Williams

What on earth has happened to the Williams Grand Prix team? The once proud organization used to hold a place amongst the Formula One front runners; one of the big four who dominated the sport for over two decades.

But not any more.

Now, they are reduced to also-rans, barely outpacing the new teams still in their F1 infancy. This year, the team has only scored points by virtue of the new system that awards points down to tenth place in keeping with F1’s new policy of rewarding mediocrity.

It’s a sad sight and the strain is starting to show. The Spanish Grand Prix saw the tensions come to the surface with Technical Director, Sam Michael, getting involved in a pit lane shouting and finger waving match with mechanic, Carl Gaden. This came hot on the heels of more disharmony during practice.

But, at least they finished that race. Things went from bad to worse in Monaco, with both cars crashing out in odd circumstances. Nico Hulkenberg crashed in the tunnel, apparently as a result of a front wing failure. Teammate Rubens Barrichello suffered a rear suspension failure after hitting a loose manhole cover.

On the upside, at least they got camera time and their sponsors name on the television. Probably not what the sponsors were looking for, though.

Most pundits believe that the blame for William’s demise can be laid squarely at the feet of Patrick Head. While he had an undoubted knack of identifying talent, his greatest success being the recruitment and development of Adrian Newey, his reluctance to know when to relinquish that control and identify a worthy successor has hurt the team.

While F1 is littered with Head mentored engineers—Newey and Ross Brawn being most prominent—none remained with the team.

It was that inability to see that the F1 world was passing him by that led to the loss of Adrian Newey to McLaren in 1996. Head’s part-ownership of Williams put him in position to block Newey’s ambition to become Williams’ Technical Director. McLaren and later Red Bull Racing have both enjoyed the benefits of Head's short-sightedness.

With Newey on board, Williams strung together 59 victories in a seven-year period, more than half of the team’s total victories. Even after he left, his influence saw victories in both the driver’s and constructor’s championships in 1997.

Sadly, it was to be the team’s last taste of real success, with only 10 race victories since that date. There was a glimmer of hope with BMW, but again Head saw that relationship cut short after a poisonous relationship with BMW’s Mario Theissen.

Despite having arguably the best engine on the grid, Williams were unable to convert that advantage into a championship and Theissen didn’t mind telling people where he thought the blame lay. For their part, Williams blamed the engine, dooming the relationship to ultimate failure.

When Head finally got the message that his time was up, he handed over control to the current technical director, Sam Michael, a decision that ultimately made no difference whatsoever. The slide continues.

Williams has lost the ability to design fast F1 cars. A team that was once an innovator, a leading light in aerodynamics, has been reduced to being an imitator.

The engine isn’t helping, either. The Cosworth is the racing equivalent of chaining a block of concrete to the back of the car. Their current engine is a development of their spectacularly unsuccessful 2006 unit and one can only wonder why they bothered. That engine failed to make the finish line in 20 of the 36 team starts in that year.

It was a performance that was even worse than the team’s effort with the apocryphal Judd V8 engine in 1988. Why would they want to revisit that, let alone enter a “long term partnership?”

Cosworth is a manufacturer with a proud history, but that all that it is; a history. Williams could barely keep up with the moderately competitive Toyota power-plant, they’ve got no hope with the Cosworth.

To succeed, the team needs to lock in a competitive engine and recruit young, innovative engineers, but they are not an attractive option for anyone with a hint of ambition. Michael is out of his depth as technical director, the team is in disarray, the finances are running out and Williams is on a long slide to oblivion.

It may already be too late.

Boston slugger Ted Williams homers during his final season, 1960.

Yeah, it happened 50 years ago this week, yet somehow I remember June 5, 1960, like it was yesterday. A beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon in the Bronx, glove in hand, ticket in my pocket. Nine years old. Going to Yankee Stadium for a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox.

This wasn’t my first major league game, but this kid was hungry for a win after seeing the Yankees lose to the White Sox in 1958 and Tigers in 1959.

The Yankees were a .500 club entering play on June 5, 20-20 and fourth in the American League, coming off a subpar 1959 season where they finished a distant third. The Red Sox were mired in the cellar. Young Ralph Terry got the start for the Yanks in the first game that day, while the Red Sox countered with lefty Tom Brewer.

