Dan vs. The Intern: NBA All-Star Weekend

Here at the Ramblings we like to wager on sports. More so I like making picks on pretty every event that I can while the Intern isn't quite as inclined to do so. But considering this all-star game is being held in Las Vegas and the Intern is the biggest basketball fan I know, we're having a little contest of sorts here at the Ramblings to see who can pick better over all-star weekend. And if you think we're going to include the shooting stars contest, you must think that we consider that an actual event; not just an excuse to include the WNBA this weekend.

Skills Competition:

Dan: Wade nearly broke the record last year in this event but I don't think he has what it takes to bring it home this year. I would pick Chris Paul but I'm still not sold on him. So when in doubt, go with what you know. Pick: Kobe Bryant.

The Intern: I have disliked this comp since it was conceived. I feel that the skills challenge proves nothing and is about as useful as Dick Chaney. Hmmm, on that note I guess I will pick Chris Paul for no real reason.

3-Point Shootout

Dan: The NBA has put the races on equal terms for this competition with 3 white guys and black guys in this competition. I think a white boy will walk away with the title for the second year in a row; but it won’t be Dirk. Pick: Mike Miller

The Intern: For the 3 point comp I am going to have to give the nod to Dirk. With the confidence he is playing with this year I can definitely see him repeating. The only way I see him losing is if Gilbert is allowed to wear his Agent Zero All-Star jersey, then nobody stands a chance; there is still a 50 / 50 chance he won’t show up to the completion because of his little addiction to a certain Texas card game. He might be a little preoccupied.

Slam Dunk Contest:

Dan: Big men rarely get the love in this competition and with both Tyrus Thomas and Dwight Howard in, it leaves Gerald Green and Nate Robinson to choose from. I can't stand Nate and rumour has that Green's got something huge planned, how can I go against him. Pick: G-Money, Gerald Green.

The Intern: The most anticipated event of the whole weekend is the glorious dunk competition. My initial pick for this was Dwight then the all knowing Commissioner Stern vetoed Howard’s idea to raise the net to 12 feet. Good work Stern… Idiot. My pick is G-money just on the basis that it is G-money. So enjoy the festivities and I will be back with my analysis next week.

All-Star Game and MVP:

Dan: Anyone who knows anything about basketball over the past few seasons knows that the West is the dominant conference. But, it is hard to argue that, with all of the injuries that they've suffered, the West can pull by a team featuring Lebron, D-Wade and CB4. Pick: Eastern Conference All-Stars.

The safe bet for MVP is anyone not named Mehmet Okur but I've actually got to pick a player, not just who it won't be. Since I've picked the East to win, I pretty have to take one of their players here. I think that Lebron James nabs the award after being fed the ball from Dwayne Wade all night long. Pick: LeBron James

The Intern: I want to go with the West but my intuition and the fact that half of the West team is injured or not playing, I am giving the East the nod. For MVP, I am going to have to go with Hibachi. I have a feeling his vendetta tour will extend to the all-star game and if he is allowed to wear his Agent Zero jersey he will be able to wield the powers of Thor. Plus he has been playing like garbage for the last 2 weeks (vs. Portland 9 points? Come on) so he is out prove why he is sometimes referred to as the black Jesus. ‘Till then, stay classy Toronto.

Forsberg dealt; Leafs beat up on junior team.

Apparently, a loud cheer came from the Maple Leafs dressing room when they heard that, after taking warm ups, Peter Forsberg wouldn’t be playing that night. During the game, the news broke that Forsberg had been traded to the Nashville Predators for Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent and two draft picks. The Leafs then proceeded to score three goals in the first period against a goalie that was a back-up in Chicago last season and third string on the Flyers this year. Toronto shouldn’t get too far ahead of themselves and call this a “quality win,” because clearly, Philadelphia is in full tanking mode.

