From Miss Universe to Miss Iowa (This is Baseball Right??)

Washington Nationals phenom starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg was scratched from a start on Tuesday night against the Atlanta Braves because he didn’t feel right when warming up for the game. It was later revealed that he has some shoulder inflammation and is listed as day-to-day.

Okay, that happens and everything is fine, right?

Well, the Nationals reaction toward veteran pitcher and Tuesday night’s spot starter for the Nationals 39-year old Miguel Batista has gotten me more than a little perturbed.

The Nationals had sold the game out on Tuesday night because people wanted to see Strasburg pitch. When it was announced that Strasburg had been scratched and that Batista would be replacing him on the mound the Nationals’ so-called fans threw a fit and booed Batista.

What did Batista do?

Batista pulled his cap brim down low and went out and did his job like any veteran should … and he did it damn well. Batista pitched five shutout innings against the Braves and led the Nationals to victory. The fans still didn’t care; they wanted to see Strasburg after all.

The cold hard truth is that Batista might have done a better job against the Braves than Strasburg would have. The Braves had beaten the young ace earlier in the season.

It’s frankly ridiculous the way that the Nationals fans treated Batista, one of their own, on Tuesday night. Many fans even left the game before the first pitch had been thrown because they were so disappointed that Strasburg wouldn’t pitch. By the way, I don’t care if the entire ballclub comes down with food poisoning and is replaced at the last second with the entire AAA club, I’m still going to watch the game that I paid my hard earned money for and support my team.

Baseball seems to be the ultimate team sport out of the big three sports leagues in this country, in that the team is more important than the individual player. Maybe that’s changing?

Much like LeBron James of the NBA, it seems like baseball fans in Washington have quickly become Strasburg fans instead of Nationals fans … and, if you ask me that’s very wrong. I wonder if Albert Pujols were to leave St. Louis in a trade or via free agency would Cardinals fans just up a switch favorite teams as fast as many Cleveland Cavaliers switched to the Miami Heat when James signed with them a few weeks ago?

I seriously hope that the MLB doesn’t go down this road like the NBA apparently already has.

As for Batista, he should’ve felt bad being treated the way he was for such an excellent performance; however he understood saying, “Imagine if you go to see Miss Universe, then you end up having Miss Iowa, you might get those kind of boos.”

20 Dumbest Sports Injuries

1. Redskins QB Gus Frerotte got a concussion slamming his head against a wall in celebration
2. Cardinals kicker Bill Gramatica blows out knee celebrating field goal
3. Soccer player Alex Stepney breaks jaw from yelling too loudly
4. Celtics guard Tony Allen blew out knee dunking needlessly after the whistle
5. Padres outfielder Milton Bradley blows ACL arguing with an umpire
6. Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress shoots self in the leg with own gun
7. Angels first baseman Kendry Morales breaks leg celebrating game-winning grand slam
8. NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson breaks wrist after falling off the top of a golf cart while clowning around
9. Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya gets arm inflammation from too much “Guitar Hero”
10. Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa sprained ligaments in back sneezing
11. Jaguars kicker Chris Hanson cuts self with an axe in motivational speech
12. Orlando Brown receives serious eye injury when refs flag hits him in the eye
13. Suns guard Kevin Johnson dislocated his shoulder when Charles Barkley high-fived him too hard
14. Vince Coleman injured his leg when the tarp machine rolled over him
15. Padres pitcher Adam Eaton stabs self trying to open DVD with a knife
16. Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan hurts knee creaming Wes Helms with shaving cream pie celebration
17. Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs sprained muscles in back taking off cowboy boots
18. Tigers infielder Brandon Inge strains oblique picking up a pillow
19. Rockies infielder Clint Barmes broke collarbone falling while carrying deer meat
20. Braves pitcher Tom Glavine breaks rib vomiting up in-flight meal on plane

Stupid Rule Costs Castroneves IRL Race

One of the dumbest rules in sports played a huge factor in the outcome of Sunday’s IndyRacing League race in Edmonton, Canada. It cost three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves a win and gave one to Scott Dixon, a driver who never led a lap the entire race.

