Monday Morning Mehta 1/30/06
Edition # 150
January 30, 2006
www.mondaymorningmehta.blogspot.com
Note: Next's week's MMM will be the last MMM until March 6th. I'll be in India covering Cricket for the Gujarat Samachar.
The 2nd Annual Official Philadelphia Eagles Offseason Guide Sponsored by America On-Line.
Just to refresh everyone on how this works, we'll do offense this week and defense next week.
Quarterback
2005 Grade: D
Donovan McNabb played poorly this year, I don't think there should be any discussion about that. The reason for his poor play was likely the injury against Atlanta in the first game of the year. Nonetheless, McNabb needs to and will play better. But QB's around the league get hurt plenty. A good backup is hard to find, but almost a necessity if you want to cover all the bases (New England & Indy have no real back up and they still win though). Mike McMahon & Koy Detmer were beyond putrid this year. They need to be carrying the third string clipboards next year. I think the Eagles should sign Jeff Garcia. Garcia stunk this year in Detroit, but everyone stinks in Detroit. He'll "know the system" (I hate that saying), added to the fact that he and McNabb are charter members of the "Backstabbed by T.O. club". A perfect match if you ask me.
Other FA's:
Drew Brees
David Carr (huge roster bonus due)
Jon Kitna (Carson Palmer has already started lobbying for him to resign)
Josh McCown (I really like this QB, he should get a chance to start for someone)
Kurt Warner (close to resigning with Ariz)
Running Backs
2005 Grade: Incomplete
I can't really grade this group because the Eagles just didn't run the ball enough in meaningful games.
Westbrook was decent while he was still playing, and Moats looked good for flashes. This group still needs a big pounding back, and Najeh Davenport would fit the bill perfectly. He's a Packer which can't hurt, probably going to move on to another team on a 1 year deal, coming off an ankle injury. If he gets a long term deal it'll probably be more than the Eagles are willing to pay. There are a ton of good running backs that are going to hit free agency this year.
Other FA's:
Edgerrin James
Shaun Alexander
Jamal Lewis
Ahman Green
DeShaun Foster
Chester Taylor
Michael Bennett
Marshall Faulk
James Mungro
Maurice Morris
Wide Receivers
2005 Grade: C-
Considering Owens was here half of the year, and Reggie Brown made decent progress in his rookie season this is a fair grade. But Greg Lewis was a big disappointment this year after his nice play late in 2004. This team needs two WR's in the offseason in my opinion. Greg Lewis didn't even play like a # 3 WR this year. Billy McMullen, well, nobody knows his deal. The free agency crop at WR is nice but nothing worth breaking the bank over. Reggie Wayne will be the name Eagles fan salivate over all offseason, but that's probably unrealistic. The team has too many needs at other places to overspend at WR. So I'm looking at any two of David Givens, Antonio Bryant, Eric Moulds, & Joe Jurevicius. Givens & Bryant will probably get high dollar deals, but not Reggie Wayne/Randle El type money. They'll probably give similar production too. Bryant will probably be kept by the Browns but that front office can't seem to do anything right lately, so if they falter, the Eagles should swoop in. Moulds & Jurevicius I like because they're veterans, and Jurevicius always seems to make a big catch.
Other FA's:
Reggie Wayne
Antwaan Randle El
Josh Reed
Randy Hymes
Peter Warrick
Jabar Gaffney
Rod Gardner
Corey Bradford
Kevin Johnson (I could see the Eagles signing him - old McNabb buddy)
Peerless Price (how the mighty have fallen)
Koren Robinson
Dez White
Tight Ends
2005 Grade: C
L.J. Smith fumbles the ball too much. That's my only problem with L.J. Besides that he's a decent Tight End. The Eagles will need another Tight End. I'm thinking the guy is Justin Peelle. He's 26, relatively unheard of, and has been behind Antonio Gates and blocked for LT2. Can't get better experience than that. Plus, he's a Duck and it would some readers happy.
Other FA's:
Chris Baker
Brandon Manumaleuna
Matt Schoebel
Stephen Alexander
Offensive Line: D
You can say I'm being harsh on these grades, but this year's Eagles team was a complete team breakdown. The offensive line could be looked at as what started the downfall by letting McNabb get buried by Atlanta in the first game of the year. It's really hard to preview what the Eagles should do here because I don't have access to Tra Thomas's medical file. If Thomas is done, signing Runyan may become a priority. Even if Thomas is OK, the Eagles may want to cut him loose. I'm thinking it may be time to end the Runyan/Thomas era in Philly. Shawn Andrews can move to tackle on either side. He looked like a great pick at times this year, showed his youth at others. Still, he's a mainstay for years on the line. I think the Eagles will take the best O-lineman available in this years draft. I think it's a smart move too. In free agency, they'll probably also sign an o-lineman. The guy I'm looking at is Steve Hutchinson from the Seahawks. The Seahawks have one of the games best offensive lineman, and Hutchinson is a big reason why. But can Seattle afford to pay both him and Walter Jones huge salaries? If they do, Shaun Alexander is certainly a goner and that may not be too popular for a team coming off of a Super Bowl. Watch for the franchise tag here. As for offensive tackles, Jeff Backus (Det) & Tom Ashworth (NE) lead the charge.
I doubt Ashworth will leave NE and who knows what Matt Millen will do.
Other FA's:
Stephen Neal (NE)
LeCharles Bentley (thought of as one of the game's best centers, likely heading to Cleve to play Guard)
Justin Hartwig (Tenn, Fisher finally has money to play with this offseason and probably won't let his good o-lineman go)
Jon Runyan (he's 32 but o-lineman can play well into their 30's)
Next week: The defense!
SUPER BOWL PREVIEW
Seahawks vs. Steelers (-4, O/U 47.5) in Detroit
When I think of these teams I think of the word solid. Both have solid offenses and defenses. Solid special teams with solid coaches. The sentimental favorites will be the Steelers with Bill Cowher and Jerome Bettis, both of whom have yet to win a Super Bowl.
When the Steelers have the ball, look for them to stay aggressive through the air. The formula has worked the last three weeks and I don't see Cowher and offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt changing that. Seattle's defensive line has played great all year, getting constant pressure on the QB. Willie Parker will be a huge factor in this game. If he can get a few yards early, that could slow down that pass rush. Willie Parker is my surprise MVP pick.
When the Seahawks have the ball, it's balance all the way. A healthy dose of Shaun Alexander but don't get too used to that, because Mike Holmgren is from the Andy Reid school of coaching and loves to throw the ball. The Steelers one possible weakness is pass defense. They've shown signs of weakness at times this year. Matt Hasselbeck will need to be the MVP if the Seahawks are to win.
