Shame on Laker fans

When Kevin Harlan announced to the TNT audience that the fans at Staples Center booed Kobe during player introductions, i felt like calling Harlan a liar. Surely, they wouldn't be booing a guy who helped win three championships, a guy who has been the most entertaining player in the league for at least the past five years, the guy who scored 81 points, the only guy on the team that gives the Lakers a chance to win, and the guy who I think they want to stay in LA.
So you boo him? What is this, tough love?
Kobe did not handle the situation the right away. I agree. Still, the words that are coming out of his mouth are true. Management is to blame for the Lakers woes and Kobe tried to make his voice heard. He was wrong for speaking out. He's still the best player in the NBA and Laker fans will regret the day he dons another team's jersey. For all that he's done for the organization and all the hard work he's put into his game (witness just another 45 point effort last night) he doesn't deserve the treatment he received at the beginning of the game no matter what he says.

AND THEN ALSO: A Hubie Brown conversation

Baller 11 15 21 (12:16:05 AM): this year is going to be a pivotal year for kobe

romoballa (12:15:49 AM): ya, i agree

romoballa (12:15:58 AM): this next game will be pivotal too against the suns

Baller 11 15 21 (12:16:26 AM): yeah big game

romoballa (12:16:06 AM): cuz we can't fall to 0-2

romoballa (12:16:20 AM): u kno how many teams made the playoffs after starting 0-2

Baller 11 15 21 (12:16:45 AM): i know

Baller 11 15 21 (12:16:48 AM): HUGE

romoballa (12:16:35 AM): ya, TREMENDOUSLY HUGE

Baller 11 15 21 (12:16:58 AM): caue its not like they have 80 more fucking games

romoballa (12:16:49 AM): and also kobe needs to make his free throws

romoballa (12:17:03 AM): plus we gotta defend game winning 3s better

romoballa (12:17:15 AM): and then also play with a sense of urgency and limit mistakes

romoballa (12:17:27 AM): and execute

Baller 11 15 21 (12:18:15 AM): the problem with the team right now is we dont have an identity

romoballa (12:18:36 AM): it's cuz we're not gelling right now
Baller 11 15 21 (12:19:27 AM): i liked how we limited our white player minutes today though...that was huge

Lakers preseason awards

With the new Laker season upon us, it's time for the first annual Roman's Empire Laker preseason awards. Without further ado, let me introduce to you our host. Best known for trading away Shaquille O'Neal and swapping Caron Butler for Kwame Brown, not to mention being the cause of Kobe's unhappiness, he was a member of Bill Simmons' Atrocious NBA General Manager Summit. He is none other than Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak.

(Loud booing as Kupchak comes onto the stage)

"Hello everyone, we're not planning on doing too much today. Although I hear Shammond Williams has been playing better of late. Maybe he's the guy to put us over the edge. Let's hand out some awards. O wait, I don't have the go ahead from Jim Buss yet. We're going to have hold on."

(Jim Buss comes on stage with one of his dad's 22 year old hookers... I mean girlfiends. Both Busses appear inebriated.)

"We're going to trade Kobe," Jerry Buss mumbles into the microphone as he sways back and forth. But first lets get to the awards. Mitch, go sit down."


Most likely to not be traded when the Lakers get star players in return:
Andrew Bynum

Most likely to make you throw things at your TV: Kwame Brown

Most likely to make you think they're showing a slow motion replay: Brian Cook

Most likely to be placed on the injured list without really being injured: Coby Karl

Most likely to be involved in an extreme sports accident: Vlad Radmanovic

Most likely to do the Soulja Boy: Jordan Farmar

Most Valuable Player not including Kobe Award (MVPNIK): Lamar Odom (if healthy)

Vlade Divac Award (player who brings team together and adds 5-10 wins because of added chemistry. Also adds entertainment):
Ronny Turiaf

And Also:

Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld shot down rumors of a possible Kobe for Gilbert Arenas trade.

"I don't normally comment on rumors but there is no truth to this rumor," Grunfeld told the Washington Post. "We've never had any conversations with the Lakers or with anyone else about Gilbert."

Joe Torre huh?

Grady Little resigned today. Or in other words, he was softly thrown out the door without complete embarrassment. They tried to make sure it didn't hit him on the way out.
He cited "personal reasons" for resignation. I didn't realize he had such a "personal" relationship with future Dodger manager Joe Torre.
The Dodgers did not handle this the right way. By all accounts Grady Little was a good person, though he failed as a manager. He did not deserve the secretive dealings with a free agent manager and the public way the situation played out.
Bill Plaschke says the Dodgers could have hired Torre 13 days ago.
Like in many of the other dealings under the new administration (Frank McCourt), the Dodgers have screwed up.
If they hire Joe Torre, as reports have indicated it would go a long way to rectify some of the anger in LA.
Torre brings a buzz back to the Dodgers. With that buzz comes a real pressure to win, unseen in the past few years. The fans will always come. The Dodgers were tops in the NL in attendance. Expectations were high, but nowhere near the expectations Joe Torre faced every year. This season, with a larger national spotlight, Torre and the Dodgers will face an increased amount of scrutiny. And maybe that's good. Maybe there will be more accountability, smarter decisions in the front office and as a result, more wins.
My only question about Torre is this: In his 12 seasons with the Yankees, Torre won with veterans. The Dodgers have one of the youngest albeit most talented teams in the majors. Can Torre adjust to a group of players completely different than the ones he was successful with? Or will management break up the Dodgers young stars and splurge on veterans?
As good as Torre is, his first two managerial stints were anything but spectacular.
One thing is certain, however.
He's a lot better than Grady Little.

