QB Speculation

Jerry McDonald's going CRAZY over there.

Here's what you do: Pick JaMarcus Russell, make Walter the starter, get a veteran backup (Trent Green?) to help out when necessary, and get ready for '08.

Outfielders

So, you're the Reds. Hi, Reds.

You have a current "logjam" in the outfield. It's early, so don't sweat. I'll break it down nice and easy for you.

The story, from what I hear, is that the outfield has four spots that are locked down. I count three, but you tell me where I go wrong.

1. Dunn
2. Griffey
3. Freel

They want you to think that Conine is #4, and that could be true. I'd rather not see it. I'd rather see that man get STRICT platooning at first base, relieving Hatteberg (or Votto) only when necessary. I've got nothing against the man, we just don't need him around all that much. Making relief appearances at first base should be enough. No need to hog any outfield spots. But, if we're sticking to the script, that's four.

4. Conine

So now, you've got the competition for the fifth spot. It's ultimately between Norris Hopper, Chris Denorfia, Josh Hamilton, and Bubba Crosby. All have been featured with special stories, so let's not cry.

Since Denorfia is a starter for me, he's five.

5. Denorfia

1. Dunn (starts LF)
2. Griffey (starts RF)
3. Freel (relief duty)
4. Conine (???)
5. Denorfia (starts CF)

Now, there is debate amongst Reds folks that the club could go with 6 outfielders. Fair enough, let's give them that option.

6. Norris Hopper

Sorry, Mr. Hamilton. You could make this spot, it's true. You just have a longer way to go. If the Reds take my suggestion and get Conine the heck out of there, you're in. But if not, Hopper is in. I wasn't a Hopper fan last year, but when I looked at him during the offseason, I slapped myself and wondered why. He has been a trooper in the minor leagues, getting better all the team, and truly made the most of his major league call-up last year. He has nothing left to prove, he has done the job. He can do more. He can also pinch hit when he is not in the lineup, something I would be reluctant to give to Hamilton.

Bubba Crosby, sorry kid.

Raiders "interested" in Garcia, Packers "interested" in Moss

Very, shall I say, interesting. You get it? Heck yes, the joke!

I like these "stories," because they can be right or wrong and the people get it right either way. Very wise move. Jeff Garcia to Oakland? I'm assuming that's being fueled by the fact that the Raiders have a penchant for taking veteran QB's. That doesn't mean the cycle ALWAYS keeps going. It could, don't get me wrong. It's just annoying when veteran QB's are out there and so Oakland is always listed as a possibility, just because they've done it quite a few times. That's basically what it comes down to, you don't need any other information, just observe a trend and attribute that trend to be the end result of some event that is currently being looked at. Apparently the Raiders are interested in Carr, Plummer, Huard (not anymore), and every other QB who isn't locked up with their current team. That doesn't mean anything to me. The Raiders could keep grabbing up the veterans, but I am assuming that this is the year they turn that around, getting a fresh face and having the new guy and Walter be the tag-team combo of the future.

The other story is similar, but seems to have more merit. On the Packers side, anyway. Hard to tell with the Oakland side. I don't really care. I've said before, I was so excited when the Raiders got Moss and now I couldn't care less. At least I can make up my mind if he were go to the Packers, then I could hate him for sure. Otherwise, I'll continue to be indifferent towards him. The Packers are trying to make a triangle out of the Raiders-Buccanneers connection. All this trading players between teams is getting quite ridiculous.

Devils 1, Penguins 0

No way, man. Another shutout? Not that hard for Brodeur these days. He's got 12. The next guy has about half of that. Three more of where those are coming from, and you've got the new 2nd-most shutouts by a goalie, which would be Brodeur with 95. But did you think it would occur in this game? Did you think it would happen in any game against the Penguins? The mighty, high-flying Penguins? No sir. But it did happen. The Devils only scored once, and if that's all you were told before looking at the recap, you would fear the worst. But then you would see that Brodeur shut them out and you would have a quizzical look on your face for a bit, and then accept it. For Brodeur does unthinkable, great things all the time. And this is one of them.

