Sports Depression Moment 13098

Sunday afternoon a hard fought game vs. the Spurs and Ime Udoka is on a fast break as Dirk is chasing him down. He blocks the shot and then season over. His knee just sort of buckles as it goes away from his body. He just laid there motionless and you knew from the second it happened it was bad. The crowd just laid there motionless, you could hear a pin drop as everyone in the building even the Spurs fans just sat there sort of in a state of shock.

It was pretty obvious who was going to win that game from there on out, the Mavs had blown a 12 point lead thanks Avery's "stellar offense" and then Dirk goes down.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3309429

The above was written on Monday the day after the Dirk injury, it's now Friday because I always get lazy to write these things.

Anyways I'm still unsure on if the Mavericks will make the playoffs or if I even want them too. If we miss the playoffs we get a 1st round pick since the one we traded this year is lottery protected and there is some real talent this year that could fall to our pick. On the other hand the amount of close games the Mavericks have played against top teams makes me think they can hang with any team in the league, maybe not win but give some teams some real problems and go to 6 or 7 games.

All I can say is I think it's almost safe to say that the Jason Kidd trade was a failure, there's only 2 reasons it could be considered a good trade, Erick Dampier and Dirk Nowitzki. Dampier is playing the best basketball of his Maverick career (maybe entire career) and has taken advantage of the extended playing time and has done a good job staying out of foul trouble, he's looked real motivated. As for Dirk, he looked like he's in another zone since the trade, he was still playing top basketball for the most part prior to the Kidd trade but his field goal and 3 pt. % have raised as has his Points per game. And then you see the intensity in his eyes it reminds me of when he carried the Mavs to the Finals 2 seasons ago.

The problem is just about everything else has made the trade look like a failure. I thought it was a panic trade from the time it was made just because the Mavs had lost 4 of 5, all without Devin Harris and they were really just reacting to the Shaq and Pau Gasol trades. Jason Kidd and Avery Johnson's styles of play are polar opposites, Jason Kidd is best used when in transition where Avery loves to play isolation with Dirk, Josh Howard and Jerry Stackhouse. And of course I have to mention not beatin a team over .500 since February 13th. And then there's the 2 1st rounders we gave up (It's weird how everyone thought it was crazy to make this years pick lottery protected and the 2010 pick unprotected but now it's looking like a half decent move, but what if we decided to rebuild? That pick could set us back assuming we blew it up.) This team would have been so much better off trying to find a decent 2 guard like Mike Miller or Corey Maggette then they ever would have been trading for Kidd if you ask me.

I always wonder why I hear experts say we didn't have a chance to win a title this year so the Kidd trade wasn't bad at the time. I wonder how many of these "experts" knew that we were 28-11 when Devin Harris was in the lineup.

I'm going to guess as of right now we aren't going to make the playoffs, it really just depends on if Dirk comes back soon and we somehow manage to beat some teams vying for playoff spots. And Dirk may be back sooner then expected because earlier this week he was in a boot and has already removed it and started doing underwater exercises.

But this next stretch of games is just brutal, we have enough trouble scoring but now we have to play Golden St. twice in the next 3 games, Phoenix and the Lakers, and tonight we just lost the season series with Denver as our defense got torched and they now have a tie breaker over us. If we can win 1 game vs. the Warriors we'll have take the season series versus them.

And speaking of the Denver game I just love how we can hang 70 on a team and then score 35 points in the 2nd half, the end result may look Ok (though we were still beat handily) scoring wise but how we got there makes it seem totally different. Them scoring 70 and then 35 in both halves reminded me of on Tuesday when they played the Clippers for the 1st game without Dirk and they scored 22 points in the 1st 5 minutes of the game and over the next 12 minutes scored 11. It's pathetic how inconsistent we are.

Also I'm curious what will happen if we miss the playoffs this season, I'm thinking Avery Johnson is gone regardless of us making the playoffs, unless we make it past the 1st round. Donnie Nelson (Mavericks GM son of Don Nelson) may be on his way out but I've always loved his ability to find diamonds in the rough in the draft and in free agency (Josh Howard, Brandon Bass, Desagana Diop) I just think this team would be better off missing the playoffs and picking either a 2 guard or future PG or a center like Hakeem Thabeet or Roy Hibbert. And though he'll go in the late 1st round I've always loved Brandon Rush's game but for some reason he isn't viewed that highly for the next level. Before the season Kevin Love was projected to be a surefire top 10 pick then slipped to the middle of the 1st round and now with his great tournament run at UCLA continuing it appears he'll be going before the Mavs will have picked (assuming they miss the playoffs and all but likely losing the lottery they'll be picking 14th) I also wouldn't be shocked to see Jason Terry traded but his value is very low I'd imagine. Maybe trade Josh Howard and try to get a better 2nd scorer but I wouldn't have a clue off the top of my head. Also maybe by some miracle we can actually sign a half decent guy for our Mid Level Exception. I'm curious what a player like Ron Artest would fetch on the open market, he's certainly worth more then the 6 million the MLE is but you have to factor in the personality and possible locker room cancer.

