Trade Deadline Passes, Pro Bowl Owns NBA, CBB Sucks, NASCAR?!

Yeah, yeah, Hughes to the Knicks for no one, but the real story here is Kirk Hinrich staying put and the bigger trade made yesterday.

The general consensus on the internet is that Miller and Salmons make the Bulls a playoff team. I know going into this season, that's all I wanted. So, for all the clamoring made by fans about a trade, there it is. That's your trade.

John Hollinger called it an "outstanding trade for the Bulls" and gave us an A- in his ratings of the three teams involved with the trade (Sac-Town got a C- while Portland got a B+).

Random Trade Perspectives
- Matt weighs in on the Miller/Salmons Trade (a thumbs up)
- Sam Smith's take, too
- BDL highlights takes from Bulls people, Kings people and, most importantly, Blazers people

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For all the talk from mainstream media and bloggers about how lame and meaningless the Pro Bowl is, I had to point out the NFL exhibition trounced the NBA's Kobe-LeBron game in ratings by a healthy margin of 8.8 to 6.1. I'm not proud of that or anything (I like the NBA myself), but I did find it funny. Or as TBS might say, "Very funny."

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You heard it here first, college basketball sucks this year. Need more proof? Penn State scored just 38 against Illinois yesterday... and won!

38-33 -- wow, just wow. And U of I was playing at home, too.

UPDATE: Mottram at the Sporting News is all over that crapfest

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I'm sure this is the last website most of you would think of when it comes to NASCAR news, but with its biggest race taking place this past Sunday, I had to let my buddy and avid TUP reader Kyle (the biggest NASCAR fan I know... and that's out of a group of like three other people) weigh in on what was an apparently controversial Daytona:

Another year, another Daytona 500, and yet another way for NASCAR to make a complete mockery of itself. For those of you who know nothing of NASCAR or don't think racing cars is a sport, this will help your cause.

This year's Daytona 500 was full of story lines. Could Tony Stewart finally win a 500 with his own cars (he just started his own team)? Would Jeff Gordon snap his race winless streak after posting a goose-egg last year? Would Jimmie Johnson, winner of the last three Sprint Cup (Major League Baseball of racing, minus the roids) Championships, take it? Would a host of others ranging from the expected break out year for Juan Pablo Montoya, to the feel good story of Scott Riggs or AJ Allmendinger, win?

But instead of allowing these story lines to play out, NASCAR inserted itself.

The previous day's Nationwide Race was fantastic! Nationwide is the AAA baseball of racing. Tony Stewart won a thrilling race culminating on a last lap duel with Kyle Busch which nearly wrecked them both. Any casual fan would have been pumped for Sunday's 500.

Instead, NASCAR and Fox took over. Rain was expected in the late afternoon/early evening, and it would effect the end of the 500. Instead of pushing up the start time to a normal 1 p.m. EDT, Fox pumped mindless, stupid programming down our throats for two hours of pre-race garbage. The race was delayed for this extensive amount of time by pointless gopher cartoons (based on a camera named "Digger" because it's in the ground), a Keith Urban concert, and multiple, hokey, pre-produced stories of what rich drivers did with their rich off-season. The Fox execs must not only believe hicks watch NASCAR, but that the audience has the brain power of first graders.

Finally to the race. Nothing happened. Except for a stupid wreck caused by everybody's boy, Dale "I only have fans because of my daddy" Earnhardt Jr. He singlehandedly caused a wreck taking out close to 1/3 of the field and knocking out the best cars of the afternoon.

Cue NASCAR's step in with Bud Selig-esque ineptness.

In the previous day's AAA race, Jason Leffler was penalized five laps for "rough driving." Leffler's incident was much less "rough" than Dale "I'm a pud-whack" Earnhardt Jr. Not only was Dale "Where's my Budweiser?" Earnhardt Jr. not penalized, he was allowed to get back on the lead lap, giving him a chance to win at the end.

Then, much to the chagrin of everyone watching, the rain came down. With 48 laps remaining, the 'Daytona 380' was unceremoniously called -- making the leader at the time, Matt Kenseth, the winner of the 51st Daytona. The "Super Bowl" of NASCAR was called 120 miles short. Just so Fox can time the end with primetime tv (which failed).

NASCAR should be ashamed of its lack of rule enforcement -- cough, DALECAR, cough -- and more importantly, getting hustled, nay, diva'd (thanks Beyonce) by Fox to ruin the end of the Great American Race.

If you want to get into the sport, don't. Save yourself many wasted afternoons, redneck sightings, and wannabe Bud Seligs. NASCAR's only saving grace? They have a stricter drug enforcement plan than baseball.

He sounds as strung out, burnt out, and upset as I do at the end of college football season.

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Oh, and one last thing: I'm going to KC for a long weekend/road trip, so I won't be able to throw up a post or anything if it happens on Friday, but the Lakers (44-10) are on notice to lose their 11th game at any time now. This, of course, is excluding the possibility they win their next 28 in a row.

Anyway, L.A. has the Hornets Friday (on ESPN) and the T'Wolves on Sunday (not on ESPN). If it happens, I encourage the TUP community to bust out some champagne in honor of the greatest basketball team ever, the 1995-96 Bulls. And in dishonor of the 1972 Dolphins, who are idiots.

And always remember, 72-10 don't -- or... didn't -- mean a thing without the ring (Pats jokes go here).