NBA Draft Preview

A couple months ago, I claimed to be done with the NBA. Well, I'm aware that some of you are still sticking with the league that is one step below World Wrestling Entertainment on the fake scale. WIth that in mind, I'm posting my opinions on the NBA Draft and what the Wolves need to do by the end of the night to give us a favorable script. Wait, we're not going to get one because David $tern still loves money, which because there is no pairity in the NBA, they aren't making any. Whatever...

So the Wolves have the 4th overall pick in the draft behind Washington, Philadelphia, and New Jersey. It seems like the first two picks are locked in, as the Wizards will select Kentucky G John Wall with the first overall pick and the 76ers are going to take Ohio State G/F Evan Turner with the second pick.

Then it gets interesting. The Nets have a new Russian billionaire running their team. They're going to move to Brooklyn in a couple years and this man wants to build a machine...I mean winner so that he can take over the wo...I mean...impress his incoming fan base. So, the Nets in theory should take the third best player in the draft, Georgia Tech F Derrick Favors, right? Not really.

Since the Nets want to win right away, Favors wouldn't make sense for the Nets. Instead, they will probably take Syracuse G/F Wesley Johnson, probably the second most NBA ready prospect behind Turner. If the Nets take Johnson, they can use their massive salary cap room to lure one of the mega free agents to the Meadowlands, like Amare Stoudamire and Carlos Boozer. Mix in the fact that Johnson has the same agent as Boozer and it makes sense to have Devin Harris and Johnson in their backcourt and Brook Lopez and Boozer in their frontcourt.

So that would leave a huge debate at what to do at 4. Wolves president David Kahn has said that it's "highly, highly, highly, highly" unlikely that they will trade up or down. So, that means if this scenario plays out the Wolves will have their choice of Favors or Kentucky C DeMarcus Cousins.

According to nbadraft.net's scouting report of Favors, he compares to Hawks C Al Horford, who's been pretty successful on a good team in Atlanta. However, some NBA scouts have said that at worst, he's Amare Stoudamire. At his best? Some Dwight Howard guy, maybe you've heard of him? The Wolves will take anything between that I think.

However, there are negatives to Favors. He's EXTREMELY young. Favors will turn 19 in July. That's right...TURN 19. Scouts also say that Favors has a motor problem, but then again, so did Randy Moss.

In the blue corner is DeMarcus Cousins. The good news is that he's very polished on the court. He's a physical mismatch for just about anybody. Great size, great strength. Well, about that size thing...

Cousins was 2nd in the NBA combine in...body fat. Approximately 16 percent of his frame is fat. Granted, he's doing all he can to lose it by starting a diet of strictly salad and seafood, but scouts still are questioning his commitment. (For example, the guy who was 1st in body fat at the combine, Texas C Dexter Pittman, has already lost 50 pounds since the whole draft thing started and about 120 since high school when he weighed four bills.) Because of this, the nbadraft.net scouting report compares him to Former Bulls C Eddy Curry. Yay.

Scouts also think that Cousins has a maturity problem. Punching four of your coaches through your basketball career will do that to you. I even joked in my previous NBA post that Cousins would "go ape@#$% in wal-mart some day because he couldn't get a Lil' Wayne CD for free." To me, Cousins reminds me of another important man in Wolves history, Isiah Rider. Because of that, if this happens, they need to go with Favors.

Don't get me wrong, if the Nets are just throwing a smoke screen to try and get the Wolves to trade up for Johnson, it wouldn't be terrible if they had to take him instead. Johnson is an athletic shooter who is a great glue guy for a team, but he can't carry a team by himself, as evidenced by his time at Iowa State. Still, the outside shot is something the Wolves desperately need, although they could get the same thing later at pick #16 if...

Fresno State G/F Paul George is available at 16, he'd be very comparable to Johnson. He can absolutely fill it up from behind the arc, and is long enough to become a defensive superstar. Think of Corey Brewer on steroids. George is also a beast on the fast break. He could also be a future slam dunk champion.

