Jock Jerseys’ Flash

Kasey Kahne is on a bit of a roll these days. After needing a fan vote to get him into last week’s All-Star race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Kasey took full advantage enroute to a victory and $1 million dollar payday.

Kahne followed up his All-Star win Sunday night w/ a late victory to win the Coca-Cola 600 (also at Lowe’s). Today’s race was the longest of the racing season - a true test of driving skills, mechanical expertise and a bit of luck. The Coca-Cola 600 spans 3 different parts of the day (mid-day, transition to night & night itself) and requires a lot of adapting and patience.

Had the Home Depot car, #20 Tony Stewart, not flattened a tire in the waning laps, Kasey Kahne would still have been looking at a #2 finish - not bad for a driver who’s been struggling for the past 2 years, following a great year in 2006 (6 total victories). With only a few laps left, Stewart hit the wall and surrendered the lead to Kahne, who cruised to the victory once conceded by the #20 car.

Kahne is definitely on the rise again - he’s been my Mom’s favorite driver for several years, as well as a driver that I have tried to follow closely. He is young and the ladies like him - if he keeps up his recent hot streak (he’s only 6 points out of the Chase), then you’ll want to be sure to pick up some Kasey Kahne apparel & merchandise.

With the victory, Kahne moves into 12th place for this year’s chase, only 406 points out of 1st place. Other drivers who made moves this week are Kevin Harvick (up 2 spots to #7), Matt Kenseth (up 4 spots to #16) and Jimmie Johnson (down 3 to #9). Fan favorite (besides Kahne of course), Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 5th in the 600 and sits in the 3rd position for the Chase, down just 139 points.

The NBA will complete the 2008 draft lottery this evening at the their “Entertainment” headquarters in NJ.  Tonight’s event will not tell us who is going where, but rather which team will be picking first, second and third (etc.).

In what has almost become a laughable event, where the NBA’s worst teams are rewarded (for tanking! - oops :P) and the teams that continue fighting throughout the season are not; tonight’s event is only moderately interesting because there is a debate about who will be picked with the #1 draft pick - Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose.

With the highest probability of grabbing the #1 pick, the Miami Heat are salivating over the opportunity to improve upon last year’s disastrous season - can you call it that (for them)?  Miami’s troubles have been discussed in great detail throughout the season already - if you missed them, here’s a quick recap.

The Miami Heat, shortly after trading Shaq to the Suns, more closely resembled a JV team than a professional basketball team in the NBA.  Sure, they had a few injuries, but half of them were made up (ie: Marion) and were used to keep their star players healthy down the stretch like most teams do… except that, Miami isn’t in the playoffs where the rested players energy is usually needed.  Nope, the Heat have already “gone fishing”, as Kenny, EJ & Charles like to say.  To top that off, Heat coach Pat Riley also took important time off from his coaching duties, to visit regional NCAA tournament games to scout for talent.  Doesn’t he have assistant coaches for that crap?

What I ask of everyone reading this article, is to pray that Riley & Co. are not rewarded for their poor sportsmanship.  Pray that they get the #4 pick and lose out on the top players in the draft.  Other teams played hard throughout the season, despite the fact that they had no chance; those teams deserves the #1 thru #3 picks - not Miami.

Love him or hate him, Kobe Bryant has dominated the NBA scene the past few years as an L.A. Laker.  If you don’t live in Los Angeles or if you’re a huge Shaq fan, chances are you hate him - those of you in Denver also.  But the people in L.A…. you can bet they love him.

At this point, I think Kobe is cool w/ all the hate too…. Why?  Because the league’s voters just showed their love by voting Kobe Bryant the league’s MVP for the 2007-2008 NBA season.

Bryant received 82-first-place votes and 1,105 points in the media vote. He was followed by New Orleans’ Chris Paul (28 and 889), Boston’s Kevin Garnett (15 and 670) and Cleveland’s LeBron James (1 and 438).

The MVP award is a first for Bryant, and in many ways, may help solidify him as one of the greatest to ever play the game.  Yes, he has 3 NBA Championships, multiple scoring titles and countless NBA highlights to his name, but without an MVP award, Kobe would never be more than Shaq’s teammate during a great run w/ the Lakers.

