Hosts: Sonny and Rich

In this edition of the Sportable Spot, Rich and I discussed the freak that is Albert Pujols, as well as some possible selections for the MLB All Star Game. We also talked about the Confederations Cup and the United States’ run to the final match against Brazil.

Just hours before the start of NBA free agency, the Detroit Pistons continued the rapid overhaul of what was one of the league’s most stable franchises. After trading Chauncey Billups for a useless Allen Iverson, the Pistons fell to the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference and were quickly routed by the Cleveland LeBrons in four games. Some of it was Joe Dumars’ fault, but it was Michael Curry whose head fell on the chopping block.

Lets start from the beginning. I think it’s safe to say that the core of Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace were done being true championship contenders. Shaking it up wasn’t the wrong thing to do, but trading Billups certainly was. To top it all off, they promoted Curry, who quickly lost the respect of his locker room. Rip Hamilton was pissed off for most of the year, and Sheed went, well, Sheed on the entire franchise.

If Dumars was so intent on firing Curry this offseason, then why did he trade promising youngster Amir Johnson before he did so? Johnson wasn’t a huge factor last year, but Curry was dumb enough to give Kwame Brown more minutes than him. Perhaps Dumars was making room for Carlos Boozer. Whoops. Boozer is staying put in Utah and really, who can blame him? The Pistons were thought to be his biggest suitor, but the makeup of their roster looks shaky compared to Utah’s.

Boozer is now out of the mix and with the Pistons boasting more than $20 million in cap space, Dumars has expressed a desire to nab two free agents off the market. There’s a glaring need in the front court without Rasheed Wallace, so grabbing someone like David Lee would be a nice start. Lee seems like a great fit in Detroit. As for the head coaching vacancy? Anyone but the retread of all retreads, Doug Collins.

Yesterday’s gut-wrenching loss by the United States in the Confederations Cup final was perfectly symbolic of the team’s performance in the tournament. There were spells of fearless, inspired play followed by long periods of poor touches and flat-footed defending. The match told us a lot about the team but at the same time, confirmed what we already knew. The U.S. can be plenty capable of hanging with the world’s elite, but still have a ways to go in terms of consistency and depth.

Most fans of soccer in the United States have unrealistic expectations of the national team. We’re American, so we should be the best. But if we aren’t, it’s okay cause we can beat the opponent in 10 other sports. The hysteria of the 2002 World Cup was quickly extinguished when the U.S. were drawn into the 2006 World Cup’s Group of Death, where even the greatest optimists would have had a tough time predicting much success. Depending on the draw the U.S. get next summer, I’d probably be plenty pleased with a berth in the Round of 16. Anything on top of that is gravy.

For starters, I’d still like to see Bradley modify his tactics a bit. While the win over Spain was a fantastic result, I felt the U.S. were a bit fortunate to not concede an equalizer after letting Spain pepper them with shots for the entire 2nd half. But even Spain’s firepower paled in comparisons to Brazil, who put on a clinic in the 2nd half. But yet, here was Bradley, sticking with his conservative (at best) tactics. If Brazil has an achilles heel, it’s their back line. But the U.S. took zero chances in the 2nd half and paid dearly. You can’t play that defensive against an opponent that strong and expect consistent results

The U.S. get another crack at international glory this weekend when they kick off the Gold Cup against their CONCACAF rivals. Most players you saw in the Confederations Cup are not on this squad, but Freddy Adu should see plenty of action, as well as Charlie Davies. I’m eager to see these youngsters in action, as I think they’ll be a vital part of next summer’s squad.

It seems like one of the biggest concerns nowadays with each of the four major sports in America is the globalization of sport.  Despite the NFL’s failed attempts at globalizing the game with crap such as NFL Europe and the annual slopfest at Wembley Stadium, Goodell and crew continue to force the issue of expansion outside of America.  The Buffalo Bills, for one reason or another, locked themselves into a deal with Rogers Communications (the same yokels that own the Rogers Centre and pretty much all cable in the Toronto area of Canada)  in Toronto to play at least one regular season game and three preseason games a year in Toronto through 2012.  And while Rogers is pushing for an expansion of the contract, old fart Ralph Wilson is in no hurry to push T.O. and the boys out of Orchard Park….and why should they?

