blog.grahamallen.net

So Joe Maddon says the chances of a deal are 50/50? Don’t look now guys, but the Yankees are gaining ground and…….one moment…….this just in……..THEY JUST SIGNED THE GUY YOU NEEDED!!!!

As I sit here, the Rays have just put a single run across against the Royals in the second inning. A single run seems to be a common thing these last couple of weeks. It’s almost predictable. You can count on our starting pitchers to give up two runs at the most. You can count on our bats to produce four runs scattered over nine innings and leave about fifteen on base.

What you can’t count on is our bullpen. Mad props to Grant Balfour for having that wicked fastball of his, but our bullpen seems to think they’re playing for last year’s team. A solid night is followed by a horrible night is followed by a solid night and so on.

Wait, this just in. It looks like the Yankees aren’t done yet. Look for Jarrod Washburn to be wearing pinstripes by weekend’s close. Call me a cynic or whatever you might (I’ve earned this living through the first twenty VERY thin years of the Buccaneers), but the underdog just became more so. And with a “deal being 50/50″ we have to hope that the ship rights sooner rather than later and that all the talk of Rocco Baldelli coming alive is not fluff to make us feel comfortable with the fact that there will be no Jason Bay and no Xavier Nady.

Three weeks ago, the Red Sox were our greatest threat and our worst adversary. Look out folks….that monster from the Bronx has finally left the runway and they…..are……AIRBORNE…..

Note to ownership: You might want to give a little more than 50/50 consideration to getting that deal done, because the likelihood of surviving this Yankees surge is much less than surviving the consistency the Red Sox have shown. This surge is looking more and more likely to be come an accepted 2008 norm from the Yanks. Here’s the problem: You produced a team we could get behind and rally behind. You are pushing the “last chance for season ticket packages”. I’ll make a deal with you: You demonstrate your dedication to us and we’ll demonstrate our dedication to you. We like what you’ve done so far, but the bar has been raised. This is what life is like in the sports world and I, for one, am hoping you’re prepared

 It’s that time of year again!!!!!

Training Camp is days away, so it’s time to deliver the 2008 of my annual Bucs Report.

This off-season brought little fanfare other than the signing of Center Jeff Faine and a draft that was unfortunately not very strong at our position of greatest need: Wide Receiver. While the team could have made a greater effort to sign one of the so-called big-name free agent Receivers, the market seemed a bit thin in free agency and, in my honest opinion, demonstrated a gross overpayment of seemingly mid-tier players at that position. So the front office continued in their normal fashion, finding more cap-friendly cast-offs to provide an opportunity for development.

The 2007 season (a season I commonly refer to as the phantom 11-5 season) delivered a 9-7 record, a Division Title, a home playoff game and an abrupt playoff exit for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Though the tools for rebuilding were being placed, there is still significant room for the team to grow talent-wise and, allegedly, significant cap space remaining to be filled. The early playoff loss to the inevitable Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, though disappointing, was also marked by key injuries to Jeff Garcia and Joey Galloway, which significantly limited the time the offense was able to stay on the field. In true Tampa Bay fashion, Buccaneers fans made certain there was ample seating for Giants fans to attend this game. Being in attendance, I found this a deeply disappointing and continuously disturbing trend (RE: 2005 Redskins game, Rays-Red Sox games, etc.).

But, fear not, as I am hopeful that with an added year of seasoning and the addition of Faine, coupled with the least discussed and likely most important acquisition in the off-season of Brian Griese, this team should be somewhat improved on offense and should be able to move the ball effectively even in the absence of Garcia. Then again, there are those constant rumors of Brett Favre circulating in every football market in the country these days. I’ll leave that business to the front office, though I have to admit, it is certainly an intriguing thought. Alas, the Almighty Favre has stated he prefers cooler weather. The return of Warrick Dunn brings competition to a fairly loaded backfield that also includes Cadillac Williams, Earnest Graham and Michael Bennett. With Cadillac’s availability questionable and Dunn’s age a lingering concern, Graham would appear to be the heavy favorite to carry the load for the team in 2008. Particularly after posting an impressive breakout campaign in 2007. Given last year’s return to a run-heavy presence by the Buccaneers, our offensive concerns now lie with the passing game.

