The Sports Note

 Well that was five hours of my life I won't ever get back. Yeah, thats right, I actually watched the entire draft, from start to finish. I know I'm not the only one to do so, so I'm not looking for a cookie or anything but man am I exhausted. I know there are a ton of people out there who live-blogged the thing (Simmons should have his annual running diary up sometime today) but I can't imagine what they managed to write about. 

 If anything this draft will probably be known for the non-stop trading that happened. Five of the top eight picks got traded and Portland was wheeling and dealing all night, they made 6 trades. Honestly teams just seemed to be trading for the sake of making a move. Take the T-Wolves. They drafted Brandon Roy at number 6 overall. Then they traded Roy to the Trail Blazers for Randy Foye, the 7th overall pick. Why didn't the Wolves just take Foye at #6? Why draft him and then trade him? Yeah they got some cash in their deal with the Blazers but I mean come on, lets be real here people. It was dumb to have these kids go up on stage with their team hat on, only everyone knows that the team on the hat has already traded them. Most be weird for them but I guess the millions of bones they are about to get would make it alright. 

So yeah thats the kind of night it was. Here's a complete run down of all the trades that happened. I won't do winners or losers or anything like that but here's some random thoughts I jotted down while watching.

• Whats with all the dark suits? Lots of blacks and blues, very boring. Where's Jalen Rose and his red pinstripe suit when you need him?
• The Charlotte Bobcats could be something watch next year. Adding Adam Morrison, to go along with Emeka and Raymond Felton gives them a nice coreEmekauild around.
• PFeltontraded for Rodney Carney, who I laround.Phillyey projects to be another Andre Iguodala…except the 76ers already have Iguodala. The two guys are the same player. I like the player but the team makes no sense to me.
• Another team making a duplicate move, the Pacers. They drafted SF Shawne Williams when they already have Danny Granger at the same position. Now I'm not going to critique Larry Legend but this move confuses me, especially when they needed a PG and could have have Marcus Williams.
• Please, please, please say you were watching when the Knicks picked 20th. I made the mistake of earlier in the day telling FOTSN Senor Mexican that Isiah Thomas drafts well and in my defense the guy has drafted Channing Frye and Tracey McGrady, among others. Anyway yesterday Thomas took Renaldo Balkman from South Carolina. Greg Anthony was speechless, Stephen A. Smith was dubious and Jay Bilas said the guy might not have even been drafted had it not been for Thomas. Basically an awful pick. Good luck Knicks fans. Enjoy thinking about all the guys you could have had with the #2 pick next year as you watch Eddie Curry plod up and down the court.
• The trade of the day involving players already in the NBA was pretty interesting, Sebastian Telfair and Theo Ratliff got sent to the Celtics for Raef LaFrentz, Dan Dickau and the #7 pick which, through the T-Wolves trade, ended up being Brandon Roy. Delonte West and Telfair is a pretty quick back court for the Celtics but its also kinda small. I'd have kept the pick and stuck with Foye who's going to be better then Telfair IMO. By adding Dickau to Steve Blake Portland has a monopoly on white PGs not named Steve Nash. Now if they could swing a deal for Luke Ridenour..
• The Shane Battier and Rudy Gay trade is on hold till mid July because Battier is still a base year compensation player, etc. Its complicated but if it goes down it'll be in a couple weeks. Seems like the Rockets are taking the known short term over the potential long term. They know Battier is a solid all-around player who fits in well in the Rockets lineup. Ray may someday be a star but he can't help the Rockets next year like Battier can and next year the expectations are going to be huge for McGrady and Yao to make a real run.
• J.J. Redick didn't do that poorly for himself, landing in O-town. FOTSN TVA and MHW were both pissed at this pick but I don't think its that bad. Redick will get some open looks with Dwight Howard getting attention in the post and you know Redick can hit open shots. A backcourt of Redick and Jameer Nelson is very small though and could hurt defensively. I'd have taken Rodney Carney here myself, as would MHW.
• Hey Darius Washington, good idea leaving school, you didn't even get drafted. Smart move. Kevin Pittsnoggle didn't get drafted either, which suprises me.

