Brain Enema 2-15-10

To recap the NBA All-Star Saturday Night… Paul Pierce is money, Rajon Rondo lost in HORSE because Kevin Duran can make a jump shot and Rondo can’t, Nate Robinson won the dunk contest because he is short and can jump high, and Steve Nash is fundamentally sound.

March Madness, is a month away and I haven't watched a minute of college basketball since last year's Final Four.

Howard Stern would be the death of American Idol. Good or bad?

Brett Favre is still going to play in 2010.

The Olympics during the NHL season is a horrible idea. At least one star will get hurt and ruin his teams’ playoff chances

ECW will be missed, even in its WWE form. RVD, Taz, Paul Heyman, Raven, Sandman, Dudley Boyz, bWo, Tommy Dreamer, Sabu, Shane Douglas, etc THANK YOU for the MEMORIES

David Lee should get at least a four-year fifty million dollar contract in the off-season. I would forget about Lebron and put my money into Lee and a good SG/SF for less money.

All it took for Drew Brees to finally get respect was to win a Super Bowl against a future first ballot Hall of fame QB. Looking at the last few years I am leaning towards saying that Brees should have won two MVP awards.

Cris Carter is a first ballot Hall of fame wide receiver even if he is in the same class as Jerry Rice and Emmit Smith

It's sad seeing UFC legends getting passed by. Tito Ortiz shut up a retire.

Regardless of free agency or the draft, if the Patriots lose Pro Bowl NT Vince Wilfork after the upcoming season than they will need to completely overhaul their defense

Nothing says Valentines Day like the NBA All-Star Game at a football stadium

Dana White promised Boston UFC a PPV this summer. Lesnar will be healthy by then. Smell the money

Saw Johnny Damon on the side of the road the other day with a sign.. '"Will play decent offensive left field for a multi-year contract making 150% of my market value."

Would the Patriots sign Terrell Ovens & LT for a year to make a Super Bowl run?

Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, John Lackey, Dice-K, Clay Bucholz, Tim Wakefield, Boof Bonser, Michael Bowden, etc. With those starters the Red Sox don't need to worry about their offense, they should be able to win I-0 or 2-1 every game.

Tim Thomas gets named to the USA Olympic team and he ends up as the Bruins backup the year after he won the Vezina Trophy. The Bruins have the seventh best goals against in the NHL so he can’t be that bad. If the B's were healthy and could score and have competent defensemen they would be a contender.

Does Boxing still exist?

Urban Meyer needs to stay away from Florida for this year for the health of everyone else

The Thunder will win an NBA title before the Mariners or Seahawks even make a Super bowl or World Series. The Mariners should make the playoffs this year by winning a weak American League West.

The Giants getting Tim Lincum for less than twelve million per year for the next two years is a steal. He would get close to twenty million per year for a long term contract on the open market.

Frank Thomas officially retired after close to two decades as one of the most feared hitters in baseball. The future first ballot Hall of former is still the best tight end in Auburn history. He could have been a great NFL player.

The Dolphins release Joey Porter because he is a loud mouth with declining skills. A few hours later the team had to bring him back to improper timing of his release. They have agreed to keep him but bought out his mouth and attitude for 750,000.

The BengaIs must be concerned about their image. They are no longer the league leaders in arrests, so they signed WR Matt Jones (out of the NFL for drug issues) and worked out to Pacman Jones. Gilbert Arenas has a tryout next week.

A tip for Donte Stallworth’s agent. Try to get a public transportation endorsement instead of a car dealership. Just a thought.

For the moment I am out of athletes to insult and degrade, so until next time the sports world is on watch.

Brain Enema 11-10-09

The Yankees won their 27^th World Series but next year’s team will be missing Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Andy Pettite, and who knows who else. They will still be good because they can outspend anyone, but their lack of a farm system will continue to be a huge issue for them. You can buy players all day long but if you can’t develop a farm system then you won’t be able to get the players you need during the year to replace the old and feeble free agents signed in the offseason.

The Colts may have one of the best records in the NFL but they are not a Super Bowl team. Their defensive backfield has been decimated by injuries (Bob Sanders is not a top safety in the NFL, healthy or not) and the offense is not as dangerous as they once were. The Colts will be in the playoffs but they lack the bodies and talent to get a ring.