O well until next time I'll just be soaking in my sports depression

It's time to dance

Well the conference tournaments are done and the "madness" will begin Thursday and Friday with the opening rounds. Hopefully there will be a little more upsets this year then last year and I think there can be. What's also interesting is that in my opinion there is no real standout team from the tourney, some will argue that UNC or UCLA or Memphis are a cut above everyone else but I just don't see it. There is no Florida this year where the majority agree that they will win, I can see a number of teams having a real shot at winning it all sort of like the Western Conference in the NBA this year.



So before I give my tourney predictions I'd like to speak on the Rockets and there winning streak.



It's impressive, can't say it any simpler then that. They're finally grasping Rick Adelman's system and everyone knows there role and now that Yao is out everyone is stepping up there game. There defense is amazing and that's really without an interior shot blocker once Dikembe Mutombo sits down. The defense Shane Battier played on Kobe Bryant was some of the best I have ever seen played on a player, just watching Battier play Bryant straight up with little to no help and not committing many fouls. I couldn't believe nearly every Kobe shot as Kobe jumped in the air he stuck his hand in Kobe's face inbetween Kobe's arms and he never touched Kobe or fouled him just a hand in his face. And it clearly bothered Kobe. Again to reiterrate it was just picture perfect defense, he was beating kobe to his spots and putting a hand right in his face to contest his shot everytime down.

And Rafer Alston is playing his ass off right now, I remember a week and a half ago when he played the Mavs I was embarrassed when he scored 22 or 25 against us, but he was possessed yesterday, like in his old And1 day or pickup game, if you're feeling it you give yourself a heat check and he was clicking on all cylinders. The entire game I watched and the whole time even when the Lakers got close I felt the Rockets were in control of the game and I'm not sure why, maybe it was because everyone was contributing and TMac wasn't even scoring much and could go off at anytime. Then the Rockets hit a couple 3's in a row and put the game away after a couple of missed Kobe jumpers.

I wrote that Monday night, fastforward one day and it looks like the Celtics beat the Rockets one day after coming back from at one point a 22 point deficit to beat the Spurs, so they've now swept through 2/3 of the Texas Triangle and if the Mavericks come out flat like they did against the Lakers they'll do that without breaking a sweat. But I doubt we will see this long a streak for a very very long time, good job Rockets. I will not take you as lightly as I would have if it had ended at 15 or so but I still don't see them winning the title and will still have a hard time getting out of the 1st round.

The Mavericks played the Lakers tonight and lost by 2, but that's a deceiving score because they were down by 25 at one point until the Mavs bench starting bringing them back in the game led by, Tyronn Lue, Devean George (who defended Kobe better then anyone else on this team making him work to get the ball. But everyone hates him now so most will dismiss this.) and Jason Terry. Kobe got his 4th foul and that also helped the Mavs lock down on defense for the rest of the game as there offense finally got going after a sub 40% shooting in the 1st half. Then Vladimir Radmonivic hits 3 straight 3's to put them up 12, thats what killed the Mavs. But down 12 with about 6 minutes left the team didn't quit and Dirk showed up once again and played like a monster.

For the majority of the game I'd say he and the afforementioned bench players were the only to show up tonight. Stackhouse played awful overdribbling and some costly turnovers, but he was able to get to the line in the 4th. Howard took some dumb shots and Brandon Bass should have just not shown up but it was partly Avery's fault to let him play the center position when he's more suited for the 4 or even the 3 spot. But as I was saying the Mavs kept clawing back, and the refs let the teams play tonight and it was real physical (which I enjoyed because Kobe shot 48 free throws in the 1st 2 meetings this season) and the Mavericks got it in within 1 point when Dirk hit backtoback 3 pointers. The Lakers then go down and miss a fadeaway shot by Radmonovic (who must have confused himself with Kobe) and the ref called the softest most iffy over the back call I can remember. I was steamin mad because it was the biggest piece of shit call, but what can you expect when you play the Lakers. Not to mention when Dirk made his last 3 to make it a one point game he was knocked over by Lamar Odom but I didn't expect nor think it was a foul but the fact was there was contact. I've seen players get away with over the back but that my friend was no over the back. Odom hits 2 ft's to make it a 3 point game.

