(via Bill Simmons)

2009 – Acquired Tony Pena, Mark Kotsay and Jake Peavy in July.
2008 – Acquired Ken Griffey Jr. in July
2006 – Acquired Dave Riske, Sandy Alomar and Mike McDougal in July
2005 – Acquired Geoff Blum in July

None of these moves meant major contributors down the stretch, but all virtually guarantee the White Sox will do something.

The resurgence of Carlos Quentin the last 3 weeks or so likely means that they don’t need a middle of the order hitter, Konerko/Rios/Quentin appear to be appear to carry the load. If Dayan Viciedo explodes like he might, they are set 3-6. Alexei Ramirez and Juan Pierre have been great in the field (the latter very suprisingly).

From a position player standpoint the only thing that makes sense to me is someone who can play better defense at 1B or RF, both major holes right now. With Quentin’s penchant for getting banged up, putting him at DH makes a lot of sense. If the guy they get could hit 2nd that would be swell. There is a guy that fits this mold, KC OF David DeJesus. I don’t see the Sox meeting their price or KC trading them to a rival. Trying to find a way to pry Michael Bourn from Houston would be nice. If they decided to move Konerko to DH, Casey Kotchman could cheaply be acquired from Seattle, but he is a negative value offensive player.

Pitching is trickier. Floyd and Danks have been the stars, Floyd especially the last 2 months. Mark Buehrle hasn’t been pitching very well, but there is room for improvement. The loss of Peavy was devastating. Meanwhile Matt Thorton and JJ Putz have been amazing. Bobby Jenks has been unlucky and could actually pitcher better in the 2nd half. All this means the Sox are set from the 7th inning on. Sergio Santos has been good, not great but as long as what we have seen is for real, he adds another option. If Threets can be the LOOGY (Lefty One-Out GuY) the Sox might be OK in the pen.

With the trade deadline just two weeks away, my guess is that we will only see two more Daniel Hudson starts before the Sox have to make a move. That means that the most likely move might be getting some insurance in the rotation. Roy Oswalt is available but doesn’t want to pitch for the White Sox and would cost a lot in terms of players and money. Dan Haren would cost even more in terms of players and he gets expensive next year. There likely isn’t much else that would be an improvement over Freddy Garcia.

The most likely scenario of all would be deepening the bench. Brent Lillibridge has been hitting out of his mind but he isn’t a great defender and can’t hit this well forever. Andruw Jones has cooled off and despite what anyone tells you he has been terrible in the field. Mark Kotsay as been one of the least valuable players on the team and can’t play the OF. And “utility” player Omar Vizquel has only added value with his SS defense, but Ramirez has been so good there that doesn’t help.

Kenny Williams will make a move this month. History has shown us there. The question as to what still has to be answered.

I also think Wade and LeBron are out for the Knicks as well, but Hollinger nails it:

More importantly, adding Stoudemire makes many other things possible for the Knicks. Now they inform other major free agents that they have a centerpiece to build around. That applies this summer and will apply just as strongly in a year, when the likes of Tony Parker and Carmelo Anthony could be on the market and the Knicks will have more cap space as a result of Eddy Currys expiring contract.

I think Carmelo will make a lot more sense next year.

A friend compared them to the Boston Celtics and said “look how they failed to win more than one title.” Of course, It’s not even remotely comparable. Kevin Garnett got hurt last year and hasn’t been the same since. Ray Allen is old and was a non-factor in the finals. And as good as Paul Pierce is, he isn’t one of the 5 best players in the league. LeBron and Wade are two of the top 5 and with Bosh they would be a virtual lock to have 3 of the 4 best players in any game for a few years at least.

Even with a team of mediocre players around them they would still easily make the playoffs and once in the playoffs, only 8 guys are needed who can solidly contribute. And it’s almost 100% for sure there are veterans out there who want to win so much they would play for peanuts. Would Ray Allen take that chance? What about someone like Juwan Howard, who can still contribute but has never won a title?

