Monday, February 28, 2011

Champ v. Portis Trade in Review

With the Redskins announcing today that they have cut ties with Clinton Portis and with Denver resigning Champ Bailey to a 4-year contract last week, DBSF felt it fitting to review the 2004 trade that sent Portis to Washington in exchange for Champ Bailey and a second round pick. Over 7 seasons, Portis gave the Redskins four impressive seasons and three mediocre ones, all cut short by injury.

From 2004 to 2010 Portis played 84 games, compiled over 6,800 yards, and 49 TDs on 4.1 ypc. However, in two seasons with the Broncos he put up over 3,000 yards, and 31 TDs, on 5.5 ypc. He was a Pro Bowler once with each team and in 2008 he was second team all NFL.

Champ, on the other hand, played 101 games for Denver, was a Pro Bowler 6 times with the Bronco's (4 with the Skin's), and in his first 3 seasons with Denver he was First-Team All Pro. Similar to Portis, Bailey's numbers were more impressive with his first team, but over the last 7 seasons he has 30 interceptions and 3 INTs returned for TDs. In 2006, Champ led the NFL in interceptions (10) and interception return yards (162).

In addition, to Champ the Broncos picked Tatum Bell with the second round pick to replace Portis. While Bell never came close to Portis's numbers in Denver (or, in Washington for that matter), he played 4 seasons with the Broncos and in 2006 he had a 1,000+ yard season. Thus, at face value it appears that the Broncos benefited most in the trade.

But, consider that since the trade each team has appeared in the playoffs twice and only won 1 game each. Further, in only 2 out of the last 6 seasons has Denver as a team given up less than the NFL average for total passing yards in a season. Of course, team passing defensive statistics can't reflect the play of one player--especially, considering Denver's anemic defensive lines of the last 7 years--but clearly Champ's presence didn't prevent teams from moving the ball in the air against the Broncos.

And, Portis's stats fail to reflect his non-quantified contributions, such as his success as a blocking back. Perhaps Portis's greatest value as a Redskin was that he gave Skin's fans a star to identify with on teams of over-payed, underachievers that were milking an organization that appeared disinterested in its fans at its most amiable. Although his numbers don't capture it, the exuberant Portis made his worth in solidifying a Redskin's fan base that had been alienated by an owner and free agent busts over 7 tumultuous years.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

NBA Draft Deadline Recap: Dan Gadzuric, still in the League

The closing of the NBA's trade deadline at 3pm today marked an end to some big NBA moves, especially of stars leaving the Northwest Division in the Western Conference for the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Because this season's deadline was especially active DBSF will review some trades that received less publicity.

Trade #1: Troy Murphy (to Golden State) for Brandan Wright and Dan Gadzuric (to New Jersey)--Most casual NBA fans will pass this trade off as mere salary cap compromises. But, to DBSF this was commensurate to the Melo trade, excluding Melo, Billups, Favors, Felton . . . basically, all the players except the $3 million. And, well, assuming that the $3M was in Belarusian rubles and not USD.

Trade #2: Shane Battier (to Memphis) for Hasheem Thabeet and 1st Round pick (to Houston)--Battier heads to the Grizzlies to stand-in for the injured Rudy Gay and the increasingly ineffective OJ Mayo. With respect to character, replacing Mayo with Battier is like if the producers of "Two and a Half Men" replaced Charlie Sheen with Kirk Cameron. For Houston, adding Thabeet is like getting a 3-inch shorter Manute Bol, minus the shooting, rebounding, and spectacular shot blocking. So, basically a black Shawn Bradley minus the terrible contract. Thabeet's like Yao with the foot injury, but as far as we can tell all of Hasheem's ligaments and bones are all a-okay.



Trade #3: Luke Harangody and Semih Erden (to Cleveland) for 2nd round pick (to Boston)--Have you ever heard the question: if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it does it make a noise? This trade is more like: if a dust cloud on Mimas, Saturn's smallest moon, makes a whirrr and not even the slightest resemblance of life--even at the simplest, like non-cellular amoebic level--is there to ever understand the concept of sound much less hear it does it make a noise? Announcing that two real life human beings were getting shipped to the abysmal Cavaliers for a second round pick is inhumane in DBSF's eyes.



Celtic's GM Danny Ainge should have simply cleaned out Harangody and Erdin's locker except for a one-way USAir ticket to Cleveland, with a note saying "We won't say a word." Eventually, at some point in the 2012 season someone in the media--likely an acute intern--would have noticed that the two were not on Boston's bench but were in fact sitting somewhere at the end of the Cavalier's bench. Then when questions arise about how they transferred teams the Celtic's and Cav's management could simply indicate that their microphone wasn't working or they couldn't hear the question. Eventually the whole issue would be dropped as nobody--save perhaps immediate family members--wants to talk Luke Harangody or Semih Erden for too long.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Knicks + Melo = Late 1980's Loyola Marymount Offense + Perennial Eastern Conference Runner-Ups

