Gil helped us ring in the new year(Photo. Tim Tadder)
Can you tell we’re a little amped for the start of the regular season? We went into Dime #37 and pulled Gilbert Arenas’ Eastern Conference Preview and Carlos Boozer’s Western Conference Preview and dropped ‘em on the site yesterday. The feedback we got was split — everyone liked Gilbert’s analysis, but thought Booz should have been more critical. If you ask us, what you basically have is one guy who’s a natural glass-half-full type and doesn’t wanna create bulletin-board material; then you have another guy who doesn’t care what anyone thinks and thrives on opponents being out to get him. We’ll let you guess who’s who … Everything is pointing to Jazz/Warriors being the game to watch tonight. We’ll particularly be looking to see how Andrei Kirilenko fits into the Jazz picture. Will he get more looks offensively? Will there be tension between AK and Deron Williams? Will Jerry Sloan be able to freely yell at AK? And if he’s given enough minutes and allowed to play his game, what kind of sick numbers can he put up against the Warriors? … Also tonight you’ve got Rockets/Lakers (a.k.a. “Outside the Lines: Is Kobe Bryant Happy?”) and Spurs/Blazers (is LaMarcus ready for the big-time?) … The John Salmons-at-PG experiment in Sacto didn’t even make it to Opening Day; Orien Greene was named the starter in place of Mike Bibby. It’s generally not a good thing when you’re playing in the League’s toughest conference and your starting PG was Jamaal Tinsley’s backup’s backup … Another team potentially D.O.A. due to injuries? The Clippers. We put their sidelined superstar, Elton Brand, through the “Hall of Fame Watch” argument yesterday. You know the numbers are sick: 20-10-2 every night. But just one playoff appearance? Is that enough to get Brand into the Hall of Fame? Tell us what you think of EB, and come back later today for the next candidate … A couple trades yesterday: The Nets sent Mile Ilic (worst player on the team) and Bernard Robinson (irrelevant) to the Hornets for David Wesley. The only intriguing thing about Wesley at this stage is whether he’ll spend more games suited up or in a suit. But the 2-for-1 deal opens up a roster spot in Jersey, which everyone thinks they’ll use to bring in Allan Houston … Or is Jersey perhaps looking at Juwan Howard and Chris Webber? Word is Juwan is interested in Cleveland, Dallas and Boston first and foremost … The Spurs kept Darius Washington and dealt Beno Udrih to the Wolves for a 2nd-round pick. Sucks for Beno — being the 3rd-string PG on a championship team is one thing, but on possibly the worst team in the League? … For those of you who were asking, A-Train addressed Rasheed Wallace’s “the NBA is fake” comment right here … Did you know Bob Sura was still on the Rockets? Until yesterday that is, when Houston waived him. Sura hasn’t played a game over the past two years with knee and back injuries. We’re assuming he’s gonna retire, but you never know … Seriously, why was Vince Vaughn in the “Monday Night Football” booth? They at least could have given him a mic that went higher than “Whisper” level. Oh, and did you know Vince just happens to have a movie coming out? Shameless. But we loved how whenever they showed Vaughn in the booth with the regular crew, Jaws clearly had zero interest in even looking at Vince, and didn’t even pretend to be interested in what he was saying … That finish was crazy, though. Rarely does the storybook ending fall into place after all the hype, but that was the case here. Hilarious post-game camera shot of a guy in a A.J. Hawk jersey holding up a Favre sign and screaming happily, and right next to him was a kid in a Jay Cutler jersey who looked like he was preparing to wear sweats all the time and give up on life … And while we’re talking about other sports, everyone stop with the “A-Rod is being greedy” talk. It’s not like he’s snatching sneakers from destitute children; taking a few more million bucks from a billionaire isn’t being greedy, it’s being a businessman … We’re out like Salmons the playmaker …
October 30th, 2007 at 8:28 am
E-ROC says:
I think everybody was upset with A-Rod because he didn’t even have a sit down with the Yankees to discuss a contract extension. Also, he notified the Yankees of his intentions via voicemail. The Yankees were even the first to know of A-Rod’s intentions. It was some reporter. By the way, he did all of this after dropping hints all season that he wanted to stay.
October 30th, 2007 at 8:56 am
doc says:
He might go to LA with Torre. But back to b-ball Salmons stinks
October 30th, 2007 at 9:13 am
djKianoosh says:
I knew that Beno Udrih trade was going to happen when Darius was starting to get a serious look in SA. Udrih was forever in coach pop’s doghouse. good trade on all sides. Spurs know how to use their draft picks and the wolves need a backup PG. good for washington. he’ll maybe play 10-15 in some games and probably sit in a bunch of others, but he’ll learn on a championship level squad. Udrih can try to start fresh with a team that clearly doesn’t have their guard rotation set in stone.
October 30th, 2007 at 10:15 am
rob says:
Orien Greene might just get the job done, all we need is a steady handle and someone to be active on D…he is a natural guard who looks to pass first and that what we need to get mr. effecient (K-Mart II) off. But if we play a handful of games without Mike,Ron-Ron and Brad Miller…ugh!
October 30th, 2007 at 10:16 am
Bust Jlaze says:
I hate to take this in the baseball direction, but the whole A-Rod thing is just a result of him listening to what his agent told him to do and say. Dude orchestrated this whole thing, thinking the Yanks were going to fall all over themselves trying to make sure he returned. It was almost like He was trying to bag a chick; like, “Let’s not call for a while, then she’ll come crawling back and you’ll get whatever you want.” But it backfired and she called his bluff. Now it looks like he missed his chance…unless he completely swallows his pride and goes crawling back to THEM. Probably not gonna happen.
October 30th, 2007 at 10:32 am
E-ROC says:
Did the Cavs really waive Pavlovic and Varejao??? What was fairy thinking? I’m quite sure he could’ve gotten something for Pavlovic at least. Varejao was a lost cause considering his trade demands, but if I was Fairy, I would’ve overpaid for Pavlovic. He may or may not have been worth MLE money, but I would have given it to him anyway.
October 30th, 2007 at 10:36 am
jjankechui says:
Please, Arod doesn’t need to go crawling back to the Yankees. There are other teams with deep pockets that would be more than happy to add 40+ HRs to their lineup.
Besides, why should Arod have any loyalty to the fan base that was ripping him in 2006?
October 30th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Duke says:
People act like if they were in A-Rod shoes they wouldn’t try to get more money, EVERYBODY’S greedy.
October 30th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
zpurz says:
first of all, stop with the baseball talk. the season is over and bball is here. greatest time of the year. now i might be able to watch sportscenter again…MIGHT. spurs make another fantastic move. beno has been done in sa town for the past two years, just waiting to get traded. i saw darius washington jr play in the preseason and he might well get from the defensive end to making a layup faster than tony parker. love the way he plays. lots of energy but very smart. banner comes down tonight, now its time to start for #5. step off.
October 30th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
Kudabeen says:
it’s funny how Salmons came to Sacto talking junk about how Iverson wasn’t that great with sharing and allowing guys to play their games, but when Sacto is looking to him to facilitate he tries to be a scorer and goes for his…
October 30th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
sans says:
No mention of the Cavs, finally, doing something? Sure, they only signed Drew Nichols, but at least they signed someone! Now, Sasha, Varejao, Earl, Juwan, Webber, maybe even Simien when he gets off the DL. If only they could trade Danny Ferry for a really good hot dog vendor from Minnesota…
October 31st, 2007 at 4:51 am
KBY says:
David Wesley has retired, the trade was purely a cost management issue (Nets under luxury tax now) while David won’t even report in New Jersey.