Prison Release for Burgess

Plaxico Burress got out of prison 4 months earlier than most of us expected.

To top it off, he was released early for good behavior!!!  Who would have thunk it. Plaxico and behaving are not on the same planet.

I must say, prison, like time, brings on changes. I only hope that the NFL sees it that way and allows him to get picked up by a team.Right now it looks as if the Eagles have first dibs, but I think that Plaxico will be better suited in St Louis with the Rams for three reasons:

• Former team mate Fred Robbins
• Former defensive coordinator with the Giants, Steve Spagnuola, and last but most importantly,
• the Rams have no veteran receivers and Plaxico fits that bill.

I MAKE THE CALL.

INJUSTICE

The NCAA, BCS and all of those collegiate organizations who profit from athletes playing for no pay need to take a good look at themselves.

You use these students for your advantage and when something goes wrong, you are quick to punish the student and not the system.

Yes, I know. How can we punish the system would be the very next question. USC deserves to keep the 2004 BCS Trophy.

The game was won on the playing field against Oklahoma and not against someone’s wallet. Reggie Bush’s ability to play football had nothing to do with accepting benefits from an agent or an alumni. His prowess was on the football field and not at the bank.

Give me a break here people. You took his Heisman, and now you are taking away the championship trophy and punishing USC by allowing them a mere 15 scholarships for the next three years?

Answer me one question: You have taken away all of Reggie’s belongings, now, does the Pac 10 still get to keep the 14 million dollars they got for winning the BCS. Try taking that away and see what happens. Where is the justice?  I MAKE THE CALL.

We always knew that China has some of the best badminton players in the world. What we did not know that Li Na who won the the french open singles against Schiavone, got her tennis start from not being good at badminton. This was Li Na second Grand Slam finals and she learned from her first when Kim Clijsters defeated her in straight sets. Yes, she learned not to be nervous and to play the game. The match itself was not without contraversy, but the official ruled in Li’s favor when she said that her backhand was not out. Schiavone thought that it was out, but did not get a favorable ruling. No matter what the officials may see on the tapes when and if they decide to look at it, Li Na is the French Open Single Grand Slam Winner. Equally as thrilling was the Nada,l Federer match where Nadal matched Bjorn Borg record of 6 French Open Titles. It was Nadal’s fourth victory over Federer at Roland Garros for as many times they met at that venue. Nadal has never lost to Federer at Roland Garros Styadium. Federer’s last win at the french Open was in 2009. I MAKE THE CALL.

Here you are in the last 6.30 minutes of game 2 of the NBA finals and you are down 88-73.

What can you do to overcome this onslaught? Game over right?

Not so fast my basketball fans. Nowitzki, Terry and Marion each had something to say. The game is played for 48 minutes and not 41.30 minutes.

The Heat thought that slowing down the game would give them the easy victory since they were up by double digits.

Surprise, surprise! The Mavs went on a 22-5 run even though they were undersized and outquicked by the Heat.

When the score was tied and there were only 25 seconds left on the clock, everybody in the universe except the Heat knew that Dirk was going to get the ball.

Where was the double team?

Why was Bosh on Dirk instead of Lebron?

Ask yourself these questions and see what you come up with for answers. It was not a melt down, it was simply a shut down. I MAKE THE CALL.

Shaq Retires - Image from Fox Sports

Shaquille O’Neal, you have given us 19 years of thrill, spills and frills, and as fans, we are grateful.

Your NBA statistics speak for itself and you have nothing else to prove. You have your rings and your AllStar ratings and we are convinced that you are one of the NBA all time greatest.

In your career you have been to the Lakers, the Miami Heat, Phoenic Suns, Cleveland cavaliers and the your final stop being the Boston Celtics.

These last 3 years have not been good to you health wise and I know that it had a lot to do with your decision to retire.

Many times the mind is willing, but the body is not able. As one of your biggest fans, I think you have reached that stage. Take your farewell bow, don’t do an encore, stay retired, you have earned that right. I MAKE THE CALL.

Coach Carlisle, the Mavs did not lose the first game. You did.

