Ping Pong victory dance

I'm not sure what to make of this. If I was the guy that lost, I probably would have punched the dude in the face, especially at the end when he got up in his grill. I'm actually disappointed in the guy for not doing that. But I guess he took the high road and it looks better for him. But what do you think? I mean for starters, that dance was pretty sick. If that guy broke that out in a club he'd have the place going nuts. However, it's a ping pong match. In fact I'm not sure what's worse...him playing in a competitive ping pong match or getting so excited about winning that he went into that.

But for the sake of argument, how do you think he stacks up against this ESPN Top 10 TD celebrations? Or of course, the king of TD celebrations, Chad Ocho Cinco and his riverdance:





-Bess

Remember These Guys?

The Sweet 16 tips off tomorrow night, and by the end of the weekend we will be down to just 4 teams left in college basketball. Where did the tournament go? Each year stars light up March Madness, helping their teams get to the Final 4. But it's not just the Carmelo Anthonys, Emeka Okafors, and other top lottery picks that shine this time of year. Here's just a small list of guys since 1990 who either didn't play in the NBA or made little impact in the pros, but were crucial to their college team's success.

So when you are watching the games this weekend don't be surprised if it's not dominated by just Blake Griffin, Tyler Hansborough, Ty Lawson, Hasheen Thabeet, DeJuan Blair, Gerald Henderson, Johnny Flynn, or Tyreke Evans.

This is the time of year when these characters should be remembered:

Anderson Hunt, UNLV
Donald Williams, North Carolina
Corey Beck, Arkansas
Scotty Thurman, Arkansas
Toby Bailey, UCLA
Ed O'Bannon, UCLA
Charles O'Bannon, UCLA
Clint McDaniel, Arkansas
Todd Burgan, Syracuse
Dana Bright, UMass
Carmelo Travieso, UMass
Miles Simon, Arizona
Scott Padgett, Kentucky
Jeff Sheppard, Kentucky
Arthur Lee, Stanford
Khalid El-Amin, UConn
Ricky Moore, UConn
Mateen Cleeves, Michigan State
Loren Woods, Arizona
Dane Fife, Indiana
Kyle Hornsby, Indiana
Keith Langford, Kansas
Rashad Anderson, UConn
Luke Schenscher, Georgia Tech
Lee Humphrey, Florida

And there are plenty more. Enjoy the games this weekend.

-Keefe

Brutal white boy dunk

And this is one reason why there shouldn't be this many postseason tournaments in college basketball. Don't get me wrong, I'm as excited as any proud Husky alum that Northeastern captured it's first postseason win in school history last night. But it came at the expense of the Wyoming Cowboys (my apologies to Keefe's dad, a proud Cowboy alum), and also bore witness to one of the most horrific, comedic dunks in basketball history. Adam Waddell stole a pass on the defensive end and took it coast to coast. Understandably, he was pretty jacked up, whether it was the fact that he stole the ball and had the whole floor wide open or that he was able to rise up that high and throw it down. But he held onto the rim too long, and with his momentum carrying the rest of his body forward, he swung like a pendulum and then flipped (acrobatically?) to the floor. Not sure what they gave him for a score, but check it out below, this guy is lucky he isn't paralyzed in a hospital bed somewhere right now:



-Bess

Ashley Schaeffer

Not sure if anyone has been watching Eastbound and Down on HBO, but it's the show written and produced by Will Ferrell and featuring Danny McBride as Kenny Powers, a washed up, has-been MLB pitcher. The show is absolutely classic, and while McBride is the main character and certainly doing a hell of a job at it, Ferrell continues to steal the show when he's on. He's Ashley Schaeffer, a used car salesman at Ashley Schaeffer Motors. Check out these commercials below, absolutely classic and a taste of what Ferrell and this show are bringing to the table:





-Bess

WGAM Bracket Challenge

If you haven't already, make sure you all sign up for the WGAM bracket challenge. Tell your friends as well, all are welcome. Click the link below, and goodluck to ya.

http://wgamradio.pickmanager.com/marchbrackets/register

Florida Panthers Play by Play Part 2

Not as good as Part 1, but I thought I'd still share it with all of you.

Which buzzer beater is better?

