Empty the Bench is foaming at the mouth with the prospect of wildebeast-with-pads Laurence Maroney assuming full-time duty as starting running back for the New England Patriots next season. After racking up an impressive 745 yards rushing, 194 yards receiving, and 7 touchdowns in his rookie season while splitting carries with Corey Dillon and battling a few nagging injuries, it appears that Dillon is about ready to call it a day and allow Maroney to assume his rightful throne as fantasy running back stud:
“I think more of my health, how I envision myself five, 10 years down the road,” [Dillon] told the Globe. “I don’t want to be broken down, not able to play with my kids. Football is the furthest thing on my mind right now. I may wake up and feel the itch and decide I still want to shake it, but as of now, I doubt that will happen.”
HOT—one less running back timeshare fantasy owners have to worry about next season. ETB has been watching Maroney since his days at the University of Minnesota, when even then he had to share carries with another fantasy-stats monster you may have heard of, Marion Barber III. With Maroney now in line to get the lion’s share of carries in the New England backfield, watch out. He’s a big, powerful guy that’s deceptively fast (he returned kicks for the Pats in his rookie season) and knows how to find open field. He’s a lot like the Rams’ Stephen Jackson, and honestly, we think he has Jackson-type potential eventually.
As for the ‘07 season, expect double-digit TDs and 1,200+ yards if Dillon is gone. Unless something drastic happens at the top of your fantasy draft, he won’t slip past the 2nd round.
Usual Suspects Pinky, Inky and Clyde Also Rounded Up
The Associated Press is reporting that local authorities have seized $81,000 in cash-money from the hotel of a promoter responsible for the nightclub incident involving Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones over All-Star weekend. Mr. Jones was showering more than 40 female strippers at the club with money, but apparently it was only intended for “visual effect.” I don’t know what kind of nightclub it is where you can’t pour bags of money on the floor and expect it to be returned in an orderly fashion, but I guess they don’t call it Sin City for nothing.
Pacman Jones (Pictured right, gorging himself on an array of exotic fruits and gourmet dots), also lost two wrist watches at the event, but the jewelry was found with a garbage bag of money at the hotel of promoter Chris Mitchell. After Jones dumped the money on the floor, the ensuing struggle for the cash caused a brawl to break out, and was also the cause of the subsequent shooting reported earlier here at ETB. Some other highlights from the event include:
Later, a woman identified as a member of Jones’ group fought with one of the strippers and security tried to break up the fight, it says. Jones told the guards to back off and reached behind his back “as if he were retrieving a weapon there.”
Jones’ entourage was moved outside, but the woman continued to fight, according to the warrant filed Wednesday in Clark County District in Las Vegas.
The woman hit a guard in the head with a champagne bottle and “began biting and screaming” when other guards tried to restrain her, the warrant says. Minutes later, a valet told police he heard shots fired near the front entrance and saw a black man with corn rows in his hair pointing a black semi-automatic handgun, it says. The man then fled.
Good times. According to the AP, “Police have described the suspected shooter as last seen wearing a black shirt and blue jeans.” They also went on to say that he was likely an adult male, medium sized, normal height with hair of regular length, probably brown. The officer in charge of the investigation issued an APB for the suspect in question, as well as for a box of those Girl Scout cookies he likes. You know the ones, they have coconut or something in them. They’re impossible to find this time of year.
No CommentsPosted by Andrew Thell on Feb. 22, 2007 at 8:57pm in NBA, NFL
So, yeah… looks like all the speculation and feature articles and chat discussions and leaked rumors and salary-matching arguments and message board posts and hours upon hours of plugging players into ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine in preparation for something, anything happening before today’s NBA trade deadline was time really well spent, huh? Save for the two minor deals made earlier today, nothing more happened today than Kevin McHale eating oatmeal, Otis Smith laying in a tanning bed, and Rod Thorn watching Double Dare 2000 reruns, thinking about how he would absolutely OWN that obstacle course if only given the chance.