The Knick's are set to (officially) acquire Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, and three players to fill the 9-11 spots on a roster that are already filled by about 4 other Knicks. (Essentially, this trade makes the Knicks a starting 4 with two superstars, but leaves them with a Timberwolvian 5-12 on the roster). There are mixed reactions to the trade; but, to DBSF—in an optimal scenario—it can make the Knicks perennial runner-ups to the Heat in the Eastern Conference. Consider the following:

As the trade stands now, the Knicks are probably the 4th or 5th best team in the East behind the Celtics, Heat, Bulls, and maybe the Magic. The Celtics are facing a rather daunting temporal constraint that will likely grant the current roster no more than one season as an elite NBA team. Considering Dwight Howard is rumored to go to the Lakers in 2013, the Knicks trail the Heat and Bulls two young teams who—barring injury— are only getting better. (The Bulls because Rose, Noah, and Gibson will improve with experience; the Heat because free agents that desire a title will be willing to make greater financial sacrifices to join the Heat as the team’s impending hegemony becomes more apparent.)

Of course, signing Melo doesn’t represent the final piece of the Knicks rebuilding efforts. Ideally it will attract Chris Paul to the Knicks in 2012 or 2013 (depending upon if he exercises a player option in his contract). Adding Paul makes the Knicks an elite team, but they will still trail the Heat. What Amare gives the Knicks over Bosh, DWade gives the Heat over Paul (grant it, they play different positions). LeBron is superior to Melo on both sides of the ball; the difference will be best illustrated when the Knicks have their backs to the basket, and Melo’s NBA All Star Weekend defense makes LeBron look Chamberlainian (not the British Prime Minister; the guy who will probably be the only basketball player to average 20ppg in a season more in the NBA than he did in high school).

But, acquiring Paul represents a best case scenario. Some people are ignoring that the Knicks adopted considerable risk in offering Amare a 5-year $100M contract considering the history of his knees. So, what about a less optimal scenario, such as Amare missing time to rest his knee? In addition to trading away promising young talent in Gallinari, Chandler, and Felton, the Knicks lost 3 centers (Mozgov, Curry, and Randolph) so the only center left on the team is Ronnie Turiaf. Besides Amare nobody on the Knicks roster above 6'8" is averaging more than 20 mpg. The team also gave up three draft picks, so they’re primarily limited to building through free agency. This trade reflects a long-term gamble for the Knicks. If they fail to land Paul and add size at a Ron Artest-discount this trade could have minimal effect on the Eastern Conference hierarchy.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Jose Bautista gets $65 Mil Probably to Bat .250 and Hit 22 HRs

Last night the AP reported that the Blue Jays signed last season's home run leader Jose Bautista, who is coming off a 54 HR, 124 RBI, and .260 BA 2010, to a 5-year $65 Million contract. Prior to 2010 Bautista batted .240 with Ryan Garko power.

Thus, there is the danger that Buatista went Andruw Jones/ Adrian Beltre in a contract year, and the Blue Jays made an investment based on a Chris Wilcox-2002 NCAA tournament/ Akili Smith-1998 Oregon sample size of data. And, with the offensively mercurial Vernon Wells now in Anaheim, or Los Angeles, or Anaheim-Los Angeles, Bautista will likely see fewer quality pitches.

(Not that Yunel Escobar and Adam Lind don't strike fear into the hearts of opposing pitchers. Then again, the likes of CC Sabathia probably don't even know who Escobar and Lind are. In fact, CC probably doesn't even know that the Blue Jays are a team despite the fact that he'll face them one or two times a year. He probably just calls them the "blue team". But, in Spanish.)

Assuming 2010 wasn't an anomaly Bautista is promising. Besides the power numbers, in MLB he was 9th in pitches per plate appearance, 4th in number of pitches, 1st in extra base hits, 4th in runs created, 11th in BB to K ratio, and 5th in BB to plate appearances. But, because these are the Blue Jays the gratuitous Vernon Wells acknowledgement is necessary. After a 32 HR, 106 RBI, .303 2006, the Jays gave Wells a pre-Jayson Werthian 7-year $126 million contract. While Wells disappointed from 2007-2009, he was an All-star in 2010 and the contract was back-loaded so the Angels will absorb much of the burden.

In the grand scheme of things none of this really matters because outside Rickey Romero and Brett Cecil the Blue Jays have a starting rotation that screams fourth-place in the AL East for the fourth consecutive year, which--in all fairness--is basically the same as finishing second in the NL Central.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Collective Bargaining Agreement: Carolina Panthers' Compromise

Apparently at the NFL's collective bargaining discussion between owners and the NFL Player's Association, Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson belittled Peyton Manning and Drew Brees (among others) in reaction to the players' questioning the owners' need for greater revenue, and the players' demands for a more proactive policy on protecting from head trauma. It should come as little surprise that Richardson wants to stall the labor negotiations and limit the possibility of a season where he will likely lose revenue funding the payroll for a team with little hope of any immediate success.

