February 11 - Gillen is Gonzo

Can anyone explain to me why Pete Gillen is still coaching at the University of Virginia? This is one of the great mysteries in college sports today and I can't help but wonder how this guy keeps his job in the midst of such mediocrity. I want to preface this rant by stressing that I am a dispassionate observer - I did not attend Virginia and I am not a fan of the Cavs. However, having lived in Northern Virginia for eight years, I do know plenty of UVA grads and this ode is dedicated to those who have walked the lawn and passed out after a day at Foxfields.

If memory serves, Gillen was hired becasue the UVA administration and the program's fans had become disenchanted with coach Jeff Jones - a Virginia grad from the Sampson era and a player on the 1981 UVA final Four team. Well, lets take a look at Jones record to determie whether his dismissal had merit. Jones coached at UVA for eight years, during which time he compiled a record of 144-104, took five teams to the NCAA tourney and one team to a regional final. Jones was no wizard. His specialty was producing hard nosed teams that were quite frankly a little hard to watch. His teams would mug their opponents, but led by the likes of Junior Burrouogh and Harold Dean, Jones produced consistent winners. However, after the schools regional final loss to Arkansas in 1995, things turned south in Charlottsville. Jones missed the tourney in 96 and 98, while another squad got bounced early in the 97 tourney. I think its fair to call Jones record a bit spotty and the ending swoon probably did justify the termination of his employment.

With Jones gone, in comes Gillen - a big winner at Xavier and a regional finalist during a short stint at Providence. So what has Gillen done in his six plus years at UVA. In a nutshell - absolutely nothing. Including this year, he is 116-87. He has taken exactly one team to the NCAA tournament and that squad lost in the first round to Gonzaga. He has four appearances in the NIT and get this - he has yet to win a game in the ACC tournament. This year, the wahoos are 12-9 overall and 3-7 in the ACC after recently posting consecutive wins over NC State and Florida State. In recent weeks, Virginia got absolutely annihilated at home against UNC and buried at Providence, which is odd since Providence is currently winless in the Big East. How in the world has this man kept his job? Perhaps his removal is just a formality at this point and the administration doesn't see any point in removing him mid-season. After all, this is college and not the NFL. But Gillen's removal should have happeend a year go. Its not as if UVA had a ton of talent coming back and had been building towards 05. There is some talent out there, but not a ton and its clear that the guys who are out there have quit playing. Gillen picked up a troubled program in 1999, but he has done absolutely nothing to remediate the problem. Sure, UVA has a lousy gym and tough academic standards, but this is the state university of a basketball rich state. And it is a program with some history. I am not arguig that it should be held up to the standards of Duke and North Carolina and Maryland, but give me a break. This program is a mess and the architect of the mess is Pete Gillen. Its time for Pete to go!!


There is a lot of news to cover today, but we start out West where my Bruins picked up an enormous win last night in front of my dad and 7,200 other fans at Pauley Pavillion. As I mentioned yesterday, this was an absolutely critical game for both UCLA and ASU. Both are teetering on the bubble and neither wants to go into the Pac-10 tourney needing to win a couple games in order to make the NCAAs. The Bruins came out quickly, led by Dijon "Mustard" Thompson, and were up comfortably at half. Mustard was unconscious early and had 27 by half on 10-12 shooting. Thompson finished with 39 points, 21 of which came from beyond the arc. The Bruins shot 62 percent on threes, which is highly uncharactersitic for this aimless group. Where was that sharpshooting against Cal? I guess after struglling all year, including woeful shooting outings against Cal and Stanford, the Bruins were due. So where do the Bruins now stand. At 13-7 overall and 7-5 in conference, the Bruins appear to be in decent shape with seven games to go. Arizona is probably a loss this weekend and Notre Dame in South Bend is probably a loss as well. So as I figure it, the Bruins have to go 4-1 against the two Oregon schools at home, USC at home, and the two Bay Area schools on the road. That would leave them at 17-10 and probably 11-7 in conference. Having now swept ASU, I think that resume will earn the Bruins there first tourney appearance since 2002.