The Mavs go down and miss a shot where it ended in Jason Kidds hands (who was nonexistent throughout) and make 1 of 2 free throws. 14 seconds left and the Mavs look befuddled when they get the ball and can't really get separation to make a shot as they fumble the ball and then Jason Terry jacks up a 3 5 feet behind the line and swishes it to make it a 1 point game. Derek Fisher is fouled and misses 1 of 2 free throws. 4 seconds left and Josh Howard is the inbounder and throws a terrible pass to Dirk around his ankles, Dirk fumbles the ball and has to throw up a prayer. The only real chance he had was that Odom jumped in the air and he couldve jumped to the side where Odom was and drawn a foul possibly but Dirk has a little self respect, I wouldn't have wanted to win like that, especially because we shouldn't have been close to winning in the 1st place.

The Mavs lost because they lost there intensity once the starters went out in the 1st quarter and it didn't show back up until about 6 minutes left in the 3rd. And now this team hasn't beaten a team over .500 since Jason Kidd got here. All our games with top teams have been close (sans Houston) but sooner or later it has got to start turning into wins and not almost wins or if we got a bounce or 2. It has to start vs. Boston and then continue against San Antonio, this team cant just play a good half like they have much of the season. I don't know what the potential for this team is, the homer in me doesn't want to admit it's not that good and I know they have the potential to be great but they're one and done right now. This game should have been a must win without Gasol and Bynum it should have been a win and we couldve moved ahead of the Lakers and the struggling Spurs and moved a game closer to New Orleans and Houston but we pissed it away, and this wasn't even Kobe's best effort, we got beat by there role players like Vladimir Radmonivic and Ronny Turiaf. We were beat to lose balls, part of that is because of Dampier having limited minutes and Avery playing small the 2nd half but he could have gotten some key balls late in the 4th that led to some Laker buckets.

This team has to beat Boston and San Antonio and there should be no excuses not to because they've shown they can stick with them in there house and we have the 2nd best home record in the league, I dont give a damn if Boston just beat the Spurs and Rockets on back to back nights.


Alright here's a couple of quick problems I have with the NCAA tournament seedings, the Big 10 and Butler got screwed on the seedings. If Butler was ranked in the top 15 and had a great RPI and everything you want to make the tourney and have a high seed what the hell do they have to do to get higher then a 7 seed? I hope they make it to the elite 8 to shove it up the committees ass, but they're supposedly faced with a tough 1st round matchup with South Alabama so we'll wait and see. Secondly how the hell did Indiana get an 8 seed? They were 3rd in the Big 10, granted I've followed them most of the year and they are sort of falling apart with Kelvin Sampsons departure and have lost 3 of 4 but they finished 14-4 in the Big 10 and when looking at there whole season you go 24-7 in a mid major that gets you an 8 seed, in a major conference that has sent a team to the title game in 2 of the last 4 years is a joke by the committee. If Indiana gets it together and beats Arkansas in round 1, they'll give Carolina run for there money, DJ White is the best player in the Big 10, it all depends on how the 3 pt. shooting is and if Eric Gordon can shoot a respectable percentage. Oh and if there defense doesn't fall apart like it did at the end of the season.

That goes for Wisconsins seed too, they're better then Texas and even with them having hom court advantage all the way to the Final 4 they'll still find a way to choke, I found that out by just watching them screw up and cave in the Big 12 finals Sunday, they had that game and DJ Augustine decides to take some ill advised shots and the rest of the team followed suit. Purdue I think should be a higher seed and I have no problem with Michigan St. seeding they should probably flip flop with Purdue, sicne they finished higher. The Big 10 tourney really hurt them and Indiana.

I was shocked to see both Baylor and Kansas St. make the tourney but the USC/K St. has the chance to be a classic showdown between 2 top draft picks in Michael Beasley and OJ Mayo.

Quick predictions for the tourney, I don't think Memphis or UNC will win it all, partially because of my dislike for both of them (I die a little everytime I see a moronic fan poll claim the 82 UNC team the greatest ever) and I saw John Calipari just run the refs ragged and yell the whole game when he played a 16 seed one year, that really annoyed me. I'm going to guess that at least 1 will not make the Final 4. Probably UNC if I had to choose, this has nothing to do with hating them but they are playing by far the toughest region.

Here's my predictions from a bracket I did in about 5 minutes yesterday.

Sweet 16:
East: UNC, Notre Dame, Louisville, Butler
MidWest: Kansas, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Georgetown Wisconsin/Georgetown could be the game of the tourney if they meet
West: UCLA, UConn, Xavier, Duke
South: Memphis, Pittsburgh, Kentucky, St. Mary's

Last year there werent many upsets especially compared to previous years and this year I didn't pick as many as I normally do.

