Monday Morning Mehta 6/26/06

Edition # 167
June 26, 2006

Since I don't care about the Phillies anymore I find myself with very little to say. Which probably makes 99.9% of the people I know very happy that I've finally shut up. Anyway, the NBA, NHL and the US in the World Cup are finished so to wrap all that up are Derreck and Ed. Enjoy, next MMM will be July 10.

www.mondaymorningmehta.blogspot.com

NBA - Derreck Sura

- Well the playoffs are officially over, and I'd have to say they were a success (even though I went 11-4). Congratulations to the Miami Heat for winning a title in their first ever trip to the Finals. There's plenty of good stories that go along with that too. Gary Payton and Alonzo Mourning finally getting a ring after 16 and 13 years respectively. Pat Riley returning to the top of the mountain after 18 years. And of course, Shaquille O'Neal winning something without Kobe Bryant. Not to go too crazy here, but O'Neal averaged 13.7 points on 60.7% shooting, 10.2 rebounds, .83 blocks and shot 29.2% from the free throw line in the Finals. Does anyone out there really think "The Diesel" was going to play second fiddle to Bryant? I sure don't, and that's exactly why the big fella orchestrated his way out of Los Angeles in the summer of 2004. He knew his skills were on the decline, and in no way, shape or form was Shaq going to play Robin to Kobe's Batman. (Kudos to ESPN's Dan Patrick for asking Shaq that at the trophy presentation too. Way to go DP!)

Dallas never recovered after having the series in their hands and blowing it in the last six minutes of game 3. The Mavericks just could not make open shots (shot 42.2% in the Finals as a team, down from 46.2% in the regular season) and tightened up down the stretch in every loss but game 4 (where they didn't show up). Another noteworthy stat is that Dallas was 1-6 in the post season in games decided by three points or less. Not good. Dirk Nowitzki has got to shoulder most of the blame too because it's on him to carry his team in crunch time. Dirk ended up averaging 22.8 points on 39% shooting for the Finals, down from his regular season numbers of 26.6 ppg and 48% shooting. It's going to be a long summer for the big German.

I don't really know how to put this, but after a FANtastic playoffs, the Finals were a little disappointing to me entertainment value wise. I know the ratings were up 12% from last year, and most of the games were somewhat competitive throughout, but something was missing. In my opinion the Mavs just didn't play well. Give credit to the Heat and their underrated defense, but I feel like Dallas never really challenged Miami or put real pressure on them to step up in big moments. Which leads me to.....

Dwyane Wade. He absolutely deserved to be MVP after completely dismantling the Mavs' D by averaging 34.7 points on 46.8% shooting. He also chipped in 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.67 steals and 1 block per game. Those numbers are great, but it's 16.2 free throw attempts per game that really demoralized Dallas. There's no doubt that D Wade was unstoppable when he wanted to be, but it's also plainly obvious that Wade got far more "respect" from the officials then Nowitzki did. Dwyane is going to be the new poster boy for the NBA, and he seems ready to handle it, but I don't think he earned the type "respect" he was given in these Finals in only his third year overall. I mean, some of the calls he got would have made Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson blush. That's my beloved NBA for ya, so I'm putting a ribbon on the season with my top five guys that currently benefit the most from friendly whistles.

1. LeBron James (10.3 FTA's per game in the regular season)
2. Dwyane Wade (10.7)
3. Allen Iverson (11.5)
4. Gilbert Arenas (10)
5. Kobe Bryant (10.2)

- Last Thursday Larry Brown got his just desserts and was fired as head coach of the New York Knicks. I didn't predict this one the day he was hired, so I can't gloat. I actually think this is a good thing for Larry the person though. After winning his ring he's managed to lose three straight teams. It all started with the 2004 Olympic team. Which led to him losing the Detroit Pistons during the 2005 playoffs. And the cherry on top was this year's 23-59 Knicks. Not that LB will heed my advice, but I think he needs to take two to three off, completely away from the game, before coming back. The man needs to get a fresh perspective and do a little soul searching that hopefully leads to him changing some of his ways. Like not ripping players in the media (Olympic team and Knicks) or adapting to the talent he has rather then making roster changes (Sixers and Knicks). The whole buyout situation on his contract bores me to death. The interesting thing in NY now is Isiah Thomas being on the clock. He put this mess of a roster together, and now it's time for his 125 million dollar payroll to deliver. I'd say "Zeke" has one and half seasons as coach to get something done or he'll be the next one canned.

- The United States National Team was eliminated from the World Cup after losing to Ghana 2-1 in the final game of group play. The "Black Stars" two goals came on US mistakes too. On the first one captain Claudio Reyna sprained a ligament in left knee and gave the ball away leading to a one on none break away. The second goal is a little more counterseal being that it was a penalty kick that came during stoppage time. The foul on Oguchi Onyewu in the box was total garbage, and was basically a result of him being bigger then the guy that fell. That killed the momentum USA has just regained on a brilliant ball from DeMarcus Beasley (the singular highlight of the tourney for the US) that Clint Dempsey put in the back of the net to tie it at 1-1. Blaming the ref is a convenient excuse, but really there is no PK if Carlos Bocanegra clears the ball as he's supposed to a few seconds before that.

