Any Day Now……

July 10, 2014 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

It’s funny how in the world of Social Media and the instantaneous reaction it feels like we’ve been enduring the process of NBA Free Agency for forever now, but in reality, teams have only legally been allowed to talk to players for 9 days. And players are only allowed to officially ink deals as of today, July 10th at 12:01 a.m. It only seems like forever since Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James opted out of their contracts because we talk about it every second of every day. Between sports talk radio, twitter, and the nonstop “updates” from Chris Broussard, Brian Windhorst, and Marc Stein on ESPN every 4 minutes, we have had Lebron speculation shoved down our throats all day long. And that’s all this is; speculation. Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, and the rest of this years free agents are taking their time with their decisions, and rightfully so, as this is potentially the biggest decision of their lives.

We all know the rumors swirling around Lebron, Melo, and Chris Bosh: Lebron could return “home” to Cleveland (believe it or not Akron and Cleveland are not the same place), Chris Bosh could return “home” by going to the Houston Rockets (he’s actually from Dallas), and Melo can do the only thing he was ever going to do and stay in NY. There are many other outside possibilities of what is going to transpire, but I unlike the rest of the world, am going to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. That show should start today when Melo re-signs with the Knicks. I mean, cbssports.com already prematurely broke the story that Melo will be re-signing with the Knicks, but hey maybe he’ll go play for the coach-less Lakers (because that’s a real option).

The most unfortunate part in all of this is that when someone wins (as in winning their free agent of choice), someone else has to lose. And this is the part where you can bust out your violin for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland is probably being duped once again. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice……you know how the rest of that one goes. Not only is Cleveland banking on Lebron’s desire to return home, but they are clearing cap space to ensure that they have enough money to sign Lebron James. Let me just say that the only way Lebron is going back to Cleveland is if Kevin Love somehow gets traded there this week and agrees to sign a long term deal. Good luck. As much fun as all this speculation is, we are just going to have to take a chill pill and wait out these decisions. Once again, if you actually pull out the calendar, we haven’t been waiting that long. The funniest part to all this is we are most likely going to watch all of this hype suddenly fizzle out when every major free agent ends up staying put. That would be funny wouldn’t it?

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

One Liner Friday’s

July 12, 2013July 12, 2013 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 4 Comments

Hello everyone and welcome to another stellar edition of One Liner Friday’s. Here you can find the past week in sports wrapped up in one line and one line only. Enjoy!

I’d say Ron Metta Artest World Peace should say bye bye to LaLa Land, but clearly he has a permanent residence there.

Seriously though, the Knicks should sign him since he’s the gritty type of player they need.

As long as he promises not to eat anyone’s face than it will be a good pickup.

Why does everyone keep telling me how clean cut and ‘proper’ the Patriots franchise is?

The Patriots cornerback (Alfonzo Dennard) who was just arrested for the second time (for a DUI this time), was drafted by the Patriots just a week AFTER he was arrested for assaulting an officer.

What in the wild world of all things that are holy is Ilya Kovalchuk thinking?

This man just retired from the NHL at the age of 30 and left $77 million on the table (yeah I’m sure he won’t regret that move down the road).

Speaking of Russians, The Brooklyn Nets signed wild hair-do man Andrei Kirilenko to a 2 year $6 million contract.

It’s official, the Net’s are no longer “making splashes”, they’re flat out doing cannonballs in the middle of the pool.

By the way, The Nets Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov is obviously going to buy fellow Russian Andrei Kirilenko an extra special Christmas present this year considering he left about $7 million on the table in free agency.

I’m just saying.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are the next victims of the I think Andrew Bynum can play basketball movement.

Man, it’s going to be embarrassing when Major League Baseball tries to suspend players again, and they come back with a handful of lint, again.

I don’t care what his MRI says, The Yankees brought Derek Jeter back too early, again.

You heard it here first, Miguel Cabrera will win back to back Triple Crown’s this year.

Yasiel Puig not being an All-Star makes about as much sense as an Interstate Highway in Hawaii (they really have those).

Dwight Howard to the Rockets?

So he wants to continue NOT filling the shoes of the game’s all-time great centers?

Want the list?

You got it: Shaquille O’Neal, George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and now Hakeem Olajuwon.

Yeah, that shouldn’t tarnish your already sterling legacy.

You all realize that Anderson Silva still believes he won that fight on Saturday night right?

How happy does it make you to watch someone so cocky and so full of themselves get knocked the bleep out?

If you haven’t seen it just click here:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OwDqz2P0YTw

Who knew you could be fat and still win Wimbledon?

Apparently, Marion Bartoli was the only person who possessed such knowledge.

Andy Murray wins his first Wimbledon and then proceeds to high five and hug like 85 people before forgetting to acknowledge his own mother.

Way to man up with those bulls Rex Ryan.

I’ve never seen Rex move that fast before, he looked like a cheetah chasing down his prey the way he skyrocketed up that fence.

Nice face Nick Swisher.

How about you do your job that you get paid millions for and trot down to first base there chief.

