Was fun at wordpress, but moved on.

Still at http://with-malice.com/

November 30th – Toronto Raptors (8-7) at Los Angeles Lakers (12-1)

The man who would be MVP (at least… he says he could be) playing against the man who is (reigning) MVP.
Yup, that’s right: Chris Bosh is in town to play Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Bosh’ll get every chance to show exactly what he’s made up, going up against the Lakers, who haven’t lost to the Rap-pack at home in 7 years.

Toronto have really yet to impress, regardless of the start to the season that Bosh has had. Sitting a game over .500, the Raptors looked at the start of the season to be one of the teams to beat out East, with the addition of Jermaine O’Neal, and the expected emergence of Jose Calderon. O’Neal does look the goods, if somewhat frail still… and Calderon has impressive – all in addition to CB4’s near-MVP-like play… yet the Raptors still manage to lose games that you’d think they’d win. Losses to Boston are explicable, but losing to teams like Philadelphia (perhaps the biggest under-performing unit in the NBA thus far) and New Jersey – both at home – beggars explaining.

They have their work cut out for them against a Laker unit that hasn’t enjoyed a start like this for several years. Gasol, Bynum and Odom make life very, very difficult for opposition big men – there’s simply no respite. Trevor Ariza has been phenomenal off the bench, with his play he should be in 6th Man conversations (as a ‘true’ sixth). And Kobe is still Kobe, despite playing the fewest minutes many a year.

LA will win this one.
By 9.

Dallas Mavericks (7-7) at Los Angeles Lakers (11-1)

The last time the Mavs played the Lakers, LA managed to only just eke out a win.  Dallas come to town with high hopes and a fully-loaded Dirk Nowitzki.  Dirk’s been firing of late, averaging a handy 28.8 points and 11.6 boards over the last five games.  Even tho’ the Lakers boast one of the best teams in the NBA at both ends of the court, Dallas would have to rate themselves for this game.

LA.  Quite simply they are the cream of the crop at the moment.  Used to be that if you shut down Kobe, then you shut down LA.  Not any more.  Even when Kobe’s not hot now, LA are winning… and by a league-best average of 14+ points per.  You can’t just stop #24, you have to stop the entire team. No-one’s playing big minutes yet, largely because they haven’t needed to. It’s a well-balanced team that comes at you from all angles. Phil’s got them playing very, very well.

Dallas have found recent form that might come close to doing that. Having won 5 on the trot, not only is Nowitzki playing well, but you can also look to wily ol’ veterans Jason Terry and J-Kidd as well. Funny that. You have to wonder if it’s the lesser impact of a somewhat distracting owner.

The Lakers will be looking to extend their own 5 game winning streak, and move to an impressive 12-1 thus far this season.
I see that happening. LA by 17.

To those of you in the USA…

There comes a point in most undertakings in life where it’s time to walk away.  When two (or more) parties are involved, it becomes a little tougher, but the theory remains the same.  Sometimes it’s best to just get the hell outta Dodge.
Kenny Rogers was right smack on the money with his song The Gambler.

“You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you’re sittin’ at the table.
There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done.”

There aren’t many better images than this for where the New York Knicks and Stephon Marbury now find themselves. It’s the classic stare-down. New York doesn’t want to just tell Marbury to get out, and there’s too much money on the table for him to walk away.

At the beginning of the season, the New York Knicks embodied by Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni made it abundantly clear to Stephon Marbury that he was in no way, shape or form part of their plans for the future. Fast-forward to now: two massive trades involving guards Jamaal Crawford and Mardy Collins (and forward Zach Randolph) occurred. Then an injury to Nate Robinson… and health concerns for new-Knick Cuttino Mobley – this left the Knicks with only two healthy guards: Chris Duhon and Anthony Roberson. Marbury was told prior to at least two games (against the Bucks, and the Pistons) that if he wanted court-time, it was his for the taking.

Marbury’s response?
No thanks.

Whilst his refusal to have anything to do with the Knicks (other than cash paychecks from them) must be infuriating for the Knicks hierarchy, the implications for Marbury himself are even greater.

It’s easy to understand Marbury’s continued refusal to play. The Knicks made their opinion of him clear, but now that they need him, they turn up on his doorstep cap-in-hand and expect it of him. Most people would have the same reaction: thumb their nose at the arrogance displayed by these people.
But they’d be wrong too.
Aside from the fact that it’s a reasonable request made by the people who give him a very sizable amount of money, it could have repercussions on his career post-Knicks.
There was every possibility that a team would pick up Marbury for a deal once he finished with the Knicks (which could be any day now). But his “no thanks” and refusal to be a part of the team are indicative of an attitude that might end up making him as big a pariah in basketball as Barry Bonds is in baseball.

