Sports Section Syndicated (SSS) – February 21, 2008

Here are some of the more interesting graphs from sports writers/bloggers across the nation.

Stephen J. Dubner of Freakonomics: Maybe, however, this is just how we like it. As much as we profess to like the games for the games’ sake, perhaps cheating is part of the appeal, a natural extension of sport that people condemn on moral grounds but secretly embrace as what makes sports most compelling. For all the talk of how cheating “destroys the integrity of the game,” maybe that’s not true at all? Perhaps cheating actually adds a layer of interest — a cat-and-mouse element, a detective-story element — that complements the game?

Alan Schwarz of the NYTimes: A year ago, Jimmy Rollins proclaimed his Phillies “the team to beat” in the National League East, words that ultimately helped Philadelphia whisk the division championship from the Mets’ clumsy grasp and still ring in New Yorkers’ collective ears. The words resound to the extent that, several days ago in the Mets’ camp, Carlos Beltrán noted his team’s acquisition of pitcher Johan Santana and announced: “I have no doubt we’re going to win our division,” and, “So this year, to Jimmy Rollins, we are the team to beat”… As Rollins lounged on a picnic table outside the Phillies’ spring-training clubhouse Wednesday, he asked, “Has anyone ever heard of plagiarism?”

Bill Simons of ESPN.com: TRADE 1A: Portland trades Raef LaFrentz, LaMarcus Aldridge, the rights to Rudy Fernandez, $3 million and a 2008 No. 1 (top-3 protected) to Memphis for Mike Conley Jr., Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal and a 2008 No. 2….Why Memphis does it: OK, you’re right … we can’t operate under the assumption that GM Chris Wallace would ever do anything logically. But for the life of me, I don’t understand Memphis’ post-Gasol strategy. The Grizzlies have three young point guards with varying degrees of value (Conley, Javaris Crittenton and Kyle Lowry); they need to dump one of them; and apparently, they’ve just decided to dump Lowry before the deadline for whatever they can get. Why is that the strategy??? Why wouldn’t they use Conley, their best trade asset other than Rudy Gay, package him with Miller (who they’re also trying to dump for 60 cents on the dollar), and try to land two blue-chippers for them? Everyone agrees that Fernandez would be a top-10 pick if he was in this year’s draft, and Aldridge is one of the better young forwards in the league. Plus, LaFrentz’s monster contract expires in 2009 and gives them a nice trade chip next season if they wanted to use it … which they wouldn’t, but you never know. Regardless, this trade gives Memphis a dirt-cheap foundation of Gay, Aldridge, Fernandez, Crittenton/Lowry, Juan Carlos Navarro, Hakim Warrick, 2008 Lottery Pick X and two more first-rounders, and they’d still have a point guard to trade this summer. Why not? What the hell?

Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post: The Phoenix Suns didn’t have much trouble running with Shaquille O’Neal. Problem was they couldn’t catch the Los Angeles Lakers. On a night when the entertainment level somehow matched considerable pregame hype, the Suns and Lakers put on a show worthy of a conference championship game.

While O’Neal played 29 minutes, finished with 15 points and nine rebounds and was almost certainly more active than critics of the trade that brought him here thought he would be, the best player on the court was the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant. He took one shot the first quarter, yet scored a game-high 41 points to lead Los Angeles to a 130-124 victory at U.S. Airways Arena.

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