The Boris Diaw Time Show (3/12)

Breaking down the Percy Harvin and Anquan Boldin trades.


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The Boris Diaw Time Show (3/8)

NFL Free Agency preview


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NFL Free Agency 2013: Beware the Wide Receivers

To all the NFL teams anxiously awaiting the moment they are (legally) allowed to drive a truck full of money to the houses of Greg Jennings, Wes Welker, Mike Wallace, and perhaps even Danny Amendola:

Stop. Breathe. Sit. Think.

All four are terrific football players who would certainly be a wonderful addition, but what do you want to bet the market gets a bit out of hand for at least a couple of those guys? Especially after Dwayne Bowe set a standard, of sort, with the 5yr $56M deal he signed with Kansas City! Already, there are indications Mike Wallace is viewing Bowe’s deal as a “starting point” for his negotiations, and that Greg Jennings is seeking to at least match Bowe’s new annual average.

Again, they’re good football players, and in a vacuum, you’d love to have them on your team. But at those prices? Eh, I’m not so sure.

The Boris Diaw Time Show (3/6)

Jon and Laney try to make sense of a chaotic college basketball landscape.


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NFL Free Agency 2013: Where are the Quarterbacks?

Every now and then I get an uncontrollable craving for the sugary, heavily caffeinated goodness that is Amp Energy drink. And by “every now and then” I really mean several times a week. When these urges hit, there’s very little I can do to fight it, making the acquisition of said drink the highest priority. It would happen to be my good fortune to live less than two miles from a rather large and well stocked Speedway. I say ‘well stocked’ because, for the most part, they always have what I’m looking for. But once every few months, when my unfortunate physical dependence on Amp is at its peak, they don’t have any. None. Completely out.

As you can imagine, this is demoralizing to me. Seeing the empty space where dozens of Amps are supposed to be lined up is like tearing open a promising-looking Christmas present, only to reveal the ugliest cardigan you’ve ever seen in your life. Sheer disappointment. Borderline devastation.

Adidas Unveils the Worst Jerseys in the History of Sports

The exponential increase in profits has led to many changes in college athletics, most of which have not been warmly embraced. Conference realignment, for example, is nothing short of a straight cash grab for many schools, with the unfortunate side effect of shelving far too many classic rivalries. Missouri-Kansas, Syracuse-UConn, and several other notable rivalry games are either ended or are soon to end, which is, quite frankly, a borderline tragedy for fans of those programs and for purists such as myself.

One other "in your face" type of change has been in the uniform department, where clothing companies such as Nike and Adidas have aggressively pushed new jersey designs in order to sell more merchandise. Most schools have retained their classic jersey designs, but the influence can be clearly seen in the "alternate" jerseys worn once or twice a season. As expected, these instances often serve to infuriate fans -- people like me -- who can't bear to see their team in something other than their traditional garb.

The Boris Diaw Time Show (3/1)

The NFL poses strange interview questions, Alex Smith is traded to the Chiefs, and more.


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Alex Smith Traded to Kansas City

Earlier today, the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs reportedly came to terms on a trade that would send Alex Smith to the Chiefs for multiple "premium" draft picks. The trade itself is not surprising, as rumor of a Smith-to-KC deal has been making the rounds for days now.

The haul of draft picks? Yeah. Color me surprised.

Still, even considering the heavy price paid by Kansas City, this is a tough deal to figure out. Most trades produce immediate "winners" and "losers," even if those distinctions don't always end up holding true. San Francisco is clearly a "winner" in this trade, having flipped an unhappy, expensive backup QB for double the expected return, but are they alone in that distinction. Certainly, Kansas City's end of the deal is a bit more complicated. Are they a "loser" for having given up so much for a limited, game manager type QB? Or, are they also "winners" for successfully, and dramatically, upgrading the QB position? It's difficult to say, at this juncture.

The Boris Diaw Time Show (2/26)

The Combine gets underway, Alex Smith is (reportedly) traded, and Tom Brady signs a new deal.


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Final NBA Trade Deadline Questions

Here are a few final questions from the NBA trade deadline:

Should the Hawks have traded Josh Smith?