His team is coming off an NFL worst 2-14 record, they just fired long-time head coach John Fox and replaced him with a D-coordinator from a team that didn't make the playoffs last season, and their first overall pick will likely be a defensive lineman, who--at best--could replace Julius Peppers whom the Panthers' lost in free agency last year. Unless Jimmy Clausen substantially improves the Panthers could devolve to the Detroit Lion-Pittsburgh Pirate-Cleveland Cavalier lineage.

Of course, Richardson may be more amenable to a new collective bargaining agreement if the NFL would be willing to make some minor rule changes. For example, the NFL could: (1) devalue the touchdown to 2 points and award 8 points for every punt; (2) allow mid-game player swaps between teams; (3) grant NFC South teams more regular season opportunities to play against college football teams from the Mid-American Conference (East not West Division); (4) reverse the rule about change of possession on interceptions; and/ or, (5) have game outcomes decided by lottery.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Forgotten Legends: "Big Country" Bryant Reeves

Every so often DBSF relies on visual media, usually because the day's meeting with the creative team resulted in content consisting of either ironic musings on OJ Mayo, or a scientific notationally-detailed analysis of Luis Scola's free throw shooting over the last month. Since there's only so much you can say about a Memphis Grizzlie's bench player, like Mayo, DBSF decided that its time to go visual with a biopic on a former Vancouver Grizzlie's bench player, Bryant "Big Country" Reeves.

If you don't remember Reeves, he was the fair-skinned human-archipelago that led Oklahoma State to the Final Four in 1995. He was to celerity what 'From Justin to Kelly' was to high art. Think Kendrick Perkins' white twin; but, less svelte. If this still fails to ring a bell, below DBSF presents a pictorial review with gratuitous and unsolicited commentary.


"Run? N'ah. That's all you dude. I'll make it up when I make it. I don't care if you're my coach or the other team's coach. Big Country don't run in the second half."




"Yeah. N'ah. I wanna play from here. No, just pass me the ball. I don't wanna get up. Heck, yeah I've played basketball before, I know what out of bounds is. Let's just see if the ref's don't notice."




"Coach, fans, enjoy it. Only time Big Country's sprinting up the court tonight. That's what time outs are for--give ol' Bryant a chance to get down to the other side with the boys."




"I told them people at Tops one thing--don't make my head look big. I said 'don't make me look like I gotta big head'. Explain to me how my head next to a basketball looking like an orange isn't making my head look big?"




"Seriously. N'ah, seriously. I ran twice last quarter. We got like 4 or 5 other guys on the court. Let one of them little guys do some running. I'll make it down every 5 plays; I'm our special teams."

Monday, February 7, 2011

President Obama's Superbowl Party Guest List.v2

(Disclaimer: DBSF is an unabashed Marc Anthony fan, and with the exception of that song "Jenny from the Block", the movies Jersey Girl, Gigli, Shall We Dance, Monster-in-Law . . . okay basically every movie she's done after Selena except for Anaconda and Made in Manhattan he's indifferent to Jennifer Lopez.)



The internet is reporting that along with members of Congress, big city Mayors, high-ranking members of the Obama administration, and the cast of Pardon the Interruption, the President invited JLo--or, Jennifer Lopez--and her husband, Marc, to the White House Superbowl party.



DBSF has to wonder how JLo made the guest list. Considering that 2004 happened 7 years ago, there had to be a more trending celebrity to invite. (Like, was Kevin Federline not available or something?) It seems that Obama's out-of-college aids made a gaffe in this selection. If DBSF was advising the President and First Lady on a celebrity couple to invite, he'd say: "Two words--Burt Reynolds. He don't need a date. Invite him twice."

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Cleveland Cavaliers--History, Future, and the Future-Present

After last night's loss to the Indiana Pacers, who had fired their coach 2 days earlier ironically over concerns of futility, the Cleveland Cavaliers dropped their 22nd straight game. As of today the Cav's have not won a game since 2010. In fact, their last win was December 18 against the Knicks. To give you some perspective on this losing streak (besides it encompassing like 19+ generations of Monarch butterflies) DBSF thought it appropriate to review 5 events of the world of 45 days ago.

1) Only two college football bowl games had been played. Northern Illinois and BYU beat UTEP and Fresno State, respectively on the opening day of the 2010 bowl season. Or, they beat some other teams, or two other teams played. Honestly, it was the New Mexico Bowl and the uDrove Humanitarian Bowl, DBSF is highly suspicious that any of the involved school's Sport's Media Contacts called in the scores.

2) Tunisia was Egypt and Egypt was just seasonably warm.

3) 23 NFL teams were still eligible for the playoffs.

4) There were 10 unbeaten teams in the AP top 25 in men's NCAA basketball, and most American's thought a Jimmer Fredette was either a Louisiana IHOP dish or a sexual move too repulsive to demand explanation.

5) "Two and a Half Men": on-schedule for production.

But, is there any hope? The brightest spot on the Cav's schedule is a home game against the Wizards in 10 days considering that the Wizards have lost all 25 of their away games this season. Of course, if karma has any role in the outcome the two teams will tie; and, then go to a shootout where a draw would be called on account of Cleveland not having a hockey team and therefore, Quicken Loans' Arena having no hockey nets for the aforementioned shoot out.