The biggest issue would seem to be the pressure associated with this threesome. What is the expectation for number of titles the Heat would have to win to consider it worthwhile. Is it two? Or three? Or more? With those salaries on the team, the Heat would be forced to raise ticket prices and getting to the playoffs year after year wouldn’t be enough. And of course there is Simmons’ “Alpha Dog” theory, would Wade or LeBron settle for being 2nd banana? Would Bosh be OK being the third?

Overall, it doesn’t seem like it will work out as rosy as it seems. Miami is a great town for young NBA players to have fun. And no state income tax means more money in their pocket. But what if one of them gets hurt? What if they fail to win a title in the first two years? Seems like too many ifs.

“The Redskins are trying to establish a new regime with new schemes at Redskins Park, and it is not an organization that Albert would have ever been attracted to just a short year ago — regardless of the money,” Haynesworth’s agent, Chad Speck, told The Washington Post. “He has made it clear to me that he does not want to play for the Washington Redskins.

The emphasis is mine. The reason being, that if money is NOT a factor, that the Redskins would be happy to tear up his contract, have him return/forfeit some of that guaranteed money and go their separate ways. But the reality is, money does matter to this guy. And now he wants to be traded but keep all the money he feels like he is “owed.” Even his teammates don’t like him now.

Here is how I envision the conferences look. The ACC may be called something else, but since most of the teams there came from the ACC I still called it that.

I felt like 16 teams in each conference makes sense. Then split each into two divisions. Each team could play 7 intradivision games and 5 interdivision games. No more D2 cupcakes. Four conference title games among division winners. Then the four conference winners would face each other in semifinal games. Seeding would go by regular season record so that there is extra reward for winning lots of games.

Two teams got dropped to make this work, Iowa St. and Rutgers. This is probably what makes my scenario unlikely. But I needed it to work out to a number divisible by 4. Better suggestions?

I really believe the four mega conference scenario is where we are going. It is going to be triggered by expansion and would then allow for an easy 4 team playoff.

The problem is that non-BCS schools are totally out of the picture. And the bowl games would need some tweaking. Some out of conference rivalries and teams that change conference rivalries get eliminated.

So this is probably mostly crazy talk. But it’s fun to speculate.

I think it would be awesome to watch this. I don’t know how competitive the league is, but I assure you that Byrnes could probably hit a home run just about every time up. If you have ever seen like the 12th man on an NBA team dominate at a local gym, you know what I mean.

As in the Howard, the wrecking ball of a center in the regular season and not the frustrated, foul-prone one in the first-round of the playoffs. The rest of my MVP ballot read like this: 2. James; 3. Kobe Bryant; 4. Kevin Durant; 5. Dwyane Wade.

So John Denton immediately acknowledges one problem, Howard’s inability to deliver in the playoffs. One of my problems with MVP voting is that it happens before the playoffs, which is when you truly found out who is valuable. Howard has yet to play 30 minutes in a playoff game this year.

While I admit that there is some conflict of interest there with my work as a writer for orlandomagic.com, I just don’t think it’s that egregious to think that Howard – and not James – could actually be the best player in the world.

This part is such lunacy that I don’t even know if I should bother talking about it. I highly doubt you will find any basketball fan outside of Orlando who would even give this argument any thought.

When you look at how the actual voting went – James, Durant, Bryant and then Howard – it’s easy to see that scoring is thought to be the most important category in the NBA. Defense might win championships, but it won’t win you a trophy case full of MVP trophies. Durant, James and Bryant finished first, second and fourth in the league in scoring this season.

I guess I am at least willing to concede that defense makes an impact on championships. Of the last 10 NBA champs, six finished in the top 10 in defensive points allowed, two finished #1. But 5 champs finished in the top 10 in offensive scoring. Only one (the ’99 Lakers) finished in the top 10 in both. So I think it’s safer to say that being one of the best in offense OR defense wins championships.

