Monday, May 24, 2010

Ten Things JJ Thinks He Thinks

Below you will see my Ten Things for the week. I apologize for no Ten Things last week but I was way to busy. Next week will be the last Ten Things before I take a little vacation. I will still post some baseball notes, quotes of the week, texts of the week, etc. This week was supposed to be a 12 things but we had some late technical difficulties and I will add the two extra items for next week. Currently we have the Captain, lawyer Dan and Nabil as guest columnists. We still need three more so feel free to volunteer. Any request for content next week just let me know and I will try my best to oblige. Have fun.

1. Georgia Football Thoughts

Some good news this week for the Dawgs as Phil Steele released his pre-season All-American teams had UGA had 5 players make his squad. The reason I find the interesting is that only five teams nationally placed multiple players on the first team, and the only other SEC team to do so was Alabama, also with two first-teamers. Punter Drew Butler and receiver A.J. Green made the first-team All-America list. Kicker Blair Walsh was a second-team All-American. Clint Boling was named a third-team All-American left tackle, while return specialist Brandon Boykin was named to the fourth team. Steele also named his All-SEC preseason team and the Dawgs had six first-team All-SEC players which tied Alabama for the most in the league. It should also be noted that the Dawgs' 14 overall honorees tied Florida for the most in the conference.

Also of interest this week was a five part story in the Orlando Sentinel in which they named the top 5 coaches on the hot seat and of course they had Mark Richt on the list-which is beyond ridiculous. For argument sake lets compare the five and you tell me which one does not belong. One Monday the Orlando Sentinel took a look at Rich Rodriguez who has had back to back losing seasons at Michigan and his 3-13 in two seasons of Big Ten play. On Tuesday the Orlando Sentinel took a look at Coach Richt who has won 18 games the past two seasons and 90 games overall in 9 years at UGA. On Wednesday the Orlando Sentinel looked at Colorado coach Dan Hawkins who is 16-33 he past four seasons. On Thursday Washington State Cougar coach was Paul Wulff was the focus of the Orlando Sentinel and Wulff is 3-22 as head coach at his alma mater. On Friday the Orlando Sentinel took a look at Ralph Friedgen who went 2-10 last season and  has only managed a 33-38 record since winning the ACC in 2001. After comparing these five coaches which one does not belong to you? Are you starting to wonder why newspapers are losing lots of money when they give us crap like this?
  
2. Georgia Hoop Thoughts

It was a great week for the basketball team as the UGA hoops team signed Georgia's Mr. Basketball. While Marcus Thornton was not a top-100 player nationally he is still considered the top player in the state that is loaded with basketball player. Click here and here and here for some highlights of Mr. Thornton. By the way here is a list of former Georgia's Mr. Basketball winners-Derrick Favors, Al-Farouq Aminu, Gani Lawal, Javaris Crittenton, Dwight Howard, Louis Williams, Kwame Brown, Donnell Harvey, Dion Glover, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Matt Harpring and Jeff Sheppard. If ends up like any of these players I will be one happy Bulldawg. By the way Mr. Thornton is the first Mr. Georgia Basketball player to sign with the University of Georgia. In Mark Fox I trust.

Also last week ESPN's Andy Katz released his preseason top-25 for the 2010-2011 season and his the Dawgs at #25. In fact a couple of his comments include; the Bulldogs have two of the top talents in the SEC in Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie. If you haven't seen these two perform, you're missing a good show and Don't sleep on the Dawgs. That's right-Don't sleep on the Dawgs. This is probably the most excited I have been for UGA Basketball in a long, long time.


3. Some Fun Jamie Moyer Stats

I am quite amazed by the 47 year old Phillies pitcher who has a career record of 263-198. The 263 wins are good enough for 40th all time and the most among active pitchers. The 198 loses are the 45th most all time and the most among all of active pitchers. Here are some more fun Moyer numbers.
a. Moyer has given up 501 career home runs. 2nd most all time to another Philly great; Robin Roberts.
b. Moyer has allowed homers against all 30 major league teams in 40 different parks.
c. Manny Ramirez has hit the most against him (10). The first one of those came on Aug. 14, 1995, when Ramirez was a member of the Indians, and the last one came on July 21, 2006.
d. On April 22, 1987, Moyer scored a run on Andre Dawson's 228th career home run. Six-plus years later, he served up Dawson's 407th career homer. Dawson is the only player to hit a homer off Moyer and drive in Moyer with a home run.
e. On May 21, 1991, Barry Bonds had a multi-homer game against Moyer. It was the last time Bonds hit two homers in the same game off the same pitcher as a member of the Pirates.
f. Gary Roenicke was the first player to have a multi-homer game versus Moyer, on Aug. 20, 1987. Roenicke would only hit two more homers in his career.
g. Dale Murphy hit two homers in his career against Moyer, and they were sandwiched around a milestone: Nos. 299 and 301. Both were two-run jobs that scored Gary Roenicke.
h. The opposing pitcher in the game in which Moyer allowed his first homer -- Shane Rawley -- has been retired since 1989.
i.Hall of Famer Don Sutton was 1-for-1 against Robin Roberts. He was 0-1 against Jamie Moyer. Hall of Famer Tony Perez was 0-for-3 against Moyer, 0-for-1 against Roberts.
j. Moyer has only made one All-Star team and that was in 2003.
k.He's allowed a home run to the first batter of the game 10 times. He's allowed one walk-off home run (Alfonso Soriano on June 24, 2004).
l. Moyer has never allowed a homer to a pitcher.
m.When Moyer made his major league debut with the Chicago Cubs on June 16, 1986 Atlanta Braves rookie Jason Heyward was 3 years and 2 months away from being born.
n. Moyer's wife Karen is the daughter of former Notre Dame basketball coach and current ESPN sportscaster Digger Phelps. I am probably the only person who thinks thats cool.
o. Of the nine batters to homer against Moyer in 1986, here are the years in which they last played in the majors. Only one has been out of the majors for less than 10 years. Three have been out of the majors for 20 years.
• Barry Bonds, 2007
• Kevin Mitchell, 1998
• Juan Samuel, 1998
• Mitch Webster, 1995
• Glenn Davis, 1993
• Mookie Wilson, 1991
• Keith Hernandez, 1990
• Mike Schmidt, 1989
• Luis Aguayo, 1989

4. I Need A Vacation This Fall-
I lost this as it was 80% written-will rewrite for next week


5. Baseball Notes
a.Thursday's SunTrust Business Fan special made for a wild afternoon at The Ted. In the Braves history they have played 19,935 games dating back to 1876 and according to the Elias Sports Bureau Thursday afternoon marked just the second time they have won a game which they have trailed by six or more runs in the ninth inning or later. 
b. Conrad became the first rookie to hit a walk off grand slam since Cleveland's Ron Lolich on April 22, 1973.   Conrad also became the seventh different Brave to hit a game-winner in eight final at-bat victories this season.

