Beale Street Blues

Ever since the Grizzlies arrived in Memphis eight years ago, they have tried, and ultimately failed, at righting the ship .

There was the hire of Hubie Brown, which resulted in the franchise’s first playoff appearance in 2004, during the last season at the Pyramid Arena and ended with Brown moving back to the broadcast booth.

Another broadcaster-turned-coach Mike Fratello followed Brown and led the Grizz to the 2005 and 2006 playoffs, only to be let go in the middle of the 2006-07 season giving the Grizzlies their fourth coach since moving here in 2001 in Marc Iavanori.

And like Fratello, Iavanori, who I met during the draft day party at the Flying Saucer on South Second Street in May of last year, would receive his walking papers on January 22nd, a day after the Grizzlies lost to the Charlotte Bobcats for their seventh straight loss.

Personally, I always thought when O.J. Mayo arrived in Memphis the fortunes of the franchise would change, which happens to be the same blind hope that most Grizzlies fans have every year after Rudy Gay/Mike Conley/Shane Battier held a Grizzlies jersey up and said to the world that they were a member of the Grizz.

Trust me, I did.

But when you continuously dish out a disinterested product on the court, filled with, in the words of Geoff Calkins, players that really don’t want to be here in the Bluff City and have a fan base of 5 and 6 year-olds waving pom poms and poor drunks on the corner of North Third and Jefferson begging for change so that they can get a fifth of Jack Daniel’s, then you have to wonder what is really going on in Michael Heisley’s head.

Why would an owner trade the only All-Star the franchise has ever had, as well as the all-time leading scorer in franchise history, only to see him walk to a team filled with a certain Hall-of-Famer and a nucleus of young talent that actually made it to that year’s NBA Finals?

Why would an owner trade two players that were part of that three-year run and in turn would win NBA Championships with their clubs?

I mean, why?

It’s time to face the music, Mr. Heisley.

Seriously.

2008 NBA Draft… Derrick Rose Or Michael Beasley?

The on-going debate for the Chicago Bulls, the team holding the #1 pick in Thursday’s 2008 NBA Draft is, “Do we take Derrick Rose or do we take Michael Beasley?”

Multiple sources — from what I have read — have said that while the Bulls state they are still “deciding” on who to take, they believe Derrick Rose will be the #1 pick in the draft. After this, apparently the Miami Heat, who hold the #2 pick in the draft, are attempting to trade out of the pick (thus assuming Rose is not on the board) with either Seattle or Memphis.

According to various articles and sources I have found on the internet, Seattle is proposing a swap of their #4 pick plus power forward Chris Wilcox for power forward Mark Blount and the #2 pick. The reason for this deal being intriguing to Miami would be the fact that Blount still has 2 years and 16 million dollars on his contract whereas Wilcox is, what they call in the NBA, an ‘expiring contract’. Simply meaning, his contract runs out after this year is up.

Another rumor involves the Memphis Grizzlies offering point guard Kyle Lowery, shooting guard Mike Miller and their #5 pick for the #2 pick. Miami, however, wants Memphis to sweeten the deal by having Memphis give up last year’s top pick, point guard Mike Conley, instead of Lowery while the Heat would then add in shooting guard Daequan Cook.

Either way, it appears that the Heat have zero interest in Michael Beasley on their team. My question is: WHY???

Beasley is, in fact, the same kid who took a Kansas State team who really wasn’t very good, put them on his back, and led them to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament, which is no worse than what Kevin Durant did at Texas last year with DJ Augustin, among others, on his team.

Beasley is the same kid who averaged over 26 points a game, led the Nation in rebounding with over 12 per game, was Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Big 12 Player of the Year, a concensus First Team All-American, and probably would’ve been the National Player of the Year if people were not in love with Tyler Hansbrough. If you compare Beasley’s stats to that of last year’s freshman phenom, Kevin Durant, they are actually better.