The NBA’s MVP is quickly becoming the Heisman Trophy of individual awards. In college football, quarterbacks and running backs are basically the only ones up for the award. And in the NBA, if you aren’t a high scoring wing player, you apparently have no shot at winning the top individual honor. Clearly, it’s defense by damned.

Easily the thinnest argument of the article. Your last 10 NBA MVPs: Lebron (twice), Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitski, Steve Nash (twice), Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan (twice) and Allen Iverson. Iverson is the only one on that list to lead the league in scoring. When Garnett won, he lead the league in rebounding. Kobe finished 5th in steals. Nash led the league in assists both years and has NEVER finished in the top 10 in scoring. And the two years Duncan won it, he was in the 5 in both rebounds and blocks both years.

And unlike James, who took six games off down the stretch, Howard played all 82 games for a fifth time in his six-year career. Night-in, night-out he was an anchor for a 59-win Magic team that lost Rashard Lewis to a 10-game suspension early in the season, was without Jameer Nelson because of knee surgery early on and had to endure a horrid January from Vince Carter.

Another rough argument. Yeah, James “took 6 games off” down the stretch because he led his team to the NBA’s best record by a mile. And the argument that Howard does it “night in, and night out” is funny because he averages 5 less minutes per game than James. Basketball Reference has a stat called USG%, that is basically “an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while he was on the floor.” James’ number was 33%, Howard’s was 23%. Essentially meaning that James is involved on 10% more of his team’s offensive plays. So I would say the demand for James is higher every night.

And I know the award is based on this past season alone, but I do think it’s worth noting that it was Howard’s Magic — and not James’ Cavs — who emerged from the Eastern Conference last spring. Not that you’d know that by listening to the talking heads on ABC or TNT.

So if the award is only based on this year AND you went out of your way to point out that we should ignore this year’s playoffs, how can you even make this reference? And I think most people would argue that Hedo Turkoglu was the biggest reason the Magic went far last year. He was their MVP last year during the playoffs.

Dwight Howard is a very good player. Maybe the best defensive player in the league. But Dikembe Mutombo finished in the top 10 in rebounds and blocks 11 times in his career. He only got MVP votes once.

Howard makes his team better, mostly because they are designed for either him to be isolated one on one or when he draws a double team, for him to kick it out and have his team shoot threes. But in the NBA, where there are only 5 guys on the floor, you have to extract a single player and look at what he would do on other teams. No team was taking Mutombo over Jordan because of his defense and down low presence. You are taking the guy who’s hands you put the ball in in the last minute. Not a guy who is foul trouble constantly. Outside of the Orlando Magic, there isn’t a single team that picks Howard over LeBron if they had their choice.

(via Bill Simmons)

First the guys who didn’t make the cut:

• Yao Ming: A top guy are marketing alone, but after missing the entire season it’s unlikely anyone maxes out on him unless it’s Houston. He stays put.
• Carlos Boozer: Injury problems, plus he is undersized. He will be a consolation prize to someone with cap room who loses out to the big names. I think he ends up in a sign and trade.
• Paul Pierce: The last of the current “stars” on the list. Almost a lock to resign with Boston unless he wants to take a big pay cut.

1. LeBron James – Cleveland Cavaliers

I know it’s boring to start out with LeBron staying with his current team, but I think that’s what happens. Pretty much regardless of what happens to the Cavs I think they re-sign him. It’s questionable how long Jamison can be the #2, but Varejao and Mo Williams are solid role players.

Other Options: New York, Chicago, New Jersey. Most people think the Knicks is where he will go, but unless they get Wade or Bosh too that team is not going to be good enough for him to pick over his homestate Cavs. Chicago has Noah and Rose who are unselfish, “just want to win” guys. New Jersey has tons of cap space, Russian Mark Cuban and Jay Z.