However the Wolves are reportedly close to dealing that pick to the Memphis Grizzlies for the 23rd and 28th picks of the draft, which would give the Wolves four first round picks (including pick #4, which isn't available.) So there could be a big deal for a veteran, which seems to be the only way that the Wolves can get quality talent.

Rumors are seriously flying about this. I read one yesterday that said that the Wolves are offering Al Jefferson and the three first round picks to Denver for Carmelo Anthony. Not going to happen. The same blog said that the Wolves would offer Ricky Rubio's rights to Cleveland in a sign-and-trade for LeBron James. Hey dude, the first thing that needs to happen for a sign and trade is the SIGN part. LeBron doesn't want to be 100 miles within the radius of the Target Center. It's not going to happen.

There was also a rumor that the Wolves were offering the 4th pick in the draft to Portland, for defensive specialist Nikolas Batum. No, no, no, PLEASE GOD NO!!!!

The only one that has some steam to it right now is the Wolves getting PF Anthony Randolph from Golden State. Yet if the Wolves draft Favors does that make sense? Or would they deal Jefferson or Kevin Love to obtain Randolph?

It's going to be an interesting summer for the Timberwolves and tonight marks the beginning of that summer. Can the Wolves land an impact player in the draft, trade market, or free agency? Or will the Wolves wind up feeling the wrath of David $tern? Stay tuned.

Gardy Refuses To Give The Fans What They Want

A friend of mine once gave me an opinion of Ron Gardenhire. She said that Gardy looked like an evil Santa Claus. I laughed at it and found it absurd, but the recent actions of Mr. Gardenhire have made me think a little bit deeper into that take.

Let's get this straight, Gardy is a pretty good manager, but he's not a great manager...yet. Gardy embodies the "Minnesota Nice" lifestyle, which is great for ticket sales. I mean, come on, after the first rainout at Target Field, Gardenhire said he went home and took care of a "honey do" list for his wife. Sounds like a typical guy.

However, I believe that sometimes, Gardenhire thinks too much, a problem that many of us can relate to as well. Consider the following:

The first one is that Gardenhire doesn't like to think too much about his lineup. Span 1st, Hudson 2nd, Mauer 3rd, etc. And if a player doesn't bat in that spot, the balance of the earth is going to crumble. That's why, even though Gardy had plenty of better hitters to slot in that two hole on Sunday, Gardy elected to put Matt Tolbert there instead of Delmon Young, who has been playing out of his mind.

Not to mention that Gardy also gave Denard Span a day off. Yup, I understand that players need their days off, but before an off day that's not even a travel day? Wow. This was in a lineup already missing Orlando Hudson and J.J. Hardy. So in a stretch of the lineup, the Twins threw out Trevor Plouffe, Drew Butera, Nick Punto, and Matt Tolbert. That's three AAAA prospects (between AAA and the major leagues.) and an OK utilityman which Gardy has to play every day or there will be naked pictures of him on the internet. And these guys came up 4-5 times each. Even throwing Young at the top of the order would have helped a little bit, as he wound up belting a three run homer later in the game.

But what really blows my mind is the 100 pitch count that Gardy enforces. Yeah, we get it too, after Mark Prior (211) and Kerry Wood (211) threw way too many innings as youngsters, it's fashionable to make sure your arms don't flame out at an early age. (Rick Ankiel would also make this list too.) But when a pitcher has a 2 hit shutout with 12 strikeouts is DOMINATING a lineup in a close ballgame, you shouldn't take him out. Not when he just downed a power bar in the dugout. Instead Matt Guerrier, who has been pretty solid this year, nearly coughed up the game, leading to a very tense Jose Mijares appearance, who is getting better as the year is progressing, and a Jon Rauch save.

I have to wonder what would happen in the World Series (wait, Minnesota teams don't get to championship series! Oh, well.) if Baker was tossing a gem in Game 7 and was at pitch 99 with two outs to go. What if it was Jack Morris on the mound? Gardy would get his ass kicked...in public.