My pick: Steelers 20, Seahawks 13. I think we're in for a low scoring game. Both defenses can play and Cowher has a habit of getting conservative in big games. I think he's learned from his ways and will be a little more aggressive, but not too much. Look for Willie Parker to be the MVP.
Baseball
Pitchers and Catchers are only weeks away from reporting to Spring Training. I'll save my Phillies offseason analysis for March, but I just wanted to make one quick note. The Reds are apparently interviewing Mike Arbuckle for their open GM position. All I can say is, "PLEASE!!!!!!!!!". Please take him away.
NBA - Derreck Sura
- Philadelphia went 5-3 while I was away and vaulted all the way up to 6th place in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers (23-21) are now assured of finishing January above .500. They even just won a tough back to back without Allen Iverson. I blast them enough, so I have to give them credit when they deserve it. I said the schedule would get tougher in January, but Philly's strength of schedule actually dropped all the way to 29th this week (.484). I have a feeling that February is not going to kind the Sixers, but we shall see.
There were some happenings with the club over the past two weeks. First, Kyle Korver was benched in favor of John Salmons. I can understand this move. Philly is terrible defensively, and KK was easily the weakest link of the starting five. Replacing him with Salmons was pretty much the only way for coach Maurice Cheeks to go (unless you consider Matt Barnes an option). The Sixers do lose 4 points a game with the change but get more athletic in the progress. Besides, KK is probably better suited to be a 6th man type anyway.
The main story as far as I'm concerned was that both AI and Chris Webber complained in some form about their "roles" with the team. Webber was not happy with how he was being used in the offense. Hmm, where have I heard C-Web say that before since he came to Philly? Anyway, Chris wants to average more assists, and knows he can't if AI is going to have the ball all the time. This was the locker room drama that led to Allen suggesting to the media that he was "unsure of his role". Meaning does the offense run through me or Webber? Here's the thing about that fellas, you both have known the deal about each other from day one. Either you decide to sacrifice and work together, or end up with no rings. With combined salaries of 39 and 42 million over the next two seasons, it's unlikely that either of them is going anywhere until C-Web's contract is up..
This weeks brings the Sixers: Phoenix, Detroit & @Cleveland (back to back). That doesn't look good, does it? I'd say one win would be nice, but AI's left ankle injury makes Philly a bit of a wild card at the moment.
- Indiana's Ron Artest was finally traded on Wednesday to Sacramento for Peja Stojakovic. It's hard for me to declare a definitive winner in this deal for a few reasons. Both of these players needed a change of scenery in the worst way, so taking that into account, I'll go over the positives first. The Kings (18-26) are a terrible defensive team (25th overall in opponent's FG% at 46%) and have a reputation for being soft. Sacto also had no one that could break their man down off the dribble and finish at the rim. Ron-Ron should help in all those areas. The Pacers (21-21) were having trouble scoring (93 ppg or 24th overall) and needed another consistent outside threat to make things easier on Jermaine O'Neal in the post. Peja's 18.3 career scoring average and 39.8% career mark form 3 point land should help Indy immediately.
On paper the trade looks good for both sides, but games aren't played on paper as we all know. The risks with Artest are well documented. The guy is unstable and can blow up your team at any minute in any number of different ways. I don't see anyone on the Kings, maybe with the exception of former teammate Brad Miller, that can command Ron's respect enough to keep him in line. Not President Geoff Petrie, coach Rick Adelman, or team leader Mike Bibby. I'm sure the hope of the Maloof brothers is that a fresh start will make all the difference and Artest will be changed man. Time will tell.
The Pacers' plan looked good until JO tore his left groin and was lost for eight weeks to the remainder of the regular season. Suddenly the inside outside game Indy's brain trust envisioned with O'Neal and Stojakovic/Stephen Jackson is up in smoke. To make matters worse, starting PG Jamaal Tinsley will be out for at least another week, and maybe much longer, as he tries to get his right elbow/biceps injury healed up. So Peja is coming into a situation where he will be the focal point of the offense, which is exactly the role he was struggling with during his final days in Sacto. I'm not even mentioning the problems Stojakovic has had with a protruding disc in his back this year, or that he can opt of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Since I'm paid to voice my opinion, I give the nod here to the Kings. Ron-Ron is a ticking time bomb, but he's a very talented time bomb that just might excel as the unquestioned best player on a team. It's hard to believe, but I actually think the Pacers took on MORE risk in this deal. It's very possible that Peja continues his sub par play for the rest of the season and leaves Indy high and dry come summer time. If that does turn out to be the case, and Indy ends up with nothing for Artest, it will officially be time to remove CEO Donnie Walsh from his pedestal.
- Supposedly the trade flood gates were going to open after Ron-Ron was dealt. Umm, not so much. While former teammates Kevin McHale and Danny Ainge wasted no time putting together a seven player three draft pick deal on Thursday, nothing else went down. Even though this deal seemed sexy when it was announced, it really doesn't help either team all that much in my opinion. The Celtics received Wally Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi, Dwayne Jones, and a future first round pick from the Timberwolves for Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, Marcus Banks, Justin Reed, and two conditional second round picks.
On Minnesota's (20-22) end, a common thought around the league has been that Kevin Garnett needs a sidekick who can create his own shot. Enter Ricky Davis. It's also been said that the Wolves needed to get more athletic as a team. Enter Banks, Reed, and Blount (compared to Kandi). The first round pick McHale gave up is not that important to Minne because they need help now, not three years from now. While Davis will do the things people think KG needs on offense, he's not that big of an upgrade from Wally on the defensive end. Ricky is certainly more athletic then "World", but he's not known for his defensive prowess to be kind. Blount could be the biggest difference maker in this trade because he can make shots. The Wolves are another team that has trouble putting the ball in the hoop (26th overall at 91.2 ppg), so Blount's consistent mid-range jumper will come in handy for sure. I know he plays no D and doesn't rebound or block shots, but it's not like Olowokandi did any of those things either. Marcus Banks could help them on D, but I have a hard time seeing him getting regular minutes with Marko Jaric, Troy Hudson, and Anthony Carter already in front of him at the point. Not to mention he'll have to compete with rookie Bracey Wright at PG too. Justin Reed has kind of let me down this year, but given Minne's lack of athletic tough minded defenders at the SF spot, he may flourish in the Twin Cities if given a chance.
