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The Big Story: NBA Draft

A daily look at the big story of the day in sports as seen through the eyes of writers and bloggers all across the internet.

We're going to do this a little bit differently today. You've already heard our feelings about the Zach Randolph trade and on the draft in general but we'll fire up the ol' internet sphere to see what locals are thinking about some of the teams hoping to gain the most from last night's draft and the reaction of others to the Randolph trade. We'll take that last part first since we're incredible homers and then move onto the others.

Seriously, I wouldn't have guessed that they could've gotten Darius Miles for Steve Francis and Channing Frye. Francis is dead weight with a bad contract, and Frye is a decent young player, but no one really knows exactly what he'll be yet, other than someone who isn't a superstar. And for this, the Knicks pick up a 20 point and 10 rebound player, of whom there are only 5 in existence; the others being Chris Bosh, Kevin Garnett, Carlos Boozer, and Tim Duncan. (MJD, The Debriefing)

Back to the Randolph trade, though. Is there a better front line in the Eastern Conference now than Randolph, Curry and Lee? I can't think of one. There certainly isn't another team with two low-post scoring threats like Randolph and Curry, who just went from being the centerpiece of the Knicks offense to their second option. (Valentine's Views)

So he once punched Ruben Patterson, a registered sex offender, in the face during a practice. So he supposedly was caught street-racing with loaded guns in his car. So he was spotted in a strip club on the same night his team was playing a home game, at a time when he was supposed to have been taking bereavement leave. Hey, we all grieve in our own ways. (Ken Berger, Newsday)

In the end, I’m saddened that Isiah didn’t address New York’s most crucial needs at the power forward spot with his trade. Isiah Thomas makes the same mistakes over and over again. He sacrifices young talent (sometimes in the form of draft picks) for overpriced players who show little aptitude on the defensive end. As a friend remarked, Thomas seems to be a fantasy basketball GM, getting players who have flashy offensive per-game numbers with little thought of how they fit together. Unfortunately, New York needs an NBA GM with a cohesive plan on building a team. (Knickerblogger)

The Knicks' low docks arteries are clogged. Unless Zach Randolph is rerouted for a forward who genuinely complements Eddy Curry, 11 out of 10 NBA experts purporting to appreciate proper chemistry strongly recommend the team undergo an immediate angioplasty. (Peter Vecsey)

Why Don't You Cry About It, Saddlebags

When Don Nelson stepped down as the coach of the Mavericks he was owed $6.5 million in back payments from Mark Cuban. He's never gotten them, though, because Cuban claims Nelson violated a non-compete clause in his contract when he took the job with Golden State. Yes, the same Golden State that knocked Cuban's Mavs from the playoffs in six games this spring. Obviously that loss infuriated Cuban. His team entered with 67 wins and a top seed only to be thumped by the coach he didn't want and a team of lesser repute. It couldn't just have been based on basketball, Cuban thought, it must have been because Nelson knew something that he shouldn't have about the Mavs.

So, according to Nellie's attorney John O'Connor, he's suing Nelson for having "confidential information and he [Cuban] wants to enjoin Don from coaching against the Mavericks."

"There is no basis in our view," O'Connor said. "I suppose he [Nelson] knows [Dirk] Nowitzki likes to go right instead of left, but normally that's not a trade secret."

In an e-mail, Cuban acknowledged he and his lawyer have "claims" against Nelson, but is "not sure how we are handling them." Cuban offered a "no comment" when asked Thursday night for a description of "confidential information."

The wonderfully named Uwe Blog covers all the angles of this bizarre case. We're wondering if the meeting between Cuban and his attorneys went anything like this.

Lawyer: If you offer Nelson a token cash settlement, say a
couple of thou, he'll be so dazzled, he'll sign anything you
shove under his nose.

Cuban: Oh, brilliant, a cash settlement.  I could have
figured that out, you buttoned-down maggot!

Lawyer: Well, we could trump up a countersuit on charges that he had confidential information about our team.

Now that's good attorneying! Rumor has it that the Cavaliers are dotting the i's on a suit claiming that the Spurs unfairly restricted their trade practices.

Paul Lo Duca's Getting Upset!

