TEAM USA Or TEAM NIKE?

To those wondering what happened to the days of the USA blowing teams out on their way to winning gold year-after-year, I may have an answer. It also appeals to the people that say shoe contracts and endorsements have ruined team sports. 10 of the 12 members of Team USA that we will be sending to the Olympics this year are signed to endorsements with Nike. The only members not signed to Nike is Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade. Also, the coach of the team is Mike Krzyzewski, another member of Nike. Mavs owner brought up the point that the Olympics are no longer a show of patriotism, but as a chance for shoe companies to showcase their gear on a global stage, where (surprise!) Nike is the sponsor of TEAM USA. I'm not saying the team chosen this year is full of talentless Nike people, I think this team very well might win gold. However, I was wondering how Jason Kidd made the team as their 3rd point guard after showing he's no longer the player he used to be, while the team has one true center (Howard). Where is Tracy McGrady, Tim Duncan, Gilbert Arenas, Chauncey Billups, Baron Davis, Allen Iverson, even Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose? I may be wrong, but Cuban has a point when speaking of TEAM USA.

Winners And Losers From The NBA Draft

Now that it looks like all the deals are probably done, we can all hate our teams GMs (Larry Bird) and the teams that ripped them off (Blazers).

And the BIGGEST WINNER from the 2008 NBA Draft is...
THE PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS!
Why: For the 2nd straight year, the Blazers had a great 1st pick, and finished with great picks later in the draft. The Blazers-Pacers trade is pretty one-sided to me and I'm still trying to figure out why the Pacers did it. Bayless can be a star in this league and fits well with B-Roy in the backcourt. Also, grabbing Nicolas Batum after trading Darrell Arthur was good, although I liked Arthur to begin with. With Oden back, Bayless, Batum, and Rudy Fernandez (who I've heard would be a top 10 pick had he entered this draft, the future is extremely bright and unfair to any other team.

Other winners:
Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat: Rose and Beasley....'Nuff said.

New Jersey Nets-Added depth to the frontcourt and made cap room for when King James decides to come to Brooklyn when the Nets move.

Seattle Sonics-With the future the Sonics have, it's easy to see why the city wants them to stay. Westbrook will be a lockdown defender and contribute scoring immediately to lighten the load for Kevin Durant. Ibaka is an athletic freak although he won't play in the NBA for a few years. And DJ White will be a solid contributor off the bench.


Los Angeles Lakers- So they traded away Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenten, and the 28th pick for Pau? Nice job Mitch Kupchak. I still would've liked to see a Odom-trade though.

Boston Celtics- Giddens is a lottery talent, if he matures this was the steal of the night. Bill Walker has a lot of potential as well.

LOSERS
...And the biggest losers of the 2008 NBA Draft is...The INDIANA PACERS
Why: First off, let me state that I love the Jermaine trade for the Pacers. He needed to go and they got a decent pick, a starter (TJ Ford), and cap relief after Nesterovic is off the books next year. But they screwed the draft up. Drafting Bayless was a genius move even if they do have too many point guards, Bayless was by far the best available. Then trading him for Brandon Rush boggled my mind. Bird said their "untouchable" players were Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger, a shooting guard and a small forward. So who do you draft? A SG/SF??? Makes no sense when you need help everywhere else, you draft your strength? Still don't get it. And Hibbert will be a decent player but nothing special.

Other losers...

Milwaukee Bucks-I liked the trade for Jefferson for both teams, but then they draft Joe Alexander who is pretty much the same player as Jefferson.

Dallas Mavericks-Traded 1st rounder in the J-Kidd trade that hurt them for the near future and killed their long-term future.


Sacramento Kings-Shouldn't have taken Jason Thompson so high when I hadn't seen his name in the lottery anywhere. There were better players available and this provided the "Renaldo Balkman-What?!?" moment of the night.

How Would You Like To Be Traded For A Dozen Staplers?

A minor leaguer was traded today for 10 bats. No joke. John Odom was traded for 10 $69 maple baseball bats. Cash was offered but was considered an insult. And bats weren't? I swear I'm not making this up. Odom was signed to a team in the USA a month ago but couldn't get in the USA due to immigration problems. So his team traded him to Canada for some good wood.

