The Dugout - April 16
Jackie Robinson (Bettmann/Corbis)
#42
This very day marks the anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s first game in the MLB, where he officially broke the colour barrier in American Sports. He was the first black man to play in the Major Leagues, paving the way for social change, the likes of which the rest of the world had already agreed was only fair. It's been 67 years now since that day, and thanks to Jackie Robinson, the world is a better place. He went on to make 6 All Star teams, and was a part of the World Series winning 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers. His number 42 has been retired by every MLB team.
They made a movie about Jackie Robinson last year, called ‘42’. Harrison Ford was in it. It’s pretty decent, at least better than you’d expect for a cheesy Hollywood take on an iconic event.
The Wildcard’s NBA Awards:
MVP – Kevin Durant. Obviously. Followed by LeBron and then no one in particular.
Coach – Jeff Hornacek. Yeah, I went there. Say what you want about the genius of Greg Popovic, and Tom Thibodeau as well for that matter. But this was a Suns team barely expected to scrape 20 wins and instead they’re a shade under 50 and challenging for the playoffs. Rick Carlisle gets credit for turning back the clock on Nowitzki, Marion & Carter in Dallas too.
Rookie – Michael Carter-Williams, although I’m not so happy giving it to a player on a team that lost 26 games in a row ans shoots as badly as he does. Victor Oladipo runs him close. Worst rookie class in ages - if only Steven Adams had gotten more minutes!
Sixth Man – Taj Gibson, I guess. The Bulls have earned as much. There are a few candidates for this one though who I’d happily see it given to. Jamal Crawford, Manu Ginobili, Markieff Morris, Reggie Jackson, Klay Thompson and Vince Carter all deserve votes.
Most Improved – Goran Dragic. It’s either him of DeAndre Jordan, but Jordan’s the third maybe fourth best player on his team. Dragic is working under more trying circumstances.
Defensive Player – Joakim Noah. His best defensive performance was his block of the tanking rumours after the Bulls traded Luol Deng. A fired up Noah meant they actually got better after that.
First Team – Chris Paul/James Harden/Joakim Noah/LeBron James/Kevin Durant
The Worst Bogey Team in the NBA:
MLB Power Rankings:
- LA Dodgers (9-5)
- Milwaukee Brewers (10-4)
- Atlanta Braves (9-4)
- Detroit Tigers (6-4)
- St Louis Cardinals (9-5)
Good Week:
- Corey Brewer (Minnesota Timberwolves) – They needed every one of them to get by the Houston Rockets, but Brewer dropped a career high 51 points the other day. His 6 steals puts his game in some esteemed company too. Only Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson and Rick Barry had ever hit those two marks together before.
- Giancarlo Stanton (Miami Marlins) – Here’s my pick for the HR title this year. He plays for a terrible team, so his chances to hit may be limited, but he’s off to a great start. Actually, this past week hasn’t been great, but even despite an 8 game loss streak (which Stanton helped snap today), he’s already hit 5 homers, with a n average of .317 and 21 RBI – the latter is top of the majors.
- Damian Lillard (Portland Trailblazers) – The 2013 Rookie of the Year is on his way to the playoffs for the first time, and when those worldwide cameras are on him, he’ll be wearing his Adidas shoes. That’s cos Lillard just signed a US$100m endorsement extension with them. Cash money.
Bad Week:
- Aldon Smith (San Francisco 49ers) – As far as acceptable behaviour at an airport goes, yelling out “BOMB!” does not fall into that category. Hence the SF49 linebacker – who’s no stranger to trouble – was detained at LAX this week.
- Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks) – Not his fault at all, but for the first time in his NBA career, Melo will miss the playoffs. He’s second only to Durant in points per game this season.
- Phoenix Suns – Losses to Dallas and Memphis meant that a team that nobody expected much of at all pre-season, coming off a 25 win 2012/13 only to defy all expectations, will miss the playoffs after all. They just couldn’t get it done when they needed it most. A bad week, but a great season.
Player of the Week:
Justin Upton (Atlanta Braves) – Maybe it was the return of one of ATL’s finest in OutKast this week that got the Braves slugger going? J. Upton went on a 4 game tear this week with mulit-hit games in each of them – an incredible stretch of 11 hits in 14 at-bats! 4 HRs, 3 walks, 8 runs & 8 RBI in that time. For the season he’s at .354 BA. I’m telling ya, the Braves are sneaky outsiders for the NL…
Upcoming Dates (NZ Time):
April 17 - NBA Regular Season Ends
May 9 - NFL Draft Begins
June 27 - NBA Draft Held