If you would have told me before the WC that the US was going to be 0-1-1 with a chance to advance by beating Ghana, I would have took it in a heartbeat (Italy ended up doing there part beating the Czech's 2-0 BTW). As is usually the case with our team, we got the opportunities, but just couldn't finish. To make matters worse, on top of our utter inability to finish, or produce the required service that leads to finishing, we compound that by making stupid mistakes. You just can't advance in the WC making stupid plays. The other teams are too good and always convert.

I got into the WC back when it was in the States in 1994, and I've followed the USA ever since. I don't watch other kinds of soccer, but pretty much every time the National Team is on, I tune in. What I saw in this WC is what I always see from them. I was guilty of buying into our team being good enough to compete on the highest level, when in reality, we are the same bunch of losers we always have been. That said, I still think this was the most talented roster we've fielded in our history, and I have to question how coach Bruce Arena used them. We played a 4-5-1 the entire tournament. Which is four defenders, five mid-fielders and one striker. Not that I'm some kind of X & O expert, but after the way the offense looked against the Czech's, and AGAIN versus Italy, a change was probably in order. Brian McBride is a top flight striker (voted MVP by teammates at Fulham in the Premiership), but leaving him up front all by himself for every game (where in the hell was Eddie Johnson?!?!), combined with having no one skilled enough to deliver him the proper service needed, was a complete and utter joke. Arena has done for more for US soccer then any other coach in it's history, but I think his time is pretty much up. Eight years at the national level in almost unheard of in international soccer. I'd like to see a high profile, recently deposed, international coach with some fresh ideas be hired.

In closing I have two statements on the US team, one good, and one bad. So long to Reyna, McBride and Eddie Pope. You all served your National Team well. Finally, if Landon Donovan is our best player, we're in big trouble. I was going to go on a long tangent ripping Landon to shreds, but Ives Galarcep of ESPN.com did a better job then I ever could have. If you care in the least about the future of US soccer, this article is an interesting read.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=372268&root=worldcup&cc=5901

- The World Cup has been enjoyable pressure packed soccer all around. However, there are two things that could have easily been avoided marring the proceedings. The first is the turf, and that's really simplest of all. How the pitches in Germany are not perfectly manicured for the biggest tournament in the world is beyond me. Next is the refereeing. It's so wildly inconsistent and subject to play acting that it's hard to take seriously. I have no idea what FIFA can do to fix the problem, but the amount of cards is not what they want the fans and media remembering this WC for.

I guarantee to my readers that if you watch all four quarterfinal matches this Friday and Saturday, you will end up as a fan of the World Cup. Here is a quick run down of my thoughts on the remaining matches...

#53. Italy v Australia - The "Socceroos", as the Aussie's are known, are big time underdogs here. They may just be happy to be into the knock out round for the first time ever. Then again, Italy is well known for playing down to their competition. I see a tight match where the Italians do just enough to win.

#54. Switzerland v Ukraine - I don't really know that much about either team, other then the Swiss play good D and the Ukrainians are tough. I'm torn here, but I'll go with Shevchenko to be the difference maker for the Ukraine in a lackluster match.

#55. Brazil v Ghana - This could be the United States getting torched here. Anyway, I'm sure Ghana will surprise Brazil when their overall team speed at first, but after Brazil adjusts, game over.

#56. Spain v France - This is going to be a very entertaining match to watch. The French seem to be in a goal scoring funk, while it looks like Spain is hitting their stride at the right time for once. Big time players are all over both rosters, but I'm going with the Spaniards.

QUARTERS

#57. Germany v Argentina - The opening match of the elite eight is a doozie. The home country versus a South American powerhouse. You really couldn't ask for more. With the way they have been playing, I can't pick against the Germans here.

#58 - Winner #53 v # Winner #54

#59. England v Portugal - This should be another great match featuring two perennially underachieving European sides with a trip to the Semis on the line. Portugal will be without the services of chief playmaker Anderson Deco due to a red card. Something tells me it's the English's year, so I'm leaning that way.

#60 - Winner #55 v Winner #56

NHL Week in Review By : Ed Wasser



- How is it possible to have the most ridiculous name and logo in all of pro sports and when given a chance to change it the team makes it more ridiculous? The Anaheim Mighty Ducks were sold and the name is now just the Anaheim Ducks, not much you can do about the name, but the new logo is awful. It's some kind of silly gold lettering with a gold stripe above the waist. That logo was created by some kid that got a D minus in design class.


- The NHL draft took place last Saturday. If you're not familiar with the NHL draft it's not like the NBA draft or the NFL draft in that the GM of the team that is making the pick goes to the microphone and makes the pick himself. When it came time for the Flyers to make their selection Flyer GM Bobby Clarke went up to the mic and said "with the 22nd pick in the 2006 NHL draft the Philadelphia Flyers select, from the Québec Major Junior Hockey League.....(starts shuffling his papers) I forget". So Clarke had to go over to Paul Holmgren and get the kid's name. The name was Claude Giroux. I'm not going to pretend like I ever saw the kid play but I did read that he's a speedy right winger and that he's only 5'10" so maybe Clarke finally is learning what the new NHL is really all about. Only a year too late.



- Chris Pronger demanded a trade from Edmonton for "personal reasons". I hate to do that to everyone, I know you all are wondering "what are the reasons?" I searched the internet high and low and I couldn't find out the reasons to save my life.