No CommentsPosted by Brian Spencer on Feb. 22, 2007 at 4:11pm in NBA
The Portland Trailblazers will be sending Juan Dixon to the Toronto Raptors for Fred Jones. ESPN reported the move just minutes ago. It’s not a blockbuster, but it’s something on this Trade Deadline afternoon that has otherwise been very slow. Juan Dixon is 28 years old and did not figure into the long-term plans of the Blazers, as his skill set overlaps too much with Brandon Roy.
From a fantasy standpoint, Juan Dixon could find himself with more playing time on a roster that needs some scoring out of the backcourt. Dixon had been rumored to be headed to Detroit, but the talks yielded no trade. Fred Jones does not figure to dramatically increase in playing time or production.
The other trade announced earlier today sent 32-year-old guard Anthony Johnson from the Dallas Mavericks to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for a second-round pick. The Hawks were in desperate need of ballhandlers to take some of the pressure off of Joe Johnson in the playmaking department. Anthony Johnson is a veteran who has played modestly when given minutes in the past, namely with the Indiana Pacers from 2004-2006. While Johnson’s fantasy value will not increase substantially, it’s a good move for the injury-depleted Hawks.
All weekend, people, especially cab drivers, gossiped about brawls and shootings. You didn’t know what to believe because the local newspaper was filled with stories about what a raging success All-Star Weekend was. The city is desperately trying to attract an NBA franchise, and, I guess, there was no reason to let a few bloody bodies get in the way of a cozy relationship with Stern.
Plus, the NBA’s business partner ESPN didn’t have time to dirty its hands and report on the carnage. I’m sure ESPN’s reporters were embedded in the rear ends of the troops — Shaq, Kobe, King James, D-Wade, AI and Melo.
We too found it a bit puzzling that at first the weekend sounded like shangri-la in the desert, with everyone holding hands, licking lollipops, and bidding random passerbys “good day” as the NBA Cares train rolled through town with a good-hearted smile. Well, it looks like commissioner Stern’s best laid plans have failed again… but he’ll be back. Oh yes… mwuahahahaha.. he’ll.. be.. BACK!
No CommentsPosted by Brian Spencer on Feb. 22, 2007 at 1:53pm in NBA
Since posting about Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ ongoing Lakers blog on NBA.com, we here at Empty the Bench just haven’t been able to pull ourselves away from his thoughtful prose. As such, we’ve decided to regularly reprint select passages of Flea articulately expressing himself through words. We hope you enjoy this week’s excerpt concerning the Lakers’ recent losing skid as much as we do. Aspiring poets out there, class is in session.
And, if you have any favorite Flea passages of your own, please do feel free to post them in the comments section.
that is the only way they are gonna have the sun break through this
storm cloud that has fallen around them
they have to all believe and give their hearts to the team ….that
is the only way to lift from this murky malaise they are treading in
holy cow maybe they need more tough love
like a good old fashioned booing from the home crowd next time they
start acting up like this
no, that’s a terrible idea that wouldn’t help anything
it’s just me being desperate
love is the answer
if we lose we lose
but letting teams prance down into the middle of the lane and score
is lame
cant happen
they gotta step up and show some heart
they gotta be (to quote the ghostface killah) ‘tough like an
elephant’s tusk’
No CommentsPosted by Brian Spencer on Feb. 22, 2007 at 12:51pm in NBA
Former #2 pick in the NFL Draft Charles Rogers, who has been twice suspended for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy, may have to settle for his reputed favorite pastime—smoking grass—rather than smoking cornerbacks and safeties at his wide receiver position. Cut outright last year by the Detroit Lions, Tom Kowalski reports for MLive that Rogers was beaten by a tortoise in a 40-yard dash:
According to a league source, Charles Rogers ran a 4.8 in the 40 during his recent workout with the Kansas City Chiefs. I’ve been asking some people around the league if they believe Rogers will be invited to somebody’s training camp. I’m getting pretty much the same answer: Rogers is out of shape and really isn’t showing much interest in ever playing football again.
Coming out of Michigan State, C-Rog looked like the real deal. A tall, strong guy with an uncanny ability to score touchdowns and catch everything thrown in his direction, a la Randy Moss in his Vikings prime. Injuries, drug-related suspensions, and a soft work ethic, though, have all contributed to his career pretty much ending before it ever started.