With just a few laps remaining in the race rookie driver Simona De Silvestro went off course and stalled bringing out a caution. This caution set up a restart with four laps remaining with Castroneves in first place, his Roger Penske Racing teammate Will Power, who had led the majority of the race, in second place and Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon in third place.

On the restart Castroneves was penalized for blocking Power. Following the perceived block, Power tried to make a move around Castroneves going into the first turn and was passed by Dixon for second place. The IRL reviewed the play and called for Castroneves to be black flagged, which results in a drive through penalty down pit lane.

Castroneves didn’t heed the IRL’s black flag and remained on the track and in front of Dixon until the checkered flag flew. Castroneves was the first driver to the finish, but the IRL race competition boss Brian Barnhart immediately gave the win to Dixon. Thus, Dixon became the first driver that I’ve personally seen in any form of motorsports to win a race without actually leading a lap.

Following the race Castroneves jumped out of his car noticeably outraged and stomped over to the IRL scoring tower pointing up toward the tower and screaming. Castroneves also pushed multiple race officials and grab one by the shirt collar. Some would think these actions as an overreaction, but certainly they were justifiable based on the outcome of the race.

The no blocking rule in the IRL is implemented as a safety issue. Blocking could result in contact between two cars, which could lead to an accident. Blocking is against the rules in certain motorsports leagues like the IRL, but not in others like NASCAR. Stock cars are much safer than the cart style cars used in the IRL.
In my opinion, taking blocking out of a motorsports league takes much of the defensive strategy out of the racing. If you can’t block the car behind you then there is absolutely nothing to stop faster cars from passing you for position or the win.

That is just one of the reasons that the IRL’s no blocking rules is one of the worst rules in all of sports. The other reason is that sometimes blocking isn’t as obvious as switching positions on the track by swerving back and forth, as was the case at Edmonton on Sunday. Despite the fact that Power, Dixon and Barnhart said that Castroneves did indeed block on the restart, it wasn’t visibly noticed on the television broadcast and the entire three-man broadcast team on the Versus network admitted that they thought the call by the IRL was a bad one.

The blocking rule in the IRL is right up there with sudden-death overtime in NFL regular season games as one of the worst rules in sports and should be looked into by the IRL.

10 Least Deserving Athlete Nicknames

There aren't many athletes who have nicknames that aren't deserving. Here are 10 I found.

1. "King James" LeBron James

2. "Baby Jordan" Harold Miner

3. "Princess" Danica Patrick

4. "Pudge" Ivan Rodriguez

5. "Happy" Kevin Harvick

6. "Captain Clutch" Acie Law IV

7. "Franchise" Steve Francis

8. "King Felix" Felix Hernandez

9. "Fourth Quarter Vince" Vince Young

10. "Dice K" Daisuke Matsuzaka

Honorable Mention: "The Professional" Eli Manning

Possible One for the Future: "Sliced Bread" Joey Logano

$50 Million Dollar Baby

Overall number one NFL draft pick Sam Bradford from the Oklahoma Sooners is reportedly going to be the highest paid player in football without ever even playing a down in the league.

The St. Louis Rams are probably going to have to give Bradford a deal in the neighborhood of $50 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. It’s a sign that rookie contracts are continuing to rise in the NFL. Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford who was taken as the first overall draft pick last year was given a contract worth $41.5 million.

It is utterly ridiculous to think that Bradford could make more money than Super Bowl winning quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and Drew Brees.

It’s dangerous for teams like the Rams to basically be forced into signing these outrageous contracts by agents and players when overall number one picks can prove to be busts. Bradford could easily become a great quarterback like Peyton Manning or Troy Aikman, but he could just as easily become a bust like JaMarcus Russell, David Carr and Tim Couch.

It’s also dangerous for the Rams to give Bradford so much money because he’s already proven to be injury prone. Bradford was seriously injured in his final year at college with the Sooners and forced to miss the majority of the season. He’ll surely be knocked around like a rag doll in the NFL, especially with the Rams only having the 24th projected offensive line in the league, according to football.about.com.

It would seem that the only real way for the NFL to avoid the rising rookie salaries would be to go to a rookie scale salary like the NBA does. In the NBA the draft picks have there own assigned salaries that ensures that the first overall pick makes more than the second pick and the second pick makes more than the third and so on. The contracts are each for two years with team options for a third and fourth.

