Dave Smith

Very interesting column I found this afternoon:

Man to receive lengthy prison term

SACRAMENTO — A Sacramento man is facing a three-year prison term for stealing Lance Armstrong’s bicycle while the seven-time Tour de France winner was competing in California.
Sacramento County court documents show 40-year-old Lee Crider is scheduled to be sentenced Monday for burglary and theft. He pleaded no contest June 1 to stealing Armstrong’s time trial bike and two other bikes from a trailer after the Sacramento prologue to the Tour of California in February.
Another man, 33-year-old Dung Hoang Le of Elk Grove, pleaded no contest June 1 to receiving stolen property. He has been sentenced to 90 days in jail, to be served on the sheriff’s work project, and three years’ probation.
A police report says he bought Armstrong’s $10,000 bike, a Trek Livestrong 1274, from Crider for $200. He later turned it in to police.

The reason I found this fascinating was because of the recent 24-day prison sentence Donte Stallworth received for commiting murder….

I know he wasn’t sentenced for murder, but in my opinion if you drive drunk and run a man over, it’s murder….

I guess if you’re really out to get someone, there’s now a way out. Just have a couple of belts, find the person you want to whack and run them over. Why bother with a gun or a knife, because in those cases you’re looking at a possible date with the needle….

But if you get drunk and kill someone, you’re looking at a month, tops…..

Just ask Leonard Little and Stallworth….

Hell, I did 33 wonderful days in L.A. County Jail; for three unpaid speeding tickets. I guess I was a far bigger threat to society. After all, what’s killing someone compared to not paying a ticket?

So Lee Crider steals Lance Armstrong’s bike and is looking at three years, probably at San Quentin or Folsom, and Little and Stallworth do a month at a glorified country club….

Sure, the bike is worth $10,000 and Crider should go to jail, but three years? While people literally get away with murder and do a month?….

This is some system of justice we have….

Just when I thought the Lakers had put a stranglehold on the Western Conference for the next five years, the Spurs go out and make a great trade which puts them right back in the World Championship picture….

In return for only Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas, the Spurs get versatile small forward Richard Jefferson from the Bucks….

The Spurs gave up virtually nothing, and in return get a player who averaged 20 points, shot 40% from the three-point line and is one of the best defenders in the NBA. What a steal….

Another reason San Antonio is arguably the best organization in sports.. Not only have they won four championships in the past decade, they’re also always at or near the salary cap, which frees them to make deals like this….

All of a sudden, the Big Three has turned into the Big Four. A starting line-up including Tim Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Jefferson is scary. And how about their depth? With Drew Gooden, Michael Finley, George Hill and Roger Mason coming off the bench, this team is scary….

Yes, they need to do better than Matt Bonner at center, but with Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford running things, help is probably on the way….

And if they weren’t deep enough already, the Buck will certainly release Bowen and Oberto, because if they do so in the next few weeks they don’t have to pay them. As for Thomas, the Bucks have no interest and will buy him out….

This means in addition to getting Jefferson, the Spurs will be free to resign Bowen, Oberto and Thomas at reduced rates. I would assume they’ll bring back Bowen and maybe one or two of the others….

So why would the Bucks do this?

Well, they were hit as hard as any team in the NBA by the bad economy and needed to get out of Jefferson’s contract, which pays him $30M over the next two years. They also need to resign their tweo best young players, Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions….

So in reality, the Bucks traded Jefferson for Villanueva and Sessions…..

This will get them $10M under the cap and keep their young talent in house. So it was also a pretty good deal for them….

But San Antonio made out like bandits and should be commended for again making a bold move to possibly win another championship….

This is why you can’t stand pat after winning a championship. On paper, the Spurs are now as good as the Lakers and now Mitch Kupchack and company need to make sure of three things:

1) Make sure they get a player in Thursday’s draft who can make an impact; hopefully a defensive guard with a quick first step.

2) Re-sign Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom. With Jefferson in San Antonio, it’s imperative the Lakers bring both of them back.

3) Bring in a mid-level guy who can contribute.

The ball is on your court, Dr. Buss….

When Andrew Bynum went down with his second serious knee injury in two years, I was certain we’d seen the last of young Andrew this season. I also believed the Lakers were going to get to the finals and lose….

Well, a funny thing happened on the way to getting hammered again in Boston; Bynum recovered more quickly than expected and the Lakers are now the clear favorites to throw a parade in June….

And not only is he back, he’s playing at a level close to where he was before the injury….

At 21 years of age, Bynum has the potential to become the NBA’s best center in a year or two. Hell, he might get there by next season if he stays healthy and focused….

Even though the Lakers are on the verge of another championship, there’s one more thing Phil Jackson needs to do; replace Trevor Ariza in the starting line-up with Lamar Odom….

Odom plays better when he starts and Trevor has made it known he’s more comfortable coming off the bench, so why not get the best out of both of them?….

When the Lakers made the Pao Gasol deal last season, the first thing I though about was the long, athletic front line of Gasol, Bynum and Odom. Unfortunately, because of the injuries to Bynum and Phil’s stubborn nature, we haven’t seen it yet….

Of course, if the Lakers win the title nobody will care who starts….

After the season, it looks like Jerry Buss is going to have a tough decision to make: Choose between Ariza and Odom….

With Kobe opting out this summer and getting a new, richer deal, Bynum’s new contract beginning next year and both Odom and Ariza becoming free agents, it doesn’t seem possible to bring them all back….

I can’t imagine Dr. Buss paying a huge luxury tax in this economy….

Unless Lamar is willing to take less to stay here, it would seem the choice would be Ariza….

Is he a better player than Odom? No, not yet. But he’s seven years younger, a better defender and looks like he’s going to be a very good player for a long time. Also, Ariza has made it clear he is not going to accept a home town discount and Mark Cuban is already talking about going after him….

Best case scenario? With the economy in a shambles and teams shying away from big contracts, Odom’s legendary inconsistency will cause teams to shy away and he won’t get his big, long term deal. He turns 30 next year and maybe won’t have any choice but return and take something like 3 years and $27-30M….

As for Ariza, Cuban is already talking about five years and $55M, which will probably mean the Lakers would say goodbye….

As much as I like Ariza, I don’t like him that much…. Now, it’s on to the playoffs