- Quick review of the season.....the penalties went from being called for actual penalties to some weird zone were the commissioner put the fear of God in the referees and they started calling more ticky tac penalties then were called against Michael Jordan defenders in the 1998 NBA Finals. We need a happy medium.....The NHL on OLN was a failure. The coverage went from abysmal to being a pretty good broadcast, but nobody noticed. The NHL needs to on a network like ESPN, a network that will wind up on a certain amount of household TV's in America, and every TV in a bar, regardless of what's on.....the Bruins traded away the league's MVP and scoring champ (Joe Thorton) and a player (Sergei Samsonov) that helped take his new team to the Stanley Cup Finals. And who did they get in return? Ahhh, that's not rhetorical, other then Marty Reasoner I can't remember.....The 'Nucks traded Todd Bertuzzi to the Panthers for Roberto Luongo. There were other players involved but Bertuzzi and Luongo were the only ones that matter. GREAT trade for the 'Nucks. Bertuzzi's welcome was officially worn out and he needed to be moved and to get one of the best goalies in the league is quite a coup.....the two biggest surprises in the league this year were the Flyers ineptitude and the starless Sabres making a legit Cup run.



- So the season is over and the NHL takes what seems like 2 weeks off before the next season starts. In the meantime if there's any topic in pop culture or sports that anybody would like to hear my take on send me an e-mail and I'll write about it in this space. Just let me know.

Monday Morning Mehta 6/20/06

Edition # 166
June 20, 2006

MLB

Since I don't care about the Phillies anymore, I won't comment on them in this column anymore ever again. I'm already looking forward to training camp and covering the Eagles for a 4th season.

Around the League

After all the grief I gave Detroit for losing 8 out of 13 to the better teams in the AL, I gotta give them credit for bouncing back and winning 7 out of 8. Granted it's against the bottom feeders of the majors, but beating up on bad teams will win you plenty of games. I was pessimistic, but it looks like the Tigers are here to stay, and I expect them to be a major player at the trade deadline.

Just like last year (Cleveland), the Yankees and Red Sox are going to struggle to both make the playoffs. The Tigers and White Sox are 6 to 8 games ahead of the Yankees and have much easier divisions and one of them could grab the Wild Card. The White Sox are starting to catch their stride. They have a big week this week with the Cards and Astros coming to town.

If I were to care about the Phillies I would be upset that they didn't pinch hit Ryan Howard for David Bell in the 8th inning last night. I wouldn't care that lefty sidewinder Mike Myers was warming in the pen. But since I don't care about the Phillies it didn't bother me.

The NL West is returning to Earth as many of the teams are struggling. LA and SD are in first with a weak 36-33 record, but last place is Col and SF with a 35-35 record. Once again, .500 could win this division. The Dodgers called up thier version of Cole Hamels this week in Chad Billingsley. He should provide a jolt to struggling pitchers like Brett Tomko and Aaron Sele.

I can't figure Oakland out. Hot and cold. It's important because how they finish June and July will determine if Barry Zito is available at the trade deadline.

The last place Braves have lost 17 of 20. They look to be clear sellers at the deadline. Marcus Giles could be gone and I could see the Braves thinking about parting with Chipper Jones (his full no trade clause might be a problem).

Golf

I was there at Winged Foot on Sunday to semi-witness the colossal collapse by Phil Mickleson and Colin Montgomerie at the 18th hole of the US Open so I'll give you some of my thoughts.

- I think I wanted Monty to win more than Phil, because Mickleson's got 3 majors and is going to win more majors and I don't think Monty's going to have more than a few more chances. The NY crowd was pulling for Monty very hard too. Very little heckling which was shocking.

- I didn't have a view of Phil's adventures in the tree's on 18, but in watching the TiVo'ed version yesterday he goofed in multiple ways. First, as Johnny Miller accurately said as Phil's on the 18th tee, "That better be a 4 wood". Nope. Driver all the way. Second, just pitch it out on your second shot. The green is so sloped, there was no way he was making the green. I think the shot on 17 gave him some confidence that he could do it, but 17 wasn't as sloped as 18.

Third, and possibly most importantly, Phil should have just hit the ball WAY to the right. Either he lands the ball in the stands, or if he's near the stands effecting his backswing, he gets a free drop away from the grandstand, which would be fine. Phil admitted this error and he's absolutely right. An experience pro golfer should realize that. Dumb move. Just an all around fork up and choke job. No other way around it.

Finally, Tiger Woods had to be watching that laughing. No way Tiger doubles the final hole up a stroke. No way.

NBA & World Cup - Derreck Sura

- Miami v Dallas (Heat lead 3-2) - This series is as simple as the match up of each team's best player. Dwyane Wade has been completely unstoppable averaging 34.4 points on 45.5% shooting to go along with nice 7.4 rebounds. D Wade is also getting to the free throw line 15.2 times per game. While Dirk Nowitzki is not even leading his own team in scoring in the Finals (Jason Terry is at 23.2 ppg). Dirk has pulled a Houdini on the biggest stage the game has to offer. Nowitzki is averaging 10 rebounds and 21.6 points on 37.3% shooting through five games. By comparison, he is only getting to the stripe 9.4 times a game. He's not the only Maverick pulling a disappearing act though. My boy Josh Howard is putting up a measly 14.8 points on 40.6% shooting. When your two best players are shooting a combined 38.8% from the field, that's not good.

