It’s a shame, but the reports out of Houston sound like Yao Ming may never play again.

The big man’s feet have simply broken down after years of playing basketball year-round with no break (NBA to Chinese national team and back, year after year). It almost sounds like, at best, the 7-6 center from China will return to the NBA for the 2010-11 season after sitting out next year in its entirety to recover from his fourth broken foot in the last four seasons.

The good news for Rockets fans is that Cleveland’s Zydrunas Ilgauskas suffered from similar problems earlier in his career and a surgical reconstruction of his arch has allowed him to play basically injury-free for the past few years.

The bad news is that any time you’re talking about a 7-6, 300-plus-pound man who makes a living running (and jumping) up and down a 94-foot floor thousands upon thousands of times a year, sometimes the feet just can’t take it, a la Bill Walton.

That’s too bad for Rockets’ fans and too bad for Yao, who may be done before ever reaching the potential that made him a No. 1 overall pick.

- Padraic

Okay, I stole the line from ESPN, but only for the purpose of disputing the contention that Joey Logano has “arrived” as the new rising star of NASCAR stock car racing.
Not just yet.
What we’re talking about is Logano’s first Sprint Cup victory Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, accomplished more by his Joe Gibbs Racing crew, notably savvy crew chief Greg Zipadelli, making a deft gamble to leave the No. 20 Toyota out on the track in the lead with a near-empty fuel tank and rain approaching. Logano won the race, fair and square, no dispute, but he didn’t race for the win.
Don’t get me wrong. Logano is a huge talent and extremely poised for a 19-year-old. Many in the garage area and the media tagged him with the nickname Sliced Bread, as in The Best Thing Since…
With Gibbs and Zippy mentoring him along, the kid will likely win many, many races, and could be tearing up the NASCAR circuit for the next two decades.
But I think he needs a year or two to mature, meaning more seat-time both in the current Cup car, and on tracks that he hasn’t seen yet, never mind learning how to deal with the pressures of stepping into a top-flight team with a high-visibility national sponsor looking over your shoulder.
When Logano puts the whole package together, watch out. But until then, one fuel-mileage, rain-hastened victory does not a superstar make. Yet.

–Jim Holland–

So I am not a soccer fan but I did find myself watching Sunday’s Brazil and U.S. final.

It was a good match for the most part but it just showed me one more time why I do not like this sport. So the U.S. jumps out to a 2-0 lead after the first half only to let Brazil score right away in the second. I and everyone else was thinking the same thing at that point — Game Over.

Just once I would like to see a soccer coach tell his team — the underdog — to be aggressive. Enough with the prevent defense especially when you are up 2-0. For me, I would rather see an aggressive U.S. team making one charge up the side after another rather than the tentative stuff they showed in the second half.

So we beat the No. 1 team in the world only to watch that team struggle with South Africa. So maybe that win is a little more hollow than we thought.

So I guess we can walk away with a moral victory. But in the end we lost again. I don’t even mind that we are not very good on the world stage, but let’s go down swinging.

Jeff

What an interesting story by Journal sportswriter Padraic Duffy on Dana Hill’s interesting year in Sunday’s Journal.
Hill, a catcher for Post 22, was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or POTS, after a series of fainting spells last fall and early winter.
“I wasn’t getting enough blood and oxygen to my head and I was having some passing out,” Hill said in the story. Still, he kept it to himself until he was headed to basketball practice one day and something happened that made it impossible to keep the fainting spells a secret any longer.
“I was going to basketball and I passed out down the stairs,” Hill said. “I sprained my wrist and stuff, so that was when I kind of knew (that I had to go to the doctor).”
At one point, it wasn’t clear whether Hill would be allowed to suit up for Post 22 this season, or ever again.
After the issue cut short his junior year for Rapid City Central, Hill is making the most of the chance to get back on the field.
Andrew

Sam Antonio got a gift in the second round when Pitt’s DeJuan Blair fell to them at No. 37. With that draft pick and a great trade for Richard Jefferson, the Spurs could conceivably start this lineup:

PG — Tony Parker
SG — Manu Ginobili
SF — Richard Jefferson
PF — DeJuan Blair
C — Tim Duncan

That would be pretty good, probably good enough to make them and Denver the two teams in the West with the firepower to play with the Lakers.

On an unrelated note: What was Minnesota thinking with the back-to-back point guard picks? Just a thought, but they should trade the overrated Spaniard before anybody realizes that he’s been inflated into something he can’t possibly be (a future amalgamation of Steve Nash and Pistol Pete Maravich, gimme a break).

Do it right, Wolves. Hose the Knicks for Rubio. 

- Padraic

One of the biggest upsets in recent memory happened this week when nobody was watching. The United States men’s national soccer team defeated the world’s top-ranked soccer team, Spain, 2-0.

The country - OK, fine, the small number of people who care about soccer in a country that creates games and calls ourselves world champions - was still reeling from the U.S. loss to Brazil a week earlier, when it seemed that the Brazilians were just toying with the U.S. team.

