Writing the Pine

“What you about to witness is my thoughts
Just my thoughts man – right or wrong
Just what I was feeling at the time, uhh
You ever felt like this, you vibe with me”
-Jay-Z

Richard Jefferson – shipped to the San Antonio Spurs for Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas, and Fabricio Oberto

I love this trade for the San Antonio Spurs. It instantly makes them better on paper and to a certain degree, relevant again. Sure, they’re always up there in the beginning of the season when talking about legitimate title shot contenders, but c’mon they weren’t getting any younger. This trade raises questions though, like “who else is going to give dirty elbow shots to Kobe?” I’m pretty sure Spurs opponents are rejoicing that Bruce Bowen is gone.

The U.S Open- Lefty, Tiger, Barnes

I gotta admit, I jumped on the bandwagon and rooted for Lefty. But unlike Jay-Z’s nickname, Phil Mickelson wasn’t “Lucky Lefty.” But it was good to see Mickelson battle until the very end. I’m sure that kind of drive, courage, and resolve came from Amy.

Tiger at the press conference did not look happy to say the least. Maybe we can see that ferociousness that got him to be the best golfer ever. Or are we seeing the decline of Tiger Woods? No question he hasn’t been the same since that knee injury.

Ricky Barnes was a hair away from getting “How Dare You Sir-ed” for his performance in the final round, but I decided to refrain since it was good for him. I hope it taught him just how mentally straining Golf can be. I’m not saying he wasn’t focused, but he didn’t really show up to Bethpage either. Mental fortitude Ricky. Mental fortitude. It’s funny because when I was growing up, my dad used to tell me this weird proverb (I guess you can call it that) about focus. “When you’re in a tunnel against a Tiger, don’t ever stop looking at its eyes.” The saying taught me that focus is more important for survival, not strength.

The Yankees – A-Rod and Burnett

At this point, I just wanna give A-Rod a hug (no homo). This guy just cannot seem to catch a break. Now, people will look at his season thus far and say that since he’s off steroids, he can’t hit. A-Rod came back from a hip injury early to help his teammates and when you see the boost he gave the Yankees when he came back, how could you not applaud the hard work he put in? He’s played in every game (until he was given a rest for 2 days), and I’m no doctor but that hip isn’t 100 percent. The guy just needs some time.

Before the season started, I was talking to a few friends and I mentioned that A.J Burnett is going to be more important than CC. Why? Because you know what CC is going to give you. He’ll give you quality starts, a lot of innings and he’ll battle through rough patches. A.J, on the other hand, came in with huge question marks from his health to which A.J would we see. The dominant, no-hitter, swagger on a hundred-zillion type stuff? Or the Batting practice stuff? He’s been inconsistent the whole year. His opponents on losses and/or bad starts – Beckett twice, Halladay, and Brett Myers. We won’t count his start vs. Josh Johnson because both pitchers pitched well. Those games were all huge momentum shifting games that the Yankees needed to capitalize on. If he gets into a groove and hits his spots consistently, the Yankees will win A LOT of games.

The CrusWade

If you haven’t hopped on board, then what are you waiting for?! Dwyane Wade hosting SNL makes Saturday Night Live actually worth watching nowadays. Tell your mom, sister, brother, friends and join the movement. But make sure Writing The Pine sent ya!