What are more important about this trade are the ramifications for Nashville. Having a player like Forsberg in the lineup can be a tremendous advantage, especially when you figure in the skill that they already have there. Considering that Nashville is already at the top of the league, this may be the move to put them over the top; of course, if Forsberg can stay healthy that is. But the real question is: with Nascar season starting, does anyone in Nashville care?

NBA "Are you serious?" moves

Wow! Well that was a little intolerant.

Apparently, Tim Hardaway hates the gays. Seriously, he said so himself. Are people still this intolerant towards others or is Hardaway just being ignorant for the sake of it. The former all-star guard has retired a few years ago and probably is just looking for people to talk to again. But even if he doesn't mean the statement, it's still a boneheaded move just to get some publicity.

This comes on the heels of former NBA player John Amaechi declaring to the world that he is gay but decided to hold off outing himself during his playing days due to backlash of this sort. The shocking part of this turn of events is that Amaechi is commending Hardaway for being honest! In the “ridiculous, absurd, petty, bigoted and shows a lack of empathy that is gargantuan and unfathomable,” way.

18 steps forward, 1 step back.

It looks like the Celtics' road to Greg Oden Kevin Durant hit a speed bump last night when Paul Pierce led his struggling team past the Milwaukee Bucks. This just seems pretty counter-productive from my point of view. Sure, Boston may still have a chance at the Hotlantic crown, but they should be more focused on keeping pace with the awful Memphis Grizzlies who are also in all out tank mode. The smartest move that a "fan" of Boston could do right now is possibly put a hit out on Paul Pierce. If they could manage to hurt him enough to take him out of lineup for the rest of the season, it could be the move needed to capture that coveted number one pick.

Moves stupider than signing Gil Meche

Mo' on the Go? Say it ain't so!

Arguably the best closer of all time, Mariano Rivera, may be on the free agent market after this season. Rivera is reportedly upset about how New York handled Bernie Williams' contract situation. This would be devastating to the Yanks, especially given how well Rivera performs in the post-season; well enough, in fact, to earn the nickname from PTI of "The Hammer of God." The entire Yankee organization and fan-base should start praying that GM Brian Cashman can put a happy ending to this story, or their search for another World Series ring may be out of the question.

Cubs not willing to spend money?!?

In idiotic news, the Chicago Cubs are opting to wait out their ace Carlos Zambrano who has stated that he will walk after this season if a multi-year extension isn't reached before opening day. This marks the first time this off-season that Chicago has refused to spend money on a player and given how good Zambrano has been for the Cubs in past seasons, it's easy to see how insulting this looks. If they don't wrap up Carlos for the long term, he will command more money than any pitcher in recent history. If you think Barry Zito did well for himself on the market, then Zambrano will do incredible.

Where have all the All-Stars Gone?

As we approach the NBA's all-star events this weekend, the stars seem to be bailing in favour of some mid-season time off. Several big names had already declared that they didn't want to play this weekend due to injuries. First, Yao Ming was voted to the start the all-star game while he was still on the injured list. Soon after, more and more stars came falling with assorted injuries. In fact, the West broke the record for most injured players named to an all-star team with 4. Carlos Boozer, Steve Nash and now Allen Iverson have all ducked out of the game with a bevy of injuries. In the East, it's looking as if Jason Kidd won't be playing on Sunday, according to reports that is. The list may not even stop at those names; on Tuesday night, Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade both played through injuries. 'Melo sat out the fourth quarter with a quadriceps injury while D-Wade played through the pain of a muscle bruise.

The conspiracy theory going around is that players don't want to play in the game this year for more selfish reasons than to recover from injuries on the weekend off. Since the game is being held in Sin City, it's thought that players would rather attend swank parties instead of playing in a meaningless game.

PS. To give you an idea of how big the parties will be this Sunday, Michael Jordan is said to be looking to hire 75 dancers to perform at his 44th birthday party on Saturday night.

