Bleacher Report - Articles by baz 82

My Predictions for the Top 10 at the End of the Formula 1 Season

baz 82 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:17:49 -0400

Ok, my predictions for the top 10 at the end of the season.

1. Barichello - 102 pts - 3 wins

2. Massa - 98 pts - 3 wins

3. Alonso - 95 pts - 3 wins

4. Raikonen - 92 pts - 3 wins

5. Button - 103 pts - 2 wins

7. Vettel - 78 pts - 1 win

6. Webber - 72 pts - 1 win

8. Kubica - 68 - 1 win

9. Hiedfeld - 74 pts

10. Glock - 56 pts

Feel free to reply with yours, will be interesting to see how right we are at the end of the season :-)

And yes, there is a reason why I chose to use a Rubens at Ferrari as the photo for this article....

1) They were the only ones on Getty, and

2) Well...see the irony?

Can the Chicago Bulls Stop Sucking?

baz 82 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:37:33 -0400

Unlike my previous editorial pieces, this is more of a rant than a well-worded article—but the theory should be sound none the less.

Shouldn't there be more people out there that could ensure the Chicago Bulls stop sucking???

How can one of the most influential and well know teams throughout the world, one with such proud history 'all be it from the '90's Jordan era', and one of America's biggest cities have such a dreadful franchise???

Why...WHY trade Brand for the first-round pick??? If the first-round pick was LeBron, then sure, but a guy who can't shoot? Brand is everything they still need in Chicago—and they had him!!!!

The best they could've hoped for was Chandler become as good as brand—Hello, you already f***ing had Brand!!!

Brad Miller: OMFG, didn't they try that once before, seriously, is that the best move you could do, a washed-up court filler???

Who the F**K trades down in a draft? What can Tyrus Thomas do, seriously Wouldn't you rather have LaMacus???

Vinny Del WHo??? Out of six Billion people on the planet, you choose this guy! He has NO CLUE what he's doing!!!

The Bulls' EX "backup point guard" is living it up in the Big apple, under your should've been coach and his cast of misfits (AND THEY'RE BEATING YOU!!!).

I think he's getting like $3 million a year, yet you pay Kirk HACKrich $10 million a year, are you f***ing kidding me?

Why the f***K would you give Deng $70+ million.

The team has less heart than Dallas—now that's saying something.

WHO, I REPEAT, WHO THE HELL IS THERE ON YOUR COACHING STAFF HANDLING ROSE'S DEVELOPMENT...take a page out of Orlando's book—you know, a team with a clue—they brought in Ewing to develop Howard, and he is now a monster.

OK...I think I'm done.

Solutions???

1) Fire Del Negro.

2) Hire Jeff Van Gundy or Avery Johnson.

3) Get rid of Hinrich, I don't care how, and to be honest, I don't know how—but hey, I didn't get you in that mess to begin with?

4) Anyway you can poach Otis Smith from Orlando—that guy know's his shit!

5) If Deng is good, which you seem to think he is, can you design an offensive system that shows that...haven't seen it yet. Seriously, a SF who can't shoot the three and can't post up...hmm....

6) Find a great former PG to develop Rose. Rose's Bball IQ and court awareness needs major work for him to get anywhere near the Paul's and Williams...please don't turn him into Marbury Mach Two!

7) Am I crazy, or would/could Leon Powe (BOS) and Marcin Gortat (ORL) make a good starting frontcourt...and hey, you might actually be able to pull of that type of trade!

Hell, keep Rose and Salmons, and Get rid of ANYONE else to get them two, along with either Lee or Reddick (ORL) and House or Glenn 'Baby' Davis (BOS)...and you'd have a hard-nosed, hard-working team, which is much better than you have now.

Basically, the best teams supporting players are better than your starters!

Imagine this team"

Coach: Jeff Van Gundy

Starting Five: Gortat, Powe, Salmons, Lee, Rose

Bench: Davis, Reddick, House

Now, I'm not saying obtaining this would be possible, or wouldn't be better than throwing a name like Bosh or Wade onto your team, but hell, this might actually be possible and not just a pipe dream!

8) Play defense!!!

