The Strength of the Euro

In case you haven't noticed, NBA players are fleeing their middling teams and wack salaries for the richer pastures of Europe. This was bound to happen eventually, what with the improvement of international basketball over the last decade or so. Also, if you are familiar with this blog, you will also remember that one of our authors made th prophetic vision that people will follow the footsteps of Brandon Jennings should he decide to hop the pond. Prophetic, I am.

Anyways, the list does include some NBA notables, but mostly middle of the road dudes that are little more than role players on their teams. Some already have international experience (Nenad "Nads" Krstic, Jorge "Garbage" Garbajosa, Carlos Arroyo). Others just felt like escaping.

While Jennings was the most original and notable (being a high school player making the exodus so he could get paid instead of go to school), Josh Childress was probably where the dam broke. Childress, a young athlete that played a fair amount on a fair, young, athletic team, signed a three-year $30 Million contract with Olimpiacos (Greece). Childress isn't even the first American to play for this team, but he is the first NBA-established player to go across in the peak of his career. Most people usually wait until they are too old for the NBA, or they go overseas if they can't make the NBA. When people saw how much Childress was going to get paid ($10mil a year is starter money on playoff teams), others thought to themselves, 'hey, I could make that money.'

There are other factors to realize with this deal. Going overseas doesn't just mean more money. Well, it does, but in different ways. What most people don't realize is that when you get paid with most pro teams in Europe, you keep all your money. Most pro clubs in Europe, regardless of the sport, pick up the tab on taxes, housing, cars, pretty much all living necessities. That means that ALL of that $30 million is Josh's (Jennings is looking smarter than any other Arizona Wildcat right about now). Furthermore, the teams that can afford to lure players away (Olimpiacos, CSKA Moscow, Barcelona) are generally all contenders. Anyone can tell you that it is way more fun to win than lose, regardless of the league. Finally, look at where you get to play! Josh Childress left Atlanta for Athens, Greece. If you were wondering, Athens is nicer than Atlanta. By a lot. Seriously, look at NBA cities (New Jersey, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Toronto). Compare those with the nicest cities in Europe (and then Moscow), fuck a language barrier, those places are great.

Now the average fan doesn't care much about the people that have already gone across the pond. In fact, several of you probably have never even heard the name "Earl Boykins" before. Most people won't even miss the ones that are gone (I, for one, will miss Carlos Arroyo's pimp ass shoes). But in the last few days, Kobe Bryant and [sources close to] LeBron James said that they would go if the money was right. The money being astronomical (Kobe says $40 million a year, Bron's bro says fitty). That's a heck of a lot of money. Money that NBA teams can't compete with due to the salary cap. It's one thing for lesser known albeit decent players to go, but when you talk about two of the main faces of the NBA, it probably sends a shiver up David Stern's spine.

I discussed the intangible merits of playing hoops in Europe, and so I must point out the main perk of hooping in the USA: sponsorship dollars. LeBron doesn't make most of his money playing basketball. He makes most of his money being a face to slap on a Coke can, a Nike billboard, even a pack of Bubble Gum (Yes, there is a LeBron Bubblicious flavor of gum). While that $50 million figure would be about double what he makes from the Cavs, he would stand to lose a fair amount of money in sponsorships (yes, Nike and Coke exist everywhere, but he wouldn't be moving the same amount of goods, therefore he would take a pay cut. Think how many Beckham commercials you see in the USA these days). Will LeBron go overseas? Probably, but not before he wins a couple of rings in the NBA first. Maybe in about fifteen years he'll go.

The European basketball leagues have long been a sort of retirement program for aging hoopsters. Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins (the only NBA player to ever claim he was an alien from the planet Luvtron) played in Italy for a spell, as did Magic Johnson, Julius Erving, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, World B. Free, et al. Stephon Marbury even announced his plan last summer to go play in Europe after his contract expires. Not just in Europe, either. Sonny Alvarado played in a Korean league, and God Shammgod still plays in China. One of the most important twists, however, is that Joe "Jellybean" Bryant played in Italy for a long time.

