Win-Win Situation for the Timberwolves

The completion of the Kevin Garnett for the Celtics' entire roster is complete after talks that were on and off for months. The trade exchanges Garnett to Boston for Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Ryan Gomes, Theo Ratliff, Al Jefferson and two future first-round draft picks.

On the surface this trade appears to be trading a potential future Hall of Famer for a bunch of menial players. Instead it's more like a potential Hall of Famer past his peak for a couple emerging stars and a few others with immense potential. The following explains why this is a Win-Win situation for the Timberwolves:

The Timberwolves weren't going to reach the playoffs with or without Garnett this year. Minnesota probably wouldn't have made it any of Garnett's remaining years in the league, either. So they traded him for a handful of skillful players, a couple potential stars and two first round picks - who could be stars. This trade was a thoughtless "YES" for the Wolves to make.

Jefferson is a budding star. Don't tell me he won't be any good in the West - he had little scoring help this season with Pierce out and still managed to put up numbers. Mind you, that was ON THE NBA's WORST TEAM.

IMAGE: courtesy of www.msnbcmedia.msn.com

Green's potential has no cap, thanks to his surreal athleticism. His skill isn't bad either. I cede that Telfair has had inexplicable legal troubles - but he can play the point. He has little range, but magical ball handling skills, solid strength and decent speed. On a team with a few scorers, he can distribute. Gomes is a minor question mark, but has a true NBA body. He'll have to compete for a spot down low, and he'll know it quickly.

Lastly, Ratliff provides the experience to mentor the aforementioned names and the two future first rounders. These picks could be monumental if the right player falls in the right spot in the future.

Don't forget that Rashad McCants, Randy Foye and Craig Smith will now want and be forced to compete for starting spots and minutes. Foye and Smith should be moved by management's effort to build a solid team for the long haul. Maybe this will inspire McCants to do something with his God-given talent, but I personally doubt it.

Minnesota has a plethora of skillful, young players dying to prove themselves in the NBA. From this they may eventually form a talented TEAM from these young players; Garnett never had that chance.

DISCLAIMER: This column is NOT AT ALL intending to argue that the Timberwolves can be or are immedately a better team from this trade. They're not, but they're not far away and will certainly catch up to the KG team's tortoise-like pace.

Performance Drives Funds

The following article is emblematic of college football and the money it generates. My school, the University of South Carolina, has had recent football success and thoroughly expects it to continue. Its supporters not only agree, but are eager to cough up the money as well. It's unfortunate that money separates a good football program from an elite football program, but I'm glad Gamecock supporters are making that transition possible. Take a look at the type of money I'm talking about:



Capital campaign tops $13 million

Seven big donations have been earmarked for USC athletics facilities


By JOSEPH PERSON - jperson@thestate.com

South Carolina raised nearly $14 million in the first year of the athletic department’s first major capital campaign, according to university officials.

In the just-completed fiscal year, donors made gifts totaling $13.7 million earmarked for the athletic department’s facilities plan, according to Michelle Dodenhoff, USC’s associate vice-president for university development.

Those gifts came from seven donors, including five who made pledges of $1 million or more, Dodenhoff said.

“We’re off to an unprecedented start,” Gamecock Club director Chris Wyrick said Friday. “We certainly hope this is the beginning and we don’t intend to go backward next year.”

The campaign remains in the silent phase, during which officials meet with a limited number of potential donors. Wyrick described the initial response as “incredible.”

“You’ve got to understand that the $13 million that we’re talking about is from only about five or six people,” he said. “Everyone that we’ve asked so far has participated.”

USC athletics director Eric Hyman last year announced a $195 million, long-term facilities plan that includes expansion of Williams-Brice Stadium and redevelopment of the 41-acre Roost complex that will be modeled after the USC Horseshoe.

Dodie Anderson, a 1981 alumna of what is now known as USC-Upstate, pledged a major gift for the new academic enrichment center, an $11.4 million, 35,000-square foot building that will be named in her honor. Officials hope to begin construction on the academic center next year and open the facility in the fall of 2009.

“The fundraising has been exceptional, absolutely exceptional,” Hyman said. “We’re trying to raise as much money as we can. We’ve got some ambitious goals to be able to do some of the things that we want to in this athletic department.”

