Finally, Craig Sager Gets What He Deserves

It's already been said on this site how much I dislike Kevin Garnett (and the Celtics, for that matter).

That said, he finally gave TNT sideline reporter and habitually ridiculously dressed Craig Sager a stern talking to about his wardrobe.  (Thanks to Y! Sports for the look).

I hate to say it, but, KG is 100% right.  How the hell does Sager ever even leave his house some days?  Does he have a mirror?  A wife?  A friend?  Any human that cares about his well being?

My First Trip to Fenway Park

I haven't been home all day. Other than reading Scott's post, I haven't seen or heard any of the A-Rod coverage yet.

Instead, I made my first visit to one of baseball's great cathedrals, Fenway Park. It is really amazing.

When you approach Fenway, it creeps up on you. It's the smallest ballpark in Major League Baseball, and even though it packs a lot of charm into its small frame, I expected it to be bigger.

It seats just over 36,000 fans, and really only has one deck. Other than the main level of the grandstand, there's a limited number of upper deck seats and they were added in the last few years.

Like Wrigley Field, where I grew up going to games, it takes you through a nostalgic trip into baseball's past, and reminds you why baseball is so great. In no other sport can you visit different ballparks and find a completely different atmosphere and a completely different feel. After all, is there a great difference between Soldier Field and and any other bowl-shaped football stadium in the country?

Fenway Park has so much history. There have been so many great players to play there. Babe Ruth pitched there. Ted Williams hit there. So did Carl Yastremski, Bobby Doerr, Jim Rice, Carlton Fisk and Manny Ramirez.

And while there have been various additions to the ball park over the years, it remains a ballpark with an intimate and romantic setting for baseball. So what if the concourse is small? So what if there are poles, or the seats are small? Wouldn't you rather watch a game there than Tropicana Field?

I feel privileged that I have been to some of the most historic ballparks in baseball. I have been to Yankee Stadium, Dodger Stadium, Wrigley Field (as previously mentioned) and now Fenway Park. I have also been to many of the new ballparks in the country and have been impressed and fascinated by the amenities now available to fans in these arenas.

But there are no better parks in baseball than the two oldest in the game. They are what define baseball's tradition and past and remind us what we love about the sport.

Now I just need to get tickets for a game at Fenway Park.

A-Rod Addresses Steroids, A-gain

Pardoning the titular pun, nothing new happened today when Alex Rodriguez met with the media down in Tampa.

The beleaguered slugger sat down, read a prepared statement in front of seemingly every news media outlet on the planet, and then answered questions for about a half an hour.

In a bit of arrogance that seems to represent the entire "we can do whatever we want" attitude that surrounds the steroids cloud over baseball, Rodriguez didn't show up to the presser until around 2:00, about a half hour after he was scheduled to be there.  Why?  Yankee spokesman Jason Zillo said it was because A-Rod was going through his required physical, something each player has to take upon arriving in camp.  Somehow they couldn't have planned for that to be a bit earlier.

As to the meat of what was said, there were some new revelations.  Apparently, he knew what he was taking, a substance known as Boli.  He and his anonymous cousin took the drug, which was available over the counter in the Domincan Republic, twice a month for 6 months for three years.  He continues to insist he didn't know much about it, doesn't know what effect (if any) it had, and that he didn't tell anyone about it despite not thinking he was doing anything wrong.  He denied any use of HGH or amphetamines, though did come clean to using Rip Fuel, a now illegal but once over the counter substance used for energy.

The question that seems to be floating around the SportsCenters and radio shows is, "How much did this apology do?"  Did A-Rod's newest admissions do enough to convince people, or at least get them back on the path to being on his side?

Simply, the answer is no.  He'll never be able to do enough.  It's certainly curious that he didn't know much about this drug, continually injecting it without knowing whether or not it was having an effect.  It's certainly curious that he didn't tell anyone what he was doing, though he didn't think anything was wrong.  It's certainly curious that each time he talks, something new is revealed.

But, when it's all said and done, chewed up and reviewed, analyzed and spit out, there won't be enough that he can do.  He's been urine tested many times since, he's been blood tested (and will be again next week for the WBC), and that won't be enough.  People will some how find a way to crack holes in these proofs.  