c. On Saturday, the Mets scored more runs (5) against the Yankees than they had scored in the previous 5 Subway Series games combined (4).
d. There were a couple crazy plays at Nationals Ballpark this week. For one on Wednesday night when the Mets were in town the team from Flushing had both an inside the park home run and turned a triple play. Then on Saturday Adam Jones hit another inside the park home run. Thus, the Nationals are the first team to allow 2 inside-the-park HRs in the same week since the Rays on 8/1/2003 & 8/3/2003.
e. The inside the park home run for Angel Pagan was the 26th inside the park Home Run in Mets' history. Pagan has the last two (also 8/23/09 vs. Phi). Adam Jones hit the first inside-the-park HR by an Orioles player since David Newhan on 7/21/2004.
f. There was an ugly situation this week in Florida after Hanley Ramirez dogged a play in the outfield he was pulled by manager Freddi Gonzalez. Which in return Ramirez ripped the manager and his other 24 teammates.
During Ramirez’s rant, he said he didn’t respect Gonzalez because Gonzalez never played in the major leagues. Ramirez might like to know there have been 117 managers in the big leagues, including Gonzalez, who never played in the big leagues. The list not only includes current managers Jim Leyland of Detroit, Jim Riggleman of Washington and Joe Maddon of Tampa Bay, but also Hall of Famers Joe McCarthy, Earl Weaver and Frank Selee.g. Am I the only surprised that the list of managers who did not play in the big leagues is that large?
h. Coming into Sunday's action both Derek Jeter and Dustin Pedroia were both hitting .267.
i. I knew Andre Ethier was leading the NL in batting average, home runs and RBI's but I had no idea he was hitting .392. Ethier who is currently on the DL with a broken pinkie hopefully returns soon to make a run at .400 and the triple crown.
j. Interesting note: Yankees pitcher Phil Hughes allowed 41 foul balls against the Mets Saturday -- the most in almost five years(Jon Garland vs. Twins,'05, 42). When did they start keeping track of this stat?
k. The next time I complain about the Braves hitting into double plays remind me that the Orioles have hit into 50 double plays while their opponents have only hit into 28 dp's.
l. This weekend marked the 14th (really 14 years already) year of Interleague play. An idea I absolutely love as seeing new teams at Turner Field is always fun. However, interleague play can create some schedule oddities that are pretty interesting.
m. The Orioles play 12 games against the NL East (Nationals, Mets, Marlins), while the Blue Jays play only three against the East (Phillies). The Braves play just three games against the AL East (Rays), while the Phillies play 12.
n. How about the Dodgers interleague schedule? The Dodgers play 12 of their 15 interleague games against teams that made the playoffs last year (Yankees, Red Sox, Angels) -- and the other three games against a team (the Tigers) that didn't get knocked out until the 163rd game. It has to be noted that the Padres play no teams that were in the playoffs last season.
o. On the other end of the spectrum; The Reds dodge the entire 2009 playoff field, and their five interleague series are against teams (Cleveland, Kansas City, Seattle, Oakland) that are a combined 30 games under .500.
p. I really like this stat: The Phillies play 12 games against last year's playoff teams, 15 games against teams that currently have a winning record and nine games against the Red Sox (six) and Yankees (three), while three of the other four teams in their division play no games against those two teams.
q.The Yankees were the last team to win a one-run game this season when they beat the Mets Friday night, 2-1. They are now 1-4  in one-run games this season after going 22-16 in one-runners last year.
r. Last season for the Nationals only John Lannon (9-13) won more than five games. This season, reliever Tyler Clippard is 7-1 with a 1.80 ERA pitching for the Nationals in part because he’s allowed 12 of 23 inherited runners to score (55%).
s. We received sad news Sunday morning when news broke that former Astro Jose Lima died of a massive heart attack. It is hard to believe Jose Lima was only the only Dodger pitcher with a playoff win from 1989-2007.
t. I remember a trip to Turner Field that Ben, Brice, Les and myself took in high school when we were able to get box seats. Ben went down to the Astros dugout and got a picture taken with Lima and Lima also signed a towel for Mr. Ross. Good times.
u. Monday marks this 75th anniversary of MLB's first night game.
w. Trevor Hoffman has now appeared in 1,000 career games. Not bad for a former SS who couldn't hit in A-ball and tried pitching out of desperation.
x. Sunday in Philly Tim Wakefield pitched eight shutout innings while picking up his first victory since July 8, 2009. He was an all-star last season right?
y. Joe Posnanski gives us a great look at Jose Lima and Lima Time. What a great personality.


6. MLB Power 5
1. Tampa Bay Rays
2. Minnesota Twins
3. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Philadelphia Phillies
3. Texas Rangers
6. New York Yankees
6. Boston Red Sox
6. Cincinnati Reds

I could not narrow it down to 5 so you get eight teams. I am very intrigued by the Red Sox visit to St. Pete this week.

Halftime
Congratulations are still in order for Donald Sheppard who won the trivia contest a couple weeks ago when he knew that Dennis Martinez a.k.a was the last player to pitch a no-hitter for the Nationals franchise. This week's song that Smoak and myself used to rock out to includes some Kid Rock Cowboy. This week trivia question is: Currently their are three active players who have won back to back stolen base titles...who are they? The winner wins the right to come clean my kitchen which you can not refuse.



7. The Women of Country Music

I know I have putting this post off for a long time so without further ado here is my look at the women of country music. I will break everything down by Musical talent, Looks (I am not conceded at all) and my 5 Favorite at this moment in time. Unfortunately, no time for Miss Congeniality.

Musical Talent
1. Patsy Cline - She has been Crazy and did her Walkin After Midnight and even Fell To Pieces. In my opinion no female in country music today can come close to Patsy, that shows how talented she was as we have some talented singers today. She died very tragically in a plane crash at age 30.  
2. Allison Kraus - Most famous for her hit When You Say Nothing At All. Also played a vital part in the soundtrack for the movie O' Brother, Where Art Thou? with Down In The River To Pray and I'll Fly Away. If you can find someone alive today with a better voice I will buy you lunch.
3. Tanya Tuker- Delta Dawn is one of my favorite songs and Two Sparrows In a Hurricane is legit. She was 13 when Delta Dawn became a hit for her.
4. Carrie Underwood - The former American Idol star (audition tape) is multi-talented from her hits, to her hosting the CMA's to her guest starring role on How I Met Your Mother.
5. Jessica Nettles - Anyone from the 912 area code is alright by me as Nettles is from Douglas, Ga. I absolutely love her songs Stay and Baby Girl among countless others. She had to play in Athens when I was a student and somehow I missed those performances.

Looks
1. Carrie Underwood - Hard to believe she was a small town Oklahoma girl until she tried out for American Idol. What if she would have been born ten years earlier and missed the opportunity for American Idol?
2. Faith Hill- From singing the opening to Sunday Night Football to belting out tunes about being a Mississippi girl. Probably the first country singer with "Pop" appeal. The more I think about it the more she should have been in the top 5 female voices.
3. Miranda Lambert - Another artist that was able to gain fame thanks to American Idol spinoff Nashville Star. I absolutely love the video to her song Kerosene.
4. Sara Evans - Currently married to former Alabama QB Jay Barker. Will perform at Turner Field in early August.
5. Hillary Scott- If this survey is given a year ago no way she is on the list. I can not get enough of her and the group Lady Antebellum.

My Favorite 5
1. Carrie Underwood- Do not what else to add about Miss Underwood except she is engaged to hockey player Mike Fisher (No idea how that is relevant)
2. Hillary Scott- American Honey gets played by me multiple times a day. I also think it is AWESOME that she followed Vandy to Hoover and watched a game at the SEC baseball tourney last year.
3. Jessica Nettles -Her growing up in the 912 area code has everything to do with her being ranked higher than Faith Hill and Kristy Jo.
4. Faith Hill- I do not know what else to say about Mrs. McGraw.
5. Kristy Jo - You might ask yourself who? But Kristy Jo is Luke Bryan's fiddle player. Here is video of her covering Alabama's Mountain Music. (Start at 2:40)

8. Spring TV Recap

Best Reality Show
Besides the NCAA tournament, The Amazing Race. Nothing else on the reality front comes close in my opinion. My Brother or Brice and myself need to run this thing one day.


Shows I Wished I Would Have Watched
Treme- Treme is a neighborhood in New Orleans and the series is set three months after Hurricane Katrina as the residents try to rebuild. I have heard great things plus John Goodman is an actor and he might be one of the more underrated actors in Hollywood today. Luckily this show is on HBO so I should be able to catch a marathon of Treme shows if I play close attention this summer. Runner Up: How to Make It In America- Another HBO show it follows two enterprising twenty-somethings hustling their way through New York City's fashion scene, determined to achieve their version of the American Dream. Trying to make a name for themselves in the city's competitive fashion scene, Ben Epstein and his friend and business partner Cam Calderon use their street knowledge and connections to make their way up the ladder. Honorable Mention: The Pacific.

If it is HBO why do I not watch automatically?


Newcomer of The Year
-Modern Family. The Jason Heyward of television shows. Not only is it the best new show it might be the best on television right now. Runner up is Community which is very, very good. Who thought Chevy Chase could still make people laugh?

Best Comedy
Another win for Modern Family. Runner Up for The Big Bang Theory.

Best Drama
Friday Night Lights-The best season since season one.


I Hate To See You Go
24- Last episode is tonight, what craziness is Bauer going to do in the last two hours?

Needs to get its act together
The Office-One out of three is good in baseball. Not when you are producing comedy television.


