The Name Game

What will the newest NBA franchise from Oklahoma City nickname their team? ESPN.com asked their readers to submit their best guesses along with taking a shot at drawing up their uniforms. Below is the submission that impressed me the most....


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Rumor has it...

Rumors are leaking out of New York that Pudge Rodriguez asked to be traded to the Yankees out of spite that Manager Jim Leyland was having him split time with Brandon Inge at catcher.

True or not, sounds like there is more to this story then we know yet.

Hall of Famer for a Hall of Flamer...

I had an internet chat with a fellow DGF blogger just now about Pudge getting traded to the Yankees for Kyle Farnsworth.

Here's how it went:

4:38 PM
pudge is a yankee
WHAAAAT?
traded!!!!
for kyle effin farnsworth
holy shit man
and who else!?!?
um, that's it
no
way
that is correct
omg
4:40 PM
hall of famer, for hall of flamer
oh yeah absolutely
couldn't even get a pitching prospect in the deal
well, we dumped his salary at least
did millen make the deal for Davey Dom?
ha
me and my friends were just talking about trading pudge last night, so this is kind of crazy
because inge is as good, if not better, as a catcher
yeah but i don't like the .216
and pudge can't hit in the clutch
and he's a little bitch
while Inge will at least hit a home run once in a while
sooo, in a way I'm ok with this, but I wish we could have grabbed a prospect with the Farns
right
A line from Major League comes to mind in all this:
"Wish we had this guy 5 years ago."
"we did"
"10 years ago then"
4:50 PM
hahaha
exactly
they must be laughing about this deal in NY right now
yeah, well
just wait until they're in a game 7 with one out and two men on in the bottom of the 9th, down by one
up comes rodriguez
DOUBLE PLAY!!!!!
or pop to 2nd base
haha
i bet the call from cashman to dave D went something like this
"Hey Dave, big daddy cashman here. I see your bullpen is wild, erratic, and a bit of a zoo. How would you like to add to that with one more wild, erratic animal?"
it will only cost you your catcher
hahaha
dave d: "SOLD"
lol
"Yeah Dave, he'll fit right in with Jonesy, Rodney, and Joel"

Can the Lions Run the Ball...for Positive Yardage?

Trying to keep up with the Smiths and Joneses? The Lions sure are. I think it's pretty safe to say that your Detroit Lions have a very non-imposing running game at this point. Just look at their feature back situation. They cut a guy named JONES only to replace him with a guy named SMITH. How much more generic can you get than that? They even have the same first name, KEVIN. And they wear the same number, 34. The only difference is that they let go of a 1,000 yard back with proven university experience with injury troubles in favor of a younger unproven rookie from a university in a non-football conference.

Sure the Lions have Tatum Bell to fall back on if Smith doesn't work out. And why not? This is the same Tatum Bell that was inactive for the team's final 11 games last year. The same Tatum Bell that demanded a trade last season. The same Tatum Bell that the team re-signed this offseason.

And beyond Bell, the Lions have Aveion Cason who was brought back for the 19th time, as well as the 2006 third round draft pick flop, Brian Calhoun. He's played sparingly (11 games) in two season since being selected 74th overall.

Of course, much of the running game will fall on the shoulders of the offensive line, which hasn't been improved that much. The team drafted Gosder Cherilus in the first round, but what kind of impact can he have as a rookie? Will Jeff Backus and the rest of the bunch take a step forward this year?

A lot of unknowns when it comes to the Lions newly committed running game...

Donaghy Sentenced

Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy has been sentenced to 15 months in prison Tuesday for conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting betting information through interstate commerce for taking payoffs from a professional gambler for inside tips on games.

David Stern better find a better interviewing process for hiring referees, something tells me this guy wasn't the only one in on this gig.

Do the Lions have a Scouting Dept?

The Detroit Lions have once again signed another Tampa Bay retread. Is anyone really surprised? Wide receiver Taye Biddle was waived by the Bucs on Friday and the Lions promptly signed him.

I'm really starting to wonder if the Lions even have a scouting department....

Season in a Nutshell

If last night's game versus the Baltimore Orioles wasn't a summation of the Detroit Tigers season this year I don't know what is. Detroit squandered a 6-0 lead, appeared to score the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning, and then lost it in the bottom of the 10th.

