ACE on Sports

Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo - Round Ten - May 7, 2005

2007-05-08T10:11:00.000-05:00

Diego Corrales Dies in Motorcycle Accident

CLICK ABOVE FOR VIDEO OF DIEGO CORRALES vs. JOSE LUIS CASTILLO - MAY 7, 2005 - ROUND TEN

Hey Tiki, Shut Up!

2007-02-14T15:43:00.000-05:00

Tiki Barber hasn't even started his new job(s) yet and I'm already sick of listening to him.

After ten years with the New York Giants, Barber has retired from football to begin his career in broadcasting -- landing roles with NBC on both the "Today Show" and Sunday Night Football.

While neither gig has started, Tiki was already offering up some choice soundbytes t his introduction as NBC's newest "star" correspondent:

The "constant grind" of playing for Giants head coach Tom Coughlin had "started to take its toll on me" and that it was an "act of God' that the physical demands Coughlin placed on him did not result in serious injuries. Oh brother ... it's amazing he didn't start referring to himself in the third-person.

"The grind ... really forced me to start thinking about what I wanted to do next. And that's not a bad thing. That's a good thing, for me at least. Maybe not for the Giants, because they lose one of their great players, but for me, it is." Very humble, nice touch ...

"My dream has always been to be on the 'Today Show'." Sincere? Not!

ESPN article

Video: Rocky Balboa - Official Trailer

2006-12-19T11:50:00.000-05:00

It's been 30 years since the original Rocky arrived on the scene. Heck, it's been 16 years since Rocky V. Sylvester Stallone is 60 years old. Must be time for Rocky VI! Rocky Balboa (they've dropped the Roman numerals) hits the theatres tomorrow. You're not proud of it but admit it, you want to see it. It's the ultimate guilty pleasure. Resistance is futile . . .

CLICK BELOW FOR ROCKY BALBOA - OFFICIAL TRAILER

New York Knicks: By The Numbers

2006-10-30T17:36:00.000-05:00

The NBA salary cap for the 2006-07 season is $53.135 million.

The "luxury tax" for the 2006-07 season is set at $65.42 million. Teams above this level pay a dollar-for-dollar tax on every dollar by which they exceed the threshold.

The New York Knicks team salary for 2006-07 is a league-record $141,666,359.

The Knicks are $76,246,359 above the tax threshold and will pay a luxury tax of $49,102,609 (Note: This represents less than a dollar-for-dollar tax because the team received tax relief by releasing Jerome Williams before last season under a one-time exception known – ironically - as the “Allan Houston” rule. The team also received tax relief when Allan Houston was deemed medically unfit to continue playing and retired).

The Knicks total payroll this season (including luxury tax) will be a league-record $190,768,968.

The Knicks will pay $62,295,250 this season to five players who are no longer on the roster: Allan Houston ($20,718,750 of which some - or all - may be covered by insurance), Jalen Rose ($16,901,500), Maurice Taylor ($9,750,000), Shandon Anderson ($8,500,000) and Jerome Williams ($6,425,000).

The Knicks will pay 49% of their total payroll (including tax), or $93,322,218, for the 14 players who will be in uniform on opening night.

The Knicks will pay 51% of their total payroll (including tax), or $97,446,750, for the five players who will NOT PLAY A SINGLE GAME for them this season ... but might play against them while still collecting a paycheck from the Knicks.

Video: Larry Holmes Attacks Trevor Berbick

2006-10-30T14:39:00.000-05:00

Following the murder of Trevor Berbick, the media coverage of his career is understandably focused on his win over a washed-up Muhammad Ali and his loss to an up-and-coming Mike Tyson. What has gone completely unmentioned was Berbick’s role in one of the most bizarre moments in boxing history. (Click here for complete details on Larry Holmes attacking Trevor Berbick).

CLICK BELOW FOR VIDEO OF LARRY HOLMES ATTACKING TREVOR BERBICK

Video: Mike Tyson vs. Trevor Berbick

2006-10-28T21:55:00.000-05:00

Former heavyweight champ Trevor Berbick, 52, has died from chop wounds to the head after being attacked in a church courtyard in his native Jamaica. Berbick was reportedly wounded with either a hatchet or a machete after attending a party. (cont.)

CLICK BELOW FOR VIDEO OF ENTIRE MIKE TYSON - TREVOR BERBICK BOUT ON NOV. 22, 1986

Video: Mike Tyson - Corey Sanders Exhibition

2006-10-23T09:26:00.000-05:00

Mike Tyson is back ... sort of. The "Mike Tyson World Tour" is officially underway but - after a decidedly lackluster kick-off - it's unclear if there will be much demand for additional stops. (cont.)

CLICK BELOW FOR VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS OF MIKE TYSON - COREY SANDERS EXHIBITION BOUT

Oliver Perez: Worst Game 7 Starter Ever?

2006-10-19T12:32:00.000-05:00

Game Seven is supposed to be the ultimate showcase for the game's best players. Seventh games are supposed to be started by Sandy Koufax ... Bob Gibson ... Roger Clemens ... Pedro Martinez. Unfortunately, tonight's game between the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals features the worst game seven pitching match-up in baseball history.

It's easy to forget that in 2004, Oliver Perez was a 22-year-old stud who struck out nearly 11 batters per nine innings while compiling a 2.98 ERA (6th best in the NL). Two short years later, Perez is the worst pitcher who's ever started a game seven ... by a reasonably wide margin. A harsh assessment ... until you examine the facts.

This season, Perez went 3-13 with a 6.55 ERA. There was only one pitcher in baseball who pitched more than 100 innings with a worse ERA than Perez (Brian Moehler's 6.57 ERA with Florida). In Game 4 of this series, Perez gave up five earned runs - including three homers - in 5 2/3 innings. So why does he get the ball with the Mets season on the line? Primarily because injuries to Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez leave manager Willie Randolph with few options (though he'd better have Darren Oliver, Steve Trachsel and Aaron Heilman ready to go at the absolute first sign of trouble tonight).

The good news for the Mets is that Cardinals starter Jeff Suppan has the second worst career ERA (4.60) among game seven starters in baseball history. [In Suppan's defense, in seven career post-season starts, he's 3-3 with a 3.07 ERA over 41 innings, including eight innings of shutout ball in game three against the Mets.] The bad news for the Mets is that the worst career ERA among game seven starters in baseball history belongs to - you guessed it - Oliver Perez (4.67).

A-Rod vs. Pujols

2006-10-17T13:24:00.000-05:00

How come when Alex Rodriguez goes 1-14 in the post-season (with no RBIs), he's a choke artist who can't handle the pressure of New York ... yet when Albert Pujols goes 4-14 against the Mets in the post-season - also with zero RBIs - it's because he's "nursing a sore hamstring"? Maybe because Joe Torre (and the entire Yankees organization) appear perfectly content to let ARod take all the heat for the team's collapse ... while Tony LaRussa is going out of his way to shield his superstar from unnecessary criticism.

Ryan Howard: New Home Run King?

2006-09-05T15:50:00.000-05:00

Philadelphia's Ryan Howard has hit a league-leading 53 homers in the Phillies' first 138 games. With 24 games to play, he's on pace to hit 62 home runs (62.4 to be exact). If Howard hits 62 homers and if you believe he is not using any performance-enhancing drugs and if you believe Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were all using performance-enhancing drugs in the six seasons (all between 1998 and 2001) in which they hit over 61 home runs (and who doesn't at this point?), then baseball fans could be witnessing history being made. Ryan Howard has a chance to top the 61 home runs hit by Roger Maris in 1961 and become the all-time non-asterisk single season home run king.

Unfortunately, any athletic accomplishment these days is automatically - and understandably - subject to skepticism. The steroid cloud which hangs over all of sports - but especially baseball - has reduced Howard's historic chase to an afterthought. If Howard is clean, then that's a shame. If he's not clean, that's an even bigger shame . . .

Rick Monday Saves the American Flag

2006-06-08T14:32:00.000-05:00

Most baseball fans know the story of Rick Monday saving the American flag ... but relatively few have seen it. A little background: On April 25, 1976, during a game at Dodger Stadium, two spectators ran into the outfield and attempted to set fire to an American flag they had brought with them. Monday, playing CF for the Cubs, dashed over and grabbed the flag away from them. The crowd cheered for Monday as ballpark police arrested the two intruders. Interesting bit of trivia: Rick Monday served six years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves.

2006 NBA Draft: Two Picks for Knicks

2006-05-30T14:11:00.000-05:00

There's (moderately) good news and (very) bad news for the New York Knicks in the 2006 NBA Draft. By now, everyone knows that the Knicks no longer control their own first round pick in the 2006 NBA draft. That pick - second overall! - was dealt to the Chicago Bulls in the trade that sent Eddy Curry to the Knicks. Fewer people realize they've also dealt away their second round pick. That pick - #32 overall - was sent to Houston (along with Vin Baker and Moochie Norris) for Maurice Taylor. That's the (very) bad news. So what's the (moderately) good news? The Knicks still have two first round picks: #20 and #29. While no one's going to find the next LeBron James with those picks, it is possible to find players who can contribute. Unfortunately, it's even easier to end up with players who never do anything more than collect some paychecks before disappearing from the NBA scene.

To get an idea of the type of players that the Knicks might be getting in this year's draft, let's look at players selected 20th and 29th in the last ten NBA drafts.

20th Player Selected

Year
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005

Player
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Paul Grant
Roshown McLeod
Dion Glover
Speedy Claxton
Brendan Haywood
Kareem Rush
Dahntay Jones
Jameer Nelson
Julius Hodge

29th Player Selected

Year
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005

Player
Travis Knight
Serge Zwikker
Nazr Mohammed
Leon Smith
Mark Madsen
Trenton Hassell
Steve Logan
Josh Howard
David Harrison
Wayne Simien

So what does this mean to the Knicks? Best case scenario, they draft players on a par with Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Josh Howard. Worst case, they end up with the second comings of Paul Grant and Serge Zwikker. Yikes! Knicks fans better keep their fingers crossed because the two players they come away with at the draft may be the only new additions to last season's 23-win embarrassment.

