Low Risk, High Reward - Haynesworth gets traded to the Patriots

The big question for the Pats the past few seasons has been the defensive line, which had not seemed to recover from the loss of Richard Seymour. The 6'6" 310 pound Seymour was constantly doubled and opened up the entire defensive line for bigger opportunities, particularly in the pass rush. They have found a potential answer to that huge void in 6'6" 335 pound Albert Haynesworth III. There isnt a huge risk here, they are only giving up a 5th round pick and the majority of Haynesworth's $100 million contract with the Redskins has been paid out (the Pats will be paying more in the line of $5 million for his services this season).

He has had his issues on and off the field, but thats the epitome of the risk/reward situation. Were his two seasons/20 games in Washington aberrations from an otherwise productive career or an indication of where things are heading? That has yet to be determined. But one thing we have seen is that Mike Shannahan has not had too many happy players under his regime there and there is a firesale surrounding very talented athletes on their roster.

								Def Interceptions	Fumbles		Tackles
Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	Sk	PD	FF	FR	Tkl	Ast	Sfty	AV
2002	21	TEN		91	16	3	1.0	3			21	9		3
2003	22	TEN	RDT	92	12	11	2.5	4	0	2	21	10		6
2004	23	TEN	RDT	92	10	10	1.0	3	2	0	26	11		4
2005	24	TEN	RDT	92	14	14	3.0	1	1	0	36	16		5
2006	25	TEN	RDT	92	11	10	2.0	2			23	7		4
2007*+	26	TEN	RDT	92	13	12	6.0	4			32	8		14
2008*+	27	TEN	RDT	92	14	14	8.5	2	3	2	41	10		19
2009	28	WAS	RDT	92	12	12	4.0	5	0	1	30	8		6
2010	29	WAS		92	8	0	2.5	1			13	3		1
Career					110	86	30.5	25	6	5	243	82		62
7 yrs		TEN			90	74	24.0	19	6	4	200	71		55
2 yrs		WAS			20	12	6.5	6	0	1	43	11		7

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/28/2011.

The Pats seem to have a precedent set with some other success stories and really dont have much to lose in this scenario.

2004 - Corey Dillon:

Dillon bristled at his lack of carries and told reporters he wanted out. After a loss to Cleveland left the Bengals 8-8 and ended their season, Dillon threw his helmet, shoulder pads and cleats into the stands at Paul Brown Stadium, convinced he would be traded with two years left on his contract.

"They don't need me," Dillon said afterward. "They've been winning, quote unquote, without me."

The Bengals of course have not manufactured malcontent after malcontent, right? And they have done so much in the years since Dillon, like creating a sitution where their "franchise" QB has told the team he will retire before playing another game for them. For the Pats, Dillon set a Franchise record with 1,635 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in 2004 and helped lead them to their 3rd Superbowl.


2007 -Randy Moss:

That said, adding Moss, who will be playing for his third different team in four seasons and who now has been traded twice in three years, clearly involves some risk. Belichick and New England officials apparently have been candid in apprising Moss that there will be a zero-tolerance approach, and that the kind of behavior he has manifested at times in the past will not be acceptable.

Moss, 30, had not participated in any of the offseason conditioning sessions conducted by first-year Oakland head coach Lane Kiffin and the suspicion was that he would not show up for the start of training camp. Hoping to keep any distractions for his young head coach to a minimum, Raiders' owner Al Davis decided that Moss had to go.

The Raiders of course had a franchise QB that they did not want tarnished by Moss' attitude! For the 2007 Pats, Moss not only set a franchise record, he broke the Jerry Rice's NFL record with 23 TD catches.

E'Twaun Moore's Draft Day Diary

The behind the scenes look at the Celtics #55 overall draft pick, E'Twaun Moore. There have been rumors that Moore has signed with the Italian Serie A Team Cimberio Varese, but that deal supposedly will have a small window for him to opt-out should the NBA Lockout ever end.

From the Globe:

Team president Danny Ainge can’t give his approval or disapproval to Moore heading to Europe, or offer a guaranteed contract as incentive for him to remain in the States.

“It makes it tough, there’s no question,’’ Bartelstein said. “There’s things we’d like to be able to have a conversation with Danny about because I know how highly they feel about E’Twaun. But the problem at this point, we just have no confidence that the league wants to get a deal done.’’

