A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
Thanksgiving Day is a day reserved for two things: food and football.
The games have not exactly been the most entertaining affairs the last few years, but this year is completely different and the matchup between the Miami Dolphins and the Dallas Cowboys is no exception.
Can you name the last Brewer to win the NL MVP award?
The answer is no one.
That is because the Brew Crew has not had an MVP award winner since Robin Yount in 1989 when they were a member of the American League. They have their first NL MVP award winner this year in Ryan Braun.
The Browns of Cleveland were embarrassed in their final game of the 2010 season by the hated Pittsburgh Steelers 41-9 on January 2nd. On January 3rd the Browns fired head coach Eric Mangini after a much maligned two-year stint that featured a 1-11 start last year, flashes of good play this year, and a struggle down the stretch to end up 5-11.
The rumors immediately started swirling. Many thought it was obvious that Mike Holmgren would come down from the front office and take over the sidelines for the Browns. Others thought maybe John Gruden would return to Ohio and coach the team. There were rumblings of big name coordinators such as Marty Mornhinweg in Philadelphia and Mike Mularkey in Atlanta.
Well, the rumors are done and now Cleveland has it’s man.
And it’s….drumroll please…
Pat Shurmur!
(Note: I almost put Paul as his first name at first…I hope this isn’t a sign of anything).
Ted Williams, the homeless man who’s dilemma went viral recently (including right here on MSF) due to his made-for-radio voice and engaging personality got a win today.
As reported earlier today by Darren Rovell, Williams was hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers after members of their front office viewed the video in which he displayed his talents by the side of a Columbus area highway for spare change from passing motorists.
I recently blogged on the topic of Pistons GM Joe Dumars, a former guard for Detroit, and the perception that he is a genius. This got me to thinking about his partner in the backcourt for those Pistons championship teams of the late eighties….the great Isiah Thomas.
As you know, in October of this year Isiah Thomas was taken to a New York hospital after being founded unconcious in his home. The incident was ruled as a “accidental overdose of a prescription sleeping pill”. This was just another scar on the post NBA career for Thomas. The real surprise in this particular incident is 
that he insinuated that his 17 year old daughter was actually the patient. Why he would try to throw his 17 year old daughter under the bus when it could easily be proven otherwise? Furthermore…what the hell happened to Isiah Thomas?
Isiah Thomas has some staggering statistics as a player. He attended Indiana University for two years under Bob Knight. He was on the 1981 National Championship team and was named the Most Outstanding Player for the NCAA tournament that year. He then left and was drafted with second pick of the 1981 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. He was a force right away as he made the NBA all rookie team. He continued to dominate at the point throughout his career and even lead the Bash Brothers teams to two championships in the 1988-’89 and 1989-’90 seasons. Here is a rundown of some of his statistics from Basketball-Reference.com:
- NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player (1981)
- NBA All Rookie Team (1982)
- 12x NBA All Star (every year from 1982-1993)
- 3x All-NBA First Team (1984-1986)
- 2x NBA SEcond Team (1983,1987)
- 2x NBA Champion (1989,1990)
- NBA Finals MVP (1990)
- U.S. Olympian (1980…never played because of the boycoot, but, was named to the team)
- J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (1987)
He also scored 18,822 points had 9,061 (9.3 pg) Assists and 1,861 Steals in his career. He is the Pistons career leader in the following categories: games played, points, steals and assists. He is fourth all-time NBA in assists.
These are staggering statistics that led to him being chosen as one of the top 50 players of all time for the 50th anniversary team. He was also named to the Basketball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
He retired as a player in 1994. This was when his career did a 180 and took a turn for the worse.
First, he bought in to the expansion Toronto Raptors franchise becoming a part owner and VP. He was run out of town over disagreements with management. He then tried a forray into broadcasting.
The real trouble started when he bought the CBA in 1998. The league later went into bankruptcy and no longer exists. Isiah Thomas has been given a lot of the blame for the leagues demise. The big reason for this is that he turned down a profitable offer from the NBA to turn the CBA into a development league for the NBA. Thomas declined. The NBA later created the NBDL as a farm system for the NBA which basically made the CBA obsolete.
Thomas was then hired on to replace Larry Bird as the head coach for the the Indiana Pacers. This was Isiah’s first try at head coaching and he was given a stacked team. The Pacers had just won the Eastern Conference title and were poised for more success. But, Isiah never got them out of the first round of the playoffs. They had the talent, but Isiah just wasn’t experienced enough for head coaching. It’s hard
to believe that he couldn’t get a team with young talent in Ron Artest and Brad Miller and a veteran leader in sharp shooter Reggie Miller out of the first round of the playoffs. This led to him being replaced in Indiana as head coach.
In 2003, he moved on to destroy the New York Knicks franchise, where he was named President of Basketball operations. He also became head coach in 2006. By the time he became head coach in New York he had helped them amass the highest payroll in the entire NBA…..and the 2nd worse record. On top of that, there were allegations of sexual harrasment and racism by a Madison Square Garden employee.