In an ideal world, yes, the Hawks should have moved Josh Smith. He'll be a free agent after the season and the team has given every indication they're tired of his antics and unwilling to give him the max contract he desires. But if reports are correct and the best offer on the table was Ekpe Udoh, Beno Udrih, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, and a protected first round pick? Well, it's tough to blame Atlanta for passing that up. That's the type of offer you toss at the new guy in your fantasy league to see how dumb he is.

Assuming nothing better was on the table, Atlanta was wise to keep Smith on board. Not only do they remain a playoff team, but they'll likely get something of value in the offseason via sign-and-trade. In the end, they're better off with a late first round pick and the cap space over a mid/late first round pick and a pile of spare parts.

NBA Contenders Who Missed Opportunities

More than anything, the 2013 NBA trade deadline will be remembered for the trades that didn't happen rather than the trades that did. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, a rather large number of big ticket guys were legitimately in play. Going along with that, a rather large number of teams seemed to have the proper motivation to either buy or sell. Seems like the perfect formula for a blockbuster trade deadline, no?

Obviously, it didn't quite work out. For a variety of reasons -- cap space, future cap considerations, outrageous asking prices, pure stupidity -- none of those big tickets were cashed in...unless you want to consider Dexter Pittman a BIG ticket, which is a totally reasonable viewpoint. For that reason, it seems more relevant to discuss how the day's inactivity will affect things going forward, starting with the implications on this year's title. Three contenders in particular stand out to me as having missed a major opportunity on Thursday:

NBA Trade Deadline Reactions: How Bad was the Thomas Robinson Deal?

Happy trade deadline day, everybody! Your top prizes on the day are...

Hamed Haddadi? Sebastian Telfair??? ANTHONY FREAKING MORROW?!?!?!?

Needless to say, the 2013 NBA trade deadline was more than a bit anti-climactic, especially considering the names and types of deals floated about in the days leading up. At one point, Josh Smith was "100% getting traded," the entire Celtics franchise was being loaded up with 10 tons of dynamite, Eric Bledsoe was getting cashed in for either Garnett or Millsap, and countless other names such as Danny Granger, Eric Gordon, Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis, Andrea Bargnani, and Evan Turner were being bandied about. None of those players ended up changing addresses. What we ended up with was a trade deadline highlighted by J.J. Redick, Jordan Crawford, and a controversial -- yet ultimately meaningless -- trade by the Kings. Not exactly a Who's Who of NBA royalty.

The Boris Diaw Time Show (2/18)

If you were starting an NFL franchise, which QB would you start with?


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The Boris Diaw Time Show (2/12)

Michael Vick returns to Philly, Percy Harvin nears his exit from Minnesota, and the NFL considers another radical change.


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Vick's return to Philly a mutually beneficial move

Missing the NFL already? Fret not, because games or no games, everyone’s favorite sport will remain firmly entrenched on the front page of ESPN.com and in the lead headlines of sports talk radio throughout the country. The NFL offseason is as big –or bigger – than most other sport’s regular season. Cuts, free agent signings, and draft rumors will mean as much as almost any NBA regular season result, giving us all just enough of a fix to make it through to the 2013 NFL season.

The most scrutinized offseason development is that of the QB market, of which the first major domino fell on Monday with the announcement of Michael Vick’s one year “restructuring,” of sorts, with the Eagles. Vick’s tenure in Philly has been rocky, to say the least, with Vick struggling mightily with turnovers, injuries, and general ineffectiveness the previous two years. He hasn’t been horrible, mind you………OK, I take that back, he was pretty darn horrible last year. Sort of horrible the year before. Basically, a $100M version of Tarvaris Jackson.

The Boris Diaw Time Show (2/5)

More Super Bowl reactions with Prince, and some early predictions for 2013.


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The Boris Diaw Time Show (2/4)

Super Bowl reactions with our very own dejected 'Niners fan, Casey.


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Performance and price not matching for Joe Flacco

Peyton Manning. Tom Brady. Drew Brees. Joe Flac…Joe Flacco???

