Kevin Durant to Debut Tonight?

It is still not official, but it appears that Kevin Durant will be making his NBA debut tonight in Denver against the Nuggets. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN and will begin at 10:30 EST.

Schilling Starts Begging Process

Curt Schilling announced yesterday that there are 13 teams he would consider playing for next season, with the Boston Red Socks on the top of the list. Following his most recent team are the Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles, San Diego Padres and the Milwaukee Brewers.

“There are a million little things that go into this from stadiums to school districts to travel to spring training to etc. etc. etc.,” Schilling wrote on his blog, “but the list represents the teams after Boston that have some of the off the field things that are big to us, plus the potential to go into October next year.”

Schilling seems to have forgotten that the above teams also need to be desperate enough to sign a 41-year old pitcher who does not talk to the media and has been known to speak his mind whenever the hell he feels like it.

ESPN deemed it necessary to note that the New York Yankees were not included on the list, as if they would be interested in a player who has publicly ridiculed them for most of the past decade and brings nothing positive to the clubhouse or the field.

Schilling claims that he is looking for a one-year contract and announced earlier this season that he would like his pay to be similar to this past season, which earned him $13 million. Though most of the teams that he listed could potentially afford that price tag, they would have to recognize that flushing it down the toilet would probably be a better option.

He is tied for 79th overall in career victories, which leaves him 14 behind Jamie Moyer, 23 behind David Wells and 34 behind Mike Mussina.

NBA on LairdNYC

Kobe drops 45 points on opening night in a home loss to the Houston Rockets, who were led by Tracy McGrady who dropped 30 and Yao Ming who had 25 and 12.

LaMarcus Aldridge showed he might be a good foundation for the future, scoring 27 points last night against Tim Duncan (or whoever the Spurs had covering him).

And how about that game from Carlos Boozer? 32 points, 15 rebounds and zero blocks. Andrei Kirilenko, who was willing to give up the $60 million owed to him to not play for Jerry Sloan, almost finished with a triple double, scoring nine points, grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out eight assists. To make it even better, he also had five blocks.

A solid night in the NBA, which will lead to me expense some random thoughts for the season:

– Memphis is going to be much better than people think and it will have nothing to do with Mike Conley, Jr.

– Indiana may have had a good pre-season, but there is no way they are making the playoffs.

– Golden State will also be on the outside looking in come June.

– Despite his good FIBA Americas Tournament, Carmelo Anthony will not be anywhere near the top of the MVP voting. Look for names like Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Kevin Garnett, Yao Ming, Gilbert Arenas and LeBron James to be in front of him.

– Even though we’ve heard great things about Kenyon Martin’s comeback, he won’t play more than 50 games this year…

– …And neither will Grant Hill.

– Minnesota will NOT be the worst team in the league this year…

– …And neither will Seattle….

– …It’s going to be Clippers.

– Atlanta is going to be much better than they’ve been, but they still aren’t going to make the playoffs.

– People have been sleeping on Toronto because of how much Boston has improved, but the Raptors will finish ahead of at least the Nets this year.

– Milwaukee is going to the playoffs and Michael Redd is going to have a great year.

– Kobe is going to win the scoring title, no matter who he plays for.

– Miami will miss the playoffs again.

– And Washington will be back in the playoffs, but will be much more dangerous because they will have Agent 0, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison all healthy.

– Kevin Durant will lead all rookies in scoring and it will be enough to win Rookie of the Year. Al Horford will finish right behind him.

– Rashard Lewis’ scoring will be up this year, but the team will be completely dependent on Dwight Howard…

– …and the Magic won’t make the playoffs.

– The Eastern Conference playoffs will look like this:
(1) Detroit over (8) New Jersey
(2) Chicago over (7) Milwaukee
(3) Boston over (6) Cleveland
(4) Washington over (5) Toronto

Washington over Detroit
Chicago over Boston

Chicago over Washington

– The Western Conference playoffs will look like this:
(1) San Antonio over (8) New Orleans
(2) Phoenix over (7) Memphis
(6) Denver over (3) Dallas
(4) Houston over (5) Utah

San Antonio over Houston
Phoenix over Denver

San Antonio over Phoenix

– San Antonio repeats as NBA Champions.

