Episode 005 of The 300s Podcast is straight fire flames. We talk the early mayhem that is NFL Free Agency, Jimmy G on the trading block, Bruins surging after canning Claude Julien, the Celtics making zero moves at the trade deadline, Red Sox Spring Training and why the World Baseball Classic is a disaster.
Red
Big Baby Davis Calls Doc Rivers Overrated and Lucky as Hell with Celtics
CSNNE – “Appearing on “In the Zone with Chris Broussard,” the former Celtics big man expressed his frustrations with Doc Rivers, under whom he won the only NBA title of his career…Because what Doc had in ’08 was special and he was lucky as hell. Lucky as hell. The year before that, they was wearing trash bags. [He could have gotten fired and] nobody would [make] a peep.”
There is one reason and one reason only that Glen Davis is ripping Doc Rivers and that is because of his nickname; Big Baby. I always liked Big Baby, he was a decent player, a key bench guy for the 07 championship team and he was a ton of fun to watch back in the Shrek and Donkey days with Nate Robinson:
But this just sounds like the sourest of grapes. I think I can actually pinpoint the exact moment that Baby snapped and turned on Doc.
Now I also think that its fair game to question and criticize Doc. Back before the Big 3 era Doc wasn’t an up and coming genius of a coach. In fact I remember Bill Simmons had a near crusade to get the guy fired. Then once the Celtics had 3 Hall of Famers on the squad he was all of a sudden a better coach. It’s a lot easier to coach 3 HOF talents hungry as hell to win, but I think thats selling the guy a bit short because how many talented teams do we see implode, especially with older players. The argument is there though. Especially when you look at Doc’s Clippers and how they’ve never gotten over the hump despite being loaded with talent. And the Celtics have been just fine post-Doc with Brad Stevens at the helm.
But then you read quotes like this:
“I would play good games and Doc wouldn’t even give me, ‘Hey, what up?’ I’d play a great game and he’d be, ‘Go do it again.’ You know, you want to hear that, ‘Hey, great job, kid. Good job, man. Keep it up,’ but not, ‘Go do it again.”
And it sounds like Glen Davis is pissed because the coach never took him to Denny’s for a Grand Slam after a game.
Never forget the good times though, like when he hit that game winner against Orlando in the playoffs and almost truck sticked a little kid celebrating.
Marquette King Punting Moon Shots Will Change Your Opinion of Punters Forever
So Oakland (read: Las Vegas) Raiders punter Marquette King was showing off his bionic leg for some charity event recently and holy hell. All punters more or less look like guys that just wondered off the soccer field and fell into a million dollar salary ass backwards. But when you see shit like this from up close, my god I will never (not true) disrespect a punter again.
Marquette King may be my favorite non-Patriots player in the entire league when you pair that video with his electric, flag inducing celebration dances.
Hey Raiders, you move to Las Vegas and I’ll be first in line to get a Marquette King jersey.
Celtics Lose to Hawks, But Jonas Jerebko SHATTERED a Guy’s Ankles
Oh what’s that, I’ve gone 3 for 15 over the past 3 games?? Must be this goddamn mask.
Let me just take off the Rip Hamilton Special…
…and lets see what happens*
Tonight we spell Jerebko WITH A G. Ankles shattered. #Celtics #Hawks #NBA pic.twitter.com/jvJfhpNx9e
— The 300s (@The300sBoston) February 28, 2017
ANKLES SHATTERED. BONES AND LIGAMENTS AND SNEAKER PIECES EVERYWHERE!
*Jerebko scored 7 points last night, sans mask.
Once Dominant Red Sox Reliever Daniel Bard is On the Comeback Tour
Yahoo! Sports – For a time, Daniel Bard was one of baseball’s most effective and feared relievers. Now the 31-year-old right-hander is scratching and clawing for one more opportunity in the big leagues, which he hopes will come this season with the St. Louis Cardinals.
I admit I had completely forgotten about Daniel Bard. The once heir apparent to the best closer in Red Sox history, Jonathan Papelbon. Guy was absolutely lights out as a setup man and then the Red Sox fucked everything up. Seriously, don’t mess with success.
Remember when the Yankees had the same EXACT situation on their hands with Joba Chamberlain? Guy was an absolutely dominant reliever who was in line to take over as closer for Mariano Rivera. Nope, Yankees tried to move him into the starting rotation and the guy folded. Admittedly he had some sparks of dominance as a starter. I was at a game at Fenway he started and the guy went 7-8 innings and struck out 10. But for whatever reason, his build, his control, his endurance the guy unraveled and was ruined as a pitcher. They had a specific set of rules called the Joba Rules to keep this guy in tact for christ’s sake. Probably not the ideal guy to be messing with his whole workload and mindset. But I digress…
This is the latest team in a long list of teams kicking the tires on Bard. Theo was the first to try and resurrect Bard’s career unsurprisingly, picking him off the scrap heap in 2013 after the Sox placed him on waivers. He signed with the Rangers next season before actually re-signing with the Cubs organization in 2015, signed with the Pirates organization in January 2016 and didn’t even make it to April before getting released. Bard ultimately signed with the Cardinals last year and that’s where the comeback tour rolls on.
