April 27 - It ain't about the shoes

It is all about the shoes, according to Sean Farnham, an analyst for Southern California Sports Report. Listen to this theory. There is a kid from Mater Dei High School in Orange County named Taylor King who is supposed to be the second coming of Chris Mullin. I think this comparison is made because the kid is white and can shoot, but maybe he is just a drunk like good old “Twelve Pack” Mullin. Regardless, Taylor is being coveted by a number of big schools even though he said two years ago – as a freshman – he was going to attend UCLA. Obviously, as a high school freshman, he wasn’t allowed to sign a national letter of intent, but some deranged UCLA fans (myself not included) thought Taylor’s verbal was carved in stone. Well, a couple of weeks ago, Taylor dropped the expected bomb and said he was rescinding his oral commitment and opening up the bidding to other schools. The junior says he is still considering UCLA, but is also looking at North Carolina, Syracuse, Arizona, Gonzaga and UCONN. So how does Farhnam describe the situation? Well, his theory suggests that King is now taking a look at schools that are sponsored by Nike since his current coach - Gary McKnight - has a pretty strong relationship with the shoe company. UCLA, it should be noted, is not a NIKE school and that, according to Farnham, sparked King to look elsewhere. This is a shining example of over-analysis in the media. Does Farnham, who couldn’t play a lick at UCLA, really believe that this kid’s college decision is going to come down to shoes? Is King really going to choose North Carolina simply out of loyalty to his coach and his coach’s shoe contract? This is a bit much for me, particularly because a former player of McKnight’s – Cedric Bozeman – currently plays at UCLA. If this shoe thing is such a big deal for McKnight, then why didn’t he steer Bozeman clear of Westwood. This Bruin alum wishes he had since Bozeman is arguably the worst prep All-American ever to play for UCLA and that includes Ray Young. Anyways, getting back to King, isn’t it possible that the kid just wants to weigh some options as he moves closer to making his binding commitment? Here is my theory on the subject – King is reconsidering because he wants to take five overnight recruiting trips where he will get to hook up with sure things in Chapel Hill, Tucson, Storrs and Syracuse. Sorry Taylor, there are no sure things at Gonzaga so you should replace that visit with a trip to Washington. All white kids from Orange County care about is getting some “Girls Gone Wild” ass, especially those who attend all-boys catholic schools. So Sean, spare us the Nike crap.

Notes from the National: How in the world did the Braves, without Chipper, get seven hits and four runs of Pedro? I could have sworn that was going to be a no-hitter. It was good to see Smoltz finally get a win, although the Braves cannot feel too good about lifting their closer - Danny Kolb - in the ninth. How long before Chris Reitsma gets that job? Jon Lieber finally lost last night as he uncharacteristically walked four in Washington. Philly fans have begun huddling outside of Citizens Bank Park and looking for the black smoke that will indicate GM Ed Wade has been fired or killed. Lance Berkman has played in a few rehab starts and it looks like he is about a week away from joining the A-Holes. Carlos Zambrano and Eric Milton took turns being gang banged last night at Wrigley and even Ken Griffey got in on the act with four RBI. The Cubs have many problems right now but Derrick Lee is not one of them. Jeff Suppan actually won a game at Busch last night but it was a costly victory for the Cards as they lost their closer – Jason Isringhausen – for a while with a pulled stomach muscle. Peter Gammons NL Rookie of the Year pick – J.J Hardy of the Brewers – is hitting .140 with two extras in fifty at bats. My ROY pick – Garret Atkins – debuted for the Rockies last night and had two hits. Josh Beckett’s line doesn’t read so well but he did hold the Rockies in check at Coors. The Diamondbacks have now won five straight while the Dodgers have lost five or six after Arizona’s 3-2 win in LA. The DBacks unquestionably overpaid for Russ Ortiz in the off-season, but four of his five starts this year have been pretty solid. Jason Schmidt was all over the place last night as it took him 131 pitches to get 20 outs. Benitez got touched up last night, giving up a game tying home run to Nevin, but J.T. Snow bailed him out in the bottom of the eighth. Snow had two doubles and a triple last night and is hitting .421 over the past week.

Airmail from the AL: The Red Sox are quickly using up their season’s allotment of bad losses as last night was a killer. As I wrote yesterday, Keith Foulke has been incredibly shaky and he showed that again last night as he gave up not one, but two Jacks. Matt Clement was completely ineffective and Alan Embree proved once again that he cannot keep inherited runners from scoring. You know things are bad in Boston when the Sox get to their nemesis – Rod Lopez – yet still lose. And to make matters worse, Curt Schilling is now going on the DL because of a bruised ankle, which makes him the third Red Sox pitcher to hurt his foot this week. Wade Miller better get his ass up to the majors in a hurry. On the bright side for Boston, Manny is certifiably on fire as he drove in his 21st over the past 11 games. Miggy and Mora were 8-11 last night with five runs scored. GAYROD had a season last night with three blasts and ten RBI. He now has 25 RBI on the year, but 16 have come in two games that the Yankees collectively won by 19 runs. “Mr. Rodriguez, would you like to hang those numbers up with these shirts?” Pavano chipped in with seven strong innings but where are the Ks? Johan won his seventeenth straight decision for the Twinkies last night. That streak dates back to July 11th and with three more wins, Santana will tie the Rocket for most consecutive victories in AL history. Wasn’t Joe Mauer supposed to be a difference maker for the Twins this year? He has five RBI in seventeen games. Ted Lilly picked up a cheap win over Dewon Brazelton in Toronto last night, moving Dewon’s career record on the road to a terrific 0-11. If you combine Brazelton at home with Jeff Suppan on the road, you may have something. Oakland scored a week’s worth of runs last night in a pitching duel that never materialized between Harden and Buehrle. Chavez had a couple of knocks last night and perhaps that gets him going. Beltre finally hit a dong for the Ms, but that only gives him two on the year. He is traditionally a slow starter so perhaps last night gets the ball rolling. Ichio, by the way, is down to .333 after hitting only .192 over the past week. It has been a bad stretch for the Japanese as the Hideki Matsui has now dipped below .300 and the Chinese are calling bullshit on that weak World War II apology.

Jason Kidd and Vince Carter are certifiable stars but it is now clear that they can’t take out the Heat by themselves. The Nets just don’t have the guns up front to stop the Heat, even though Nenad Kristic did play well last night. Take a look at what New Jersey’s starting forwards contributed. Jason Collins was 0-4 with a single point and Brian Scalabrine was 0-3 on a scoreless night. If that wasn’t bad enough, Cliff Robinson came off the bench to snag just two rebounds before he fouled out in fifteen minutes of action. The Nets just got pounded on the boards last night while shooting a putrid 36 percent from the field. And while they did a much better job stopping Dwayne Wade, the Nets were still haunted by Damon Jones who drained four bombs. I had thought the Nets were probably good enough to win a pair in this series, but I now think one is more realistic. What is the over/under on attendance for Game 3 at the Meadowlands Friday night?