Missed Again

The Portland Trailblazers endured an unnecessary first round playoff exit last night. And while that isn't a huge upset considering they faced a rejuvenated Houston Rockets team, there is one small issue that undoubtedly is gnawing at Blazers fans - this series would have been markedly different if the Blazers drafted Kevin Durant instead of Greg Oden with the first pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Not only that, but the Blazers made the same mistake in 1984 and drafted on need, not talent. The decision to draft Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan cost the city at least 7 NBA titles (Jordan's 6 plus the 1990 Finals Portland lost to Detroit), and forever changed the course of sports history.

Imagine Portland with Jordan. No doubt that city, basking in the glow of a basketball dynasty, would have both a professional baseball team and an NFL franchise. Streets would be paved with gold, and ATM machines would automatically give out an extra $20 for every withdrawal. They'd probably even let people pump their own gas!

Portland is largely considered a JV Seattle. But that would be flip-flopped if the Blazers took Jordan over Bowie. It's unbelievable to really consider the ramifications of this bone headed pick.

Drafting on need, not talent is equivalent to moving "Bangkok Dangerous" to the top spot in your Netflix Queue, ahead of "Gran Torino", because you need to watch an action movie.

Why not go for the far superior movie and reap the benefits of not wasting two hours watching Nicolas Cage?

So given the chance to right a wrong some 23 years later, the Blazers decided to go with the big man, and pass on the transcendent superstar.

Enter Greg Oden, the most over hyped big man in NBA history. It seems like just yesterday that Dick Vitale, Digger Phelps and Clark Kellog were seemingly dry humping Oden's leg. "The next great big man" is what he was labeled.

But unlike all the great big men before him, Oden's abysmal rookie campaign serves to give Blazers fans a small taste of what is to come.

59-60 Wilt: 37.6 PPG, 27 RPG
69-70 Kareem: 28.8 PPG, 14.5 RPG
84-85 Ewing: 20.0 PPG 9 RPG, 2 BPG
92-93 Shaq: 23.5 PPG, 13.9 RPG, 3.5 BPG
08-09 Oden: 8.9 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.1 BPG

Imagine Portland with Durant. It's scary. They would be an offense juggernaut.

Yes, there are several other cautionary tales about teams squandering picks (think the Pistons would be in blow it up mode if they drafted Melo or D-Wade?), but the Blazers decided to ignore history, and look what they got- a mildly overweight, largely untalented, foul machine who has already had microfracture surgery.

Oh, and the first of many early playoff exits.

Unreal

It keeps getting better.

Just when I think my sports euphoria can't get any higher, it does. I can't explain it. I don't understand it. But I'll tell you this much, I'm damn proud to be experiencing it and beyond grateful for the opportunity to watch my favorite athelete of all-time on a nightly basis.

Oh, I forgot to mention that my baseball team, the lowly Seattle Mariners - the team that lost 101 games with a $100 million dollar payroll in 2008, have been reborn as the most exciting team in the baseball. I keep asking myself this, and I'll ask it again - is this really happening?

I feel like Jim Belushi in "Mr. Destiny", when he realizes he's loaded, lives in a mansion and is married to a young Rene Russo.

Wednesday night's triumphant 11-3 stomping over the Angels will be regarded as one of the magical games, in what feels like a magical season.

The big story of course is Junior blasting his 400th career home run as a Mariner. What a moment. I'd like to give a shout out to myself for calling it. Here's how it went down:

Following Endy Chavez's game tying home run, I felt something in the air before Junior stepped to the plate. I turn to my game buddy and say, "Griffey is going back-to-back. I can feel it."

Sure enough, Junior goes yard. I go nuts. At one point while Junior was rounding the bases, I buried my head in my Snuggie in disbelief. It was that great (For the next 20 minutes, my phone was vibrating non-stop, kinda like...well I guess like a vibrator. Thanks to everyone who called/texted).

Much credit goes to new Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu. Not only does this guy throw you for a curve ball by being an Asian American with a southern drawl, but he manages a helluva game. Don Wak has the M's playing beautiful baseball.