So someone explain to me why Beasley is most likely going to be passed over by the Bulls for Derrick Rose and why the Heat are trying to trade the pick away?!? Don’t get me wrong, Derrick Rose is a fantastic point guard, but he is not on the same talent level of Michael Beasley. Rose can’t score the way Beasley can, he can’t play in the post, command double teams, rebound, and well, you get the idea.

And please don’t give me the “oh, well Rose has no character issues and Beasley does.” Sure, Beasley seemed to have character issues in high school that probably came from moving from school to school and having a lack of maturity. But, Amare Stoudemire did the same thing, moving from school to school and while he wasn’t a #1 pick because of it, based on his production, you think teams in that draft would LOVE to have a do-over? I think so. Not to mention, you saw zero issues from Beasley of ‘immaturity’ in college, and from what I can tell, all 19-20 year old kids like to have fun and joke around, so it is not just limited to Beasley.

Simply put, while Derrick Rose is a very good player, I just don’t understand why there is even a comparision between he and Michael Beasley. Especially with the Bulls need for an offensive presence in the post. But apparently, actually having ‘fun’ is going to hurt Mr. Beasley in the end if the Bulls do indeed draft Rose.

For Bulls fans sake, if they do infact draft Derrick Rose, they better hope this ‘Mike’ doesn’t turn out to be like the last ‘Mike’ we saw in Chicago, or the team will never live it down.

Link: ESPN.com

Charles Barkley Is A Turrrble Liar

Late last week it became public that the legendary Sir Charles owed upwards of $400,000 in gambling debts to the Wynn Las Vegas resort. In Barkley’s defense, he publicly came clean on the issue rather quickly and thanked all of the fans for their support; a rare admittance in an age of denials and we applaud Chuck for that.

But then Barkley added something that made me chuckle (no pun intended), that he would stop gambling completely, at least for now. Right, and Jenna Jameson isn’t going to be… -I’ll stop there as we’re trying to keep it PG-13, but you get the point.

Now that being said, I absolutely love Charles Barkley as I think he can take a joke on himself better than anyone. I also don’t feel that Charles’ gambling habits are really any of our/the media’s business. Guys like Barkley and Jordan have been avid gamblers for years and is it really a problem if someone has so much money that they can afford to lose millions without it adversely affecting their life? Some people spend their money on drugs, others spend their money on lavish automobiles, and Sir Charles and MJ spend theirs in Vegas, baby. Vegas.

I have no doubt that Barkley will be back at it in no time, and though I think he makes for a bad liar I see no reason he should have to lie and no reason why, at this point, his gambling habits are a problem.

When it becomes a problem is when the afternoon horn at the mill sounds and before dinnertime you’re at the riverboats with a twelve pack gambling away this month’s trailer payment while the wife is at home with your three kids — well, at least two that are yours that you’re sure of.

♣ Linkage: ESPN.com

And now we leave you with the gratuitous Charles Barkley golf shot video:

I Want Isiah’s (New) Job

As many of you probably already know or most of you probably don’t care, Isiah Thomas was relieved of his duties as head coach by team president Donnie Walsh — who also happens to be Isiah’s current successor in the presedential position. So what will Isiah being doing, you ask?!:

“He will not have an official title, but he will provide meaningful input to me.”

Epic. And just what kind of meaningful input is Isiah going to provide? Maybe which female coworkers Donnie can make sexually suggestive behaviors to without consequence? Maybe…

Additionally, he will report directly to Walsh but Isiah but won’t have anyone reporting to him. Oh yeah, he’s also banned from contacting any members of the team.

So what IS Isiah going to be doing for $18.0M? No title, no subordinates, no contact, NO RESPONSIBILITIES!

I want Isiah’s new job…and that hat, too.

♣ Linkage:

ESPN.com

NorthJersey.com

ESPN.com

There’s Still Time On The Clock, Just Push It Up The Floor

Every baseball fan young and old knows all too well about the story of the Dodgers’ move to Los Angeles and how, after 50 years of major league baseball in Southern California, Walter O’Malley’s name in Brooklyn is still spoken with a sense of complete dislike.

