Kobe Bryant <, >, or = Michael Jordan

So apparently, prior to the NBA Finals everybody was ready to put Kobe Bryant and the same dinner table as Michael Jordan in terms of greatest ever in the NBA. People were ready to assume he was going to go into Boston and take the title and let Phil also make claim as the greatest coach of all-time, surpassing Red.

Coming off of his MVP season, and relatively easy playoff run to the finals, who was going to doubt Kobe Bryant? The team had taken a relative 180 since opening night when he was shown the boo's from the home crowd, that was until they ran into Boston.

I will admit I was one of the first to doubt how successful the Celtics would be going into the season and again going into the playoffs having never played with each other before. I also did feel that they were significantly underrated going into this series. The Celtics were not 25-5 against the West by accident or 2-0 against the Lakers.

The main point here is that Kobe Bryant still does not deserve to be in the conversation with Jordan as the best ever. Considering a lot of opinions the list reads something like this...

1. Michael Jordan

2. Wilt Chamberlain

3. Bill Russell

Do not get me wrong, Kobe is the best current player in the NBA today, but I would like to see him with this title before people start giving him it without playing the series. Sure, he has not gotten a lot of help from "Mr . Softee" Pau Gasol or until last night Lamar Odom, but we are talking about the MVP here. His shooting so far has been dismal, in Game 4 he shot 6-19 and Game 1 09 of 26. To his credit Kobe did have 10 assists in Game 4. From what I gathered in last night's game it just seemed like Kobe was not getting involved early on and tried to turn it on to late, something similar to what Jordan would do. But if your team is up by 24 points Kobe, you should be trying to put the nail in the coffin and make sure your team does not lose that game! Was it not only 2 games earlier where the Lakers came back from a 24 point deficit to get within 2 points of leading the game??

Oh yes, and this supposed corner that Kobe has turned, let me point out that he was the one who left the court last night with 3 seconds left in the game and also made comments after the game saying, "A lot of wine, a lot of beer, couple shots...maybe 20 of them, digest it and get back to work".

http://www.truveo.com/Kobe-After-Game-4-I-Need-A-lot-Of-Beer-Tequila/id/124681640

What are your thoughts on Kobe Bryant? Where does he rank in terms of all-time greats?

Cleaning Up the Mess

The post titled "cleaning up the mess" will be a new feature on the blog that will basically just recap all the big stories and stories you may has missed over the recent couple days. The post will be similar to a "quick hits" type of segment. I hope you all enjoy!

NBA News:

- Detroit Pistons have named Michael Curry their new head coach on a 3-year deal

- Phoenix Suns introduced former Bucks' coach Terry Porter as their new head coach

- According to sources, the Chicago Bulls have offered their coaching vacancy to Vinny Del Negro

- Gilbert Arenas opted out of his final year of his 6 year deal with Washington as expected.

NFL News:

- Lito Sheppard is still absent from Eagles OTAs and practice

- After his recent DUI, Cedric Benson was released by the Chicago Bears

- After 15 years and the recent Super Bowl victory, Giants' DE Michael Strahan will retire (interesting to not the possible Hall of Fame class of Favre, Strahan, and Warren Sapp)

NHL News:

- Detroit Red Wings goalie Dominic Hasek will retire and certainly will be a Hall of Famer

MLB News:

- Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 600th Home Run tonight in front of about 30 people in Florida

- Seattle Mariners fired their hitting coach (I expect more moves of the like to occur)



Grab Bag News:

- Floyd Mayweather Jr. has apparently "retired" from Boxing

- Rafael Nadal won his 4th straight French Open

- Big Brown was unsuccessful in his bid to win the Triple Crown


Anything I missed?

Top 10: Other Sport Figures I would Pay to See...

Finally, I have comprised part 4 of 4 of the series of top 10 Athletes I would pay to see up close and personal. Considering my NHL knowledge is limited outside of the Flyers and the top teams of the league, I figured I would build a list of all other sports outside of the NBA, MLB, and NFL.

So without further ado...

TOP 10 "OTHER" PLAYERS I WOULD PAY THE PRICE OF ADMISSION FOR...

10. Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins - NHL)

09. Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona/Brazil - Soccer)

08. Rafael Nadal (Spain - Tennis)

07. Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitols - NHL)

06. David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy/England - Soccer)

05. Bernard Hopkins (Boxing)

04. Kimbo Slice (MMA)

03. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Boxing)

02. Roger Federer (Switzerland - Tennis)

01. Tiger Woods (Golf)


This was an interesting spin on the topic at hand. I tried to include people from all different sporting backgrounds and some athletes I do not necessarily like (Beckham, Crosby) but based upon their fame and talent, they are can't-miss people to pay to see.

I hope everyone enjoyed this little side topic.

Please do leave some feedback on your top 10 in the comment section below.

NBA Finals Preview!

LAKERS VS CELTICS

So, I am going to take a break from my 4-part series for a moment to take a look into the NBA Finals which kicks off tonight! As I am sure everyone knows by now, the Finals wil pit the Boston Celtics and the LA Lakers with Boston having the home-court advantage in a 2-3-2 format.

After doing some research, it appears a lot of the so-called experts are predicting the Lakers to win in either 5 or 6 games. Did I miss something? Did the Celtics not have the best record in all of basketball this past season? Sure, they have played 5 more playoff games than the Lakers and absolutely did the Atlanta Hawks make the Celtics look pretty damn vulnerable. But if you want to compare previous playoff matchups, I would have the say the Lakers had a bit of an easier task than did the Celtics. The Nuggets play absolutely ZERO defense, and seemingly backed their way into the playoffs. Let's be serious, the Jazz were never a legitimate contender in the West and failed to offer any real offensive threat. The Lakers did make the Spurs look like anything but a defending champion to their credit.

Let's take a brief look, position by position at the matchups going into Game 1...

POINT GUARD:
Derek Fisher v. Rajon Rondo
Fisher definitely provides the experience and the clutch shooting, while Rondo provides explosiveness and has impressed a lot of people by how much he has improved his game through out the season. However, I think Fisher with the Finals experience will be the better player in the series. Advantage: Fisher

SHOOTING GUARD:
Kobe Bryant v. Ray Allen
Well Kobe Bryant is the best player in the league right now, basically enough said. Ray Allen is a classic sniper and when his shot is on, he's one of the best shooters of all time from beyond the arc. The problem is IF Allen is on, and even then Kobe is not the league MVP for nothing.
Advantage: Bryant

SMALL FORWARD:
Vladimir Radmonavic v. Paul Pierce
Radmonavic is an outside shooter, who should not be more than a 3-point specialist off the bench role player, does not offer much for the Lakers. Pierce aka "The Truth", has undoubtably been the emotional leaders of the Boston Three Party and the Celtics. Pierce provides great defense and seems to be the go to guy when the game is on the line for the Celtics.
Advantage: Pierce

POWER FORWARD:
Lamar Odom v. Kevin Garnett
I do believe that Odom is one of the most underrated players in the NBA, and could basically be labeled as the X Factor for the Lakers. Odom can provide 20 points, 10 boards, and 5 assists on any given night with some sound defense. Garnett is much the same in that he provides everything for the Celtics and that also includes top flight defense and a presence that scares many from coming through the paint.
Advantage: Garnett

CENTER:
Pau Gasol v. Kendrick Perkins
Gasol was arguably the biggest steal of the season and has been the perfect compliment to MVP Kobe Bryant. Kendrick Perkins has improved by leaps and bounds this year and has given the Celtics exactly what they needed from a young player like him. Gasol will prove to be one of the key players in the series.
Advantage: Gasol


After breaking down the series position by position, it would appear the Lakers have the edge, not to mention when you factor coaching and Phil Jackson versus Doc Rivers. I think it terms of a bench, the group of Turiaf, Farmar, Vujacic, and Walton compare similarily to Posey, Brown, Big Baby and Cassell. I will have to also note that the Celtics bench does have some Finals experience to help compensate for the lack of experience from the big three.


FINALS PREDICTION: CELTICS IN 7.

Why 7 games? Well I think this has been one of the most entertaining and best NBA seasons in a while and I figure why not end the season on a classic historical 7 game matchup, with the Celts prevailing (And yes I was not sipping the green kool-aid early on).


Who do ya got in the Finals? Comment Below.

Top 10: NFL Players I would pay to see...

