Time to move on...

Rex Grossman needs more blame put on him. Peyton Manning needs more pats on the back. And even Lovie Smith needs a good talking to about his mysterious game plan. But after nearly three consecutive months of writing about nothing but football, I think it’s time to let those things go. So instead I’m going to update everyone on some stories in the NBA, MLB and in college hoops.

Note: These are in order of when I think of them, not by importance.

THE NBA
7---The last few seasons each has included some star first year players. Last year it was Chris Paul, ’05 was Dwight Howard, before that LeBron(’04) and Amare’03). But this year has been a rather soft season for rookies. There are only three rooks averaging double figures in points, only two with more then five rebounds a game, and none posting more then four assists a game. Right now the favorite for rookie of the year is Portland guard Brandon Roy.

6---Not many people (Other then me of course, check the 10/27 NBA Preview) thought the Utah Jazz were playoff material. They claimed that the Jazz didn’t have enough scoring, that the bench wasn’t deep enough and that they had too many tight Illini guards on the roster. Wrong, wrong, and true. Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Deron Williams are all scoring more then 17 a game. Bench players Paul Milsap and Matt Harpring have contributed with good defense and scoring to provide Jerry Sloan with some help now that Boozer is hurt. And Williams combined with Dee Brown would form the ILLest backcourt in the league if #11 ever got to see the court.

5---One of the scariest injuries a player can experience is damage to knee cartilage. It impacts their ability to run and jump, both of which are important to a good basketball player. That is why it is so amazing that Suns center Amare Stoudemire has been able to do this season. Last year during training camp the 2003 Rookie of the year tore up his knee and missed almost all of the Suns’ 54-win season. Many people thought he would have to come off the bench this year, since it takes almost 20 months to recover from that type of injury until a player is 100 percent. But Stoudemire has been great for Phoenix this season, putting up almost 20 points and ten rebounds a game for the high-flying Suns.

4---There have been some poor division’s before in basketball history, but I doubt any has been worse then this year’s Atlantic (A.K.A. the Titanic Division). The first place team, Toronto, is three games over .500 and has the Eastern conference’s sixth best record. Behind them are the Nets, who either win or lose by a buzzer beater every time they step on the court. The Knicks are in third, and we all know how disastrous that team is. Philly is in fourth, and they have already rid themselves of their two best players this season. And in last are the Boston Celtics, current holders of a 17 game losing streak. This division is scary bad. But even scarier is that one of these squads is going to make the playoffs.

3---Nobody denies that Kobe Bryant is an incredible player, a man capable of dominating the game on the offensive end like nobody else in the league. But very few people thought that he was a good enough teammate to lead his team to a top playoff spot in the difficult Western Conference. That is why it is so surprising to see Kobe’s Lakers in second place in their division despite the fact that Bryant is seven less points then he did last year. Thanks to players like Smush Parker, Luke Walton, Brian Cook and Andrew Bynum stepping up, as well as KB-24’s newfound unselfishness, the Lakers are serious threats for the West Coast crown.

2---Since I was out of town at the time it occurred, and it was followed by my favorite college football team winning the national title and my favorite professional football team making the Super Bowl, I never got to offer my opinion on two important Denver Nuggets news items. The first was the December 16 fight with the New York Knicks that ended up getting the league’s leading scorer, Carmello Anthony, suspended for an outrageous 15 games. I thought it was crazy how ‘Mello, who got purposely shoved by a Knicks player and then retaliated, got 15 games while the NY player only got 10. And how did George Karl and Isaiah Thomas, the two coaches who instigated the fight, not get sent down for at least one game? I think this is another one of David Stern’s ploys, wanting to make an example out of a star player. But 15 games is way too much.

The other piece of Nuggets news that I never addressed was the trade for Allen Iverson. I love this trade for many reasons, but the most obvious is selfish. Since A.I. is no longer the only option on his squad, as he was his entire 76er career, his career will be extended, giving me more chances to watch the Answer at work. Though it hasn’t provided much success thus far, I think that the Nuggets can be a dangerous team if they make the playoffs because they have two guys that can absolutely take over a game and win it for them.

1----Here are my picks for All-Star Weekend:

Rookie-Sophomore game----The Soph’s will win behind the splendid guard play of Deron Williams and Luther Head.

