The Sports Rumors

KEVIN GARNETT TRADED TO BOSTON

Kevin Garnett has been traded to the Boston Celtics. It’s OFFICIAL. Details to come soon…

You read it here first! 7:18PM EST.

Kevin Garnett to Boston Almost Finalized

Well, we’re back to talking about K.G. trade rumors again. ESPN reported earlier today that the deal to Boston is almost complete. The trade is said to include the following players for Garnett:

Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, and Ryan Gomes.

This is probably the first time that Mchale and Ainge have simultaneously used all of their intelligence together to come up with a half decent idea. Trading KG for even Theo Ratliff would be a step forward for the Wolves since KG is going to walk at the end of the season anyway. The trade works out for the Celtics as well even though they’re going to lose a hell of a talent in Al Jefferson. Pairing KG with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen should be a pretty potent combo, especially in the joke that is the Eastern Conference. Envisioning them playing together leads me to believe that KG will have one of his best seasons in years by grabbing boards off of Pierce and Allen’s misses while getting a lot of looks down low as well. Allen should clean up from three everytime Pierce penetrates and gets doubled. Pierce will benefit because now he’s not the only player to guard on the team. I wouldn’t be surprised if that Celtic squad ends up in the Eastern Conference Finals. That being said, lets start making predictions when the trade actually is official, because with Ainge and Mchale, you just never know.

One more thought. The ESPN “Who’s Now” segment has to be the worst segment they’ve ever aired. It is such a stupid idea. What the hell is “Who’s Now”. What is the criteria? They change it everytime I hear it. Is it who’s the most popular sports figure? The best at what they do? The most endorsements? It’s a dumb concept and I hate it more than I hate the “Head on” commercials. And thats saying something.

(Mchale: “Okay… I have an idea. Here’s how we can botch this trade…”)

Bill Walsh

The football world lost a legend today. Bill Walsh passed away today at the age of 75. Best known as the coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the architect of the west coast offense, Walsh helped transform the entire league by himself. He will be missed.

Whats Happening

There isn’t ANYTHING, anything going on in sports right now. Like, absolutely nothing. So hopefully this entertains you for a bit. Just a little blog about my trip from D.C. to Puerto Rico so far. Enjoy!

Saturday, July 28th. Washington D.C.

5:05PM: So I understand how the computer check in was a good idea on paper. Sure, people will come in, don’t have to deal with snotty airline people, and can enter their info and grab their boarding pass, move along. But the creator of it failed to realize how dumb people are. I, honestly, saw people take about 10-15 seconds deciding how to press “English” for the language of choice. So it took me about 45 minutes just to check in.

Then there’s like, the pretty much strip search area where I had to take out my keys, my belt, my blackberry, my necklace, my shoes, both of my laptops, and my boxers. Well, not the boxers, but might as well have. I know that it’s important to check but Jesus, there has to be a better way.

5:50PM: Yeah, so the flight is delayed. Go figure. I just bought a Sports Illustrated for $6.50! Thats a hell of a markup.

6:05PM: Finally boarding now.

6:37PM: Okay so I have the aisle seat as requested, and some weird lady got the window. No one has claimed the middle one yet. I am praying no one else comes in and takes it because I need my leg room.

6:45PM: Plane just took off a few minutes ago. Everyone is speaking Spanish pretty much. And great, there are 3 damn babies within a 6 row radius of me. This is going to be a very long four hours.

6:58PM: So I miraculously fell asleep for a few minutes and some asshole girl dropped her bag on my head from the overhead compartment. Then she looked at me as I stared at her half asleep and angrily, giggled like a jackass and didn’t say sorry and sat back down. I was about to have a Ben Stiller-in-Meet the Parents meltdown because as this happened, the babies started crying… almost simultaneously. Only 20 minutes into the flight. Damnit.

7:15PM: Weird window seat lady keeps looking at me.

7:17PM: Weird window seat lady just asked to read my Sports Illustrated magazine. I said ok.

7:20PM: Weird window seat lady is done with my magazine. I don’t know why she asked for it. Idiot. It’s called SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. If you don’t like sports, you’re not going to like the magazine. Anyway, some Sandra Bullock movie is on called “Premonition”. It’s kind of weird.