Give Miami credit, especially Udonis Haslem and James Posey, for doing a great job defensively on Dirk. They've been physical with the big German and haven't allowed him to get into any kind of rhythm. The simple answer is that Nowitzki needs to be more aggressive going to the hoop by putting the ball on the floor. Digging deeper though, he may not have what it takes yet to dominate under the brightest of lights. Dirk and Howard have combined to choke down the stretch more then any one-two punch in the Finals should be allowed.

On the other hand, Dallas has thrown everything at Wade, and he's still found a way to get it done in crunch time. Single teaming him has not worked, but Devin Harris has shown the foot speed to stay in front of "Flash". Marquis Daniels has probably been the second best option because J-Ho, Terry, Adrian Griffin and Jerry Stackhouse have all been abused throughout. What the Mavs need to do is start doubling Dwyane as soon as he catches the ball and make him give it up, thus hopefully disrupting his flow. It would probably be best to employ this strategy at the start of the fourth quarter and continue it until the final buzzer. This will force the other Heat players to make shots/plays with the game on the line. Normally this tactic would be suicide to try against a team with Shaquille O'Neal, but with the way the Big Fella is shooting his free throws ( 29.5% in the Finals), it's better to take your chances with him at the line rather then Wade breaking down your D.

This isn't sour grapes, and I actually hate to even type it, but Miami has been getting more "help" in this series then Dallas. Whether it's Stack being suspended (total farce), the league admitted clock "malfunction" in game 3 or the totally lopsided free throw (49-25) and foul discrepancy (38-26) from game 5. After such a great playoffs in general, I wish the NBA could have moved away from such talk. That's why I feel compelled to say that the Mavs will receive just about every "break" under the hot Texas sun in game 6. If the league wants anything, it's a game 7 to cap this post season. I still think Dallas is clearly the better team, but with the way they pissed away games 3 and 5, my confidence in them is shaken. Anyway, I picked the Mavs in 7, and I'm sticking with it.

- On Thursday Michael Jordan became part owner of the Charlotte Bobcats with the "authority to oversee all of [our] player-personnel decisions" per majority owner Bob Johnson. As I see it, this is both a positive and a negative. The good part is for the league. Having MJ back in any capacity can only help the NBA in the long run. In addition, his "Airness" may initially sell a few more tickets in Charlotte. The Cats finished 22nd overall in home attendance (16,366 per game) despite playing in a brand new 265 million dollar arena for the first time last year.

Now for the bad part. Some people out there think I'm anti-Jordan, but that's not the case. I merely point out that MJ's time in charge of the Washington Wizards was not successful. He hired three coaches - Darrell Walker (15-23), Leonard Hamilton (19-63) and Doug Collins (74-90) - all failed miserably. He also made three first round draft picks - Kwame Brown (#1 in 2001), Jared Jeffries (#11 in 2002) and Juan Dixon (#17 in 2002) - none of which have distinguished themselves as NBA players.

My point being that now Bernie Bickerstaff has to check with Michael to get the final OK before making a move? It just seems a little backwards to me when you consider Bernie's track record in Charlotte. I've written this many times before, but it bares typing again, Bickerstaff's blueprint for building the Bobcats from the ground up as an expansion team should be followed for generations to come. I'm sure Bernie will say all the right things, but deep down he has to take this as a little bit of a slap in the face. The upcoming season was already going to be his last as coach/GM before moving upstairs permanently. Now, all of a sudden, he's not the top dog anymore? That's why it wouldn't surprise me at all if BB walked away after this year.

Johnson is concerned about his faltering bottom line, but Jordan's affect on increasing revenue won't last very long if the product on the court doesn't improve. Which is why I have to question Bob giving MJ final say on personnel decisions, considering Mike's history in that department, when Bickerstaff has done such a great job during his two years in charge.

- As I'm sure everyone out there is well aware of by now, I don't really know much about the draft prospects because I rarely if ever watch college basketball. However, I have been doing my due diligence on all of them lately, and the two best to me seem like Andrea Bargnani or Tyrus Thomas. After that, it's pretty much a crapshoot .

A lot of people love Brandon Roy, but to me, guys like him are a dime a dozen in the NBA.

Adam Morrison and J.J. Redick have the same questions about if their athletic ability will allow them to be able to create their own shot in the pros .

LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay have people questioning their heart and desire. That is a major red flag in my book as far as reaching their potential is concerned. No one questions their skill level and upside, but do they care enough to put in the work to max out their careers?

Everything I've read about Bargnani and Thomas seems to indicate that they are hard workers that don't mind being coached. So the #1 pick comes down to do you want an athletic defensive minded PF that can rebound, block shots and has massive upside to his offensive game (Tyrus)? Or do you prefer a 7'1 offensive minded SF with great range, the ability to put the ball on the floor and back to the basket potential (Andrea)? I think you'll see these players be the first two off the board in some order on 6/27, whether there's a trade or not.

- I hope at least some of you out there have been following the US National Team and their travails in the World Cup. They laid an egg right out of the gate playing with zero intensity or fire and lost to the Czech Republic 0-3. That game was followed up by one of the wildest, and most entertaining, soccer games I've ever seen. The USA earned a much need point by gaining a 1-1 draw with Italy while playing virtually the entire second half with only nine men (normally 11). The United States really dominated play, but referee Jorge Larrionda did his best to submarine our chances by handing out two red cards (the total fouls were 24-13 in favor of Italy too, who incidentally are a big bunch of floppers).

