Larry Brown Sports

I’m not here to harp on the no-call at the end of Game 4 which resulted in the Lakers win over the Spurs. As I said in that post, the Spurs had 48 minutes of basketball to win the ballgame and ensure it didn’t come down to a last-second shot, much less a referee’s judgment call. The Lakers led all game and earned the victory. Anyway, the point of this post is based on something my buddy Arnie Spanier has been talking about the last few days: franchise-changing moments. There are certain moments that occur in sports that change the course of history for franchises. A big home run is hit off a pitcher, he’s never the same after that. A big free agent busts, it holds the team back for years. For the Mavericks it could have been the Game 3 loss to the Heat. They blew the lead in that game, their 2-0 lead in the series, and since then they’ve traded away Devin Harris and fired Avery Johnson. That could have been a franchise-changing moment.

So is it possible that after losing Game 4 to the Lakers — a game in which the Spurs had a chance to tie the series up 2-2 — San Antonio will never be the same? Is this the decline of their team and the franchise? While I think it’s a compelling point, I don’t think it’s a reflection of reality. San Antonio was the second or third best team in the Western Conference this year (depending on how you look at things), merely one elite team amongst many. They were the defending champs more because of the horrible suspensions on the Suns and the terrible first round matchup for the Mavs. They weren’t necessarily the best team last year, things kind of just broke their way. Same thing with this year — though they were the defending champs, they weren’t the favorites once the Lakers acquired Pau. Moreover, even if the foul were called, the Spurs won the game in OT and tied the series 2-2, they still probably would have lost in 7.

The Spurs are a solid team and will continue to be a playoff team for the next two years, possibly three. Duncan’s getting up there but has a few years left, and they still have a solid youngster in Parker, and another stud in Ginobili. They’re still going to be a winner. But they weren’t the top team this year, and they probably weren’t the top team last year. The no-call won’t prevent them from continuing to be a top-10 team in the league the next few years. And if there was an event that changed the fortunes of the playoff teams more than any other, it wasn’t the no-call. It was the acquisition of Pau Gasol, which broke up the Suns and Mavericks, ended the Spurs’ run, and probably gave the Lakers a title.

All those football fans who think they have it made, please step forward. Not so fast, Cowboy fan! That’s right, I know you were all celebrating after hearing the news that the two had called it quits. Even with that news, Tony still kept his promise to Chestica and accompanied her to sister Ashlee’s wedding recently. And now the reports are saying Romo’s open to getting back with Chestica, so long as her papa Joe is punted out of the picture:

Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo are back ”on,” but a college pal of the Dallas Cowboys quarterback tells me it’s Romo who’s calling all the plays.
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My source says Romo has told Jessica their renewed relationship is ”a trial thing,” dependent on Daddy Joe ”leaving them alone” and stifling his tendency to tell Romo how to run his life, career and endorsement deals.

On again, off again, on again, off again. This saga is almost as bad as T.O. and the pill overdose. Almost. Either way, I still say Romo should just get back with Sophia Bush if he’s tired of Jessica’s dad. Sophia’s so hot I sat through John Tucker Must Die. Twice. And enjoyed it.

And on May 29th, 2008, it was a momentous occasion in the life of Jonny Gomes. I hereby induct you, Mr. Gomes, into the LBS Golden Sombrero Club.

Gomes, a notorious hit-or-miss player with a lot of pop and a ton of strikeouts as well, did just that. He took the gas pipe striking out four times in a 5-1 loss to the White Sox. He punched out three times against John Danks and the fourth time was against Octavio Dotel. The dubious performance drags Gomes’ average down to a paltry .209. At least he does something to hang his hat on: he now belongs in the same club as Curtis Granderson, Matt Joyce, and Carlos Pena. Congrats, Jonny, you deserve it.

You’ve probably come to expect me to be down with all athletes that are former Bruins. Au contraire. When a guy’s got a mouth as big as Jay Bruce’s hat, and not the skills to back it up, it becomes hard to root for him. It is in that light that I must laugh along with pretty much the rest of sports world in hearing that the Ravens actually worked Fred Ex out. MDS at Pro Football Talk says he first heard about his from a reader tip saying Freddie talked about it on his Myspace page and that a league source confirmed the story. MDS is quite the reliable fellow so I have pretty good reason to believe this is true, not to mention new coach John Harbaugh used to be with the Eagles, Freddie’s former team.

There is a dilemma however: do you laugh at Fred Ex just for being himself, or at the Ravens for actually working the guy out? It’s comical that Freddie’s still trying to get a job in the NFL. He’s a former 1st round pick, who not unlike many other highly drafted wide receivers, busted out of the NFL after a few unsuccessful seasons. He’s only known for his big mouth, having given himself the Fred Ex nickname, and notably thanking his hands “for being so great” when he made the incredible catch on 4th down. The Ravens though, my goodness. They got Mark Clayton who’s a former 1st round pick, Derrick Mason who needs to avoid the hirshey squirts, and now they’re even working out Fred Ex? That’s pretty low on the barrel. I’m sure he won’t sniff a roster spot, but still funny he’s trying to hang on.

