Ultimate Yankee Fan Collection Package To Be Auctioned off on eBay Collector’s Item Honors Final Day At Yankee Stadium!
NEW YORK — In a New York Minute, the lights went out on the beloved Yankee Stadium. This moment in time will forever be remembered as the day the music died. But unlike the fate of The House That Ruth Built, the history and memories of the legendary stadium will continue to live on.
Now, thanks to a fan collection organized by New York Yankee Fan Robert Moore, fans have the opportunity to celebrate their love for the New York Yankees. The Ultimate Yankee Fan Collection Package is sure to be this year’s number one Christmas gift for baseball fans. However, there are less than 1,140 collection packages available!
Packages are currently featured on eBay. Items included in the collection are the following:
* The one and only award winning, New York Minute clock with your very own New York minute from that historic day. * One authentic Yogi Berra (the one and only) autographed baseball. * A gold glove baseball display case to showcase your Yogi ball. The perfect fitting symbol for the eight Gold Glove Awards Yogi earned during his career. * A beautiful 12 X 15 Black Marble Laser engraved Derek Jeter plaque. * 5 fully licensed MLB Yankee stadium pieces that represent the stadium’s history from beginning to end (frames not included). The prints include:
Yankee Stadium on opening day 1923 (8x10) Famous Monument Park farewell shot (8x10) An aerial view of Yankee Stadium on Sept. 21, 2008 (11x14) Mariano Rivera throwing the last pitch of the last game at 11:41pm on Sept. 21, 2008 (8x10) The Yankee players saluting and waving goodbye to the greatest fans in the world after the last game (11x14)
* A beautiful collectible mug with a pewter Yankee logo. * A one-of-a-kind brand new MLB official 2008 All Star game program from Yankee stadium featuring the greatest players in the world at the greatest stadium in the world one last time. * One set of amazing Yankee logo golf balls with tees ready for play or display.
Plus the one and only Yankee ticket stub holder that puts you in the game.
“The end of the Yankee Stadium is proof that anything can happen in a New York Minute,” Moore said. “Though the stadium may be gone the memories will live on forever, and now fans have the chance to own their very own commemorative collection that honors the history and those wonderful memories.”
Best Bet Pick: Philadelphia (-6.5) at Seattle. As much as I hate betting on the Eagles, because they always seem to let the other team hang around in games, I think they are the best bet this week. Seattle got a big win over the 49ers last week, but don't be fooled into thinking they are any good. Their QB is still Seneca Wallace and I think the Philly defense will give him fits. Hopefully McNabb bring his A-Game and a healthy Brian Westbrook helps lead the Eagles to a 30 point plus performance.
Sleeper Pick: Miami (+3) at Denver. Even though I have sucked overall every week ATS, I am now 6-2 on my sleeper picks. Chad Pennington has been playing well and the Dolphins have two running backs who can hurt that weak Denver defense. They also have that crazy offense, which I'm assuming since Denver's D is weak they will have some problems with it. Miami has covered against Denver 5 games in a row and 6 out of the last 7 overall.
Danger Game: Tampa Bay (-8.5) at Kansas City. Normally you would expect a blowout in this one, but Tampa Bay's offense has been lackluster the past few weeks. That could change against a Kansas City team with a bad defense, but at the same time I wouldn't be surprised if Tampa Bay won 17-10.
New England Patriots.......+1800 New York Jets...................+4500 Buffalo Bills.........................+2000 Miami Dolphins..................+10000 Baltimore Ravens..............+4000 Cincinnati Bengals............ +100000 Pittsburgh Steelers.......... +1000 Cleveland Browns............. +6000 Indianapolis Colts............. +2000 Tennessee Titans............. +550 Jacksonville Jaguars........ +4000 Houston Texans............... +10000 San Diego Chargers..........+1800 Denver Broncos............... +3300 Kansas City Chiefs.......... +100000 Oakland Raiders............. +50000 Dallas Cowboys............... +1000 Philadelphia Eagles......... +1200 New York Giants............ +500 Washington Redskins..... +1000 Chicago Bears.................. +2500 Green Bay Packers......... +2000 Minnesota Vikings.......... +4000 Detroit Lions................... +150000 New Orleans Saints....... +3000 Carolina Panthers.......... +1200 Atlanta Falcons.............. +9000 Tampa Bay Buccaneers +2000 Seattle Seahawks........... +12000 San Francisco 49ers...... +30000 Arizona Cardinals.......... +2200 St Louis Rams ................+20000
So who would you put your money on to win the Super Bowl? Right now they have the Giants as the favorites at just +500 and then the Titans right behind that at +550. I like the value of the Redskins (+1000) at the moment.
Greg Oden: In case you missed it, Greg Oden got hurt again the other night, this time he sprained his foot and is out 2-4 weeks with a foot sprain. Now this injury is not too serious, but damn is this guy injury prone or what? First he hurts his wrist his freshman year at Ohio State, then he misses the whole NBA season last year, and now he's hurting his foot in the first official game he plays in the NBA. Clearly Oden is headed down the wrong path when it comes to staying healthy and that is not good news for a Portland team who is counting on him to anchor the middle for the next 10-15 years. I don't think Oden is ever going to be a dominant center offensively and his injury problems definitely aren't changing my mind in that department. I have a hard time coming up with a good comparison to another player for Oden. I don't think his offensive game is ever going to reach the levels of Olajuwon, Ewing, or David Robinson, because they all could shoot the basketball a lot better than he ever will. He has an offensive game more similar to Shaq because most of his points are going to come close to the basket, but I don't think he will ever be that dominant or well polished as Shaq was. If Oden ever averages more than 15-18 points a game on a consistent year to year basis I would be surprised, so I guess you can say he is like a poor man's Shaq in my eyes.