– If Eddy Curry is healthy and plays to his abilities, the Knicks will go 30-52 and there will be no repercussions against Isiah Thomas.

– If Eddy Curry is not healthy and is forced to miss the entire season, the Knicks will go 82-0 and will be remembered as the greatest team in the history of the NBA.

– Marc Iavaroni will win Coach of the Year.

– Danny Ainge will win Executive of the Year and thank Kevin McHale in his acceptance press release.

– First Team All-NBA: Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Gilbert Arenas, Steve Nash

– Second Team All-NBA: Yao Ming, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Michael Redd, LeBron James

– Third Team All-NBA: Pau Gasol, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade

– Tim Duncan wins his third MVP.

Yanks Agree with Girardi

ESPN’s Buster Olney is reporting that Joe Girardi has agreed to accept a three-year, $7.5 million contract to be the next manager of the New York Yankees. Girardi, who has three World Series rings from his time as a player in New York, was the National League Manager of the Year in 2006 while with the Florida Marlins. Though his award-winning season in Florida was his lone as a manager, he also worked previously as a bench coach under Joe Torre.

The former catcher beat out Yankee superstar Don Mattingly, who was Torre’s bench coach this past season, and former Royals manager and Yankees first base coach Tony Pena for the job. According to Olney, Girardi would be interested in bringing in former Cubs pitcher Mike Harkey as his pitching coach. No decisions have been made in regards to the other coaching opportunities, but Larry Bowa, Pena and Mattingly will not be returning.

The choice of Girardi could also play a roll in the Yankee free agents, who have yet to decide whether they will rejoin the club or not. Catcher Jorge Posada played at the same time as Girardi and it wasn’t clear whether the two had a positive relationship together. Andy Pettitte might be a little easier, as Girardi was his personal catcher when he played in the 1990s and early 2000s. There doesn’t seem to be an indication whether Mariano Rivera cared who was chosen between Mattingly or Girardi.

Mattingly has been involved in rumors recently that have him following Joe Torre out to California to join the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles. Though Grady Little is currently under contract with the club, it is expected that he would be fired if Torre were willing to move across the country to manage the team he used to cheer for while the team was still in Brooklyn. Mattingly would join Torre as his bench coach once again and could potentially coach his son Preston, who was drafted by the club in 2006.

Mangini (FINALLY) Turns to Clemens

New York Jets head coach Eric Mangini announced today that Kellen Clemens will be the starting quarterback this Sunday when the team takes on the Washington Redskins at Giants Stadium. Chad Pennington will finally assume the roll he was destined to play this season, wearing a headset and holding a clipboard. Mangini tried to play the decision off as a result of a team issue, but it’s clear that the top problem this year was at the quarterback position.

“I made this decision not based on singling out Chad for where we are, but based on the fact that I think Kellen has earned this opportunity,” Mangini said. “I want to give him this opportunity. It’s in no way an indication that Chad is solely responsible. We all are.”

Clemens, who is not only able to throw the ball hard, but far as well, takes over a struggling Jets team that is now 1-7 and has lost their last 5 games. Pennington has been atrocious during the losing streak and deserved this benching two weeks ago.

Mangini refused to solidify Clemens as the starting quarterback for the rest of the season, but felt that he earned a least one start for having to watch Pennington almost single handedly destroy the Jets season this year.

The former Oregon quarterback is in his second season in the NFL. He was the 17th pick in the second round of the 2006 Draft.

Pennington Breaks Interception Streak, Jets Still Lose

Chad Pennington went 13-20 for 106 yards and no touchdowns yesterday, as the New York Jets lost their fifth straight game and seventh of the season. Though Pennington did not throw an interception for the first time in four games, his complete inability to get the Jets down field led to their three points in the entire game.

That’s right, three points. Against the Buffalo Bills. At home.

Eric Mangini MUST make the move to Kellen Clemens at this point. Pennington is not only losing ballgames, he is also losing receivers. Jets #1 wide receiver Laveraues Coles was smashed in the fourth quarter while jumping up to catch a Pennington “pass.” As Coles caught the ball at the height of his jump, Bills cornerback Terrence McGee crushed him from behind, as the soft and hight throw from Pennington left Coles completely vulnerable to that kind of hit. Coles’ chest and head slammed to the turf and he remained face-down for nearly five minutes at trainers looked him over. He was finally able to walk off the field under his own accord.

