Trading Derrick WIlliams for Pau Gasol

Trading Derrick WIlliams, for Pau Gasol would be the dumbest move yet, by  David Kahn. Seriously, it would be dumber than; drafting 4 point guards in his first draft; drafting Wes Johnson over Demarcus Cousins; drafting Johnny Flynn over Steph Curry; signing Darko to a 3 year contract; and not giving Kevin Love a maximum contract for the maximum term. All of those moves were terrible. But trading your highest ever draft pick (after just 66 games played) for a 32 year old power forward, who has clearly lost a step, would trump them all.

Timberwolves free agent preview

The Minnesota Timberwolves are close to being a Playoff team in the 2012-13 season. Let's take a look at how they can get there, who they might target this off-season, and who they might let go from the current roster.

Top 5 hitters in MLB History

 This is my list of the top 5 hitters of all-time

Minnesota Wild/NHL Comprehensive Free Agency Preview

NHL Free-Agency is just two days away. The start of free-agency, will mark the beginning of the biggest and most important off-season in Minnesota Wild history. This team has missed the playoffs in each of the previous four seasons. Wild fans, are growing restless and want to watch a winning team. In fact, the Wild is playing to 1/3 empty buildings nowadays. This is a franchise, that once sold out every single game for the first ten years of its existence.

Another White Guy Joins the T-Wolves

What the Hell is David Kahn trying to pull? Perhaps, he is trying to pull off the reverse of the 1966 Texas Western team, which was the first ever team to win a NCAA Championship starting 5 African-Americans. With the drafting of Purdue's Robbie Hummel, the Wolves now have 8 white guys on the roster. Someone tell them this is not the 1950's. Besides trying to become the Tea Party's favorite NBA team, I have no idea what the Wolves are trying to accomplish. But we now have more white guys on this team then Duke. Coach K, is even embarrassed by this team. Tomorrow, I'm expecting the Wolves to trade; Wes Johnson for Kyle Korver; JJ Barea for JJ Reddick; and Derrick Williams for Mike Miller. I believe this is all apart of Kahn's ultimate plan, or his "singular" move that he keeps talking about.

NFL Regular Season Win Totals Over/Under NFC South

This is part two of my NFL Over/Under win totals for the 2012 regular season. All totals based off Sportsbook.com's current spread. Each day, I will be doing a different division. Up second is the NFC South Sportsbook's spread in parenthesis.

NFL Regular Season Win Totals Over/Under NFC EAST

This is part one my NFL Over/Under win totals for the 2012 regular season. All totals based off Sportsbook.com's current spread. Each day, I will be doing a different division. Up first is everyone's favorite division, the NFC East. Sportsbook's spread in parenthesis. 

Timberwolves Draft Preview

Well, as things stand right now, the Timberwolves, currently hold just a second round pick in this years NBA Draft.

5 Thoughts on a variety of Sports Subjects

 

5 Thoughts on a Variety of Sports Subjects

1. Pavel Bure Makes the Hockey Hall of Fame-

This is long overdue, as Bure definitely deserved to be a first ballot Hall of Famer.  Bure scored 437

Late Night Finals Ramblings & other ramblings

  
A begrudging congrats to Lebron on winning his first NBA Title.....He played phenomenal throughout the Finals and the whole Playoffs for that matter........Congrats to the Thunder, on a Hell of a Playoff run for such a young team.....They will be back next year, and better than ever......Kevin Durant needs to command the ball more.....He is the best player on his team, and they need to get him the ball more in early game situations....I still hate the Heat, although I'm torn on which Heat player I dislike most... Let's break it down list style...

Guest Blogger BT Trav (updated)

NBA Finals Guarantees:
1. Heat in 5
2. Lebron shuts down Durant
3. Under 195 game 1
4. Lebron MVP-- gimme

Boom! NBA Analyst....
PSPS. Dustin Johnson wins the US Open by 2....
(BT) Trav

Shags' take: The commentary above was written before the Finals started last night by my buddy Trav. As usual, it is not easy when making predictions. I feel confident my predictions; the Thunder in seven games and Kevin Durant as Finals MVP will hold up.  My prediction of the over hitting last night was correct, but Miami failed to cover the 5.5 point spread, which I thought they would.
originally posted on June 15.
UPDATE
Well, we all had fun at Trav's expense after game 1. But it turns out he was right. The Heat did win in 5, and I assume Lebron will win the MVP of the Finals.(The refs in games 3 and 4 should be nominated as well.) Congrats on the picks Trav.

