WBRS Sports Blog

As the year comes to an end, I'd like to bestow a few end-of-the year awards.

Game of the Year: Rose Bowl - Texas Longhorns vs.USC Trojans

A mélange of star power and lack of controversy in the top two teams produced the best BCS title game ever. Lendale White’s powerful running but failure on 4^th-and-2, Dwayne Jarret’s burst into the national spotlight, Reggie Bush’s phantom lateral, and Vince Young’s brilliance created more talking points than any previous championship game. Young’s final drive was the perfect storm of inevitability and disbelief. The game was the definition of an instant classic.

Runner-up: NBA 1^st round Game 4 Phoenix Suns @ Los Angeles Lakers

Athlete of the Year: Vince Young

From his ethereal performance in the Rose bowl (200 rushing yards, 267 through the air to refresh your memories) to leading Tennessee from a 0-5 start to the precipice of the playoffs, no one produced more breathtaking and dramatic moments than Mr. Young.

Runner-up: LeBron James

Team of the Year: New Orleans Saints

Returning to the Katrina-ravaged Superdome with low expectations after a 3-13 season, the Saints under first-year coach Sean Payton have risen to the NFC elite. Seamlessly blending the powerful running of Deuce McAllister back from injury with the elusive Reggie Bush, Payton along with new quarterback Drew Brees has turned the Saints into an offensive power. From a rollicking week 3 win back in New Orleans, the Saints have ridden a magical air to clinching the division, a first-round bye and America’s hearts. Howie Long put it perfectly “If the Dallas Cowboys are America's team, the Saints are the adopted brother.”

Runner-up: Dallas Mavericks

And because life isn’t all sports…

Movie of the Year: Little Miss Sunshine

If you missed this little gem about a completely dysfunctional family making a cross-country trip to reach beauty pageant for their 9-year-old daughter, then shame on you. It’s one of the best made movies of the past five years with as stellar an ensemble as you’ll ever see. Alan Arkin is especially good as a cocaine-addicted grandfather and Steve Carrell plays the depressed gay uncle with deep sincerity and ultimate hilarity. This is a movie that will restore your faith in American independent filmmaking.

Runner-up: Borat

Song of the Year: “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley

While it wasn’t my favorite song, there is no doubt that the first single from the Danger Mouse/Cee-Lo collaboration was the song of 2006. From its opening inescapable beat to the violin crescendos in the chorus, the song infiltrates the body, forcing dancing or at worst a head bob. The simple chorus lyrics invoke all sorts of car performances and dance party sing-a-longs.

Runner-up: “When You Were Young” by the Killers

All-in-all a good year, but don’t dismay; there’s a lot to look forward to next year with Daisuke Matsuzaka’s debut, a UCLA-Florida rematch in the NCAA finals and Jerry Sloan’s first NBA Championship*.

Happy New Year everybody. Have fun and be safe.

*One of these things guaranteed to occur.

Averaging 2 points per shot attempt is good. Averaging 13 points per shot attempt is pretty incredible, but that's exactly what Tony Allen did against the Clippers by going 1-1 from the floor and 11-13 from the free throw line. He also added 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in 27 minutes. Unfortunately for Allen, the rest of the Celtics scored 64 points on 71 shots and Boston fell to the Clippers 100-77.

Being a beer man can be more ethically challenging than one might think. A longtime Lambeau Field beer vendor was fired after he jokingly accepted large tips in exchange for not serving beer to two Patriots fans sitting in his section. The Patriots fans were guests of Packers season ticket holders, and after refusing to accept the vendor's apology, they complained to Packers officials. What would you have done with him?

In case you haven't heard, the federal government has been granted the names of the 96 players who tested positive for steroids by a Federal Appeals court. The samples were seized in a raid of lab's associated with MLB and correspond to the 2004 season. The ruling is part of the ongoing BALCO investigation. (yahoo!sports story)

This could be catastrophic for baseball. Selig & co have to be hoping that a majority of players tested have since retired or are fringe players at best. If a star gets taken down, this will have huge ramifications. If these names get out, the effect on baseball could be close to the 1919 Black Sox scandal.

In spite of the potential damage, speculation is always fun. My friend and I separately created our lists of 96 names (for a separate side bet). Here is our overlap: Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro, Mark Loretta, Melvin Mora, Mark Bellhorn, Esteban Loaiza, Jorge Sosa, Jose Offerman, Alex Sanchez, Guillermo Mota, Orlando Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Keith Ginter, Adrian Beltre, Duaner Sanchez, Charles Johnson and Shea Hillenbrand.