For Boston (18-26) the addition of Szczerbiak allows them to move Paul Pierce back to his more natural SG position. I think Wally and PP could work well as a tandem because they play different games on the offensive end. Wally will be able to float around the perimeter and get easy looks from the double teams Pierce commands. In turn Wally's presence will help keep teams honest on Paul, possibly making PP's life a little easier in the process. However, the most daunting task for the Celtics to overcome will be PP having to guard the other team's best player on a nightly basis. I'm not sure he's in good enough shape to pull double duty like Kobe Bryant does. The addition of Kandi and Dwayne Jones means next to nothing. I see Olowokandi as an insurance policy in case Kendrick Perkins, Al Jefferson, or Raef LaFrentz gets injured. I suppose it's possible that Kandi plays 10-15 minutes a night, but mainly he'll be there to sit on the bench and look disinterested. Which is actually what he does best anyway. Jones has yet to play in the NBA, so I have no idea on him. It's always nice to have an extra first round pick, but Boston already has so many young players trying to find their way, that I'm not sure they need another.
This trade has very little salary implications too. Including this year Wally has 4 years and 46 million left. Where Blount has 5 years 33.5 million and Davis 3 years 19 million. The rest of the players are done after this year (except for Jones who has another year at 650 K), so neither team can claim this was a salary dump. This deal is basically an attempt by both teams to improve their chemistry with a roster shake up. It's hard to say who will mesh better together, KG & Ricky or PP & Wally? Since that is as close to wash as can be, I'll give the slight edge in the short term to the Wolves on the strength of Mark Blount over Michael Olowokandi. In the long run though, Ainge clearing up more playing time for Perk and Al Jef may tilt this in favor Celts. Bottom line for me is that neither team is any closer to making the playoffs then they were before the trade.
- Did I say nothing else went down? A small fib on my part. Minnesota Vice President Kevin McHale also sent Nikoloz Tskitishvili to the Suns (28-16) for a 2006 second round pick. I had no idea why McHale signed Skita for two years this off season after one good summer league game, but getting a second rounder for him is a steal of a deal as I see it. Skita hasn't done a thing since being the fifth pick overall in the 2002 draft. He's a seven footer that likes to shoot 3's and play no defense. You can forget about him rebounding too. Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni coached Skita in Italy, so if anyone can get something out of him, it has to be D'Antoni. If Skita does not produce under his former coach is a system tailor made to his supposed abilities, he can start packing his bags for the Euroleague this summer.
- Also on Thursday Toronto Raptors' President Richard Peddie fired GM Rob Babcock after only a year and a half on the job. Never mind that it was Peddie who completely botched the GM search that led to him hiring Babcock as a last resort. Or that the people of Toronto (15-30) want Peddie's head on a platter too. None of that matters because someone had to be the fall guy for that mess of a team, and it's not like Babcock's track record didn't earn him this ziggy.
It all started with him drafting Rafael Araujo eighth overall in 2004. I know he wanted a C to play along side Chris Bosh, but he could have had Robert Swift, Andris Biedrins, or David Harrison (all have shown more then "Hoffa" to this point). Not to mention a swingman extraordinaire like Andre Iguodala. Then he went on to sign Rafer Alston to a 6 year 30 million dollar contract after only one good season. He closed out his first year on the job by trading Vince Carter for Alonzo Mourning (was paid 10 million by the Raptors to never play a game for them), Eric Williams, Aaron Williams, and two first round picks. That pretty much sealed his fate right there and set the bar ridiculously low for generations to come when trading a star player.
It wasn't all bad for Babcock though. He did sign Matt Bonner and Jose Calderon out of no where. Not like they are stars, but they are solid role players. He also drafted Charlie Villanueva (working out OK) and traded Alston for Mike James (a coup for him). In the end though, this is about making the franchise look like a place where Bosh wants to resign after this season or next. If I'm Bosh I play out my rookie contract by accepting Toronto's one year tender after next season and become an unrestricted free agent after the '07-08 campaign. It seems like a long way off, but Bosh will only be 24 that summer and about to enter his prime. An athletic, lefty, near seven footer, with a nice touch, and 20 & 10 potential, who's a good citizen taboot? Can you say max contract offers from every team that can afford it?
- On 1/22/06 Kobe Bryant scored the second highest point total in NBA history with 81. Yet still some people bashed him with "He took 46 shots". Or "I bet his teammates were hating it." Huh? I wonder if these people have seen the Lakers (23-20) play this year? Who else is going to score? Lamar Odom? He's a complimentary scorer at best (15.9 ppg career) with career high of 34. You've got to be kidding me if you're going to suggest any of the other Lakers. Bottom line, the Lakers were losing 49-63 at halftime and it looked to me as if they were going to get embarrassed. So I went to bed and missed history in the making. The "Mamba" went on to score 55 in the second half on 28-46 from the field, 7-13 from 3, and 18-20 from the FT stripe (snapping his streak of 62 consecutive makes from there) in only 42 minutes of play for the game. That adds up to a 73.9 true shooting percentage*. If that's not impressive enough, the team actually needed him to score like that to win. Odom is a nice player, but has a tendency to disappear from time to time. The rest of the bunch did what they do. My conclusion? There are a certain percentage of people out there, and you know who you are, that are going to bash "Ocho" no matter what he does. I guess that's their prerogative, but by being such "haters" they are missing one of the greatest players in NBA history during his prime.
* True Shooting Percentage calculates what a player's shooting percentage would be if we accounted for free throws and 3-pointers. True Shooting Percentage = (Total points x 50) divided by [(FGA + (FTA x 0.44)].
- Chris "Birdman" Andersen was suspended from the NBA for two years after violating the league's substance abuse policy. Andersen has never tested positive before, so that means he tested positive for a "drug of abuse". Those are amphetamine and its analogs, which include methamphetamine; cocaine; LSD; opiates, including heroin, codeine, and morphine; and PCP. I'm guessing he tested positive for heroin, coke, or ecstasy. Stanley Roberts was the last guy kicked out of the league for drugs back in 1999, and ecstasy is what got him. Who really knows about "Birdman" though? He was a decent role player who hustled, blocked shots, and grabbed rebounds. He'll probably be best remembered for needing nine attempts to make his first dunk in the 2005 dunk contest. When you think about that display, it's got to be heroin.
- Last Monday Chucky Atkins signed with Memphis after being bought out of his contract for an undisclosed amount by Washington. Atkins gives the Grizzlies a veteran insurance policy at the point behind the often injured Bobby Jackson. You have to wonder about Chuck though? I know Memphis (25-18) is struggling and all since Damon Stoudamire was lost for the season, but what they had going for them this year was good chemistry. Now President Jerry West brings in Atkins who has talked his way out of Orlando, Boston, the Lakers, and now the Wizards. The only place Chuck was ever happy was Detroit (who he incidentally wanted to sign with again, but they had no interest). Since this is just a half season rental where Atkins will be auditioning for the entire league, it will probably be OK. I'd just hate to see him derail the Griz' season with his special brand of team cancer.
Don't miss my Mid-Season Report next week before we go on hiatus.