The bigger question to be answered is the psychological state of Jeff Garcia after an off-season of deeply rooted criticism of the organization. Will Jeff Garcia be able to overcome what he feels was an underhanded effort by the team to rob him of duly earned money? After a long drought of inconsistent Offensive Line play following the departure of Paul Gruber in 1999, the line has become a seemingly cohesive unit that can be credited with the improvement in the running game in 2007, though when faced with a punishing Giants Pass Rush during the Wild Card game in the playoffs, the ghost of O-Line past seemed to surface once again. Last, will a receiving corps that added rookie Dexter Jackson and Free Agent acquisition Antonio Bryant be deep enough and improved enough to deliver an improved product to the Tampa Bay offense? These are the questions that need to be answered. Having watched the NFL Scouting Combine, I was intrigued by the pure speed of Dexter Jackson, but his size leaves much to be desired at the position (NOTE: He did not appear to be 5′9″ tall when watching the Combine). Antonio Bryant was a 1,000 Yard Receiver in Cleveland in 2005, but his off-field issues had him run out of San Francisco after his first season with the team in 2006. Speculation out of summer workouts is that Bryant has looked very impressive, but there is still doubt as to his ability to sustain this through Training Camp and into the season. Last, there will be huge questions lingering over Michael Clayton and Maurice Stovall. Stovall made a distinct impression with his special teams play prior to being injured last season, however, he has yet to translate his potential into pure receiving skills at the NFL level. Clayton, on the other hand, rushed out of the gate during his rookie campaign four years ago and has fallen into obscurity since. Last, will Joey Galloway be able to remain injury free as a 36-year old Wide Receiver?

The 2007 Buccaneers defense returned to prominence, however, they lacked the intense pass rush from the front four that defined the Tampa Two system that caught on ten years ago. Additionally, the unit saw the departure of Brian Kelly, a key component playing opposite Ronde Barber. To compensate, the team spent their first round pick on Cornerback Aqib Talib out of Kansa, however, speculation is that Talib will play the Nickel in 2008. There are also questions about his off-field issues, mostly centered around Marijuana. Feel free to correct me, but I do believe we drafted a defensive player in the mid-1990s with similar off-field issues and I do believe that guy might just end up with a bust in Canton. Phillip Buchanon was a surprisingly adequate player as a reserve, but will he be able to carry the load as a starter opposite the seasoned Barber? If the secondary corner is an exploitable position, the Buccaneers could face some serious problems in pass defense.

Training Camp is going to be the first glimpse of how these questions are going to be answered and I, as a fan of this team and a fan of the game, am looking forward to making my annual trip to Disney to watch the festivities and perhaps snap some action photos as I always do.

In all, I think the Bucs have a realistic shot to repeat as Division Champs, though I say that somewhat reluctantly given the history of the NFC South. Division history aside, and dependent on whether or not the Saints bounce back from a VERY inconsistent season, my pre-Training Camp prediction has the Buccaneers winning the division at 10-6, the Saints winning the wild card at 10-6, the Panthers showing moderate improvement based on the rookie additions of Otah and Stewart at 9-7 and the Falcons completely tanking at 3-13, despite the additions of Michael Turner and Matt Ryan. As I have stated emphatically in the past, I would never rest my season on the shoulders of a rookie Quarterback and I think that the growing pains are going to make it difficult for Turner to move out of the backfield, especially with the perceived lack of talent in their receiving corps.

Players I am most anxious to watch in Training Camp: Sabby Piscatelli, Aqib Talib, Antonio Bryant, Michael Clayton, Dexter Jackson, Warrick Dunn, Barrett Ruud and the entire Offensive and Defensive Line units.

I will revisit these questions and my pre-season prediciton once Training Camp and the Pre-Season wrap up. I am looking forward to the start of both the NFL and NHL seasons this fall and am hopeful that Gruden will be able to make the most out of a mixed-bag of offensive talent.