Who are you guys sure took 'roids during the 2004 season?

I am in the Bahamas until the 28th and I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Check out this link which has some smart guys agreeing with my feeling.

Iverson's first game line was phenomenal. In 39 minutes he scored 22 points on only 15 shots with 10 assists and only 2 turnovers. Without Anthony, Smith and (most importantly) Camby, the Nuggets lost to Sacramento. However, if Iverson can keep putting up lines similar when those 3 return, I will be ready to eat crow.

Call me a contrarian or merely call me stupid, but I think the Sixers did as well as they could in this deal any may in fact be better with Andre Miller than Iverson.

1) Denver's deal was better than any other Philly would get.

Iverson's contract is huge; his contract is 9th highest in the league this year at $17mil and has 2 more guaranteed years at about $20million. There were very few teams that would want to make that type of commitment to an aging guard that relies on quickness and the ability to absorb contact. Every potential offer out there would have had Philly taking on large amounts of deadweight (Jaric's $7mil/year though '11 or Ratliff's $13mil/year through '08). Instead they have Joe Smith in the last year of his contract and Andre Miller making $8.5mil/year through 2009. While Minnesota and Boston could've offered sexier players such as Randy Foye, or Delonte West and Al Jefferson, I'd much rather have a proven commodity like Miller and large amounts of cap space. Furthermore, the prime pieces of the potential deals, Foye or West, play the same positions as Philly's young guys Iguodala and Carney.

There was also the rumblings that Billy King could have just kept Iverson for the full season and not traded him until the offseason, thus increasing the odds that they could have landed Greg Oden in the draft. This seems the wisest hypothetical situation, but not entirely realistic. It's hard to keep a fan base appeased if you admit that you are throwing away a season, especially when it would just increase the odds of the top draft spot (and there's no guarantee that Oden will come out anyways).


2) This 76er team is better with Andre Miller than Allen Iverson

There are very few basketball fans that don't enjoy watching Allen Iverson. He still has a great first-step and he is beloved for launching himself into the lane with no care for bodily harm. His cross-over to pull-up J is the nicest in the game. However, he also misses a lot of shots (>14 misses/game, 41% shooting) and turns the ball over at a very high rate (his 4.4 TO lead the league). His game also is predicated on having the ball in his hands. He is not one to run off screens. He's not even that good at the screen-and-roll.

The 76ers have slashers (Carney, Iguodala), post players (Webber) and shooters (Korver). What they need is someone who can create. Miller fills that role. While he doesn't scare anyone offensively, he's still quick enough to get to the bucket on almost all PGs in the league. He also has great vision and turns the ball over significantly less. His assist:turnover ratio is above 3 (compared to Iverson's under 2) and ranks 5th in the league. The improved ball movement should help Iguodala really come into his own. Furthermore, once Webber returns, they'll be able to run the offense through the low-post which should increase the number of open looks for guys.

Now I'm not being crazy and saying this trade will turn the Sixers around but with a line-up of Miller, Iguodala, Carney/Korver, Webber and Dalembert, they can make some noise in the East. I think they'll end up with about 32-33 victories which in the East will have them finish only 5 games out of the playoffs.


3) This Denver team better learn to like each other...

...because they'll be stuck together for a long time. Through 2009 they have $72million tied up in Iverson, Camby, Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Nene and Reggie Evans. Just as a note, the luxury tax level for 06-07 is about $65million. To be fair, the Knicks have ~$93 million tied up in 07-08 and 08-09 albeit for 14 players, not 6. This trade has severely limited their trading capabilities and made free agent signings practically impossible except for the exceptions.

So will this experiment work? I don't think so for a variety of reasons, the biggest being there's only one ball. The Nuggets currently average 85 shot attempts per game with Carmelo taking 24 of them. The addition of Iverson will cost the Nuggets 2-3 possessions/game given his increased turnovers and worse rebound rate. Iverson also currently averages 24 shots/game while Miller only averaged 11 on the Nuggets. Something is going to have to give. I think these shots are going to be taken from the emerging J.R. Smith, Nene, and Marcus Camby all of whom score more efficiently than Iverson. Iverson's teams have always run the smoothest when he's playing the 2, which is not an option in Denver unless Karl wants to have a Smurf backcourt with Iverson and Boykins (come to think of it, that'd be fun for a bit, until they both got posted up). I'm also not sure who gets the last shot in Denver. I'd give it Carmelo, but how will AI take to that? It's got to be hard to be "the man" your whole life and suddenly go to 2nd fiddle. If AI can surprise me and show us he's actually a legit point guard who can take smart shots and take care of the ball, then the Nuggets become more dangerous. I'm betting against that.