What should the Knicks do?
Cut their losses and run – they’ll be paying him the money any way. Marbury’s very presence is a cancer. He’s clashed with pretty much every authority figure within the New York office – Larry Brown, Isiah Thomas, and now Mike D’Antoni/Donnie Walsh. This is a man that was once called “the most reviled athlete in New York” (New York Daily News).
It’s well past time for New York to bid Stephon Marbury adieu.
Know when to walk away and know when to run.

Thanks Frank (of eTrueSports)…

November 25th – New Jersey Nets (6-6) at LA Lakers (11-1)

The Nets of New Jersey.
The NBA’s blandest franchise? Have to come close. Cleveland were bland, until they got to play luggage to LeBron (and you can probably count on two fingers how much longer that will go on). Milwaukee? No, they have good beer. Nope, it’s NJ.

Who does this team belong to? Devon Harris? Or Vince Carter?
Hard to say, but they bring their team into a pretty tough version today against the 11-1 Lakers.
Not that the venue itself is particularly daunting… well, ok – the lighting’s awesome (at least, it is for Lakers’ games), but the crowd itself are pussy cats. ‘Cept for Cap’n Jack – but he’s so over the top he’s almost like a caricature at any rate.
No, it’s not the venue, but who resides there that make this a tough trip.
The Lakers have opened this season on a mission. There’s a surprise. And they are playing the best defense I’ve seen a Laker team play in many, many years.
That’s not to say they can’t lose. Sooner or later, they’re going to – I have Christmas Day penciled in as a big game… ok, probably before that – but just LOOK at their schedule! Post this game, 2 days rest, then Dallas, 2 days rest, then Toronto. Then look at December: first 3 weeks they barely see a team with a better-than-.500 record!
One’d almost think David Stern loves LA or something.
Oh, wait a sec…

Anyway… Yes, LA will lose – and probably soon, but it won’t be today.  LA by 14 here.

Another piece sent to me… a worthy cause, so I’ll throw my weight behind it (not that my blog’s weight is that considerable… but anyway).

New York, NY – November 19, 2008 – Dailymotion, one of the world’s largest independent video entertainment websites, and One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a non-profit organization dedicated to improving education in the developing world, today announced a holiday contest to support OLPC’s Give One, Get One campaign.
The contest, which runs from November 17, 2008 to December 15, 2008, calls for Dailymotion users to upload original commercials for the Give One, Get One campaign. One winning commercial will be selected from among the submissions. Along with bringing greater attention to this important campaign, the winning commercial will be aired on a major network/cable TV channel during the period of December 15th to December 31st.

To enter the contest, participants should upload their video entries to the Give One, Get One group at http://www.dailymotion.com/group/G1G1.

The G1G1 program starts November 17, 2008. During this promotion, a kid-friendly laptop can be purchased for just $399. Additionally, with each purchase a second laptop will be donated to a needy child somewhere in the world.

Dailymotion and OLPC recently partnered to launch a child-safe Web video portal for users of the OLPC’s XO laptop. The site, olpc.dailymotion.com, uses free and open video formats. Combined with the built-in video camera and software, this makes it easy for children using the XO laptop to find and share videos.

“We are excited to support OLPC in their vital goal of bringing the most underprivileged children of the world online and introducing them to the power of web video,” said Joy Marcus, general manager of Dailymotion US. “This is also a wonderful opportunity for our most creative users, our Motionmakers, to ‘give back’ during the holiday season. We are also delighted to provide the winner with the opportunity to have their work be aired on a major network or cable TV channel.”

“We are delighted with our continuing relationship with Dailymotion. Their OLPC video portal is a safe place for kids to watch educational videos on the internet by taking advantage of open video formats,” said Samuel Klein, head of community development at One Laptop per Child. “This contest will be a valuable part of the G1G1 campaign, which last year provided almost 100,000 laptops to children in Mongolia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan. With outreach efforts such as this contest, our contributors can expand our programs in the world’s neediest regions.”

About Dailymotion…

A top 50 website worldwide, Dailymotion is one of the world’s largest independent video entertainment website and the second largest video website overall (source: comScore, June 2008). Every day, over 15,000 new videos are uploaded into Dailymotion’s global network of localized video entertainment sites. In June 2008, 38.8 million unique users streamed over 855 million videos including curated content from premium and Motionmaker creative contributors (source: comScore, June 2008). Using the most advanced technology for both users and content creators, Dailymotion provides high-quality and HD video in a fast, easy-to-use website that also automatically filters infringing material. Dailymotion’s mission is to provide the best possible entertainment experience for users and the best marketing opportunities for advertisers, while respecting content protection.For more information, please visit www.dailymotion.com.