Incredible Expanding Fighters

2006-03-29T12:31:00.000-05:00

Historically, a boxer tends to gain weight over the course of his career. James Toney, however, has taken gaining weight and raised it to an art form. In fact, Toney's expanding midsection makes George Foreman's legendary battles with the scale seem positively lightweight by comparison. Toney entered the ring for his recent heavyweight title fight against Hasim Rahman a full 80 pounds - or 51%! - above his lowest weight as a pro. Take a look at Toney's weight gain and compare it to those of other notable fighters whose weights have fluctuated widely during their ring careers ...
CLICK HERE FOR INCREDIBLE EXPANDING FIGHTERS.

Believe It or Not, the Final 19 Knicks Games Really Do Mean Something ...

2006-03-16T14:28:00.000-05:00

Both New York Knicks teams were on display in last night's 121-117 double-OT victory over the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden. For the first three quarters, it was the high-priced "stars" who have been mailing it in for weeks: Jalen Rose, Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Eddy Curry, Jerome James and Malik Rose. In fairness to Malik Rose, he's not mailing it in ... he's just not good.

Scary thought for New York fans: Once this season ends, the Knicks are still contractually obligated to those six players for another 19 years and $222,250,283! Throw the inactive Quentin Richardson and Maurice Taylor onto the deadweight/unmoveable pile and the obligation becomes $266,655,283 for 24 years of unwanted service -- over $11.1 per season! After three quarters of sleep-walking, "those" Knicks were trailing the 20-41 Hawks by a score of 73-65.

To start the fourth quarter, Larry Brown inserted the "other" five Knicks ... the ones who still seem to care enough to play some defense and scramble for loose balls: Nate Robinson, David Lee, Jamal Crawford, Qyntel Woods and Jackie Butler. That group of players outscored the Hawks 56-44 over the final quarter and two overtime periods to get the win. They also woke up the Garden crowd by simply putting forth effort. Sure, they made mistakes (they are Knicks, after all) ... but they were able to compensate with hustle and determination.

Larry Brown has talked all season about "playing the right way". Well, last night he finally stumbled across five guys who were willing to "play the right way". Brown has done an awful job this season ... by far, the worst coaching - both on and off the court - of his career. However, he still has 19 games in which to attempt to get his message across and lay the groundwork for the future.

If Brown's "play the right way" mantra means anything at all then the starting five tomorrow night against Detroit will be the five players that were on the court at the end of the Atlanta game. This switch would accomplish two things: reward the players who are trying to "play the right way" and motivate/punish the players who are unwilling (or, again in Malik Rose's case, unable) to "play the right way".

Will the benched players take the message the right way and adjust their attitudes? The answer will almost certainly be a resounding NO. However, Larry Brown shouldn't care. There are 19 games remaining on the schedule. The Knicks can't make the playoffs and - thanks to the crafty wheeling and dealing of Isiah Thomas - don't even own there first round pick in the next draft. In other words, it really doesn't matter whether the Knicks go 19-0 or 0-19 the rest of the way. What does matter is that they play with some heart.

If Larry Brown starts Robinson, Lee, Crawford, Woods and Butler tomorrow night (and gives them significant minutes the rest of the way), he will be sending a clear signal that he still cares and is still committed to turning this franchise around.

If, on the other hand, Larry Brown reverts to a starting lineup of Marbury, Francis, Rose, Rose and Curry, then that's a clear signal that he has surrendered ... not only on this season but on the future of the Knicks as well.

New York Knicks: A Perfect Storm

2006-03-02T15:04:00.000-05:00

Perfect Storm: A situation where, by the confluence of specific events, what might have been a minor issue ends up being magnified to proportions that are out of control; generally considered to be a "once-in-a-lifetime" phenomenon; see 2005-06 New York Knicks.

It's been obvious for a long time ... now it's official: The New York Knicks are the worst team in the National Basketball Association. Last night's loss to Memphis, coupled with a win by the second-year Charlotte Bobcats, gives New York the lowest winning percentage in the league.

Not only are the Knicks the worst team in the NBA, they may very well be the worst team in the history of professional sports. You read that right ... worst in history.

The criteria being used to judge them as the worst in history is as follows:

1. Worst record in the league - CHECK

2. Highest payroll in the league - CHECK

3. Least hope for the future. This is clearly more subjective than the first two criteria but if you measure hope for the future in terms of management's track record/competence, roster flexibility to get under the salary cap/attract free agents and stockpiling of draft picks then the Knicks fail miserably on all counts - CHECK

Never before in the history of professional sports has a single team met all of the above criteria.

The 1993 New York Mets might be the closest comparable to the 2005-06 Knicks but they still fall far short. That Mets team went into the 1993 season with high expectations yet ended up with the worst record in the league. They also had a very high payroll (especially given their 59-103 record), but it was still only the ninth highest in baseball that season. Plus, baseball has no salary cap so it would have been impossible for the future of the 1993 Mets to be as bleak as that of the current Knicks because the Mets had the flexibility to basically alter their roster in any way they saw fit. The Knicks, sadly, do not have that luxury.

