MVN - Most Valuable Network

Tuesday’s Best - Arts & Drafts

5. Any Dallas Cowboy - NFL owners voted unanimously to opt out of the collective bargaining agreement, set to expire after the 2011 season.  This leads to a season without a salary cap in 2010, and the possibility of a work stoppage in 2011.  The two sides will have to come to agreement on terms at some point, but the only agreement thus far is that Jerry Jones has lost his mind.  The Dallas owner inked two huge contracts with Marion Barber and Terence Newman for a total of thirteen years and nearly $100 million (cue Dr. Evil music).  With the very real possibility that financial restrictions will be less stringent in the future, it’ll be interesting to see what kind of deals get thrown around this off-season.  If he plays his cards right, Cowboys’ tight end Jason Witten could parlay this into an eleventy billion dollar signing bonus.  Or better yet, a real number.

4. Cole Hamels - After giving up four earned in two straight starts, the Phillies’ lefty is now riding a 16 inning scoreless streak. Hamels struck out a season-high eleven batters through seven innings en route to a 1-0 victory over the Nationals. Greg Dobbs’ ninth-inning, pinch-hit RBI provided the only run scored as Philadelphia ended a three-game losing streak. However, their streak of being the team that infuriates me the most remains intact.

Hamels is one of the best young pitchers the league has to offer and his changeup could be the best in all of baseball. With the NL East a complete toss up, a staff ace like Cole could be a difference maker in the divisional race. I can only hope the rest of the season he is replaced by Cole Brown from “Martin”. He’d lead the league in funny hats, but the pitching would be suspect.

3. More Football All The Time - When he wasn’t busy reporting non-sensical contracts given to backup running backs, NFL commissioner Roger Goddell said the addition of a 17th regular season game is a distinct possibility.  The extra game would replace one of four preseason games because according to Goddell, “we are not satisfied with the quality of the pre-season”.  Personally, I’m all for a longer NFL season.  It means more Sundays in front of the TV, more fantasy football, more gambling, and more losing my voice screaming for no reason.  If it turns out a success, the sky’s the limit for this idea.  I suggest Goddell implement a year round NFL season, and have his players compete in “MTV Rock ‘n’ Jock” type events every week.  Who wouldn’t pay to see Shawn Merriman hit Ryan Seacrest?

2. TD Banknorth Garden - While no one would compare its mystique to that of the Boston Garden, the Celtics have been unflappable on their home court this postseason. The streak continued Tuesday, when Detroit’s attempt to flap Boston in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals was flatly denied. A typically balanced performance by the Pistons was wasted, as Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett scored 48 for the unbalanced Celtics in an 88-79 victory. Something tells me Doc Rivers’ washing machine is really loud.

No team in this year’s playoffs has been more different at home versus on the road. After 15 games, Boston is undefeated at home, yet winless on the road. Fortunately, with home court advantage throughout the playoffs, they could continue this trend and still walk away with the NBA championship. Of course, with a .571 postseason winning percentage, I guess you’d consider it crawling away.

1. Steve Schanwald - Now that Scott Skiles has moved on to Milwaukee, Steve is showing the world who the real Double S is. As the representative for the Chicago Bulls at the NBA draft lottery, Steve pulled through and landed the number one pick, something the organization only had a 1.7% chance of doing. Interestingly, 1.7% is the exact same chance of someone in Chicago recognizing Schanwald ever again. He beat out such luminaries as Larry Bird, Dwyane Wade, and even hip-hop mogul Shawn Carter, proving once and for all that bespectacled nerds are the real winners.

The Bulls must now choose between hometown hero Derrick Rose, and the NCAAs leading rebounder, Michael Beasley. Even experts like Chad Ford and Jay Bilas are split on who the correct draft pick is. Regardless, the Bulls have enough established players and enough building blocks in place to make some serious noise in 2008. Assuming whoever they pick doesn’t crash his motorcycle into a pole.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 at 10:22 pm and is filed under Today's Best, MLB, NBA, NFL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.