Well folks, it's time for another Whip It Out Wednesday here at the Gab. Big things happening all around the world of sports, and every sport that matters has something happening this week. Baseball, of course, is back in the swing of things, the NFL Draft takes place this Thursday-Saturday, and the NHL and NBA playoffs are going on as well.

   Speaking of the NHL playoffs, I just have to say that I'd watch an NHL playoff game over an NBA playoff game anyday. Let's face it, in the NBA, nobody is even giving the Bulls or Thunder a chance to beat the Cavs or Lakers in the first round. In the NHL right now, the Sharks and Caps are already having trouble with the Avs and Habs, respectivley; especially the Sharks, who are down 2-1 to the young Avalanche right now.

   But since I'm talking hockey here to kick things off, I'd like to discuss a possible new "Fan Law" for everyone to ponder. I watched the entire Wings-Coyotes game tonight at the Joe, and I have to say, the entire game, FSN kept going to a shots of the douchebags taking up the first ring of seats at tonight's game... particularly one couple where the guy was going apeshit the entire game, but the friggin broad sitting next to him spent the entire time on her friggin cell phone... and seemed aggrivated that everyone around her was being so loud! New rule being proposed here... turn off the freakin phone when you walk into the stadium/ballpark. Honestly, I think it's a fuckin shame that at every game you see, the first five rows of seats are mostly taken up by douchebags who care more about what is going on with their Crackberries and IPhones then what is going on in the game, while the major noise, and real fans, are stuck in the fuckin cheap seats.  

  Going over to the NBA playoffs, I'd like to second Fan's shut the fuck up to Phil Jackson, the most overrated coach in NBA history. Yeah, the man has some rings, but when you've coached the greatest player in the NBA your entire career, MJ in Chicago, Shaq for the first few years in LA and now Kobe, you're going to pick up a ring or two. Phil Jackson complaining about anybody getting "superstar calls" is about the biggest line of bullshit I have ever heard. Here's an idea Phil... for once in your career, put your big girl panties on, show an ounce of fucking class and focus your douchebaggish "zen" on winning a series and not on how many free throw attempts Kevin Durant gets. Newsflash... the NBA is a star-driven league; that's why the league was in such a fucking uproar back in '04 when the star-less Pistons took your group of pampered fucksticks to school and won the title. The next thing you know, WHEN the NBA puts you into the Finals against LeBron and the Cavs, you'll be pissing and moaning about LeBron James getting 10-15 free throw attempts a game.

   And to Kevin Garnett, I wish you would just go the fuck away. I used to like the guy... he was firey to a point, but he kept his mouth shut for the most part and used to let his game do the talking. Now he's become more and more of a fucking crybaby. He was the first to cry about Durant's trips to the line, and now when he's not mean-mugging Ben Gordon in his streets while the Celtics come dangerously close to being knocked off by the Bulls last year, he's throwing "bows" at a fucking nobody like Quentin Richardson for doing nothing but speaking the truth. Look, Paul Pierce is a fucking crybaby. They called Stacy Augman the "Plastic Man" back in the day... and I guess Pierce should be called the "paper man"... always "getting hurt" and inexplicably coming back two plays later. But back to Garnett, it's a goddamn shame your suspension for game 2 for such a boneheaded move didn't do anything to hurt your team. Now it looks like the Heat are all but done, and you get to move on to the second round to get owned either by the Cavs or Magic. Much like just about everyone else in the NBA today, Garnett, do yourself a favor, shut the fuck up and just play.

   My question of the week... What the hell is up with all of this ESPN New York, Boston and LA shit they're pimping these days? I thought they called that SportsCenter!

  With the NBA and NHL playoffs in full swing right now, of course the NFL has to get the "shield" some spotlight. Tomorrow, the first of what is now a dragged out, three day event, the NFL Draft, takes place. Round one is Thursday night, 2-3 take place on Friday and 4-7 happen Saturday. The first overall pick, which has been the case the past few years, is no real mystery, as the Rams almost assuredly will take Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford there. Next pick down is the Lions, who will, at the risk of giving me a fuckin corinary, almost assuredly then steal the best overall player in this draft, Ndumakong Suh of Nebraska.

