So who came out winning and who came out losing?

Cavs

Major loser. They lost on so many levels. From the organization to the fan base. The organization itself made a lot of sacrifices in order to get LeBron a chance at winning a NBA title. Lotsa trades, new signings, kissing his butt endlessly. All of that resulted in no real gain aside from the fact that all their work was wasted and the person that they catered to is now gone. The fans also got slapped in the face. Cleveland fans worshipped the “King” these past seven years. They supported him a lot. Then he goes. I think that they would have been more understanding if he had went to the finals several consecutive years and failed, then wanted to be traded to try to win one. Or if it was later in his career. But he still hasn’t reached either stage. Why support a guy that doesn’t keep trying to help your team? Why support a guy that you’ve been loyal to but not vice versa?

Heat

Major winner. This is pretty obvious. You now have arguably the best player in the league right now, one of the better big men in the league in Bosh, and one of the better offensive players in the league in Wade. They have hope of winning another title since the days of Shaq and Wade. The only losing part here is that everyone that follows the NBA now hates the Heat, but they don’t care. They care as much about everyone else’s opinion about their NBA team as they did when they were voting between Gore and Bush in 2000. Remember those hanging chads, Miami residents?

Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh

Winners (for now). This one is fairly self-explanatory as well. I guess there is some kind of strong relationship between Dwayne Wade, Bosh, and LeBron. It’s borderline bromance between them. But this does give them a legit shot of winning a title (or another one, as in Wade’s case). The question is how do you integrate all three players into an offense that will work? Wade needs the ball. So does LeBron. Bosh can just rebound all the outside shots that they miss and try to put them back in. How this chemistry will work has yet to be seen.

The U.S. national team doesn’t really shed any light, however, as that team was very much different than this Miami team. A lot of leaders, a different coaching staff (an extremely solid one for that matter), and a different focus and motivation after the past failings.

The NBA

Minor losers. Two have two big stars leave cities where they were the face of the team that they were on is bad. The market for the NBA in that city drops because there is less support for that team. The fan morale drops as well. Losing LBJ for the Cavs basically dropped them out of the top four and probably into the bottom five teams in the league, which as a result means the following for the NBA there will crap out a bit.

But you want teams where their arenas are sold out and people come to games. By having all stars on one team, it really hurts the rest of the market, as it’ll result in empty seats for other teams. Keeping stars spread out over various teams creates buzz in other cities, not just the major ones. It keeps rivalries strong, and not one-sided. This move doesn’t help them out one bit.

LeBron James

Minor winner, major loser. I’m going to be frank here and just say that. The way that he went about this was pretty bad. Making everyone wait, putting all the attention on him like that, having an interview to force people to have to watch to see where he was going  created a lot of publicity for him. But in the process, it wasn’t really that positive. Instead, we get an image of a guy that just wants attention. Not a humble, NBA title focused player.

The other thing is that it really damaged his legacy as a player. If he wanted to be compared to the legend that is Michael Jordan, he should have stayed. By leaving to join two other major stars, he won’t compare to that of MJ. Remember how MJ got his six titles. He did it without the need of any big stars. No Clyde Drexeler, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajawaan, or other people like that. He worked with a bunch of support players and got there. LBJ definitely had the talent to do so as well, as well as the personnel. But in the process, he chose the easy way out. Now people will assume that the only way that he can win a title is by being on the same team as other big name stars and not by himself. That right there is the key concept. We’ll now never know whether or not he could have done it by himself. He came close, but never got there. He had the potential to do so this year, but he crashed and burned.

The only thing that really came out of this for him is now he has a shot at winning a NBA title. Like I stated earlier, if he was reaching the end of his career and bolted, it might have been more understandable because it’s still hard. But still questions his legacy as to whether or not he’s up there as the best player of all time.

Last Thoughts

In the end, the game of basketball, as a whole, lost. Who was assumed as the best player in the league jumped ship and basically makes the claim that he can’t do it by himself and needs big time help in order to win a title. The publicity and energy created for the game of basketball wasn’t positive at all. Heck, the free agent signing period that’s been going on hasn’t really created any waves. It’s just more of a circus with players switching teams here and there, with this being the big act. Who’s to blame for all this? Stern? The NBA rules for signing players? The league as a whole? The Cavs? Probably a combination of all these things.

Maybe it’s a good time to jump ship from the NBA and follow something that’s more interesting, less of a circus, and worthwhile… European soccer anyone?

To really understand how heartbreaking it really is, you have to understand how to get there. Any national team that’s a FIFA member is eligible to compete (barring some suspension by the federation). If you don’t know by now, the World Cup happens every four years, just like the Olympics. It’s not like the NBA or NHL finals or the Super Bowl, where they have championships every year. However, in order to compete in the finals, you have to get through the qualifying in your region/continent. How it works depends on the region. Asia’s is probably the most confusing (several rounds of qualifying), South America’s is probably the least confusing (all 13 teams play each other twice, top four go to the finals).

So to make it to the World Cup finals, you have to get through that. If you don’t qualify, you have to wait until the next World Cup qualifying rounds in order to try again. There are no guarantees that you’ll play in the World Cup finals, with one exception: you’re the host of the tournament.

Once you’re in, then it’s a matter of getting through the group stage. Especially this year, people complained about ties… Well, they’re part of the group stage, but they make getting into the next round exciting. Those ties that happened have a huge effect on nations’ chances of getting through. The sole difference between going home and going on could be a matter of a point, goal differential, or even goals scored. It’s all build-up into the final round of games in the group stage. Simultaneous games between the four teams to see who will go onto the next round. Teams playing their hearts out, attacking aggressively, taking huge risks.

