Paul Pierce, Best Teams Since 1995 & Kevin Millar Is No "Idiot"

“The Five Best Teams Since 1995”

I decided to nominate the five best teams that I have seen perform since the 1995 season.

There are a few caveats in regard to the list that I comprised.

For one, I focused my list strictly on professional sports teams who participate in the NFL, NBA or MLB.

Secondly, teams that participated from the 1995 season to present day are the only squads eligible to make this list. I selected the 1995 season because it was the first year that Major League Baseball instituted the wild card and because it was the year Michael Jordan returned from his first retirement.

Finally, if a great team won consecutive crowns, they can not make the list twice. For example, the 1995/1996 and 1996/1997 Chicago Bulls teams were both two of the greatest units ever assembled in the annals of professional sports. Nevertheless, only one of those two spectacular squads will be officially chosen for this selection.

Without further adieu, here are my choices for the greatest professional teams since the 1995 season.

1) 1998 New York Yankees- This Yankee juggernaut won an astounding 114 games in comparison to 48 losses in the regular season and they pranced through the postseason with a record of 11-2 en route to wining New York’s 24th championship in team history. In total, the Bombers went a mesmerizing 125-50.

2) 1995/1996 Chicago Bulls- This Michael Jordan-led team dismantled all foes. The Bulls went an NBA record 72-10 in the regular season and 11-3 in the playoffs to win the first leg of their second dominating three-peat in the 90’s.

3) 1999/2000 Los Angeles Lakers- The Lakers won 82 of the 105 games they played in the regular and postseason for the 11th best winning percentage in league history. Shaquille O’Neal in his prime and a young and exuberant Kobe Bryant proved to be too much for the league’s competition.

4) 1998/1999 Denver Broncos- After steamrolling the competition for the first three-quarters of the season, the Broncos stumbled a tad. Nevertheless, John Elway and Terrell Davis helped lead the team to a 14-2 regular season record before the Broncos trounced the overmatched Atlanta Flacons 34-19 in Super Bowl XXXIII to win consecutive Lombardi Trophies.

5) 2003/2004 New England Patriots- After starting a pathetic 0-2, Tom Brady and the Patriots never lost again as they capped a 14-2 regular season with a narrow 32-29 victory over the mediocre Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

* Honorable Mentions:

1) 1996/1997 Chicago Bulls- Virtually as dominant as the 1995/1996 Bulls, one of the greatest teams in NBA history.

2) 1999 New York Yankees- Virtually as dominant as the 1998 Yankees, one of the greatest teams in Major League Baseball history.

3) 1999/2000 St. Louis Rams-“The Greatest Show on Turf” fielded one of the most potent offenses in the annals of the NFL.

4) 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks- In a 7 game series, with Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling throwing in the primes of their careers, the Diamondbacks could have beaten any championship team in history.

Naturally, this list is subjective and open for debate. I would enjoy hearing the opinions of others on this topic. Please feel free to chime-in with your two-cents.

“The ‘Idiot’ Is Not Wrong…Edwar Ramirez Should Be Suspended”

New York Yankees Reliever Edwar Ramirez was suspended last week for 3 games after he allegedly threw at Baltimore Orioles first baseman Kevin Millar, July 31st in the Bronx.

With the Yankees leading the Orioles 9-6 after 6 innings, Ramirez (3-0, 3.10 ERA), 27, relieved rookie sensation Joba Chamberlain and promptly hurled a fastball over the former “idiots” head.

Millar, 36, who is barred from being a member of the MLB Players Association because he was a replacement player during the 1994-1995 strike, has been adamant with his belief that Ramirez attempted to hit him intentionally.

“One hundred percent,” Millar said when asked if he thought the pitch was intentional. “I was upset they threw him out of the game because he’s really good hitting. He’s a cute little fella, he didn’t throw that hard and he doesn’t have very good stuff. So it’s probably a good idea they threw him out, because it probably would’ve been in Monument Park. He’s good hittin.”

Millar, a career .279 hitter who originated the 2003 Red Sox homoerotic rallying cry “Cowboy Up,” expressed concern that Ramirez’s pitch could have inflicted serious damage.

“Stay at the waist or below,” Millar said. “It’s part of baseball, but you don’t want to mess with anybody’s career.”

Ramirez claimed that he was simply trying to pitch Millar inside and that he did not intend to throw near the Oriole’s cranium.

“He’s a good guy. I don’t have a reason to hit Kevin Millar. Why?” Ramirez said. “If he thinks I’m throwing [at him] on purpose, I apologize.”

It’s impossible for an outsider to genuinely know if Ramirez threw a purpose pitch at Millar or not. But, if the “cute little fella” did target Millar’s head, the “idiot” has every right to be angered and Ramirez deserved the suspension he received.

“Kevin Garnett Is A Better Player Than Paul Pierce”

Delusional Boston Celtics superstar Paul Pierce told a Spanish publication last week that he was the best player in the entire world.

"I’m the best player in the world,” said Pierce, 30, a man who has only made the All-NBA Third Team three-times since making his professional debut with the Celtics in 1999. "There's a line that separates having confidence and being conceited. I don't cross that line, but I have a lot of confidence in myself."

One can only surmise that Pierce (AKA “Tiny” Tim Cratchit) is still heavily medicated from the debilitating knee injury that he suffered in Game One of the NBA Finals versus the Los Angeles Lakers.

“The Truth” is that Pierce is not even the best player on his own team. By a decent margin, that distinction belongs to Celtics' power forward Kevin Garnett.

Prior to obtaining Garnett, who won the 2004 MVP and is a four-time All NBA First Team selection, the Celtics were the biggest laughingstock since Carrot Top. Garnett’s acquisition revitalized Boston’s storied franchise, and KG is the man most responsible for the 17th championship the team captured last June.

“The False,” who was deservingly named the NBA Finals MVP after Boston’s 131-92 victory over the Lakers in Game Six, is a very solid player, and was pivotal for the Celtics in the 2008 playoffs.

Nevertheless, Pierce’s boasts were the most illogical assertions since Napoleon Dynamite claimed he slaughtered in excess of 50 wolverines during a summer hunting trip to Alaska.

As Mark Twain said, “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”

“The Truth” would be wise to heed Twain’s advice, before he is universally referred to as “The False.”