Team USA's Colorado Connection

I turned 30 last week. And due to the momentous occasion, I have been either extraordinarily intoxicated, or fighting for my life while recovering from the previously mentioned level of intoxication. I was pretty much like Def Leppard in the 80's... only without the mullets, topless girls backstage, and one-armed drummer. Either way, I wasn't in any shape to be posting any new material on the blog. On top of that I got a new dog. So now I'm fighting off hangovers while chasing a puppy to keep it from shitting and pissing on my carpets. Oh yeah, and I've had to take it to the vet twice already to get an IV stuck in it's arm.... Needless to say I've been pre-occupied. But that doesn't mean I haven't been keeping up with the happenings of CO sports. It just so happens that not a lot of exciting news has actually come up during my drunken new puppy getting week. Let's have a look: - The Rockies are still .500. Granted, Matt Holliday has been pretty fun to watch, but I still am hanging out off to the side of the bandwagon, watching the other Rockies fans jumping on and off that sumbitch. Know what the Rox Bandwagon reminds me of right now? It's like an ex-girlfriend that later becomes a booty call. Sometimes you want to end it for good.... sometimes you want to get back into a relationship... but either way, every time you get drunk you wake up in her bed, then try to sneak off before she wakes up. Not that you would do that kind of thing with the Rockies though.... - The first NFL pre-season game is on August 5th (that's a mere six days to me and you) and the first Broncos game is Monday, August 13th televised nationwide on the great big ESPN network. Home of such popular sports dramas as "The Bronx is Burning" and hip new Sportscenter segments like "Who's More Now". It will be nice to have some actual sports back on the network. It's just a matter of time until ESPN has followed MTV's lead, and the entire day of TV will be filled with reality TV shows where you can occasionally see some sports on a TV in the background of a dating show featuring four former athletes who are gay and trying not to get "nexted". - In the midst of a hungover afternoon last week I did happen to catch the inter squad scrimmage between Team USA basketball. It was probably the best basketball game I have seen in a very long time, and I am being completely serious when I say that. It was like an All-Star game, only if the guys actually played hard. The Colorado connection played well with Carmelo finishing with a game high 28 points and Chauncey Billups playing a great game at the point. Both of them should make the final roster. Carmelo has proven that he excels in international competition and Chauncey is an ideal PG for international play. He's a great shooter, makes great decisions, plays D, and knows how to run a team. If I were in charge of picking the final 12 man roster for the Tournament of Americas at the end of August it would be this squad: PG - Chauncey Billups Jason Kidd Kurt Heinrich SG - Kobe Bryant Michael Redd Mike Miller SF - Carmelo Anthony Kevin Durant PF/C - Amare Stoudamire Chris Bosh Dwight Howard Tyson Chandler That's right. No Lebron. Look, I'm not a Lebron hater, but his game could not be more unfit for international play. International play emphasizes skill, shooting and ball movement. Lebron is obviously skilled, but he has been built and molded to excel in the NBA. NBA style of play is about athleticism, strength, size and quickness. Lebron has all of those in bunches. But international teams can use different defensive schemes to take away from Lebrons biggest strengths (size and speed) and completely expose his biggest weakness (shooting). Lebron can become a liability in the international game because of the fact that he is not a good shooter at all, but thinks that he is. Which means he will end up shooting and missing wide open jumper after wide open jumper against a team like Argentina, and we'll end up losing and getting the bronze again. I'm absolutely positive that Lebron will be on the team come end of August, and the team will be worse off because of it. The fellas from Colorado should excel though. Carmelo proved last summer that he can dominate the international scene. Chauncey's aforementioned talents make him a great fit in the international game. In fact, I think my twelve man roster would cake walk to the title, and here's why. To win in the international game you have to be able to shoot well. With Michael Redd, Mike Miller, Kobe, Kevin Durant, Chauncey, and Kurt Heinrich on the squad, you are virtually guaranteed to have at least a couple guys shooting the ball well in each game. This means that other teams won't be able to just pack in a zone against us and watch us shoot ourselves out of games like in the past. Second, you need great PG play. You need someone who can keep the team together during negative runs, distribute the ball well, run the offense, and hit big shots when needed. Enter Mr. Bigshot Chauncey and J-Kidd. Hell, if Sarunas Jasikevicius and Carlos Arroyo can dominate international ball, then Chauncey and J-Kidd sure as shit ought to be able to do it too. I mean, all Jasikevicius does anymore is awkwardly scream and pump his fists after another Stephen Jackson or Baron Davis 3 pointer.... and in international play he is a superstar. I think Chauncey, Kidd, and Heinrich can do a little better. Kobe can also run the point if you want to go with a big lineup of say.... Kobe, Melo, Durant, Bosh, and Stoudemire. Third, we've got Kobe. As much as you either love or hate Kobe, I can guarantee you that you want him on your team if you are in a close game and need a big shot. No one currently playing in the world is a more clutch performer than Kobe Bryant. And if he's in foul trouble, or hurt, or in an unforeseen trial... we've still got Melo and Chauncey to hit the big shots. But like I said, we are going to put Lebron on the team and play him a lot... and we will struggle again. I still think we can win, but it sure would be a lot easier without Lebron. Bet you didn't think you'd hear that did you?

