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I think you go straight to the airport, and put Bassy on the plane with a nice thank you note to Danny Ainge if you're Portland. A high pick and a player for someone who hasn't developed yet is practically a no brainer, especially when you know Dickau likely won't get arrested on his way there.

Does anyone know if they'll be replaying this event later in the night/week? I won't be home until about 10 and just want to know if I'm going to be screwed, or if I can catch it some other time.

That match, and that show both deserved to set the records they did.

I'd rather have the 4 Super Bowls, than Norwood kicking the ball a few feet to the left, and not going to the 3 SB's after. The chase is what's fun, after all. Those days back then spoiled us Bills fans, as the last 6 years of torture and no hope really isn't fun. You're either insane or sadistic if you'd rather have your heart broken 4 times, than 1 win and less torment. Kenny Rogers will probably start the AS game for the AL, that's why he's tentatively Detroit's "ace". Whether he loses Game 1, 2 or 3 for Detroit, the simple fact is he's going to be one of the reasons they lose a series against a team with an inferior record. I'm sure they'll beat whatever crappy team comes from the West if they win the division and the ChiSox take the WC, but I can't see them beating either Boston or Detroit when the Roaster has to pitch twice in a seven game series and Todd Jones is entrusted with a lead any time after the 7th inning.

Yea, they only won 5 pennants. How many World Series rings did the Braves acquire in 14 straight tries? How many did the Marlins get in 2 trips? Only losers care about coming in 2nd place. How many did the Mets get in their two trips over the past 14 years? 0 Being first in your division after 162 games for 14 years running, and winning 5 pennants over 14 years is quite the accomplishment whether you want to admit it or not. Of course I'd rather have 14 WS titles then 1, but that doesn't make what the Braves have done any less impressive. The Mets have had NO postseason success in the last 14 years. The Braves have had very little. The Marlins have had more, and the Yankees have had the most. You're not hurting my feelings by telling me the Mets have done nothing praiseworthy in the last decade and a half, but in TWELVE more tries, you guys have won ONE more title. That's not something to brag about. The Marlins, White Sox and the Angels are the exceptions to the rule. Every other team in the last 14 years that won a title had some playoff experience, especially in the critical positons aka starting pitching and the closer spot. I don't know about you but I wouldn't bet money on Detroit excelling in the playoffs with Kenny Rogers as their "ace" and Todd Jones as their "closer". But then again, the Braves couldn't win multiple World Series titles even with 3 Hall of Famers in their starting rotation, so anything is possible.

In my lifetime I've seen my teams win the equivalent of the "pennant" 4 times as the Knicks lost in the Finals twice, the Mets lost the Subway Series and the Ravens raped my Giants. Those 4 seasons weren't any more successful than all of the other times they didn't win the title. Ask Bills fans or players if they'd rather have 1 ring or 4 2nd place finishes. Pennants don't really mean much besides a flag somewhere in the stadium. No one takes pride in chanting "We're # 2! We're # 2!" for a reason.

Yea, they only won 5 pennants. How many World Series rings did the Braves acquire in 14 straight tries? How many did the Marlins get in 2 trips? Only losers care about coming in 2nd place.

I don't care if the Tigers win now, later, or never, I'm just saying that I can understand why Kruk would make that comment. The Braves didn't have much postseason success period, but that's something I also enjoyed. Granted, it would suck for me as a Mets fan for the Braves to get an upgrade in the future, but I'd like to see them give up on a season for once because they're too far behind to contend. That's my only argument really.

I don't disagree with the idea that closers don't always matter unless they're Mariano Rivera, but regular season success doesn't mean a whole lot if you've never been to the playoffs before. The Tigers are on pace for 109 or 110 wins, but how did those 116 win Mariners do in the playoffs? I wouldn't mind seeing the Braves move Smoltz simply because it means they'd be waving the white flag on the season, and as someone who grew tired of seeing them win the division and then gag in the playoffs that would be a beautiful thing.

And he wanted them to put Smoltz in the bullpen! How does that even make sense for the Tigers? Because the closer role + Todd Jones' 6.60 ERA & .323 OBA = recipe for postseason failure I'm not saying I'd make a move for Smoltz and put him in the 'pen, but surely he'd be an upgrade in that most critical of positions.