The goaltending wasn't the only impressive feat defensively for the Devils, as you can clearly tell that nobody from the Penguins scored. That would be no scoring for Crosby and no scoring for Malkin, who both score all the time. Their point streaks were snapped last night, thanks to their shots being stopped, but thanks to shots not being there in the first place. Great defensive work to shut them down last night. Crosby, Malkin, and Gonchar were on the ice all the time, and the Devils countered by giving heavy minutes to Madden, Lukowich, Pandolfo, and Martin. And those guys were pretty dang impressive, showing some grit I hadn't seen for a while. This newfound attitude would serve them well if they were to continue it.

The offense is not quite as cool, obviously. A lot of that has to do with Gionta being out. Because, right now, the first line does pretty much nothing pointwise. They get their open ice showcase stuff done, but it's not tangible, it's not practical, it's not reaping rewards. The second line continues to be the best, and Langenbrunner with the only goal, proves it again. A Power Play goal???? Only Langs, man. Only him.

Lots of penalties, but it didn't feel like a sloppy game. Felt GOOD. Dang good.

Also, David Hale was traded to the Flames for a 3rd-rounder. A 5th-rounder was given up. Not a big deal, I thought Hale was just fine, but wasn't a huge fan. Apparently, the important thing is this clears up room for Matvichuk to make his return to the ice. (UPDATE = More importantly, this appears to be making room for Andy Greene, as Lou said it himself.)

Mavericks 91, Wolves 65

The score would appear to give you the indication of being a grinder, but that's not really what it was. Maybe for the Wolves, but it was just another day at the office for the Mavs. Winning by almost 30. Winning 13 straight games again. Just winning, really. That's what they are used to. The Wolves have fallen off the map since the All-Star Game, and that's to be expected. Stopped following that team a long time ago, although I think I'm undefeated in times I've seen them in person. I've never seen Dallas at Minnesota, however. That would be pretty fun. Anyway.

Nowitzki was the man, scoring 23 and snagging 14 boards. That's plenty good stats, my friend. Howard contributed 17 points and 7 boards, even though he's playing on a funny ankle. The man is becoming a beast. Jason Terry rounds out the usual Big 3 with 18 points and 7 assists. Other notables are Diop, who snagged 10 rebounds and also scored 6 points. That's the same as Dampier, with 6 more rebounds. Dampier is becoming obselete again. He had a stretch, what, in mid-December maybe, of being pretty dang good for a while. Forget that, he's totally inconsistent, being pretty lame over quite a long stretch now. For the Wolves, it was Garnett and Ricky Davis with 15 a piece. Lame.

Here's some thing to keep in mind: 65 points is the fewest allowed in Mavs history. Not losing in a month (granted, it's the shortest one) hasn't happened until now in Mavs history. The Mavs are 11-0 in the second game of a back-to-back, whereas most teams (even the great ones) are around average.

What more can you ask? An NBA Championship, perhaps? Sure.

Josh Howard's ankle

While we're on the subject of great quotes, this one's a doozy:

"I'm the only one it's been happening to and I know it's not fate. Somebody's telling somebody to do something."

And there you have it.

Ryan Freel

Probably my favorite Reds player. Good quote from Lonnie Wheeler in his article today about center field:

the man who never put on a uniform he couldn't soil by the second inning

That's a pretty cool compliment.

Mavericks 110, Atlanta 87

I don't know what to write anymore.

When I first got into this sports blogging thing, back on the first day of 2007, I didn't go into it with the intention of writing recaps of all the games my teams played. I wanted to do analysis, I wanted to crunch numbers, I wanted to write off-the-wall things and such. And to an extent, I have done that. But I have usually resorted to recaps. Which are working alright for me. They just get old when I have to write another recap about the Mavericks winning by 15+ points every night. That's the extent of what Eddie Sefko wrote in his online chat last night, and I wholeheartedly agree. Except that guy gets paid.