Thats what I was thinking. How about the so-called experts out there? Marc Narducci at Foxsports.com breaks down all the trades . Interesting, he notes that Stromile Swift is a part of that Houston-Memphis deal for Battier and Gay. I hadn't seen that. Means the Rockets gave up on Swift pretty quickly. Now I like that trade less of Houston. 

Peter Gammons Update

The best baseball writer in the Gammons, Peter Gammons, is out of surgery and listed in good cGammonsn . His wife released the following statement:

"Peter is resting comfortably after surgical repair of a brain aneurysm," his wife, Gloria, said in a statement. "We appreciate all of your good wishes and ask that you keep Peter in your thoughts and prayers. Please understand that we are asking for our privacy at this time as we focus on Peter's recovery."

 Peter's first CD is to be released next week. Here's hoping he'll be healthy enough to tour. Also ESPN put up a little chat thingie where people can post their well-wishethingieubt Peter will actually read it but its nice to see how many people care about the guy. Again, best wishes on a speedy recovery to Gammons. 

Feel good story of the day

We'll try Gammons this a more regular feature, giving you stories that don't involve Major League pitchers punching their wives in the face. There are actually good stories out there involving sports figures. And this one's a pretty good one. Matt LaChappa was the Padres second selection in theLaChappaaft . Tragically he suffered back-to-back heart attacks that have left him confined to a wheelchair. Despite not having been in a game in over 10 years the Padres have kept him on their minor league payroll:

“When he became a six-year free agent, I just renewed him for six more years,” said Priscilla Oppenheimer, the Padres' director of minor league operations. “Nobody's said that I shouldn't, so I keep doing it. To me, it was the right thing to do. If they gave me any static about it, I would have taken it.”

The baseball salary LaChappa draws is relatively insignificant – even by the Friars' modest standards – but the gesture is absolutely grand. It helps the disabled pitcher retain his insurance coverage and fulfills a promise Oppenheimer made when the Padres picked the El Capitan lefty with their No. 2 selection in the 1993 June draft.

&ld
quo;When he was drafted and he came into the office to sign, I've never seen such a troop of tribal people,” Oppenheimer said. “I think he was the first full-blooded American Indian ever drafted.”

Oppenheimer assured LaChappa's parents then that they needn't worry about their teenage son because, “I'll take care of him.” Three years later, when LaChappa was stricken in the bullpen in Rancho Cucamonga, Oppenheimer proved even better than her word.

Narrowly interpreting a vague promise by then-CEO Larry Lucchino that LaChappa would “always be a Padre,” Oppenheimer kept the young player on the club payroll and placed pictures of him on her desk.

Pretty classy of the Padres to do this. Hats off to them.

Odds and Ends

This needs to stop. Evander Holyfield, at the age of 43, is going to fight again in August . This is just sad. The guy can't fight anymore. He got his ass kicked so badly last time the state of NY banned him but good old Texas, always willing to see a guy die, is up for the bout. This is why boxing needs to be regulated because you know Evander is going to end up in some awful mental state, if not dead, from being hit so many times. I agree completely with everything said here .

Like the title for today’s column? I saw it on t-shirts Oregon State Beaver baseball fans were wearing at the College World Series. Yes I would dearly like a shirt like that. No I would probably not have the balls to wear it about in daily life but it would be cool to own nonetheless. Congrats to the Beavers and their fans though as yesterday they won their first NCAA baseball championship.

The Beavers beat UNC 3-2 in the 3rd and deciding game of their 3 game finals. Game 3 was actually pretty fun to watch but it kinda sucks how it ended. The Beavers scored the winning run on a throwing error in the 8th by the UNC second baseman. The Beavers were true underdogs though the entire series. They are the first team to win the championship after losing two games in Omaha. Not only that, they got blown out of their first CWS game, losing 11-1 to Miami. Then they rattled off 4 straight wins to get to the final series to face UNC. They lost the first game to UNC, then one two straight. ESPN.com columnist Pat Forde writes:

For a school that was never supposed to be able to compete with the warm-weather competition, this was a historic breakthrough. Oregon State becomes the second-most northerly college to win a national baseball championship.