Clearly Eric Mangini knows something about Kellen Clemens that he doesn’t like, or else he would have made the switch already. The difficulty is, he’s never stated what it is. Regardless, Pennington is not giving the Jets their best chance to win and the coach needs to finally recognize that and bench Chad Pennington.

Alex Rodriguez Opts Out of Largest Sports Contract in History

Alex Rodriguez, the greatest regular season player in baseball today, has decided to opt out of his 10-year $252 million contract with the New York Yankees, according to his agent Scott Boras. The ex-Yankees third baseman was due to make $72 million over the next three years and also apparently rejected a 5-year $150 million extension that the Yankees were set to offer him, trumping the previous record for a per-year salary in the game.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman had previously stated that if Rodriguez opted out of his deal, the Yankees would not be at the bargaining table against other teams. Because of that point, many believed that the most money would come from the Yankees and therefore Rodriguez would take it. In the end, the money wasn’t enough.

“It’s clear he didn’t want to be a Yankee,” Hank Steinbrenner told the New York Daily News. “He doesn’t understand the privilege of being a Yankee on a team where the owners are willing to pay $200 million to put a winning product on the field. I don’t want anybody on my team that doesn’t want to be a Yankee.”

Though he had until 10 days following the end of the World Series, Rodriguez apparently made his decision before the Series even ended. It’s not apparent who will be the leading candidates to sign the regular-season slugger, but it’s clear now that it will not be the Yankees. Whoever it is, Boras thinks there is someone out there who could trump the 8-years $230 million that the Yankees were willing to give the slugger.

Boras noted that the uncertainty with the Yankees managerial situation, as well as the stances of free agents Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte contributed to Rodriguez’s decision. I don’t buy that for a second, as Rodriguez still has 10 days to consider his options and the Yankees are expected to make their decision regarding their new manager early this week. Additionally, it’s expected the Yankees will offer Rivera and Posada 3-year $40 million contracts each, which should be enough to keep both players in pinstripes for the rest of their careers.

The Yankees are now in search of a third baseman for the first time since they last won the World Series, when Aaron Boone was a major contributor to the ball club in October (something Rodriguez was completely unable to duplicate). Because it’s the Yankees, one can assume that some of the best third basemen in baseball will be on their target list, most notably Miguel Cabrera from the Florida Marlins. Though he is a major liability with his glove, his bat may be enough to overcome that factor. Additionally, Joe Girardi, who appears to be the front-runner for the Yankees managerial position, managed Cabrera in Florida when he won the NL Manager of the Year.

What Happened to the NBA?

I can safely say that I now know three people who are fans of the NBA. Not necessarily fans of a specific team, but people who can sit down and watch a random NBA game for more than five seconds. I’ve grown up as a Knicks fan and the last couple of years have really taken the wind out of those who follow the team. At my age (26), Patrick Ewing is the greatest basketball player we’ve ever seen in the city. We lived and died with every John Starks shot (and man were there lots of them). We remember Charles Oakley’s intensity and his knack of always reminding people that HE was the toughest guy on the court. And who could ever forget Larry Johnson’s four-point play? We also know that even though Allan Houston won Game 5 of the Miami Heat series in 1999 on a last second runner, he was also the reason the team has been crippled ever since (6-years, $100 million?????).

Lately, the Knicks have been the joke of the NBA. Isiah Thomas has become a running punchline and the only time he escapes this position, it’s quickly filled by his boss Jimmy Dolan, who runs the company that owns the team. The demise of the Knicks is only a small part of the reason why the NBA is struggling so much now, but it’s important to include it in any conversation. Knicks games used to be fun, exciting, a place to be seen (for celebrities who care at least). They were the only team in the biggest city and the top media market in the country. When the Knicks were good, they carried the city.

These days, no one cares. Well, maybe not no one, but fewer people watch the Knicks now than they ever did in my lifetime. There is no more Patrick Ewing; a real face of the franchise who could get 20,000 people to stand up and scream whenever he wanted, simply by raising his arms. Gone is the excitement that comes with having a truly competitive team that proves night in and night out that they are the toughest team in the league and you are going to have to play your best to beat them.