(A quick sidebar on Mr. Larrionda. He was suspended from his Uruguayan professional league for six months in 2002 for "irregularities" in his officiating. Which also kept him from being able to participate in the 2002 World Cup. I have no idea what FIFA could have been thinking letting a guy with a checkered past officiate in the biggest tournament in the world?)

Anyway, now the US will be without Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope against Ghana on Thursday (7 AM Pacific). The loss of Pope is not a big deal because Eddie (32 years old) has been a step slow and caught out of position all tournament. Pablo, on the other hand, was looking pretty good against Italy before getting unnecessarily tossed (he deserved a yellow card, but no way was a red warranted). The good thing about the National Team now is that coach Bruce Arena has plenty of options because the roster is very deep for the first time ever.

The easiest way for the USA to advance is by beating Ghana (a given in any scenario where the US moves on) combined with Italy beating the Czech Republic (not impossible). All is not lost if the Italians don't come through for us though. USA can still advance on goal differential by hammering Ghana (probably 4-0 will be needed) and having the Czech's beat Italy 2-0. In that scenario the US would move on by virtue of having a better goal differential then Italy. Basically, any combination that equals six (3-0 USA, 0-3 Italy, etc) will work if the Czech's win. If the US and Italy end up with the same amount of points, and tied on goal differential, the next tiebreaker is goals scored in group play. If all three of those categories wind up tied, it comes down to "drawn lots", and I have no idea what that means.

The US will need to play with the same aggressiveness on offense versus Ghana that they displayed against the Italians. Since winning the game may not be enough, USA will have to keep the pressure high throughout the match and run the score up if at all possible. Kasey Keller will be in net with Oguchi Onyewu anchoring the back line. Joining "Gooch" on defense will probably be Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo and Jimmy Conrad. Up front you can expect to see Brian McBride, Landon Donovan and Claudio Reyna for sure. After that look for two out of these three to start - either DeMarcus Beasley, Bobby Convey or Clint Dempsey - with the other being the first substitution.

I'd like to see Eddie Johnson and John O'Brien in there, but coach Arena has more then proven to know who to play and when. I know it seems unlikely, but I just have a feeling that the United States is going to advance somehow. Call it Karma or whatever, but after that hose job from the ref against Italy, they deserve it. Brazil will most likely be waiting for us in the round of 16, but I'll take it. The most important thing is to always remember that anything can happen in the World Cup...

- This is probably my sign off until October, so to quote Eric the Midget, "Bye for now."

NHL Week in Review By : Ed Wasser

- News from around the league.....Despite a terrible season the Flyers raised ticket prices to pre-lockout numbers. Just as they will raise prices in 2007, and 2008, and 2009, and so on, and so on.....Ron Hextall leaves the Flyers to be the assistant GM of the Kings. Hexy of sees the writing on the wall, Flyers' GM Bobby Clarke will only be relieved of his duties when he dies so he needed to look elsewhere for a chance.....Kerry Frasier, perhaps the best referee in the history of the NHL and the guy that has been voted the best referee by the players and coaches for about 15 straight years, was left off the playoff roster of referees after the second round because of not calling enough penalties. That, my friends, is why the NHL can sometimes be a total joke.....Chicago Blackhawk owner Bill Wirtz was concerned that the quickly dwindling Hawk fan base wasn't quite dwindling fast enough for him so he fired Pat Foley the voice of the Blackhawk's for the last 26 years causing an uproar in Chi-town.....the NHL draft combine contains a "vertical leap test". Why? I dunno.....the best one on one player of the last decade, Pavel Bure, is eligible for the Hall of Fame this year. Will he get in? I'm not sure but it's an interesting question. How much emphasis will the voters but on Bure's constant injury problems and his sometimes questionable efforts to get back.....God knows that the NHL could screw up making a peanut and jelly sandwich but one thing that they did get right, game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals started at 8:15 EDT and was over before 11 PM.

- "The Hockey News" reported that NY Yankee Derek Jeter was overheard asking about the NHL playoffs, "are the games even on TV?" He was told they were on OLN. "Is that a Canadian network? What about ESPN? Why aren't the games on ESPN?" Great question Derek, great question.

- The gauntlet has been thrown down and let's see if the Flyers management listens. The Carolina Hurricanes have won the 2005 - 2006 Stanley Cup with a combination of speed, solid defensive positioning, just adequate goaltending with occassional flashes of brilliance, and balanced scoring. As opposed to the Flyers that tried to win with one scoring line, slow goon-a-rama players especially on defense, but they did have just adequate goaltending so at least they have that down. The Hurricanes are just a relentless attacking team sending wave after wave at the defense, eventually either scoring or drawing a penalty. Oh and by the way, the empty net goal that sealed the Canes victory was scored by ex-Flyer Justin Williams and of course their captain in ex-Flyer Rod Brind'Amour. So the Hurricanes have shown the way. As did Edmonton by the way because they employed a similar style as the Canes. The game ended pretty late for this wimp so I'll have more about it, as well as a season wrap up, in next week's MMM.

Monday Morning Mehta 6/5/06

Edition # 165
June 5, 2006

Next MMM will be June 19, 2006.

The Phillies come off of a relatively uneventful 4-3 week, taking 2 out of 3 at home versus the Nationals, while splitting a 4 game set vs. the Dodgers. Up this week is three vs. the red hot Diamondbacks and 4 at Washington.