Cleveland Caveliers: You know I've been thinking about the Cavs lately and how there are a lot of people who think they are greatly improved because they signed Mo Williams in the offseason. Some people are even picking them to win the Eastern Conference and in some cases picking them to win the NBA Finals. Now Mo Williams is a solid player, but does he really make the Cavs that much better? I really don't think so and I can't see how this team could win the NBA Finals. Now maybe they'll get lucky and make it out of the East, but I would be shocked if they won the NBA Championship this year.
Think about it, even Michael Jordan needed Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman, etc. to win championships and I don't see any 0f Lebron's teammates on this Cavs team being as good as those guys. Mo Williams is a nice player, but in all actuality he probably isn't much better than B. J. Armstrong and he for damn sure isn't any Scottie Pippen. Fact of the matter is in today's NBA, you need at least 2 star players to win a championship or now maybe even 3 and then you still need to surround those 2 or 3 players with quality role players. The Celtics last year are not the only example with Garnett, Pierce, and Allen. The Spurs had Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker for their title runs and even David Robinson for the first one. The Miami Heat had Shaq and Wade surrounded by players like Gary Payton, Antoine Walker, James Posey, etc. The Lakers had Shaq and Kobe once again surrounded by quality role players. I already talked about the Bulls and even the Houston Rockets had Olajuwon and Drexler for one of their titles and might I add that the absence of Jordan probably played a major part in them winning their first title without Drexler.
The only team that has won the NBA title in the past 25 years without 2 clear cut bonafide superstars is the Detroit Pistons in 2004 and even then you could make a strong case for Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups along with Rip Hamilton, Tashuan Prince, and Ben Wallace. Since 2004, the NBA has also gotten much better talent wise. The only players the NBA truly lost were guys like Gary Payton and Karl Malone, but the league has seen players like Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, and Lebron James, all enter their primes in the past 2 years and this has made the NBA much more talented then it was in 2004 and a tougher league overall. That doesn't even take into account players like Caron Butler, David West, Josh Smith, Rajon Rondo, Joe Johnson, Brandon Roy, Monta Ellis, who along with the players I previously mentioned either weren't in the league at all or have become much better players than they were when Detroit won the championship back in 2004. Basically, you have the same top core of talent for the most part with Kobe, Nash, Garnett, Duncan, Pierce, Yao, McGrady, Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, etc. and then you added all these talented players to that group and really didn't lose that many great players in the process and what you get is an NBA that is so talented that you absolutely need at least two top tier players in order to win a championship.
This is why you saw the Lakers trade for Gasol last year to go with Kobe and Odom, the reason why you see Houston trading for Artest to go with T-Mac and Yao, the reason why New Orleans has a chance with Chris Paul, David West, and Tyson Chandler, but who does Lebron have? Mo Williams and not much else. I don't see how the Cavs will even make it out of the East with their current roster and wouldn't be surprised if Philadelphia, Orlando, or even Toronto was able to knock them out of the playoffs. Michael Jordan never won on his own, Kobe Bryant never won on his own, hell even Magic Johnson and Larry Bird never won on their own, and you know what? Lebron James ain't gonna win on his own either. You heard it here first and I'm sticking to that statement for better or worse.
- I believe that J.R. Smith of the Denver Nuggets is going to keep things together and have a breakout season. He started off on the right foot scoring 17 points, with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal, while shooting 50% from the floor in Denver's opening game against Utah. The Nuggets need to stop messing around with Linas Klieza when Carmelo Anthony returns from his suspension and make sure Smith gets enough minutes.
Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies who defeated to Tampa Bay Rays 4 games to 1 to win the World Series:
Philadelphia Phillies 4 Tampa Bay Rays 3: The Phillies were finally able to finish off Game 5 and win the World Series for the first time since 1980. Cole Hamels was the MVP, but the Phillies bullpen was certainly huge in this series as well. The Rays just didn't play well in the series and made way too many mistakes to beat a solid team like the Phillies. Nice to see Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and company get their rings.
Six Shot Week 51 with Bari the Beautiful : The Power of the Go Go Boots, Keri Hilson, Soulja Boy, Will Smith, Guy Richie, Aubry, Bernard Hopkins, Jean Claude Van Damme, and more!!!
The Titans passed their first test of the season by beating the Colts on Monday Night. They will stay in the #1 spot as long as they are undefeated, but I would love to see them play the Giants right now.
2. New York Giants (6-1) (2)
The Giants were able to go into Pittsburgh and beat the Steelers in Week 8, which is something I didn't think they would be able to do. They caught a big break though when the Steelers long snapper got hurt and the replacement snapped it over the punters head for a safety, which lead to a Giants TD after the free kick.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) (3)
The Steelers caught a bad break against the Giants with their long snapper going down, but their offensive line let them down as well. I had worried about their offensive line in the past and the Giants were able to exploit it.
4. Washington Redskins (6-2) (4)
The Redskins host the Steelers on Monday Night in Week 9, which should be a great game. If the Redskins win, then I will move them ahead of the Steelers in the rankings and perhaps higher.
5. Carolina Panthers (6-2) (6)
Carolina just keeps winning games and continues to solidify themselves as a strong player in the NFC. I would still like to see more from them on the road, but they definitely look like they are going to be tough to beat at home.
6. Buffalo Bills (5-2) (5)
Buffalo lost a tough one down at Miami in Week 8 and will now face the ultimate gunslinger when Brett Favre and his recklessness visit in Week 9.
7. Philadelphia Eagles (4-3) (7)
The Eagles benefitted from a blown muffed punt call against the Falcons in Week 8 and they will now head to Seattle for one of those dreaded trap games.