You were still on TV ?
Scrubs- I'm still a bit sad at the prospect of a future without Dr. Cox, Turk and JD. There are enough repeats to keep me entertained.

9. Summer TV Preview

Here are some dates with some shows I am looking forward to this summer. If I could find a trailer or preview I have linked it. What shows am I missing this summer?

Royal Pains-June 3rd
Lie to Me-June 7th
Leverage-June 20
Memphis Beat-June 22
Entourage-June 27 - The preview is garbage so here is Ari's best nine moments of 09.
Hung-June 27- No good previews
Minute to Win It-July 7th
Mad Men-July 25th - No trailer but here is a good preview
My Boys-July 25th
Bachelor Pad-August 9th



10. Songs About Summer

Below you will find my favorite songs about Summer. My one requirement is that the song have the word "Summer" thus the reason "Under The Boardwalk" or Chicago's "Saturday In The Park" or anything by The Beach Boys did not make the top ten. (Just as an aside who can not forget in the last season of The Sopranos when Tony started a battle royale by singing his own version of "Under The Boardwalk" about his sister Janice?)

1. Summertime - Kenny Chesney - Barely beats out Mungo Jerry. I can not listen to this song without smiling. I mean who hasn't put two feet on a dashboard or been in love in an old Ford?
2. In The Summertime - Mungo Jerry - Look at this group and one can only imagine the shenanigans Mungo Jerry got into; In The Summertime.
3.Summertime - DJ Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith - Who does not love the tunes from the early 90's? In 1990 did anyone think the Fresh Prince would one day command $20 million a movie?
4. "School's Out (for summer)" -Alice Cooper - Few tunes announce summer like Mr. Cooper can. I know a lot of teachers rocking out to this tune come Friday. Who does not like the School Bell at the end of the song?
5. Summergirls-UFO - Another jam Smoak and myself used to rock out to in our youth. And yes I am not scared to admit this fact. Just as FYI...I still like girls that wear Abercrombie & Fitch.
6. Summer In The City-Lovin Spoonful - Any song that makes living in the city compared to the boring suburbs is okay with me.
7. Summertime Blues - Alan Jackson - I know it is a remake of the 1958 Eddie Cochran tune but I like this version better and it is my list so this is how its going to be. I love this line; ''I called my congressman and he said, quote,/'I'd like to help you, son, but you're too young to vote.'''
8. Summer Breeze- Seals & Croft - Kind of random I know.
9. Summerwind - Frank Sinatra - Even more random and even cooler.
10. All Summer Long-Kid Rock - A great tune about hanging out with friends chasing summer girls and having a good time.


11. What I Read This Week

Before we get to this week's article I will relink some links from last week. The first link is on the Great Joe DiMaggio.The second read takes a look at Teddy Ballgame. Lastly I will relink the read on the Twenty-somethings that work in the Obama administration. Go Read Everything.

This week's article comes from Gay Talese and is titled "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold." It ran in April 1966 and became one of the most celebrated magazine stories ever published, a pioneering example of what came to be called New Journalism -- a work of rigorously faithful fact enlivened with the kind of vivid storytelling that had previously been reserved for fiction. Is Frank Sinatra one of the cooler gentlemen in the last 100 years?

12. Non Football Thoughts
a. I know I referenced "Under the Boardwalk" earlier and it made me remember some of the great songs that were in The Sopranos. Maybe a potential Ten Things topic for The Captain or Lawyer Dan or Nabil when it is their turn to write the Ten Things.
b. Everything else was lost...not good, not good at all.

Quote of The Week
Comes from Braves Broadcaster Joe Simpson after Brooks Conrad improbable walk off home run Thursday afternoon at Chop Shop.

“I’ve seen two rodeos and three goat-ropings, but I’ve never seen anything like that,”


Text of The Week

From the good doctor...
I am currently staying at a Motel 6 outside of Baltimore. The tv looks like a huge iPod and the place looks like the motel from National Lampoons Vacation. I am very dissapointed in myself. The good doctor will definitely be utilizing hotwire instead of motel6.com

And he wonders why the government wants Health Care reform?

Tweet of The Week

From La Times NFL Columnist Sam Farmer...a follow if you are on Twitter
LATimesfarmer
What not to say to your wife when you return from 3-day camping weekend: "Oh, by the way, your minivan has ants now." Just learned that.

Noted. 


Tweet of The Week II
EricStangel
Now that Lost is over, should we all meet here Wednesday to discuss Cougar Town? #lostfinale  

Photo of The Week
Comes from Saturday's cover of the NY Post. Do not scroll down if you just ate breakfast. And yes that horn is doing what it looks like it is doing.



Monday, May 10, 2010

Ten Things JJ Thinks He Thinks

1. Georgia Thoughts

This week I will give my first guess at the Times and Networks for the 2010 UGA Football Season. I enjoy playing Network executive in putting together the times and networks. A lot of late nights in Athens if everything holds to form. Not sure if I am a big fan or not. The October 2nd game at Colorado might be moved to FSN. If it a FSN game I hope it will start a little earlier.

Sep. 4Louisiana-Laf.  1:00 SEC Network
Sep. 11at S. Carolina    7:00 ESPNU
Sep. 18Arkansas          7:45 ESPN
Sep. 25at Miss. State   7:00 ESPN U
Oct. 2at Colorado       9:30 ESPN2
Oct. 9Tennessee        7:00 ESPN2
Oct. 16Vanderbilt        12:30 SEC Network
Oct. 23at Kentucky      7:00 ESPNU
Oct. 30at Florida           3:30 CBS

Nov. 6Idaho St.           1:00 PPV
Nov. 13 at Auburn          3:30 CBS
Nov. 27 Georgia Tech   3:30 CBS


2. My NBA and NHL Playoff Thoughts

a. I have not watched a full game of the NBA playoffs but I usually catch the first few minutes of the first quarter and then the whole fourth quarter.
b. I did watch a majority of the Suns-Spurs game on Friday night and I was impressed how the Suns finished the game. Led by backup point guard Goran Dragic who scored 23 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, rendering Steve Nash unneeded until the final 3 minutes. Amare Stoudemire? He never even took off his warmups in the fourth quarter.
c. Should I admit that I did not know the name Goran Dragic until Friday night?
d. The Hawks are in a world of trouble and I do not like how it looks like they have already given up. I would like to think that is not the case but one has to wonder. In this case the saying is true, perception is reality.
e. Speaking of the Hawks-Magic...the Magic are on a 16-1 run since the Josh Smith dunk at the buzzer on March 24. Only loss in that span came when Ginobili hit 'em for 43. That seems like forever ago.
f. This is first time since 1999 and just fourth time ever that three of NBA's four second-round series started off 3-0
g. Rajon Rondo was unbelievable Sunday afternoon for the C's as they tied the series up with the Cavs. If he can keep coming up with lines like this 29 points 18 boards and 13 assists the C's might be able to steal this series.
h. The Suns have been the funnest team to watch during these playoffs and how did Steve Nash see Sunday Night with his right eye swollen shut?
i. Everyone has to ask themselves...Is your game MVP like Steve Nash?
j. The battle for Lord Stanley's cup is heating up and Monday night is a big night for the Eastern Conference. The Penguins and Canadiens play Game 6 with the Penguins holding a 3-2 series lead. The Bruins and Flyers meet in Game 5 with the Bruins holding a 3-1 series lead.
k. If the Penguins and Bruins win the Eastern Conference finals will be a matchup of the #4 and #6 seeds. Who had this matchup a month ago?
l. Furthermore how are the Penguins a game away from winning the series without Sid The Kid scoring in this series?
m. The Western Conference is playing truer to form with the #1 seed San Jose Sharks advancing and the #2 seed Blackhawks holding a 3-2 series lead.


3. I Need A Vacation-This Summer

Let me know if any of these ideas interest anyone? I need a vacation and something to work for.  Personally I like Trip 1 and 4 the best. Let me know your thoughts you might think they all suck and that is fine. Trip 3 would be fun but I do not know if I have the cabboge (cash) to pull it off.

