Bill Simmons

Josh Q. Public calls out Bill Simmons in an open letter. He basically accuses Bill of going from the Vito Corleone of sports blogging to the Fredo "I knew it was you" Corleone of sports loyalties.

I must point out that I called this back in 2002 and even pinpointed the time the change happened in Simmons' sports soul:

This past fall Bill had a column that announced that he had gone over to the dark side of luxury boxes instead of bleacher seats. He even switched the picture that accompanied his columns from the one of him wearing a Red Sox jersey to one of him wearing a suit and tie. (In yesterday's mailbag Bill tries to pass the buck to management on the new picture but the excuse is as weak as the last few columns - come on Bill you could have said no to the new picture and you know it.)

I don't think that Bill realized that the "going over to the dark side" column was symbolic in more than just his choice of seating at the ballpark.

Suit Simmons has always been different from the jersey Bill we all learned to love. We still read him though because every once and a while jersey Bill makes a reappearance.

HT The Big Lead

The All-Disappointment Team

Going into the season many fans and fantasy baseball players had high hopes for certain players but not all the big names have pulled their weight. Here's my All-Disappointment team up to this point of the season.

C - Victor Martinez Indians - 0 HR before going on the DL
1st - Richie Sexson Mariners - .675 OPS
2nd - Freddie Sanchez Pirates - .236 BA - where's the guy who won a batting title?
SS - Troy Tulowitzki Rockies - .152 BA before going on DL
3rd - Ryan Zimmerman - just a .718 OPS before going on DL (yet still leads the Nationals in HR and RBI - that's how bad the Nationals are)
OF - Curtis Granderson Tigers - just 3 SB and a .246 BA
OF - Delmon Young Twins - Just 1 HR - the Twins would have been better off trading for the power hitting of Coco Crisp
OF - Gary Sheffield Tigers - .213 BA before going on DL - may be the end of the line
DH - Travis Hafner Indians - 4 HR before going on the DL
EDIT: As Donald pointed out - Andruw Jones should have been listed. He's the worst free agent signing this year.

SRHP - Roy Oswalt Astros - 5.06 ERA - really?
SLHP - CC Sabathia Indians - starting to turn things around but still no back-to-back Cy Young Awards
Closer - JJ Putz Mariners - 7 saves and a 5.21 ERA before going on DL
EDIT: As groug (what kind of name is groug?) points out - Barry Zito should be the SLHP. Mea culpa.

Boston Celtics

I've heard mention time after time that the Celtics could soon win their first championship since 1986. The undertone is that Celtics fans have waited a long time for this. Maybe I'm starting to get self-conscious about the overflow of riches Boston fans have fell into these past few years but the attitude that Celtics fans have waited a long time for this is a bit off-putting for me.

Consider that since 1986 only 6 franchises have won a championship. There are 30 NBA franchises - so that means that 23 franchises have either never won a championship or have had to wait longer than the Celtics current 22-year wait.

I mean try explaining to Cleveland Cavaliers fans or Knicks fans that the fans of Boston have been patient.

Tim Russert

Tim Russert has passed away at age 58. His death came due to a coronary embolism but he was doing the job he loved. I feel awful for his wife and son. Awful.

Besides family - the big loves of Russert's life were politics and sports. He was a giant in politics. Anyone who was anyone had to do his show Meet the Press. The President of the United States stopped what he was doing when he heard the news of Russert's death to express his condolences. You don't get any bigger than that.

Because of his "power" Russert got to meet all the sports heroes and go to all the games he wanted. Almost every obituary will mention his love of the Buffalo Bills. He got Bud Selig, Hank Steinbrenner and Larry Lucchino to all issue press releases of sympathy and loss.

It seems to me that Tim Russert got to live his dreams. We should all be so lucky. He drank fully from the cup of life. I'm guessing that if God gave Tim the chance to do things over that he'd live his life the same way but with a request that once, just once, the Bills got to win the Super Bowl.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

I don't believe in the White Sox. I just don't see them winning the AL Central. My pick is the Indians. The Pythagorean W/L says that Cleveland has had the worst luck (-5 games) of any team in the AL. Meanwhile the White Sox are just 11-17 against teams with a winning record. I see Chicago falling back to earth, Ozzie having another tirade and finally getting fired... The Mariners are bad. It certainly doesn't help that they can win close games (7-14 in 1 run games). With JJ Putz going on the DL - I wouldn't look for that record to improve either... The Braves are 7.5 games behind the Phillies mainly because Atlanta just can't win on the road (8-24 on the road) or in extra innings (1-7)... Many people picked St. Louis to be awful this year but if the season ended today - they would be the NL Wild Card. They lead the Marlins by 3 games... Just saying but JD Drew has the 2nd best OPS in the AL. His .973 is better than Josh Hamilton's .961 and Manny Ramirez's .940. (Milton Bradley leads with a 1.077 mark and Jason Giambi is 4th with a .953 mark)... Oakland's Jack Cust leads the AL in walks with 52 and is 2nd in strikeouts with 70 (just 1 behind Carlos Pena). I'm rooting for Cust to "win" both categories... It's bizarro world. The NL has the top 4 HR hitters in baseball and the AL has the top 2 base stealers... If I had to give out the NL Cy Young Award today I'd give it to Tim Lincecum for being 8-1 for a lousy (and I mean lousy) San Francisco Giants team...

