Carmello To Pistons A Done Deal?

This may be a stretch, but here’s why I think the Nuggets-Pistons trade involving Carmello Anthony, Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince is already in the works.

Chauncey just withdrew his name from the Olympics, citing a need to put his family first.  He was quoted as saying that he was confident he had made the team, but didn’t want to take a spot if he couldn’t fully commit.  Billups told ESPN that he was worried his “family situation” might distract him from the team.

I haven’t seen anyone else spin it this way, but to me, this signals that Billups being shipped to Denver along with Prince for Anthony has already been agreed upon behind closed doors.  Because Billups and Anthony are base year contract players, they can’t be traded until July 1st, when they lose that designation.  So until then, it’s just a waiting game for something to officially go through and be announced.  But that doesn’t mean that Joe D hasn’t already been working this deal and told Chauncey that it is probable to go through.

A “family situation” could certainly mean that Billups has to look for a new house in Denver for his family in time for his three daughters to go to school in the fall.  A move from Detroit to Denver definitely warrants a “family situation” that would distract Chauncey if he was overseas playing on the Olympic team.  After another long grind in the playoffs, and a new environment on the horizon, it’s no wonder Billups would want to stay home with his family and sort all of this out.

Now, with all due respect to Chauncey, we’re dealing with a family issue here, and it could be something quite different.  If that is the case, I hope he is able to work through it and everything is OK. 

Big Ten Network – Comcast Near Deal

I’m kind of disappointed. I liked being the only one I knew who had BTN. I could have charged an entrance fee to my basement last year for Michigan football games. Now, I just won’t feel as special.

Blown away by Tiger Woods

Short post tonight as I’m out by the campfire, but I’ll exand on this tomorrow.

Tiger’s victory today was one of the greatest golf championships in the history of the PGA.

Tiger says his knee may be worse. Tiger was quoted as saying he is going to rest indefintely and he also said that he was glad the US Open was over because he didn’t feel like playing anymore.

What else can Tiger do? Obviously go after Jack’s majors career wins record. But what about his knee? Does it matter? What’s the next tournament?

The thing is, Tiger is now cemented as one of top three greatest athletes in the histpry of the modern sports era, and you could make a case for him being number one.

But is this a case of a dominant athlete playing a sport with lesser competition? What if Tiger had tried baseball or basketball or football? How does Tiger match up compared to those athletes in “tougher” or more athletic sports? What if Michael Jordan or Ted Williams or Joe Montana had concentrated on golf from an early age?

As it stands though, Tiger is the most dominating athlete ever in his sport. It feels like I’m watching history that will be talked about for years with each major he wins. This one was the most dramatic and may be the most talked about since his breakout huge Masters win in his early few years on the tour.

The Great Summer Chase?

That’s 4 in a row for the Tigers.  What a game.  Did you see the 8th where Guiellen got hit and then got into it with LA’s pitcher?  Both dugouts cleared, no punches thrown, but then Magglio steps up and two pitches later smacks a shot over the wall in left to put the game out of reach.  That’s what I’m talking about!

So now, the summer is setting up for a great potential run at the division.  There still a ways back, but they’re within striking distance.  The just swept division leader White Sox, who they trail by 8 games.  Will this be known as the year of the great chase?  How they turned the corner and fed off the thrill of the hunt?  Will they be dubbed the Comeback Cats?

It’s still a long shot, but at least it’s given me some new found interest.  There’s at least hope.  And now it looks like Zumaya and Rodney are going to join the team.  As long as Joel stays away from Guitar Hero, moving boxes, and doing keg stands, we just might have a chance.

3 In A Row!

Not quite a 6 game winning streak yet, and not exactly when I said it should be, but I’ll take it.  I can actually say that I have a slight, slight hope that the Tigers can turn things around.  Why?  Because they actually won a low scoring pitchers duel.  Kenny Rogers was fantastic tonight while only allowing 1 run and giving the Tigers a chance to win, which they did with Cabrera’s walk-off homer in the ninth.   The win finished a sweep of the division leading White Sox. 

Now that’s Tigers baseball!  Of course, this means nothing if they lose two or three in a row next.  So c’mon – GO GET ‘EM TIGERS!

 

NBA fixed? Could Sheed Have Been Right?

In the midst of a great NBA finals match-up between Boston and LA, disgraced NBA ref Tim Donaghy – in the wake of felony sentencing for his role in fixing and gambling on NBA games – has accused the NBA of fixing playoff games.  The main game in note was the 2002 Western Conference Finals between LA and Sacramento – perhaps the Kings last shot at a title.  The Lakers shot 26 free throws to the Kings’ 9, prompting even Ralph Nader to cry foul.  The Lakers won the series and went on to win the finals.

Hmmm.  All I can think of now is Rasheed calling out the NBA all these years for being nothing more than entertainment, and comparing the league to the WWF.  Many times after a playoff loss, Rasheed would put the blame on the NBA, saying that’s they wanted the Pistons to lose.  Maybe it was Sheed being Sheed, but maybe he had a point.  Refs are human, and it’s only natural to think that they may develop some bias over the years, or be motivated by a different agenda.

That being said, things sort of even out over the course of a season and the playoffs, regardless of the refs.  The best teams end up winning the title.  When the Pistons won in 2004, the Lakers were the heavy favorites and the darlings of the league, with Shaq, Kobe, Karl Malone and Gary Payton.  But the Pistons won easily in 5 games, with nobody crying over that one.

So I don’t know.  I don’t think by any means that these new allegations will ruin the NBA.  I do think that it will help the way games are officiated in the long run.  There might be stricter rules about referees developing relationships with owners and coaches and players.  David Stern might open the discussion about the foul discrepancy of the home and visiting teams. 

