This stuff with Bud Selig never gets old.  Seriously, I know I'm pretty harsh on the good ole Commish on the show but its impossible to not be entertained by the guy.  The latest development is with baseball's flirtation with implementing instant replay.  Initially, Selg wanted to "experiment" with instant replay and possibly use it next season.  Then, he acknowledged it could be used this year.  Then MLB was embarrassed when the LLWS decided to use replay.  Yes, Little Leaguers embarrassed Big Leaguers.

I just dont understand the reluctance to use instant replay.  Its a good idea.  Home Run calls are hard to get right, especially in big moments so why not take advantage of instant replay.  The idea its going to lead to a slippery slope and instant replay will be used in everything from balls and strikes to outs on the basepahts is ridiculous.  We aren't turning over replay to some machines of a superior intellect that will suddenly take over decision making from MLB.  There's no need to fear the powers of instant replay. 

Sure, people in the NFL still complain but its much better than not having it.  Baseball has fewer rules than in the NFL.  You are either out or safe.  Its a ball or a strike.  Its either fair or foul.  Instant replay only deals with one aspect.  Critics have claimed that "human error" is part of the history of the game.  Since when do we start championing mistakes and human error as the just cause over, you know, getting it right.  Plus, as long as baseball fans have Bud Selig as commissioner there will be plenty of human error for everyone to enjoy.

I applaud Bud Selig for entertaining the idea.  Its time to implement it and be done.  No experimenting, there is no great unknown with instant replay.  Its not going to organically grow and take over baseball from Selig, though I'm starting to believe he may be considering this an actual possibility.

Let's play ball.  And then use instant replay to make sure we got it right. 

At this point of the season, no one is going to want to downplay a sweep, especially in a tight NL West race.  The Diamondbacks just got done dominating the San Francisco Giants on the road to bump their division leading record to 2 games above .500.

We all hear reasons why the NL West is a disaster and the race is embarrassing but the only goal is to make it into the playoffs and from there, see where Haren/Webb can take you (with the way Haren is pitching lately, I thought it appropriate to put his last name first).  Plus, Arizona is doing one of the things it needs to do to win the division and that is beating teams they are supposed to beat.  Next on the list it to, you know, hit, score runs and beat the team they are competing directly against.

Randy Johnson threw 7 shutout innings and extended his scoreless inning streak to 15.  I would expect a 44 year old man with a mullet to have an extended scoreless streak, just off the field not necessarily on.  The Big Unit has won 4 in a row and has been providing the kind of punch after the combination of Webb/Haren (I'll reverse it, just to keep things calm in the clubhouse) that if he is able to sustain it, may be the knockout punch on the Dodgers.

Offensively, Connor Jackson is hitting over .400 over the past 10 days or so.  When Arizona's offense was really struggling, it was because the entire lineup was struggling and the Diamondbacks were doing nothing on the basepaths to jump start their offense.  Now, with one really hot bat, the rest of the lineup seems to be a little bit more relaxed and actually scoring runs.  The question is, how long will it last? 

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers continue to plug along.  They kept pace with Arizona over the weekend and remain just a game out of first place.  They also made a trade over the weekend, acquiring 3B/OF Casey Blake from the Indians for two minor leaguers, one of which was former University of Arizona star Jon Meloan.  The trade adds a reliable veteran bat into the Dodgers lineup and could provide them with an offensive spark, at least thats what they hope.  I'm not so sure what kind of impact he will have though.  Blake has spent his entire career in the American League and will now jump right into a playoff race in the National League.  Thankfully for Blake, he's teammates with Andruw Jones so just making contact will automatically endear him to the LA faithful.

The NL West race is heating up and as we enter August this week, the margin for error becomes slimmer.  The Diamondbacks have the early edge with their pitching and now offense starting to come around.  With the trade deadline just a few days away, with the Dodgers or Diamondbacks make another move?  Stay tuned.

Back from vacation and while I'll spare you the written slide show of the tedious details, I did get to attend a couple of great baeball games and here are some thoughts.  I'll be back to blog later this week to get caught up on a few more items.

