Heights Sports Corner

Wow…  Tuesday Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth plead guilty to Stallworth pleaded guilty Tuesday to manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol in exchange for a lighter sentence. Stallworth faced up to 15 years in jail for the death of 59-year-old construction worker Mario Reyes, who supposedly was running across the street when he was struck by Stallworth, who apparently had been out on drinking prior to the incident. That must have been one hell of a plea deal because Stallworth was only sentenced 30 days in the clank, 2 years of house arrest and 8 years probation. Are you serious ?

I mean look at it this way…. Micheal Vick killed some dogs… some dogs!!! Know in no way am I condoning the actions of Vick, but come on where are we as a society today in our flawed justice system. Stallworth took a human life a man with a family, correct me if I’m wrong but last time I checked once you die there’s no coming back from that. Stallworth will more then likely see a suspension from the league maybe 4 games, Yet, Micheal Vick  gets involved with dog fighting, spends almost a year in jail, loses all his endorsements, goes bankrupt, booted from the NFL which he  undoubtedly will have to fight to get back into. I’ll let you do the math there.

As an act of good faith Leon Washington RB for the New York Jest has ended his short hold out and returned to the team for off-season workouts this morning. It looked like Leon who’s rookie contract expires at the end of next season would hold out till a deal was done. He is due to receive $535.000 this year which in my opinion is well under market value for a back of his caliber.

His agent Alvin Keels says  “Leon is excited about finishing the off-season program off strong, and is very much “hopeful”that we can come to terms on a fair market deal.” Washington and Keels are looking for numbers like Maurice Jones-Drew’s four-year, $32.4 million  $17.5 million guaranteed.

Contrary to what has been been said about agent Alvin Keels after the Andre Smith saga, looking at the numbers for Keels and past deals done, you’ve got to believe Washington is in good hands. Keels may be a young fresh face in the game gut he’s done some huge deals, Larry Johnson for one, $43.2 million $19 million guaranteed. Another notable DeAngelo Hall’s $70 million dollar contract with the Raiders, which was short lived thanks to Al Just win baby Davis. After the Raiders cut Hall Keels went to work for his client and got a another marquee deal with the Redskins worth $54 million dollars 22 million guaranteed, making him one of the highest paid corner backs in the league.

So Leon is in good hands with a good negotiator on his team. It really looks like with Leon showing his maturity and faith in his employer, the ball is now in the court of the Jets to hold up their end of the bargain. Leon is probably the best offensive weapon in the Jets offensive scheme along with Thomas Jones who is also making a strong argument in terms of his contract restructuring. They both deserve their payday however you’ve got to believe that Leon has a pretty strong argument over Jones.  Only time will tell.

Unless you’ve been in a cave during the last couple of weeks, its been quite clear who the media wants to see in the NBA finals. Nike has recently chipped in with the Kobe and Laron puppets who go at each other subliminally on who is the greatest. I must admit from the few commercials that I did see featuring the two, they did make me laugh. From Labron’s chalk toss, to Kobe’s 3 NBA championship rings, and a few others Nike is defiantly campaigning their endorsees pretty strong.

Even Vitamin Water has their own spiel on in my opinion who they favor to end up in the Finals. Only difference  instead Vitamin Water choosing to use human actors in their campaign, debating who is the greatest 23 or 24, referring to the jersey numbers of the ‘09 MVP Lebron James and his respective rival counter part Kobe Bryant.

But If you’ve been tuning in to both Eastern and Western conference championship games, Denver and Orlando have made a pretty big marketing campaign of their own, only using the  court as their choice of setting. Denver has been trading victories throughout with the Lakers on the advantage with a 3-2 lead putting Denver on the brink of elimination tonight on their home floor in game six, and a game closer to proving the media correct in the West. However, the story unfolds a little different out East as the Orlando Magic has proven to be a force to be wrecking with. Dwight Howard and the Magic have  the advantage in the series with a 3-2 lead, and head to their home floor in a win or go home game for Cleavland, despite letting the opportunity to wrap the series up last night with a 10 point loss.

In all,  I’m loving every bit of all the games in both series. However I don’t think there has ever been a clear cut favorite to battle it out in the finals since dating back to the days of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Even then the media weighed in with commercial ads featuring the two rivals from their respective teams. So its inevitable that history repeats itself, but not without a few outside looking in looking to rewrite the storybook ending.