Wakamatsu manages a game like I play MVP Baseball 2005. We're talking great defense, good pitching, speed, power and timely hitting. Put the runners in motion and do whatever it takes to win.

In the 7th inning, with the M's clinging to a 4-2 lead, Wakamatsu brought out the insufferable Miguel Batista. In typical fashion, Batista quickly coughed up two hits, giving the Angels a real chance with runners on second and thir with no outs. Wakamatsu had seen enough and he yanked Batista. Nine out of ten big league managers would have kept Batista in to at least let the opposing team tie the game. Not Don Wak. He's in it to win it. And win it they did.

After only giving up one run in the top of the 7th, the Mariners dropped a seven spot in the bottom half of the inning. Ichiballz, in his first game back since his bleeding ulcer landed him on the DL, lofted a Jason Bulger pitch into the right field stands.

So to recap, Tuesday night's game featured the following:

-More stellar managing by Don Wak
-Junior's 400th Mariners home run
-An Ichiballz grand slam
-Another phenomenal start from Jarrod Washburn
-Great relief pitching from everyone not named Miguel
-FGut doing his best Junior impression in center

But even with all these incredible things going on, I have to ask: why the hell were there only 18,000 people at The Safe on Opening Night? This isn't Pittsburgh.

If you live in Seattle, get your ass down to the ballpark. Support this team. Enjoy what they are doing and what they are going to do for this city. This is a special time. If you ignore it, you will miss out on something great.

Dream Come True

This is really happening.

After nine long years, countless debates and many tears, Ken Griffey Jr. will be announced in this afternoon's starting lineup as a Seattle Mariner (I'm crying now).

Anyone who knows me, knows that my support for Griffey has never wavered. Not once in the last nine years did I ever turn my back on Junior. Not once did I ever say we were better off without him. Not once did I ever say he's too old, or all he does is get hurt.

So before I go on with my evangelical rant, I'd like to clear up a few misconceptions that certain people still have aboutJunior (I nearly went Hungry Like The Wolf ((0:40 in)) and did a table flip at a recent dinner over both these claims).

Claim:
Griffey "dissed" Seattle when he forced his way to Cincinnati.

Truth:
In November 1999, Griffey told Mariners brass that he would not re-sign with the team following the 2000 season. This was due in large part to his desire to be closer to his family home in Orlando, and because his wife, Melissa, (a native Washingtonian) was dealing with family issues stemming from her mother's death and her estrangement from her father.

After the Mariners announced their intent to trade Junior, the lack of demand for his services (mostly due to his 10-5 trade veto rights) prompted Griffey and his agent Brian Goldberg to approach the Mariners with a proposal to structure a two-year "bridge " contract that would overlap Alex Rodriguez's impending free agency in 2000.

Claiming that they didn't want to go back on their word after saying they were trading Junior, the Mariners shot down that idea.

According to Art Thiel's excellent 2004 book about the Mariners, "Out of Left Field", Jay Buhner recants a conversation with Junior shortly after the trade where Junior admitted to overreacting to the situation.

If Junior wanted to "diss" Seattle, he wouldn't have signed a contract for $21.5 million less than what the Mariners offered.

He could have just as easily lead the entire city on (like a certain transvestite loving ex-Mariner) and said he wanted to spend his entire career in Seattle. Junior could have played out his contract, only to bolt for the highest bidder (like a certain transvestite loving ex-Mariner).

But Junior has never been one to put up a front.

Leaving Seattle to be closer to his family is something he felt he needed to do. You have to respect that.

Claim:
Griffey will not end the season as Mariner because he'll either be traded, retire, or get hurt

Fact:
I liken the clowns who say such blatant falsehoods as to the idiots who say Barack is going to get shot.

Under no scenario would the Mariners trade Griffey. They wouldn't even trade Jarrod Washburn at the 2008 trade deadline.

Junior knows he can still play. If he thought otherwise, he would have retired in November.

Griffey has played over 140 games the past two seasons. The Mariners are taking extra precautions by resting Junior as much as possible.

In his first ten seasons in Seattle, Junior suffered one serious injury (the infamous broken wrist after making a spectacular leaping catch into the Kingdome's right-centerfield wall).