Skills Challenge---This has a shot at being the most intriguing matchup of the weekend. With Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade and Steve Nash facing off in a basketball obstacle course, we could be seeing the four most complete players in the league doing what they do best. I’ll take Kobe in this one, because he’s the most complete player in the NBA in my opinion.

Three-point contest----Dirk Nowttzki is the best shooter in the league, but I’m going to take Gilbert Arenas in this one. Agent Zero loves making himself known to people, and this is a great chance for him to do that.

Dunk contest----Honestly, I don’t care who wins this. I’m more excited to see the judges (Kobe, Vince Carter, Dr. J, Dominique, and Air Jordan) critique the art form they helped create. But since I’m forced to pick, I’ll go with Boston’s Gerald Green.

All Star Game----For the first time in a while, the East actually has equal talent to the West. The difference is the big men, where Shaq is a wasted spot on the East squad. Amare, Duncan, KG and Dirk will dominate the paint and the West will emerge victorious to give their Finals representative the all important home field advantage come June. (Oh sorry, wrong sport). The MVP of this game is someone who will be playing in the fourth quarter, so I’m choosing Kevin Garnett.


COLLEGE BASKETBALL
I’m just going to go through the big six conferences, providing a breakdown for each.

Pac 10---Many people think that this is the nation’s premier conference, mainly because of the depth. UCLA, Oregon, USC, Stanford, Washington, Washington State, Cal and Arizona are all NCAA tournament contenders, though only most likely only six of them will get in. The Bruins are obviously the cream of the crop, but I think the team that will go the furthest come March is the Ducks, because they have more offensive weapons.

Big East---A down year for the mega-conference. Pitt, Marquette and Georgetown are the league’s best teams, and there not even that good. The next tier of teams, which includes schools like Syracuse, Louisville, and Notre Dame, are not very good. I don’t see any team in this league getting to the Tourney’s second weekend, unless Marquette gets a good matchup against a team that has no big men.

SEC----There’s the defending national champion’s and then everybody else. The teams that were supposed to challenge the Gators in the conference, Tennessee, LSU, Alabama and Kentucky, are all struggling. Especially the Tigers. A Final Four team a year ago, LSU brought back a good collection of players, yet has gotten much worse. At 13-10 with no marquee wins, they will have to do some work to even get a NCAA invitation. If Florida can stay healthy and focused, you can pencil them into the Final Four.

Big 12---This conference has the nation’s most entertaining coach (Texas Tech’s Bob Knight), most surprising team (Texas A&M) and most talented player (Kevin Durant). That alone makes this a league a must-watch for the rest of the regular season. I really like A&M, because they are really a complete team. Kansas is also a really good team, but their lack of a go-to scorer scares me. The Longhorns, AKA the Durant’s, are definitely not a team that you want your favorite squad facing in the NCAA’s.

Big 10---Really only a two team league with a couple of other on-lookers. Ohio State and Wisconsin both very good, but I’d give the edge to the Badgers in a head-to-head. The Buckeyes have won every game they are supposed to, but their most impressive victory this season is a two-point win against an average Tennessee team. Until they win a game against a great team, it’s hard for me to see them going deep in March. Outside of those two, I expect Indiana and my Illini to also make the tourney.

ACC---Another league where I feel two teams are ahead of everybody else. Boston College and North Carolina are both extremely talented, except I’m not too sure the Eagles can go deep in the tourney with only one big-time scorer. Outside of those squads, the best team in this conference is Virginia, who may have the best backcourt in the land. If Duke wasn’t Duke, people would be saying they are on the bubble. But since the NCAA has to show Coach K’s Chevy ads, they have to let them in the tournament. Also coming from this conference is Virginia Tech and Clemson (If they don’t blow it).



MLB
My only baseball story right now is the saga of Roger Clemens and his lack of retirement. For what seems to be the fifth off-season in a row, the Rocket claims to be done with baseball, yet is still looking for a team that will take him. I don’t understand this at all. Either come back and sign with a team in December, like every other free agent, or retire and leave us alone. I’m not a Clemens basher, but it’s ridiculous that this guy makes everybody wait on him just because he’s a future Hall-of-Famer. I’m sure if he does come back, it will be with Houston, and he’ll end up beating the Cubs in a big September game. So Roger, if you’re looking for my opinion, I say retire. Forever.