Staying with UCLA, it was reported on TNT last night that former Bruin Reggie Miller will call it quits at season's end. The story was broken by Reggie's sister Cheryl - and it turns out it was the first scoop of her broadcasting career. Cheryl's career reminds me a bit of Bud Fox in Wall Street. Bud only got his foot in the door because his dad had a sensitive position within an airline union. When Bud's idol - Gekko - finds this out, he bluntly tells Bud, that the two don't have a lot more to discuss unless another one of Bud's family members is an important rep in another union. I can see a suit at TNT now telling Cheryl: "we don't have much more use for you unless you have another sibling that starts for an NBA team." I was never a huge fan of Reggie, but there is no denying his legacy. He was an assassin, much like Sixer Andrew Toney was in the early 80s. Most will remmber Miller for his post-season heroics against the Knicks, but many will also forget that Miller didn't win all those battles. Nonetheless, Miller was a tremendous outisde shooter who always wanted the ball with the game on the line. He was one of the best free throw shooters in NBA history and he is the author of the book on moving without the ball. Miller's departure also marks the end of an era since he is basically the last remaining link to an NBA that was relevant. In the mid-90s, the NBA still mattered and Miller was a part of that excitement. That was an era dominated by Jordan and Pippen and Malone and Hakeem and Ewing and Drexler and Barkley. Malone is still hanging on by a fingernail, but for all intents and purposes, the warriors of that era are now retired and playing golf. Reggie, I hear Michael, Charles and Clyde have an opening in their foursome ready for you.

There is a big rift brewing this morning between the New York Yankees and the New York Times. In case you missed it, Murray Chass wrote a scathing article this morning that basically acuses the Yankees of knowing that Jason Giambi had a steroid problem when they signed him to a seven year deal (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/11/sports/baseball/11chass.html). Chass, already enshrined in the baseball Hall of Fame, writes that the Yankess specifically deleted any meniton of steroids from Giambi's contract. In other words, Giambi was able to get a contract that would remain guaranteed regardless of whether any steroid abuse was later detected and/or revealed. If this story is correct, it basically makes the Yankees an enabler in this whole tawdry steroid scandal. Well, it took about three hours for the Yankees to respond. Minutes before the end of ESPN's Mike and Mike show, Yankee GM Brian Cashman called into the studio from his car on the Henry Hudson Parkway and denied that the Yankees had any knowledge of Giambi's past. He was absolutely emphatic and he took some digs at Chass in the process. Cashman couldn't help himself and fell back on an old baseball cliche by saying that Chass' piece amounted to a "swing and a miss." Imagine that, the NY Times is now engaged in another battle with a conservtive organization. If Chass had any balls, he would pen a column for Sunday's edition that chronicles all of Cahsman's "swings and misses" (Weaver, Giambi, Vasquez, Contreras, Heredia, Brown). This one is not over by a long shot although if I were Chass, I might think about finding some season tickets becasue I am not sure the Yankess are going honor his press credentials.

I don't really have much to add to yesterday's circus at Yankee Stadium, although I will say that I am not sure what it was supposed to accomplish. Giambi basically got up in front of the media and read a script that was carefully prepared by his representation. By the way, he is represented by the same Arn Tellem who authored a book titled: "I had a brain seizure and it ended up costing my client Nomar Garciappara $52 million in guaranteed money." I don't think the appearance accomplished anything more then what could have been achieved through a press release. Nonetheless, the national media and the local press in New York are really seizing on the point that Giambi is apoligizing for something that he has never specifically admitted. The fact that he didn't actually mention the word "steroid" seemed to have bothered many in attendance. That is just semantics as far as I am concerned. I think the real interesting issue that came out of yesterday's show was Giambi's claim that he couldn't discuss certain issues because of legal restrictions. Nothing could be further from the truth. The rules governing the disclosure of grand jury testimony say absolutely nothing about a witness dislcosing his own testimony. How do I know this? Because I heard the rules repeated verbatim on the radio this morning. If Jason had wanted to, he could have held a press conference on the steps of the federal courthouse in San Francisco the day he appeared before the grand jury. And he has immunity so what is he concerned with? His excuses yesterday don't carry any water whatsoever with me. The reason for his silence is quite obvious - the details of his past are not flattering and therefore he and the Yankees see no reason for those details to be disclosed. Its alright Jason - your silence speaks volumes.

