JJ Ridiculous

Remember this guy?



Yeah me too, as a UNC fan I hate him. As a basketball fan, I respect his ability to shoot the ball but not much else and as a human I hate him too. Maybe I am biased when it comes to ex Dookies but who cares, it's my post.

A few weeks back I read this. That's right JJ Redick is demanding a trade, not only that but he has delivered an ultimatum to the Magic, the old play me or trade me line. If I were JJ's agent I would remind him that the fact he still has an NBA contract baffles the shit of 90% of basketball fans everywhere. Yes, you are a great shooter but the last time I checked you couldn't drive past a cinder block let alone an NBA defender. Not only that but you went to Dook, notorious for great NCAA players who burn out in the pro's.



This past season the Magic attained the 3rd seed in the East, (not that great an accomplishment I know) but considering they did it with the 4th lowest payroll in the league you could say it was. JJ contributions were as follows: 34 games played, averaging about 8 minutes per and a whopping 4.1 ppg slightly more than such offense forces as Trevor Ariza, Adonal Foyle and James Augustine. His salary? $ 2,000,160 That is $ 58,888 dollars per game played or roughly $ 7,361 dollars for every minute of game action. Tough life Redick.



I know it's not about that. It's about your competitive spirit and thinking that you can actually help a team out, but here is the funny part you probably can't. Trajan Langdon certainly couldn't but he is killing in Russia. Having a terrific jump shot is great, but not if it is the only weapon you possess. Think about it, Reggie Miller could D up, Ray Allen can't but he can at least dunk and his calves look like watermelons, you? You are as porous as a sponge on defense and your handle compares to Gheorghe Muresan's. If you were in the NBA 15-20 years ago you would have had a solid career (I see you Steve Kerr) but not in today's game.



If your looking for minutes I suggest you try the European circuit, that NBA thing might not be best suited for your talents (or lack thereof). That $ 2.3 million your due next year? I'll gladly take it off your hands for you and wave a towel without bitching. The only demand I'll make is that I don't get your old locker.

Go Heels!

Point of Importance

Have I missed something? Has every NBA series always gone 4-0 for the higher seeded team? Why is everyone crying about the Celtics recent road woes? Granted they finished the NBA regular season with the best record but does that mean they should win every game home or away? During the regular season it should, because it's a grind and frankly each game isn't worth shit. (1/82 or .012 to be exact)



But for those of us who have experienced the difference of a regular season NBA game (little fan noise, no uniform t-shirt giveaways, general passiveness on the part of both players, coaches and fans) and a playoff game (planned t-shirt giveaways, tons of signs, amplified noise and fan excitement, as well as spectacular efforts by players and strategy by coaches) know that winning in the playoffs takes considerably more effort. Fans are boisterous and screaming from the front row to the bleeders. The same cannot be said during the regular season. Half empty arenas probably don't provide too much fodder for home teams to get psyched up to play a game worth almost nothing.



Perhaps the NBA should change their slogan for the playoffs "NBA: Where an actual home court advantage happens"

It would be nice to think that every NBA player works their hardest from the 1st game of the season until the 82nd, in that world steroids don't exist and college athletes play for the love of the game. It just doesn't happen, and to the fans who assume they do I hope you are under the age of 12, if not don't procreate. Because that fantasy land doesn't exist.

Furthermore, the Lakers are locked in a battle with the Jazz 2-2 and not a soul is saying they have screwed the pooch, and they have been everyone under the sun's lock NBA champion from the end of the regular season.




What we should be doing is recognizing how hard true away games really are. When the Celtics traveled during the NBA regular season I think many fans were there to see how good the Celts were, not to vehemently root against them. Now that the stakes are raised and each game has value they are rabidly cheering for their team to beat them. That's the difference (well that, and some of Doc Rivers substitution patterns. Another post will tackle those), not that the Celtics are now terrible.

Bottom line, winning on the road, in the playoffs, is extremely difficult and an entirely different universe from regular season away games.

