People seem to be pretty high on this team that only won 23 games a year ago. Of course that was three more than this team won in their final season as the Seattle Supersonics. Since the team was sold, and GM Sam Presti came to town, only one player Nick Collison remains with the team. Presti has gone through a somewhat painful tear it down and rebuild it plan that has suffered a lot of growing pains. This is a team that is winning over the fans in Oklahoma, since they are the only pro team there, but this is a team with some more work to do.
This is a team with a lot of issues. They have a lot of payroll tied up in aging players, their farm system is depleted, and they played so poorly in 2009 they got their manager fired. Cecil Cooper was let go with two weeks left in the regular season, but the Astros are looking to find some direction. With one great hitter, and a bunch of really good hitters this is a team that needs to add some pieces for 2010, but with a bare farm system it will be hard to trade, which means this team would have to find talent on the free agent market meaning the payroll is going to have to go up if they want to improve.
NASCAR will open its Hall of Fame next year in Charlotte, North Carolina, and today they announced the first Hall of Fame class. In all 25 notable NASCAR stars were nominated and after a fan vote, and a lengthy selection process hat was far more complicated than it needed to be NASCAR has its first five NASCAR Hall of Famers. Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., King Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr., and Junior Johnson have been elected.
Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri will be out four to eight weeks after having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and the team waived starting defensive tackle Ed Johnson on Wednesday to make room for a new kicker.
Defending champion Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong will play out the next chapter of their Tour de France rivalry against the majestic backdrop of the Pyrenees.
Depending on how one choose to look at this team; the Golden State Warriors are a young team on their way up, or a NBA team that will have to outscore their opponents because they have no one who can play defense. Many of their fans are upset that the team parted ways with GM Chris Mullin. Mullin was the most popular player in this team's history and he has been replaced by Larry Riley, who happens to be a friend of Head Coach Don Nelson.
The 2009 season was a terrible disappointment for the New York Mets. They opened a new ballpark, and yet due to injuries they struggled through a very long 162 games. While it is kind of hard to right off an entire MLB season due to bad luck maybe that is exactly what happened to the Mets this year. Their ownership was involved in a financial scam, the management was out of step, and there were many errors and of course the injuries. This is a far better team than their record showed, but as Bill Parcels says, "you are what your record says you are."
What's new at the Olympics? For a non-Olympic year, the Olympics have been in the news a lot lately. There's the controversy over whether female ski jumpers should be allowed to compete at the next Winter Games, the debate over which new sports should be added to the programme and the choice of venue for the 2016 Games.
Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and 2009 winner Alberto Contador will be on hand Wednesday when organizers unveil the 2010 route for cycling's biggest race.