When the Tigers can hit, they can't pitch. When they pitch well, they can't hit.... and sometimes they can't do either and just fall apart. Not to mention the Tigers have gone 5-5 in their last 10 games against teams that are more then beatable (and some of which are Central Division foes): Seattle, Cleveland, Minnesota and Baltimore. If you are a playoff bound team you go 7-3, 8-2 in that stretch against those teams, not .500.

People are going to say that sounds like a band wagon fan talking and there is the second half of the season to go still, plenty of time to get back in the race. But to me, you've got to prove you are capable of putting together a run to get back in the race. You don't just turn it on all of a sudden. So far the Tigers have only proven to be consistently inconsistent.

New Pistons Impress in Vegas

Dave Dial of Mlive.com has posted grades of the newest Pistons performances this summer now that the summer league has come to a conclusion...

From Mlive.com


Now this recap is the last one for the summer and we are going to do it a little differently to wrap things up. Each Piston, that had enough participation, will get a grade after their game recap. Starting things off will be Will Bynum, the Pistons leading scorer against the Bobcats.

Will Bynum had another very good game as the Pistons starting point guard. His defense, running the offense and ability to drive to the basket and make something happen has to caught the eye of Joe Dumars and coach Curry. Bynum even showed he has leaping ability when he went up for a tomahawk slam that looked like his eyes were even with the rim. Too bad he was fouled on the play that prevented what would have been one of the best dunks of the summer. Bynum finished with 16 points, 3 assists and 2 steals in 28 minutes.

Grading Will Bynum: Expectations: B+ Performance: B Potential: C+ Overall: B

Cheikh Samb is starting to look like a larger, more athletic, better defensive version of Joe Smith. He is shooting from all around the court, running the fast break and his defensive rotations are excellent. The plan might have been to have Samb come over and spend a couple seasons playing D-League basketball, but Dumars and Curry may have no choice but to put him in the rotation next season. A 7'1 big man who can stroke 16-18 foot jump shots, run the break, finish with a dunk, block shots and play defense has to be able to help the Pistons next season. Samb even hit a 16 foot jump shot after being passed the ball with the shot clock running down, getting it off right at the buzzer. He finished the game with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in 30 minutes.

Grading Cheikh Samb: Expectations: B Performance: B Potential: B+ Overall: B

The surprise of the summer has been Walter Sharpe. Partially because not many people have seen him play before, and partially because of how NBA ready he has looked. With a smooth shot, range, a bevy of moves and the ability to handle the basketball like a PG, Sharpe has impressed fans, media and the coaches. The only complaints about Sharpe could be that he hasn't taken over a game with his offense and he didn't finish around the rim in his first two summer league games. Which has to far exceed expectations for a second round pick that only played in 18 games the past three seasons. Sharpe went to the basket hard two times, making one dunk and getting fouled on the other. He also hit a three-point shot and used his play making skills running the fast break, feeding Washington for a dunk from half court. Sharpe finished the game with 8 points, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 blocked shot and 1 rebound in 24 minutes.

Grading Walter Sharpe: Expectations: A Performance: B+ Potential: B+ Overall: B+

Arron Afflalo played another solid game, giving his presence to the other Pistons on the court when they needed direction. On one play Afflalo fed Deron Washington a pass from foul-line to foul-line that led him right to the basket for a slam dunk. Arron had a tough time around the basket, drawing hard fouls multiple times. He shot 6-8 from the free throw line to make the Bobcats pay, but he hit the ground a couple times pretty hard. Afflalo finished with 10 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds in 32 minutes.
Grading Arron Afflalo: Expectations: B Performance: B Potential: B- Overall: B

Amir Johnson might find that one of his niches in the NBA will be running the trap and pressuring the ball in the full-court press. Johnson's quickness and long arms make him a perfect candidate for applying defensive pressure with the ball in the backcourt. Amir had a short jumper and a dunk, but was fouled going for a couple more dunk opportunities that would have resulted in thunder dunks. He also had a block that saved a basket with the Bobcats closing in on the Pistons lead. Amir finished with 8 points, 8 rebounds and 1 blocked shot in 30 minutes.

