So it's been a while since I've just opened up about sports, so you're gonna get a whole lot of bullet points from me today to make up for it.

-What the New England Patriots are doing to the rest of the NFL is just amazing. Without a doubt, this is the best team I've ever seen play. People like to talk about the 1998 Vikings, and they were indeed a fantastic offensive squad, but they weren't beating people like this Patriots team is. Whatever the motivation for Belichick running the score up on people, it shocks me that no one outside of the Colts has even marginally competed with them. Even the great teams occasionally play close games, but so far there's been none of that.

Perhaps there's a hidden value to the team in beating the hell out of teams the entire game: it makes sure they're focused on playing a full sixty minutes of football, so that when they find themselves in a close game like they did in Indianapolis, they're ready to play the whole way through.

Also, count me in the group of people who have no problem with the "running up the score" issue. This is professional football, and if you can't stop the other team, you'd better not complain about them shoving it down your throat. To be fair, the opposing teams have not really complained about that, but you've certainly heard it from the media and non-Patriot fans. Like I said, you don't like it, stop them. If you can't, shut up.

-Maybe it's because Brett Favre and the Packers defense are carrying my fantasy football team to their best season ever, but I really, really like the way the Packers look. Offensively, they can spread you out with a number of good receivers, and at this point Favre is playing at such a high level that he's picking apart opposing defenses. The line is giving him plenty of time to throw, and while the run game isn't fantastic, it's better than people think. They run lots of draws, delays, and counters, and the success of the passing game plus Favre's experience makes those plays dangerous. Ryan Grant isn't some great back, but he's a good fit because he attacks the line of scrimmage hard every time.

-That Cowboys-Packers game next Thursday might convince a lot of people to get the NFL Network, since it's going to be the best regular season game that doesn't involve the Colts and Patriots. Seriously, that's likely two 10-1 teams squaring off, with the winner holding the inside track to the Super Bowl. Any other season, and that game is being hyped beyond belief. But since the Colts-Pats game already gave our lives meaning, that doesn't leave a whole lot for the Packers-Cowboys to accomplish besides settling the pecking order in the NFC.

-Speaking of the NFC, I like the way my Seahawks are playing. Offensively, moving to a more pass-oriented offense is a move that's long past due. Matt Hasselbeck and Walter Jones are the two best players on the offense, and passing the ball plays to both of their strengths. Additionally, the Seahawks have perhaps the best receiving corps west of New England (and honestly, beyond the number one slot the Hawks are far superior), and putting Deion Branch, DJ Hackett, Bobby Engram, and Nate Burleson all on the field at the same time causes nightmares for opposing defenses. With Shaun Alexander finally relegated to the bench, Maurice Morris gives the offense the ability to both run the draws and counters that Alexander was too old/hurt to run, plus he can actually catch a pass or two.

Defensively, the Seahawks are better than you think. They get a good deal of pressure from the front four, and they have perhaps the best group of linebackers in the league. Marcus Trufant is turning in a Pro Bowl-type season while Kelly Jennings is improving at the other corner spot. Deon Grant and Brian Russell are not spectacular, but they don't give up the long plays that killed Seattle a year ago.

-Speaking of Seattle sports, I haven't really written about the Sonics much. I'm working on a long piece about their future with regards to where they play, but the product on the court hasn't exactly been successful so far this year.

Yet that hasn't really mattered to me. For the first time in what feels like forever, they appear to be heading in the right direction long-term. Obviously Kevin Durant is a huge talent, and at this point my only question is whether his ceiling is "All-Star" or "Hall of Famer." Jeff Green looks like a really good player as well, while Chris Wilcox appears to be living up to his tremendous potential and Damien Wilkins is turning into a good wing player in his own right. The center position is still up in the air, with Robert Swift looking terrible early this year, though he might have rushed back from an ACL tear. Johan Petro and Mo Sene haven't seen much playing time, as PJ Carliesmo clearly prefers the experience of Nick Collison and Kurt Thomas, even if they are not physically built to play center most nights.

The real problem is the point guard spot, where Earl Watson has been terrible, Delonte West has been maddeningly inconsistent, and Luke Ridnour has been hurt. None of these guys look like the answer long-term, so who gets the majority of the minutes this year seems somewhat inconsequential.

The good news for the Supes is that they'll likely have another top-five pick in the 2008 draft, plus Phoenix's first-rounder (which doesn't figure to be that high). The also have Phoenix's 2010 first-rounder, giving them a total of five first rounders in the next three drafts. With some shrewd acquisitions by Sam Presti, they have the ability to build a really good, young team to compliment Durant. If only I were certain they were staying in Seattle.

-I haven't seen a lot of other teams around the league, but I'm intrigued by the Jazz and the Hornets, mostly because of their young point guards, Deron Williams and Chris Paul respectively. I've had the feeling for the last few years that point guard might be the most important position in today's NBA, and while both of those teams have other players besides their PGs, you'd have a hard time convincing me that those guys aren't the prime reasons they're off to great starts. With a dearth of true centers, it's the point guard who can really control the pace of the game, either running if that's what his team wants to do or slowing things down and initiating the half-court offense. Both Williams and Paul can play fast or slow, create for teammates or get their own shot, and both play defense (Williams is better, but Paul is no slouch). Williams signed a big extension with the Jazz last year, but Paul is set to become a free agent in 2009...which just happens to be when Wally Szczerbiak's contract comes off the books for the Sonics...hmm...