7:53PM: This movie isn’t that bad. It’s about Sandra Bullock being able to see what’s going to happen and then trying to fix it before it does. Okay describing it sounds bad but when you are surrounded by three babies, a weird window seat lady, and protecting your skull from dropping bags, the movie is helpful.

10:30PM: Just landed.

11:45PM: At Marriott now. Furious. My blackberry, 3 weeks old, is giving me a “Device Error 348″. So much for this World Edition piece of sh*t. I’ll deal with this in the morning. Haha funny story. I was so ready to get off the plane when we landed that as soon as we stopped, I did what people usually do: stand up as quickly as possible to get their bags as if its a race. Anyway, I was getting my bag out, and it was crammed behind lord knows how much crap. So I grab my bag and I’m pulling it out and I don’t even realize but there is a black cane infront, like a walking stick or whatever. So my bag comes out but so does the cane and it falls on this old lady’s head infront of me! By old, I’m talking at least 85 years old. She grabbed her head and stared back at me with the angriest face saying stuff in Spanish. I was like “I’m so sorry, i’m sorry, i’m sorry, are you okay? i’m sorry” but i don’t think she was listening. She kept saying stuff to me in Spanish. So I’m standing there with the angry glares of a bunch of Puerto Ricans, as if I did it on purpose. I could almost hear their mental thoughts saying “How could you do that?! You hit an old lady on the head with her own cane! You animal!” So standing there waiting for the freaking doors to open was the most awkward, longest 3 or 4 minutes of my life. I was sure I was going to get mobbed by angry Puerto Ricans but luckily I didn’t.

1:00AM: Just finished watching the Barry Bonds game on ESPN. Thank god i have ESPN and all the American channels here. Barry obviously didn’t hit a homerun but at least the game was entertaining. I’m going to bed. Hope tomorrow is better.

Sunday, July 29th. San Juan, Puerto Rico

11:30AM: I figured out how to fix my blackberry. It was some data problem. I feel like I am whole again. It’s sick how addicted and dependent I am to my blackberry. I’m going to shower now and then go find something to eat, walk around town. I got nothing to write about right now on sports because there is nothing going on. Tour de France is something that ends later today, but there is no way I’m writing on that. Oh, well, Eddy Curry got robbed at gunpoint at his house. I doubt the robbers found anything other than stashes of donuts. Anyway, I’ll check back with you people later.

(HAHAHA I can’t believe I found this pic. Well, she looked like this, but angrier!)

For now…

Whats up people. I have to pack and then go to the airport, so I won’t have anything posted till later tonight or tomorrow morning. But when I do, it will be a lot of stuff and worthwhile but for now, I figured I’d link you to a few things. Before you go clicking away, quick note on Vick. One of the co-defendants is going to enter a plea bargain. The guy, something Taylor, had a falling out with Vick about three years ago. That’s not good news for Vick or Vick fans. Taylor is going to be singing like no other. Anyway, enjoy the links. Check back soon for articles.

Lindsay Lohan signed by Bengals…
http://www.epiccarnival.com/2007/07/lohan-set-to-join-bengals-with-record.html

Beckham is really rocking the MLS…
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/soccer/07/27/bc.soc.galaxy.beckham.ap/index.html

Stay away from this cat…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/26/wcat126.xml

Bob Costas owns Barry Bonds…
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/07/26/bc.bbo.bonds.costas.ap/index.html

(Stay away from this cat)

Since today is boring…

Since there isn’t that much stuff going on today in sports, and because I had quite a bit of work to do at the office and couldn’t make time to do research for my NFL previews, I have decided to post a chat I had with a friend today over instant messenger. I found it amusing and instead of posting nothing, I figured this could amuse you all for a few minutes too. It’s long but funny and face it, it’s not like you got much else to do anyway. Enjoy.

(Preface: My friend is barbaric. Imagine speaking to a caveman)

Me: who’s your favorite sports player ever

Me: just out of curiosity

Me: I’ve always wondered

Me: well not always

Friend: any sport?

Me: but .. recently

Me: yeah

Friend: either Ruth or DiMaggio

Friend: probably DiMaggio

Friend: sweet player, tragic figure

Me: is Emmitt your favorite football player?