Quick Hits - The Sequel

Forty Deuce is back up in this piece, and he's lookin' to waste a little of your time w/ some quick hitting links and some random grumbling and rumbling. So please turn up your volume and lets start off strong w/ one of my favorite links to get you prepared. I'm really glad they finally started the NBA Finals. When did Marc Jackson start talking funny all the time? I noticed alot more accent, kinda like they voiced over him w/ Kenny Smith or something. Watched quite a bit of the game, and after reading JT's column yesterday, I came to realize that I like the Spurs and dislike the Cavs! I used to think I hated Tony Parker because he was a Frenchy (born in Belgium). But now I really respect his uncanny ability to score in the paint at his size. And although the Big Fundamental's whining bugs me on occasion, I really do find myself pulling for him. And I've come to realize and accept why he was selected #1 in the 1997 NBA draft, and I somehow failed to be contacted by any teams. I will maintain that I'd have been a way better investment than Olivier Saint-Jean (aka the original Frenchy, aka Tariq Abdul-Wahad). Isn't that guy still getting paid by the Mavs? Or are the Nuggets still payin' him? Bet he could bench 185 back in 97', and that's what sold him to the Sacramento Kings. FYI- Jacque Vaughn will always be a spazz. Scott Pollard, Drew Gooden, and Daniel Gibson are just way too annoying to be placed on the same team. It has to be the Kansas and Texas thing? I listen to a little sports radio in the afternoons. Normally I'll listen to Dan Patrick, Scott and All - Off the Hook, and then toggle between Doug Gotlieb's - The Pulse, and Irv & Joe...now w/ Jim 'Okaaay' Armstrong too. Anyhow, I was listening to a FOD and heard him say that Kevin Durant couldn't bench 185 lbs. once. Did I hear that right? How's a skinny dude like that gonna survive in the Association for 82 games (and w/ the Sonics, I'm not even gonna worry about the playoffs). I know he's got long arms or whatever, but come on, 2 plates and a couple quarters, and you can't bounce that off your chest once? To be fair, Greg Oden didn't even attempt to bench due to his previously injured wrist. So it does say something that Durant attempted it at all. My honest opinion on this is that I think it's a little suspect. Yes, we're talking about a 19 year old kid who's 6-9 and 215 lbs. w/ a crazy condor-like wingspan of 7-4. And it sounds like Kevin Durant has a tremendous work ethic and is genuinely a good person from articles and comments I've come across. There's no question that he's the 2nd pick in the draft. The individual numbers he put up over the course of his only season in the Big XII were nothing short of amazing. It must be noted that the Big XII wasn't really that tough last year, but Durant did put up really good numbers against T. A&M, KU, and OSU. He played 35 games last year, and suffered some minor injuries over the course of the season. Now he's gonna be playing every night against guys just as long/quick/tall and he'll be giving up 20-40 lbs. to them. They still allow moving screens and some physical contact in the NBA, so I think he's gonna have a hard time rebounding and getting shots around the paint. With 10's of millions of $'s in his bank account after being the second pick, and having endorsements, I'm supposed to expect him to become more motivated? Right now I'm predicting season 1 for Durant to be a more Morrison-like (sans the mustache) 12-14 ppg. 4-5 reb. & under 37% FG% in a more Camby-like 63 games played. But damn, he goes to Texas, and he doesn't know that he's gotta work out for teams, and that the weight room is kind of important? Several sources mentioned that this happened to TJ Ford as well? Isn't that more reason for Texas to correct that issue w/ a little bench press training? I mean really? He would probably be pressing 225 a few times if he spent any time on the weight bench