REUNITED - coaches and players we want to see together again

My wish list for the summer is for hot weather, a great tan, and the reuniting of Larry Brown and Allen Iverson. Nothing would make me happier then to see those two back together again, bickering and ballin' all the way to the middle of the standings. We all remember Iverson and his idea of practice with Larry Brown.



Wouldn't it be fun to have one more go around. If the summer brings anything hot let it be Iverson, fuming over practice and playing time. Let it be Brown trying to reign in someone that is over the hill and on the downside of his career. Forget the summer movies, they don't have the drama and climax of this classic old school combo.

Top 5 Coaches and Players We Would Love To See Reunited

1. P.J. Carlesimo and Latrell Spreewell
We could make it into a reality TV show in which Spreewell and Carlesimo will live in the same house after practice like they do on the Ultimate Fighter. We know Spreewell could use the money.

2. Andy Reid and Terrell Owens
We could also bring in Donavan McNabb to spice it up a little more.

3. Joe Torre and Alex Rodriguez
We could also have a national book signing.

4. Larry Brown and Allen Iverson
We would definetly have to have a camera at practice.

2. Bobby Knight and Neil Reid, Steve Alford, Kent Harvey and Calbert Cheaney
In order to pick the player to be reunited with Knight for the season we would have to have tryouts and we would invite Charles Barkley.

Honorable Mention: Brad Childress and Brett Farve

HOWARD MAKES ALL-NBA COMMERCIAL TEAM

Dwight Howard has led his team to the NBA finals and is almost unstoppable when he gets in the paint. He has made the All-NBA 1st team, the All-Rookie team, the All-Defensive team and now he is a part of the All-NBA Commercial team. His hilarious ad for Vitamin Water ranks as one of the best NBA commercials ever.

Here is my All-NBA Commercial Team

PG Penny Hardaway (Lil Penny)




SG Michael Jordan (Nike - Lars Blackmon)



SF Charles Barkley (T-Mobile)



PF Dwight Howard (Vitamin Water)



C Yao Ming (Visa)



Honorable Mention: Larry Bird (McDonalds)

Take a look at ESPN's list of the 25 Best Commercials

NOTE TO NBA: Lakers are good for business

One thing NBA history has shown us is that people love to watch the Lakers. It doesn't matter if its the "Showtime" Lakers, the "Shaq" Lakers or the "Kobe" Lakers they all get respect. TV ratings go through the roof when the Lakers take the floor for those final seven games. Maybe its the celebrities or maybe its the style of play, all I know is that the NBA makes out like bandits when the Lakers battle for a title as they will do tonight. Just look at what history has shown us; when the NBA is down bring on the Lakers and all is well:

Example #1: 1980 NBA Finals
Boston plays a mediocre Moses Malone led Houston Rockets team and wins in 6 games. The Nielson TV rating was the lowest since 1976 at 6.7. The Lakers make the 1981 NBA finals and the ratings jump to the highest ever at 13.0. That is whole lot of Laker fans.

Example #2 1990 NBA Finals
The Bad Boy Detroit Pistons beat up on the west coast Portland Trailblazers in 5 games. The Ratings for the finals were 12.3 the lowest since the 1981 Lakers/Sixers final. The Lakers make the finals in 1991 and ratings jump to the 2nd highest ever to that point at 15.8 (The Lakers/Celtics final in 87' was the highest at 15.9). That's a whole lot of Laker fans.

Example #3 2003 NBA Finals
The lowest rated final ever of 6.5 was a match up of the San Antonio Spurs and the New Jersey Nets. The Spurs won in 6 but nobody cared or watched. Then along comes the Lakers in 2004 and guess what the rating jump a who five points to 11.5. That's a whole lot of Laker fans.

Example #4 2007 NBA Finals
Even a LeBron led Cleveland Cavalier team can't stop ratings from tumbling to an all-time low 6.2 rating. People turned to American Idol for their entertainment and the NBA was in dire needs so who do they call...you guessed it the Lakers. In 2008 the Lakers take on the Boston Celtics and ratings go up for the 4th time. The ratings for the 2008 series went from 6.2 to 9.3 and everyone in the NBA was again happy.