A quick take on Knuckleball Pitchers in the MLB (by request)

RA Dickey, the MLB's only current knuckleballer, is 11-1 with a 2.00 ERA so far this season. Dickey's stats in his past six starts; 6-0;  allowed just 2 runs, 1 earned, for an ERA of 0.18; 63 strikeouts; just 5 walks allowed; and just 20 hits against. That is phenomenal. Especially only allowing 5 walks in that time frame as a knuckleball pitcher, as the Knuckleball is the hardest pitch to throw for a strike. In his past two starts, Dickey has thrown complete game 1-hitters. Just Sick. He is the first player since 1944 to accomplish that feat.                                  more after the jump.

MInnesota Wild Draft Preview and Trade Preview

The NHL Entry Draft takes place tomorrow night in Pittsburgh. The Wild hold the seventh overall pick in the draft. General Manager, Chuck Fletcher has done a great job of accruing prospects in his previous drafts. Hopefully this draft will include more of the same. This draft is very heavy on defensive prospects. But does feature a few potential impact forwards. Minnesota currently has more Forward depth in it's prospect pool then defenseman. But the Wild will select the player they think has the most potential, regardless of position.                  more after the jump.

MLB Power Rankings

Welcome to the first edition of Michel's MLB Power Rankings. Yes, it is the time of the year when baseball is the predominant thing to talk about, because all of the other sports are either finished or soon to be finished for the year.

Special Thanks to Ticket King for being my first paid sponsor. And to all of the people reading this, thank you.

30.Chicago Cubs(23-44):  Proud owners of the worst record in the bigs. . The only thing interesting about the Cubs is; who will they trade, to speed up there rebuilding process? SP Ryan Dempster is as good as gone. Can they find takers for Alfonso Soriano's gigantic contract? Is Matt Garza on the block, or will new GM Theo Epstein see him as part of the future? more after the jump

Matt Cain Perfect Game

Pitching is getting out of control in the MLB. Matt Cain, of the San Francisco Giants is the latest example. He just got done throwing the second perfect game of this season, and the fourth no-hitter of the year in the MLB already. Cain, finished with 14 strikeouts. Equaling Sandy Koufax, for the most strikeouts in a perfect game. Koufax set the record in 1965. Watching the last two innings, while I finished my golf preview, Cain looked un-hittable. The Houston Astros had no chance. Shit, the 1927 "Murderers Row" Yankees would have had no chance to hit him. He was filthy.  Every single pitch he threw, he threw with a purpose. His fastball was topping out at 94-95 MPH with sick movement, and he was locating it wherever he wanted. His off-speed stuff was knee-buckling, starting from one chalk outline of the batters box and finishing right off the far side of the plate. This was not a fluke, and was easily the best pitched game of the year, so far.

US Open Preview

 

There are plenty of story-lines coming into this years US Open, which will be played at The Olympic Club, San Francisco California. Can Tiger Woods win his first major in four years? Will Luke Donald, or Lee Westwood finally win break through, and win a major championship? Can Rickie Fowler continue his hot play, and take home his first major championship? Will Phil Mickelson make enough short putts, and avoid the disastrous hole, to finally win his first US open, after finishing second five times at this tournament? Does Bubba Watson have the game to win another major, after winning the Masters earlier this year? Can Rory McIlroy regain his form and defend his title? more after the jump

Late Morning Stream of Consciousness

  


