College Hoops- Weekend Conference Call
ACC
-Florida State is certainly not an elite team in the conference, but their definitely in the top four or five. They have the ability to eke out close games late, as they did last week against Georgia Tech and on Saturday against Boston College in Chestnut Hill. Georgetown was just too much for Duke on Saturday, but there should be no shame from the Blue Devils faithful for a loss like that. It probably means that the conference champion probably won’t be getting a number one seed this year.
Big 12
-There should be no argument against Kansas being the top team in the country after Saturday night. Texas melted in Manhatten but the Jayhawks embraced a tough run from their rivals, beating Kansas State by two in OT behind 18 and 11 from Cole Aldrich. One team that may not be ready for the bright lights is Texas, who fell at home to Baylor in OT behind 27 from Tweety Carter. Damion James had 20 and 19, but this was a huge win for the Bears. The selection committee will remember this win. The committee will also remember Missouri’s 95-80 home win over OK State, and Texas A&M kept their at-large hopes alive after beating Texas Tech at home.
Big East
-Syracuse is due for a loss after playing horribly in a one point escape at DePaul. They gave the Blue Demons and Georgetown big leads early only to come back. Next time they may not be as fortunate. Georgetown showed how they can be a big time national power with a brilliantly balanced attack in their win over Duke. They need to show more of that in the tournament. Louisville really needed that win in West Virginia to cement their status as a tournament team, something Notre Dame may have to forget about after their one point loss at Rutgers. That was brutal as the Scarlet Knights got their first conference wins at the Irish’s expense. Cincy is also on the bubble and Cashmere Wright came up big with 24 in a win over Providence and Marquette dealt UConn a big blow by winning on the road. It was another setback for Pittsburgh after falling at South Florida, who always seems dangerous at home because they’re a long trip for the rest of the teams in the conference.
Big Ten
-Michigan State has a three game lead in the conference standings after handing Northwestern a death blow to their NCAA hopes. Illinois needed a buzzer beater to defeat Indiana, and their 6-3 conference record bodes well for them come March. Ohio State showed today that they’re a top 10 team when healthy, shooting 63 percent in a rout of Minnesota. William Buford, one of the Buckeyes’ many weapons, scored 26 in the win.
Pac 10
-Everyone is around .500 in conference play, including UCLA. The Bruins are obviously having a down season but they’re 5-4 in conference after winning at Oregon State. Washington, Oregon and Arizona State were also winners, but the Sun Devils seem like the only tournament lock as of now.
SEC
-Kentucky showed Vanderbilt and the rest of the league who’s boss after an 85-72 win behind 21 and 10 from DeMarcus Cousins. South Carolina is making a nice tournament resume for themselves after edging a feisty Georgia team and Alabama could basically call off their season after falling to Auburn. Tennessee showed a lot of heart coming back from 10 down against a young and hot Florida team to break their two game losing streak in Knoxville over the Gators. No shame in losing that one for Florida. That kid Chandler Parsons has icewater in his veins for Billy Donovan.
Around The Majors 1/29/10
-The Mets may have found their fifth starter, signing former Rockies stopper Josh Fogg to a minor league deal. ESPN Radio’s Andrew Marchand reports that John Smoltz is interested in the Mets along with 3-4 other teams and that he may not sign with anyone until the regular season starts.
-The Yankees offered Johnny Damon a one year $6 million deal last week with half that deferred, and he rejected that, says SI.com’s Jon Heyman. Oakland, Tampa Bay, Detroit, Cincinnati, Toronto and Atlanta have interest. The New York Post reports that Damon has not ruled out returning to the Yankees whether 2010 or beyond.
-The Tigers are working on a five year $75 million extension with Justin Verlander, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan.
-MLB.com’s Bill Ladson reports that the Nationals and Adam Dunn are working on a contract extension. That would certainly end any possibility of a midseason trade.
-Among the items in Jayson Stark‘s column: Baltimore liked Erik Bedard (even though he could be out another 4-5 months as has been the rumor), Colorado is interested in Kevin Gregg and Florida could be a destination for Russell Branyan. The Cubs are interested in Chan Ho Park and Kiko Calero as well as Toronto relievers Scott Downs and Jason Frasor, both of whom are available in a trade. Florida likes Park, Claero, Downs and Frasor along with Joe Nelson and could still be interested in trading Dan Uggla. Kansas City would be willing to move Gil Meche or Brian Bannister.
-Florida lost closer Matt Lindstrom to free agency and the team may not trust Leo Nunez that much, so they invested minor league deals in Derrick Turnbow and Jose Veras. If either of them could become a solid late inning option, it would be a huge bonus for the Marlins.