8. Dallas Cowboys (5-3) (10)
The Cowboys were able to keep things together defensively with Wade Phillips calling the shots against Tampa Bay. They still have issues on the offensive side of the ball and I think that they could be in big trouble in Week 9 vs the Giants.
9. New England Patriots (5-2) (14)
The Patriots look to be headed in the right direction and might be the favorites in the AFC East again. Matt Cassell looks more comfortable every week for the Pats, who will now travel to Indy to face a desperate Colts team who is still searching for an identity this season.
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-3) (8)
The Bucs weren't able to take advantage of the Dallas Cowboys and their poor offensive output in Week 8. They head to Kansas City in Week 9 and should be able to rebound in the W column.
11. Arizona Cardinals (4-3) (9)
Arizona loss a tough one on the road to Carolina. An Edgerrin James fumble really turned the game around, allowing the Panthers to score two touchdowns within 44 seconds to erase a 17-3 Cardinals lead. A Kurt Warner interception hurt them late too. They now travel to St. Louis, where the Cardinals might have more of a handful to deal with in the Rams then they thought they would a few weeks ago.
12. Green Bay Packers (4-3) (11)
The Packers head to Tennessee this week in hopes of being the first team to knock off the Titans. They are certainly capable, but it is going to be a tough task.
13. Chicago Bears (4-3) (15)
The Bears get the Lions this week, but they want to be careful not to take them too lightly. Since Chicago is coming off of a bye, I think they will be more than prepared and should be able to handle the Lions with ease at home.
14. New York Jets (4-3) (16)
The Jets barely pulled out the victory at home against the Chiefs and now head to Buffalo in what is a big game for both teams in determining what direction these clubs are headed in.
15. New Orleans Saints (4-4) (19)
The Saints came up with a big victory over the Chargers in Week 8, but the news about them possibly losing players for doping is not good for a team who already has been hurt by the injury bug all season.
16. San Diego Chargers (3-5) (13)
The Chargers defense is a mess and until they fix it, they are going to struggle against most teams in the NFL. Luckily for them the Broncos and their poor defense are in their division, so they still have a shot at the playoffs. Teams 16 through 25 are pretty much the same to me right now and I have a hard time ranking one over the other.
17. Indianapolis Colts (3-4) (17)
The Colts are just an average NFL team right now and if they lose to New Englad in Week 9 they could be on their way to missing the playoffs for the first time in years.
18. Denver Broncos (4-3) (18)
Denver hosts a scrappy Dolphins team in Week 9 and I think Miami just might be good enough to expose the Broncos defense and slow down their offense enough to pull out a victory.
19. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4) (12)
Jacksonville lost a tough on at home to the Browns and now must travel to Cincinnati to face the winless Bengals.
20. Atlanta Falcons (4-3) (20)
The Falcons put up a good fight against the Eagles on the road and this team looks like they will be competitive all season long. They travel to Oakland in Week 9 for a game they should be able to win, but is not a guaranteed victory.
21. Minnesota Vikings (3-4) (21)
The Vikings will face a hot Texans team in Week 9 and they better be ready to put up some points, because the Texans offense has been rolling of late.
22. Baltimore Ravens (4-3) (22)
The Ravens face the Browns in Week 9 and if they win and the Steelers lose to the Redskins, which is certainly possible, then Baltimore would be tied for first in the AFC North. I still think they have an outside shot to win the division at 9-7.
23. Houston Texans (3-4) (23)
The Houston offense has looked good lately, but their past 3 games have been at home, so I'm interested to see how they play on the road in Minnesota.
24. Cleveland Browns (3-4) (24)
The Browns just like the Ravens will be rooting for the Redskins to beat the Steelers in Week 9. If Cleveland knocks of Baltimore and the Steelers lose then they will only be 1 game out of first place.
25. Miami Dolphins (3-4) (25)
You have to give a lot of credit to Tony Sparano and Bill Parcells for turning Miami into a competitive team just one year after Miami only won 1 game. Tedd Ginn. Jr. had a breakout game with 175 yards receiving in Week 8 and could be a useful weapon for the Dolphins against the Broncos in Week 9.
26. Seattle Seahawks (2-5) (27)
Seattle destroyed the 49ers in Week 8, but they still don't have Matt Hassleback healthy yet and I can't see them doing much without him.
27. Oakland Raiders (2-5) (28)
The Raiders are just not good enough to win on the road right now. At home against certain teams they have a chance though. Atlanta in Week 9 is a game they could possibly win.
28. St. Louis Rams (2-5) (29)
The Rams look way better now then they did the first few weeks of the season. Rookie Donnie Avery is emerging opposite of Tory Holt as a consistent deep threat.
29. San Francisco 49ers (2-6) (26)
The 49ers got crushed by the pathetic Seahawks at home. Things are not looking good for this team and they will start Shaun Hill at QB now in hopes that he can turn things around for them.
30. Kansas City Chiefs (1-6) (32)
The Chiefs put up a decent fight against the Jets and might be able to squeek out another victory or two before the season is over.
31. Cincinnati Bengals (0-8) (30)
The Bengals are one of two winless teams left in the NFL, but I think they'll get into the win column before the Lions do.
32. Detroit Lions (0-7) (31)
I'm convinced the Lions will struggle to win 1 game this season, so I dropped them to bottom of the power rankings. The Lions are looking at Daunte Culpepper right now as a possible QB option for the rest of the season.
Ed from Ed The Sports Fan beat out me and Joe from What's The 401?!?! in Week 8 finishing 7-6-1. I don't think I have gotten more than 7 right in a week yet, but I am not going to give up on posting the spreads every week just because I suck at it.
