It's that time of week. Bill Williamson posted his 'Sound off' topic responses, including the one I sent in. This week's prompt: Should LaDainian Tomlinson restructure his contract or be cut?
Check out my thoughts and all of the responses on Williamson's AFC West blog on ESPN.com
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Labels: ESPN
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Labels: podcast
The Raiders are back!
OK, OK, so that may be jumping the gun a bit. But their best two players are coming back, and that is big news for the silver and black. Few people expected them to be able to retain both Nnamdi Asomugha and Shane Lechler. But the Raiders paid up and have retained the services of arguably their two best players (even if one of them is a punter).
Yes, the contracts are pricey. And yes, the Raiders got into trouble by overpaying for several free agents last season like DeAngelo Hall and Javon Walker.
However, these signings are different. For starters, both Asomugha and Lechler are fresh off Pro Bowl seasons and are in line to have many more. Secondly, they don’t have questionable pasts the way last year’s crop of signees did. Walker was coming off an injury and Hall had a messy divorce with the Falcons organization. Tommy Kelly, the big Raider re-signee of last year was also coming off an injury.
Lechler and Asomugha are healthy and, by all accounts, happy to be in Oakland. After all, one of them was guaranteed to have the opportunity to leave via free agency because the Raiders could only franchise one of them. Instead, they both signed to stay on board with the team despite their struggles.
In addition to the obvious on-field benefits of retaining Asomugha and Lechler, these signings give the Raiders franchise a much needed morale boost. Their decision to stay put shows the league it’s OK to be a Raider and maybe, just maybe, the franchise isn’t quite as dysfunctional as they’ve been the past six years.
For head coach Tom Cable, this is also a vote of confidence that his players see something in what he’s bringing to the table.
And yes, again, it doesn’t hurt that Al Davis shelled out major cash. So, as someone who’s blasted him in the past, kudos for getting these deals done. The next step is bolstering the offensive line and receiving corps.
The fact that the organization is finally making right steps to encourage next steps is the key. Let’s hope the trend continues.
LINK: In other AFC West news, my 'You pick it' response was published again on Bill Williamson's blog on ESPN.com.
*UPDATE 2/27/09*
In this week's 'You pick it' response, I essentially used the body of this post. Check it out here where, at three paragraphs, it stands out from the crowd.
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Labels: Al Davis, ESPN, Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland Raiders, Shane Lechler
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Labels: podcast
Shaquille O’Neal is routinely mentioned among the likes of Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Moses Malone and company as one of the greatest centers in NBA history. But O’Neal’s larger-than-life personality leads me to a bigger comparison.
I think O’Neal is the modern day Babe Ruth. Let me explain.
Like Ruth, O’Neal has put up Hall of Fame numbers for his career, winning several championships along the way. But neither Ruth nor O’Neal can ever be defined solely by numbers or rings. Their legacy is the thing of legend. They will be remembered for the OMG moments and the stories friends told friends. Babe did WHAT? Shaq did THAT?!
With the modern media and commercialization of sports, O’Neal’s exploits are almost all documented, so in that sense, Ruth may have a more mythical legacy. But both figures have left behind memories and moments that fans will speak of forever.
From Ruth’s called shot to O’Neal’s dunk that tore down the entire basketball hoop, there is no shortage of iconic memories from their careers. If you need more proof of Ruth’s legend, just watch The Sandlot. If you want proof of O’Neal’s legend, watch Kazaam and then marvel at the fact that he still went on to enjoy great professional and commercial success after making it. Legendary.
The similarities aren’t limited to the silver screen, though. Their body of work was made more impressive by the bodies they worked with. Ruth’s resembled your favorite beer-swilling, cigar-smoking uncle. Meanwhile O’Neal was a freak of nature. At 7’1” and more than 300 pounds of chiseled stone, he was simply awesome. There was no explanation why the pot-bellied Ruth was able to hit 714 home runs. Or why the behemoth O’Neal was able to move with the agility and grace of an NFL wide receiver. But they did it.
Another similarity is their likability. It’s almost impossible to find a baseball historian who can offer up an unkind word about Ruth. He was Gandhi in pinstripes (sorry Red Sox fans, your team sold him away). And O’Neal, always a media favorite for his quotability and humor, seems to have entered Ruthian territory. He can do no wrong despite burning bridges and throwing people under the bus after unhappy departures from Orlando, Los Angeles and, to a lesser extent, Miami.
Another measure of this legendary comparison is nicknames. You have to be somebody to earn a nickname. These guys have a slew of them. In addition to being dubbed “Babe,” Ruth was also known as the Great Bambino, the Sultan of Swat and he Colossus of Clout, to name a few. O’Neal has a number of monikers as well. The Diesel, Shaq Daddy, The Big Aristotle, The Big Cactus, and Most Dominant Ever are among the best of the bunch.
No matter how you slice it, O’Neal has entered Ruthian territory, and the best part is, he’s still going.
After winning a title in Miami in 2006, it appeared that O’Neal’s career was on a sharp slope downward. The ‘06-‘07 season in Miami was the worst of his career and Miami was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The following season, last year, O’Neal looked old. His play was ineffective, he was limited by injuries, and he missed the all-star game for the first time in his career. A midseason trade to Phoenix rejuvenated him a bit, but his team again lost in round one of the playoffs.
All signs pointed to the end of the O’Neal era. But he came back focused this season, and earned a spot as a reserve on the Western Conference all-star team. Credit the Phoenix training staff and O’Neal for putting in the time and effort to regain all-star form. And credit karma for the 2009 all-star showcase being held in Phoenix.
There, as a member of the home team Suns, Shaquille O’Neal stole the show. Again.