Besides the major gifts, USC announced that Gamecock Club revenues rose to $14.5 million, a 9 percent increase from last year’s $13.3 million total. Club members paid $40 more for their football season tickets this year and are being charged to park for games for the first time in the club’s history.

The Dumbass Wises Up

The following are Mike Nifong's disgustingly belated apology and first complete concession of his unbelievable acts against the Duke lacrosse players. His true intentions now seem...premeditated and malicious. Take a look at his comments today in court:

"We all need to heal," Nifong said. "It is my hope we can start this process today."

IMAGE: Courtesy of rightpundits.com

"I agree with the attorney general's statement that there is no credible evidence that Mr. Seligmann, Mr. Finnerty or Mr. Evans committed any of the crimes for which they were indicted -- or any other crimes against [the accuser] -- during the party," Nifong said.

"For many months, we have sought a real and meaningful apology from Mr. Nifong, for the pain he has caused these families and these young men, the entire Duke lacrosse team, the state of North Carolina and others," said attorney Joseph Cheshire.

Others Know About Balkman's Prowess

This article from 82games.com helps me recall my former USC fellow student Renaldo Balkman's emergence onto the NBA scene. As understandably negative NBA press floods our television and radio speakers, I started looking for engaging NBA discussion and analysis. I'll grant you that this article was written a year ago, but as many people don't know Balkman now as did then. Enjoy.

Vegas Summer League: Balkman is the next...?
by Roland Beech, Founder 82games.com

Also see:
- Day 1: Bargnani debuts
- Day 2: Aldridge vs O'Bryant

LAS VEGAS, NV - Day three of the summer league was another five game special, but I focused my attention most squarely on the nightcap where the New York Knicks faced the Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix Suns. The key player to watch? Renaldo Balkman, the Knicks' controversial first round draft pick.

When David Stern announced that New York had selected Balkman with the 20th pick, a resounding chorus of boos broke out as the feisty audience let their feelings be known. Notable players such as Rajon Rondo, Marcus Williams and Josh Boone were selected immediately after Balkman, all of whom had typically been expected to go higher than Balkman in mock drafts, with many people expecting Renaldo to be an early second round pick at best.

So the question is, did Isiah Thomas make a clever move in bucking some of the conventional wisdom, or was it a bit of a reach? Some have called Balkman the next Ron Artest, which would certainly justify Thomas' faith in him if true.

First off, the official line

Player	Min	FG	FT	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	T/O	PF	Pts
Balkman	27	3-4	2-2	4	1	2	1	1	3	8

So, on a traditional box score level you'd say he did a bit of everything, including some efficient shooting. Ah, but that's not the 82games way...let's add some more detail into the mix. I should mention that my charting of his play disagrees slightly with the official scorer's take.

First up my unofficial plus/minus card (Suns won the game 89-70)

Balkman Q1: 10 mins, -10 Q2: 4:30 mins, -6 Q3: 8:08 mins, +2 Q4: 4:13 mins, -4 Total: -18

The Knicks didn't have tremendous success then when Balkman was on the court, but since he was matched up with the Suns starters for much of the time, he didn't have the easiest setup perhaps. However he was playing in arguably a more legitimate NBA lineup since the Knicks started Frye, Lee, Nate Robinson, Balkman and fellow first rounder Mardy Collins. Overall then, the plus/minus scorecard isn't pretty for Renaldo in this game.

Let's move on to his offensive touches. Now first I should note that Balkman spent most of the time on offense hanging out near the baseline, and as the Knicks roster included NBA veterans like Channing Frye, Nate Robinson, and David Lee, there were seemingly few plays run for Renaldo. He did serve as the primary inbounder for offensive sideouts however.

BALKMAN Offensive touches

Starting Zone	# of Touches	Dribble	End in Paint	Outcomes
Three-Point	8	50%	13%	two PF drawn
Mid-range	8	88%	75%	2-3 FG (dunk, layup), 2-4 FT, 1 T/O, 1 Assisted Missed Shot
In the Paint	3	33%	100%	1-2 FG (dunk, missed tip), 1 Assist (layup)
Total	19	63%	53%	3-5 FG, 2-4 FT, 1 T/O, Assist Passes 1-2 FG

A couple of notes -- the Tip Shot miss, as with many tips, is a questionable play, especially given his tip of the ball on the offensive glass didn't exactly get too close to going in the basket! Finally on a fastbreak play in the first quarter I had him drawing a foul and missing the free throws.

