I'm Sorry Joe

My Dad always said, "Trust Joe D."

After my ranting and raving about why Dumars didn't choose CD-R or DeAndre Jordan, I did some research on why this happened. It didn't take long to find an answer, as this quote comes from today's Detroit News (my emphasis):

"That said, you should know that Douglas-Roberts was never an option for the Pistons, and the fact that he fell to No. 40 in the draft was like a reality check from the basketball gods. The Pistons were the first team to call him. Even before official workouts began, the Pistons asked Douglas-Roberts, a kid from Detroit, if he wanted to begin his workouts with them.

He refused. They asked him again the Monday of draft week if he wanted to conclude his workouts with the Pistons. He refused again.

Douglas-Roberts got some bad advice. He thought he would be picked a lot higher than No. 29. Instead, by refusing to work out for the last 10 teams in the draft, he cost himself first-round guaranteed money.

He wasn't the only player who refused to work out for the Pistons. Jamont Gordon, a guard from Mississippi State, turned the Pistons down and wasn't even drafted. The Pistons made three calls to Chalmers and three times heard, "No, thanks."

This earns a major WTF? Most draft predictions had CDR going in the 22-30 range -- nowhere near the lottery. I can't believe you'd turn down a chance to work out for a championship-caliber team. And for what? I don't get it.

What idiot sat down in a meeting with CDR and these other guys and said, "Hey, I've got a great idea: Don't work out for anyone past 20. That way, people will HAVE to pick you before then." And then these guys all said, "HEY, THAT'S GREAT! THIS IS FOOTBALL!" Um, wait...huh? This type of irrational logic train means that this was probably their agent:

What we're they thinking?

Draft Drama Rages On

A couple of things I need to straighten out about the draft here. I think the easiest way to do this is to just grade the draft's top five picks, and while I may not be Mel Kiper Jr, or own a suit of any kind, or brush my teeth every day, I think I'm just as qualified in my own right. So here goes.

First Pick-Chicago Bulls-Derrick Rose (PG, Memphis)-A
Here's the facts-no matter who the Bulls could have had at this pick, this is the right choice. In the professional game right now, nothing is more essential that a strong play caller, a team leader. Just look at what Chris Paul has achieved this year in New Orleans-he has almost singlehandedly brought the franchise back from the dead. Rose can do the same thing in Chicago-and not only that, he wants to. A Chicago homeboy, Derrick Rose has dreamed of playing for the Bulls since he was young, and Rose's skill and natural leadership ability are exactly what the Bulls need. Maybe he can even keep that punk Noah in check till the Bulls can just admit their mistake and cut him.

Second Pick-Miami Heat-Michael Beasley (PF, Kansas State)-A
Yep, this is also the correct second pick. This early in the draft, addressing need isn't even an issue. When you have a chance to get a potential superstar like Beasley, you can't pass it up. Pat Riley knows this, and that's why he took him. But that's the thing about Beasley-he does fill needs-huge needs for the Heat, including scoring, rebounding, and, oh yeah, playing basketball (unlike some of the team). Does he make them a contender again in the east, paired with the second round selection of Mario Chalmers? No. Not yet. In three years? Maybe...

Third Pick-Memphis Grizzlies (via trade)-OJ Mayo (SG, USC)-B-
Mayo is supposed to be the replacement for Pau Gasol, the man who recently helped the Lakers lose the NBA title. But is he? Absolutely not. Mayo is your typical USC athlete-he has a huge head, he has taken money to play, and he is massively overrated. Just go back to the tape of when Michael Beasley's Wildcats flattened the Trojans in the NCAA tournament this year. It's a great preview of Mayo's future.

Fourth Pick-Seatle SuperSonics-Russell Westbrook (PG, UCLA)-B+
This is a good pick. Westbrook might be what Durant has been waiting for in Seatle-someone to take some of the load off his shoulders. Westbrook averaged 12.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.3 assists this year (ESPN.com), and if he's able to transfer that over to the pro level, he can certainly help the aililng Sonics at least get a little closer to .500.

Fifth Pick-Minnesota Timberwolves-Kevin Love (PF-UCLA)-B
Another sexy pick, and a guy who would be hard to pass on. I wonder about his ability to succeed in the pros, especially in a place like Minnesota. As hyped as he was in college, he also had a great team behind him, which he wont have in Minnesota. Still, he's the right pick.


OJ Mayo is talented, but he is hugely overrated
and has something of a big head.

I'll just quickly list off my thoughts on the rest of the draft.

Picks I Like
Danilo Gallinari (SF, Italy)-NY Knicks
Joe Alexander (SF, West Virginia)-Milwaukee Bucks
D.J. Augustin (PG, Texas)-Charlotte Bobcats
Roy Hibbert (C, Georgetown)-Indiana Pacers (via trade)
JaVale McGee (C, Nevada)-Washington Wizards

Picks I Don't Like
Eric Gordon (SG, Indiana)-LA Clippers
Brook Lopez (C, Stanford)-NJ Nets
DJ White (PF, Indiana)-Detroit Pistons (see below)
J. R. Giddens (SG, New Mexico)-Boston Celtics

So that's that. Make a note, in a year, you will see, these were all correct.