  But the Lions, ever the fuck ups as they are, whether Millen is involved or not, did pull off a pre-draft trade earlier today. They sent Ernie Sims, a former #10 overall pick, to the Eagles, who sent their fifth round pick to Denver, who sent TE Tony Scheffler and their 7th rounder to the Lions. Look, I know Sims had a bad year last year, and I know he's probably not coming back next year... but what the fuck is with this trade? You passed on Michael Oher, James Laurinaitis, and a host of other much better players production wise to draft a fucking TE last year at #20 overall... and now you give up a player at a spot you are already thin at for a decent at best tight end along with another 7th rounder... which aside from getting Zach Follett last year, hasn't exactly provided you with any notable players. In fact, chances are all four fucking 7th rounders you take, just like the ones you've drafted the past few years, probably won't be in the NFL two years from now... or even on anyone's taxi squad. At least get a 3rd or 4th rounder straight up for a guy like Sims, Mayhew.

  Sticking with the NFL Draft for a minute, how about the statements of Stanford RB Toby Gerhardt earlier today? The NFL discriminates against white running backs? You're only a second round "projection" because you're white? Try you're only a second round projection because you don't exactly bring the kind of speed to the table necessary to get the job done in the NFL... or that you really only had one good year at Stanford. Look, I ranted last week about the sort of ignorant race related bullshit coming out of the mouths of guys like Orlando Hudson and Torii Hunter in baseball... and it goes both ways. Be happy to be drafted in the first place, prove your worth on the football field, and you'll get paid in three years when your contract is up.

  Nice under the radar move today by the Pats, too, getting free agent WR Torry Holt. Sure, he isn't quite the player he was a few years back, but he should give them a good second option behind Moss, and pick up some slack if Wes Welker isn't quite ready to come back early in the season.

  The world's #1 golfer has retired... and unfortunatley it's not Tiger Woods. LPGA #1 Lorena Ochoa has retired at age 28 to focus on family and other personal goals... a real kick in the nuts to all those "glass ceiling" raving feminist types, like that fuckin pussbag Gloria Allred. Of course, she's busy trying to make porn stars more money and/or apologies, so she's probably not all that worried.

  As for baseball... Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez was suspended 50 games for a violation of the banned substance policy. Problem is... he's already on the 60-day DL, and MLB plans to allow him to serve the suspension right now. So the guy is caught using a banned substance for "family planning purposes" (where was that one for Mrs.Ramirez?), but isn't going to loose any kind of playing time. Nice work giving this guy a free pass, Bud.

  And to all the guys in baseball from these foreign countries... quit taking ANYTHING not perscribed by team doctors, or someone with some form of access to the MLB banned-substance list. At this point, you should be getting the OK from at least ten different doctors before you even consider taking any form of medication, whether it's for a fuckin headache or to stir up the ol' flesh baloon.

  And to the geniuses at the MLB front office, Bud Selig et all, how about working on restoring the integrity of your sport instead of worrying about what a 70 year old man wears in the dugout during games. Tampa Bay "Rays" manager Joe Maddon was told today that he's no longer allowed to wear a hoodie in the dugout... that he must wear a "full uniform". Too bad he's not actually John Madden... then he could just pull up a fuckin flap of neck fat to stay warm!

  Well, that's it for me this week folks. Thanks as always for reading, and for any comments you leave on the way out. Happy Hump Day Gabbers.

Well folks, it's Wednesday again, and here I am, strollin in late to post today. Now normally, that boy of mine is up until about 1 or 2 AM, so I get the chance to post around then every Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. But wouldn't you know it, last night 11 rolls around, and there he is passed out on the couch! Needless to say, I was thrilled. Now usually, if he's out around 11, that means I'm up at 4 or 5 in the morning. But shockingly, I wake up today and the sun is shining... and I DON'T hear anything being broken throughout the house or the footsteps of mischief running amuck through my house. Yeah, kid actually slept til nine... then the wife made me up some breakfast... so it's late... but now I'm fat, happy, RESTED, and ready to blog.