Obviously the Celtics will retain draft rights for another year even if he signs with Varese, which could turn out to be a better option if he's Red Claw bound. But if they legitimately need SG depth, which they look like they do, it would be a big loss.

Sadly the NBA lockout has made it that

is a better and safer option in comparison to

Delonte West - The Lockout (Album Preview)

This is definitely unremarkable if I'm trying tp be nice (as we still want Redz to re-sign with Boston) but in reality just downright awful. I certainly hope Delonte did not pay real money for this "cinematography" and "production". The fact that they left the comments on youtube unmoderated is a BIG mistake. And I thought Marquis Daniels debut was bad!


Can this lockout end soon!

Don't quit your day job! (If you still have one)

With the lockout looming, its seems like some of the C's/ex-C's have been pursuing new careers. Needless to say based on what these guys are doing with their free time, the lockout needs to end soon!

Paul Pierce, professional gambler? Not for long after going all-in in the second round of the WSOP.



Rajon Rondo, Thespian? While he's making some serious Nike loot in this shoot, he doesn't quite look quite ready to follow in the shoes of Ray "Jesus Shuttlesworth" Allen!


Ray Allen, however, might be pursuing a career as a Children's Birthday Party Entertainer? This is actually from his kid's birthday, but hilarious nonetheless!



Marquis "Q6" Daniels, gangsta rapper? Perhaps on his next single he'll have Delonte West freestyle? One can only hope!





Glen Davis (& fellow LSU Alum Tyrus Thomas), Movie Producer? Apparently so. I have a strange feeling this potential new addition to the Criterion Collection is going to be released straight to youtube!



Shaq has moved on from retirement to TV, actually a legitimate career move, becoming a broadcaster for the next season (if there is one). We predicted a move to ESPN and weren't too far off.

Locked Out - Point/Counterpoint

NBA:

“We’re not going to lose any money. I’m not going to be commissioner of a league that is comfortable [losing money]. Because I don’t have a group of owners who find it acceptable for me to have that conversation with them."

“You don’t have $4 billion worth of revenue and pay out over $2 billion in salary and benefits to lose money. It’s something that we have sort of gotten used to as the revenues have gone up … but the world has changed about the prospect for all franchises, the world has changed for a lot of reasons – and economically – and now people who make investments in buildings and things expect not to lose money.”

-NBA Commissioner David Stern

Players Union:

As for the owners, they can inject all the fuzzy math they want into the equation about how many teams are losing money and how much, but humor me for a second while I get rhapsodize rhetorical:

1. How many of these billionaires actually rely on their teams to make ends meet?

2. How is it that every time a team gets sold, it fetches more folding money than the last time it was up for bids?

Stern orates about wanting the owners and players to be equal partners. I assume that means losses and profits. Fine, so fix it that the players get half the profit when the franchise is sold and half the annual write-offs.

You know who really deserves a seat at the table? No, not paying customers; they apparently enjoy having their pockets picked, no matter how deep.

It's the arena ancillaries, especially in smaller markets -- from team game-days to vendors to parking lot attendants, all whom badly need those 41-plus dates to help balance their own books -- in addition to neighborhood restaurant owners, whose existence might not totally depend on pre-and-post-game traffic, but get to maintain/increase staffs because of it.

These are the only people I'm really concerned about.

Don't make me pretend I care what happens to the owners or the players.

-Peter Vescey, NY POST

NBA:

"The expiring collective bargaining agreement created a broken system that produced huge financial losses for our teams. We need a sustainable business model that allows all 30 teams to be able to compete for a championship, fairly compensates our players, and provides teams, if well-managed, with an opportunity to be profitable."

"We have made several proposals to the union, including a deal targeting $2 billion annually as the players' share -- an average of approximately $5 million per player that could increase along with league revenue growth. Elements of our proposal would also better align players' pay with performance."

- NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver

Players Union:

"For anyone who wants to extrapolate these numbers to the rest of the league, caveats apply. These are six-year-old financials for a single team in the NBA, where market size is destiny and where, for instance, New York's books won't look anything like Milwaukee's. What's more, this is about as close a look as you'll get at the financial workings of a sports franchise, and even then the balance sheets are hopelessly opaque. But that's partly the point. In the modern era, franchises are owned by businessmen who approach their teams as one of many interconnected wealth-generating mechanisms. As in Fort's example above, the real value of one asset (the Nets) can't be known without looking at the numbers for another (the Barclays Center) and another (the rest of the Atlantic Yards development), and so on. There's nothing illegal or even wrong with that, but in such a system you can see very quickly why incentives for owners often fall irreparably out of plumb with the wishes of their fans — owners want to maximize revenue (which is their right), and fans want to win (which is their nature), and both Wayne Huizenga and the folks in the grandstand at PNC Park will tell you that these goals aren't necessarily compatible."

-Deadspin: How to make a $7 million Profit look like $28 million Loss

NBA:
“I’m not scared; I’m resigned to the potential damage that it can cause to our league.” -David Stern

Before We Get Carried Away

"An acre of performance is worth a whole world of promise."Red Auerbach

ESPN Boston 2011

Johnson is not Kevin Garnett, to be sure ("Don't anybody write it," Rivers joked Thursday), but there are several striking similarities between the pair's respective games. Both are long, athletic big men, capable of working with their backs to the basket in the post and stepping out and consistently knocking down a 15- to 18-foot jumper. Both understand what their strengths are on the offensive end and they stick to spots on the floor where they can best utilize those strengths -- a tactic Johnson impressed Rivers with during his pre-draft workout with the Celtics earlier this month.

"They're very similar... Same body type," said Rivers. "At the same time in their lives, [Johnson's] probably a better shooter, and Kevin became a great shooter. So there's a lot of upside things with him."

Hartford Courant 1993

"To be able to get our hands on a player of Acie's talent is quite fortunate for us, given that big men are at a premium," said Celtics coach Chris Ford.

Earl still is a gamble, highly touted as he may be. Earl is no Russell, nor is he Bill Walton -- although he does work out with Walton. Earl isn't even a Parish, although there is a resemblance.

"A lot of people used to compare me to Robert Parish," Earl said. "The shot-blocking ability, the shooting touch we both possess . . ."

Acie Earl: 6'10 240
JaJuan Johnson: 6'10 220

Both were Big Ten Defensive Player of Year (Earl 1993, Johnson 2011)

Earl's Junior Year: 19.5 PPG 7.8 RPG 4.0 BPG
Johnson's Junior Year: 15.5 PPG 7.1 RPG 2.0 BPG

Earl's Senior Year: 16.9 PPG 8.9 RPG 2.5 BPG
Johnson Senior Year: 20.5 PPG 8.5 RPG 2.1 BPG

If that doesn't scare you, this will:



If you are currently looking to buy a house in Iowa, Acie is your man!

#12 & #55 Meet the Media

"Kevin's a great teacher. Actually, the best teacher that I've ever coached, by far. But if you don't listen the first time, he'll never teach you again, and that's just how he works. We warn guys of that, and some follow, and end up being coached by Kevin Garnett, and some think they know it all, and they're not."
-Doc Rivers

#12 JaJuan & #55 E'Twaun met the media for the first time officially as Boston Celtics team members. In regards to the life lessons of KG, Johnson will "definitely listen". He better. As Patrick O'Bryant once learned, these classes are not an easy A, particularly for those that don't pay attention:

To Rivers' earlier point about past teammates who didn't listen, a post-practice session between Garnett and former C's center Patrick O'Bryant from two years ago still comes to mind. Garnett spent the entire time dunking over the blank-faced O'Bryant and shouting, "Do you feel me?" -Mark Murphy

Not a whole lot of updates from Ainge other than the usual media mumbo-jumbo. Meaning no movement before the lockout, Green's qualifying offer will be made, no updates on Davis'/Delonte's status with the team, nor updates on potential return of the other bench filler from the 2010-11 squad (yes to Arroyo/Pavlovic but no to Wafer/Murphy), nor any potential free agent targets (from Marquis to CP3).

“We can’t really get anything major done. We’ll have some more conversations before July 1 comes along, and then we’ll just go from there. I think we’re all hopeful, but we just have to deal with what’s there.” -Danny Ainge

Translation, get ready for an even slower summer than normal and who knows how long this lockout will be. Here's a clip from the Media session with the new Rookies:

Purdone: C's go with 2 Boilermakers Johnson & Moore

"Two really good, productive college players. Mature kids, great character and attitude. We got some shooting, we got some length, and I think they're a good fit for us."

