MJ looking up at Lebron?

Scottie Pippen recently compared Lebron James to Michael Jordan, going as far as saying Lebron might be a better player. Yes, that Scottie Pippen. He of six championship rings thanks to MJ.

We've heard Kobe Bryant compared to Jordan, but this is the first time I can recall someone comparing Lebron to Jordan. I suppose it had to happen sometime, but coming from Pippen, wow, that's quite the entrance into the "he's as good as MJ" debate.

I had two initial reactions when I heard Pippen's comments: Kobe is getting older, so someone new had to be compared to Jordan, and I like the way Lebron didn't entirely dismiss the notion, the way Kobe has done. I actually had three reactions, if you count me questioning whether or not Pippen was sober when he made the comments.

Girls or sports?

I recently started dating a great girl who likes playing sports and attending games, but, like many girls, doesn't enjoy watching on TV as much as I do. We aren't the first couple with differing views on this subject, which reminds me of the movies Fever Pitch and Good Will Hunting, and the different approaches men have taken in this matter.

In Fever Pitch, Jimmy Fallon plays an obsessive Red Sox fan with season tickets, who never misses a game, even when offered a free trip to Paris with his girlfriend, Drew Barrymore. His fanaticism causes a rift in their relationship until Barrymore relents to his obsessive nature and decides to love him regardless of whether he changes or not.

Also playing a Red Sox fan, in Good Will Hunting, Robin Williams has a ticket to game 6 of the 1975 World Series in Boston, the game Carlton Fisk waved his home run fair to win one of the most dramatic games in Red Sox history. However, Williams meets a girl in a bar before the game and gives up his ticket to "see about a girl" he ultimately falls in love with and marries.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, I created a short test to help you figure out how your relationship might end up..

Can Mike Brown lead the Lakers to a title?

I'll admit, as a Lakers fan, I'm not overly excited by this hiring, although, I'm not disappointed either. Sure, there were some sexier names the team could have hired, Rick Adeleman, and possibly more exciting ones as well, Jeff Van Gundy, but they also could have done much worse, Mike Dunleavy, or gone with Brian Shaw, who has no experience.

As the news of this hiring washes over me, I feel reticent.

In my reticence, a few thoughts and questions have popped into my mind about how Brown will fit as the Lakers next head coach...

What to think of Lance Armstrong

 "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." 

The opening words to A Tale of Two Cities are perfectly analogous to the tale of the two very different lives of Lance Armstrong. Lance, the hero, who has inspired millions in their fight against cancer and Lance, the alleged cheater, who beat the system and has fooled everyone.

I'm torn. I'm torn on what to feel about recent allegations of Lance Armstrong's alleged drug use. I'm torn for two reasons...

The Mariners should trade Ichiro

It's actually a better idea than you think. The more people I talk to, the more I realize this is something most Mariner's fans know needs to happen this year. It's been building for a few years, but now, more than ever, it's a move the Mariner's front office needs to make.

Ichiro has given Seattle fans 10 straight Gold Gloves, several Silver Slugger awards, one MVP and countless clutch hits and great throws from the outfield. Now it's time for him to give Seattle one last assist; a chance at success in the future.

So who are the potential suitors for Ichiro?

Who will draft Jimmer?

Everybody in Provo, Utah knows Jimmer Fredette should be drafted number one overall, however, I have a sneaky feeling bias might play a small role in that view and NBA teams might have a different opinion. So for now, Jimmer is safe from having to move to Cleveland.

Last night's draft lottery yielded a few surprises in Jimmer's favor, meaning it's time to begin guessing who will draft college basketball's reigning player of the year. However, projecting who will draft the Jimmer is about as easy as guarding him.

Jimmer's draft stock was helped tremendously by the decisions of several elite college players who decided to return to school, most notably Jared Sullinger, Perry Jones, Harrison Barnes and Terrence Jones. All four were projected as lottery picks and in the case of the first three, the upper end of the lottery.

Staying in school removes four players who would have almost certainly been drafted ahead of Fredette moving Jimmer into the discussion as a lottery pick. 