Food for thought:
If the Dodgers somehow sign A-Rod, their lineup could look like this:
Furcal, Pierre, Martin, Arod, Loney, Kent, Kemp, Ethier, Pitcher

News and Notes from the Weekend in Sports

You know what's more improbable than ASU being undefeated heading into today's showdown with Cal? Starting safety Troy Nolan (yeah that Troy Nolan who played at El Camino Real High School) being a key contributor.
Nolan who went to College of the Canyons after high school, leads the team with five interceptions. He's also one of the featured guys in this Ivan Maisel article about ASU on ESPN.com.

I hope owners collude and don't offer A-Rod any more than $5 million a year. As Mike Greenberg said on Mike and Mike in the Morning, A-Rod's attempt to overshadow the World Series was Bush League. Maybe it was Scott Boras' idea but Boras represents A-Rod, who can speak up for himself. Wouldn't you love to see this ploy backfire on A-Rod and instead of the $30 million a year he's seeking for himself in order to destroy yet another team (see Rangers, Yankees) he gets shut out of big money and is forced to hold out. I can dream, right?

And the Wildcats have done it:
Arizona football won a game. Newsflash: They still suck. The Wildcats beat a team who has yet to win a conference game. It seems Mike Stoops' teams dig themselves a huge hole to start the season then slowly dig their way out to mediocrity, thus saving his job. I don't see that happening this year.
Note to the fine writers at the Daily Wildcat, many of whom I enjoy reading. Stop talking postseason. If this team makes it to the postseason, I will stop consuming alcoholic beverages and give up on fantasy sports. They have to beat UCLA, Oregon, and ASU to finish at .500. ASU and Oregon have lost a total of one game. Hell is not freezing over.
On the bright side, Willie Tuitama threw for 510 yards in a 48-41 comeback win.
Maybe, he's working to be the next Timmy Chang.

Must see: Skit clowning on Soulja Boy

And finally: Arizona women's team lost to it's male practice squad 73-41. Hopefully Joanie B stops calling the Wildcat about coverage and starts worrying about how to win a game. The Wildcats are 19-43 the last two years.

Marathon Training Delay

I don't always make the smartest decisions. I wasn't trying to act like a badass. It's just that I thought the pain on the insole of my foot would subside. So I ran six miles. BAD idea.
I knew I was pretty much fucked when I got out of bed and stepped on the floor. I didn't scream but on the inside I was yelling like a little girl.
So I hobbled around for the day, even went to the gym and did biceps and back. I hobbled to the bar as well, thinking it would be better today. But it's not. It's actually worse to the point where I have no real desire to get up from my computer and do anything except work my way over to the couch. That's actually harder than it seems.

I'm not exactly sure what injury I have but from watching a lot of NBA games, I'm gonna go with plantar fasciitis. Nowhere but in the NBA do you ever hear that term, but as far as injuries go it's by far the coolest sounding one. A lot better than turf toe.
So I told Evan I thought I had plantar fasciitis and here's what transpired:

evan411web: i always thought plantar facilitis was made up
romoballa: me too
evan411web: you should call up gary vitti
romoballa: lol
romoballa: best trainer in the biz

That's right. Gary Vitti baby. Without him, the Lakers would have no chance. I know that if Garry Vitti was my marathon trainer, I'd be back out on the road in no time. In the meantime, I think I'm out for at least 3-5 days.

So don't start me on your marathon training fantasy team for this week.

Girardi a great fit for Dodgers

Who's a better manager for a pitching staff?

The guy who kept in a fragile Pedro Martinez in a huge playoff game when Pedro was falling apart like a 1993 Nissan Sentra, or a guy who had two pitchers in the top 20 in ERA in the National League is his first year as a big league manager?

If you answered the latter, then Joe Girardi, who is being rumored as the next Dodgers manager, is your man.

Under Girardi, Joe Borowski had an ERA of under 4.
Under Girardi, Annibal Sanchez had 10 wins.
Under Girardi, Josh Johnson had an ERA of 3.10.
Under Girardi, D-Train had a ERA of 3.87. This year, that ERA ballooned to 5.17.

In the year following his departure, the Marlins ERA rose by more than half a run.

You get the picture. Girardi, a former catcher knows how to handle a pitching staff. Grady Little has proven he has no idea how to handle a pitching staff (see collapse of Dodgers bullpen, 2007.)


Gym talk:
Me telling Buller about Travis Henry:

"You know that fool has 9 kids by 9 different women in a bunch different states."

Buller: "That's a lot of promising running backs for the NFL."

Say it ain't so:

Clippers cut Yaroslav Korolev

Stop that Soulja Boy

Former Daily Wildcat columnist Shane Bacon sent me this video of Bo Ryan doing the soulja boy
and I think this was the last straw for me.

A truly terrible song and stupid dance is taking over hip hop. And now middle aged white coaches are getting involved. This is an example that our society is deteriorating. Yes, I'm that
concerned.

We can only hope that this will quickly die out like the Macarena and we will look at ourselves in disgust a few years from now.

Here are some examples of the ridiculousness of the situation.

Devin Hester doing the Soulja Boy before returning a punt for a touchdown

Cal's 7-foot-3 center Max Zhang doing the Soulja Boy

Sebastian the Ibis (Miami's mascot) doing the Soulja Boy

The whole Texas sideline does the Soulja Boy as frightened white people walk out

I can't wait till Bo Ryan's grandkids ask him what "Superman that Ho" means. Now that conversation should be played on youtube.

Everyone is taking a shot at Arizona fans

Wow Arizona fans are dumb:
According to Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated, two Arizona Diamondbacks fans were caught stealing a keg after game two of the NLCS, the same game that fans threw plastic bottles on the field after what turned out to be a good call.
The problem? The keg was empty.

And they continue to get clowned on:

ESPN's Jim Caple referring to the ticket problems of the world series:

"And had Arizona made the series, you probably could have gotten a pair of tickets with the purchase of a 128-ounce barrel of soda at Circle K."

Kobe Watch:

Check out this little gimmick from the La Times website. Kobe is currently in stage 2 at this point. Let's hope he doesn't climb any higher.

KOBE BRYANT ADVISORY SYSTEM

A look at the chance of a Kobe flare-up or threat of a trade.
Current level: Guarded

Random Laker of the Day: Cedric Ceballos

Mike Stoops is having a garage sale

The Arizona football team "may have finally hit rock bottom," according to the Arizona Daily Wildcat.

While rock bottom may not come until the Wildcats go 2-10 and Mike Stoops is shown the door, losing to Stanford is the equivalent of getting rejected by Roseanne. (And I don't want to hear, well they beat USC.)

Here are the final four games for Arizona: at Washington, vs. UCLA, vs No.5 Oregon, at No. 4 ASU.

Realistically, Oregon and ASU are automatic losses. Washington, who hasn't won a conference game will still be favored by a touchdown. They're hungry and Tyrone Willingham will outcoach Stoops in a game the Huskies see ripe for the taking. UCLA has not lost a conference game and the Bruins come in to Tucson for homecoming. We all know the only time the Wildcats play well all year is homecoming. Plus, the last time UCLA played in Arizona Stadium, they were undefeated and ranked No. 8 in the country. And then the Wildcats spanked them 52-14 on the 5th of November.

So there are two winnable games left, but it's likely Arizona will lose out. If I had a nickel for every time Stoops answered the question, what's going on with this team? with an "I don't know," I'd be a millionaire.

Side note: actual AZ Daily Star statement credited to Stoops:
"He said if he had any answers for the UA's unexpected problems he would 'be a millionaire.'

Paging Mike Stoops. You are a millionaire dumbass. You're making $3 million a year, though you don't deserve it.

Example of why Stoops is a dumbass and doesn't deserve to ever be a head coach again.
4th Quarter against Stanford:

The Wildcats vaunted defense has already given up a touchdown to Stanford who was playing with a backup quarterback and its fourth and fifth string running backs. The Cardinal marched down the field like they were the New England Patriots. When Arizona needed its D to step up, Stanford ran the ball down the D's throat, converting on third and four with a seven yard run.
So the defense, which was Stoops' strength, sucks. Fine, maybe all the seniors are looking forward to the rest of their lives.
Then the offense, ready to make a game winning drive, coughs it up on a fumble on the first play from scrimmage. No surprise there.
Stanford takes over with a 1:35 and the Wildcats having two timeouts.
Arizona has to stop them and hold them to a field goal, and then hope to drive the length of the field.
So what do they do? They give up a nine yard run on first down and a first down on the next play. Now Stanford will take a knee, right?
Wrong. Stanford for inexplicable reasons decides to run the ball. Arizona's only option is to let Stanford score and get the ball back down 28-20. At least the Wildcats will have a chance. So what do they do? They start making tackles. I'm not joking. Stoops wasn't smart enough to just let them score and get the ball back. What was Arizona's other option to win the game? Force a fumble and return it for a touchdown.
The biggest problem is that Stoops never even considered that strategy. He had no clue. He's always out of answers. That's why his favorite statement is I don't know.

Check this out:
My Daily News article on the Alemany football game

My Daily News article on the Calabasas Pro Challenger tennis tournament semifinals.
And the finals, featuring former Pepperdine star Robert Kendrick.

Bring back Eddie Jones

The Lakers played well in their third preseason game. They shot 56 percent from the field, they had eight guys score in double figures, they shared the ball (30 assists), and they put up 126 points.

Still, nothing frustrates me more than watching the Lakers on defense. Specifically on ball defense in their man to man. When Vlad Radmanovic gets burned twice in a row by a guy just coming off ankle surgery and is slow to begin with (Wally Szczerbiak) and Brian Cook repeatedly gets beat off the dribble, other teams will get easy buckets. I'm not even mentioning the other slow footed guys on the team, i.e Luke Walton, Sasha, Chris Mihm, Andrew Bynum, and Derek Fisher. Yes, as much as I love D Fish's hustle and tenacity on D, he's 33 years old and gets beat constantly.