Then you get into the knock-out rounds. Sixteen teams continue on, single-elimination format. Win or go home. Sometimes, there’s blowouts. Other times, there’s absolute heartbreaking losses (see U.S./Ghana). No team wants to get through four years of preparation to only lose in these rounds. Only the strongest teams keep going on in hopes of coveting the biggest prize in the game of soccer. It’s so intense that it can be difficult for people to watch the game. If no team outright wins after 90 minutes, it goes another 30 minutes of play. If that still isn’t decided, it goes to one of the most tense moments in sports: penalty kicks. All to decide a winner. No sport has the same game-ending event like this. Grown men breaking down into tears after losing in penalty kicks. It’s painful to watch, but a joy and instant relief if you survive this.

All three weeks of group stage games and knock-out rounds all leading up to one final match: The final. 90 more minutes to decide the world champions. All their hard work, planning, and effort to try to become known as world champions for the next four years. Everyone in the world is watching this game, not just limited to the fans alone. That’s how big this game is. Bigger than the NBA finals. Bigger than the Super Bowl. Everyone is watching. Teams come playing to show what they’re truly made of and to show that they deserve to be called champions.

And if your team wins, it’s all about watching each of your team’s players receive their deserved medals before the President of FIFA brings the FIFA World Cup Trophy to the captain of the team, who then hoists it up for all the world to see.

But the chance to win it all is so rare. The tournament happens once every four years, as each team looks to take the top players from their nation to the tournament. You might be one of the better players in the nation, but it can be one injury or streak of poor form that prevents you from being on the national team. That is also assuming that your team also makes it out of their region. If they don’t, tough luck. Some of the best players in the world are relegated to watching, as their nation fails to get past that first stage of the tournament.

A player’s career usually lasts until they’re around their mid-30s, but players may only play once or twice in the World Cup during their entire career, if that. When you get as far as the finals, it’s also tough to see your team lose and be eliminated. Especially when your team has players that are in their prime, you want to take advantage of that. The U.S. is a prime example of that, with players like Bocanegra, Donovan and Dempsey. This is your perfect opportunity. Your chance at glory. You don’t want to waste it.

But when that referee blows the final whistle and the scoreline is not in your favor, you know that the defeat and the end has come. That is the one moment you’ll hate and dread for the next four years, if not longer. Few can say they’ve made it to the World Cup. Even fewer in the world can say they were World Cup champions.

That, folks, is how hard it is to win the greatest tournament in the world.

Wait… What about the Sixers? Don’t they decide the fate of the Nets’ pick since they’re second and all? It means draft the second best player, which would likely be whoever the Wizards don’t pick between John Wall and Evan Turner, right? Well, the problem is that they have Jrue Holiday and Andre Igoudala already. The only thing that I could see is Turner gets picked by the Sixers, but Igoudala playing as a SF? It doesn’t seem right. It would be a scary backcourt though. Their need seems to be at finding a dominant big man anyway, as Dalembert and Speights don’t exactly seem all too scary. I could see the Sixers trading down if they don’t feel they need either Wall or Turner.

Assuming this is true and Sixers don’t pick either, that means the Nets aren’t in too bad of a situation. Drafting one of them third overall means that they get Wall or Turner at a discount, which to be honest, is pretty good. Nothing else in the lottery seems to be much of a surprise there. Everyone else was in order for the most part, minus the Sixers/Nets/Wizards mix-up.

Portland is 22nd, one after the OKC Thunder. But what are the Blazers’ needs? Big man seems bad with Camby and Oden available at the start of next season, but could think about long-term since Camby won’t be with Portland for more than a season. Someone to back-up LaMarcus wouldn’t be bad. Portland’s problem is that they’d be drafting someone that would likely be a bench player, which seems mighty expensive. Miller, Roy, Batum, LA, Camby (or Oden eventually), is a pretty solid starting line-up. Miller would eventually be replaced by Bayless. The first round pick would likely be a project or a long-term investment. I don’t think it’s worth it. SG perhaps given Roy’s injury battles as of late?

What do you think?

CAF (Africa qualifying)
CAF qualifying consists of five groups of four countries, each playing each other twice, for a total of six matches. The team with the most points in each group automatically qualifies for WC 2010.

Ivory Coast is guaranteed through in Group E and Ghana is very close to qualifying with one point and a loss from Mali. Everyone else is up in the air. Tunisia and Nigeria are fighting in Group B, which will be interesting, as they both have some good talent. Morocco, a team that had won the African Cup of Nations (similar to the Euro Championships or CONCACAF’s Gold Cup) a few years ago, is in last place with only two points and three matches to go. Who’s in first the group? Gabon with six points… Egypt, the team that gave Brazil a run for its money in the Confederations Cup this past year is tied with Algeria with seven points apiece. However, Algeria has a game in hand, and will face Algeria in what could be the determining factor for the group winner.

While we don’t really hear a lot about these teams, they are all pretty strong teams, especially that of Ghana, Egypt and Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast in French). They can’t be counted out or underestimated because as seen in recently, they can compete with some of the best (see Egypt and Brazil’s match).

AFC (Asia qualifying)
AFC consists of a few stages of qualifying. They’ve finished up the fourth round, which consisted of two groups of five, each playing each other twice. From there, the top two of each group automatically qualify. The third place finishers will meet up in a two-game playoff (aggregate scoring) to determine who faces the winner from Oceania qualifying for another spot in the WC.

Australia and Japan finished first and second in Group A, while South Korea and North Korea were for Group B. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were both in third place after group play, and are in the second leg of the playoff, after a 0-0 draw in Bahrain on Saturday. Saudi Arabia must win outright in order to qualify, as they will lose on away goals otherwise. A 0-0 draw at the end of extra time will mean a PK shootout.

