Choking with excitement for "Winning Time"
by JS13 on Mar 13, 2010 11:14 AM EST
in All Project Franchise Updates
1 comment
The ESPN "30 for 30" series has been garnering rave reviews from just about everyone. I have only seen a handful, specifically "The U" and "Jimmy the Greek" but both were outstanding and the only criticism I heard about either was that "The U" wasn't long enough. Of course that critique was from myself and other die hard Canes fans that wished the film went straight through to the 2001 National Championship team.
I'm sure I will catch most of the series over time, but there are very few storylines that I have to watch immediately upon release...but "Winning Time" which details the story of Reggie Miller and the Knicks/Pacers rivalry, has been set to record on my Tivo since I saw the first trailer (below). Because both teams have fallen so far since that marquee playoff series, people tend to forget how fierce the rivalry was and how great almost every game was between these two teams.
With the timely release of Winning Time, this seems like a perfect time to intro one of our new Project Franchise Fan Fits, which is the apparel branch of Project Franchise, so all sales go towards the purchase of a fan run minor league sports team. Buy a cool shirt and help change the face of professional sports.
In honor of the Knicks "biggest" fan, we have released this sweet T - so pick one up and help a good cause!
1 comment | 0 recs |
Jason Kidd: The Ageless Wonder
by aramnath on Mar 12, 2010 4:56 PM EST
in Showin' Some Love
0 comments
Two years ago when the Mavericks traded for Jason Kidd at the trade deadline in exchange for what was essentially 24 year old point guard, Devin Harris and first round picks in the 2009 and 2010 drafts I thought that the Nets had fleeced Dallas. I wasn't alone.
On paper it made little sense and seemed more like an act of desperation on the part of Mark Cuban trying desperately to push the Mavs over the top in trying to land a playoff berth. In doing so most believed that he had parted with a burgeoning star in Harris and was getting little more than a two-year rental from Kidd who was on the last legs of a Hall of Fame career.
Initially that assessment didn't seem far off. The Mavericks entered the 2008 NBA playoffs as the No. 7 seed and proceeded to get bounced out of the first round by the New Orleans Hornets with the enduring memory of that series of Chris Paul running circles around Kidd who looked in over his head attempting to stick with the Hornets' point guard.
Fast forward two years and Kidd looks to have found a second wind with the Mavericks emerging as championship contenders, while Harris is busy trying to prevent the Nets from the worst record in the history of the NBA. Sure Kidd has been helped with the presence of Dirk Nowitzki and the deadline acquisition of Caron Butler, DeShawn Stevenson and Brendan Haywood, but he is certainly the engine driving this train.
He is posting a career high true shooting percentage of 58.3 and is also shooting a career high 42.1% from three point range. He's still dishing out 9.2 assists a night and while he is no longer the lockdown defender he once was, Kidd has become an exceptional team defender.
Any doubts that remained about Kidd's ability to lead a team at his age were dispelled with his performance against the Hawks on February 26. Kidd put up 19 points, 17 assists and 16 rebounds, the first player to have 15/15/15 game since 1996 when, surprise, Kidd did it at the age of 22. Before that nobody had done it since Magic Johnson in 1989.
Kidd is still not the playmaker he was in his prime, but he also doesn't need to be. He's coming to the end of a legendary career and is playing on the best team he has ever been part of.
The Mavericks probably won't win the championship once the Lakers start to care about playing again, but if you love basketball it's great to watch a player of Kidd's quality getting to play on a legitimate contender not just as a scrub off the bench, but as a leader on the court.
Here's to you Jason, 37 years old and still playing the point guard position as good as anybody in the league.
0 comments | 0 recs |
Don't hate the player, hate the owner?!
by GrantC on Mar 11, 2010 9:38 PM EST
in Quote of the Hour
2 comments
Earlier this week, SB Nation's Andrew Sharp asked a simple question. What's more valuable in sports: a great owner, or a great player?
He used the example of the lowly Nets as he pondered if they would be better off getting the #1 overall pick or an insanely wealthy owner who was willing to spend dollars like they are going out of style (which I think they technically are).
It was a really good article, breaking down each major sports league - as to who was more important to a team's success, the owner or the player.
Check out the article @ http://www.sbnation.com/2010/3/11/1365424/you-choose-owner-or-draft-pick
Clearly we at Project Franchise think that its not quite that cut and dry - as we believe that it starts with the owner (and their GM/"Front Office"), but that all the money in the world wont necessarily buy a winning team... Just ask Daniel Snyder. Hopefully our team will help to show a new model, where the fans actually have a voice and can help make the best decisions for a team as a group - meaning there is really a new component in the formula, where the quality of the team will be dependent on the quality of the fans!
2 comments | 0 recs |
Don't Call it a Comeback!
by PSTIM1 on Mar 11, 2010 1:46 PM EST
in All Project Franchise Updates
2 comments
It has been reported that Tiger Woods will return to the PGA Tour at the Bay Hill Invitational (Arnold Palmer's tourney) coming up in t two weeks. I am over the moon excited and cant wait to see Tiger prowling the fairways again (I have been friends with Tiger since '97 so I may be a bit biased) I hope he wins every god damn tournament that he plays in. The media has been billing this as a "comeback" but in all actuality Tiger has only missed 2 or 3 tournaments that he usually plays, so what is he actually coming back from? He is coming back from banging hella whores, I mean I guess that's something to "comeback" from, but usually in sports you are talking about a broken ankle or or a dislocated finger or some sort of tragedy - getting laid usually isn't one of them. Could you imagine hearing during a pre game show. "well it is nice to see Smith back in the lineup, this is first game back since having sex with 6 different women". All in all tiger is coming back to the Tour, but this isn't a "comeback".
