Jeff Dufour's New York Yankees fan blog

I know that most people consider the All-Star break the mid-season point in the baseball season but it's not so let's get right to it.

(Before I start I should say, other then my mid-season awards, I will not be talking about the NL.  There is not a team in the NL right now that can beat the Red Sox, Rays, Yankees or Angels in the World Series.  I'll get back to you if a team, mainly the Cubs, makes a nice trade to improve their team.)

Let's run through the awards before we get into anything else.

NL

MVP- I know Chipper is flirting with .400 but he has missed a lot of time and his team isn't very good.  Because of that, I will give it to Lance Berkman who also plays on a team that isn't very good but his numbers across the board are better. 

Continue reading "Mid-Season Report"

I have stood by Kobe for years, even though I love the Big Fella.  When Kobe broke up that team after the 2004 NBA Finals I continued to root for him even though I was pissed at him.  When the Lakers won the Western Conference this season, as I wrote last week, I half-heartedly jumped back on the Lakers bandwagon.  Not to be a diehard fan but to root for them in this NBA Finals.  I figured Kobe Bryant was ready to take that final step in becoming an all-time great and win his first Shaq-less title.  Now, four games into the NBA Finals, with the Lakers down 3-1 after blowing a 24 point lead in game 4, I am ready to end this Kobe talk until further notice.  And that could be never again.

Kobe Bryant can’t be considered a top-10 or better player until he wins a title as the leader of a team.  I don’t care how great he is offensively and how many MVP’s he may win.  Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal have 4 rings, those two are all-time greats.  The self-proclaimed “Black Mamba” is Scottie Pippen, an above average player who was the second best player on a team that won titles.

Continue reading "The Black Mamba? How about the Gardner Snake"

I attempted to write this piece on Monday night but I couldn’t do it.  I was still shocked and heart-broken that Michael Strahan had decided to call it quits after 15 Hall of Fame seasons in the NFL.  I know most people have been saying for two days now that this didn’t surprise them and they were far from shocked when the announcement was made but I will be real with you, I couldn’t believe it.  When my brother called to tell me the news late Monday morning all I could muster up to say was, “No freaking way”.  I was shocked and to be honest, still am.  I tried to convince myself all day that this was the Giants and Strahan’s way to get him out of training camp again this year and in late August he would announce he had the itch to play and would be returning for another season. 

Continue reading "Thanks for Everything"

Since I was 1 year old the last time these two teams met each other in the NBA Finals I will refrain from writing another boring rivalry-renewed piece.  I admit it, I know very little about the history of NBA because I never cared to research it.  Growing up in the 90’s I watched MJ and as far as I’m concerned that was the height of this league, until right now.  If you read any of my columns over the past couple months you know that I was more excited about these NBA Playoffs then anyone and I have to admit, they have disappointed for the most part.  Outside of a couple games and storylines (the Hawks taking the C’s to the brink in round 1, the Cavs-Celtics Game 7 in round 2, the Lakers-Jazz Game 6 in round 2 and the Lakers dominating the defending champs) these playoffs have gone by the books and have been far from memorable.  Hopefully these NBA Finals can save the best NBA season Post-Mike.

Continue reading "Go Lakers but Good Luck, Papa"

After weeks of soul searching I am back.  And because the sports world is so busy right now I couldn’t decide which story to write on.  With that said, I am going to run through the sports world as a whole and let everyone know what I think about everything.  By the way, I haven’t been soul searching at all.  I finished school, went home for two weeks and relaxed, headed to Scottsdale, AZ for nine days for my brother’s wedding and then came back to Boston and helped move my girlfriend into her summer apartment.  So without further ado, my thoughts.

Let’s start with two sports that are not mainstream sports except for this time of year.  The NHL got their wish, big time.  Sid the Kid and the Pittsburgh Penguins dominated the eastern conference with their dazzling offense and made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals.   Out west hockey town was rocking again as the Detroit Red Wings reached the Cup Finals and met up with the Penguins.  This was the championship that the NHL needed and I have not seen any ratings but I would guess they are better then the past few years.  Now, if the Penguins can use the momentum from their Game 5 win and carry it over to Game 6 and hopefully even a Game 7, then the NHL might be able to be considered an actual sport again. 

Continue reading "Checking In With The Sports World"

If this trend continues then Boston fans have nothing to worry about.  With home court advantage throughout the playoffs the Celtics have the inside track to the NBA title.  I have never seen anything like this before.  Home court advantage is obviously important, it is why teams play the whole regular season and it’s why Major League Baseball puts it up for grabs every July in the All-Star game.  But I didn’t know that playing in front of your home crowd mattered this much. 

In the second round of the playoffs the home team is now 16-1.  16-1!!  The only team to win the veteran Detroit Pistons, who won at Orlando without Chauncey Billups.  The Celtics have gone from the best road team in the regular season (31-10) to possibly the worst in the playoffs (0-5).  Forget the two losses to the Cavaliers in the second round, how about the three losses to the Hawks in round one?  The Spurs looked old, washed-up and tired in the first two games of their series with the New Orleans Hornets but when they got home they easily tied the series at 2-2 with a couple of blow-outs.  We all knew the Jazz were very good at home but I can’t lie, I am shocked they held off the Lakers twice in the fourth quarter of close games.  Three of the four series are tied at 2-2 with game five on the horizon.  The home team should feel confident for the next game though, that’s for sure.

Continue reading "Looking For A Road Win"

            Yesterday I chose the Detroit Pistons to come out of the East.  It was a very difficult call between then and the Boston Celtics and I do believe the Celtics are the better team but as I said I think their energy will run out.  The Celtics played every game like it was the NBA Finals this season and like the Mavericks last year it will cost them in the playoffs.  Today I discuss the other side of the bracket and tell you how the West will be won and who will win it.

WEST

         Lakers-Nuggets: Can an 8 seed upset a 1 seed out west again this year?  I don’t think so but I do believe they will give them a better series then most people think.  I think the Nuggets will be able to score with the Lakers and win a few games.  The Nuggets have stars in Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony to counter Kobe Bryant and the depth of the Lakers.  In the end, the Lakers are the better team and will find a way to win this series.  Lakers in 6.

Continue reading "NBA Playoff Preview: WEST"

They are finally here.  After months of riveting basketball and a Western Conference race that went down to the last night of the season, they are here.  Of course, I would be talking about the 2008 NBA Playoffs.  The playoffs that have a chance to be the best in a long time.  When was the last time a 50-win team is an 8 seed and has basically no chance of winning their first round season?  When was the last time 2 of the best teams in the lead and 2 of the 5 teams that have a chance at winning it all, met in the first round?  Forget all of that, when was the last time people were excited to begin the 2 month stretch for the title?  Before any of this can begin we must take a look at each series and make some (gulp!!!) predictions.

East

Continue reading "NBA PLayoff Preview: EAST"

I was hoping to get this up yesterday with the Yankees-Red Sox series fresh in everyone’s mind but I didn’t have the time.  After a few weeks of the baseball season and watching almost every Red Sox and Yankee game I have a few observations on these two teams so far.  You may not agree with them all, this is just what I have noticed this season.

-Both of these teams are very flawed teams, but then again, so is everyone in baseball this year.  I wouldn’t worry if I were a fan of either team yet because no AL team has gotten off to a very good start.

-The Red Sox need to fill the problems in the middle relief and the back end of the rotation.  Lester hasn’t been good at all (walks way too many people) and outside of Okajima and Papelbon I don’t tend to trust any of their bullpen arms (Delcarmen is far to inconsistent).

Continue reading "Early Season Observations of Yanks and Sox"

Very rarely does an MVP race turn out the way last year’s American League race did.  A no-brainer.  It was obvious to see that Alex Rodriguez would win and by a large margin.  Usually there are two or three candidates and you can make a case for all of them.  This years MVP race in the National Basketball Association is no different then the AL race last season though, it’s just no one sees it.  There are seven or eight people who you could make a strong case for but picking the winner is easier then people think.  That’s only if you use my way of finding the true MVP.

It is often debated by people around the game; players, coaches, owners and media, what exactly does the MVP stand for?  Is the award given to the player who had the best individual season?  Does the team someone plays for have to be competitive?  Is it all about the numbers or do other factors such as being a team leader or playing everyday, account for something.  To me, being an MVP is exactly what it is.  It means that you were the Most Valuable Player in the league.  Take a certain player off the team and replace that player with someone average around the league, what kind of impact would that have on the team.  If you can be replaced and it wouldn’t cripple your team then I am sorry, you are not THAT valuable.  It is about the best stats or being the most skilled player and it is definitely not about having the best season, it is about your value to your team.  Winning does play a part of this though because if you can’t get your team to the playoffs, nothing else matters.  If you were replaced by someone worse, your team still isn’t going to make the playoffs.

Continue reading "Tight NBA MVP Race? Not In My Eyes"