There were two-dozen all-stars in Phoenix on Sunday night. The average age of the other 23 active all-stars was 28 years young. Yet it was the soon-to-be 37-year-old that made the headlines.
From his pregame introduction with Jabbawockeez to his in-game give-and-go pass between Dwight Howard’s legs to his post-game MVP-trophy mock squabble with co-MVP Kobe Bryant, O’Neal made it crystal clear: this was his night. If his 15th all-star game proves to be his last, O’Neal made sure his performance would be remembered fondly.
With his superman tattoo and man-of-steel physique, O’Neal has always played the role of hero well. But by outshining all the stars in his 15th all-star game, O’Neal proved to me his status needs to be upgraded to that of a living legend.
After all, heroes get remembered but legends never die.
Posted by Matt Hubert at 5:55 PM 0 comments
Labels: 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend, Babe Ruth, NBA, Shaquille O'Neal
This week's 'You pick it' category on Bill Williamson's AFC West blog asked what the biggest story in the division: the Chiefs hiring Todd Haley, the Raiders hiring Tom Cable or Tony Gonzalez's comments about staying in Kansas City. Click to read my response and more over on ESPN.com.
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Labels: ESPN
This week, followers of Bill Williamson’s AFC West blog were asked to sound off on the Raiders’ hiring of Tom Cable. That’s a topic that is right in my wheelhouse, so I responded, and my comments were among those replicated on ESPN Web space earlier today.
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Labels: ESPN
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Tom Cable is officially the head coach of the Oakland Raiders. That was news to me, enough to warrant 'You pick it' status on Bill Williamson's AFC West blog. Read my thoughts and more over at ESPN.com.
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Labels: ESPN
This week's 'Sound Off' topic on Bill Williamson's AFC West blog focused on the prospect of Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley being named head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Posted by Matt Hubert at 6:19 PM 0 comments
Labels: ESPN
On the heels of an electrifying Super Bowl, Matt and Mike recap the big game. Plus, they talk about the injury to Andrew Bynum, Division II PSAC basketball, and turn over three key face cards from the Super Bowl.
All that and more in the latest episode of The Winning Hand Sportscast.
There are several options to listen:
Posted by Matt Hubert at 11:44 PM 0 comments
Labels: podcast
Lamar Woodley’s strip-sack of Kurt Warner sealed the victory in Super Bowl XLIII for the Steelers. It also cemented Woodley’s status as That Guy this year. In addition to late-game heroics, Woodley had another sack, two quarterback hurries, one pass defensed and four tackles. But it was that final pass rush of the season gave him the nod.
In a fourth quarter where Kurt Warner caught fire and Larry Fitzgerald caught everything, no one wearing black and gold wanted to take the chance on a last second Hail Mary lofted toward Arizona’s sure-handed superstar. Woodley made sure that the Cardinals would not get the chance to see if a final Warner Hail Mary would be an answered prayer. Instead, he took matters into his own hands, and did what the Steelers failed to do for most of the fourth quarter—pressure Warner.
Woodley, in his second-year out of Michigan, spent most of the season in the shadows of fellow linebackers Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison and veteran tackle machine James Farrior. He racked up 11.5 sacks on the season, but none was bigger than the one on Warner last night.
Woodley is the third linebacker to receive my That Guy award, joining Mike Jones of the Rams and Mike Vraebel of the Patriots. My pre-game pick for the award, Steve Breaston, was a college teammate of Woodley. The Cardinals wideout/returner didn’t disappoint, amassing 144 all-purpose yards, including a 34-yard punt return.
In the end, however, it was Woodley—not Breaston—that emerged victorious. Playing linebacker for the Steelers, he won’t be just That Guy very long. But for his role in the Steelers record sixth Super Bowl title, he earned the title of That Guy for stepping out of the shadows on the biggest stage in football.
Posted by Matt Hubert at 5:45 PM 0 comments
Labels: NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowl XLIII
In a déjà vu headline, Andrew Bynum is injured and may miss the rest of the regular season for the Lakers. Reports say it’s a torn MCL. He’s expected to miss 8-12 weeks. The Lakers have approximately 10 weeks left in the season.
This is eerily similar to last year when Bynum went down with a subluxation of his left kneecap and bone bruise in January. Then, as now, he was originally expected to miss eight weeks. Those who follow the Lakers know that those eight weeks turned into the rest of the season last year.
I’m among the Laker fans who believed Bynum would be the difference between last year’s runner-up finish and a championship. And just recently, a healthy Bynum seemed to be coming into his own, scoring a career-high 42 against the Clippers last month. He was also giving them the added toughness inside that they clearly lacked against the Celtics in the Finals.
The Lakers currently possess the best record in the West, and showed last year that they can hang with anyone in the conference playing Gasol at center and Odom at power forward. However, the odds of them keeping pace with the beasts of the East (Boston, Cleveland and Orlando) now seem slim. They’ll likely not have home court advantage in the Finals, assuming they can get back there.
Who knows, maybe Bynum does make it back in eight or 10 weeks this time, in time for a playoff run. I don’t want to be too doom-and-gloomy here. But this is a tough pill to swallow.
First and foremost, you have to feel for Bynum. Mentally bouncing back from another injury may be more of a hurdle than the physical rehab.
As for the rest of the team, they’ll immediately be put to the test. The rest of the teams in the West certainly now see a much more open conference. Will the Lakers fade? They’re in the midst of a six-game road trip that finishes with games at Boston on Thursday and at Cleveland on Sunday. Both of those games were going to be tough at full strength. The Lakers will now be tested even more.
Mike and I will surely talk more about this on tomorrow’s Winning Hand Sportscast. Right now, I’m just struggling to get past my initial reaction: it sucks big time.
Posted by Matt Hubert at 5:36 PM 0 comments
Labels: Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA
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