-Shylock

WTF PISTONS?

First of all, kudos to the Miami Heat for reading my blog yesterday and doing exactly as I said. Beasley is going to be dynamic for them, and they stole Mario Chalmers (another Kennedy mention yesterday) in the second round. Miami has solidified themselves as a legitimate Eastern Conference champion threat yet again.

One of the other legitimate Eastern Conference finals contenders, however, baffled me with their draft picks last night. The Detroit Pistons lost this year and the past three years in the Eastern Conference Finals, and Joe Dumars was adamant that the Pistons were going to get younger and more athletic to change the dynamic of the team. The mess started last night when the Pistons picked at 29, with both DeAndre Jordan and Chris Douglas-Roberts (my personal pick) still on the board.

The Pistons have always stated their desire to find a strong low post presence, since Rasheed Wallace insists on floating out near the perimeter and doesn't demand the ball when the pressure is on. The Pistons have also been looking for a legitimate backup to Tayshaun Prince for years - both Carlos Delfino and Jarvis Hayes have failed miserably to fill that role. So here you have two quality players to fill either of those needs so late in the draft. So what does Joe Dumars do? He takes DJ White out of Indiana and then promptly trades him off for additional second round picks. WTF?

My only thought here is that JD is ridding the Pistons of guaranteed contracts, in the hopes of making a run at a big free agent next summer (Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh will all be on the market among others). That's why I don't think the Pistons will trade Rasheed Wallace - his contract is expiring.

Still though, isn't it worth a rookie contract to fill up one of your two biggest needs? Douglas-Roberts is a slasher who puts the ball into the basket. Jordan is 6-11 and plays the 5 with strength.

I was wrong about the Pistons latest gem below - I thought they should've taken Nick Young last year.

Prove me wrong again Joe. Please?

South Beach Dumbasses

The NBA Draft will be commencing in just a few hours, and the debate about not only who should go #1, but who should go #2, rages on as well.

Clearly, Derrick Rose is the top prospect in the draft. He's going to be an excellent point guard in the NBA - he's tough, gets to the rim, and is sexy smooth. His performance in the NCAA Tournament this year solidified him as an elite talent, and I almost rode his ass to a win in bracketology (thanks Mario Chalmers). But what in the world is Chicago thinking taking Rose first overall? Yes, his passion for Chicago has been clearly stated:

"(If I get passed on by the Bulls) I'll hate it. Anybody would hate their hometown not taking you, knowing that it could happen," Rose said. "But the biggest thing was playing in the NBA. My work ethic isn't going to change."

But you don't take a player simply because he wants to play for you, the most important issue in drafting a player is to shore up your weaknesses, and excuse me if I'm not thrilled with Mr. Noah's low-post ability.

Bottom line: Chicago should take Michael Beasley #1 overall. Forget about the character issues, the kid has a sense of humor and isn't a robot -- he's going to make mistakes. But Beasley is going to be a top scorer, and could come in and help the Bulls right away with a flexible inside-out game that the Bulls have been missing for years. In short, Beasley would be a tough match-up for a lot of opponents.

The same goes for the Miami Heat. The general consensus is that Chicago is going to take hometown kid Rose as their floor general of the future, leaving Beasley to fall into the laps of the hapless Heat. Bottom lime here: Miami definitely should take Michael Beasley #2 overall. Don't give me Udonis Haslem, don't give me Ricky Davis, Beasley is straight-up dynamic, and wouldn't have to counted on to score right away. He could grow into his position as the third option behind D-Wade and Shawn Marion. The problem here is that Miami might not take him - most reports have them citing character issues. Instead, they want to take OJ Mayo. Ummm, what? Sure, take the guy who accepted thousands of dollars in benefits instead.

Hey Miami, if you pass on Beasley, you deserve every loss you get next year, and I hope there's 72 of them. You can kiss Wade goodbye after the season (free agency), and Riley might finally run out of the hair oil and denture cream required to get him up in the morning.

Beasley wasn't considered as good as Tyler Hansblow for nothing. Don't make the mistake on passing up both an intriguing personality and super-upside player.




And 1.

A little hatred with your morning coffee?

Gotta talk about Don Imus here. Seems like this guy just can't stay out of the spotlight! His recent comments about Adam "Pacman" Jones, can be seen below.



Imus is now saying that what he meant was to stick up for Pacman, that he was implying (somehow) that Pacman's repeated arrests were only happening because he is black, and that he was sticking up for Pacman. Now, maybe that's what he meant. Maybe Imus is all about sticking up for the little guy now, and has been tragically misunderstood here. But I'm going to have to doubt that. If Donny Imus had half a brain, he'd know that there is a massive target on his back, and that the last thing he should even think about doing is making any kind of comment about the black community. That said, Imus is a shock jock, he has made his name saying stuff like this, and only recently has anyone cared. Let's go in the way back machine for a minute. The following information comes from Fair.org.

