Manny being Man-NY

Written by TDERIGG2

I was watching ESPN's first take this morning, (I usually don't because Skip Bayless might be clinically retarded) and one of the topics came on about Manny Ramirez. The topic was basically about why he hasn't been signed, and what is taking so long for teams to pursue Manny. The teams that they mentioned were: Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets. For once in my life I couldn't agree more with ESPN and with what Skip (gulp) had to say. But then it got me thinking....why in the world haven't my New York Yankees pursued him AT ALL. Think about it. They've already spent 400 million dollars this summer, their money is obviously limitless. (considering YES network is in the billions of dollars range)

So what is another 75-80 million for 3 years?? Yes its a lot of money to commit to a player who has had problems with his teams in the past, is often a distraction, and sometimes is criticized for playing lazy. But he is hands down, the best hitter in the game today, and probably will be for the next 2 years. So why not Hal? Hank? George?..(wait, who's running the Yankees again?)

The signs are blatantly obvious that the Yanks should go after him. They just built a mammoth new stadium that no normal-income person can afford to go to. They are assembling the teams wealthiest players in the game. Manny is FROOOMMMMM........NY. He could be dominant in this lineup surrounded by A-Rod, Texiera, Jeter. The reasons are endless to sign Manny, forget the fact that he absolutely killed the Yankees AT Yankee stadium for years (Ooops, there's another reason!)

Let me ask you this....How do you pitch to this lineup?...

1. Damon
2. Jeter
3. M. Ramirez
4. A-Rod
5. Teixeira
6. Posada
7. Nady
8. Matsui
9. Cano

...Are you serious?..Robinson Cano is batting NINTH!! You have the Dominican Republic's two best hitters batting in one lineup 3 and 4 (A-Rod..you deserve a Monday Night Countdown's....COMOONNNN MANNNN.....what are you trying to prove playing for the DR? I mean really)

Maybe I'm just crazy but I'm pretty sure that lineup is murderer's row and the Yankees should try and do everything they can to try and get Manny to NY...Maybe we can get President Obama to help us out, he seems to be a monster sports fan...

MANNY TO NY....

YES WE CAN!!

Curry vs. Lawson

Written by TDERIGG2

The other day my boy Ski called me (as he does way too much) during the UNC basketball game, and even though I'm usually reluctant to answer the phone when he calls, because it turns into an hour of pointless breathe wasted, I answered with great caution.

Me: Yo

Ski: Whats goodie son, UNC son!!!!!...they're unstoppableeeeeeeeeeee My man Lawson, Hansborough, Ellington...cant stop themmmmmm!!!!

I knew where this phone call was headed..........right to a 20 minute conversation that I really didn't want to have. ( I was busy trying to take names in Call of Duty 4) It turns out though, that in between me not really listening to him and my 12th Search n Destroy kill....something caught my attention the second it came out of his mouth.

Ski: Son, Ty Lawson is the best point guard in college basketball...

....pause button on the 360....

This pretty boring conversation then turned pretty interesting. I understand he has a personal bias towards UNC and he thinks Tyler Hansborough is probably the next Shaq (his idol) when hes more like the next Adam Morrison (draft DUD), but he brought up some compelling arguments about Ty Lawson.

My quickest response to his Ty Lawson claim, was Steph Curry of Davidson (who I might be obsessed with...NO HOMO) Since Curry has moved to the PG slot his game has improved to tremendous heights, and most noticeably in his passing...as I alluded to two posts ago. So as we continued speaking on the issue his main argument for Ty Lawson was his assist to turnover ratio. Not a bad argument considering his is pretty ridiculous for a college point guard as fast an as energetic as he is. My counter argument is what Steph Curry has to do for his team as opposed to what Ty Lawson has to do for his. Ty Lawson has to facilitate that fast break offense and make sure his super-duper stars get the ball in spots where they can succeed, and he does that to a T. But what Steph Curry has to do for his team supersedes what Ty Lawson has to do by a boat load. Consider that Davidson only has one other main player from that elite 8 run last year and only 1 other player averaging over 10 points per game, (while UNC has 6 PLAYERS THAT AVERAGE 10+ per game) Curry has to score almost half his teams points every night (he is averaging 29.1). So I decided to crunch some numbers and this is what I came up with courtesy of ESPN.com....

NAME	GM	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	TO	A/T	STL	BLK	PF	FG%	FT%	3P%	PPS
Stephen Curry	17	34.1	29.1	3.9	6.5	3.9	1.6/1	3.0	0.3	2.4	.455	.854	.359	1.40

Ty Lawson

18

27.1

14.8

2.4

6.7

1.8

3.8/1

2.3

0.2

1.5

.530

.775

.480

1.63

If you look at the "True Point Guard stats" , as I call them (AST, TO, A/T)...you can see that they are indeed pretty close. The assists are dead even. The Turnovers are a little high for Curry, but consider him playing 7 more minutes a game then curry...plenty of time to make 2 turnovers a game. The one glaring stat is the assist to turnover ratio. (as my boy Ski pointed out) Whether you account Lawson's high ratio because of his 5 all star teammates or his great decision making is your choice. However it is clear that in terms of true point guard, Lawson is probably a better fit for that term.