Gardy doesn't like criticism of his decisions. The other night during a presser, Gardy answered some of the questions about putting out a C-lineup, Joe Mauer's power outage, and how the Danny Valencia and Plouffe are progressing in the minors with the phrase, "The Minnesota Twins, WE'RE IN FIRST PLACE!" Ah, the status quo...become AL Central Champions of the world.

So maybe my friend was right. Besides I could see a little girl sitting on Gardy's lap, and...

Gardy: What do you want for Christmas little girl?
Girl: More complete games.
Gardy: NOT IF THERE'S 100 PITCHES!!!! AHHHH!!!

What Has Gotten Into Delmon Young?

In sports, there is always one player on your favorite team that you can't stand to watch. For example, a couple of seasons ago, I attended a scrimmage between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Minnesota Vikings on the University of Wisconsin-River Falls campus and I talked to a fellow fan who told me his least favorite Viking.

"For years, my kids thought that Dontarrious Thomas's name was actually bitch. They actually asked me why bitch wasn't on the back of his jersey. It was at that moment I knew I had to tone down my language during Viking games."

When it came to the Minnesota Twins, many Twins fans thought that player was Delmon Young. My own mother was part of that entourage.

"I can't stand that Delmon Young (rolling eyes). It seems like every time he comes up he doesn't care and just pounds the ball into the ground."

Young's first couple of seasons in Minnesota weren't supposed to be this way. At the end of the 2007 season, the Twins needed to add offense to their lineup and had multiple players that manager Ron Gardenhire simply didn't like. So new general manager Bill Smith dangled those players as trade bait and rumors started flying. Finally, on a November afternoon, the trigger was pulled. The Twins had traded Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and a prospect for Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, and a prospect.

Young was the #1 pick in the 2003 MLB Draft and was supposed to be the crown jewel for the Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays.

Let's take a sidenote here. Think of the picks that the Devil Rays had before they became the Rays.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays Picks (1998-2007)
1999: OF Josh Hamilton (1st Overall)
2000: OF Rocco Baldelli (5th Overall)
2001: P Dewon Brazelton (3rd Overall; Behind Joe Mauer, Mark Prior; Ahead of Mark Teixeira and Gavin Floyd.
2002: SS B.J. Upton (2nd Overall)
2003: OF Delmon Young (1st Overall)
2004: P Jeff Niemann (4th Overall)
2005: P Wade Townsend (8th Overall)
2006: 3B Evan Longoria (3rd Overall)
2007: P David Price (1st Overall)

OK, so we know that some of these picks didn't turn out for obvious reasons, but what if the Rays had kept all this talent together. Could you imagine an outfield with Josh Hamilton, Delmon Young and a HEALTHY Rocco Baldelli? Ok, I'm done...

Young became more famous for an off the field action than his on the field play however. Playing for the Rays' minor league AAA affiliate, the Durham Bulls, Young became enraged at an umpire's call and whipped the bat at the umpire. This followed him wherever he went and when he was traded to Minnesota, he saw it as a new beginning.

Young was also coming off his best season at the plate as he hit .288 with 13 HR and 93 RBI. There was nowhere but up for Delmon, or so the Twins thought.

Then came the slow start to 2008, and suddenly Delmon Young was looking a lot like Rondell White without the steroids and injury history. Young finished the season strong, but then would start the 2009 season on the bench behind Carlos Gomez, who had a solid first season with the Twins.

During that season, there were many issues that lead to his decline. First, Delmon wasn't playing everyday. They are professionals, but It's very difficult to get into a rhythm when you're getting shut down for a week at a time. Second, Delmon wound up with a nasty ankle injury that was in the back of the batters box. Therefore, he could not shift his weight to his back foot, which meant that he couldn't generate any power with his swing.

Most importantly, Young lost his mother in May. Losing a parent is something you know you'll have to do at some point in life, but you're never OK with it after it happens. I'm going to assume that it's something he thought about a lot and it affected his performance on the field.

Meanwhile, fans became frustrated with Young, saying that he would never be a great hitter, even though he was still hitting around .290. Young started to show some signs of promise during the last week of the regular season, which was capped off with a big grand slam against the Kansas City Royals.