The NBA has it 100 percent right when it comes to rookie contracts. The NFL desperately needs to go that route to ensure that unproven players like Bradford aren’t the richest athletes in the sport.

Greatest Athletes by Numbers

#99

1. Wayne Gretzky (Hockey)
2. George Mikan (Basketball)
3. Jason Taylor (Football)

#98

1. Tony Siragusa (Football)
2. Jessie Armstead (Football)
3. Casey Hampton (Football)

#97

1. Simeon Rice (Football)
2. Jeremy Roenick (Hockey)
3. Cornelius Bennett (Football)

#96

1. Pavel Bure (Hockey)
2. Cortez Kennedy (Football)
3. Bill Voiselle (Baseball)

#95

1. Richard Dent (Football)
2. Sam Adams (Football)
3. Greg Lloyd (Football)

#94

1. Charles Haley (Football)
2. Demarcus Ware (Football)
3. Dana Stubblefield (Football)

#93

1. Doug Gilmore (Hockey)
2. John Randle (Football)
3. Richard Seymour (Football)

#92

1. Reggie White (Football)
2. Michael Strahan (Football)
3. Ted Washington (Football)

#91

1. Dennis Rodman (Basketball)
2. Sergei Fedorov (Hockey)
3. Kevin Greene (Football)

#90

1. Bob Kurland (Basketball)
2. Neil Smith (Football)
3. Jevon Kearse (Football)

#89

1. Mike Ditka (Football)
2. Gino Marchetti (Football)
3. Fred Dryer (Football)

#88

1. Marvin Harrison (Football)
2. Michael Irvin (Football)
3. Alan Page (Football)

#87

1. Dave Casper (Football)
2. Dwight Clark (Football)
3. Sidney Crosby (Hockey)

#86

1. Hines Ward (Football)
2. Buck Buchanan (Football)
3. Dante Lavelli (Football)

#85

1. Jack Youngblood (Football)
2. Nick Buoniconti (Football)
3. Mark Duper (Football)

#84

1. Shannon Sharpe (Football)
2. Randy Moss (Football)
3. Stirling Sharpe (Football)

#83

1. Ted Hendricks (Football)
2. Andre Reed (Football)
3. Mark Clayton (Football)

#82

1. Raymond Berry (Football)
2. Ozzie Newsome (Football)
3. John Stallworth (Football)

#81

1. Tim Brown (Football)
2. Terrell Owens (Football)
3. Dick Lane (Football)

#80

1. Jerry Rice (Football)
2. Kellen Winslow (Football)
3. Steve Largent (Football)

#79

1. Harvey Martin (Football)
2. Roosevelt Brown (Football)
3. Bob St. Claire (Football)

#78

1. Bruce Smith (Football)
2. Anthony Munoz (Football)
3. Jackie Slater (Football)

#77

1. Red Grange (Football)
2. Ray Bourque (Hockey)
3. Willie Roaf (Football)

#76

1. Lou Groza (Football)
2. Orlando Pace (Football)
3. Marion Motley (Football)

#75

1. Deacon Jones (Football)
2. Howie Long (Football)
3. Joe Greene (Football)

#74

1. Merlin Olsen (Football)
2. Bob Lilly (Football)
3. Bruce Matthews (Football)

#73

1. John Hannah (Football)
2. Ron Yary (Football)
3. Joe Klecko (Football)

#72

1. Carlton Fisk (Baseball)
2. Dan Dierdorf (Football)
3. Ed Jones (Football)

#71

1. Alex Karras (Football)
2. Tony Boselli (Football)
3. George Connor (Football)

#70

1. Sam Huff (Football)
2. Jim Marshall (Football)
3. Art Donovan (Football)

#69

1. Mark Schlereth (Football)
2. Tim Krumrie (Football)
3. Jared Allen (Football)

#68

1. Jaromir Jagr (Hockey)
2. Will Shields (Football)
3. Kevin Mawae (Football)

#67

1. Bob Kuechenberg (Football)
2. Ed White (Football)
3. Russell Maryland (Football)