NHL Week In Review By : Ed Wasser
- How, on this God forsaken mud ball called Earth, does Islander GM Mike Milbury still have a job? A decade (A DECADE!!!) of unmitigated failure rivaled only by Elgin Baylor's reign of garbage with the LA Clippers and every Friday Milbury gets a paycheck. In 10 seasons Milbury has zero playoff series victories and that includes 6 seasons when the Islanders did not make the playoffs at all. 6 seasons of no playoffs...in the NHL, from a team in New York. That's almost impossible. I don't even know how many coaches he's been through but I know last year he fired Peter Laviolette who is currently leading the Hurricanes to the lead in points in the entire Eastern Conference. Milbury traded away Roberto Luongo (the best goalie on a bad team in the league) for Mark Parrish (who?) and Ollie Jokinen (he's awe-ite). A few weeks ago he traded Janne Niinimaa, a fast puck carrying defenseman, a TREMENDOUSLY valued commodity in the NHL, for John Erskine. Let me ask everyone, what's your favorite moment of John Erskine's career? Yeah, exactly. Just absolute lunacy. Milbury is single handedly killing the once mighty Islander fan base.
Line of the Week.....From Flyers' broadcaster Gary Dornhoffer recalling a 1968 Flyers game he played in were St. Louis Blue Red Berenson scored all 6 Blues goals, including 4 in 9 minutes.."We kept saying it would have been a great game...you know, if Berenson never showed up". You think?
- NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman at his best.....The Bloomberg News reported that NHL franchise values are souring, some up as much as 50% plus, because of all the money the teams are saving because of the cap. Bloomberg estimated that the Mighty Ducks, which sold during the lockout for $75 million, is now worth about $150 million which is great news on two fronts. 1.) Because the sale is less then a year old and 2.) because the team was owned by Disney which means those jerks left $75 million on the table.
- NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman at his worst.....I'll give OLN credit for vastly improving their product in terms of the camera quality and the fact that Pierre McGuire has abandoned his attempt to be the in studio pregame/halftime horse's ass a la Terry Bradshaw during the broadcasts but it doesn't hide the fact that keeping the games on ESPN was the right play. Millions of fewer people have OLN, plus ESPN controls what sports get play on SportsCenter, and ESPN II gave the NHL it's on show (NHL Tonight). If Bettman had sacrificed some short term dough for the wider exposure of a much better game I think it would have paid off in the long run.
- Line of the Week II......LA Kings broadcaster Bob Miller during last Tuesday's Kings/Lightning game in response to the question "who would you trade to get Alexander Ovechkin?" "Anybody they me asked for".
- Gotta hand it to long time MMM subscriber Chris Paul. I knew that Washington Capital Ovechkin was a star internationally but so are a lot of guys. If you listen long enough you can hear predictions of greatness for hundreds of international players that fade into the sunset. For every Sergei Federov there's a bunch of Pavel Brendl's out there. But Paul was talking up Ovechkin from the start and God was he ever correct. You know how certain athletes change the game just by their presence on the playing surface? Barry Bonds at bat, Barry Sanders getting a hand off, Michael Jordan in a close game with a minute to go....Ovechkin is at that level already. The entire complexion of the game changes when he hits the ice, of course it doesn't hurt that he's the only player the Capitals have.
- The Flyers desperately need a break. The Olympic break and All-Star break can not come fast enough for these guys. Last week the Flyers beat the Penguins 4 - 2 because....well, because they're the Penguins. But the Flyers lost to the Canadiens 5 - 3 after blowing a 2 - 0 lead and then got destroyed by the Lightning at home 6 - 0. In the Lightning game goalie Antero Niitymakki played terribly but I think he's tired, he's certainly playing like it. The Flyers have injuries galore including groin issues for Peter Forsberg, Kim Johnsson, and Robert Esche, a shoulder problem for Eric Desjardins, and of course the concussion of Keith Primeau. Plus Joni Pitkanen just came back from injury. It's true that the minor leaguers played well for the Flyers but minor leaguers are in the minors for a reason. The Flyers need a break to get all these guys back and start the stretch run fully loaded. By the way, I'm going on the record now that Keith Primeau's career is over. I'm basing that prediction strictly on watching Bobby Clarke's body language and hearing his voice while discussing Primeau during interviews.
- OK I haven't written about Bada Boom Racing in a while so I'll just get everyone caught up. Let me start with this...aside from the initial investment we've never put another dime in the horse business. Not one. Every trainer bill, vet bill, and bail of hay has been paid for by purse money. So Clemente is on a farm in New Jersey until the spring. He's proven to only be a grass horse so we're waiting until the spring to run him again when the grass racing starts again. So we got another horse, his name is Fort Seattle. Fort Seattle won a race for us on January 3rd. It was a great win in the slop. Since we've been playing with the house's money for over a year in a business were thousands of people lose money every day the logical move would be to pocket the money and just keep the horses we have so of course....we got more horses. We got a 4 year old gelding named Modacious and a 4 year old filly named Lady Marmalade. So that brought the stable up to 5, Clemente, Second Story Man, Modacious, Lady Marmalade, and Fort Seattle. Yesterday we had 3 of the horses running on one day. The first race was Lady Marmalade, running a mile and a sixteenth with Victor Carrero in the saddle.
Victor Carrero is a funny kid. He's so mild mannered and polite it's crazy. I heard a story from another jockey, Rodrigo Madrigal, that he was in a race and he and Carrero were battling it out down the stretch going full out and when Carrero's whip accidentally brushed Madrigal Carrero said "Oh!! I'm sorry!!" Even in the middle of the race he's thinking about being polite. Carrero speaks with a thick Spanish accent and right before yesterday's race he leaned over to shake my hand and he says "I will try very hard for you today". I thought that was cool, especially since I knew it was true.
So the race was a long one. When the race started Carrero had Lady Marmalade a little too far back for comfort but he remained within striking distance. Down the stretch he was able to get Lady Marmalade to really turn on the gas and he won by a head. Lady Marmalade was also claimed during the race so she had a short yet illustrious career with Bada Boom.
The next race was Modacious running 6.5 furlongs with Carlos Lopez Jr. in command. My boy was up against it in this race, there were a lot of great horses in the race. Modacious finished 4th which was probably as good as he could do considering the competition.
The final race was Fort Seattle running 6.5 furlongs with Luis Rivera Jr. in the irons. Rivera just knows Fort Seattle which makes him the perfect jockey for him. When the race started it looked like Fort Seattle had the race in the bag, he was close to the lead virtually from the start. But he started to tire out toward the end of the race and he eventually finished second. So all in all it was a pretty good day for Bada Boom.