Final Four:
Notre Dame vs. Georgetown = Georgetown
UCLA vs. Pittsburgh (gotta ride there hot streak going into this thing) = UCLA

UCLA vs. Georgetown = UCLA they finally win the title game after there 3rd straight Final Four appearance, this time they'll be the better team and not have to go up against the powerhouse Florida team.

A couple of potential upsets, I see that my final four matchups look real shocking especially Pitt and Notre Dame but look for Duke to possibly go down in the 1st weekend though this team is better then the last couple years that Mike K has coached.
I picked Butler to go to the Elite 8 and could look like a real dumbass especially if they go down in the 1st round.
Winthrop beat Notre Dame in the 1st round last year as a 13 seed, this year they play Washington St.
Xavier is a team I like but they're playing Georgia who is on an unbelievable high winning the SEC with 3 games in 2 days and needing those 3 to have a .500 record. Who knows what kind of momentum they'll have to start and if they'll tire out.
I picked Kentucky to go to the Elite 8, could be a dumbass but I like Billy G. and he whipped his team into shape after sucking in non-conference play.
UCLA could win it all but 4 of there last 6 games have been decided by less then a bucket with some very favorable calls. They could have a tough time if they play either Hakeem Thabeet or Drake in the Sweet 16.
Oh and I always pick Kansas to choke or underperform, works everyear, did work for Roy Williams too until he had 4 1st round picks on his team, this year I'd say the same goes for Texas. I did pick KU to make an Elite 8 run this year though but that's because I like Brandon Rush and think he's being underestimated when it comes to his pro prospects.

Thats it for now, i need to start trying to finish my baseball articles.

After 6 long days, the trade is finally complete!

Well all I have to say it's about damn time. 1st they had the obstacle of Devean George blocking the original trade then the NBA said if Stackhouse is in the trade and gets bought out (which was BS of Stern making up a rule on the spot, sure he spoke to early but there's really no rule against it) And finally former Maverick great Keith Van Spare gets to collect a cool 4 million to park his ass on the New Jersey Nets bench.

So the final deal is Jason Kidd, Malik Allen and Antoine Wright for Devin Harris, Desagana Diop, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager (probably the worst Maverick I've had to suffer through, but I'm to young to remember the early 90's Mavs) and Keith Van Horn will be getting 4 million to report to New Jersey for 30 days.O what a joy it must be to have made a 100 million dollars in your career for being a 6'10 white guy that had a decent shot at a point in his career then just spiraled downward at the end of his career and is only 32 years old. Dallas also gave up 2 1st round draft picks the 2008 1st rounder is lottery-protected and the 2010 1st is unprotected (which is stupid if this team just collapses in the next couple years) I believe the Mavs also sent 3 million in cash and a 1.6 million dollar trade exception.

When the trade went down I was pissed, I'd been advocating to keep Harris all along and go after Mike Miller or Ron Artest and that option seems less likely now. I think Mark Cuban panicked and gave way to the pressure of the media and maybe even the pressure of Dirk. I've sort of backed off and accepted the loss of Harris (though I'm not happy with it) but I hate losing a guy like Diop and the draft picks just as much especially if we start to tank in 2010 (though I don't forsee it) this trade could prove costly. We now need a big man because I don't expect anything by Malik Allen. We need another trade that can get us a backup big man like Kurt Thomas in Seattle or maybe even sign PJ Brown. Just someone who can man up against the like of Tim Duncan or a Shaq or Andrew Bynum.

The fact remains is the Mavericks averaged a putrid 86.7 points per game without Devin and are 7-7 without him and in 5 of those games the Mavs score only 82 points or less including 67 to Detroit and 82 to New Jersey where they had 2 8 minute streches without making a field goal and 76 points to the 76ers where they scored a franchise low 23 points in the 2nd half. So when he was hurt his impact was obviously felt and Jason Terry especially struggled running the point rarely pushing the ball up court and rarely trying to penetrate leaving the offense often stagnant.

Let's look at all the games Devin has had this year against the top teams in the league this year:

vs. Cleveland
in 2 games he went 7-17 for 11 ppg 5.5 assists per game and 3 steals per game. Not his best showing especially the 2nd game but no one played good the 2nd game in Cleveland where they lost 88-81.

vs. Golden State - he played a big part in beating this team both times we played them this year.
in 2 games vs. them he scored 21 and 17 points shooting 50% from the floor and 14-15 for free throws. He also averaged 6 assists 4 rebounds and was a big factor in Baron Davis and Monta Ellis combining to go 7-24 in the 2nd meeting.