Australia look to be threatening, given that their game suits that of European play and many of their players are overseas there anyway. It’s a huge advantage that they have over their other neighbors in the continent. Japan and South Korea will give teams a run for their money, but given their style of play and ability to compete against physical European teams with their smaller size, I don’t think they really will get far. Not unless one named Guus Hiddink decides to manage the team again (like in 2002 and South Korea’s run into the semis). As for North Korea and possibly either Saudi Arabia or Bahrain, their game still needs a lot of development and probably be easy prey for the stronger teams.

OFC (Oceania qualifying)
The weakest federation of all the ones out there, it consisted of three stages of qualifying. The overview of how to qualify is pretty complex, so I’ll just explain the last stage. Four teams go into the final stage with the team in first place at the end of group play getting a playoff versus the winner of the third-place playoff of AFC qualifying.

After the final group rounds,  New Zealand came out on top by a considerable margin. The question now is whether or not they can beat either Saudi Arabia or Bahrain in a two-leg playoff. It’s definitely a possibility, but not as likely if Saudi Arabia come out as winners, since they’re much stronger. Anything is possible though.

CONMEBOL (South America qualifying)
This is probably the simplest to explain. All ten countries that are part of the federation play each other in what is the largest group stage of all the federations. Each team plays each of the other nine teams twice. The top four teams automatically qualify while the fifth place team goes into a playoff against the fourth place team from CONCACAF.

Brazil look to almost be assured to qualify with 30 points and three games left. A win sealing the deal. Chile and Paraguay are slowly approaching that breakthrough mark with a win each as well to go with their 27 points. However, the race is for the fourth and fifth spots, as there are five teams all within four points of each other. The big surprise? Argentina with 22 points and three games left, followed by Colombia and Ecuador with with 20, and Uruguay and Venezuela with 18 each. With three games for each team, any of those five teams can qualify. There are a lot of scenarios that can happen, so many that I won’t get into it at all.

Very much like CAF, any of these teams can’t be ruled out of going far in the World Cup. South America is one of the strongest continents in terms of soccer/football. Assuming that Argentina goes through, Brazil and Argentina are always favorites and reliable to count on when they go into the World Cup. However, Argentina has been lacking a lot as of late, likely due to the controversial leadership and selections made by Maradona. Brazil is scarier than ever while under Dunga, as he’s left the old guard (like Ronaldo and Ronaldinho) and replaced them with the next generation (Kaka, Luis Fabiano, and Daniel Alves).

CONCACAF (North America qualifying)
To us Americans, this is the most important federation qualifying. It also consisted of a few preliminary rounds before the final round. Known as the hexagonal, six teams play a total of ten matches, two against each team in the group. From there, the top three teams will automatically qualify. The fourth team goes to a play-off versus the fifth place team from South America.

As of right now, the U.S. and Honduras each have 13 points, while Mexico and Costa Rica each have 12. With only three games left each, this is going to be a tight race between the four teams, with none of them wanting to be in that dreaded fourth position. Honduras has the toughest three games left, with matches versus the United States and Mexico still. Costa Rica have the easiest, as they face El Salvador and Trindad & Tobago, both at the bottom of the standings (and for the most part eliminated barring a miracle).

From the looks of it, it will likely be the same three teams that automatically qualify, in the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica, with the first two being the most successful. The United States looks to be a much different team than from four years ago and definitely will be a much bigger threat than they were back then. With younger stars in the attack and defense, they should be strong. Mexico is always a force as well and can’t be counted out as shown in 2006. They could have went further in the tournament if it wasn’t for the goal of the tournament from Maxi Rodriguez. With new faces like Vela and Dos Santos, they can be quite scary from an attacking standpoint to go with the old guard in Blanco.

UEFA (Europe qualifying)
This is the biggest federation of in the world, as there are a total of nine groups, eight being groups of six and one group of five. The top finisher of each group automatically qualify, while the best eight of the nine groups going into a two-leg playoff to qualify, with the winners getting the last four spots. It is by far the most exciting of all the federation qualifiers because there are several strong teams in each group, with only two having a chance at a spot.

UEFA holds many of the soccer/football giants of the world and many are in prime position to qualify. The Netherlands are the first, as they were in not only in the weakest group, but in the group of five. They’ve won all seven of their matches and have one left. Spain are also undefeated after seven, but still have three matches to go. They are a shoe-in to qualify. England, Italy and Germany are also in first right now, but by a narrow margin in points.

Now this is where the surprises come in. As of right now, 2006 WC teams Ukraine, Turkey, Poland, Sweden, and Portugal are not in the top two teams in their group. Given that there are only three games left in each group, they are in desperate need of points and wins. Any loss could have them sitting at home watching the WC rather than playing. Furthermore, 2006 WC runner-up France, Greece, Russia, and Croatia (all four strong teams) are in second in their groups. So this could mean that if they finish their group in second, they have the possibility of playing each other and eliminating each other from qualifying.

I would say keep an eye out in the UEFA WC qualifying because it’s going to be quite exciting. Of the teams I’ve listed, they all could go far in the WC if they were to qualify. I would credit it to the completely different style of play. Physical, athletic and strong on offense and defense has been the reason for success for UEFA. And remember in 2006, the last four teams left were Portugal, France, Germany and Italy. So if your team managed to get through UEFA qualifying, you have to consider them a favorite, as they have to go through arguably the toughest qualifying process for the World Cup.

Again, there are still three games left and anything is possible. It is unlikely that we’ll see both Sweden AND Portugal make it to South Africa though. Poland still has a shot. Turkey has an outside shot, with some help.