   Gotta start this week by sending a big shut the fuck up Orlando Hudson's way. Look, I know the whole "racial" thing is a good way to draw attention to yourself, make yourself a name. You know what's an even better way to make a name for yourself, getting the job done on the field, which until now, used to be your strong suit. There have been whispers for a while now about baseball going away from "black players" and wanting to use mostly latin players because they "sign cheaper" and "have better work ethics and attitudes about the game"... I mean, why the fuck would you want THAT?

   Hey, I can't understand how a guy like Jermaine Dye is still a free agent, either. I mean, it MUST be only because he's black... certainly not that he turned down a $3 million dollar, incentive-laden offer (not sure who from) before the season started...  And Gary Sheffield... it's not like he's over 40, and ego maniac, and hasn't produced since the first half of the '08 season. Not to mention his whole run in with "the cream".

  Yeah, it's all because of race. You know, silly me, I thought everybody was supposed to be "color blind"... judge everybody by the content of their character instead of by the color of their skin... and if that's the case, and you are a baseball GM, O-Dog, who are you going to sign? A 35+ year old with declining skills who won't "settle" for 3 million a year plus incentives, or someone 20+ at the same skill level who is willing to put his work in, still has something to prove who will gladly take that 3 million dollar offer. You tell me you'll take the 35 year old, I'll tell you your ass will be unemployed within the next few months!

  Just have to love how everybody is supposed to just forget about race, accept everybody for who they are inside and not outside... that is, until it benefits somebody! Then, all of a sudden, it's all about race. Look at what we're doing with this Jason Heyward kid down in Atlanta. Instead of being an exciting young prospect with a great attitude towards the game, he's, as our friend Fragnoli says, the "Great Non-White Hope"... or in this case, the "Non-Latino Hope".

   Seems to me at least like the "black players" in baseball, not all of them mind you, but the vocal majority of Hudson, Torii Hunter, and Gary Sheffield at least, seem to have some sort of problem with latino players... let's see, basing your opinion on an entire race of people based on their race or nationality... that sounds like the definition of... say it with me now... RACISM. Look Hudson, Hunter, Sheffield and all the rest of you fucking idiots... if you want to point the finger at baseball's "powers that be" and label them racists... try NOT BEING A FUCKIN RACIST YOURSELF first.

   Speaking of jackasses... my segway out of the Hudson thing... glad to see Tiger Woods NOT pick up the win in his "comeback" to professional golf. Congrats to Phil Mickelson on the Master's win, the third green jacket, and his spot amongst the greats at Agusta National. But that's not what I want to get to here. How the fuck is this a comeback for Tiger Woods. Look, it's not like he retired, it's not like he was injured... it's not like he even really missed anything. A 140+ day layoff for a professional golfer... wow, sounds like FUCKING WINTER to me.

  With the Pistons season wrapping up, I'd just like to throw a few ideas out there about how to improve this team. First off, I would build a fucking time machine... and NEVER make the Iverson trade. But hey, that trade DID free up some cap space... space that was quickly wasted on fucking Ben Gordon and Charlie Villenueva. So you sign Charlie V, and he ends up being exactly what he was before... a backup who can put up decent numbers every few nights, but who is sure as hell not a star. And gee, Ben Gordon is injured on and off all year... not like we could've seen that coming... you know, not like the guy was injury prone his entire career with Chicago... I've said it before and I'll say it again... Joe D has got to go. Love the guy from his playing days, and he's as much of a class act as you'll find in sports... but being a "nice guy" doesn't get the job done in the NBA. Get Duamrs our of here, and fly up to Milwaukee and throw as much money at John Hammond as is necessary to get him back here and running the Pistons again! And please do it before the draft, so we don't get another Darko... or another narcoleptic felon! Speaking of which... why haven't I seen Walter Sharpe this year?