McCain's Baby Mama

Fox News is in hot water for referring Michele Obama as Barack's "Baby Mama". Lost in the kerfluffle is how much John McCain's wife Cindy looks like the star of the 2008 movie Baby Mama Amy Poehler.

Bill Simmons Live Blog

Here are 5 things I think I think about Bill Simmons Game 4 live blog.

1. Simmons makes fun of how "pedestrian" Doc Rivers pre-game and half-time talks are. Two thoughts on this - A: most of a coach's work is done in practice and in the film room and Doc has a reputation for being very prepared and B: if Bill Belichick said the exact same words you can bet your bottom dollar that Simmons would have had a very, very different reaction.

2. This must have hurt him to write:

For all my bitching about Doc Rivers over the years, I have to hand it to him -- he played the right guys at the right time and helped facilitate one of the great moments in Boston Celtics history. The man deserves all the credit in the world. He outcoached the Zen Master. It happened. His focus was on winning, and they won.

That last sentence was a crack on Doc's halftime speech. Even when trying to praise Rivers - Simmons tries to bury him.

3. Simmons has his list of the 10 most dramatic Celtics wins of his lifetime. The Bird stole the ball pass to DJ for the lay-up game vs Detroit is 3rd on the list. The thing is - you can't argue with the top 2 choices. Celtics fans have been blessed.

4. Here's an image that I won't be able to get out of my head:

By the way, wouldn't Lakers games be more fun if Gasol dressed like a bullfighter for the pregame intros, then waved a red cape for the other starters as they ran by him?

5. I agree with this:

The Kobe-MJ thing ... done. Over. Jordan never would have let that happen in the Finals. Ever. Under any circumstances. Nobody is ever allowed to bring this up again.

I wonder how Kobe is at baseball though.

Boston Celtics - I'm a Believer

The Boston Celtics are on the brink of their 17th Championship and the bandwagon is getting full. I'm a believer and have been a believer for a long time.

Going into the series with the Lakers - I believed the Celtics were the better team and I think I have been proved correct. When everyone was talking about how this series was going to validate Kobe Bryant as a super star - I was talking about how a championship would be the coup de grace to getting Paul Pierce's ticket punched into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

During the hard fought series with Atlanta - when everyone was talking about the Celtics not being a championship caliber team because they couldn't win on the road in the playoffs - I was talking about every championship team having to overcome a major unexpected bump in the road and that the Hawks would prove to be the Celtics close call.

During the season - when everyone was talking about how great the Western Conference was - I was saying watch out for the Celtics. When people were talking about how the Western Conference Championship would be the real NBA Finals - I was talking about how the Celtics didn't have the best record by accident and that their steamrolling of their Western Conference opponents boded well their chances in the playoffs.

Everyone was happy when the Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett but what about when they traded for Ray Allen? I was in the minority in saying trading the 5th pick was a great move by the Celtics. I had belief that the trade for Allen was a good move and my belief is being rewarded.

When everyone seemed down on Doc Rivers as a coach - I was in the minority saying Doc Rivers was the right man for the job. I believed in Doc's ability to teach young players and motivate veterans. It was Doc's coaching that allowed Al Jefferson to develop into a player equal to being traded for Kevin Garnett. It was Doc's mentoring that has allowed Rajon Rondo to emerge as a budding Tiny Archibald. It was Doc's backbone that allowed him to help make Paul Pierce as much a force on the defensive end of the court as on the offensive end. Doc Rivers is validating my belief. Not only are the Celtics outplaying the Lakers - they are out coaching the Lakers.

My belief in the current Celtics started with the man who seems missing at this point - Danny Ainge.

When Jim O'Brien turned petulant bitch because Ainge wanted him to change his defensive coaching philosophy - I defended Ainge at a time when almost all the Boston writers were polishing Jim O'Brien's halo. Ainge wanted an up-tempo offense and strong defense. O'Brien wanted a half-court offense and a fronting style defense. Ainge's style worked for Red Auerbach and Tommy Heinsohn and that style is about to lead the Celtics to their 17th banner to hang in the Boston Garden. Jim O'Brien's style has led him to failure in Philadelphia and in Indiana.

It's easy to believe in the Celtics at this point. I believed in Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers when supporters were few and far between. My faith is being rewarded. In a big way.

