Bold Statement: Antawn Jamison Is Not Tough

I will preface this with the thought that if I played for the Cavs, I'd be ready to get this season over with too. But regardless, what a pussy. Antawn Jamison is going to miss the rest of the season for a broken left pinkie finger. Never mind that he's right handed, or that Kobe Bryant played a whole season through a broken index finger on his shooting hand that will never be the same. This really just sums up the last year and a half of fail that Jamison has produced. He was brought in to Cleveland to be help Lebron James' Cavaliers get a championship. We all know how that worked out for the Cavs as Jamison never really meshed and the Celtics bounced Lebron to South Beach. The Cavaliers should have never gambled on Jamison aging body and balky knee either. He will have another few years, but his 14 year career is all but over.

Swagger of the Week: Julio Jones

I haven't written on this blog in almost a year and a half. But I saw this headline and the shear swagger of it all inspired me to post it up. Julio Jones starred at the combine this weekend, posting a sub 4.4 40-yd dash time, the Combine's highest broad jump, catching all the passes, and running the right routes. He did all of this despite having a broken foot which will require surgery. This guy is a complete and utter beast, and you can tell just by looking at him. He's 6'-4" 220 lbs, and most importantly, has awesome dreadlocks, which we all know are critical to NFL success and displaying your swagger. The only bad thing about this is there is now no way in hell that he slips to the Chargers at the 18th pick. Rivers throwing bombs to him would be a thing of beauty. There's no way this kid makes it out of the top 10, and pretty much any team that passes on him will ultimately regret it.

NHL Back on Top Soon?

The NHL is primed to be a major force within the next 3 years or so.  The league has never been so stocked with young, exciting talent as it is now. Even better is that it is going to continue to flow for years to come. It is incredible how good some of these guys are and the potential they possess. Here is a short and incomplete list of players drafted in the last 5 years: Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, Kane, Toews, Backstrom, Kessel, Erik Johnson, Bobby Ryan, Kopitar, Bobby Ryan, Stastny, Tavares, and Matt Duchene. These guys are selling merchandise and tickets in droves and have revived hockey in some very large markets. The NHL is stacked. Meanwhile, the NBA and NFL both face lockouts in the next 3 years. The renegotiations of the CBA for these two organizations are going to be ugly and it might not be shocking to see one of these leagues go into a lockout. If one of these do shut down for a season, hockey will have a major opportunity to advance its fan base.

Despite a major recession, this year season tickets were renewed at an 85% clip, decent retention, and the league managed to expand its corporate sponsorship. League revenue increased this year and the ratings for the deciding game of last year's Stanley cup were a 36-year high. Opening weekend ratings were up across the board. The league has also been very savvy with its online "NHL Gamecenter Live" subscription which has seen a 70% increase from last season. NHL's online information is unparalleled and is helping it to expand not only nationally but globally. The league also continues to expand into a fertile European market with opening weekend games in Helsinki.

It isn't all perfect though, there are still many teams struggling right now. The Phoenix Coyotes saga has been a black eye, and several other southern teams are struggling mightily. There is a good chance that some of these teams may fold in coming years. But overall, even the hapless Gary Bettman may have a lot of people eating crow.

A Good Day For The Padres

New Padres owner-in-waiting Jeff Moorad probably had his best day as Padres CEO since taking over at the top of the organization. Over about a 12-hour span the following happened:

• 1st round pick CF Donavan Tate was signed to a $6.25 million deal, a franchise record for a draft pick
• 2nd round pick CF Everett Williams signed to $775,000 deal
• 4th round pick RHP Keyvius Sampson signed to $600,000 deal
• San Diego's Park View Little League team is going to the LL World Series. With the manager on the radio talking about how they are trying to raise money to get all of the parents out to Williamsport, PA, Moorad calls in and donates $10,000 on behalf of the Padres to help.
• Chase Headley and Kyle Blanks start a 2-out rally to beat the Cubs, ending on Blanks' 3-run walk-off homer.

