Odds & Sods, The Wilco Edition

Wilco (The Album) comes out today, but Jason Kidd will be have his ears perked for somebody else. Joe Girardi, an unpopular fellow in the Yankees' clubhouse, seems to have at least one local admirer. Nobody, though, cares for Brandon Jennings or his silly antics.  Yao Ming is falling apart, while Eddy Curry's life continues to crumble around him.   

The Incomparable Mariano Rivera

Lat night, Mariano Rivera recorded his 500th career save--and his first RBI. Rivera, who insists he still has plenty of gas left in the tank, joins Trevor Hoffman on the exclusive list of closers to notch 500 saves. And to think the Yankees signed him for an astonishingly low $3,000 and, back in 1996, even considered trading him. Amazing. Actually, now that I think about it, everything about Mariano is amazing. Here he is talking to ESPN about his career. 

Balaram Stack, Then and Now

A few years ago, New York magazine profiled Balaram Stack, a then-15-year-old surfing prodigy from Long Beach, New York dubbed the next big thing in urban surfing, whatever the hell that means. 

Born in Florida, Strack moved to New York with his mother when he was five. He started surfing immediately, and, within seven years, captured Long Beach's King of the Beach tournament. Strack celebrated his victory at Burger King, in a paper crown. Later, Stack won the Volcom Jellyfish tournament, a regional competition, two years in a row, the juniors division of the 2006 Unsound Pro and, that same year, the Northeast Regional Surfing Championships. Red Bull, Oakley, Sector 9, WRV, Vestal, Freak and other companies lined up to sponsor him. He was famous, even if he wasn't exactly faring well against the world's top surfers. 


That all changed, though, after a trip around the world, according to the New York Times, who sat down with the 17-year-old for today's dead tree edition. Stacked surfed the North Shore (Oahu, not Long Island), Banzai, Tahiti and Australia, under the tutelage of coach Mick Cain. Stack's hard work paid off. In April, he qualified in four divisions for the national scholastic East Coast regional championships in Florida, winning the Air Show and Explorer Juniors divisions. He scored three perfect 10s. This weekend, the kid from Long Beach has a legitimate shot at winning the Open Men’s division, a launching pad to the professional surfing ranks. Amazing, considering he plies his trade within earshot of the Long Island Expressway. 

Know Your Newest Knick

Here's what I wrote about Jordan Hill, the 8th overall pick in this year's NBA Draft, back in March, before the NCAA Tournament: 

Arizona will only go as far as center/power forward Jordan Hill takes them. Sure, the Wildcats have small forward Chase Budinger and point guard Nic Wise to help pick up the offensive slack, but Jordan is the team's defensive presence and, as far as I can tell, its singular source of toughness. Hill, a 6-1o junior who averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds and about 2 blocks per game this season, knows how to finish around the basket and holds his ground defensively on the low post, which could give Utah's Australian center Luke Nevil, a 7-1 junior, all he can handle.

The Wildcats have a long history of stinking up the NCAA tournament, and a number of sports writers and commentators believe the wildly inconsistent Cats, who lost to UAB but also beat Kansas, Gonzaga and UCLA, didn't deserve to make this year's tournament, especially as a 12-seed. If Hill plays like he did against the Bruins on Valentine's Day (22 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks), however, he and his Arizona teammates might just silence a few critics and, in the process, bust up a bracket or two.

Hill's not Stephen Curry, but I do like his game. I have one question, though: does Hill's arrival spell the end to David Lee's days as a Knickerbocker? 

2009 Mock Draft II

I just returned from vacation. There is literally way too much NBA news to digest. Shaq to the Cavs seems a little late, and Crawford to the Hawks feels like a supremely bad idea. For the life of me, I can't figure out why the Celtics would even consider trading Rondo, if the various dubious reports are to be take seriously. Finally, there are rumors that Donnie Walsh is looking to acquire Darko Milicic from Memphis for Quentin Richardson, and, in another move, trying to pry away one of Minnesota's four first round picks, probably number 18 or 28, in exchange for some cash. With everything up in the air, I thought I'd take another crack at predicting tonight's NBA Draft. Here goes nothing. 

Los Angeles Clippers: Blake Griffin.
Still set in stone. 

Memphis Grizzlies: Hasheem Thabeet. 
It's not who they want, but it's what they need. Unfortunately, Thabeet's not going to add much, at least not right away.  

Oklahoma City Thunder: Ricky Rubio. 
Sorry, Russell Westbrook. Make room for Ricky. 

Sacramento Kings: Tyreke Evans. 

The Kings really want Rubio, but they could end up with the steal of the draft. 

Minnesota Timberwolves: James Harden and Stephen Curry. 
By trading Randy Foye and Mike Miller to Washington, the Timberwolves will look to rebuild their backcourt. Harden and Curry are their guys.  