For a team that could never breathe easily in Omaha, this was a spectacular run of do-or-die baseball. The Beavers won six straight elimination games to capture the CWS.

And for a power-deficient squad that had to get by with small ball, defense and the men on the mound, this was a pitching tour de force. Jonah Nickerson, Kevin Gunderson and Dallas Buck threw until their wings were screaming, their legs were burning and their backs were locking up.

So it was a good CWS but here’s something that I wonder: are these kids still in school? I mean its almost July and they are still playing; does the NCAA consider this part of the spring academic semester? Should all the seniors, in theory, have graduated college almost two months ago? I know alot of these kids have been drafted and leave for pro ball in a couple of weeks but what about the rest? Don’t these kids have to go back to classes in August or so? Thats not much of a summer break. I guess winning a national championship is worth not being able to go to the beach.

NL All-star game starters

C Paul Lo Duca, Mets
1b Albert Pujols, Cardinals
2b Chase Utley, Phillies
SS Jose Reyes, Mets
3b David Wright, Mets
OF Jason Bay, Pirates
OF Alfonso Soriano, Nationals
OF Carlos Beltran, Mets

Except for perhaps Lo Duca, seems to me like the fans are getting the job done. Some what suprisingly Jason Bay is the second leading vote getter among NL players, behind only Pujols. Clearly this is a Mets-dominated lineup but hey, they deserve it. On Sunday the rosters for the AL and NL will be announced.

More Mariotti

Michael Wilbon: I’ve avoided this topic publicly, but no more.

Ozzie shouldn’t have said what he said. He knows better. And I’m glad Kenny Williams, the White Sox GM, has said if he can’t clean up his act he’ll be fired.

But Ozzie owes no apology to Jay, my friend for 16-plus years and someone I like very much. Jay can say all he wants that he’s not welcome in the White Sox clubhouse…Really? He writes hyper-critical pieces and doesn’t go in the clubhouse for years, then thinks he won’t be resented years later?

Anybody who reads my column knows I write critically about athletes and coaches. It’s my job. But I learned from Tony, Dave Kindred, Ken Denlinger, my longtime sports editor George Solomon, and of course, the late Shirley Povich, that if you’re going to throw punches, you’d better be able to take punches. You show up the next day so that the player/coach/manager can take a shot back at you…even if it means a physical confrontation…And I’ve never had one of those because a player can walk right up to me and say, "I think you’re full of …..!" Or whatever. If you know the player/coach/manager/GM and it’s a local situation, it shouldn’t even be a surprise. I’ve called people I know and said, "Listen, I’ve got to light you up for this in the paper." Sometimes they say nothing. Sometimes they say, "Hold on, let me give you my side." Sometimes they say, "I respect you for telling me."

There are all sorts of ways to deal with this, but not showing up in the clubhouse isn’t one of them. It’s inexcusable.

When you write tough, critical pieces you show up the next day.

I’ve switched off days to go to a locker room or practice the day after. I once drove out to Redskins Park on Thanksgiving morning to simply be there if Norv Turner wanted to go off on me…which he did…then we ate lunch and laughed about it. Had I not gone, how high might the resentment have risen? And how long might it have lasted?

This isn’t debatable, it’s no optional. It’s mandatory. Go to the locker room, period. And Jay doesn’t live by the code. And now, understandably, the White Sox are on his butt.

I once asked Rod Strickland why in the world he was chatting amicably with a writer who had ripped him that morning. And Rod said, "Oh man, Jack (fictional name)is cool with me. He’s always there where I can find him. The guys I don’t talk to are the ones who write stuff good or bad and don’t show. I’m always cool with Jack."

I never forgot that conversation, which took place more than 10 years ago. And Rod’s sentiment is the sentiment of 90 percent of the guys I’ve covered. Athletes respect people who are right there, available and accountable. And if you aren’t, you get what you deserve.