- Not much more to say besides the Phillies starters need some serious help. Clearly most of the blame for the Phillies pitching woes has to go to Jon Lieber. A 17 game winner last year, Lieber was horrible before getting hurt. Madson, Brito, Floyd, Lidle have all been bad. But Lieber makes $8 mill a year and we expect more. He's apparently a few weeks away from returning so when he gets back he better have his sh&t together.

- Chase Utley with a huge week led the Phillies offense. With the injury to Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard could be looking at starting this years All-Star game an Utley could join him.

- Arthur Rhodes is just scary. Scary looking, scary when gets into the games, you name it.

- I'm not sure what more Aaron Fultz needs to do to get some more meaningful work. I can't believe I have faith in him and Geoff Geary. (Did I just say that?)

- Phils face Brandon Webb tonight. This could be trouble.

- Cole Hamels will return to the mound tomorrow night which means he'll make his home debut vs. the Devil Rays two weekends from now. Well, if he can stay healthy that is.

Around the League

- I pointed out the Tigers have some big tests in the next 2 weeks and they've started out with a D at best by going 2-5. They lost 3 out of 4 to the Yankees and 2 out of 3 to the Red Sox. It was ugly too. The pitching which had been so good so far was roughed up pretty badly. Sorry Detroit
Philly Phaf - not a good sign for later in the year.

- Luckily for the Tigers, the White Sox have also been struggling mightily the last few weeks.

- The Toronto Blue Jays and the LA Angels are two teams to watch out for in the next few weeks. They're getting hot and appear to be ready to make a move towards the top of their divisons.

- I generally don't care about tennis these days, but if Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer face off in the French Open finals it will definitely be something sports fans should watch.

NBA - Derreck Sura

Just a few quick hitters before my Finals preview...

- On Saturday the Sacramento Kings hired Eric Musselman as their new head coach. This is a great move by Kings' President Geoff Petrie in my opinion. E Muss was by far the best unemployed coach on the market (that title goes to Jim O'Brien now). The Maloof brothers have repeatedly said that they wanted a defensive oriented head man, and that's what they got. This hire is not without risks though.

Musselman was fired by Golden State after his hard nosed style clashed with management and players alike. Eric went 38-44 (2nd in Coach of the Year) and 37-45 (after losing both Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison) while in charge of the Warriors. Those were GS's two best seasons since they last made the playoffs in 1994, and I'm pretty sure E Muss has learned from his past mistakes at this point.

Obviously the big question is how will Musselman relate to Ron Artest? Ron-Ron should love his defense first approach, and if E Muss knows what's good for the team, he will continue to run the offense through Artest. That should be enough to keep Ronnie happy, and if Artest is down with the program, the rest of the team should follow suit. The thing is you neva eva know with Ron-Ron, so Musselman will need handle that situation delicately at first and only lay into Artest after they have some type of established relationship.

- Last Tuesday the Portland Trail Blazers mercifully did not renew the contract of GM John Nash. Thank gawd and halleluiah! I said from that shocking day when Nash was first hired that he would fail miserably, so I'm glad that owner Paul Allen finally made a good decision for once. I'm not sure what Allen saw in Nash's previous stops in New Jersey, Philadelphia and Washington that led him to believe he was the man for job, but that's another column all together.

This is only the first step in what will be a very long and steep staircase to fix the Blazers. Nash was replaced by team President Steve Patterson on an interim basis. Meaning the guy that was hired with Nash and formed the Portland "brain trust" for the past three years is now in charge. Did I just say the Paul Allen finally made a good move? Scratch that. Patterson also needed to be jettisoned if the franchise was really going to move forward with a clean slate. Not like I'm big fan of his or anything, but I would have handed the reigns to Director of Player Personnel Kevin Pritchard. It's not like Kevin can do any worse then the Nash/Patterson duo did. Give the kid a shot Paul!

The Blazers have virtually no chance at Kiki Vandeweghe, or any other big name candidate with any kind of resume, until Allen decides what he's going to do with the franchise. Sell, declare bankruptcy or try and actually fix the mess he got himself into. An organization that is constantly moving back and forth between chaos and limbo is not an attractive employment destination for anybody. I'm just happy that they didn't get the number one pick in the draft. I have no doubt that whoever was in charge would have screwed that up royally. Here's to hoping that the Terry Porter/Jeld-Wen Inc. led group is able to buy the team and arena and get the fans and community back behind the franchise.

- You all remember former Toronto GM Rob Babcock, right? He was the guy that drafted Rafael Araujo ahead of Andre Iguodala (among others) and traded Vince Carter for Eric and Aaron Williams, Alonzo Mourning and two first round picks. Well, before the Raptors hired Babcock he was Kevin McHale's right hand man with the Timberwolves. The latest word out of Minnesota now is that the Wolves are close to re-hiring Babcock. That has to be a comforting thought for Kevin Garnett when his head hits the pillow at night. McHale has already pretty much wasted KG's prime (the Joe Smith debacle playing a major role there), and now he's bringing Robbie the B back to help him right the ship? I'll be shocked if Garnett hasn't asked to be traded by the start of the 2007-08 season.