So today I got out of the shower and my brother told me I had just missed an interesting debate between Kornheiser and Wilbon on PTI. They were discussing Dwayne Wade's steal/buzzer beater play from the other night and whether that was more impressive and better than the Devin Harris shot from earlier this season. Apparently Kornheiser sided with Harris while Wilbon claimed Wade's was better because he stole the pass, ran down the court and lofted up a 3-pointer off of one foot while still on the run. At first I figured Wilbon was getting racial and only voting for Wade because he's black, but then I realized that Harris isn't exactly all white, so that theory wasn't exactly holding any water. But after thinking about it, I've gotta side with Kornheiser on this one. Harris' shot was better for a couple reasons. First and foremost, he was behind half court. If you had Harris and Wade take ten shots from half court and ten running shots from the three-point line, I'm pretty sure they'd hit far more from the three-point line. Let's face, it's closer. Not only that, but Wade's shot was more or less uncontested. He didn't have anyone on him because he'd pretty much blown by both defenders after stealing the pass. Harris, meanwhile, had someone all over his grill. Which brings me to an even more salient point. Harris had the ball stripped from him, recovered the loose ball, then had the presence of mind and god given ability to still go up with it and get a shot off...and make it....from half court. Wilbon argued that Wade had to "make a play" before even getting a chance to take a shot. I'll argue that Harris did the same thing in recovering the ball after getting it stripped and still getting the shot off...and hitting it...from half court.

Anyways, I posted YouTube clips of each shot below. Take a look. Which one do you think is better?





-Bess

Mark Munoz gets his head kicked into the 1st row

For those of you that watched UFC 96, you got to see some exciting finishes to fights. Matt Brown's destruction of Pete Sell was pretty entertaining, as was Shane Carwin's comeback KO over Gabriel Gonzaga. However, neither can hold a candle to Matt Hamill's devastating head kick of Mark Munoz. I've embedded the video below, but I apologize in advance for the shitty quality. It's clearly some bootleg ripoff off some dude's TV with a camcorder. If you want, follow the link to mmatko.com below to see a clearer picture. Munoz was down and out cold for almost five minutes before exiting the cage under his own power. For "The Hammer", this was a much needed win and what better than to do it in exciting fashion. It also earned him KO of the night and a much welcomed $60,000 bonus. We'll go ahead and call this the KO Clip of the Week.



And the link to mmatko.com:

http://www.mmatko.com/matt-hamill-vs-mark-munoz-fight-video-ufc-96/

Enjoy. I've watched this clip about 100 times since Saturday night. It doesn't seem to get old for me.

-Bess

It's all good in Mannywood

Unless you've been living under the proverbial rock for the last few weeks, then you know about the ongoing saga and theatrics that was the contract negotiation between Manny Ramirez and the LA Dodgers. Well again, unless you failed to remove yourself from said rock, then you also know that Manny finally agreed to a 2yr/$45M deal. The terms of the deal are fairly straight forward in principle but a tad complicated in how it will be paid out. Essentially the Dodgers have exclusive rights to Ramirez's services in 2009. He'll earn $10M outright and the remaining $15M will be paid out over time with no interest. One plan has the Dodgers paying $5M per year from 2010-2012. What happens after 2009 was the sticking point for Ramirez and the team, and I think this is where people are underestimating the overall value of this deal for both parties. Ramirez will have a player option in 2010 worth $20M that he can either accept or decline. If he chooses not to exercise that option, he'll once again become a free agent, and the Dodgers in turn would likely receive compensation in the June 2010 draft. I think it's safe to assume that Ramirez would register as a Type A free agent thus giving the Dodgers maximum benefit in terms of compensation. However, if Ramirez does accept the option, he'll then receive $10M each year from 2010-2012 and then additional installments of $8.33M from 2011-2013.

I've been listening to sports talk radio, particularly WEEI in Boston over the past week or so and heard a lot about what people think of this deal. First thing is first: fans and radio personalities, writers, etc. still hold a lot of resentment towards Ramirez and I think that has been shining through in their opinions towards this deal. The same people that suddenly turned on Ramirez and called for him to leave Boston and have since rooted for his professional demise are arguing that the Dodgers overpaid for a malcontent, selfish and unprofessional ballplayer who will do nothing but disrupt a clubhouse and is nowhere near the value their paying. I completely disagree.

Look at what Ramirez did in his four months or so with LA in 2008. He hit .396 with 17 homeruns and 53 runs batted in over just 53 games. In the playoffs, he batted .520 with four homers, 10 RBIs, nine runs and 11 walks in eight games. Those are god-like numbers, and the results were indicative of that. The Dodgers blitzed past Arizona to claim the NL West crown, swept the NL-favorite Cubs in the NLDS series and then lost in 5 games to the eventual World Series champion Phillies. Although they failed to reach the World Series, it was quite a turnaround for a team that had not done anything significant in the postseason since 1988 when they stunned the Oaklan Athletics in 5 games. In fact the series win over Chicago was the first postseason series win since that '88 season. Manny reinvigorated a franchise that was in need of such, and he did in a situation that was perfect for both parties. LA essentially received Ramirez on a loan from the Red Sox, and Manny basically played out the final four months in a "contract year" type situation. He was playing for a free agent deal in the off season, so the onus was on him to produce at a high level. In turn, the Dodgers gave him a safehaven to do that, away from the media frenzy of Boston and basically providing Manny with a clean slate.