Grading Amir Johnson: Expectations: C Performance: B- Potential: B+ Overall: B-

Deron Washington had his best game of the summer, by far. Washington could be seen flying through the air for multiple dunk attempts, making a couple and getting fouled on a couple, while his defense was extraordinary and non-stop. He also had a nice baseline move to the basket and scored on an up and under flip shot. If he is going to Europe next season for a year of experience, and I think he is, then this was a very good impression to leave Joe Dumars and coach Curry. Washington finished with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals in 20 minutes of play.

Grading Deron Washington: Expectations: C Performance: C+ Potential: C+ Overall: C+

When taking notes for the summer league games there is not one game where there is not a note about Trent Plaisted's pick and roll defense, and this game was no different. On one occasion he was covering the pick and roll near the three-point line, got back to his man, boxed out, grabbed the rebound(or would have had he not been fouled), was fouled and went to the free-throw line making 1 of 2. You just cannot ask for much more than that. Maybe Keith Langlois' Ben Wallace comparison is off a bit, but one cannot help but be impressed with Trent's basketball IQ and defensive abilities. One can hope that Trent can be compared to Ben in the years to come, or at least Trent and Piston fans can. Plaisted finished the game with 3 points in 15 minutes of play.

Grading Trent Plaisted: Expectations: B+ Performance: B Potential: B+ Overall: B+

The University of Michigan unveiled their new adidas uniforms this week. I suppose it's not too bad but I am still not a big fan of the yellow streaks down the sides. If it were just the yellow piping at the top of the jersey I think it would look better.

AHHHHH! Look out!

From Deadspin.com

The Florida Sun-Sentinel (via SBB) has an amusing slideshow of broken bats whizzing into the stands, featuring unsuspecting victims, bloody fans, and plenty of men making terrified faces as the splintered swords come hurling at them.

I guess the Sun-Sentinel is decidedly pro-ash bat?

Near misses, direct hits [Sun-Sentinel]
The Lighter Side Of Broken Bats Soaring Into Seats [SBB]

The McCown Brothers are Smart

From Withleather.com

THE MCCOWN BROTHERS ARE SMART

Josh and Luke McCown are just like Peyton and Eli Manning, if Peyton and Eli Manning sucked. Although each McCown only has the skill set to be a journeyman backup for the rest of his career, older brother Josh has a reasonable chance to beat out rookie Chad Henne and sophomore John Beck for the Dolphins' starting spot. Or at least had. Josh ended up with six stitches in his hand thanks to a wood-chopping accident.

Back home in Texas, McCown said he was holding the firewood and his brother... cut his finger instead of the wood.

McCown has 10 more days to recover before training camp, but the injury could add another element of intrigue to the Dolphins’ much-anticipated quarterback competition.

Well this is too bad. But at least it happened while they were performing a vital task. If there's anything you need during July in Texas, it's firewood.

Erin Andrews likes puffy shirts

For those who watched the Home Run Derby on Monday, you saw ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews interviewing many of the participants. Of course, when I see Erin on TV I don't pay a lot of attention to who the person is that she's interviewing (although I have to say that Erin does know her stuff and can ask some good questions). I'm curious as to what she's wearing and how hot she'll look. You'll recall a few weeks ago, I posted a picture of her looking like a banana holding a microphone at a Chicago Cubs game.

Well on Monday she wore this (picture above). At first glance, it looks fine. Kind of neutral, a bit plain. But upon further inspection, she appears to be wearing a puffy shirt and a skirt somebody's mom wore in the mid 80's. It's possible she could be serving chicken dinners in Frankenmuth, or on her way home from The Gap.

Come on "E"! That's not you!

Jose K.O.'ed

Former MLB Slugger Jose Canseco and current MLB steroids mouthpiece issued a challenge to the general public. Was anyone willing to step in the ring and fight the former Bash Brother? Enter Vai Sikahema, a former NFL Pro-Bowler and current sportscaster, took the challenge, and the two fought on July 12 at a brawl named "War at the Shore" in Atlantic City. Canseco provided no challenge for Vai, as Jose was KO'ed after just a minute and thirty seven seconds.