Aside from Kobe, the last great defender the Lakers had was Eddie Jones. Jones led the Lakers in steals every year he was with them. He was named to the All-Defensive second team three straight years. He was a shut down perimeter player who took pressure off the Lakers bigs and always guarded the opposing team's best player. As Hubie Brown would say AND ALSO he was exciting to watch.


Check out this video of Eddie with three dunks over people in two and half minutes. As Chick Hearn says in the video, "remarkable."

Listen to the chants of "Eddie, Eddie, Eddie"
AND ALSO this clip also reminds me of how I miss Chick.

AND ALSO this im I received from my buddy and big Laker fan Conor:
knackaconman: march 10, 1999 3 10pm worst time in my life.

Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell for Glen Rice, Jr. Reid and BJ Armstrong will always be one of the worst trades in Lakers history to me.

Random Laker of the Day: Trevor Wilson

Check it out: ESPN's Matthew Berry disses an idiot ASU journalism student. Check out some of the comments also, pretty funny, especially if you're a Wildcat.

Please Don't Leave Kobe

Yesterday, Kobe's bad attitude got to me. I was tired of all the petty bitching and whining. I, like most Laker fans, understand that Mitch Kupchak would lose badly on the show "Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader" and Jim Buss thinks he's Napolean. But the possibility of Kobe leaving had me thinking of trade possibilities for the first time. I said I'd be OK with a Dirk/Jason Terry combo or maybe even Dirk straight up.

I must have forgot that Kobe is God.

He's the only player in the league that can do anything he wants at any time. He took only three shots in the first quarter tonight, moved the ball around, got others involved, relaxed and let his teammates get their shots. Then in the third quarter, he took a few minutes to let the Sonics know, "I am the best player in all the land."

Maybe he looked at the scoreboard and saw that the Sonics cut the Lakers 15 point halftime lead to five. Or maybe he just said "Hey, I haven't scored in a while, let me just get a quick 16 and go to the bench."

So he did. 22-foot jumper. Cash. Next possession, deep 3. Money. Next possession, another long jumper. Swish. After a Ronny Turiaf missed layup, Kobe another 3. Nothing but net. And just for the hell of it, he'd draw two fouls and make the Lakers next four points from the free throw line.

So that was a total of 16 points in just over 3 minutes. Lakers led by 5 and then they led by 19. The Bakersfield fans chanted Kobe's name, MVP, and held signs that said "Kobe Stay in LA."
Enough said.

Doug Collins and Andrew Bynum sitting in the tree...
What's with this Doug Collins love fest with Andrew Bynum. I know Bynum had a good game but he was going against the excellent troika of Robert Swift (who has 108 tattoos, which is the answer to a future trivia question), Saer Sane, and Johan Petro.

Where's Paul McPherson? check this out

Random Laker of the Day: Chucky Atkins

Tommy Lee Jones catches Keon Clark

Unlike Wesley Snipes, Keon Clark is easy to catch. Being a 7-footer on a commercial bus, where Clark was spotted and arrested, is detrimental to escape plans.
Maybe Clark, who was arrested by US Marshals (officially the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Violent Offenders & Fugitive Task Force or USMSGCVOFTG) was hoping his bus would crash like Snipes' airplane and he could disappear.
Clark...or I mean Snipes said "I'm telling you, you've got the wrong man."

It's Nervous Time Part II

I couldn't have put this situation any better than the IM I got from Hoosh today.

hooshies: yo
hooshies: wtf
hooshies: i stressed all summer, then it was all good
hooshies: and now they start again

I'd say the most nerve racking aspect of the situation as Mark Stein describes in detail is the unnerving reaction of the all knowing Phil Jackson who has been relegated to giving no comments.

Told that his no-comments could give the impression that a Bryant trade was imminent, Jackson said, "I can't comment on that. There's nothing imminent. So I can't comment on anything imminent."

Asked finally whether he thinks Bryant has played his last game in purple and gold, Jackson said, "I can't comment on that. I don't know that at all. I mean, who knows that? Do you know it? We just can't comment on that. There's certain things I think that have to be discussed and will be and then we'll move forward from there."

On June 20 as the NBA draft approached, it was nervous time Part 1. Ric Bucher and Stephen A Smith were helping Kobe pack his bags and I noted that "I am officially scared." I didn't realize that there would be a part 2 and now I'm officially even more scared, enough to come up with theories like this:

romoballa: maybe kobe will just throw up 50 a game and lead the lakers to the championship
romoballa: and then say fuck this, i won't rescind my no trade clause
romoballa: ur gonna lose the greatest player ever

(I had myself believing to this point until Hoosh countered with the following)

hooshies: haha
hooshies: ya, lakers win it all with farmar and fisher as our PGs

Don't forget our frontline of Chris Mihm, Andrew Bynum and Kwame Brown.

Reports have Kobe going to Dallas, though Mark Cuban said he hasn't spoken with Mitch Kupchak. This has no relevance to any deals being done, because Kupchak hasn't woken up from his five year nap also known as his tenure as Lakers GM. But for those actually involved in negotiations, here's some deals they are likely considering (Thanks to the NBA Trade Machine).

