GatorBait19

I like how C's are taking it to the Cavs I think a C's vs Magic match-up will be good. They match up well together Dwight Howard vs Perkins (Perkins and Big Baby gave him hell last year) Rhasad Lewis vs Garnett (Garnett has some wear and tear but it should be a good match up to watch Garnett gaurd on the prem.) Matt Barnes vs Paul (this is a match up that favors the Magic mostly because of the depth at the position and the fact that Paul hasn't shown up yet) Carter vs Allen (two aging former stars, Carter is still the faster of the two and has done well in the playoffs) Nelson vs Rondo (this will be the match-up of the series, will Rondo keep up his great playoff? has Nelson really turned the corner towards that elite PG that he's been looking like this playoff) The big thing is the bench players, while both have nice benchs, (IMHO) the Magic seem to have the deeper bench Petrius went toe to toe with Lebron last year and defended him well (didn't shut him down but did well against him), Jason Williams has looked good this season, along with Anderson and then you also have Gortat and Bass But Magic are also a streaking team who is hotter than anyone, but they also rely on the 3 a lot

Doc Rivers took a horrible C's team and made them into champs lmafo, and Phil and the Lakers weren't a powerhouse (again) until the remarkable trade for Gasol, also remember that The Lakers were 24-19 before Rudy T resigned for health issues and Kobe missed 16 games down the strech Hell Rivers even took a scrapped Magic team in 99 with no superstars and went 41-41 He turned Rondo into probably one of the top 3 PG, made McGrady into a star without any help. Phil still had Kobe when he got back........ how'd he do with out Jordan, when he only had Pippen? still went to the playoffs just didn't win anything Once again, I am not taking anything away from Phil, I think he is a very good coach, but to me a great coach is someone who can take a loser with no superstars, and make superstars, develop rooks into players, and make them a winner. Names like Rivers, Brown, Auerbach (when the league was 17 teams, and the C's in the 4 years prior had a winning% of .352), D'Antoni (made David Lee a big time threat, turned Nash into a superstar, Joe Johnson became a big score under him, Nate Robinson even flourished under him), Stan Van Gundy (took a player like Wade who many wrote off as being a good player but wont reach that next level and developed him into a superstar, turned Dwight Howard into a 20 point guy, helped turn Jameer Nelson into an All-Star point Gaurd, help Gortat become a big man people want, and helped Petrius and Barnes become better players, heck Hedo had his best years under him) Thunder Coach Scott Brooks (need I say more?) You want to see a great coach in my eyes, look at Gregg Popovich and the names he has helped, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen (defense wise), DeJuan Blair looks like an up and comer, 12 out of his 14 years he has won 50 or more and only one losing season (his first) and the other was a strike shorten year where his winning % was .882 look at people like Vinny Del Negro development wise, he took a guy like Joakim Noah, when people were starting to doubt is abilities and his toughness and made him into a double double guy, that will probably grow still. D-Rose is an All-Star, Taj Gibson has a very respectable rookie year.

first thing, you can't really put NBA salary cap in any conv. because it's a joke "okay teams, we are giving you 53 million (for 12 players) and well please don't go over it..... but if you do it's completely fine, you'll just have to match dollar for dollar what you spend" so a team (say the magic right now) have a 70 million dollar payroll this year, but they are spending an extra 15 mill on tax...... does this hurt them? No they just put together a great season and have been do record attendance plus the MLE??????? i mean NBA's salary cap is a joke beyond joke. I remember reading one time a team asked their star player not to sign his contract until they signed all of their free agents..... why because when he signed he count against the cap, but if he waited, they could spend freely and then still sign him to top dollar Also Red did just more than coach, he spent 16 years as GM when he retired, where he continued to find great players. he was apart of 16 different championship teams with the C's Also under Jackson, Kobe posted his lowest 3% shooting ever as well, I still think Gasol is a soft player (sure he looks tough against the weaker Centers in the league) I remember one of the finals games last year when Petrius fouled Gasol and everyone got in front of Petrius and no one tried to stop Gasol and where did this all come back to me saying I thought Phil was a bad coach? I believe I said he was a good coach who was lucky Why put that Phil turned around the Lakers after they won 34 games? Brown has done it mult. times, hell he even took the Clippers to the playoffs twice. The bobcats went this year and I can't even name a starter there but talking about which coach is the best is dumb, they were all different and brought different things to the table 1) Red coached in a different era like you said, but he had an eye for talent 2) Phil's triangle offense changed the game, he took players like Kobe and Pippen and made them better, and took others like Shaq and Jordan and made them into Champions 3) Larry Brown was a D man, he took teams that struggled and turned them into winners Last thing, so Lebron wants a championship, why not take a MLE (which could be up to 5.3 mil a year) for one year from the Lakers, the endorsments he would get in LA alone would make up for any lost income, then next year (after they win the series) Lakers have his bird rights and sign him to a max deal lol dream I know, but if he was smart he could do it