9) Obtain some continuity in your offense.

Hang on, getting angry again.

Ok, calm now.

No wait: Why the Hell didn't you trade Hinrich, Deng, and Gordon when their stocks were sky high? By trading those you could've had Bosh, or Kobe, or Gasol, or possibly two of them. Maybe Wade would've been a possibility—bringing that boy back home.

Now, no one wants those losers!!!

Ok, this topic is making me far too angry...

ITV To Be Renamed

baz 82 — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 03:05:50 -0400

ITV to be renamed to BTV, read on...

There was a real air of excitement when this formula one season kicked off for me, and that's because I was there. The roaring engines, the smell of burning fuel and rubber, the five dollar hot dogs, the scorching Melbourne heat. Pure motor-sport heaven.

It's difficult to explain the contrast in experiences between watching the event live and viewing it on a small box inside your living room, but before you start suggesting I should just upgrade to a larger television, I'll explain why that just won't cut it.

Despite the financial implications of making such a luxury item purchase as a huge wide-screen plasma or LCD with full surround sound, there is SO MUCH that goe's on at a formula one event that at the time, I believed to be non-existent on TV.

There's interviews, grid girls, support races, grid girls, oh and did I mention F1 cars? I fell in love with it all, but heartbreak what was soon to follow!

Australia's television coverage of formula one events had -- at least till that point -- fallen off dramatically. Qualifying was cut and polished into nothing more than a sixty minute highlight reel (including advertisements). The race was pretty much just that - the race. No pre-race interviews, no grid girls, and very little analysis, news updates or professional commentary. I thought I was destined to live out the remainder of the formula one season in mourning, just waiting till I could get back to Albert Park in 2009. But an amazing thing happened, with the addition of high speed Internet to my home, I found ITV on the web!

The first few rounds were bliss. There were interviews, featurettes, news reports, the grid girls, and most importantly, uninterrupted coverage of both formula one qualifying and the race on Sunday afternoon. Had all my dreams come true?

Not really, even in the beginning there was always a bias towards Lewis Hamilton and McLaren, but it wasn't until sometime around Monaco when it leapt out at me, and moved from being just a subtle irritating background noise, to the equivalent of having a large pink elephant, crapping himself in my lounge room corner with old spice girl songs blaring on his stereo.

The last few weeks have been impossible. HAMILTON CUT THE CHICANE AT SPA - DEAL WITH IT!!!

Argghh. Am I the only one fed up with the liquid fecal matter that comes out of the mouths of these moronic commentators?

Ok, maybe that last comment is a bit harsh. They're not ALWAYS moronic - but can they pull their head's out of Lewis Hamilton's arse for long enough to come up with an unbiased pre or post race analysis.

The Monza qualifying broadcast was riddled with back-handed remarks about Hamilton's penalty, directed at the FIA, the race stewards, and even Ferrari. What the heck did Ferrari have to do with it? Why should ITV present anything other than an UNBIASED representation of the facts of what happened, the rules outlined by the governing body, and the events that have since followed the outcome?

If I wanted to hear a Hamilton fan express how great he and the entire McLaren organisation is and how wrong the FIA, Ferrari, and anyone not British and in love with Lewis Hamilton is, I'd just read more articles written by those people on Bleacher!

In closing, I put forward that ITV should be renamed to BTV, for BRITISH TELEVISION, so as foreigners such as myself don't get confused and think it's for the international community.

Thank you!

No Pressure Bourdais; Vettel Replacement; Anyone Wanting To Drive a Toro Rosso

baz 82 — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 13:17:32 -0400

Ok, this is an article for anyone who realizes that there is more to F1 than McLaren, Lewis Hamilton (I realize I may have just lost the majority of British/Hamilton fans already), or indeed even Ferrari.

If you've gotten this far, well done!

I have just read an article on itv-f1.com, Berger: It's Crunch Time For Bourdais and feel the need to vent some frustration.

In a nutshell, from the perspective of the Boss at Toro Rosso, Gerhard Berger, it says how great Vettel is (and he is, for sure), how Bourdais needs to prove he can drive a car, and how crap Liuzzi and Speed were, and how it was their fault Toro Rosso sucked the last few years!

