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Forget BRI. Its all about WAG & BFF in the NBA

The time of NBA owners initiating and making trades for high profile players is long gone. Sure, they’re able to technically do it, and nothing goes through without them having the final say-so, but long gone are the days when players didn’t nudge their buddy and say, “Hey, you should really come to Miami.”

One big sticking point the recent NBA lockout was the fact that owners, a proud group of people, did not want to bow down and acquiesce to players demands. When LeBron James “took his talents Miami,” owners were forced to dig their heels in deeper and attempt to curb player movement. As ESPN commentator Max Kellerman puts it “The Decision” made them “kiss the ring” of James to try and woo him, or keep him in their city. In the end, it didn’t matter what any owner said, or even how much they paid him (remember he took a pay cut to take his talents to South Beach), he just wanted to play with his friends!

Well, now that the free agent frenzy has begun, players like Chris Paul are being good little basketball players and keeping mum. Paul is saying all the right things like, “My heart is in New Orleans,” but his actions are speaking entirely to the contrary. Over the summer, he buddied up to New York Knick Carmelo Anthony. When Melo was asked about the Bromance, he responded by saying ,”As far as me recruiting Chris Paul, no, not at all. We’re very close friends, I’m pretty sure you guys saw him out here in New York a lot . . . but we’ve never had any kind of conversation about him coming to New York.”

Riiiiiight. So Melo would like everyone to believe that while they rubbed elbows all summer, playing basketball much of the time no doubt, there was never a conversation about Paul joining him and Amare in NYC. If there’s one thing thing these players have learned during the lockout it’s how to speak like politicians.

Over the years, it’s become obvious to anyone with a brain that players are indeed colluding, in the wee hours of the night club, yelling to each other over the loud music, that they should play together.

Now owners, despite their tireless efforts to restrict player movement, essentially giving players no option in the matter of trades, are in about the same place that they were before. Chris Paul, on the lackluster New Orleans Hornets, has a chance to play with his new BFF in the city that never sleeps and get paid at the same time. Of course there are other suitors, but there’s one thing they don’t have that the Knicks do: Carmelo Anthony. Teams like the Lakers and Clippers are in the Paul discussion, but unfortunately, Kobe didn’t invite Paul to his Malibu Mansion over summer, so they can kiss that chance goodbye.

Players, despite the owners’ best efforts, have found a way to supersede the system, both new and old versions. No matter what the Dan Gilberts of the world try and do, the key players will hold a lot of the movement power, and they want to play ball with their friends.

Natalie Saar is a columnist from California.  She keeps it  classy by eating, exercising, and writing about sports.  Check out Natalie as she competes for first prize in our New Writers Contest!  It’s pretty high stakes, like poker with Doyle Brunson or a one night stand in Zimbabwe.  Natalie is competing for a $100 first prize and a spot in our stable of writers.  We hope you like her style.  We sure do.  Vote for Natalie today! 

Over the next week I will discuss each area of the Yankees team: Position Players, Starting Rotation, and Bullpen.

Position Players

If I had told you in April that the Yankees offense would eventually be the reason they did not win a World Series in 2011, you would have called me a jackass—and rightfully so.  At the time, the Yankees were counting on veterans (and that’s a nice word to describe them) Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon, and rookie Ivan Nova as back-end starters.  The plan in 2011 was to depend on a world-class offense and a rebuilt bullpen to carry them through October, and, for much of the season, the plan was taking shape.  And then October came.

The middle of the Yankees order—Teixeira, Rodriguez, and Swisher—were awful, hitting a combined .164 in the playoff series loss to Detroit.  Collectively, the team left 40 men on base over the five games, suggesting that an improved offense was needed for the Yankees to win in 2012.  Realistically however, the Yankees cannot do much to their Positional Players, with the exception of a few minor additions.

