Top 10: Without a Ring

It's time for another installment of Top 10. This time we are breaking down the top 10 names in sports who have yet to reach the top of the mountain ... aka ... winning a ring and the title. After each players name I will give them a percent chance of winning one before they retire. Note: I will include players who have had a substantial amount of years professionally already, so Lebron James, Chase Utley, an Adrian Peterson will not be included in the list.

10. Jason Taylor - Miami Dolphins - DE --> 10%

09. Grant Hill - Phoenix Suns - SF --> 25%

08. Terrell Owens - Dallas Cowboys - WR --> 80%

07. Steve Nash - Phoenix Suns - PG --> 50%

06. Donovan McNabb - Philadelphia Eagles - QB --> 30%

05. Jason Kidd - Dallas Mavericks - PG --> 40%

04. Randy Moss - New England Patriots - WR --> 85%

03. Allen Iverson - Denver Nuggets - PG --> 30%

02. Alex Rodriguez - New York Yankees - 3B --> 75%

01. Ken Griffey Jr. - Cincinatti Reds - RF --> 05%

Agree or Disagree? Anyone else I missed?

3 Managers Fired in a Week

It's officially baseball season when the trade rumors are swirling and the managers begin to get fired!

This week there has been 3 managers fired in the past week from under-achieving teams.

June 20 - The Toronto Blue Jays fired manager John Gibbons. Gibbons, who became manager midway through the 2004 season, had a record of 305-305 with the Blue Jays. His best season was in 2006, when the Blue Jays went 87-75 to finish second in the AL East. The Blue Jays replaced him with Cito Gaston who previously managed the team for 9 seasons. Gibbons had BOOB written all over him after altercations with Shea Hillenbrand and Ted Lilly in recent years. If only he could have gotten hit hitters to actually hit and provide for the rotation.

June 19 - The Seattle Mariners fired manager John McLaren and The Mariners are 25-47, 17½ games behind the first-place Los Angeles Angels in the AL West. McLaren will be replaced in the interim by bench coach Jim Riggleman. McLaren went 68-88 in less than a full season on the job. After McLaren's blowup a week or so ago and the basement standing in the AL West, it was only a matter of time. Other major shakeups in the organization should be occuring sooner rather than later, a la Richie Sexon and Erik Bedard.

June 17 - The New York Mets decided to fire manager Willie Randolph at approximately 3:15 AM Tuesday morning after a victory over the Angels in Anaheim. Willie was 302 - 253 in 3 and 1/2 seasons with the Mets including a September collapse last season that lead to missing the playoffs. Willie lead the Mets to within one game of the World Series in 2006 against St. Louis. It was kind of an odd situation to fire a manager 1 game into a west coast road trip, and even after a victory! Willie has enough friends in the league that he will latch on again perhaps with Joe Torre and the Dodgers or with Joe Girardi in New York again, if he so desires.

Celtics are Champs

Congrats to the Boston Celtics for winning the title, and big props go to Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce for getting their rings (and oh yes you too Sam Cassell). But first thing is first, and I must eat some crow.



On a post dated 11/01/2007, I wrote the following...



"Green Kool*Aid
Don't Sip the Kool*Aid on the Boston Celtics this year!Before the Celtics tip off their season, I just want to put it out there that I am not going to sip on that green kool-aid, celtic flavor. I do not think the Celtics will win the NBA Championship, nor do I think they will win the East. Sure, the Celtics will be a tough team to play against, but they draw similar comparisons to the '03-'04 LA Lakers. The Lakers team that included Kobe, Shaq, Karl Malone,and Gary Payton."





Boy, was I wrong.



Not only was this team the complete real deal composed of 3 superstars who each scaled back their egos and games to compliment each other, but their role players were ideal for this team. Savy Vets like Cassell and PJ Brown, lock-down defender like James Posey, 3-point threats like Eddie House and Tony Allen, and young big men like Leon Powe, Big Baby, and Kendrick Perkins and oh yes an ever improving point guard in Rajon Rondo all contributed significantly to the title run.



I did predict the Celtics to win the finals and I did feel that they were not receiving enough credit against the Lakers, and the C's basically exploited every Laker weakness and forced Kobe into countless uncomforatable offensive situations.

These are the finals the NBA wanted and I do not think it is to far-fetched to predict a repeat finals next year. This was one of the most compelling NBA seasons in recent memory with the parity in the West, the return on Celtic basketball, the Hornets, Chris Paul emerging, Lebron continuing to improve, new stars like Kevin Durant and Brandon Roy, and oh yes the NBA still has a guy named Greg Oden waiting to debut.

More thoughts on the Finals to come. But for now, I wanna hear your thoughts on the Finals!

Hank Steinbrenner

Hank Steinbrenner is like that spoiled kid in your 4th grade class, who likes to brag about what he has and nothing is ever his fault.

OK, so let me briefly explain why I feel this way.

“My only message is simple,” Steinbrenner said in Tampa, Fla. “The National League needs to join the 21st century. They need to grow up and join the 21st century.”
Steinbrenner said he was angry and added: “I’ve got my pitchers running the bases, and one of them gets hurt. He’s going to be out. I don’t like that, and it’s about time they address it. That was a rule from the 1800s.”