No CommentsPosted by Brian Spencer on Feb. 22, 2007 at 12:30pm in NFL
Something tells us this isn’t the kind of glorious return Pat Riley was envisioning after dismounting his white horse and resuming head coach duties of the Miami Heat. In the midst of a 112-102 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night, Dwayne “Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8 Times” Wade suffered an injury to his left arm that could sideline him for up to 6 weeks.
The Heat lost the game, 112-102, but it has probably lost a whole lot more with Wade likely sustaining what was initially called a dislocated left shoulder, which could keep Wade out for a period of about six weeks.
You don’t need us to tell you what kind of an impact this will have on the Heat’s fortunes for the remainder of the regular season. If he does indeed miss 6 weeks, that puts his return at around the first week of April, when the currently 26-27 Heat would only have about seven games left to play. Given Shaq’s ever-soaring body-fat percentage and a lack of consistent, reliable scorers outside of Wade (‘Toine, Kapono, Posey, Haslem, etc don’t qualify), we wonder if the Heat will throw in the towel and call it a day. Does this team of aging veterans with questionable motivation after getting their rings last year have it in them to suck it up and really bust balls while Wade is out? We shall see… but our guess is an emphatic no. This is also a big blow for fantasy owners of Wade, who’ll have to scramble to replace his points, FT %, assists, and steals. Not an easy task.
No CommentsPosted by Brian Spencer on Feb. 22, 2007 at 11:46am in NBA
A matchup of epic proportions, the regular season as we know it was on the line tonight in this hotly contested clash of titans. MVP candidate Steve Nash played his second game after returning from a ‘frozen’ shoulder, making a Suns victory about as sure a thing as there is in the NBA. The Phoenix Suns are simply the most difficult team to beat in the regular season, and the Boston Celtics are incredibly focused, with their eyes on the prize: Greg Oden. Nevertheless, it made for some good basketball and it was much tighter than it should have been most of the way. I loved seeing how the Celts young guys respond to this up-tempo style of play, and it’s always a treat to watch the Phoenix offense dismantle a less experienced team’s D.
I’ll be monitoring a few developing situations throughout the day, so check back later for updates on where Mike Bibby is getting traded (and believe me, he’s getting traded), Cleveland’s possible interest in Kidd, and whether the much-talked-about deals for Pau Gasol and Corey Maggette will get done before tomorrow’s 3 p.m. deadline.
Cleveland definitely makes the most sense, but what would the compensation for the Kings look like? Before visions of Bibby and ‘Bron galloping down the court together dance through your head, we feel a third team would have to be involved, which always makes things sticky. The Miami Heat also make sense, but geez… you’d hate to see a formerly A-list guard like Bibby get moved for James Posey’s expiring contract and a 1st round pick (just speculation here). Stay tuned. Empty the Bench will have post-trade deadline analysis tomorrow.
No CommentsPosted by Brian Spencer on Feb. 22, 2007 at 9:10am in NBA
Make sure you check back at Empty the Bench for more recaps of NBA action from February 21, which is exactly 1 week after Valentine’s Day, which was the day at least 100 men pulled out their Men’s Guide to Cliches and proposed to their girlfriends at a live sporting event. Cheers, fellas.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors
Helluva finish tonight in Canada. The Toronto Raptors took a 48-44 lead into the half, but the Cavs came out and quickly re-established themselves to make this a nip-and-tuck game all the way to the end. After Lebron glided through the air past a few hapless Raptors bystanders for a sick dunk and 4-point lead at the 5-minute mark of the 4th quarter, the Raps answered with an Andrea Bargnani jumper, Chris Bosh putback, and Anthony Parker long gun to regain the lead by three. Lebron answered a few times himself.
Pacman Jones (Pictured right, gorging himself on an array of exotic fruits and gourmet dots), also lost two wrist watches at the event, but the jewelry was found with a garbage bag of money at the hotel of promoter Chris Mitchell. After Jones dumped the money on the floor, the ensuing struggle for the cash caused a brawl to break out, and was also the cause of the subsequent shooting reported earlier here at ETB. Some other highlights from the event include:
