FanNation

Brotherly Love

Elton Brand signed with Philadelphia, and everything went crazy. Brand opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers and said that he would like to come back. He didn't say "I will be coming back to play with the Clippers even if they don't bring back Corey Maggette and they offer me less money, and I have the chance to get more money on a better team". He didn't say that, but you would have thought that he did. So, Brand went from the West Coast to Phlly, and set off the drama.

Can you really blame him? Tell me, if you got offered $82 million, would you turn it down? I know that I woudln't. In fact, I would take that deal faster than you can imagine. Next, look at the circumstances. Brand was offered more money to play for a better team. He was also offered less money to play for a team that didn't have as good of a chance at making the playoffs. If you look at that, is it really so bad that Brand took the deal? He gets to team up with Ande Iguodala, Andre Miller and Samuel Dalembert. He will play a key component of a team that can be considered a legitimate contender to win the Eastern Conference.

But in order to get the money to sign Brand, the 76ers needed to create more cap space. This is where the situation gets interesting for me, and my fellow Timberwolves fans. Minnesota held the mid-level exception, which they had gotten in the Ricky Davis trade. So the Wolves trade the mid-level exception and a second round pick to the 76ers so they can sign Brand. What do they get in return? Rodney Carney, a former lottery pick who is still just 24 and averaged 5.8 points in just 14.9 minutes. They got Calvin Booth, someone who will be gone once his contract is up, and will save some salary. And, they get a first round pick!

Did Kevin McHale just make a good trade? I think he did! Summarzing it all, they get a great talent in Rodney Carney, some cap space and a first round pick. All they had to give up was an exception that wouldn't have been used for a while, anyway, and a second round pick. If McHale can pull together a string of trades like this, the Wolves could be a winning team in no time.

An Interesting Development

This is a story that isn't getting much attention, but I find it very interesting. Washington Nationals GM Jim Bowden and his assistant Jose Rijo are being investingated by Major League Baseball for their roles in a scandal involving that included signing bonues, young prospects from the Dominican Republic, and skimming money. Jim Bowden is a former General Manager of the Cincinatti Reds, who was once the youngest GM in MLB history, and Jose Rijo was a former pitcher in the MLB for the Cincinatti Reds.

The investigation started a few months ago with Chicago White Sox Senior Personell Director Dave Wilder, and two White Sox scouts. When trying to re-enter the United States, Wilder was stopped, a common process. The unusual part was that after returning from the Dominican Republic, Wilder had $40,000. Cash. All three (Wilder and the two scouts) were later fired by the White Sox. However, not much more information has come out involving the case.

Recently, a case came out against Bowden and Rijo. In 2006, the Nationals signed a SS from the Dominican Republic. His name is Esmailyn Gonzalez. He was awarded a $1.4 million signing bonus, which is a pretty large signing bonus. However, according to the case, he got almost none of it. Over time, it was skimmed and taken from him by multiple people. This ties in with Bowden and Rijo because they could be the ones at the top of it all, and could suffer some serious consequences.

What does it all mean? Federal investigators are investingating both Bowden, and Rijo. If they are convicted, they could be facing felony fraud charges. If convictions happen, both Rijo and Bowden could be looking at some serious jail time. It would be especially interesting for Rijo, since he is from the Dominican Republic. So, be watching in the future, as many more cases like the previous two could come up.

Why?

Earlier this week, Jacksonville Jaguars WR Matt Jones was arrested. Jones and two of his friends were found in Fayetville, Arkansas, (The location of the Unversity of Arkansas, where Jones played college football) and were arrested early in the morning. Jones was found cutting up cocaine with a credit card. When seraching the car, police officers found more cocaine, and possible residue of other drugs. Jones has since said that the cocaine was not his. This didn't get all that much attention, and it just seemed to be more of the same; athletes getting busted with drugs. Why is cocaine such a problem with athletes?

Jones was a former first round pick of the Jaguars, and is still just 25 years old. Although his career isn't looking like a Hall of Fame one, Jones has the potential to be a very good WR. Although, we might as well say had. Last year, Jones had problems with coach Jack Del Rio about his work ethic, among other things, and he was de-activated for three games. He still had a chance to be a good player, but this might have been the last straw.

Darryl Strawberry hit 26+ HR's nine straight years, including 39 in both 1987 and 1988, despite missing games both years. He had the potential to be one of the best power hitters of out generation, but he had problems with cocaine. Dwight Gooden went 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and won the Triple Crown; as a 20 year old. He won the Cy Young award, and after a few years, he was generating speculation that he could easily be a Hall of Famer. He began to develop drug problems, mostly with cocaine. Len Bias was drafted second overall by the Boston Celtics. Compared by some to Michael Jordan, and compared to David Thompson by others, Bias had the talent to be one of the greatest NBA players ever. Just a few days after getting drafted, Bias died from a cocaine overdose.

