Archive for March, 2010

Fans Vote for MVP!

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Posted 31 Mar 2010 — by Phillip Pyle
Category NBA

The NBA is giving fans a say in the MVP race.

The league announced Wednesday that fans can make their pick for the league’s Most Valuable Player, with the combined fans’ choice counting for one vote on the official ballot.

Starting Thursday through April 15, fans can go to www.NBA.com/KiaMVPFanVote and rank their top five choices. The other 124 votes will come from a panel of sports writers and broadcasters.

The MVP award, presented by Kia Motors, will be given after the season. Cleveland’s LeBron James is the reigning MVP and leading candidate to win another.

*Random NBA Facts*: The MVP award is named after Maurice Podoloff (August 18, 1890 – November 24, 1985) He was a U.S. lawyer and basketball and ice hockey administrator. He was the first president of the National Basketball Association. He served from the league’s founding as the Basketball Association of America in 1946 until 1963.

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Daryl Morey’s European Vacation!

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Posted 31 Mar 2010 — by Phillip Pyle
Category Houston Rockets, NBA

How often does a NBA general manager tweet about his scouting trip in Europe while his team ends its losing streak. Well that is just what Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey is currently doing.

DMorey: Players high fiving fans after the win. This is something the NBA could try.

Busy scouting overseas, far from a vacation, but working on the Rockets future. The incredible part is he is tweeting about it. Morey has been giving travel updates for about a week, and there’s a lot of interesting stuff in there. Morey went to Belgrade to watch Partizan take on Maccabi Tel Aviv in the third game of a best-of-five series. It’s a fair bet Morey was paying special attention to Jan Vesely, a versatile Partizan forward who is currently projected to be a late-lottery pick, and dunks like the rim slapped his momma.

Partizan ended up winning the game 81-73, with Vesely scoring 14 points in 24 minutes of play for the winning side. The decisions that Morey has made this season accompanied with the Rockets finishing above .500 should earn him GM of the Year honors. This is Morey’s 4th year with Houston, who has benefited from his statistical-based analysis, whatever that means. Since Morey took over the Rockets are 145-92 (.634) and made it out of the first round last year for the first time since the 97-98 season. Keep up the good work Morey! Here is a nice dunk by Vesely. There are currently no Rockets that can dunk like this, well maybe Jordan Hill, but I doubt he could catch the ball.

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New Jersey Nets: A Brown Bag Lunch!

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Posted 29 Mar 2010 — by Phillip Pyle
Category NBA, New Jersey Nets

The chief executive of the New Jersey Nets will have lunch with a fan who recently wore a brown bag over his head to protest the team’s woeful season. Nets CEO Brett Yormark and Chris Lisi of Middletown will sit down for lunch Tuesday at the Nets’ headquarters.

Lunch, of course, will be brown-bag style. Does this mean they will talk to each other while wearing brown bags on their head? I know thats probably too much to ask for, but would be awesome.

Yormark had a brief heated exchange with Lisi a week ago after seeing him with the brown bag on his head during a game. Yormark defended his actions the next day, saying he was standing up for his team, which is 9-64 and needs one win in its last nine games to avoid matching the NBA record for fewest wins.

I love the Nets organization for doing this. Here’s hoping  Chris Lisi prepares a PowerPoint presentation. He should at least have flash cards.

The meeting will be streamed live at www.njnets.com. Yormark and Lisi will be joined by Nets radio broadcasters Chris Carrino and Tim Capstraw.

Someone should let the new owner Mikhail Prokhorov know that in the United States, if you don’t know how much money you have the IRS will help you count it. I’m sure the background check on Prokhorov was as tall as David Stern. Maybe one day lucky fans will get to go swimming in Prokhorov’s money bin.

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Cavs welcome back “Z”!

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Posted 29 Mar 2010 — by Phillip Pyle
Category Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA

The crowd is sleep walking!(Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)

Zydrunas Ilgauskas returned to a hero’s welcome on Sunday in his first home game back with Cleveland, after being traded to Washington for Antwan Jamison. He was then released by Washington and just like magic 30 days later the Cavs re-sign him, thus tradeding Washington no one.

