The Ball Don’t Lie:

Aaron Brooks: On a Rockets team that desperately needed young guys to step up and take control in the absence of superstars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, Brooks is proving that he can do just that.  After 5 games Brooks is averaging an impressive 20 points and 8 assists while connecting more than twice from long range in each game.  With a giant void of stars in Houston the rest the way, I’d expect Brooks to continue with his impressive play.

Louis Williams: No Andre Miller in Philly? No problem.  Williams has been doing a great job of leading the offense of the 76ers after the loss of last year’s starting PG to Portland.  From a fantasy perspective his numbers are more than alright as he has gotten off to a hot start with 17 pts, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.  In addition, Louis is extremely efficient with the ball turning the rock over just once per contest while contributing almost 2 steals a game.

Marc Gasol: If you’re wondering who that surprisingly fit 7 footer is tearing it up for Memphis right now, it’s not Zach Randolph, it’s Marc Gasol.  That’s right, Pau’s little brother lost weight, 30 lbs to be exact, and is now going nuts in Tennessee.  Some might have speculated a big season for Gasol with the added competition at the Center position in Memphis, but I don’t think anyone expected him to put up 17/12 with an added 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game.  This is me officially jumping on the bandwagon.

Rajon Rondo: Just 6 games in and this guy is already surpassing his expectations.  We already knew he was an explosive kind of player but 9 assists and almost 3 steals per game? Not to mention he is shooting over 56% from the field, which is absolutely absurd for a guard.  I’m buying big on the Rondo stock and I’d expect him to get even better as his teammates begin to feel the side effects of their old age as the season progresses.

Al Horford: A lot of people have been waiting for Horford to become one of the elite Centers in the NBA since he was taken 3^rd overall by the Hawks in 2007 and I’m happy to say that time is now.  While it’s still early, I am thoroughly impressed with the big man’s improvement in rebounding, shot blocking (2.6 per game), and free throw percentage.  Horford is ready to take the big leap to all-star quality.

A Fabrication of the Truth:

Russell Westbrook: The Thunder have gotten off to a decent start with competitive games against the Lakers and the Pistons to get off to their best start since…well, since they were created last year.  That said, I think that Russell Westbrook, while definitely a talented player, will cool off a bit as the season progresses.  Right now he is playing out of his mind putting up Rondo-esque numbers of 15/5/8.  Westbrook is still a young guy, much like the rest of his team, and will still need to come along way to progress into a star in the NBA, his 5.5 TO’s per game is enough to make me want to stay away.

Andrew Bynum: In the absence of dominant big man Pau Gasol, Bynum has been flourishing in LA with double doubles in the form of 20 and 10 as well as blocks and steals to add to it. It’s not that I don’t think Bynum is capable of these kinds of stats, but more that I think that his body is made of glass and that he will be on the injured list in no time at all.  I expect him to play no more than 40 games this season due to a wide degree of injuries and I would recommend selling him high if you can.

Danilo Gallinari: I’ve been watching the NBA long enough to know that generally speaking, nobody on the Knicks has the ability to be consistent, and Gallinari is no exception.  In the opening 5 games of the season the international player from Italy has caught fire from beyond the 3-point line and is currently averaging 4 3’s per game.  Not only will he cool off, I’d expect him to become fantasy irrelevant in no time at all.

Al Jefferson: Don’t hit the panic button yet! If you drafted Big Al in the first round I can imagine a lot of you going a little nuts when you see 5 rebounds in the box score from the big guy, but don’t count him out yet.  Jefferson is coming off a major injury and has been taking things slowly until he can get back into his original form.  In about a month, we should be seeing his usual box score domination in the form of 20/14.

Troy Murphy: After last year’s break out performance by Indiana’s veteran big man, I can understand some frustration from fantasy owners who selected Murphy high in the draft this year only to be disappointed with lackluster numbers.  Don’t worry my friends, Murphy has been hampered with a bruised lower back that has been affecting his game play and should return to his stellar numbers sooner rather than later.  And besides, Danny Granger could use some help carrying the Pacers to mediocrity this year.

In regards to your 10/26 Article “In the NBA, Expect the Expected” I must say I flat-out disagree and am rather appalled with your assessment of the 2009/2010 NBA Season. While I normally look up to your sports insight and your commentary, I have to say I’m disappointed with your shallow expectations for the upcoming NBA season.  On the eve of the opening day of the NBA, I hold the highest of hopes for the upcoming season to be every bit as shocking and unexpected as it usually is.  As a veteran sportscaster you should know that injuries, conflicts, suspensions, and team chemistry problems are not only likely to occur on high-profile teams, but will certainly affect the standings within the race for the NBA finals in June. While some NBA fans root for the favorites to make it all the way to see that epic showdown at center court between Kobe and LeBron, I root for the underdog and the long shot.

