From what I was told by multiple people in New Orleans, the Blazers made a strong push, and Kidd made it clear to everyone involved he didn’t want to play there. Now, I don’t know the exact trade offer, but I’m assuming it was something like this: Kidd and a smaller contract (somebody like Antoine Wright) for Raef LaFrentz (monster contract expiring in 2009), Steve Blake ($13 million total for this year and the next two), the rights to Rudy Fernandez, a lottery-protected No. 1 and $3 million — which would have pushed Portland into the playoffs this season (even at this point of his career, Kidd is a significant upgrade over Jarrett Jack and Blake) and made the Blazers a genuine contender if/when Greg Oden comes back strong next season.
Here’s the irony: Kidd didn’t want to play in Portland because he wanted to win a title and, by all accounts, his heart was set on playing in Dallas. Fine. But just for the hell of it, let’s say the Blazers swung the Kidd deal and signed Antawn Jamison for their entire mid-level this summer, giving them a nucleus of Roy, Oden, Kidd, Jamison, LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw, Martell Webster, Jarrett Jack and Joel Przybilla next season. Um, wouldn’t the ‘09 Blazers have had a higher ceiling than the ‘08 or ‘09 Mavs? Wouldn’t that have been a better fit for Kidd because those Blazers could have run with them?
Oh my. First, the deal wouldn’t have involved Blake. They would have moved Jarrett Jack. Second, the rights to Rudy Fernandez? That would have been a deal breaker. If what they say is true, he’s the two-guard of the future.
The point of the current process is to be prepared to make a run in two or three years, not next year. The path for the next two seasons is still way too treacherous, especially with Kobe and Gasol tearing things up down in LA and a motivated Shaq Fu in Phoenix. So why sell out 2012 for a second round playoff exit next season? Makes no sense.
That said, wouldn’t it have been fun to see Kidd running the point?
NBA coaches around the league have been receiving iPods with Brandon Roy’s picture on them to promote the Blazer guard for the All-Star game in New Orleans. No doubt they’re pre-loaded with video highlights. And perhaps a personalized greeting?
Kudos to the Blazer marketing department for coming up with this one. Roy definitely deserves a spot. This will help.
But after seeing the video, I think it’s much ado about nothing. Yeah, she showed she’s human. Big deal. The stories of President Bush coming to tears over this and that have been legend around Washington, and no one calls him a sissy. No, his tears make him a strong Christian. See the difference?
I do feel some sympathy for her. She’s put a ton of work into the campaign and dream of being the first female president. It may be the first time in her life that she’s unsure what the future holds as it will be the first time since 1980 that neither she nor her husband holds elective office. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to go through this publicly. But so be it.
The New Hampshire primary is today. I should be a big day for Obama. Tomorrow, though, will be more interesting. Will she ditch Mark Penn? And, more importantly, will she have enough money left to survive until Super Tuesday?
So many thoughts tonight as I let the Obama victory sink in.
- Edwards, the great white male Boomer Democratic hope, is done. He spent the last four years pounding every corner of Iowa, shaking every hand, kissing every baby, hoping to use a victory as a springboard to greater things. It didn’t happen. He would have had my vote in the 2004 primaries, but I was still a registered Republican at the time. I never got past his declaring this time around in post-Katrina New Orleans. It seemed opportunistic to me. It just looked dumb. He’s also decided to take matching funds which is suicide in this era. There’s no way he’d make it from March through the conventions without money. I think he can play an important role in helping to shape Obama’s healthcare initiative. I hope he gets that chance.
- Driving home tonight as the caucuses began, I left a message for a friend of mine begging him not to make me vote for Hillary in November. It’s difficult to describe my reasoning other than to say I just don’t want four years of Republican nonsense that would surely accompany a Clinton presidency. We wouldn’t be able to last a week without hearing the words Vince Foster. Watching MSNBC’s coverage tonight, Chris Matthews practically wet himself at the thought of Hillary’s counter-punch, going on and on about how the campaign was strategizing and would find just the right words to air live on the 10pm news. It never happened. While I believe she’s in major trouble, I completely believe what a commenter said here a few weeks ago. They’ve still got some tricks up their sleeves. The question is if she does try to Swiftboat him, or something similar, will it backfire? I believe it will. I also believe the race will be all but decided two weeks from Saturday in Nevada. If she can’t win there, she won’t be able to win anywhere.