Reports say Bard seems to have his control back and is still throwing 96 mph. And this isn’t from some scrub St. Louis reporter, by “reports” I mean that this is coming from Peter Gammons, the human Britannica of baseball himself. So that’s gotta count for something.
Daniel Bard’s new delivery with 96 mph gas as he preps for spring training in Cardinals system https://t.co/yIw5dvkwor #Cardinals pic.twitter.com/Qq0j1DGVfZ
— Gammons Daily (@GammonsDaily) February 24, 2017
With guys like Bard who were absolutely filthy for a short stint and then flamed out just as fast, it always reminds me of the Stellan Skarsgard quote from Good Will Hunting.
Best of luck, Dan.
Danny Ainge is Wary of Becoming the Knicks By Trading All His Assets and I Can’t Blame Him
I’m as frustrated as the rest of you that the Celtics didn’t make any trades, not a single move, but at the risk of sounding like a Green Teamer did we really want to blow up our team for another guy? If you believe the rumors of what Larry Legend wanted for Paul George (both Brooklyn picks and 3/4 of Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder) then there’s no way in hell you make that deal.
I don’t even need to leave the Atlantic Conference to point out the last blockbuster trade a team gutted their roster to acquire a new stud; the New York Knicks and Carmelo Anthony.
The Knicks sent Wilson Chandler (16.4 ppg that year), Raymond Felton (17.1 ppg that year), Danilo Gallinari (15.9 ppg that year), Timofey Mozgov and a 2014 first-round draft pick and two second-round picks to the Nuggets. All this when Melo was set to become a free agent like 4 months later. So say what you want, but the Knicks did themselves no favors in gutting the roster. “Felton, Gallinari, Mozgov and Chandler were four of New York’s top six players,” this 2011 ESPN article reminds us.
Since making the trade the Knicks have finished:
- 2011: 36-30 (lost in the 1st round)
- 2012: 54-28 (lost in the Eastern Conf. semis)
- 2013: 37-45
- 2014: 17-65
- 2015: 32-50
Not great. And with exactly two playoff appearances, never making it past the second round. My point is just taking every asset you have and throwing it against the wall to get one player doesn’t guarantee success. In fact its the main reason Carmelo is so untradeable now, he’s got an albatross of a contract that is weighing down a team’s cap so much that they can’t justify giving up much of any assets for him at all. Oh the irony.
I didn’t mention Boogie Cousins because I 100% wanted him but for whatever reason the Celtics were never in on him. They just flat out did not want the guy. So as shitty as it sounds, Trader Danny will continue to lay in the weeds waiting to bite some unsuspecting GM in the ass. Or the price of Paul George or Jimmy Butler goes down.
PS – Regardless of the fact the Knicks still aren’t any good, that Melo MSG “Coming Home” commercial still absolutely BANGS 6 years later.
MLB Can Fuck Right Off With Putting a Team in Las Vegas
CBS Sports – MLB commissioner Rob Manfred seems increasingly to have expansion on his mind. While the general sense of things is that Manfred and MLB will look to expand their international footprint in the next round of expansion, you should also consider Las Vegas to be in the mix of potential locations. In fact, Manfred himself said as much to Michael Kay on Tuesday.
MLB can fuck right off with putting a team in Las Vegas after sandbagging Pete Rose for all these years. The most sanctimonious, anti-gambling league in all of sports is now considering putting a team in the gambling capital of the world.
Las Vegas is a viable option for an MLB team.https://t.co/VRuQSoFUEX
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) June 21, 2016
I applaud the Knights and potentially the Raiders for finally putting a team in Vegas, but holy hell MLB be more hypocritical. The guy with the most hits in the history of your sport isn’t even recognized by baseball because he was placing bets on his *own* team.
And now they’re gonna waltz into town and drop a team in the same spot that Pete Rose has basically been banished to. The guy signs autographs in Vegas every day for a living. Did you know he’s signed so many autographs that its basically worthless on the resale market now?
That would be some fucked up irony if I ever saw it. One of the best players of all time banned by his sport for gambling, ironically takes up residence in a city that is known solely for gambling, and then years later that same sport puts a team in said gambling city, right in his backyard? Holy shit, Pete Rose might legitimately drop dead.
So put a pitching clock in, speed up the game, put a goddamn guy on second base to start extra innings, I don’t care, but get the hell outta my face with putting a team in Sin City.