So what happens is you get a team that has won 19 straight games at home and is hosting one of the more crappy teams in the league. So what you get at the end of the night is a team that has now won 20 straight games at home.

On an interesting note, something that seems to happen in all sports, is that when a player gets traded during a season, those two teams meet each other very shortly afterwards. That happened tonight with Anthony Johnson returning to Dallas, scoring 2 points in 24 minutes. We'll miss you, AJ!

Other Hawks players scoring were Joe Johnson, the new face of Atlanta, with 29. Pachulia, whoever that is, had 24 points.

For the Mavs, the trio busted it wide open. Nowitzki led the charge with 27 points and 8 rebounds. Howard had 20 points before he had to leave at the end of the game, due to an odd fall on top of Joe Johnson's foot that left his ankle sprained. Which JUST HAPPENED a couple games ago, with Jason Kapono and the Heat. What the flip? Jason Terry rounded out the cast, getting 21 points. I like when he gets involved. Perhaps the most impressive came from Jerry Stackhouse yet again, answering the call due to George & Buckner not playing and Howard not playing the fourth quarter. Stack had 26 minutes and used it to score 19 points and assisted on 9 other plays.

An easy win against a bad team. Fair enough.

P.S. THE MAVERICKS ARE THE FIRST TEAM IN NBA HISTORY TO HAVE THREE 12-GAME WINNING STREAKS OR HIGHER.

Devils 3, Capitals 2

Goals:
First Period: Brooks Laich, Capitals (Erskine, Zednik)
Second Period: Zach Parise, Devils (Zajac, Langenbrunner)
Third Period: Travis Zajac, Devils (Parise, Rafalski)
Alexander Ovechkin, Capitals (Schultz, Heward)
Jamie Langebrunner, Devils (PPG) (Rafalski, Elias)

Shots on Goal: 29-25 Devils

Penalties: Devils - 7 minutes, Capitals - 11 minutes


--FIRST PERIOD--

Well, the Capitals didn't score in the first minute. And after an early penalty, the game was still scoreless. That bodes well for the Devils this afternoon. Fairly boring back-and-forth thus far early in the period. The Devils, as you no doubt would understand, failed to score on their first power play, but it was one of their best power plays in a LONG time, considering some of the ones in which they scored. Lots of missed shots and stopped shots. Lots of pressure. Keep that going, and something might fall through. Couldn't keep all that D.C. talent scoreless for too long, as Laich scores. The game should be tied at 1, but the Devils have been robbed by the post and Johnson several times so far. Clemmensen should have his self-esteem boost back in gear as he stopped Ovechkin at point-blank range and stopped another as the horn sounds. Fairly even period, but more sparks have been shown by the Capitals.

--SECOND PERIOD--

More of the same stuff, really. Lots of missed shots but opportunities for the Devils, some defensive lapses and Clemmensen has handled it well so far. Rupp and Sutherby got into it a little bit, hard to say where that came from but it came from somewhere. Not sure who had the upper hand there. If you had an idea of who would score for the Devils to tie the game, would it be Zach Parise? If not, you should re-examine your head because that's exactly who it was. The assists were from the usual suspects as the teams were skating 4-aside. More back and forth action. Another missed opportunity on the power play, but the unit is kicking along. It's strong and makes good plays. It just doesn't score. Hard to figure out what the problems are. Parise is going wild a little bit, but Johnson is denying him pretty well, as well as the rest of the team. Who the crap is Brent Johnson? He's throwing his body all over these shots. Forget this stooge. The Capitals putting on some pressure now, but Clemmensen is holding up surprisingly well. Lukowich down on the ice with face bleeding. Come on people, no more of this. Another even period, perhaps with a slight Devils edge. Which means they should be up 2-1 by now. But yeah, we'll see how it goes down, though I might have already left. Going to see a movie at 2:30.