Which, of course, brings me to Kobe. Kobe was raised in Italy when his pops (the aforementioned Bryant) played there. Kobe speaks Italian, and loves to jetset to all the happening places in Europe. For all the reasons that LeBron has to stay, Kobe has to go. Kobe's already accomplished everything one can in the NBA. Three rings, MVP, Scoring champ, etc. All checked off the list. Furthermore, Kobe doesn't have hardly any sponsorships anymore after his Colorado naked party (also, Euro chicks don't sue you when you bang them. Another good reason, Kobe!), therefore, if he's gotta live off of his hoops playing, playing somewhere with no taxes or salary caps is probably a wise move. Considering that he's already comfortable with the life on an expatriate, and that he already plays with a bunch of bricklaying Eurotrash on the Lakers, Kobe is probably the only superstar that might make the jump while still in their prime.

Would this hurt the NBA? Maybe. It would definitely help basketball on a global scale, and bring us one step closer to my dream of having a basketball champion's league (which would be sweet).

The Euro phenomenon has made this offseason pretty interesting, and is a perfect build up for the Olympics (which will showcase all of the best talent, NBA or otherwise). One way or another, there are definitely more basketball leagues than just the NBA, and those leagues aren't for hasbeens and neverwas's anymore.

CFB preview

#7 West Virginia

Gut Reaction-Whatever

Offense-The entire offensive line returns along with uber QB Pat White. The loss of Steve Slaton shouldn't upset the Morgantown faithful as Noel Devine should have a breakout year.

Defense- Jeff Casteel's 5-3....excuse me "3-3 stack" defense returns 4 starters, however Senior LB Morty Ivy should provide leadership for the Mountaineers.

Special Teams- Pat Mcaffe is a future scratch golfer.

Schedule-Trips to Colorado, and nemesis Pitt, along with home games against Auburn, and the Coal Killers will challenge a Mountaineer NC run.

Ramblings- WVU is facing a pivotal season. This is the year WVU either turns the corner and makes it to Miami, or once again becomes an "also ran" in the NC picture. If I was a WVU fan (Which I'm not...ever) I'd be screaming NC or bust at first year coach Bill Stewart. The year is also pivotal when looking at the program's future. Specifically, can Bill Stewart and the Mountaineer staff continue to bring in the talent, and win year after year to sustain an elite FBS program. No one can answer these questions, but I suppose we can all look back on this 4 years later and examine the direction of WVU.

Back to this year... Look everyone knows Pat White is the truth, Noel Devine is a game-breaker, and the Defense will be somewhat adequate. I don't question the personnel, or schemes of WVU. What I do question is the "other" factors WVU needs to address this year. 1. Does West Virginia recover from the Rich Rod Hangover? Thats right I said it. You would think it wasn't a big deal, but the reaction of Rod's departure to Michigan leaves me to believe that the Mountaineers, Bill Stewart, and the entire state, will need huge wins against Colorado and Auburn to move on from the whole episode. 2. Can WVU win the small game? WVU has absolutely no problem winning the big game, just look at this, and this. However, the Mountaineers have proven for the past several years that they miss the layups such as South Florida 06,07 and Pitt 07. I'd bet money that the mountaineers will win close in Colorado and handle Auburn quite easily. What I wont bet on is that they'll come out against the Big East schedule unscathed.

At the end of the day, this is Pat White's last year, and the NC window is closing for the Mountaineers. Furthermore, the "new" staff will have to replace the athletes that have been commonplace at WVU for the past several years. When you combine these, along with other factors, it becomes apparent that WVU is facing a pivotal moment in the program's future. Will WVU continue in the land of upper level mediocrity, or will they truly become an elite program for years to come?

Steve Smith Revealed

Steve Smith is in the pre-season news, not for breaking tackles, but for breaking faces.

Apparently, tensions ran high during practice between Smith and Ken "You'll Only Remember Me As That Guy Who Got Jacked By Steve Smith" Lucas, and Smith decided Lucas needed some physical attention. Reportedly, the two haven't gotten along since Lucas arrived at Carolina in 2005.

Not to break off onto some tangent, but the individual coverage of the events is hilarious. NFL players, or their agency, often pay people to run and update their websites and other various coverages on the information super-highway. Apparently, one of these people looks over Wikipedia. I encourage everyone to look at how "apologetic" Smith was following the altercation/beat-down and how Lucas really isn't that big of a puss, but quote "teammates and coaches intervened leaving Lucas shocked and without an attempt at redemption." Top shelf, Wikipedia.

So what's the impact of the fight? Well, there's a large dent where player-whose-name-is-not-important-enough-to-recall's nose used to be. And the Carolina Panthers will likely lose the first two games of the season that Smith will be suspended for. I haven't seen who they're playing, but they are remarkably ungood without him.

