Archive for February 20th, 2009

WATERCOOLER CHAT: NBA TRADE DEADLINE, GIAMBI TO A’S, TIGER BACK

NBA

It was trade deadline day, and there were a few last minute deals.

First up, the Orlando Magic lost Jameer Nelson, their all-star point guard (and former St. Joes stand-out the year they went undefeated and got a #1 seed) for the season.  Finally, the Magic had a point guard to general a very talented roster (Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu), and then they lose him for the year.  They immediately started looking who was out there, and who could step into that pivotal role.  Well, they found a guy.  Rafer Alston of the Houston Rockets is now officially on the Magic.  Rafer was a key player in Houston’s 22-game win streak last year, proving that he can run the show if need be.  Now he’s got a shot to far in the playoffs.

Second, the Knicks were looking to free up some cap space.  They had to part ways with Tim Thomas, Jerome James, and Malik Rose, but they actually acquired some pretty good players.  They got Larry Hughes from Chicago, which could give them some decent guard play.  That is… if Hughes goes into competitive mode.  He was in this ‘zone’ back when he was with the Washington Wizards, but when he was on the Cavs and Bulls — he was in ‘I’m-bored-just-give-me-a-paycheck’ mode.  Hopefully, Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni can motivate him to SOME degree.

BASEBALL

Amidst all the A-Rod news, there is something else to take note of.  Seven years ago, Jason Giambi left Oakland to play for big bucks with the New York Yankees.  Giambi played well during that time period, but he never became completely dominant like the Yanks would have liked.  He was even injury plagued over the past couple seasons.  Well… now he’s returning to the team that made him famous… the Oakland A’s.  And as Manny Ramirez has showed us, Giambi still has a lot of good years left in him, and could potentially have a complete resurgence up in Oakland.

PGA

Finally, an old friend will be rejoining us in the sports world next week.  Tiger Woods will come back to the PGA tour.  He’s been out for the last eight months recovering from a knee injury.  Now, he’s returning to play in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.  When he’s gone, the golf world seriously misses him.  His mere presence makes the sport 100% more exciting.  Plus, it’s fun to watch the terror on his competitor’s faces when he’s out there hitting those incredible putts.

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