2010 NBA Free Agency Part 2

So all the trades are in. The Bulls have cleared enough money to sign, potentially, one max FA and another player around 6-10 million. The Knicks have cleared enough room to sign two max free agents and then there are the Clippers who have near enough cap room for one max free agent. On its face, everyone is talking about how the Knicks are going to end up with Lebron and someone else. I just don't see it. If Lebron wanted to play with Knicks alongside another max free agent, they would have no other supporting cast. They would have no bench except for undrafted free agents and a late first round pick.

So, really, the only thing attracting Lebron to NY would be the promotions, a coach, and a great second player. The rest of the team would suck. That would not be enough to win a championship, or multiple championships, and NY has strained itself for the next few years in terms of being able to bring in talent (they gave up their pick next year as well I believe).

Now you go to the Bulls. The second largest market (since LA is split with two teams). A young playoff caliber team with a budding superstar. Lebron would get his wish to play along side another superstar, and would also have a team that is already talented. The promotions in Chicago would be huge, especially since Michael Jordan would also an even closer connection of his.

Minus Lebron (pre-Antwan Jamison) I'd say the Bulls were a better team than the Cavs. And to be honest, if I'm LeBron and I want to leave Cleveland (as I'm sure any rational human being would) I would choose Chicago over any of the other cities. The talent is there, the money is there, the promotions are there, and so are the connections. New York would only offer the promotions and money.

Of course, all the LeBron to NY hype is b/c ESPN is right outside NY and they cannot see beyond their own walls. So, I say bring on LeBron. He would change the face of this team immediately.

MLB's version of Hard Knocks to feature the Chicago White Sox

It is being reported that the MLB network will be running a show similiar to HBO's Hard Knocks where they will follow around a baseball team from spring training until the dead line. The show called The Club will be featuring the Chicago White Sox front office, mainly Jerry Reinsdorf, Kenny Williams and Ozzie Gullien.

My first thought upon hearing this is, how many times are they going to have to bleep Ozzie on the air? Can we set an over/under line high enough for this? I think this will be a fantastic show with the great personalities in the White Sox organization and a show I know I would watch every week. The problem is, I don't get the MLB network, so I'm going to need to find another way to watch the show.

So what do you think? You going to watch this show?

Chicago Bulls Trade Tryrus Thomas

The Chicago Bulls traded Tyrus Thomas to the Charolette Bobcats for "Flip" Murray, Acie Law IV and a protected #1. This move along with the Salmons move should allow the Bulls enough cap space to sign two max deals this offseason.

Acie Law IV was a great player at Texas A&M but has not done much since joining the NBA. "Flip" Murray has bounced around the league, playing for 6 different teams since being drafted in the second round in 2002.

Chicago Quick Hits

Jordan


Micheal Jordan's 47th birthday came and went the other day.Mike and Mike had an intresting debate on which day has the best birthdays for sports atheletes. Thanks to Jordan and Jim Brown being born on the same day, it's tough to get a better day to be born on then that.

White Sox in Talks with Damon

I'm not sure how I feel about getting him. He's still productive, but don't we have enough old outfielders now? I think the goal for the White Sox this offseason was to get the 2003 All-Star team. Visquel, Jones, Pierre and Damaon were all fantastic back in the day, but aren't they getting a little old?

Flying Tomato Collects Halfpipe Gold

That's right, guys, an Olympics post! Today was a very good day for Team USA, as Lindsey Vonn, Shani Davis (the Terrell Owens of speedskaters), and Shaun White each took the gold in their respective events. (downhill ski, 1,000 meter, halfpipe)



Check out this ridiculous video of White's final run. Try and ignore the annoying kids in the background. Tomato lands his patented Double McTwist 1260 on his last jump despite a lack of speed... pretty damn impressive!

(Video a property of NBC. We'll see how long they let it stay on YouTube)

(Answer: Less than a day. Way to go, NBC.)

EDIT: New video! Now a LEGAL sample of the Double McTwist 12. Man, that's a cool trick.

John Salmons Traded

But for who? According to ESPN Chicago (the only reputable site affiliated with Walt Disney) Salmons has been asked to sit out of the game and will not even leave the hotel in anticipation of a trade. Rumor has it that the Bulls were trying to shove Salmons and Tyrus down Houston's throat, but it's also been said that Chicago's chances of getting McGrady are slim. I guess we will have to wait and see who we have landed, but that is an extra 5.8 million off the books next year (which means 5.8 million more for LeBron). Btw, who else is extraordinarily pumped up for Saint Patrick's Day weekend? I had a blast last year, I intend to have a blast again this year! Best weekend of the year!

NFL Rule Changes?

I was reading an article today about the Big Hurt's hall of fame chances especially since he only played DH and didn't do anything on defense. That got me to thinking about the NFL and how there aren't any players that play both sides anymore. From there I started thinking about what the NFL would look like if they made a few interesting rule changes. Then I came up with one rule change that would dramatically effect the game:

For every snap that you play on either offense or defense you have to play the same number on the opposite side of the ball.

What if you did have to play your QB on defense the same number of snaps as he played on offense. Think about the entirely different strategy in the game. You'd probably have to bench some of your star players for a good portion of the game. The strategy would be entirely different. Doing that, and reducing the amount of TV time outs and maybe even time between plays could make for an even more interesting NFL. Of course, they'd probably have to expand their rosters in order for their to be substitutions at a much higher rate. What do you guys think?