The Nationals Brawl

Everyone over at the Nationals Ballpark is probably extremely frustrated right now. Our savior just underwent Tommy John surgery which will have implications for his career down the line and for another year we are not in contention for a playoff spot but still playing inspired baseball in September. This frustration has been very evident in Nyjer Morgan this past week. He ran into St. Louis’ catcher for no reason the other night, completely demolished The Florida Marlins’ catcher during a play at the plate in another game and made inappropriate comments to fans.

Most recently he started a bench clearing brawl when he charged the mound after Florida’s pitcher Chris Volstad threw a pitch behind him. This was probably the biggest baseball fight I’ve seen in a few years. Morgan gets a hit in but is quickly taken out by a mean clothesline from Marlins first baseman Gaby Sanchez. Morgan was suspended for 8 games and fined an undisclosed amount of money for the fight. He was already appealing a 7 game suspension he received on August 25th.

Tiger and Elin Finalize Their Divorce

Tiger Woods’ and Elin Nordegren officially ended their marriage today according to reports in the Calgary Herald and ESPN.com. We are all very familiar with the events leading up to this moment so I won’t rehash them here. Hopefully Tiger and Elin will be able to move on from this in a way that is most beneficial to their kids. The final terms of the agreement are unclear but the Calgary Herald reports that Elin may be taking anywhere from $100 – $500 million.

What has gotten much less coverage than this divorce is Tiger’s abysmal play since returning to golf at the Masters where he finished fourth place. He looked like he would return to form during this tournament after hitting the ball well and contending for the duration of the event.

Since then, Tiger has looked a lot worse, missing the cut at the Quail Hollow tournament later on in April and having some of the poorest performances of his career. He finished 13 shots behind the winner of this year’s British open, a major that he dominated in 2000 and 2005 and about two weeks ago, he shot his worst score ever with an 18 over par at the Bridgestone Invitational.

After all this, he is still the number one ranked golfer in the world. At one point should we wonder whether or not he will ever return to form. Golf is an extremely mental and personal sport. While some level of fitness is required to walk the course at the pro pace and hit the ball hard and consistently, one’s mind must be clear, confident and in tune with the body. Tiger Wood’s mind is probably gelatin right now. He has destroyed himself in the eyes of nearly everyone who knows his name including himself, and hurt his family in a way few could ever understand. This must be weighing on him and in a sport where mental clarity and confidence are so important it is no surprise that he’s out there looking like an amateur on the golf course. He has only been back at it for about 5 months or so but we have yet to see flashes of the Tiger of old. Only time will tell if he will ever return to form.

Kwame Brown and Michael Jordan Together Again

In one of his first moves as Director of Basketball Operations with the Washington Wizards in 2001, Michael Jordan made what has turned out to be one of the worst number one picks in history by drafting Kwame Brown in the 2001 NBA Draft. Kwame Brown was a complete flop and did absolutely nothing for the franchise. More importantly, the Wizards turned down guys like Joe Johnson, Pau Gasol, and Tony Parker. It was not the Strongest draft class in the world but the Kwame move was horrendous on many levels.

In what appears to be an effort to relive this disaster, Jordan and Kwame will be reunited in Charlotte when Kwame joins the Bobcats for a season.

Brown’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, told ESPN.com on Monday that the 27-year-old has agreed to sign a one-year deal with the Bobcats.

Brown get’s the NBA Veteran’s minimum salary (about $1.2 million) while the Bobcats get who knows what. What is Charlotte getting out of this deal?

Pretty Boy Bam Bam

I was browsing youtube the other day and came across this video of Pretty Boy Bam Bam being interviewed by and doing a little demonstration for ESPN. This kid has hands and it sounds like he hits extremely hard for someone his size. I would not want to bump into him on the playground. I think he’d hurt me if I gave him a free shot. It will be interesting to see what becomes of Bam Bam. I can’t imagine that taking shots to the head from age six can be good for your health or mental development. Hopefully he will be able to make a career out of boxing.

Say it Ain’t So Bron

Maybe we should have seen this coming

If you’ve been alive the past couple months, you are aware of the game of musical chairs that’s going on in the NBA right now. The free agency list is staggering and has created a buzz around movement in the league that I’ve never seen in pro sports before. Lebron James has dominated the market. Teams have done all they can even for a slim chance of signing ‘Bron likely to have their hopes dashed like yesterday’s Washington Post Express. There are multiple websites chronicling his every physical move and thousands of hours of radio and tv shows have been dedicated to speculations about where he will end up. I’m not one for guessing games but I think Lebron James will be staying put in Cleveland. Even though reports have been surfacing that he may be headed to Miami I think he will stay where he is. At this point I think I just want to believe it.

Lebron will never be able to reach legendary status if he ends up leaving the Cavs. Look at some of the greatest basketball players of all time and the way they won their championships. They didn’t jump ship and head to a team with two other superstars. Most of them stayed put and after a few years were able to be part of some pretty special dynasties. If Lebron leaves he’ll miss this opportunity and a chance at true greatness. He will also crush the heart of every Cleveland fan and most likely send Cleveland and maybe even Ohio’s economies into a tailspin.

Again, I think I just want to believe that it wouldn’t be possible for him and D Wade to play on the same team especially after the addition of Chris Bosh. I stand by this belief even in the face of the gold medals and NBA All-Star games that these guys have won together and seemed to enjoy. These are three franchise players and they should and cannot end up on the same team. I feel like this is cheating. D Wade already has his ring but I wouldn’t be able to look at any rings he won with this team, Lebron or Bosh’s rings the way I look at the rings that other NBA legends have won. They would just be cheap in my eyes. One could compare this situation to the Celtics title in 2008 but that was different. Ray Allen and KG were running out of time and made their moves after doing everything they could for the teams that drafted them. I was as happy for those guys and Paul Pierce as I’ve ever been for an NBA champion. It just felt like they all deserved it and watching KG during those moments said it all.

This free agency period has been an absolute frenzy but it looks like it will all come to a screeching halt tonight when Lebron James announces where he has decided to play next season. Between his press conference and D Wade’s alleged documentary, this free agency period has been unlike anything we have ever seen. I’m excited to see where all the cards fall and for the new makeup of the NBA next year. Tune in to ESPN at 9 tonight to watch the biggest announcement of them all.