Every Man Should Do Las Vegas...

This past weekend, I submitted myself to what every man should do at least once in his life. Get your boys together and hit Vegas with everything you got. Trust me when I say you will be handsomely rewarded. My reason? It was my 25th birthday (I'm getting old...) and I figured this would be the greatest way to celebrate. I even got to meet one of my heroes in Miguel Cotto (even though he lost Saturday night) and he was truly a cool dude, photo above with the crew. I didn't forget about you all though, and sports is always on my mind...okay, except maybe at 3am in VIP at the 40/40...Shoutout to Aith and her people's website http://www.poshlifeposhstyle.com/ who is currently being held hostage in Vegas, she definitely showed your boy and the crew a really good time. Shoutout to Roker at http://www.blogger.com/www.mrswagger.com who is also known as "I can't find my cell phone..." I will give you a detailed review of my trip to Vegas and sports for the past couple of days...

Thursday Night - Poetry Night Club @ the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace.

Andris Biedrins signs new contract for $63M for 6 years from Golden State. First of all, I was super excited to have just landed in Vegas at 10pm from Columbus, Ohio. Ready to get off that plane and party. Now, we knew that Poetry would crack (and it did) and I swear I was sitting there no more than 20 minutes and my song by The Dream, "I Love Your Girl" came on...you ALL know that is the cut! Perfect dance song with you and a female. Well, I saw my prey and pounced. Nice, firm, backside. Long, luscious hair. And she smelled good too. I gave her 4 minutes of my best, and she was throwing it back. She loved me. Well, when the song was over and she turned to face me, she looked like she'd been hit by a linebacker with an angry disposition. Okay, slight exaggeration, but she wasn't nearly as cute I thought she was.

Same with Biedrins, if you watch a Golden State game you probably would think that Biedrins was a potentially great player. However, under the microsope what you would really see is the following: #1. He's the only big man the Warriors remotely have on the squad. #2. The Warriors are the WORST shooting FG% team in the NBA, conversely, this causes more rebounds. #3. The Warriors play the 2nd-most breakneck style of offense in the NBA (behind the Suns) and they hoist and cause more shots to be taken for everyone.


Therefore, with all that opportunity, you can be 6'11 and post averages of 10.5 points and 9.8 rebounds a game. They haven't had a good big man since vintage '94 Chris Webber. You just paid $63M for the next Jim McIlvane, next!

Friday Night - Jet Nightclub at The Mirage, Dwyane Wade's Afterparty

NBA Players make the exodus for Europe. So we went to the Team USA Basketball tune-up vs. Canada at the Thomas & Mack, truly a great time we had, plus they serve cocktails on the 100 level! (I had 2 Grey Goose's and Red Bulls, niccccccceeeeee....) And my boy, Carmelo Anthony, killed as usual. Saw Clyde Drexler, Dominique Wilkins, Lenny Wilkens, Jamie Foxx, Ludacris, and the grand-daddies of them all...Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in the building! Needless to say, it cracked. We got the invite for the Dwyane Wade afterset and we're there. Problem is, everyone was there. Club was overly packed, we waited at least 90 minutes to get in, and it wasn't the best time. So...we vacated the premises, went back to Poetry, and did a cleanup on aisle 5. Way better female/male ratio, better music, and good times had by all. Bedtime 6:12am.


First Brandon Jennings, now Josh Childress and Nenad Kristic? Ben Gordon's thinking about making the move too? Oh boy. This problem is 2-fold. For one, pending Brandon Jennings success, the NBA will have the true realization that they cannot be so roguish and use the NCAA as a free minor league system, and the owners will face a true crisis on will they overpay for role players because the market will not allow teams to pay for their key players. The NBA is in a bit of trouble. Your gonna end up with 3 guys being handsomely paid (think LA, Boston, etc.) and the other 9 guys playing for peanuts. You can't tell anyone not to go get that money (not even to Carlos Boozer from Cleveland to Utah, and Elton Brand from LAC to Philly) Josh Childress wasn't going to get close to $6-10M/year in Atlanta or any other team in the league. Kristic thinks he's a top-level big man, and potentially so, but he's getting his money now. I don't blame him. What will be interesting is will the NBA be receptive of being these players back into the fold. We'll see...

Saturday Night - The 40/40 Club @ The Palozzo Hotel

Ron Artest to the Rockets, Jason Taylor to the Redskins, Mark Teixera to the Angels. Point blank, Saturday night...me and boys we were trying to win. Yet, we really had no real plan. We went all in and decided we're gonna make it happen at the 40/40 that night. However, we were greeted with needing to be on "The List" which at the time, we weren't. There was no getting in. Desperate times calls for desperate measures...I talked to the doorman, let him know the situation (and slipped him some green) and we got in. The night ensued perfectly, and we won the championship. Got in VIP (via our Chi-town connect) met the right folks, and we made it happen. Great way to end the night.