Comments:
saurinmeht@gmail.com
dsura@peacehealth.org
ewwasser@hotmail.com
January 30, 2006
www.mondaymorningmehta.blogspot.com
Note: Next's week's MMM will be the last MMM until March 6th. I'll be in India covering Cricket for the Gujarat Samachar.
The 2nd Annual Official Philadelphia Eagles Offseason Guide Sponsored by America On-Line.
Just to refresh everyone on how this works, we'll do offense this week and defense next week.
Quarterback
2005 Grade: D
Donovan McNabb played poorly this year, I don't think there should be any discussion about that. The reason for his poor play was likely the injury against Atlanta in the first game of the year. Nonetheless, McNabb needs to and will play better. But QB's around the league get hurt plenty. A good backup is hard to find, but almost a necessity if you want to cover all the bases (New England & Indy have no real back up and they still win though). Mike McMahon & Koy Detmer were beyond putrid this year. They need to be carrying the third string clipboards next year. I think the Eagles should sign Jeff Garcia. Garcia stunk this year in Detroit, but everyone stinks in Detroit. He'll "know the system" (I hate that saying), added to the fact that he and McNabb are charter members of the "Backstabbed by T.O. club". A perfect match if you ask me.
Other FA's:
Drew Brees
David Carr (huge roster bonus due)
Jon Kitna (Carson Palmer has already started lobbying for him to resign)
Josh McCown (I really like this QB, he should get a chance to start for someone)
Kurt Warner (close to resigning with Ariz)
Running Backs
2005 Grade: Incomplete
I can't really grade this group because the Eagles just didn't run the ball enough in meaningful games.
Westbrook was decent while he was still playing, and Moats looked good for flashes. This group still needs a big pounding back, and Najeh Davenport would fit the bill perfectly. He's a Packer which can't hurt, probably going to move on to another team on a 1 year deal, coming off an ankle injury. If he gets a long term deal it'll probably be more than the Eagles are willing to pay. There are a ton of good running backs that are going to hit free agency this year.
Other FA's:
Edgerrin James
Shaun Alexander
Jamal Lewis
Ahman Green
DeShaun Foster
Chester Taylor
Michael Bennett
Marshall Faulk
James Mungro
Maurice Morris
Wide Receivers
2005 Grade: C-
Considering Owens was here half of the year, and Reggie Brown made decent progress in his rookie season this is a fair grade. But Greg Lewis was a big disappointment this year after his nice play late in 2004. This team needs two WR's in the offseason in my opinion. Greg Lewis didn't even play like a # 3 WR this year. Billy McMullen, well, nobody knows his deal. The free agency crop at WR is nice but nothing worth breaking the bank over. Reggie Wayne will be the name Eagles fan salivate over all offseason, but that's probably unrealistic. The team has too many needs at other places to overspend at WR. So I'm looking at any two of David Givens, Antonio Bryant, Eric Moulds, & Joe Jurevicius. Givens & Bryant will probably get high dollar deals, but not Reggie Wayne/Randle El type money. They'll probably give similar production too. Bryant will probably be kept by the Browns but that front office can't seem to do anything right lately, so if they falter, the Eagles should swoop in. Moulds & Jurevicius I like because they're veterans, and Jurevicius always seems to make a big catch.
Other FA's:
Reggie Wayne
Antwaan Randle El
Josh Reed
Randy Hymes
Peter Warrick
Jabar Gaffney
Rod Gardner
Corey Bradford
Kevin Johnson (I could see the Eagles signing him - old McNabb buddy)
Peerless Price (how the mighty have fallen)
Koren Robinson
Dez White
Tight Ends
2005 Grade: C
L.J. Smith fumbles the ball too much. That's my only problem with L.J. Besides that he's a decent Tight End. The Eagles will need another Tight End. I'm thinking the guy is Justin Peelle. He's 26, relatively unheard of, and has been behind Antonio Gates and blocked for LT2. Can't get better experience than that. Plus, he's a Duck and it would some readers happy.
Other FA's:
Chris Baker
Brandon Manumaleuna
Matt Schoebel
Stephen Alexander
Offensive Line: D
You can say I'm being harsh on these grades, but this year's Eagles team was a complete team breakdown. The offensive line could be looked at as what started the downfall by letting McNabb get buried by Atlanta in the first game of the year. It's really hard to preview what the Eagles should do here because I don't have access to Tra Thomas's medical file. If Thomas is done, signing Runyan may become a priority. Even if Thomas is OK, the Eagles may want to cut him loose. I'm thinking it may be time to end the Runyan/Thomas era in Philly. Shawn Andrews can move to tackle on either side. He looked like a great pick at times this year, showed his youth at others. Still, he's a mainstay for years on the line. I think the Eagles will take the best O-lineman available in this years draft. I think it's a smart move too. In free agency, they'll probably also sign an o-lineman. The guy I'm looking at is Steve Hutchinson from the Seahawks. The Seahawks have one of the games best offensive lineman, and Hutchinson is a big reason why. But can Seattle afford to pay both him and Walter Jones huge salaries? If they do, Shaun Alexander is certainly a goner and that may not be too popular for a team coming off of a Super Bowl. Watch for the franchise tag here. As for offensive tackles, Jeff Backus (Det) & Tom Ashworth (NE) lead the charge.
I doubt Ashworth will leave NE and who knows what Matt Millen will do.
Other FA's:
Stephen Neal (NE)
LeCharles Bentley (thought of as one of the game's best centers, likely heading to Cleve to play Guard)
Justin Hartwig (Tenn, Fisher finally has money to play with this offseason and probably won't let his good o-lineman go)
Jon Runyan (he's 32 but o-lineman can play well into their 30's)
Next week: The defense!
SUPER BOWL PREVIEW
Seahawks vs. Steelers (-4, O/U 47.5) in Detroit
When I think of these teams I think of the word solid. Both have solid offenses and defenses. Solid special teams with solid coaches. The sentimental favorites will be the Steelers with Bill Cowher and Jerome Bettis, both of whom have yet to win a Super Bowl.
When the Steelers have the ball, look for them to stay aggressive through the air. The formula has worked the last three weeks and I don't see Cowher and offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt changing that. Seattle's defensive line has played great all year, getting constant pressure on the QB. Willie Parker will be a huge factor in this game. If he can get a few yards early, that could slow down that pass rush. Willie Parker is my surprise MVP pick.
When the Seahawks have the ball, it's balance all the way. A healthy dose of Shaun Alexander but don't get too used to that, because Mike Holmgren is from the Andy Reid school of coaching and loves to throw the ball. The Steelers one possible weakness is pass defense. They've shown signs of weakness at times this year. Matt Hasselbeck will need to be the MVP if the Seahawks are to win.
