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26th October, 2009 - 2:31 pm
By Christopher Reina
Carter Wants To Coach When Playing Career Is Over: Vince Carter wouldn't be one of the first 50 players I would think of as a potential coach, but it is interesting to consider since he brought it up with the Orlando Sentinel. Unlike perennial coaching candidate runner-up, Mark Jackson, who always looked like a coach in the making during his playing days, Carter appears willing to cut his teeth at non-NBA levels, even referencing coaching in high school. The Tar Heels have a long history of producing coaches and Carter will certainly have an opportunity to jump on that tree.
Gasol May Not Be Ready For Opener: The Lakers have the depth to withstand a long absence from Pau Gasol, who is battling a strained right hamstring. A significant key to the Lakers this season and in the immediate future is the development of Andrew Bynum, which would in some ways be aided by Gasol's absence.
Sabathia Wins ALCS MVP: I was a little surprised that CC Sabathia won the MVP instead of Alex Rodriguez, but those two starts were very impressive, set the overall tone and make a potential Game 6 win from the Angels feel futile. Rodriguez was the story of the series though, making Mike Scioscia genuinely afraid of challenging a hitter for the first time since Barry Bonds in 2002.
Source: Cardinals Hire McGwire As Hitting Coach: Mark McGwire hasn't had a lot of good moments publicly since retiring from baseball, but he will get an opportunity to redeem himself as the hitting coach of the Cardinals. McGwire always seemed to have more in common with Paul Bunyan than Ted Williams, but he was underrated in his approach to the science of hitting. I think he'll be successful in the position.
Risdon's $.10 After Week 7: I feel like agreeing with Jeff Risdon on his assessment of the Colts perhaps being better off with Jim Caldwell instead of Tony Dungy, but I also have to look at the Colts schedule and what they have done against it. The only legitimate quality win came in Week 3 when they dominated Arizona 31-10. They were a little lucky against the Jaguars and Dolphins in Weeks 1 and 2, then skated past teams in Seattle, Tennessee and St. Louis that really don't belong on the same field as Indianapolis.
If they can get past the Patriots at home in Week 10 and the Ravens in Week 11, then it will truly be time to anoint Caldwell and the Colts will also have a legitimate chance of running the table in those final six, with a home game against Denver the only one that sticks out as troublesome.
The Colts, successful as they were, needed a new voice to shake things up a little. Dungy was humble enough to see that and moved on to other things. General Manager Bill Polian was smart enough to realize that Caldwell was the voice they needed, a bridge between harmonious continuity and needed changes. Peyton Manning has never looked better, the defense has never played with such consistency, and there is a palpable energy and urgency that was missing the last couple of seasons. The Colts are better off for having made the change and have clearly established themselves as the best team of the year thus far. The real test comes in January, where Dungy disappointed more than he reveled.
Outside RealGM
Uni Watch NBA preview: Paul Lukas outlines many of the uniform changes for the coming season, which includes reference to news that I missed from a month ago that the Warriors will be getting new uniforms next season. It is definitely time for that, especially the road and alternates.
NYT Jocks Jennings, Outs Bogut As Hypocrite: In a piece from the New York Times, Brandon Jennings is revealed as the sober owner of a $26k Ford Focus, while teammate Andrew Bogut is 'outed' as the driver of a Ferrari.
Bethleham Shoals goes back to Bogut's outspoken past about the way his peers in the NBA spend money.
Anyone who closely follows the league is familiar with Bogut's periodic rants against the conspicuous consumption and general tackiness of his peers in the league. Sometimes it sounds like he's scolding them for not knowing the value of a dollar; then, he'll turn around and sound like he just plain doesn't like flashy hip-hop thugz spoiling the game. Thus, given what a jerk Bogut's been in the past about condemning materialism around the league, this is seriously rich. Arrogant rookie opts for the Ford, blue-collar foreign center outed as big spender. Great work, NYT.
World Series Forecast: Wayne Winston gives the Yankees a 65% chance of winning the World Series.
Sunday's Ratings: The Yankees beat the Giants by a 3-to-1 margin within New York for Sunday's television audience. They even scored a narrow win national with a 11.4 rating for the ALCS compared to 10.4 for Giants/Cardinals.
The NFL would beat Game 6 of the ALCS if it were Patriots/Cowboys, but it does prove, at least to a small extent, that the MLB can still compete with the NFL when it gets to games late in the series with a lot on the line (at least when the Yankees are involved). The MLB will not and could not change the number of games played, but that is the obvious inherent advantage the NFL has on the MLB and NBA, with more on the scarcity of games than any greater or lesser interest in the sport as a standalone thing.
Mad Men, Episode 11: Betty Draper officially met Dick Whitman last night and wasn't it fitting that Don Draper was hiding in his car parked in the driveway the entire time?
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