Are they really that good now? I mean, excluding the freakish and mostly unique results at Valencia, where they just happened to have the equal best Engine in the field at a track that favors powerful engines.

Are they better than last year? Yes!

Do the engineers and mechanics deserve some of the credit? You'd think!

Did Liuzzi do a pretty decent job in the latter half of last year when Toro Rosso seemed to find some performance? I think so!

Does total domination of America's Champ Car Series four years running prove you can drive a car fast? Apparently not!

What a guy aye! I'd sure love to have him as my boss (NOT!). A year after you've worked there and he's still dumping on you!

Bourdais' form this year has been by all accounts inconsistent.

He can get close or even match Vettel at times, but Vettel most often seems to up his game even further while Bourdais just fades into the background. Bourdais started strong, but since a fantastic season opening race, his form and popularity has been on a decline, while Vettel's has soared.

There could be many attributing reasons for this:

(1) Vettel's just a better driver (and he probably is).

(2) Everyone admires Vettel so much and never fails to sing his praises (including his own Boss), the former American King turned European Pauper is struggling with the transition (ah, duh!).

(3) The car suits Vettel better (it does happen, look at BMW, Heidfeld owned Kubica last year but has been outpaced convincingly by him all of this year).

On a final note, and I realize this is hardly professional journalism, but I just have to get this off my chest!

How much of a total jerk is Berger? See the above mentioned explanations. And for heck's sake, you own a Toro Rosso, not a Ferrari. Pull your head out of where it should not be mate, no one really gives a damn what you think!

I'd love to hear all your thoughts on this topic.

Boston Celtics: The Greedy Champions

baz 82 — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:26:58 -0400

The Boston Celtics capped one of the greatest back-to-back season turnaround in NBA history last season by winning an unprecidented 17th Championship with their impressive six game dismissal of the highly rated Los Angeles Lakers.

By now, we are all familiar with the two big acquisitions made around this time twelve months ago that helped transform this dwindling franchise back into one of the most exciting and talent-laden teams around -- a return to the form like that from the 50s till 1986, when the Celtics last won it all prior to this year.

So where do they go from here?

Well the logical assumption is they've got a pretty legitimate shot at repeating next year; but is the management, led by last years' mastermind GM Danny Ainge, team owner Wycliffe Grousbeck and the likeable hard-noised coach Doc Rivers, about to let it all slip away?

I have two words for you: James Posey.

James Posey was a vital component to the teams success last year. When the Celtics big-three of Pierce, Garnett and Allen lost focus or drive, he stepped in off the bench time and time again and played with a tenacity and exuberance that led to Jeff Van Gundy -- the tell-it-like-it-is sports broadcaster and possibly one of the most underrated NBA head-coaches of the modern era -- to herald to the world that if he was coaching again, to "give me (him) James Posey"!

That is a sentiment that many NBA teams share including the highly popular and up and coming New Orleans Hornetts team who are widely rumored to be the front runners in acquiring the unrestricted free agent's services for the next few years.

It was initially reported that Posey wanted to resign with the champs for a long term deal at around the mid-level exception (approximately $5.8 Million per season) earlier in the off-season. Instead, the Celtics went out and made a very publicized offer of their entire mid-level exception to the newly (at the time) unrestricted free-agent, Corey Maggette.

As the teams only have one mid-level exception to offer, this left James Posey, a heart-and-soul kind of player, out in the cold. While Maggette may be more of an offensive weapon than Posey, he has virtually no defensive prowess, which was Boston's preached key to success last season.

And why did the team need more offensive firepower in the first place? Granted, starting point guard Rajon Rando and center Kendrick Perkins have serviceable skills only on rare occasions, but for their entire careers, Pierce, Garnett and Allen are among the most potent scorers at their respective positions of all time, combining for roughly 70 points per game.

I'm sorry, but no matter how talented the rest of the team are in other aspects of the game -- mainly defensive -- if their offensive game is so anemic that between 7 or 8 guys they can't come up with 20 or so points a game, should they really be in the NBA?