As far as I'm concerned though, there is no question at this point I would take Steph Curry over Lawson. The one major stat we left out was the PPG. (And the fact that Steph is the best shooter since Reddick...and may be better then him) Steph Curry is a new breed of point guard, in the mold of Baron Davis, Derek Rose, Deron Williams, and Chris Paul...where scoring becomes a need for the team they are on, therefore hindering some of their true PG statistics.

Either way you can't go wrong with both of them. But if you had to give me a choice right now between Curry and Lawson, traditional PG and New-Style PG....I'm going Curry...all the way to the bank....

Greatest sport known to man!

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Like my partner in chit-chat sports, I too have taken some time off to digest this remarkable sport season that is at hand. Yes I am a die hard Florida fan, and no I will not marry Tim Tebow. However, I will arrange a meeting between him an my girlfriend so that way she can get pregnant and give birth to the greatest athlete ever which will be raised by myself (I digress). The title of this article is in reference to the great game of football. Whether college or professional, football is truly America's game. And after witnessing the Arizona Cardinals win the NFC championship game, I can truly say that miracles do happen.
This past college season was spectacular regardless whether or not you want to crown the Gators as National champ (which they are and I couldn't be happier about). This past season hopefully opened the eyes of college presidents for the need of a playoff system. Would Florida still be champs if there was one in place? I;m not sure. What I can say is that they would have a heck of a chance and I'm positive that USC would be right there in the mix. Which brings me to next season. Stafford and Knowshown are entering the draft as they should. I would've counted Georgia out of championship conversation even if they did return. How bout the rest of the field. Tebow, Bradford and McCoy all return for another season which could leave for an even crazier Big 12 finish than this year. By Tebow returning (and not to mention Spikes who is the catalyst of the Defense) Florida is sure to be the favorite even with the departure of the dynamic Percy Harvin ( I will buy his jersey when he gets drafted by the Bears, yes I'm calling it now). So who will win the Heisman? Bradford as Greshman returning who had a huge championship game (which I called and nobody listened), McCoy is going to be solid again, and let's face it; Tim Tebow might be the second son of God if God played football. I'll pick Conference winners right now so everyone can say what a genius I am when it happens a year from now;

SEC-Florida. There too strong and they will finish with a loss but will prevail in the end)

Pac 10-USC. Let's face it, The Pac 10 is horrible and USC is an NFL factory. Oregon will beat them)

Big East- Cincinnati. This was a tough one for me. With the top rusher in the FBS leaving UCONN and West Virgina losing their QB I have no other choice but to pick Cincy. Look out for freshman Tahj Boyd at WV, he could be freshman of the year.

ACC- Florida State. As much as it pains me to say this, I think their the team to beat. The ACC has so much young Talent and along with Miami I think Florida state returns to a BCS game

Big 10-Ohio St. This is the worst Conference in College Football and other than Florida St, I despise Ohio St more than any other team. Its just that the Big 10 is so bad and Tyrell Pryor will be dominant in such a bad league that I have no choice but to pick them.

As for every other Conference, who cares. Its always the same handful of teams that never surprise you and always win. Utah will be dominant again but will lose to BYU. Boise St will win the WAC because, well, I can't even name another team in the WAC. And TCU will win Conference USA because they will have another stellar defense. Oh and Notre Dame will have an 8 win season and be ranked in the top 25 but that's only because they're Notre Dame which is ridiculous.
As for the NFL, my co-writer had it right when he said this was the craziest season ever. All I can say is wow! Who would of ever thought that the Arizona Cardinals would be in the Super Bowl. They haven't won a championship in 61 years. All I can say is that I'm pulling for them because as a 49er fan (die hard I must add) the NFC West gets no respect, so it's great to see a fellow division team in the big game. Larry Fitzgerald is the next Jerry Rice but more athletic which is scary. The guy has fly paper for hands, he catches everything. On the other side we have the Steelers. I was pulling for the Ravens and actually picked them to win it all as soon as I knew they were in the playoffs. But because of injuries and the fact that they haven't had a week off since week 2, the Steelers prevailed and now have a chance to pass my beloved 49ers (T-DeRiggi's wretched Cowboys) for the most Super Bowl wins of all time. My prediction, Cardinals 31-24. It seems crazy but I think the Cards D will find a way to fix their defensive problems in the second half and come out on top. Tim Hightower will be Superbowl MVP rushing for 68 and a TD and catching for 100 which includes a 55 yard screen pass for the go-ahead TD. Yes I'm that accurate and don't be surprised if I'm right.

