08.16.07
Posted in Golden State Warriors, Basketball at 4:48 pm by addisport
Recall the 5-year $41.6 million contract he was given.
For shame.
Adonal Foyle is probably the most considerate gentleman the Warriors have come across in the last 15 years, but he was also the most overpaid player on the team and in the Western Conference. So when I heard he got bought out for $13 million of the $19.7 million coming to him in the next three years, I did a little dance.
Whew. Now that’s what I call a deal. Albeit pricey, it’s a deal nonetheless that puts the Warriors in position to leave behind the losing of old and entertain a new winning attitude.
In fact, all of the cap space clearing moves the W’s have made is putting the team in a position to court another superstar to the Bay Area. Too bad it wasn’t in time for Kevin Garnett. But we can all dream right?
For a team that was down in the dumps, stuck in 38-win seasons and desperately searching for an answer for the playoffs, Foyle simply wasn’t that answer. In fact, he was the luggage that the Warriors didn’t need. When Erick Dampier bailed, the W’s seemed to go crazy briefly. Garry St. Jean said, “hey, we still needed a center.” So he splurged on Foyle, a career loser and inadequate athlete.
Career stats: 4.4 points per game, 1.7 blocks per game, 5.0 rebounds.
I can just see it now. Foyle is taking that money, hugging that last check against his chest and walking away a rich man who played less in the Warriors’ playoff run than every other player bench player. Thank God for Chris Mullin, Don Nelson and a distant Chris Cohen for realizing and dealing with this turd of a mistake. It truly should be a humbling experience for all parties.
Couple this move with the re-signing of Matt Barnes, one of my favorite players in a long time, and the Warriors are looking more and more like the Dallas Mavericks without a Dirk Nowitski. Next up, signing the coach to an extension and finding a capable big man.
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08.15.07
Posted in San Francisco Giants, Steroids, Baseball at 11:06 pm by addisport
When Bruce Bochy pulled Barry Bonds on Tuesday for “fatigue,” I couldn’t help but get the hint from the local beat writers that something was afoot.
Here’s what San Jose Mercury News writer Andrew Baggarly wrote yesterday night:
And Bochy protected Barry Bonds, claiming that he removed his 43-year-old cleanup hitter from the game in the bottom of the fifth inning because of fatigue - not because the left fielder loafed after a ball an inning earlier.
Several players privately fumed over Bonds’ indifferent play. He barely moved when Brian McCann hit a double to left-center, forcing Dave Roberts to take a conservative approach instead of a diving effort to cut the ball off.
Asked if he was disappointed by Bonds’ effort, Bochy did not give a clear answer.
“He said he thought Roberts had it,” Bochy said. “That’s why he backed off.”
To make matters more interesting, the sentiment was duplicated in the San Francisco Chronicle by beat writer Henry Schulman:
There was another lasting image, of Barry Bonds standing in left field like a statue making no effort to chase a Brian McCann drive that landed in left-center for a fourth-inning double. In the fifth, after Bonds grounded into a force, manager Bruce Bochy replaced him with Rajai Davis, leaving the rookie in the cleanup hole for the rest of a tight game.
There have been several recent instances of Bonds not hustling, rankling some of his teammates. One can speculate that Bochy yanked Bonds mid-game for not pursing the McCann double, a la Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson, but Bochy would not cop to it. Instead, Bochy said he removed Bonds because of fatigue, and that Bonds told him he backed off on the ball because he thought Dave Roberts would catch it.
“He’s been playing a lot,” Bochy said of Bonds. “We’ve had some tough travel and he was running a lot out there. You could tell he was pretty beat. He’s been through a lot. We had a lead. I was going with defense and fresh legs.”
If you’re not catching on, I’ll enlighten you. Barry Bonds has been slackin’ in left field and the only people that are denying it are the die hards, in this case Bochy. But apparently, even he has his boiling point.
Now I haven’t had the time to address 755, 756 or even 759 tonight, but that’s only because I refuse to admit to this new record holder. In fact, because I’m from San Francisco, I’m forced to explain this unnatural love for the most despised slugger in major league baseball. My answer is always the same: I don’t know. The media that hate him have their reasons just like the media that love him and coddle his behavior have theirs. The fans, they’re screwy.
Here’s my logic, if everybody in baseball was cheating (i.e. using steroids) then that would make the playing field equal, right? Right. But unfortunately, that’s the farthest level of argument I get. To which I reply, “two wrongs don’t make a right.” If everyone cheats, no one deserves to be honored. We might as well let Pete Rose in the HOF if that’s the case. I mean, we’re talking golden rule type stuff here.
But I digress. Bonds has become a liability in left field. It’s the reason all of these rumors are popping up he won’t finish his career with the Giants but with an American League team. He’s just not putting in the effort.
Tuesday showed it. And apparently, I’m not the only one noticing anymore — or for that matter, pointing it out.
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08.07.07
Posted in San Francisco 49ers, Football, Stories at 12:26 pm by addisport
This is a story I wrote for the Marin IJ today. Read it here in its entirety.
SANTA CLARA - The red-and-gold blazoned with a symbol of “SF” means different things to everybody. For Jason Hill, wearing those colors is a dream come true.
Well, almost.
The 49ers third-round draft pick out of Washington State is a San Francisco native, a product of Sacred Heart Cathedral and has grown up watching the team all of his 22 years. He joins an unheralded wide receiving corps in training camp that has been at the bottom of the barrel the past two seasons, ranking 29th in passing in 2006 and dead last in 2005.
With 10 receivers in camp, including new acquisitions Darrell Jackson and Ashley Lelie who were brought in to ramp up the passing game, Hill just has to make the squad in order to complete the dream.
“It’s crazy,” said Hill, who is Washington State’s all-time leader with 32 career receiving touchdowns. “I grew up watching, like most of San Francisco, loving this stuff. Having an opportunity to be in the locker room with the guys, wear that helmet, is just crazy.
“To see San Francisco (on draft night) and see Jason Hill flash across the board was crazy. I’m hoping I can be here for a long time.”
The onus is on Hill to beat out a solid cast of hopefuls and on the wide receivers to bolster the offense. The 49ers will likely carry five or six wide receivers with them into the regular season. The way things are shaping up right now, even as a draftee, Hill is scratching to make the team. Presently, Jackson and Arnaz Battle, the leading receiver last season, are penciled in as the starting duo. Jackson plays split end as the “X” receiver while holdover Arnaz Battle will start as flanker in the “Z” position. Veterans Lelie and Taylor Jacobs are coming in as the second reserves with Bryan Gilmore rotating.
Hill is working in the sixth spot as flanker, on the outside looking in.
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