#66

1. Mario Lemieux (Hockey)
2. Ray Nitschke (Football)
3. Alan Faneca (Football)

#65

1. Elvin Bethea (Football)
2. Tom Mack (Football)
3. Gary Zimmerman (Football)

#64

1. Randall McDaniel (Football)
2. Jerry Kramer (Football)
3. Jack Reynolds (Football)

#63

1. Willie Lanier (Football)
2. Gene Upshaw (Football)
3. Lee Roy Selmon (Football)

#62

1. Jim Langer (Football)
2. Guy McIntyre (Football)
3. Scot Shields (Baseball)

#61

1. Bill George (Football)
2. Curley Culp (Football)
3. Josh Beckett (Baseball)

#60

1. Chuck Bednarik (Football)
2. Otto Graham (Football)
3. Scott Schoenweis (Baseball)

#59

1. Jack Ham (Football)
2. Seth Joyner (Football)
3. Todd Jones (Baseball)

#58

1. Jack Lambert (Football)
2. Derrick Thomas (Football)
3. Jonathan Papelbon (Baseball)

#57

1. Dwight Stephensen (Football)
2. Johan Santana (Baseball)
3. Clay Matthews (Football)

#56

1. Lawrence Taylor (Football)
2. Andre Tippett (Football)
3. Chris Doleman (Football)

#55

1. Junior Seau (Football)
2. Derrick Brooks (Football)
3. Dikembe Mutombo (Basketball)

#54

1. Randy White (Football)
2. Goose Gossage (Baseball)
3. Brian Urlacher (Football)

#53

1. Don Drysdale (Baseball)
2. Harry Carson (Football)
3. Artis Gilmore (Basketball)

#52

1. Ray Lewis (Football)
2. Mike Webster (Football)
3. Buck Williams (Basketball)

#51

1. Dick Butkus (Football)
2. Randy Johnson (Baseball)
3. Ichiro Suzuki (Baseball)

#50

1. Mike Singletary (Football)
2. David Robinson (Basketball)
3. Rebecca Lobo (Basketball)

#49

1. Ron Guidry (Baseball)
2. Bobby Mitchell (Football)
3. Charlie Hough (Baseball)

#48

1. Jimmie Johnson (Auto Racing)
2. Torii Hunter (Baseball)
3. Sam McDowell (Baseball)

#47

1. Tom Glavine (Baseball)
2. Mel Blount (Football)
3. Jack Morris (Baseball)

#46

1. Lee Smith (Baseball)
2. Andy Pettitte (Baseball)
3. Todd Christensen (Football)

#45

1. Bob Gibson (Baseball)
2. Pedro Martinez (Baseball)
3. Archie Griffin (Football)

#44

1. Hank Aaron (Baseball)
2. Jerry West (Basketball)
3. Reggie Jackson (Baseball)

#43

1. Richard Petty (Auto Racing)
2. Dennis Eckersley (Baseball)
3. Jack Sikma (Basketball)

#42

1. Jackie Robinson (Baseball)
2. Ronnie Lott (Football)
3. Mariano Rivera (Baseball)

#41

1. Tom Seaver (Baseball)
2. Eddie Matthews (Baseball)
3. Wes Unseld (Basketball)

#40

1. Gale Sayers (Football)
2. Elroy Hirsch (Football)
3. Bill Laimbeer (Basketball)

#39

1. Roy Campanella (Baseball)
2. Larry Csonka (Football)
3. Dominik Hasek (Hockey)

#38

1. Curt Schilling (Baseball)
2. George Rogers (Football)
3. Rocky Colavito (Baseball)

#37

1. Doak Walker (Football)
2. Shaun Alexander (Football)
3. Lester Hayes (Football)

#36

1. Robin Roberts (Baseball)
2. Gaylord Perry (Baseball)
3. Jerome Bettis (Football)

#35

1. Phil Niekro (Baseball)
2. Frank Thomas (Baseball)
3. Rickey Henderson (Baseball)

#34

1. Walter Payton (Football)
2. Shaquille O’Neal (Basketball)
3. Hakeem Olajuwon (Basketball)

#33

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Basketball)
2. Larry Bird (Basketball)
3. Tony Dorsett (Football)