Friend: yeah

Me: coach?

Friend: jimmah (Jimmy Johnson)

Me: favorite college player

Me: ever?

Friend: #3 (Bryan Randall)

Me: team other than Virginia Tech

Friend: utenn

Me: favorite color

Friend: haha what is this?

Friend: maroon

Me: favorite season?

Me: don’t be gay and say football

Friend: wabbit season

Me: seriously man

Me: what’s your f**king favorite season!

Friend: winter

Me: favorite daytime activity

Friend: I lift weights

Friend: what is this seriously?

Me: nothing I’m just trying to get to know u better

Me: what’s your favorite type of food?

Me: meaning Italian, Japanese, Chinese, American etc

Friend: I don’t really have a favorite food

Me: really?

Friend: yeah

Me: so which would u prefer though if u had to choose?

Me: like

Me: if I say (Friend) lets go grub, you call the place

Friend: I don’t really like to eat out

Me: ok when u eat at home

Me: what do u eat?

Friend: I mean I like wings and whatnot but I don’t like to eat out all that much

Friend: umm

Friend: varies. I eat a lot of chicken, potatoes, and peanut butter sandwiches

Me: ok so American then

Me: pretty much

Friend: I guess

Friend: I put a lot of spice on stuff though

Me: haha that’s my boy

Me: so what kind of traits do u look for in your partner? Appearance wise

Me: brown hair blonde hair what

Friend: haha man (other friend’s) mom was asking me these questions

Me: hahahahahahah

Me: dude just tell me!

Friend: I like redheads

Friend: not gingers though

Me: what’s a ginger

Friend: red hair, copious freckles, super pale skin

Me: ew

Me: ok so just say yes or no if it’s a turn-on or not

Me: tongue ring

Friend: not really

Me: nightlife enthusiast

Me: (clubs etc)

Friend: in the past yes. rethinking sh*t now though

Me: great dancer

Friend: yeah, like I dance

Friend: false

Me: Asian

Friend: no aZnZ

Friend: ugh

Me: haha

Me: black

Me: ?

Me: honestly

Me: that’s a yes for you

Friend: well

Me: Latino?

Friend: caveat, they can’t be ghetto or whatnot

Me: yeah

Me: Persian

Friend: don’t see why not

Me: Euro?

Friend: meh

Me: Caucasian (American white)

Me: obviously yes for you.

Friend: depends where from

Me: do u like shy and quiet or outgoing and energetic

Friend: when I dated, I dated both types

Me: ok. Which do u prefer?

Friend: probably more outgoing

Me: ok

Me: and what time in the day is best to contact you?

Friend: MAN

Friend: WHAT ARE YOU DOING

Me: nothing man just liberalizing u

Friend: DO NOT SIGN ME UP FOR ONLINE DATING

Me: u now have a profile for AdultFriendFinder.com

Me: under gays

Friend: YOU F–KING GUY

Me: WHAT MAN

Friend: I WILL BREAK YOUR FACE

Me: JUST SEE HOW IT GOES

Me: MAYBE A DUDE WILL COME ALONG AND YOU’LL FANCY HIM!

Friend: man omg

Me: just give it some time

Me: see what kind of people contact u

Me: HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

Friend: MAN GROSS

Me: HAHAHAHHAHAHA

Yeah we haven’t really grown up yet.

Controversy Surrounds Commissioners

July is supposed to be the driest, most boring month in sports. The summer in general is supposed to be boring but July is often the worst. There is usually nothing going on other than elite baseball teams separating themselves from the pack. That’s it. But what a summer we have had so far. Everything was kicked off with the Kobe and Garnett mega stories. Then you had the NBA draft followed by the chase of Hank Aaron’s record by Barry Bonds, which is nearing its finale. Throw in the Beckham “Coming to America” frenzy. Following that you have Vick’s dog fighting indictment and now the NBA has been jolted by arguably the worst thing that can happen to a sports league.

Each commissioner of the three major sports has a major situation or dilemma on his hands. This kind of pressure on all three commissioners of the three major sports at the SAME time is unprecedented. This sort of stuff doesn’t happen to three commissioners within a span of even four years, let alone four weeks. All this leads me to the question of which commissioner currently has it worst?

