Who's The Villian Now? Carmelo or LeBron

"I Tip My Hat Off To Myself For Not Getting Distracted With All The Trade Talk"-Carmelo Anthony

A little history about the trade that went down before I get to my take on it. Almost three years ago, when the Olympic team was in Beijing, Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony all were up to sign long term extensions. Three of them decided to sign together and do short term deals with their current teams so that could be possible. They asked Carmelo to do the same but he decided not to because he wanted to bring a championship to Denver. Melo built a lot of good will in the Mile High City.

Fast forward to last summer to Carmelo's wedding, after everyone watched LeBron and company team up in Miami, Chris Paul made a toast at Carmelo and Lala's wedding stating that he, Carmelo and Amare' should go to the Knicks. And thus that was the beginning of the end of Carmelo in Denver.

I don't understand why the Nuggets gave Carmelo to the Knicks. It doesn't make any sense and here is why. The new collective bargaining agreement would have given the Nuggets better option than dealing him for parts and pieces that you may or may not keep. The new CBA would have either given the Nuggets the franchise tag or made it so difficult for Carmelo to leave as a free agent. I would have called his bluff and see if he wanted to leave millions of dollars on the table. Carmelo would have lost money if he really wanted to go to the Knicks and the Nuggets did him a favor. Denver will never be able to replace Carmelo and his talents. It is tough to find such a scorer, who demands double teams. Those guys are once in a lifetime talents. Just ask Cleveland.

So the Knicks got him, now what? They will be ok but as far as championships, I just don't see it. Carmelo is a great scorer, no doubt about that and paired with Amare' they will be tough to beat in the regular season. With D'Antonio offensive genius, the Knicks will fill it up on the offensive end but defense is where they will struggle and that has been the knock on all of D'Antoni's team. If you look at the top teams that win championships in the NBA that had dynamic duos and trio's all of them were in the top five of defense. Magic and Kareem, Larry,Mchale, and Parish, Michael and Scottie, Kobe and Shaq, Tim and all the parts around him, all those mentions were in at the top or near the top in all the major defensive categories. No one has ever accused Carmelo and Amare' of being great defenders and that is the problem with this deal. Now with that said Carmelo and Billups did get the Nuggets to the Western Conference finals two years ago but when they needed to get a defensive rebound or multiple stops on a possession, they couldn't get it done.

As far as the super teams being formed, I think those days are over. The new CBA will try really hard to clamp down on players dictating where they can go. This dictating and holding teams hostage is not good for fans pr the league. Major cities cannot continue to monopolize the best talents because the smaller owners will either dump their franchise or collapse under the weight of a tough economy. By the way, I highly doubt that either Chris Paul or Deron Williams will find their way to New York. I'm not saying they stay with their current teams but the Knicks will not be able to afford either guy when the new CBA comes.

Lebron did not hold the Cavs hostage or demand a trade from Cleveland. LeBron waited until he was a free agent. Like it or not what Camelo did was worse. He did not fulfill his contract and made it so that he was becoming a distraction to his team. The fans in Denver were booing him and rightfully so because he gave them his word and now its worthless. You may have not liked LeBron's decision but he did not lie to the fanbase. Now the NBA has another villain to boo. Carmelo, the one who tips his hat to himself.

NFL CBA and a Possible Fix

Some Goodell Insight

Roger Goodell is facing a potential lockout for the first time as commissioner of the NFL. The last time there was a work stoppage was in 1987. Goodell has had some experience in this situation before. Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback gives you a little insight on the commish and how potentially the negotiations with the players union will go.

Also here is a possible fix to the labor strife that could hurt the season going forward by Dan Patrick. The league wants 18 games, and the players don't want that. I agree with the players on that because you can't trumpet player safety and then add more games. So Dan's suggestion is this: 1. Add two more playoff teams which I am for. In this scenario the Chargers and Raiders would have made it in the AFC, while the Bucs and Giants in the NFC. Also he would add a second bye week that way players can get healthier and the season is stretched to 23 weeks. The TV execs win because of the programming and advertising. The owners win because of extra revenue generated by the playoffs and the players win because they do not get the extra wear and tear. Also, Dan would cut the preseason down to two games instead of four.