Keep an Eye Out With Qualifying
So as you can see, there’s a lot of stuff when it comes to qualifying for the World Cup. UEFA seems the be the most intriguing to keep an eye out on, followed by CONMEBOL and CONCACAF. But I think this is what makes it so interesting as well. The surprise teams, the teams you love to hate getting in, the favorites possibly not making it through. But that’s what qualification is all about. Weeding out the weak and putting in the best.

So keep an eye out over the next few months to see what happens and what teams make it in. But hopefully, this gives you some better insight to how this whole process works and ultimately, a preview of what’s to come for 2010 World Cup.

As for my thoughts and perspectives of the teams that will likely make it and who won’t likely make it… I’ll save that for another post.

Take a look at his ability yourself:

I’m quite impressive with the kid’s ability. When people said he is going to be that of the next Zidane, they are very accurate. From the clip there, it’s not necessarily the moves that he can make, but it’s his calm as he attacks defenders and moves with the ball. That’s very difficult to find. There’s a lot of finesse and artistry in his style of play, which is hard to find in such a young player. I can’t imagine him not playing on a big club in Europe when he becomes of age. Talent like his is so unique and rare.

Too bad that the French National Team won’t be able to use his services for a while…

Thanks to Trenton for the clip.

Fast forward a few years later. Steelers are making a run in the playoffs again. They get a bye in the first week because of their finish in the regular season. Then they beat up on the Chargers pretty handily, leading to third matchup with their biggest rival: The Baltimore Ravens. I had to watch this game. Two physical, defensive-minded teams battling it out for a spot in the Super Bowl.

And I definitely was glad to see it… and glad to see the Steelers come through and get a chance at another SB ring.

The way that the two teams play football was fun to watch. Hard hits. A bruising running game. Strong defenses. No mercy, smashmouth football. How the game was meant to be played. So regardless of whoever won this match-up, it would be a painful one to come out of in the end. They’d be glad to have the bye week to rest up and prepare for the Super Bowl.

From the kickoff of the game, people were already getting hurt. Two Ravens players were knocked out from some brutal blows by the Steelers special teams unit. You could tell how the game was going to be. Emotions were definitely on high. Kemoeatu got a personal foul for shoving over a Ravens defensive lineman after the play was well over. More hits late after the play was over. Hard hits from both sides. Limas Sweed with a punishing block for his teammate Heath Miller on one of the Ravens cornerbacks, Corey Ivy. So many players had to leave the game because of injuries or just being knocked out silly from a play.

When the Steelers had a 13-0 lead, it looked like they were going to run away with it. Big Ben wasn’t trying to make impossible plays like he does sometimes, but rather just playing it simple and finding the open man. The running game wasn’t working, but at least it milked the clock a bit. The defense was making some amazing stops, notably the one a fourth and short play and Troy Polamalu jumps over and stops Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco from sneaking for the first down.

But Ravens came back. Willis McGahee runs in for a touchdown, cutting the lead to 13-7. Pittsburgh could have scored one before the half ended, but some poor time management left it at 13-7, luckily for the Ravens.

The on-going chess match continued in the third quarter, with the only score being a Pittsburgh field goal by Jeff Reed, making it 16-7 (what it should had been at the half had they not screwed up on that drive). It all lead to the fourth quarter. Fifteen minutes left to decide the AFC champion and who would get the last laugh this season between these two defensive juggernauts. I don’t think I was ever as nervous watching a game as this one, as they started what looked like a comeback. The Ravens offense started to move the ball in the air more, getting them first downs. It eventually setup for another touchdown run by Willis McGahee, making the score 16-14.

It was nerve-racking to watch. Steelers basically needed to keep the defense stops going and/or keep the offensive possession for as long as possible to preserve the lead and the win. They tried, but it wasn’t working out the best. Third and outs weren’t going to cut it. And then it happened. Flacco looked to make a throw to Todd Heap, who was downfield. However, who he didn’t see was Troy Polamalu roaming free. Polamalu leaps up in the air and snatches that ball out of mid-air and comes down on his feet. Another Flacco interception. Seeing he has the ball, he starts running for the end zone. He runs into traffic, backs out of it, and runs to the right side of the field. He eventually finds a hole, running through it and gets the ball into the end zone.

Touchdown, Steelers. The security points that they needed.

This put a ton of pressure on Flacco and the Ravens offense again to make something happen or go home and watch the Super Bowl from Baltimore. And then probably one of the most brutal hits of the game that left everyone stunned.

Flacco is facing pressure from the Steelers defense and throws it to his safety target in Willis McGahee, whose in the middle of the field. But just as McGahee catches it and takes a step, there is free safety Ryan Clark to make the hit on him. He lowers his shoulder a bit and just knocks McGahee silly. Both players are in the air for a brief second before landing on the ground, motionless. Regardless of how much you dislike your rival, you never want to see anyone in the kind of condition that McGahee was at that moment in the game. He was on the ground for several minutes as the medical staff from both teams tended to him. Players from both sides came in. Some were taking a knee. Others were in prayer. The stadium itself was unnervingly quiet. It was a scary sight to see. Thankfully, McGahee showed movement in his limbs, and latest reports are saying that he’ll make a full recovery.

The game continued. But every person watching the game were still on their toes. While the Steelers had the ball from the fumble, they had another three and out and punted it. The Ravens had one more chance left to try to make something out of it, even though it was a two possession game technically. It was all about the two-minute drill for the Ravens, with only one timeout left. Make or break here.

It turned out it was break for the Ravens. Flacco passes it wildly into Steelers cornerback Tyrone Carter, effectively ending it. Zero touchdowns, three interceptions for Flacco.

