The Sports Guru

You gotta love Al Davis. Not only is he living on the successes of the past, a very distant past, but he loves to cause trouble with the mass media. Earlier in the year he threatened to punch a San Francisco beat writer, something I am sure we would never see from Pat Bowlen, and now it’s a beef with former Denver Post columnist, current NFL Network rover Adam Schefter.

Maybe Al and his walker can return to the sidelines!

You see, Schefter reported earlier today that the Raiders are planning to fire Art Shell after the season. According to Schefter, the Raiders are disappointed with how Shell has fared in his second stint with the Raiders. A lack of inspiration, a total mess in regards to Randy Moss and Jerry Porter, and perhaps the biggest reason of all, the Raiders’ solid 2-12 record. Shell still has a year left on his deal, but Schefter was clear, Al Davis is going to fire Art Shell.

It didn’t take the Raiders long to release the following statement —

“Adam Schefter has always been a false rumor monger with respect to the Raiders and Anti-Raider bias based upon his relationship with Denver and Mike Shanahan. No decisions have been made reletive to the 2007 Oakland Raiders nor will they be made for some time. Adam Schefter could not have gotten his information from a ‘reliable source’ because there’s only one reliable source and he doesn’t trust Adam.”

Doe it get any better than that? To his credit, Schefter simply pointed out that no where in the statement did it deny the fact tehat Shell would be gone. If Schefter is such a ‘flase rumor monger’ come out and give your embattled head coach a vote of confidence.

I was never a big fan of Schefter when he covered the Broncos and I must say I think less of him on NFL Network, but in this case it appears his information is accurate, and hey, if his old allegiances in Denver entice him to take a shot at our arch-enemy, so be it!

Technorati Tags: Al Davis, NFL Network, Adam Schefter, Art Shell, Fired

It’s official. Jim Tressel became the ultimate snub for 2006. Any sport, any award, any all-star game or pro bowl, doesn’t matter, Tressel wins for not winning. What am I talking about, you ask? The fact that Jim Tressel, who led the Ohio State Buckeyes to an undefeated season, all while ranked #1 of course, did not win either of the Coach of the Year awards. Are you kidding me? Before you get on my case, hear me out.

First, the guys that did win the awards were deserving. Greg Schiano of Rutgers won the Walter Camp Football Foundation award, while Jim Grobe of Wake Forest won the AP version. Both had great seasons, and came out of nowhere, leading there teams to big time Bowl berths. But is that worthy of beating Tressel? I think not….

What do you think is harder. Coaching a team to succes when no one expects you to be successful, or coaching the team that is the Pre-Season #1, for no real reason at all? Is it harder to coach a team that is picked to finish last or a team that is expected to play for the National Championship? I think you get my drift.

Why should Tressel be punished becuase the media didn’t know enough about Rutgers or Wake Forest to give them any respect. Why should Tressel be punished becuase the media decided his Buckeyes were the #1 team in the country?

I know I am grasping at straws, but sometimes the Coach of the Year goes to the biggest surprise instead of teh guy who did the best coaching job. Both Schiano and Grobe were wonderful stories and big surprises, but when you have the bullseye that is the #1 ranking on your back and still run the table with ease I think you have done a better coaching job. That coach is Jim Tressel, the SportsGuru.com Coach of the Year.

Technorati Tags: Ohio State, Jim Tressel, Coach of the Year, Greg Schiano, Rutgers, Jim Grobe, Wake Forest

I just got finished watching the Cavaliers lose. Again. Another loss on the road, the 4th straight, 8 of 11 so far this season. More disturbing is the fact that the Cavs lost another game to a team under .500. Sure, New Jersey is very talented, much better than their 10-14 record would indicate, but they are 10-14. Amazingly, 5 of their 9 losses have come against teams that did not make the playoffs last year. I can go on and on about the numbers, but how much fun is that to read. No, I want to focus more on how this team is playing, and why Mike Brown or LeBron James keep letting it go on.

Tonite was the same ‘ole same ‘ole. Play decent in the first half, collapse in the 3rd quarter, claw back and make the final score look a lot closer than the game actually was. LeBron was great tonite, but noone else decided to show up. Eric Snow is still a waste of space on the floor, and can someone please tell me when Larry Hughes became a jump shooter. Larry did not go to the basket once during the game. NOT ONCE! Wasn’t that his M.O. in the league before breaking the bank in Cleveland? A slasher, a guy that drive hard to the hoop. Not so far this season. Larry seems content to sit out at the 3-point arc and chuck up long range jumpers when LeBron penetrates.

And what about all the talk from Donyell Marshall about playing more inside? Early in the season it appeared Marshall was going to do just that. Rebound, post up and get to the basket more. Not anymore. In the few minutes that he played Marshall hoisted three after three, miss after miss.

Meanwhile the Nets were going inside. Vince Carter, himself struggling with a case of threepointitis, went to the rim early and often, matchin LeBron point for point, especially down the stretch when the Cavs tried to come back.

Yea, all that is frustrating, but not nearly as frustrating as watching LeBron and Damon Jones laugh it up with Jay-Z over and over late in the game when the Cavs were down double-digits. Hey, maybe Lebron wants to play in Brooklyn when the Nets move to the city in 2010. That’s fine with me, go ahead, but until then, when the supposed contender you play for now is getting embarrassed, AGAIN on the road, try to keep the fraternization with the other team’s owner to a minimum. Could you imagine Michael or Larry joking around during a loss? Me neither.

But that’s the thing about LeBron, isn’t it? He’d rather be Jay-Z’s buddy off the court than beat his team on it. Miss a pair of free-throws in the 4th quarter when the game is still in doubt, no problem cuz I am Jay-Z’s boy.

So the Cavs drop their 2nd straight overall, and head home to face the Pistons. Good thing the Cavs are 11-2 at home, becuase the way this team plays on the road they are going to need all the wins they can get.

Technorati Tags: LeBron James, Cavaliers, Jay-Z, Cleveland, New Jersey Nets, Vince Carter, Larry Hughes