Why LeBron James Is NOT The Best Player In The Game Today

First off, yes, this is a follow up to SpankDaddyx407's "Why Kobe Bryant Is Not The Best Player In The Game Today. After that was all about Kobe's flaws, I didn't think it was fair to point out ONLY Kobe's. I think the majority of real basketball fans agree with me when I say Kobe IS the best in the game right now. But if you've checked the link, you've already seen the argument. However, most of the arguing is circled around Kobe VS. Jordan, who obviously isn't in the game right now as a player. So here goes the Why LeBron isn't the best player right now argument. I must start out with that in 2-3 years, LeBron might very well be the best in the game and on his way to becoming one of the NBA's greatest. But the argument is for RIGHT NOW. Point number 1, he has no jump shot. Jordan's never had a great jumper, but it was much better than LeBron's ugly jump shot. I am confident that in a game of H-O-R-S-E, I could stand a shot at beating him. I can't say the same for Kobe. To be the best player in the game, I think you must be able to score in as many ways as possible and he can only score through bulling over everybody. Yes, he is dominant at that but that can be stopped. When Kobe gets the ball, he has so many options on how to score, it's near impossible to stop. With LeBron, all you have to do is sag off and give him space to shoot a jumper and hope he takes it, which many times he does, and a large majority of them end up with a CLANK. With the "LeBron has no teammates" argument many make. Yes, it's true that Kobe had Shaq for his 3 rings, but let's look at post-Shaq. Right now, Zydrunas Ilgauskas has made 2 all-star games compared to Pau Gasol's 1. Lamar Odom hasn't been dependable during his Lakers' tenure. Kobe's teammates are slightly better, but not THAT much better. Another point is that LeBron plays in the Eastern Conference. This is not his fault, but the East is like a minor league compared to the West. If the Cavs were a West team, they wouldn't have even made the playoffs and would be praying upon a ping-pong ball. In the west, there's more ball movement and teamwork involved where in the East, one player can get you to the playoffs. If Kobe would've been traded to Chicago like many thought at the beginning, he would average around 35 a game and Chicago would be a 3 seed in the playoffs. And one thing in SpankDaddy's article was off the court stuff. He says Kobe publicizes his stuff. Why would Kobe want everyone to know he was on trial for rape? He doesn't publicize his stuff, the media does. Why? Because the NBA wants LeBron to be the face of the league, not Kobe. No one talked about when LeBron went to a party with topless girls and took his toddler with him. But if Kobe did that, the media would be all over it. Kobe did not rape that girl and I can't think of any other problems he has gotten into. LeBron drives 120 mph down a freeway and isn't talked about. But back to the things that matter, on the court. Who do you want with the ball with 10 seconds left when you're team is down by 2? If you don't say Kobe, you must not like winning. LeBron is the anti-clutch. Kobe is the most clutch player in the game today. His ability to put his team on his back to win a game is unmatched. Also when you're up 2, who do you want guarding the ball, Kobe or LeBron? I'll ltake the one one with 8 All-Defensive teams. Bottom line is that right now, no one compares to Kobe. These, are why LeBron James is NOT the best in the game at this moment.

Best In The Game: Kobe or LeBron?

Ok, so me and and my friend at school, (Big UPS Corey) have had some pretty intense arguments about who's the best player in the NBA right now. I am on the Kobe side, as he is my favorite player and has been for as long as I can remember. He's on the LeBron side obviously. Now Corey isn't the most educated sports guy in the world, but he knows more than the average fan. So my question to you is simple: For one season and one season only, you are trying to win an NBA title this year, who do you take: Kobe, LeBron, or someone else?



The Great Debate:
Normally, a "LeBron's better than Kobe" statement wouldn't get on my nerves too much but when I argued, he gave me stupid reasons why he thinks LeBron is better. Here's a recap:
Corey says...
LeBron's a better defender
...better team player
...Kobe's a ballhog
...Kobe's a crybaby
...Kobe hasn't done anything without Shaq
...LeBron has 2 all-star MVP's (the most ridiculous reason, by far)
...LeBron's younger


Well, I argued Kobe has now been named to 8 all-defensive teams to LeBron' zero so there goes that point, LeBron is a better team player, I'll give him that. And NO, KOBE IS NOT A BALLHOG!!! He was a few years ago, but now that he has a TEAM, he has adjusted and does what is best for his team to win. Kobe hasn't done anything with Shaq except single handedly take his teams to the playoffs and be competitive which is all LeBron has ever done. Do I have to say anything about the all-star MVP bullcrap??? And LeBron's youth has nothing to do with this year so I disregard that argument.

I said Kobe is...
a MUCH better defender
a MUCH better shooter
not as bad as a team player as people think
more clutch
the closest thing to Jordan we'll ever see
a smarter player
more fundamental
...and on and on

So there's our argument...you're the jury, what's the verdict. LeBron or Kobe?

Patriots-Cowboys. Super Bowl Preview? Who's Gonna Win?

Today is the day we've all been waiting for. The battle of the unbeatens. As we've all heard a million times on ESPN, this might be a game we see around February called the Super Bowl. So here's a simple question, who's going to stay unbeaten after tonight?

Me personally...I'll take Patriots 31-20.

Who Is The Best Young Running Back?

A lot of questions are "Who is the best young QB in the league right now?". Well, I'm gonna show some love to the running backs. So the question is...Who is the best young running back in the NFL? To be considered "young", under my qualifications, this season must be the 3rd year of your NFL career or younger. So here are my candidates:

Reggie Bush, Saints
Joseph Addai, Colts
Laurence Maroney, Patriots
Adrian Peterson, Vikings
Marshawn Lynch, Bills
Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars
Cadillac Williams, Bucs
Ronnie Brown, Dolphins
Frank Gore, 49ers (Wow!, didn't know this is only his 3rd year and was a 3rd rounder)
Cedric Benson, Bears

As for my pick, I'll take Gore, Addai, and then Adrian. Gore showed he's one of the NFL's elite backs last year, Addai has been solid and was the only rookie for over 1000 rushing yards last year, and Peterson's been great so far and has such a high ceiling, but I have questions about his health so I'll take the safer picks.

If you think I'm missing a back who belongs, let me know!