Mark Cuban and the Mav's know how to party

   Once again Mark Cuban shows that he would be a great owner for any sports franchise.  Cuban decided to pay the bill for the Dallas Mavericks championship parade, perhaps setting a pattern that will incline Donald Sterling to trade Blake Griffin for Andres Varajao.  Maybe it was the perseverance during the Portland series, or the utter dominance of the Lakers, or maybe the good guy role against the hated Miami Heat, who knows, but for some reason I loved watching the Mavs.  Watching these guys celebrate brought a smile to my face.  Either way I enjoyed another great NBA season and this will the final NBA post for a while, unless some NBA player does some moronic thing.  Or maybe if Mark Cuban buys a certain team in Los Angeles.  We can only hope.

On another note check this post that has a link to more pictures of the parade.

Dodgers may need a new owner?

  
     If interested in a similar article but in a foreign language, check this out.  The author of that article is a stud.  Also check out his other writings about this guy and this guy.
    
     Anyways, yesterday the Los Angeles Time reported on a story concerning the financial situation of the Los Angeles Dodgers.  The LA Times reported that Dodger owner Frank McCourt had enough money to pay the bills on June 15th but that he may not have enough money to pay for the bills on June 30th.  One major reason for the shortfall, is the 8 million owed to Man Ram in deferred money.  With the divorce proceedings in a never ending deadlock and the bank account near empty, the Dodgers should probably start considering who the new owner of prestigious franchise will be. 

Earlier I mentioned how Mark Cuban's next adventure may be the ownership of the Dodgers.  Another visible option is the known partnership between Dodger legends Steve Garvey and Orel Hersheiser.  As a Dodger fan I would be excited for an ownership that consisted of kick ass former Dodgers.  Yet the same issues concerning the McCourt ownership will arise if the Blue Crew ownership group does not throw in a billionaire into the group.  Either way, the countdown toward the end of the McCourt era has begun and after the last two seasons, its a good thing.  I like Frank McCourt and he has done good things in Los Angeles (2 straight NLCS appearances), but the reality is that his divorce has ruined him and its time for him to spend more within his means, and the maintenance of a MLB baseball team is not within his means.

Mark and the Mavs show Miami's true colors, whats next for Cuban?

     As the Dallas Mavericks celebrated their 2010-2011 NBA Championship inside a South Beach club and they continued to punk the fans of Miami one thing stuck in my mind, I wish Mark Cuban was the owner of one my favorite franchises.  Obviously the Lakers have one of the greatest owners in the NBA in Dr. Buss.  Only if there was another sport Mark Cuban wanted to venture in and only if there was a Los Angeles team within that sport that needed new ownership.  Oh snap, there such a perfect case, the MLB run and ambiguously Frank McCourt owned Los Angeles Dodgers fit that mold perfectly.  But before I elaborate on that I want to take a few minutes to vent on all that is Miami sports.
     Miami is officially the worst sports towns in the United States.  There was plenty of evidence to support this argument before last night most notably the poor fan attendance of Florida Marlin games.  But to allow the rival team that just punked your so called beloved Miami Heat, party in your back yard is over the top.  In many ways the fans of Miami remind me of Los Angeles fans.  Both fan bases attend games to be seen more than to root for a team, both fan bases arrive late to games and leave early, both fan bases prefer to wear their designer shirt rather than their free t-shirt given to all fans for the sake of unity.  But one point of distinction is the after aforementioned party scenario.  I want to believe that in Los Angeles the Dallas Mavericks would have to find a place in Orange County in order to party or better that they would not even consider staying and simply decide to fly back to Dallas.  Its also makes me sick to see all those Miami fans who probably were touting their love for the Heat two weeks ago, cheer with the Mavs as they reaffirm, yes we got punked and we have no pride, in fact we simply root for whatever team wins, loyalty is for people with standards and we have none, congratualtions Miami you are a joke of a sports town.

     Back to Mark Cuban.  Mark Cuban wanted to buy the Cubs and MLB didnt allow it because of his history for antics on and off the court.   Frankly this good'ol boys networks doesnt want to allow such a cowboy into their fraternity.  I hope this barrier doesnt become an issue again.  Mark has shown he can be a better fit for status of MLB franchise ownership.  Throughout this years NBA playoffs Mark was quiet and he showed a good faith attempt to please MLB owners.  But besides this active personality there are many reasons to allow Mark to become an MLB franchise owner.  Mark will not be afraid to spend money and to do all that is possible to win a championship.  Mark will be a good face for MLB and most importantly he is rich enough to own a team, unlike Frank McCourt.  I am a big fan of active ownership like that of Mark Cuban and the recently deceased "Boss" in New York. 
     The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the prized jewels of Major League Baseball.  The Dodgers were the first to move West and expand baseball to the reaches it has today.  They broke the color barrier with Jackie Robinson.  They were the first to create baseball camps in Latin America and the first to bring believe in the value of Asian players like Chan Ho Park.  The Dodgers need new ownership and need to be saved and Mark Cuban is the man for this job and I hope the Dodgers become Mark Cuban's next project and championship mission.  Mark will not embarrass a city and a franchise like Frank McCourt and Mark's t-shirt and jeans persona is a perfect fit for the personality and culture of Los Angeles.  We can only hope.