The dogs are playing in Madison Square Garden next week and I am not talking about the Knicks or the Johnies. No, its time for the Grandddady of them all - The 2005 Westminster Dog Show. Last year's Best in Show competition was on my list of the top-10 sporting events of the year, largely cause my dog - Josh the Newfoundland - pulled off the huge upset victory. Newfoundlands win Westminster about as often as the Red Sox win (only twice in show history) so last year's victory was very special. When I think back to 04, I will always remember it as the year I hit the trifecta with the Sox, the Pats and the Newf. This year, Josh will not be back to defend and its unlikely that another large dog will be able to repeat his victory. As per usual, this years winner will probably come from the Terrier or toy group but I will be watching closely to see if the working dogs can make it two straight. My heart lies with the Newfs and the Bernease Mountain Dogs, but I am not optimistic that either will win best in group let alone best in show.

So what do we got this weekend? With the Super Bowl behind us and Baseball still seven weeks away, the sports world now focuses its attention on college basketball. There are a couple of big games in the Big East, the most important in my mind is Notre Dame at Pitt. While they are ranked 18th in the country and are a gaudy 16-4, Pitt is no lock to make the tourney. They were 51st in the most recent RPI rankings and teams that low generally don't get at large berths. Their non-conference schedule was about as soft as a yogurt smoothie and this could come back to bite them if they don't rack up some more qaulity wins. A win Saturday would help, but keep in mind that Pitt has a murderous schedule down the stretch. They don't need a ton of wins but they need a few and therefore Saturday's game at home has some relevance. Another big Saturday matchup has Wisconsin playing at Champaigne. There are really only two roadblocks standing in the way of an undefeated regular season for Illinois, this game against the Badgers and at Iowa on the 19th. Wisconsin played Illinois real tough in Madison, but its probably a stretch to say they will be able to beat Illinois on the road. With that said, Wisconsin has two solid front court players (Wilkonsin and Tucker) and I believe they can do some damage inside. The big game out west this weekend will be at Maples Pavilion where Stanford will face-off with California. As with ASU-UCLA last night, both teams are struggling to stay near the top of the conference. Stanford is only 12-9 and number 46 in the RPI so they really need this win. If these Pac-10 teams keep beating up on each other, it will be real interesting to see how the conference fares on Selection Sunday. Could a conference ranked number two in the RPI only get three bids? On Saturday night, focus will shift out to College Park, where the Maryland will be looking to sweep the season series from Duke. The Devils are coming off a huge win Wednesday night over rival UNC and I think this is a tough spot for them. Maryland is a jekyl and hyde team, but when they come to play, and they usually do against Duke, they are a tough out. I am calling this one for the Terps. On Sunday, there are slim pickings. There is a UNC-UCONN game that is a rematch of a great game last year. I guess it will be interesting to see if Roy Williams can get his team to come back from that Duke debacle. But that is about it for Sunday. Come Sunday around three o'clock, it looks like golf from the Monterey Pennisula is the call. By the way, how hot is Phil Mickelson right now? He shoots a 60 last week in Scottsdale and then goes out and shoots 62 at Spyglass yesterday. Hey Phil, where was that magic during the Ryder Cup?