So where does that leave the current champs? Well, Maggette's taken the money and ran, signing a highly lucrative deal with the Golden State Warriors; and now that they've made it publicly known that Posey was definitely their second choice, Boston is stuck with trying to woo back the star player whose intensity and physical and mental toughness could inspire any team he's on.

And what of the rest of the team? Garnett, Pierce and Allen, unquestionably some of the greatest players to lace up the kicks and hit the hardwood, who are praised for their passion and desire to win now have a championship.

Will they still have the fire to play every second of every game with the heart, soul and the obvious skill required to win it all? Or will the phases they seem to go through where they become complacent -- which can be witnessed by all if they go back and watch the coverage from this year's finals -- begin to get longer and more frequent without a firecracker like James Posey coming in off the bench to give his team that spark when it's needed; to lift a clearly talented team beyond all others come the month of June next year.

Red Bulls New Driver Signing: Caution Needed

baz 82 — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:44:38 -0400

Race Starts: 237; Wins: 13; Career Points: 533

That's an average of around 2.25 points per race—not too shabby given that most of them came in the old point scoring system when only the top six finishers received points. All the more impressive when you consider he's been in a rut until this season, underachieving Red Bull outfit for some time!

That's what David Coulthard's leaving behind him, and that's what Red Bull has to replace. So where do they go from here?

There are two obvious choices. The young-gun Sebastien Vettel, or the two-time World Champ Fernando Alonso.

If you follow the sport as much as I do, you'll know as well as I do, both have a legitimate shot at landing in the Milton-Keynes based squad next year. The question is: who is the better fit?

It's undeniable that Alonso—who will be turning just 27 in a little over a fortnight's time—has already secured his spot in F1's fraternity as being considered one of the greats of all time. The man defeated the legendary Michael Schumacher in back-to-back seasons, and he is widely considered to be the most complete driver on the current F1 grid.

I am a huge admirer of Alonso, and I appreciate him for what he is; a fantastic, technologically savvy, and—for the most part for at least everyone out of the UK—a media friendly race car driver. That is not to say he doesn't have some flaws, and his biggest is possibly also his biggest asset; his passion!

If Red Bull were to sign him for 2009 and beyond, they risk destabilizing a group that has had years to gel together. That is not in any way a stab at Alonso given what happened at McLaren last year! I believe the circumstances there were not favorable for Alonso at all, and I blame McLaren management and the British media ahead of Alonso for any difficulties experienced there last year.

The problem is if Alonso—who as it is widely speculated—is on the way to the Scuderia in 2010 or beyond, do you really risk breaking Red Bulls rhythm for a one or two year signing?

Furthermore, Red Bull already has a very talented, and I feel, tremendously underrated driver in Mark Webber. If Red Bull turns out a race winner car anywhere in the near future, surely he is the one who deserves to drive it with the full support and backing of the team. Surely he's earned it... surely?

I must admit I am in two minds on this topic, after all, Alonso and Webber are my two favorite drivers, apart from possibly Felipe Massa, if not simply because of all the drivers I've met and read about, he seems the nicest, most down to earth, and ultimately most like-able.

But it could be very dangerous for two such highly motivated, highly passionate, and highly talented drivers as Webber and Alonso to tee off against each other. Ultimately, neither will get the full support they require, and have earned!

So at this stage, the best suited is Vettel right? Wrong! Vettel is talented no doubt. Inconsistent no doubt! In-experienced...yep you guessed it, no doubt!

At 26 I could get stuck in a time warp for many years to come and still emerge older than he is. My point is that Vettel will have his time, where as Mark's has kind of reached the point where it's now or never!

For this reason, and for the simple fact that I would rather have at least one experienced fast driver on my team than an inexperienced freakishly fast at times, freakishly average at other times driver (or heaven forbid have two on the same team - McLaren, I'm looking at you); I want to throw another name into the hat...Rubens Barrichello.

Seriously, how can you not love him! He's passionate, he at least appears to be a very nice and humble man, and above all, this last week has proved he's still got it!

Rumors are swirling that perhaps Rubeno is on the outs at Honda, and that Alonso himself may very well be heading there next year unless Renault can produce a car that doesn't resemble an old trolley you'd normally find out the back of your local super market.

