NBA Playoff version of Tackle Basketball has to stop.

NBA xNOTE: On NNR Samantha Bunten of NBC Sports and I projected the records of the AFC North teams game by game. I want to thank all of you that take time to listen to the pod. We really appreciate you. Thanks.

Cavs forward Kevin Love is out for the next series and quite possibly the playoffs because the NBA refs won’t do their job. The series got more and more physical as it went on between the Celtics and Cavs. I have officiated basketball games between grown men including some former NBA players and could tell the game Sunday was getting away from the refs.

The NBA is built on stars playing in the premier event of the season—the playoffs. The league owners should take immediate action to make it clear that the officials must do a better job in keeping control of the game. If not, you will see more stars eliminated from the playoffs from dirty play.

I will watch the Cavs games because I am a fan of the team. But I have NO interest in watching any other team. The gutless guys with silent whistles have ruined the league for me. I have a feeling that … Read more at FryingPanSports

Sports Buffet for 08/10/10

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Football

The NFL negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the owners and the NFLPA are not going well. The NFL has proposed an 18 game season but the injuries to players this preseason are hurting the chances of the Union accepting the deal.

The list of players already on the IR seems to be a lot longer than usual. The list already includes Raven DBs Walt Harris and Domonique Foxworth, Ram DL Chris Hovan, and others. Bronco LB Elvis Dumervil could be the next one on that list depending on how the operation to fix his torn muscle goes.

FPS will be reporting on preseason games and let you know which teams are looking solid and which are looking like pretenders.

Baseball

The Reds face a tough series this week against the Cardinals. The Reds lost game 1 and as of last night had their lead cut to 1 game. The Cardinals are one of the teams that have had a lot of injuries but are still very talented.

The division races have all tightened over the last couple of weeks except for the AL West where the Rangers are running away from the rest of the division. … Read more at FryingPanSports

LeBron, Gilbert, Miami and Cleveland

LeBron is gone. Gilbert is 100K poorer after being fined by the NBA for his open letter to fans. The Cavs have nothing to show for LeBron leaving except a couple of late 1st and late 2nd round picks. But as always, there is more to the story than has been reported elsewhere.

First we will look at LeBron.

LeBron said that his top priority was winning. The fact is that he realized that he could not do that alone. But he wasn’t alone in the 2009-10 season. He had the best cast he ever enjoyed since turning pro. In addition to the 08-09 team, owner Dan Gilbert brought Shaq and Jamison into town to not only help LeBron but to show him the team would do whatever it could to keep him happy. That was not enough to get past the Celtics in the playoffs.

However, many including owner Gilbert believed that the failure to win against the Celtics was not so much the fault of the supporting cast as it was a failure of LeBron himself. In the three consecutive losses to the Celts, LeBron went 7-22 for 22 points, 3-14 for 15, and 8-21 for 28. That … Read more at FryingPanSports

Previewing the NBA Draft

NBA Draft

This preview will deal with the top 20 picks. Anyone that has watched the NBA draft over the last few years realizes that the last 10 picks in the first round are a crap shoot at best. The analysis here is a combination of what I think the teams will do and what they should do based on their needs.

This year’s draft is deeper than any in the last few years but there is a significant drop off after the 20th player. Look for the bottom 10 to take a lot of foreign players. The top teams in the league are often looking to draft a future player that can develop overseas for a couple of years without costing the team a roster spot or big money. That is particularly true this season because of the potential labor issue coming up in the near future.

  1. Washington

Without doubt, John Wall PG Kentucky will be the choice. Some are saying he is the best player to come out since Kevin Durant. I don’t think so. Durant is a well rounded player that gets rebounds, assists and points. Wall will help a weak O develop some consistency.

  1. Philadelphia

The 76ers … Read more at FryingPanSports

Sports Buffet for 06/15/10

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NFL

The lower round rookies are beginning to sign. The deals are too scattered to give you a good analysis but look for the top picks to have some extended holdouts. The league ownership is in a penny pinching mood. The best indication of that is the fact that none of the usual sources have the financial data on the rookie deals. Given the concern over what the next CBA might look like and the economy still being in the tank, owners won’t quickly let the agents talk them into big increases over last year.

The RFAs are also signing. Today, the teams have the option of lowering any unsigned RFA to 110 percent of the salary the player made last year. In most cases the teams will do this for those players that they consider reserves or not critical to their long term plans.

NBA

The Celtics lead in the finals now 3-2. It is hard to get a handle on this series because each team looks unbeatable in one game but then lays an egg in the next one. While some of the differences in the games is due to injuries and foul trouble. But that can not … Read more at FryingPanSports

Sports Buffet for 06/03/10

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NFL

The Browns have announced that Hall of Fame RB Jim Brown and WR Paul Warfield will no longer serve as an advisers to owner Randy Lerner. Given the history of the Browns since the team returned in 1999, the leadership of the team needs all the advice they can get. Both will be missed.

Steeler QB Ben Roethlisberger’s biggest test of the suspension is not now going back with the team and participating in the OTAs. The biggest test will be how he completes what the league has asked him to do to reduce the suspension from 6 games to 4. The other half of that test will be how he behaves or misbehaves during the time from the end of the last preseason game until he gets reinstated by the league. Under NFL rules he can have no contact with the team at all during that time except for medical staff as prescribed by the terms of the suspension. If he has another incident like the ones that got him suspended in the past, there could be games added to his “unpaid leave.”

The talk around Dolphin land at their OTA last weekend was all about the passing … Read more at FryingPanSports