While talking with Austin and Thundah about the Boston Celtics and what they could do at the trade deadline, the word "dink" was thrown around a lot. It was warranted, as we were talking about Dwight Howard and DeMarcus Cousins, but that got us thinking...who are the top five dinks in the NBA. This quickly turned into a All-Dink starting five. Here's what we came up with... PG - Rajon Rondo This was so easy. Rondo did the impossible and made the assist a selfish stat. He also grew so hated in his short time in Dallas that the Mavs made up an injury so he would not participate in the playoffs. They got sick of him really quickly. SG - Carmelo Anthony When a player hits free agency, they usually have two options. They can stay with their current team and make as much money as possible, or they can go elsewhere, take less money, and if they do that it is usually because they want to be on a winning team. Anthony stayed with the Knicks, a dismal team, but did not even take the full max contract. He took less money to stay with the Knicks. It comes down to he just loves New York and would rather stay there, on a terrible team, than go somewhere and win. SF - Josh Smith Here is a timeline I found to explain how loved Josh Smith is...
PF - DeMarcus Cousins Dink? Yes. Dink that I want to play for the Celtics? Absolutely. Let's start with a quick timeline for Cousins as well...
C - Dwight Howard It was like watching a game on ping pong when following Howard's preferences when in Orlando. One day he wanted to be traded, the next day he wanted to stay with the Magic. Then he'd want to be moved again. Then he'd say he loves Orlando. When he was in Los Angeles, on an absolutely stacked team, he was upset that he wasn't getting the ball enough because some guy named Kobe was shooting too much. He has seen eight coaches fired on teams that he's been a part of. And some of those teams were absolutely filthy, like the Lakers team he got Mike D'Antonio fired from. They had a starting five of Steve Nash, Kobe, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol, and Howard. That's insane. They made the playoffs but were immediately swept by the Spurs. Is there anybody else you would have included on the All-Dink Team? Follow @SamPericolo for the latest sports talk and news
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Alright, now that I have your attention, let's play a little game. I am going to take a story that recently was released that did not get any national attention and make a few minor changes in it. Actually, the only change that I'm going to make will be the name of the person who the story is about. Then try to imagine what the national media would be saying...
According to a report, Tom Brady had HGH shipments addressed to his wife sent to his house in 2011. HGH can help those suffering from injuries to recover faster. Its use is illegal in the NFL. That is the same year that Brady missed the entire season due to multiple neck surgeries that he was told may keep him out of football for the remainder of his career. Charlie Sly of the Guyer Institute was captured on hidden camera saying that the Brady household was sent shipments of HGH. Ari Fleischer was hired by Brady to help with the public relations. He confirmed that drugs were sent to Brady's house from the Guyer Institute. After these allegations, Brady hired private investigators to pay a visit to the house of Charlie Sly. These two men showed up at Sly's parent's house and falsely identified themselves as law enforcement, as reported in the 911 call that Sly's sister placed while these two men were speaking with her parents. Let's step back and take a quick look at this. It looks as if Brady has 1) had an illegal substance sent to his house, 2) tried to cover it up by having it sent to his house under his wife's name, and 3) sent a pair of men to Sly's house to intimidate him and his family. Wow. That's a crazy story. Now, I'm sure you all know this is actually the story that ties Peyton Manning to HGH. If you compare it to all of the Deflategate news that came out, it is actually quite similar. Brady/the Patriots were suspected of doing something that is banned by the NFL. They attempted to hide it by sneakily doing it in the bathroom and Brady destroying his phone. They didn't intimidate anybody, though. So the Manning camp took it a step further. Furthermore, HGH is more so getting a competitive advantage than taking some air out of the footballs. Now let's tackle a few more points. First, can we compare HGH to ball deflation and the integrity of the game? Well, apparently we can, as it was actually Roger Goodell who ridiculously compared the two while trying to bury Brady. Second, is having a banned substance shipped to your house enough evidence to come down on a guy? Again, apparently so. Rodney Harrison was suspended after it was discovered that shipments were sent to his house. Just because Manning used his wife's name doesn't mean that it wasn't for him. And the date that it was sent is the same time he was having all these surgeries. A little suspicious. The NFL and the national media are doing everything they can to ignore the facts. The facts point to Manning having taken HGH to come back from a serious injury. There is actually more evidence than there was against Brady and the Patriots. However, Brady is still getting buried. He was booed during his introduction as Super Bowl MVP at Super Bowl 50. That was supposed to be a celebration of the history of the game. Nobody should have been booed. He wasn't even in the game. Manning, on the other hand, has continued to skate. It's not about the fact that Manning probably took HGH. It's the media attention that it is getting, or lack there of. I don't care if he took them. I don't care if the Patriots stuck a needle in a football. I just want people to look at it as an unbiased observer and realize that what happened to Brady and what is not happening to Manning is absolutely absurd. If you try to tell me that if these HGH allegations were against Brady that the media attention would be the same, then you are totally delusional. Disclaimer: This was written prior to the New York Daily News article that came out this past weekend. However, nothing has changed. Actually, my point is more clear than ever. There hasn't been much reported on the story, at least compared to the deflation of footballs.