M's trainer Rick Griffin is one of baseball's best. He knows how to keep Junior healthy.

People say things like, "buying a Porsche Boxster with an automatic transmission is a dream come true." But they didn't actually dream that. I dreamt about this day. Multiple times.

So to be able to say this is a dream come true, provides me with such indescribable joy. I have never experienced anything quite like it.

And I know I'm probably coming off like a raging lunatic. After all, he's just a baseball player, right?

Wrong. Junior is much more than that. The reaction when he steps to the plate for his first at-bat will provide a brief glimpse at Griffey's importance to Seattle.

As for me, I'm either going to do my best Sanjaya fan girl impression, or my heart will explode from sheer bliss during the pregame introductions.

This is a great day for the team I love. This is a great day for the sport I love. And this is a great day for the city I love.

There's a big part of me that thinks I'm going to show up at the Safe, only to find that Garrett Anderson, not Griffey, is in the starting lineup.

This is really happening? Junior is really a Mariner? This isn't a cruel joke, right?

This is happening.

Opening Day Riffs & Rants

It's amazing what a 70 degree sunny April day in Seattle can do to for the soul.

Add in the fact that it's opening day, and the Final Four championship game, and you've got something akin to pay day at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.

Leading off, the Mariners scored six runs on six hits. When was the last time they played so efficiently? A 6-1 win against the media darling Minnesota Twins is nothing to scoff at. Only 161 more games to go!

Griffey hit a bomb? Of course Griffey hit a bomb. He's not Garrett Anderson. All the nerdy stat heads, complete with their mathematics degrees from Havard, can take their .252, 17, 62 projections and find other professions. He's not Vin Diesel agreeing to go back to "The Fast & The Furious" because he's desperate/broke and never had talent to begin with.

Junior is one of four active first ballot Hall of Famers (Randy Johnson, ManRam andTommy Glavine are the others). He's not messing around.

In other baseball news, Cheese Cake Sabathia and the Yankees kicked off what is sure to be another melodrama in pinstripes with a 6-1 loss to Baltimore. Cheese Cake puked up six runs over 4 1/3 innings. He has one more start before SuckCenter starts asking Skip Bayless questions like, "Will CC Sabathia be the next Barry Zito?".

We saw two opening day rain outs as well. I'm starting to think MLB schedule makers pull these games out of a hat. Exlain why the Mariners and Twins, two teams that play in postponement free stadiums, opened the season together? The A's and Angels never have rain outs. Yet they played each other too. Tampa Bay plays in a dome. Boston plays outside. Why aren't they playing in Tampa? But of course, playing a game in Chicago makes perfect sense.

Did MLB hire the guy who thought Sarah Palin would win the election for John McCain to make this schedule?

As for the Final Four, talk about prime TV viewing. Maybe it's me, but more times than not, the championship game is only good for "One Shinning Moment" (please bring back the Teddy Pendergrass version). These games are rarely close (see Duke/UNLV, 1990). And listening to Clark Kellog drone on for hours is wholly unappealing.

Finally, for old times sake, I tortured myself with a little "Field of Dreams" on Opening Day. I've been doing this for years. And thanks to Youtube, I no longer have to dust off the DVD collection (worst investment ever).

I was relieved, and touched to see I'm not the only one who teeters on the verge of an emotional breakdown when watching the final scene. Read a few of the comments on this video. It is well worth it. It also might be the first time ever in Youtube history that the comment section isn't littered with four letter epithets. Go figure.

MLB 2K9: Season Preview

We're counting down the hours to the most wonderful time of the year - Opening Day. Yes, it's the one day where every team is in first place, a guy like Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes can blast three homers and remain more widely recognized than the San Francisco Giants current starting lineup and the ultimate baseball stumper: (How can a pitcher throw a perfect game without the opposing batters averages changing?) can be achieved.

The memories made in the coldest winter are as irrelevant as Dontrelle Willis' "anxiety disorder". It's a new season with new faces in new places and some old faces in old places (Junior, Giambi).

So let's jump right into this business...

AL West

1) Angels
2) Mariners
3) Rangers
4) A's

Remember when the AL West used to be baseball's toughest division? The Mariners won 93 games in 2002 and finished third - six games behind the second place Angels! Well those days are long gone.