Now that the Lightning have officially been handed over to the new ownership group and they have made good on their promise to be “very aggressive” in Free Agency, it is time to show some summertime love for my team.

With the laundry list of names that are coming in and going out (mostly coming in), I want to keep this post as short as possible to generally summarize the moves the team has made within the front office and on the roster.

Following is as thorough a list of incoming front office personnel as I could find:

• Oren Koules, Owner
• Len Barrie, Owner
• Russell Belinsky, Owner
• Mark Burg, Owner
• Jordan Zimmerman, Owner
• Dr. Richard C. Lehman, Owner
• Irwin Novack, Owner
• Craig Sher, Owner
• Brian Lawton, Vice President of Hockey Operations
• Mike Vernon, Special Assistant to the Vice President of Hockey Operations

Following is the incoming coaching staff:

• Barry Melrose, Head Coach
• Rick Tocchet, Assistant Coach
• Wes Walz, Assistant Coach
• Cap Raeder, Assistant Coach

And, last, following is a list of incoming players:

• Ryan Malone
• Radim Vrbata
• Matthew Carle
• Janne Niskala*
• Mark Recchi
• Olaf Kolzig
• Evgeny Artyukhin*
• Vaclav Prospal
• Brandon Bochenski
• Adam Hall
• Andrew Hutchinson
• Gary Roberts
• Wyatt Smith
• Ty Wishart
• Scott Jackson*
• David Koci*

Players with an asterisk are players that are not listed as part of the team by the NHL or the NHLPA, but have been listed in official articles or weblogs as having signed with the Lightning in some capacity.

The list of outgoing players and personnel is somewhat slim in comparison. No longer with the team are John Tortorella, Jay Feaster, Dan Boyle, Andre Roy*, Matthew Darche*, Andreas Karlsson*, and Karl Stewart*. Players with an asterisk denote players that were under contract through 2007 but have not been re-signed by the team.

So there’s been a lot of movement. The history of sports dictates that this can be a good thing or it can be a bad thing. Generally, when a new ownership group takes over, you expect a certain amount of turnover and collateral damage. This certainly seems to be the case here. Of course, those of you who know me know that I’m certainly not crying or losing sleep over John Tortorella’s departure and am only losing a very small amount of sleep over Feaster’s departure.  You can’t put a last place product on the ice and expect to stay, particularly when there has been a measurable, steady and finite decline since winning the Stanley Cup four years ago. What I can say for sure is that this ownership group promised to be aggressive out of the gate and they have certainly kept their word. What I can’t say as of this writing is how that will translate on the ice this season or in seasons to come. But I can speculate from a fan’s perspective.

Before I get into speculation, I wanted to talk about the Town Hall Meeting held at the St. Pete Times Forum this past Tuesday. I enjoyed this event tremendously. Not only did it give the fans an opportunity to mingle with the new ownership group, the new head coach and the centerpiece of our team, it also presented opportunities to purchase merchandise and beer at a significantly reduced cost. About halfway through the community question and answer session, I decided I had heard enough of questions that were not going to be answered and wanted to lighten the mood a bit. I expressed to the ownership group that if there were any questions on having to sell hockey to the city of Tampa, they were unfounded and followed with a light-hearted request to have Melrose wigs offered at the home opener. To my surprise, Barry Melrose himself seized the opportunity to poke fun at my own personal “do”, asking how I managed to get it to stick up. This was almost the highlight of my day until the end of the event when the floor was opened up for fans to mingle with the owners, Melrose and Vinny. We spoke to Barry Melrose briefly and then Oren Koules sought me out to discuss my marketing question (I had also been approached by a young fellow in a suit that was apparently part of the marketing department). I won’t discuss the particulars of that conversation, in part because no definitive answers were provided, but also out of respect for the element of surprise. This event was more than worth the price of admission and my only regret is that I wasn’t in any position to put down funds on a ticket package at that time.

