pedroia v. playstation

keith day

mvp: most valuable puppets

hi johan

michael cuddyer is a magician

Here is a profile of Minnesota Twins' outfielder Michael Cuddyer by Tim Kurkjian, from ESPN the Magazine. He is a magician, but more importantly "'Cuddy is the nicest guy in the world,' infielder Nick Punto said, 'but he will try to kill you to break up the double play. He is an old-school guy. He's going to do the right thing all the time.'"

victorino pushes manuel into argument with ump

Shane Victorino was called safe at second base on Thursday night against the Mets. While he was caught in a rundown between first and second base, Victorino seemed to run into Jose Reyes, who was chasing him down. The umpire, Bill Welke, saw the incident in Victorino's favor and called him safe because of obstruction. Jerry Manuel saw the play differently, as did the cameras. Manuel proceeded to argue with Welke, and "according to Welke, Manuel brushed his cap with the bill of his own cap as he screamed at the umpire." Manuel will most likely be suspended for what is believed to be minor incidental contact with the umpire. Victorino has been a nemesis of the Mets since he came to prominence with the Phillies. Now it seems he is trying to single handedly push the Mets out of the division race.

Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog writes:

…i know the Mets won the game, and they’re 3–1 against the Phillies this season… but, how long are the Mets going to let Victorino make fools of them… he taunts them on the field, he consistently clips infielders when sliding in to second, last year he actually stood flat foot and tall on home plate after scoring a run and did the double point in to their dugout, and then last night he shoves Reyes out of the way like George Costanza during a fire… not to mention, Clay Condrey nearly took David Wright’s head off with a fastball behind his batting helmet…

Erik Grissom of Philiesflow.com writes:

The Phillies don’t look ready to give it away. You can see it when a Condrey pitch sends David Wright looking for cover and Shane Victorino throws elbows at Mets’ infielders on the bases. Not sure I would have cared for either of those plays were I not a Phillies fan. A long time ago, I wrote that I was getting a little tired of seeing the Phils look like a bunch of swell guys who went down with a lot of character. I was ready to watch them take somebody’s lunch money. A lot has changed since then.

Josh Alper of NBC News writes:

There's a long history of ill will between Victorino and the Mets, and now he'd elbowed one of Manuel's players out of the way in a rundown. When two teams with bad blood play, the umpires will sometimes issue a warning after a close but otherwise innocuous pitch to head off a beanball war. They take history into account in those situations, and they should take history into account when making their determination on Manuel as well.

Of course the Mets did take both games from the Phillies in an abbreviated series at Citi Field. Now the Mets stand tied with the slumping Marlins only half a game back of the "fighting" Phils. And thanks to Victorino they are now literally the fighting Phils.

preakness weakness?

Winner of the Kentucky Derby, Mine That Bird, may put an end to triple crown speculation before the press machine could get momentum. ESPN's Jay Privman reports "'The plan was that if he showed something here, to skip the Preakness and go to the Belmont, like his dad,' [Co-owner Mark] Allen said. Mine That Bird is a son of Birdstone, who won the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes in 2004." The last Derby winner to skip the Preakness was an injured Grindstone in 1996. The last healthy Derby winner to miss it was Spend A Buck in 1985.

Mine That Bird was a 51-1 shot at the 113th Kentucky Derby. A $103.20 return was the second most in Derby history (only a 1913 $184.90 by Donerail was larger). Mine That Bird represents the second biggest upset in all the runnings of the Derby's history. This is one of the biggest upsets in sports history. 3 year-old colt I Want Revenge, the favorite to win the race, was scratched the morning of after his trainer discovered a hot spot on his left ankle.

Now, instead of hyping another run for the triple crown at the Preakness Stakes, the press will have another quesiton to ask: will the triple crown even be possible? Only Mine That Bird, itself, can answer, writes Privman:

"We'll let the horse tell us," Allen, who owns Mine That Bird with Dr. Leonard Blach, said Sunday morning as a light rain fell at Churchill Downs. "We'll run some blood work on him, make sure it's where it should be."

