MVP's, Tiger, and Football Oh My

November 21, 2011
Portland @ Charlotte, Golden State @ New Jersey, Minnesota @ Houston, Oklahoma City @ San Antonio, Chicago @ Utah, New York @ Sacramento, Denver @ LA Clippers

We are now three weeks into what would have been the regular season. At this point in the season I'm curious as to who is stepping out and becoming a star in the NBA. Every year we are surprised by someone, either a rookie or young player who is starting to make big strides. This year's rookie class wasn't particularly strong (because most players stayed in college knowing this would probably happen) but who is making an impact? OKC and San Antonio could represent a changing of the guard in the Western Conference. Tony Parker is really the Spurs' biggest trade bait, and do they try and make one more final push before Tim Duncan has to hang up his shoes? How many points are the Knicks averaging this year? 100? 120? Has Greg Oden gotten injured already for Portland? If not, will he finally be able to give them significant minutes? How is Derrick Rose in his MVP title defense? Had there been a free agency period, who did the Bulls add as a three point threat? They could set themselves up to be the favorites in the East. I wish I had some of these answers, but I do not. I just keep thinking of the latest NBA ad campaign from last year, "The NBA, where caring happens." Apparently everyone just cares about themselves because one thing that has been lacking throughout this whole lockout is any sympathy towards the fans.

I'm glad that one of the major sports has learned something in the last few months. My hat goes off to Major League Baseball. In this calender year we have seen the NFL and now the NBA lock their players out. Of course the NFL was able to get a deal done without missing any significant time, and no games were cancelled. We all know where we stand with the NBA. The MLB took a different approach. They decided not to wait until the last minute where forcing a lockout was necessary and extend their collective bargaining agreement. What a novel concept? No negative media coverage can be a positive thing for your sport. Who would have thought that to be the case? Congratulations baseball, you did a great job. We are finally distancing ourselves from the "Steroid Era" and the game is as good as its been in a long time. There was no reason for a set back, and everyone involved understood that. Spring training is a few months out but I could not be more excited to get back to the diamond.

Baseball also did another thing right today, and that was naming Justin Verlander MVP of the American League. It was the first time a starting pitcher won the award since Roger Clemens in 1986. Many people take the stance that the MVP should be reserved for position players only because the best pitcher is awarded the Cy Young. Normally, I tend to agree with that take. A starting pitcher takes the mound once every 5 days or so while position players play every day. Position players have the opportunity to affect the game both with their offense and defensive plays. However, MVP still stands for Most Valuable Player. In this case Justin Verlander was by far the most valuable to his team than any other player in the AL. He was 24-5 and lead the league in every statistical category possible for a starting pitcher. He also threw his 2nd career no hitter. He lead his team to a divisional title and the Detroit Tigers made it to the ALCS before getting knocked out by the Texas Rangers. Verlander was dominant all year long and without him, I'm not sure the Tigers make the playoffs. Pitchers don't often win the MVP, and they probably shouldn't in most years, but this year the voters got it right and Justin Verlander has another piece of hardware to add to his trophy case. He also became only the 2nd player ever to win the Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, and Most Valuable Player awards.

Baseball is in its off season, and most players tend to gravitate to the links for a little golf. This weekend was big for golf as the United States team beat the World Team (minus Europe) to win the President's Cup in Australia. The win for the USA was clinched by one, Tiger Woods. While I'm slightly upset I didn't get my Caddyshack moment, I'm happy that we are talking about Tiger Woods the golfer again. As much fun as it was to make jokes about his downfall, golf needs Tiger more than any other sport needs a single person. There are some good young stars, and we still have Phil Mickelson and others, but Tiger adds something that nobody else can. When you see him wearing the red shirt on Sundays it brings an excitement to a mostly stoic sport. I enjoy the fist pumping. I don't even mind the occasional f-bomb (for those of you who golf, we all do it, don't even pretend you don't). I hope that he is finally healthy and is able to continue to play at a high level. Golf is a better sport when we are wondering not if, but when Tiger will beat Jack Nicklaus' major record.

Week 11 is in the books for the NFL, and I'm happy to report that I went 8-4-2 with my picks. The Tennessee Titans were getting smoked before I reminded them I had them +6 so they at least rallied to get me a push. The big news out of the NFL this week was Jay Cutler breaking his thumb which will require surgery and he will now miss at least the rest of the regular season. Cutler is still hated for the most part in Denver for forcing a trade out, but now I put most of the blame on Josh McDaniels. Cutler was playing the best football in his career and I can't help but wonder what the Broncos would look like if he was still here and we didn't have Tim Tebow. Oh well, I'm still happy with Football Jesus leading us to improbable wins, week after week. The Eagles upset the Giants on a forgettable Sunday Night game. Other than that, no real huge surprises this week. There have been a ton of injuries to quarterbacks this season so it'll be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out for some teams. The only thing I don't want to hear is any Brett Favre talk. I can put up with Matt Leinart, Carson Palmer, Caleb Hanie, and even the likes of a Mark Bulger return, but I beg you ESPN, leave Favre out of this. I don't think I can take it anymore.

Until Next Time,
Dan