Ultimately if you're a Nugget fan, the best thing you can do is pray for Marcus Camby's health (he's their real MVP, btw). Over the past 2.5 seasons, the Nuggets are 90-33 with Camby and 17-47 (ouch) without the big man. If the Nuggets start losing, then things will start to get real interesting in Denver.

The 2007 NFL Pro Bowl roster was announced yesterday. For those that don't know, the roster is determined by three sects, as players are voted into the Pro Bowl by the coaches, the players themselves, and the fans. Each group's ballots count for one third of the votes. Okay, now that we are all up to date on how the roster is selected, my beef is simple...Where is TO?

Going into Week 16 in the NFL season, Terrell ranks 5th in receiving yards in the NFC, 1st in receiving TDs in the NFL, and 3rd in receptions among wide receivers in the NFC. And let's not forget that TO is a member of the 9-5 Dallas Cowboys. We assume playing for a playoff team can only add to your resume. Right?

So who made the NFC roster over Terrell Owens? Steve Smith, Torry Holt, Donald Driver, and Anquan Boldin. This is absolute crap, specifically the fact that Anquan Boldin is a Pro Bowler and Terrell Owens is not. Let's take a look at TO's numbers relative to the 4 NFC wide receivers on the Pro Bowl roster.

Torry Holt - 80 rec, 1044 yd, 10 TD
Steve Smith - 76 rec, 1081 yd, 6 TD
Donald Driver - 80 rec, 1173 yd, 7 TD
Anquan Boldin - 75 rec, 1027 yd, 4 TD

and finally,

Terrell Owens - 77 rec, 1040 yd, 11 TD

Okay, so TO has more receptions, yards and TDs than Boldin...further he plays on a winning team.

I have to say this is pure bullshit that he isn't on the Pro Bowl roster. I can only assume that his character had an influence on him missing out. The ridiculous thing about the situation is that Shawne Merriman made the Pro Bowl, a verified cheater. Sure TO has somewhat of a negative reputation as a result of some of his actions, but at least he hasn't challenged the integrity of the game, something Merriman did when he took steroids.


Also, the Pro Bowl is supposed to be about the best players playing together, not the most liked. That is why fan voting only counts as a 1/3 of the final say. So, if you want to boo TO, boo TO. If you hate him that is fine by me. But the Pro Bowl isn't about who you like, it is about who is the best. And the numbers don't lie, TO is one of the four best wide receivers in the NFC. No matter how he acts, no one can deny that.

Below is a link to Easy E's bowl picks, as well as humorous and insightful commentary on each game. The article of course is available on SIoncampus.com. And for those of you that don't know, Easy E is a former member of WBRS and is still a contributer to this very blog!

Click here to read the article

Remember back in August when we reported that Florida State-alum Adrian McPherson, then New Orleans Saints backup, was run over just before an exhibition game via a golf cart by T-Rac, the Tennessee Titans mascot? Well now McPherson, who suffered a deep knee bruise and as a result did not participate in the preseason game and was subsequently released by the Saints before the season began, is suing the Tennessee Titans organization.

"McPherson filed his civil lawsuit Friday in Davidson County Circuit Court and also is seeking $5 million in compensatory damages for the Titans' negligence and $15 million in punitive damages."

McPherson is now a member of the Austin Wranglers, a team in the Arena Football League. With the meager salaries players receive in the AFL, who can blame McPherson for suing the Titans? Fans everywhere can only hope that McPherson wins the suit and the money lost results in the Titans cutting funds and T-Rac becoming extinct.

Once again it becomes apparent how idiotic some of the NCAA rules are. This past Friday Steve Spurrier's wife, Jerri Spurrier, was informed that she had violated NCAA rules when she sent handwritten letters to the family members of football players who have signed to play for the University of South Carolina next season. The violation is considered only a Level II offense and it appears no penalties will be enforced upon the team or Mrs. Spurrier.

Regardless though, how writing a letter to the family of a player who is already committed to play for the Gamecocks next season is classified as an NCAA violation is beyond me. Maybe the NCAA should focus their attention elsewhere, in particular on bigger infractions that I imagine are occurring throughout the country but have not been discovered.