Mr. Hank Steinbrenner made these comments after pitcher Chien-Ming Wang was sidelined for up to 10 weeks because of a foot injury suffered as a result of jogging home on a play in Houston over the weekend. As a result Hank is blaming the NL because of his pitcher's injury. No, of course it is not just a circumstance-related incident. Coming from the same guy who would not trade Kennedy, Hughes or Joba for Johan (by the way, they have a combined 1 win) and also dogged Mike Mussina early in the season.

Actually, you know what Hank the American League is what is wrong with baseball. Get rid of the DH! It's an excuse for lazy players and players who can not field to continue playing, a la Jason Giambi, David Ortiz, Travis Hafner to name a few. Pitchers are athletes and fielders as well and should be obligated to bat as well.

The moral of the story though is Hank Steinbrenner please, please, please shut your mouth. You continue to give talk-show hosts, on-air personalities, etc. ammo to continue to mock you because of your ridiculous statements!

Top 10: Teams I dislike very much...

Coming from a Philadelphia perspective and bias, this list should not be to surprising! Anyway, on with yet another list!

Honorable Mentions: New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Knicks

10. Detroit Pistons

09. Baltimore Ravens

08. Atlanta Braves

07. Washington Redskins

06. Los Angeles Lakers

05. New England Patriots

04. New York Giants

03. New York Yankees

02. Dallas Cowboys

01. New York Mets

Which teams in sports do you hate the most?

Cleaning Up the Mess

Get out the brooms and garbage bags... it is time to once again Clean Up The Mess..

MLB NEWS:

- Thunderstorms cancelled the final Hall of Fame game today between the Padres and the Cubs
- Seattle Mariners General Manager Bill Bavasi has been fired
- Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang has been sidelined for at least 6 weeks because of a foot injury suffered Sunday
- New York Mets acquired OF Trot Nixon from the Arizona Diamondbacks
- Mariners placed JJ Putz on the DL


NFL NEWS:

- Former Dolphin WR Marcus Vick was arrested with a D.U.I.
- Former Bengals WR Chris Henry has been suspended for the entire 2008 season
- Former Patriots LB Roosevelt Colvin will sign with the Houston Texans
- Offensive Lineman Johnathan Ogden of the Ravens retired after 12 seasons in the NFL


NBA NEWS:

- Players who recently declared staying in the 2008 Draft: Joe Alexander (WVU), Mario Chalmers (Kansas), Marreese Speights (Florida)
- Chicago Bulls introduced Vinny Del Negro as their new Head Coach
- Atlanta Hawks and Mike Woodson agreed on a 2 year contract extension


GRAB BAG NEWS:
- Capitals Winger Alexander Ovechkin was awarded the League MVP award
- Sportscaster Charlie Jones dies of a heart attack

Top 10: Father - Son Combinations

First of all, Happy Father's Day to all of the Pop's out there. As you know, Myself and others love to put together lists in sports and I figured I would put together a quick list of the top 10 father - son combinations in sports through out history.

10. Dale Earnhardt & Dale Earnhardt Jr. - NASCAR
Dale: Multiple Time Sprint Cup Series Winner, Daytona 500 Winner, Hall of Famer
Jr.: Daytona 500 Winner, 5-Time NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award

09. Bob Boone & Bret Boone & Aaron Boone - BASEBALL
Bob: 4 Time All-Star, 7 Time Gold Glove Winner
Bret: 3 Time All-Star, 2 Time Silver Slugger, 4 Time Gold Glove Winner
Aaron: claim to fame is his 11th inning home run during Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS

08. Prince Fielder & Cecil Fielder - BASEBALL
Prince: 50 Home Runs in a season
Cecil: '96 World Series Champion, 3 Time All-Star, 319 Career Home Runs

07. Jack Buck and Joe Buck - BROADCASTING
Jack: Won the Ford C. Frick Award for significant contributions to baseball as an announcer
Joe: Broadcaster for FOX for baseball and football

06. Calvin Hill & Grant Hill - FOOTBALL & BASKETBALL
Calvin: NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, 4 time Pro Bowler
Grant: 7 Time All-Star, Rookie of the Year, Olympic Gold Medal

05. Felipe Alou & Moises Alou - BASEBALL
Felipe: 3 time All Star, Manager of the Year
Moises: 6 Time All Star, 2 Time Silver Slugger

04. Bobby Bonds & Barry Bonds - BASEBALL
Bobby: All Star Game MVP, 3 Time Gold Glove and All-Star
Barry: 7 Time NL MVP, 14 Time All-Star, 762 Career Home Runs, 73 Home Runs in a Season

03. Bobby Hull & Brett Hull - HOCKEY
Bobby: Hockey Hall of Famer, 12th leading goal scorer in NHL history
Brett: 3rd all time in career goals, won 2 Stanley Cups, Hart Trophey (MVP) Winner

02. Ken Griffey Sr. & Ken Griffey Jr. - BASEBALL
SR.: All Star Game MVP, 3 Time All Star, 2 World Series Rings
JR.: 600 Career Home Runs, MVP, 13 Time All Star

01. Archie Manning & Peyton Manning & Eli Manning - FOOTBALL
Archie: All-Pro, 2 time Pro-Bowler
Peyton: 8 Time Pro Browler, Super Bowl MVP, 2 Time Regular Season MVP
Eli: Super Bowl MVP, Maxwell Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award


There you have it in my opinion the top 10 Father-Son combinations in sports. Who are your favorite combo's in history? Do Comment Below.