Archie Karas

Pauly spins a great yarn about Archie Karas and how he turned $50 into $50 million before blowing it all.

The post is Exhibit A on why Pauly is the best poker writer going.

Rockefeller Lied

John D. Rockefeller chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee that recently released a report who supposedly showed that George Bush misled people in the run-up to the Iraq War.

In today's Washington Post - Fred Hiatt looks at the report and comes to the conclusion that it is Rockefeller that is the one being misleading.

Here's the problem I have with this whole situation - to believe Rockefeller you would first have to accept the premise that Rockefeller can look into the situation as an uninterested, impartial third party. That just isn't so. In fact it was Rockefeller not Bush who had made up his mind:

"I took a trip by myself in January of 2002 to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria, and I told each of the heads of state that it was my view that George Bush had already made up his mind to go to war against Iraq – that that was a predetermined set course which had taken shape shortly after 9/11."

So spoke Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) on "Fox Sunday" on November 14, 2005, who at the time of his trip was chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and is now its vice chairman.

So if Rockefeller was not able to show that Bush had cooked the books in this latest Senate Report - then Rockefeller's actions would look almost treasonous. Should anyone be surprised that Rockefeller's conclusions seem to support Rockefeller's own earlier actions? And what were the consequences of Rockefeller's earlier actions?

For the past two years, international security experts like John Loftus have been saying that because the U.N. and French obstructionists delayed the United States entrance into the Iraq war for over a year, Saddam Hussein — having been forewarned by Sen. Rockefeller’s solo mission to the Arab world — was busy ferreting his WMD out of Iraq.

Loftus, an attorney and former Justice Department prosecutor, once held some of the highest security clearances in the world, with special access to NATO Cosmic, CIA codeword, and Top Secret Nuclear files.

Phil Ivey Bets Big on the Lakers

I'm hoping Phil Ivey loses lots of money on the NBA Championship. From the Tao of Poker:

A trustworthy source confirmed that Phil Ivey bet $2 million that the Lakers would win the NBA championship. That was before the final began. He's in the hole 1-0 after the Celtics took game #1. He's gonna be sweating the game big time on Sunday. FYI, I bet the Lakers in game 2. If Ivey is betting them, so am I!

I guess I'm rooting for Pauly to take a hit too. Nothing personal. I'm just a Celtics fan.

Johnny Damon

Johnny Damon went 6-6 yesterday. In a single day he was able to raise his season batting average 18 points from .308 to .326.

Doc Rivers and Bill Simmons

Doc Rivers has led the Celtics to the best record in basketball, to the biggest single season turnaround in basketball history, the the NBA finals and to victory in the first game of the NBA Championship. Yet Bill Simmons still can't help but take shots at Doc Rivers at every opportunity.

Simmons was the most vocal critic of Doc Rivers last year. Now I think Simmons' ego won't allow him to admit he was wrong about Doc. Simmons really believes that he knows more about basketball than anyone else and its that belief that won't allow him to give Doc Rivers any credit.

It reminds me of how Stephen King was critical of Terry Francona calling him Francoma. Of course King is smart enough to realize and admit to his misjudgment of Francona. Simmons isn't smart enough to realize he was and is similarly wrong about Doc Rivers.

Martha Burk

I was surprised to see uber harpy Martha Burk back in the news. Burk has become a human "jumped the shark" indicator. Any time she appears in the news you can be sure that the issue at hand has jumped the shark. Hillary's campaign for President? Interview Burk to indicate it's toast. John Roberts nomination for the Supreme Court? Interview Martha Burk to show that his confirmation is a foregone conclusion. The NHL's marketing campaign? Interview Martha Burk to try to stir up publicity. The New York Times as a credible paper of record? Use Martha Burk's protest of Augusta to show that the people running the paper are tools in the vernacular sense.

Having said all this - now iron my shirt and make my dinner Martha.

Paul Pierce

The Boston sports world is abuzz about the game one victory over the Lakers and Paul Pierce's return to action after his knee injury.

For the past few days I've been thinking about Paul Pierce. Mainly I've been wondering if he's a Hall of Fame player.

Pierce was taken 10th overall in the 1998 draft. Of the people taken ahead of him you can make arguments for only Dirk Nowitzki and maybe - just maybe - Vince Carter being better players. Lots of teams screwed up not taking Pierce. Heck - he wasn't even the first player taken from his college team (Raef LaFrentz went 4th to the Nuggets).

Pierce is closing in on 17,000 career points and has so far averaged 23.1 points / 6.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. Are those Hall of Fame numbers? He's been to 6 All-Star games but has never made better than 3rd team All-NBA.