The collective vision and talents of James Dolan, Isiah Thomas and Larry Brown (that's right, until he proves he's part of the solution then he has to be viewed as part of the problem) have yielded the sports equivalent of a Perfect Storm ... and, as long as they're at the helm, this storm shows no signs of letting up any time soon.

O'Neil and Minoso Overlooked ... Again

2006-02-28T11:16:00.000-05:00

A special committee of 12 "experts" has reviewed a list of 39 people from the Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues and decided that 17 of them deserved induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Great! While few - if any - of the 17 names will be recognized by anyone but baseball historians, it's about time the Hall of Fame recognized more of those associated with the Negro Leagues. That's the good news ...

Baseball, however, always seems to find a way to screw things up. Of the 39 candidates on the ballot, only Buck O'Neil, 94, and Minnie Minoso, 83, are still alive and could have enjoyed the honor and taken part in the induction ceremonies on July 30. So the panel of "experts" - in their infinite wisdom - chose NOT to put them in. There are few things more subjective than deciding who belongs in the Hall of Fame and who doesn't ... especially when you're talking about players and executives whose contributions came over 50 years ago. Yet somehow the "experts" were able to sift through the sketchy stats available on the Negro League careers of O'Neil and Minoso and determine that they DO NOT belong in Cooperstown. Morons. They took an opportunity to make this summer's induction ceremonies truly special and chose instead to penalize O'Neil and Minoso for not being dead. Nice job guys.

Believe It or Not, Larry Brown's Job Just Got Harder

2006-02-22T15:52:00.000-05:00

Last week we went over all the reasons why Steve Francis would be a bad fit for the Knicks. Fast forward one week and guess what? Steve Francis is a Knick.

You think Larry Brown was indecisive in terms of setting a playing rotation before this trade? Wait until he throws Francis into the mix and tries to allocate playing time without further alienating his players.

In Francis, the Knicks get a player who is used to playing nearly 40 minutes per game. In Trevor Ariza and Penny Hardaway, the Knicks give up two players who were receiving no playing time whatsoever. So where are Francis' minutes going to come from? Jalen Rose? Jamal Crawford? Quentin Richardson?

If there's one thing an NBA player wants, it's minutes. Occasionally, in winning situations, players will sacrifice minutes without too much fuss. The Knicks - in case you haven't noticed - are the exact opposite of a winning situation.

Here are the career averages for minutes played per game for each player on the Knicks roster:

Player
Steve Francis
Stephon Marbury
Jalen Rose
Jamal Crawford
Quentin Richardson
Maurice Taylor
Channing Frye
Eddy Curry
Nate Robinson
Malik Rose
David Lee
Jerome James
Qyntel Woods
Jackie Butler

Min/G
39.2
38.7
31.1
29.4
27.7
25.6
25.3
23.6
19.7
17.5
16.1
14.6
10.9
9.6

This adds up to 329 minutes played per game ... and there are only 240 minutes to go around. See Brown's dilemma? He's gotta find a way to shave 89 minutes off what these guys are accustomed to receiving without igniting a mutiny. The problem is only compounded by the fact that the top five players in minutes per game are all essentially backcourt players. Sure, you can play Rose or Richardson at small forward a bit but there's no getting around the fact that the acquisition of Francis creates even more of a logjam.

Fifty-one games into his first season as coach of the New York Knicks, Larry Brown thought things had bottomed out ... thought the job couldn't get any more difficult or unpleasant. Larry Brown thought wrong.

Boxing's Top 25 Prospects Under 25

2006-02-21T15:56:00.000-05:00

Last February, we looked at "Boxing's Next Generation" and tried to predict which young fighters represented the "future" of the sport. Just one year later and two fighters from that list - Jermain Taylor and Ricky Hatton - have already defeated future Hall of Famers and find themselves comfortably slotted among the Top Ten Pound-for-Pound fighters in the world today. So who are today's most talented young prospects? Who will boxing fans be watching on PPV in the coming years? To qualify for this list a boxer must be under 25 years of age and must not have appeared in a WBC, WBA, IBF or WBO title fight. Here they are - Boxing's Top 25 Under 25.
CLICK HERE FOR BOXING'S TOP 25 UNDER 25.

Stevie Francis to the Knicks? Really?

2006-02-16T12:38:00.000-05:00

The New York Knicks win! Break up the Knicks! Really, break up the Knicks ... please.

And that – apparently – is exactly what Isiah Thomas intends to do. Despite the fact that he is personally responsible for bringing every single player on the roster to New York during his tenure as president of this once-proud franchise, Thomas will continue to wheel and deal – if for no other reason than to create the illusion of having a master plan.

The latest name being tossed around as a soon-to-be-Knick is Orlando's Steve Francis (for Jamal Crawford, Penny Hardaway's expiring contract and either Trevor Ariza, David Lee or Nate Robinson). Francis is a fascinating player to target on two levels:

1. If you were going to make a list of players that are exactly the opposite of what Larry Brown desires (present Knicks excluded as Brown has already voiced his distaste for all of them on numerous occasions) then Steve Francis would undoubtedly be on the very short list.