Update 5/4/2009:
Mine That Bird will run the Preakness after a spirited jog this afternoon.

"He's not going to just jump up and be the favorite off one win," [Trainer Bennie] Woolley Jr. said. "But I'll bet he's not 50-1."

you can go home again

Inspired by Alex K.'s clever experiment at Depressedfan.com.

Here is the All-Time Native New York Knicks Team:

PG - Bob Cousy (New York, NY)
SG - Lenny Wilkins (Brooklyn, NY)
SF - Julius Erving (Roosevelt, NY)
PF - Dolph Schayes (New York, NY)
C - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Inwood, NY)
6th - Billy Cunningham (Brooklyn, NY)

It is worth noting Michael Jordan was born in Brooklyn, but played high school basketball in North Carolina, so he was left off the team. 73 year old, blogger and life-long New Yorker Dan Cohen said, "While looking over the list of current local Knicks, I was surprised. As I remember, the great New York high school players were from Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, not Queens and outside the five boroughs, especially Connecticut!" Other notable native New York players include: Nate "Tiny" Archibald (Bronx, NY), Bernard King (Brooklyn, NY), Max Zaslofsky (Brooklyn, NY), Connie Hawkins (Brooklyn, NY), and Chris Mullin (Brooklyn, NY).

Here are the rest of the All-Time Local Teams:

Philadelphia 76ers:
PG - "Pistol" Pete Maravich (Aliquippa, PA)
SG - Kobe Bryant (Philadelphia, PA)
SF - Paul Arizin (Philadelphia, PA)
PF - Rasheed Wallace (Philadelphia, PA)
C - Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia, PA)
6th - Earl Monroe (Philadelphia, PA)






Detroit Pistons:
PG – Magic Johnson (Lansing, MI)
SG – George Gervin (Detroit, MI)
SF – Chet Walker (Benton Harbor, MI)
PF – Dave DeBusschere (Detroit, MI)
C – Spencer Haywood (Detroit, MI)
6th – Glen Rice (Flint, MI)






Chicago Bulls:
PG – Isaiah Thomas (Chicago, IL)
SG – Cazzie Russell (Chicago, IL)
SF – Dwyane Wade (Chicago, IL)
PF – Dan Issel (Batavia, IL)
C – George Mikan (Joliet, IL)
6th – Maurice Cheeks (Chicago, IL)






Indiana Pacers:
PG – Oscar Robertson (Indianapolis, IN)
SG – Dick Barnett (Gary, IN)
SF – Larry Bird (West Baden, IN)
PF – Dave Cowens (Newport, KY)
C – Wes Unseld (Louisville, KY)
6th – George McGinnis (Indianapolis, IN)






Cleveland Cavaliers:
PG – Jerry West (Chelyan, WV)
SG – Hal Greer (Huntington, WV)
SF – LeBron James (Akron, OH)
PF – Jerry Lucas (Middletown, OH)
C – Nate Thurmond (Akron, OH)
6th – John Havlicek (Martins Ferry, OH)






Charlotte Bobcats:
PG – Sam Jones (Wilmington, NC)
SG – Michael Jordan (Wilmington, NC)
SF – James Worthy (Gastonia, NC)
PF – Kevin Garnett (Greenville, SC)
C – Bob McAdoo (Greensboro, NC)
6th – Dominique Wilkins (Washington, NC)






New Orleans Hornets:
PG – Joe Dumars (Shreveport, LA)
SG – Jimmy Jones (Tallulah, LA)
SF – Elvin Hayes (Rayville, LA)
PF – Bob Pettit (Baton Rouge, LA)
C – Willis Reed (Hico, LA)
6th – Karl Malone (Summerfield, LA)






Washington Wizards:
PG – Dave Bing (Washington DC)
SG – Allen Iverson (Hampton, VA)
SF – Elgin Baylor (Washington DC)
PF – Moses Malone (Petersburg, VA)
C – David Robinson (Manassas, VA)
6th – Adrian Dantley (Washington DC)