Today, games at the Garden are never full, something that I wouldn’t have ever been able to imagine ten years ago. As each season brings more losses, ticket prices continue to climb. At this point, the average fan simply cannot afford to see the Knicks in person. How the team is able to charge more for fewer wins is beyond me. The courtside seats are still taken, but it’s clear that the fans of the 80s and 90s aren’t the ones sitting there anymore. It’s become too corporate, somewhere to take clients, which is fine except that none of them really care about being there. They see it as sitting courtside at a basketball game, not at a Knicks game.

Sexual harassment cases aside, I think the biggest problem these days is that the team isn’t defined by a single player anymore. The idea that individual performances aren’t as important as team play is a nice idea, but every team has a face of the franchise (or sometimes two). Cleveland has LeBron, the Lakers (for now) have Kobe, Miami has Shaq and Dwyane Wade. The Knicks try to say they have Stephon Marbury, who should be the perfect face of the franchise because he was born and raised in New York, as a Knicks fan. Everyone who plays basketball growing up pictures themselves playing for their favorite team and Marbury actually gets to do that. Unfortunately, the team is in such disarray that he can’t take advantage of this amazing opportunity.

Philosophically, Isiah Thomas has given the franchise to a man who never went to college and was drafted into the NBA because of his potential. Though only 24 years old, he is entering his seventh season on the professional level. He is 6’11” and has never averaged more than 8 rebounds per game despite playing a position that REQUIRES rebounding skills. Even worse, at that height, his career high in blocked shots for a season is 1.1 per game, which he did four season ago.

I bring up the college factor for a number of reasons. Clearly college isn’t for everyone who plays in the NBA and many have become superstars without a single game as a college player. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett have all thrived on the NBA level and there are plenty who are ready to follow in their footsteps, namely Dwight Howard and Amare Stoudemire to name a couple. The NBA recently instituted a new rule where players must have at least one year of college experience before they enter the NBA; this was mainly in response to those who did not take the steps of those listed previously.

Going back to the Knicks, the offense has, and apparently will continue, to revolve around 24 year old Eddy Curry. Curry set career highs in points per game and rebounds per game last season with 19.5 and 7.1, respectively. Head Coach Isiah Thomas has repeatedly said in the media that Curry is the focal point of the offense, which is a philosophy shared by many in the NBA. San Antonio runs their offense through Tim Duncan, Houston runs theirs through Yao Ming. Heck, going back a little, the success of the Knicks in the mid 80s through the 90s was based on the fact that the offense ran through Patrick Ewing. Unfortunately for Knicks fans, Curry still has a long way to go before he can even be included in the same breath as the previous three mentioned.

It’s clear that Curry missed a large piece of the learning process when he decided to bypass college for the millions of dollars that NBA teams were dangling in front of him back in 2001. He doesn’t rebound with two hands. He rarely jumps to block shots. He plays defense with his arms instead of his feet. These are all basic techniques that are learned in high school and perfected in college that he never picked up in the NBA. Great players are those who are able to learn in their new surroundings. It’s why Kobe, KG and LeBron are on the level that they are. They knew that they missed important instruction in college and worked hard to make up the difference. It has become obvious that Eddy Curry did not take that necessary step.

So while the Knicks continue to struggle, New York has all but given up on the NBA. Not only is there no Patrick Ewing on the team, there doesn’t appear to be one on the horizon. Acquisitions such as Zach Randolph, Jerome James and Jared Jeffries aren’t exactly reviving the eight million potential fans who call New York home. Plus, thanks to the Eddy Curry trade, the Knicks have been without a top draft pick for a number of years, despite playing simply well enough to get out of the cellar (which is usually followed by a high spot in the draft).

As much as I want to believe that each new season brings a renewed possibility of greatness, I am far from convinced that my hometown team can deliver. Instead of buying tickets to see the Knicks beat LeBron James and the Cavaliers, I am simply buying them to watch LeBron. I don’t even consider the idea that the Knicks could win. Unfortunately, the simple step of going to the game is more than most people are willing to do these days. You used to buy tickets for Knicks vs. Rockets to see Patrick Ewing face up against Hakeem Olajuwon. Or maybe be lucky enough to land Knicks vs. Pacers playoff tickets to see Reggie Miller up against John Starks (and Spike Lee really). These days, we’re buying tickets to see how many points Kobe will drop as the Lakers beat a Knicks team that looks ready to roll over before the opening tipoff.