Bud Selig without a doubt has it the easiest. His big dilemma, for the past year, has been should he go or not go to Bonds’ final games before he breaks the record. I never thought this should be a dilemma to begin with. Of course he should be there. He was the commissioner during the steroid era. He let things happen on his watch. Now he should have to sit there and watch the most decorated record in baseball be broken. He should go out there, shake the hand of the man he used to get baseball popular again and then turned his back on. He was hoping even a week ago that Bonds would somehow get indicted for that perjury charge so that the record could stay intact and Bonds would be off of his hands. (I’m going to stop myself before I go off on Selig for the next 45 minutes, because I really could go off on him for that long). So as I was saying, Selig just has to make the simple decision, which he already has made as of yesterday evening; to be at the games as Bonds approaches and sets the new record.

Roger Goodell has a far more complicated issue at hand. I’m not going to divulge into all the details because anyone who has a TV or access to a newspaper knows everything there is to know about what is going on with Vick. Goodell’s dilemma is one that he SOMEWHAT brought on himself. He came into the league with the badass sheriff mentality. He wanted to clean up the game and get rid of the repeat offenders. He made an example out of the three most known ones, Pacman Jones, Chris Henry and Tank Johnson. Those were easy. Those guys are idiots. I still think that a player shouldn’t be suspended until he is convicted in the court of law but hey, it’s his league, he makes the rules and the laws. I’m fine with that. But now look at the situation HE himself has put himself into. (You’re thinking, “No, Vick put Goodell in this situation.” Wrong.)

A few years ago, Ray Lewis was facing charges of murder. Murder. Not dogfighting. Murder. Paul Tagliabue handled that differently. He let the law take its course and it turned out, Lewis wasn’t guilty of anything major and he got to play in the following season. Jamal Lewis, another Raven ironically, was charged with drug trafficking. Tagliabue, again let the law take its course. Lewis was found guilty and served time in prison. When he was done serving his sentence, Tagliabue suspended him for a couple of games and that was that. I don’t even know what Goodell would do if he was commissioner at the time of Ray Lewis’ charge. He would have probably tried to deport Lewis to Tajikistan or something.

Goodell wanted to clean up the league’s image. Well, Tagliabue faced an alleged murderer and drug trafficker, yet the NFL’s image was fine. Now you tell me, is the whole media circus that we’re facing about whether to suspend or not suspend Vick helping the NFL’s image? Even if he is suspended a year, or cut by the Falcons, is the league’s image going to be better off? This is why I don’t think you should ever come into any new surrounding, new job, new whatever, and try to make too big of an impact TOO early. Suspending players left and right has come back to bite Goodell in the ass. And the NFL’s image, I can tell you for a fact, is going to take a bigger hit so far under Goodell’s reign than it did in the past 10 years of Tagliabue’s.

I can bet you anything that David Stern would love to switch shoes with Goodell right now. Dog fighting, homerun record, those are NOTHING compared to the sacred sanctity of a sport being thrown into jeopardy. Rumor has it that Tim Donaghy is now in plea negotiations with the feds in which he would name more referees and players who were involved in the whole point shaving or fixing of games. I don’t know how the NBA would recover in the near future from something like that happening. This is bad enough. Now, as I wrote earlier, any shady call will be cause for suspicion. In the NBA’s entire history, I cannot name off the top of my head an event or situation that could be more, potentially, devastating for the league. If you can, feel free to let me know but I can’t think of one right now.

Stern is a powerful leader. Whether you like his decisions or don’t like his decisions, you can’t argue the fact that he is one powerful leader. He makes his decisions and he can give a crap less about what the media thinks about it. The dress code targeting a genre or sector of players? He didn’t care if that upset you. Amare Stoudemire being suspended for taking a few steps past a line to help his teammate out? He didn’t care how you felt about that. David Stern makes his decisions and he sticks with them, period. If you ask him a dumb question, or even a good question that makes him feel that you are questioning HIS league or HIS practices, he will put you in your place. Ask Dan Patrick. David Stern is a leader and a commander and that is what they do.