Golden State Warriors:
PG – Jason Kidd (Alameda, CA)
SG – Gary Payton (Oakland, CA)
SF – Willie Wise (San Francisco, CA)
PF – Paul Silas (Oakland, CA)
C – Bill Russell (Oakland, CA)
6th – Jim Pollard (Oakland, CA)






New Jersey Nets:
PG – Rory Sparrow (Paterson, NJ)
SG – Kelly Tripucka (Bloomfield, NJ)
SF – Rick Barry (Elizabeth, NJ)
PF – Tommy Heinsohn (Union City, NJ)
C – Billy Paultz (River Edge, NJ)
6th – Bob Verga (Belmar, NJ)






Los Angeles Lakers:
PG – Gail Goodrich (Los Angeles, CA)
SG – Reggie Miller (Riverside, CA)
SF – Paul Pierce (Inglewood, CA)
PF – Sidney Wicks (Los Angeles, CA)
C – Bill Laimbeer (Palos Verdes, CA)
6th – Bill Sharman (Porterville, CA)






Portland Trailblazers:
PG – John Stockton (Spokane, WA)
SG – Danny Ainge (Eugene, OR)
SF – Detlef Schrempf (Centralia, WA)
PF – AC Green (Portland, OR)
C – James Edwards (Seattle, WA)
6th – Jason Terry (Seattle, WA)






Denver Nuggets:
PG – Chauncey Billups (Denver, CO)
SG – Ron Boone (Omaha, NE)
SF – Scott Wedman (Denver, CO)
PF – Tom Chambers (Boulder, CO)
C – Joe Barry Carroll (Denver, CO)
6th – Bob Boozer (Omaha, NE)





Atlanta Hawks:
PG – Norm Nixon (Macon, GA)
SG – Walt “Clyde” Frazier (Atlanta, GA)
SF – Dale Ellis (Marietta, GA)
PF – Charles Barkley (Leeds, AL)
C – Artis Gilmore (Dothan, AL)
6th – Dwight Howard (Atlanta, GA)






Memphis Grizzlies:
PG – JoJo White (St. Louis, MO)
SG – Sidney Moncrief (Little Rock, AR)
SF – Scottie Pippen (Hamburg, AR)
PF – Bailey Howell (Middleton, TN)
C – Ed Macauley (St. Louis, MO)
6th – Shawn Marion (Clarksville, TN)






Miami Heat:
PG – Derek Harper (West Palm Beach, FL)
SG – Mitch Richmond (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
SF – Eddie Jones (Pompano Beach, FL)
PF – Otis Thorpe (Lake Worth, FL)
C – Tim Duncan (US Virgin Islands)
6th – Mychal Thompson (Miami, FL)






Los Angeles Clippers:
PG – Dennis Johnson (Compton, CA)
SG – Reggie Theus (Inglewood, CA)
SF – Marques Johnson (Los Angeles, CA)
PF – Kiki Vandeweghe (Pacific Palisades, CA)
C – Bill Walton (La Mesa, CA)
6th – George Yardley (Newport Beach, CA)






Oklahoma City Thunder:
PG – Mark Price (Enid, OK)
SG – John Starks (Tulsa, OK)
SF – Danny Manning (Lawrence, KS)
PF – Wayman Tisdale (Tulsa, OK)
C – Alvan Adams (Warr Acres, OK)
6th – Lucius Allen (Kansas City, KS)






Milwaukee Bucks:
PG – Terry Porter (Milwaukee, WI)
SG – Fred Brown (Milwaukee, WI)
SF – Latrell Sprewell (Milwaukee, WI)
PF – John Johnson (Milwaukee, WI)
C – Jim Chones (Racine, WI)
6th – Caron Butler (Racine, WI)






Dallas Mavericks:
PG – Deron Williams (The Colony, TX)
SG – Ricky Pierce (Garland, TX)
SF – Larry Johnson (Dallas, TX)
PF – Dennis Rodman (Dallas, TX)
C – Chris Bosh (Dallas, TX)
6th – Mookie Blaylock (Garland, TX)






Houston Rockets:
PG – Slater Martin (Houston, TX)
SG – Clyde Drexler (Houston, TX)
SF – Rashard Lewis (Alief, TX)
PF – Emeka Okafor (Houston, TX)
C – Zelmo Beaty (Woodville, TX)
6th – Terry Teagle (Broaddus, TX)