However, a different team showed up on Tuesday. Behind some awesome goalkeeper play, the U.S. was able to win. It ended a 35-match win streak by the Spanish that continued for more than two years.

The U.S. is not a men’s soccer power. In the one game that the entire world plays extremely well, the U.S. has mostly been a no-show. Though I do not think that the national team’s winning ways will continue in this week’s Confed Cup final, I hope the team can at least ride some of the momentum of its past win.

I may just tune in.

- Russo

This story broke late Wednesday. Pending NBA approval, a blockbuster deal would bring all 7-1 and 325-pounds of Shaquille O’Neal to pair with LeBron James at Cleveland, while the Phoenix Suns get center Ben Wallace, guard Sasha Pavlovic, a second-round pick in today’s draft and some cash.
Is this the missing ingredient that will finally bring Cleveland its first professional sports championship since the Johnson administration?

What say you?

–Jim Holland–

I was given a jolt today as I walked into work. One of the most successful high school football coaches in the state of Iowa was shot and killed today.

Aplington-Parkersburg’s Ed Thomas has built a reputation of building strong, hard-nosed football teams in the small Iowa community. His success is unquestioned and his dedication and commitment were never questioned.

Such a shocking loss.

It was equally shocking to hear a former player walked into the weight room of the school at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning and shot and killed him while his players and other students watched.

The facts are still coming out but this is bigger than football. Thomas was the face of a community, one that was nearly destroyed by a tornado last summer. He was always seen as a pillar of strength and now he is gone.

I had a chance to interview him for my first job in newspapers a couple of times, and I knew his son, Aaron, who was the head basketball coach at one of the schools in my coverage area.

He built a strong family with his football teams and it showed on the field. Now they will need all that strength to get through this. My thoughts are with the family.

Jeff

With the NBA Draft set for Thursday I figured we should dust off the first mock draft and see what’s changed.

1. Los Angeles Clippers – Blake Griffin, PF, Oklahoma: No-brainer. He’s been the top pick the entire time.

2. Memphis Grizzlies – Hasheem Thabeet, C, UConn: No change. It sounds like doubts about Ricky Rubio and possibly a desire on his part to stay out of Memphis have Thabeet going here. He’s a good fit with Marc Gasol, I think.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder – Tyreke Evans, Memphis: I just don’t think the Thunder can pass up this physical freak of nature. He’s got a wingspan and first-step that are going to make him a penetration threat immediately. The Thunder would love to get a big man, but it just doesn’t seem like there’s one to take. A perimeter trio of Russ Westbrook, Evans and Kevin Durant could create headaches for opponents for years to come.

4. Sacramento Kings – Brandon Jennings, PG, Compton: No change here from initial mock as I just can’t imagine Jennings not going here. The Kings need a point guard and while Rubio is supposedly the best PG prospect, he just doesn’t possess the physical skills of Jennings (probably the quickest, most explosive athlete in the draft). There are concerns about his strength (165 pounds), but I can’t shake the feeling that the kid from SoCal is the pick.

5. Washington Wizards – James Harden, SG, Arizona State: No change here from initial mock. Harden’s an NBA-ready scorer who would complement Gilbert Arenas well if Agent Zero is healthy, but could also be called upon to shoulder a little more of the load if Arenas’ knee continues to hamper him.

6. Minnesota Timberwolves – Ricky Rubio, PG, Spain: I think the Wolves take Rubio. They can afford to bring him along fairly slowly with Bassy Telfair and Randy Foye in the backcourt and the bright lights of Minneapolis are about as dim as they get in the NBA, providing some relief from the pressure and glare.

7. Golden State Warriors – Jonny Flynn, PG, Syracuse: The Warriors need a point and while a starting backcourt of Flynn and Monta Ellis would be small, it would be quicksilver. Coach Don Nelson usually likes the sound of that.

8. New York Knicks – Stephen Curry, G, Davidson: The Knicks need help all over the place and Curry will create some interest.

9. Toronto Raptors – DeJuan Blair, PF, Pittsburgh: No change here from the initial mock. The Raptors have a couple of skilled, lengthy big men in Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani who need an enforcer to make their lives easier. This may be a little high to take Blair, an undersized power forward in terms of height, but his toughness and offensive rebounding would immediately make the Raptors better. The Raptors need a wing with Shawn Marion and Anthony Parker likely gone, but I’m really feeling Blair here.

10. Milwaukee Bucks – Jrue Holiday, G, UCLA: It sounds like Holiday is either hated or loved, and his freshman season with the Bruins did little to say “lottery pick” but he’s a smart, smooth big lead guard. I think the Bucks will take him. 

11. New Jersey Nets – Jordan Hill, PF, Arizona: Seems like he’s got to go by No. 11. 

12. Charlotte Bobcats – Terrence Williams, SG, Louisville: No change here from initial mock. The Bobcats need a two and Williams is the most intriguing guy on the board. A gifted all-around player, he was frequently nagged by questions about why his production didn’t always match his skills. Williams could be the type of player to become a better pro than amateur and it sounds like he impressed Coach Larry Brown at a recent workout.