- Another .500 round has me sitting at 11-3 for the post season on the prediction front. I could be 13-1, but I'll begrudgingly be happy with 11-3. As always, I must toot my own horn about my October prognostications. I ended up with two out of the four teams in the Conference Finals (Miami & Phoenix). More importantly though, I'm back on track with two years in a row (five out six years too) of having at least one of my pre-season picks for the NBA Finals make it there.
It's only fitting that we end one of the best playoffs ever with a match up of two first time finalists. This will be the first time since 1970-71 when Milwaukee swept Baltimore that both franchises are making their Finals debut. It's also very appropriate that we get to see the two best players in the post season (Dirk Nowitzki & Dwyane Wade) face off for all the marbles. I'm breaking from my normal style and going a little more in depth for my Finals preview. I hope you enjoy.

STARTERS

Jason Terry v Jason Williams - J Will had his best game of the post season in closing out Detroit (made his first ten shots and finished 10-12), but don't look for that to continue against Terry. JT is a vastly superior defender because of his quickness and length advantage. If Terry can find his jumper again, he will be able to abuse Williams on the offensive end as well. Advantage = Dallas.

Adrian Griffin v Dwyane Wade - I know Griffin hasn't been starting since mid way through the San Antonio series, but expect to see him back in the starting lineup to try and defend Wade. As long Dwyane shakes his flu bug by Thursday, Adrian can only hope for the best. Advantage =
Miami.

Josh Howard v Antoine Walker - Toine has been playing some pretty good ball in the playoffs thus far. He has filled the role of third option very nicely, but now he's going up against one of the most underrated second options in the NBA. There's no way Walker can guard Howard anywhere on the floor. Conversely, Josh will be able to handle Toine anywhere except on the low block, but don't look for the Heat to change what they have been doing to exploit that. Advantage = Dallas.

Dirk Nowitzki v Udonis Haslem - Umm, can you say mismatch? Maybe Udonis gives Dirk some trouble when he tries to post up at the elbow, but I'm reaching there. Nowitzki's main job against Haslem is to keep him off the offensive glass, but other then that, Dirk will be able to roam free on defense and do as he pleases on offense. Advantage = Dallas.

DeSagana Diop v Shaquille O'Neal - Diop has been a find/pleasant surprise all season long including the playoffs. His job is to bother Shaq just enough that hopefully the Diesel gets frustrated. I doubt that will happen, but it would help Mavericks if DeSagana could last until mid-way through the first quarter before picking up his second foul. Advantage = Miami.

BENCH

Devin Harris & Darrell Armstrong v Gary Payton - Harris was key for the Mavs against the Spurs, but has fallen off since game one of the Phoenix series. Devin lacks big game experience, but his ability to beat people off the dribble and create with his quickness will give the Heat problems. GP's best days are long behind him, but he still normally plays all the crunch time minutes for the Heat. However, Payton is going to have his hands full with either Harris or Terry's speed. Armstrong is a nice insurance policy/energy guy for the Mavs. Advantage = Dallas.

Jerry Stackhouse & Marquis Daniels v James Posey, Shandon Anderson & Derek Anderson - The Anderson boys are playing out the string at this point of their career's, and I don't expect to see them in anything other then spot duty in this series. Posey's play will be key for the Heat. They are really going to need his defense to slow down the Mavs' plethora of athletic swing players. Stack will do what he does, which is provide versatile instant offense. If Daniels gets some minutes he will be an x-factor for the Mavs. He can play D on Wade, break his man down off the dribble and flourishes in transition. Sometimes it's just tough to find time for him though. Advantage = Dallas.

Keith Van Horn, Erick Dampier & D.J. Mbenga v Alonzo Mourning, Michael Doleac & Wayne Simien - Damp and Mbenga (when he is available in game five) are going to need to use all their fouls attempting to slow down Shaq. Again, they can't do it, but I think they (along with Diop) can frustrate O'Neal over the course of the series. KVH's jumper and rebounding have been MIA since his return, so I don't really see what he brings to the table right now. Although, it would be funny to see him try and guard Shaq if the Mavs go small. The chances of seeing Simien on the court are remote, but Doleac is a nice insurance policy who always plays hard and does his job. Zo has not really been a factor in the playoffs thus far. He's productive when he's out there, but he's just not playing enough (10.6 mpg) to be effective. Advantage = Dallas.

COACHING

Avery Johnson v Pat Riley - This is a case of the old versus the new here. Riley's off season moves have proved to be great and he's still a master motivator with tons of championship experience, but as far as adjustments and shrewd coaching moves go, he's been a little lacking as I see it. Yes his team is in the Finals, but I'm not sure it's been his coaching acumen that's got them there. On the other hand, Avery has made several key adjustments in each of the last two series', and is equally the motivator that Riles is. Part of Johnson's success has been that he has so many options, as the Mavs are the deepest team in the league. I see that playing a major factor in the Finals as well. Advantage = Dallas.

KEY DEFENSIVE ASSIGNMENTS

Dirk Nowitzki v Udonis Haslem, Antoine Walker & James Posey - When I look at those three names, Posey jumps out as the best option. Haslem and Walker are just too slow to deal with Dirk on the perimeter, and I don't think they have the length to bother his mid-range post up game either. I will say that Udonis will at least give a much better effort then Toine though. JP has the quickness and tenacity, but lacks the required height to really do a good job on Nowitzki.
This is a tough match up for the Heat.