My pick: Steelers 20, Seahawks 13. I think we're in for a low scoring game. Both defenses can play and Cowher has a habit of getting conservative in big games. I think he's learned from his ways and will be a little more aggressive, but not too much. Look for Willie Parker to be the MVP.
Baseball
Pitchers and Catchers are only weeks away from reporting to Spring Training. I'll save my Phillies offseason analysis for March, but I just wanted to make one quick note. The Reds are apparently interviewing Mike Arbuckle for their open GM position. All I can say is, "PLEASE!!!!!!!!!". Please take him away.
NBA - Derreck Sura
- Philadelphia went 5-3 while I was away and vaulted all the way up to 6th place in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers (23-21) are now assured of finishing January above .500. They even just won a tough back to back without Allen Iverson. I blast them enough, so I have to give them credit when they deserve it. I said the schedule would get tougher in January, but Philly's strength of schedule actually dropped all the way to 29th this week (.484). I have a feeling that February is not going to kind the Sixers, but we shall see.
There were some happenings with the club over the past two weeks. First, Kyle Korver was benched in favor of John Salmons. I can understand this move. Philly is terrible defensively, and KK was easily the weakest link of the starting five. Replacing him with Salmons was pretty much the only way for coach Maurice Cheeks to go (unless you consider Matt Barnes an option). The Sixers do lose 4 points a game with the change but get more athletic in the progress. Besides, KK is probably better suited to be a 6th man type anyway.
The main story as far as I'm concerned was that both AI and Chris Webber complained in some form about their "roles" with the team. Webber was not happy with how he was being used in the offense. Hmm, where have I heard C-Web say that before since he came to Philly? Anyway, Chris wants to average more assists, and knows he can't if AI is going to have the ball all the time. This was the locker room drama that led to Allen suggesting to the media that he was "unsure of his role". Meaning does the offense run through me or Webber? Here's the thing about that fellas, you both have known the deal about each other from day one. Either you decide to sacrifice and work together, or end up with no rings. With combined salaries of 39 and 42 million over the next two seasons, it's unlikely that either of them is going anywhere until C-Web's contract is up..
This weeks brings the Sixers: Phoenix, Detroit & @Cleveland (back to back). That doesn't look good, does it? I'd say one win would be nice, but AI's left ankle injury makes Philly a bit of a wild card at the moment.
- Indiana's Ron Artest was finally traded on Wednesday to Sacramento for Peja Stojakovic. It's hard for me to declare a definitive winner in this deal for a few reasons. Both of these players needed a change of scenery in the worst way, so taking that into account, I'll go over the positives first. The Kings (18-26) are a terrible defensive team (25th overall in opponent's FG% at 46%) and have a reputation for being soft. Sacto also had no one that could break their man down off the dribble and finish at the rim. Ron-Ron should help in all those areas. The Pacers (21-21) were having trouble scoring (93 ppg or 24th overall) and needed another consistent outside threat to make things easier on Jermaine O'Neal in the post. Peja's 18.3 career scoring average and 39.8% career mark form 3 point land should help Indy immediately.
On paper the trade looks good for both sides, but games aren't played on paper as we all know. The risks with Artest are well documented. The guy is unstable and can blow up your team at any minute in any number of different ways. I don't see anyone on the Kings, maybe with the exception of former teammate Brad Miller, that can command Ron's respect enough to keep him in line. Not President Geoff Petrie, coach Rick Adelman, or team leader Mike Bibby. I'm sure the hope of the Maloof brothers is that a fresh start will make all the difference and Artest will be changed man. Time will tell.
The Pacers' plan looked good until JO tore his left groin and was lost for eight weeks to the remainder of the regular season. Suddenly the inside outside game Indy's brain trust envisioned with O'Neal and Stojakovic/Stephen Jackson is up in smoke. To make matters worse, starting PG Jamaal Tinsley will be out for at least another week, and maybe much longer, as he tries to get his right elbow/biceps injury healed up. So Peja is coming into a situation where he will be the focal point of the offense, which is exactly the role he was struggling with during his final days in Sacto. I'm not even mentioning the problems Stojakovic has had with a protruding disc in his back this year, or that he can opt of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Since I'm paid to voice my opinion, I give the nod here to the Kings. Ron-Ron is a ticking time bomb, but he's a very talented time bomb that just might excel as the unquestioned best player on a team. It's hard to believe, but I actually think the Pacers took on MORE risk in this deal. It's very possible that Peja continues his sub par play for the rest of the season and leaves Indy high and dry come summer time. If that does turn out to be the case, and Indy ends up with nothing for Artest, it will officially be time to remove CEO Donnie Walsh from his pedestal.
- Supposedly the trade flood gates were going to open after Ron-Ron was dealt. Umm, not so much. While former teammates Kevin McHale and Danny Ainge wasted no time putting together a seven player three draft pick deal on Thursday, nothing else went down. Even though this deal seemed sexy when it was announced, it really doesn't help either team all that much in my opinion. The Celtics received Wally Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi, Dwayne Jones, and a future first round pick from the Timberwolves for Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, Marcus Banks, Justin Reed, and two conditional second round picks.
On Minnesota's (20-22) end, a common thought around the league has been that Kevin Garnett needs a sidekick who can create his own shot. Enter Ricky Davis. It's also been said that the Wolves needed to get more athletic as a team. Enter Banks, Reed, and Blount (compared to Kandi). The first round pick McHale gave up is not that important to Minne because they need help now, not three years from now. While Davis will do the things people think KG needs on offense, he's not that big of an upgrade from Wally on the defensive end. Ricky is certainly more athletic then "World", but he's not known for his defensive prowess to be kind. Blount could be the biggest difference maker in this trade because he can make shots. The Wolves are another team that has trouble putting the ball in the hoop (26th overall at 91.2 ppg), so Blount's consistent mid-range jumper will come in handy for sure. I know he plays no D and doesn't rebound or block shots, but it's not like Olowokandi did any of those things either. Marcus Banks could help them on D, but I have a hard time seeing him getting regular minutes with Marko Jaric, Troy Hudson, and Anthony Carter already in front of him at the point. Not to mention he'll have to compete with rookie Bracey Wright at PG too. Justin Reed has kind of let me down this year, but given Minne's lack of athletic tough minded defenders at the SF spot, he may flourish in the Twin Cities if given a chance.