After the ping pong balls fell last night, I see three teams who are most likely to draft Jimmer:

What the Yankees struggles would mean in a perfect world

In a perfect world, this would be the beginning of the end. The Steinbrenner boys would possess no more than a shadow of their father's ability to sign top-end free agents in the off season, Derek Jeter would age 10 years overnight, and the veterans would get hurt egos, causing turmoil in the Bronx every time a starter needs a day off to mentally prepare for his new position in the batting order. Oh wait.

UPDATE: Maybe the world is perfect as all three of these things have happened, with the latter coming to fruition this past weekend.

Ahead of Saturday's game against Boston, veteran catcher, and team leader, Jorge Posada was dropped to 9th in the batting order as a result of his struggles at the plate this season. Manager Joe Girardi wrote Posada's name down on the lineup card, yet an hour before the game Posada asked to be removed from the lineup to have time to mentally prepare to hit at the bottom of the lineup.

Mentally prepare to hit at the bottom of the lineup? Really?

A few words of advice to Jorge:

Tragedy at the Giro d'Italia; A wake up call for all cyclists

For those of you who don't dress up in spandex shorts and jerseys when you ride a bike, you may have missed a sad cycling story out of Italy this past Monday. During the Giro d'Italia, Italy's premiere stage race, young Belgian rider Wouter Weylandt, 26, lost control of his bike while descending from a steep mountain pass and ultimately lost his life after sustaining massive head injuries.

You may not think of cycling as a sport of fatal crashes, but the truth is, at the speeds these guys are going, it's fortunate accidents like this don't occur more frequently. Weylandt's death is the first death at the Giro since 1986. One sports publication reported Weylandt crashed going speeds "only a car can normally reach."

Accidents, like this one, are caused by a few different problems.

What's next for the Lakers?

A lot of things didn't happen this season for the Lakers and their fans. Phil Jackson didn't get his 12th ring. Kobe didn't get his 6th. The Lakers didn't accomplish their second three-peat in a decade and the team's fans are still trying to figure out who the heck is J.J. Barea?!

LA started the year as favorites to win the title for a third straight year. While not everyone thought the Lakers would three-peat, not even the worst Lakers hater could have predicted a second round sweep at the hands of Dallas. The Mavs have folded in the playoffs for years, which makes their broom job of the champs all the crazier.

The Lakers head into the off season with tremendous uncertainty about next year's team. Will they trade Andrew Bynum? Is Kobe getting too old? Who is available via trade and free agency? These questions, and more, need to be answered by team owner Jerry Bus and GM Mitch Kupcheck.

The Lakers also have a few bad contracts to deal with. Derek Fisher is under contract until 2013, as is Luke Walton. Ron Artest is on the books until 2014. In addition to some bad contracts, the team has no young players who will contribute in the next few years and zero first round draft picks in the 2011 draft.

So where does this leave the Lakers, and what improvements CAN the team make?

Here are three options, in no particular order, the team might consider…

Rule changes Soccer needs to make

If you pay attention to European soccer, you've undoubtedly noticed the dominance of FC Barcelona this year. Four times, in a period of just over two weeks, they played rival Real Madrid in a display of elite soccer. For the most part, these games were phenomenal. However, for all the positives these games offered, it was a few of the negatives that stuck out the most.

Whining, stalling, complaining, diving, botched calls and poor cards, prompted me to propose a few rule changes FIFA (soccer's governing body) needs to implement to improve the game and increase its' appeal to non-soccer zealots around the world. In addition to a few ideas which have been floating around for a while, I offer several new ideas which, if properly implemented, will improve the flow of games, decrease fan violence, and increase the integrity of the product on the field.

With that in mind, I offer the following 5 suggestions. I realize not all of these suggestions are realistic, but sometimes it's a little more fun to think outside of the box...

Great Sports Interviews and Meltdowns

Last week, I wrote an article about Ron Artest winning this year's NBA service award. As a part of that article, I included a video of Artest, memorably, thanking his psychiatrist during a post-game interview just after the Lakers had won the NBA title.

After posting the article, a friend got a hold of me to tell me he enjoyed the article and thought it would be a good idea to put a piece together of the most classic sports rants, raves, meltdowns and memorable interviews.

Sports is filled with tons of characters, both good and bad, who say some pretty off-the-wall and extremely memorable things. Fortunately, for us, during these moments, cameras have been there to capture the magic.

I submit for your entertainment, a list, in no particular order, of my 10 favorite all-time sports characters and their "best" moments: