February 8th update

Tobacco Road Rivalry Renewed Tonight at 9:00

• Some of you may be aware that the University of North Carolina and Duke have a bit of a basketball rivalry. And by a bit, I mean the way there was a bit of an international conflict between 1941 and 1945 and the way Coca-Cola sells a bit of product every year. Carolina, the best rebounding team in the nation is predictably led by the three headed frontcourt monster of formidable post presence Tyler Zeller, shotblocking/rebounding phenom John Henson and Harrison Barnes, who's drawn comparisons to a young Kobe Bryant due to his size, agility and scoring ability.
• Duke on the other hand, features two sons of former NBA players in the backcourt; super-agile Austin Rivers (Son of Celtics coach Doc) and the long range shooting Seth Curry (Son of Dell, brother of Stephon). They also feature 3 Plumlee brothers, although only Mason and Miles have contributed much this season, their younger brother Marshall still being a freshman.
• The Heels are ranked #5 and the Blue Devils are ranked #9, both teams being ranked in the top 10 seeming almost like a forgone conclusion. Duke has lost 2 of its last 3 at their homecourt, Cameron Indoor Stadium and will hope to fare better in Chapel Hill. North Carolina is tied for the lead in the ACC with Florida State and leads the all time series with Duke 131-101.


NBA Injuries taking toll

• There have been a pretty decent amount of injuries in the NBA lately and many teams are being adversely affected. Just to name a few:
- Manu Ginobili of the Spurs broke his hand a month ago and hasn't returned.
- Andrew Bogut of the Bucks is probably out for the year with a leg injury.
- Chauncey Billups tore his Achilles tendon this week and will probably be out for the year.
- Eric Gordon (the main piece of the Chris Paul trade) has only played parts of 2 games this year because of a variety of injuries, the main one dealing with his knee).
- Al Horford of the Hawks is probably done for the season with a torn pectoral.
- Zach Randolph experienced a career resurgence last year but has been out for a while this year with a knee injury.
- Brook Lopez of the Nets has missed the whole season and is still a little while from returning because of a knee injury.
- Carmelo Anthony is out for a few weeks with a groin injury.
- Former #1 pick Andrea Bargnani has been among the NBA top's scorers this season but is out for about another month.
- Another #1 pick, Greg Oden, is out for the season... again... but at least the guy drafted after him isn't possibly the best player in the NBA right now. Oh wait...
- Kevin Love isn't hurt but will be suspended for two games after kicking Luis Scola in the face during a game. Just call him this decade's Christian Laettner.

January 25th update

Wednesday Spotlight: Prince Fielder

• The Detroit Tigers announced Tuesday that they had come to terms with the biggest free agent fish left on the market, signing first baseman Prince Fielder to a 9-year, $214 million deal. Fielder will be following his father, Cecil, who also played first base for the Tigers into the early 90s. Prince will play first for the Tigers and Miguel Cabrera, who had been playing first, will move back to his natural third base position.
• Fielder is a large man, standing only 5’11” but tipping the scales at 285 pounds. He has turned this size to his advantage showing at times, prodigious power hitting 230 home runs in 7 season. Fielder has had a falling out with his father since he began his own Major League Career. Cecil and Prince were very close, and Cecil helped negotiate Prince’s first contract at the end of which Cecil demanded payment for this service. Unknown to most of the family at the time, Cecil had some major financial issues and has been fighting them for quite some time. Since that time, Prince and the other members of his family have cut Cecil largely out of their lives.
• Prince was a fixture in Major League clubhouses for the 14 years his father was playing. He also hit a home run in the old Tigers Stadium at the age of 12 while taking batting practice. Growing up surrounded by baseball, it came as a surprise to no one that Prince was drafted in the first round of the 2002 MLB draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. Fielder played for the Brewers from 2005 until last year. Prince and Cecil Fielder are the only father/son combination to ever hit 50 home runs in a single season. This is remarkable considering the great father/son combinations that have played baseball such as Bobby and Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. to name two.


Yankee Legend Retires

• New York Yankees longtime catcher Jorge Posada officially retired on Tuesday. Posada played every one of his 17 year career seasons in the Yankee pinstripes. Posada was a member of 4 World Champions, a 5-time All-Star and a 5-time Silver Slugger award winner (for best offensive player at his position).
• Posada was a member of the prolific “Yankee Core Four.” Four players who were part of 4 World Series Championships for the Yankees (most in the late 90s). Along with Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera, Posada anchored a dynasty in the Bronx.
• From Puerto Rico, Posada was originally drafted to play second base. After breaking his leg Posada switched to play behind the plate. A solid catcher and powerful hitter, Posada’s influence in the middle of the Yankees lineup is what he will be largely remembered for.

Love, T-Wolves yet to agree on extension
*Update* On Wednesday, Love signed a 4 year deal worth between $60 and $62 million.

