Snooze Fest

(Yawn).

The Heat and the Celtics played Tuesday night in Boston. 

All of the main attractions were benched (excluding Paul Pierce) all for different reason. From the Heat, Dwayne Wade was out because of his finger, Chris Brown because of his leg and well, LeBron James...just for rest. From the Celtics, Ray Allen for his ankle, Kevin Garnett for his hip and Rajon Rondo for his back.  Doc Rivers would of liked for Paul Pierce to sit out for the same reason as Lebron but Pierce told Doc he wanted to keep playing to gain a rhythm for the playoffs.

Pierce wasn't need for this game though. Scoring a total of 8 points the whole game. 

Doc even saw that Pierce was struggling stating “Paul was just - you could see he was struggling, also struggling with spacing, too. I mean, he’s used to Ray and Paul and Kevin and those guys spacing the floor. He spun one time, he should have been by himself and three of our guys were in his way.’’

The game opened slow with Celtics not scoring the whole 6 minutes of the game. But surprisingly they won 66-78.  

http://bostonglobe.com/sports/2012/04/25/not-much-heat-this-win/ZxUhkRSlZmJMMDAGPuSqWP/story.html

BCS Looks to Propose 4-team Playoff

If the BCS follows through with some of the ideas that they have been concocting at their recent meetings, then we could have a four-team playoff, in which the top four seeds in the nation would face off to win the BCS National Championship. It sounds like a great idea, and is certainly what the fans have wanted for a long time in order to quell the debate that rages when there are three or four teams who deserve to play for the national championship in any given year, but the problem i see coming up is that, instead of the argument being over who should be number one and number two, it will be over who should be number three and number four! The argument will no doubt come up less often, as it is usually clear who the top four teams are supposed to the top two, but even then it will happen where two schools have the same record and similar strength of schedule and one will simply be picked over the other, to the dismay of that school's fans and players. And they need to figure out how they (the BCS) can make sure that doesn't happen!

Artest Back to His Ways?

Metta is a traditional Buddhist word that means loving kindness and friendliness towards all.Metta World Peace didn’t exactly exhibit this behavior in the Lakers game this past Sunday. Late in the first half, World Peace swung his elbow at the neck of James Harden of the OKC Thunder,causing a concussion. Even though World Peace claims that the blow was a mistake and he was simply “celebrating." But acting like he wanted to fight afterwards didn’t seem to help his case at all. World Peace, previously known as Ron Artest is no stranger to confrontations on the court.

Everyone got a bit of a flashback to the ’04 Pistons/Pacers brawl which was the beginning of World Peaces troubles on the court. Initially the elbow swing seemed inadvertently, but after watching the replay a few times it seemed like World Peace cocked his elbow back AND followed through, which probably played a huge part in the decision to give him a 7 game suspension.

Since the brawl in 2004,it seemed as though Artest had matured and grown as a player who was more aware of his surroundings. Due to his carelessness, the Lakers will be missing a huge piece of the puzzle come the playoffs. With only one game left in the regular season, it looks as if World Peace wont be able to play until the 7^th game of the 1^st round (if there is one) or the 2^nd round of the playoffs. The Lakers are working against the grain this post season, with a new head coach,an aging Kobe, and sporadic playing from Bynum.

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Pudge Gives His Farewells to Baseball

                                         
                         After spending 21 years in major league baseball, Ivan Rodriguez hung up his talents on Monday in Texas, saying goodbye to the game that was one of the biggest parts of his life.

The Rangers honored Pudge's final farewells by allowing him to throw the ceremonial first pitch of the game. However, it wasn't any ordinary first pitch because Michael Young went to second base while Pudge stepped behind the plate. Pudge then fired the ball to Young at second from behind the plate to make everything feel right. After spending 12 seasons with the Rangers out of his 21 year career, Rangers fans overwhelmed Rodriguez with a lot of love and tons of respect.

Rodriguez holds the catching major league record with 2,427 games caught. He appeared in 14 all star games during his career hitting .296 with 311 home runs, and 1,332 RBIs. Pudge was an amazing defensive catcher and eventually incorporated an offensive game into his repertoire. His arm from behind the plate left base runners filled with fear, always terrified to steal.