2013 NBA Draft In Review

June 28, 2013June 28, 2013 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

I just love surprises don’t you? Nerlens Noel was considered by most to be the best player in this years NBA Draft, and was projected to be the #1 overall pick. Boy was everybody wrong. Noel fell all the way to the 6th pick as his flat top surely shrunk as he waited to hear his name called. Upon his selection to the New Orleans Pelicans, he immediately got shipped off to Philadelphia. The 76ers did what everybody does and made a trade based on money and money alone. No one in their right mind can tell me that Nerlens Noel (a virtual unknown coming off major surgery) is worth up and coming superstar Jrue Holliday AND a future 1st round pick. The only positive for the 76ers here is that they cleared $41 million in cap space for the future, but in the process they lose one of the best young talents in the NBA. Yeah that decision shouldn’t haunt you for the rest of your life. Now, back to the task at hand: Who was the first overall pick in the draft you ask? The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Anthony Bennett of UNLV to play alongside the über talented Kyrie Irving. Cleveland management clearly wants to win now as Bennett is regarded as the most NBA ready player of anyone in this years draft (I have to respectfully disagree with that). From there the shocks and surprises kept on coming. I believe there were two picks in the top 10 that stood out. Cody Zeller going 4th overall is egregious. I’m starting to figure out why Michael Jordan is not a good executive and should never be allowed to make decisions for his team ever again. If you think Cody Zeller is going to live up to his draft position, then you must be sipping on the same stuff MJ is. On the other hand, the best value pick has to be Ben McClemore as the 7th overall pick. McClemore is probably the most talented player in the entire draft, and I think between he and Victor Oladipo, they will be duking it out for Rookie of the Year honors next season. Overall it was a very active day in the NBA, and I will break down all the important moves right here.

Thursday’s NBA Draft represented David Stern’s 30th and final draft. Over those 30 years he has stood on that stage with some of the NBA’s greatest players of all-time. As most of you know, Stern will be stepping down as commissioner in February making way for a new era in the NBA. This years draft, while not as deep in terms of obvious talent, certainly did not disappoint. It was a wild night as 11 of the first 30 picks were traded, and the host site of the draft made the biggest splash of all. The Brooklyn Nets have brought new meaning to the term win now as they traded away 5 players and 3 future draft picks to the Boston Celtics. Here is how the trade breaks down:

The Nets get:
Paul Pierce
Kevin Garnett
and Jason Terry

The Celtics get:
Gerald Wallace
Reggie Evans
Kris Humphries
Keith Bogans
Tornike Shengelia
and 1st round picks in 2014, 2016, and 2018

The Nets starting lineup instantly gets better, and this makes them a top 3 team in the NBA on paper. However, as we all know, a bunch of names thrown together doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to work (especially with a rookie head coach in Jason Kidd). The way I see it, the Nets have to win the championship this year, or this will be considered a failure. Forget who they traded, they traded away 3 1st round picks. If this doesn’t work out then they’ll be in the proverbial hurt locker for some time now. What I see happening is they will finish with a solid record (probably 50 wins), but come playoff time they will meet their match against the Heat. As for the Boston Celtics, this is simply the final move to having a clean slate to rebuild on. It’ll be years before Boston competes again in the East, so get comfy. If you take a quick glance at the Eastern Conference, it is strong. For the Knicks to be the 5th best team in the Conference, you know the East is ready to dominate the NBA yet again. Speaking of the Knicks, I did like their draft pick from last night. They chose Tim Hardaway Jr. with the 24th overall pick. If your team likes to shoot then draft a shooter.

All in all it was a crazy night in the NBA. We saw a shocker at #1, we saw a blockbuster trade, and we saw a staple in the NBA conduct his final draft as commissioner. Now all that’s left to do is find out where Dwight Howard will suit up next year, and we’ll be ready for another action packed NBA season. What team do you think had the best draft? Who had the worst draft? Leave me your answers and comments below.

Revenge Is A Dish Best Served, uhhh, Hot?

June 6, 2013June 6, 2013 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

The marathon that is the NBA Playoffs has finally reached its apex; the NBA Finals. There are many gripping story lines attached to these Finals, all of which will contribute to an epic showdown. Lebron James, as a 22 year old, led his Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals only to get swept by the San Antonio Spurs. This was Lebron’s first taste of the Finals, but it was the taste of defeat that has stayed with him. See, it is Lebron’s desire to win that separates him from the rest of the league (that and his freak of nature physique), and he would love to beat the team that sent him packing (broom in hand), back in 2007. Lebron James is obviously a million times the player he was in ’07, and I think this series will go a little bit differently than the last time they met. On the other hand, you have the most soft spoken all-time great in the history of the league playing for his 5th Championship. At the ripe young age of 37, Tim Duncan is playing like the Tim Duncan of old. He has transformed his body and his mind in order to continue to succeed at the highest level. It also doesn’t hurt that he has some guy by the name of Tony Parker on his team. As with any series there are many questions that need to be answered: Will Lebron James exact his revenge on the Spurs? Will Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade show up for the entire series? Will Tim Duncan continue his stellar play? Will the 187 days of rest help or hurt the Spurs? And last but not least, who will hoist the trophy over their head at the end of this series?

I believe this will be a long hard fought series. On one side you have the best player in the world looking to establish his rightful place among the games all-time greats. On the other side you have the closest thing we’ve seen to a dynasty since the Lakers of the Shaq and Kobe era. The longevity of the Spurs and coach Gregg Popovich is impressive and Duncan is looking to win titles over a 14 year span (unprecedented span). The Heat are looking to win consecutive Championships and build a little dynasty of their own. However, with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh’s games both rapidly declining this postseason, many have wondered if this will be their last run at a title as presently constructed. The future for the Heat and Spurs is yet to be seen, but the present is upon us. Tony Parker will play a phenomenal series and people will continue to see why he is one of the best basketball players in the world. Tim Duncan will show case exactly why he has been so great for so long in this series. Many Ginobili will add some timely big shots and flops when necessary as well. However, Lebron James and the Miami Heat will prove to be too much for Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs. The Miami Heat will win their 2nd consecutive championship. The Heat certainly have their work cut out for them though. Popovich is too good of a coach to get run off the floor. This will be a grueling back and forth series that spans 14 weeks and 7 games. You can watch Game 1 tonight @ 9:00 p.m. on ABC. Enjoy the action!!

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