-Multiple media outlets are reporting that SS Orlando Cabrera will be be deciding between Colorado and Cincinnati sometime very soon. The Rockies would likely sign Melvin Mora if they can’t Cabrera. Perhaps the Reds ramp up their efforts to get Damon is they fail to land Cabrera.
-Toronto manager Cito Gaston spent time yesterday lobbying the team to sign Carlos Delgado, according to MLB.com’s Jordan Bastain.
-Baltimore resigned Mark Hendrickson to a contract, and Washington added to their stable of former closers by coming to terms with Miguel Batista on a minor league deal. Boston signed Gustavo Molina.
-Brewers writers think Jim Edmonds has a decent shot to make the team out of Spring Training.
-10-15 teams are set to watch Noah Lowry pitch on Tuesday in Phoenix.
NBA Trade Rumors- 1/29/10
1:15 p.m. Eastern
-Marc Stein reports that Portland is interested in Brendan Haywood, but Washington wants both Rudy Fernandez and Nicholas Batum which stopped talks. Portland still says that Andre Miller isn’t available. The Blazers also wants Brad Miller who Chicago isn’t making available, but Kirk Hinrich and John Salmons are. Don’t look for a big Bulls deal. Denver likes Brad Miller and Indiana’s Jeff Foster. Cleveland is willing to make any trade that keeps LeBron there, including ones for Andre Iguodala, Antawn Jamison, Troy Murphy. Houston and Dallas also like Iguodala.
-Miami loves Chris Bosh, Washington wants to trade Jamison and Caron Butler and the Bulls would be willing to package Tyrus Thomas, Brad Miller and Kirk Hinrich for a big name, according to the Racine Journal Times.
-Both Lakers and Raptors officials have been denying a Bosh-Bynum possibility.
-The Wizards don’t expect equal value back in any trade they would potentially make, according to the Washington Post.
NBA Week In Preview 1/29/10
TNT’s Dynamite Performers- Orlando outscored Boston 35-22 in the fourth quarter to get a 96-94 win Thursday at Amway Arena to pull into a first place tie with Atlanta in the Southeast Division. Rashard Lewis led all scorers with 23 points and Dwight Howard had 19 and 10 as the Magic outrebounded the Celtics 47-32. Ray Allen led Boston with 20 and Rasheed Wallace had 17 off the bench, but Kevin Garnett scored just six in the loss.
-Phoenix used a 28-16 fourth quarter run to get a much needed win over Dallas 112-106. The Suns shot 54.8 percent from the field led by Amare Stoudamire’s 22, Steve Nash’s 19 with 11 assists and 17 from Jason Richardson. Jet Terry had 21 and Dirk Nowitzki had 19 for the Mavericks.
-In the non-TNT game, Toronto came back from 14 points down after the first to edge the Knicks 106-104 at MSG. Chris Bosh had 27 and 15 and Hedo Turkoglu had 26 and 11 as the Raps won their fourth straight. David Lee led all scorers and rebounders with 29 and 18 and Al Harrington had 20 off the bench.
All-Star Reserves
West- Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Brandon Roy, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Pau Gasol, Zach Randolph.
East- Rajon Rondo, Joe Johnson, Chris Bosh, Paul Pierce, Gerald Wallace, Derrick Rose, Al Horford.
Robert Frost Report
Fire- Denver, Cleveland, Utah, Toronto, Chicago, Memphis, iPad, RIP J.D. Salinger, Obama Year Two.
Ice- Minnesota, Washington, Golden State, Detroit, Oklahoma City, Houston, Toyota, Ugly Betty, Jay Leno.
SprungOnSports’ Friday Top 10
1) Cleveland Cavaliers 36-11 (1)- They’ve won six straight games despite losses to Mo Williams and Delonte West. They visit Indiana before hosting the Clippers, Grizzlies and a Thursday night Heat game.
2) LA Lakers 35-11 (2)- Wins over Indiana and Washington get the Lakers to 3-2 on this road trip, and they finish it at Philadelphia, Boston and Memphis before coming home to play Charlotte on Wednesday night.
3) Denver Nuggets 31-14 (3)- Six straight wins over Western foes gives the Nuggets a lot of breathing room in the Northwest Division. They visit OKC and San Antonio before hosting Sacramento and Phoenix next week.
4) Boston Celtics 29-14 (5)- Two wins before the Orlando loss gets Boston up a spot despite losing three of five. Their Atlanta game tonight and their Lakers game Sunday are huge before they play Washington and Miami.
5) Atlanta Hawks 29-15 (6)- Before a 15 point loss to the Spurs, Atlanta won three straight to get even with Orlando. They host Boston and travel to Orlando in two straight nights before playing the Thunder and Clippers.