The Yankees jumped off to a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a long home run by Mickey Mantle, The Yanks added three more runs in the fifth when Hector Lopez and

Yogi Berra singled and Roger Maris, right, lined a home run into the right field seats. And when Tony Kubek’s single up the middle in the sixth plated Bobby Richardson, the Yankees had a 5-0 lead.

Williams Homers into The Bullpen
With two outs in the seventh and Terry seemingly cruising, the Red Sox suddenly rallied on hits by Bobby Thomson (yes, that Bobby Thomson who hit the shot heard round the world nearly nine years earlier just across the Harlem River at the Polo Grounds), Marty Keough and Pete Runnels to cut the lead to 5-2.

Up to the plate stepped Ted Williams. Now all through the game my father and relatives kept telling me to watch No. 9 in the Boston uniform. And in the seventh Williams hit a long drive into the Yankee bullpen in right to make it a 5-4 ballgame. It was the 495th home run of Williams’ historic career (he would finish with 521).

Yankee manager Casey Stengel then ambled to the mound and replaced Terry with diminutive left-hander Bobby Shantz. After an uneventful eighth, Boston loaded the bases with one-out in the ninth before Shantz got Vic Wertz to bounce into a double play to end the game.

The Yankees scored four runs in the first inning of the nightcap and cruised to an 8-3 victory, but we were long gone back home by then.

Yankees Win The Pennant
In 1960, the Yankees won the final 15 games of the season to edge out the Orioles

and White Sox and win the first of five straight American League pennants, the final leg of a remarkable dynasty.

However, the Pittsburgh Pirates would upset the Yankees in the seventh game of the World Series that October, on a ninth-inning home run by Bill Mazeroski. The pitcher who surrendered that home run — Ralph Terry.

Mickey Mantle, left, would hit 40 home runs that year to win his fourth and final AL home run title. Maris, with 39 homers and a league-leading 112 RBIs. would win the American League MVP in his first year in pinstripes.

The Red Sox would wind up seventh in the American, ahead of the last-place Kansas City Athletics. Ted Williams, in his final year, would hit 29 homers — including one in his last at bat — and hit .316.

But the home run Teddy Ballgame hit on a sunny Sunday in June at Yankee Stadium was the one I will always remember. I saw Maris, Mantle and Williams homer in the same game. And I saw the Yankees win for the first time in my life.

It has been a women’s lib , of sorts, at the French Open this year with Samantha Stosur and Francesca Schiavone bulldozing all in their path on their way to the final at Roland Garros.

Samantha Stosur , with her all court play , has ousted Henin, Serena Williams and Jankovic in quick succession. This is her best result ever in any Grand Slam. But it should come as no surprise to followers of the game as her game has improved considerably over the past year or so. She is considered a doubles specialist and it is her play at the net that has served to unnerve and demolish her more accomplished rivals.

Samantha Stosur, outfitted in her trademark cap and shades that mask her clear blue eyes, out-Henined Henin in the 4th round. She then hung tough with Serena , just when it seemed that Serena would walk away with the honors in the quarter final. And completed a demolition job against Jelena Jankovic in the semis , reminding us that her No. 7 ranking was more than justified. Samantha Stosur seems like a larger version of Henin at her best (though not the backhand). Her fitness levels remind one of the Henin of yore i.e. the Henin before her self-imposed retirement. Comparisons with Steffi Graf might seem premature though. It is a forgotten fact that she reached the semi-finals of the French Open last year, that marked the renaissance of her singles career.

Schiavone , on the other hand, is more of an unknown commodity and was probably lucky in the semi-finals to have Dementieva concede the match after the first set. But let that take nothing away from what she has achieved so far in this Grand Slam.

Francesca Schiavone’s play at the French open has come as a pleasant change to  tennis fans even though she made the quarter-finals at Wimbledon last year. She, arguably, had an easier run to the final beating the likes of Wozniacki (ranked No. 3), and Maria Kirilenko. Her real test would have been Elena Dementieva and we all know how that panned out.