RIP Dark Star........The Sports Show will not be the same without you.........Hope you are somewhere were you can drink and gamble............It has been just one day without the NHL, and I miss it already......Stoked for the Wild to not suck next year(hopefully)......I also hope the NHL is not dumb enough to lockout its players again.........But this is a league that missed an entire season, so you never know.......Terrible officiating in game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals......Two hits from behind 10 seconds apart.......No call on the home team, and a 5 minute major for the visiting team.....not saying it was rigged(boxing) or manipulated(NBA) but that was a terrible call.....Does not take away from the fact that the Kings deserved to win the Cup..........Zach Parise just stated that he would not play for the Rangers next year........One less team the Wild has to worry about competing with......I think he ends up back in Jersey, or with Detroit........Those two teams have a track record of making the playoffs and competing for the Stanley Cup most years.......Sadly, the Wild do not.......The boxing match on saturday night was definitely fixed.....Manny was a huge favorite, but his odds dropped dramatically in the two days before the fight, meaning all the smart money was bet on his opponent, Bradley......This was the most egregious fix of a sporting event, since the 1919 Black Sox,......Kevin Durant proved that he is the best player in the NBA with his performance last night.....In his first Finals appearance he scored 36 points; becoming the 4th youngest player to score 35+ points in a Finals game.....He scored 17 of his 36 in the fourth quarter...I hate Dwayne Wade......I never used to, but after watching him stink up the court, for the most part in these playoffs, his whining and false bravado have really soured me on him.....He never used to do that.....Wade will be the reason the Heat lose in the Finals from a Heat perspective, but Lebron will get the blame.....The fact is the Thunder are the better TEAM....The Twins should not trade Denard Span.......He is the best all-around player on the team and he is still improving......I can not famoth why they would even discuss trading Denard......Somehow the Twins are only 8.5 games out of the Division lead......Just goes to show the AL Central is always winnable........Byron Buxton has been compared favorably to Mike Trout of the Angels.....If he is half as good as Trout, the Twins will have hit a Home-run that pick, which they need.......Trout is already third in the MLB in winshares, and he has only played 38 games in the big leagues this year........Imagine the attention he would garner if he played on the East Coast......He is better than Bryce Harper, the Nationals phenom............that is not a knock on Harper who is having a great season......it is a compliment to Trout, the best rookie since Ken Griffey JR........

Guest blogger (BT) Trav

NBA Finals Guarantees:
1. Heat in 5
2. Lebron shuts down Durant
3. Under 195 game 1
4. Lebron MVP-- gimme

Boom! NBA Analyst....
PSPS. Dustin Johnson wins the US Open by 2....
(BT) Trav

Shags' take: The commentary above was written before the Finals started last night by my buddy Trav. As usual, it is not easy when making predictions. I feel confident my predictions; the Thunder in seven games and Kevin Durant as Finals MVP will hold up.  My prediction of the over hitting last night was correct, but Miami failed to cover the 5.5 point spread, which I thought they would.
originally posted on June 15.
UPDATE
Well, we all had fun at Trav's expense after game 1. But it turns out he was right. The Heat did win in 5, and I assume Lebron will win the MVP of the Finals.(The refs in games 3 and 4 should be nominated as well.) Congrats on the picks Trav.

NBA Finals Game 1 pick

Miami (+5.5) at Thunder OVER/UNDER 196
The Thunder will be the fresher team and will have the home court advantage. Game 1 is a huge game in the NBA Finals especially for the home team. The Thunder need to win this game, if they want to win this series. I believe they will, but they will not cover the spread.
The Pick: OKC 105 Miami 100 OVER

NBA FINALS PREVIEW

 


 Miami Heat VS Oklahoma City Thunder

The NBA's two most star-laden teams square off in this years NBA Final; Oklahoma City and Miami. Each team is led by their "Big Three"-Lebron James, D'wayne Wade, and Chris Bosh for Miami. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden for the Thunder. All of the hype and focus is on Lebron versus Kevin Durant. But there are many other questions; can Miami's pick and roll defense shut down the best pick and roll offense in the league? Will the Thunder turn the ball over, and allow the Heat to get out in transition, or have they fixed that problem? Miami is deadly in transition, and scoring easy baskets off of turnovers is their best offense. Will the Thunder's superior depth allow them to wear down the Heat?   Can Lebron vs Durant become the 2010's version of Magic VS Bird? Can Lebron get his first NBA Championship? More after the jump

