Newz Forum: OTHER: Burger King ads, the Knicks, the NBA, JD Drew plus more...

Can someone explain to me what made UCLA think that they could play run and gun with Florida and win? UCLA has won its tournament games by playing tenacious defense and solid - if not always overly efficient - patterned offense. It took most everyone about 5 or 6 minutes to realize that Florida was the faster team and if you try to run against an opponent that is faster than you are, you will lose. And that is exactly what UCLA did last night.

Until last night's game, I was prepared to ask you all a simple question today. Which is the dumber Burger King ad, the one where 'The King' intercepts a pass and scores a TD in an NFL game or the one with the 'Big Buckin' Chicken'? However, after last night's game, Burger King showed us one where the king wakes up with a construction worker in bed with him and so he whips out a breakfast sandwich to 'get the day rolling'. That and the ensuing pillow fight are about as dumb as you get. 'Big Buckin' Chicken' begins to look like an Old Vic Company production of Macbeth...

I have three comments today about the NY Knicks:

They ought to consider signing a TV deal with Comedy Central to carry their games. That might be a great win-win proposition.

Larry Brown should get consideration for Coach of the Year. Think about it, he has endured the ass pain generated by Stephon Marbury; he's had a sulking Steve Francis on the bench; he's paid Allen Houston not to play; he's paid Jalen Rose a lot of money and played him as little as possible; and he had the joy of watching Jerome James commit more personal fouls this season than he has rebounds for the season. And he never once committed a felonious act that would have improved the roster. Now that merits at least some 'Coach of the Year' consideration.

The Knicks better like this roster because other than guys who rarely play, everyone is signed for next year except Eddy Curry. Now I don't want to try to make Curry out to be the next Abdul-Jabbar, but he's probably the most valuable commodity on the Knicks' roster and he's the guy who could walk if he wanted to.

In the NBA Eastern Conference, the Bulls and the Sixers are stumbling toward the playoffs; the team that loses last will probably be out. The Sixers had a fairly solid grip on that eighth playoff spot but then lost 10 of 12 games in a horrendous stretch. These two teams face each other twice this week (Wednesday and Saturday). Now from a fan perspective, it would be better for the team to miss the playoffs and have a shot at a top three draft pick. It will be interesting to see just how hard the players get after it in these two games - or if the coaches decide all of a sudden to 'shuffle the line-up'. After all, whichever of these teams makes the playoffs merely gets to be cannon fodder for the Detroit Pistons in the first round.

I've pointed out before that Chris Webber and Allen Iverson command so much of the cap room on the Sixers that they are stuck wit that tandem for the foreseeable future - unless Isiah Thomas decides to make another 'splashy deal'. You can add Samuel Dalembert to that equation because even though he does not pull down the money that Webber or Iverson does, he is paid at a level that belies his contribution to the team on the floor. Dalembert has a contract worth $64M - that's not a typo. And recently, he's been playing behind Steven Hunter whom the team tried to offload onto the Hornets but the Hornets called off the deal when Hunter could not pass their physical. The Sixers will be flirting with a 25-win season before they are flirting with a 50-win season.

The Knicks and Sixers are not the only bad/mediocre teams saddled with big contracts on players who aren't nearly worth it. The Portland Trail Blazers have Darius Miles under contract through the 2009/10 season and his deal has $34M left to go on it. Miles either cannot or will not play hard and has made himself a huge pain in the ass wherever he's been. Good luck to Portland trying to move that guy. Oh, and they also have Theo Ratliff signed in Portland for two more years at a total cost of $23M. Stack that many dollar bills in the paint and you'd have an equally contributing center for your team.

According to a report by Larry Stewart in the LA Times, Vin Scully used the opportunity of a press conference announcing his contract extension with the Dodgers to let everyone know that he did not like the fact that the Dodgers had removed the names of the players from the back of the uniform. That caused Dodger owner, Frank McCourt, to announce then and there that the names would be back on the uniforms - but not until next year. Excuse me; it takes a year to put together the nameplates that would be sewn on the shirts?

Here's another Dodger tidbit. JD Drew told the LA Times:

'The older you get, people lean on you more. It comes with the territory; you become more team oriented. The focus becomes less on you and more about chemistry and picking each other up. I see myself growing into that type of player.'

Memo to JD Drew: Growing into that type of player? Excuse me, but you are 30 years old. When are you going to be a 'team oriented player'? When you're 50?

I'm sure you've read about Rep Cynthia McKinney and how she is alleged to have hit a Capitol Police officer. Obviously, I don't know what caused the incident there but I suspect that Rep McKinney has been added to more than a few NFL draft boards as a linebacker in the past week or so. Clearly, she has the ability and willingness to hit somebody...

Finally, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL are considering the site of a former meat processing plant as the place to build their new stadium. Here are two comments on that situation:

'Well, that's one way to pack 'em in.'
Dwight Perry, Seattle Times

'Makes sense for a team that for the past few season has looked like chopped liver.'
Bill Lankhoff Toronto Sun

But don't get me wrong, I love sports... ... ...

Curmudgeon