- Still until there’s a stake through her heart, I don’t discount Hillary. And neither does Obama.
- The conventional wisdom is finally catching up to something I was saying way back in September. There is no way Hillary and Obama will share a ticket in 2008. My ticket right now is Obama-Webb. I’m not alone.
- Huckabee. Limbaugh Conservatives have been in denial about the role and prominence of Evangelical Christians in their party. They were alright with them as long as they voted the way they wanted. I’m not sure what the Limbaugh wing of the party was thinking the Evangelicals would do this time around. Were they just going to sit on their hands and do nothing? Did the Limbaugh/Rove coalition secretly hope Christians would stay home and let Rudy or Romney skate away with the nomination? I think we found out tonight that’s not going to happen.
- Six weeks ago I figured Huckabee would be the #2 on any Republican ticket. This morning I figured Romney would win and Huckabee would be the Republican Howard Dean. Tonight I think Huckabee could well be the nominee.
- Rudy is sliding into irrelevance. Watching him on MSNBC was painful. The words 9/11 never left his lips, but he spoke about it in a ton of code. He kept referring to his experience handling crises. Well hes got one now. His strategy was to be the white knight candidate, lying in wait as Romney and McCain beat each other to a pulp up north. It’s falling apart in front of him. Hillary actually tried to run a similar strategy in 2006, figuring there would be no front runner by the Fall and she would just slide into the race around Thanksgiving. She was forced into the race way earlier than she wanted. Right now, every time you see Huckabee on the front page, consider it another opportunity lost for Mayor 9/11.
You know, I was going to vote for Obama and even announced that a week or so ago. But this is a great example of why it’s best to wait and see how things shake out. Not being blinded by candidate worship, it’s easier to sniff out the bullshit. And you have to have your head stuck deep in the sand to deny that Obama is trying to close the deal by running to the Right of his opponents. And call me crazy, but that’s not a trait I generally appreciate in Democrats, no matter how much it might set the punditocracy’s hearts a flutter.
Keith “If you take away the Independent vote, Obama only wins 32-31″ Olbermann can too. Obama has an opportunity to unite like no candidate in my lifetime. And that means heading toward the middle to pick up independents and even *gasp* Republicans. He’s right in step with a ton of Americans who are fed up with our political inertia. I know I’m gushing like a schoolgirl, but I honestly don’t care.
So that’s that. At this point, I’m focusing on Nevada two weeks from Saturday. If Obama wins there, it’s Katie, bar the door.
Winter Hawks: If you’ve been thinking about attending a Hawks game this season but are unsure when to go, might I suggest Friday December 28th against the Moose Jaw Warriors. You can get your tickets here. Why do I recommend that game? Well, there’s the return of Fraser McLaren, which should make for some fireworks. There’s the fact they’re the defending league champs. It’s always nice to see a good team. And last but not least, the Hawks are 3-1 against the East Division this season. I can’t explain it at all. Does it have anything to do with the fact Portland is the most southernmost outpost in the league? There’s something to that, I’m sure. Whatever it is, I like it. Saturday night’s game sounded like a continuation of Friday night’s effort. The Hawks were competitive the whole way through. Battled back when down and ultimately came up short. Win or lose, I love those type of games. Last night was the sugarplum game, so named because it’s the final game before the Christmas break. Coaches never know whether they’ll get Jekyll or Hyde out of their team. Everett led 3-0 at the media time-out 10-minutes into the first period. It was 6-0 at the second time-out 10-minutes into the second. Greetings, Mr. Hyde. While the officiating had some curious moments, the power plays were even on the night. So it’s not like the Hawks lacked for opportunity. Does anyone know how Gabriel escaped the 10-minute misconduct for not having his jersey tied down? Was it because he kept his gloves on? He made up for it on the cross-check. He spent that entire shift looking to hit the showers early. And he did. Playing “Cry Me a River” as the kid Gabriel laid out was still down on the ice was a classless move by the Hawks. I wish they wouldn’t let Everett get under their skin like they do.