Anyway, a few things jump out:

• Balkman's touches per minute and possession usage are low for a summer league game
• He dribbles the ball on most touches (63% -- compare that say to Bargnani's debut of 39%)
• He gets into the paint at a high rate, particularly when fed the ball in a midrange starting zone.
• Also, while not explicitly shown in the table above, all of his offensive activity came in the paint! He took no outside shots, and both shooting fouls drawn occurred in the paint as well. Even his one assist came when he was in the high paint area.

Without a single outside shot than, it's hard to say whether he has the capability to knock them down on the jumper or if he is strictly a slasher type performer. The fact that his three-point range touches led almost always to uneventful passes to a teammate, while his midrange touches (generally on the baseline) led to immediate forays to the hoop suggests he may indeed not have tremendous confidence at this point in taking the jump shot.

All told then the first impression was of a player who on offense will let the game come to him, won't demand the ball, and will generally drive at the first opportunity on his infrequent touches.

His ability to finish was nicely on display with two dunks (one explosive) and a layup, as well as a missed reverse layup. He has then the makings of a low-usage, high efficiency shooter. That may fit very well on New York given he will likely be playing alongside Marbury, Francis, Nate Robinson, Crawford, Curry and other Knicks' players with free shooting tendencies.

Ah, but of course if people are comparing him to Artest it must be because of his defensive abilities.

BALKMAN on Defense

Role	Plays	FG	FT	Blk	Stl	PF	Pts
Initial/Switch defender	5	2-2			1	1	4
Help defender	4	1-2	2-2	1		1	4
Fastbreak defender	2	*	1-2			1	1
Total	11	3-4	3-4	1	1	3	11

One of his switch defense moments was guarding Amare Stoudemire on the baseline, which after a fake got him in the air was an easy layup. On one of the fast break plays he went for a steal and missed, after which the ball handler dished out an assist for two points, so arguably Balkman should be charged for something there too.

The numbers add up to look a little less than tremendous (basically a wash with his own efficient offense) and twice he was faked into the air for baskets. The steal though was spectacular, coming when he was defending an inbounds and deflected the ball up whereupon he jumped and grabbed it. Generally though he didn't seem to have much of a presence on defense, and as with his offense was content to let the game come to him rather than be a force all over the court.

The next Ron Artest? No, I don't think so, not even a poor man's Artest. For one thing Balkman doesn't seem to have the same build -- Artest is a rock with that genuine boxer's son toughness, whereas Renaldo is lean and lithe at this point, albeit with seemingly long arms. In addition Artest is much more active, on each end of the floor and on the glass.

No, if anything the player who came to mind visually as a comparison, was ex-Knick Latrell Sprewell. The similarity evaporates quickly when you look at the college stats -- Sprewell scored 17 points a game in his last year in college, Balkman under 10, and the jump shooting, free throw shooting, and passing all seem to be areas of glaring differences. Both players though came with defensive reputations and were drafted in the latter part of the first round to some degree of surprise.

The Verdict: I can't fault a guy for being efficient on offense in limited chances and defering to his more experienced teammates, but I was a little surprised there was not more energy on display. Nevertheless as he acclimates to the NBA, he may well prove to be worth more than the typical #20 selection.

[Update: through three summer league games, Balkman is averaging 8 pts, 5 rebs, 1 stl, 1.3 blks...on 64% FG shooting, with good foul drawing but lousy 54% FT shooting.]

An Impressive Coach Dies Too Soon...

Wake Forest basketball coach Skip Prosser died Thursday. He was 56.

Prosser, 56, was at the Demon Deacons' Manchester Athletic Center and had apparently been jogging when he collapsed. Assistant Mike Muse administered CPR until emergency-medical technicians arrived to take Prosser to Baptist Hospital, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

Prosser left Orlando, where the AAU national tournament is being held, this morning at 6 a.m. to return to Wake Forest for a basketball camp. Mark Prosser, Skip Prosser's son and a Bucknell assistant coach, received a phone call at about 2:40 p.m. ET this afternoon while watching games at the Milkhouse in Orlando. He left the gym immediately.

Prosser took over at Wake Forest in 2001 after coaching at Xavier for seven seasons, including five straight NCAA Tournament bids. He coached for one season at Loyola (Md.) in 1993-94.