The 3 headed Monster, wasn't so scary this year

 The Yankees are saddled with high-priced and    quickly aging infielders Derek Jeter, Mark       Teixeira, and Alex Rodriguez, who will probably see a lot of time at designate hitter this coming season.  This rules out the fantasy of having Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder come to New York to DH, not that it was ever a possibility.  Because Alex has struggled to stay healthy the past couple of seasons, the Yankees will need an Eric Chavez-type player who can fill in for A-Rod at third.  Chavez was great for the Yankees in 2011 when he was healthy, the only problem is that he is more injury prone than Rodriguez so I do not expect Chavez back in 2012.

Last season Cashman replaced Marcus Thames with Andruw Jones, a move that was not sexy but actually greatly improved the Yankees outfield depth.  Expect more of those moves for the Yankees in 2012.

Suggestions:

The Yankees outfield is solidified, and was one of the more productive outfield’s in Baseball last season.  Swisher’s option has already been picked up, and despite the rumors I would not trade him.  Although Swisher has had three miserable playoff-runs with the Yankees, he has averaged 33 doubles, 27 home runs, 85 RBIs, and a .368 on base percentage during his tenure in New York.  That production will cost the Yankees a lot more than 1 year and $10.25M in the free agent market.

Re-sign Andruw Jones, who made $1.5M last season.  Jones provided virtually the same production as Marcus Thames did in 2010 but has the ability to play a solid corner-outfield spot.

Russy Martin

Re-sign Russell Martin, who came to the Yankees on a fairly generous 1 year,  $4M deal last season.  Despite his solid season and All Star selection, I do not expect Martin to get a long-term deal in the open market.  Yankee-brass raves about Martin’s leadership, so if they can convince him to return on another short-term deal, Martin will be extremely valuable for Montero’s growth as a catcher.

If the Yankees get out priced in the free agency market for Martin, which is possible because they will not go long term on a catcher with the catching prospects in their system, they should bring back Jose Molina as a bridge to the young catchers.

Bring in Nick Punto as a utility infielder, who hit .278 with 25 walks in 63 games for the Cardinals last season.  Punto spent 7 seasons with the Twins so he is familiar with the American League, and will not cost a lot of money or a draft pick to sign.  Eduardo Nunez had a great season for what was expected of him, but unless his defense greatly improves the Yankees will not count on him to be their main utility infielder in 2012.

The reality is that these moves are mostly minor, simply to add depth to the roster.  The Yankees will again count on the core of their offense to win in 2012: Cano, Granderson, Rodriguez, and Teixeira.  Their biggest improvements will need to come in the Pitching staff, which will be highlighted over the next week.

Andrew Rotondi is an avid Yankees fan who feels he can manage better than the manager himself. As a contributing writer to NYYUniverse.com, he is able to live out this fantasy while providing readers with factual information through his sarcastically biting witticisms. Andrew currently resides behind enemy lines in Boston, where he can be found frequently trashing the Red Sox and their fans.  When you are not voting for Andrew in our New Writers Contest, you can follow him on Twitter @Yankees_talk

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before:  “Three lawyers and a teacher walk into a rap concert…”

Jigga who?

Back in August, my attorney Jonathan Petro offered me a chance to check out Jay-Z and Kanye West, as the godfather and consigliere of rap brought their heart-thumping, bass-pounding, show-stoping Watch the Throne tour to the Izod center on November 6.  Before I realized that November 6 was a Sunday (I don’t leave my house on Sundays for pure anxiety-driven reasons) and I am nearly 38-years old (besides the two goofy dads escorting their two awkward teenagers, I was one of the oldest guys in attendance), I jumped at the chance to catch Hova and Yeezy.

I felt like Hunter S. Thompson traveling with my very own Dr. Gonzo.  It was like I was covering the Mint 400 motocross race in Las Vegas, except it was not a wicked case of ether intoxication that derailed me from meeting my editorial deadline.  It was bursitis and a blister obtained from dancing for 2.5 hours straight as two superstars churned out hit after hit.

