Woman's tennis

Just when I was saying in my prior blogs that Martina Hingis' run was bad for woman's tennis, Justine Henin Hardenne goes and opens the wound a little more.

Hardenne has long been described as the ultimate fighter, but clearly she is the ultimate quitter and retired for the 5th time in her career. Rather than understanding and appreciating the importance of gutting it out in a Grand Slam final, she quit. Don't believe th story that she wasn't feeling good. If she had won the first 2 games of the second set, you can bet Serena's backside that she would have completed the set, but getting blown out did not sit well on her and, as a result, the fans were deprived from not only seeing Amelie Mauresmo win in the normal course of events, but they were deprived of seeing an entire match because of a little princess that has difficulty understanding that she is not only in the "tennis" business but the "entertainment" business. Not very well liked among her fellow players, you can bet that Henin Hardenne will be less than popular among tennis fans world wide after her debacle on Saturday night.

I won't pay to watch her play again.

Bye, Bye Babcock

So, it's official now - Rob Babcock is no longer the GM of the Raps. Wayne Embry is and probably has been the real GM since he was placed in the assistant's role this past summer. It was a way of undermining Babcock at the time and remains an embarrassment for the franchise. The Raptors just don't get it.

Yes, he made a terrible draft choice in Araujo (although seemingly Embry didn't oppose the pick at the time) and he got nothing for Vince (even though most media people felt it was time to let Carter go at any price) Again, he received no objections to the trade from Embry or anyone else in the higher ranks.

He had a terrific draft last summer and made a tremendous trade for Mike James, but the Raptor's terrible record likely did him in. It's hard to believe that the team felt that the firing at this time made any sense at all except to provide the illusion that they were moving forward.

The architect of all these moves is Richard (I know nothing) Peddie. As long as he is associated with this team, the Raptors are going nowhere. He loves to hog the media attention by appearing on "the Fan," but he doesn't know the difference between a puck and a basketball. This move has all the markings of an attempt to shield him from blame when, in fact, he is the culprit. He chose Babcock in the first place when others were available and, in my opinion, this firing of Babcock was premature. Peddie has to go, not tomorrow, not next year, but now and a president of basketball operations has to be put in place who knows something about the game. There are no shortages of those people. Wayne Embry is not the answer - a gentleman, yes, but well beyond what is required of a president in today's game.

Did I hear Larry Brown?

Peja v. Artest

I can't believe what has just happened in the failed transaction whereby Ron Artest would go to Sacramento for Peja Stojakovic. These multi millionaires have the nerve to suggest that they are not being respected!!! For what"

For being 2 jerks. Stojakovic hasn't played well at all this year and is still waiting to have a decent post season performance. He knows his name has been tossed around since Vlade Divac left the team, and he even threatened to leave Sacramento after his "friend" left. For certain he will leave when his contract is over.

Artest is really a piece of work. He should be suspended without pay immediately and then shipped to Atlanta for next to nothing. The NBA is suffering because of the manner in which its players act, regardless of how much money they make. They just don't get it, and I'm not sure they ever will. The league, as a whole, has a serious problem, and whether Stern can straighten things out is questionable, not because he is incapable, but because he is dealing with a bunch of bozos.

I love basketball but guys like Artest are testing my love

Australian Open

Many people are rooting for Martina Hingis in her comeback attempt at the 2006 Australian Open and she has done nothing to dimish the hopes of her supporters, but the fact that she has won her first 2 matches easily and appears headed for a quarter final match with Kim Clisters says a great deal about women's tennis.

It sucks.

After the top 10 players (and even that number may be inflated) there really is no player who can realistically contend for the championship of a major event and, as a result, early round matches on the women's side produce few competitive battles. This is a serious problem for the WTA whicvh charges a great deal of money to see early round matches, only to have the spectators witness more blowouts than a New Orleans hurricane. Perhaps the cost of attending these matches should be reduced.

Last year in Toronto, the women put on a terrible show of tennis, likely to have a negative result on future crowds at the event. The men, on the other hand, are very competitive and it results in many upsets in early rounds (see Lleyton Hewitt at this year's Australian Open)

I'd pay any day for a men's match, but you'd have to pay me to see a first round in any women's tournament.

Jalen Rose - A Knick?

I can't see that a Jalen Rose and 1st round pick to the Knicks for an expiring contract (Anfernee Hardaway) is any good for the Raps.

The Raptors are more than a year away from being contenders and to give themselves some salary room would only be useful if they were a player or so away from contention. After next year, Jalen is off the books and they will have another #1 choice on the roster so a move at that time might be more appropriate. In addition, Jalen can probably contribute between now and next year as evidenced by his breakout game against the Knicks last night (31 points). He might even be a tradeable commodity next year at this time, given many teams desire to acquire expiring contracts.

So, the bottom line is ........................... keep Jalen around.