Kobe for Dirk

A desperation move for the Lakers because Kobe's value is much higher than Dirk's, but the move would also leave the Mavs with no scoring inside and a large amount of scoring guards.

Josh Howard Jason Terry and DaSagna Diop for Kobe

The Mavs would have a 1-2 punch of Kobe and Dirk to go along with Devin Harris, Erick Dampier, and Jerry Stackhouse. The Lakers would have a good young player in Josh Howard, a veteran gunner in Jason Terry and the expiring contract of Diop. Terry has four years left on his deal so that isn't very enticing.

The Lakers lineup would like this:
PG: Fisher/Terry
SG: Josh Howard
SF: Lamar Odom
PF: Ronny Turiaf
C: Andrew Bynum/Diop

The other big problem here aside from the fact the Lakers would probably finish last in the West with that lineup, is the Lakers depth at guard. Terry and Howard would take away any playing time from Farmar/Vujacic/Crittenton, making the Lakers past two draft completely moronic.

Kobe and Kwame Brown for Dirk and Jason Terry

Keep dreaming if you think the Lakers will get Dirk and Josh Howard. But this trade might make the most sense because teaming Kobe with Josh Howard, Devin Harris, and Jerry Stackhouse can give defenses a headache. What if they went small like the Warriors did to them in the first round last year except the Mavs now had better slashers. They also take on the expiring contract of Kwame Brown and can bring in a big money free agent to team with Kobe and Howard next year. They would have about $10 million to spend on a big guy in what John Hollinger calls maybe the best free agent class ever.
Jermaine O'Neal and Elton Brand are just two candidates.

The Lakers meanwhile would the following lineup:
PG: Fisher
SG: Terry
SF: Odom
PF: Dirk
C: Mihm/Bynum

That's actually pretty solid. A trade that works for both teams. We'll miss you Kobe.


And just when you thought Travis Henry couldn't be topped:

This man has 67 kids and wants to get married for the 9th time.

"Every night I decide which wife to be with," Abu Arrar told the newspaper.

Crank that pee

Baylor assistant coach pees on the bar after his team's 58-10 loss.
Not surprisingly he played his college football at the U. It's not clear if he did the soldier boy dance after relieving himself.

Top 10 Shaq quotes
My favorite The Pythagorean Theorem quote is not on there.

Video of someone feeding Arvydas Sabonis chips.
The Oklahoman reporter hasn't called him soft yet but Sabonis already responded "I'm a man, I'm 40, come after me."
He also has a pretty sick stache in the video.

And finally

This sums up my happiness about the Diamondbacks getting swept

bannedfrm711: yo dbacks fans can't blame this shit on donaghy haha

Crank that Wildcat

In between 10 hours of drinking at this Saturday's USC/Arizona game, I did manage to watch a football game. I don't remember either of the two first half fumbles but the box score proves that they occurred.

What I do remember is that Arizona, like it has in the past stepped up in a big game. (See home wins over Cal and UCLA in the past two years.) The Wildcats have nothing to be ashamed of except for their four previous losses.

The Good:

The Wildcats defense held USC to 130 passing yards and forced Mark Sanchez into two interceptions.

Punter Keenan Crier averaged 48 yards a punt including an 83 yarder.

The Bad:

Arizona's offense is regressing as the Arizona Daily Star's Ryan Finley points out. The Wildcats are 74th out of 119 teams in total offense, up from last year but nowhere near where the Air Zona spread was supposed to be at this point of the season.

Willie Tuitama continues to show he is incapable of moving out of the pocket or creating time to throw. He was sacked a record tying eight times. Meanwhile, the Arizona defensive line is struggling to get sacks. Louis Holmes stock is falling and the D-Line is on pace for just 24 sacks. He has only one.



The Ugly: Former Arizona offensive lineman Adam Hawes who played for Mike Stoops is calling for a coaching change.

Non-football highlights:

1. Chanting "Dirty Sanchez" with Mark Sanchez' parents standing near by. Whoops.
2. Walking around with a 36 pack. That's right a bonus pack with 6 extra beers. I love Costco.
3. My buddy Darren picking off a pass from two USC fans playing catch, followed by him yelling "All Day" and giving me a chest bump.



Must see: Very underrated footage of Jason Williams (AKA white chocolate) in his prime.

I forgot how much I enjoyed watching him play. Because coaches tried to harness his game and take away his creativity, he has become a shell of his old self, firing away on a wild 3-pointer once in a while and no longer exhibiting the ballhandling and passing which made him so unique. Notice in the footage there are no Miami Heat highlights.

All's not well in Arizona

The Diamondbacks are still a 1000 tickets short of selling out Chase Field for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.

Excuses galore have been thrown out there. A stadium that's too large, a team too new to create a loyal fanbase, a city filled with baseball fans of other teams, and even a bad start time for game one. But when it comes down to it the lack of a sell out is flat out embarrassing. Rumors even surfaced that washed up rock star Alice Cooper will buy the remaining tickets if the D'Backs fail to sell out by game time.

