UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

No quick-hitters tonight:

- Quick thoughts on the Clippers-Nuggets deal that sent Marcus Camby to the Clippers for the rights to swap second-round picks:

1) Clearly this was nothing more than a salary dump for Camby, but certainly they could get more than the right to swap picks, right?  They couldn’t get the Clippers’ second-round pick outright for the former All-Star?

2) As for the Clippers, I like the deal, even though Camby’s not close to Elton Brand’s talent level.  Camby’s contract is reasonable—two years, ~$16 million left—and the Clippers still have a bit of cap space to add another piece.  The problem with this deal is that it effectively wastes two years of Baron Davis’ career.  Still, I might rather have Camby for two years and cap space for the key free agent year of 2009-2010 than five years of Emeka Okafor at some obscene amount.

- So I went weeks without commenting on Packers’ diva Brett Favre, and now I’m going to comment about him on consecutive blog entries?  Wow.

Apparently there is a second part of the interview between Favre and Greta Van Susteren (who just happens to be a family friend of Favre’s AND a Packers’ shareholder!  Talk about a conflict of interest!).  And boy, is the second part a doozy.

Apparently Favre does feel “bad” for current Packers’ QB Aaron Rodgers.  How nice of you, Brett!  Three years of pissing all over the guy while you waffled over whether or not to return, and you finally admit that you feel bad for the guy?

(And why do people insist that Favre is such a great guy?)

The entire quote is a great read:

The one thing in this, I do feel bad for Aaron a little bit. I think he’ll do a fine job, to be totally honest with you. I do. He has been injured. The two injuries are not his fault. Couldn’t control them. I know this has been tough on him. I think he’ll do a fine job. And this has nothing to do with him, this whole deal. If they want to make me a backup … The thing is, they’ve been preaching about, ‘We want to protect Brett’s legacy’ … and we both know what that’s about. How does that protect my legacy if I’m a backup? Brett, we welcome you back, we’ll play you $12 million but you’ve got to hold the clipboard and ball cap. That’s probably better for them as opposed to letting me go somewhere and me coming back. Then, their legacy, the management, could be in jeopardy. Let me worry about that. You don’t worry about my legacy. It’s a bunch of bull. That’s all it is.

Did the Packers’ brass really state that they wanted to protect Brett’s legacy?  If that’s so, then I’ll have to agree with Favre, in this sense:  right now, the Packers owe Favre NOTHING.  They don’t have to protect him in any way, shape, or form, not after his recent waffling.

And what’s all this garbage about Favre wanting to return to the Packers to “call their bluff?”  As rough as it would be on Rodgers to have to look over his shoulder to see Favre on the sidelines during every one of his pass attempts, the thought of seeing Favre holding a clipboard on the sidelines slightly amuses me.  And I’m sure GM Ted Thompson wouldn’t mind seeing that as well.

It’s 50/50 that I’ll have ANOTHER blog entry about Diva Favre tomorrow.

- So I tuned in to the MLB All-Star Game today, and after three innings of scoreless ball, I shut the TV off.  Later in the day, I turned the TV back on to see the National League score a go-ahead run against Jonathon Papelbon.

(Tangent:  Despite all the stupid comments Papelbon made about wanting to close, then deferring to Yankees’ closer Mariano Rivera, then flipping flopping a la Diva Favre, no way did Papelbon deserve the treatment he got from the Yankee fans during the eighth inning.  And never mind the treatment that Yankee fans gave his wife during an All-Star Game parade).

I flipped the TV back off—the game just didn’t appeal to me, for some reason—and we went to Coldstone (note to self:  get the Apple Pie a la Mode sans caramel next time).  When we got back, it was 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning, and little did I know what we were in for.

Dan “Ugh”-la’s late-game attempt to cement the All-Star Game Least Valuable Player of the Millenium—a huge double play, two nearly crushing errors, two strikeouts, followed by a third “error”—fortunately was thwarted by outstanding pitching by Aaron Cook and Carlos Marmol as well as ridiculous (!!!!!!) defensive gems by (where do I start?) Miguel Tejada, Christian Guzman, Nate McLouth, and Russell Martin.  I don’t know what play was better:  Tejada’s off-balance throw in the 10th to get Aaron Cook out of a bases-loaded jam, or Nate McLouth’s strike to Russell Martin to nail Dioner Navarro in the 11th.  And the game nearly was extended on a bang-bang play at the plate involving Corey Hart and Brian McCann.  Now THAT would been awesome.

