Wednesday Quick Takes

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for another edition of Quick Takes...

Oscar De La Hoya Retires: The boxer that captured this country's imagination when he won a gold medal at the Olympics in 1992 and won world titles in six different weight classes hung it up yesterday at the age of thirty-six. The last time we saw him in the ring, he was thoroughly beaten by Manny Pacquiao. Maybe thoroughly beaten isn't the right term. Maybe demolished is. The De La Hoya we saw that night was a shell of the fighter he used to be.

One question you have to ask yourself is whether or not you buy his retirement to begin with? After all, this is boxing. Fighters retire and then come back with such frequency it's hard to take retirements seriously. However, I think that De La Hoya truly is done. He's thirty-six, and hasn't been at the top of his game in a very long time.

History will probably remember De La hoya as a great fighter. I will disagree. He was a good fighter who somehow left me as a fan wanting more. Forget about the problems he had with promoters and trainers (he went through more than his share of both). I look at De La Hoya as a fighter who dominated lesser competition but couldn't beat fighters who had the same kind of talent he did.

Yes, he beat some great names while building a 31-0 record, but take a closer look at some of those names. Julio Cesar Chavez was a shell of his old self by the time he and De La Hoya met. Pernell Whitaker, in the eyes of a lot of ringside observers, was robbed of a decision when those two tangled.

Bottom line, De La Hoya couldn't beat other fighters in their prime. He gave away his fight with Felix Trinidad in 1999. He lost twice to Shane Mosley (and I was at the first fight in Los Angeles). Bernard Hopkins knocked him out with a body shot. Floyd Mayweather made him look old and slow. Pacquiao systematically took him apart.

Had he won any of those fights I might look at his career differently. But he didn't, and in my eyes, that takes him down a notch.

Zeke Back Coaching: In case you missed it, Florida International (FIU) hired Isiah Thomas as their head basketball coach yesterday. The last time we heard from Isiah, he was banished by the Knicks to scouting in another country.

The good news is that Thomas, who single-handedly destroyed the New York Knicks, won't be coaching in the NBA (though there was a rumor that he would have loved a chance to coach the Los Angeles Clippers). The bad news is that he's been put in charge of a college program.

Thomas can coach - he proved that in Indiana. The problem always has been when Isiah was allowed to run the whole show (something he was not allowed to do with the Pacers). He was average when he was the team president with the Toronto Raptors. He ran the CBA into the ground (the people he took down with him are still mad). He, as the man in charge of the Knicks, was responsible for all of the bad contracts (Stephon Marbury, Jerome James, Jared Jeffries, I could go on and on) that organization gave out in the last few years.

Now he's being given a chance to run his own college basketball program. He'll pick the players. That just isn't his strength. And he'll have to learn all those rules NCAA programs seem to have trouble following.

FIU got the publicity they were looking for when they made this move. But, check back with me in a couple of years and ask me then if it was a good move.

Mr. Saunders to Washington: Multiple reports now say the Washington Wizards have agreed to terms with Flip Saunders. He'll take over for interim coach Ed Tapscott once the regular season comes to an end.

If you're a Wizards fan (and granted I've never met one outside of Washington), you've got to be excited. Saunders has a damn good resume, and in my mind, didn't deserve to be fired by Detroit last year (by the way, how did Michael Curry do this year?). The Wiz should have Gilbert Arenas back at 100% (operative word being should). Caron Butler is a nice piece to have. And, if they win the lottery and bring Blake Griffin on board, the turnaround in the nation's capital could happen sooner rather than later.

Detroit's loss will be Washington's gain.

Braylon to New York? Yahoo! Sports reported that the New York Giants will acquire wideout Braylon Edwards before next weekend's draft. The Giants are certainly in need of a receiver after cutting ties with the troubled Plaxico Burress. Edwards - to me - looks like a fine replacement.

I know his numbers were down last year, but remember that no one in Cleveland had a good 2008. Derek Anderson's numbers were down. Brady Quinn was inserted into the lineup and quickly got hurt. The 4-12 season the Browns went through cost a lot of people jobs.

In New York, Edwards will be united with Eli Manning. Manning is a better quarterback than Edwards has ever worked with in the NFL before (I know, profound statement, right?). I have to believe his numbers will go up and possibly even to what they were in 2007, when he caught 16 touchdown passes.

The Giants would benefit both on the field and off. Edwards could conceivably become the number one wideout he was expected to become a few years ago. And the Giants will never have to worry about him blowing off practice, or shooting himself in the leg with an unlicensed gun.

It's a win-win for everyone.

Click here for today's podcast!