ramblings of the mc

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Alright, I gotta admit… I’ve been slow to come around to the whole idea of Kobe Bryant being amazing. Despite his other-worldly abilities and his seemingly endless supply of scoring options, I have until this point in time, refused to acknowledge his greatness. I think the reasons have mainly been twofold:

1. My obsession with Michael Jordan forces me into the belief that no one can ever be half the player he was.
2. Kobe played with Shaq, therefore I must despise him.

After tonight, I’m prepared to go ahead and say that Kobe may very well be the second best player to ever pick up a basketball, second only to Jordan, of course.

If Kobe leads the Lakers to the title, and he looks very likely to do so at this point, it will be the greatest accomplishment in modern basketball history. With the exception of Pau Gasol, the Lakers are comprised entirely of role players, underachievers, and folks who would ride the bench with most organizations. To do with this team what Kobe has done is a feat which not even Jordan could do.

Jordan had Pippen. Pippen was a hall of famer. Granted, once Jordan left Pippen became a shell of the player that he once was, but in his prime Pippen was a defensive machine and was capable of taking over a game all on his own. This is nowhere close to the case with Gasol. Some will want to say thta Lamar Odom is a major contributor, but Odom is simply a great third option. His is to Kobe what BJ Armstrong was to Jordan.

The current dismantling of the San Antonio Spurs is nothing short of awesome. I’m constantly impressed by the way that Kobe’s presence forces everyone around him to play. Players like Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar become important when teams collapse three people onto Kobe. These guys could never play anywhere else.

If I’m the only one, I’ll shut up. But I think Kobe has done more than enough to solidify his position among the greatest to ever play the game.

Okay, for those of you who don’t know, I’m a huge Chicago Bulls fan. But it’s been quite a while since I had anything to get excited about. I mean, we don’t even have a coach right now, for poop’s sake.

But in an amazing turn of events, the Bulls have won the draft lottery and will have the first overall pick in the next NBA draft.

Who should they take, though? For my money, there are really only 2 options:

1. Michael Beasley out of Kansas State.
2. Derrick Rose out of Memphis.

For the Bulls, I think the obvious choice is Beasley. Chicago already has two great guards in Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich. Going after Derrick Rose would give them a guard surplus, with one of them riding the bench. Not a good situation.

But the Bulls could really use Beasley. They have Luol Deng at small forward, and he does a good job. Beasley might make a good power forward, though. And in the Eastern Conference, they are no great power forwards, so Beasley could shine quickly in the East.

More good thoughts on the situation here.

Either way, things are looking up for Chicago. Maybe not this year, but soon…

Well, it looks like Fedor Emelianenko is finally gonna fight some real competition. After his brush with the UFC, he’s gonna get a shot at someone who held the heavyweight title for quite sometime.

Fedor will be fighting Tim Sylvia on July 19th at the first ever Affliction card in California.

Personally, I think Fedor is gonna have his hands full with Sylvia’s violent striking power and long reach. But if this thing ever goes to the ground…. Fedor by armbar.

The rest of the card looks great, too. Josh Barnett, Pedro Rizzo, Renato Sobral, and several others are gonna line this thing up and make it an awesome night. I can’t wait!

I’ll try to get the Pay Per View at Rooster’s so we can all watch it and yell and what not.

Originally Posted on Sherdog.com

Monday, May 19, 2008
by Jake Rossen (jrossen@sherdog.com)

Backed by Mark Cuban’s HDNet Fights promotion, estranged UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture (Pictures) nabbed a substantial victory Monday in his ongoing legal dispute against Zuffa.

The District Court of Dallas County, Texas, denied Zuffa’s three motions to stay, delay and/or dismiss HDNet’s challenge of Couture’s promotional contract, on which Zuffa says the fighter still owes two bouts.

The decision opens doors for the court to hear HDNet’s motion for a summary judgment on June 2, a date that could conceivably offer resolution on Couture’s standing as a free agent. Couture contends his promotional contract will expire in July, once the agreement reaches its 16-month conclusion.

HDNet first brought suit against Zuffa in Texas on Feb. 13, decreeing that they had a business arrangement with Couture pending his separation from Zuffa and urging the court to make a summary judgment (decision) on his promotional contract status with the company.

On April 21, Zuffa filed motions to stay, dismiss and/or delay the case in Texas, arguing that such a ruling on the contract provisions would undermine efforts underway in Las Vegas courts to clarify terms. Judge Carl Ginsberg turned down all three motions.

Couture’s legal battles with Zuffa will continue in Nevada. His employment contract is the crux of a breach of contract lawsuit filed by Zuffa on Jan. 14, with the company alleging Couture’s name (as well as that of Xtreme Couture) and likeness were being used to advertise a rival promotion and that the athlete made “false claims” that damaged the company. Zuffa is also seeking arbitration on his promotional (fight) contract, though that could be affected by a Texas ruling.

All parties agree that Couture’s one-year non-compete clause in his employment contract expires in October 2008. Should the Texas court rule in favor of HDNet on June 2, the hypothetical bout between Couture and Russian heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) could materialize before year’s end.