But Mark Grace said it best on Cold Pizza Wednesday Morning.

"Let me tell you about Arizona fans. They don't show up for anything. It's the same in all sports. Now if they're giving away a bobblehead or shooting off some fireworks-- Arizona Diamondbacks announcer Mark Grace


Can you say D-League:

• Former Arizona forward and NBA early entrant Marcus Williams went 0-for-6 in his preseason NBA debut.
• Mustafa Shakur did not even play in his debut, instead earning the dreaded DNP CD.
• Ivan Radenovic decided against the NBDL and is playing in Spain for the same team as Lakers forward Marc Gasol and former Clippers forward Peja Drobjnak.
  

Chris (C-Ro) Rodgers is playing in Belgium by the way.

And finally...

From Bill Simmons mailbag:

SG: I would never hold it against someone for being loyal to their favorite team. Only two types of sports fans truly bother me:

1. Bandwagon jumpers.
2. Sports bigamists.

I couldn't agree more.

Good thing it's only preseason

When Chris Mihm's first shot on the Lakers first possession (a fadeaway turnaround jumper) was blocked, I naturally put my head in my hands and mumbled, "Oh no, here we go again."

It is just the preseason, so I'm going to try and leave my inner Jewish mother away. Yes, I'm worried the Lakers haven't improved in the past three seasons. No, I'm not giving up after the first preseason game.

The Good: Ronny Turiaf looks like an NBA starter with a 12th man's energy. He rebounds, he defends the pick and roll, his midrange jumper is consistent and he's great for team chemistry.

Javaris Crittenton plays with a lot of confidence and looks like a guy on a mission to get minutes. He scored 18 points in 15 minutes.

Kobe Bryant is wearing a Lakers jersey.

Derek Fisher is wearing a Lakers jersey.

Smush Parker is not wearing a Lakers jersey.

Sasha Vujacic could be in a hair band. He also scored 15 points in 23 minutes.

The Lakers second unit has some fight. They fought back from a 26 point deficit to take a lead before losing on a last second shot by Troy Hudson.

The Space Cadet's perimeter shot appears to be back in form. He led the Lakers with 20 points and was 5-of-7 on 3s.

The Bad: The Lakers' biggest problem in the last few years has not been the lack of a point guard or big man inside. It's been the defense. Too many slow footed bigs and weak guards who give up penetration make it easy for Lakers opponents to score. The Lakers, with most of their starters in place gave up 40 points in the first quarter, the majority of which came on wide open shots and layups.

Injuries are also a concern with Kwame Brown, Lamar Odom and the always injured Luke Walton all sat out.

Andrew Bynum has not improved.

Brian Cook is still really slow, can't play defense, and shoots all the time.

The Lakers don't have Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Andrei Kirilenko, or anyone else who can help Kobe get past the first round.

The Ugly: Have you seen Coby Karl in person?

Random Laker of the Day: Shea Seals

I heard that

Where have I seen this before?

ESPN's headline after one of the best Monday Night Football games in recent memory hit close to home: MNF Folk Hero.

We gave Folk, an Arizona grad and Woodland Hills, CA native that nickname after he hit a game winner in the 2006 home opener against BYU. Justifiably he was named Athlete of the Week.

Smaller and faster huh?

Apparently, it's a theme in Arizona to go smaller and faster every year. After Lute Olson and the Arizona Wildcats promised to speed things up the last few years with poor results, Mike D'Antoni thought it was time to promise the same thing.

In 2005, the Wildcats wanted to push the tempo to the max.
They pushed to a disappointing season and a second round loss.
In 2006, they were running to Atlanta.
They ran into 11 losses and a first round tournament exit.

Will the Suns run their way into an even quicker playoff exit this year? D'Antoni and company might want to not confer with Olson.

What's wrong with his hat?

Lebron James was heavily criticized for wearing a Yankees hat to a Cleveland Indians home game. Granted King James appears to be a front runner, rooting for the Yanks, Cowboys, and Chicago Bulls, but credit the kid for sticking to his guns. Whether you root for a perennial winner or a perennial loser, you root for the same team. It's about loyalty. Don't expect Lebron to wear Indians gear because he has to appease the local fans. It wouldn't be loyal to support a team you've never cared about in the past.


April Fools come early: LA Times headline says "Thomas ready to step in for Brand."

More Clipper woes: 5'10, 170 pound point guard Brevin Knight, acquired by the Clippers in the offseason is out of shape according to Clipper coach Mike Dunleavy.

Stat of a great college football Sat: LSU 5-for-5 on fourth downs, even when most coaches would have kicked, Les Miles took big risks, showed confidence in his team and his moves proved to be genius.

Stat of a crazy baseball weekend: Four strikeouts looking for Ryan Howard in the three game series. Three of those Ks, were 9th inning Ks looking.

Sack Stoops:

Arizona QB Willie Tuitama was sacked eight times in another embarrassing loss to Oregon State. Through five games previously, he was sacked only seven times.

Losing Odom will be tough to swallow

The Lakers need to improve their roster. That statement is more obvious than Brittney has a problem.