Justin Gatlin and the NFL seem like a perfect fit. One the one hand you have Gatlin, who tested positive for testosterone and steroids this past April. Then you have the NFL, a league who's fans don't seem to mind too much if their players are caught cheating (see Shawne Merriman). Gatlin worked out with the Texans a couple of weeks ago, and worked out this Tuesday with the Arizona Cardinals.

Gatlin is facing an 8-year ban from track and field events, so he might as well explore all of his options. The man certainly has speed, but whether he can get open and catch a ball still remains to be seen. Oh yea, and we also don't know if he has speed when he is "drug free".

It is exam week here at Brandeis University and as a result the WBRS sports department is swamped with work. So, for now we recommend you check out the other blogs on our blogroll. Also, take a visit to Bullets Forever, a new SBN blog run by WBRS member Pradamaster.

"My picks are as sexual as The Ultimate Warrior." -- Mini Me

Game	Young Daniel	Mini Me	Intern Nate	Mikey C.	R. Boy
Cleveland @Pittsburgh (-7)	Pit	Pit	Pit	Pit	Cle
Baltimore @Kansas City (-3)	KC	KC	KC	Bal	Bal
Atlanta (-3)@Tampa Bay	Atl	Atl	TB	Atl	Atl
Minnesota @Detroit (-1.5)	Min	Min	Det	Det	Min
Tennessee @Houston (-1.5)	Ten	Ten	Ten	Ten	Ten
New York @Carolina (-2.5)	Car	NY	NY	NY	Car
New Orleans @Dallas (-7)	NO	Dal	NO	Dal	Dal
Buffalo @New York (-4)	NY	NY	NY	NY	Buf
Indianapolis (-1.5)@Jacksonville	Ind	Jax	Jax	Ind	Jax
Philadelphia (-1)@Washington	Phl	Phl	Was	Phl	Phl
Oakland @Cincinnati (-11)	Cin	Oak	Cin	Cin	Oak
New England (-3.5) @Miami	NE	Mia	Mia	NE	NE
Green Bay @San Francisco (-4.5)	GB	SF	SF	SF	GB
Seattle (-3.5)@Arizona	Sea	Sea	Sea	Sea	Arz
Denver @San Diego (-7.5)	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD
Chicago (-6.5)@St. Louis	Stl	Stl	Stl	Chi	Chi

Coming later today we will post NFL week 14 picks made by the fellas on Overtime Sports Show (Wed Midnight-2am)...

Last week I participated with several other bloggers in a Top 40 Sports Figures 0f 2006 List, compiled by Jamie Mottram aka Mister Irrelevant. 2006, the inaugural year for WBRS Sports Blog, has been a great one and I would like to thank all of our commenters and readers. So with that, below you will find our WBRS Sports Blogs' Top 10 Sports Figures of 2006 List...




1. Terrell Owens
He signs with a Tuna coached team, sits on a bike on the sidelines for most of training camp, has an overdose with more theories than the JFK shooting, and he writes a kid's book about sharing and apologizing. Bloggers across the nation shed one giant tear when Tony Romo was named starter of the Cowboys, as things were just starting to get spicy between Drew and Terrell and that certainly would have equated into much more quality blog material.




2. Alex Rodriguez
Never before have I seen a man hit 35 HR and 121 RBI and experience what A-Rod went through this season. I have never felt more sympathy for a man with a $252,000,000 contract. The SI article really showed you how some of the players felt about him, specifically Giambi. Where was Captain Jeter all year? Shouldn't he be defending the team's most talented player from all of this criticism? Watching him hit in the 8 spot in a playoff game was just embarrassing to watch and really served as a nice way of summing up what A-Rod went through this past season.




3. Matt Leinart
AKA Mr. Hollywood. Instead of going pro, Leinart stays in school for his senior year only to watch his teammate win the Heisman, lose to Vince Young in the Rose Bowl, and have his draft stock pummel all the way to #10. He dates Paris Hilton, impregnates USC women's basketball player Brynn Cameron, and almost knocks off the Bears in what would have been the biggest NFL upset in years.




4. Kobe Bryant
January 22, 2006. Lakers vs. Raptors. Some have referred to it as "the game". Kobe's 81 that night is second only to Wilt's 100 points. Come playoff time, Kobe learns how to share the ball and his Lakers almost knock off the Suns. In the summer many wonder if the US would have won the 2006 FIBA Championships if Kobe had played. This season Kobe switches his jersey # to 24. A very odd thing to do.




5. Reggie Bush
Who bought the house? Who really cares who bought the house? Not going #1 to Houston, now that was the shocker. But looking back maybe it was the right move? Through week 11 Williams has 4.5 sacks, while Bush is averaging just 3 yards per carry.