Either way, the French Women’s championship will have a new victor this year and no surprises if Australia’s drought at the Grand Slams is ended by the doughty campaigner from Brisbane.

Have a great day!

On Friday, the Seattle Seahawks announced they had cut ties with running back LenDale White, roughly one month after acquiring him.

This comes after White’s largely unimpressive pro career began (and seemingly ended) in Tennessee.

His backfield counterpart Reggie Bush still has failed to live up to the hype of being the game-changing playmaker New Orleans envisioned him to be when they selected him with the second overall pick a few years ago.

Don’t forget about quarterback Matt Leinart, who not only couldn’t beat out an aging Kurt Warner year after year, but whose Cardinals team is expected to rely on the running game now that he is at quarterback.

And what of the much-hyped wide receiver Mike Williams that has nearly eaten his way out of the NFL twice, only to wallow in mediocrity?

Offensive tackle Winston Justice has also been slow to come around in adjusting to blocking professional pass rushers after he dominated the line of scrimmage for USC in college.

Remember tight end Dominique Byrd and wide receiver Patrick Turner? They were two highly sought after skill players that Pete Carroll signed to play ball for the Trojans. They are now wallowing on NFL benches.

Sure, guys like Steve Smith and Carson Palmer are exceptions to the rule.  And some of the above players are still young and improving. And some of them have already accomplished more than a lot of other drafted players.

But all this hype about players wanting to play in the pro-style offense that USC runs so that they will be better suited for the NFL is questionable at best.

There have certainly been more misses than hits coming out of the USC offense over the last decade under Carroll, who is now the head man in Seattle. Carroll no doubt had a lot of pull in bringing White into camp in April.

He also probably had a lot of input in letting him go Friday as well. Here’s hoping the latest running back from USC, Joe McKnight, has a better NFL career than the Trojans before him.

A few offseason acquisitions should help redefine the New Jersey Nets next season. (Courtesy Photo)

Every offseason, sports writers around the globe are on the lookout for the next best thing. Last summer, roundball writers drooled over Oklahoma City’s potential. This summer, the focus should be in Newark. OK, so John Wall isn’t going to New Jersey, big deal! The Nets will still be an alluring destination team this summer thanks to Mikhail Prokhorov, the self-made Russian billionaire owner with cap room and money to blow. Prokhorov should also be aided by the team’s relocation plans for Brooklyn in 2012 and one of the best up and coming rosters in the league. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to come to Jersey?

Even though the Nets only won 12 games last season, their roster is stacked with young and attractive talent. A 7-foot center in Brook Lopez who’s already one of the best big men in the league at just 22-years-old. A prototypical sized, lighting quick and fast-twitch point guard in Devin Harris (who probably benefitted the most from Washington winning the lottery since many forget he was an All-Star in 2008). A trio of athletic wings in Terrence Williams, Courtney Lee and Chris Douglas-Roberts. Throw in serviceable bigs Josh Boone and Yi Jianlian, who averaged 13 points and nine rebounds to close the month of April, and New Jersey’s roster is only a couple of spectacular pieces away from being dangerously nasty.

While Lopez and Harris get most of the pub, Williams may be the most intriguing member of that group. A rookie last year who didn’t start receiving consistent minutes until the last two months of the season when he averaged over 14 points, 5.6 assists and 6.2 rebounds a game in only 31.2 minutes of action. Consistent minutes and a year of seasoning could turn Williams into a certified player next year but the salivating doesn’t stop there.

Keep in mind this year’s third pick in the draft should net New Jersey one of Evan Turner, Derrick Favors or DeMarcus Cousins. While many would argue for Turner if he’s available, consider that Williams is already giving the Nets what Turner would but he’s doing so with a few extra drops of athleticism (check his youtube). Besides, stacking up on athletic bigs is never a bad thing. Look no further than the Lakers and Celtics for an example of what two long and athletic front courters can do for a team’s roster. Pairing Cousins or Favors with Lopez would give New Jersey a pretty stout and athletic front wall rarely possessed by teams in the NBA.