Overall currently he sits in 77th place on the all-time scoring list and 6th on the all-time list of Celtics scorers. Next season though he should pass both Bob Cousy (just 15 more points) and Kevin McHale (390 more points). I wouldn't argue that Pierce was as good as either or even close but if he keeps compiling points then I can see him coming close to or passing Adrian Dantley's total of 23,177. Dantley is a Hall of Fame player and I think Pierce compares very favorably to him.

My guess is a Championship this year cements Pierce's place in the Hall. Otherwise he'll have to keep plugging to get close to Dantley's numbers to get in.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are still in the hunt for both the AL East and the AL Wildcard despite only averaging an anemic 4.1 runs per game. Their offense is obviously the big problem and it hasn't been helped by the fact that stars Alexis Rios is having a sub-par year and Vernon Wells has been injured. The spotlight was earlier on Frank Thomas and his awful start for Toronto but the fact is the Rios / Wells production has been missed the most. The Blue Jays have been just 9-13 in one run games and with more offense that easily could have been 13-9 which would have put them just a game and a half behind Boston in the AL East and out front in the Wildcard race.

If the Blue Jays make a trade for a hitter and either (or both) Rios and Wells round back into form - then the Blue Jays will be a team to reckon with. Of course this is assuming their pitching remains healthy.

Bobby Kennedy

On this day 40-years ago - Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed. Many people remember the anniversary but most forget the reason Bobby Kennedy was killed.

He was killed by a Palestinian on the first anniversary of the Six-Day War.

In 1973 the PLO kidnapped the US Ambassador to Sudan - Cleo Allen Noel and the former Ambassador - George Curtis Moore. Freeing Sirhan Sirhan was one of the main demands made by the kidnappers. Both Noel and Moore were shot and killed.

The Democratic Party leaders embracing people like Arafat in the past or Hamas today is a slap in the face of the memory of Bobby Kennedy. Yet nobody remembers or maybe they don't care?

It should also be remembered that Sirhan Sirhan was prosecuted by Band of Brothers hero Buck Compton.

Sorry for the Lack of Blogging

Greetings from Turning Stone

I’m up at Turning Stone Casino in Vernona, New York for a couple of days. Turning Stone is an interesting place. The rooms are very nice, the food is OK but it is the differences that make the place unique. What differences? Well let me list a few.

A) There’s smoking. That may not be a big deal for those of you in states that still allow smoking in restaurants but I come from the People’s Republic of Massachusetts and Turning Stone is in the Nanny State of New York where smoking in restaurants or public spaces is not “tolerated”.

B) The newspaper of choice is The Indian Times. After the initial novelty wears off you start to yearn for the sports section of the USA Today.

C) The big difference, however, is the fact that THERES’S NO ALCOHOL! Imagine that – a dry casino. It’s just strange. All I can think about is those old Westerns where somebody is always getting into trouble for selling “fire water” to the Indians. It’s as if the “white man” in New York is determined not to allow the Indians to return the favor.

I’m having a pretty good time here. Last night I entered their nightly Texas Hold em tournament. It was $70 to enter and there ended up being 50 players. The top 6 finishers got paid with the payouts ranging from $975 for 1st to $150 for 6th. I made the final five players with me and this older guy being by far the chip leaders. The older guy negotiated a chop with me and him getting $600 each and the remaining three players splitting the rest (which ended up being $383 apiece – which was actually slightly better than what 3rd place would have paid). Not a bad night’s work.

Today I golf.

Dear ESPN

Dear ESPN,

I don't write these type letters in general but I have something to ask of you and frankly I think I deserve to be heard.

I am your target demographic. I'm male, a sports nut and I make a pretty good living (your advertisers should love me). I am a devoted ESPN watcher. I haven't complained when you week after week forced upon the viewing public the brain dead ramblings of Joe Morgan or John Kruk during baseball broadcasts or on Baseball Tonight. I've defended Chris Berman even though he's become the Bozo the Clown of NFL analysis. I was disgusted yet silent when you foisted screaming Stephen A. Smith upon the viewing public. For the most part I've remained silent and loyal in my viewing habits.

But now I want something. I want you to force Stu Scott to wear a monocle.

I know it may sound strange but that's what I want.

Stu Scott is an embarrassment as sports reporter and now I'll be forced to endure large doses of his inflated ego because I'll be sure to watch every moment of the NBA Finals. I don't ask much and I don't ask often - I want you to make Stu Scott wear a monocle.

Most ESPN fans know that Stu Scott has a glass eye. For some reason it bothers me when I see him on-air wearing glasses. Only one of his eyes needs a corrective lens. A monocle would do several things; provide that corrective lens for the eye that needs it, let us the viewer know for certain which eye is the real one and maybe most importantly - humble Stu Scott. Perhaps looking like Colonel Klink on air will help keep Stu Scott from letting his mouth and ego run amok. I really want this.

I want you to force Stu Scott to wear a monocle.

Thanks for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Chris Lynch