Dwight Howard for MVP

Earlier Art and I debated the MVP award.  It was between LeBron and Rose.  Then, Wade stepped up and, even though LeBron is the best player in the league, there is no way he can get MVP with Wade on his team playing that well. 

This year, Rose has been the best player.  He has led his team to the best record, and he has been ridiculous shooting, dribbling, and passing.  However, he's not the most valuable.  Just look at this stat line, 12 FG attempts and 33 points.  What player can get 33 points from 12 FG attempts?  Dwight Howard is the MVP. 

He gets my vote, if I had one, because he is valuable on both ends, and clearly the best in his position in the league by far.  The rules and style of basketball have changed giving guards and forwards an edge, but having Howard on your team gives your team home court in the playoffs every year.  I'm not saying his supporting cast is awful, but it's not Deng, Boozer, and Noah or Bosh and Wade. Just his presence in the middle on defense prevents teams from driving the lane or passing inside.  This makes the team one dimensional.  Then on offense, if you don't double, he will drop 9 of 12.  If you do double he will pass to wide open 3 point shooters.  If you foul, then he'll go to the line where, last night, he was 15 of 19.  That's better than most players including Rose and LeBron can shoot. 

I think Rose will win, and he has had a great year, he deserves to win.  But so does Howard, every year.  His value isn't measure in statistics, but if it was, then he would still make a case with 23 PPG, 14 RPG, 60 FG%, 2.5 BPG, and the defensive player of the year.  When the Bulls meet the Magic in round 2, then we will see how it plays out, but I think Howard gives the Magic a legit shot to win that series, and should win the MVP this year.

MLB Predictions

Mike:

AL East: Red Sox - Loaded
AL Central: White Sox - Close race with Twins and Tigers.
AL West: Rangers - I could see the Angels, but I think Rangers are more complete.
AL Wild Card: Yankees - Edge out the Angels and Rays.
AL MVP: Adrian Gonzalez - Really a toss up.  A-Rod, Cabrera, and Hamilton will compete if healthy.
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez - He's just too good.  If he doesn't get the W's then I could see Lester and Price sneaking into the mix.

NL East: Phillies - Please stay healthy.
NL Central: Brewers - Edge out Cards and Reds barely.
NL West: Rockies - Better offense than the Giants.
NL Wild Card: Braves - Would win any other division in the NL.
NL MVP: Albert Pujols - If he stays healthy, he will carry the Cards, but not far enough.  Watch out for Fielder and Braun if Brewers run away with division.
NL Cy Young: Cliff Lee - An ace pitching in the 2 spot is why he edges out the competition.  Watch out for Jimenez,the usual suspects Linecum and Halladay, and Grienke as a dark horse if he's healthy.

AL Champ: Red Sox
NL Champ: Phillies
World Series Champs: Phillies in 7 - Hopefully we win the All-Star game and get home field.  Sad that that's what it will come down to.

Andrew:

AL East: Red Sox
AL Central:Tigers
AL West: Angels
AL Wild Card:Yankees
AL MVP:Teixiera (gonna go nuts this year)
AL Cy Young:Sabathia (gonna put up numbers this year)

NL East: Braves
NL Central:Cards
NL West:Giants
NL Wild Card: Phillies
NL MVP:  Pujols
NL Cy Young: Halladay

AL Champ: Redsox
NL Champ: Braves
World Series Champs: Redsox

Jason:

AL East: Boston Red Sox
AL Central: Chicago White Sox
AL West: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
AL Wild Card: Texas Rangers
AL MVP: Adrian Gonzalez
AL Cy Young: Jon Lester

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central: Milwaukee Brewers
NL West: San Francisco Giants
NL Wild Card: Atlanta Braves
NL MVP: Troy Tulowitzki
NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay

AL Champ: Boston Red Sox
NL Champ: Philadelphia Phillies
World Series Champs: Boston Red Sox

Steve:

AL East: Yankees. The Yanks didn't make a major offseason move because if they weren't gonna add Cliff Lee, there was no move to make. The only thing that stopped them from the WS a year ago was a superhuman effort from Cliff Lee. If Cliff Lee had stayed in Philly, the Yankees would likely be playing for their third straight pennant this year. 