A little more than a week ago a story was circulating the internets about some disharmony in the Mets clubhouse. A blog called Nyjer Please posted about some internecine rivalries among the team that were drawn on racial lines. The team, it was claimed, was split among Latino and non-Latino factions with Julio Franco, old enough to know better, at the center of the animosity.

Julio Franco, who recently celebrated his 89th birthday, is becoming a "clubhouse cancer". Since the losing streak, my source told me that Franco has become the ringleader of a "racial divide" in the clubhouse between the Latinos and non-Latinos. While it isn't a straight divide, it was painfully obvious there was something going on during last night's debacle at Yankee Stadium, where the Latinos were sitting in the dugout while the non-Latinos were on the dugout railing the entire game.

Many called bullshit on the rumors but they may get some new legs after Paul Lo Duca addressed reporters at Shea after last night's rainout.

"I'll do this (interview), but you need to start talking to other players," Lo Duca announced loudly after he was approached by a radio reporter after the Mets-Cardinals series finale was washed out by rain. "It's the same three or four people every day. Nobody else wants to talk. Some of these guys have to start talking. They speak English, believe me."

He's right. It's not like Sammy Sosa is on the team. Others around the Mets have called for players like Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado to stand up and take more accountability for the team's June slide. Never have they accused the players of pretending not to speak English, though. Lisa Olson of the Daily News took Lo Duca to task for his outburst, writing that the Latin players are "generally accessible and usually willing to communicate in English. Outside of Carlos Delgado, whose grumpiness coincides with his batting slump, the Mets' Latino players, like their Anglo counterparts, are almost always accountable."

More accessible than Zeke Mowatt, anyway.

Lo Duca, aka Captain Red Ass, has been a temperamental cuss of late. He's facing a two-game suspension for his tirade at an umpire and had to be held back from attacking a reporter asking about a woman he was spotted with at Aqueduct. Noted agitator Franco played peacemaker, by the by. He's also tired of being asked about when he's going to drop his appeal of said suspension.

"Listen up, everybody," LoDuca had shouted. "Stop asking me when I'm going to drop my suspension (appeal). When are you guys going to drop it? I'm tired of talking about it. Go ask Tony (Bernazard) or Willie (Randolph). God almighty, it's like the president got killed."

Lo Duca, clearly a master of hyperbole, didn't elaborate on how in any way, shape or form Met beat writers asking about when the starting catcher might be out of lineup was like the assassination of the President of the United States. Ramon Castro is well-suited to play the role of disgruntled office-seeker Charles Guiteau, however.

The Worldwide Leader Of Misogyny

ESPN may have thought they had all their problems with women off their hands when they sent Harold Reynolds packing amid allegations of sexual harassment. It's not the case, however, as this week has brought forth two more scandals that sully the four-letter's name more than any evening spent listening to Joe Morgan call a game.

First up is the sexual harassment suit filed by a former makeup artist on "Cold Pizza." While it may be considered harassment enough to try and make Skip Bayless and Woody Paige look TV pretty, Rita Ragone claims that her problems went far beyond that on the ESPN set.

At one point, she said in court papers, Paige grabbed her rear end so hard that she jumped.

That's a hard grab! While we don't recommend trying it on unsuspecting ladies on the street, we'd love to hear how many psi's it takes to get a lady off her feet. Any aspiring engineers out there who'd like to share, please send the info our way.

Another time, Jay Crawford forced her into a corner and told her that he wanted her, she says. "I don't care if you can do makeup or not....The only reason that you got the job here is because you're hot," Crawford is quoting as saying.

Unless the reason she got the job was because of something Paige had to say.

"Rita looks like she's really good at giving b--- jobs"

If Ragone's claims are true she seems to be the only member of the "Cold Pizza" staff who didn't partake in a little slap and tickle behind the scenes of America's least favorite morning show.

One hair stylist regularly plunked herself down in Paige's lap. Another pulled her breast out when model Fabio was the celebrity guest, Ragone alleges.

Now we're up for reading some salacious tidbits about the likes of Paige and Crawford but do we really need to drag the good name of Fabio into this? Paige, Crawford and ESPN suits deny the charges, of course.

Meanwhile on ESPN Radio's Chicago outlet, host Dan McNeil has landed in some hot water after calling a producer at Comcast Sportsnet a "bitch" on the air. What terrible thing had Lissa Druss Christman, said producer, done to elicit such an expletive from McNeil? When that fan ran on the field during the ninth inning of Monday's Cubs game Comcast showed it, a rarity in a time when television ignores the actions of nitwits who interrupt the game. McNeil wondered if WGN, another Cub TV home, would have done the same thing and if both stations used the same cameramen. Christman declined to answer his query so McNeil let her have it.

McNeil and the Cold Pizza guys join Reynolds, Mike Tirico, Jason Jackson and Sean Salisbury as ESPN personalities who have a checkered history when dealing with the fairer sex.

The Rest Of The Draft

You've already seen our take on the big news for the Knicks from last night but figured we should cover Wilson Chandler of DePaul and Demetris Nichols of Syracuse as well. Chandler was the worst kept secret in the draft since it was rumored far and wide that Isiah had locked in on the long, athletic forward who didn't set the world on fire during his two years in Chicago. He seems to duplicate a lot of what they get from David Lee and Renaldo Balkman which could come in handy if there are more trades in the team's future. A lot of people say that Chandler will be a better pro player than a college one, which sounds like a nice way of saying he didn't try all that hard. He's young, though, has a good body and Thomas's problem has never been finding decent players in the draft. Nichols is another forward but is known for his strong shooting skills which could win him a place in the rotation. All in all it was a good night for the Knicks who dropped two of their worst players and brought in an All-Star forward and two good prospects.

We'll cover the rest of the draft in drips and drabs in relatively chronological order:

Milestones

Frank Thomas started his day with a bang, homer #500, and ended it with one, ejected in the ninth, while the Blue Jays were losing 8-5 in Minnesota. Thomas became the 21st major leaguer with 500 homers when he sent a Carlos Silva offering into the hermetically sealed bleachers of the Metrodome in the first inning. It provided a nice bookend to the Big Hurt's career. His first homer was at the Metrodome 17 years ago and he's blasted 50 homers against the Twins all time, the most he has against any team. Thomas's family was in town for the historic home run but were gone by the time he was tossed for arguing balls and strikes in the ninth because they had an early flight out of Minneapolis. Lost in the hoopla over the Big Hurt were Torii Hunter's 180th and 181st home runs which bailed Silva out and sent the Twins home winners.

• Meanwhile, due south of the Dome Craig Biggio was joining an exclusive club of his own. He collected five hits to pass the 3,000 hit plateau and Roberto Clemente for place on the all-time hit list. He needed three hits when the night began and got #3,000 on a game-tying seventh inning single. He was thrown out trying for second on the play so the inning was over when he celebrated his accomplishment on the field with longtime teammate Jeff Bagwell. His fifth hit touched off the 11th inning rally that ended with Carlos Lee's grand slam and won the game 8-5 for the Astros. It's another feather in the cap of a sure Hall of Famer. The next one, however, won't feel quite so sweet.
• In more prosaic diamond action, the Dodgers pounded a returning Big Unit to take three of four from the Diamondbacks. Russell Martin jumped on Johnson, back from back problems, in the first inning with a two-run homer and L.A. added two more runs in the third to send him to the showers. The 9-5 win leaves the Dodgers a half-game up on Arizona in the West.
• Kenny Rogers won for the second time in two starts since his return from a blood clot by allowing Texas one run over six innings in Detroit's 5-2 win at Comerica Park. Gary Sheffield burnished his All-Star chances with his 18th homer and Carlos Guillen did the same with a two-run single.
• The A's are in desperate need of some bullpen mojo. They lost Tuesday when Alan Embree melted down in the ninth and they blew a 3-1 lead yesterday when Ron Flores gave up a three-run homer to Jason Michaels in the seventh inning. With Huston Street, Justin Duchscherer and Kiko Calero laid up by injury, Oakland needs to find a way to close out games better than they did in yesterday's 4-3 loss. One way they hope to do that is by working Rich Harden back to health via the bullpen, he's expected to relieve in Yankee Stadium this weekend. The A's also traded Milton Bradley to San Diego for a minor leaguer yesterday.

(AP Photo/Jim Mone) (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

The Yankees Didn't Lose...

yet. The game will get picked up in the top of the eighth with Jeter on first and the Bombers clinging to an 8-6 lead in July when the Yanks return to Baltimore. It's a good thing this game wasn't played in 1978. That year the game would have been called and the score would revert to a 6-4 Oriole win because that was the score at the end of the last completed inning. We'd also be wearing more polyester, people would be very confused by all this iPhone business and Bruce Willis would still have hair if you went to see him in Live Free and Die Hard.

(AP Photo/Gail Burton)

Zach Attack

Knicks fans are feeling unseasonably giddy this morning after last night's announced trade with the Portland Trail Blazers. Zach Randolph is coming to New York with his 20 points and 10 rebounds a game while the useless Steve Francis and injury prone softie Channing Frye are going to join Greg Oden in the rains of the Pacific Northwest.

There's always a fear when Isiah Thomas makes a trade. He always ends up with the most talented player in the deal but at what cost to the team? Here the cost seems impossibly low for an All-Star forward who gives the Knicks a devastating combo of low-post scorers so what's the catch? Randolph has had some problems with pot, women and teammates in the past but he was relatively calm last year. Does he have pneumonia? A case of the heebies or the jeebies? Past history forces us to ask those questions because when it seems like Isiah gets away with robbery there's usually one of those dye packs that exploded all over John Goodman in the bag of money. Things that appear too good to be true usually are.

Will Randolph and Eddy Curry be able to coexist down low? You don't see many teams with a pair of low block scorers who are each capable of drawing doubles and it's not like either one is known for being a great passer. There's also the fact that Randolph further extends the Knicks salary cap issues to make us take a step back and wonder if this deal is as good as it looks on paper. It also doesn't do much to address the team's defensive problems. Does this lead to another trade down the road? The Knicks will have to do something because with Demetris Nichols traded to the club in the second round they have two players too many for the roster and Randolph and/or others could go elsewhere in another deal.

While we wait to see if Thomas is going to be covered in paint before getting out of Arizona, let's look at where this puts the Knicks next season. They're a little heavy up front right now with Randolph, Curry, David Lee, the loathsome Jared Jeffries, Renaldo Balkman, Malik Rose, Jerome James, Randolph Morris and first-round pick Wilson Chandler. Chandler, another of the athletic, long types that Isiah's favored in the draft, could replace someone who leves town. The problem is that the three guys you'd happily deal are Jeffries, Rose and James and, while you can never say never in a league with Danny Ainge and Chris Wallace making decisions, they aren't going to garner much in return. The team could still use some outside shooting and a truer point guard to play behind Stephon Marbury. Nate Robinson shouldn't be on this team.

But these are all questions for another day and time because right now is about the thought of how the Knicks are going to feast on the flabby insides of the East with their new monster. Randolph is a bona fide All-Star that got his 23 points and 10 rebounds a game playing out West where men are men and so forth but in the East? 30 on Philly, 30 on Atlanta, 30 30 30 30. A devastating combo with Curry down low and Randolph in the mid-post. Miles of space for Q to shoot. Myriad options for Marbury and Jamal Crawford for dishing when they drive. It's exciting stuff for the middle of the summer. 

Tony Gonzalez Says I Love You (Note: Tony Gonzalez's I Love You Is In No Way Legally Binding)

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez doesn't let himself get too caught up in the traditional way of doing things. He played football and basketball while at Cal even though somebody probably told him it was a bad idea, he knocked up the lovely Lauren Sanchez without slipping a ring on her finger and now he's taking part in a commitment ceremony on July 20th. Don't be fooled by the tight end or the commitment ceremony, Gonzalez is still straight as an Arrowhead Stadium it's just that he's from California, with a gal named October and probably concerned about keeping as much of his money as possible when the relationship falls apart.

“We’re not signing any papers,” Gonzalez told her, “but I wanted the world to know that I love her and want to spend my life with her. I did it the best way for me.”

The best way for you indeed, Tony G. Let the world know you love her and want to spend your life with her but keep her hippy paws off your cash because you're letting them know that in a ceremony officiated by former Chiefs fullback Tony Richardson.

"To be honest, your honor, Tony took so many hits to the head that things don't really work quite right up there anymore. He thinks he's a minister and, well, October isn't really a religious gal so I figured, what the fuck. I wrote some vows and told her I felt a spiritual connection, blah blah blah, but we never had a, you know, formal arrangement about anything."

Gonzalez met the still October Russell while she was working at a restaurant five years ago. The owner of the restaurant wasn't exactly a believer in the traditional marriage either. Who was he? Dennis Rodman.

Our 2007 American League All-Star Team

The rules are pretty simple for picking our All-Star Team in each league. 32 players with one from every team, those are parameters set down by Major League Baseball that we follow with at least two players from each lineup position. The game is in a National League stadium this year so there's no DH, that takes care of 16 spots. Each team will have a minimum of 11 pitchers so that leaves five free spots where players can come from any position. Unlike the official ballot, however, we're picking a starting outfielder for each spot based on where they actually play. That means no centerfielders playing right or vice versa. There's also no spot for a guy who plays DH as a starter at another position. With backups, though, the rules are a little looser to assure the best players make the team. (Check out the National League squad here)

Starters

1B - Kevin Youkilis, Boston

Remember that David Ortiz can't start at first by our rules and note that Mark Teixeira is out with an injury if you think that Youk doesn't have a rightful claim to this spot. It's hard to project what Teixeira might have produced if he were healthy but the Greek God of Walks has a pretty good case either way. He's got the highest VORP, the most runs created and the same OPS as Justin Morneau, another worthy contender. Morneau's got more power but with Julio Lugo and J.D. Drew flops as additions in Boston Youkilis has been keeping the offense flowing in Boston.

2B - Brian Roberts, Baltimore

With an on-base percentage north of .400 and 25 stolen bases, Roberts causes all kinds of problems for opposing pitchers. That's a rare thing in Baltimore these days and if there was more oomph behind him he'd be among the league leaders in runs scored.

SS - Derek Jeter, Yankees

This is a two-man race between Jeter and Carlos Guillen. Perhaps there was some lingering disgust at the Yankees performance coloring our vision when we originally looked at this and thought Guillen was the choice. A deeper look, though, revealed that Jeter's creating more runs at bat, saving more of them in the field and, other than power, just a little bit better than Guillen across the board.

3B - Alex Rodriguez, Yankees

The easiest call of the starting lineup. Rodriguez has carried his team on his back while they floundered on the mound and now at the plate and done it all the while with a target painted on his back by the New York tabloids. The Yankees were going to get away with just letting him walk at the end of the season. Not anymore.

LF - Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay

It's a tough rule we made about picking outfielders by position but one we have to stick with in the face of wanting to start both Vladimir Guerrero and Magglio Ordonez. Crawford gets the nod over Manny Ramirez because he's driven in more runs while displaying less power and because his speed is a weapon that Manny doesn't posess.

CF - Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle

He's handled the move from rightfield with aplomb and has regained his batting stroke after a couple of distressing years. That's enough to keep him ahead of worthy competitors like Grady Sizemore, Torii Hunter and Curtis Granderson as well as enough to make him even richer when he hits the open market this fall.

RF - Magglio Ordonez, Detroit

When the Tigers signed an injured Ordonez to a lavish five-year deal before the 2005 season baseball watchers snickered at their profligate spending. They snicker no more. If it wasn't for A-Rod, Ordonez would be the story of the first half at the plate and if he continues his torrid hitting he could find himself the proud owner of a MVP award when all is said and done.

C - Victor Martinez, Cleveland

A difficult call over Jorge Posada would have been much more difficult a month ago but Posada's been heading back to Earth while Martinez has been rising. He's headed for his best season yet at the plate and any defensive issues he might have are mitigated by the fact that he's up against a catcher who teams steal from like a blind shopkeeper.

SP - Dan Haren, Oakland

Billy Beane gets a lot of credit (and a big extension) for the job he's done keeping Oakland competitive without big salaries. Haren is the latest example of that. The A's keep losing top-flight pitchers, either to free agency or in trades like the one that brought Haren west for Mark Mulder. He doesn't have the most wins or strikeouts in the AL but is setting the pace in every metric that measures effectiveness and is the best hope the A's have to overcome their offense and return to the playoffs.