February 10 - UNC's FELTON IS BEDEVILED

I am surprised Roy Williams didn't pull a "Donovan McNabb" by vommiting in his own mouth during last night's UNC-Duke game in Durham. Certainly no UNC fan who watched the game could have blamed Roy if a few chunks came up. Why is that? Becasue that game was downright disgusting if you are a Tar Heel fan. As a 30-something with some ties to Chapel Hill, I got to say I would have preferred swallowing some of Joe Roggin's nasty concoctions on Fear Factor then sit through ten more minutes of watching Raymond Felton try to handle the roundball. Lets be frank, Ray Felton is not only one of the most overated players in college basketball today, but he is one of the most overated players to have ever played in the ACC (Steve Wojohowski, Terrence Morris, JR Reid, Julius Hodge and Danny Ferry belong in that discussion). When I checked the box score this morning and saw Felton had eight turnovers, I did a doubletake. Eight? If the over/under was 12, I may have picked the over. It seemed that Felton was throwing the ball away the whole night and I don't want to begin discussing what happened on that last play. Here is a guy - down one - who beats his guy 40 feet from the basket. Rather then driving the lane with five seconds left and either dishing or trying to draw contact, Felton kicks it out to a guy who is range limited. Well, the rest is history. Dave Noel kicks the ball out of bounds and the Heels lose by one. The sloppy finish ruined what could have been a landmark comeback for the Tar Heels. This series has had many memorable comebacks, but down nine with five minutes to go would have probably gotten last nights game into the top-10 rallies in UNC-DUKE history. UNC lost last night for two reasons and they are issues that have plagued this team over the past two years. First of all, the Heels simply don't play good defense, especially on the perimeter. Duke had little trouble getting penetration and once they got insde, they were finding their big men for easy layups. The second key to the game was UNC's carelessness. This team, headed by Felton, simply does not take care of the ball. It seems many Heels would gladly take the chance of risking a turnover so long as there was the possibility that a given pass would end up making its way onto Sports Center. UNC dominated the boards and didn't let Reddick hurt them from three point land. This should have been enough to secure the win, but it wasn't because Felton and crew couldn't keep the ball in play. The Heels are now 2-15 since 1999 against Duke, and now 0-1 when having an advantage in talent.

The Randy Moss watch continues. All morning on ESPN radio I have been hearing theories on where Moss will end up. But here is my question. In today's San Francisco Chronicle, its being reported that Jerry Porter will test the free agent waters. Porter is a nice player who can get deep and has pretty good catch and run skills - just ask Champ Bailey. While he is no Moss, he could be had for much less. For those teams looking for a deep ball threat, why not save the picks, a few million dollars a year and some migraines by focusing your attention on Porter.

I saw the other day that Andre Agassi is going to play some Davis Cup this year. Can anyone tell me why the United States still participates in this charade. This competition has been irrelevant since Johney Mac and Mats Wilander were playing 11 hour matches back in the early 80s. It seems like whenever I catch a glimpse of a US Davis Cup match it is on a clay court somewhere in South America and there are angry seperatists waiving flags in the background. I just read that the US has not won this competition since 95 and has only one title since 1993. Let me get this straight, we have only won one title during the Sampras/Agassi era. What are we - the Atlanta Braves? I guess the excuse is that our top guys rarely play. Well, if that's the case, why send a team at all?

I always thought that guys who went to Michigan were jerkoffs but this is going too far. According to the Detroit Free Press, Michigan Defensive Tackle Larry Harrison Jr. is a suspect in at least 12 cases of indecent exposure that occured near the Ann Arbor campus from August to December of last year. If Harrison could have beat his blocks in the Rose Bowl as well as he beat his meat outside some girls apartment in Ann Arbor, perhaps Michigan would have won the game. I can just imagine coach Lloyd Carr doing a Craig T. Nelson impersonation after the game: "Harrison if you had spent a little less time jacking off and a little more time in the film room, we would have stopped Vince Young and won that game!"

While UNC-Duke grabbed the spotlight last night, there was another other significant game in college basketball. Louisville got absolutely torched by Memphis in a game that was not nearly as close as the score indicated. Louisville star Francisco Garcia was a stunning 1-8 from the field. Someone should tell Francisco that going 1-8 in a nationally televised game is no way to compete for the Wooden Award. The win was significant for Memphis which now sits at 14-10. The tigers still have some work to do if they want an NCAA bid. On tonight's slate, we have NC State fighting for its life agasint the Demon Deacons. With a loss tonight in Winston-Salem, the Wolfpack will fall to 3-7 in the ACC and there is almost no shot Herb Sendek's club will be able to dig its way out of that hole. My guess is that NCSU coach Herb Sendek will not be coaching in the ACC next year. Out in the Pac-10 tonight there is a very important game in Westwood. The Pac-10 is likely to get only four bids this year despite being number two in the conference RPI rankings. Arizona and Washington have bids locked up. That leaves UCLA, Arizona State and Stanford fighting for what I think will be two spots. UCLA and ASU hook up tonight. This is really a must win for UCLA. They are 6-5 in conference and they can't afford to be swept by the Arizona schools this weekend. With a win, UCLA will have swept the season series and this fact will not be lost on the selection committee a month from now.