#32

1. Jim Brown (Football)
2. Magic Johnson (Basketball)
3. Sandy Koufax (Baseball)

#31

1. Greg Maddux (Baseball)
2. Reggie Miller (Basketball)
3. Dave Winfield (Baseball)

#30

1. Nolan Ryan (Baseball)
2. Ken Griffey Jr. (Baseball)
3. Orlando Cepeda (Baseball)

#29

1. Rod Carew (Baseball)
2. Eric Dickerson (Football)
3. John Smoltz (Baseball)

#28

1. Cale Yarborough (Auto Racing)
2. Marshall Faulk (Football)
3. Bert Blyleven (Baseball)

#27

1. Juan Marichal (Baseball)
2. Carlton Fisk (Baseball)
3. Vladimir Guerrero (Baseball)

#26

1. Rod Woodson (Football)
2. Wade Boggs (Baseball)
3. Billy Williams (Baseball)

#25

1. K.C. Jones (Basketball)
2. Fred Biletnikoff (Football)
3. Gail Goodrich (Basketball)

#24

1. Willie Mays (Baseball)
2. Jeff Gordon (Auto Racing)
3. Kobe Bryant (Basketball)

#23

1. Michael Jordan (Basketball)
2. LeBron James (Basketball)
3. Ryne Sandberg (Baseball)

#22

1. Emmitt Smith (Football)
2. Elgin Baylor (Basketball)
3. Jim Palmer (Baseball)

#21

1. Roberto Clemente (Baseball)
2. Tim Duncan (Basketball)
3. David Pearson (Auto Racing)

#20

1. Barry Sanders (Football)
2. Mike Schmidt (Baseball)
3. Frank Robinson (Baseball)

#19

1. Johnny Unitas (Football)
2. Bob Feller (Baseball)
3. Tony Gwynn (Baseball)

#18

1. Peyton Manning (Football)
2. Dave Cowens (Basketball)
3. Charlie Joiner (Football)

#17

1. John Havlicek (Basketball)
2. Dizzy Dean (Baseball)
3. Matt Kenseth (Auto Racing)

#16

1. Joe Montana (Football)
2. George Blanda (Football)
3. Whitey Ford (Baseball)

#15

1. Bart Star (Football)
2. Hal Greer (Basketball)
3. Tom Heinsohn (Basketball)

#14

1. Pete Rose (Baseball)
2. Ernie Banks (Baseball)
3. AJ Foyt (Auto Racing)

#13

1. Wilt Chamberlain (Basketball)
2. Dan Marino (Football)
3. Alex Rodriguez (Baseball)

#12

1. Tom Brady (Football)
2. Terry Bradshaw (Football)
3. John Stockton (Basketball)

#11

1. Mark Messier (Hockey)
2. Isiah Thomas (Basketball)
3. Elvin Hayes (Basketball)

#10

1. Pele (Soccer)
2. Fran Tarkenton (Football)
3. Chipper Jones (Baseball)

#9

1. Ted Williams (Baseball)
2. Gordie Howe (Hockey)
3. Bob Petit (Basketball)

#8

1. Cal Ripken Jr. (Baseball)
2. Yogi Berra (Baseball)
3. Troy Aikman (Football)

#7

1. Mickey Mantle (Baseball)
2. John Elway (Football)
3. Craig Biggio (Baseball)

#6

1. Bill Russell (Basketball)
2. Stan Musial (Baseball)
3. Julius Erving (Basketball)

#5

1. Joe DiMaggio (Baseball)
2. Johnny Bench (Baseball)
3. Brooks Robinson (Baseball)

#4

1. Lou Gehrig (Baseball)
2. Bobby Orr (Hockey)
3. Brett Favre (Baseball)

#3

1. Babe Ruth (Baseball)
2. Dale Earnhardt (Auto Racing)
3. Allen Iverson (Basketball)

#2

1. Derek Jeter (Baseball)
2. Rusty Wallace (Auto Racing)
3. Charley Gehringer (Baseball)

#1

1. Oscar Robertson (Basketball)
2. Ozzie Smith (Baseball)
3. Warren Moon (Football)

#0/00

1. Robert Parrish (Basketball)
2. Jim Otto (Football)
3. Al Oliver (Baseball)

Greatest or Funniest Sports Names

1. Dick Trickle (Auto Racing)
2. Coco Crisp (MLB)
3. Rusty Kuntz (MLB)
4. Johnny Dickshot (MLB)
5. Will Power (Auto Racing)
6. Dick Pole (MLB)
7. Harry Colon (NFL)
8. Jack Glasscock (MLB)
9. Milton Bradley (MLB)
10. World B. Free (NBA)
11. Chief Kickingstallionsims (College Basketball)
12. Dick Butkus (NFL)
13. Urban Shocker (MLB)
14. Picabo Street (Skiing)
15. God Shammgod (College Basketball)
16. Ben Gay (NFL)
17. Howard Johnson (MLB)
18. Major Applewhite (College Football)
19. Scott Speed (Auto Racing) *Note Only because he’s an auto racer
20. D’Brickashaw Ferguson (NFL) Note* It would’ve been higher had he played basketball
21. Kimbo Slice (MMA)
22. Pokey Reese (MLB)
23. Evan Longoria (MLB)
24. Quentin Jammer (NFL)