Ten Sports Figures Who Annoy Me

10. Danica Patrick- More confusing than annoying. One week I see a foul mouthed butch going fisticuffs with Dan Wheldon, then a week later I see a charming vixen half naked in Maxim. The cognitive dissonance is killing me and makes it quite difficult for me to decide if shes hot,



or not.

9. Tom Brady- You can tell a lot about guy's character following a loss, something Tom Brady has little experience with. However, in the few instances we have seen Tom on the short end of the stick, he has transformed into an introverted crybaby reminiscent of his head coach.

8. David Beckham- Does this wanker really have the gall to think he could come to America and make us care about soccer all of the sudden? A black president....maybe, but soccer.....not in my lifetime.

7. Pat Summit- She reminds me of Hillary Clinton, and she talked dip about Geno....need I say more?

6.Phil Mickelson- I love lefty's game but I think Tiger has made him a bit insecure. Phil still claims he's "the best in the world when he's on", when in reality he's the best in the world only "when Tiger's off". Also, no guy with C cups should have a wife as hot as this (Still not as hot as Tiger's )

5. Jimmy Clausen- Not as prolific as some of the other names on this list but he certainly still qualifies. The Charlie Weiss super recruit rolled up in a stretch limo to the College Football Hall of Fame to announce his decision to play for the Irish. After watching him under center this year, I am confident this will be the one and only time we associate the name "Jimmy Clausen" with "Hall of Fame".

4. Lance Armstrong- This world class d bag is anything but the hero he has been made out to be. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence linking Lance to both blood doping and HGH use. Once he became famous, Lance left his wife and kids for country singer Sheryl Crow. Lance then proceeded to dump the pop star shortly after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and last I heard was banging Michelle Tanner. Not a bad rap sheet for a guy with one testicle.


3. Tyler Hansborough- A Duke jersey would have looked much more fitting on Psycho T. Lets see where that "intensity" gets you in the NBA.

2.The Cameron Crazies- You know that really gay bald kid who paints himself blue and white for every Uconn sporting event? Clone him 1,300 times.

1. Curt Shilling- The Al Sharpton of Major League Baseball. We've heard the Red Sox righty's opinion on just about everything from steroids in baseball to deficit spending. I can only hope these last couple months on the DL have provided him with ample time to develop a plan to get us out of this recession.

Hold the Mayo

Nothing better than a good pun, nothing!!

Recently ESPN has been flooding the market with the news that OJ Mayo has been taking money from a sports agency since high school. My question (of many) is, is that news? Does anyone think this can't happen? Didn't Michigan forfeit a ridiculous amount of games and records due to the whole Chris Webber fiasco? When will we learn that maybe in some cases college athletes do get benefits that mere regular students don't. And that maybe no one really cares.




Secondly this dude (Louis Johnson), who is blowing the whistle is completely off track. Why are we crucifying Mayo and the agents and letting this guy get a pass. When he was in Mayo's circle of trust he didn't seem to mind riding the gravy train but as soon as the well runs dry it becomes time to sound the alarm? Horse shit. Johnson is an angry ex-girlfriend mad that he got dumped two weeks before the prom. Get over it, OJ Mayo is moving on to make millions and your going back to whatever you were doing before taking care of a future NBA superstar.



What's that? You were selling crack and unemployed before this? Hmmm, sounds reliable.

Oh and you told this to ESPN?

Johnson told ESPN he did not get paid, but hoped to profit once Mayo made it to the NBA.

Smooth, your intentions really must have been to help OJ become the best student-athlete he could be. Not to hang on and use his success to bolster your bank account so you can live happily ever after.

With all that being said, it isn't really even the heart of the matter. Did OJ Mayo get some cash on the side? Allegedly. Was he the first? Certainly not. Will he be the last? You can bet your ass he won't be. Do athletes tend to surround themselves with poor decision makers and hangers on? Frequently (see Jones, Pacman).

The point here is everyone is at fault, not just Mayo and Guillory. Boosters want to see their alma mater's succeed, fans treat these kids as rock stars from the moment they step on campus. If you want to take the money out of college sports let them leave for the NBA straight out of high school (I'm looking at you Stern!), with anything other than that you can expect for more of these stories for years to come.