Fast-forward to 2008, where instead of close-knit Brooklynites begging for the Dodgers not to depart from Flathbush, a city and a former owner is fighting like crazy to keep their beloved NBA team in the city of their origin.

Going into the 2007-08 NBA season, the Seattle Sonics weren’t among anyone’s list of contenders in the Western Conference. Although the Sonics did strike gold by drafting Kevin Durant, who will nonetheless become this year’s Rookie of the Year, the Sonics were making more news away from the hardwood than on it throughout this season.

As many of us NBA fans know, the Hornets, like many of the pro teams around the New Orleans area, were evacuated because of Hurricane Katrina to temporary sites.

With the Hornets it was Oklahoma City, home to a gleaming showplace for basketball in the Ford Center, which in recent years has hosted the Big 12 Conference Tournament.

While the arrangement between the Hornets and the city was short-term and successful, another Oklahoman is trying his best to do the same thing that Walter O’Malley, more than 50 years ago, allegedly did.

Break the hearts of a loyal fan base.

Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett is trying to obtain permission from the NBA to move the Pacific Northwest’s oldest major pro sports team, the Seattle Sonics, to Oklahoma City and thereby doing something that could not be done with the Hornets: sustain a long-term presence of pro basketball in Oklahoma City.

But it’s not going away without a fight.

As we speak, Washington senators are doing everything in their power to stop the move by filing lawsuits, bringing in a former owner to get the team back and keep it in Seattle, something that the people of Brooklyn would have never envisioned doing 50 years ago when their Dodgers traded Flatbush for Hollywood.

But much like the Dodgers, the Sonics have been an instution in Seattle.

And barring a last-second shot, Clay Bennett is going to join the ranks of Horace Stoneham and Walter O’Malley as the most hated owners in sports history.

Too bad, because Seattle was getting used to seeing Kevin Durant and possibly seeing the team get back into contention in the West.

But because of a hillbilly, that won’t be the case.

Houston’s Streak Ends At 22

After asking Mutombo if the Rockets will win it all…

^”no no no no no no no…”

There has been a lot of talk recently about Houston’s hot streak which ended Tuesday night in embarrassing fashion to the Celtic’s.  After losing by 20 points to end the second longest win streak in NBA history I am left with only 1 question… Who cares?  So what if they won 22 games in a row, it wont mean anything when they lose in the first round of the playoffs like they do every year they make it.  I am reminded of only a few months ago when all the talk was about the Patriots amazing streak and how they were unbeatable, and I’m sure if Tiger was playing at the time they all would have tried to compare it to that.  Well, we all know how that story ended and do you hear anyone talking about the amazing Patriot’s streak of 18 in a row?

My point?  That if the Rockets don’t win the big games and end up as champions, then this streak goes down as absolutely meaningless.  If anything it proves that the Rockets, and specifically Tracy McGrady, can’t win in the playoffs.  A few months from now when Houston loses in the first round (because they wont get the bye), everyone can talk about how right I was and how the Rockets aren’t really that good of a basketball team.  The most troubling thing is that Houston point guard Rafer Alston said “Our names will be mentioned there with Hall of Fame people.”  How jaded can you be?  1.  I’ve never even heard of Rafer Alston, and 2.  A lot of people who come in second place for a streak and then fail to win any kind of championship are in the same discussion as Hall of Famers… oh wait, that MAKES NO SENSE.  This streak will only be remembered when the next brilliant team makes a huge streak, and you know what they will say?  “This streak is comparable to the 2008 Houston Rockets, only unlike that team, this one will probably win the NBA Championship.

Houston Sucks.

The Only Time Devean George Has Played Defense

Let’s be honest…I don’t know jack shit about Devean George or his defense.  What I do know is that he went to some college I’ve never heard of (Augsburg?), is a 5.9 points per game guy, and makes a SHIT LOAD of money for 13 minutes per game — to the tune of $2.4 million to be exact.  Below is probably a better representation of Devean sitting on a bench with his warmups on:

I circled him for your convenience.  You know, I really do way too much for you guys.