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported today that the NFL WILL NOT suspend Free agent Matt Jones as the result of his violation of a court-mandated drug program. WTF!!! Matt Jones was arrested last July for cocaine possession and only saw a three game suspension. That only after he appealed the league suspension. After his suspension, Jones entered an Arkansas drug diversion program, but was sent to jail for five days after violating the terms of his probation. Granted all he did to screw that up was drink two beers on the golf course, (so he claims).

Now its been reported that the league is only gonna slap him on the wrist with a $50,000 fine? Are you serious? I mean I think we are missing the big picture here. THIS IDIOT WAS CAUGHT CUTTING UP COCAINE WITH A CREDIT CARD IN HIS CAR. Now correct me if I’m wrong,  and nobody actually reported seeing him sniff the stuff,  but if Jones was dicing up coke, I don’t think he’s just doing it as an old Arkansas science project.  How is this not a big deal? I mean the Jags did end up releasing the over paid first rounder but only after he violated his probation. To make matters worse the NFLPA has encouraged him to appeal the $50,000.  Where is the innocence in this case? He should at least be banned from the league for a few seasons. It was appalling to me when Jones was first arrested with no early league penalty, and was able to play all but 3 games, and now this!! What does this say for the NFL and Goodall who seemed to have a no tolerance attitude when it came to off the field issues? Not a good look in my opinion.

According to The Associated Press, Phil Mickelson’s wife Amy has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Phil has announced today that he will suspend his PGA Tour schedule indefinitely.  According to Phil’s management company, Amy Mickelson a former Phoenix Suns cheerleader, has more test to undergo, but will begin treatment with major surgery as early as the next two weeks.

Phil and Amy married in 1996 and now have three kids the oldest which was born the day after the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst. Phil always putting family first carried a pager during the tournament and vowed to leave if Amy went into labor.  It was not clear if Mickelson the three-time major champion, now ranked No. 2 player in the world with 36 career PGA Tour victories, would return in time for this years US Open.

Mickelson was to play the Byron Nelson Championship this week, and defend his title next week at Colonial. I very much commend his priorities in these circumstances and wish them both the best and a speedy recovery.

Last night kicked off the conference finals for the Los Angeles Lakers playing host to the Denver Nuggets in game one for best in the west.  Kobe finished the night 13 of 28 from the field, 2- 3 from the 3 point line, and 12-13 from the stripe with 40 points, and the Lakers ran away with game one 105-103. Denver’s Carmelo Anthony finished 14-20 with 39 points 6 rebounds 4 assist, and was on fire from everywhere on the floor. Carmelo’s hunger was evident, and this game was a sure fire thriller from beginning to end, and I anticipate the rest of the series will be one for the ages.

Now if you missed the game and you hear it from some other blog or other news column, you’ll hear how L.A. ’stole’ game one. In all actuality Denver getting back to the conference finals after a 24 year drought, had control for majority of the game with 4 of the 5 starters finishing the stat column in double figures with points, while the Lakers only had 3 players finish with double figures. Laker’s Derek Fisher still struggled with his shooting woes early on, however nailed some big shots when they needed them finishing with 13 big points in the game. Dahntay Jones seemed to struggled with the task of guarding Kobe and was very evident. Jones eventually fell to foul troubles and had to sit. Denver coach George Carl made the switch  late in the game to have Carmelo match up with Kobe on the defensive end. Noticeably Carmelo seemed to have a better hold of how to harass Kobe, and  I think we’ll see more of Carmelo guarding Kobe moving forward in the series, which is probably the best move if Devener whats to contain Kobe’s production.

In my opinion I think I make a strong argument when I say Denver lost this game from the free throw line missing 12 for the night which well below their average. Also not to mention a late lack luster inbounds pass from Denver Guard Anthony Carter, with 30 seconds left on the clock down two points which Trevor Ariza easily picked off leading to 2 of the 9 free throws made by Kobe in the 4th quarter, 6 of which were in the last 30 seconds of the game. Chauncey Billups who finished with 18 points nailed a big 3 to pull within one of the Lakers lead 102-103 with 6 seconds remaining. Carmelo fouled Kobe on the inbound and made both free throws spreading the lead to 102-105.  Then Phil Jackson’s late strategy forced J.R. Smith to the free throw line with 3 seconds left in which he made the first, and had to purposely missed the second in hopes of a rebound and quick put back, however the attempt failed and there went game one for Denver.Last nights game clearly shows how crucial free throws are. Give a yard and they take a mile which is what the Lakers did in game one. Mark my words this series will be awesome.