Here is part 3 of the series of players I would pay to see, ranging from 10 down to 1 in order. This particular post deals with National Football League players and this list was a bit difficult because of the quantity of players in the League.


TOP 10 NFL PLAYERS I WOULD PAY THE PRICE OF ADMISSION FOR...

10. Vince Young QB Tennessee Titans

09. Brian Westbrook RB Philadelphia Eagles

08. Devin Hester KR/WR Chicago Bears

07. Adrian Peterson RB Minnesota Vikings

06. Terrell Owens WR Dallas Cowboys

05. Tom Brady QB New England Patriots

04. Peyton Manning QB Indianapolis Colts

03. Randy Moss WR New England Patriots

02. Chad Johnon WR Cincinatti Bengals

01. LaDainian Tomlinson RB San Diego Chargers


I will admit that the NFL was very difficult to pin down in terms of athletes I would pay to see. Football is such a team sport that it is hard to really only watch one player. Interesting to note that no defensive player popped into my head when running down the teams and really I just picked from the Offensive "skill" positions.


What NFL players would you most want to see?

Comment Below.

Top 10: MLB Players I would pay to see...

So this is part 2 of the series of players I would pay to see, ranging from 10 down to 1 in order. This particular post deals with Major League Baseball players and I will admit it was a bit more difficult than the NBA list. Also, this list does not include any pitchers.


TOP 10 MLB PLAYERS I WOULD PAY THE PRICE OF ADMISSION FOR...

10. Albert Pujols 1B St. Louis Cardinals


09. Hanley Ramirez SS Florida Marlins


08. Jimmy Rollins SS Philadelphia Phillies


07. David Ortiz DH Boston Red Sox


06. Ichiro CF Seattle Mariners


05. Alex Rodriguez 3B New York Yankees (One of the all-time greats)


04. Vladimir Guerrero RF LA Angels (A personal favorite of mine)


03. Manny Ramirez LF Boston Red Sox (you never know what Manny will do)


02. Chase Utley 2B Philadelphia Phillies (yes a little hometown bias, but he is the best 2B in the game)


01. Ken Griffey Jr. RF Cincinnati Reds (it's hard to argue this one)


There you have it, the top 10 MLB players I would pay the price of admission to see no matter what players surround them on the diamond.

I would love to hear who is on your list of players you would pay to see. Do Comment Below.

Top 10: NBA Players I would Pay to see...

As part of a 4 part series, in which I will rank NBA, NFL, and MLB players in terms of who I think would be worth the price of admission to go see play live...I have assembled my list for the NBA version.

This list is purely opinion and for the sake of argument, the price of admission is defined as paying for front row seats to see these visiting players come to play your home team on a given night.

TOP 10 NBA PLAYERS I WOULD PAY THE PRICE OF ADMISSION FOR...

10. Chris Bosh F/C Toronto Raptors (Just a favorite player of mine)

09. Greg Oden C Portland Trail Blazers (even though he has not played a professional game, I can't wait to watch his game)

08. Chris Paul G New Orleans Hornets

07. Shaq O'Neal C Phoenix Suns (yes...still worth the price)

06. Dwayne Wade G Miami Heat (Flash)

05. Tracy McGrady G/F Houston Rockets

04. Kevin Garnett F Boston Celtics

03. Allen Iverson G Denver Nuggets (another personal favorite of mine)

02. Kobe Bryant G L.A. Lakers (yes, I am warming up to Kobe)

01. LeBron James G/F Cleveland Cavaliers



There you have my list. Feedback would be appreciated and I would love to hear your list in the comment section.

Derek Fisher Brent Barry Foul

OK, so I had to comment a bit on the Barry/Fisher "foul" because of the latest developments that took place last night. Initially, I was just going to let it go and brush it off as another over-analyzed play in the playoffs, but then I heard the statement...

"The league office on Wednesday reviewed the final play of the San Antonio Spurs' 93-91 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals and acknowledged that a two-shot foul should have been called on Derek Fisher for impeding Brent Barry"

...from the league's front office. Yikes.

At first glance, Myself along with a plethora of others, felt as though a foul should have been called on Derek Fisher for bumping into Barry with a second left in the game. Shame on me for not recalling how many team fouls there were at the time, but the Spurs should have had posession and maybe would have a shot at getting Ginobli the ball.