NBA trade rumors and crazy Larry Brown

Foxsports.com’s Mike Kahn mentions the Raptors trading Charlie Villaneuva to the Bucks for T.J Ford and Jamal Magloire.

Chicago Tribune talks about a blockbuster three-way with the main parts being Carlos Boozer going to the 76ers, Allen Iverson going to the Celtics and Wally Szczerbiak.

And the Larry Brown/Knicks picture is getting a little clearer. The NY Times is reporting that Larry Brown wanted the Knicks to waive Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Jalen Rose, Jerome James and Maurice Taylor. Yeah, basically half the team. Oh and all that would cost the Knicks at least $150 mil in salaries they would still have to pay. Now we know that Brown likes to shuffle players but even that would have been a bit much.

Odds and Ends

SI.com’s Ian Thomsen gives us his NBA mock draft. He’s got LaMarcus Aldridge going #1 to the Raptors and Adam Morrison falling all the way to #8.

Well that sucked. In losing to Ghana the US got themselves booted from the World Cup. There will be no repeat of 2002, not after this year’s pathetic performance. In three games the US managed to score one goal (they also got an own goal from Italy), Clint Dempsey’s nice goal yesterday. Offensively the team didn’t show up in any of the games. Landon Donovan, paging Landon Donovan. You aren’t a star Landon if you disappear so completely in a World Cup. Did you even make the trip to Germany buddy? Didn’t seem like it. The thing that pisses me off the most is all the whining about refs we heard from players and Coach Bruce Arena yesterday. Yeah, OK, the ref made a bad call and gave Ghana an undeserved penalty kick. You still gave up a bad first goal when Claudio Reyna got burned and you still needed more then one goal to win and you couldn’t produce. And the thing is everything was playing out like you needed it to: Italy beat the Czech Republic. All you had to do to advance from group play was beat Ghana but you didn’t have enough heart to do it, so stop whining, please, its embarrassing.

SI.com’s Grant Wahl give us three quotes from the US squad complaining about the call:

“In 100 years that’s not a penalty,” said Landon Donovan.

“Easily the softest penalty kick of the tournament,” Claudio Reyna added.

“To have to chase the game on that call was kind of remarkable in a game at this level,” said U.S. manager Bruce Arena.

Like I said, shut up guys. Landon you didn’t show up the whole Cup; Reyna the first goal was your fault and Arena, buddy, you coached like a rookie. As Wahl goes on to write:

True, but the U.S. hardly covered itself in glory on the attacking end of the field, either. The Yanks managed only three shots on goal against Ghana (and four in the entire tournament), and their offensive star, Landon Donovan, never displayed any of the dangerous attributes that have made him the U.S.’s No. 3 all-time goal-scorer at age 24.

SI.com’s Jonah Freedman looks towards the future of US soccer:

So let’s look to the future while the body is still warm. We’ve probably seen the last of veterans Kasey Keller, Eddie Lewis, Claudio Reyna, Brian McBride and Eddie Pope. Those are all big cleats to fill.
As Freedman notes, the offical plan is for the US to be credible contenders for the Cup in 2010 in South Africa. Lets just say it seems like we are a little behind schedule.
Foxsports.com’s Jamie Trecker wonders where the US’s heart was:

This American team heads home with many questions. What is the fate of the mercurial Landon Donovan, who looked dazzling against Italy and childish against all other comers? And how could the Americans, even ignoring the inflated status FIFA imposed upon them, show such heart and yet disappoint so utterly?

There is a lot of speculation out there that coach Bruce Arena, who’s stock was so high before the Cup, won’t be back for 2010. Arena has been the coach for eight years which is a really long time to be a national team coach. Arena also seemed unable to push any of the right buttons this Cup and for some reason stayed with the 4-5-1 formation despite the US’s inability to create any offense. Obviously the US needs to regroup. What sucks is that they lost an oppertunity to draw in the casual sports fan. With so much hype leading up to the Cup, the US had a real chance to build their fan support in this country but now they’ve blown that.

