The Yankees and Rodriguez

Being on the sidelines after a right hip surgery since March 9, Rodriguez was not given a final and definite return date to play again with the Yankees, so being able to make those homeruns twice, and playing seven innings in the field for the second straight day of games, during practice, without doubt, made a very, very top quality day for Mr. Rodriguez, indeed.

Describing Rodriguez’ great performance during practice, it was evaluated and assessed as going for a three for six, including two homeruns to center. This even included a clear 40 - foot high batter’s eye for his two homeruns.

Rodriguez had two plays at third, was able to field a grounder, and even made a spin move and was able to throw out Rios. “It was just a great day for him”, NY manager, Girardi, was heard saying.

This uncertain return would most likely be moved a lot closer, because of Posada’s strained hamstring, putting him in the disabled list. Girardi was asked of a specific date on Rodriguez’ return, to which he laughingly replied, any date would be ok as long as it would be before May 15.

When Rodriguez was asked about his official date to return, a no comment was given out.
He also gave the same comment when a book was made public. This book was the case about Rodriguez, being the three – time AL MVP, who was purported to have used steroids when he was in high school, and was purported again, to may have taken HGH when he was with the Yankees.

That would seem like a complete turn around from those really great talks about his performance to such talks about his history, and negative medical history.

Where Amazing Happens Moment - (05/11/2009) Cavaliers vs. Hawks and Nuggets vs. Mavs Game 4

Phil Jackson - The Best One in Bulls History?

Phil Jackson (born September 17, 1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana) - Jackson is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His reputation was established as head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 through 1998; during his tenure, Chicago won six NBA titles. His next team, the Los Angeles Lakers, won three consecutive NBA titles from 2000-2002. In total, Jackson has won 9 NBA titles as a coach, a record shared with Red Auerbach.

Jackson is known for his use of Tex Winter’s triangle offense as well as a holistic approach to coaching that is influenced by Eastern philosophy, earning him the nickname “Zen Master”. (Jackson cites Robert Pirsig’s book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance as one of the major guiding forces in his life. His fond admiration for the book is the source of his nickname “Zen Master.”) He also applies Native American spiritual practices as documented in his book “Sacred Hoops.” He is the author of several candid books about his teams and his basketball strategies. Jackson is also a recipient of the state of North Dakota’s Roughrider Award. Jackson leads the 2007 class of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Jackson regularly attempts to alter his appearance so the media cannot use old photos of him for recent news, and, true to his word, as of September 2008, he was no longer sporting his illustrious, white mustache, which saw 9 NBA titles.

Chicago Bulls

Jackson was hired as assistant coach for the Bulls in 1987, and promoted to head coach in 1989. It was around this time that he met Tex Winter and became a devotee of Winter’s triangle offense. Over 9 seasons, Jackson coached the Bulls to 6 championships in impressive fashion, twice winning three straight championships over separate three year periods. The “three-peat” was the first since the Boston Celtics won eight titles in a row from 1959 through 1966.

Jackson and the Bulls made the playoffs every year, and failed to win the title only three times. Jackson lost in his first season in 1990. Michael Jordan’s first retirement after the 1993 season marked the end of the first “three-peat,” and although Jordan returned just before the 1995 playoffs, it was not enough to prevent a playoff exit to the rising Orlando Magic.

The chemistry developed between Jackson and the players was one of the best in NBA history. The respect shared between the players and the coach was the key factor in being able to build up a dynasty. While Jordan was already long considered the most dominant player, Jackson was also credited as one of the most important elements in the Bulls’ championships and his work earned him league-wide recognition. His relationship with Michael Jordan is considered to be one of the greatest player-coach relationship in NBA history, with Jackson claiming multiple times that Jordan was the greatest player he ever coached.

Regardless of the success Jackson shared with his team, the tension between Jackson and Bulls general manager Jerry Krause grew. Some believed that Krause felt under-recognized for his work in building the Bulls up into a championship team, being envious of the attention received by Jordan and Jackson. In particular, Krause believed that Jackson was indebted to him because Jackson received his first NBA coaching job from Krause. Some examples of the tension include:

During the summer of 1997, Krause’s stepdaughter got married. All of the Bulls assistant coaches and their wives were invited to the wedding, as was Tim Floyd, then the head coach at Iowa State, whom Krause was openly courting as Jackson’s successor (and who would eventually succeed Jackson). Jackson and his wife at the time, June, were not even told of the wedding, much less invited, only finding out about the event when the wife of assistant Bill Cartwright asked June what she would be wearing to the reception.  After contentious negotiations between Jackson and the Bulls in that same period, Jackson was signed for the 1997-98 season only. Krause announced the signing in what Chicago media widely considered to be a mean-spirited manner, emphasizing that Jackson would not be rehired even if the Bulls won the 1997-98 title. That triggered an argument between Jackson and Krause in which Jackson essentially told Krause that he seemed to be rooting for the other side and not the Bulls. At that point, Krause told Jackson, “I don’t care if it’s 82-and-0 this year, you’re fucking gone.”    Krause publicly portrayed Jackson as a two-faced character who had very little regard for his assistant coaches, a perception that certain Krause associates in the Bulls organization had sought to spread about Jackson. At the height of the hard feelings in the spring of 1998, one of Krause’s scouts went to press row in Chicago’s United Center to explain to a reporter the insidious nature of Jackson’s ego. (excerpt from the Phil Jackson biography Mindgames)

After the Bulls’ final title of the Jordan era in 1998, Jackson left the team vowing never to coach again. However, after taking a year off, he decided to give it another chance with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1999 to 2004 and again from 2005 to the present.