And then there’s free agency, where a few extra dollars could land the marquee player this team needs to be a true contender. LeBron James anyone? Guys like Chris Bosh, Amar’e Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer will likely wish to partner with James or Dwayne Wade (who’s also a free agent) somewhere where they could run the league but James is the linchpin here. Unlike Bosh, Stoudemire and Boozer, James doesn’t necessarily need to pair with a huge name to win and his a one-man band game is more than capable of leading a group of misfits (as he’s already done) deep in the playoffs. Not that the Nets roster is any slouch but if any of the freebies could come to New Jersey solo and successfully run a group of highly-skilled talents, it’s James.

If it’s not James then maybe Prokhorov should throw his dollars at Memphis restricted free agent Rudy Gay. The 6-foot-9, 23-year-old small forward is coming off averages of 19.6 points and six rebounds and adding him to an already capable squad could form Oklahoma City-like results in the East next year. Gay’s Baltimore ties might force him to consider relocating somewhere closer to home and the Grizzlies are going to let the market set a barometer for Gay but if Prokhorov throws some ridiculous figure out there, Memphis might likely decline to match.

Regardless of which free agents or if any signs with the Nets, with the third pick in the draft and a move to Brooklyn on the horizon, the Nets are clearly a team on the rise in the NBA.

One of our favorite players to debate these days is Jonathan Stewart, the third-year running back for the Carolina Panthers (I need to find a way to write Caaar-ro-lina Paaan-thers like Chris Berman says it). I digress.

Anyway, I believe J-Stew is a beast, and while "stuck" in an ultra-productive platoon with a very talented DeAngelo Williams, he is gifted enough to produce another 1,000+ yard, 10 TD season in 2010. However, in another year, at the ripe ol' age of 24, he will be ready to assume a 1,600+ yards, 16 TD type of role for four to five years.

To support my position, I offer you the following age comparisons:

At 23.6 years old, J-Stew is YOUNGER than:

Chris Johnson, Age 25.0
AD Adrian Peterson, Age: 25.6
MJD Maurice Jones-Drew, Age: 25.6
Ray Rice, Age: 23.8
Jamaal Charles, Age: 23.9
Shonn Greene, Age: 25.1
Montario Hardesty, Age: 23.7 (rookie!)
Matt Forte, Age: 24.9
Steve Slaton, Age: 24.8

And is months older than:
Knowshon Moreno, Age: 23.2
Felix Jones, Age: 23.4
Ryan Matthews, Age: 23.4 (rookie!)
Rashard Mendenhall, Age 23.3
Darren McFadden, Age: 23.1
CJ Spiller, Age: 23.0 (rookie!)

What can we draw from these numbers? While Stewart has logged two full years in the league, he is essentially the same age as Matthews, Spiller, and Hardesty. Matthews and Spiller will be top four selections in most rookie drafts, and Hardesty is a sure-fire first-rounder.

I traded my 2010 Dynasty first-round pick last year (before the 2009 rookie draft) and LenDale White to acquire Stewart (along with a 2010 second-rounder.) That first round pick is now officially 1.05 this year. While I had hoped that pick would be worse (meaning I would have finished higher in the standings), I am still very happy with the trade. The big four in this draft - Dez Bryant, Jahvid Best, and the aforementioned Spiller and Matthews - will certainly be gone by the fifth pick. While there are some decent backs left (like Hardesty) at five, there is no talent or situation that matches Stewart's. I would still trade out of the number two rookie pick today to nab Stewart.

On May 7, I informed my faithful readers who has been playing well at AAA Fresno.  Thus, this post will provide an update on the Giants’ AA, A+ and full season A teams.

AA Richmond Flying Squirrels (Eastern League).  As hard as it may seem to believe (at least to those who closely follow minor league baseball), Richmond is appearing to be nearly as difficult a place to hit as Norwich, Connecticut was—at least for Giants’ prospects.  Clay Timpner is hitting a ridiculous .459 with a 1.079 OPS, but he is a 27 year old player who has spent the previous two and a half seasons at AAA Fresno.  He had a bad year in 2009, which got him demoted down to AA, but he’s really too good a player to be playing at the AA level.  Unfortunately, he’s not major league material either.  He won’t have a major league career unless he gets very lucky.