-I was sorry to hear that Agent Zero will miss three months of play. My love of Arenas is longstanding and well-documenteed, and while I'm sure he'll manage to stay in the spotlight, I want him back on the court soon.

-Lastly, Jake Locker, the current QB for the Washington Huskies, could quite possibly become the first player from UW to win a Heisman in a year or two. He'll have everything voters love: huge rushing and passing stats, a winning team (hopefully), and plus he's white! See, everyone can agree on him.

-Ok, I lied. One last bit. After four years of unceasing failure, my fantasty football team (the Seattlesaurus) has finally clinched our first ever playoff spot. In fact, we're riding an eight-game win streak and are tied for first with a chance to knock off the other team we're tied with this week. Many thanks to Brett Favre, Reggie Bush, Willis McGahee, Larry Fitzgerald, Deion Branch, Lee Evans, Dallas Clark, the Packers defense, and the rest for making this happen, and let's keep it rolling through Week 16.

Anyhow, have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and hopefully you have as much to be thankful about as I do.

Posted by Zachary Geballe at 1:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So I click over to ESPN.com (yes, a weakness, I know) today and what do I see splashed all over the front page? Cheat Wave '07! Oh no.

The first question they ask is "can fans trust sports anymore?" I don't quite see what all the hubbub is about. First of all, cheating in some form or another has been a part of professional sports since the beginning. Whether we're talking about point shaving in basketball, players throwing the 1919 World Series, or even gambling scandals in pro football, it's not as if cheating is some brand new construct.

However, it's also foolish to ignore the fact that the stakes have changed as more and more money has entered professional sports. 50 years ago, players were willing to shave points and fix games because the amount of money they made was fairly small: they were paid similar wages to the people who watched the games. Think of it: if you were offered 25% of your salary to do a poor job at work (perhaps by a competing company who wanted a leg up), wouldn't you at least consider it? Would you be shocked if one of your co-workers took that offer?

Now, the stakes have gone up. The difference between being a career minor-leaguer and making the big leagues is massive in terms of money and security. Even being a journeyman sets you up for life, assuming you're smart with your money. If taking PEDs can get a player to the Major Leagues, or to the NFL, are we surprised that players do them? Plus, if you suspect that a lot of the players around you are cheating, doesn't that just increase the pressure to cheat in order to keep up? If you look at the list of players who have been busted by MLB, they're mostly minor leaguers or fringe major leagues, the very players who have the most at stake. Sure, by taking steroids Bonds was able to set the all-time HR record, but he was already a Hall of Famer who in 1993 signed the richest contract in the sport's history. Now compare that to someone like Giambi, who was a borderline MLB player until he started taking steroids...suddenly, he's an MVP and getting $100 million+ from the Yankees. You think other players don't notice that?

In my mind, it's essential to delineate between the types of cheating that attempt to get a leg-up on the competition (stealing signs, late hits, roiding, scuffing balls, etc.) and types of cheating that throw the very integrity of the contest into question (point shaving, throwing games, etc.). While the former may be hard to stomach, they don't fundamentally call the entire contest into question, especially if you believe (as I, and most of the people close to the sports do) that a sizable percentage of players are cheating. The latter, however, can bring down leagues.

But what bothers me most about this whole "Cheat Wave" thing is that ESPN is acting like a victim in this whole mess, as if they have been wronged by players cheating. As if they haven't profited from McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds, or from football players cheating, or even from the Tour de France. I find their outrage almost insulting. Where were the ESPN.com articles in 1998, when it was clear that McGwire and Sosa were cheating. Where's the questioning of the NFL for letting a guy who failed a test (something Bonds has never done) play in the Pro Bowl? Or where's the discussion of whether it's even possible to get PEDs out of sports? No one really thinks that's possible, even if the Players Associations agreed to full-on blood testing.

Or where's the questioning of the leagues. If you took ESPN and their articles and fan polls at face value, you'd be lead to believe that cheating is something that comes solely from the players, despit ethe best efforts of the leagues. Of course, when you realize that baseball had, until 2004, been at least tacitly endorsing steroid use by (on Bud Selig's orders) turning a blind eye to the clearly evident fact that players were using steroids, and had been for at least 15 years, it becomes harder to condemn the players. They're the ones who have a vested financial interest in their own careers. Instead, we should ask why the owners, and the media, who knew what was going on, kept quiet. Is it possible that these noble and scrupulous characters, who have no compunction about lambasting players for cheating, might have been a bit dishonest in the services of their own financial interests? No, of course not.

The truth is, with the amount of money at stake for everyone involved, players are not going to stop cheating any time soon, and the ownership groups are going to be extremely hesitant to call them out. And you know what? I don't care. I'm not a pro athlete, so I'm not faced with the dilemma of whether I should or should not use. Sure, it's a bit distressing that young athletes will feel compelled to cheat in order to get a leg-up, but banning PEDs at the pro level won't do anything other than reinforce that they work. It's a Brave New World we live in, and instead of griping about it and concocting impossible scenarios about how it could be made perfect, we should just shut up and enjoy the games. Or do something else. No one ever died from a lack of sports.

Posted by Zachary Geballe at 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)