2. If you were going to try and find a player in the NBA who is most like Stephon Marbury, it would be hard to come up with a better match than Steve Francis ... and we all know how much Larry Brown loves Marbury. Check out their career stats:

Player
Marbury
Francis

Min/G
38.7
39.3

FG%
43.5%
43.0%

3PT/G
1.2
1.1

FT%
79.1%
79.8%

AST
8.2
6.4

PPG
20.4
19.4

Both Marbury and Francis are undersized shooting guards trapped in point guard bodies. Both are athletically gifted. Both turn 29 later this month (they were born on back-to-back days in 1977). Neither makes their teammates better. Neither has tasted any post-season success. Both have worn out their welcomes on multiple teams. Neither demonstrates much interest on the defensive end of the floor.

It is this final similarity that is, perhaps, most troubling. Especially since Isiah Thomas either doesn't recognize it or simply chooses to ignore it. Thomas apparently envisions a pairing of Marbury & Francis bringing back memories of and (hopefully) duplicating the championship success of himself & Joe Dumars and Walt Frazier & Earl Monroe. Please tell us he's joking.

While Marbury and Francis could create some match-up problems for other teams, it would be one of the weakest defensive backcourts in recent memory. Walt Frazier was first-team all-defense seven times! Joe Dumars was first-team all-defense four times! Marbury and Francis have been in the league a combined 15 years and the next time either is even considered for the NBA all-defensive team will be the first.

Not only is Francis a bad fit with the current Knicks, he also comes with - you guessed it - another monstrous salary obligation -- $49.3 million over the next three seasons.

So we obviously object to trading Jamal Crawford, Penny Hardaway and Trevor Ariza for Steve Francis, right. Wrong! Despite all the reasons that Francis will not make the Knicks a better team, we still say DO THE DEAL. Why? Partially because when you're as bad as the Knicks are right now, then change simply for the sake of change isn't necessarily a bad idea. But more so because we finally accept that the New York Knicks will never, ever, ever, ever, ever be under the salary cap ... meaning they will never, ever, ever, ever, ever be able to compete for impact free agents on the open market.

Dumping expiring contracts is the only way for the Knicks to improve the talent on their roster (even if that talent duplicates rather than complements what they already have). The Francis trade is 100% about stockpiling and 0% about chemistry ... yet it still makes sense. Remember, it was less than two seasons ago that Steve Francis was traded more-or-less straight-up for Tracy McGrady.

The best case scenario for the Knicks is to acquire Francis and hope that either he and/or Marbury plays well enough to – at some point – be able to trade one of them for a player that may actually help them win some games. Yes, Knicks fans, it's come to that -- advocating trades that don't make sense and won't translate into wins ... simply because they may lead to other trades in the future that do make sense and might translate into wins. Yikes!

Question: What do you think? Should the Knicks trade for Steve Francis? If not, who should they go after with Penny Hardaway's expiring contract? Please click below on "COMMENTS" and share your thoughts ...

Goodbye Sammy Sosa ...

2006-02-14T16:19:00.000-05:00

Sammy Sosa has officially entered the Latrell Sprewell phase of his career. Both players were stars in their respective primes and were compensated richly for their services (Sprewell ~ $100 million; Sosa ~ $125 million).

However, Sprewell and Sosa are no longer productive players. Their skills and statistics have diminished to the point that there are few – if any – teams interested in their services. Toss in the fact that both are high maintenance and tend to be disruptive influences and it's easy to see why neither is in high demand. Yet both players still feel as if they should be treated like royalty.

Despite making more money than either of them will ever need, Sprewell and Sosa have made one thing crystal clear: They're only in it for the money.

Last year, Sprewell turned down a 3-year, $27 million contract extension from the Minnesota Timberwolves saying "Why would I want to help them win a title? They're not doing anything for me. I've got a lot at risk here. I've got my family to feed". Sprewell is now where he belongs -- out of basketball (and any GM that is still considering offering him a contract should be fired on the spot). Good riddance Latrell.

Similarly, Sosa is reportedly "considering retirement" a more attractive option than the one-year, non-guaranteed offer of $500,000 he has received from the Washington Nationals. Sosa "feels that the lack of interest in his services this winter constitutes a humiliation". In other words, "If I don't get paid more than I’m worth, then I'd rather not play at all".

If you're still wondering why only one team is even marginally interested in Sosa's services, consider the following: In 2005, a total of 223 major league players had 400 or more plate appearances. Of these, 205 were more productive than Sammy Sosa (based on OPS, or on-base percentage plus slugging percentage). That's right, only 17 hitters in all of baseball were worse than Sosa last season. Think it was just an off year? Consider this trend:

Year
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005

HR
64
49
40
35
14

RBI
160
108
103
80
45

BA
.328
.288
.279
.253
.221

OBP
.437
.399
.358
.332
.295

SLG
.737
.594
.553
.517
.376

Sosa is 37. You don't have to be a sabremetrician to see where this is headed ...