In short, the show was amazing.  These two giants, sans backup singers/dancers and aglow in bright white lights and fire, stepped to it from the first song, as can be evidenced from the rafters that are still shaking at the Izod Center ten days later.  And I was going to write such, until I was flipping through last week’s edition of Rolling Stone:

As the booming bass and sputtering hi-hats of “H.A.M.” filled Baltimore’s 1st Mariner Arena last night, Kanye West and Jay-Z rose 15 feet in the air on cubed platforms on opposite ends of the floor, like gladiators ready to battle. They traded the boastful, booming verses of the song – the first single from the duo’s recent collaboration Watch the Throne – as if trying to beat each other into submission. That West was wearing a black knee-length tunic only aided the illusion. (Read Even Serpick’s Baltimore review on Rolling Stone.com)

What can I say…they beat me to it.  They are the Rolling effing Stone.  They give their writer’s health insurance.  I tip my cap to them.

I didn't say I was closer than Evan Serpick...I just said I was there.

Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion of Sanders Lightfoot’s account on how he saw Jay-Z, blew his chance to scoop the Rolling Stone, and lived to tell about it.  In the meantime, don’t miss out on your chance to see Jay-Z and Kanye!  Get FREE SHIPPING on your Watch the Throne tickets!  Visit AdmitOne.com and use PROMO CODE: OTIS at checkout to receive a $15 credit toward Fed Ex Standard Shipping (a $15 value.)

Solo: Popular on the Prom Circuit

So long Solo.  It seems like it was just last week that you were pouting and lambasting U.S. Coach Greg Ryan for benching you in favor an octogenarian. [Editor's note: "Octogenarian" actually means someone who is in their eighth decade of life.  It does not mean "someone with eight fingers" as the author would have you believe.]  And wasn’t it just yesterday that you blew two leads before losing to Japan in a shootout to end the 2011 World Cup?  Ahhh….good times!

Well, last night Hope Solo suffered another crushing defeat as she was sent packing in the semi-final round of Dancing with the Stars.  Solo and partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy tangoed their way out of contention last night as America voted the couple off of the show.  It wasn’t the first time that the Solo had ‘tango trouble’ on DWTS, as her Week 5 tango to Living’ on a Prayer resulted in the soccer star being the last dancer to make the cut for that week.

But Hope, we kid!  We love you.  Not the way we love Olympic heroes, war veterans, or Zooey Deschanel.  No, we love you in a different way.  Kinda like that chick from the moderately attractive sorority who is great at beer pong AND looks good in a party dress.  Yeah!  That kind of love.  The only problem with being that girl is that you are fun for a while, then you puke on our shoes, and we have to carry you home.

[Editor's Note:  We apologize for any insensitive and inaccurate statements about Hope Solo.  We really do like her.  She is ten times better than Lindsey Vonn.  But since the Women's World Cup ski season is just kicking off...it will be a while before Vonn does something that we can poke fun at.]

Either way Hope, here’s to a good run!  Good luck in London.  Bring home the Gold!

A shadow of a legacy

As a kid shopping around for colleges, there was nowhere that I wanted to go more than Penn State. It didn’t matter that I was a Southern California girl, I wanted to study sports Journalism and I wanted to spend the next four years of my life shadowing the legendary Joe Paterno. It didn’t matter to me that the program hadn’t been good in my lifetime. Since I couldn’t follow John Wooden around JoePa was the next obvious choice.

I anxiously waited by the mailbox everyday waiting for my letter from Penn State. I remember getting the big letter back, not the small envelope (which usually means a rejection, unless it’s from Villanova, those tricky bastards), and I knew, right then and there, that I had gotten in to my #1 school. I was going to get to start my writing career on the PSU Nittany Lions sideline.

I was just a girl who wanted to report on football; imagine the excitement of all the boys my same age who were getting home visits from JoePa, the man, the myth, the legend, who really wanted them to go play for him, to become one of his boys.

Since the Sandusky scandal bubbled to the surface in the last month, there has been a mix of emotions among people. Some who cheered on Paterno outside his house and those who feel he’s equally as guilty as Sandusky. Here’s the facts in black and white:

In 2002, Joe Paterno was alerted by a graduate assistant at the time, McQueary, that he had witnessed Sandusky “horsing around” in the locker room shower with a boy who appeared to be ten.