Man City: All season, everyone’s been saying “wait until Christmas” before deciding whether this squad can make a serious push for the top-four. Well, here we are. Thanks to Man U the Scum’s victory over Liverpool yesterday, the Blues are in fourth place, three points clear of the Reds. There are rumblings that City is close to signing Mexican forward Nery Castillo. Here’s a fantastic YouTube of the guy in action. Hopefully the Ukrainian oligarch and the deposed Thai president can both tuck their manhood in long enough to get something done.
Trail Blazers: We can all agree the 8-game seven-game winning streak is a mirage, right? This is the same team which lost 9 of 10 immediately before this streak. It was fun listening to the guys on the 5th quarter speculating as to whether Oden will screw with the chemistry next season. Right. There’s a nice little six-game home stand starting tonight against New Orleans. The real test comes Wednesday against Chris Bosh and the Raptors. That may be worth checking out.
Oregon State Beavers: Listening to the final moments of last night’s home loss to Tennessee Tech made me think of Pepperdine, of all places. They’ve got a coach down there who rose through the ranks of high school and JC hoops. He’s got a Herculean rebuilding task down there, but it can be done. And he believes. We had similar hopes for Jay John when he came to Corvallis from Lute Olson’s Arizona program. Alas, it just never worked out. It was time to move on a year ago, but for whatever reason DeCarolis kept him around. It’s not impossible to win in Corvallis. Heck, they’re doing it in Pullman and Spokane. You can win in Corvallis. Especially given the fact Ernie Kent does zero in-state recruiting. Here’s hoping DeCarolis finds a young coaching stud to take this project on next season.
Arizona Cardinals: Yesterday’s game at New Orleans was a stay-alive game for the playoffs. The Saints earned the win. With the exception of Edgerin James, the Cards looked listless. Bring on next year…
So the Cards are in second place in the NFC West. And as things sit this week, they actually occupy the final wild card slot. It’s funny how things seem to work out when you’ve got a competent coaching staff and a decent o-line. The game just sort of plays itself. A few bounces the other way, and this team could easily be 7-4 or even 8-3. Of course, a few bounces the other other way and they could be 3-8. The thing is, the improvement is obvious. Edge has benefited from the addition of Levi Brown and second-year man Deuce Lutui. And Warner has been far more consistent than Leinart may ever be.
The NFL, though, is cyclical. Teams that are way up one season tend to take a step back the following season. I don’t think anyone has come up with a satisfactory explanation for this phenomenon. It just is. You want evidence? Take a look at the 2006 Steelers. And how about the Ravens, Chargers, Saints, and Bears this season? All four of those teams won their divisions last year while three won at least 12 games. This year only the Chargers will make the playoffs, and that’s because the rest of the AFC West blows chunks.
So the Cards are flying relatively high right now at 6-6. They need only one more win and a Forty-Niner loss to lock up second in the division. Great, right? A building block, right? Wrong.
Here’s the deal. Next season Leinart will be back. And when he’s not boozing it up with AP reporters in Scottsdale or tagging hot blondes, he’s a trainwreck as an NFL quarterback. There’s a reason the coaching staff platooned him with Warner this season. Despite having Edgerin Freaking James in his backfield, a trio of all-pro receivers to throw to, and a revamped line in front of him, he wasn’t getting the job done. A washed-up Kurt Warner came in and nearly beat the Ravens single handedly and has guided the team to every inch of the success they’ve enjoyed to this point. But next season, it’s going to be Leinart’s team again. And fans will have to suffer through it. So that’s strike two.
Strike three? The schedule. Have you seen it yet? Try this on for size…
Home:
Dallas
NY Giants
Buffalo
Miami
NFC Central #2 (currently Detroit…it will probably be Minnesota)
Away:
Philadelphia
Washington
New England
NY Jets
NFC South #2 (probably New Orleans, although it could be Carolina)
That’s in addition to the Seahawks and Niners twice. And the Rams won’t be this bad either. I’m having a hard time finding 8 wins in there. Dallas and New England will both still be really good. According to my up-down-up theory, the Jets and Eagles will both be due for bounce back years. With the exception of New Orleans/Carolina, the road schedule is gonna be chilly. It’s all stacking up very badly for the Cards in 2008.
