Sports — April 9, 2010 7:00 am

Winnett’s Whine

Posted by Jordan Winnett

There’s a different reason to celebrate July 1st down south

With March Madness over, basketball fans now turn their attention to the upcoming NBA playoffs that begin in a week’s time. Except, no one cares about this year’s playoffs; the only matter worth discussing is where Lebron James will be playing come July 1st. The question has been thrown at LBJ since his squad was eliminated by Orlando in game six of last year’s playoff match-up, as everyone began anticipating and wondering if King James would remain in Cleveland or jump ship to the bright lights of New York City. I`ll throw the NBA a little bone; people may tune in to the NBA finals if LBJ is participating and trying to win a championship that may force him to stay in a Cavalier uniform. Even if we excuse the most exciting and talked about free agent in recent memory, the list of players available July 1st is astounding. It’s not a coincidence that there is such a wide disparity between the teams at the top of the league and the countless squads at the bottom of the standings (I’m talking about you, Washington, New Jersey, New York, Minnesota) that would be challenged by a D-league club; these teams have been tanking and releasing contracts for the last few years in preparation for the bidding that will take place July 1st. Here’s a short list of the players available: D-Wade, CB4, Amar’e, Boozer, Pierce, Ginobli, David Lee, Joe Johnson, Disco-Dirk, Jesus Shuttlesworth, Al Harrington and even A.I. or T-Mac if a general manager wants to throw money down the toilet on a washed-up gambleholic or an ex-superstar who has less athleticism left in that body than Dick Bavetta. David Stern needs to hope Lebron and his sidekicks face-off with Kobe and the Lakeshow in the finals or everyone’s attention will be on LBJ and his monumental decision instead. If you’re a Cleveland fan, you better wish the Cavs win the title or you might as well start framing your Lebron jersey as a collector’s item because he’s gone!

I heard brain damage is popular right now

Usually if you can’t hack it in the CFL, the NFL doesn’t even know you exist. So, why the hell are numerous NFL squads bidding on ex-BC Lion quarterback Buck Pierce? Pierce was released by Wally Buono and the Lions in March following the re-signing of QB Casey Printers. I knock the guy but he was a decent CFL pivot when he was in the game. The key word being ‘when.’ Pierce showed signs of brilliance in his five years on the west coast, compiling a 65.2% completion rating to go along with nearly 9,000 yards through the air and 48 touchdowns, but the guy was never healthy! After Dave Dickenson went down in 2007 with a concussion, the reigns were turned over to Pierce, but he was quickly sidelined with injuries to his ribs, toes, hand and shoulder. The same scenario played out the following two seasons as Pierce was dubbed the starter for the Lions but because of injuries, most recently his concussion issues, he was unable to fulfill his potential. Newsflash, Buck; if you can’t survive with smaller players and a bigger field in Canada, what do you think is going to happen when you line-up behind center down south? According to TSN, the Jaguars, Chargers, Lions (why not, nothing else is working), Panthers and Saints are interested in the QB’s services. What are these teams thinking? I understand there are no guaranteed contracts and you can cut the guy whenever you want, but the man has trouble staying healthy on the golf course in the off-season; just wait until he meets the ex-murderer they call Ray Lewis. Buck’s agent must have a piece of his will, because this move to the NFL might be a death sentence.

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