To me, not many have fallen harder than Isiah Thomas after his career as a player ended. I think bad decision after bad decision may have finally taken its toll. He has won chamionships as a player, dazzled fans with his insane ball-handling abilities and could get to the hoop like no other point guard of his time. But, he fell from an NBA All Star (and personally one of my favorite players) to the the brink of death.
He ripped apart franchises and even destroyed an entire league. All of this finally culminated this Fall with him throwing his 17 year old daughter under the bus for his “accidental overdose”. This is a tragic epilogue to an exciting and dominating NBA career, and it should be a warning sign to current NBA players to not bite off more than you can chew when your playing career is over.
[tags]isiah thomas, nba[/tags]
This may be a little premature, but there are no major championships left to be decided this year. But, I want to get some discussion on this topic going. So, I have two questions for the sports fans out there.
What was the best city to be a sports fan in 2008?
What was the worst city to be a sports fan in 2008?
I think the best city argument can come down to a few different cities.
1. Boston
Positive: Super Bowl runner up, Return to NBA dominance with their first championship since the 80′s, and another post season run in baseball.
Negatives: The Tom Brady injury, Tom Brady went to Michigan, lost the super bowl in which they were heavily favored and ruined their historical season.
2. New York
Positive: Their improbable super bowl win puts them in contention for the year.
Negative: the Yankees didn’t make the playoffs this year for the first time since the early 90′s, Brett Favre moved there.
3. Philadelphia
Positive: First World Series win in over 20 years.
Negative: Franchise QB doesn’t know the rules of football.
4. Detroit – Positive: NHL championship…which is pretty neat…I guess; finally got rid of Matt Millen; Pistons made another post season run.
Negative: Detroit Lions still winless after 10 games, the Detroit Tigers in general, and it’s in Michigan.
I don’t think you can argue that Seattle was the worst city in which to be a sports fan this year…maybe worst of all time.
Postives: ………coffee?
Negatives: Lost NBA team to Oklahoma City, Kept WNBA team, Mariners were basement dwellers, the Seahawks are horrible and apparently the Space Needle doesn’t actually go to outer space.
What city do you think was the best?
Loading ...Worst?
Leave your comments below so we can debate them.
The Cleveland Cavaliers won their 8th straight game last night beating the New Jersey Nets 106-82. They are now 9-2 after going 1-2 in the first three games. The Cavs dominated on the boards in New Jersey and also had 8 blocks on defense. The big story of the night (as usual) was LeBron James, who scored his 11,000th point, beseeching Kobe Bryant as the youngest player ever to do so in the NBA.
James had 31 points 8 boards and 4 assists for Cleveland on the road in front of his buddy Jay-Z’s struggling New Jersey squad. He also had help. Newly acquired PG Mo Williams helped with 16 pts and 6 assists. Guard Delonte West also chimed in with 16 pts while going a perfect 4 for 4 from three point range.
This is exactly how I want to see the Cavs winning games. Defense, rebounding, LeBron James, and excellent outside shooting. While James hasn’t had much help on the offensive end of the court in his tenure in Cleveland, they have always played tough “D” and rebounded well.
King James has been dominating so far this year averaging 29.9 ppg, 8 rebounds a game and 7 dimes a game while getting a lot more help than in years previous from his supporting cast. I think that right now Cleveland is playing as well as any team in the Eastern Conference. I like that they can be physical, they hustle on D and they have a defined leader. I know Lebron James is 23; but, he’s been in the league so long already that he is just about 30 in basketball years.
LeBron James wants a championship badly and he has 2 years left in Cleveland. I hope that he can get a championship before his contract is up to help him really consider staying with the Cavs for his entire career. James told an ESPN reporter before the game, “I think you do what is best for you and you do what is best for your career,” when asked about his future in Cleveland. LeBron also made it clear that he wants to play for a franchise that gives him the chance to win multiple NBA championships.
I’m sure Cleveland fans would rather him say something like, “I’m from Northeast Ohio and I will never leave, not even if I’m being chased by a rabid Godzilla with a machine gun cock.” But, we will have to wait and see.
The Cavs must do everything that they can to keep him. LeBron James should get whatever he wants.He is the best player in the NBA and having him on your team automatically puts you in contention for an NBA championship.
[tags]lebron james, cleveland cavaliers, nba[/tags]
Some people (read: fans of the Detroit Pistons) have regaled their GM Joe Dumars as a genius. The first thing that comes to mind is that SNL Weekend Update bit “Really!?…you think Joe Dumars is a genius…really”. Granted….he’s good. The Pistons have a championship this decade and they make the Eastern Conference finals every year. But, that’s over.
Dumars kept threatening to break up this team over the summer. He said no one was safe. Then he finally made his move. He finally did it in the first week of the season sending Chauncey Billups back to Colorado to play for Denver along with Antonio McDyess (who was later released) for former super star shooting guard Allen “Practice?” Iverson. Dumars wanted to get rid of Billups’s's’s big contract…I get that. Why not trade for another or maybe a bigger wingman (Carmelo Anthony)? Last time I checked, Rip Hamilton plays the same position as A.I. On top of that, Iverson is not really known as a team player or a leader….which is something they lost with the departure of Billups. I was already very skeptical of another Eastern Conference Finals run for the Pistons…now I’m sure they’ll be out in the second round at the latest. Even if Rodney Stuckey is the superstar everyone in Detroit thinks he is going to be.