Oh yeah, defense.  He blocked some trade he was involved in with some guy name Jason Kidd to a team in Dallas that apparently has a crazy owner…I don’t really know.  Hey, look…Flava of Love is on…

♣ Linkage: ESPN.com

Steve Nash To Star In Dumb & Dumber 3

“The first time I set eyes on Mary Swanson, I just got that old fashioned romantic feeling where I’d do anything to bone her.”

Steve Nash did his best Lloyd Christmas impression last night after taking an elbow to the chops from Carlos Boozer and apparently living to tell about it. We obviously love Steve Nash — even if he is Canadian — as you’d think that he appears to be in over is head in then NBA then he goes on to win 20 NBA MVP Awards in a row.

Anways, after the injury timeout the Phoenix Suns went on to beat the Utah Jazz 103-95 and Christmas Nash went for an astounding 29 points, 11 assists, and 6 rebounds despite being down half a tooth.

Video linkage (because I am incapable of embedding ESPN videos): ESPN.com

Pacers Won’t Punish Tinsley, Apparently Being Shot At Was Enough

Actual ESPN.com headline: “Pacers decide not to punish Tinsley for involvement in shooting”

Now, I am not even sure why the Pacers might be considering punishing Tinsley.  I understand he has quite the history and he admittedly put himself at the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people, but the early report states that Tinsley was not carrying a firearm and wasn’t the one doing the shooting.  It seems awfully tough to discipline someone who was being shot at by a .223 caliber made-for-modern-warefare assault rifle.   Usually I take a strict stance on situations like this and it certainly won’t bode well for the image of the NBA, but I think the prospect of death by firearm is punishment enough.

Because it was punishment enough for me when I was shot at — but I guess I should’ve expected that reaction for trying to steal a gun from a cop.  Hey, what can I say, they triple-dog-dared me…

‘Buike Doing His Thing

Former University of Kentucky stud Kelenna Azubuike continues to do “his thing” for the Golden State Warriors as ‘Buike went for his first double-double of the season with 27 points on 50% shooting and 11 rebounds to go along with 4 assists and a steal in 43 minutes of play. The Warriors had a Cinderella-esque run in last year’s Playoffs but are struggling out of the gate early this season at 0-5. It is, however, nice to see Kelenna doing well (and getting paid – $687, 456 this season with his stock steadily rising) as not only is he a former Wildcat but always seemed to be a real class act that was hit with some misfortunes during his Kentucky career that forced him in to the NBA a year early.

Nothing but the best of luck is wished upon all of our former Wildcats as it is always nice to see the program represented in the NBA.

Congrats, Kelenna and thanks for making the Bluegrass proud!

UPDATE: Jeff Shelman of ESPN.com has a good read on Tubby Smith from yesterday: Smith and Minnesota an unlikely pairing.

The same aforementioned good luck wishes are bestowed upon former coaches as well regardless if they are out of, or still in, the coaching ranks. I have always been a Tubby Smith fan/supporter and look forward to following the continuance of his career in Minnesota.

Vick’s Week Just Got Worse

As if Vick didn’t have it bad enough after pleading guilty on Monday and apologizing in front of an entire nation, the majority of whom probably now hate him, Ron Artest has come out in support of Vick, saying he would like to “reach out” to the fallen quarterback (link – ESPN.com).

I think the last thing Vick wants to hear now is that he’s now being publicly backed by this guy:

Artest doesn’t particularly bring a lot of credibility to a legal case and I am not sure of many who would want Artest on their fighting side. Well literally speaking they would, obviously, but figuratively speaking, not a chance.

Donaghy: “Tonight we dine in Hell.”

Last Update By Matt: August 18, 2007 at 12:07PM EST – added: Orange update.

