T-Mac Will Actually Play Baseball

"Former NBA star Tracy McGrady has made the opening day roster of the Sugar Land Skeeters as a pitcher.

"It's an honor to be a part of this club," McGrady said in a statement released by the team." -ESPN.COM

I mean this is sort of embarrassing right?  The guy played a little baseball in high school, may have tossed the rock around in the back yard maybe 10-12 times since then and makes an independent league team?  There's no way T-Mac is good enough to be throwing for them.  This is a Bernie Mac-Mr. 3000 level publicity stunt and my goodness it's working.  When the SUGARLAND SKEETERS are the fifth most important news story on the great villain that is ESPN's media control you know that their ridiculous marketing scheme has been effective.  Oh and how about this, ESPN trying to make T-Mac's first game sound good.

"McGrady made his first start last week in an exhibition game against Alvin Community College, throwing 15 pitches (nine for strikes) and allowing three hits and a run in one inning of work."

Wow! Only one run and three hits in an inning of work against Alvin Community College?  His parents must be so proud.  I'm just hoping ESPN 11 decides to air his first game, I'm always down for a good laugh.

Perfect form.  Just phenomenal.

Real World: Washington Sports.

Wednesday, the NFL presented all 32 teams their schedules for the upcoming 2014-2015 season. Its safe to say new head coach, Jay Gruden, likes what he sees.

Taking a look into the grind ahead, the Redskins have a strong opportunity to climb the ladder and get out of the bottom of the division they have been so familiar with from previous seasons. 

I know its VERY early for any predictions to be made at this point, but.... based off of last seasons stats, I am liking the skins chances for a division title run. The excitment can be seen throughout the community already, and it's April. DC is finally starting to do things right. There must be something in the water because the Wizards are looking good in the playoffs, and no that was not a typo. 

It's funny to think that 3 out of the 4 DC teams are destined for greatness, and the ones being excluded are the Caps, who over the last couple of seasons have almost always been one of the teams to beat in hockey. A lot of buzz has been generated by the Nationals since winning the NL East in 2012. The past two seasons, SI has had them favored to win the World Series, and although last year they failed to make the playoffs, their late season run set great expectations for this season. Things such as this have brought more and more fans into the sporting world that is Washington Sports, and I am loving every damn moment of it.

For years, DC teams have been one of the many laughing stocks of professional sports, and finally this is not that case. I say this with high expectations for not only the Redskins 2014-2015 season, but for the rest of the Washington sports teams, lets keep this train rolling. #Doitformycity #Nosoap

Voldemort is as Weird as we Thought

Adam "Voldemort" Silver is a weird looking guy.  There is no arguing that.  But so was my high school valedictorian and he was pretty smart.  However, as you'll see in this video, he has the same level of social skill as my high school valedictorian.  That is to say that he would do well in a fifth grade classroom.  Having said all of that, I don't hate him as much as I hate David Stern... yet.  As Montana would say, "The jury is still out."

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:10787729

P.S. Sorry I couldn't embed it.  It's not on youtube and as we know, ESPN is mass media and is therefore out to ruin all of our lives.

J-Pizzle Going Pro

Jabari Parker, as expected, is moving on to the NBA after one season at Duke.

Parker announced his decision Thursday in an article for Sports Illustrated.

"Ultimately, I boiled my decision down to two simple questions," Parker wrote:

"Which environment — college or the NBA — offers me the best opportunity to grow as a basketball player?

"Which environment — college or the NBA — offers me the best opportunity to grow and develop off the court?"

The answer to both questions is undeniably the NBA." - USATODAY.COM

Oh boy.  Well we've all been waiting on pins and needles for the announcement and it's finally come. Jabari Parker, one of the elite talents, and in my unbiased opinion, my favorite player on Earth is going pro.  He did it perfectly too, didn't declare too early and make it look like he couldn't wait to leave and get his money, didn't wait too long and make it look like he wasn't committed to the NBA, just waited until he made his decision and went for it.  I mean the guy has got to have a dick the size of India.  Christ, it might even be as big as China, who knows?  What I do know is that he has supreme talent, a big body, and apparently a good head on his shoulders.  Guy is gonna light up the NBA, no doubt about it.  I think I'll cry tears of joy if the Sixers draft him.