I sure am glad I am not a Tampa Bay Bucs fan. Not only were the Bucs a putrid 5-11 last year, but they have catastrohic cap problems staring them in the facce. By some estimates, the Bucs are sitting 14M dollars above the expected 05 cap of 85M. Where are these guys spending their money? The Bucs are now in crisis mode, forced to restructure a number of big-ticket contracts (Griese, Rice, Brooks) before the new NFL year starts in March. The moral to this story is the Bucs were awful last year and will have very little flexibility to imporve their team during free agency. This team is just two years removed from a Super Bowl Championship yet the organization looks a lot more like it did in 1990 then it did in 2000. Tom ake things worse, the NFC south is matched up with the competitive AFC East next year. That is four losses for Tampa. To celebrate their demise, I think the Bucs should break out the old all-orange unis and bring back Kevin House and James Wilder to sing some national anthems next year.

Feb 9 - Carson's Candidacy

I want to say congrats to Ron Borges of the Boston Globe. He has been a vocal critic of Harry Carson's Hall of Fame bid in recent years and he has succeeded once again. Carson came close this past weekend, making the final six, but his candidacy was not strong enough to get him over the hump. Carson certainly hurt his own candidacy by telling the Hall that he didn't want any part of being inducted after being passed over in years past, but I suspect that Borges played a role in the snub as well. The argument posed by Borges is basically as follows: Carson was a good player who played on a great defense. He backs this up by pointing out that Carson failed to make the 1980's all-decade team. The linebackers on that team are Taylor, Singletary, Tippett, Ted Hendricks, Jack Lambert, John Anderson and Carl Banks. Now I don't know what John Anderson is doing on that list and Jack Lambert is more of a 70's guy, but Andre "I'm a karate man so I bruise on the inside" Tippett was an 80s guy and he gets absolutely zero hall of fame consideration. Moreover, if you take a look at the annual all-NFL teams from the 80s, Carson didn't make a single one. NOT A SINGLE ONE! The inside backers who were making those teams include guys like Karl Mecklenberg, EJ Junior and Shane Conlon. In fact, one year, Carson's teammate Pepper Johnson made all-NFL team while Carson went un-recognized. Mecklenberg made a few of those teams and like number 56 for the Patriots, he couldn't find Canton with a map. Carson is revered in New York because he is a well spoken guy who was a part of two championship teams. But the bottom line is that the writers who covered him during his career didn't consider him elite and at least some of today's Hall voters agree. The surprise is not that Carson can't get in, its that he has gotten this far.

So the big game tonight is Duke and UNC - perhaps the biggest rivalry in College Basketball. I say perhaps because this rivalry has definitely lost something since 1998 regardless of what some clown on ESPN might say. Why has it lost something? Because UNC really hasn't been all that competitive since Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison went to the NBA after their junior years in 1998. You want some facts to support this theory? How bout this: Since 1999, Duke is 14-2 against UNC, including 2-0 last year. Since 1999, Duke has a championship and two other appearances in the Final Four. Duke has played in all six tourneys since UNC's dynamic duo left and has made the regionals each year. That means the "Sweet Sixteen" for you new schoolers. In the same period, UNC has missed two tourneys, been eliminated in the sub-regionals three times and has thus only made the regionals once - in 2000 when they went all the way to the Final Four and ended up losing to Florida. Its time for UNC to get some payback. They have a distinct advantage in talent this year and they should be able to wear down a Duke team that is barely five deep. Things would be a bit different if Luol Deng were playing for the Devils tonight, but as it stands, Duke has no answer for Marvin Williams and the Devils are dead if Sheldon Williams gets in any foul trouble. I think a hot hand from Reddick could keep the Devils in the game and I don't see Duke getting blown out on its own court. But this is the best UNC team in a long time and its time for them to exact some revenge. I am looking for a high scoring game - UNC 85-78.