When Ilgauskas, known simply as “Z” to Cleveland fans, checked in with 4:02 left in the first quarter for Antawn Jamison, fans held up “Z” placards and filled Quicken Loans Arena with the familiar, droning “Zeeeeeeee,”! The 7-foot-3 Lithuanian was drafted by the club in 1996 and overcame serious foot injuries that nearly ended his career.

The Cavs have 9 games remaining and need to readjust   “Z” with the team while they prepare for the playoffs. But seeing how lgauskas is the Cavs’ career leader in games played, blocked shots and rebounds, I think they will be okay.

Just think if Shaq came back to the Cavs playing like this:

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Dwyane Wade and Andy Roddick play H.O.R.S.E.!

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Posted 28 Mar 2010 — by Phillip Pyle
Category NBA, Tennis

Thats a big ass tennis ball!

Nothing says cross-marketing like two great athletes from different sports playing HORSE. Dwyane Wade and Andy Roddick had a good ol’ celebrity showdown on a tournament practice court Saturday at the Sony Ericsson Open.

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Cleveland Cavs:What about this one??

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Posted 27 Mar 2010 — by Phillip Pyle
Category Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA

The Cleveland Cavaliers are celebrating their 40th year anniversary and have worn every uniform in their teams existence, except for this one. Wonder why?

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Houston Rockets: Tough Love

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Posted 27 Mar 2010 — by Phillip Pyle
Category Houston Rockets, NBA

The Houston Rockets have ten games left on a grueling, injury filled season. Six of the last ten games are on the road in places like Phoenix, San Antonio, and Boston. The Rockets also sit eight games out of the playoffs. Sadly it’s time (well it could have been time weeks ago) to put up the “NEXT SEASON” signs.

The Rockets have a 0.7% chance of winning the Draft Lottery. I know its never endorsed, but losing the last nine will only help to improve their draft chances. Also giving players like Mike Harris, Jermaine Taylor, and Jordan Hill minutes only helps their needed development. There is no reason to rush Shane Battier, or Kevin Martin back.

This was a roller coaster season for the Rockets, where every two wins equaled two loses. The Rockets were forced to start a 6′,6″ Chuck Hayes at center, and never played defense at the level of previous years(NO YAO). Tracy McGrady left the team, and free agent signee Trevor Ariza played uncomfortable in “Batman” role. Playing with Kobe Bryant gave Ariza the ability to watch, and enjoy. On the Rockets Ariza faced double-teams, and teammates watching him. Speaking of Trevor Ariza, I hope he returns next season with some sort of offensive moves. We at theruthsports.com started a drinking game based on Ariza’s game. Every time he travels, shot. He drives in the post and spins on his pivot, shot. Goes for steal and leaves his man wide open, shot. Shoots and misses three pointer, shot. Needless to say we ended this game early in the season due to liver pains.

Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry are two point guards that if combined would be unstoppable. If only Aaron could pass, and command the court like Lowry, and what if Lowry could shoot like Brooks. Last season I thought Brooks was irreplaceable, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rockets looked to add another point guard.

The Rockets have a fascinating mix of players, and a general manger in Daryl Morey that can literally turn coal to diamonds, with his mind. With the current cap-space the Rockets will be in the running for Chris Bosh, and Amare Stoudemire. I would also entertain the thought of the Rockets signing David Lee. Alas, all of this fantasy can all be brought back to earth if Yao Ming doesnt return to his former level.

Sadly, the amount of injuries the Rockets have faced over the past five years has destroyed any championship hopes. I can’t help but mention that since the Rockets changed the logo to the “Gothic Rocket” one of the best three players on the team has missed at least 30 games. If anyone gets hurt for significant time next season, I’m starting the petition to return to the old school uniforms and logo. Don’t make me do it HOUSTON!

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AMARE STOUDEMIRE KILLS ANTHONY TOLLIVER!

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Posted 22 Mar 2010 — by Phillip Pyle
Category Golden St. Warriors, NBA, Phoenix Suns

Excuse me, I'm dunking here!(AP Photo/Carlos Avila Gonzalez)

You have to know your limitations. Anthony Tolliver rides on an elevator that goes up to the 9th floor. Amare Stoudemires elevator begins at the 10th floor. Anthony Tolliver now knows what fragrance of Right Guard Amare uses. Rest in Peace Anthony Tolliver.

