NHL, NBA and MLB RANT

Sigh!!! I can finally let down my hair.......lol......and relax a little. School is finally over for the summer. Now I can re-focus on blogging on here more often. Simmer down now, don't get over excited. Still won't be a every day thing though. Eventually, thevicariousathlete.com will be launched as a website that "actually" covers every major sport; before December of this year. Stay tuned!

Here are a few random thoughts and opinions on the most recent sports happenings:

NHL

• Hey Burns....look, it's hockey talk on thevicariousathlete...lol
• Since I hardly ever blog on hockey, (a trend that will be changing from now on)I will drop a few quick facts about my hockey favs.
  
• Favorite team: Ottawa Senators
• Favorite player: Jerome Iginla (his last name means "big tree". Really, it does!!) Dude is built like one.
• Team I hate with a passion (I know...hate is a strong word and I chose it because there's strength behind the feeling) Toronto Maple Leafs. I hope they don't sniff the playoffs for the next 75 years. I Mean that!!
• Should John Tavares really be the number one overall pick in the NHL draft on Friday? Some experts are saying that Victor Hedman might just be a little bit better than Tavares. This is exactly how people make mistakes like this in the draft. Tavares is going to be a stat stuffing machine in the league. Hedman will be a good player but in no way will he be what Sidney Crosby is to Alex Ovechkin.
• Shut up Dany Heatley. We don't want you anyway.
• Actually we do but good riddance if you don't want to play for us. You are a 50 goal scorer but also softer than goose feathered pillows.
• Hey Brian Murray, I know I'm not privy to what's going on in your draft war room but I really hope you trade this douche. How about Heatley to the Islanders for the first pick. Throw in a couple of prospects if you have to.
• Ovechkin is exactly what the NHL needs. A great offensive player with a lot of charisma and flare. I hope the old puck heads out there would just loosen their grip on the way the game is managed and marketed. It's a strange thing to me when the league and a bunch of old school hockey beat writers frowned on Ovechkins when he made the "burning hockey stick" celebration. C'mon now.....if you allow players to fight then why in the world would you be unhappy about a little celebration after a spectacular goal. If I hear that it's frowned upon because of the message it sends to kids, then I will throw fish heads on the ice at a Maple Leafs game. (Heck, I'd do it for no reason anyway..ah ah).
• The entire Pittsburgh Penguins team should all go clubbing and then get on the stage while simultaneously singing/rapping: "hey Hossa, tell us how our ass taste".
• Joe Thornton belongs on the the Montreal Canadiens.....ooh ooh, here's an even better one. The Sens should trade Heatley and two prospects for Thornton.
• Bold and shameless statement/prediction: Senators will win the Stanley cup next season and the Maple Leafs will win only nine games. :-)
  

NBA

• It's a little bit late to rant on this but it still bothers me a little. Hey LeBron, I know you are mad that you lost to the Orlando Magic but walking off the court at the end of a tough series loss without shaking hands. This does not show that you are a tenacious and competitive athlete, rather, it shows that you have a "sore-loser" bone in you.
• A big congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers on winning their fifteenth NBA championship. Kobe Bryant wins his fourth overall and in my mind cements himself as a first or second ballot hall of famer. Definitely first if he wins a couple more.
• Shaq is now a Cavalier. First thing that crossed my mind was what the "Big Aristotle" will call himself this time. He tends to give himself a new nick-name every time he changes teams. The "Big Cactus" only lasted a season and a half in Phoenix and did not bring the championship promise he made when he was introduced to the Phoenix faithful----ironically, the introduction was at a home game versus LeBron James and the Cavs. Shaq will get to start the 09/10 season on the Cavs roster, as King James biggest supporter. I can't wait till he starts sucking up to LeBron and in turn calls LBJ the best player in the league. Luckily, he won't be way off on that statement.
• LeBron James actually really wanted Shaq. I think this almost makes them an automatic selection to make it to the NBA Finals next year.
• I predict that some reporter will ask Shaq which of his three superstar wing men is the best! Kobe. DWade or LeBron. Common sense would dictate that Shaq should say something like "they are all great players in different ways"--but since Shaq loves attention and does not shy away from things like this, he will probably say something that's equivalent to planting his lips on King James buttocks.
  