But never had I seen David Stern look as dejected and defeated as he did yesterday during the press conference. I mean, that guy was beat. His voice was tired and his body language showed uncertainty and utter confusion. “If he’s such a good leader, why is he getting timid when things are hitting the fan? A real leader would step up.”

David Stern is getting timid and scared because he knows how big this thing is. He knows how much is at stake. There is nothing more sacred in sports than having the faith and trust that the outcome of the game was not predetermined or biased in any shape, way or form. It is comparable to how the most sacred thing in a marriage is the confidence between the two partners; the confidence that neither one will cheat on the other. But games being fixed or points being shaven is cheating. Now the whole marriage between the fans and the NBA is thrown for a loop. David Stern looked like the husband who found out his wife was cheating on him. He really, really did. Stern has the biggest problem on his hands right now by far. He has to gain back the trust of fans and the media. Anyone who knows anything understands that the hardest thing to earn in life is the trust of someone, once you’ve lost it. This applies in all relationships. Friends, marriages, teams, offices, anywhere. Once you’ve lost someone’s trust, it’s very hard to gain it back.

Selig’s problem will be over in a few days, maybe a couple of weeks. Goodell will eventually suspend Vick for the season and the problem will go away once the NFL season kicks off, at least temporarily. But David Stern is going to face years of trying to gain back the trust of the fans and the trust of the public. This is, by the way, considering that only one referee is involved. God help David Stern if more names come out of this mess because then you’re past the point of marriage counseling; you’re facing a divorce.

(So I’m guessing Sternie will now be against the idea of having a new team in Vegas)

NFC South Preview: Team 3 of 4

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

Preview and Prediction

2006 Record: 4-12

Division Ranking: Last

2006 Result: Missed Playoffs

Without a question, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were one of the league’s worst teams last year. Four years removed from a Super Bowl victory, Jon Gruden’s job is on the ropes. This is the life of an NFL coach. Last year’s Bucs team had major concerns at quarterback. Chris Simms went out when his spleen exploded. Then to the rescue came Bruce Gradkowski. Yeah. So that’s your season. But make no mistake about how bad the Bucs were either way. Chris Simms wasn’t exactly Carson Palmer before the spleen injury. The Bucs finished the season ranked 26^th overall in passing. Maybe they would have finished 24^th with Simms healthy. Maybe. They finished 28^th in rushing. That is somewhat surprising considering they have Carnell Williams (I refuse to call him Cadillac, I think it’s one of the dumbest nicknames I’ve ever heard. He’s more Ford Focus than he is Cadillac). You can defend the rushing being 28^th to a certain extent by noting how miserable the passing was and how teams just stacked the line with 8 guys gunning for the running backs. But still, 28^th? That’s pretty miserable.

Defensively, the Bucs were just about average. They finished 17^th overall. They gave up over 115 yards per game on the ground which is pretty alarming for a Tampa Bay city that has gotten used to pummeling running backs. The defense is getting old though and guys like Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber are fighting their body’s time clocks. The defense did go out and get Gaines Adams in the first round which was a very good pick from my viewpoint. That should bolster the line that still had Simeon Rice, Chris Hovan and Kevin Carter. The linebacking corps consist of newly signed Cato June to go opposite of Derrick Brooks. Ronde Barber anchors the secondary. Look for an improved defense this year.

However, the main concern is still the offense. The big addition was obviously the signing of Jeff Garcia. Garcia should flourish in Gruden’s west coast style offense which consists of short slants and dump offs mixed in with plenty of running. Tampa Bay’s style of offense is very similar to that of the Eagles. The Bucs will be looking at Carnell Williams to step up this year and improve from the measly 3.5 yards per carry average of last year. For this offense to be successful, Williams will need to have at least 1100 yards this year. Joey Galloway had a good season last year eclipsing 1000 yards receiving on 62 catches while pulling in 7 touchdowns. But he’s 35 now. There is only a limit to what he can do. Michael Clayton is going to have to step up on the opposite end and make an impact for Garcia to have a chance at being successful.