AL Central: Twins. They're just adorable. God Bless Em, they're like the High Holy Days for all you Jews out there. They show up every September with apples and honey and everyone gets all excited. 8 days later, its Yom Kippur, they get swept, and we don't hear from them again until next Rosh Hashana. But to be fair, I think the whole division is adorable. Especially Ozzie.
 

AL West: A's. This and the NL Central will be the two most exciting races in baseball this season. The Rangers are gonna be favored and deservedly so, but I see the Rangers and the Reds having problems repeating dream seasons of a year ago. Cliff Lee is the second best pitcher in all of baseball. Losing him hurts. Even though Texas won the division a year ago by 9 games, I believe he is worth more than 9 wins to any team he takes his talents to, whether its Texas, Philadelphia, or Kansas City.

AL Wild Card: Red Sox. It's hard to envision the Red Sox missing the Playoffs two years in a row, and it's a trendy pick to have the Sox in the World Series. Plus, the rest of the AL East (Rays, Orioles, Blue Jays) look like they may take a step back this season. Therefore, I fully expect two AL East teams to get in for the 5th year in a row.

AL MVP: Robinson Cano: The man can rake and his fielding skills are only getting better. It also doesn't hurt that I have an unhealthy Man-crush on him dating back to the Nike BOOM Ad campaign. Which also featured Tim Tebow. Mauer and Hamilton runners up.

AL Cy Young: C.C. Sabathia: He pretty much wins this award by default when you consider all the top pitching talent (Halladay, Greinke, Lee) migrating to the NL. The only other contender is King Felix. I don't understand how courts can force deadbeat dads to pay child support but they can't force deadbeat mariners to provide run support.

NL East: Phillies. Duh. The Phillies have the second best pitching staff in the history of baseball, just ahead of Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz/Avery of the early 90s and just behind Danny Almonte of the Rolando Paulino All-Stars. Although to be fair, Almonte was the ENTIRE rotation and he was a 16 year old going against 12 year olds.
 

 NL Central: Brewers: Now this is a fun team to watch. The addition of Zach Greinke is enormous. Ryan Braun has replaced Shawn Green as the Great Jewish hope and if I picked against this team, there's the offchance that Cecil Fielder would eat me.

NL West: Giants: Best pitching staff in baseball outside of Philadelphia, which should be enough to win an otherwise ho-hum division. Outside of Colorado, no one in this division has the hitting to dethrone the Giants as division champs.

NL Wild Card: Rockies. They might have the hitting, but outside of Ubaldo, they don't have the pitching to go to war with the Giants. It's a good time to be a Rockies fan, but its hard to envision a World Series contender whose fortunes are riding on C-Go and Tulo without much firepower behind 'em. Gotta have more cowbell, boys.

NL MVP: Roy Halladay. He's that good and I don't think its fair to compare him to mere mortals pitching NL baseball. This guy was the best pitcher in baseball when he had to start 6-10 games per year against the Yankees/Sox/Rays. Without those kind of lineups bumping up his ERA, he is the most valuable player in baseball.
 

NL Cy Young: Cliff Lee. They should re-name this award, "the best player not named Roy Halladay". If he cloned himself and played on a team of Cliff Lee's, he would probably have two rings by now, thats how good he's been. And he's still no Roy Halladay.

AL Champ: Yankees. They were Cliff Lee away a year ago. With Cliffy out of the picture (at least until the series), the Yankees road to October looks fairly manageable. This is a team that needed to build chemistry and find a leader. The Yankees could use another pitcher and if not midseason, they'll go hunting in the offseason. I hear Josh Johnson is available.

NL Champ: Brewers. I can't pick the Phils even though I think it will be them, because I don't trust their bats and I don't trust Oswalt and Hamels. And if you can get to their bullpen, they can be beaten. And also, there is a certain girl in law school from Philly (actually two of them) whose tears I plan on using as lube to pleasure myself when they get knocked out in the ALDS. 

World Series Champs: Brewers. I think they are a more complete team than the Yankees and I'll bet there are nice odds on them. I'm gonna go check in with my bookie boys, I'll see you all later.