• The Spurs are now my pick to face the Lakers in next years Western Conference playoffs. Tim Duncan should be healthy and so should Manu Ginobili. The addition of Richard Jefferson makes them a much potent offensive team without really giving up on their defensive philosophy. Bruce Bowen is not the same lock down defender he was a few seasons ago which makes him a liability for the Spurs. Interesting thing here is that the Milwaukee Bucks might actually buy Bowen out of his contract, thus paving the way for him to potentially return to the Spurs before the season starts.
• I really, really, really want the Raptors to draft DeMar DeRozan!!!!
• I really, really want the Raptors to draft Jonny Flynn!!!
• I really want the Raptors to draft Gerald Henderson!!
• Chris Bosh said last month that he will not sign a contract extension this summer. So far, he has been doing a lot of Toronto based community activities that makes me feel optimistic that he loves the city and will eventually sign with the Raps in 2010. Deep down though, the optimist in me is bowing down to the realist in me. TRADE BOSH NOW!! Offer him, Joey Graham and cash to the Clippers for the first overall pick. Draft Blake Griffin and use the nineth pick to select one of the three "I really want" guys above.
• I love Bosh but like all athletes and the GM's say: "It's a business"
  
• I just took a quick break from writing and scanned a few websites. Hoopshype.com is stating that the Lakers have traded their 29th pick to the Knicks for three million dollars. First thing that came to my mind: Why can't the Raptors do something like that to get a second round draft pick. I know we can spare a mil' somehow to get a another pick in this draft. C'mon Colangelo!!!
• I was just about to finish this segment when my boy Albs pinned me on my Blackberry. Vince Carter has just been traded to the Orlando Magic for Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston and Tony Battie.
• I doubt that the Magic will have enough money to go after Hedo Turkoglu now. It would be nice if the Raps go after him.
  
• Seems like the Magic will be playing the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals next year.
  

MLB

• I am officially going to "write" out loud something that I have known to be true but was hoping was not. Barry Bonds is a cheat just like the rest of the silly saps that are destroying the beautiful game of baseball.
• Alex Rodgriguez admits to taking performance enhancing drugs. Sammy Sosa can't pretend that " I canot speekey no igwish" now that there is proof that he took banned performance enhancing drugs. The facts will be speaking for him now!!
• I wonder what Mark McGwire is thinking right now?
  
• Hey Blue Jays fans, it's time we start being a little cocky about our team. We have a good squad--short of a few pitching woes but altogether good enough to make the post season.
• Hey Blue Jays fans, we need to stop booing players that are going through slumps. An 0 for 18 slump is like having three bad games. It happens!! Who do we thing we are, the Yankee fans? We are not and we should rejoice in that. Yankee fans will boo a player that goes 4 for 21. Also....Yankee fans smell....and Boston fans too!!!
  
• Hey Blue Jays fans, simply because an athlete signs $125 million does not mean that he can't go through slumps. It does not mean that being booed does not hurt him. It does not mean that he simply doesn't care anymore since signing the mega deal. Here's my theory on "most" athletes that sign big deals and then their on field/court/ice performance starts to dip. I think the money actually makes them want to do more. This can result in the athlete over-analyzing simple things in their game.
• The previous two points were inspired by Vernon Wells.......just in case you were wondering.
• Hey Vernon Wells, you do know that you have been a sub-par player in comparison to your pre-mega-contract-self. Buckle up and start balling.........baseballing, that is.
  
• Almost forgot about Manny Ramirez. How could I? LMAO........Female fertility drug-HCG?!?!?

Man, I love sports!!!

ps. R.I.P Farrah Fawcett 1947-2009 and R.I.P Michael Jackson 1958-2009

Sportaculary yours,


The Vicarious Ahtlete

NBA Finals Prediction/The Kobe-LeBron Debate.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah and THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS WIN THE NBA FINALS OVER THE ORLANDO MAGIC, 4-2!!!


My record so far in this pundit-prediction business is woeful. So, if you are one of the very, very few individuals that actually take my prediction seriously, then I caution you to take what you are about to read with more than a grain of salt........a spoonful will suffice.