  Well, looks like the idea I had for the Lions draft is OUT, as Brandon Marshall is headed to Miami for second round picks in 2010 and 2011... nice move for the 'Fins there. As for the Lions draft... that'll be the topic of discussion next week, as I'll be posting just 36 hours before the NFL Draft's first round gets underway.

  Until then... thanks, as always for reading and for any comments you leave on the way out. Happy Hump Day, everybody.

What an insane week we’ve had so far folks; baseball is finally back, college basketball has wrapped up, and the NFL is doing it’s best to upstage them all after Donovan McNabb is finally dealt after two fucking years of rumors… and there’s a lot more to get to, so let’s get down to business.

          Opening Day in baseball… the day where everyone is a contender, even the folks in Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Toronto think they’ve got a shot. Probably the biggest relief of this opening day, not a mention of steroids, not a single scandal, just baseball at it’s purest. Gotta say that one of my favorite images of the day came from Atlanta, where “Hammerin Hank” Aaron threw out the first pitch to rookie phenom Jason Heyward in sort of a “passing of the torch”. It didn’t take the young man long to show everyone just what all the hype is all about, hitting a home run on his first Major League swing, finishing his Major League debut by going 2-5 with that homer and 4 RBI’s.

          The stars shone bright on this opening day; Albert Pujols hit a pair of bombs for the Cardinals, Tim Lincecum was able to pick up a W in his first step towards winning his third Cy Young in three Major League seasons, and Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers showed why he is a darkhorse candidate for AL MVP by driving in 4 of the Rangers 5 runs. As for the fighting Phils, they got big days from two of their new guns… Doc Halladay was dominant on the mound, and Placido Polanco, one of my former favorite Tigers, drove in 6 including hitting one of two opening day grand slams.

          As for the Tigers, they open the season with an 8-4 win over Zach Greinke and the Royals. Greinke was good in his start, but the Tigers really did a great job of making him work, showing a lot more patience at the plate to lead the season off. I’ll tell you, if Magglio Ordonez is this locked in all season, we might just have a shot at the division.

          And before I move on… remembering Neil Diamond’s epic performance during Sunday night’s opener between the Yankees and Sox…Beezer, this one’s for you:

          But topping it all off was the NFL, as the Philadelphia Eagles traded Donovan McNabb, the quarterback who led them to the NFC Championship Game in 5 of his 11 seasons there, within their division to the Washington Redskins for a second round pick this year and a 3^rd or 4^th rounder next year. GREAT move by the ‘Skins… no fucking way you get a quarterback of this caliber in the second round anymore… or a 3^rd or 4^th rounder in 2011. Really have to wonder what the hell the Eagles were thinking here. I mean, trading the guy within your division after the years of shit he’s taken from the douche bag fans that seem to overflow out of that city. Especially when your secondary isn’t exactly in it’s 2004 form anymore… now McNabb gets two chances a year to exact his revenge… and I think he does it.

          I can understand WHY you trade McNabb… Kolb looked great in the two games he filled in last season, and his accuracy might even be a better fit for this offense than McNabb was. The WHERE of it is what really throws me for a fucking loop. Make the Redskins draft their own guy… waste the #4 overall pick on Jimmy Claussen instead of trading their second rounder for a quarterback already on a Pro Bowl level and being able to use that #4 pick now on a top notch left tackle.

          As for McNabb… I really want to hear what this guy wants to do to this team next year. I know, this is the “PC” era of sports and all… but let’s just let this guy cut loose for a day. I want to hear how badly he wants to not just beat Philly twice next year, but fucking destroy them. Look, the guy has been taking abuse since the day he was drafted… the douches wanted Ricky William’s high ass instead. You know that, on top of the love/hate whirlwind trip that was his career in Philly, he wants blood next year. I’m not a Redskin fan by any means, but hell, even I want it for him. Now, as much as I bitch about players with big mouths, I want to hear it out of McNabb instead of the whole “it’s just another game” cliché.

