All he’s gotta do is turn around the LA Clippers… yikes. Read more from ESPN.com:
LAS VEGAS — They were there for Blake Griffin, and they didn’t even get to see him play. Fans started lining up at an autograph booth in the Thomas & Mack Center concourse before the Los Angeles Clippers’ summer league game, and they stayed there until Griffin arrived some 20 minutes after the game ended, sat down and started signing jerseys, cards, basketballs, shirts and programs. The line extended past concession stands and entry portals, with more fans breaking ranks to get a glimpse of the Clippers’ No. 1 pick. A team official said he’s never seen anything like it for one of their players at summer league.
This is different.
And this goes against everything I’ve learned since the Clippers moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and provided us with a quarter-century’s worth of bad draft picks, loafing centers, point guards on 10-day contracts taking last-second shots, and Donald Sterling’s ownership serving as the lone constant, but I believe Griffin can change this team.
If he does, if he turns the Clippers into regular playoff residents instead of occasional visitors, he’ll go down as one of the greatest No. 1 picks ever. That’s the magnitude of the challenge, and that’s how monumental that accomplishment would be.
There have been other moments of hope: the “Space Cowboys” group of past-their-peaks Norm Nixon, Cedric Maxwell and Marques Johnson; the head-pounding young squad of Quentin Richardson, Darius Miles, Elton Brand and Lamar Odom; and the team that got to within a game of the Western Conference finals. You don’t need to be an NBA historian to know how those promising stories ended. Just look at the upper reaches of the Staples Center. You won’t find a single piece of Clippers fabric. No retired jerseys, not even so much as a division championship banner.
When the Clippers won the draft lottery and selected Griffin with the top pick, I didn’t think this one would turn out any different. It would be just the Clippers’ luck to go first in what’s viewed as a weak draft. They never get this chance when there’s a Shaq or a LeBron to be had.
Read the rest HERE
From LATimes.com:
Derrick Rose was the runaway winner of the NBA rookie of the year award, with 111 of 120 first-place votes for 574 total points. The Chicago Bulls breakout star is playing in his hometown after a standout college career at Memphis.
The next five rookies all have a California connection.
Former USC star O.J. Mayo was runner-up with five first-place votes and 127 points. He currently plays for Memphis (the NBA version, of course).
New Jersey’s Brook Lopez was third with 127 points and was a sensation at Stanford.
Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder came in fourth. The former UCLA Bruin was the only other player to receive first-place votes — both he and Lopez earned a pair.
The Clippers’ Eric Gordon finished fifth.
Another local college star, UCLA’s Kevin Love, finished sixth. The Minnesota [Note: incorrectly said Memphis previously] rookie probably had the best marketing campaign.
Can you say backfire? From FoxSports.com:
NEW YORK (AP) - At new Yankee Stadium, the best seats in the park have turned out to be the emptiest.
The most expensive spots in America’s costliest ballpark have become an embarrassment packing a financial sting to the proud New York Yankees, as the Legends Suite section in the infield has been filled only once in the six games since the $1.5 billion stadium opened last week.
On most days, the 1,895 seats that cost $500-$2,500 as part of season tickets and go up to $2,625 for individual games haven’t been close to full. And as TV cameras pick up the patchy attendance with every pitch, it serves as a little tweak to America’s richest baseball team.
“We’re done talking about seats,” Yankees president Randy Levine said on Wednesday. “We’re not talking about seats.”
But fans sure notice.
“I remember watching and you couldn’t find an empty seat at Yankee Stadium. And now right behind home plate there’s 15 to 20,” said Aaron Feldstein, who scored a free ticket from a friend for Wednesday’s game behind home plate - an area that costs $325 as part of season tickets.
The Legend Suite section was about 80 percent empty, and the upper decks - which have been mostly full - were a quarter empty for the game against the Oakland Athletics on a showery, cold afternoon.
Yet another sign of how the best seats have been overpriced is their resale level.
Legends Suite seats in section 27B, row 2, down the left-field line that originally sold for $500 were available for $225 early Wednesday on the online ticket broker StubHub.com. Tickets in section 23, row 7, behind the visitors’ dugout could be had for $263, down from their $850 original price.
“Yeah, we understand it’s not full. We actually understand why it’s not,” left fielder Johnny Damon said. “It’s tough for, you know, business owners to justify those seats. It’s either have those seats or lay off people from work, and I think that during this tough time, people are going to want to put it back into their companies and put it back into people instead of spending that type of money for seats.”
A stadium built in boom times - with top-end seats that give fans access to private clubs and an upscale duplex buffet from white-toqued chefs at carving stations - the Yankees’ front office doesn’t seem to have counted on the recession dampening enthusiasm for the storied franchise.
The team refuses to talk about the financial impact of the empty seats, but if every spot in the Legends Suite were sold, the club would gross $1.63 million per game, according to AP’s calculation.
“I think if anybody in any business had known where this economy was going to go, they would have done things differently,” Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said on April 2.
“Look, there’s no doubt small amounts of our tickets might be overpriced. You know, we’re continuing to look into that. But the bottom line is, the vast majority of them, it seems like they’re right on because we’ve sold 35,000 full season equivalents, and a lot of the tickets have, you know, sold quite well.”
So what do the Yankees do until the economy rebounds? Drop prices now and anger fans who paid (very) top dollar? Or wait, endure the jokes, and wonder what the effect on the actual game is?
All those empty cushioned seats with teak armrests translate to less crowd noise, making Yankee Stadium a less-intimidating place to play.
Oakland’s Jason Giambi, who spent seven seasons with the Yankees, said the new stadium was “kind of bigger and more spread out than the other one.”