Allen Iverson is in a contract year which will free up some cap space in the upcoming LeBron sweepstakes. But, do you really think any big time free agents are going want to move to dreary, cold and Matt Milleny Detroit….let alone LeBron James. Yeah…suuuuure, LeBron is going to leave Cleveland for division rival Detroit…not New York…or Miami. I could see James going to Greece before he goes to Detroit. Detroit will end up signing someone old for too much money…I don’t know who…but I just don’t see a young superstar in a Pistons jersey unless it’s out of the draft.
The funniest thing about all of this to all of me is that Detroit could really use a big guy that can slash his way to hoop and still hit the outside shot. Someone big that can create offense….someone like Carmelo Anthony. He would be a perfect fit for this team.
David Stern: “with the second pick in the 2003 NBA Draft the Detroit Pistons select Darko Milicic”
The very next pick? Carmelo Anthony to the Denver Nuggets.
Yeah…Joe Dumars is a genius. He had the second pick in one of the most talent rich drafts in history…and he took a risk on Darko? 4 of the top 5 picks from that draft are All Stars and Olympic Gold medalist. He passed on Carmello Anthony, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh for that pick.
So, yeah, Joe Dumars is good…..but this is not a great trade. And for that matter…he shouldn’t have run Larry Brown out to hire Flip Saunders.
The Pistons are getting older, and slower and the long season will catch up with them. Iverson will be gone at the end of his contract and the Pistons will have little to nothing to show for it.
Meanwhile Denver just got a tried and true real, actual PG and freed up another 1500 shots a year for Anthony and SG J.R. Smith. I think this was a great trade for them that will help them in their playoff push in the tight Western Conference.
Joe Dumars is a good GM…but he’s not the genius that Detroit fans think he is.
The sixth-annual Unauthorized Big Ten Basketball Writers Preview Poll was released over the weekend.
Purdue was picked to finish first and the recently punched-in-the-balls by Kelvin Sampson IU program was selected to finish dead last in the Big Ten.
Here are the results (first place votes are in parenthesis):
1. Purdue (10)
2. Michigan State (5)
3. Wisconsin
4. Ohio State
5. Minnesota
6. Illinois
7. Penn State
8. Michigan
T9. Iowa
T9. Northwestern
11. Indiana
Just so everyone knows. The NBA season starts this week…and not in February as is commonly assumed.
The off-season free agent period was pretty boring except for a few moves. But that’s okay considering the next two are going to be bloodbaths.
Some playoff teams in the East (Cleveland and Philadelphia) got a little bit better in the off-season free agent period. Some (Detroit and Boston) got older. The West looks to be just a tough and grueling as last year.
Some of the bigger questions this year:
Here is my top 8 in each conference and my pick for postseason conference champions and the NBA champion:
By: Nicholas Gerlach
I generally enjoy living in Indianapolis. The people are fairly nice. There are 3 or 4 attractive girls in the city and I know my way around by now. But, there is one thing I simply cannot enjoy the Indianapolis Colts.
Here is a touchdown and extra points worth of reasons why:
Â
By Nicholas Gerlach
So far in the 2008 Olympiad Michael Phelps is 3 for 3 in his pursuit of an unprecendented 8 swimming Gold Medals. This would shatter the previous mark of 7 set by Indiana University swimmer Mark Spitz’s moustache at the 1972 Munich games. Phelps, who is…….Alright….I can’t do this anymore…I’m not Bob Costas…I can’t pretend that I care about the Olympics.
Somebody let me know when the Jamaican Bobsled team comes on.
by Nicholas Gerlach
Save for a couple of moves by Golden State, Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Clippers (who are currently trying their hardest to supplant the Knicks for the title of “Worst Front Office in the NBA”) the 2008 NBA free agent signing period has been duller than Renee Zellwegger. So dull, in fact, that people are already talking about 2010 when the LeBron sweepstakes begins. LeBron’s contract goes through 2010-2011 but he could opt out after the 2010 season. There is a good chance that Cleveland won’t be able to afford him and he will jet for Brooklyn to play for the Nets and be even closer to his beloved New York Yankees. But WAIT…….Greek team Olympiakos has indicated that they are considering making a run at James in 2010.
This is the same team that signed Josh Childress to a three-year $20 million “net” (most taxes and living expenses are paid by the team in situations like this) contract. What are the Aggelopoulos brothers, the billionaire owners of Olympiakos, willing to give King James? There have been reports of $40 million a year “net”. LeBron James has reportedly indicated that he would listen if they were to offer around $50 million annum. He has said in the past that he wants to be the first billionaire athlete and this would be a huge step in that direction due to the international exposure.
