One last time

Try to savor this season. It's likely the last in Sacramento. 

Moreover, they aren't going to be a winning team. The Kings won't sniff 40 victories.

But there are some reasons to still have the game on in the background while you clean your house.

There are some future All-Stars on this team; just not this season.

Omri Casspi is going to turn heads. He dazzled in the opener and he wasn't just exploiting the ho-hum Oklahoma City Thunder defense.

Tyreke Evans will experience growing pains but will be more effective than most rookies.

Kevin Martin is playing like he wants to be traded. Let's ride it and see what he brings us. Virtually anything is better than his brittle frame and pathetic defense.  

Jason Thompson's minutes limited due to foul trouble. It looks like that will be an issue again this year. 

Don't get me wrong, I am excited Thompson is a King. He's capable of matching up with the better power forwards of the league and making them earn their double-double. He's been gifted with athletic footwork and soft hands. He is a piece to build with.

Spencer Hawes is a decent power forward as well. What's that? Center? 

Oh...I see. I guess your average NBA center is supposed chuck up more than 100 three-point attempts in a season. For perspective, Hakeem Olajuwon attempted 124 in his career. Hawes passed that career mark last season. For the record: Three-point related categories will be the only time Hawes beats Olajuwon's career numbers in any category. 

He probably should toss of prayers, you probably don't want him to clumsily labor his way into the painted area.

Long story short, Hawes will average nine boards a game this season. At best. And anything less than or equal to 9.4 boards will be rounded down.

In spite of this, the Kings will provide us with some fun wins scattered across a field of disappointment. 

They will break our heart yet again. They are going to leave and nothing can be done.

So savor this year. 

If you will please excuse me, I need to use the bathroom and take a Maloof.

A day for revenge and redemption: Benson, A-Rod and Brooking get theirs

Derek Jeter can finally call A-Rod his equal in October. Photo by Flickr user chris.ptacek








Sunday is supposed to be the day for rest, but it was a day of two very big other R-words for some athletes and coaches: revenge and redemption. From New York City to Oak-Town, there were chips on shoulders all over the country. A rundown of who was looking to even the score Sunday.

Cedric Benson vs. the Chicago Bears: If you paid any attention to football at all Sunday, you heard this one about a billion times. Running back Benson was the No. 4 overall pick for the Bears in 2005, and to call his time there tumultuous would be an understatement. Coach Lovie Smith never seemed willing to make him the featured back, and after some alcohol-related arrests Benson was released in 2008.

Benson never was convicted of any wrongdoing, but his career was seriously derailed. He signed a one-year contract with Cincinnati in 2008 for $520,000, and no one expected very much from him. But Benson played well, and got a two-year, $7 million contract from the Bengals last offseason.

So far in 2009, Benson leads the league in rushing and no doubt wanted to run roughshod over the Bears on Sunday – and apparently, the Bengals were happy to comply. They handed the rock to Benson 37 times and he did not disappoint, racking up 189 yards and a touchdown against the team that spurned him.

Benson is only 26 and hasn’t had too many carries over his career (789), so the Bengals appear to be in for some very productive seasons from No. 32. Especially if they play the Bears every year.


Alex Rodriguez vs. himself: Is there a more troubled superstar in sports than A-Rod? He has been criticized for being obsessed with his image, had a very public divorce from his wife Cynthia, admitted to using steroids and was widely ridiculed when Madonna reportedly said he had the “heart of a poet.”

But the worst knock against A-Rod was his tendency to disappear in October. Rodriguez’s postseason career numbers were downright pathetic, and the man who plays on his left, Derek Jeter, casts a mighty big shadow. Jeter has been called "Mr. November" for his clutch postseason performances, while Rodriguez was once dropped to eighth in the batting order in a playoff game.

But A-Rod was a new man this postseason, and his bat was the most feared in the dangerous Yankee lineup. Rodriguez batted .400 in the ALCS, and was walked three times Sunday night in a pivotal Game 6. Twice this series A-Rod was walked intentionally in the ninth inning after he tied Game 2 with a long ball against erratic Angels closer Brian Fuentes.

Thanks to A-Rod’s bat and the pitching of C.C. Sabathia and Andy Pettite, the Yanks are going back to the Fall Classic for the first time since 2003. Watching his jubilation after the last out was recorded Sunday night, is there any doubt that no one in New York wanted the pennant as badly as he did? Rodriguez will still have to perform well in the World Series in order for the Yankee faithful to fully embrace him, but I don’t think anyone in the Bronx will be booing him again anytime soon.