IMAGE: Courtesy of media.gatewaync.com

CLASSIC TRIBUTE
As a tribute to Skip Prosser, ESPN Classic will show Wake Forest's 2005 upset win over Duke TONIGHT at 9 p.m ET.

Prosser's career record was 291-146 (.666). He was the 2003 ACC coach of the year. Prosser was 126-68 in six seasons at Wake Forest. Last season, Wake Forest was 15-16 and lost to Virginia Tech in the second round of the ACC Tournament. In 2006, the Demon Deacons lost in the first round of the NIT.

In 2005, Wake Forest was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but lost to West Virginia 111-105 in double overtime. It was Chris Paul's final game at Wake Forest.

The 2004 team reached the East Region semifinals, losing to St. Joseph's. The year before, Wake lost to Auburn in the second round of the NCAA Tournament after winning the ACC regular-season title. He was the only coach in NCAA Tournament history to lead three different schools to the tournament in his first season at the school. Prosser was born Nov. 3, 1950, in Pittsburgh. A 1972 graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Prosser earned his master's degree in secondary education from West Virginia in 1980 while he was a high school coach. He joined the Xavier staff as an assistant before the 1985-86 season, spending eight years on the bench there. Prosser is survived by his wife, Nancy, and two sons: Scott and Mark, both in their 20s. Information from The Associated Press and ESPN.com senior writer Andy Katz is included in this report.

Tour Leader Removed Because He's..... a Coward

Sports fans often label their favorite stars as "role models." I imagine cycling fans have abandoned all hope of finding one in their sport. Within hours I discovered that the Tour's leader - THE TOUR'S LEADER - has been yanked from the race because he gave "incorrect information" to the sports director. Surprise, surprise - he also missed two random drug tests in the last two months. But the team couldn't have been suspicious of that, could they? Take a look at these clowns...

GOURETTE, France (AP) -- Tour de France leader Michael Rasmussen was removed from the race by his team after winning Wednesday's stage, the biggest blow yet in cycling's doping-tainted premier event.

"Michael Rasmussen has been sent home for violating [the team's] internal rules," Rabobank team spokesman Jacob Bergsma told The Associated Press by phone.

The expulsion, which Bergsma said was ordered by the Dutch team sponsor, was linked to "incorrect" information that Rasmussen gave to the team's sports director over his whereabouts last month. Rasmussen missed random drug tests May 8 and June 28.

The 33-year-old rider, who won Wednesday's stage, had looked set to win the race, which ends Sunday in Paris. But Tour officials had questioned why he was allowed to take the start on July 7 in London, England.

"We cannot say that Rasmussen cheated, but his flippancy and his lies on his whereabouts had become unbearable," Tour director Christian Prudhomme told the AP.

The leader of cycling's governing body applauded the decision.

"My immediate reaction is, why didn't they do this at the end of June, when they had the same information," Pat McQuaid said. "The team decided to pull him out; that's their prerogative. I can only applaud that. It's a zero-tolerance policy, and it's a lesson for the future."

With Rasmussen out, Spanish rider Alberto Contador of the Discovery Channel team moved into the race lead.

"It's in no way a celebration on our end. It's the third piece of bad news," said Discovery Channel spokesman P.J. Rabice. "It reflects badly on our sport."

After the Tour's upbeat start in London, when millions of spectators lined the streets, bad news -- nearly all of it related to doping -- quickly claimed the spotlight.

On Tuesday, star cyclist Alexandre Vinokourov was sent home after testing positive for a banned blood transfusion, and his team pulled out of the race. Wednesday, it happened again when the Cofidis squad confirmed its rider Cristian Moreni of Italy had failed a doping test, prompted the withdrawal of the entire squad.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the 104-year-old Tour ever had lost its leader in such fashion so close to the finish.

"In the very old history of the Tour de France, I don't know, but the recent past -- never," said Tour spokesman Philippe Sudres.

The Tour de France is DONE

The Tour de France needs to give up. I know little about cycling, but watched it religiously when Armstrong was involved. I assume I would have watched some this year, but the other two names I knew - Ivan Basso of Italy and Jan Ullrich of of Germany both tested positive for illegal injections. Smart move, fellas.

Now, just because I'm done doesn't mean that cycling fans should give in. But wait, the positive tests haven't stopped even as the tour occurs....




Say It Ain't So

Alexandre Vinokorov's positive "A" sample test from stage 13 is both untimely and tragic. But there are a few silver linings to keep in mind.