It was an emotional goodbye for Rodriguez, realizing that his playing days are over. Pudge will always be remembered and it is a sad loss for baseball. However, he plans to stay involved in the game. He has been talking to Rangers president Nolan Ryan about a possible job with the organization.

The Rangers are considering retiring Pudge's number 7 jersey, but it is not a guarantee as of yet. He helped turn the whole organization around when he was playing for the Rangers and will always be remembered as one of the best to play the game from behind the plate.

It was a sad day for not only Rodriguez and his family, but also for the fans of the game. Growing up, baseball fans were fascinated by Pudge's play his whole career and it is a sad loss for baseball.

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-400_162-57419800/ivan-rodriguez-retires-after-stellar-21-year-career/

Next Stop Trenton?

Andy Pettitte has been left behind in Tampa, Florida trying to get his arm, legs, and body as a whole, back into shape to rejoin the Yankees rotation...a year later. Pettitte has had two relatively strong outings with the Yankees Single-A team, the Tampa Yankees. Scouts and the Yankees brass have said that Pettitte's stuff is there, but he just needs to get his legs back underneath him to prolong his starts. Best way to do that, keep throwing in the minors. Yankees General Manager, Brian Cashman has said Pettitte will throw one more time in Tampa, and then possible make his way up to the next level, Double-A Trenton. According to Yankees manager Joe Girardi, Pettitte is four starts away from regaining his spot in the rotation.

The Trenton Thunder had a huge year last year when it came to Major League rehabs, and appearances. Brian Cashman, Reggie Jackson, Harold Reynolds, Derek Jeter, Phil Hughes, and  Brad Lidge/Shane Victorino (Reading Phillies). Andy Pettitte has appeared there before, last time in 2010, but this time it will be extra special for Yankee and Thunder fans given the circumstances of Pettitte's return.

As a former Thunder employee, Front Office intern to be exact, last summer was extra special for me to be able to work in a sports organization like the Thunder's, but to meet those people was even better. As a minor league organization, there is nothing better than to have a major league player appear in your home ballpark. It will boost ticket sales, as well as revenue. A dream come true for a minor-league club. I hope Andy gets there soon, so his trip to the Bronx comes even faster.

http://www.nj.com/thunder/index.ssf/2012/04/trenton_thunder_await_word_fro.html

West goes all school yard bully on Hayward

Utahs 123-121 triple over time win over Dallas on monday wasn't the only thing interesting to come out of the game. Mavericks gaurd Delonte West pulled the ultimate school yard bully move. He took to his finger to poke Utah forward Gordon Hayward in no place more appropriate, his ear. After all the bizarre things that has happened in the league and in sports in general this is one that tops the list. Why West chose his finger as his choice of weapon is beyond me. Just seeing the play was weird and awkward in itself. Just the fact that West took it upon himself to approach Hayward and delibrately stick his finger in his ear is just wrong. Now West is going to have to pay 25,000 for his school yard move, wonder if he thinks it was worth it.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/mavs-west-fined-25-000-213101062--nba.html;_ylt=AmTBaQf8l6v84h513ct63Vu8vLYF

Why can't the Knicks gel into one elite team.

 
The Knicks have become a force in the NBA with Carmelo Anthony playing out of his mind...stop me if you've heard something like this before. Only a couple of weeks ago the same could have been said with the substitution of Jeremy Lin for Carmelo Anthony and even before that with Amare stoudemire. All three of them have rarely been on the court together because of injuries but when they are...the Knicks do not look like the same dominating team as they look when one of them is running the show. Head Coach Mike Woodson has said he plans on inserting Stoudemire back into the starting lineup as soon as he is healthy and that statement lead to some groaning amongst Knicks fans. Why change a winning formula? A lot of people and anaylist beileve that Stoudemire's return role should be limited to running the second team off the bench so both Melo and him aren't "stepping" on each others toes. Mike Woodson needs to find a way to use and maximize the talent of all his players because a healthy Lin, Melo, Stoudemire and other key pieces like Shumpert, Chandler and JR, the Knicks can be almost unstoppable.

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/knicks/2012/04/amare-stoudemire-will-step-right-back-into-knicks-starting-lineup-as-soon-as-hes-clea