So the Padres have secured top talent in the draft, signifying a big change from previous years when the Padres became well known for their tendency to sign "safe" college prospects. In doing this, Moorad makes it clear to the fans that he will be different and is fully committed to rebuilding and acquiring top-tier talent. Moorad also gets bonus PR points for donating money to the community. Then the Padres two top young prospects, Headley and Blanks, combine to win a game for the major league team. Personally, I thought yesterday was a breathe of fresh air. Obviously we have years to find out if these draft picks will pan out or not, but it honestly can't get any worse than past drafts. Instead of following Sandy Alderson's moneyball philosophy, which despite all of its hype has not produced a successful team, the Padres have shifted to a drafting philosophy more like recent successful small market teams like the Rays and Marlins - draft young, high upside, athletic players. Williams and Sampson are both steals. Tate and Williams have 5-tool outfielder potential, and Sampson is a power arm with a live fastball and a hammer for a curveball. He has a crazy story that is a pretty good read.

Anyways, a bright day for the lowly Padres, who have had too many low points in the last 2 seasons.

More info on potential new Padres pitchers

One thing I can gather in breezing through these guys is that the padres definitely have a type now - big, tall pitchers.

Poreda: 6'-6", 240 lbs
Richard: 6'-5", 240 lbs
Russell: 6'-8", 250 lbs
Carter: 6'-6", 195 lbs

If you look at the guys the padres drafted this year (go to the June Archive of Paul Depodestas blog recapping the draft) the organizational philosophy has turned to big, power pitchers instead of strike throwers who don't necessarily have dominant stuff (cough, cough Josh Geer). Definitely moving on from the Alderson era.

Scouting report on Aaron Poreda:

http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2009/03/aaron-poreda-bio-scouting-report-pitches-white-sox-rotation/

Good Article on Clayton Richard:

http://www.lifeinthecell.com/?p=1214

Adam Russell Scouting Report

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=261&f=3546&t=515301

Dexter Carter

Couldn't find a scouting report but he is in Single-A ball right now for the Kannapolis Intimidators (like that team name). This year he is 6-2 with a 3.13 ERA. This year he has an impressive 143 strikeouts in 118 IP.

So to recap: two major-league ready starting pitchers (Poreda & Richard). Russell is most likely a reliever but could be a starter. Dexter Carter looks to have big upside as a future starting pitcher. This restocks the Padres with young arms...not to mention that they are incredibly cheap. I have fully invested myself in the Padres rebuilding process, so I can accept it. It hasn't really sunk in yet, but Peavy has missed big portions of the last two season so I'm kind of used to him being gone anyways.

Peavy....if you pass this physical, its been good man. I'll never forget watching you strikeout 9 batters in a row. I loved watching how you made people look stupid when they swung out of their shoes on that nasty slider of yours. You brought a Cy Young award to San Diego. Its been a good run and I wish you nothing but the best in Chicago. I hope you can get that ring because we in San Diego have no doubts that you are a true competitor.

Jake Peavy has been traded

Boom! Has it up before ESPN does

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090731&content_id=6169266&vkey=

Jake Peavy has been traded to the Chicago White sox for four minor league players: LHP Aaron Poreda, LHP Clayton Richard, RHP Adam Russell, & RHP Dexter Carter....more info to come.

Random Sports Thoughts

Training camps fully start on Friday for pretty much every NFL team. Rookies have reported and veterans are trickling in. Time to put on those pads and go to work....I can not wait. More on the NFL to come in the future.

• Brett Favre turns down Vikings to remain retired: "The hardest decision I've ever had to make"....harder than the first and second time? Good riddance Favre, go fish and hunt in Mississippi, it will be way better than putting your tired, busted body through any more pain and embarrassment.
  