There Can Only Be ONE...

     As the country prepares for Game 5 of the NBA Finals there is a common theme in the minds of all fans, whats wrong with Lebron James?  Why is Lebron not dominating the NBA Finals like Michael Jordan?  Why is the "King" playing more like a knight of the court?  The reality of things is that Lebron has fallen victim to the common enemy of all modern NBA superstars, Jordanisms. 

     Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest player in the history of the NBA and fans are hungry for another player of his caliber.  Yet, how can there be another greatest player in the history of the game?  Jordan was a once in a lifetime type of player.  Who can match the profile of 6 NBA Finals, 6 Championships, 6 NBA Finals MVP's?  The sight of Jordan breaking Russell's ankles as he hits a dagger to win the championship is magical and hard to repeat. 
     Lebron on the other hand is already 0 for 1 with NBA Finals appearances.  He has disappeared in the current NBA Finals in a way Jordan never did.  He has been questioned on whether he quit on the Cavaliers last year, Jordan is the epidemy of never quitting and fighting till the end.  More importantly Jordan never decided to join one of the best players in his era to form a quasi all star team.  But even with all these distinctions, there is one thing that differentiates Lebron and Jordan, the 24/7 news cycles and social networking sites. 
     Lebron came into the NBA as the savior of the Cavaliers and the second coming of every religion's God, well maybe not the latter but definitely the former.  Lebron was the "King" before even stepping into an NBA court, he earned his dues without having to pay them.  He came with a posse and mother who used him as collateral to buy a Hummer and a persona of invincibility.  The expectations were too high for an 18 year old kid.  Since then every move has been disected.  When he succeeds he's the greatest ever, when he fails he's Sedale Threatt.  Then came this which was followed by this.  Jordan would never do this, right? Probably not, but we must consider the sign of the times and the truth is that Lebron's Miami Heat "Decision" and "Intro" are more acceptable now than 20 years ago when Jordan began to rule the NBA. 
    Jordan had his flaws and his personal life issues with gambling would not be as covert today as it was during his tenure.  Perhaps if Jordan played today he would not have been able to handle the intense 24/7 media presence, or maybe he would have.  Anything concerning his handling of the media is pure speculation.  What we do know is that Jordan never lost an NBA Finals series.  We know that he would never give way to Scottie Pippen when it mattered most.  In the hardwood, no one was more coldblooded than Michael Jordan and I have yet to see anyone since then be remotely close.  There will only be one Jordan.  Jordan revolutionized the sport, the marketing of the sport and the effect an NBA player has on society as a whole.  Jordan is an NBA icon, a corporate icon, and a symbol of excellence.  Lebron will probably become a great NBA player and win multiple championships but he will never be as relevant to the sport as Michael Jordan.  We wont appreciate Lebron and other NBA stars until we as fans realize that nobody, including Lebron, is Michael Jordan.  There can only be one Michael Jordan and its not Lebron James.

The Professional Amateur Athlete

     As a college student abroad in Spain I had to explain the concept of college sports to my host family.  For them the idea of having major sporting events by amateur college students was incomprehensible.  They asked if the athletes got paid a salary or if they recieved any of the profit the university got.  For them an academic scholarship seemed to be insufficient to cover the major profits universities made.  I explained that amateur athletes do not get paid a salary for it they did then they would be professional athletes.  Yet for them amateur athletes play in small venues and not in front of 90,000 on a Saturday afternoon.  They were in their eyes professional amateur atheletes.  In reality can we blame this Spanish family?  Probably not, we see these athletes on the covers of video games and their jersey numbers throughout the campus on gamedays.  It's no question the higher powers make lots of money on their names.

     The recent situation of the Univeristy of Southern California and Ohio State Univeristy have once again brought to light how we should classify our college athtletes, especially those of major revenue producing sports such as football and basketball.  We know that Reggie Bush's family got a new house, that Terrelle Pryor got numerous tattoos and used cars.  Yet what do we not know about?  Joe McKnight was seen with a nice new car but he claimed it was his girlfriend's car.  I remember seeing the now defunct SI on Campus publish an article on Matt Leinarts "campus crib" in downtown Los Angeles.  Nifty pad for a college kid. 