vs. San Antonio I'm only going to show the 1st game played between the 2 not because he had a bad game vs. them the 2nd time but because the Mavs all year have played down to teams level when they were missing players. In the 2nd game the Spurs played a Duncanless Spurs team and lost.
vs. San Antonio Mavs win 105-92
Harris goes 8-13 for 18 points 5 assists and 3 steals. Did I mention he held Tony Parker to 1-11 shooting, I'm going to miss Harris owning Parker, he's one of the only people quick enough to keep with him and can continuously penetrate past him.

vs. Houston
game 1 Dallas wins 100-94 Dallas falls behind 74-57 and is sparked to comeback by Devin Harris at the end of the 3rd. Dallas outscores Houston 38-20 in the 4th and takes the lead at the end by a key 3 point play by Devin Harris over Yao Ming.
Finishes with 22 points on 7-13 shooting with 3 steals 5 assists.
game 2 Dallas wins 96-83
Harris goes 5-7 for 14 points 7 assists and 5 steals
And judging by stats Rockets PG's combine to go 3-16, not bad defense eh?

vs. New Orleans
game 1 Devin struggles this game and not surprisingly Dallas loses in OT
Devin goes 3-8 for 8 points 5 rebounds 5 assists and 4 TO's and Chris Paul is a rebound shy of a triple double
game 2 Dallas wins 89-80
Devin goes 3-7 for 10 points 3 rebounds and 2 assists but when he was on the floor he was 18 points better than his opponents. And Chris Paul was not his usual self only distributing 3 assists.

vs. Denver probably Dallas worst defensive performance of the season
Iverson lights up Dallas for 35 and Devin Harris and Jason Terry combine to go 7-21

The 2nd time Devin played Denver was his last game as a Maverick he was in foul trouble prior to getting hurt he had 6 points and 1 assists with 4 fouls in 12 minutes.

vs. Utah Mavs were 1-1 vs. them but both times Deron Williams lit us up one of the only guys Devin struggled with.
The 1st game where defense seemed to be ignored Devin had 10 points and 12 assists to go with 7 boards and 2 steals.

game 2 Dallas had 5 days off and was the day after Christmas I'm sure they mailed in this performance.
Devin goes 4-4 and 8-10 from the line for 18 points 5 assists and 4 Turnovers.

vs. Phoenix Dallas wins 108-105
Devin Harris goes 8-16 for 21 points and 6 assists and 3 steals. And during this game you could tell how much Dallas struggled when he and Dirk left the court. The problem was seeing Steve Nash go for 21 and 18 dimes though Devin isn't completely responsible for all that he has had trouble defending the Pick and Roll

vs. Detroit Dallas wins 102-86
Devin goes 7-12 for 19 points and 4 assists and 2-3 from the 3 pt. line. Dallas took control of this game though in the last 3 minutes of the 3rd quarter where Devin Harris had a 3 pointer and helped setup another 3 pointer as the quarter closed. Don't forget that the Mavericks could only manage 67 points the next time these 2 teams met, Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton couldn't keep Harris in front of them.

vs. LA Lakers Dallas wins 112-105
Devin Harris scored 18 points on 5-10 shooting and 8-9 shooting free throws. This was after being limited in the 1st half with a sprained ankle (the 1st time he experienced pain in his ankle)
This is what Yahoo Sports had to say about his big plays in the 4th:

It was point guard Devin Harris who made some of the biggest plays down the stretch. Harris made a layup off a wraparound pass to Erick Dampier that bounced off the center and ricocheted back to the point guard. Harris also had a three-point play off a tough driving bank shot from the right wing and set up Jason Terry for a victory-sealing 3-pointer.

And that was just against the top teams they played, the numbers might not look at impressive but he did take over at times to put the game out of reach and to seal games like the Laker and Piston games. And sometimes what he did just didn't show up in the box score like taking a charge or penetrating the lane and dishing in the corner and that man's pass led to an open shot (like an assist in hockey)

All I know is the Spurs are breathing a sigh of relief now that Harris won't be giving Parker and the Spurs nightmares. The Lakers are probably relieved too since he played great the last time they met. I think Kidd will matchup decently vs. Nash because I always thought he played Nash well. It will be interesting if Kidd can keep up with Deron Williams and Chris Paul too, which will be his 1st opponent tomorrow in a Mavs uniform. Because Harris had no problem against these guys as evidenced by the Mavs 8-2 record in our division and 23-7 overall vs. the West.

