Odds and Sods

The NBA’s Western Conference has turned into a High Stakes pissing contest, only contenders invited.  The Lakers pulled off a mystifyingly lopsided landing of Pau Gasol.  The Suns traded in their high-flying Ferrari and invested in a Big Diesel.  Never one to be outdone, Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban swung his big stick into the sulky superstar sweepstakes to get Jason Kidd from New Jersey, or did he?

The Mavs and Nets orchestrated an intricate seven player deal.  New Jersey would get Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, $3 million cash, two future first round picks and reserve forward Devean George.  Dallas would receive Kidd and forward Malik Allen.

The trade was set to go through.  The leaks were out in the media.  The paperwork was finalized.  The players were getting set to leave.  Coaches were openly commenting about the trade to the media.  There was only one problem.  Devean George did not approve.

George, apparently unbeknown to anyone except himself and his agent, possesses a no-trade clause.

Kobe Bryant is the only NBA player who has an explicit no-trade clause in his contract.  However, 18 players in the league, including George, have a de facto no-trade clause due to the Larry Bird exception.

The “Larry Bird” exception, so handled because it was instituted to allow Larry Bird to stay with the Celtics, allows teams to exceed the salary cap in order to resign their own free agents.  The rule’s purpose was to grant an incentive for stars to stay put because teams could offer them more money than they would get in free agency.

The rules stipulate that any player on a one-year contract, who finished the past season with the same team, is eligible for the Bird exception.  Because players would lose that eligibility upon being traded, these players have the right to veto a potential trade, which, apparently, Devean George has done.

George’s rejection came as a bit of a shock, primarily because he is Devean George, a 30 year-old bench player making $2.4 million per season.  There would be the motivation of not wanting to be traded away from a contender, but George already asked for a trade earlier in the season.

George said he was willing to consider the trade, and the Mavs all but forced it on him, deciding to start him last night to resounding boos from the fans, which certainly accounted for at least part of his 0-11 shooting night.

Dallas will hope that George accepts the deal.  They could replace him with Keith Van Horn’s expiring contract, allowing the trade to go through, although, by doing it they would incur a higher luxury tax payment at the end of the season.

After alienating teammates, coaches, the front office, fans, beat writers, ESPN talking heads and nearly everyone else except himself, his agent and his immediate family, he looks likely to be on his way out of Dallas one way or another.

Who would have thought that the potential fate of the NBA title would rest on the whims of Devean George?

Indiana basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson is likely to be fired after being charged with even more recruiting violations.

An NCAA report has charged Sampson with “major” recruiting violations, including the following.

• Sampson and his assistant coaches failed to comply with sanctions, making approximately 100 impermissible phone calls to recruits
• Sampson and his assistant coaches made 25 additional phone calls to nine recruits that would have been illegal had no sanctions existed
• Sampson and an assistant coach made inappropriate conduct with a recruit during a two-day camp held at Assembly Hall over the summer, providing him with illegal benefits including a t-shirt and a drawstring backpack

Sampson was originally sanctioned for infractions committed during his tenure as Head Coach at Oklahoma from 2000-2006, when he made 577 impermissible calls to recruits.  He was further penalized by Indiana itself in October after word surfaced that he had made 100 impermissible calls while under sanction.  He forfeited a $500,000 raise and had one scholarship taken away.  These calls sparked the NCAA Investigation which released its findings in the aforementioned report.

The stupidity starts at the top.  Why would Indiana hire someone who committed such flagrant NCAA violations in the first place?   Indiana isn’t what it was, but it is still easily a Top 25 job.  Someone with at least a moderately clean record should have been willing to step in there.

Next, the lens must focus on Sampson who, after receiving sanctions for one specific violation, went on to commit that one violation again 100 times.  This transcends traditional stupidity.  He’s on par with the guy who got caught on “To Catch a Predator” twice.

Also, if you are going to cheat, at least be somewhat stealthy about it.  Call from someone else’s house.  Walk down the street and use a pay phone.  Don’t call from your University phone!

You can say what you want about Bobby Knight, but he played by the rules.  He had his personal problems, as ESPN loves to point out with their classic highlight reel, but he would never have brought such a sordid scandal upon the program.  For a university community that harrumphed on its moral high horse by running Knight off campus and refusing to elect him to the Hall of Fame, the taste of humble pie will be more than a bit bitter.

It was night of black armbands and barren kits in Manchester, which only served to emphasize the sponsorship everywhere else as Man City shocked Man United 2-1 at Old Trafford.  It is no coincidence that most of Man U’s losses come without Wayne Rooney on the pitch.  Ronaldo can score goals but even he with the fleetest of foot needs space to exploit, which only Rooney appears capable of providing.

Neither of City’s goals was very impressive, coming more from good luck and poor defending.  United supporters obviously reflected the solemn occasion by “saluting” Benjani after he put through the second on his debut.

Carrick came through with a fine goal at the end, which, though meaningless, proved a point.  His goal was no stroke of magic but rather pedestrian, a product of practical opportunism rather than a hair-raising blitz from the back.  Carrick is not as flashy as Hargreaves, but that’s not a weakness for a holding midfielder.  Carrick may not pose as much of a threat going forward, but his conservatism keeps things tight at the back.  Were it not for the 2006 World Cup, would Carrick be starting in his stead?

The United loss opened the way for Arsenal to take a five point lead in the Premier League, with their 2-0 defeat of Blackburn.  The victory for Arsenal proved important, but hardly impressive.  Despite dictating play for much of the game, Arsenal failed to create chances for much of the game, and largely failed to capitalize upon the chances that they did have.

They still have no genuine threat on the wings, which Wenger acknowledged by fielding four central midfielders (Hleb, Fabregas, Gilberto, and Flamini.)  The approach limits their angle of attack on goal and affords teams the opportunity to defend less of the field.  To get any pressure whatsoever on the wings, Wenger’s gents rely on overlapping fullbacks to create any width, leaving the defense vulnerable.  Against Blackburn, who cares?  However, that strategy may be exposed if they try it against A.C. Milan.

Elsewhere, Aston Villa throttled Newcastle 4-1.  Toon supporters, you’re gonna need a bigger boat.  The extended decrepitude of Keegan’s tenure has dried up the market for “exciting football” and “soccer circus” jokes.  Newcastle are just terrible.  With Keegan’s 2 pts since taking over the club, they are now a mere six points from the drop zone.  If Michael Owen scores in an empty championship ground, does Fabio Capello hear it?

If it is possible to have an unflattering hat trick, John Carew accomplished it.

Here is all you need to know about Liverpool 0 - Chelsea 0.  I fell asleep during the highlights.  The only thing productive that happened was that it killed Chelsea’s title hopes, 8 pts behind with two teams to overcome and it increased the probability of Liverpool being knocked out of the Champions League places.