Based on his numbers and the subsequent results, it was safe to assume that both parties had and would make out on this temporary partnership. However, the market never really gained any interest or momentum for Ramirez. The pool of teams was limited and the Dodgers were garnered as the favorite from the onset. Ramirez essentially priced himself out everywhere except LA. This is where my opinion differs from most, particularly media personalities in the Boston area. The opposition argue that LA held the bargaining chip here. The team was not involved in a bidding war with any other teams because there were none. LA could make an offer it was comfortable with, and if Ramirez declined, he was poised to sit out 2009 unless another team swooped in and overpaid or he finally succumbed to the notion that he'd have to compromise and accept the fact he wasn't getting his 4yr/$100M deal. Those same people will go on to argue that Frank McCourt and Ned Colletti mishandled the situation by admitting publicly they really wanted Manny in LA, thus affording him the upper hand in negotiations by making it known they'd do everything in their power to sign the free agent slugger. In turn, agent Scott Boras was able to employ his sit tight and wait game, which lures teams into uncomfortable waters, afraid they'll miss out on a good thing when Boras and his player decline an offer and refuse to present a rebuttal. And that is what happened here. Feeling a sense of urgency, and weary of starting 2009 with Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp and Juan Pierre in the outfield, the Dodgers finally "cracked" and appeased Ramirez with this latest deal.

My opinion, however, is that the Dodgers made a good decision here and both parties will again make out. They get Ramirez for $25M in 2009 but the salary cap will only take a $10M hit in '09 and $5M for each of the next 3 seasons. Meanwhile, Ramirez is essentially playing another contract year. He has everything to play for in '09. If he explodes and continues his torrid production from the 2nd half of 2008 then the Dodgers will be a scary, scary team. Ethier and Kemp are still developing and poised to build off solid campaigns last season. The Dodgers also bring back James Loney, Casey Blake and Russel Martin and the addition of Orlando Hudson at 2nd base should not be overlooked. Hudson hit .305 last season for Arizona and allows Blake Dewitt and Mark Loretta to come off the bench. This lineup will be potent, and with Adam Dunn having left the Diamondbacks you have to feel confident about the Dodgers outlasting their NL West foe en route to a 2nd consecutive division title. Although the Diamondbacks will rely on the one-two tandem of Brandon Webb and Dan Haren, the Dodgers have a couple young rising stars in Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw, while Jason Schmidt returns and could shore up the back end of that rotation.

Meanwhile, if Ramirez chooses to opt out of his deal at the end of 2009, the Dodgers will either have to resign him, or let him go to greener pastures and receive the draft compensation as a result. What it will do, however, is save the team $20M over four seasons. However, if Ramirez doesn't quite have the year he'd hoped for, the market/economy hasn't fully recovered, or he just decides to play out his final year and consider his career options thereafter, LA will get the future Hall-of-Famer at a "discounted" $20M. And if Ramirez determines he'll play beyond 2010, he'll again find himself in a contract year. Bottom line is the Dodgers could potentially have Manny in LA for all or parts of three consecutive seasons, each of which were contract years. And if last year is any indication as to how Manny will produce in a contract year, the Dodgers are poised for an exciting 2009 and, with any luck, more of the same in 2010. If the latter doesn't happen, I still think LA will be in good shape. Young stars like Ethier, Kemp, Loney and Dewitt will have another year of development at the MLB level under their belts, and with Manny's contract off the table, the Dodgers could be major players in the free agent market in 2010. Here are some top outfielders that may be available:

Matt Holliday
Jason Bay
Xavier Nady
Vladimir Guerrero
Magglio Ordonez
Carl Crawford

But there will be other position players and pitchers available, as well. While the list of players is huge, check out some highlights below:

John Lackey (SP)
Rich Harden (SP)
Brandon Webb (SP)
Josh Beckett (SP)
Cliff Lee (SP)
Erik Bedard (SP)
Chipper Jones (3B)
Melvin Mora (3B)
Brian Roberts (2B)

Not bad. I will confess I have Ramirez in an ESPN keeper league, so I'm hoping he just goes off in 2009. That being said, if he's not in Dodger blue come 2010 that means I may have won my league. But what do you think? Did the Dodgers give up too much to get Ramirez? Or do you think giving him the player option for $20M will motivate him to have another great season? Let us know.