Here is a name to watch out for next year - Julie Mancuso. She is a 20 year old alpine skier who just enjoyed ten terrific days at the World Alpine Championships in Italy. Mancuso got on the podium twice with bronze medals in both the Super G and Giant Slalom. On top of that, she added a pair of fourth place finishes in the Downhill and the combined. National team member Lindsey Kildow is better known then Mancuso, but Julie is coming on strong. She was a dominant junior skier and it now looks like she is going to be a real player on the world cup circuit. She could be a big name at the Turin Olympics next year.

Anyone watch that Illinois game on ESPN last night? That was not Illinois' finest hour. It was the worst I have seen them play this year and it happened to come against a very poor Michigan team. I still think Illinois is a very solid candidate to make it to the Final Four, but I see a lot of similarities to the great Illinois team of 1989 that lost in the national semis to Glenn Rice and the rest of his wolverines. That Illini team was athletic as hell and they could get up and down the court. But this team, like their brethren from 1989, is incredibly soft inside. And while Illinois has three guards who do a great job stepping into lanes and picking off passes for easy layups, they can be taken off the dribble on the perimeter. Michigan was getting penetration all night and that is not a good sign for Illinois.

The clock finally struck midnight for Boston College last night. That should not have come as a great surprise to anyone who has actually sat down and watched them play. They are a nice team led by a couple of real solid college players, but Notre Dame on the road is a tough game. That was a huge win for the Irish, especially coming off a heartbreaking loss on Saturday at the Carrier Dome. At 14-6 with a win over a top-5 team, Notre Dame can now breathe a little easier. The same cannot be said for the University of Texas which is now in a bit of a precarious position. They lost last night to an average Colorado team and are now 15-7 and 4-5 in the Big 12. They finish with four tough games: At Texas Tech, at home against Mizzou and Oklahoma and then they finish at Stillwater against Oklahoma State. Their next three games are against Baylor, A&M and Kansas State. They lose one of these games and they got some problems.

In the ACC last night, Georgia Tech finally got BJ Elder back and they managed to get a win at Clemson although it didn't look too pretty. Elder is a key guy on that team and I would expect the yellow jackets to begin playing a little a better. They have been pretty mediocre since Elder went down, but this team could be dangerous coming down the stretch. Maryland won an important game last night as well. They went into their game with Virginia Tech at 4-5 in the conference and possessing only two real good wins on the season (GT and at Duke). A loss would have been put them in a precarious spot but Nick Caner-Medley had a nice game shooting the ball and the Terps rolled. They will try to sweep the season series from Duke when they play in College Park on Saturday.

The Pac-10 got some good news today when it was announced that offensive guru Norm Chow would be heading off to Nashville to call plays for Jeff Fischer and the Tennessee Titans. Under Chow's watch, USC produced two Heisman winners and two national championships. Granted, USC is still loaded with talent, but at least this opens up the possibility that Pete Carroll will get more involved in play calling and as a Patriots fan, I know that is not a very good sign for USC. With Carroll at the controls, SC will probably have trouble covering four touchdown spreads against UCLA and Oregon next year.

Feb 8 - Rivalry Week

Is anything more transparent then ESPN's promotion of its "rivalry week"? Basically, it consists of one legitimate rivalry and a bunch of pseudo rivalries. On ESPN's website, they have the gaul of promoting Kansas- KSU as some kind of big game. Since when is this a big game? These two teams did meet once in an NCAA regional final (Manning over Mitch Richmond at the Silverdome), but that was back in 1988. The last time there was a meaningful intra-state fight within the borders of Kansas was in 1856-60 when the abolitionists and the confederates were killing each other over the issue of slavery expansion. ESPN is also pushing tonight's BC-Notre Dame game as some kind of rivalry. Say what? While there is some history between these two schools on the gridiron, there is absolutely no history on the basketball court. Tonights game could bring BC's winning streak to an end, but this isnt exactly the Hatfields and the McCoys. I can't recall a single meaningful game between these two schools. What else is on tap? How bout Memphis and Louisville. Since when is Memphis a rival of Louisville? They played some big games in the early 80's when Keith Lee, William Bedford and Andre Turner were going up against the likes of Rodney McCray, Milt Wagner and Pervis Ellison, but this hardly rises to the level of Louisville-Kentucky or Louisville-Indiana. ESPN has to calm down its marketing machine. Duke and UNC is a rivalry, but spare us the glamourization of these rather ordinary matchups.