AT&T Park - Saw the Giants take on the Dodgers, a rivalry that has been muted a bit since the Giants are terrible and the Dodger fans are well, Dodger fans.  If it was 2001, it could have been a classic pitching match-up featuring Barry Zito and Chan Ho Park.  Instead, it was probably the worst pitching match-up I could have seen.  The park is absolutely incredible.  If you are a baseball fan and enjoy the ballpark experience, AT&T Park is everything you've heard it to be.  Spectacular views, great amenities and a packed house despite the woeful Giants.  Plus, we took a Metrorail to the stadium that dropped us off right outside the gates and then took it home at about 10:30 PM and I didn't fear for my life, with the total cost being $6, take that parking!  I had a Super Dog and peanuts for some dinner plus a churro for desert that cost approximately $357.  Actually, probably more like $20 but still ridiculous.  I also couldn't resist purchasing a Tim Lincecum t-shirt jersey, aka shirsey.  I gotta support the skinny guys.  Dude throws 98 at 5"10, 170, gotta love that.  All in all, great ballgame experience.

Dodger Stadium - Through my girlfriend's sister, we were able to get some free tickets to a Dodgers/Marlins game, otherwise my life probably would have ended without attending a Dodgers/Marlins game.  Hiroki Kiroda versus Ricky Nolasco.  I have Nolasco on a fantasy team, so this was a good time to get some good fantasy baseball karma working.  Dodger Stadium is as retro as you can get from the outside but once you get inside, it feels as modern as you need.  The game was sold out but about 20,000 empty seats remained well into the second inning.  By the 3rd, the place was packed.  I was on the look out for a Matt Kemp shirsey but at $30 bucks a pop it was $8 more than the Lincecum shirsey at the Giants stadium.  We had great seats 6 rows from the field, down the right field line between 1B and RF.  It was an odd angle for watching the action but because I was there with 2 marginal baseball fans, it was perfect to keep them in to the game.  Here, I tried the famous Dodger Dog, which they sell at EVERY SINGLE concession stand.  It was disgusting.  It was a normal hot dog color on the outside but a disturbing orange on the inside.  I added some chips and a cinnamon soft pretzel.  2 fun notes from this game: 1) Hiroki Kiroda's walk-up music is Everlong by the Foo Fighters, didn't see that coming and 2) Andruw Jones was 0-3 with 3 K's and was relentlessly booed every time to the plate, yet his walk-up music was "Don't Worry" by Bob Marley.  Classic.

Overall, AT&T Park was just a completely unique ballgame experience and strongly recommended even if you can't name 3 members of the Giants starting lineup, which is completely possible for 95% of baseball fans.  Dodger Stadium was fun, despite the $15 dollar parking, and an underrated part of baseball history. 

No show today because of the Diamondbacks/Marlins game.  It's a good thing too because I felt terrible today.  I haven't been sick in a long time but woke up this morning with a sore throat.  I would gladly trade a fever, congestion, headache, body ache, upset stomach for not having a sore throat.  Its brutal.

Some Suns Draft Thoughts:

• The Suns are being widely praised for drating the defensive minded Lopez brother, Robin.  I think its a mildly disappointing to bad pick.  If this were 2004 or 2005, it would be a great pick for the Suns.  But they need scoring.  I know thats like saying the Bengals need another criminal on their team or Vince Carter needs another injury but the Suns are going to need scoring next year.  Without Shawn Marion for a full season, that team is going to lack some serious punch.  Who scores for them? Nash? Grant Hill? Shaq? Its pretty much Amare and very little off the bench other than Leandro Barbosa.  Its just too little too late.  And what happens when Shaq's gone after next season or injured this year?  You really think Robin Lopez is going to be able to start for the Suns at Center?  He barely started at Stanford.  The draft was ruined for the Suns when Brandon Rush was traded, though I would've like to have seen them take Mario Chalmers, Chris Douglas Roberts or even Donte Greene.

• I haven't decided which Lopez brother has the more feminine name.  I feel like I'm in a good position to judge this based on the fact that my name is Jody.  Though in all honesty, I think Robin and Brook are more feminine names than Jody.  On one hand, Robin has Batman and Robin to fall back on.  On the other hand, that's not really a trump card, all things considered.  On paper, Brook Lopez looks more feminine but saying Robin Lopez out loud sounds more feminine.  It would be a no brainer if Brook spelled his name with an 'e' on the end or Robin spelled his name with a 'y' instead of an 'i'.  Ultimately, I think Robin Lopez sounds more feminine.  I base this on a babbling brook seems more masculine than an orange chested robin.  There, thats settled.