I watch a lot of NBA games, and I have to say that 99% of the time, the refs do an outstanding job.  It’s got to be an extremely hard game to call.  I’m just not a big believer in conspiracy theories – the league itself is successful enough without having to resort to fixing games.  I’m guessing this will blow over.  Sorry Sheed!

More Possible Pistons Trades

The off-season in NBA basketball is almost as fun as the regular season.  For Joe Dumars, it’s everything.  When asked if he was going to make some major moves this summer, Joe responded with the now famous answer, “You’re damn right I will.”  The Pistons don’t have the cap space to sign a free agent, so a trade should be in the works.

I’ve previously said that they should go after Elton Brand.  Here’s some other names that I think Joe might try to trade for:

Hey Tigers, Now’s The Time For a Win Streak!

Tigers, listen up.  You’ve got a serious chance to save your season.  You gotta go on a little 6 game winning streak, starting Friday night against the Tribe.  That’s not too much to ask, is it?  I bet over the course of history, every team that has made the playoffs has at least one 6 game win streak over the course of the 162 game season.

Here’s why you need to go on this 6 game streak NOW.  As of tonight, June 5th, on your day off, you’re sitting at 8.5 games back of the White Sox for first place in the Central.  You’re 24-35, Chicago is 32-26.  Also ahead of you is Cleveland, at 27-32.  Your next opponents?  Indians and Sox.

Let’s say you sweep the Tribe to open the 6 game win streak.  That puts you at 27-35, tied with Cleveland.  You carry the momentum and sweep the White Sox, and now you’re 30-35, and probably about 4-6 games out of first, depending on how Minnesota plays this next week.  You’d be right back in it, and feeling good about making a run.

How ’bout it Tigers?  I’ll be watching, and I’ll be drinking beer out of my lucky blue Tigers glass.  I rode that glass all the way to the World Series in 2006, when I didn’t drink out of it and you lost.  I haven’t used it this year, but maybe it’s time.

Let’s go Tigers!  We still believe!  Let’s do it now!

The Decrease In Support of The New Generation Of Red Wings

Congrats Red Wings on winning the Cup!  They completely dominated the regular season and playoffs in beating Pittsburgh in 6.  With the previous Wings titles, though, it was true Hockey Town pandemonium.  It’s all anyone cared about or talked about around this time.  The Pistons were just starting to get good again back then, and the Tigers were suffering through their annual bout of awfulness. 

I remember going to a B-Dubs in 2001 when the Pistons had Chucky Atkins and Jerry Stackhouse, and Ben Wallace was playing his first season there, and they had won 50 games.  It was the final Game 5 of the first round for the Pistons (this was before the league extended first round games to 7), I think against the Celtics (ironically).  And it was Game 2 of the opening round playoffs for the Red Wings. 

I was pumped to watch the Pistons because it would have been their first playoff series win in a long time.  But at the bar, they only had the Pistons game going on a small TV in a corner; all the big screens, and even all the rest of the smaller TVs had the Wings.  It ended up being a hell of a game for the Pistons, as they came up with the victory, although I would’ve enjoyed it much better if they would have put it up in front.

This year, the Red Wings had trouble filling the Joe during the regular season, and even for the playoffs, while the Pistons sold out every game and captured most people’s attention.  I was really hoping the Wings would hold off the Penguins in Game 5 so they could win it in front of the home crowd and generate more excitement around here.  But what is it about the new generation of Red Wings?  Is it just not the same without The Captain, Stevie Y?  Do we not relate as much to this high-finesse team as we did the old rough and tumble, knock-your-teeth-out-to-beat-you teams of the past?  I have to say, it was great seeing Darren McCarty flash that toothless grin as he talked about how it felt to win his fourth cup.

Response To Potential Nuggets-Pistons Trade

There was an interesting article in hoopsworld.com about the Pistons and Nuggets possibly working together for a trade.  The author suggested that the Pistons would trade Billups, Wallace, and Antonio McDyess for AI, Marcus Camby and Kleiza.  He even went so far as to suggest that the Pistons would even trade Billups for a package involving Marcus Camby (oh - Billups is a hometown Denver guy – what a great fit!).  My response: you must be crazy.

First of all, we’re talking about players on the Pistons who have won a title and made the Eastern Conference finals for 6 straight seasons.  We’re talking about multi-year All-Stars here.  Joe D isn’t stupid.  You’re not going to get pennies on the dollar here.  Yes, everybody’s on the block but Joe won’t trade just to trade.

Let’s break this proposal down for a second.  Alright – AI for Billups.  Possibly.  But Joe has already come close to trading for Iverson but hasn’t pulled the trigger.  AI is 33, dribbles too much to be paired with Rip in the backcourt and would take minutes away from Stuckey.  Next – Wallace for Camby: are you kidding me?  Please, you’re wasting our time here.  Wallace is as good as Camby defensively and he’s younger and way better of a scorer.  If you’re a Nuggets fan I could see why this trade proposal would excite you, but from our end, there’s no way.  We’d just as soon keep him and have that $13mil+ salary come off the books next year.  And finally, McDyess for Kleiza.  Again, this is silly.  McDyess is the perfect teammate, has a very reasonable salary and was often the hardest working and best player the Pistons had this postseason.  He’s the perfect veteren big man to come off the bench, so he’s actually far down the list of players we want to deal.  Kleiza?

The only way that Joe would pull the trigger on something involving the Nuggets is to get Carmello Anthony in the package.  Either with AI or without him.  Then we’d talk.  But until then, that’s just a pipedream.