What will the Bobcats do?

It's down to crunch time for the Charlotte Bobcats.

We know the team is in talks with Phoenix about moving the No. 8 pick and Charlotte's best player, Gerald Wallace, is officially an unrestricted free agent.

Charlotte has the cap room to make him an offer somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 million a year, and very few teams can match that. I think it will come down to whether or nor Wallace feels the team can contend for titles in the next few years.

The Bobcats ought to have a gut feeling as to whether or not Wallace will re-sign. If they don't think he will, trading the No. 8 pick just doesn't make any sense when they can draft his replacement.

As far as the trade with Phoenix, the Suns have been involved in nearly every draft trade rumor, with Shawn Marion always being mentioned. Thing is, Marion can opt out of his contract at the end of next year, which means any team trading for him would probably want to do a sign-and-trade.

The interesting thing, though, is that Marion's name hasn't been mentioned in the Charlotte trade. So what exactly would the Bobcats get? Leandro Barbosa and maybe a future pick? I don't like it.

Lots of options going on.

Obviously, Greg Oden and Kevin Durant won't be available at No. 8, and it also appears Mike Conley and Al Hortford will be taken very high. I think someone (maybe Golden State) will make a play for Yi Jianlian. So Charlotte, if it stays put, will have either Jeff Green, Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah, Brandan Wright and Al Thornton. Wright's stock has been slipping, but will Charlotte draft someone that didn't even workout for the team (Wright and Green)?

Another thing to think about, the Bobcats also hold the No. 22 pick. In this deep draft, that's like an 11-15 pick most other years.

I'd love to see Arron Afflalo come across the coast. Other names that could be available: Vandy's Derrick Byars, Wisconsin's Alando Tucker, Boston College's Jared Dudley and Duke's Josh McRoberts. Let's hope for ABJ - Anybody But Josh.

Sunday's thoughts and links

I hope everybody had a great weekend and is looking forward to the last week in June (I can't believe it either). Postings may be a little sporadic this week as my wife and I make the big move from an apartment in Hickory to a house in Statesville.

That's right, I am officially a home owner. Scary. My first order of business? Make sure the TV gets moved in and the cable hooked up in time for Thursday's NBA Draft.

Speaking of the draft ...

Rick Bonnell, the Bobcats beat writer at the Charlotte Observer, broke down who might be available at the No. 8 slot in Sunday's Observer.

Meanwhile, the folks over at nbadraft.net - an awesome and accurate mock draft Web site - have Charlotte tabbing Joakim Noah with the No. 8 pick.

So who should the Bobcats pick? Let's make a fairly safe assumption and say Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Brandon Wright and Al Horford won't be available at the No. 8 slot. If one of those four are available, they will certainly be the pick.

That leaves the Bobcats with a potential pool of Mike Conley, Jeff Green, Noah, Corey Brewer and maybe Yi Jianlian or Julian Wright. And hopefully not Spencer Hawes.

In terms of the best value and the most likely to still out there, I'd say Noah. While a lot of analysts and scouts feel Noah got exposed last year - and he did at times - I think he would fit in really well with Charlotte. He's the hardest working in the draft, something big for Sam Vincent, and he would have been a top-three pick in last year's draft.

Jianlian is interesting - he may go as high as No. 4. Ultimately, with Charlotte badly needing a playoff push, I think the team would go for an instant impact type of player.

Brewer would be my ideal pick - he's a great, rangy defender and would fit in wonderfully with Charlotte's style - but may not be available at No. 8. I also like Green, but he's not nearly the defender Brewer is.

In a bit of sad news, former Chicago Cubs reliever Rod Beck died on Sunday. Beck was notorious for his goofy mullet and cheesy moustache, as well as rocking his right pitching arm to intimidate opponents. I saw Beck live once in 1998 against the Colorado Rockies, which was the year he led the National League in saves. In typical Beck fashion, he struck out the first two batters of the ninth inning, then promptly gave up a single and a double before buckling down and striking out the next guy to preserve the one-run win. Beck always made it interesting, but when he had to get the final out, he always came through.

Chin coming to Carolina?

Although not quite as reputable or respected as one of the large media networks, ProFootballTalk.com is reporting that former Steelers coach Bill Cowher has already been in contact with three teams about returning to coach football next season - and the Carolina Panthers are one of them.

The report is about halfway down the page, and was posted at 4:47 p.m. two days ago.

The Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins are the other two teams who have reportedly spoken with Cowher.

A couple of quick thoughts:

It's not surprising to hear that Cowher is potentially interested in coming to Carolina. There was rampant speculation he would be the next N.C. State coach after Chuck Amato was fired, and he lives in the Raleigh area. He'd be closer to his family while still working with an organization known for operating at a high level.

However, current coach John Fox is not on the hot seat. At all. He rescued a moribund franchise and took it to two NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl. The only way I could foresee Fox with any job security issues is if Carolina goes 6-10 this season, or worse. Even then, I still don't think he'd be fired.

I've always thought Cowher could end up in Washington, and that's incredibly dangerous for the rest of the NFC. Working the thrifty Rooney's in Pittsburgh, Cowher still routinely pumped out double-digit win teams. With the deep pockets of Dan Snyder, and a refusal to trade draft picks, he could definitely right the Redskins ship.

