David Hein's Blog

Posted by David Hein

European clubs have long complained about having to free up their players for national team duty. And many a club has been aggrivated when their players return with injuries.

But Italian giants AC MIlan took things way too far when they called for the U.S. Soccer Federation to pay compensation for defender Oguchi Onyewu, who tore the patellar tendon in his left knee and could be out six months.

"I'm very angry because once again the national teams take players and we lose out due to injuries," AC Milan chief executive officer Adriano Galliani told Italian media October 15, 2009.

"This is a problem that needs to be resolved. We at Milan are expecting compensation from the American federation. We can't pay a player who can't play for six months."

Of course AC Milan is disappointed about losing Onyewu, who signed on a three-year contract in July. But this is a serious joke.

Galliani - and no other Italian club CEO - would not even think about asking the Italian federation for compensation if an Italian player of his got hurt while playing for the Italian national team. And they wouldn't go after the Brazilian federation if a Brazilian came back with an injury.

So why go after the USSF?

It just goes to show how little respect Galliani has for American soccer, which is quite disappointing.

And it seems fitting that it was Galliani who made these comments as it was Galliani who engineered the crazy signing of David Beckham away from the Los Angeles Galaxy.

It should not be surprising if in the future, the USSF encourages all American players to avoid AC Milan because of this latest incident.

Posted by David Hein

"I'm not desperate to sign a contract extension. I still have one year remaining in my contract for 2010 and a club option for 2011. I leave the rest in God's hands," Pujols told a Dominican radio station (CDN 92.5 FM) Wednesday during an interview on the sports program "Manana Deportiva." - espn.com

Fans of every other major league team had their ears perk up after hearing that news. It would be a strange sight to see Pujols in another uniform. As a Cubs fan, it wouldn't be a bad thing as it would possibly make it easier to cheer for him - though he is probably the best player in the game.

Still, it's extremely hard to picture him in any other uniform. He says he wants to play for a title contender. And obviously he would command a lot of money. So that does not leave a lot of teams - Yankees? Mets? Dodgers? Red Sox? Angels?

Yankees with Teixeira are out. Mets could be an option if they get healthy for next season - could LaRussa and Pujols hook up together in Citifield? The Dodgers would love to have that big bat. As would the Angels, though Kendriy Morales is showing he is a star in the making.

That leaves the Red Sox, who coincidentally lost out in the Teixeira sweepstakes. How good could Boston be if they get Pujols? That's hard to imagine. And they have the players - hitting and pitching prospects - to even trade for King Albert.

Or he stays in St. Louis and I still have a problem cheering for him - as a desperate Cubs fan.

Posted by David Hein

How many anyone have a problem with the conclustion of the 2008-09 German Bundesliga season?

Wolfsburg lead the league with 63 points and a 30-goal goal difference while second place and defending champions Bayern Munich also have 63 points and a 28-goal goal difference. Hertha Berlin are just one point back and streaking Stuttgart are just one point further behind.

All that with just two games left in the season.

And this race is wide open.

Here is a breakdown of the final two opponents for each team:

Wolfsburg: at Hannover and home vs Werder Bremen

Bayern Munich: at Hoffenheim and home vs Stuttgart

Hertha Berlin: home vs Schalke and at Karlsruhe

Stuttgart: home vs Cottbus and at Bayern Munich

Just looking at the schedule, it would seem like Wolfsburg have the easiest road. Hannover are safe from relegation and Werder Bremen stuck in the mid-table and will be right in the middle of the UEFA Cup and German Cup finals.

Bayern face a Hoffenheim team looking to finish their season strong after a nightmare second half and a side which suffered a huge loss at Bayern in December. And Stuttgart obviously will be a huge test.

Hertha take on a Schalke team in free fall and a Karlsruhe side which will almost certainly have been relegated.

And Stuttgart probably have the toughest road. Cottbus will be fighting for their first division lives in a thrilling relegation fight. And then there is the huge matchup at Bayern.