The Steelers just took a knee and that was that. Steelers 24, Ravens 13. They become AFC champions and were going back to the Super Bowl, looking to get their sixth ring as an organization. But what was even more important was who they beat in order to win that conference title. If there was a team they really wanted to play against and beat, it was the Ravens. And they did.

I’m happy for the Steelers organization though. A lot of people had written them off in terms of going to the Super Bowl because they had a non-existant offensive line and too many of the other teams were better. But when it came down to the clutch moments, they responded well and performed well. The defense did its job and so did the offense. They quieted their critics and showed they can’t be counted out of a spot in the big game. And now it’s time to finish the journey, hopefully with another Super Bowl ring. There’s still one obstacle left: Ken Whisenhunt’s Arizona Cardinals. A lot of great storylines are forming with regards to the coaching staff and the styles and philosophies of the game between the two teams. It should be a good buildup and match-up between the two teams.

However, I don’t know if it will compare to this Steelers/Ravens game. This one will definitely be remembered in NFL playoff lore as one of the best and well-fought games between two great teams.

Because of all this, it’s given me a bit more appreciation of the way that the European football (soccer) leagues are run. Let me explain this model in a manner that people can identify with as possible. It’s one of the simplest, yet effective ways of determining a league champion and also bringing other aspects that encourage and drive teams to play to the very end.

You play each of your opponents twice: Once at home. Once away. With the whole regards to schedule of strength, this removes that aspect of the game. Teams don’t get punished and have no chance of making the playoffs bceause they have to play everyone on their home turf and on their opponent’s field. No longer do we have the Steelers having to fight every single week playing a difficult team each week or the Arizona Cardinals breezing through the NFC West. You don’t have to worry about being punished for being in a difficult or weird division to travel in, like the Northwest division in the NBA. Oklahoma City… in the Northwest. Right…

No divisions, but rivalries are still there. One of the things about having few games is it creates more drama and build-up leading to the game. So when things get a little intense, say with controversial calls or fisticuffs flying, it makes the next meeting that much more exciting and vital to win. If you meet four times in a season, the emotions die quickly because you’ll have two or three more times to get your revenge and win.

No playoffs, but rather “Winner takes all”. This one is one of the better aspects, probably one anyone other than soccer purists won’t appreciate as much. There are eighteen or twenty teams in each league. Like I said earlier, you play two games against each team, meaning that your team will play either 34 to 38 games, depending on the size of the league. After that, you determine the league champion by playing in an eight-team playoff right? Wrong. Whoever is at the top of the standings wins the trophy. Simple as that. It makes each game of equal importance. You can’t have a bad night because that loss might cost you in the end. You can’t make it up like you would in a 82 or 162 game season like the NBA, NHL, or the MLB. Make it count.

Last place means good draft pick right? Nope. It’s relegation, sucker. Right now, the Detroit Lions are 0-13. It means that they’re lined up for a pretty solid draft pick in 2009. Same with Cincinnati and Seattle (due to tiebreakers). But in European soccer, if you’re in the bottom three or four, it means you’re getting sent down to a lower league (think of it like the minor leagues of baseball). It means less money and less air time on TV. There are no drafts. It’s a fight for survival and you have to play out the entire season to ensure that you stay in the top league.

Teams earn money for their finishes. This is simple enough. Depending on where you finish in your league, it can make a huge difference in the amount of money you receive at the end of the season. That money goes to help out in paying to bring in new players, new coaches or staff, or even expand or build your new stadium.

Can’t win your league? Well, there’s always the league cup. While only one team can win the league championship, there’s other trophies you can play for. Each country has their own country-wide tournament. Think of it like a nation-wide NCAA basketball tournament but almost anyone can play in. It’s single-elimination for the most part, but think about it… You might get the opportunity to play against a professional team at least once in your lifetime, even though you might not be a pro yourself. But in any case, it’s a consolation for many teams to win their country’s cup as they can say they managed to be the last one standing in their country. It also gives you an opportunity to play in something bigger too…

European bragging rights… I think this is the coolest aspect of soccer in Europe. Even if you’re no longer in the race for the league title, you still have something to fight for. That being a shot at your place in a huge tournament.

The top three or four teams in each country’s top league all get rounded up and compete in the ultimate tournament: The UEFA Champions League. There’s a few qualifying matches that teams have to play in order to get there, depending on their country’s performance in tournaments and so forth (as there are 51 or so countries in the entire federation).

It eventually comes down to 32 teams in a group stage, then cut down to 16 to have a home-and-home elimination tournament (play one at home, one away, team with most goals advances, away goals in the case of a tie), all leading to the final in some large venue in Europe, whether it be London, Paris, Madrid, Moscow, or somewhere grand. Famous teams battling it out, contrasting styles of play, and your favorite players from all over the world all on the same field. Sure, World Cup is cool, but nothing of this sort.

And there’s a smaller version of it in the form of the UEFA Cup (to be called the Europa Cup), for those teams that finish in fourth of fifth place, depending on their league, as well as league cup champions (assuming the’re not in the Champions League).

That the way that a lot of our leagues are organized and structured, there’s that sense of boredom or apathy at some point. Because of such long seasons and so many games, they’re sometimes not as important as others, so the smaller games, people aren’t as likely to come to. And if you’re doing so horrible, you might as well just shut down operations for the season and get that nice draft pick. How is that fair to your paying fans that come to watch your team? There’s no benefit for playing a strong lineup either if your team isn’t doing well enough to make it to the playoffs nor poorly enough to get a solid draft pick because of the potential for career-ending injuries. Again, no incentive to play out the entire season, even if it is just for the fans, which teams and their owners don’t really care about. It’s about the money that they can bring in.