I just think he was a scapegoat because this team was lifeless the past couple weeks and his teammates started to believe the media that we actually needed Kidd. The national media wasn't convinced that Harris could helped and grossly undervalued his presence on the team when healthy (hell even the local media did) And now they still don't think we're going to win (I'm skeptical right now but it's really because we don't have a quality backup to Erick Dampier)

But maybe it wasn't just Harris and the lack of assists that was the problem, maybe it's a mental block they have because I can't recall the last time this team played so bad on the road. Right now they are 12-15 on the road. The last time they had a losing record on the road was Nash's last year and that whole disaster with the 2 Antawn and Antoine. They finished 16-25 on the road but did have the best home record in the league at 36-5. The Mavs look like they're headed down that path now. Since Nash left the Mavericks have been 29-12 on the road in 04-05, 26-15 in 05-06 and last year they were 31-10. It's hard to explain, I don't really know how the Golden State series could affect them here but maybe they're just scared and less relaxed in a rabid environment unfamiliar to them. There offense often gets stagnant and if there jumpshots don't fall they're in for a long night.

The Mavs are 23-3 at home compared to 12-15 on the road.
They average 103.5 points per game at home compared to 95.2 points on the road, a full 8 points difference, that's huge!
They shoot 48.2 percent at home while only 44.3 percent on the road
They take 16.2 3's per game at home (making 5.8) and shoot 35.7% while on the road they take 17.6 3's and shoot only 32.2%
They're also shooting 3 less Ft's per game on the road
They're averagign 21.5 assists at home while only managing 18.4 on the road (though I'm sure both will go up)
Suprisingly turnovers are down on the road but the Mavericks are forcing over 6.6 steals every home game compared to only 5.1 and are getting half a block less per game.

Last year the Mavericks average 2.2 points more then this year but shot more efficiently nearly 46% and nearly 36% shooting 3's.

It's also interesting to see how consistent we are at home, our lowest scoring total at home this year is 81 and 2nd lowest was 89. On the road the Mavs have scored 90 or lower 9 times. Devin Harris didn't play in 6 of those games.

I'm sure I come off as anti-Kidd but I'm just trying to show how important Devin was to this offense that some people in the media seem to want to ignore because we're getting a future Hall of Famer (but who know's when we'll break down) I think the goal for our team should be to beat the Spurs, no matter how good the Lakers and Suns are (and they're probably better then us now, but we haven't seen any of those teams at full strength) But we gave 2 key crucial parts that helped us beat the Spurs, Diop is a great defender against Duncan possibly the best in the West and Harris gives Parker nightmares.

I don't know if Kidd will be able to keep up with the Tony Parker's or Chris Paul's of the world. So if we can't trade for a guy like Kurt Thomas or lure PJ Brown out of retirement I don't see us winning this year because there will come a game where the refs will pick on Dampier and give him 2 cheap fouls and who will come in? Brandon Bass? Juwan Howard? Maybe go small with Devean George at PF because he's versatile enough to defend almost any type of player. But I will give this trade a chance and in a couple weeks I'll be as optimistic and homeristic as ever (sports is about the only thing I'm ever optimistic in) For what it's worth I'm not one of the people against the trade because of the age difference between Harris and Kidd, I just see big things from Harris especially now that Jason Terry isn't backing him up and he'll get more then 30 minutes a game.

Also I like the trade for the Suns, I didn't see them winning with Marion, having Shaq allows them to be versatile with there lineups, you can have him play the 5 or take him out and let Amare or Brian Skinner play Center. Either way Shaq's a good enough passer he knows how to start the fast break with the outlet pass (much like Bill Walton on the Trailblazers and Wilt Chamberlain with the Lakers) Suns fans should just hope he's commited on the defensive end and running the P'n'R with Nash.

I'd also like to say I loved All Star Saturday night, you can't go wrong with a TNT broadcast with Charles and Kenny and Reggie Miller and Kevin Harlan made some interesting comments as well (like when Reggie called the top of the 3 pt. line the "titty" and repeated it a dozen times) Dwight Howard had one the best dunk contests ever and Gerald Green's cupcake dunk was awesome as well. It got shafted by the judges though, sorta like Dwight's sticker dunk last year. But Dwight brought the creativity and showmanship with the cape and he controlled the building with his every move. Though he never got rim with the Superman dunk by definition it was a dunk and I think the way he threw the ball at the rim like he did made it even cooler.

Anyways I don't think the NBA has ever been in a better state right now, they have young guys that aren't trouble makers, aren't sexually assaulting people getting gun charges or pulling out there guns, they're genuinely likeable guys. Who can hate guys like Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Lebron James, Chris Bosh, Deron Williams, Brandon Roy and if Greg Oden gets healthy he'll be a great addition to the league with his personality. And that's only naming a few, I feel like the league is getting a new influx of talent not seen since the early 80's. I just hope people can shake the perception of NBA players because of a few bad apples, because the league was way worse 10 15 and 20 years ago. I just hope people can realize these guys aren't mailing it in night after night and all about the money and don't have 15 man entourages with bitches and ho's running rampant. If people get these perceptions that the NBA carries out of there head they'll realize this is the best sport to watch for the common man. I find it easier to watch a random basketball game that my team isn't affiliated with much more than baseball and football, and pit a team like Phoenix vs. the Lakers that makes for great basketball.

