The Blue Jays Need Barry Bonds

As soon as the Toronto Blue Jays released Frank Thomas rumors began to fly that they would be interested in bringing in the most controversial player in the history of the game, Barry Bonds. Talk of Bonds in a Jays uniform has silenced over the past few days, but if the Jays hope to contend this season they should seriously consider bringing in baseball’s home run king.

Here’s why they need his bat. Adam Lind was called up from the minors to get Thomas’s at-bats. Lind was a highly coveted prospect who hasn’t lived up to the hype. In 89 games last year Lind hit .238 with a measly .278 on base percentage. Since being called up he’s hitless with one walk. That’s not gonna cut it.

Yes, it’s fair to say that Bonds is old. However, while playing in 126 games last season he did manage to hit .276, with 26 homers and a very impressive on-base percentage of .444. With Bonds as their DH, he’d be able to get on base almost half the time, and give them the opportunity to score more runs, which they desperately need. The Jays rank 23rd in the league in runs scored, which is also last overall in their division. They’re also 25th overall in team RBI’s, and 22nd in home runs with only 19. Plugging Bonds into the middle of the line-up would generate automatic offense. No pitcher would want to face Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, Scott Rolen, and Barry Bonds in a row. We all know what Bonds can do offensively, so there’s no need to elaborate.

Here’s why the Jays need Barry Bonds, the person. When was the last time this team has done anything exciting, or made any type of splash? Well, besides John Gibbons getting in wrestling matches with his players. While the Yankees and Red Sox provide their fans with exciting moments and aggressive roster moves, the Jays seem to sit still and be satisfied with finishing third in the AL East year after year. Sure, they have a few good players, but Jays fans are screaming for some type of excitement to be brought to the team. The Jays have become quite boring over the last few years, and J.P. Riccardi has done a miserable job as GM, over paying for players, and not making good trades.

The Jays need Bonds to ignite their offense, and Jays fans need him as a reason to be interested again. Sure, Bonds isn’t the best teammate, but no one can question his production. Offensively, the Jays can’t get much worse. By adding Bonds the team would improve in the standings, see enhanced coverage, and increase their attendance. Signing Bonds is one risk that would surely be worth the reward.

Breaking Down The Penguins vs. Rangers Second Round Series

The most appealing series of the NHL’s second round kicks off Friday night when the fifth seeded New York Rangers take on the second seeded Pittsburgh Penguins. The series holds many storylines including: The high powered Pens offense versus one of the leagues top goalies; how will the Pens respond to Sean Avery’s antics; and how will Marc-Andre Fleury perform under the bright lights of a second round series.

The two teams met a total of eight times during the regular season with the Rangers winning five. During those eight games the Rangers outscored the Pens 19-17, and each team had one shutout, so obviously things were pretty close. But we all know that what happens in the regular season doesn’t necessarily translate to the same results during the playoffs.

During the first round against the Senators, the Pens pretty much scored at will, and manhandled the overmatched team from Ottawa. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, the Rangers are a much different team than Ottawa. They have stability in net, grit, and unquestionable leadership. The Rangers were viewed as a bit of a dark horse to make a run in this years playoffs, but it’s not gonna be easy against the well balanced Penguins.

All four lines on the Pens can score, as can several of their offensive minded defensemen. In their series against Ottawa they only allowed one power play goal, and had only 13 minor penalties. In net Fleury was about as solid as a brick wall. In the four games he allowed seven goals on 112 shots.

As for the Rangers, they had a bit of a harder time than the Pens is round one. It took them five games to send the higher seeded Devils golfing. During those five games the Rangers scored an impressive 20 goals against Martin Brodeur. The Rangers also have something no other team has: Sean Avery. The ‘Super Pest’ rattled Brodeur and the Devils, and had a huge impact on that series. People complain about Avery, but every team would want a player like him. It should be interesting to see what he has up his sleeve for the Pens. It will also be interesting to see if the Pens play into his mind games.

PREDICTION: Penguins in six. It’ll be tough for the Rangers to keep up with the Penguins high scoring attack. Pittsburgh is a very well disciplined team, and Marc Andre Fleury has never looked better. Both teams are capable of going all the way, but the Rangers will have to wait until next year to get another chance.

Other series predictions: Dallas in six, Detroit in six, and my upset special is Philly beating Montreal seven games, and we’ll have an all-Pensylvania Eastern Conference Final.