What a way to say farewell to Yankee Stadium, eh?  Yankee fans might want a World Series championship to top it all off, but I’m content with this All-Star Game

Tags: "calling their bluff", "night heat", aaron rodgers, brett favre, denver nuggets, diva favre, green bay packers, greta van susteren, los angeles clippers, marcus camby, on the record by Peter
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Argh…my legs are sore as hell!

It took me ten minutes to get from my bed to my bathroom…a total distance of about eight paces

Quick-hitters:

- Has anybody heard that a new movie, called Mamma Mia!, is being released soon? I just saw a commercial of it for the first time today.

(Believe that, and you’ll also believe that I own oceanfront property in Utah.

Oh look…the commercial aired again!

Mamma Mia

There it airs again

My my

How I want to end myself

Tyler Perry’s House of Payne and The Bill Engvall Show think that movie is being seriously overhyped.

- SUPER quick thought on the Elton Brand-LA Clippers situation: the fact that Brand signed with Philly for only four million dollars more per year tells me that either Brand is a backstabbing liar, or the Clippers clearly blew it by throwing Brand an eleventh-hour, lowball deal.

In any case, I wonder if Baron Davis regrets signing his deal with the Clips.

- Current rebate-o-meter: $1,410, and that number will go up once the backorder on a couple things I bought from Frys.com gets lifted.

- If you’re even a slight baseball fan, and you missed out on the Home Run Derby, you missed a great show by Josh Hamilton. What a shame he couldn’t hold on to win, though. The record books will say that Justin Morneau won the Derby, but who could forget the show Hamilton put on? Twenty eight home runs in the first round? That’s just stupid.

If I recall correctly, he had THIRTEEN straight bombs after hitting fifteen in his first eight outs. As great as his first-round performance was, watching the crowd cheer Hamilton on was surreal. Once you factor in the fact that this guy was out of baseball three years ago (due to drugs), the scene becomes even more memorable. Add to it the fact that this is the farewell season of Yankee Stadium, and…you get where I’m going. It almost appeared as if the crowd was completely winded after Hamilton’s run; one could say that Hamilton’s performance was truly breathtaking.

Major League Baseball could change the rules of the Home Run Derby to include all rounds in the final scoring, but it won’t change the fact that we saw one of the finest single-round Derby performances ever. Then again, Bobby Abreu hit 24 in the first round only three years ago; maybe someone will come around and hit 30.

- Brett Favre, you did it. You finally got me to say something about the recent drama surrounding your changing-of-the-mind. Let me start by saying (clears throat…)

YOU HAD TO GO ON FAUX FREAKING NEWS TO AIR OUT YOUR FRUSTRATION AT THE PACKERS???

Were all ESPN interviewers busy? Were Len Pasquerelli and John Clayton on vacation? Couldn’t you have sent another text message to Chris Mortensen? Seriously, Fox News?

That being said, are you freaking kidding me? If you had even a shred of doubt about your retirement, why did you seem so emotionally torn during that infamous press conference? If you really weren’t sure about retirement, couldn’t you have worked something out with the Packers’ organization?

This is easily my favorite part of the interview:

Favre told [On The Record host Greta] Van Susteren that “I worked my butt off two years ago to try to get them to sign Randy Moss.”

Favre added that he offered to give up salary to sign the receiver who ultimately landed with the New England Patriots.  Favre said that Thompson publicly denied that the quarterback had lobbied for Moss.

Favre also said that he tried to convince Thompson to re-sign linemen Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle, but the two key contributors signed elsewhere.

In a final instance that riled the quarterback, Favre said that he told Thompson that he should interview Steve Mariucci, an old friend, for the head coaching job after Mike Sherman left. Mike McCarthy was hired instead. “And none of those had anything to do with me retiring once again but, you know, it’s hard for me to trust, you know, this guy when I — either I’m told one thing and everyone else is told another, or he’s telling the public one thing and telling me another,” Favre said, according to the newspaper.

Uh-huh.  You brought up all these points, and then mention that none of these factors drove you to wanting out of the Packers’ organization?  Right…and a girl telling her boyfriend “I’m not mad!” really isn’t mad.

And what really gets me is the number of Packers’ faithful that want the guy back!  This guy put your team in limbo with regards to his playing status for three straight years!  Why the hell would you want him back?  Sure, he led the team to a 13-3 record last year, but attributing his play with the team’s record would ignore the Packers’ much-improved defense, their rounding-in-to-form receiving corps, and the play of Ryan Grant.  Sure, he’s the face of the franchise, but you drafted Aaron Rodgers for a reason, did you not?  If Favre returns, and Aaron Rodgers walks at the end of the season, what if Favre were to really retire then?  How horrible of a situation would Green Bay be in THEN?

