White View
Who will finish first in the west?
Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon with teams that have made roster changes and big trades (the Suns, Lakers, Jazz, Mavericks), which in some cases isn’t a bad idea. But if you look atop the Western Conference standings, you will see who is sitting half a game out of first place. The San Antonio Spurs cannot be overlooked in any way. They are 9-1 in their last 10 games, and they have been here and done that many times before. As much as everyone tries to talk up the other teams, you have to look at the Spurs and give them an edge to finish atop the Western Conference standings.
Yao Ming out for season?
Too bad for the Rockets. After winning 12 games in a row, they looked like they were going to make a push for a top spot in the playoffs. After learning star center Yao Ming will miss the rest of the regular and postseason with a stress fracture in his left foot, that push doesn’t seem likely. It seems with the Rockets either Ming or Tracy McGrady is always getting hurt. The loss of Ming is particularly troubling because he is a 20-10 guy, meaning he is going to give you 20 points and 10 boards a night. If you want to tell me 40-plus year old Dikembe Mutombo and rookie Luis Scola can fill Ming’s void, I guess you can, but I would say you’re wrong.
Winner after the trade deadline?
I can’t choose between the Los Angeles Lakers or the Utah Jazz on this one, so I am going choose both. Since the Lakers acquired big man Pau Gasol from Memphis 10 games ago, they have a 9-1 record and sit atop the Western Confernce standings. Gasol brings a legitimate big man scoring presence which was desperately needed in L.A., especially after Andrew Bynum went down with injury in January. After going through a horrible December, the Jazz are 20-4 since welcoming Kyle Korver to the team. Other teams have to respect his shooting ability and, in turn, that has been the reason why the Jazz have been able to deal with zone defenses from opposing teams. Prior to Korver, the Jazz couldn’t play against a zone defense if their lives depended on it.
Most impressive player at the NFL combine so far?
After looking through pages and pages of useless times and distances, my choice for the top performer so far goes to 295-pound offensive lineman Jeremy Zuttah from Rutgers University. This giant was the only offensive lineman to run the 40 in under five seconds, as he barreled through the finish line with a blazing time of 4.99 seconds. Seriously though, until I see these guys in pads playing an actual game, it is hard to say who is the top performer. Yes, all these fast times are impressive, but until I start seeing these guys in real uniforms, playing games on Sunday, I won’t pay much attention.
Would you sign Barry Bonds to your team?
Baseball, like all other sports, is a business. With any good business, it’s all about the bottom line. In other words, what is your profit? How much money are you making? The main way sports teams make money is from ticket sales. Barry Bonds, although old and carrying around a tarnished reputation, will bring fans to the stadium. Even though the home run record has already been broken, fans will still show up for a chance to catch a Bonds’ home run ball. With that said, it would suggest Bonds will sign with a presumably weak team that is struggling to fill their seats. His current playing ability now certainly won’t help a team rise up the standings, but it should help them fill a few extra seats.
Rant
As much as I like sports because of the good they do for world, there are often times where I am left shaking my head. Three recent instances pop into my mind. Indiana basketball coach Kelvin Sampson, LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux and Roger Clemens. Since I know these three guys are regular readers of blue and white, here’s my advice. Coach Sampson, when you touch the hot stove once and get burned, you are supposed to learn your lesson. When you touch it again, you’re just dumb. Perrilloux, if you can somewhat keep your head on straight, you will shortly be a millionaire playing in the NFL. Football players wear helmets to protect their heads. Maybe you should consider wearing a helmet off the field to keep your head on straight. Lastly, Roger, you’re a baseball player, not a back hoe, so stop digging holes and tell the truth.