When do NBA games start again?

This sucks. The homerun contest was on last night as part of All-Star weekend and this thing is dreadful. It took like, 3 hours. It's really not that exciting. As bad as the dunk contest was for a while there, it was still more exciting than most HR contests, especially when the thing takes forever. What makes this worse is that the Yankees don't look like they're making the playoffs anymore. They would have to start the second half with something like a 24-6 run. Certainly not impossible, but not probable given the way they have been playing. Abreu still look s like the walking dead out there at times and Kei Igawa is, well, Kei Igawa. This wouldn't be that bad if Phil Hughes hadn't been struck by the, "I hate Yankee pitchers legs" disease and badly sprained his ankle while rehabbing his own pulled hamstring. They were playing better just before the break again but that was preceded by another bad losing streak which just may have buried any dreams of the playoffs.


On the other hand the Mets are playing better and will most certainly make the playoffs. However, I'm not that confident about them going to the Series with their pitching. Mark Buerhle re-signing with the White Sox could not have been good for the Mets. I said the same thing last year and despite injuries to their number 1 and 2 starters, they came within a game of the Series. This year looks like it might be different though. Milwaukee looks really good. They have one of the best young sluggers in the game in Prince Fielder, a slugging shortstop of their own (The rest of his game can't hang with Reyes though) in JJ Hardy. In addition, they have a legitimate ace in Ben Sheets. While Sheets may be having a down year for him (10-4, 3.41 ERA), he can still turn in a dominating performance, which is what you want out of your ace during the playoffs. The top teams in the NL are better this year than last making this year more difficult for the Mets. Even the Padres are better this year. Chris Young (8-3, 2.00 ERA) and Jake Peavy (9-3, 2.19 ERA) make them very dangerous in with their ability to shut down teams during a short series. You put that together with the fact that the inevitable fall to earth was going to have to happen with some of their players. What? You guys really thought that Jose Valentin finally "discovered" himself at 37 and would keep playing at the level he did last year? Meanwhile Carlos Delgado has picked it up during the month of July and is hitting .375 this month, hopefully this is not an aberration. I still don't think that you enter into a season when you want to contend for a Championship with a declining Shawn Green as your everyday right fielder and Moises Alou, who at 41 and with a history of being injury prone was not a good gamble. You can have one or the other, but if you have both as starters, you're playing with fire.

The rest of the season may be really hard to watch for Yankee fans if they don't put together an almost historic comeback. Hopefully, Omar Minaya can find another piece or two for the team. If i'm the Yankees, if I don't come out of the gate playing great, I try and trade A-Rod and see what kind of prospects I get for him. If someone puts together a package that's just too good to overlook, you trade him and get something in return for him. You know that he's opting out at the end of the year and if I was him, the way that this City's fans have treated him and the way the media has covered him, I leave for the West Coast. Less pressure, same huge sums of cash.

NBA Summer League Action! It's Faaaaan-tastic! (Knicks beat up on Seattle last night. Wilson Chandler and Randolph Morris looked pretty good).