Trip 1
Wedneday June 2nd
Braves vs Phillies 1:05
Delta Flight 2686 ATL-NYC 6:40 PM (Right now $129.70)
or
Airtran Flight 364 ATL-NYC 7:07 (Right now $109.70)
Hit up Brother Jimmy's - The only place you can find Natty Lights in NYC
Crash at my Buddy Todd's house (Free)

Thursday June 3rd
Orioles @ Yankees 1:05
Bus To Atlantic City ($10)
Room at The Harrah's AC (Free)
By the way Harrah's AC has this awesome pool (http://www.harrahsresort.com/casinos/harrahs-atlantic-city/casino-misc/indoor-pool-detail.html) Make sure you click on the pool during the day and at night.

Friday
-Train to Philly ($8 via NJ Transit)
-Get to DC somehow ($45 train, $7 bus) If we do bus we have to be on the 115 pm..its going to be hard to get from AC to Philly in this time
-Check in Hotel ($120 night)
-Hookup with a congressional staffer

Saturday
Get to Baltimore via Bus or train
Boston Red Sox @ Baltimore Orioles

Sunday
Cincinnati Reds @ Washington Nationals
Fly home Sun Night

Trip 2
Wedneday June 2nd
Braves vs Phillies 1:05
Delta Flight 2686 ATL-NYC 6:40 PM (Right now $129.70)
or
Airtran Flight 364 ATL-NYC 7:07 (Right now $109.70)
Hit up Brother Jimmy's - The only place you can find Natty Lights in NYC
Crash at my Buddy Todd's house (Free)

Thursday June 3rd
Orioles @ Yankees 1:05
Fly to Boston
      or
Train to Boston
Acela 2172 Leaves NY Penn Station 7:00 Arrive Boston-South Station 10:41 $95
Amtrak 178 Leaves Penn Station 7:30 Arrives Boston South Station 12:12 $49
(We could do Bus for a little cheaper but it would take longer and you can not booze on the bus, you can booze on plane or train)
Hotel Beantown - 3 Star Quincy Market $115

Friday June 4th
Rent Car and go to Cape ($100 total)
Check In Hotel/Motel ($150-$200 a night)
Chatham Squire

Saturday June 5th
Beach-Chatham Squire

Sunday June 6th
Return rental
Fly Home from Beantown
Airtran Flt 269 740 pm ($124.40)

Trip 3

Wednesday June 2nd

Wednesdy night Fly to Las Vegas ($385 round trip w/ a stop) ($414 nonstop)

Spend 2 night (Wed and Thur) as of right now the lodging would be free as long as we stayed at either Bally's, Flamingo, or Imperial Palace.

Friday rent a car and drive to LA
Friday nite Dodgers-Braves
Fiday nite after Braves win party like Vinny Chase

Saturday whatever

Sunday drive to Vegas and fly home via the Red Eye

Rental Car $100 total
Hotel for two nights in Cali $150 a night

Trip 4

July 7th Fly to Philly ($89.70 on Airtran)
Rent a Car-Intermediate SUV ($170.00 for the week)
Braves @ Phillies
Drive to AC (50 minute drive from Citizens Bank Ballpark)
Free Room at either Harrah's, Caesars, Bally's or Showboat

Thursday July 8th
Wake up and drive to Cooperstown, NY (5 hour drive)
Tour the hall of fame (Open 9 am to 9pm during the summers)
Cheap Hotel in either Albany, NY or Cobleskill or Schenectady

Friday July 9th
Drive to Chatham, Ma
Friday and Saturday on the Cape
Friday's Games (Brewster at Orleans, Harwich at Chatham)
Saturday's Games (Bourne at Chatham, Falmouth at Orleans)
Two Nights on Cape around $180-$200 a night
I need some Chatham Squire in my life


Sunday July 11th
Drive back to Philly either stopping in NYC or Philly or AC for the night
-Pepe's in New Haven, Ct for lunch.(Clam Pie)
http://pepespizzeria.com/

Monday July 12th
Return Rental
Fly Home ($114.70)



4. I Need A Vacation-This Fall

After planning some possible interesting baseball trips this summer I have thought of a couple of intriguing football trips. The first trip is the weekend of Labor Day. One would begin their weekend in Athens, Ga for what one will only hope is an early kickoff on September 4th. On the evening of the 4th LSU-North Carolina will play in the Georgia Dome in Chick-fil-a Kickoff Classic.  On the 5th one would take an early flight to Baltimore to watch the Rays-O's. On Labor Day the 6th Maryland plays Navy in Baltimore at 3:00 and then 25 miles down the road at 8:00 Boise State will play Virginia Tech. The second weekend of the football season has us returning to our Nation's Capital. On the 11th Georgia Southern will take on the Midshipman from Navy. The next day give us the start of the NFL season and the Dallas Cowboys visiting the Washington Redskins at 8:20 on a Sunday Night. Monday morning would give us a short trip to the Meadowlands and a Monday nighter between the Ravens and Jets.

The next travel weekend is Friday September 24th with a jaunt to the Mile High City and a baseball game with the Rockies and Giants. On the 25th the Air Force Academy takes on the Wyoming Cowboys. Just as an FYI it is about 140 miles from Denver to Laramie, Wyoming. The game would be at noon local time, a perfect day trip. On Sunday the 26th the Colts would play the Broncos at Invesco Field at Mile High. The Braves are off this weekend and the Dawgs play at Mississippi State so I might have to make this trip happen.

Another football weekend is the first weekend in October. Unfortunately the big three (Miami, Florida State, and Florida) are all on the road on Saturday the 2nd. However, on NFL Sunday the Colts visit the Jags and on Monday and about 332 miles down I-95 the Pats will visit the Dolphins.

One other trip is the weekend of Friday September 17th through Monday September 20th and one will visit the Bay Area. On Friday the 17th the trip will begin with the Brewers at Giants. On the 18th Wake Forest visits the Stanford Cardinal. The Sunday NFL game on the 19th will have the Rams visiting the Blackhole of Oakland. Then on Monday the 20th the defending Super Bowl champions will take on the 49ers on Monday Night Football.

The rest of October and November will be posted next week.


5. Baseball Thoughts
a. I was watching some of the Mets-Giants game Friday Night at the house and the great Gary Cohen said that no Met had hit three home runs at Shea Stadium or Citi Field. How can this be accurate?
b. Thru games of May 5, the Yankees have scored in 37.1% of innings the highest in MLB, while the Astros have scored in 19.2%, the lowest.
c. Here is another 3 home run in a game stat that relates to a New York team. On Saturday, Mark Teixeira became the second Yankees player all-time to hit 3+ HR vs. the Red Sox in a single game (Lou Gehrig - 6/23/1927).As many times as these teams have played each other, I am shocked this has only happened twice.
d. With a win on Saturday over the Marlins, the Nationals are now 10-5 in games decided by 2 runs or less. In 2009, the Nats were 33-46 in such games.
e. Barry Zito needs some credit for the turnaround he has had over the last year and a half. Zito was 31-43 in his first three seasons with San Francisco and even started 0-8 in 2008, when he was sent to the bullpen for a while. This season he is 5-0 with a 1.49 ERA.
f. How similar have the careers of Ozzie Guillen and Terry Francona been? Francona managed his 1,000th game for Boston Wednesday, a day after Guillen managed his 1,000th for Chicago. Francona’s record was 579-421, while Guillen was 523-477. Francona won two pennants and two World Series, Guillen one pennant and one World Series. Francona was the 22d player taken in the 1980 draft. Guillen was signed as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela in the summer of 1980.
g. They both have ties to the Atlanta Braves as Ozzie played for the Braves during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Francona's dad played for the Braves for parts of three seasons in 1967, 1968, and 1969.
h. On Sunday Dallas Braden threw the 19th perfect game in MLB history against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Tampa Bay Rays have now been on the receiving ends of back to back perfect games.
i. How special was Braden's perfect game? Factoring in inflation, the average salary of the last 6 perfect game pitchers before today was $9.43 million. Braden 2010 salary? $420,000. The $420,000 is less than the gamer in Alabama will receive when he threw a perfect game playing XBOX and received $1 million.
j. Braden since start of 2009: 29 GS, 21 quality starts, 17 games 2 ER or fewer, 24 of 3 ER or fewer. 2.41 BB/9, 3.74 ERA, 1.26 WHIP.
k. Through Thursday, in Manny Acta’s last 162 games managing the Nationals and the Indians, his record was 53-109 (.327)
l. More than half of the Brewers runs this season (87) have come in just 6 games-those 6 games of runs are more than the Astros have all season.
m. Cubs rookie Starlin Castro got off to an impressive start in his first game homerung in his first AB, the first Cub player to do so since Jim Bullinger in 1992. Castro's first 4 career hits came in this order: HR, triple, double, single.
n. Adrian Beltre is now batting .533 (8 for 15) on 0 and 2 counts. Beltre entered the game leading the AL in 2-strike hitting with a .347 average, and third in MLB behind Ryan Hanigan of Reds and one Manny Ramirez.
o. More Perfect Game talk...Dallas Braden pitched the third Perfect Game on Mother's Day. The other two Charlie Lea for Montreal in 1981 against the Giants and Hod Eller for the Reds in 1919 against the Cardinals.
p. Even more special for Braden throwing the perfect game on Mother's Day is that his mom died of skin cancer hen Braden was a senior in high school. The embrace he shared with his grandmother was pretty cool.
q. Jerry Crasnick with a good read on the character that is Dallas Braden.
r. Joe Posnanski has an even better read on Braden and the perfect game. He tells this awesome story, there has now been 19 Perfect Games pitched in MLB history and for some reason these always include two thrown in 1880 (five days apart, no less) when it took eight balls to walk somebody, the mound was 50 feet from home plate and pitchers were still supposed to throw underhand.
s. It has been said before and will be said again, no sport cherishes its past like Baseball.
t. One more decent Sunday read is on an Employee who has worked 48 years for the New York Yankees.