The Angels are the odds on favorite (in part because they are the best managed team in baseball). Aside from the subtractions of Mark Teixeira and Francisco Rodriguez, and addition of Bobby Abreu and Brian Fuentes, the Halos brought back their usual boring roster. But make no mistake, the Angels sustained success could very well be over within the next year.

Without the expectations to finish first placed on them (because the fact they actually sucked didn't play into it), the 2009 Mariners are far removed from the lofty goals that many baseball "experts" had for 2008.

A new general manager and field manager are caretakers to a roster that bares little resemblance to the one that lost 101 games last season.

Look at it this way, the 2008 Mariners team had little upside. The horrid seasons put in by Brad Wilkerson, Richie Sexson, Jose Vidro, Carlos Silva and Miguel Bastista surprised few. Yet the 2009 M's are loaded with what-ifs. The chances of Russell Branyan and Ken Griffey Jr hitting 30 home runs apiece are far greater than the chances of Wilkerson and Sexson accomplishing that feat. Jose Lopez looks poised for a huge season. And last time Adrian Beltre was in a contract year, he roided like Ken Caminitti gone wild, and produced one of the greatest offensive seasons ever for a third baseman. All of this is very encouraging.

But the pitching situation is a different story. It gives you that uneasy feeling while watching the rollercoaster scene in "Fear" when Marky Mark puts the moves on Reese Witherspoon.

At one point, it looked like the M's could have a three-headed monster in Felix Hernandez, Erik Bedard and Brandon Morrow, that appeared as formidable as any top 3 in baseball.

Now with flashbacks from Bedard's bitchy 2008 starting to resurface, coupled with Morrow's decision to become a closer, the starting rotation doesn't seem so strong.

Factor in a bullpen that features Miguel Batista in middle relief and you've got a potential migraine headache.

The Rangers are considered by some to be the 2009's Tampa Bay. Offensively they'll mash. But like the Mariners, their pitching situation is highly suspect.

Oakland is banking on Jason Giambi of 2009 doing his best Jason Giambi of 2001 impression. One problem here: no roids.

Many are skeptical about Matt Holliday's transition away from Coors Field, where he hit 70 points lower. But this is Billy Beane we're talking about. Not Billy Bavasi. It's hard to imagine Beane would make that deal without knowing some crazy sabermetric stats about Holliday's performance on Pacific Time when the temperature is above 72.

AL Central

1) Indians
2) Twins
3) Tigers
4) White Sox
5) Royals

It seems like the Indians come to play ever other year. In 2005, they damn near made the playoffs. In 2007, they damn near made the World Series. So in 2009, they will once again resume their place atop the AL Central standings.

Travis Hafner may never regain his form, but Grady Sizemore, a healthy Victor Martinez and Shin-Soo Choo will make up for Hafner's 2008 and beyond free fall.

Expect ace Cliff Lee to build upon his phenomenal 2008, and Fausto Carmona to bounce back from an injury riddled season.

Just imagine how dangerous this team will be if Carl "15-Day" Pavano can muster up the strength to start more than four games this year. He's an early candidate for Comeback Player of the Year.

The Twins have an intriguing young roster, but their season in large part depends on Joe Mauer's back injury.

Assuming Francisco Liriano can stay healthy and start 30 games, Minnesota's starting rotation should be solid.

The Tigers and the White Sox are essentially the same team. A mix of washed up sluggers, inconsistent upstarts and young pitching staffs is not a formula for winning. Throw in Jim Leyland's 8-pack a-day habit and Ozzie Guillen's Flava Flav time bomb he seems to constantly have around his neck and you've got yourself two mediocre franchises.

The Royals used the off-season to acquire Coco Crisp from Boston and sign Willie Bloomquist, who presumably will be their starting second baseman. And you wonder why this team hasn't made the playoffs since 1985.

AL East

1) Red Sox
2) Devil Rays
3) Yankees
4) Orioles
5) Blue Jays

The Red Sox return largely the same team that came within one game of their third World Series appearance in five years. Boston is the best run franchise, top to bottom, in baseball. With the low-risk, high upside additions of Brad Penny, John Smoltz and Takashi Saito, the BoSox have the most dangerous starting rotation in the AL and a lockdown bullpen. This team is just too tough.