25. Tim Duncan *Note Only because he plays basketball

Gallardo Stands Up Against Immigration Law

Milwaukee Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo has done something that I love to see from athletes and really anybody in general. He’s standing up for something that he believes in.

Gallardo has announced that he will boycott the 2011 MLB All Star game in Arizona because of the state’s new immigration law. Gallardo is an All Star this season, but won’t play in Tuesday night’s game due to injury.

The new immigration law in Arizona takes effect on July 29 and requires police, while enforcing other laws, to ask a person’s immigration status if the officer believes that the person might be in this country illegally.

Essentially officers could ask and probably will be asking any person of Latin heritage about their immigration status.

Baseball is a sport that has a high percentage of Latin players and the All Star game being played in Arizona in 2011 is something that will be bothersome to many of those players. Gallardo is the first All Star caliber player to come out and say with all certainly that they will boycott the 2011 All Star game if it isn’t moved to another location. Other players will likely follow suit throughout the next year.

Kansas City Royals closer Joakim Soria and Detroit Tigers closer Jose Valverde, both All Stars this season, said that they would stay away from the 2011 All Star game as well if there ends up being a Latino protest.

St. Louis Cardinals slugging All Star Albert Pujols has already expressed his dislike for the law and Los Angeles Dodgers All Star shortstop Rafael Furcal said that he would wait for guidance from the player’s union on the situation, according to ESPN.com.

While the controversial Arizona law is a huge talking point for many of the Latin ballplayers, others don’t seem to want to talk about it. New York Yankees All Stars Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez both didn’t have much to say on the subject.

Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has said repeatedly that he won’t move the 2011 All Star game to another location.

Personally I think that Selig should move the game to another location. The location that I would choose would be the Washington Nationals new ballpark in Washington, D.C.

If Selig doesn’t move the All Star game from Arizona in 2011 and the immigration law in that state doesn’t change than there is a likelihood that there will be a protest from many, if not all of the Latin ballplayers. The result would be that the “All Star game” really wouldn’t be filled with many “All Stars.” The protest would make the game less exciting, if it even happens at all.

Latin players boycotting the 2011 would probably prove to have a negative reaction among many sports and baseball fans. However, it would be a move that I would support 100 percent. The players should stand up for what they believe is right … and I think that is doing the right thing.

Don't give Heat the Championship Already

Attention NBA fans!

Don’t assume that the Miami Heat will automatically win a championship next year now that they have signed LeBron James and Chris Bosh and re-signed Dwyane Wade. Don’t assume they will be the best team in the NBA. Don’t assume they will be the best team in the Eastern Conference. And, don’t even assume that they will be the best team in their own division.

The Heat very well could end up doing all of that, but don’t just act like it’s a given. In fact, it’s still a long way off.

There are two reasons why the Heat might not be destined as the next NBA Champions:

1) Who will the Heat get to fill out the roster?