Sixers vs. Heat: Youth vs. Experience

I went to the Sixers vs. Heat game last night in Miami.  Before going to the game, I thought my guys (the Sixers) had a chance, but a very slim one.  I only thought that because I am extremely bias.  Player for player the Heat dominate the Sixers.  Just look at the starting line-up comparisons.  Jrue vs. Bibby, Meeks vs. Wade, Iggy vs. LeBron, Brand vs. Bosh, Hawes vs. Dampier.  I guess you can make a case that Jrue is better than Bibby, now that Bibby is nearing the end of his career and lost a step.  You could also make a case for Hawes vs. Dampier, but who really cares about that match-up.  Philly may have more depth with Williams, Turner, and Young.  But then again Miller, Jones, House, Big Z, and Anthony all play their part well, defending the interior and knocking down 3's.  What the game came down to was experience.  Not experience together as a team, just experience in the NBA.

The Sixers looked awe-struck by the stars on the Heat.  They were playing hard on both ends, but got out of their offense every once in a while to go one on one against players that were much better than them.  It reminded me of poker where amateurs play draws against pro's just to try to get lucky and give the pro's a bad beat.  Had the Sixers taken better care of the ball, ran their offense the whole game, and only taken good shots I think they could have had a chance.  Instead, they were too worried about who to give dap to first after the game was over.

The game was very predictable.  Wade, LeBron, and Bosh had 39, 32, and 20 points each, while no one else on the Heat scored more than 6.  The Sixers had 6 players with 10 or more points, and Brand chipped in with 8.  I could have told you that was going to happen before the game even started.  The Heat are top heavy, while the Sixers are balanced.  The Sixers spread the wealth like the Celtics, while the Heat have 3 super stars, but also ball hogs who demand the ball and their stats, and a bunch of role players

The Heat had 28 FTs taken to the Sixers 14 and the Heat out rebounded the Sixers 49 to 31.  That was the difference in the game, but that's what both teams do all the time and is expected when they play against each other.  In Philly, the FT and rebound ratios wound have been a little closer, and the Sixers may steal 2 home games out of 6 in a 7 game series going down 4-2, but they can't beat this Heat team right now.  They are too young.  They are too inexperienced.  Iggy and Brand are the two veterans on the team, but they scored 10 and 8 respectively and were shut down by LeBron and Bosh.  The Heat knew that, even though 7 Sixers average 10 or more PPG, if you stop these 2 from getting into a flow, you can beat the Sixers.  That's what they did and the rest of the Sixers youth got in the way.

From a coaching perspective, the Sixers offense moved the ball well, Collins called TOs at the right times, Williams hit 2 big 3's with around 32-36 seconds left in the quarter capitalizing on the Sixers 2 for 1 opportunities, and the Heat did what they do.  They let the big 3 wear down the less talented Sixers, and they let the 3 point shooters hit down big 3s.

In the playoffs, I'd rather see the Sixers play the Celtics than the Heat.  And I would rather see the Heat-Knicks.  The Sixers and Celtics play the same style and the Heat and Knicks have similar styles as well.  They would be fun series to watch.  I'd like to compare the Sixers to the Celtics, but the Sixers are much younger, and not as good or established yet.  Let's be honest, the Sixers can't beat the Heat or the Celtics without home court in a 7 game series, but tonight showed that the Heat are just too good for the Sixers, but the Sixers can hang if the better teams have an off night.  When Wade and LeBron decided they've had enough (as Shore likes to put it), they turned it on and no one on the Sixers had a chance.  Pierce, Allen, Rondo, and Garnett wont be able to do that one on one type of domination.  They depend on each other for their success. Ultimately, the Sixers have a better chance against a team of really good players than 3 individual amazing players because the really good players can't impose their will without the others, while the big 3 in Miami took the Sixers one on one and the Sixers couldn't stop it.

South Florida Fickle Fans - PART 3 - Panthers

The Florida Panthers have the hardest job of all South Florida teams, but have done surprisingly well.  The Panthers were an expansion team in 1993, just like the Marlins, but have only reached the finals once, where they were swept by a very good Colorado Avalanche team. Hockey, on average, is not as popular in South Florida than the rest of the country.  Additionally, hockey is not as popular in America as compared with the other local sports team’s sports; football, basketball, and baseball.  But hockey fans are die hard and very loyal.  Getting these fans to the games is not hard, but getting other fans in nearly impossible. 