OKC Thunder

 


Last nights game between the Thunder and Spurs was the best basketball game I have seen in quite some time. We saw the birth of a new mega-star in Kevin Durant, and the potential birth of the next NBA dynasty in the OKC Thunder. The Spurs gave it everything they had, but the young Thunder where just too talented and too athletic for them. Kudos to the Spurs and coach Greg Popovich, for maximizing the most of their talents and winning 20 games in a row this season. The Spurs had a great season and are an extremely well run organization, so it will be no surprise if they continue to defy father time, make deep playoff runs. Without getting help, the Spurs and for that matter any Western Conference team, will be looking up at the Thunder for many seasons to come. more after the jump

Heat/Celtics game 6 pick plus questioning the Heat

Heat(-2) at Celtics OVER/UNDER 181

Miami is down three games to two against the Celtics in their Eastern Conference Finals series. The Heat have lost the last three games, after winning the first two games of the series. This has been an unpredictable fall from grace for the Heat. Nobody expected Boston to be this competitive, let alone, up three games to two in this series. Boston barely beat an average Sixers team in round two, yet The Celtics are now one win away from another NBA Finals appearance. Miami has completely collapsed under the pressure Boston has surprisingly given them in this series. The Heat look frazzled and uninterested, while the older Celtics look rejuvenated and fresh.

The main difference between these two teams is chemistry. Boston looks to be playing for each other. The Heat look to be playing for themselves. There is no flow to the Heat offense, while the Celtics are moving the ball amongst themselves and getting good shots from everyone on the court. This is not an indictment on Lebron, but an indictment on the lack of depth and poor coaching for the Heat. Who exactly is going to make shots for the Miami besides Wade and Lebron? Mike Miller's carcass? Shane Battier's just a warm body at this point. Miami coach Erik Spoelstra is getting schooled by Celtics coach Doc Rivers. Rivers has had a plan for everything that has happened in this series. Spoelstra refuses to use Lebron(Miami's best defender) to guard Rajon Rondo. Rondo is the key to this Celtics squad, and Miami is playing five feet off him, which allows him to pass and get the ball to the open guy much easier. Kevin Garnett is killing Miami all over the court, because the Heat have no one that can guard him. Garnett, in his sixteenth season, wants to win more than anybody else on the court.

If the Heat lose this game, there will be changes in Miami before the next season. The coach will definitely be gone and one of the big three will possibly be traded. This is also the final chance fairly or not, for Lebron to prove himself in the playoffs and redeem himself. Another year without a title, means another year of questions about his character and his desire. Each year this team does not end the season as a champion, the bigger joke Lebron and his buddies become.

The Pick: Boston 94 Miami 90 OVER
Somehow Miami is favored on the road, despite losing the past three games of this series. How can that be? The Celtics should win this game unless Miami is able to get 70 points combined from Wade, and Lebron. The Celtics seem to want this more than Miami, which is extremely sad. Boston has proven themselves, yet they are still hungry. Miami has proven nothing, and they don't seem to want to prove anything, except that they have been overrated for the past two years. It appears this will be the last game, for the ESPN created dream team. ESPN has to be pissed with all the hype they've given the Heat including a daily blog following them around, and nothing to show for it. Unless you count crying, pouting, and missed jumpers/shots in close games a good thing.