Keith Brooking vs. the Atlanta Falcons: Sunday’s matchup between the 3-2 Cowboys and 4-1 Falcons was intriguing for many reasons. The Falcons looked unstoppable in their 45-10 dismantling of the 49ers two weeks ago, while the Cowboys looked anything but in a narrow 26-20 overtime victory in Kansas City.

But the rise of receiver Miles Austin (421 receiving yards, four touchdowns in the last two games) has propelled Tony Romo back into the pantheon of top quarterbacks, and Dallas was very impressive in a 37-21 victory over Atlanta. The Cowboy defense hassled and harassed quarterback Matt Ryan all day, and the Atlanta offense just never got going.

The game was of particular importance to Cowboy linebacker Keith Brooking. A native Georgian who went to college at Georgia Tech, Brooking spent 11 excellent years in Atlanta, where he was voted to the Pro Bowl five times and was an All-Pro selection twice. But the Falcons cut him loose in the offseason, and Brooking signed a three-year contract with the Cowboys. Unlike so many other athletes who give politically correct answers to reporters, Brooking did not mince words about facing the team he gave most of his career to.

"Obviously, it was a big game for me personally. I’d be lying if I told you it wasn’t,” Brooking told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "We took it to them. We bloodied their noses, and then we stepped on them and kicked them to the ground. So that’s a good feeling.”

Brooking’s emotion was obvious on the sideline – the veteran linebacker hooped and hollered throughout the game, and had a huge grin on his face the entire fourth quarter when the game was already in hand.

This may not be his last chance to enact vengeance either – the Cowboys appear poised to make a run at the playoffs, so a rematch with the Falcons in January is a definite possibility. A message to Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey: If you see these guys again, I’d run all my plays away from Brooking.


And briefly, two others looking for revenge and redemption: Niner quarterback and NFL Draft bust Alex Smith played the second half of San Francisco’s game in Houston after Shaun Hill got the hook, and made the game close at the end. Overall, Smith had a pretty good game (118.6 quarterback rating) and played his way to a start next Sunday against Indianapolis. Will we finally see the emergence of the former No. 1 overall pick? Niner fans have heard this story before, and they know Smith has a way of teasing you with his brilliance, only to fall apart soon after. He won’t have many more chances to prove himself, so it’s put up or shut up time for Smith.

New York Jets coach Rex Ryan led his team to a 38-0 pounding of the Raiders, but the game had special significance to his family and his assistants. The Raiders previously fired Jets line coach Bill Callahan (Raider head coach from 2002-03) and Rex’s twin brother Rob (defensive coordinator from 2004-08), and Ryan admitted in his postgame comments that it was a significant win for both him and Callahan. Al Davis’ list of enemies just keeps getting longer and longer…

Frank McCourt cans wife

Frank McCourt is making me put aside my hatred for all things related to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a minute by firing his wife.

Awesome. 

After getting bounced from the National League Championship Series by the Philadelphia Phillies, Frank McCourt canned his wife of 20 years. The couple is separated and is about to go through a very messy and public divorce.

Jamie McCourt was the chief executive officer for the Dodgers for the last seven months. She has also served as vice chairman and president. 

If you look at basic divorce proceedings in California, you realize Jamie McCourt is basically entitled to half the team.

Let the mayhem begin. This is gonna get interesting. Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn.

This can only make for a dysfunctional working environment for everyone involved. It will probably spill into the clubhouse, and Manny Ramirez will become a diva without significant value a' la Terrell Owens next season. At least that is the dream.

Now I'm not someone who enjoys other's misfortunes. I savor them. And this is a feast.

Richard Seymour proves the Raiders’ team facility has become an asylum

Where the crazy people go play. Photo from Flickr user scotrail.

Al Davis has been crazy for years, and the overhead-projector-aided rambling press conference about Lane Kiffin only solidified that the owner is lucid enough to still be nuts. Then JaMarcus Russell proved he’s delusional by saying he was fine with his awful passing performance this year.

Well there must be something in the water, because now Richard Seymour has lost his damn mind, too.


The defensive end was on a Cincinnati radio show Wednesday (who the hell knows why he’s on a show in Cincinnati when the Raiders play New York this week), and he boldly proclaimed that the Raiders will make the playoffs. Not in 2015, or even next year – he expects to playing in January this season.