"Shortly before Christmas last year, syndicated radio star and MSNBC host Don Imus called the book publishers Simon & Schuster “thieving Jews” (Imus in the Morning, 12/15/04), returning to the subject later in the program to offer a mock apology, saying that the phrase he used was “redundant.”" (Fair.org)

Hmm. Now that is interesting. How about the incident with MSNBC News Anchor Contessa Brewer?

“That skank has to spend three hours with makeup in the morning … Who’s she kidding? . . . Plus, she’s dumber than dirt … Oh, my God, what a pig. But I was willing to cut her some slack and not say anything, you know, until - in fact, I didn’t say anything . . . That’s why they have those big double-doors there at MSNBC, you know, so they can get her fat ass in makeup.” (outsidethebeltway.com)

Those are two horrible, disgusting, anti-semitic and sexist comments that Imus made four and three years ago, respectively. Both flew WAY under the radar by comparison to the recent comments.

I'm not saying that what he said about the Rutgers team was right. And I'm not saying that the Pacman comments were right. What I'm saying is, there are two choices here. Either this man is a racist, or he makes his money off playing one on the air. Not only that, but he's been doing it for a long time. So here's my question. How come it took him offending someone black to become such a national issue? The "nappy headed hoes" comment seems tame compared to these two. Why is this kind of hatred allowed to be nationally broadcast for as long as it has been?

-Shylock

How Does It Taste?

Couldn't disagree more with Shy. Come on! This is hilarious! I am neither a Shaq or Kobe fan, but this video is funny on so many levels. First of all, the rap is AWFUL, which only adds to the flavor! I especially love when he vamps at the end, having clearly ran out of creative inspiration/pre-written material. But he makes it work when he gets the crowd of underage teens at the club to all scream in unison, "Tell me how my ass tastes!" I will undoubtedly be using this phrase in Halo 3 soon.

On the credentials debate: Shaq has nothing left to prove to the league. Yes, Shy, Kobe is the MVP this year and his team went to the NBA Finals where they got cock-slapped by the Celtics. But guess what, Shaq got to the Finals two years ago and he WON when he got there. Shaq's won MVP's before when he had to share the ball with Kobe! The Big Aristotle doesn't need to win again to prove anything. Shaq was the most dominant and feared player in the league for the last ten years. At some point, he's going to age and lose that title. But I don't think there's any harm in having a little fun with the guy who ran you out of town.

Tell me how my ass tastes.

"BIG"-yeah, right.

Shylock here. I have to say, if you haven't clicked on Kennedy's link to the video of Mr. O'Neal "freestyle rapping" about Kobe, it's a must see. Here's the facts-this year, Kobe Bryant was not only the MVP of the entire league, but he also lead his team to a conference championship in what was arguably the most competitive Western Conference in recent memory. The guy was solid all year (and for most of his career)-and is undoubtedly one of the most consistent players IN THE GAME. Okay, done.

Enter Shaquille O'Neal (or what's left of him). Shaq is completely washed up-he was part of a blockbuster trade this year that ended up being a glorified nothing, as he and the suns were knocked out in five games in the FIRST ROUND. He is getting old, all his critics were spot on about him this year, and lately, he hasn't had much to brag about except being overpaid. Top that off with the fact that he can't even rap. For crying out loud Shaq, put down the mic. In fact, it's probably time to take the rings and go home, big guy.



Shaq says this whole freestyle thing was in good fun, and that he and Kobe are on fine terms, but GIVE ME A BREAK. It's one thing to say one time in a freestyle, "Kobe, how my ass taste," it's something entirely different to say it over and over and get the entire crowd in on it. These dudes hate each other. And for what it's worth, if I'm Kobe Bryant (someday), I'm sitting on my couch watching all the ESPN reports on TV and laughing my ass off, because I've got a conference championship and an MVP award, and Shaq has been playing golf for about two months now.

-Shylock

Kobe, Tell Me How My Ass Tastes

By now, you've probably seen the Shaq "freestyle" video dissing Kobe. If you haven't, you can check it out here. I'm going to let Shylock get the first word on this topic, and then I'll hit him back with a counterpoint.

Hello World

Welcome to Shylock and Kennedy, the blog that no one will read, for the show that will never be. Everyone (mostly just us two) always tells us we should have our own sports radio show, and since we don't live within 1,000 miles of each other, a deal with espn, or a chance in hell of actually having a show, we decided to start this blog instead.

We are Shylock and Kennedy. We're going to cover anything and everything in the world of sports - and we often don't agree. However, we share the one common dream that some day we'll get to run out of the tunnel, with swinging cocks and maize and blue helmets blaring: