The Czar's Mailbag, March 24, 2011.

Chad as he wrote this in the wee hours of the morning.


Mailbag seems like such a sad word. Mail to most people means bills and since all I pay for is sports apparel and chicken wings, when I get mail it is usually something fun. Let the fun begin.


Rick in Troy: Recently, Bruce Pearl has been released as head coach from Tennessee, due to his unethical conduct and transgressions away from court. Where do you see him ending up next season, if at all he ends up anywhere? Do you see this as a start for a powerhouse program, or will he bring a headache wherever he goes?

Chad:
   Rick, you should go to Google right now and type in "bruce pearl" and check out the first few instant results. Words like "Violation", "divorce" and my favorite one, "fired" appear. This guy is obviously someone who has issues playing by the rules, in his marriage and his work. If I am the athletic director at any D-1 school in the country, how can I trust a man that has no issue cheating to get ahead on the basketball court? Bruce Pearl's issue is very simple: Bruce Pearl only cares about Bruce Pearl. If he cared about the kids he coached and the university that writes his checks, he would have the decency to work fairly and not put his employer in a bad spot.
  To answer your question, all I will say is this: He will probably end up at a Texas Tech or a school with a less than average basketball tradition. Anywhere he goes brings migraines, not headaches.

Man I love getting fired up right off the bat.

Evans in Alabaster: Hey Chad! Do you see the Knicks or Heat getting a title within two or three years or will the trades for massive star power backfire for them?

   Before I answer your question, I have to point this out: Besides Lakers/Celtics, the NBA currently lacks a decent rivalry where teams truly wanna flat out beat the crap out of each other. In the 90's, Heat/Knicks was one of those rivalries. Guys like Alonzo Mourning, Patrick Ewing, and Charles Oakley made their games and playoff series so incredibly intense that sometimes the teams even got into fights, emotions that the current NBA has demolished.
   Reading that, it is a massive disappointment that these new-look Miami and New York squads will never have that kind of intensity. With traveling AAU basketball for this generation of NBA stars, guys like Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony became friends, not enemies. So instead of Pat Riley's old school, grinder, "don't say word to the other team before this game" mentality, we have guys hugging and talking about their kids to each other. So sad.
   As for the race to the first team to get some rings, I think Miami is a strong candidate to get there first. I like the fact that the Bosh/Wade/James trio had a training camp together and all free agent business was handled in the offseason. I really do not like that Melo got thrown onto the Knicks mid-season, I think chemistry is the most important key to winning a championship. I also like the fact that Dwyane Wade has some championship experience, basically putting the Heat on his back in the 2006 Finals that Bill Simmons calls, "the best Jordan impersonation we have ever seen."
  I love Amare and Melo together and their revival of  the Knicks, but for now I'll take my prediction to South Beach.

Gaye in Alabaster-so what is a Mom/wife to do when she becomes a sports (i.e. Pens) widow?


   It is very simple: move on. I know it is tough and sometimes impossible to cope with, but at the end of the day you must protect yourself. What you are worrying about is a lost cause, the Pittsburgh Penguins will forever trump what you buy, do, or cook. If you refuse to take this advice and try to change this pattern of behavior, then I suggest breaking the cable box in front of his face, he might get the memo that you are tired of being a sports widow.


Jared, Troy, Can Derrick Rose ever be as good for the Bulls as Jordan?

   Derrick Rose is a very talented point guard and there is one thing in this sentence that prevents him from being as good as Michael Jordan. Can you guess it? It is the words "point guard". Rose can obviously score and take some big shots, but it should be his main objective to set his teammates up with the best shot possible and if he cannot, take it in himself.
   Jordan, on the other hand, was a killer. The kind of guy that wanted to take every last shot of every quarter for his entire life. He thrived under-pressure and delivered six championships to the city of Chicago. He is labeled as the greatest player of all time.
   To answer your question in the best way possible all I can say his no. Derrick Rose is a raw talent and a guy that definitely could help the Bulls win a championship in the next few years but will NEVER be what Michael Jordan was to that city and pretty much the world.

Evans in Alabaster: I've got another one for ya Chad! Who will make a better pro AJ Green or Julio Jones? Also, same question different sport Jimmer Fredette or Kemba Walker?

   A.J Green is my absolute, 100 percent pick over Jones. I have seen both of them play on many occasions and Green impresses me the most. I usually have to look at the draft from a Steelers fan perspective and my initial reaction to Green was "I want that guy."
   As for the Fredette/Walker conversation, I tend to lean towards Jimmer. Jimmer's shooting peformances remind me of J.J. Redick in his days with Duke, just a guy with unlimited range. But Jimmer is also different in the sense that he can drive the lane and has some super nasty handles. He also goes to BYU, which sounds like a downside to his game, but I think it helps him. It shows me that he is a disciplined guy, someone who has the ability to learn and grow in the NBA.
   Kemba Walker is a the type of player that seems to have inherited a little bit of that "killer" gene we talked about earlier from the greats before him. I really like him at the end of games, even more than Fredette. I am not sure how much more teachable Kemba is over Jimmer, but I know Walker's coach (Jim Calhoun) is one tough cookie. If I am a GM I would be taking Fredette in the draft first, but I think both guys will have solid careers at the next level.

Mark, Auburn, Why does NASCAR suck?

   There are some many reasons why NASCAR sucks. I'll give you my favorites:

1. It's not a sport. I am not trying to say this does not take some athletic ability, but it is not a sport. In sports things are constantly changing, the score, the emotion, momentum, etc. In NASCAR, we get to see one car lead for like 234 Laps and then he blows a tire or runs out of gas. It is kind of stupid.

2. The points system is complete trash. If this has to be even considered a sport and on ESPN nightly, consuming 90 seconds of my life, at least make it interesting. As I told my old buddy Steven Stone one time,  "The NASCAR points system sucks and was invented by some drunk guys in a bar one night, its pretty much drunken math."

3. It's not a sport.

Update: NASCAR has made a new points system for next season that I just became aware of. It makes a lot more sense, giving drivers points decreasing by one based on their finish in the race. The only downside to it all is, It's still not a sport.

7.Stephanie, Auburn, Who is going to win the NBA championship?


   If I had to put my life on it, I would say the LA Lakers. Too much experience with guys like Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol and of course, Kobe Bryant. Teams like this are built to have dynasties. Another team I love out of the Western Conference is the Oklahoma City Thunder.  OKC's starting point guard Russell Westbrook has emerged as a second star to the likes of league leading scorer Kevin Durant.
   As for teams coming out of the East to contend for a title, the Heat obviously come to mind. They have to test this superstar formula come playoff time and I think it will bring a lot of success. Chicago also is a team that I could see being a major threat to Miami and Boston alike. It will be interesting to see if Derrick Rose can put his team on his back in crunch time of a playoff series, not just regular season games.
   As for teams like Boston and San Antonio, I think age will finally catch up with them. I just cannot see guys like Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan staying healthy through a very physically demanding NBA Playoffs.
   My pick at the beginning of the year was a Oklahoma City Thunder/Miami Heat final, with Miami winning in six games. I will stick with that pick, but Chicago could replace Miami easily if I was willing to change it.



8.Tray-Kobe or Lebron?

   This question has always confused me because I am a person who has always measured players by what they have done, not what they are projected to do. Kobe Bryant is always the obvious choice for me. He is the closest thing we have to a present day Michael Jordan. He hits clutch buckets and even though his game is probably slowly in "decline" mode, the Lakers still manage to consistently make the playoffs and win titles.
   Bottomline: Kobe Bryant has one less title then Michael Jordan, and Lebron James and myself have the same amount of NBA championships. In my mind, this is not even a question: Kobe Bryant.


Thanks for the mail guys, I will probably do another one of these next month!



ALSO: Mad props to my sister Madison. At our last street hockey game we had a player go down with an injury early in the second period. We needed someone to fill the void in net. Madison strapped on the goalie gear and gave it her all, but her team eventually lost the game, 14-9. Still a solid effort from the first girl to ever play in our Alabaster Street Hockey Association.

As she would say, "I got this, Bro-ham."