Golden State Warriors: Jordan Hill.  
This seems to be the growing consensus. A talented big man to complement the Warriors' numerous guards and wings.  

New York Knicks: Jrue Holliday.    
A reliable, if underwhelming pick.   

Toronto Raptors: Jonny Flynn. 
It seems they're in search of a point guard to help Jose Calderon carry the load.  

Milwaukee Bucks: DeMar DeRozan. 
The Bucks take a chance on the athletic DeRozan to replace the recently departed Richard Jefferson.  

New Jersey Nets: Gerald Henderson.

DeJuan Blair's knee and weight issues make the Nets look elsewhere. What they find is Henderson.    

Charlotte Bobcats: Terrence Williams.   
Versatile, and said to have a promise from Charlotte. Makes sense.   

Indiana Pacers: Ty Lawson. 
The Pacers will go with the best available player, even if it is a carbon copy of incumbent TJ Ford.

Phoenix Suns. James Johnson.

Quick, versatile big man who can play the 3 and the 4. Just one of the things Phoenix needs.

(UPDATE: Looks like SI's Ian Thomsen has an almost identical mock draft, which means I'm probably wrong. )

I'm Not There

I'm heading out of town for the next week or so, which means I'll probably won't be posting much, if at all. I leave you with a look inside the mind of Craig Robinson, a kid who loves graphs almost as much as he digs baseball. His site, Flip Flop Fly Ball, should hold you over for the next couple of days. It really is kind of amazing. Check it out. Enjoy, and have a good week.



(H/T B.A.)

2009 NBA Mock Draft

I hate to say this, but I'm not particularly excited about this year's draft. Blake Griffin is the consensus number one pick, almost by default. When I watch him, I see Michael Beasley, not Karl Malone, as some basketball pundits have claimed. I'm not sure that's the level of talent you'd want in return for the first overall pick. Still, there's almost no shot of him falling out of the top slot. After Griffin, though, it's a total crap shoot. This is, without question, a guard-heavy draft, with Ricky Rubio, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Tyreke Evans, Jonny Flynn, Jrue Holiday, Brandon Jennings, Jeff Teague, Ty Lawson and Eric Maynor, among others, all up for grabs. All have potential, but can anyone really tell me, between, say, Holiday and Evans, which player will have a more immediate impact in the league, or a better career? I can't. The differences in these players are, as far as I can tell, marginal at best. For instance, would you take Rubio or Curry? Is one necessarily four-to-five picks better than the other? I'm not so sure. Fortunately, I don't have to decide; I can just throw up a mock draft with impunity.   

Here's how I think the upcoming lottery will unfold.

Los Angeles Clippers: Blake Griffin. 

The Clips are pretty much locked in here. Griffin, though, will have to split time with Zach Randolph, whose outrageous contract--and horrible attitude-- pretty much preclude him from every being dealt to another team. Have fun with that, Blake. 

Memphis Grizzlies: Tyreke Evans.

Ricky Rubio says he doesn't want to play in Memphis. The Grizzlies, then, will be more than happy to pair Evans, who led the University of Memphis to the Sweet 16, with O.J. Mayo.  

Oklahoma City Thunder: Hasheem Thabeet.

Behind Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook, the Thunder averaged 97 points per game this year, while giving up 103. Thabeet's defensive presence, if nothing else, should help rectify this. 

Sacramento Kings: Ricky Rubio.

This is a win-win. Rubio gets to play in California, and the Kings get a talented point guard to fill some seats, and run with Kevin Martin.

Washington Wizards: Jordan Hill.

Washington will think long and hard about taking James Harden or Stephen Curry here, but will ultimately go with Hill because of his size and ability to grab some boards. 

Minnesota Timberwolves: James Harden.

They would love to get their hands on Thabeet, but will settle for Harden, a much better option at the 2 than Randy Foye, who's really better playing the point.

Golden State Warriors: DeMar DeRozan. 

The mad scientist strikes again, picking DeRozan, an athletic freak, over the more polished Stephen Curry.  

New York Knicks: Stephen Curry. 

Too good to be true? God, I hope not.  

Toronto Raptors: Gerald Henderson.

This might be a bit of a reach, but the Raptors really need a shooting guard. Henderson is the best one available. 

Milwaukee Bucks: Jrue Holiday. 

The defensive-minded Scott Skiles would be absolutely giddy about landing Holiday, a product of Ben Howland's UCLA system.

New Jersey Nets: DeJuan Blair. 

Let's face it: the Nets are soft down low. Blair will give them some much-needed toughness.

Charlotte Bobcats: Earl Clark. 

Larry Brown won't be able to resist Clark's versatility. 

Indiana Pacers: Brandon Jennings. 

At this point, the Pacers will go with the best available player, even if it is a point guard. 

Phoenix Suns. Ty Lawson.

I'm tempted to go with Jonny Flynn here, but, all things being equal, I think Steve Kerr goes with Lawson, the better defender.