Welcome back to our little get together everyone and we hope you enjoy your time here. We are without Triggs this week because he had a bit of rearranging to do at work and also had some birthday celebration to attend. To be honest with you, I merely think he is going for the free cake. I know I would. Chuckles and I thought we’d see how we would do as a duo this week and I know that like us…you’ll be begging for Triggs’ return quicker than you can say Houshman…Houshamnaz…Steve Smith.
OOOOooo I think I just made him pull a hammy. Sorry Steve, but now you have time to…
1.) Daytona 500 Thoughts
Chuckles: Pretty ho hum race for the first 140 laps or so. But the last 60…whew. But that’s how the racing is at Daytona. It gets down to the nitty gritty and everyone is trying to get as many positions as they can and it leads to caution after caution. But before that the race had a terrific pace, DW said the average speed was 168 mph at about that 140 lap mark or so and that was only 5-6 mph slower than the fastest race average ever at Daytona, even before the restrictor plates so it was going good. If you’re wondering why I haven’t mentioned the winner yet it is because I’m typing this during the red flag with 3 laps to go. And I’m rooting for Martin, even though I’m not that big of a fan of his, he’s still a class act who deserves this. OH DAMN!!!!!!!……..wow…..[…………..] that much…wow…Happy Harvick by that much. Wow. Wreck on the last turn. Unofficially Harvick won by 2 one hundredths of a second. Wow. Spaulds if you saw the last 3 laps you know why the sport is so popular. That win looked a lot like Harvick first win at Atlanta. Wow. I feel bad Martin didn’t get it. Bowyer had a hell of a ride there, on his roof, on fire, in 18th place across the line. Wow. Why didn’t they throw a caution there? Quite shitty for Martin. Wow.
Wow.
Wow.
Spaulding: I didn’t watch the race, I just didn’t. I’m not going to lie to everyone and say I did because I had no intention of even turning it on. I watched the highlights simply to see who won the thing. I give congratulations to Harvick for that is a big race to win. I also admit that you are right Chuckles for that ending looked enjoyable as hell considering all that went down at the very end. But think about what else you just said man.
“Pretty ho hum race for the first 140 laps or so.â€
Dude, that means that you watched boring as hell 140 laps of cars going round and round. That just isn’t fun to me. Not in the least bit. Sure the ending was interesting, but not nearly enough to make me get excited about the next race or any race ever. There is no enjoyment to be had from NASCAR. I don’t know how many people have told me, “we watch for the crashes.†I have a lot better things to do with my time then sit there for three minutes hours to see one crash I can catch on Sportscenter later on in less than five minutes. Ugh…
Chuckles: I’m not one of the people who watches for the crashes. I love the competitiveness; the changes by the crew chiefs to make the cars better, the battle to get you’re car to work right. First 140 laps were a set up for the end of the race. The first 140 laps, while slightly dull, set up Stewart and Busch as the two dominate cars in the race, which makes their wreck even more shocking. It’s kind of like a Super Bowl that’s a defensive struggle that ends on a field goal as time expires. Nothing may have been going on the first 58 minutes, but it still can be exciting. Just because they’re driving around in circles doesn’t mean it can’t be exciting. You’re just lucky I’m not making you watch the race this weekend, but I’ll give you a break until Bristol.
2.) NBA All-Star Game Thoughts
Spaulding: The entire weekend was kind of fun except for the game itself. It just didn’t seem too enjoyable in the least so I really don’t have much to say about it. What I enjoyed most was All-Star Saturday night. The race between Bavetta and Barkley was fantastic and something they should do every year. Of course not necessarily with just those two participants, but some crazy ass race like that. It was fun to watch and got the crowd pumped up and laughing.
The Skills Challenge pissed me off though. I know Chris Paul is my boy and all, but not a single one of the participants tried. Paul, LeBron, Wade, and Kobe all acted like they had somewhere else to be. Sure it’s all in fun and all that good stuff, but it isn’t like they really had to exert themselves. They could have put forth some type of effort. It was pathetic and just pissed me off. The 3-Point Shootout was fun, but there really isn’t much to say about that. Now the Dunk Contest on the other hand? Well, I’ll see what Chucklebutt has to say first before I get too carried away.