In the case for Ron Artest, Houston's not waiting. They are trying to make it happen now. They know that McGrady and Yao are in their peak prime of their careers and yet they are both fragile, and also not 2 people who I'd call, "tough." Artest changes that dynamic 10-fold. They now have 3 20-point scorers, and a guy who could give a damn about who Kobe Bryant is. Sure it was a risk, but so was trying to get into the 40/40. I could've gotten the heave-ho and hurled on my face. I am in full support of teams going for it and trying to win. Good luck Rockets, Artest is my guy and he's gonna probably beat Yao up 4-5 times just for fun.

Gentlemen and Ladies, you gotta live. Whatever you do, do it big. That's how I live and I love me some me! (T.O. reference) Vegas is not for the spouse and kids, get your people, your money, and your gumption and go. Its definitely worth it.

Be on the lookout for our NFL pre-season articles in the coming months and the start of our first ever ETSF Fantasy Football league. Get at me!

-Ed.

Ed The Vegas Man

**Ed will be taking a break as he will be in Las Vegas celebrating his 25th birthday this weekend. I will be attending the Team USA vs. Canada game on Friday so look for me in the crowd! Full Details to follow, get at me!**

Ed HEARTS the WNBA!!

MAN! If you didn't happen to see the Detroit Shock vs. LA Sparks game last night (you know you had it setup on the DVR, didn't you?) then you missed out on truly great drama, action, and utter comedy. The Brawl II occured when Candace (my mistress) Parker and Plenette Pierson got into it. Carnage ensued. Let Ed break it down for you...

First off, (courtesy of Yahoo!) Candace Parker wanted to focus on all of the good parts of the Los Angeles Sparks’ win over the Detroit Shock. Unfortunately, it will be the final 5 seconds that everyone else is going to remember. Parker was one of three players ejected along with Detroit assistant coach Rick Mahorn after an ugly scuffle with 4.6 seconds left in Los Angeles’ 84-81 victory. “To be honest, I don’t recall exactly what happened,” said Parker, who led Los Angeles with 21 points. “I’ll have to watch the tape.”

BREAKDOWN

After the 2nd free-throw, Parker got tangled up with Detroit’s Plenette Pierson and fell to the ground. As she was getting up, Pierson got froggy and ran up on Candace, setting off the melee. Parker speared her like Goldberg from the WCW and blows were thrown. Parker threw a punch at Pierson before being tackled by Detroit’s Deanna Nolan. Players and coaches from both teams joined in. Overall carnage ensued.


Mahorn knocked Lisa Leslie to the court at one point. Looked like he said, "Is Rick Mahorn gone have to slap a b*tch?"


B*tch better have my money!


Cheryl Ford tore her ACL (inconclusive at this point) trying to breakup the fight. Had to be carted off on a wheelchair. Classic.


For the record, Candace Parker is now the most gangsta, finest, and devious female basketball player in the planet. I love her, she's a dream. Plenette Pierson's got some heart for running up on CP3 like that. Karl Malone should be ashamed of himself, letting his daughter tear her ACL and she DIDN'T EVEN THROW A PUNCH! Rick Mahorn was definitely a pimp in his former life, he barely touched Lisa Leslie (who is 6'6" by the way) and she flew to the ground after a phantom backhand from the Former Bad Boy Enforcer. Then like 3-4 Sparks players were hitting him and he just stood there like the Juggernaut. "Do you know who the f*ck I am, Yeah I'm Rick Mahorn b*tch!"

(Sorry for the multiple b*tch references, but me and my roommate made the decision that if the Pistons can be called the "Bad Boys" then the Detroit Shock can definitely be called the "Bad B*tches". This is marketing genius, and I should get paid for it. I take cash, check, money order, and paypal.)

And one last thing that you might've overlooked. This brawl happened IN THE SAME BUILDING as the Pacers vs. Pistons brawl aka The Malice at the Palace. Where no one ever mentions Ben Wallace shoving Ron Artest hard as hell. Where Ron Artest got hit with a cup of beer, when into the stands and hit the wrong person. Someone molly-whopped (everyone in the South knows that that means, def. molly-whopped - destroyed, punched fiercely, otherwise obliterated) Fred Jones, Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson slayed at least 6-7 Pistons fans, and Ron Artest was walking off the court, a fan ran up, and he DESTROYED him. Truly an amazing moment in my life. Why?