2. Dwyane Wade – Chicago Bulls

When the Heat drafted Michael Beasley I would have bet the farm Wade would stay. But Beasley has been a train wreck. Bill Simmons’ has thrown the sign and trade out there for Amare to come to Phoenix for Beasley and others. Ultimately Wade is going to see Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah in his hometown and make the move. Unless Wade can end up somewhere with LeBron (which I don’t think is possible) it’s Chicago or…

Other Option: Miami Heat. A city everyone wants to be in that loves him. Still the possibility that Beasley and Mario Chalmers become real players. Jermaine O’Neal’s contract freeing up money for a big name.

3. Chris Bosh – New York Knicks

I think the Knicks will lose out on LeBron and pick up Bosh and Joe Johnson instead. Bosh is a 100% lock to leave Toronto. I think that he ends up in New York regardless of what happens with anyone else, either with LeBron or Johnson.

Second choice: Miami Heat. New Jersey. I think if he doesn’t end up in NYC he ends up in Miami. Either alongside Wade or replacing him as the star. I think it would be hilarious to see him and Beasley run the Heat into the ground together. New Jersey for the same reasons as LeBron.

4. Dirk Nowitski – Dallas Mavericks

Dirk has to opt out but it seems like he is at least thinking about it. I think ultimately he doesn’t want to roll the dice with all the big names out there this year. Assuming everyone else on this list opts out, Dirk may only be behind Tony Parker and Carmelo Anthony (who has to opt out next year) on the pecking order. I think it seems more likely he waits until then.

Other option. Oklahoma City. Time to get crazy! Ponder this for a second. Dirk wants to win. He is going to see how good OKC is this year in the playoffs. He is going to realize that he could go there and share the spotlight with Durant and maybe end up the 2nd option where he could dominate. With his size and shooting ability he is going to let the Thunder spread the floor to the extreme.

5. Joe Johnson – New York Knicks

I think it’s going to be hilarious watching the Knicks try to sell fans on Johnson & Bosh instead of LeBron. Johnson is going to be the consolation prize to whoever misses out on Wade and LeBron. NY seems like the most logical choice, but it could be…

Other Options: Chicago Bulls. New Jersey. If the Bulls miss out on Wade and LeBron, Johnson makes sense on some levels. I think that they need a low-post scorer more than a swingman but who knows. NJ has tons of cap room so if he can’t get a max deal anywhere else, I think that’s the selling point.

6. Amare Stoudemire – Miami Heat

Assuming Wade leaves and Bosh ends up elsewhere, I think Amare is the kind of guy they go after. They will have to show they are trying and will make a mistake here (just like they would with Bosh). Amare will ultimately end up with the highest bidder.

Other Options: New Jersey Nets or the Highest Bidder. Heres the thing, if the new Nets owner is really “Russian Mark Cuban” he isn’t dumb enough to make this move. But the Nets have tons of cap space and the new owner may want to make a splash. Amare is the most likely guy to just take the money and run. If he wanted to win he would stay in Phoenix. I think he will go where he can.

One, if Pierzynski wasn’t hit, it’s very clear that he did, indeed, lie. It’s not as if the pitch was close to his foot, the umpire told him to take his base and he sort of shrugged, “OK, if you say so.” He scampered out of the box, then hopped around like something was fractured.

And two, I wasn’t suggesting that Pierzynski should have been, or should be, punished. I’m arguing that there should be a mechanism to punish players for doing what Pierzynski did. It would be tough for the umpires on the field to levy this punishment, because a player probably wouldn’t lie unless he was 95-percent sure the umpires couldn’t catch him. What I’m suggesting is a post facto punishment, in the form of a suspension.

Players (in all sports) get the benefits of wrong or inaccurate calls ALL the time. How many times have we seen a replay where the official got the call wrong? I realize that most sports plays happen in just a few seconds, so sometimes a player probably does believe that he caught the ball or was safe or whatever, even though the replay will show he is wrong.

The biggest problem would be proving that the player was actually lying. In this case it seems pretty obvious that A.J. was lying. But it is possible that the ball grazed his foot and he just embellished it a bit. Is this any different than an NBA player making it look like he is hurt after flopping on a charge?