at all. And the Sonics (as they did w/ Robert Swift), will prepare Durant for the wear and tear of an NBA season as well as they know how. Maybe the bench press isn't totally relevant to the evaluation of a basketball player. And it certainly doesn't have anything to do w/ basketball knowledge and skills. It's frankly a measure of strength and conditioning. It raises a red flag that Durant wasn't willing to invest that time to improve in that area. And wise coaches and GM's will take note of this miniscule detail because we're talking about a possible make or break move for an entire franchise. I mostly blame Rick Barnes for everything related to this because it appears that he's not a very good coach (X's and O's, as well as in preparation for the NBA). Any recruits reading this please take note! Jeff Bzdelik worked 17 seasons in the NBA and he is the most qualified person in the college game today to prepare you for a basketball career after college. Consider Colorado, please, just come for a visit and see for yourself. Label me a 'hater' or whatever, but I question whether Durant can play 82 games next season, I predict that he'll hit the wall and be susceptible to injury. This probably works out fine for the Sonics because they're used to having lots of injuries over the course of a season. Do you think they'll resign Rashard Lewis? Cause I see Durant being the same sort of player, or maybe like Marvin Williams w/ a better perimeter game. Todd Jones is 39 friggin' years old, and Treavor Hoffman is older than that! Throw in Mariano Rivera and Bob Wickman, and you've got a quartet of old-ass closers. Add the oldest Japanese closer known to man in Takashi Saito (37) and I don't know what that says? Add up all those saves 15 + 17 + 6 + 10 + 16 and you've got 66 saves on 6/6/07. Figure in Al Reyes, Tom Gordon and Alan Embree 14 + 5 + 5, and you've got 90 saves and 20% of the 448 saves in mlb to date were made by guys 37 or older. I don't even know what to say about that? This is a bad sign for any player, see if you can recognize what's wrong w/ this picture. Check out the player page for former Nugget, current Sun, and all-world practice player Nikolotz Tskitishvili. What happened to the Skitish? JT made some amazing points with his last few observations on the basketball scholarships that have not been renewed by coach Bzdelik up at Colorado. This could really be its own column so I won't say much else on the subject right now. Otherwise, Quick Hits would move past 15,000 words and classify as printable bathroom reading material. And you can't really do that w/ links now can you? Still searching for that Pyramid Curveball Seasonal Brew at Colorado liquor stores. You may or may not remember my link to it in the first edition of Quick Hits. Since then I've learned that my peeps in Iowa are drinkin' it regularly. Now, I thought Colorado had a little more beer variety than Iowa, but I must be sorely mistaken. I've checked Santa Fe Spirits, Wine Sellers, and a couple places online, and so far, NADA. But that won't deter me, I'll let you know when I hunt it down, or else break down and order some online. Speaking of beers, I really liked the idea set forth on the Slushy Gutter site. The article is titled: There's No 'I' in Team (or Beer) If they are coming up a little short of the 5,280 beers, I'd be happy to help out! Well, as long as this is turning into a beer drinkin' post I might as well give a shout out to the Bent River Brewing Co. in Moline, Illinois. Had a couple of their beers at some Midwest League minor league baseball games, and I must say, "That's some good stuff." And kudos to the Quad City Swing for having it flowin' at the ballpark, and for mixin' it up nightly w/ a different 'Get Bent' brew. Well, I've surpassed my word limit on this entry and this can no longer be defined as 'Quick' so I'll sign off and begin accumulating more random thoughts. Please check back for more Homer wisdom.

