Thanks for the Memories (Even Though They Weren't That Great)

Let's be honest. We all got a little excited when we saw that Dicky V picked Syracuse as one of the five most dangerous teams for the 09-10 season. We pictured Jonny Flynn smiling widely cutting down the nets. We saw Eric Devendorf taking a celebratory swing at an innocent female fan. We imagined Paul Harris getting screamed at by Jim Boeheim even during the post game victory celebration.

But, all these dreams have been lost as we have seen the Syracuse Orange move from a potential top five squad, to a mediocre bunch in a matter of weeks. With news of the departure of the Cuse's top 3 scorers Flynn, Devendorf, and Harris, one can only expect another season where the Orange will struggle to be in the final 65 teams come next March.

The good thing is that we all knew this was coming. I mean, these three made it evident that they would be leaving at the end of the season. Oh wait, that never happened. Each of them actually managed to tell us that they would be returning next year.

This came from Flynn in mid March, "I'm coming back to Syracuse. That's it. I'm coming back to Syracuse. There is no 'as of right now.' I'm coming back to Syracuse. Yeah. I'm coming back to Syracuse. You can believe whatever you want to believe. I can't make you believe it. I can only say it. I'm coming back." Today the Post Standard broke that Flynn plans to sign with an agent next week. Goodbye Jonny. And thanks for sparing us the confusion. Not.

The same exact claim was made by both Devendorf and Harris. This came from Devo in the Oklahoma post game during the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, "I'm coming back." Even Devendorf's father put in a vote of confidence saying Eric planned to stay for his final year of eligibility.

Harris had this to say,"I'm here, man. I came this far. Might as well stick it out. I was never looking to go anywhere anyways. It's the media that says that."

Now let's be fair. Each of these players has their reasons. Flynn has the chance to be a lottery pick, with millions of dollars at his disposal. Harris has two children and Devendorf has a child of his own, meaning money is of importance to them as well.

What's unfortunate is that the trio couldn't be honest with Syracuse fans. Instead of guaranteeing their return, maybe they could have left us up in the air, or at least mentioned that leaving was a possibility. Don't get me wrong, I understand players leaving, I even expect it. But the way the team was dismantled this year is enough to make a fan bitter.

All Star Mustache

If you were debating whether or not to grow a mustache, Jason Giambi should be more than enough inspiration to grow that award winning mustache you were dreaming of. The Giambino has a mustache for the record books and has taken New York by storm with his new Lip Fur. Just this week the Yankees had their first official Mustache Day where fans were given mustaches upon entry into the ballpark. Even starting pitcher Mike Mussina (above) and manager Joe Jirardi were seen sporting the mustaches on Wednesday.

The mustache craze has gone far enough to gain approval from the American Mustache Institute who just recently endorsed Giambi for an all star bid. Executive Director Aaron Perlut had this to say about Giambi's new stash, "It doesn't take a mathematician to figure out that Jason Giambi's hitting prowess, plus a fashionable mustache, equals a bona fide All-Star. Giambi's significant first-half production as well as his powerful lip fur -- indicating great intellect and good looks -- make two very compelling reasons for his place on the American League All-Star roster."

On top of all of this, Giambi's numbers have skyrocketed since the induction of the stash to his facial ensemble. Before the mustache, Giambi was hitting sub .200 but the power of the stash has raised his average more than 50 points to .257. He also has 18 home runs which ties him for fifth in the AL. H has 53 RBIs up to this point in the season.

Although the mustache couldn't pull Giambi enough votes for an all star bid, it did cause quite a stir among major league baseball and mustache growers everywhere.

Oh Shaquille

Just today, word hit the street about Shaq's freestyle calling out Kobe saying "Kobe, tell me tell me how my ass tastes" and "Kobe, you couldn't do without me." He also references to how Kobe ratted him out which he attributed to the end of his marriage. Below is the video, along with a previous musical attempt back when Shaq called out Vlade Divac.

I really don't know what's more ridiculous, the fact that Shaq manages to rhyme the word me with me about a hundred times, or the fact that the media is just eating this story up. It seemed that the feud between the two had been stifled as O'Neil said he had called Kobe recently to congratulate him on his MVP award. It seems that the rap has re-lit the fire in the battle between the two former teammates. On top of it all, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County wants Shaq's specialty deputy badge back. Poor Shaq, how will he live without his toy badge?