But this is one of the most exciting times in league history with the Western conference being arguably the best conference in the history of basketball rivalling the NFC of the late 80's and early 90's and the AFC of the last 5 or so years and the Eastern conference in the 80's. But when you have 9 potential teams to get 50 wins in 1 conference you know you have something special. Then you have teams like the Pistons, Celtics, Cavs and Magic in the Eastern conference. The Celtics/Pistons series can be an epic series if they happen to meet each other but Lebron might will his team to victory like last year despite having some of the worst talent in the league. The 2 games of the C's and Pistons were some of the most intense grind it out games of the year. And the league is salivating over the possibility of the Lakers and Celtics meeting in the finals, and if Bynum comes back healthy and the team gels it's a possibility because the C's have some of the best defense I've seen in some time just swarming to the ball.

Isn't it funny how Kobe wants a trade in the summer and then 6 months later his team is a top team in the league and bends over Memphis for Gasol to make there frontline the tallest in the league. My how things always work out for the Lakers. But I did think that the Lakers could be scary this year before the season (but I thought that last year until they got the injury bug)

Finally just get read for the 2nd half because it's going to be one of the most exciting 2nd halfs in league history whether or not Dirk, Kidd and the Mavs are in it or not.

Mavs gut roster/depth for Jason Kidd...

Well I heard about it on my way to school and now it sounds official. I hate this deal, I hate that we gave up Devin Harris, I hate that we gave up Desagana Diop leaving us with no real backup bigman (not to mention Dampier's hurt right now!) we gave up one of our better defenders in Devean George and I hate the fact that we gave up 2 first round picks in a draft that will be deep this year.

Here's a link to the deal:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3244102

I've got to goto work will speak on this more later. But now it seems like a major panic move.

Thoughts on the Cowboys game....thats right from a month ago

Well I've been putting this off longer and longer and now the Superbowl already happened I suppose I can write about what I remember from the Cowboys/Giants game from a month ago.

First I'd like to say (and this might sound slightly homerish) that the Cowboys beat themselves more than the Giants outplayed them. The Giants completely outplayed the Packers (and possibly the Bucs I slept through that game and never saw it) and Patriots but I don't think they outplayed the Cowboys. Thats not discrediting the Giants victory I just think if the Cowboys didn't drop some passes or make some dumb penalties they could have won that game. Second I've picked against the Giants every week, they surprised me every week, and I picked against them in the Superbowl (though if I was a betting man I would've taken the Giants and the points.)

Statistically speaking Dallas outgained the Giants by 106 yards (336 to 230) had 23 first downs to 16 was 10-16 on 3rd down compared to 4-9 by the Giants. Dallas even had the ball for 13 more minutes than the Giants.

The problem was the Cowboys had 11 penalties to the Giants 3 and 84 yards worth of penalties to the Giants 25. And Andre Gurode was very slow snapping the ball I'm surprised the tackles didn't get called for more false starts because they were getting off the ball before Tony Romo got the ball. The only complaint I have about the penalties were the Cowboys were twice called for offsides when I thought they weren't offsides, Demarcus Ware is so quick getting off the ball he looks like he's offsides (and sometimes he is) and because of this the refs are keying in on this when watching the Cowboys. On the first drive he was called for an offside that I believe was the wrong call a couple plays later Amani Toomer escapes the poor tackling (and angles) of the Cowboys racing 46 yards for a touchdown. Greg Ellis was a victim of this too (where he wasn't offside) but the Giants had to punt 2 plays later anyways.

Maybe I'm just overlooking the fact that the Cowboys got 186 yards of there 336 on 2 drives that resulted in touchdowns. But then I start thinking about the missed passes by Romo like in the 3rd quarter when they had to settle for a field goal and Romo missed a wide open T.O crossing the middle of the field or Patrick Crayton having his worst game as a Cowboy dropping a pass with a ton of running room when he normally has the best hands on the team. Not to mention on the Cowboys last drive where he cut off his route where if he kept running he had a step on the corner and could have been hit in stride for a TD.

I think this team was lost in 2 places, the drive at the end of the 1st half where the Cowboys gave up a TD (how pathetic) and in the 3rd quarter where the Giants got a 25 yard punt return by R.W. McQarters that put the defense at risk as the Giants only needed 37 yards to score the go ahead (and what ended up being the winning touchdown)Special teams of the Cowboys has been a weakness all season long.