If Sammy Sosa truly believed he had anything left in the tank (or really cared about getting the 12 homers he needs to get to 600), then he'd be looking for nothing more than an invitation to training camp with the promise of a fair shot to earn a starting job. Since he's made it perfectly clear that he's looking for guaranteed cash rather than an opportunity to prove himself, the Washington Nationals should pull their offer off the table. Goodbye Sammy ...

The next time we talk about Sammy Sosa should be in five years when we're debating how to judge his Hall of Fame statistics against the collective taint of corking his bat, allegedly using performance enhancing drugs and conveniently forgetting how to speak English during the Congressional hearings on steroids.

One Dozen Reasons for Knicks Fans to Remain Optimistic

2006-02-13T16:47:00.000-05:00

The degree of difficulty on this piece is 10.0 but we're going to go for it anyway. It has never (and we mean never) been harder to be a New York Knicks fan than it is right now. While it's easy to kick them while they're down (and infinitely more enjoyable than actually watching them play), we're not going to do that (at least not today). That's right, we're going to do everything in our powers to identify 12 positive things in which a beleaguered Knicks fan can take some consolation. So, for advocates of glass-is-half-full-thinking (or "GIHFT") everywhere, here goes:

Top 12 Reasons for New York Knicks Fans to Remain Optimistic

Fact: The front office is – at best – incompetent and at worst – criminal.
GIHFT: There have yet to be any arrests and – in America – you're still innocent until proven guilty.

Fact: The Knicks have – for the first time in franchise history - lost 15 of their last 16 games.
GIHFT: On Jan. 27, after squandering a 25-point lead, the Knicks hold on for a glorious 97-94 win over the Orlando Magic – thereby averting (at least for the time being) the only thing worse than losing 15 of 16.

Fact: The Knicks lead the league in turnovers at 16.7 per game.
GIHFT: Don't think of them as turnovers ... think of them as passes to future teammates (i.e., players that Isiah Thomas is interested in acquiring). Hey, good team chemistry has to start somewhere ...

Fact: Anonymous sources are reporting that players are beginning to tune out coach Larry Brown.
GIHFT: Excellent news because this suggests that – all evidence to the contrary – they were actually tuning him IN at some point.

Fact: The Knicks have the second worst record in the entire NBA.
GIHFT: Thank God for expansion. As we're writing this (though it could easily change by the time you're reading it), the second-year Charlotte Bobcats are one game worse than the Knicks.

Fact: Thanks to the Eddy "The Franchise" Curry trade, the Chicago Bulls own the Knicks' first-round pick – a lock for the lottery – in this June's NBA Draft.
GIHFT: Knicks fans can rest easy knowing that the pick is no longer available to re-acquire the draft rights to Frederic Weis. Plus, Larry Brown is known to have little patience with rookies -- this way he won't have to be bothered with a nuisance like Adam Morrison or J.J. Redick.

Fact: The Knicks payroll is the highest in the NBA at $120 million and climbing steadily.
GIHFT: It's not our money that's being squandered (at least not directly) ... and if someone's going to be forced to watch helplessly as their money is flushed down the toilet it might as well be fan-friendly sweethearts like Jim Dolan and the rest of the Cablevision family.

Fact: The Knicks are 0-9 with Stephon Marbury out of the line-up.
GIHFT: See, Marbury really is more valuable than anyone realized (although 14-27 is only impressive when you're comparing it to 0-9).

Fact: At 14-36, the Knicks have established a new mark for the worst record in franchise history after 50 games (the 1963-64 squad opened the season 15-35).
GIHFT: The Knicks "only" have to win nine of their remaining 32 games to avoid becoming the first team in franchise history to lose 60 games. While far from a slam dunk, our sources tell us that Janet Jones-Gretzky likes the over.

Fact: For obvious reasons, no Knicks will be participating in the upcoming NBA All-Star Game.
GIHFT: Nate Robinson has been invited to participate in the dunking contest during All-Star weekend and he's a better bet to win it than the Knicks are to win nine the rest of the way (see above). Plus, everyone knows that a win in the dunk contest automatically translates into a long and productive NBA career -- just ask Harold "Baby Jordan" Miner ... or Kenny "Sky" Walker. Oh well, at least it gets you a cool nickname ...

Fact: Isiah Thomas is intent on trading Penny Hardaway (and his atrocious expiring contract) for the likes of Kenyon Martin, Darius Miles, Ruben Patterson or Theo Ratliff (and their equally atrocious multi-year contracts).
GIHFT: While other teams apparently liken negotiating with the Knicks to stealing candy from a baby, Isiah Thomas has (thus far) resisted including Channing Frye in any of the egregiously one-sided offers he has received. Reason to worry: The trading deadline (Feb. 23) is still ten days away ...