Richmond’s best looking position player prospect so far in 2010 is catcher Jackson Williams.  His .790 OPS is the best on the team after Timpner among those who’ve played regularly.  He was the 43rd player selected in the 2007 Draft, and he’s 24 this year, which still makes him a legitimate prospect, at least as a catcher.

Back-up catcher Tyler LaTorre has a robust .920 OPS in limited playing time, but he’s already 27 this year.  Left fielder Thomas Neal and shortstop Brandon Crawford, both of whom looked so good at A+ San Jose last year and are still young, have shown signs of life this year, but need to pick it up considerably before they’ll deserve promotions to AAA.

22-year-old Aussie Clayton Tanner has a 2.03 ERA after six starts, but his ratios are unimpressive.  24 year old Daryl Maday is 5-0 with a 1.78 ERA, but his ratios, while better than Tanner’s, are not as good as his record and ERA would suggest.  David Mixon has fine ratios to go with his 2.27 ERA, but he’s already 25, which is pushing it for a pitcher still in AA.  Mike McDonald also has good ratios to go with his 2.70 ERA, but at age 28, he’s no kind of prospect.

The Flying Squirrels have many relievers with fine ERAs (Richmond is obviously a good place to pitch), but they either aren’t particularly young or their ratios aren’t impressive.  The best in terms of being a prospect is probably 25 year old Craig Whitaker, who has a 1.80 ERA and 17 Ks in 15 innings pitched.

A+ San Jose Giants. The top hitter, by far, is 22-year-old 1B Brandon Belt.  He’s hitting a ridiculous .407 with a 1.142 OPS.

Belt was the Giants’ fifth round pick last year out of Texas.  That’s a top-flight college program, so it’s hard to tell if Belt’s performance at the A+ level really means anything.  Still, it’s a fine start for his first experience in the pros.  If Belt’s OPS is still over 1.000 a month from today, it will probably be time for the Giants to promote him to AA Richmond.

23-year-old outfielder Juan Perez deserves a mention—he has a .902 OPS.  21-year-old 3B Charlie Culberson, who was the 51st player selected in the 2007 Draft, also deserves a mention—he’s hitting only .242 but has a .733 OPS.

Unfortunately, highly regarded 20-year-old shortstop prospect Ehire Adrianza looks completely over-matched at the A+ level.  He’s hitting .185 with a .500 OPS so far.

The most impressive starter for San Jose so far in 2010 is, in my mind, 22-year-old Eric Surkamp.  His ERA is 3.10, which isn’t great, but he has 28 Ks and only 5 walks in 29 innings pitched.  Surkamp caught my eye last year when he stuck out 169 and only walked 39 in 131 innings pitched a class A Augusta.  He's at a tender age, and his strikeouts and ratios are what you want to see from your pitching prospects.

Starters Craig Westcott and Justin Fitzgerald both have ridiculous 0.78 ERAs after a combined nine starts.  Unfortunately, both are already 24 years old.  I like Fitzgerald, who went to UC Davis, better than Westcott.  Fitzgerald has better ratios so far this year, and he struck out 63 in 56 relief innings pitched at class A Augusta last year.

Although he has an ugly 7.29 ERA after five starts, Aaron King is worth a mention, because he is only 21-years-old and has 25 Ks in 21 IP.  He might amount to something if he can find his command.

The SJ Giants’ bullpen looks weak this year, and no one impresses me enough so far to merit a mention.

A Augusta GreenJackets. Augusta is another very difficult place to hit, and most of the GreenJackets who are hitting so far are already 23 or 24-years-old, which is too old to be much of a prospect at this level.  The team’s top hitter so far in 2007 is 23-year-old 1B Luke Anders, who has six HRs and an .877 OPS.

The top prospect on the GreenJackets is 18 year old catcher Thomas Joseph.  Joseph was the 55th player selected in last year’s draft, and although he’s only hitting .243 and strikes out too much, he’s tied for the team lead with six HRs and has a very respectable .741 OPS, at least for an 18 year old catcher playing his home games in a pitchers’ park.