I was looking over his stats just now, he actually shoot above .500 from the field in his career

If I remember right Rodman was a very good shooter, even would step back from time to time for the three, yes his free throw shooting wasn't the best (never hurt Shaq) Rodman was never asked to be a points guy, he was asked to be a goon pretty much, and his numbers in Chi town were actually some of the worst in his career besides the last two jokes of his career Kobe and Jordan never went to finals with out Phil, Lebron has Lakers were a playoff team that went to the Conf. finals the year or two before, Phil just made them a champion, kind of like what Gruden did to Tampa or Ozzie to Chi. Sox he never took a bad teams and made them good (larry brown) he's always taken playoff teams and made them champions and Horry was already know for being a role player, and a clutch player at that

I believe Jackson is a very good coach but I always believed he has had his flaws 1) I don't remember him developing any superstars himself, Shaq, Kobe, Pippen, Rodman, Jordan, Gasol were all all-stars before him. Andrew Bynum is getting better but he isn't up there 2) He has always won with great teams (i.e Lakers and Bulls) but when the Lakers only had Kobe they barely made the playoffs Now I am not saying that Phil is a bad coach, I just believe (imo) that he's been fortunate with great players. I still believe the best coach all time was Red.

Wow Rays are such an odd team they have now been no hit twice and been involved in a perfect game the number 1 offense and they can't get anything, and they were avg. 5 runs a game vs Barden A guy who they ripped into last week two, it makes no sense sometimes with them

Playoff equal one thing for pot. free agents More money Someone like Kyle Krover is playing his butt off and adding millions to his next contract he's gonna get Someone like Joe Johnson or J. O'Neal (who wasnt gonna get a huge contract anyways) are losing millions with poor play

So we have one for MLB and NFL and with NBA playoffs heating up and the 2010 free agent class coming I though why not Magic and Lakers are looking hot, could we have a rematch?

im not sure about that, I have heard of teams using 3 or 4 also i think they play three different seasons (spring, summer, fall) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_in_Japan#Differences_with_Major_League_Baseball http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nippon_Professional_Baseball#Single_Season_Pitching

it's the innings they pitch, I remember when Dice-K first came here I read an article how he had already pitched 1400 innings and had only one healthy season where he pitched 30 plus games he's command also gets away from him at time and he walks a lot of hitters the hitters just make adjustments to pitchers which is why he is getting rocked now Also the pitch count over there is much different, over there 150 to 200 pitches a game is a common thing and is when most pitchers get pulled, he had 72 games in which he pitched all 9 innings, I read once he pitched 123 pitches in just 5 innings

well I think their biggest thing is, Ellisbury is still hurt, Cameron is hurt and they are trying to get healthy But I agree the starting pitching should at least be helping and it's not, they tried a new way this year (defense first) and so far it isn't working, Ortiz is old and in his last year of his contract, Victor hasn't lived up to expectations, Beltre is an error machine so far with another GG 3B on the bench, their bench is weak to me, and John P. looks hit-able so we will have to wait an see what happens when they get healthy but it could be a long season for them (remember it's been 2 years since Lackey has made 30 plus starts, Beckett has a history of injuries, and Clay hasn't played a full season but is looking good) And it seems either A) Dice-K is losing his stuff (remember he was a work horse in Japan) B) Hitters are caughting on, or C) mixture of both) heck it seems like even the most active hitters (guys who don't take many pitches) are taking pitches but, IMHO they are an old beat up team with former proven players, who haven't proven much lately, besides Youk, Dustin, Ells, Clay, Beckett, Lester, Lackey, and Clay you are looking at a team that needs to be imploded and rebuilt

personally I have always had the what if factor about Ricky, What if he was 100% committed to football? how great could he have been

lmao why? is it cuz you think Lee is better than that or because he is worse than it?

also, as much as I think it'd be fun to see Albert in Pinstripes, the Cards or the Mets are the only two teams I see him with, because you are right, the Yanks would rather add more players then just one and some scabs