"What the hell is Brett Favre doing here?"

I'm guessing that's what Packers GM Ted Thompson said when hearing that Brett Favre wanted to return. What should the Green Bay Packers do about their nightmare of a Quarterback situation now that Favre wants to come back and play? They can't turn away one of the greatest QBs in history. I mean, legally they can't. He still has a 3 year, $39 million contract to play for them.

It appears the team is ready to finally begin the Aaron Rodgers era, whom they drafted in the first round back in 2005. Rodgers has this one last year left on his deal. The team has said they'd welcome Favre back, but only as Rodgers' backup. Are they really going to pay a backup QB $13 million to ride the pine?

Favre wants his outright release so he can choose his next/final stop, but the team envisions two major nightmares by doing that: 1. A PR debacle by casting off a great. 2. Long term uncertainty as Rodgers would most certainly leave Green Bay after this season.

If Favre stays...and plays....and Rodgers leaves after the season; what are the odds that Matt Millen throws millions of dollars at the yet unproven Quarterback? Of course he'd have to first sign Aveion Cason.

Pistons: Walter Sharpe makes Debut

Last night Walter Sharpe, the Pistons highest pick of this year's draft made his debut in the Pistons Vegas Summer League opener versus the Los Angeles Lakers. Sharpe finished with eight points, three steals, three rebounds and two assists.

Other Piston notables:

Rodney Stuckey 21 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
Aaron Afflalo 15 points, 3 rebounds
Amir Johnson 12 points, 4 rebounds
Cheikh Samb 9 points, 9 rebounds

Dave Bing for Mayor

Former Detroit Piston great, now city businessman, Dave Bing is saying he'll make a decision on whether to run for mayor of Detroit by the end of the year.

However, Bing, has said he would serve only a single term if elected. LAME! Don't bother running if you are only going to serve one term upon winning the race. The city of Detroit needs a long-term guy with a long-term solution to revamp the city.

New Kid on the Block

From MLive.com and Pistons' Beat Writer A.Sherrod Blakely...


During a recent interview, Joe Dumars was discussing the Detroit Pistons' free agency goals as well as the potential look of his team next season, when, in mid-sentence, he just stopped talking.

Outside his office, 7-foot-1 center Cheikh Samb was making one long jumper after another. He had strung together at least seven in a row before Dumars gathered his thoughts and spoke of a conversation he had with Rasheed Wallace about Samb.

"We got a running joke with him (Samb) and Rasheed that when camp starts, who is the best shooter," Dumars said. "Rasheed already told me, he said 'Joe, I know I got something on my hands with Cheikh.'"

Impressive shooting range is only part of Samb's game that has blossomed at a rate the Pistons did not envision when they traded Mo Evans to the Los Angeles Lakers for the rights to Samb, a second-round pick in 2006.

Detroit anticipated keeping Samb overseas for a couple seasons, and then maybe bring him to the United States for additional seasoning in the Development League.

However, Samb's learning curve has exceeded such modest expectations, creating a very real possibility that the 23-year-old might crack the Pistons' regular rotation next season.

In addition to playing well during his time in the D-League, Samb also has impressed team officials with his work ethic this summer.

"This kid just loves, I mean loves to be in the gym," Dumars said. "You don't really find that too much with big guys. He has room to get better, obviously. But we definitely like what we see in him now."

Apparently, so did some other teams who inquired about Samb's availability.

Dumars said he has no intentions of trading away the young big man who will get an opportunity to showcase his skills beginning Friday night as Detroit's summer league team plays the Los Angeles Lakers' summer-league entry.

The competition Samb will see this summer is similar to what he faced in the D-League last season when he averaged 10.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and four blocked shots in 19 games.

But at the rate he's progressing, Samb's D-League stints may be less than they were as a rookie.

More opportunities may come his way this fall, especially being the only true center on the Pistons' roster.

Dumars said it's too soon to tell exactly what role Samb will play with the team this season.

"I know I got a 7-foot-1 kid that's coming, in a hurry," Dumars said.

Who Cares? Cateogory

The Arizona Diamondbacks are considering bringing in free agent Roid Abuser Barry Bonds due to their lack of a slugger versus right handed pitchers.