Say it ain't so. Tell me it isn't true that Alexander Vinokourov, one of cycling's biggest stars, tested positive for blood doping. This is not what cycling needs right now. The fans are tired of the scandals and losing faith in the sport. The sponsors are pulling out because they want positive PR, not positive dope tests tied to their brands. And the clean riders and coaches are fed up, too. But after we all get over our initial "Dammit, Vino!" reaction, there are a few things to remember:

1. His B-sample still needs to be tested

Though it's rare for a B-sample to show anything different from the A-sample (especially when you're looking at the blood of two people in one tube), it is possible that a mistake was made and Vino isn't guilty. The anti-doping procedures give an athlete or his representative the opportunity to be present when the B-sample is being tested, so you can confirm for yourself that the correct procedures were followed. In fairness to the athlete, we need to wait until the positive test results are confirmed by the B-sample before tying him up in the town square and flogging him.

2. Clean riders can and do win races

I've coached them, my coaches coach them, and countless other coaches and team directors have guided clean athletes to victories in the world's biggest sporting events. Doping scandals like this one hurt the credibility of the entire peloton, and it's the clean riders who bear the heaviest burden. They're struggling to win races against juiced competitors, fighting for fans' trust and respect, and hoping that someone else's poor decision doesn't end up costing them their jobs.

3. In the long run, catching cheaters is better for the sport

In the short term, better testing procedures means a steady stream of doping scandals. There are a lot of people working to clean up our sport, and maybe if there's anything good about Vino testing positive it's that it shows that the testing procedures work. The governing bodies and labs are making it harder and harder for cheaters to keep their secrets. And if the sport survives through this tumultuous period, I think there's hope that one day large-scale doping scandals will be a thing of the past.

Interestingly, if he's guilty, Vinokourov will be one of the first riders who signed the UCI's Commitment to New Cycling to test positive for doping. As a result, on top of the normal 2-year suspension, Vino would have to pay the UCI his entire 2007 salary. It's the first time the UCI has added a huge financial penalty to the fight against doping, and as a threat it may not have deterred Vino, but let's see what happens when riders start having to write big checks.

I've been involved in cycling for more than 30 years. The sport has treated me very well at times and kicked me in the teeth at others, but it's the sport I love and I'm in for the long haul. Cycling has made some great strides against doping in the past few years, but each "victory" comes at a high price. As coaches, athletes, teams, labs, and governing bodies work to clean up the sport, the world is watching and the race is on. If it takes too long, we'll be saving a sport no one cares about.

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Hate to Say I Told You So

Many NBA fans would love J.J. Redick's pro career to be a disastrous, swift collapse after he tormented their favorite college teams for four years. These fans thought their dream had come true last year - when Redick was glued to the Magic's bench. But "Not so fast my friend," as the atrocious Lee Corso says. Redick has dominated the Orlando summer league and people - namely the Worldwide leader - are noticing.

I've never understood the obsession with hating Redick, though I am a Duke fan. Sure, he was the overachieving white guy at Duke for four years. For some reason, people tend to hate that Duke has skillful, but rarely dominant white players. His cocky expressions are glazed on the faces of many elite college and pro basketball players after they finish an astounding play. He's NO different. Needless to say, all those expressions came after he was heckled, had things thrown at him, and received threats directed at himself and his family. Who could hold back a quick smile after all that criticism and after knocking down say....a 23-foter plus the foul? His NBA doubters all probably have something in common - he torched their favorite college team for four years. Here's ESPN's account of the Orlando camp, J.J.'s not through folks.

Hoping for bigger Magic role, Redick comes out shooting

By John Denton
Special to ESPN.com

Updated: July 11, 2007, 3:52 PM ET

ORLANDO -- Not even once while J.J. Redick was hitting those five 3-pointers, 18 free throws and averaging 23.5 points the past two days has he glared over at former Orlando Magic coach Brian Hill.

Then again, nobody would be surprised if he had done exactly that.

Redick is shooting with the confidence of his Durham days.Buried on the bench most of his rookie season with the Magic while Hill was still the coach, Redick has taken the Pepsi Pro Summer League by storm this week by once again resembling the cocky scoring machine who dominated college basketball slightly more than a year ago.