2009 looks much more doable as they play the NFC Central and AFC South. By then, Leinart will be on his last legs in Phoenix as they’ll have either drafted a quarterback in the middle rounds or traded for one, and they’ll have some young stud running back who’ll be ready to replace Edge. In the meantime, they need to get a defensive end in the draft to take some pressure off the secondary.
How bad will it be in 2008? Pretty bad. It’s tough to believe that we’ll be looking back wistfully in a year and reminiscing about the days when “we” were 6-6. But there it is.
High School Playoffs: I only caught bits and pieces of The Fan’s coverage on Friday night. I was flipping between that game, the Winter Hawks game, and Don and Mike. I guess Tualatin pulled their game out. How about that. Now they get to play Sheldon, the team that knocked out Lake Oswego. Damn the torpedoes, I’m taking the Timberwolves.
Winter Hawks: I’m glad I’m not Andy. Driving over a mountain pass four times in a week does not sound like a lot of fun. Dylan B. has a picture of the pass up here. Thoughts go out to the Purdue hockey team who lost a player in a bus accident this weekend. And it goes without saying that this month marks 21 years since the bus accident in Swift Current. Sorry to be all macabre. The Hawks are having a tough weekend on the ice with four games in five days up in BC. I wonder how much we were deluding ourselves about improvement in the days before the trades. There seems to be some hope and tenacity now that wasn’t there a month ago. Yeah, they’re still making dumb mistakes on the back end, but one almost believes now the offense may be able to make up for it. I realize 5 goals in 3 games is nothing extraordinary, especially when they gave up 6 in Vancouver alone, but still. There’s some life there.
Trail Blazers: Six months ago, one would have thought a Blazer ticket would be impossible to come by this season. Now? Well, give it a few more weeks. Maybe after the first of the year it’ll be like last season when you could pick up tickets for pennies on the dollar. Unfortunately my Rose Quarter connection has left town, so I have to find a new one. Folks are already looking toward the lottery this season. Some have suggested Kevin Love might be a good addition. Please, Dear God….NO. Steve Duin will tell you why.
Manchester City: The more they win, the more they show up on TV Saturday mornings. This week, they scored the fastest goal in the Premiership this season. Here’s what it looked like on YouTube. The only problem is, they didn’t score the rest of the day. The draw dropped them out of the top-four, which is where they belong anyway. I’ve no idea what the January transfer window will bring. They say “we” need a scorer. I’ve no idea what one looks like or where to find him.
Oregon State: The Emerald Bowl? I’d rather go to El Paso and play South Florida. That looks like a lot more fun. Whatever. It’s nice to get a win over the Ducks, even though the folks in Eugene could have cared less about this year’s Civil War.
The BCS: I know it’s a mess and frankly unless the Beavers or one of the South Carolina schools is involved, I could care less. Yes, a playoff would be nice, but it’s not going to happen. So quityerbitchin. The only real headscratcher for me is how Kansas got in and Mizzou got shut-out. Was I the only one to Tivo this game?
Arizona Cardinals: I meant to do a Cardinals post all week. I was going to write it Saturday, but thought it best to wait until after the Cleveland game. Like the rest of the country, I gave my guys no hope this week. So what did they do? They went out and beat Cleveland, a team on the rise. The win is not without its controversy (please direst your browser here and here) but whatever. A win is a win. And it would be fine had they just won last week. That would have set-up a tremendous match in Seattle next weekend. Instead, they not only have to win in Seattle, but they also need the Panthers, Ravens, or Falcons to beat the Hawks down the stretch while also holding form themselves at New Orleans (yeah right) and at home against Atlanta and St Louis. Not likely at all. So that’s that. The Cards will gasp ad wheeze all the way through the end of the season only to come up short. 8-8 is a best case scenario. 7-9 is more likely. All because Kurt Warner doesn’t know his own end zone from a hole in the ground. But see the post I’m working on isn’t actually going to be about any of this. No no…. As bad as things look between now and week 17, just wait. It gets loads worse.