Toronto Raptors:
PG – Steve Nash (Victoria, Canada)
SG – Larry Costello (Minoa, NY)
SF – Clifford Robinson (Buffalo, NY)
PF – Bob Houbregs (Vancouver, Canada)
C – Bob Lanier (Buffalo, NY)
6th – Rick Fox (Toronto, Canada)






Orlando Magic:
PG – Eddie Johnson (Summerfield, FL)
SG – Vince Carter (Daytona Beach, FL)
SF – Tracy McGrady (Bartow, FL)
PF – Truck Robinson (Jacksonville, FL)
C – Amare Stoudamire (Orlando, FL)
6th – Otis Birdsong (Winter Haven, FL)






Minnesota Timberwolves:
PG – Dick Garmaker (Hibbing, MN)
SG – Mark Olberding (Melrose, MN)
SF – Phil Jackson (Williston, ND)
PF – Kevin McHale (Hibbing, MN)
C – Vern Mikkelsen (Askov, MN)
6th – Mike Miller (Mitchell, SD)






Phoenix Suns:
PG – Mike Bibby (Phoenix, AZ)
SG – Fat Lever (Tucson, AZ)
SF – Sean Elliot (Tucson, AZ)
PF – Richard Jefferson (Phoenix, AZ)
C – Channing Frye (Phoenix, AZ)
6th – Arthur Becker (Phoenix, AZ)






Sacramento Kings:
PG – Kevin Johnson (Sacramento, CA)
SG – Ray Allen (Merced, CA)
SF – Darnell Hillman (Sacramento, CA)
PF – Jim Eakins (Sacramento, CA)
C – Bill Cartwright (Elk Grove, CA)
6th – James Donaldson (Sacramento, CA)






San Antonio Spurs:
PG – Devin Brown (San Antonio, TX)
SG – Robert Reid (Schertz, TX)
SF – Eduardo Najera (San Antonio, TX)
PF – Luke Jackson (San Marcos, TX)
C – Shaquille O’Neal (San Antonio, TX)
6th – Chris Mihm (Austin, TX)






Boston Celtics:
PG – Travis Best (Springfield, MA)
SG – Dana Barros (Westwood, MA)
SF – Francisco Garcia (Winchendon, MA)
PF – Marvin Barnes (Providence, RI)
C – Patrick Ewing (Cambridge, MA)
6th – James Bailey (Westwood, MA)






New York Jazz: (relocated from Utah)
PG – Nate “Tiny” Archibald (Bronx, NY)
SG – Max Zaslofsky (Brooklyn, NY)
SF – Bernard King (Brooklyn, NY)
PF – Fred Roberts (South Jordan, UT)
C – Shawn Bradley (Castle Dale, UT)
6th – World B. Free (Brooklyn, NY)

what if...

NBA teams could only draft players from their geographical vicinity? This is the question Alex K. asked and answered at DepressedFan.com in February. His Hometown Heroes post goes through each NBA team and finds the current players who would be playing for that team in this fictional scenario. While cities such as Charlotte, Portland, and Dallas have very good teams, lesser-known metropolises like Salt Lake City, Toronto, and Oklahoma City have less talented squads. The big surprise is that the Boston Celtics are comprised of mostly D-League players like Demetris Nichols, Matt Bonner, and Courtney Sims and is anchored by center Marcus Camby.

The New York Knicks team puts this starting five on the floor: PG Ben Gordon (Mount Vernon, NY), SG Ron Artest (Queens, NY), SF Lamar Odom (South Jamaica, NY), PF Elton Brand (Peekskill, NY), and Center Charlie Villanueva (Queens, NY) with Ryan Gomes (Waterbury, CT) as the sixth man. Blogger Bashir G. has this to say about the New York locals, "This team has good talent all around with a lot of versatility and strong defense but no pg. So I could see this team using odom as their Point-Forward to bring up the ball. Gordon is most definitely a pure 2, always looking for his shot so he wouldn't work as the 1. This team has good shooters slashers and every player can create their own shot so this would be an effective team but their 3pt game outside of Gordon is a little suspect because Villanueva, artest and odom are inconsistent from 3." While Blogger Brian makes this suggestion, "I'd take Brand at center, Gomes at PF, bring Charlie V off the bench and hope the defense could hold up."