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Not So Fast Cinderella!

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Posted 22 Mar 2010 — by spechater
Category NCAA

Why do we love the NCAA Tournament? Because, it’s so unpredictable. Every year, like many Americans, I print out a gazillion brackets and put on my Jay Bilas-esque analysis hat and start making my picks. I arbitrarily pick a handful of upsets in the first couple of rounds because it’s pretty much guaranteed there will be upsets; 13s shocking 4s, 12s beating 5s and so forth.

And, as expected, the 2010 Tourney has been no different, already ripe with a number of shockers, including Georgetown losing to Ohio, Vandy falling to Murray State, and relatively unknown St. Mary’s knocking off #2 seed Villanova in the second round. However, these upsets pale in comparison to Northern Iowa’s surprising victory over the #1 overall seed Kansas, a team many “experts” had picked to win it all.

Cinderella shows up every year to add suspense and excitement, fueling the “Madness”.  And, CBS gets a nice return on their multi-million network rights investment with high ratings from these fairy tale teams knocking off perennial basketball powers and making magical runs in the tournament.

People naturally root for the underdog, no matter what sport it is. We love to see David slay Goliath. The NCAA tournament is no different. For example, I fell in love with the George Mason team that beat storied programs Michigan State, North Carolina, and Connecticut en route to an improbable Final Four appearance in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. That simply was a great story.

However, I’m sure CBS doesn’t want the final rounds to be a big glass slipper affair, with a heavy dose of unknown, mid-major Cinderella teams. I commend these teams for their unlikely successes, but would you want to see a Northern Iowa vs. St. Mary’s championship game? Seriously, imagine if the Final Four was Cornell, St. Mary’s, Butler, and Northern Iowa. You couldn’t pay me to watch any of those matchups. I’m sure ratings would not be as high as they would if a Kentucky or Syracuse were one of the opponents.  David vs. David matchups are not as intriguing as David vs. Goliath matchups. There is no upset potential in these types of contests. So, I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that at least a one or two seed makes it to Indianapolis.

Going forward, I’m excited to see what other surprises this 2010 version of March Madness has to offer. Parity is good for the game and it’s always fun to see some unexpected teams crash the party. However, if some of you Cinderellas decide to stay until the end, I hope at least one of your bigger, more known stepsisters shows up too. Otherwise, someone will have to spike the punch for me to hang around.

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Ex-Knicks Exact Revenge in Rockets Win!

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Posted 21 Mar 2010 — by Phillip Pyle
Category Houston Rockets, NBA, New York Knicks

Not the Hair!!(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Kevin Martin scored 28 points, Jared Jeffries and rookie Jordan Hill played key roles down the stretch, and Houston rallied to beat the New York Knicks 116-112 on Sunday.

There is nothing like matinée  basketball at Madison Square Garden. The Houston Rockets went up against the New York Knicks in what was Tracy McGrady’s first game against his former team.

Early in the game T-Mac looked to be exacting revenge, playing the entire first quarter and finishing with eight points and five rebounds in helping New York take a 32-17 lead. McGrady finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 33 minutes, but was scoreless in the fourth. He missed all three shots after asking to re-enter to play 5 minutes in the final period, even though he was already over his average of about 25 a game.

“When you play with some of those guys for five, six years, you definitely want to go out there and compete against them and show them up a little bit,” McGrady said.

Defense was non-existent in this game. Both teams shot over 50% from the floor. The Knicks held a early 17-point lead, but watched the Rockets bench close the gap by halftime.

David Lee apperaed to strike fear in every Rocket finishing with 27 points and 20 boards. Both Danilo Gallinari and Toney Douglas each scored 26, with Douglas making a franchise rookie-record six 3-pointers in the best game of his career. Unfortunatly Douglas had three turnovers in the final minutes that led to 7 straight Rockets points from Aaron Brooks who finished with 16.

Ex-Knicks Jordan Hill and Jared Jeffries stole the show in place of Luis Scola(upset stomach) and Shane battier(hyperextended knee). Hill finished with a season-high 13 points, while Jeffries, who had been the Knicks’ best defensive player, stepped in to take some crucial charges in the final quarter.

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