Maddux Sports Blog

The NBA Draft is now a few days in the past, so we have had a chance to let things percolate in our minds for a few days. Here are ten thoughts I’ve had about the events at this point:

1. Ricky Rubio is a jackass. I am so incredibly tired of 18 year old guys who think they rule the world. Rubio has never been to Minneapolis, so how does he know that he doesn’t want to play there. Idiot. I hope he festers in Spain forever. What a terrible way for a young guy to set a tone. The saddest thing is that in the end he’ll get exactly what he wants.

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I want to look at tonight’s NBA Draft a bit, but first a couple of quick stories to touch on:

• I love the Shaq trade for Cleveland. He’s obviously not the man he was, but he’ll fit well with LeBron, they gave nothing of significance up for him, and they aren’t tied to him long term. The guy knows how to win, and he’s hard to contend with inside. I could see him liking the idea of going out on top, and this is as good a spot as any outside of the Lakers or the Spurs (two places he really isn’t going) to do so.
• I was very interested to see Lleyton Hewitt pull a big upset of the number five seed off today, and look pretty darned good doing it. He’s in a soft draw, and could easily get to the quarterfinals. He’s traditionally been good at Wimbledon, and he has rediscovered some lost form recently. He’s not going to win it, but I see him winning a few more games.

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• I don’t know what is wrong with Barry Zito, but it is something big. The guy has a world of talent, but he just isn’t right. In fact, he’s a mess. He blew up again today at home against the Diamondbacks – three earned runs and one more unearned in six innings. Of most concern he walked five and only struck out two. You can blame some of his woes on the fact he plays for a lousy team, but by far the bigger issue is that he just isn’t very good. He’s a space cadet, so this can’t be good on his mind, and I can’t be confident in his ability to overcome the problem. Maybe it will turn around, but it is much harder to find a precedent for that than it is to find one for him being done for as an elite pitcher.
• Memphis has lost a lot with the departure of Derrick Rose and probably Chris Douglas-Roberts and the graduation of Joey Dorsey. Things just got a whole lot easier for them today, though, with the signing of another one-and-done superstar. Tyreke Evans is a shooting guard out of Philadelphia who was the MVP of the McDonald’s All-American game this year. He is pretty much a perfect fit for Calipari’s system, and he will make it unpleasant to play in Conference USA for another year.
• Alfonso Soriano is on the DL after straining his calf making a catch. That’s not good news for the Cubs – at least theoretically. Soriano has been brutal so far this year, but he is much better than he has been playing and should be due for an upward adjustment.
• It is curious that Tiger hasn’t really used his knee injury as an excuse for his flat showing at the Masters. It was obviously serious if he went ahead and had the surgery so soon afterward, but I wonder how much of an impact it really had? He didn’t look like he had a bad knee, but he didn’t look right, either. We’ll have to wait for a month or more to get our first clue, I guess.
• I was more than a little surprised that Keno Davis bolted Drake so soon to take over at Providence. That is a step forward, but he’s not stepping into a program in great shape, and he had a family link at Drake and a good deal of success in a short time. Maybe he just knew when to get out when he was ahead. It will be very interesting to watch to see whether he just caught lightning in a bottle, or if he is the real deal. If it is the latter then Providence will be back in the coaching market in just a couple of years.