--THIRD PERIOD--

What a great start to the third, as Zajac slams it in the net!! I don't know what else can be done against Brent Johnson, who is playing much better than his name and career stats indicate. But jamming and slamming and stuffing can phase any goaltender. Nice goal. Put a little muscle into it. Cam Janssen throws another nice shot on goal, what's up with him lately? The Devils are putting on the heat early on in this period, and good for them. Clemmensen needs that help, but you don't want to wait too long before getting a shot on him either, because he could be too tight by then. Wow!! Back-to-back shots at point blank range for both teams - Langenbrunner denied on a pretty save by Johnson and somehow Clemmensen stops Semin at the other end. Crazy action. Clem is holding up strong as the Capitals are turning it on a little bit. And as soon as I type that, the wunderkind known as Ovechkin turns on the burners and fires a laser right past good ol' Clem. Darn it, youngin'. As much as the Devils suck at getting PP Goals, they certainly can draw them with relative ease. Here comes another one, this would be a great time to score one for once. AND AS SOON AS I TYPE THAT, it happens!!!! Langenbrunner puts the Devils back on top! With a POWER PLAY GOAL!! About dang time, nice job fellows. Now the Devils feel like they should let up on defense, which isn't a great idea. Doing better now, as they are almost done. Goalie is pulled. It's over. Good win today, was not expecting it. Rock 'n roll.

Capitals 4, Devils 2

What a perfect game to rest Martin Brodeur. Apparently, that's what is happening this afternoon as the two teams meet again. Which is a cool idea, if you like to lose two games in a row. Because the Devils simply do not win when Clemmensen is in the net. Do you know of any other team in the NHL that is more dependent on any one player? I don't. Martin Brodeur holds the success of the Devils in his hands. That said, he blew it yesterday. It would have been a perfect game to play Clemmensen, because the Devils lost anyway. I mean, that's easy to look at in hindsight. But it happened. And now what, you lose back-to-back games against the same team as the Penguins are darting ever closer to the top of the Atlantic Division? I suppose that's what you do. Brodeur needs to be rested. But Clemmensen? Do you think we could maybe have a backup who is at least mediocre-ly decent? Nah, of course not. When you think about it, it really doesn't matter because Brodeur will play infinity games a season. But if he goes down, it's over. If he has a bad game, no dice, nobody there to make him pick it up or challenge him.

In more positive news, congratulations to Cam Janssen for scoring his first NHL goal!!!

I don't know how it would be possible, but the Devils better beat the Caps today.

Mavericks 115, Nuggets 95

Does it ever get old? Let's hope not. Especially for the players. In almost an exact repeat of his previous game, Nowitzki had the same number of points (31), the same number of rebounds (11), and two more assists (8) barely missing his first triple-double. Hard to believe the guy has never had one yet, but I'm sure he will. Can't keep waiting this long. Josh Howard helped out a lot more than he did last game, even though he was playing on a sore ankle. He got 27 points, which helped out a lot, particularly in the first half. Dampier & Diop both got 7 rebounds, and 7 rebounds was the total that somebody else got. This one was definitely more surprising though - Devin Harris. Ha! The little man pulling down 7 boards. I wonder how that happened.....

Stackhouse does what he does and comes in off the bench and scores 16 quiet points and dishes out 6 quiet assists. The man is a warrior, a trooper, a soldier for the cause. Well done, Stack.

On the other side, the Nuggets have their two guys. You know they'll make it tough. Anthony & Iverson over there, Anthony getting 34 points and 6 rebounds. Iverson scoring 26 points. They both look like a lot, and they are a lot, but the Mavs' defense really clamped down in the second half. Thankfully. And Anthony & Iverson combined for 16 turnovers. That's huge. They were getting sloppy in the second half, no thanks due to the defense of the Mavericks.

Not much else, really. That's 11 in a row. Hosting the Hawks tomorrow night, should be a good time.