Not that you can blame them though.  When someone gets caught in a lie, it's hard to believe them from then out.  Now, Alex Rodriguez is no different than the boy who cried wolf.  

Five Second Half Things To Look Out For

1.  The trading deadline.  Vince Carter to the Rockets or Spurs?  Amar'e Stoudamire to the Bulls or Cavs?  Other (obviously more interesting, duh) names that could be on the move include Tyson Chandler, Richard Jefferson, Caron Butler, David Lee, and of course, the human trading chip, Raef LaFrentz.

With the obvious exception of LaFrentz (who should be lauded for the sheer slight of hand it took to convince any team to offer him a contract), those are some pretty big names.  Problem is, as Chad Ford mentions, most teams are hesitant in this economy to pick up big contracts. 

2.  How much longer can Orlando play at a top tier level without point guard Jameer Nelson?  Out for the season with a torn right labrum, Nelson lead the team in 3PT and FT%, and was second on the team in FG%.  Some how I doubt Tyronn Lue and Anthony Johnson will be able to keep things afloat.

3.  Who will come out as the California champions?  The Lakers, or the rest of the Golden State?  I'd seen someone mention this somewhere, but I didn't believe it, so I did my own research, detailed as it may be.  Currently, the Kings/Clippers/Warriors are up 43 to 42 over the Lakers, far as wins are concerned.

4.  Speaking of the Lakers, will they even remotely take their foot off the gas to let the rest of the conference in?  Likely not.  The Spurs and Nuggets, two of the hottest teams in the league, have been unable to make up much ground over the past two weeks despite playing over .700 ball.

5. Finally, and most importantly, will the Bucks have to resort to petitioning the league to allow them to only play three or four players instead of five?  As it's going now, that may not be that far off.

BONUS THING TO LOOK OUT FOR:

K-Mart and Al Harrington have paired up (why they didn't get the real K-Mart, Kenyon, I'll never know), and the only question that remains is how many kicks will Big Al sell?

Big Statement

Apparently I was the kiss of death.

After declaring just yesterday that Hasheem Thabeet was the number one pick in next year's draft, and after declaring my affection for his game, he and his UConn Huskies blew their number one ranking by losing to fourth-ranked Pittsburgh 76-68.

Oh, and Thabeet got injured early, and finished the game with 5 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. He had just one field goal. And Panthers Forward/Center DeJuan Blair dominated him on offense and defense.

That said, I still believe what I said a day ago about Thabeet. But tonight's lack of performance against a physical big man will bring all the doubters against him. Now that a physical, bruising big man, who is eight inches shorter than him, pushed him around and finished with 22 points, 23 rebounds, and a huge block on Thabeet during the Panthers run towards the finish line, there will be many questions whether he'll get dominated like that in the pros.

I'd like to think it was just a bad game. But his performance tonight is making me look dumb. He'll have to gain some weight and some muscle to avoid performances like this in the future. Thanks a lot, Hasheem. Serves me right for praising a guy on UConn.

In Other Related Coaching News...

Amazingly enough, "family" some how manages to come in the way of sports time and time again...

The Obvious Conclusion

There was only one thing I could think watching the NBA All-Star Game last night. Shaquille O'Neal is angling to head back to the Lakers. And the Lakers are angling to get Shaq back in the City of Angels.

There's no other explanation for this warm reunion between two men who couldn't co-exist after three championship runs in L.A.

Phil Jackson coached the West all-stars by putting both Kobe Bryant and Shaq on the floor together. They won the co-MVP award of the game. There was lots of reminiscent commentary from players and coaches about what could have been if Kobe and Shaq stayed together. More than three titles? Maybe five or six?

It seems to me it was all part of the newest conspiracy to get the Kobe and Shaq relationship all warm and fuzzy again so that they can reunite to take the Lakers back to the promised land.

Think about it. As Scott mentioned already today, the Suns are in disarray. Terry Porter was fired, the team is underachieving, and Amar'e could be traded by the deadline. The Lakers lost Andrew Bynum until at least the playoffs, and they could use another center to compliment Pau Gasol.

What could be better than adding back one of the most popular Lakers of the last twenty years, and make the Suns worse in the process?

Don't be surprised to see Shaq and Kobe together again soon.