For those looking for a pick who will win the title, it would probably be safest to put money on Wolfsburg. But again, this race is wide open. And football fans have to love that.

Posted by David Hein

NBA, get ready for Ricky Rubio!

Europe, once again another top youngster is leaving the Old Continent for the riches and fame of the NBA.

Ricky Rubio, Spain's 18-year-old playmaking sensation, has decided to make himself available for the 2009 NBA Draft in June. The DKV Joventut point guard really has nothing to lose and everything to gain with his decision. He already has achieved pretty much everything he can and developed his game far enough along that he can now face the next challenge of facing the world's best on a nightly basis.

Sure he could stay in Joventut for one more season and try to help DKV to a European club championship - either the Euroleague or EuroCup. Or he could do the right thing for a talent like him and go to the NBA.

Rubio has already played against players more than double his age since he entered the Spanish ACB league. And during the 2006-07 Euroleague season, he played as a 16-year-old in the best basketball league outside the NBA - some Europeans would even argue that the Euroleague is better than the NBA. And during that season, Rubio had the 32-year-old Elmer Bennett as his teammate and lead point guard from which to learn the ropes.

Since then Rubio, who people unfairly compare him to Pete Maravich because of his similar looks, has established himself as a defensive ace and a strong playmaker with excellent decision-making and passing skills. His scoring has taken somewhat of a back seat but the youngster knows how to score as he proved by dominating the U16 European Championship in August 2006, scoring 51 points to go with 24 rebounds, 12 assists and 7 steals.

It may take him some time to build up the confidence - and the jumpshot - to be a quality scorer in the NBA. But Rubio will make his mark with his defense and passing skills.

Some experts believe Rubio will be picked second in the draft behind Oklahoma's power forward Blake Griffin. Regardless of where he goes, the NBA team will get a polish product with unlimited potential.

Posted by David Hein

Talk about fun! 37 minutes of my morning Saturday was spent watching a replay of the Cleveland Indians' historic 14-run second inning against the New York Yankees.

Thanks to the wonderful product of MLBTV, I was able to start my day off in fine baseball fashion.

There are two types of baseball most fans love - the 1-0 pitchers battle and the slugfest. And the Indians certainly threw down the gloves and battered the Yankees.

This game also confirmed two storylines to the 2009 season. First off, the Cleveland Indians will score some runs - a lot of runs. Especially with Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner apparently nearing their former selves, Cleveland manager Eric Wedge has an offense that can challenge the Texas Rangers. Shin-Soo Choo could have one of the biggest outbreak seasons of 2009. And this may finally the season that players like Ryan Garko and Trevor Crowe live up to their big-time prospect status. If not, more hitting studs are waiting on the farm such as Matt LaPorta.

The other storyline is that the Yankees still have serious pitching questions despite adding mamoth contracts in CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett. Chien-Ming Wang has given up 23 runs in six innings in three starts so far. Joba Chamberlain may be a strong starter but how many innings will he pitch? And what happens if Wang doesn't correct himself? Will Joe Giradi have to go with those young pitchers again - something which did not work well in 2008.

Well, as long as they are bad enough to give up 14 runs in an inning, I will certainly be watching.

Posted by David Hein

Man, oh man, what can you say about Grafite.

Wolfsburg's Brazilian striker scored two more goals to bring his season total to a Bundesliga-best 22 with six more weeks left. With four more goals the 30-year-old will have collected the second-best season in the league since Klaus Allofs tallied 26 times in 1984-85.

Grafite's compatriot Ailton scored 28 goals in the 2003-04 season for Werder Bremen.

Grafite is truly a joy to watch - as is the entire Wolfsburg attack with Edin Dzeko and Zvejzdan Misimovic. Those three along with an extremely solid backline - and not to mention head coach Felix Magath - will lead Wolfsburg to their first ever Bundesliga title.

Magath is doing a great job keeping his men grounded and not talking about winning the championship even though they have a four point lead on reigning champs Bayern Munich.

Regardless of who wins, this Bundesliga season will likely come down to the final game day - you can't wish for anything better and more exciting than that.