Because this was my favorite Pacers team. We were loaded. We still had Reggie giving a major contribution even though he was in decline, Jermaine was Mr. 20/10. Ron Artest was the most feared defender in the league. Stephen Jackson was the #3 feared defender in the league (#2 Bowen), Tinsley wasn't shooting people and top 5 in assists, and we still had Al Harrington, Jon Bender, Jeff Foster, Austin Croshere, and Fred Jones on the bench. We were loaded and at the time, had the best record in the NBA. Suspensions ensued, injuries were had, players were traded away.

I'll miss you 2004-05 Pacers, The Malice at the Palace will never erase what that team meant for me. I'd take Stephen Jackson as a teammate any day. Here's the entire brawl on YouTube.



**Ed will be taking a break as he will be in Las Vegas celebrating his 25th birthday this weekend. I will be attending the Team USA vs. Canada game on Friday so look for me in the crowd! Full Details to follow, get at me!**

NCAA Football '09 - CoolBreeze5

Go purchase this game now. Find me online, my gamertag is CoolBreeze5 on the PS3 and I'm coming with those Oklahoma Sooners. Get at me!

T-Minus 3 days to Vegas...

-Ed.

The NBA is stupid...

I have a problem with the NBA and the NFL, because they are the only 2 leagues in the world where they put an absurd limit on when you can enter their league. What's the point of going to college? To prepare yourself for the real world and a career. That's the point of going to high school or any other type of education we receive. So why is it a big deal for the NBA (and NFL to lesser extent) to restrict players to play in their league. Let me give you some examples...

MLS - Freddy Adu signs at age 14 with DC United
NHL - Players regularly drafted 17-18
Tennis - Michael Chang was winning matches in the French Open at 15
MLB - The Oakland A's signed a 16-year-old named Michel Inoa $4.25 million bonus to sign
Golf - Alexis Thompson competed in her first LPGA tournament at age 12

Yet, the NBA doesn't like the fact that high school kids (who some have had success, some haven't) can come into the league so they send em to college for one year? Stupid. The NFL is BS to a degree too, making players wait till their 3rd year out of high school till you can be drafted, and the only reason it stands up is because of physicalness you need to play in the NFL. But Maurice Clarett and Mike Williams should have that option to go.

Who drafts these players? Who offers the contracts? This is America Jack, no one's making these teams to pick the high school players. The NBA teams (especially nowadays) want to win at all cost. You think Phoenix isn't happy they drafted Amare? You think Cleveland isn't happy for drafting LeBron? LA with Kobe? Sure there are failures on the way, but there are failures regardless. It isn't our job to police that, its our job to give people the opportunity to succeed, that's it. Give me a squad of all high-school players vs. an all-college team and I bet you that the high school team would RUN THE OTHER SQUAD. Don't believe me?

All high-school squad - Kobe, LeBron, Amare, KG, Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, Monta Ellis, Tracy McGrady, Andrew Bynum, Jermaine O'Neal, Rashard Lewis, Tyson Chandler

All college squad - Chris Paul, Tim Duncan, Baron Davis, Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Paul Pierce, Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson, Chris Bosh, Gilbert Arenas, Joe Johnson, Marcus Camby

Even the international squad - Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Yao Ming, Steve Nash (should be college), Peja Stojakovic, Hedo Turkoglu, Beno Udrih, Jose Calderon, Leandro Barbosa, Mehmet Okur

First off, this would be a great 3-team tournament. But, I'm sorry the high school squad is ridiculous. 4 of the 5 players on the All-NBA 1st Team are out of high school (Kobe, Bron, Howard, KG) and lets be real here about another factor, the international players don't have to play college ball either, so what's the point?

I really hope Brandon Jennings makes it in Europe and makes it to the league, because he'll truly be the NBA's (David Stern) worst nightmare.

-Ed.

Josh Hamilton is a Beast

Josh Hamilton is a beast beyond magical proportions, a rehabbed crackhead alcoholic just shutdown the homerun derby. I really don't think folks understand how amazing this dude is. He might become one of my 5 favorite players, forreal. Ken, you better get you a jersey asap because you gotta claim a dude like this. Plus, what's the first thing he did after hitting those homeruns last night? Thanks his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He's not a perfect athlete, but I appreciate his struggle and folks have to recognize what's really real and what really ain't. People make mistakes, but you've got to let people be an inspiration. Even Barry Bonds, Michael Vick, Tonya Harding, Ben Johnson, etc. Props to Josh, you just made the Ed The Sports Fan's pantheon of great players.


Oh, T-Minus 10 days 2 Vegas...we're gonna be CHEESING ALL THE WAY!!