-Bess

Weekend Synopsis

-Terrell Owens signs with the Buffalo Bills for 1 year at $6.5 million.

-Rampage Jackson defeats Keith Jardine by unanimous decision at UFC 96 earning himself a Light Heavyweight title fight against Rashad Evans.

-Frank Mir was injured during training, pushing his Heavyweight title bout with Brock Lesnar to July.

-Stephon Marbury starts his 1st game in a Celtics uniform for an injured Rajon Rondo. The C's lost to Orlando 86-79.

-Jon Lester and Red Sox agree to a 5 year $30 million extension, with a $13 million club option in 2014.

-UConn better hope they don't have to see Pitt in the NCAA tournament.

Where Will T.O. Go?

There are 32 teams in the NFL. Owens was just released by Dallas, making it 31 possible destinations. Yeah right. We all know that Owens (who is 2nd all time in TD catches) has severed many ties to players and coaches along the way. Most recently he was the scapegoat in Dallas despite Jason Garrett coaching the second half of the season with his hands around his neck, Wade Phillips being Wade Phillips, and Jerry Jones trading a 1st and 3rd round pick for the 2nd best receivers on the 0-16 Lions and then not even throwing to him. But if they want to blame Owens for their struggles go right ahead.

When Owens has been cast a side by a team he has come back the next year on a mission. First year in Philly he had 14 TDs in 14 games helping the Eagles make the Super Bowl, where he was the only player on offense who remembered to show up to the Big Game... Philly has not been back since. In Dallas, Owens led the NFL in TDs his first year there, and would have likely won a playoff game for the first time since Aikman/Smith/Irvin, if Tony Romo knew how to hold.

Despite these Pro Bowl seasons once he joins a new team, many NFL organizations have already claimed to want nothing to do with T.O. Profootballtalk kept a list going yesterday of teams that said no thanks that included: the New York Giants, Washington Redskins (heard they were in and out), Minnesota Vikings (Brad Childress connection), Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, San Diego Chargers, New York Jets, St. Louis Rams, New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, and Jacksonville Jaguars. Throw in the obvious Cowboys and that's more than half the teams in the league.

Do I believe all those teams really don't want T.O.? Hell no. Who had more TD catches the last 3 years in the NFL? That's right, no one. Not even Randy Moss. Look it up. 3 years in Dallas Owens caught 38 TDs, he also ranked 4th in receiving yards over that span. Check out the number 1 WRs on some of the teams listed above. They have got to be kidding themselves. Hey Jacksonville, I'd rather have Owens than a guy who does coke in a parking lot, but that's just me.

T.O. has caused problems are certain teams, but it's naive to think it was all his fault. Also he gets tied in with Pacman Jones, Plaxico Burress, etc. Am I missing something? When was the last time Owens was arrested? You don't hear about drugs, guns, DUI, assualts, homicide (looking at you choir boy Marvin Harrison), dog fighting with T.O. Don't compare him to those guys.

Back to the teams that should be interested in him. I make fun of Jacksonville for saying they are not interested considering they're WRs are for lack of a better word, terrible. The fact of the matter is, they shouldn't be going after him as long as they have David Garrard throwing, make that trying to throw him the ball. It wouldn't work for anyone. A team must have a strong coach but perhaps more importantly a Top 10 or maybe even Top 5 QB.

Despite what some of the teams, and sources have said to this point, here are 5 spots I could see Terrell Owens playing in 2009. (Salaries not withstanding, we'll have to see what the market is)

1. Colts:

I know they have a new coach in town, so maybe that would throw a wrinkle in my plan, but why not Indy? Marvin Harrison is gone, they still have Reggie Wayne, Anthony Gonzalez, and Dallas Clark. When Peyton Manning was at his best he could spread the ball around and have 3 players with 1,000 yards. Manning has the Super Bowl ring, and thus the respect of T.O. As a Pats fan I would be nervous as hell if the Colts got Owens.

2. Chiefs:

I guess there was some verbal jarring between Owens and new head coach Todd Haley on the sidelines in the past, but if KC really wants to win, and do it soon they have to consider T.O. Scott Pioli rolled the dice in the past with Corey Dillon and Randy Moss, he should make a big splash with Owens, giving Matt Cassel a Moss-like threat to throw to.

3. Broncos:

Calm Jay Culter down from all the trade talks by bringing in one of the best wide receivers of all time. Brandon Marshall wide right, Terrell Owens wide left, with Eddie Royal in the slot. Sounds like a points bonanza to me. Josh McDaniels at the helm may nix this thing, can a 1st year coach handle Owens?