"We think [Johnson is] a both-ends-of-the-court player. He can shoot, he can rebound, block shots. He's got some good energy and good length. I think that he fits a lot of parts that we need."
-Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge

"I like it. Big 10 Player of the Year, athletic, can shoot -- I like it a lot. We didn't think he'd be there and he was. [Johnson can] pick-and-pop, he's a terrific shooter for his size and [is] extremely athletic. Obviously, he rebounded well in college which you hope translates over. But we've proven we can get bigs shots and, so we can get him shots and he'll make them. The defensive part, he comes from a great program, he's a high-character kid, and at [No. 27], that's what you hope for."
-Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers

Personally I really like the Moore pick a lot, he's a smart kid and had a very impressive collegiate career (in 2010-11 he had eleven 20+ points games, three of which were 30+ point games). Johnson seems like a risk, particularly with his need to bulk up for the NBA game. He's shown flashes of brilliance, a 17 rebound 7 block game against Michigan State and was the Big Ten Player of the Year and also Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Both are 4 year college players and have the ability to contribute right away. Moore was an Academic All-American and a Third Team All-American. Moore is only the fourth player in Big Ten history to tally 2,000 points (2,136), 500 rebounds (611), and 350 assists (400) in a career.


JaJuan Johnson's Draft Combine Interview:



E'twaun Moore's Draft Combine Interview:

2011 Draft Prospecting - Our Pick for #25 - Jeremy Tyler

Overview:
Jimmy Butler out of Marquette, Jeremy Tyler the High Schooler/turned pro in Japan/Israel and Norris Cole out of Cleveland State seem to be the primary targets for the C's. There have been murmurs of moving up to get USC's Vucevic, but for a guy who's upside is basically Nenad Krstic, it just doesn't seem likely, particularly if it involves the very valuable 2012 Clippers pick. JaJuan Johnson is another name that seems to be mentioned, but my guess is that Ainge is hoping he drops into the second round as he needs bulk, he's so skinny he makes Tayshaun Prince look obese.

Our Pick:
Jeremy Tyler, San Diego, CA
The risk/reward factor is there with Tyler, but quite simply the Celtics need to swing for the fences and get someone who can immediately help the Big 3 on the run for #18. While Butler is the safest bet, he is another Swing Forward and, provided Green comes back and Marquis returns for 3.0, the C's are stocked right now. The depth at the 5 is Jermaine O'Neal. Delonte West (hopefully back as well) and Avery Bradley (expecting huge year out of him), make Cole's a Lobsterclaw almost by default. I like Johnson, but moving the 55th pick and the 2013 2nd rounder to get a pick in the 40's seems a better approach to nabbing him. Which brings us back to Tyler, whom seems like the best fit for the C's at #25.

After initially committing to the Rickator & Louisville, Tyler went straight from High School to the Israeli Super League's Maccabi Haifa, but was labeled a "bust" after playing in just 10 games. Somewhat ridiculous considering he was just 18, should have been a High School Senior and instead was living in a tumultuous Foreign Land. Tyler quit and moved home after just under a year with Haifa.

"Was he ready to accept the responsibility of going to a foreign country? Probably not. It's quite different from Brandon Jennings," his advisor Sonny Vaccaro said. "It's more embarrassing than detrimental."

Moreover when you look at the comments from Tyler, even more questions arise as to what type of environment it was in Israel:

"If he just gave me a little confidence, said something to me in practice, it would make a big difference," Tyler said of then-coach Avi Ashkenazi. "But he doesn't. He just ignores me."


Tyler then went to Japan to play for pro ball for the Tokyo Apache, while seeing 33 games of action the performance was still underwhelming, but once again it is skewed due to lack of playing time. In 15.4 minutes per game he averaged 9.9 points on 51.7% shooting and 6.4 rebounds, not exactly horrific numbers, particularly when looking at other foreign prospects like Enes Kanter or Bismack Biyombo. For a team desperate for offense, like the Celtics, 10 points in 15 minutes of play is exactly what this team needs. Combine that with the tutelage of Kevin Garnett, whom had a few off years coming straight out of highschool, and its an ideal scenario for Tyler to come to the Celtics.

This is the pick that is not the safest bet, but with the C's desperate need to contend now, the necessity to hit a home run with this pick is huge, not so much is the need to find someone to ride the pine.