-Ed.

In Spanish...Part One

In Spanish...Part Two

Ed's .02's on Too Easy & Benedict Brand

These are my two cents, because I was getting excited on being a fringe bandwagon Clippers fan and now the joy has (somewhat) been taken away from me by Mr. Brand. As Mr. Hideous said himself, never, EVER trust a Dukie. Ok, let me rant...

The fact of the matter is this, baron wouldn't have thought about signing with the clippers if he didn't think brand was gonna be there. second, brand didn't even try and negotiate with the clips even if he did a bigger deal from philly. I don't buy the fact totally that the Clip show wouldn't pay Brand because they've been trying to sign folks for years. (Kobe almost signed with LAC, Ray straight up denied them, and Gilbert Arenas was seriously thinking about it as well) Also, dude just came off a serious knee injury. Yet Philly's willing to pay $16M/year for that? That's a suspect investment, but I'll get on PHILA in a minute.


Look at the league now, the trend is pay 3 dudes major money and build with role players afterwards. look at boston, KG gets #1 money, pierce gets #2 money, and ray gets #3 money. same with LA, Kobe, Gasol, and Odom. What's Philly gonna do really? Brand's getting #1 money at $16M, Iguodala gets #2 money at $70M, and then Dalembert (?) gets #3 money at $10M per year? And your most important player is ANDRE MILLER! Boston, Detroit, Orlando, Toronto, and Washington are all still better than Philly right now. Plus Miami is definitely gonna be better. Atlanta's got a strong core, and Milwaukee's better with Richard Jefferson. Right now they are a #7 seed with no cap room.

If he would've stayed with the Clippers, they would have had more depth, and would have overall better players with Kaman, Baron, Tim Thomas, and Cat Mobley. Plus Al Thornton, Eric Gordon, and Deandre Jordan as the young nucleus. They would've been way more poised to be a 4-5 seed in the West. Phoenix is down, Dallas is down, Houston is fatally flawed, as is Denver and G-State. I dunno, if LAC gets Emeka Okafor, for less money too ($60M maybe) I'd say they better without Brand. That's a serious front line, kinda reminds me of Boston's frontline. Just Ed's personal opinion. Maybe I'm wrong, but if Emeka goes to La-La land, I think Baron will still be smiling in the end, oh boy.


-Ed.

The King comes back to the City of Angels, look at him at UCLA (3rd highlight is one of the best ever)

Benedict Brand

Article provided by Kenny Masenda, check him out at kennymasenda.blogspot.com

Elton Brand is a disgrace to the basketball race. Thing is, I don’t even hate, and never have hated Elton Brand. Despite the fact that he is a Blue Devil, I’ve always respected his demeanor, and his play, but after this latest act, ALL that has gone out of the window.


See, in my world, LOYALTY counts for something. Granted, one of the teams in question is the Los Angeles Clippers, who aren’t exactly the definition of that, but they did everything in their power to convince Brand to stick around, and try to get back to the 2006 version of the Clippers (the team that was one win away from the Western Conference Finals), but greed reared its ugly head, and Elton Brand took the bait, and for that, I can’t let him make it.

The people who defend his decision will say Philly offered more money. So what? They’ll also say Philly has a better chance of contending than the Clippers. While that MIGHT be true, I honestly don’t see them doing that much better, unless they are able to get another shooter, and if they could get Josh Smith. Then, I’ll buy that talk about them being a legitimate contender.


Last week, he said “it was his intention to stay” in Los Angeles, so what do the Clippers do?? They go sign BARON DAVIS!!!! If that’s not showing you they are serious about winning, then I don’t know what the hell is. I know I shouldn’t expect all athletes to keep their word, especially when people start tossing dollars in their faces, but I thought Elton Brand was different, but alas, I was wrong. He’s no different than the majority of these cats who will chase paper, as opposed to keeping their word. It’s a damn…shame. The only time it’s excusable, in my opinion, to change your mind, solely because of money, is in football, because those contracts aren’t guaranteed, so you have to get all the paper you can, while you can.

As a fan of the game, and someone who takes loyalty seriously, I don’t hate Elton Brand; I just really, really, really don’t like him right now.

Be easy.

Monday Sucks...

Man I had a great weekend, it was jam packed with WAY TO MUCH going on. But I didn't forget about you all. All 4 of my readers (Thanks Mom) So we owe you all something right? First off I wanna give 2 middle fingers to Internet HomoThug at http://www.getlikeme.wordpress.com/ and all the great work he does over there. Great guy.

Thoughts from the weekend...