Manny doesn't seem to understand what a “clean-up” hitter really is

In the top of the ninth inning of Game 4 between the Phillies and Dodgers Monday, Jonathon Broxton was heaving 101 mph fastballs at hitters, trying desperately to keep Los Angeles alive in the postseason. Somehow, someway, shortstop Jimmy Rollins managed to turn on a 99 mph heater, doubling in the game-tying and game-winning runs in one quick, Dodger-killing, monumentally clutch moment. This you probably already know. But do you know where Manny Ramirez was?

Taking a shower.

No, really. Taking a shower.

The Round-up: Sabean and Bochy get extended, the no-name Broncos keep winning, and A-Fraud channels Mr. October

One of the few decision Brian Sabean actually got right: drafting Tim Lincecum. Photo by user rocor on Flickr.

Rewarding dumb luck and failure

The San Francisco Giants managing partner Bill Neukom, in his goofy-ass-bow-tie-wearing wisdom, gave general manager Brain Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy two-year extensions today with options for third years. Bochy has been there for three years, and whether or not he’s been successful is up for interpretation - after all, in what sport is the head coach/manager more useless than in baseball?

But Sabean, who is the longest-tenured general manager in baseball with 13 years on the job, should have been handed his walking papers. The Giants haven’t made the playoffs in six seasons, and have been to the postseason only four times during Sabean’s tenure.

A lot of fans might cite the team’s resurgent 2009 campaign as proof of Sabean’s value, but what has he really done? He has horrendously overpaid for free agents the last few years (Barry Zito: seven years, $126 million; Aaron Rowand: five years, $60 million; Edgar Renteria: two years, $18.5 million), who have vastly underperformed, and hasn’t won a damn thing since Barry Bonds left.

The only two players he has drafted who have star power are Tim Lincecum, a can’t-miss type pick at tenth overall in 2006; and the Kung-Fu Panda, Pablo Sandoval, who spent nearly five years languishing in the minors and shocked everyone with a great season this year. Matt Cain has also developed into a solid starting pitcher, but what irreplaceable position players has Sabean drafted or developed?

2009 was likely more of an aberration than a sign of things to come, especially since Sabes said recently that the team doesn't plan to add a bat in the offseason. That should really improve the team's RBI total (29th in the majors) or batting average (25th).

Decisions like this one are what will keep the Giants forever trailing the cross-bay Oakland A’s in world championships. In case you forgot, Giants fans, the A’s have the lead in that category 4-0.

Who are these guys?

The fact that the Denver Broncos beat the New England Patriots on Sunday in overtime is amazing, but what’s most impressive is the way they did it. After looking like they’d be another foil for Tom Brady’s passing attack, the Broncos held the Pats scoreless after halftime and rattled off 13 unanswered points in a 20-17 win.

But these Broncos aren’t your daddy’s John Elway-Terrell Davis-Rod Smith Broncs. This squad is led by the much-maligned Kyle Orton, disgruntled receiver Brandon Marshall and rookie running back Knowshon Moreno (on a side note, isn’t Knowshon a freaking awesome name?). Without any serious superstars on either side of the ball, the Broncos are finding ways to win close games virtually every week. After starting the season against a middling group of opponents (9-11 combined record), the Broncos solidified themselves as legitimate contenders by beating the formerly 3-1 Patriots.

The defense is the primary reason, as Denver has surrendered only 8.6 points per game (first in the NFL) and is second overall in total defense. Combine that with the careful play of Orton, who has turned the ball over only once in five games, and you have a recipe for success. As much as it kills me inside to say it, Denver will be definitely be playing football in January.


Well lookie who found their bats

Vladimir Guerrero decided to become clutch for the first time in his career, delivering the two-run death blow against the Boston Red Sox in the top of the ninth Sunday to lead the Angels to a 7-6 victory. Guerrero’s postseason at-bats had been pathetic at best before this year (.240 career average), but he came up huge in Fenway Park to complete the sweep.

Another former choker who suddenly learned how to swing in big spots is a rejuvenated Alex Rodriguez. The Yankee third baseman not only had an RBI single in the sixth inning to tie Game 2 against the Twins, he then went on to hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game into extras. A-Rod repeated the heroics with a tying home run in the top of the seventh in Game 3. Overall he batted .455 with 6 RBI in the Yankees’ three-game sweep of Minnesota.

The Angels and Yankees will begin a best-of-seven series Friday night, and the Yanks have to be the clear favorites. If A-Rod continues to perform the way he did against Minnesota, there is no way the Angels can overcome New York’s powerful offense. Then again, the Angels have certainly had the Yankees’ number over the past few seasons: they are 33-21 against the Bronx Bombers since 2005. Maybe having Kate Hudson watching from the stands will continue to power A-Rod's resurgance.