Writing the Pine

Jersey Shore is back.

I’m a couple of bottles in…So sure why not have a live diary of the season premiere. Without further ado:

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AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

It was dubbed the fight of the year – the fight that would be the biggest threat to Floyd Mayweather’s undefeated career.

Instead, Saturday night just another walk in the park for the man who calls himself “Money.” We saw a different side of Mayweather, however, during his destruction of “Sugar” Shane Mosley. While we’re used to seeing Floyd’s defensive wizardry, he showcased an offensive attack no one really knew he had.

Except Naazim Richardson.

In the beginning of the second episode of 24/7, Mosley’s trainer gave his take on Mayweather: (more…)

Time Magazine came out with their 100 Most Influential People list and it’s always a point of controversy among people who have nothing better to do with their time.  So let me throw my hat in the ring.  I have to qualify though that I’ll only be commenting on the sports figures since that’s my area of “expertise” and by “expertise” I mean this is a sports blog.

I’ve always wondered how one became a Most Influential Person, especially when it came to athletes.  Time says the list is not about the influence of power but the power of influence.  That’s a nice play on words but it doesn’t really help me understand what goes into the selections.  Fortunately, they go on to say that it’s about people who are changing the world through their ideas and actions.  In the world of athletics, it’s about those who, as they say, transcend the sport.  So basically it’s for Tiger Woods and back in the day, Michael Jordan; athletes who are not only the obvious best at their sport but more importantly, the most marketed.  You couldn’t have Tiger on the list every year though (especially not this year) no matter how much he deserves it because that would be boring.  That would be like having Oprah on the list every year (oh wait). (more…)

Chris Keane/Reuters

Speed up the offense.  Please.  It’s painful to watch the Charlotte Bobcats execute on offense.  Really.  I’d rather watch the WNBA Draft.  The halfcourt offense is anemic.  I don’t understand why Larry Brown can’t speed it up a bit.  They have a bunch of players who have been successful in more up-tempo systems.  (more…)

The NBA Playoffs have finally arrived and Dave, Anderson, and Gene came together to discuss what they thought of the first-round matchups. Due to some technical issues, however, we couldn’t post the podcast until today (it was recorded Thursday). Anyway, give it a listen and share your thoughts in the comments section.

or Direct Download [NBA Playoffs Podcast]

So you’ve all heard by now that Santonio Holmes has been traded to the New York Jets. On paper, it’s a great trade.  Combined with all the other moves the team has made in the offseason, it makes the Jets the favorite in the AFC East and maybe in the entire conference.  Holmes takes away double-teams from Braylon Edwards and the Jets will have at least one mismatch against a cornerback. The trade also moves Jerricho Cotchery to the slot where they can exploit another probable mismatch. And really, if you can add Santonio Holmes to your team for a fifth-round pick, you do it.  GM Mike Tannenbaum did a terrific job in making the move. But how successful will Holmes really be on the Jets?

To lead off, the Jets are a run-first team. They led the NFL in rushing attempts (607) but were last in passing attempts (393). Most of it had to do with quarterback Mark Sanchez being just a rookie and learning the position on the fly, but there’s no question the Jets were built to run. Braylon Edwards was always a good run blocker which clearly helped the offensive scheme, but what about Holmes? He’s not a great run blocker by any means but he’ll have to take some notes from Braylon in order to increase his worthiness to the team because he won’t be catching 79 balls like he did last year. The Jets also reaffirmed their commitment to the run by signing LaDainian Tomlinson to join Shonn Greene and Leon Washington in the backfield. With Sanchez’s progression, however, there’s no doubt the discrepancy between the run and the pass will not be as great in 2010. But you still have two superstar receivers, a former #1 receiver at the slot, an emerging stud tight end in Dustin Keller, and a couple of backs who are extremely dangerous catching the football. There will be a ton of pressure on the Sanchise to make a huge leap in his second year given the commitment the Jets’ front office has made to put weapons around him. For the most part, he looked out of his element passing the ball during the regular season but put on some remarkable performances in the playoffs to make management believe he can lead the team to a Super Bowl now. I’m not so sure that will happen but a full training camp with Edwards and now Holmes (who will be suspended the first four games of the year) will certainly help.

No matter how successful or unsuccessful Holmes is in New York, the Santonio Holmes trade is an absolute no-brainer from the Jets’ point of view. A fifth-round pick is nothing for a talent of Holmes’ caliber. But I’m gonna wait a bit before I get too excited about the upcoming season, even with all the moves that have been made. Living in New York, I’ve seen with the Mets and the Yankees that bringing in a bunch of superstars doesn’t guarantee championships. You can even look at the 2003-2004 LA Lakers when they hired Gary Payton and Karl Malone to bring another title to Tinseltown. As a Jets fan, I obviously can’t complain about any of the offseason moves. I’ll just be keeping my expectations at bay leading up to the start of the season.

For our first ever bet of the day, we’ll be going crazy: a four-team parlay in MLB.  It’s real tough to pick winners this late in the season in the NBA so I wanted to stay away from those games.  Keep in mind, I am a terrible better so proceed with caution:

Game #1 – Washington Nationals @ Philadelphia Phillies (-1.5)
It’s the home opener for the Phillies and the Philly faithful will come out in droves to support the best team in town. Cole Hamels is primed for a season where he’ll return to form and he’s already beaten Jason Marquis already this season. Hamels did not win a single game during the day last year but it’s a new season and he should return to form in 2010 after a disappointing year in 2009. Phillies (J)roll 9-3.

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

What an amazing scene to watch on Sunday when Phil Mickelson embraced his wife Amy after winning the Masters.  It’s tear-jerking moments like this one that makes sports the most compelling drama you’ll find on television.  Sure, I love to watch my Tar Heels win, but watching Phil hugging his wife or Bob Huggins consoling Da’Sean Butler are the reasons why I am a fan of sports in general.  You can’t get scenes like that anywhere else.

A lot of people seem to think Tiger’s new Nike ad is controversial because it features his father, Earl’s, voice.  I happen to think it’s genius.  Wieden+Kennedy proves once again they are one of the best (if not the best) advertising companies out there.  They obviously got Tiger’s consent to shoot the commercial and probably his mother’s too.  As a matter of fact, they also probably thought the idea was genius.  Every article I’ve read about Tiger these past five months have always mentioned his father and what he would’ve thought about what Tiger did (not to mention wild ambien sex and owning certain body parts).  So Nike took with that and ran.  The ad doesn’t do anything but focus on Tiger and it uses that classic slow zoom-in technique (Wii, a little help here with the terminology buddy?)  At the end of the commercial, people can’t help but to think themselves, “What WERE you thinking Tiger?”  (Although for many of us young males, we know exactly what he was thinking.  The question that should’ve been asked is “Why the hell did you get married?”)  Nike couldn’t run any more ads without addressing the situation and they couldn’t have done it any better.  Bravo Nike and bravo W+K.

Your favorite team playing but you’re stuck at work?

Yanks v. Red Sox but you’re at a wedding reception?

Subway Series but you’re being dragged to the mall by your significant other?

What’s one to do? Welcome MLB At Bat 2010.

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