A day after torching New Jersey's summer league team for 30 points, Redick showed more of his all-around skills Tuesday in the Magic's 88-65 whipping of Indiana. He scored another 17 points, but more impressively worked his way to the free-throw line seven times, corralled five rebounds and set up his teammates with six drive-and-kick assists.

It's just the summer league, a forum filled mostly with rookies and vagabond free agents, but to Redick, the event is somewhat of a saving grace. After playing just 42 games and an average of only 14.2 minutes a night, Redick has used this week of games to try to get back the swagger that disappeared at times this past season when he never knew when he might play.

"I struggled a good part of the season. It was really frustrating, really draining to tell you the truth," Redick said. "It was a test in patience. But a lot of rookies have gone through that and really my case isn't that unique. A lot of guys have gone through what I did and turned out to have really good careers. I'm hoping to do the same thing."

Hill played Redick only sparingly even though the Magic clearly needed shooters around Dwight Howard and some punch in their shoddy offense. But in Hill's defense, Redick fell behind early with injuries, missing most of the summer with a herniated disc in his back and most of training camp with torn tissue in his foot.

His season high with the Magic this past season was 16 points, but he had more than that (18) by halftime Monday. Magic GM Otis Smith and new coach Stan Van Gundy are well aware that Redick can score from almost any spot on the floor, but they are watching this week to see whether he can defend well enough to contend for the starting job at shooting guard next season.

Both Hills are gone -- Grant Hill is off to Phoenix to chase a championship, and Brian Hill is expected to join New Jersey's staff as an assistant after being fired by Orlando -- and Redick knows there's a huge opportunity for him to become a key player for the Magic. He's keeping his summer league success in perspective, though, knowing it's what he does in October that really will decide whether he will get some meaningful playing time.

"In the big scheme of things, I'm not sure this week really means a lot," Redick said. "Travis Diener had an incredible summer league last year [including a 34-point game], and it didn't help him much. Coach [Van Gundy] is going to play the guys he feels the most comfortable with. I'm just hoping to be one of those guys."

Stay Classy, Baseball

Baseball has again proved why its administration and players themselves are responsible for the game's demise. Michael Wilbon and Dan Le Batard just debated the new issue on Pardon the Interruption. A Fred Mitchell report (Chicago Tribune) says that "more than 70" corked bats were in the Cubs' clubhouse the night Sammy Sosa busted his open and that 1/3 of the bats DID NOT belong to Sosa. Oh lawd, baseball's in trouble. Now we can all begin to understand just how many players cheated in baseball in ways outside of steroids.

--PHOTO-- Courtesy of www.spitter.com

But it gets better - the report also says that MLB officials told the Cubs that they had an hour to clear all these bats from the clubhouse/dugout before any measures were being advanced. Oh jeez, Bud Selig. If this is true, all of Selig's and baseball's credibility is eliminated - in my eyes. Selig can no longer act like he's mulling over his decision about whether or not to follow Bonds's inevitable defeat of history and the record books, if this is true.

This will break any semblance of credibility that the public has for baseball players and the league administration. Confirmation of the story's validity would mean that league officials not only turned a blind eye to cheating, but that they've captained it at times.

--PHOTO--Courtesy of www.espn.com

Once Upon a Time....

...Steve Spurrier blessed my college experience when he chose to coach my South Carolina Gamecocks when he returned to college football. I'm a die-hard Washington Redskins fan but I had no doubt the Head Ball Coach could resurrect USC football and knock down the conventional order of SEC dominance. Spurrier's got USC on its way with an exceptional recruiting class, a stable running game and one of the nation's best defenders, Jasper Brinkley.

The college football season is 55 days away (for my team anyway) and I wanted to commemorate Spurrier's return with Tony Kornheiser's reaction to Spurrier 10 games into Spurrier's first season. I chose Kornheiser's piece for this week's column of the week because Kornheiser knows Spurrier deserved his NFL shot and is ready to win in college, again --

A FEW CHOICE WORDS: TONY KORNHEISER

Gamecocks Spurred by Ol' Ball Coach

Tuesday, November 15, 2005; Page E02

How about a big round of applause for the Ol' Ball Coach!

What a triumphant return Steve Spurrier has made to the place where he belongs -- college football. (Though hour by hour in Gainesville, an increasing number of angry souls fume about what on earth Spurrier is doing in South Carolina, and not back at his alma mater, Florida.)