On the sports side, the Panthers want to create a “family” environment with the Panthers.  They want fans to enjoy the game with family and friends shifting the focus from the actual product, the team, and more on the experience as a whole, the activity.  That being said, they have hired a new, highly touted General Manager who is implementing a “blueprint” for the success on the sports side.  They have begun to cut players and payroll, and rebuild with draft picks and free agent signings.  So far, they seem to be on the right track in getting the sports side on par with the entertainment side of the organization.

More important to the Panthers than the hockey team is the BankAtlantic Center (BAC) and the entertainment side of the building.  Since Michael Yormark took over as Chief Operating Officer, the Panthers have taken an entertainment first, sports second approach (as you can see from Jason’s article a few weeks ago).  The BAC is one of the most highly rated and respected venues in the country primarily due to concerts and other events, not hockey.  While working with the Panthers the summer between my freshmen and sophomore years in college, I was able to witness the Corporate Sales and New Business Development departments at work.  They are relentless (as they should be) and they go after every sponsor, every musician, and every event coming through South Florida.  The work ethic by Yormark, Matthew Rickoff, Eric Tomasini, and the rest of the Panthers organization is unparalleled.  I would arrive to work at 8:00am only to be greeted by Yormark, Rickoff, and Tomasini well into a meeting, and an e-mail from Yormark with a daily (or weekly on Mondays) agenda on what had been done the day before, and what needs to be done the day to come.  The most impressive aspect of this entire experience was that the e-mail was written and sent prior to 4:05am.  I knew what was expected of me for the upcoming day or week well before I had even woken up or brushed my teeth.

The culture and environment was also superior to any other organization that I have worked with, which is why the employees were willing to work so hard.  Phrases such as “Dream Big and Dare to Fail” were posted around the office and would inspire all employees.  Casual Fridays, Thursday bagels, and monthly pep-rallies were events that I looked forward to throughout the internship.  This is what makes the Panthers competitive in a sport that is undesirable and a city whose fans are as fickle as the teams that play in it.  In marketing class we called this the “Service Profit Chain,” whereby you invest in your employees, which leads to employee happiness and loyalty, which, in turn, leads to more productive employees.  More productive employees make better products, which leads to more and happier consumers.  Happier customers lead to more loyal consumers, which lead to more overall profits and success.  I can only speak for the Panthers on this topic, but I assure you that they are among the best in the business in this area. 

Ultimately, South Florida sports teams have done an excellent job with the fickle market they have been given.  The Heat have self-generated a superior, exciting product and offer amazing perks for consumers.  The Marlins are listening to the consumers and trying to meet their needs, in addition to thinking of new ways to bring fans closer to the game and make the game more enjoyable.  The Panthers, in addition to a stellar culture and a “family focused” in game environment, look past the sports aspect, and into the entertainment side of the business in order to generate additional excitement and revenue for their organization.  In all, these are three great case studies in sports management, and three great sports organizations despite the fickle South Florida fan base.

USA v. Barry Lamar Bonds

It has been a long time coming, however, the Barry Bonds perjury trial is finally underway.  Bonds, the single season record holder and all time home run king, is being charged with four counts of making false statements to the grand jury and one count of obstruction. Bonds is accused of lying to a grand jury in 2003 about his use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs.  Bonds claims that he “never knowingly” used steroids, with the word “knowingly” being critical to the case.  Each count carries a penalty of up to 10 years, but federal guidelines recommend a sentence of 15-to-21 months.  The trial is expected to take four to six weeks.

The Charges

 

The charges against Barry Bonds in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, relating to his testimony on Dec. 4, 2003:

1. Made false declaration before grand jury when asked “Did you ever take any steroids he (Anderson) gave you?” Bonds answered: “Not that I know of.”

2. Made false declaration before grand jury when asked whether anyone other than the team doctor and other physicians had injected him. “No individuals like Mr. Anderson or associates of his?” Bonds answered: “No, no.”

3. Made false declaration before grand jury when asked “He (Anderson) never gave you anything that you understood to be human growth hormone? Did he ever give you anything like that?” Bonds answered: “No.”

4. Made false declaration before grand jury when asked “Prior to the last season, you never took anything that he (Anderson) asked you to take, other than the vitamins?” Bonds answered: “Right.”