The NY Times did a very interesting Bio of Tyler a few years back and its worth reviewing to get a better idea of why Tyler might have been motivated to take $140,000 to go to Israel rather than the privilage of a few years with the Ricktator. Here's a quote on his current motivation, in case you're envisioning the second coming of Andrew Bynum:

“I have a vision, and my vision is to make the pros and have a successful life,” Tyler said. “Partying and all that stuff isn’t in my arsenal.”

Obviously crazy things will happen on draft night and who knows if Tyler's stock will rise/fall in the coming hours. It would not surprise me if Bishop Ainge traded all of his assets for the BYU savior Jimmer, but I'm pretty sure Doc and Wyc would not be attending the Draft "Party" if he did!

Notes
As previously mentioned, we've been using the tremendous Draft Profiles put together by Chris Forsberg/Grag Payne @ ESPN's Boston Celtics Blog, here's an overview of all of their hard work:

THE BIGS
Nikola Vucevic, 7-0, 260 lbs., USC
Jeremy Tyler, 6-11, 263 lbs., Tokyo Apache
Kenneth Faried, 6-8, 225 lbs., Morehead State
Justin Harper, 6-9, 228 lbs., Richmond
JaJuan Johnson, 6-10, 220 lbs., Purdue
Jon Leuer, 7-0, 223 lbs., Wisconsin
Jordan Williams, 6-9, 247 lbs., Maryland
Trey Thompkins, 6-10, 239 lbs., Georgia
Malcolm Thomas, 6-9, 223 lbs., San Diego State
Greg Smith, 6-10, 253 lbs., Fresno State
Keith Benson, 6-11, 217 lbs., Oakland

THE OTHERS  
PG Malcolm Lee, 6-6, 198 lbs., UCLA
PG Norris Cole, 6-2, 175 lbs., Cleveland State
PG Reggie Jackson, 6-3, 208 lbs., Boston College
SG Marshon Brooks, 6-5, 195 lbs., Providence
SF Jimmy Butler, 6-8, 222 lbs., Marquette
SF Kyle Singler, 6-9, 228 lbs., Duke

Teardrops on the City - Clarence Clemons - January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011

Teardrops on the city
Bad Scooter searching for his groove
Seem like the whole world's walking pretty
And you can't find the room to move
-Bruce Springsteen Tenth Avenue Freeze Out


Its always difficult to find the appropriate things to say when summing up a legendary career/life as that of Clarence Clemons. I personally am reminded of some wonderful stories, particularly that of a friends experience at the E-Streets weeklong residency in 1973 at Oliver's in Boston, MA (which was long before Jan Landau famously "saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen"). But I recently read what JT, who authored the an extremely nice 6 month long 101 song Bruce Springsteen countdown from his home in Perth Australia, had to say about the death of Clarence Clemons, and it summed things up far better than I ever could:

Fuck.

There's one thing that I've learned this week and that is preparing for the inevitable doesn't make the inevitable seem any easier when it occurs. Massive strokes like the one suffered by Clarence Clemons don't turn into miraculous recoveries. Sure, you hope and pray that for once the inevitable conclusion is never reached, but deep down you know that isn't going to be the case. As such, today we say goodbye forever to the 'Big Man', Clarence Clemons.

It's hard to articulate the feelings you have when you lose someone you only know through their work. I've never met Clarence Clemons and never saw him perform, yet I'm filled with sadness. It isn't the sadness that one gets when a death comes as a complete and utter shock, just the sadness that is felt when one of your heroes has breathed their last, final breath. The sadness in knowing that the man will never get to play on stage with one of the greatest rock and roll bands, the sadness in knowing that one of the world's greatest rock and roll bands will never get to play again with the man who helped them get to where they are. No matter how many more concerts the remainder of the E Street Band play, history has already judged them. They have nothing left to prove, and Clarence Clemons is a massive reason as to why the legacy of the E Street Band is secure.

And what's that legacy? Well, it's the legacy of countless concerts giving every last breath each of the band members had to ensure that every single person in the room was changed. That every person in the room walked out at the end of the night knowing that they were better than when they walked in. That the hard-earned money they spent to see the show wasn't wasted on costume changes or fancy light shows which distracted from the music... it was spent on a band which night-in, night-out gave you pure rock and roll. At the moment, I can't help but talk about the life of the Big Man in terms of his life with the E Street Band. Because the two go hand in hand. Without Clarence, it can't be the E Street Band. They may have the same name, and the faces may be the same (for the most part), but without Clarence Clemons, it won't be the same. It can't be the same. And we wouldn't ever want it to be the same.