I think the Bucs will be a much better team than they were last year. They made nice additions on defense and brought in a solid and consistent quarterback to lead the offense. But old age on offense as well as inexperience and inconsistency with the younger players is what’s going to keep the Bucs from being an elite team. That, plus the fact that they are going to play in a division with the Panthers and Saints, both of whom I predicted to have strong seasons. Lucky for the Bucs, it looks likes Joey Harrington will be the starter in Atlanta so that should give them an extra two wins this year. My assessment of the Bucs: Average team that is improving but one big time offensive player away from being a dangerous squad.

First Quarter: 2-2

@ Seattle – Loss

New Orleans – Win

St. Louis – Win

@ Carolina – Loss

Second Quarter: 1-3

@ Indy – Loss

Tennessee – Loss

@ Detroit – Win

Jacksonville - Loss

Midseason: 3-5

Third Quarter: 2-2

Arizona – Win

@ Atlanta – Win

Washington – Loss

@ New Orleans – Loss

Fourth Quarter: 3-1

@ Houston – Win

Atlanta – Win

@ S.F. – Loss

Carolina - Win

Final Record: 8-8

(The clock is ticking louder than ever for Chucky. He can hear it.)

NBA Facing Slippery Slope

I feel for you David Stern. What a nightmare he is now facing. Not even in his wildest, worst case scenarios would he envision a ref shaving points off of games and being involved with the mob. At the very worst, he would have thought there would eventually be a player who would be in heavy debt and allegations of gambling on the game would come out, but not this. Players dressing too flashy? That’s fixable. Games becoming too low scoring earlier in the decade? That’s fixable. Joey Crawford challenging Tim Duncan to a fight? Weird, but fixable. The sanctity of the game being thrown into jeopardy by an in-debt referee involved with bookies and the mafia? That’s a tough one.

We all jokingly say, or even angrily when it happens with our team, “That ref is being paid” or “That ref’s in someone’s pocket”. But do we really believe it? I know I’ve said it. I said it during the Dallas vs. Miami finals of a couple of years ago when Dwayne Wade was getting every call. I thought the ballboy was going to get hit with a technical for looking at Wade the wrong way. I was watching with friends and I was so frustrated by some of the blatantly bad calls that I said things out of anger or frustration like, “David Stern wants Wade and Shaq to win this. These refs are dancing like puppets hanging from Stern’s shoe.”

But the mob??? Of course after my frustrations wore off and I came back down to reality, I didn’t truly think that refs were blowing games either way for Stern, or anyone for that matter. I do know that certain refs have it out for certain players or coaches. That’s going to happen in any sport. That’s the human element. Some umpires in baseball have wider strike zones for some teams, and smaller ones for others. Some refs in the NFL call pass interference on one team, but won’t make the same call for the other for whatever reasons. They’re human, they have history, they have grudges, they have emotions, it happens.

However, shaving points, which is what Tim Donaghy was allegedly doing, is a whole different ball game. To get down to facts, you have to realize that shaving points does not determine the outcome of a game. People tend to mix shaving points up with fixing games. Donaghy wasn’t, as far as we know, costing any teams games or making bogus calls to keep a team from winning. He was simply keeping the points over or under the certain line, for the benefit of whoever he was getting paid by.

So for example, the Rockets are beating the Grizzlies by 11, and the line for that game was Rockets by 9.5. The guy who is paying Donaghy to do what he did would want the Grizzlies to lose by less than 9.5. Donaghy would in turn make a few foul calls on Houston and give Memphis a chance to hit a few free throws and pull the game below the fixed line. Half the fans would be gone by that point anyway, the game is over. That is point shaving and that is what Donaghy is accused of doing.

That is not AS bad as fixing games which is outright costing a team a win. That would be more of a disaster than shaving points. But still, from a P.R. standpoint, this is a very serious problem facing the NBA. To catch any of the refs, coaches or players with a hidden agenda that involves money and the game is something that fans don’t take to kindly. From here on out, every poorly officiated game will be questioned and magnified beyond belief by the fans and the media.

(Can you imagine how buck wild Skip Bayless is going to get with his conspiracy theories? He was probably hyperventilating from excitement when this news broke because now he has something to base his ridiculous theories on. Ugh.)

People will immediately accuse refs of shaving points or fixing games. It’s going to take a long time for this to go away. I don’t believe all of the refs are bad. I actually believe that the refs, given the difficulty of the sport, do a good job overall. We as fans only notice the bad calls. We never notice the good ones. We’re fans, it’s what we do.