Alright, so here's the deal. I love doing mock drafts. If you have an idea of what positions you'd like to see the Patriots draft, and how early you'd like to see them drafted, please leave a comment, tweet me @SamPericolo and I will create a mock draft for the Patriots, or any team that you'd like to see, custom to what you want to see. In this situation, Jeff Kane (@BostonFatGuy -- check him out on ESPN New Hampshire) requested a mock that would have the Patriots grab two running backs, a wide receiver, a tackle, a cornerback, and a tight end. I was not told which positions to draft early, so I just went with it. It would have been nice to grab a tackle earlier than the 7th round, but there were not a ton of prospects that were worth the earlier pick at the time.
Pick 2:29 - Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama I'm not too sure about Henry. He had a monster season, winning the Heisman Trophy, but I am not sold. Plus, as we have seen in the past, Heisman winners do not always translate to the NFL. He is a bigger back, and I do not mean bigger like LeGarrette Blount (who CBS Sports used as a comparison to Henry...ewwwww), I mean bigger as in he's 6'2". He looks like he runs upright to me, but that could just be because he is so tall. Pick 3:29 - CJ Prosise, RB, Notre Dame LOVE LOVE LOVE Promise. He's a very versatile back; he actually played wide receiver before making the switch to back for his senior season. That means he could truly be a pass catching back. However, he also has the power to get through contact and speed to get downfield. He could be a serious sleeper in this draft. CHEER CHEER FOR OLD NOTRE DAME. Pick 4:29 - Braxton Miller, WR, Ohio State Excuse me...THE Ohio State University. Miller is another guy who changed positions. He was a quarterback before becoming a wide receiver, and a damn good one at that, for his senior year. He did not put up huge numbers (26/341/3), but has impressed scouts recently. Will he be there late in the fourth? Probably not. But he is here, so the Patriots will take him, thank you very much.
Pick 6:21 - Deiondre Hall, CB, Northern Iowa
Hall is projected to go in the second or third round by CBS Sports, but there are plenty of guys that just keep falling come draft day. Maybe Hall slips a few rounds. At 6'2", Hall would be the biggest cornerback on the field for the Patriots. He has excellent ball skills and, like just about everybody else in this draft, is versatile. He played both safety and corner during his time at Northern Iowa. Pick 7:22 - Glenn Gronkowski, FB, Kansas State Alright, so I cheated a little big. But hey, Gronk can probably play tight end. In addition to his ground game, he's a very good receiver and blocker, something the Patriots love (and need). Plus, everybody say it with me now, He's a versatile player! Pick 7:29 - Pearce Slater, OT, San Diego State Ugh, I know. I didn't want to wait until the 7th to take a tackle, either. However, I didn't see any great value picks at tackle while every other pick looked like very good value at a position of need. With only six draft picks (for now), the Patriots can have some fun with undrafted free agents. Tackle isn't usually a position that you see people come into the league undrafted and have a good career, but not many quarterbacks are drafted in the 6th round and go onto win four Super Bowls. Not many quarterbacks are drafted in the 7th round and go onto be Pro Bowl wide receivers. Catch my drift? Bill can find a diamond in the rough. Tweet me @SamPericolo with any positions or players you'd like to see any team target and I'll do a mock draft for that team. For the entire mock draft, click here. Follow @SamPericolo for the latest sports talk and news Alright, so in the past week, I have not avoided sports talk radio. Yes, I'm upset that the Pats lost, but it has been bearable to listen to. That is, when the smart people are on the radio. There have been some callers who are just so dumb that I wonder if they have calendar alerts to remind them to breathe. Here are some of the worst things I've heard said in the past week.
Stephen Gostkowski is not to blame. Ummmmm, what? Yes, the extra point was missed early in the game and they had plenty of time to overcome it. However, this was a defensive battle, so every point matters. And if I missed the memo that said first half points are unimportant, can somebody please send that to me? While I am not saying that Gostkowski is entirely to blame, to give him a pass because he missed it early in the game is idiotic. If he made that extra point, the Patriots would not have needed to go for two and a point after would have tied it up. And I don't know about you guys, but if that game went to overtime, I was confident that the Patriots would pull off the W. Speaking of Gostkowski, there was more idiocy being spewed about the kicking game. There are some people that believe Bill Belichick did not send Gostkowski out there to kick on 4th and one with six minutes to go because he did not trust him. Did those people watch the game? Bill sent him out there for two field goals after the missed point after, including a 46 yarder. The missed PAT had nothing to do with that decision. They were just not sure if they were going to get down the field again. Let's stick to with the kicking game. That seems to be the area where everybody went full blown stupid on us. I said at the six minute mark that the team should take the points. I understand their reasoning, but I would have kicked the field goal. However, people have said if they kicked all field goals on all three trips down the field they would have won. I would have kicked on 4th and one. Even if he made it, I am not sure I would have kicked it with two minutes to go. That very well could be your last time down the field. With six minutes to go, you should have another possession. With two minutes, you just don't know. There was no way they could have expected to be down there again. Short, not so sweet, and to the point. The people who have said these things give Patriots fans a bad name. It's tough being so knowledgeable about the sport and having to educate the rest of the world. Follow @SamPericolo for the latest sports talk and news |
SAMUEL PERICOLOSam is a graduate of Assumption College where he studied History, Marketing, and Political Science and was a Co-Producer on a weekly sports talk television show. Archives
March 2018
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