I also like the GreenJackets’ back-up catcher, 20-year-old Venezuelan Hector Sanchez.  He’s had two very strong seasons in the low minors the last two years, but is in the unfortunate situation of being stuck behind a top prospect this year in Augusta.  Sanchez is hitting only .229 in limited playing time, but he has a .765 OPS thanks to four HRs in only 35 ABs.

The GreenJackets have a lot of fine young arms in the 20 to 22-year-old range.  So many, in fact, that I think I’ll wait until tomorrow to tell you about them. 

Teams enjoyed some much needed practice time and got their first real look at many of their drafted rookies as they integrated them into their offensive and defensive playbooks.  Here are some news bits from various sources across the country.

The Titans have clear confidence in backup RB Javon Ringer.  The former Michigan State product showed promise last year before injuries took control of his season. With LenDale White being gone, Ringer needs only to be beat our LeGarrette Blount and Stafon Johnson to be the backup to CJ2K.

Dez Bryant reported to Cowboys camp out of shape.  No surprise here with the combination of a year and a half away from football and a less than stellar offseason of working out.  However, he did make some spectacular plays in between his dry heaving.  Michael Irvin also gave him a tongue  lashing about wearing #88 and it’s importance.  After the lecture, Bryant caught a 75 yard TD pass in practice.

Demaryius Thomas has chosen the same number in Denver, but it holds much less significance.  He and Eric Decker were both unable to participate this weekend due to their injuries.

Speaking of the Broncos, don’t be surprised if Tim Tebow sees the field a little more than you’d expect this season.  He’s been going through agility drills and ball carrying drills this weekend.  Some special packages may be coming his way this year.

Golden Tate had a pretty good camp, most insiders say he was outplayed by another FA receiver, none other than Mike Williams.  Williams is down almost 35 pounds from last year and giving one more shot to resurrecting his career.

Limas Sweed may have ruptured his achilles tendon this morning in what is really a make or break year for him.  If it’s significant (and from all indications, it is), move Emmanuel Sanders up a notch.

Brandon Lafell had an inconsistent weekend.  On Friday, he dropped a bunch of passes, but caught most everything on Saturday and looked much more the part of a starting WR.

Speaking of Mike Williams, the other one had a great weekend, catching everything in sight.  He has first round ability and a clear path to a starting job if he can put his past behind him…then again, isn’t the past always behind you? Well, anyway, he can’t get in trouble right now.

Anthony Dixon has had some trouble missing assignments and staying upright at 49ers camp.

Dezmon Briscoe admitted the Bengals were his favorite team before the draft.  Uh oh.  Could be a bad sign, especially since Briscoe showed up 10 pounds overweight.  Marvin Lewis has praised Jermaine Gresham for his “NFL readiness.”

Some reports are surfacing that the Browns don’t see Colt McCoy as a long-term solution as their QB1, more as their QB2, and that they’ll see how next year’s draft plays out with QB as a possibility.  Personally, I don’t buy this quite yet.

The Giants are still impressed with Phillip Dillard, who could serve as the team’s MLB this season.

Darrius Heyward-Bey and Darren McFadden have both looked good this week, with Bey showing a much stronger commitment.

Joe McKnight is staying an extra week because he showed up to Jets camp extremely out of shape.  That just seems so…USC.

Looks like Byron Leftwich is in the lead over Dennis Dixon to start the season as the Steelers’ QB.

Brandon Marshall has been a constant presence at the Dolphins facailities.  No word yet on if he’s slipped on any McDonald’s bags there.

Sam Bradford looked poised and calm during Rams practice.

Andre Roberts has been inconsistent at the Cardinals minicamp.  He’s made some good plays, but has spoiled them with lots of dropped passes.

Look for Dexter McCluster to see action just about everywhere this year.  he’s been spotted returning, running and catching at Chiefs practice.

Jimmy Clausen has been receiving praise as “the most accurate” passer at Panthers camp.

Kassim Osgood really thought he had a chance to play WR in Jacksonville, but it looks like that ship is sailing quickly.

IDPers need to keep their eye on Mario Haggan of Denver.  He looks to have the inside track to an ILB spot there.