Tampa Bay is a year older and a year wiser after their improbable 2008 season. They have a target on their back, but like Boston, the Rays are too well run to suffer any major regression in 2009. Pat Burrell bolsters an offensive built on speed and power. Forget a sophomore slump. The Rays are not Hootie & The Blowfish.

This brings us to those lovable, poverty stricken Yankees. The Bombers decided to combat their first postseason absence since 1993 by overpaying for CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett.

Regarding Sabathia, I have three words - New York cheesecake. This guy is going to eat at least three bouroughs. No doubt, Sabathia is a great pitcher. But going from Milwaukee and Cleveland to New York is going to be a difficult transition.

Teixeira should put up his usual numbers (.300BA, 30 HR, 100 RBI). Is that worth $180 million? Probably not.

What people forget is the Yankees lost Mike Mussina and Jason Giambi. It's safe to say that Sabathia will produce comparably to Mussina and Teixeira won't be a huge upgrade over Giambi. So that gives the Yanks a net gain of A.J. Burnett. Given his injury history and the fact he put up good numbers when it mattered least for Toronto, Burnett very well could be the second coming of Carl Pavano.

Factor in the Pay-Fraud drama, and you've got a recipe for a miserable season in New York.

Baltimore is a team on the rise. After spending much of the last 12 years giving the Mariners a blueprint for how to torpedo an organization, the O's finally figured out that developing young players is their only course to compete against Boston and New York.

Can you imagine Orioles GM Andy MacPhail's expression when he received the Mariners trade proposal for Erik Bedard? "So I get a reliable lefty reliever and two mega prospects for a bitchy French Candian? Bavasi, You've got a deal!"

The Blue Jays are a mess and in danger of becoming as obsolete as their former Canaidian counterparts, Les Expos. It's truly a shame that a phenomenal pitcher like Roy Halladay has languish on a team this bad.

NL West

1) Dodgers
2) Diamondbacks
3) Giants
4) Padres
5) Rockies

Last summer's Manny Ramirez trade deadline deal helped propel the Dodgers into the playoffs. Manny was an absolute beast in his 2+ months in Dodger Blue. Who knows how this will translate over an entire season in LA. Manny is baseball's closest thing to Tracy Jordan on "30 Rock". Where did this guy come from?

The 2008 D-Backs pulled a 2002-2003 Mariners and appeared to be the best team in the majors for the first two months of the season. Then they forgot to play the remaining four months. Orlando Hudson's defection to the Dodgers is going to hurt this team quite a bit. Arizona's young players will continue to progress, but this team isn't a true contender just yet.

If the Giants loaned out their starting rotation to a high school baseball team, that team would look very similar to the Giants. Talk about a roster with absolutely no offense. Bengie Molina is going to bat cleanup! That's about as good an idea as "Fast & Furious".

San Diego and Colorado have beautiful stadiums.

NL Central

1) Cubs
2) Cardinals
3) Brewers
4) Cincinnati
5) Houston
6) Pittsburgh

The NL Central is the Cubs division to lose. That's in large part because the NL Central is on par with the AL and NL West as the worst division in baseball. But the Cubs are also a legitimate contender with balanced pitching and an upgraded, albeit more entertaining offense thanks to Milton Bradley.

The Cards and Brew Crew have some pieces in place to make some noise. Yet neither team can compete with Chicago's pitching depth.

As for the last half of the division, Cincinnati could prove to be a surprise team this year. They have some great young players in Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Johnny Cueto, and Edinson Voloquez. It's only a matter of time before this team takes off.

H-Town and Pittsburgh are absolute jokes. Pittsburgh even more so. Leave it to the franchise whose most notable event since the 1992 playoffs is Derek Bell's "Operation Shutdown" saga, to sign two Indian pitchers from a reality TV show.

President Obama might need to shut the Pirates down for good.

NL East

1) Phillies
2) Mets
3) Marlins
4) Braves
5) Nationals

The World Series champs lost Pat Burrell, but added one of the most consistent bats in baseball over the last three years in Raul Ibanez.