Halftime
This weeks song that Smoak and myself used to rock out to includes Tracy Chapman's Give Me One Reason. Last week trivia Question was answered correctly by Donald Sheppard and Brice Scott. They both knew that the Pittsburgh Pirates never changed their name from 1901-2000. The Pittsburgh franchise became the Pirates in 1891 after being named the Alleghenys. The Cubs franchise was in the National League in 1901 with the name of the Chicago Orphans. "Cubs" did not come to be until 1903. The Philadelphia team was the Quakers until the 1890 season saw them holding the Phillies name, but in 1943, they changed to the Blue Jays, then went back to the Phillies in 1945. Cincinnati was the Reds for the entire 20th century, except for six seasons when they changed to the Redlegs from 1954-1959. This weeks trivia question is important because we have a prize involved. The prize is an Iron Man 2 T-Shirt. Not everyone answer at one time. On Thursday Scott Olsen had a no hitter into the 8th before David Ross broke it up. Thus who was the last member of the Nationals franchise to pitch a No-Hitter? First person to email me or add the correct response in the comments wins the t-shirt.


6. MLB Power 5
1. New York Yankees - Won a second series at Fenway this season despite a lot of injuries and many players not playing to their abilities this season.
2. Tampa Bay Rays - They would have been #1 but having a perfect game pitched against them dropped them a slot.
3. St.Louis Cardinals - Clearly the class of the NL Central. Can anyone catch them?
4. Minnesota Twins - They keep winning series and are off to the best start since 2001.
5. San Diego Padres - They are still leading the West and have won 7 of 10 despite letting a late lead Sunday slip away.

7. Sports Emmy's

A couple of weeks ago the Sports Emmy's were held in NYC and HBO absolutely cleaned up. The won 9 emmy's more than double any other network. CBS, NBC, and MLB Network tied for second with 4 Emmy's a piece. ESPN and ESPN2 had three apiece. CBS had two while CBS Mobile, ESPN.com, Fox, Fox Sports Net, NBC Olympics.com, Fox and Speed each won one award.

A couple of the main winners were:
Outstanding Studio Show Weekly-College GameDay
Outstanding Studio Show Daily-PTI
Outstanding Sports Personality Studio Show-Bob Costas
Outstanding Sports Personality-Play By Play-Jim Nantz
Outstanding Sports Personality-Studio Analyst-Kirk Herbstreit
Outstanding Sports Personality-Sports Event Analyst-Chris Colinsworth

My thoughts:
-Baseball Tonight is a better studio show than PTI.
-I can not argue against Costas who is absolutely amazing. Ernie Johnson Jr. for Turner Sports is not bad either.
-Nantz is better than Joe Buck in my opinion, I have my doubts when compared to Al Michaels
-The Best Sports Analyst in Studio to me is either Tony Dungy or Tom Jackson. Seth Davis during the NCAA tournament was pretty good as well.
-Colinsworth is without a doubt the best analyst in football or sports. He is already one of the best, just think if he was not a Gator.
-I know these were not awards but my favorite writers in the following sports include:
MLB-Jon Heyman CNNSI
NFL-Peter King CNNSI
NBA-Adrian Wojnarowski Yahoo Sports
NCAA Football-Tony Barnhart-AJC

All the results are listed here. 


What are your thoughts?

8. Ernie Harwell

This week we received the sad news on the passing of the former Tiger announcer. There were many great articles written on Harwell from papers throughout the country. On a national level the New York Times and CNNSI's Joe Posnanski wrote these awesome words on the life of Harwell. Posnanski writes how Harwell would often email him and sometimes the emails were as simple as I love triples in the gap. I love this fact about Harwell that e lived 92 years and announced for 50 of those but he never grew tired of the simple play of a triple in the gap. I find this funny because triple in the gap is one of my favorite plays along with a push or drag bunt for a single and a well executed relay to throw someone out at the plate.

Other Harwell tributes include this tribute from Harwell's hometown Detroit Free Press by acclaimed writer Mitch Albom. Other tributes include this eight minute highlight from MLB Network. Did anyone know that Harwell was once traded from the Atlanta Crackers to the Brooklyn Dodgers for a backup catcher? The last link will be Harwell's Hall of Fame induction speech from August 2nd 1981. By the way this was a month before I was born.




9. What I Read This Week

Two articles this week on Joe D and Teddy Ballgame, but before we move forward I want to relink the main article from last week on the Twenty-somethings that work in the Obama administration. Go Read It.

The first article takes a look at the Great Joe DiMaggio. Written in 1966 by acclaimed writer Gay Talese this piece on DiMaggio was written months after his classic piece on Frank Sinatra (see next week's What I Read This Week). Both stories paint fascinating portraits of their iconic subjects, and they are written in a clean, economical style. Talese is often credited through the DiMaggio and Sinatra articles as an pioneering example of New Journalism. I will let you do your own research on New Journalism if you are so inclined. However, at the very least enjoy a very intriguing look at a fascinating person.

The second read comes from Richard Ben Cramer who in 1986 spent months on a profile of Ted Williams, and the result was this Esquire article that has been acclaimed ever since as one of the finest pieces of sports reporting ever written. I have always been intrigued about Williams the person and Williams the baseball player. Never the most likeable person according to the Boston scribes he did spend two duties fighting for his country. Without the time missed in the prime of his career who knows how many home runs he might have hit.

Just as a heads up both are long reads but well worth the time. We all need something to occupy us on the treadmill.


