KL: After the Draft

Now that the dust has settled and another NBA draft has gone by ... there is not much to report here. Beforehand, all of the sports media outlets--led by the 4 letter juggernaut--has everyone convinced that team A has traded (a) pick #1, (b) next year's pick #2, (c) and a bad contract in exchange for (a) team X's superstar, (b) another bad contract, and (c) your grandmother. Of course, the actual draft has come and gone, and not much has happened; the mock drafts have--once again--been proven redundant. Yes, the trade involving the rights to OJ Mayo + 3 bad contracts, and the rights to Kevin Love + 3 bad contacts, raised an eyebrow or two. But considering Mayo and Love were drafted two spots apart and both sent to teams in the middle of mass rebuilding projects and contract dumping (Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol?), I can't exactly say I was giddy over this news. Ditto on the Brandon Rush for Jared Bayless trade.

About the only excitement last night was watching the cameras surround Kansas' underclassman Darrell Author drop like a rock and was the last player taken from this mysteriously named "green room". The commentators were digging for any information they could find until they broadcasted to the entire world that the reason Arthur was not being selected (as it turned out, until the bottom of the first round) was because of a potential kidney disorder he may or may not have (had). About the only thing proven last night was that (a) the PAC 10 was the most talented conference and (b) the great ones are attending college for all reasons except for ... an education. One and Done. Get used to that saying. The highlight last night may have been when the New York Knicks drafted Danilo Gallinari and the classless New York fans ... booed? Who exactly were they expecting with the 6th pick? Eric Gordan? Jared Bayless? Brock Lopez? Athletes these New York fans may have seen play in college for all of five minutes as opposed to Gallinari's zero? With Mike D'Antoni as their new coach, what were they expecting, a traditional American athlete? Or the Italian player whose father played with D'Antoni in Europe? About an hour later these same New York fans displayed their basketball IQ (or lack of) by booing Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown. Were they really siding with the disaster that was Isaiah Thomas? These are the most emotional (and clueless) fans ever. If Logic walked up to them and tapped them on the shoulder they would not recognize it. Can we please have the NBA and NFL drafts alternate cities? Do we need to see these ignorant fans respond to players they know nothing of? New York fans are completely ignorant of collegiate sports. Here's hoping next year is not a letdown and something worth watching happens.

Oh yeah, my analysis: Rose will be better than Beasely. Watch out for the Trailblazers--remember: Oden will be back along with newly drafted Bayless. Throw in Joey Dorsey and they had a nice draft. The Lopez twins will flame out. K-State's Bill Walker and Memphis' "CDR" may have been the nicest second round bargains.

KL: College baseball understands. Will the BCS ever?

And your 2008 College Baseball Champions are the Bulldogs of ... Fresno State? I am not going to pretend that I follow College Baseball or that I can even name one player on this championship team; but word is: With their victory tonight over Georgia, these Bulldogs are the lowest ranked champions in all of college sports. Ever. They truly are a Cinderella. I have no real interest in College Baseball. But this story encouraged me to tune in. And what a satisfying ending it was to see the "little guy" win! Today, College Football and the BCS have sunk even lower than they already were with this Fresno State victory. How considerate it was of the BCS committee to add a fifth game to the rotation in 2006. So if I do the math correctly: If there were three meaningless BCS games before, there are now four? And the fourth one was allowed so that the "little guy" can make an appearance. An appearance in a meaningless game that ultimately ends in a dead end--win or loss? Now there's a system that works! Maybe Georgia should have petitioned the NCAA to allow the BCS in Baseball. Then maybe they would have had a chance to win by avoiding the best team... as the crowned "champions" in College Football routinely do.

KL: Cito Gaston, Really?

So the Toronto Blue Jays fired their manager today. No surprise, really; this is a rather routine and expected occurrence in professional sports these days. Only the (a) great ones and (b) Mike Dunleavy ever last more than 5 years anywhere. However, who did the Jays hire? Cito Gaston? Really? Was this the best they could have done? This reminds me of the situation two years ago when the Oakland Raiders tabbed Art Shell to become their new Coach. The same Art Shell from circa 1990 who led the Raiders to "greatness"? He was gone in one year. But that's Al Davis and what else would we expect? Yes, Cito Gaston is probably the greatest Blue Jay manager and their fans will love this for a quick moment. He did lead them to back-to-back championships. Or, actually, was that Joe Carter, Jack Morris, Roberto Alamor, Dave Winfield, Dave Stewart, John Olerud, Jimmy Key, David Cone, Tom Henke, Juan Guzman, Pat Borders, Ed Sprague, Devon White, that was responsible for these two titles? Was it really the manager? Doubtful. If that was the case, the Dodgers should be in first place right now and on their way to 4 titles in the next 5 years. I give this move 2 years before Gaston is either fired or "steps aside". With the exception of "Wild Thing" Mitch Williams, I am not sure this puts much fright into many people. On a side note, is there anyone out there who could not like the 1993 Phillies? That was a dirty bunch. I mean literally.

KL: Joe Torre? No, it's not his fault.

You know, Joe Torre looks good in Dodger Blue. He is a fine diplomat, and he has an aura about him. But let's face it: The Dodgers just are not any good. I suppose they have talent--and young talent at that--but they are just not good. Talent does not always translate into a fundamentally sound team. We know Joe Torre is a proven winner, yet, what have the Yankees won since 2000? Maybe the acquire of Torre was slightly overblown, but let's make no mistake: This is not his mess. This is Ned Colletti's to deal with. I was in the Colletti corner for a long time. He came in, talked the talk, pulled the trigger on some very thought-provoking deals. He changed the make-up of the prior team immediately. And that prior team was even worse off than it was now. His first year as GM the Dodgers made the playoffs. But what has happened since? Nomar's decline, Jason Schmidt's injury, the horrendous Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones contracts, the weight of Jones himself (not just his contract), etc etc etc. There is a lot of dead weight on this roster. If the Dodgers do not turn around--and fast--expect Colletti fired. This reminds me of the time when the Yankees won 4 championships from 1996-2000: But none since. Was that Torre's fault? No, it was not. It was the players that the Yanks began to sign, and sign on a regular basis: One-dimensional-sluggers along with past-the-prime-pitchers. And all with large contracts, incidentally. Joe Torre can only manage over what he is given. The same with the Dodgers of 2008.

KL: Mixed Feelings on the Lakers

Even though I am first and foremost a Clippers fan, I have had a rocky relationship with the Lakers over the years. I have loved them, I have hated them, I have had no opinion of them. This year, I sort of liked them for some reason. Perhaps it is because I have moved away from the nausea that are Laker fans, and I can look at the team through a fresh set of eyes. Also, I have come to realize that Kobe Bryant is not the worst person in the world that many people have felt and I had once beleived. But the reason why this years team struck me as likable is the way it was put together. There is just something about this roster I liked. So I am dissapointed they lost, I admit. But in the end, I just don't really care at the same time. I just want the Clippers to wake up and remember that they were a good team just two years ago. Time to make some changes boys!