Run Rickey Run

Today Rickey Henderson did one of the toughest things to do in the Majors. He was voted in to the Hall of Fame. I’ve long said that getting into MLB’s Hall of Fame was the most difficult thing in sports to do. Sure I’m not correct in that, but seriously just look at some of the names who have not got in there.

Rickey Henderson holds many a record from steals (50% more than second place) to leadoff homeruns. But the one record I think that elevates him above others is runs. He has scored more runs than anyone else in baseball history with 2295. And as we all know you have to score to win games and winning games is what its all about.

Congrats to Jim Rice as well. This was his last year of eligibility and he finally made the cut.

On another note Mark McGwire received 10 fewer votes than he did last year. Don’t do drugs kids.

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Blazers front office makes mistake

In an email I’m sure you’ve read or read about the Portland Trail Blazers have issued a warning to the other 29 NBA teams. Letting them know that if they sign Darius Miles with the purpose of affecting the Blazer salary cap and tax situation then they will contemplate legal action. Below is a copy of the email from Team President Larry Miller.

'Team Presidents and General Managers,

'The Portland Trail Blazers are aware that certain teams may be contemplating signing Darius Miles to a contract for the purpose of adversely impacting the Portland Trail Blazers Salary Cap and tax positions. Such conduct from a team would violate its fiduciary duty as an NBA joint venturer. In addition, persons or entities involved in such conduct may be individually liable to the Portland Trail Blazers for tortuously interfering with the Portland Trail Blazers' contract rights and perspective economic opportunities.

'Please be aware that if a team engages in such conduct, the Portland Trail Blazers will take all necessary steps to safeguard its rights, including, without limitation, litigation.'

And to follow up on that here is a short summary of the situation.

The Blazer released Miles after he was declared unable to perform because of a medical injury. Once this happened the Blazers still have to pay Miles but the remaining $18 million ($9 million for this season and another $9 million for next) does not count against the cap, unless Miles plays 10 games in either this season or next. So far Miles has played in 6 preseason games with Boston and 2 regular season games with Memphis, who recently waived him.

For me this all boils down too the Blazers over reacting. If the Blazers felt that teams are thinking of signing Miles just to put his contract back on their books they should talk to the league about this and not threaten the other teams. This is a league were you have to work with other teams in order to get better. In addition David Stern is not a guy you want to piss off. I think this should have been brought to his attention first and handled from a league stand point.
It feels almost like a bullying statement. It makes me feel like the old regime is back and trying to lay down the law.

And I’m sure that Darius Miles “People” will have issue with this. Obviously it would be easy to argue that the Blazers are trying to hinder Miles career.

Look Portland signed him to this contract. When it became more than clear they did not want to have Darius on the team they had a few choices, cut him, trade him, or try to get him to retire. They decided that his knee was bad enough that an independent doctor might rule that he was unable to play on the knee anymore and could file for a medical retirement. They knew the risks when they decided to go down this road. It was the best choice they had and they went with it. Good for them. But now is not the time to whine about it. The Blazers have made many strides over the past few years. Let’s not revert back, hey you win some and you lose some and the Blazers front office has had quite a winning streak as of late. Perhaps it was time for a loss.

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NFL Picks - Week 13

It’s becoming more and more obvious that Loren and I have no idea what we are doing. Loren put up another “0”fer this past week, while I was able to get 1 right. However that puts me up 5. I’ll go get my Marino Jersey ready.

Derek

Carolina @ Green Bay
Carolina. I think Green Bay is sliding down the charts. I think teams have figured out what they do. Carolina on the other hand will be getting a bad taste out of their mouth. They have the game to play in cold weather. RUN RUN RUN. 24-13

New Orleans @ Tampa Bay
New Orleans. I like the way New Orleans is playing that and they get back Reggie “I catch more than a wide receiver” Bush. 38-14

Atlanta @ San Diego
San Diego. I just can’t trust the Falcons, prove it first. San Diego has been there before and I’ll go with them. 21-17

Pittsburgh @ New England
New England. Mark my words New England will win the rest of their games this season. The O is clicking and will roll people from here on out. 38-20

Chicago @ Minnesota
Minnesota. AP will run over the Bears D. QB’s are a blight on this game. 17-13

Loren

Carolina @ Green Bay Carolina. The Saints exposed a weakness in the Packer's D, and while the Panthers don't have the same passing attack, they can go vertical and have a better ground game to complement it. 34-27

New Orleans @ Tampa Bay New Orleans. Brees is a legitimate MVP and has a chance to break the all time single season passing record. Tampa's D is better than Green Bay's, but the Saints should still be able to get up the field. 35-17

Atlanta @ San Diego San Diego. It's at home, and the Chargers can smell the Bronco's blood in the water. Despite Atlanta thumping Carolina last week, I still think they're too inconsistent to pull off a big road win against a physical team. But they're not far off...27-16

Pittsburgh @ New England Pitt. Like the rest of the country, I'm curious to see if Cassel can handle a team that punches you in the mouth as often as the Steelers. Pittsburgh can also score in a myriad of ways, but if they get in a shootout with New England they're in trouble. 27-21

Chicago @ Minnesota Chicago. Another tossup game. I can't find a reason to pick one team over another other than possibly the QB situation in Minny. They don't have the ability to efficiently execute an offensive scheme on a regular basis. 31-19

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Pro Athletes and the Olympics

For some reason this is a hot button topic to some people. I’ve always thought the answer was quite easy. If the Olympics are such a huge event then they need the best in the world competing, and most of the time a professional athlete is the better than an amateur. It’s just common sense. It’s nice to have the stories of the underdogs, who had a rough life growing up and have overcome insurmountable odds, but I want to see the best of the best playing. And just because there are professionals does not mean that you don’t get those heart warming stories. Simply put the best athletes in the world need to be there to make the games legitimate. That means both the professional and amateurs needs to be present as long as they are the best to represent their country.

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Predictions

Lakers vs. Celtics

So, I was a bit off. When the playoffs started I said Lakers over Celtics in 6. After the Celtics won game one I said Lakers in 6. Now after the Celtics are up 2? Well It’s not like I can change, so the hell with it, Lakers in 6. Do I realistically think this is going to happen? No. But I think the Lakers have a good chance at winning the next two at home. That would leave the series tied with one more game in LA before going to Boston. Now the problem is Boston has only lost one home game in the playoffs, and the Lakers have not looked good at the TD Banknorth Garden except for the first two quarters in the first game and the last half of the fourth quarter in the second game.

Also the newest podcast is up.

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First TV, then the internet, and now…

Podcasts.

Yes folks Portland Men on Sports can now go with you everywhere. We will have all of our shows up as well as additional podcasts. You will be able to find these at Bookie Productions under podcasts on Saturday May 31, or on iTunes by clicking here.

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