Now the only problem I have with Dan's proposal is that with the 16 game playoff, everyone plays the first weekend. I still say that getting the best record deserves a bye so I would still leave the top team with a bye and the rest and make everyone else duke it out. Also, I think the preseason game prices should be cut in half and instead of two games, it should be three. Other than that Dan's proposal makes sense. Even former Colts coach Tony Dungy said it does, and he said since it does make sense then it won't be considered.

Thanks for reading...

What's All The Fuss About Being No.1?

No.1 in College Basketball Doesn't Matter

This past weekend the Ohio St. Buckeyes lost to the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison, ending their undefeated season. All the talk on Saturday and Sunday was who would be the new number 1. Would it be Kansas or Texas or maybe even Pitt. I'm here to say that in college basketball being ranked no.1 really doesn't matter. March Madness sorts out who is the best team and that is totally fine by me.

Just to give you some perspective on how the number one ranking in the polls you can look at last years Final Four teams. Duke, West Virginia, Michigan St. and Butler were ranked from 6th to 13th and they were the last four standing. For most of the year, these teams were playing the best. That's why the rankings and polls really does not matter. The only benefit the rankings provide is seeding.

The rankings give people something to talk about and bragging rights from week to week. They also give a good gauge on who is improving throughout the year. What you really want to look at to determine who is hot going into March Madness is by who played the best in their conference tournament and their last 5 regular season games.

The month of Febraury will seperate the contenders from the pretenders. The rankings don't reflect a teams determination, discipline and defense. These are the areas that reflect how good a team really is. Not a ranking in a paper.

Good Guys Of The Week

A Great Coach Says Goodbye and a Great Shooter Breaks a Record

Jerry Sloan

I was actually really sad to hear that Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan resigned suddenly late yesterday afternoon. Sloan has been the Utah coach since 1988, the longest tenured coach in all professional sports. Sloan was revered by his peers and the players he coached as well as multiple players around the league. The word that kept coming up from all the former players was sadness and that the NBA was losing an icon. This is the coach that brought us Stockton and Malone and made the Utah Jazz into an institution. There were some reports that current Jazz guard Deron Williams had a disagreement with Sloan and that made him resign abruptly in the middle of the season. Hopefully none of those things are true because Williams is one of the better point guards in the league and that would tarnish his career. But more on Sloan, in his time in Salt Lake there have been more than 150 coaching changes in the NBA. Basically every team in the NBA changed coaches on average about three times and he still was coaching. He ran the same offense UCLA cutting style offense and bruising defense for over 23 years. He coached Utah to back to back NBA Final appearances, unfortunately the Jazz ran into Michael Jordan and the Bulls. Sadly, Sloan never won coach of the year. The Jazz were consistently in the playoffs and perennial contenders for a while but Sloan never got the respect from the writers. Sloan was never the type to blow his own horn but he deserved more. The NBA loss more than a Hall of Famer on Thursday afternoon. They lost an icon the likes that will never be seen again.

Ray Allen

Ray Allen broke the all-time 3-point shots made record that was held by Reggie Miller. Allen has made 2,561 three pointers which broke the record that Miller held for 13 years. That record will never be broken again. The reason why is guys have to have three things: health, longevity, and a beautiful jumper. Ray has been blessed with all three of those things. I mean, this guy had a movie based off of how well he shoots the ball (He Got Game, for those who didn't know). Ray is not the scorer Kobe or Michael or even Larry Bird was but what he has brought to the game is the art of shooting. Watching Ray shoot is a thing of beauty. Ray holds numerous three point records for single season, most in a half, playoff games and etc. Allen has always played the game the right way and with class, which is appreciated in today's society. You will never see another shooter as graceful and as pure as Allen because shooting has become a lost art.