Paterno relayed this information to the athletic director. After that, he washed his hands of the situation. Nevermind the fact that Sandusky continued to use the gym facilities and continued to have an office on-campus where he ran his non-profit that helped at-risk youth.

Paterno never looked further into the situation, despite the fact that he knew what had happened. Some argue that he’s just a football coach, but you better believe that when JoePa said jump, the University President asked how high. This was evidenced by the Board of Trustees ousting the Prez and AD before Paterno. It took a group of people to get him out of his position after many decades holding it.

So why did he let this happen? Why did this man who was entrusted with the well-being of so many families sons give a cold shoulder to an implication of child molestation by his former heir? The simple answer is that he didn’t care. Paterno cared about one thing and one thing only: Penn State football and the legacy that came with it. The lives and well-being of little children meant nothing to him. They weren’t football players yet, so who cared? Sandusky, however, was very connected to the team and would soil the good name that Paterno had helped build. He would not allow this. So, all was swept under the rug.

The story was reported on by Pennsylvania newspapers for years, but the power of Penn State kept teachers, principals, parents, campus police and state police quiet for years, all for the sake of the legacy of the football team.

So now many are left asking the question if Paterno’s name should be stripped of everything PSU related? When Reggie Bush was found guilty of violating NCAA rules, he was stripped of his Heisman and his jersey was taken down in the school. Their wins were rescinded and the school is still feeling the effect of the other ramifications. Bush ruined no one’s life. Paterno was an accomplice in ruining the lives of many boys.

While it’s unpopular to say this outloud, or type it, Penn State should be forced to give back everything Paterno related. Do you think these boys want to ever walk into a building with Paterno’s name emblazoned on the outside of it? At this point, the money he gave to build that place could be considered blood money. This man who so many looked up to should be stripped of everything that dignifies him, after all, isn’t that what he helped Sandusky do to these children for over a decade?

It pains me to write this, because, remember, growing up I was a huge Paterno fan. In the end, when it came down to turning in my letter of intent to a college, it went to University of Maryland. While Penn State was my #1, I couldn’t base my future career on that of one man and his legacy. I had to build my own. Looking back, I can say that at 18 I made the smartest decision of my life.

Natalie Saar is a columnist from California.  She keeps it  classy by eating, exercising, and writing about sports.  Check out Natalie as she competes for first prize in our New Writers Contest!  It’s pretty high stakes, like poker with Doyle Brunson or a one night stand in Zimbabwe.  Natalie is competing for a $100 first prize and a spot in our stable of writers.  We hope you like her style.  We sure do.  Vote for Natalie today! 

Please do not get us wrong, your friends at Turnstyl3 aren’t anti-capitalism?  We aren’t occupying Wall Street, or Denver, or Salt Lake City?  [Editor's note:  Really?  they are occupying Salt Lake City?]  In fact, we don’t have enough time [read: care enough about anyone but ourselves] to take up a cause.  However, when we heard that the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) was throwing the equivalent of a full-court alley oop and decertifying the players’ union in an attempt to end collective bargaining and take their fight to court, we thought the following:

1.  Thank god I studied the National Labor Relations Act in law school, because I actually know what this means

2.  Who cares?

3.  Wait?!?  If I went to law school what am I doing writing free articles for an internet blog?

Being in the “live event” ticket industry, it behooves us and our partners to have live events that actual people can attend.  Therefore, a truncated or cancelled NBA season does no one any good.  However, speaking as a casual sports fan, I can honestly say that I won’t miss it.

Sure, we may miss the NBA on Christmas night.  We may miss a few SportsCenter highlights.  However, I assure you; we will find a way to fill our time.  Maybe we will head down to Wall Street and find out what all the fuss is about.

In the meantime, we urge you to head over to our friends at AdmitZones.com and catch a hockey game.