Look, I love the NBA and I think I can honestly say I know a few others who do too. The problem is that now so many people just hate it. New Yorkers refuse to watch the Knicks because of how bad the team is and as a result, they discredit the league as a whole. TV ratings are the worst they have ever been, mostly because small market teams have found a way to succeed in a way that bigger market teams can’t lock down. NBA Finals match ups of San Antonio vs. Cleveland (combined population of roughly 1.78 million) aren’t bringing in any New York viewers, even though Cleveland has the most dynamic player in the league since Michael Jordan. Without the Knicks in the hunt, there is no reason to watch. People used to tune into an Indiana vs. Detroit series because they could get a look at who the Knicks would play later in the playoffs. Now, there are more jokes about the Knicks playoff chances than there are women who had sex with Wilt Chamberlain (about 20,000 for those counting at home).

Whether they know it or not, the NBA needs the Knicks. Without a following in the largest city in the country, the NBA is missing out on millions of viewers. Though there are significant efforts being made to “internationalize” the game, what the NBA is really doing is alienating the fans that the league was built on. Unfortunately for the league as a whole, the Knicks aren’t helping the cause.

Villanova Ranked #25 in first Coaches Poll

Villanova University is ranked #25 in the first ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll this season, which was announced today. Five teams overall from the Big East made the Top 25, but Villanova was the surprising fifth, as Big East coaches tabbed them to finish seventh in the conference behind the four ranked schools, Syracuse and always heavily overrated Connecticut.

The ESPN/USA Today poll is voted on by a panel of 31 Division I head coaches. According to Wikipedia:

Beginning in 1993, USA Today and CNN took over publishing the coaches’ basketball poll for UPI. Beginning in the 1993-1994 basketball season, the coaches poll began publishing its final poll after the NCAA basketball tournament. From 1995 to 2001, the poll was co-sponsored by USA Today and the NABC. Finally, in 2002, ESPN joined as a co-sponsor of the Coaches Poll along with USA Today and the National Association of Basketball Coaches where select NABC members serve as the voting block for the poll. ESPN retains its involvement with the basketball poll despite no longer being involved with the football poll.

1. North Carolina
2. UCLA
3. Memphis
4. Kansas
5. Georgetown
6. Louisville
7. Tennessee
8. Michigan State
9. Indiana
10. Washington State
11. Duke
12. Marquette
13. Oregon
14t. Gonzaga
14t. Texas A&M
16. Texas
17. Arizona
18. USC
19. Arkansas
20. Pittsburgh
21. Stanford
22. Kentucky
23. Southern Illinois
24. North Carolina State
25. Villanova

Big-Boned Walker Traded to Minnesota, Heading Elsewhere?

The Miami Heat traded overweight power (eating) forward Antoine Walker to the Minnesota Timberwolves today, along with Michael Doleac, Wayne Simien and a conditional first round draft pick in exchange for Ricky Davis and Mark Blount. However, before the trade could even be made official, Minnesota GM Kevin McHale made it sound like he was far from done dealing.

“It’s a deal that I’m not sure all the players are going to report here,” McHale said of the trade with Miami. “We’ve got to make sure all the players are healthy. We’ve got some other stuff that we’re probably going to do inside this deal. There’s a lot of business going on. We’ll see what happens.”

The Timberwolves currently have 18 players on the roster and must trim that down to 15 before the regular season starts. Suffice to say, one could bet that McHale has already tried to contact sucker GM Isiah Thomas to try to unload Walker.

My guess is that the Knicks trade for Walker and guards Marko Jaric and Sebastian Telfair in exchange for either Renaldo Balkman or Wilson Chandler and Jared Jeffries.

When asked regarding the possible trade, longtime Knick fan Matt Luisi responded by saying “at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if Isiah traded the entire team for Joe Dumars, Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman, so that the three of them could team up with him and assistant coach Mark Aguirre to relive their glory days.”