• Phillies trade prospects for Cliff Lee: Actually they didn't have to part with their most prized prospects, instead only giving up four decent ones in order to make a run at back-to-back titles. Typical Cleveland trades their ace for young talent, they are thinking long term with this. They get back two pitchers and a catcher with high upside (pitcher Jason Knapp being the best one), the rest have a much longer shot to be impact players. The rest of the prospects. I'm sure one of these guys will pan out for them. Phillies Nation lists Amaro's top 10 as GM and I gotta say I agree that he has done well. I'm still worried about Cole Hamels, even though he has dominated the last two games (although against the lowly Padres and Diamondbacks). If Hamels and Lee pitch like they are capable of, the Phillies should breeze to the National League pennant.

• Dodgers remain quiet: I feel like they will feel the pressure to make a move now that the Phillies have acquired Cliff Lee. GM Ned Colletti is enamored with his prospects but I don't feel like their rotation is a sure-fire winner come playoff time. Chad Billingsley is fantastic, but how much can you rely on Randy Wolf and the young Clayton Kershaw? Clock is ticking Doyers. (Update: Dodgers trade two Double-A prospects for All-Star Orioles closer George Sherrill) Well that shores up their bullpen. This will keep Jonathan Broxton fresh, he has been overworked this season and is going to need the occasional day off from now on since the Dodgers are coasting to the NL West pennant. 3B Josh Bell is said to be the best player in the package that the Orioles are receiving.

• NBA Free Agency:
• Steve Nash signs 2-year extension with Suns: So Steve Kerr has set the clock back on basically everything that he has done in the past year or so. He has catered to Steve Nash's desires and the direction that he wants. It is going to be back to the run-and-gun that everyone has lamented the loss of. I still think that had Amare Stoudemire not gone down last year the Suns make it into the playoffs. People forget that he missed the second half of the season and have now labeled the Suns a non-contender. While it will be extremely hard for the Suns to contend with the bigs in the Western Conference, this team is similar to the Mike D'Antoni teams that competed year in and year out. This year's team has a better bench though. Leandro Barbosa, Louis Amundson, Jared Dudley, Earl Clark, and Goran Dragic can make things happen if they play how they did towards the end of the season. Barbosa desperately needs to have a bounce-back year. He had a very tough year emotionally with the loss of his mother, who was basically the center of his life. I am really interested to see how Channing Frye fits into this offense as well. Earl Clark is going to have to become the next Shawn Marion, if he can play versatile defense like him, then that will fill a huge hole that the Suns have had since he left. I wouldn't expect that much out of the rookie though. This team scares me from a rebounding perspective. The Suns are going to have to consistently outscore teams, which they can do. But the thought of Channing Frye and Amare Stoudemire going up against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum does not give good feelings. All signs point to Steve Kerr making another midseason move if things do not go well on that front. Bottom line with the Steve Nash extension is that he likes Phoenix, and he likes his friends on his team. He wants to remain comfortable while playing a style that fits his game and makes him happy. He is all about team chemistry. I hope that they find it and bring excitement back to the desert

• Hedo Turkoglu signs with Toronto Raptors: He basically went there because his wife liked Toronto better and there is a larger Turkish community there. Along with the Raptors trading for Belinelli (for Devean George and cash?! What a steal) this team is really interesting. The starting five (Bargnani, Bosh, Calderon, Turkoglu, and possibly Belinelli at SG) will be all international players with the exception of Bosh. I dont see how this keeps Bosh around, surrounding him with players with which he shares nothing in common with. He is gone after this year. I have a feeling that Jerry Colangelo has almost accepted this and is trying to bring an international style of ball to the league to see how it works. He is the director of USA Basketball and has been studying the game intensely over the last few years. I am not sure what to expect out of this team, but I do predict an astronomical amount of flops and awkward moments of celebration between Bosh and his Euro teammates.

• Ron Artest signs with the Lakers: I dont get it. Ariza provided the things he can provide without ruining the offense and stopping the ball. Now the Rockets steal Ariza at the midlevel exception. If the Lakers lose Odom too, I don't see how they do not take a step back next season. Prepare to get hoodalized by Ron Ron.