Fact: The Knicks worst loss of the season was a 33-point drubbing at home against the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 31.
GIHFT: Despite their woes, the Knicks will not suffer the worst loss in New York this season. That distinction belongs to the Brandeis High School girls basketball team, which suffered a 137-32 loss to Murry Bergtraum High School. In the game, Epiphanny Prince scored a record-setting 113 points. [Hey, we don't feel good about piling on the Brandeis girls either, but you try and come up with 12 good things to say about the Knicks!]

They said it couldn't be done but – against incredible odds - we have successfully delivered on our promise to come up with a dozen reasons why New York Knicks fans should refrain from wearing paper bags over their heads ... at least for a few more weeks.

Gretzky Gambling Case: Much Ado About Nothing (Unusual)

2006-02-10T15:53:00.000-05:00

Why is the Wayne Gretzky gambling story dominating the headlines? Apparently his wife bet on football games. Big deal. Hundreds of thousands – if not millions - of people bet on sports every year. Some do it legally. Many more do it illegally.

In fact, had these very same bets been placed in Las Vegas - where sports gambling is embraced and encouraged by lawmakers - then this wouldn’t even be a story. If I need to ask you where something happened before I decide whether or not I should care ... then I probably didn’t care to begin with. Tell me O.J. Simpson killed two people and you’ve got my interest ... regardless of what state he did it in. Tell me Janet Jones bets on football and I really don’t care ... regardless of what state she does it in.

Now, find out that either Wayne Gretzky or his wife bet on hockey and you’ve got yourself a story ... but we have seen no evidence whatsoever that suggests they were betting on hockey ... and I doubt we ever will. It’s a relatively small ethical leap to place a sports bet that isn’t technically legal -– whether it’s with a bookie, an offshore internet operation or in your office pool. However, it’s a huge ethical leap to violate the one sacred rule of athletics and bet on your own sport.

Right now, all Wayne Gretzky is guilty of is incredibly bad judgment ... and he’s paying for it by having his previously impeccable image tarnished forever. Unfortunate, but he has no one but himself to blame.

However, that doesn’t make him Pete Rose. Rose had incredibly bad judgment AND bet on his own sport (actually his own team!). [Q: How do you know Pete Rose is lying? A: His lips are moving.]

Professional athletes know they can get away with almost anything except betting on their own sport. Rose knew the ramifications and chose to cross that line anyway. Gretzky may very well have broken the law and – if he did – should be punished accordingly ... but he did NOT bet on hockey. At least not according to the latest odds out of Las Vegas ...

Thoughts on (Not So) Super Bowl XL

2006-02-07T11:24:00.000-05:00

There have been 40 Super Bowls. Of the 19 that were decided by less than two touchdowns, this was the worst.

Poorly played. Someone tell Ben Roethlisberger that Chad Pennington called and he wants him arm back. It's unlikely any QB will ever again play that poorly and still win the Super Bowl. You know you're in trouble when the best pass of the day is thrown by a wide receiver.

Poorly officiated. The refs weren't favoring Pittsburgh, it just seemed that way because the majority of the calls they blew went against Seattle.

Poorly coached by Mike Holmgren, who looked like a graduate of the Herm Edwards School of Clock Management.

Weak excuses from Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw for missing the pre-game introduction of past-Super Bowl MVPs. Tiger Woods demands an appearance fee ... but at least he admits it. Good job by whoever at the NFL made the call to say no to Montana and Bradshaw's inflated senses of self-worth.

Weak commercials. If it wasn't for some gratuitous violence (always entertaining), the ads wouldn't have produced as much as a chuckle all evening. Where is Terry Tate, Office Linebacker when you need him?

Heck, the Rolling Stones can do no wrong in my book and even they weren't 100% on top of their game. At least they got to do their thing (network bleeps notwithstanding) and weren't conned into a lip-synched half-time embarrassment with some no-talent flavor of the week (anyone seen Justin Timberlake lately?).

Old Kobe: Three Rings; New Kobe: 81 Points

2006-01-23T15:44:00.000-05:00

Last night Kobe Bryant scored 81 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 122-104 win over the Toronto Raptors. Only Wilt Chamberlain - with 100 points against the Knicks in 1962 - has scored more points in an NBA game. An absolutely incredible individual achievement ... by an incredibly selfish individual.

The official attendance for the game read 18,997, but it may as well have included all of Kobe's Lakers teammates since they're not given much to do these days but stand around and watch Kobe execute one-on-one moves against overmatched defenders.

Kobe has apparently gotten exactly what he wanted. No longer does he have to suffer the indignity of sharing the spotlight with Shaquille O'Neal as the Lakers win NBA titles. No longer does Kobe have to watch helplessly as mere mortals like Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady win scoring titles. Now Kobe is Showtime and can win all the scoring titles and possibly even break all the scoring records ... but he's made a conscious trade-off: Personal glory over team success.

You always hear players saying they want to play alongside with Jason Kidd ... or how Steve Nash makes everyone around him better. You never hear anyone saying those things about Kobe Bryant ... and you probably never will.

For years, Kobe Bryant seemed intent on following in the footsteps of Michael Jordan. Numerous players have been prematurely dubbed as heir apparents, but only Bryant comes remotely close to combining Jordan's physical gifts and his killer instinct. Kobe's career does have some parallels to Jordan's ... only Kobe is doing Jordan in reverse.