Once again, it’s interesting how things play out. Early last year Lance Briggs was saying he would do “everything that’s within his power” not to play for the Bears. Not only did he wind up signing a one-year deal with Chicago, but then he signed a multi-year deal recently. All the while stud linebacker Brian Urlacher was chilling with his multi-year, multi-million dollar contract he had signed years ago. Now, it’s Urlacher who became the malcontent saying he wanted a new deal. We even went so far as to suggest an Urlacher for Ocho Cinco trade. Looks like it won’t pan out.

Word out of Chicago now is that Urlacher’s breaking down and will actually report to the team’s mandatory three-day minicamp. I’m pretty surprised about this report given the way Urlacher was acting, making noise that he wanted a new deal. It’s a tough situation when you think about it; Brian Urlacher is one of the best linebackers in the league, yet his deal is somewhat out of date and he’s no longer paid like a top 5 LB. Urlacher knows his neck injury is lingering and that he doesn’t have much time left to make his money. He wants to get paid while he can. But he did sign a monster deal a while ago, becoming the franchise’s highest paid player. In reality, he should live up to it. That’s what happens when you sign longterm — your deal eventually becomes outdated. I feel for Urlacher, but I’m glad he’ll be reporting — that’s what he should be doing.

There was a time when Jermaine O’Neal was a relevant name. He was one of the top big men in the league going 20 and 10 with regularity. Now, not so much. He’s had lots of knee injuries and really hasn’t done much in the last few years, with the Pacers following suit. Now O’Neal sees the team going in a different direction, and as he told The Monty Show on Sporting News Radio Thursday, he thinks he’ll be traded:

“I really believe if it comes down to them totally rebuilding, I believe that they will move me. That’s pretty much the consensus thought I got from the ownership and management before I left Indianapolis. I don’t think it’s going to come down to a situation where we got to go back and forth, back and forth for me to be moved on, because they’ve just totally rehauled the team. I think if they’re going to rehaul the team, then they will move me, and move me to another team that has a chance of winning a championship. That was one thing that was said to me and really pleased me before I left Indianapolis.”

When O’Neal refers to Indianapolis, he’s talking about a pre-draft meeting with ownership and management. What I did like about O’Neal’s interview is that he made it clear he’s not trying to push his way out of Indianapolis; he says he owes a lot to the organization and knows he has two more years left on his deal. But there you go, that’s at least one big name out there on the blocks, so you can start firing off trade rumors now that involve him. Funny, wasn’t it around this time last year we were talking about him going to the Lakers, possibly for Bynum? My, how things change.

Frank Wren is the little-known Braves GM, probably because he was serving under John Schuerholz his entire career, and we all know how much Schuerholz loves to get attention. Anyway, Wren’s running the show now, and he joined The Monty Show on Sporting News Radio to talk about the Braves. He was asked about the decision to let Andruw Jones walk which was imminent last year because of financial reasons. Wren took it even a step further:

We had the ability to watch over the last two or three years that Andruw was not the same, and he wasn’t the same player he was three years ago. We had already seen the decline begin. Now he very well may get it back to some extent but we had seen the decline so [letting him go] was easier.

While this is the type of thing that would make Dodger fans groan since it would fall into the Ned Colletti category of failing to do proper homework (much like the Jason Schmidt trade), I’m not buying it. Wren says Andruw was showing signs of losing it two or three years ago. Two years ago Andruw had one of his best offensive seasons, and three years ago he popped 51 out of the park. Contrarily, it appeared as if after all the time in the league, Andruw was just coming into his own; last year’s season was the anomaly. And even with his poor hitting, Jones was still playing really well defensively. It may be easy to speak from hindsight after seeing what Andruw’s done this year, but I don’t believe the Braves wouldn’t have been interested in re-signing Jones had his price tag been cheaper. I’d be really interested to know if Wren saw a decline in Jones’ work ethic, rather than physical skill — now that would make more sense.

Leave it to me to be right on time to the party and post this right after Chris Osgood had his worst game of the Stanley Cup Finals. Anyway, Kristen Bell, the star of Heroes, Gossip Girl, Veronica Mars and much more, revealed her first crush to NHL.com in an interview:

NHL.com: If you could meet any hockey player, who would you meet and why?

KB: Chris Osgood was my first crush. Brad Pitt be damned, he had nothing on Osgood’s rookie skill and sad eyes. There was actually a day in high school when I wrote on a name tag ‘Mrs. Osgood’ and wore it the whole day. I really thought we were perfect for each other. I’d love to meet him and probably apologize that things never worked out.
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NHL.com: If you had the Stanley Cup for one day, what would you do with it?

KB: I would start by eating an entire box of Fruity Pebbles out of it. Then I’d take an afternoon sponge bath in it. Then I’d retro fit it with handles and make it into a Stanley Cup handbag.

Fruity Pebbles + Sponge Bath = Dream Come True. I can’t think of much better things to do with the Stanley Cup, but one would involve this lovely young lady pictured down here. As far as the above picture of Ms. Bell, I have to give major thanks to my man Justin for the tip. And there’s one more included after the jump, just for him.

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