Jamie Moyer might be old enough to remember FDR's presidency, but he also will win 15 games and throw 200 innings.

The Phils are battle tested now and have the swagger to go deep into October.

For some reason, the Mets have decided to model their franchise after the Yankees. They overpay for overrated talent, and seem set on not addressing a rotation that always breaks down during the season. Yes, their bullpen is much improved with the additions of K-Rod, J.J. Putz and Sean Green. But Luis Castillo might be the worst regular everyday player in baseball and Gary Sheffield is a walking Ebola virus in the clubhouse.

Once again, the Marlins have reloaded their roster with great young arms and some solid position players. How this team gets so lucky after blowing things up every 5-8 years is beyond me.

The Braves, like the Mets, have seemingly lost sight of what made them successful in the first place. Gone are the days when their farm club churned out ace pitchers and All-Star bats like Lady Gaga dropping the dopest beats on the music scene.

Enter the questionable Derek Lowe signing and Javier Vazquez trade. Throw in a little Garrett Anderson on the side and you've got a fourth place team.

At least the Nats ditched the Willy Mo Pena experiment - signaling a true end to the absurdly inefficient Jim Bowden era. But they still boast 2/3 of the Reds 2003 outfield with Austin Kearns and Adam Dunn. They also seem to think having Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge in the same clubhouse won't lead to some sort of clash involving Daniel Cabrera's large porn library and a baseball bat. (A legitimate source claims Cabrera travels with a giant Caselogic stuffed with hardcore porn DVD's).

Play ball!

Awards

AL MVP - Grady Sizemore
AL Cy Young - Daisuke Matsuzaka
AL ROY - David Price
AL Comeback Player - Ken Griffey Jr.
AL Manager of the Year - Eric Wedge

NL MVP - Albert Pujols
NL Cy Young - Tim Lincecum
NL ROY - Jason Motte
NL Comeback Player - Khalil Greene
NL Manager of the Year - Joe Torre

PLAYOFFS

ALDS
Red Sox over Angels
Indians over Rays

NLDS
Cubs over Phillies
Dodgers over Mets

ALCS
Red Sox over Indians

NLCS
Dodgers over Cubs

WORLD SERIES
Red Sox over Dodgers

MPG

While driving in the car this morning, I was pleasantly surprised to hear one of my favorite Marvin Gaye songs, "I Want You" on XM Channel 62. This was followed up with "What's Going On" and I knew this meant something.

After some deep thought (explain to me how this is any more distracting than holding a cell phone to your ear), I realized the date - April 1. Today marks 25 years since Marvin's untimely death in 1984.

Until releasing "What's Going On", Marvin really represented little more than a manufactured poster boy for Motown. This isn't to say he didn't record some incredible songs, because there were many. But his transformation into a true artist is unprecedented.

With the "What's Going On" album, Gaye established himself as a transcendent figure in the Civil Rights/Vietnam era.

And while he could have taken on that persona and continued to record socially conscious music, Marvin went in a completely different direction, releasing some of the most provocative, sexually charged music ever produced.

Gaye's "What's Going On", "Let's Get It On" and the highly unappreciated "I Want You" albums hold up to the best three albums from any artist in music history.

So without going on much longer, I'd like to recognize someone who deserves to be regarded as one of the all-time great musicians. Marvin left way too soon. But luckily his music continues to make an impact on multiple levels.

For those interested in expanding their Marvin Gaye library beyond the obligatory "Sexual Healing" and "Let's Get It On", I highly suggest the following:

"Soon I'll Be Loving You"
"I Wannna Be Where You Are"
"When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You?"
"After The Dance"
"Come Get To This"
"What's Happening, Brother"
"A Funky Space Reincarnation"
"Distant Lover (Live at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum)"
"I'm Gonna Give You Respect"
"All The Way 'Round"

And for the reading public, Michael Eric Dyson's, Mercy, Mercy, Me: The Art, Loves and Demons of Marvin Gaye is phenomenal.

Lastly, Marvin's rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game is a must watch. (If you don't get chills around 2:20 then something is wrong).