          And memo to the Eagles, make sure you spend that #37 pick wisely… probably on a shut down corner… assuming you can find one there. Because #5 is coming for you next year, and though I’m sure being the rare class act he is, he harbors no ill will towards any of his current teammates in Philly, but you KNOW he wants to embarrass any and everyone in an Eagles jersey two times next season. But that’s more so McNabb wanting to prove something to Laurie and Andy Reid than anything else… not to mention the few thousand classless douches that make up the majority of the Eagles fan base.

          In another great NFL story… a judge has ordered former Lions receiver and all around failure at life Charles Rogers to repay $6.1 million of the $9 million dollars he was given as a signing bonus as a rookie. At least now he’s got an excuse when the mothers of his fifty some kids come asking for money he’ll never pay. The guy is about the biggest waste of talent I have ever seen, not to mention space, oxygen and for sure any more of my time! Good luck paying that off, champ.

          And now to the bad news… yeah, Duke is the national champion in men’s college basketball. The Butler Bulldogs gave them a fight, but when you shoot 34% from the floor… you really don’t deserve a championship. But unfortunately it had to be Duke and their fuckin rat bastard coach Mike Kzyckz…however the fuck you spell it, that came out the winner, giving Coach K his 4^th national title, good for second all-time.

          I am a certified Duke hater… there are very few things in this world I hate more than the fuckin silver spoon Blue Devils and their douche of a coach. The following is a list of the things that I hate the most, with Duke heavily featured…

1.     Matt Millen

2.     The New York Yankees

3.     The L.A. Lakers

4.     Duke

5.     Sidney Crosby

6.     Matt Millen’s parents

7.     Kanye West

8.     Every other rapper

9.     Matt Millen’s ancestors

10.                         A-Roids

And as if Duke and their douchebag coach and asshole “Cameron Crazies” having a championship basically handed to them by the NCAA seeding committee wasn’t bad enough, now I have to hear douches like Skip Bayliss saying that Coach K is the greatest coach in college basketball’s history. The main argument… that Wooden had two Hall of Famers in Walton and Alcindor, and Coach K hasn’t had any. Is it really Wooden’s fault that both Walton and Alcindor went on to have great NBA careers, or that all of Coach K’s “stars” wound up being either flops or good but not great in the NBA? Look, at the end of the day, Wooden is the gold standard when it comes to coaching college basketball… ten championships trumps anything that any douche with a fuckin Hitler haircut and weasel-like voice can do on tobacco road. Not since the Yankees won last year have I been hoping for some form of a parade-related catastrophy for a championship team.

     As for the UConn women’s team… okay, you won your 78^th straight game and your second straight championship yesterday… and you actually won a close game. I’ll give them a little credit here, regardless of how shitty the competition is, it’s amazing to win 78 in a row, as well as two championships. But to even consider comparing their streak to the streak UCLA went on is just fuckin lunacy. And no, no matter how much ESPiN wants me to believe it, I’m not changing my mind on this one. So congrats to the lady Huskies… but do yourself a favor. Let somebody else win a championship so maybe somebody somewhere will take your sport seriously for a change.

     And before I go, I’d like to say how disgusted I was at the lack of tough questions asked in Tiger Wood’s “press conference” on Monday. This guy really has to be the most coddled, protected jerk off in the history of sports, and I am sure as hell getting sick of it. You want to “connect with your fans” Tiger, how about answering a question you fucking PR guy didn’t pre-approve and write and rehearse an answer for for once douchebag.

     Well, that’s going to do it for me this week folks. Thanks as always for reading, and be sure to let me know what you think on the way out. Happy Hump Day Gabbers.

    Hey folks, welcome to another Whip It Out Wednesday here at YouGabSports. Before I get into sports today, I'd like to go on a rant about something that's been pissing me off for a few years now.