So Rafael Palmeiro is vigorously defending his reputation from accusations that he abused steroids. Let me get this straight. One of the major side effects from anabolic steroid abuse is erectile dysfunction. Palmeiro just happens to be the pitchman for Pfizer's erectile dysfunction drug, Viagra. Hmmmmmmm. Palmeiro's record jsut smacks of suscpicion. In 1988, at the age of 25 and after playing for a few years at the major league level, Palmeiro slugged a grand total of 8 home runs in almost 600 at bats. The next year - 1989 - he was dealt to Texas and put up similar numbers. Over the next few years, we saw an increase in Raf's power numbers but then his numbers explode in 1993, which coincidently is when balls start flying out of MLB parks at an alarming rate. This guy has 550 home runs and he has an outside shot at 600. And with 80 hits this year, Palmeiro goes through 3000. What do the Hall of Fame selectors do with this guy? 600 is 600 and 3000 is 3000. They let Eddie Murray in with far less. Palmeiro has been a big producer but how much assistance was he getting. He's only been an all-star four times, he has one top-5 MVP vote and is a .244 post-season hitter. In my mind, Palmeiro has been a consistent offensive force in an offensive era. But he has compiled and not dominated. There was never a point in his career that Palmeiro was considered one of the ten best players in baseball let alone the best. If I had a vote, its a NO!

So Denny Neagle has now signed a minor league contract with Tampa Bay. Boy, this guy has had a bad year. First he gets nabbed soliciitng a prostitute. As a result, the Colorado Rockies voided the balance of his contract. The club owes Neagle almost 20 million dollars and an arbitrator will decide in April whether Neagle is still owed this money. Now he ends up in baseball purgatory. John Kerry has had a better year then old Denny.

So Randy Moss is on the block. If I am Brian Billick, I make this happen. The Ravens have jsut about the worst receiving corps in the NFL with Travis Taylor and Randy Hymes and they need a major upgrade. Granted, wide receiver is probably the easiest spot on the field to fill, but Moss is a special player. Plus, Quarterback Kyle Boller has proven accuracy is not his strong suit and this is where Moss can help since he has shown an ability to go get "jump balls." If the cost is a first round pick and a solid defrensive starter, Baltimore should pull the trigger. Baltimore was last in the NFL in passing last year and not even Baltimore's stout defense can carry an offense that can't move the ball down the field. Raven GM Ozzie Newsome has thus far denied any conversations with the Vikings on this matter, but the Ravens better not sit of their ass - the skins have shown interest with Lavar Arrington and the Raiders are also rumoured to be interested and could offer up disgrunteled DB Phil Buchanon.

How bout Donovan McNabb's comments after the Super Bowl the other night? The grounded eagle stressed that Philly had had a wonderful year, especially since no one expected them to get to the Super Bowl. Say what? They were the odds on favorite to win the NFC from day one. McNabb took some hard hits in that game and perhaps his remarks can be explained by a concussion. Staying on McNAbb, local radio guys are taking him to task for his woeful performance, but the apologists at ESPN remain staunch defenders. Lets be honest, McNabb is no bum, but he took a step back.

UCONN got a big win last night at the Carrier Dome and they seem to have brushed off a sluggish January. They were helped last night by a horrible Gerry McNamara who missed everything in sight. It was a tough loss for the Orange who now find themselves two back off BC in the race for the conference crown. The Big East is shaping up as an interesting chase for NCAA bids. Clearly BC and Syracuse have spots and UCONN is now safe. That leaves about five teams competing for two or three spots. Nova will be helped by that big win over Kansas. Pitt has some real good wins, but that non-con schedule certainly won't win them any points. Tonight is huge for Notre Dame. They are 13-6 with 8 to go and could really use a win over a big team like BC. Given the stakes, I am picking the Irish at home tonight.