Do we see a pattern here? Athletes who had great potential ran into drug problems. And that is just some of the guys who were involved with it. I'm not going to fault them because let's be honest; we aren't them. We don't know why they did it, or what their problems were. At least, not from their point of view. But if this trend continues, who knows how many more young athletes will have their careers cut short from cocaine?

Look Who's There

Yes, I am talking about the St. Louis Cardinals. The 53-43 Cardinals, that is. Those guys have the second best record in the National League. They are just four and a half games out of first place, and if the playoffs started today, would be the National League Wild Card. It is the All-Star break, and St. Louis is just one of eight NL teams that have a positive run differential (Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Milwaukee, Arizona and Los Angeles are the others).

So, how are they doing it? They are led by one of the best players in the Major Leagues, Albert Pujols. He is hitting an incredible .350 with 18 HR's and 50 RBI's. They are getting a surprising great season from Ryan Ludwick He leads the team in HR's with 21 and RBI's with 65. However, he is at his best with Pujols in the lineup. Without him, Ludwick hit just .188. Another OF who is having a very good season is Rick Ankiel. I'm sure you all know his story, so I won't go into that. But he is hitting .270 with 20 HR's and 60 RBI's. Troy Glaus has been a good accquisition from the Scott Rolen trade, as he has been good for 15 HR's and 59 RBI's. Of couse, they also have gotten production from Skip Schumaker. Schumaker is hitting .293, and has been a great surprise with 91 hits so far.

Pitching-wise, the Cardinals have also gotten success from guys that you wouldn't expect. Kyle Lohse has anchored the rotation, going 11-2 with a 3.39 ERA. Oh man...Kyle Lohse. Anyway, they also have gotten solid production from both Todd Wellemeyer and Braden Looper. Wellemeyer is 7-4 and leads the team with 75 strikeouts, while allowing just 31 walks. Looper has gone 9-7 while pitching more than 112 innings so far. In the bullpen, they are anchored by Ryan Franklin, who is filling in very nicely as a closer and has 12 saves so far. And of course, don't forget about Tony LaRussa. He is keeping the team together, and is arguably the National League Manager of the Year.

So, where are the regular guys we are used to haering from in St. Louis? Mark Mulder came back last week, only to leave in the first inning because of his shoulder, and is once again on the DL. Mulder is a very good pitcher when healthy, but he hasn't been healthy the last few years. Jason Insringhausen was actually activated today, and should be ready to go after the All-Star break. He will be a big help to the bullpen as a veteran. But, maybe they will be looking for a pitcher? With Milwaukee getting C.C. Sabathia and the Cubs getting Rich Harden, the Cardinals could go out and get someone such as A.J. Burnett from Toronto. The NL Central could get very interesting the second half of the season.

Stars of the Summer

Get your summer basketball here! The NBA Summer League has started in Las Vegas. Unlike the other time the NBA was in Vegas, Pacman, (Or should I say Adam) Jones is nowhere to be found, and thankfully he isn't committing crimes. But much like the other time the NBA was in Vegas, the hype is everywhere. So, without farther adeiu, I will give you a run-down of some of what has been going down in the Summer League.

The biggest story was the first game featuring the Miam Heat and the Chicago Bulls. But in this day and age, there is no team concept; it was Team Derrick Rose versus Team Michael Beasley. Beasley stole the show dropping 28 on Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thoma, in just 23 minutes. On the other hand, Rose had just ten points on 3-8 shooting. Running the point, he had four assists and five turnovers. Second round steal Mario Chalmers had eleven points and six assists, while playing very good defense on Rose. Nice call about Chalmers, 0x. Thanks. In an unrelated note, Rose was pulled over for going 106 in a 65 zone.

However, Beasley went just 1-13 from the field in his second game. Guarded by Brook Lopez, Beasley went 0-9 in the first half with five turnovers and five fouls; he finished with seven. Lopez was the star of the game finishing with 18, as did other first round pick Ryan Anderson. Mario Chalmers did finish with 19 points and nine asssits. Boy, Chalmers looks good doesn't he? :) However, after the frustrating game, Beasley did acknowledge that "Every part of my game needs to get stronger". It's refreshing to see someone like Beasley say something like that.

As for other rookies, D.J. Augustin has had more turnovers than assists so far, with just three assists. Anthony Randolph went off for 30 in his first game. Both of the Grizzlies rookies have struggled; O.J. Mayo has been turning over the ball a lot, and Darrell Arthur finished his last game with just three points, but nine fouls. Eric Gordon has been hurt, although he is supposed to be playing soon. Russell Westbrook has been averaging almost 17 points and has looked very good. Kevin Love has yet to play, so we'll see about him.

Although, I guess too much shouldn't be put into all of this. Von Wafer and Marcus Banks hold the scoring records for the Summer League with 42, each. The top three rebounding records are held by Lonnie Jones and James Singleton. The assist record is held by Jose Barea. What am I saying? To dominate in the Summer League, well, it doesn't lead to domination in the NBA. Even so, I still find it fairly enjoyable.