Odds and Sods

Manchester United defeated Wigan 2-0 to win their second consecutive Premier League title.  The brace flowed fittingly for this season.  The young generation won it, with Cristiano Ronaldo deftly slotting in a penalty.  The older generation sealed it with Ryan Giggs, in his record-tying 750th appearance for United, touching in a through-ball from Rooney.

The final tally gives Man U a two point advantage, but their discrepancy from the competition was far greater.  They beat out Arsenal at scoring goals (80-74) and beat out Chelsea at keeping them out (22-26).  Though they won the title at Wigan, they really won it at home, compiling a ruthless record of 17-1-1 at Old Trafford and outscoring their opponents 47-7.

With tummy rumblings semi-mollified after a healthy dose of pepto-bismol, Arsenal and Chelsea fans would admit for a day, that perhaps United were the better club this season.  And maybe, for a day, Gary Neville running out to celebrate with the lads in a crisp, white tracksuit can be ignored.

Pundits are pushing Ferguson to fly out on a high note, but with the squad he has still developing why not wait for the fruition?

The NCAA hoped USC’s scandals would go away, but they seem to arise with alarming frequency.  Louis Johnson, a former associate of former USC Trojan basketball player O.J. Mayo, has accused Mayo of accepting approximately $30,000 in cash and assorted gifts from Rodney Guillory, an LA promoter.

The gifts, contingent on a verbal agreement that Guillory would become Mayo’s agent, a flat screen television, a cell phone, a hotel room, clothes, meals and airline tickets for friends and relatives.

ESPN alleges that Guillory worked on behalf of Bill Duffy Associates, a Northern California Sports Agency.  Guillory received an initial $200,000 from the company.  He also allegedly funded the gifts to Mayo with a credit-card from a bogus charitable organization, “The National Organization of Sickle Cell Prevention and Awareness Foundation.”

Guillory also had a previous relationship with former USC Basketball Player Jeff Tapainger, suspended for accepting illegal benefits in 2000.

USC could claim ignorance once, but after the Bush debacle there is no explanation for negligence regarding superstar athletes.  Had USC an interest in propriety, someone would have been assigned to assure the program was clean (or at least had that appearance).  At the very least, someone could have questioned the giant flat screen in his dorm room.

The NCAA and Pac-10 would never attack corruption in the football program at USC, but maybe they will find a scapegoat in the basketball one.  If the Mayo allegations are true, at least a Michigan-style penalty is appropriate.

Greg Maddux won his 350th game in tonight’s 3-2 win over the Colorado Rockies.  Maddux became the ninth pitcher all-time to do so (third in the modern era).

Maddux, 42, may be the greatest pitcher of the modern era without a mysterious abscess on his buttocks.  With no revealed skeletons other than a farting fetish and a penchant for urinating on rookies, Maddux has compiled four NL Cy Young awards, seventeen Gold Gloves and a World Series ring.

For those who enjoy statistics, he has a miniscule career WHIP of 1.14 and finished four seasons with WHIPs under 1.00.  He won at least fifteen games in seventeen consecutive seasons (1988-2004).  He has made at least thirty starts in every non strike shortened season since he became a starter.

Maddux needs four more wins to pass Roger Clemens (354) and fourteen more wins to eclipse Warren Spahn’s modern mark of 363 wins.

Money mitigates qualms about self-degradation for many.  This group now includes Mike D’Antoni, who will become the head coach of the New York Knicks, having signed a six-year $24 million contract that makes him the third-highest paid coach in the NBA.

D’Antoni, 57, leaves the Phoenix Suns, whom he led to a 253-136 record, dating from December 2003, the fourth highest winning percentage over that span.  He had two-years $9 million remaining on his contract. 

Considered an offensive guru, D’Antoni conducted a high-octane attack fronted by point guard Steve Nash that allowed the Suns to roll over opponents in the regular season.  However, this translated into little post-season success, as the Suns failed to play defense or run their offense effectively when forced to play a half-court game.

New GM Steve Kerr shook up D’Antoni’s team in 2008, trading for Shaquille O’Neal and, as many believed, giving them a chance to win a title.  But, San Antonio destroyed their dream in the first round, prompting a reassessment from ownership and a potential restructuring.

D’Antoni departing surprised no one, but his choice of destination did. 

The Knicks won just 23 games last season, with the league’s most expensive payroll.  They have at most three players–Jamal Crawford, David Lee and Nate Robinson– who could compete in D’Antoni’s high-flying offense.  With no cap room and no desirable assets, the team, at best, is a three-year rebuilding job with savvy drafting.

The decision for anyone to accept this job is baffling, particularly if there is a situation like Chicago with cache, cap-room and ten young, enthusiastic players who can compete in the playoffs next year.

Having to clean up Isaiah’s mess, itle contention for the 57-year-old D’Antoni, rests on King James bestowing himself upon the Knicks rather than Brooklyn when he bids adieu to Cleveland after the 2010 season.

D’Antoni signed a deal with the Devil James Dolan.  He may leave with $24 million, but his dignity is another matter.