Quick notes:

• I thought the ESPN crew did a good job of keeping things moving and all seemed refreshed to be there but there was a complete lack of substanative basketball conversation.  I thought Stuart Scott was especially good as host
• I'm sure OJ Mayo was thrilled to be traded from Minnesota, considering going from LA to Minneapolis is kind of a culture shock for anyone much less a high profile basketball player.  Then he found out he was going to Memphis, the armpit of the NBA. 
• Jered Bayless needs to lighten up.  I love his intensity on the court and I think he'll be an excellent NBA player, but I've never seen him smile or joke around.  Even in the locker room after wins this season, he was always brooding or at best mildly content.  Also, the cream colored suit was an interesting choice but an improvement over his suit collection during the season when he was injured when he looked like he snuck something out of his dad's suit closet.
• Michael Beasely will never be a 20 and 10 guy in the NBA.  6'7 and playing PF?  Its all about hustle at that point and I just don't see that coming from him.  He'll be solid but not spectacular.
• I knew Ryan Anderson had to be a first rounder.  He was one of the more underrated players in the draft, in my opinion.
•  Arizona has now had the most draft picks selected in the NBA than any other college since 1989.  Did you see that Brandon Jennings?  You still think Europe will prepare you better for an NBA career?  I wish I could say good luck with that but frankly the whole situation makes it difficult to root for him to succeed, if he does in fact choose Europe.

Have a great weekend, talk to you Monday at 4.

A couple of thoughts for you on this Tuesday afternoon since the Diamondbacks once again are hogging all of the air time this afternoon:

TV/Movie recommendations: I watched Gangs of New York over the weekend, its probably the third time I’ve seen it.  Its further proof that Daniel Day Lewis is probably one of the 5 greatest living actors.  If it was socially acceptable, I’d have a large Daniel Day Lewis poster hanging in my room, which would only be slightly creepier than a potential Hannah Montana poster.  Regardless, it’s a powerful Scorcese movie and for my money better than the Oscar winning The Departed. 

Shaq Rap

• You know it’s the end of June when a ridiculous video of Shaq free styling about Kobe Bryant gets major airtime all over the place.  The worst part of this video is being subjected to a nearly 40 year old Shaquille O’Neal “free styling” and refusing to put to rest his dreams of being a hip hop icon.  I’ve heard better free styling from homeless people on 4^th Avenue wandering aimlessly and playing the ukelele.

•      I just don’t get how this is a story to people.  2 super star players who each believe that they are responsible for a bigger percentage of the Lakers success than the other.  Kobe fgets back by getting Shaq traded to the Heat.  Shaq riles Kobe by winning a championship without him with the Heat.  Kobe has his best chance to win this year without Shaq only to perform miserably.  Add on top of that Kobe exposing Shaq as being unfaithful to his wife and its doesn’t take a bad video to realize these two guys aren’t the best of friends.

•     I at least enjoy the fact that they aren’t afraid of making it public and letting us all enjoy it.  Its not like they’re threatening each other.

•   “Kobe, how’s my a** taste?”  That’s perhaps the worst line I could ever imagine.  That’s like the freestyle lyrical equivalent to Nickelback lyrics.

Suns Draft

Rumors are flying about the Suns possibly making a trade around this year’s draft and I love all of them.  Here’s a quick rundown of the rumors that are out there and what I think of them:

Leandro Barbosa to Portland for Martell Webster and #13 pick – Would be a great trade for the Suns.  They get a young outside shooter who could thrive with the Suns and an additional draft pick to go along with the #16 pick.  With 2 first rounders the Suns could come out with both Brandon Rush and a big man like Kosta Koufos or Anthony Randolph.

Boris Diaw to Toronto for TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and the #17 pick – Not only would they get rid of the consistently disappointing Boris Diaw but they also do so while still being able to get some value.  See above for what the Suns could do with two first’s.  The wild card would be TJ Ford who could provide the Suns Barbosa’s speed but be a better passer and more reliable.

Leandro Barbosa  and the #15 to the Clippers for Corey Maggette and the #7 pick – Another home run deal for the Suns who could use Maggette to replace Shawn Marion’s perimeter defense plus get a high draft pick to use on Russell Westbrook, Brook Lopez or Joe Alexander.

Those are the three most prominent rumors so far.  Frankly, they sound too good to be true. 

I’m firmly in favor of trading both Diaw and Barbosa.  I just don’t think they are the kind of reliable, productive bench players that championship teams need.  Additionally, they could be used to infuse some youth onto the roster, which would serve the team well next season and beyond.

More thoughts on the NBA Draft coming later this week.

With no Happy Hour today, I thought I’d still share some thoughts.  Its not quite as cathartic as speaking loudly in our cramped studios (sponsored by the Sports Zone!) so I usually end up going home and yelling blindly in the garage for about 15 minutes when I don’t have a show. 

US Olympic Roster announced

• Kobe, Lebron, Wade, Carmelo, Kidd, Tayshaun Prince, Boozer, Bosh, Howard, Redd, Paul, Williams fill out the roster. 

•  I think all of us can agree the United States has struggled in International competition in recent years, including an embarrassing bronze in Athens.  The biggest culprit has been, according to most, a lack of cohesion against international teams that play together for years and years; in other words, teamwork.  So, how is this team any different?  You have 3 guys leading this team who go by first name only; Kobe, Lebron, Carmelo.  After Kobe, you have Jason Kidd as your next veteran.  What do both Kobe and Kidd have in common?  A reputation that despite being more talented than just about anyone else to have ever played their position, they aren’t the leaders people expected them to be.

•  In fact, only 2 players from this years team have even won an NBA Championship in their careers.  Compare that to the original Dream Team in 1992 or in 1996 when there were double digit rings between the players and you begin to see why this team has struggled.  In 2000, a team that barely won gold had very little championship material and in 2004, only one player in Tim Duncan.

•  f this were the Olympics of advertising (and its slowly turning into that anyway), the United States would be beating everyone in endorsements like they beat Angola in 1992.

•  Despite all of that, there’s some serious pressure on this team.  The credibility of American basketball and in some respects, the NBA are on the line.  Someone please take Kobe off this roster.

Dbacks vs. Red Sox

•  Beginning today, the Diamondbacks start a 3 game series at Fenway, thus the reason Ill be playing Spider Solitaire all day (not really, but I suppose I could).  Arizona was swept by the Twins, including being baffled by Livian Hernandez on Sunday. 

•  I’m convinced part of the reason Livo signed with the Twins is because they are affectionately known as the Twinkies and he just got confused. 

•  Either way, not a good weekend for the Snakes, especially considering their lead in the NL West is now just 3.5 games over the equally hard-to-figure-out Dodgers. 

• Eric Byrnes returns to the lineup which for now just means more hair in the lineup, not necessarily any more power.

Ill be blogging every day this week as I won’t be back on the air until Thursday. 

When I first heard that Brandon Jennings was potentially considering bypassing his commitment to play at the University of Arizona to instead play in Europe before entering the NBA draft, I dismissed it as a remnant of the wild times in Tucson when rumors were being thrown around more often than beers on 4th avenue.  Either that or Brandon had apparently decided to pursue soccer as his new passion.

Then Andy Katz decided to write about the story, complete with confusing quotes from Brandon Jennings.  Jennings says he feels Europe may actually prepare him better for the NBA than Arizona.  He says he's considering all options and even if he does come to Arizona, it would likely only be for a single season.   Jennings and his family have spent time with an attorney trying to figure out the right course of action should Europe be the best option.

Of course, Jennings could render all of this speculation moot with a passing score on the SAT.  Its really that simple.  Its ridiculous to argue that Europe is a better training ground for the NBA than Arizona.  With the total salaries of Arizona players equally the GDP for some small European countries, there is no contest.  Its likely posturing on Jennings part to innoculate against the backlash from a potentially embarrassing situation.

That being said, it does raise some questions whether Arizona is ready for the Brandon Jennings era.  He's already convinced he only needs 1 year, he has publicly stated Europe would be better for his development than Arizona and only pointed to the return of Chase Budigner as a reason he is excited to come to Arizona.  How does the rest of the team feel about this from their future point guard?

At this point, I'm starting to feel like Arizona might not be ready for Jennings.  Arizona and Coach Olson are like a married couple who separate after 24 years of loving marriage because the husband flirted with someone else and it caused some problems. Only shortly thereafter the couple gets back together to try and recreate the magic from those first 24 years.  Except this time, they decided to hire a gorgeous babysitter that constantly threatens the renewed harmony in their life.  In this long winded analogy, Brandon Jennings would be the baby sitter.

The point is, sometimes when something is in a fragile state of content, harmony, cohesivness etc., the worst thing to do is throw in another strong unknown. 

Ultimately, its a risk the team and its fans would be willing to take.  Later this week we'll find out if Brandon Jennings passed his SAT or instead was spending his time getting his passport.

(To read the Andy Katz article, sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story)

It seems like just about everytime I don't have a show because of the Diamondbacks, some huge news story breaks.  Today, it was the allegations made by Tim Donaghy.  You're probably familiar at this point with some of the allegations; NBA wanted a Game 7 in 2002, they targeted Yao Ming, officials were told not to eject star players, etc. 