   It's bad enough that there are actually people out there stupid enough to protest outside of veteran's funerals... but to force the father of a fallen hero who sued the church responsible for these protests and WON to pay that church's legal costs, $16,000, makes me want to head out to Kansas and shoot Fred Phelps myself. Phelps the leader of this ring of douchebags, members of the Westboro Baptist Church that protest at soldier's funerals because they died "protecting a nation that allows gay rights". Initially the soldier's father was awarded $5 million, but the ruling was overturned by an appeals judge, forcing this soldier's father to pay the $16,000 in court costs for the church group. I say if these douchebags can afford to send children around the country to protest outside of funerals, there is no fucing way this guy should have to pay the court costs for these fucking whackos.

   That's right, they send children to do their dirty work. They have groups of kids, all under 18, show up outside of fallen soldier's funerals and march with signs that read "God hates you" and "Thank God for dead soldiers", because they are such steadfast homophobes. If ever there was a good time for somebody to bomb a church... this would be it. Just make sure Phelps and his entire douchebag congregation are in there gay bashing before you light the fuse. I mean, I'm all for freedom of speech and all, but if you're not allowed to punch someone in the face for carrying an ignorant sign like this outside of a soldier's funeral, this country has grown even more pussified than I thought. Anybody who continues to be a member of this church is a part of this, a supporter of this bullshit, and I honestly say shoot em all.

    As pissed off as I am about this, it makes it difficult to be pissed off about sports on top of it... but I still found a way!

    I'd like to start with Brittney Griner, the "star" of the Baylor women's team that should be suspended, but instead is setting tournament records... mostly because she looks like that one rediculously tall kid that always shows up at a grade school basketball game. But my beef is no longer with her sucker punching and breaking the nose of an opposing player; it is the fact that I think she is really a guy in fuckin drag! Listen to "her" talk, watch the way she acts postgame... looks like a dude. Honestly, she looks like Juwana Man, or something Eddie Murphy would brake for. I would like to see the NCAA launch a full investigation into this... the extent of which would probably be somebody checking "her" shorts for a set of nads....

    As for some real basketball, the men's final four, gotta say at this point I'm all for anybody but Duke. That weasly prick Coach K and the entire roster of douchebags he trots out onto the floor take the easiest road to the Final Four in history, then actually have the gall to claim (through their media whores on various shows) that Butler had an easier time... jesus christ. Anybody that doesn't hate Duke by this point has to have their head examined. I hope whomever it is, whether it be Huggy Bear and his Mountaineers in this round, or Izzo's Spartans/22 year old Brad Stevens Bulldogs in the final, I just want Duke to lose... and to see the jerkoffs crying on court after they loose. As far as picking an actual favorite, who I'd want to see win the most, I'd have to go with Butler. Don't like going against Sparty, but they DID knock off my boy with the mutton chops.

   Speaking of Sparty, how about the job Tom Izzo has done with this team. Not only do you loose your best player, Kalin Lucas, in the first HALF of the sweet 16 game, but you make it all the way to the Final Four after? Amazing. 6 trips to the Final Four in 12 seasons... amazing... especially when you look at the teams he has brought there. Not exactly devoid of any talent, but not brimming with the top prospects you see on Duke and North Carolina's rosters. As per usual, there is a lot of talk of teams wanting to pay top dollar to bring Izzo in for next season, with Oregon leading the charge this year. I hope Michigan State is smart enough to pay this man like he deserves to be paid, as the best college basketball coach in the land.

   And what the hell is going on at Boston College? First you fire your head football coach for interviewing for an NFL job... and NOW you fire Al Skinner, a guy who has made your basketball program relevant for the past 15 years for looking into another opportunity? Second time in three years this has happened. Obviously somebody at the top for this university thinks they are a much bigger deal than they are.

   The Nets will not go down as the worst team in NBA history... the picked up their 10th win of the season, an impressive win over the Spurs at that. First time in over a decade a team with fewer than ten wins beat a team with 40+ wins in the NBA. Congrats to the Nets for avoiding "history"... and good luck with the whole draft lottery thing. I still say that is the worst draft system in the history of professional sports... and by far the easiest to "fix".