6) Orlando Magic 30-16 (7)- Four wins in five games has the Magic back up in the rankings where they belong. They host Atlanta for first place in the division, play at Detroit and host Milwaukee next week.
7) Dallas Mavericks 30-16 (4)- They went just 2-2 last week with losses to Phoenix and Philadelphia and move down three spots. Portland, Utah (on the road) and Golden State are on the agenda for next week.
Eight) Utah Jazz 27-18 (N/R)- The Jazz have shot into the rankings with four straight wins, including victories over the Suns, Blazers and Spurs who they eclipsed. Sacramento, Dallas and Portland are at home next week.
9) San Antonio Spurs 26-18 (9)- They’ve lost three of four, but beat Atlanta to hold on to their tenuous spot in the top 10. Memphis and Denver are at home before a trip to Sacramento and Portland on a back to back.
10) Portland TrailBlazers 27-20 (8)- They’ve lost three of four but will keep their spot in the top 10 for the time being. Houston and Dallas are on the road before hosting Charlotte, playing at Utah and hosting the Spurs.
Dropped Out Of Rankings- Phoenix Suns (10)
Also Receiving Votes- Memphis, Phoenix, New Orleans.
Week In Preview
Friday- Boston and Atlanta have had their recent struggles, but meet at Phillips Arena at 7:30 eastern on NBATV. Bulls-Hornets, Nuggets-Thunder, Blazers-Rockets and Grizzlies-Spurs are also among the 12 games on the schedule.
Saturday- Atlanta is on NBATV again, this time playing for the Southeast Division lead in Orlando at 7 eastern. New Orleans is in Memphis and Portland plays Dallas among the six games on the schedule.
Sunday- The first non-NFL Sunday in the season brings Carmelo Anthony and Denver in San Antonio to play Tim Duncan and the Spurs at 1 eastern followed by the Lakers and Celtics at 3:30 eastern in an ABC doubleheader. Houston is in Phoenix at 7:30 eastern on NBATV.
Monday- Steve Nash and Chris Paul go head to head as the Suns visit the Hornets at 8 eastern on NBATV. Lakers-Grizzlies, Mavericks-Jazz and Bobcats-Blazers are among the other games.
Tuesday- Zach Randolph and Memphis play LeBron and the Cavs and Atlanta visits Oklahoma City among the day’s best games.
Wednesday- D-Wade and the Heat are in Boston to face Paul Pierce and the Celtics followed by Amare Stoudamire and the Suns battling Chauncey Billups and Denver in an 8 & 10:30 ESPN twinbill. OKC-New Orleans, Portland-Utah and Charlotte-Lakers are other good games.
Thursday- TNT is so dynamite on Thursday night as Dwayne Wade and the Heat head to Cleveland to face LeBron James and the Cavs at 8, followed by Tony Parker and the Spurs hopefully taking on Mister Thursday Night Brandon Roy and Portland at 10:30.
Lakers Facing Problems With Artest
“Plantar fasciitis is irritation and swelling of the thick tissue on the bottom of the foot. The most common complaint is pain in the bottom of the heel.” Thank you, Google Health. This is exactly what Lakers defensive stalwart Ron Artest has, and the only way to fix this problem is with rest. And if you’ve been following the Lakers at all over the last week or so, you would know that this plantar fasciitis is really affecting Artest.
Artest is averaging just 6.2 points per game over his last five, and just four points per game over his last three contests, including just two in 26 minutes in a win in Indiana against his former team the Pacers. His rebounds and assists are each under three per game and his minutes have fallen into the 20′s and are going down every game. With the Lakers clearly in a great position to win the Pacific Division and likely gaining home court in the West even with Lamar Odom in the lineup, perhaps they should just bite the bullet and rest Artest. But is LA willing to take that risk?
“SprungOnSports, that’s the double edged sword (with Artest).” Andy Kamenetzky, an ESPN writer and ESPN Los Angeles Lakers blogger told me. “Rest would be the best solution for Ron, but it could take a while, like you were concerned about.”
Players who have had plantar fasciitis, like Tim Duncan, were affected by it for the rest of the season and it showed in their play, especially a big man like Duncan who really relies on his feet in the low post. Rest is the only way Artest will get better from this injury.
”I’d personally be willing to go there, because I’m more concerned about him being healthy come playoff time than gathering every win possible.” Kamenetzky said. ”But at the same time, Artest does need reps, as he’s still learning the system and his teammates.”
So that’s the problem, the “double edged sword” that the Lakers face with Artest. If there are any Laker fans who read this, I would be quite pleased if you told me what you thought about this Artest situation and I’ll address your comments in a forthcoming NBA blog. It’s certainly one of the more difficult decisions a specific team will be facing over the coming weeks.