Sidenote: Is it ironic that many analysts and experts are criticizing Barry for not selling the foul enough, but at the same time criticize Tony Parker and Ginobli for "flopping" all the time?

I did not get really annoyed with the situation until the Association made this statement, basically saying that the referees were wrong. My question is, what do they get out of making this statement?? David Stern and the NBA should be standing behind their refs and basically say, what they saw is what they called or did not call and we support and trust their calls. There is nothing to gain out of doing this! Actually, coincidentinally enough Joey Crawford was reffing the game, the same guy who threw Tim Duncan out of a playoff game before, and this could further any conspiracy theories against the Spurs in the Finals and for the Lakers in the finals.

What are your thoughts on the situation?

Do comment below (no need to be a member to do so).

Potential Hall of Fame Classes

With the relative retiring announcements of Mike Piazza (this year) and potentially Pedro Martinez (after this season), I thought it would be interesting to take a look at 2 upcoming classes and the players that will be on the first year ballot.

CLASS OF 2013
Mike Piazza - C - (LA,Fla,NYM,SD,OAK) - 427 HR, 12-Time All-star, '93 Rookie of the Year

Roger Clemens - P - (Bos, Tor, NYY, Hou) - 354 Wins, 4672 K's, 7 Cy Youngs, 1 AL MVP

Barry Bonds - OF - (Pitt, SF) - 762 HRs, 1996 RBIs, 7 MVPs, 14-Time All-Star

Sammy Sosa - OF - (Tex, CHWS, CHC, Bal ) 609 HRs, 1667 RBIs


CLASS OF 2014 (My Projected Field)
Pedro Martinez - P - (LAD, Mon, Bos, NYM) 209 Wins, 2.80 ERA, 3,031 K's, 3 CY Youngs

Greg Maddux - P - (ChC, Atl, SD, LAD) 350 Wins, 3.12 ERA, 3,299 K's, 17 Gold Gloves, 4 CY Youngs

Tom Glavine - P - (Atl, NYM) 304 Wins, 3.50 ERA, 2,588 K's, 2 Cy Youngs

John Smoltz - P - (Atl) 210 Wins, 154 Saves, 3.25 ERA, 3,011 K's, Cy Young

I am sure there will be some other guys on the ballot, but I thought it would be fun to toss around right now. Personally, In the class of '13 I think they should vote all of them in and save Mark McGwire for that class and let's just get the whole steroid era over with. Aside from Piazza, who I believe was clean, I would put Clemens, Bonds, Sosa, and McGwire on their own new wing titled "Post Strike Baseball ~ The "Revival" ".

How neat would it be to have Glavine, Smoltz, and Maddux go into the hall at the same time and I also think it is entirely possible all three of them re-unite this year for the latter half of the season. There is no question that all 4 of these guys belong in the Hall.

Thoughts? In or Out for the Hall for the above mentioned guys?

Do Comment Below

A quick comment

First off, thanks to Tim Dierkes, www.mlbtraderumors.com, for reppin' the blog a bit and a big thanks to all the new readers as I try to slowly but surely expand this blog to bigger and better things.

Also, please do comment below with any feedback on the blog in general or on any post. The list-serve is also up and working so do join on the right hand side of the blog.

"Disgraced basketball referee Tim Donaghy told investigators in the NBA betting probe that relationships among officials, coaches and players "affected the outcome of games," his attorney said." (this according to espn.com, and I'm sure multiple other media outlets). So, Mr. Donaghy has come out and said that he did indeed alter and affect the outcomes of games that he did indeed officiate. My initial thought, that's disgusting. In a time where scandals are running rampant through sports, some bigger than others, I was hoping that this whole Donaghy thing would sort of disappear. When you have Spygate annoying the football community and steroids not only being linked to baseball but other Olympic athletes, and not to mention the recruiting scandals taking place in college sports (i.e. Kelvin Sampson, OJ Mayo, Reggie Bush, etc.), the sporting world and fanbase is flat out getting tired of it.

Could this be a case of Donaghy singing like a canary to try and lessen his punishment or is he indeed saying the truth? The case is set for July 14th while facing maximum 25 years in prison.

What do you make of the Donaghy situation? Do you believe what he is saying?

Do comment below.