The Twins would think enough of that furious finish to trade Gomez to the Milwaukee Brewers and left field officially belonged to Delmon Young. This was his last chance to make amends in Minnesota. Young lost 15 pounds and worked on his defense in the outfield. He was also able to move quicker in the outfield and his range improved, but maybe the biggest improvement is in his bat.

After Sunday's 7-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves, Young is hitting .285 with 8 HR and 40 RBI in 55 games, so about 1/3 of the season has gone by. Thinking of it that way, Young is currently on pace to get 24 HR and 120 RBI by the end of the season, the type of impact the Twins were hoping when they pulled the trigger on the deal back in 2007.

By the way, Young is 24 years old. Again, 24 YEARS OLD!!! Once again, Delmon has shownhe has the talent to emerge as a superstar in the major leagues, and maybe this is just a flash-in-the-pan hot streak, but hopefully the real Delmon Young is starting to emerge in Minnesota.

Conference Re-Alignment Goes Crazy

On February 25, 1994, college sports first "Super Conference" was born. The conference was the 8 members of the Big 8 conference (Missouri, Iowa State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State Kansas, Kansas State, and Colorado) joined forces with four Texas schools which came from the disbanded Southwestern Conference (Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, and Baylor).

The Big 12, as it would come to be known, was supposed to rival the Southeastern Conference for college sports superiority. Think about it. Football powers Texas and Nebraska were set to collide in football on a yearly basis. Oklahoma and Texas, members of the Red River Rivalry, would have even more on the line in their yearly meeting. This was going to be gigantic.

And...we fast forward to last December. The Big 10, which has been one of the biggest grossing conferences in the past couple of years due to it's own network, started talking about expanding to at least 12 teams. This would make it possible to have a conference championship game in football as the NCAA mandates there has to be 12 teams to hold such a game. Also, another team would mean more money for the conference.

The Big 10 wanted Notre Dame first, who rejected the Big 10's initial offer back in 1990 to join the conference. (At that time, the Penn State Nittany Lions joined the conference to become it's 11th member) The Big 10 tried a second time to add Notre Dame in the late 90's, but again, they refused. The Big 10 tried a third time recently, but we'll get to that later.

The most recent version of Big 10 expansion talk has put college sports on tilt. Because the Big 10 talked expansion and the possibility of turning into a "super conference," the Pac 10 decided to jump into the frenzy. The Pac 10 started courting Big 12 schools. But why would Big 12 schools want to leave the Big 12?

Simply because it never lived up to the hype that the Big 12 promised. The Big 12 South completely owned the Big 12 North. Granted, when you're Texas, it's easy to pound the hell out of Iowa State and Colorado in most sports. They also don't have a TV deal, which is what most schools covet due to the success of the Big Ten Network.

So, the first two dominoes in the demise of the Big 12 fell late this week. First, Colorado decided to leave the Big 12 for the Pac 10. The Pac 10 is currently looking to add 6 schools to become the Pac 16. It's rumored that the Pac 10...or 16...or whatever...is looking to also add Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, and Baylor. However, that wasn't the biggest blow to the conference.

Nebraska, with it's storied football program and the large income that the Cornhuskers generate with it, decided to bolt the Big 12, spelling it's demise. This is the most important thing for this neck of the woods as the Huskers are going to join the Big 10 in 2011. This gives the Big 10 twelve teams. There is a rumor that the Big 10 wants to get up to 14 (Notre Dame? Missouri?) or 16 (Pittsburgh? Syracuse? Rutgers?). There's also a rumor about what will happen to the orphans of the Big 12 (Kansas, K-State, Iowa State). But, let's talk Big Ten for now.

The Big 10 has it's 12 teams, so what divisions should they have? Should they even have a championship game. Well, we do know that there will be 2 divisions for college football no matter what. Here's what is rumored.

