-I'm starting to think Larry Brown had a plan when he took the Knicks job that was very similar to his plan when he was kicked out of town by the Pistons: Grab the cash and move on.

See I think a couple of years ago when the Pistons won the championship, Larry looked around and said, "shit is this it? I thought I'd feel more excited about this." I think right then Brown figured out what is most important to him in life: $$$$. He knew he was done in in Detroit after the 04-05 San Antonio finals loss yet he weasled his way out of town with a huge contract buyout that enabled everyone to see just what a scumbag he is. And I just don't buy that he actually thought he could fix the Knicks. He knew how much Isiah Thomas had screwed this team up and how with the lack of draft picks in the future and crazy and untradeable contracts it wasn't going to be fixed anytime soon. Even with his Barry Bonds sized ego he knew he was no savior here. He also knew that if he came in and had a terrible season and pissed everyone off he could pull the same crap he did with the Pistons. Only this time he can escape with the cash after just one year. I read reports that he could get a buyout for at least 20 million and who knows maybe he'll get out with even 40 million. Not a bad payday for a year's work. Larry's a genius all right. Not a basketball genius but he's one hell of a player nonetheless.

--Steve Nash. MVP two years in a row. It still sounds weird. - I like Nash and appreciate the fact that he is what makes the Suns tick, so he definitely should be in the MVP discussion. Hell, maybe he even deserves it, but did you see the disparity in the votes? It was a landslide. His 57 first place votes compared to Kobe's 22 and Lebron's 16 were ridiculous. The most amazing thing about Nash's MVP is not that he won it but that he crushed the competition. Are we really that desperate for a white NBA superstar again? Lord help us if Adam Morrison ever averages over 25 points a game in the next few years. He'll own this trophy.


---The Pistons are looking as good as I have ever seen a team in the postseason. Granted the competition hasn't been great yet and we will definitely get a better sense when they play the Nets or Heat; but would you bet against them?



--- I really like Johan Santana (Twins pitcher). He's just 3-3 to start the season and his ERA is higher than I expected (3.69) but every time I watch the guy pitch I'm amazed by his stuff.


--- Joe Torre got his 1,000 win with the Yankees and that is an amazing statistic. It's a testament to the genuis of this guy that he was able to be with the Yankees long enough to do that. When your working for a guy that fired Billy Martin 5 times (yes it still defies logic) and you manage to stave off the axe long enough to wrack up that many victories, then kudos need to be served. Championships help allow a grace period it's true, but can you imagaine another guy surviving the last couple of years in Yankeedom? I can't. Joe Torre is the perfect manager for New York. He's a quality person, doesn't over-react and knows how to manage personalities. People say anyone could win with the Yankees talent but I don't agree. Torre is not only baseball smart but more importantly for a team like the Yankees, he knows how to manage stars and their egos. He also knows how to manage one of the most egomanical owners in sports. I'm not a Yankee fan, but I am a Joe Torre fan.

I caught bits of the draft (does anyone truly watch this thing straight through?) and came away with a few thoughts:

-The Texans are insane. Do I need to elaborate?

-As a Rams fan I wish the they had been able to get Texas' defensive back, Michael Huff. Tye Hill is not a terrible pick though, the Rams need serious secondary help and he was a highly rated CB.

-2 offensive players who I think will will end up being steals in the draft have the same first name: Maurice Drew (RB from UCLA 60th pick to Jacksonville ) and Maurice Stovall (WR from Notre Dame 90th pick to Tampa Bay).

Next to Reggie Bush, Maurice Drew was the most dynamic player I saw play this past season. They played in the same city and Bush got all the pub but Drew was awesome. I know he's small but have you seen the thighs on this guy? They are tree trunks. He's fast, elusive and I think he's going to be really good. Notre Dame's Samardzija got most of the attention at WR last year but Stovall had some of the best catches I saw all year. I think he's got great hands and will do what Keyshawn did for Tampa before he punked out.

- The NFL network had the tip on the Vince Young pick several minutes before it happened and ESPN had no clue. Score one for the NFL network. Think they had a little help on that one? How long before the NFL tells ESPN they're not welcome at the draft and Rich Eisen and the boys will get exclusive coverage? By the way I was very impressed with Ram's Safety Corey Chavous' draft analysis skills on the NFL network. He was a natural and sounded like he had been doing tv for years.

I don't think Barry Bonds will finish out the season. He is obsessed with passing Babe Ruth and once that is accomplished I think it could be anytime after that when he retires. His injuries and age have caught up to him and he doesn't have the magic steroid pill (or should I say syringe) to ward off either of these problems. I know you can't trust anything out of the man's mouth so his latest statement about him doubting that he could break Hank's record (meaning he won't play long enough to) should be taken with a grain of salt. But after watching him grimace around the basepaths last night it's hard to imagine him making it through the entire season. I'm sure Bonds wants the all-time HR record but he also knows that if he gets it the steroid talk will never cease (it won't anyway) and he might end up with an asterisk by his name. Plus passing Hank Aaron doesn't hold the same allure for Bonds that passing Ruth does. You would have to have your head in the sand to believe race doesn't have something to do with this. In 2003 Bonds made this statement, "755 isn't a number that's always caught my eye..... the only number I care about is Babe Ruth's. Because as a left-handed hitter, I wiped him out. That's it. And in the baseball world, Babe Ruth's everything, right? I got his slugging percentage and I'll take his home runs and that's it. Don't talk about him no more."
Bond's doesn't claim that Ruth being white is part of his motivation but his other reported racist statements along with this quote, "Babe Ruth was a great player, but he wasn't black. I'm black, and it's tougher for blacks"; lead me to believe that Ruth's whiteness is definitely a motivating factor in his desire to pass him.
Anyway, whether or not race has anything to do with Bond's obsession with Ruth, the point is he is fanatical about getting ahead of the Bambino. To get to Hank's record he would need to play part of next season as well and I just don't think that happens. So here is how I see it playing out this summer.

- Bonds passes Ruth and gets giddy over it.

-Whether its a day later or 2 months later, Bond's will have a press conference and citing injuries as the reason, announce his retirement. Additionally he will pull out his victim act yet again and tell us that the emotional toil from all the media harassment has dampened his desire to play anymore. Tears will probably roll as he props up his very cute daughter next to him and whines about how tough it has been to be Barry Bonds. Then it's back to the mansion to swim in the pool.

-Also, this gets him out of active player status if and when this so called official investigation ever amounts to anything.

Just as a sidenote, I read something today that compared Barry Bonds to Ty Cobb. Although Cobb was definitely more racist and more of a jerk, the comparison has some merit. Both were extremely talented players with huge egos and personalities that turned people off.