Out in the backyard...Third team All-NBA selection -- Carmelo Anthony. Congratulations, that's a commendable step forward for Melo. The scoring rat definitely picked up his game this season, even playing something that appeared to be defense, at least on occasion. Now, if it's not too much to ask, we want to see maturity, leadership and playoff victories. Yeah, chicks dig the points but us men, well, we want to see the goods. If money is success to players, media, management and fans see postseason heroics as the proving ground.
Can you keep a secret? If I'm the Nuggets GM and in this space I am, I'd seriously consider trading Melo. A high-scoring small forward sells tickets and is fun to watch but I can find another acceptable talent at that position. What I need as GM is a big, skilled, mature two-guard and some more frontcourt size. While I'm at it, let's reel in some guys who actually get offended when the opposition scores on them. So Melo for big package deal works for me, if I can sell it to a fellow GM.
Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki may only be hitting a pedestrian .256 but it says here that he is going to be a winner. Why? The cat is making adjustments at the plate, the big bugaboo for many young talents, which is allowing him to overcome a pitiful start to be a big bat in the lineup. The power, I believe, is going to come around too. Eventually, Tulo could be a .280-plus hitter with 10-15 HR power and 70-80 RBI. Maybe not All-Star numbers but definitely a strong part of any team.
Want to add some explosives to the Rockies lineup? Deal pitcher Aaron Cook or Jeff Francis plus minor leaguer Joe Koshansky to Texas for basher Mark Teixiera. Todd Helton's salary is near unmovable so he stays for the moment. Cook and Francis, while talented, are slow developing. That said, they have skills and value. Koshansky can be a 20-25 HR guy for the Rangers and either pitcher could still one day win 15 games. Bring Teixiera to town, unload Helton and his scorching but powerless bat, eating a lot of salary, plug in Teixiera at first and watch him bomb 30-40 HRs and drive in 110-plus runs for the next 5-7 seasons.
After the highly-publicized drinking and driving death of St. Louis Cardinals wild man Josh Hancock teams have been thinking of or actually stopping beer drinking in clubhouses. Now the Rockies are following the lead. And honestly, any action that ends the flow of Coors is a good thing, isn't it? Whether it was my father's Coors or that high school swill, Coors Light, those products are an insulting assault on people's taste buds.
The National Sweep
So is Barry Bonds on the run, the victim of a witch hunt? Milo Bryant of the Colorado Springs Gazette explores that question a little and all this space is going to say is hahahaha. Look, Bonds is being castigated for being a liar and then being arrogant about those lies, not because of his skin color. You don't think Mark McGwire isn't seen in a lesser light now after his joke of an appearance before Congress, refusing to answer questions about substances in baseball? What color is McGwire? Pasty, I think. Black he is not. Yes, some blacks feel Bonds is being treated unfairly just as some believed O.J. Simpson worked on the board of directors of shelters for abused and battered women. Here's a little secret -- people, your neighbor, my neighbor, maybe some in our own family -- believe what they want to believe, regardless of reality and that's why some in our society feel America is trying to bring down Bonds and undermine his accomplishments. Bonds, truthfully, brought this upon himself. It wasn't the (white) man. Shhh...let's keep that between us.
Personally, I like Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers but GM Danny Ainge extending his contract is stupefying. Rivers could get another position but his work for the C's has hardly been worthy of more time on the job. Now Ainge might get fired before his coach does.
New rules...who cares. The NFL is reportedly going to drop the hammer on bad behavior but that won't stop players from being human. Even in the case of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Steve McNair, when he tries to protect himself, stupidity will cost him in court, if not in the league office.
Dirk Nowitzki is your NBA MVP. His team's playoff flameout doesn't render his regular season accomplishments null and void like some fools like to think.
The Chicago Bulls are definitely a team on the rise and next season could be an elite group but right now they are getting schooled by the old man on the block, those experienced, hard-nosed Detroit Pistons. Spankings are used to teach. Maybe the Bulls will learn from them.
Excuse me while I stand and applaud Ken Griffey Jr., a real home run hero. The man has 569 for his career and he's still out there launching. I hit one in all my not-quite-pro career. I think I earned an ice cream cone after the game.
Former USC star and current New Orleans Saints high-profile guy Reggie Bush, a Heisman Trophy winner, has talent that is often jaw dropping. He also appears to be a very likable guy. But the man is a fraud because despite his public act he is as dirty as they come, as is his family. He's sleaze, really. And USC's program now has to constantly be under the microscope. Yes, Bush was paid and I'm guessing with all that pro talent on the roster, others were too. You know that's truth. People are lining up for that USC health plan.
God bless the Derek Fisher family. I bleed a little at the thought of anyone having cancer but when a child is fighting that hideous battle, you feel the knife a little deeper. Blessings Fisher's way and gratefulness for all of us who are healthy.
Question-- if you're the highest paid basketball coach in the WAC, does anyone notice? Ask Reggie Theus. Of course, like he really cares. Dude won't be having his utilities shut off anytime soon.
Scoreboard Grumblings
Aaron Cook was effective and the bullpen didn't spaz out as Colorado knocked down the Giants, 5-3, getting two RBI from Troy Tulowitzki. When is management going to do something to jump start this team? Standing pat or sleeping on the job ain't gonna get it done, Dan O'Dowd. Patience is one thing, laziness is another.
Random Ramblings
The next time you're sitting in your car think about how normal an occurrence that is, usually. Then ponder for a moment how a TCU kicker was recently shot to death while doing the same by some mentally ill nut job. Then think about how some hacked-off dude in Kansas City upset over a job-related matter pulled his car into a Target lot and then picked off people in cars on each side of him. Interesting how stories of freaks shooting others triggers more of the same type of violence. What do we need now...security to enter parking lots?
How short is short? How short is too short? When it comes to dating, who cares. You go after the girls you like and desire and don't worry about the rest. But, if she's taller than you, you have to make a decision -- are you cool with that? Don't worry about what she thinks. Can you handle feeling like, playing the role of...her miniature poodle. Hey, your call but personally, if a girl is markedly taller than me, if she doesn't write me off first I'm going to do it because it's hard to walk into any social situation and feel like the man when you look like you're a grade schooler with your older sister.
Back to lying, expenses style. So counterfeit receipts are wrong? Uh-oh. Hey, gotta go.
Little restaurant tip, courtesy of Christine Bockelman of Smart Money, via MSN.com
10. "Never go out to eat on a Monday."
"If you think that Monday, when restaurants tend not to be crowded, is a great time to eat out, think again. "You're being served all of the weekend's leftovers," says Francis, the exposé co-author. Kitchens prepare food on a first-in, first-out basis, meaning whatever is oldest gets served first. It's a way to ensure that everything on the menu is as fresh as possible.
The system works great most days, but it can run into a little glitch over the weekend. Distributors typically take Sunday off and make their last deliveries Saturday morning, which means that by Monday any food not used over the weekend is at least three to four days old. And it will be served before the same ingredients arriving in Monday's delivery.
What to do if you wish to dine out on a Monday? Ignore your instincts and go to a place that's perpetually crowded. "If you are open 24/7 and busy all the time," says New York chef Lucia Calvete, "all your ingredients are fresh all the time."
