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Coach of the Year...I Think Not

 

Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown was named the NBA's Coach of the Year. He led the Cavs to a league best 66-16 record and the "mistake by the lake" seemed primed and ready for that elusive championship. And then, Stan Van Gundy happened ?

With the Cavs down three games to one entering tonight's Game Five one has to wonder whether Brown was the coach of the year or was Lebron James' magnificence so over-whelming that it masked the fact that Brown is just an average tactician when it comes to game management. Lets look at what Van Gundy's Magic have done to Cleveland..

First of all, the Magic create unique match-up problems because of their ability to shoot the three. They usually have at least three proficient shooters on the floor, and with Superman (Dwight Howard) patrolling the paint adjustments are needed. Brown refuses. He insists on playing his plodding big line-up. His match-up of Ben Wallace on Rashard Lewis at the end of game four that allowed Lewis to get free and hit a huge three pointer is just one of many instances where Brown appears to be out of his league.

We see Van Gundy recognizing the greatness of Lebron James and trying to throw different looks at him. But, James is having to work so hard for everything he gets that at the end of games he is exhausted. And this coming from one of the most well-conditioned athletes of our day. Brown's response, a stagnant unresponsive offense that is not utilizing the pick-and-roll or the pick-and-pop. Its Lebron and four mannequins.

Mo Williams, Zydrunas Illgauskas and company have been awful. They were serviceable and at times dominant during the regular season, but so far in this series they have cowered under the Conference Finals spotlight. This also can be attributed to Brown. His job was to prepare this team for all possible scenarios, including difficult size match-ups. He needs to use the Cavaliers strengths. Lebron could drive and dish more.

Defensively Brown is lost. Who is Lebron guarding?  Instead of having him roam free, he needs to be the lock-down defender on either Hedo Turkolu or Rashard Lewis. Why is Lebron guarding Rafer Alston, a point guard who likes to spot up and shoot the three. In game four, Lebron was responsible for help defense and during a pivotal stretch he helped off of Alston who torched the Cavs with big threes. Brown is having a horrible time in recognizing defensive mis-matches and I wonder if he even knows they are problems until he watches the game film.

It all adds up to a 3-1 series deficit for Cleveland. This is not new territory for Cleveland fans. As a Browns fan I know. There was Red-Right 88 against the Raiders in 1980, there was The Drive in 1987, The Fumble in 1988, The Shot by MJ in 1989,  Jose Mesa in 1997, and if Brown doesn't wake up soon add the "Coach of the Year" Meltdown in 2009.

 

MBaca
 
Not a Manny Apologist

Since many people know I bleed Dodger Blue I think everyone figured I would come up with some excuse to give Manny Ramirez a pass in his performance enhancing drug issue.

NOT GONNA HAPPEN.

I am consistent on this one. Manny screwed up....BIG TIME. Anything short of holding a press conference with the doctor who prescribed the HCG and describing in painstaking detail every nuance of his "male issue" that required use of the drug will leave me wanting to know more.

As a Barry Bonds basher for years, I am getting my own comupence. North State Giant fans are crawling out of the woodwork lambasting Ramirez and waiting to hear me come up with excuses for him. I can't, because there is no excuse.

Every clubhouse in baseball has it clearly stated which drugs are allowable and which ones aren't. And, if the player has a question there is a number that they can call 24 hours a day 7 days a week. There is also a training staff on hand that can answer any of these questions and if they don't know the answer they can go to the bevy of team doctors that will be able to answer it.

This feeling of being let down by a pro athlete is disappointing but not necessarily surprising. I am disappointed personally because it happened to a team I sometimes love too much. When it happens to the Yankees or the Giants, who cares....that's their fans problem. But, on Thursday it hit home for me. And, I don't like it.

When Manny comes back on July 3rd, I will welcome him back. I will cheer for him and hope he leads the Dodgers to the Fall Classic, but the shine is off rock and his aura has lost a bit of its luster. And, he has, at least for awhile turned this Blue Bleeding Dodger into a cynic.
 
I BELIEVE

baca_at_mayan_ruins

4-20-2009

As I write this blog the chances of the Chico State baseball team getting into the playoffs for a 14th straight year appear to be slim. But, Dominguez Hills and Cal State Los Angeles better be careful because like that sticker says at the bottom of your window mirror. "Objects in the rear-view mirror are closer than they appear."

The math is simple. Chico State  has to catch either Cal State Dominguez Hills or Cal State LA with only eight games left. Chico must finish ahead of either one of these teams to wrestle away a post-season spot. They CAN NOT finish tied. They would lose the tie-breaker to both.

Chico needs to pick up three games on Dominguez Hills or five games on Cal State LA. Here are the three reasons why I think Chico State will make a run.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

This is college baseball. If you think you have figured it out, you are foolish. In my 13 years of calling Chico State baseball games I have seen everything imagineable happen. I have seen teams choke, I have seen teams suffer from pre-mature celebration, I have seen incredible comebacks, I have seen no-names turn into super-stars for one at-bat. I have seen it all.....including the 1998 Chico State Wildcats win 15 of 16 down the stretch to catch Sonoma and Davis and get into the West Regional. The final two weeks of the season will have many twists and turns and its unpredictable that is why we love this game so much.

TIME TO GO STREAKING

Every year since 1996 the Chico State baseball team has gone on a winning streak. Every team has had a streak that has propelled them up the CCAA standings. This Chico team has yet to have such a streak. Their longest  is a 5 game win streak they had against Hawaii-Pacific. This team is too good not to have a lengthy winning streak. Honestly, this is one of the most talented teams to ever don the cardinal and white, several inferior Chico State squads have been able to muster a 10 or 11 game win streak. I just don't see this team NOT making a run. They are that proverbial racehorse who is making that turn down the home stretch.....and its time to apply the whip and hit their stride. I believe we will see that in the next 13 days.

THE TOROS AND EAGLES ARE....WELL THE TOROS AND EAGLES

I certainly don't want this leaking out and this is certainly not meant to denigrate either of these programs but, I EXPECT these two teams to get wide-eyed and pucker up down the stretch. They both have their destiny in their own hands. And, for a program that is not used to "meaningful" games it can be quite daunting. The game is not the same when so much is on the line. The strike zone shrinks for the pitching, the timing is off for the hitting.....and all of sudden the wheels start turning and the game becomes a struggle. I have seen it every single year. Teams that don't know how to play through the pressure. Dominguez has Monterey at home for four games. Monterey has won 5 conference games all year. Don't be surprised if the scrappy Otters make it very hard on the Toros. And, LA has Pomona. The Broncos of Pomona grind, they battle. And, if LA isn't careful Pomona could grind themselves into a series split.

 

Its a longshot. And, for Chico State baseball the playoffs begin Friday night. They shouldn't even care about what these other teams do. Chico doesn't need to go on an 8 game win streak. They need to go on 8 one-game win streaks. If the Cats start winning, they won't have to worry about Dominguez and LA because both of those teams will hear them coming. And, if those teams turn around and see what's behind them. They WILL turn to salt.

MBaca