For Boston (18-26) the addition of Szczerbiak allows them to move Paul Pierce back to his more natural SG position. I think Wally and PP could work well as a tandem because they play different games on the offensive end. Wally will be able to float around the perimeter and get easy looks from the double teams Pierce commands. In turn Wally's presence will help keep teams honest on Paul, possibly making PP's life a little easier in the process. However, the most daunting task for the Celtics to overcome will be PP having to guard the other team's best player on a nightly basis. I'm not sure he's in good enough shape to pull double duty like Kobe Bryant does. The addition of Kandi and Dwayne Jones means next to nothing. I see Olowokandi as an insurance policy in case Kendrick Perkins, Al Jefferson, or Raef LaFrentz gets injured. I suppose it's possible that Kandi plays 10-15 minutes a night, but mainly he'll be there to sit on the bench and look disinterested. Which is actually what he does best anyway. Jones has yet to play in the NBA, so I have no idea on him. It's always nice to have an extra first round pick, but Boston already has so many young players trying to find their way, that I'm not sure they need another.
This trade has very little salary implications too. Including this year Wally has 4 years and 46 million left. Where Blount has 5 years 33.5 million and Davis 3 years 19 million. The rest of the players are done after this year (except for Jones who has another year at 650 K), so neither team can claim this was a salary dump. This deal is basically an attempt by both teams to improve their chemistry with a roster shake up. It's hard to say who will mesh better together, KG & Ricky or PP & Wally? Since that is as close to wash as can be, I'll give the slight edge in the short term to the Wolves on the strength of Mark Blount over Michael Olowokandi. In the long run though, Ainge clearing up more playing time for Perk and Al Jef may tilt this in favor Celts. Bottom line for me is that neither team is any closer to making the playoffs then they were before the trade.
- Did I say nothing else went down? A small fib on my part. Minnesota Vice President Kevin McHale also sent Nikoloz Tskitishvili to the Suns (28-16) for a 2006 second round pick. I had no idea why McHale signed Skita for two years this off season after one good summer league game, but getting a second rounder for him is a steal of a deal as I see it. Skita hasn't done a thing since being the fifth pick overall in the 2002 draft. He's a seven footer that likes to shoot 3's and play no defense. You can forget about him rebounding too. Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni coached Skita in Italy, so if anyone can get something out of him, it has to be D'Antoni. If Skita does not produce under his former coach is a system tailor made to his supposed abilities, he can start packing his bags for the Euroleague this summer.
- Also on Thursday Toronto Raptors' President Richard Peddie fired GM Rob Babcock after only a year and a half on the job. Never mind that it was Peddie who completely botched the GM search that led to him hiring Babcock as a last resort. Or that the people of Toronto (15-30) want Peddie's head on a platter too. None of that matters because someone had to be the fall guy for that mess of a team, and it's not like Babcock's track record didn't earn him this ziggy.
It all started with him drafting Rafael Araujo eighth overall in 2004. I know he wanted a C to play along side Chris Bosh, but he could have had Robert Swift, Andris Biedrins, or David Harrison (all have shown more then "Hoffa" to this point). Not to mention a swingman extraordinaire like Andre Iguodala. Then he went on to sign Rafer Alston to a 6 year 30 million dollar contract after only one good season. He closed out his first year on the job by trading Vince Carter for Alonzo Mourning (was paid 10 million by the Raptors to never play a game for them), Eric Williams, Aaron Williams, and two first round picks. That pretty much sealed his fate right there and set the bar ridiculously low for generations to come when trading a star player.
It wasn't all bad for Babcock though. He did sign Matt Bonner and Jose Calderon out of no where. Not like they are stars, but they are solid role players. He also drafted Charlie Villanueva (working out OK) and traded Alston for Mike James (a coup for him). In the end though, this is about making the franchise look like a place where Bosh wants to resign after this season or next. If I'm Bosh I play out my rookie contract by accepting Toronto's one year tender after next season and become an unrestricted free agent after the '07-08 campaign. It seems like a long way off, but Bosh will only be 24 that summer and about to enter his prime. An athletic, lefty, near seven footer, with a nice touch, and 20 & 10 potential, who's a good citizen taboot? Can you say max contract offers from every team that can afford it?
- On 1/22/06 Kobe Bryant scored the second highest point total in NBA history with 81. Yet still some people bashed him with "He took 46 shots". Or "I bet his teammates were hating it." Huh? I wonder if these people have seen the Lakers (23-20) play this year? Who else is going to score? Lamar Odom? He's a complimentary scorer at best (15.9 ppg career) with career high of 34. You've got to be kidding me if you're going to suggest any of the other Lakers. Bottom line, the Lakers were losing 49-63 at halftime and it looked to me as if they were going to get embarrassed. So I went to bed and missed history in the making. The "Mamba" went on to score 55 in the second half on 28-46 from the field, 7-13 from 3, and 18-20 from the FT stripe (snapping his streak of 62 consecutive makes from there) in only 42 minutes of play for the game. That adds up to a 73.9 true shooting percentage*. If that's not impressive enough, the team actually needed him to score like that to win. Odom is a nice player, but has a tendency to disappear from time to time. The rest of the bunch did what they do. My conclusion? There are a certain percentage of people out there, and you know who you are, that are going to bash "Ocho" no matter what he does. I guess that's their prerogative, but by being such "haters" they are missing one of the greatest players in NBA history during his prime.
* True Shooting Percentage calculates what a player's shooting percentage would be if we accounted for free throws and 3-pointers. True Shooting Percentage = (Total points x 50) divided by [(FGA + (FTA x 0.44)].
- Chris "Birdman" Andersen was suspended from the NBA for two years after violating the league's substance abuse policy. Andersen has never tested positive before, so that means he tested positive for a "drug of abuse". Those are amphetamine and its analogs, which include methamphetamine; cocaine; LSD; opiates, including heroin, codeine, and morphine; and PCP. I'm guessing he tested positive for heroin, coke, or ecstasy. Stanley Roberts was the last guy kicked out of the league for drugs back in 1999, and ecstasy is what got him. Who really knows about "Birdman" though? He was a decent role player who hustled, blocked shots, and grabbed rebounds. He'll probably be best remembered for needing nine attempts to make his first dunk in the 2005 dunk contest. When you think about that display, it's got to be heroin.
- Last Monday Chucky Atkins signed with Memphis after being bought out of his contract for an undisclosed amount by Washington. Atkins gives the Grizzlies a veteran insurance policy at the point behind the often injured Bobby Jackson. You have to wonder about Chuck though? I know Memphis (25-18) is struggling and all since Damon Stoudamire was lost for the season, but what they had going for them this year was good chemistry. Now President Jerry West brings in Atkins who has talked his way out of Orlando, Boston, the Lakers, and now the Wizards. The only place Chuck was ever happy was Detroit (who he incidentally wanted to sign with again, but they had no interest). Since this is just a half season rental where Atkins will be auditioning for the entire league, it will probably be OK. I'd just hate to see him derail the Griz' season with his special brand of team cancer.
Don't miss my Mid-Season Report next week before we go on hiatus.