Of course, during the question and answer session, the questions that have been burning on everyone’s mind were posed:

1) What about the defense and are we going to sign this guy or that guy or the other guy? Honestly, I’m not sure what people expected them to say. It is well known fact that ownership groups, General Managers and Coaches don’t publicly discuss their personnel planning and were only going to give the glazed over broad response. Seriously. I got so sick to my stomach listening to people trying to fish for answers that weren’t coming it made me ill.

2) How do you respond to the allegations of mistreatment by Dan Boyle? Again, what was the anticipated response? Did we think they were going to come out and say: “Yeah, well we gave ole Danny Boy the shaft and we did it with intent and malice”. Judging by my brief interactions, these guys were cordial, inviting and down to Earth. Though I understand the disappointment Dan Boyle must have felt in being taken down a path he didn’t anticipate going down, the business of hockey (or any sport, for that matter) dictates that plans can change at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately, in this situation, his contract was far too great to share on a roster with Vinny Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis and down the road, Steven Stamkos.

3) (To Melrose) What about those comments about the Lightning in 2004? Now, seriously, did we have to go there? I’ve stated this in response to some of the local media blogs, but I will reiterate here: Barry Melrose was a hockey analyst for a major media outlet and was tasked in this position with providing concise, educated and objective hockey commentary. He did exactly that and he was wrong. Show me a sports analyst that is always right and I’ll show you a psychic. Seriously, these guys are wrong from time to time. I certainly enjoyed Melrose’s spin much more than the likes of a Howie Long or a Chris Collinsworth on the NFL side.

4) OMMFGROFLOL…..But what about Andre Roy? Seriously folks, Andre Roy is a highly entertaining individual and I, as much as any other fan of the Lightning have enjoyed watching him do his thing over the years. I’ve watched Andre hold his own in a fight with Donald Brashear….something few are able to do. But entertainment doesn’t win games. With the aggressive fourth-line players that have been brought together who also exhibit some level of pure hockey ability, Andre Roy simply doesn’t fit in. Granted, he has the hardest shot I have ever seen as much as Martin Straka has the fastest skates I’ve ever seen. But his shot has no control and rarely finds a home in the net. If Andre doesn’t come back, I will certainly be there with everyone missing the chants of “We Want Roy”, but I’m not going to say that I don’t think the team can and will be better without him. He’s not an asset in the purest hockey sense.

With those questions addressed, this brings us to the heart of the matter. New faces, new questions and what would seem like a major deficiency in talent along the blueline. I’ll touch on the Defense first.

From a casual fan’s perspective, I am not entirely convinced that we know what level of talent we have on this team along the blueline. Anyone who watched Tortorella’s system with any level of tactile analysis understands very well that our blueliners played deep into the offensive zone, often leaving the neutral zone wide open for the odd-man rush.  Additionally, I’ve watched for the four years that I’ve been back in Tampa as players at all positions along all of the lines show a complete lack of fundamentals. Passing had a tendency to be sloppy and inconsistent, shooting sloppy and inconsistent and defense sloppy and inconsistent. Any expert in any sport will tell you that a team that lacks in fundamentals is going to have a hard time winning. Conversely, if our current lineup of blueliners are as dreadful as many fans and analysts are speculating, all the more reason to sign the great number of prospects that have been a part of this transition. Seriously. This year may NOT be a successful year, but if it isn’t the future sure as hell looks brighter than it did three weeks ago. And it most definitely looks more aggressive.

Of course, this touches on Feaster’s departure and his impact on the team. While Jay Feaster can be credited with building the team that ultimately won the Stanley Cup, he can also be credited with depleting the farm. In any sport that has a farm system, be it hockey or baseball or even basketball to a smaller degree, that farm system is going to be the future and direction of a franchise. This franchise has been short on NHL caliber prospects for quite some time. It is the responsibility of the General Manager to ensure that all player personnel moves and acquisitions are aligned with the direction of the franchise. Jay Feaster failed to maintain an adequate farm system to take us through the difficult transition from the pre-cap era to the cap era. Whether he was forced out, encouraged to get out or simply decided to leave, it was time for both him AND Tortarella to go.