10. Non Football, Baseball or Basketball Thoughts
a. I was very intrigued by The Amazing Race on Sunday night but was disappointed that the Cowboys did not win. However, they were probably the most liked team in the history of the race and if CBS ever does an All-Star Amazing Race Cast they will no doubt be a part of the field.
b. If I have to hear Dan say he made his brothers dream come true one more time I might throw up.
c. I was also disappointed by the reaction from team sour grapes Brandy and Carol as they were clearly not over being U-Turned about 4 episodes ago. They made the end very awkward, they have a lot of hate built up towards Caite...she is not the sharpest pencil in the box but come on get over it.
d. It looks like President Obama will nominate Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court. If the Senate confirms Ms. Kagan, who is Jewish, the Supreme Court for the first time will have no Protestant members. In that case, the court would be composed of six justices who are Catholic and three who are Jewish. It also would mean that every member of the court had studied law at Harvard or Yale (see E for more explanation). 
e. It has to be noted that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg enrolled at Harvard Law School where she was one of only nine women in a class of more than five hundred. However, when her husband took a job in New York City, she transferred to Columbia Law School and became the first woman to be on both the Harvard Law Review and the Columbia Law Review. This fact was of great discussion between lawyer Dan and myself late Sunday night/Monday morning.
f. The roomdawg and myself are still a couple of Modern Family's behind but we watched three over the weekend and they were tremendous. By far the funniest show on television. Every character is so developed and hilarious. I have yet to find someone who does not like the show.
g. I did go see Iron Man 2 this week and thought it was tremendous. I am not a comic book guy at all I just happen to love Super Hero movies. This is referenced by the fact I get caught watching one of the Spider Man movies every time it is on TNT.
h. Of course Iron Man 2 won the weekend at the box office and the opening was good for 5th best all time. It was also the third-biggest superhero-movie debut of all time, behind leader The Dark Knight, which opened to $158 million in 2008, and runner-up Spider-Man 3, which bowed to $151 million in 2007,
i. Just as an fyi Scarlett Johansson who plays the Black Widow might be worth the price of admission alone. A lot of critics did not like her performance and they need to be slapped.
j.This is probably the craziest story I have ever read. This is why we have trials with juries with good lawyers. We can all learn a lesson from this story, if ever accused of a murder you did not commit...ask to see the dead body.

k.How I Met Your Mother took a nice twist last week with Robin choosing Don over Ted or Barney. I was impressed with Ted's breakup letter that you write your future self when you just break up with someone. There are a lot of life lessons to be learned in HIMYM.


Quote of The Week

From Phil Mickelson...I have never done an In-N-Out burger but it is definitely on my list of things to do. I do know 5 Guys is amazing.

"I grew up on In-N-Out. I thought that was best burger until I had 5 Guys."

Tweet of The Week

From iHateJJRedick
Jamarcus Russell should get a show on @FoodNetwork where he goes to buffets and puts them out of business.

Text of The Week

From Todd Easton aka Babagaloosh in response to me inquiring about staying at his place this summer.

Plenty of rooms for any number of southern boys at hotel babagaloosh

Photo Of The Week I
The manager has the look away down. Even better when you look-away when taking pictures with US Senators.
















Photo of The WeekII
Comes from reader Brice after he landed in Belize for his honeymoon. You stay classy Belize.



Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Ranking the NBA

I'm immensely enjoying the NBA playoffs. And while watching these games I began to think about the fluctuation in player value that is created by excelling or disappointing in the pressure cooker that is the NBA Playoffs. As usual the creme rises to the top and I felt like I needed to shuffle the deck to get a better grasp on the games, especially for gambling purposes.

What I've done is listed the best players in the entire NBA, not just playoff teams, with a slight eye towards the future. I'm not making this list for 5 or 10 years from now so it's not necessarily a "futures" list but more picking it based on "if I was starting a team for 2010-2012 encompassing two full seasons, who would I want?" The only rule I had was that only players currently in the NBA are eligible (Sorry John Wall and Evan Turner) to be ranked.

I had a great time compiling this list, even if it did give me carpal tunnel. I also shuffled this list around roughly 50 times before finally settling on a final draft. I simply took each player one-at-a-time and compared him to the next player on the list and who I would rather have to come up with my final rankings.

So here we go, the top 30 have in-depth analysis, I have short pieces for the next 10 and then finally I rank #'s 40-60 on name alone.


1         LeBron James

No surprise here, he’s an athletic marvel the likes of which the game has never seen.  He’s 6’9ish, 270lb-ish, can handle the ball like a PG, shoot like a SG, play defense like a SF, Rebound like a PF, and block shots like a C.  I’m amazed by him each time I watch him play and I’m excited for the next chapter of his career, wherever that is.  I can’t wait for whichever off-season he realizes he needs to add a post game to his repertoire and really begins dominating, this is just the beginning.

 Enjoy this time folks because LBJ’s career will be looked back on the way Magic/Bird/Jordan’s is and you’ll be pissed at yourself if you didn’t watch enough of it.

2          Kevin Durant

Not quite as powerful as LeBron so he’s not as awe inspiring but we’re looking at a guy that may actually be taller/longer than LeBron with a lot of the same skill set.  The Durantula actually has a couple post moves and a more consistent 3pt shot.  As has become evident by his recent little spat with Phil Jackson, KD is already savvy enough to draw fouls and get to the line when his shots aren’t falling.  LeBron hasn’t quite figured that out yet and it took Kobe about 10 years to get that down; KD has it down pat in his 3rd year!  I don’t think he’ll ever be as tenacious on the defensive side as LeBron is, but he already asks for the toughest assignment each game which is a great sign.

3          Dwyane Wade

Maybe it’s foolish but I’m still leery of D-Wade’s health.  I remember all too often Wade sitting in street clothes for long stretches at a time much to the detriment of his team.  He’s also older than you think he is having been in college for a full 3 years.  He’ll turn 29 halfway through next season and with all the Olympics appearances he has a ton of mileage on his body, mileage he clearly doesn’t carry well.  His pedigree is obvious as he was the best player on the floor at times in those Olympics stints while playing next to LeBron and Kobe Bryant.  If I could be assured of 100% clean bill of health with Wade he just might vault to #2 on this list

4         Kobe Bryant

Age, that’s what bumps Kobe to the 4th spot.  If I had to risk my life on a pickup game where I could pick any player in the league for just that one game, I’d pick Kobe.  Simply put he’s still the most skilled/gifted player with the best killer instincts in the game.   However for an 82 game regular season and potentially 28 more playoff games there are three guys I’d take over him, but only three.  Kobe still might be the best player in the game and that’s never more evident than putting a guy with that many miles on his odometer fourth in these rankings.

5         Deron Williams

I’m a huge Chris Paul fan so this hurts to say but Deron Williams has taken over the “Best PG in the NBA” title.  As was talked about on draft night when D-Will came out, his body is more suited for the rigors of an NBA schedule and affords him a better opportunity to play a physical style while staying on the court.  Williams simply needs to start imposing his will on the defensive side more to have a case for top 3 status, as it is now, he’s 5th behind some very good players.  Little known fact: for all the grief Billy Knight gets for not picking Chris Paul in that 2005 draft, it was actually Deron Williams that BK wanted and the pick was vetoed by the owners who were enamored with Marvin.  Ahh, but what could have been?
6         Chris Bosh
I pray that CB4 can escape the great northeast that is Toronto.  Not that the Canadians don’t deserve a superstar because they have some of the best fans in the league, it’s just that no one gets to see this guy.  He is stuck toiling away in obscurity while he’s secretly the best scoring 4/5 in the league. Anyone that watched the Olympics could tell that Bosh was the best big man on the team, even better than Dwight Howard.  Now the European rules of Olympic basketball are more conducive to Bosh than Dwight but it shows the potential Bosh has and the treat that everyone is missing out on.
7         Derrick Rose
I’m a PG guy, I love PGs.  They always have the ball in their hands, they have the biggest impact on the other players on the team, and they are usually the captain’s and emotional leaders of the team as well.  Knowing that, I try to be as objective as possible when it comes to PGs, but I am in love with Derrick Rose’s game.  I’ve liked Derrick Rose ever since I saw a YouTube mix tape of him in his senior year of high school.  When I do this list in 3 years he’ll probably be in the top 5 and the top PG in the league, he’s just that good.  The best part about Rose? He’s figuring out how to assert himself while also helping others be the best they can be.  Imagine how many points Chris Bosh would score a game and how dangerous the Chicago Bulls would be if Rose could get CB4 to the Windy City? Scary…
8         Dwight Howard