Throughout the first half your team played zone instead of man to man, and you literally stymied the Heat offense. For some unknown reasons, you came out with a man to man defense and the Heat destroyed you simply because they were able to get into the paint and the perimeters were left wide opened.

Just like in football, defense wins games and the Heat showed it.

The Heat put the clamps on Dirk and just about made JJ and Terry non factors in the second. Take note of the Heat and how they close. Just like their name, they bring the heat in the closing moments of these playoff games.

Mavs, go with what brought you to Miami and if you don’t, your playoff in the finals will beshort. I MAKE THE CALL.

Taking it to the hoop!

Only Dirk Nowitzki remains from the 2006 Maverick team that lost the title to the Heat. As a matter of fact, only Dirk and owner Mark Cuban have an axe to grind for that lost in 2006.

D. Wade has no issues with that. His team won the NBA Title, no worries there, but is D. Wade healthy enough to make it 2 in a row against the Mavs, considering he has Lebron and Bosh to back him up and not the Shaq?

South Beach won’t be the same if the Heat goes down. The Heat has more to lose than the Mavs. They literally bought a team of championship calibre and is expected to go all the way. It would be devastating to lose to the Mavs and the loss would put the explanation point on the Heat. You can’t buy championships like Steinbrenner, you have to play as a team and win it.

Believe you me, the Heat is really on in Miami. I MAKE THE CALL

In the world rankings, only one American is in the top 7 and that is 40 year old Phil Mickelson. The rest of the top 7 spots are filled by foreign players who are in the twenties for the most part with a couple in the thirties.

Where does that leave the Americans in the Players Championship come Thursday at Ponte Vedra?

Phil played last week and showed some glances of being a threat but faded over the weekend.

Tiger has not played since the Masters and is slightly injured.

Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson appear to be our only hope in this years 5th major, but then again Ricky Fowler is destined to win sooner or later; so why not this weekend?

No matter the challenges from the Europeans, the Americans need to get back to basics and start playing the kind of golf we have been accustomed to seeing.

Phil and Tiger should get back to basics and stop being so mechanical. They can both take a few pages out of Bubba Watson’s book. Hit em and put em. I MAKE THE CALL.

Back in the day when this blogger was growing up watching players like Baylor, Kareem, Chamberlin and Russell, the media was like ghost. We only heard of the outcome of players contracts after they had been signed, sealed and delivered.

Now a days, we are hearing about contracts as far out as 2 years away. What in the hell are we coming to?

The media is constantly hounding Howard about his future in Orlando. Is he staying or is he going?  He still has a full season left and no one knows what help the organization will be getting him during the off season. We all know that they have to do something if he is to remain in Orlando. Nothing was more evident about Dwight needing help than the quick exit during the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Yes, Dwight will have quite a few options, but the good thing about those options, they will still be there after the 2012 season so why try to pressure Dwight into making a decision that he really does not have to make at this time.

Allow the interested parties to put all of their cards on the table and let him play the hand that he thinks he can win with. I MAKE THE CALL.

The Zen Master did it for twenty years and established the most wins in playoff games, 229 and won more than 70 percent of games he coached. What a record, but what his team did to him yesterday, was total embarrassment to him. They did not come to play, they came to pass the time. They did not defend, they defected. Their attitude was simply, so what. When you allow your opponent to hit 15 of 16 three pointers, you are not guarding or defending anybody.. The beat down that the Marvs put on the Lakers was beyond belief. I just could not fathom the Lakers being spanked by 36 points in any game. It got to the point where I just stopped watching and started writing. I did not need to see anymore of the wood shed beating the Lakers were taking. It was really a come to Jesus meeting, and Mark Cuban’s Mavericks were pouring it on. Can you imagine how Jack Nicholson is feeling about his beloved Lakers. I don’t dare ask for fear of being assinated. In the end, Odom and Bynum resort to dirty tactics, but it was too late even for that. The Lakers did not come prepared to win game 4. They simply came to pass the time, and a can of whoop ass just happened to be on the court. Well Zen Master, it was your last game as coach of the Lakers. You had a magnificent run and you deserve your 11 championship. The only sour note about all of this is, the way your team sent you off. At least, it was clean. Oh I meant sweep. I MAKE THE CALL.