Can the WWE please put the Undertaker in one final casket match and haul him away? He has had one of the best runs in wrestling history, but four months at a time of obviously injured Taker doesn’t help his legacy or the company in general. He needs a reduced role where he grooms a replacement, and he needs to stop holding titles, unless they are tag team belts.

Good news Minnesota Twins fans, Michael Cuddyer had his option picked up for the 2010 season and JJ Hardy was acquired from the Brewers. Not only do the Twins keep the best power hitter they have and add a solid offensive shortstop, they show Joe Mauer that they are willing to spend money to have a competitive team.

Memo to the NHL: If a player has swine flu he sits. Grow a spine before the entire league has teams full of players that are on the shelf.

Rajon Rondo resigning with the Boston Celtics is bad news for the rest of the NBA. Rondo would have been the best point guard available as a free agent in years had he not signed an extension. Rondo needs to improve on his shooting, but the same things were said about Jason Kidd, and Rondo has the potential to be better than Kidd.

Ty Law is back in the NFL, signing with the Broncos. Apparently Denver had a need for a reserve cornerback that could generate frequent pass interference penalties and give up huge chunks of yardage. I wonder if Law can feed his family on his prorated salary for the year.

Brad Mills will be an amazing manager for the Astros. The cupboard is almost bare in Houston but Mills has the skills to get the most out of whatever talent he is given. I worry about the Red Sox success without him as the bench coach.

Andre Reed the Buffalo Bills Future Hall of Fame Wide Receiver once said “You are going to get hit either way so you might as well hold onto the ball”. Wes Welker of the Patriots must have taken that to heart, as you can drive him through a brick wall and he will still hold onto the ball. He might be the best possession receiver of his era.

Phil Kessel signed a huge offer sheet with the Maple Leafs, costing the team their first three draft picks next year. Kessel just returned from rotator cuff surgery and recorded ten shots in his first game, and another seven shots that were blocked. He could be just the spark the team needs, however the Leafs are so bad that no matter how well Kessel performs the Leafs will still be at the bottom of the NHL.

I started to watch V and I can’t help but find myself waiting for Fox Mulder to pop up and try to help humanity and then be viciously killed. The show seems like a long X-Files episode, which isn’t a bad thing, but I doubt I will keep watching.

Hulk Hogan joining TNA will end up working, but not in the way most people are expecting. The fans that have left wrestling will return to relive the glory days, but will find a show that actually has talented wrestlers even if they are not the household names of the past. They will be amazed at the action and watch. Most of the current fans will stay in hopes that the company doesn’t get screwed up and will continue to push the people that actually can wrestle, not just the has-been friends of Hogan. TNA will have a rocky transition as some wrestlers will be without a role and will end up lost in the shuffle. Once the newness of Hogan wears off is when the company will see if their investment has paid off. If Hogan becomes an on air talent or tries to wrestle than all will be lost as Hogan couldn’t wrestle thirty years ago, let alone today. If he stays out of the way the company should thrive. If he is put in charge of running the show than all bets are off as to what may happen.

Blake Griffin will suffer from the Clippers curse and become another Danny Manning. I hope it doesn’t happen but that franchise cripples talent worse than a polio outbreak.

If the NFL wants to put a franchise in London (or anywhere in Europe) they will have to face a huge obstacle with not only the huge popularity of soccer (played at the same time of year) but also with the economic issues (value of the dollar versus the Pound or Euro). It is a good idea in theory but not in reality.

Tim Wakefield is close to resigning a two-year contract extension with the Red Sox. Wakefield may not have any fingers left to throw a knuckleball by the time he finally retires.

Brain Enema Version 1

When you have a little bit to say about a lot of things I just get a Brain Enema

So Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize and I don’t have an issue with that. The rules are that the nominations have to be in by February (he had been in office for less than 2 weeks) and his promises of dealing with the other countries in the world were a drastic and more peaceful plan. Obama didn’t so much as win as Bush’s administration caused the world to hate us so much that anyone that was elected would have won the award.

