A Missing Piece

One last post before i head out from the hockey world. BREAKING NEWS as you hear it first on the ReDo blog. The Pittsburgh Penguins have officially signed defensemen Jay McKee to a one year contract. McKee is brought in to replace the shutdown play of Rob Scuderi, who bolted to L.A for financial reasons. McKee will more then likely be a defenseive pairing with one of two rookie defensemen, Alex Gologowski, or Ben Lovejoy. Some quick hits on McKee. At 6'3, 199 pounds, he is a veteran of 14 years in the NHL at the age of 31. He was originally drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. Some career numbers for Jay. He has played 740 regualr season games, tallying 20 goals and 95 assists for 115 points. He as taken part in 55 NHL playoff games, tallying 3 goals and 6 assists for 9 points. The Penguins have clearly plugged holes and look like a sure favorite to be competing for Lord Stanley in the summer of 2010.

Late Posts Coming

I will be out for a good part of the day, and not posting until late tonight. I promise to make up for lost time with up to the second information when i get in tonight.

Trouble in "The Kings" Palace

The facts are here, and it is clear to see. LeBron James has become a sore loser and we are seeing it take place before our eyes. Whether it is the pressure of being the best in the league and not having a ring yet, or hearing the media talk like he is already a member of the New York Knicks, something is getting to him. Lets take a stroll down memory lane to the 2009 NBA Playoffs. The Caviliers sweep there first two opponents, like they are not even on the court. Then they meet Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic. The Orlando Magic end up defeating the Caviliers and shocking the the basketball world. Now, we all know how close LeBron and Dwight are. Both members of the 2009 USA Gold Medal Olympic Basketball team. They were together early and often. LeBron walked off the court, after his team was defeated, and would not shake Howards hand. The handshake has become a staple in professional sports after games, showing respect to other teams. This was the beginning of LeBrons miscues. Now we have him confiscating tapes of a college sophomore dunking over him, because he did not want to be seen in that kind of spotlight. He believes it may cause people to lose respect for him across the league. LeBron, no one will lose respect for you if you shake the hand of a winning friend, or have footage of someone dunking on you. This will make you look more human, and your peers will only gain respect for you. There is time to turn this around, just make a U-turn and dont keep on down this path.

When It Rains, It Poors

This just adds insult to injury. The Pitt Panthers lost Dejuan Blair, Sam Young, and Levance Fields to the NBA Draft this past year. The season had already looked bleak, but there was hope for the Panthers because of the young talent that they had in the backcourt, including point guard Jermaine Dixon. Yesterday, Dixon broke his foot playing in a summer league game in upstate New York. There is no timetable for Dixons return, as there no indication on how bad of a brake it is at this point. I will try to get this information and get it out to my readers as soon as it becomes available.

STATE OF CHAMPIONS

The Phillies defeat a hot Dodger team in October to win the World Series. The Steelers go into Super Bowl 43 favorites, and need a field-long drive, capped off by a spectacular catch by Santonio Holmes in the endzone to capture their 6th title. Lastly, and most surprising in many cases are the Pittsburgh Penguins. They were doubted when they were down 0-2 to Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, they overcame that obstacle. They were almost given no chance by anyone when they went down 0-2 to the "mighty" Red Wings. They did not overcome that obstacle, they ran straight through it, winning the teams 3rd Stanley Cup in franchise history. It is an honnor to be a member of Pensylvainya right now and see these teams be at the pinnacle of the sporting world. Penslyvainya is truly the "STATE OF CHAMPIONS"

Possible Highlights for June 10, 2009

Here are some quick stories that could turn into something today:

1. Lance Armstrong starts the 7th stage of the Tour de France today. The 7th stage is a high, mountain stage, which many people have trouble with. Lance usually makes his move around this time.
2. Donte Stallworth was released from prison today, just 24 days after committing DUI manslaughter. What a world we live in today. I love the message being sent here. If you can become a rich superstar and you get drunk and kill a man, 24 days and your out of prison. Me or you do that were locked up for life.
3. BREAKING NEWS: You can say you saw it on the ReDo blog first. 14 time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps is experiencing cramping and pains in his neck. This has caused him to drop out of 100m freestyle. Interesting fact here, the 100m freestyle is the one event Phelps did not take part of in 08' Summer Game.
4. Phillies scouts will be in the Dominican Republic today to watch Pedro Martinez throw a simulated game. This is a follow-up, as scouts went to watch him throw on Monday also. We hear that the Phillies also have a deal in the works to get Toronto ace, Roy Halladay. If Philadalpheia picks Martinez and Halladay, they are almost instantly the favorites to repeat as World Series Champs.