UPDATE BY MATT 08/18/07 AT 12:07PM EST: In a move that can only be described as “if I am going down, everybody is coming with me,” Donaghy will reportedly implicate 20 other NBA referees in part of the gambling scandal he finds himself knee-deep in. This sounds like a simple case of one trying to negotiate his/her on plea bargain as I don’t expect Tim wants to spend 25 years in what Michael Bolton would call “pound me in the ass prison.” The problem is that you are not afforded the opportunity to make your own plea bargain and he can provide the prosecution with all the names he wants, but if the FBI hasn’t found any evidence on the names he spews out and the Referee’s Union maintains Donaghy acted alone, he’ll only look like the boy who cried ‘wolf.’ Now that Tim has plead ‘guilty,’ we can all sit back and watch how ridiculous this gets.

I look for the odds on “will David Stern/the Referee’s Union/the mob put a hit on Donaghy to silence him” to open up at 9-to-1.

Link: Referees union maintains Donaghy acted alone (MSNBC.com)

UPDATE BY MATT 08/17/2007 AT 4:10PM EST: Tim Donaghy could face charges in Arizona regarding a fix on not one, but two Phoenix Suns playoff games refereed by Donaghy; “Condos” The NBA Conspiracy Theory is more possible than anyone originally thought, maybe for different motives but scary nonetheless. Read it.

Link: Arizona officials eyeing Donaghy’s call in Suns’ game (ESPN.com)

Who Wants To Be A Commissioner?

“The Nasty Boys” would like to introduce the new running blog:

Who has the worst commissioner job?

We will consistently update the three commissioners’ problems and their recent scandals.

We would also encourage you to VOTE for the worst commish job in the COMMENTS SECTION.

The Candidates:

Bud Selig – Bud Selig, the former owner of the Milwaukee Brewers and idolizer of Home Run King Hank Aaron, has announced that he will be following the next games of Barry Bonds. He made the following statement…

“Out of respect for the tradition of this game, the magnitude of the record, and the fact that all citizens in this country are innocent until proven guilty, I will attend Barry Bonds’ next games to observe his potential tying and breaking of the home run record, subject to my commitments to the Hall of Fame this weekend.”

As Lewis Black said on The Daily Show, “HE’S USING CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS TO JUSTIFY HAVING TO WATCH A BASEBALL GAME!!!”

The heat on Bonds officially turned up a notch when the book, “Game of Shadows” came out, extensively describing Bonds’ and others’ steroid use through BALCO. Selig’s comment at the time of the book?…

“It was worse than I thought.”

With Federal indictments on hold due to Bonds’ trainer Greg Anderson refusing to testify and sitting in jail in contempt (and collecting checks from Bonds while in the clink), Selig’s only course was to hire former Senator George Mitchell to lead a weak investigation of players “volunteering” information.

So now Bud Selig has to fly to San Francisco and pretend to celebrate the most celebrated record in sports, held by his childhood hero, and about to be broken by a guy with a 9 3/4 inch head and shoes bigger than Shaq’s.

David Stern – After looking like someone had just run over his dog in his latest press conference, David Stern is embroiled in one of the NBA’s biggest scandals in its history.

Currently, Stern is the longest tenured and probably most powerful commissioner in American sports, serving as commissioner for the last 23 years. However, this didn’t stop Tim Donaghy from betting on games, apparently desperate for money after losing to “mobbed-up” sports bookies.

Stern commented, “I can tell you that this is the most serious situation and worst situation that I have ever experienced either as a fan of the NBA, a lawyer for the NBA or a commissioner of the NBA.”

Not only is the integrity of the NBA highly in doubt at this point, but Donaghy’s games can be re-watched and analyzed, questioned about whether the fix was in or not. Every questionable call from now on in any NBA game will now be heckled by fans, “HEY DONAGHY! HOW MUCH DO YOU HAVE ON THIS ONE?!?!?”

The most damning evidence was that as late as 2005, Donaghy was being investigated for gambling. Stern claimed he couldn’t answer the obvious question as to why this wasn’t addressed sooner, saying that the FBI specifically asked him not to comment on the investigation….

