NBA Draft '08

I freely admit that I just wasted five hours of my life. They are hours I will never get back and it is a bit frustrating but I have to live with it. Watching drafts on TV are always dangerous for me. I want to watch the beginning and then I end up watching it all. It never seems to fail. It seems my biggest problem is that I picked the wrong school for college. Whether it be the NBA or NFL I am always interested in seeing guys from Oregon get picked. More often than not Oregon guys are perfect late round picks in the NFL or very late picks in the NBA. Oh well. It was awesome to see Maarty Leunen get drafted. Having gotten to know him just a bit over the last couple of years I can say that he is a really good guy and someone that will not embarrass my alma mater (see Smith, Onterrio). I did have some other thoughts on the draft too:

1. Why Euro?: Even David Stern gets things right every now and then. The decision to eliminate flopping was a brilliant one. Provided the rule is enforced I find no reason to consider drafting a non-American. Since so many Euros were drafted I am left to assume the non-flopping edict will not stick. There is no other reason to pick a soft, skinny and pathetic Euro player. Their one asset is to act like a soccer player on the hardwood.

2. Blazers Domination: Once again the Blazers took over on draft night. I had a friend earlier in the day tell me the Blazers needed to get Jerryd Bayless and I agreed. It was unfortunate to see him get picked just before the Blazers picked but lo and behold he will be wearing red and black. It was a great trade for the Blazers and only makes me more certain that they will be taking part in a parade within four years.

3. Long-Term Foolishness: Not to beat a dead horse here but drafting Euros makes no sense to me at all for another reason. One of the excuses for drafting them is that they do not take up a roster spot and cap money while playing in Europe. Plus, they get a chance to play against other bums in Europe perfecting the flop, which means they may be good enough to bring over here in a few years as long as the dollar does not become so worthless that playing in Siberia is more lucrative than New York City. The biggest problem with this theory is that the coaches and general managers that draft these guys for the future will likely be fired by the time they have mastered the flop. Now am I the only one that thinks that makes no sense?

4. Biggest Bust: I found that this draft had about seven players worth anything. Ironically enough they were just about all from the Pac-10. This fact also makes me feel like more of an idiot for watching so many future NBDL journeymen get drafted. Basically, the point is that I foresee a number of the players from this draft doing nothing substantial in their careers. Having done very little myself since college I can't really knock them too much. With all of that I am proclaiming O.J. Mayo to be the biggest bust in a draft full of busts. I saw him play at USC and was not impressed at all.

5. 2009 Rookie of the Year: In a draft full of weak players it is easy to predict that next year's rookie of the year will be Greg Oden. No explanation is necessary. Start etching his name in an elegant font right now and I will hand deliver it to him when I see him dismantle the Sacramento Kings at some point next season.

We Have Another

At the beginning of last football season I watched a Clemson football game and one of the players had a hilarious major. I actually can't recall it at this time but rest assured that the name of the major suggested that football player was taking part in rigorous classes. I thought I would come across a lot of interesting major choices among football players last season but I didn't. Let me be clear, I am not dissing on the student athletes. They are not the ones who decide names of majors. In a previous life I knew a fair number of student athletes and all I can say is that I have the utmost respect for them. The amount of time they are required to give to their sport makes me wonder if I would have been able to graduate with any type of degree if I had been an athlete.

Well, after watching the College World Series last night I was treated to another fantastic major. One of Georgia's players, who shall remain nameless, had his major listed as 'Real Estate.' You would think the school would be smart enough to throw the word 'Management' after it to give it the guise of something special. I suspect this may have been a typographical error by ESPN but I'm going to go with it anyway. Besides, it is another school from the South and my ignorance leads me to believe schools in this region (SEC members in particular) have weak major names. I repeat, weak major names. Not necessarily weak majors, just the names of them.

I do wonder what courses are involved in the Real Estate major though. You know there is a class all potential majors dread is the entry level class that weeds out all of the slackers. What class is that you ask? My guess is Real Estate 104: Location, Location, Location. Other possible class names are:

1. Digital Arts for Real Estate: How to use Photoshop to make the backyard look nice
2. Finance for Real Estate: How jacking up the price a few thousand dollars in negotiations is not worth it to you since commission on that is not going to be very much
3. English for Real Estate: You can never use the word 'potential' too many times

I am starting to think this would be a great major. The breadth in the subject material would be extraordinary. So there you have it, The OpinionSmith Ivy League now has two distinguished members: Clemson University and the University of Georgia.

Photo of the University of Georgia library from Britannica.

Hiatus Over

(Written a few days before being posted so some commentary is completely out of line.)

The blog has been quiet for far too long and I apologize for that. The past couple of weeks have been absolutely nuts. Needless to say the blog now calls Northern California home. The sunshine and blue sky has been amazing. In addition to a relocation, I was studying for a standard exam that will determine just how much more school debt I am going to accumulate. What's another few thousand, right? With that test over my schedule will allow for more spectacular commentary that the seven of you have come to expect. In the last couple of weeks there have been some important matters that have caught my eye:

1. Tiger Woods makes golf the coolest sport ever. Think about how amazing that is. If you don't know what I'm talking about then you have been outside of the country. Unfortunately I will not be watching any golf for the next many months because the one guy that makes golf cool is taking a break.

2. NBA fans are morons. You are to tell me it took a crooked ref trying to avoid jail time for you to realize David Stern picks winners of games before they are played? I have a sneaky hunch the Lakers will win Game 6 to force a Game 7. Heaven forbid Stern gets trumped by a golf tournament. I am most looking forward to watching the refs and not the players. That's what happens when the two teams playing make me want to puke.

3. Dodgers are pathetic. I am thankful I have been too busy with things to follow baseball. To think the Dodgers are closer to the Giants than first place is reason enough to buy out Torre's contract at the All-Star Break.

4. Olympic Trials will bring a tear to my eye. Here I lived in Eugene for 8 years and I move three weeks before the sporting event I was most looking forward to. My seats were in a prime location and I had to part ways with them. I will be watching them on TV like it's my job and encourage you to do the same. Track is great to watch, particularly in person.

I hope your summer's are off to great starts. There is sure to be a lot to comment on in the coming months so check back frequently for thoughtful words on truly important matters.