In the old ballpark, it felt as if the fans “were on top of you,” he said. “That made old Yankee Stadium so great.”
1. Ryan Leaf, Chargers (1998)
2. Lawrence Phillips, Rams (1996)
3. Art Schlichter, Colts (1982)
4. Heath Shuler, Redskins (1994)
5. Charles Rogers, Lions (2003)
6. Keith McCants, Buccaneers (1990)
7. Johnny “Lam” Jones, Jets (1980)
8. Mike Junkin, Browns (1987)
9. Bo Matthews, Chargers (1974)
10. Jerry Tagge, Packers (1972)
11. Jim Drukenmiller, 49ers (1997)
12. Andre Ware, Lions (1990)
13. Reggie Rogers, Lions (1987)
14. Joe Profit, Falcons (1971)
15. Huey Richardson, Steelers (1991)
16. Peter Warrick, Bengals (2000)
17. David Klingler, Bengals (1992)
18. Derek Brown, Giants (1992)
19. Tim Couch, Browns (1999)
20. Curtis Enis, Bears (1998)
21. Steve Niehaus, Seahawks (1976)
22. Blair Thomas, Jets (1990)
23. Kelly Stouffer, Cardinals (1987)
24. Tony Sacca, Cardinals (1992)
25. Tim Worley, Steelers (1989)
26. Jack Thompson, Bengals (1979)
27. Walt Patulski, Bills (1972)
28. Tony Mandarich, Packers (1989)
29. Todd Blackledge, Chiefs (1983)
30. Aaron Gibson, Lions (1999)
31. Todd Marinovich, Raiders (1991)
32. Andre Johnson, Redskins (1996)
33. Leeland McElroy, Cardinals (1996)
34. Craig Powell, Browns (1995)
35. Mike Elkins, Chiefs (1999)
36. Russell Erxleben, Saints (1979)
37. Patrick Bates, Raiders (1993)
38. Dan McGwire, Seahawks (1991)
39. Trezelle Jenkins, Chiefs (1995)
40. Cade McNown, Bears (1999)
41. Reggie Rembert, Jets (1990)
42. Akili Smith, Bengals (1999)
43. Mike Mamula, Eagles (1995)
44. Jonathan Sullivan, Saints (2003)
45. John Clay, Raiders (1987)
46. Alex Van Dyke, Jets (1996)
47. Maurice Clarett, Broncos (2005)
48. David LaFleur, Cowboys (1997)
49. Jon Harris, Eagles (1997)
50. Michael Westbrook, Redskins (1995)
read it all on ESPN. Here’s a clip on Ryan Leaf:
Time Warner takes a page from the book of “give people what they want”
Enter SI Vault. If you are wondering what SI Vault is, as the name would imply, it’s 54 years of Sports Illustraded’s covers, images, stories and much more. If an image is worth a thousand words, what would 54 years’ worth of images be worth?
Here’s a story dating back to 1992, for example, on Christian Laettner and Duke. Hmm… Laettner? Duke? Pardon the shameless plug, but enjoy WatchMojo.com’s classic college programming:
Duke in Top College Programs:
And Laettner in Top College Careers:
All right, enough shameless promotion, now go and enjoy 54 years of SI at SI Vault.
Top quarterback recruit settles on Buckeyes after taking month to decide
PITTSBURGH - Highly regarded prep quarterback Terrelle Pryor is headed to Ohio State.
The two-sports star announced his decision Wednesday at Jeannette High School, about 25 miles east of Pittsburgh, where he had one of the greatest prep careers in Pennsylvania history.
Flanked by his parents, brother, sister and other supporters, the 6-foot-6 Pryor wasted no time with his decision: “If everyone’s here,” he said, “University of Ohio State.”
He then unzipped his windbreaker to reveal an Ohio State T-shirt and donned an OSU hat.
Pryor picked Ohio State over Michigan, Penn State and Oregon.
Pryor said Oregon was too far away and Penn State too rural. He said he liked Michigan and new coach Rich Rodriguez, but felt that he has a better shot at making it to the NFL by going to Ohio State.
Pryor called a similar news conference last month, then decided at the last minute not to announce his choice, saying he planned to visit Oregon and, on the advice of his father, Craig, continue considering Penn State. Pryor never visited Oregon and telegraphed Wednesday’s decision by attending a basketball game at Ohio State on Feb. 24, the only campus he is known to have visited since Feb. 6.
Pryor’s trip to Ohio State was not an official visit, but more than 19,000 fans at the basketball game were aware of his presence. The student section chanted “We want Pryor” and “Terr-elle Pry-or” when he was spotted sitting courtside with other recruits.
Ohio State signed 19 players last month and has been holding a 20th scholarship for Pryor, who had one of the best athletic careers in Pennsylvania high school history.
Pryor is the only Pennsylvania player to both rush and pass for at least 4,000 yards in football. He also scored 2,285 points in basketball. For now, Pryor said he does not plan to play basketball in college.
Why is this newsworthy? The 2 teams are part of the greatest rivarly in College Football.
Check out WatchMojo’s Top 10 List on ‘Best College Football Rivarlies Of All Time”
Fourteen men were arrested after a wild bachelor party, no one cares, right. Well, not when two of them are NHL brothers…
Carolina Hurricanes star Eric Staal and his brother, Jordan Staal of the Pittsburgh Penguins, were amongst the 14.
Read more.
Oh wow, what a year it was. Enjoy.
We all know that Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are the future of the NBA. But there are many other talented players waiting to carry the torch.
Read more.
This is a nice little exercise. Imagine having to do the 2006 NFL Draft all over again. What would be the same, what would be different? Enjoy.
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