Fans of the NFL and MLB accept inconsistent calling because it doesn't constantly plague the biggest moment of every game.  In the NBA, its hard to watch an important game and not see at least 2-3 calls that could have gone the other way.  The NBA, and basketball in general, is incredibly difficult to officiate because officials make hundreds of judgement calls on plays that last a second or two.

There's no easy solution for the NBA, but here are a couple of ideas:

• David Stern clones self and ref's every game - Its getting to a point in the NBA where no theory is too wacky to possibly be true.  You know the rumors about David Stern being connected and his penchant for hoarding power and controlling everything?  This would just be taking it to the next level.  Plus, as an added bonus, we'd be treated to his condescending sarcasm after each game.
• NBA eliminates ref's and players call fouls - If this were to happen, I'd immediately expect Charles Oakley to unretire, return to the NBA and win multiple MVP's until he's physically unable to move.  It would be fun to see which players would intimidate other players and which guys would never call a foul.  Whenever I've played pick up basketball, it takes approximately 1 possession to figure out which dude is calling everything and which dude is just there to play.  In this NBA, Dwight Howard reigns supreme and Tayshaun Prince plummets in value.
• Open gambling to all officials - If this happens, then it just becomes a skill for an official to out manuever the others and have a bigger impact on the outcome of the game.  Again, Charles Oakley would immediately become and official and the 3rd wealthiest man in America.

Other than those ideas, there are a couple that could actually happen.  The NBA is long overdue for a change in leadership and a sweeping overhaul of its officiating.  Its shocking to think, but Bud Selig may actually outlast both David Stern and Paul Tagliabue, yet has overwhelmingly been the worst commissioner.

The Belmont Stakes is this weekend with Big Brown looking to make some horse history.  It’s compelling but it’s definitely not the same as watching history unfold in another sport, you know a sport that doesn’t have a tiny human thrashing a ‘roided up beast around a track.  But because there is that history and tradition, there’s interest.  I would say the interest is and has been waning for several years.

In fact, there’s a trend of similar sporting events that have always been on the periphery of the sports landscape struggling to get the same attention they once held.  It’s like watching the prom queen from high school who always had that one shining moment at the reunion promptly run face first into the wall.

Here’s my crazy theory on why this is happening.  Horse racing, the Indy 500, tennis and a couple of other events are sort of like mom and pop stores.  They provide a quality product but not nearly at the same level as larger stores.  The major sports are basically Wal-Mart.  They’ve moved in, there’s access to them 24/7/365 with dedicated channels, year round network coverage and dedicated sites on the internet.  So the mom and pop stores are dying out because people don’t need them anymore.  There’s no such thing as a gap in the NFL season where a fan is left trying to find something else.  You can get daily coverage to not only the NFL but to your favorite team.  People just don’t have the interest level in these mom and pop events when they can go to Wal-Mart whenever they want and get exactly what they want.

Many people are rushing to judgement that on the other side of the "=" sign will be "new head coach".  The Phoenix Suns have publicly stated that they would like their next head coach to be someone with head coaching experience.  That rules out just about everyone because in the NBA, coaches are recycled like I recycle plastic bottles

So when Flip Saunders was fired as head coach of the Pistons today, he of the nearly 600 career wins and nearly .600 winning percentage, the same coach who has led the Timberwolves and Pistons to conference finals, coached the All Star team and led the Pistons to a franchise record 64 regular season wins, many people assumed he would be a candidate for the Suns job.

There couldn't be a worse hiring out there.  If the Suns just let Amare Stoudamire coach the team they would have just a good of a chance at winning the NBA Title than they would with Flip Saunders.

Saunders represents everything that Mike D'Antoni does, only he's not nearly as charming as Mike and doesn't have the moustache.  Saunders has routinely had big time success in the regular season only to see his teams flame out in the playoffs, several times when they were heavily favored.  Sound familiar?  Thats because that's exactly what the Suns have done the past 4 seasons.

You don't send a message to the team or the fans about winning a championship by hiring a coach who has repeatedly crumbled under that pressure.  Its easier to believe that a coach with experience but not the stain of playoff disappointment, like Terry Porter or Kurt Rambis has a better shot at winning a title.

At least we don't know how they'd respond in the face of championship pressure.  Flip folds.

By the way, can you really imagine an million dollar athletes wanting to go to battle for a guy named Flip?  That may be the most compelling reason for not hiring him.  I just imagine Amare constantly harrassing him to do a flip and ingorning any coaching.

If the Suns want to win a championship, they won't hire Philip Saunders.