The game of football captures the attentions of Americans all over the country and the Super Bowl should be a national holiday. It's a game that any Sunday, any team, any where has a chance to reign supreme. which is why I'll end this by stating the San Francisco 49ers will win it all next year.

Any given Sunday, hey you never know.

Written By ShowtimeZacc

Shakin off the ChitChat Rust...

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As you already know, I haven't been on chit chat sports recently. (Neither has my partner Showtime, yes ....that's an official call out of you Show....) That embarrassing loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in week 17 has left me out of commission for 3 weeks. But Hey! when something knocks you down your supposed to get back up right?..maybe?...ok...But anyway...I was sitting thinking about what I should write about....obvious answer NFL Playoffs and how screwy they really are. I could chat about the NBA and how Lebron has entered the "I'm officially unstoppable now and I'm not going to let my team lose games exactly like MJ" mode. Could go the Steph Curry rout and tell you about how hes the best college basketball player of the past 10 years, no big deal. Or how about Tim Tebow, and the fact that he might actually not be human...Hes like that perfect girl at school that you could never get in a million years, and every time she does something you just stare and watch her in awe and amazement.....No Homo....I'll leave Tebow for Showtime because hes very intimate about him. (unfortunately I can't call No homo on that because Show might ACTUALLY be in love with Tebow. I Digress)

So I'll tackle the first three.

I wasn't really into the NBA season yet this year, and its pretty normal for me to wait until after football to fully embrace the National Basketball Association. However, I watched the Boston Celtics vs Cleveland Cavaliers the other night, and now I can officially say....I'm hooked. If any of you had the opportunity to watch maybe one of the best REGULAR SEASON performances by LBJ in his young career so far. People have been calling for this guy to finally just grab the game by the horns and say," Look I don't care if you throw 7 guys on the floor, I'm getting to the rim and I'm dominating you"...Much like my Idol MJ used to do. It is really incredible to see him and his intensity this year, it is completely different. I feel that playing on Team USA and learning from a COLLEGE coach about having to achieve greatness through your team and not just yourself, that he has completely changed his game. Oh by the way, there is no way they lose in the Finals this year...call this an early prediction...Cavs in the East!

On to Lebron's BFF... Steph Curry of Davidson. When Bobby Knight calls you the best PASSER he has ever seen in college basketball, and YOUR forte is SHOOTING, then you have to be a hell of a player. Steph Curry's evolution into a point guard and a more complete player is going wayyyyyyy under the radar. (I cant believe ESPN hasn't talked about this more considering they talk about EVERYTHING...even some things that they make up..See: Owens, Terrell...or Werder, Ed) But seriously, Bobby Knight isn't lieing when he tells you that hes such a more complete passer then he was last year. His ability to still score 30 a game and orchestrate this team is really incredible and that's why hes the best college basketball player of this decade in my opinion. If I'm Mike D'Antoni of the Knicks I am losing the rest of my games purposely, that way they draft Steph Curry to be their next great PG...and in 2010 sign Lebron James and Amare Stoudemire...then roll out a starting 5 of: Steph Curry, Wilson Chandler, Lebron James, David Lee, Amare Stoudemire...with Al Harrington, Nate Robinson, and Q-Rich off the bench....How does that team not average 120 ppg under D'Antoni....wait...How am I not a GM?

And finally, ladies and gentlemen...your 2008 NFL Season...I called it way back in November and said that this is the craziest season I have ever witnessed. Its so crazy that

....hold on...

........brace yourselves....

...you ready?.....

ok...

The ARIZONA CARDINALS are in the NFC Championship game....

AND

A rookie Division 1AA quarterback is starting in the AFC Championship game....like are you serious?...It just goes to show you that AL Pacino was right in any given Sunday....Anyone can win a game in the NFL...you just have to have tremendous discipline and a little bit of luck...(See: Flacco, Joe) I can't even explain the Carolina Panthers to you...because that's just as surprising to me as Wade Phillips still being the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys...Sorry Jerry...The Giants I saw coming, Philly is just hungrier then them and Eli Manning is truly an average quarterback, anyone who tells me "Oh But hes a SuperBowl MVP" I don't care...hes the MVP because a practice squad receiver made the luckiest catch anyone has ever seen?...There is no one in the world who could convince me that Eli Manning is better then Tony Romo...(Maybe Tim Tebow, I heard he has that affect on people)...Aikman I love you to death but if you truly believe Eli is better then Jessica's other half, then you truly have had one too many concussions....

P.S. Shout out to the Pilot of US Airways for making a ridiculous landing on the Hudson River saving 150 lives...mad ill dude right there..ya digggg???

Written By TDERIGG2