Theres Nothing Crueler in This World Than Waiting for a Woj Bomb
So as everyone already knows, Isaiah Thomas set the internet on fire tonight with this tweet:
👀
— Isaiah Thomas (@Isaiah_Thomas) February 21, 2017
Maybe that means the next big Celtics trade is imminent? Or maybe it means Isaiah’s kids got a hold of his phone? Or maybe IT just wants to watch the world burn. But the last time Isaiah tweeted out the cryptic eye balls emoji the Celtics signed their biggest free agent ever.
Not saying it means anything, but…
Another time Isaiah Thomas tweeted the eyes emoji: right before the Al Horford signing. pic.twitter.com/MNmZ2qFRbR
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) February 21, 2017
So who the hell knows, but now I’m checking my phone every 30 seconds like a goddamn junkie waiting for a call from his dealer. Need my fix from Woj. Drop the Woj bomb, Adrian. Drop it.
Me with all the @celtics trade rumors right now: #Celtics #NBA @WojVerticalNBA @Isaiah_Thomas pic.twitter.com/XXG7xI6p3u
— The 300s (@The300sBoston) February 21, 2017
Super Mario to the Patriots, Revisiting the 2006 Draft and Talking MTV’s Two a Days
Another aging, overpaid and undermotivated former NFL star is cut and whats the first thing everyone in the league does? Looks to see what Belichick does. At first glance this does look like a player that the Patriots would take a chance on, especially with some potential holes to fill in the defensive line this offseason. But Mario Williams is now 32 and his numbers have gone down across the board the last 3 years. He doesn’t strike me as a high motor veteran in a shitty situation like Chris Long this past season. But hey if he wants to take a massive pay cut and reserve his spot on the Duckboats for next year, far be it for me to stop him.
Super Mario did outlast his incrediblyyy hyped up peers from the 2006 draft though. I still remember ROASTING the Texans for passing on Reggie Bush, who had just finished one of the greatest college careers of all time at USC.
What a wacky draft. Then of course there was Vince Young at No. 3 who had the highest of highs winning Rookie of the Year and landing on the cover of Madden before having some personal issues and fizzling out. He is on the comeback trail now though!
There were some pretty good players in that draft with Pro Bowlers like D’Brickishaw Ferguson, Jay Cutler (pre-smoking Jay Cutler meme days), Vernon Davis, Donte Hitner (Whitner). But holy shit do I feel old looking through the rest of this draft class. These guys have either been in the league for 10+ years or are already retired: Haloti Ngata, Tamba Hali, DeAngelo Williams, Nick Mangold, Devin Hester, D’Qwell Jackson (the original fall guy for Deflategate), Maurice Jones-Drew and my man Antonio Cromartie.
Required to post any time Antonio Cromartie is mentioned:
I’d be remiss without mentioning the thunder to Reggie Bush’s lightning, my man LenDale White. And how about these two HOF picks from Belichick himself; Laurence tap-dancing Maroney and Chad Jackson. Yuck.
Chad Jackson’s No. 1 claim to fame to this day is still having been on MTV’s Two a Days back at Hoover High (RIP Angels and Airwaves).
PS – Ever wonder what happened to those guys? This is absolute porn for anyone that used to actually watch Two A Day’s like me. And yes Hoover HC Rush Propst is 100% Bud Kilmer from Varsity Blues.
Adrian Peterson to the Patriots? This Move Would Be More Albert Haynesworth Than Corey Dillon
A move like this just screams Joey Galloway, Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ocho Cinco more than it does Corey Dillon or Randy Moss. A guy who at one point was one of if not the premier player at his position who now is a bit older and admittedly has some baggage. We’re not even gonna get into the details of whether or not AP is a good guy, because beating the shit out of your kids does not a good person make you. As a pure football fit, I just don’t see it. The guy looked toast last year and *then* he blew out his knee. So running backs on the wrong side of 30 with multiple knee injuries don’t really do it for me.
Plus its not like AP is gonna take the veteran’s minimum to play alongside Tom Brady. He just does not seem like that kind of guy. I’d rather the Pats stick with what they have, maybe sign some other decently talented (and younger) running back like oh idk KARLOS WILLIAMS. Rather than bring in this guy and try and force a square peg into a round hole. Would it be nice to have the Adrian Peterson from 2012? Of course, but this guy is not that guy. He’ll be 32 when next season starts and he has taken a *beating* over the past 10 years with over 2,400 carries. The next guys on that list who are either still active or just recently retired? Matt Forte, Marshawn Lynch and Chris Johnson. Not great company.
Plus the Pats did just fine if I recall correctly, winning a Super Bowl with LeGarrette Blount carrying the ball primarily. A guy that Felger and Mazz ripped on and complained about how terrible he was from Day 1, despite rushing for 18 TD’s and almost 1,200 yards. I think TB12 and the Pats can make due without Adrian Peterson.
PS – Never forget the most frightening NFL commercial of all-time with AP just angrily running towards the camera in slow motion.
The 300s 