Jordan started out as an unstoppable one-man show. He almost single-handedly carried the Chicago Bulls to post-season success. The key word being almost. It wasn't until Jordan began trusting his teammates and making them better that he was able to win the NBA title that had eluded him while he attempted to do it all by himself. Once Jordan finally figured out what it took to win an NBA title he wanted to keep doing it ... and he did -- five more times.

Kobe had the good fortune of joining a 53-win team as a rookie and having Shaq, the game's most dominant player, as a teammate. Jordan joined a 27-win Chicago team and had the trio of Steve Johnson, Dave Corzine and Jawann Oldham manning the middle during his rookie campaign.

Jordan didn't win his first NBA title until his seventh season ... at the age of 28. Kobe Bryant won his first title at 21 and now - in his 10th season - is still only 27! Perhaps it all came too easy to Bryant ... or maybe it was just a case of too much too soon. Whatever it was, something changed ... and not for the better.

It was no longer good enough just to win titles ... Kobe needed to be alone in the spotlight. Well, guess what? He got what he wanted.

Kobe Bryant can set all the scoring records he wants, but if he's unwilling to share the spotlight (not to mention the basketball), he's unlikely to ever win another NBA title. And if he never wins another NBA title, Bryant's legacy appears headed towards that of a selfish scoring machine. Baseball fans care about statistics and remember them long after a player has retired. In basketball, it's all about the rings.

Nobody remembers - or really even cares about - the stats put up by Bill Russell or Larry Bird or Magic Johnson or Isiah Thomas or Michael Jordan. Everyone just remembers them as winners. Patrick Ewing, Dominique Wilkins, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton and Reggie Miller were all great players ... but every hoops fan knows they won a total of zero rings between them.

Bryant's three rings can never be taken away from him so he can never belong to the ringless fraternity. However, it no longer looks like he's destined to be mentioned in the same breath as Michael Jordan and the other great "winners" either. Wilt Chamberlain or Bob McAdoo are better comparables ... but even Chamberlain and McAdoo won their scoring titles early in their careers and only later learned to accept playing contributing roles on championship teams. Bryant is going in the opposite direction. He's got the NBA titles ... now he wants the scoring titles ... and history will remember him accordingly.

How Much is Not Enough?

2006-01-19T14:55:00.000-05:00

The rules for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame require that a "player must have played in each of ten (10) Major League championship seasons". Nowhere, however, does it set a minimum requirement for how much a player must play ... only that he played. In other words, a player making a single plate appearance per season for ten seasons would be eligible for induction to the Hall of Fame. Ludicrous example, right? Well, yes and no. A player who appeared in only ten career games would never be elected into the Hall of Fame. However, it does raise the question of just how much a player must play in order to be considered for inclusion in the Hall of Fame.

For example, what's your initial impression of a player who:

* appeared in less than one-third of his team's games over his career

* appeared in the equivalent of 116 complete (nine-inning) games over the course of his career ... or less than three-quarters of one complete (162 game) season

* was on the bench for over 94% of the innings played by his team during his active career

Sound like a Hall of Famer ... or a part-time, role-player? Well, guess what? It’s both. The Hall of Fame player is Bruce Sutter and the part-time role was as a relief specialist -– a closer. Sutter was – without a doubt – excellent at what he did. That's not the question. The question is:

How great do you have to be to gain induction into the Hall of Fame when you’re on the field less than 6% of the time?

During Sutter’s 13-years in the majors (he missed one entire season due to injury), he appeared in 661 games and pitched a total of 1,042.3 innings. Sutter’s innings pitched total is the lowest among all Hall of Famers inducted primarily as pitchers. In fact, even Babe Ruth pitched more innings -– and he only pitched in 163 games during his entire 22-year career.

To put the brevity of Sutter’s career in a more contemporary perspective, consider the following:

Mark Buehrle, Barry Zito, Freddy Garcia, Jeff Weaver, Javier Vazquez, Mark Mulder and Roy Halladay are all under 30-years-of-age ... yet each of these young hurlers has already surpassed Sutter’s career total for innings pitched.

Granted, the role of a closer is very specialized ... and continues to evolve. Closers today do not pitch as many innings per appearance as Bruce Sutter and Goose Gossage did in the late 70s and early 80s. So where does this trend end? Mariano Rivera has averaged under 75 innings per season over his first 11 years and he's the greatest closer in baseball history -– a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Again, where does it end?

The closer role has already been reduced to protecting a lead for only three outs. Would a great closer still be Hall of Fame-worthy if the role is further reduced to getting just the final out of the game ... or only 25-30 innings pitched per season (75-90 appearances on one out each)?

Sounds crazy ... but no more crazy than it would have sounded to a baseball fan 50 years ago if you told him that changes in baseball strategy would eventually lead to some of the most dominant pitchers in the game pitching the fewest innings ... or that a player who spent over 94% of his career on the bench would be voted into the Hall of Fame.