   As for the NFL Draft coming up in just a little while, gotta wonder what the hell is going on with Jim Kelly up in Buffalo... is he loosing his fucking mind? Is he drinking the ESPiN Kool-Aid? Reports are he wined and dined Tim Tebow... and I still have to hope no team out there is dumb enough to spend anything more than a late third round pick on the guy... no matter how many stories he gets on Sportscenter. Yeah, Mayhew, I'm talking to you. As for the Lions, I'm still holding out hope that they go all defense with their first, second and third round picks, unless a first round caliber o-lineman drops to the the second. But in order to avoid going into another Lions draft rant here, I'm going to move on... there will be plenty of time for that next week.

  As for Joey Porter... please shut the fuck up. I hope that cop DID hit you, you fucking idiot. Just because your 'boy' gets pulled over, doesn't mean you can pull up drunk, in your car, to a cop and start mouthing off to him. I don't care if you're a washed up former NFL star or if you're the fuckin mayor. Guess what... that cop's going to arrest you, and maybe even whomp on you a bit off camera.

   Opening Day is on the way! Yeah, Sunday night, although it's Yankees-Red Sox ALREADY, the baseball season kicks off. Hard to believe it's already here, but I couldn't be happier to have something to talk about other than baketball! Between that and the NFL draft coming up fast, gotta love it.

    That'll do it for me this week folks. Thanks as always for reading and for any comments you leave on the way out. Happy Hump Day gabbers.

       Well folks, it's Wednesday once again, and believe it or not, I'm pissed off about a few things! Yeah, looks like the NFL has created a new "Favre Rule", looks like baseball is thinking about catering to the crybabies at the bottom of the AL East, and oh yeah, my bracket is officially D.O.A.  

       But to begin, I'd like to take a minute to wish the best of luck to Denver Nuggets coach George Karl as it was reported yesterday he may not return to coaching until the playoffs because of his cancer treatments. I've always thought of Karl as a guy that at least showed some class as a coach and who always went about things the right way. I hope everything goes well for him, and I hope this year he can finally win that championship that always eluded him in Seattle. Between he and Chauncey Billups, minus Carmello "sucker punch-DUI" Anothony and the Birdman's coked up ass, there is still more class in Denver then there is just about anywhere else in the NBA... and let's face it; ANYTHING would be better than a Lakers-Cavs NBA Finals.

      As for the NCAA tournament, my bracket is officially D.O.A. Two of my four Final Four teams are done, including my champion Kansas, but at least I'm not alone there. But with Kansas losing, there is still much hope. Especially when you look at the way Northern Iowa, St. Mary's and Cornell took it to teams that looked to be much more talented than they were in Kansas, Villanova and Wisconson. Northern Iowa happens to be my personal favorite, and as much as I hate rooting against Michigan State and eventually Ohio State (should they happen to beat Tennessee), I'd love nothing more than to see this team take it all. Not because it's a great "Cinderella" story, that's been done. Just check out the old school mutton chops on Panther's F Lucas O'Rear...

       As for two sweet 16 teams, it looks like they'll be without their starting point guards for the rest of the tourney. Michigan State's Kalin Lucas was lost to a torn achilles tendon in the first half of their win over Maryland, and he's expected to be gone 4-6 months because of the injury. Now West Virginia's Darryl Bryant is out with a broken foot after aggrivating the injury in practice.

      In the NFL, the owner's meetings have resulted in a change to the NFL's overtime rule, which I will forever call the "Favre Rule", because that is the entire reason it has been implemented. So from now on, if a team kicks a field goal on it's opening possession of overtime, the other team "gets a turn" to either kick another field goal to tie it or score a TD and win it. So really, it gives you an advantage to LOOSE the coin toss. After two field goals, the game would then "revert" to regular sudden death overtime format. How fucking stupid is that? How about instead of changing the rule like that, you just do what you REALLY wanted... if the team with the bigger star is going to loose, just screw the other team over and give them another chance. This is just a stupid fucking rule change... if it weren't they wouldn't have made it "just for the playoffs".