Nevertheless—if I were Alonso—I wouldn't exactly want to jump into one that seems to be the same trolley but with bung wheels and fuzzy bunny ears hanging off the front, as Honda's 2008 challenger is shaping up to be!

Surely a man as experienced as Rubeno (most experienced F1 driver ever), and as quick as Rubeno (he's showing up the highly rated Button this year), and lets not forget, as versatile as Rubeno (his resume boasts nine GP wins—and yet played second fiddle to Schumacher for so many years), is a better fit for this still young and up and coming team!

And if that isn't all a compelling argument; how bout this? RB: Red Bull. RB: Rubens Barrichello. See how nice they roll off the tongue together. Just like they were meant to be!

Four-Way Deal To Save Bulls, Mavs, Pistons & Heat

baz 82 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:07:04 -0400

Can you believe it's come to this?

Just two years after the 2005-06 NBA Finals where the Miami Heat were crowned NBA Champions! That year they defeated none other than the Dallas Mavericks in six games in that final series, where Dallas was poised to take a commanding 3-0 lead on their way to their franchises first ever NBA Championship.

Just one year after the 2006-2007 NBA Finals where the Chicago Bulls - with no all-star in sight (on their team at least) - knocked out the defending Champs in the first round!

And just months after another Conference Finals Series defeat for the Detroit Pistons; in Joe Dumars (Detroits GM) words, "I've seen enough"!

Yes, these clubs need saving, and mostly from themselves.

Miami need a point guard, and to contend in the East quick smart, that is if they ever want to see Wade in a Heat uniform beyond 2010.

Chicago need a big man who can score.

Detroit need a fresh start.

And Dallas, well I'm sorry to say, need a clue! Ultimately; they need an identity!

The following trade could put the Bulls & the Heat right in contention in the East in '08-'09; give Dallas back some credibility; and allow Detroit to win another title (just probably not in '08-'09).

Chicago Get:
Nowitzki (DAL) & Blount (MIA)

Miami Get:
Hinrich (CHI), Nocioni (CHI), Stackhouse (DAL) & Simmons (CHI)

Detroit Get:
Marion (MIA), Noah (CHI) & Kidd (DAL)

Dallas Get:
R.Wallace (DET), T.Thomas (CHI), Hamilton (DET) & Billups (DET).

The contract numbers all match.

I believe it makes Chicago and Miami huge contenders in the East.

Chicago can boast a starting line-up of Gooden, Nowitzki, Deng (providing they resign him), Hughes or Gordan (again - providing he resigns), and this years number one draft pick - Jalen Rose... No, just kidding! Derrick Rose of course!

Miami get a hard working (which would please Wade), starting point guard in Kirk Hinrich (of course they need to bank on the 06-07 Captain Kirk turning up in Florida). Also a very handy forward in Nocioni (those Argentinean boys aren't that bad at Basketball after all are they).

Dallas get a new Identity - that being the Detroit Pistons with a new supporting cast. Lets face it, a Conference Final Defeat is about all Dallas could hope for at the moment anyway! However, I consider Howard an upgrade over Prince, and the Dampier/Diop tandem over the unfortunately got too many miles under the hood McDyess. And hasn't Rick already coached this team before pretty well? Ultimately, things would have to be smoothed out there - but who knows. It could really work well!

Now Detroit. In order for this to work, Dumars would really have to have meant what he said when he eluded to Game 6's home defeat by Boston as having been the last game for the current look Detriot Pistons. But if Brand and Maggette have taught us anything these past few days is that convictions can change pretty quickly in the NBA.

Having said all that, Detroit would still field a half decent line-up for '08-'09 season, but as all their incoming contracts expire next year, they will shed some $35-$40 Million off next years cap. And as if that wasn't enough icing on the cake, they will have a Hall-of-Fame point guard on hand to help develop Stuckey!

Now that's one heck of a way to enter the Lebron sweep stakes. Especially when you consider Stuckey and Maxiell will be coming into their prime, and Prince will have two valuable character building years behind him - while he's still in the prime of his career.

Now that's a scenario all could be proud of!