Enjoy the Second Round!
-Joe Osborne

Reebok Teams Up With Microsoft Zune To Launch New Sneaker

WHO: Legendary basketball and fashion icon, Nuggets player and Reebok athlete Allen Iverson, aka "The Answer"

WHAT: Reebok and Zune have teamed up for the first time to bring you a limited edition Allen Iverson sneaker - the Answer XI Zune.

This partnership between Reebok and Zune brings together two things important to AI in his life - basketball and music.

Reebok has produced 60 pairs of a special version of Iverson's latest Reebok signature shoe - the Answer XI. For this limited-edition collection, the Answer XI has been designed featuring the Zune logo. The sneakers will be sold with a customized Zune 8g black digital media player, featuring etched AI graphics on the back that is loaded with special AI content including his Reebok commercials, playlists and interview footage of other Reebok athletes talking about the first time they played against AI in the league. The sneakers and Zune media player will also come in special packaging.

The Answer XI Zune collection will retail for $300 and be sold only at select boutique shops in five key markets. Each store will receive only 12 collectible packages, so be sure to be the first one in line at your local store!

WHEN: Coming this June 2008

WHERE: Available only at the following 5 stores: Complex/Training Day Store (NYC), Major Commonwealth (DC), Commonwealth (VA), Wish (ATL), The 400 (Denver).

MMA Fight Weekly: UFC 83 Preview

NBA End Of Season Awards

With the NBA season wrapped up, and the playoffs on the horizon, it's time to give out the end of season awards. Let's get er going!

Most Improved Team: New Orleans Hornets- At the start of the season if you predicted the Hornets would finish second in the West you'd either have to be a delusional Hornets fan or mentally unstable (or maybe a weird combination of the two). The bottom line is that this team came out of no where and improved their tenth place finish last season by 17 wins to finish second in the highly competitive Western Conference. And it's not like they were beating up on chump change teams all year. They have wins against every other Western Conference playoff team including four wins against the Suns, and two each versus the Mavs, Lakers, and Spurs. After a season like this the Hornets are serious Finals contenders.

Honorable Mention- Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers

Most Disappointing Team: Chicago Bulls- In the preseason the Bulls were considered by many as a big time contender in the East. Well, let's just say it was a long season for the Bulls. They finished the season with a miserable 33 wins, which is 15 less than last seasons total. After starting the season 2-10, the Bulls just couldn't get it together. It looks like they're back to being the 'Baby Bulls'. If I was a Bulls fan I'd be planning some type of riot due to management not being able to pull the trigger on that Kobe deal last summer.

Honorable Mention- Miami Heat, New Jersey Nets

Most Improved Player: Jose Calderon- The Raptors point man established himself as a premier point guard this season, by averaging a little over eight assists a game and improving his career three point percentage of .368 to .429. As a pass first guard he also averaged 11.2 points while only playing 30 minutes a game due to sharing time with T.J. Ford. Calderon is a future All-Star who should see his production increase even more next season, especially if the Raps decide to dump Ford.

Honorable Mention- Hedo Turkoglu, J.R. Smith, LaMarcus Aldridge

Most Unimproved Player: Darko Milicic- This was supposed to be Darko's breakout season. Wait a minute, last year was, or was it the year before that. Darko proved this year that he will never have a breakout season, and that he's one of the biggest bust in NBA Draft history (I still can't believe that he was picked before Melo, D-Wade, and CB4). Playing for the Grizzlies was supposed to give Darko a chance to shine, but he only managed seven points and six boards a game. He and Kwame Brown sure do make a great front court duo. I hear Sam Bowie may come out of retirement to join them next season, and the Griz are also thinking of signing Michael Olowokandi.

Honorable Mention- Andrea Bargnani, anyone on the Knicks

Rookie of the Year: Kevin Durant- 20 points and 35 minutes per game. No need to elaborate.

Honorable Mention- Al Horford

Coach of the Year: Byron Scott (Hornets)- When a team improves by 17 wins the coach must be doing something right. Playing for the Hornets the last few seasons couldn't have been the most stable situation, but Scott has made things work. He's been able to blend his players into a fantastic system that has seen the overachieving team play better than most of the leagues top contenders.