Also I hated the Cowboys gameplan going into the game, I didn't have a problem with Marion 'the Barbarian' Barber starting the game but he was abused in the 1st half and that concerned me (no matter how much it worked) and he was gassed in the 2nd half. What happened to allowing the pass to set up the run that worked all year? I don't understand why they'd go away from what worked all year in a franchise record breaking Cowboys offense. Barber had 16 carries in the 1st half and 99 yards. In the 2nd half he had 11 carries for 28 yards. I still think he can be a great starter in the league but he shouldn't be shouldering the load (and get all but 2 carries) in the playoffs when he's not used to that type of punishment. His running style doesn't allow it. But also Tony Romo along with the playcalling was very questionable in the 2nd half, one play that made me mad was when the Cowboys were backed into a 3rd and 20 at the 49 (after a bullshit intentional grounding penalty) instead of trying to get like 10 or 15 yards to possibly have a shot at a short 4th down conversion or a long field goal he gets this crazy idea that a hail mary would work which was just idiotic when there DB's were playing back to begin the play. And then on the last drive I just think the Cowboys completely screwed themselves on the clock management, after the big gain to Jason Witten that got the Cowboys to the 22 either Tony Romo got a delay of game (which I believe was the case) or Flozell Adams got a false start but that backed them up 5 yards. The next play was a 4 yard play to Witten forcing them to burn there final timeout. 3 plays later the Cowboys throw an INT never even trying a sideline play to get out of bounds before going to the endzone. This is without even mentioning the line just collapsing when Steve Spagnuolo blitzed the entire 4th quarter forcing Romo into some dumb decisions where he took a sack when he should have thrown it and threw it when he should have taken a sack.

And for the 2nd straight year the Cowboys were facing a team with a banged up secondary and instead of going with what works the best we don't take any chances and try and play not to lose or going with a more vertical passing game rather than dink and dunk over the middle in the weak part of there defense or even trying a draw play or screen when they were blitzing relentlessly after Romo.

But if the Cowboys would have won I doubt they win the Superbowl (or make it for that matter) and the Giants capitalized on there chances and the Cowboys misfortunes. I loved watching them after they beat us because they did deserve to win both the Packers and Patriots game. Eli made the right move most of the time (he got away with a few passes in the Superbowl) but his 1 INT was not his fault but rookie Steve Smith's fault (who I liked in college and had a great postseason outside of this blunder)

Some people were saying that this Superbowl was only good in the 4th quarter but I thought it was exciting the whole game and everytime the Giants had to punt the ball I kept thinking, OK here's the time the Pats finally put a drive together and start putting the game away but it never happened. It was a great defensive game until offense sorta took over in the 4th but Justin Tuck and the rest of the G-Men lineman dominated (I wouldn't have minded Tuck taking home the MVP but when Eli makes plays like he did he deserved it as well) The Eli Manning to David Tyree was one of if not the greatest play I've seen, especially given the part of the game it was in and it would have been 4th and 12 I believe had he not caught that ball. Oh and my favorite commercial was no doubt the Thriller commercial with the lizards and the commercials weren't as bad as some said. Just like when people say the same thing next year.



I'm sure I'll give my thoughts on what the Cowboys should do this offseason (as well as a Rangers offseason look and what's wrong with the Mavs) but I've just written the most I've done in a while.

O and if you follow this blog or noticed my rant a couple spots down, Eli Manning was given a hybrid Cadillac Escilade for winning Superbowl MVP. Isn't that grand.

Poor one for Leather tonight!

This video is circulating the web of famed douchebag and ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman. It's been laying around for 8 years and someone just decided I guess to say fuck it and give this tape some light. Enjoy.



And for those who want to read more Berman escapades (and understand the title) read here at Deadspin on the Legend of You're with me Leather:

http://deadspin.com/sports/chris-berman/he-could-go-all-the-way-166410.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27re_with_me%2C_leather

Something that was bothering me...

I work at the American Airlines Center and tonight during the intermission of the hockey game they interviewed a player, pretty standard stuff. But as they wrap up the interview and say thanks for stopping by they mentioned how he'll get a gift certificate to Best Buy for participating. Last time I checked hockey players make 6 figures as the league minimum why the hell would they need a god damn gift certificate? To throw it in a closet with a pile titled useless junk?

It's not like hockey is the only sport that does it, any athlete participating on the local broadcast's post game interview receives some sort of gift, whether it be a tailored suit or free boots or glass dildos or whatever the hell they give away. The point is the majority of these player are freaking millionaires why the hell do they need a gift certificate, you'd be much better off giving 100 bucks to a charity of their choice or how bout just thank the athlete for doing the interview.
O and for Cowboys fans like myself I found this video to be funny