Your reading comprehension is pisspoor as usual. The only reason Phoenix would trade Marion, Diaw or Barbosa is because they're all going to want huge money on their NEXT deals. Hence the "and everyone of those guys will be overpaid based on their offensive stats in the system." comment. Will be refers to the future, not the present. The Suns can't pay all of the guys that are UNDERPAID now, but will be OVERPAID on their next contract. They aren't the Knicks when it comes to spending millions upon millions of dollars over the cap, and they're not going to be able to keep everyone. When you're in that situation you need to get rid of guys a year early as opposed to a year too late. Marion's already bitching about a lack of respect, and that's only going to be magnified when Amare takes back the # 2 Sun spot.

The Juice-ambino with another 2 HR game. Can we get a blood test on him ASAP?

Big Papi does it again. That guy is everything A-Rod is not. And the Phils are now 12 games out.

It was worse than the announcers made it out to be. This is the kind of game that turns off new fans as both teams were playing for PK's midway through the 2nd half.

I plan on writing a piece about this in the near future. I think the fans are just as good a group as any other. The problem isn't the fans, it's the process. Yeah but fans of the bigger clubs in particular don't have an issue selecting a dude batting like .220 or someone who only played in 15 games. I'm surprised Yankee fans didn't go all out with getting someone like Bernie Williams into the game just for shits and giggles. Papelbon just blew a save to Chase Utley. Boo. Hiss.

The Rockets couldn't win when MJ was in the NBA BECAUSE they never even made it to the Finals to face him. Seriously dude, how could they have beaten the Bulls when they couldn't even get out of the West until he was gone? It's not an accident either that the Knicks never made the Finals while Jordan was in the league. The only difference between Hakeem and Ewing, Barkley and the other titleless victims of the Jordan era was that they capitalized on that two year window, or Hakeem wouldn't have any rings either.

Wow, what a way to possibly lose a QF match on another fucking dive.

Byung-Hyun Lidge ain't shit. He's done as an elite closer.

That's still 37 wins. The Knicks had a robust 23 last year. Isiah Thomas as a coach isn't worth 14 wins and the team hasn't been improved at all.

I don't know if the Knicks could make the playoffs even if they got demoted to the WNBA.

I'm a little bit late to this party, but I thought that was an exciting night of fights up until Kenny Florian beat up a tomato can and then celebrated like he'd just developed a cure for cancer and AIDS in the same night. Jardine got a well deserved decision, but dude's skin is paper thin. He can't keep fighting for long in the UFC if every punch leads to a crimson mask. The Brazilian dude gassed out during the break between the 1st and 2nd round which sucks for him since he nearly had a 10-8 first round. I think Kendall clearly won his fight 29-28, though I was pretty sure Chris Leben II was going to get the decision just because he appeared more aggressive to the judges who usually know nothing about subs from the bottom. I was impressed that Ed didn't complain about the scoring of the match and showed respect for his opponent, though I could have done without the repeated shots of his mother throughout the fight. Bisping killing Josh dead for about 9 minutes If the UFC play their cards right he could be a huge star for them. The guy went balls out for the whole fight and didn't really look tired afterwards. I'd love to see him fight Bonnar, Griffin or Matt.

I told you guys Phoenix wouldn't be as good next year. They can't pay Nash, Diaw, Marion, Barbosa AND Amare and everyone of those guys will be overpaid based on their offensive stats in the system. The only franchise guy in that mix is Amare, and Phoenix needs to guess which of the others they want to keep because there's no guarantee that Diaw can do what he did this year with Marion and Barbosa possibly gone and Amare clogging the middle. The Sonics would be raping Phoenix in that move, but the Suns don't really have a choice. Them's the breaks when you let guys run, run, run and fill up a statsheet.

That's ridiculous right there. The Twinkies shouldn't have spotted the two big dogs in the division a 10-12 game headstart. It's bad for business.

I'm going with Justine winning in an upset over your boy Venus just because her draw is as easy as possible. I'd like to see Federer win and Nadal lose in the 1st or 2nd round.

According to me, Jeff Brantley is an idiot. Just abolish the fucking save already. Amen and amen. The Mets getting shelled today was expected. I didn't expect us to beat Halladay, so hopefully we can rally tomorrow and take the series. Fortunately we're not losing any ground in this mini skid since the "Fighting Phillies" haven't had much fight lately except when Brett Myers beats his wife in public