• The Clippers will be a 4-5 seed in the 2009 NBA Playoffs (pending Elton Brand signing) - Who saw that one coming? Brand, Baron, Kaman, Thornton, Cuttino, Tim "I Can't Feel My Face" Thomas, and Co. will be nice, plus 2 fresh draft picks in Eric Gordon and DeAndre "Should've stayed in school" Jordan will complement a fresh new squad.


• C.C. Sabathia will kill in the National League - Dude is 6'7", 250 lbs (try 280) and ready to bring it for the Milwaukee Brewers. Repping the bay area (Vallejo what it is) with the hat cocked to the side, he's gonna be ready to team up with Ben Sheets to be as potent a one-two combo at the front of the rotation since Schilling and Randy Johnson.


• Dara Torres wins the 50 meter freestyle in swimming, sets world record at 41 years of age. - WTF??? Why is no one making a bigger deal of this? This chick hasn't raced in 6 years, and never has been considered the best swimmer in her generation, then comes along and DESTROYS the world record? You better check for an adam's apple, mustache on the lip, and needle holes on her rectum because its not happening for her to do that. By the way, she is kinda cute though and she got 2 kids? Oh boy.


• Nadal beats Federer for Wimbledon championship - Truly one of the greatest tennis matches I've ever seen. I've only seen about 6-7 matches all the way, but this one was worth it. Unfortunately, I owe my barber $20 because of it. Dammit Dion!


• Ed The Sports Fan does Vegas - Ed will be in Las Vegas celebrating his 25th birthday in style, staying on the strip and kicking it something major. I will be bringing you reports from Team USA's final tuneup as they play Team Canada at the Thomas & Mack, then on Saturday will give full details from the Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito Welterweight championship bout. Let's go Cotto!

-Ed.

The NBA, where WTF happens...

*courtesy of ESPN.com Insider

These are two players that I'm HUGE fans of, Gilbert Arenas and Baron Davis. There is news that both have opted out of their contracts and are available to the open market. However, more than likely they'll stay on the same teams for 2008-09. Whatever...anyway, I figured that this will tease you for the upcoming season. Besides, did you see the offer Joe Dumars and Detroit threw at G. State last week? Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace for Baron "Too Easy" Davis? Chris Mullin wanted nothing to do with it. What? You can go Chauncey, Monta, Stephen Jack, Al Harrington, Biedrins, Rasheed, Pietrus, Barnes, Azubuike, and rookies Brandan Wright and Anthony Randolph? Mullin's drunk.

By the way, we're running out of spots in the 2008 Ed The Sports Fan Fantasy Football League, look above in the News & Notes section to check out more.

Bold Move Surprises Nelson
Baron Davis - Warriors
What promised to be a tumultuous offseason for the Warriors was kicked into overdrive Monday when point guard Baron Davis left $17.8 million on the table and opted out of the final year of his contract, becoming an unrestricted free agent and throwing Golden State's immediate plans into confusion.
"I'm surprised, because 17 million is a lot of money for a year of basketball, but that's his prerogative,' Warriors coach Don Nelson said. 'He talked to me a couple days ago and said he was coming back. ... Opting out of a $17 million contract, that's (bold).'" -- Contra Costa Times

Arenas Offered Two Max Deals
Gilbert Arenas - Wizards
Both the Washington Wizards and Golden State Warriors have offered Gilbert Arenas max deals, according to a source close to the three-time All-Star point guard.
The Wizards early Tuesday morning offered Arenas a six-year $127 million deal, according to the source, and the Warriors offered Arenas five years for $101 million. The Wizards, because Arenas was under contract with them, are permitted to offer six years while other teams can offer only five. -- The Washington Times

According to a source close to Arenas, the three-time all star is mulling the offers but is leaning towards staying with the Wizards and is willing to take less than the maximum if it will help Ernie Grunfeld make other moves he needs to make this summer.
Also, I heard from a very reliable source that the Sacramento Kings contacted Arenas and said they are willing to do "whatever it takes" to land his services even if they have to "trade their entire team." -- The Washington Post

Because of his $35 million deal with Adidas, Gilbert Arenas has flexibility and -- according to a close friend of the guard -- could consider signing for another team for less if it meant having a greater chance at contending for a title more quickly.
But the source added Arenas has not scheduled any visits with other teams and will not consider fielding outside inquiries until any possible scenario that includes a return to the District is ruled out. -- The Washington Times

Gilbert Arenas will soon board a flight to Toronto and then China for a promotional trip he's doing for Adidas. When he lands later today, Arenas is scheduled to have a phone conversation with Wizards' owner Abe Pollin. The subject will be Washington's offer of a lucrative longterm contract. -- The Washington Post

-Ed.