2 comments | 0 recs |
Is It Time For the Celtics to Rebuild?
by aramnath on Mar 10, 2010 2:12 PM EST
in The Questions We Would Ask
0 comments
That question may sound a little ridiculous considering that Boston is only two seasons removed from their 17th NBA title and currently sit third in the East with a 40-22 record, good for the seventh best winning percentage in the league. Clearly Boston is still one of the NBA's better teams, but if you've spent any time watching them this season it's obvious that their championship window has slammed shut.
The team has struggled against the elite teams around the league most recently getting smoked by the Cavaliers by a score of 108-88 at home, a game which included a fourth quarter 35-14 beatdown in which the Celtics looked like a D-III squad playing Kansas. They followed that up with the low point of the season losing a game at home to the league's most futile team, the New Jersey Nets.
The signs of decline have been there all season with Garnett looking like a shadow of the player he was and Ray Allen struggling to find the range that made him one of the league's most feared sharpshooters during his career. Pierce has been the most consistent performer out of the "Big Three", but has struggled with injuries, much like KG, all season long.
Allen's contract expires this summer, Pierce has a player option for $21 million he is sure to exercise for next season after which his contract expires and Garnett's contract expires the following year. With Allen's performance in perpetual decline at this point it seems unlikely the Celtics would look to re-sign him this summer.
The team's MVP this season has without a doubt been Rajon Rondo. The 23-year old point guard has become the Celtics' floor leader and is averaging 14.1 points, 9.8 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. All that's stopping Rondo from taking the leap into the league's top echelon of point guards alongside Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Steve Nash is his perimeter shooting. With time on his side I'd expect him to take that step this summer.
However Rondo's emergence as the team's leader coinciding with the decline of the Celtics' aging star trio makes it even more pertinent that the Celtics resolve the uncertainty surrounding the future of the team sooner rather than later.
0 comments | 0 recs |
Kobe In The Klutch
by GrantC on Mar 10, 2010 2:52 AM EST
in Lottery Picks - Who's Gettin Drafted By Our Team
3 comments
Another night, another game winner from Kobe. It's getting to become so routine that even his fading away, towards the baseline rainbow from the corner with less than 2 seconds to play doesn't seem like much of a big deal. Yes, we know he missed a game winner at the buzzer just two days ago when the Lakers lost in Orlando - but that came after he hit two clutch jumpers on the previous two possessions (including a foot on the line shot that would have tied the game had it been 2 inches further back). And that really only adds to the allure, proving that he has ice in his veins and can brick a buzzer beater one night, then come back and stick one the next.
Derek Jeter & Big Papi have had some big hits in their careers, Peyton Manning & Tom Bradyy each have a ton of late game TD drives, and LeBron and DWade have their fair share of game winners - but there is no one in sports right now who can even compare with Kobe's clutchness... well as long as a certain Tiger is still in hiding.
3 comments | 0 recs |
Screamin' A Smith - Snitching In The Name of Journalism.
by PSTIM1 on Mar 9, 2010 2:07 AM EST
in Cut List - Who's Gettin Cut From Our Team
8 comments
I am all for reporter's being 'investigative", go ahead get some scoops break some stories, shine some light on shady or illegal practices, help make the world a better place, sleep well at night. But for goddamn sakes whatever happened to leaving someone who is having a tough time alone? Screamin A Smith wrote a piece about how Allen Iverson is addicted to booze and gambling. Guess what Stephen A, you need to quit being such a mark ass snitch and mind your own biznass. Nobody likes a tattle tale and everybody hates you. Leave AI alone and let him deal with his demons on his own, you are nothing but an alarmist that is trying to advance their career off the troubles of a more talented popular person.
8 comments | 0 recs |
An NL Central Sleeper
by doron on Mar 8, 2010 12:25 PM EST
in Fan's Eye View
3 comments
When someone tries to make predictions for the upcoming MLB, or any sport, season, a pretty common tactic is to simply take the division winners from last year and carry them forward to the title the following year unless they've taken some big hits to their roster.
That's why not many people doubt that the Phillies should repeat in the NL East. They've kept the core of their team from 2010, upgraded their ace, and likely will see an upgrade at third base (assuming that Placido Polanco's superior hitting makes up for Pedro Feliz' lost defense). By the same logic, it's why a lot of people are counting the Angels as underdogs in the AL West. They lost Chone Figgins, who was coming off such a strong season that he finished tenth in MVP voting, their staff ace John Lackey, and, though he may be declining, a slugger in Vladmir Guerrero.
With this in mind, it seems like it would be hard to argue against the St. Louis Cardinals heading to victory in the NL Central again. They'll still have Albert Pujols, the best hitter in the sport, at the center of the lineup, backed up by the re-signing of Matt Holliday, who destroyed the NL last season. Going with this, they'll sport one of the best 1-2 punch rotations in baseball, with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainright.
The problem is, it sort of ends there. Outside of Pujols, they'll need to rely on Felipe Lopez to match his 2009 career-year, because the left half of their infield is nothing to write home about. Ryan Ludwick had a monster season two years ago, but fell down to earth in 2008. They'll have breakout candidate Colby Rasmus in CF, though outside of that, this is the team that will rely on a core of four players. They're four great, great players, without a doubt. But if any of them miss significant time due to injury or have a down-year, the Cardinals will be in jeopardy.
3 comments | 0 recs |
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