Can the Present Erase the Past? by Fred

"For me, crazy as it seems, there is a real relationship between wild, reckless abandon off the field and being that way on the field." -LT

Has everyone seen the Blindside? Well if you have there is a sequence at the beginning where a New York Giant outside linebacker sacks Joe Theismann and breaks his leg. Sandra Bullock's character discusses how this outside linebacker changed the way the game of football was played and made it necessary to start paying left tackles big money in order to protect the QBs blindside. That linebacker, the one that changed the game, was Lawrence Taylor.

For the rest of my post I will call him LT. With all do respect to LaDanian Tomlinson the real LT is Lawrence Taylor. If they played at the same time this wouldn't have been a discussion because after LT hit Tomlinson the debate would have ended. If you haven't noticed I am an LT fan. In fact, watching him play is a huge reason why I love football as much as I do. I have some early memories of the Cowboys and the 49ers and when I was about 9 the Bears doing the SuperBowl Shuffle. that was all cool and entertaining but what I remember loving was wearing my Big Blue Wrecking Crew t-shirt and watching LT along with guys like Harry Carson, Carl Banks, Pepper Johnson, Leonard Marshall, Jim Burt, and company punish teams. LT was the NFL MVP during the 86 Super Bowl season! Not defensive player of the year. He was the MVP of the league y'all!

But I digress. The reason I bring LT up is that he has gotten in trouble for the umteenth time since his playing days ended. Not that he was a choir boy while he played. Lt's transgressions include being arrested twice since he retired for buying crack from an undercover FBI agent, he's gotten in trouble for not paying child support, and last year he left the scene of an accident. All of that's bad enough but I've always been able to look past this off field behavior and focus on his greatness on it. I have made several mistakes in my life and I've sampled an illegal substance or two in my day. Not condoning the behavior, just saying I am not the man to throw the stones from my glass house. This time though he is being acused of 3rd degree statutory rape as well as third-degree patronization for paying the 16 year old girl to have sex with him.

This is a crime I would have a hard time overlooking as just a mistake if it the accusations are true. What should I, as a fan, do though? I know that isn't the most important question I could ask here. Heck it's even a pretty selfish thing to ask in the grand scheme of things but I've been asking it myself none the less. LT is the biggest reason I am not only a Giant fan but also a football fan in general. It can be traced back to him when people ask why I, along with my fellow fat guy, would go to two Ohio High School State Football Title games in the same day, in the snow, when I had absolutely no stake in either game except the desire to watch some good football. Should his behavior off the field affect my memories of the enjoyment I received watching him play on it or is his behavior off the field linked directly to how he played football?

If LT is convicted and goes on to do the 5 years in jail that he is facing I have to admit that while I will no doubt condemn the behavior it will in no way change my admiration for what he did on the field and the fond memories I have of watching him as a child. What he has done and allegedly done can not erase the affect he had on me growing up. It can even be said he played a role in the creation of this blog which many may believe is the biggest crime of all.

Lay off LeBron by Fabz

Alright, I am in no way what so ever applauding King James' performance last night. It was to be frank, atrocious.

BUT...

Let's be honest, Cleveland has the worst coach (and continuously adding separation) left in the playoffs. Coach Brown is no Phil Jackson let's be honest.
Now given basketball can be dominated by one player due to the small number of players playing at a given time, unlike football when one player can make a difference or even dominate, but without help can be shut down. Even Albert Pujouls can be pitched around making him obsolete. During most of the season LeBron did dominate. He dominated everybody he faced, with or without a healthy O'Neal.
Chicago was totally outmatched (but don't be surprised if they make some noise in the next few years), but Boston is 2 years removed from an NBA Championship. They're an outstanding team, aging yes, but outstanding none the less.
Does anybody remember Jordan's first years in Chicago? Dominating the regular season, maybe even a first round playoff series? Does anybody remember Del Harris' stint in LA? I believe the cover of Sports Illustrated read "the happening Lakers swept by the unhip Jazz". Seriously? Shaq, Kobe, Glenn Rice swept by an aging Stockton and Malone...and Jeff Hornecek?
When it comes to playoff hoops, coaching is just as important as having the best player(s). Even if it is just good enough to cancel out the other coach.
All in all when you look at the Cavs, can you really say they have a better team than Boston? They wouldn't even make the playoffs without him (like the pre Pippen, Grant, Rodman...and PHIL JACKSON etc Bulls).
It's a team game. The team has to win Championships...LeBron can win games, awards and even a playoff series or two, but winning a championship without a supporting cast and a premier coach, he probably won't get his ring (kinda sounds like Michael doesn't it?).

Paul Daley and Kimbo Slice Cut from the UFC

English mma fighter Paul Daley was cut from the UFC by president Dana White after a cheap shot to opponent Josh Koscheck after their UFC 113 co main event fight was over.  Daley showed frustration at the end of his one-sided loss to Koscheck.  During an interview with ESPN's MMA Live Koscheck admitted to talking to Daley a lot during the last minute of the fight in response to all the nasty things Daley had said about Kos leading up to the fight.  Even with Koscheck's talking at the end of the fight and the controversy over Koscheck's possible overselling of an illegal knee to the head by Daley during the fight, general consensus is that Daley needs to act more like a professional and that the punishment fits the crime.  Here is a link showing the cheap shot as long as it hasn't been removed from Youtube yet.
Paul Daley cheap shot on Josh Koscheck
White stated that Daley will never again fight in the UFC due to this incident. 
During the same post fight press conference White stated that Kimbo Slice has been cut from the UFC following his loss to Matt Mitrione.

Fred's Quick UFC 113 Predictions

Saturday night, May 8, 2010 in Montreal the highly anticipated rematch between Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua will take place. Many people felt that Shogun won the first fight though the decision went to the champion Machida. The Co headliner on the card is a heated battle between Josh "Kos" Koscheck and Paul "Semtex" Daley with the winner earning a coaching slot against Georges St. Pierre on The Ultimate Fighter and more importantly a Welterweight title shot at the end of the season. Here are, quickly, my predictions for all the fights on this tremendous card.

Preliminaries:

Jason "The Athlete" McDonald (22-12) vs. John Salter (4-1)
Prediction: McDonald by 1st Round Submission

Yoshiyuki"Zenko" Yoshida (11-4) vs. Mike "The Joker" Guymon (12-3-1)
Prediction: Yoshida by Unanimous Decision

Tim "The Thrashing Machine" Hague (10-3) vs. Joey "The Mexicutioner" Beltran (11-3)
Prediction: Hague by 2nd Round TKO

TJ Grant (15-3) vs. Johnny Hendricks (7-0)
Prediction: Grant by Unanimous Decision

Marcus "The Irish Hand Grenade" Davis (21-7) vs. Jonathan "The Road Warrior" Goulet (22-10, 1 NC)
Prediction: Davis by 3rd Round KO

Joe "El Dirte" Doerkson (44-12) vs. Tom "Filthy" Lawlor (6-2, 1 NC)
Prediction: Lawlor by Unanimous Decision

Undercard:

Patrick "The Predator" Cote (14-5) vs. Alan "The Talent" Belcher (14-5)
Prediction: Cote by 1st Round TKO

Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson (4-1) vs. Matt Mitrione (1-0)
Prediction: Mitrione by 1st Round KO

Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout (16-5-1) vs. Jeremy "Lil' Heathen" Stephens (17-5)
Prediction: Stout by 2nd Round TKO

Co Headliner:

Josh "Kos" Koscheck (16-4) vs. Paul "Semtex" Daley (23-8-2)
Prediction: Koscheck by Unanimous Decision

Main Event: Light Heavyweight Championship Fight

Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida (16-0) vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (18-4)
Prediction: Machida by 4th Round TKO

The Most Important 2010 NBA Free Agent: Chris Bosh by: Fred

With players like LeBron James and Dwayne Wade entering free agency at seasons end the offseason is shaping up to be very wild. The 2 aforementioned players are the best on a long list of great players but the player I feel has the most potential to affect the NBA landscape is a gentleman that has be lingering in Toronto the past 7 years: Mr. Chris Bosh.

You may ask why I feel Bosh would be more important to shaping next season's landscape than any other player. Well wherever Bosh signs will instantly have an affect on who gets Wade and James and solidifies the lucky team as a contender.

Let's look at how Bosh can affect Wade's decision to stay or leave Miami. Wade has made statements that he wants to stay in Miami for his entire career but he has also made it clear that he doesn't intend to stay with a team where he feels he has no help. With his hometown of Chicago waiting in the wings with Derek Rose, Joakim Noah and potentially Coach John Calipari Miami has to show Wade they are dedicated to helping him win now. Enter Chris Bosh. If Miami pursues and ultimately lands Bosh this will instantly give Wade the partner in crime he so desperately needs to help put the Heat over the top and that he has been missing since the title year with Shaq. Also there is a slightly lesser potential that Wade would want to end up in New York or New Jersey. The way these teams make this a possibility is by bringing in a player like Bosh. Imagine a Knicks' line up featuring Wade, Bosh, and an emerging David Lee. That's pretty formidable.

Bosh affects 2 time reigning MVP James similarly to the way he affects Wade. The major difference is that James currently sits on a title contender as the Cavs are currently the #1 seed in the east though at the time of this post they are coming off an 18 point loss to Boston and find themselves having lost home court advantage. There has been major speculation about whether James would leave for New York or New Jersey or stay in Cleveland. He hasn't tipped his hand though he has petitioned the league to change his number from 23 to 6, a petition he would not have had to file if he ends up on any team other than Cleveland. If New York or New Jersey were to sign Bosh they would instantly have a better chance of luring James from Cleveland. I can't foresee that King James will want to leave a contender to go be by himself in New York, no matter how attractive playing at MSG would be to him. But imagine the Knicks trio I mentioned above only replacing Wade with James. Not bad, huh Knicks fans? Also should the Cavs find a way to bring in Bosh it would almost guarantee a re-signing of James giving him the legitimate #2 option he has gone without to this point.

Another way Bosh could affect the NBA balance of power is by signing with the Lakers. He was spotted courtside at the Lake show’s game 2 win over the Jazz and went into the locker room to meet with Kobe. Could you imagine adding Chris Bosh to what is already probably the NBA's most formidable front court. That would also make Bynum or Odom expendable allowing them to cast them out as bait to attempt to get an upgrade at point . That's a scary proposition to any team in the West.

An option for Bosh that I haven't heard mentioned but that I would find quite interesting is if he were to sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder. I say this because anyone who watched their first round series with the Lakers saw that they were quite undermanned in the frontcourt while Durant and Westbrook gave the Lakers fits. Bosh would provide them with that instant upgrade in the frontcourt that would make them if not an instant contender at the very least a scary matchup for any team in the league. I don't see this one happening but it's the option I would most like to see occur.

Now there is a potential that he could endup with teams I have not mentioned but the point is that Chris Bosh has the rare ability to not only improve the team that he signs with but greatly affect where possibly the two best players in the league end up. I'd say that's a pretty strong bargaining chip in offseason negotiations.