While the upper echelon teams have seemingly made themselves stronger this off-season, I would argue that this year versus all others has the potential for some of the lower level clubs to make a deep run and steal the show from some of the top dogs.  To name a few of the organizations that could turn the power rankings on its head are the Hawks, Jazz, Trailblazers, Clippers, Thunder, Wizards and Bulls.  Each of these clubs has shown significant improvement either in younger player development or through off-season acquisitions that could help reorganize the East and West standing ladders throughout the season.  If you’ll remember back to the playoffs last year, one of the best that I can remember in recent history, the 7th seeded bulls entered into what appeared to be a slaughterhouse in the first round against the heavily favored Celtics. Much to the surprise of the NBA and its fans, the series was taken to 7 games, including 4 overtime games.  In each game the Bulls demonstrated why they deserved to be looked upon as one of the top-tier teams under the leadership of rookie Derrick Rose.

One of the most exciting things for fans is the anticipation of a new season, a turnaround, and the ultimate what-if scenario, the NBA Finals. To say that the results are set before the season even starts is not only absurd but down right naive.  No one can predict the events that will unfold throughout the 82 games of the approaching regular season, much less the playoffs.  Each team has the opportunity to prove their worth and maturity from the previous season, no matter how steep the slope ahead of them.

So here’s the way I see it: The Celtics are looking old and rusty, the Magic are rollin’ the dice swapping Vince for Hedo, The Cavs are investing in the Big-Yesterday, The Lakers have created their own version of the Surreal Life, and the Spurs have lost their continuity.  With all of this drama in the land of the favorites, I think I’ll play the field.  Anything can happen in any game of basketball.  Every team has the opportunity to wow its fans with a last minute buzzer beater.  So with less than 24 hours before the first tip-off I would like to encourage all fans of the underdog to hold their heads high in anticipation.  In the words of author H. Jackson Brown, Jr. “Never expect to lose. Even when [you’re] the underdog, still prepare a victory speech.”

What is this?! Why would they show the Bills vs. Browns on TV? I waited all week and this one of the games they show? What garbage! Wait a second, why is Bill Belichick coaching the Bills? Those aren’t the Bills at all, those are the Patriots! And its not the Browns either its the…Broncos? While I’m sure not everyone experienced quite the same reaction to the horrendous throw-back jerseys sported in Sunday’s 4 o’clock football game, I’ll bet that at least a couple of you were confused when the two teams took the field.  Rather than mark a special occasion once a season, throw-back uniforms have almost become a weekly norm in the NFL.  While it might be interesting to see how the teams of old once dressed themselves every now and then, this practice has gotten way out of hand.

The NFL is already supporting Breast Cancer month by adding pink to pretty much every aspect of the game, and I have no problem with this. I think it’s great that the NFL has taken it upon themselves to support such an important cause.  However, when you add pink to ridiculous throw-back jerseys you get something else entirely.  The teams, and refs, look absolutely ridiculous and I can’t help but feel bad for the players who are wearing outfits so hideous that they were retired for a reason.

The second problem I have with the “throw-out” uniforms is that it’s downright confusing.  Even for fans like myself who are regular watchers of professional football it can be difficult to tell which teams are which when they wear completely unrecognizable uniforms.  To the new fans and supporters of the NFL, keeping track of the different teams and their colors must seem like rocket science at this point.  While the NFL may think that they are being unique and creative in their wardrobe decisions, they are alienating these new spectators of the game and will eventually lose their interest all together.  In a time when professional sports need to do everything they can to INCREASE revenue, the NFL is taking a approach that is almost certain to show decreases.

In 5 weeks, some teams, including the Broncos, have displayed 5 different uniforms.  Besides being a blatant waste of money, having this many uniforms for a season that is only 16 weeks long is completely absurd. This means that if these teams continue this pattern they will wear each set of uniforms only 3 times each.  By comparison, the Washington Nationals baseball team has only 4 different uniforms and plays more than 10 times the number of games each season.

In addition, what possible reason could the NFL have for making their referees wear those embarrassing orange pin-striped outfits.  As if being hated by every single fan just for doing your job wasn’t enough, now you get the added bonus of being humiliated and mocked while doing it.  If I wanted to see clowns wearing outlandish costumes, I would go to the circus, but instead I would like to watch a professional football game.

Professional sports often make the comparison of the playing field to the office environment.  There are strict dress codes and penalties for disobeying those codes.  If I am to believe that the NFL playing field is a professional environment, they should start by dressing the players and referees in a more respectable manner.