Lane Kiffin on NFL Network

Linkage.

Not a whole lot there, but it's always interesting to hear the head coach speak, especially when he's brand new. A lot of non-definitive answers and a bit of backwards talk, but that's to be expected. I agree with most takes that say he doesn't really seem to be an open and friendly guy, but he sure doesn't seem rude. Just very businesslike. Pragmatic.

I found something equal parts funny and rude. It happens at the very end of the clip. When the huge interviewer (who is that?) reaches his big paw over to Kiffin and says, "Looking forward to you guys having a....it won't be a big year, but we'll just see what happens."

I was laughing. But I was pissed too. I mean, that's a normal thing that you say to teams. "Look forward to seeing you guys have success" or "Good luck next year." It's just stuff you say. But this guy caught himself because he truly believes deep within his heart that the Raiders will still suck. I thought that was pretty ballsy, considering the head coach is sitting right there. It's a pleasantry, man. You don't need to mean it. Sheesh.

The whole gang's here

This could be one of my favorite baseball/Reds photos in a long time. Simple, but very nice.

Devils 3, Rangers 2 (Shootout)

I didn't even have to type the full title, because it was already stored in memory. Why is this? Because this score happened back on February 6, if you'll remember.

Of course, I get the raw end of the deal. I have a play I need to go see late last night, "Our American Cousin," so I pay attention to the beginning of the game. I have to leave when the Devils just go down 2-0. I'm not in a great mood, I'm upset because it's the Rangers and because the Devils will lose, and thankfully that's not often but why now? But, to my surprise, after my return, I see the Devils have scored 2 goals to tie it up, prevent any goals from being scored on them, skate through a scoreless overtime, and win in the shootout!!! Pretty exciting stuff right there.

What I witnessed was some sloppy play. Entertaining stuff, but not well executed. I witnessed Marcel Hossa and Petr Prucha (ALWAYS!!!!) score goals. It wasn't really bad play from the Devils, but it wasn't great. I thought they deserved maybe to be down one goal, but not two. But two goals they were down, then started thinking they better score.

Is there anyone on the Devils that you are more excited about than Zach Parise? I don't think anybody knew what a stud this guy would be and so quickly. The reason Travis Zajac is as good as he is (and he has a LOT of room to improve) is because Parise makes him better. He is so dang good and is the most entertaining player to watch, at least according to me. Which is sort of sad I guess when you have guys like Gionta, Elias, and Gomez. And Langenbrunner. Well, let me correct myself a little. NOBODY is more fun to watch than Brodeur at his best. But second to him is Parise for me. Probably because he is new and is flying around and making great hockey plays. So he ties it up after Ralf (what's up with him scoring like crazy?) gets the first one. Then the shootout which the Devils have maybe started figuring out starts and the Devils win it. Excellent stuff. Power play still blows, but eh. They can figure it out.

Mavericks 112, Heat 100

Yes!!! A sweep of the Miami Heat is nice. Neither game was decided with the teams at even strength, considering the first game was without Shaq and this one was without Dwyane Wade. And the Heat pretty much suck this year. But it's still nice to beat them.

The Dirk for MVP push began last night, and he turned in an appropriate performance, scoring 31 points and nabbing 11 rebound for his fifteen-zillionth double-double. Which is a pretty high figure.

This game gave the Mavs a 10-game winning streak. They've had 12-game and 11-game streaks already this year, and in doing so, they are the fourth team in HISTORY to have three different 10+ game-winning streaks in a single season. They are putting together one for the record books. It's a pretty awesome display. Like I've said before, they have no excuse to not win the NBA Championship. They should have done it last year, after battling valiantly against the Suns & Spurs, the two best teams in the West. Now they are the best and they have to prove it. With Dirk leading the way, it can be done.

Other notables were Jason Terry with 21 points. In the first half. Then he stopped shooting. Stackhouse had 18 and Devin Harris added 17. Shaq was the man for them, scoring 17 and rebounding 8. I'll take that line any day.