The insanity in New York continues
Finally what everyone has expected came to pass: Larry Brown is out and Isiah Thomas is in as coach of the Knicks. Its hard to know really what to say about the Knicks at this point. Last year was, on so many levels, just awful. The fault for that lies squarely on the shoulders of James Dolan, the owner of the Knicks. What in the world would lead a successful businessman to entrust his franchise to Isiah Thomas, first as GM, now as coach and GM? You’ve got to be out of your mind. I mean, has Dolan never met Thomas or heard about what he did to the CBA, the Raptors, the Pacers or the freaking Knicks? Hello Dolan, that guy who’s been spending your money as fast as he can to construct a really crappy team with no hope of winning? Yeah you just hired that guy to coach your team. Good job on that one buddy.

Mike Lupica, columnist for the NY Daily News, generally pisses me off but when you agree with the guy its nice to have him on your side. Today he rips in to Dolan and Thomas:

James Dolan finally fires Brown, a great coach who had a real bad year coaching the Knicks. Dolan does not fire Isiah Thomas, the incompetent general manager who spent $125 million on a Knicks’ team that won 23 games last year, an all-time world’s record sum for incompetence in the NBA.

Thomas has absolutely no résumé that does not involve either dribbling or shooting a basketball. But now he not only gets to keep his current job, he gets another one:

Coaching the Knicks.

It is truly wonderful. Only in an operation run by a lump like Dolan does a job performance like Thomas’ rate what is in effect a promotion. Somehow, though, he has convinced Dolan that only he, Isiah Thomas, really wants the Knicks to win. It is the best lie of all from Thomas, which is saying something.

Its funny how Brown is looking like some sort of winner out of all this. Lets not forget that Brown and the Knicks were not very good last year and that Brown didn’t take anything in stride; rather he complained the entire way, often through the media. Brown is still owed $40 mil which David Stern will decide how much of that he gets. Nice work if you can get it I guess. The irony here is that there is no where to go but up for the Knicks; they probably will play better for Isiah because really they can’t play any worse then they did under Thomas. If anything next year’s Knicks will be a fun circus to watch.

World Cup Fix
Thank God for the Slate’s Explainer. Now we have an answer, kinda, for the most pressing question of the World Cup: What the hell is that stuff they spray on player’s injuries? Well according to the Explainer it’s a whole lot of things, or more accurately, different trainers use different stuff. And more importantly there’s no real proof that the spray, whatever it may be, is actually working. Still good to know though.

Look at Ronaldo. People have been ripping him for his lackadaisical play and for perhaps being a tad heavy. So what does the man do? Why go out and score two goals against Japan in Brazil’s 4-1 victory. Ronaldo was looking a little bored in Brazil’s first two games but clearly he was tired of people trashing him because he look very motivated yesterday. Incidently Ronaldo is now tied for the most goals scored in World Cup history and there is little doubt he’ll own that record by the time this Cup is over.

Nice job Bruins, way to trade away an MVP
For our money the NHL does the best job in handing out their post season awards. They do it like the Oscars, with an award dinner, tuxes and everything. Last night people got their hardware and congrats go to Joe Thornton of San Jose who won the Hart Trophy (MVP), Alex Ovechkin who brought home the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the year) and Miikka Kiprusoff who got the Vezina Trophy (best goalie). Joe Thornton of course was traded away this season by the Bruins. Of course he then went on to lead the league in points, so nice job Boston.

The NBA Draft is coming
We’re only a week or so a way from the NBA Draft people. Oh the suits, the awkwardness. I can hardly wait. As we get closer there will be approx. 1 million mock drafts put out, most of which will have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. Ah sports pundits. Here’s one from SI.com that looks at the draft now that the early entry people have declared themselves in or out.

Odds and Ends
Wow, people even do mock NHL drafts. Who knew? This guy has the Penguins taking Erik Johnson number 1 overall. Sounds about right to me.

New MLB Power Rankings out from Foxsports.com’s Dayn Perry. Tigers hold down the top spot. OK here’s a little question for people: If the Tigers are right now the consensus best team in the AL, does that mean people really think they are going to the Series? Over the Yankees, the Red Sox or the White Sox? Its weird, people think they are the best at the moment but I bet few people have them winning the AL.