Cliff wont get C.C money he has never been healthy enough for it, look for him to get a Halladay deal, 3 to 4 years and 40 to 50 million. and instead of get I should have put pursue for you, they will pursue the top four free agents, if C.C hits the market he will most likely go to the Yanks because he is a top of the order guy, with speed, 20 HR's (playing 81 games in that park I wouldn't be surprised if he touches 25), and defense guy he would fit perfectly because he hits for avg, can steal to get into scoring position ahead of the likes of A-Rod, Tex, and Cano Lee would fit because he would be their 2nd or 3rd pitcher behind CC and maybe AJ And another power bat (Berkman, Pena, Paul K) would fit in as DH Pena draws walks and has power (tied last year with Tex for AL lead in HR's and he played 21 less games then Tex) sure the avg isn't the best in the world but a club house leader, a hitters ball park (how many HR's do you think Pena would have had playing 81 games in that park) high walk guy with a .350 OBP he would fit well either in between Tex and Cano (where he'd get protection and see nice pitches) or in between Cano and Swisher at 6 and like I said, we have to wait and see what happens this is all predicting what will happen And the Yanks are the Yanks, you can say they have a budget and they stick to it, but Hal isn't a dummy, is sees the overall goal.... money, and you can say no he wants a title, and you'd be right he does, but the biggest reason for the title is...... money, it brings more in. It justifies (to them atleast) to keep their tickets so high. Will they add 60 mill to their payroll........ depends, how much money will it bring them back?

not only that, but Pujols would also bring in a lot of money to the Yanks

probably will go down as his worst move ever...... so far gulp and man 49ers got a steal with willis contract dansby, Ryans, and Scott (very good LB but not as good as Willis) make more a year

here is the good thing for the yanks first, they have the highest payroll this year than they have ever had second, they are going into a free agency year with the likes of Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Albert P. (if he doesn't resign), Lance Berkman, Paul Konerko, Victor Martinez, and Brandon Webb Now for the Yanks I believe they will drop 1.2 million just from Melky Cabrera and Chad Gaudin's contracts (they paid I believe half of Melky's contract for the Braves just to get him out of there) Jeter and Rivera will be resigned Andy P is probably retiring this year so there is another 11.75 mil, and Javier V probably wont be brought back taking another 11.5 mil, Nick Johnson at 5.5 for next year probably wont have his mutal option picked up, Chan Ho Park at 1.2 mil, Randy Winn at 1.1 mil, and maybe another 2 mil cleared from other players not coming back the yanks are looking at maybe 30-35 million off the books. If they have no problem spending 213 mill this year I doubt they will have a problem with it next year, so I see the Yanks going after Albert, Crawford (it would fill two of their biggest weakness in DH and LF) along with Cliff Lee, and if they can't get Albert, Pena is a good fit as well as he can hit for power(which works in that stadium) and can play a great 1st base(former gold glover) I would predict they could get all three, they could pitch to Crawford that his endorsments would go up, and could pitch two the other two that a Ring would be tied to this But we will see how this all works out

here is my thing biggest thing when you compare the yester year QB's to today's QB's QB's today are much more protected by rules then in the past

there's been a lot of talk about the rookie scale have brackets (salary) that would save owners about 200 million each year, now from this the player's union want 100 mil of it be given to retired players and the other half going to vets. Owners said no see to me, this all comes down to money, and the owners aren't going to let up, they want to keep as much as they can. so this should be fun and we will see if russell sign onto another team

someone will pick him up, he still has talent, he just needs to tighten up so who do you think picks him up, Jags, Bills, Vikes, Seahawks, 9ers also is it just me or is pete carroll the next spurrier, he is bringing back all of his players including ones who weren't good (Mike Williams)

that all depends really if teams get the reports and how he reacts wants they start hitting him

so today i got into an arguement with someone about the best divison in baseball (same guy I argued with about NFL) He said and I quote "NL East is the best" and I just couldn't help to laugh, how can the AL East not be the best, they have 3 of the top 5 teams (along with Cards and Phil's) each starting pitcher (besides maybe Dice-K and Javier V.) you have to be like crap with They have five, count'em five Gold Glovers just at the third base position (Longoria, Lowell, Beltre, A-Rod, and M. Tejada) plus names like Pedroia, Pena, Youk., Mike Cameron, J.D Drew they have names like Veron Wells (who finally is connecting), Nick Markcauis, Carl Crawford, Derek Jeter

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Stennick" data-cite="Stennick" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26724" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Yeah his first year was great then he would come back and get destroyed for a few games/innings and then get hurt again. I like Mark and really rooted for him and it just didn't work out. <p> </p><p> The A's had Zito, Mulder, Hudson these guys were ALL Cy Young level guys and then right when they seemed to be at their peak they left Oakland and never really maintained that extended level of success. </p><p> </p><p> Thats why I'm weary of signing Pitchers to long term big money deals. MOST pitchers seem to rise up, become dominant and then get hurt or fade away quickly. </p><p> </p><p> Santana and Sabathia seemed to have mostly maintained their dominance but so many others have fallen by the wayside. Even Carp as dominant as he is you always fear that he's one pitch away from an extended stay on the DL.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Also I can't remember (partly due to the fact im not an A's fan) but isn't their stadium a pitchers ball park?</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> I believe so, with the big foul terri. and far fences</p>