As a Bills fan, it’s completely reasonable to be chapped at talk of the Bills playing more games outside of Buffalo.  Just because Terrell Owens dubbed the Bills “North America’s team” doesn’t mean they need to start playing half their games outside of the United States.  The Bills have no obligation to appease the Canadians, and despite their close proximity to Toronto, it’s far from their duty to give Canada a part-time football team.  Don’t they have the Argonauts?  Didn’t Ricky Williams play for them?  Why do they need the Bills?  Toronto needs to stick to the Leafs, making Maple Syrup, and conceding the AL East to the Yankees and Red Sox in June.

If the NFL wants to continue it’s expansion outside U.S. borders, it should remain at an exhibition level.  It’s unreasonable to make a team play two or three “home” games at some neutral spot thousands of miles away from home for the benefit of the greater good because, at this point, the greater good isn’t much of anything.  Knock it off with this global expansion of the game and keep NFL teams playing meaningful games where they should be, within the confines of their own stadiums.

Good news out of Philadelphia this week. No, it’s not about Raul Ibanez on roids or Jimmy Rollins getting benched! It comes to us from the hardwood, where the 76ers will dust off their championship jerseys for the 2009-10 season.

Awesome move here by the 76ers’ front office and the equipment staff. The 76ers’ old school basketball logo is one of the most recognizable logos in all of sports. It deserves to be dawned again. Andre Iguodala and first round draft pick Jrue Holiday seem to be pleased with the move.

I think it’s a good thing when teams go retro and I’m certainly a big fan. Philadelphia wore these jerseys from 1963-1997; possibly the longest jersey run aside from the Lakers and Celtics. The 76ers are doing their part and teams like the Rockets and Warriors should follow suit.

All in all, this is a perfect move by the 76ers organization. The franchise is set to release images of an updated court that the team will play on next year. A road jersey is also set for unveiling at a later date. But if I were to guess, it will probably look something like this.

With one of the worst NBA Drafts in recent memory in the books, we can start to turn our attention towards the piss-poor 2009 free agency class starring Hedo Turkoglu, Carlos Boozer and Ben Gordon. Here’s some quick observations from last night’s draft, as well as what to expect in the next couple of weeks.

• Minnesota’s crowded backcourt: With Ricky Rubio, I think Minnesota employed the strategy of “pick him first, figure it out later.” Will he be trade bait? Will he even play in Minnesota this season? Who knows. Rumors of a draft day deal with the Knicks fell through. With the 6th pick, I personally would have grabbed Stephen Curry, but Jonny Flynn will be a player. I think Rubio sent the Wolves franchise a message by not showing up to today’s press conference. Rubio will be a great point guard for someone, I’m just not convinced it’ll be Minnesota.

• Amare to the Bay Area? Taking Stephen Curry was a great move by the Warriors. But it might just be part of a bigger deal involving Golden State and the Phoenix Suns. There’s no secret the Suns are slashing payroll, and Amare Stoudemire could be the next one out of the desert. Names being thrown around by Golden State include Curry, Andris Biedrins and forward Brandan Wright. Amare would be a beast in Nelson’s system, while Phoenix would have a few young stars (Curry and Biedrins) to rebuild their franchise.

• Air Canada Orlando. The Magic responded to the Cavs’ acquisition of Shaquille O’Neal by finding their replacement for Hedo Turkoglu, who officially opted out of his contract earlier today. Trading promising Courtney Lee is tough, but acquiring Turkoglu’s replacement, a playmaker on the perimeter in Carter, insures that they’ll be title contenders again. Had they chosen to make do with Lee and Pietrus, they’d fall into the lower echelon of Eastern Conference teams.

• Draft Picks I Liked. For once, I agree with Michael Jordan. Gerald Henderson looks like a future Trevor Ariza to me. A gritty defender with superb athletic ability. I love the pick and getting him on the court with a defensive player like Gerald Wallace. I also like the Knicks’ selection of Jordan Hill over reaching for a guard like DeMar DeRozan or Jrue Holliday. Best value pick of the round has to be Denver, taking Ty Lawson 18th overall. He’s got the perfect veteran to learn from in Chauncey Billups.

• Picks That Sucked. Pretty much every team that passed on DeJuan Blair. I know the issues with his knees. But I fail to see how a guy that absolutely DOMINATED the 2nd overall pick every time they played can fall deep into the 2nd round. Shrewd, shrewd pickup by the Spurs, but what’s new? Blair is gonna be a great pro. Just like similar round mounds of rebound like Glen Davis, Jason Maxiell, Paul Millsap.