THE RATASS GAZETTE

“I’m a Milwaukee Bucks fan.” I’ve been repeating that phrase to myself like a mantra recently, trying to break it in, get comfortable with it. That’s because I haven’t always been a Bucks fan. In fact, I just became one a couple days ago. I was a Suns fan growing up, but I wouldn’t call them “my favorite team” anymore. I’m not even sure why, they’re just not. So I needed a team, and I chose the Bucks. And if you need a team, so should you. What’s that you say? The Bucks suck? Well, yes, it’s true they did finish with the worst record in the NBA this year (15-67). The 76ers caught a lot of flak for their futility during their record-tying 26-game losing streak in 2014, but it’s worth noting that they still had a better record than the Bucks at season's end. However, the fact that they're so bad right now is exactly why you should root for them. Huh?  Here are my top 3 reasons to hop on the Bucks bandwagon right now...  1 .   There’s nowhere to go but up. ...

2011 NBA Draft Recap: Three Longhorns Drafted in Round 1, Baffling 2nd-Round Picks, ESPN's Bumbling Coverage, etc... TEXAS ADDS 3 MORE 1ST-ROUNDERS... The Texas Longhorns added 3 more 1st-Rounders to this already impressive list of talent when Tristan Thompson , Jordan Hamilton , and Cory Joseph were all drafted early. That brings the tally up to an incredible nine 1st-Round draft picks in the past nine years! Thompson will see a lot of PT as the Cavs rebuild and he should be productive. Hamilton ended up in Denver and will battle for shots in an already stacked roster. Joseph found a good home with the Spurs. NBA TEAMS THROW AWAY MORE 2ND-ROUND PICKS... I just don't get the strategy behind NBA teams and their 2nd-round picks. How do productive college players such as Matt Howard , Demetrius McCamey , and Matthew Bryan-Amaning go undrafted while international players such as Milan Macvan , Chukwudiebere Maduabum , and Ater Majok get selected? Of course, this h...

My humble advice to ESPN on how to improve their Draft coverage on TV: Have Ryen Russillo host the show and get rid of Stuart Scott. Russillo is fantastic on the Scott Van Pelt Show and the NBA Today podcast. Stu Scott reminds me of Chris Berman, which means I think he's very, very annoying. Keep Jay Bilas as an analyst, but also add Chad Ford and Jimmy Dykes to the desk. Ford ranks prospects all year, and Dykes (a former NBA scout and current college b-ball analyst) should be featured more often, he's very good. At a side stage, have Ric Bucher and Steven A. Smith sit face-to-face across a coffee table in big comfy chairs. Every 5 picks or so, cut to Bucher and Smith so they can debate the best picks so far, trades that happened, who the Knicks should draft, or whatever. Scrap the boring interviews with players and families after each selection. Instead, use that time to focus on upcoming picks. There is only 5 minutes between picks, and ESPN does not spend ...

I like the NBA Draft, and yes, I even like THIS year's NBA Draft. Despite what you might hear from the pundits on TV and radio (who have proclaimed it the worst draft in years... decades... EVER!), the 2011 Draft is not just a bunch of stiffs. Here is a great 2-round Mock Draft from NBADraft.net to look at and see for yourself! There's a lot of guys that will make you go " Oh yeah, that guy WAS good in college. Hmm, that's a pretty good pick! " Here's who I have my eye on: The Texas Trio - Tristan Thompson , Jordan Hamilton , Curtis Joseph .  Texas has produced a LOT of NBA talent in the past decade, and this year just adds to the tally.  Hamilton can really score. He was a chucker as a freshman, but was much improved his sophomore year. Thompson and Joseph only played one year each but both looked very good. Thompson looks like he can play in the post and Joseph has good size (6-4) for a guard. Klay Thompson - If you watched the Pac-10 Tourney (which ...

In case you haven't noticed (and maybe you haven't, I know people have lives and stuff), the University of Texas basketball team under coach Rick Barnes has produced a crap load of NBA players in the past decade. First-rounders, Top 10 picks, Top 2 picks... Texas churns them out year after year. Here's a list of NBA players drafted from UT over the past 10 years:  2010: Rd 1, #19 overall - Avery Bradley - Boston Celtics Rd 1, #24 overall - Damion James - New Jersey Nets Rd 2, #32 overall - Dexter Pittman - Miami Heat 2008: Rd 1, #8 overall - D.J. Augustin - Charlotte Bobcats 2007: Rd 1, #2 overall - Kevin Durant - Seattle Supersonics / OKC Thunder 2006: Rd 1, #2 overall - LaMarcus Aldridge - Portland TrailBlazers Rd 2, #35 overall - P.J. Tucker - Toronto Raptors Rd 2, #42 overall - Daniel Gibson - Cleveland Cavaliers 2004: Rd 2, #38 overall - Royal Ivey - Atlanta Hawks 2003: Rd 1, #8 overall - T.J. Ford - Milwaukee Bucks AT A GLANCE: There...