Big 10 West
Nebraska
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Iowa
Illinois
Northwestern

Big 10 East
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Penn State
Indiana
Purdue

First of all, how tough is the eastern division going to be? Wow. Second, it's clear that the Gophers will never sniff the Rose Bowl while I'm alive, or my children are alive. And third, I like this alignment. All the rivals are together, with the exception of two of the Gophers rivals, but seriously, do they really need to get spanked for the Governor's Victory Bell and Little Brown Jug every year?

So obviously, we know the Big 10 and Pac 10 are winners right now. But there is one conference who's cashing in as well, and that's the Mountain West. I think that those orphans from the Big 12 are going to go there, and that means they'll get Kansas basketball, which is a cash cow in it's own right.

Still, we have no idea why schools are doing this. Well, you can say it's about the money, and it probably is, but it's actually all about football. Why else would Kansas be left out? This is all about the destruction of the Bowl Championship Series.

The Pac 16 would have 2 eight team conferences if this happens, and it's going to. So first of all, there are two conferences in one, and the Pac 10-16 does not want a championship game. They want two BCS bids. Also, if the other conferences expand, what will be the standards for handing out bids to the BCS? There could be two conference teams playing for the BCS Championship!

Also, the bowl system as we know it has gone to hell. The Big 12 had at least 6 or 7 bowl affiliations. Well, since the conference is dead, the bowls will have to look for something else, and that might lead to finding inferior competition, which would lead to a bad product, which would lead to not many people wanting to see these bowls, which leads to less travel...tickets sold...and DEAD.

So, really, nothing can be said until the dust settles. Well except for the chances of a college football playoff have just gone through the roof.

A Day When I Have Way Too Much To Talk About...

It's been awhile since there's been so much to discuss in the world of sports in the same day. Well, I'll try to cover all bases. So, let's start with the obvious.

Jim Joyce Screws Armando Galarraga Out Of A Perfect Game
I actually saw this live. If you have MLB Network at all and you're sitting around bored one night, I suggest you turn it on. It's just as good as getting the Extra Innings package. Yeah, there might be a game going on, and in that instance, you're kind of screwed (Meaningless games were shown during Ubaldo Jimenez's no-hitter and Roy Halladay's perfect game.), but it's a really good way to keep up on what's going on in baseball.

Anyways, if you haven't seen it yet, Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers was pitching the game of his life against the Cleveland Indians going into the 9th inning. Austin Jackson made a great running catch to save the perfect game for the first out. Mike Redmond grounded out to Adam Everett for the second out. Then this happened.

The company line for mistakes like this is "Everybody is Human", but it was more a matter of bad timing for Jim Joyce. That call has been made before, but never on the last out of a perfect game. Don Denkinger also made the wrong call at the wrong time in the 1985 World Series when he called Jorge Orta of the Royals safe at first base in Game 6. Had Orta been correctly called out, the game would have ended. Instead, the Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games to win the World Series. This call goes right beside Steve Bartman's interference and Denkinger's messup as the worst calls in baseball history.

So now everyone screams for replay. Replay has worked very well on home run calls, but I think it needs to be expanded. I'll clarify that balls and strikes should NEVER be subject to replay, and if it comes to that, it's absolutely ridiculous. But, is it too much to ask to install the hockey replay system (which is how the home run calls are reviewed) for close plays after the 6th inning?

Using this as an example, Joyce makes the incorrect call. Suddenly a buzzer at his belt goes off that is linked to the office in New York. Joyce looks at the call and reverses it. It's that simple. All I ask is that we aren't debating safe or out in the first inning of the game. I would like it if it only applied to crucial game-changing calls.

News has come out this morning that Bud Selig has the power to overturn the call and give Galarraga the perfect game. I have two gripes with this. First, we're turning this decision over to the man who thought ending the All-Star game in a tie, and Contraction were good ideas. Second, even if Selig does overturn the call, the initial rush and celebration of throwing a perfect game are over. It's like replaying a game from 20 years ago because some guy got hurt.