Father's Day

Happy early Father's Day to all the daddies reading this.

I'll be out of town the next few days, but wanted to make sure you guys read this story before this weekend.

Wright Thompson's piece on the death of his father is a raw, gut-wrenching tale that he delivers fiercely and passionately.

I agree with O.J. Simpson

That's right, give the title of this post a second glance - you'll never see me say that again.

I obviously have my own feelings and opinions on his wife's murder and his attempt to write the book "If I Did It," but Simpson nails it with his thoughts on select coverage and celebrity journalism issues.

Too much is made of Paris Hilton going to jail, of "reality TV" stars and which strip clubs - and types of girls - Alex Rodriguez likes.

But I don't know what's worse - that the media gives such events so much coverage, or that those stories ALWAYS get the most readers on well-respected news Web sites.

"Fixing" the NBA playoffs

ESPN hoops writer John Hollinger makes an interesting argument for changing the NBA playoffs.

The folks at ESPN now make all stories "Insider" after a few days, so to summarize, Hollinger's main suggestions are to eliminate the East-West brackets and shorten all series.

He proposes to either seed the teams 1-16 based on record, or match up the No. 1 seed from the West against the No. 8 seed from the East, and set it up so that if the top seeds win, it would always be an East vs. West matchup the next round.

Instead of having best-of-seven, he proposes the first round should be a best-of-three while the remaining are all best-of-five.

He makes a valid point with shortening the series. There's just way too many days between games, the playoffs last forever and it loses the casual fan. I'm not sure how I feel about completely changing the format just because the East is a bit weaker, but for argument's sake, here is what the 2007 NBA playoffs would have looked like with this theory. Just pretend like it's one big bracket.

(1W) Dallas
(8E) Orlando

(4E) Miami
(5W) Houston

(3W) San Antonio
(6E) New Jersey

(2E) Cleveland
(7W) LA. Lakers

(1E) Detroit
(8W) Golden State

(4W) Utah
(5E) Chicago

(3E) Toronto
(6W) Denver

(2W) Phoenix
(7E) Washington

That would probably lead to the following second-round matchups: Dallas-Houston, San Antonio-Cleveland, Detroit-Utah and Denver-Phoenix.

The "semifinals" would then likely consist of: Dallas-San Antonio, and Phoenix vs. either Detroit or Utah (which would have been a great series).

These matchups look wonderfully intriguing on paper, but I wouldn't expect it to happen in the NBA any time soon.

Any Finals or playoff thoughts in general from you guys?

NCAA abuses its "power"

Here's an interesting - and potentially dangerous - story.

A sports writer from the Louisville Courier-Journal was removed from the pressbox for blogging during Louisville's Super Regional game against Oklahoma State.

Brian Bennett blogged from the game, providing instant analysis, opinion and facts while there with an official credential as a working member of the media.

Everybody knows that newspapers have struggled to compete with the Internet and other various forms of 24/7 news. Blogging from games is just one avenue reporters must do to maintain readers and compete in this new technological age.

Who is the NCAA to ban a blogger - from an accredited newspaper - from a pressbox?

This isn't about copyrights or broadcasting rights, it's about the NCAA attempting to rule with an iron fist over an area where it does not have authority.

I hope the Courier-Journal's attorney does follow up on this and take the matter to the courts, if need be.

The NCAA has far greater power in its minds than in reality.

Much ado about nothing

Perhaps it's a bit hypocritical for me to criticize the national media. After all, I do work for a newspaper myself.

But I don't have nearly the platform some of these guys do to promote their own beliefs, and even if I did, I wouldn't turn into one of those shouting heads that dot the ESPN landscape.

There are too many figures in the national media who jump to conclusions, or feel the incessant need to provide instant, historical analysis. And I think it's hurting the average sports fan, and it's hurting the media's own image as a whole.

A few examples:

LeBron James' performance against Detroit in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals was magnificent. Really, it was.

So why can't that be enough? Why does there have to be a round table of alleged experts, who rank how great LeBron's performance was in NBA playoff history? It's 12 hours later! Performances are ultimately ranked by how they hold up over time.

So still using this example, let's say LeBron's Game 5 outburst leads the way to the 2007 NBA title, and three titles in Cleveland in the next five years. Obviously, the historical impact is great.

But if Cleveland fails to make the playoffs the next three years and LeBron bolts for a bigger market, in a purely analytical sense, all this talk may be much ado about nothing.

Another example: Indy driver Danica Patrick had a little run in with a fellow driver. That link to YouTube was the best video I could find that really got into exactly what happened.

What happened between Patrick and Dan Wheldon is just not a big deal. It's not. But again, it's the hot topic on debate-type programming where, if you disagree with a screaming reporter, your opinion is obviously inferior and wrong.

I guess it just really sort of bugs me that so much time is spent on stuff that doesn't really matter. We - the media collectively - ought to put our resources to better use.

Make up your mind

Billy Donovan is just the latest head coach to agree to a new coaching gig, then suddenly change his mind.