13. Indiana Pacers –Ty Lawson, PG, North Carolina: No change from initial draft. Indiana needs a point guard and Lawson is the best available. He can’t drive left, but when you’re the quickest guy on the floor with superior strength for a PG, you don’t seem to have to.

14. Phoenix Suns – Demar DeRozan, SG, USC: Seems to be falling a bit, but somebody’s going to take him. He’s just too talented to slip more than this.

15. Detroit Pistons: Earl Clark, SF, Louisville: Versatile player who could help in a variety of ways.

16. Chicago Bulls – B.J. Mullens, C, Ohio State: No change. Chicago has needed a post-up option for a long time. Mullens isn’t it (yet) but the athletic big man could get there some day. He’s probably worth a shot now while the Bulls can still get a year out of Brad Miller.

17. Philadelphia 76ers – Eric Maynor, PG, Virginia Commonwealth: No change. PG Andre Miller is a free agent so the 76ers need to figure something out. Maynor plays with a chip on his shoulder that should be well-received in Philly.

18. Minnesota Timberwolves – Austin Daye, SF, Gonzaga: No change. The promise of Daye, a tantalizing combination of length (6-11) and skill is too good to pass up. He may be a season or two away from being a real contributor, but he’s got the potential and basketball IQ to make the Wolves pull the trigger. If the Wolves come away with Rubio and Daye with the 6th and 18th picks, they should be doing backflips.

19. Atlanta Hawks – Jeff Teague, PG, Wake Forest: No change. Teague is a deadly penetrator and scorer who would fit well with SG Joe Johnson.

20. Utah Jazz–: Sam Young, SF, Pittsburgh: No change. Young is a mentally and physically tough senior coming out of the best conference in the country. Matt Harpring isn’t getting any younger and Young seems to be cut from a similar cloth. Head coach Jerry Sloan loves that kind of player. He’s the ‘old man’ of the draft class, but he’s a Sloan guy.

21. New Orleans Hornets – Gerald Henderson, SG, Duke: No change. The Hornets desperately need a shooting guard who can take some of the pressure off of Chris Paul in the backcourt. Henderson could go as early as No. 12 to the Bobcats and the Hornets would be ecstatic if he fell to them here. A great athlete, he needs to work on his outside shot if the Hornets are to start he and Paul together.

22. Dallas Mavericks – Darren Collison, PG, UCLA: Jason Kidd is old and slow (look at what most every guard in the NBA did to him last season). Collison is young and fast. That’s all the Mavs need to hear.

23. Sacramento Kings – Tyler Hansbrough, PF, North Carolina: No change. The Kings take a shot on the ACC’s all-time leading scorer. Not considered a true NBA athlete, Hansbrough brings intangibles and attitude that the Kings hope will rub off on some of their young players. 

24. Portland Trail Blazers – Patrick Mills, PG, St. Mary’s: No change. The Blazers are young and loaded at virtually every position. They could use some PG help and look to Mills to provide a change of pace from Steve Blake.

25. Oklahoma City Thunder –  James Johnson, SF, Wake Forest: Sounds like he’s dropping. Thunder would be very happy if he was here.

26. Chicago Bulls –  Derrick Brown, PF, Xavier: Brown’s a good athlete with plenty of length who can handle himself in lots of different situations on the floor.

27. Memphis Grizzlies – DaJuan Summers, SF, Georgetown: A big SF with a good head for the game, he’s the type of guy coaches love.

28. Minnesota Timberwolves – Chase Budinger, SF, Arizona: Budinger is a great athlete and shooter with questions about his toughness and basketball IQ. Could be a great pick, could be a bust depending on his work ethic. Who knows, he could quit to play volleyball for Team USA some day.

29. Los Angeles Lakers – Wayne Ellington, SG, North Carolina: No change. Say goodbye to the NBA, Sasha Vujacic.

30. Cleveland Cavaliers – Taj Gibson, PF, USC: No change. Not what anyone would call an overachiever in college, Gibson would add some needed offensive skill and defensive athleticism to Cleveland’s front line.

- Padraic

NASCAR took the fairly extraordinary step (for that organanization) of making a mid-year procedure change and mandating double-file restarts after a caution period. What this means is the leaders line-up two-by-two, with the first-place driver having the option of picking either the outside or inside position up front.
This gets more of the field closer to the front, and moves lapped cars back where they belong, not in the middle of a battle for position up front.
This move was a result of overwhelming support from the fans. The paying customers spoke and NASCAR listened. What a concept.
So this begs the question: Why not do the same thing at our own Black Hills Speedway?
Former owners of the place went to the double-file a few years back and it seemed to be well-received.
With a large Midwest Modified class running every week, I would think it only makes sense to go to a two-by-two formation on a restart.
Any race fans out there care to comment?

–Jim Holland–