From all appearances, we certainly seem to be more than stocked along our forward lines. Running three scoring lines deep where we were lucky if we had two just a few short weeks ago, this should certainly make for some interesting hockey. Add to that a fourth line that appears to be built with a dual-purpose of hard-nosed, bruised and bloody hockey while still retaining a certain level of scoring potential, and we should be in for a real treat in the Box Scores this upcoming season.

Much like my thoughts on the defense, I feel that the goal-tending situation has question marks all over it, based on Tortorella’s style. The addition of Olie should certainly provide a veteran presence that can only help with the development of Ramo and Smith, I think those two may have more in the tank than we were witness to previously. As the defensemen play deep into the offensive zone and increase odd-man rush opportunities, by default, they leave the goal-tenders out to dry. I’m looking forward to seeing how these players work under a new system and a new philosophy of hockey.

Change is in the air and I tend to like what I am seeing, though I will withhold final judgment until a product has taken the ice. Though I’m disappointed that the first two games are being sent to Prague and we’ll have to wait another week after to get our first glimpse on home ice, I certainly can’t wait to see what happens when they get back. I will be there in the stands cheering on our guys new and old. I hope to see my fellow fans filling every seat in the arena and cheering along with me, even if those cheers don’t rhyme with “She Punt Pa”………..

So here we are. The new darling of professional sports, having risen to a level of play that has not been achieved in Major League Baseball in this town to date. The team that everyone loves to talk about and the bandwagon everyone is tempted to jump on. And we managed to give away the Division lead on the day before the All-Star Break.

My expectations for this season were, at best, a .500 finish and possibly third or fourth in the Division. This team has far exceeded expectations and as a local sports enthusiast, I am more than pleased with the product that’s been delivered. That said, the expectations for this team have risen. Granted, the team has likely overachieved to an extent, but success is tightly entertwined with expectation and my beloved Tampa Bay Rays are no exception. To be fair, six of the seven games we lost were played in parks that we do not play well in, historically speaking. Then again, I don’t know of too many parks that we have a history of success in.

So we cut a little slack and then take into consideration the fact that there are two prospects platooning at Shortstop at the moment, Carl Crawford is mired in a slump that really hampers our ability to produce the small-ball style runs that we’ve grown accustomed to and we still lack a decent and consistent right-handed power bat in the lineup. All factors that significantly diminish run-production and leave our pitchers prone to taking on more pressure than they necessarily should. All of this COULD explain the recent decline and ensuing seven-game skid. Then again, we could be coming back to Earth.

This, of course, is not a doomsday declaration that the Rays are on their way out of the race. By no means would I even begin to take my team out of consideration. But, having been a life-long Bucs fan and endured many painfully agonizing seasons during the Culverhouse era, I know when to prepare myself for the worst. The beauty of this situation is that I still see the worst being around .500 and hovering around third place in the division. Honestly, that’s not too shabby, considering we are a VERY young team with prospects such as David Price just waiting to claw their way out of the Minor Leagues and into the spotlight. And, yet, there’s still that possibility that the injuries and slumping are contributing factors to a team playing well BELOW their potential and that we will see a return to the greatness that was April, May and June. I, for one, remain hopeful.

THE GOOD:

1. Evan Longoria. Touted to be the greatest prospect in all of baseball, this kid came out looking like a veteran of the game. In addition to providing impeccable and, at times, electric defense, he leads the team in Home Runs and, after an early development period in which his bat was inconsistent, is slowly making his way to a .300 AVG. To put the exclamation point on it, he hit the clutch double to tie the 2008 All-Star game at 3-3. On the downside, he managed to follow up the clutch hit with a bases-loaded groundout and a strikeout.

2. Dioner Navarro. What can you say? Carrying the best average on the Rays roster, it looks as though Navvy is slowly becoming the player the Yankees expected him to be when he was slated to be Jorge Posada’s replacement.