But this has also been pretty revealing about Steve "Thug?" Smith. Is he really as street as he and the NFL would purport?

"But Zack, he had a single mom and he lived in the hood." True, but his mom was also a counselor so anything that Smith say that could have warped his fragile young mind could easily have been reversed.

"Stovall, aren't you neglecting his array of tattoos?" I neglect them not. But have you really looked at them?
He ripped off Shaq's SuperShaq emblem, has a Smurf tattoo(which after some investigation has yielded no legitimate street cred), a cliche Asian thing, and the name of his kids, all of which were birthed by the same mother. This could very well be Billy Graham's body art run down.

"He is a receiver in the NFL, Stovie, he has millions to blow on booze, hookers, and/or drug paraphernalia. Are you retarded?" This is true. He is a professional and not to mention a pro-bowl receiver. However, he is also an intern at Morgan Stanley's Charlotte branch. A financial planning intern? "Hey Sport, go get me that coffee that's 40 yards away in under 4.5 seconds." "Hey Tiger, I'm going to need a skinny post fade to the fax to get my TPS reports." I bet they make him sign autographs for their kids. Very unballer.

So while Smith may have kept it real on whats-his-face, he seriously lacks realness in other categories. Maybe he can achieve some of those features after he goes and gets a new coffee pot for the office, because the old one broke about 9:30 this morning.

...Football

Comingtoyaaaahaaaa
"...Starters only play for a series"

Respectfully, eat shit I've been watching the Florida blue/white game, NFL game of the week, and 1999 De La Salle vs. Mater Dei for the past four months.
Honestly, I don't give a shit its live football...and it's here.

tonight is a pretty perfect night, my suggested viewing schedule follows...(all times eastern)
8 pm.-9 pm. watch the first quarter and a half of the hall of fame game, allowing just enough time to build up your Madden/Michaels tolerance level.
9-10:15 Generation Kill.
10:15-11 Football.

Friday Afternoon Fun Bag!

Just another Friday in paradise, y'all. What are you guys gonna do this weekend? Party? Sounds good.

So it's been a week. An extremely productive week by all standards. Did you guys see how many posts we had this week? It was a shitload! I would love to keep up this kind of momentum, we'll just have to see. I'm sure that football season will bring us plenty to talk about. Which reminds me, OMG OMG OMG it's almost here!!!!
Sorry, had to freak out just for a second. It's these florescent lights. Or these walls. Or...something.

Well, let's get to the fun, darn it. Because of how much success the last Shakira video garnered, here's another, even sexier one.

Speaking of international transplants, if you don't like soccer after this video, there's something wrong with you. Not that this video has anything to do with soccer, but it's just hilarious, fast, and to the point.

Moving on, in case some of you are unaware, there is still an NBA team in Canada, the Toronto Raptors. The best player on this wacky team is a Dallas native by the name of Chris Bosh. Bosh is not only great, an Olympian, and an All-Star, but he even looks like a Raptor. What does any of this have to do with his self-serving commercial? Not a damn thing.

You know what's great about the Olympics? Women playing sports.

In case you didn't get enough, because I know I didn't. Here is Steve Nash and Baron Davis doing what I imagine they do every day now. Check out Baron's face at the very beginning.

Anyways, that picture above is, in fact, Vince Young. He's probably not partying like that anymore, because in the words of Chris Cooley, NFL training camp is as fun as a bag of dicks.

Finally, Team USA plays Team Russia in basketball starting at 3:00am Eastern Time on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Need something to do when the bars close? Oh yeah, get on top of that. It's going to be better than Rocky IV.

Big 12 Preview

See? That's where the Big XII is.

This year's Big 12 is far and away the most unique Big 12 of all time, pretty much because the North division is heavily favored against the perennial juggernaut South. Anyways, out here in middle America, several teams have become serial-killer types. They're quiet, brooding, steaming with some hatred that could boil over at any point. For instance, remember when Nebraska was amazing? Well they haven't forgotten, and now that they have a team that could potentially win a few games against big opponents, nobody wants to go to Lincoln anymore. Colorado dares people to come play them in Boulder. Kansas State holds a winning streak against Texas. Repeat, WINNING STREAK against Texas. Anyways, without further ado...

Baylor:
It's widely rumored that the best part of Waco is leaving it. That being said, it takes a special type of person to stay there for four years and play for such a terrible team while there. New coach Art Briles (formerly of Houston) has come in to attempt to change this losing stigma. It'll definitely be an uphill battle, since Baylor ended up last in the Big 12 in 2007, with a record of 3-9. Just hope that none of your team's good players get hurt playing them, and forget about Baylor all together.