In other news, hardly-used point guard Anthony Johnson was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for a second-round draft pick. I think the second round switches with the first round. So, if you pick high in the first, you pick low in the second. I think the Hawks are picking pretty high in the first round, so this draft pick being late in the secound round probably won't amount to anything. (UPDATE: Sefko at the Dallas Morning News says, "Given Atlanta's record, which is in the bottom third of the Eastern Conference, that pick should be among the top 40 in what is expected to be one of the deepest drafts in recent history.") But you never know. Sorta sad to see him go as he was a true team player and had a great Mavs spirit about him, but he just didn't get on the court. Not his fault.

Raiders cut ties with Brooks

Aaron Brooks is outtie.

No surprise here. The problems on the offensive side of the ball for the Raiders were many. Aaron Brooks, though not entirely to blame, was to blame for some of it. Certainly the O-line was a joke, the receivers were concerned with doing everything except catching balls (Curry excluded) and the running game never ran. So Brooks had a lot going against him. But he didn't win a game. He didn't scramble like we would have liked, his passes did not have excellent accuracy, his demeanor was unchanging, his personality aloof. He was not a leader and probably never will be. I didn't mind the guy, I was excited when he was signed. But it makes sense to part ways with him.

Andrew Walter?? After last year, I'd say he has the future of a career backup AT BEST. But that was last year, and the problems, as mentioned, were many. So we'll see what the kid has, but I still wouldn't want to pass up on Russell, unless we picked a SURE THING or if we traded the pick for a sweet deal.

"Obviously"

This is Dirk Nowitzki's favorite word. Pay attention when he talks or when you read his quotes. Useless information, but I had to share it with someone. The Internet.

Porter ready for new start in Oakland

Or so they say.

Jerry Porter, formerly Wide Receiver #84 -- Oakland Raiders, is now Jerry Porter, Wide Receiver #81 -- Oakland Raiders.

The number switch symbolized a mental switch. He is now "ready to get onboard" and has "talked many times with Coach Kiffin" and is "excited" about where the team is headed.

Although I may seem to be making light of the situation, I'm for it. We need at least one of our big guns riding with us, and it appears Moss is not that kind of guy. I'm not a huge Porter fan, but he can get it done. He arrived to camp in such great shape last year and was never utilized. Whether that was deserving or not is a question for another day.

Speaking of Moss, I know everyone hates him and is pissed off at the guy, but are any of you sad? I know I am. Having the MINNESOTA CONNECTION, watching Moss shine like a freak stud year after year up nort' in Minnesota, I was so freakin' excited when he was traded to my favorite team. And he has done some cool things in Oakland, but not really. I had a feeling his production would drop, I didn't know the guy would become nonexistent. Sadly, the Moss experiment has failed and it's time to cut ties.

The Alice Mavericks??

Josh Howard has an interesting quote in the Dallas Morning News:

They used to call us the Alice Mavericks, or whatever.

I don't know if it's Howard's fault, or Eddie Sefko's fault for writing it wrong, but somebody got it wrong.

The quote is in reference to how the Mavericks never used to play defense, so other teams would think they were soft. To that extent, I suppose "Alice Mavericks" makes sense, calling them by a girly name. But actually what Howard meant to say (or Sefko meant to write) was that they used to be called the "Allas Mavericks" because they had no 'D.' Get it? They didn't play defense, had no 'D' so therefore take that letter out of their name and they become the Allas Mavericks.

It's a small bone to pick, but a bone. Chew on it.

Pick Russell, says Dan Pompei

He says it right here:

So who should Davis pick?

Given the state of the Raiders, Davis needs a hero. Russell would look better in tights and a cape, as well as in black and silver.

As you can tell, with the "given the state of the Raiders..." Mr. Pompei does not avoid taking many shots at the Oakland Raiders organization, particularly Al Davis. But that's to be expected. Hopefully we can give them a reason to stop doing it.