Honorable Mention- Doc Rivers, Rick Adelman

MVP: Kobe Bryant- There's several players in the running for this seasons MVP, and this year could be the toughest vote ever. When determining an MVP pick, people always say "If you took this guy off the team, they'd be nothing". Well, you could probably say that about 15 different players in the NBA. Kobe is the most skilled player in the league, and plays on the team with the best record in easily the toughest conference. No one really expected the Lakers to make much noise this year, but now they're the West's best team, and that's all because of Kobe. Yes, the Celtics did finish with a better record, but they obviously had a much easier schedule. Kobe's the man. It's that simple.

Honorable Mention- Kevin Garnett, Chris Paul

Enjoy the playoffs!

-Joe Osborne

Penguins Being Blamed For Global Warming Due to Hot Playoff Start

Three games into the NHL playoffs, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are easily the number one team so far, and they've appeared unstoppable. With the exception of the first period of Monday night's game, The Pens have absolutely dominated the Ottawa Senators. It seems like the Pens are almost toying with the Senators, playing keep-away with the puck, and forcing them into taking stupid penalties.

In their three playoff games the Penguins have outscored the Senators 13-4. During the three game span, the Pens have had 19 power play opportunities along with a total of 127 shots on net. Defensively they're getting in done too. They've only allowed one power play goal while being shorthanded 11 times. And Marc-Andre Fleury has simply been the man in net by posting a shutout and a goals against average of 1.34. He's only allowed four goals on 90 shots, which is pretty damn good.

The Pens did have a few question marks entering the playoffs. They included Sidney Crosby's health, and whether or not Marian Hossa could perform in the playoffs. Well, those questions have been answered. Both Hossa and Crosby have six points so far which ties them with teammate Evgeni Malkin for the playoff league lead. Hossa has been heavily involved in the offense registering 15 shots on net, while Crosby appears to be back to full strength with almost 20 minutes of ice time in each game.

It's been a great team effort so far. No player on the Pens roster has a plus/minus of under -1. Also, of the 19 skaters to have played so far in the series, 15 of them have recorded at least one point so far.

If the Penguins can pull off the sweep of the Sens on Wednesday night, it looks like they'll have a little bit of a lay off before their next series. This can effect teams both negatively and positively, but I can't see a little bit of time off having any negative effect on the dialed-in Pens. If they can continue playing at this pace, the only competition they'll have will be from each other to see who will win the Conn Smythe trophy.

-Joe Osborne

Fantasy Baseball: Waiver Wire Watch

The season is only a few weeks old, but so far there's been a handful of players who's offensive production has been a pleasant surprise. On the other hand, David Ortiz, Ryan Howard, and Miguel Cabrera are all hitting under .200, and Prince Fielder had zero home runs. If your fantasy team is off to a rough start, here's a few players you should consider picking up if they're available.

Mark Reynolds (3B, ARI): The second year player is currently leading the league in home runs with five. He has 27 total bases, and a .306 batting average. He does strikeout a lot, but he's been one of the league's top producers through nine games. Make sure you pick him up ASAP, because he won't be available for long.

Nate McLouth (OF, PIT): McLough was expected to have to compete for an everyday job, but after his hot start I'd say he'll have no problem keeping full time work. Through 9 games, he has seven doubles, two steals, and a .391 batting average. He's currently riding a seven game hit streak, and won't last longer as a free agent in any fantasy league.

Corey Patterson (OF, Cin): Patterson has been a hitting machine so far this year with four homers, four doubles, and eight RBI's. If your outfield is thin, give Patterson a shot. Given his hot start, I'd say he's at least worthy of a spot on any teams bench.

Joe Crede (3B, CWS): Crede's .406 batting average won't last forever, but even if he cools off a little bit, he'll be a great option. He went pretty much unnoticed in drafts this year due to missing most of last season, but so far this season he's been so hot that people are blamming him for global warming.

Jeff Keppinger (SS,3B, CIN): Keppinger is an obvious pick-up for two reasons. He's eligible at more than one position, and he's hitting .342 with 22 total bases in 10 games. With Brandon Phillips and Ken Griffey Jr. hitting behind him he'll see lots of great pitches and have lots of opportunities to score runs.

Although the season is young, chances are you have a scrub or two on your team that you can risk dumping for one of the above mentioned players. If your All-Star players aren't producing yet, don't panic. One mistake fantasy players make too often is dropping proven producers too early in the season because they're off to a slow start. Be patient, but make sure you cover your ass by making smart pick-ups throughout the season. Make sure to check back throughout the season for more fantasy baseball advice.

-Joe Osborne

Mark Cuban: Beyond The Glory

The story behind the best owner in pro sports