Fred Taylor is hurt again, but should you really be surprised. He has his first fully healthy year ever and then is right back to his normal injury pattern. He has been killing my fantasy teams for a decade and he must be stopped. If he had stayed healthy he might have been one of the top five running backs in NFL history.

When an opponent travels to Virginia Tech they are leaving with a loss, it doesn’t matter who it is, VT doesn’t lose at home. There is no team that is coached as well in special team at any level, and no matter how good or bad VT is you always have to be afraid to play against them.

As much as I hated to see the Angles beat the Red Sox it was time. The Sox had owned the Angels in the playoffs and they were due. Throw a dog a bone every once in a while. The Sox were good but they weren’t a playoff team this year. While there might not have been a better team to be in the playoffs, the 2009 Red Sox were not a strong playoff team.

With the complaints about the NBA refs from last year is the league really prepared to go the entire year with replacement refs? I understand the reasoning but to lose the good refs you have is going to be horrible for the NBA.

The NHL is back! Just wanted to let you know, most people never get to see the games so you might have forgotten about hockey season.

It is nice to be undefeated in fantasy football, realize you need a running back to replace Fred Taylor and a quarterback because Aaron Rodgers and Phillip Rivers have bye weeks. Who did I pick up? Brett Favre and Michael Turner. I did okay.

Instead of a three division winners and a wild card winner in baseball’s playoffs can’t we just balance the schedule and take the four teams with the best records. Why not take the best of the best regardless of where they are located? Oh yeah TV ratings and merchandising. Never mind

Chuck Liddell is one hell of an impressive fighter in MMA but his best days are behind him. After watching Dancing With The Stars (my wife Tivoed in and I watched only Liddell) it is obvious that athletic ability doesn’t translate to being graceful. Liddell was painful to watch.

The AFC 50^th anniversary is a nice retro glimpse at the past, but the ref uniforms? They look like the mugged a barbershop quartet on the way to the game and stole their clothes. Let the teams use retro uniforms but keeps the refs with the normal zebra look.

The WWE is a rich corporate giant and the place where wrestlers go to become famous. That being said, Ring of Honor, Dragon Gate USA, and TNA all are more entertaining and have more wrestlers that can actually perform in the ring. While they might be the most charismatic people in the business, Nigel McGuinness and Brian Danielson are two of the best wrestlers alive today. Expect that the WWE will not let them show their talents and end up missing out on a huge opportunity. They did the same thing by passing or releasing Paul London, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, Brian Kendrick, AJ Styles, Colt Cabana, Matt Morgan, Johnny Jeter, Daivairi, Brent Albright, etc, etc, etc.

People love to complain about customer service but most people would never want to do the job themselves. The next time you get a positive customer service experience take the time to thank them, compliment them, tell their manager, or something. Without customer service your life would be more difficult than you could ever imagine.

When it comes to home field advantage I will take any team in Colorado playing outside. Not only do you have the high altitude but snow and below freezing temperatures. Trying playing baseball or football when you can’t grip the ball because you can’t feel your fingers. That is an advantage.

Rush Limbaugh wants to head a group to buy the St. Louis Rams, and no good can come from this. Limbaugh proved he is a loudmouth that cares more about his image than running a pro sports franchise. His choices would be second-guessed based on his ESPN comments about black athletes a few years ago. The Rams can’t get much worse but they can do much better than Limbaugh.

UFC might not like it but MMA and wrestling do go hand in hand. Many of the skills are similar and there are countless moves that work in both genres. While the potential for injury in a wrestling match can be high, making a living as a developing wrestler and MMA fighter both pay little and require an immense amount of work and time. Ease up UFC and let your stars make a living.

Take back what I said about retro NFL uniforms. The Broncos look like they are wearing the rejected uniforms from Alabama and the Steelers. Not a good look even 50 years ago. They look too much like something you would see at a high school football game.

Sidney Crosby is good but overrated. Not only is Alexander Ovechkin a better all around player now that he is playing some defense and checking. Crosby isn’t even the best center on his own team, I would take Evgeni Malkin any day. Crosby is too soft and tries to do too much.

Anyone who knows me is aware of my man love for one specific football player. After getting released by the 49ers he is now leading the Patriots in sacks…Tully Banta-Cain