We have referees and umpires for a reason. If they aren’t smart enough to see things like this happen, either replace them, or accept it as part of the game.

My friends have long defended hockey, saying that it get’s easier to see what is going on as you watch it more, but there are a lot of things that I can’t see getting better. The best comparison to TV viewing experience I guess would be basketball, maybe soccer, but in reality hockey is in a league of it’s own.

The biggest problem is that the puck is so small it is often difficult to see where it is at on the ice. It’s not bad when it’s in someone’s possession, but very often when it’s passed or shot it’s easy to lose where it is. This becomes especially bad when scoring happens. I would say more often than not I have no idea that a goal is scored until the announcer yells or people start celebrating. It’s exciting to watch these guys wind up and shoot. It’s similar to a quarterback firing a deep pass in football. Except with a pass I can see if the guy catches it, but in hockey, once the shot is fired I don’t see the puck again until it stops.

The next problem I have is with player identification. Except for numbers/names on the back of the jersey there is no other way to identify a player. Even in a baseball game with no numbers or names I could at least have an idea of who is who, same with basketball, where height and race and hair all help. The camera is so zoomed out in hockey and the players are all generally shaped the same (unlike football or basketball) that it’s difficult to identify the players unless the announcer says it or the have their back to the camera and you can see their jersey.

Another problem I have is that it seems like I don’t really learn much about hockey while watching. The game moves so fast that the color commentators are not able to interject except when there is a stoppage. Say what you will about baseball and football color commentators but you do learn things from listening to them. I offend do not understand why a guy did/did not pass/shoot in a particular situation. I feel like you don’t get that much in hockey.

Some of these things are just fundamental issues with hockey in general. None of these things should stop someone from watching hockey completely, but they definitely decrease my desire to watch it regularly or get into it more.

And no disrespect to my hockey loving friends. These are just my personal feelings.

Without Bias

The U

Continuing the trend of these documentaries enlightening me on things I was too young (or not born yet) to experience, The U covers 1980s Miami Hurricanes football. It was interesting to see how all the things the players did then that seemed so outrageous 25 years ago are pretty much the norm now (e.g. hot dogging, taunting, trash talking). It was also interesting to see the rise of a program into legendary status. When I was growing up Miami was a big time program, this gives you a chance to experience that. If you are any sort of football fan you should check this out. One of my favorites so far.

Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks

This one I at least knew something about. I was aware of the Reggie Miller/Spike Lee feud but didn’t know how much of an ass Reggie Miller really was. I knew he was kind of a jerk, but this really put it over the top. The history of Miller getting drafted and John Starks just flying off the handle were a couple of good parts. Miller’s performance in some of those playoff games was incredible in retrospect. But unlike the Bias and Miami ones, the impact of these events weren’t as long term. This was good if you were any sort of basketball fan in the 90s, otherwise there will be a lot of people you will have not heard of (read: Smits, Rik).

Guru of Go

The most recently aired 30 for 30 is mostly about Paul Westhead and Loyola Marymount. Westhead invented the fast-paced offense and thanks to the recently created 3-point line his teams averaged over 100 points a game and hit 150 a few times. This is pretty insane in retrospect, since it’s rare you see a college game hit 90 points these days. The sub-story was USC transfers Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers who were two Philadelphia kids who ran “The System” to perfection. Gathers on court death is a major focus of the last 1/3 of the documentary. I had definitely heard of Gathers and knew he died, but didn’t know it was during a game and didn’t know any context around it. This documentary has a major Cinderella story to it and I recommend any sport fan check it out.

The teams’ season opener on Sunday took 3:46 to play. Tuesday night’s game went 3:48, while Wednesday night’s contest, which went 10 innings, was finished in a relatively brisk 3:21.

I watched Sunday night’s game and it certainly felt like it took 4 hours. I agree that the pace is almost unbearably slow at times, and these two teams are the marquee matchup in baseball. This is the Lakers/Celtics of MLB. You are trying to attract new fans and it doesn’t work when the game takes 4 hours.