The USB Roundtable: LaMarcus Aldridge, Women's World Cup, Antonio Gates, and More

Welcome to the first ever Ultimate Sports Blog Roundtable. Every week (usually Monday or Tuesday) we here at THE USB will look back at the big events of the week and look ahead to the upcoming week, giving our thoughts and "expert opinions" on all the happenings and ongoings. 

Did you watch the Women's World Cup Final?

Dustin James: No. That's not a knock on the game at all, but I just rarely ever have time to watch any sports on television outside of football. I did watch the celebration at the end though, so that has to count for something? No?

Jeremy Lambert: I watched the first 17 minutes, which meant I watched Team USA take a 4-0 lead, figured things were well in hand, and then went back to watching Netflix. Also, I tuned back in to see the celebration. I was fully prepared to watch the whole 90 minutes, but if one team takes a 4-0 lead in soccer, that's pretty much the end of things, especially given how well Hope Solo and the Team USA defense had been playing all tournament. 

Steve Cook: Hell yeah I did! In fact, that's part of why my contribution was late this week...Sunday night was spent drinking & watching soccer. I'm not an expert on all things soccer, but the World Cup, men's or women's edition, is one of the biggest & best events in sports. The pageantry, the nationalism, the drama is second to none. The great thing about the women's World Cup that puts it closer to the men's event than most equivalent women's sports events is that America is really good at it. Any time you can root for a U.S. American team that's expected to win, you have to jump on the bandwagon, whether you enjoy the sport or not.

I don't think this leads to women's soccer taking over the country more often than every four years, but I don't see the problem with that. It's nice to have a Hope Solo to have around for a bit every four years, then forget about while she's chilling with her family.

Does LaMarcus Aldridge signing with the San Antonio Spurs make them the title favorites this upcoming season?

DJ: No. LaMarcus Aldridge is not that good (LULZ). He's a guy who's going to give you stats, but that's about it. I'm not a bitter Blazers fan here (OK, I'am...so what?), I'm just spitting the truth. How many playoff series' did LaMarcus Aldridge win during his nine years in Portland? One. And he won that one off the back of Damian Lillard. Aldridge is a good NBA player, but he's not a great one and the San Antonio Spurs are about to find that out. Aldridge has absolutely zero leadership skills and he has a personality that's hard to get along with. When things aren't going his way, he's the first guy to check out of a game (he basically quit on the Blazers during the Memphis series and whined his way off the team).

There's a reason Damian Lillard didn't try THAT hard to recruit Aldridge back to the Blazers. While there were reports that Lillard was going to fly to meet with Aldridge, instead he gave him a phone call. Why? Because the more Lillard thought about it, the more I think he was fine moving on without Aldridge. Do you think Lillard is going to do that if he honestly thinks he can win a championship with LA? No. He's going to be on his hands and knees begging for Aldridge's return. Yet, now it seems like he's perfectly content with Aldridge no longer on the team. The Portland fans also seem content to move on as well. Were there millions of people burning Aldridge jersey's like there were in Cleveland when LeBron left? No. Because Aldridge isn't even close to LeBron's level and even the NBA fans know that.

As far as the Spurs championship window is concerned. It will pretty much shut after this year. If the Spurs are going to win a championship with this line-up, they need to be in "WIN NOW" mode next year, because after next season, it could get bad. Once Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili walk away....what's left? LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard? Is that really a better two-some than Aldridge and Lillard were? Aldridge loves a true "back-to-the-basket" center to play alongside. Will he get that in San Antonio? So many people are saying that the LaMarcus Aldridge/San Antonio Spurs is such a perfect marriage, but I think if there's one thing us sports fans know....it's that nothing in sports is perfect.  

JL: The Golden State Warriors still have to be considered the favorites. They are the champs and are bringing back all of their core players. That said, the Spurs are probably second. Greg Popovich, the greatest NBA coach of this era, will mask Aldridge's weaknesses and get the most out of his positives. We always worry about the Spurs getting old, but Tim Duncan is Benjamin Button and Tony Parker still has something left in the tank. Manu is all but useless, but they still have good young players in Kwahi Leonard and Danny Green. 

I don't think Aldridge is as good as he was made out to be in free agency, but he's still one of the better post players in the league and he's going to fit in nicely with the Spurs. 