About One Laptop per Child

One Laptop per Child (OLPC) is a non-profit organization founded to improve education and access to knowledge for every child in the world by designing, manufacturing, and distributing low-power, connected laptops. These laptops are sold to governments and NGOs and issued to schools of children on a basis of one laptop per child. These machines are rugged and energy efficient. Mesh networking will give many machines Internet access from one connection. The goal is to provide children around the world with a window into the world and a tool with which to think. The XO laptop is a wonderful way for children to learn learning through independent interaction and exploration. To participate in the Give 1 Get 1 program starting November 17, visit http://laptop.org/xo.
# # #

Press Contact

Ephraim Cohen
The Fortex Group for Dailymotion
917-215-5413
cohen@fortexgroup.com

Every now and then, someone else writes a piece here at With Malice… – and it’s not always basketball here (just most of the time).  Today it’s a baseball piece.  Bryan from over at All American Home Run Derby…

November truly is the slowest month in baseball.
Sure, some people want a “break”. Others are bored because there is no free agency, games, or trades to talk about.
By November, the World Series is completely old news. Due to the abrupt way the season ended in a three-inning continuation game that upset a good portion of the country in this years small-market World Series, even fewer people are interested currently. In fact, only nine million people watched game three on TV, one of the all-time lows.
In November, there are no winter GM meetings that conclude with an exciting blockbuster trade that we could see in December. Thus, November is almost a “pubescent-ly” awkward month for the sport of baseball. This is why I spend most of my November’s watching football, eating lots turkey, celebrating no-shave November by not shaving, awaiting the joys, breaks and holidays December has to offer, and every four years watching a lot of CNN (speaking of which, did anyone see those holograms?? PS We have a new president).

One exception to the “not much going on November” rule is the announcement of MVP (this year Albert Pujols and Dustin Pedroia) and Cy Young (Tim Linecum and Cliff Lee) Awards. However, there were no real surprises to get people talking; no extraordinarily close races. To add to that, this was a new generation of winners that we haven’t seen a major award from before (with the exception of Pujols), and the average older baseball fan is much too lazy to pay attention to the younger names. Even more, three of the four winners were from small market teams that don’t have a huge fan base. And oh the awfulness, for the AL MVP did not go to a long ball hitter. So the one thing that can happen in November kind of came and went without much of a bam.

This being said, it is nice to be writing about baseball in November here, because it really got me thinking about baseball in a time usually devoted to other things (like taking down Halloween decorations or cooking a turkey.) So I will offer you a quick introduction: my name is Bryan, I like to write about sports and will be producing articles about sports to you. I consider myself a Mets fan. The Mets are from New York. I am from Los Angeles. My dad is from New York, and that’s just how I was raised. However, I think if I did not know baseball and had to choose a team to root for now, I would probably go with a small-market team. Looking at the way a small market team works, builds, and rebuilds is so much more respectable; so much more likable.

Let’s review the way the economics of baseball works. A baseball team makes money off of their revenue, and the two biggest sources of revenue are ticket sales and TV contracts. A city like New York or Los Angeles has more people in it, and that’s simply fact. More people will be at those games, purely because there are more people in the city to go to the game. More people will be watching the games on TV because there are more TV’s! With this money, a team buys better players. This said team, as they get better with the better players they bought with their money, will get more fans nationwide as they continue to get better. With more fans, they get more money. With more money, they can get even better players. The money will just be reeled in, and soon they will produce a bigger stadium that can hold more people. More people at the games, more money for the players! Soon, ticket prices will go up to get even more money for better players. This chain continues.

Honestly, this is simple capitalism. The rich get richer as the poor get poorer. That’s why, typically when you see a poor team doing well, they won’t be doing well long because soon they won’t be able to afford their players when they demand more money. Forbes has a ranking of each MLB teams’ value in dollars, ranking how much each team is worth. This was written April 16, right before the season began. Their value is essentially what determines whether they are a small or large market team.
To See This List, Click here.

As I took a closer examination at this wonderful website, I decided I would look at two very different AL East teams. These two teams are the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays purely as an example of small vs. large market. If we were to also reflect on the 2008 season, we would see the Rays with a 97-65 record, a playoff berth, and a trip to the World Series. With the Yankees, we would find a 89-73 record, and absolutely no playoff berth. Yet still the Yankees were worth $1,306 million and the Rays only worth $290 million before the season began. With the money one could get from selling the Yankees, one could buy the Marlins (worth $256 mil), Rays (worth $290), Pirates (worth $292), and Royals (worth $301), while still having $167 million dollars to spare. Remember, the Rays finished with eight more wins than the Yankees did.