ESPN announced Former Tampa Bay Bucs coach Jon Gruden will be joining the Monday Night Football crew, with  Mike Tirico and analyst Ron Jaworski this fall, replacing Tony ‘the cornball’  Kornheiser. Excellent move in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, Tony was a breath of fresh air compared to Dennis Miller in the booth and does at least have some knowledge of the game,  however Tony did have a tendency to go overboard with some of his slapstick humor at times. Tony, stick with PTI is suites you better.

Moving from the sidelines to the booth is not an easy adjustment I imagine for Gruden having to hold back the F-bombs other expletives. However, after watching this past NFL draft coverage with Gruden, I loved his commentary, and  I feel he’s done an awesome job so far. Great addition to the elite Monday Night Football crew.  On the other end of the spectrum …. Coaching? Gruden has plenty of years in him left to pace the sidelines of one of these franchises in the league, and I expect his name to be among one of the  front runners along with Bill Cower for the next available vacancy, but not without a hefty price tag. I mean look at his resume and not to mention being one the youngest to achieve the acclamades he’s already reached. Till then he’ll be doing play-by-play and ESPN couldn’t have picked a better person for the job.

Mark Cuban… yeah just hearing this guys name gets on my nerves. In my opinion Cuban is a FAN of the game who just so happened to have enough money to buy a franchise. I mean why is this guy always at the games with that look on his face like he just smelled a fart. Either that or the guys acting a fool trash talking referees or opposing team players FROM THE STANDS. Cuban your an owner lets act like and behave like one.
He’s always dressed like he just got back from a BBQ or cutting his front lawn with a frazzled hair do.
Finally this past week Cuban has pulled the last straw in my opinion. Where does anyone get the audacity to put their finger in any body’s face, let alone someones Mom and direct an insult about their kid. If you ask me K-Mart handled the situation pretty well considering the situation. Now this idiot wants to buy the Chicago Cubs, thank God that fell through. Mark listen, stop while your ahead. That’s my Friday Sports Rant.

Where would the NFL be without the Oakland Raiders? This franchise over last couple of years has been good for a few things other than some guaranteed losses and few off season foul moves. Not to mention a few laughs provided by the critically acclaimed Al Davis.  From paying their first over all draft pick in 2007 30 mill plus, after missing mini camp and the first week of the season,   to cutting their star defensive back DeAngelo Hall mid-season after agreeing to a 70 mill deal. To the controversial firing of Lane Kiffin.

During the whole “resignation” or in my words force out of Kiffin debauchery, it was revealed that Kiffin never really wanted Jamarcus in the system, however we all know Davis always has the trump card and plays it often. Not sure if its to early to call but, so far, for the money spent, it looks like Jamarcus is not far from the infamous “B” word. Yeah BUST. To me Russell is years away from the guy they though they drafted.  He seems all about the fame and not about the work, skipping workouts with teammates, and not mention the slender 270 plus frame he carries.  The first smart thing I’ve seen Davis and the Raiders pull off is the signing of quarterback Jeff Garcia. This is the 6th franchise Garcia has played for in 10 years. The young 39 year old 4 time Pro bowler is also one of seven NFL quarterbacks to have two consecutive thirty-touchdown passing seasons (2000 and 2001) in their career. Not to mention he did also win a Grey Cup Championship with the Calgary Stampeders. 

What’s behind the signing of Garcia who is undoubtedly 100 times better the Russel? Is to spark a fire under Russel? Who knows, I mean its Al Davis we’re talking about, but nevertheless it looks like with the “Just Win Baby” attitude of Davis they defiantly have a controversy worth following. I cant see Jeff who is one of the toughest QB’s in the league having any more than 2 MAYBE 3 seasons left in him, who knows maybe just enough time for Russell to mature and step in upon the deparcher of Garcia. Only time will tell.

Today former Duke guard Greg Paulus made the announcement today that he would enroll at the University of Syracuse as a graduate student and compete for the starting signal caller for the Orange Men. After working out for the Green Bay Packers in April, Paulus claims that gave him the itch to grab hold of the ole pig skin again. Paulus, 6- foot-1, 180 lbs was a Gatorade National Player of the year his senior season at Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse NY, he threw for 11,763 yards and 152 touchdowns during his career,  and was  heavily recruited; however decided that hoops was the way to go.

After a seemingly promising start under Coach K. at Duke he was benched his senior season and never made it back to the starting line up. Paulus is still waiting on a waiver from the NCAA that will allow him to compete at Syracuse.  Paulus made official visits to Michigan and Nebraska before making his decision, saying in his press conference “My heart and my gut told me Syracuse was the best place for me.”