I’m not exactly sure who makes these wardrobe decisions, but whether it be the team mascots or the Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, one thing is for certian; CUT IT OUT!

As the game began, Arenas took a much more humble approach to his style of play.  Rather than come out guns blazing, Arenas focused his energy on helping his teammates by passing and setting screens to open up the court.  Gilbert played the first 10 minutes of the game, and didn’t take a single shot.  That’s right, I’m talking about the Hibachi not launching 3′s or bulldozing down the lane to get a foul call.  At first I was a little concerned.  What’s going on?  Has he lost his touch?  Is he afraid to take shots now?

After sitting out the rest of the 2nd half, all of my questions were answered as the Agent Zero I know and love entered in the game during the 3rd quarter.  2 minutes into the 2nd half, Arenas hit his first jumper of the game and the crowd went nuts.  Feeding off the energy from the crowd, Gil took the opportunity to demonstrate some of his patented moves as he lit up the court with absolute precision including a dazzling reverse lay-up through 4 Maverick defenders.  In just 21 minutes of play, Arenas finished with 12 points, shooting 6/6 from the field while dishing out 9 assists.

Despite all of the reports from head coach Flip Saunders and the local media outlets assuring me that Gilbert was 100% healthy and ready to go, I just couldn’t be sure until I saw it for myself.  While only a preseason game, his performance on Friday night re-established his athletic ability and his uncapped potential in my mind.

It’s hard to imagine, but the last full season that Gilbert played with the Washington Wizards was the 06/7 season.  During that time Arenas averaged 28.4 points, 6 assists, 1.9 steals, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.8 3- pointers.  Slightly older, and hopefully more mature, Gilbert attempts to repeat these impressive numbers as the Wizards look to rise in the East once again.  With an absolutely deadly surrounding cast in Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler, Mike Miller, and Randy Foye, the Wizards look set to give a few of the top dogs a run for their money.

One sign that he’s grown up a bit is Gilbert’s refusal to talk to the media during the preseason.  Formerly a media loving hog, Gilbert has told several outlets that he will not be making his normal boneheaded remarks this time around.  It seems that he is beginning to understand the importance of his behavior and leadership on a team that desperately needs some new direction after a 19-63 season.  Another good sign is added attention towards passing the ball.  Once called a “ball-stopper” by Charles Barkley, Arenas has made it a point to get more players involved in the offensive sets before he takes over the play.  After 2 preseason games Gilbert is averaging 9.5 assists.  While it is still very early, it is nice to see a change of pace in Gilbert’s game.

So while the Wizards still have an uphill battle for themselves this season, Wizards’ fans can rest easy knowing that their star player is ready to light up the stage once more.

The way that I view the NBA referee strike is 2 fold at this point. On the one hand the action taken by the NBA is a little underhanded.  By simply hiring new referees from the NBA development league, the referee’s Union is completely undercut and essentially worthless.  On the other hand, the NBA needs to have refs in order for their games to take place, and they can’t simply sit back and watch as their league falls apart over a silly argument.  Now when I say silly; let me clarify. Senior refs in the NBA are making salary of around $500,000 per year and are concerned because the league would like to revamp the pension and severance packages to be more in accordance with their declining budget.  With the current make-up of the economy, I would say that a half a mil each year isn’t looking to bad right now.

With the possibility of all new referees starting the season as a result of the lockout, I thought it would be interesting to examine the status of the officiating class before and after this change:

Before

Over the past several years, the NBA has received a hailstorm of criticism towards their referee staff, especially in regards to the Tim Donaghy scandal of 2007.  While no ref can make all the right calls all the time, it is the responsibility of the ref to remain consistent in how he represents the rules of the game.  The concept of star treatment in the NBA has become all too familiar as the big name players find it easy to pretty much do what they please with out consequence.  This is especially true when it comes to traveling and foul calls.  Last year at a Wizards/Cavaliers game, Lebron James was called for traveling on a patented “crab dribble” move in the closing seconds of the game.  The sports world was shocked; not that Lebron was capable of traveling, but that the call was made.  This type of officiating should be the norm, not a rarity.  When four steps are taken without a dribble, traveling has occurred.

After

With a potentially brand new, fresh batch of referees entering into the 2009/2010 NBA season, it is possible that the current state of officiating could be vastly improved.  These new refs are by no means new to the game as they are being recruited from the D-League, and have yet to be jaded by the celebrity star power that is housed in the NBA.  This could potentially mean consistent and unbiased calling across the board, no matter who the player.  Now as I mentioned before, officiating is no easy task, and the bump from the D-League to the spotlight will mean added pressure and heavy scrutiny for the freshman class which could result in missed calls and rookie mistakes.  One thing is for sure; however, these new refs want to be there and will make sure that they prove their worth.  Becoming a professional ref is a particularly daunting task and to stay atop of their game, the new batch will be looking to make a good impression on the league.