      My take on the whole thing... if you don't want to loose the game on a field goal, how about having your defense make a stop. Don't go crying to everyone because your defense let the Saints get into field goal range. Certainly don't go crying loud enough to get a rule change just because your washed up QB made the same kind of stupid throw he's made his entire career at the end of regulation to put you in that position in the first place. I garauntee you all that if the Saints had lost this game under the same circumstances, this would have never even made it to the table at the owner's meetings.

     The scariest thing about the whole thing... only four owners were smart enough to say "this is fucking stupid" and vote against it. It passed 28-4!

      And speaking of crybabies, how about all this realignment talk in baseball? I mean, I'll admit, I would hate to be a fan of the Rays, Orioles or Blue Jays, knowing that no matter how good your team is the Red Sox and Yankees will always be about five steps ahead of you. But you can't go shuffling the entire league around just because things are feeling a little hopeless. If anything, I suppose they could move the Rays to the NL, and create a "southern" division featuring the Braves, Rays, Marlins and Royals; maybe even the Cardinals. It would even serve to break up the 25-team NL Central!  But no matter what you do, there is always going to be a rivalry somewhere you're going to disrupt. I'll admit it, I would LOVE to see the Red Sox and Yankees in a diffferent division. That way I don't have to watch ESPiN cover every single game of the 50 game series they seem to play every fuckin year. But with so many long standing rivalries out there in the sport, there just isn't much of a way you can realign the league and not fuck something up somewhere along the line. Please just leave things alone, Bud. You've already done enough in your tenure as commissioner to fuck up the game... let the next guy take this thing on and please just retire or die already...

     Sticking with baseball a minute, it's good to see a team like the Twins lock up their hometown guy in Joe Mauer. Sure, they paid a LOT for him (4th highest contract in MLB history), but when you're the Minnesota Twins, you're not going to get many big time free agents. Besides, he likely would have received a bigger contract had he hit the open market from either the Yankees or Sox anyhow.

     Speaking of the Yankees... looks like Curtis Granderson will be their starting center fielder on opening day. This comes after he had a good defensive spring because the Yankees though "statistical evidence" showed his defense in center was declining. Apparently they didn't happen to catch any Tigers games last season... the guy is probably one of the five best defensive center fielders in all of baseball. If you don't believe me, just watch this:

       Between that, the fact that he was a great community guy, and the fact that we're now looking at Johnny Damon as a possible opening day starter... that is why I hated trading this guy in the offseason; especially to those douche bags.

       And before I go, glad to say it finally looks like the Wings have their shit together enough to take the 8th and final spot in the West. Sure, we're used to gunning fo the Presidents Trophy this time of year around here, but hopefully they'll get hot at the right time and make another run for the Stanley Cup.

      On the flip side, the Pistons are currently battling for position to get a few more ping pong balls in this summer's NBA Draft lottery! What a colossal fall for this team. Trading Chauncey for that douchebag Iverson has to be the worst trade anyone made anywhere in sports last year. And now "the future" is Charlie Villenueva and Ben Gordon? If that doesn't get Joe Dumars fired, I don't know what the fuck will.

    Yesterday Fan brought up the Milwaukee Bucks and their amazing run to the #5 seed in the East. I'd attribute this sudden rise to their hiring of John Hammond, former assistant to Joe Dumars with the Pistons and longtime front office guy with the organization, as GM. I still honestly thing it was Hammond, not Dumars, pulling the strings during the Piston's championship run of '04 and the subsequent sucess of reaching another NBA Finals and 5 of 6 Eastern Conference Finals during the same stretch. The way I see it, when Hammond left town, so did Joe Dumars' brain. The guy is in over his head now, and it's time to give it up. I've loved Dumars since he was a player here, always a class act and he still is as a front office guy. But enough is enough; get him out of there before the team slips any futher.

    That's all for me today, folks. Thanks as always for reading and for any comments you leave on the way out. Happy Hump Day everybody.