One thing I had no idea about but learned recently was that there is no specific restriction that keeps referees or players from gambling in the NBA. Of course, they can’t gamble on their own sport but there are no parameters for restricting gambling outside of their own league. If I were David Stern, or the NBA, as an employer I would make gambling on ANY sport against league policy. This would apply to anyone who works for the league, whether you’re a player, a coach, a ref, or a senior executive. I think allowing gambling without major restriction is like telling your girlfriend who is 500 miles away from you at college that it’s okay for her to go get drunk at a frat party. Chances are, nothing good is going to come out of it. If the players or the referees can’t accept the restriction on gambling, they can play or referee somewhere else. It’s that simple. Yeah this may be a really tough stance but at least you avoid situations like the one the league is in now.

My biggest fear is for more names to come out of this whole scandal. God, I hope Steve Javie and Dick Bavetta weren’t storing G-Stacks in an offshore account while hanging in Sandro Pe (St.Tropez). I hope, for the sake of the game that I have loved since childhood, that no one else is involved in any shape, way or form. Recovering from one bad apple is fixable. But when an entire tree is has gone bad, you have to chop it down. I don’t think any of us want this tree to fall.

(The Sternie has his hands full this offseason)

NFC South Preview: Team 2 of 4

CAROLINA PANTHERS

Preview and Prediction

2006 Record: 8-8

Division Ranking: Second

2006 Result: Missed Playoffs

The Carolina Panthers were perhaps the biggest underachievers of 2006. Coming off of a 2005 season in which they went all the way to the NFC Championship, the Panthers came into last year with more excitement and hope than ever before in their short franchise history. However, an early two losses in the first two weeks of the season set the tone for what would be a disappointing season. Ten games into the year, the underachieving Panthers still had hope for making the playoffs with a 6-4 record at that point. However they managed to lose their next four games in a row, three of which were to NFC teams, en route to a disappointing 8-8 season.

More scrutiny than ever before has been placed on quarterback Jake Delhomme this offseason. As most quarterbacks usually do, Delhomme was left to take most of the blame for falling short last season. To give you a sense of how important the upcoming season is to the Panthers and the job security of head coach Jon Fox, Carolina acquired former first overall pick David Carr.

Thus far, the talk has been all positive from both quarterbacks. Jake said he welcomed having a “second set of eyes” on the field. However, those second set of eyes will be waiting for Jakes first slip up come September; as will the fans. Delhomme has fallen out of the graces of the Carolina faithful as of recent. He was booed early and often last season after the Panthers were projected by many to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

A slow start early in the season might be all that it takes to bench Delhomme and put in Carr. Look for second year running back from Memphis, DeAngelo Williams to have a big season after he finished last year with 501 yards with 121 carries as a second stringer. The Panthers still have a very impressive set of wide receivers, highlighted by perennial pro bowler Steve Smith. Opposite Smith will be stiff competition between Drew Carter and USC rookie Dwayne Jarrett.

The defense should be sound and ready to go just as they were last year when they finished second overall behind the Chicago Bears. The line brings back a stellar group highlighted by Julius Peppers and Kris Jenkins. Chris Gamble and Mike Minter control the secondary and the Panthers attack-first aggressive style should keep them in plenty of games.

Without a question, the most pivotal position is quarterback. Jake Delhomme will not have a long leash this year if the Panthers get off to a rocky start. The defense and the fans will not allow it. All that being said, here are my 2007 predictions.

First Quarter: 4-0

@ St.Louis – Win

Houston - Win

@ Atlanta – Win

Tampa Bay - Win

Second Quarter: 2-2

@ New Orleans - Loss

@ Arizona – Win

Indianapolis - Loss

@ Tennessee - Win

Midseason: 6-2

Third Quarter: 4-0

Atlanta - Win

@ Green Bay – Win

New Orleans - Win

San Francisco – Win

Fourth Quarter: 2-2

@ Jacksonville - Loss

Seattle - Win

Dallas - Win

@ Tampa Bay – Loss

Final Record: 12-4

(Which Jake will we see this year? My money’s on the top one)