While the idea of mentioning Flacco in the same breath as that of Manning or Brady seems absurd to many, it apparently does NOT to Joe Flacco. In fact, according to a recent report by Ian Rapoport, Flacco believes it to be the other way around, that the Manning’s and Brees’ of the world don’t deserve to be mentioned with him. Quoting Rapoport, “I’m told his camp believes he is playing better than Peyton Manning.” Regarding Manning’s $19.2M per year salary, he states, “Expect them to shoot higher than that.” John Clayton, among others, has confirmed this, stating that Flacco will be aiming for a salary starting at $20M annually.

While the Ravens are in the fortunate position of being able to ignore this nonsense for at least a few more days, they are eventually going to have to enter Joe Flacco Fantasy Land. Given these reports, I imagine it’s a strange, strange place where rational thoughts go to die.

The Boris Diaw Time Show (2/1)

Super Bowl prop bets and final picks for the game.


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The Boris Diaw Time Show (1/31)

Deer antler velvet spray and Joe Flacco's delusional dream.


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The Boris Diaw Time Show (1/28)

Rajon Rondo goes down, the Lakers implode, the East opens up, and more from the NBA.


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AFC Championship Runback: Playing Not to Lose

Baltimore 28
New England 13

Let’s come to an agreement on one thing, shall we? From this day forward, the word ‘momentum’ shall be completely and forever eradicated from our football vocabulary. Under no circumstances will it be used. It will become as archaic as ‘thee’ and ‘thou’…and if you’re reading this and you happen to be Amish, then simply replace ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ with words that are archaic in your culture, such as ‘taxes’ and ‘progress.’ 

Why replace one of the league’s most used buzzwords, you ask? Easy…because it’s useless and stupid! Last year, the New York Giants rode the “momentum” of a terrific 3-5 finish to the season (sarcasm) all the way to an improbable Super Bowl victory over a Patriots team that had won 10 straight to that point. Momentum was pretty decisive there, I’d say (more sarcasm). 

This year, it was the Ravens’ turn to kick momentum in the teeth. After losing four of their last five – including a horrific loss to the ageless Charlie Batch – the Ravens looked as lifeless as the two guys who tangled with Ray Lewis back in the day. Flacco was terrible, Ray Rice wasn’t getting any touches, and the defense was an injury away from asking for volunteers from the stands. Things got so bad in Baltimore that they fired their offensive coordinator – WITH THREE GAMES LEFT IN THE SEASON! When has a playoff team ever made that kind of decision?!? Whatever the exact opposite of ‘momentum’ is, that’s what the Baltimore Ravens had.

Thankfully for the Ravens, momentum isn’t a real thing, as evidenced by their victory over a Colts team that finished the season 9-2, a Broncos team that closed their season with 11 consecutive wins, and a Patriots team that had won 10 of their last 11. So yeah, let’s throw that nonsense out the window and never speak of it again.

The Boris Diaw Time Show (1/25)

Manti Te'o speaks (sorta), Jay Ratliff gets drunk, and the Jets consider a drastic move.


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NFC Championship Runback: Did Matt Ryan Really Choke?

San Francisco 49ers 28
Atlanta Falcons 24

I suppose the best way to explain this game to someone is to have them re-watch last week’s Seahawks-Falcons game, except instead of having them view it in real time, you’d hit the “2x speed” button on your DVR. Indeed, the first half of Sunday’s NFC Championship showdown was eerily similar to Atlanta’s Divisional Round win, complete with the blazing fast start, the out-of-nowhere collapse, and the heroic last minute score. There’s just one slight difference between the two games. One teeny, tiny, almost insignificant difference…an entire half of football.

Boy what a difference it was. The Falcons went from “Greatest Show on Turf” caliber offense to being completely shut out, while the previously lifeless 49ers played like their water bottles and Gatorade coolers had been replaced with dozens of cases of Red Bull. Either that or a very angry (and very terrifying) Jim Harbaugh threatened to kill each player’s family if they let this crappy Falcons team reach the Super Bowl. I’m betting on the latter, but hey, that’s just me!

The Boris Diaw Time Show (1/22)

The show returns to discuss the Ravens surprising win and the 49ers not-so-surprising comeback.


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