Tuesday, August 09, 2005

BASKETBALL RUMOR

So, I came across this in the rumor mill. Initially, I was very skeptical. We are talking about trading Kevin Garnett, quite possibly the best forward of the modern basketball era. There just isn't enough trade value out there.

Or is there? The truth is, as much as he is a fan favorite, he costs A LOT of money, and it is hard to build around him. The trade bait this time isn't exactly the Bulls front line, either (see earlier posts for THAT crap). Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, and two first round draft picks. The timberwolves would reduce their salary by 20% on that trade, and in three years unload 'Sheed for another hefty boost. Meanwhile, if one of those two draft picks even becomes a good 6th or 7th man, the timberwolves are in a pretty good spot. Ben Wallace has not piqued yet, Rasheed has three good years left. And Detroit did pretty well with the two of them underneath. Add an improved Wally Szczerbiak, re-signed Eddie Griffin, a more offensive minded Trenton Hassell, and some bench players, and that is actually a pretty good squad.

That all being said, it is a stupid trade. Not because we couldn't get anywhere with those players: we could. It is just we would get to THE SAME PLACE. We can already make the playoffs with the squad we are building, and KG is too big a part of that. And the fans would NEVER, I mean NEVER forgive the Timberwolves for a trade like that, even if they went all the way with the new squad.

FOOTBALL

It is almost upon us, and I wanted to talk about something that finally speaks well for the Vikings organization. Zygi Wilf just gave Daunte Culpepper a much needed raise. The new deal is worth about 8 million more in guaranteed money, with the same incentive laden deals it had previously. The two sides negotiated this without a hold out, a media shouting match, or as much as a rumor article published.

It is a step in the right direction, as Culpepper has stated. I am inclined to say more should be done, given the performance over the past few years by Daunte, but the incentives in the contract should take care of that. And that may just be the way contracts should be, anyway: a fair market value based on past performance, and incentives to do better.

BASEBALL

I am just about done with the whole steroid scandal. Rafeal Palmeiro testing positive for steroids is a huge stain on the game. We are talking about the guy who sat in front of congress and stated "I have never, in my life, taken steriods. I do not know how to make it any clearer than that." Apparently, it wasn't;t that clear in the first place.

His excuse was horrible. He didn't know he was taking it? Give me a break. Everyone busted for anything has said the same thing, and it is bogus. Athletes are such control freaks when it comes to what goes into their bodies, there is NO WAY he took it without knowing. We aren't talking about a supplement here, this is an injected steroid. When I see a needle, I am asking ALL SORTS of questions to whomever is trying to put it into me.

Rafi could have been a better spokesperson by saying he did take it, was sorry, and was willing to work towards educating people about it. I am not sure what I feel about steroids, but as long as they are banned in baseball, players cannot be allowed to take them, and have nothing more than an article written about them. EVERYONE in this era will be suspected, clean or not, so outing a few people won;t make a difference.

BIKING

The university of Minnesota, Morris, puts on a tinman triathlon every year. I was just looking at the results from this year, and my time around the lake (19.8) is good enough to earn me second place for the bicycle split. That is, right now, no more training. I feel pretty good about that. The split for the running, on the other hand, scares the hell out of me. I am not sure I can run 6.2 miles to begin with, and I KNOW I cannot do it in splits of 6:30. That's about 9 miles per hour, for six miles. OUCH. I am not sure what my swimming is, as it has been some time since I have been in the water.

Still, depending on what I have going on this winter, I can easily train indoors for the two weak spots, and I am fairly confident in my biking ability. I think this is a goal for next year.

PERSONAL

I am not sure why I am even writing this here, as I don't know most people who read this, and most of those people are randoms who wander in looking for sports things. Maybe I just want to write it down.

My grandmother died on Saturday. I knew it was coming, as it was cancer, so this isn't such a shock to me. I guess I have been dealing with it for some time, in my own way.

But the thing is, I don't feel anything about it. Not a thing. Some people will (and have) called me cold for this, and I am not sure they are wrong. Things like this don't really affect me like they do most people. I feel bad for my family, especially my sister, who is not taking this very well. It is a great loss to the whole family, she was a Matriarch, and a personality. Everyone will miss her.

Understanding all that, though, is not feeling it. I can understand why people feel that way, and I cannot understand why I do not. I won't say I have tried to make myself feel any different, because I am not sure it would work. I can say I feel empathy for everyone involved, and I feel more for them than I do for myself. I don't want that confused with selflessness, though. I am very sure that if I could feel something about it, those feelings would come first.

I just don't know what to make of all of it. I really don't

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