I hope it can be agreed that Shaq should stick to basketball instead of rapping. But wait, didn't Shaq just ruin the championship contender Suns last year? And let's not forget our favorite movies starring Shaq like Kazaam and Steel. Maybe rapping isn't such a bad idea after all...

Pitcher traded for 10 baseball bats

So this story is about a week old, but I thought it would be interesting to write about. Last Friday pitcher John Odom was traded from the Calgary Vipers of the Golden Baseball League to the Laredo Broncos of the United League for 10 Prairie Sticks Maple Bats, each baseball bat worth about $65-70. The Vipers signed the pitcher about a month ago, but couldn't get the player into the Canada because of a minor criminal charge the player had when he was a minor. This isn't the first time Calgary came up with a creative deal. The Vipers once tried to acquire a pitcher for 1,500 blue seats when they were renovating their stadium.

This is a video I found on Youtube where the player was interviewed on ESPN's First Take which aired on Monday May 26:

Reply to Best Brothers in Sports

I was reading over Cameron's lastest post of the Best Brothers in Sports and I felt compelled to name some more brothers that included on his list. 

Currently in MLB, there are the Upton brothers (BJ & Justin), Drew brothers (JD & Stephen), Young brothers (Dimitri & Delmon), Weaver brothers (Jeff & Jered), the Izturis brothers (Cesar & Maicer), and the Laroche brothers (Adam & Andy). There are also many great former players who had brothers as well. The Ripken brothers, the DiMaggio brothers, the Alomar brothers, the Neikro brothers, the Aaron brothers, and there were probably many others. One important brother combo would have to be Paul and Lloyd Waner, the only brother combo in the Baseball Hall of Fame. 

In the NFL, some notable brothers besides the Manning and Barber brothers would be Champ and Boss Bailey, Koy and Ty Detmer, Matt and Tim Hasselback, Terrence and Tory Holt, Brock and Damon Huard, Julius and Thomas Jones, Josh and Luke McKown, Santana and Sinorice Moss,  and Jordan and Carson Palmer. But there are a lot more that I didn't mention. As of April 2007, there are 313 documented sets of brothers who have played pro football.

For the NBA, there aren't very many brothers I could find except the Collins brothers (Jared and Jerren), and soon the Lopez brothers (Robin and Brook). 

Sorry I didn't feel like looking up brothers in other sports.

Best Brothers in Sports?

Who make the best brothers in sports? I'm not sure I'm ready to rank them, but here are a few notable names. My vote goes to the Molina's or Vick's. That's just me. Maybe the bash brothers are a close runner up.

1. Peyton and Eli Manning (Obviously)
2. Tiki and Ronde Barber (Their heads are identical in shininess and baldness)
3. Bengie, Jose, and Yadier Molina (One's good, one's not good, and one's just bad)
4. Robin and Brook Lopez (Twins!)
5. John and Patrick McEnroe (Let's be honest, John is far more interesting)
6. Jose and Ozzie Canseco (What a Shame)
7. The Bash Brothers- Mark Mcgwire and Jose Canseco (Hey they're not related, but who's counting?)
8. Serena and Venus Williams (Not brothers, but as strong and scary as men for sure)
9. Michael and Marcus Vick (We can only hope Marcus enjoys animals as much as Michael)
10. Adrian and Adrian Peterson (Not related but they have the same name. That's still pretty cool. Plus my other post is about one of them. Why not take a look?)

Bold Predictions?

Just last week Vikings running back Adrian Peterson made some predictions about his numbers in the upcoming season. He expects an improvement compared to next season, a substantial improvement.

Peterson hopes to rush for 2000 yards compared to his 1,341 he had in his rookie season. He did miss two games due to injury but over the 14 games he did play, he averaged below 100 yards per game. To reach 2000, Peterson would need to raise that average to 125 yards per game. Not to mention there have only been five players in NFL history to reach the 2000 yard mark. Among them are OJ Simpson, Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis, and Jamal Lewis.

Peterson also wants the MVP award for the 2008-2009 season. These for sure are high hopes for the 2nd year running back. But, there's no denying his talent and it seems that the sky is the limit for Peterson.