MVN: Most Valuable Network

For those of you out there who are relatively new passengers on the SS Carmine Hose, last night's Fiscal Year Fiasco in Baltimore may have come as a bit of a shock. Losing a 9-run lead with 9 defensive outs to go is an unusual occurrence these days. Ah, but there was a time, my hearties, when this kind of a gut check to the psyche was relatively routine. I'm talking about that mystical period before Yawkey Way was a pedestrian mall. Yes, the dreaded pre-2004 editions of the Olde Towne Team. I realize that the names Bucky F. Dent, Bob Stanley, Bill Buckner and Aaron F. Boone are simply murky shades from a gloomy past. But, beware. The karma from 86 long years does not diminish into the haze without a fight. You know that sick feeling in the pit of your soul when relief pitcher after relief pitcher...... Read more

Brandon Jennings is a fascinating character to me. Instead of going the JC route when he couldn't make the grades to get into Arizona, he skipped off to play hoops in Europe. After a single uneventful season playing for Lottomatica Roma in Italy, the Bucks used the 10th pick in the draft to bring him back stateside. I took the kid to task in a previous blog, because I think his move has started an unsavory trend of American teenagers heading overseas simply because they can't make a decent score on the SAT. I'm all for teenagers getting paid to play ball, but this ain't some minor leaguer riding on a bus from Durham to Greensboro after a double header. An American teenager flying around Europe and not knowing a lick of any language over there is an entirely different (and potentially problematic) deal altogether. A lot can go wrong...... Read more

Ever seen a fisherman get frustrated as he watches his buddies reel in bass after bass, while he gets barely a nibble? The tense, frustrated look on his face only gets worse as he tries one lure after another with little or no luck. That's pretty much the look that Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy sported from the Orlando bench during his team's Game 2 overtime loss to the Lakers that put them in an 0-2 NBA Finals hole. Van Gundy tinkered with the Magic backcourt lineup like a redneck rifling through a tackle box, desperately looking for something that might work. His starting guards (Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee) were outscored 41-6 by the Laker starting backcourt of Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher. To add to Van Gundy's perimeter woes, Jameer Nelson logged 17 minutes of mostly unremarkable court time, showing only that the guard is still months...... Read more

...Bill Romanowski, affectionately known to NFL fans as "Romo." Check out this gem from an interview he did with IGN's Jon Robinsion back in 2006 that pretty much sums up the Romo Experience: "Dirtiest thing I ever did was at the bottom of a pile, I was trying to rip the ball out of the running back's hands, it was Dave Meggett, and all I could get a hold of was his finger. I just grabbed the finger, twisted it, and broke it like a chicken bone." Romo's supporters would tell you that his pure, unbridled passion for the game of football sometimes made him a little overzealous. But I don't care how passionate you are, twisting someone's finger underneath a pile until it breaks is just plain dirty. I guess that's what 'roid rage will do to a guy who's already unbalanced to start with. After a highly decorated...... Read more

Join me, true believers, as we delve into one specific and fascinating element of the NBA Finals. Past the standard "who will win", "keys to the game", and the always scintillating post-game line of questioning that begins with the words "were you surprised when.....?" Win or lose, this Series will define the legacy of Kobe Bryant. I thought it best to start this column with the most ludicrously inane statement of the bunch, because you can bet your last aging sneaker it won't be the last time this one crosses the line of common sense. It's easy to tell when the person you're speaking to or hearing as they call themselves NBA experts or analysts knows little or next to nothing about basketball or even playing a team game at even an average level. The moment discussion comes up about Kobe's three previous Title rings and how they count less...... Read more