6. Adam Morrison
The nation, or at least ESPN, was captivated with Baby Bird's season-long pursuit for the nation's leading scorer. He cried when there was still time left on the clock against UCLA in the Sweet 16. And that stache...wow that stache.




7. Roger Clemens
The Rocket took for ever to decide if he would come back as well as what team he would play for. This was so hyped up that ESPN broadcasted his Single-A start...come on! Why did he sign with the Astros so late? Was it possible he was serving an under the wraps steroid violation penalty? All of this hype, and Clemens pitches great and well we know the rest...no run support.




8. Mark Cuban
Whether you like or dislike Cuban as an owner, all bloggers envy Cuban's blog for its ability to serve as a medium that causes so much controversy. It is unfortunate his team lost in the NBA finals the way they did. With Dwayne Wade getting all of those calls, it looked almost as if David Stern had a personal vendetta with Mr. Cuban, almost.




9. Barbaro
Wow this has lifetime movie written all over it, except for the fact that we are talking about a horse, not a human being. Will he live will he die? This question haunted us all summer long. Thankfully he is doing alright.




10. Daisuke Matsuzaka
I swear it seemed like every Mets, Yankees, Rangers, and Red Sox fan I knew went online every five minutes in hope of being the first to know which team had posted the highest bid for Matsuzaka.

Complaining about every single call the past few seasons, yes NBA players were getting a little bit out of hand. So, the NBA gets stricter. Much, much stricter and decides to call more technical fouls and then the NBA Players Association is now suing the NBA. There has to be some way to simultaneously cut down on the the complaining and the use of technical fouls. Joey Crawford may have found an answer...ejecting fans instead.

We aren't kidding. This past Wednesday when the Mavericks defeated the Nets 92-75, NBA referee Joey Crawford ejected a fan who was located just behind the Nets basket and was apparently harassing the refs. He also had difficulty locating his seat, to say the least.

NBA Executive Stu Jackson explained the situation:
"Joey first motioned to the security guard to escort the guy off the court, and he was coming up onto the floor," the league vice president said. "When security was ready to tell the fan (to) get off the court and give him a warning, the fan then used repeated profanity directed at the official. At that point, the fan was removed."


Glad to see an NBA ref finally threw someone out when it was justified.

Remember L.A. Gear's L.A. Lights shoes? The ones with the red LED lights in the heels that would light up when you walked? Well, although not in the class of Nike, Reebok, or Adidas, L.A. Gear apparently made some people a buck or two...Specifically Steven Jackson, the current chairman of L.A. Gear.

How nice is Jackson's Bel Air mansion? Well it would even make the Banks family envious. This past Monday, rather than getting stuck in traffic from their hotel to the Staples Center, the Pacers decided to hold a shootaround at Jackson's home, located nearby the hotel the Pacers were occupying. House exactly could this be done? Well the Pacers certainly felt like they were shooting around at the Staples Center: "The house featured a regulation-size NBA court that was a replica of the Staples Center."

The house also has a bowling alley, movie theater, tennis court, and game room.

After the shootaround Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal put in the extra effort and worked out in Jackson's exercise room, specifically with the punching bag...you never know when you will need to "take care of" a fan or two.

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has received some criticism for abstaining in the final USA Today/Coaches Poll. A USA Today editor has even said that Tressel's participation in the poll will be part of their "annual review." Despite what USA Today thinks, Tressel did the right thing. A coach shouldn't have a say in who his team plays in any bowl game, let alone the BCS bowl. Although he chose not to emphasize it at the reason for his behavior, Tressel's abstention shows the lunacy of allowing coaches to vote in a poll.

Moreover, voting in the poll would have forced Tressel into a difficult situation. If he votes for Florida, Urban Meyer tells him team that Ohio State wants to play them because they think Florida can't compete with them. If Tressel votes for Michigan then Meyer tells his team that Tressel doesn't think the Gators deserve to be in the championship game. Either way, Tressel is forced to create bulletin board material that Urban Meyer can use to fire up his team for the next five weeks. Tressel shouldn’t have to do that, and therefore he did the right think by abstaining.

After the 1 PM games...

Mini Me (5-5)
Intern Nate (5-5)
Young Daniel (4-6)
Random Boy (4-6)
Mikey C. (3-7)

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Update: After 4 PM games...

Mini Me (7-7)
Intern Nate (6-8)
Young Daniel (6-8)
Random Boy (6-8)
Mikey C. (3-11)