Here is a look at the Week 9 spreads and who I would pick as of right now:
Houston has been hot of late offensively, so I'm gonna stick with them to keep things rolling against the Vikings. My only doubt with them is that they are not a good road team historically.
I just can't bet on Cincinnati anymore, but with my luck they will probably play well this week and cover.
I'm thinking about switching my pick of Tampa Bay, because they have struggled to score points on the road, but at the same time I really don't like picking the Chiefs.
Cleveland is starting to turn things around and I think they will beat the Ravens at home.
Buffalo has covered in 7 of the last 9 matchups against the Jets, they are tough to beat at home, they are coming off a tough loss, and Brett Favre has been making some suspect passes of late, so I'm rolling with Buffalo.
Arizona is a better team then the Rams and I think they will win the game, but this one could be a push.
Chicago at home coming off a bye and I think their defense will play better than they did against the Vikings.
I think Green Bay will be able to pass the ball a little bit on the Titans and keep the game close. They will have to avoid turning the ball over though.
Miami has covered 5 straight times against Denver and 6 of the last 7. I also think the combination the Miami running game and a rejuvenated Chad Pennington will be able to exploit the Denver defense.
This is Atlanta's second road game in a row and they have to travel all the way across the country. I think that Oakland might be able to pull off a mini-upset in this one.
Even though Dallas is banged up, I think they will be up to play the divisional rival Giants and make some plays on defense to at least keep the game within a touchdown.
Seattle had their moment on glory last week against the 49ers and I think Philadelphia with a healthy Westbrook is just too much for them to deal with.
I think the Patriots can stay within a field goal in this one, even though I'm a little worried about Peyton Manning going off against their secondary.
I actually think Washington is a dark horse to win the Super Bowl and on Monday Night I think they will be out to gain some respect against the Steelers.
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Cincinnati Bengals/Detroit Lions: I was wondering what I was going to write about this week and realized that there are still two teams that are winless. Both the Lions and Bengals have not lived up to their ferocious names this season and it's hard for me to predict when either one of these teams will win a game. The Lions finish the season at Chicago, Jacksonvile, at Carolina, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Minnesota, at Indianapolis, New Orleans, and at Green Bay. I don't know about you, but I really don't see any winnable games on the Lions remaining schedule. Maybe they'll catch Tennessee napping on the Thanksgiving Day game, but in order to win a game this season they are going to have to hope one of these teams screws up royally against them. For the Bengals, they finish the season against Jacksonville, Philadelphia, at Pittsburgh, Baltimore, at Indianapolis, Washington, at Cleveland, and Kansas City. The Bengals have an easier schedule than the Lions do and could possibly win games against Baltimore, Cleveland, and definitely Kansas City. My money would be on them to be the less likely choice to finish without a win. The Lions on the other hand could be making history this year and if they do manage to win any games, I find it hard to believe it will be more than 1.
Brad Johnson: Here's the surprise of the week, the Dallas Cowboys are looking at other options at QB other than Brad Johnson for their game against the Giants next week. Brad Johnson simply can't get the ball downfield and even though he was able to complete 19 passes against Tampa Bay on Sunday, he only threw for a measly 122 yards. To make things worse, the Cowboys will face a Giants pass rush that leads the NFL in sacks and Johnson is not the most mobile of QB's. This has lead the Cowboys to think about starting third string QB Brooks Bollinger and they even briefly considered bringing in Daunte Culpepper before passing on him. I think the Cowboys could be in for a rough time in Week 9 against the Giants.
Tennessee Titans: The Titans continue to roll and are now a perfect 7-0 after defeating the Colts 31-21 last night. This was the first real test in many ways for the Titans, but at the same time the Colts are a severely flawed team and I don't think it tells us too much about the Titans. They are a solid football team, but at some point they are going to have to be able to come from behind against a better defensive team than the Colts and until I see them do that I won't be completely sold on them as the favorites. Don't get me wrong, I think they are the best team right now, but the best team doesn't always win it all, just ask the Patriots. They have a great running game and defense, but you still have to wonder if they will be able to make big plays down the field in the passing game once they go up against some of the other elite teams in the NFL. Unfortunately, we might not be able to see that until the playoffs, because the rest of the Titans schedule isn't exactly filled with elite teams. There is also the issue of who exactly are the other elite teams in the NFL? I'm not even sure there are any in the AFC other than the Titans themselves and maybe the Steelers. The best opponents Tennessee has left to play are the Packers, Bears, Jaguars, Jets, Browns, Texans, Steelers, and Colts again. I would love to see them play a team like the Giants or Redskins, but that might not happen until the Super Bowl, don't bet against it either.
- Dallas TE Jason Witten left Sunday's game against Tampa Bay with bruised ribs. Witten has been banged up this season and is probably Brad Johnson's favorite target simply because he can actually reach him.
- QB Carson Palmer will likely be out for the season due to his nagging elbow injury. At this point, it is better for Palmer to get healthy for next season, because at 0-8 the Bengals have no chance to make the playoffs.
- Shaun Hill will start at QB for the 49ers after their bye week. This ends the J.T. O'Sullivan experiment in San Francisco.
Fantasy Stars of the Week:
Santana Moss: 140 yards receiving, 2 TDs
David Garrard: 283 yards passing, 59 yards rushing, 2 TDs
Brian Westbrook: 167 yards rushing, 42 yards receiving 2 TDs
The Phillies clobbered the Rays in Game 4 and are now just 1 game away from winning the World Series.