So, why is D12, the most dominant rebounding/shot blocking force in the league checking in at 8th?  Free Throws.  When you’re this high in the rankings it’s going to be the small things that separate two players from one another.  In Howard’s case he is too easily nullified from having an impact on the game because of the danger of him going to the free throw line and missing sometimes 6-7 of every 10 shots he takes there.  This was never more evident than in the 2009 NBA Playoffs as Hedo Turkoglu, a guy that was a career bench player and has such resumed that role in Toronto, was the Magic’s best crunch time option.   His propensity for easy touch fouls that take him off the court only hurts him further.  Still, Howard’s dominance for the other 46 minutes of a game put him this high.
9         Carmelo Anthony
So why does a guy who was one of the best players in the Olympics and one of the leading scorers in the NBA go all the way to the 9th spot?  I’m not really sure myself.  There’s some indiscernible quality about Carmelo that makes him fall just short of the other 8 guys on this list.  Is it the way that he’s just a tad too much of a “get mine” guy?  Maybe it’s his lack of 100% commitment to defense (rectified some this year), or his not quite elite athletic ability.  Whatever it is he’s pretty much gotten the most out of his game that he’s going to get now that he’s playing with an elite PG in Billups.  Not to say that 9th overall isn’t a great spot, it’s just not as high as others think him to be.
10     Chris Paul
Damn the high ankle sprain!!  It’s killed many a running back’s season (Michael Turner, DeAngelo Williams to name two…) but it also derailed another MVP caliber season for CP3.  Maybe that was for the best as the Hornets were clearly on the down swing and CP3’s reputation didn’t have to take as much of a hit as it did with him sitting on the bench.  Like I alluded to earlier with D-Will, other experts have pointed out that CP3’s small stature would end up costing him longevity at some point, but I don’t think that point is now.  He’s one of the most aggressive and smart guys on the floor with court awareness coming outta his pores.  He’s gotten better at some aspect of his game every year (first man-to-man D, then 3 point shooting, and finally the ability to get to the line this past season) and I don’t expect him to drop off just yet.  Maybe he won’t be a top notch guard for 12-13 years like the bigger Williams, but 10-11 years of elite PG play is not shabby at all.  
Finally, I’ll say this: Chris Paul’s best is better than any PG in the league because of his mental approach to the game. If he stays healthy I’d fully anticipate him jumping over Rose and Williams for the top spot once again.
11           Rajon Rondo
I made a remark midway through Game 3 of the Celtics-Heat game to a friend of mine: “Rondo has taken over as the best player on the Celtics”.  I know all the talk is about the “Big 3” but Rondo has made it the “Big 1 featuring 1 really good one (Pierce), 1 good one (Allen) and 1 washed up one (KG)”.  Rondo still does his best to keep those other three involved but the Celtics are so much better when Rondo is the focal point of the offense and is making a conscious effort to get his while keeping everyone involved.  Re-watch game 1 of the Celtics/Cavs game this past weekend and you’ll see he was the 2nd best player on the floor behind only LeBron.  He’s picked his FT’s up big time (50%ish career, 80%ish these playoffs) and if he finds a consistent jump shot before Rose he’ll warrant being placed above Derrick Rose in these rankings.
12           Brandon Roy
Man what could this guy do if healthy?  He’s had knee troubles dating back to college.  Speaking of his college days, during his senior year at Washington the Huskies were really lacking for post play so they moved Roy to the Power Forward position and he proceeded to lead the team in rebounding.  This speaks to his versatility.  He’s also become one of the best “big-shot” guys in the league and doesn’t really have a hole in his game.  The best compliment I can give him comes from a coach I heard comment after watching Roy play: “He’s not fast, but he can get by anyone he wants anytime.  He does that by not wasting any steps.”  I think that’s perfect, Roy gets anywhere he wants (the mark of a great player) and does it while exerting the least amount of energy possible.  He has a chronic knee condition that will always hold him back, but as of right now he’s the 12th best in the game.
13           Pau Gasol
Highway Robbery got Pau to LA and he’s the #1 reason Kobe is considered a top 5-7 player of all time.  Without Pau consistently giving all that he does down low (selflessly, btw.  The guy NEVER asks for touches/shots and just plays within the team) he allows Kobe to take those ridiculous shots (most of which he makes) but not look too bad because Gasol usually cleans it up.  He’s got a great back-to-the-basket game being able to spin either way and use either hand to get off a quality shot.  Combine that with he’s a very disciplined shot blocker who challenges on every play if not quite getting the block.  Now if we could ever get him to quit being a whining pansy we’d really have a fan favorite.
14           Dirk Nowitzki
I liken Dirk’s fade away to Kareem’s Skyhook: you know it’s coming, but you can’t do anything about it.  It’s such an amazing shot to watch too.  He slowly backs his man down, getting him into position, gives him one final nudge to get the defender off balance then goes parallel to the floor and launches a moon shot and flies through the rim so fast it’s a wonder it doesn’t take the net with it.  He’s money from the line, a great mid-range shooter and his 3PT shooting is very consistent, especially for a 7-footer.  Recently he’s developed a toughness that was lacking early on.  He won’t be as prone to age because he’s never played with much of an athletic flair so he should have another 2-3 years before some drop off starts.
15           Paul Pierce
I should have included Pierce’s patented “start at the top of the key, dribble twice to the right elbow, fade and away and win it” shot to the Dirk/Kareem group above.  I’ve watched PP rip people’s hearts out with that shot and nobody ever plays it right.  He’s also one of the best at drawing fouls in the game where he shoots over 80%.  Pierce is slowly becoming more of a cog in the wheel than the wheel itself as he’s not quite making anyone better and just doing his own thing – that’s still good enough for 15th in the league and he’s a first ballot HOF.
16           Amare Stoudamire
Amare is the Bionic Man. He’s had 3 injuries (Micro Fracture on right knee, stress reaction on left knee, detached retina in eye) that usually hamper if not completely kill a career; and he’s come back strong every time.  Somehow the knee injuries haven’t limited his athleticism and he’s quite possibly the best pick-and-roll big man in the league paired with the best pick-and-roll PG in the league. 
To give some perspective on Amare’s most recent injury (detached retina): in 1971 Dave Bing, a forward for the Detroit Pistons, also suffered a detached retina.  Bing said for the rest of his career he couldn’t work the pick-and-roll because he couldn’t see the ball clearly enough to catch the roll passes.  Well not only does Amare continue to run the pick-and-roll he’s probably the best at it in the league.  Again, just amazing physical attributes for STAT.
Ultimately it’s his complete and utter disdain for defense and the fact that at 6’10” and one of the best leapers in the gym he should grab more than 8 rebounds a night playing 40+ minutes like he does.  I don’t think he quite has the desire even though he has all the skill.
17           Duncan
It’s been said before but never more true now that his knees are starting to betray him:  If you like subtleties and the nuances of basketball then you have to watch Tim Duncan.  He just does everything right and is always in the right spot and makes the right decision.  He’ll be able to play till he’s 40 thanks to a consistent 15-foot jump shot and about three post moves that no one has an answer for.  Just challenging drives and boxing out will keep TD an affective player for another 10 years.
18           Steve Nash
Nash is a shining example for taking care of yourself.  When he was a Free Agent years back leaving dallas he was a 31-year-old PG with a bad back that had a soft reputation.  He get’s to Phoenix, D’Antoni builds the Suns around him and the rest is history.  Nash is still going strong all these years later playing a hectic style of basketball.  He makes EVERYONE better, so much so that Robin Lopez became known for being “slightly effective” this season and no longer “Brook Lopez’s sister”.  Nash’s defensive deficiencies are overstated as he’s one of the best at taking charges.  With the way he takes care of his body he could definitely play for another 3-4 years at this elite level; astounding.
19           Chauncey Billups
“The Mr. Big Shot” moniker is over played and doesn’t really hold true.  He’s hit a couple big shots but hasn’t really done much there since his Detroit days.  Instead all Billups has done is make himself into one of the best PGs in the league.  After being drafted by the Celtics and being traded 50 games into the season then bouncing around to a few different teams Billups finally learned what it takes to succeed in the league.  Now Chauncey has become the mold for bigger, physical guards that aren’t as quick as some of the other guys.  He dominates the ball, makes great decisions, and physically imposes his will on opposing PG’s.  This type of behavior rubs off on his teammates and really makes for a tough team. 
20           Andrew Bogut
Part of me is glad that Bogut got hurt because now the Hawks get to play in the 2nd round.  However as a basketball fan I’m royally pissed.  As much as I said Bosh is a treat to watch, so is Bogut.  The Aussie can score with either hand both around the basket and on jump shots and is one of the better passing big men in the NBA.  The thing that makes him so good is his toughness.  Europeans are notoriously soft players more worried about shooting jumpers than banging bodies but Bogut doesn’t run from contact at all.  He is one of the best rebounders around and really holds his own defensively, both blocking shots and just being a presence.  If Bogut comes back 100% and Milwaukee resigns John Salmons they’ll be the 3rd or 4th best team in the East, he’s that good.
21           Manu Ginobili
I wish he didn’t have all the freak/nagging injuries.  When Tony Parker went down Manu had to take on the PG/creator role and flourished.  This shouldn’t have shocked anyone as he was a PG over in Europe where he won multiple MVP’s and was largely considered the best player in the league.    The shock of him being such a good PG stems from the fact that he is also one of the best SG’s in the game.  It amazes me every time I watch him that no one can stop him.  He is ALL left hand and cannot go right, yet he gets to wherever he wants anytime and always make the best decision; again, that’s the mark of a truly great player.
22           Joe Johnson
I had an interesting Twitter debate with The Big Lead (check out TheBigLead.com, great stuff) the other day concerning Joe and he made an interesting point: Yes, Joe is good at what he does and that’s an electric scorer with a variety of shots that can post up, take you off the dribble and shoot 3’s.  However, TBL’s point was that Joe just doesn’t make anyone better.  I think that was most evident this past series against Milwaukee that the Hawks just managed to win in 7 games against an overmatched Bucks team.  John Salmons was playing Joe the entire series and simply got after him.  Salmons caused Joe to shoot a lot of uncomfortable shots and as a result he ended up missing a lot more shots than he took and had some very bad scoring nights.  Well when great players run into this problem they realize they’re not gonna contribute a lot on the scoring load so they pack it in, start carving the defense up with passes, locking down on defense and hustling for loose balls; Joe did none of these things.  He really just continued to try and force his scoring and it ended up hurting the Hawks offensively.  I love Joe but after having that pointed out and watching it first hand I had to drop him down the rankings.  Originally slated at #17 he now clocks in at #23 because of the abilities of the others above him to elevate the games of those around them.