Stay tuned...........

Dreams Do Come True

On the final post of the night, i would like to end on a high note, and praise someone for the work they do. If you have watched Sports Center in the beginning/mid July in the past 3 years, you have seen what they do for 7 Make-A-Wish kids each and every year. They take kids that have been, or are still going through traumatizing events and grant them the ultimate wish. These kids fight every day for their lives, and deserve something special for what they go through. ESPN makes this happen by having these kids meet their favorite athletes, spending the entire day with them, giving them autographs, and ultimately giving them an experience they will remember the rest of their lives. ESPN deserves major credit, more then they get for doing this. It is an ultimate showing of charity and goodness by a cable network, even in times of recession. Thats all for tonight, God Bless and check back tomorrow.

NBA Free Agent Bananza

This NBA offseason has been filled with many free agents signing contracts with new teams. The three winners so far in free agency are the Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, and the Detroit Pistons. The Lakers signed the biggest free agent this year, Ron Artest. The Lakers signed Artest to a three year deal worth around $18 million. Artest, who averages 17.1 points and 2.1 steals per game for his career, joins an already star studded team in Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, and Pau Gasol. Artest led the Houston Rockets to a 53-29 record, including a stint in the playoffs, which they lost in the second round to Artest’s new team, the Lakers. The Lakers are also hard at work trying to resign Lamar Odom.
The team I have as the second biggest winner is the Boston Celtics. The Celtics signed Rasheed Wallace to a three year deal. Wallace is a four time All Star and has won one NBA Championship, which he won back in 2004 with the Detroit Pistons. Rasheed joining the Celtics, gives them a chance at winning another NBA Championship. One thing that makes them an unstoppable team to beat is Kevin Garnett. When Garnett was healthy almost the whole 2007- 2008 season, the Celtics won the championship. They made it to the playoffs this year behind Paul Pierce, Glen Davis, and Ray Allen, but lost in the second round in seven games to the Eastern Conference Champions, the Orlando Magic.
The third winner is in my opinion, the Detroit Pistons. Detroit, although they lost their starting power forward/ center in Rasheed Wallace to free agency, they signed the speedy Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. Gordon, who played for the Bulls last season, averaged 20.7 points per game in the regular season, and 24.3 points per game in the playoffs. Those 24.3 points per game were not enough for the Bulls to advance past the first round, in which they lost to the Boston Celtics. This series though did set a record for most overtimes in one series, which is 6. The Pistons also signed Villanueva, who averaged 16.2 points per game as Milwaukee Buck, but the Bucks did not make the playoffs.

Written by:
Tom Molitaris

Lets Be Honest

I am very into almost every sport, except NBA. So, i have decided to add a co-blogger for now, who for the time being, will be periodically doing NBA Blogs. His name is Tom Molitaris and he is an expert in NBA stats and knows whats going on.

A USS for the UFC

It is being called the Ultimate Saturday Showdown. It could do a world of wonders for MMA and UFC if Brock Lesnar could take down Frank Mir on Saturday night. This will be a fight I will be glued to my couch to watch. Just one opinion on the Pay Per View aspect of the fight. Putting a fight on Pay Per View is a must for this corperation. They make alot of there profit from the money they recieve. Yet, it is unbelieveable the amount you pay for a fight like this. I just scrolled to Saturday night on my TV, and they charge 44.99 for this fight. I will be a hypocrite and watch the fight anyway, yet there is still a problem. Fights like these could end in 40 seconds. Imagine you being a boss of a company, you have millions of employees that work 40 seconds and you must turn around and pay them 44.99. This aspect must be looked at if this sport will succeed in the future.

Operation Replacement

We all know Hal Gil and Rob Scuderi were the shutdown pair of defensemen for the Penguins en route to there Stanley Cup Victory over the Wings. Gil can be replaced from within the system as the Penguins have many good defensemen. Scuderi on the other hand is almost impossible to replace. Key word: ALMOST. The Pens are talking, and very closing to signing defensemen Jay McKee. McKee was a member of the St. Louis Blues last year, playing 69 games and tallying 1 goal with 7 assists. Not much offensive production, but more than Scuderi. He is a shutdown defensemen that is as good as Scuderi. St. Louis bought out the final 2 years of his contract, (2 years, 4 million dollars) but dont let this turn you away. They did it to make room for younger talent, thats all. There is speculation that the Penguins have already signed him, but no official report has been reported yet, so I am not willing to confirm the rumors. As soon as it happens, you will see it here.