Not sure what I care less about, Barry coming back to baseball or the Wrangler's spokes model trying to come out of "retirement" after less then a year to a team that doesn't even want him back.

Where for art thou Steve Sabol?

Saddly enough, tough times have hit the classic show NFL Films. The show that puts dramatic orchestra music to yearly NFL highlights has laid off 21 of its 283 employees earlier this year. The reason? The National Football League wants to make way for its struggling NFL Network. Few people actually have the cable package to view this network and fewer people actually watch its 16th rerun of the Raiders vs. Chargers highlights from Week 6.

Steve Sabol will be available for your local car dealership commercials upon request.

Williams Sisters

Venus and Serena Williams will be squaring off against one another at Wimbledon this year for the championship. A truly amazing feat to see two siblings both competing at the highest level and dominating a sport together....

Maybe once they are done with tennis they can try out for the Detroit Lions as linebackers. They are HUUUUUGE...

Temporary German Citzen

So apparently Chris Kaman will be a German citizen for the Summer Olympics...


FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman has received German citizenship and will team up with Dirk Nowitzki for Germany at an Olympic qualifying tournament later this month.

Kaman, whose great-grandparents were German, averaged 15.7 points and 12.7 rebounds last season with the Clippers.

Has Kaman even ever been to Germany??? How do you become a citizen of another country for a specified window of time? I'm telling you in the next several years you will being seeing players being bought to play for other countries that they have never even been to.

Have some national pride for pete's sakes... for the country you reside in!!!

New Uniforms Headed to AA?

New uniforms coming to the University of Michigan, compliments of Rich Rodriguez? Coach I appreciate the fact that you want to shake up the norm at Michigan, but don't mess with the uniforms!!!! If it is true that this is the new road jersey for the Wolverines I am disgusted. Are we now West Virginia???? Leave those terrible jerseys with the Mountaineers please.
Now if that was not bad enough, here comes the real bombshell........
It has been rumored that Rich Rod is also toying with the idea of CHANGING THE MICHIGAN HELMET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That winged helmet has the tradition of over 100 years of football success....it is known across the world....athletes come to Michigan just to wear the helmet. You can change up the philosophy, you can change up the schemes, but DO NOT TOUCH THE HELMET.
And keep the cheap high school jerseys with gigantic numbers in West Virginia as well.

USA Basketball

The 2008 USA Men's Basketball team was announced recently and included:

Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets);
Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz);
Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors);
Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers);
Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic);
LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers);
Kidd;
Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets);
Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons);
Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks);
Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat); and Deron Williams (Utah Jazz).

Duke University Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski is head coach of Team USA .

I notice they are lacking true centers on this team, especially with Dwight Howard being currently injured. Even though the Euro basketball rules are slightly ridiculous, I'm thinking this team is better built to play by those rules and finish higher then bronze this time around.

Man-Ram and the state of Baseball

I read an article in the Boston Globe (article link:http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2008/07/01/this_time_manny_being_manny_is_unacceptable/
) about how "Manny being Manny" shouldn't be tolerated.

I started talking about how Manny is an ass to my aunt and uncle who live in New England, before this article was posted/printed. They were trying to defend him, and this is what I told them...

Manny is just one of the more talked about players like this, but there's many more who are similar. 

Players who don't run out the routine ground ball, because they're getting paid the same amount whether they're safe or out. It represents everything that's bad about baseball these days. Players that are in the Hall of Fame from the beginning of the game to the 60's would/must be sick at the current 'business' of baseball, and the way the players act these days. They played the game because it was fun, and they had pride for their teams and themselves. They always ran out the ground balls, and gave their best efforts in every game because they had respect for the game, and knew how it should be played.  

To me, saying "It's just Manny being Manny" doesn't make it right.  

I'm sure he works hard, but he should work hard, he's making $18,929,923 this year, to play a game that children PAY to play. Those same children are paying to see Manny play in Fenway (one of the top five ball parks of all time), and seeing him not run out a ground ball. Then their next game they do the same thing and think it's fine because Manny does it. It's unfair and disrespectful to the players who played for nothing but pride, to have the players in this new era play, and therefore teach, the game this way.