When the Big Man was on, it was heavenly. There's countless songs which have his imprint left on them... three of which are coming to me at the moment. There's the epic theatricality of 'Jungleland'. The sad but melodic solo in 'Drive All Night', then there's the playful burst which makes 'Janey Don't You Lose Heart' just that little bit greater than it honestly should be.

We lost Danny Federici in 2008 and that hit me like a tonne of bricks. I was sure he was going to survive, I thought he was going to get better. But then I woke up one morning and found out he was gone. That was tough to take, just as Clarence Clemons' death is. I'd heard he was on the mend. I heard he was getting better. Even though I knew the possibility of that happening was remote (to say the least), I just wished the rumours to be true. Wishes like that don't get granted too often.

But the Big Man's now in peace at least. He'll be up there somewhere, sax draped around his neck, walking freely like he hasn't walked in years. The strains on his body will be gone but the same old smile will be there for all to see, and when he raises that saxophone to his lips, we'll finally get to say that Clarence's saxophone is the music that's played in heaven.

R.I.P

The Potential of Marquis Daniels 3.0 - 2011 Free Agents

"When the time comes, he's going to look at and explore all his options. But Boston is certainly a team he knows well, has a great amount of respect for and really enjoyed his time there." - Marquis' Agent Mark Bartelstein

There has been a lot of speculation in regards towards the 2011 Free Agents, largely due to the potential of a lockout and lack of a CBA. With just over $72.4 million on the books, Jeff Green's situation unresolved and a hard cap looming, the Celtics are options are going to be pretty thin. Sure they would love to make a run at Jamal Crawford, JR Smith or Josh Howard, but in reality they would have to clear cap space for those players and that is just not going to happen.

But one likely possibility is the return of Marquis Daniels. He was an integral contributor until the severe injury to his spinal cord forced the Celtics into a series of erratic stop-gap solutions. The Celtics actually paid cash to Sacramento to move Daniels and clear a roster spot, which turned into the under-utilized Sasha Pavolvic. But most importantly, Daniels has the support of Doc Rivers, which is why he returned to the C's last season for his resurgence prior to the injury.

"I just know what he has," Doc Rivers said of Daniels this past season. "You know the old saying with coaches: 'You don't coach a player to what he is today. You coach him to what you think he should be someday.' I just think he can do that a lot, and I think he wants to do that."

Obviously nothing is set in stone, but the foundation is there for Daniels, its a scheme he already fully knows which would allow him time to concentrate on recovering fully not learning a new playbook. Dallas seems like the only other logical destination for him, where he would have a chance for a ring and has a strong relationship with Darrell Armstrong, Jason Terry, etc, but once again he'd be learning a whole new system.

Looking at his Media Day interview from last season, one can only think Marquis has unfinished business in Boston:



FYI, you can follow @Marquis_Daniels and all his craziness on Twitter.

Cracking the NBA Draft - Preparation for the Exam

Boston Celtics Draft Prospect Jeremy Tyler of the Tokyo Apache

If you have somehow not heard of ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg or his Boston Celtics Report, you are not only missing out on some great Celtics beat writing, but more recently you have been missing one of the most comprehensive Draft Previews in team history. Forsberg and his young intern Greg Payne have been breaking down 1st and 2nd round prospects that have worked out, rumored to be on the board for the 25th/55th pick or are just Chad Ford's latest infatuation. They aren't focused on top 10 picks, Kurt Rambis' homework for David Kahn or bogus trade rumors, rather they refreshingly give us a peek at some legitimate prospects for C's.

Head over to their 2011 Draft Profile for a closer look, but here's just a glimpse of what they've been discussing:

Bruins Hockey Rules - Victory Dance

Boston Bruins - 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Champions

Burn Vancouver Burn!