I'll defend my position until my dying breath that it was the right move for Danny Snyder to hire Spurrier. A man that innovative and dominant in big-time college football deserved the chance to carry that magic to the NFL. Okay, he couldn't. We're all wiser and more humble. . . . Well, I'm not, but Spurrier is.

Spurrier never lobbed grenades at Snyder and the Redskins. He sat out a year to watch his son play high school ball, then jumped back in at South Carolina -- because the geniuses who are running Florida didn't want him. They wanted young, hot shot Urban Meyer instead. How's that working out for them?

Spurrier went boldly back to the Southeastern Conference -- even though it meant playing Florida -- and cleaned out the trash Lou Holtz left behind in Columbia, S.C., some of whose names Spurrier had to read on a police blotter. In his first year Spurrier has coached 'em up pretty good. He's 7-3, and ranked No. 19. He beat his perennial patsy, Phil Fulmer, and over the weekend he humiliated the Gators' Whiz Kid.

How sweet to be the Ol' Ball Coach now. Spurrier is happy coaching South Carolina. (You'll love this: To raise money for a short-game practice area for the school's golf team, Spurrier has lent his name and likeness to a California vineyard producing, hello, "Cock-n-Fire Cabernet" at $15 a bottle!)

And everybody here is happy with Joe Gibbs coaching the Redskins. Who says there are no happy endings?

-Courtesy of www.washingtonpost.com

Sports Illustrated's Demise?

Sports Illustrated has entered a realm of embarrassment it is not used to. Journalism's top sports writers have been dodging job opportunities with SI in favor of the behemoth ESPN or other employers (See J.A. Adande). SI just endured a larger wake-up call aptly described below by AOL Fanhouse:

Whoops! Henry Abbott of True Hoop almost got duped as well, but I can't blame the guy, because SI.com is still looked upon as "mainstream media" -- so people believe them. You'd think they'd check their sources and reference them accordingly. But now I'm not so sure "SI" doesn't stand for "Stealing Information" since they have been notoriously bad this year (see: taking a quote from With Leather without attribution, see also: running a story that no one bothered to check its validity). Oh, sure they added this:

NOTE: An earlier version of this item contained a quote attributed to P. Diddy, which turned out in fact to be the creation of a blogger. My apologies to the readers and to P. Diddy, for attributing it erroneously to him.

But I don't see a link, the name of the blogger or the exact place you took it from. Geez, guys, man up and give credit. It could've been one of those, "Oh ha ha ha, I misread," but now it's more like, "We're never wrong and readers won't know otherwise." Not cool SI.com, not cool.

Maybe It's time for Venus

As you'll note, the last post was about Serena's continued reemergence into the tennis elite. Serena fell to the current best player in women's tennis, so don't discount her return. Venus has meanwhile made the Williams-family comeback a 2-2 affair.

Venus Williams is playing tennis as well as I've ever seen her play. In true American flavor, Venus dominated Maria Sharapova on the 4th 6-1, 6-3. Venus was like lightning in the first set - hitting the lines, showing her power and prancing across the court before Sharapova could seemingly notice.

Sharapova elevated her game to an exceptional level in the second set, but it mattered little. Venus swept through Sharapova and challengers Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ana Ivanovic to return to her home - the Wimbledon final.

Expect Venus to utterly dominate France's Marion Bartoli tomorrow. Why? Because when the Williams sisters are at their pinnacle they lose to no one. Except of course when they have to play each other in the finals.


R.I.P. Andy Roddick's Effort to Grasp a Wimbledon Championship - I'm feeling for you Andy, things just don't bounce your way often.

Serena the Champion Deposes Injury

For those that think Serena Williams doesn't care about tennis and hasn't for some time - reconsider. Williams injured her thigh between points while up a set on and on serve at 5-5 in the second set today. Williams cringed and yelped in pain as the tournament trainer attempted to relieve her muscle spasms. Williams forefeited the next two points, presumably in the hopes of mustering out a service-game win and a tossup tiebreaker. Then the rain gods reigned supreme - slowing Hantuchova's attempt to win the breaker and race through the third set. When play resumed Serena lost the breaker but unleashed her uncanny power game. "Going for broke is all I could do pretty much. You know, I have that game," Serena reminded. Serena's backhand returns seemed to scoff at Hantuchova's second serve, daring it to come at its normal slow pace. Serena was Serena - slamming winners, yelling and egging herself on. She was the old Serena - the-best-player-in-the-world Serena. "I just decided at one point, you know, it was over and I was going to die trying," Williams said. "I figured my heart wouldn't give out, so I had a good chance of making it." Comments like this are the reflection of gutty champions. Whether or not Serena was feeling better in the third set really doesn't matter to me - the fact that she gave herself a chance to get there does. To me the chance she gave herself reflects more on her willingness and ability to wait out such a dire circumstances, rather than her unprecedented physical talent. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't Be Surprised