If I’m Ted Thompson, I would not release the guy until the very last minute, and then I would hope he signs with Minnesota or Chicago.  Both teams have awful offenses, and I can’t wait for the day for Favre to chew out his new team, citing management for not surrounding him with enough talent to win, and then backstab the team by acting out Act Four of the “Brett Favre Saga.”  Sure, Green Bay will have to see him twice, but so what?

Since telling Brett Favre to go away isn’t going to do a damn thing now, I’ll just tell him to please sign with Chicago so he can throw 60 times a game, average three picks, and lead the Bears to a 4-12 record.

(Please?)

The whole story enrages me, and perhaps I will clean up this blog entry at a later date (I looked over it once, and it looked kinda messy.)

Until next time!

Tags: baron davis, brett favre, brett favre saga, elton brand, fox news, green bay packers, greta van susteren, home run derby, josh hamilton, justin morneau, los angeles clippers, mamma mia, on the record, overhyped by Peter
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Quick-hitters:

- So I’ve been battling some terrible allergies lately. burning red eyes, sniffles, and sneezing and wheezing have cost me several hours of sleep per night.

I’ve been popping Claritin like breath mints and dropping eye drops in my eyes like mad.

- Quick thought about the rumors that Gilbert Arenas is close to a six year, $120+ million deal with the Washington Wizards: my first thought was that this was WAY too much money for a shoot-first, recently oft-injured guard. Personally, I don’t think the Arenas/Butler/Jamison core will ever win a title.

The more I thought about it, the more I thought that the contract wasn’t terribly unreasonable, despite the $20 million average annual salary. Arenas is by and large the most recognizable player on the Wizards, and clearly he sells tickets. More importantly, though, if the Wiz let Arenas walk, who are they going to replace him with? Baron Davis?

(More on Davis later.)

- Current rebate-o-meter: $1,350, not counting a few hundred in rebates that I have yet to file

- So I logged on to my Sprint.com account yesterday, to check to see if they finally applied the 10% monthly discount to my account that I’ve been owed since January.

Sprint, in their never ending pursuit to amaze the holy hell out of me, once again did not automatically offer me the discount.  I called Customer Service again, got a nice (English speaking!) rep, who put me on hold for about five minutes after I explained what had happened.  When the rep came back on the line, she manually credited my account $3 and “promised” that the credit would show up automatically.

I think I’ve heard that one before.  I will now accept futures bets on the following proposition:

Will Sprint automatically apply the 10% discount to my account on next month’s statement?

Yes +180

No -200

- So as my loyal readers (all none of them) know, Ross has been a source of pain and suffering to my wallet.

I now have another victim of my addiction to Ross:  the other inhabitants of my closet and dresser.  Every time I do my laundry, I shoot for my new clothes first, and what happens is that I become almost reluctant to wear any of my old clothes.  Sometimes I almost feel like doing laundry again after I go through all the new clothing.

There’s clearly one solution to this entire mess:  buy more clothes from Ross

- Finally, in a pretty significant shocker, former Warriors G Baron Davis has verbally agreed to a five year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers worth $65 million, according to sources.  Most people thought that Davis was crazy to opt-out of the final year of his deal with the Warriors, which would have paid him $17.8 million.

(Personally, I thought he was crazy too, but I figured he thought he was going to get a long-term deal from Golden State.  Never did I think that he would land in LA, if the rumors are true.)

So what does this mean for the other inhabitants of Staples Center?  For one thing, if this doesn’t convince Elton Brand (who opted out of the final year of his own deal) to return, nothing will.  Secondly, this all but spells the end of Corey Maggette’s stay as a Clipper; I thought he wasn’t a great fit with the team anyway.  Most importantly, a healthy Davis (not a safe assumption by any stretch) and a healthy Brand, with Mobley/Eric Gordon at SG, Al Thornton at SF, and Chris Kaman at C, is probably good enough to contend for a bottom-four playoff spot.

(Actually, even more importantly, it shows that Clips’ owner and noted tightwad Donald Sterling really is serious about fielding a competitive team.)

Will the signing of Davis work out?  If he stays healthy, I don’t see why not.  Will the Clippers knock the Lakers off the top spot in LA in the next few years?  No chance, as long as Kobe doesn’t erupt again.