I'm sick of it.

Donovan, who coached Florida to two consecutive national titles, is trying to get out of a five-year, $27.5 million contract he officially signed with the Orlando Magic.

Same as Dana Altman did to Arkansas, same as Gregg Marshall did to College of Charleston, although those two never officially signed any documentation.

It's ironic that these guys all coach collegiate athletes, kids really, and teach them about decision making and accountability.

Andy Katz reported that Donovan didn't meet with his team and coaches until after his press conference in Orlando, and that's when he realized he made a mistake.

He should have taken that into account in the first place. And why the rush?

Sure, Orlando probably put pressure on Donovan to make up his mind as quickly as possible so the team could have a big, splashy press conference. But there's nothing wrong with taking your time and figuring out, with 100 percent certainty, what you want to do.

If Orlando - or any other organization making a big hire - wanted you that badly, they'd wait.

Sunday's thoughts

Sorry for the lack of updates. It's been quite the busy time here at the R&L, wrapping up the spring sports and figuring out All County and Player of the Year. For those not in the know, most newspapers, especially community ones, do some sort of "All County" team, a team made up of the best players in the county for each seasonal sport. This is often accompanied by a Player of the Year story, and we put a lot of time into those to make sure its something the recipient is proud of.

By the way, easiest All County team to figure out? Golf. There were a couple of debates as to who should make first team and who should make second team, but by and large, total stroke count for the year dictated not only All County, but Player of the Year.

The most difficult? Baseball. By far. Every county high school (six) nominated good, deserving players. The team had all eight fielding positions and three pitchers. Deciding on the pitchers was the toughest, comparing strikeouts to win-loss to ERA ... it was just very difficult. But I think we got them all right.

This will be sort of a quick-hit post, a few thoughts on the world of sports and a couple of links at the end.

LeBron, Cavs make Finals
I wrote in this blog that Cleveland has to find the Scottie Pippen to LeBron's Michael Jordan before it can be considered a lock to make the Conference Finals year after year after year. It's way too premature to even suggest Daniel Gibson could emerge as that secondary option, but man what a show he put on. The rookie from Texas scored 31 points in 29 minutes, and was 5-for-5 from 3-point range in the deciding Game 6.

I'd seen Gibson play at Texas, and I thought Cleveland got a bargain when management drafted him in the second round. But 31 points in the biggest game of his life? Not sure anyone counted on that.

And the most impressive thing about his performance was the way he handled himself on the court.
After draining his barrage of 3-pointers, it was Gibson's teammates who were jumping up and down the court, not Gibson. He was cool, suave and business-like, like Samuel L. Jackson in a cop movie. Again, it's way to early to say Gibson and James may be the next duo to make multiple Finals. But it's not out of the question, either.

While I'm at it, Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince laid a tremendous egg in Game 6. Billups, the leader, "Mr. Big Shot," was 3-for-7 with nine points. That was far better than Prince, who was an awful 1-for-10. Here's saying that Billups leaves town.

I really think Cleveland would be a great fit for him. He knows it's LeBron's team, but he can still play, is still a great locker room guy and would give the Cavs some more toughness.

NBA Finals
Let's all take a deep breath here. Yes, LeBron's 48-point performance in Game 5 was astounding. It was remarkable. It was (fill-in-the-blank). But let's not kid ourselves, the Spurs have a big edge in this series. San Antonio has the home-court edge, a huge advantage down low and the (much) better coach. Cleveland has been playing lights out, and obviously LeBron - in one game - became the player so many thought he could be.

The Spurs will mix up their defenses. I'd look for Bruce Bowen to guard LeBron, but he's going to get a ton of help from Manu Ginobli and others, especially when LeBron penetrates. And as Rob Horry showed against Phoenix, Steve Nash specifically, the Spurs aren't afraid to give someone a hard foul.

My best guess? Spurs win Game 1, Game 2, Game 4 and Game 6 to claim the crown.

MLB draft
OK, so no one's as big into the baseball draft as the NBA or NFL draft. But just keep an eye out for Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner is a 6-foot-5, left-handed pitcher for South Caldwell. South Caldwell's baseball team was the first thing I started covering once I graduated college. Although I've only been in the field for one year, Bumgarner is by far the best athlete I've seen. He could go in the top 15 picks.

Links
I'm going to try and remember to post a handful of links every week or so on great stories, or good videos, things of that nature.

You've probably seen this one, but this minor league manager had the best tirade I've ever seen.
My favorite part starts at about the 1:15 mark.

Here's a good, if somewhat sad read about Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood. It's written by the same guy who wrote Friday Night Lights. Good story, just tough to read as Cubs fan. Has it really been three years since Chicago was up 3-2 on Florida with Mark Prior and Kerry Wood pitching the two deciding games at Wrigley?

Finally, I saved this piece for last. This story really has nothing to do with sports, but I found it so gripping I wanted to pass it along. Make sure you set aside enough time to read it, it's quite lengthy. Regardless of what your feelings are in the war in Iraq, this piece of work is about so much more than war: it's about family and fairness, life and death, hopes and dreams, love and dedication.

A story for Jake