NHL Week In Review By : Ed Wasser
- How, on this God forsaken mud ball called Earth, does Islander GM Mike Milbury still have a job? A decade (A DECADE!!!) of unmitigated failure rivaled only by Elgin Baylor's reign of garbage with the LA Clippers and every Friday Milbury gets a paycheck. In 10 seasons Milbury has zero playoff series victories and that includes 6 seasons when the Islanders did not make the playoffs at all. 6 seasons of no playoffs...in the NHL, from a team in New York. That's almost impossible. I don't even know how many coaches he's been through but I know last year he fired Peter Laviolette who is currently leading the Hurricanes to the lead in points in the entire Eastern Conference. Milbury traded away Roberto Luongo (the best goalie on a bad team in the league) for Mark Parrish (who?) and Ollie Jokinen (he's awe-ite). A few weeks ago he traded Janne Niinimaa, a fast puck carrying defenseman, a TREMENDOUSLY valued commodity in the NHL, for John Erskine. Let me ask everyone, what's your favorite moment of John Erskine's career? Yeah, exactly. Just absolute lunacy. Milbury is single handedly killing the once mighty Islander fan base.
Line of the Week.....From Flyers' broadcaster Gary Dornhoffer recalling a 1968 Flyers game he played in were St. Louis Blue Red Berenson scored all 6 Blues goals, including 4 in 9 minutes.."We kept saying it would have been a great game...you know, if Berenson never showed up". You think?
- NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman at his best.....The Bloomberg News reported that NHL franchise values are souring, some up as much as 50% plus, because of all the money the teams are saving because of the cap. Bloomberg estimated that the Mighty Ducks, which sold during the lockout for $75 million, is now worth about $150 million which is great news on two fronts. 1.) Because the sale is less then a year old and 2.) because the team was owned by Disney which means those jerks left $75 million on the table.
- NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman at his worst.....I'll give OLN credit for vastly improving their product in terms of the camera quality and the fact that Pierre McGuire has abandoned his attempt to be the in studio pregame/halftime horse's ass a la Terry Bradshaw during the broadcasts but it doesn't hide the fact that keeping the games on ESPN was the right play. Millions of fewer people have OLN, plus ESPN controls what sports get play on SportsCenter, and ESPN II gave the NHL it's on show (NHL Tonight). If Bettman had sacrificed some short term dough for the wider exposure of a much better game I think it would have paid off in the long run.
- Line of the Week II......LA Kings broadcaster Bob Miller during last Tuesday's Kings/Lightning game in response to the question "who would you trade to get Alexander Ovechkin?" "Anybody they me asked for".
- Gotta hand it to long time MMM subscriber Chris Paul. I knew that Washington Capital Ovechkin was a star internationally but so are a lot of guys. If you listen long enough you can hear predictions of greatness for hundreds of international players that fade into the sunset. For every Sergei Federov there's a bunch of Pavel Brendl's out there. But Paul was talking up Ovechkin from the start and God was he ever correct. You know how certain athletes change the game just by their presence on the playing surface? Barry Bonds at bat, Barry Sanders getting a hand off, Michael Jordan in a close game with a minute to go....Ovechkin is at that level already. The entire complexion of the game changes when he hits the ice, of course it doesn't hurt that he's the only player the Capitals have.
- The Flyers desperately need a break. The Olympic break and All-Star break can not come fast enough for these guys. Last week the Flyers beat the Penguins 4 - 2 because....well, because they're the Penguins. But the Flyers lost to the Canadiens 5 - 3 after blowing a 2 - 0 lead and then got destroyed by the Lightning at home 6 - 0. In the Lightning game goalie Antero Niitymakki played terribly but I think he's tired, he's certainly playing like it. The Flyers have injuries galore including groin issues for Peter Forsberg, Kim Johnsson, and Robert Esche, a shoulder problem for Eric Desjardins, and of course the concussion of Keith Primeau. Plus Joni Pitkanen just came back from injury. It's true that the minor leaguers played well for the Flyers but minor leaguers are in the minors for a reason. The Flyers need a break to get all these guys back and start the stretch run fully loaded. By the way, I'm going on the record now that Keith Primeau's career is over. I'm basing that prediction strictly on watching Bobby Clarke's body language and hearing his voice while discussing Primeau during interviews.
- OK I haven't written about Bada Boom Racing in a while so I'll just get everyone caught up. Let me start with this...aside from the initial investment we've never put another dime in the horse business. Not one. Every trainer bill, vet bill, and bail of hay has been paid for by purse money. So Clemente is on a farm in New Jersey until the spring. He's proven to only be a grass horse so we're waiting until the spring to run him again when the grass racing starts again. So we got another horse, his name is Fort Seattle. Fort Seattle won a race for us on January 3rd. It was a great win in the slop. Since we've been playing with the house's money for over a year in a business were thousands of people lose money every day the logical move would be to pocket the money and just keep the horses we have so of course....we got more horses. We got a 4 year old gelding named Modacious and a 4 year old filly named Lady Marmalade. So that brought the stable up to 5, Clemente, Second Story Man, Modacious, Lady Marmalade, and Fort Seattle. Yesterday we had 3 of the horses running on one day. The first race was Lady Marmalade, running a mile and a sixteenth with Victor Carrero in the saddle.
Victor Carrero is a funny kid. He's so mild mannered and polite it's crazy. I heard a story from another jockey, Rodrigo Madrigal, that he was in a race and he and Carrero were battling it out down the stretch going full out and when Carrero's whip accidentally brushed Madrigal Carrero said "Oh!! I'm sorry!!" Even in the middle of the race he's thinking about being polite. Carrero speaks with a thick Spanish accent and right before yesterday's race he leaned over to shake my hand and he says "I will try very hard for you today". I thought that was cool, especially since I knew it was true.
So the race was a long one. When the race started Carrero had Lady Marmalade a little too far back for comfort but he remained within striking distance. Down the stretch he was able to get Lady Marmalade to really turn on the gas and he won by a head. Lady Marmalade was also claimed during the race so she had a short yet illustrious career with Bada Boom.
The next race was Modacious running 6.5 furlongs with Carlos Lopez Jr. in command. My boy was up against it in this race, there were a lot of great horses in the race. Modacious finished 4th which was probably as good as he could do considering the competition.
The final race was Fort Seattle running 6.5 furlongs with Luis Rivera Jr. in the irons. Rivera just knows Fort Seattle which makes him the perfect jockey for him. When the race started it looked like Fort Seattle had the race in the bag, he was close to the lead virtually from the start. But he started to tire out toward the end of the race and he eventually finished second. So all in all it was a pretty good day for Bada Boom.
Comments:
saurinmeht@gmail.com
dsura@peacehealth.org
ewwasser@hotmail.com
posted by Monday Morning Mehta at 9:08 AM
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