Playoffs are pretty cool because it creates new energy and revives people’s desires in the league after the long boring season. But in doing so, it negates the purpose of the regular season. Why? Because everyone starts all over again. Your regular season record helps you determine your seed, but if you did well against that team, seeding doesn’t matter in the first place. There ultimately is no incentive other than home-field advantage (playing one more game at home) and playing in front of your fans in finishing first. Think about the Lakers playing the Hornets last season. It was a blowout in that playoff series, despite the fact that the Hornets had home-court advantage. Why spend all that energy playing 82 or 162 games to negate it playing your worse match-up? This is also where the complacency and apathy towards playing out the entire season comes in. If you’re in, you want to prepare for the playoffs, thus you rest starters and play your bench. How is that fair to fans that want to see your star players near the end of the season?

And the way that the schedule is structured and organized, sometimes, it might screw your team over. Like the Steelers in the NFL this year. They not only have to face teams in the AFC, but also arguably the hardest division in the league as well in the NFC East with Philadelphia, Dallas, Washington, and the N.Y. Giants. And yet, the Arizona Cardinals are playing in NFC West, where they have six of their sixteen games against teams with records of 5-8 or 2-11. Note that five of the Cardinals wins are from the division alone and that they’re 8-5, with still one left to play against Seattle. Not so in the European model.

And ultimately, there’s no incentive beyond your league. In the end, you’re going to be there regardless of what happens, good or bad. You know that you’re the best team in the league by winning the championship? Cool. That’s it. There’s nothing left to really go after… except another one the following year. I think that’s what the European tournament does that the U.S. model will never be able to achieve. It gives teams something even higher to fight for, beyond their domestic leagues. Not only that, but it brings in more revenue as well. More of these games, more air time, more money. How wrong can someone go with that? And it truly brings the ultimate title of “best team in the continent” and puts more foreign press focusing on your sport.

While radical reformations of these leagues are out of the question due to the sheer controversy and problems that would result from it, there has got to be some changes that can push teams to try harder as the season progresses or at least not lose their interest over its course. Why is this? Maybe it’s something else. Maybe it has to do with team management. Maybe it’s the players. Maybe it’s the way the leagues run. There’s so many different things we can point at. But maybe we can take a look at the European soccer model for ideas to start off. While the current league models in the U.S. have been succesful, there still can be a lot of improvement to them.

Dear Co-Rec Soccer Players and Managers,

Mayor Greg Nickels and Seattle Parks Superintendent Timothy Gallagher have sent their proposed budget for 2009 to the Seattle City Council for approval.  Unfortunately, it includes a huge increase in field-use fees from $40 per hour for sand fields to $50 per hour!  Even worse, artificial-turf fields will go up from $40 per hour to $60 per hour!!

Field-use fees have traditionally been based on the maintenance and scheduling costs of a field.  Years ago, we gave testimony that the fees for sand fields not only covered all of the costs, they actually generated extra revenue.  Artificial-turf fields cost even less to maintain, as Parks acknowledges on page 9 of the budget.  So, there is no justification at all to increase fees by 50%!

Middle and lower-income participation has already fallen off because of the 2003, 2005 and 2006 fee increases.  There is no logic behind raising fees on adult soccer again, when the result will be to lose even more teams, reduce City revenue and destroy community spirit.  Why turn adult sports in our city into something only the affluent can afford?  With so many people in financial difficulty in today’s economic climate, it is extremely poor policy to raise fees on recreational sports, which provide camaraderie and exercise for so many Seattle residents.

Please forward this letter to your teammates and supporters and if possible attend the upcoming 2009 Budget Hearings to help keep sports fields affordable.  Send your e-mails of protest to Parks Chair Tom Rasmussen and the rest of the Seattle City Council (cut and paste all of them into your “send to” line), and let them know that you don’t approve of the proposed fee increase and its negative effect on local recreational soccer!

tom.rasmussen @ seattle.gov; richard.conlin @ seattle.gov; nick.licata @ seattle.gov; jan.drago @ seattle.gov; sally.clark @ seattle.gov; bruce.harrell @ seattle.gov; jean.godden @ seattle.gov; richard.mciver @ seattle.gov; tim.burgess @ seattle.gov

Public Hearing:  This coming Monday, October 27th at 5:30pm (call-ins begin at 4:30pm at 206-684-0481) in the Seattle City Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall, located at 600 Fourth Avenue (entrance on Fifth Avenue).  In order to speak, you will need to sign in on the speaker sign-up sheet which will be made available outside council chambers at 5:00pm, 30 minutes before the start of the meeting. The Seattle City Council will be voting on the Mayor’s Proposed Budget before Thanksgiving.

Further information about the Seattle City Council, including phone numbers, can be found at:  http://www.cityofseattle.gov/council/councilcontact.htm.

Thank you for giving these issues your consideration.
Sincerely,

Derek Goldingay
Manager, Co-Rec Soccer Association

The overall costs to maintain a turf field is very low. Much lower than the costs to use it per hour, which is what makes this increase very unfair. These costs in general have a much greater impact though and that’s in the communities that these fields create through its usage. There are a number of leagues around the area that use these fields and people come from all over the greater Seattle area to play. Whether they’re in college or in their later years, it brings people together to do something that they all share in common: recreational sports.

By the increases in costs, they are damaging these communities. The last thing, especially in such difficult economic times, is to have people have nothing to look forward to than to be able to play their favorite sports in the leagues throughout the city. It helps people relax, have fun and enjoy playing together with others. Are these increases in costs worth destroying the camraderie and fellowship? Through these groups and leagues, it helps bring people in the city. There have been a number of field fee increases already in the past and that has already resulted in people having to give up on recreational sports in Seattle due to too high of costs. Letting this happen again will only see the community shrink more.

