Pats vs Chief

I am currently watching the Pats play the Chiefs and have to say that I am very concerned about the injury to Tom Brady.  That was a tough hit on the knee and clearly could have caused some serious damage.  I just hope not.  The problem is that Matt Cassell, the second string QB, did not install confidence in the pre-season.  In fact, he looked awful, and many in the media were wondering why they kept him instead of Matt Gutierrez.  After the cut, the assumption by many was that Bill Bellicheck knew or saw something different than the rest of us. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Update: He just through a fantastic pass to Randy Moss from his own end zone.  That was a perfectly thrown ball.  We need more of that!

Olympics — Beach Volleyball

Is it just me or does it seem like beach volleyball is always on TV?  t is odd, I never have too much time for TV, but it seems that as of late every time I turn on the Olympics, beach volleyball is on.  I cannot figure it out.  Either it is that NBC has all of a sudden become obsessed with this sport or that somehow my timing is such that I only tune in when the sport is on.  Personally, I think that it is probably a combination of both.  On a flip side, I now feel that a personal friendship with Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh and will be heart-broken if they lose.  Not!

Manny Ramirez

It was with a quite a bit of consternation that I watched the trade deadline loom today.  Red Sox fans were huge fans of Manny Ramirez until his recent statements which essentially annoyed even the most die hard Manny fans.  I cannot figure out what he was thinking and why he was being such a jerk.

You can certainly understand a player wanting to maximize his profits during his limited years of playing, but you expect the the player to play hard and focus on success.  This is what is so troubling with Manny.  His interest level in being a team player and focusing on the success of the team as a whole was missing.  He seemed to be most focused on himself and what he wanted to do regardless of what was best for the team.  I cannot understand this attitude fiven the millions of dollars he has made; at the least you would think that he would hunger for success and the world series.

On the radio one suggestion was that his new agent, Scott Boras, was driving this.  The issue is that the current contract was negotiated with another agent and so any extensions granted would not profit Boras.  Thus, it was in Boras’ best  interest for a new contract and hence ensure that Manny consistently voices his unhappiness with the Red Sox thus forcing a trade.  This is eventually what happened; I am not one for conspiracy theories, but this certainly sounds like a reasonable possibility.

Lebron James and the Cavs

I have been watching the NBA playoffs. The series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Celtics was a tough one. The two teams played very closely and it continues to frustrate how the Celtics were unable to play consistently on the road. It was the same trend we saw in the Hawks series and clearly does not bode well for their success in the playoffs. You cannot expect to go to 7 games in every series and have the energy to go all of the way. It is interesting to see what happens with the Pistons series. Currently, the Celtics are ahead.

I wanted to talk briefly about Lebron James. The guy is clearly an incredibly talented player. One of the other things that impressed me was his character. So many NBA players seem to have this attitude and arrogance about them which I find troubling. Lebron handled himself in a very professional and mature manner. This is unexpected of someone of his young age and wealth and he deserves credit for it. Thus he is unusual not only for his talent, but also for his maturity and personality.  Kudos to Lebron.

Celtics Basketball

I am currently watching the Celtics playing in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. I have been very excited with the progress that the Celts have made so far, but am feeling frustrated. The guys in green seem to have this dual personality. When they play well, they are outstanding and when they play poorly things can go south rapidly. One of the most annoying elements is that they can change from one extreme to another rapidly.

We saw this change in Game 4 where they had a lead of 10+ points at the end of the 3rd quarter, and then barely squeaked by with a 4 point win at the end. During the last few minutes of that game, the two teams were actually tied! Here in Game 5, the Celts are at it again. They were up 6 points at the half and here at the end of the 3rd, they are imploding yet again and are down by 8.

This not to take anything away from the Pistons, Detroit is a great team. They are putting lots of pressure on the Celtics, but when the Celtics implode, they just make really stupid turnovers and fouls that just drive me crazy. It is like the tale of two teams and you never know which will show up for a given game or a given quarter for that matter.

Update: 

Perhaps my post above motivated the Celtics and they turned it on in the 4th quarter and won!  Yippeee, now it is going to be an old school final — Lakers vs. Celtics.