The recognition by his peers helps Kobe ascend to the next level of NBA heroes.  He hasn’t won the same number as Magic Johnson, Kareem, Michael Jordan or even Steve Nash, but he doesn’t have to - winning one MVP award is enough for Kobe to believe he has reached the same status as previous NBA greats.

Of course, this year’s Kobe is a far cry from the ball-hogging version we’ve seen in the past.  He actually involves his teammates - something that finally took MJ over the top - could this be the year Bryant climbs the mountain also?  Here’s what Kobe Bryant had to say:

“It’s Hollywood, it’s a movie script. The perfect ending would be for us to hold a championship trophy at the end of it,” Bryant said at a news conference attended by his teammates, club officials, his wife and two daughters.

“This is an award I couldn’t have won on my own. I can’t thank these guys [his teammates] enough. These are my guys, these are my brothers. Let’s get ready for tomorrow.”

Statistically, this certainly was not Kobe’s best year - he averaged 35.4 points per game in the 2005-2006 season and lost the MVP to Suns guard Steve Nash - Bryant finished 4th in voting that year.  He’s averaged higher numbers in virtually every statistic more than once before, but it’s the level of team involvement that finally helped win voters over.  Winning the tough Western Conference also helped

Kobe owes a lot of credit to the recently acquired Pau Gasol, who we’re still trying to figure out who traded him for a pack of cards & stick of gum.  The Lakers’ GM should also be given some credit for keeping Kobe and not trading him, despite Bryant’s demands during the summer.  He is now surrounded by a group of contributors who understand their roles on the team, but also by real teammates - people who Bryant has shown trust in this year.

Take the opportunity now, to get a Kobe Bryant jersey.  He’s already among the NBA’s top-selling jerseys, but his jersey will be in even higher demand now that he’s won the MVP award.

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As an avid Phoenix Suns fan, I thought the last round of the playoffs was the best series in the entire playoffs… with 2 games recorded in the Western Conference Semifinals, I was wrong. The New Orleans Hornets are not only backing up their #2 seed, but are throttling the San Antonio Spurs, who easily dispatched of the Suns in 5 games. One can only imagine what the Hornets would’ve done to the Suns - New Orleans was 4-0 during the regular season vs. Phoenix.

Starring for the Hornets through the first 2 games are the usual suspects (if you’ve been following them): MVP runner-up Chris Paul, David West, Peja Stojakovic and Tyson Chandler. New Orleans is also getting quality time out of their bench, while San Antonio is just struggling to keep up.

The young legs of the Hornets are simply dominating in the first two games of the series. The San Antonio Spurs look old, they look tired and it looks as if a new era is emerging in the West - that of the Lakers, the Hornets, the Trailblazers (think Oden/Roy/Aldridge) and Jazz. All of these teams are young, athletic and feature budding All-Stars and MVP candidates.

Don’t wait for the Hornets to continue winning - get your hands on a Hornets jersey today!

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In a sign of the times, the Phoenix Suns have reportedly allowed Head Coach Mike D’Antoni to interview for the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls.

GM Steve Kerr and owner Robert Sarver have given Suns’ coach Mike D’Antoni permission to seek interviews w/ other teams.  The three met on Friday to determine if Mike would be able to continue coaching the team and apparently he cannot.

Fresh off a first round playoff exit, thinks are looking bleak for the Suns, who will be 1 year older and have a bulging payroll as the 2008-2009 season starts.

There aren’t many “good” options for the Suns either, as only a handful of former head coaches would fit the bill:

Avery Johnson is available, and he has experience leading a mostly offensive team to the promised land (the Finals).  The knocks against him - he couldn’t win the championship and his team has been bounced in the 1st round of the playoffs each of the past 2 years.  If he could even improve the Suns defense (good luck), then he might be a 1 year solution as a last ditch attempt at a title.

Also available are: Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson (rumored to by high on Knicks list), Doug Collins and a slew of other “ok” coaches.

In other coaching news, the Dallas Mavericks are reportedly in serious discussions with former Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who the Suns would likely snatch up if the Mavs hesitate.  Carlisle would be a great fit on either team, since he would have the cajones to put each team’s star players in their place if they aren’t doing what he asks of them.