3. Scott Kazmir. Came back after a season-opening stint on the DL to continue where he left off last year. However, if his June and early-July performance continues, he could easily make the season-ending BAD or UGLY list. Needs to regain control over his slider or he will remain one-dimensional. In true Kazmir style, is carrying an ERA just over three with 91 strikeouts and seven wins.

4. Andy Sonnanstine. Majorly over-achieving young pitcher who leads the team in wins. Not a strikeout king or an ace, but has performed when he has needed to perform and has put digits in the win column with a 4.58 ERA (slightly higher than what you’d like to see from the middle of your starting rotation), 10 wins and 69 strikeouts. (NOTE: Also leads the team in Batting Average hitting .400 in five at bats).

5.  Akinori Iwamura. Moving Aki to second base to make room for Longoria almost seems like a genius move by this staff right now. A consistent hitter and our lead-off man, Aki has proven to be absolutely lights out on the defensive side of the ball.

6. Grant Balfour. Other than having a name that is one letter shy of spelling out a baseball negative, this guy has been amazing in relief work.

7. James Shields. As with Kazmir, came into the season continuing his 2007 performance with a sub-four ERA, 100 Strikeouts and seven wins. Should continue this trend into the second half.

8. Jason Bartlett. This kid is an unknown commodity on this team. Though he doesn’t bat for average and power, he brings great speed to the basepaths and his defense is impeccable, rounding out an infield that is simply dominant when healthy. Can’t return soon enough so that Zobrist and Brignac can continue their development elsewhere.

9. Willy Aybar. Had a solid June as a non-starter on the roster, but has tapered off in the beginning of July during the losing skid. Should still be a solid pinch hit option down the stretch.

10. Gabe Gross. This pickup was surprisingly effective. While batting under .250 for the season, Gross has amassed 7 home runs in two months and has come up with some key clutch hits during that time. Career best home run total for a season prior to 2008? Nine.

11. Eric Hinske. As a role player acquisition from the Red Sox this past off-season, has exceeded expectations hitting 14 Home Runs, 45 RBI and 7 Stolen Bases in limited action. Has not hit greater than 15 Home Runs in a season since his 2002 debut with Toronto when he hit 24.

12. Shawn Riggans. Despite the fact that he looks like he’s ten years old, Riggans has been solid with the bat in his scattered appearances, hitting 4 Home Runs with 16 RBI in 78 At Bats thus far

13. Trever Miller, Jason Hammel, J.P. Howell, Dan Wheeler. Though not as exciting as the Aussie reliever, these four round out a relief staff that has been solid through the first half. I expect this trend to continue, especially when some of the pressure comes off with the return of Percival and perhaps Reyes.

THE BAD

1. Jonny Gomes. A liability in the field and couldn’t hit the broad side of a blue whale against a rightie. Nuff said.

2. Cliff Floyd. It’s kind of hard to consider a guy with 6 Home Runs a DH Power bat, even considering a stint on the Disabled List at the beginning of the year. Strikes out far too much for his 2+ million dollar price tag.

THE UGLY

1. Edwin Jackson. I hate putting this kid here. He’s young and inexperienced. When he’s on, he’s electric. When he’s shaky, it’s a painful sight to see. Hence, he becomes part of the Ugly. In his defense, he’s put up good numbers in his last couple of starts, but only has one win to show for it. Looking forward to seeing improvement.

2. Carlos Pena. Carlos Pena now holds the Rays single season record for home runs after an amazing season in 2007, but has underproduced horribly in comparison in 2008. Not only in home run production, but also in average with a lackluster .236 average at the break.

3. Troy Percival. I’m reluctant to include Perci on this list, however, given the fact that he has two stints on the Disabled List in the first half, there is cause for alarm. Other than the nagging injuries, Perci has been lights out in every Save opportunity except for one.

4. Gary Glover. Had a nice April and a relatively decent May, but fell of a touch in June and finally got absolutely hammered in his last outing before the break, giving up seven runs in relief. Ouch. Let’s hope the second half can look more like April.