SC: The Spurs are always title favorites. People try to write them off every single year, but they always seem to make an impact. Even this past year, their first round loss to the Clippers was the best series the entire playoff season.  Pop has that franchise running like a well-oiled machine, and LaMarcus Aldridge knows that going to San Antonio & playing with them is the best way to get championships & anything else he could want. Putting him down low makes the Spurs even more dangerous & extends their run even further.

Is Antonio Gates still a Hall of Famer following his PED suspension?

DJ: Yes. Antonio Gates is one of the most phenomenal players to ever play the tight end position, and I don't care if the guy is taking PED's to extend his career in his old age. What the guy did from 2004-2010 isn't something that most tight ends should be able to achieve in this league. During that time, he was one of the best tight ends in the game and was pretty much uncoverable. Trust me. As a Kansas City Chiefs fan who saw him on the opposite side of the field twice a year, the guy was amazing. 

Now, I know it's a little suspect that he went from 538 yards in 2012 to 800+ receiving yards the last two seasons, and hopefully the truth will be revealed eventually, but I'm not holding it against him. I've long been a believer that athletes should be able to take PED's. If there's a drug out there that makes athletes better and extend's their playing careers....I'm all for every single one of them taking it (right, Daniel Tosh?). That's a debate for a different day though. As far as this debate goes, you can't take away from what Antonio Gates was able to achieve in the beginning of his career just because he reportedly took a pill to keep it going. At least, that's just this man's opinion. 

JL: I'd put him in, but I think voters will keep him out for at least a year. I'm in the same boat as Dustin in that I don't mind players taking PEDs, as long as it's regulated, if it means we get a better product on the field. Gates is a top-10 all-time tight end and really re-defined the position when he came into the league. Voters really look down on PED use though, and could punish Gates for getting busted. Their argument will be that he used PEDs all throughout his career and that all of his numbers are tainted even though that's probably not the case and it's more likely that he, at the age of 35, was looking to extend his career. 

SC: Football writers are a more forgiving & less moralistic bunch than baseball writers, so I think they'll be far kinder to PED users when considering them for Canton than baseball writers have been for their hall. Antonio Gates, along with future first-ballot Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, revolutionized the tight end position & paved the way for guys like Gronk & Jimmy Graham that put up crazy numbers today. Using PEDs towards the end of his career to treat a body that's been through so much doesn't take away from his accomplishments one bit.

Whose to blame for the awkward interview: Colin Cowherd or Jim Harbaugh? 

DJ: I actually had the "pleasure" of listening to this live on my drive to work and I was blown away by how bad it was. This interview was entirely Jim Harbaugh's fault in my opinion. He was very "stand-offish" from the beginning and was giving Colin short answers and was really putting Cowherd on the spot. Colin even told Jim that he didn't think the interview was going very well and cut it off early. Do you really think he's going to do that if he thinks the bad interview is his fault? No. He's going to try and save face so he doesn't get picked apart by other members of the media. 

Colin's job is to be entertaining and ask good questions and he did his job. It's not his fault that Harbaugh is an "interesting" personality and is known as one of the hardest people to get along with in the world of football. There's a reason Harbaugh burned the bridges he did in San Francisco. You can be an asshole when you're a college coach, because it works. Most kids will respect an asshole (out of fear mainly) and will listen to your every word. Professional grown men though? Ya...good luck with that. We knew this was the kind of person Jim Harbaugh is so we shouldn't be surprised when he comes across as extremely unlikeable. It's his thing. Just ask Pete Carroll. 

JL: Harbaugh deserves more of the blame, but it is Cowherd's job as the interviewer to steer things back on course. I thought Cowherd asked some softball questions with weird phrasing, but Harbaugh gave him very little to work with in the form of answers. It seemed pretty clear that Harbaugh doesn't like Cowherd, which makes me wonder why he agreed to do the interview in the first place. 

SC: Can I answer "both"? Seriously though, Cowherd knew what he was getting into when he had Jimmy on. The guy's an odd duck when it comes to pretty much anything other than xs & os. He's not a stock market guy, when when Colin asked him if the Big 10 was a "buy", he thought he meant "bye" as in "bye week". Dude's been crapping on the conference for years, I can see where the confusion sets in. Harbaugh was not on his game & didn't come off well at all, but Cowherd hanging up on him & ripping him after the interview was the epitome of unprofessionalism. Sadly that's what we've come to expect from him & too many of his ESPN cohorts. Athletes & coaches should do interviews with us, we'd treat them with the proper respect.