Would this Knicks team be able to best the 32-50 showing put up by the 2008-2009 Knickerbockers? Would Gordon be able to run the point, or would he make New Yorkers yearn for the days of Chris Duhon, who would be playing for the New Orleans Hornets? Would Starbury be motivated to play for his hometown team, this time if he had no choice? It's nice to think of a Knicks what if scenario that does not involve a certain King. At least this exercise in supposition provides a diversion until Knicks fans can wish for a Spaniard at the NBA lottery.

mocking mock drafts

Thomas Neumann of ESPN's Page 2 has his take on historical fiction. Instead of printing just another mock draft, he took the NFL draft order and using the accepted "needs" of the each team to draft from a pool of every college player in history. That means guys like Illinois' Red Grange and Carlisle's Jim Thorpe were on the big board when the Detroit Lions found themselves on the clock. Their pick? Stanford prospect John Elway. However, Neumann reports he might play for the Yankees if he is not traded by a downtrodden Detroit Lions franchise. The New York Giants drafted Don Hutson to replace released receiver Plaxico Burress, but they passed on Keyshawn Johnson out of USC. Other notable picks were St. Louis picking tackle prospect Orlando Pace to replace the departed, Orlando Pace. Also the top hybrid prospect out of UNC, Lawrence Taylor went to Green Bay.

Wait, do you mean there was an actual draft today?

Here are the Giants selections so far:
Round 1: Hakeem Nicks, WR, UNC
Round 2: Clint Sintim, OLB, Virginia
Round 2: William Beatty, OT, Connecticut

ESPN's John Clayton says Hakeem Nicks has big shoes to fill this season:

No player in the draft will have more pressure on him than Hakeem Nicks of the New York Giants. He's going to be asked to be the instant replacement for Plaxico Burress, who was counted on for five catches and about 80 yards a game, particularly in the first month of the season. Give Giants GM Jerry Reese credit for being patient and getting a receiver as talented as Nicks at the 29th pick. But the Giants' season could depend on how quickly Nicks develops a receiving relationship with Eli Manning. The Giants elected not to trade a No. 1 pick to get Braylon Edwards from Cleveland.

Update 4/26/09:

New York Giants Draft:
Round 3: Ramses Barden, WR, Cal Poly
Round 3: Travis Beckum, TE, Wisconsin
Round 4: Andre Brown, RB, NC State
Round 5: Rhett Bomar, QB, Sam Houston St.
Round 6: DeAndre Wright, CB, New Mexico
Round 7: Stoney Woodson, CB, South Carolina

Michael Eisen from Giants.com highlights two players:
[Ramses] Barden is a wide receiver with several eye-popping attributes. At 6 feet, 6 inches, he was the most physically imposing receiver in the draft. He has an exceptionally long stride, jumping ability, strength, toughness and many impressive statistics...Perhaps the most important question Barden must answer is whether he can make a successful transition from the Great West Conference to the NFL. He did have six catches for 83 yards and a score against Wisconsin last season.

[Rhett] Bomar, 6-2, 224, started 11 games as a redshirt freshman at Oklahoma in 2005, when he threw for 2,018 yards and 10 touchdowns. But in May 2006, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of being a minor in possession of alcohol. Later that year, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops dismissed...Bomar from the team after an investigation revealed the young quarterback broke NCAA rules through his employment at a car dealership.Bomar enrolled at Sam Houston State, but the NCAA ruled him ineligible in 2006. He played the next two seasons for the Bearkats and completed 417 of 727 passes (57.4 percent) for 5,564 yards and 37 touchdowns. In 2008, he threw for 3,355 yards and 27 scores. Bomar passed for more than 300 yards eight times in 10 games, including a career-high 506 yards vs. Southeastern Louisiana