andrew Bargnani. Italians have entered the consciousness of American sports fans in a big way recently. Our soccer team tied them, they keep advancing in the World Cup, and now, the #1 pick in the NBA draft is about to be Italian. I’m almost sure that someone at ESPN is going to make a joke tonight about him loving spaghetti or something. My money’s on Stuart Scott.
I think Toronto ends up taking him, and while he’s not the best player in the draft, he’ll be a good fit for Toronto. With Colangelo’s kid running the show, they want to play like the Suns. And a 7-footer that can stretch the floor with all-day range will certainly allow them to do that. I envision Bosh starting at the 5, Bargnani at the 4, with Charlie Villanueva playing the Antonio McDyess role, subbing for either of them… that is, if they can’t move him for another high pick in order to select a point guard.
I do think, however, that the Dirk comparisons are way off. It’s not that Bargnani isn’t athletic… but he’s not athletic like Dirk. Dirk’s got swingman-type athleticism. Bargnani has big-man type athleticism… which is to say that I don’t see him isolating, putting the ball on the floor, spinning and creating his own shot anytime he wants to. And I think, in time, he’ll develop a good post game.
Randy Foye. The NBA is a league where emulating the team who just won the championship is a pretty popular thing to do… and here’s your closest thing to Dwyane Wade. I’m not saying he’ll be another Dwyane Wade, but there are similarities. He’s a little short, but makes up for it with strength. He’s very strong on his feet, can get to the basket almost at will, and he can make shots from a lot of different areas on the court. He’s not selfish player, and he doesn’t back down. And he comes into the league as a better defender than Wade was at the same time in his career.
I don’t see any downside to selecting Foye. He’s not a pure point guard, but… it seems like the league is slowly disolving the belief that if you’re 6’3″ or under, you have to play pure point guard. He’s a guy who knows how to play basketball… and you can’t ever have enough of those, at any size. If he gets on a team where he can get a lot of shots, I think this is your rookie of the year, and could end up being the best player in this draft.
JJ Redick. Sorry… I like the guy. I’m not saying he’s a lottery pick, or someone that should be taken in the Top 10. But if someone grabs him after the 15-spot or so, I think they’re getting pretty good value. There’s almost no chance that he’ll turn into a star player… but what I like about him is the fact that he improved from year to year at Duke, sometimes dramatically. If there’s something he can’t do, he’ll work his ass off to correct it. He’ll be in great condition, and I think he’ll work hard every night.
Even if he never emerges as anything other than a pure shooter… hey, you could do worse. He’s been playing under pressure for a long time now, so he won’t shy away from taking the big shots. But I think the other parts of his game are a little bit underrated. He’ll work away from the ball to get open, he’s a very good passer, and defensively, for someone who lacks lateral quickness, he’s not that bad… he’s not going to Bruce Bowen anyone, but there are worse defenders in the NBA.
Check out this EA Sports NBA Live commercial featuring Adam Morrison…
I’m not a particularly huge fan of Morrison (though I don’t dislike him), or the mustache (which I do dislike), I gotta admit… pretty clever, EA. Even though your Head Coach game sucks, you do make fine commercials.
With the 23rd selection in the NHL Entry Draft, the Washington Capitals selected goaltender Semen Varlamov. Scouts describe him as having quick reflexes and a very sticky glove hand. It helps with goaltending, but it made the podium handshake with the Capitals GM very awkward.
Scouts also believe that Semen has a powerful, but terribly inaccurate shot, which is rare for a goalie. Almost inexplicably, when he shoots, it usually ends up hitting a defender in the face. NHL shooters cannot expect to go five-hole on Semen without also experiencing a very unpleasant mess. There are concerns, though, about Semen’s attitude, as some scouts fear he is a bit of a prima donna. Semen has starred in many low-budget movies, usually appearing at the climactic end of scenes.
June28
Another Italian Dive
Remember a while ago I mentioned a crazy scandal in Italian soccer, where a team’s owner was accused of fixing matches, having referees in his pocket, and basically, having bought off everyone involved in Italian football… well, today, it got weirder.
Juventus’s new manager, Gianluca Pessotto, threw himself out of a second-story window in an apparent suicide attempt. He was clutching a rosary at the time. It did not cushion the blow.
The attempt failed, by the way. He took a 50-foot drop and bounced off one car and onto another. Jorge Larrionda witnessed the man’s leap from the window, and immediately issued Pablo Mastroeni a red card. A Juventus team spokesman says Pessotto sustained multiple fractures, but nothing life threatening. I dunno if 50-feet comprises a real suicide attempt… this may have just been a cry-for-help situation. But police are investigating it as a suicide.
Soccer experts are calling it the third or fouth most dramatic dive taken by an Italian soccer personality over the course of the past week. Wait… was that uncool? Yeah, it’s probably not okay to joke about this. The guy did try to kill himself. Sorry.
June28
MLS Supporters Mad At Arena
MLS officials and fans have their Umbros in a knot over some recent comments from USA soccer coach Bruce Arena. After the tournament, Arena suggested that the American team could benefit from having more players get some experience playing in Europe. Here’s his quote:
“And the way for us to get our players to get better is: We do need to get more of our younger talented players in Europe. We need them in a year-round soccer environment. We need them playing in more intense games to help develop them mentally, as well as soccerwise.”
Well, hey… I’m sorry if the MLS people are offended, but Arena is absolutely right. I just can’t believe that there’s anyone out there who feels that the MLS prepares players as well as the EPL or German Budesliga, or Italian Serie A… that’s just insane. Being proud of the MLS is one thing. A complete shunning of reality is quite another.
Hey, I like the MLS, too, and I think it’s getting better all the time. I think it will continue to grow, expand, and attract better players. But right now… it’s a joke to think the MLS can prepare players as well as the Premiership can. The level of play in Europe is higher. The pressure is greater. And if we keep denying that, and we don’t teach our players to succeed in that situation, we’re going to end up with a team of Landan Donovans. Which is probably not be a good thing.
Among the people who are mad are MLS commissioner Don Garber, who called Arena’s comments “ridiculous,” and ESPN analyst Eric Wynalda, who believes that the players Arena was provided with were just fine. I think Wynalda’s been the lone bright spot for ESPN’s coverage of this thing, but… he can’t even believe what he says. I think he’s letting his American pride cloud his thinking here.
And Arena didn’t even take a shot at MLS, did he? The fact of the matter is that the best soccer in the world is played in Europe, and it would be beneficial for us to have more players playing over there. How that offends an MLS loyalist, I don’t even know. It would be like me getting upset if someone failed to mention my site as the greatest contribution to literature in the history of the world.