Look at the bright side. Galarraga is the first man to set down 28 in a row during a single game. (Pedro Martinez actually came close when he threw a 9 inning perfect game vs. San Diego in 1995, but the game went to extra innings and the Padres singled to lead off the 10th inning.) And let's not feel too bad for him. Galarraga got a Chevy Corvette prior to Thursday's game. Guess it pays to play in Detroit. But is the government paying for that car? Hmmm....

Twins fall to Seattle 2-1; Danny Valencia called up
The Twins were victims to bad officiating as well on Wednesday. In the 10th inning, Ichiro Suzuki grounded to Matt Tolbert, who threw to J.J. Hardy and the play beat the runner. Except the umpire called him safe. Play continued, and Ryan Langerhans rounded 3rd and scored the winning run. Awesome. The Twins could have used replay on this night, but there was a positive.

Kevin Slowey pitched very well for the Twins as he gave up one run in seven innings. The Big Slow has looked well over the past couple of starts, and there's a little bit of hope that Slowey not only can turn things around this season, but also become an elite pitcher down the road. (Remember, he won 10 games before he got hurt last season.)

The other big news for the Twins is that Michael Cuddyer has been placed on the Berevement list to attend the funeral of his father-in-law. Cuddyer won't play tonight in the series finale vs. Seattle or any of the three games in Oakland, but should rejoin the team prior to Tuesday night's tilt against the Royals at Target Field.

To replace Cuddyer on the roster, the Twins called up "Third Baseman of the Future" Danny Valencia. Valencia is batting .292 with 0 HR and 24 RBI so far at AAA Rochester this year. I'm a little bit confused why the Twins didn't bring up a right handed outfielder to replace Cuddyer, but whatever. Valencia will get the same thing Plouffe got earlier this month. He'll play a handful of games, then go back down to the minor leagues. The plan seems to be that Valencia will play 3rd and Nick Punto will play at 2nd, as Orlando Hudson continues to recover from a wrist injury. It will be interesting to see how the kid does this weekend.

Ken Griffey Jr. Retires
When I was growing up, there were two baseball players that every kid knew in Rochester. Kirby Puckett and Ken Griffey Jr. Griffey simply was fun to watch over his 21 1/2 year career. You never knew what exciting play he would come up with next. It was a priviledge to watch him play, and if you saw him in person, it was really special.

He always came to the ballpark with a smile on his face, and was always open to talking to younger players, something he learned from Puckett. Puckett reached out to Junior at the beginning of his career, and the two were great friends up until Puckett's death in 2006.

The best thing about Junior was that although he cranked 630 home runs, he never was mentioned once for performance enhancing drugs. If he ever is, it will be the day baseball dies for me. Griffey is someone that all little kids can look up to and admire, and that's a good thing. If it weren't for injury, Griffey might have surpassed Hank Aaron's 755 career home runs for first all time. (I refuse to count Bonds' 762 career bombs until we know more about his alleged drug use.)

The Stanley Cup Playoffs
I think we're going to get a good series here. Although Chicago is up 2-1, you can make the argument that Philly could also be up 2-1. Michael Leighton has played well the past two games, and I think that the series is going to come down to the goaltending matchup between Leighton and Antti Niemi. I'm looking forward to see what happens in Game 4, a game which I think the Flyers can tie the series up. If they can, I fully expect this thing to be a great 6 to 7 game series for the Cup.

The NBA Finals
First, can ESPN please get off the NBA finals for 5 minutes of Sportscenter? I turned it on this morning to talk about the top 10 players in the NBA Finals. Considering there are only 24 players involved, it's a waste of time to talk about who is better than who. Besides, it's just as scripted as pro wrestling. (Which, when you think about it, Jim Joyce could have pulled a great screwjob last night. "Perfect game into the 9th! There's one! There's two! There's...THAT'S THREE...THREE...THREE DAMN YOU THREE!!!! NOOOOO!!!")

The Lakers will win in 6 games and Kobe Bryant will hit buzzer beaters to win Games 1 and 5. Write it down. Also, Kevin Garnett will also drop an F-Bomb over the air to cause many ABC affiliates to be fined big dollars. Then he'll somehow blame the Wolves for not letting him win the series and a second NBA Championship.