Meanwhile, Stern is stuck having to answer questions on the very essence and integrity of his game.

Roger Goodell – After suspending Chris Henry and PacMan Jones under the new Player Behavior Policy, all seemed calm on the homefront for Roger Goodell. As Charles Barkley said,

“Pacman and Henry, man they is habitual fools!”

Now that Vick has been indicted on ‘Federal Dog Genocide’ charges, it would appear that the second coming of the OJ trial is on our hands. A few years earlier, Vick had signed the largest contract in NFL history, becoming the face for the league. Now, we’re a few more damning charges from a high-speed chase in a white Bronco, with Al Cowlings calling in to the police….

“This is A.C.! I got O.J., I mean Vick, in the car! (pause) This is A.C.! You know who this is, —damnit!”

Even Arthur Blank, noted Vick apologist, referred to him only as “the player” in his latest press conference, noting that the “player” was referenced 50 times in his indictment. 50 TIMES! Considering that 95% of Federal indictments are successful in their prosecution, it’s amazing that some people are still holding on to the “innocent until proven guilty” defense.

As Colin Cowherd noted something along these lines, “This is the NFL. Not a court. If a reasonable person can look at the evidence and decide that he is clearly guilty, then we as REASONABLE people don’t have to rely on courts that drag out for years and years.”

So now America’s most popular sport is in the news for one of its most popular players electrocuting and mass murdering dogs. Talk about ruining the momentum leading into NFL training camp. Worse yet, Goodell had to hire ex-FBI and ex-CIA agents to dig up some “indisputable facts” that would allow them to suspend Vick indefinitely without going through the courts.

WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION….

WHO HAS THE WORST JOB AS LEAGUE COMMISSIONER:

SELIG, STERN, OR GOODELL

PLEASE VOTE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW!

–Charlie Hustle

KG Trade Rumors Finally Over, Garnett now a Celtic

After weeks and months of speculation on where the 6′11″ All-Star forward would end up, ESPN is reporting that Kevin Garnett is now a member of the Boston Celtics.  In an unprecedented 7 for 1 trade (when you include the draft picks as players), the Celtics gave up forward Al Jefferson, forward Ryan Gomes, guard Gerald Green, guard Sebastian Telfair, center Theo Ratliff, two first-round draft picks, and cash considerations to get their man in Kevin Garnett.

This gives Boston 3 all-stars in Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett, and puts the Celtics in ‘win now’ mode that can only be attempted (with success) in the Eastern Conference.

Although the Wolves gave up their prized player in Garnet, they did acquire quite a bit for him and should be pleased with the deal in an effort to help them get better in the future.  The Wolves got Al Jefferson, is a 22 year old up and coming star who plays the same position that Garnett played (power forward), they acquire an expiring contract in Theo Ratliff, 3 young players in Gomes, Green and Telfair who are 24, 21, and 22 years old respectively.  PLUS the Wolves get two first-round draft picks and cash in the deal as well.

The fact is, the Wolves had no choice but to trade Garnett after shopping him feverishly around the time of the draft, and had a deal in place with Boston earlier, before Garnett basically said he had no interest in playing in Boston.  That of course was before the Celtics went out and acquired Ray Allen from Seattle and KG realized that with Allen, Pierce, and himself,  the trio could legitimately make a run at winning the Eastern Conference even if the rest of their supporting cast was 9  people that they brought in from the Dunkin Donuts next to the arena.

Overall, I think both teams did what they felt they had to do, Ainge and the Celtics went out and acquired Garnett to take advantage of a shot to win an Eastern Conference title right now, and the McHale and the Wolves took advantage of the fact that the Celtics wanted Garnett and would basically give up the whole team to get him.

Short term, I think Boston gets the better of this trade, but in 3 to 5 years, this could be looked at as the trade that made the Timberwolves organization a strong organization for many years to come.