Chuckles: Dunk Contest was crap. Dwight Howard got boned over hardcore just because he’s 7 foot and Nate Robinson is less than 6 feet. Yes, he’s short, whoopity doo, that makes the physics of the dunk more incredible, but not the dunk itself. We’ll call Nate Robinson 5’9†for this debate, he just makes it up to the rim on his dunks, well say he gets up to 10’6â€. That’s 4’9†minus the arm length. Dwight Howard at 7 feet, got up to 12’6â€, that’s 5’6†minus the arm length. Dwight Howard can out jump Nate Robinson and killed him in that dunk contest.
The Bavetta vs. Barkley race was awesome. They definitely need to do some form of that race every year, but they need the build up like they had this year. Maybe start it up already, Shaq vs. Barkley. Or one that would be an absolute hit, Cuban vs. Stern. Or rip off something from WWE, and have Stern and Cuban pick an out of shape former player and have them race, so many options. The 3 point shootout did nothing but add hope to Miami’s chances without D-Wade now. Skills contest was a waste of time and may have given me eye cancer, I haven’t decided yet…
Spaulding: The dunk contest pissed me off, but I still enjoyed it. Dwight Howard was robbed and it would have been damn fun watching him go against Gerald Green. As said, it was because Robinson is so damn small and his dunks do look impressive because of his small stature, but he did not beat Howard. The sad part is that the judges were the best panel for a dunk contest that I’ve ever seen. Dr. J, Jordan, Nique, Vinsanity, and well…Kobe. Ok, four out of five isn’t bad. The line of the night came from Barkley after Jordan gave Howard an 8 on the sticker dunk.
“Michael done last his damn mind!â€
I still enjoyed the All-Star weekend and next year I may be reporting from live experiences as the NBA comes here to New Orleans for all the festivities in 2008. I can’t frickin wait for that!
3.) MLB Spring Training
Spaulding: Well, I’m not the biggest MLB fan in the world but it does give me something to watch during the summer. There is a lot going on, but it’s going to be easiest if I just simply touch on my team…The San Francisco Giants. Barry finally signed his contract and has reported to camp on time, so that is a big relief. Like I’ve said before, you can say whatever bad things you want about the guy, but he’d be an asset to any damn team in the league. New catcher Bengie Molina is said to quickly becoming a very good offseason pick-up and the pitchers are quickly gaining confidence in him. Speaking of pitchers, losing Jason Schmidt did not sit well with me, especially since he went to the damn Dodgers of all places. I would have loved seeing him and newcomer Barry Zito in the starting rotation. My biggest concern is honestly closer Armando Benitez. He blew many save opps. last season that others had to come in and clean up after him even though he should have shut the game down from that point on. If he continues that way into June at the latest, then he needs to go. I’m excited for this season and think it could be a good one.
Chuckles: I don’t think the Giants had a very good off-season. Getting rid of 100 year old Moises Alou helped, but I don’t know if that’s enough. Bengie Molina is a decent player, great arm behind the plate, but man…he is slow. Take Barry’s bone on bone knee, and he still might be able to beat Molina around the bases. Barry Zito is an overrated pitcher. Doesn’t have the great fastball, and the curveball has been falling back over the years.
On to the rest of the league. As usual the media is focused on Da Yanks and Da Sox, with the A-Rod/Jeter divorce becoming public knowledge and the Dice-K signing, but you can get opinions about that anywhere. Real topics, How will Gil Meche do in KC? How will the Twins Patch together a rotation? Can Tampa Bay find anyone to throw the ball over the plate? I like the Meche signing, they have good young offense, Shealy, Teahan, DeJesus, Gordon, if Meche can stabilize the rotation and lead the young pitchers to a respectable record. They could be sleepers this year.
The Twins always find people to fill in roles. Santana is dominant, Bonser proved he can be reliable, Garza should do better this year, Ortiz and Ponson are veterans who can eat innings. And our offense should be able to make up for a hit or miss start every now and then. Tampa has an explosive young offense. Crawford, Cantu, Young, Baldelli, Upton…if anyone can get the ball over the plate behind Kazmir, they should be able to make a run up to 3rd in the division.
Spaulding: Sure Molina is slow, but if the pitchers are confident in him, then that will make for a much quicker transitional phase. That is an important thing. I don’t have much else to say so far. Probably won’t until the season starts because there just hasn’t been much hype about the upcoming season. And I like baseball, but it’s still hard to get excited about such a slow game. And Chuckles, you know your Twins will always be Cinderellas who never quite make the ball. Just say it…you miss Kirby Puckett.
