Sports!!

Will the Mavericks just finally take Jason Kidd for goodness sake!! I mean, we’ve been hearing about this trade for how many weeks now? I mean, its getting ridiculous! And the Mavs don’t even need him if you ask me. I actually think a better destination for Kidd would be Cleveland, but I don’t think Mr. Ferry of the Cavs is wanting to do that. But could you imagine what highlights we’d see if Kidd was dishing it to one of the best players in the NBA? Kidd to LeBron would be a highlight reel 5 minutes long every night. But, that will probably stay a dream of mine for a long time. So, its just a matter of time until we find out if Kidd is actually going to Dallas or not. He would probably be playing the game after the All-Star break if it wasn’t for Devan George and the Jerry Stackhouse. Originally, the deal was Kidd, Malik Allen, and Antoine Wright for Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, Devan George, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, $3 million, AND two first round draft picks! First, I just don’t see how the Mavs can justify doing this. Apparently New Jersey had also planned on buying out Jerry Stackhouse and then Stackhouse had to wait 30 days before he could sign elsewhere. More on this a little later. Devin Harris is ten years younger than Kidd. Yeah, Kidd has some better stats than Harris, but part of that is bc of system NJ runs. Its designed so Kidd has a lot of assists. In Dallas, they just give the ball to Dirk or the post players and they just work from there. But thats just the tip of the iceberg. A day after the trade came out, Devan George, who apparently thinks he is some star player in the making, said he was going to use his no-trade clause. My first question was, how does he have a no-trade clause? I thought only Kobe had that. But then I come to find out that players that are in a one-year contract with a team and had played for the team last year, can be eligible for a no-trade clause. So, once I figure that out, I then try to figure out what is going on in that brain of Devan George. He’s been complaining that he hasn’t gotten enough playing time so Dallas tries to trade him to a team that would allow him to probably get more playing time. But then he for some reason asks to use his no-trade clause. It made no sense. No sense whatsoever! But the Mavs were like, ok, whatever, we won’t trade you, we’ll trade Keith Van Horn. Now there’s a name that hasn’t been heard of in a few years. I thought he was retired, but even though he’s on the IR, he hasn’t officially retired, allowing him to be apart of the trade. So, I was like, ok, the next day I see headlines that Kidd is officially a Maverick. But the next day, that wasn’t the case. A new headline came out saying that Stackhouse wasn’t going to be allowed to be apart of the trade bc he publicly came out and said (and this is just a paraphrase) that he would have 30 days off to rest and be able to rejoin the Mavs. Well, the NBA didn’t like that, so they said that Stackhouse couldn’t be apart of the deal. So, then I’m thinking, what in the world is next? Diop is too old to be traded? lol So, as of this writing, headlines are saying that trade talks are dying down….the trade may not go through. But I’m not sure if I quite believe that. I won’t be surprised to wake up Monday or Tuesday and find a headline saying that Kidd is a Maverick. So, stayed tuned to the Kidd saga….its almost worse than a soap opera.

Tags: NBA by admin
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That’s right, tomorrow, February 17th, 2008, is the first official race of the new NASCAR season. And what a season it will be. There are a lot of storylines this year and its only going to get better. Dale Jr FINALLY has some good equipment surrounding him. Being apart of the powerhouse of Hendrick will do wonders for him. He’s already showing what he can do out there. He won the Shootout and then won the first of the Duel 125s. The man will be so strong this year. And being at Daytona is like being home for him because he is one of the best, if not THE best drivers that knows how to work the draft. Very reminiscent of his daddy. Some even say he’s better than his daddy at working the draft, but I’m not too sure of that one. He does have the dominance though. As much as everyone thinks he can and probably will, I don’t think Jr will win the championship this year. For sure, he’ll win some races…I saw about 5, maybe 6. He’ll be in the Chase…he’ll contend, but finish somewhere around the Top 5 I think. My pick for this year is at the end of this blog.

But don’t forget about the other drivers for Hendrick too. Jeff Gordon came oh so close last year to pulling off his 5th championship and probably would have gotten it if not for his teammate’s spectacular year. Jeff Gordon is as hungry as ever and he doesn’t want to be overshadowed by Jr. Look for him to be just as strong as last year, if not stronger. JJ will be going for his 3rd straight championship, which would make him only the second driver ever to win 3 straight, equaling Cale Yarborough’s feat from a while back. I really respect JJ. He’s an amazing driver, but always seems calm, collected, but confident at the same time. I just hope that with Jr, Gordon, and JJ, Casey Mears isn’t a forgotten person. He got his first win last year, so I think we will hear from him more this year and maybe he can add another win or two.