5. Obstruction of justice: “Did corruptly influence, obstruct and impede and endeavor to corruptly influence, obstruct and impede the due administration of justice by knowingly giving material grand jury testimony that was intentionally evasive, false and misleading, including but not limited to the false statements made by the defendant as charged in counts one through four of this indictment.”

The Judge and Lawyers

Susan Illston is judging the case.  Illston is a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California in the Ninth Judicial Circuit.  She assumed office after being nominated by President Clinton in May of 1995.  In 2006, Illston presided over another steroids involved case, US v. Arnold, sentencing Patrick Arnold, the chemist who developed an undetectable performance-enhancing drug for the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO), to three months in prison.

Jeff Novitzky (no relation to Dirk) is the lead counsel for the prosecution.  He is the same federal agent who led the investigation of the BALCO over 6 years ago.  Assistant US Attorney, Matthew A. Parrella, joins Novitzky in their case again Bonds.

Allen Ruby is the lead defense attorney for Bonds.  He has a rich voice that has been regularly inflected with sarcasm.  He insists that Bonds has been telling the truth all along and that the people who claim otherwise are bitter because Bonds broke off relationships with them against their will.  Ruby is joined by Chris Arguedas of Arguedas, Cassman, & Headley LLP Criminal Defense Law Firm.

Mark J. Geragos is the lawyer of Bonds trainer and long time friend, Greg Anderson.  Anderson was Bonds connection to BALCO, and could have been a key witness in the case. Judge Illston, however, has already informed the jury that Anderson was unavailable and that jurors may not draw “any inference from his failure to testify,” after Anderson declined to testify against his good friend for the fourth time and was again sent to jail.

The Jury

The jury is composed of 12 jurors and 2 alternates.  After more than 5 hours of questioning, the lawyers selected these 14 individuals from a pool of around 100 candidates.  The jury is composed of 8 women and 4 men, with the 2 alternates also being women.  Only two members of the jury are black and they are both female, however, Bonds defense team insists that the race and gender of the jury don’t matter.

One potential juror who was dismissed told the judge that he might have been reluctant to render a judgment against a “great athlete like Mr. Bonds.”  Another said that he feels “steroids are like cheating.  You have an advantage over the other players.  It’s not fair.”

Personal Take

While there is a chance that Bonds was telling the truth, things are not looking good for one of the best baseball players of all-time.  Witnesses have claimed that they saw him and Anderson enter rooms with Anderson holding a needle.  Other witnesses have claimed that they overheard Bonds talking about trainers giving him shots, being upset when they wouldn’t, and insisting that if they didn’t they he would do it himself.  Bonds was also heard saying something to the extent of not getting in trouble because “it” is undetectable.

The change in Bonds physical appearance over the years of his suspected steroid usage speaks volumes as well.  While it is not unnatural for a person of that age to gain significant weight, Bonds went from being lean to brawny in a flash.  Additionally, while it is not unusual for an aging player to rely more on power than speed towards the end of their careers, no player in the history of baseball hit home runs at the same pace as Bonds.

Even if he was never told that what he was taking was steroids, shouldn’t he have asked?  Wasn’t he curious why he was putting on muscle and gaining weight like he had never done previously?  This all seems a little fishy to me, and if the jury feels the same way, Bonds could be looking at a few years in jail, not to mention a tarnished legacy. If found guilty, I would not be surprise if the MLB gives Bonds something similar to the Pete Rose treatment, keeping him out of the Hall of Fame as he is the figure head of one of the worst eras in the history baseball.

Conclusion

While I am a huge Barry Bonds fan, think that he should be a first-ballot hall of famer, and believe that he is one of the most dominate athletes of all time, I do not feel that he will win this trial.  There is too much reason to believe that he knew what he was doing all along and lied to the grand jury intentionally in order to protect his reputation.  Athletes of Bonds caliber should know, or at least ask about, what other people are putting into their bodies.  It is hard to believe that Bonds, a 14 time all-star and 7 time NL MVP, did not “know” exactly what he was doing.  That being said, this is a trial that is taking place in California involving a local baseball legend being judged among a jury of his peers with great lawyers on both sides.  This is usually the formula for a very long and interesting case in which anything can happen.

Big East Tourney Pics - Allen Iverson - 1996

Big East Tourney Pics - Donovan McNabb - 1996