Who will reign supreme in the battle for the court in 2009-2010? Will last years MVP King win his first NBA crown? Will Kobe repeat without Trevor Ariza? Will Blake Griffin flip the switch for the Clips? While it might be a little early, I have composed the first set of NBA power rankings for the upcoming season that should help to answer a few of those questions. Throughout the season I will be updating the rankings accordingly with the performances of each team.

Tonight marked the culmination of the 2009 ATP U.S. Open Championship and it was nothing short of amazing. Riddled with upsets, questionable calls, and Cinderella stories, the final Grand Slam tournament of the year was something to behold. Here is a chronicle of the top five events from this year’s tournament.

1. Del Potro Upsets number 1 Roger Federer.

In an amazing display of physical talent, 20 year old Juan Martin Del Potro from Argentina launched an absolutely stunning comeback to defeat the best player in the world, Roger Federer, to win the U.S. Open final. Standing at a whopping 6’6” Del Potro normally defeats his opponents with his monster serve, but tonight he displayed a more conservative serve and relied on his powerful and consistent ground strokes to carry him through to victory. Coming into the match as an overwhelming underdog, Del Potro struggled to calm his nerves towards the beginning of the match dropping 2 of the first 3 sets. In the end it was Federer who needed to get a handle on his composure as he struggled with unforced errors. The 2009 Men’s final was the longest in the history of the U.S. Open and was nothing short of spectacular.

2. Serena Goes Ball-istic.

“I swear to God I’m [expletive] going to take this [expletive] ball and shove it down your [expletive] throat, you hear that? I swear to God.”

Woah. And I thought tennis was a gentleman’s game. Well this was a women’s match, and there was nothing gentle about the ill wishes of number 1 seed Serena Williams.

At 15-30 in what turned out to be the final game of the women’s semifinal match, Williams fell victim to an absolutely ridiculous call from a lineswoman – a foot fault to put her down two match points. A call that many would consider total malarkey in such a moment – including Williams – and she made it known. In a matter of seconds, Serena lost her head and the match. To her credit, Serena had a case. You don’t make that call; however, the actions of the 11-time grand slam champion were inexcusable in the end. It was an ugly moment that won’t define Serena’s career by any means, but won’t be soon forgotten, either.

3. Supermom’s Storybook Slam

Most comebacks are bittersweet, at best. Michael Jordan won three titles with his second go-round with the Chicago Bulls, but certainly would like to forget his tenure with the Wizards. The Brett Favre experiment has been rocky so far, and Roger Clemens came out of retirement before missing a single major league game. We all know how that ended.

Kim Clijsters did her best to reverse the trend of lackluster rebound efforts with her unlikely claim to the US Open crown. After retiring in 2007 and having a baby a year later, the Belgian took out two tennis giants en route to becoming the first unseeded player to win the US Open. After an impressive display in the first three rounds, Clijsters was the feel-good story of the opening week. Then came a marquee match-up against Venus Williams, whom she disposed of in three somewhat odd sets that featured two bagels. To back that up, she ended Serena’s run to the title with solid groundstrokes that fans remembered from her 2005 Open title, her last appearance in Flushing Meadows. The victory launches Clijsters into the top 20 and back into the mix on the womens’ tour.

4. Oudin’s Grand Stand

Throughout the last 10 years there has been 2 faces to U.S. Women’s tennis; Venus and Serena Williams. In this year’s U.S. Open tournament a new force emerged in 17 year old Melanie Oudin. Oudin, virtually unknown in the tennis world before last week displayed several impressive performances defeating Dementieva (4), Sharapova (29), and Petrova (13) to reach the Quarter Finals. To add to her impressive display last week, Oudin stands at a mere 5’6” compared to her fellow giant sized female opponents.

5. Fed Through the Legs

Despite losing in the Finals to Del Potro, Rogerer Federer gets the award for best shot of the tournament, hitting an absolutely stunning cross-court winner through his legs against Novak Djokovic in the Semi Finals.

In order for a team to become more successful it just needs to throw in another superstar, right?  Well, no not exactly . Teams that think they can keep their current roster and just throw in a star player to suddenly launch their franchises to the NBA finals are kidding themselves.  The first thing you might say here is, hey look at the Celtics; they went from one of the worst records in NBA history to winning the NBA Championship by throwing in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. This example is by no means the norm and Boston was extremely lucky that their team chemistry panned out the way it did.  Now can Memphis pull off the same result with the addition of Allen Iverson? Absolutely not.