Any move the Lakers make to get a legitimate player in return will involve Lamar Odom. That is a given. Odom is the Lakers second best player, a versatile threat with a big salary who can make a trade work from the talent level and the salary cap aspect. The Lakers just don't have enough trade assets without including Odom. No, the Andrew Bynum for Jason Kidd deal will not reappear.
Kwame Brown's expiring contract is the only other major asset the Lakers have. Jordan Farmar is at this point still a throw in, but he is expendable with Javaris Crittenton on the team.

The biggest problem in trading Odom aside from receiving enough of an upgrade for the deal to make sense, is that Odom wants to be a Laker. He wants to play with Kobe. He wishes that his career ended in LA. The guy has to deal with the death of his instant son and has had to hear trade rumors on top of that for the past year. If anything, he has been a good soldier and deserves a ton of credit for the way he has handled himself. He's grown a lot from the weed smoking Lamar in his Clipper days.

So yes, if trading him helps the Lakers you have to do it, but I for one will miss Odom if he goes.

I don't believe what I just heard:

evan411web: dude the nugs signed stacey augmon
romoballa: i kno
evan411web: why can't we sign him
evan411web: i would take old ass stacey augmon over larry turner...another undersized center

Nice: Phil Jackson says he plans to start Ronny Turiaf.

Figures: Luke Walton, who recently signed a six year contract with the Lakers is banged up again before the season. Walton has a strained right hamstring and is day to day.

"We do know who the toilet-tissue paper players are," Jackson said with a smile about players sitting out because of minor injuries. "We make a note of that. Right now we've got a few of them.

"Luke's attrition in training camp -- he always seems to be a guy that'll miss [some] regular season because of a training-camp injury. We hope we averted it this time."


Random Laker of the Day: Ime Udoka

Don't root for the Cubs or the Dbacks or the Phillies

I have finally come to grips with the fact that the Dodgers are not in the playoffs. Jackie Robinson is not walking through that door. Roy Campanella is not walking through that door. Kirk Gibson and Tommy Lasorda are not walking through that door. Though if Lasorda did walk through the door, it's arguable if he would fit. Sorry Tommy.

Apparently, four other teams made the National League playoffs, one of which hasn't won a World Series in 99 years and another that hasn't been around long enough to draw a true home crowd.

Let's start with the Cubs first. There is a plethora of reasons why the Cubs winning is bad for baseball and bad for society as a whole. Jim Caple and Eric Neel of ESPN state their case elegantly.

I wish only to make one point: It hasn't happened yet, but if the Cubs make it to the World Series, or maybe even the NLCS, Cubs fans will began to come out of crooks and crevices everywhere. People you never knew were baseball fans will all of a sudden be life long Cubs fans."
"You didn't know my Uncle Charlie was from Chicago?"
"I've always liked the Cubs, what are you talking about."

Ala the 2004 Red Sox circus, Cubs hats will be all the rage and by the time they win the whole thing, you're not only going to be sick of the Cubs, the sight of someone outside of Chicago wearing any Cubs gear will make you want to puke.

And they will probably make pink Cubs hats on top of that.

As for the Diamondbacks, I can't take a fanbase who only shows up for the playoffs seriously. Here's some of my aim exchange with one of the few diehard Dbacks supporters.

greenmachineAZ: and a lot of people wanted to see how for real this team was
greenmachineAZ: plus our ballpark is too big
greenmachineAZ: it holds like 48000
greenmachineAZ: I think they drew about 30 most nights
romoballa: phoenix is like the 6th largest city in the us
greenmachineAZ: sure
romoballa: dodger stadium holds 58 or 59
greenmachineAZ: but
greenmachineAZ: one, the phoenix area is so damn spread out
romoballa: la even more so
greenmachineAZ: and two, phoenix isn't full of Dbacks fans
greenmachineAZ: it won't e
greenmachineAZ: be
romoballa: that's the best point
greenmachineAZ: for another 20 years or so
greenmachineAZ: because the team is only 10 years old
romoballa: but here's my thing, if u can sell out for the playoffs
there is an interest
greenmachineAZ: and so many transplants are Cubs, Dodgers, and Giants fans
greenmachineAZ: sure
romoballa: but only when they're good and winning
greenmachineAZ: but the casual Dbacks fan, which there are a lot of,
will be like that
romoballa: very true
greenmachineAZ: the fans that grow up with the team, like myself, and
even moreso younger kids, will be hte die hards for sure
greenmachineAZ: and raise more die hards
romoballa: so maybe that's my problem, i have a beef with the casual fan
greenmachineAZ: so I mean, it sucks, but it isn't a knock on us I
don't think as much as it shows how new we are to it
greenmachineAZ: and that our fans represented last night the way they did
greenmachineAZ: was impressive to me
romoballa: anytime rally towels are involved it's impressive
greenmachineAZ: ha
greenmachineAZ: we had pom poms

If the Phillies don't win, I fear for everyone's safety in Philadelphia, including my fantasy star Jimmy Rollins. No matter how good you are, failure to win in the playoffs draws the ire of the Philly fans and there has been a lot of failure in that city. Of course the Phillies were for some reason the favorite in the National League (Thanks East Coast media) even though they barely made the playoffs thanks to one of the biggest collapses (Thanks Mets) in baseball history. And all of a sudden everyone forgot about they're awful pitching and suspect bullpen.