Philadelphia Phillies 10 Tampa Bay Rays 2: Baseball is a funny game. Coming into the World Series, the Tampa Bay Rays were pitching and hitting better than any other team in the playoffs. They crushed a major league record 16 home runs in their playoff series against the Red Sox. Their pitching both starting and relieving was solid and their defensive play was stellar. Now they look like they don't even belong in the World Series. I think this years playoffs prove that it is now true that the baseball playoffs are a crapshoot. Each series is different and what happens in the regular season means nothing. The Rays bats got hot at a good time against the Red Sox, but baseball is a game of streaks, and now they've hit a cold streak at the absolute wrong time. Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena are both hitless in the World Series and the lineup in general is just not hitting. Maybe they aren't being patient enough at the plate or are pressing too much, because it's the World Series, but this hasn't been the same offense we saw against the Red Sox, that is for sure. Last night they just got flat out beat, but had they scored a few more run in Game 1 or Game 3, they might not be in the situation they are in right now. Maybe they just had a let down after beating the Red Sox in the ALCS, or maybe they just aren't ready for such a big moment like the World Series, or maybe the Phillies are just better, but it's strange to see the Rays in this position right now after having played so great against the Red Sox. It also hasn't helped that seemingly every border line call has gone against the Rays, but hey, at least Eric Hinske got to hit a bomb in the World Series.
The Phillies are running on all cylinders right now with the bats and with their pitching. I mean seriously when your pitcher Joe Blanton hits a home run, you know your team has something up their behinds so deep that it doesn't matter what the other team does. I mean how many teams are looking at the Phillies rotation and thinking how the hell are the Phillies about to win the World Series with Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer, and Joe Blanton in their rotation? Teams spend all season making moves, developing pitchers, and building their rotation for postseason success and let me tell you most of them probably would pass on all three of those guys. If a team had a chance to choose between those three pitchers as their 2-3-4 or what the Cubs had with Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster, and Ted Lilly; I'm pretty sure they would pick the Cubs starters every time. That's why baseball is a funny game, because anybody can get hot at any given time and that seems to be the case now more than ever.
In Game 5, the Phillies will have a chance to win the World Series at home with Cole Hamels on the mound. It's going to be a tough task for Tampa Bay to get this series back home and an even tougher one to try to win three games in a row. The Rays look like a team that has had all the life sucked out of them at this point, while the Phillies look like a team that has nothing to lose and has been confident throughout this whole postseason. My money would be on the Phillies to take Game 5, but like I said before baseball is a funny game, so maybe Game 5 is the night where the Rays bats come back to life. I certainly would like to see some drama in this World Series, so I will be rooting for this thing to get to Game 7.
The Sample of The Week comes from Leon Haywood's "I Wanna Do Something Freaky To You," which was sampled on the classic from Dr. Dre's debut album, "Nothin' But A G Thang."
Ludacris is an MC that is underrated by the true hip-hop heads and he has been dropping some good hip-hop music lately. He checks in with the Verse of The Week from his new joint with Common "Do The Right Thing," that leaked from his upcoming Theater of The Mind album.
Verse of The Week
I see the sunshine gazin' through the window pane, blazin' like indo flame, It's time to wake up, come to your senses man Snow is all around you, but you don't play in the Winter Games Cartridges surround you, but you ain't playin' Nintendo games Load 'em up and fill 'em up to the top, before you cock and aim Tryin' to get from the bottom to the top, like the stock exchange Shower, shit, and shave and hit the corner for a block exchange Amazing what my people will do for some pocket change, but maybe this ain't the life that you chose, this is the life where you stay strapped and pack a knife or end up with a bloody nose Street survivor or survivor of the streets, and only the strong survive, there's no survival for the weak Catch a sneak peek of death if you ain't on your P's & Q's They carry banana clips and niggas will peel you for your shoes It's the Blues but not on Hill Street, you can call it kill or be killed street Lost a pint of blood, let it spill street (Ludacris, Do The Right Thing, Verse 1)
Surprise hero Carlos Ruiz leads the Phillies past the Rays for a 2-1 series lead.
Philadelphia Phillies 5 Tampa Bay Rays 4: I'm pretty shocked that the Rays didn't hit Jamie Moyer better than they did. The ended up scoring 3 runs off of Moyer, but coming into the game I was thinking they would get 5 plus runs against him. Part of the reason was that Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria were unable to get a hit in the middle of the Rays lineup. The Rays have been still been managing to score runs without even really hitting the ball, so if they start hitting they should be able to put more runs on the board. The problem is they can't wait much longer to start doing that or else they will be down 3-1 before they know it.
Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins finally came alive for the Phillies in Game 3 for a Phillies team that was able to score 4 runs off of Matt Garza. The surprise in this game was Carlos Ruiz who ended up going 2-3 with a home run and 2 RBI. He also had the game winning hit, which was a little dribbler down the third base line with the bases loaded. I thought Longoria should have let the ball go because it looked like it might have been headed towards the foul line and possible could have went foul. He really had no chance to get the runner at the plate, so in my mind it was worth a shot to just let it keep rolling.
Game 4 is one of those toss up games that could go either way because the 4th starters will be on the mound. Andy Sonnanstine has pitched well in the playoffs, but Joe Blanton has been a little less effective for the Phillies. Blanton used to pitch for the A's, so the Rays have had a decent amount of at-bats against him in the past. Carl Crawford hits him the best at a .318 clip over 22 at-bats. As a team, the Rays have hit only .233 against Blanton in their careers. However, B.J. Upton, Carlos Pena, and Aki Iwamura all have hit Blanton well in limited at-bats against him. The Phillies only have one player who has ever faced Sonnanstine and that is Matt Stairs, who most likely will not be playing. This could work is Sonnanstine's favor if he is able to throw strikes early and often in the count and get ahead of the Phillies hitters. Either way Game 4 is a huge game for the Rays and I think for them to win they are going to have to bring out the bats early against Joe Blanton and try to jump ahead with a lead.
Best Bet Pick: Washington (+7.5) at Detroit. I would like to think that Washington is a solid enough team to be able to pound Detroit on the road. They have struggled to score points the last two weeks at home, but I'll stick with the Redskins to be the best bet this week.
Sleeper Pick: Baltimore (+7) against Oakland. I think I am 5-2 with my sleeper picks this year, which isn't bad considering they are usually games where most people are picking the other team to cover. Baltimore is actually favored in their game, but I think most people would pick Oakland because the spread seems a little high. I don't like this Raiders team on the road against a tough Baltimore D, so I'm counting on that D to create some points for the Ravens and cover the 7 point spread.
Danger Game: San Deigo (+3.5) against New Orleans. Too many factors to consider in this game to bet on it. Both teams are not good on the road and since this game is in London then to me that's a road game for both of them. New Orleans just had some news about some of their players possibly doping. They also have a ton of injuries and we don't know what they are going to get from Marques Colston who returned last week. The Chargers should be able to pass on the Saints, but the Saints might be able to pass and run it at will on the Chargers, so it's tough to know for sure who the advantage goes to. I'm staying away from this one.
With the NBA season starting next week, I thought I would throw up some previews from some of the prior NBA Weekly posts and then make some predictions for this season:
Eastern Conference:
Boston Celtics: The Celtics remain the favorites in the East in my mind, despite losing James Posey to the Hornets. They still have the best trio of players in the NBA with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. They didn't add much in the offseason but they are probably counting on Rajon Rondo and some of the other young players to continue improving. Tony Allen's scoring and Eddie House's lights out shooting in the preseason could be the keys to replacing James Posey.
Cleveland Caveliers: The Cavs could be the biggest threat to the Celtics in the East. The addition of Mo Williams gives the Cavs another scorer to help out Lebron. The one issue I have with them though is that they still don't have any low post scoring and traded away Joe Smith to get Williams. Their first round draft pick J.J. Hickson did have a solid summer league by averaging 19.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks on 53.4% shooting, but I think it might be a little too much to be relying on a 19 year old rookie for low post scoring on a championship caliber team. The Cavs are an interesting team to me because I want to see if they have given Lebron enough help this season to get them back into the NBA Finals.
Detroit Pistons: This team will be solid again, but I still don't think they have enough to get back to the NBA Finals. They didn't make any major moves this offseason and are pretty much relying on the improvement of Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo. I wouldn't be surprised to see this team knocked out in the second round by someone like Orlando or Philadelphia, who I think have improved enough to beat the Pistons now.
Orlando Magic: The major move the Magic made in the offseason was drafting guard Courtney Lee. Lee was decent in Summer League play, averaging 20.2 points and shooting 47.1% on threes. I think he will help the Magic right away as a solid role player, since he won't be a featured player in the offense. I think the Magic could use another big man to help out Dwight Howard down low before I would consider them a legitimate title contender, but I would not be surprised if they advanced to the Eastern Finals this season. That might be a tough task this year though with the improvement of the 76ers and the new look of the Cavs. They also added Mickael Pietrus to their squad.
Philadelphia 76ers: This is probably the most intriguing team in the East because nobody really knows just how good the addition of Elton Brand will make them. I think they will top out around the 50 win range, which is solid and definitely an improvement. I don't think they are a title contender yet, but they will definitely be in the mix for the Eastern Finals. You know Elton Brand, Andre Miller, and Andre Igoudala will be solid, so if Thaddeus Young and Louis Williams continue to improve than this team could be really scary. Also, I was very impressed with the play of Mareese Speights in Summer League and I think he could help them out right away, especially since the 76ers lost Jason Smith for the season.
Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks return pretty much the same roster as last season, except they have replaced Josh Childress with Maurice Evans and Flip Murray. They will have Mike Bibby for a full season and Al Horford should be an absolute stud for them in his 2nd season. If they can get Acie Law to play solid minutes for them off the bench, then this team should be able to play ball at a better than .500 clip. They probably won't make it above 6th in the East but that would still be an improvement for this young team.
Washington Wizards: The Wizards are a team that is stuck in the middle of the Eastern Conference as a 4, 5, or 6 seed in the playoffs. I don't see this team being strong enough to make it past the second round and I wouldn't be surprised to see them lose in the first round. If everyone stays healthy then they are definitely a playoff team but they still have issues down low and I don't think the offensive capabilities of Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler, and Gilbert Arenas alone are enough to get them very far in the playoffs. Andray Blatche could be key for them this season, but I'm not sure how much he brings to the table defensively.
Toronto Raptors: The Raptors major move this offseason was adding Jermaine O'Neal, who will help them but only if he can stay healthy. Adding O'Neal to go along with Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon should be enough to get Toronto back the playoffs but they don't have much margin for error with the improvements of some other teams in the East, like Miami and Indiana. I think this team is a Jermaine O'Neal injury away from being in the lottery next season.
Miami Heat: I think the Heat could be back in the playoffs this season if Dwayne Wade has a bounce back season. He looks great in the Olympics and he will be joined for a full season by Shawn Marion and Michael Beasley. Wade is good enough to lead his team into the playoffs as long as he has decent talent around him. The problem with this team might be the defense though. I see the Heat topping out as a 7 or 8 seed at best.
Out of the rest of the teams in the East, I think the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Charlotte Bobcats would be next in line for competing for the final playoff spot. I think the Chicago Bulls and New Jersey Nets could compete as well but there is also a possibility they will be horrible. I think the Knicks are still one of the worst teams out East and they don't have much chance to make the playoffs.