What the Lottery means to the Nuggets

Ever since the lottery took place last night, all I've heard is one of two things: 1) Everyone has been laughing at the Grizzlies and Celtics for blatantly tanking and then ending up with the worst possible selections. It's a little thing called the Sports Gods making sure everything balances out. It's the same powers that make a guy miss a free throw after a phantom foul call. You don't want to mess with the Sports Gods my friends, they will expose you. 2) We've been hearing the faint sobs of the Sports Guy curled up in the corner for his poor Celtics. It sounds something like this - "WAAAAAAAA! We've only had 16 titles!! We're the most successful franchise in the history of basketball!! We were in the Eastern Conference finals a few years ago!! J-Bug!!! Nothing ever goes right for us!! WAAAAAA!!" Simmons is like a drug addict that has won the lottery. His drug is complaining. Even when his hometown basketball team has won more titles than any other, his baseball team recently won the World Series and spends more on annual salary than a dozen countries GDP, and his football team is in the midst of a semi-dynasty, he still has to cry about something. When you have a reason to complain Bill, people will listen. When you're looking for a reason to complain, you're a loser. Enjoy the success your local sports teams are having and shut the hell up. Back to the point of this post.... We've all overlooked a frightening development that happened during the Draft Lottery. Portland #1, Seattle #2? Oden and Durant are coming to the Northwest Division? The Nuggets could very well be fucked. Our division has been the laughing stock of the NBA the last couple of seasons. Two years ago we won the division with one less win than we had this past season. For the last two years our division champ has NOT had home-court advantage in the first round. That said, the Jazz are rising quickly, the Nuggets should have a great team next season, and now you add Oden and Durant to the mix and suddenly the Northwest Division could be one of the tops in the league.... in theory. Here are some pros and cons of this development: Pros - - We get to watch both Oden and Durant play a few times per year: As basketball fans we will get to see the future of the NBA play in Denver a few times per season. It should boost ticket sales which will help Stan pay for some of that luxury tax next year. In fact, here is a list of some of the players in the Northwest Division next season; Carmelo, Kevin Durant, Boozer, Deron Williams, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Greg Oden, Ray Allen, Mehmet Okur, Kenyon Martin.... it's a pretty stacked division. - They could bring in more groupies: One thing we all learned from Biggie was that mo' money = mo' problems. What he also meant to say was that mo' money also = mo' groupies. This can't really be a bad thing. You can never have too many hot groupies to look at. Although, in the case of Oden, most of these groupies will probably be ages 45 and up... or judging by this picture, they might be ok. - Kevin Garnett will explode like that dude on Heroes soon if he doesn't get traded: Seriously, I'm not sure if anyone on the planet is more pissed off than Kevin Garnett right now. Actually, you could probably make that same statement nearly any day of the year and it would be true, but it's carrying a little bit more weight today. If the T-Wolves fail to make a big move to help Garnett, they have the potential to be the worst team in the division for the next 10 years. That can't make KG feel very good about his current situation and legacy. Cons - - If they are as good as advertised, we have to play them a few times per year: Sure, it's all fine and dandy that we fans get to see them play a few times per season, but if they are really that good than the Nuggets have to play them that many times per year. That sucks. - If they are as good as advertised, their teams will be much better for the next few years: At least until their rookie deals are up. But what are the odds that either of these teams won't max out these two when the time comes. This means that the Nuggets will have to contend with Kevin Durant and Greg Oden year after year for the next 6 seasons minimum. - If they are as good as advertised, we will have a tougher time making the playoffs: Adding on to the last point, with the Nuggets, the Jazz, Oden, and Durant all in the same division for the next several seasons, it is going to become very hard for the Nuggets to make the playoffs year after year. That means no more sissy fights in NY that get 1/4 year suspensions, no more sitting out games with a minor ankle sprain or sore back, no more losses via half court heaves from Rasheed Wallace, it's time to tighten up the ship fellas. You'll notice that all the cons start with the same phrase. This is because we have no idea if these two will ever actually live up to all this hype surrounding them. Sure they look like can't miss stars, but the benches of the NBA are loaded with great college players. But still, why couldn't they have ended up in the Eastern Conference or something? The West is tough enough already.