Mama, There Goes That Man - The End of the Mark Jackson Era

While the water cooler debates over "King James" will rage on, Mark Jackson's time as an ABC/ESPN Commentator, and also sadly the Mark Jackson drinking game, has come to an end. It seems like yesterday that Jackson took over as lead analyst, but in reality it was almost 5 years ago. An amazing run particularly, as CA Clark so perfectly stated, for one who's "stylings are like a cross between Hubie Brown and Scotty Brooks, except if you were to remove any indication whatsoever that the speaker has ever even seen the game of basketball." While I'm certain Jackson's postgame press conferences and half-time speeches will be a treasure trove for generations to come, this is truly an end of an era.

Who does ABC/ESPN have on tap for a Jackson replacement? That is yet to be determined, but that has not stopped me from coming up with some tremendous candidates...

---

The Former NBA Player Pick (& logical choice):

Shaq. Charles Barkley has already stated “Somebody’s gonna be fired" to make room for him. Could that make Van Gundy the odd man out and a future assistant coach in Golden State?

---

The B-List Celebrity Pick:

Craig Kilborn. Obviously it would be impressive if ABC/ESPN pulled something major like Jack Nicholson, Spike Lee or even better Will Ferrell. But, that is not too likely, it really would probably have to be a B-Lister desperate for attention after numerous failures, ala Dennis Miller and Monday Night Football. Kilborn fits that to a T. Even more interesting, the career paths between Miller and Kilborn are almost identical, minus the time at Sportscenter, and like Miller he's a complete douche. ABC already has him signed to a deal so the stars a aligned!

---

The Wildcard Pick:

Flula Borg, the Bavarian-born German DJ.

---

Sadly it will probably be Reggie Miller, Jon Barry or Bill Simmons (I'm still voting for Flula). Even sadder, the bar I watched Game 6 in quickly changed the channel from the post-game show to Van Halen's Panama, thus I missed out on Jackson's final sign off, but one can only hope it was endearing as some of his trademark lines.

"Hands down, Man Down"

"Excuse me, I have a meeting with the rim!"

"You're better than that!"

"That's a grown man move right there."

"Come get in my poster!"

"...if you come out and compete anything can happen."

The Life Lessons of LeBron James

Start of the workday, everybody's looking for excuses not to check that pile of emails, to give themselves five minutes before the chaos begins. So what do we talk about? Basketball. LeBron James. Say what you will about the guy (and I will) but he gives us something to talk about.

So I tell my colleague, "You know, after Game 5, I'm starting to feel bad for the guy. It's like watching a train wreck. It's painful to watch him fail." And he responds, "Huh, you're just like my dad. Letting him off easy. The man brought this on himself. I don't feel bad for him. He's getting his life lesson. What you are watching is someone going through a life lesson."

I thought about that a lot. LeBron's going through his life lesson. There are things that he just doesn't get yet. He's still only 26. And try as hard as he might to say all the right things...with him they just come out wrong. It seems so phony and fake. Maybe that's why so many people don't like him.

When LeBron speaks he comes off, in the words of Holden Caufield, as a phony. He says he's about Team. He says he's about Loyalty (or at least he used to be). He stays humble. Says Jordan is the best. But no one believes him, because it looks like he's never totally believed the shit he's saying. It's like you can almost see through the act.

Just as we aren't buying it, life isn't buying it. The only thing is that life isn't buying it. And life is the one that is pushing LeBron to own up to what it really means to be a man, to really be about team, to really be about loyalty, to really be humble.

That's what we're watching here. A man going through his life lessons. We've all had them. We've all been kicked in the ass by life at one point or another. And you know, at least in my opinion, we're all better for it. Once we get the lesson we become better human beings. So we get to be witnesses of someone going through their life lesson. There was a time when Kobe went through his. We all got to witness it. It wasn't pretty. But we were all there.

That's one of the things I find fascinating about sports. You watch these players develop. You watch them go through their own personal trials and tribulations. It's like watching the arc of a soul's life, or a personalities development. And you don't know who they are going to become. You just get to watch as it happens. And like anything, what you think of that development really is a reflection of yourself. The things people see in LeBron, the things they like, the things they hate, are really a reflection of themselves, what they value, and what they feel, maybe more so than of LeBron himself.

ESPN had this great video of Skip Blayless and Chris Boussard arguing over LeBron and his legacy, and in it you can really see how people are piecing together LeBron's life, who he is, and what he is about, and how what we think of it really is a reflection of ourself.

Game Six tonight. Another glimpse of who LeBron James will become. I'm sure it will leave us with plenty to talk about tomorrow morning.