5. Rocco Baldelli. I hate to say it, but this fatigue issue that Baldelli is experiencing sounds like one of those things that hampers a player their entire life. While it would be nice to see him become the player he was supposed to be all along, I’m reluctant to believe he will ever stay consistently healthy enough to carry the load.

6. Reid Brignac. Has played such a limited role, he shouldn’t be given consideration on the list, but it needs to be pointed out that, while some think he’s awful, they forget that he’s a young prospect and he is only here to gain experience while Bartlett is out. Will season with time…until then, it’s back to the minors.

7. Ben Zobrist. A bit more seasoned than Brignac, still needs a bit more developmental time to become consistently major league ready. Has decent pop in his bat, having hit 3 Home Runs in very limited action during the first half. Still made some key mistakes on defense that put the team in tough situations.

8. Carl Crawford. Likely would not have made the ugly list had it not been for a horrible streak at the plate to close out the first half of the season. Has also been a bit apathetic on defense, though this could be a result of leg problems that seem to be brought on by the turf at Tropicana Field. Still a solid base-runner, but trails Upton in stolen base production.

9. B.J. Upton. Has mediocre .270-range average and only 6 Home Runs after delivering a career-best 24 Home-Runs in 2007. On the plus side, has shown a tremendous cannon of an arm off on a number of occassions and catches balls that would be out of range for most Center Fielders. We cut some slack for the move to the outfield and hope for a better second half.

10. Al Reyes. Get off the DL already!!!

Obviously, these lists are subject to change at season’s end, but I’m hoping for a resurgence of some of the guys on the Ugly list and perhaps some replacement in the form of trades for the Bad list (Major Stipulation: DO NOT TRADE DAVID PRICE!!!!!). That said, I’m also looking forward to seeing David Price get his first Major League start if he does, indeed, make the swift rise to the Major League Level.

I think the biggest area for improvement is our ability to generate offense in some of the more imposing parks and hostile environments (RE: Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park and the Jake). Take away those games and our win percentage jumps significantly, almost into the stratosphere.

hey, kobe, i have some questions for you:

1) Did you think you could win a championship without Shaq if you aren’t able to lift the entire team up to your level?

2) Do you know the difference between being a gifted athlete and a refined baller?

3) Do you think you might play better if you spent less time crying about no-call fouls that likely should have been called against you?

4) Do you miss Shaq yet….now that you ran him out of Los Angeles…..has that part sunk in yet?

5) Have you done the math on the talent (or lack thereof) that Mike had around him through SIX championships?

6) Will you ever deflate your own ego enough to do what’s best for your TEAM?

Seriously, Kobe. I’m enjoying the show. Even sweeter would be the day Boston puts you away on your own court. That could happen Saturday. That SHOULD happen Saturday. Boston did something tonight they should have done in the last two games……they finished. Let me rephrase that…..they spotted you a 24 point lead and then commenced to rolling up on you. And your boy Vujacic is really turning out to be quite the crybaby. I’m wondering if he’s like that girl from the drug commercials…..he learned it by watching YOU.

I’d say I feel your pain, but I don’t. I don’t respect or appreciate what you stand for. More so, I absolutely detest the red carpet you walk on with the media. These people who annointed you the next MJ before you even left the hallowed halls of your high school.

Wanna know why you’ll never be like Mike? Yeah, if YOU could be like Mike…….Mike played for Dean Smith. Mike became a professional by learning from a professional. Mike was the underdog…..not expected to even continue playing beyond high school at a time when you were being raised upon shoulders and built to God status before you even donned an NBA uniform.

I do not like what the Association has become and you are the ultimate representation of everything that I, as a would-be fan, don’t like about the NBA game. Players like you think you’re bigger than the game. Players like you expect the game to come to you. You take the game to them. Whether you’re grinding out playing street ball or playing at your elite level. If you want to win, you make it happen…..you work for it……you earn it.

Lesson One is coming late for you Kobe and Boston’s about to give it to you………I dare you to prove me wrong, because right now, you’re an elite athlete but you’re not a baller. Dig out film from the Bulls archive and you’ll see what a baller is and what a baller does. I don’t think you will……