Don’t get me wrong, Memphis has some major potential and budding talent developing down there, but team chemistry is highly underrated, and often overlooked when general managers are signing big name players like Iverson.  With a young core of Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol and now Hasheem Thabeet, the team could use a veteran player to lead the way.  However, adding a highly unstable character to the squad like Iverson is something else entirely.

One thing to consider with star players is their personality style and character presence that they will be bringing to the team. Allen Iverson is just like any other attention loving, media-hog who always causes problems for his team. Every sport has one; the NFL has T.O., the MLB has Manny Ramirez.  While all of these players are towards the top tier of the talent pool in their respective sports, their behaviors are so erratic that they usually bring along more harm than good.

My advice to the Grizzlies: Stay young and keep rebuilding until you can bring in a veteran player who can lead by example starting in the locker room.  Star-power might initially increase ticket sales but will not improve your team in the long run.

The fundamentals of defense change quite a bit depending on the size and position of a player.  While big men focus more on blocking the ball, preventing the post-up, back door cuts, and easy dunks, guards tend to focus on stealing the ball while preventing their men from driving the lane and taking open jumpers.

Most often, the players recognized for their defensive abilities tend to be the bigger men because of their size. Tim Duncan currently holds the record for being the player most selected for the NBA All Defensive Team with 12 selections, However Ben Wallace holds the record for most selections for the Defensive Player of the Year Award with four. In addition to these overpowering defensive forces are a handful of guards who also had outstanding defensive careers including Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton, Scottie Pippen and Bruce Bowen.

I frequently hear from the naysayers of professional basketball that “there’s no defense in the NBA.”  What these people are overlooking is the extreme height of physical talent of each and every player in the NBA which makes it so difficult to play good defense.  This is why when an extraordinary defensive player comes around, it is something special.  Gary Payton earned his nickname “The Glove” for refusing to let his men go by him on defense, this kind of tenacity is a rare thing in professional sports, and even more so on the defensive end.

When it comes to Bruce Bowen, you won’t find his box score stats all that impressive; however, this is exactly what makes him so unique.  Bowen was the type of role player that coaches dream about, one who would grind it out every single game to lock down on defense in order to get his team the win.  Bowen was not about getting the glory or the credit, but rather exhibiting the fundamentals of the game.  In the 8 seasons that he played with the San Antonio Spurs, Bowen and his teammates won 3 NBA championships and made it to the Western Conference Finals 4 times.  Bowen’s stats might not wow you, but his contribution to his team is beyond measure.

With the main goal of most sports to score more points than the opponent it is easy to overlook the necessity of a solid defense.  Here’s to Bruce Bowen and to hoping that more professional athletes take his approach to the game.

Here is a quick rundown of my team’s starting lineup:

QB: Matt Ryan; WR: Andre Johnson, Brandon Marshall, Jerricho Cotchery; RB: Frank Gore, Kevin Smith; TE: Anthony Gonzalez; K: Ryan Longwell; DEF: Carolina

The first problem with this lineup is that there are very few “sure-things,” but in fantasy sports there rarely is such a thing.  The main question marks on this team lie with my Wide Receivers as Brandon Marshall has already experienced disciplinary problems with the Broncos and Cotchery has an entirely new offensive system in NY headed up by rookie QB Mark Sanchez.

While these are pretty big “ifs” headed into week one, let me take a minute to explain why I believe that my team will rise up and overcome:

First is Matt Ryan.  This guy had a monster rookie year with Atlanta which almost never happens for first year QBs and now has a veteran and proven target joining his squad in Anthony Gonzalez (my TE).  In addition, last year’s explosive performance from RB Michael Turner is sure to draw some “special” attention from defenses, leaving Ryan somewhat of a comfort zone to throw in.  It might seem a little overly optimistic, but I’m putting him at the number 3 QB for year right behind Tom Brady and Drew Brees.

The next reason my team will perform better than expected: RBs on bad teams.  While this can have both a positive and negative swing, I believe it will work more in my favor this year.  Great players on bad teams usually means one thing, they will get the ball.  Gore and Smith both have the potential to have great years and provided their teams make it to the red zone, I think I’ll be swimming in end-zone dances.

The final thing I have going for my team is Andre Johnson.  This guy is truly one of the elites in his position and just may have to carry my team if things don’t work out for me in the other 2 WR spots.  With QB Matt Schaub projected to have a great season, Johnson should get plenty of targets and rack up the yardage for me.

I’ll be sure to let you know how things pan out…