5th Quarter (Super Bowl Edition)

Some thoughts from the Super Bowl:

1. When Mike McCarthy took over the Packers six years ago he had to address the fact that when he was the offensive cooridinator of the 49ers he chose Alex Smith over Rodgers. this is how the conversation went in his first meeting with Rodgers: "I didn't pick, now get over it!" I'm pretty sure Rodgers did.

2. Did anyone else notcie Christina Aguleria brutalized the National Anthem?

3. Aaron Rodgers was on FIRE for the playoffs!! Steve Young believes when all the stats are counted it was the greatest postseason run ever. That's saying something.

4. Neither defenses were not all that great. The packers defense were more opportunistic than the Steelers.
5. He will never let on but Troy Polamula had to be hurt. He did not look like himself. He was a step or two slower than normal.
6. Before Rashard Mendenhall fumbled the ball, he was on his way to being named the Super Bowl MVP. The Packers had no answer for him.

7. That was a great play by Clay Matthews on stripping the ball and finishing the play.

8. Why in the world are people blasting the Black Eyes Peas performnce? That was inovative, energetic with tons of surprises. it showed the versatility as artist, as well. Well done and I hope the NFL continues to use younger mor relevant performers (besides Justin Bieber).

9.I feel bad for Mike Tomlin. I would love to play for him. Tomlin is a classy guy who offered up no excuses on why his team loss.
10. Before we call the Packers a "Dynasty", can they at least win two championships?

11. Thought most of the commercials were pretty lame. My best were the Doritos licking the finger and the VW Darth Vader kid.

Congrats to the Green Bay Packers and all their fans on a tremendous and magical season. Let's just hope there is football in September.

Basketball post start later this week. Thanks for reading.

5 Who Should Be In The Pro Football Hall of Fame

My Top 5 Who Should Get In Today


My apologies about the hiatus but I am back and ready to roll. Tonight the Pro Football Hall of Fame will announce their newest inductees. Of course, most of the players will get in at some point, but I have my 5 who should be locks today:


1. Deion Sanders: He is and was the definition of a lockdown corner. Quarterbacks would not even throw to his side of the field. And if they did most of the time he would pick it and return it for a touchdown. Also was there a more dangerous punt returner of kickoff guy? Today's players still pay homage to Neon Deion by high stepping with their hands on the heads on their way to the end zone. Primetime should get in this summer because he redefined the defensive backfield.


2. Marshall Faulk: He changed the game from a standpoint of he never left the field on 3rd down. Most runningbacks only ran the ball, catching it was for the change pf pace guy. Faulk was deadly running the ball as well as passing it. His teammates and coaches all say he was the smartest player they have ever played with. Marshall Faulk changed the game and how coaches looked at running backs. He redefined the position.


3. Cris Carter: "All he does is catch touchdowns", is saying that was used to describe Cris Carter. Jerry Rice said of Carter" He had the second best set of hands in the league." Carter put up big numbers on mediocre Viking teams. When he got Randy Moss as a teammate, he became even more explosive. Carter had great body control and always knew where the end zone was. Cris is 8th in touchdowns and 3rd in receptions. Truly one of the greats of his generation.


4. Ed Sabol: Sabol changed how we view football. One of the things I looked forward to as a kid in the summer was watching the recap of the season that was on NFL Films. What Sabol did was bring us closer to the games by letting hear what was being said in the huddle or on the sideline. The Football Follies made us laugh and by using home movies of players we were able to see a different side. The whole reason why the NFL Network and Directv Sunday Ticket existence is because of the Sabol family. He deserves the call to the hall.


5. Charles Haley and Shannon Sharpe: I know its two different people but they both should be in. Haley because over an 8 year stretch there not a more dominating defensive end in the league. Teams would game plan on way to shut him down. He won 5 Super Bowls and that is enough for me. I loved him when he was a Niner and despised him when he was a Cowboy, but I respected him because he was a winner.


Shannon Sharpe is the greatest tight end ever to play the game. Sharpe has 3 Super Bowl rings and for right now holds most of the receiving records for tight ends. Sharpe never got a lot of credit for his blocking but Terrell Davis, former Bronco running back, loved running behind his blocks. Sharpe has waited long enough.