If you are in one of the sports leagues in Seattle, strongly consider e-mailing the city council and protesting the increased costs in field usage. Also, try to come out to the City Council meeting this upcoming Monday to speak to the board in protest. I know I’ll be there and probably speaking on the behalf of the community.

Use your right to freedom of speech. Speak up, speak out.

Focus on the performances from the past month, not the entire season. Why? Because you can tell whether the player is on a streak or not. While a player may have thirty home runs in the season, if they’ve only had two in the past month, it’s obviously telling you that he’s cooled down quite a bit. Picking up players when they’re slumping isn’t particularly the best idea.

Check game logs when checking the last month’s stats. I think this is just as key as checking the past month. The reason you want to see their game to game stats is that even though they may seem to be on a streak in terms of hitting or pitching, if they aren’t playing daily or had one big game with a bunch of games that are pretty much productionless, it might not be the best pick-up.

It’s not worth picking up injury prone players. I made a mistake in drafting Josh Beckett from the Boston Red Sox due to the fact that he’s known to get injuries over time. Basically, drafting players that are injury prone means you’re not getting the full potential for them. You know they’re going to have those recurring injuries over the course of the season, so why bother? You want players that won’t always keep going back on the DL every few months, because you’ll get no stats from them when you could be with someone else.

The waiver wire is your best friend. Last season, I managed to pick up Carlos Pena. This season, it was Carlos Quentin. Both players had big seasons in those respective years, having over one hundred RBI and at least thirty five home runs. But how did I get them? I looked at players from the first two points. Seeing how they did over the course of the month and game-by-game (it leads to my next point as well). Even if you have a bad draft, you can always at least one gem on the waivers and free agents that you can pick up to make your team better, depending on how deep your league is.

Look at previous seasons. Something you have to look in mind is previous seasons. A lot of fantasy baseball is about a game of averages. For the case of players that have been in the season for several seasons, by looking back at their previous seasons, you can get a general idea of how consistent and successful they’re going to be for your team. Unless they’re on some enhancement drug, it’s not likely they’re going to go from a ten home run, fifty RBI season to having a forty homer, hundred RBI season (assuming they’re playing the same number of games). It shouldn’t be completely discounted that this will happen, but more often than not, it’s a rarity.

Find players around 27 or 28 years old. It’s around here when a player really reaches his full potential in the league. It partly has to do with the experience when it comes to pitching or batting, but also their strength, power, and speed as well. For example, three of my top hitters on my team are all around that age. Mark Teixiera, Justin Morneau and Carlos Quentin are all around the power age. Each with at least one hundred RBI and twenty home runs (Morneau with the fewest at twenty three).

Draft pitchers early. This has been my strategy for a while, but at the same time, I’m also playing in an AL-only league, so this might be different. But here’s the reasoning behind drafting pitchers first. There are only a few people that I would strongly consider drafting first in terms of hitting. Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, David Wright, and probably a few others. However, beyond that, the power hitting starts to even out and you have a lot of people to choose from. In playing an AL league only, you can see that there becomes a ton of depth when you have an all-MLB universe league and a lot of players to choose from.

Pitching, on the other hand, is harder to find. Yes, you can make the same point about pitching in that there’s the top tier and then everyone else. But remember this: hitters play everyday, pitchers don’t necessarily. If you neglect those stats, it’s going to bite you in the butt. Because starting pitchers pitch usually only once a week, you have to make the most of those starts. Having consistent pitchers that will keep your ERA and WHIP down, while getting you a lot of strikeouts and wins are always worthwhile. They’re hard to find and if you dominate the draft in picking up the stronger pitchers, you will likely dominate other teams in that area. (Also, if you’re playing in Yahoo! leagues, the first tiebreaker in playoffs is lowest ERA.)

If you have the opportunity to draft a top tier hitter, then go for it. But else, I would focus on solidifying your pitching first, because there’s always a lot of hitters that you can get that will help you out in the long run, especially those called up from the minors. Not so much with pitchers.

Steals vs. Saves. Which one? Personally, based on the last point, I would say go with saves. However, always be careful in selecting the right people for this. Choose solid closers, not the questionable ones. People like K-Rod, Rivera, Papelbon or Joe Nathan, to name a few (notice that they’re mainly in the AL). While it’s definitely situational for a save to occur, the thing is that not only do they help get you a SV in the standings, but they also reduce your WHIP and ERA, more often than not. Steals might not always get you a hit or a run. And again, pitching is far more important than hitting due to the fewer opportunities for starts than at-bats.

Keep an eye on call-ups and young players. There’s a few reasons. First, they’re not as likely to get hurt. Secondly, towards the end of the season, they’re going to get more chances to get up to the plate, especially if they’re out of contention for the playoffs. But from experience in selecting players, you get a lot of success out of the younger players and those in their power years. My current team right now consists of two older players (Mike Lowell, who is hurt half the time unfortunately, and Raul Ibanez), and youngsters. As a result, it’s really been beneficial for me as they don’t get hurt and get a solid production out of all of them.

Don’t draft catchers early. There are only a few players that I would strongly consider drafting early. Brian McCann and Giovany Desoto. But beyond that, that’s about it. Catchers don’t have a lot of power usually. Also, they don’t always play everyday due to the physical demands that it takes to play in the position. It’s not worth it.

Choose players on teams that will be competitive and making or fighting for the playoffs. Don’t choose players from the Nationals or other awful teams. If you choose the best player from there, you’re not going to get a lot out of them due to the fact that the rest of the supporting cast won’t provide much for you. There’s always a few exceptions for this, for example Tim Lincecum from the Giants, but beyond that, it’s hard to warrant getting the better players from weaker teams. Having a player from a team with a strong supporting cast will make that player a lot better. Teams like the Phillies, Red Sox, and Angels will provide some good offense for you, as well as strength in pitching as well. There’s a reason why they’re in the top of their division. They’ve got the solid players.