Ramblings

 The NBA Conference Finals have been amazing....Watching my boy Kevin Durant take over the Spurs has been thrilling....Durant has shown that he is the best player in the NBA with his play in the Western Conference Finals....Unlike certain players, Durant gets better in tight games.....James Harden has been clutch as well.....his step back three to ice game 5 in San Antonio was cold blooded.....The way the Thunder and Celtics have come back to take 3-2 series leads after being behind 2-0, is what the NBA needs....unpredictability.....Kevin Garnett appears to have found the fountain of youth.... he looked washed up at the beginning of this season, but has played some of the best basketball of his career in these playoffs....His competitiveness and fierce determination to win have led the Celtics within one game of the NBA Finals....He just wants to win more than Lebron and Wade.....It is that simple.....If Lebron had KG's tenacity and will to win, he would have at least three NBA titles, and would be gunning for a fourth.....Instead Lebron is still looking for his first title, and is still shying away from the big moment in close games......The Heat's struggles are not all Lebron's fault though......Wade has been hit or miss in this series.....his play depends on the referees calling fouls when he barrels into the lane....when they do he puts up good numbers....when the refs don't call the ticky tack fouls his numbers are not good.....The rest of the Heat are terrible......Without Lebron carrying them, this is a lottery team........Battier and Mike Miller are just cadavers at this point in their respective careers.....When Udonis Haslem is your third best player, you can not win an NBA title.......Also working against Miami in this series is their coach......Erik Spoelstra is getting schooled by Celtics coach Doc Rivers.......The Celtics seem to score a basket after every time-out, while the Heat only run isolation plays for Wade, or Lebron.....The Celtics are just a better TEAM than the Heat.......The LA Kings have been the most dominant team in the NHL playoffs that I can remember....they don't score as many goals as Gretzky's Oilers or Lemieux's Penguins, but they score enough and they dominate teams with their defense and puck control.....The King's are 10-0 on the road in the playoffs this year....That's an NHL record.....LA is also 15-2 in the playoffs overall....With a win tonight they will equal the 1988 Edmonton Oilers for the best record ever in the NHL Playoffs(16-2)..... Kings goaltender, Jonathon Quick, has got to be the Conn Smyth winner(MVP of the playoffs) his play has been ridiculous.......he has 15 wins......he has saved 95% of the shots he has faced.....he also has a 1.36 goals against average.....Quick and the Kings have allowed just 24 goals in 17 playoff games.......The confidence Quick gives the Kings in front of him is incalculable.....LA's forwards and defenseman can just go out and play and take chances, because they know their goalie will make stops at the other end of the ice....The Twins have played much better lately.....They actually look like an MLB team, and not a glorified AAA team anymore.....The team has been much improved at the plate and in the field......The teams pitching has improved somewhat thanks to Scott Diamond and PJ Walters(huh), but still is the worst in the league.....Getting rid of the human rain delay Jason Marquis was helpful......at least I don't have to watch him labor through 3 innings at an hour per inning pace.....The Twins are still along way from respectability though......Finding a way to get rid of Joe Mauer's contract should be GM Terry Ryan's top priority.....Mauer's contract is just too expensive for this team to afford....If he can turn it around and hit like he did in 2009 then I could see keeping him, but you can not pay a guy 25 million plus a year to hit 300 with 10 HRs and 80 RBI.....even if he is from St. Paul......This is a guy that will most likely be playing first base exclusively two years from now(when he is not hurt that is).....You need a power hitting first baseman to win in the MLB....You do not win with a slap hitter at first base.....At this point if some team offered to pick up Mauer's whole contract(unlikely), I would take a washing machine back for him, or a bag of baseballs.......How dumb is Jaguars WR Justin Blackmon??? How do you get a DUI before you sign your multimillion dollar rookie contract???? At least wait till after you sign the dotted line, before you get behind the wheel hammered......He cost himself a lot of money......The best part is this is the second DUI he has gotten......Some peoples kids......It pains me to say this, because I loved Reggie Miller as a NBA player, but he is a terrible announcer....TNT needs to demote him and let Kerr and Marv(kinky)Albert do the games......They are the best announce team in the world for any sport.....TNT's Inside the NBA is the best show on TV......I almost like listening to Chuck, Kenny and Ernie bicker and talk basketball more than I like watching the games.....Shaq has got to go though.....He mumbles way too much.....The ESPN version of Inside the NBA is garbage.....Magic is terrible at TV work, Jon Barry is a moron and Mike Wilbon is not comfortable as the host of the show.....The fact this is on ESPN at all is pathetic.....the guys have no chemistry and look like public access analysts, because they are so nervous and out of their elements.....