Odds & Ends from the Weekend in Sports BCS Bowls, NFL, NBA, MLB Hot Stove

My random thoughts for this past weekend in sports:

Hawaii should be playing for the National Title. I don’t care who the 2nd team is but Hawaii should be number one.

Mizzou being left out of the BCS Bowl games is a complete joke. Two of the teams they beat (Illinois and Kansas) received BCS bids, but they did not. Illinois lost three games, including one to Iowa(6-6), and they will get to play USC in the Rose Bowl. Talk about injustice.

Congrats to Sean Payton for the dumbest move of the week. Calling a reverse when you’re trying to run out the clock with a 3 point lead might not be the smoothest move. Better luck next time.

0-16 here they come. Many people thought this week’s game against the Jets was the Dolphins best chance of finally winnign. I guess not… the underdog Jets routed the favored Dolphins by 28 points.

The Magic are for real ladies and gentlemen, like for real for real. Dwight Howard is a monster, averaging almost 24 pts and 15 boards a game. For all those people who laughed at Rashard Lewis getting a max deal it looks like he’s the perfect Robin to Howard’s Batman. One question that I do have about the Magic is would they be this good with Billy Donovan as the head coach?

My adopted team, the Seattle Sonics, are 3-15 but there is so much potential on this team. I know the Sonics are looking for a new home. Tropicana Field will be empty soon. See where I’m going here.

What has happened to Omar Minaya? Is he a graduate of the Isiah Thomas School for ruining a New York franchise? Lastings Milledge has been brought up in almost every single trade the Mets have been rumored in for the past two years. Names like Zito, Haren, Blanton, Santana have all been mentioned with the Mets and Milledge. So who does Minaya get in return? Brian Schneider and Ryan Church, are you serious? Even if Milledge is a head case you don’t trade him for a 4th OF and a below average catcher, especially when you already have two average catchers on the roster. Oh and if that wasn’t enough, Minaya actually paid the Rays to take Brian Stokes off their hands. Talk about career suicide.

Looking at the Johan sweepstakes I think the Yankees have made a stronger offer than the Sox. There isn’t that big off a drop off between Ellsbury over Cabrera, however there is a huge drop off from Phil Hughes and the pitchers the Sox are willing to deal.

I am also expecting the Rays to make one or two semi-major deals during the winter meetings.

And finally be on the lookout for another Stat Pack exclusive interview this week.

Put me in Coach....Literally?

And now at guard 6-4 from Kentucky....PATRICK JAMES RILEY? Ever since I read his book "The Winner Within" when I was like 10 years old I've been a Riley fan. The man in the Armani suit with the slicked back hair was on fire last night. When asked what he could do help his struggling Miami Heat offense, Riley replied

"Me? Play. I guarantee you I should suit up. I'd play better than some of them right now," Riley said Tuesday night. "I guarantee it. I swear to God. With an old hip and 62 years old and I can't see, I'll play better than some of my guys tonight. Come on, they were pretty bad."

Come on Pat suit up one more time.
















In other NBA News Team Turmoil aka The New York Knicks know how to keep the fans on their toes. After Starbury, Stephon Marbury, left the team during a road trip because he was upset, Marbury left us hanging with this...."Isiah has to start me," Marbury reportedly said, according to the Daily News. "I've got so much [stuff] on Isiah and he knows it. He thinks he can [get] me. But I'll [get] him first. You have no idea what I know."

Getcha popcorn ready!

Orlando Magic : Eastern Conference Contenders?

Just finished off a 4-0 road trip that included a tough game @ Toronto.

Apart from that, a relatively easy trip, and they did get smashed at home by Detroit earlier this year but all four main players on the team are under 28 or younger (Dwight, Lewis, Hedo, Nelson).

With games against Phoenix and Boston in their next five, Orlando's young starting five will be tested early at home as they look to establish an identity.

Let's face it, Orlando is a team on the cusp right now. They're a team with one of the dominant young forces in the NBA and a lot of other young guns surrounding him. I think bringing in Lewis helped a lot because they now have a sharp-shooting scorer that they can turn to late in the game when Dwight is getting smothered by the double-teams that he still has trouble shaking. The early results look good for Lewis, he's shooting above 58% from both the field and behind the 3pt line and is nailing his free throws as well, a problem that fans of the franchise are all too familiar with, dating back to the infamous Shaquille O'Neal days.

For right now, Orlando is playing with a lot of momentum and a lot of heart, winning games that are hotly contested up until the fourth quarter. We've seen some defensive lapses and some tepid offensive stretches, but every participant of the starting lineup is contributing night-in night-out (including Bogans hitting long shots and playing solid defense) and hopefully this trend continues.

One thing's for sure, Dwight Howard has arrived. I can't wait to see this guy control a post-season series for the first time.