NBA Playoff Preview

Well that's it.  The NBA season is over some of us are rejoicing (Sixers, Bucks) some of us are still pissed (Knicks, Suns) although those two teams are for very different reasons and some of us have barely started paying attention (Heat).  However, the end of the regular season means we are A. one day closer to the playoffs, which is some of the most exciting basketball you can get and B. one day closer to the draft lottery which is one of the most exciting days of the year.  Today you'll only be getting one of those two things, because as I have been saying we aren't ready to release the NBA mock draft 1.0.  I am ready to give you the definitive guide to the NBA playoffs.  So without further ado we'll dive right in.

Round 1:
Indiana Pacers v. Atlanta Hawks

While the Hawks have played well over the last month or so, the Pacers have played pretty poorly.  In most sports that would spell a big upset, but this is the NBA and unless Paul George pulls a Derrick Rose, the Pacers will walk right through the Hawks. Pacers it is.

Chicago Bulls v. Washington Wizards

Everything in my body is saying take the Wizards, they're young, they're motivated and energized and, like, Derrick Rose though... So I will.  Wizards it is.  Thibs did a spectacular job with this team, losing D-Rose again would've been enough to cripple most teams, then they went ahead and took seemingly another step back by dealing Luol Deng.  In the next six weeks after the trade the Bulls went 14-7 and cleared a ton of cap space by releasing Andrew Bynum.  Well played, but no Luol Deng and no Derrick Rose smells like a loss to the Wizards.  Wiz crew it is.

Toronto Raptors v. Brooklyn Nets

This is a weird matchup because for some reason it feels like the Nets are the favorite.  They're hot, they have the bigger names, and they only lost four more games than the Raptors.  The Raptors were more consistent this year, but I think I'm going to have to go against my motto and pick upsets (at least as far as seeding is concerned) in the playoffs.  Nets it is.

Miami Heat v. Charlotte Bobcats

I'm not even going to waste my time here.  Heat it is.

San Antonio Spurs v. Dallas Mavericks

Before I get started, let me just say I hate the match ups in the Western Conference, there is just no winning here.  All fun teams (minus the spurs) and all but one have to go home.  Dallas is the 8 seed here, and they still had a better record than all but 2 teams in the Eastern Conference.  That's a little sad if you ask me.  Dallas has been good, all credit to Dirk and co. on a small bounce back year, but San Antonio went an entire month without losing a game this year, so there's that.  Spurs it is (barring Tim Duncan dying from old age).

Houston Rockets v. Portland Trailblazers

One of my least favorite match ups.  Mostly because I don't like the Rockets that much and because I have a tingly feeling in my Denver Nuggets for the Trailblazers.  That being said I know that the Rockets are dangerously good and that the Trailblazers look poised for an early exit.  That combined with the fact that Houston has the second best record at home this year and the Trailblazers are barely over .500 on the road spells disaster.  Houston it is.

Los Angeles Clippers v. Golden State Warriors.

This is by far my least favorite matchup.  No one wants to see Blake and CP3 go home in the first round, but I certainly don't want to see Shootin' Steph Curry leave yet either.  However, this isn't last year, and the home court advantage just isn't the same for the Warriors.  They were roughly the same at home and on the road and while that speaks volumes for their road toughness, it also says something about their inability to protect home court.  Clippers it is.

Oklahoma City Thunder v. Memphis Grizzlies

I know, I know.  Memphis has a history of knocking off high seeds that looked very good in the regular season.  Well I've got news for you, the Thunder didn't look that good in the regular season and they still won 59 games.  Not to mention they've got the scoring champion and Russell Westbrook who is probably a top 5 player on many "experts" lists.  Thunder it is.

I'll spare you from having to read anymore about the playoffs for now. We'll save the round 2 predictions for round 2.

P.S. Feel free to make bets using these predictions because they're not actually predictions.  They are, in fact, actual things that have not yet happened, but I can predict because I have the gift of foresight and choose to share it.  You're welcome.

Bucks to Stay in Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Bucks will announce later Wednesday that longtime owner Herb Kohl has reached an agreement to sell the team to hedge-fund billionaires Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry for a deal valued at $550 million, according to sources familiar with the transaction. In January, Forbes valued the Bucks at $405 million, last among the league's 30 franchises. -ESPN.com

Good news for Milwaukee fans, bad news for everyone on the team.  Brandon Knight had dreams of playing in a tropical climate by the end of his contract, instead he'll be tanning in the whipping winds coming off of Lake Michigan.  In other news, it would be a total Milwaukee move to take Joel Embiid with the first pick in the draft and have him pull a Greg Oden.  Stay tuned for our NBA mock draft 1.0 and an NFL mock draft 1.0.  These will be innovate and awesome, just like everything we do.