Tags: 10% discount, allergies, baron davis, claritin, gilbert arenas, los angeles clippers, new clothes, red eye, ross, sprint, visine, washington wizards by Peter
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My head hurts.

And I hate stupid people.

Quick-hitters:

- Office fans, rejoice! According to Office creator Ricky Gervais, Carell has signed a three-year contract extension to continue making episodes of The Office.

W00h00!!!

- (Thanks, or maybe no thanks, Krunk) Do women REALLY like douche-y a-holes like this clown?

There are guys that think they’re the greatest, and then there’s this guy.

My head is still reeling from listening to the clip…ONCE!

(BTW, if you want to talk “douchebag,” look no further than Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo.)

- I’m surprised that Chase, Citibank, and Discover haven’t called me up lately, inquiring as to why I haven’t bought anything lately.

How will these companies ever stay in business?

- Have you seen a commercial for the “Guitar Idol?”

(Warning: an obnoxious, insipid, and possibly traumatizing commercial, the same one that is shown on TV, appears on that site. You have been warned.)

Basically, these devices are oversized, rubberized (I think) guitar pick-shaped devices with a built-in speaker. Each pick is programmed to play two songs, and apparently you’re supposed to “strum” the pick up and down along with the music, adding your own guitar riffs.

This would be an awesome idea…if Guitar Hero and Rock Band never existed. Well, that, and if air guitar players didn’t look ridiculous.

The best thing about these picks? $19.95 + $8.95 processing and handling!!! I think I would be happier with the money.

- So here are some super-late, and probably already oft-repeated thoughts regarding Thursday’s NBA Draft:

1) It didn’t surprise me that Miami went with Michael Beasley. How he will fit with Wade + Marion, though, is another story. If they click, and Mario Chalmers (great pickup, BTW) relegates Jason Williams to the bench, will Riley mosey (sp?) his way down to the Heat bench next season?

2) I hate the Memphis-Minny swap for both sides. Minny picked up an undersized PF in Kevin Love (don’t they already have one in Al Jefferson?) and traded away a potential superstar in O.J. Mayo in the process. And doesn’t Memphis have enough guards already? And they had to throw in Mike Miller in the deal as well?

What’s next? Is Minny going to trade Al Jefferson back to Boston for cash considerations? Is Memphis going to trade O.J. Mayo to the Lakers for D.J. Mbenga?

3) I am not a fan of the Sonics pick of Russell Westbrook at #4. They could probably have traded down (say, to #7) and still picked up Westbrook. Now, if he learns how to play the point, and develops a reliable jumper, then this is a great pick. As it stands, I thought this was a serious reach (but nothing compared to the Kings’ pick of Jason Thompson at #12.)

If I think of something else to say, I’ll add it later. For now, though, here are my draft winners/losers:

4) Winners: Miami (especially if Chalmers works out), New Jersey (Brook Lopez at #10 was great value, but I don’t particularly like the Ryan Anderson pick), and Portland (Bayless fits the team perfectly, and they now have something like 200 future picks stockpiled). The Clippers are winners if DeAndre Jordan doesn’t flop. And can I put the Lakers in this list for acquiring Pau Gasol for the 28th overall pick, a sack of potatoes, Gasol’s brother, and Javaris Crittendon?

Losers: Sacramento (Jason Thompson? Patrick Ewing, Jr.?), Milwaukee (they love SFs, and sorry, but Joe Alexander has bust written all over him), and honorable mention to Knicks’ pick Danilo Gallinari (was that a brutal crowd or what?).

Final thought: I love the T.J. Ford for Jermaine O’Neal trade for Toronto. They got rid of a redundant player for a high-risk, high-reward player in O’Neal, and the 17th pick (Roy Hibbert) isn’t going to be a game-changer. IF (and that’s a huge IF) O’Neal plays sixty games, and is healthy for the playoffs, look out for Toronto!

As for Indiana, I like T.J. Ford, and Brandon Rush will be a solid pro. But, they had Jerryd Bayless fall to their laps at #11. Why not keep him as an insurance policy for T.J Ford, as well as a guy who can play some shooting guard?

That’s all for tonight.

Tags: commercial, douchebag, guitar idol, indiana pacers, jermaine o'neal, jerryd bayless, kevin love, los angeles clippers, mario chalmers, miami heat, michael beasley, milwaukee bucks, office, oj mayo, portland trail blazers, ricky gervais, russell westbrook, sacramento kings, steve carell, t.j. ford, toronto raptors, voicemail by Peter
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