Yankee Stadium held 59,936 people in its stadium last year and sold each ticket on average for $29. If they sold out a game, they would make $1,738,144 million dollars…win or lose. This does not take into account any merchandise or food bought at the game, but only ticket sales. From Yankees revenue, they made $327 million dollars through out the year. With all this money the Yankees had, they could go ahead and spend $253 dollars on players alone. Baseball is such a business, it’s not even funny. Because of the money the Yankees banked in, they were allowed to carelessly spend money left and right like it’s nobody’s business, because that’s what King George (Steinbrenner) wanted.

In complete contrast, Tropicana Field only holds 36,048 people, and sold their tickets on average for $17. If the Rays sold out a game, they would make a mere $612,816 (35% of what the Yankees could make) at their max. Their revenue totaled $138 million (42% of the Yankees revenue) dollars through out the year. When Stuart Sternberg bought the team just a few years ago, he did not pay much. He purchased this weak Florida team for $200 million dollars, and hired young, cheap, brilliant guys all around him. These young front office heads, like President Matthew Silverman and Executive Vice President on Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman, found and fielded young their share of young superstars. The Rays, already known for a few young players with loads of potential like Kazmir, Baldelli and Crawford, shortly found BJ Upton and Delmon Young.

Soon, 2006 became a quick rebuilding year, where they traded long-time players like Huff, Gathright, Toby Hall, Lugo, and Branyan for prospects and soon-to-be-starters like Ben Zobrist, JP Howell and Dioner Navarro as well as many prospects who we’ll see in a few years. Later, they signed Japanese second-basemen Iwamura. Later, in 2007, James Shields and Carlos Pena came into their own shoes. In the next offseason, trouble-maker Delmon Young was traded for Matt Garza. Rays signed cheap yet experienced veterans Cliff Floyd and Troy Percival. Evan Longoria and David Price, both top prospects, were both relied on for great things in the future. After a miraculous season with plenty of newly ensued heated rivalries like the BoSox brawl, the Rays finished a miraculous season and made it into the World Series because of smart baseball. They made sensible, careful choices about their entire line-up and executive office. They spent (or didn’t spend) very wisely, and their decision making skills brought them where they were meant to be.

They clearly did not have the money to go around buying every aging, multi-million dollar 35-year old schmuck that wanted to wear their jersey. Instead of carelessly buying any salary and paying aging, production-less players, the Rays went out and found young talent. Even with very little money, they proved that even with this capitalistic baseball business world, even the poor can win if they play smart baseball. This word, “smart” could not be stressed enough.

Had we highlighted the Yankees seasons for the past few years, we would have noticed a trend of careless spending on big name players who went on to do very little for their team over the long periods of times (arguably Sheffield, Damon, Matsui, Randy Johnson, Clemens, Pettitte and Posada). Of the few young players who they did finally start to recognize, a good majority of them failed to do what they were expected to do like Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. We would have noticed a firing of their iconic manager, Joe Torre. We would have seen unbelievably big contracts to Alex Rodriguez, who I think when I calculated his salary, I learned he signed for a trillion dollars despite his playoff-woes. Yankee legends like Jeter have been awfully quiet lately, as well. Even the best players on their organization, such as Rivera, will be retiring soon. Still, every Yankee fan will ask me how many championships my team has won…as I carefully point out that they have yet to win one this century. Now they will be relying on Joba, Joba, Joba Chamberlain to guide them to victory in the next ten years under the next heir to the Steinbrenner throne.

This is not a bias or pro against of for any team, but I am trying to just point out the facts. I have respect for every professional team, every athlete, and every sports-related figure. Even if I don’t like them, I certainly respect them. I’m not the guy going to the game, yelling, “Yankees suck!” I am not overly anti-Yankees, and neither is this article. It’s anti stupid choices! Instead of complaining, I try to figure out what went wrong with them and what went right with Tampa. To me, a team like Tampa is much more lovable. A team like Tampa is a much more interesting team to follow because they played the game the way it should be played. They acknowledged that baseball was a business, but played to win the game while beating out the capitalism that is baseball. The Yankee ownership plays to make money, and I can’t stand it. To me, a small market team is much more respectable; they still have integrity. That’s their only choice.

When it is my turn to give my opinion about the matter, it’s the game of baseball that comes first. November is a slow month and we don’t know where Manny is going, where CC is signing, where Tex will be playing. That’s all up to people like Scott Boras…But this is my advice to those GM’s out there: Take notice to the 2008 Rays or 2003 Marlins…although it may seem like spending is the way to win, that’s only half the battle.
Smart spending is the key to victory.

In line with my rankings published yesterday, Bright Side of the Sun has the Blogger Power Rankings up – well worth heading over to Bright Side of the Sun to check ‘em out (Lakers #1 again!)…