And the forgotten Rockies. When you're not on television the entire season and people fall asleep when your games start, including the good folks at ESPN, you tend to be forgotten. With a lineup that goes ROY candidate Troy Tulowitzki, Matt Holliday, Todd Helton, Garret Atkins, and Brad Hawpe in the middle of the order, the Rockies won't be forgotten come a week from now.


Random Los Angeles Dodger: Mitch Webster

That's kinda messed up

Let's go to the dumb files.
Perennial underachiever and small-handed Lakers power forward finally decided to get tough. Too bad it was with the police.

Brown was riding along with a drunk driver going the wrong way on a street, and Brown would not go down without a fight. Brown was detained for being "out of control" according to police officers.

By the way, Brown or "pussy" as Phil Jackson likes to call him, is coming off shoulder and ankle surgeries. Don't you love that he saves his energy for the 5-0.

More Lakers news: Eighteen players participated in the Lakers first practice which means Elton Brown, Coby Karl, Andre Patterson, and Larry Turner are battling for the 15th and final spot on the Lakers roster. That is if the Lakers decide to carry 18 players. So much for this significant off season signings of Elton and Coby.

Did you know?
The Lakers are still $800, 000 over the salary cap. Yes, even with that roster.

Kobe gets sunburned:

From Lakers media day:

(Q: Was it all work and media this summer or did you get a chance to
relax? Watch any soccer?)
"I played some. I haven't had a chance to go watch any, except for on
TV. I watched the Women's World Cup. I went to Bora Bora and got a
nice sunburn, which felt good even though I got burned. I just relaxed
and enjoyed the summer."

I definitely noticed Kobe's tan since he came back.

Kobe Berra
(On the Lakers' chances in the Western Conference...)
"We have an uphill battle, but the only thing you can do is walk up that hill."

Let's just hope Andrew Bynum doesn't get too tired walking.
What did they put in the food at Madison Square Garden?

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said Wednesday
his mind "never left basketball" throughout a three-week trial where
he was found guilty of sexually harassing a former Knicks executive.

"Honestly, my head never left basketball. This is what I've done. This
is what I do and this is what I think about the majority of the time," said
Thomas on the Knicks' second day of training camp.

I'm glad he was only thinking about basketball. Once the season starts, he can go back to thinking about sexually harassing co-workers.

Food for thought: If the Diamondbacks make the playoffs and still no one shows up to their games, are they really in the playoffs?

Random Laker: Mitch Richmond

Fight the Power

If you're as excited as I am about homecoming, this should get you boiling mad. The UA and the (insert expletive here) Alumni association decided to make a few extra bucks and ban all alcohol from the UA mall.
They are selling beer for $3 a pop in a few designated locations inside a designated area.
If you think this borders on the ridiculous you are absolutely right. And I know what you're thinking. How can I watch the sorry excuse we call the UA football team without being completely wasted?
First they banned drinking games like beer pong from the Mall and now they have taken it a step further. I'm sure underage drinking is a problem on other campuses as well, but if they banned beer at LSU tailgates there would be riots.
What disturbs me even more is the price. If they were so concerned about controlling underage drinking, then by all means ban alcohol from the mall. But then sell it at 50 cents or $1 a drink. Not only are they taking the life out of the party, but they're trying to profit as well. That is what I call cowardly.
Of course, it seems that UA makes a new crackdown rule every year and its enforcement is matador like every year. So get really drunk before you come, sneak in that beer, and show these Puritans at UA what homecoming is all about.

Desperation time: Apparently Mike Stoops is considering playing Antoine Cason at safety.
Dominic Patrick's injury leaves an opening at free safety and Stoops said he could play Devin Ross at cornerback and Cason at safety to get "more playmakers on defense."
Cason, who is already returning punts and playing cornerback, and ran track in the offseason as well, will also be expected to shine Stoops' shoes, babysit his kids, and apply for coaching jobs when Stoops gets fired.
A great idea. Take your best player and have him play a position he's never played before. Brilliant.

Clippers Trade Jordan

First Shaun Livingston goes down with a career threatening knee injury. Then Elton Brown is lost for the season with a devastating Achilles injury.
And now the worst news of all hits Clipper Nation.

The Clippers traded Jared Jordan for cash considerations.
Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor now has the distinction of drafting Michael Olowakandi and trading Jordan.

Faces of the playoffs: Sports Illustrated included Jose Reyes and David Wright in its faces of the playoffs section. Oooops. Apparently the SI Cover Jinx applies to the inside of the magazine too.

Good: Arizona offense
567 total yards. Willie Tuitama 346 yards passing, 5 TDs 0 INTs.
This is the offense advertised preseason. Freshman running back Nic Grigsby and freshman tight end Rob Gronkowski are beginning to develop into legitimate threats. The playbook now resembles the Texas Tech attack instead of the impotent Arizona offense of the first three games and the last three years.

Bad: Arizona defense
The majority of the defensive starters came back. But on this upperclassmen laden unit, there has been a lack of playmakers and a lot of bad tacklers.
The Wildcats have given up at least 20 points in every game this season.
Last season they held teams to less than 20 points in six of their 12 games.