23           Brook Lopez
Young athletic centers don’t grow on trees and this guy is a star in the making. He has DEFINITELY exceeded my expectations for him as I thought he would be a huge sissy and a bust.  He’s proven to be a tough/willing rebounder and really a great low post scorer.  New Jersey isn’t as far from respectability as everything thinks they are because this kid is a great building block.
24           Russell Westbrook
Athletically he’s a rare breed.  His long arms and strong body make him a terror on defense where he loves guarding the best player on the other team (note: OKC has FOUR guys like that! Durant, Westbrook, Sefolosha, Harden).  He’s quietly building a dangerous offensive repertoire and works great with Durant.  His finishing ability makes him one of the best open court guards in the game.
25           Al Horford
10 points, 10 boards usually isn’t a sexy stat line.  It usually doesn’t get you top 25 status, but in Al’s case it does, because it’s not all that he does.  From the minute Al walked through the door in Atlanta his chemistry contributions made Atlanta a better team.  Before when someone fell down on the Hawks the other players just pointed and laughed.  Al brought in the Florida Gators “everyone runs over to pick the guy up” way of working.  He also exhibited leadership right away often being the mediator/negotiator between Mike Woodson and Josh Smith, two guys that have notoriously not seen eye-to-eye.  Combine all that with the fact that Al’s about 6’9” playing the Center position where he consistently out works/muscles the other bigs every night.  Joe Johnson is the best player on the Hawks but Al Horford is the most valuable player on the Hawks. This team would be a 35-40 win team if Zaza Pachulia (a respectable replacement) had to play every night.  With Al they won 53 games!
26           Stephen Curry
Damn I hate he got drafted to the west coast.  If you want to truly enjoy watching basketball you need to catch a game when Curry and Monta Ellis both have it going.  The best thing about Curry and what no one seemed to realize on draft night is that the kid can play with ANYONE.  He can play PG and dish out assists and only shoot when needed or he can flat out light it up and hang 30 on someone on a nightly basis.  He’s efficient with his shooting with great percentages and also has some toughness as he’s thrown in some double digit rebounding efforts for good measure.  He’s the best rookie in the league (another article coming soon) and it’s a damn shame the Thunder didn’t draft him, we’d be watching Kevin Durant light up the Jazz right now.
27           Jason Kidd
The old joke with Kidd was that his name is really “Ason” because he has no J (for Jump shot).  Well now not only is his J completely broken but he should now be called Kid because he lost his D.  It was unfair watching Tony Parker/Manu/George Hill light up Kidd every night, he’s an all time great and shouldn’t be subjected to such abuse.
28           Danny Granger
I really don’t know where to put this guy.  When he plays he’s a monster and a fantasy beast.  If he had played the entire season he’d probably be around 15-20.  He’s a rare breed of player that averages 1 3-pointer made, 1 block and 1 steal per game (LeBron, Durant).  He’s one of the great long distance shooters in the game and can finish at the rim when he drives.  I think we need to withhold judgment and see how he bounces back before making any rash decisions.
29           Brandon Jennings
Consistency – both in level of intensity and his shooting.  When Jennings has it going he’s a one man show which he displayed at times in the Hawks series.  There was a short episode that really showed me what Jennings is made of during that series.  Dan Gadzuric, a veteran big man for the Bucks, gets whistled for a touch foul on a guard where there wasn’t much contact but he brought his arms down trying to block the shot instead of just staying high and making it tough for the offensive player.  Well a timeout gets called before the shooter steps to the line and the camera switches to Gadzuric as he walks off the floor being school by Jennings on how to correctly play that scenario.  Obviously Gadzuric has been playing long enough that he knows what to do but it’s very telling of Jenning’s standing with the team that the veterans are already willing to take tips and listen to the youngster at those moments; it was very Al Horford-esque and portends a bright future for the Rook.
30           Tyreke Evans
Honestly, I probably wouldn’t take him but he’s young, big and very skilled.  He won the ROY trophy even though he played without any pressure whatsoever.  I feel like that’s something Jennings never got enough credit for because Jennings continued to play at a high level even in the middle of a playoff hunt.  We’ll see how Evans holds up as his team gets better and he has to do more winning than just stat stuffing.  Physically he has the tools to be a mismatch his entire career like LeBron and Durant but he’s not as skilled as those guys are.  Just a note: John Calipari is likely to go back-to-back-to-back with top 5 PGs in the NBA draft when John Wall gets drafted in June (Rose, Evans, Wall and likely Brandon Knight in 2011).  Once Wall hits the NBA I imagine his game will transition just fine and he’ll make a run for top 30.
31           Josh Smith – Finally not taking 3’s, still the least offensive aware player in the league.  His highlight real blocks/dunks get the entire team energized.
32           Andre Iguodala – Jack of all trades: good at everything, master of nothing.  He’s not a #1 yet being paid like one
33           LaMarcus Aldridge – solid post moves, still very young, kinda soft. Gets over shadowed by Roy but he’s damn good in his own right
34           Monte Ellis – a straight up hog but it’s ok when he’s hot because he’ll carry a team by himself then.
35           Al Jefferson – If it wasn’t for that Knee injury he’d be top 20, extremely skilled offensively.
36           Blake Griffin – Who knows? Based solely on monster potential
37           Joakim Noah – not what everyone was thinking after his Junior year when he was predicted #1 overall (he went back to school) but has quietly made himself into the 2nd or 3rd best low-post defender in the league (Kendrick Perkins is #1 by a wide margin, watching that guy play post defense is a thing of beauty).
38           Caron Butler – Eh…  I love “tough juice” but he just never seems to be as good as he should be
39           Jameer Nelson – if the shoulder holds up he’ll go into top 30 next year because he’ll start taking over more.
40           Tony Parker – The 6th man role seems to suit him and it bothers me that George Hill outplays him at time but his elite quickness is such an asset.  One of my favorite stats over the past couple years: In 2007 (I’m pretty sure, maybe 2008) Tony Parker led the entire NBA in points-in-the-paint.  Is it a wonder he shoots over 50% from the field?  Everything’s a layup!
41           Carlos Boozer
42           OJ Mayo
43           Andrew Bynum
44           David Lee
45           Nene
46           Rashard Lewis
47           Gerald Wallace
48           Vince Carter
49           Jason Richardson
50           Paul Millsap
51           Antawn Jamison
52           Devin Harris
53           Kevin Martin
54           David West
55           Jeff Green
56           Rudy Gay
57           Kevin Love
58           Trevor Ariza
59           Lamar Odom
60           Stephen Jackson