4.) Scottie Pippen Making A Comeback
Chuckles: Umm…why? You weren’t that good the last time you were in the league. If I remember right he didn’t retire, he was just left there, unsigned by anyone. If no one wanted him then, why would anyone want him now? I honestly think he is one of the most overrated players of All-Time. The fact that he’s on the top 50 NBA players list is a joke. He put up good numbers but that was mostly because he played with the greatest player ever. When MJ retired the first time, the Bulls basically went to the shitter with Pippen as the big time player. I don’t think he can add much too any team right now.
Spaulding: I also don’t see the point of this. Scottie, you were washed up for the last 4-5 years of your career and that was about three years ago now. Give it up dude. Don’t come back so you can sit on the bench somewhere and come in playing maybe ten minutes a game and bring nothing to whatever team signs you. I mean, what would he do? Try and go back to Chicago so he can always be known as being there during the Bulls’ dynasty even if he sucks during the comeback? Or sign with some other team that he won’t be successful on either and have the whole “MJ was a Wizard,†type of memories? He was a good player, but he had the likes of Jordan, Cartwright, Grant, Paxson, Rodman, and others not exposing his flaws. He’s not Top 50 and he’s also not good enough to come back now and make an impact anywhere. Stay your ass at home Scottie.
Chuckles: Wow…agreement. Rumors have been floating that he goes to Cleveland and plays along side LeBron. Cleveland needs more than Pippen, first thing they need to do is light a fire under LeBron ass because he’s been looking rather slackidazical so far this year. Pippen won’t help with that. Pippen won’t help anyone, he needs to stay home.
5.) NFL Cut Time – Biggest Cuts Upcoming?/Franchise Tags
Chuckles: Dwight Freeney got tagged. That’s the biggest franchise tag to be applied and the Colts had to do it. I think the tag on him was something like 8 or 9 million dollars for the next year. Which is a bargain based on what he would have received on the open market. Player who will be cut, Troy Vincent got cut if I remember correctly. Fred Smoot is gone from the Vikings. Jamal Lewis is probably gone from the Ravens. Its going to be interesting to see where some of these bigger names end up through free agency and how that will affect the draft come April.
Spaulding: The Saints tagged Charles Grant which was expected as hell, but for the love of God…sign the man to a long-term contract. He deserves it more than 90% of the entire team. He and Will Smith make one of the best set of defensive ends in the entire league and can stay that way for years. He was the only real concern this year in making sure our team stays intact.
Anyway, this is the time of the year I love. The tags are no big deal to me, but it’s the unexpected cuts and free agent signings I love to see. I had heard about the Ravens losing Lewis and that now Bears’ RB Thomas Jones is on the trading block…again! David Carr is said to be headed to Denver, but lately I’ve heard he could be headed your way Chuckles and up to Minnesota. I’d love to see the Saints make a run at Adalius Thomas, but we don’t have the cash to land him.
The sweetest cut of all happened just this week as the Raiders cut Aaron Brooks. It goes to show you that even the worst team in the NFL last year doesn’t want his sorry ass. He was useless here in New Orleans and he went winless in Oakland. I will be surprised if he gets picked up anywhere, but if he does…it’ll be 3rd string or practice squad. It’s good for him. Sorry smiling when you screw up piece of shit. Stupidity must run in the family…I mean he is the cousin of Michael and Marcus Vick.
Chuckles: Do we know if he’s related to Tavaris Jackson, cause he seems equally worthless. I’d love Carr to come up here. And Jones. And Lovie. And Adalius. And basically anyone who actually knows how to play the game. You guys definitely needed to keep Grant, he was a big part of the miracle run and he’ll need to be great again next year for you guys to take the next step. Just watch out for our faces on your way.
It isn’t much and it actually wasn’t even any mail…but it was a comment regarding last week’s PTP. NASCAR enthusiast and fellow IP staffer Steve Price had a bit of a correction for us last week in my referencing the Daytona 500:
A Memo: It’s “Redneck Nation”, not “Hillbilly Nation”. Get it right next time, guys.
Ok, so I’m not up to date on hick culture. I can’t get into it I tell you. I CAN’T!
…ok then. Anyway, that’s all we have for this week but we should be back in full force next time around. Triggs should be done with the sweets smorgasbord, Chuckles (and his immense love for Brad Childress) always has time for you lovely people, and even though I started a new job…I will provide you all with my wonderful insight. Watch out for next week’s PTP and as always, drop us a line by e-mail or here in the forums. Yall come back now, y’here?