I lost a bet this morning when Zydrunas Ilgauskas was named to the all-star game. Since when does 16 and 8 merit an all-star appearance. I guess it does when you are a center in the center-challenged Eastern Conference. Brad Miller, who has been huge of late, seems to be one the bigger oversights this year. He has similar numbers as Ilgauskas, but it seems Amare got his spot. I can't believe Dan Dickau got left off the team again.

February 7 Wrap

Are the Detroit Tigers insane? With Darren Dreifort's contract due to expire after the 05 season, it seems that tiger ownership is hellbent on paying out the most insane contract in baseball. 105M over seven years for Mags? I realize the Tigers have written in some protection, but the protection has a pretty low hurdle. Injury aside, is Maglio Ordonez a hundred million dollar player? Four years for forty-eight million is more like it. Seems like a huge stretch to me. The guy definitely has a shot of starting on the leagues all overpaid team right along with Chan Ho, Jason G and Kris Benson. Nonetheless, if Mags can play 140 games and drive in 90-100 runs and that young staff continues to mature, the tigers could compete for the central division crown. Another sacrificial lamb for the yanks in the ALDS.

The Knicks are officially a SHANDY - which is short for Shit Sandwich. How in the world did they blow that game in Sacramento Friday night? Poor Herb Williams. I suspect Penny will not include highlights from that game on his Hall of Fame candidacy tape. Did any player in NBA history get worse more quickly then Penny? Marbury had a great game against the Kings and I read a piece in a Chicago paper that suggested that the he could be trade bait in order to secure Kevin Garnett. All that piece confirmed is that Chicago is a vibrant haven for crack users. As an aside, did anyone catch Zeke putting out a press realease last week saying he wasnt interested in the Lakers job? Is this guy delusional? If the Lakers were going to go for a bad boy, I say they pick socal native and WBNA coaching stud Bill Lambier.

Bode Miller is having an absolutely sick season on the world ski tour. Two golds at the World Championships this month on top of some great early season performances in North America. The guy has won the Downhill and the Super G and he has a shot when they race slalom late this week. Bode is going to be the first American to win the World Cup overall title since Phil Mahre in 1983. He is definitely the early favorite for amateur and USOC athlete of the year and perhaps sportsman of the year. Sports Illustrated should take notice because this guy is perhaps the best winter Olympic athlete this country has produced since Eric Heiden.

North Carolina looked sick this weekend down at Tallahassee. I still don't love their defense - although they have started to play a bit better of late - but I love their firepower. This is the best North Carolina team since Guthridge took Jamison, Carter and Shamond to the 98 final four down in San Antonio. That team got knocked off by Andre Miller in the national semis. I think this team takes it at least one step further and will play on April 4.

Phil Mickelson looked solid yesterday. He still is a bit loose off the tee, but that was a solid win. This years early winners makes for quite a list - Singh, Woods, Phil and Appleby. Its setting up for a great Nissan Open at Riviera to determine the winner of the prestigious West Coast swing.

Not only is Boston College undefeated, but they have been pulling covers out their ass. They don't cover as much as the football team down the road, but the Eagles are shaping up as a pretty solid favorite against the spread. BC has a big game this week against Notre Dame. If they won that, there is a shot they go into the Big East tourney undefeated. They have Syracuse and Pitt left, but both are in Chestnut Hill. I am not sure they get out of Indiana with a win.

Speaking of Notre Dame, they absolutely collapsed Saturday night at Syracuse. With about five minutes to go, ND led 50-39. They ended up losing 60-57. The orange sprung a press, Warrick went crazy and ND made some stupid mistakes. This led to an 11-0 run and from there on out it was a formality. Bottom line, Chris Thomas folded down the stretch and the Irish blew a game that was penciled in the win column. Syracuse comes back tonight to play a big game against UCONN. Is it just me or does Syracuse play all its games at the Carrier Dome?. I don't often pull for Syracuse, but I am hoping they hand Calhoun a bad loss that the tourney selection committee will remember in about five weeks. Had UCONN lost that game to Nova last week, this team would be in some trouble.