Rants:Jonathan Papelbon… classic case of not thinking before you speak. He was asked about closing in on being the all time Phillie saves leader …his answer… What’ is a Phillie? What is a Phillie? “The Red Sox are a part of who I am, man,” Papelbon said in a story published Wednesday by the Boston Globe. “I don’t really feel much like a Phillie.” Question to Papelbon…. do you feel like a Phillie when you are cashing your checks from the Phillies and not the Boston Red Sox?
Rants: Wisconsin Coach Bo Ryan… You don’t have to like the calls that went against you but you did have a 9 point lead at one point. Maybs some of that fire you had for the refs needed to be spent on the players. When the game was on the line the Badgers had no answers for Duke’s defense, no refs call is going to make up that difference.
Rants:Jason Kidd is doing what he wouldn’t want a coach do to him…bench him and not even explain to him why.Here is what happened: Giannis Antetokounmpo one of the Bucks young stars didn’t play in a 104-99 loss to the Cavs…so what happened?He didn’t tell me,” Antetokounmpo answered when asked when head coach Jason Kidd told him he would sit. “No, he didn’t tell me.”
Was the benching for being late to practice? For rest? Because of an injury?
“I don’t know,” Antetokounmpo said after the game. “It was coach’s decision — I don’t know — for me not to play today.”
The second-year forward’s comments came after Jason Kidd went into “you know I was playing in the NBA 23 months ago, right?”-mode while meeting with the press. From Matt Velazquez at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
Kidd made it clear that sitting the 6-foot-11 second-year forward was his decision. He invoked the phrase “coach’s decision” six times during his postgame press conference.
“Coach’s decision,” Kidd said for the fourth time. “It was a coach’s decision. I don’t know what, you guys can’t hear? …You guys are smart. How about the game?”
Whatever the reasoning behind Kidd’s decision was, it wasn’t because Antetokounmpo is injured. The head coach was blunt with his answer when asked if there was a health issue involved.
“No, he was breathing,” Kidd said.
So why didn’t he play? That is the question Bucks fans are still waiting to hear the answer to that question.
Raves: New York Mets … I know I know it’s very early and it is only 3 games into the season but…taking 2 of 3 from the Nationals is huge for the Mets. The Nats use and abuse the Mets on a regular basis so it is good when they can turn the tables and take 2 of 3 in D.C. in the Nats ball park and have Matt Harvey pitch lights out in the rubber match of the 3 games has to make every met fan feeling real good right now.
Raves: UConn Women’s Basket ball team … who was the only coach to win 10 titles in college basketball? John Wooden until…now. Geno Auriemma now is tied with Wooden as the only coaches to win 10 titles in college basketball and don’t rule out Geno Auriemma and the Huskies adding another title in the near future.
Raves: Louie Dampier …for making the Basketball Hall of Fame. He made is mark in the old ABA. It is good to see that great players no matter where they play and in what league they play are recognized in the hall of Fame. For many years the ABA was laughed at and scarfed at but the NBA took the 3 point shot from the ABA and now everybody shoots 3 pointers routinely. Dampier was one of the first sharpshooters in the old ABA so it Is good to see him make in the Hall. Congrats.
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