NFL Coaching Moves

Schottenheimer Fired

Even after receiving what seemed like a vote of confidence not too long ago, Marty Schottenheimer wasn't able to avoid the axe and was fired last night. This comes after Marty foolishly turned down a contract extension while he was seemingly on the hot seat too. Many NFL personalities called for this move after San Diego lost a close game to New England in the divisional playoffs after they had finished the season at 14-2, but it didn't seem like it would happen. Well, now the Chargers staff has been nearly completely dismantled; with most notably, their former defensive coordinator, Wade Phillips, was hired to replace Bill Parcells in Dallas. With this firing coming late in the off-season by comparison, San Diego will be lacking ideal replacements for the job and may find themselves on the short end of the stick. It may have been worth another season of Marty-ball rather than what they have to look forward to.

Reid to step away from game

After some recent family trouble, Andy Reid, coach of the Philadelphia Eagles has decided to take some time off from football to mend his own fences. Reid’s sons were both in the nation’s spotlight after two separate incidents with the police. Garrett Reid, 23, admitted he had taken heroine after driving through a red light and running into another car. Britt Reid, 21, pulled a gun on another motorist during a dispute then drove off laughing.

The most interesting part of Andy Reid’s decision to take some time off is the question if he’ll actually come back in mid-March like he said he would. According to insiders, Reid is very family oriented and may decide to take some extra time off or even call it quits. Eagles fans should start worrying about the Reid family even more than they already are or, maybe, give Marty a call, he’s looking for work.

Interesting NHL Moves

Kings in London

It appears that the Los Angeles Kings will be opening next season with a game in London, England. This follows the news that the NFL will also have England host a regular season game early in their upcoming season. The NHL hasn't had a game outside of North America since the 1997-1998 season when games were played in Japan to promote the NHL players taking part in the upcoming Olympics.

While it's always a good thing to expand your sport and make it more international, wouldn't it be more pertinent to work on strengthening their U.S. fan base? It's only logical to make sure your games are selling out at home before moving games to overseas locales.

The first Domino?

In the first move that can even be close to being considered a blockbuster deal, Ladislav Nagy was dealt to the Dallas Stars what seems like only hours after Wayne Gretzky throwing his hands up and saying, "screw it," to this season. After a disheartening loss on Sunday night, Phoenix has now decided to throw in the towel and trade away some talent for prospects. Going to the Coyotes in the deal was Mathias Tjarnvist and a first round pick. It seems like The Great One didn't know what he was getting into when he signed on to coach the Coyotes; if only his players were as good as he was.

Notes from Weekend

Arenas stumped

Agent Zero may have guaranteed too much when he promised to drop large amounts of points on the coaches who cut him from Team U.S.A. Playing against a mediocre Portland club, Arenas on managed 9 points on 3 for 15 shooting. Apparently Gil has finally written a check that his skills couldn't cash. Maybe next time he'll keep his guarantees accomplishable.

Bitch, you got knocked the F*** Out!

Somebody should remind Kris Newbury of the Toronto Maple Leafs that if you're going to get in a fight, you should try to avoid blocking punches with your face. He was just lucky that he went down when he did during Ronald Petrovicky's mauling of him. Maybe next time he should try taking on an easier opponent, like maybe an infant; or maybe he should he try the Carmelo Anthony approach of sucker-punching then taking off in the opposite direction as quickly as possible.

The only thing missing from the turn of events is Petrovicky being interviewed after the fight and coldly proclaiming "If he dies, he dies."

Who said there are no big hits in the Pro Bowl?

Poor Brian Moorman, the all-pro punter of the Buffalo Bills, was absolutely jacked-up by the Redskins' Sean Taylor. Moorman seriously should've thought twice about running a fake punt towards a guy who has was once charged for aggravated assault. I've got to admit that Moorman showed some guts by getting up immediately and congratulating Taylor on the hit. He’s a class act all the way.

The video's here:


Also, sadly, my beloved blue-shirts couldn't overcome the AFC and lost on a last-second field goal. The best story-line of the game, in my opinion, is that now Tiki Barber is out of my life; well, that is until he pops on some sort of TV-talk show in the near future. Then I can hate him for being an annoying announcer instead of an annoying running back on my rival's team.