Western Conference:
Los Angeles Lakers: The biggest move for the Lakers is getting Andrew Bynum back from injury. Once he returns, it will be interesting to see if he picks up where he left off last season or if he struggles. If he plays as well as he was last year, then the Lakers might be pretty tough to beat out West, but if he struggles then I think the Lakers would have a good chance of getting knocked off. The Lakers also added Chinese star Sun Yue, but who knows how much he'll help them out this season. Jordan Farmar could be primed for a monster season off the bench for the Lakers as well. This team is deep and the added presence of Bynum in the middle makes them scary.
New Orleans Hornets: This team is probably my favorite to win the West if the Lakers don't. I think the addition of James Posey will really help them out, especially when they go up against Kobe. Of course he'll also help them against Ginobili and McGrady and any other wing player they go up against in the playoffs. No other big additions for the Hornets, but Julian Wright should see some more playing time this year and could make a solid impact.
San Antonio Spurs: This is a team that I think could be in a little bit of trouble because Manu Ginobili seems like he is breaking down. He was not 100% healthy in the playoffs last season and now he just got hurt at the Olympics as well. He plays such a hectic style and throws his body all over the place, so I'm not sure he is going to be able to stay healthy. I think the biggest mistake the Spurs made was not adding another wing player, like Corey Maggette this offseason. If Ginobili goes down again, they will certainly be in trouble, but even if he doesn't, they might have a hard time making it out of the West. Roger Mason, Jr. could give them good minutes in the abscence of Ginobili.
Houston Rockets: The Rockets are the team that everyone is going to be talking about coming into the season because of the addition of Ron Artest. I like the move and think the Rockets will be a much improved team, but you just never know for sure until they play some games together. McGrady, Artest, and Yao have all been injury prone throughout their careers too, so that is also something to think about. I like the additions of Brent Barry, D.J Strawberry and Joey Dorsey as well. This team could win the West if everything goes right for them, but I want to see them play some games before I'm ready to declare them a Finals contender for sure.
Utah Jazz: The Jazz didn't do much this offseason to improve their team. Their biggest weakness is at SG and while Morris Almond played well in the Summer League, I don't think he is the answer there. Maybe Ronnie Brewer will develop some more. I still don't see how this team will be able to stop Kobe if they have to face the Lakers again and I don't think they improved all that much from last season. I see them being a 4 or 5 seed and getting knocked out in the 2nd round at best. Word on the street is that Brewer has looked great in the preseason, so it's possible he might make a bigger contribution for the Jazz this year.
Phoenix Suns: The Phoneix Suns should be an interesting team to watch all season. They are definitely a playoff team, but I don't see how they can compete with the better teams out West as long as they have 3 flawed defenders in Nash, Shaq, and Stoudemire. The addition of Robin Lopez should help them defensively when Shaq isn't on the floor but it's still not enough. I think Nash is on the decline as well, which makes their offense less potent and makes it harder for them to beat teams without playing great defense. They picked up the high energy Matt Barnes in the offseason too, which should help them out.
Portland Trailblazers: This team should be fun to watch this season with their young core of talent. Greg Oden will be the story early on and I'm interested to see just how good he is. Even if he struggles, this team should still be in the playoffs, because they have plenty of talent. Jerryd Bayless looks like the real deal offensively and we know what Brandon Roy can do already. I think Portland is at least the 7th best team out West and should make the playoffs easily. Rudy Fernandez looks to be the 6th man on a team that has a ton of depth. The biggest problem on this team might be deciding who gets the minutes. I actually think they will be better then Phoenix this year and if the Spurs, Rockets, or Jazz have injuries then I wouldn't be surprised to see Portland finish ahead of any of those teams either.
Dallas Mavericks: You know, it seriously wouldn't surprise me if the Mavericks didn't make the playoffs this season. They didn't add anything to their team and they still have Jason Kidd as their PG. Kidd is pretty much worthless right now and it looks like the Mavs made a big mistake by trading Devin Harris. If teams like the Clippers, Nuggets, Warriors, and Kings play well this season then Dallas could be in the lottery next season. If Dirk Nowitzki has an off year or gets hurt, then it could be a long season for Dallas.
Los Angeles Clippers: Despite losing Elton Brand and Corey Maggette this offseason, I like what the Clippers added to their roster to make up for those losses. Marcus Camby should help ease some of the loss felt from Brand's departure and I think DeAndre Jordan will be solid off of the bench. Baron Davis will make a big impact on this team and should help out Al Thornton and Eric Gordon. The problem with this team might be the defense though. They are going to have to play an uptempo style of ball to be successful enough to make the playoffs.
Denver Nuggets: I really don't like the Nuggets chances without Marcus Camby, but I'm not sold on Dallas or the Clippers 100% and any team with Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson is going to have a chance to win every night. The Nuggets didn't do much to try and replace the defense of Camby, so that is going to be their biggest issue. They don't have much down low at all and that will keep this team from making the playoffs if Dallas doesn't falter. Josh Smith looked great in the preseason and could be in for a breakout season if he can keep his head on straight.
Golden State Warriors: The Warriors just lost Monta Ellis for 3 months, which would put him out until December probably. They should be able to stay afloat without him and it's possible this team could sneak into the playoffs. They added Corey Maggette in the offseason and he should thrive in the Warriors offense. I expect him to put up big numbers while Ellis is out. Brandan Wright and Anthony Morrow could give the Warriors some unexpected solid play this season as well. DeMarcus Nelson has played surprisingly well in the preseason also.
Sacramento Kings: There's just something about this team that makes me think they could have a good year, but then when I look at the roster I'm not sure anymore. They played well last season but now they have lost Ron Artest and got a lot younger in the process. Jason Thompson played well in the Summer League and I'm interested to see what he brings to the table during the regular season. Beno Udrih was solid at the end of last season and he'll join the underrated Kevin Martin in the back court, but I'm not sure the added enough in the offseason to build upon last seasons showing. Martin has shown and increased aggressiveness driving to the basket more often in the preseason and could be primed for a monster season.
Minnesota, Memphis, and Oklahoma City should be fun to watch this season but I don't think they have any chance at the playoffs. They all should be more competitive than last season though and they all have good young talent and could develop into playoff caliber teams over the next 2-3 years if everything works out.
Here's what I had to say about Minnesota's squad last week along with video of Ryan Gomes talking about the team:
The Timberwolves have started the preseason with a 3-1 record and while we shouldn't look too much into the preseason, I think the TWolves have a chance to be a solid team this year. Now when I say solid, I'm only talking about close to a .500 record, but still that would be a vast improvement over what they have been over last season where they won just 22 games. I could easily see them winning 35-40 games this season and maybe even more. Most people would probably think I am crazy for saying this, but check out their roster of players: Al Jefferson, Mike Miller, Kevin Love, Randy Foye, Ryan Gomes, Craig Smith, Sebastian Telfair, Rashad McCants, Corey Brewer, and Rodney Carney. Now this isn't a mind blowing roster, but with Big Al Jefferson they certainly have a low post stud and Mike Miller is a consistent scorer from the 2-spot. Jefferson averaged a healthy 21.0 points and 11.1 rebounds a game last season and Miller averaged 16.4 points and 6.7 rebounds a game and you might be surprised to hear that both of them shot over 50% from the floor. If you throw in Kevin Love, who has a great basketball IQ and should be able to shoot well from the floor, the Wolves have 3 pretty damn efficient offensive players. Rashad McCants quietly had a solid season last year averaging 14.9 points and shooting a respectable 45% from the field. McCants should prove to be a solid 6th man off the bench. Throw in the intangibles that Ryan Gomes brings to the game , along with his 12.6 points and 5.6 rebounds and the TWolves should have no problem putting up points this season. By the way, Gomes has come into the preseason pretty ripped and truly looks like a SF now instead of a tweener who was trapped with a PF-like body.
I expect the Wolves to be a very efficient team offensively, but a lot of that will also depend on the PG play of Randy Foye and Sebastian Telfair. Telfair is more of a true PG, but he can't shoot and his small size hurts him on the defensive end of the floor. Foye played well after the All-Star break last year, but is not a true PG at this stage of the game. In some ways, they compliment each other, so the TWolves may be able to use both effectively in stretches throughout their games. If either one of these two exceed expectations at the PG position then the TWolves will have a great chance to win 40 games in my mind.
The other role players on the team will certainly be useful off the bench. Craig Smith is a beast down low (just ask Andres Nocioni and Tyrus Thomas), who also shoots it very well from the floor at just over 53%. Corey Brewer has shown some progress on the offensive end in the preseason averaging 14 points a game so far. We already know that he has the length to be a strong defender in the NBA, so if his offense continues to develop he should be a solid contributor to this team on a nightly basis. Defense happens to be the teams biggest weakness, so if a strong defensive player like Brewer continues to improve offensively, it could be best for the TWolves to get him as much playing time as possible to help them out defensively. Truth be told, the defense might be better this season simply because they will have Jefferson and Love attacking the defensive boards every night. Don't underestimate the defensive benefit of holding the opposing team to just one shot attempt.
I believe that Minnesota can beat anybody in the NBA on any given night, outside of the top 10 or so teams. That leaves about 20 other teams that they can match up with quite well. So while it may seem crazy, I think the TWolves have a good chance to be close to a .500 team and they certainly will be competitive on a nightly basis at the very least.
Here's what I had to say about the Memphis Grizzlies and their roster of dunkers:
Speaking of dunks, the Memphis Grizzlies might suck this year, but even if they do then they still have three of the most exciting players and dunkers in the league. With Rudy Gay, Hakim Warrick, and O.J. Mayo on the same roster, you can expect a ton of highlight reel dunks from this team. They might be the three best dunkers on any team in the league. Rudy Gay just recently dunked on Brent Barry in the preseason, O.J. Mayo threw down a thunderous dunk on Hilton Armstrong in the preseason, and Hakim Warrick has a handful of monster dunks throughout his career. Should be an exciting team to watch for the fans in Memphis.
Also Ed from Ed The Sports Fan did a team preview of the Oklahoma City Thunder that you can check out. I personally think Kevin Durant is going to have a breakout season, because the second half of last year he started shooting the ball a lot more effeciently.
Predictions:
Eastern Conference:
1. Boston Celtics 2. Philadelphia 76ers 3. Detroit Pistons 4. Orlando Magic 5. Cleveland Caveliers 6. Toronto Raptors 7. Atlanta Hawks 8. Miami Heat 9. Washington Wizards 10. Milwaukee Bucks 11. Indiana Pacers 12. Chicago Bulls 13. New Jersey Nets 14. Charlotte Bobcats 15. New York Knicks
Eastern Conference Champs: Boston Celtics
Western Conference:
1. Los Angeles Lakers 2. New Orleans Hornets 3. Houston Rockets 4. San Antonio Spurs 5. Utah Jazz 6. Portland Trailblazers 7. Phoenix Suns 8. Dallas Mavericks 9. Denver Nuggets 10. Los Angeles Clippers 11. Sacramento Kings 12. Minnesota Timberwolves 13. Golden State Warriors 14. Memphis Grizzlies 15. Oklahoma City Thunder
