Time for our usually weekly look back at the non-football world of sports. Today, we look at the NBA including a huge mea culpa from yours truly about one of the best rookies we've seen in a long time, boxing, golf, NASCAR, and what appears to be one of the most bizarre stories in years. Away we go...
1. PacMan
-No... not that Pacman! If a man becomes the greatest pound for pound boxer in the world... does anyone know it? Does anyone care? Manny Pacquiao demolished the highly-rated Miguel Cotto over the weekend to win his 7th title in 7 different weight classes. Unfortunately, even though Pacquiao is one of the most exciting fighters of a generation, he's not bringing boxing back to prominence. I would love to watch him fight Floyd Mayweather, which would be a Top 10 All-Time clash, but I'm afraid I'm in the minority.
2. Brock Lesnar
-Speaking of fighting sports and world champions, UFC Heavyweight Champ Brock Lesnar is apparently lying in a hospital bed with some sort of mysterious illness. UFC guru Dana White says Lesnar might miss his scheduled UFC 108 fight, and beyond. White offered this mysterious quote:
"He's in a hospital up in North Dakota somewhere right now," said White. "He went to Canada and some bad stuff happened to him, so we've got to figure it out.
Wow. How cryptic is that? Could you imagine Bud Selig saying that about Albert Pujols, or Roger Goodell saying this about Peyton Manning?! This is insanity. This... is the UFC. Not to make light of the situation, but this seems closer to a WWF storyline than a legitimate sport at the moment. The heavyweight champ is in a hospital bed in North Dakota and all Dana White says is that it's not AIDS or cancer... thanks Dana. We hope Brock turns out ok, and can defend his title, but we wish that this episode was more of an exception than the rule in the MMA world. Stay tuned to this story, because something doesn't seem to fit here.
3. My Bad... My Bad
"Bust - Brandon Jennings Italy - Sebastian Telfair's long lost little brother?? Running your mouth before playing a second in the NBA doesn't show the maturity needed for the league"
-That was me, before the NBA draft. Umm... mulligan? OK, I'm still not a big fan of Brandon Jennings' antics before and during the draft. Especially that stunt where he showed up at MSG only after being drafted in the Top 10. But, he is showing a maturity and skill level beyond his years for the Bucks. An unbelievable 55 point performance against Golden State is the signature moment of a great rookie campaign. He's averaging over 25 ppg and is an early runaway leader in the Rookie of the Year race.
4. 4-Peat Is On
-Much to the chagrin of sentimentalists out there, Jimmie Johnson won again at Phoenix to pretty much sew up his 4th straight NASCAR title. Is anybody surprised? Mark Martin finished 4th but it's the robotic perfection of the 48 crew that looks like it will do the job yet again. The real question though: is Johnson's dominance good for NASCAR? Sure, he's cementing a place in the sport's all-time greats... but isn't it zapping the fun out of the sport just a little bit? Or maybe a lot? I know I probably won't be watching on Sunday, another Jimmie Johnson coronation doesn't move me. The final laps from Sunday...
5. World Cup Qualifying
-No surprises in the UEFA playoffs with France, Spain, and Russia all taking a one goal lead to the 2nd leg. New Zealand beat Bahrain to make it into the field of 32 in somewhat of an upset (don't expect them to do much damage in South Africa). In Africa, most of the big guns made it with Cameroon and Nigeria advancing. Nigeria won and got a miraculous upset from Mozambique over Tunisia to help them make it in. And yes, that will probably be the only RSS shout out to Mozambique, mark it down. Here's the highlights of Nigeria's 3-2 win over Kenya...
6. Tiger & Michelle
-2 big stories out of golf this weekend. Michelle Wie got her first career win in something called the Lorena Ochoa Invitational. While it is nice that she got a win, let's not get too excited; she beat a field of 21 players in a November tournament. It's not the US Open or even a big LPGA event. The other story is Tiger's win in Australia. I thought to myself, why is Tiger playing in Australia? Then I found out why... a 3 Million Dollar appearance fee. Hopefully that money actually goes to someone who needs it. Here's his final 3 holes from Sunday...
7. NBA Stuff
-Stephen Jackson got traded to Charlotte, at least Larry Brown is used to dealing with imbalanced stars... the Lakers were booed off their home floor after losing to Houston, though I wouldn't be too worried if I was a Lakers fan... the NY/NJ metropolitan area is a combined 1-19, ha ha ha... if the season ended today Atlanta and Phoenix would be the #1 seeds... New Orleans is the contender most in trouble with CP3 hurt and Byron Scott fired... the Fab 5 (Bos, Cle, Orl, LA, SAS) might not be as dominant as we all thought.
Check back later this evening as Y2 takes us through the world of College Pig with the YCS and Heisman Watch, and our Top 10 Games of the Decade Countdown continues this week. Bye for now...
2 comments:
Jennings agent told him not to show up because the reports coming into them was that he wasn't going to be a first round pick. It was a total surprise that he was, especially the top 10. For you to heap criticism on Jennings that he only showed up after he was a top 10 pick is a little much.
If you're going to talk smack about your fellow draftees, then man up and sit in the green room with the other top prospects. Don't hide out in a hotel room and only show up after you become the man.
And nobody, I repeat, nobody, thought that he wasn't going in the first round. He was a borderline Top 10 pick who wanted to make sure that he wasn't the last guy in the green room to save face. It's that simple, he deserves the criticism for his ridiculous draft antics.
That being said, he's played great in Milwaukee, all credit to him. Seems like in spite of that episode, he's legit.
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