     These stories may be superficial but are they really?  The truth is that both Southern Cal and Ohio State have nothing to complain about.  They cheated and they got caught plain and simple.  Whether or not other schools do the same is not a defense for your own faults.  Who ever uses this argument and believes it is simply a diehard fan whose team can do no wrong. 
     Southern Cal cheated and it probably did more than it got caught for, the same goes for Ohio State.  It is greed that drives other mostly proper programs to consider the temptations of buying amateur athletes.  The solution is simple, set a standard and follow it.  Punish those who cheat and punish them severely so they are not tempted to cheat.  Programs cheat because they know the present glory overrides the future punishment, unless programs realize that the future punishment will be so severe that it will be similar to the SMU death penalty.  Require an increase of the compliance department in each university and let them know that the "i didnt know" excuse is no longer valid.
     The day the incentive to cheat is no longer greater than the punishment of being caught will be the first day university programs stop giving improper benefits to athletes.  I will not be naive and assume that every program is perfectly clean, because they are not.  The purity of college sports is at stake and the NCAA has taken a good first step with the punishment of Southern Cal.  The NCAA punishment on Ohio State needs to be even greater.  Universities who get caught in the next few years need to blame no one but themselves and take the medicine they deserve.  Punish these schools severely and let them know that college sports do consists of amateur athletes and not professional amateurs.

Is Jose Bautista a Fraud???

  
  Earlier I read an article asking whether or not Jose Bautista is the best player in baseball.  The answer to that question is immaterial, the relevant question to ask is whether or not Jose Bautista is a fraud.  As a fan I want to believe we are now in the post steriods era of baseball not in the steriods era of baseball yet when I see numbers like that of Bautista I truly wonder how clean the game is today in 2011.  I remember seeing Brady Anderson change from a singles and doubles hitter with a high average into a guy with a 50 homerun season.  I knew then something was wrong and I know now something is wrong. 
     We are in May of the 2011 season and Jose Bautista's 19 homeruns is the already the second most in his career.  Before the 2010 season his 6 year career high was 16 homeruns in one season.  He was anything but a franchise player, playing for 5 teams in his career.  Jose Bautista had hit 59 homeruns for his career before he hit 54 in 2010.  You may argue that Bautista simply changed his swing into a power swing, yet his season average has never been higher than .260.  He also is striking out in a similar frequency, 116 times in 2010 and 110 times in 2004.  Its hard to believe someone so average got so good in one offseason. 
     I want to think its a result of hours of batting practice and video.  I want to believe the players respect the game as much as I do and no longer intend to insult the long history of the game.  I am not one to compare players of different eras because the game has changed throughout the years yet I will argue that the game of baseball must be respected.  Sure I know many players from the golden era played drunk and probably high on other drugs, that in itself is disrespectful to the game but not to the level of performance enhancers.  If you want to takes substances that make you a worse player thats your choice and the result will most likely be a short career.  Baseball is more than a game, its a symbol for the American way of life.  The game is played every day, its based on talent, intelligence, and luck.  Its the ultimate team game where at times the guy just called up from the minors strikes out the future hall of famer.  Its a game that proves that with hard work and dedication you can succeed.  If Jose Bautista took the short cut like Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Manny Ramirez, etc, he is proliferating the mentality that you can succeed by cheating so long as you don't get caught.  Thats the biggest fraud of all.

Dodger Blues

 
   Perhaps the most troubled sports franchise of 2011 is the Blue Crew from Los Angeles.  The Dodgers must have known it would be a bad year when a fan was brutally beaten after opening day.  Anyone who has been to a Dodger game know that post game parking lot fights are the norm in Chavez Ravine.  In fact a few years ago a man was KILLED in the Dodger Stadium parking lot after a Dodger - Giants game.  There was not much outcry after this incident as there has been in the 2011 version of the event.  I don't want to believe that the prior incident involved a Latino victim was a reason for this lack of coverage but its something to think about.  Either way the good out of this is that the thugs that encompass Dodger Stadium are in check and hopefully Dodger games will start to become a better family enivironment. 

     The Mc Court divorce is amazingly disastrous, reminiscent of a once glorious golfer.  At this moment the clearest issue seems to be legal malpractice suit against for the attorneys who blundered with the prenuptial agreement.  The future of the team is in doubt and there is only one man who can save this historic franchise from its ruins...Mark Cuban.  Yes, Mark Cuban.  Mark Cuban wants to own a baseball franchise and he wants to invest lots of money on it.  Any Dodger fan should be praying that Cuban buys the Dodgers.  Give Ned Colletti an unlimited piggy bank and he will create a winner.  But so long as the McCourt name stays behind the Dodgers, the franchise will suffer.  A Cuban owned Dodgers will win a title before a certain golfer with a cat like persona wins another major championship.

     Lastly, I will present my predictions for the 2011 version of the Dodgers, and its not good.  This team has baffled me for some time.  They have the talent to compete and have done so recently with back to back appearances in the NLCS in 2008 and 2009.  The confusion lies with their inconsistency.  When their pitching gets hot the offense sputters and when the bats catch fire the pitching is horrendous.  Today Chad Billingsley pitched a gem and gave up only one hit, yet the Dodgers lost 1-0.  I expect a return to the Pre-Mannywood era of numerous 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 losses.  The Dodgers will finish in the middle of the road with a slightly sub .500 record and in 3rd place of the NL West behind the Rockies and the Giants.  This will be remembered as the year that brought us Mark Cuban and that will be the only positive for this season.  So its time to fill the year with cheap PBR's at the Shortstop and many frustrating losses.