Dwyane Wade v Adrian Griffin, Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse, Marquis Daniels & Jason Terry

- With the exception of maybe Terry, none of those guys are quick enough to stay in front of Wade. Griffin has the mindset and toughness of a defensive stopper and Howard and Daniels have the length to possibly bother him. The main thing is the Mavs have multiple bodies to throw at Dwyane. Thus allowing them to constantly change their looks up. Wade has been great so far, but he faces his toughest challenge of the post season here.

Josh Howard v Antoine Walker, James Posey, Dwyane Wade & Gary Payton - Again, Posey is the best option to check my boy Josh. Problem is, he'll probably have to guard Dirk. Believe it or not, I think Wade is Miami's next best option. Dwyane has the quickness and plays with the requisite energy to stay with Howard. He might be a little small if Josh takes him down low, and that could lead to foul trouble. Walker just does not focus on defense enough to have any prayer. GP is probably a last resort, and I don't see that going well for the Heat either.

Shaquille O'Neal v DeSagana Diop, Erick Dampier & D.J. Mbenga - I've pretty much covered this already, but I have to say that Mbenga's suspension is a blow for the Mavs. He's not great, and may not even be in the league next year, but it always helps to have another six fouls when dealing with O'Neal. Shaq is going to have maintain his composure and take his time when he gets the ball in the post. Most importantly though, the Big Fella is going to have make his free throws. Trust me when I tell you that those two or three guys will use every foul in every game they play.

PREDICTION

Can you tell I'm excited about this series yet? I'm really looking forward to it and expect it to deliver on many levels. Miami has the advantage experience wise with Riley at the helm and guys like Shaq, Zo and GP who have all gone deep into the playoffs on multiple occasions. I give Dallas the upper hand intangible wise though because of their depth. In the end, I think that's the deciding factor that gives Mark Cuban his first title. That's not to say the Finals won't be competitive, because the Heat do have a legitimate chance to win it all. But when you consider the level of competition Dallas has already gone against just to get here, they are used to playing at a higher level then Miami is right now. Mavs in 7.

- I'll be on the Black Crowes - Robert Randolph & the Family Band - Drive-By Truckers tour next week, so you won't read any analysis from me again until after game five. In the meantime, I hope to run a World Cup preview for the USA in next week's edition. I know you all can't wait for that.


NHL Week in Review By : Ed Wasser

- Finally, the Stanley Cup Finals have arrived!! And guess what?? I'm taking the next week off because I'll be visiting that hockey hotbed of Nassau, Bahamas. I already called the resort to make sure they have a satellite and they do and they will indeed be showing the games. And any minute now my boss should be emerging with the company's phone bill screaming "who called the Bahamas!?!?!" So I shall return on Monday, June 19th.

- The 2005 - 2006 Stanley Cup will be fought over by the Carolina Hurricanes and the Edmonton Oilers, but the real story is after I predicted the Canes would win Game 6, the Sabres won which is making this playoff year for me the most incredible year in the history of mushes. My mush-dom is reaching the level of a super power. I'm starting to believe that my predictions can alter the future. I haven't gotten one prediction correct, not one, not even the ones I stole from hockey pundits on "Hockey Night in Canada" and "The Hockey News". My year of predictions with be studied by mushes the world over as "the perfect season".

- As far as the series is concerned, I like the Canes but I guess if I was smart I'd pick Edmonton since that last sentence pretty much guaranteed their victory. Oiler coach Craig MacTavish is doing an amazing job getting people to buy into his system and if you don't believe me just look at the last game against the Ducks and watch Sergei Samsonov, who's grit was in constant question in Beantown, going down and blocking shots. But even with that Olier goalie Dwayne Roloson has faced a league high 595 shots. Roloson has been unreal and if it wasn't for his bang up save percentage (.931) the only other number the Oilers would hearing is "FORE!!"

- Chris Pronger has been a staggering presence in the playoffs. Staggering. Offensively, blocking shots, physically dominating, drawing big penalties...he's been a one man wrecking crew.

- As far as the Canes are concerned it begins and ends with Rod Brind'Amour. He scored the series winner against the Sabres, he has the most playoff power play goals in the league, he is a terrific penalty killer, and as I said before....he may be the only player in the entire NHL who is on the ice at every critical juncture of every game regardless of the situation. The more I think about him and his game and how he was one of the few players that showed up in the early 90's when the Flyers stunk and how he was the only Flyer that played like he gave a damn in the 1997 Finals against the Wings the more I believe he's a first ballot Hall of Famer.

- Canes goalie Cam Ward got a desperation start against the Habs when they were down 2 - 0 and he hasn't looked back since. He's been solid, winning a few games by himself and not losing any which is what you need your goalie to do in the playoffs.

- As far as the match up is concerned there is one main point. Oh, before I forget, the Oliers took the team to practice in New York so they could get used to the warm weather which begs the question "how miserable would it be to live in Edmonton where it's still freezing cold in the first week of June?" Anyway, the series comes down to one word...penalties. You know they're going to be called, it's a matter of how your team handles them which will determine the winner of the series. The Canes have the best power play percentage in the playoffs so if the Oilers have a chance they can not take stupid penalties because I don't care how solid Pronger, Peca, and Roloson have been....you take enough penalties and eventually it'll kill you. So let's see how it pans out. Nobody beside guys that really love hockey and Canadians will be watching which is a shame for the league. I'll review the series the next time you hear from me.