If history has shown us anything its that the Lakers are a big draw and with questions about the league's integrity the NBA needs all the help it can get. The NBA isn't about the LeBron's or the Howard's its about the Lakers. So bring on the Lakers to once again save the day and the fan base. If history is any indication of future TV success then I think the NBA is good hands with the Lakers.

RANDY JOHNSON IS NO PUD

Randy Johnson is about to win his 300th career game and become one of only 23 other major league pitchers to do so, but looking at the list he just doesn't fit in. Yeah, I know he was one of the most dominating pitchers of the 90's and has proven to be extremely durable over his 22 year career but he still does not fit in. Yeah I know he is the greatest strikeout artist of all-time, he won 4 ERA titles and his slider was almost unhittable, I don't care, he still does not fit the list. And no its not because he beaned more batters than anyone on the 300 list...no, its because his name is WAY TOO MODERN.
Members of the 300 club have names that are from an era long gone. Names that make me think of a time when starting pitchers went all 9 innings and the spit ball was the most perplexing pitch. Old school names like Cy and Grover or Hoss and Early. A time when names meant something, A left handed pitcher was accurately named "Lefty" and a youngster was named "Kid". The name Randy just doesn't fit with these other names. Players on the 300 list are special because they had to deal with the certain psychological torture of their childhood...being named Gaylord, Pud or Christy was sure to take its toll on a youngsters mind. Randy...no one can make fun of a name like Randy. Randy Johnson may one of the best pitchers on the 300 list in terms of accomplishments but he sure doesn't belong on this list of names:


Top 10 Unusual Names of 300 Game Winners

1. Pud (Galvin) 361 wins
2. Hoss (Radbourn) 309 wins
3. Early (Wynn) 300 wins
4. Gaylord (Perry) 314 wins
5. Lefty (Grove) 300 wins
6. Kid (Nichols) 361 wins
7. Grover (Alexander) 373 wins
8. Cy (Young) 511 wins
9. Mickey (Welch) 307 wins
10. Christy (Mathewson) 373 wins

STRASBURG TAKES ON DRAFT HISTORY

With Major League Baseball's June 9th amateur draft fast approaching, Stephen Strasburg will have a tough test ahead of him. Strasburg has scouts drooling over his 100 mph fastball and he should be the 1st pick in the draft but questions still remain. Can Strasburg buck the odds and become the 1st pitcher to be drafted #1 that actually became a bonifide star in the league? No other pitcher that was drafted with the 1st pick has ever gone on to end his career with an era under 3.90 (David Price of the Rays has an era of 2.35 but his career is far from over). The best pitchers to come from the 1st pick were serviceable but far from star quality: Ben McDonald 1989, Andy Benes 1988, Tim Belcher 1983 and Flyod Bannister 1976. None of these pitchers became household names. Stasberg with his 6'4, 220 LLB frame and live right arm has all the tools to be great but will he pan out?



Position Players have fared far better but still nothing to write home about.

Top 5 Major League Players Chosen With the 1st Pick

1. Ken Griffey Jr, 1987, Seattle Mariners
Griffey has been amazing over his career with 616 home runs, .288 batting average and an OPS over .900. He was a true 5 tool guy, who proved his worth leading the Mariner's division titles in 1995 and 1997.

2. Alex Rodriguez, 1993, Seattle Mariners
Rodriguez's image has been tarnished by the steroid scandal but his numbers show outstanding production over his career. With .305 career batting average and over 500 home runs he set the standard for shortstops. If you can excuse the use steroids he could be the greatest all-time number one pick.

3. Chipper Jones, 1990, Atlanta Braves
Chipper Jones has become one of the all-time greats, by batting over .300 eleven times in his career and hitting over 400 home runs. Jones a 5 time all-star at third base has also led the league in batting and is 138th in stolen bases.

4. Darryl Strawberry, 1980, New York Mets
Strawberry had some high expectations placed on him coming out Crenshaw High School and in many ways he fulfilled them hitting over 300 home runs and 1000 RBIs.

5. Josh Hamilton, 1999, Tampa Bay Rays
In his short Major League career, Josh has already led the league in RBIs but more impressive was his home run derby barrage where he hit 28 in the first round. We will see if he can move up this list.

Honorable Mention: Harold Baines, Bob Horner, Darin Erstad