Williams glided to a 6-1, 6-2 Australian Open victory over Maria Sharapova when many thought her health should have kept her from playing in the tournament. Williams then mounted a charge at the French Open before falling to Justin Henin-Hardenne in the Quarterfinals, despite looming health concerns. Williams didn't impress herself or others in the match. Wimbledon commentators readily recall the lulling performance. Serena conceded her lackluster effort also, but she wasn't too impressed by Henin's performance either. Williams has been eying the imminent quarterfinal against Henin since the draw was unveiled. But she didn't get ahead of herself before the match began nor flail out when tested. Wake up bandwagon tennis fans - this champion's reemergence ensues.

Did Tommy Haas Get Paid Off?

I was forced to do classwork yesterday afternoon and couldn't allow myself to be distracted by Wimbledon - because there were no matches. To compound that issue, Tommy Haas had to get injured and botch his role for this week - at least be on Roger Federer's mind and potentially get him a little tired in your 4th round match against him. Now Haas has retired and Federer is strutting into the Wimbledon quarterfinal waiting for good weather, and his opponents to catch up with him. I wish I'd written about this last night when I thought about it - but evidently former pro tennis player Todd Martin beat me to it on the Worldwide Leader. Take a look:

Mother Nature puts Federer in the driver's seat

By Todd Martin
Special to ESPN.com
(Archive)

Updated: July 1, 2007, 4:29 PM ET

Advantage Federer!

On the eve of Week 2 at Wimbledon, Roger Federer has to be liking his chances more than ever. He is obviously in fine form as is the norm every year on the grass, not to mention every week of every year. Federer already is the best player in the world and has asserted himself even more robustly on grass, dominating the surface for the past four years.

Weather and a walkover have made Roger Federer even more of a favorite to win Wimbledon for a fifth straight year.

The best thing going for Federer has nothing to do with his play. His biggest advantage is that, most likely, the bottom half of the draw has been taken out of contention. Mother Nature has handed Wimbledon a bum hand so far this year and the club's tradition of being closed on the middle Sunday exacerbates the already tenuous situation. What Rafael Nadal and his fellow competitors in the bottom of the draw are faced with is the challenge to win five matches over the next seven days, daunting to say the least. I am not sure that even Nadal's strengths -- courage and stamina -- can hold up under the pressure of these conditions. With Nadal possibly operating on less than all cylinders come next Sunday, Federer's chances of winning the title for a fifth straight time are escalating by the day.

Being a bit of a traditionalist (some might say a "rigid" traditionalist), I have a soft spot in my heart for the way Wimbledon operates. However, when considering what is on the line every year at the All England Club, one has to take into account competitive fairness and the need for a tournament to provide an even playing field for all its participants. All it takes is one day of bad weather in the first week to create an untenable competitive environment for half the men's field. Each year half the draw is scheduled to play their third round on Saturday of the first week. If the rain hits hard that day, the tournament moves those matches to Monday of the second week, the same day the other half of the draw plays its fourth-round matches. Despite the challenges the weather presented this past week, if it was clear on Saturday, the men's singles competition would be right on track. What a difference a day makes.

I believe it is time for Wimbledon to address this issue. This traditionalist believe there should be greater willingness to play on the middle Sunday of Wimbledon. In this year's scenario, it would be automatic, as none of the eight third-round matches were completed Saturday. It is the only way to preserve some element of fairness. Yes, the roof going on Centre Court by 2009 will help in the completion of some matches, but even that improvement won't allow for all of the early-tournament contests to conclude. Wimbledon can't control the weather, but it can react to it and do what is right for everyone involved.

Let me touch on a peculiar dilemma for Federer. Tommy Haas has defaulted their fourth-round match. Now, Federer has to figure out how to keep himself sharp during a four-day layoff in the middle of a tournament."

And it moves on from there.... In essence, Americans, pray hard for Andy Roddick because Federer's already thinking about their potential match. Andy still has to play.