SPANISH FOOTBALL - "LA LIGA" - ROUND 24 FIXTURE

Round 24 of "La Liga" this weekendhas the big local Madrid derby in play.ATLETICO DE MADRID plays REALMADRID in what promises to be apassionate match.But there are many others to look forward to; heres thefixture:R. Sociedad - Deportivo (Sat.)At.Madrid - Real Madrid (Sat.)Villareal - MallorcaLevante - ZaragozaBetis - RecreativoGetafe - Seville FCCelta - RacingOsasuna - EspanyolNastic - Valencia

This is why I thought Dwyane Wade was the MVP

With Dwyane Wade getting injured, possibly for the year, I think it will showcase why Dwyane Wade was my first-half MVP.

As of now, the Heat are 25-20 with Wade (and largely without Shaq), 1-8 without him. Wade created absolutely everything for Miami. He scored 28.8 PPG, dished out 7.9 APG, and drew the defense to him. Without him, they won't be able to score. Sure, they scored 100 against the Mavs on Thursday, but the Mavs had that game wrapped up by half.

Who will create shots for the Heat? Jason Williams? Shaq? It's going to get ugly, because this is a bad team without Wade.

Bet the house, if Wade misses the rest of the season, the Heat will not win more than 35 or 36 games this year, and they will miss the playoffs, even in the weak Eastern Conference. To win 36 games they'd have to finish 10-19, and I really don't think they'll even be able to do that. You heard it here first.

Coors Field

I've always been a little fascinated by Coors Field because it's so different from anything we have in most sports. Here's a stadium that just completely changes the game and the style of play of the teams, as well as the way the team is set up. I mean, think about it... in basketball, football, etc. every court of field is exactly the same. Not so in the MLB, and Coors is the prime example of that because of the thin air. It's really quite interesting. Also, I've been there once, so that was cool.

So got to thinking about the best way for the Rockies to utilize the field, as has no doubt been thought up by them. But in case it hasn't, I give you full permission to use my advice Colorado Rockies (also, I am looking for a job)!

The Rockies can definitely take advantage of the high altitude in Denver, but not in the way everyone thinks. Most people think HRs when they think of Coors Field, but that's a little short-sighted.

To combat the high altitude, the walls are deep at Coors Field. Consequently, the outfielders are usually playing very deep. So what does that do? It leaves the gaps wide open, and allows for lots of extra base hits.

So what's the best way for the Rockies to take advantage of the high altitude? Get doubles hitters, because they should just be able to go nuts in Coors. And this is basically what is happening. Garrett Atkins hit 48 doubles last year, Matt Holliday had 45, and Todd Helton had 40. Good doubles hitters thrive in Coors.

Pitching-wise, you have to find groundball pitchers, because anything hit in the air will sail. But, you can't hit homeruns off a groundball.

So this is how the Rockies can take advantage of Coors Field... doubles hitters and groundball pitchers. It's a tough ballpark to play in, but if you can effectively utilize, you can make yourselves tough to beat there.

Agree? Disagree?

UEFA CUP. GOODNIGHT FOR SPANISH TEAMS

Four Spanish teams played tonight the 2º leg matches of theUEFA CUP & all 4 qualified. The most dramatic match wasthe Osasuna vs Girondins game that went into extra time &Osasuna scored in the very last minute!SEVILLE FC qualified with a 1-0 over STEAUA BUCHARESTwith a goal by KERZHAKOV - pictured below - in the 45m.CELTA DE VIGO also qualified winning SPARTAK MOSCOW2-1 with goals from NENE (

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE. VIDEO OF DAVID VILLA´s GOAL, REAL MADRID vs BAYERN MUNICH & BARÇA vs LIVERPOOL

SFS has had requests from its readers to see the greatDAVID VILLA free kick scored last night againstINTER MILAN. Added SFS includes the Video of theREAL MADRID 3-2 victory over BAYERN. Enjoy!C1 Inter-Valence :1-1 Villa 21/02/07

One Step Forward - Two Steps Back

In a blog post three weeks ago, I asked the question whether progress on the minority NFL head coach hiring front had been realized. Now three weeks later, the answer to that question appears to be “probably not.” With the hiring of Norv Turner a few days ago by the San Diego Chargers, and the recent hiring of Wade Phillips by the Dallas Cowboys, we have two white coach retreads, who are both two time losers. Both Phillips and Turner have been hired as head coaches again after literally failing in previous stints as head coaches. Turner has posted a career won-loss record of 58 wins and 82 losses in head coaching stints with the Washington D.C. professional football club and the Oakland Raiders (overseeing winning seasons in only three of nine seasons as head coach). Phillips has posted a pedestrian career won-loss record of 48 wins and 39 losses in head coaching stints with the Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos (as well as an interim stretch with the Atlanta Falcons). That each man has been hired as a head coach once again, for a third time, is truly confounding.

Both the San Diego Chargers and the Dallas Cowboys followed the Rooney Rule, described in this space several weeks ago. Dallas interviewed at least three minority candidates, while the Chargers interviewed at least two. Mike Singletary and Ron Rivera, in fact, have been interviewed by a number of NFL franchises in the past two years, but have yet to land a top job. Why are twice fired, often times losing white coaches being recycled into virtual “winning” situations while prolific minority assistant coaches are being passed over (many would agree that the San Diego job is the best one in the NFL, while the Dallas job has the look of a sure winner)?

The hiring of Mike Tomlin by the Pittsburgh Steelers, with the Steelers one year removed from a Super Bowl title, appears to be one of the only times an African American head coach has been hired to coach a team poised to win, rather than being hired to resurrect a moribund franchise (see Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay, Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati, Romeo Crennel in Cleveland, Dennis Green in Arizona, Lovie Smith in Chicago, etc.). While Dennis Green, Ray Rhodes and Tony Dungy have been recycled (hired a second time) after being fired previously, both Green and Dungy had winning and exemplary records with the teams by which they were fired (Rhodes was 29-34-1 with the Eagles). It strains reality to imagine that an African American head coach with a 58-82 won loss record (exactly the same as Norv Turner) would ever be hired again as a head coach in the National Football League.

Still, the NFL clubs are owned by wealthy white males. They will continue to hire retread candidates and pray that one will turn into the “recycled” Bill Belichick who was run out of town after mostly failing for several seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Will the Rooney Rule be enough to break this outdated reality?

Links and stuff

Since it's been a long day and I don't really feel like, well, writing anything, I thought I'd do the next best thing... link to good stuff. Subjectively speaking.

First off, I put some cool stuff (I think it's cool at least) up at Sports Videos, specifically I have started up a Gus Johnson section. The man is good.

Is it really only 21 more days to March Madness? The best time of the year!

Here's something I know Josh over the Double-A Zone was really excited about: The 3-Minute Drill. Check it out if you get a chance. And just check out the Double-A Zone in general. It's not easy to cover all divisions and all sports of the NCAA, but Josh does a great job on touching on a lot of different, interesting topics.

You may as well go check out Deadspin... I guarantee you'll find something interesting over there, or I'll refund your money.

Just Call Me Juice is already calling an early round Ohio St. exit from the Big Dance... and there's definitely some merit there. Let me also take the time to announce that Just Call Me Juice is becoming one of my favorite blogs for quality college basketball action.

I know you've always wondered what the wackiest baseball injuries of the 90s were... well, now you know.

This is a little older, but The Big Picture's interview with Dan Shanoff (former Daily Quickie writer now with his own blog) was one of the most fascinating things I've read in a while. I implore you to read it, because it's excellent.

Norv Turner... luckiest coach on Earth.

Enjoy these links... I'll try to do better the next time.