Signing James and Bosh and re-signing Wade means that the Heat has spent almost all of their cap room. All that remains on their roster besides those three are Mario Chalmers and their recent draft selections, all which came in the second round. The Heat must fill out the remainder of the roster with what little cash that they have remaining. This means that they will likely have to fill out their rosters with cheap D-League players and has-been veterans looking to choose a championship possibility over money. If the Heat were to fill out their roster with D-League talent, i.e. players who haven’t been good enough thus far to even make the Clippers, Nets or Timberwolves, and past their prime players, than I personally don’t think James, Wade and Bosh would be enough to raise a championship banner. If this is what the Heat plan on doing than I don’t even think they’ll be better than the Orlando Magic, who play in the Heat’s division. The Magic are stacked from one to 12, something the Heat likely won’t be. Not to mention the Heat would likely have to go through the back-to-to champion Lakers to win a ring, which won’t be easy to do because the Lakers core will be returning.

However, the Heat has already made two good decisions since James announced he was signing with them. They have gotten rid of the contract of bust and troubled player Michael Beasley, trading him to the Timberwolves for a future draft pick and signed sharpshooter Mike Miller, who would make a good addition to almost any NBA roster.

2) Can James, Wade and Bosh mesh on the same roster?

It’s pretty much been proven that a team needs two stars to win an NBA championship. In recent years we’ve seen it with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in Chicago, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, Bryant and Pau Gasol in Los Angeles, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Los Angeles, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler in Houston, Tim Duncan and David Robinson in San Antonio and many others. Only twice have we seen it with three stars: Larry Bird, Robert Parrish and Kevin McHale in Boston in the ‘80s and Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in Boston three seasons ago. Keep in mind that McHale was merely a sixth man and the Boston “big three” of late were arguably past their prime and put their egos (what little they seem to have) aside.

I personally think that Wade and Bosh could play on a team together very nicely. However, I’m not confident that James can set aside his massive ego and numbers to do it. It probably won’t take us very long to find out.

If the Heat can surround James, Wade and Bosh with championship-type role players and if the new “big three” as I’m sure they will be dubbed can get along than the Heat should win a championships or championships rather easily. However, these are two big questions that must be answered first.

The Undeserving All Star

Atlanta Braves utilityman Omar Infante should be enjoying his selection to his first ever MLB All Star Game, but instead he’s being ridiculed left and right by fans and media alike claiming he’s the “worst” All Star of all time.

Well, to set things straight, Infante isn’t the worst All Star of all time, but he certainly shouldn’t be an All Star.

If fans and media want to blame someone for Infante’s inclusion on the National League’s All Star roster it definitely shouldn’t be Infante but Philadelphia Phillies and National League All Star manager Charlie Manuel.

Players are selected to the All Star game one of three ways. 1) Voted in by the fans for the starting positions and the final roster spot. 2) Selected by their peers. 3) Chosen by the manager of the league. Infante was one of Manuel’s selections for the roster.

Baseball players who don’t deserve to be All Stars generally make the squad on a yearly basis, due to the rule that states that every one of the MLB’s 30 teams must have at least one representative in the game. This is the reason that Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Evan Meek, Baltimore Orioles infielder Ty Wigginton and Kansas City Royals reliever Joakim Soria made the All Star game rosters.

Infante wasn’t one of these cases. The Braves have four other All Stars (Jason Heyward, Brian McCann, Martin Prado and Tim Hudson) on the roster and are tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for having the most players in the National League on the roster. The Braves also have one of the biggest snubs from the game on their team in first baseman Troy Glaus.

Why did Manuel choose Infante for the National League squad?

The answer is really quite simple. Infante is the most flexible player in all of baseball. Infante can literally play any position. He’s played all three outfield positions and all of the infield positions (beside catcher and pitcher) pretty frequently in his career. In a pinch I’m sure Infante could even catch and pitch. Infante’s flexibility would make him useful in an extra inning game like the 15 inning match the game saw two years ago. I believe that it’s pretty unlikely that Infante even sees playing time in the game unless that very situation occurs.

Does Infante’s flexibility mean he deserves to be an All Star?

No.

It’s ridiculous to think that Infante should be an All Star over much more deserving players who were snubbed like Glaus, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, Colorado Rockies catcher Miguel Olivo, Milwaukee Brewers infielder Casey McGehee and New York Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey.

I’m a Braves fan and really like Infante and believe he is an integral part of the team, but he’s just not All Star worthy.