Before I go on with my rant on Kobe and LeBron, I would like to congratulate the Orlando Magic for proving everybody wrong. I can safely say that no one picked the Magic to beat LeBron James and the Cavs. In retrospect, I should have seen it coming though. After all, Orlando is the only team in the playoffs this year that provided a plethora of mismatches against their competition. Imagine being a head coach and having to devise a defense that would work against Hedo Turkoglu. Hedo can play the point, beat almost anyone off the dribble and then take your puny point guard to the post to get schooled. Now imagine the headache of stopping Rashard Lewis; a 6'10 small forward/power forward that shoots the ball like a shooting guard. Throw in the role players: Mickael Pietrus, Courtney Lee, J.J Redick and Anthony Johnson. There you have it; the guys that proved the basketball world wrong. The guys that served the basketball deficiencies of King James on a platter, and displayed it for everyone to see.

New paragraph for this one.....

Yes, you heard me correctly!!! LeBron James has deficiencies in his game. Not a lot but enough. I have discussed and argued with a good number of people over this topic and so far it seems like there are waaaaay more people out there that think LBJ is hands down the best player in the game right now. I say that Kobe Bryant is still best in the game. I would like to thank Mickael Pietrus and the Orlando Magic coaching staff for helping me to prove my point. The coaching staff came up with a game plan and Pietrus carried it out to the last letter of the plan. They allowed James to get his buckets in transition (I can't really say "allowed" because LBJ can not be stopped in transition) but Pietrus did a phenomenal job in keeping James in front of him in the half court setting and forced him to take jump shots or pass. King James shooting touch has definitely improved from last year but it's not quite consistent or clutch enough (please don't even bother bringing up the game winning shot in game two of the series. I made the "not clutch enough" statement in spite of what he did). LeBron has yet to fully develop his dribbling skills. This is the deficiency that I am noting here. LeBron can dribble but he can't DRIBBLE!!! He can obviously dribble the ball but he does not have the crafty ball handles that Kobe Bryant possesses.

I will not win this battle of opinions with regards to pointing out "certain" things about LeBron James. Nor will I win when it comes to stating that in comparison to Kobe Bryant, LeBron James set of skills simply does not....compare. One reason I can't win on this matter is that people will start getting emotional about it and accuse me of "hating" the guy. Please allow me to quell this notion. LeBron James is one of my favorite players in the league but unlike most people, I can constructively criticize someone I really like. Statements like "LeBron is way better than Kobe" is a statement made with biases and emotions. It is obviously not accurate but I have come across and heard many statements like this since the playoffs began. I will repeat something I have said on numerous occasions about how people react to someone or something that seems so dominant....or imposing! People put sub-conscious blinders on and fail to see the imperfections. The "new" seems way better than the "old".....even if the "old" is just as good or better. The term "great" is tossed around too loosely nowadays.

It's time to state the obvious!!

LeBron James is absolutely sick to watch. He moves very fast for his size. His skill set to size ratio is something to marvel at. At this point in his career, compared to some of the greats at this junction in their careers; LeBron as already surpassed them statistically. LeBron just might go down in history as the greatest player to ever lace up a pair of high tops.

I said high tops!!! Kobe wears his "low". I am talking 'bout sneakers ya'll.

I am trying to be clever here. Does anyone get it? Greatest player to ever lace up a pair of high tops but Kobe wears his sneakers low!!!!! I hope you get my point here.

If Kobe and the Lakers win this years championship and he manages to tie or pass Michael Jordan in the ring department in the next few years. Then absolutely nothing that LeBron James does (short of winning just as much "bling" or more ) will make me think that he is better than Kobe. Their are players that had better career numbers than Jordan but didn't win a championship. Those players are considered great but not great than Jordan. On that note, I'll end with this to all the "LeBron is better than Kobe" fan club members. Kobe has three rings (yes, he won it with Shaq but tell me if any great player has ever won it all by themselves). LeBron needs to win one before I will entertain anymore of this "who is better than who" talk.

Here's something for you guys to think about when comes to greatness:

"Great numbers can make a player great, but winning a championship makes a great player greater than....."

Lekan Afolabi

Sportacularly yours,

The Vicarious Athlete