• Kevin Love is one of the top young players in the NBA and is putting up numbers at a staggering pace, but that hasn't convinced the Minnesota Timberwolves that they should give him a maximum 5 year, $80 million extension typically given to big stars when they first become eligible. Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder just received his recently.
• Love's options, to this point, have been accepting a four-year deal from Minnesota or declining the offer and becoming a restricted free agent in July, with Minnesota then able to match any offer sheet Love would receive in free agency. To reach unrestricted free agency, Love would have to be willing to play out the 2012-13 season on a one-year qualifying offer worth just $6 million.
• Love is averaging a ridiculous 25 points and 14 rebounds per game. As a basis for comparison, Timberwolves legend Kevin Garnett's best season was 24.2 points and 13.9 rebounds and that didn't come until his 9th NBA season, after he'd a long time to be coached and to develop.

August 3rd update

Randy Moss calls it a career

• Possibly the most unguardable pass receiver in the history of the NFL has called it quits, and now it's time for people to decide whether his unbelievable athleticism, remarkable catches or his mercurial personality and bizarre antics will be what his ongoing legacy will be.
• When Moss was at his best he was unstoppable as is evidenced by his record 23 TD catches in 2007 and his rookie record of 17 TD catches in 1998, but he famously took plays off and had the attitude of "I play when I want to play." He played for the two highest scoring teams in NFL history and made defenses change their entire personnel just to stop him, but he also sulked, threw teammates under the bus and seemed to disappear for plays and games at a time.
• From the time he played football and basketball in high school with former Sacramento Kings PG Jason Williams, Moss was an athletic freak who was probably this generation's best example of an athlete who was his own worst enemy. The stats don't lie, he's one of the greatest ever as he has:

• 10 1,000+ yard receiving seasons – 2nd all-time
• 64 career 100 yard games – 2nd all-time
• 153 touchdown receptions – 2nd all-time
• 73.6 receiving yards per game – 7th all-time
• 154 total touchdowns scored – 4th all-time
• 14,858 receiving yards – 6th all-time
• 954 career receptions – 10th all-time
• 4-time All-Pro selection
  

...But he also bumped a traffic cop with his vehicle, berated a caterer (saying he wouldn't feed the man's food to his dogs), pretended to moon fans in Green Bay after a touchdown, and was jettisoned from Oakland, New England and Minnesota (the second time) as teams realized that the good wasn't worth the bad. He'll be a Hall-of Famer, but which facet of Moss's career will be remembered more? Only time will tell.


Ballers Killin' Time

• With the NBA (aka No Basketball Anywhere) currently locking out its players, NBA news not relating to the lockout is sparse. Unless you're one of the 17 people who tunes in weekly to Khloe and Lamar you won't see much of your favorite NBA players so we've decided to keep you updated on what some of the league’s biggest stars are doing with their lives. We've already discussed Deron Williams' decision to play basketball in Turkey.
• Kevin Durant lit up Rucker Park on Monday. Durant visited the Mecca of "street" basketball (aka the playground for grownups) in Harlem as part of a Entertainers Basketball Classic. Durant's team, the DC Power, played the Sean Bell All-Stars which has an NBA player of their own. While its not altogether surprising that Durant (the NBA’s leading scorer last year) could score against some lesser competition, the large total is still impressive. The environment was much more interactive and fans repeatedly mobbed Durant the higher his totals got and Durant obviously had a blast. Afterwards, via his Twitter he said: "No lie, jus had one of the best times of my life at Rucker park..wow!"
• What do you do when you were born in Santa Monica California, you're really tall, and don’t have basketball to play? Play beach volleyball of course! Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love is taking his respite from basketball and turning to a different ball. Love, who’s uncle Mike was a member of the Beach Boys, grew up in Southern California and we can safely assume has played his share of beach volleyball. He will be participating in a tournament held at Times Square from August 26th-28th and hopes to supplement his income with the NBA's season uncertain.
• And then we have Steve Nash, whose competitive drive is so intense that he's been reduced to stealing parking spots from old ladies. This man was meant to play basketball, let's get this lockout lifted, NBA powers-that-be!

June 3rd update

Rubio to play in NBA
- Ricky Rubio (pictured), the highly touted pass-first point guard from Spain has announced that he will be joining the NBA next season. Despite being drafted in 2009 by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Rubio has been playing in Spain until now.

- Current Wolves superstar Kevin Love seems skeptical though, as he posted via Twitter: @kevinlove - Ricky Rubio huh? I'll believe it when I see it...

- His skepticism could be geared towards the fact that Rubio seemed not to want to play in Minnesota, and it's possible that he could change his mind or be traded to another team before the 2011 season begins.


Mavs come back to even Finals
- In the NBA Finals, the Miami Heat seemed to be on their way to a comfortable 2-0 lead against the Dallas Mavericks when disaster struck and they fell victim to the resilient Dallas Mavericks 95-93.

- The Heat were winning 88-73 with a little over 7 minutes left but managed to lose after Dirk Nowitzki made a layup with 3 seconds remaining.

- The Mavericks had a similar comeback in the Western Conference Finals against Oklahoma City, when they trailed 99-84 late in the 4th quarter yet came back to win.