Don’t hesitate to make trades. While you don’t want to benefit your opponents, you do want to find ways to benefit your own team as well. Don’t hold back on making trade offers or making counter-offers. You may be able to pull off some steals from time to time, depending on the needs of the team you’re trading with. For example, one of my friends was deperate for a third baseman and desired Evan Longoria. While he was one of my better players on my roster, we worked out a deal that benefited both of us. I managed to pick up Justin Morneau, Joe Saunders, and Jacoby Ellsbury for Magglio Ordonez, Evan Longoria, and Justin Verlander (Verlander was having several strong starts, which was why he was in there). While he met his needs, I managed to maintain my power while also picking up more steals and someone else to lower my ERA and WHIP. I knew I could sacrifice some power to get other stats, which turned out to help me considerably in the final weeks of the season.

Anyway, that’s all the tips I can think about. But overall, I learned that it’s a lot about paying attention to the news and seeing the potential in players. It also requires a bit of risk-taking as well, but in doing so, you can reap the rewards of whatever gains that they might give you. For an AL only team, I managed to get four players with over a hundred RBI, six players with over twenty home runs, and almost all my pitchers with under 4.00 ERA (except my highest draft pick left in Beckett) and at least 12 wins. If you’re wondering who is on my roster, here it is. Note that I made changes for the sake of the playoffs since players were hurt or producing at all:

C - Taylor Teagarden (TEX)
1B - Mark Teixiera (LAA)
2B - Alexei Ramirez (CWS)
3B - Mike Lowell (BOS)
SS - Mike Aviles (KC)
OF - Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS)
OF - Shin-Soo Choo (CLE)
OF - Raul Ibanez (SEA)
Util - Justin Morneau (MIN)
Bench - Carlos Quentin (CWS) (Injured)
Bench - Nelson Cruz (TEX)
Bench - Nick Swisher (CWS)

SP - Ervin Santana (LAA)
SP - Jesse Litsch (TOR)
RP - Francisco Rodríguez (LAA)
RP - Brad Ziegler (OAK)
P - Josh Beckett (BOS)
P - Joe Saunders (LAA)
P - Jose Arredondo (LAA)
Bench - Brandon League (TOR)

Cruz, Choo, and Teagarden were all picked up for the sake of the post-season. Before I had them, I had Marlon Byrd (TEX), Jed Lowrie (BOS), and Jeff Mathis (LAA). I use the waiver wire a lot, with a total of 35 different transactions and two major trades. And by the end of the season, a league championship for 2008 fantasy baseball.

Hope these tips help out when the 2009 season comes around.

Thanks to Tyler Smith, for all the discussions with regards to fantasy baseball over the past few years.

There’s a lot of reasons to be excited for this young team though. I was reading an article written by a local blog that covers Blazers news called Blazer’s Edge about reasons to root for the Blazers, so I felt I would list my own reasons for why people should at least keep an eye on these guys.

1. Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, and Lamarcus Aldridge are the next Big Three. It’s obviously not the same kind of big three that Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and KG bring, but they bring a lot of energy and athleticism to the court. It will be great to finally see them on the court together. Oden will be doing monster dunks, Aldridge will be shooting from the perimeter and providing a defensive rebounding presense to complement Oden, and Roy will help run the offense and give everyone on the team opportunities to get on the scoreboard.

2. The rookies join the set. When I saw Bayless online during the summer league, I was mighty impressed with him. He had this composure and fearlessness that is hard to find in rookies. To attack the basket and shoot effortlessly was a sight to see. It felt as if the organization had the steal of the 2008 draft in Bayless. While he will likely make the transition to point guard, that ferocity and aggressiveness on the offensive side of the ball will definitely provide a big boost to the team.

Rudy Fernandez joining the Blazers is going to be exciting as well. For those that didn’t get the opportunity to see him play in the Gold Medal game in the Beijing Olympics, you missed out. I think the play that made him big was the dunk that he did on Dwight Howard. He provides a lot of energy to the court and will be another offensive threat on the court. Great jumpshot, winning attitude from his days in Spain, and great game overall.

3. Team-first attitude but with energy. I think this is probably one of the bigger reasons to follow the team. It’s hard to find a team that does this these days. The only team I can really think of off the top of my head is the Detroit Pistons. These guys are focused on success. They’re not greedy for the most part and they work well together. And they stand up for each other as well. Prime example of this is the last Lakers/Blazers game last season.

4. No attitudes or egos to worry about. The NBA is a lot about big names and big egos that run around the court. But it’s hard to really find one on this team. They may get attention, but not for the wrong reasons. They let their game do the talking, rather than their mouths.

5. They’re going to be a fun team to watch. I don’t think you can say that they aren’t. With the addition of Bayless and Rudy to go with all the other fearless players on this team, like Roy, Oden, and Outlaw, you’re going to see a lot of dunks and blocks this season. Last season alone provided so many games that resulted players from the team being on the highlight reel. This season won’t be a letdown, especially with Oden and his monster dunks and blocks.

But just think about it. Is there anything you can really say badly about this team? They’re a young team, and yes, with inexperience, but that’s fine. It’s what happens when the team consists of such young stars. Mistakes will happen. But they’re growing up together throughout this process and it will be great to see them mature together as a team and really learn what it takes to finally succeed and become a force in the NBA. And with a coach like Nate McMillian to keep them down to earth, they will have the elements that will help them contend for a title in the years to come.