4. Chargers:

Another place that would scare the crap out of me as a Pats fan. Philip Rivers may have had the best season of any QB last year in the regular season. He's fiery and I think would stand up to Owens if he had to. They have LT, for now, and a bunch of other personalities. It would be a reality show in the making, but if they could play together, look out.

5. Patriots:

That's right, I said it. Moss, Welker, and Owens. I just passed out. 3 great players with 0 Super Bowl titles. I can't think of a better QB/ coach duo to embrace Owens than Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. I believe Owens would respect Manning, so Brady and Belichick, come on. Also don't forget Belichick always remembers players who play well against him. Wes Welker was a guy BB said torched them all the time, so he went and got him. Greg Lewis for God sake played a couple good games against the Pats, and Belichick traded for him. How about that Super Bowl game? I can hope right.

-Keefe

Opey Tha Poet

Opey is a friend of The Sports Brief, and he will performing Friday March 13th at Copperfields near Fenway. Wait Friday the 13th, again? What the? Didn't we just have one, that was accompanied by a remake film, which I saw and enjoyed. But forget that for a second, and enjoy this promo for said event by the one, the only Opey.



Good news, a "Sports Brief" rap is in the works as well by Opey... stay tuned.

Goodluck with all that... 2.0

Back by popular demand... well at least back, everyone's favorite, "Goodluck with all that," a sarcastic look at some of the major story lines in sports. If you're new to it, I'm sure you'll pick it up real quick. On to the encouragement.

To Josh McDaniels and the Broncos. Your Pro Bowl QB Jay Cutler is "shocked" that he was in trade talks. McDaniels tried bringing in Matt Cassel, and now will have to convince Cutler that he can work with him after all. The guy is shaken and still thinks he's on the trade block. And to make matters even easier for the 1st year head coach, their All-Pro stud WR Brandon Marshall got arrested, again, and could face another suspension. Goodluck with all that...

To Steve Kerr for convincing people he is a viable NBA GM. When Kerr took over, the Phoenix Suns were a top 2 seed in the Western Conference. In year 1 he traded Shawn Marion away for Shaq and made sure his team got out of the top 4 so they could lose in the 1st Round of the playoffs on the road. This year? Despite a rejuvinated Shaq, the Suns are in the 9th spot in the West. They openly tried trading both Amare Stoudemire and Shaq to no avail. Also, in less than 2 full seasons Kerr has employed 3 head coaches. Nice. Goodluck with all that...

To Alex Rodriguez for putting the steroid issue behind him. Great start for A-Rod as he still has his shady lookin cousin hanging out with him the 2nd week of spring training. Whether this guy is hitting .350 or .250 questions will surround him all year long. Goodluck with all that...

In a related note; to Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Rafael Palmeiro on making Baseball's Hall of Fame. This is nothing new, but goodluck with all that...

To Thales Leites on fighting Anderson Silva at UFC 97 on April 18th. Silva had been completely dominant since joining the UFC, but in the Spider's last fight against Patrick Cote he looked lack luster. He's been hearing it ever since. He will use Leites to prove he hasn't lost a step. This may be the last we ever see of Thales Leites. Goodluck with all that...

To anyone trying to get 27 in a row in ESPN's Streak for the Cash. I mean come on. Besse peaked out at 10, I've only gone as high as 5. And talk about frustrating/ addicting. Cripes. But keep trying, it's $1,000,000. Goodluck with all that...

To the World Baseball Classic on being a success. I like the idea, but it can't work. You got top of the line guys pulling out of this thing left and right. Everyone is still in spring training mode. You got pitchers going 2.0 innings deep, etc. Look, I love Olympic basketball, and this is as close as we got to Olympic baseball, with a majority of stars from the around the world, but it just doesn't get me going. Goodluck with all that...

To the team that wins the Big East tournament this year. MSG will be the site for all 16 teams this year for the 1st time. By my count 5 are absolute lock, another 6 are still very much alive, and the conference as a whole only has 3 terrible teams. Let's say for example that Syracuse wins the tourny. In a 4 day span they would have to beat (as the bracket looks right now), Notre Dame, Louisville, Pitt, and UConn. Good lord. I don't like the Orange's chances. Whoever wins, they earned it, goodluck with all that.

To the LA Dodgers signing Manny Ramirez. Goodluck with all that...

To Manny Ramirez signing with the LA Dodgers. Goodluck with all that...

To Scott Boras on making this happen. Goodluck with all that...


What else ya got? Leave a comment.

-Keefe