Gibbs Racing is another big storyline as they made the switch from Chevys to Camrys. A lot of people felt betrayed, but you know, its business, and thats how the business goes. I commend Gibbs for doing it. If they ever wanted to get out of the shadow of Hendrick, this was a good way. They will bring Toyota some solid wins this year I think. All three drivers, Stewart, Hamiln, and Kyle Busch drive the wheels off of any machine they hop into. They’ll be able to do just fine in Toyotas. I see Stewart getting one win easy, so he’ll probably end up with 2 if not more and I think Hamlin and Busch can each win one too. Toyota will be very happy to have Gibbs Racing on board.

I really can’t wait to see the season unfold. There will be the usual powerhouses of Hendrick and Gibbs. I think Childress will preform well and Bowyer might end up being the best driver in that mix, not Harvick. But Harvick needs to step up. He hasn’t done a whole lot since winning the 500 last year and wasn’t doing a whole lot before then either. I think he could have a good year…I think RCR as a whole will be strong, it just needs to last the whole season, unlike last year.

So, with the big storylines out of the way, time for my pick to win it all. First of all, I don’t think it will be Jr as I stated above. Great driver, great equipment (finally), but not quite there yet. Give him a year to get used to being with Hendrick and then maybe he’ll pull it off. Should be in the Top 5. Stewart should be good, even if he is in new equipment. But because of the new equipment, he’ll come close, but not quite there. I kinda seem him as a semi-darkhorse because of being in a Camry. Should be Top 5, maybe top 3. One team I haven’t mentioned yet is Rousch Racing. Kenseth is Mr. Consistency, so he’ll be around all year. Carl Edwards didn’t have a bad season last year either, and if he doesn’t focus on the Nationwide series so much, maybe he can do something. There will be at least two Roush drivers in the Chase, if not three (Greg Biffle). JJ is looking for his 3-peat, but won’t quite get there. It will be too tough to top last year’s performance and thats what he’ll have to do in order to do it. Top 5 easily for him, if not Top 3. RCR drivers Harvick and Bowyer should be in there with Bowyer not quite being the darkhorse he was last year. Strong finish for him last year, so I think him and Harvick will make the Chase this year, but won’t do much beyond that. As for my pick to win it all this year….Jeff Gordon. Why? He’s hungry. His teammate (JJ) has won it the past two years. He wants to get closer to the record set by the Intimidator and the King. I am not a big fan of Gordon, but I think he has what it takes this year. What a great year it will be…can’t wait one more second.

Tags: NASCAR by admin
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That is the question of the week, isn’t? Clemens and his former trainer McNamee, went before Congress the other day. First off, I don’t like discussing steroids and baseball. It has tainted the sport, tainted the sport that is widely considered the national pasttime. But this is big…and Clemens is a hero of mine. So, because of that…and because this is just flat out bad for the sport, I want to believe Clemens. I don’t want to believe that he, or McGwire, or Bonds took steroids. They have done SO many things for this sport. You may not believe Clemens, but I think you should…and I am going to back it up. Just go watch the clips on ESPN.com. Listen to Clemens. Listen to McNamee. I give a lot of credit for Clemens wanting to clear his name…and he was fighting to. He was passionate. He was confident. McNamee on the other hand sounded like a coward. He would say something, but the say the total opposite two minutes later. Clemens stated that he is an easy person to find. And he is. He’s huge in the public eye, and he gave three strong examples on how he was found. The Mitchell Report claimed he wasn’t reachable….I doubted it then, and I really doubt it now. Clemens had all the facts in front of him….he knew what he wantd to say, and he wouldn’t back down. Yeah, there were the allegations that Andy Pettite came out with, but part of me isn’t too sure about them. The only thing that Clemens took was that B12 stuff, and that was given by McNamee. Clemens is clean…he didn’t do steroids. I believe him. The one problem that I have with all of this, not just Clemens, but the MLB and steroids itself, is the fact that the MLB and Bud Selig have taken a very, very long time to start going after all of these players doing steroids. Now, granted they did act sorta quickly after the Mitchell Report came out, but it took forever with Bonds…and even McGwire. And they still haven’t proven anything yet. And I don’t think they will. There is only so much you can do with hearings and circumstantial evidence. But thats my case. Listen to the clips of Clemens and the *coughcough* coward *coughcough* McNamee. Decide for yourself. But I believe Clemens. Posada does. I do. You should too. Not only is it ruining the reputation of Clemens, but its also destroying the MLB. When will it stop people? When will it stop?

Tags: MLB by admin
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