Moving quickly through the ranks, Guerrero landed with Extreme Championship Wrestling before heading to the World Wrestling Entertainment.  His charisma, ability and passion made him irresistible to fans, and Eddie established himself as an asset that the wrestling industry could not afford to lose.  What made him very unique as a wrestler was that regardless of whether he was a good guy (baby-face) or a bad guy (heel), he always had the ability to appeal to his followers.

Some Eddie Guerrero’s best times came when he was teamed with his nephew Chavo Guerrero, Jr. to form the their tag team, Los Guerreros.  They would do segments that would show them conducting scams on how to get fast money, a new car, or anything else that they could possibly want.  Los Guerreros were a tag team that you could never get tired of watching.  You just knew that a match of theirs would never be disappointing.  Sure, like any wrestler, he had his glorious moments and other moments that were not something to be proud of.  However, what’s important is that before he passed, he had made amends with those who he felt he had wronged.

The day the world was made aware of his passing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, it was a day that we knew we would mourn for a long time.  At only 38 years of age, Eddie suffered from acute heart failure.  In all honesty, to this day it still hurts knowing we will never have him gracing us with his presence again.  What’s weird to me personally is that since Eddie’s passing,  it feels as if Eddie “stole” the passion,  the creativity,  and the authenticity that made the sport enjoyable to watch. I guess you can say that is what will always have us remember Eddie Guerrero on the 13th of November.

Lady B is from Crooklyn!  (That’s Brooklyn, NY for the uneducated.)  She’s a real tough mother!  No, really.  She’s got a baby girl AND she loves wrestling.  You wanna mess with her?  We don’t! Check out Lady B as she competes for first prize in our New Writers Contest!  It’s pretty high stakes, like poker with Doyle Brunson or a one night stand in Zimbabwe. Lady B is looking to take home a $100 first prize and a spot in our stable of writers. We think you will like her stuff…I mean, it’s wrestling. 

The same applies in sports.

Only the world’s most athletically gifted men and women make it onto professional fields, courts, and ice surfaces.  Or at least that’s what we’re led to believe.  If you come up two inches short or you can’t run a 4.5 or you’re missing a tendon in your elbow (see: Dickey, R.A.), you might never hit the field no matter what level of skill you otherwise possess.  If nothing else, you might have your signing bonus drastically cut.

There is a pool of millions of high school and college athletes to choose from, not to mention the foreign markets that have become more accessible with modern travel technology.  So, you can forget about your chances of ever making it.

It’s all so intimidating.

Why, why, why, then, do we see the Chad Ochocincos, the T.J. Houshmandzadehs, and the Pacman Joneses resurfacing year after year?  Athletes who are over the hill, repeat offenders, and/or continuous bad-publicity bringers are asked back again and again despite what is often a tremendous drop-off in production from their prime?

The answer is that it’s often not about the W, despite what you might hear.  It’s about the marketing.  These names create press, stir television ratings, and sell tickets.  The world of sports hasn’t been pure since athletes bought their own shoes. It’s now about the show.

As a result, athletes are permitted–quietly encouraged even–to wantonly pout and yammer and act in strange and deviant ways.  Publicly, owners decry the actions, but internally they are laughing all the way to the bank.

John Podgursky…better known as John Podgursky to his friends…is a multifaceted writer.  He uses both a pen AND a computer.  It’s that type of dexterity that makes him a natural for Tunrsyl3.com’s New Writer Contest.  It’s pretty high stakes, like poker with Doyle Brunson or a one night stand in Zimbabwe. John is looking to take home a $100 first prize and a spot in our stable of writers. We hope you like his style, because he certainly has one! 

So in no particular order, here’s a list of the Top 10 most famous celebrity soldiers to pull active duty in the American Armed Forces during times of war.

1. Tony Bennet – US Army
2. Johnny Cash – US Air Force
3. Elvis Presley – US Army
4. Pat Tillman – US Army
5. Bob Feller – US Navy
6. Yogi Berra – US Navy
7. Roger Staubach – US Navy
8. Jackie Robinson – US Army
9. Joe Louis – US Army
10. Warren Spahn – US Army