Random Sports Thoughts

Well since I have only posted once in the past 2 months or so, I am probably the only one that will read this. My last post was an NBA Finals preview...yeesh. I'm pretty sure that I called it on Jameer Nelson ruining Orlando's chemistry, and that Derek Fisher was an X-factor when he hit a clutch 3 to win game 4. The Lakers were the better team, and that is that.

Here are some of my random sports thoughts.

• This is the worst sports stretch of the year. All there is to watch is baseball, golf, tennis, and the WNBA...gross.
  

• There is also the NBA summer leagues going on which are interesting if you want to see your teams draft picks and 2nd year players playing. Unfortunately its mostly lopsided matchups where there are a lot of "man among boys" situations. Anthony Randolph dropped 42 yesterday - hes sick, but so what Don Nelson will just misuse him like always does come regular season. Blake Griffin is a beast like everyone expected. Robin Lopez even put up 24/16 the other day. Its a great time of year for fans to convince themselves that high draft picks can live up to the hype. Truehoop.com is running pretty good recaps of the daily events, or look up your local blogger, I guaratnee one guy is out there following the team and can give you the best info.
  

• As a Padre fan, it really annoyed me that ESPN insisted on interviewing Joe Buck during Adrian Gonzalez's turn during the home run derby. Joe Buck's smugness completely hexed Gonzalez into only hitting two home runs. Actually, it didn't, the Padres suck, and their best kept secret is that Adrian Gonzalez has been god awful for at least the past month and really isn't having that stellar of a year. Since June 1, his batting average has dropped from .290 to .250. He has openly said that he is "mentally tired" and that "I feel great my first one or two at-bats and then I get lost. It's just not going my way right now." I can translate this..."I'm tired of playing for a team that sucks, I'm not getting any pitches so I swing away at anything that looks somewhat hittable, and why would anyone pitch to me late in the game when we are behind?" The proof is in the stats. With runners in scoring position, he is only batting .209 with a .480 OBP. With RISP and 2 outs, hes batting .179 with a .521 OBP. Basically he's getting walked half the time and the other time he's trying to hit junk thats getting thrown to him. I think it has completely gotten in his head. I still think he's tired though. He never stops playing baseball, he plays in the Mexican leagues in the offseason and he also played in the WBC. The guy never takes a break. All he has to look forward to is taking over the Padres consecutive games played streak, which he is very close to.

• Padres All-Star game recap: Gonzalez: 0-0, 1 BB (he leads the MLB in walks, how ironic), Heath Bell: Tagged with a loss after giving up a triple and a sac fly. Funny All-Star game side note: All 4 runs scored by the AL were given up by NL West pitchers. Ah, the mighty NL West.
  

• The Rafael Furcal comparisons for the Padres SS Everth Cabrera are fair. He seems like the real deal, and I think he is the most exciting Padre player to watch right now...yes more exciting than Gonzalez. Check out his highlights, the kid has a rocket arm and is incredibly fast and rangy. I don't miss Khalil Greene one bit.
  

• The first of NFL training camps start exactly two week from today, that feels good to say. I'm trying to motivate to start doing a preview for the league but will have to wait til depth charts get sorted out. I'm looking forward to the start of all the football talk and it will motivate me to write more. I also can not wait to start gambling on football again, Parlees!
  

• That US Confederations Cup loss to Brazil was just brutal. Up 2-0 and cruising into the 2nd half only to blow it. Thats the Brazilians for you though, they are so supremely talented. It was still an awesome ride to our first major international final because we really should not have been there in the first place. But the US has got to get over the hump at some point, we have been close a couple times only to fall short. Hopefully we can make some more noise at the 2010 World Cup. In the mean time, everyone should be paying attention to the Gold Cup going on right now. It is not the same team that played in the Confederations Cup, but its something we should and need to win to continue to establish our position and better our seeding for the World Cup. Also, the lack of home crowd at US international games on our home turf is completely embarassing. The last game was packed with Hondurans and the game was at RFK in our freakin nation's capital. People need to get out and support more because you bet your ass there aren't a bunch of Hondurans taking over the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City when they play there.