Colorado:
People often forget about Colorado, but the Buffaloes aren't bad. They're certainly weird, but not bad. On paper, they don't look bad. They have an interception-prone coach's son of a quarterback, but they also scored a recruiting coup with California's Darrell Scott, who chose the Buffs over virtually every other school in the country. They also play in a different time zone, at about a mile high, in sometimes snowy conditions. They'll beat a few people, depending on the progress of Cody Hawkins, and how good Scott actually is. An underrated strength of theirs is Defense, by the way. Fear the Rabid Goldfish.

Iowa State:
This one's easy enough to pick, since they were 3-9 last year, and are only returning four starters. Is the grass greener Gene Chizik? Didn't think so.
Look for the Cyclones to never appear on national TV, and maybe beat one or two of the middling teams in the conference.

Kansas:
Aha! A good team! Last year the Jayhawks took the nation by storm, jumping out to an incredible beginning of the season, scoring almost at will with a fantastic showing from Austin, TX native Todd Reesing. Here's the crazy thing. Though they went 12-1 last year, they're only losing 16 players, and are coming back to an easier schedule. If they don't start out 6-0, consider them corn-fed choke artists. Of course, after those first six games, they have to play six top-25 teams. The difference between the Big 12 and other conferences? Big 12 teams trade off of their playing ability, other conferences have teams that trade off of their names. Scared to play Alabama? Then you haven't watched football in ten years. Scared to play UCLA? Give me a break. Scared to play Florida State? You get the idea.

Kansas State:
The boys from the little apple are a little hard to get a handle on. They had a losing season, but for some reason whomped Texas in Austin, and very nearly beat Kansas. QB Josh Freeman looks a lot like Kentucky QB Andre Woodson. You know, if Andre Woodson was good at playing football. They will return four starters, but have picked up a bunch of Juco transfers that are lumped into two groups: Stupid fat guys, and stupid fast guys. What this means is that they will have several new names that may in fact be the rainmen of football. Look for KState to suck, but beat someone of note.

Missouri:
You can pretty much say the same thing about Mizzou that you can about Kansas. Except Chase Daniel is the quarterback and he's from Dallas. Coming off a 12-2 miracle of a season, the Tigers will return virtually everybody of importance, and enjoy a cake-eater schedule to boot. Their toughest two teams will be Texas in Austin, and the border war with Kansas to finish off the season. If they for some reason squeak by everything unscathed, they should be a legitimate national championship contender assuming they win the Big 12 championship. That's a lot of assuming, though.

Nebraska:
With a name derived from one of the worst Bruce Springsteen songs, Nebraska has already a chip on it's shoulder. Another one of the conference's middling teams last year, Nebraska has a revamped defense, a great athlete at QB (Joe Ganz), and two offensive stars with adjectives for last names (RB Marlon Lucky and WR Nate Swift). They'll still probably suck, though.

Oklahoma:
With a name derived from one of the more notable musical's of all time, we already know that Oklahoma is a fan of alternative lifestyles. Not the kind you might find in an urban setting, mind you, but probably more like one of the guys in Deliverance. You know which ones. I get a sick feeling in my stomach when OU is good. Like when someone misquotes the Big Lebowski or farts when I'm eating, or something other abhorrent. They're gonna be good, and every single one of their players (except for half-cherokee and choctaw QB Sam Bradford) is from Texas.

Oklahoma State:
Is located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA. It is a public research university founded in 1890 as a land-grant university under the Morrill Act. Originally known as Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College (Oklahoma A&M), it is the flagship institution of the Oklahoma State University System. The campus had a total enrollment of 23,307 students for the 2006–07 academic year.[3]
That is to say, I'm not wasting my time with two teams from that place to the north.

Texas:
Well, I would love to write something glowing about this great beacon of grace and beauty, but in truth, I'm still suffering from the Vince Young hangover. And this Colt McSimms (I mean, McCoy) remedy just isn't working. They'll win some games based purely on superior athleticism and talent, but in reality, Texas can probably look forward to another three-loss season and weak ass bowl. Of course, seeing Chiles run for a few five-yard gains might be cool to see again. Almost as cool as the way things were.

Texas A&M:
Still have Stephen McGee, still have a fake army, still have a daunting home field, still suck.

Texas Tech:
Has already been reviewed on this website.