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David Stern:
"With the first pick..." The NBA Commissioner should
try not to gloat too much as he watches the final
18-year-olds cross the stage to meet him.
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The Lead Item
Two Words For You:
BOGUT. BANDWAGON.
Bogut-bashing is bogus.
"Big White Stiff": Is it racist? Probably, if your
argument is that he has no NBA future simply because
he's white and a 7-footer.
Some critics just don't see any cachet in post
players. They compare him to other No. 1 big duds,
'Kandi or Ellison. Bogut is better than that.
The better comparison is to Elton Brand: Very skilled,
if not spectacular. (20/10? Why not?) But some want
more out of their top overall picks.
It drives them crazy that a No. 1 might simply be solid,
even though John Hollinger affirmed Brand as the top
talent in his 1999 draft class.
Make no mistake: Marvin Williams is great; he's the
most talented player available.
But Bogut is the best big man in the draft and will be
a solid pro; hey, if Jamaal Magloire can be an All-Star
center from the East, Bogut is set.
Bogut is winning me over with his confidence: First,
he brought a résumé (yes, a paper résumé) to his
workout with the Bucks.
But he's a talker, too: On Monday he told the media he likes
Milwaukee because "there's a lot of beer and cheese
there." Points there.
And I love the fact that he is willing to lobby for
himself, noting that his vertical is only one inch
behind Marvin Williams'.
Here's how it nets out: The Bucks seem to think "Best
Center Available" trumps "Best Player Available." Or
maybe that's the same guy.
Strangely, many of those griping about Bogut are the
same ones who backed Emeka Okafor last year, ripping
Orlando for taking "project" Dwight Howard
first.
If the Bucks take Bogut No. 1 overall (7:30 pm, ESPN),
it wouldn't be a bad move. For the Bucks' needs, he's
as worthy as anyone, including Marvin.
...And not nearly as bad as the critics will be
howling.
More NBA Draft
End of the "18 Era": No more LeBrons or
Kobes; the new NBA age limit sees to that. That
doesn't mean there isn't a last gasp of intrigue
surrounding the preps.
Here are the Top 5, listed with comps (both good and
bad):
Gerald Green:
The next: Tracy McGrady?
Or the next: Qyntel Woods?
Martell Webster:
The next: Paul Pierce?
Or the next: Eric Piatkowski?
Andrew Bynum:
The next: Baby Shaq?
Or the next: Lorenzen Wright?
Monta Ellis:
The next: Mike Bibby?
Or the next: Keyon Dooling?
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CHECK OUT THE QUICKIE EVERY WEEKDAY MORNING! |
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| WHO'S GOT THE MOMENTUM ... |
Williams sib pride: Venus exorcises Serena-ousting Craybas
Angels: CA appeals court rules team can use "L.A." in name
Coach K: Would coach Team USA (Colangelo: Hire him today!) |
| ... AND WHO'S GOT NO MO' |
Larry Brown to Cleveland: Cavs owner confirms it's a no-go
Bobby Valentine: Disses the baseball World Cup. How lame!
John Rocker: Released by independent Long Island Ducks
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Andray Blatche:
The next: Kevin Garnett?
Or the next: Darius Miles?
To the rest: Enjoy the NBDL!
Yankee Mess
"My patience is a little short..." The
Boss wants solutions. His choices, at this point, as
he brings execs down to Tampa today:
Fire someone: On any other team, it would be
the manager. Why not Torre? Because he's untouchable.
And because even the Boss isn't that crazy (but it
must drive him even more batty that he can't).
Trade someone: Does any single Band-Aid fix
(like Mark Kotsay or Barry Zito or Jason Schmidt) even
begin to fix the situation to the point the team will
contend? There's the rub....
Hurt someone: Hey, where's that Cashman kid
at...?
MLB Monday Wrap
Burnett to O's? Let Trade-Deadline
Rumor-Mongering begin! O's fans would love a deal
(seems like a high price for a rent-a-player).
Julio Franco rules! 46-y.o. hits a PH grand
slam to lead the Braves past the Marlins. He's 46 and
more effective than Giambi.
Yanks win ugly again: When you're struggling
like the Yankees are, cheap Ws are still Ws. As they
say: "A balk's as good as a hit."
Angels win 7th straight: As usual, thanks to
Bartubby Colon (10th straight W vs. TEX) and the Most
Vlad Player (3/4, HR, 2 2Bs).
Indians finally solve Sox: Blank 'em to snap
Boston's 7-G W streak. Where was this Kevin Millwood
last week when Cleveland needed it?
Political baseball: As reported in WashPost, shame on some GOP
congressmen for threatening MLB for considering a
Nats' ownership group with George Soros.
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Rogers to miss today's start: Would-be All-Star
broke his non-pitching pinkie after punching a water
cooler during a start 11 days ago.
MLB Aces High
Looking for All-Star SPs? The "Big
Four" would-be starters ID'ed last week all throw
today: D-Train, Rocket, Buehrle, Halladay.
Let's make it easy: Following last week's formula
based entirely on morning-after Instant History, the
two with the best work today get to start.
Of course, competition counts: If Willis can handle the
sizzling Braves, that's a lot more impressive than
Clemens' beating the Rockies (even at Coors).
NBA Draft Viewing Game
Back by popular demand! What to do
during the rapid-fire 5-minute wait between picks? As
you sift through the TV analysis, try this game (soda
for the kids, please):
Cliché (No. of sips)
"Upside" (1)
"The next..." (1)
"Best player available" (1)
"Need pick" (1)
"On the clock" (1)
"On the board" (1)
"Intangibles" (1)
"Tweener" (1)
"Sleeper" (-1)
"Athletic"/"Ath-a-letic" (2)
"Length" (2)
"Should've stayed at..." (3)
"Needs to hit weights" (2)
"Weight problem" (3)
"Good character" (3)
"Questionable character" (-3)
Any Euro-bashing (5)
Any Duke-bashing (8)
"But I could be wrong" (10)
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Jeremy Roenick:
Wow, J.R.: It's not like there were that many NHL fans
to begin with, and you managed to alienate the few
that remain. No, in fact: YOU kiss OUR rear.
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Today on ESPN.com
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| Quickie live! |
| NBA Draft |
| Gammons on MLB |
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| NBA Draft Cliches: |  Upside
| That's what NBDL is for?
|  Length
| Ugh: The new "athletic"
|  Tweener
| No bigger curse
|  Character
| As if teams REALLY care
|  Intangibles
| | Code for: "Who?" |
| 
|  |
Quickie Mock Draft:
1 MIL (Bogut); 2 ATL (M. Williams); 3 POR (Trade - D.
Williams); 4 NO (Paul); 5 CHAR (Green); 6 UTAH
(Frye)
7 TOR (Webster); 8 NYK (Bynum); 9 GSW (Granger); 10
LAL (May); 11 ORL (Warrick); 12 LAC (Korolev)
13 CHA (Felton); 14 MIN (Graham); 15 NJ (Wright); 16
TOR (Vazquez); 17 IND (McCants); 18 BOS
(Villanueva)
19 MEM (Jack); 20 DEN (Ellis); 21 PHX (And'kevicius);
22 DEN (Ilyasova); 23 SAC (Ukic); 24 HOU
(Garcia)
25 SEA (Simien); 26 DET (Hodge); 27 UTAH (Lee); 28 SA
(Gelabale); 29 MIA (Walsh); 30 NYK (Taft)
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